- Tuesday, November 20, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, November 20, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
Lamenting the loss of a
physical collection
Despite the fact that I
largely grew up in the
Computer Age, I'm still
mourning for one casualty of
the transition to digital.
No, hip-
sters, I'm not
reminisc-
ing about
records. I
grasp the
attraction
to physical X
audio, the ELLIOT
romance in ALPERN
caressing
harmony
out of what are otherwise a
few circular grooves etched
in vinyl. But by the time I was
brought into the world, CDs
were the medium of choice - for
me, records were already long
antique, like any other obsolete
technology - I've never gotten
nostalgic about floppy disks.
Ironically, the tragedy in the
absence of physical music isn't
the lack of physical copies, so
much as the lack of physical
collections. I admit that mobile
libraries are vastly superior;
there's no question - I just have
a soft spot for the once-treasured
"record collection."
When I was little, there was
no greater joy than to watch a
visitor admire my father's siz-
able collection of CDs. Being a
music critic himself back in the
day (obligatory "like father, like
son"), he had amassed a hoard
of discs. Through careful collec-
tion, he was able to show off an
extensive glass case packed with
plastic and vinyl.
The selection did more than
impress. It was truly the only
way anyone could understand
my father's musical opinion - a
stranger could'watch him listen
to Christina Aguilera, then Foo
Fighters and then Kansas, and
conclude he had no discernable
taste. But I would eventually
understand that the case was a
timeline, a testament to his avid
passion for music.
It'sM
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into my
ing awa
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and iss
he real
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around
But
weird to think that, else, computers have taken the
e of the advent of comput- personality out of such aper-
never have a physical sonal endeavor. Instead of fondly
ntation of my music taste. recalling the album that I would
ble to download my new eventually use for my application
as brought me a broader to the Daily's Music beat, I can
Lent than Iever could now just look it up: The Orchard
pected, but I miss the by Ra Ra Riot, added Oct. 4, 2010
antalizing plastic wrap at 12:47 p.m.
releases. I miss bringing Don't get me wrong - I enjoy
ne or two new additions the countless benefits that own-
all-but-growing collec- ing a digitized music library has
my own. I miss planning afforded me. I love that I can
chases like I was building point and click when I need to
al nest for the future. hear those booming drums at
's not to say that I don't the beginning of "When The
is anymore - I'll still Levee Breaks," instead of rifling
nally fork over hard- through my albums and fum-
cash to support my favor- bling with a record player.
sts. Yet the first thing I And, luckily, the best part of
my purchase is upload it a good record collection - the
music library, thus tak- colorful patchwork quilt of
ay whatever attachment I countless album covers packed
ave with the CD itself, together - largely remains
preserved through iTunes. My
friends have never seemed to
ike father, understand why, after getting
new music, I must immediately
like son. add the corresponding artwork.
I don't anticipate most of
them understanding it on the
same level (as musically elitist
re is a scene in "High as that sounds). As much as they
y" where John Cusack, like music, I've never seen them
rough breakup with his spend a whole day acquiring
ne girlfriend, sits alone in new songs or perusing the latest
rtment, surrounded by album releases.
ords. A friend visits him Because, underneath it all,
truck with awe when audiophiles are more than music
izes that Cusack means lovers - we're music hoarders.
nize his collection in Just like those poor souls in the
logical order of his own creepy reality TV show, we can .
never seem to let go. We're pack-
n I originally watched rats, constantly squirreling away
vie, I fantasized about teemingpiles of old playlists for
his one day, when I was the next new thing.
ugh to have accumulated In the end, I'm just sad that
monument to music. I'd those mountains of music I've
le Cake's Comfort Eagle accumulated won't eventually
early teen days I spent become a collection big enough
n California, and slot Jack to rival my father's. I'll never get
n's Sleep Through the the same reaction from a visitor
text to the breezy music upon witnessing a browser win-
enior year in high school. dow of my music library.
INTERSCOPE
Too many feels.
Reality of hip hop
0
9
Technology reveals strikes, an outreached arm and
slap confirming the hit. Screams,
the gritty world we yelps, screams, yelps, taunts,
red, arms flying, bodies twirling,
hear about "WORLDSTARHIPHOP.COM"
panning across the screen - the
By THOMAS KLEPACZ video is a mess. Suddenly, the
For the Daily woman is thrown to the ground,
grasping her attacker's leg as he
The video is slightly blurry shakes her off like an annoying
and unsteady, recorded in typical dog. He then jumps on her - yes,
"smartphone" quality. It begins jumps, in a Super Mario-like
with a confusing muddle - tall manner - stomping on her body
men, red hoodies, loud women, amid screeches of "Why, why
pushing, pulling - too disorient- why?" And just like that, it's over.
ed to truly follow, but just crude If you haven't seen the video,
enough for basic human under- you're almost out of place -- hun-
standing. Around 30 seconds in, dreds of thousands already have.
one ofthe scattered womenorders Identified as "Lil Reese BEATS A
a red-clothed man to "Keep your CHICK" on YouTube, the video
hands to yourself, doe."Following exists on innumerable different
an ambiguous comment of "They websites with innumerable titles,
ain't stop making guns when they all along the lines of "Lil Reese
made yours," the man demands Beats Woman" or "Lil Reese Goes
the woman to "Quit talkin' like Wild on a Woman."
that," speaking in both a soft and No matter the title, however,
defined manner. He's clearly irri- the content is clear. Lil Reese, a
tated - he creeps slowly closer to 19-year-old rapper of the Glory
the woman, poking at her chin, Boyz Entertainment collective
incitingsome form of reaction. At - founded primarily by rapper
42 seconds in, he gets it. Chief Keef - pulverizes an equiv-
The woman swings first, her alently aged woman, only stop-
hand a quick haze in the iPhone ping after sufficient stomps and
camera. The man dodges and punches. The attack is ferocious,
approaches, pinning the woman if not animalistic. Morals aren't
against a wall. The cameraman even in question.
quickly begins to follow the The video isn't the first
action, but isn't fast enough - instance of moral ineptitude
the attacking woman is obscured within Chief Keef's crew. Keef
against the cream-colored wall, himself has had several digital
only to be identified by her subse- missteps: Following the death
quent yelp. of a rival Chicago rapper, Lil
As the camera confusingly JoJo, Keef tweeted "Its Sad Cuz
leans in the opposite direction, Dat N*gga JoJo Wanted To Be
the man fades to the right and Jus Like Us #LMAO," only to
y, I had determined, my
iuld sit on the CD racks
my bedroom.
just like everything
Alpern will be starring on
'Hoarders.' To join him, e-mail.
ealpern@umich.edu.
FOLLOW @MICHDAILYARTS
Call: #734-418-4115
Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
later claim that his account was
"hacked." When Lupe Fiasco
responded to the taunting tweet
by claiming that Keef "scares
him," Keef shot back at his fellow
Chicagoan by writing that he will
"smack him" when (if) they ever
meet in person. Keef even had
his Instagram account deleted
after posting a picture of himself
receiving "sexual favors" from an
anonymous woman (you can fig-
ure it out), with an uploader com-
ment of "#GettinTip."
Understandably, Keef and his
GBE crew have received a tre-
mendous amount of criticism.
Aside from the usual trollingYou-
Tube comments of "Chief Keef is
killing Hip Hop!," "Hip Hop is
officially dead" and "Listen to
2Pac if you want real rap!," Keef
has garnered displeased respons-
es from innumerable "profession-
als." The Chicago Sun-Times put
a dread-veiled, smirking Keef on
their cover, asking in typical yel-
low-journalism bold whether the
rapper should be sent to jail.
The "regulators" of hip-hop,
megasite WorldStarHipHop,
constantly dot GBE's reaction-
ary videos with dramatic catch-
phrase titles ("This Is F***** Up:
Lil Reese From GBE Caught On
Camera Beating Up A Female!"),
all the while understanding that
their own success is derived
purely from the degradation they
so criticize. Lupe Fiasco even
claimed that the current per-
petrators of Chicago's endemic
crimes "all look like Chief Keef,"
and that he fearsothe "culture that
he represents."
Sure, certain musicians have
"risen out" of the ever-present
disarray in theirhometowns. But
in 1996, the only glimpses the
world had of rappers like Jay-Z
were directed shots of brand
new Lexuses. In contemporary
American culture, the musician
who once may have appeared
"flawless" (though they rarely
did) is now barraged with Inter-
net-born criticisms. We all put
our lives out for the world to see,
and the true elements of many
individuals can now be fully
perceived through the distorted
lens of saturated Instagram pho-
tos. The raw truths of men like
Lil Reese are now evident to all,
whereas the truths of past rap-
per's societies were oft hidden
- save the content in their oft-
unreliable lyrics.
While the actions of Keef and
his crew are indefensible, to criti-
cize GBE for the "degradation" of
society or hip hop is absurd. Hip-
hop culture has always been ris-
que - it has always documented
the elements of American life that
many choose to ignore. Greats
like The Notorious B.I.G. made
entire songs about dealing drugs
and killing: "Ten Crack Com-
mandments" is literally a list of
instructions on how to deal crack.
Yes, rappers such as Biggie and
21tac were certainly criticized in
their time, but to glimpse them in
an entirely positive retrospect is
not only incorrect, it's ignorant.
These are the men who helped to
craft modern hip hop, doing the
same things Keef and his GBE
crew are constantly lambasted
for. To claim that videos like the
Lil Reese attack are killing hip
hop is entirely contradictory to
the concept and background of
hip hop in itself.
These things have always hap-
pened, do happen and will hap-
pen. Hip hop's purpose is only to
document the events, often dis-
playing them through raw poetry
over electronic drums. Now, we
just see the events through the
distorted lenses of iPhones. The
world of rap hasn't gotten any
better or worse - our perspective
has just changed.
RELEASE DATE- Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS
1 Winter coaster
5"Go _, Tigers!":
1968 Detroit
baseball theme
song
10 Verb for thou
14 Vehicle at a
stand
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phenomenon
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quote: Abbr.
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Caesar
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personality
(11/20/1932- .
6/2/2012)
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topper
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