Flossing

Second Best Neil Ever

Thesis

If you read for five hours straight, the rest of your day is going to be spent braindead (even if, or especially if, you still have hours of readings left). That's right, we're approaching the typical pre-midterms madness. This happens to me every semester. After five weeks of absolute inactivity, each class unleashes a perfect storm of work. O, Spring Break - you cannot come too soon. At least there was a huge event tonight to distract me from my harrowing night.

2011 GRAMMY Awards

Totally forget to tune in. Lame. Don't worry, fam, I won't be so quick to miss the Oscars. Anyway, I heard Biebs didn't get some award. Too bad. I love that kid (to the point of rocking his haircut). The only sights I managed to see were on the Red Carpet:

> Katy Perry's grandma

> Lady Gaga in an egg

So. I... Uh...

Worst Thing Ever

Tried flossing again. It doesn't work. Thanks to my "permanent" retainers (are they really going to the grave with me?), flossing is really difficult. Like, I can't get it to work for any of my incisors. Not that my canines are doing much better. My teeth were big to begin with, but now they look scary. Luckily, it's not really noticeable when I smile. My lack of flossing is also the cause of one of my greatest fears - that my gums are going to recede away and my mouth will just be filled with bone. Freaky, right? It happened in a nightmare.

Anyway, I had the pleasure of undergoing periodontal surgery two years ago. Homeboy cut a piece of gum from the roof of my mouth and stitched it under one of my lower incisors, thus restoring the previously-recessive gumline down there. This whole ordeal was hella terrible.

What I don't want is for this to happen again. So, I've got to conquer my dentophobia and get myself taken care of. Any day now. Before that happens, I'll probably get a haircut and do other things.

The Dark Side

In last week's post, I blogged about Lil B, The Based God. He's still great. I no longer declare him "The Greatest Rapper Ever," but that's because I only bestow that label upon my latest rap obsession. Well, lucky for y'all, I've got a new one.

His name is Tyler, The Creator (notice a pattern?). He's getting a lot of hipster attention at the moment, and I'm not going to pretend I didn't jump on his bandwagon because of that one video.* Anyway, Tyler is like the vilest dude around. The terrifying part is that I don't think it's an act. And it's not some "Hard In The Paint" vile, it's like... Actually evil. Well, that's a dumb way to look at it. More aptly, he releases challenging work. He seemingly condones rape and murder, and the subject of almost every song is either a "faggot" or "bitch." The result of this is that it's not fun. Or it shouldn't be, but is.

He is a supremely talented rapper, and just as good of a producer. He applies his technical skill to painting a portrait of today's screwed world. The power and honesty behind the music is captivating. It's undeniable. Despite this, the only way to really stand the lyrical content is to confront it. There's no ignoring the themes. To be sure, all of this was being discussed when Eminem was shocking folks so many years ago. Em is no longer relevant though, because his success has reduced him to formula - he can't really provoke anymore.

So, again, Tyler is so effective because he seems to be rapping from a real, self-aware and self-critical place. The absurdism with which he infuses his nihilism is refreshing, if only because you can see some sort of crack in his possible facade. The music is downright incendiary and gorgeous too. If you're interested in looking through someone else's headspace (and subsequently your own), here's some territory to consider.

Tyler's a part of the greater collective ODD FUTURE WOLF GANG KILL THEM ALL - or OFWGKTA or Odd Future. This troupe has the potential to be our generation's Wu. They're insanely smart, dedicated to their music, and desperate to get to the top. All of their music is available on their website for free. They're not quite Lil B prolific, but they've got as much swag. Check it out (with the aforementioned reservations).

But, aren't you...

Yeah, I'm still a feminist. Listening to Tyler and OFWGKTA has been a difficult exercise, for as much as the passion and reality is awe-inspiring, the lyrical content is deplorable. I can sorta justify it on the grounds that it's inspiring deep reflection about rap and sexuality. But still, they're embodying a sickening emblem. Do they consider what this means? How much is fantasy? Does it matter? I just read Catherine MacKinnon's "Sexuality," in which she bluntly states, "Men often rape women, it turns out, because they want to and enjoy it." Is it admirable for Tyler and OFWGKTA to so unabashedly affirm this truth? Rather than explaining away or denying this tragic reality, they confront it head-on and do not allow the listener to ignore it. Odd Future denaturalizes the rapist figure, which MacKinnon asserts society has labeled "a separate species." In this, they're holding themselves and embodied men accountable for the crime. Not exactly noble, but maybe useful if properly assessed. Or maybe this is just all-too typical, despicable, and misogynistic music that valorizes an unglamorous human crisis.

Um, let's not talk about rap for a second.

Personally, I'm still very much in love with feminism and its subsequent possibilities. My self-declared feminism has gotten a largely negative reaction out of folks and has been the cause of much self-entitled frustration. Even so, this has allowed me to examine what kind of feminism I actually understand and can enact, and what I'm not yet qualified to argue. Folks are helping me discover who I am as a feminist.

CONCERNING MUSIC THAT ISN'T DIVISIVE CALIFORNIA RAP

I'm still listening to it.

As of late, lots of:

> Erik Satie

> Talking Heads (specifically, "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)"

> Panda Bear

> Tim Hecker

> James Blake

I assure you, I'm not always listening to tunes that make me sad. Though, the other night I did have an emotionally-resonant encounter with Joanna Newsom's "Does Not Suffice." Dang. She hits hard, fam. So does Katy Perry, though, if we're to provide a conversely effective female artist.

Valentine's Day

The girlfriend and I celebrated early this year. We re-enacted last year's (First) Date at Siam House. I got my usual 26, and she got a new dish, 76. Our server was quite amazing and hella funny. We were seated beside an adorable baby. Altogether, it was the best meal I've had in this young year. We then stopped by Campus Candy, where the GF got some candy (duh). After giving up on a too-delayed bus ride, we walked back to Collins, finished Freaks & Geeks and ate lots of junk food. Bliss.

A side note, I teared up or cried in each and every one of those final three Freaks & Geeks episodes. That's some good stuff right there. If it weren't for Arrested Development, this would be my favorite show.

Another side note, the GF is great.

Conclusions

I went all over the place with this post. Forgive me.

It's okay that I spent an hour blogging rather than doing homework. I've spent enough time freaking out, and some reflection did me good. Balanced out my humours. I'll be sleeping soon. That'll be great. I'm totally triumphing over this hectic week, fam. Love y'all.

* THAT ONE VIDEO

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that he's 19.