Hey, kids, welcome to the Phile for a Monday. How are you? Let's start off with a story about McDonald's selling Quarter Pounder scented candles, shall we? If you’ve ever been sad that the smell of the Mickey D’s Quarter Pounder you ate the night before after twelve beers didn’t linger into the morning, good news! You can have that exact McDonald’s burger smell in your house for eternity, even if your Quarter Pounder didn’t have pickles on it. McDonald’s, as part of its Quarter Pounder Fan Club, is offering a collection of scented candles for each of the ingredients on its famous, beefy burger. There are six different scented (flavored?) candles in this luxurious collection: 100% Fresh Beef, Ketchup, Pickle, Cheese, Onion, and Sesame Seed Bun. Here's what they look like...
Oh man, I’ll admit it. This absolutely shattered my heart into little pieces. A mother from Brisbane, Australia is urging schools to teach kids disability awareness after her 9-year-old son came home crying, saying he wanted to die after being bullied by other students. Yarraka Bayles shared the emotional heartbreaking video of her son Quaden crying hysterically, in hopes to raise awareness of the effect bullying can do to a young child. Quaden was born with Achondroplasia, a common form of Dwarfism. Bayles explained that he is constantly bullied by classmates for his disabilities. In the video, the mom is heard saying she witnessed a bullying episode, and immediately called the principal. She stated, “I want people [to] know, parents, educators teachers, this is the effects that bullying has, this is what bullying does.” The mother told local news she arrived at school to find a female student “patting him on the head like a puppy” and making derogatory comments on his height. The mother said Quaden’s sister and her looked at each other and asked the boy if he was okay. Not wanting to admit it, the boy responded no, looking horrified at them, and begged them to not “make a scene.” “You could tell he was very uncomfortable but he was so good at trying to shrug things off, he doesn’t want people to know how much it’s affecting him, he’s so strong and confident but it’s times like these when you just see him crumble. It was just heartbreaking to watch, it made me feel helpless.” The mother shared the video online showing bullying is, unfortunately, a constant situation, and Quaden has attempted suicide several times. She explained the boy first tried to take his own life at the age of six when his grandfather passed away, and several times since then. The bullying, according to the mother, usually consists of trolls name-calling him, and pointing out a difference in height. She noted, “I feel like I’m failing as a parent. I feel like the education system’s failing.” While Bayles doesn’t blame the students or the school for the incident, she thinks the school needs to do more to teach students about disabilities to help them feel safe. Quaden has since been pulled out of Carina State School, and she is considering homeschooling him. As expected, the video quickly went viral on social media and has over 6 million views thus far. Comments flooded the video with positive messages of support, urging the boy to stay strong and reassuring him he was beautiful inside and out. Despite receiving a lot of backlash from the emotional moment, the mother stated she plans on keeping the video up on social media to show the impact bullying can cause, urging parents to teach their children about the consequences.
A Meredith, South Carolina mother who decided her infant child needed some well-deserved payback for the crime of being an infant child snuck up on the sleeping baby and, while filming herself (because of course), poured water on the baby’s face. Caitlyn Alyse Hardy, 33, posted the video of the infant waterboarding to her Facebook page with the caption, “Payback for waking me up all kinda times of da night,” according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. The video, which is exactly as horrible as you’d assume a video of someone waterboarding a baby would be, shows Hardy pour water on the baby, which immediately wakes up coughing and crying. Not satisfied that the 9-month-old incapable of making memories has learned its lesson yet, Hardy... now laughing... pours water on the baby’s face again, causing it to cough and cry more. Unfortunately for Hardy but fortunately for the innocent baby being tortured, the video didn’t get as many likes and lolz as Hardy had anticipated. Instead, a couple people decided to call the police. Because, again, a baby was being waterboarded. The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office then issued a warrant for Hardy’s arrest for her “ill-treatment” of the baby girl, which they say caused “unnecessary pain and suffering.” To be fair to Hardy, though, who hasn’t been tempted to put two fingers down their throat and vomit on a baby after it vomits on you? Who among us hasn’t been tempted to take a runny dump on a baby’s favorite pants after that baby’s diaper leaked on us? Honestly, who hasn’t taken a big cup of juice and just spilled the shit out of it all over a baby’s Speak n’ Spell after they did the same to your laptop? None of us. None of us have done that because only an idiot or a psycho would take revenge on a baby.
A Detroit woman decided to take kissing to another level and literally bit off the tip of “her friend’s” tongue while they were kissing at an apartment. Yup, she just chomped down on him because well, she was probably a little bit too excited. That or maybe she was hungry? According to authorities, 52-year-old Youlette Wedgeworth and her friend were engaged in consensual kissing when Wedgewroth decided to bite off an inch of the man’s tongue! YES, an inch! Can you imagine the pain this man went through! I mean, biting your own tongue by accident hurts, imagine someone else biting off a WHOLE INCH! Hell no, I would have pushed this woman off asap. Police stated they were called to the scene where they found the man bleeding from his mouth. They were able to recover the piece of tongue in the bedroom of his apartment. According to Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith, this is the first case of this nature in his 27 years in the Prosecutor’s Office. The Michigan woman was taken into custody and the man was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Macomb County prosecutors charged Wedgeworth with aggravated assault, a one-year misdemeanor that carries a possible fine of $1,000. Wedgeworth was arranged in the 37th District Court and is being held in lieu of a $25,000 bail. This is so insane, I am amazed at the strength of this woman, really. I mean, she physically bit the man’s tongue and took off a chunk! Now he has to live his whole life with 1/4 of it. Try explaining to your girlfriend or boyfriend that you’re missing a piece of your tongue because a vampire tried to cut it all off. I really want to know why she did it, either this man did something horrible to her and she wanted revenge, or she’s just crazy. But, Michigan Department of Corrections records shows that the woman has previously served prison time on a conviction for assault with intent to do great bodily harm back in 1997. So, maybe she just missed jail?
Okay, I have to mention this story... the Boy Scouts’ future is in jeopardy after sexual abuse lawsuits cause bankruptcy. Barraged with sex-abuse lawsuits, the Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy protection last Tuesday in hopes of working out a potentially mammoth victim compensation plan that will allow the 110-year-old organization to carry on. The Chapter 11 filing in federal bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Delaware, sets in motion what could be one of the biggest, most complex bankruptcies ever seen. Scores of lawyers are seeking settlements on behalf of several thousand men who say they were molested as scouts by scoutmasters or other leaders decades ago but are only now eligible to sue because of recent changes in their states’ statute-of-limitations laws. Bankruptcy will enable the Scouts to put those lawsuits on hold for now. But ultimately they could be forced to sell off some of their vast property holdings, including campgrounds and hiking trails, to raise money for a compensation trust fund that could surpass 1 billion dollars. The organization encouraged all victims to come forward to file claims. The bankruptcy petition listed the Boy Scouts’ assets at between 1 billion and 10 billion dollars, and its liabilities at 500 million to 1 billion dollars. “Scouting programs will continue throughout this process and for many years to come,” the Boy Scouts said in a statement. “Local councils are not filing for bankruptcy because they are legally separate and distinct organizations.” The Boy Scouts are just the latest major American institution to face a heavy price over sexual abuse. Roman Catholic dioceses across the country and schools such as Penn State and Michigan State have paid out hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years. The bankruptcy represents a painful turn for an organization that has been a pillar of American civic life for generations and a training ground for future leaders. Achieving the rank of Eagle Scout has long been a proud accomplishment that politicians, business leaders, astronauts and others put on their resumes and in their official biographies. The Boy Scouts’ finances have been strained in recent years by declining membership and sex-abuse settlements. The number of youths taking part in scouting has dropped below two million, down from a peak of more than four million during the 1970s. The organization has tried to counter the decline by admitting girls, but its membership rolls took a big hit January 1st when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... for decades a major sponsor of Boy Scout units... cut ties and withdrew more than 400,000 scouts in favor of programs of its own. The financial outlook worsened last year after New York, Arizona, New Jersey and California passed laws making it easier for victims of long-ago abuse to file claims. Teams of lawyers across the U.S. have been signing up clients by the hundreds to sue the Boy Scouts. Most of the newly surfacing cases date to the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s; the organization says there were only five known abuse victims in 2018. The Boy Scouts credit the change to an array of prevention policies adopted since the mid-1980s, including mandatory criminal background checks and abuse-prevention training for all staff and volunteers, and a rule that two or more adult leaders be present during all activities. Many of the lawsuits accuse the organization of negligence and cover-ups, mostly from decades ago. “We are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to harm innocent children,” said Roger Mosby, the Boy Scouts’ president and CEO. “While we know nothing can undo the tragic abuse that victims suffered, we believe the Chapter 11 process, with the proposed trust structure, will provide equitable compensation to all victims while maintaining the BSA’s important mission.” Among other matters to be addressed in bankruptcy court: the fate of the Boy Scouts’ assets; the extent to which the organization’s insurance will help cover compensation; and whether assets of the Scouts’ 261 local councils will be added to the fund. “There are a lot of very angry, resentful men out there who will not allow the Boy Scouts to get away without saying what all their assets are,” said lawyer Paul Mones, who represents numerous clients suing the Boy Scouts. “They want no stone unturned.” Amid the crush of lawsuits, the Scouts recently mortgaged major properties owned by the national leadership, including the headquarters in Irving, Texas, and the 140,000-acre Philmont Ranch in New Mexico, to help secure a line of credit. Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts have kept confidential files since the 1920s listing staff and volunteers implicated in sexual abuse, for the avowed purpose of keeping predators away from youth. According to a court deposition, the files as of January listed 7,819 suspected abusers and 12,254 victims. Until last spring, the organization had insisted it never knowingly allowed a predator to work with youths. But in May, The Associated Press reported that attorneys for abuse victims had identified multiple cases in which known predators were allowed to return to leadership posts. The next day, Boy Scouts chief executive Mike Surbaugh wrote to a congressional committee, acknowledging the group’s previous claim was untrue. James Kretschmer of Houston, among the many men suing for alleged abuse, said he was molested by a Scout leader over several months in the mid-1970s in the Spokane, Washington, area. Regarding the bankruptcy, he said, “It is a shame because at its core and what it was supposed to be, the Boy Scouts is a beautiful organization.” “But you know, anything can be corrupted,” he added. “And if they’re not going to protect the people that they’ve entrusted with the children, then shut it down and move on.” Critics of the Boy Scouts charged that the bankruptcy filing is aimed in part at preventing the disclosure of further damning details. “This bankruptcy is not about finances,” said Scott Coats, who sued in New York last month over abuse he claimed to have suffered in the 1970s. “This bankruptcy is about the reputation of the Boy Scouts of America and about silencing victims and keeping the truth away from the eyes of the public.” Mike Pfau, a Seattle-based attorney whose firm is representing scores of men nationwide, said that while the Boy Scouts’ local councils are not included in the bankruptcy filing, the plaintiffs may go after their property holdings, too. “We believe the real property held by the local councils may be worth significantly more than the Boy Scouts’ assets,” he said. He said one question will be whether the Boy Scouts transferred property to its local councils in hopes of putting it out of the reach of those suing the organization. I was never a Boy Scout, but I was a Cub Scout... for about six weeks or less. Here's proof...
Don't I look cute? Haha. Instead of doing this blog thing I should be listening to this record...
Ummm... maybe not. Ever see those panhandlers on the side of the road? Some of them sure are witty, and behind the times...
If I had a TARDIS I would probably end up at the Melbourne Australia airport where Jimmie Nicol sat alone, waiting for the plane that will take him back to obscurity...
I would ask him though what was it like playing with the Beatles for ten days. Journalists make mistakes sometimes, which leads to very entertaining editorials...
Is that Ariel? The NFL has changed the logo and name of yet another team...
I like it. Hey, future kids, these were the Founding Fathers...
You know I live in Florida, right? Well, there's things that happen in Florida that happen nowhere else in the universe. So, once again here's...
Jeffrey Dahmer, who? Police in Florida are investigating the gruesome discovery of jars of human tongues in a home’s crawl space. The preserved organs were found during an inspection of the foundation in the Gainesville house, previously owned by Dr. Ronald Baughman, who is a former University of Florida researcher. According to authorities, some of the gallon-sized jars date back to the 1960s. Investigators are now looking into the possibility that Baughman, who published several studies in the following two decades, may have brought the tongues from his Florida home as part of his work. Baughman stored the jars in the crawl space because it was a cool area. Baughman is currently a professor emeritus at the University. Back in 1988, an abstract in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery posted on the medical research site Science Direct lists Ronald A. Baughman as a dentist who was involved in a case of oral squamous cell carcinoma in twins. The tongues were said to be used for research on thyroid and neck conditions and were to be brought back to the university. Baughman’s ex-wife now owns the home and forgot the jars were beneath the house in the first place. Steve Orlando, University of Florida spokesperson stated he didn’t know what the policies and laws would have been like 50 years ago, but this incident wouldn’t be permitted today. “There are very strict federal and state laws as well as university policies that prohibit that. It would be neither appropriate nor legal for a faculty member or researcher to bring something like that home.” Luckily, police do not suspect any foul play is involved with the tongues and are conducting tests on the specimens. It is still not clear how many tongues were found but authorities did note that one jar contained several human remains.
Haha. If you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Okay, I mentioned in the monologue the mom sharing an emotional video of her son breaking down after being bullied for Dwarfism. Well, a friend of the Phile has something to say about that. He is a singer, patriot and renaissance man. You know what time it is...
Yyyyyep, that pretty much settles it... I’m goin’ straight to fuckin’ Hell. So, lately I’ve been reading stories and watching videos about this poor kid from Australia, who’s being bullied because he suffers from Dwarfism. All these celebrities sending him videos showing support... telling him to be brave... setting him up with money and vacations... encouraging him to keep a positive attitude... .and I’m over here like, “Lookit you... you’re like a little shaved Ewok over there... quit yer cryin’ and start nut punchin’ these pricks when they pick on ya. C’mon, you’re the perfect height for a surprise dick smash... just ball up those little sausage link fingers of yours into a fist and blast ‘em in the yambag.” On second thought... perhaps I shouldn’t send the kid a video message.
If you or someone you know is experiencing substance abuse, call the National Drug Helpline at 1-844-289-0879. Okay, so, dating a famous person might not be all it's cracked up to be. A concerned mom is emailed me asking for advice after she met her daughter's "famous" rock star boyfriend and wasn't impressed with what she saw.
"Am I wrong for telling my daughter I don't approve of her 'famous' boyfriend?" Mom started out excited, especially after she Googled his band. "My daughter told me around three months ago that she was dating a new guy, and I was happy for her. Then she told me that he is in a band, and it's a pretty big band. At first I thought she was exaggerating but then I looked it up and it turns out they are pretty big (like millions of views on their songs on YouTube kind of big!), and that right away kind of made me a bit worried and excited at the same time for her." Her daughter warned her that he was a colorful character, but it all seemed okay. "She has told me all this stuff about the crazy stuff she has done in the past few months just by being with him, and it sounds fun and part of me is a bit jealous. LOL. I was happy for her though, she had met a lot of other pretty famous people and been backstage at some big concerts." But then she met him... and the off-color jokes, cigarette-smoking and drunkenness put her off. "Then, he came over for dinner. And my opinion of him changed completely. He was an unabashed asshole. He basically made fun of a disabled person right in front of us within 30 minutes of meeting us. He smoked cigarettes without a care in the world for the people around him (outside, not in the house, but still). He interrupted people in conversations and was very rude in general when talking. His ego was unbearable. He always had to be the center of attention, almost like he was gracing us with his presence and we should be grateful. He had an ego the size of a skyscraper, constantly talking about all this stuff he's done in his life and places he's traveled. It was almost like a bad stereotype trope of an 'asshole rockstar' from a comedy movie. And even worse, he was dismissive and at points downright MEAN to our daughter right in front of us. It was painfully obvious he did not care much for her, and she looked hurt by the things he said." And he was drunk before he even arrived. "He also showed up the dinner a bit tipsy, and proceeded to drink quite a lot during the dinner as well. I don't have any real tangible evidence but it seemed like he was on some kind of upper." She told the daughter right away that this guy seemed like bad news. "When he left, I right away confronted my daughter and told her that he was not a good man and that I do not approve, at all, of this guy. She got very defensive and said he was just a bit drunk and that he is a very nice guy, but I just wasn't having it. I tried to be as honest with her as possible, that this guy is a narcissist and that he isn't good for her, and that I hope she isn't just staying with him because he's famous." Oof... yes, she basically called her daughter a groupie. "I regret saying that last part to an extent, but it was the truth. She got furious at yelled at me and then left. Am I in the wrong for this? Was it too harsh? Thank you, Jason." It's okay to be concerned... but accusing your daughter of dating him for his fame was probably not the best way to get her message across. It's normal to be worried and he doesn't sound like a nice guy (just showing up tipsy to meet you shows how little he cares about her). Maybe you could have approach the subject more calmy just she could be more receptive; but I would definitely try talking to her again. She will realize he's bad for her, but on her own time. Now I just wanna know... which band is he in?!?!
The 115th book to be pheatured on the Phile is...
My good friend Jeff will be on the Phile next Tuesday. So, there's this girl who still thinks it's the 90s. She wanted to come back on the Phile with some kinda advice. So, please welcome back to the Phile...
Me: Hello, Jessica, welcome back. How are you?
Jessica: I'm great, Jason. Do you have any female fans of this blog?
Me: Yeah, a few I think. Why?
Jessica: I have a beauty tip for them.
Me: Okay...
Jessica: Girls, pull hair out of the cap with the hook and bleach. Roll body glitter on your chest. Paint your nails with White Out, and just smear a pound of foundation all over your face. Make sure it doesn't match your skin tone at all.
Me: Ummm... that's it?
Jessica: Yep. Gotta dip, meeting some friends at the mall. Bye.
Me: Jessica Enistink, the girl who still thinks it is the 90s, kids.
Phact 1. In 1992 an Israeli cargo plane crashed in Amsterdam killing 43 people. Israel claimed it was carrying flowers and perfume. It took 6 years and a Dutch parliamentary inquiry before they admitted it was carrying DMMP, a key component for sarin nerve gas.
Phact 2. There was an Italian composer in the 1700s named Francesco Zappa. Upon discovering this, in the early 80s, Frank Zappa re-recorded his music on a Synclavier and released it on an album, marketing it as his first digital recording in over 200 years.
Phact 3. Artificial intelligence systems known as "robo farmers" could soon grow crops and tend livestock around Britain while their human controllers need never set foot in a field again.
Phact 4. Leonardo DiCaprio owns the live-action rights to an "Akira" movie.
Phact 5. The production of Cast Away was shut down for a year so Tom Hanks could lose the required weight and grow a beard for his character’s development. Instead of just sitting around waiting, director Robert Zemeckis and his crew used the hiatus to make the movie What Lies Beneath.
Today's pheatured guest is an American singer, songwriter, musician, author, and performance artist. Her latest album "There Will Be No Intermission" is available on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify. Please welcome to the Phile... Amanda Palmer.
Me: Hello, Amanda, welcome to the Phile. How are you?
Amanda: I'm doing pretty good, Jason. How are you?
Me: I'm doing good. Where are you from? New York City, right?
Amanda: Yeah, New York City, but grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts.
Me: Nice. So, on your new album "There Will Be No Intermission," you sing about some depressing stuff... your best friend's death, a miscarriage and your ex's suicide. You even have a song about the legalization of abortion. How did that come about? That's a hot topic right now.
Amanda: When I sat down and thought I'm Amanda Palmer the songwriter who's not afraid of the dark I need to write about abortion. I've had one, I want to speak about this. I think we should... but hooowwwww? How do I write about abortion? I was just like search me, I don't know how to do that. I just couldn't crack it then in my 30s, I'm 42 now, in my 30s before I had a child and a miscarriage I had two very different abortion experiences. One wasn't my choice, it was for medical reasons and one that I chose. All that time I was evolving as a songwriter that whole time and I just couldn't crack how I do this. The thing I found most difficult to figure out is who's is the voice, who speaks. With a song about abortion is it this giant I'm saying, "I did this, I feel this"? Is it the protestor's standing outside the clinic? Is it the provider? Is it the fetus? Who gets to talk here?! Or is it everybody? Then I went to Dublin and just the sheer power of these women who had had it and were just like we don't care anymore. We're going to just give notes and tell the truth. They really lit a fire under me. I got home and I sat down and I was like I got a couple of months before I make this record if I don't write this now and write about it right I'm going to regret this.
Me: So how did you "crack the code" so to speak?
Amanda: I had to figure out who was talking and who they were talking to, No one really has asked me that specific question, I'm so glad you did. I was actually trying to capture the feeling I had of being in these pubs in Dublin the night the legislation was passed. And the looks on these women's faces, like all of these women were openly weeping all night and grabbing me.
Me: How did you feel about that? I guess sit made you feel good...?
Amanda: I was rally lucky, I had access to these feminist journalists who happened to like my music, they happened to find me, and they happened to take me to these gatherings, these parties, these celebrations. But these quieter moments were happening of women just leaning into me saying "you think you understand what's going on here but we've been here. You'd have to live here, you don't understand what this means, Amanda. You don't understand how it felt. Like we've finally felt that we're allowed to exist. We've been so oppressed by our own government and now we're free. We're free." And I would just sit there and like this is happening. So much what they did to get that vote passed is they marched door to door to door to door for months. Knocking on doors and little old Irish couples would answer the door and they were like "will you just listen to my story? Because I just need to tell you this is what it means. My mother, my aunt, my sister and the cost women dying, do you really want this to be the country we live in?" And so the vote at the end of the day was overwhelming, an overwhelming yes vote.
Me: So how did you figure out who would be "speaking"? The fetus prospective, the protestors prospective... what did you end up choosing?
Amanda: A woman talking to another woman. Which is what I see happening right now in the Trump world, in the last two or three years with Brett Kavanaugh, with all of that. The sharpest tool in our arsenal is sharing our stories with one another. That's what's working fro the bottom up and that's what's going to keep working.
Me: I love the song from the album "Drowning in the Sound"? How does it feel when you do that song live on stage?
Amanda: I love it. It's one of my favorites.
Me: Why is that?
Amanda: Have you ever seen the Dresden Dolls?
Me: No, I don't know what that is. Is it a movie or TV show?
Amanda: No, it's my band.
Me: Oh. Hahaha. Tell me about them.
Amanda: Even though I deeply, deeply love my record I love all the songs, I love playing it, but man, I love banging the shit out of a piano. It's just so cathartic. When I tour with the Dresden Dolls I do that for three hours and on the Dresden Doll tours I really look forward to the slow sad songs because I need a break. But this is a pretty ballad record, the songs are mid-tempo and under mostly so I look forward to the "you owe me money" songs.
Me: Have you lost a piano yet? Ever break one?
Amanda: Yeah, the second show in New York I broke an F string. It happens.
Me: As you mentioned this is very much a record of your time, of who you are. How does it feel to share that with strangers night after night on stage?
Amanda: Oh, that's a good question. I'm going to be on tour with this record for probably 18 months, maybe a few years. I'm scared and I think that's good. I think the fact that I'm scared is a really good sign.
Me: Scared of what?
Amanda: It's a scary show. Like scary for me. Like it's scary to get onto the stage and just to entertain people. My stage show is just unapologetically balls out. I talk really graphically about getting abortions. I talk about having a miscarriage alone. I stop and slow down and tell the stories and tell how it felt. The songs are all woven in there, it's a really beautiful show. It's like a piece of theater. But it's also for someone who is like any other artist or musician sensitive to any type of criticism, putting this kind of stuff out there is really frightening.
Me: There's a book that accompanies this album and in it you kinda apologize and say you're over sharing a little bit. You don't seem like the type that would have a problem like that? Am I right?
Amanda: Sometimes it's an etiquette thing. I'm married to a British person who just apologizes for existing.
Me: Yeah! I was gonna mention that but I wasn't sure I was allowed. Tell the readers who your husband is, he's fantastic! I love his "Mr. Hero" comics.
Amanda: Yeah, I'm married to Neil Gaiman who happens to be British... and Neil Gaiman.
Me: Isn't he kinda private? I have been trying to get him on the Phile for years. Is he private?
Amanda: He is. He has such a very different relationship with what he does what he plunders from his life before he lets you see it. He dresses it up in all sorts of costumes but he's still the naked person inside. He'll never let you actually in there.
Me: How does he feel about you letting it all out?
Amanda: It's two very different art forms. We need costumed fiction and sci-fi just as much as we need unapologetic memoir. I think. I think I don't want to live in a world that only had one. I'd kill myself. And we need the whole spectrum. Neil has made a career out of taking what he sees as reality and what he sees as true and putting it into fiction. I sort made a career of stripping as much as much fiction way as possible.
Me: What do you like about that?
Amanda: It's interesting to me. Like to me the challenge of my career that sort of keeps calling me is the places I go when I'm afraid, because I get bored. I just feel like I keep being called to figure out how much more honest I could be without totally losing control of the plot. And also I have been called there by my community because when I make myself more vulnerable they respond. I don't mean just my diehard fans who have been there for 20 years but the more I write and the more I find myself standing on the edge of vulnerability, if I don't want to go in there that's probably the door I should open. Those are usually the songs that really speak to people. So I learned to listen to that as a cue.
Me: When someone criticizes you on Facebook, or any social media or in a review does it hurt more because it's about your real life?
Amanda: What do you mean?
Me: If you write a song about an abortion, a miscarriage or death of a friend and they don't like it does it hurt you a little bit more opposed to you writing something really that's not that personal?
Amanda: No. weirdly it doesn't. That's such a good question. I don't think anybody has asked me that. If I'm a good artist it doesn't matter how direct my songwriting is. It means an immense about to me, whether or not I understand exactly what I'm singing about. It means something to me as the writer. When I sit down and write a song whether I'm direct "Bob Dylaning" it or I'm hyper poetry psychedelic I don't really understand the Thomas Pynchon of songwriting. Maybe Radiohead is another good example. A lot of the songs are huh... sounds fascinating. The point is there's a whole spectrum and also dance around that spectrum. What I meant to say was as the artist the song holds the entire meaning to me in respective of that spectrum. If you don't like my song it doesn't matter of the song was direct or covered in psychedelia, it's going to hurt right around the same place, right around the same way.
Me: It does really?
Amanda: I think so. I think that probably varies from songwriter to songwriter. As a woman who has taken a lot of criticism for being overshary or too dramatic too whatever, throw in an adjective. Too attention getting, it's taken me a long time to realize like almost all of that criticism that's been leveled at me is basically just like the definition of an artist most of the time. There's something changing about that right now in the cultural dialogue that I actually appreciate.
Me: What is that?
Amanda: Women are not getting quite as shouted down for just standing up saying this is how it feels, this is how it is. I'm not going to couch to for you and apologize for it nine times before I say not and apologize nine times after, I'm just going to tell you. I think I have something to add here.
Me: That's good. Do you think that's positive?
Amanda: Yeah, I think it is. I think it's infectious. The more women who do it it doesn't matter if they're artists or journalists or not even people with social platforms. Just simply women telling the truth shamelessly is just spreading like a wild fire throughout culture. Every time the bar gets raised it stays there.
Me: Amanda, thanks so much for being on the Phile. I hope this was fun. You're very interesting. Please come back again soon.
Amanda: Thank you, Jason.
What an album cover. I didn't get to ask her about it. Haha. That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to my guests Laird Jim and of course Amanda Palmer. The Phile will be back tomorrow with producer, writer and TV show creator Susan Harris. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.
I don't want you, cook my bread, I don't want you, make my bed, I don't want your money too, I just want to make love to you. - Willie Dixon
No comments:
Post a Comment