Myspace Re-Post #7: Why Matisyahu is Tripping Me Out

Note: Re-posted from my now-defunct Myspace blog, where it was originally posted on March 17th, 2006.

For those rare and peculiar people out there who were raised in an orthodox Jewish enclave, the idea of Jewish music is one that tends to make us squirm. We are accustomed to hearing (generally against our will) bad songwriting in a harmonic minor key with cheesy production and a pretensiously passionate voice. These singers are almost inevitably high-pitched and crying for mercy from ""Hakodoish baruch hu"" or ""the holy one, blessed is He.""

Of course, times change, and there has been an increasing trend over the last 5-10 years for bands with more of a jam-band sound to emerge. The Moshav Band has some cool sounds and has even begun to develop some real songwriting talent. Nevertheless, as I have repeated to my friends ad nauseum, the market for the music is tiny. Anyone with real talent would have to go secular.

When I first heard of Matisyahu, I was skeptical, because I tend to take a more critical approach to most art than my peers do. He's probably decent, I thought, but reggae's not my thing, you know...

Then I heard he was touring with Trey Anastasio, the former front-man of Phish, the inheritors of the deadhead following (until their own sad demise...). Still, small potatoes, I figured, and besides, Trey's probably washed up (no offense, phans).

When King Without a Crown started getting played on VH1 and modern rock radio, I started to pay attention. and what the hell? this guy, dressed to the chassidic nines, singing like a jamaican...""he's good, but doesn't he make you squirm?"" That's what I thought other people would think - other Jews, non-Jews. After all, the ultra-orthodox kinda freak me out, and I've had plenty of contact to get acclimated to them.

And yet his star keeps rising. First he garnered more airplay on modern rock radio. Then he started doing the late-show circuit: jimmy kimmel, david letterman, recently Conan O'Brien. Next his album, ""Live At Stubb's"" was flying up the charts. A few weeks ago, it was certified gold (500,000 copies sold). You may be unaquainted with the demographics, but let me tell you right now that the orthodox jewish market can not provide this kind of demand.

So what's next? Oh, I guess his new album will just debut at number 4. In fact, it'll have the best-selling week of any reggae album ever! That's right - better selling than Bob Marley! 119,000 copies in one week!

So I dunno man. I dig some of his music. Seen him in concert, had dinner with him at Chabad once. How long will he last? How will he be remembered? These are all valid questions, and time will provide the answers.  

But what I still can't understand is: how? How has he been so successful? how did it happen? how do you make it in music without playing friday nights? without toking with all the big heavies? how has he managed to convince hundreds of thousands of average americans - disproportionately young ones, I might add - to not only give his music a shot but to actually buy it? The situation is so surreal. I'm mystified...I'm stumped...and I'm really, really tripped out... 

Myspace Re-Post #6: Communication

Note: Re-posted from my now-defunct Myspace blog, where it was originally posted on March 15th, 2006.

This post is in many ways connected to my previous post on ""why we blog."" There, I discussed issues of identity and free expression. However, the issue of interpersonal communication is perhaps the most important of all.

Sometimes I reflect on the nature of some of my favorite activities: reading (be it fiction, journalism etc.), listening to music, watching movies. An element common to these three things is that they are all media for communication. Even when we're not directly interacting with people, we still seek to connect with them.

Of course, however much you make like some of the above activities, none are nearly so prominent in the lives of most people as the act of everyday conversation. Millions of profiles throughout the land proclaim their masters' interest in ""good conversation"" or some variation on that theme.

What's the deal with all this obsessive communication? Natural as it is to us, when you  think about it, animals and other organisms seem to thrive and reproduce very well without all the intensive discussion and dialogue etc etc.

A psychologist named Pennebaker made his name by proving that writing down one's thoughts or expressing them to a confidant on a regular basis enhances health, in addition to mental well-being. A less well-known guy I read in one class made the argument that many mood disorders (e.g. depression, anxiety) and other psychiatric conditions are due to social rejection.

But why? What reason is there for our driving desire to talk to another person?

What's more frustrating is that sometimes it seems, no matter how hard we try, we'll never really know what it's like to be another person, how they feel, what they think...we try so desparately, interpreting (usually subconsciously) body language, little statements or tones...most conversation seems so trivial, and we treasure those moments when we do seem to break through to a deeper level. But what do we really know, even then? and isn't that moment transient? I mean, it's nice while it lasts, but the relationship could easily sour the next day.

On the most basic level (the neural level), what a word means to you is almost certainly not what it means to me. That's because we learn the meanings of words via complex processes of association. To take an example from Waking Life (a really cool movie), my concept of love is based on my relationships with my family first, then with the girls I dated in grade school, high school etc...plus, of course, all the movies and songs about love (how many aren't about love?), and I somehow integrate this into a distinct conception of the meaning of the word. But you've had different familial relationships, different boy or girl friends, seen different movies, attributed different levels of significance to each...

and how about the significance of eye contact? this is even more mysterious to me. eye contact plays a crucial role in social interaction. many ""experts"" have noted its central role in communicating interest in a speaker or affection towards a prospective or actual partner. it also plays a role in aggressive encounters - intense eye contact is often present in the build-up to a fight. one study demonstrated that the body has a real physiological reaction to ""mutual gaze.""

You could say that the significance of eye contact is a learned, culture-bound phenomenon. But, so far as I know, eye contact plays pretty much the same role cross-culturally. newborn babies show intense interest in the eyes of other people.

but why? what's actually in an eye? you can't see someone else's thoughts. its just a bunch of cells, light receptive cells, in an exquisitely crafted perceptive device.

another interesting question is the role of content. on the one hand, we all have particularly interests that we would prefer to discuss. but ultimately, the key seems to be maintaining animated dialogue. content doesn't enter into the picture, from this view. its just the pure association with another person, and the exchange of words, as if that's somehow reaching beyond...

could our desperate desire for connection reflect an internal drive to reach the eternal? some theologians have conceptualized much of religious ritual and practice as being a representation of a reaching out to the infinite, but surely infinite can never be reached - I find this idea echoed by our quest for inter-personal communication.

this topic is far from exhausted in my mind. I'm just hoping to bring greater clarity to my thinking by getting some ideas down - that's the reason for these wordy thought blogs. if anyone actually reads them, I'd love some feedback...a little, y'know, interaction...

Myspace Re-Post #5: Update

Note: Re-posted from my now-defunct Myspace blog, where it was originally posted on March 14th, 2006.

So that was Purim.

Played a concert last night...the crowd was small, in part because we were preceded by the local Klezmer band, but it was also spirited (ah, so many meanings). Our set was pretty long, and I had a pretty good time playing it.

Today was a complete waste, except for one class I went to in the morning. Hung out at Hillel for a while, then checked out a few different happenings and got fairly toasted. Now life will go back to ""normal,"" for a few weeks anyways.

I'll be back in Chi-town on March 27th, although the plan is to take a brief jaunt down to Champagne-Urbana to see my boy Yossi before he graduates college - graduates college!

Speaking of Yossi, he's supposedly going to be out here next week to chill on his spring break. The plan is to get completely wasted on a weeknight...well we'll see how that affects my schoolwork.

Man, I feel like life's so busy sometimes, and yet when I step back and look at it, I can't remember what I've done in the past week! What's the point if I'm not even doing anything worth remembering? Ah, adolescent despair...I wonder when it well abandon me.

In the meantime, I'm gonna go watch the Daily Show...

Myspace Re-Post #4: Why do we blog?

Note: Re-posted from my now-defunct Myspace blog, where it was originally posted on March 6th, 2006.

We are living at a time when individuality is more elusive than ever before in the history of the human experience. With six billion people and counting, the world is overflowing with others eager to take your place in the eternal climb to the top of whatever. and then there are the inevitable masses of shortfallers, those unable to achieve the impossible expectations of society.

and what of the communication of ideas? three thousand years ago, a scant handful of texts contained all the written wisdom of humanity. As time passed, the amount of printed matter increased in a linear fashion until the invention of the printing press. Then things really got interesting.

Today, the author of several books has no reasonable expectation of being known outside the narrow confines of whatever discipline or genre he writes in. The proliferation of printed matter has become ridiculous - what significance can one even find in being printed?

Yet the internet revolution has expanded this situation exponentially. Anyone, anywhere can write whatever they want. But who is listening? Does it matter if anyone is?

I say it does not. While some might like the idea of a large readership following their words with bated breath, this is ultimately a shallow motivation that is not likely to produce anything worth our still-finite time.

Do I know who reads these words? Do I believe I will somehow affect or impress them? Surely not, for who am I? Just a college student, pontificating about subjects beyond my ken. If Noam Chomsky's ideas about governmental policy are full of shit, then who am I to offer up my own alternative?

Rather, I think the matter of blogging has to do with the matter of free will and self-expression. These two concepts are, in my view, intimately intertwined, and both are perhaps at the root of man's resemblance of G-d (i.e. we are created ""in the image of G-d,"" but how so?).

The belief that one has control over one's actions is essential to mental health. Ellen Langer got tenure for her finding that giving senior citizens greater control in a nursing home environment actually increased the length of their lives. She emphasizes the significance of the ""illusion of control."" Even if it is an illusion, which she believes it is not, it is nevertheless better to believe that we have control than to know ""the truth.""

What does free will mean? It means that we are responsible for our actions, of course, but also it means that we get to decide who we are. What kind of person are you? Although temperament may have some genetic basis, and cognitive ability, surely the realm of opinion is almost entirely subjective and self-determined.

I like x and y artists (see my profile) and z and w movies (profile again). Why is it important that I make that known? Because it represents the determination of my conscious will. We discuss these matters with one another because the most interesting thing about people is the choices they make.

Along these lines, D. A. Pennebaker has found that journaling or having regular sessions of deep disclosure (talking about your feelings) has significant positive effects on mental and physical health. This, of course, connects us full circle with the whole blog idea. For reasons that aren't entirely clear, it is imperative for people to have their feelings and ideas heard. or at least to say them. and maybe online forums like this one are just what the doctor ordered.

I've heard plenty of social-network-site bashing recently, as I'm sure many of you out there have as well. While you may cavalierly dismiss such criticism as being due to the jealousy or failure of comprehension of an older generation, I think that a more potent defense of our social-networking world is more easily to be found.

The ease of communicating our ideas online, in a world where it is increasingly more difficult to have our voices heard in real life, can only have a positive effect on our mental well-being. The dramatic rise in depression during the past fifty years may in part reflect sociological trends. The cities and suburbs have become more crowded, more plentiful and more homogenous. Individuality is to be attained at an ever higher premium.

At least we have this outlet here, this naive dream that someone out there, somehow, somewhere, is listening.   

Myspace Re-Post #3: On the Lighter Side

Note: Reposted from my now-defunct Myspace blog, where it was originally posted on March 1st, 2006. For reference, this post came about 40 minutes after the previous post (i.e. "Myspace Re-Post #2..."), and refers to it in the opening paragarph.

Hey there,

My apologies to those of you who just suffered (hee hee) through that rough rough draft of my moral reasoning paper. In other news, I've been in a productive flurry in the realm of songwriting recently. Just today I wrote words to the chorus of a song that has a really excellent tune but no words before now:

and as I crest the hill I/see the valley below/I hear the road its calling/from the depths of my soul/and I can't remember/all the times I've been low/but that's all in the rearview mirror/I've got places to go

I mean, it's a work in progress, but I think it's pretty good. I also came up with a new tune, and few words to that as well:

The smoke clears, she draws near/I fall into a trance/our eyes meet, my heart beats/our words begin to dance

although I still have a long way to go on that. add in the beginnings of a paper on reward and punishment and theism etc. etc. and I've had a fairly productive day. Now might be a good time to mention that I slept through a class (and quiz) this morning. First one this semester, so I almost made it out of February without a ditch. Oh well.

Man, this moral reasoning crap...it's a requirement for graduation. Really, I can never figure out how to talk meaningfully about such issues. The course title is: ""If there is no G-d, all is permitted."" discuss. I prefer having concrete facts, like psych studies or OBP (On-Base Percentage). well, it's only one semester...

well, that's about all that's really going on right now. looking forward to: Dinner at the Rabbi's Friday night (tis no ordinary dinner, lad), Oscars Sunday, fantasy baseball draft the following Sunday, Purim, and finally spring break. Someone remind to live in the present from time to time, ok?

sb

"

Myspace Re-Post #2: Reward and Punishment

Note: Reposted from my now-defunct Myspace blog, where it was originally posted on March 1st, 2006.

So I'm supposed to be working on a paper for this ""moral reasoning"" class about the role of reward and punishment in morality. but I'd really rather post a blog, plus I don't know what I'm writing about yet, so here's a test run.

One question that could reasonably be asked is, presuming the presence of G-d, does He run the world on just principles? Are rewards given to the moral and punishments to the immoral? In Deuteronomy (7:12- ), this would seem to be the clear implication, as Moses relates that ""this will be the reward when you follow these rules...[G-d] will bless you and multiply you...and the fruit of your land...G-d will remove from you every illness...etc.""

On the other hand, we have the complicated discussions in Job. Job spends a lot of time insisting on his complete and total innocence of any wrongdoing, and yet he suffers immensely. Indeed, G-d clearly affirms his innocence in the prologue (Chs 1-2). Then G-d appears to him from the whirlwind &c. and goes to great lengths to demonstrate that no human can comprehend His ways. The basic implication seems to be that any search for causality in life events, i.e. their being due to sins or good deeds, is futile, as no clear causality will emerge.

Now one could easily conclude that the passages are in conflict and that each articulates a radically different notion of reward and punishment. But is it possible to reconcile these two stances into one coherent and sophisticated moral system?

What, in fact, is the nature of the human inference of causality? Are we truly equipped to track and connect all the disparate elements of our existence into a meaningful whole? Most psychologists would say that causality is simply an effective mental tools that allows us to understand the behavior of physical objects. A clear demonstration of the breakdown of human causal reasoning can be demonstrated with the following anecdote from the life of a sports fan:

In 2004, the Boston Red Sox were (as usual) in the playoffs, and a large number of college students were gathered in the common area of my residence hall to watch a game. It was about the seventh inning, with the Red Sox batting, when a new person came into the area and took a seat in close proximity to the television. The Red Sox then rallied and scored a run. One viewer then told the newcomer: ""You're not moving from that seat."" The implication being that it was the presence of this one person in this one residence hall in Cambridge that had somehow caused the Boston Red Sox to score a run.

Similar examples are no doubt commonplace, particularly in the realm of sports. The point is to demonstrate that humans are not reliable agents for determining causality. This is, in a way, the message of G-d from the whirlwind in Job. While  the blessings of the land and the lack of illness may be directly caused by our positive or negative actions, we may simply be unable to comprehend the channels and processes that connect these factors to our actions in a chain of causality.

Ok, sure, but who's going to say that Job was in reality being rewarded for his positive actions? The possibility (suggested ad nauseum by Job's three friends) that Job actually deserves his manifold sufferings is clearly ruled out by the prologue, where G-d declares Job's innocence of wrongdoing, and in the end, where G-d reaffirms this declaration.

Reference to the introduction also raises the question of the ultimate reason for Job's misfortunes. G-d engages in a conversation with ""the satan"" (literally - the prosecutor), who claims that Job is only so righteous due to his good fortune (Job was initially a rich man with many children who apparently wanted for nothing). G-d grants the satan free reign to hurt Job as he wishes, so long as he doesn't kill him. Thus, Job's sufferings seem to be a form of test: will Job's faith and goodness persevere in the face of extreme suffering?

If one presumes the existence of an afterlife, then many of these problems can be resolved with relative ease...

Myspace Re-Post #1: Brief Update: Live Performances &c.

Note: Reposted from my now-defunct Myspace blog, where it was originally posted on February 26th, 2006. Moving forward, I will be numbering my Myspace Re-Posts to reflect the original chronological ordering of their posting. This post was modestly edited to improve grammar, punctuation and spelling.

Can I just say last night rocked? My band played a gig on campus (did I mention I'm in a band? We're called Red Heifer, and we play a mix of Jewish and secular originals and covers). Small crowd, very relaxed setting, but the audience was very attentive. Of course I was pretty buzzed (I've yet to publicly perform without alcohol in my bloodstream), but that always helps. Some songs we played included a slowed down reggae version of Matisyahu's ""King Without a Crown"" which was well received, and a three-song Elvis medley which the crowd LOVED.

It's getting to be a problem, really. The most consistently well-received song(s) I ever play are Elvis. People really dig my King impression. Problem is, they're all three-chord wonders, very short, and you kinda get sick of them pretty quickly. and, if you know me at all, you probably know that there's a whole shitload of bands and artists I like better than Elvis (nothing against him, just, y'know...). See my profile - he doesn't even appear amidst, what, thirty-five bands?

Regardless. We also played one of my originals, called ""Part of the Game,"" which features embarrassingly bad lyrics about personal anguish. Thing is, apparently I'm not much of a lyricist. In fact, I have a number of songs backlogged, waiting for me to add lyrics.

So that was the concert. Lots of fun. I got praised for my vocal skills, and chatted with the organizers and other bands. Then I met up with these other kids and we went back and watched a movie.

Doesn't sound like much, but here's the back story: I met a really cute girl this weekend with high potential. She was in town over Shabbos visiting one of her friends who's a visiting student from Stern. So we hung out for a while at this little get together Friday night, and then she pretty muched disappeared the next day. she was gonna come to my show, along with a few of my friends, but their car got towed in Brookline. and she was leaving town the next day...

So those were the people I ended up watching a movie with, and maybe now you see the significance. we got to hang out a bit more...we'll see how things develop from here on out. gotta figure out how to lure her back to Cambridge (her friend should be helpful in that endeaver, I hope).

Well, there's other stuff going on in my life, too, but this is already a rather epic post. Let me conclude with this amusing anecdote: We have a new Rabbi at hillel this year. He's, umm...chill. like all his friends have pothead written all over them, he digs carlebach, and each friday night he leads a ""shabbos breathing"" session in the middle of dinner at hillel. get the picture?

So Matisyahu rolled through here two weeks ago (to the day) and hung out at chabad for a while. I went to that, and ended up going to the concert on the spur of the moment. Good show, very surreal, but that's not the point. This is the point: at the very end of the show, I'm chilling in the back with a very pretty little freshwoman (she told one guy we were together to get him to buzz off) and Matisyahu's winding down his show. Just as the final number is finished, I see (and can still see) my hillel rabbi get on the stage and dive into the crowd. it was totally nuts! and the worst part is, the crowd didn't even catch him...heh heh. he's okay, folks, really. but man...I bet your rabbi doesn't act like that.

Ok, well peace out y'all. Thanks to those who've hit me up with a comment or message. and Perl, if you're reading this, why is it so shocking that I should be on Myspace? I'll have you know I'm quite the facebook, er, enthusiast (we have another word for it, but I won't defame myself). 377 Harvard friends and counting...plus Donni ordered me to get on myspace. and it was featured on the daily show (along with facebook)! so, nu, what's the surprise?

ok, have a good whatever-it-is-you're-having,

Chi-town Shim