Icon meme

[quesarah]

from a third of my flist:

I love looking at people's icons, but I don't always *get* them - I often wonder stuff like, "Who's that guy?" or "Where's that quote from?" but I tend not to ask, for various reasons. Pick one (or more!) of my icons you're curious about, and I'll try to explain it. Or at least explain what I like about it.

Icons are here

Comments

[warlordkittens.livejournal.com]

[zazuomgwtf.livejournal.com]

this one:

[biogeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

That's the cover art from Iggy Pop's album The Idiot, slightly Photoshopped to be scratchier and grainier.

The Idiot is a Bowie-Pop collaboration, written and recorded in Berlin at about the same time Bowie was recording Station to Station. I'm a big fan of those Berlin albums; there's a starkness to them and an inventiveness that's captivating. Plus, there's a jarring dissonance between the dispassionate delivery of the lines and the often highly personal lyrics.

He recorded this album at the end of a long period of drug abuse, after he voluntarily checked himself into a mental institution. The songs have that feeling of disconnected feeling that happens when you suddenly look at the world after having shoved it aside for a long time. I tend to use the icon when I'm feeling disconnected or just unable to grasp the nuances of the world around me.

[biogeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

That's Gracie Allen, a classic comedienne. I always thought she was the vastly better half of Burns and Allen; her delivery was deft and subtle, her wit rapier sharp. I can't think of any other comic who's used naivete to such a wickedly funny end. Re-reading some of her old skits, I was reminded that only truly smart people can play dumb characters. She must have been a genius.

[blankbadge.livejournal.com]

MJK?

[biogeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

Maynard James Keenan, lead singer of Tool and A Perfect Circle. One of my favorite rock singers; plus I really like the photo. I often use it to convey "we're okay" or "please take this comment in the spirit of friendship."