Dare Olonoh

…AND IT FRUSTRATES THE HELL OUT OF ME!!!!!

I have to admit, I’m starting to think that maybe Pac isn’t going to be making a return and might actually be dead because today is exactly eleven years after his death (September 13, 1996) and no sign yet.

Tupac has had a profound effect on my life. Too much of an effect to try and sum it up in a blog post but I will say this -

1) He was a great leader and I think that although many people disagree with many of his actions, I think that he had a genuinely great heart and at his essence saw himself as a servant for his people.

2) He was one of the most tragic figures of our generation. He had so much potential that was lost to petty violence. I feel strongly that Pac died as he lived - as a larger-than-life, in-your-face representation of young, poor, black people… so much potential lost to petty violence! I think that in many of his actions that America didn’t agree with, that’s what he embodied. They were either just too blind to see, or didn’t want to accept the truth.

R.I.P. Tupac.

I had absolutely no idea who he was until I read this NY Times article about one of my heroes, Rick Rubin. In the article, Rubin talks about a guy named Paul Potts who was apparently on the UK’s version of American Idol, Britain’s Got Talent. Here’s an exert from the article describing the youtube video and Rubin’s reaction -

“In the video, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man waited nervously backstage. When he faced the judges, he told them he worked at a mobile-phone store and wanted to sing opera. The studio audience looked annoyed — they clearly wanted to hear a pop song — and the judges were cold and dismissive. No one expected anything remarkable from this dull-looking, forgettable guy.

But then Paul Potts sang — “Nessun dorma” from “Turandot.” He had an improbably beautiful voice. “Where does that come from?” Rubin said as he watched. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. “I can’t look at this without crying,” he said. “His voice is so beautiful.” When Potts finished his song, Cowell said, “I thought you were absolutely fantastic.” The studio audience roared with approval, and Potts beamed. ”

Honestly, when I read that, I was skeptical. I didn’t doubt that Paul Potts had talent because Rubin’s track record in recognizing talent more than speaks for itself and I’d be a complete fool to think that I knew better than him. However, he is a very eccentric character himself, so I could see him crying at say… the power of the moon, or the feathers on a bird. But I have to admit, I was also brought to tears from this man’s performance.  It’s amazing.

Please watch it and let me know if it has the same impact on you. And if it doesn’t, let me know why you’re a cold and heartless person who can’t show emotion

I was reading a book on record production today and the author placed an interesting quote in the book in regards to “what kind of a person becomes a record producer.” It made a lot of sense to me considering the recent events in my life and I think it certainly applies more broadly than just to record producers.

“Going to work for a large company is like getting on a train. Are you going sixty miles an hour or is the train going sixty miles an hour and you’re just sitting still?” (Paul Getty)

The author, Richard James Burgess, continues on in his own words, “I realised some time back that I have two basic needs in life, autonomy and creativity (maybe they are wants but they sure feel like needs). I can survive extremely adverse conditions if those two qualities are actively present. Stress cannot easily grow in a field of autonomy. Boredom always melts in the fire of creativity.”

You know, there’s times when you read or hear something from someone else that describes your situation better than you can… I think the above holds true for me in this situation.