sotiPOP

New Music: "It Only Takes A Sound"

Here's a new "rough drafts" track.

words:
All these words are killing, all the things we say
as they take our air to space.
All this time's been wasted, waiting for an angel
Angels take my pain away.

Goodbye. Goodbye to lines.

Sailing my heart out
Holding my hands down to pray.
I've got this feeling
we're only waiting to say.

Come on down.
Come on, it only takes a sound.

Where are all the princes, moving all our business
As they take our lands to pay.
Where are all the answers, to our simple questions
Questions blow their plans away.

Tearing my heart out.
Holding my hands down to pray
I've got this feeling
we're only waiting to say

Come on down.
Come on, it only takes a sound.
It only takes a sound.

Mickey Mouse Hat or No Mickey Mouse Hat?

I am working on this piece right now and the final decision I need to make is "Mickey Mouse hat or no Mickey Mouse hat?"

Disney has these people called "imagineers".   Disney imagineers, which include artists, writers, architects, landscape architects, engineers, model builders, construction managers, technicians and designers, are the ones responsible for creating the rides, attractions, and experiences we all know as DisneyLand.  Pirates of the Caribbean, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Space Mountain, It's a Small World.  Well, not It's a Small World.  

New Music: Lovely You Are

"Lovely You Are" from an upcoming collection of demos.

Also: In case you missed last track I posted "Our Enemies Are Just Another School".

"Americans Can Do Anything" vs. "Yes We Can"

"Americans Can Do Anything".  This is the line Jindal kept repeating in his response to Obama's not state of the union, state of the union speech.

If it is the Republican response to "Yes We Can", it is an interesting counterpoint.  On the surface both are a testament to American confidence, strength and greatness, but the two speak to a subtle yet profound distinction between our two parties and how they embody the idea of greatness.  Where "Americans Can Do Anything." declares greatness, "Yes We Can" inspires it.  Where one assumes, the other challenges.  One seems to exclusively suggest that only "Americans" can do anything, the other is an inclusive invitation to anyone who wants in. Greatness is either a status quo that is to be maintained and defended, or it is a constant call to progress and growth.

It reminds me of a little video I did in 2002 way back during the buildup to the Iraq War. I for one am glad we have new voices.  Oh, and I have since added a little footnote.

50 Million Dollars of Stimulation

When the Economic Investment and Recovery Act was signed into law earlier this week and I did not hear any of the "how is $50 million for the arts stimulus?" criticism coming from the likes of Rep. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and other Republicans, I had assumed that it must've been one of the things cut out of the final bill.    

Well it wasn't. $50 million dollars in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) was kept in the final version of the bill. In fact it was put BACK IN the bill as it had been cut from the version that passed the Senate.   One of the members of Congress to thank for this is Rep. David Obey (D-WI).   In his speech on the House floor he stated, 

"People ask, "Well, what does funding for the arts have anything to do with jobs?" It's very simple. People in the arts field are losing their jobs just like anybody else. You have local arts agencies, you have local orchestras, local symphonies, local arts groups of all kinds who are shutting down, laying people off and in a number of instances going bankrupt. This is a small, tiny effort to keep some of those people employed over the next two years. I make no apology for it. We have an obligation to salvage as many jobs as we can, regardless of the fields in which people work."

Cheers for Rep. Obey!  Also rejected in the final version of the bill was the Coburn amendment that restricted funds going to theaters, museums, and art centers - which were lumped in with casinos, golf courses, and swimming pools as "non-stimulative" destinations.  The arts groups were removed from that list, while casinos, golf courses, and zoos remained.

Yay! We made it higher on the priority list than casinos!  

Reflecting On Lincoln

Of all the monuments, the Lincoln Memorial is my favorite.  It isn't the actual monument to Lincoln that gets me.  No, the hook, the clincher for me is the reflecting pool. It is what turns a nice monument (albeit a Greek temple knockoff) into a landmark.  

The Washington Monument, which stands across Lincoln's way,  hits you over the head in the way it screams "FATHER of our nation."  Don't get me wrong, I like the Washington Monument, but Washington is prose to Lincoln's poetry. 

Two Lincolns

Next week we will be celebrating Abraham Lincoln's 200th Birthday.   These are two pieces I have made for the "200 Lincolns" show at the Chicago Art Department on February 13th.

"Lincoln Got His Gun"  
(2009-collage, watercolor)



"Lincoln and His Axe Saved the Day"  
(2009-acrylic, collage, photoshop)

   

Art is Stimulus

Here we go again - in trying to discredit Obama's stimulus bill guess who one of the Republican villains are?

"House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence of Indiana pointed to a $50 million outlay for the National Endowment for the Arts -- an agency that conservatives have long criticized -- to help arts groups hit by a drop-off in philanthropy.

"This is stimulus?" Pence asked."

"There is absolutely no way this will stimulate the economy," argues Brian Riedl, a senior federal budget analyst for the Heritage Foundation.  

"The only way to increase economic growth is to increase productivity," Riedl says. "Government policies that make people and workers more productive will increase productivity. But simply borrowing money out of the economy in order to transfer it to some artists doesn't increase the economy's productivity rate. It doesn't help workers create more goods and services, and it won't create economic growth.

Tell me if you've heard this story before. There is a "sketchy" neighborhood in your city... 

Lincoln Marches

While in DC for Inauguration, I recorded a Lincoln drum portrait by my friend Rich Obando, for the upcoming Chicago Art Department "200 Lincolns" show celebrating Abraham Lincoln's 200th Birthday.

"The Speech"

Okay, so I need to quickly weigh in on Obama's Inaugural speech and the question of whether it will be one of the "great ones" -probably because the pundits seem to be saying it was good but not great. First off, I think it was much better live than on TV. The few bits I have seen used the closeup shot whereas I think staying with the long shot would have been best.  You needed the crowd context.

I think something the pundits are forgetting is the role that events and history will play.   The reason lines like Lincoln's "with malice towards none...", FDR's "the only thing to fear...", JFK's "ask not what your country can do" are great is because of what their Presidencies became.  The Herbert Hoovers and Millard  Fillmores of this world could have given the most amazing inaugural speeches in history and we would not have remembered them. Frankly, I'm glad the pundits don't think it was one of the greats, because hopefully that means it will be.

Anyway these were the most memorable moments of the speech that stuck out to me. I rank my bets for the history books. What did you think?