Random Notes

Obama was just elected president, I've had a few beers and not nearly enough sleep. Here are some things on my mind before I pass out:

-Japan's UNKIND just released a fucking ferocious EP eloquently titled Crustie Not Hippies. Brilliant. This is blown out as fuck crusty punk that's as fast and furious as Framtid but much more chaotic. The recording is very raw and the intensity level here is just ridiculous. I first looked into this thinking it was Finland's UNKIND who also play a form of heavy, crusty hardcore (albeit much cleaner, a bit slower and nowhere near as noisy). Both bands are worth checking out, but the Tokyo product will just leave your head spinning. If you're looking for more refined crust with dark metallic harmonies in the vein of martyrdod then check out the Finnish version who also claim to draw from the classic Finnish Punk sound ala Tampere 82 but sound more Swedish than anything else.

-In Layla Gibbon's column in the newest (November) issue of MRR she gives a brief background on some influential all-girl punk bands. She suggests Nog Watt as an example of raging female punk at its finest. She ain't lying. This band is so amazing. They played d-beat style punk with more innovative guitar parts than Discharge and more ingenuity than 99 percent of Dis-worshipping bands. The vocals and imagery will haunt you. Get your hands on the Fear 7" if you can find it. Actually, if you can find it, sell it to me!

-On MSNBC's post election coverage, conservative and liberal anchors alike are gushing at the implications of having our first African-American president. Now, this is a huge moment in African-American and just plain American history, and its importance shouldn't be understated, but the notion that simply because a black man was elected president we have somehow stepped beyond our racist history and complex contemporary race-related issues is both absurd and dangerous. I can easily envision a slippery-slope scenario in which we use Obama as straw man excuse for our racist tendencies; that we will be able to say to the rest of the world "we aren't a racist nation. How could we be? We have a black president!" Just like "...some of my best friends are black!" doesn't excuse your lame-ass racist joke at a party, "...our president is black!" doesn't excuse systematic and institutionalized racism in the United States.

I decided to vote this year because of some of the specific implications of this election, but I fully expect to get my heart broken time and time again over the next four years. As charismatic and promising as Obama might seem to progressives, there is not much he can or will do to significantly alter the political landscape in America. Simply focusing tax cuts on the middle class and minimizing tax cuts for the wealthiest in the country led to the Right accusing Obama of favoring socialistic economic redistribution. Those firmly on the Left know that, tragically, this could not be too much further from the truth. I should have gone to see Bad Brains instead.

That's all for tonight. AJ Burnett opted for free agency today and there are reports that the Orioles are favorites to land him because of geographical advantage (his wife's family lives in Maryland and he has a house right outside of Baltimore). I don't have too much to say about it right now though. I just watched half of Inland Empire. It's 3 hours long! I really like David Lynch and the movie was pretty cool so far, but it was just too much for one sitting. My head is spinning.