what makes a great song/film/peice of art

The dictionary definiton of art is the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance. Since art is essentially self expression I think it is pretty impossible to say what is and what isnt art. If someone is expressing themselves by sleeping, or painting, or running who is to say or who has the right to say that it isnt art? One thing that I have always found that makes a great song is relatability. When you just feel exactly what the lyrics are saying, that they correspond directly to something you have experienced firsthand. Othertimes you can just relate to the emotion of what you are listening to, you could be in a bad mood and listen to "gangsta rap" and completley relate to it, not because you are a gangsta but because you feel the same way as they do. Of course there can be amazing songs with no lyrics but its the melody that speaks to you. I think everyone that dabbles in art wishes they could easily answer the question "what makes a peice of art great?" but its a very difficult question to answer, if it wasn't there would be a lot more great art out there!

I think the lakers will win the NBA title this year.  Everyone seems to be so focused on cleveland taking it, but i disagree.  Lebron James may be on his way to the MVP trophy this year but in my eyes Kobe Bryant is the better player.  Kobe is less atheltically talented but far more skilled, he also seems to have a much better understanding of the game then Lebron does.  I also think Kobe is just a smarter player and when it matters most is going to deliver.  Besides the two superstars I also think that the Lakers have a far better team then the cavaliers or the boston celtics do.  I don't think that anyone in the western confrence can stand up to the lakers and i honestly think that they will win the title this year, especially after their devastating loss in the finals last year, they are hungrier then ever!  But one thing about sports that I've learned is that you just never know and in reality it could be anybody's championship, but if I had to pick the Lakers are who I would choose!

My major

My major at Columbia is music. I chose this major because the idea of me doing anything else with my life would be unacceptable, I truly love music, I really couldnt live without it. Throughout high school I mainly listened to Hip-Hop, but the past few years my music taste has grown to encompass just about everything. I listen to rock, hip hop, house, electro, blues, soul, funk, and everything inbetween. I recently became a memeber of a highly exclusive "invite only" online music sharing community and that has really honestly changed my life. Now almost instantly I have added about 3,000 songs to my library, spanning all genres. Listening to so much new music really opened my eyes to how derivitve music is from itself, how hip-hop came from funk and soul, house came from disco, rock and roll came from blues etc. I find it interesting to listen to a particular artist and hear what influenced them, and then see what influenced them, etc. It is just like the evolution of a species!

The internet

Unfourtanetley this past week my internet went down.  Needless to say I was absolutley devestated.  As the saying goes "you dont know what you have until its gone", and this couldn't ring more true in my scenario.  I use the internet for just about everything, I download music constantly, look at videos on youtube, check what homework is due the next day, read about random topics I want to know more about, check sports, and stay in contact with freinds, as much as I hate to say this the internet is an integral part of my daily existence.  When it went down and I didnt have it for a week and I found myself a lot more bored then usual.  The worst part about not having internet is that I DJ and in order to be a good DJ you have to be constantly searching out new music and the internet is ideal for this.  I just browse mp3 blogs and find songs that I like and download them, or see an artist I find interesting and then get the whole album, all without getting out of my chair!  When I use to DJ with records you would have to, hear a song hope the record store had it go their purchase it then lug it around wherever you went!  As I stated earlier in the paragraph, the internet changes all of this.  Without it though I found myself being lost, it was like my record store was taken away from me, and I had no way to buy music!  But alas, I got my internet situation taken care of so I really have nothing to worry about anymore... but it really was scary!

A changing experience

Defiantly an experience that was life changing was the first time I sparred in a boxing ring.  I had been boxing for about two months at the time, defiantly working hard and really loving every minute of it.  It was incredibly physically demanding but every time I left I felt great.  So of course since I'm boxing and learning how to fight I start to think I'm really tough and awesome and can kick any body's ass.  I had no idea how quickly this was all about to change.  The first time I sparred was with a guy named Mike who was in the amateur ranks.  We got into the ring and he came at me like a freight train.  He was so fast and so powerful I must have looked like an 8 year old in the ring with mike tyson.  There is no other way to describe it other then he kicked my ass.  He even put me on the ground and once that happened the trainers stepped in and realized how over matched I was.  To say the least it was an embarrassing and humbling experience, because it was incredibly hard to go back to the gym the next day but I made myself, and I think people respected that.  Also as corny as it sounds, getting your ass kicked really makes you realize how much violence or fighting really does suck unless its absolutely necessary.  Overall the experience of being dropped in about 30 seconds made me more relaxed and not so eager to prove myself because I realized I have a lot to learn!  

Element of popular culture

I just finished watching the fifth and final season of the Wire, and have come to the conclusion that it is the best piece of cinema I have ever seen.  The show takes place in Baltimore Maryland and each season they chronicle a different facet of the city.  Season 1 is the drug trade, season 2 is the ports and harbors, season 3 is a political campaign, season 4 is inner city schools, and season 5 goes inside the day to day operations of running a newspaper.  All of this is done with striking realism and authenticity, and gives you the impression that the creators care much more about provoking thought and interest then they do about ratings.  Also the show has five years (over sixty hours) to introduce you to the characters, and the development in that department is nothing short of superb.  All of it is shot on location in Baltimore, the only time there is music is when it is ambient (coming from a car, someone listening to it on a boom box), and there are no flashbacks or narrations, all of this adding to its unparalleled realism.  In season three it documents a man named Thomas Carcetti running for mayor, it shows the back door bureaucratics that are involved in such a quest, how a candidate promises one thing and then once in office delivers another.  It shows the tireless work and effort that it would take to run for any position in office, and more then anything it shows the problems one faces once elected to try and fix a terribly underfunded and ignored post industrial American city.  As you can tell I am entranced by the Wire, I have never seen anything like it before or since and most likely never will, but don't just take my word for it, go watch it!