I promised I would work harder on this blog but no such luck. Things have been stupid busy between work and being outta town and all of that jazz.
I went to St. Louis this past weekend to go see Ryan Adams play. I love this guy. I was really close to selling my guitar until I saw him perform. I admire him a lot. He is gifted and reads comic books. What is not to like. He also has an odd streak about his art that I find peculiar to him. He makes his set list out before hand. He does not do requests. You can yell and yell and yell all you want at him and you will be coyly told off. He does what he wants to. You can tell from his ridiculous blog that he likes his fans but at the end of the day he does not seek their approval only their help to allow him to keep doing what he loves to do. This is not seen very much these days.
Here is the set list from the show:
Set 1:
1. Cobwebs (everyone is standing)
2. Everybody Knows
3. Come Pick Me Up
4. Wonderwall
5. Fix It
6. La Cienega Just Smiled
7. Goodnight Rose
8. The Sun Also Sets
9. Oh My God Whatever Etc
10. Rescue Blues
11. Magick
12. Desire
13. Let it Ride
14. Peaceful Valley
Set 2:
15. Crossed Out Name
16. Afraid Not Scared
17. Bartering Lines
18. Love Is Hell
19. Shakedown
20. Natural Ghost
21. Two
22. Sinking Ship
23. How Do You Keep Love Alive
24. The End
25. Off Broadway
26. Cold Roses
27. I See Monsters

This brings me to another thing. So, while I was in St. Louis my good friend E had a piece published in the New York Times. This piece was then much derided on the site gawker (such a source of self-satisfied buffoonery can only be rivaled by the site Pitchforkmedia.com). I agree with E’s point. The vast quantities of information that our fingertips is no longer that amazing to people but the consequences of being able to access that information while standing on a street corner in Manhattan from a machine more advanced than the commincators from the original Star Trek series has yet to be fully understood. The irony of all of this is that I was reading all of this on my iPod touch over a Bloody Mary in the Del Mar Loop are of St. Louis right after looking up directions to get on the interstate. Oh well….

I suppose I should try and take on the interview I mentioned earlier. Zizek is clearly insane and not in the good way I suppose. The part I find most fascinating about this interview is the part where he admits to something I think that a great many philosophers concede in their darkest of moments. It is similar to the atheist who makes up in the night and secretly dispels his nightmares because he knows that he is disingenuous in his beliefs.

Interviewer: What or who is the love of your life?
Zizek: Philosophy. I secretly think reality exists so we can speculate about it.

Is this not something we all deep down know? But the fact is that it must be secret we hide from our learned friends for fear of ridicule or being subjected to diatribes and syllogisms. I will point towards one more comment that Zizek makes.

Interviewer: What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Zizek: That life is a stupid, meaningless thing that has nothing to teach you.

I am not one to usually dismiss things out of hand. I like to consider the weight of a proposition. To hypothesize the statement and test it. But this is a statement that can be thrown out. It is ridiculous and I suppose in some measure the dear Mr. Zizek could be attempting to be, as we say, ironic. But deep down I think that this impulse and the impulse commented upon above coexist in the brains (I hate the word “mind” but it does sound so much less crass than simply saying “brain.”) of many intellectuals. I am just not always sure how one’s “will to believe” can become so eschewed. I guess I continually return to my burned out, used up mantra: there is something about the intellectual climate that I simply do not understand. I also get the feeling that there are others who when confronted by the absurdity of so much that is said can only go along and go home to wonder what the hell is going on. Sometimes the jester stops them and says, “What does that mean?” But that question can make you few friends…

Politics in America:
More of the same from McCain. I am comforted by the numbers (for the first time in almost 10 years but not by McCain’s response to them. To listen to the crowds respond to his speech’s can only remind me of the hate mongering used during the 30’s. Listen to the speeches and the cries of “Coward” and “Traitor” and “Terrorist” that come from the crowds. Watch as McCain quiets the crowds with the call “My friends” and gives them a sly wink. I am done with smugness and winks. I hate to name call but he lies and the worst part is that lies sell. This nothing nobody who reads this blog does not already know. But I think it leaves us still bewildered. I think I am honing in on an answer to all of this but it is not comforting or a pretty picture of the American public…

Questions of the week:
1) If a democracy works correctly is there any real need for civil disobedience?
2) What is your favorite city in the world?

Think about those. I am out of town starting tomorrow early in the AM. I am relying on drive time to think. Nothing is better for the mind than a long autumn drive. Clears the mind and brings contrasts in sharper focus. Maybe I will know what I want to be when I grow up when I get back.

HA!

I have the pretrip jitters I always have before I go somewhere. Luckily I have something to steady my hand and steel my mind.