Epiphany
"What are you, a functional programmer?" -CS Andrew, 11/22
After repeatedly falling asleep while trying to read about the rise of hegemonies in ancient Japan, I noticed, as I exited the library, a flyer for the upcoming Hive show in Ida. They're billing it as a showcase of Hyde Park hip-hop. This got me thinking about the Scene. You know, the Scene. I mean, here's this group, it's just three guys, has been the same three guys since we were all first years. They may not put on shows often, but they're always free and they've got a good rep. But the fact is, they're a fringe group.
As I walked home, I was struck by the fact that most of the HP scene has been consolidated under the banner of Mr. Hyde Records into a scene hegemony, headed by Loren Jan Wilson, who effectively plays the part of a musical Ancestor-God-King. Over the past few years, most of the various groups have been absorbed into his sphere of influence. I never saw it before, I told myself, because I was a part of it from early on. We even, it seemed to me, had the typical hegemonic attitude of making order out of chaos; we subjegated the outlying barbarians, saved them from themselves. This is, of course, a bit overdramatic, but still, to me at least, quite striking.
On some level, I think I already knew this, at least to the degree that I knew there were factions, I was part of one, I wanted ours to win, and furthermore I wanted to be prominant within the heirarchy of that faction. The grim question is "What have we done?" I cannot bring myself to believe that we have done something inherently wrong, and yet.... By gathering the sources of creativity and individuality into one place, are we in fact stifling their capacity for individuality? And what of succession? Will this, like so many other hegemonies, be divided by civil war with the passage of its ruler? A scene divided against itself, to paraphrase, cannot stand. And what of the mandates of that ruler? Before these thoughts occurred to me on my walk home, I had seen a flyer asking for basses to join Rhythm & Jews: my first thought was that I didn't have enough time; my second, that Loren despises a cappela. Now, I trust Loren to be fair and practical towards all genres, but what of his heir (assuming that he ever leaves, and that the Mr. Hyde hegemony survives that departure)?
Granted, I was supposed to be the one to succeed him as head of the label, but there is more to this than the label itself. Look at the way every major band is within his influence. Shorelandband has been within the Mr. Hyde domain for a year now, even more so now that I, a loyal Mr. Hyde trooper, started as unofficial Chair. Look at the way that the musicians and HPmusic listhosts, even the music groups on the Facebook, are pale mirrors of the Mr. Hyde Records message boards. Things seemingly independant, like the Hive or, say, a non-Mr. Hyde comp, use those message boards to promote themselves. The exceptions? WHPK is the only one that comes to mind. I cannot think, any longer, that my antipathy towards WHPK is solely rooted in their formatting style (which I still maintain as reason enough to dislike them).
I have chosen a side.
Hegemonies have always relied on the fact that their footsoldiers believe, or at least can convince themselves, that they are doing what is right and good. The question is, what keeps an empire from becoming The Empire? Not the mall. You know what I mean. Final Fantasy VI. Star Wars. Where does support for those within the group turn into suppression of those outside it?
I don't think I'll attend a concert here in quite the same way ever again.
Wednesday, First Week, Winter Quarter
"You've taking one of those Core classes over there that I know nothing about, and of course those books are not on your bookshelf." -Anne Rogers, 11/05/2004
This is a link post. Did you know that Britney Spears was an expert on semiconductor physics? Unfortunately, the punctuation on the page is atrocious, but this, too, is meaningless.
So my dad bought me a leather jacket for Christmas, and now I avoid eye contact with vegans.
Tuesday, Finals Week
"Does peanut butter have eggs in it?" -Maria, 10/25/2004
The movie Murder By Numbers is an exceptionally bad one. I do not at all endorse seeing it. On my walk home from the (In)Discrete Maths review session, I could not help but think how much cooler it would have been if it had been about Maths that kill you. This was before The Ring, so they could totally have done a 'you see this combinatorial proof, you have the sum from i equals zero to n of n choose i hours to live' sort of thing. Of course, it came long after Pi, so I'd have to go along a different track than that, but hopefully be just as cool. Or maybe it'd even work as a mathematical slasher flick. There's so much you could do with this!
Come to think of it, movies about maths are always pretty creepy. Donald Duck in Math Land, anyone? *shudder* I can't even think of billiards without being reminded of that movie. And then Pi. And, from what I hear, A Beautiful Mind.
Ah, well. As a friend of mine once said, "Mathematics created a lovely evening." And now I'm going to spend it studying.
Wednesday
"I think your hair would be a great guy to marry." -Aubree, 11/27/2004
Life is a series of gains and losses. Or perhaps a sequence of matrices of gains and losses. Gained: Some sweet henna, paycheck, new lighters, a comb, and three soundtracks on vinyl: the original Chicago, Guys & Dolls, and Star Wars. But no turntable. It was on hold for someone else.
Lost: It Never Rains (On Monitor Hill). This comic has been one of the most beautiful things I know of, and it's sad to see it go. I'll be downloading the archives to CD before the site drops, but. Though I can understand. I loved it, but it was never mine, and I can and have to let it rest.
But I will have those archives, you understand. Just because no one believes Greek mythology anymore doesn't make Greek mythology not worth knowing.
"And you remember how you found the key to his hideout in the Pyrannies. But you wanted to keep it secret, safe, so you threw the key away." Ironic that as I was writing this, that line, maybe the best lyric about loss that I know, should play. "This is the story of your gypsie uncle."
But I retain much. Much that is dear to me. For that, I am thankful.
Plus, this henna is pretty awesome.
Monday, Tenth Week
"Let's face it, you're always sitting at your desk." -Anne Rogers, 11/05/2004
"This fall, I don't know if I survived."
Or should it be "I must be made of steel."? We'll find out later.
Thanksgiving was pretty cool. Didn't get to rest up too much, because I kept getting up early to impress the folks. Granted, it worked, but it wasn't too much of a break for me. Highlights: Mr. Dugan referencing the sack of Carthage; Leah's grandmother saying, of Bill Clinton, "He can leave his boots under my bed anytime."
It's not, apparantly, really "so cold in Ohio".
Thursday, Eighth Week
"Some people say I'm mad, and say the word "penguin" after each sentence. But I believe that we two can make Chicago great, with you as Victor Neminis and I as Will Penguin." -'Will', 11/16/2004
This post was mostly a quote post. I've got a midterm today, the domain expired, but then Zarya renewed it. (Yay, Zarya!) I almost bought the renewal for her (I just found out this week that I'm not broke.... and bought a cell phone. Not in that order.), but truthfully, I wasn't sure if she wanted it renewed. This is what happens when people don't communicate.
The Hot Side Hot is going well. Plan A has seen progress, Plan K has been postponed until warmer weather, and Plan E is working to an acceptable degree, though I wouldn't mind turning up the volume. (A note: Since these have been pronounced at me wrong in the past, let me just mention that all of the above arethe Greek letters, not the Latin. The reasons for this is that Latin letters, suffixing 'Plan', tend to refer to a heirarchy; that is, Plan C is put into action if Plan B fails. This is not the case with my Plans, which, as should be obvious, operate concurrently.)
For the interested: During daylight hours (early afternoon, both times), the Oriental Institute and BJ, baby.
Monday, Seventh Week
"You might get locked in and die, but that's just part of the fun." -Laura, 10/01/2004
"Hopeless bleak despair, it was always there, and then, one day, it disappeared."
So things are fundamentally Not That Bad. I'm on top of my work, I'm not completely broke, and none of my teachers really hate me. Shoot, I even cleaned the bathtub, repaired two shoes, and played some Zelda. I've even found time help Leah reestablish her website; modify the Shorelandband listhost info page slightly, update a couple times, czech my e-mail regularly, and even finally type up my account of LifeLight, which has been sitting on my desktop half-finished for far too long.
So what's next? Oh, more homework, a homily for Thursday, maybe even the Fishbein house webpage. And, of course, dealing with more stuff for the show Friday. Man, that's been crazy, but it actually came together. We'll see how well this weekend.
And, finally, Pimpkin-come-Pimp-o-lantern has been given a neo-Viking funeral, as he no doubt deserves. Well, an econo-neo-Viking funeral. I am, after all, a college student.
And I finaly remembered, now that it's almost time to leave for my lab, what it was I really meant to do between class and lab, and it was just as important as I had told Austin it was when I was complaining about not being able to remember what it was just after class. Oh, well.
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