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Debs Lyon's avatar

I'll reply more thoroughly when I have the brain power (recovering from a traumatic tooth extraction), but for now, I wanted to recommend Breaking Point (FU) by Logan Michael as a fantastic fuck off song from a masc singer. Extremely cathartic to dance around and sing along with.

Michael Marshall Smith's avatar

Thank you! And I hope the tooth abates quickly... that's never a fun time.

Kai Hirdt's avatar

Zevon‘s The French Inhaler comes to mind, though that‘s a bit more After the fact than „Girl, have I got news for you“.

Allan Lear's avatar

I always think The French Inhaler is more in sorrow than in anger. Poor old Marilyn.

Kai Hirdt's avatar

While there is a layer of meaning about Marilyn, the song is, like nearly everything on the album, very autobiographical. It’s basically about Zevon’s ex-girlfriend and mother of his son Jordan, who is quoted in his biography with (something along the lines of): „This is the greatest Fuck You song of all times. Unfortunately it is about my mon."

Kai Hirdt's avatar

Then there’s Queen‘s „Who Needs You“, of course.

Science Fiction Stories's avatar

And Death on Two Legs

Kai Hirdt's avatar

Oh, yes. Not to a former partner but to a former producer, but it’s … drastic.

Quinn Piper's avatar

I remember when you wrote that charming and useful post :)

(And I remember how quickly it was snaffled and commodified by the Social Masses. Really, once that one was out of the barn it was never coming back.)

In recent months I've been drifting farther and farther from online, since the increase in garbledy-gook in everything from biographies to product reviews to even serious "news reporting" has already substantially reduced the usefulness, to me, of the internet. It's happening much faster than I expected, and the decay seems to be happening everywhere. Bit of a shame, isn't it?

Michael Marshall Smith's avatar

It really is, and you're right — even if we anticipated this happening, I didn't think it would happen so FAST. A bit like the breakdown of democracy.

I too have been drifting more offline... I hope all's well with you!

Donna's avatar

There's Forget You by Cee Lo Green.

Mel's avatar

Ceelo Green, "Fuck You", of course. And less directed at an individual and more generally despairing, Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq.'s masterwork "I've No More Fucks To Give"....

Michael Marshall Smith's avatar

Excellent, thank you!

Philip Greenall's avatar

I feel that AI has the (negative) potential to recreate the extent of the gap that had been slowly shrinking between the elite, in whatever form they may come, and the less privileged (less tech savvy, less educated). And I worry about that. Not for me, but for my kids and grandkids.

I'm not sure it has to be that way, though. If we can somehow teach younger people that: a) the future dangers of surrendering your own individuality and thought processes could be the end of your 'worth' in this planet, and b) how to harness it as a tool to do the donkey-work (much like me looking through encyclopedias when I was a kid), rather than act as a substitute for themselves (akin to paying an A+ level student to pretend to be me in an exam), then it could be useful.

The only people who wouldn't want that idea to be successful are the ones in power, the ones who stand to lose potential revenue/income/trillion dollar deals. Certain people deem the majority of the rest of us as possessions with a value. If we hold no value to them, if we can be replaced by a cheaper, we become expendable.

I've spent over 40 years working, and have had to reinvent myself several times. Most recently (just a few years), I've become a language teacher. Due to circumstances, I've gone from full-time, to part time, to freelance. I've updated my status on various platforms. Guess what? I'm getting regular postings about jobs from companies who seek teachers like myself who will work for them to train their AI to take my job! Absolute C**TS! I know I don't have that many years left in me, but you can F**k right off.

[Full disclosure: I've been writing and publishing poetry and lyrics for quite a few years (but can barely play a note on an instrument, let alone compose), so I have used AI as a tool to create a few songs that I wrote the lyrics for as something to leave my family. I can't afford to hire a musician or band or singer. But maybe that's might point. Use it, don't submit to it!]

Michael Marshall Smith's avatar

I think that's exactly the point, actually. AI is here to stay. There will be, and already are, useful things about it. And — just like computers or software or other tools — there's nothing inherently wrong about deploying it for your pre-existing tasks. It's when it starts to take over your entire world, and distances you from authentic acts (and puts people out of work) that it becomes something to be avoided and fought...

Gloria C Brubaker's avatar

I find it refreshing, you actually have a real wife. Young men having AI girl friends!!! I have come to the conclusion we should have the CEO of Amazon, Elon Musk and a few others with AI robots. Talk about saving money and we could make them ethical CEOS.

Michael Marshall Smith's avatar

Ooh, nice idea. As for my wife, I'm 98% sure she's real, but the tech is getting quite good these days.

Gloria C Brubaker's avatar

I really am not an internet user. I always say I want to look people in the eyes. I read body language. I assume everyone on the internet is a robot until proven to be a human.

Michael Marshall Smith's avatar

That's increasingly wise.

Michael Patrick O’Leary's avatar

My AI girl friend dumped me.

Gloria C Brubaker's avatar

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Paula Grainger's avatar

It just struck me that AI is the alarm clock in ONE OF US! Another example of your techie prescience like your description of an iPhone in 1995’s ONLY FORWARD.

Michael Marshall Smith's avatar

Ohhhh that's so true! Annoying and stupidly over-helpful tech.

Dion Dan's avatar

There should be "settings profiles" for different user categories. For example, prefers privacy and independence or needs all the help offered or incompetent at math or looking for trouble make me invisible or cannot take a photo very well at all or helpless senior over equipped with technology or makes poor decisions on sales calls or...

Paul Martin's avatar

Interesting. My Android doesn't do this- but then, I have Autocorrect and predictive text switched off.

While Rsge Against The Machine never specified which machine, I think you may have a new candidate here.

Carlotta Dale's avatar

I'd suggest "Goody Goody" (lyrics by Johnny Mercer), as sung by Ella Fitzgerald.

Carlotta Dale's avatar

Lots of versions out there, but I'm a big Ella fan.

Karen Brenchley's avatar

GenAI is so hugely annoying. I’ve learned to go back and read before I post, because my perfectly good and useful words are often changed behind me to something the bot thought was better, but which often make so sense at all.

Michael Marshall Smith's avatar

Yep, same. Mis-type something and it leaps in and corrects it... to the wrong word.

April Golston's avatar

The “transcribe my Zoom meetings in Welsh or wipe my arse sideways” line absolutely nailed it—it perfectly sums up how useless it is in those intrusive situations. Also, I laughed way too hard at that, so thanks for that.

Oh, and also? Lily Allen's Fuck You was my personal anthem for a while. I might have to bring that back.

Anji  Doyle's avatar

Nowt wrong with Welsh. It has it's own take on "fuck you".

Anji  Doyle's avatar

And what is wrong with Welsh? It's useful for so many people.

Michael Marshall Smith's avatar

Mainly people who speak Welsh, though?

April Golston's avatar

Not a thing if I spoke Welsh. Which, for the record, I'd love to learn some day.

Michael Marshall Smith's avatar

I have a friend here in town who's been learning it on Duolingo!

Gareth Smith's avatar

I used to work as a bouncer in Wales and a lady patron used to teach me Welsh phrases to use on the door. It wasn't until a friend of mine came past whilst she was doing this that I was told "you know she's teaching you gibberish, right?"

Apparently id been shouting at people to leave by asking them "where have my bunnies gone? Has anybody seen my bunnies?"

April Golston's avatar

See, now that's just good clean fun. We need more of that, please. 😄

Michael Marshall Smith's avatar

Agree, and I salute her.

David Perlmutter's avatar

I thought you had written "F**k AL", and I wondered: who is this AL guy and why has he pissed off MMS?

Michael Marshall Smith's avatar

LOL, yes, fair point. But you know, fuck Al anyway.

Mel Knott's avatar

I love Lily Allen's song. I recommend the Headstones song of the same title.

charninatatiana@yahoo.it's avatar

What a nice “Fuck you”.