I went to the Blacked Eyed Peas’ The E.N.D World Tour concert in Saitama, suburbs north of Tokyo, on the autumnal equinox. It was my first big arena concert experience in Japan. And it was their last show in Japan, after playing for five straight nights.
I went with my buddy Kaz, who was giddy with excitement, even though he’s a veteran of the megaconcert. He was like a teenage girl at a Jonas Brothers concert. And quite honestly, so was I. Before the concert, he was asking me starstruck questions like, “So what do you think Fergie is doing right now?” And, “Do you think they’re nervous?” I gave him smart-ass answers like, “They’re probably snorting coke and getting serviced by groupies.”
Isn’t that what rock stars do? But truthfully, they were probably just chillin’ in their dressing rooms, eating fruit, giving each other back rubs, and writing poetry.
For the 6th year in a row, I’ve spent the Fourth of July, America’s Independence Day, outside the US. As you can imagine, it’s uneventful outside the 50 states. I almost forgot about it today until someone at work reminded me. I immediately went into an impromptu, semi-sarcastic, quasi-nostalgic, rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner”. As usual I forgot a few lines and mangled some others, and even slipped in a little “O Canada” in there just for fun. It wasn’t pretty, but I did my patriotic duty.
Picnics, Fireworks and Perfect Weather
The Fourth is one of the best holidays in the US. It’s never been about patriotism for most of the people I know. It’s a day off work to get out and have a barbecue, drink some beer and hang out with friends and family somewhere outdoors. At night, there’s fireworks. I don’t remember a rainy Fourth of July, ever. The weather has always been perfect. And everyone is chilled out, happy to be relaxing with people they like.
Some of my July Fourth memories include:
• Climbing Cucamonga Peak that overlooks the Los Angeles basin and watching over 50 fireworks shows going off simultaneously, like tiny distant supernovas.
• Hanging out with friends at a Eugene Emeralds game (a minor league baseball team). I think there were a dozen home runs during that game. And then lying on the outfield watching the fireworks.
• Looking forward to my allergies magically disappearing. My theory is that all the fireworks burns off the pollen in the air.
• Picnics, picnics everywhere. On beaches, along rivers, in backyards, in the forest. And always some live music.
Views of America
For every year I’ve spent away from the US, I’ve grown to appreciate a little more of some of the good things about America, and being American. This has been no easy task mind you. I’ve spent most of my life critical about my country. Still am, actually. But being away, in the rest of the world, I’ve developed a wider perspective. Okay it’s not really the whole rest of the world. It’s some parts of Western Europe, East Asia and Southeast Asia. And these are some of my observations of the good things about America.
America is More Evolved in Terms of Race Relations
For all the terrible racism that exists in the US, it’s a lot worse elsewhere. America has evolved to the point where if you have racist views, you are roundly criticized if you voice them. A popular sports radio personality, for example, was recently fired because he said some ignorant things on air. Elsewhere, people just shrug their shoulders and wonder what’s the big deal. In the US, there’s heated debate and discussion at the very least.
I experienced more racist comments directed at me on the streets of England in two years than I have in all my life in the US. It was unbelievable. In fact, what would be considered highly offensive racist and sexist comments in the US, are casually spoken on TV, by politicians, and in the newspapers. There was virtually no awareness of or debate about the institutional barriers to opportunities for women or people of color. This was remarkable especially in academia.
American Cultural Influence Extends Beyond Starbucks
People outside the US separate the US government and the American people. The government is roundly ridiculed, but the culture and people are admired. Rap, movies, TV shows, books, academic journals, dance, basketball, the anti-smoking movement. I hadn’t realized the extent of the spread of American culture beyond the platitudes of fast food and malls. It’s genuinely admired by most people I’ve talked to on the street.
America Accepts Everyone
I took for granted that almost anyone can come to the US and get citizenship eventually. This is just not the case elsewhere. Most countries make it very very difficult to impossible to naturalize.
America is the Most Diverse Country on Earth
It’s no contest. Growing up in California especially, the most diverse State in the Union, I was surrounded by people from all corners of the world. Even in the middle parts of the country, it’s a myth that there are only white people there. It’s just not true.
The US is the European Union Evolved
I find it increasingly useful to think of the US as a continent, rather than a country. Geographically and population-wise, it’s comparable to Europe. Just like you wouldn’t generalize Scots and Greeks, French and Germans, or even Catalonians and Basque within Spain, you wouldn’t generalize between New Yorkers and Californians, or even Los Angelenos and San Franciscans within California. Heck, there are huge cultural differences even between cities separated by a highway.
There are Few Places Freer
Liberties have been badly eroded in the US over the past decade by the Bush Administration and by increasing corporatization of the mass media. But the press is largely unfettered. And joining the political process is much easier than in France, where all the political elites graduate from one university, or in Japan, where the one party system rotates power among a handful of families.
America is far from perfect. However, most of the destructive, negative tendencies are magnified because of it’s continental size. The same destructive, negative tendencies exist in most countries but on a smaller, less-scrutinized scale. That continental size could contribute to a powerful positive global influence. Let’s hope that happens during the next presidency.
In the meantime, I close with THE best version of the “Star-Spangled Banner”. Formerly, it was Marvin Gaye, singing a transcendent version back in the 70’s. Now, it’s this version, of his daughter Nona Gaye harmonizing with him on that version.
Last month, a shocking, unprecedented event occurred. In a large packed hall in Pyongyang, North Korean elites stood and listened to the Star Spangled Banner, in front of the American flag. This event was televised live throughout North Korea. Those of you who’ve been living in a cave, North Korea and the U.S. have been technically at war for over half a century. This has been a half century of the U.S. being demonized as an evil imperial power, in a country where nothing is ever televised live.
This event was also unprecedented because those North Koreans were there to greet the largest contingent of Americans, including 8 Korean-Americans, to be on North Korean soil since the Korean War. Also, the 80 members of the international press that accompanied the Americans were given unusual freedom to film and photograph. And by unusual, I mean that they were allowed to take photos without having them confiscated. It has resulted in shots like the following, an eerily empty subway station, in a scene that looks like a 1930′s movie.
What I’m describing, of course, was a New York Philharmonic concert, staged in Pyongyang. When I read about this event in the news, I was perplexed. How did this event come to pass? And why? I got the inside story from a panel discussion organized by the Korea Society, which I’ve linked to in this sentence.
The panelists include the philharmonic’s conductor, Lorin Maazel, an orchestra member, a journalist who accompanied the orchestra, a technician who helped set up the live broadcast, and others involved in the trip. The whole thing is worth listening to, as they relay the fascinating process of being contacted by the NK government, organizing the concert, and meeting the North Koreans assigned to handle the musical invasion force.
Despite some criticism that the orchestra was used as a propaganda ploy by NK, all of the panelists agreed that this was a goodwill gesture by NK to thaw relations between them and the U.S. This kind of foreign relations strategy was used between the U.S. and China through ping-pong diplomacy. And there are other examples of American orchestras playing in China and the Soviet Union.
The good faith effort was illustrated by the North Koreans going out of their way to accommodate the philharmonic. Essentially, there weren’t hard fought negotiations. Mr. Maazel told them what a NY Philharmonic concert would require to happen and what the program would consist of. It included the usual inclusion of the U.S. flag and playing the U.S. anthem at the beginning for the concert. A theater was retrofitted to NY Philharmonic specifications. The orchestra chose the pieces to be played. And their final condition that the program be televised live to ordinary Koreans was honored.
Below is a youtube clip of the orchestra playing Arirang, Korea’s most beloved song. I was moved by the brilliant arrangement, performed by one of the world’s best musical ensembles, conducted by a genius musician, under poignant circumstances. The concert has got to be one of the most important musical moments of the decade.
One of the great cultural contributions from Japan is karaoke. It’s different here than in America and the UK (the two other places I’ve sung karaoke). First of all, instead of one big open room, usually a bar full of strangers, you rent a room by the half hour with just your friends.
Back in Oregon, my friends and I would drive over to the bar in the Red Lion Inn. I usually went with my buddies, Gil and Jerry, and whoever else wanted to tag along. We’d submit a request for a song to the DJ. And then perhaps 30 minutes to an hour later she’d call us up and we’d sing for the whole room. If we were lucky we’d sing two, maybe three, songs each by the end of the night. The DJ would make wisecracks and only Jerry would sound decent.
I was always surprised at how many people took karaoke seriously. The regulars would have one or two songs that they had perfected and that’d be their shining moment of glory.
In Japanese karaoke places, you can sing all the songs you want with people you know in your own private room. And many places serve decent food that’s delivered to your room. Some of the rooms are just bare bones. But most are well-decorated, plush and even swanky. At my last birthday party, we went to a karaoke place that had a shallow pool of warm water under the table for a nice relaxing footbath. All these places have a decent selection of English songs.
During the day, the rates can be quite cheap. There’s one place near my work that charges 50 yen per 30 minutes before 5pm. In the evenings the rates increase to 300 yen per half hour per person. If you miss the last train, a few thousand yen will get you a room from late night to early morning.
After a while I’ve found that karaoke participants fall into a few types.
The Speed Dialer programs several songs in a row so that we have a solid half hour of just them singing. This is poor karaoke etiquette. However, this is a good time to eat all the food and chit chat with everyone else. Afterwards, it’s best to hide the remote control from them.
The Sneak Attack repeatedly says to everyone that they can’t sing. Their voice is awful. They’re tone deaf. They don’t know any songs. Then all of a sudden their song comes up and they sing beautifully, knocking everyone’s socks off.
The Smooth Operator sounds good. Everyone shuts up and listens. They even get requests.
The Screecher means well. They’re enthusiastic. They put on their song and belt it out. They mistake volume for skill. This is a good time to go to the bathroom. If you can discreetly turn down their mic volume, by all means do it.
The Encroacher will pick up the other mic and join you in your song. Sometimes it’s good, mostly they just sing over you. I’m afraid I belong in this category. For the Encroacher, it’s a good way to increase singing time while not appearing to be a Speed Dialer.
The Premature Evacuator. Halfway through their song, they give up, and either hand the mic over to someone else to finish it or they stop the song.
These are just caricatures of course. Most of us fall into several of these types at one time or another. Most people have decent voices and pick interesting songs. To maximize your karaoke experience, I like to follow these guidelines:
• Put in one song at a time. Two max.
• Sing a few songs you’ve never tried before.
• Every now and then include songs that everyone knows and can join in on
• Sing duets with people you’ve never sung with.
• And most importantly, sing your heart out and always applaud after every song.
I’ve been thinking about the world. As usual. Maybe too much. These days I’ve been immersed in the pros and cons, contingencies, cost-benefit analyses, and worst-case scenarios. And I’ve been thinking about the elections in particular. Weighing and breaking down each candidate’s positions, voting record, speeches, electability, media savvy, funding sources, demographic appeal.
And I was going to put the candidates side by side and score them like they were figure skaters. I had already disqualified the Republicans, a bland collection of the same old same old constantly tripping over themselves on their way to a triple turn.
Them
There was Romney, the cookie cutter candidate who was built for media exposure but was exposed as the classic mega-rich Senator who said whatever it took to get elected and tried to spend himself into the Presidency. The Presidency should never be for sale.
There was Guiliani, the archetypal opportunist who was always there at the right time at the right place, but in the end shot himself in the foot, on each toe in fact.
Still standing is Huckabee, an aw-shucks minister from Arkansas, a kinder Christian Fundamentalist, the anti-Bill.
Leading the way is the wounded soldier, McCain, who sold his soul to the devil by aligning himself with Bush even though George and his men mercilessly slandered him eight years ago. How can you trust a man who willingly becomes the pet of his bully?
And most intriguing is Ron Paul, a firebrand, libertarian constitutionalist that even Democrats can love, were it not for the fact that he’s anti-abortion. I love the way he’s been shaking up the right, raising more money than anyone thought possible, attaining folk hero status. I hope he gets a cabinet appointment in the next administration.
Us
Then there are the Democrats, one of the most exciting fields since I can remember. It’s down to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. And it’s close. I liked John Edwards and was sad to see him drop out but wasn’t surprised he didn’t win any states since he’s been out of political office since 2004. I love Dennis Kucinich, the 2003 winner of the Gandhi Award, who wants to create a Department of Peace. Though he’ll probably never win, I hope he keeps running for the Presidency in future elections. His is a voice I’ll never tire of. The rest were the usual candidates you see every four years.
So between Barack and Hillary, who do you choose? Either way, it’s historic. Both are strong charismatic leaders. Both appear to want to do the right thing. Their positions really aren’t that far apart. One touts her experience, the other emphasizes his fresh perspective. Each has had criticisms directed at them. Yet, I don’t think Hillary is that divisive and I don’t think Barack is that inexperienced. I see two great candidates, each with some flaws. They’re both rich, that’s true. It disappoints me that all the major candidates are millionaires, that our government is a rich person’s game. Hillary’s got up to $50 million. Barack has a net worth of up to $5 million. They have skeletons in their closets, made bad voting decisions, said silly things, have questionable friends and allies. Still, you really can’t go terribly wrong with either.
Yes We Can
Until yesterday I was still undecided. I’d been thinking about the world. As usual. Maybe too much.
There was a time when I was a headstrong idealist. I thought a lot back then too, but it was thinking from the gut, from a feeling of following what’s good, what’s right. I didn’t analyze so much as seek the truth. Seeking justice and joy. And inspiration.
I don’t want to calculate anymore. I want to be inspired again. And I want a leader who’s capable of inspiring, stirring people to wake up, stand up, sing out. So I made my decision. And this video made by Will.i.am from the Black-Eyed Peas captures what I feel. Enjoy it.
Credits. Photo by Evan Vucci / AP, Video by Will.i.am
