The more I think about the topic of "album rock," and figure out if I had to take 10 CD's on a cross country road trip, which ones would I take? A few factors to consider:
1. I can only think of a few reasons that I would take CD's on a road trip: a) something in the mp3 circle of life is out of order, b)surveying the equipment available on the trip, CD's would be the way to go. Therefore, the CD discussion is nearly obsolete.
2. The concept of album craft appears nearly obsolete. This is not to say that vinyl is obsolete--vinyl can be a better sound than digital in some cases. In addition, the graphic art associated with CD releases is not dead because of the development of mp3 software. Putting together songs on an album/CD release in the album craft art is nearly obsolete.
3. What does the development of mp3 music culture say about music choice? Or choice in general? The amount of choice available occasionally boggles my mind when I ponder its magnitude. Though mp3 platforms like iTunes have been good in the past in separating me from my money by giving me song samples, reviews and free songs, I find that the magnitude of choice sometimes paralyzes me in spending money on music. Considering the Frugal Rule, this is a good development. I consider this paralysis of choice a bad development because I miss out on some hidden gems of music.
Back to the list of choice CD's--I only dealt with the scenario of a cross country trip with a little music once. I drove from Southern California to the Puget Sound region with a high school friend in 1989 in his olive green 1975(?) Dodge Charger. Our music choices were limited, but I remember we had 4 cassettes:
Boston-Boston
Boston-Third Stage
Alabama-Greatest Hits
Bobby Brown-Don't Be Cruel
I don't listen to any of these CD's with any frequency anymore, let alone any of the songs (except I had a little reunion with Bobby Brown's "Every Little Step," several months ago. After following a little bit of Brown's career and life path--this is really a song glorifying stalking. A bit creepy.), but we survived and enjoyed singing some of the songs repeatedly.
Because the legitimacy of the cross country CD question is just about dead in an era of choice and mp3's, I don't need to drag out this question any longer. My 10 cd's for the trip (in no particular order):
Great Big Sea--The Hard and the Easy
Whiskeytown--Strangers Almanac
Rush--Moving Pictures
Jason Falkner--Bliss Descending
Alison Krauss + Union Station--New Favorite
James Taylor--One Man Dog
Barenaked Ladies--Gordon
Lloyd Cole--Love Story
Bach--Brandenburg Concertos 1-6
R.E.M.--Life's Rich Pageant
I needed a little classic rock, a little power pop, a little rockin' country, a variety of singable songs at all volumes, music where I don't have to sing, some distinctly ethnic identity music, some songs to make me think and songs to lead to prayer. It may not be the best list, but it's one with which I can live for 1-7 days of driving. It's also a list where there's plenty of songs that my dear wife would enjoy, though we might put together a rule that we each get to choose 5 CD's.
Okay now, I think I'm done with this topic.
Showing posts with label useless information. Show all posts
Showing posts with label useless information. Show all posts
Monday, July 20, 2009
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
An addition to Famous North Dakotans? Thoughts on Chuck Klosterman's work
After reviewing a few lists of famous North Dakotans I didn't find Chuck Klosterman on those lists. A few theories and thoughts: 1) Does a famous North Dakotan have to be born in North Dakota? According to his profile, though he was born in Minnesota, he was raised in Wyndmere, North Dakota, graduated from North Dakota, and probably wrote one of the more famous pieces of fiction based on a composite North Dakota town, Downtown Owl. Having not read Downtown Owl (it's on my list), but having recently completed Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas, 2) I now wonder whether North Dakota doesn't want to claim him. Some of his work is a little explicit for all of those Norwegian-Americans in North Dakota. 3) What distinguishes someone as "famous?" Is it that their names are part of wider public discourse? That their name is recognized by a wider audience? Klosterman has written for Spin, Esquire, ESPN the Magazine, and The New York Times Magazine, to name a few.
Even though I lived in South Dakota for over 8 years and admired the state, I always thought North Dakota was a little bit cooler than South Dakota for a few reasons:
1. North Dakota colleges and universities are way better at sports than South Dakota colleges and universities (though the gap may be closing). Until a few years ago, the University of North Dakota had the only Division I sports team in the Dakotas (UND Hockey). UND Hockey is really cool (literally and figuratively).
2. North Dakota is much more obscure (which I consider cool). You have to want to go there. South Dakota is drive-through country--with Mt. Rushmore, Wall Drug, and being on Interstate 90--the great path from the West to the Northeast, New England and the Atlantic Ocean, not to mention several large metropolitan areas along the way, many folks can say they've at least driven through South Dakota, and for seemingly good reasons. North Dakota also doesn't have a city over 100,000 people and doesn't have as much easy access popular culture on well-traveled paths as South Dakota.
3. North Dakota has easier access to the bountiful and mysterious north that is Canada.
4. I suppose North Dakota is literally cooler in temperature than South Dakota.
5. Chuck Klosterman.
After reading one of his fabulous articles in ESPN the Magazine a few years ago, I picked up a copy of Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto. I enjoyed this book as I resonated with the Gen X perspective, but also appreciated the anti-academic, yet still sharp and intelligent observation and writing. Chuck Klosterman IV is a similar product to Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs in its intelligence, but it tracks his work (mostly from Spin and Esquire) for a decade. The (London) Evening Standard called Klosterman's work "Ferociously clever and ferociously self-deprecating." Klosterman accomplishes this rare (unique?) combination with tight and economical writing. I particularly enjoyed the introductions to each of his columns/essays. For example:
"You are offered a Brain Pill. If you swallow this pill, you will become 10 percent more intelligent than you currently are...to all other people you meet, you will seem 20 percent less intelligent...Do you take this pill (p. 259)?" This is an introduction to a specific critique of Entertainment Weekly's look at Guilty Pleasures in entertainment. The introduction is good on its own, but it's even better when considered with the essay.
I also appreciated his look at the useless and misguided level of astonishment in cultural critique: "Why do non religious people think that the Christian Right shouldn't have a voice in government? Why do conservatives get angry bout the prospect of gay marriage, even if they've never met a gay person and never will...culture can't be wrong...people can be wrong, and movements can be wrong. But culture--as a whole--cannot be wrong. Culture is just there (p. 267).
The following could be classified as a Gen X perspective, but what I appreciate about the following quote is that Klosterman articulates my reflections on politics and public discourse better than I can myself (I know because I've tried a few times in this blog and foolishly on message boards): "Whenever I meet someone who openly identifies themselves as a Republican or a Democrat, my immediate thought is always 'Well, this person might be interesting, but they'll never say anything about politics that is remotely useful to me.' I refuse to discuss abortion with anyone who is pro-life or pro-choice...All the world's stupidest people are either zealots or atheists. If you want to truly deduce how intelligent someone is, just ask this person how they feel about any issue that doesn't have an answer; the more certainty they express, the less sense they have. This is because certainty only comes from dogma (p. 240)."
I value this kind of thought, but it sure is hard to articulate challenging thoughts such as these from within the church especially from the pulpit or leadership position. Few people in the Church will question the Church in a valuable way. I think there is too much on the line on multiple levels. I certainly don't have the courage to do it on many occasions. From where will the next Martin Luther come? Luther was great thinker with a heart for the common person, a love for God and the mysteries of God, and someone with the courage to articulate where the Church is lost while still holding a love for the Church.
I'm not sure whether Klosterman is intentionally left off the famous North Dakotans lists for his challenging writing, or that he frankly writes about sex and drugs at the dark side of humanity at times. He doesn't glorify the darkness of humanity, but he asks great questions about it and makes great observations. This writing brings to mind the seminal Gen X writer, Douglas Coupland, with his sometimes dizzying prose, dancing the fence of disbelief suspended. But Klosterman's journalistic background also takes his low culture philosophy to a place Coupland cannot go: some of the things Klosterman reports could not possibly be made up. This makes Klosterman a way cool North Dakotan, even if he may not widely be claimed as famous.
Even though I lived in South Dakota for over 8 years and admired the state, I always thought North Dakota was a little bit cooler than South Dakota for a few reasons:
1. North Dakota colleges and universities are way better at sports than South Dakota colleges and universities (though the gap may be closing). Until a few years ago, the University of North Dakota had the only Division I sports team in the Dakotas (UND Hockey). UND Hockey is really cool (literally and figuratively).
2. North Dakota is much more obscure (which I consider cool). You have to want to go there. South Dakota is drive-through country--with Mt. Rushmore, Wall Drug, and being on Interstate 90--the great path from the West to the Northeast, New England and the Atlantic Ocean, not to mention several large metropolitan areas along the way, many folks can say they've at least driven through South Dakota, and for seemingly good reasons. North Dakota also doesn't have a city over 100,000 people and doesn't have as much easy access popular culture on well-traveled paths as South Dakota.
3. North Dakota has easier access to the bountiful and mysterious north that is Canada.
4. I suppose North Dakota is literally cooler in temperature than South Dakota.
5. Chuck Klosterman.
After reading one of his fabulous articles in ESPN the Magazine a few years ago, I picked up a copy of Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto. I enjoyed this book as I resonated with the Gen X perspective, but also appreciated the anti-academic, yet still sharp and intelligent observation and writing. Chuck Klosterman IV is a similar product to Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs in its intelligence, but it tracks his work (mostly from Spin and Esquire) for a decade. The (London) Evening Standard called Klosterman's work "Ferociously clever and ferociously self-deprecating." Klosterman accomplishes this rare (unique?) combination with tight and economical writing. I particularly enjoyed the introductions to each of his columns/essays. For example:
"You are offered a Brain Pill. If you swallow this pill, you will become 10 percent more intelligent than you currently are...to all other people you meet, you will seem 20 percent less intelligent...Do you take this pill (p. 259)?" This is an introduction to a specific critique of Entertainment Weekly's look at Guilty Pleasures in entertainment. The introduction is good on its own, but it's even better when considered with the essay.
I also appreciated his look at the useless and misguided level of astonishment in cultural critique: "Why do non religious people think that the Christian Right shouldn't have a voice in government? Why do conservatives get angry bout the prospect of gay marriage, even if they've never met a gay person and never will...culture can't be wrong...people can be wrong, and movements can be wrong. But culture--as a whole--cannot be wrong. Culture is just there (p. 267).
The following could be classified as a Gen X perspective, but what I appreciate about the following quote is that Klosterman articulates my reflections on politics and public discourse better than I can myself (I know because I've tried a few times in this blog and foolishly on message boards): "Whenever I meet someone who openly identifies themselves as a Republican or a Democrat, my immediate thought is always 'Well, this person might be interesting, but they'll never say anything about politics that is remotely useful to me.' I refuse to discuss abortion with anyone who is pro-life or pro-choice...All the world's stupidest people are either zealots or atheists. If you want to truly deduce how intelligent someone is, just ask this person how they feel about any issue that doesn't have an answer; the more certainty they express, the less sense they have. This is because certainty only comes from dogma (p. 240)."
I value this kind of thought, but it sure is hard to articulate challenging thoughts such as these from within the church especially from the pulpit or leadership position. Few people in the Church will question the Church in a valuable way. I think there is too much on the line on multiple levels. I certainly don't have the courage to do it on many occasions. From where will the next Martin Luther come? Luther was great thinker with a heart for the common person, a love for God and the mysteries of God, and someone with the courage to articulate where the Church is lost while still holding a love for the Church.
I'm not sure whether Klosterman is intentionally left off the famous North Dakotans lists for his challenging writing, or that he frankly writes about sex and drugs at the dark side of humanity at times. He doesn't glorify the darkness of humanity, but he asks great questions about it and makes great observations. This writing brings to mind the seminal Gen X writer, Douglas Coupland, with his sometimes dizzying prose, dancing the fence of disbelief suspended. But Klosterman's journalistic background also takes his low culture philosophy to a place Coupland cannot go: some of the things Klosterman reports could not possibly be made up. This makes Klosterman a way cool North Dakotan, even if he may not widely be claimed as famous.
Monday, June 08, 2009
A Puyallup pronunciation update (Thanks, John Keister)
I'm a bit pathetic for following up on the Puyallup pronunciation issue but I have a little more time on my hands than usual these days. Time to continue building a house on my childish impulse.
While sitting with my youngest daughter in the ER a few weeks ago during the beginning wee hours of the morning, I discovered that KING-TV in Seattle was playing re-runs of Almost Live! at 1am. I'm not usually awake at that time, and with accumulating preaching opportunities in the summer months, Saturday night TV viewing will be further on the decline. Almost Live! is a PNW cult local sketch comedy favorite--KING-TV would delay Saturday Night Live even longer because Almost Live! was such a hit. The sketches have mostly local appeal, like "High Five'n White Guys," "Cops in Wallingford (imagine a population of combination upper middle class/hippy/new age intellectuals--where you can get arrested for not having sprouts on your sandwich or giving a "bad vibe")," The Ballard Driving Academy" and "The Lame List." Many of these sketches can be found on YouTube.
Ross Schaefer was the first host/head comedian of the show, but it gained it's edge and expanded popularity with John Keister. Keister was the leader of the local comedy cult that met on Saturday nights, both in Seattle and in homes all over the Puget Sound area. I remember interrupting Saturday night activities to check out what Keister, Pat Cashman, Nancy Guppy and the rest of the troupe could deliver that evening. This was not a flashy production, as Keister's Weekend Update modeled news show revealed, simply called "The John Report." Keisters opening: "This is the John Report. I'm John. Here's my report." Then he proceeded to make fun of places like Tukwila, Kent and of course, Puyallup through local news stories. No one would ever doubt John's Puget Sound region cultural cred--I have noted in my recent and expanding longitudnal study of Almost Live! that John pronounced Puyallup both with the "Al" sound and the "All" sound. I call on anyone in the Puget Sound region to challenge the cultural authority of John Keister.
While sitting with my youngest daughter in the ER a few weeks ago during the beginning wee hours of the morning, I discovered that KING-TV in Seattle was playing re-runs of Almost Live! at 1am. I'm not usually awake at that time, and with accumulating preaching opportunities in the summer months, Saturday night TV viewing will be further on the decline. Almost Live! is a PNW cult local sketch comedy favorite--KING-TV would delay Saturday Night Live even longer because Almost Live! was such a hit. The sketches have mostly local appeal, like "High Five'n White Guys," "Cops in Wallingford (imagine a population of combination upper middle class/hippy/new age intellectuals--where you can get arrested for not having sprouts on your sandwich or giving a "bad vibe")," The Ballard Driving Academy" and "The Lame List." Many of these sketches can be found on YouTube.
Ross Schaefer was the first host/head comedian of the show, but it gained it's edge and expanded popularity with John Keister. Keister was the leader of the local comedy cult that met on Saturday nights, both in Seattle and in homes all over the Puget Sound area. I remember interrupting Saturday night activities to check out what Keister, Pat Cashman, Nancy Guppy and the rest of the troupe could deliver that evening. This was not a flashy production, as Keister's Weekend Update modeled news show revealed, simply called "The John Report." Keisters opening: "This is the John Report. I'm John. Here's my report." Then he proceeded to make fun of places like Tukwila, Kent and of course, Puyallup through local news stories. No one would ever doubt John's Puget Sound region cultural cred--I have noted in my recent and expanding longitudnal study of Almost Live! that John pronounced Puyallup both with the "Al" sound and the "All" sound. I call on anyone in the Puget Sound region to challenge the cultural authority of John Keister.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
A Dictionary of Useless Information
I've been having a lot of fun with the website from the magazine Mental Floss. I am having a great time with the quizzes. I tend to do a little bit better than average, but am also reminded about how much I don't know. My favorite baseball journalist and blogger Keith Law has contributed some great quizzes this week--#1 songs written by Prince (note the trick written), and the ASEAN countries (Association of South East Asian Nations).
Though I can be a dictionary of useless information, it's clear I'm on the lower echelon of those dictionaries. It's still fun.
Though I can be a dictionary of useless information, it's clear I'm on the lower echelon of those dictionaries. It's still fun.
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