The First Sin: Answering The Phone

One invention that has been an ultimate disgrace to the Kurosawan race is the telephone.

The Kurosawan is like a hog amidst a field of grass. He comes and goes as he pleases, grazing the greeneries which please him oh so much. The telephone is like a wild crow; dark and angry, always making useless noises. But this is no ordinary crow, it is violent one that lacks all forms of humanity; it pecks on your head and yells in your ear without any regard for the consiquences of its actions.

The reason the Kurosawan hog is targeted is unknown, after all, the hog tries to live as transparent as possible. Despite the hog's attempt at living an unnoticed life, the deprivation of humanity in the form of phone calls constantly attack him.

Here are some typical things the phone may be used for:

• Family members asking for things/ checking up on things/ thanking/ congratulating
• Acquaintances talking about Hog knows what
• Researchers asking if they can ask a few questions
  
• Marketers spreading their vile in the form of words
• People asking if they can talk to someone who is not you

Now truly a sensible mind realizes how useless all this is. This is why rule 18 of the Kurosawan Code of Home Ethics states: "... never answer the phone unless you feel there is an elevated state of urgency, or an extreme circumstance". Net time you go to answer a phone, ask yourself "Is it truly necessary? Will it affect humanity as I know it?" If the answer is no, odds are you are better off ignoring the call.

Violent Dreams

I have been on a streak of violent dreams:

• Sitting in some kind of hospital/clinic/manufacturing factory next to a conveyor belt. The belt has a bunch of heads of babies, (possibly aborted fetuses, the heads were abnormally small). Bright red heads traveling toward their destiny via a conveyor belt.

• The year is 2473, and I am in a midst of a barbaric culture. Many would argue that barbaric nature and technology do not mix, however this dream is living proof that it can and does. A colleague and I are approached by an enemy. We are in a dark warehouse, possible a dark swamp. The guy has armor on helmet on; the air may be poisonous, so one must protect his body. We immobilize him, and once he is weak, we begin drilling into his helmet with our drill weapons. The process is cumbersome, but eventually we drill through the metal and into the skill. Within seconds the man begins bleeding heavily, and dies. We continue drilling until the skull/head/face is fully mutilated. We then show it off by displaying the remains of his head via a plastic bag.

• I am in Lake Tahoe, California. As I am walking along the lake, giant boulders begin crumbling; I am in the center of a giant avalanche. The humans begin running toward the lake. Some boulders fall on me, however I am quite strong, and so the 6-12 ton weight does not phase me. Luckily, the lake is abnormally shallow, so the people have no problem heading deep into the center. Eventually the madness subsides, and I seek refuge in a house full of Orientals. I get an oriental massage, followed with some oral sex (this is customary). I then proceed to grab a woman by the head, and slam it repeatedly against the wall with one hand while talking about the Asian culture with other people. Now, normally, these types of blows to the head would not cause serious injury, however I did not stop until the woman was dead. It probably took about 3 or 4 hours. Later a man came up and told me that the last time someone had slammed a person against the wall (and killed him/her) he lived no longer than 50 days.

The final dream has more detail, because I had it last night, while the first dream was experienced over 3 weeks ago.

If you too want cool dreams, I suggest taking 3 supplements;

1. Melatonin
   
2. B6
3. Valarian Root
   
4. LSD (just joking)

Here are some links for further information about dreaming:
Dream Discussion
Experience Discussion

Disslike for Noise: Eternal Peace From Within

First of all, noise can be anything you want it to be. It can be a static sound coming from a T.V or it can be music that is playing on the radio. The essence of it is; it does not want to be heard by your ears.

To a hog, noise usually consist of human speech. Recently, as the humble hog was grazing in the kitchen, he had a sudden urge to cover his ears. This has never happened to me in this certain circumstance. The situation was as follows; three humans were sitting at a table silently, while the fourth began talking about an ordinary thing. The hog does not recall what the thing was, but it may have been:

• How nice the weather has been
• Recent news, such as a bridge collapsing
  
• How the day at work went
• If anyone wanted more chicken

All of the sudden, the hog went like this:


Ears in pain, the hog covered the delicate orifices. The only explentation is the presence of an unknown element; u-ness (or uness). Shortly after, the hog approached its father, and asked if he had any ear plugs (for the man is a wild boar hunter, and must protect his ears). He said "no", however he pointed out taht he could get some at his hospital.

Hopefully in a few days I will have some of these:

And will be able to roam nature in peace.

Do What is Right v. Do What You Want

A thought occurred to me. I was sitting at a health club by the pool working on my beautiful tan, roughly 3 drinks deep, observing the finest women one could observe, when two thoughts occurred to me:

1. Goddamn this is awesome
   
2. Is this right?

This is a dilemma humanity faces; doing what is "right" and doing what is impulsive. First of all, there is no such tangible thing as "right", there is however a tangible thing that is "impulsive". "Right" can only be determined by an individual. For one, "right" can be blowing yourself up for the sake of Allah, for the other it can be giving to others at every possible opportunity.

Impulse however is much more clear; "Hmm, she is only 16. Ahh, who gives a fuck...."

Ideally one should balance the two (in Kurosawanism Philosophy), mainstream society would say "only do what is right", while wilder people, may say "do want you want". Living impulsively may result in an elevated state of happiness, however it can be hazardous in various ways (health, finance, legal) . Living "the right way" can be rewarding ethically, ( most want it to lead to success), however it results in deficiencies; (I cannot explain because I do not live this way).

I must say, my thoughts may be a little skewed, for I have been reading many of the best selling books by Robert Kiyosaki (a self made millionaire), however I have come to a conclusion; for the individual, the only thing that matters, is what he expects from himself. This may be from the "right" column, or it may be from the "desire" column. Essentially, it does not matter; if fulfillment is achieved, then the human has achieved a state that is rare in our modern society.

Your humble blogger does not follow Kurosawnaism Philosophy when it comes to this subject (and as you know, Kurosawnaism, as well as hogness allow one to believe what ever he or she wants, thus there is no contradiction). So far, doing what the mind and body dictate have been valued more than what the internal values as "right". Now doing what one wants is not "wrong", in fact many would argue it is "right". The question ultimately is: What doe th human intemperate it as?

The Legend that is: Akira Kurosawa

Here is the man who started it all. He gave birth to my love for Asian culture. This blog is a tribute to him.

Actually, I just like saying Kurosawa, so the blog is named after him because it sounds cool, however I guess it can also serve as a tribute. Anyway, I have seen many of his movies; 18 to be exact. Many of the older movies are extremely rare, and thus very difficult to find. I will make it a mission in life to view all 30 of his films. I will soon watch my 19th movie which will be Red Beard starring the legendary Toshiro Mifune. Kurosawa is one of the greatest film makers of all time, and I believe I have he is the only director who's films I have seen to such an extent. A close second (and possibly first) would be Woody Allen.

The reason I love his movies so much is because he observes emotion so well. He uses Toshiro Mifune throughout his movies to capture the element of humanity spinning it into comedy, tragedy, and violent adventures.

Two movies I will discuss are The Lower Depths (1957), and Dodesukaden (1970).

The Lower Depths is a play, and a comedy. It deals with a bunch of poor degenerates living in a room, yelling at each other. This movie has little plot, and truly illustrates how well Kurosawa captivates the humanity of his characters. The dancing seen is one of the most memorable and funniest scenes I have ever seen in my life.

Dodesukaden is a "modern" movie, meaning it portrays the present. It too deals with poverty, much like The Lower Depths. In fact the two movies complement each other quite nicely and should be viewed in order. This movie is very visual and expresses a more artistic aspect of Kurosawa. Unfortunately it was a flop, and was possibly one of the reason why Kurosawa tried to kill himself. Despite it's lack of popularity, it is one of my favorites.

Hollywood Treatment

A key to clearheadedness and calm is a good body. Your body must go through many passages and it must escape. Once it emerges, it is cleansed and rebirthed. We are talking at the micro level here, not the macro level.

This passage is mental too, however it is the aftermath that results in mental bliss. Throughout the passage the state of the mind is more focused, and filled with suffering.

The daily routine to achieving a clear mind and a healed body consist of this:

• Undressing and urinating. The body is filled with waste, we must first get rid of the main waste.
• Hydration is then performed. This will increase the body's stamina when undergoing the harsh conditions.
• Sauna: One must sit in the sauna for 20 minutes. The first 10 minutes consist of talking with other people, or reeding. The second 10 minutes consist of sitting silently, and focusing all energy on sweating out the waste that is in our body.
  
• Hot Tub (phase 1): This is an introduction to the tub. We dabble with the tub, and gain a sense of respect/understanding. This may take one or two minutes at most.
  
• Pool: We must then shock out body, by running outside and jumping into the pool. While in the pool a serious of exercises is performed to reheal damaged tissue in the upper body.
  
• Hot Tub (phase 2): The user now jumps into the hot tub (as he does into the pool) and engages in several massages using different jets. The user opens his eyes wide as to absorb the fumes ocularly (to promote an artificial heavy-eye feeling).
  
• The human must now shower off the chlorine and replenish his fluids. The rinse must be warm.
  
• The hog now enters the steam room and sits quietly. If the room is empty he may hose himself in a manner that emulates a shower. Also a cold towel may be placed over the hog's face to prevent heat exhaustion.
  
• The hog leaves, and is ready to take a shower. The water is gradually reduced (in terms of temperature) as the entity washes its self. Once finishing the shower, the human may choose to dress.
  

This essentially is your narrator's daily routine.
Total estimated time: 95 minutes

Hogness - Kurosawan Style

Hogness has no sides, no shapes, and no ways. It is essentially what you want it to be. This blog however preaches Kurosawan Hogness, and so there are specific forms to the way of the Kurosawan hog.

These ways however, cannot be put into words. Some things just are to great to be put into words, and this is one of them. I would like to reveal an aspect of hogness here, to shed light on what it consist of.

I recall discussing hogness in a previous post. In fact, defining it in ways I could. As I write this current blog post, I realize, my definitions may or may not be the same. This is a vital part of Kurosawan Hogness; things are not being, they are becoming. Kurosawan Hogness (KH) could have been that then, but it is this now.

I also feel the hog is constantly smelling things. It is focused on the smell in the air, and so it does not pay attention to much else. On several occasions, I find myself lost, because I have not been focused on the situation; instead I have been focused on a greater situation.

An example of this phenomenon is observed through conversations with people, as well as observations of situations. Throughout conversations, I find myself not consuming what I am being told. If you greet me for the first time, and tell me your name, or who you are, or why you are talking to me, I will most likely not understand. Similarly, when listening to a song with only 20 words in it for 4 days strait, I can only recite a few words; simply the mind does not feel the need to know the words - only the need to experience exists. The mind is consumed with other thoughts, and so it cannot focus on all the signals being presented to it. It is a hog's mission to be able to consume everything. This is very rare, and is praised by all KHs.

The next time you talk to a hog, don't be surprised If he or she does not respond for it is simly the nature of a hog to not listen to non-extraordinary things.

Top 5 Man-Crushes

Here are five men, that I love. These five men have skill, charisma, and looks. Without them in my life I would not be as happy. There were a few other guys, mainly movie stars and athletes, however I felt I should keep this list short, and thus I only reveal the top 5. Each of them possesses that hint of being that we cannot classify; the aspect of hogness.


Orlando Bloom

Long hair, shaved head, facial hair, no facial hair, French style whiskers, I don't care. A hog is a hog, and this one comes from the Shire. This guy is a man of style. Don't mistake his chest-exposing shirts in POTC as gay, simply the producers understand that it is sexy and the more sexy there is, the better the adventures. I don't recall any other movies he was in, and to tell you the truth I don't care; in my book, the guy is an immortal when it comes to movies.


Patrick Antonius

Can you say sexy cheek bone? This guy is a stud. He is pure European glamor. He plays cards for an hour, makes a hundred thousand dollars, and then bangs all the finest pieces of female humanity known to man. Balla. He is so cute when he is shy too.



Justin Timberlake

This guy is awesome at anything he does. And his charisma is always there, making him truly the man. His SNL debut was legendary, his latest album is insanely awesome, and his role in Alpha Dog was delicious. He is a diva I tell you, a male diva.

Pete Wentz and Brendon Uri


These guys totally rule. Pete is great for his age; he is pushing 30 and looks like he is 18. Brendon is awesome too, mainly because he looks so cool when he sings the cover of Britney Spears's "Hit Me Babe One More Time". The reason young teens are in love with their bands is quite apparent to me - They look as sexy as they sound.



Next time, to be fair, I will discuss the top 5 female-crushes.

Things That Make you Happy

During the break I have been doing the same things I do during non-break time. Mostly relaxing. Well I thought to myself, one should make a list of things that make him happy. If he keeps doing these things, he will have a great life.

Some things I will do during the summer:
Go to Primetime
Play Golf
Draw Paintings
Write New Songs
Develop Guitar Skill
Swim/Look at Hot Ladies
Play Poker
Listen to Nostalgic Songs

There were about 20 other things that I listed. I will try to do all of them. I suggest you also create a list of things that make you happy and do them. Similarly you may want to create a list of things taht stress you out, and try to not do those things.

A second portion of my post will discuss some hot hip hop songs that are popular. They all consist of women btw:

Nelly Furtado - Say It Right
Click Here to Watch

Justin Timberlake - SexyBack
Click Here to Watch

Nelly Furtado ft. Timbaland - Promiscuous
Click Here to Watch

All three songs are great. I would say Timberlake's song is the best. I don't even know if he sings in it, but this guys is the man. He knows what is sexy and what is not, unlike most hogs - making him truly unique. I didn't know any Nelly Furtado songs till now - she is having a great year with her album. If you want to cheer up from these serious songs, I would recommend S.O.S by Rihana, seen here.

Auditory Memory: The Nature of the Hog

I have found it fascinating that I, your humble blogger, can remember specific times in my life associated with music. IE I can remember the exact songs during moments of my life. Many of these songs were looped over and over, while others just "made sense" at the time.

Brass Monkey - Beastie Boys: The first personal radio experience

I was in my room, with a radio at the age of 7 or 8 when I hear "Brass monkey, You funky junkie..."

End of the World - R.E.M: collecting basketball cards in New Jersey.

I was in a van, at about age 12 or 13, driving, looking over some sweet new basketball cards my mom had bought me when all of the sudden the sweet sound of R.E.M comes on the radio.

Rider on the Storm - Doors: Riding in a storm through upstate New York.

This was an absolutely surreal moment in my life. Age 15 or 16, my family was driving through NY during a light, summer storm, listening to a doors CD that I had burned. The two forces intertwined and all was bliss. I was Jim Morrison for those 5 minutes. I will never forget this in my life.

Metro Radio Mix - Chris Hale: Summertime nights in my brothers room.

During a massive heat storm in the summer of '06 I was bumping the Japanese underground Trance nightly, while drinking Gatorade and learning how to code HTML. I was at peace. Will do again.

Countless other instances; For instance if the song Cobra Style by Teddybears Stockholm comes on, I will instantly think about my first time playing on Full Tilt Poker. Or, if David Bowie's Suffragette City comes on I will instantly think about looking up real estate in Southern California.

This is a phenomenon, and I encourage you all to add a little more music into your lives, to help you remember the little things.

Random Muses: Outside/Inside, Movies

First of all, I would like to point out I have no effing idea what "muse" means. I get my logic was this:

Random post -> is amusing -> museing -> muse -> muses

I feel the more time an individual spend indoors, the less natural he becomes. Imagine the very first day of man: nothing but "outside" existed, there was no "inside". Over time, we have become a society that spends more and more time inside. We talk less, walk less, sun less, see less, and think less.

I will try to make a conscious effort of spending more time outside. Some days I spend no more than 20 minutes outside (walking from class to class), this is very troublesome.

Can you see the difference?



I attribute these "new" outlooks on life to this blog. Really this has been a magical thing really. Now, that my eyes are open, I must take initiative to do what I preach. What that in mind, lets go indoors to movie watching.

The second part of my post: movies. Now, I am an optimistic movie watcher, so I usually like movies, regardless if they are bad. This however does not mean I will say "this is a classic". I have a keen eye, and just because I like a movie doesn't mean I think it is a good.

I watched a few movies that I torrented. BTW if you enjoy illegal dvd rips, I highly suggest aXXo's torrent site (found here); the quality is always superb, never a crappy file. I watched Tenacious D, Alpha Dog, and Night at the Museum.



TD and the POD was alright; I don't like Jack Black, but he had some original moments in the movie. I especially liked the sound track - some sweet heavy metal. Overall, I'd say it is... fresh. I would like to watch it high. This would be an awesome movie to watch after a nice bowl of greens and a few beers.

Alpha Dog was great; I really enjoyed Justin Timberlake in this one, he really looked like a regular 20 year old. The rest of the acting sucked, however the plot, as well as the atmosphere of the movie, made up for it. I'd say if you haven't seen it you should defiantly watch it.

Night at the Museum; this is a good kids movie. It is not so good for adults. The concept is great, but the material was a little thin. There were some funny moments, that I enjoyed; mainly because they were fluffy and happy, not because the joke was good/smart. Like a typical fantasy, "huh, sweet, this is cool, I like it". In retrospect, this movie really sucked ass. Key note; Mickey Roony as well as Ricky Gervais = pure brilliancy.

Pictures of My Office

This is where I conduct my work throughout the day. I like to multi-task and so, I usually have plates with food lying around. I also have a toilet built into my chair.

Yesterday I had a cake. I am not sure what it is called, but it consist of cream, chocolate, and a rum flavor. I think it is French.

Today I had an apple pie. Complimented with a bag of chocolate chips.

Hog Studies: Spontinuity

Hogness and Kurosawanism are two separate entities. Yet they coexist in harmony. For the past few years, your humble writer has been living a fairly routine life; while there are elements of difference, most days fallow a typical format.

This past week(s), an element of spontinuity emerged, thus creating drastic changes, and imbalances in the Hogness v. Kurosawan ratio. Spontinuity, by the way, is the presence of something spontaneous.

1. Began taking daily showers
   
2. Began socializing in positive ways
   
3. Lost complete respect for the public school system
   
4. Began eating whatever desired without thinking about repercussions
5. Stopped watching TV
6. Started listening to old-school rap
   

These profound changes have no explanation; it is like a wild sparrow singing a joyful song. Now let me comment on the changes:

The showers may possibly attribute to the positive social situations. I feel, people no longer avoid me due to my foul smell. In terms of academics, I was never a fan of learning useless things such as pointless dates in history, analysis of text I have no interest, mathematical concepts I will never use in my life. A recent bestselling book, I am reading only reaffirms my existing thoughts. Now, this does not mean I hate school; I only hate the parts of it that lack hogness:

A hog who understands what a 401k or a roth IRA is, as well as the tax benefits they present, will be more worthy than a hog who knows who Napoleon was.

My increase in unhealthy food intake, is due to an IDGAF factor. The IDGAF factor is a mentality where the human no longer cares about certain things. While I do care about my health, I do not care that I am harming it. This is a perfectly logical scenario.

Stopped watching TV. This is very interesting. I have no explanation; I have not watched TV for about a month. I am guessing this is the body resting, in anticipation of baseball season.

Lastly I decided; enough of this modern music, let us rewind it back and listen to the cool tunes of Afrika Bambaataa, Niggaz With Attitude, Digital Underground, and Dre and Snoop. This is a great mood lifter late in the night when on is working on a pointless school paper, or writing a blog that only 4 people will ever lay eyes on.

Next time I may post more about myself, or I may go off tangent and discuss some random topics. Only fate knows what will come. Until then, on behalf of Grandmaster Flash and all the other old schoolers, "break dance".

Intro To Music: Afterthaughts

After think about my last few posts, I realized I left out a lot of bands, as well as genres. This probably is fate however. If at a specific moment (ie: when constructing a post) I cannot recollect an artist, then that is the correct result.

So when I did not post about rap, or forgot to include sweet songs that I enjoy, they were not meant to be listed. This is a philosophical idea, and this post is not about philosophy, so I will go on with my "afterthoughts".

Bob Marley has great Reggae music. I am not a Rastafarian, nor do I listen to non-Kurosawan music often, however once in a while great artists cause me to make exceptions. Marley is among them. A modern example would be Amadou et Mariam. These guys rock.

Jimi Hendrix is a great artist. I did not include him (consciously) for no particular reason. This is the type of artist (like most legendary, immortal, artists) who is only grasped by his total work. You can't just listen to Purple Haze and say "...", you need to dig deep.

There is a lot of great rap out there. I enjoy classics like Afrika Bambaataa, Grand Master Flash, Public Enemy, Run DMC, and Sugar Hill Gang. These band were revolutionary, and I love the simplicity behind the songs.

Music has no boundaries. A few years ago, I would say "Nah, I don't listen to that band b/c it is in the X genre", where X is a genre I am not crazy about. Over recent years, I have really ditched these ideas, and now I listen to anything I enjoy, regardless if it is aimed at kids, girls, old ppl, etc... An example of this is:

Emo Music
Pop Songs by Madonna, Janet Jackson, Ace of Base, etc...
The Naked Brothers Band (some 14 year olds who play kids songs for people who watch the Disney Channel)

Well that pretty much wraps up my thoughts on music. These brief explorations can not possibly capture my thoughts entirely, and so in the future, I will make "case study", "current playlist", and "artist spotlight" articles that focus on music.

We are still in the introductory phase of the blog. My goal is for you people to understand the Hogness I represent. So in the next coming days I will further discuss aspects of existence, and their relations to me.

Intro to Music: Modern Phase

.. in 1997, music begins to deteriorate greatly ... "dark ages".

If you like the dark ages, feel free to download the shit also known as;
Limp Bizkit
Godsmak
Stained
Linkin Park
Tool
And crappy portions of the careers of bands like Rage Against the Machine, Weezer, and Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

That is all there is really to discuss. The music was so awful during this era, that I began listening to a different genre of music (classic aka shitty classic rock). This era featured hit songs by bands like Lit, Blink 182, 3 Doors Down.

Faint highlights of this era include:
Praise You - Fat Boy Slim
Selected Radio Head
Selected Foo Fighters
Many Artists and Bands from 1998-1999.

Overall, the music gets worse and worse from 1997 until 2003, when there is a sudden reemergence of listenable music: the modern phase

After this shit ends, A new age begins. I don't know what to call it. Songs like:
7 nation army (White Stripes)
Bandages (Hot Hot Heat)
Hey Ya! (Outkast)
The Seed (The Roots)
Clocks (Coldplay)

The fronteir developes and expands; shortly after these solid hits, we are ambushed with a high-energy (a la Bandages - Hot Hot Heat) synth/dance-rock style of music;
Float On - Modest Mouse
Somebody Told Me - The Killers
Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
Callin' Out - Lyrics Born
Slow Hands - Interpol
Sound of Settling - Death Cab for Cutie

My favorite of these is probably Slow Hands by Interpol (I've listened to Take me Out toooo many times)

The bands listed above paved the way for the future British Dance funk, and rockhop type of music that is present today. Dance funk genre is like Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse, Killers, Bravery, type of stuff. Rockhop is kind of a mix of rap/hiphop/rock, like Gorillaz, Lilly Allen, and Gnarlz Barkaley. I wouldn't wiki these terms, b/c I made them up.

Today Emo, is getting popular. Some quasi-emo bands have released some great concept albums (Blvd. of Broken Dreams - Green Day, Black Parade - My Chemical Romance). These two albums are considered "rock operas"; they tell a story.

Some other types of emo bands are (Fallout Boy, AFI, Panic! at the Disco, etc..)These bands are extremely popular with young kids. I would say there is no genre "emo", there are only representations of it. For instance My Chem Romance is like a heavy metal opera, while Panic is like a burlesque musical, and Fallout is a punk(predominantly) versus boy-band (on a few tracks) montage.

Best Emo Songs;
Bat Country - Avenged Sevenfold (prolly not emo)
Miss Murder - AFI
Black Parade - My Chemical Romance
This Ain't A Scene... - Fallout Boy
Thnks Fr Th Mmrs - Fallout Boy
... Good Reason These Tables ... - Panic! at the Disco
Constantly Thank God... - Panic! at the Disco
Build God, Then We'll Talk - Panic! at the Disco
But It's Better If You Do - Panic! at the Disco
Karma Police - Panic! at the Disco

Sorry to get hung up on emo so much, but it deserves its recognition imo. Other music going is the 70's psychedelic sounds of Wolf Mother. This is probably my favorite thing out there in terms of "new" music, it like a reincarnation of a 70's metal band. Also Keizer Cheifs, Arcade Fire, and Modest Mouse are all still going strong, providing us that "dance rock".

Happy Listenings to all.

Intro To Music: The Golden Age

This age focuses on grunge and post-grunge rock. Throughout this time, pop is going string, as well as hip-hop and rap. I will likely focus on rap and other forms of music (Elton John, etc..) later in case studies. We are strictly dealing with "rock" here.

Grunge. The word just sound dirty. Yet the music associated with it is considered quite pure: the artist do not conform for the sake of media, or image; they strictly play what they want to. A typical grunge scene is a bunch of young adults/men with long hair, wearing plad shirts, getting drunk and rocking out to music.

The best Grung Bands have a heavy metal sounds, with "manly" sounding voices, and lots of chords that don't sound pretty, yet they make sense. Also, they usually feature very cool solos.

The best, and obviously most famous bands;
Soundgarden
Pearl Jam
Nirvana
Alice in Chains
Stone Temple Pilots

Research their "#1 hits" in case you don't like or don't want to posses the full albums. IMO the hits from all of these bands are some of the best Rock in existence.

My personal ones consist of:

Burden in My Hand - Soundgarden
Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden
Alive - Pearl Jam
School - Nirvana
In Bloom - Nirvana
The Rooster - Alice in Chains
Man in the Box - Alice in Chains

After and during this era is mediocre Rock bands, setting the stage for Alternative Rock. Key songs from these bands in the Early 90's;

“Tomorrow” - Silverchair
“Far Behind” - Candlebox
“Hey Man, Nice Shot” - Filter
“Glycerine”, "This Cloud" - Bush
“Hey Jealousy” - Gin Blossoms

These bands (noted above) may have been in the mid 90's I'm not sure. Some other unique bands are R.E.M, and the Cure (span from early 80's to 90's).

Now like from '93 till like '96 is prolly my favorite era or music. Punk Rock, Grunge, and Alternative Rock, and catchy tunes, all dominated. Here is an extensive list of good songs:

Radiohead - Creep
Blind Melon - No Rain
The Smashing Pumpkins - Today
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Soul To Squeeze
Rage Against the Machine - Killing In The Name
Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way
Cracker - Low
The Offspring - Come Out and Play
Green Day - Longview
Weezer - Come Undone (The Sweater Song)
R.E.M. - What's the Frequency Kenneth?
Beck - Loser
The Smashing Pumpkins - Disarm
Nine Inch Nails - Closer
The Presidents of the United States of America - Lump
Sublime - Date Rape
Rancid - Time Bomb
PJ Harvey - Down by the Water
Beck - Where It's At
No Doubt - Spiderwebs
311 - Down
Butthole Surfers - Pepper
Garbage - Stupid Girl
Kula Shaker - Tattva
Bush - Machinehead
Oasis - Champagne Supernova
Primitive Radio Gods - Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money in My Hand
Porno for Pyros - Tahitian Moon
Eels - Novacaine for the Soul
Spacehog - In the Meantime
Dishwalla - Counting Blue Cars
Daft Punk - Da Funk


Now these songs (above) may not include the one hit wonders that really pawned for a few months, nor do they include the "best" songs from the band. But by listening to all of them, you can begin to form your own interest, and start pursuiting bands you like. To me this era is "classic", "golden", "best". Mainly because timeless bands dominated it, and probably were releasing their best material during the time:

My favorite song by the bands are noted with a ();

Smashing Pumpkins (Bullet With Butterfly Wings)
Radio Head (Paranoid Android)
Green Day (Long View)
Foo Fighters (I'll Stick Around)
Beastie Boys (Sabatoge)
Sublime (Caress Me Down)
RHCP (Nobody Weird Like Me)
Nirvana (School)
Weezer (Undone - Sweater Song)

In 1997, music begins to deteriorate greatly w/ bands like 3rd eye blind, Might Mighty Bostones, and Smashmouth. Some decent bands were holding it up, like Blink 182, and crappier songs by the "golden age" bands, however the crash was inevitable. The music continues to suck from 1997 till about 2003. In 2003, rock begins to get better from what I call the "dark ages". Next we will briefly discuss the "dark ages", and mainly focus on the "modern phase".

Intro to Music (The Salad Era)

This I call a salad, because it is a blast of music; the emergence of it is extreme, and it forms a soup, a mix, a salad. A chicken salad with croutons.

By now classic rock is in full swing, also new types of music are emerging such as progressive rock, shitty classic rock, glam-rock (like pop-type of music by David Bowie), hip hop, synth-pop and industrial rock. If you like Bowie, I suggest looking into Sting; he is like Bowie with a pussy instead of a penis. Roxanne by the Police, is one of the best pop songs from this ear.

Progressive is kind of psychedelic/concept type stuff like Pink Floyd. However lots of prog-rock isn't psychedelic; it is just "different" (example: Tull featuring flutes, wtf?). I jacked this from wiki: Progressive Rock: its origin is King Crimson's album "In the Court of the Crimson King".

The songs may be long as well, such as many PF songs, Rush's 20-minute "2112" and Jethro Tull's 44-minute (two album sides) "Thick as a Brick."

"Prog Rock" Artists (jacked from wiki):
Pink Floyd
Jethro Tull
Yes
Genesis
Rush
The Moody Blues
Frank Zappa
Phish
Tool
Electric Light Orchestra
The Flaming Lips

My personal favorites are Genesis (the band consists of some legendary musicians) and Pink Floyd. Suppers Ready (live version), by genesis features lots of different styles and melodies including snippets of demented Beatles v.s Queen style (featured in the section "Willow Farm"), heavy metal riffs, and Deep Purple-like instrumentals. If you download only 1 or two prog songs, I suggest:

Echoes - Pink Floyd
Shine On You Crazy Diamond (all parts) - Pink Floyd
Suppers Ready (live) - Genesis
Thick as a Brick - Jethro Tull


This spans like 1960's-2006. There are debates wether bands like Tool or Frank Zappa are Porg Rock. Also many of the songs are not prog rock but in other genres, like Yes, and Rush have a lot of classic rock/metal types sounds, and PF has concept songs like the Wall, which are just regular rock IMO. Overall I'd suggest cherry picking songs/ albums for bands like ELO, Phish, Flaming Lips, and downloading all albums for Tull, Floyd Yes, etc...

Chances are you know all the Classic Rock going on during the 70's. You also know all the shitty classic rock (catchy toons that don't take skill or intellect ie; Boston, AC/DC, Foreigner...) If you are not famailiar with these bands, I suggest you tune in to 1077 the Bone:

{begin rant}

http://www.1077thebone.com/default.asp

Here you will find shitty music, shitty DJs, and a repulsive morning show. As well as phone calls that go something like this "Hey Weedman, I'd like to throw a bone out there for y'all. My momma is sick and this one is for her: You're listening to the hot lunch on 1077 the bone!". If you ever happen to stumble across the political parodies, do stay away from sharp objects, or weapons; these skits will make you violent and full of rage.

{end rant}

Anyway, during this time "Pop" type of music is going on also; Paul McCartny and Wings (after breaking up from Beatles), Elton John, Sonny and Chere. I however, especially like the dance type of stuff - disco type of music.

Here are some highlights of the club music;
Let's Dance - David Bowie
She's Fresh (extended version) - Kool and the Gang
Shake Your Booty - KC and the Sunshine Band
Disco Inferno - Bee Gees
If You Think I'm Sexy - Rod Stewart
Higher Love - Steven Winwood
Superfreak - Rick James
Madonna (discussed later in Artist Spotlight)
Michael Jackson (discussed later in Artist Spotlight)

Anyway, that type of music spans from the late 60's to the early 90's, and is very fun.

During this era, we ride the Van Halen, ZZ Top, Journy, Guns and Roses train all the way till like the mid 80's where it basically just dies. Industrial rock has been gaining speed, "80s" music as well (these however were more in the pop genre, rather then classic rock). The main killing of the late/mid 80's metal/shitty classic rock era comes from grunge. I suggest downloading the top results in Kazzaa, or Lime Wire for the Shitty Classic Rock artists.

The "80s" music takes place from the late 70's into the 90's. This is great stuff to listen to while railing a few lines of high quality blow. It is like "club" music's little brother. Here are some highlights;

Major Tom - Peter Schilling
Take On Me - Ah Ha
True Faith - New Order
Blue Monday - New Order
And I Ran - Flock Of Seagulls
Call Me - Blondie
Personal Jesus - Depeche Mode
West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys
One Night in Bangkok - Pet Shop Boys
I am the Air - Smiths and Morrissey
Vienna - Ultravox

This is only a brief list; there is truly e plethora of "80's" music. Next we will discuss the birth of grunge, as well as the era of music that is most close to me "The Golden Era"

Intro to Music (Transition Era)

I don't know why I call it the Transition Era, but that is how it will be. I guess this is like oldies + an aspect of modernness.

Pop(ish) Direction
American Woman / No Sugar Tonight - The Guess Who
I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash
Joy to the World - Three Dog Night
Maggie May / Reason to Believe - Rod Stewart
Anything by Sly & the Family Stone
Anything by the Jackson 5

Rock(ish) Direction

My Sweet Lord / Isn't It a Pity - George Harrison
Me and Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin
Me and Mrs. Jones - Billy Paul
Bridge over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel

Throughout this time ( 67-73) is also the beginning and heart of some good rock artist (as well as the end of some oldies bands) such as:

Credence Clearwater Revival
Deep Purple
Rolling Stones
Led Zeppelin
The Who
Eric Clapton
The Doors
Neil Young
Allman Brothers
Black Sabbath
Grateful Dead
Cream
Buffalo Springfield
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
The Byrds
_____________ (insert a good band from late '60's)

This section in music, is very self explanatory. The bands from these times have produced some of the most successful music in modern history. My personal favorites consist of all of these bands; more specifically The Beatles and Deep Purple. Some great albums I suggest for illegally downloading are Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club, and Deep Purple in Rock. For most of these bands you can download "Best of" albums, if you are too lazy to download their entire discographies. I don't suggest it however, because you will miss many good songs that did not reach the accolades that the "hits" did.

Next time, I will discuss the Musical Salad Era.

Intro to Music (Early Sound)

The point of me listing these areas of music is for you to understand my interpretation of music. I will discuss songs that feel are important to the time. These songs I may be impartial to. I will also discuss songs that I personally feel are a highlight of that time. This will serve as a balance between understanding the music of the era and understanding the Kurosawan taste.

Also I define eras not on date, or style, or sound, or history, but on personal views.

Important Songs:

What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong
Forever Young - Rod Stewart
American Pie (Part 1) / American Pie (Part 2) - Don McLean
Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding
House of the Rising Sun- Animals
Turn! Turn! Turn! - The Byrds
Respect - Aretha Franklin
Johnny B. Good - Chuck Berry
My Girl - The Temptations
Unchained Melody - The Righteous Brothers
Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan
I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
Born To Be Wild - Steppenwolf
Magic Carpet Ride - Steppenwolf
Layla - Derek and the Dominos
Hound Dog -Elvis Presley
The Sounds Of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel
Summer in the City - The Lovin' Spoonful

Chances are, you will not like typical oldies songs. Only the famous ones. According to history, the most famous or typical, oldies bands are Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, The Supremes, and Sam Cooke. I think you should download all the albums of "famous groups" like Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and Beach Boys. I think these bands (with exception to Elvis and Sam Cooke) have a more modern sound than other oldies bands.

I mainly like songs that I don't know the names of. The local oldies station has turned into a dance station, so It is difficult for me to recollect particular songs. Out of the ones I can recollect, I would say:

Teach Your Children Well - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Sweet Judy Blues - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Turn! Turn! Turn! - The Byrds
96 Tears- ? & the Mysterians
(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding
What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong
Sugar Shack - Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs
Assorted Selection of Van Morrison
Assorted Selection of Jefferson Airplane
Assorted Selection of Janis Joplin
Assorted Selection of Simon and Garfunkel
Modern Sounds - (Early Work of Beach Boys, Beatles, and Rolling Stones)

After this comes like the transition between oldies and classic rock consisting of The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Almon Brothers, CCR, The Doors, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and the Rolling Stones.

Introcutory Phase

Many of the 3 or 4 readers of Kurosawaland have come here from the PDL blog. I would like to point out that this blog will be very different. I will try to interject some humor into it, but I doubt I will be able to match the genius I exhibited during the PDL era. Every now and then, I will post an old PDL article on here for sentimental value.

I would also like to change the layout of the blog, however the new version of blogger makes it very difficult. Ideally I'd have picture on the top of the page of a hot chicks ass or something.

Over the next few posts, I will be introducing the essence of Kurosawanism as well as Hogness, Leonness, and other forms of existence that I have not yet found a name for. All this really means is that I will discuss my interests so that you assholes that read this will understand my interests and approaches to things.

The Birth

I would just like to welcome Paul and Dmitri to the blog. Over the next year we will go on a journey comprised of many smaller journeys, many of which will be documented in this blog. I am a man just like you, and for that I am greatful.

As for the random traffic: this blog is more or less a combination of hogness, with f-ness. This is a highly philosophical concept; and if you can understand the relationship between universals and particulars, then you are worthy enough to acknowledge that you understand a concept that I understand better than you.

That is all.