In between laundry, a trip to the beach, and various other things, I've been watching Live Earth today. A music nerd, it was fun to learn about a variety of artists I hadn't heard before. But I have a complaint.
For one thing, the United States had two concerts - both on the East Coast. Second, artists who've been activists for decades, artists who've led the charge on issues like alternative energy, were excluded.
My kids are fifth generation Californians, so I know that I suffer from myopia, but I can't think of a state that has been a bigger stage for the development and emergence of pop rock in the last forty years. The Grateful Dead and the Eagles, Jefferson Airplane and Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Little Feat, and Bonnie Raitt are just some of the artists who came to or from California and became music stars. And all have been activists in environmental causes. Even our Republican governor has signed off on environmentally progressive legislation.
I know that Bob Dylan & the Band, the Beatles, & the Rolling Stones, and Bruce Springsteen have done more to define modern pop rock than the above-named groups, but California is still a place of enormous importance for both the environmental movement and the music scene. Certainly more so than D.C. (one concert location today) and New York (another). If D.C. is a music center, than San Diego is a ski resort. California is not just the biggest exporter of agriculture in the U.S. - it is the biggest exporter of pop culture. LA movie and music studios produce a staggering percentage of the world's movies and music. And California has consistently led the U.S. in environmental regulation.
So why would California be ignored as a venue and a source for performers? Probably because the event was organized by Al Gore. American politicians have learned to ignore California; in the last 20 years, Republican presidential candidates have come to believe that they can't win the state and Democratic presidential candidates have come to believe that they can't lose it. The result? The most populous and richest and creative state in the U.S. - the sixth largest economy in the world - is once again ignored.
R World (Ron Davison muses aloud)
Showing posts with label live earth concert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label live earth concert. Show all posts
07 July 2007
Live Earth & Social Evolution
Today, the Live Earth concert is playing out across in 9 different stadiums around the world, featuring 150 different musical artists. You can watch it online at
http://liveearth.msn.com/
To me, it is just one more reminder that the story of evolution has shifted from biology to society. The amazing diversity of pop artists from Japan and Africa, from rock groups like Rize to soft ballad singers like Ai Otsuka (and that just from Japan's channel) is testament to the variety of forms that humanity takes.
As the number of species is dwindling, the ways of being human are multiplying. We are living through humanity's cultural cambric explosion, an inflection point of diversity in human culture. And perhaps no where outside of pop music have people done more to intentionally make this a game. And we all know from watching children that we learn the most when we play.
http://liveearth.msn.com/
To me, it is just one more reminder that the story of evolution has shifted from biology to society. The amazing diversity of pop artists from Japan and Africa, from rock groups like Rize to soft ballad singers like Ai Otsuka (and that just from Japan's channel) is testament to the variety of forms that humanity takes.
As the number of species is dwindling, the ways of being human are multiplying. We are living through humanity's cultural cambric explosion, an inflection point of diversity in human culture. And perhaps no where outside of pop music have people done more to intentionally make this a game. And we all know from watching children that we learn the most when we play.
7/7/7 & The Perfect Life
The number 7 has long been associated with perfection, yet perfection has been misunderstood. When someone is called perfect in the Bible, perfect is actually better associated with complete than flawless. Confusing the two meanings can create undue stress and a distinctly un-perfect life.
When you have more than two elements in your life, you have to subordinate one thing to another. When you have a conflict between your daughter's piano recital and your client's request for a report the next day, you have to subordinate one thing to another, have to decide which is more important to you. Much of life is made up of the continued negotiation between our emotional and social needs, our physical and spiritual yearnings, and our intellectual and mental inclinations.
Deciding that the perfect life is flawless, you have to jettison parts of your humanity. It simply isn't possible to embrace and excel at all the dimensions of being human. So, you focus on becoming a marvelous piano player, a powerful politician, a rich entrepreneur. Flawless is no way to be perfect. In fact, flawless doesn't even guarantee that you'll be flawless.
Deciding that the perfect life is complete, you have to embrace the various ways of being human. You have to acknowledge that you have soul and scrotum, stomach and frontal lobes, a social life and an inner life. With such an approach, you are guaranteed to have flaws. Your life will be messy and full of mistakes. But you do have a shot at perfect with such an approach. Your life can be complete.
Happy 7/7/7. Check out the fabulous diversity of music. What a day. Strive for perfection.
When you have more than two elements in your life, you have to subordinate one thing to another. When you have a conflict between your daughter's piano recital and your client's request for a report the next day, you have to subordinate one thing to another, have to decide which is more important to you. Much of life is made up of the continued negotiation between our emotional and social needs, our physical and spiritual yearnings, and our intellectual and mental inclinations.
Deciding that the perfect life is flawless, you have to jettison parts of your humanity. It simply isn't possible to embrace and excel at all the dimensions of being human. So, you focus on becoming a marvelous piano player, a powerful politician, a rich entrepreneur. Flawless is no way to be perfect. In fact, flawless doesn't even guarantee that you'll be flawless.
Deciding that the perfect life is complete, you have to embrace the various ways of being human. You have to acknowledge that you have soul and scrotum, stomach and frontal lobes, a social life and an inner life. With such an approach, you are guaranteed to have flaws. Your life will be messy and full of mistakes. But you do have a shot at perfect with such an approach. Your life can be complete.
Happy 7/7/7. Check out the fabulous diversity of music. What a day. Strive for perfection.
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