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The Advanced Genius Theory: Are They Out Of Their Minds Or Ahead Of Their Time? (2010)

by Jason Hartley(Favorite Author)

3.49 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1439102368 (ISBN13: 9781439102367)

languge

English

genre

Humor

publisher

Scribner

review 1: This was a tremendously frustrating book, but by the end I was glad to have read it. Think of a bird pecking oats out of horse manure. The oats are bits of critical insight, some of them genuinely useful. The manure would be the Advanced Genius Theory, which posits that some artists are too brilliant to produce poor work. The idea that everything's good and it's just a matter of how much is liberating; the details of the Theory are dopey, arbitrary, and intrusive. The author's comment that he didn't read much modern fiction because of his preference for the classics was phrased in a way that seemed like an illustration of the Overt position that he's supposedly refuting. Oh, well.
review 2: This was a fun book. I was engaged, aside from a few bits of incorrect ... moreinfo imparted (Clover backed up Elvis Costello on My Aim Is True and the Chicago Bears have never worn black uniforms). Still, the Advanced Theory is a fun concept to use in discussions with friends about, most often, musicians. There seems to be a cheekiness to it all that I really appreciate. And Hartley does cop to his own biases - Costello is most likely Advanced, but he can't say for certain due to his own "lukewarm reaction to 60% of his music", he doesn't have many female artists from which to glean any sort of Advancement occurring (aside from Madonna). I'd highly recommend this to people who like to have in-depth conversations about a musician's or filmmaker's merits for fun. It is fun and smart.Also, I've been a vegetarian for 14 years. My bookmark is a postcard from Red Mill Burgers here in Seattle featuring their famous Bacon Pile. This is a clear sign that I'm Overt. To understand what I mean, read this book. less

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