Love & Marriage, Horse & Carriage
Nevermind the title of this blog post. It’s just what gets stuck in my head when I think of the word “marriage” and am reminded of the silly old sitcom Married with Children that uses the famous Sinatra song; but I digress.
It’s officially the 4th of June, 2011 where I am. This marks the day one of my oldest friends (perhaps the oldest that I am still in contact with) gets married. In 15 hours and change he will be walking down the aisle, in front of friends, family, and God to officially proclaim and dedicate his love for another human being, till death do they part. On one hand it’s a frightening proposition; to declare that they will do all they can to actively experience love as a verb and not passively as a noun. On the other hand it’s a beautifully innate desire that seems to run deep within the vast majority of us, that we could someday experience something so Divinely inspired and humanly powerful.
Image courtesy of Photoria Media
People have given me bewildered looks, like those deserved by a lunatic, when I explain that I’m OK with never getting married. You see, it’s not that I wouldn’t ideally like to be married some day and to take part in the amazing covenant known as marriage, rather it’s just the pragmatic and cautious side of me recognizes that very few of us know how to truly Love some of the time – much less all the time. It’s not that I expect perfection of myself and my potential future wife, but I think we would both deserve an ever seeking desire to Love perfectly, albeit with the expectation that we will fall short at times.
A Little Snippet of New Music – “Mayday!”
Uh what? New music? From GT? Yes and no. I had the itching to put something together last night and this was the product. It’s not exactly finished, but it’s close. But I didn’t want to keep my 6 fans waiting. It was done on a day in May plus it’s a general sign of things to come, hence the title. Just know I ain’t done with music yet muthasuckas!
heh, wait … so imma have to spit a verse
maybe something spicy to chew on, cinnaburst
hit em where it really hurts, pinch a nerve, with some words
ya heard it first, sub-sonic murder sound, kilohertz!
heres a clean sixteen like an abstinent teen
if ya looking for the king, just ask and receive
im the man that you seek, and I’m glad to be he
better known as GT, the passionate MC!
its a warning for you fools writing wack raps
betta get ya head adjusted, like a snapback
or maybe you should run, hit the track jack
Ya just a product of the Hunt, like a snackpack
I’m goin in… like my mothers calling
so ya betta save ya game, time for you to pause it
my victory is flawless, but if it’s any solace
I got that Navi flow cause I aint ever lost yet! chyea!
I’ve been following WongFu since college. Back before Phil met Ted & Wes and when he was just making silly lip-sync music videos. Back before Youtube or Facebook, when these videos went viral by people passing them around over various college networks. So to say I’m familiar with their work is a bit of an understatement. I’ve witnessed their transition from silly lip-syncers to full on video producers who have released shorts, legit music videos, mini-series, merchandising & more. Not everything they release is perfect but it’s been awesome to see them continue to hone their craft and grow as film makers, and as one of the pioneers of on-line video distribution and the face of many Asian-American projects.
But their latest production, a short entitled Strangers, again is by far my favorite release of theirs yet. I’m no film critic but their ability to weave together a tale generic enough that almost anyone can relate yet crafted well enough that I genuinely become attached to the characters in just 15 minutes-ish of time is quite impressive. Take a look:
And… I’ll leave it at that and let the video speak for itself. All I’ll say is that the short moved me in a way that brought forward a lot of memories, regrets, and understanding. The video is already a couple weeks old, and at over 5 Million views as of this writing, I imagine that many of you may have already seen it. If not, you’re missing out. It’s given me a couple things to think about for if and when I’m in my next relationship.
I Miss Studio Life
Nothing fancy here… just reminiscing on some good times I had while recording with some friends. I don’t work on music nearly as much as I would like to but that’s something I’ve been changing this year. Stupid day job getting in the way. Anyhow.. look for new material… some day… hopefully.
This was such a stupid but fun time back in 2009.
Beware the “Ides of April” – A Poem of Dedication
Back in 2002, the mother of a friend of mine was murdered during a robbery that took place at the store her family owned. At that time, this was one of the first experiences I had involving death and though I’ve only met the woman once or twice, seeing her daughter (my friend) deal with the tragedy was an oddly influential moment for me. To this day I always remember April 15th as the day my friend lost a mother but began taking steps in becoming her own woman.
In 2003, when I first started recording I released a song called “Four Seasons Later”. It was an ode of respect, paid in dedication to my friend and her family. 3 years later (2006) I was compelled to redraft the whole thing, and the end product was something entirely different – a spoken word poem called “Ides of April” (a somewhat obscure reference to Ceaser). I discussed the piece with my friend Jacqueline, a fantastic musician and singer from California, and the next thing I knew, she provided a piano instrumental that moved me to record the poem. Last but not least we salvaged some of the lyrics from “Four Seasons Later” and produced the reprise of the song, which Jackie sang hauntingly and beautifully. The track eventually found it’s way unto my mixtape released in 2008, In Transition.
Last night I quickly put together a video, paraphrasing and highlighting the words of the poem/song. I’m not entirely sure why 9 years later this event continues to move me, but I found it appropriate to re-share the song via the new video. From a technical standpoint, there are a lot of imperfections on both the audio and video fronts, but it isn’t now, nor has it ever been about creating a perfect piece of work. At the end of the day the event(s) that inspired this were ugly and horrific but it has ultimately produced beauty via the lives of the surviving family. I share a similar sentiment about this piece; it may not be the prettiest, most polished work you ever hear, but I believe it to be honest and moving in it’s own right.
And so I hope this may inspire you too.
RIP – 4/15/2002
