How do you find out about music? Me, I primarily use the internet via various websites (YouTube, Wikipedia, last.fm, etc) to listen to and discover new bands. Doing this myself is quite convenient. I can stop the music or X out of band web-pages that I don’t particularly enjoy. With the radio, on the other hand, you have very little choice. The stations may allow you to request a song or two, but for the most part songs are pre-selected. That way, you are almost forced to like whatever they play. I find that the people who are predisposed to KISS 108 and JAMN 945 often become immediately attached to the songs that are played. These “club anthems” stick with them, but do any of these listeners actually go online, do research, buy albums, and most importantly listen to more songs other than the hits? Even with independent radio stations like WERS, I suspect the average listener doesn’t log onto wers.org and look up playlists. Personally I get the vibe that the DIY approach that I often take makes me like a song for a longer period of time. Good songs don’t just disappear after they’ve had their “time” on the radio; they become apart of my regular, personalized playlist.
Sunday Morning Sermon
Greetings, fellow “Kids” and other readers.
For those who don’t know me, I’ve been blogging on various topics…news, politics, humor, music, stuff like that…for many years now. And I’m 19, so I’ve spent a good fraction of my life rambling like this. I’ve been taking a break from blogging after some personal trauma/drama, but this morning I finally got the inspiration to hop on the old soapbox.
I was talking to one of my best friends, the captain of this here website, Glen Maganzini. As we often do, we talked about the Catholic church we both grew up in, St. Florence in Wakefield, MA. Funny thing is, while he still goes there regularly, as I did for most of my life, I stopped about a year ago because one morning the preacher said some things about moral relativism…sympathizing with the moral standards of other religions or beliefs…that I highly disagreed with. Namely, that moral relativism is wrong, and that the Catholic system is the only proper way to think in moral and political matters.
To me, this idea emphasized the worst aspect of any religion: the divisive nature. After all, according to the dictionary, “Catholic” means “universal”. What’s wrong with this picture?
Ironically enough I still consider myself a Catholic despite not having gone to a Mass since the fall. I still love what my religion is at heart, a well-intentioned set of beliefs that encourages all the people of the world to love each other, to treat other people the way you’d want to be treated. But would any Catholic priest want…let’s say a Hindu, just because that’s arguably the one of the five major religions least compatible with Catholicism…would any Catholic priest want a devout Hindu to point his or her finger at the priest and tell him that his lifestyle, his beliefs, everything he stands for is immoral?
I absolutely support moral relativism because it promotes an understanding of all the different beliefs out there. It promotes empathy, but not necessarily sympathy. I had a great Social Studies teacher who is a devout Catholic, but never got preachy about his beliefs in a public school. And he stressed the importance of understanding other people’s beliefs and cultures, though not necessarily subscribing to all these ideologies. By nature, political and religious beliefs are divisive, but understanding, logic, science, practicality…those are universal, objective values. And as much as I love my politics and my religion, I have my limits, and I know that these subjective beliefs can…and must…coexist with the truly universal ideas.
Ben Tan
Song of the Day!
Elliott Smith- Between the Bars (1997) with clips from Good Will Hunting (1998)!
Chris
Late Night comedian has it out for Harry Potter
If you watch as much late comedy (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmell, David Letterman etc.) as I do, you would see that one of these in particular has a target for Harry Potter fans. The one I speak of is Conan O’Brien. Over the past few nights, he has joked over the Potter fans dedication comparing them to that of Star Wars or Star Trek fans. Most recently, he shows a sketch which depicted Dumbledore drunk out of his mind, partying like a rock star. Now, when I saw this, I thought it was absolutely hysterical. However, when I showed it to one of my friends, they were offended as if I told an offensive black joke at the Apollo. Now, the point of this is to tell all people who worship all these entertainment icons to grow a pair. It’s a joke get the frick over it. That and I wanted to drop Conan’s name. Check out the show, its really funny. Again, Good Night and Good Luck.
Quotes of the Day
“I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.” – Fannie Lou Hamer
“God bless you all. I am an innocent man.” – Edward Earl Johnson
“What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?” – Frederick Douglass
“I view the Framers as teachers, not wardens.” – Randy Barnett
“Speaking as a person who is supposed to be dead, I believe the death penalty should be abolished, period. Because you can’t be sure.” – Kirk Bloodsworth
“Life is full of close calls, but the question of O.J Simpson’s guilt was not one of them.” – George Will
KLYAM.COM New Domain
To make people’s lives easier and because I had twenty dollars to kick around, I bought klyam.com. This won’t make too much of a difference for readers who don’t clear their history/save URLs to favorites, but whatever!
Review: Head Automatica & Cubic Zicronia @ Great Scott (7/23/09)
Bands: Head Automatica and Cubic Zirconia
Location: Great Scott, Allston
Date: Thursday, July 23, 2009
Cubic Zirconia: I’ll be straight up here, I focused more on the amazingly attractive, sexual chocolate lead singer than on the music itself. If you witnessed the band’s somewhat bizarre performance which included a song, proclaiming “FUCK WORK” about 20-30 times, then you would realize that the singer would probably not take offense to being referred to as “sexual chocolate” haha. I dug her sexually charged dancing and I particularly enjoyed when she stared right into my eyes and sang at me. Glen and others also noted this, thus confirming that I wasn’t merely delusional and horny. As Glen affirmed, “she likes you!” Besides being very appealing, in a stunning, gorgeous gold dress, she and her mates rocked out and were able to get the crowd moving in anticipation of Head Automatica. Continue reading Review: Head Automatica & Cubic Zicronia @ Great Scott (7/23/09)
A Little Perspective
I think a different perspective on news stories’ll be a big part of my contribution here (though I mean big as in most recognizable- I like keeping it short and sweet). So I’ll start with this whole Henry Gates Cambridge cops Obama deal out in the news. There’s a lot of facts, but I’ll keep it short-Harvard man Gates was arrested for supposedly breaking into his own home even after showing i.d. (which was not an actual i.d., so the cop’s actions are understandable). Obama commented, saying the policeman acted “stupidly”. Now there is anger coming from Cambridge policemen understandably supporting their fellow officer.
Now I’m going to bypass everything stated here for a second and ask a question: Why the fuck was Obama asked about this while addressing healthcare? That is the only thing I can focus on. Instead of attacking Obama- legitimately, for a completely uninformed statement from the president of the United States of America- why is no one wondering why his opinion on some petty little squabble in Cambridge was asked in the first place? Someone should find the guy who asked him and tell him to just stop practicing journalism if he’s gonna ask irrelevant shit to stir up a storm.
Matt Hurton
Types of ‘Indie’ Rock Concert Attendees
The Guy Who Just Stares – This guy resists any temptation to move. He just stares at the band in utter amazement or simply boredom.
The Drunken Chick – She’s usually all over the place with her alcoholic drink (typically Pabst Blue Ribbon beer) in hand. Her dance is out of rhythm, but generally it works.
The Rockin’ Out Hipster – He may or may not be trying to attract attention. For whatever the occasion, he is going nuts in his own little world.
The I Don’t Give A Shit Dude – They don’t give a shit about the band. Even if a really awesome band is playing, they are more interested in socializing or watching the ball game at the bar.
The Photo/Video Addict – He/She takes 1000 pictures and records smaller sized videos throughout the entire show. They usually get bumped by the normal people around them in the first row who are getting pushed from behind.
The I’m Going To Start Moshing Even If It’s N/A – This guy is a major douche. His definition of an awesome concert is when bodies start ramming into each other. Even if fuckin’ folk is playing this guy will make every effort to start a mosh pit.
If I think of more, I’ll post more!
Glen
A Note To The Public
Don’t become obsessed with any one brand. Every corporation depends on you becoming a part of their lifestyle, apart of their culture. Ignore this. You are your own person, not a slave to a brand. Ubiquitous marketing and branding is really what feeds consumerism. Be your own pet.
Glen
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 