Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Changes.
Words. For Your Consideration...
"The repeal of the odious "don't ask, don't tell" law has been 17 years in the making. It could have been done much sooner had it not been for the political cowardice and/or ignorance of much of Congress and some of the military. The nation as a whole was way out in front of these institutions, having learned from their own kids and society in general that gays and lesbians were not drooling perverts but human beings with a different - not better and not worse - sexuality. Most of us know this now.
There's good reason to believe, however, that this lesson has not been universally learned. In the run-up to the vote in the Senate, Gen. James Amos, the Marine Corps commandant, showed how he felt about the prospect of open homosexuals serving in the Marines. He was particularly concerned about combat situations where, he thought, gays might be "a distraction." "Mistakes and inattention or distractions cost Marines' lives," Amos said. This was not the first time the general had expressed his doubts. Earlier, he had talked about what might happen when his Marines were "laying out, sleeping alongside of one another and sharing death, fear and loss of brothers. I don't know what the effect of that will be on cohesion. I mean, that's what we're looking at. It's unit cohesion. It's combat effectiveness."
It's easy to dismiss Amos, but his concerns fall within the realm of possibility. After all, being gay is a sexual matter and young people are nothing if not sexual. This is the way it is supposed to be. This is also the problem with having women in the armed services or, if you are a radical feminist, having men. Sooner or later, a certain amount of unacceptable harassment will occur, abuses will be committed and, more innocently, plain hooking up is going to happen. We know this.
But we know also that this can be managed - contained, limited. It takes education. It takes training. It takes leadership. This is what concerns me about Amos. His views are on the record. He sees gays as somewhat out of control, possibly holding hands in combat, sneaking into one another's bunks at night, being distracted just as the enemy is coming over the hill. Not only is this silly and based on an ignorant misconception of who most gays are, but it can be dealt with..."
"L TO THE O! V TO THE E!": SINGLES 2010.
AND
05/Animal Collective - Bluish & R.Kelly - Echo
There’s a strong current running thru these two songs that’s impossible to overlook and glance over, and it’s the look of love. That gravitational pull that keeps me in your pocket; keeps him, her, me, him, she by your side. It manifests itself in your curls, that dress that I like, the way you squeeze my hand, and wear those stockings. It’s got me calling your boss, getting you the day off, and leaving keys in hidden places so you can let yourself in, and come right to the bedroom. It’s got me acting my age AND my shoe size. Screaming from mountain peaks, getting lost in your curls, and getting crushed out on the things that only I should see. Something, just something bout the way you do the things you do, ooh, OOH(!) it…knocks me off my feet. That’s the thing about love, and that’s the thing about these two quiet storms from AC and Kells, they get you, and give you exactly what you need: sensual bonafied pleasure. What’s not to love?
AND
Monday, December 20, 2010
"L TO THE O! V TO THE E!": SINGLES 2010.
06/J.Cole - Who Dat
Getting put on is a motherfucker, no matter the genre. It’s like walking into a noisy, crowded room where few are shinin’, and everyone wants to be heard. What’s a boy to do in a situation like this? If you’re J.Cole, you stand up tall and go into the booth with the strength of ten MCs: Cocky, confident, and AWARE. No chains, no “hoes”, no pomp and circumstance, just one mic, those words, that HOOK, and the flow and strong arm steady bravado of your finest MCs. J.Cole attacks each word, rides that percussive beast of a beat, and underlines each bar with a strong (and comfortable) sense of urgency. This ain’t a game, this is serious, and he’s so sincere. Yes, getting put on is a motherfucker, but ya boy J.Cole makes it look easy, and appears more than ready to enter the ring and get it done. “Who Dat?! Who Dat?!" J.Cole. If you don’t know, now you know.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
"L TO THE O! V TO THE E!": SINGLES 2010.
07/Ne-Yo - Champagne Life
This one’s for the G’s, and this one’s for the Hustlas. This one’s for the ballers, and the lover in you. An effervescent and regal affair. That Champagne Life. Where dreams and reality are one and the same, and doing you ain’t doing the most. That Champagne Life. Where the Grown & Sexy reign supreme, and own property on cloud nine, coasting on them light understated grooves, delicate, airy harmonies, and handclaps with a toast. It’s a beautiful thang. Don’t stop til you get enough.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
"L TO THE O! V TO THE E!": SINGLES 2010.
08/Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Round & Round
Some songs just can’t be denied. They just got that thang. That wow factor; that IT! Everything’s in its right place. Billie Jean has it. Luther’s Never Too Much has it. The Stones’ Miss You and countless others have it. And this song? This song right here? It has “IT”, too. That you should be dancing, hip swaying, ass shaking, singing along, clapping along, grooving along to this gem of a song, “IT”. It’s one for the ages y’all. “Break down, break up, break down”. Pure bliss. Jubilee. Hold on.
Friday, December 17, 2010
"THE BIG PAYBACK!"
A Moment of Clarity.
Words.
"If Barack Obama wins reelection in 2012, as is now more likely than not, historians will mark his comeback as beginning on Dec. 6, the day of the Great Tax Cut Deal of 2010.
...with his stunning tax deal, Obama is back. Holding no high cards, he nonetheless managed to resurface suddenly not just as a player but as orchestrator, dealmaker and central actor in a high $1 trillion drama.
...The greatest mistake Ronald Reagan's opponents ever made - and they made it over and over again - was to underestimate him. Same with Obama. The difference is that Reagan was so deeply self-assured that he invited underestimation - low expectations are a priceless political asset - whereas Obama's vanity makes him always needing to appear the smartest guy in the room. Hence that display of prickliness in his disastrous post-deal news conference last week.
But don't be fooled by defensive style or thin-skinned temperament. The president is a very smart man..."
THE WASHINGTON POST: The new comeback kid
Words.
"If Barack Obama wins reelection in 2012, as is now more likely than not, historians will mark his comeback as beginning on Dec. 6, the day of the Great Tax Cut Deal of 2010.
...with his stunning tax deal, Obama is back. Holding no high cards, he nonetheless managed to resurface suddenly not just as a player but as orchestrator, dealmaker and central actor in a high $1 trillion drama.
...The greatest mistake Ronald Reagan's opponents ever made - and they made it over and over again - was to underestimate him. Same with Obama. The difference is that Reagan was so deeply self-assured that he invited underestimation - low expectations are a priceless political asset - whereas Obama's vanity makes him always needing to appear the smartest guy in the room. Hence that display of prickliness in his disastrous post-deal news conference last week.
But don't be fooled by defensive style or thin-skinned temperament. The president is a very smart man..."
"L TO THE O! V TO THE E!": SINGLES 2010.
09/Sleigh Bells - Infinity Guitars
BLITZKRIEG Pop from a boy and a girl, Infinity Guitars, like many a Sleigh Bells track, wants that old time rock and roll while playing by its own rules. A wildly confrontational and raucous affair that booms like an 808 while ripping pop and rock & roll’s soundscapes to shreds. From the bottom to the top, this song announces itself PROUDLY, with the opening strums of that vocal guitar ringing like a school bell, unleashing the hellcats, anarchists, “cowboys”, & “INDIANS!”, all rushing to the sounds of Alexis’ rallying calls going toe to toe with Derek’s block rocking beats. If you ain’t bumrushin' the show by the time this song ends, then clearly you need to jump ship, cause you should have been ridin’ dirty from the jump!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
"L TO THE O! V TO THE E!": SINGLES 2010.
10/N.E.R.D. feat. Nelly Furtado - Hot-N-Fun
“People don’t want to think no more, they just want to feel. They want to let go…” So says Pharrell Williams, frontman for N.E.R.D., during the “hold it now!”/catch ya breath/ “y’all still with me?” breakdown/lull in the bridge on this tantalizing funk workout. Inspired by the party, arranged for the party, and probably WRITTEN at the party, Hot-N-Fun, with its SHO NUFF “hypnotizing bassline”, digs in the scene with the gangsta lean, asking you to “get high, get money, get SEX(!), get REAL, all intertwined” over the course of the 3 and a half minutes, “cause tis the season!”. I mean, “look at you, look at me”. Hear those words? FEEL that beat?! Dontyouwannadance? Sayyouwannadance? Dontyouwannadance? Well, “let’s get right! Let’s get right, okay!” Don’t think. Let go. Just FEEL. 1,2 Step! Boom, Boom, CLAP! Keep wanting that. Cause tis the season, and it’s HOT-N-FUN!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
"Willow, Weep for Me."
A Moment of Clarity.
Words.
"One of our fondest cultural myths — one of baffling durability, like the idea that Republicans are fiscally conservative — is that crying is a sign of sincerity or authentic feeling. No matter what we may know of crocodile tears, we continue to read weeping as a sign of true, pure emotion. All the research suggests something else entirely.
...Crying is often the sign of excruciatingly mixed emotion.
...Boehner's tears aren't hard to read. After analyzing hundreds of psychological experiments and sociological studies of weeping, hundreds of accounts of crying in different cultures and different historical periods, thousands of tearful moments in film and fiction and art, I have come to see that, like the mother of the bride, many of us weep because we are overwhelmed by contradictions.
...On "60 Minutes," Boehner told Stahl that he couldn't visit schools anymore; that he got too upset, worrying about whether today's schoolchildren will have the same opportunities that he and his generation had. As he spoke, he started to weep. Why?
He does, I believe, worry about the children, and yet his entire political philosophy is devoted to limiting the federal government's ability to help them. He has voted against providing health insurance for children (many times), against student aid, against unemployment benefits, against equal pay, against food safety, against money for teachers, against raising the minimum wage, against tobacco education, mine safety, alternative energy, pollution control, whistle-blower protection, science and technology research. If he were making his decisions based on what government programs might help today's schoolchildren reach their dreams, like the Kennedy- and Johnson-era programs that helped him, his voting record would be very different. It is a deep enough contradiction to make him weep for the future..."
LOS ANGELES TIMES: A Crying Shame
Words.
"One of our fondest cultural myths — one of baffling durability, like the idea that Republicans are fiscally conservative — is that crying is a sign of sincerity or authentic feeling. No matter what we may know of crocodile tears, we continue to read weeping as a sign of true, pure emotion. All the research suggests something else entirely.
...Crying is often the sign of excruciatingly mixed emotion.
...Boehner's tears aren't hard to read. After analyzing hundreds of psychological experiments and sociological studies of weeping, hundreds of accounts of crying in different cultures and different historical periods, thousands of tearful moments in film and fiction and art, I have come to see that, like the mother of the bride, many of us weep because we are overwhelmed by contradictions.
...On "60 Minutes," Boehner told Stahl that he couldn't visit schools anymore; that he got too upset, worrying about whether today's schoolchildren will have the same opportunities that he and his generation had. As he spoke, he started to weep. Why?
He does, I believe, worry about the children, and yet his entire political philosophy is devoted to limiting the federal government's ability to help them. He has voted against providing health insurance for children (many times), against student aid, against unemployment benefits, against equal pay, against food safety, against money for teachers, against raising the minimum wage, against tobacco education, mine safety, alternative energy, pollution control, whistle-blower protection, science and technology research. If he were making his decisions based on what government programs might help today's schoolchildren reach their dreams, like the Kennedy- and Johnson-era programs that helped him, his voting record would be very different. It is a deep enough contradiction to make him weep for the future..."
"L TO THE O! V TO THE E!": SINGLES 2010.
11/Vampire Weekend - Holiday
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)