Conditions of America

A Brief Survey of Unmusical Music in the Cruise Industry/Obli Gada the Hun

2012-02-16T07:06:00.000-05:00

Nearlya decade ago I began working as a pianist in the cruise industry. After opening the musical “Footloose”at our local regional theater, the phone rang with an offer to play in theorchestra for Carnival Cruise Line. Ten years is enough time to have amassed a substantial chapter in one’smusical and personal history. MyCarnival tenure only lasted three years, because it became apparent not only tome that the ship’s orchestras possessed no interest in nurturing piano talent. Often they were drunken debacles of amyriad of musical rejects that spent the majority of their non-drinking timedisguising their disinterest in music. Only an occasional Musical Director exhibited an interest in broadeningtheir mind with a vast vocabulary of musical styles.

Over a decade later now it is easy tounderstand this disinterest. Avast vocabulary of musical styles means a vast vocabulary of potentialemotional responses to tempo and rhythm. No one was interested in exploring their emotional psyche and itsmusical counterpart on a ship. Itwas easier to play in the one style generated by the computer and relinquishany potential emotional connection to the audience. Historically music abstractlyhas been preserved with and by this emotional engagement. On the contrary and with reinforcementfrom the cruise industry, non-musicians deface the aesthetic of musicto coerce their audiences intosubmission. It is thequintessential definition of The Old Razzle Dazzle. Described in the lyrics of this savvy theatrical song, “The Old RazzleDazzle” describes the vocation of most cruise ship musicians. Real musicians with talent andunderstanding of the human condition are not attracted to the slave-like laborafforded by cruise companies. Thesharing of a closet in which to live, the eating of scraps of gristle and bonefor meals, and the earning of low wages make the filling of cruise musicianpositions a paltry crap shoot. There are few real musicians left.

Oneexemplary Musical Director comes to mind when retrospectively surveying my unmusical cruising experiences. I will call him Obli Gada the Hun. Could that pseudonym mean he improvised his own obliquemelissma at Royal Caribbean reinforcing his skewed, neurotic, musical opinions? Obli Gada was the fomenter of theinherent battle that will supervene when capable musicians are interspersedwith marauding ones. Also hetypifies the Republican Party’s political tactics over the last fewdecades. When one cannot win on alevel playing field, you slant the field in your favor.

WhenI worked under Obli Gada he would not allow me to play instinctually. Hisinsecurity dominated the orchestra with overbearing playing or directing. He kept me in a box as a whoreperforming in the most subordinate and compliant manner. I didn’t know this at the time. Having re-established contact with Oblirecently, it became perfectly clear. This man was a narcissistic slanderer, and I was continuing to be his dupe. After thinking about it for several weeks, I decided I nolonger had to listen to his misguided, false, and antagonistic opinion. It was over. I wrote Obli a message objecting to his continued insults. Subsequently he rejoined with one lastround of condescending rhetoric then selfishly terminated his communicationwith me. In the final moments ofour interaction he proved again his continued depravity. I was saved!

AlthoughI have not spent much time thinking about what he continued to say, it isworthy of reflection. Obli Gada continuedto profess I quit the cruise industry and leave my job to non-musicians likehim. This was not an option. Let me make this clear. This was my Musical Director. Neverdid he allow me to express my knowledge or talent of music for the company. He continued to suggest years later Iquit my job. Is this the kind ofsupervisor the cruise industry relishes, one who is threatened by his chargesand attempts to maintain authority by berating the employees his company and heshould embrace? The answer isno. Luckily his tainted colorsbled through, and Obli lost the position of MD.

Idid have to ask myself the question why Obli seemed to think I had a highopinion of my musicality. Was itperhaps because of instead of being able to reinforce my musical worth on thejob, I had to tell him of what I wasmusically capable? Why hiremusicians with talent and use them as whores? There is a simple answer to this question, but it did notbecome apparent to me until later in my tenure with Royal Caribbean.

Theanswer to this question is in an increasingly Stalinist America the public haslost their similitude with the artistryof live music. Napster createdthis grift. America’s love affairwith the histrionics of Rock and Roll was quelled, when Napster began givingaway the music for free. Single-handedly Napster replaced the music industry with the personalcomputer. We began to burrow intoour own sensibilities leaving the democratic fellowship of live music in ourwake. Serially fueled by Kariokeour narcissistic needs became more important than a communion of souls tenderedby artistic music. Americanpopular music in one fell swoop became Professional Wrestling. Campy sentimentality overtook the needfor volatile emotional musical expression. Compliantly America’s listening public digressed into theexpendable income of selfish, tepid, gadget-buying adolescents.

Napsterwas the watershed entrepreneurialmaneuver of the century. A drivingforce of America’s economy and a crucial shaping of American popular culturewere impotent. America, a oncethriving Mecca of music industry, transmuted into a non-mainstream ideologydotted with future wireless, P.C. based, personal entertainment devices. Live music that traditionally had beenvenerated as sexual intercourse became hackneyed and was ceded in lieu ofmasturbation.

Itis interesting to study this transformation of American values. Many social, cultural, and politicaledicts have contributed to this spinning of America’s traditional ideals. Most easily they can be defined asconservative attempts to restrict the mobility of new money. Afterdecades of government antitrust legislation the grassroots movements that builtAmerica’s socio-economic foundation were starved. Old Money flexedits muscles and strangled America’s once opportunity for economic freedom.

Theother answer to the musical question is now that musicality has been abolished the fight for musicality will become the product. In an eerie parity to novelist GeorgeOrwell’s Big Brother, cruiselines are content to humiliatetheir musicians in public for its entertainment value. No longer is producing an artistic musical product the goal. The goal is to spectate the fight formusicality against a corporately produced projection of musicality.

Howdid Obli singularly oppress my musical instincts on the job? The easiest method was to reduce myopportunity to play. Thissubversive motive is the antithesis of a cruise musician’s jobdescription. While it is truecruise lines only are interested in music as revenue and do not understandmusicality, they are content to insistyou work. Conversely it can besurprising to work on a ship where the Executive Committee understands it ismore lucrative to prohibit theorchestra from playing. From alayman’s point of view this is advantageous. From a musician’spoint of view this is an extreme disadvantage. Not only does one become disassociated from one’s genuinevocation, it is extremely boringto bide time on a vessel dedicated to the superficial entertainment ofcruisers.

Inessence the language of music can and should be an elevating constituent of thecruise experience. Historicallythis is what the aesthetic of music has done. It through its unique and sophisticated language attempts tocreate the appropriate affective moments otherwise missing from the canning ofthousands of guests in a large, floating, metal container.

Howover the short history of the cruise industry has music becomemisrepresented? The surprisingconclusion is the cruise industry is responsible for the unmusical indoctrination of its employees. In their futile attempt to utilize thecraft of music as a commodity, their lack of understanding of music asart has inaugurated a subordinate music systemadevoid of meaning. Traditionallymusic never has been metronomically quantized from a computer to emulate a musical performance. Stealthy over time this aberrant product called tracks began to replace the library of traditionallistening required by accredited music schools. Fledgling musicians began to absorb their musicalproclivities not from America’s recordedlineage of popular music, but from thisderivative, colloquial, corporately produced fraud.

Tracksconsist of a vague, narrow, elementary interpretation of musical style. They are lacking the fundamentalelement that potentially brings life and feeling to music, rhythmic clave. Whileclave predominantly is used in Afro-Cuban music to define two particularrhythmic patterns (3-2, and 2-3), it better can be used to describe any numberof rhythmic patterns found in American popular music. These patterns most often are found in bass and drums. Styles of American music specificallycan be distinguished by these patterns, their accents, and their rhythmicorientation in relation to a strict metronomic pulse. It is possible to play ahead and behind the beat, anddifferent instruments in the rhythm section often play in different places. These crucial nuances that determinethe feel of the music carelessly are omitted in cruise tracks. Instead a base, simplistic, rudimentary8^th note pulse is used instead incapable of producing a particularrhythmic feel. As one can imagine changes of rhythmicfeel that should coincide with different emotional responses conspicuously areabsent in tracks. This shell ofrhythm allows for the unskilled performance of music with no representation oftime.

Possiblyat one time it was understood in the cruise industry tracks actually never should be heard. They were meant to be an anodyne whenmusicians could not perform their jobs. Over the years and with negligence the tracks became the core of ships’ musical performances. Orchestra musicians were disenchantedwith this situation and consequently resorted to the only method with which tonavigate this humiliating professional musical experience. They began to drink on the job, becauseit did not matter if they played or not.

Thisshipboard administrative neglect fostered the misrepresentation of musicalityin the cruise industry. It spawnedthe burgeoning of a breed of compliant,Yes Man, musical whores who are morecontent to succumb to corporate pressure than remain true to the musicalaesthetic. Ultimately the cruisecompanies suffer from a perceived lack of humanity, a loss of revenue, and ajaded reputation. Cruise companiesbegan to negate this beleaguered musical product by firing many of the bandsthat could not play authentically. Downsizing the orchestras was the next step to musical vindication. The process will continue until a newbreed of vital, talented, and feeling musicians is found. It is not likely to happen anytimesoon. America’s once vital musicindustry has been usurped by the personal computer.

Howexactly can musicality be restored? A complete understanding of the term Popular Music is necessary. The etymology of “pop” is an abbreviation of the word popular. Defined musically popularis commercial, accessible, tuneful music originating in the l950’s. What exactly is this? If surveying America’s complete musicalhistory, Stephan Foster must be credited as the first successful composer ofAmerican popular music. “OldSuzanna,” sung to the strum of a banjo on a riverboat pier, easily provided anidentity for a pop turn-of-the-centuryAmerica. Americans found surplusrevenue and began to purchase pianos for their parlors. Tin Pan Alley capitalized on this cultural trend and began tocompose and publish sheet music for personal performance in ones’ homes. Later during the Jazz Age Americanpopular music was weaned from thefolks. Mainstream commercial music was born, its genealogy in theminstrel music of the Southern slave plantations. Was it Bob Dillon’s protesting lyrics and harmonica playing,the nonsense syllable of Do Wop, the vocal straight tone of Asturd Gilberto’sBossa Nova, or MUZAK that came to be known as “pop” in the 1950’s and1960’s?

Allof this history aside the modern day connotation of popular or popis different. Historically it isinaccurate. The significant influences of America’s Ragtime, Swing, Delta andUrban Blues, R&B, Soul, and Gospel music cannot be ignored. Because these genres are artistic itcan be concluded Popular Musichas became a term used for music as a commodity excluding its artistic elements. It isintended to be shallow and devoid of moving feeling. How is this goal accomplished in commercial music? The ingenious formula was to excludethe piano as a generator ofrhythm. Instead it uses therudimentary and easily obtainable strum of the guitar. Theguitar, unlike a piano, is a folk instrument and thus accessible to themasses. One does not have topossess an inordinate amount of musical technique and knowledge to strum aguitar. Conversely it takes yearsof lessons and practice to play the piano in its European tradition. The accessibility of the guitar is the major defining element of the modern definition of PopularMusic. As the guitar became the fundamental rhythmic generator ofthe music, its style began to be refined. Music producers like Tin Pan Alley again capitalized on this cultural trend and began to market a refinedversion of it to the masses.

TheBritish Rock Invasion of the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and Led Zepplincountered the pop formula with a more personal rhythmic feel. Rock widened the “pocket” of pop’s stiff, regulated, metronomic pulse and allowed alooser and more swinging beat. Rock ‘n’ Roll was born with its genealogy in Swing and never looked back.

In the last decade only has “pop” foundits way back into mainstream popular music. Thenegativity of “Rock-umentaries” on the VH-1 television network have exposed theunfortunate consequences of what became a drug obsessive lifestyle of touring. Just as early American prohibition attempted to legislate morality, politicians such asTipper Gore reprimanded the hedonistic lifestyle of Rock ‘n’ Roll music. Consequently that once compelling atmosphere of live music shrunk into prepackaged “pop” acts. They are conceived, defined, and controlledin corporate high rise offices. Fortunately the authentic music they replaced continues albeit lesscommercially beneath their feet in “Indy” America.

Whatis the result of this emasculation of American music? The loss of revenue from MTV, VH-1, and BET, record sales,and advertising on television and radio are substantial. Money that once flowed through theseviable venues now privately is held by the wealthy in banks in the CaymanIslands and Switzerland. Americanmusic is controlled by these few. The unskilled strum of their guitar has lost its colloquial charm. America and the world are hungry for amore potent and humanly satisfyingmusic.

Torevitalize the economy the difficult decision to be made by the affluent isagain to empower the common man. Without their ingenuity to earnsocial status rather than inherit it, there will be no music. The PopularMusic of the wealthy has reached rockbottom. Without human, emotional,and artistic sacrifice there is nothing. Obli Gadda the Hun, Napster, and they have raped and pillagedAmerica. She desperately needs tomarch to the beat of a differentdrummer, and that drummer needs to swing!

A Different Drummer

2012-01-03T23:23:00.000-05:00

Marchingto the beat of a different drummer always has been suspect. It seems only artists have the gall tobegin such a revolution. Americaher last two decades has become weak, apathetic, and uncaring. I take pride in the notion afterhearing Rick Santorum speak on C-SPAN months ago, I knew only he would be theviable Republican presidential candidate. Iowa it seems, throbbing to the beat of a “new” drummer, also castSantorum above the ridiculous lot of soap-box-shouting, media present,seemingly conservative Republicans. A small victory was won in my head. Many things I think and feel are diverted by modern daysociety. Often I feel guilty forbeing a college-educated man. Often I feel guilty still for possessing the possible love of awoman. Often I feel guilty forfeeling a need for heterosexual interaction, love, and sexual fulfillment. If I weren’t careful I would begin tobelieve 2012 would be the seeming end of the world. I am not sure how in America the “good guy” became the “badguy.” I am tired of feeling guiltyfor being good, but my conscience predicates I should. Still I receive no tangible reward ofwhich I am aware. Still in deepemotional pain, thwarting the imminent result, I persevere. I feel alone with little spiritual fulfillment. Only my brain serves me on task dailynot to drop its guard allowing me to become an uneducated manipulatedputz. It is your brain that drivesthe truck. It is your brain, notyour dick, that creates that drum beat.

Shallow America

2011-12-12T11:41:00.000-05:00

Afterreturning from Europe for six months, it has taken me longer than usual toremember my normal routine. America is not helping. Itis apparent that American television has digressed. Every time I turn on the tube I see neo-Republican soapboxshouters caught in an endless loop of stale, uninteresting, pretentiouscommentary. Why is it they arealways shouting? Why are theyalways whirling their bodies around like Shakers and Quakers seemingly speakingin tongues? If I hear one morepanel speak about the state of the American economy... We’ve got it. You don’t need to tell us anymore about what you don’tknow. We don’t need to see anymore bad news. What we need tohear about is innovation in business, manufacturing, or the arts. What we need to see is a return toAmerica’s grassroots movement embracing things that are meaningful, righteous,and giving. What we don’t need isshallow commentary trying to squeeze a dime out of the American people. There are too many channels. There are too many networks. There are too many devices. The simple task of finding a programhas become monumental. There aremirror channels now. One is HD andone is not. Why have both? I prefer a basic set of 60 or sochannels provided by a satellite. That used to be Direct TV, and I remember experiencing it in BlackMountain, North Carolina at a Comfort Inn. There on the tube was everything I needed to stayentertained. These days I findmyself watching only a few networks. Their content veritably is grassroots. “Moonshiners.” “Storage Wars.” “AmericanChopper.” “Swamp Men.” Why is it these particular kinds ofprograms are interesting? Thereisn’t a lot going on, but their concept deals with a grassroots level ofhumanity. They are satisfying,because the people in these shows are doing things Americans always have doneand enjoyed. There is both avisceral and spiritual satisfaction that comes from pursuing a cause and thenreaping the reward. What makes itbetter is that it is not cyber. Itis not cerebral. It is tangible,and that means satisfying the human psyche. America’s wealthy slowly over time have robbed Americans ofthe infrastructure that used to satisfy some of these desires. We used to have clean, natural,drinking water. We used to haveclean natural air devoid of electromagnetic waves. We used to have clean space to stretch our legs. Now it appears America is going Communist. I neverknew what that looked like until I went to Spain. Then I began to see long flat expanses of governmental-likehousing. There were metal fences. There were courtyards. There was dirt. There were few trees. There were few people. It looked like a Communist camp. America is becoming increasingly Communist. If Barak Obama is a socialist, and that would not be bad,he is not responsible for the wealthy in America’s charge to communize theUnited States. Are not ourfreedoms as both humans and American citizens being violated? Did not the Patriot Act violate ourright to privacy? Does notthe legislation Imminent Domain undermine the essence of the American Constitution? Why would we elect former Speaker of the House NewtGingrich president? Allready he has proven he is capable of failing to implement a “Contract with America.” He proved he could shut down the federal government. He has lied to hiswife and his republic. If we the people do notbeing to see what is happening, it may be too late.

What's the Bottom Line?

2011-11-29T20:27:00.000-05:00

I am tired of being mind fucked.

The Future American Economy

2011-11-29T20:21:00.001-05:00

Forsurvival’s sake we as human beings have to be flexible. I have found the older you get the moreflexible you must become. Actuallyin my life compromising my life long musical ambitions became the norm. In music always one had to becompetitive to stay ahead. Ilearned this early or rather just worked hard because it was the thing todo. You could either drink beerand smoke pot, or excel in some particular field. Because I have been a musician since childhood it seemed normalto try to excel in music. Luckilymy background and training paid off and my diligent dedicated labor kept meahead in the musical game. I wasable to begin playing “gigs” and making money from playing music. I never made a conscious decision to becocky. You just had to be to becompetitive. When I moved to theMidwest from the American South, I received a rather rude awakening. The acclimation that took place overseveral years was one that was socialist. The musicians in Columbus were not concerned with being told how goodyou were. They were honest andgenuine enough to want you to be a part of their fraternity, because there wasa common thread. You all lovedmusic. That love was what allowedyou to become a part of their community and thus “gig.” I learned a gigantic lesson insincerity. Over the years itbecame boring to me to concern myself with self-promotion. I had had so much of myself over theyears, I was not interested in hearing myself tell anyone how well I played andthat someone should give me a gig. I begin to pursue music because it was the right thing to do. What could that mean? The right thing to do is part of theProtestant Work Ethic. We workhard as men, because it was why we were put here on this earth. Our job is to succeed. It is right to continue to learn, becreative, and be productive. Thatis why I do music. I haveforgotten in America the field of commercial music is a dog eat dog scenario. I had been involved in academia foralmost nine years. I wasn’t havingto compete in the “real world” for recognition as a musician. I had paid my dues. Now that I no longer immediately am involvedwith academia, the rules of engagement seem to have changed. The game has changed. Above all the music has changed. The kind of music I was taught and towhich I listened was personal. It allowedfor personal expression. If themusic performance didn’t have your soul in it, you would fold. It would become very cold. You no longer would be playing music inpublic. Now the game is to beflexible. The game is tocompromise. The game is to notplay like we played by my learning. If you do you become an outcast for not lowering yourself to the lowestcommon denominator. Recently Ihave been trying to become re-motivated about music. Because I have been a professional musician for over twentyyears, I play well. Because I havestudied music at the doctoral level I know a lot about music. I can’t help it. When I play I feel like I am steppingon people’s toes. Is this becauseof the weak economy? Is it becausepeople are too uneducated to get what I do? Is it that people have become so self-centered that they nolonger are able to stop what they are doing and listen to someone else’sopinion? Karioke was the beginningof the end for professional music. Whoever decided that people should try to perform musically, no matterhow un-trained they were, should be shot. There was a time when music attempted to be artistic. It attempted to transcend. With these efforts came communicationand communing with the public. Nowmusic sucks up to the public and sacrifices its artistry in a lame excuse ofentertainment. It has beenemasculated. This trend must be acomponent of P.C., a premise that has become a joke, but stealthy still isdictating our lives. Slowly in Americathe freedoms and ideals human beings have forged and prolonged are beingreplaced with communist ideals. Weare being manipulated over time to become mindless, soulless, money-spendingandroids. The reason why theeconomy in America is in the dumps is because we have no product. Moving money around, while it workedfor a while for many who became rich, no longer is a viable source ofincome. The money all has beenreceived, and those who have received it certainly are not putting it back intothe American economy. It islaundered in some Grand Cayman bank and sent elsewhere. America has been abandoned, and I forone wish those rich people with the money would shut the fuck up. There is no way the economy in Americacan be re-fueled by the poor. Ittakes money to make money, and those small business loans and credit lines have beenabsorbed by those crafty rich. Until people are employed, a product is produced sold and bought, andthat money circulates, there will be no revitalization of America’seconomy. The Grassroots rootsprogram that started America will have to return. Maybe the disappearance of those crafty rich is what isnecessary. History shows what is tocome.

What Actually is the American Economy?

2011-11-29T18:11:00.001-05:00

Twiceonly in my short life have I experienced mental illness. Mental illness can be stealth. In certain ways it can be moredifficult to understand and treat than physiological illnesses. That is why we have psychology andpsychiatry. What do I meanby “mental illness?” Perhaps theterm mental illness is inappropriate jargon. If one becomes off balance in their daily routine for someunknown reason, is this mental illness? Mental illness better clarified would mean an ailment or affliction thatsustains the test of time. It isnot a temporary navigating of the stormy seas of everyday life. It would be something that sticksaround. In professional terms thatwould be categorized as “chronic.” Some deviant situation that recurs for a length of time likely couldcause mental illness, because the mind loses the ability to remember what ishealthy. It would be often in theevolution of man the human mind and body have enabled themselves to survive bythe process of accommodation. Whenfaced with a non-changing environment within which we are forced to operate forfinancial sustenance, our minds can accommodate the situation by adapting. Upon scrutiny we may alter our moral orethical codes to justify our economic freedom. Is this freedom worth the social and psychological freedomwe pursue as human beings? Moreastutely characterized is this “American” freedom worth the psychologicalprice? We cannot be so shallow torecognize many other global cultures are not afforded any civil liberty, so theboundary between human and civil liberty must be defined. One could use the United StatesConstitution as “ground zero.” That could be why many foreign cultures seek asylum in the UnitedStates. They understand, respect,and admire the rights outlined in our Constitution. Sociologically the challenge is to understand human rightsand how they have been defined and implemented by different politicalregimes. What is an unacceptableenvironment? In the field oflabor, an entity that Abraham Lincoln considered synonymous with America,unions were organized to mitigate conditions of labor. Today the term “labor union,” like manythings in non-mainstream America, can elicit bipolar responses. In recent decades America politically hasbecome more polarized. The term“mainstream” has gone undercover leaving the defining of our own society toourselves. We have become forcedto become better educated on our own tosurvive in an increasingly hypocritical and often evil socio-economicconstruct. Once affordedgovernment-provided amenities have vanished. With them has vanished our quality of life forcing us to buy the creature comforts our country onceprovided. This has become the “NewAmerican Economy.” We are living off one another, not for one another. Ironically and erroneously Republicans shout, “Socialist” atour President, when their already-rooted communist economic infrastructure isthe enemy. Grass roots artistic and intellectual aesthetics have becomedisguised and decreed unimportant. We are experiencing a modern “Dark Ages” perhaps or perhaps not fueledby a teetering economy. It is the prospectus of this economy that should be in question.

An Artistic Healing of Neurosis

2011-11-29T14:11:00.001-05:00

Uponwatching Woody Allen being interviewed by Jay Leno, it became perfectly clearthat his comedy is a metaphor for Jewish neurosis. A light bulb went off in my head! I have been asking myself the last month how I amgoing to understand and heal my own neurosis. His answer was comedy. Over the decades after the obtainment of security (personal wealth) hewas able to use his neurosis positively as a motivation for creativity. Although misunderstood many would besurprised to know upon study artists do the same thing. “When life gives you lemons, you makelemonade!” The argumentpresents itself that neurosis should not be necessary for great art. Upon study it could be proven easilythat it is this unresolvedness often that prompts attempted healing by use ofartistic metaphors. Artistsstudy and understand, synthesize, and abstract their aberrations into artisticrenderings. The thorough study andexpunging of their afflictions in the present helps to cure the eventual, longer lasting,emotional effects the neurosis may cause in the future. What is interesting is, “Will an artisthave able material with which to create if there is no such rift?” Consequently are artists naturally andopenly sentenced to lives of continual neurosis?

Theprimary and painful step in the healing process is attempting hypothetically tounderstand its cause. A hypotheticalor disassociated survey of one’s own history attempts to quell painlessly neurosis’ssymptoms. The artistic process onthe other hand may use the emotional unrest of neurosis and funnel it intocreative impetus. While it couldbe understood traditionally only good emotion is used as motivation for art,history has shown that also art has been used for catharsis. The film Goya’s Ghost provides a perfectexample of such art. The argumentcould be presented that creativity which is intelligently and skillfullychanneled may only be an attempted diversion or escape from neurosis. It is now that the subconscious mind is brought intoplay. As synthesizers humansshould not be expected cognitively to understand the total minutia of their ownpsychology. If we were then theRomantic period in art and literature may not have ever existed. A balanced combination of Classicismand Romanticism could be viewed as a suitable recipe for the healing ofneurosis.

Music Neurosis

2011-11-21T16:41:00.001-05:00

Psychiatryin music? What could that be? There exists a valid vocational field,Music Therapy, that would define how most people define the music listeningexperience. They seek somethingfrom the music. They wantsomething to happen from the music. How could this experience become reversed and the listener would beginto need therapy for his music experience? It doesn’t make sense. Whatcould be strong enough in the field of music performance that could cause aseeming neurosis? What isneurosis?

The simplest example of created neurosis would be from child molestation. There exists something so abnormal it would be easyto fathom the devastating effects it would have on a child’s temperament. Not only does it maim the child’snatural sexual development, it would affect his or her trust of the humanspecies. That is severe. What synonym possibly could exist inthe field of music that could be strong enough that it would vanquish one’s trustof the human beings? That is whatoccurred to me over the course of a six-month musician’s contract aboard theship the Adventure of the Seas. Although I knew ahead oftime for what I was in store, I went anyway. Successfully I made it through the half-a-year albeit withtwo written warnings and a mediocrethree-out-of five Evaluation. Twoweeks before my sign off date I offered to resign to the Musical Director.

Again what could bring such dire circumstancesthat a musician would want to terminate their own source of income? The answer is continual, repeated, publichumiliation. How could a musicianworking aboard a cruise ship experience something akin to a beheading in apublic square for governmental insubordination? While maybe to the guests it didn’t appear I was beingtortured, I was. How do yousay? How can you say? “You must be exaggerating. You must be creating this drama in yourown mind for some selfish reason.” What possibly could transpire in a band that would cause neurosis? It seems silly.

Iwill try to explain. The mostimportant aspect of describing this eventual neurosis is trying not to let itsound like a proclamation of complaints. Everyone has shortcomings in their lives and jobs, but no one enjoyslistening to anyone complain unless they are in a similar situation. Then the voicing of grief can becathartic for both parties.

There was a fair amount of this on theAdventure also. I tried not to bea complainer. After almost fouryears of clinical depression over twenty years ago, I healed myself. I learned how to use my mind to controlmy feelings. The adverse side ofthat coin is now healing is calling for a change of environment orvocation. I feel like I do notdeserve this grief, again. Iliterally have paid my dues for years. Continually I have prostituted my skill, knowledge, and experience for amenial musician’s job. Now thatjob has harmed my psyche. Thetrust of humanity I found with God’s help and the potential feeling of loveseems to be gone. I am wary,unhappy, and skeptical. Although Ican stay distracted with the help of my mind, my soul and sexual longing bothare extremely empty. Once I wasable to fabricate both from within myself. Now because I have been abused like a stray dog for half ayear, I am damaged goods, again. Damn! That is why I amwriting this missive. Healing.

            Myloss of trust in humanity is based upon shortcomings that were present in myprofessional job. Consistently Ihad to look out for myself on this ship. The amenities that were due everyone else were not affordedto me. One past aspect of mymusical study was synthesizers or electronic music. Academics call it Electro-acoustic music. I built a very sophisticated musicproduction studio in my home in Columbus on a shoestring budget. I was anal retentive about soundquality and cleanliness. My threeracks of vintage synthesizer modules were manicured and braided like aprincess. The audio and A.C.cables were separated and run neatly with wire ties. The modules ergonomically were placed in the rack to provideease of access. Above all, therewas very little noise in final stereo audio buss. I produced 12 CD’s of material in this home studio over thecourse of two years and am extremely proud of the work. I need to market it. Imagine after this meticulous andmethodical keyboard-oriented project studio, coming to a ship and finding afifteen year old digital piano on stage. I am supposed to satisfy the requirements of a professional studio musician-like job with a bare bones, weighted key, anachronistic digital pianowith bad key contacts?
            When Iworked on this ship previously, the Musical Director and I fixed seven Roland RD-700 digital pianos. Together we learned how to disassemble them and substitute an intactplastic key carriage from a “donor unit." Two years later I was playing the same instruments. They all had one bad stereojack, noise in the volume slider, or bad notes resulting from worn-out keycontacts. The new Kurzweilkeyboard was sitting in the orchestra pit flawed from the factory. It would just turn itself off spontaneously. That was $3,000.00, and wasted egg on myface.
          During this six months Ishuffled from one Roland digital piano to another trying to fix them myself on the fly. Near the end of this contract the new main theatersound technician (who ended up being a novice proven by continual mistakes mixingthe shows) told me I no longer could use which keyboard I needed. Five days before I was to sign off the ship, the interim Musical Director had the audacity to ask me to program (for thethird time) one production show into the instrument finally I declared was the fittest for the theater. (Ihad to walk up five flights of stairs and carry this instrument by hand into the theater.) Also I had to execute this incognito, so Iwould not be scolded by the Production manager. Utterlythis was ridiculous. No wind playerwould be subject to such a disturbance. No one ever would ask a saxophone player to play an instrument of the Production Manager’schoosing. That is absurd, yet thisis what I endured while being cast a troublemaker. My desire to make the musicin the theater as professional as possible was met with scorn. On thisparticular vessel your job as a pianist was to kiss the asses of those who weresupposed to help you. They werechildren and should be fired. Instead they lost the most experienced orchestra pianist inRoyal Caribbean’s fleet. Toughluck.
        I suffered on theseinstruments every set. The majority of my attention was focused upon keyboard set up rather than playing the music. Five percent of my job actually was spent thinking about or enjoying music. That was why I had to leave thisposition.

Thesecond disservice I endured was the misuse of a thirty-thousand dollar Yamahaacoustic piano. It was a quality instrument, but only once was I able to exploit its true potential. Because the Ampeg bassamplifier sat at the end of the piano, the resonant cavity of the piano becamea bass bin. The sound techniciandid not understand how to isolate these instruments. For six months I endured no stage volume and the sound technicianunable to turn the piano up in the house. My job became to be a puppet. The theater staff were not concerned with what I played or how I contributed to themusic. As I began to understandthis ruse, I could not muster the energy to comply with such a feeble job description. The ship was not enjoyableenough to lower my musical guard and become a pawn in a rag-tag musicfraternity. I was employed to playmusic and not act the fool. Am I acad for this reason? Maybeothers could have shucked and jived and taken the money. I was too bored.

Slowly,as I reflect, the realization that no one ever had my back was insulting. I have encountered lack oftechnical support before. Itis common on ships. The stage techniciansare underpaid non-skilled labor. They are not professional sound technicians. Unless you forge a friendship with them, they will do shoddywork for you. You get used to that.

Each time I had to gather my own stand lights and music stand andcarry them to the Promenade, my resentment grew. Clad in a tuxedo I had to in front ofexpecting guests adjust the keyboard bench, set my levels, and set up my music stand and lights before thinking about or looking at the set of music I was about toplay. This Promenade setcaused my eventual neurosis.
Eachtime I played this set it felt like torture, because the bass player was an irresponsiblealcoholic. Often he played drunkor hung-over. While several timesI was able to force a good performance out of him sonically by demanding it with piano volume, the majority of time his lack of technique merely created avacuum. If one cannot use theirfingers with skill, and they play at a loud volume then the attemptedtime feel or "groove" is a muddled pile of shit. He did not play time with his fingers, as most shipbass players do not. I am a solid bassist myself. They do not count or feel time when they play. They glide theirfingers over the strings in an illusion or masquerade of time. It nearly is impossible with which to play,because there is no time. Notes are not being executed in time. The attacks of notes often are way ahead and way behind whatshould be the beat. The bassistdoes not even listen to the drummer. They play "in spite" of each other. Imagine having to play in the middle of this mess.

SomethingI came to understand was “pop feel" is not masculine. It is the feminine. It strives to create a vacuum. It is the opposite of any music I have played, enjoyed or studied, and it became my job description. It was called “suck.” "Suck" on purpose. Purposefully "suck" any vitality out of your music performance. "Suck" up. It was "suckish," selfish, childish,half-assed masturbation. It was gay. "I was in a gay band."

I, a former teacher and bandleader of the great jazz saxophonist Chris Potter, almost with a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Composition, and a player of trumpet, electric bass, and keyboards had begun to be expected to "suck" on purpose. I could notrelate to the guests with the former confidence I had had. I was prevented from relating to women with my musical voice. I could not use my music performance asan expression of anything I thought or felt. Completely I was emasculated with music. The other players knew it,and they laughed because they knew what situation they were creating. The bass player would tell you to yourface your job was to bend over, smile, and take it up the ass. This was my gig on the Adventure of theSeas.

Ms. Saigon at CFRT

2011-11-19T11:44:00.001-05:00

Ms.Saigon has been around for quite a while. I had never seen it. I haveplayed some of the music in cruise ship production shows, because I recognizeda few tunes. I did not do anymental preparation before seeing the show. I did remember upon seeing the people-filled lobby, it takessome effort to absorb “live” musical theater. It never is like a movie, where you can just relax and enjoythe drama. Navigating the otherpatrons in my eyes is the largest obstacle to overcome when trying to enjoy aplay.

Ifound out upon entering the theater the orchestra was on stage. “Oh. Chicago,” I thought. What was the purpose of that? Then I noticed there were virtually nosets on stage. There were onlychairs on either side like two jury boxes or better yet, choir pews in achurch. For me this set the stagefor what was about to transpire. Itwould not be a run-of-the-mill musical. It would be more like a straight play with music. Then when the lights came down and themusic began, I realized it was an operetta. Like Les Miserable it was all music with nospoken dialog. Then Jesus ChristSuperstar and Godspell came to mind. It was kind of rock music with a little oriental flavor sprinkledin. I didn’t like the first act atall. The music seemed boring,vanilla, and long-winded. It wasbad Andrew Lloyd Webber. I feltthe characters were portrayed accurately. Then I realized I had to meet and build a relationship with eachcharacter before I could begin to enjoy the show. First there was a stoic quiet seventeen-year-old Vietnamesegirl who was being forced to sell her body for money. How could I empathize with her without a better setting ofthe scene? I realized Ms. Saigonwas a “Broadway” depiction of fairly serious subject matter. It was attempting to do two things,reveal a truly dramatic story and entertain a theater audience. It was Chicago, Oliver, and SweetCharity in one. There weresimilarities. First Engineerreminded me of Fagen. Instead ofinstructing degenerate boys how to “pick a pocket or two,” he was instructingyoung Vietnamese women how to have sex for money. At the culmination of Act II he cemented the similarity toChicago. Engineer created aprospect of the story with a rousing solo production number called “TheAmerican Dream.” “This was thelawyer in Chicago,” I thought to myself. He was the comedic relief, calculated as such. That felt like an old television show with a clown coming onintermittently to relieve the tension. That works. Then Cabaretcame to mind. A narrator was hostingthe show. That also works. Immediately at the start of the show itis necessary quickly to set the scene. There is no foreplay for the drama. Ms. Saigon begins with a loud, aggressive, brothel sceneexcept the drama is being played in front of a theater orchestra. That was strange. It made it intimate. How could the mood be set for a sultry,sexy, alluring whorehouse in this environment? It is a lot to expect your audience cold to warm up to suchan intent. People are eating orworking or just living, and then immediately they are projected lingerie-cladyoung women gyrating on chairs. Normally as an adult male I should enjoy this. In a “theater” show where I am more accustomed to seriousthemes being explored, it was difficult to accept such a gratuitousoffering. I tried. Still because I am fourty-nine,watching neighbor’s children doing local theater does not push my buttons. I watched the G.I.’s dance with thegirls and felt absolutely nothing of what they were intended to feel. It was like watching high school kidsspoon. I was too old and did nothave the time to waste dredging up a feeling that I knew would bepointless. I watchedhypothetically as the main character seemed to fall in lust with the youngseventeen-year-old Kim. I could besympathetic to the situation, because I too had done the same thing. I would never be so juvenile to fall inlove with a prostitute, because it wouldn’t be love anyway. It would be lust, or love based uponphysical desire. I have learned mylesson over time that this is not love. For a helpless G.I. stationed in Vietnam, it is plausible he could bethat naïve, like Radar in the television series M*A*S*H. To solidify their purely physicalattraction they kissed a lot on stage. I find this also difficult to watch, because it does my psycheabsolutely no good whatsoever. Whywould I want to watch this on stage? It is personal and boring to me.

Ibegan to understand the story as it approached the conclusion of the firstAct. Then a completely new and seeminglystrange Tinkerbell-like character stepped from stage right. She appeared while Kim reflected at herminiature romance alter which appeared repeatedly throughout the show. Now there were two Kims, but one waswearing a black negligee and was surreal. Upon reflection Ms. Saigon did attempt to offer you clues to itsdisguised unfolding story. Thatwas smart but also needed. Themusic was not sufficiently strong to carry the play without sets. It needed an ensemble of things tobring it off, and some of that was sheer effort. Without getting distracted I must admit I was grievouslydisappointed in the pianist. (Beinga professional pianist myself for the last ten years aboard cruise ships, I amequipped to be able to make a value judgment about musicality.) I felt the rest of the orchestra wascapable, but this man failed to deliver the goods at the keyboard. He did what most every pianist is doingthese days, skating over the performance with no tactile connection to thepiano. His sound was thin, devoid oftone and bass, and flaccidly performed. His limp waving wrists proved there was no physical connection to themusic, only cognitive. You could feel it. Better yet you could not “feel” it, because there wasnothing to feel. Admittedly he hadhis hands full conducting the long and complex score. Trying to cover both bases is too much for one person, butthat often can get you the gig. Asolid, heart-felt piano performance was needed to bring the show up to CFRTstandards. I longed for both abass fiddle or guitar, and a solid, meaty piano sound. The piano truly was piano in this show,too much so. It played a solidlysubordinate role to the overpowering woodwinds. That will be the drawback to placing your orchestra onstage. I wondered again at thelogic of it. Did they not want todeal with sets? The scenicdesigner at CFRT is top notch. Iremember a scene from Miss Saigon in a ship show that had the couple in alofted treehouse- like bed. It waseffective. This truly was astrange setting. The sound qualitywas poor. While the actors didneed to be miked to be heard over the on-stage orchestra, the sound qualitythrough the speakers was both harsh and often distorted. I came to realize the show could havebeen produced acoustically. Thatwould have been fine. By the endof the second Act, volume levels did reinforce this was a rock opera.

Aftersuffering through the first Act, finally I began to be able to “feel” what washappening in the show. It was atough nut to crack and more attempts are needed to polish this retropiece. I never thought a sole altosaxophone would provide the much needed warmth the show required to beintimate.

Music Psychiatry

2011-11-17T12:58:00.001-05:00

Psychiatryas it is related to music has not entered my consciousness until my last RoyalCaribbean ship contract. Uponreflection and several conversations with other musicians, it seems neurosiscan be commonplace especially in the classical music field. I began to remember. A local percussionist and friend waskind enough to relay such an experience recently over lunch at a TexMexrestaurant. We both laughed inretrospect, but the experiences as they unfold can be both psychologicallydamaging and spiritually oppressive.

Ihave remained fervently naïve enough to believe music making should be a joyousoccasion. My first experienceswith public music performance were at St. John’s Episcopal Church, where I wascoached to play trumpet for both the Christmas and Easter holidays. Consciously it did not occur to me the heraldingof the trumpet was in God’s honor. I knew the sound and feeling that I provided for that churchcongregation was above average, not because of my attempted skill, but becausethe experience transcended the human condition. It dealt with God, and therefore the mundane affectations ofhuman life briefly were augmented in spirit by music. This is the great capability of religious music.

Onecannot be so purist to say that other art music cannot possess the samestrength to inspire and motivate. Jazz music, America’s only personal art form, equally can fill the humanspirit with a variety of attitudes. The only recognized hazard in jazz music is it could be tainted byalcohol and drug use. How that affectedthe music is a thesis within itself.

WhatI knew is an almost superhuman effort playing the trumpet in church over theholidays could provide an acute sense of joy. It was metaphorical. The commercial music of today (meaning what is being broadcast viaradio, television, and the internet) seems devoid of any metaphoricalcontent.

Anearly lesson I learned at The Ohio State University in their doctoralcomposition program is if your piece does not occasionally refer to somethingor someone other than yourself, then it is selfish. Who could feel so self-righteous to believe only theirwritten notes are worthy to being listened? What about the billions of notes historically that proceededyour piece? This slant ofcomposition could be deemed Romantic. (This again is a thesis in itself, the definition of the RomanticMovement in music composition) Letus say it is concerned with “personal” expression. The composer has such a driving need to express his ownfeelings and opinions he opens them up in a stream-of-consciousness when hecomposes. Many composers beginthis way, and over time realize the mind of a mature composer is what makes theeventual decisions.

Allof that being said how does the notion of psychiatry come into play in thefield of music? Neurosis in musicmost likely could be ascribed to its becoming commercial. Whensomething such as music performance is given a monetary value, then somethingwill be expected of it. If thatexpectation is not met, then the monetary value will drop like the stockmarket. When such highexpectations are placed upon music performance for commercial gain, then theneurosis can be born.

Oddlyenough one does not see any tenant of neurosis in modern day Rock ‘n’ Roll. Ironically what we have seen is theexact influence alcohol and drug use had on America’s jazz music, but we haveseen it on television. There is aparallel. Jazz music often isdescribed as having “Died at the bottom of a whiskey bottle.” Did Rock ‘n’ Roll die the samedeath? Whether this could becalled neurosis is debatable. Being unable to handle poverty as a companion to great artistry or beingable to handle wealth as a companion to mediocre musical ability both aredemons with which to be reckoned. Ineither case the music seems to have dwindled exponentially in liveexposure. Luckily America doeshave an Academy of Recording Sciences ( or many) to document and sustain theaural music. Always the test oftime will tell true art.

Myexperience with neurosis in music was a recurring, hour long, promenade set forthe Captain and his officers aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. How could neurosis manifest itself insuch an inane and tepid event? Imagine you were going to play trumpet for the midnight service onChristmas Eve. The birth of Christwas the reason for the event. (Thatis lofty content, but why not choose the most powerful example you can?) In you mind you feel this will be atime of warmth, sincerity, and celebration. Now imagine you are going to play for a load of guests whoembarked their cruise vacation the day prior. They are invited to meet the Master of the vessel and hiswhat-are-supposed-to-be sophisticated officers. It is a cocktail party. This is not Christmas Eve, but are your expectations of themusic-making process so different? You expect it to be a warm, sincere, joy-filled event. You will get to do what you enjoy doing,and what makes your job different from every other nine-to-five job inAmerica. You will get to playmusic.

Enterthe courtroom. The spectatorstrickled in, the jury convenes, the plaintiff, defendant, and their attorneyspresent, and with a crack of his gavel the judge decrees, “Court is in session!”

Letthe games begin. It was drama atit’s finest.

Whatensued weekly on this recurring set was the personification of Royal Caribbean’sinability to manage its own music program. Each and every minute weakness in a band manifesteditself. These were issues "back in the day" we were taught in reputable music schools. Swing. Dynamics. Articulation. Time. Style. Expression. Feeling. Sophistication. These were the things that governed an acceptable bigband performance.

Whatdid we get? “We didn’t get dames.” No musician it seems was even cognizantthat they were approaching music performance like mice. While there may have been a slightrecognition of dynamics, the other governing elements of music performance, thosethat empower the music with the spirit of which I previously mentioned, wereabsent.

Uponquerying almost any Rock ‘n’ Roll musician will tell you the reason they joineda band or learned to play guitar was to, “Get chicks.” This is NOT the case on Royal Caribbeancruise ships. These musicians are playingto make a salary, to support their families, or to sustain their otherwiseunhealthy and selfish personal habits. The joy of music making that some of us remember does not exist. Instead another hierarchy of childish,nepotistic, political protocols are in play. Because of the mis-education of musicians, the music programon Royal Caribbean wreaks with the same commercial greed as radio, television,or internet music. The music isnot intended to be empowering. Itis not intended to carry a positive message. It does not concern itself with metaphorical ideals. It does not aspire to socialchange. It is meant to make adime. How does it accomplish thosgoal? It sucks up. It leans over. It bows down to the color ofmoney. Contrary to any artisticmovement which can lead by example, it purposely forfeits its God-given powerto change the human spirit. Instead it patronizes what is perceived to be the lowest commondenominator of cruise ship guest.

Music That is not Music on the High Seas

2011-11-16T12:05:00.000-05:00

Afterworking six straight months at sea with no regular day off, the last thing inwhich I was interested was rehashing that six months. Cruise industry employees look forward to their “vacations.” These vacations are comparableonly to the vacation in an academic school year. You study for two semesters or three quarters or work for sixto eight months at sea then go home. It’s not normal American life.

In the beginning working in the cruiseindustry seems like an adventure. It could be an escape from the rote, nine-to-five, assembly line job. You travel to different countries oreven continents. In two days youcould be on the other side of the world.

Travelis the only perk. When the seeming adventure slips away, when the prospects ofromance disappear, and when your entire ship embraces homosexuality as itspersonal expression the fun is over.

Inthe beginning it was fun. Carnivalhad a liberal cash alcohol policy. A beer cost one dollar. Youcould drink in the afternoon from noon until two when the Crew Bar wasopen. Come to think of it that iswhat everyone did at Carnival. They drank 24/7. That isfor young people.

Carnivalchanged its policy when it discovered the crew was having more fun than theguests. That never has been thecase at Royal Caribbean International. The only fun for crew onRCCL ships is getting off in port. Their ships are segregated, nepotistic, political employment machines. Here is a link: http://angelingo.usc.edu/index.php/politics/accountability-on-the-high-seas-royal- caribbean-and-labor-rights-abuses/

Afteralmost exactly ten years with no wife or children, no personal home, no healthcare, and no retirement plan change is imminent. People tell me this is not the time to “jump ship.” The economy is a mess comparable to theGreat Depression of the l930’s. That only is true for some. The prospect of returning to the orchestra piano position aboard a RoyalCaribbean ship is not an option. Here’s why.

Withnine years of collegiate music study, I am an able keyboardist. I am above average, but you had to beto survive. I have a Bachelor ofMusic Education from UNC-Chapel Hill, a Master of Music in Commercial and JazzComposition, and have completed all the coursework for a Doctor of Musical Artsin Composition at The Ohio State University. I am overqualified for the orchestra piano position. Ironically it is this composition backgroundthat allowed me to keep this job for over ten years. As I mentioned earlier working for Royal Caribbean is apolitical deal. It has nothing todo with reading music and performing. Most professional pianists could do this, but they could not survive theRCCL orchestra piano position. Moreoften than not you have to be accountable for your own performance. The “dots” you read are a milieu ofchicken scratch, beginner copy work, and childish gibberish scribbled on themusic by other working pianists. Without my experience in music notation, arranging, and compositionnever would I have been able to do the gig. Once I spent three months re-preparing Martin Lass’s “Fiddleron the Roof Medley,” because I wanted to play the music at its highest level. The music you are presented on the jobwill prevent you from doing such. Thepolitics is more interested in you being subservient and having to scramblearound for your supper. When theycan keep you off balance constantly by changing the rules, then they cancontrol you. Royal Caribbean isnot interested in talent. They areinterested in revenue.

Myquestion always has been if they did overhaul their music program, reinstateheterosexuality as their main sexual tenant, and embrace “artistic” music forentertainment would revenue rise or fall? I believe how could it do nothing but rise?

Once I was fortunate enough to be allowed to play electric basson our jazz set on the last night of the cruise. I have good feel, good time, and can get a good sound. It was the most successful jazz set Ihave played in the ten years I have been working ships. That is because Royal Caribbean onlyhires “pop” musicians who have no schooling in artistic music. The last fifteen years of “pop” radiohave not helped. Adults once whoappreciated feeling and expression in music have been replaced by a shallow,superficial, selfish, candy-assed product.
Inever thought music could be evil, but it can. “Pop” music in my eyes is evil. It represents all of the things that characterize evil. Above all it is false. It misrepresents. It inappropriately empowers the weakand unprepared. It disguises trueartistic musics. In this processit attempts to mislead humanity away from true art. Evil disguises itself as good, and you are wise to keep youenemy closer than your allies. Troubleis, I don’t want to be around “pop”anymore. I have had it with thatnoise.

Reflecting upon my last half-a-year of work for RoyalCaribbean, I have nothing but bitter feelings. I came to hate both the music I was playing and thejob. Why would I want to sit onthe opposite side of an orchestra pit from the rhythm section and play with aclick track in my ear? This beliesthe in depth training I have had studying music performance.

Musicis not music on a Royal Caribbean ship. Simply it is a product to be manipulated, defaced, and used. I received not one ounce of musicalenjoyment from playing industrial spectacles. The predominantly homosexual casts turned the productionshows into drag shows. They wouldbe more palatable if they were recognized and accepted for what they are, homosexualstrying to escape the mockery of American society. I did not sign up for this gig.

America's Incognito Geronimo

2011-05-04T15:25:00.009-04:00

While strategically attempting to operate incognito it is a natural consideration whether to release photos of Osama Bin Laden’s body. Conspiracy theorists easily could speculate Bin Laden’s murder was a fake. Many believe 9/11 was, although not a fake in that it rendered historical suffering for the United States, a publicity stunt. Considering the current socio-economic situation and with America involved in three wars, it was time for a military victory. Soldiers have continued to die for what has become a nebulous cause. Is ten years too long to be at war to find one man? While it is well known Osama Bin Laden was the instigator of many terrorist acts upon the United States, posthumously remaining organizations in differing countries will continue to antagonize the United States. It is a great victory. Upon querying the loved ones of many lost in the collapse of the twin towers, closure seems not an option. Loss seems to last forever. Justice brought by Bin Laden’s execution should send a message to those remaining Extreme Islamic factions. Whether hiding in a farmer's cellar or a seeming militarily protected mansion, the United States will find you and serve justice for the American people. Bin Laden declared war on America with the greatest domestic attack since Pearl Harbor instigating World War ll by the Japanese. Under the cloud cover of Wall Street’s hedge fund and Ponzi schemes, for ten years the U.S.'s financing of the epic hunt for Bin Laden with it's War on Terror has been exponentially costly. During the process former President George W. Bush dipped his hand in the federal reserve and handed it to many of these criminals. Americans decided when offered a choice of funding this war or necessarily rebuilding our own fragile economy, we are the priority. This opinion clearly was conveyed by former United States Senator Richard John Santorum in a recent speech on C-SPAN. As he reminisced about Reagonomics America’s choice of us over them became clear. Who can say Santorum’s view is what America wants, but it seemed plausible. Astutely he capsulized the American political front. He urged a renewed federal anti-corporate commitment to the American ideal domestically. There was no mention of globalization or outsourcing. In the perfect symptom of the raid on Bin Laden’s compound, Santorum incognito mandated economically the appropriate use of our armed forces. Defense. Ironically enough President Obama, with his boldest move as current Commander-and-Chief, implemented an offensive tactical strike fueled by years of cumulative intelligence painstakingly collected by the U.S. and her allies. Under the shadow of the Battle of Mogadishu, Operation Eagle Claw, and the Bay of Pigs, President Obama’s sanctioned Operation Geronimo exemplified a decisive role of leadership for the United States. Singlehandedly it should restore America's top, global, military prowess. While our defense technology could have been superior, without the courage and heroism of men it never would be seen. Man it seems has stepped up to the plate. God would be happy.

The Cruise Industry and the Messiah

2011-04-28T17:38:00.002-04:00

Most everyone I tell I work on cruise ships responds with a smile. After almost ten years I have to ask myself do I still like the work. When I first began working in the cruise industry I could only think having a job on the ocean in the entertainment industry must be delightful. The travel is the highpoint. Having to “Greet and Smile” every single crewmember and guest within a ten foot radius all day long is a chore. If it does not feel like a chore, then you become brainwashed to believe this is real life. As soon as you return to the states shock will set in, unless you simply ignore your environment and continue with your learned protocol. In this situation you can be a good influence on America. The United States Armed Services providing this service to the Middle East is suspect. Where in the historical philosophy of America did our military absorb the role of Christian missionaries? While Ronald Reagan favored a large defense budget, I’m not sure this would have been his view. Star Wars was a satellite-based missile defense system intended to protect the continental United States from a rogue nuclear attack. The operative words are National Defense. Currently our military is playing National Offense. Strategically playing strong offense can be the best defense, but it is more expensive. The media currently says the United States is involved in three wars. Recognizing missionaries in full combat dress must be confusing. It is liberal. It is bleeding heart liberal. Being involved in three wars in the Middle East seems Islamic. Using the United States military as Christian/Islamic missionaries seems Obamic. Is it correct many of the opposition to President Obama’s policies pointedly refer to his middle name Hussein? These realizations seem to mark the President as a prophet. Is that what we need in a President? Does America further need to empty her pockets as a closet imperialist paving the way for Republican globalization? Has Haliburton suddenly grown an ethical partner exploring a new way to drain the pockets of other countries? It is a complex issue. When I see American military leaders communing Christianly with the indigenous peoples of countries with which we are at war, it turns my stomach. Isn’t war ugly? How can we promote peace with the local populaces and still effectively defeat their insurgencies? Suddenly Donald Rumsfeld’s military strategy for defeating Saddam Hussein doesn’t seem so bad. It was a war. It was dirty and ugly and brutal. Mercilessly we bombed strategic points of Iraqi infrastructure rendereing their country impotent of maintaining civil life. All the while Haliburton was poised to save the day and fill their pockets. Whose pockets will be filled if successfully we are able to democratize Afghanistan? Who will reap the rewards of all those poppies? Who will harvest their vast supply of natural resources? Who currently is tapping those destroyed oil wells in Iraq? The media doesn’t seem to have much to say about Iraq these days. What is going on there? Formerly the French and the Russians maintained successful oil contracts with Iraqi suppliers. Christian/Islam beliefs although meritorious to man don’t work in times of war. What happens? The wars linger on in an attempt to breed American allies overseas. What happened in Korea and Viet Nam? President Nixon masterminded our exit from the Viet Nam war, and little subsequently was heard about the evil regime of Pol Pot. The decision is made and we wash our hands of the altercation, such as Iraq. I for one in belief in the concept of war feel it should not be painted over with happy tidings. Rebuilding countries from within within our construct is nothing more than Imperialism. We can act the Messiah when doing it, but is Christianity and Islam the right path for war? It certainly is the most expensive.

An Obituary

2011-04-27T21:26:00.002-04:00

In a heartfelt shout out I must express my sincere condolences for Mr. Seagate Barracuda 9.2GB Ultra SCSI 3.5LP Internal Hard Drive purchased from MacMall in Memphis, Tennessee at a cost of $242.94 on December 29, 2000. On April 27, 2011 this worthy piece of gear humbly passed away quietly ceasing to exist. It flawlessly produced 12 CD projects of my own in a home studio driven by an Ohio State University surplus PowerMac 7100/80. On a shoestring budget I was able to piece together a professional MIDI/audio production tool seamlessly integrating digital audio and MIDI sequencing. With the help of Digidesign’s Sound Designer ll, Mark of the Unicorn’s Digital Performer and Unisyn, SampleCell ll, Adaptec’s Toast, and a Sharp MD-720 Mini Disk Recorder I was able to create music as good as any professional commercial recording studio. It kicked hard to the end scanning over 70 pieces of music on an Apple One Scanner lost with its demise. While I still possess several other SCSI hard drives, one possibly with Apple’s OS 8.5 still installed, I could recreate my personalized suite of music software. With tomorrow comes the task of retrieving my original install disks and CD-ROM’s of audio files. With a little luck and patience I may be able to resurrect this worthy computer-based audio/MIDI production system. All is not lost, because I have been diligent to upgrade this software with each purchase of a newer Apple laptop computer. This seemingly archaic combination of hardware utilizing NUBUS technology made producing music a snap. Maybe my removal and storing of the MOTU Micro Express MIDI interface was too much for it to handle. It felt the loss and decided it could not stand alone. Somehow in a stroke of good fortune I saw fit to copy my FreeMIDI setup to a floppy disk. While Mac OS X seems not to recognize these worthy files, still the archiving may be fruitful. Ten years is a reasonable existence, although many of these years were spent sitting idle in a box. The years it functioned saw great demand for its product recording digital audio flawlessly. Never once did I have a problem with this hard drive, and I will keep it as a token of my appreciation to the Creator for blessing me with the ability to compose, perform, and record music.

America, To Be or Not To Be?

2011-04-26T14:29:00.002-04:00

The Republicans still are in control. The initiative of the political campaigns leading up to November 2012 elections should be regaining control of the House of Representatives. The Democrats need 25 seats to regain a majority of 218 out of 435 seats. This is reasonable.

Recently President Obama said there was no easy fix to rising oil prices. This is the answer. Without Democratic control of both the Senate and House of Representatives, no successful economic legislation is possible. Somehow the President pushed through a Health Care Reform. In pure Republican fashion opponents covertly urged judges on the state level to declare the legislation unconstitutional. This is prime example how the Republican party works. This is how George W. Bush won the presidential election in Florida against Al Gore. (It is interesting the insightful and telling HBO movie “Recount” about the event remains cloaked.) Republicans manipulate the system in their favor with a savvy and thorough understand of the law. It doesn’t hurt their party was privy to the inception of some of the legislation. Much like negotiating a successful contract, it helps when you design it. If Democrats would step up to the plate and embrace the intimate relationship with the law in America, they would have a better chance. If you can’t win with the preexisting rules, then change them. This is how winners are made no matter how unscrupulous. The task first is to win back the House.

The rhetoric on television is so spun it is difficult to hear the truth. No one really knows what anyone thinks, and the immediacy of digital news media is to blame. Any sound bite that is “dropped” is exaggerated in pure immediate gratification. It would be best to turn off the television and read a newspaper. Gaming philosophy is not appropriate for news coverage.

An example of healthy television network competition lies in the production of these show.

Arts and Entertainment- Storage Wars, Flip This House

The History Channel- Pawn Stars

The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel- Orange County Choppers

HGTV- Holmes on Homes

Animal Planter- River Monsters

These shows exemplify American ingenuity and integrity with no spin. It is no mystery they rate high for the Nielsen Corporation. These are reality shows at their finest, and each network has conceptualized a production formula that works for their aesthetic. Somehow in the midst of a plural stage, they are able to integrate a singular viewpoint giving heart to the situation. Telling a story with a formula works, as long as you understand the formula. Jerry Seinfeld might have been the first star of the TV Sit-Com formula. While the vehicle has been around many more decades, Seinfeld openly explored and utilized this small form. What can you do in 22 minutes to present a comedic exposition, develop it, and provide often a sentimental denouement to end? This tried and true formula is not really a formula, or is it? Formulas are crucial, as they represent the very humanity of man. They are time-tested vignettes reinforcing what man has learned over the centuries. They can change as the evolution of jazz has shown. Also they cement the humanistic premises of man. Currently with the instability of America’s political and economic structures, there is nothing to represent these complex and often chaotic existences. Pop music knows this, because the world of commercial music yet has offered an artist with the ability to understand, synthesize, and creatively comment on America. Bob Dillon and Joan Baez had a better go of it. There is no escaping the influences of Islam and Eastern-based musics. As jazz showed with its nurturing of the Avant-garde, America’s pop music will have to open itself to Abstract Expressionist ideals. Traditional tonality must be expanded bursting the commercially built bubble of tertian happiness. American’s fully are capable of experiencing stark, real, meaningful life issues cold turkey of the anodynes of popular television. They are waiting, as we are waiting for oil prices to drop.

Is it Live or Memorex?

2011-04-25T12:49:00.001-04:00

After accidentally watching a snippet of the television “news show” Nancy Grace, I was shocked to hear a fabricated phone call intended to be an actual call from a menacing killer. It almost slipped by me. First I wondered how her program could have gained access to a private phone call. Blatantly then I remembered past President George W. Bush’s unconstitutional wiretapping legislation. It expired a few times. After Congress let it slip into oblivion, Bush personally contacted wireless phone companies and demanded their records. Pressured by the ruse of the federal government they obliged. Maybe it wouldn’t be so difficult for Ms. Grace to call Verizon and ask for a recording of a personal voice mail. It wasn’t a voice mail. It was an actual call. Then I realized it must have been a “dramatization.” These are rampant on television today. Drama is a large portion of television’s programming. The bothering thing was that although many people know shows of her type are meant for entertainment, it blurs the boundaries between actual news reporting and television fodder. For a brief moment I was confused. Was this a real news show, or was it a sitcom? Ms. Grace said the call was authentic. She said it was the actual call. Then a bogus voice over repeated the words of the culprit. It was done so poorly no one could believe it was a real crank call. No one could believe it was a stalker. Was it? The issue in my mind could be representative of the entire media debacle unfolding around us today. Where are the boundaries? There seem to be none as the web appears on phones. Text appears on phones. You can pay your bills with a phone. It seems like almost any human need can be met by cross-platforming any wireless device. Is it a video game? Is it the iTunes Music Store? Many gaming companies’ goal ten years ago was effectively to disguise the boundary between real and cyber. Newspeak. Newspeak. Newspeak. Fabricating the news for political gain. Who can we trust? Who can we believe? I can’t even look at the news anymore. It one more rogue African or Egyption nation launches a rebellion or attempted coup, my head will spin. It is not uncommon, but like television it is a vying for top media time. I thought I never would say it, but Rupert Murdoch’s NewCorp actually upped the bar for news reporting. After lobbying fiercely to regulate Internet news reporting or make it a pay service, annotations of source have begun popping up in news articles online. This is a good thing. The Internet is the bubble of American freedom. Slowly we will see its emancipation quashed by corporate America, but amazingly lawmakers still are protecting its anonymity. Still in my mind I tell myself I can’t believe anything. The “spin” factor is in effect, and I have forgotten it. Mr. Obama says there is no easy fix for rising oil prices. There is. All of the corporate deregulation that has occurred over the last four decades could be reversed. The gouging could be stymied. That’s an easy fix. He must have been referring to the continuing stalemate in our federal government. In the last minutes before a government shutdown, the democrats and republicans reached a compromise. Mr. Obama could not have a government shutdown on his watch. Was that real or was it a “dramatization?”

The Current Shite State

2011-04-21T15:02:00.003-04:00

The cobwebs in my mind are getting dense. It feels like I am getting dense. The television news is so negative it is difficult to follow. Should I feel guilty for not conceding to the lowest level of human suffering? Today is Maundy Thursday, the day of Jesus’ Last Supper with his Apostles. Certainly His crucifixion is worthy of our utter empathy. We know Easter Sunday is a day of epic celebration of the rising of Jesus Christ from the dead. Toeing the line between mania and depression, between utter sadness and glee, or between death and life is a delicate balancing act. Without the enlightenment of the concept of human loss there can be no real soul. As we attempt to keep our heads above the rising water of what seems to be an impending end of the world, where is the healthy balance between religious conscience, artistry, and humanity? Is it appropriate like some affluent World War ll era families to ignore the bombs reigning down and continue to celebrate life? Is it more appropriate to become sullen, introverted, and laden with guilt at the thought of pursuing human happiness? The death of Jesus in Christianity always was meant to provide its soul. Jesus’ sacrifice by his Father was meant to be the quintessential example of Christian love. Still it seems the bulk of humanity seems not to be cognizant. When Time magazine publishes in issue questioning the integrity of Christianity, America is in trouble. When we abolish scripture from public building and monuments we are in trouble. When we abolish prayer in the classroom, even on a menial level, we are in trouble. America cannot rely upon organized religions to provide her piety. One only has to remember the fall of the Holy Roman Empire. Only has to remember the massive financial settlement of the Catholic Church attempting to cover the dirty penises of their pedophiliac and homosexual priests. It is an atrocity. What also are other American atrocities? The continual preening of an over-extended military deployed thousands of miles away in a country whose political importance is unbeknownst to most Americans. The continual subsidizing of these soldiers in an attempt to cover their war wounds both physical and psychological. The allowance of the oil industry and Wall Street to drive up the price of crude oil to line their own pockets. This is where leadership is called into play. There is a huge hypocrisy brewing in America, and the epithets keep flying. The only way to lance the cyst is to cognitively understand the presence of these unacceptable issues and attempt to find logical solutions. The conversation between current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and past Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on Charlie Rose’s television program was a start. It seems after several years of floundering without an appropriate public persona, the ghost of Madeleine Albright as risen. Hillary is beginning to recognize and understand her role with the emergence of the Egyptian coup. The centuries old Israeli Palestinian conflict was a bit much to conquer on her first term. Past President Bill Clinton cut his teeth on the Bosnian conflict, so there is a history of success in their genes. No one is more capable of steering corporate America in the right direction than Mr. Obama. Unless he steps up to the plate and deals with the oil industry, it would seem America is on the brink of her own coup. Americans seem unwilling to sacrifice their personal automobiles. It will take a massive effort from somewhere to propose and begin to implement a socioeconomic change downgrading the cash cow of the automobile. Oil companies do not want this. Also the ridiculous Socialist construct of the American Military Complex must be restructured and reduced. B.R.A.C. or Base Realignment and Closure is not working. From first hand experience in Fayetteville, North Carolina our town completely is incapable of handling yet another influx of G.I.’s. The urban sprawl all ready has overtaxed roads. With our federal government's immediate axing of federal highway funds, how will America’s current transportation infrastructure maintain? If villages, towns, and cities continue to build a system with reliance on the automobile, how will American’s ever make the change? The decades long squeeze of the oil industry on our federal government has to be loosened for a change to take place. Otherwise Americans simply will continue to go into debt fueling their cars. Maybe another energy crisis is necessary to provide that soul to the American people. As no one seems to remember, there were automobiles being produced in early l980’s that were capable of achieving 70 miles to the gallon. Where are they? Do any of the new hybrids accomplish this? Obama needs to step up to the plate. The current state of affairs completely is unacceptable.

Pop is Not

2011-03-22T12:50:00.001-04:00

If pop music indeed has a “rebound,” the major qualification of swing music, then how does pop differ from jazz? Ask any smooth jazz artist. I never have listened to smooth jazz. Why would I want to? After being reared only on the best jazz/fusion, why would I resort to listening to a derivative product? It is the same question. Smooth jazz arose in the late l990’s as an adult contemporary alternative to the intellectually demanding and sometimes spiritually yearning genre of mainstream jazz. Because the blues are a major component of mainstream jazz, the “blues” feeling often is present in the realization of jazz music. Pop music is different because, although it does “rebound” like swing, it does not possess a similar underlying feeling. Instead pop music attempts to create an artificial euphoric feeling that substitutes for what normally would be a deeper message in the music. Erroneously this superimposed feeling of glee is construed to originate from the instrumental performance. In reality it emanates from the “Pop Artist.” It is the perfect vehicle for their self-indulgence. The instrumental accompaniment intends to be superficial, patronizing, and vain. Therefore pop music is not about the music. It is about the performers and their audience. This insincerity never will place the genre of pop and consequently smooth jazz in the artistic realm. The underlying feeling of pop is the glorification of us. It is a show. It is “Showbiz.” Pop never will be a platform for moving a consensus of spiritual, social, or philosophical ideas. Technically why is pop impotent? In addition to an underlying feeling not being present, there is no rhythmic clave. The pop groove, emanating from the casual strumming of an acoustic guitar, contains no rhythmic pattern of note. When theoretically analyzed this strumming pattern is nothing more than a repetitive serialization of 8^th notes played both ahead and behind the beat. Can two 8^th notes pulled toward one another over the pulse be considered a rhythmic clave? The answer is no. It does create a tension, a stroke and a rebound, but it is not a rhythmic pattern indicative of other more tradition styles of music. Popular dance forms, i.e., a rhythmic pattern that coincides with dance steps, are better examples of “clave.” In Latin music “clave” often is restricted to a definition of a 2/3 or 3/2 rhythmic pattern in salsa music. I use “clave” in a broader sense to define a rhythmic pattern of any origin. The verbal incantation of the dance the Cha Cha, “One, Two, Cha, Cha, Cha,” probably is the most recognizable. There are many. Understandably pop music is not dance music, and that is why it fails in any more demanding venues. For music to stand the test of time and persevere, its content must be substantial enough to move listeners on its on. When the performer is dead, who then will carry the torch?

Barry's Gordy's Motown Groove

2011-03-19T22:40:00.003-04:00

If the common garden sprinkler is not swinging with its, “Tch, tch, tch” what does swing? The history and definition of “swing” in music and academic circles always has been hotly contested. Most easily swing should be defined as music with a “rebound.” The “pop” music groove has a rebound of sorts and like Rock ‘n’ Roll both swings and is straight at the same time. This could be the reason it has risen to prominence recently in the commercial world of music. Although fervently I hate playing in the pop style, because it requires a lessening of academic piano technique, I will give credit where credit is due. I enjoy listening to piano players who are adept at this style. Analytically I can realize the music has no inherent groove of its own, but it accomplishes a feel if purveyed by the right musicians. James Taylor would be the prime example of a pop artist. That groove he chooses to play is concrete and tangible in a very elusive way. The touch required to play pop is specific, but it is the antithesis to playing R&B, Hip Hop, and Soul music. The difference is pop music uses a loose, quick, ahead-of-the-beat touch and uses amplification to achieve its groove. R&B, Hip Hop, and Soul use a heavy touch in the center or behind the beat most easily personified by the playing of Motown bassist James Jamerson. Affectionately he was called the “Hook” because, instead of using two or three fingers in quick succession to articulate linear phrases on the strings of the electric bass, he only used one. The spacing of the notes resulting from only repetitive plucks from the same digit created the unique feel of the music. That of itself could be the qualifying definition of a Motown groove. Motown is a pop groove in the sense that it does not use the keyboard concept (a similar single hand repetitive attack) to supply groove. It uses a derivative rhythmic concept from soul and R&B, because each and every note is not essential to the feel of the song. The groove is “stretched” over the top of what would be an authentic soul or R&B groove. The deepening of the groove via accentuation of individual notes and phrasing in a non-repetitive way would create the original grooves from which Motown borrowed. Jamerson, in this somewhat limited but specific rhythmic concept, was able to provide enough soul but not too much to be palatable by white radio listening audiences of Motown. It could be said this groove, pioneered, chosen, and shaped by Barry Gordy, was the magic that made Motown Records successful. I for one never listened to Motown music as a child. As a keyboard player the feel of guitar-based music didn’t communicate to me. I was invited and tried several times to play in Allman Brothers cover type bands, but the music always was lacking to me. Instead my first vinyl record was of the Jeff Lorber Fusion. Here was an iconic jazz/fusion band that satisfied both my musical intellect and my need for keyboard-based groove. How would I know decades later this acquired taste would come back to haunt me as a professional musician?

Steve Gadd and the Common Garden Sprinkler

2011-03-18T15:47:00.002-04:00

Imagine walking into your performance space before a show and hearing the sound, “Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap….” What could this sound be? Usually the cacophony of wind instrumentalists tuning up is the sound scape to which we are subjected. Most people would be familiar with the sound(s) of a symphony orchestra warming up before their concert. On my last ship this was the sound to which I was subjected. “Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap….” When the show began this sound morphed into that of a garden sprinkler. It instead became, “Tst, tst, tst, tst, tst, tst, tst….” Subconsciously in my mind always I was waiting for the return of the sprinkler arm after its steady rhythmic watering pattern. That never happened. Instead I had to perform a full-fledged cruise ship production show to the sound of a garden sprinkler. I would play I’ll Be There as sung by Michael Jackson, and that damn garden sprinkler would be improvising underneath my steady quarter note accompaniment. Never once in three and one half months did the garden sprinkler ever provide a stable “bottom” to the band. Mile Davis said there had to be a bottom to the band. In his era that would be a combination of Tony Williams and Ron Carter laying down an unwavering rhythmic feel and chord progression upon which Miles, Cannonball, and Coltrane would improvise. In the case of cruise ships inconceivably the piano is used as this “bottom” of the band. To add insult to injury the performance of the piano is generated by a computer. The late Wade Hubbard used this template upon which to arrange production shows for Royal Caribbean International. As soon as the “live” hired pianist is confronted with this clumsy scenario, drama must result. First there is a feeling of, “Why am I here? Why don’t they just run the tracks?” Secondly and most importantly to the pianist is being confronted with trying to emulate the performance of a sequenced piano track. What is “sequenced?” A sequence is a musical performance generated by a computer software program that allows it to record MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) data in a substitution for audio tracks. What this miraculously allows is a meticulous programming of a music performance without the need for a performer. Ironically the cruise industry still finds a need to hire live musicians. Simplistically on most successful ships the tracks merely are muted, and the live performers are enabled to accomplish their jobs. On neurotic ships different amalgamations of these pre-recorded tracks are played live with the expectation the live musicians will gel with them to produce a quality show. Why is this a problem? It is a problem for the pianist because his is the ONLY pre-recorded track that is not performed by a live musician. It is generated from the computer sequencer most likely imported from a notation program as a Standard Midi File. The first red flag that should go up is any experienced musician knows computers don’t swing. Not only do they not swing, they do not groove. What is groove? It may be best to explain what doesn’t groove. Remember back in the l970’s at your local mall? There was a music store that sold home organs. Usually employed was a salesperson whose job was to demonstrate these organs to the public. In addition to playing pedal bass often they would demonstrate a then revolutionary auto-accompaniment system built into the organ. It was the world’s first “drum machine.” It had a variety of “beats” of which you could change the tempo. While it was novel to be able to play and hear a band sound without a live drummer, the sound of the accompaniment was “square.” They didn’t groove. Why is that? It is because they were metronomic. They had been programmed into a machine that produced “quantized” realizations of the drumbeats. They were too perfect. Still to this day that is the problem with programming music. Without a live “feel” music has become industrial. If one peruses a fairly recent lineage of computer-based musics, an interesting history can be found. Quickly musicians in the l980’s realized the “Casio” sound was square. With the aid of the Japanese-based Yamaha Corporation, products began to become available that allowed tailoring of the programming. Accents could be added to the notes achieving an almost “breathing” quality. Most notably “sampling” was introduced that substituted “real” recorded drum sounds for electronically produced ones. A combination of these two elements, samples vs. synthesized sounds, has driven the popular music industry for almost three decades. Only recently have VST instrument plug-ins and acoustic modeling computer programs begun to replace this tried and true method of music production. With this further computerization of music production the art of music performance has begun to suffer. As laptop computers have become a staple piece of equipment on stage, the skill required to produce a live performance has dwindled. The computer has become a crutch or substitute for the artistic performance of instrumental and vocal music. While it could be understood producing music for a ship production show is a daunting task, still it is the arranger’s responsibility to provide a quality musical product to both the audience and the live musicians hired to play. Unfortunately the pianists have taken the brunt of the abuse. Theirs it seems is the only tracked performance that is generated by this antiquated system. How then can a live pianist attempt to emulate the rhythmic feel of a track being produced and played by a computer? The answer is you can’t. The gestures necessary to accomplish this feel are inhuman and unmusical. I have spent countless wasted years of my life attempting to accomplish such a task for money. Each and every time I am met with scorn, disdain, and un-acceptance, because the other musicians have learned only to play with this one, square, mechanical, metronomic, quantized non-groove. In one short decade the influence of the cruise ship music industry seriously has reduced the amount of skill, knowledge, and musical talent one must possess to hold a professional musician’s job. Alas when I sit down to play my show, my accompaniment is nothing less than a common garden sprinkler.

Piano Stylings in Australia

2011-03-14T17:55:00.001-04:00

I completely was amazed as my tried and proven musical sensibilities again were challenged. I could only ask myself, “What is it with these Australian pianists?” I played the gamut of their Guest Entertainer shows for Royal Caribbean, and upon reflection not one of them played in the Jazz/Classical style from which I was educated. “Is it that they do not like the feel of this music?” I never once questioned my allegiance to jazz or classical music. I knew from the start instinctively this was the music I wanted to pursue. The feeling of the music was the attraction. It was not commercial. It was not composed to sell a product or appeal to a mass audience. Its preeminent purpose was to be beautiful, and sometimes that meant being ugly. For me that was the period of “Modernism” in music, the beginning of the 20th century when composers attempted to emulate the hustle and bustle of a busy city’s sound scape. Over time this became my major preference and choice for composition. While I still used diatonic harmony occasionally in Copeland-like pieces, my aesthetic now has become what I call “Multitonal.” Freely I use all twelve keys with no key signature, and subsequent tonalities are notated purely in accidentals. That may look challenging on the page, but in actuality it is easier than trying to remember constantly changing key signatures without complimentary accidentals. Incidentally as I wrote my piano music, my major purpose was to make it readable. Simply that meant notes for the left hand had down stems, and notes for the right hand had up stems. There were few dots and rhythms were written to show the subdivision of the beat clearly. This is what all quality composers should do and something I learned from Dr. Thomas H. Wells at The Ohio State University. These ideals were ones not honored by most of the pianists for which I performed. Notation for these Australian musicians was a potpourri of written instruction, unskilled scribbling, and a snow cover of extraneous marks by illiterate pianists trying to play the music. The music was mainstream and not-that-difficult, but navigating this unseemly highway was a nightmare. I spent the majority of my preparation time re-copying their music for my own tastes. Yes, I learned it in the process, but over the years I find it extremely insulting to be presented with illegible music. It seems the neglect of their written music coincides with their interest in true musical expression. The feeling of the piano music was “industrial.” Its purpose was to amaze, delight, and entertain an audience, not enlighten it. After continued study of this piano style, I have discovered disturbingly it in actuality may have come from J.S. Bach’s own written sentiments on performance on the harpsichord. All I can say is, “The harpsichord is not a piano.” The pianoforte’s main capability is to play both loud and soft, something that was impossible on the harpsichord. It seems with the advent of Cristofori’s mechanical, hammer, piano action Bach’s sentiment would have change. Then again Bach was an organist. Damn. Here is another instrument that while possessing the capability to change volume does not focus on changing the volume of individual notes within a phrase. Could it be this “pop” style is Neo-Baroque? The clavichord was the predecessor to the harpsichord with its major characteristic being the string was struck with a tangent rather than a plectrum. Several pitches share the same string with the most amazing quality being a vibrato (Bebung) was possible with a subsequent pressing of the key. This instrument it seems should be my instrument of choice for studies in piano interpretation. Subtle shadings of dynamics, tone, and tempo were all possible and quite possible the main focus for performance on this instrument. Today it seems the essence of pianoforte playing is losing ground. The sheer amount of sensitivity one must possess to play this way seems too demanding for modern musicians. Instead they want to ease through their performances with a physical presentation like Liberace. Hands are flying in the air and time is being distorted, because the fundamental feeling that actualizes playing time is not present. Playing time means understanding the feeling of the music or better yet, the “mood.” Words like “happy” and “sad” seem elementary to describe artistic music, but they at least suggest a particular feeling must be present when playing a piece of music. A reverence to this choice BY THE COMPOSER should be the intent of a realization of a piece of music. Neglect of this understanding is common, because who would want to understand or feel what an antiquated composer felt in a different century. Could it mean education? Could it mean a deeper understanding of life? Could it mean enlightenment? Could it mean the development of a viable philosophy of music that will last a lifetime and allow one to achieve artistic greatness? All of these things should be the goals of a quality American music education, and the dumbing down of music for commercial purposes or to relate to purposely miseducated consumers is a travesty. Always in America we have doubted the integrity of our citizens. Pitching society shallow music via substandard performers should not have an effect on humanity. If the process becomes the norm, and continually quality music is disguised we will end up with a society of culturally illiterate buffoons knowing nothing more than to clap when elicited. Each time I see yet another pianist attack the piano with either stabbing fingers, curled fingers, or limp wrists hanging like kangaroo arms my stomach turns. I know there is no possibility the ensuing music will have any connection with me. It will be barrages of notes at the same volume completely abandoning the subtle craft and art of “Phraseology.” I guess expecting what traditional jazz pianists have tried to accomplish in their realizations is above and beyond what a commercial entertainer can handle.

A Traditional American Education, but Not By the Republicans

2011-03-14T13:54:00.004-04:00

In recent American history Republicans have achieved power by changing the rules. If one is not skilled enough to win a contest, if they are immoral and ruthless they will attempt to change the rules. This is how I feel about “pop” music. Pop music changes the rules of traditional music education. In this sense pop music from its inception does rock, but pop music is not rock. The way I feel about pop is the way I feel about homosexuality. It makes my life more difficult as a single 48-year-old man, but at the same time it has its rights. Accepting pop has been difficult for me mainly, because I never learned about it. I didn’t listen to it as a child, because there was something about it that did not appeal to me. Only decades later would I discover it was the rhythmic “feel” of the music. Today there are certain songs in the pop music genre I can “feel.” Those are the more successful ones that actually use tangible musical devices like any other style of legitimate music. What do I mean by legitimate? What is jazz? That is a common question asked by Republicans who like to change the rules. “Jazz is anything I want it to be,” they would say. Wrong. Jazz in a nutshell is a swing-based improvisatory music based on the 12 bar blues and 32 bar A-A-B-A popular song forms. Period. Each style period in the evolution of jazz, while seeming surreal and magical to some, has concrete musical definitions. A traditional music education examines these aspects and enlightens future musicians. The “magic” or “mojo” an uneducated listener might describe is a combination of very high level processes being synthesized, realized, and conveyed extemporaneously. That is why jazz often is described as America’s only true art form. Pop in my knowledge never has been studied in the academic realm. I’m sure there are colleges and universities that offer music appreciation courses that examine American popular music, but until recently I never have encountered anyone that wanted to understand or play pop music. Open my eyes! Royal Caribbean International has embraced pop music in place of more traditional styles of music. They employ few classical groups, and the ones they do hire play mostly pop music with sequenced backing tracks. They ceased hiring jazz groups, so their cigar/jazz lounges have been morphed into lounges hosting Karioke and adult games. The only artistic music one can hear on a RCCL ship might be reggae which they call “Caribbean” music. Because I have worked for this company for almost five years, it became a necessity to understand this thing called “pop.” Is it credible I experienced nine years of collegiate study and never once was confronted with the rhythmic feel contained in pop music? In reflection I only can believe it has been a conscious choice to exclude this music. Then again Republicans are good at trying to change the rules. Concretely I know the existence of pop music has caused me years of excruciating anguish in my job. How could a style of music possess such capabilities? It is simple. The physical, kinesthetic, technique required to produced the pop music feel diametrically is opposed to the traditional classical-oriented piano technique I learned in twelve years of private piano lessons. It is simple. Classical and jazz music are different than pop music. The rhythmic feeling, thus “style,” is different. Also nuances of phrase, tempi, and dynamics almost are completely abandoned. If one feels and actually appreciates this “rhythmic style,” then the music will communicate immediately with little physical technique. Therefore this base, basic, push of emotion does possess power of some kind. The magic involved here is not everyone feels it. I do not, and I do not want to. Why would I abandon forty-two years of piano study to learn to play a style that I do not inherently feel? It would be because my job at Royal Caribbean, International has begun to demand it. This is a crucial decision I face each and every time I embark a new vessel. Will the particular ship be open to more liberal and diverse musical and therefore human expression, or will I be tethered to the sea floor by a shallow, insipid, self-indulgent aesthetic? Lately is has been the later. My most recent ship proved that. I had to leave. In my continual examination of pop music, I have come to understand it more and more. Sometimes it seems very simple, and at other times it seems very complex. It is complex to me now, because almost every keyboardist I see on television is playing in pop style. I remember the music I have been intrigued by and have listened to in my life and studied has been jazz, jazz-fusion, Latin, reggae, and classical music. Those are the styles and therefore the “feels” I enjoy. I never knew the reason was is they are based upon the rhythmic feel generated by the keyboard. What? What is a rhythmic feel generated by the keyboard? How can this be different than the “pop” feel I am describing. It is simple. The distinction is between the keyboard and the GUITAR. While the guitar is an integral part of a traditional music education, (I received none) it is its own specific aesthetic separate from the chosen pedagogical aesthetic of most colleges and universities. If this is true how is it that the “pop” rhythmic feel recently seems to have become the most prominent style of music today in America? Because I have not canvassed America’s modern music educational system, I cannot speak for academia. I would hope tradition has remained, like it should in academia. That is the definition of the system. “I’m a tarheel born, I’m a tarheel bred, And when I’m a tarheel dead.” Although I became a Buckeye, I fervently still believe tradition plays a large role in the educational system. I also am aware that society evolves or devolves. It if begins to devolve, it is the responsibility of our educational system to prevent the regressions of the human condition. Although it is a bold statement I believe the acceptance of and subsequent inclusion of the pop aesthetic into both American society and its educational systems has become an insidious hindrance to the enlightenment of our students. It has become a crutch or a short cut personified by the computer age negating the need for traditional educational processes. One of them could be the simple act of teaching with oral instruction, a chalkboard, books, and pencils and notebooks. Conversely I tout the great merits of the laptop computer but, it only is useful to me with the concepts I learned with this methodology in school. Microsoft’s “Word” program, the Mac Dictionary, and the Internet’s Wikipedia website cannot substitute for a complete study of American English grammar, literature, and history. They only facilitate the writing process. A “pop” education in no way can represent a complete, human, musical education. It is a crutch or a shortcut to difficult lessons that must be experienced in life to build character, intellect, and tenacity. It would seem the Republicans want a shortcut in humanity, and I’m not buying it. Drugs are a crutch or a short cut. They through human misuse attempt to replace concrete concepts in our brains and souls that should have been put into place with a traditional American education, a traditional social/cultural dynamic, and a traditional governmental support system. It seems all these things have been challenged or dismantled in recent years. The digital age stealthy has infiltrated and taken over the role of education in America leaving the student holding a microwave transmitter in his hand rather than a degree, a tangible paycheck, and a pension fund. I have come to realize “pop” type devices are necessary in adolescent development. Rebelliousness is a necessary tangent of doubting and questioning authority. In the case of music, “pop” is an undesirable platform that eventually manifests itself in drug, alcohol, and sexual abuses. History through the “test of time” all ready has proven pop music is not relevant to human society. It is an ill. The evil lure of pop music has seduced America’s economic system, and its greedy self indulgent plague unless changed could devolve American society for decades to come.

Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Personal Musical Reflection

2011-03-13T14:02:00.002-04:00

After a recent local symphony concert I found it odd I felt off balance, because I did not know how to pronounce the concertmaster’s name or know his country of ethnic origin. Likewise after not reading the program notes, in particularly ones relating to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, the Pastoral Symphony, again I felt off balance. As a composer myself almost possessing a D.M.A. in Composition from the Ohio State University, I remembered the necessity of “program notes” as a tool for selling your piece. While the composer tolls countless hours (“The piece lives in the time it takes to compose”) inside the piece, an unknowing audience has had no time with the piece before its first hearing. This raised a question in my mind for the first time as a listener. Also with countless of hours listening and studying music, I once never entertained the thought of having to listen, absorb, and understand a piece of music from an musically uneducated point-of-view. Because my entire life I have dedicated myself to the study, composition, and performance of music, I never would allow myself to listen to music without a myriad of preparatory information. This concert was different. Because I have been at sea for nine years, it has been nine years since I have heard any kind of concert. Isn’t that strange? I have been making my living as a professional pianist but not have had one opportunity to hear live music in a concert setting. This is an atrocity! When you perform music full-time as a vocation, it must be your interest in music declines. Your ears become tired, and the magic once that could be found in an inspired musical performance dissipates into the air like an early morning fog. It becomes rote like any other job. When I leave the ship job, my only desire is to escape the musical environment not only to rest my mind but my body. Performing music is mental prowess. Yes you must have the necessary learned physical technique, but performing music comes solely from the mind. The heart is involved but without the mind music performance would be impossible. It is a highly engaging combination of parameters that allow a quality musical performance. Unluckily a ship job ignores many of them. They provide you a “click track” to keep the time. They also provide you with pre-recording backing tracks in case you cannot play your part. In short it is not a real life music-making environment, but it pays the bills. At my first symphony concert in more than ten years I was surprised to be at a disadvantage. I was in my hometown, but a hometown of many years past. I was listening to a group I had heard before, but also not for many years past. I was listening in an auditorium in which I had performed numerous times at a college that now was a university. Ironically the Chairman of the Department of Music at this University and I shared the same doctoral advisor at Ohio State almost fifteen years ago. He completed the degree, but I did not because of affecting medical needs. That is why I began working for the cruise lines after my surgeries. I needed to make money from music, not spend it. Listening to both the Beethoven Pastoral Symphony and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in this setting was unbalancing. While alone I know I have a wealth of historical musical knowledge stored in the recesses of my brain, in this setting I was transmuted back to my childhood prior to the events that molded my now professional life. Being in one’s hometown inevitably demands you again become a child surrounding by antiquated unchanging memories. It could be the prime example of “Nature vs. Nurture” with your surroundings demanding you once again submit to your uneducated youth. As with all sentimental occurrences one believes a strong defensive cognition should not be required to healthily survive. That is not the case here. Society, or rather the geriatric class of Americans never in my experience transfer the balance of power to their younger social class. They wield it competitively until they are dead. That humorously is the only time a young person can acquire a lucrative and fulfilling orchestral job, when a geriatric dies. Thus America is presented with again a continual dilemma about her future. Without an investment in her younger generation, how will the power and integrity of a once affluent country be ensured? While I was not thinking about this as I listened to this symphony concert, I was thinking about how disconnected I felt. I knew quite a bit about the music, and as I challenged myself to enjoy the concert it was necessary to engage my mind. Then I began asking myself without my cognitive reflective process could I enjoy the music? Without an understanding of harmony, form, rhythm, and style could this music communicate with me? A popular adage concerning jazz music is that you do not have to understand it. You only must be able to “feel” it. This throughout life has been a crucial part of my own philosophy of music. I would not be involved with music composition or jazz improvisation, unless I could express my own internal experiences and feelings. That is my sole inspiration for musical composition. In former years one always feels a need for acceptance by one’s peers, but in time that necessity dwindles with one’s own faith in America’s cultural society. Lastly you compose because it is meaningful to you. Isn’t this the best method? Charles Ives sold insurance to make a living thus protecting his own compositional musical aesthetic. Without this attitude the need to be commercially successful surely will take over, and the pure, quintessential, artistic compositional aesthetic will be lost. As I listened to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, I could not help but be surprised. While fully understanding Beethoven was a composer of the classic period, what I was hearing sounded romantic to me. The dates l780-l790 surface in my head as being the height of the “Classic Period” in music history, yet this symphony sounded like Brahms to me. Then it began to sound more like Aaron Copland’s Rodeo. It was “pastoral” I though to myself, so how does a composer achieve such a feeling? The melodic themes because of the time period were diatonic. The chromaticism of Wagner and the “Romantic Period” were still years away, but Beethoven was a visionary. His Grossa Fugue pushed the classical tenants of composition also alienating him from some in traditional Austrian society. This is what I liked about Beethoven. He was one of my favorite composers. Upon listening to this particular work my pre-conceived notions about Beethoven were being challenged. First the pure bravura of Beethoven was altered with the theme of a “Pastorale.” There were folk elements that seemed to drive the work. “This is unusual for Beethoven,” I thought to myself. How far is Ireland from Vienna? The triple meter and almost Scottish “snap” motive meant I could be listening to an Irish Jig. One movement labeled Andante sounded like a Johann Strauss Waltz. “That was a little more plausible,” I thought. While these elements certainly were different than the Egmont Overture or Eroica Symphony of which I knew, certain telltale Beethoven devices were in play. His accompanying countermelodies and pizzicatos in the low strings came and went. “Ah, that I recognize!” Only once though through the devices of “Sturm Und Drang” was his traditional classic aesthetic heard. It came as the thunder I later found out after reading the program notes. Beethoven successfully pushed his own composing dynamic with the Symphony No. 6. In retrospect after the drama of the 5^th Symphony this piece would be a logical reaction to such bravura. The Romantic treatment of this orchestra disguised the true nature of what I knew to be Beethoven, but that was okay. I was feeling almost sickly sweet from a man known to be confident, pompous, and arrogant. Other themes seemed to be pushing toward the Romantic Period, so that also was okay. What I heard in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 was similar. There were a slate of musical ideas reaching out to many time periods, ethnic backgrounds, and composers. Synthesizing them is the key and both pieces adequately achieved that goal. With only two pieces on the program, I experienced a wide range of musical ideas. With my own personal musical discomfort came a challenging of my own knowledge. Similarly to what happens in a ship band, you are not battling your own demons. You are battling the perceptions of others.

Rumor Has It, There is a Dilemma

2011-03-08T22:54:00.004-05:00

The Dilemma is a successful version of Neil Simon’s anachronistic attempted comedic farce Rumors. When I went to see this movie, I was not sure for what I was in store. I saw a resurrection or second chapter of Vince Vaughn’s work in the Break Up. There even was a canal for his tour boat. In actuality The Dilemma, directed by Ron Howard, was an in depth sometimes heart-wrenching character study of two married couples whose husbands are partners in the auto business. I believe fully Vaughn stepped up to the plate and could be chosen M.V.P. of the sincere, passionate, emotional leading man role. While many of his emotional responses were honed in the The Break Up, the presence of two co-leading ladies, Winona Ryder and Jennifer Connelly, diverts the painful ones or eases them with comedic intervention. One does not know upon entering the theater what genre the movie is. It unfolds as a drama that successfully masquerades as a comedy. The King of Queens handles the other male role. Why is The Dilemma successful and Rumors not? In this case The Dilemma is not a farce. In Rumors Simon needs more preparation setting the scene of an act in the Theater of the Absurd or the Three Penny Opera. Somehow an exquisite mansion and formal wear imply nothing of a forthcoming what-should-be light-hearted comedy. Instead it is pretentious making the consequent attempts at comedy fail. The characters do not know whether to be lowbrow, highbrow, or what results naturally in his play, neurotic. Watching neurotic affluence, while probably natural in their own circles, is unnerving. It is like watching a car careening out of control down an embankment with no happy ending in sight. At least in the Dilemma this is something about which the King was compelled. Rumors should be in the suspense category like a cheeky Agatha Christy novel, something sure to doom a Broadway bound production. Rumors emerges as an unsuccessful attempt at theater. There were a few good ideas, but Simon didn't show the technique to pull it off. The Dilemma does pull it off. It allows human moments unknown to the audience to unfold, develop, and drive the plot absorbing you in the drama. It breathes, improvises, and eventually shows compassion, something lacking severely in Simon's Rumors. Rumors is stiff just like its characters. Ron Howard opens the film with a large dose of Jennifer Connelly’s affection possibly foreshadowing the ending. Her's and Vaughn's chemistry seemed genuine, more than his chemistry with Jennifer Anniston in the Break Up. That is why they broke up. This makes the movie more palatable as a comedy. It had a happy ending, at least for three. Kevin James's marriage did suffer the consequences of its fate. The discovery of his friend’s wife’s affair created the dramatic tension, and Vaughn's resulting neurosis was the film. Luckily as a good guy should Vaughn remained true to his would be spouse, stays off the gambling, and eventually is loyal to his friend and business partner. Although psychologically continually the movie insinuated Vaughn would come out the loser, he won. It was a triumph.

Let's play some rhythm changes on El Trumpeto!

2011-03-07T22:04:00.001-05:00

The Not So Successful Rumors

2011-03-07T18:05:00.003-05:00

While everyone seems to think a Neil Simon play inevitably will be a hit, I have to disagree with Rumors. After seeing a recent local performance of what was called a farcical comedy, I came out hating the play. Even, as with most theater performances I attend, my sincere effort to try and enjoy the play by supporting its actors was met with a queasy unliking to by the end torture at being trapped in the enclosed theater with those who seemed to love it. Symbolically it personified my own self prescribed war between those that love pop music and those who appreciate jazz and classical music. One is selfish, sickly sentimental, and inept at delivering a Freudian does of ID, and the other embraces the true human condition. As America seems to have forgotten, the ID is the driving force of human nature. If we as adults cannot continue to appreciate mature sexuality is our present from God for being human, we as a cultural and artistic county will continue down the road of despair. I, as a 48-year-old single adult male, have to self-medicate because of the lack of healthy sexuality in America. Everywhere I turn conversely I am confronted with gay rights. The message is not about being straight and nurturing humankind with what God intended. The message is about an aberrant behavior probably worthy of being accommodated but needing to be kept on the down low. That exactly is why past President Bill Clinton’s policy of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” worked. Making homosexuality a platform for notoriety is exactly why this local performance of Rumors failed. It didn’t deal with the real issues. It created a false platform for actors to be appreciated for their work, not the content of the play. This has been the trend in popular music for quite a few years now beginning with Glam Country. America, along with her cultural history, has abandoned the need for a far reaching and substantial philosophy of life. We have regressed into the most base consumerist society peddling shallow anodynes to a purposely uneducated populace for the financial gain of those who hold private stock. There is no money in art, so America would think. The artistic aesthetic, once valued and collected for the spiritual enlightenment of Americans, has been replaced with cheap immediate gratification commodity. With over 300 million cellular frequencies in use today, the mobile telephone distinctly has changed the cultural habits of America for the worse. The sheer necessity of having to ambulate to achieve social development has been bandaged with convenience, a convenience that has stymied the emotional dynamic that once fueled American popular music. How can art exist if there is no life? Rumors proved that. It did not exist, because there was no life. It was a farce so off the beaten track from what is now mainstream America, it almost was almost incomprehensible at least to me. I hated it. Hate is a strong word, but it is better to understand your suppressed feelings than suffer the consequence of depression. Acknowledging and understanding negative emotions is crucial for survival in the human race. Without being unpatriotic how can I express my vehement dislike of Rumors, a Neil Simon play? I can say that in l988 at the height of Reganomics and a recently created upper middle class, watching neurotic rich people behave badly may have funny. Today in our current social and economic climate it almost incited an Extreme Muslim type of reaction in me. “Why are these rich people being indulged in public at my expense?” They were not funny, and in a rare dichotomy it was on two discreet levels. The characters in the play were not funny, and the actors themselves were not funny. This raised the scenario if the play could have been successful with a different cast. Ask Ellen Chenoweth. Secondly is raised the scenario if the play could have been successful with a different director. Probably both are true. It would have saved the cast from humiliation, and only the play would have been bad. I kept hoping for that as the minutes tooled by. Unfortunately the dichotomy continued with no salvation, except for the utterance of a few profanities and some carpet crawling. It just didn’t work for me. Because it has been several decades since I have been exposed to the elite rich, luckily I had forgotten their vanity. The cruise industry in its tremendous favor has eliminated social class for the most part. Only recently on my last vessel did its ugly head rear condensed in one short sentence. “These guests’ money pays our salaries.” Suddenly my life as a cruise ship musician was reduced to Reganomics for the first time in ten years. I am working for the man, and I am being expected to do what the man says, not what my experience and education has taught me. That would be construed as talent, and as it now commonly should be known, America does not seek talent. How can that be true? Although I never once in my life have watched a reality or talent show on American television, I can instinctually say they have nothing to do with talent. The themselves are farces, much more successful ones than Neil Simon’s Rumors. I found myself throughout the dull narrative yearning for a Woody Allen moment, steeped in heterosexuality, warmth, and harmless self indulgence. Instead I got a grand peacocking glorification of the wealthy replete with their arrogance and expecting acceptance in society solely because of their money. It was repugnant to me, exactly like it was in the l980’s when I played music for the same social class. Both my retribution and salvation for hating the rich came from moving to the Midwest away from the South’s old money. I started a new life as a doctoral student and opened up my life forever away from the oppressive Good Old Boy network in place in the South. I was able to grow into an adult with an identity of my own, respected for who I was and what I believed, and accomplishing many of my personal artistic goals. It was blissful, and now it is over. Rumors proved that.

America is Not Swinging

2011-03-06T21:12:00.001-05:00

America is not swinging. Wynton knows it, and now I know it. I have given this

issue the benefit of the doubt for about a year now. As time passes it becomes more and more apparent, America is not swinging. The funny thing is I feel like the bad guy, and I have been treated like the bad guy. It seems there is a huge conspiracy in music circles to keep it concealed that America is not swinging. Who could ever think that producing true feeling in music ever could be considered bad? I have to know who is responsible for this movement, this movement of no swinging. Was Louis Armstrong bad? Of course not, and we have a sizeable history that proves Louis Armstrong was swinging. Maybe he was the first swinger, because in jazz circles often he is given that title. The First Swinger. It was not Bix Biderbeck. Louis not only loosened up the rhythm of American popular music, but he constructed the first viable improvised solos. These two things directly are related to the expression of true personal feeling. I am not talking about any of the hype we see on television today that passes as music. We see pantomiming puppets pulling strings of guitars with absolutely not one drop of talent. Talent. That must be the defining word. No talent, and America is not swinging. I guess it is my sole responsibility to define talent and swinging so there will be a remote possibility that America could again begin to swing. Will he have to wait for an end to the depression? Glenn Miller swung his ass off all through World War ll. It seems then America wanted good feeling music. It seems America has been duped to believe the music that is being performed today falsely in “pop” style has good feeling. That only could be if there were no feeling. Stravinsky or Schoenberg said music was incapable of producing feeling of itself. Of course not. Do you hear a tree fall in the woods if you are not there? For a feeling to be created, there must be a human being present to synthesize the stimulus and create the appropriate or desired feeling. Can feeling be transmitted via music? I believe non-swinging America will agree that most of us would not listen to music if it did not MOVE us. That means moving our emotions, or creating and/or manipulating our feelings. The first time I heard true sadness personified in music, it was in a G.F. Handel concerto grosso slow movement. I asked myself how anyone could not perceive this music was meant to produce or purge human sadness? While visual art, especially Abstract Expressionism, can produce emotional responses the musical aesthetic has the most potential. That is because emotions are waves of varying frequency, and sound is waves of varying frequency. While only now is it becoming known that electromagnetic waves affect both our thinking and our emotions, even non-swinging America would admit the reason why we go to concerts is to have our emotions moved. Music can do it. Why then is non-swinging America replete to the core with non-swinging music? I have been asking myself this for a few years now. After watching a PBS fundraiser showcasing the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, I had to blog and expose their music for what it is not. It is NOT rock, yet non-swinging America seems not to notice. Rock music swings. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones proved that, and their great successes came from their swing. Today swing seems not necessary for some reason. It must be because America has become so self-centered or rather spiritually needed, that we cannot bare the notion of a band that knows more about music than us. Enter the worst idea ever in non-swinging America, Karioke. This is where the movement must have begun. Forget the band. Forget Louis Armstrong. I want to get up on stage drunk and try to sing. Let’s in one fell swoop demolish the successful and lucrative history of American popular music. Let’s create the MP3 and demand music be free to the listening public. Let’s emasculate the record companies that shaped our adolescence and allow music to be traded online instead. It all became about us, not the music and its musicians. Musicians are a dying breed. All one has to do is turn on the tube to see music is a dying craft. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra was the worst possible example of a hypocritical musical ensemble. Hiding behind the guise simply of playing some traditional classic music, this ensemble concocted a cinema-like live stage show that had zero musical content. Yes, they were playing the notes of Mozart, but it was not Mozart. Does non-swinging America need a Mozartian to explain why the music was shallow and empty? It was because either by neglect, sheer ignorance, or conscious misguided choice these musicians were playing mechanical, metronomic, sterile notes devoid absolutely of the elements that create feeling. I assume that they did not really want feeling music. They wanted a stage spectacle glorifying the self-centered listener. If one wanted actually to hear music, he would go to an orchestra or chamber music concert. Should this orchestra be allowed to rape Mozart for their own personal gain. I think Mozart, if he could rise from his early unmerited grave, would protest if he were rich. Then again if her were poor and was receiving royalties for the performance, he probably reluctantly would agree to the performance. What is it exactly of which I am writing? Phrasing, dynamics, tempi, and rhythmic feel. Playing the way the Trans-Siberian orchestra plays is easy. It takes no talent. It takes very little musical technique to play “their” way. All one has to do is watch and see if there is a kinesthetic connection between the musician and his/her instrument. Is there a connection? Is there a connection? Like Charlie Haden, the illustrious Ornette Coleman’s bassist, are they making love to their instrument? Are they even getting to first base? Are they trying, or are they just raping their instruments with insincere, unfeeling, disdain? Usually human beings become musicians because they feel a need to express themselves individually. They want to speak through their instruments. Why would anyone take the time to learn musical technique on an instrument, and then stop at the most crucial part of music production? I asked the three questions previously. Without phrasing, there are no sentences. With no sentences there can be no paragraphs. While the words seem to exist (notes) they are displayed in a jumbled barrage of unfeeling misunderstanding. This is the definition of “pop” style. It is a stagnant line of repeated notes. The elements that bring life to the notes are absent. Instead of the inherent quintessential expression possessed in the mind and soul of the composer and the piece, a bullshit theatrical circle jerk is concocted attempting to masturbate the crowd with jive attitude. The true nature of the music is ignored or worse not even recognized. Why play Mozart at all? Is this to what America has evolved in its musical community? The mass public demands Musica Reservata, the antique practice where the groups’ needs outweigh the importance of the composer’s music. There was a time when America appreciated Louis Armstrong. Is it that there is not in existence currently a musical artist that exhibits true talent, a deep philosophical understanding of music history, vast personal experience, and an ability to synthesize these elements into a moving musical performance? That is the requirement of a collegiate music program, and they are failing. Because the record companies have declined and personal glorification devices are fueling our weak economy, quality live and recorded music is at an American low. America is not swinging.

The New Scarlett Johansson

2011-03-02T14:19:00.001-05:00

The long anticipated exposing of Scarlett Johansson’s voluptuous bare breasts is upon what Hollywood filmmakers should be doting. While the complete package of Halle Berry voraciously has satisfied most yearning adolescent males, the lineage of maturation on screen has great potential. Woody Allen successfully created a more adult and liberal role for Ms. Johansson in Match Point. The Island turned her into a full-fledged Hollywood screen beauty. The prudent preening of the once one-legged Grace Maclean could create box office history. What other child star has America seen who grew such bankable breats in such a short time? Jennifer Love Hewitt had hers in I Know What You Did Last Summer. They were a major visual focus of the film. Leelee Sobieski had hers in The Glass House. Lindsay Lohan and Kim Kardashian single-handedly launched their media careers with the leaking of home made sex tapes exposing their all ready developed bodies. Only Johansson’s breasts have developed on the silver screen like well-cultivated melons seeking the proper expose at the state fair. Who will provide the proper vehicle for such an exposure? Noel Black’s treatment of Betsy Russell in Private School for Girls created a cathartic adolescent sexual fantasy. Matthew Modine, dressed in drag, infiltrated the all girl dormitory of his object of desire Phoebe Cates. Russell, albeit with surgery-enhanced breasts, was given the appropriate seductive scenario for the exposure of her curvaceous cleavage to the then transvestite Modine. Johansson needs a similar scene in the appropriate movie, more tastefully coupling her own personally discovered sexual desires. Only with this personal awareness will the true power of her yet-to-be-uncovered breasts be released. It is a savvy art director and cinematographer who will harness the true potential much like Howard Hughes did of Jane Russell. The proper palette is crucial for the unveiling of what could be the most revered breasts in Hollywood. As with the passage of time creating children undoubtedly always has its consequences. It is fortunate Jennifer Connelly’s dark side has enabled her to continue acting in roles demanding deep emotional reflection. Her catalog is diverse and substantial. With her desire to act in dramatic roles came the slow demise of the exact same potential her breasts displayed in many Hollywood films. A pang of remorse must be felt at the dying of a once highly esteemed adolescent fantasy. Johansson stands firmly in a position to inherit the coveted grail of Best Hollywood Breasts only if they are exposed in exactly the right moment.

Heart and Soul

2011-02-25T12:15:00.001-05:00

It seems the era of Obama increasingly is becoming one of non-convention. While an era attempts to define itself looking back at many periods in history, what will determine its major defining characteristics? The entertainment industry traditionally has had a sizable impact on pop culture, but will the current roster of artists stand any chance of influencing today’s America? Justin Biber? Lady Gaga? Katy Perry? Do any of these adolescent appealing performers stand a chance of usurping both the 60’s and 70’s monumental power of molding America’s social, political, and cultural habits? The answer is no and for one simple reason. America’s popular music once was focused on more substantial humanistic issues. There is a parallel between the current trend of popular music and America’s fallen economic leaders. Neither was concerned with anything other than immediate human gratification. Because of Napster, American record companies lost their power. Consequently artists have had to rely on the internet to market their music. Politically the last decade has seen a campaign of “Fear and Intimidation” fostered by Bush Jr. Political Correctness and Gay Rights have squeezed any remaining rebelliousness out of the American populace. We have become a generation of couch potato gamers concerned with nothing. Luckily with Egypt and Libya’s example Wisconsin has returned to something tangible in the history of America. They have resurrected the ghost of Jimmy Hoffa, protesting in the streets for union labor rights. Unfortunately with a swift slash of the pen Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly, even with the picketing absence of democratic leaders, forced a vote in the wee hours of the morning passing legislation severely limiting workers rights. The process was a success, but much like the resulting Presidential election decided in the state of Florida by the Supreme Court, savvy lawmakers used their legal knowledge and political prowess to succeed in the vote. All the moxy in the world, while necessary in garnering spiritual support for truly American issues, cannot defeat lawyers. Still as a nation we are not sure whether to embrace them and their system or continue to spurn them like the Wall Street traders that led is into the current crisis. The quintessential battle between heart and mind, soul and reason, and logic and emotion continues. Maybe we need a few more lessons from Spock and Captain Kirk.

Tax the Rich

2011-02-24T14:41:00.001-05:00

Arianna Huffington’s Huffington Post now represents a trend made viable by corporate deregulation under the George W. Bush administration. In the face of a continually decreasing American economy, the rich continue to try to acquire equity in products themselves are not able to create. This is the antithesis of the core philosophy of Capitalism, although in recent decades with a swell in Wall Street trading it is being perceived as the real McKoy. The Grass Roots movement in America best viewed in the lineage of the Gilded Age represents a viable model of economic prosperity in America. The buying and selling of companies on Wall Street is not. While it is obvious the chasm between the poor and the rich has grown since the Bush presidency, the disparity between the working class and affluent America always has been present. One only must turn on the tube or watch a spate of emerging retro 80’s flicks at the theatre to see this tenacious disparity continue. Memories of the Reagan Era are creating a sentiment that seems to be ever increasing in Hollywood. Likewise re-emergent mall landscapes are an eerie physical incantation attempting to raise the ghost of trickle down economics. It will be interesting to see if mainstream America bites. More realistically the creative and artistic mall scenarios probably will bite it themselves, because the pocket change America carried in the decade of the 80’s no longer exists. This dichotomy, an elitist economy on top of the real economy, is the fatal illusion that is impeding progress in America. While fiscal progress because of the government’s huge accruing debt is foremost in most people’s minds, jump-starting the economy via Capitalism is the only way to revitalize America. The corporate pattern of the last decade engineered by Bush Jr. is not the right model. It was an elitist model devised for those all ready possessing money. Reagan was more successful in his administration, because culture and education were at a high point in American history. Reducing tax rates for the rich for the first time from 70% to that akin of middle class America worked, because the rich invested their money back in the infrastructure of America. Unlike Wall Street cronies of this decade, they did not pocket the cash. This first emerging class of wealth saw the need to re-invest their monies in the system that was creating their lifestyles. We have seen an unparalleled greed in the American economy in the Bush and post Bush years favoring an earthly presence of the anti-Christ. Could this symbolically be the sign that the second coming of Jesus Christ is near, and the epic significance of 2012 is credible? Judging by media’s depiction of the crisis it seems otherworldly in nature. Could it be the quintessential battle between rich and poor has surfaced again as the metaphor for the battle between evil and good? Will we ever recover from this human-induced drama, or is some kind of spiritual intervention being summoned? Solutions to the economic crisis, while not intangible, seem to bathe themselves in the hypocrisy America has sported since its inception. For America’s economy to resurrect, the real philosophy of the America Dream must be reestablished, aid for the middle and lower classes must be provided, and the rich must be taxed.

Current State of Affairs

2011-02-18T23:30:00.002-05:00

A few thoughts after a long respite from blogging. Leaving a ship always is difficult. The average working person in America knows nothing about living at sea for six months at a time, in a small room, with a same-gendered roommate of your non-choosing. Then acquaintances and your familiar working environment in the blink of an eye are all gone. After laborious travels you arrive at a different place (the cruise lines call “vacation”) and attempt to reorient your life. Many people experience an extreme depression at the sudden loss, or at least seeming loss and drastic change. Only with discipline and the power of mind are you able to integrate once again into American society. The memories are the luck of the draw, sometimes sentimental, sometime melancholic. You must decide what to remember and what to leave behind. It seems the lower southern half of the eastern seaboard is drastically polluted with what must be diesel micro-dust.

Even in Nassau the air was fowl with aroma of the burning of fossil fuels. To a cruise guest this must not seem like a vacation, only a re-visiting of what has become the stark reality in America. Also the violence seems to increase proportionately as you drive south with Miami being the sole destination. Did not Florida used to be a tourist state? Only American musicians have any real grasp of American music. What must cruise lines continue to fill their bands with Europeans with no interest or ability in Motown, Jazz, or R&B music? Television has become trite propaganda produced for what must be attention deprived idiots. Corporate merging has dispensed with any system of Checks and Balances simply in the attempt to earn the coveted quarterly revenue for which prostrate shareholders desire. Wall Street once again has cursed the real economy of Capitalism and mainstream America. Soon, as predictions would have, a giant computer will rule the earth. Those without God will be left fighting on the deteriorating earth until their deaths. Many historic cultures believe the world will end in 2012. Y2K was pigeon poop compared to what is to come. Multi-Culturalism voraciously was murdered by Globalization furthering the economic and social gap between the rich and the poor. How can the rich perceive skating and bicycling as threatening in any way? They used to be methods chosen to ambulate to businesses. Now they are perceived as a grievous threats to elitist society. Gas prices again are rising. It has become apparent an evil dictator is on the take solely from the U.S. After being forced from power by effective but deadly public protests instigated by Facebook posts, he makes off with billions received for exercising sovereignty strengthening the rights of the U.S. to use the Suez Canal for transportation of black gold. The U.S. is experiencing the highest budget deficit in history, and that even with President Obama’s budget proposal, seems never to be fulfilled. Is a coup imminent?

How to Carve on Your Skate Board

2011-01-28T11:27:00.001-05:00

While there are two approaches to carving, the most effective method of cornering sharp bowls or curved transitions is to separate the upper half and lower half of your body. The 2 legs must be able to move independently and twist in the opposite direction of the torso. Your waist is a pivot. The thighs move in tandem like the movement in the dance “The Twist” and freely follow distribution of weight instigated by the upper body and arms. You in effect are torquing your entire body throwing your upper body and arms in a circular motion instigating the carve or turn. The lower body follows the movement pivoting on the back trucks and wheels sometimes utilizing the “kickturn” as a method to make the turn when it is to tight to carve with the wheels on the wall or bank. Both things should happen simultaneously with the upper body twisting in the direction of the carve, and the lower body doing a normal carve with the feet in normal carving position. Basically the knees remain close together like slalom snow skiing or slalom water skiing, and the pivot actually occurs below the knees. Because you are vertical and in a tight curved transition the throwing twisting motion of the upper body is needed drive through the carve at the apex of your upward line to the coping. If you did not use the torque of the upper body to rotate the carve, chances are you would continue on your upward line and out of the top of the pool. Because of the steep angle of the vertical wall and because your body is perpendicular to the transition it is difficult to use the angle of your ankles to push the leading edge of the board back into the pool. This is way you must carve on the back trucks in a tight radius. You could consider the carve a carving kickturn dragging your back foot to stabilize your speed. When kickturning a carve to help make it, differently you are using your weight distributed on the leading edge of the board to bring it back into the pool.

The Atlantis Cruises and the Military

2010-10-14T14:59:00.002-04:00

The minority vigil of open homosexuality continues in America seemingly immune to the acknowledgment that historically a majority of gays have engaged in irresponsible, depraved, and childish behavior. The emergence of HIV, a life threatening illness spawned by both intravenous drug usage and homosexual sex, seems politely to have been put on the back shelf of the American closet. The gay bathhouses of San Francisco, having once provided the fertilizer for the almost epidemic spread of AIDS, are not discussed by the Log Cabin Republicans. The blatant, provoking, and societally rebellious images of the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade seem not to be acknowledged when debating how homosexual behavior may effect the fighting armed forced of the United States. The Atlantis cruises, completely gay bookings of entire Royal Caribbean ships, are not publicized in mainstream America because, “What happens on the ship stays on the ship.” If Federal Judge Virginia Phillips had witnessed first hand any of the social behavioral effects of these events, she would have made a different decision. In true American judicial fashion, she ruled politically representing only those seeking her absolution. Why would Californian justice have to adhere to traditional ethical, moral, and Constitutional values when Hollywood is a metaphor for the America's liberal dream? This dream does not comply always with the conservative mainstream legislation of Washington. California traditionally has been a mecca for liberal social behaviors. Does that make the judge’s decision ethical? Did we as American’s condone the acquittal of O.J. Simpson at his first trial? Did we condone Michael Jackson’s legal settlement with children to disguise his pedophiliac homosexuality? California’s judicial system has a history of cover up, and that means they are sequestered in a geographic niche far from Washington led by an ex-movie star governor. Does that empower the Riverside Judge to legislate for the entire American military a social behavior that should be kept separate? As many argue their disagreement with the “Separation of Church And State,” also they will argue for integrating what traditionally is aberrant sexual behavior into what traditionally is a pinnacle for extreme ethical mentorship. The American military is and should be such, and its philosophy of high moral behavior provides the infrastructure of what will become life-threatening behaviors on the battlefield. This machine also must demand sexual propriety, because exercising one’s right to choose a sexual partner of the same sex should be addressed in one’s private home. Because the military functions nothing like civilian life, homosexuality should be reserved for those choosing not to engage in military activity.

"Don't Ask, Don't Smell"

2010-10-13T20:32:00.002-04:00

In true fashion of the Californian judicial system, Federal Judge Virginia Phillips slipped in the back door of the Department of Defense a worldwide injunction immediately stopping President Clinton’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy from l993. Sidestepping Congress completely and the probable desires of the American majority, Judge Phillips plead in favor of the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay advocacy Republican group. While covertly her ruling could be seen as an Obama success (his administration tried to slip in the repeal as pork in the recent defense spending bill), Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates speculated that an abrupt ending to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would have enormous consequences for the troops. We are at war. The federal government is deciding whether to appeal the decision, despite their own previous attempt to repeal the what most people consider anachronistic legislation. If Obama does appeal most pundits believe the courts temporarily will lift the injunction while the appeals process commences. The question here is whether the ruling stands for the good of the many or the good of the few. While personal civil liberties are important in the Constitution, rulings concerning the masses or class actions have more far reaching ramifications. In certain situations where many victims suffer at the hands of a law-breaking culprit, a class action is appropriate and can be helpful. For a spiritual and private liberty and one that can fall under the aesthetic of religion, legislating a global injunction affecting the entirety of America’s military would be a mistake. No one seems to be making a case for the adverse consequences of “Gay in the Military.” While the gay contingency continues it pursuit of American civil liberties, no one really wants to openly say sexual preference is a religious issue. Likewise religion in general and a belief in God has been spun as unpopular by many large media conglomerates. For whom is it elected officials are going? Hispanics? Black? Gays? Sexual harassment is not bridled just to heterosexuality, and until that issue is confronted in terms of a largely male fighting force often cloistered together in remote areas, real enlightenment over the effects of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will not be found. While homosexuality on television is a relatively tame affair, anyone that attends any of the many gay activist activities immediately would see what aberrant behavior is possible behind the close doors of same sex bunking. For the many well adjusted and couple homosexuals living common lives with no outward vigil, the repealing of the legislation could seem Constitutional. Why can’t homosexuals openly serve in the military? It is because the military is unlike any civilian organization. Civilians do not form battalions, brigades, or platoons. Civilians do not eat, sleep, and work together as a huge cooperating force. Civilians do not spend long hours forced together in extreme and often dangerous situations. It is for these reasons the Department of Defense has launched a probe in the effect of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” which are forthcoming on December 1^st. Any attempt to change the law before them, no matter how California-appropriate, would be a mistake. Fruits, flakes, and nuts don’t necessarily represent the best interests of the national security of this country. They tend to represent their own, which is proven again and again in California’s judicial system. Homosexuals are not celebrities, although they seem to want to be.

Pop's Box

2010-10-09T19:58:00.002-04:00

What is “pop” attempting to say? Without an authoritative study of the history of “pop” as a musical style, some inferences deserve to be made. First the “Pop” charts in America give this rhythmic style a particularly high place in American music history. The “charts” or ranking as determined by Billboard Magazine or Rolling Stone recognize “pop” as a discreet musical style. Somehow “pop” music inherently sells and therefore makes money. Who was it that determined that this particular style was the choice of America’s masses, and what is it about “pop” that creates such a valuable commodity? Covertly hundreds of bands seemed to understand this phenomenon and without opening a musical cans of worms exploited this “style” to benefit themselves and their record companies. It must be assumed that this particular “style” of music lent itself well to the histrionic stage presentation that accompanied it. Was it really this style of music accompanied the histrionic stage presentation itself? This author believes the latter to be true, and that “pop” music was the perfect vehicle for such an exhibition. The greatest example of the validity of this statement is the band AC/DC. Upon casual acknowledgement AC/DC seems to be a heavy metal band. If one is sitting at a bar and hears AC/DC on the jukebox, it is most likely a clangorous cacophony of banging garbage can lids will ensue and one will become annoyed if not all ready versed in the art of Angus Young. This was my experience. I heard or felt nothing that engaged me in any way. That is because AC/DC is a “pop” band. They are not a rock or heavy metal band in the sense of Aerosmith or Metallica. While this might be surprising to most, it seems the same secret exists for fans of AC/DC as the hundreds of bands that exploit this style. Angus Young, while appearing to be full of vitriol, covertly is a softy. He pantomimes grand kinetic gestures, but when it comes to striking the strings of the guitar his touch is a soft as a kitten’s belly. This was surprising, perplexing, and alarming to me as a fellow musician. How could it be I had spent forty years perfecting my touch on the piano, embodying strength, power, tonal clarity, and dynamic nuance, and this man barely touches the strings of the guitar and represents hundreds of thousands of angst ridden adolescent youths who buy AC/DC’s records? It simply was not fair. How did he accomplish such a feat? The underlying secret of pop music’s success is such. While I cannot explain the universal appeal of the “pop” rhythmic feel, I can describe the technique that controls it. It ain’t much. In fact there is little to describe. There is no “clave” or interesting rhythmic pattern. There is nothing even that proves “pop” music is in 4/4 time, unless you define that by the chord movement. Like African music utilized by the fusion band Weather Report (who were the first to perform semi-commercial music in a ¼ time signature) pop really is in ¼. So is the music of Count Basie. Perhaps this is what makes “pop” so universally appealing. There is NO grouping of the quarter note to define actual bars of music. “Pop” music is just a string of eighth notes that go on interminably, just like a porno soundtrack. It takes no thought to digest the music, because one basic element of music of the holy trinity of three, rhythm, does not exist. As it does it is the most base level to what rhythm can be reduced while still qualifying as music. This foundation supplies the necessary framework for the grandstanding of alter musical egos on stage. It appears that “pop” musicians represent fire, pathos, and virility, but underneath there is nothing.

Poppy Cock

2010-10-09T14:46:00.001-04:00

The West Coast’s seeming reaction to the heated pyrotechnics of the East Coast’s Bebop during the l950’s could be seen as a parallel to Europe’s own dichotomy of Classical versus Romantic styles. Romanticism followed Classicism as a musical “style,” but Cool Jazz usually is seen as a reaction to the precursory musically aggressive style of Bebop. Bebop was the Rock ‘n’ Roll of jazz music, while the Cool School was Adult Contemporary. The only difference was the series. The refined eloquence of the High Classic Style preceded the emotional and personally expressive style of Romanticism. The constraint and seeming distance of the Cool followed the energy and aggressiveness of Bebop. It is just a matter of where you tune in. Pop music in America merits its own study, because although pop is a derivative style it inherently possesses some of the same contrasting musical elements represented in both of the former examples of music lineage. What is America’s pop music attempting? Hip Hop was in popular music’s case the precursor to Pop. It was anti-establishment. It was aggressive. It was raw. It felt good, and you could feel it in your body. While its themes were controversial, often violent, and misogynist the rhythmic concept of Hip Hop was very similar to America’s jazz music. Who knew it swung? That itself historically must define part of the expression of Hip Hop music and why it dissolved. Jazz it is said dissolved in the bottom of a whiskey bottle. What happened to Hip Hop? Evidently more skill was needed to produce Hip Hop than was known, because after the elimination of quite a few of Hip Hop’s major figures the music began to flounder. Cheap electronic imitations began to surface as corporate America attempted to capitalize on Hip Hop’s former influence. The effort was not successful, and modern R&B has not recovered. Instead Pop music became the music of choice for America’s airwaves. How did this happen? First was the disappearance of sample loops, something that ensured Hip Hop always would have an engaging rhythmic feeling. Sampling hit records is not a bad way to ensure the success of your future project. With sampling could have come a neglect for the artistry of live music performance. While this was not so evident at the time, it could have had long lasting ramification for the music industry. If A&R money evaporated with the emergence of iTunes, then the focus of music became not live performance but preconceived, prepackaged, prepared “Boy Bands.” Corporate producers became the major purveyors of popular music shaping the sounds we would come to hear on America’s airwaves. Was this a successful movement? With this trend came the reliance upon pre-recorded tracks and a computer-created click. Tethered to this dragon bands would begin to lose the ability to improvise. Their music became a corporate created product void of the traditional angst driving and accompanying most teen-oriented pop music. While there may have been angst visible on stage, the skill of manipulating it musically and extemporaneously began to get lost. The Greatful Dead officially were dead. Cruise ship bands did not help this movement. With a decline in quality of music education, young musicians now were surfacing that had heard nothing other than America’s own choosen insipid pop music. They were programmed to believe that by conforming to this now created construct of seeming money production, they were satisfying the requirements of the art of music production. In fact there is no art involved at all. Unlike both the Cool School and Bebop, pop require no soul connection whatsoever. Often the vocal can express some emotion, but the underlying rhythmic feel inherently is incapable of stirring anyone’s soul or feet. The pop rhythm comes from the strumming of the guitar, and people’s dancing feet are in no way related to this rhythmic concept. That could be pop’s major downfall, because it fails miserably to connect with the human body unlike much of America’s previous popular music. Why has pop remained “popular” in America? Simply it is because it takes no musical skill whatsoever to create it. While techniques are required to play the notes, no rhythmic feeling is necessary making the instrumental accompaniment to vocals impotent. It seems some contingency of America has grown to love this tepid, submissive, and vaporous music. Could it be the same contingency that supports homosexuality? While that may seem like an extreme conclusion, many of the passive traits associated with this sexual transgression are exhibited in pop music. Pop music is music “in-the-box.” It is performed within the construct of a box. It is not free. It is not romantic. It is conformist at the highest level of conformity and in no represents the previous tenets of America’s music. It is Politically Correct. It is Conservative. It is nothing, and the quickly America moves on the more successful we will be at rebuilding a viable, virile, potent America free to express the deepest of her soul driven concerns.

America's Middle Class Jobs

2010-10-08T12:46:00.003-04:00

The news continually is reporting the American job market has not recovered from the recession. Middle class jobs in particular are scarce after massive corporate cuts to shore up those reeling from a huge Wall Street economic break down. While in the short term it is easy to cast blame on the pooling and selling of sub prime mortgages on the open market, other historical and far reaching political decisions have sealed the fate of America’s middle class. NAFTA or the North American Free Trade Alliance, a watershed institution under past President Bill Clinton, failed miserably and caused the peso collapse of South America. It seems those Mexican workers were not quite ready for the amount of hours Asians spend in their sweatshops. The venture capital evaporated as dreams of employing millions of Mexicans at cheap prices vanished. Many lost their life savings as Mexican “workers” continued their own cultural habits. Interestingly enough many of the same workers “flew the coop” penetrating the Texas/Mexican border seeking work as illegal aliens. This is an issue unto itself, and the employment status of these workers eventually will appear before America’s Supreme Court. Should businesses be penalized for utilizing the help of these willing workers? Since Americans themselves are unwilling to pursue these hard labor farm-oriented jobs, why shouldn’t practical businessmen capitalize on their willingness to work? It seems the fertile soil of America laced with the American Dream is more appealing than the rituals of South America. Conversely the continuing displacement of America’s middle classed jobs would point in another direction. It was not that long ago corporations began establishing hubs in foreign countries, and Argentina was a prime choice. These were middle-classed jobs, and a college education and relocation were required. To find a good middle classed job today one must relocate to a foreign country? It seems to be a dichotomy. Middle class jobs that require college always have been scarce therefore competitive in America. Now that corporate America has “out-sourced” many of their total jobs, these jobs are even more scarce here. America’s job market now is not in America. Was this the goal of “Globalization?” While the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and the eradication of the Cold War could have been painted as a national defense issues, wasn’t the opening of global “markets” the goal? America is a Capitalist nation, therefore dollars are needed to ensure the long term economic security of here citizens. How was this to be accomplished exporting her jobs to India and China? As corporate America always has deemed appropriate, they pay the bottom line for free market labor and keep the rest for themselves and their shareholders. Is this the American way? Buying and selling shares of companies on Wall Street seems to be the downfall of Capitalism if it is accomplished greedily and with spite for the American middle class. Religion could play a role here, as our forefathers all ready knew. Capitalism with no conscience is evil. That candidly was proven with Wall Street’s aberrant behavior concerning sub prime lending. The repealing of the Glass/Steagall Act did not help. Allowing what once were discreet financial institutions to merge and interact without the watchful eye of the federal government created a new breed of upper class criminal. Maybe it was destined to occur. It could be the unspoken catalyst for the coup waiting to transpire in America. Luckily or not Obama came to the rescue and George Bush’s head was spared in the public square. Ironically although Clinton was an effective president in many ways, his precursory political legislation fertilized things that were to come. He and Bush’s heads have been spared. Speaking candidly about this situation is the only way to open discussion for the reemergence of America’s middle class. These jobs must come from somewhere, and if corporate America is not given some incentive to bring these manufacturing jobs back to America’s home soil, it will not occur. People keep shouting over these jobs. “I am disappointed with Obama’s lack of success decreasing unemployment in his short tenure as President.” While Clinton himself believes “Green Jobs” are the key, America as a Capitalist country must produce a Gross National Product. We must produce something and not just money. The pipe dream of manipulating money with no means of production is gone. The federal government must realize that to return to her former greatness, pride must return over America’s products.

Count Basie's Pop Music

2010-09-29T15:40:00.001-04:00

When I play a big band gig on piano, eventually and inevitably the director will ask me to play like Count Basie. Each time it happens I cringe a little bit, because I forget that playing piano in a big band has very little to do with jazz music. Although Count Basie is considered to be a jazz pianist, his big band was a dance ensemble. I did not know this when I was playing his music in college. We just enjoyed playing swing-oriented music in an ensemble that offered more freedom of expression than the traditional wind ensemble or orchestra. The jazz ensemble was appealing to us because you got to “cook” a little bit. You also got to “solo.” It seemed hip, hipper than the square classical music the other music students were studying to perform. In my undergraduate days I was ignorant of jazz music history. A good historical jazz education was difficult to come by in the early l980’s, especially at the undergraduate level. There were only about ten universities then that offered a D.M.A. or Phd. in jazz studies. It was said because the music was so young a significant enough amount had not passed to amass the relevant pedagogy. Jazz also was shunned because of the interconnected drug culture. The “Ivory Tower” didn’t understand that drug use did not necessarily thwart art. Jazz musicians I found out later used alcohol and drugs to help facilitate the euphoric personal expression necessary for the realization of quality jazz music. Although Miles Davis, one of jazz music’s iconic creators, created his voice from a mainly melancholic type of expression, swing music should be considered “happy” music. Miles changed this, and with his new direction he changed jazz music for good. If you need a diversion from the “happy” swing music Miles should be your choice. While it would be wrong and stereotypical to call all jazz happy music, swinging could and should be considered a happy musical style. Upon examination most music scholars probably would agree that to “jazz it up” is to bring a kind of happy personal feeling to the music. The perfect example of this dynamic is the piece “The St. Louis Blues March” performed by the Glen Miller Orchestra. Miller, after enlisting in the United States army, created the first successful military, commercial music reliant, propaganda music force in American history. While “nationalism” had been in place as a music tenet in many European countries, an American Tchaikovsky or Wagner hadn’t necessarily been discovered. Miller, in an ingenious conception, actualized a plan that satisfied many high profile demands. First he offered his services to the war effort like many young Americans were forced to do resulting from military conscription. Second he created a U.S.O.-type of internal troop moral building music machine. Third he advanced the art form of swing-oriented music. Fourth he cleverly advanced his own personal music career. All of this was accomplished utilizing swing-oriented music. Miller’s accomplishment alone proves the value of swing music, but also pigeonholes its own musical potential to “happy” music. Miles resulting musical commentary could be seen as a reaction to the preceding dance-oriented big band music. The outlawing of dance floors in clubs during the war did not help. A new type of music had to be created that of itself possessed the capability to keep listeners tuned in. That music was Bebop. Bebop was seminal in the development of jazz music, because by its own definition it was music solely for its artists and proponents. Bebop musicians relished the concept their music was not “for the man” and not for dancing. It was a strong individual reaction and evolution of civil liberties spurred by the slavery experience in America. The feeling of the blues developed in the fields of the American by slaves could be considered what brings soul to swing music. Similarly the early jazz musicians of Louisiana were familiar with the street funeral dirges inherent in New Orleans culture. The feeling of sadness was a crucial part of human expression and thus deserved to be preserved in jazz music. The funeral parade with their “Second Line” would sing the lament of death, and upon burial of the individual would celebrate their resurrection to heaven. How does Count Basie relate to this history? The definition of a jazz ensemble as a dance entity effects the freedom of rhythm. Because dancers demand a steady uncompromising “beat,” this requirement takes precedence over the individual musician’s personal expression. Count Basie’s orchestra with Freddie Greene as guitarist is the most obvious example of this limitation. While Basie’s arrangment are musically interesting in melody and harmony, the rhythmic concept that came to define them is historical “pop” music. A constant strum of quarter notes on the guitar of itself is not musically interesting. What it does do is satisfy the apparent need of the pop music patron, a simple, continual, rhythmic pulse providing a base for a melody. Consequently is it academically correct to call Basie’s music derivative? While they were doing all that they could to continue working, and resultantly were advancing big band music it should be noted that The Count Basie Orchestra was not the highest achievable example of swing-oriented big band music. It is the most popular because it was the most well-known.

Gays in the Military

2010-09-27T13:25:00.002-04:00

The absurdity of placing the value of one’s sexuality above one’s career security can be exemplified by a UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduate’s grievous mistake of “coming out” her senior year to senior ROTC officials. Almost at the completion of a full ROTC scholarship at one of America’s finest institution, this cadet had the bright idea that her sexual preference somehow became more important than her lifelong love of the military and her dream of becoming a military officer. What was she thinking? Often in adolescence where love is a primary part of an individual’s self-perception, selfish emotions drive achievement. Only later in life after educational and social maturation occur does the need to control one’s emotions with the mind become more important. It is possible this grievous mistake was necessary in beginning this process of development. American culture with its capitalist root does not help young people’s schooling on love and sex. Without the necessary (but often disdained) intervention of religion or education, there is naught left to assure young Americans can make an enlightened decision regarding their sexual definition. The task of separating one’s sexuality from the ranks while in America’s armed forces could seem overwhelming. For this reason “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was created and suggested by then Secretary of State Colin Powell to President Bill Clinton. It was a simple plan. It said that gay soldiers, if not in uniform, could not be persecuted if they attended gay bars or participated in gay rallies. It was a simple modest plan that promoted both humbleness and humility, a combination that took into consideration religions’ labeling of homosexuality as sodomy. Only without this contingency could homosexuality be considered moral. With the continuing surge of homosexuality in America whether coincidental or not, major institutions have taken pot shots at Christianity in the last few years. It seems the gay agenda has been put into place and a large populace still is attempting to gain its acceptance into mainstream American society. Why are homosexuals so concerned about defining a public platform with which to define themselves with an issue traditionally private and discreet? America itself has struggled with the commercialization of sexuality, and in most cases this actualization has proven a failure. America’s social conscious over decades decided to replace the sometimes bawdy and depraved and not-so-inconspicuous display of commercially available sex in Times Square in New York City. Who is to say it was a success? Disney and sex seem to be polar opposites. Was it appropriate that the Lion King replaced Linda Loveless? It can’t be mistaken that America has puritan roots, roots often that desire to be overlooked. If asked if Shaker, Amish, or Quaker customs would be acceptable to most modern Americans, unequivocally the answer would be no. It has been up to Larry Flynt to decide the dividing line between conservative and liberal sexuality in America. It is true America is based upon principles of freedom, and it is understandable that homosexuals are seeking asylum like many oppressed immigrants. “Give me your tired, your poor.” The difference here is a religious issue, one that must be mitigated by God. Literal translation of educational scriptures are anachronistic, so it is conceivable homosexuality may not buy you a ticket to hell. The reluctance to accept what traditionally has been perceived as immoral behavior into America’s mainstream is understandable. Its acceptance into the modern American military armed forces should be delayed until a greater understanding is achieved.

Pop Art

2010-09-26T20:12:00.001-04:00

As much as I try to love “pop” music I can’t. After nine years of collegiate study in music and after two years of desperation studying the style and trying to recognize its financial contribution to American history, still I cannot love it. I’m sorry. There is nothing to love. “Pop” music is just that. What? Some people consider “pop” a shortening of the world “popular.” “Like, admired, or enjoyed by many people” could be an anthem for the world derivative defined as “having a value deriving from an underlying variable asset.” That is true in the sense of a pure music education. “Pop” music is nothing of itself. It only can be defined by other more tangible underlying musical ideas. Why then must “pop” music exist at all? The reason is simple. Music is an art form, and because music has become such a crucial part of the American ideal an easy way needed to be developed to realize it with no skill. “Pop” music is folk music, music for the folks. The interesting thing is the “folks” in America always seem more intelligent than expected when interviewed on television. Why then must we subject the folks to such inane music? The reason is simple. Money. Commercial music at one time in America was a high art form. In the l930’s through the year two thousand, viable music sound stages existed in film, television, and radio that gainfully employed high level musicians. These were predicated by a high degree of music education and performance skill. Music was operating as an art form, and hence the artistic ideal was part of film, television, and radio. That is not necessarily true today. Modern day music media companies are attempting to clone previous successful music vocations, but without the necessary education and experience producing music, their product is falling short. They are attempting to produce an art form without the meaning, feeling, or substance. It is a crutch. It is substituting for “education,” the process of attempting and failing, an immediate gratification without peering into one’s soul. If one sits in front of a computer all day and never makes an effort to talk to another human being, how can we consider ourselves a social nation? This has been the trend of this entire decade driven by technology that attempts to do just that, substitute a shallow seemingly pleasant mantra for what should be a “hard knocks” school of growing pains. It is soft-core porn. I prefer the hard-core kind where you get your hands dirty and experience a tactile and tangible reward or response from an effort driven by desire. Desire is what motivates, and it used to be what motivated musicians. It still might, but the desire for money is what is motivating commercial music houses today. With a lack of mainstream from which to draw inspiration, the commercial musical community eventually will have to return to the collegiate classroom to find its roots.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

2010-09-26T13:59:00.011-04:00

Upon a casual reading of the definition of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in Wikipedia, it should be obvious to the most dense American the integrity of our nation’s fighting forces should be more important than an individual’s sexual preference. The depth of Wiki’s definition alone should mandate that a casual attachment of the Murphy Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act would be shortsighted. While the repealing of relevant portions of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was supposed to be contingent upon the completion of a study by the Department of Defense on its effectiveness and long term ramifications, it appears the casual and immoral approach of American sexuality erroneously has been extrapolated to law making. A social issue that directly affects the national security of the United States demands a more in depth study, one that stealthly should not be attached to other legislation as “pork.” As America recognized the “Separation of Church and State” as a fundamental part of our Constitutional responsibility, the “Separation of the Military and Sexuality” should remain a humble and discreet process. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has been corrupted. Absence of integrity out of sight of the eyes of authority both in the ranks and administration has bred abuse. Witchhunts were common attempting to segregate probable homosexuals from the mainstream of the military. This not only existed in the military, but America’s views on homosexuality are changing at the urging of television. It has become common in the last decade for the casual needs of pop culture to at least attempt to instill their value system in mainstream American education. With the lack of funding and emphasis on America’s public education, the value system of an undefined and unstudied contingency has crept into our consciousness. With the vacating of America’s middle classed manufacturing jobs little has been left to define a mainstream. The often contempt for Christianity in America has left a segregated, selfish, and undisciplined population that is bathing in a false security. A misrepresentative “pop” culture has created a soft and malleable bandaid attempting to cover the festering wounds of a continuing “Campaign of Fear and Intimidation.” Music, once a potent force of change in the expression of American ideals, has become a depressive narcotic anesthetizing America to the real soul moving vibrations necessary for a thriving economy. The mis-education continues. Amy Poehler’s comedic narrative last night on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live summed up the much-too-casual approach to repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” While representing one interpretation of “Gays in the Military,” her conclusion fell horribly short of the possible long term socio-psychological effects of mainstreaming homosexuality in a traditional heterosexual protective fighting security force. It is true and apparent that being shipped to Afghanistan for several years risking your life for your country is not much of a reward for “Seeing someone’s pee pee in the shower.” Unfortunately that does not scratch the surface of the common practices of homosexuality in the military. Saccharin pop sensibilities once again are attempting to soften America’s once lofty and respectable ethical and moral values. Media continue to bathe what once was a stark, visceral, and educational process of socialization of young Americans with tepid, shallow, temporary sensory anesthesia. A more appropriate depiction of “Gays in the Military” would be one of the many gay military porn sites. In Fayetteville, North Carolina officers in the army actively recruited young enlistees to participate in their gay sex videos placed online for a profit. This type of abuse of authority and exploitation of a nurturing environment much more is representative of the probable corruptions of “Gays in the Military.” The repealing of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would open the door for such illicit and depraved sexual activity to continue. There once was a time when the mainstream in America clearly was defined and social, religious, cultural, political, and socio-economic habits were much more clear. We are living in an age of spin where our political parties, once defined and respectable organizations, have succumbed to the tribal barbarianism of the ethnic and religious sects of the Middle East. They lob fire bombs at each other while the diplomatic communicative processes that ensure any nation evolve shrink further away masked by convenient sound bites and iPhone text. While our starving economy needs Gross National Product, all of the convenient telecommunications products in the world cannot replace a traditional American “Readin’, Writin’, and Rithmatic” education. The influx of net technology into our schools has transformed the educational process into arch enemy number one. Many of America’s once tried and true virtues casually have been replaced by a non-proactive, complacent, and lethargic acceptance of original sin. We are weak as are gay men. If given a choice, if Islam Extremists invaded your town would you want gay men fighting for you? Pink sarongs, spiked heels, and wigs are no match for the bullets of angry Muslims

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Lay Off Obama!

2010-09-20T21:30:00.002-04:00

It would be a near impossibility for one man to turn around the status of the badly tattered United States economy. The shortsighted need for immediate gratification, like an epidemic, is haunting President Barak Obama’s relatively new administration. It would be a grievous error to call it fledgling, because fledgling it is not. In stark contrast to its tabloid television media coverage, Obama’s administration systematically has been enacting legislation to turn the social and financial systems around in America. Many people have been confused by the serialization of those acts. Obama had no choice first to take the reins of the TARP bailout money. As much of the country demanded they quickly passed an economic stimulus package rightly that produced its own bastard political party. The “Tea Party” was begun, and there was nothing wrong with objecting to the “Porkulous.” The county as a whole still has no idea whether the emptying of America’s pocketbook at the expense of Wall Street was helpful. Have any jobs been created? It was a necessary gamble in an attempt to stabilize our economic infrastructure hoping and opting for employment in the future. In retrospect now we all know it was a heinous atrocity that was abused corporately like a Catholic alter boy. So was Communism.
His second overlooked, misunderstood, and erroneously politically disparaged legislation was “Universal Healthcare.” Again the need for the continuing gratification of the wealthy demands attention from Obama in response to his call for the coverage of America’s forty million uninsured citizens. As per the quintessential nature of Conservatism, why would the wealthy, privileged, and empowered want any change? They are afraid of a “restructuring” of Americas entitlement system, historically one that can serve the poor and middle class depending upon whether a democratic or republican administration is in power. The appropriate response to America’s wealthy comes from the movie “A Few Good Men.” Fundamentally we are supposed to fight for those who are not strong enough to fight for themselves. Unfortunately like the abuse of the TARP funds, this process itself becomes abused breeding yet another bastard entity, the lazy poor. They and the illegal immigrants who are taking advantage of America’s entitlements enrage republicans as they should. What is difficult is isolating the deserving undeveloped, overlooked, and underachieving Americans that need a leg up. It would stand to reason immigration reform is likely occurrence following the serial of Obama legislation.
It is wise to take a moment to digress and speak loudly that….. THE WAR IN IRAQ IS OVER! On time and as planned America’s troops are LEAVING IRAQ. This is huge news, but it is not surprising that America’s media has given it little attention. They are continuing the same pattern of partisan and republican partial reporting of Obama the wealthy desire. It clearly is media bias.
Without citing his entire presidential history, it is necessary to quell the minutia of America’s minority vocal demand that one man solve economic problems that began with the Clinton Presidency. While effective as a president the enacting of NAFTA and the repealing of The Glass-Steagall Act both were the founding of the economic crisis that festered during George W. Bush’s tenure as president. Obama merely stepped in at the worst possible moment, a probably reason why the first African-American was elected president. It would be nice if Christian America would “Give a brother a hand.”

Obama the Martyr

2010-09-12T14:40:00.001-04:00

Despite the ongoing smear campaign by the Republican-led telecommunications industry, President Obama like a martyr continues to rebuild America’s socio-economic infrastructure after its decimation by the Bush Administration. It is a large task healing the weeping wounds left by the Bush Administration. Considering Americans have been left coldly in the lurch by industry, how are we expected to put food on the table and a roof over our heads? Starkly but not surprisingly America during the Bush regime became a country of the wealthy and privileged. The essence of our constitution was tainted by Bush’s greedy, egocentric, and unchristian legislation favoring only the rich. Now abstract tenants of the “American Dream” that citizens have enjoyed for decades have become a vapor evaporating vehemently and tenaciously resisting Allah’s Christian-like mantra. How could America’s constitution spiritually have been tainted, and right and good been made bad and evil? It was a formidable task, but one that the Bush Administration seems to have completed aptly. The hypocrisy is the media continues to paint the opposite picture. If Obama is the socialist how can we explain the government employed 60% of the population before his emergence into the Presidency? America always has been a socialist nation disguised by the desired and fought for privileges of capitalism. Someone has to fund capitalism, and it always has been the government. With Bush’s exit from the Presidency, he took that funding. Now America’s private citizens are left holding empty pocketbooks. It took a thief and Bush was a clever one. Just as he got the hell out of Dodge, he stuck his hand back in America’s purse and stole the bounty for his friends. It could have been the most controversial political act in the history of the nation. Anywhere else Bush would have been beheaded in the public square. Here in a politically correct nation of indoctrinated submission by a campaign of fear and intimidation, Americans have been threatened like vulnerable jews in Poland and squeezed inadvertently into their own private gas chambers. The question now is in spite of Obama’s heroic efforts to right the wrong, has America’s concept been maimed permanently? Can anyone even remember how America used to work? Is it conceivable America can ever return? How can the success of a country be left only on one man’s shoulders? If America quickly does not reinvigorate its educational system caring about its future leaders, the America we have always known will become a myth. Baby Boomers are not the fuel this country and this economy needs. America cannot afford to fund its privileged anymore. It has to begin anew with a grass roots effort to reinvigorate capitalism as it was meant to function, what products Americans need and the best domestic men provide them. China and India do not enter into the equation. The aristocracy hiding America’s lost fortune will not last forever.

The Timothy McVeigh Tapes

2010-04-24T23:49:00.001-04:00

While grotesque in appearance the biography of Timothy McVeigh’s convictions through hundreds of hours of recorded cassette tapes on MSNBC offers a telling expository narrative of a post traumatic Desert Storm veteran. Skilled and cunning McVeigh was indoctrinated by non other than the American armed forces during Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. After viscerally living a life of combat against terrorist forces, McVeigh found despondency returning to the continental United States. A mundane life of daytime television and fast food could not meet the expectations of a tried and true war veteran. After suffering a year’s tenure of depression and post- traumatic stress, McVeigh in a futile attempt began to conceive his own vigil based upon the mistreatment of the Branch Dividian followers of David Koresh at the Mount Carmel property near Waco, Texas. In McVeigh’s eyes the 168 human beings murdered during his bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building were martyrs intended to represent the hundreds of thousands of innocent victims persecuted by an increasingly fascist American government. Posthumously his own execution was a Socratic touché vehemently objecting to his own hypocritical indoctrination during the United States military’s war against Iraq. It was a plea for peace.

Gordon and Smith Skateboards

2010-04-18T21:39:00.001-04:00

It is highly recognized the Gordon and Smith continued carrying the torch for a flexible skateboard deck. While the original Zephyr board actually may not have flexed because of its heavy glass and resin construction, the G&S boards did. Skip said the rocker design was meant to keep the dense stiff fiberglass from cracking under weight. Whether the rocker profile changed the glass and resin structure is speculative, but it seemed to solve the problem simultaneously creating an ergonomic slalom-styled deck. G&S began creating decks that actually moved in response to the rider’s weight. They were dynamic creating a new responsive deck that interacted with the moves of the rider. The G&S Fiberflex became the Cadillac of skateboards during the late l970’s, and its model never has been replicated. Gordon and Smith customized their Fiberflex with newly available Bennett Trucks and World Industry produced Road Rider wheels. This was the second school of the original Sure Grip truck and Cadillac wheel. “Mr.” Bennett used aircraft aluminum to create a highly technical truck that was tall, sharp-turning, and efficient returning the hanger to center after it had been torqued in a turn. The Road Rider easily replaced Frank Nasworthy’s Cadillac wheel mostly because of its new sealed precision bearing. The Cadillac wheels had open ball bearings that could spill out and crash the rider if too much weight was placed on the wheels. Likewise they could get dirty and rusted easily if not cared for properly. The Hoover bearing set the standard for sealed precision bearings and although originally found in vacuum cleaners made the transition to carrying people easily. The combination of the G&S fiberglass deck with Bennett trucks and Road Rider wheels revolutionized the skateboard production industry.

The "Carve"

2010-04-17T18:04:00.000-04:00

The key to skateboard “set-up” or design is an intuitive geometry or feng shui among its components. In the Old School control turning predicates a ratio between axle length, wheels width, and board width. The efficiency to turn the board via torquing the truck on its bushings is achieved by this magic ratio. The variables can be very different. Any combination of short vs. wide can used as long as logic is applied to the size the components. A narrow width board could demand a wider truck to create stability. A wide board could demand a narrower truck to create a tighter turning radius. Three elements fully must cooperate in the conceiving of a functionally operating skateboard. 1) The width of the board. 2) The width of the hanger and/or axle, 2) the width of the wheel. There are some proponents insisting the wheels cannot extend beyond the edges of the board, but how is one to visually see his “balance beam” without seeing the total extension of the wheels and axle? The ability to “carve” the board is what is created with the magic ratio. Carving is a stylized turn created by weighting and un-weighting on a pivot axis rather than merely tilting the board forward or backward over the front and back trucks. Carving is what demands perfect symmetry in the cooperation of these three components.

New School vs. Old School Skating

2010-04-17T17:06:00.002-04:00

First a few thoughts on vintage skate paraphernalia. For street cruisin’ 7 ply concave top decks are not the way to go. Transportation means long distances traversed on four wheels two feet. A concaved deck is not copacetic with the arches in the feet. Only a few deck manufacturers seems to have picked up on this bit of ergonomic information. While for skate rats adhering to the motto “Skate and Destroy” concave decks may offer heightened control for Ollie tricks, a flat top is more suited to long distance travel. Imagine hours or miles of friction created by the opposite geometry of concave vs. convex. It just doesn’t make sense. “Old School” and longboard manufacturers seem more in tune with the concept of traversing long distances, carving mellow banks, and rolling over rough concrete and asphalt. Flex, rocker, or “give” in the board offer a more comfortable ride, especially to those over 30. The concept of pumping the skateboard has experienced a new awakening, and this equally can apply to both longboards and shortboards. As with any aesthetic the boundaries become blurred, and the connoisseur fully must understand the intent of their craft. A carefully chosen stick can satisfy a number of requirements. Sadly the art of slalom skateboarding has been overlooked as the root of LBP or “Longboard Pumping.” In the seventies getting through the cones quickly meant not only being able to turn or carve on a dime, but weighting and unweighting as one navigated the tightly spaced path. A “tall,” narrow-width axle, and loosely-turning truck was conceived for such an act. Not many people seem to realize the Jeff Ho and Skip Engblom designed and built original Zephyr skateboard served such as purpose. The conception of this watershed design is what allowed Dogtown’s Z-Boys to devise and develop their personal surf-oriented skateboard style. While based upon Hobie’s rockered and railed fiberglass Super Surfer model, the Zephyr board included the Sure Grip truck and Cadillac wheel as needed customization. Only so much performance could be eked out of compressed nut shells wheels and open ball bearings. The combination of these four elements produced a skateboard equally qualified for slalom, carving banks, and achieving speed by pumping the board. The rocker shape contoured to the body compressing into a turn, the rails prevented “wheel bite,” the somewhat tall Sure Grip trucks provided a tight turning radius, and the urethane wheels both gripped and slid on pavement when necessary. It was a catharsis, one that would not have occurred had it not been for Skip Engblom and Jeff Ho. While the stylistic roots of skateboarding had been pioneered in an earlier decade based upon other board sports, this configuration is what allowed skateboarding to flourish fueled by the talent and devotion of Dogtown’s Z-Boys. To understand the nature of skateboarding at its core, an examination of the Z-Boys style crucial. The New School of skateboarding, while in some ways similar, is quite different. The requirement of intricate balance is not such an imperative. The boards have a lower center of gravity, have concaved edges, and have longer noses and tails. In comparison to the surf shape they almost qualify as balance boards. Therefore a clear delineation must be made in choosing one’s aesthetic and one’s board.

The Z Boys Surf/Skate Style

2010-03-17T02:11:00.001-04:00

The Z Boys Surf/Skate style employs a rather sophisticated set of footwork to control the skateboard. Instead of placing one foot over each truck and using the ankles to turn the board by tilting the direction you are turning, the Z Boy method utilizes the “carve.” It is important to realize that BOTH the heels and the balls of the feet are used to control the board. They can be used discretely with independence between the two feet or in tandem. Any combination of front foot/back foot toe/heel can be used. Stacy Peralta originated (or at least in any mainstream sense) the concept of “pumping” the skateboard to achieve speed. He used the back foot tilted at an angle and “rocked” the foot from ball to heal on the very tail of the board to get it to “pump.” The front foot also was pointed mostly forward, not laterally across the board, with the ball of the front foot carrying most of the weight. The combination of a small ball pivot placed nearly center on the board (with possible the heal hanging over the back rail, if your foot was large) controlling the turning of the board from the front, in cooperation with the “rocking” of the back foot from toe to heal (i.e. the toe pressing down in the inside rail in a turn and the heal pressing down the outside rail) accomplished a very sharp carving motion enabling the Z Boys to eventually carve a pool. The technique was based upon Larry Bertleman’s surfing style which the Z Boys saw for the first time in the Hal Jepson film Super Session. Larry did not want to follow the traditional, long, loping lines of previous surfers instead opting to “carve” figure eight patterns much more sharply with a low center of gravity. Surfing low allowed the execution of sharper turns high on the incline of the wave and also allowed riding inside the closing tube of the encroaching wave. The feet position of Bertleman could be called one of a number of different surf stances. The feet are placed at almost a 90 degree angle with each other and with a 45 degree angle to the rails of the board. This foot placement offered optimum control when carving the board. This symmetrical foot placement

America's Closeted Fascism

2009-11-22T10:31:00.001-05:00

Upon perusal of America’s ports it would become readily apparent America has no exports. Under the blanket of George W. Bush’s closeted Fascism, the majority of America’s products were “outsourced” to what then was believed to be the “Bridge to the New Millennium.” Two “Clintonian” concepts failed, and both failures were unmerited. Bill Clinton’s North American Free Trade Association and Hillary Clinton’s Universal Health Care Plan both found political deaths for similar reasons. The social landscape was not ready for either. In South America the lifestyle of peasant Mexico was not prepared for a “sweat shop” style of mass production practiced by Asian children. The realization of quickly produced product at a budget price failed and the peso collapsed. The venture capital invested by Wall Street evaporated like the bubbles created by the Internet, over-valued housing, and easy credit in North America. Many South Americans lost their money and their lives. America’s elite were not ready to have their lifestyles and fortunes compromised by a Socialist concept that guaranteed the common man equal health insurance. Ten years later America’s elite still is not ready for a compromise of lifestyle, but America’s majority-elected black president is trying to achieve the same goal. It is both a compliment and an insult that Hillary Clinton accepted Barack Obamas’s nomination as Secretary of State. Posthumously Hillary’s Universal Health Care proposal was found to be nothing more than a memo sent via E-Mail. Socializing one of America’s most wealth-producing private industries was a task daunting to the most accredited academics. No one is sure she even asked for help with the task. Barack Obama’s “Public Option” health care reform bill seems to be even more misunderstood. The only glimpse the public has seen is that it intends to offer a health insurance option to those now uninsured, and it seeks to curb the exponential inflation in American health care costs. Because America no longer seems to desire the manufacturing of goods that could be exported, the income earned from the workers producing those products cannot be spent on health insurance. In a nutshell America’s Closet Fascism has been created. There is no need to create death camps with gas chambers at Auschwitz. In America globalization or the diversion of our Gross National Product to potentially more lucrative foreign economies accomplishes the same goal. We have created domestic poverty. With the bleeding of our monetary lifeblood we have created an inability to diagnose, treat, and heal our human iniquities necessary to maintain a capable and potent work force. With no income comes no health insurance, and Big Brother does not care. In a continuation of George W. Bush’s elitist, unethical, propagandist dogma the neglect of America’s people continues in a trend only that can represent Nazi Germany’s arrogant invasion of Europe. It stealthy is being achieved not unlike the multi-national prophecy of the onset of Armageddon. The year 2012 quickly is approaching, and no one seems to believe the impending second coming of Jesus Christ is worth mentioning. The end of America as we know it is more fathomable, yet conservative pundits continue to bark on national television about Barack Obama’s Socialism. What he seems to be offering in a “Public Option” is not the ultimate death of the privatized health care industry. It, like the United States Post Office, is meant to offer an unaffordable alternative for those in America that cannot afford UPS or FedEx. The success of the USPO is iconic, and while sometimes it is a struggle it remains a pinnacle of a tried and true America value. How could affordable public health care be less? Instead of assuring your letter or parcel will get to your loved one on time, Obama’s “Public Option” would assure uninsured Americans will not die when they contract swine flu, HIV, or cancer. No extremist right wing political news organization can say this is an evil idea. They can only say it is un-Capitalist. With the election of George W. Bush to the American presidency, Capitalism was out-sourced years ago. For America’s populace to survive the new millennium, the lower and middle class need an influx of progressive political ideology that unfortunately may tax the rich. We deserve the Constitution’s ideals, and when they methodologically are being revoked by elitist America, Barack Obama is needed.

The Public Option

2009-08-18T21:54:00.001-04:00

The economic foundations of the “America Dream” have to come from somewhere. How is it this country, America, has risen above all others promising and often providing the “American Dream?” The “American Dream” is nothing other than financial success achieved without the oppressive constraints of social class and politics. Somehow in the American capitalist frontier the system of supply and demand has been upheld. Commodities worthy of value remain as such, and invaluable commodities that are hawked and gambled upon eventually find their true demise. Hedge funds found their true demise. The bundled mortgages of private citizens held in the poker hands of elitist Wall Street players have revealed their true colors. Without a product, without a Gross National Product, there is no product upon which to gamble. Debt is not a good product upon which to gamble. We have learned that in the last two years. What has been the economic foundation upon which the “American Dream” has been possible? That is a good question. It seems the Free Market System, a system that relies upon honest and unbiased advertising, has been upheld in America until now. Now the airwaves that previously supplied that honest and unbiased advertising have become monopolized compromising the neutral communication of a democratic Capitalist socio-economic system. The airwaves have become corrupt. The infrastructure of America, honest and arbitrary advertising via telecommunications, has become a huge propaganda machine for the Extreme Right. The “American Dream” has been quashed by financial elites seeking to maintain their own power. The mobility of America, the ability to sidestep bureaucracy and large government, has been stymied by elitist America. Big business has squeezed the last penny out of Main Street left holding their dicks and wondering where the money is. In an effort to retain their monetary power, the remnants of elitist America produced by the medical profession and the insurance industry are floundering seeming grass roots lobbies at Town Hall meetings across America. Bucking the undeniable unpopular trend of HMO takeovers of healthcare in America, wildcard Republican extremists have launched an offensive against President Obama shouting such absurdities as “Death Squads.” While most Americans know Medicare and Medicaid are not the most efficient and stealth of health care providers, they are there for the masses that need them. Such is the “Public Option.” Unlike these shouters would have you believe at local Town Hall dissentions, the “Public Option” is meant to be nothing other than a viable option for health insurance for those that remain uninsured. As Obama continues to reiterate, it will not change the existing policies of Americans who are happy with their coverage. The Public Option, like the United States Post Office, is meant to provide and much needed service to and for the American people. The anti-Socialist shouting extremists appearing at these local Town Hall meetings are much more likely to be staged by the Republican party than pro-Obama supporters that slowly are beginning to realize their importance to the country. The stagnation of Old Money and the reliance upon tried and true fixed financial instruments has become real, and a true test of America’s Frontier is now underway.

We Can't Handle the Truth, in America

2009-08-16T21:27:00.001-04:00

Upon returning to the continental United States after working on a cruise ship out of San Juan, Puerto Rico for six long months, the social, economic, and political landscape appear evil, bleak, and violent. Returning to a military town with the United States still engaged in an unwanted war of attrition against extreme Islam, the smoke continues to disguise reality. Virtual spin machines still are hard at work like Skynet doing their best to skew America’s political perceptions. Is it possible the Democratic Party is staging Town Hall meetings, supplying them with bought political supporters of our current President? Would the Democrats go to so much trouble to sway America’s perception? It is not unrealistic, because the media predominantly is controlled by the Extreme Right. Therefore their what-should-be-neutral media coverage all ready is tainted. It has been years since we as a people have been able to believe television. The internet is more reliable, but it seems not to be self-sustaining. The input of a myriad of bloggers seems to be the fuel of the internet news services. Without their online chatter, their coverage has waned but not without reason. The presidential election now is over, and the reality of trying to bleed news from the Capital Hill spin machine must be overwhelming. Journalism now will be defined by its traditional definition with instinctual, tenacious, investigative reporting. The good stories are left to those reporters who commit to their ideals. The question whether current Town Hall meetings have been staged is reasonable. Wag the Dog scenarios have existed before, and certainly the challenging of the medical elites’ monetary support is a high enough profile issue. It could define the very nature of America. Are we getting down to it? The issue simply is who deserves? Do uninsured Americans deserve health care? Can we qualify their needs for health care in the shadow of the preamble to the Constitution of the United States, “All men are created equal?” Because citizens are unemployed, poor, or illiterate means they do not deserve the same health care benefits as well-provided-for Americans? That seems to be the case in a country with roots in genocide and slavery. While America has redeemed herself in certain ways with advances in industry, technology, and art, today’s post Bush landscape is one littered with bigotry and racism radiating from a Totalitarian elite pushed into exile by Barack Obama and his fervent voters. Still as exhibited in these recent Town Hall meeting the disparate strains of America continue to fight. Slowly and surely Obama seems to be laying the groundwork for what could become milestone reversals of Bush’s unconstitutional policies and legislation. It takes time, and weekly assessments of Obama’s public satisfaction ratings are nothing more than media ammunition to fuel and disguise the truth. Television continues to be a void of nothing. There is very little worth watching, and the minds of our youth successfully have been shielded from the positive aspects and philosophy of American life. It continues to be a campaign of intimidation, fear, and violence. Formerly good people are taking up arms in ignorance, misunderstanding Obama’s plans. They are running scared, worried about no one but their own damn selves the way we were reared in our Capitalist socio-economic system. Obama is trying to change that with hints of a socialist philosophy. The problem is America’s own Extreme seem just as closed-minded as the Islam faction whom we are fighting. Instead of trying to embrace one another in diplomacy with Christian ethics, we are headed down a path of barbarous antagonism not unlike the Extremism we have witnessed since its inception. Media has adopted and embraced the extreme evil sacrament of terror and unknowingly we watch it daily. How can we not be affected? What is the truth? We can’t handle the truth, in America.

Let Them Eat Cake!

2009-08-13T22:10:00.002-04:00

With the recent failure of hedge funds, financial instruments gambling upon consumer debt, it may be America’s realigning economy will become anachronistic. Wall Street’s financial district will disappear, and the quaint but realistic merchant shops once littering Manhattan’s streets and alleys will return. They would be selling fresh vegetables, fruit, meats, spices, perfume, baubles, and other accoutrement to thriving New Yorkers. They would not be selling multiple mortgages packaged at budget interest rates. The need to amass billions of dollars would cease, and humanity would return at a provincial grass-roots level. Guilds would take the place of the House and the Senate, and Free Masons would proliferate. Their symbol is on the back of our paper currency. The mundane skills of blacksmithing, cobbling, furniture-making, and cooking would re-inherit their former glory, and the tenets of American social class would shrink. The economy would contract but would come to rest firmly on a foundation of demand and supply. The Gross National Product would become inconsequential, because America would be concerned only with providing for herself. Imperialist desires would be quelled by a previous War in Iraq, another plunder tapping the pocketbooks of citizens. As the financial industry recedes cloaked and incognito, mainstream American minutemen would launch an offensive reestablishing control of the Federal Reserve. Those guilty of the Wall Street melt down would be humiliated, publicly shackled in stocks at the town square, not Town Hall. They would be left to be tormented by their livid dupes. If they whimpered for contrition, maybe guillotine would be spared.

The New Revolution

2009-08-13T17:35:00.003-04:00

Disco dancing and step aerobics could have no faults other than mall hair and “Glam-Rock” clothing. They both are vital physical exercise allowing humans to purge their endorphins cleansing them of the toxic refuse created by living in a Capitalist socio-economic system. While the Humanities suggest Western society long has engaged in music rituals to sanctify romance, America has lost touch with her roots. The driving forces of the 1980’s, love and the arts, have been lost. Only now in the bleak aftermath of George Bush’s economic debacle, “The Raping of the American Economy,” are the tenacious residual strains of romance beginning to resurface. Glorify the individual? Indulge the soul? Embrace the libido? These are new thoughts in a changing era of politics. It may be we reap the musical reward as well as the music of the 80’s provided overt cleansing of the confusion of the soul. It astutely fed the desires of the human soul instead of fueling them like pop music. Music and dance of the 80’s provided pleasure, not desire. Pop music as an aesthetic and a specific music style is effective only in riling people like a Hitler war speech. If you want your audience to revel and buy products, this is your choice. If you want to plant the seeds of a long term economy, gain the adoration of your fans, and invest in America as a country you would choose something else. The musical effect of pop music is nothing other than to flush the audience with raw emotion. It matters not if there is no understanding of the lyric content and how it relates to its audience. Pop music is a device that has been abused in the last decade sweeping America’s real music history under the rug. Time/Warner purchased the rights to the majority of America’s hit music and only offers it in expensive compilations on their website. AM and FM radio were corporately monopolized like television and the propaganda campaign began. Those damn longhairs got pushed out of Texas. I mean the country. While living in the barren aftermath of an economic implosion, Americans have realized they have nothing left to lose. Why not form a militia? Why not buy a gun and carry it to a Town Hall meeting? These are our constitutional rights that have been squelched like radio. Cooley and cunningly America was duped into innocent, naïve, compliance with the Republican party whose private citizens bilked them of billions of dollars for their own personal gain. If that is not grounds for a revolution, I don’t know what is. Maybe music will lead the way, again.

The New Secretary of Straight

2009-08-13T16:54:00.001-04:00

I have to take a a few minutes and reflect upon what is happening politically in America. Hillary was taped in Africa representing a hybrid Madeline Albright and Jabba the Hut. In her newfound post as Barack Obama’s Secretary of State, we have heard little from her. We as the American people don’t know if she has done anything since the inauguration. If we were assessing her capabilities of diplomacy while watching the news footage of her trip, she would have received a D-. Wagging her finger and refusing to admit past President Bill Clinton is her husband painted her as a crochety school marm full of sour grapes upon losing her own Presidential bid. “Will the real Secretary of State please stand up, Mrs. Albright?” While Obama’s strategy of hiring political enemies to help bridge the stalemate between left and right in America seems prudent, it seems Hillary is dragging her feet. While it does take time to figure out what one’s job is and then figure out how effectively to do it, America’s diplomatic clock is ticking. Amicable worldwide relations could help trump not only the terror card but the ensuing economic depression. Meanwhile America continues to be defined by her incumbent, puritan-rooted, soap-box shouting Republicans fearful Socialism will deprive them of their benefits the Baby Boomer generation so tactfully arranged. It is this generation of Americans that are “in the money” and dutifully covered by health insurance, unlike fledging Gen. X’ers who hide their despondency by buying portable Apple devices and playing video games. “Will the real Condition of America please rise?” It is a bleak portrait. Obama seems effectively to be sledgehammering away at the crony politics of the previous George W. Bush, but a tsunami of deceit and corruption are floating upon the potable water of the American people. Unemployment continues to rise and banks continue to fail. The stark reality the “cheap money” upon which the credit industry was founded is gone may spark a revolution. What have the people got to lose?

The Medicine of the World

2009-02-05T18:44:00.001-05:00

Why is it that soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are committing suicide after they return to the United States? If the horrors publicized from Viet Nam are any indication of the severity of war, how could life in the good old U.S. of A. be nearly as traumatic? Why is it that when cruise ship employees get their “land legs” back, they find that life in the good old U.S. of A. isn’t nearly as humane as life in floating prisons? Cruise ship employees do not incur the gross physical trauma of soldiers at war, but is there a connection between their mental demeanor when they return to America? Both groups live similarly when they work. Soldiers are taught to bond and support one another in their brigades, battalions, and platoons. Cruise ship employees are taught the same, yet when each group returns isolated to the United States do they find life equally as difficult? The social mechanism that is inherent in communal work seems not to apply to the United States. Does that mean that when enlistees of the United States armed services and cruise lines embark on their journeys of conjoined work and living they are taught a different socio-economic system that is more effective for them? Do the shallow rules of Capitalism not favor a well-formed, integrated, humanistic work force employed for both national defense and recreation? Do the shallow rules of Capitalism favoring an elitist social class no longer apply when the spin is removed, the smoke has cleared, and the napalmed middle and lower classes are exposed? America’s financial structure has been decimated by the grubbing leaches of a Capitalist elitism, and there is nowhere left to turn. The soldiers that have gone to war to fight for the rights of this faction permanently have been branded with our loss. They come back to America, their home, and are met with indifference, poverty, neurosis, and failure. The only difference is America is not shouting, “Baby burner” at the war veterans from Iraq. No yet. The Republican spin machine effectively has masked their evil agenda, and donning suits and ties in the White House’s Oval Office they have demanded respect from America for keeping her safe. None of the ramifications of their covert agenda for which have been accounted. The muck toils on. The sludge of Bush Cheney has become the petroleum upon which America depends, but our reliance on automobiles is waning. How do we clean up this sludge? Would it be to indict members of Bush’s past White House? It seems America wants to burn some witches at the stake, because it might provide a faux resolution to the eight years of incest. Monsignor’s Mondavi’s fingers are still ripe with the smell of Johnny’s anus, but life tools on. The Holy Roman Catholic Church bought their false contrition. Bush and Cheney got their war. What are the American people getting? What are the troops that are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan getting besides decreased bodily mobility, insanity, and poverty? They support system that was supposed to be in place to support these troops evaporated as quickly as federal regulation. “Now you see the money, now you don’t.” The scorched earth of America is smoldering like Mount Redoubt, oozing lymphatic fluid like an open sore. “Where will the detainees go,” Cheney asks? What about the International War Tribunal at the Hague? Isn’t the jail of Slobodan Milosevic appropriate for hundreds of “would be” terrorists? He mastermind and engaged in mass genocide like Hitler. Certainly a diplomatically neutral war tribunal would be the proper place to house these detainees. Maybe the thunderous roar of a dying Fidel Castro’s voice is more threatening to these Islam Jihadists? If America were to allow her incarcerated Saudi step children to stray from the longitude of America, she would become accountable to Europe. The wunderkind no longer could hold the torch of the American Dream, instead only basking in her tainted former glory. She would have to pony up to the plate of Western Civilization, admit her flaws, and ask for guidance. She would have to grow up. For the world economy to heal, Barack and Hillary’s diplomacy is needed. They cannot let right wing insults of “Having coffee with Iran” stop their pursuits. While terrorism is a grievous threat, if we are not willing to drop the bomb, then an alternative method is needed. Al Qaeda is afraid, because unequivocal irrational evil has no reason or rhyme. They have to be treated like children. Pooling the adults in the world is the easiest way to expose the children. If America cannot equally stand as a peer to Europe, then the cause is lost. It is time for Congress and the media to put down their sticks and stones, find a common good for the world, and devise effective solutions. If they don’t, as Obama says, the results could be irreversible.

"Happy Birthday, Mr. Vice-President" War is Business

2009-02-04T13:57:00.002-05:00

Who better is there to predict a catastrophic terrorist assault on the United States? His odds are the same as your local weatherman. Stick your head out the window and guess. With fifty percent of America believing Armageddon will occur in our lifetime, his odds still are improving. Stir in these entries on his resume: 1. Commandant Incognito 2. War Profiteer. 3. Nazi. Still his odds are rising. (“The opening bell sounds,” either the Wall Street Stock Exchange or a bout between Halliburton and Blackwater.) Who better is there to predict a catastrophic terrorist assault on the United States? Could we sign a contract like Mumbai? Is the dog wagging its tail or is Cheney “Wagging the Dog?” Diversionary tactics are a crucial part of war, and lest we not forget still we are at war. The Democratic Party wants peace. It cannot be refuted, because with the ousting of George W. Bush from the White House “Hum and Strum” has made an unannounced appearance similar to that of Barack Obama as a presidential contender. Whence does it come? America cannot travel back through time to the l970’s. Although war is not new to the United States, this “War on Terror” is. While politicians are looking for ways to put a bandaid on Bush’s evil agenda, the wounds will continue to fester. Although Bush and Cheney have left Washington their tactics will continue. It may appear Congress is battling itself, but the same puppeteers are controlling the world’s purse strings. As Obama continues forcefully to feed Congress his new and often appropriate agenda, the world continues to turn. The army senselessly tools on, as soldiers murder their wives, rob banks, and commit suicide. Who still is at the helm? Bush and Cheney. Who better is there to predict a catastrophic terrorist assault on the United States? At one time America was a more enlightened nation, but as Wall Street let our economy collapse the need for war mongering continues. It is the most sobering instinct. When we cannot understand or solve our domestic infrastructure, we always can brutalize foreign regions ripe with natural resources. Maybe the United States should sell poppies. That’s a green industry. If we stopped subsidizing paramilitary activity with Afghan-grown narcotics, then maybe we could get out of the war business. What would Halliburton do then? For Cheney war is business, and we cannot forget that the stimulus for war can be a terrorist attack. Whence will it come, Mr. Cheney? Are you signing the check?

Next Time... Collateralized Debt Obligations, Sub Prime Mortgages, Hedge Funds, and Derivatives. The Ongoing Financial Crisis in America

2009-01-31T01:33:00.002-05:00

A Short History of GSE's

2009-01-31T01:25:00.000-05:00

The Federal National Mortgage Association or Fannie Mae was a Government Sponsored Enterprise or GSE formed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal in l938 in response to the Great Depression. It attempted to facilitate liquidity in the market by making mortgages available to lower income families. It bought mortgages from Savings and Loans, which encouraged more lending and insured the value of the mortgages by the United States government. In l968 Fannie Mae was converted into a privately owned corporation with shareholders. A newly formed publicly funded partition institution, The Government National Mortgage Association or Ginnie Mae, took over the role of Fannie Mae. In l970 The Emergency Home Finance Act created a new private corporation GSE to further stimulate the secondary housing market. The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or Freddie Mac buys mortgages on the secondary market, pools them, and sells them as mortgage-backed securities to investors on the open market.

Julie Sweeney's Religulous

2009-01-28T14:56:00.001-05:00

Comedienne Julia Sweeney created a thought invoking character on past episodes of Saturday Night Live. “It’s Pat,” the fictional comedy routine she realized, effectively probed the public’s perception of gender. With her androgynous character Pat O’Neil Riley, Sweeney pushed the boundaries of sexual orientation by creating a gender-neutral human being. Her recent sketch on Comedy Central’s “Pulp Comics” parodied an English professor’s analysis of the Bible. Staunchly supporting Bill Maher’s views in Religulous, Sweeney’s effervescent literary critic uses a useless technique to try to understand the books of the Bible. Like Maher, the college professor tries to analyze a literal interpretation of the Bible. While television has digressed to a primordial level in recent years, God has not. Because education in America has been failing at an epic level does not mean God is any less intelligent. That intelligence, one capable of devising and creating the universe, is formidable. That is why the Bible not only is not the verbatim words of God, but is not an oration. In certain ways the Bible could be considered a collection of human fables designed and collected to create interest and provoke thought about the history of Christianity. Interpretation of the Bible is academic, and America is doomed to misunderstanding without a more pious and inquisitive look into its meaning. A simple decrying of the words of God’s disciples is not enough to prove that God does not exist. It is a narcissistic and self-deluded neurosis that contradicts the purpose of art and condones human sloth. As Barack Obama continues to say, Americans will have to become engaged in the processes of religion and government to reap the results of both. With dumb founding ignorance of the economic aesthetic visible in Washington, America needs to rally around something other than the hopes of an interim government. The spirituality of America’s black gospel church is being met with grave resistance in the newly convened federal government. President Obama is attempting to bring a swagger of religious confidence onto Capital Hill. Like Bush’s preceding white America always has, they fail to understand, “Taking it to church.” It is a little bit like watching James Brown saunter through the Supreme Court. While a pragmatic approach to healing America’s economy would be welcome, it is obvious no one has the answers. There is nothing wrong with trying to loosen the collar of the GOP while caustically approaching the past agenda of George W. Bush. While a newly invigorated Republican philosophy could serve such a dire economic crisis, the GOP like the Democrats have to prove they know something. At the moment we have the same discrepencies we had before January 20th. Barack Obama has undertaken a mammoth presidential agenda. Each day of his new administration has planted a singular and separate executive order in the furrows of America. With such a diverse agenda it is difficult to see his forest for of the trees. The majority of his decisions have been frugal in abiding by his former campaign promises. Each topic systematically has been reversed in what seems like a schizophrenic about face to Bush’s ironhanded Nazi regime. Stem cell research, abortion rights, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered agenda and Muslim Diplomacy all have been marinated in democratic blood. It is a lot to bite off, and America still is chewing on the lunch. Let’s just pray to the “fictional” Religulous God that the supper of an economic stimulus plan will prove a nutritious meal to the appetite of the American economy.

Discussing the Bosnian Problem

2009-01-26T23:08:00.002-05:00

The most interesting executive order to be issued by the White House so far is the one concerning Bosnia. While the Dayton Accords masterminded by former President Bill Clinton ended Slobodan Milosevic’s evil genocidal rein and recognized the individual sovereignty of former Yugoslav republics, it didn’t charter the White House’s new policy on presidential sex. If Bill had been busy instead creating protocol for White House blowjobs, the mayhem may have continued. Ironically he mistakenly was impeached for sexual impropriety led by the soon to be martyr of the GOP Newt Gingrich. Carl Rove is on the line and wants his “No sex in the White House back.” Maybe they could get together with Rush Limbaugh and hire Jessica Hahn to quell their adolescent sexual longings once and for all. Jimmy Swaggart could say the opening prayer and Debra Murphree could take photographs. More appropriately the White House has devised a failsafe method to disguise a potential White House sexual liaison if it doesn’t occur in the Oval Office. Breaking with the Bush tradition the Obama’s have consented they may be interested in sexual intercourse. If so codenamed Renaissance and Renegade will, “Discuss the Bosnian problem.” Such activity wouldn’t seem so extreme if the Obamas slept together. As tradition would have it there are separate bedrooms for the President and the First Lady. “Do we really want this job after all?”

Bond, James Bond

2009-01-26T22:41:00.001-05:00

If Matt Damon’s quotes in a recent Miami Herald interview are true, then he has sealed his fate as a non-actor. While his screen abilities are starkly limited, a careful study of and reverence for one’s own aesthetic often make up for one’s shortcomings. If Damon indeed did want to blossom into an actor of stature, then he never would have reprimanded his chosen lineage. Petty bickering is the modus operandi of choice on America’s modern “Reality Television,” but it has no place for screen legends. Slandering Ian Fleming’s novel and film character easily seals his fate as an immature, juvenile, and narcissistic Gen. X’er. If his assessment of James Bond was true, then he would get a shallow plug for his crippled film career. It wasn’t, and any educated adult with a fondness for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang knows this. Bond was never a misogynist, and his playboy attributes in Fleming’s definition were an attempt to disguise the pain of his murdered wife. In Fleming’s novels Bond is a different character all together. He is broken, tired, and lonely. The necessities of cinema created a different character, one that was synonymous with a l940’s-style leading man. If Damon is threatened by Bond’s knowledge and savvy in the films, then he more is afraid of his own shortcomings on the screen and in the bedroom. It is not that often a would be actor gets it this wrong. James Bond was an iconoclastic hipster. He was the real Hugh Hefner and achieved his fortunes with the quill of his own pen. He didn’t bed women. He earned them with savoir-faire, obviously something of which Damon has no understanding.

Salem's Lot of Media

2009-01-25T14:59:00.002-05:00

America still is living in the trappings of the “Sexual Revolution” that began in Britain. Hugh Hefner traveled to England, frequented the places associated with this newfound sexual liberation, and brought those images to America under the guise of Playboy Magazine. “Good composers borrow, and great composers steal.” While at its onset in a conservative society, Playboy Magazine may have been groundbreaking. Today in the age of the Internet original media has been forced to redefine itself. Newspapers, record labels, and cable television are scrambling to keep up with the advertising campaign created by Google. Google simply took the advertising concept from television and brought it to the Internet. Steve Jobs took Apple’s graphic interface from Xerox, and Bill Gates took it from Apple. In our modern Entrepreneurial Age it is a matter of who markets their stolen product most quickly and effectively. With ADD a common component of modern media, your competition will be forgotten in weeks. Our economy has become disposable. With this shift toward transient values and disposable products society has become confused. “If our commercial lives are so shallow, how are our personal lives to maintain value and integrity?” Formerly the answer to that question was religion, but with gracious modern entrepreneurism the extreme right media have launched a campaign to doubt the existence of the Creator. With no God and a disposable economic infrastructure, how are our personal lives to maintain value and integrity? Formerly the answer to that question was art, but with gracious modern entrepreneurism, the extreme right media have launched a campaign to disguise the existence of art. Instead we received corporate propaganda, Newspeak, and fortunately it is unmistakable where that has led the American economy. Could the last vestiges of education represent the integrity of our personal lives? Certainly with cable television and the Internet setting such good examples of effective social behavior, do we not all want to go out and buy three twenty-something Playboy playmates to be our concubines? In the name the anachronistic “Sexual Revolution” we could pay them a thousand dollars a week, post a 9:00 p.m. curfew, and have our staff record their every move in a little black book. Hugh Hefner himself has become confused like the American people forgetting the very populace to which he sells his magazine. While under the guise of gracious modern entrepreneurism, Hef overlooked his role as a mentor to quickly growing adolescents. Investing in short term high yield markets all ready has proven to bankrupt a large percentage of America. Can we afford to continue to do this with the future inhabitants and leaders of America? God, art, and education are the mediums that provide such examples, and without them our social behaviors will be lost. What is interesting is that in the right wing media-induced spin, the simple pleasures of Christian living have been lost. America has forgotten that sexual activity is a core component of socialized living, and marriage for heterosexuals is the oasis upon which this activity should be based. Why is it the gay agenda seems to be the only agenda promoting marriage? The divorce rates from marriage have continued to increase since the “Sexual Revolution,” and heterosexual Americans still are searching for answers to success in marital sexual fulfillment. Could it be because the gay agenda has confused heterosexual America? Marriage never has been easy, and the shifting of the sacrament of marriage to a validation of sodomy won’t help. The separation of church and state could allow civil unions for which Barack Obama has shown support. It must be left up to the institution of the church to decide if two thousand years of history must be changed. For this reason God, art, and education must remain the substructure of our country. The alchemy being practiced by Salem’s Lot of right wing media needs to be quashed once and for all. Maybe we should burn Rupert Murdoch, Sumner Redstone, and Les Moonves at the stake.

Bridget Jones's Senatorial Bid

2009-01-23T04:08:00.000-05:00

"Will you complete me, United States Senate?"

The Fife and Drum of America

2009-01-23T04:00:00.002-05:00

Great American composers should be receiving a nice royalty check from ASCAP. While Aaron Copland is dead, both his “Fanfare for the Common Man” and “Lincoln Portrait” were celebrated at the inaugural of newly elected President Barack Obama. Forrest Gump candidly stood in for Lincoln, and the United States military band (a conglomeration from different branches of the military) mightily performed the realization of Copland’s vintage l942 musical portrait. The inaugural, while in the service of America’s first African-American president, served as a dichotomy of previous President Bush’s lack of understanding of the importance of American patriotism and religion to America. With the blink of an eye the Bush family was whisked off to Midlands, Texas aboard “Special Air Mission 28000.” (Because Bush no longer was president, it could not be called Air Force One.) What occurred in America over the airwaves was startling. Suddenly the self-aware, conservative, and a-religious sentiment of Bush buckled, and waves of warm glorified reverence to God and country emerged. Hillary and Bill Clinton were almost brought to tears by the heartfelt National Prayer Service held at Washington’s National Cathedral. It was almost like Christmas had come again. Jesus all ready had been born, but a new Messiah was in the midst. Could such extreme symbolism be appropriate? The sentiments of the people involved seemed to say yes. Presiding priests from varying religions and countries each spoke in a communion that reached deep into the heart. The music of the service, like the music at the inauguration, was representative of the virtue, sincerity, and lineage of both religion and country. It provided the artistic model upon which worship and patriotism are supported. Thwarting separation of church and state the musical performances proved that religion and patriotism are one in the same. John Williams, while absent from the watchful eye of the television camera, paid homage to Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” with his arrangement of the 1848 Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts.” His was an air for a quartet of piano, violin, cello, and clarinet. Williams successfully resurrected the voices of William Grant Still, John Alden Carpenter, and George Gershwin in a setting that integrated the diverse and complex concerns of a foundling America and America today. Throughout the inaugural festivities the American military bands proved to be the example. By combining historical perspective, diligence, and soul they tactfully continued to set the example for protocol in American patriotism. While the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps itself pays homage to America’s British roots, the child still must be thankful to her rearing parents.

Bungling and Lip Syncing

2009-01-23T01:12:00.003-05:00

America is in transition. As quickly as inaugural optimism came it faded into the sunset replaced with cantankerous media analysis. There could be no better example of this than NPR’s scrutiny of the administering of the Presidential Oath of Office by Chief Justice John Roberts. He and newly elected President Barack Obama both hiccupped on what seemed like an unrehearsed rendition of the oath. It broke the ice. Nina Totenberg, in gracious Nancy Grace style, critiqued the event with the overzealousness of a fastidious wedding planner. Did the nation really need to hear in such detail how our most powerful leaders stumbled verbally on such an anxious, strenuous, and omnipresent day? While punditry of the Constitution prevailed, and the two men went through the ropes again inside the White House, could National Public Radio not have found a more productive thing upon which to report? While the validity of the Oath of Office was in contention, comparing America’s third youngest Supreme Court Justice to veteran William Rehnquist was senseless. Nina made the point that Rehnquist performed a more accurate version of the Oath in 2004 with a tracheotomy tube implanted in his throat. If that is not petty partisan lambasting, what is? The majority of the country is elated a dying breed of white-haired, conservative, grifters are being forced to eat their own rotted flesh and contract Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The more savvy financiers are playing David Blaine and are proving more difficult to find than Eric Rudolph. Isn’t it appropriate the new sheriff has run them out of town? Is this not why we elected Barack Obama? It is why we are proud to have a J.F.K like youthfulness in government again. While juniors Roberts and Obama stumbled on their words, it certainly will not reap the same consequences of a child George W. Bush stumbling on his words to Osama Bin Laden on the playground.

Piloting the Riverboat of Dreams

2009-01-22T00:23:00.001-05:00

In today’s pressing political climate it is appropriate Caroline Kennedy has withdrawn her name from the prospective pool of senatorial candidates in consideration from New York’s interim Governor David Patterson. While Kennedy may be qualified for the job, in light of her expressed responsibility to uncle Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy, she has decided to sidestep the political limelight for the moment. What a moment it has been. With the electing of America’s first African-American President, there is enough civil drama on America’s plate. As represented by Jeb Bush’s decision not to run for the Senate, now may not be the time for the perpetuation of another white political dynasty. “Now’s the Time” for Barack Obama. The sentiment in America is Caroline Kennedy could be a worthy replacement for outgoing Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton who today was confirmed as Secretary of State. Sarah Palin would disagree saying Kennedy would be riding the “Kennedy Express” toll free from Manhattan to Washington, DC. Duke Ellington might believe the “A” Train to Harlem would be more appropriate. It certainly is with this presidential election. America chose to take the “A” Train to Harlem with its choice of Barack Obama to the United States Presidency. Barack Obama navigated the riverboat of dreams to the White House doors, knocked, and asked for his mint julep. He got it yesterday and enjoyed it in front of millions of Americans hoping for a better tomorrow. Timing is everything certainly in comedy and music, and good timing is proving to be an asset to politicians in America. The masses have spoken, and the era of dynasties is over for the moment. Let’s take the hint from Aretha Franklin, don a new lid, and sing the daylights out of an patriotic hymn. Maybe this lead on a trip to Harlem will give America her new soul. It least it will get you to Bill Clinton’s place.

Attending the Balls of New Orleans

2009-01-20T21:50:00.006-05:00

There are certain reasons why Classism is important to America. On the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s birth and with the inauguration of America’s first black president it could be difficult to surmise. Classism, while not defined by economic status, often is. While the definition of Racism becomes visible with color of skin, Classism is more savvy. It is a form of elitism that uses money as a tool for popularity and power. If other desirable traits are not possessed, economic status often in America becomes synonymous with both. It is a tangled web of social and economic ladder-climbing that could make Regan MacNeil's head spin. Circumventing the ambiguity of the above definition, Classism is a ramification of the American Revolution. Americans fought for and sought financial freedom from the oppressive monarchy of the British Crown. Because America is young and naive Classism remains. Two decades ago Classism was highly visible. America was her own self-contained econo-sphere immune from the influences of "rogue" nations. With the advent and rise in America of Bill Clinton’s "Multiculturalism" and George Bush’s "Globalization" the economic infrastructure of America’s populace has become distorted. Mainstream America disappeared and with it went the paradigm of American life. In the l980’s there was no discrepancy over how we lived. Social and economic strata were highly visible and as a result people on lower levels knew for what they were striving. In all probability it was the “American Dream.” What was this dream? Was it similar to Martin Luther King’s dream? While the answer probably is yes, capitalist America shaped the “American Dream” into something tangible monitarily. Vintage television reinforced this image. If often is said Hollywood, the Mecca of television production, was founded by Jews seeking solstice from the oppression of Hitler’s Nazi Germany. They immigrated to America and used television as an art form to create a more humane way of life. Hollywood television shows became the paradigm for Mainstream America if not inventing it completely. Without a visible model of Classism today, how are we as Americans to know for what to aspire in our meager lives? Classism, while an enemy of Civil Rights, gave us an answer to this question. The thing that disturbs wealthy capitalist America about Socialism is the acquisition of their own fortunes. Transforming the world’s superpower into a Socialist state would mean the eventual disarray of the socio-economic system that created their wealth. This is why universal healthcare has failed. The medical profession in America is a means to become wealthy. The physiological needs of America usurps this unhealthy hierarchy. Examples of Classism like this in America need to be dismantled before we as a nation can proceed with universal healthcare. Similarly other professions that have evolved into a social elite must become liberal and recognize their economic viability and Mainstream America are not mutually exclusive. In certain parts of the country these concepts have been more successful, and one such example is the city of Columbus, Ohio. Columbus for many decades has been the testing ground for commercial products. This landlocked culture demands a high degree of intellectual mobility, socialization, political savvy, and artistry. There is nothing else there. There are no oceans in which to swim. There are no mountains on which to ski. There is a long, cold, and gray winter that demands more humanity than survival. Columbus demands and supplies an artistic culture, and that separates them from other areas of America. In Columbus intellectual ability and artistry prove to be a rough foundation for the small amount of Classism that exists. It is one of America’s biggest shames that Hurricane Katrina destroyed the birthplace of jazz music. This port city bustled with the international influences of French Caribbean Creoles, Acadians, and misplaced African slaves. The mixture of these cultures with European blood formed the roux upon which was created the gumbo of jazz music. Without New Orleans America desperately is searching for her soul. In this case Classism is not helping. The best proof of this is the host of balls that are being held in Washington, DC for the Presidential Inauguration. A ball, while not defined by Classism, often is. How many Mainstream Americans attend balls in their lifetime? Few. What is important for a ball is music. While traditional European balls may have utilized an orchestra because many of the dances of Europe were formal, balls in America deserve a potpourri of American styles of music appropriate for dancing. In the last eight years of George Bush’s presidency, the popular joke that Baptist’s never making love standing up because they are afraid of being caught dancing, has held true. In America there has been little emphasis on dance music until the recent television series “Dancing with the Stars." The music that has saturated the airwaves has been pop music. Pop music is not designed for dancing. Both Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky would be turning over in their graves not to mention the great early American jazz bands. New Orleans to America is the Vienna of Austria, and unlike the last eight years having a good time should not frowned upon. Americans do not need a ball to enjoy dancing. Without quality American music any ball would be incomplete. While the minuet, the Viennese Waltz, and the polka could suffice in a pinch, they will not provide the colloquial indeginous rhythms necessary to ensure a truly American experience. Ironcially for this moot point Classism could be appreciated, because often only the upper class can afford such musical entertainment. The demarkations of Classism in the fields of medicine and musis need to crumble like the Berlin Wall. With such pretense and socio-economic awareness eliminated, it will be easier for America facilely to coagulate into the soulful, passionate, and economically potent entity she is.

A Folk Song for DC

2009-01-19T02:51:00.000-05:00

Obama-fest was inscrutable. How could one feel that HBO’s donated air-time was not a propagandist feast? While Lincoln is a worthy figure of reverence cemented with his Emancipation Proclamation, is the electing of America’s first African-American President worthy of the same praise? That is all I could think. The work is yet to be done. In retrospect a homage to Abraham Lincoln always is welcome. Few know the sorrow he bore as President during the Civil War. African-Americans owe their lives to Lincoln, but the election of Barack Obama to the United States Presidency demands different results. Are African-Americans still enslaved? Is not all of America enslaved? If we are, are we to expect a synonymous result? Obama-fest suggested change was imminent. What is that change, a freeing of slaves? No one can dispute the balance of power in America has been tipped to the Extreme Right. A heartstring pulling affirmation of what has become minority interests is appropriate. Maybe his Leftist propagandist production was necessary to seal the fate of George W. Bush. Many think Bush will continue to spin his legacy. How could eight years of failed politics be recorded otherwise? Richard Nixon got a library as will George W. Bush. Is it not time to stop harping on the negatives and begin focusing on the solutions to his failed policies? Maybe a big campfire rendition of “Kum ba ya” is what the nation needs. It is setting the precedent for a newly installed 111th Congress. Without orientation such irrefutable change seems unrealistic. Although the Democratic Party has earned leadership in two out of the three branches of government, there is no guarantee they will be able to put Humpty Dumpty’s pieces back together again. A lot is resting on the shoulders of Barack Obama, and it will take more than Martin Luther King’s dream to make it happen. A resurgence of a Civil Rights rally in Washington is a good place to start. It reinforces Obama’s projected strategy. He expects everyone to be involved in the solutions of America. Could the hardball of Washington DC be outsourced Texas? Is it possible that grassroots Depression Era doctrine will prove effective in solving America’s financial problems? Obama’s Obama-fest certainly suggested that. With all of the pining, urging, and yearning let’s hope that solid, tangible, and realistic solutions are on hand for the future government of America. As with George W., all of the propaganda in the world can’t cover up America’s destiny.

Obama-land

2009-01-16T23:58:00.003-05:00

President George Bush’s last national address to the nation was met with lukewarm compliance. In the proceeding days the media had been relentless about his record of service in ways fueling the breakdown of America’s financial system. The case has been made, proven with the election of America’s first African-American President, that Bush failed. We cannot beat that dead horse anymore, but I’m sure the media will keep on trying. What is interesting is the social class that is most highly involved is staying mum. The Country Club of Wall Street, Washington DC, and upper class America has not been spoken for in the war on Bush. That is because he was their man. Possibly without even knowing it Bush came into power to be played by elitist America. When you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth, there is no easy way to become a liberal. Certainly without diligent study of the late Andrew Carnegie one merely would continue their entire life living in the bubble of economic security until now. All of the tangible mechanisms of making money it seems have been misplaced. There can be no more bluffing in the poker game of America’s economy. America must return to prosperity, but no one really seems to know how. Green industries, clean power, and expansion of infrastructure all have been proposed as tinder for re-igniting the economy. A brief survey of America’s industrial history could be enlightening. Carnegie made steel and later sold his company to J.P. Morgan. Henry Ford made automobiles, but ironically his industry is near bankruptcy. John D. Rockefeller produced oil. What happened? The magical trinity of steel, cars, and gas suddenly became extinct. Threats of Global Warming and depleting the earth of her natural resources became urgent. Almost overnight the dynasty fell almost as if being beckoned by Mother Nature herself. “Come to Butthead.” This is not all new. There was staunch resistance to Eisenhower’s proposed interstate highway system cutting through picturesque downtown areas to reach the Pacific Ocean. One faction opposed the polluting of cities with carbon emissions and noise. Systematically that was overrun and the automobile became the graven image of America. Everyone it seems needed an automobile. Without them there would be no Geico, no American Graffiti, and no revenues from traffic violations. It cannot be denied that America’s economy has become reliant upon automobiles, but what now? Is America, in a modern Progressive Era, suddenly going to attempt to do the right thing? Millions think so, but the future seems shady. With the examples of the sixteenth through nineteenth amendments to the United States Constitution what remains to be done? Could it be the legalization of drugs and prostitution? Could it go an opposite direction and instead of emancipating the rights of slaves and women attempt to regulate the industries and corporations that so drastically have gone awry? With shouts of Socialism still echoing in the air after Barack Obama’s election, regulation that prudently was enacted to safeguard such a failure of America’s financial markets still must remain the enemy of upper class America. Have they changed their minds? Has the fat lady sung? Have the Country Club’s of Wall Street and Washington, DC finally become contrite? With their fortunes, pensions, and future wealth in jeopardy there is no choice. America herself has become bankrupt with George W. Bush at the helm, and like Poseidon’s captain he never knew what hit him. Wealthy Americans have been living off trust funds, interest, and investments for decades, but now the gigue is up, or is the gigue really up? The question that remains to be answered is, “Where is all that money?” While they may not be making money on their money for a long while, one faction of America still is in the money. Any governmental attempt to redistribute their wealth again will be met with resistance. That is why attempts to reform America’s health care system are met with such tenacious resistance. The upper class in America, the student counsel, the cheerleaders, and the jocks that are the shining examples of the virtues of Capitalism still need a way to create their vast wealth. Any attempt to change that status quo will demand a national revolt, one that has begun with the election of Barack Obama to the United States Presidency. It is unfortunate that classism has to exist at all, but it is a postulate of Western Civilization. Although freedom of religion most often is cited as the reason for the American Revolution, was not it really a desire for financial opportunity and personal wealth? America would not have been built had it not been for European-born entrepreneurs who migrated to a future “land of plenty.” It is interesting the Puritans most often are used as examples of native America instead of the opportunists who immograted here to seek their fortunes. Classism as it directly relates to American slavery will remain a main tenant of the American soul, and it has to be addressed in any economic recovery of the economy. This has been an ongoing issue in national politics with George W. Bush, and it will remain with Barack Obama. It is certain the bell curve will modulate attempting to move its apex to the middle class. Does this mean the wealth in America will be redistributed? How can that happen when the motto of the Republican party always has been, “Get what you can, put it in a can, and sit on the can?” True conservatives prefer moderation in spending unlike the vain and narcissistic CEO’s of this decade. Somewhere there are wise Republicans sitting on their fortunes, and they are running the world. How Barack Obama mediates between these fortunate few and middle and lower class America will be the key to economic success in America. Will it yield, “Yessah massah, may I bring you a mint julep,” or will it fuel a new era of Civil Rights and Progression? Like the late Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama seems to strike a chord in the hearts of many Americans of Caucasian and ethnic blood. It seems this battle has been fought before. It will be up to the United States Secret Service to ensure Obama’s chances are not cut short. While he is riding into office on a Lincolnian train of optimism and with the down home demeanor of Johnny Carson, no one can forget the security of America rests in his security.

Pop/Rock Watch (bands that are both)

2009-01-16T02:58:00.009-05:00

The Who
Jimmy Hendrix
The Clash
Dokken
Henry Rollins
Queen
Boston
Anthrax
Megadeath
Blue Oyster Cult
Van Halen
Foreigner
Heart
Poison
Journey
Black Sabbath
Metallica
Red Hot Chili Peppers (Really Funk/Rock, not Pop/Rock)

Rock Watch (band that are really rock)

2009-01-16T02:57:00.004-05:00

The Beatles
The Rolling Stones
Aerosmith
Def Leppard
Crooked X
Kid Rock
Warrent
Living Colour

Pop Watch (bands that are not really rock)

2009-01-16T02:55:00.004-05:00

AC/DC
Rush
Led Zeppelin
Deep Purple
Judas Priest
Kiss
Alice in Chains

Today's Top Ten List

2009-01-15T16:32:00.000-05:00

1. It is reasonable that Senate Republicans have delayed the confirmation of appointee Timothy Geithner to the position of Secretary of the Treasury. While his credentials look good, his demeanor during the screening process seems to be evasive. Hopefully as a potential politician he like John Snow will realize corporate financial skills are not all that is necessary for a job in Washington serving the populace of America. Communication is key and a willingness to provide transparency in the actions of the United States Treasury.

2. Israel should be ashamed of themselves for shelling the United Nations Headquarter in Gaza. What were they thinking?

3. The Hudson River must be freezing.

4. America should pray for Steve Jobs, Patrick Swayze, and Senator Ted Kennedy.

5. The Honorable Senator Roland Burris

6. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger could learn a thing or two from Past Governor George Voinovich

7. Has Sarah Palin done a porno yet? Judging from the success of televangelist Pastor Melissa Scott, it could help her ratings.

8. As soon as she is approved send Hillary Clinton to Gaza.

9. Kendra made the right decision. Abstinence will drive you crazy.

10. I never knew Aaron Copland was gay. What a let down.

A Question of Pop

2009-01-14T20:52:00.001-05:00

The more I think about it the more confounded I become about the entity of pop music. Pop music must be qualified. Pop is not just a nickname for “popular music.” Pop is a concrete rhythmic concept based upon the ergonomics of the guitar. When faced with this adversary as a pianist, at first I lost. Unknowingly a war was created that pitted my vocation against this entity. Then I fully did not understand the definition of pop music. It took almost a year of study before achieving a compromise. Pop music is music that is reliant upon the strumming of the guitar. While that sounds elementary, a derogatory definition of something that is primary in education is appropriate. While I have come to understand and in certain instances appreciate pop music, it suffers from one major weakness that both immunizes it from the music hall of fame and creates its mystique. Pop music has no rhythm. Clarified it is mono-rhythmic. It has time and there is a subdivision of the beat, but traditional clave or rhythmic patterns do not exist. This may be why it is considered pop music or music that appeals to the masses. It has been stripped of any accountability, and that is created by rhythm. Pop music in short is missing one of the three in the trinity of the definition of music, melody, harmony, and rhythm. It was not until recently when I watched a “Live, In Concert” program on VH-1 that I threw pop a bone. Fulfillment can be created with pop music, and in certain definitions that fulfillment is most important. It does allow the emotion of the musicians to communicate. Pop music is reliant upon this emotion for the simple reason that no emotion can be created by the rhythmic concept being used. Strumming the guitar up and down does not create a clave. It does create a pattern, but it is a simplistic, folk-like, repetitive pattern that does not qualify as rhythm. Better pop bands with good material such as Rush and AC/DC have achieved great success with this concept. The unfortunate reality is the purely sonic outpouring of their music is unable to create a lasting tangible effect. If anyone were to sing along with the drummer, there would be no ups or downs in his dynamic phrasing. If there was then the music could not be called pop. It would be called rock. This delicate balance, one of alleviating the listener from the responsibility of having to “feel” the music while tantalizing their psyche, has become a watershed in the music industry. When I watched my first AC/DC video I was startled to see their musical approach. Their music never appealed to me for some reason, but I didn’t know why. The reason was AC/DC is a pop band. All of the fireworks, on-stage-antics, and juvenile histrionics merely are a ploy to convey the message of the music. They are playing in a rhythmic concept that eliminates the possibility of moving the listeners with rhythm. Without the additional components of lyrics, melody, and harmony their music would be disposable. This is the grift. Millions of people love pop music. They have not reached a point in their lives where being emotionally moved by their bodies is accepted with pleasure. In fact this specific characteristic could define the two poles of music. There is music that attempts to move the soul, and there is music that glorifies narcissism. Metaphorically this could be called God versus man. The idea of God deals with greater issues than man’s primitive desires. Consequently it could define pop music as music for children. I have always asked myself the question why capable musicians play pop music. One reason is it is world’s easier than playing soul music. Music that systematically disconnects the human body, its receptors and its stimuli, is much easier to play. There is little engagement of the body to produce an alternate response other than the status quo. The intent in pop music is to create a “box” or pocket of emptiness upon which sits the artist’s emotional output. While this could be desirable, it also could be considered vain. A survey of America’s pop music history confirms this concept was understood and heavily utilized in radio music beginning in the l960’s. My assertion is it was directly influenced by South American music. The high emotional content of Latin music coupled with its reliance upon the Spanish guitar became an effective foundation for future American pop music. In certain ways it also could be considered “cool.” The music contains a seemingly intellectual Zen-like detachment from the traditional requirements of emotion. It prefers the mind over the body. Only recently I have discovered soul music is produced with the body. Without the engagement of kinesthesia, it nearly would be impossible to produce the musical result of soul music. While the mouth, fingers, and arms can produce music of substance, music that truly is soulful must engaged the entirety of the physical body. A drummer that is not playing in a pop concept could be the best example of how the entire body is engaged in the act of making music. Each limb has a specific purpose, but the torso (the heart and guts) must synthesize the discreet motions and blend them together with highly complex nuances of timing and velocity. If the brain knows the intent of the music, then “The Inner Game of Tennis” subconsciously allows the human psyche to produce it. Pop does not engage the body at this level. While, like in Rush’s case, the music can be grandiose, substantial, and emotional, if lyrical content, melody, and harmony were removed the resulting organism would not engage the listener in any way shape for form. It would be inconsequential. A choice has to be made on the roadmap of music which route will be taken. It is disappointing that quality music is missing its mark.

Depriving Bin Laden of his Drug

2009-01-14T17:16:00.001-05:00

An effective deterrent to the continual propagandistic harassment of Osama Bin Laden would be to vow never to show his face in America ever again. While it is an almost impossibility his presence will grace the native soil of America, the media could decide that terrorizing America is a heinous enough offense to merit the banning of his image completely. Instead of allowing the mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to become a headline in our newspapers, the next best thing is denying him what he wants. That is publicity. It is true a modern American news agency has a responsibility to report news, but in this day and age the media has become the voices of the world. How does the American public know that what is being reported is true? This is the quintessential element in a “Campaign of Fear and Terror.” While outgoing President George W. Bush is being chastised more harshly now than during his presidency, it cannot be denied that America has been safe since the 9/11 attacks. It is highly probable, although flying jetliners into the World Trade Towers was a pinnacled act, other violent acts of terror would have occurred after 9/11. A token must be thrown to Bush for the Department of Homeland Security. Like jazz music it has not been around long enough to inscribe its intents in American culture. While FEMA reaped a huge scar from its delayed response to Hurricane Katrina, the Department of Homeland Security paradoxically has escaped persecuting scrutiny. It must be said then its founding has been one of Bush’s small successes. While a majority of the populace of America waits eagerly for troops to be withdrawn from Iraq, the remaining issue is can Barack Obama provide the same security. It would be about this that Republicans are worried. Republican ideals always have been a high standard of national defense supported by the individuals’ rights to arm and defend their homes. These are staunch values that are sorely needed in violent modern times. Keeping Obama’s face out of America, while not hiding America’s head in the sand about his threat, could deprive him of his kryptonite. In the never ending game of partisan politics “playing” Bin Laden seems a more appropriate choice. While reinforcing the threat of his evil agenda is important, it seems starving him from his fodder could be more effective.

Slander

2009-01-14T14:16:00.001-05:00

If Sarah Palin so decided, it would be easy for her to sue for slander. As a newly led Obama judicial system tries to re-invent itself in the wake of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prison atrocities, it seems the media needs new regulations for accountability. Palin’s failure could be the trait for which she continually is being persecuted. Instead of dropping to the lowest level of the “he said, she said” concept in news journalism, she should hire a good attorney and file suit against her antagonists. Although this would take her off her self-proclaimed path of popularity, it may prove once and for all she is a leader with might. Media, particularly in the last decade, has blurred the line between celebrity and politician. Photo crews from reputable news agencies appear no different than the harassing paparazzi responsible for Princess Diana’a death. This behavior has set new records for uncouth protocol on the campaign trail. The only model of this devolution of proper journalism is in the tabloid journalism of Rupert Murdoch. His subordination of needed dogmatic American traditions have scarred this country, and it is from those ill influences America is attempting to free itself. Although America has a Hollywood, our country never has been a tabloid culture. No country holding the title of “World Superpower” could come to office riding on tabloid journalism. Edward R. Murrow would be turning over in his grave if he watched on episode of Anderson Cooper. While CNN spent several days reveling in their new year accolade of being voted best news network, the ever increasing pile of viterperative, slanderous, and purely speculative news continues to grow. Can we get off of Sarah Palin? Can we get off of Caylee? It is a disservice to that dead child that Nancy Grace is making her living off of her every day. President Bush will be out of sight and out of mind in six days. In the midst of what is purported to be the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, tabloid journalism is the least effective remedy.

Dear Diary

2009-01-14T00:38:00.003-05:00

What a day it has been. Timothy Geithner, Barack Obama’s newly appointed Secretary of the Treasury, failed to pay $34,000.00 in self-employment taxes between 2001 and 2004 while working for the International Monetary Fund. It seems he was self-employed. Self-employed while employed by an organization that that, “oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rates and the balance of payments? {sic}.” Sounds like a full time job to me. Needless to say its discovery presented a quizzical paradox for the United States Congress. Shortly before Obama made the appointment, Geithner paid the majority of the taxes. How could a financial guru with such reputable credentials mistakenly falter on his income taxes? All of America does knowing full well that paying taxes in America is like going to the dentist. The tax codes in America are steeped in red tape, politics, and deception. The issue is so severe that not long ago reformation of America’s tax policies was a prime issue in presidential campaigns. With daily newly emerging crises in America, this priority fell by the wayside. It seems the “flat tax” has fallen from grace, at least for the moment. It could be surprising that former House Majority Leader Dick Armey’s legislation for a flat tax was supported by current President George Bush, Steve Forbes, and John Edwards. If this consortium had been successful maybe Timothy Geithner would not be in hot water today. The United States tax code is confusing, and that is why passing scores on all five parts of the Certified Public Accountant’s exam usually are reserved for newly emerging graduates from college. There is no other way to learn the intricacies of the American tax code except from academia. It seems the high wages earned by C.P.A.’s may be merited if they go to bat for you. The same is true for attorneys. The same is true for judges. If they go to bat for you, the American citizen, then their credentials and accolades are well deserved. If their credentials are used for corruption, then the popular joke holds true. “The world is better off with them on the bottom of the ocean.” It is surprising the majority of United States lawmakers are attorneys. In other countries leaders come from many professions. The diversity is embraced so to give a balanced aesthetic to the practice of law-making. Republicans it seems are not embracing Senator-Elect Al Franken. A career in comedy doesn’t seem to coincide with the conservative policies of the United States Congress. Reflecting upon the success of the federal government in the last decade, it seems a class clown might be just the ticket to lighten the mood of a particularly stubborn, partisan, and stalemated political body. All of that aside can it be as severe as the team of Roller Derby lesbians I encountered at the local roller skating rink today? While Tuesday usually is gospel music night at Round-a-bout, the heavy metal music was crunching and the dykes were munching. There was not much place for the fluid arcs of figure skating, only seek and destroy in true hockey fashion. Secondly a woman for whom I wrote a beautiful piano piece de-friended me on Facebook. Is Jerry Seinfeld in the house?

Two New Leaders in the World

2009-01-12T21:49:00.003-05:00

Reconciliation

Now that it has been made clear that outgoing President George W. Bush and President-Elect Barack Obama are working in tandem on the second installment of the Trouble Assets Relief Program, democrats can rest a little easier. In the last months of his troubled presidency it is a difficult pill to swallow that George Bush has attempted to do the right thing. After continual enactments of unconstitutional legislation, changing the pulpit of Liberal soap box shouting could prove to be a challenge. What will Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow have to do? With prudent and intense trepidation the American public could be mulling over the prospect of relenting on their disapproval of Bush. With America’s “New Messiah” en route for inhabitation of the White House, can America breath a sigh of relief? Have the two long years of political infighting been worth the consequences? Will Barack Obama prove to be the product of which he advertised himself during his presidential campaign. These are question that remain to be answered. The newly convened 111th United States Congress as well as the media seem to be in good spirits. Does this mean they are optimistic about solving and covering the huge problems facing the nation? Is this political couple tired of being scolded for irresponsibility? January’s inauguration is unprecedented, because never has the nation been in such a precarious position, or has it? America is not involved in a World War. While the Iraqi War was a watershed issue upon which Obama was elected, is its importance as globally consequential as either World War? Michel de Nostredame, the Ancient Greeks, and the Mayan Indians may think so. While Nostradamus’s prediction is shadowed by practices of the apothecary arts, the philosophical pursuits of the Greeks and Indians are factual. Astronomy and mathematics formed the basics of their discoveries and thus results the "Dilemma of 2012." Fifty percent of America believes Armageddon will occur in their lifetimes. They believe the second coming of Jesus will occur before their deaths. Does that mean, as the Biblical book of Revelations suggests, World War lll has to occur in the near future? It certainly seems so, so heightened scrutiny of political events is justified as a consequence. The more intriguing question is whether Jesus all ready has returned to the earth. Two thousand years is a long time, and earthly beings probably have forgotten that Jesus may not appear in a form familiar to men. He may not even announce himself. “Oh, God” the movie, while two decades old, offers a poignant and realistic depiction of God’s presence on earth. Who can say what He will look like? We know Satan has to be cast into hell by God, and he will rise one last time until he is silenced forever. A cataclysmic astronomical event will take place that will destroy one third of the earth, and a serpent will emerge from the oceans to wreak havoc. There also is an invasion by Israel from the North. Considering this imagery much pretense exists in this new millennium. Not only are Americans worried about their country, they are worried about the sustenance of the world. With Bush moving out of power, it could be in good old Texas fashion he wants to sidestep this reality and indulge in a little worldly self-assurance. As long as we know he is not the anti-Christ, what does America have to lose?

Balancing the Budget

2009-01-12T17:41:00.001-05:00

Upon being interviewed about the federal government’s bailout of the auto industry, a forty-five year veteran of the industry remarked only about the curbing of his perks. He had no insight into a re-tooling of his industry, because the “Car Tzar has yet to be appointed. Evidently the automotive industry, just like the years since the Energy Crisis of the l970’s, has no idea what is going on in America. To comment only on his own personal losses was meant to be humorous, but it just reinforces the common sentiment of Wall Street CEO’s. They have no real interest in the philosophy of American life. They have no real interest in the people to whom they sell cars. Really they are only interested in themselves, and what they have. This particular man now has to stand in line at the airport to check in and fly. No more corporate jet travel. He has to stay at a budget level hotel. There are no more bonuses. It seems the good life is over for him, at least until he can come up with better ideas for a green America. “Why can’t things stay the same? Why can’t we keep going on making cars the way we always have? Why does the wealth have to be redistributed?” The answer is because humankind is killing the planet, and one’s own selfish monetary needs are subordinate to that of saving the earth. To have one’s head buried so deeply in the sand of socialite wealth could be a common perception of the Republican National Party. That does not have to remain true, although a few bad apples do destroy the barrel. Generally things do sink to the lowest common denominator. The RNC desperately is trying to redefine themselves in the midst of huge Democratic political victories. They are finding more African-Americans in their ranks, and it is reaping favorable rewards. It seems two distinct ideologies of the Republican Party are not bad, but they have become stealth in the wake of so much Wall Street economic corruption. Conservative in spending used to be the mantra of the RNC, but outgoing President George W. Bush changed that dramatically. His socialist program, TARP, was the largest bailout of the private sector in American history. It seems his Republican ideology didn’t prevent him from changing party views. He came in as a Republican, and is going out as a Socialist or Democrat. The Republican party always has run under the ideology of conservative spending. Achieving a trillion dollar national debt doesn’t coincide with Republican ideals, so party ideology has become greatly skewed. Although not well publicized in the media, there was a conspiracy theory circulating that consider Barack Obama a Republican plant in the Democratic Party. It was widely asserted that wealthy Republicans ran Obama as a Democrat later to capitalize on his loyalty to them. His decisions regarding his financial stimulus package will prove whether there could be any truth to this theory. Simply giving away the remaining 350 billion dollars of the TARP money would be a clear indication that it was true. Luckily in today’s headlines it was reported stricter guidelines were being introduced to make the money accountable to the American people. Still Republican ideology could be useful at such a time. If there was no accountability for the first half of the TARP money, throwing 350 billion at unknown recipients will not be effective in jump starting the economy. Responding immediately to private sector financial needs may not solve the problem. “Your procrastination, or in this case irresponsibility, does not make our crisis.” Careful methodical study of the mistakes made only will prevent them from being made again. With more transparency it seems Obama’s stimulus does differ from Bush’s previous tax cuts, which is good. As many a pundit has stated, a trillion dollar deficit, a War in Iraq, out-sourced industries, and a crumbling financial market are not tools to promote consumer spending. Eventually, as was the case when Bill Clinton left office, the budget is going to have to be balanced or this thing that we call American currency will have no value at all.

The “Old School” Dynasty of Hugh Hefner

2009-01-11T20:29:00.001-05:00

Playboy Magazine became unappealing to me as a man at some time during the l980’s. Could it be as simple as homologous pubic hair? There was a marked change in style of the women that posed for Playboy, and what once was a girl-next-door concept changed to that of a pin up girl. Playboy has a centerfold, and this could be considered a pin up. Have men actually pinned up Playboy centerfolds? The classic pin up, because of the puritan roots of America, was not a nude. It could be difficult for a man to find a suitable place to pin a Playboy centerfold. Pinning a Playboy centerfold could be considered chauvinist, and that would not be effective attracting a centerfold. Older pin ups were found in garages where men worked on cars. A few could be found in gym locker rooms. The majority of centerfolds it seems are hidden beneath the mattresses of pubescent boys from which to masturbate. You cannot masturbate in a gym locker room or a garage filled with other mechanics. My question is, “What is the function of the Playboy centerfold?” Early in Playboys history their pictorials were voyeuristic. They were secret, subtle, and private glimpses of your sister’s best friend. There was no mall hair. There was little Victoria’s Secret lingerie. Pubic hair had not yet become homologous. There was variety to the women, and they seemed natural. Somewhere during the l980’s this changed. A concept was conceived and since the women in Playboy look the same. They became models. Models are professional women who excel at exhibiting products. Traditionally models modeled clothing. In Playboy there is little need for this, because Playboy is a nudie magazine. Why would Playboy need models? It could be because modeling one’s self could be a stepping stone to becoming a model. If one wanted to model, it seems the best practise could be found modeling the product you would be modeling, not yourself. Would men eventually want to see clothes on women they all ready have seen nude? The answer is no, because getting women’s clothes off is of high importance to men. Again, why would Playboy need models? Is it because men have lost interest in average women like the girl-next-door? Have men come only to desire models, or at least women aspiring to be models? What do women do after they pose in Playboy? They all ready have taken their clothes off, so wouldn’t it be a anticlimactic to see models modeling clothing? It seems all of this could be solved if models stuck to modeling, and Playboy stuck with the girl-next-door. Maybe women have gotten fatter and uglier, and there are fewer from which to choose for a Playboy photo shoot. Playboy was forced to pursue models, because they are the only ones that look good naked. The nude model was born. Should a nude model really be a pin up girl, because pin up girls traditionally wore clothing? Nude models who wear scant clothing could be pin up girls. What would the pin up girls do? Would they have to model nude? What would the centerfold do? The answer is a pin up girl should be a pin up girl, and a Playboy centerfold should be the girl-next-door, because a Sport’s Illustrated swimsuit model is a pin up girls. I think it should be a mafia war. “This is the girl.”

"Please, Don't Show Them the Money Barack!"

2009-01-10T01:52:00.000-05:00

The term “passing the buck” could be appropriate for George Bush’s White House. It is unclear what the goal of Bush is in the last ten days of his presidency. While he has made a conscious attempt to ensure a smooth and effective shift of power to President-Elect Barack Obama, the Washington Post is reporting President Bush will ask for the remainder of the 350 billions dollars allocated by Congress in their financial rescue plan. It seems Bush and Obama are playing tiddlywinks. The first half of Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson’s method has been highly criticized for lack of transparency. Over the Christmas holidays both Bush and Congress took respite from the pressures of the mounting financial crisis, but in true Bush fashion the “midnight legislation” seems not to over. Bush seems to have opened himself to Obama’s intents and purposes. Obama spent the majority of the holidays vacationing with his family in Hawaii. How could either man miraculously concoct a plan in a few short weeks to save the failed financial system in America? It is not possible, but in true political sportsmanship Bush seems to have hinted that if Obama wants the money he can have it. Obama’s stimulus package has been the headline for the last few days, but with no time for scrutiny (like the original plan) it appears his anonymous plan similarly will be pushed through Congress in the first days of his presidency. Wouldn’t it be logical to allocate the 350 billion of the original plan for the basis of Obama’s plan? Is this partisan politics? Because the original money tapped from America’s pockets has been elusive, this new money should require accountability. These are the issues revolving in Washington, and again it seems as if no one really knows the answers or cares about the average American. If Obama does not request or demand the money, it gratuitously will be forfeited to the same invisible parties as the original bailout money. This is not an option for the American people. Because neither president seems to have an answer, the most logical decision would be to save the money. There is not as much need as Obama suggests to apply a short term fix to the economy. Ironically a plan of his that resembles his predecessor’s tax cuts will appear insane. Copying Bush’s plan is a cop out. It is understandable with the amount of pressure placed on Obama’s future presidency he feels the need to do something quickly. Wasting the second half of what is a sizable amount of money will prove to be a mistake.

Ye Olde Courtesan

2009-01-10T00:02:00.002-05:00

Prostitution is obscured by smoke and mirrors in America. Our Puritan roots will not allow America to become modern. We are too afraid of our own selves to trust our country with ourselves. It is time America grows up. Prostitution metaphorically is said to be the world’s oldest profession. This cannot be proven, but an understanding of the human condition could suggest it is true. Instead of hiding behind a scrim of hypocritical right wing conservative values, wouldn’t it be more prudent to recognize the foibles of man and move on? Why subject the American people again and again to sexual scandals that often times never are meant to be in the public eye. While politicians must remain financially honest to the American people, if they uphold their responsibilities to the republic shouldn’t the fidelity of their personal lives be kept separate? We could call it separation of sex and state. It is very likely John F. Kennedy had sex with film actress Marilyn Monroe. It seems, “His bird was allowed to fly the coop,” in the immortal words of the late Frank Sinatra. Similarly but with more potential lethal political repercussions, Senator Ted Kennedy abandoned Mary Jo Kopechne to drown in his submerged automobile in Poucha Pond between Chappaquiddick Island and Cape Poge Barrier Beach
in l969. The incident was covered up and the latter Kennedy was spared the charge of manslaughter because he was Kennedy. Sex scandals in America are not uncommon. It is only when marriage, dynasty, and politics are involved that sexual activity becomes disgraced. When sexual desire is understood and approached at a reasonable level without the drama especially of the l980’s, there is a great possibility its needs can be met. They can be met without a shadow of the Sexual Revolution of the l960’s. America necessarily does not need another Plato’s Retreat or Club 54 nor the homosexual bathhouses of old San Francisco. The fastest and easiest way to satisfy America’s needs is to legalize prostitution. The legalization of this profession would require a new and enlightened acceptance of its design and purpose. The antiquated notion that sexual desire does not exist or that all sexual gratification must come from marriage must be dispensed with. America as a whole knows this is not true. If it were we would not have a pornography industry. Although the Bible suggests that sex is only acceptable after marriage, with the failure rate of marriage in America as high as it is marriage shouldn’t be a prerequisite to getting laid. It creates entirely too much pretense and pressure for average human beings. It is a nice goal to shoot for, but child molestation, rape, and other sex crimes are not worth the price of a prostitute. CNBC’s recent expose on the prostitution industry is self-inflated. Setting the price of intimacy at $5,000.00 is as self-deluded as selling hammers to the United States government for $500.00 a piece. Anyone that has visited Acapulco knows the price of a woman for an hour varies from $40.00 to $200.00. No American in their right mind should pay more. Only the social elite with money to burn on expensive hotels, Dom Perignon, and pretense should even consider it. Intimacy can be had in a shack, as long as it is with the right person.

The Class Wars of Politics

2009-01-09T18:46:00.001-05:00

A recent documentary concerning prostitution has aired on CNBC. In the wake of several political scandals involving high-priced call girls, it is the responsibility of the media to investigate such stories. It would seem escort services, like many other businesses in America, use the federal government as their bread line. Washington politicians seem to be at the mercy of relentless corporate lobbyists, and in the Bush White House they even went so far as to bully some Supreme Court justices. It is difficult for America to surmise where the corruption really is. In the immediate case of the impeachment of Governor Rod Blagojevich, it seems the balance of corruption seems to be pointed in the direction of the Illinois House of Representatives. In yet another savvy political move Blagojevich held a press conference concerning his impending impeachment. Strongly and without the demeanor of an accused criminal, Blagojevich talked about the legislation he has tried to enact against the wishes of the Illinois House. In a long list of what seemed like reasonable incentives, Blagojevich outlined a case against incumbent Illinois politicians who successfully turned the tables on state corruption. Somehow during the tentative transitional period of Barack Obama’s inheriting the United States presidency, the FBI felt it was necessary to make public illegally acquired phone taps of the governor. There was no case, and until today no formal charges had been taken against the Illinois governor. In a similar fashion to what seems to have become the status quo in politics, the mere mentioning of impending scandal is enough to try the case through the media in the public’s eye. Blagojevich has proven to be smarter than the consort against him, and although he may face eventual expulsion from the Illinois governorship he made it clear it will be in his best interest. Much like many past presidents have felt, how can effective legislation be passed when there is a party stalemate in effect? As was evident at the meeting of President-Elect Barack Obama with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, how can government move forward when democrats themselves seem not to be able to find common ground? Blagojevich made a good case that the Illinois House of Representatives does not have the interests of the people of Illinois at heart and simply is looking out for their own best interests. Isn’t Washington’s Congress the same? Is this not why effective legislation has not been passed in America? Blagojevich’s condemnation is not dissimilar to the treatment of past Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Palin, in a recent interview with John Ziegler, expressed concern over class bias. She, in a reasonable evaluation, remarked simply because Caroline Kennedy was a Kennedy she would be immune from the scrutiny to which she was subjected during her vice-presidential campaign. It seems the media is an able pawn in the class wars of politics.

The Grass Roots Movement

2009-01-09T15:54:00.001-05:00

Porno Wednesday proved to be a nostalgic blast back into the past of pop culture in America. The stark retro party celebrating the existence of the porn industry in America probably was the most artistic rendering of the tough choices facing American politicians. Here was a campy and almost sentimental reflection of an America gone by, yet under closer scrutiny well does not represent the condition of human sexuality in America today. Instead it represents the excesses that were prevalent in decades of economic prosperity. The Roaring Twenties jump to mind, an era issuing in the “Jazz Age,” something about which F. Scott Fitzgerald often wrote. The feel of this era was dramatically different than the feel of America today, and Wynton Marsalis will be the first to tell you that. “The spirit of jazz music in America is not to be found.” That mainly is because the political and economic infrastructure of the county is in jeopardy. A case can be made about any kind of art, that its creation and showing in ill economic times could be considered superfluous. Glenn Miller would tell you otherwise. In the tumultuous times of World War ll, his band traveled across America providing diversion from the war and dancing enjoyment for millions. Maybe a resurgence of art is what America needs to revitalize her culture. The question raised by Porno Wednesday is one of modernization. America is bursting at the seams to grow. That growth surely will be inhibited if the clothes she is wearing are hand-me-downs that are too small. For America to grow modernism must be understood and embraced, not as a foe of Conservatives but as a plan for reconstruction. At the moment the existing problem is no one in government seems to know the answers. Clinging to remnants of conservative policy once may have worked in America, but as a country ages it is destined to evolve. To remain viable in a global economy America must grow. An examination of modern art, especially Abstract Expressionism could bring insights about the future of America. Why must Washington exist in a vacuum? Unlike past president John F. Kennedy’s presidency, the Bush White house seemed to have no interest in the artistic community in America. Isolating itself from the very life blood of America was a grievous mistake, one that will take time for Barack Obama to correct. At the onset of his adoption of power in Washington, the vacuous black hole of Congress and the media all ready seem to be smothering the President-Elect with social and political baggage. For life to exist there must be freedom. For good ideas to exist there must be no oppression. For ideas to become policy an adroit and politically savvy atmosphere must be created. Is this possible? With the swearing in of the 111th Congress this seems unlikely. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid seem like aging grandparents to Barack Obama. I’m sure it is an image Mr. Obama wants to shed as quickly as possible, yet he is faced with the test presented by Porno Wednesday. How does one shed the failed past history of something while keeping the relationship vital? Obviously cheesy porno movies from the l970’s realistically don’t represent America’s sexuality today. They do contain a necessary history of the country and a blood relationship with the American people. How the porn industry evolved may hold key, and the lock is is the internet. The internet has changed America, but because of the dot com bubble of the early l990’s corporate America has turned a blind eye to her possibilities. In grand tradition it seems if Wall Street cannot reap sizeable and immediate monetary rewards from companies, then they do not deserve to be recognized as fruitful entities. This antiquated view is the antithesis of the American way and is predicating entrepreneurship only deal with “big money.” With this decision to stifle “indy” ideals, America sealed her own economic fate. The field worker was stomped out of existence by the plantation owners. Until Washington realizes a revitalization of the Grass Roots movement is needed in America, the economic turmoil will continue. When America attempts to continue to understand the human condition including her sexuality, steps can be made to become modern.

The Lost Art of the Television Jingle

2009-01-09T02:41:00.000-05:00

Many historical, relevant, and effective concepts are missing in modern American television production. For an adult that has lived through more than one decade of pop culture, it is not difficult to characterize American television as disposable. An easy fix for many networks would be an artistic approach. While it could be considered “Adult Contemporary” upon which the now defunct VH-1 network used to rely, the immediate gratification of Rock ‘n’ Roll is effective only if the product packs the punch necessary to get the viewers off. How can a teenager or a twenty-something know anything with the state of education and media the way it is now? Talent would be the answer, and we have “Nature versus Nurture” to thank for that. With the virtual elimination of our eco-system comes the task of creating ideas without the inspiration of Mother Nature. Without the beauty and guidance of the earth, whence does man’s perception about life come? Certainly it does not come from a Japanese created video game. While Geisha traditions, automobile manufacturing, and living in small spaces are attributes of the Japanese culture, America should be defined by her own lineage. In the true spirit of Multiculturalism influences of other countries should be welcomed into mainstream America. The definition of America, because the entire world once looked at America as the pinnacle of human existence, should be kept American. Concept is a useful tool upon which to rely to insure product maintains integrity. Consequently concept requires study, understanding, and discipline. Unlike many colloquial definitions of jazz music, concept necessitates an aesthetic have boundaries, definition, purpose, and humility. Jazz never has been the potpourri many think it is. Conversely jazz music at its highest level is a synthesis of many skilled disciplines culminating in a spontaneous, organic, reactive, reflective, and highly soulful expression of human conditions. Unlike many believe the “rules for jazz” are very tangible, concrete, and understandable. They correlate to the human condition. The production of jazz music then merely is an examination of one’s condition in the context of humanity as a whole. It could be called therapy. The degrading and narcissistic practices of modern pop music are not applicable to jazz, and anyone expecting a subversion should expect to be disappointed. Jazz music is considered America’s only true art form, and as a result should be embraced like the life blood it is. There is little jazz on television, so media is not doing its part to promote the attributes of America’s only art form. Is it because Wall Street cannot benefit from the bounty of jazz music? That is ironic because the majority of jazz music was composed, performed, and produced on a shoestring budget by starving musicians. Many were exploited by record labels paying a meager few hundred dollars for the rights to songs which endured the test of time and reaped major royalties for an elite few. Jazz also if folk music, but it is not popular music. It is reserved for those willing to approach it with something in mind. It is not menial disposable entertainment. It requires artistry, something that modern TV programming has abandoned for shortterm monetary gain. The easiest fix for modern television would be the survey of how dialog and music peacefully coexist. What doesn’t work well and what is seen and heard on the majority of mediocre television networks is a blatant juxtaposition of dialog over music. This non-concept, although we now are forced to consider it as a concept, has no relevance in television programming. If it were considered in the mind of a child, how can dialog be heard and understood with music banging around underneath it? It is annoying. It is distracting, and it is a mistake. The only substance that can be inferred from this technique also is one of Capitalism. Studies have shown that loud annoying music in a retail store or restaurant will cause patrons to buy more product. They are so annoyed by the music they must buy something to pacify their aggravation. Any television producer could surmise this effect on the viewer would be counterproductive. In the home aggravating the viewer accomplishes nothing more than making the viewer change the channel. Artistry on the other hand pulls the viewer in and draws him into a reality that is better than the one he faces daily. It cannot be imagined that anyone would want to enter a world that was inferior to the one in which he exists daily. Escapism hence demands an artistic approach, one that embraces beauty of some kind. Superficial beauty is not required, but the beauty of attempting to understand the human condition and comment on it is. Anything other than that is a disservice to the television industry. Cleverness achieves many goals in television programming. Like the aristocracy of France wit was a major requirement for its members. The Theatre of the Absurd did not qualify, and there is no reason American television should use it as its model. While delighting in the deformity of its patrons could be considered fraternal, ultimately it will lose its appeal. Spoken poetry over music was common in France. It accomplishes two goals. Poetry alone possesses the ability to move the human heart. Music does also. This marriage of forms packs a formidable punch in its ability to effect the listener. Spoken dialog over music, unless great care is taken, is cacophony. That is the majority of television programming today except in the fewest circumstances. The television jingle once was a mainstay of the advertising industry. It, like the “hook” in a popular music song, has the innate ability to draw a listener in with rhythm. The best television program have rhythm in their dialog, kinesthesia in their actors, and thus a marriage of the two to produce what ultimately is traditional comedy and drama on the stage. If one were to flip through the channels of the television set late at night, there is little delineation between networks because the majority of them are spoken dialog superimposed over computer-generated, stilted, unexpressive music. If the producers would spend the money to hire a live band or orchestra to realize the music, much of this problem could be solved. Without the breath of live music, music should be eliminated completely as an underpinning for commercial dialog. Only the most skilled composer familiar with tension and release, ebb and flow, and organic movement should be allowed to underscore television dialog.