the awesomey goodness of M.I.A

and to thunk that MTV would censor those bullet shots... dayum...

some music....

I haven't posted in a while, nor have I had a chance to just post some tunes.... plus, I think Donna misses me ;)

So here are some tunes. The first is Broken social scene, with a song that is really awesome - and a video that I just discovered 5 minutes ago which is even better.

I really, really, really love the videos that Broken Social Scene puts out - such as fire eyed boy, I'm still your fag and cause = time (all available on youtube), because they all challenge rigid and traditional machismo. This video is especially interesting because nudity is often tied to 'women' or the 'feminine', especially when it comes to war time (ala the centerfold, rape of women, creation of pockets of third world R n R - rest and recreation). In this video you have a dude dancing in his undies while being a military combatant (and I swear I saw a dude on dude kissing scene in there!) - not prolific but the image itself challenges dominant notions of masculinity.

Check it out: Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day)



And of course interpol, because I just fucking love this song (take you on a cruise). To be honest their new album "Our Love to Admire" isn't really doing it for me. I've listened to it a good 5-6 times and I still can't say that any single one song is memorable. :(

Happy Belated Birthday Morrissey.... May 22, 2007

I wouldn't normally do this type of thing...but...

I don't think anyone has ever made celibacy look so fucking cool and at the sametime made it seem so much more like a 'rational choice' vs. a religious imposition.

So this is for one of rock's original 'queer' dudes - Happy Birthday Morrissey!

Of course a lot more can be said about 'rationality' and Morrissey, maybe his scary vegetarian politics? maybe his contempt for the monarchy? maybe his constant existential angst (when does one outgrow that, if ever)? - and lastly his possible dislike of people like me (i.e 'pakis')?

Either way, this man rocks.

Morrissey on Meat:



My favorite Morrissey song (excluding years with the Smiths):



You know, while rewatching this video I couldn't help appreciate it a little more than I have in the past. It's nice for once to see a girl play the role of the existentially angst-ridden, disaffected, tragic hero. I.e. in which we assume she is both intelligent and worthy of our empathy due to her implied feelings of dissociation from everyday living. Women/girls aren't usually afforded that luxury in pop/rock songs - especially in the present state of crapptacular music and music videos. And is it just me, or is there a little more in that 'wave' to the female store-clerk?

However, interestingly this video while good in it's attempt, inadvertenty reifies gender binaries too because it's almost as if the girl herself seems to take on a 'masculine' role in contrast to the other women around her. I.e. the other women around her end up being 'chatty and vapid' stereotypical feminine cliches, while her tragic hero status exists more so due to her being able to identify with Morrissey (and her clothing). Obviously debatable.

Just musing...

Enjoy!

Temporary e-hiatus

I wanted to post something longer considering I've now had over 15,000 visitors over the past few months. But unfortunately that won't be happening at the moment.

I really have appreciated all the knowledge, comments, interactions that I have had over the past few months with people. But I find this a little too difficult to do at times. I'm still not in the right blogging frame of mind.

Enjoy some nice tunes in the meantime, thank you. {I think the songs are mostly user videos, with the exception of the Bright Eyes one).

मेरी हिंदी में पहेली पोस्ट!

नमस्ते भाईयों और बहिनों, यह कितना कूल है! ब्लॉगर ने हिंदी ट्रांस्लिटरेशन टूल बनाया है. मेरी हिंदी १३ बरस के बच्चे के समन है, अखिर में एक 'ए बी सी डी' हूँ।

अच्छा, मैं शमा चाहती हूँ, मुझे नहीं मालूम में और क्या लिखूं, यह मेरा पहला प्रयथ्ना है हिंदी में पोस्ट लिखने का। इस ख़ुशी के मौके पे में अपको मेरी सबसे पसंद के हिंदी के गाने सुनाऊंगी। चिन्ता ना करिये में खुद नहीं गाऊँगी - में यूटूब के विडेओस दिखाऊंगी। दोनो काफी पुराने गाने हैं - पर अभिभी उपयुक्त हैं।

पहले यह दर्द भरा गीत सुनिये, गुरू दत्त के विशेष फिलिम, प्यासा से।



इस दुसरे गाने कि 'embedded function' नहीं काम कर रही है, इसलिये आपको 'क्लिक' करना पड़ेगा, यहाँ। आप इस वीडीयो को जरूर देखीये - इसमें एक काफी जवान और खूबसूरत शशि कपूर है! हाय हाय!

Universalized White Male Culture: A Reminder...

(Trigger alert)

"The power of whiteness lies in a set of discursive techniques, including exomination, that is the power not be named; naturalization, through which whiteness establishes itself as the norm by defining 'others' and not itself; and universalization, where whiteness alone can make sense of a problem and its understanding becomes THE understanding." (John Gabriel, Whitewash)

Seems like there's a lot of blaming lately. A lot of pointing fingers and a lot of selective memory. I don't listen to hip hop/rap/r n b ... I never have. I was certain that I was a little white-boy until I hit puberty - so as a result I still listen to a lot of angry white male alt-rock (which I've been trying to change slowly). Also growing up in small white towns most of my life - it was standard to listen to hard rock vs. 'black music'.

So when all these politicians, these media people talk about evil misogyny in 'black music' they seemingly forget the sadistic, cruel, violent misogyny in white boy music - so here's just a sample of what white male supremacist culture comes up with on the top 40 charts, again and again and again. Feel free to add your own obvious examples in the comments.

Also - Make sure to check out Sour Duck's blog and especially her archives, she genders a lot of albums, album art work and lyrics! Yay for Sour Duck!

System of a Down - Sugar:
My girl, you know, she lashes out at me sometimes,
And I just kick her, and then she's O.K. ,she's O.K.(sugar)

Stone Temple Pilots - Sex Type Thing:
I am, I am, I am
I said I wanna get next to you
I said I gonna get close to you
....I said ya shouldn't have worn that dress.....
You wouldn't want me have to hurt you too, hurt you too?
I know you want what's on my mind
I know you like what's on my mind
I know it eats you up inside

Jet - Cold Hard Bitch:
Gonna take her home cause she's over romancing
Don't wanna hold hands and talk about our little plans alright!
Cold hard bitch [right, cause talking is all that bad right, she isn't a bitch once she puts out! if she doesn't she's a cold hard bitch. Bitches n hoes?]

Nine Inch Nails - Closer
you let me violate you
you let me desecrate you
you let me penetrate you
you let me complicate you
[Yo byatch it's all your FAULT]
i want to fuck you like an animal
i want to feel you from the inside

Disturbed - Sickness
I dont need this shit you stupid sadistic abusive fucking whore
would you like to see how it feels mommy here it comes get ready to DIE
[the song is about abuse, but if this was Alanis singing this how many white men would be up in arms about an angry violent young woman?]

Nickelback - Figured You Out
I like your pants around your feet
And I like the dirt that's on your knees
And I like the way you still say please
While you're looking up at me
[bitches n hoes culture? No?]
And I love the way you pass the check
And I love the good times that you wreck
And I love your lack of self-respect
While you passed out on the deck
I love my hands around your neck
[he takes a turn in this song where it's all sweet and then gets all emotionally violent later]

Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Suck My Kiss :
Give to me sweet sacred bliss
Your mouth was made to suck my kiss [what's your kiss???]

Added - the worst ever lyrics IMO (I shudder whenever I hear this song):
She Wants Revenge - Tear You ApartI want to hold you close
Soft breasts, beating heart
As I whisper in your ear
I want to f*cking tear you apart

Custom - Hey Mister (Banned in the US - but a HUGE hit in Canada):
I can't lie I have to tell the truth
Man to man mister it's a total spoof
Your daughter's a freak
Your daughter's a pro
When I'm done with her
She'll do one of your bros
I hope I'll never have a daughter

Oh and lets not forget the grand old daddies of misogyny:

Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar
Ah brown sugar how come you taste so good
(a-ha) brown sugar, just like a black girl should
A-huh. [a-huh indeed, did you mean sexually available for your pleasure?]

Rolling Stones - Under My Thumb
Its down to me, yes it is
The way she does just what shes told
Down to me, the change has come
Shes under my thumb
Ah, ah, say its alright
Under my thumb
Shes the sweetest, hmmm, pet in the world

Or the 'genre-crossing' white male rapper Eminem (loved equally by rockers and rappers! Oooh yay):
Cleanin out my closet
maybe I was just a couple of months, my faggot father
must have had his pantie's up in a bunch, cause he split,
..........
shit I did was take them bullets out of that gun, cause id'a killed 'em, shit I would have shot
Kim and him both, it's my life, i'd like to welcome y'all to the Eminem show...

And before Eminem there was of course the 'genre-crossers' the Beastie Boys, Girls:
Girls - to do the dishes
Girls - to clean up my room
Girls - to do the laundry
Girls - and in the bathroom
Girls - that's all I really want is girls

Then there is the seemingly 'fair-and-balanced' sexist song, i.e. men and women are both derided but of course women are always given the 'worse' situation and subject to 'worse' stereotypes/harsher language - 'gold diggin hoes':

Good Charlotte - Girls and Boys:
She'll get what she wants
If she's willing to please
His type of girl
Always comes with a fee
Hey, now, there's nothing for free
Girls don't like boys, girls like cars and money
Boys will laugh at girls when they're not funny
And these girls like these boys like these boys like these girls
The girls with the bodies like boys with Ferraris
Girls don't like boys, girls like cars and money

Offspring - Get a Job:
My friend's got a girlfriend
Man he hates that bitch
He tells me every day
He says "man I really gotta lose my chick
In the worst kind of way"
She sits on her ass
He works his hands to the bone
To give her money every payday
But she wants more dinero just to stay at home
I guess all his money, well it isn't enough
To keep her bill collectors at bay
I guess all his money, well it isn't enough
Cause that girl's got expensive taste

[this continues for a few more verses and then they have ONE measily paragraph devoted to a male]
My friend's got a boyfriend, man she hates that dick [and that's just as offensive as 'bitch']
She tells me every day
He wants more dinero just to stay at home

............................................

I don't care to listen to 'justifications' about or the freedom of 'lyrical interpretations' so don't waste your breath telling me I'm wrong in my 'interpretation', I won't be bothering with such comments, just so you know in advance. We all know who the universal intellegentsia is and who defines 'creativity'...so spare me.

On a related note, typing in misogyny in music - I only came across one article with a similar viewpoint. Everything else was about misogyny in rap... seems like academics should be doing a better job, tsk tsk tsk. Violence is structural - and there's plenty of that violence embedded in music by white rockers too.

ETA: This violence is not just embedded in the lyrics but in rock "culture" too. The obvious being the 'sexual exploits' of rock 'gods'.

A post by Lonergrl, re 'rock culture'.
A really, old post by Twisty. (the only two other things I could find when I typed "rock and misogyny in google).

[Lyrics used for educational purposes only]

Awesome vid...

I don't know anything about the band... but WOW.



via Jimmy H.

Edited to add (TY Sewere):
This band is really awesome - do check out their wiki entry (not endorsing wiki here!).
This is the band's website.
Their Myspace page (they have a 'blog').

On a related note - here are some cool maps at Zuky (via Nine Pearls).

For the creatively inclined...

There’s still about nine days left to contribute to the Carnival for Creative Writing. Just a friendly reminder from your temporary recluse.

I'm not feeling terribly creative... zooey?

I'm not one for poetry much and not really up for writing about much lately either. Thought I would pass on that link.

Music is my poetry - so here are some fine tunes that are always timeless, to cope with the February blahs... Enjoy! If I could write - this is what I would have to say anyways...



A Design For Life lyrics by the Manic Street Preachers

Libraries gave us power
Then work came and made us free
But what price now for a shallow piece of dignity

I wish I had a bottle
Right here in my dirty face to wear the scars
To show from where I came

We don't talk about love we only want to get drunk
And we are not allowed to spend
As we are told that this is the end

A design for life x4

I wish I had a bottle
Right here in my pretty face to wear the scars
To show from where I came

We don't talk about love we only want to get drunk
And we are not allowed to spend
As we are told that this is the end

A design for life x4

We don't talk about love we only want to get drunk
And we are not allowed to spend
As we are told that this is the end

A design for life x4




That's Entertainment by the Jam.

A police car and a screaming siren -
A pneumatic drill and ripped up concrete -
A baby wailing and stray dog howling -
The screech of brakes and lamp light blinking -

That's Entertainment.

A smash of glass and a rumble of boots -
An electric train and a ripped up 'phone booth -
Paint splattered walls and the cry of a tomcat -
Lights going out and a kick in the balls -

That's Entertainment.

Days of speed and slow time Mondays -
Pissing down with rain on a boring Wednesday -
Watching the news and not eating your tea -
A freezing cold flat and damp on the walls -

That's Entertainment.

Waking up at 6 a.m. on a cool warm morning -
Opening the windows and breathing in petrol -
An amateur band rehearsing in a nearby yard -
Watching the tele and thinking about your holidays -

That's Entertainment.

Waking up from bad dreams and smoking cigarettes -
Cuddling a warm girl and smelling stale perfume -
A hot summer's day and sticky black tarmac -
Fedding ducks in the park and wishing you were far away -

That's Entertainment.

Two lovers kissing amongst the scream of midnight -
Two lovers missing the tranquility of solitude -
Getting a cab and travelling on buses -
Reading the graffiti about slashed seat affairs -


------------
Edited to add:
BA HA HA - more Paul Weller at Sour Duck (hillarious - so it really isn't just me, huh?)...

Paging 'S'

Dear S,

So much more...than this...



fitter, healthier and more productive
a pig
in a cage
on antibiotics




Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning.



I'll take a quiet life
A handshake of carbon monoxide

No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises
Silent, silent

This is my final fit, my final bellyache

Love A

My only 'preachy' vegetarian post...(summary of links)

I don't know what it was about today, but everywhere I went/didn't go seemed to address 'vegetarianism' it started with an email on a listserve, to a taxi cab conversation, because I also recently saw Fast Food Nation [excellent review at Feral Scholar] and then this song kept playing in my head because I feel exactly the way this song describes about everything that sucks about this world in general.



The unedited and extremely disturbing version of this song, can be found here - you must login to view it. It made me want to upchuck my veg lunch. Lyrics.

Okay, this post won't be as preachy as I thought it would be - because I don't think it's preachy to point out why consuming large amounts of meat is bad for this planet and indeed your health, there are of course 101 reasons for you to go veg if you haven't done so already. A recent UN report even highlights the major devastation that methane (in this case cow farts!) are having on the greenhouse effect [info via pandagon].

It's interesting because I think vegetarianism is definitely one of the most pressing 'leftist' issues today. It's an issue important for feminists, socialists, environmentalists and third worldists alike.

Of course you could just want to go veg cause it makes you 'smarter' (j/k). Or because you could take a justified piss at PeTA (Poopheads entitled to TnA), [link to no-status quo - not PeTA] because I just don't think it's right for me to talk about vegetarianism if I don't get to bash on the most widely recognized 'animal right's' organizations...

You would think PeTA was done with TnA?

Nopes...



Indeed - now they want to ensure if most of the world's women don't already feel shitty about themselves they can always 'go veg' to ensure that they do. PeTA I hate you! Don't ya know - you can be fat and fit? Or that you can be an overweight and unhealthy vegetarian??? Stop with your bullshit rhetoric already - and FUCK YOU!

Anyways, with the recent carrot juice (my favorite flavor too damnit) and spinach scares earlier this year, I think going organic AND buying local are by far the best options for a healthy and sustainable planet, period. Many mid-large cities offer delivery services for reasonably priced local produce.

Note: I like links, have you noticed? Links in this post are all actual links and not just some new spam that's highlighted some words and not others on your monitor...

Also: I was born a vegetarian (Hindu), so sometimes I feel slightly hypocritical discussing vegetarianism with people - because really I didn't have much of a choice (except that my parents were very open to me trying meat if I wanted to). I also recognize the Hindu-right's disgusting anti-Muslim discriminatory vegetarian views/policies in India. This is unfortunate but like extremists everywhere they've maligned an important issue for their own evil agendas. I am also a lacto-veg who has failed at many attempts at going vegan. I do consume very few milk products and that too it's limited to cheese and yogurt (flavors difficult to replicate via soy/rice based products). I will definitely try again.

PS. Sorry about the 'videopimp' logo on that video, I couldn't find one without it on Youtube.