Contra Dance

I had a ton of fun at the contra dance. I wasn't very good at it, but it was still a great experience. I'm usually very uncomfortable doing dances of any sort, but at the contra dance, it just didn't matter if you were good or not. Just as long as you participated and had fun, you did a good job. That's so hugely different from the typical mainstream dance scene, where the sexiest moves and the best looking people are the highlights of the night. I think that if I could get a good group of friends together, I would definitely go to another contra dance. It would be a little weird if I went by myself, but as long as I know a few other people it would be really fun to go again. The benefits to participatory music is that it's a great chance for bonding with friends and for making new friends. It provides a way for people to step out of their comfort zones and do things that they usually wouldn't. It also gives everyone a chance to experience those awesome flow states, along with just a sense of belonging. This applies to social movements as well. When everyone is working together, things move along smoothly and things get done. There's no combativeness, no competition, everyone is just working toward the same goal. Participatory music helps to instill the values of teamwork and inclusiveness that help to create powerful social movements. 

The Punks Are Alright

When we watched the movie, the first thing I really thought was that the world really is not as nice a place as I had previously believed. Hearing about how the kids in Brazil have to deal with drug cartels, and Indonesian people being totally under the thumb of western capitalism.  That definitely changed what I think about Brazil. I had no idea they had such a problem with drugs and violence. I didn't really have any idea of how Indonesia was though, so I can't say the movie changed my perception of Indonesia. In both places, punk rock seems to be a driving force maybe not for the whole culture, but it makes an enormous difference in the lives of individuals within the punk community, and for the people they help, like the school that Heinrich (spellcheck?) taught at.  He also said that punk helps keep kids off the streets, by giving them something to do, or work towards. Instead of roaming the streets, or running drugs, they're in their garages or rooms with friends writing songs, or just playing instruments.  Punk rock also gives the people in these countries (and everywhere else) an escape from the political and religious battles going on around them. It's used to convey a sense of "screw the government, we do what we want".  All three of the guys who were interviewed said that punk is a way for them to get away from whatever it is that is bothering them. Like the one guy said, "Punk is the remedy for my sickness", I use my heavy metal and video games to get away from boring everyday life, and go to a place where glory is won by heroic acts, not how much money you manage to steal from everybody else.  On that note, we here in the United States are very connected to these punk artists. Those guys over in Indonesia work in factories, in terrible conditions, for companies that we help to support by buying their products. By purchasing certain products, we provide the Indonesians with jobs, but at the same time help to support a system that leaves them with a dependency on American money, and a corrupt government that can't or won't care for it's people.  Building from today’s movie and discussions, assess the role of Punk Music in contemporary religious and political debates in Brazil and Indonesia. A couple questions to consider: ·         How has this movie changed your perceptions of youth culture in these two communities? ·          In what ways can you relate to the lifeways of the artists chronicled in this movie?  ·         How do your lives intersect in terms of global flows of cultural, political and economic influence?  How are you connected to the artists portrayed in the film?

The Bloomington Farmers Market

This is my poorly drawn map of the Farmers market here in Bloomington, including general foot traffic, entertainment, and a general layout of where things are are. Over the course of an hour, i noticed several things. The first being that while a lot of people did go there to get fresh produce, I saw a lot of people who walked in, and walked out with empty hands. The farmers market is just as much a social event as it is a marketplace. At the farmers market, theirs a good bit of open space, where people can walk around and talk with each other. A few of the people that I talked to usually end up spending most of their Saturday's there, because they will meet up with, or run into somebody that they know, and stay and hang out for a while. There were also a fair amount of musical groups performing around the market. Towards the entrance, there was a west African drum and dance group, further in there were a few guys strumming guitars and playing drums. Towards the center of the market was a country-folk band that was getting a bit of attention. Even if you weren't there to buy food, there was still plenty of people and entertainment to keep you busy for a while. Everyone at the market was pretty friendly as well. Typically in a Meijer or Kroegers, everyone is just kind of quiet and and trying not to make eye contact, with the occasional rude outburst from some lady in desperate need of the last pack of whatever everyone else happens to need. People at the farmers market we're willing to chat, and the performers/boothkeepers we're eager to talk about whatever it was they had going on, or what kind of music they we're playing. The market was a pretty cool place. It just seemed like everyone was engaged in some way. Everyone was interacting, be it just walking around, talking to friends, or clapping along to music, or running a booth/stall.

This here is the set list I've chosen to represent my 'story', I guess you could call it.

I really like this song, Destined For Glory, mostly for the chorus, where it says "Fight with your heart and you're destined for glory, but fight without honor you're destined to fall." I try to work toward my goals with everything at my disposal, while helping others and maintaining friendships along the way. I also chose the song, because it has some nice guitar work in there.

I think this song describes my family's moving about pretty well. Ever since I was born, I don't think we've ever lived anywhere for more than 3 years. Then when I was ten, my dad joined the navy, and we started moving to different states, not just down the street, or across town. I've had to make friends in so many different places, and with so many different kinds of people, I just think this song does a pretty good job of expressing that.

I've liked this song for a really long time, mostly because of the rhythm and the cool little sweep picking bits, but I never really paid attention to the lyrics until I had to find songs to represent my life. So when started listening more to the words, I felt like this song almost exactly expresses my views and experiences.
"Somewhere life is good, and things go as they should
it's hard to find, but that's alright yeah
Searching for the way, push harder everyday
It's deep inside, that shining light yeah
But I'm scarred, by barriers placed in my path
I'm scathed"
When I was younger, I had some problems with making friends and depression, but I eventually got out of it. There are other parts of the song I can relate to, but I don't think you guys want me to break down the whole thing.

I think between those three songs, I've got everything pretty well covered. I've got my values, my struggles, and the whole moving around thing.