Rants Through The Social Distance

Every once in awhile I like to delve into The Social Distance and find random rants that fit the mood. Granted, my moods are not necessarily your moods (often times my moods have NOTHING to do with anyone else); however, the moods push me to give mention to things that please and annoy me at the same time.

The Social Distance is about finding a true individuality. Not the type of individuality that places the square peg perfectly in the square hole; but rather the Social Distance that encourages one to find their own thought process. When it comes to this mission, I am far from it. Shit, I'm almost thirty-two and I'm still in search for the point of view that is completely mine. But I do feel as though I'm close. I've lived long enough to be OK with the solo drum I march to, where the beat is slightly off kilter -- not quite Max Roach and not quite ?uestLove -- but enough that it makes a BANG that can bob heads.

So here's my list for now in the random rant of The Social Distance.

Bill Clinton says: "Chill Out":
and suddenly it becomes a news channel slogan. the term has been in American vocab for more than twenty years, and when Bill Clinton says it the term becomes a staple. it's hard to swallow and annoying to hear. i don't think we have to mention the obvious of how blacks created, whites profit from it; which only encourages us to create more.

The Roots:
can they please make an album that sucks? it's insane, that all they do is get better. as people we look forward to artists making mediocre albums (Common, "Be" & "Finding Forever",Kanye West "Late Registration", Outkast "Stankonia", "Speakerbox /The Love Below"), but The Roots can't seem to find their mediocre side...they just might go down as one of the greatest group of all times. Shit. Who can lie? They already are.

Barak Obama:
there is nothing pointless about his campaign. this may well come off as a dis on Hillary, but she has an annoying motherly approach that would make one feel limited by morals. Obama's morals are everything that we as children always said we would employ if we were to become president. it's a saving grace and almost too good to be true. however i will say that to have a Black president and a Woman vice president would be an ideal and long over due set up for America. this would allow America and the UK to flush the George W. Bush and the Tony Blairs down the sewers of forgotten mistakes.

Sasha Grey:
her world wide fame has caused the haters to reveal themselves and the fans to go over the top. she is about to be the greatest porn star, gone mainstream, since Nina Hartley and Ron Jeremy. it's hard to touch her and it's hard to truly tap into her talent...she's an enigma in her own clarity. yet, when one looks closely it is easy to see a human being with depth that travels beyond our frame of thought for an activist for "Sex Positive" women. one can look at her and see themselves. i'm not just saying this cuz she's a friend of mine. i'm saying this because i've watched porn since childhood; and my list of "great porn stars" is short; and those whom i consider great are only great because they've taken themselves outside the world of pornography (Nina Hartley,Nyrobi Knight, Kaitlyn Ashley, Belladonna, and Houston) and gravitated themselves to the world of humanity. the type of humanity where they don't seem so far fetched. they can easily be your very own girlfriend if you look hard enough. Sasha Grey joins this rank of brilliance.

Tori Amos:
like The Roots (and Nelly Fertado) she continues to push her limits. the outcome is a mind blowing mix of confession and internal vanity, that is presented with pure commitment that one cannot deny. she does not slow herself (as does Fiona Apple -- even in the cosmos of her brilliance); nor does she exploit herself (like Jewel). she grabs hold of her inner-self and shamelessly allows the world to either take it or leave it. not to mention, she's the only singer on earth who could effectively say: "I am an M-I-L-F, don't you forget" and never cause a thinking person to slump with an "oh God!" but rather to hear her say that the response is more like: "Did she just say that? Yes she did! And it works!"

Eminem:
ah, this seems to cause a lot of cocked heads and "huh?(s)" to surface themselves upon mentioning his name. however, Eminem's popularity can be easily shot down for the sake of his outrageous rap method, that seems to have become a cliche for the artist himself. however, when one listens to Eminem -- from "The Slim Shady LP" up to "Encore" (his most introspective album of them all, next to "The Marshall Mathers LP") -- one can see a progression from "My Name Is" to "Mosh." "Mosh" appears to be in the ranks of Rage Against the Machine's bleeding heart revolution; but it's actually closer to the likes of Ice-T's brilliant "Cop Killer."

Alfonso Jackson:
he joins the ranks of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson for "The Head Negro Extortioner" clan. and that's all that needs to be said about that.

Lil Bush:
a wonderful satire that puts the condition and mishandling of this country in perfect view. the show has no choice but to go right to the gut of Bush, without appearing to be reaching or out of bounds.