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[BUY (or steal - if it truly is 'punk' they aint trippin') this album.]
Growing up as a mixed heritage Japanese/white kid in Richmond Public schools (how many f*cking times I am going to begin a post with this f*cking line??? FML =P) made it difficult at times to admit that I was into anything other than 2Pac, E-40, Mac Mall, Mac Dre, etc. I remember that it was even hard at times to admit to folks that I listened to East Coast rap (Wu-Tang, Biggie, Hov, Nas), let alone R&B like BoyzIImen, Jodeci, etc. In other words admitting to anyone but my closest friends that I stole my brother’s Green Day – Dookie CD, and knocked that sh*t constantly when it came out, felt pretty much out of the question (unless I wanted my masculinity/Hip-Hop/working-class/”of-color” status questioned, and looking the way I did, that was already on its way or happening to a certain degree).
In any case, I am no longer riding the AC Transit to middle school, readying my brain to go numb in case violence goes down; no longer preparing myself to give up money, shoes or clothing (or take a savage beating to keep them); no longer drinking/chiefing until I can’t remember who I am; AND no longer feeling sorry for myself about any of these things. =)
With that said, it is with this self-evaluation/autoethnography, that I state here on my silly, insignificant, microscopic blog, regardless of whether it makes me a “fruity-middleclass-whiteboy-punk-b*tch” or not: I LOVE GREEN DAY. =)
[Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown]
Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown:
Born into Nixon, I was raised in hell.
A welfare child where the teamsters dwell.
The last one born, the first one to run.
My town was blind from the refinery sun.My generation is zero.
I never made it as a working class hero.21st century breakdown.
I once was lost but never was found.
I think I’m losing what’s left of my mind
To the 20th century deadline.I was made of poison and blood.
Condemnation is what I understood.
Videogames of the tower’s fall
Homeland security could kill us all.We are the class of thirteen.
Born in the era of humility.
We are the desperate and in the decline.
Raised by the bastards of 1969.My name is ‘no-one’, the long lost son.
Born on the 4th of July.
Raised in the era of heroes and cons.
Left me for dead or alive.I am a nation, a worker or pride.
My debt to the status quo.
The scars on my hands are a means to an end.
It’s all that I have to show.I swallowed my pride
and I choked on my faith
I’ve given my heart and my soul
I’ve broken my fingers
and lied through my teeth
the pillar of damage control
I’ve been to the edge
and I’ve thrown the bouquet
of flowers left over the grave
I sat in the waiting room
wasting my time
and waiting for judgment dayI Praise Liberty
The freedom to obey
It’s the song that strangles me
Well, don’t cross the lineDream, American dream.
I can’t even sleep.
from the light’s early dawn
scream, America scream.
Believe what you see
from heroes and cons.
I’ve been slippin’. Skimpin’ on my pimpin’. Slackin’ on my mackin’. Looking back, it appears that my constant quest for the truth about the roots of power and powerlessness in America, my grandparents being imprisoned during WWII for being of Japanese ancestry, my black/brown friends and family being harassed and abused by police, combined with my spending the majority of my childhood around working-class men of color, worked in my internalizing an essentialist notion, that white people were inherently, and genetically predisposed to being…well, wack. =P
As with ALL essentialisms, this is wrong. And while I am able to understand how any person of color whose life has been burdened violently/explicitly or even slightly/implicitly by racism, could reflect some of the hatred bestowed upon them, back at the source of power/domination, it becomes in my opinion, counter-intuitive of me to believe that my people (wow, that’s hella f*cking hard to say =P) have “soul-lessness” encoded into their DNA strands.
I think in the long run, I love Green Day because they challenge so many of the internalized essentialisms I have about white American men in my head. While I benefit from “whiteness,” I have never enjoyed white privilege, in that as long as I can remember, I have never lived a day without being forced to think about race/ethnicity. To me, white privilege means going through your entire day without being reminded that you “don’t belong.” I have yet to feel “normal” in 27 years living this beautiful country. While these dudes are far from perfect, when I listen to Green Day I hear 3 people express their souls honestly, while simultaneously making me feel like maybe, just maybe, I’m not crazy after all and this country is actually on a one-way ticket to an American Eulogy.
[Green Day - 21 Guns]
Now don’t get me wrong. I do NOT believe that white, heterosexual, middle-class and/or wealthy people who speak out against injustice, deserve more, or even equal accolades than people who do it out of a more blatant necessity because of the way oppression directly affects their lives. I DO believe however, that to completely disregard and write-off those who work to combat oppression because they happen to be privileged by race, ethnicity, gender, class, sexuality, etc. is not necessarily the best option on the table.
But at the same time…
If someone is forced by necessity to keep up certain appearances constantly so that people with power and influence won’t de-humanize them, I can see how it might be difficult to see people who look like this, as allies…
[Classy.]
You just might have to take their word for it. =P
[Green Day - Letterbomb]
Green Day – Letterbomb:
Nobody likes you…
Everyone left you…
They’re all out without you…
Having fun…Where have all the bastards gone?
The underbelly stacks up ten high
The dummy failed the crash test
Collecting unemployment checks
Like a flunkie along for the rideWhere have all the riots gone
As your city’s motto gets pulverized?
What’s in love is now in debt
On your birth certificate
So strike the fucking match to light this fuse!The town bishop is an extortionist
And he don’t even know that you exist
Standing still when it’s do or die
You better run for your fucking lifeIt’s not over ’till you’re underground
It’s not over before it’s too late
This city’s burning
It’s not my burden
It’s not over before it’s too lateThere’s nothing left to analyze
Where will all the martyrs go when the virus cures itself?
And where will we all go when it’s too late?And don’t look back
You’re not the Jesus of Suburbia
The St. Jimmy is a figment of
Your father’s rage and your mother’s love
Made me the Idiot AmericaIt’s not over ’till you’re underground
It’s not over before it’s too late
This city’s burning
It’s not my burden
It’s not over before it’s too lateShe said I can’t take this place
I’m leaving it behindWell she said I can’t take this town
I’m leaving you tonight…
Are you locked up in a world that’s been planned out for you? Are you feeling like a social tool without a use? Scream at me until my ears bleed. I’m taking heed just for you…
-Green Day
COLINRESPONSE
[If you don't already, know about Tonedeff]
[Tonedeff - Porcelain (right-click & "save-target-as" to DL)]
In my study of all things Hip-Hop this year, especially in regards to hypermasculinity and an inability to show any vulnerability at all in Rap music, it’s always a pleasant surprise to see dudes who are hella nice on the mic, and simultaneously able to wear their hearts on their sleeves (a la ‘Pac Shakur). This song is a few years old but still dope as f*ck.
We’re all just little kids with scarred hearts from other kids who think they’re older than they really are…
senbei
[story via AsianWeek.]
It is with great sadness to announce that Professor Emeritus Ronald Takaki passed away on the evening of May 26th, 2009. He is survived by his wife, Carol Takaki, his three children Dana, Troy, and Todd Takaki, and his grandchildren.
Ron Takaki was one of the most preeminent scholars of our nation’s diversity, and considered “the father” of multicultural studies. As an academic, historian, ethnographer and author, his work helped dispel stereotypes of Asian Americans. In his study of multicultural people’s history in America, Takaki seeked to unite Americans, today and in the future, with each other and with the rest of the world.
He was a professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught over 20,000 students during 34 years of teaching.
Born in 1939, Professor Takaki was the grandson of immigrant Japanese plantation workers in Hawaii. He graduated from the College of Wooster, Ohio, in 1961. Six years later, after receiving his Ph.D. in American history from UC Berkeley, Takaki went to UCLA to teach its first Black history course.
As a Professor, Takaki hoped that his students would learn that skills of critical thinking and effective writing could be used in a revolutionary way. Epistemology, critical thinking, or in Takaki’s words “how do you know, you know, what you know about the America and the world you live in?” was a question Takaki posed to his students to challenge the way they looked at history, current policies, and even life.
In 1972, Professor Takaki returned to Berkeley to teach in the newly instituted Department of Ethnic Studies. His comparative approach to the study of race and ethnicity provided the conceptual framework for the B.A. program and the Ph.D. program in Comparative Ethnic Studies as well as for the university’s multicultural requirement for graduation, known as the American Cultures Requirement.
The Berkeley faculty has honored Professor Takaki with a Distinguished Teaching Award.
Takaki has lectured in Japan, Russia, Armenia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Austria, and South Africa.
He has debated Nathan Glazer and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. on issues such as affirmative action and multicultural education.
Takaki is a fellow of the Society of American Historians; its executive secretary, Mark Carnes stated that Takaki “has re-shaped American history.”
In 1997, Professor Takaki helped President Bill Clinton write his major speech on race, “One America in the 21st Century.”
Professor Takaki was the author of 12 books. Iron Cages: Race and Culture in 19th Century America has been critically acclaimed. Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans has been selected by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the best 100 non-fiction books of the 20th century, and A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America is read on college campuses across the country and has over half a million copies in print.
AsianWeek will be running a series of articles on honoring and remembering Ronald Takaki on AsianWeek.com. If you would like to contribute with written pieces, pictures, or videos, feel free to contact Beleza Chan at belezachan@gmail.com.
_______
Rest In Power, Takaki Sensei.
Thank you for loving, working and fighting for us.
COLINRESPONSE
[seriously.]
[f*cking hilarious. via NahRight.]
I’m feelin’ the new Eminem Relapse album real tough. I’ve always been a fan of this man despite his childish antics and outlandish, problematic syntax (Hip-Hop in general tends to run this gamut).
I go back and forth from trying to smile, laugh and be silly in this short life, fully acknowledging my insgnificance; to fighting my hardest to make tomorrow look better for the current babies of this world, as well as the ones to come (including mine own!). I see Eminem juxtaposing these two frames of reference a lot thru his music, and his transparency (even when immensely ig’nant) is refreshing to me.
For instance, “Insane” speaks in a very distrubing/sobering/authentic way to the ways in which sexual abuse of children plays out in their futures, and also is happening every single day. Also, if this song is derived from lived experience:
1. It explains A LOT about why this man is the way he is.
2. I’m glad he’s still alive and in this good of shape.
Peep:
[Eminem - Insane]
Relapse reminds me of my favorite Eminem record, The Slim Shady LP, in that he is literally documenting his descent into madness. While not as raw (in the literal sense) as his first LP, Relapse offers a very similar expression of equal amounts “I don’t give a flying f*ck” & a concise introspection that shows he has thought out (very efficiently) what he needs to say to get a reaction from listeners. Regardless of whether you like his music or not, I can guarantee he’ll get a reaction.
Check Marshall take u to hell and back on “Infinite” from 1994:
[Eminem - Infinite (right-click & "save-target-as" to DL)]
WHITE AMERICA: Eminem & BRIEF thoughts on Asher Roth
ATL Rapper Killer Mike said some pretty profound sh*t when asked about his thoughts on Eminem and Hip-Hop in regards to whiteness and cultural appropriation. He stated basically that what he saw as defining Eminem against other white rappers/musicians in general was that Eminem, regardless of all the hardships he’s faced in his life, rarely wallows in self-pity. Killer Mike said that when he heard most white “emo” artists, he hears a great deal of in self-pity, combined with somewhat of an inability to notice the hardships that people other than themselves are dealing with.
The concept of whiteness has never been something Eminem has dodged or attempted to leave unaddressed. While I could probably name 10,000,000 songs made by 2Pac, Nas, Lupe, Jay, P.E., OutKast, etc. about race in America, Eminem’s “White America” is one of the most profound songs I have ever heard about whiteness, that wasn’t made by a person of color. Although a little over the top, and complete with a somewhat annoying chrous of Eminem screaming “White America!” at the top of his lungs, this song is filled with razor sharp introspection in regards to the ways in which whiteness is at once a social construct that benefits/privileges certain people at the expense of others, and also is something that needs to examine itself in the mirror for its ghastly, violent imperfections.
Wow…
[Eminem - White America (right-click & "save target as" to DL)]
[Intro]
America!! Hahaha! We love you!
How many people are proud to be citizens of this beautiful country of ours?
The stripes and the stars for the rights that men have died for to protect
The women and men who have broke their necks for the freedom of speech
the United States government has sworn to uphold..
(Yo, I want everybody to listen to the words of this song) .. or so we’re told[Eminem]
I never woulda dreamed in a million years I’d see
so many motherfuckin people, who feel like me
Who share the same views and the same exact beliefs
It’s like a fuckin ARMY marchin in back of me
So many lives I touched, so much anger aimed
in no particular direction, just sprays and sprays
And straight through your radio waves, it plays and plays
’til it stays stuck in your head, for days and days
Who woulda thought; standin in this mirror bleachin my hair
with some peroxide, reachin for a t-shirt to wear
that I would catapult to the forefront of rap like this?
How could I predict my words would have an impact like this?
I must’ve struck a chord with somebody up in the office
Cause Congress keep tellin me, I ain’t causin nuthin but problems
And now they’re sayin I’m in trouble with the government – I’m lovin it!
I shoveled shit all my life, and now I’m dumpin it on[Chorus 2X: Eminem]
White America! I could be one of your kids
White America! Little Eric looks just like this
White America! Erica loves my shit
I go to TRL; look how many hugs I get![Eminem]
Look at these eyes, baby blue, baby just like yourself
If they were brown Shady lose, Shady sits on the shelf
But Shady’s cute, Shady knew Shady’s dimples would help
Make ladies swoon baby (ooh baby!) Look at my sales
Let’s do the math – if I was black, I woulda sold half
I ain’t have to graduate from Lincoln High School to know that
But I could rap, so fuck school, I’m too cool to go back
Gimme the mic, show me where the fuckin studio’s at
When I was underground, no one gave a fuck I was white
No labels wanted to sign me, almost gave up I was like
Fuck it – until I met Dre, the only one to look past
Gave me a chance aand I lit a FIRE up under his ass
Helped him get back to the top, every fan black that I got
was probably his in exchange for every white fan that he’s got
Like damn; we just swapped – sittin back lookin at shit, wow
I’m like my skin is it startin to work to my benefit now? It’s..[Chorus]
[Eminem]
See the problem is, I speak to suburban kids
who otherwise woulda never knew these words exist
Whose moms probably woulda never gave two squirts of piss
’til I created so much motherfuckin turbulence!
Straight out the tube, right into your living rooms I came
And kids flipped, when they knew I was produced by Dre
That’s all it took, and they were instantly hooked right in
And they connected with me too because I looked like them
That’s why they put my lyrics up under this microscope
Searchin with a fine tooth comb, it’s like this rope
waitin to choke; tightenin around my throat
Watchin me while I write this, like I don’t like this (Nope!)
All I hear is: lyrics, lyrics, constant controversy, sponsors working
round the clock to try to stop my concerts early, surely
Hip-Hop was never a problem in Harlem only in Boston
After it bothered the fathers of daughters startin to blossom
So now I’m catchin the flack from these activists when they raggin
Actin like I’m the first rapper to smack a bitch or say faggot, shit!
Just look at me like I’m your closest pal
The posterchild, the motherfuckin spokesman now for..[Chorus]
[Outro]
So to the parents of America
I am the derringer aimed at little Erica to attack her character
The ringleader of this circus of worthless pawns
Sent to lead the march right up to the steps of Congress
and piss on the lawns of the White House
To burn the flag and replace it with a Parental Advisory sticker
To spit liquor in the faces of this democracy of hypocrisy
Fuck you Ms. Cheney! Fuck you Tipper Gore!
Fuck you with the free-est of speech
this Divided States of Embarassment will allow me to have:
Fuck you!I’m just playin America, you know I love you. =)
Let’s talk about Asher Roth…
…
…
…
I’m not a fan.
It’s not because I think he sucks. I actually think he’s good at rap. I’ve listened to his first mixtape the whole way thru and even gave his album a chance. But…I’m not a fan.
To me, Hip-Hop is a place where those who have experienced some form of oppression and injustice due to no fault of their own, can come to offer their voice in a voiceless situation. While I definitely respect Asher Roth for never pretending to be something he’s not (the boy twittered: “I’m kickin it with Nappy-headed hoes,” for God’s sake – how’s that for honesty? =T), I don’t feel that he has been silenced in the same way that people of color, women, LGBTQ, poor and/or working-class folks have. It is my belief and personal opinion that this is what most people who are not feeling Asher Roth’s presence in Hip-Hop are trying to put their finger on, who are unable to specifically voice what irks them about him. But then again that’s my opinon; I could be wrong. If Roth’s only tie to Hip-Hop is that he is able to rhyme words together cleverly, and his white, suburban, raised middle-class status appeals to people who go to the store and/or itunes to buy records, this becomes a new “Elvis-ication” of Hip-Hop.
However, this phenomenon is fundamentally different from that of an Eminem in that Eminem not only addresses the fact that his whiteness privileges his sales, but that Eminem grew up with no father and was raised in a trailer by a mother whose addiction to drugs made her “presence” (from what I can tell) almost as non-existent as Eminem’s father. To me, Hip-Hop has been about being counter-hegemonic and challening systems of domination based on essentialist thinking. Eminem counters hegemony. Asher Roth does not. It is for this reason that I listen to/hear Eminem, & do NOT f*ck with Asher Roth.
Go buy Eminem’s record. I can’t promise you’ll like it, but I guarantee he’ll get a reaction outta you!
The one man who’ll drive off of the grand canyon, in a grand am and land in it hand-standin’…
COLINRESPONSE
p.s.
[I was skeptical at first, but in 2009: He's baaaaaaaaack! J-Bloom showed me.]
Wow. These 3 weeks away from blogging/myspace/facebook have been such a sobering experience. I’m done with finals now and tho I’ve returned to ColinResponse today, I doubt I will be devoting as much time now, as I used to on the internet.
And on that note, here’s a magnificently random blast from the past in the form of Bobby Valetino’s old teen group, Mista. This sh*t brings me back boy, I tell ya…
[Mista - Blackberry Molasses]
I bet u aint know Bobby V. could get deep like this right?!?!
CHORUS:
Blackberry Molasses
One of the things that never change
You gotta keep pushin on
The sun dont rain all the time
Theres gonna be some heart ache and painWoke up Sunday morning
Gotta little bad news today…ummm
They say my life aint worth living
And time is slowly ticking away
Dont think that Im goin crazy
Cause thoughts be runnin through my head
I know I gotta be strong
Gotta hold on
Sometimes Id rather give up instead
Seems like Im better off dead…CHORUS
Dont tell me how to live my life
After all that we’ve been through
Dont wanna live out your hardships
Cause Ive been there myself
A time or two
Still life goes on
If you just keep movin on
So many things to survive
Wont you realize
Theres no such place as paradise
At least in my eyesCHORUS x2
stay Resilient my peoples.
C
Peace world!
If you have read this blog often or even at all, I sincerely thank you for stopping by and caring even for a split second about me and my thoughts process. I’m finna go off on a bit of a retreat from the blog/social networking sites in efforts to strengthen my closest relationships with my friends/famlily/loved ones while simultaneously ensuring that I finish my first year of grad school in the strongest, most clear-eyed/minded way possible.
I think in searching for/maintaining human connection by way of the internets, I strayed from putting my full, concentrated efforts and attention toward those who see, love, respect and appreciate me despite my plethora of shortcomings.
If you know me personally and are hitting up the blog to see what’s new in my world, I BEG of you: give me a call (or at least a personal email)! =) I’d be honored and humbled to hear from and check-in with you.
Gone ’til I’m 27/summer,
ColinMasashiEhara
p.s.
How does one keep from “growing old inside”? Surely only in community. The only way to make friends with time is to stay friends with people…. Taking community seriously not only gives us the companionship we need, it also relieves us of the notion that we are dispensable.
-Robert McAfee Brown (my grandaddy)
[YEESH.]
[Over before it started...]
Damn. I sincerely hope Ricky aint brain damaged. Manny made QUICK work of the Brittish brawler. Not much you really need to say other than, “when is Pacquiao vs. Maywether Jr. going down?”
Manny being Manny,
C
p.s. Score one for API masculinity.
