It bothers me that John concedes nothing to the filth and the violence — or the ubiquitous tone of aggression and arrogance, which he chalks up casually to a matter of taste. These qualities may reflect a portion of society and its ghosts, but I do not believe that they necessarily follow from the instinctive mood of the country — our narcissism, our culture of therapy, as John claims in his article. I say this as someone who respects the artistry of rap — indeed, I grew up with it, and wrote and recited my own lyrics in the backs of high school classrooms — but finds it difficult to access as an adult owing to the tone and subject matter. It baffles me that so many can be so enthusiastic about the whole of the medium, without suspending a certain sensibility — or somehow "othering" the artist.
If it is the case that rap is essentially the spokesman for "what America has become" since the 1960s, then with the same voice that we celebrate rap's poetic depth and innovative glory, we should mourn a culture that has lost much of its capacity for formal writing, and in which braggadocio now masquerades as pride.
While in Bejing, a Chinese taxi driver said that I was a dumb nigger for failing to get out of his vehicle in an industrial area with no lights. You would think that modern technology would have helped transport me and my wife, Dr. Mason, safely to our hotel. The second taxi driver got lost too, just a block away from our hotel. Lol!
Kids started played instruments and started bands when my parents were kids...though neither of my parents ever did that...my generation grew up with video gaming, and the social network of online competition. We do that, the same way kids played instruments and started bands. I play Mario well, and I play guitar badly, maybe this isn’t the best comparison, but ask me which one would I rather be able to do?
No doubt, Maci, time carries on, with or without us. The world is spinning awfully fast these days, and while I like to think that our place in it is informed by individual choices, so much of what actually plays out is about adaptation in the face of enormous social pressures. I worry, for example, that my son will have to choose one day between joining the teenage Borg and being all alone.
On the subject of gaming, which is entirely foreign to me, I was recently stunned to learn what a huge industry it has become, with some colleges now offering esports certificates and related degree programs.
It bothers me that John concedes nothing to the filth and the violence — or the ubiquitous tone of aggression and arrogance, which he chalks up casually to a matter of taste. These qualities may reflect a portion of society and its ghosts, but I do not believe that they necessarily follow from the instinctive mood of the country — our narcissism, our culture of therapy, as John claims in his article. I say this as someone who respects the artistry of rap — indeed, I grew up with it, and wrote and recited my own lyrics in the backs of high school classrooms — but finds it difficult to access as an adult owing to the tone and subject matter. It baffles me that so many can be so enthusiastic about the whole of the medium, without suspending a certain sensibility — or somehow "othering" the artist.
If it is the case that rap is essentially the spokesman for "what America has become" since the 1960s, then with the same voice that we celebrate rap's poetic depth and innovative glory, we should mourn a culture that has lost much of its capacity for formal writing, and in which braggadocio now masquerades as pride.
While in Bejing, a Chinese taxi driver said that I was a dumb nigger for failing to get out of his vehicle in an industrial area with no lights. You would think that modern technology would have helped transport me and my wife, Dr. Mason, safely to our hotel. The second taxi driver got lost too, just a block away from our hotel. Lol!
Kids started played instruments and started bands when my parents were kids...though neither of my parents ever did that...my generation grew up with video gaming, and the social network of online competition. We do that, the same way kids played instruments and started bands. I play Mario well, and I play guitar badly, maybe this isn’t the best comparison, but ask me which one would I rather be able to do?
No doubt, Maci, time carries on, with or without us. The world is spinning awfully fast these days, and while I like to think that our place in it is informed by individual choices, so much of what actually plays out is about adaptation in the face of enormous social pressures. I worry, for example, that my son will have to choose one day between joining the teenage Borg and being all alone.
On the subject of gaming, which is entirely foreign to me, I was recently stunned to learn what a huge industry it has become, with some colleges now offering esports certificates and related degree programs.
I wish I could make music, but instead I play games.