Lately, I've had a creeping worry that the Internet will be the death of everything beautiful, patient and human. I look around at dead-eyed freshmen stroking their smart phones, and I can't help but ge but get this self-righteous indignant lump in my throat. Humanity isn't worthy of getting everything instanteously. I don't think we can handle the responsibility.
Last Saturday, a number of Daily Cardinal-associated folk met up for a vaguely "Mad Men"-themed classy Christmas party. While I was pre-gaming in my blue-suit-and-skinny-tie combo, a friend observed that I had been acting remarkably somber in light of Russell Wilson and Co.'s epic late-breaking beat-down of Michigan State earlier that evening. He suggested that I needed to get out of character and act more like my goofy, excitable self.
As Occupy Wall Street threatens to ignite a powerful left-leaning cultural movement in the United States, I have to wonder if music can play or should play an important role. American music and radical leftist politics share a long and fruitful history. No one may be more aware of this history than the union sympathizers so gallantly entrenched in the polite folk and gospel traditions that claim Pete Seeger and Josh White among their originators.
The Protect IP Act (in the U.S. Senate) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (in the House of Representatives) have caused incredible uproar in the Internet geek community over the last few weeks. If passed, the more egregious SOPA would restructure the means with which owners of various Intellectual Property (IP) rights owners could penalize websites that "facilitate" the illegal sharing of music, movies and other media.
Rihanna is the universal pop star. She lives in the upper echelon of fame, that mostly vacated space once occupied by untouchable stars like Elton John and Jimmy Page. The old icons were backed by wheelbarrows of LP and concert ticket dough and were not necessarily expected to engage with masses such as human beings. Before the turn of the century, there were a ton of arena-packing musicians who must have seemed like Norse gods or aliens from the back rows.
I've had this notion in my head for a few months that maybe people are more important than music. It's an obvious idea, but when discussing music I think there's this admittedly natural tendency lionize form, texture and notes on a page. This tendency most often manifests in serious musicians.
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