I had the wonderful privilege of going to the Lupe Fiasco concert in Auckland this past Thursday. Lupe is my hero, the themes of his songs range from growing up in a single parent household to criticism of the current administrations foreign policies, to say it nicely. In every song though he approaches topics in a refreshing tone that brings out a new point of view. For example in the song he said she said, he takes the idea of a child growin up without his father. The first verse is told in the mother's voice, while the second verse is essentially the exact same lyrics, except altered so the speaker is the child himself. The power and depth of the verses forces the listener to delve into the topics of the feelings of abandonment, to the feelings of terror put into the world by our current administration.
As I babble in the above the truth is I'm in awe of what Lupe is able to say over a track that achieves commercial success. Even if his success is not in the same scale of that of 50cent (i'm about a dollar), just his voice is so strong. In writing a blog I attempt to find that truth in my voice. The move from that formal academic writing to the casual cool tone I use with friends. How am I supposed to sound in a blog? How do I produce a sound that is distinctly mine as Lupe's is his. Thats the constant struggle in keeping this blog. I thank those of you continuing to read and like I've told many of you I hope you find it interesting and entertaining.
So what I've captured is the first paragraph of this blog is bad (my apologies Lupe for not doing your performance or music justice), and the second although a stab at being good is more Luc Longley than the Dennis Rodman I would hope for (I say Dennis because he is always entertaining, remember when he took his shoes off during the game while on the Spurs?).
onE
Friday, August 17, 2007
Monday, August 13, 2007
Alarm Clocks and Cell Phones
Ok so my Samsung cell phone has taken its annual or should we qualify that to say semi-annual Peter McNeely dive (its crazy to think his bout with Tyson was in '95- I'm getting old). Why cell phones break after about 6 months of use is beyond me. I mean my first Motorola "peanut" phone worked for about two years until I got tired of paying pre-pay, which as a sidenote was 6 years ago and still cheaper at that time then the cost of a cell phone plan currently in New Zealand. Don't believe me, lets just say that my current prepay plan is at $1.21 a minute and that is to people in my Vodafone network. But lets not talk about the market failure of cell phones service here in New Zealand and get to the big issue with my phone not working.
I HAVE NO ALARM CLOCK. Its not a problem that I can't call anyone, I couldn't afford to do that anyways, I can get by without texting, but the fact that I can't use my alarm clock hurts. I've spent 15 minutes trying to come to a solution. For a real time play by play read the conversation that appears below:
p.s. If you happen to be reading this at about 1 p.m. pacific standard time on Monday 13th of August 2007, go ahead and give me a call on my Vonage, just to make sure my new alarm clock I downloaded off the internet worked.
p.s. #2 Why don't computers come with alarm clocks anyways, you tellin me that doesnt fit I can have something that colors the covers of CDs but not an alarm? I guess I'm just tired and confused.
I HAVE NO ALARM CLOCK. Its not a problem that I can't call anyone, I couldn't afford to do that anyways, I can get by without texting, but the fact that I can't use my alarm clock hurts. I've spent 15 minutes trying to come to a solution. For a real time play by play read the conversation that appears below:
p.s. If you happen to be reading this at about 1 p.m. pacific standard time on Monday 13th of August 2007, go ahead and give me a call on my Vonage, just to make sure my new alarm clock I downloaded off the internet worked.
p.s. #2 Why don't computers come with alarm clocks anyways, you tellin me that doesnt fit I can have something that colors the covers of CDs but not an alarm? I guess I'm just tired and confused.
me: you wanna here some funny stuff
my cell phone
's buttons are broke so I cant text message talk or even set my alarm so I have to wait for my computer to download an alarm clock program just so i can wake up in the morning
Simbarash
me: i dont know whether to be upset or just laugh at myself
it really has taken me about 15 minutes from the time of realizing my problem to tryin to solve it
Simbarash
Simbarash
me: yeah
ok i think it works, i hope it does
Simbarash
me: im to lazy to go up to my friends room and ask
noones online
my best bet would be someone in the
on that vonage line
Simbarash
me: haha who says technology makes things easier
Simbarash
me: if i had a clock wit a crank id be asleep right now
Global Justice
I will be analyzing the argument of David Miller, "Against Global Egalitarianism" and I've realized the idea of ethics, justice, oppression and representation are where my passions lie as an academic. Often people give me the standard line about philosophy being boring or impractical, but to me its simply thinking things out. I jotted down a note to myself regarding philosophy and I think it captures what I mean in the previous sentence.
In philosophy we take on complex problems and only accept simple answers.
In unpacking this statement ideas of what we are obligated to do by virtue of our abilities to reason are what underly our attempts to lead fulfilling promising lifes. Ok I'm getting to abstract at the moment, but after I do this presentation and write this paper I'll make sure to post some clearer thoughts.
Its late and I need to sleep.
Shot out to the world, I got mad love for you.
In philosophy we take on complex problems and only accept simple answers.
In unpacking this statement ideas of what we are obligated to do by virtue of our abilities to reason are what underly our attempts to lead fulfilling promising lifes. Ok I'm getting to abstract at the moment, but after I do this presentation and write this paper I'll make sure to post some clearer thoughts.
Its late and I need to sleep.
Shot out to the world, I got mad love for you.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Hip Hop
Courtesy of my good friend Pop, I recieved 4 mp3 CDs worth of the best from hip hop in '07 and it has changed my life. Ok not literally, but its reinvigorated me in a way that only music can. From the beat of Misunderstood on Common's new album, to the striking lyrics of Brother Ali on Uncle Sam Goddamn.
Hip hop has some serious flaws. The notions that hip hop is dead, stems from greater arguments about the over abundance of misogyny, materialism and other negative images being proliferated, especially in commercial or mainstream hip hop. But you don't need to look far to find great music. As Guru said on an interview with my boi DJ Hyphen, there is a lot of artists doing great things with hip hop, that is both creative and conscious. The notion that music is ever stagnant or dead is a complete fallacy. In fact saying its dead would be ignoring the negative things hip hop does, rather it needs to be examined as a medium that both reflects the norms of our society as well as shapes them.
The nature of the music industry as a whole is undergoing a huge transformation. With the use of internet spreading music like wildfire, people no longer seek music through the traditional channels of record stores. Rather most people access music electronically, often without compensating the artists in return which causes problems of how can music continue to provide the investment necessary to reproduce itself. As a true capitalist, even though there are lots of problematic aspects of capitalism that I recognize, I believe in this system to solve itself. There's a need to find a better or more efficient manner to deliver the type of variety in music people crave and it will be achieved if it is not being done so already. I know as a person who loves music I rely on my personal connections of people who have dedicated their lives to music to pass me the best of what they listen to. I listen to Sunday Night Sound Sessions that streams online live and is available for download on line to keep me up on some the up and coming artists and great music coming out.
The music is out there people just need to not be so reliant on clear channel and/or express themselves to clear channel demanding the type of content they want. The truth is clear channel decides what is played based on what they think they can sell or market. 50 Cent, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, all are marketable images and have proven track records of selling records, don't knock them for selling, just recognize that other stuff doesn't sell for various reasons. I don't pretend to know the answers, I just know there are alternatives, seek them out. For those who read this blog that know more about music please feel free to comment and express your views.
ONE LOVe
Hip hop has some serious flaws. The notions that hip hop is dead, stems from greater arguments about the over abundance of misogyny, materialism and other negative images being proliferated, especially in commercial or mainstream hip hop. But you don't need to look far to find great music. As Guru said on an interview with my boi DJ Hyphen, there is a lot of artists doing great things with hip hop, that is both creative and conscious. The notion that music is ever stagnant or dead is a complete fallacy. In fact saying its dead would be ignoring the negative things hip hop does, rather it needs to be examined as a medium that both reflects the norms of our society as well as shapes them.
The nature of the music industry as a whole is undergoing a huge transformation. With the use of internet spreading music like wildfire, people no longer seek music through the traditional channels of record stores. Rather most people access music electronically, often without compensating the artists in return which causes problems of how can music continue to provide the investment necessary to reproduce itself. As a true capitalist, even though there are lots of problematic aspects of capitalism that I recognize, I believe in this system to solve itself. There's a need to find a better or more efficient manner to deliver the type of variety in music people crave and it will be achieved if it is not being done so already. I know as a person who loves music I rely on my personal connections of people who have dedicated their lives to music to pass me the best of what they listen to. I listen to Sunday Night Sound Sessions that streams online live and is available for download on line to keep me up on some the up and coming artists and great music coming out.
The music is out there people just need to not be so reliant on clear channel and/or express themselves to clear channel demanding the type of content they want. The truth is clear channel decides what is played based on what they think they can sell or market. 50 Cent, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, all are marketable images and have proven track records of selling records, don't knock them for selling, just recognize that other stuff doesn't sell for various reasons. I don't pretend to know the answers, I just know there are alternatives, seek them out. For those who read this blog that know more about music please feel free to comment and express your views.
ONE LOVe
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
