BIG EARS 09: the deal with Matmos

the word seems to be this: the Square Room objected to a sequence of Matmos' accompanying visuals depicting a well-endowed young man pleasuring himself in a hot tub. explicit? fairly, I guess. but sexual-orientation neutral. (early reports had attributed the switch to qualms over the electronic duo's homosexuality.) it's collossally silly and more than a little embarrasing, especially during Knoxville's big moment in the culture spotlight, but the rumor mill persists in casting the L7 Room as bigots and that's a heavy sort of thing to throw around. a lot of folks have been waiting for them to let their less-than-secular colors really fly, but the issue here is more about obscenity than prejudice, and no matter your thoughts on either, there is obviously a legitimate distinction.