Do I hate the world? Or just stupid people?

Thanks to everyone who has read this blog in the last week. First off, I need to be up front and honest here. I lied. It's been a week or so since my last entry, and I promised more than one trip into my genius per week. Oh well, I'm sorry. You'll live.

One of the comments I received to my first write up was that I shouldn't turn this blog into a "Mike hates the world and here's why..." kinda thing. Well, that that pushy reader...UP YOURS! This is my blog and I will write what I want, however often I want. Not all of us can be liberal and try to ignore all of the world's issues right now in hopes that kindness, compassion, FAIRNESS, and peaceful diplomacy will sort it all out. So if I seem harsh every once in a while, and you don't like it, or it hurts your feelings, or if, God Himself forbid(see, I can be kind; for all your Christian readers, I not only capitalized God, but also Himself, even though I think it looks rather daft and meaningless), I OFFEND you, then please leave. I don't tell you how to write your blogs, so don't tell me how to write mine. Got it?

Ahhhhhhh, now that we've gotten all formalities (for now) out of the way, I feel like talking about music. As many of you know, music is, in my opinion, the pinnacle of human creativity and emotion. I don't know about all you wiggers and lowlives out there, but I like music that is obviously melodic enough to hook you into it. I also like music that is usually more than three or four chords. I think that lyrics are icing on the cake. Whoa! I'll say it again. I THINK THAT LYRICS ARE ICING ON THE CAKE. What does that mean? That means all you people that like music mainly for the lyrics got it all wrong (again, this is MY opinion). If you listen to music for the words, to me that's like reading a book for its pictures. Or it is comparable to liking poetry or short prose. I let the melodies, musical themes, meter, mood, mix, key changes, etc paint a story or feeling in my head. Good lyrics, however, can be more than just icing on the cake. I particularly enjoy lyrics that make some sort of social or politically commentary, or lyrics that use metaphors to make a point (like, yes indeed, a good poem or short story).

What I don't understand is how MUSIC has seemingly been lost in my generation and those since. Rap and R&B have conquered the airwaves, and the record companies backing these "artists" have rammed it so far down our throats through every media circuit available (tv, internet, RADIO, film, you name it). What has this resulted in? People are too lazy to investigate art, literature, music, and film themselves. They rely on what they are told to like or that they should like. How can this have happened? Considering more people in this country are college-educated than ever, how can our taste be so dumbed down? One word comes to mind: SEX. Sex sells. When you break it all down, everything in our culture goes back to sex. Listen to popular music. What is it all about. Well, when I seldomly turn on Q102 I'm overwhelmed with lyrics about "banging ho's" and "bling bling" and flashy this and flashy that (not to mention loud gutteral noises, "WHAT UP"s and ethnic sounding mumbo jumbo. Did you know that most pop music has a rate of 70 beats per minute, a bpm very close to that of the human heart? This music and culture is meant to bring back to our more base instincts and encourage wild, outlandish, irrepsonsible behaviour. It isn't hard to understand why. Everyone wants sex. I want sex, hell it'd be nice if I had my own personal "intern" under my desk now. All I'm saying is that popular music is made to react with our primal instincts and this culture has got to stop. Music especially is being destroyed and I can't fucking stand it. Madonna is on tour right now. The name? The "Sweet and Sticky" tour. Somehow I think she's describing the ideal thought of her crotch with that statement, because I don't know how those adjectives can describe soundwaves.

Rant over.

To lighten things up a little, here's today's top three albums you've most likely never heard if you're my age or younger.

3. The Kinks -- Arthur, or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire (1969)
Ray Davies and Co.'s last proper LP of the 60s. The production is a little dated, but the songs are very telling of the time. Davies wrote the album as a story about how great England used to be and how its becoming kinda Socialist. Stand out tracks: Victoria, Brainwashed, Shangri-La, What Mr Churchill Says.

2. Ozric Tentacles -- Strangitude (1991)
The Ozrics aren't for everyone, but if you frequent this blog in the future, I'm sure you'll get some good stories about this band. There is no singing in the Ozric Tentacles. It's all instrumental. But let's put it this way: this band is the ultimate stoner group. And not just for potheads. Hallucinagenic drugs are encouraged when travelling to Erpland (the band's own ethereal place in space and time), although that's a trip I've not taken myself for quite some time. This album is my favourite from them. It's got danceable beats, intricate Middle-eastern melodies, blazing guitar solos, catchy bass lines, and trippy atmospheres. I got this album and heard the band for the first time when I was in Germany in 2003. I was drunk outta my mind and having just slipped in this CD, I didn't know what fuck was going on. Good times. Stand out tracks: White Rhino Tea, Sploosh!, Saucers, and The Space Between Your Ears.

1. Peter Gabriel -- UP (2002)
Although he was the original lead singer of Genesis (before Phil Collins lept out from behind the drums and won the hearts of millions of albums sold), Peter Gabriel's personal artistic peak was never met until he had quit the band and had a few solo records under his belt. UP is Gabriel's lates full-length album (he takes FOREVER to put out new albums these days, but he's a busy man). The album is a collection of songs dealing with new life and death, using metaphors and references to current events and issues to give us Gabriel's perspective. The songs range from melancholy piano ballads to full blown industrial pop rock with clever hooks, incredible dynamic range (loud noise to peaceful tranquility), and inspiring lyrics. This is a very mature record and is one of Gabriel's best. If you like emotional, catcy, and seasoned music, check this out. Stand out tracks: Darkness, Growing Up, No Way Out, I Grieve, Signal to Noise.

There you have it. All joking aside, if you have any comments, concerns, opinions, or better yet-- liberal advice, don't hesitate to let me know. I might rip you for it, but that's the price you may have to pay.

Welcome to the Blood on the Rooftops

Let's skip the news boy (I'll make some tea)
The Arabs and the Jews boy (too much for me)
They get me confused boy (puts me off to sleep)
And the thing I hate - Oh Lord!
Is staying up late, to watch some debate, on some nation's fate.

Hypnotised by Batman, Tarzan, still surprised!
You've won the West in time to be our guest
Name your prize!

Blood on the rooftops - Venice in the Spring
Streets of San Francisco - a word from Peking
The trouble was started - by a young Errol Flynn
Better in my day - Oh Lord!
For when we got bored, we'd have a world war, happy but poor


--Steve Hackett and Phil Collins, 1977

Troubled times are surely ahead on the horizon. The lyrics to the song "Blood on the Rooftops," excerpted above, mark the pivotal theme of this blog: A collection of my thoughts, rants, and general malaise as I sit here, knowing the only thing in my power I can do is spread the word to friends, loved ones, strangers. Regardless of your relationship to me, we are all brothers and sisters in this same fight.

Now, I wouldn't be surprised if some of you, at this point, are wondering what fight I'm talking about. If it isn't apparent to you what I'm talking about, then please re-read the lyrics above.

We are a society obsessed with meaningless garble. When was the last time you saw a dead US soldier in Iraq? We're at fucking war! Instead, when you turn on CNN, you see headlines about Anna Nicole Smith, a greedy piece of shit who was so selfish that she turned her life into a media circus. Heck, for a month after she "tragically" died, all the mainstream news circuits filled our heads with stories about custody battles and of course, MONEY battles. We're fighting two wars in the Middle East, and we all believe we were attacked by Islamofascist terrorists in 2001 (we'll get to our assumptions of the 9/11 attacks at a later date, after I've established some crucial points). Sex sells. Ms. Smith was a filthy harlot, and for some reason, the people of this great nation were so enthralled with her story, enough that the ratings kept our news (not entertainment news, but NATIONAL news) coverage fresh with her stories of drug overdoses and love affairs.

Other examples could include Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, or any other young hussies from our media's Blow-job Brigade, but I think you get the point.

Bottomline-- you're not going to hear about BS like that on here, because simply, I have more important things to discuss. But I beg all of you, please recognize how we are being brainwashed by our media and, in the words of Dr. Michael Savage, we are being turned into a nation of "beaten men." We care more about the superficial happenings and the media wants to keep it that way. After all, if that is what we become so used to hearing about, it will be a lot easier for things to go unnoticed to most Americans.