Music lately

I haven't posted on this blog in a long time and for some reason I got the urge to list some records I am currently into!

#1: Tom Waits- The Heart of Saturday Night: This record is so smooth. Before Tom Waits became an agent of the underworld he
had a smooth side that would make a lady buckle at the knees. This record is perfect for a rainy night with a glass of scotch.

#2: Getz/Gilberto- Two jazz masters collided to create a cool, calm piece of music. I'm sure everyone of you has heard "A Girl
from Ipenema." This record is a beautiful combination of nylon string guitar, piano, light drums/percussion, and the
croonigs of Jaoa Gilberto.

#3: Nine Inch Nails- Year Zero(remixes): HOLY SHIT! I cannot stop listening to this record. Saul Williams and Trent Reznor
do a mean remix of Survivalism. Also, the Faint re-mixed Meet Your Master. I challenge anyone to put that track on without
moving a muscle in your body. IMPOSSIBLE... Dance Tastic.

#4: Battles- Mirrored: Need I say more. If you haven't heard it...do it.

#5: Deftones- Saturday Night Wrist: There are seriously some tracks on this record that sound like they could have been on
"Adrenaline." I love Chino Moreno...what can I say.

Hungry for War

Since I am no longer in school, I have taken it upon myself to keep my education going. This quest has been relatively easy for someone like me who has a mind that needs new stimulation constantly. One of the myriad of themes I have chosen to focus on is War. After five years of studying political science, I still do not feel that I have been taught enough about the U.S.'s involvement in a number of wars such as Vietnam, Korea, the Philippines, the Spanish American War, Japan, etc...

There is no one definitive text that spells out why, when, where, and how the US got involved in these wars (arguably A People's History of the United States does just that, however, it is more focused on the people that participated in the war). War has always seemed like a rather silly concept to me. Why would you fight another country to achieve the eventual goal of peace? Most wars are fought under the banner of peace and democracy but achieve the exact opposite.

The two wars that have peaked my curiosity most recently are Vietnam and Korea. I think the reason I have been so interested in both of these conflicts is because the public was largely in the dark about both of them. The reporting was nothing like it is today and the United States government spun the majority of intelligence that came down from the Armed Forces anyways. Along those same lines, Korea and Vietnam seem to me to accurately represent what the Iraq War is to our generation. This time, however, there is no excuse for supporting the war.

In my crusade to come to terms with why the government will not come clean to the American public, I stumbled upon the following two quotations which made my heart pound. The first is from I.F. Stone, the influential American Journalist who dedicated his life to uncovering Secret History.

On the Korean War: " While the arms race and the attendant inflation were ruining America's allies, American leadership was still gripped by the dread of the consequences of peace upon the economy. This dread was dictating the actions of the politicians and business leaders. An economy accustomed to ever larger injections of inflationary narcotic trembled at the thought that its deadly stimulant might be shut off. The road to war was more than ever the path of least resistance in 1952...The dominant trend in American political, economic, and military thinking was fear of peace. General Van Fleet summed it all up in speaking to a visiting Filipino delegation in January 1952: 'Korea has been a blessing. There had to be a Korea either here or some place in the world." - From The Hidden History of the Korean War.

For some odd reason, I had never thought of this. If the Iraq War were to end today, the American public would see the horrible state of the economy, social programs, environmental funding, etc... This is certainly why the Bush administration has adopted the "Stay the Course" rhetoric since Day #1. If we did pull out, George W. Bush would be likely to be tarred and feathered in a public square. I guess I'll have to accept a 29% approval rating instead.

Switching gears now- I recently picked up "Fugitive Days" by Bill Ayers, a one-time leader of the activist group the Weather Underground. This book is a memoir about being on the run from the FBI but mostly about what it felt like to eat, sleep, fuck, and dream PEACE. The group's main goal was to bring about the end of the Vietnam War by showing the state that passive resistance was no longer an option. In the last pages of his book, he inadvertently lays out a thesis statement that is so powerful, I literally jumped out of my seat when I read it.

"No government in power sanctions dissent, none relishes a mobilized, politically active citizenry. Every government encourages obedience and conformity, docility, dependence, consensus. Each deceives its own people, opposes initiative, courage, or anything that smacks of citizens with minds of their own. Our government is no different."- From Fugitive Days.

Once again, I was unsure as to why this simplistic statement hit me so hard. After weeks of thought, I think I figured it out. From our earliest days of education, we have been taught that America is something monumental and mystical. We are not a state, we are a conglomeration of unique entities that came together over hundreds of years of peace, which began that thanksgiving day in November. We are taught to believe that our great nation is one too young to be guilty of any major offenses.

For me, this is a case of nature v. nurture. I have been nurtured to believe my government is inherently good. Luckily it is not in my nature to trust blindly. I would hope that anyone who actually reads this would think twice about the status of his or her country. We accuse others of being terrorists, while we stick guns up womens vaginas and blow them away (Vietnam). We drop gallons of liquid napalm on enemy villages filled with civilians (Korea). We shoot innocent civilians on crowded highways in an attempt to kill killers (Afghanistan). We destroy cities in the name of democracy and drive people from their lifelong homes to give them a better life (Iraq).

Electro-Blasting

Alright, so I am well aware of that fact that there is a stereotype out there that all electronic music is sandstormy techno that plays on Landsdowne Street on Thursday nights and cannot give the true music lover a sense of excitement. However, I severely disagree. This is why I am have vowed to compile a list of ten stone cold grooves that will bust your cochlea and infect your precious eardrums.

1) Radiohead- Myxomatosis (Judge, Jury & Executioner): Since the first time I heard the opening riff of this song, I was hooked. The distorted synth and odd-timed drum beat of this song are completely emblematic of why I have absolutely adored the Radiohead revolution over the past 10 years (Don't get me wrong, I am a huggge OK Computer fan). Thom Yorke's lyrics seem to oddly apply to my life at all times and the following lyric describes my inability to put my finger on why this song is fantastic: "She ate me up for breakfast, she screwed me in a vice, But now, I don't know why, I feel so tongue-tied." Thank you Thom, Jonny, Phil, Ed, and Colin for constantly blowing my ming with your fresh musical insights.

2) Amon Tobin- Deo: I first heard this song featured in the DVD, "All Aboard the Crazy Train," which features Laird Hamilton and a few of his friends surfing massive 50 foot swell in Hawaii. I did not know how the song would fare as it was taken out of context. However, put this song on in a pair of decent headphones and you will immediately realize Tobin's genius. His ability to layer songs is unprecedented. The transient soundscape of this song will make any music lover itch with excitement.

3) Chemical Brothers- Galvanize: I know many of you have heard this song. The Chemical Brothers are the masters of making the dance floor shake with excitement. The true test for an electronic jam, however, is if I can listen to it in a big setting and then be just as content listening to it in my headphones walking around. The beat in this song is funky fresh and will inevitably infiltrate your brain waves and restructure your walking pattern. Best listened to while walking around the city during the day time.

4) Spank Rock- Competition: I first learned about Spank Rock through a random link on Itunes. I'm so glad I clicked that fateful black text because I have been hooked ever since. Spank Rock's beats taste like a Thom Yorke techno project. They are rather minimal and often utilize unequalized sounds that seem to be cutting through the rest of the sound plastered on the speakers. Spank Rock is not British but his sound is reminiscent of South-East London Hip Hop.

5) Ratatat- Seventeen Years: Ratatat was recommended to me numerous times before I actually got around to listening to them. For me Ratatat is that band that I always find myself saying, "Why didn't I start listening to these guys earlier?" Luckily for me, however, right when I picked up their self-titled record, Classics was jut hitting shelves. Anyway, Seventeen Years starts with an apocalyptic sample of a man speaking while too guitars simultaneously hammer on 80's sounding high notes. Ratatat are two gentlemen who, on their first record, played electronic music with two guitars and a drum machine. I know you are saying, "Hey fucko, that's not electronic music!" But I say to you, "Take it easy, give the record a listen, and you'll thank me later." The best part of the song is definitely the interlude at around 1:37 when both guitars harmonize on a great riff that rivals any bullshit Journey ever shat out.

6) The Notwist- Pilot: The Notwist is another one of those guys that was jocked so hard before I got on the train. This song screams Her Space Holiday but I love it just the same. This song has a bassline that will make your foot bounce up and down and cause you to type on-beat. Note: This comes from the record, Neon Golden, which is phenomenal in its entirety. This jam is best listened to at extremely early hours of the morning after no sleep and an exhausting day.

7) Nine Inch Nails- Into to the Void (Fragile:Right)--> No electronic list is complete without a salute to Trent Reznor and the band that, for me, started the electronic genre. I have a feeling your saying "But Jay, what about Kraftwerk?" Sorry my friend, like everyone else born in America between 1984-1987, I heard Nine Inch Nails first. This song is a sonic assault on all of your senses. The breathy synth tones that rape this song of all normality hit something inside my soul everytime I listen to it. Anytime I am in some sort of existential crisis, the lyrics "I try to save myself but myself keeps slipping away" seem extremely pertinent.

8) DJ Shadow- Organ Donor: The organ line in this song is fucking brilliant. DJ Shadow has always done me right in the past. If you have never heard the album, ENTRODUCING, then definitely pick it up immediately. I heard something about judgment day coming soon. I know that God will certainly save those that have this record in their collection. Don't hate, congratulate.

9) Daft Punk- The Brainwasher: Let me preface this with, I think the new Daft Punk album kind of sucks. This song is incredible despite the overall quality of the record. This song does exactly what the title says it does. The rapidity of the concentrated beat in this song makes you want to jump out a window and run through a crazy labyrinth. If you are not a big Daft Punk fan, please pick up Homework. I assure you that you will not be disapointed. Additionally, if you have not seen the video for Robot Rock, go to Youtube immediately and watch it!

10) Clinic- Come Into Our Room: Last but by no means least, is Clinic's Come Into Our Room. I have not heard a Clinic record in its entirety. I seem to hear Clinic songs at house parties all over the place, but never cease to forget that I must listen to an entire record (I think this post will finally give me the motivation). This song is simple but beautiful. The piano lines drives the song and the soft vocals make you wonder what is really going inside that room.

If anyone actually listens to all of these songs, please let me know what you think.

-JG

We must speak our minds or fade into obscurity

The other day I had the opportunity to see New York Senior Senator Chuck Schumer speak at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Forum. My friend and I made our way over to the forum and got ready for some answers. Senator Schumer is someone who has been extremely hawkish and stinging with his anti-war criticisms. I figured that the Kennedy school would be the best place. It is one of the premier institutions of politics in the nation.

However, to my grave dissapointment, the forum was nothing of a forum at all. Senator Schumer gave a 30-40 minute speech plugging his book, "Positively American" and told us a ridiculous amount about the fictional, middle-class characters in his book, Joe and Ilene Bailey. They are middle class residents of Brooklyn who are supposed to represent middle class views and lifestyles. This wasn't what bothered me so much. Obviously if I wrote a book, I may take some time to explain it. He was also doing a book signing afterwards and by enticing the audience, he would get increased sales.

What really got to me was the questions that were asked. These Harvard kids were a bunch of brownosers! Every student that stepped up to the microphone began there response with something reminiscent of the following-

"Hello Senator Schumer, My name is ___________ (Insert Smith, Johnson, White, etc...) and I am from _______________ (Insert affluent community here). I would like to thank you for attending the Harvard Forum today. I have a) always followed your career, b) always thought you were great c) admire your distinct voice in the senate d) love you e) always wanted to be a senator one day and aspire to be such an ardent advocate of the left. My question is (compliment to the book) and I wanted to know more about it."

WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!? This man is a Senator, not Poseidon. What is everyone afraid of? After a series of questions from these types, there were three different questions from Larouchies! The Larouche Political Action Committee was in full effect talking about a space program run by Russia and Iran. Supporters of Lyndon Larouche, I have one question for you: Why are you constantly irrelevant?

Disgusted by the brownnosing, I walked out. I could not even stand it. I should not have let these types get to me but I did. In the aftermath of the lecture, I have a few questions I will be sending in a letter to Senator Schumer.

1) Senator Schumer, you were one of the chief architects of the Democratic takeover in 2006. The sole reason that the Democrats won was because the majority of the American public disagrees with how the Bush administration is handling the War in Iraq. What are you going to do about it? And please don't give me some rhetoric about non-binding resolutions. Those aren't real, clear solutions.

2) Senator Schumer, I was one of hundreds of thousands of protestors in Washington D.C. on January 27, 2007. We marched right up to the Capitol steps to bring a message to Congress and the President. My question for you was did you even notice? Did you happen to bring it up at the cafeteria with all your buddies during lunch that day? Or did it come up as joking matter of drinks in the Capitol bar that night? If you care that much about ending the war, why were you not in the streets with us? Chuck Rangel was there... were were you?

3) Senator Schumer, you have always defended your vote for the war by the following logic: When 9/11 happened, the majority of the Congress went along with the Presidents plan. When he decided we were going to war, the majority went with his plan. You say that if everyone did what they wanted to, there would be 535 plans with one vote for each plan. So, my question to you is the following: why in the world is the Senate wasting there time with a number of separate NON-BINDING RESOLUTIONS? The key word in this phrase is NON-BINDING. I have been disgusted by the Democrats failure to even muster support for their own resolutions, which will have the net effect of doing absolutely nothing. If you can't do anything about it, you should let the American people know they voted for a farce.

Thank you and goodnight.

Aqua Teen Bomb Threat...

I have been absolutely sickened by the ridiculous police response to the recent guerilla marketing campaign by Turner Broadcasting Company in Boston. For any of you have not already witnessed the absurd police presence due to the ads, let me explain. A non-traditional advertising company out of NYC hired people to place battery powered (glowing) panels of the mooninites all over six cities throughout the United States.

In Boston they were placed in such places as the Charles MGH T stop and under a bunch of highway underpasses. Someone reported one of these glowing signs and called the police. Of course the police, looking to be heroes, assembled a massive ensemble of state, city, and bomb squad forces to shut down the city and try to rescue us from the 'terrorists'. This caused massive delays on the subway, roadways, and disrupted just about every facet of city life. Not to mention dominating the lion share of media coverage for the entire day! There are too many important things going on in the world (Sudan, Iraq, the absurd amount of homelessness, Afghanistan, AIDS, Lebanon... and the list goes on and on) for the media to be freaking out about GLOWING SIGNS PROMOTING AN ADULT SWIM CARTOON!

This event, in combination with the police force shown to us in Washington D.C. at the peace protest on 01/27/07, has demonstrated to me that law enforcement are really looking just to be heroes. Before the whole city of Boston was shutdown, the police should have looked into the sign FIRST. Look if you ask anyone from the age of 18-24, they would certainly know what the sign stood for. Christ, the second I saw it I started laughing. Mayor Menino has said that he is sickened by the ad campaign. I AM SICKENED BY THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WENT INTO THE USELESS INVESTIGATION. How hypocritical can you be. Apologize to the people of Boston for wasting their time and money. Don't throw these guys in jail for being innovative. After all, that's what capitalism breeds...Competition. The ads were simply trying to get people to buy their product. That is what we Americans do best.

Yesterday really should have awakened the City of Boston to the skewed list of priorities this city government has. Menino needs to get the hell out of office. He has been acting mayor for 14 years. There comes a time when a city needs a change. I have a friend who works for City councilor Tobin. He has told me how Menino has a lock on all city policies. People have shut their brains down. What Menino says, goes. We need a change in Boston and the rest of the country. It is funny how one little event can ignite so much inside of you.

You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake

Mark Santora posted a haunting article in today's New York Times describing a massive double car bombing in Baghdad yesterday. As of now 88 have been declared dead. The attack was described as "one of the worst scenes of carnage since the war began." I find this interesting because the attack last week was also described in these very terms. I know that I am not in Iraq and do not have the benefit of being able to speak to the citizens there. However, it seems like every quote I find in all types of publications (liberal, conservative, etc...) alludes to the idea that Iraqi citizens have no hope for their country.

Why are our men and women standing in the way of missiles and continually being led into dangerous areas chuck full of IED's? Why is it that we are sending an additional 24,000 soldiers into a disaster scene. 3,200 U.S. soldiers have perished in the attacks so far and the number continues to rise daily. Not to mention the 30,000+ Iraqi civilian casualties. No one seems to realize that a good number of our bombing missions are way off target and that Iraqi civilians are largely the victims.

The slew of news reporting from the region only strengthens my conviction that I MUST March on Washington this weekend to protest the horrible handling of this national disaster. Inducing a civil war...the history books will not look kindly on you Mr. Bush.

On the Road

I finally finished my first complete reading of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road." The first attempt to the read the book came during junior year of high school. At that point in my life, I related to nothing in the book. I had done no traveling, lived a rather insulated life, and found myself hating his stream of conscious writing style.

This read was amazing however. I absolutely fell in love with the drawn out descriptions of Americana. The descriptions of long nights in Denver with Neil Cassady (Dean Moriarty) and Allen Ginsberg (Carlo Marx) really remind me of the late night sessions at Bukowski's with Steve and DJ. I got really bummed that Steve has moved back to Syracuse to explore his dreams of working as a journalist in random cities throughout this vast earth. However, I found myself rejoicing by the end of the book due to the fact that Steve living far away is a great excuse to travel!

It is difficult to explain the genius of Kerouac. Like I mentioned earlier, I never saw it until now. One beautiful aspect of literature that I don't hear many people discussing, is the idea that a good book will always hit you differently every time you read it. I recently re-read the Unbearable Lightness of Being, Slaughterhouse Five, and Night. I had read all three books in high school and have claimed to LOVE them ever since. Upon re-reading them, I've established mental connections to the characters of the books that I only dreamed possible in the early days of reading.

Here are a few quotes I truly found fascinating from On the Road:

"What difference does it make after all?-anonymity in the world of men is better than fame in heaven, for what's heaven? what's earth? All in the mind."


"The one thing that we yearn for in our living days, that makes us sigh and groan and undergo sweet nauseas of all kinds, is the remembrance of some lost bliss that was probably experienced in the womb and can only be reproduced (though we hate to admit it) in death."

I move back to Boston in a week or so... let's talk-let's fantasize, let's drink to happiness, health and life itself (for it is beautiful).

Shakin' in their boots.

I am sitting here watching a press conference that a number of Republican members of the House of Representatives gave last night. I am shocked by how truly scared they look. The debate is on Nancy Pelosi's proposed minority bill of rights and it's specific tenets. The Republicans, in true fashion, have argued that there are a number of good proposals in it but that the Democrats are going to strong arm the Republicans out of the debate. It is so easy to see through the facades put up by these white haired southern men who are scared shitless that a Democrat might get a seat at the shoe shiner before they do.

Basically the Republicans are claiming that the Democrats, who were elected on a promise to build bridges between the parties and ensure fairness and cooperation, are already showing signs of avoiding these promises in the first 100 hours of Congress. To me, it seems fair that the Democrats would take some steps to ensure that some of their proposals get passed in their grace period. I see the fear in the eyes of the junior congressmen and women who are so disappointed that they will have nothing to report to their constituencies. Look, it is easy to get legislation passed when you have a decent idea and the majority power behind you. It is not so easy when you have to fight desperately to bring members of the opposite party on your side.

Patrick McHenry, member from the 10th district of North Carolina, got called out on the fact that Republicans have done everything they are now complaining about in the past few years. He stumbled all over himself in the response. He didn't seem to have a clue what he was talking about. This is my prediction of what happened: Representative McHenry received an email before the press conference with a list of rhetoric hot points. He tried to use one of them to get a pat on the back from ranking members in his party, but never stopped to think about the fact that his party has committed the same offenses numerous times. When called on it, what is his response... "Well, I am a JUNIOR member."

Come on sir! If you are going to wear the daddy pants, put them on and at least try to look comfortable.

The other point that I would like to touch on is this. Almost every Republican that came up to the podium made some comment about how historic of a moment it is for the nation. They all tried to play it off that they were so excited that a WOMAN is going to be Speaker of the House. Mind you, I am very excited about this and I think it is fantastic. However, every time someone would say something about it, you could see how truly disgusted the men were with it. Mostly in the way they said the word woman. I could tell their mouths were infected with a vomit-like taste every time it was repeated.

I am disappointed at the stubbornness and bluntness of the Republicans in the hour before the 110th Congress is set to convene. The obvious question is, however, why would anyone expect anything else?

The Ford Funeral

I am currently watching CBS's coverage of President Gerald Ford's funeral services. I just wanted to take a second to say how much I have enjoyed getting to know more about Ford in the past few weeks. I am a huge fan of the study of the American Presidency and the more I learn about Ford as President, the more I respect the man. Although I hugely disagree with his decision to pardon Richard Nixon, I think he really was a selfless man.

I have really enjoyed the modesty of Ford's funeral. Upon juxtaposition with the carnival that was Reagan's funeral, I really think it is suiting send off for a man like Gerald Ford. I would only hope that future funerals of Presidents focus this much on the man and not so much on the myth of grandiosity that surrounds the Executive. It is often times to easy to forget that the human being who occupies the White House is just that, a human being. These men have families, feelings, wants, desires, insecurities, and human tendencies just like the rest of us. I know I too often criticize people in a position of power for making decisions I see as rather selfish and unfounded. This is the true American spirit in me.

President Ford had the courage to make decisions he knew were largely unpopular. He was steadfast and true to his beliefs. For this, I am saddened that such a man has passed away. I wish more people had the courage to do what they know is right.

Happy New Year everyone.

-JG

America Runs on Pollution

While picking up trash on the beach today, I was horrified by the amount of styrofoam cups I discovered in one stretch of land. Unfortunately, the majority of the cups were from Dunkin Donuts. This certainly makes sense in NH where we have no Starbucks. I would hope that anyone reads this thinks twice before polluting one of the Earth's most beautiful resources.

I guess it really is true that America Runs on Dunkin. Hopefully the company can phase out non- biodegradable cups.

-JG