Tuesday, 05 June 2007

Did Arcade Fire Steal Dude's Basketball?

The story so far:

Dude: Arcade Fire stole my basketball.

Arcade Fire: We didn't steal dude's basketball.

If this isn't evidence we're in a new age of celebrity, I don't know what is.  Let me elaborate: blogs are such a permanent ephemeral medium, that they are both not to be taken seriously and to be taken very seriously.  The people from this publication contacted Chris H.–the eponymous Dude–as did someone named Steve from this radio station.  The proprietor of Arcade Fire Didn't Steal Dude's Basketball–known as "William War III"–claims to be Will Butler, a member of Arcade Fire and brother of the accused.

To paraphrase Fitzgerald, the famous are not that much different from you and me anymore.   (Although, pace Hemingway, they do still have more money.)  They too take their grievances to blogs. They too respond to snark with snark. They too engage in immediately regretted online behavior.  They too post Youtube videos. 

The gap between the rich and poor may be growing, but at least we all have a legitimate shot at infamy.

Jun 5, 2007 6:49:19 PM

8 Comments

Belle Lettre

Arcade Fire Stole My Basketball no longer exists! Only Arcade Fire Didn't Steal My Basketball works.

I guess William War III won the libel war.

Posted by: Belle Lettre | Tuesday, 05 June 2007 at 07:27 PM

Belle Lettre

Completely awesome. I love geeky flame wars.

Google cache? Did AFSMB shut down and you helpfully resurrected the awesomeness from the ashes?

That rec center needs to be bigger. Nothing beats the ARC.

Posted by: Belle Lettre | Tuesday, 05 June 2007 at 08:38 PM

Luther Blissett

Scott, not to nitpick, but I doubt Arcade Fire are rich. And they certainly aren't all that famous.

Posted by: Luther Blissett | Tuesday, 05 June 2007 at 09:16 PM

Scott Eric Kaufman

They headlined at Coachella this year, which puts them in a per-night earnings class well beyond our wildest dreams. I'm sure they've been screwed by their company, and I support independent artists, &c. &c. &c.

I was riffing on the Fitzgerald/Hemingway quip more than anything else. Put it this way: in my mind, they are wealthy, because they richly deserve to be.

Posted by: Scott Eric Kaufman | Tuesday, 05 June 2007 at 09:21 PM

Sisyphus

The gap between the rich and poor may be growing, but at least we all have a legitimate shot at infamy.

Yes, but I want _permanent_ infamy, not this crappy low-rent ephemeral infamy! Do I have to cut a swath of destruction before my name makes everyone tremble with dread? I do? Eh. I guess I'll add it to my to-do list.

Posted by: Sisyphus | Tuesday, 05 June 2007 at 09:23 PM

Luther Blissett

The question is: when will Win Butler play Prince in some one-on-one? "Come cool yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka." And "Here are your pancakes: bitches."

Posted by: Luther Blissett | Wednesday, 06 June 2007 at 07:44 AM

todd.

Here at UCI, we don't get into this argument, because we just start up the run, and if the guy doesn't move ... actually, that's never happened, so I'm not sure what would happen.

Also, I feel like pointing out that I was listening to Arcade Fire while shooting around today. Coincidence? I guess.

Posted by: todd. | Saturday, 09 June 2007 at 10:27 PM

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