Thought-Drive & Blogs

It's funny the way posting on a blog effects your thought patterns. Now that I've starting writing online (I can't bring myself to use the word blogging), I've found myself thinking in terms of short, novel writing selections for a nondescript audience. Before now, I would usually think in terms of conversing with close friends. My thoughts would come to me as words I would say to Matt or Elise or Mikey, etc.

There are a few elements of this that I find intruiging. First, it says something about the format of a blog. It is like a worldwide conversation. You're not just talking to a page, you're talking essentially to everyone (and anyone). This is especially true of blogs, rather than other forms of online writing, first because blogging (aha! I did it) is such a constant and fluid activity; it can be done about anything at any time and is expected to be fairly regular. Secondly, it is conversational in that blogs are highly intertextual. They constantly ref each other, almost like a forum posting without an organizer.

The second aspect that this highlighted was the nature of thoughts. Do they always occur in a specific format? I am guessing that most people habitually think in one way or another--to one audience or another--in such a consistent manner that they don't even recognize it. It is only when they switch environments or start reading one type of text so heavily that it starts influencing their thoughts.

Lastly, it highlights for me the idea of conversation as a drive, and further, thoughts as a drive. When I'm thinking to another person, it's like building up little bits of expressive desire. An event happens, or I have a thought, and then I subsequently have the desire to tell it to whatever person I think would be most interested. It is almost like a sex drive. You have a desire and want to express it/satisfy it. That may sound ridiculous and send the middle-schoolers in all of us giggling to the floor, but I think there's something to it; thought drive

Musings on Rap Music in The Age of Recession

The second song on Kanye West's new cd begins,

My friend showed me pictures of his kids

And all I could show him was pictures of my cribs

He said his daughter got a brand new report card

All I got was a brand new sports car

My head keeps spinnin'

I can't stop having these visions

While I am not going to delve into these lyrics, they do illustrate a potential shift in focus for popular rap music. The genre is expanding mostly in terms of beats and production, but as Kanye's album highlights, this expansion of scope could start occurring with "content" as well (lyrics, message, theme, etc.). It is still too early to tell if Kanye's next entry will resonate with the public. Maybe it will bomb and the best selling album of the year will turn out to be some album that Chingy farts out. If last year's sales battle between Kanye West and 50 Cent is any indication, the winds are blowing in the opposite direction (Kanye's techno-soul heavy album, Graduation, outsold 50's Curtis by a 3:2 margin in their first week).

I highlight Kanye's new lyrics to illustrate that rap has the potential to change and might already be changing. However, what I am wondering about is not the already-in-place changes occurring in the rap world. I am curious as to what, if any, impact, an economic recession (or depression) might have on the content of rap songs. Will it still be endearing to roll around in a Hummer on 24" rims sipping Moet off of a ho's breasts if the entire country is strapped for cash? Now, you might say that most rappers come from perennially impoverished communities and therefore, excess is still appealing, still a statement about rising from rags to riches. For them, the situation isn't changing very much. I would agree. However, these rappers are marketing their albums largely to people who are not continually impoverished. Will their market still want to buy albums about lavish excess when the perception is that most people aren't doing too well. Perception is the key here, affecting both the communities of the rappers and the people they are marketing to. If there is a widespread perception that the entire country is in a recession, and the rappers share this perception, it might not seem so appealing to rap about living the luxurious life. They are no longer trumping the dominant culture by beating them at their own game. They are just dicks rubbing it in everyone's face. Similarly, even if an individual person is no worse off economically, if they share the perception that the country is worse off, then the excess might not appeal to them. In a more literal sense, if these people decide not to buy CD's about livin' the life, then it might decrease the motivation to do so. Not that rappers are rapping strictly for CD sales, but it is not unreasonable to suggest that they are influenced by the expectations for what they should be producing.

Plus, all that shit is tired anyway.

808's & Heartbreaks

The new Kanye West cd is certainly a genre bender. Many dancy, heartsick rhythms, all sung in Kanye's auto-tuned voice. Without going into any deep thoughts about it, a few musings and queries:

I'm enjoying these new songs more than the new Conor Oberst EP. I think part of the enjoyment of new music has to do with the feeling of exploring new territory- be it musically, lyrically, whatever. It has to take you into a new part of yourself. The new Conor songs feel like well-treaded territory.

I wonder if you could use this cd as a way to begin exploring genre in an English class. It certainly raises questions about genre in a very obvious way. Is this a rap cd? Does it have elements of rap music? Is Kanye West a rapper? A musician?

That's about it. Now, back to Love Lockdown (HatchMatik Remix)

Link: Hype Machine's Kanye Songs

Wii Music Sucks

I am very interested in the potential of video games as a serious art form. As such, I often get excited when I see articles that treat them as such, or that explore the ideas surrounding their legitimation. Today, however, I am glad to see an article trashing a video game for being anything but. Now, this is not unusual. Most video games are sub-par in terms of their push to new heights of experience. However, this article is unique in that it holds the game to a very high standard and then proceeds to trash it from the vantage point of that standard. Also, it's on popmatters.com, so it's nice to see a serious perspective on games represented outside of a website about videogames.

Anyway, the link is here