Labels
Generalizations make the world go round. Without generalizations, we wouldn't have racism, holy wars, or Polish jokes. Good ol' stupid Polacks. [The irony in that sentence is that I had to look up "Polack" to make sure I was spelling it right.] Everybody's got a generalization. Blacks are lazy, Southerners are ignorant, Irish are drunks, Italians are in the mob, Chinese are good at math, etc.
The reason general labels are so popular is that they make things easier. Everything becomes black and white when we use labels. We don't have to think before we figure out what a person is like. I'm not going to make friends with that black dude, because he'd probably try and steal my stuff. That's easy. Much easier than going over, talking to the black dude, and deciding that he is either a) a nice guy who probably won't steal my stuff, or b) not someone you want to make friends with.
That's why we always get into trouble when we use labels. There's no such thing as black and white. There is ALWAYS a grey area, even in science, which is why different scientific experts can analyze observations in many different ways. Even mathematics, which always seems definite, is based entirely upon an abstract set of numbers. We think of "0" or "1" as some definite thing, but those numbers are really just representations of a concept that can't truly be put into physical form. So we label them.
And what happens in math when you label things? You have to set parameters. For instance, when you do algebra in high school, you'll often see something like "Where x is a real number" or something like that. If we didn't set those parameters, any answer could conceivably be the correct one. x + 2=7; x = dog.
In everyday life, we have these generalizations that serve as labels for people, not even numbers. We're taking real people with real lives and turning them into inanimate objects when we label them. It's not just by race or ethnicity, either. You have the jocks, the computer geeks, the band geeks, the preppy kids, etc. Well, most people don't fall into just one category. I was a brainy nerd/band geek, but I also wrestled freshman and sophomore year, so I guess some people could consider me a jock for a period of time, and yet I ate lunch with a handful of metalheads/hockey players/skaters as well as some other band geeks/crew team members/theatre snobs/etc.
The problem that comes along because of these labels is that impressionable kids want to fit in, so they force themselves into a group of people. So they all dress the same way as their friends, listen to the same music (whether they really like it or not, but they listen to it so much they end up liking it out of necessity), and practice the same study habits. They pigeonhole themselves because it's easier than finding out who they really are. Most don't even find out until they finally outgrow their cliques, which tends not to happen until after high school. Meanwhile, these kids are turning into adults who have no idea what to do with their lives because they don't know who they are.
Things go bad when you try and make things black and white. This is why I hate the Bible. It's all about rules that aren't made to be broken. Take the Ten Commandments, for example. Of course people have expounded upon them to fit a more civilized society, but just reading ten rules for how to be a good person makes me kind of sick. These black and white rules pretend to be all-encompassing, yet there are so many grey areas left uncovered. You can't turn life into a battle of good and evil, which is what the Bible tries to do. In real life, the sinners are saints and vice versa.
To further prove the phrase "Everything I need to know, I learned in kindergarten," I'm going to quote the Disney film Aladdin. "Things aren't always what they seem." There you have it. The moral of a film produced by a morally bankrupt American organization provides you with all the wisdom you need to live a socially just life. It's like rain on your wedding day.
The reason general labels are so popular is that they make things easier. Everything becomes black and white when we use labels. We don't have to think before we figure out what a person is like. I'm not going to make friends with that black dude, because he'd probably try and steal my stuff. That's easy. Much easier than going over, talking to the black dude, and deciding that he is either a) a nice guy who probably won't steal my stuff, or b) not someone you want to make friends with.
That's why we always get into trouble when we use labels. There's no such thing as black and white. There is ALWAYS a grey area, even in science, which is why different scientific experts can analyze observations in many different ways. Even mathematics, which always seems definite, is based entirely upon an abstract set of numbers. We think of "0" or "1" as some definite thing, but those numbers are really just representations of a concept that can't truly be put into physical form. So we label them.
And what happens in math when you label things? You have to set parameters. For instance, when you do algebra in high school, you'll often see something like "Where x is a real number" or something like that. If we didn't set those parameters, any answer could conceivably be the correct one. x + 2=7; x = dog.
In everyday life, we have these generalizations that serve as labels for people, not even numbers. We're taking real people with real lives and turning them into inanimate objects when we label them. It's not just by race or ethnicity, either. You have the jocks, the computer geeks, the band geeks, the preppy kids, etc. Well, most people don't fall into just one category. I was a brainy nerd/band geek, but I also wrestled freshman and sophomore year, so I guess some people could consider me a jock for a period of time, and yet I ate lunch with a handful of metalheads/hockey players/skaters as well as some other band geeks/crew team members/theatre snobs/etc.
The problem that comes along because of these labels is that impressionable kids want to fit in, so they force themselves into a group of people. So they all dress the same way as their friends, listen to the same music (whether they really like it or not, but they listen to it so much they end up liking it out of necessity), and practice the same study habits. They pigeonhole themselves because it's easier than finding out who they really are. Most don't even find out until they finally outgrow their cliques, which tends not to happen until after high school. Meanwhile, these kids are turning into adults who have no idea what to do with their lives because they don't know who they are.
Things go bad when you try and make things black and white. This is why I hate the Bible. It's all about rules that aren't made to be broken. Take the Ten Commandments, for example. Of course people have expounded upon them to fit a more civilized society, but just reading ten rules for how to be a good person makes me kind of sick. These black and white rules pretend to be all-encompassing, yet there are so many grey areas left uncovered. You can't turn life into a battle of good and evil, which is what the Bible tries to do. In real life, the sinners are saints and vice versa.
To further prove the phrase "Everything I need to know, I learned in kindergarten," I'm going to quote the Disney film Aladdin. "Things aren't always what they seem." There you have it. The moral of a film produced by a morally bankrupt American organization provides you with all the wisdom you need to live a socially just life. It's like rain on your wedding day.
***
I found out last week that The Decemberists signed with Capitol Records. The Decemberists are a whimsical, theatrical, anthemic indie pop band. Well, until they signed with a major. I guess this makes them a whimsical, theatrical, anthemic mainstream pop band.
I'm not all too familiar with their catalogue, but evidently their most recent effort, Picaresque, has a very accessible sound to it. In other words, they're making a shift to appeal to the mainstream (which some may see as a shift towards commercialism and away from artistry). The reason I write about this is that it's not just a trend in the music industry, but a certainty. Even The Velvet Underground, the precursors to indie rock, signed with a major after three albums.
The main difference between indie and mainstream is the commercialism. While it's not set in stone that anyone signed to a major label is a "sell-out," there's always at least some subtle pressure to sell records rather than make good ones. Labels have sued artists for not sounding enough like themselves. Ridiculous? Of course. But this is the music industry; these are the people who are on a witch hunt to sue everyone who's ever illegally shared music. I'm still awaiting my subpoena for those times I recorded radio programs onto cassette tapes 7 years ago.
Capitol Records will expect big things from The Decemberists, and I'm not sure they can deliver without sacrificing at least some artistic integrity. It's the nature of the business.
This negativity towards the mainstream makes it hard to appreciate the mainstream at all. When you hear a song on the radio, you know deep down that that song was somehow affected by the fact that the artist who recorded it had to sell some records. It wasn't purely artistic motives that brought about that song on the radio.
The benefit of a major is that they provide more money. It sounds selfish of the artists on the surface, but in many cases that extra money is making the music available to more people, which is mostly a good thing. Money also provides for more resources to work with in the recording studio, which ultimately improves the quality of the music, if only slightly. But if the end result sacrifices quality in the name of capital, does it really matter how good your horn section is?
I guess in the end it comes down to personal preference, but I'm a purist when it comes to rock music. We're a dying breed.
I'm not all too familiar with their catalogue, but evidently their most recent effort, Picaresque, has a very accessible sound to it. In other words, they're making a shift to appeal to the mainstream (which some may see as a shift towards commercialism and away from artistry). The reason I write about this is that it's not just a trend in the music industry, but a certainty. Even The Velvet Underground, the precursors to indie rock, signed with a major after three albums.
The main difference between indie and mainstream is the commercialism. While it's not set in stone that anyone signed to a major label is a "sell-out," there's always at least some subtle pressure to sell records rather than make good ones. Labels have sued artists for not sounding enough like themselves. Ridiculous? Of course. But this is the music industry; these are the people who are on a witch hunt to sue everyone who's ever illegally shared music. I'm still awaiting my subpoena for those times I recorded radio programs onto cassette tapes 7 years ago.
Capitol Records will expect big things from The Decemberists, and I'm not sure they can deliver without sacrificing at least some artistic integrity. It's the nature of the business.
This negativity towards the mainstream makes it hard to appreciate the mainstream at all. When you hear a song on the radio, you know deep down that that song was somehow affected by the fact that the artist who recorded it had to sell some records. It wasn't purely artistic motives that brought about that song on the radio.
The benefit of a major is that they provide more money. It sounds selfish of the artists on the surface, but in many cases that extra money is making the music available to more people, which is mostly a good thing. Money also provides for more resources to work with in the recording studio, which ultimately improves the quality of the music, if only slightly. But if the end result sacrifices quality in the name of capital, does it really matter how good your horn section is?
I guess in the end it comes down to personal preference, but I'm a purist when it comes to rock music. We're a dying breed.
posted by Kevin A. Doran at 9:41 AM
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