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Perfect Power Pop

http://www.myspace.com/secondsaturday

Listen to "Arianna." Wow. Just listen to it. Superhumanly good hooks and harmonies.

This is the soundtrack to my first day of Spring*. Time to pack away the suicide implements and depressing emo music until next Fall. Just revel in the sun-kissed melodies and enjoy life. Escapism is the new reality. You heard it here first.

*NOTE: the next jerkass to whimsically quip that "spring has sprung" gets a beating.

11:11 revisited

Some people take the 11:11 phenomenon VERY seriously:

http://www.nvisible.com/1111/1111Doorway.html

While I don't place much stock in such metaphysical mumbo jumbo, I was happy to know that the numbers supposedly represent enlightenment, and invariably are interpreted to reflect something very positive.

Of particular interest to me is the "bridge between duality and oneness." Notions of a greater reality - of a discrepancy between what appears to be and what actually IS - are nothing new. I just never thought of achieving transendence through 11:11. It's admittedly pretty hokey...but also kind of fascinating. If nothing else, such ideas reflect human beings' intrinsic need to extract meaning from coincidence, to explain the unxplainable. It remains to be seen whether or not reality actually consists of two disparate parts. There may or may not be more to existence than meets the eye, but that's beside the point. It's just interesting that people consistently gravitate towards such lofty concepts. Are we driven by perpetual dissatisfaction or innate curiosity? Food for thought...especially for overly active brains.

We're all shadows...just ask Plato.

The reign of mediocrity is upon us

"I know of no country in which there is less independence of mind and true freedom of discussion than in America.”

- Alexis De Tocqueville


Rock n' roll has enjoyed a mainstream resurgence of sorts over the past couple of years. I say "of sorts" because the music itself was always there. But, unfortunately, those who saturate our airwaves and define "popular" music - in addition to having an affinity for crap - are always slightly behind the curve. I realize that not everyone is innately curious, and that not everyone has the time nor inclination to search for new and exciting music. What consistently baffles me is the extent to which people insist on being force fed.

If rock n' roll was always there and really worthy of our attention, why wasn't it more commercially popular until just recently? If it existed all along, WHERE WAS IT?

Simply put, it was hidden. This is what happens to unique and distinctive ideas in America; they are forced into the background.

The biggest drawback to living in a democracy is what Alexis De Tocqueville termed the "tyranny of the majority." In a society made up of equal citizens, the majority rules. The majority is always right. For music fans, this means that we are subject to the whims of the least common denominator. This almost necessarily relegates certain music to the underground, since there is practically nothing outside of the majority capable of resisting it. No one heard the barely audible whisper of rock n' roll under the oppressive roar of Britney Spears. Sad but true.

There is simply something about our nation's psychology that causes us to gravitate towards uniformity. This bandwagon mentality leads us to exclude those who think or act differently. When you dyed your hair pink and wore it to school, were you admired for your independence? Social ostracism becomes a punishment for independence of mind. Our lives become indistinguishable from one another, suffering from a sameness that eventually becomes dullness.

This deference to the majority is presumably based upon the notion that there is more intelligence and wisdom in a number of men/women united than in a single individual. But millions of people bought Michael Bolton records. Millions.

Our freedom of thought unfortunately includes the freedom to have insufferably poor taste. Sounds somewhat elitist, I suppose...but how else can you explain the popularity of Nickelback?