SOTA- State of the Artist

There really isn’t a style of music I would turn down listening to. I love and appreciate everything from rap, rock, hip hop, blues, jazz, etc. Good music is good music is good music- a practice I like to follow. It doesn’t matter who wrote it, what their ties are to the industry, or their popularity among fellow musicgoers. Anything is game with me.

An artist I’ve been recently vibing is State of the Artist. The group is comprised of a pop-rap trio from Seattle- Parker Reddington, Hyphen8ed, and Young Thad. The group started out in 2007 and has released three albums to date with a few mix tapes in between.

It has everything to love about music- inventive melodies, a bluesy beat, and chill/soulful vocals. The group doesn’t sing, but their rap definitely sets the mood for the songs they create. It’s a band like SOTA that always makes their music sound fresh with every listen. There’s a particular subtlety to their songs that never seems to die out. The groups strong approach to lyricism and steady flow loop through different variations of pace and rhythm. Each MC has his own style and the constant back and forth between each other plays on the ears differently than other experimental hip-hop artists do.

My favorite song by SOTA is” I Try” from their mix tape “Shapeshifters.” The steady conversation between the electric and bass guitar in the beginning of the song remedy and relax the mind with ease. The song is playful yet mature. The instruments layer over each other with each impending segment of the song and take the listener from door to door, showing the variety of creative elements within hip-hop.  SOTA make this song an inventive explosion of instruments and beats. Just as the song seems to be approaching a peak, it takes one step back and settles down, thus starting the innovation of their music all over again. Every second is live in anticipation of what’s to come next. Their songs are addicting and stimulating, they way music ought to be.

Another great song by SOTA is "My Shine" from their "Hank Moody  EP." It keeps with the groups vibe while exploring news ways to communicate with their audience using a different stylistic approach. 

SOTA is taking new age hip-hop in a new direction and bringing back the essence of what it should be. With this group, it’s not just about witty lyrics or popular melodies. Everything they do is unique to their genre and doesn’t lose my interest. This up and coming group has the right luster to catch the ears of more fans to come. Nothing beats the excitement of catching a band within their beginning experiment phase. 

The Solitary One

There are times when I can be in a room full of people, and the only thing I want to do is keep to myself- stay quiet, lie low, and melt into the floorboards and escape between their cracks into soft soil.

Alone is not a physical thing for me- I can be content with just my thoughts and personal space. Solitude is what is truly unpleasant; when I’m no longer able to express myself to anyone.

There are people in my life that mean a great deal to me and I would give up anything for them, but none of them can truly understand the intentions of my thoughts and my reasoning. The ideas which make sense in my head seem to explode into confusion when I try to talk them out. What I imagine to be a coherent thought simply shifts into gibberish. Sometimes it’s like I’m speaking in a completely different language. Yet, that’s usually how it goes with thoughts.

How can you relate to someone if you’re too afraid to tell them what you really mean? How can you connect when what you’re holding back is the poison to your relationship?

The remedy which I seek for solitude does not exist. Like the fountain of youth, it is only passed on as a rumor by morning talk show hosts, lifestyle magazines, and hopeful dopes. 

It’s impossible to question life- I am not an expert. No one is. It’s a thing much older than I am and has been around longer than anyone can count (yes, even scientists can’t determine its creation). It seems strange to me that we are given the gift and the curse of other people’s presence. But then again, this strangeness is nothing new. After all, the demons we believe come with isolation are only the pets of our imagination.

We come into this machine of life alone, and the same way we shall exit. 

I Am Refusing This Assignment of “This Means Something”

Above this writing, is a blank space. An irksome void. 

The way people cling to find meaning is like the way they try to fill this space. Doodling. Writing lyrics. Pasting a picture. Whatever they wish.  

All this really is, is an empty space. It is nothing more than that.

This space holds no meaning. It is not a place to store dreams. It is not an inspiration for success. It is not a sad promise of failure. It is what it is- a blank space on a blog entry of some girl in a high school philosophy class.

There is no such thing as some thing that I know means something. There never has been. People can over complicate life as much as they want to and run laps around the idea of trying, but they do so only because accepting the lack of organization and purpose of life is too simple of an idea for them to burden. 

Class Direction

Being that each student signed up for this class, I assume that everyone wants to learn and explore the ideas of philosophy. When applying my philosophy on how the class should be directed, I think that there really doesn't need to be a specific way of teaching the class.

Ideas are meant to bounce around the room, opinions are meant to be vocalized, and frustration can be guranteed for some, if not, most students. With 30 different individuals running the class, it is near impossible to not have conflicitng points of view. It is true, that certain students will talk at the highest volume possible before the conversations turns into shouting, but that's a good thing- it means that students are listening (or pretending to listen) to each other and using their brains. Philosophy has everything to do with the brain, so this class is a good check up that makes sure we use it from time to time.

Yes, I and many others can get upset or perplexed with certain topics, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't dive deeper and find the real meaning behind them. It was from our class discussions that I learned to think beyond what I know, and to explore the unknown terrains of life. Personally, these class discussions fascinate me. It's a time where I can trully inspect the differences of people and enrich my understanding of foreign opinions.

 After discussing a compilation of the varying themes of life, I discovered that the only reason we have not shown up to class dressed as our favorite philosophers and shouting at the top of our lungs the views they portrayed, is because CPS has regulations and teachers have mouths to feed (this idea seems pretty fascinating, maybe we can call it "Philosopher Showdown" or something cheesy like that. Actually, we should do this. I'd love to see kids show up to class in togas and Renaissance-like attire, yelling from beneath graying beards and thick, handlebar mustaches.)

Though the class can be disruptive to Mr. McCarthy's lesson plan, and we also can get a bit rowdy with our adolescent habbits, I think the little quirks of the class are only natural and aide us in building knowledge and understanding.

Who Will Win the Election: A "Multiple" Party System

Voltaire and Camus, both great thinkers, would not vote for the standard democrat/republican. These men see beyond the stereotypical candidates and are drawn to ideas not many men wish to dwell upon.

Voltaire, a man of double entendres, risked his life to point out the flaws of society. He would not vote for a Mitt Romney, as his views on the government are extreme and he wants consistency and strength in a leader- not some indecisive wimp. He would not vote for a democrat either, as democracy seems as close to socialism more than any other party. Voltaire, would most likely sleep in on the election day, tend to his "garden", and read The Onion (a popular satirical newspaper.) He would get many a good chuckle out of their articles.

Camus was an absurdist, and believed that humans exist in a meaningless and irrational world. Whoever he voted for would not really matter, as life has no meaning. If given the choice not to vote, he would sleep in and enjoy a pack of cigarettes. If forced to vote on a candidate, he would close his eyes, hum Eenie-Meenie-Minie-Mo and vote for whoever his finger landed on on the ballot.  He would find no pleasure in doing so, coolly step out of the voting booth, and take a long walk in nature with his environmentally unfriendly cigarettes. Ron Paul and his libertarian views would suit Camus the most, but Camus wouldn't care enough to look into political party views.

The Meaning of Life

All of the things which occur inside of my head are meaningful. My opinions, ideas, creations, and discoveries-all which my brain encodes and stores within- create purpose in my life. Discovering new information, questioning the ideas around me, and forming conclusions provides and incentive for me to move on, to take life day by day, and to mature to my best potential.

The opinions of others,  although  meaningful to most people and an important influence in life, do not necessarily matter. They only impact the person who is willing to believe that they do. Life is not meant to be lived by the standards of others- ideally you are the only one who can create a standard or achieve the perfection you desire in life.

I can not tell you the purpose behind living- I can only share what keeps me going. You can answer this question as vaguely or in as much detail as you please, but the size of the view for this matter doesn't change anything.

We each have a different purpose, a different pursuit, and a unique destination. The things which we encounter along the way can only be deemed important by us. We give ourselves importance. We give meaning to an action or object. We manifest our own meaning to life.

Candide and his Crime

The only fair in life I know is the bus fare.

Every experience which Candide has lived through can only be blamed on his own doings-he has had so many chances to prove himself a worthy thinker, and yet, he chose his ignorance over decent analytical skills. If punishing him for his lack of intelligence is what “the universe” or some other entity has dished out, then he deserves it. He may never understand why, but if he ever does, then he may be less dimwitted than I thought him to be.

It really does suck to not get away with something, to almost squeeze by with luck. Things do happen for a reason, and like a chain of events, our past catches up with us and snowballs into whatever we are meant to face in the future. You can get lucky only so many times, but once luck runs out, then all which is left are the outlines of our actions.

Eventually, we pay for our mistakes in some form or another. Physical punishment is just the same as mental punishment, if not, an easier sentence. 

Where was his conscious throughout the craziness of his life?