Things We Like: LOVE Edition
Renounce these algorithms. Big Tech has built aqueducts across the internet, pooling all information onto socially sanctioned timelines and front pages, banning anyone not “with the program” and acting as if the ephemeral consensus is the objective truth.
In response, we here at Countere—those of us who live in caves and travel by moonlight, who’ve never had Social Security numbers and commit obscene amounts of tax evasion—have pooled together our recommendations, asking our favorite writers, thinkers, artists, and dissidents for their favorite things. It is Valentine’s Day today, so we’ve loosely organized these recommendations around the theme of LOVE, though love comes in many forms: romantic love, love of literature, and most importantly, love of God. Without further ado, we encourage you to read these songs, listen to these foods, and eat these books. That last sentence was intentional.
Anglican Choral Music
by Stone Age Herbalist, Archeologist & Dissident Researcher
Shivering in the cold air of the cathedral on a winter’s night, the cut-glass intonation of the harmonies rising higher into the vaulted arches, softly ringing into darkness. If you are lucky enough to find yourself in an English church for Evensong, you might just be able to glimpse one of the last vestiges of an older and more profound way of life: the Anglican Choir. Despite not being Anglican myself, the very soil of England seems to be saturated with the emotional resonance of these choirs. Disciplined, each syllable perfectly formed, some dating back to before the Norman Conquest; a perfect metaphor and embodiment of ages past. Even with their modernization—the entry of female choristers, the introduction of secular music—it is impossible not to be moved by the emotional power of the voices of an Anglican choir. For those unfamiliar with the Anglican tradition, I recommend listening to a psalm like “De Profundis (Psalm 130).” Notice the clear, pure tone, unlike anything in modern music. Regardless if you are religious or not, these are the treasures of a civilization and must be kept alive.
Butter
by Tiger Lily Harvest, Writer
Have you ever peeled open a stick of butter and just taken a bite? Well, why not? Nothing is stopping you. It’s healthy to do this. Butter covers a multitude of sins. It is delicious, yes, but it is also a multivitamin: Vitamin A, Vitamin B12, Vitamin E, Vitamin D, Vitamin K, biotin, folate, the list goes on. Doctors that discourage butter use are not doctors, but soldiers of Satan. You need to be putting butter on everything. I said everything. Sourdough, dates, eggs, steak, in your coffee. The opportunity to consume butter is endless. How will you buttermaxx today?
A Twitter Suspension
by Tiger Lily Harvest, Twitter Pariah
It’s always sad at first when you open the Twitter app and see the dreaded “Tweets aren’t loading” across your screen. It stings. It hurts. Why me? Again? But my God, is it liberating. You realize that you get to go an entire day without seeing ice cream journalism, Brian Stelter’s disgusting head shape, or David French’s insufferably bad takes. It’s freedom. It’s joy. You miss your friends but they know you’ll be back eventually. They hold a virtual candlelit vigil for you on the timeline. Your people mourn your loss for a few hours and you’re once again the main character for just a second. It’s bittersweet. The tech tyrants think they have you defeated but they don’t know that you come back stronger every time. That there are hundreds of homesteaders, farmers, and frogs waiting to retweet a “Help me find my frens.” We will prevail. We will not go quietly into the night. Trials produce perseverance. The globalists will not win.
Editor’s Note: Follow Tiger Lily on Twitter.
Waiting to Have Sex
Gustavo Pierre, Countere Contributor & Amateur Snake Charmer
So many relationships today—in fact, probably the majority of relationships today—were started completely backwards. Two people are physically attracted to each other, they have sex, discover they have sexual chemistry, and then form a relationship to ensure a steady supply of said sex. Cringe! Sex is probably the worst foundation to build a relationship upon. It is shared values, friendship, and agreement upon the raising of children that will carry your relationship into the golden years. These things are nearly impossible to interrogate if sex is clouding your judgement. This is all discussed in-depth in the recent “The Countere Guide to Modern Dating,” which is probably the most important guide to dating to ever hit the disastrous social experiment known as the internet, specifically the section called “Make Sure the Values Align Before You Fall In Love.”
Rotisserie Chicken
by @DEADLIFT_INSIDE, Lifter Meme Account
Rotisserie chicken, the feast of kings—quite literally! In 1248, the Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs (The Brotherhood of the Chain of the Roasters) was founded in order to provide the best meals fit for Louis lX, King of France. Since this guild’s founding, rotisserie has gone on to be sold at most major grocery chains—which is very fortunate for you, because after reading this article I want you to go buy one! Rotisserie chicken needs to be experienced, not talked about. It’s macro-friendly (if you don’t eat like a child), it’s accessible, and most importantly, it’s delicious. It’s a primal experience that every lifter needs. Its time to graduate from your childhood craving for chicken nuggies and mommy’s tendies and become initiated into the brotherhood of the rotisserie. So go on, go and get you some nice “Rotussy.”
Everything Is Totally Fine
by Dani, Countere Discord Member & Fren
Chaotic. Absolutely chaotic. Zac Smith’s debut short-story collection, and publisher Muumuu House’s first book in a decade, Everything is Totally Fine, reads like the ramblings of a paranoid schizophrenic. Yet under that surface level of insanity, you start to understand the based messages that Zac is trying to convey. Every story in this book is refreshing, unique, and fun to read. You never know what you’re going to get. Is it going to be a corpse choosing which type of soil he wants for his final resting place? Or will it be a truthful president banging his wife on live television? Who fucking knows? This book is definitely something different from your traditional collection. I never got bored of it; considering how batshit insane the contents of this book are, it’s impossible to get bored.
“T. Swift” by Ziggy D’Amato
by Zachary Emmanuel, Journalist & Writer
I’ve known Ziggy D’Amato for over a decade now—we went to high school together and grew up in the same small town—and even though I’ve journeyed far and wide in the music industry, Ziggy is still one of the most talented musical minds I’ve ever met. We’ve made lots of rap music together—Ziggy on the beat, me on the mic—but he’s never released his individual music, despite my continual exhortations to do so. That all changed this month, when Ziggy put out his debut single, “T. Swift.” I could go on a Pitchfork-style rant about the uniqueness of his musical style, which combines soaring McCartney-like melodies with trap drums; instead, all I will do is demand you to listen to it. Now. At gunpoint. It will be one of the best songs you’ve listened to this year. Thank you for your cooperation!
History of Syria: Including Lebanon and Palestine
by Aesthetic Fanatic, Grand Mufti of the Internet
Phillip K. Hitti was a Lebanese-American professor at Princeton and Harvard and served as a historian of Arab and Middle Eastern history, as well as being known for his writings on the Semitic languages and Islam. Hitti would be one of the founders of Arabic studies in the United States and his works in the field such as History of the Arabs (1937) were foundational texts for the Western understanding of Arabic history. Hitti was also well known for his debates in the 40s against Albert Einstein and Erich Khaler in the pages of the Princeton Herald on the subject of if establishing a Jewish homeland in Israel was justified, with Hitti siding with the Palestinians and citing that there was no just cause for a Jewish homeland in Palestine. This is where his book History of Syria: Including Lebanon and Palestine (1951) comes into play for me, as it establishes a historical narrative about the Greater Syria region; a cogent, traditional retelling of the history of the region from its Semitic origins to its conclusions as a basin for monotheistic faith. Along with being a foundational text for Syrian history in the West, this was also a book that heavily inspired me to study the Middle East as a region in my master studies and has become the foundation for which I plan to base my professional career. Without it, I would not be writing as I do today and for that I love it dearly.
“True” by Yury Merman
by Bernard Sheu, Countere Contributor & Arguable Madman
Yury is one of my absolute favorite rappers, although his music doesn’t really sound like any hip-hop you’ve heard before. How could I describe it…? It’s like the music that would play in some young protagonist’s headphones while he rides his hoverboard to class, swerving to avoid the surveillance drones that block out the sun, before he receives a call from Morpheus cryptically questioning if this is truly his reality. Electronic meets hip-hop meets Nietzschean brutality, the sonic equivalent of the Spomenik Memorials. “True” is Yury’s latest single, and reveals more about this enigmatic artist’s backstory: being “born in Belarus right before the USSR collapsed,” living in Israel as a kid and dodging rockets, and attending Pittsburgh’s most infamous and esteemed high school, Taylor Allderdice. Plus, Skinless Frank—another one of my favorite artists—does lots of Yury’s art, including for “True,” which you should listen to right now, before checking out the rest of the songs on Yury’s Spotify, which is blowing up.
Cooking
by FJB, Countere Discord Admin
Cooking is a very based skill to have. It's useful, it can make you new friends, it means you can exist with more independence, it teaches improvisation and adaptability, it's easy to learn but hard to master, it's essential for modern life, and it teaches time management and a little bit of chemistry. The satisfaction of managing to perfectly cook your steak the way you like it, or making a hollandaise without it splitting, is comparable to hitting a new PR in the gym or finally finishing a project you've been working on for ages. On a weeknight when you've just returned from work and can't afford to order food again this week, even the most basic of culinary skills can set you up for life.
Sturgill Simpson’s Discography
by Wyatt Verlen, Countere Contributor & Midwestern Outdoorsman
I initially was going to recommend Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth album, especially considering the theme here is LOVE; the whole album is really a love letter to his son. But then I remembered the line from the song “Turtles All the Way Down” on his Metamodern Sounds in Country Music album, where he sings “And I swear that I see God, each time that I look into the eyes of my best friend.” Downright mystical lyrics. Simpson singlehandedly got me back into country music, although he’s much more Bob Dylan than whatever the latest commercial act from Nashville is. His earlier stuff is on point, and that weird anime album was good too. No lectures on politics here; just love, mysticism, and the Middle American experience.
God
by Jordan Castro, Author of The Novelist
I was in rehab, when a crackhead, who was still in detox and who claimed to have been a priest, took me to my room and made me give him a piece of paper and pen. He was going to teach me about God.
LOVE, he wrote on one side. His eyes were huge, and unlike many crackheads, he had a thick, full frame. “What’s the opposite of love?” he asked.
I felt a strange intimacy between us, sitting together in my bedroom; this was one of the weirder things I’d experienced; I hated God and everyone I’d encountered who believed in God and now this crackhead was asking me a question about the opposite of love. Was this a trick? I felt vulnerable.
Hate? I ventured.
HATE, he wrote on the other side of the paper.
I felt relieved.
“Now what are some words you associate with love?”
There is no way this guy is a priest, I thought.
After a moment he just started writing. Underneath LOVE he wrote things like KINDNESS, FORGIVENESS, PATIENCE, COMPASSION, CHARITY.
Then on the other side, after trying and failing to enlist my help again, he wrote MEANNESS, RESENTMENT, IMPATIENCE, INTOLERANCE, and GREED underneath HATE.
These things, he said, pointing to LOVE, are of God.
They are literally qualities of God, he said.
These things, he said, pointing to the list beneath HATE, are things we experience. This is why we’re so fucked up.
He handed me the sheet of paper.
It’s our job to try to become more like LOVE and less like HATE, more like God than the devil.
It’s been almost a decade since. I’ve gone through a lot of phases and have read many books. I see what he was saying.
“7 Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”
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