Still Homesick

Missing DC again. Real bad. I remember why I wanted to leave. Outside of government, it's a really small town. Inside government, possibly even worse. It's not a town to live in if you want to feel like you are on the cutting edge of culture. The electronic music scene sucks. Like every city in America, it's always on the edge of getting big without quite getting there. It's gotten really expensive. It's not Chocolate City anymore. H St NE turned from burned-out ghetto to sports-bar shithole so fast that the hipsters it was marketed to never even had a chance to move there. I could barely keep myself apart from self-important interns then, and I imagine it's even worse now. The records stores aren't that great.

But it's the little things, the things I haven't found replacements for, even when I was in New York. The  Kung Pao chicken at City Lights of China (which is not the amazing, but always tasted exactly how I wanted it to). Kramerbooks. Not a great bookstore because they have everything, just because they always had something I wanted to take home. Taking a piss in the bathroom inside the hotel outside of which Reagan got shot. Dukem's Awasi Tibs. DUANGRAT'S!!! The Potomac. Wandering the monuments listening to Slowdive stoned. Random conversations at Pharmacy Bar. Seeing The Rules Of The Game and Battle Of Algiers steps away from the FBI building. Battling tourists on the Metro escalators. Walking up the stairs of the Dupont Circle Metro station just because. Hating Georgetown, but going to Cafe La Ruche anyways. Going to late night, smoke-filled dinners at Bistro Francais, back when smoking was allowed. Spending a Sunday reading the New York Times at the Four Seasons. Watching the Redskins lose so many times. Old Ebbitt. Walking along the GW trail past National and listening to the cabbies talk in thick accents about their distant homelands. Walking less than two miles from my (relatively) affordable appartment to the White House (fuck who lives there, it was fun!). Oh yeah, and visiting my favorite Rothkos or Bacons or Dubuffets before or after a hamburger. Why not? It was free, just like the Truffaut or Antonioni film shown on 35mm the weekend before.  DC might be the most beautiful city in the country. It felt less parochial than New York. But New York is the privilege of being parochial and knowing that people everywhere else actually give a shit.

There was a period. Why did I think life could get better? When I was still living in Virginia but bartending in DC. There was a cab driver. Ali. He used to pick myself and a coworker up every night after work. He gave us a discount because he could depend on our business. My coworker would get dropped off in a northern section of Arlington and then we would head south to Crystal City and grab Pakistani food at 4am at a 24-hour place filled with cabbies heading home. I would get some chicken, some rice, some bread, stuff myself, and get a ride back to Alexandria. Real, real peace.

But so much of it has gone. Chinatown. Convention Center. I remember when downtown had edge to it, when there was mystery. I never got to go the club district that has now been replaced by a baseball stadium in SE. Red! DC Sanctuary! There's so much more. Olsson's. Tower Records Foggy Bottom. The electronic music section. A real one! With Chain Reaction and No-U-Turn. On CD of course.

You know what has happened to cities in the last 15 years. For some reason, I keep thinking that that trend can be escaped, can be outrun. But it's not the case. Family has never been home to me, and every community that I have searched for and found is gone. Sure, the people remain, but what can we do? It's that adult solution of just living one's own life that makes me so sad. The people I've seen at their best, enabled by the support around them, now just taking their diminished place. Is this all that can be? For me too?

DC was when I believed in art most, and also when I gave up. It's just a representation of imagination. I want a new ontology! And I know it comes down to belief. Which is why our current era sucks so much. It's not a lack of things to believe in, just a lack of belief.

DC is beautiful and Brooklyn is fucking ugly, Manhattan is an island for assholes, and I don't think I'll ever quite have what I want. I don't know if I can even define it. But if I have to choose between having no life, having a life that's not quite good enough, and continually torturing myself with a life that doesn't exist... Something is better than nothing. For a time there, for real, I felt, as Audrey Hepburn said in (surprisingly) one of my favorite films, Sabrina, "in the world and of the world". That's not too bad, is it? Is it foolish to want more? Or can I at least keep wanting more while gaining just a little more pleasure from my time?

Of course that time corresponded with the time during which I had the lowest expectations for myself. So what does that mean? That's what I have to figure out before I return.

Or maybe I won't. For fuck's sake, I just want a life again, regardless. Illusions, mystification, romanticization: purpose.

More Curtis

Awesome demo... drumming is good too, actually. Less musicians, more space...

Drummage 1970s 3 of 2

Thought of some more...

Few comments. I just like to dance, dammit!

Eddie Kendricks "Girl, You Need A Change Of Mind" Dave McSparran

Don't know much about the drummer - just going by what AMG says. Nevertheless, nothing special technically, but the feel, the feel, the increase in tempo, the switch to four-on-top... just breathtaking. If you are familiar with the cannons of underground disco and house music, you know this one. It's a favorite of the most influential American DJs ever. Mancuso, Levan, Hardy. Probably Knuckles Siano, Krivit, whoever else, too. I don't know if this record ever made it out of that scene, though. Can't imagine why not. Top 5 soul music track of all time, for sure. Stop not believing me and try moving along. I like Marvin, Stevie, too. But. Speaking of...

Stevie Wonder "As" Greg Brown

Just more great feel here. I really like the way the drummer alternately pushes and follows the music towards greater levels of intensity without ever getting too dominant. Each fill takes things a little higher, but the compulsion to hit too hard is mostly restrained. It's still a ballad, after all, and one by Stevie at that.

Curtis Mayfield "(Don't Worry) If There's Hell Below, We're All Going To Go" Don Simmons

Again, going by AMG here. I believe my copy just lists the musicians and not their roles... Surprised I like this record? Kidding, of course. Almost went for "Move On Up", but the interaction between the bass and the bass drum is really nice here. That little flurry of syncopation on the kick at the end of the bass phrase before the "one" comes around... drives the song forward and gives it the attitude.

Schema

So after re-reading most of The Condition of Postmodernity (Harvey) and finishing Neo-Bohemia (Lloyd), I came up with the following table, which is after a similar, though not equivalent, table by Hassan, quoted by Harvey:

Industrialism---> Post-Industrialism

Material Commodity Production---> Social Value Production (via aesthetics)

Use Value---> Exchange Value

Fordism---> Individualism

Republicans---> Democrats

Biological Antogonisms (apparent)---> Class Antagonisms (hidden)

Nationalism---> Delusional Nationalism

Welfare: preserver of reserve army of labor---> Welfare: legacy

Internal Market---> External Market

Alienated Subject---> Self-fuffilment

Mass Politics---> Lifestyle Politics

Group Actualization/Ambition---> Self-actualization/Ambition

Oppositional Culture---> Commodified Culture (at base, ie Baudrillard, simulation without simulated)

Fixed Accumulation---> Flexible Accumulation
Reality precedes Perception---> Perception precedes Reality

Hard Control ---> Soft Control

"Masculinity"---> "Femininity"

Structural Critique---> Psychology

Underclass: reserve army of manual labor---> Underclass: reserve army of aesthetic labor

Mental Discipline---> Social Discipline

Physical Strength---> Physical Stamina

Rote---> Creative

Gentrification---> Mediation

Modernism (new space for exploitation)---> Retro (reclamation of old space for re-exploitation)

Working Class---> Middle Class

Love Before Sex---> Sex Before Love

Disciplined Exploitation---> Voluntary Exploitation

Grey Flannel Suit---> Jeans

Blue Collar managed by White Collar---> White Collar managed by No Collar

Poor: "useful idiots"---> Poor: useless

High School---> College

So I don't make any claims for brilliance, for accuracy, for novelty, or anything else when it comes to the above. The table is just something to keep my own thoughts organized., a way of framing the world that is necessarily incomplete because the picture within is so complex. But it did lead me to hypothesize something. Which is that Retro is a structural necessity within the new formation of capital.

Although industrial capitalism can never be eradicated completely given that material commodity production is also what reproduces human existence on its massive scale, as a focus of policy and self-perception, industrial capitalism has receded from the imagination, and even the physical landscape. If I recall correctly, most large American corporations who manufacture goods not only do so offshore, but also sell these goods mostly to non-Americans. A lot of the supposedly "wrong" economic policy practiced recently at the Federal level, especially staring in 2008, seems "wrong" because the person perceiving it be wrong does not understand the reality described above and sees the period that could be  described as the "Fordist social contract" aka the welfare state as somehow being a proper equilibrium, when in fact it was, at the time, a necessity for the perpetuation of capital accumulation, not a concession to social justice by the elite. Regardless, that "concession" is no longer necessary. The internal market is no longer a growth market (in fact, it has been based on the abuse of credit for decades, credit that may never be available again at the previous scale).

So we now have, at least in my perception, two simultaneous capitalist systems. The Industrial system, which, at least in the United States, is now embodied in disinterested manufacturers, who, as noted, no longer need Americans, neither as producers nor consumers, and the former reserve army of labor of this system, who now have no place, neither physically, nor economically, nor culturally, in the new system. The new system, is, of course, the Post-Industrial system. This system, which places a premium on education and cultural fluency, no longer needs the race and gender-based antagonisms of the past because, first, it is not in this new system's benefit to prevent new ideas, new fashions and new aesthetics from developing (the formation of new markets is contingent), but also because the direct exploitation of  the factory has been replaced with indirect exploitation. As Lloyd notes, the creative class generates far more money for real estate speculators, bar owners (taking advantage of virtually free labor and the hipness of the neighborhood in which their businesses operate), and, of course, media conglomerates, than members of the class will ever see. In fact, most are open to this exploitation, invite it even (think of reality TV at the extreme end of this process). There is no selling out anymore, neither as a possibility or as a stigma. Or rather, there is the possibility of feeling served or not served by the new organization, but it is not possible to create and not participate at the same time.

(This is not to say, at all, that "hipsters" suffer like, say, Latino workers at food processing plants. We are talking about relations in capital, not social status and the material conditions of an individual's life.)

*****

So how does this lead to the idea that retro is necessary? Well, it doesn't, at least, it doesn't in terms of what I have written above and how much more needs to be filled in between this paragraph and the last. Maybe I don't quite understand it yet. Maybe I am wrong. Here's what I have so far:

The loss of the alienated subject, structural critique, mass opposition (through the fracturing of markets via flexible accumulation) the loss of biology-based antagonisms (which persist but are no longer "beneficial") which form groups out of necessity, instead of deliberate taste, has caused the production of new cultural material to exploit to come to a standstill (or at least, to become so slow as to not be able to keep pace with the speed of commodification necessary to provide the necessary profits). The structural need for perpetual growth (you gotta spend money to make money) has reopened past forms to exploitation. The new underclass, no longer alienated, no longer antagonistic, only concerned with personal growth, is only too happy to repurpose older cultural product for the new market. This repurposing is the stripping of any referents or cultural baggage that belonged to the older form of social and economic organization.

(I think I am getting at something but can't quite prove the necessity thing. Sometimes I can't type as fast as my brain writes - there's more here but I already forgot it - we'll see if it comes  back to me. I think another important thing to note is that - well, I've felt in myself, and have written about, a real frustration with the way that social issues continue to dominate the mainstream political discourse and I think some of the above has a lot to do with it. Within the new socioeconomic context, a huge swath of gender-, race- and sexuality-based critique seems to have somehow lost its politics, and has become a distraction from deeper issues instead of a view into them. That's not to say that I disagree with the fundamental goals... it's more that the noble language of those movements somehow seems now to be deployed towards less-noble ends. To be brutish about it, I believe that abortion should be legal, but find no solace in the liberal discourse around the issue, which reeks of privilege [in the "new world" there is no figurative poor and uneducated female "victim" upon which to build a moral foundation] and the mediated alienation from the self and the body that is so much a part of the post-industrial mental landscape [the phrase "getting in touch with yourself" seems to me like it has two subjects].)

The broader the generalization, the better!!!

Is it me, or has (white) American music and surrounding critical discourse never really recovered from the turn against psychedelia towards roots in the late 1960s? I don't think the "betrayal" is even really acknowledged or perceived.

Outside of black music, the UK rules my world. I don't think it's a fetishization of the exotic (though I imagine the UK like I imagine a perfect city - small enough to know everything about, large enough to not have to see everyone you know every day - that's the only romanticization). 1965 - 1995. Revolver to Different Class (putting aside electronic music!). For years now, I've tried to get myself into all of the classic 1980s American music that I "should" like. The Replacements, Husker Du, etc. But it all seems strangely parochial to me. We're a parochial country (we won't even notice when the rest of the world doesn't need to care about us anymore). Even Black Flag always seemed like it was concerning itself with a local struggle. LA cops. "My War". I know I'm wrong. Probably it's just the sounds. Maybe it's just that I like reverb? Space?!?! Eventide. Lexicon. Flood, hell yes, Albini, only if you know martial arts.

Say what you will about U2, but I always liked their ambition. The broadness of scope. Could an American band even make Achtung Baby or something equivalent (don't take me too literally here - no more Bonos necessary in this world at this time, I agree)? It's too bad that most of the people who like that record are U2 fans, you know what I mean (because I still think you all are missing something out there - but whatever - I don't even think the people who like it get it or else things would be different now)? All the bands they were inspired by when they made that album are always just going to be "cool kids" bands. Loveless is great but I remember being 13 and feeling like I was in on some joke that excluded everyone else. Like, "don't you know there are nice, melodic pop songs buried underneath the forty layers of guitar?". How much is that knowledge really worth? Nothing. At least those forty layers are nice.

Stravinsky is "urban", too. Do people actually listen to music or do they just notice who is making it?

Small town blues. Everyone here has tattoos and flannel shirts and there are many beards (am I too old to try and look like David Sylvian in 1981? I can't pull off the hair, that's for sure, but maybe I can stop wearing jeans? Grey wool flat-front trousers - punk as fuck - Organization Man is made of straw).

The big downside of the American underground's fear of pop is perhaps the resistance to any sort of totalizing vision. It's just a unique view of life instead of life. And the uniqueness is what is compared and contrasted with other uniqueness. Does it really matter if "life" is correct? Outside of the 1960s, there was Nirvana. And REM (but "Shiny Happy People" sounds like what I hate about politics in a country that imagines there is no class society or self-preserving elite - like maybe if we paint a picture of earth with a caption underneath that says "don't mess with my mother" on a placard and stand outside a nuclear power plant then we can show those corporations and then we can drink some tea afterwards - sencha). And the Talking Heads, too, maybe (I'm not old enough to know). Is that it? For the BIG stuff with BIG ideas, I mean? I don't think Blondie quite makes it. Who else? Fleetwood Mac? But the subject matter is a little different (though I still haven't heard all of Tusk - jesus what do I do with my time?). Foghat! The Wipers deserved better, but probably wouldn't have taken it. See what I mean? Pere Ubu? Big hole in my life, methinks. I hope so.

Perhaps the UK just likes weirdos more (more likely they just have to sell fewer records to have their say). Except we're all special here in America, aren't we?

Entryism is the worst pop ideology, except for all the others. Have I posted that here before? I've been meaning to for a long time.

None of these ideas are new to me. I could have written this a decade ago.

But I need this crap out of my brain and somewhere else.

I may be incorrect. Or worse, boring!

Could you imagine being my editor? If so, you must be getting paid well. Congratulations!

;-P

Tiny Little Addendum

In thinking about last night's post (or this morning's post - bartender hours, you see?), I recalled a word that I used to use often to describe the nature of the malaise, a word that seemed to disappear from my vocabulary but I think is quite apt.

Intransitive.

For those who don't recall, an intransitive verb is a verb without a direct object to refer to contained within the sentence in which it is used. Stretch it out a tiny bit. If a verb is usually an action and object is another word for a point or a reason then you see what I am getting at...

Great Article

Spectacular, really.

Here. From here.

Maybe I'll have something constructive to add tomorrow. Surely, it won't be as insightful or as well-crafted as anything linked-to above. And no, I'm not feeling sorry for myself.

For now, I'll just say, more easily expressed now since reading the above: Most of the bitching I do here, whether it's about music or politics or whatever else, is simply because I am sick of being told that (my) life has no meaning. And so exuberantly.

And you could say, well, why are you letting other people define meaning in your life? Well. I don't. I still buy records and fuck around with my music equipment and read and write. Towards what end besides my own pleasure? Apparently, now, that's the only end there is. And if life is all about that particular end, I get just as much pleasure from ordering pizza and watching action films. I just keep thinking that there has to be some better use for my time. Why?

I don't know. This can't be it.

(By the way. Yes. I start too many sentences with conjunctions. And there are fragments (like this one). It's just bad style. My English teachers did teach me better than to write as I do.)