March 2009 Archives

It's my birthday, so I'm posting a video made by a redhead.

Actually, a friend had me watch it and answer a couple of questions: 1. Do you believe in the existence of free will?, and 2. If not, do you think it's good for people to believe in it?  I think it's a little intriguing something to post on the blog...



I've been trying to churn through "The Selfish Gene" in my 'spare time,' and it's changed the way I look at things.  Experience from the college campus has shown be how driven by hormones and genes college kids are generally, and every person has this expected set of actions ('personality,' although I think there's a number of people on this campus who have none...).  It's an action thing - I programmed myself to start working out and eating healthier, and voila.  I did, but I did so because the weight was affecting my health and self image negatively.  I agree with her - we have the imaginary notion of free will, but it doesn't actually technically exist.  At least, not the way religion claims it does.  Things are too tied down to internal and external pressures, and our social and environmental nets as humans are so complex that it's easy to see how something like free will could be expected, but it's not actually there.

I don't think it's good to believe in free will, but that's because I'm an idealist.  If we understood why and how we operate, we'd better be able to assess each other's actions and figure out why we're acting erratically or how we can improve our condition.  Of course, here enters the argument that "all human blood runs red," and we'd much sooner find rapists being cut loose because their genes made them do it.  Maybe their genes did make them do it.  But if we know to look for it and catch it early enough, that kind of crime may never have had happened.

In conclusion - no, I do not believe in the existence in free will as anything but an imaginary construct created by the incomprehensibility of the entirety of our surrounding factors, and yes, I think knowing we're predisposed to certain expected behaviors would benefit us as a society and a species, although there would initially be some some pretty nasty debates.

My time at Penn State is possibly coming to an end.  Before I leave, I want to do something I should have done years ago.

The student populations at universities across the country have become apathetic.  Education is not quite a first interest and specific communities do not benefit the whole.  Overall, the intellectual, cultural, and social atmosphere of the American university is rapidly becoming rank and stale.  There are oases, but many are too small and difficult to find.

Tomorrow, I will propose a new student organization to my composition professor.  This organization will be dedicated to improving the cultural, social, and intellectual climate of Penn State through impromptu and extensively planned artistic performances and discourse.  The club will be open to anyone interest in philosophy, art, performance, writing, thinking, or life in general.

There is intellectual discourse going on on this campus.  I'm sure of it.  But it's time we let this underground aspect of student life emerge and run free.  "Art Is Resistance" takes its name from Trent Reznor's "Year Zero," where it is a fictional organization of artists and thinkers dedicated to rebelling against the sleepy-eyed public and a nation-wide culture dominated by mind-numbing pastimes and an overall lack of critical thinking or openness to examination.

This will be the analogous to the Fluxus movement of the late 1900's, but with a heavy-handed agenda: to bring the world around us into awareness in terms of its shortcomings, problems, and inherent beauty and power.  I believe we can achieve all this through artistic performance.

Unlike other student groups, "Art Is Resistance" will focus on experimental and unconvential methods of performance that directly engage or surround the audience by crossing different schools of thought and media.  The internet is as powerful a tool as ever, and few times in the past has the outdoors of the campus been seen as a performance stage.

We live in a time when people are so locked into themselves that they forget how awestruck by the world and life in general we all once were.  I believe that the first step to reviving a true widespread academic community is artistic performance and intellectual discourse.

If I am here next year for grad school, this may be one of my big projects.  If you're interested in this organization, I will gladly take suggestions or support.  We will welcome with open arms.


Although perhaps not entirely what John S. Hall originally meant, I present the closing stanza of King Missile's "It's Saturday":

"If what I'm saying doesn't make any sense,
that's because sense can not be made,
It's something that must be sensed,
And I, for one, am incensed by all this complacency!
Why oppose war only when there's a war?
Why defend the clinics only when they're attacked?
Why are we always reactive?
Let's activate something
Let's f*** s*** up
Whatever happened to revolution for the hell of it?
Whatever happened to protesting nothing in particular, just
protesting!  Cause it's Saturday and there's nothing else to do!"

A quick google of the term presents a lot of websites, including this one, all dedicated to bringing the fictional land of "Galt's Gulch" to reality.  Much of this initiative seems to be propelled by libertarian ideology, which, ironically, I've heard several objectivist speakers between Penn State and YouTube distancing themselves from.  This movement is spurred by the obvious "socialist" skew that the Obama administration supposedly has.

Well, to a degree, yes, I can see how Obama's administration was seen as socialist (an amusing CNN broadcast last week discussed the events that deemed Obama a socialist no more).  If you dig up objectivist writings and readings, they're always speaking out on key governmental issues.  To have this movement suggested is, well, predictable.

Socialism isn't quite what it was 40-60 years ago.  Not that a state of total socialism is particularly desirable, as key problems rise fairly quickly (a famous socio-political web-meme claims, "Is it not impossible to see that all blood runs red?").  But basing our entire mode of existence on a monetary system isn't fool-proof either, especially when that economy is as flawed and front-loaded as ours.  From this standpoint, Galt's Gulch seems like the most logical decision.

It's interesting to see how Rand's philosophy plays out in reality, although I find absolute objectivism not perfect in of itself as well.  Not to mention, the supposed manifestations of objectivism in recent years haven't been all to popular (i.e. Ron Paul was pushed for a while).

Are the great intellectuals really leaving the world behind?  And what do they expect to find when they come back?  Will the country really be in shambles?  What's the grand solution here? 

Then again, Randy Newman foretold of the end of America, too (video below)...

Some days, I honestly just don't know.

In case you haven't read the Collegian, here and here are articles about the 'holiday.'  State Patty's Day isn't a whimsical part of the Penn State Experience.  It's an abomination.  If we spent as much time debating or rallying as we give to hooliganism, Penn State might be known for something more than Football, Ice Cream, Research, Alumni, and Parties.

We're in a difficult financial time, and our best solution is spending an entire day drunk for no reason?  If it were in active opposition for something, okay, impress me.  But in the words of Elizabeth Goreham, "You guys have got to grow up."

P.S. Biden announced last week that many of the troops we're pulling out of Iraq are going into Afghanistan.  Too little too late, or Bush 2.0?  Where's the outrage?

I don't want to bring this up again, but I had a class this morning where we were discussing ways Penn State capitalizes on student body, and ways that it (in part or in whole and in some manner) discourages student drinking without exactly eradicating it.  Naturally, the conversation veered to State Patty's Day, which carried enthusiastic support from the vast majority of the students in the class (it's a 50-person gen-ed class, COMM 100).  That's when I turned off.

On this *wonderful* holiday, I was downtown after my 7-9am radio show mailing a score out for a competition. I was lucky enough to pass the Phyrst just as someone was being thrown out.  Yes, this was around 9:45am.  I was fighting my way through crowds of drunk college students.  It was like a badly directed zombie film.

It is impossible for me to justify devoting an entire day to nothing but drinking for the sake of drinking.  That's not a holiday.  That's not even a cultural event.  That's a waste of time.

I'm glad the university refuses to support it, but students need to realize that this isn't a joke: it's a downright shame.


I said before that in the Daily Collegian a few weeks ago, there was mention of a past 'holiday' in March that consisted of a day-long peace-sitting on the HUB lawn.  I'm surprised that whenever I bring this conversation up in COMM 100, students latch onto the State Patty's Day and completely ignore whatever that other thing was.  This is a serious problem with our generation.  We really need to change this now.

I'll let Jon Stewart show you what that looks like...

Sorry for the lack of updates.  It's been rough...

I was listening to Ben Folds recently when I discovered something...  Ben Folds recently divorced his wife, and his latest album, "Way to Normal," is about coping with divorce and finding himself again.  Despite the fact that that album is my least favorite production of his work ever, I'm finding that this divorce was probably foreseen by the songwriter himself in the aptly named "Songs for Silverman."  Guess who plays Silverman in this one?  Exactly.

So here we are.  Three songs leading to the divorce.  The first one is "The Luckiest," devoted to his wife.  It's gorgeous.  I'm jealous.  The next one is "Give Judy My Notice" (I recommend the "speed graphic" version; I think he was more wrapped up in it all in that performance).  The third is "Landed."  I will provide an audio snippet and lyrics for each song.

I'm doing this because very few composers and musicians have covered the issue of divorce (well, there have been some, but not with much... reverence...).  These are the words from an artist in the thick of it, and it's interesting stuff.

The Luckiest


"I don't get many things
right the first time
in fact, I am told that a lot
now I know all the wrong turns --
the stumbles and falls brought me here

and where was I before the day
that I first saw your lovely face
now I see it everyday
and I know

that I am, I am
I am the luckiest

what if I'd been born
fifty years before you
in a house
on the street where you lived
maybe I'd be outside
as you passed on your bike,
would I know?

and in a wide sea of eyes
I see one pair that I recognize
and I know

that I am, I am
I am the luckiest

I love you more than I have
ever found a way to say to you

next door there's an old man
who lived into his nineties
and one day passed away in his sleep
and his wife, she stayed
for a couple of days and passed away

I'm sorry, I know that's a
strange way to tell you
that I know we belong
that I know

that I am, I am
I am the luckiest"


A snippet for "Give Judy My Notice" can be found here.  If you have the .99 to spare, I highly recommend this track.  It's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.

"Judy
Could anyone be loved anymore
than I love you
does it hurt you too?
But Judy
I've been feeling small too long
I love you so
but something's wrong

and I come running when you want me here
and when you want me to, I disappear

Give Judy my notice

I knew if I made it easy for you
you'd settle for me, yeah eventually
but Judy
I won't be your bitch anymore
and follow you 'round
and hold the door

and I can't do this any longer
the vacuum left is so much stronger

Give Judy my notice
Give Judy my notice

Judy you know I'm not mad anymore
at least most of the time
but that could take a while
I've been living just to see you smile
every once in a while

Tears fall
but that don't mean nothing at all
It's just cause I said it first
yeah, that's why it hurts

And I'm not sorry if you're not sorry
And you're not sorry until I make you

Give Judy my notice"


"Landed" may be found here.

"We'd hit the bottom,
I thought it was my fault
And in a way I guess it was
I'm just now finding out
What it was all about

Moved to the west coast away from everyone
She never told me that you called
Back when I was still, I was still in love

Till I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's bye-bye, goodbye, I tried
And I twisted it wrong just to make it right
Had to leave myself behind
I've been flying high all night
So come pick me up...I've landed

The daily dramas she made from nothing
So nothing ever made them right
She liked to push me and talk me back down
Until I believed I was the crazy one,
and in a way
I guess I was...

But I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's bye-bye, goodbye I tried
Treading a sea of a troubled mind
Had to leave myself behind
Singing bye-bye, goodbye I tried

If you wrote me off I'd understand it
Because I've been on some other planet
So come pick me up...
I've landed

And you will be so
happy to know
I've come alone,
it's over

But I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's by my goodbye I tried
Down comes the reign of the telephone czar
It's OK to call
Now I'll answer for myself

Come pick me up,
...I've landed"


Now, Ben has done this before, specifically with songs like "Brick," "Gracie," "Still Fighting It," and "Not the Same."  I think, especially given his knack for writing songs that are very much about him, it's entirely plausible to say that his unhappiness with his marriage, however unconscious it was, seeped into his music before or just as he let it affect his relationship. 

Finally, "Song for the Dumped" isn't the only song for dealing Ben Folds fans dealing with broken hearts.  The trajectory of his marriage is in his music.  But, in the tradition of all musical analyses, this is all just a bunch of theory.

It's March of 2009, and while we have 9 months left, I'm going to assume that another huge piece of art probably won't occur (or, at least, effectively) before 2010.

The past decade has seen some awesome art works: John Adams' "Doctor Atomic," Steve Reich and Beryl Korot's "Three Tales," Adam Brandejs' "Genpets," 1 Giant Leap, "WALL-E," "The Dark Knight," Tan Dun's "YouTube Symphony" (in progress).  The list goes on.  But, for me, I think the greatest piece of art to come out in this first decade was Nine Inch Nails' "Year Zero."

Okay, okay, stop yelling.  The music to "Year Zero" is great.  It's a very strong CD, especially after quite a few listens, and it shows a new side to Trent Reznor.  But what makes "Year Zero" so powerful was that it was more than just the music.

It all began when Nine Inch Nails started selling shirts on tour that read "I Am Trying to Believe."  Fans who knew how Reznor's mind works put .com at the end of it, and found a fairly disturbing website.  Thus began the art form known as Year Zero.

Year Zero, at its core, is an alternate reality game (ARG).  Usually, these games are used to promote a product, but Trent Reznor decided to approach it as an art form in itself.  This is one of the most interesting developments.  Blending psychology and technology, ARG's allow the user to become part of the game.

Year Zero basically depicts America 15 years from now.  The government has attained a state of fundamentalist theocracy through a mixture of terrorism, drugs, religion, and entertainment.  It resembles our world today quite strikingly, and it acts as an artistic interpretation of GW's administration.  It's a shame it began so late.

So I could honestly spell out everything here, but do some research on this.  Rather than catering to the public, Trent Reznor depended on his fans to be highly intelligent and well-versed in a variety of subjects.  He challenged the control of the record labels, the state of the government, and the mindsets of the American people.

One thing I would like to mention is his attempt at create a grassroots organization to prevent this world from coming to be: Art is Resistance.  I am down with this.  Biden's recent comments concerning Afghanistan have led me to believe something might be up.  (After all, we have always been at war with Eurasia).  Yes, Obama isn't Bush, but I'm still a little skeptical.

I'll leave you with the music video to the album's single, "Survivalism."  Look out for the symbol known as "The Presence," as well as several bible quotes hinted at throughout the video.  I really wish I was intelligent enough to pick out every one of these instances.  But then, I'm not a humungous forum of awesome fandom.

Also, keep an eye out for a television series of Year Zero, as well as its upcoming sequel.

A friend of mine introduced me to this song, and I began thinking about the function of music.  It's a new mix of Asher Roth's "I Love College," and, well, if you can make it 10 seconds through this song, congratulations.



There are lots of things that have multiple functions in our society, but I'm always interested in how much of a piece of vanity music has become.  The song samples a song by Weezer called "Say It Ain't So:"



"Say It Ain't So" is a popular 'college' song, even though it's about young man recalling his memories of the drunken father who ran out on his family.  How this song became synonymous with 'party culture,' I have no idea.  But it always seemed to be one of Rivers Cuomo's more intimate songs.

Enter Asher Roth.  His remix tells me one of two possible things:

1. If he did this intentionally, for an artistic reason, he's describing how 'party culture' could create a generation of alcoholic parents.  Given his lyrics, and the fact that a second mix of this song exists, I have another, more likely, scenario:

2. He used the song to make money, completely ignoring everything about the song except for, "Yeah, they played at parties in college."

What happens when artists view their art as nothing more than vanity?  It's one thing to be a fan of the song, but another to ignore or even destroy its message entirely.  I'm not saying someone shouldn't quote a random song without utilizing its specific meaning, but if it has an intimate meaning and its bastardized by said use without a good reason...

Asher Roth has proved how the modern music scene is just not cutting the cake the right way.  This is almost as unethical as "Chain Hang Low" (yes, the kid did quote "Do Your Ears Hang Low," a song originally written about lynching African Americans).  This mindset isn't infecting everything out there, but a lot of it, and I think it's seeping back into college culture.  This is not a call for any form of restrictions, but for artists to start acting like artists.

The title comes from a song by UK electronica group Faithless.

A friend of mine sent me this welcome address to incoming music students at Boston Conservatory.

I don't entirely see how concert music benefits through this approach, especially given how the current pop and indie scenes <shudder> are doing in comparison.  But there is a bit of truth and hope in this: we need music, oddly enough, to survive.  When are we going to start treating music like the powerful medium it is?

So, yes, I am worried about my future financial state.  But I'll have an incredibly important job.

Earlier this week, there was a presentation by a choreographer in residence here at Deare Auld State named Peter Sparling.  Sparling is part of a new school of dancers who has combined his art with video.  Successfully.  I've always loved watching ballet on TV (it tends to feel far more natural than, say, a recorded stage production of "Carmen"), but this morphs into an original, engaging art form.

Sparling's been here all year, and I just found out since, by some fluke, he just happened to use Satie's music and early 1900's impressionist French paintings in a couple of his videos.  And so my early 1900's class brought him in as an 'authority' on old art.  Don't get me wrong, his description of the development of dance through the 20th century earlier this week was probably the most engaging discussion on art I had heard in the Moments of Change program, but why didn't the musicians know about this evolving art form?  Probably for the same reason that we don't know about the senior showcased art exhibits or when "The Trial of Judas Iscariot" is going up next month: Different School, Different Thought.  Obviously.

So I was angry.

As I am against having yet another class on dead, rotting bohemians that just happened to hit it big in the public sector (aka museum art, which includes music), I'm writing a paper on the similarities between the Incoherent revelution of the early 1900's and the current Downtown New York music scene.  Or, at least, a brief glimpse.

The Downtown New York art scene came on the map with the creation of Fluxus.  What is Fluxus?  I've been reading up on them for a few years now, and I'm still not sure.  But that's alright; part of the problem is that their influence has melded into our culture.  Well, our artistic culture.

My parents used to harp on Yoko Ono.  "Not only did she break up The Beatles, she thought she could create music!"  I was never all too sure about The Beatles, and I'm certain my parents still haven't heard of Nam June Paik and his self-destructive violin sonata.  My parents never got the point.  I'm fairly certain they never will.  And that, to me, is frustrating.

There was a movie a few years back that won some major awards.  It was about a wife dealing with a husband who was cheating on her.  With another man.  The movie was horrendously boring and a little too "Oh, poor me!" and was nothing more than another drama about families not understanding something about their members, whether it be homosexuality, or converting religions, or joining the football team, or performing in a musical.  But my challenge is relating to my family and friends on an artistic level, and I feel like the university doesn't foster that very well.

Well, it's not the university's job, is it?  But when you are ridiculed (at best) for being creative or trying to redefine something, and no matter how hard you try to explain your influences and people still can't seem to get on the boat...  Stan had Brian Boitano, Jack Black had Dio, I have Yoko, and Paik, and Zorn.

My greatest fear is that college will choke the creativity out of me.  I'm not a huge fan of spring break because, while I love my family to death, I feel most comfortable at Penn State when the majority of students are gone.  At home, or surrounded by the endless screaming at the TV screen in the dorms, I feel like my productivity is limited.  And tons of pending paperwork isn't helping me much.  But such is my current mode of existence.  I'll put up with the like's and you know's and that's gay's and the 27StrokeB6's because that's that challenges that face me day to day, but I'm certain there is far more to this university than bad attitudes and endless busy work.

On a lighter note, I finally sat down and listened to Terry Riley's "In C" a few nights ago.  It actually lives up to the hype.  It's funny that after all this time, I'm learning not to trust people.  I'm finally learning to trust myself, and it's opening me up a bit more.

Sorry for the lack of writing - the semester's gotten me all tangled up.

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook, and I decided to repost it here because, well, we could all use some inspiration right about now.  Happy Midterms, and to all, good luck finding time to sleep tonight...



For a CollegeHumor video, these clips were chosen quite well.  Beautiful.