Folded 8.5 x 11

I’m sure that everyone potentially reading this has heard “Paper Planes”, whether they know that’s the name of the song or not.  If you’re unsure what it is, you might know it as “that one M.I.A. song” or “the song with the gunshots and the cash register noise in the chorus”.

I have, for a long time, been fed up with people who quote this chorus like it’s some mindlessly violent gangsta rap song.  The song’s been out since August 2007, but gained popularity last summer when it was featured in the trailer for some movie that seemed to celebrate drugs and also seemed too mindless and stupid to warrant mentioning here.  I would point to this as when the song jumped from relative obscurity to ubiquitous.  It’s also when it started to be heard out of it’s original context.

You see, the song is a satire on all the things those listening without critical (see definition 3) ears think that the song is actually about.  It is, as its Wikipedia page says, a satire on immigrant stereotypes.  It’s not about violence, or any of the other things that an uncritical or decontextualized listen might indicate.

Why context is necessary (or, making a long story very short):  M.I.A., the song’s artist, was born to Sri Lankan parents in London, and six months later, moved back to Sri Lanka.  Her dad was a politcal militant, she was a refugee, etc. (if you want the whole story, google it/it’s at Wikipedia).  It’s safe to say that M.I.A. has probably faced her share of immigrant stereotypes in her life.  That is what this song is about.

Singing just the chorus without knowing the context and meaning of a song can be dangerous, embarassing, or make you look silly.  This is probably the best example of that.

Now, I might point out that M.I.A. is not innocent in this song’s transformation from sly satire to just another catchy hip-hop song with a quirky vocalist and a catchy hook.  After all, it’s been licensed for two movies, one the comedy mentioned earlier, one the Oscar winner for Best Picture this year.  Having seen neither film, I cannot comment specifically on it’s placement, but I have it on good authority that the song’s context in [EDIT: one of (check the comments) the films does not align with it’s original intent.  It’s also been remixed a bunch of times, apparently – that’s intentional recontextualization.  Perhaps most egregiously, it’s been sampled and used on “Swagga Like Us”, by four of the biggest names in rap right now.  The only time I’ve heard that was during the Grammys a few weeks ago, but it is a drastic recontextualization:  as far as I can tell, it takes one line (“No one on the corner has swagga like us”) from “Paper Planes” and makes it the hook for five minutes of chest pounding braggadocio from rich men.

I’m not usually one to accuse artists of selling out – everyone has to make a buck, and most everyone has to work for someone to keep food on the table – but M.I.A. has sold out “Paper Planes”, and the result is a lot of obnoxious sing-song rapping from people who don’t understand the song’s original intent.

If she’s okay with that, too bad – good satire is hard to pull off, and she might’ve just ruined her own.  I’ll just keep saying, “you don’t know what that song means, do you?” twice a day.

Filed under: Music, college, friends , M.I.A., Paper Planes

Minor Discouragement

Ugh.
I was just talking with one of my friends – a Bible major, who feels called to international missions – about a non-denominational missions organization that I’ve applied to for a summer job (note: they actually describe themselves as “multi-denominational” but it amounts to the same thing: they’re unaffiliated with any one church or denomination.  In our conversation, we used the term non-denominational, so I’ll use it here).
He said, “Wait, how can they be non-denominational?  I mean, how can they have NO affiliation?”
I explained that they focus on service work, etc.  He eventually conceded – “Yeah, I see that.  I just don’t understand how any long term missions organization can be unaffiliated with a denomination.”

The more I think about this conversation, the more disappointing it is.  To overgeneralize, the American church has gotten too tied up in doctrinal differences to the point that my friend cannot envision a missions organization that does not bind itself to one specific doctrine.  I understand the need for laying out doctrinal beliefs, but I also believe that there are a lot of gray areas where pretending we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we’re right seems foolish (frequency/style of communion, type of baptism, etc.).

This is not to say that I have no beliefs in those areas, only to say that when you study historic Christianity, you begin to understand the origin of such practices.  For example, sprinkle baptism became popular in areas where water was less abundant, and it would have been a poor use of resources to bathe for baptism.  Learning that enlightened me, and while most American churches have no lack of water, I now understand its origin.  You also learn that church fathers did not necessarily see eye to eye, but they would still respect and worship with one another.

What about the creeds, Nicene and Apostles‘?

Another way to think about it:  Martin Luther did not leave the Catholic church in order to start Lutheranism, he left because the church authorities would not step in to stop injustices by church members even where blatant; even where they took advantage of the uneducated and less fortunate.

I appreciate the freedom that Protestantism allows.  I understand the need for denominations and doctrinal statements and beliefs.  What saddens me is the fact that my friend cannot imagine a world without denominational distinctions, or a Christian organization that is united by a “purpose to provide life-changing, Christ-centered youth mission opportunities” and not a series of doctrinal beliefs, despite the fact that he (like me) attends a school with a similar focus on unity.

Filed under: Uncategorized , Church, college, faith, friends

tumbling

I started a tumblelog.

I realize this seems like more of the same, but it’s not. I want to try to use the tumblr to make one short post each day, and keep this site up for more long form thoughts.

Filed under: Uncategorized , blog meta commentary, blogs, tumblr

facebook made me do it.

I’m actually about a week behind the facebook “25 things about yourself” meme, but thought I’d give it a go anyway.

1.  I bite my nails, but wish I wouldn’t.  I do it mainly when I’m nervous or bored.

2.  I am jealous of those with access to excellent public transit systems, specifically like those you would find in Europe.  I completely understand that America in general (and the midwest particularly) is too spread out for that to work on a large scale, but I still like elaborate railway systems.

3.  I also wish I had an iPhone or an iPod Touch, but I am aware that that’s silly and I don’t really need one.  Still, they’re impressive, and it’s good for me to show restraint.

4.  I like when numbers and graphs tell you things.

5.  I love to read, and don’t do it nearly enough.  I probably say “someday, I’ll read all the books I’ve ever wanted to,” once a week.

6.  I’m pretty adaptable.  That’s one of the things I’ve learned during the moving my family’s gone through over recent years – I can get along pretty well in many scenarios.

7.  I can be pretty calculating, especially when it comes to risk/reward sorts of situations.  This may be why I’m not very fond of roller coasters and why you’ll never find me skydiving, but why I’m eager to try new things where the positive potential benefits outweigh the negative side effects – for example, trying new foods/going new places, etc.

8.  I like coffee a lot.  I have for most of my life (literally – ask my parents), and recently I’ve been enjoying it more – and more frequently – than ever.

9.  My brother, Wyatt, is 4 years younger than me, and at least a couple inches taller than me.  He’s also one of my very best friends, and maybe the funniest person I know.

10.  With respect to music, I tend to enjoy the experience of an album more than a song.  That is to say, a great album says more about the actual talent and skill of its artists than does one good song.  Of course, songs are easier to digest individually, so there’s a place for just falling in love with a song, too. [#10 probably makes no sense, sorry readers]

11. I don’t mind dressing up.  I’d even say that I like it.

12.  …however, I would probably rather just wear jeans, a t-shirt, and a sweatshirt most of the time, unless, of course, it’s warm, in which case I would like to be by a body of water in a swim suit.

13.  I’m fed up with shallow thinking, especially by people who are spending their days, weeks, months, and years learning to think about things more deeply – specifically, college students.  Our actions, the actions of others, books, movies, tv shows, music…all sorts of things have meaning besides what they might seem to say on the surface – everyone who’s been through a high school English class knows this.  Going to college is supposed to teach you to think about such things, and it bothers me greatly that many of my fellow students take the time to think about what a thing really means, and what it tells us about the ideas and worldviews of the people who made it.  (I mean to flesh this out into it’s own post sometime)

14.  I don’t really like movies that much, unless they’re either
A.  very inventively entertaining, or
B.  thought provoking.

They just seem like a waste of time to me.  I’m trying to get past this somewhat, as Amanda loves movies, and loves when I watch them with her .

15.  I’m not really “into” that many tv shows.

16.  I like sports quite a bit, for a variety of reasons.  I like baseball for its order and strategy – it is “The Thinking Man’s Game” for a reason (and I am amused by the idea of baseball as a metaphor for American life).  I like basketball because among sports, it is the closest thing to an art form of improvisation and virtuosity, like music or dance – all teams and players have unique styles.  I like football because of it’s combination of brute force, speed, and strategy, and because it has both variety and structure in abundance.  I am also intrigued by soccer, rugby, and various other sports that are popular throughout the rest of the world, but it takes a lot of time, energy, and effort to follow them from where I sit.

17.  Amanda recently got me some wonderful Moleskine notebooks, and they’re quite wonderful – I forget already how I lived without them.  I carry them with me everywhere, jotting down things to tell her the next time we talk, things to blog about, books I want to read, to do lists, notes from chapel, etc.  So basically, all the things that I used to put on disparate pieces of paper and then lose are now confined to two pocket notebooks.  I don’t know why I didn’t do that sooner.

18.  I think I have one phone number memorized, and it’s my own (this doesn’t count phone number of houses at which we no longer live).

19.  I am bored of the labels that we put on people, but also guilty of doing some labeling, probably.

20.  I don’t like winter.  Sometimes I say this and people say, “how would you appreciate the other seasons if you lived somewhere that was not bitter cold for 3 months a year?”  HAHA.  Trust me, I won’t forget what winter’s like, and I won’t miss it.

21.  I am curious to find out what sorts of things will confuse me when I’m old – specifically, technologically.  What will I be afraid of, or speak of with disdain despite not even understanding it?  (I’m thinking specifically of the way some older adults speak of blogs, or iPhones, or webcams, or facebook).

22.  Being a PA has been one of the more rewarding things I’ve done in recent memory.  I’ve learned a lot about myself, and hopefully been good at my job.  The most rewarding thing, though, has been the staff I’ve gotten to work with – the other PAs and the Residence Life staff.

23.  I’ve been dating Amanda for 13 months and one week now, and couldn’t be happier about it.  I could go on, but if you want to talk to me about this, let’s talk in person .

24.  I like shoes a lot.  I try not to buy them too much, because they’re expensive, but if they weren’t, I would have a lot of shoes.

25.  Finally, what I almost always have in my pockets:

a pen
a tube of chap stick (this one is a MUST for me – my lips get chapped quite easily)
my keys
my phone
my wallet
two moleskine notebooks

Filed under: MLB, Music, baseball, college, family, friends , 25 things, Amanda, college, facebook, family, friends, Music, shoes, spring 2009

Foreshadowing

Chapel today has people talking.  I was thinking through it as I heard it, and forming my own opinions, but I’ve now spoken to or read several reactions to it and have found most felt as I did.

Sorry for the crypticism, I plan to elucidate all this in a later post.

If you’d like to hear this morning’s chapel, go here.  Today’s speaker was Ted Kluck.

You might also want to listen to the January 19th message from Bryan Loritts on MLK day, which I recommended previously, first of all, because it’s good, and secondly, because Bryant brought it up as a contrasting message to Kluck’s.

Once you’ve sorted this all out, please read Josiah’s take.

EDIT/UPDATE: Anne on Kluck.  Twice.

Filed under: Uncategorized , chapel, Church, college, friends, spring 2009

to Tide us over

I feel like I’ve had an excess of bloggable thoughts over the past (any length of time) and have not had the time and/or motivation and/or mindset to post.
That’s okay, I guess. I usually write down the idea somewhere (recently in my fancy new pocket sized Moleskine notebooks from Amanda ). But after awhile, I don’t have such intense feelings about whatever it is I wrote in that notebook, and feel less inclined to blog about it.
Those thoughts will make it here eventually. Hopefully this ridiculously cute photo of Amanda and I will tide you over (thanks to Amanda for the picture):

We took this at school on Amanda's last day in the states before leaving for the semester

Filed under: Uncategorized , Amanda, blogging, procrastination, spring 2009