If your life is going too fast, maybe you should slow down and listen to this song by Trace Adkins. Or if you wish you could just grow up faster (and you think life is moving too slow) — you should listen to the song, too! You’re Gonna Miss This by Trace Adkins. (This song was playing on my alarm clock this morning, and woke me up.)
I’ve been thinking a lot about Fat Joe, and his angry music. I think I know why he’s angry and I think I’m part of the problem. Bono said “Lament is the outcry of the overwhelmed.” I wouldn’t give you 50 Cents for Fat Joe’s lyrics, but I do want to talk about the Elephant in the Room.
There is this huge problem… the elephant in the room… that no one wants to talk about.
The problem is the same, ever since my father broke fellowship with his Father. He blamed it on his wife, and she blamed it on the snake, but as they left the garden that day, my father knew deep in his heart that he was the problem.
I am the problem.
It was a very hot day to be working the plow. As he wiped the sweat from his brow, he cursed the thistles and thorns, but knew in his heart, that he was the problem.
I am the problem. Don Miller said that on page 20 of Blue Like Jazz. How could Don know that I’m the problem, when he doesn’t even know me? It’s like God must have told him that I was the problem.
Sometimes I worry about what people think if I admit that “I’m the problem”. However, when I admit that I’m the problem, part of the problem is solved.
People think what they want to think. People believe what they want to believe. People follow rap stars like 50 Cent, or Fat Joe because they like the message, or somehow the message is helping to them to understand the chaos of the cosmos.
I discovered another thing in Blue Like Jazz — while reading on my Friday morning bus ride:
“People hardly care what you believe, as long as you believe something. If you are passionate about something, people will follow you because they think you know something they don’t, some clue to the meaning of the universe… If a rapper is passionately rapping about how great his rap is, his passion is pointed to nothing. He isn’t helping anything. His beliefs are self serving and shallow. If a rapper, however, is rapping about his community, about oppression and injustice, then he is passionate about a message, something outside himself.”
Tags: anger, blame, hip hop, oppression, problem, rap, sin, social injustice
Yesterday afternoon, it was cold and blustery by the river in downtown Detroit. Really cold and windy for the middle of May. The kind of cold that bites through your clothes and chills your bones. But things were hopping as I walked down Beubian St. on the way to catch the Smart bus home. Some people had put up posters everywhere for Fat Joe. Every pole had a sign for Fat Joe. Some poles had 3 signs proclaiming FAT JOE. As I walked past the Old Green Bar there were dozens of posters for Fat Joe. “I Won’t Tell Fat Joe there’s an Elephant in the Room”. In front of St. Andrews Hall (the indie music place) there were people all looking at the posters for Fat Joe and talking about Fat Joe coming to town.
Who is Fat Joe and why is he coming to Detroit? A bro with a big smile, colorful tee shirt and better dread-locks than Jimmy Hendrix, said that Fat Joe is some kind of hip-hop rap guy from the Bronx. Yep, it looks like Gangsta Rap at it’s finest (or baddest) …
Wikipedia’s got the skinny on Fat Joe:
Fat Joe’s album The Elephant in the Room was distributed by Imperial Records, a division of Capitol Records and Terror Squad Entertainment, and released on March 11, 2008; its lead single was “I Won’t Tell” featuring singer J. Holiday. The album debuted at the sixth position on the Billboard Hot 100.
Fat Joe got in a fight with Papoose in North Carolina recently, and 50 Cent says Fat Joe’s career is already dead. So Fat Joe is coming to Detroit … and I just hope nobody gets hurt.
In June 2007, the Reverend Michael Pfleger targeted Fat Joe as among several rappers he believed promoted misogyny in his billboard campaign “Stop Listening to Trash”.
There is a lot of angry music in Detroit. On the bus ride home, one guy was really angry about the price of gas being $3.69. [Note: It went up to $3.89 two days later.] Then he started yelling: “Did Bush find the weapons of mass destruction yet?” Another guy was talking about the recent Police brutality (allegations) in Philly and said, it was so bad.. made Rodney King look like a walk in the park, compared to that. If things are bad in the City of Brotherly Love (Philly)… must be even worse in Detroit… someone else started complaining about Kwame…
Then the man who was talking the loudest said “I wish God would come back”. “Really! I hope God comes back to stop all this bull-sh__ [injustice]“. “I hope God comes back soon.” Another black gentleman, more soft-spoken (and not as angry) said he “hoped God did not come back too soon, because some people are not ready yet.” That made me think of what my friend Ralph (the preacher) said: “God is patient in His Holy Anger against corruption, injustice, oppression, sin and wickedness. God is patient and slow to anger. God is not willing that any should perish.”
When God comes back to town… he will not come into town like Fat Joe. It will be be a lot worse, but a lot better… all at the same time.
I listened to the conversations and tried to understand what makes people angry. The bus stopped a few times. A few people got off the bus, and others got on. The bus grew quieter. While a few people drifted off to sleep, I read another chapter in Blue Like Jazz.
Leading film-makers are seeking to change the way we think about other countries. This is one of a powerful series of films to be shown on Pangea Day, May 10th, “the day the world comes together through film”. Set against the backdrops of Nairobi city and the beautiful landscape of Uhuru Park, a Kenyan choir sings the Indian national anthem, Jana Gana Mana.
Credits…
Concept: JOHANNES LEONARDO / Produced by: Blue Sky Films (EPZ) Ltd
Producers: Mario Zvan, Jim Shamoon
Director: Bob Nyanja
Production Manager: Hemal Shah
Production Coordinator: Shiv Mandavia
Production Assistants: Consolata Karani, Phylis Andika
Production Accountant: Catherine Mumbua
Assistant Director: Tosh Gitonga
Location Manager: Yayha Chavanga
Director of Photography: Martin Munyua
Combined flags provided by conceptual artist: Mariano Favetto
Choir Coordinator: Maggie Kiundi
Camera Assistant: Kevin Ouma
Best Boy Lighting: Francis Ouma
Electrician: Ezekiel Andika
Key Grip: Jackie Tella
Crane Grip: Steve Obunde
Assistant Grip: Ken Omutimba
Sound Recordist: Lee Smith
Wardrobe Coordinator: Sophie Oprisanu
Wardrobe Assistant: Chris Kariuki
Unit Coordinator: Patrick Musyimi
Unit Assistants: Wycliff Obote, Joel Karo
Editor: Philip Murugi
Drivers: Lawrence Macharia, George Atsiaya, Ferdinand Yeswa, Mwangi D., and also Mbugwa D.
Choir: Geoffrey Mukoto, Esther Nyandia Kariuki, Violet Muhonjia Ingosi, Urbanus Kioko Octavy, Jane Wandi Wanjira Njeru, Mathew Muriuki Githinji, James Kagwimah, Brenda N. Munyasia, Marietta Mwamachi, Rosemary Nyongai, Stephan Okoth, Mary Mwende Mutua, Liboyi Paul Nganyi, Justus Mutua, David Mumanga, Dorcas Akinyi, Agatha Nafula, Abbyserah W. Kiruri, Scholastica Ngolanie
Tags: anthem, choir, film, India, Kenya, music, sing, song, video
This video features Raga Shivranjani playing the Bansuri (Indian Bamboo Flute), and Sudarshan Sidhaye on the Indian bongo-like drums. You might want to play the video twice; first time watching the video, and second time with your eyes closed and meditating.
The video clip runs about 9:30 minutes and is an excellent example of Bansuri music. The sound from a bansuri comes from resonance in the air column inside it.
“The bansuri is a transverse alto flute of India, Pakistan, and Nepal, made of a single length of bamboo with six or seven open finger holes. An ancient musical instrument associated with cowherds and the pastoral tradition … the North Indian bansuri, typically about 14 inches long, was traditionally used as a soprano instrument primarily for accompaniment in lighter compositions including Indian movie soundtracks.” - Wikipedia
One of my daughters will be traveling to India this summer to do some volunteer work in rural villages. Perhaps she will hear music like this.
Back in 1981, when I first became interest in computers, I was talking to a salesman about an Apple 2 computer (way before the Lisa or the Mac had been invented). The salesman was demonstrating how the Apple II could play music… and I said: “Wow! You could study ethnomusicology with that thing!” He gave me a funny look and said, “Well I guess you could.” Anyway, I never bought that Apple 2 computer, but here is proof that you can study ethnomusicology on your computer.
Here is one of my latest videos… Click on the pic to start the flick.
Summary: Spider Boy dances to cool music and dazzles the crowd with his dance moves. When he gets his groove - he can really move. Very funny and awesome video shows the dance moves from this little boy — who thinks he is SpiderMan. He can dance better than Zefrank.
Credits: Special thanks to the little boy (sorry we do not know his name) dancing at the St. Patricks Festival in Roanoke, VA on March 18, 2006
The original sound track of Spider Boy dancing (the day we filmed) was garbled and had a lot of wind noise, so we remixed and released this video with a sound-track from Kevin McLeod.
Tags: dance, entertainment, music, photography, video
