Iain Brouwer

Period F

January 14th, 2014

Final                      

What Makes Our Generation So Unaware and Inexperienced?

Throughout the years, this generation has proven themselves to be a bunch of “softies” or “pampered” young adults and teens and I find this to be very true for many reasons. It’s about time we look at ourselves and each other and realize that it’s time to grow up. We under appreciate what we have and we expect things to be handed our way without having any work done. We are a generation that needs to take initiative into the future. But there are a lot of things that are holding us down.

We always feel to be entitled to everything as if we deserve a reward for it. We seek attention for everything we do. No task can be done without seeking a reward from it. Acts such as “Do well on a test? Here’s $100.” The reward system has caused us to seek attention for everything that we do. We don’t need attention for everything we do. If you do something good, then congrats to you. But expecting everything under the sun for it is what so many people expect.

A 9-5 job doesn’t solve your life problems with money. It’s not the key to success and not many of us aim for more than that. A 9 to 5 mentality is going to get you nowhere. Nothing comes easy in this world and becoming successful is going to take effort and a lot of time. The effort we put into things is low. We expect to slowly graze a subject, expecting to become a genius or just to make it by. It’s not the right mentality and we need to reach beyond our levels of work to see a positive result in what we do.

“We are also used to being spoon fed everything.” - Some people claim that everything is too convenient for our generation. We only can depend on our parents and not ourselves in many occasions. This world is rough and once the day comes that you have to leave your home, you’ll have a rough adjustment if you think everything is going to be as easy as living at home.

My least favorite thing is that this generation rewards stupidity. “In America, stupidity is encouraged more than it is frowned upon. We tune in every week to see ridiculous shows such as “Teen Mom”, and “The Jersey Shore”. The people here benefit from our views and it just encourages themselves and other people to keep on doing the stupid things that they do. People like Kim Kardashian, Lindsay Lohan, are both famous because of their ignorant and childish behavior. The sad thing is that people in our generation idolize what they do and I find it ridiculous. More people know what’s going on in this world with Kim Kardashian than what is actually going on in the world itself. It’s a sad reality that is not taken care of. These people shouldn’t be idolized at all considering they’ve been pampered brats their whole lives.

We rely on technology way too much. “Our phones are our lifelines”. They’re not. Teens overreact over the fact that they can’t live without their phones. How do you think people lived life before phones? They actually had to put effort into the things that they do without a phone even in human thought. If we take phones away for at least a day, we can actually realize that life is more than just social media, text messaging, and playing nonsensical games. With all this technology, we don’t care how we use our words towards each other. This generation is solving their problems by spilling it all online for people to take a poke at and when they get trashed for it, “it’s not their fault.” This is when verbally assaulting on the internet takes action. It’s unnecessary and I find it extremely unnecessary and just stupid and very childish. And also if you’ve done it, mind your own business, don’t keep the argument going, and move on with your own life while the others sit on their phones trying to take a stab at someone else’s mainly because they’re too afraid to say it to the persons face and actually settle it. Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are the applications where these childish arguments take place.

In this generation, we always seek to find the easy way out. In situations where you know the consequences will not be good in the long run, you always tend to find the easy way out of it. This isn’t always the right thing to do either. We are afraid to get into the trouble we would expect so we try to keep in the shadows; maybe procrastinating is the best idea. In the long run, procrastination was the wrong idea. We are a group of people that think they can get away with every little thing that we do. And the outcomes of the times you get in trouble usually end up with yourself being grounded or just being yelled at. Back then, punishments were taken more seriously and less lightly than serious situations are being taken today.

And to finish things off, we live in an era that is too politically correct. What we say has to be extremely careful because everyone has become more sensitive. “More terms have been labeled more offensive in this generation than at any time before, People need to realize that not everything that is said is meant to be offensive, it is just a style of talking that people may use.” 

Iain Brouwer

1/8/14

Journalism F Block

Unnecessary Staring.

When I’m sitting, relaxing, working and just minding my own business I usually feel a little uncomfortable at times. Mainly because out of the corner of my eye I’d see a bystander and or student giving me a stare that I've never been able to realize the fact as to why they were staring at me. Maybe they were intrigued by something about me or just got lost in thought and are staring blankly, but it’s a very uncomfortable situation that I cope with. But sometimes in the spur of the moment I realize that it is in fact me, who stares down the soul of a person for no logical reasons without even realizing it as well. But if it’s the other way around, please stop. It scares me.

People who walk their dogs and let them poop indiscriminately (like on someone's lawn), and does not pick it up.

We've all seen people walk a dog and maybe you've walked a dog yourself, you usually are equipped with the bare essentials including a bag especially. Bring your bag and use it too. No none wants to have a great day and feel like nothing can stop them but get destroyed morally by stepping in a huge pile of your dog’s s***. Use your brain at least.

When people leave the chip bag open until it becomes stale.

I enjoy my food as much as the next guy, but when it comes to people ruining the food for me such as not putting it back where it belongs, it gets me upset. Mainly with chips. They eat their share and don’t put it back or not even roll it up and when I get to eat it all happy and such, I eat the stalest chip I’ve ever eaten. Close the bags or at least roll them up.

People who refuse to expand their musical horizons.

We all know that you enjoy your certain genre of music as much as the next guy but when it comes to you completely deprecating on a music genre you've never spent a single second listening too, it’s time to reevaluate yourself and check it out for once before talking bad about it.

People who talk about their favorite sports team and say "WE" like they are a part of the team.

It’s not you, it’s the players. You don’t play the game you watch it. When people say that “We won the game.” As in the Red Sox winning the World Series, it had nothing to do with you at all. It was the players who actually won the game.

When you think you know about something but try to put your input into the conversation but it doesn't make sense at all.

I know you’d like to be involved in the conversation or you just like to hear the sound of your own voice, but other people don’t want to hear it. Especially when what you are trying to say makes no sense to the conversation at all and you are oblivious to the topic as well.

When people lick their fingers when handing out a pile of papers.

It’s unsanitary to do it. Yet people still do it all the time. When you lick your thumb and swipe through papers or hand them out, it doesn't really help you THAT much rather than using a clean hand. That’s why I always grab the last paper when the teacher or persons thumb is a little better and dry.

Getting interrupted halfway through your important conversations.

I’m sorry, was what you’re saying to interrupt my conversation THAT important that I had to stop? I was talking first so next time if I try to continue my conversation, it should be a one way story, not one with your story getting tossed in halfway through when it’s not relevant.

Hypocrites.

When people do something such as an act in which you hate but you do the same thing, it makes no sense. You might as well talk down on yourself when you put input on acts you hate but also do. A primary example is talking **** about a person but the reason they did so is because you said something against them as well in the first place.

Summer Vacation

I believe that the best idea of saving summer vacation would be the result of getting rid of April and summer vacation to balance the two out. It might even extend the summer vacation but that could be the issue of what people don't want. so if you get rid of April and February vacations, you might be able to keep the summer vacation for the students.

Red Hot Chili Peppers : Mothers Milk Track Listing

1	Good Time Boys	4:51
2	Higher Ground	3:21
3	Subway to Venus	4:17
4	Magic Johnson	2:47
5	Nobody Weird Like Me	3:50
6	Knock Me Down	3:45
7	Taste The Pain	4:31
8	Stone Cold Bush	3:05
9	Fire	2:00
10	Pretty Little Ditty	1:30
11	Punk Rock Classic	1:47
12	Sexy Mexican Maid	3:23
13	Johnny Kick a Hole in the Sky	5:08

This album is the 4th album recorded by The Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1989 and it set their careers off. The album begins with a cranked bass slap and a guitar screaming along to enter into the funk blasting, ear ringing, hard rock, punk that is RHCP in "Good Time Boys": A somewhat proper introduction for the group and the album. They then begin to play the hit Stevie Wonder song "Higher Ground". What was originally a normal funk rooted song became a hard rock funk anthem for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and a greatest hit 20 years later. Then came the fast paced funk comedy sounding "Subway to Venus" to show a fast paced punk rock side as well as a few horns played by Flea. "Magic Johnson" was written for the LA Lakers Hall Of Fame Point Guard. It's fast paced jam represents some of the stylings of the old Red Hot Chili Peppers including Guitarist Hillel Slovak who they had lost two years earlier from a heroin OD. Their drummer Jack Irons then left the band shortly after and that's when 18 year old guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith were discovered and gladly introduced. "Nobody Weird Like Me" is a punk rock, heavy jam consisting of hard slapping bass by bassist John "Flea" Balzary and the typical 80's Chili Peppers bursts of shouting by lead singer Anthony Kiedis. It includes Violin, Horns, and also the bagpipes. It branched off as a very odd tune for the band."Knock Me Down" is a song in remembrance of late guitarist Hillel Slovak. It's serious message about life's losses by addiction and drugs gave the Chili Peppers somewhat of a sad and soft side showing that they can be serious with their music. "Taste the Pain" was a song based off of mainly Flea's trumpet playing and bass playing. This song slowed down the album a little bit and gave off in some cases as a filler for the album. Then comes "Stone Cold Bush", an intense blast of funk, ear ringing punk rock, and grunge-like guitar riffs along with a solo that couldn't be perfected more than once. They also did another cover. This time it was "Fire" by Jimi Hendrix. They added a little bit of hard rock and sped the song up a bit but the original song roots remained the same. "Pretty Little Ditty" is a slow jam consisting of no vocals, low volumes horns and drums once in a while. As the main instruments (Guitar and Bass) played side by side gracefully. "Punk Rock Classic" is a blast beat anthem showing nothing else but "Classic" punk rock, something that the band never really reached out to until this album. The provocative slow rock tune "Sexy Mexican Maid" was just another classic example of their typical sex induced vocalist that Anthony Kiedis was very well known for. To close off the album is one of their greatest hits of the 80's "Johnny Kick a Hole in the Sky" this song is about Kiedis' heritage as an American Indian that understood the struggle of an Indian during colonization shown by the lyrics "I was born in a land
I don't think you understand, god damn what I am, I'm a native of this place, Please don't kick me in my face, My race has been disgraced." Along with "What this country came to be, it's a lie, no place for me." This album was considered as a rebirth for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and their next albums would be the reason as to why they are considered one of the best bands in rock and roll history. They showed just about every genre and have dozens of greatest hits they began in 1983 in LA and are now members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2012. 

The Black Keys

El Camino

Nonesuch

Rolling Stone: star rating

Community: star rating

 WILL HERMES

December 6, 2011

Over 10 years and seven albums, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have turned their basement blues project into one of America's mightiest bands. Weaned on Stax 45s and Wu-Tang loops, the Black Keys smeared the lines between blues, rock, R&B and soul, with Auerbach's horny Howlin Wolf yowl bouncing off garage-y slashing and nasty body-rocking grooves. Like that other guitar and drums duo from the Rust Belt, the Akron, Ohio, guys brought raw, riffed-out power back to pop's lexicon. On 2010's Brothers, they found a perfect balance between juke-joint formalism and modern bangzoom. The result was a few Grammys and so many TV ad placements, The Colbert Report did a sketch about it.

El Camino is the Keys' grandest pop gesture yet, augmenting dark-hearted fuzz blasts with sleekly sexy choruses and Seventies-glam flair. It's an attempt at staying true to the spirit of that piece-of-shit minivan on the album cover – similar to their first touring vehicle – while reimagining it as a pimpmobile.

This is the Black Keys' third meeting – following 2008's Attack & Release and one track on Brothers – with Danger Mouse, a.k.a. Brian Burton. Here, the band essentially becomes a trio, with Burton as co-producer/co-writer throughout. His brilliance, as the planet heard on Gnarls Barkley's Crazy, is blowing details of classic pop up to Jumbotron scale. Listen to the keyboard part that kicks in the door of El Camino's "Gold on the Ceiling": a serrated organ growl backed up with a SWAT team of hand claps. It's Sixties bubblegum garage pop writ large, with T. Rex swagger and a guitar freakout that perfectly mirrors the lyrics, a paranoid rant that makes you shiver while you shimmy.

The single "Lonely Boy" works the same way, launched on a gnarly, looped guitar riff whose last note slides down like a turntable that someone keeps stopping. Then a sugar-crusted keyboard comes in, along with what sounds like a boy-girl chorus, changing the swampy chug into a seductive singalong.

The Keys cited the Clash as an influence for El Camino, and that influence is evident in the increased zip of the grooves, and in the group hug between roots music and rock spectacle: See "Hell of a Season," whose choppy guitar chords and relentless beat twists into a dubby, uptight reggae pulse. Of course, you can just as easily hear Led Zeppelin in "Little Black Submarines," an acoustic blues that gets run over halfway through by electric riffs and brutish drums, Carney doing a hilariously great junkyard John Bonham.

There's still a strange jukebox anonymity to the Keys' approach; their vintage organ and guitar sounds often project larger personae than the band itself. But part of the reason Carney and Auerbach keep finding new ways to shake up that old-school blues-rock rumble is that they're workaday dudes smart enough to get out of the way of their own songs. Like Clark Kent's or Peter Parker's, their 99 percentness only seems to enhance their powers.

The Grateful Dead

Shakedown Street

Rolling Stone: star rating

Community: star rating

By : Gary Von Tersch

March 8, 1979

With few exceptions, Shakedown Street, rife with blind intersections, comes across as an artistic dead end. The punch that producer Keith Olsen provided on Terrapin Station, the Grateful Dead's last LP, has all but vanished here, and Olsen's successor, the usually reliable Lowell George, offers almost nothing to replace it. You can hear echoes of inventive reverberation and some crosscut grittiness in the percussive "Serengetti," while the seductive "France" gets off the ground in spots — but two songs make a single, not an album.

Over the years, the Dead have shown a knack for turning even the most undistinguished material into something at least moderately interesting. No more. Both "Good Lovin'" and "All New Minglewood Blues" feature aimless ensemble work and vocals that Bob Weir should never have attempted. Similarly, "Fire on the Mountain" and "Shakedown Street" suffer from too much strain and not enough revving up musically. The disco tinges in the latter merely add to the catastrophe.

And the rest? "I Need a Miracle" sounds like an Englebert Humperdinck reject, Donna Godchaux' "From the Heart of Me" is as clumsy as its title and "If I Had the World to Give" and "Stagger Lee" don't even boast instrumental solos to offset their flaccid lyrics. Maybe the band's energy is still in Egypt, partial payment perhaps for sending King Tut to America.

Phish

Farmhouse

Elektra

Rolling Stone: star rating

Community: star rating

 JON PARELES

May 25, 2000

There's a thin line between mellow and torpid, and Phish repose on that line all too calmly on Farmhouse, their eleventh album. It's an album dominated by songs from Phish's guitarist and main singer, Trey Anastasio; it was even recorded in his Vermont barn. He's leading Phish's latest attempt to come up with radio-length tracks that might spread their renown beyond the jam-band faithful. To hear why those fans fill arenas, try "First Tube" or the quickly accelerating "Piper," two glimpses of Phish jams in motion that turn vamps into breezy journeys. But songs have always been the least of Phish's assets; they're just raw material for those jams.

Most of the songs on Farmhouse are going to need a lot of live resuscitation. Leaving behind the shape-shifting cleverness of older Phish fare like "It's Ice," they're straightforward countryish rock that sets out to be genial but, with Anastasio's nonchalant singing, comes off slightly smug. If Farmhouse is Anastasio calling the shots, maybe he's not the group's resident genius after all. Tom Marshall's lyrics are about mild bummers or existential musings: rapacious girlfriends in the Allmans-style "Heavy Things," complete withdrawal in the sluggish, wanna-be-R.E.M. dirge "Dirt," dream-catching in the acoustic "Sleep."

One of Phish's problems is that their members are such music fans that they can't help re-creating their idols; the minor-key groove of "Twist," one of the album's better songs, leads Anastasio to a Santana guitar simulation. Then again, most music fans wouldn't be shameless enough to imitate the "Everything's gonna be all right" phrase from Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry," as Phish do in "Farmhouse." Another problem is that Phish just ain't that funky; "Sand" would like to be as cool as War's "Cisco Kid" but comes off more like Steve Miller's "Fly Like an Eagle." These songs are bound to improve in concert; bring a tape recorder.