Tag: Sarah Safaie

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Music

Shura – Indecision (Jungle Remix)

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I’m beginning to see indecision as a form of reckless passivity, another self-deprecating behavior that justifies itself via chronic remorse. In a world stimulated by action and reaction, where fear and love are the driving forces behind the choices we make, it becomes necessary to realize that indecision is a choice and duality is the human condition. Embracing the power of opposites is necessary when striving for balance; as such our choices are usually motivated by attaining pleasure and avoiding pain. Oftentimes we overestimate the ability our ability to exercise control over the events in our life and we are overwhelmed by the multiplicity of choices. The chaos of indecision can be extremely debilitating; feeling scattered and anxious, we end up wallowing in a mire of self-doubt, exhausted and feeling stagnant as ever. Enslaved by the ego, our resistance to facing our own truth ends up perpetuating that which we fear most.

When no risk is taken there is no freedom. 

“We are accustomed to think that, if there is any freedom at all, it resides, not in nature, but in the separate human will and its power of choice.

But what we ordinarily mean by choice is not freedom. Choices are usually decisions motivated by pleasure and pain, and the divided mind acts with the sole purpose of getting ‘I’ into pleasure and out of pain. 

But the best pleasures are those for which we do not plan, and the worst part of pain is expecting it and trying to get away from it when it has come. You cannot plan to be happy. You can plan to exist, but in themselves existence and non-existence are neither pleasurable nor painful…”

-Alan Watts

Rant inspired by this groovy track. If you so choose to indulge:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ek6mY9Ksqk&w=560&h=315]

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Music

Libérez-vous

third eye

Si vous êtes pris dans le rêve de l’autre; vous êtez foutus.

If you’re trapped in the dream of the Other, you’re fucked.

–Gilles Deleuze, Thousand Plateaus

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Music

We are the mirror as well as the face in it.

galaxylovers

Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere.
They’re in each other all along.

We are the mirror as well as the face in it.
We are tasting the taste this minute of eternity. We are pain
and what cures pain, both. We are
the sweet cold water and the jar that pours.

I want to hold you close like a lute,
so we can cry out with loving.

You would rather throw stones at a mirror?
I am your mirror, and here are the stones.

― Rumi

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Music

Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc. (Harmonimix)

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Released under his Harmonimix alias, James Blake’s rework of the Gorillaz classic “Feel Good Inc.”, hit a spot I didn’t know existed. Damn, bass chakras. Eerie in the best way possible, this track feels like a dirge through space: so sinister, so satisfying. Gritty textures evoke an air of gloom that echoes through the deeper recesses of mind, rendering a hypnotic effect. “Ha-ha-ha-ha”

Sometimes an occasional descent into darkness can be the most illuminating anyway.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-G0dBc3Bn8&w=560&h=315]

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Music

D’Angelo – Ain’t That Easy

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Take a toke of smoke from me as you dream inside
Let your days slip away come with me and ride…

He’s back. I know I’m about a month late on this one, but if you haven’t yet taken the time to listen to D’Angelo’s third album I am here to tell you that it is actually imperative you do so. Right now. Black Messiah marks his first release in 14 years. Oh, the anticipation. He knows how to build suspense, draw you in and keep you asking for more and he couldn’t have chosen a more culturally and politically appropriate time to drop this shit. D’Angelo explains that the title Black Messiah is “…about people rising up in Ferguson and in Egypt and in Occupy Wall Street and in every place where a community has had enough and decides to make change happen. … It’s not about praising one charismatic leader, but celebrating thousands of them.” Thank you D’Angelo, for your good vibes and unapologetic funk.

This track in particular is a winner. I was hooked from the start; the jutting bass line is super reminiscent of George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic. And his lyrics are just so on point:

Ever hit with a choice that you can’t decide?
Which direction left or right
Shut your mouth off and focus on what you feel inside
(See y’all know I’ma go with my vibe)
You won’t believe all the things you have to sacrifice
Just to get peace of mind

He hits the nail on the head– indecision is a bitch. As these lyrics so eloquently suggest, maybe sometimes the best antidote to uncertainty is to shut your mouth and turn inward. Listen to what’s going on inside. Making choices isn’t easy, but it is an inevitable part of this existence. Instead of fostering anxiety about the infinite directions you can take in any given situation, maybe shut off the nagging voice in your head and allow new inspiration to filter through. It will, if you just allow it.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZoxdPGu_4E&w=560&h=315]

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The Rest Between Two Notes

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My life is not this steeply sloping hour,
in which you see me hurrying.
Much stands behind me; I stand before it like a tree;
I am only one of many mouths
and at that, the one that will be the soonest.

I am the rest between the notes,
which are somehow always in discord
because death’s note wants to climb over –
but in the dark interval reconciled,
they stay there trembling.
And the song goes on, beautiful.

-Rainer Maria Rilke, The Book of Hours

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Music

Amadou & Mariam – Ce N’est Pas Bon (JD Twitch edit)

amadou et miriam
Hypocrisy in politics,
It’s not good. It’s not good. We don’t want any.
Demagogy in politics,
It’s not good. It’s not good. We don’t want any.
Dictatorship in politics,
It’s not good. It’s not good. We don’t want any.
Happiness, happiness for the people,
Love, love for the people.
It’s not good. It’s not good. We don’t want any.

Corrupt men in politics,
It’s not good. It’s not good. We don’t want any.
Schemers in politics,
It’s not good. It’s not good. We don’t want any.
Dictators in politics,
It’s not good. It’s not good. We don’t want any.
Respect, respect for the people.

Peace, peace for the people
Politics betrays its fathers
Politics betrays its friends
It’s also a machine of war
No pity for its enemies
He’s working for himself while saying that he’s working for us.
He tells us thank you while thinking that he’s the one who did it.

It’s not good. It’s not good. We don’t want any.

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Music

Romare – Pusherman

Romare - Pusherman

Romare does it again. Killer groove & smutty samples with his signature cut and paste stylings, dig it. I’ve written about at least two other Romare tracks this year– this up and coming British producer is definitely one to check out if you’ve yet to experience his magic. Pusherman is the B side to his latest 12″ release, Roots and it’s fucking fantastic. Roll it up and take a hit, you won’t regret it.

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Music

Charles Bradley – Why Is It So Hard (live on KEXP)

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Then I moved to Brooklyn, New York
Had hard times…But sometimes I hold on…

Some days I feel pretty weary; there’s only so much a human can do for other people before she breaks. Grown up responsibilities got me down this week. Not enough time for the work I love and for the brain stretching I require on a daily basis. Sure, 3+ freelance gigs got me feeling a bit more confident in my ability to ‘make a living’, but there’s something soul crushing about the exhaustion that results from mind numbing and / or passionless work. It’s not that I’m ungrateful— it’s good to feel like I’m contributing to society and helping others yadda yadda altruism blah blah pay my taxes bullshit yeah, but it ain’t nothing compared to the renewable exhaustion that arises after having allowed myself to indulge in a full day of doing the work I love— I’m talking about the kind of shit that defines me as a creative being kicking it on a pretty blue dot in space; out of the body & into the ether where time ceases to exist and the spark is unremitting. Cause disguise the limit, and that’s where you’ll find me. Eventually. For now, I take solace in the words of Walt Whitman: “these are the days that must happen to you.” Gotta keep on keepin’ on and maybe listen to this song. Ladies and gents, Charles Bradley. 

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Music

Feist – Caught A Long Wind (Nicolas Jaar edit)

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Nicolas Jaar‘s essential mix never gets old. It’s been over two years since its release and it still gives me the chills. To me it still completely reeks of Autumn 2012, one of the most intense seasons I’ve yet to endure— Hurricane Sandy and the End of the World all in the span of a couple months, say what? I was living in downtown Manhattan at the time, surrounded by constant stimulation and sleeping hardly at all finishing up my last semester of undergrad. Needless to say, it was already set and setting super conducive to the cray, but Sandy took the intensity to a whole new level…

This Feist track from the mix specifically conjures up memories of my hurricane tribe and the vibe we had going in our makeshift refugee camp (my apartment). There were 7 or 8 of us, mostly my Ave C homies who rolled by last minute to escape their flood zone-age. None of us realized the impending zombie apocalyptic doom we were to face in the aftermath of dear Sandy. We were in the dark. Literally and metaphorically.

Caught me a long wind
Where will we go?
Keep ourselves afloat

Venturing outside after the storm was a trip and a half. Everything was dark, much more dark than I could have ever imagined. The city that never sleeps, knocked out and unconscious for days. Blacked out beyond belief. I couldn’t be more grateful for the group I was with at the time, all creative artsy weird types. We totally thrived on the lack of electricity. I remember my friends drawing by candle light while I played my sax. Writing poetry on my typewriter, Exquisite Corpse style was something I’ll never forget. Highly recommended. In short, it was fucking cold and the most real of times. Waking up to that which endures beyond the scurf of daily existence– whether in the form of values or things, is a fucking invaluable experience. Being stripped to the bare bones of existence, you’ve no choice but to channel that inner strength in all its inexhaustible glory; survival mode does wonders for eliminating the distractions.

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