does anyone even read this? haha ohwell, it gives me the illusion that i'm sharing my thoughts with someone other than my own consciousness.
anyway, i guess the biggest news of late is that me, chris, and his brother marc are going to see rage against the machine in july. it is now confirmed since i received my ticket in the mail yesterday. i have always said that one of my biggest regrets in life was not seeing them live before they broke up a few years back. in high school and up until probably my junior year in college i wasn't much into music, at least not nearly as much as i am now. i first heard of rage from the kid that sat behind me in history 2 at cherokee during my junior year. i remember thinking that it was such an interesting name for a group, but since that kid was heavy in hard rock and i wasn't much into music at all, i didn't even really think twice about them. fast forward about 4 years later to when i first gave rage a true listen and i finally got it. i remember listening to their song "renegades of funk," perhaps their most underrated song and probably my favorite (side note: i just opened rhapsody to listen to this song because it will never get old...top 10 song of all time) and literally being inspired. inspired in a way that i was completely ignorant of the world around me and how many great men/women have changed it with something as simple as a voice or action. i started reading about social dynamics in the world, whether it be revolutions or peaceful protests, and i continue today. i know rage's music isn't for everyone, but how many individual songs can you say changed your life and, at least in your own opinion, made you a better person? my list consists of...
Rage Against the Machine - Renegades of Funk...introduced me to my ignorance (also, inspired the poem i posted previously, which i'm sure most of you still haven't read :-P)
Counting Crows - Goodnight Elisabeth...introduced me to hopeless romanticism
Billy Joel - We Didn't Start the Fire...introduced me to music, the first song i ever listened to on repeat for days
and that's really it. i love so many more songs but to say they inspired me to the point that was life altering, i can't say. after researching, reading, and understanding about the world around me i began question things that i took as fundamental and were just supposed to be "right" or "the way things should be." an example would be something that rage against the machine preaches throughout their music, socialism. ah socialism, the socio-economic system which one of the most influential social philosophers of our time, karl marx, believed would be the next to last "evolution" of societies (the final "evolution" being communism). one current socialist country is that of venezuela. it's leader, hugo chavez, is often heard of in the news due to his extreme lack of respect (to put it lightly) for president bush and his cabinet. now, i don't exactly endorse chavez's views and the current government he has implemented in venezuela, but i know one thing for sure, a two party democracy was not working for that country. i love the united states, and for better or worse, the two party system generally works although it is far from perfect. however, in venezuela, it simply was failing the majority of citizens who were in the lower class. those who controlled the oil and the media, controlled the country, and the majority of venezuelans were neglected by the upper classes. when a large majority of a country is living in poverty for decades, something is wrong and has to be done. only time will tell if socialism is the answer for them, but i'm a firm believer in that it couldn't get much worse. a good documentary to watch if you have time to spare is one called this revolution will not be televised.
there are a lot of views that ratm express which i do not support. a good example being their belief mumia abu-jamal is innocent, something i posted about previously. but i do share their passion for questioning fundamentals and seeking a better world. i believe apathy is a problem in this country/world and whenever someone with a voice can inspire normal people to care or to take a side, i endorse them fully. it doesn't matter what side you're on, liberal vs conservative, republican vs democrat, free trade vs fair trade, whatever is may be, i just think the world would be a better place if people were passionate about something.
well i'll end my rant here with one of my favorite quotes from rage...
"...it has to start somewhere
it has to start sometime
what better place than here
what better time than now..."
anyway, i guess the biggest news of late is that me, chris, and his brother marc are going to see rage against the machine in july. it is now confirmed since i received my ticket in the mail yesterday. i have always said that one of my biggest regrets in life was not seeing them live before they broke up a few years back. in high school and up until probably my junior year in college i wasn't much into music, at least not nearly as much as i am now. i first heard of rage from the kid that sat behind me in history 2 at cherokee during my junior year. i remember thinking that it was such an interesting name for a group, but since that kid was heavy in hard rock and i wasn't much into music at all, i didn't even really think twice about them. fast forward about 4 years later to when i first gave rage a true listen and i finally got it. i remember listening to their song "renegades of funk," perhaps their most underrated song and probably my favorite (side note: i just opened rhapsody to listen to this song because it will never get old...top 10 song of all time) and literally being inspired. inspired in a way that i was completely ignorant of the world around me and how many great men/women have changed it with something as simple as a voice or action. i started reading about social dynamics in the world, whether it be revolutions or peaceful protests, and i continue today. i know rage's music isn't for everyone, but how many individual songs can you say changed your life and, at least in your own opinion, made you a better person? my list consists of...
Rage Against the Machine - Renegades of Funk...introduced me to my ignorance (also, inspired the poem i posted previously, which i'm sure most of you still haven't read :-P)
Counting Crows - Goodnight Elisabeth...introduced me to hopeless romanticism
Billy Joel - We Didn't Start the Fire...introduced me to music, the first song i ever listened to on repeat for days
and that's really it. i love so many more songs but to say they inspired me to the point that was life altering, i can't say. after researching, reading, and understanding about the world around me i began question things that i took as fundamental and were just supposed to be "right" or "the way things should be." an example would be something that rage against the machine preaches throughout their music, socialism. ah socialism, the socio-economic system which one of the most influential social philosophers of our time, karl marx, believed would be the next to last "evolution" of societies (the final "evolution" being communism). one current socialist country is that of venezuela. it's leader, hugo chavez, is often heard of in the news due to his extreme lack of respect (to put it lightly) for president bush and his cabinet. now, i don't exactly endorse chavez's views and the current government he has implemented in venezuela, but i know one thing for sure, a two party democracy was not working for that country. i love the united states, and for better or worse, the two party system generally works although it is far from perfect. however, in venezuela, it simply was failing the majority of citizens who were in the lower class. those who controlled the oil and the media, controlled the country, and the majority of venezuelans were neglected by the upper classes. when a large majority of a country is living in poverty for decades, something is wrong and has to be done. only time will tell if socialism is the answer for them, but i'm a firm believer in that it couldn't get much worse. a good documentary to watch if you have time to spare is one called this revolution will not be televised.
there are a lot of views that ratm express which i do not support. a good example being their belief mumia abu-jamal is innocent, something i posted about previously. but i do share their passion for questioning fundamentals and seeking a better world. i believe apathy is a problem in this country/world and whenever someone with a voice can inspire normal people to care or to take a side, i endorse them fully. it doesn't matter what side you're on, liberal vs conservative, republican vs democrat, free trade vs fair trade, whatever is may be, i just think the world would be a better place if people were passionate about something.
well i'll end my rant here with one of my favorite quotes from rage...
"...it has to start somewhere
it has to start sometime
what better place than here
what better time than now..."
posted by Greg-Paul at
7:50 AM
1 Comments:
I read it! Even though you only post according to the lunar cycle I think.
RAGE FTW!
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