The New Sins
- Jan 25, 2010
- 1 min read
★☆☆☆☆
There was probably a time when I would have found this book entertaining, even enjoyable. Perhaps when I bought it in 2001 upon its publication by McSweeney's, when I was very into what they were up to. Or perhaps even sooner, while in college and a massive fan of the Washington, D.C. post-punk outfit Nation of Ulysses and their brand of leftist agitprop. Perhaps, but I doubt it. Even then, I likely would have found this sort of self-referential (and self-reverential) exercise overwrought and tedious. But, one might argue, it's all about context. Perhaps knowing the original subversive intent of the book (it was placed in hotel rooms where unsuspecting guests would find it in place of the Bible) is supposed to make it and its subject matter more titillating. Perhaps, but it doesn't. David Byrne failed miserably to get me to care about abandoning the old sins in favor of the new ones, why we should abandon the old ones, or what it is about the new ones that even makes them sinful. Fortunately, he didn't spend too much time making his case, so he didn't waste too much of mine.
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