February 7, 2023

I have no idea what the problem is supposed to be, but I see a man in shorts.

Current pop music is so uninteresting to me that I can't tell what's supposed to be bad from what's supposed to be good. But I do feel qualified to say this shorts look exemplifies the men-in-shorts problem. It is not the shorts per se. It is the grown man dressed as a little boy — the enlarged little boy. 

In other news, Post Malone arrives at the Sydney airport in green pajamas. What's that print? Teddy bears.

65 comments:

Dave Begley said...

Plenty of auto tune in that clip.

Today’s popular music is more than uninteresting, it is an overt sign of the decline of the West.

Dave Begley said...

I see where Mr. Malone has grown a beard to cover some of his face tats. Smart!

Carol said...

Knocking men in shorts is like knocking cannabis or tattoos - guaranteed to bring out the butthurt!

Temujin said...

Should I know who Post Malone is? Not all men who wear shorts also crinkle up the bottom of their t-shirt when they begin to talk, like a little boy would.

Most of the southern half of Florida has men in shorts. The only people not wearing shorts are lawyers and architects. That's how you find a lawyer or an architect down here.

Ann, you would not like southern Florida.

tim in vermont said...

Rick Beato says that popular music died when the software "Pro Tools" came out, and producers could fix every imperfection in a recording, and it became possible to insert musical fills beyond the skill of most musicians into songs by mediocre artists, I kind of agree with him. Kanye did some pretty good stuff, and there is good stuff out there, but you won't find it at the top of the charts. I blame the lack of pianos in the homes of young people today.

Enigma said...

Post Malone -- heavily tattooed and in the 420 culture. He's likely unhealthy eight ways to Sunday. Don't read much into rock stars living the rock-n-roll lifestyle and at risk of joining the 27 club.

Tina848 said...

At least his socks are bright white....Looks a little Dad Bod tourist in that getup.

Ann Althouse said...

I thought when I got old, I would look at the young people and see them as all so attractive and feel bad about lost youth. But that hasn't happened. I see pictures of young people all the time, and they are not appealing. They look awful!

RideSpaceMountain said...

"I see pictures of young people all the time, and they are not appealing. They look awful!"

On purpose.

Ann Althouse said...

"Ann, you would not like southern Florida."

If it is hot enough, I accept wearing appropriate clothing. I don't like hot weather myself, so that's reason enough to stay out of south Florida.

My problem is with adult men who dress like children. An adult man *can* wear shorts and look like an adult man. Show me the individual person. I have a special problem with the big boxy shirt overtop of baggy saggy shorts and then sneakers or sandals. If you want send the message my sex life is over, then go right ahead. It's a good disguise if you don't want to be thought attractive.

Virgil Hilts said...

I remember walking through Scottsdale Fashion Square 30 years ago and young people really were attractive. Now - OMG!

Caroline said...

“ I thought when I got old, I would look at the young people and see them as all so attractive and feel bad about lost youth. But that hasn't happened. “
Same! In fact, I often make a special effort to pull myself together when I go out. I mean to the grocery. The other day I wore a vintage fedora and cape over my usual black athleisure pants. A young woman stopped me and asked me if I had been a ballerina. Then she told me how fabulous I looked. Made my day. In general I find it takes very, very little effort to distinguish yourself in this cultural nadir. The hat was because I had no time for anything but lipstick. At 65, I am having my moment, because by comparison, everybody else looks like they’re homeless.
Remember the phrase, “dress your best? I think a lot of us boomers internalized that. Hek, my 95 year old mother still knocks it out of the park.

re Pete said...

"Someone showed me a picture and I just laughed

Dignity never been photographed"

Ron Winkleheimer said...

He's got tattoos on his legs, of course he's going to wear shorts.

gilbar said...

it's Truly Amazing,
that Current Pop music is so uninteresting to a 75 year old, that she can't tell the good from the bad

Old and slow said...

His performance was a bit embarrassing to watch. What is it usually like?

Old and slow said...

The Irish used to mock adult men who wore shorts. Now they all have leg tattoos and wear shorts. It's a bit depressing...

rcocean said...

Althouse needs to buy some red shorts, then instead of waving a red cape in front of the Bulls, she can wave a pair of red shorts in from of the commenters.

What more needs to be said? As stated, it depends on the man, the situation, and the rest of the attire. Did General Montgomery look like a little kid wearing Shorts in North Africa? No. If you put some 220 lbs linebacker in shorts, would he look like a little kid? No. But then those guys can wear an earing too.

This singer does look childlike. He not only shorts, he has a sloppy T-shirt. Whether he can sing well, I dunno. Does our liking or dislike for certain types of music get imprinted on our brains as kids, and we never outgrow it?

Cappy said...

What the West Virginia is this?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

"Current pop music is so uninteresting to me"

Amen. That makes two of us. The voices and songs all sound the same.

____
He sounds like his voice is being run thru auto-tune live.

Dude1394 said...


shorts are comfortable, why should men be criticized for their sexy apparel?

Yancey Ward said...

Post Malone looks like someone who is deeply into drugs. Will probably be dead by the time he is 50, and no one will be playing his music 30 years from now.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Shorts are the least of his problems.

Big Mike said...

I wear shorts outdoors on hot days in the summer. I wore shorts yesterday while working out in the gym. My wife says I have the legs to wear shorts, but she could be just a little biased. OTOH I think she’s just as lovely as the day she met me in front of an altar and we each answered affirmatively to a bunch of questions the minister asked us. Only 48 years ago.

There is something more than a little mentally ill in the makeup of liberal women, that they think that people should pay the slightest attention to their likes and dislikes. Live and let live, you know. IMAO the only male who needs to care about Althouse’s opinion on shorts is Meade — even JAC and CAC should listen politely to her opinion on shorts then do as they damned well please.

Oh, and “garner” is a perfectly useful word.

traditionalguy said...

Today’s Dominant Female Supremacy requires boy toys and not grown men. Style has caught up to culture.

Anthony said...

tim in vermont said...
Rick Beato says that popular music died when the software "Pro Tools" came out, and producers could fix every imperfection in a recording, and it became possible to insert musical fills beyond the skill of most musicians into songs by mediocre artists...


Yeah, that and Autotune. No one has to be any good anymore. And maybe this is also a result of cutting school music programs?

There's also a couple videos floating around that analyze how modern pop music has gotten much simpler (here for example.

Iman said...

“Hey, sailor!”

Iman said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dave Begley said...

Ann Althouse, "I have a special problem with the big boxy shirt overtop of baggy saggy shorts and then sneakers or sandals. If you want send the message my sex life is over, then go right ahead. It's a good disguise if you don't want to be thought attractive."

Truth! No sane man wants to send the message of "my sex life is over."

Original Mike said...

I have no idea who Post Malone is, but I'm getting me a Bunnings hat when we get to Australia (Bunnings is usually one of our first stops anyways). That is, if they're not sold out.

guitar joe said...

"popular music died when the software "Pro Tools" came out, and producers could fix every imperfection in a recording" The downside to digital recording technology is that you can correct things by manipulating the data rather than doing another take. Auto-tune takes the life out of vocals, pro tools sucks the life out of instruments. When the Eagles released Long Road Out of Eden 15 years ago, Rolling Stone took a few passes at Joe Walsh to find out what he thought of it. Finally, he said something like "Just because Pro Tools lets you correct every thing doesn't mean you should." On top of that, there just isn't any good songwriting in the mainstream, and that includes country music, too. I sampled some of this guy's stuff and, boy, does it sound like thousands of other things I hear when I go to the convenience store.

Randomizer said...

Oddly, Angus Young, dressed like a school boy, looks more masculine that that pigeon-chested soy boy.

Joe Smith said...

Never saw a picture of him before.

Always thought he was black...

Joe Smith said...

'I see pictures of young people all the time, and they are not appealing. They look awful!'

C-my comment in the mid-sized model post...

Gerda Sprinchorn said...

It's interesting how musical genres are being split into a zillion sub genres today.

From Wikipedia: "Malone's music is hip hop,pop-rap,pop,R&B,trap,rap rock,and cloud rap."

Not necessarily a bad thing -- indeed, its kind of interesting to see such nuance -- but it's an interesting and noteworthy development.

Ralph L said...

He's a good singer, with the sound off.
Cargo shorts don't look too horrible if you don't have my knees. It's the ones hemmed at or below the knee that make us look like Charlie Brown gone bad.

Wilbur said...

With the sound off he reminds me of Joe Cocker after the 25 second mark.

Ralph L said...

I was shocked how slovenly people dressed in line at Westminster Hall to pay their respects to their late Queen. Sometimes they'd show clips from her youth in the 50s, and no one looks like that.

Big Mike said...

I have a special problem with the big boxy shirt overtop of baggy saggy shorts

As well you should. That's a good way to dress if one is carrying concealed.

etbass said...

Current music sucks. And so does the music used in churches today. The churches have thrown aside the beautiful, time tested hymns of years gone by and adopted a variation of modern secular music. And it sucks. And going to church in shorts sucks too.

There just is no dignity anymore. Wearing flip flops in public and no socks... it all sucks.

tim in vermont said...

It's like really long hair, you either get the ugly woman look, Howard Stern, or you get Jeff Bridges, who looks even more manly.

Heartless Aztec said...

The tatts scream childish. The hair do isn't. The shorts and tee shirt are out of place. Buffoon is the term that most readily comes to mind.

PerthJim said...

Original Mike said "I have no idea who Post Malone is, but I'm getting me a Bunnings hat when we get to Australia (Bunnings is usually one of our first stops anyways). That is, if they're not sold out."


Be sure to go on Saturday when there's a sausage sizzle.

PM said...

I wonder what he looked like Pre Malone.

Narr said...

Add Post Malone to Sam Smith on the list of 'musical artists' I only know about from the Prof's postings.

Infantile degenerates, admired and emulated by millions.

We. Are. Doomed.

n.n said...

#MeToo #GenSelfie #RebelWithCauseWithoutClue

Original Mike said...

"Be sure to go on Saturday when there's a sausage sizzle."

Snag on a roll? Thanks for the tip. Be there in a week.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I made a playlist of songs that not only made it into the Billboard top 100 when they came out, but subsequently went on to be in the top 100 again in a subsequent year.

Crème de la crème right?

Omg, I’ll list some tonight when I get home.

walter said...

Good porn name.

n.n said...

He's a guy.

Hands on your hips...

... looking like a fool with your [hands on your hips]

Jake said...

Yikes. Always so judgy about the shorts. The man's got ink and he wants to show it. Sheesh.

As for pop music, yeah, whatever you like is good, what you don't like is bad. Pretty simple.

If you want to listen to some good stuff that's not pop - Billy Strings is great bluegrass. Goose is an up and coming jam band that rocks. I also recently discovered the Delvon Lamar Organ Trio and enjoy their stuff immensely.

In fact, there's a pretty great cover on youtube of Johnny Cash's Cocaine Blues with Billy Strings and Post Malone. Spolier, Post Malone is in pants.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XweYPuz1A-g

walter said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rabel said...

That right there is a man in shorts who needs a ticket for an aeroplane cause he ain't got time to take no fast train.

Rabel said...

Here is the original.

I wonder what out parents thought about Joe Cocker? I'll bet it was a lot like what most of us think about Post Malone.

Rabel said...

Here's a younger Joe really leaning into the spazz.

And there's Leon, just being mellow. As usual.

readering said...

It's a long flight.

wildswan said...

Well, he did look a bit like a kindergartner with stage-fright who is forgetting some of the words and the mime for Eensy Weensy Spider. Also, he looked as if he'd demand more drugs as soon as he got off stage. Childish, decadent but in shape - the Hunter Biden look.

JaimeRoberto said...

Post Malone? Pogue mahone.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Elderly woman has strong opinion on men's fashions!!!!!

You can just imagine the hot takes if it was a man discussing what women shouldn't wear. Anyway, I don't care who wears (or doesn't wear) shorts. I just find the Althouse display of privilege interesting.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Charlie Thomas - RIP Last Of The Drifters
THIS is music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N74VdOI7q6s

P.S. Mom loved Joe Cocker, Della, Sarah Vaughn, Nat King Cole

Known Unknown said...

Same song. Same gestures. Pants!

I think it's just how he sings that particular song.

Also, here he is (sans autotune) doing Bob Dylan.

I've learned not to judge young musicians too harshly. Mostly what you see them do is because it makes them money. Many of them, however, are very knowledgable about all kinds of music, and have the talent to perform it.

john wawrose said...

Its way impossible to tell what is supposed to be good and what is supposed to be bad

but I don't like shorts for men either

Narr said...

My younger brother thought Belushi's mimicry of Joe Cocker was cruel, making fun of someone with a handicap. I don't think anyone ever told him the truth--we just laughed harder when he objected.

toxdoc said...

Tim in Vermont at 7:42 mentioned that Rick Beato said that popular music has been harmed by ProTools, I am a super fan of Rick Beato but, I think ProTools sort of saved contemporary Jazz and other music during the CoVID "shutdown". A lot of artists were able to make some great music in 2020-2021 despite being bunkered in their studios. They made a lot of new music. It sort of sounded a little "too perfect" on the albums but, live with real musicians it's been awesome. Some of the best shows I have seen were from Aug 2021 to March 2022 when all the Zoom and Teams collaborations happened on stage. The artists/bands were just so damn glad to be in the real world. The albums were great, but the shows were just on another level.

michaele said...

Rabel, thanks for the links to the Cocker videos. I always loved his versions of songs and the talent of his band and back up singers was amazing.