FYI: I added a little featurette to my blog called Answer Tips. Just click on any word twice, and you will get some information (definitions, biographies, origins of phrases, etc.) I've played around with it a bit, and think it's pretty handy. Of course, I probably have to do more fact checking on a few things now...even though I know you would never waste time checking my facts :)
July 10, 2009
July 8, 2009
Choose the Most Correct Response
My parents had their annual Grandchildren's Day this past weekend. It's nice to see the family, but I feel mostly out of place at these gatherings (I am not a grandchild, nor do I have a child that is a grandchild). Oh well, it's family time, and that is nice. My mom mails us an itinerary each year, with all of our activities (including a slot for "visiting" scheduled). It's kinda funny, I used to make scheduled itineraries like that when I was a kid, if I was especially excited about the events of a particular day. I seem to remember being made fun of because I had scheduled a whole 30 min. just to eat cereal in the morning.
I'll just blame that on the fact that most kids lack a clear concept of time. Otherwise, why would they consistently ask on road trips, "Are we there yet?" again and again, after having been told (likely over and over) how long it would take to get there? Well...I can think of other reasons too.
But while I'm on the subject of concepts that mature with age, I think I'll get into the real topic for today: Free Speech. First off, whenever I come to my parents house, I love to go through old books and papers in the basement. I happened to be intrigued this time by some volumes of a series called Out of the Best Books that used to belong to my Grandma Banks. Each one is a compilation of essays, poems, short stories, etc. for LDS families. Specifically, this series was created for a program of Relief Society cultural refinement back in the 60s. There are six volumes that begin with personal values and self-worth, then move on to marriage and family relationships, and then our role in the community.
In the spirit of Independence Day, I decided to read a section in the fifth volume about Freedom. I was particularly impressed with an essay by Walter Lippmann, "The Indispensable Opposition." His views on the value of opposition are very similar to that of the LDS church. He concludes that opposition is essential in order for us to arrive at the truth of a matter, or to more knowledgeably form our own opinions. I would like to share a paragraph:
I mentioned a few months ago that I participated in a panel on campus discussing what educational experiences have been the most valuable to me in school. I spent a bit of time talking about how important my experience in debate class had been. When the class began, I had very fixed opinions about many topics, but through the course of two years in hearing opposing views, arguing opposing views, and researching opposing views, I felt less certain about some issues, and in my opinion, was the better for it.
In a way, my answers to various questions now take on the form of those found in multiple choice questionarres, with the direction: choose the most correct response. Those tests are full of decent answers. The world is full of decent answers. But our freedom of speech goes beyond respect and tolerance, and extends to helping ourselves and others find the most correct answers for our lives. This perspective really does make the concept of free speech much more unifying and liberating to me. Anyhow, the essay is worth reading.
I'll just blame that on the fact that most kids lack a clear concept of time. Otherwise, why would they consistently ask on road trips, "Are we there yet?" again and again, after having been told (likely over and over) how long it would take to get there? Well...I can think of other reasons too.
But while I'm on the subject of concepts that mature with age, I think I'll get into the real topic for today: Free Speech. First off, whenever I come to my parents house, I love to go through old books and papers in the basement. I happened to be intrigued this time by some volumes of a series called Out of the Best Books that used to belong to my Grandma Banks. Each one is a compilation of essays, poems, short stories, etc. for LDS families. Specifically, this series was created for a program of Relief Society cultural refinement back in the 60s. There are six volumes that begin with personal values and self-worth, then move on to marriage and family relationships, and then our role in the community.
In the spirit of Independence Day, I decided to read a section in the fifth volume about Freedom. I was particularly impressed with an essay by Walter Lippmann, "The Indispensable Opposition." His views on the value of opposition are very similar to that of the LDS church. He concludes that opposition is essential in order for us to arrive at the truth of a matter, or to more knowledgeably form our own opinions. I would like to share a paragraph:
"We miss the whole point when we imagine that we tolerate the freedom of our political opponents as we tolerate a howling baby next door, as we put up with the blasts from our neighbor's radio because we are too peaceable to heave a brick through the window. If this were all there is to freedom of opinion, that we are too good-natured or too timid to do anything about our opponents and critics except to let them talk, it would be difficult to say whether we are tolerant because we are magnanimous or because we are lazy, because we have strong principles or because we lack serious convictions, whether we have the hospitality of an inquiring mind or the indifference of an empty mind. And so, if we truly wish to understand why freedom is necessary in a civilized society, we must begin by realizing that, because freedom of discussion improves our own opinions, the liberties of other men are our own vital necessity."I think I'm probably guilty of missing the point of free speech. There are times when I treat the opinions of others like a game of Monopoly. I graciously wait while each player takes his turn, but am all too anxious for my own turn, so I can bankrupt them all with my newly constructed hotel on Ventnor Avenue. Of course, that didn't end up working the last time I played Monopoly. Well...getting at my point now, the right of free speech is much more than a fair and equal opportunity for everyone to express their own opinions, it is a right to continuously question and investigate what we feel is right, and to act on it.
I mentioned a few months ago that I participated in a panel on campus discussing what educational experiences have been the most valuable to me in school. I spent a bit of time talking about how important my experience in debate class had been. When the class began, I had very fixed opinions about many topics, but through the course of two years in hearing opposing views, arguing opposing views, and researching opposing views, I felt less certain about some issues, and in my opinion, was the better for it.
In a way, my answers to various questions now take on the form of those found in multiple choice questionarres, with the direction: choose the most correct response. Those tests are full of decent answers. The world is full of decent answers. But our freedom of speech goes beyond respect and tolerance, and extends to helping ourselves and others find the most correct answers for our lives. This perspective really does make the concept of free speech much more unifying and liberating to me. Anyhow, the essay is worth reading.
July 2, 2009
June 30, 2009
eMusic: Gems and Junk
I am officially ending my subscription with eMusic today after 10 months of loyal service. Well, not entirely loyal. I attempted to cancel my membership a few days ago, but they bribed me with a bonus package of 25 free songs to stay. Of course, I accepted their offer with the intention of immediately downloading a bunch of songs and then canceling anyway. Suckers! Anyway, I’ve now come to realize that I’ve added over 500 songs to my collection that’ve come from independent labels. Hooray, for me. It certainly was a goal of mine to look into…how did I phrase it then, “underground music”? I really wouldn’t consider myself a music buff without being fully able to spout off a bunch of no-names bands that, well, no one has ever heard of. And that is what this blog is all about, stuff that you have never heard of, and probably never will again. Yes, I am going to share what I’ve dug up in the “underground,” the gems and the junk.
GEMS
1. And One – I first heard of And One after reading up about the “Dark Wave” genre on Wikipedia. There were a slew of bands listed and I probably looked up every one of them. The most mainstream Dark Wave band that I can offer up for an example would have to be Depeche Mode. Lovely, lovely Depeche Mode (who have a concert coming up in August!). And One has a very similar sound to Depeche Mode, with the synthesizer, deep vocals, and a somewhat moody tone. I find music that is both moody and catchy to be a sort of delightful contradiction. Like many of the other bands on the Dark Wave list, these guys are Germans. And I generally consider Germans themselves to be a delightful contradiction, so, this was a gem.
2. Lacrimosa – This band was also on the Wikipedia list of Dark Wave bands. I loved them immediately. All of their albums are themed, and they are all strictly in German. I really enjoyed listening to these songs while simply interpreting them from the emotion in the vocals and music alone. That is rare for me. I usually feel that becoming familiar with the lyrics and knowing what the song is about is a must. In a way, it is liberating that I don’t understand the words, and am in no way constrained by them. Their albums are really the closest I have come to going to an opera in a foreign language. They are fabulous.
3. The Crüxshadows – Also on the Dark Wave list! It is obvious that eMusic has introduced me to a new genre of music with which I can expand my horizons, eh? Honestly, I’m a little embarrassed that I really like this band. Firstly, because I suppose in some capacity it is considered Gothic. My mind always leaps to extremes when I hear the word “gothic.” I picture really depressed teenagers dressed all in black that hate everything (especially sunlight) except the few things that they are overly obsessive and passionate about (which likely has something to do with vampires). Second reason, kind of an extension of the first, take a look at the lead singer of the band:
He honestly goes by the name "Rogue." Yeah, like the X-Men character. One of the female X-Men characters. Despite this, however, I downloaded their music anyway, and have found many of their songs to be very energetic, uplifting, and thought-invoking. Plus, they often incorporate violins! And in no way whatsoever do they compel me to read the Twilight series, so I am safe.
4. Les Claypool’s Frog Brigade – Some time back when I really got into podcasts, I enjoyed the opportunity to hear some cover songs of Pink Floyd on Brain Damage. As a matter of fact, I made a colossal effort to track these songs down afterwards, and ended up finding a cover of the entire Animals album on eMusic. Of course, this album is based on the book Animal Farm by George Orwell. I still haven’t read that yet, but I certainly love this album. To hear the entire thing covered by a band as good as Les Claypool was pretty awesome. Hmm…I’ve always had a thought that marriage was like a good cover song (a sweet mixture of what’s new and what’s familiar). Maybe I should marry the Frog Brigade…
On second thought, no thanks.5. Symphony X – I’m cheating with these guys a little because I bought one of their albums before I joined eMusic. However, I discovered that basically all of their albums are available in the eMusic catalog, which was pretty exciting. These guys are Progressive Metal, and can certainly hold a candle to the infamous Dream Theater (of the same genre, heavily influenced by my fav. band Rush as it so happens). This genre is the playground for nerds who want to become cool, and in my opinion, they often successfully pull that off. As far as Symphony X goes, the nerdish upbringing scenario is more apparent than speculative, given that their guitar player's first name is Romeo. In case you were actually wondering, "What's in a name?" the answer is: you're a nerd, I mean...enough.
Symphony X writes songs based on stories from mythology, Poe, Lewis Carroll, and even a whole album on Milton’s Paradise Lost, among other things. I haven’t undertaken that book yet, either, but all in good time. I don’t suspect it will be a page turner, though. Anyway, I certainly have to be in the mood for this kind of thing, but it has a memorable place in my collection.
Symphony X writes songs based on stories from mythology, Poe, Lewis Carroll, and even a whole album on Milton’s Paradise Lost, among other things. I haven’t undertaken that book yet, either, but all in good time. I don’t suspect it will be a page turner, though. Anyway, I certainly have to be in the mood for this kind of thing, but it has a memorable place in my collection.
Incidentally, I did find a lot of other great bands in the catalog, but I decided to only share the more obscure and previously unheard of in the lot.
Wow. They even look like morons, don't they?
JUNK
1. Attrition – I don’t know what compelled me to get this trash. The album (This Death House…) consists of only two tracks: “Crawling,” and “Dead of Night.” They are each roughly 20 min. of constant static and wind simulations mixed in with startling electronic zings and zangs with absolutely no melody. Basically, it is Alfred Hitchcock meets Industrial music, and it is lousy.
2. Edguy – Now, I at least know where I was coming from when I decided to get this band. As it turns out, the lead singer sounds like a bad imitation of Queensrÿche’s lead vocalist Geoff Tate. For the record, Tate is awesome. Metal is just a difficult genre to untangle, but I feel much of its charm comes from it being “over the top.” In almost every sense. With this in mind, somehow the offense of imitation becomes even more repulsive than in other genres.
3. Magma – This one is pretty interesting, actually. These guys did concept albums that revolved around the premise of a group of people fleeing a resource-spent Earth to settle on a planet called Kobaïa. The band even created a unique language, Kobaïan, in which most of the lyrics are actually sung. I guess originally this had a sort of Tolkien appeal to me, as Tolkien constructed his own elvish language, Quenya, for The Lord of the Rings. Being a person that likes a fair bit of Progressive Rock, I don’t ordinarily agree with those that make the argument that the genre is repulsively pretentious. It took listening to jazz fusion mixed in with Kobaïan to see their point. Gag!
As if needing eight members in a rock band wasn't pretentious enough.
4. Lycia – The concluding statement in the review given on eMusic for their album A Day in the Stark Corner, says, “a series of similar sounding pieces which work wonderfully as an extended mood setter.” My “extended mood” was boredom. Utter, utter boredom.
5. Ayreon – Well, here are the opening lyrics of Into the Electric Castle: “Welcome, you have entered the cranial vistas of ‘Psychogenesis.’ This is the place of no time and no space. Do not be afraid, for I am merely the vocal manifestation of your dreams. I am as water, as air, as breath itself. Do not be afraid. Look around, but linger not. Where I lead, you will follow. Mark these words well: Ignite my anger with your delay and punishments will come your way.” Nuff said. Except that the last line is pretty ironic, if you ask me.
3. Magma – This one is pretty interesting, actually. These guys did concept albums that revolved around the premise of a group of people fleeing a resource-spent Earth to settle on a planet called Kobaïa. The band even created a unique language, Kobaïan, in which most of the lyrics are actually sung. I guess originally this had a sort of Tolkien appeal to me, as Tolkien constructed his own elvish language, Quenya, for The Lord of the Rings. Being a person that likes a fair bit of Progressive Rock, I don’t ordinarily agree with those that make the argument that the genre is repulsively pretentious. It took listening to jazz fusion mixed in with Kobaïan to see their point. Gag! As if needing eight members in a rock band wasn't pretentious enough.4. Lycia – The concluding statement in the review given on eMusic for their album A Day in the Stark Corner, says, “a series of similar sounding pieces which work wonderfully as an extended mood setter.” My “extended mood” was boredom. Utter, utter boredom.
5. Ayreon – Well, here are the opening lyrics of Into the Electric Castle: “Welcome, you have entered the cranial vistas of ‘Psychogenesis.’ This is the place of no time and no space. Do not be afraid, for I am merely the vocal manifestation of your dreams. I am as water, as air, as breath itself. Do not be afraid. Look around, but linger not. Where I lead, you will follow. Mark these words well: Ignite my anger with your delay and punishments will come your way.” Nuff said. Except that the last line is pretty ironic, if you ask me.
Wow. They even look like morons, don't they?Well, we have come to the end. So long eMusic! I now pass the torch onto my brother, as it so happens that his subscription officially begins tomorrow. Use those downloads wisely, my friend.
June 23, 2009
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