- All capacities of the soul can be reduced to the faculty of knowledge, the feeling of pleasure and pain, and the faculty of desire. – Kant #
Monthly Archive for October, 2008
- “Abd al-Qadir knows very well that the nomadic life of tribes is his surest defense against us.” #
- It’s kind of sad when my todo list has to have not only a “high priority” section, but also a “super high priority” section. #
This is another chapter in my book of musical education, youth culture, and what’s new. I also just want to draw attention to this genre — dubstep — in the hopes that more people will start listening to it. It should definitely appeal to old dnb/jungleheads — I think that is part of what did it for me.
I was inspired to write this after listening to this track by The Bug, “Poison Dart feat. Warrior Queen,” which I am just loving, along with the rest of the album.
I encountered this genre of music as a result of listening to Mary Anne Hobbs’s show on BBC Radio 1. Wikipedia says, “Hobbs has been a notable champion of the dubstep and grime genres.“
To give you a little more background, here is a short documentary that the BBC made on dubstep. You should note that the video was added April 26, 2006, so, unfortunately, if this is the first time you’re hearing about this genre, then you’re already behind.
- Thursday I saw a flyer about students gathering on the quad to simulate and experience homelessness for one night. It is still bugging me. #
From a conversation with a colleague:
Them: “What country are you from?”
Me: “Oh, I’m from the United States.”
Them: (Embarrassed) “Oh really? I thought you were from somewhere else. I’m sorry.”
Me: “No, that’s fine. I take it as a compliment.”
Jason: The Kaja thing lasted until about 6.
Kiril: was she good?
Jason: I thought it was pretty awesome.
Kiril: yea?
Jason: Can’t synthesize the awesomeness for you though.
Kiril: why not
Jason: Semiotics, photography, horror, grief…
Kiril: what was so cool
Jason: It’s just too much.
Jason: Haha too much work to synthesize dude. You just had to be there. Though, you can read the book when it comes out.
Kiril: haha
Kiril: well gimme a highlight then
Kiril: without synthesizing
Jason: This is who the talk was abt. http://www.gerhard-richter.com/art/paintings/
Jason: A highlight… blah. I decline.
Kiril: whatevs
Jason: http://criticism.english.uiuc.edu/2008%20Fall%20pages/Silverman/
Kiril: mm
Jason: Oh yeah… Kaja did say that she is no longer a post-structuralist.
Jason: She is a post-poststructuralist.
Kiril: hahaha
Kiril: what does that mean, structuralist?
Jason: Now she is oriented towards psychoanalytic phenomenology.
Kiril: what is a postpoststructuralist
Jason: Not entirely sure.
Occasionally there are these Zen-like moments of mystical harmony, pleasure, and peace that I experience when surfing the ‘Net — this set of synchronized videos is one of them. This is the junkie’s high that sustains my gambling spirit. This is the immanent God that we have wrought with our own hands. This is postmodern religious art.
Part of what I find so beautiful about this is the incredible number of informal and decentralized collaborations that were necessary to make it possible in a holistic sense.
Please note, though, that I am not directly praising technology in any naive or uncritical sense. I enjoy this in just the same way that I am critical of religion yet enjoy the classical religious art that was created in the past.
Via Boing Boing.
Related: Wesch’s An anthropological introduction to YouTube.
One of the conclusions that I have come to as a result of pleasure theoretical thinking is that resistance — or change — is the result of displeasure. Once you hear it it will seem obvious to you — but, if people are happy, then they will not make any efforts to change the current state of things, and if they are unhappy, then they will seek change.1 In turn, when I consider change, or resistance, I understand this either to mean social, material, or interpretive change.
I raise this issue because it is one that I look for everywhere, to test it and either confirm or disconfirm its validity. Here is an example from Talk of Love: How Culture Matters, or a review at least, that supports my claim:
Among her insights are that “happy” people in “settled” times avoid examining cultural meanings or challenging them even if they don’t actually believe them. Conversely, in “unsettled” times (adolescence, divorce, political unrest), people question the culture more actively, Swidler contends, to search for answers or solutions to issues, problems or unhappiness.
On the basis of this review, it seems that the author argues that this effect of happiness is a property of cultural meanings. However, this focus on meaning is a disembodied way of looking at things. Instead, I argue that the interpretive phenomena she observes should be understood as an extension of the embodied and phenomenological experience of pleasure.
Via Scatterplot.
1 I don’t typically speak about pleasure in terms of happiness, but in this case it seemed to fit. I almost changed it, but then left it, to leave a trace of what originally came to mind, and as an ironic reference to the recent turn to happiness as a theoretical landscape that seems to be taking place.
- “Madness itself, in its most vibrant state, before being captured by knowledge.” #
- “I listen to real hip hop.” #
- Someone just asked me some questions about Chick-fil-a for a class. I was excited and wanted to talk more. How sick is that? #
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