George Orwell's original preface to "Animal Farm," which was censored by the publisher. There's nothing for me to say here. He already did it all for me. Just read it: http://www.orwell.ru/library/novels/Animal_Farm/english/efp_go

It isn't that I hate football, per se, so much as people who like football. Subtle difference: hate the player, not the game. I wouldn't even say that I have anything against the concept of a herd of highly-trained genetically engineered mutants bashing each other's skulls into the ground ... it's a lot like a frat bar only with brighter colors. No; I hate professional sports because they have become an exercise in caring.

But unlike any civic duty, society gains virtually no benefit from its exercise. Clusters of testosterone-swelled Neanderthals paint their bodies in the colors of their tribes and make their pilgrimage to chest thump against the opposing tribes.

Believe! Obey! Fight! MOYC* is Always Right!

Repeatedly, I overhear 20-something males bragging that they only cry when it's acceptable ... namely, when their Team loses. That is the unmistakable lesson to the American male as he grows up: Be tough. Emotion is weakness. Weakness is not manly. Man is power. Power is good. Be good for your nation(/team).

Now. Perhaps I'm one of those intellectual, post-hardcore, drone-loving, pre-apocalyptic renaissance men; but I think there are plenty more acceptable reasons to show emotion. For example, the sense of emptiness that fills you after the loss of a loved one. For example, the empathy of watching someone you care about go through heartbreak. For example, getting your penis stuck in a sliding glass door. All things that suck.

In fact, one of the things I don't think is worth showing emotion over is something as completely pointless as less points being scored by a group of strangers who you for some arbitrary reason align yourself with. So, why do we care?

Is it our first indoctrination into Jingoism? Is it our way of breaking our social world into smaller spheres so that "We" can feel a part of something and feel superior to "Them"? Is it that we're so emotionally bloated, that we'll take some reason -- any reason -- to care?

Don't ask me. I don't get it either.



* MOYC: (prop. n. - m-oy-k) Mascot of Your Choice. A politically correct phrasing to evoke whichever sports mascot is preferred by the reader

Thurston Moore's name may have become synonymous with ear-piercing walls of feedback and distorted wankery, but his newest solo release "Trees Outside the Academy" proves the old adage that distortion doesn't make the man. Even after trading in his Fender Jazzmaster for an acoustic dreadnaught, he creates a sound that will ring familiar to Sonic Youth fans.

What does it sound like? Think Neutral Milk Hotel fronted by Moore. Probably the best comparison would be Elliott Smith to his punk rock group, Heatmiser: all of the elements you know and love are there, just in a slightly retooled fashion. Truth be told, any of these tracks would have sounded at home electrified on the Youth's last album, "Rather Ripped" -- but here they are wrapped up in lush instrumentation that allow Moore to show is more ... erm ... intimate side.

Squeaking violins and heavy uses of sampling replicate the usual SY dissonance, allowing his trademark hipster drawl to shine through as we have become use to, and the electrified moments of the album are provided by the J Mascis -- fucking LEGEND extraordinaire (and trust me, you know the instant he enters.)

Probably the most pleasing thing about the album, though, is the exception job of pacing. Most rock albums seem to have their tracks arranged to provide a strong intro and finish, but often lead the listener to press 'Skip' a couple times towards the middle. Not so here. No sooner is Moore done with a so-earnest-his-eyes-bleed track (see: "Fri/End" or "Never Light"), than the tempo picks up and we're thrown into a full on punk number like "Wonderful Witches." It's these songs that provide the most rewarding spans on the album, when we're reminded that, even though his band would be fully capable of playing in the midst of a power outage, he's still an utter badass -- and we best not forget it.

There's more than a couple cuts from the album up for free download on the website of his self-run label, Ecstatic Peace! ... so stop reading and go listen, already.