Fucked Up

So for my first musical entry into this affair I wanted to give you something that might be a little outside your comfort zone (it certainly was outside of mine)

Fucked Up is a hardcore punk band based out of Toronto, Canada. Yes, hardcore is a genre built on a temple of screaming and general musical insanity. It is typically listened to by those who enjoy concerts as a bloodsport rather than a venue for seeing bands perform. In normal circumstances I would be entirely opposed to this type of music...

However, on June 7th, 2011 Fucked Up released their second album David Comes to Life. This album is simply spectacular not only in its quality but in it's scope. The band has attempted to create a four act hardcore punk opera harkening back to the days of Quadrophenia and Tommy (iconic rock operas by The Who) Trying to understand the whole storyline is almost impossible but this article/review by NPR does a pretty good job of summarizing it. I suggest skimming it before listening just so you can get a little bit of context.

The album runs just under an hour and a half and Damien Abraham (lead singer) shouts through the whole thing. His voice is going to be the big deciding factor on if you like this album or not but trust me, once you get used to it you will realize how much passion it brings and how the whole thing wouldn't be the same without him. It can be exhausting listening to this thing all of the way through so don't over extend yourself but when you do listen make sure you give the album a fair amount of attention.

All in all I consider this album to be something of a master piece and definitely believe it to be the best record of 2011. This record connects to me beyond just a musical standpoint and I hope it can do the same for you. I look forward to hearing what you have to say about this and I just want to reiterate that you may need to give this album some time to sink in.

David Comes to Life - Fucked Up

Always start with Krugman

So here's your first article. Yes, it's a Krugman. I won't go overboard with him, but I think this piece is a good place to start.

The biggest political issue right now is the jobs bill Obama announced two weeks ago. Not much to it really, just some tax cuts and spending on things like infrastructure and hiring teachers. At first, the Republican leadership acted open to some of the ideas, but their tone has reverted from ever ever ever so slightly cooperative back to confrontational in the past couple weeks.

There are a couple reasons for the Republicans to obstruct rather than work with the President (the fact that he's unpopular and that passing anything will give the Republican Party some ownership of the economy are two big ones). But a major a cause of Republican obstinacy has to come from the way the President plans on paying for the bill: raising the tax level on wealthy Americans. It's a supremely reasonable proposal, but it has been met with a good share of political drama.

I like Krugman's take on it all. There are a couple things I would like you to note. First, he cites the Congressional Budget Office. Any time a statistic or projection is mentioned check out who's making it. If it's a think tank, be skeptical until wikipediaing the group (if it's Heritage Foundation just disregard it entirely). CBO is good though. Second, he debunks the "rich pay way more in taxes" argument. That's the first argument you'll hear from anyone who opposes tax increases on the wealthy and it's useful to know why the claim is so deceptive.

Take a read and let me know what you think.

The Social Contract - Paul Krugman

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