blog – Page 2 – Artistic Apathy

Leap of Faith

I’m here at the park and I’m listening to Yumeji’s Theme by Shigeru Umebayashi and I see a bird.

This bird is perched up on top of a swing set and I notice how gracefully it dives with its wings tucked and lands on its two feet.

I thought “wow where do they get the confidence to do that?” It seems scary, even for a human. I thought “duh, it’s a bird of course it knows how to fly.” Then I had another thought.

Before that bird had to learn how to dive like that. Before it learned it had no idea what it was doing. It was probably a series of trial and errors. I don’t know, I’m no bird expert. All I know is that bird had faith and knew that it had to learn to fly to survive.

And so it did. Now it does it so gracefully and effortlessly it’s astonishing to watch.

Here it is, now I’m going to equate this to real life.

As I watched the bird I thought about how us humans are scared to leap or dive sometimes. But if you never take the plunge you won’t know what’s on the other side. You’ll never gain the confidence that that bird had when it dove to the ground.

Many of us are scared to leap whether it be quitting a job that doesn’t serve us or embarking on a business venture. But the truth of the matter is, we don’t know how good and expanded we’ll feel once we finally do take that plunge.

Great confidence and freedom comes from things such as these.

Think about the bird. How free it is. It can soar and fly. Wouldn’t you like to fly? It goes wherever it wants and isn’t tied down to any one place or thing like many of us humans are. We’re tied to our emotions, our financial situations, our jobs, friendships and relationships that don’t serve us anymore.

Wouldn’t you like to be more like the bird? Lose that jealous friend, quit that job you hate, conquer your fears and see what’s waiting for you on the other side. Be more like the bird.

50 Follower Milestone

I’m happy to be able to say I’ve reached fifty followers on WordPress. I started this blog in November and didn’t really expect much to happen but what followed was surely worth it.

I’ve bared my soul on this blog and people seem to like it. I’m happy that people even bother to read what I write. If even one person gets something out of it then I am satisfied.

This blog serves as a device to unload a lot of trains of thought that I have that I feel deserve a place somewhere and you all have made me feel welcome on here.

So here’s to you. I’m going to bring you more quality content and more consistency. Thank you for taking the time to read my posts and for the support. Cheers.

Nujabes, Soul Music

I believe there are two types of soul food. There’s the one most people are acquainted with. I’m talking cornbread, fried pork chops and mac and cheese. Then there’s the other soul food.

Music.

If someone asked me for some good “soul music,” I would direct them to Nujabes.

I discovered Nujabes circa 2014 when I was on my expedition into deeper music territory. I was heavily into electronic music at the time. From there I gravitated towards strictly beats, then Hip-Hop beats and that’s how I found Nujabes.

Nujabes is a blend of Hip-Hop, Jazz and Soul and it is done so beautifully and seamlessly. The late DJ is truly a legend in my and many others’ books. His use of flutes, piano arrangements, and saxophones have captivated me from the moment I came to know him.

His music moves my soul, it’s hard to explain the intricacy of how this music permeates the body and reaches inside. I feel uplifted, like in another plane. When I listen to Luv (sic.) pt3, my favorite track, I feel an emergence of my soul. I feel hopeful. I feel nostalgic, like I’m being called home.

On Imaginary Folklore, the serenading Japanese vocals soothe me. It makes me feel like everything is alright. Nujabes’ music helps me see the beauty in the world and appreciate it. Sometimes I’m so moved I want to write my own lyrics to the songs.

I can see his music being played in a piano bar or at your friendly neighborhood kickback. It’s so versatile and universal, anyone can enjoy. I remember I received a guest to my house one day and I was playing Nujabes, they never heard him before but they explained to me that the ambience made them feel peaceful and relaxed.

Even so, his music is not so mainstream with Americans. Real Hip-Hop heads are sure to know who this legend is but I feel he deserves more recognition.

Nujabes, your music continues to touch and inspire a generation of people and I’m sure it will for generations to come. You have left behind a legacy so impeccable, you will be remembered for years to come.

I truly respect artists who put their heart and soul into their music. Nujabes was one of them.

Rest in the clouds, king.

Can You Copyright a Culture?

In our politically correct climate nowadays, you hear a lot of talk about “cultural appropriation.”

Before I was one of the people who watched others like a hawk to see if they were “appropriating.” I don’t know where I sit on the issue anymore, frankly. I remember hairstyles being a topic of discussion and at that point I just sort of quit.

But can you “copyright” a culture? I know how this may sound. I’m not arguing that people can take cultures and make whatever ridicule they want out of them. Hear me out, please. But do the trademarks of a particular culture, let’s say Hip-Hop, belong to a certain group of people by right?

I see a lot of sentiments around Hip-Hop for example but it’s not the only example. Before, Hip-Hop was predominately African-American. Now you have people of other races as frontrunners. There are some who insist that non-African-Americans will never truly embody Hip-Hop. The thing is, Hip-Hop has changed so much throughout the years, it’s not the same thing it was before. Hip-Hop has grown to have a global impact and not only is it influential, it’s lucrative too. As I look at Hip-Hop around the world, for example, in China, Japan, Korea, Canada, The UK, Germany, Russia… they are really just doing their own thing. While they certainly look up to American artists, they’re not much worried about what Americans think of them, let alone their music. They are appealing to an audience.

So do Hip-Hop artists from these countries owe American rappers something? Or are they just doing what humans do? Discovering something and putting their own flavor into it?

I like to think there’s no problem with this. But can you really own a sub-culture or a lifestyle? These are just my thoughts and this wasn’t meant to prove a point. Just to provoke thinking and hopefully spark a discussion. I’d love to hear from people in the comments. Until next time.

The Universal Language

I’ve often heard music be described as the “universal language” or the “language of the soul.”

This implies that music reaches people no matter what their origin or nationality or creed may be. You don’t always have to understand the lyrics of a song. Sometimes a song can have no lyrics and still touch you. Many people argue they can’t listen to a song without understanding the lyrics.

I’m of the camp that thinks this is a non-issue. As I listen to a song by one of my favorite foreign artists, I can feel the emotion of what he’s saying. I don’t speak his language but already I can tell it’s an outpouring of emotion. This is also assisted by the fact that it’s the first track of the album and the album picture has a transcription on it that reads: — why didn’t you tell anyone? — no one asked

This is a sentiment I’ve shared in the past.

Before I was struggling in the shadows and didn’t want to burden anyone with my problems. Why didn’t you tell anyone? Nobody asked. I don’t know the whole story but this implies the artist went through something that at the time he would have rather not talked about. Perhaps he’s finally coming clean about it on this track. I’ve looked up the lyrics and really, I don’t speak Japanese but I feel the mystique of not knowing makes it that much sweeter. Why is it some people need to understand every word of a song and focus so much on lyrics while others gravitate towards music in foreign languages or just like the feeling of a song? I guess it’s a mystery.

Cover image: Untitled album by KOHH