Rules Of The Game #14: The Death Of The Cool

[koganbot]

Latest column. Britney, Bowie, and the unavailability of cool.

The Rules Of The Game #14: The Death Of The Cool

Key sentence: "But where coolness - or any knowledge - stumbles is when it becomes the attribute of a particular class."

So what's been your experience with "cool"? Is there such a thing? What would it be now?

Links to previous columns. (And they've finally added the paragraph breaks to last week's column. Comments didn't make it through, however. LVW got the italics too, but missed them this week, and I'm not going to press the matter.) UPDATE: That link "to previous columns" no longer works, but I've got the whole set here now:

http://koganbot.livejournal.com/179531.html

(Also, here's a link to that Michael Ventura article I refer to, "Hear That Long Snake Moan," about the African sources of cool, and the New Orleans source of everything. Ventura cannot be accused of understating his case.)

Comments

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I would say Lily Allen still says what she wants (rather than what her label wants, or what Max Clifford wants). There's an element of immaturity in both her case and Britney's I think - most of us grown-ups are bound by social rules (be they useful or restrictive) that stop us putting our foot in it/offending potential customers/pointing at someone in the street and shouting 'MUMMY WHY IS HE WALKING FUNNY?'. As cultural icons/opinion-makers/wannabee politicans, pop stars used to have more freedom in what they said and to whom. Now pop stars have to be businessmen/women first, otherwise they lose their precarious position on the ever-shrinking soapbox and have to make way for the label's latest signing. Luckily for Lily, her record sales depend entirely on the quantity of her gobbyness, not what she is actually saying.

[koganbot]

Yup, Lily pretty much says what she wants, so do many others, I'm sure. But I get the feeling from Lily - used to read her MySpace page regularly - that she's spontaneous and warm-hearted, but she has discernment to go along with her warm-heartedness, that she wouldn't go "Mummy why is he walking funny?" and that when she snaps at something, it's 'cause she thinks the target has some power and authority that needs skewering (OK, maybe she's tough on her little brother and certain old grannys, but she correctly sees people like them as using their problems to take advantage of others). I also think she might well be an alcoholic, so the alcohol and her youthfulness and spontaneity get in the way of her judgment. But I think she basically knows the social rules. Should be interesting what she does next, because she's getting pushed into a role that accentuates her outrageousness, and at some point she's probably going to call bullshit on that.

Whereas Britney... as I said, I don't know. I imagine there's some intelligence and wisdom in all her acting out, but also a lot of childishness, and maybe some deeper disturbance. I mean, maybe she just forgot to put on her undies that day. But really, we shouldn't trust anything the tabs are saying.

[koganbot]

Also think Lily's record sales have something to do with her having gobs of talent: sparkle in her singing and beauty in the tunes.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Well there is that, too. However Cassie also has sparkle & beauty, but has sold approx 12 records over here because she hasn't been shouting about it all over town to anyone who'll listen, or made the pages of gossip columns with (clearly fabricated yet still entertaining) stories about spats with Peaches Geldof that of course have 0 to do with her music.

[koganbot]

Yeah, I have sparkle and beauty too, and how's my book doing in the UK? "Only 1 left in stock - order soon." Harrumph.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Clearly you need to start some beef in a trendy London nightspot whilst wearing a vintage dress :)