'Til we grow beards get weird and disappear into the mountains--- · 29 July 2008

Something about these crazy arm balances, I tell you. I went into the hip-hop archives of the Owl House CD shelves Sunday, and drew out The Eminem Show. I cannot endorse this record because it exhibits high levels of misogyny, pandering to children, preening rhymes so obviously non-spontaneous he probably copped them from a songwriting dictionary (but who doesn’t), and, sort of, the dreaded cultural appropriation. Also: it’s good. Sorry, embarrassing; but yes. I thought about stemming my habit on Monday, but it’s been the Show all week here. In my fragile 5:40 am state, it’s true that I can hew to the lowest common denominator.

The record was already two years old and tired four summers back when I was learning the first series. But I stayed in a similar can’t-quite-change-the-record groove for days on end at exactly this point in late July that year, and it worked. The rhythm was a little different: the Editor and I would go to campus around 8, and for two hours I’d write notes in preparation for my upcoming field exam in Economic Sociology. At 10:10 I’d sneak back up the parking garage, and secret through the backstreets of Beverly Hills listening to that record loud like a white university-schooled fool while the middle-aged men from Michoacan and San Salvador trimmed trees and hauled grass clippings at the curbs. I’d cut back to Wilshire at Comstock, where the country club forces you back into the big arterial, and hit just a couple of lights before landing at a now-bought-and-decommissioned (thanks, YW) beautiful little studio in the heart of downtown Beverly Hills. Park in the free garage on Beverly drive and take a manduka and change of clothes from the trunk, in time to be on the mat with hair braided up at 10:30.

Interesting that these are still my practices—Econ Soc, astanga, driving my Civic—and that a return to this place in the annual cycle shows me how much it is the same person now and then. Also, the country is weirdly the same one that the record—with its backwards E evocative of financial crisis and much to say about clueless White America and horrible wars and dirty Dick Cheney—addresses: will we throw everything away as manaically as we did in Fall 04? It took the dense evocations of Eminem’s bad but good record to see me and us in this light again. What’s different? Some edges softer and some harder, I guess, a shift in sense of humor and ideas about this and that. Maturity in some areas, loss of orthodoxy in others. Oh, and an even more obvious alternative come November. On both levels, this year’s shift in context will be a little dramatic. The four-year cycle is concluding.

In aught four the Eminem show ended when I parked the car for a week and flew to another city for the annual disciplinary meeting. Same this year. When I come back, it will almost feel like fall.

Posted by (0v0)        
Categories: arbitrage , astanga yoga , markets-networks-society , sound

Comment

1. Eminem – thumbs down
   Fall – thumbs up

   Have a great trip . . .

   Posted by: RE · Jul 29, 12:52 PM · #

2. Thanks RE.

   After confessing this listening choice I have to remain anonymous here forever.

   Posted by: (0v0) · Jul 29, 06:51 PM · #

3. Maybe Eminem combined with the arm balances are bringing out the break dancer in you. ha ha!!! I’m telling you, just put on some James Brown, bust out with 3rd series, and sort of swing out of the poses and you’re pretty much a b-girl. Of course, you’ll have to ditch the yoga clothes.

   Posted by: Liz · Jul 29, 07:05 PM · #

4. I have been really interested in the history of b-boying (and, marginally, girling) the past year. There are some AMAZING documentaries, and a whole recent history about it. The Editor has read the history stuff, but I haven’t taken it to that level. But from what I’ve seen, its amazing practice and development and culture is oddly like ashtanga in the US. Not to say that ashtanga isn’t an ancient system…

   Posted by: (0v0) · Jul 29, 07:13 PM · #

5. I freaking love that record. I used to listen to really loud rock or hip hop on the way to the shala at 6:30am when I lived in LA. One day I pulled up and Dominic was just getting off his motorcycle (and of course I was driving with all the windows down and the sunroof open). Have me a look like ‘wtf’. LOL.

   Posted by: LI Ashtangini · Jul 30, 05:06 AM · #

6. Ah, 8 mile road. I knew you well.

   Split my time between Detroit and Flint. (!)

   Posted by: joy · Jul 30, 08:29 AM · #

7. Oh my god Sonya. I love that. But c’mon, that motorcycle is all about owning the aggressive side! Morning hiphop is the same.

   Joy: Intense. I liked the movie, of course. As realistic as it gets.

   You know by the way, I have just learned that there is good ashtanga in Detroit. :)

   Posted by: (0v0) · Jul 30, 08:41 AM · #

8. Yes, Johnny Kest! I took some classes from him.

   Posted by: joy · Jul 30, 09:57 AM · #

9. Check out Inside the Circle (if you haven’t seen it)- it’s so great. It follows a couple Texas kids and their struggles to become big in the b-boy scene. The documentary was done by an Austin woman- http://www.insidethecircle.com. Not sure if it’s available other than screenings at film festivals. The dedication needed to really master the form of dance is definitely like the dedication needed to reap the benefits of Ashtanga!

   Posted by: Liz · Jul 30, 11:30 AM · #

10. When I read the title of the post, before I saw the subject, I thought it a was line from a John Denver song for a second. Seriously.

    Yep. Those arm balances are basically freezes. You just enter into them a little, um, differently. There are some awesome classes to take while you live in Los Angeles, of course. On the subject of Em, there’s always Zadie Smith’s take to lend some literary cred. Not that we need it. http://www.vibe.com/news/magazine_features/2005/01/cover_story_zen_eminem/

    Posted by: yancy · Jul 30, 05:47 PM · #

11. Hey, I’m about to get on a plane, but it’s true, Yancy. Turtle freeze, baby freeze, third series.

    I didn’t realize you knew about 3S? Have I told you? It looks like this. You enter the arm balances from headstand, and you jump into the headstand, but no doubt the breakdancing way is still harder. Liz takes breakdancing class in Austin… maybe I need to do this while I am still in LA.

    Liz, are you practicing these postures? We need to develop this b-girl third series theme. When I get back I’ll look for Inside the Circle and send some other b-boy documentary titles. These people are pretty great.

    Ok. Flying now. Will take Zadie on the plane.

    Posted by: (0v0) · Jul 30, 06:16 PM · #

12. no no… Liz TOOK break dancing classes… and was a huge failure. The dream lives on only in my head. No, I’m not practicing 3rd. I was up to about 5 postures in at one time, but then had to scale back for various reasons. I told my teacher I’d rather learn to do the windmill than 3rd series! But… I have done a lot of those arm balances in (criminal activity) a vinyasa class. I wish cartwheels were in the practice.

    Posted by: Liz · Jul 31, 10:31 AM · #

13. I could never get into the M&M. His voice is SO nasal… Can’t get past that. He reminds me of that black guy in the 80s who used to wear the red jock – Cameo.

    Posted by: boodiba · Aug 3, 04:23 AM · #

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