#John W. Callinan

[rankmagic02]

How the Sausage Is Made

You can draft your own last will if you want. But should you? Probably not. Drafting your own documents can be dangerous. John W. Callinan is a client of Rank Magic.

https://www.eldercarelawyer.com/blog/how-the-sausage-is-made/

[theoriesontheory]

Can Your Heart Be on Your Sleeve while Your Tongue is In Your Cheek?

Irony, Sincerity and the Internet

In their video essay “David Foster Wallace – The Problem with Irony” Schoder breaks down David Foster Wallace’s views on the downfall of entertainment, namely tv due to a saturation of irony. (2016) After introducing the problem of an overly ironic, snake devouring itself, media landscape, the solution seems to be proposed, a tonal shift towards sincerity. (ibid) Shows like The Office and Community and Parks and Recreation in some cases maintain post-modern traits in order to subvert them but more and more, mainstream media is focusing less on the deconstruction of the meta narrative and more focused on the micro-relationships. (ibid.)

In August of 2017 Kirin J. Callinan uploaded the music video for his latest single “Big Enough” featuring Alex Cameron, Molly Lewis and Jimmy Barnes. In September of 2017 a tumblr page posted a clip from the video, which was later uploaded to youtube and went viral as “Screaming Cowboy” (knowyourmeme, 2018)

The remixes and overdubs spread like wildfire and to this day, through apps like tik tok and Instagram the song and meme is heard around the world by listeners who potentially could never have heard anything else the artists have done or anything beyond the 43 second clip. In interviews on the piece featured artist Alex Cameron explains that the piece came out of the idea that people would constantly compare himself and Callinan in the relatively small Sydney Pop scene and thinking about how the world is so often divided. They wanted to remind people that everything wasn’t all about conflict but there can be unity. (Fluffy, 2018) Callinan himself describes the song as “sincere.” (Gaca, 2017) Beyond being a song about unity, represented by the two artists coming together but it also represents a deconstruction of genre boundaries for the artist. When first experimenting with making EDM, a genre he did not care for Callinan describes making something “aesthetically displeasing and pretty unexciting as an idea,” with “a euphoria that’s just infectious.” (ibid.) He continues, detailing how after hearing Sweedish House Mafia’s ‘Don’t You Worry Child’ that he was able to get past his own preconceived and taught notions of genre and boundaries between high and low art and understand that the heart of the work was important. (ibid.) This is immediately shown in this piece, bringing together the unique blend of two underground pop artists from Sydney, a world famous whistler and an Australian Rock icon. This song is the perfect representation of the idea of synthesis, it feels like a creative artist having fun while telling a sincere and genuine story about unity, not only in the lyrics but in the production of the song and the incorporation of a diverse range of cultural touchstones, the work is an intellectual masterpiece!

… But it’s still a meme and I didn’t actually listen to the whole song until around two years after it came out when I finally heard it through a bad Bluetooth speaker in a backyard somewhere. The question then stands, does the fact that something is a meme make it any less valuable as art? Looking back at the Schoder video, the first wave thinking of post modern media, the thinking that spawned shows like Seinfeld and Always Sunny, (2016) would say that this song was brilliant and funny. It’s a deconstruction of the notions of pop and using all kinds of semiotic messages that are understood by the knowledgeable and reference soaked internet generation, it did exactly what it was meant to do clearly, it’s making fun of the entertainment industry. And while it is all of those things I don’t think that is all the song is. I think this song is an example of an Office type TV show as described by Schoder. (2016) this song and the video does all of those things but still feels very human and genuine. It doesn’t stop at the deconstruction but also works on focusing to the right thing, connection and community.

Despite this wholesome message at the song’s core, some argue that the last refrain takes the song into parody

Image: Screenshot of Lyrics to ‘Big Enough’ from Genius.com

But if you think about songs that have called for peace and unity before,

Image: Screenshot of Lyrics to ‘Imagine’ from Genius.com

 I think that ‘gen z’ who was raised in cynicism would see both sentiments as equally as realistic. Meaning the only differences between the two songs are the choice of instrumentation and who’s singing it. Toward the end of the Gaca interview Callinan says, “I’d like to write more songs that are emotional and real and not full of so much fucking bullshit. But at the same time, it’s the bullshit that makes it fun. No one’s interested in listening to an acoustic singer-songwriter.” And I think that this song is a move in that direction for him.

To insert some of my own romantic thinking, in a way the fact that this song is being shared to so many different people in so many different contexts as humour, shows that the message of unity is being spread through comedy.

While the internet took this song and video and gave them a life of their own, at their core still stands an artist with a message. While a majority of people might know the song as humour, Callinan was able to achieve his artistic goal and make a song that he enjoys, as well as collaborating with a friend in Alex Cameron, an interesting and unique person in Molly Lewis and a childhood hero in Jimmy Barnes. It was funny, it was serious, it was entertaining, it is art.  

References:

Gaca, A. (2017, November 8). What Exactly Is Going On With Kirin J. Callinan? Spin. https://www.spin.com/featured/kirin-j-callinan-bravado-interview/

Fluffy. (2018, January 18). Interview: Alex Cameron Talks Style and Substance. Under the Radar. https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/news/13758/Interview-Alex-Cameron-Talks-Style-And-Substance.utr

Knowyourmeme, (2018). Big Enough. https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/big-enough

Schoder, W. [Will Schoder]. (2016 October 7). David Foster Wallace – The Problem With Irony [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2doZROwdte4

Other media in order:

Kirin J Callinan. (2017 August 17). Kirin J Callinan - Big Enough (Official Video) ft. Alex Cameron, Molly Lewis, Jimmy Barnes [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvrZJ5C_Nwg

CarrierBK (2017 September 9) AHHHHH [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBLdQ1a4-JI

Image: Screenshot of Lyrics to ‘Big Enough’ from Genius.com Captured 07/07/2021 https://genius.com/Kirin-j-callinan-big-enough-lyrics

Image: Screenshot of Lyrics to ‘Imagine’ from Genius.com Captured 07/07/21 https://genius.com/John-lennon-imagine-lyrics

Red Lama (2017 October 5) Dank Meme Compilation – Big Enough [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWc-7Q8NbVA

[thesinglesjukebox]

KIRIN J CALLINAN FT. ALEX CAMERON, MOLLY LEWIS & JIMMY BARNES - BIG ENOUGH [3.30] Via Asher, here's this complete dickhead (trust me, he'd take it as a compliment).

William John: Larrikinism -- the idea that one can be excused from idiocy because of one's outward goodness -- is one of the many unfortunate legacies of Australia's colonial history, and it lives and breathes in Kirin J Callinan, Sydney-based musician and self-proclaimed provocateur. Callinan's curriculum vitae includes conducting a "stunt" during his set at a Melbourne music festival in which an actor playing an epileptic was subjected to strobe lighting, ostensibly then inducing a seizure, and leaving an audience mostly confused and disgusted. As recently as last month, he flashed his genitalia on a red carpet in front of teenagers waiting to get a glimpse of Harry Styles; he's also faced criticism for engaging in blackface and transphobia. His modus operandi is not too far off that of recent visitor to Australia Milo Yiannopoulos -- shitpost at the expense of disenfranchised, then sit back and enjoy the attention. We're supposed to ignore these transgressions because Callinan's an artist; he's a larrikin. Not on the evidence of this horrible song, which pairs cereal-box EDM templates with winking, gormless vocals, employs a Jimmy Barnes scream or two for memeability, takes a trip through an atlas' index, and finishes with a needlessly long passage of whistles. It's performativity dressed up as auteur absurdism, "irony" and "satire" from someone whose identity prevents them from ever being truly marginalised by those techniques, and an unwitting submission for Best Newcomer at the Milkshake Duck of the Year Awards. [0]

Iain Mew: The voice and the style are both just close enough for me to imagine Callinan's bits as if they were Patrick Wolf really leaning into kitsch, and now I can't stop laughing. [7]

Katie Gill: I don't think Kirin J. Callinan knows how to structure a joke. Because obviously this song is a joke song, anything that starts off with a whistle chorus then morphs to a pseudo-cowboy pseudo-EDM feel then changes to Jimmy Barnes screaming his lungs out and ends with a "Dancing in the Street" roll call of countries HAS to be a joke. But again: the structure is weird. The punchline's going to be seen as Jimmy Barnes screaming his lungs out, as it straight up overshadows the purposefully ridiculous lyrics but then...there's another two minutes of a song that's too sincere to be entirely absurd and too absurd to be entirely sincere. Either go full tilt "Jackson Park Express" and fully commit to Jimmy Barnes screaming throughout the entire song or go home. [6]

Nortey Dowuona: Solid, loping drums, indistinct guitars at the fringes of the mix while tinny synths whir and pulse W while the two singers sing in weirdly stylized voices reminiscent of Western theme songs while Mrs. Lewis provides a cooing whistle HOLY SHIT SCREAMING COWBOY THEY NAMEDROPPPED GHANA YESSSSS. [6]

Jonathan Bradley: God I'm sick of this shitty Australian irony that thinks there's wit in replacing any kind of sentiment with a smirk, the sort of shitty irony that leads a jack-ass Northern Beaches kid to think it's a good idea to get his dick out at an award ceremony in the same week that, in his country, major entertainment figures were being exposed as sex creeps and workplace psychopaths. His is an all-too-familiar parody of Australian masculinity that asserts remove at the same time it demands distance, indulging in crassness not so much as critique but as a way to soften, to reposition, and to make newly palatable old patterns of power. Which could well account for the Chisel: I have never cared for Jimmy Barnes, but his career of stolid blue-collar sincerity deserves better than the memeification to which he's subject here, amidst dumb synths that are only supposed to suggest grandeur in the way a really elaborate shitpost is. You could compare Callinan to Brandon Flowers to find how exactly he's wanting: where The Killers mine the gaucheness of classic rock to discover the ex-frontier's embarrassed romanticism, Callinan is a dumb troll doing panto Peter Allen ("I've lived in lonely cities...") as if, by winking hard enough, he might will Capital-A Art into being. I've liked things this guy has done in the past, but "Big Enough" is a shit song and Kirin J. Callinan is increasingly proving himself a shit performer whom Australian music can do without. [1]

Alex Clifton: Somehow "electropop parody screaming maybe-gay cowboy call for unity" doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of this delight -- and yes, it's a delight, unnecessary key change and all. It doesn't matter if you're a Christian cowboy living in India or a Muslim cowboy living in Australia; this gang really, really wants you to come join them. The mix of genres itself is admittedly weird, but there's a heart to this song, an emotional core that strikes past the memed videos of the screaming cowboy. "Big Enough" is more moving than some of the more overtly tear-jerking songs of 2017, parody or not. The performers genuinely care about the source materials; everything feels affectionate and full of heart. Moreover, sometimes screaming is the only way to fully convey that emotion. I found myself crying with laughter when it first hit around the 2:25 mark, but it also acts as a genuine emotional release. Words fail us across cultures and can lose their nuance in translation; screaming, however, is universal. Hats off. [8]

Will Adams: But like, even the meme part of this song isn't even in the top fifty memes of this year. [2]

Alfred Soto: I wish I had a clue what the four names intended by being involved in this unappealing mishmash other than scoring future soft drink commercials. [2]

Stephen Eisermann: I was one of those over-eager students who always raised their hands in class even if they weren't one-hundred percent sure of the answer. It was so bad, in fact, that I still cringe when people use a word in its definition when they are asked what said word means. "Don't use a word if you don't know its definition," they always said, but some words are just so goddamn hard to explain. And yeah, I'm sure it's bad practice to use a song's lyrics to review its artistry, but I'm just at a loss for words otherwise. Thus, my thoughts on this song can be summed up with the following excerpt from the aforementioned song: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH." [0]

Edward Okulicz: This is a spectacularly awful song, created and performed with an insufferable, irreverent smirk by someone patting themselves on their back for crawling out of their privilege with the barest minimum level of wokeness. Cheap in sound, cheap in sentiment, built on gimmicks but lacking anything memorable other than the wail of Jimmy Barnes used for cheap lols, and a shit dance bit for bros who probably think dance music is for fags. Well fuck them and fuck Kirin J Callinin too. This song says and means nothing and I hope nobody else is fooled. [1]

[Read and comment on The Singles Jukebox ]

[therandombanjo]

Songs From 2017 (One per artist)

Another mixed bag of stuff i either enjoyed a lot, thought was excellent or interesting (regardless of taste... sort of), artists to maybe look out for, and generally music that for whatever reason connected with me in some way.  Hope you enjoy some of this too and find something new to be taken by. First time i’ve compiled it into a spotify playlist (below) for easier listening (!) but for the music that wasn’t on there, i’ve posted links next to them so do check them out! Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/jolomoco/playlist/4encG0gAwzuz5VmwPwprZG (As ever.... as i don’t tumblr or blog or anything (besides this list), this won’t be seen by many (if any?) people so if you like it or think it’s of any worth in any way, please do share this along)

  In Alphabetical order:

79rs Gang - Dead and Gone

Aimee Mann - Goose Snow Cone

Alder & Ash - a. The Glisten, The Glow   or   b. At Night In the Slaughterhouse

Aldous Harding - Horizon

Alela Diane - Émigré

Alex Cameron - Candy May

Amber Mark - Monsoon

Amor - Higher Moment

Andrea Belfi - Lead

Anna of the North - Oslo

Anna Von Hausswolff - The Mysterious Vanishing of Electra

Arca - Piel

Arve Henriksen - Paridae

Bargou 08 - Chech el Khater

Baxter Dury - Miami

Bedouine - Dusty Eyes

Ben Lukas Boysen & Sebastian Plano - Winding & Unwinding

Benoît Pioulard - Velha, Nacre

Big Thief - Mythological Beauty

Björk - The Gate

Black Thought (of The Roots) - Freestyle on Funk Flex https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prmQgSpV3fA

Brian Eno - a. Reflection   or b. Only Once Away My Son w/ Kevin Shields b. https://soundcloud.com/adultswimsingles/brian-eno-with-kevin-shields

Call Super - I Look Like I Look In A Tinfoil Mirror

Camille Thurman - Flower is a Lovesome Thing

Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh & Garth Knox - Tasseography

Carly Rae Jepsen - Cut To The Feeling

CCFX - The One To Wait

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Rest

Chehei Hatakeyama & Federico Durand - Ana https://chiheihatakeyama.bandcamp.com/track/ana

Chloe x Halle - Tra Ta Ta

Chronotope Project - Mariposa

Chuck Johnson - Riga Black

The Clientele - The Neighbour

Colin Stetson - Like Wolves On The Fold

Colleen - Separating

The Como Mamas - Move Upstairs

Country Florist - Beaux D’Arc

Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile - Over Everything

David Bazan - Care  

David Rawlings - Airplane

Dent May - Across The Multiverse     ft. Frankie Cosmos

Destroyer - Sky’s Grey

Dmitry Evgrafov - Kintsukuroi      ft. Benoît Piolard

Downtown Boys - A Wall

Elkhorn - Due West

Elucid - Piano Wire

Everything is Recorded - Close But Not Quite      ft. Sampha

Father John Misty - Pure Comedy

Fever Ray - This Country

Fionn Regan - Cormorant Bird

Four Tet - Planet

Francis & The Lights - Cruise

Frank Ocean - Chanel

Friendship - If You See My Beloved

G Yamazawa - North Cack

Girl Ray - Stupid Things

Godflesh - Parasite

Gordi - I’m Done    ft. S.Carey

The Granite Shore - The Performance of a Lifetime https://thegraniteshore.bandcamp.com/track/the-performance-of-a-lifetime

The Green Kingdom - Silt

Gunn-Truscinski Duo - Seagull For Chuck Berry

Hand Habits - Flower Glass

Hannu Karjalainen - The Emigrant

Hayden Pedigo - Dream Plains

Hiss Golden Messenger - Harder Rain

Homeboy Sandman - Bamboo

Hundred Waters - Blanket Me

Hurray For The Riff Raff - Pa’lante

Ibeyi - No Man Is Big Enough For My Arms

Ibibio Sound Machine - Give Me A Reason

IDER - Body Love

Inner Travels - Ripple Patterns (Sea of Leaves) https://innerislands.bandcamp.com/track/ripple-patterns

Irreversible Entanglements - Fireworks

Jaimie Branch - Theme 001

Jlin - Kyanite

Joan Shelley - Where I’ll Find You

Joe - Tail Lift

Joey Bada$$ - Land of the Free

John Moreland - a. Sallisaw Blue    or b. Old Wounds

Jonwayne - TED Talk

Joseph Shabason - Aytche

Juana Molina - Paraguaya

Julie Byrne - I Live Now As A Singer

Julien Baker - Turn Out The Lights

Justin Walter - Unseen Forces

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - I Will Make Room For You

Kamasi Washington - Truth

Kara-Lis Coverdale - Grafts

Karine Polwart - All On a Summer’s Evening

Kelly Lee Owens - Anxi     ft. Jenny Hval

Kendrick Lamar - Humble

The Killers - Run For Cover

King Krule - Czech One

Kirin J Callinan - Bravado

KJ - Cotton

Lana Del Rey - Love

Laraaji - Introspection

Laura Cannell - Awaken Waken

Laura Marling - Wild Fire

Les Filles de Illighadad - Jori

Lisa Knapp - The Night Before May Day

Lo Moon - This is It

Luka Productions - Furu Boyan

Marvin Pontiac - I Don’t Have A Cow

Mary Lattimore - Wawa By The Ocean

Michael Nau - I Root

Michael Vincent Waller - By Itself

Mind Over Mirrors - Splintering

Moses Sumney - Doomed

Mount Eerie - Real Death

Mount Kimbie - Marilyn     ft. Micachu

Nadia Reid - Preservation

The Necks - Rise

Nightlands - Lost Moon

Nilüfer Yanya - Baby Luv

Ola Szmidt - Autumn

Otto A Totland - Anona

Oumou Sangare - Yere Faga      ft. Tony Allen

Perfume Genius - Slip Away

Peter Perrett - How The West Was Won

Pharmakon - No Natural Order    

Phoebe Bridgers - Motion Sickness

Pissed Jeans - a. I’m A Man    ft. words & voice of Lindsay Hunter or b. Worldwide Marine Asset Financial Analyst

Porter Ricks - Scuba Rondo

Prana Crafter - a. Holy Temple of Flow    or b. Crown of Amethyst a. https://soundcloud.com/mike-newman/prana-crafter-holy-tempel-of-flow b. https://pranacrafter.bandcamp.com/track/crown-of-amethyst-3

Priests - Pink White House

Protomartyr - Male Plague

Quelle Chris - Pendulum Swing   ft. Homeboy Sandman

Randy Newman - Putin

Rapsody - Power      ft. Kendrick Lamar

Reese McHenry - Bad Girl https://sophomorelounge.bandcamp.com/track/bad-girl-3

Richard Dawson - Ogre

Rod Hamilton & Tiffany Seal - Moon Lush https://soundsofthedawn.bandcamp.com/track/moon-lush

Ron Gallo - Kill The Medicine Man

Ross Hammond & Jon Bafus - Subterranean Doom Coffee

Rostam - Gwan

Ryuichi Sakamoto - Solari

S.Carey - Fool’s Gold

Sam Amidon - Juma Mountain

Seabuckthorn - Turns

Sheer Mag - Expect The Bayonet

Simeon Walker - Lull

Simon Fisher Turner - Hope Swims

Six Organs of Admittance - Adoration Song https://sixorgansofadmittance.bandcamp.com/track/adoration-song

Sleaford Mods - Snout

Slow Dancer - I Would

Slowdive - Sugar For The Pill

Sophie Hutchings - Pipe Dream

Spoon - Hot Thoughts

St. Vincent - New York

Sufjan Stevens - Visions of Gideon    

Sunmoonstar - Satellites

Sylvan Esso - Sound

This Is The Kit - Easy On The Thieves

Tinariwen - Sastanàqqàm

Trio Da Kali & Kronos Quartet - Eh Ya Ye

Trio Mediæval & Arve Henriksen - St. Sunniva Hymn - Eterna Christi Munera

Twain - Solar Pilgrim

Vince Staples - Big Fish

Visible Cloaks - Neume

The War On Drugs - Thinking of a Place

Waxahatchee - Recite Remorse

The Weather Station - Thirty

White Poppy - Magic Feel

William Basinski - A Shadow In Time

William Eggleston - Untitled Improvisation DCC 04.33.3

William Ryan Fritch - a. Gurts    or b. In Our Blood

Wooden Wand - School’s Out

Yaeji - Feel It Out

Zara McFarlane - Peace Begins Within

[rankmagic02]

What Type of Trust Do I Need?

What type of trust do I need? An irrevocable trust? A revocable trust? the answer depends on the purpose you are trying to accomplish. John W. Callinan is a client of Rank Magic.

[rankmagic02]

How To Draft a Power of Attorney

Having a well drafted power of attorney is important. There are certain things you should think about though. John W. Callinan is a client of Rank Magic.

https://www.eldercarelawyer.com/blog/how-to-draft-a-power-of-attorney/

[rankmagic02]

New Jersey Medicaid Lawyer

John Callinan is an experienced medicaid planning attorney serving clients in Monmouth, Middlesex and Ocean Counties from our offices in Wall, Middletown and Jamesburg. John W. Callinan is a client of Rank Magic.

https://www.eldercarelawyer.com/medicaid-planning-attorney-nj.html

[rankmagic02]

How To Make a Taxfree Gift

How much can I gift without paying tax or without my children paying tax? In most cases, the answer is, as much as you want. John W. Callinan is a client of Rank Magic.

https://www.eldercarelawyer.com/blog/how-to-make-a-taxfree-gift/

[rankmagic02]

How To Pick a Nursing Home

Choosing a nursing home for your mom is not easy but there are some criteria you should bear in mind when choosing a nursing home. John W. Callinan is a client of Rank Magic.

https://www.eldercarelawyer.com/blog/how-to-pick-a-nursing-home/

[rankmagic02]

Recent Medicaid Planning Win

An annuity can be used to qualify a person for Medicaid planning but you should use a certified elder law attorney to make the purchase. John W. Callinan is a client of Rank Magic.

https://www.eldercarelawyer.com/blog/recent-medicaid-planning-win/

[rankmagic02]

Causing Terror with Your Will

An in terrorem clause can be an effective scare tactic to add to your Will, but these clauses aren't that enforceable. John W. Callinan is a client of Rank Magic.

https://www.eldercarelawyer.com/blog/causing-terror-with-your-will/

[rankmagic02]

How To Pick an Executor

Picking one child over another to serve as your executor is a difficult decision but it is a decision that you should make. John W. Callinan is a client of Rank Magic.

https://www.eldercarelawyer.com/blog/how-to-pick-an-executor/

[rankmagic02]

New Jersey Medicaid Lawyer

John Callinan is an experienced medicaid planning attorney serving clients in Monmouth, Middlesex and Ocean Counties from our offices in Wall, Middletown and Jamesburg. John W. Callinan is a client of Rank Magic.

https://www.eldercarelawyer.com/medicaid-planning-attorney-nj.html

[rankmagic02]

John W. Callinan Elder Law Attorney is a client of ours.

[rankmagic02]

The end of another year is upon us.  As with each year, this year ends with the holiday of giving, Christmas, and so our minds turn to gifting.  The most common questions that people have when it comes to gifting … Continue reading →

[rankmagic02]

http://www.eldercarelawyer.com/blog/2018/11/planning-for-a-disabled-loved-one/