Good Cosmic Weather

What got me all hopped up on music lately was seeing Jeekoos and Zulu at Resonate. It turns out that the Zulu MC almost didn't do that early morning set. But being the hard-working guy he is, he drove a family member home, then came back to the party, all just to keep that 4am vibe alive for us.

Not long after, the Illmeasures crew demolished Sonotheque for the Resonate Reunion party. My life is forever changed! And now I bow down to the mighty sub bass.

You know, those quantum physics / chaos theory discussions, about how infinitesimally small changes in the position of particles cause massive events in the human world-- it's really a sort of model (or even analogy), in a way, for the fact that human free will does impact the universe. I have to wonder if taking my recycling out is worth it sometimes-- but not all of us can save the world first-hand, so if we don't believe that "every bit counts", we are probably in existential trouble.

When it comes to effecting the world positively through music, our local Chicago dubstep militia-- including Phaded, Cringer, Jeekoos, DJ C, Zulu-- are on solid ground. I was looking at Kid Kameleon's page (http://www.kidkameleon.com/); he is rounding up the best of the scene, and gives Zulu and C shout-outs-- and anyone who is "sensitive" to the music wavelengths of the local time/space continuum can discern that Kid Kameleon knows what is going on!

A lot of people get hostile when they see that some famous actor or musician (e.g. Bono, George Clooney) is dabbling in politics or taking a stand for some cause. They say-- "what does he know about it? He's an actor. He's a singer."

As if our more "evil" politicians (you know who you are, does your name rhyme with "mush" or "lamey"?) know more about the issues than we do! In most cases, it isn't about "facts" and secret information known only to the privileged few-- it's about "values"-- to use a loaded word. Values like filling your pockets with illbegotten corporate cash!

I'm one of those people who has come to believe that music and culture really is the way to change the world. It trickles down from the haughty ivory-tower hipster world to the average Joe's world after a while (or, in the alternative, it is made by one of the average Joe's in the first place). And it offers an alternative way to live and think about things. An alternative to being placated by corporate bribes of TV and fast food and fake-looking suburban housing. Once the alternative is truly put out there, the actual choice is a no-brainer, and progress is inevitable. I've seen it happen to my red-state-style friends back out in the countryside where I grew up.

Of course, the whole point is that music is an end-in-itself. I'm not saying that music needs to be political-- just that it needs to be RADICAL (as in awesome)! Reading Kid Kameleon's site caused me to learn about the background of the Toneburst collective (DJ C-- I'm glad Chicago got this Harvard import), as well as a bunch of sweet chiptune (I'm feeling it!). The world is beautiful right now; it's Spring, and the underground music scene is blowing minds, possibly more than ever. The ingenuity and passion I see gives me hope for the world. Respect!