VOGUE copyright Conde Nast
© 2013 h2omeloncholy@blogspot.com
© 2013 KM Fikes
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from KM Fikes is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to KM Fikes & h2omeloncholy@blogspot.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. No excerpt or link may be used for monetary compensation.
To the Reefer, ROWcoco, and melon madness...
row noun. \rau\
a noisy disturbance or quarrel
"Quarrel, I will back thee."
Romeo and Juliet - Act I, Scene 1
UK Conservative Conference 2013
ONE:
"What do you think? Are hip-hop artists like Akala of Hip-Hop Shakespeare
racist and misguided? Or is this another case of the arts being caught in a
political crossfire?"
'ONE' slack-jawed question, O ye, Shakespeare Standard, as an inexplicable distortion of 'racism'. As erred utterances go? Wholly lacking in originality. Normative adjacent. Troth - 'standard'. Too regular to reiterate further. And yet? This discombobulation still manages to astound in its stupefying conflation of racism's benefactors or primary agents with those, contrarily positioned, in estimable defiance of racism's structural oppression thru insistence upon their/our agency. Akala's posture reads thus defiant; Johns' compliance straddles - oblivious as stridently - that fence 'twixt regression and progression. Most fences, tho', have a picket loose or brick about to fall.
WithTHAT? Straight to't. One is unfamiliar with a quantifiable weight of yon nebula past our endangered eco 'system'. Nevadaless, Lindsay Johns credits that eva nebulous 'bling' culture as the downfall of a certain segment of civilization. O'ersimplified and thus beneath Mr. Johns, the youth volunteer - himself - his proposed antidotes? Speech. And clothing. He, like UK owned Fox network analysts, looks askance at the infamous 'hoodie'. Hamlet, hood none yet brooding about his haunted castle in codpiece and ruff - like hooded Trayvon Martin - still met his tragic end.
Mr. Johns is generous enuf to tip the quill in his cap towards WEB DuBois as one of the exceptions to the curriculum in which he feels "dead white men" should remain predominant. Howeva, suspiciously, one needst not revert to the early twentieth century to locate exemplary Other-ed Ethnic figures. The recently-departed Nigerian author of Things Fall Apart titled the very work for a line in a John Keats poem. Chinua Achebe might - then - meet Mr. Johns' approval. (Do feel at liberty to insert Columbus 'Day' quip here...The last sentence is thine, yo - concluding this paragraph with the democracy one shall wish for an astute curriculum of critical global citizenship.)
Mr. Johns insists that the reason 'the canon' has survived for millennia is because it is "good". True dhat. Except for those who trace editions where the First Folio allegedly migrates from Bad. Bad Quarto, that is. Nevadaless, the global breadth of brilliant, even ingenious, work supersedes that which has been canonized. What Mr. Johns fails to mention are the mechanics of the inherent assumptions of privileged culture. "Good", i. e., quality or worthy prose can be far less influential than societal inclinations to concede to said work - consequently deemed superior due to the creator's sanctioned identity as da voice o' structural correctitude.
H2Omeloncholic™ critique if eva there be.
Thy dear author curiously finds oneself aligned intimately with Mr. Johns' stance on purebred Bard. Although adolescents, his mentees should avoid - at ev'ry cost - the sophomoric expectations/delusions from Dominant Cult's estimations. These future leaders - as do we all - deserve a sophisticated presentation to divulge/indulge the quintessence of the scribe's intent. Therein lies the debate; it is the tone of Lindsay Johns to which one stands in direct albeit empathetic opposition.
Hip hop doth not demean Brah Bard. Arguably, it qualifies as the progeny of Elizabethan verse. Mr. Johns' apparent inability and/or refusal to acknowledge this intrinsic link is wretchedly detrimental to the same generation that one believes he sincerely assists.
As the creator, or rather, curator, or better yet, excavator, of the phantom verse, Elizabonics™, the relationship 'twixt Elizabethan English and 'Merican Ebonics proves more interdependent than one might have imagined upon daring to e'en explore Elizabonics™ as more than one's own absurdist whim. Elizabonics™ dost not present the proposition of either/or with which Mr. Johns seems at war. As one's exhaustively footnoted work illustrates, the commonalities in verse are no compromise to any acumen. Elizabonics™ is intended as a challenge to our notions of dramatic dialogue as high or low art. Might it be both or neither? The hypothetical verse answers for itself. Elizabonics™ is meant to be a celebration of collective intellectual prowess thru a comprehensive as creative exercise in comparative literature. In the vein of John Stewart or Stephen Colbert, one's own adjunct offering or commentary is no succinct alternative to initial source. Elizabonics™ is less a Shakespearean rendering or interpretation than a surreal migratory route for the possibilities of verse drama. How does inventive approach detract scholastic advance? Standing tall in the converse is A Most High Cotton Epic Poem in Three Groovements...or Otherwise Called A Most High Cotton Trilogy: An Elizabonic™ Hypothesis.
Below, the additional syntax/pronunciation is classified as unStandard English or Elizabonics™ or what Mr. Johns deems unacceptable "ghetto" jargon in a lauded leadership program.
asked
Lindsay Johns - graduate student of 'classic' languages - cannot intend this inherent hypocrisy when calling for a direct read of da Bard's text. Again, one supports Shakespeare unabridged. It is the tenor of Mr. Johns' 'call' that alerts the ol' H2Omelon patch like Linus van Pelt come Halloween. Dost not 'axed' honor Elizabethan grammar - as descended from Chaucer - e'en mo' than the ostensibly correct 'asked'? Which tongue - then - art keepin'...keep'st...keepin' it real, yo?
FULL DISCLOSURE: gentlesoulfolk? One's inkwell is filled from across the pond - thaz 'Merica. One confesses an appalling ignorance of UK slang which one hopes to rectify as a hyper audible tourist in O.B.'s 'hood - Original Bard. Such is paramount to verify Elizabonics™ in English speaking 'settings' beyond 'Merica. Meantime, my good peops? One digs - hard - the curious contradiction RE: frames of 'authentic' articulation cred. Prioritizing 'accent', a US Shakespeare company can lavish praise upon a UK thespian who nigh surpasses mediocrity. Parallel, the UK hip hop scene might be enamored of a jot-above-average MC from 'Merica. Equal opp offense. And that exact offense? Many know - on some level - when they suffer fools. Altho', 'tis some tendency to be less alert to how bias can blind-side discernment, leaving one to inadvertently venerate the prosaic. Ironically, the latter can claim more fault in the suspension of progress or innovation. Here, one pauses...ere one warns against unintentionally impeding the exceptional medium that is the continuum of Verse.
Excusing all hip hop as 'bling' culture is eerily uninformed but so much mo'? Such is treble bass troubling. Mr. Johns is to be commended - in no small measure - for his work with 'at risk' teens, and in particular his insistence to raise the bar of expectation thru Shakespeare's verse - straight up. What concerns one, howeva, is Mr. Johns' capacity to authentically connect with the students about whose success he is so passionate. Verse. Verse. Shakespeare was a verse dramatist. In iambic pentameter. And rhyme. Who...where...is the modern verse dramatist? Where else in performed Word is the extended narrative? In 4/4 time signature. And rhyme.
Ay, a reading/listening list to defy Mr. Johns' predilection towards 'bling' as the primary descriptor for ev'ry school of hip hop. One wouldst ne'er, neva dream of referencing all film as 'porn'. Nor wouldst one dissmiss all 'porn' as automatically exploiting or distorting the labyrinth of sexuality. Notable auteurs, the Eastern Kurosawa (1910 - 1998) and Western-ish Almodóvar (incidentally no less riveting for being sub-titled) deserve much betta discourse. *
One is partial to Stanley Wells' big up-ed edition of da canon a la Bard. One is unaware of Mr. Johns' preference of translation albeit - being such a purist - he may prefer the rough n' tumble read of the Good Quarto o'er the First Folio. One doubts that assertion as Mr. Wells and others have airbrushed Willy S. to make the work legible to...eh-hem...classicists. Mr. Johns may miss a salient point. The legitimacy of Elizabonics™ finds mo' support in the quartos or initial folio attempts than the requisite rendering provided by the über articulate Mr. Wells.
Common's 1994 I Used To Love H.E.R.(Hip Hop in it Essence is Real) is a spoken word sonnet to a phat beat. It is widely regarded as hip hop's anthem. Perchance, as a canonical verse advocate, Mr. Johns might champion - if given the chance - Common's ambitious feat. Common's lyric is an epic analogy of the history of hip hop thru the evolution of a 'hood - thaz girlhood to womanhood. Alas, propensity of XY chromo privilege not exempt. Melville, too - absent a biological 'blowhole', used whaling and oceanography for quite a successful allegory. 'Sooth yo, the deep blue (rhythm or water) is no less a relevant metaphor than a global phenomenical art form. 'Elements' all. Common laments 'her' (Hip Hop's) superficial 'phase' or 'bling' turn. Common, howe'er, is neither disgusted nor furious with 'bling's influence on his love interest as much as mourning the loss of the soul of Hip Hop. Here, Common - rap artist - embraces the vulnerability of grieving Hip Hop as the breathing, thinking, feeling entity gone astray. Common will not abandon her nor essentialize or judge her by the latest fad to which she falls prey. He believes in Hip Hop - she is hallowed ground beneath the wind of 'bling culture'.
One can only hope that Mr. Johns' confidence in his students follows suit.
Should not the exploration - daresay, evolution - of narrative expression be encouraged rather than demonized? Vilifying the 'bling' aspect of hip hop as the entire artistic genre's - as much as cultural movement's - core content? Woeful at the very least. Its most eloquent lyricists - with Akala at the fore - critique 'bling' mo' vociferously on a track...to a loop...with a hook...than Mr. Johns at a Conservative Conference podium. The former's comprehension is that of a kinetic canon; the latter appears resigned to a canon in/of stagnation. Mo'ova, the Shakespearean-astute Akala remains relentless in his critique of the very 'Empire' whose resulting literature Johns heralds yet sans any valid cultural dissection. With imperialism as foe yet Bard as friend, Akala proves more shrewd, and thereby, adroit, in navigating the complexity of a complicated canon. For the sake of students, might Johns, too, adopt a critique far mo' nuanced?
In observance of one's own absurdist ethos, one proposes a link 'twixt nuance and séance. To commune with a 'past' realm - presently - might well allude to the maturity or wisdom of a nuanced approach; past and present are invited simultaneously - thru a trusted 'medium' - to examine those inconvenient, delicate particulars, quasi-fissures in consciousness, provoking the failures of an easy certainty. Allowance for 'ease' in our rationale, dear Johns, might not quite qualify as thought-gone-lazy but does it not concede rigor? Maybe Akala, Common, and those curiously denied their due upon commercial airwaves are clever - in part - because Johns' conformity cannot confine them. A 'medium' is necessitated when ousted Other or unseen Source or Martian-by-way-o'-Margins refuses to accept societal-prescribed parameters of its 'fate'. 'Rap', whenst engaged as an anthropological discipline - not exempting mystical nod - is not reckless, but existentially restless. The giftedrapper, poet, bard, unbound as un-blinged, is but yon storyteller who carries forth, in forms unfolding, our eternal myth-making as metaphor for meaning: SAYance meet NEWance.
One's quill feather is limp - least perplexed by the current 'row' - perhaps because such a row (like 'knowledge', itself, when entrenched in institutionalized constructs) threatens most its very own existence. One enters into evidence one's own Elizabonics™. What is best in hip hop is no condescending tool but companion to the 'experience' of language...or languagING...as anything but stagnant in mode and meaning. Visceral as volatile. Shakespeare himself was no aristocrat nor royal and oft saved his profundity for the court jester of the cast - fully aware that the queen was sequestered in her box whilst the groundlings' rotten 'produce' was his most visceral critic. Lindsay Johns is in a prime position with the optimal audience not to denigrate the volatility of modern verse drama but rather, remove his own unfortunate pre-misconceptions. Exposing himself further to the alleged heir of verse drama - that may well be conscious or 'woke' hip hop - wouldst serve to honor classic 'lit' as just that: lit...erature as the personification of 'lit' up, a light, awake, aware, capable of inclusive, culture-confirming depth, breadth, and promise. Yo, ill. As in illumination. The choice before him - and ay, 'tis eva a choice - is to snuff out scholarship or emancipate the egregiousness of a canon kept exclusive. How can Western tradition be - all at once - too precious to expand yet precarious enuf to expel?
Johns must, indeed, ASK or AX.
* Western-ish?
[Europe may be the 'West' - in relation to Asia as the East - but Spanish filmmaker, Almodóvar (1949 - ) may still be uniquely situated as 'Other' in relation to the Hollywood 'system' which still feels compelled to offer a Best FOREIGN Film category as the pinnacle of its professional accolades.]
"...;THAT is the question..."
TWO questions, my good peops (with apologies to the melancholic Dane).
TWO questions, my good peops (with apologies to the melancholic Dane).
ONE: What the @#$% is racism?
TWO: What and who defines the Queen's tongue?
back to ONE:
"What do you think? Are hip-hop artists like Akala of Hip-Hop Shakespeare
racist and misguided? Or is this another case of the arts being caught in a
political crossfire?"
'ONE' slack-jawed question, O ye, Shakespeare Standard, as an inexplicable distortion of 'racism'. As erred utterances go? Wholly lacking in originality. Normative adjacent. Troth - 'standard'. Too regular to reiterate further. And yet? This discombobulation still manages to astound in its stupefying conflation of racism's benefactors or primary agents with those, contrarily positioned, in estimable defiance of racism's structural oppression thru insistence upon their/our agency. Akala's posture reads thus defiant; Johns' compliance straddles - oblivious as stridently - that fence 'twixt regression and progression. Most fences, tho', have a picket loose or brick about to fall.
With
Mr. Johns insists that the reason 'the canon' has survived for millennia is because it is "good". True dhat. Except for those who trace editions where the First Folio allegedly migrates from Bad. Bad Quarto, that is. Nevadaless, the global breadth of brilliant, even ingenious, work supersedes that which has been canonized. What Mr. Johns fails to mention are the mechanics of the inherent assumptions of privileged culture. "Good", i. e., quality or worthy prose can be far less influential than societal inclinations to concede to said work - consequently deemed superior due to the creator's sanctioned identity as da voice o' structural correctitude.
H2Omeloncholic™ critique if eva there be.
Thy dear author curiously finds oneself aligned intimately with Mr. Johns' stance on purebred Bard. Although adolescents, his mentees should avoid - at ev'ry cost - the sophomoric expectations/delusions from Dominant Cult's estimations. These future leaders - as do we all - deserve a sophisticated presentation to divulge/indulge the quintessence of the scribe's intent. Therein lies the debate; it is the tone of Lindsay Johns to which one stands in direct albeit empathetic opposition.
"These words, like daggers, enter in mine ears."
Hamlet - Act III, Scene 4
As the creator, or rather, curator, or better yet, excavator, of the phantom verse, Elizabonics™, the relationship 'twixt Elizabethan English and 'Merican Ebonics proves more interdependent than one might have imagined upon daring to e'en explore Elizabonics™ as more than one's own absurdist whim. Elizabonics™ dost not present the proposition of either/or with which Mr. Johns seems at war. As one's exhaustively footnoted work illustrates, the commonalities in verse are no compromise to any acumen. Elizabonics™ is intended as a challenge to our notions of dramatic dialogue as high or low art. Might it be both or neither? The hypothetical verse answers for itself. Elizabonics™ is meant to be a celebration of collective intellectual prowess thru a comprehensive as creative exercise in comparative literature. In the vein of John Stewart or Stephen Colbert, one's own adjunct offering or commentary is no succinct alternative to initial source. Elizabonics™ is less a Shakespearean rendering or interpretation than a surreal migratory route for the possibilities of verse drama. How does inventive approach detract scholastic advance? Standing tall in the converse is A Most High Cotton Epic Poem in Three Groovements...or Otherwise Called A Most High Cotton Trilogy: An Elizabonic™ Hypothesis.
TWO:
What and who defines the Queen's tongue?
What and who defines the Queen's tongue?
Akala - TED Talk
when
whenst
did
didst
did
didst
i'/o'er/et cetera
asked
axed
Lindsay Johns - graduate student of 'classic' languages - cannot intend this inherent hypocrisy when calling for a direct read of da Bard's text. Again, one supports Shakespeare unabridged. It is the tenor of Mr. Johns' 'call' that alerts the ol' H2Omelon patch like Linus van Pelt come Halloween. Dost not 'axed' honor Elizabethan grammar - as descended from Chaucer - e'en mo' than the ostensibly correct 'asked'? Which tongue - then - art keepin'...keep'st...keepin' it real, yo?
FULL DISCLOSURE: gentlesoulfolk? One's inkwell is filled from across the pond - thaz 'Merica. One confesses an appalling ignorance of UK slang which one hopes to rectify as a hyper audible tourist in O.B.'s 'hood - Original Bard. Such is paramount to verify Elizabonics™ in English speaking 'settings' beyond 'Merica. Meantime, my good peops? One digs - hard - the curious contradiction RE: frames of 'authentic' articulation cred. Prioritizing 'accent', a US Shakespeare company can lavish praise upon a UK thespian who nigh surpasses mediocrity. Parallel, the UK hip hop scene might be enamored of a jot-above-average MC from 'Merica. Equal opp offense. And that exact offense? Many know - on some level - when they suffer fools. Altho', 'tis some tendency to be less alert to how bias can blind-side discernment, leaving one to inadvertently venerate the prosaic. Ironically, the latter can claim more fault in the suspension of progress or innovation. Here, one pauses...ere one warns against unintentionally impeding the exceptional medium that is the continuum of Verse.
Excusing all hip hop as 'bling' culture is eerily uninformed but so much mo'? Such is treble bass troubling. Mr. Johns is to be commended - in no small measure - for his work with 'at risk' teens, and in particular his insistence to raise the bar of expectation thru Shakespeare's verse - straight up. What concerns one, howeva, is Mr. Johns' capacity to authentically connect with the students about whose success he is so passionate. Verse. Verse. Shakespeare was a verse dramatist. In iambic pentameter. And rhyme. Who...where...is the modern verse dramatist? Where else in performed Word is the extended narrative? In 4/4 time signature. And rhyme.
Akala
A Tribe Called Quest
Common
The Roots
Wu-Tang Clan
Ay, a reading/listening list to defy Mr. Johns' predilection towards 'bling' as the primary descriptor for ev'ry school of hip hop. One wouldst ne'er, neva dream of referencing all film as 'porn'. Nor wouldst one dissmiss all 'porn' as automatically exploiting or distorting the labyrinth of sexuality. Notable auteurs, the Eastern Kurosawa (1910 - 1998) and Western-ish Almodóvar (incidentally no less riveting for being sub-titled) deserve much betta discourse. *
One is partial to Stanley Wells' big up-ed edition of da canon a la Bard. One is unaware of Mr. Johns' preference of translation albeit - being such a purist - he may prefer the rough n' tumble read of the Good Quarto o'er the First Folio. One doubts that assertion as Mr. Wells and others have airbrushed Willy S. to make the work legible to...eh-hem...classicists. Mr. Johns may miss a salient point. The legitimacy of Elizabonics™ finds mo' support in the quartos or initial folio attempts than the requisite rendering provided by the über articulate Mr. Wells.
Common's 1994 I Used To Love H.E.R.(Hip Hop in it Essence is Real) is a spoken word sonnet to a phat beat. It is widely regarded as hip hop's anthem. Perchance, as a canonical verse advocate, Mr. Johns might champion - if given the chance - Common's ambitious feat. Common's lyric is an epic analogy of the history of hip hop thru the evolution of a 'hood - thaz girlhood to womanhood. Alas, propensity of XY chromo privilege not exempt. Melville, too - absent a biological 'blowhole', used whaling and oceanography for quite a successful allegory. 'Sooth yo, the deep blue (rhythm or water) is no less a relevant metaphor than a global phenomenical art form. 'Elements' all. Common laments 'her' (Hip Hop's) superficial 'phase' or 'bling' turn. Common, howe'er, is neither disgusted nor furious with 'bling's influence on his love interest as much as mourning the loss of the soul of Hip Hop. Here, Common - rap artist - embraces the vulnerability of grieving Hip Hop as the breathing, thinking, feeling entity gone astray. Common will not abandon her nor essentialize or judge her by the latest fad to which she falls prey. He believes in Hip Hop - she is hallowed ground beneath the wind of 'bling culture'.
One can only hope that Mr. Johns' confidence in his students follows suit.
Should not the exploration - daresay, evolution - of narrative expression be encouraged rather than demonized? Vilifying the 'bling' aspect of hip hop as the entire artistic genre's - as much as cultural movement's - core content? Woeful at the very least. Its most eloquent lyricists - with Akala at the fore - critique 'bling' mo' vociferously on a track...to a loop...with a hook...than Mr. Johns at a Conservative Conference podium. The former's comprehension is that of a kinetic canon; the latter appears resigned to a canon in/of stagnation. Mo'ova, the Shakespearean-astute Akala remains relentless in his critique of the very 'Empire' whose resulting literature Johns heralds yet sans any valid cultural dissection. With imperialism as foe yet Bard as friend, Akala proves more shrewd, and thereby, adroit, in navigating the complexity of a complicated canon. For the sake of students, might Johns, too, adopt a critique far mo' nuanced?
In observance of one's own absurdist ethos, one proposes a link 'twixt nuance and séance. To commune with a 'past' realm - presently - might well allude to the maturity or wisdom of a nuanced approach; past and present are invited simultaneously - thru a trusted 'medium' - to examine those inconvenient, delicate particulars, quasi-fissures in consciousness, provoking the failures of an easy certainty. Allowance for 'ease' in our rationale, dear Johns, might not quite qualify as thought-gone-lazy but does it not concede rigor? Maybe Akala, Common, and those curiously denied their due upon commercial airwaves are clever - in part - because Johns' conformity cannot confine them. A 'medium' is necessitated when ousted Other or unseen Source or Martian-by-way-o'-Margins refuses to accept societal-prescribed parameters of its 'fate'. 'Rap', whenst engaged as an anthropological discipline - not exempting mystical nod - is not reckless, but existentially restless. The gifted
One's quill feather is limp - least perplexed by the current 'row' - perhaps because such a row (like 'knowledge', itself, when entrenched in institutionalized constructs) threatens most its very own existence. One enters into evidence one's own Elizabonics™. What is best in hip hop is no condescending tool but companion to the 'experience' of language...or languagING...as anything but stagnant in mode and meaning. Visceral as volatile. Shakespeare himself was no aristocrat nor royal and oft saved his profundity for the court jester of the cast - fully aware that the queen was sequestered in her box whilst the groundlings' rotten 'produce' was his most visceral critic. Lindsay Johns is in a prime position with the optimal audience not to denigrate the volatility of modern verse drama but rather, remove his own unfortunate pre-misconceptions. Exposing himself further to the alleged heir of verse drama - that may well be conscious or 'woke' hip hop - wouldst serve to honor classic 'lit' as just that: lit...erature as the personification of 'lit' up, a light, awake, aware, capable of inclusive, culture-confirming depth, breadth, and promise. Yo, ill. As in illumination. The choice before him - and ay, 'tis eva a choice - is to snuff out scholarship or emancipate the egregiousness of a canon kept exclusive. How can Western tradition be - all at once - too precious to expand yet precarious enuf to expel?
Johns must, indeed, ASK or AX.
* Western-ish?
[Europe may be the 'West' - in relation to Asia as the East - but Spanish filmmaker, Almodóvar (1949 - ) may still be uniquely situated as 'Other' in relation to the Hollywood 'system' which still feels compelled to offer a Best FOREIGN Film category as the pinnacle of its professional accolades.]
(upon this Columbus 'Day')
a clever as compassionate critique
on the implausibility of
POSTness
Til our next 'post', feast upon produce in season...
© 2013 KM Fikes
© 2013 h2omeloncholy@blogspot.com
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from KM Fikes is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to KM Fikes & h2omeloncholy@blogspot.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. No excerpt or link may be used for monetary compensation.
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