Happy Holidays!

All right, I'm not usually political, but given that we have to suffer through another 11 1/2 months of this fuck show called American politics, I'll weigh in on a couple of things.  First, the GOP candidates are better entertainment than Saturday Night Live has been in years.  Second, the mainstream press is clueless and should just go away.  The candidates pander for money, the press pander for celebrity and least common denominator reporting, and we, the public, blissfully absorb it all as if this is business as usual.  What the fuck America?  We are hemorrhaging money, credibility and, it would appear, common sense in order to pretend it's going to be all right.  Do we really trust this government and its successor to  help us out of this situation.  It's time for a reset.  We need some hard-working immigrants that still believe in the "American Dream" (at least the one that existed in the late 18th and 19th centuries and early 20th century), to tell us how to fix this.  We can't lend, borrow, shop or wish our way out of the current fiscal and moral debacle we are currently in.   Or perhaps another "manifest destiny" generation, replete with its lawlessness, cavalier arrogance and proud nationalism.  Doesn't the internet give us the tools to do this?

Otherwise, it is time for a full blown revolution.  I, for one am leaning toward the latter and will begin by distancing myself from either political party.  These narrow-minded bureaucrats can have the beltway for their foibles.  I am more interested in exploring "greatness" and "potential".  Human beings possess a wealth of both, but we, as Americans, have been so sedated by our own hype, that we no longer try to achieve anything.  Oh, right, except for personal wealth and security.  A lot of good that will do when the billions of disenfranchised people worldwide decide to fight for survival.  Not only is the writing on the wall, it has permeated to every corner of society.  Pay attention, Occupy Wall Street is not a movement, it is merely a message that unless every individual changes their myopic faith in "America", there will be no more "America", just the desperation of the "Mad Max" movies.

I am not saying this is imminent, merely that the tide has shifted and we can't go back, we have to look forward and make some seriously difficult decisions.  From where I sit, I have not seen, heard nor met anyone with the vision or leadership that I am willing to get up and follow.  I'm tired of choosing the lesser of two evils to represent my life.  I am publicly coming out to endorse myself and the human race as my candidate in 2012.  No one person or political party can sway my vote.

I don't think I'm ready to build a compound in the woods (Yet?), but I am going to begin a concerted campaign of civil disobedience.  Here is a letter from one of my favorite liberals, Thomas Jefferson, to James Madison that is pretty spot on regarding the hole that has been dug during the past 2-3 generations.  I'm climbing out, with or without you.

Happy Holidays!!

Eric

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised...

is a song by Gil Scott Heron that was adopted by the Black Panther movement of the early 70's.  Gil Scot Heron is not easily accessible, but he is claimed to be the godfather of rap.    You have to want to discover this kind of music and put in a little effort.  If you're in the right mood, it’s pretty goddamn resonant.  Gil died this year and I went back for a nostalgic tour and had to put that effort in all over again, but it is as powerful today as when it was recorded.  His early albums are not available for some reason, but his catalog is deep if you want to wade in.  Check out the YouTube clip of Revolution, as well as "Whitey on the Moon", which is surprisingly reminiscent of "Walking on the Moon", with a slightly different message. 

The message of  “The revolution will not be televised” is matter of fact.  It’s not evangelizing, it’s merely telling you that if you don’t get out and participate, you’ll miss it. It is going on around you as we speak.  For a 40 year old song, it really reminds me of the wasted time our culture spends on reality TV, video games, facebook and other boondoggles (look it up).

If technology is the revolution, then you better start learning what the currency is, cuz' it ain't the dollar.  Ideas and leadership, transparency and honesty, and quality are what you should become, surround yourself with, and aspire to if you want to be part of the revolution.  If not, enjoy your American X Factidol.

Gilbert "Gil" Scott-Heron

(April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011)

Gordon Sumner
(1951-      )

 Brothas' from another 

Mother?

Today's Playlist on Spotify

One of the bands that defined my formative years, R.E.M. called it quits today.  They were one of those bands that, after college, I didn't pay much attention to, but I never lost respect for for releasing new music. I saw them several times live and have some good stories that I shouldn't post publicly. But, their body of work is fantastic and they should be extremely proud of their career.  The other songs in today's playlist are to honor the memory of Dan Peek, who died earlier this summer.  Peek was one of the founding members of America (the band, not the nation).  America was a standout of the singer/songwriter boom of the seventies, mainly because of their great harmonies and arrangements, but also their accessibility.  I can't think of anyone that doesn't know an America song.

I will be posting playlists at least weekly or whenever the spirit moves me, so if you follow this blog, the playlists will be called Bullish on Music and have a corresponding date to the relevant post.

Peace.

interconnectivity

I have spent several hours the past few days "practicing what I preach".  I am currently teaching a college class called Record Label Administration, wherein I oversee the operation of a non-profit record label, doing real live things, and gently guiding the students into the morass that is the music industry.  One principal tenet that I have been espousing for at least the past half-decade is the importance of making yourself (brand, company, what have you) into a three dimensional atomic molecule on the internet.  Ergo, once you have a starting point (web, blog, social networking site, etc.) that you use most frequently, success in the internet age will demand that you expand your reach.  This is not to say that merely linking to as many sites and feeds as possible will guarantee success, but not doing so will guarantee failure.  Here is the rub.  Rather than linear expansion, which is easy to conceive, the further the reach the more customers I will have, you must use connective expansion.  All things must point back to one another.  It is no use to try every website, widget, app or other product for marketing, but only those that create circular, connective expansion.

All internet marketing science aside, I am making a concerted effort to discover and use this theory in practice.  Once site I am particularly fond of is Spotify.  It is my intent to create and share a new spotify playlist each week with a personal take on the collection of tunes.  Not only does this reinforce the above theory, but it sounds fun.