Great post (#24)
@Zeke Newbold.
Personally, I've never been able to get beyond a visceral and long standing dislike of Brand. Even in those instances when the message seems 'on' for me, any actual sincerity seems totally lacking; it all feels like an act. (And I still find it hard to get past Stewart Lee’s description of the Brand/Paxman interview: ‘
…like watching a monkey throwing its excrement at a foghorn’.)
A couple of years ago I came across a memorable phrase - used to describe the legendary journalist Seymour Hersh's shift towards professional apologist for Assad and the Syrian regime: 'Twilight aberration'.
Giving Brand the benefit of the doubt, maybe this is his. I suspect it's not that unknown a phase in professional commentators lives – and maybe it’s just hit Brand early. People who wish to create are often told to explore what they know – and I can't help wondering if people who are paranoid about their careers maybe have a tendency to fall back on paranoia as inspiration. And I dare say for those who are accustomed to disseminating opinions, but have run out of ideas with which to reinforce them, the ease with which one can reach in to the bin for a fully prepared, boil in the bag conspiracy - with guaranteed click harvesting potential and no extra work required - is just too tempting.
Brand is becoming just another professional hystericist. He better be good at it, because it's a crowded field.
Stewart Lee on Brand again. Again - I can never look at Russell Brand without thinking 'cartoon pirate'. (I think Richard Herring - Lee's former comedy partner - is more sympathetic to Brand):
