A friend of mine once said...

[lederhosen]

...that many a great science fiction writer is ruined when they discover the idea of sex.

I have to admit, there's a lot of truth in it. They get so obsessed either with making sure there's nookie in their stories, or with discussing the philosophical ramifications of aforementioned nookie, that they forget to leave room for anything ELSE.

Just finished reading 'Stranger in a Strange Land' for the first time. I liked it, in patches, but was very amused by the inconsistency. Heinlein sets out to challenge every taboo of Western culture he can think of, through the Man from Mars and through Jubal Harshaw, the Author's Mouthpiece character. (Who I have to admit is slightly less irritating than AM characters usually are.)

Along the way, Heinlein questions our preconceptions about...
- clothing
- money & wealth
- politics
- religion
- monogamy
- cannibalism

By the end of the book, just about every female character has had a roll in the hay with every male character. Sometimes, with the assistance of telepathy.

But when it comes to homosexuality, nuh-uh. 'Cause that one's so much more meaningful than the other taboos Heinlein explodes. (FWIW, I understand he did mellow on this in later books.)


Also, must say: CURSE YOU, TRIPLE J! Meant to get an early night last night, then stayed up listening to the J-Files 'Alice in Chains' tribute.

I always find a slight eeriness in listening to somebody sing and knowing that they're dead. Pictures do little for me, but some singing voices carry so much character that listening to them can feel like meeting with the walking dead. Looking at my CD collection, I realised how very few of them are by dead singers; of over 200 discs I have one Beatles, one Beethoven, one Nirvana, a couple of of Joy Division, a couple of Frank Zappa, three or four Queen, and that's about it

Comments

[drzero.livejournal.com]

Re: Alice In Chains special on Triple J, did they play "Don't Follow" ? Easily my favorite AIC song. Sort of their take on G'n'R's "Patience", except better.

[lederhosen.livejournal.com]

I think so. I like AIC's stuff, but don't actually know it very well - it's sitting in that "must catch up on one of these days" pile.

[turnberryknkn.livejournal.com]

...but some singing voices carry so much character that listening to them can feel like meeting with the walking dead.

(smile) Perhaps put another way: Vita brevis, Arta longa. :-)

[deor.livejournal.com]

My father died about 15 years ago. (Hard to believe it's really been that long.) But years before that he was in college singing groups. One of which made a record, including 2 songs where he did solos. And he got a couple of copies of the record before leaving college, so that I grew up hearing it. Along with his usual singing around the house and at church.

Recently the college re-released it on CD-ROM to replace our old, scratchy records. There's no depth in it; it sounds curiously flat compared to modern recordings. Strangely, I'd actually prefer the old vinyl version if it was in better condition after half a century.

But listening to those two tracks is absolutely spooky.