Slug, Diane Di Prima, Imprisonment, Interpretations

I’ve been eluded by many current events due to my college budget, and in turn, the news on cable TV, newspapers that I can’t afford, and I suppose my own neglect for internet news that I do indeed have access to. My mistake, my loss. However, today’s discussion reminded me of a song I’ve enjoyed for years but perhaps not recognized in its entirety, for I realized that (at least for me) it resonates around the poem we analyzed today in class. I’m sure most of you know about Slug and his lyrical genius, but if not, let me show you a song by Atmosphere called “God’s Bathroom Floor:” (and if you're just like tl;dr, just read the italicized portion of the song). 

Head, pressure, senses, clutched
Date, Divinity, wouldn't, fuck
Touched, hazy, God, change
Rush, floor, life, veins

From a head full of pressure rests the senses that I clutch
Made a date with Divinity, but she wouldn't let me fuck
I got touched by a hazy shaded, God help me change
Caught a rush on the floor from the life in my veins

It goes one for the cannabis, and two for your dianetics
Three for your reasoning, and four for those that try to get it
Five for your love, and six for the stress
And seven for the day that I climbed into this mess

I'm catching ulcers from the child proof lighters
And all these fine tooth biters that keep the wires in my head tighter
I'm tired out by the distances achieved walking in my sleep
Thoughts got shifted since the high got a tad too deep
Ask dad to keep cool, I'll call him back as soon as I resume normal
And get out of this bathroom
And call management to seek some reimbursement
For the nerve ending that burnt from the first hits

So fuck needles, fuck smoke
Fuck lines that make the sinus choke
Fuck chasers, trails, fuck waves and rails
Fuck hang-overs, fuck hallucinations
Regurgitations, mandatory sentences and UA tracing
Blind my insight and dull the common sense
Give me inhibition, kill the superstition and the confidence
Built the tolerance, now it's more that I consume it
When it boards up my room, the world's whores will croon in unison
Unify the eulogy, autopsy pages read euthanasia, I.E., irony
But here I be within a pool of my drool
Sedated, windows dilated, comatose, life overdose
Tell Jacob Miles to keep it wild style
I promise I'll smile
And check the floor, God's got nice tile
Tell Jacob Mile to keep that shit wild style
And I'll smile
And check the floor, God's got nice tile

Head, pressure, senses, clutched
Date, Divinity, wouldn't, fuck
Touched, hazy, God, change
Rush, floor, life...

It’s apparent to me that he speaks of his own drugs abuse, and tells his son, Jacob Mile, to “keep it wild style – ” Don’t follow in his footsteps; don’t let it suck you in, for it’s imprisonment you face once you follow the wrong path to drugs, to inevitable captivity of one kind or another.

Slug is an artist that doesn’t easily let go of his intended lyrical meaning. Rather, his goal is to elicit the listeners’ own discoveries within his songs. So “Fuck needles, fuck smoke, fuck lines that make the sinus choke,” etc. seems similar to Diane Di Prima’s poem in which she criticizes the parts of society that incarcerate its citizens in one way or another. The readily available marijuana and other substances she speaks about are reflected in God’s Bathroom Floor, although Slug's song doesn’t directly address many inherently political issues. I’d like to see some other interpretations of his song – especially the italicized portion.

A Tale of Two Cities; Community, Gentrification, and Art in San Francisco and Los Angeles

Saving San Francisco
In Richard Walker's article "An Appetite for the City; The Battle to Save San Francisco," the author outlines the ways that members of marginalized communities sought to save the city from upward expansion in the form of skyscrapers in Downtown. Planning in Downtown SF took the form of clearing out the communities that had historically lived there. Walker argues that "The tragedy is not that Downtown grew...rather, it is the way thousands of ordinary people...were cleared away with the rubble." He notes that blacks were driven out of Fillmore and aging workers were pushed aside from south of Market. Many communities came together to resist the reformation of Downtown. Middle class advocates of the historically significant cable cars and Golden Gate Park Panhandle. Fillmore Blacks gathered together to protect their housing, and traditional union coalitions resisted being pushed out of their housing. Walker details how, with some successes and failures, San Francisco was "saved."
Not So Distant Relatives
Walker juxtaposes the two dominant cities of the West, namely San Francisco and Los Angeles. He argues that the bohemian, anti-establishment strain in San Francisco led to anti-gentrification movements that were absent in Los Angeles. At various points he contrasts San Francisco resistance to progress with Los Angeles' steamroller of business progress. He calls Los Angeles more "conservative." Walker makes valid points. The vapidity of Los Angeles doesn't beget the kind of environment to resist potentially harmful development projects. And, in many ways, Los Angeles is more conservative. But while Walker seeks to paint San Francisco as a multi-colored multi-cultural banner of gay, brown, black, Asian activists, he erroneously paints Los Angeles with a white paintbrush signifying the conservative establishment. I think the differences between Los Angeles and San Francisco are overstated. Both West Hollywood and The Castro are bastions of gay culture, embedded in affluent portions of the city. San Francisco had its swath of Russian residents, living on their eponymous hill. So did Los Angeles, but LA's Russians could be found among its gay and Jewish residents in West Hollywood. Unfortunately, San Francisco is catching up to Los Angeles in terms of its capitalist-oriented development with the growth Silicon Valley. Walker notes that San Francisco's homelessness increased, and Los Angeles remains the city with among the highest rates of veteran homelessness.
Art in the City
Walker contends that the literary renaissance of San Francisco added to the bohemian, left-values of the city that helped the resistance of gentrification. Between San Francisco and Los Angeles, the dominant literary giant is irrefutably San Francisco. But Los Angeles contributed its own left wing art with pop artists like Culver City based Ed Ruscha and contemporary LA based artists like Shepard Fairey. Below are some examples.

Ed Ruscha attempted to capture Los Angeles through a photography book of apartments throughout the city. 

Shepard Fairey, a South Carolina born but Los Angeles based street artist is known for his political artwork. This mural can be found on Melrose Avenue. 

Ed Ruscha simultaneously celebrated and lampooned Los Angeles, and acknowledged "it's all facades here." This inverted image of the Hollywood sign highlights this fact. 

A few thoughts on murals

After today's discussion,  I have been thinking about why murals have such a cultural and artistic impact in the minds of many city dwellers/tourists around the world. I think it's fair to make the sweeping statement that people go crazy for murals, as evident in the 'guided tour of Balmy Alley.' Today, I have begun to wonder why.

I suppose if you think about it, murals have existed from the moment man could draw, as is evident in Cave paintings. Perhaps creating murals in a caveman context meant visualizing and expressing thought or action in such a way that transcended the laws of speech/verbal communication. It could be argued that art (in all its forms) functions in that same way today in that it provides an alternative mode of expression for those who utilize it.  

But art goes beyond 'those who utilize it' and into 'those who appreciate it.' Surely this appreciation goes beyond aesthetically pleasing visuals and into realms of understanding that outline art as a force that provides meaning in a world that doesn't make sense. This dichotomy between artist and onlooker surely relates to the difficult link between appreciation and understanding of art vs. its commodification. Considering this opposition makes me question how much the Beat writers truly wanted their art (writing) to be recognized and appreciated for fear of its commodification in popular culture? I don't have an answer to this question but I think that it's important to consider when we think and talk about San Franciscan art and artists.

Here is a timelapse video of a mural that was done by one of my fellow international students. It can be seen at the back of College 10, next to the International Living Center:

TESLA: revolutionizing the way we use and understand energy?

As I’m sure everyone will know, TESLA is a Silicon Valley based company that specializes in the design and manufacture of electric cars, electric vehicle powertrain components and battery products. The company and its CEO, Elon Musk, were recently in the news as TESLA have developed a battery called the Powerwall Tesla Home Battery, that can store up to 10-kilowatt hours of power.  The Powerwall is ridiculously cheap compared to its competitors, pricing between $3,000 -$3,500 compared to $30,000 for Bosch’s solar battery solution. As far as I understand it, the Powerwall battery banks the energy absorbed by solar panels, rendering it possible to completely disconnect from the power grid during outages.

It is this notion of disconnecting from the grid that I find most interesting and most relevant to the course.  The notion of breaking away from an established norm and creating something promoting self-sustainability seems to function as an example of a growing desire to break free from government control. It is only once we recognize our reliance on government provision that we can break away from it, thus individually flourishing with a deeper connection to the earth and humanity with a move away from upper-class defined ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’. It is like when Rob talks about Facebook and keeping your creative work on the internet. Rob repeats, ‘get in the system, and make it work for you.’ I believe this is exactly what the Powerwall will allow people with solar panels to do. Of course, solar panels can be incredibly expensive and often only cater to the wealthier home owners. But there is still hope yet! An article I recently came across in the SF Chronicle suggests that ‘California is set to give solar panels to low-income families for free’. If this is true, getting off the grid may be achievable by all. I certainly hope so.

"Tesla's new Batteries for your home," The SFist. 

Vice Article: "Here's why Elon Must might have just really pissed off your utility company" 

Solar Panels being given to Low Income Families in California, SFGATE 

The Complexities of Identity

During section last week, we discussed Tripmaster Monkey and its theme of multiculturalism. It is indeed difficult to fit in when there is no solid category for you to fit into. Wittman is bothered by the fat that he is considered culturally Asian instead of Western especially when Western culture has impacted Asian culture and behavior. While I am not Asian, I can relate to this identity crisis. I am Mexican and, as a result of cultural perceptions in Western Culture, I too have struggled with identifying myself. However, it is also the case that Wittman, just like many others in America, feels contempt towards the prejudice felt in American society. It is upsetting to face discrimination if you are a non-white and, as so, a complex set of ideas and behavior are formed since the identities of these non-whites clash and mingle.

I find the ending inspiring albeit difficult to completely relate to. I feel like the complexities of identity will alway be a part of you. And, while I do believe you can accept your ancestry and heritage, I believe the concept of the book will continue to apply for the rest of your life as a result of societal and cultural interactions.

The Monkey King

A Pause

I went to Big Sur this weekend and experienced first hand the utter beauty of nature. It made me think back to our lecture about Jack Kerouac's novel, Big Sur and, during my hike, I felt the relative peace and freedom Kerouac writes about. It was a beautiful sight to see; The fog over the mountains, the dark grey ocean transforming into clear blue water as the sun came out. I became entranced, lost in the allure of nature. Yet, upon return to civilization, I became aware of how this relative peace is temporary, as sooner or later, I had to return to what we have come to call "real life."

Something else I thought about was one of his quotes. Kerouac wrote, "the more ups and downs, the more joy I feel. The greater the fear, the greater the happiness I feel." I find this relative to what we, as human beings have to experience everyday. It's true that the best way to feel truly alive, is when there is a risk of death. It's ironic but it makes sense. I don;t believe that we enjoy life as much as we could and should. it might be because we tend to forget how lucky we are or because we get really busy or maybe because all the downs in our lives mask the ups. whatever it is, going to Big Sur was a respite and a reminder of what beauty we live with and what life could be if we just paused and went on a journey with friends. 

Chalk Visions

Today in section, we talked a lot about art in the Mission District, specifically the murals of Balmy Alley, and how the art is preserved by locals yet commodified by outside tourist groups.

There's a chalk artist, named Nikolas Larsen, who lives in the mission and draws on the sidewalk leaving, what he calls in a video on his blogspot, a "gift for the community." His video also talks about the impossibility of making money off of street art (hence the "gift for community" comment), especially since the chalk medium he works with is so temporary, unlike the permanence and history of the Balmy Alley murals.

(Nikolas Larsen's Cosmic Spectral Accelerator, 25th and Shotwell)

My last post also dealt with accessible art in San Francisco, and I guess I'm getting interested in the lengths communities go to in order to preserve things that are important outside of monetary gains. Both Balmy Alley murals and these chalk drawings get continual criticism for not being "real art" (whatever that means) in a city that has so rapidly lost its inability to support artists because of its high cost of living. And then when art does find a way to pervade the concrete walls and asphalt floors, it is immediately commodified for tourist consumption, like the North Beach and its ties to the Beat Generation - a place that was once a haven for counter cultural art now has a reputation for its history, and therefore has more worth, making it hard for artists to live there anymore.

If we let it be, is it really art? Or does it need value in the form of dollar signs to have worth?