"Accidental Racist" and the Impotence of Good Intentions

I hadn't originally given it a thought for posting here, and I have other posts on many topics in the dry dock here, but TNC's entrance to the discussion on this Brad Paisley-LL Cool J collaboration has provoked me. (Plus I'm tired of only getting around to writing on things long after they're out of the immediate national or social attention. Just this once, I'm jumping in while it's still in the air.)

There's a lot to unpack in this whole situation, and others have gone through the song in ways I'm not willing to do here, so I'll key in on this train of thought: some commenters in his Tuesday post complained that TNC was too harsh on Paisley and LL Cool J, that they were well-intentioned in their efforts to reconcile and have "a conversation", they said. I can understand this defense; I think Paisley and LL thought they were helping.

Culture as Scapegoat for Plain, Bad Writing

Noah Millman over at The American Conservative responds to a piece over in The Atlantic exploring the alleged decline of modern romantic comedies and makes a surprising and compelling argument: surprising in that he makes precisely the opposite argument I might have expected from a conservative outlet by disagreeing with The Atlantic's premise that a modern, pluralistic society has killed the comedic conflicts that fuel rom-coms. Instead, he argues,

The romantic comedies that suck are the ones that adhere to a formula that none of the great romantic comedies of yore followed. They try to make both protagonists as “relatable” as possible by making them into everymen and everywomen – thereby depriving them of any interest. They focus overwhelmingly on the romance, treating the rest of the universe as so much “business” for low comedy, rather than exploring other themes that might reflect productively on the romance at the center. And they gin up artificial external obstacles instead of persuasive, character-driven internal ones. But these kinds of flaws bedevil movies in general.

He goes on:

Most movies most of the time are terrible. They were mostly terrible in 1940. If you want to make a great romantic comedy today, go back to the great comedies of 1940 and ask why they worked. It isn’t because there were arranged marriages (there were none) and it isn’t because women couldn’t get a divorce (all the female protagonists of the movies I cited are or get divorced) or couldn’t have sex (no virgins in evidence – though I don’t mean to suggest that virginity is an obstacle to a successful romantic comedy; far from it). They work because they go internal, into character, to find both the conflict and its resolution, and they work because they don’t isolate the world of romantic love from the rest of the social universe. 

That’s a formula that will never be obsolete. Because it isn’t a formula at all.

Millman's argument leads me to wonder: there are commentators today who expend so much energy and so many words to lament the state of Hollywood and all its deplorable output no doubt fueled more by money than by quality (I mean, really, how else do you explain this or this or this or this?), yet to me it all hardly amounts on its own to a need to estrange oneself from that side of culture. Millman's piece hints at it, that so little of it truly reflects a representation of the best of our creative minds. Worse, we somehow have cultivated an assumption about movies (and, I think, music too) that "everything is basically okay/pretty good". But, as most kids learn after graduating from Little League (where everyone gets a trophy), after a certain point you don't get a pass just for showing up. Most people learn this, and it's a hard adjustment when your minimal exertion can be no longer be considered praiseworthy; somehow this concept hasn't much translated to movies or music. Millman nearly comes out and says it: Most of it sucks. Most of it has sucked. Our baseline assumption ought to be adjusted for less optimism until the artist proves otherwise. You may not need overarching cultural analysis when the heart of the matter remains that good writing is good writing (rare) and that bad writing will invariably produce bad movies and music (which is most of the rest).

(There's something of course to be said about the difference between appreciating quality and enjoying entertainment. I mean, my favorite movie of all time remains Bad Boys II, and there's literally nothing redeeming or even good about it- but I like it. But these are different things.)

And now for a musical interlude

Just taking a moment to process and drop in a set from last year that until now had not made it to Flickr or otherwise was just languishing on my hard drive.

Last September, I saw on the official Roots Twitter feed that they were performing at the Brooklyn Bowl with Maya Rudolph's Prince cover band (basically Rudolph and her college roommate Gretchen Lieberum). Sharon and I were free that evening, the tickets were cheap, and I had never seen The Roots (one of my favorite bands) in person-- so we made it happen.

A Cappella + Photos

I pretended to be a concert photographer this past weekend at the Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival New York Regional competition. It was a night of fantastic a cappella and college nostalgia... and a new experience practicing photography in a much different setting than I've ever done.

http://flic.kr/p/bCUGek

http://flic.kr/p/bpZLpC

I used my 50-150mm f/2.8 lens for the whole night, and it was really one of the first things I've done exclusively with this lens. I usually walk around with my 35mm f/1.8 stuck to my camera, so much so that I had really spent almost no time with the telezoom. After shooting this event, it's clear I should use the lens more- I like it a lot and I'm glad I got it.

Here's a link to the Flickr set.

*Edit: Apparently, the festival organizer has sent out my Flickr link to the participants and they to their fans. My Photostream has exploded with views!

A question to ponder

Why is the world ugly when you made it in your image?
And why is livin’ life such a fight to the finish?

The Roots, Dear God 2.0

2010: A Year of Musical Discovery

Alternate name for this post: "How Many Words Can I Put 'Musical' In Front Of?"

I'm terrible at doing recaps. I thought about doing a "2010 in review" post, but I just couldn't come up with something that wasn't a long list of stuff we did. But in all my head-scratching, all I could really think of was a recap of what turned out to be a year of musical abundance. I briefly mentioned previously about my history of wandering musical tastes. While I'm still in not-really-going-there mode about my musical past, I have found my musical preferences tend to happen in phases or cycles. My high school to sophomore year of college was one gigantic feedback loop of bad Contemporary Christian Music, good Contemporary Christian Music, and Worship Music. Later on, my roommates had to endure my Country music phase, my Top 40 phase, my Nelly Furtado phase… yeah. I was young and foolish, and I'm not altogether proud of it (kidding, mostly).

2010 was a great year for music for me- I finally found my way from wandering through the desert of mediocre pop music. It was a musical explosion, a musical awakening*, a musical renaissance, even. The year began with a spate of new music, courtesy of Christmas gifts of CDs and iTunes gift cards. I consciously and frequently went out on a limb and bought different music than that to which I was accustomed**. As the year went on, my musical horizons expanded with a significant assist from Amazon's monthly $5 album offerings and daily $4 album specials. So here is a list of my favorite "albums of 2010". I put quotations there, because while much of the music I enjoyed this past year was released in years prior to 2010, this list comprises my favorite albums that I discovered in 2010 in the order that I began listening along with a few of my favorite tracks from each:

The Avett Brothers, Emotionalism (2007)
"Paranoia in B Major", "Die Die Die", "Pretty Girl From Chile", "Pretty Girl From San Diego"

I started listening to The Avett Brothers because one of my pastors from St. Louis wouldn't shut up about them on Twitter. I'm glad I checked them out. "Paranoia in B Major" is another of the best tracks I heard all year- it speaks to the their insecurities and mine in an energetic, almost reckless manner. The whole album could be described that way, really.

The Decemberists, The Crane Wife (2006)
"O Valencia!", "The Perfect Crime #2", "When The War Came", "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)"

This was one of the albums I picked up on a whim. I remembered seeing a Decemberists poster at Beth and Drew's place; armed with an iTunes card, I listened to a few previews of this album, liked what I heard, and bought it. The Crane Wife theme is a good one, but these songs in between make for some vivid and very satisfying storytelling.

Derek Webb, Stockholm Syndrome (2009)
"Black Eye", "Cobra Con", "The Spirit vs the Kick Drum", "What Matters More"

Perhaps the best word to describe this album would be "subversive." I wish I could take credit for that description, but it's not mine- I just agree heartily with the assessment. Derek Webb makes some of the most honest, non-sugarcoated "Christian music" that I've encountered. Yeah, so he swears on one of the songs. But the issues he addresses are the same ones I care about- and the good beats behind them don't hurt their cause with me, either.

Arcade Fire, Funeral (2004)
"Wake Up", "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)", "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)"

"Wake Up" could very well be best song on all of these albums. It's such a moving anthem. This album took a while to get, and frankly, I'm still trying to figure out all of it, but the music is so good, and that one song may well have earned the album a spot on my list.

Local Natives, Gorilla Manor (2010)
"Wide Eyes", "Sun Hands", "World News", "Camera Talk"

I stumbled onto the Local Natives one day because I heard a snippet of their music on NPR one morning on the way to work. Coincidentally, Amazon offered up this album for $3.99 a few days later; I recognized the group from the NPR story, and I jumped on the deal. I have been thoroughly gratified for it; this is just such a solid album through and through. Every track is good sound. The strongest song is the first, but the rest of the album doesn't disappoint.

Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)
"Power", "All of the Lights", "Monster", "Lost in the World"

This is one of the most talked-about and highly reviewed albums of the year. I'm not much of a hip-hop or rap expert, so I can't speak to its technical merits- the album is just full of catchy songs. I had "Power" stuck in my head for a solid 2 weeks. Love him or hate him, and as juvenile as some of the songs are, this is in my opinion an indisputably great album.

The Roots, How I Got Over (2010)
"The Fire", "Dear God 2.0", "How I Got Over", "Doin' It Again", "Hustla", "Radio Daze"

This is my latest obsession. I have heard The Roots described as "hip hop for grownups," and I think it's an apt portrayal. This album took a few listens for me to acclimate to it, but once I did, I was and have since been hooked. The music itself is good, and (at times in stark contrast to Kanye) the lyrics are mature, reflective at times, inspirational at other times.

Honorable Mentions: Arcade Fire, The Suburbs (2010); The Avett Brothers, Four Thieves Gone - The Robbinsville Sessions (2010); The Avett Brothers, I and Love And You (2010); Ben Folds/Nick Hornby, Lonely Avenue (2010); The Decemberists, Hazards of Love (2009); The Dodos, Visiter (2008); Girl Talk, All Day (2010); John Legend, Evolver (2008); The Swell Season, Strict Joy (2009)

*I knew "musical discovery" and "musical renaissance" was pushing it a bit already… but screw it, I'm going big. **I try really hard to stick with correct grammar, but every now and then it produces mouthfuls like THAT.

Making up for lost time

My musical preferences have come in phases. My college friends, specifically my roommates (and now, Sharon) can attest to this, since they had to hear my music- I swung wildly from the CCM scene (the good, the bad, and the ugly of it... that's another post) to the pop to contemporary gospel to country (yes, that... don't judge me. Actually, do judge me. I deserve it) to today... progress.

Really, most of it mirrors the process of growing up: tastes mature as you do (with some semblance of proportion). None of this means that the stuff you/I used to enjoy is necessarily bad- we've just moved on. And really, that isn't the point of this post.

----

I'm not always sure what hits my emotional button, but I do know that, more often than not, music will be involved. It's my worship language. It's the avenue that I can most comfortably yet continuously discover human expression and experience- but only after a few listens. (I'm terrible at figuring out lyrics. Takes me at least a dozen listens.)

Perhaps it's just that Sharon is in New York while I'm trying simultaneously to stave off my attention-starved cats and to crank out this big graduate school report that's due in a week (I know you care). But this song finally landed for me today, hard. No interpretations or explications attached. I hope you can listen and experience it as powerfully as I was able, finally, to hear it:
(Also, it's Example #54742 of My Musical Tastes Always Being At Least Five Years Behind and the point of blurb above. And yes, I'm sure it's spectacularly cliche to blog Arcade Fire this way. But here I am.)

Wake Up (Arcade Fire - Funeral - 2004)

Somethin’ filled up
my heart with nothin’,
someone told me not to cry.

But now that I’m older,
my heart’s colder,
and I can see that it’s a lie.

Children wake up,
hold your mistake up,
before they turn the summer into dust.

If the children don’t grow up,
our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up.
We’re just a million little god’s causin rain storms
Turnin’ every good thing to rust.

I guess we’ll just have to adjust.

With my lighnin’ bolts a glowin’
I can see where I am goin’ to be
when the reaper he reaches and touches my hand.

With my lighnin’ bolts a glowin’
I can see where I am goin’
With my lighnin’ bolts a glowin’
I can see where I am go-goin’

You better look out below!