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Score=15 Votes; release date=2019; 8,6 / 10; creator=Rotimi Rainwater; Country=USA; Casts=Halle Berry. Artist: Quelle Chris Album: Guns Listen YouTube Spotify Apple Music Bandcamp Background One of Detroit’s true odd-balls, Quelle Chris got his start in 2006 with fellow wordsmith Denmark Vessey, forming the duo known as Crown Nation, releasing their debut LP $lutbag Edition in 2008. Linking up with Danny Brown shortly after, Chris is credited as a writer for many of Brown’s early work, even going as far to produce several tracks on The Hybrid. In fact, they ran in such a tight circle that Quelle used the same beat from Danny Brown’s XXX on his 2011 debut solo album Shotgun & Sleek Rifle; (Quelle’s “MTFO” uses the same beat as Brown’s “Nosebleeds”). Quelle began his rise to underground prominence after his 2017 album Being You Is Great! I Wish I Could Be You More Often was met with critical acclaim, landing at #26 on Anthony Fantano’s end of year list, #11 on Rolling Stone’s best rap albums of 2017, and #12 on bandcamp’s end of year list. Quick to follow up what was clearly his best album yet, shortly after getting engaged to legendary underground MC Jean Grae, these two came together in 2018 to release their collaborative effort Everything’s Fine, which was somehow even more well received than Being You Is Great. It was awarded Best New Music by Pitchfork, and was hailed as the best album of 2018, landing at #1 on bandcamp’s end of year list. After two albums in back to back years, both of which are widely regarded as his best works, a big question arose. Could Quelle keep this hot streak alive? Would he be able to continue making his unique, odd-ball flavor of hip-hop work in his favor, or would his nasal tone and eclectic beat selection come off as self-indulgence for the sake of self-indulgence? On March 29, 2019, Chris was given the chance to confirm whether his past two albums success were an outlier, or if he would finally cement himself in this decade’s underground hall of fame. Album Review In Quelle’s own words, from his bandcamp page: Guns is an arsenal of both sounds, styles and subjects. At its core it’s about things that can be weaponized for good or evil, including ourselves. The words we say, what we fear, how we love, how we live, what we ingest, what we believe in, who we idolize, shit like that. Somewhat a sonic study of the question “do ‘guns’ kill people or do people kill people? On Guns, Quelle examines not only the obvious sources of violence in American society, the literal guns, but the root cause(s) of where these violent urges stem from. “Guns” simultaneously acts as a metaphor for how institutions are weaponized to hold people down, as well as the weapons we have to fight back against an inherently corrupt system. Quelle explores these concepts with beautiful intricacy and depth. LITERALLY (more patriotic than pie) With a title like Guns, you might expect Quelle to utilize an aggressive sonic direction, using the beats to act as a metaphor for the loud and violent state guns exist within. However, Quelle instead opts to let his pen sprawl the concept. With the opener “Spray and Pray”, producer Dane sets the tone of the album with a simple kick and snare pattern featuring a thicc snare, while a tall, walking bassline backs the drums, creating an unsettling, yet simultaneously comforting vibe for Quelle to spit his socially conscious bars with his trademark mellow and monotone flow. At only 1:30, Quelle is able to pack a surprising amount of thought provoking bars into the brief track. Quelle sets the lyrical tone of the album, nailing several major points regarding gun culture in America with multiple tightly packed one liners. Mentioning his original friend cohort and their eventual lifestyle change, concluding that a 401k is more useful than an AK-47. Commenting on the culture surrounding gun safety that he has experienced; where young people refuse to utilize their safeties, and how that mentality translates into adults who are intentionally reckless with their arms. The most poignant piece of commentary here is found in the bridge, where Quelle uses “all guns for hire” as a metaphor for the massive lobbying power provided to the NRA, who use that power to spread misinformation regarding gun violence in order to maintain the current status quo. This song ends abruptly, with Quelle seemingly getting ready to go in for a second verse, when he is stopped short by… Praying the climate changing, this game maintained by the youth Watching 'em run and gun 'til they grow up to be like ( gunshot).. guessed it, a gunshot. Quelle uses the opening track as an opportunity to create a library of generic gun violence talking points, almost in an attempt to get them out of the way. This is what the album would be if he were to address this deeply nuanced topic from a strictly surface level perspective. Instead, we are blessed with Quelle diving deeper into the social and cultural aspects of gun violence on the following track. We then dive directly into the title track “Guns”, opening with a cascade of jazzy piano keys and a super smooth synth chord progression to compliment it, which then breaks into these double time opened snare claps, providing Quelle an up-tempo, bright and colorful backdrop to spit hyper conscious lyrics, beginning with the foundation as to what drives American’s obsession with guns. Not unlike many different cultural phenomena, Quelle views the American fanaticism with guns as a learned cultural expression. He provides a few examples of how a weapon, that ideally should be used for protection, can be normalized in a person’s youth to the point where it’s not viewed as a weapon anymore. If a twenty-two caliber bullet is viewed as “more patriotic than pie”, or if you learned how to fire a weapon before you could even spell, then gun use has been deeply ingrained into your psyche and is now a standard aspect of your life. However, it’s not simply the presence of guns that has been normalized; it’s the misuse of these weapons as toys, and their appropriation as status symbols that has been normalized. The bigger your guns, the stronger you are. This is a fallacy that Quelle builds around for the duration of this album. In the second verse, Quelle is able to extrapolate the idea that guns are an integral part of American culture, imagining himself in the shoes of someone who was raised with this world-view, reacting to some of the proposed gun control measures. They hollering give me back my bullets, Lynyrd Skynyrd, new Van Zants If you own it, then you'll pull it, maybe so, probably not They spend billions like civilians won't catch trickle from the top Just to protect or to progress what but little bit we got Bruh-bruh, I'm your friendly neighbor, I stay on yo block I protect and service, I big game, buckshot Ain't no cracking that code, ain't no safety on locks Might as well get you one, procrastinating will get you popped After reeling from the unsurprising animosity to the proposed gun control measures, Quelle attempts to bargain with this “person” (not really an individual, more a representation of a group think). As their “friendly neighbor”, he understands their desire for protection in their neighborhood. Quelle states that even he arms himself; although, it’s likely with a hunting rifle or shotgun. Eventually realizing that there is no “cracking that code”, or getting through to them. If they are not willing to listen, nothing will change, and his only logical course of action is to arm himself at an equal level to his neighbor because, as stated, “procrastinating will get you popped”. This verse does an excellent job of illustrating how the gun control argument in America has progressed on both sides. Instead of being clearly biased, Quelle presents viewpoints from both sides of the argument; showing how deeply ingrained guns are in American culture, and why people might be hesitant to willingly give up an aspect of their culture that they have always known. Simultaneously, it also illustrates the reaction that some people might take when their ideas to curve the widespread violence are immediately rejected; a reaction that will not only not solve the crisis, but exacerbates it. The idea that “if everyone has a gun, we would have no gun violence” only provides a sense of security on an individual level, not a systemic one. All this is subtly expressed through Quelle’s 16 bars. As he progresses in his career, Quelle’s pen has become more and more impressive. Listening to the guy who once wrote a song called Super Fuck spew these incredibly socially conscious lyrics is almost shocking. RACE & THE LAW (for the black, for the white, it’s for all) “Color of the Day” is a simple skit track, taking a subtle jab at law enforcement, and how simply performing mundane activities (walking, shopping, swimming, driving) “while black” is enough to get someone stopped by the police. Really, the skit is meant to provide some context to the following track, “Mind Ya Bidness”. Sounding like something straight out of a 1980’s video game, and further confirmed that’s exactly what Quelle was aiming for, with the music video, the self-produced “Mind Ya Bidness” is a representation of a few things. On the surface, it’s an ultra low-key flex track, with Quelle describing his night at a club. Obviously, the first thing he does before he even leaves his house, is get baked with his wife. But don’t try to take his weed, he’ll have you praying for mercy. He then heads out to the club; the catch here being that Quelle doesn’t like to stunt. I ain't tryna stunt, I post in the back Can't eat with them niggas, most them niggas is actors You ain't got no homies, all your homies is rappers If Quelle’s at the club, he’s hanging out in a back room with his ride or die friends and a shitload of weed. He mentions how he can’t hang with these “actors”, likely meaning other rappers that are putting on a facade. You may have more heads in their section, but they’re not your homies. They’re just dudes who are trying to get put on and chase clout. The chorus outlines a small bit of social commentary with a double meaning, connecting the mellow flex-track to the overarching theme illustrated throughout the record. 'Cause me and mine 'bout to shine, that's for motherfucking sure Feeling VIP, fill a zip full of motherfucking smoke We got brown, we got white and some motherfucking Guinness If Quelle feels like it’s a VIP kinda night, he’s gunna take a zip of weed and head out with his friends. In this case, it’s a mixed crowd (figuratively and literally). He’s got black friends, he’s got white friends, and he uses “Guinness” as a metaphor for his mixed-race friends, as well as the literal interpretation of drinking beers. And ain't nobody here tripping, so mind ya motherfucking bidness This is the double meaning that Quelle is implying throughout the song. If a group of dudes are just chilling and not causing a disturbance, then there’s no real reason for someone (a police officer) to not mind his business and leave them alone. Chris’ poignant social commentary, speaking on the systemic racism that plagues law enforcement officers throughout the US, is illustrated in the music video as well; after being welcomed into the back room of the club and bartering with a dude, he is chased by a pig and put in handcuffs, while a white dude smoking a bong right behind the pig is ignored and gets off scott free. I COULD STAND IN THE MIDDLE OF FIFTH AVENUE AND SHOOT SOMEBODY AND I WOULDN’T LOSE “Mind Ya Bidness” ends with this real life quote from our Orange In Chief ™, delivered via vocal snippet collage, introducing the topic found on the following track. Imagine; it’s 2007 and presidential candidate Barack Obama gets in front of the press and starts talking about the strength of his campaign. He says, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters”. How do you think this would have been received? I can tell you now, he would have been ostracized by the media and would have lost all the political support he had, nearly immediately. But Donald Trump, a person who had been in the media’s spotlight for ages before he announced his candidacy, can say this and be met with a room full of applause. LAUGHTER. A ROOM FILLED WITH PEOPLE LAUGHED AS HE STATED THAT HE COULD MURDER PEOPLE IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. And then he went on to win the fucking presidency. “It’s The Law (Farewell Goodbye Addio, Uncle Tom)” opens with a plucky, walking bass-line, backing these off-kilter, slowly marching kick-kick-open-snare patterns, creating a beat that’s almost dragging its way through the track; an apt backdrop for the subject matter tackled, beginning with this skit: It's God's and Nature's Law That man attempt to prevail over his fellow man Better to remember, that God is white Would you mind repeating? God is White; and as long as God is white We will prevail over all other races Both of these short skits are meant to outline white privilege; the former in a very real, recent vein, and the ladder in a more conceptual, abstract lane. It’s been well documented that Jesus Christ was not white, yet he is continually portrayed as a white man. Why? Why do people who worship Jesus, the supposed Son of God, insist on viewing him through this white-washed lense? It’s all about control. As long as God, or the Son of God, is white, they will prevail. Both of Quelle’s verses on this track are packed full of metaphors and imagery that depict how white supremacy has been a keystone building block of the foundation of the United States. I’ll breakdown the subtleties of his first verse, as I find it to have some of the most intriguing metaphors and delivery I’ve heard this year. Let he who is without cast the first 'Get-out-of-our-country' Oh, the hypocrisy Another tongue in cheek ode to the democracy To help normalize the day to day atrocities Quelle digs into this concept with brilliance right off the bat, repurposing one of Jesus’s most famous quotes (John 8:7) to call out the double standard of people calling for a wall to keep out “criminals and rapists” By the law of the land, as planned by the man upstairs From Lehem with the long blonde hair The USA was intentionally founded as a country with religious freedom, yet it has somehow been misconstrued as a “Christian Nation” by any number of religious fanatics screaming for America’s laws to more accurately reflect the “morals of the Bible. ” Quelle directly references the fact that Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem, Israel, a middle eastern country, is generally depicted as having long blonde hair. Oh, the irony All these multi-culti hatin' whities Who fetishize some brown on ivory AKA bless the USA In the true blue bloods who trust, American Way Quelle continues to poke holes in their logic, this time with a beautifully executed double entendre. The first of which being that white supremacists, who so vehemently hate black culture, fetishize the words of a brown-skinned Jewish man as the “law of the land”. The second of which being the fact that in todays society, southern states, which are generally associated with rampant racism and hatred of black culture, search for ebony and interracial porn at a far higher rate than the rest of the country. Hate in the name of love Sin ain't a sin if the pen pushes them vs. us From under the ship to behind the truck Behind the truck to the back of the bus Now we makin' it? Or going back where we was? Progress is a long road So buckle up The treatment of African-Americans in this country could easily be viewed as a sin. That is, unless the laws of the US condone it, and until not that recently in terms of our country's history, they very much did. Quelle outlines a brief history of how the rights of African-Americans have progressed in the US, ending with a question. Have we made it? Have we reached a point where African-Americans are considered equal? Or have we regressed? Either way, buckle up, because progress is a long road. This is easily the best verse I’ve heard this year. Not only is it unbelievably witty and well-written, but it’s delivered with such ease from Quelle that you might not even pick up what he’s talking about on first listen because his flows are so smooth and his rhymes are so tightly packed that you just want to listen to how effortless his raps are. This song ends with the final iteration of the chorus... It's the law, it's the law niggas It's for me, it's for y'all, it's for all of us For the straight, for the coochie and the ball lickers It's the law, for the black, for the white, it's for all.. then brings us back to the Donald Trump quote that initially lead us into the song. This is meant to drive the point home that laws are meant for everyone; except the 1%. If you’re part of the 1%, you are more than welcome to threaten murder on national TV; hell, it might even increase your poll numbers. And while historically, the law has been used to oppress people of color, Quelle now realizes that it has moved past just oppressing one race. It’s used as a mechanism to hold people in their current social class, and does not apply to people with money. Class is the new race, which is better for the oppressors, because it’s not illegal to discriminate against poor people. GOD (and so will I… why not? ) Religion was touched on lightly in the previous track, the implication being that religion is the basis for the laws that have been so effectively weaponized to discriminate. “Wild Minks” follows in the tracklist, continuing the theme of religion; this time with a much more metaphorical and abstract approach. The track opens with a lone piano note, and a few simple piano chords following shortly after. A very mellow kick-kick-kick-snare pattern that sounds like it’s been sat on eventually breaks into the track. Quelle added a layer of what sounds like vinyl static to the background of this track, making it feel distinctly lo-fi compared to the rest of the album, which sounds tightly polished and clean. Maybe this is due to the Mach-Hommy feature, whose vocals are consistently muddy and mixed down, even in his own music. Either way, this lo-fi hissing does detract from the verses spit on this song, making appreciating the subtle concept even more difficult. From a sonic standpoint, I’d say this is the low-point for the album. However this sonic shortcoming is more than made up for from a lyrical perspective. “Wild Minks” is, without question, the most complicated and abstract concept approached on this record. I’m going to do my best to break it down for you here, but I urge you to read the lyrics a few times before you read my explanation. A big part of what makes this concept so unique is the perspective from which Quelle writes his verse; blending true aspects of biblical scripture with absurdism, and using that as a metaphor for today’s society. Quelle’s verse here starts out referencing Matthew 3:4, referring to John’s shirt of camel’s hair and his leather belt as “Wild Minks”. He then lays down an intricate and descriptive verse about John The Baptist and how he lived; detailing his affinity for substances, his desire for lavish compensation, his expansive housing, his high quality furs, his expensive diet, and how he’s considered to be cultured and refined by his friend group due to these things. Wait, back up. John The Baptist wasn’t materialistic, was he? He’s considered a Saint in the Christian faith. How could someone who enjoyed such a lavish lifestyle be a literal Saint? As it turns out, very little Quelle details in his verse here is true about how John The Baptist lived. So why fabricate this detailed verse about his lifestyle? What am I missing here? Quelle ends his verse with the perfect summation of the subtle metaphor outlined in this track: Johnny boy wore wild minks, and so will I Why not? Chris uses the “wild minks” that John The Baptist wore as a metaphor to illustrate how religious scriptures can be easily lost in translation, and misinterpreted in ways that are far, even polar opposite, from their original intention. If John The Baptist wore wild minks, what’s so wrong about me wanting to do the same? He was a Saint, after all. First off, a shirt made of camel hair isn’t exactly comparable to a “wild mink”. Even if that’s what it was referring to, during the time he was alive, the fact that he was wearing a wild mink implies that he was living in harsh conditions; he likely hunted those animals in order to stay warm and survive. However, in today’s society, a wild mink coat is considered a lavish and expensive luxury. Viewing this scripture from a strictly surface level perspective might allow one to interpret that living a materialistic lifestyle is condoned by the Bible. His lyrics here reflect the absurdity of what it would have been like if John was to live with lavishness, with delicate complexity, such as: Feasting on meats that was bled from the throat Lambs and goats Wiping the grease from said treats on the sleeves of his coats Matthew 3:4 literally states that John’s diet consisted of locusts and honey. Quelle outlines the habits of today’s ultra-wealthy and re-appropriates them into the context of John The Baptist; making you realize the true absurdity of the way the 1% lives today, a lifestyle that has strayed quite far from what their “God” would condone. Quelle’s verse here very subtly summarizes how scripture can be intentionally misinterpreted for personal gain and selfishness, expressed using extremely complicated and deeply coated metaphors, all of which sound buttery and smooth flowing from Chris, thanks in part to his complex rhyme schemes. This is undoubtedly the most subtle concept in the whole album. No joke, it took me a full week of dissecting these lyrics and studying John The Baptist to piece this metaphor together. P. S. Fuck you and your shitty DMCA takedown requests Mach-Hommy! YOURSELF (i par up bar for bar, pa) While the first half of this album beautifully details the many ways in which our society is designed to hold people back, the second half of this album is about how we can combat it. As individuals, we don’t have the luxury of being able to design our country to benefit the few. We must operate inside the system we’ve been born into, and Chris is aware that the most powerful weapon we have to fight back against a corrupt system is our own success. This is what “Box of Wheaties” represents. As some of you might already know, Quelle Chris recently changed the beat on "Box of Wheaties", presumably due to sample clearance issues. When I discovered this, I went to check his Twitter to see if he mentioned anything about it, and the very first thing I saw was this series of tweets that Quelle had recently pinned. He basically goes off on hating the streaming service industry, and how we are just borrowing music from Big Brother. Really the most essential thing to take away from this, is that buying music is arguably more important than ever. By exclusively streaming music, you don't own any of it. It can be taken away in an instant by any number of frivolous lawsuits artists are slapped with on a regular basis. But, if you buy a physical copy of an album, no one can take it away from you. I'm extremely lucky to have had the foresight to download the album to my phone, which has not yet been changed. However, one day when the data is corrupted, I will have no option but to re-download the tracks, and I will lose the OG version of "Box of Wheaties". BUT, I have the album on vinyl. And although it was pressed with an illegal sample, there is no court that can take away my vinyl. I have that version forever now. Initially, I wondered if I should have my review reflect the original version, or the updated version that new listeners would experience. However, it’s clear from his tweets, this new beat is not what he envisioned or wanted for this album. He put out the version with this sample for a reason. My review will be reflective of the original version. The beat on “Box of Wheaties” (originally) samples Les Hurdle - You’ve Got What It Takes, taking the smooth guitar melody and jazzy drums, pitching them down, and looping it to fit into the slow groove of 88 BPMs that “Box of Wheaties” so comfortably rests at. Chris opens this track with a super catchy chorus, featuring a flurry of internal rhymes and the smoothest delivery you can imagine, listing reasons as to why he thinks you should find his face on a box of Wheaties, a place historically reserved for “Champions”. Chris has been grinding in his profession for a long time. He’s been making music for well over a decade; at this point in his career, he’s 15 albums deep. If you had paid attention, he believes you would find his work is worthy of a spot on a Wheaties Box. Now, if Wheaties were to start including artists (musicians, writers, actors, etc. ) on their prestigious boxes, would Quelle qualify? Based on his overall discography quality at this point, I would say no. In my opinion, he has three albums that are worthy of true praise and accolades, all of which came out within the last 3 years. But that’s not what Chris is alluding to with this metaphor. His point here is, being confident enough to believe that he deserves the Wheaties Box spot is a major factor in manifesting that reality. The way Quelle delivers this hook with absolute confidence in his ability, even mentioning that his raps are good enough to “par up bar for bar, pa” with any rapper in the game today, is an attitude that society could benefit from. Put in the work and know that the accolades will follow. This is exactly what happened with Chris’ work. After grinding for 10+ years, he finally began getting noticed in 2017 with Being You Is Great. Everything’s Fine was named bandcamp’s AOTY in 2018, and he has what I consider to be the best album of 2019 with Guns. But it starts with knowing that you belong there. Your thoughts manifest your reality. Put in the work and know it will come, and it will. SLEEVELESS MINKS (smoke em if you got em) If “Wild Minks” represents the many ways that the elite live to excess, “PSA Drugfest 2003” represents the limited ways that the 99% live in excess. Since most of us don’t have money to blow on lavish clothing, cars, or homes, we’re forced to find ways to cope with the stresses of living in this near-dystopian wasteland, and there is nothing more cost-effective at doing so than drugs. Acting as the follow up to his song “Drugfest TooThousandToo" from his 2015 album Innocent Country, Chris takes the concept previously explored and amplifies the message. In “TooThousandToo”, he utilizes a crowds’ reaction to his mentioning of certain drugs as the litmus test for what drugs are good and what drugs are bad, eventually concluding that weed and mushrooms are the favorites from the crowd. In 2003, Chris has evolved his opinion, throwing caution to the wind with his drug choices. This is made clear right off the bat with his opening line. This town ain't the right size for you and I Six million ways to fly, who's tryna die? Chris is rapping from the perspective of the average American, looking for ways to cope with the insane stresses that the elite have forced us to live with. He isn’t looking to be picky with his high, he just wants it to distract him. He starts with the spliff, but quickly graduates to harder drugs as the weed and nicotine high “got lame”; moving up the drug intensity scale as our drug tolerance increases and our social and economic injustice tolerance decreases. When that shit got lame, we spiced up the game Brought out the blades and lined up cocaine Prefer it off white, but albinos, okay To balance out the jump, we rolled it up Js Making one last bible reference in the chorus here, he relates the American people to the sinners of Sodom and Gamorrah, implying that we would rather be dead than to continue to live in the wasteland that we currently exist within. And let me tell you, in a certain sense, he’s not wrong. LOVE THY NEIGHBOR (trust me tho i seen it) The track “Sunday Mass” is sandwiched between Drugfest and “Straight Shot”. This short, one verse song, delivered by Bilal Salaam, is essentially a laundry list of mass shootings from the past few years. Bilal refers to the Pulse nightclub shooting, the Las Vegas massacre, and the Texas shooting that occurred in a Baptist church, amongst others. This is used to set up the concept of the following track. “Straight Shot” is a representation of a couple things. One, it outlines some of the hopelessness that many of us experience due to the long-term impact of the many weapons that society has pointed at us, be they literal or figurative. We get to watch our neighbors be executed by mad-men with guns on TV on a semi-regular basis, and then walk outside to a world that is literally designed to oppress you and make you complacent. It’s not difficult to see how the combination of horrors we are subjected to regularly can make people feel like there’s no point in being here. I know for a fact that I’ve experienced it, and I’m positive plenty of you have as well. Two, it’s a reminder for people who are feeling this way that there are reasons to stick around. Featuring a verse from Brooklyn native Cavalier, "Straight Shot" is easily one of the most gorgeous and well composed songs on this record. Melancholy piano keys and a single bass note opens the track, followed shortly by Quelle singing the incredibly soulful chorus. He seems to be on the brink of crying, with his voice cracking as he sings along. A skeletal drum kit comes in after the first iteration, followed by a choir of voices singing the bassline melody, before the full drum kit kicks off Quelle’s verse. Chris opens the track with a verse that’s very light, describing himself seeing the good in the world. He paints a picture of himself enjoying life; making the music he loves, laughing at his past pain, and stopping to sniff the flowers. He recognizes that he’s preaching to the choir, as his fanbase are generally people who might be aware of the issues he’s been outlining during the past 35 minutes. Cavalier follows the chorus with a verse that paints a diametric view of the world. He describes his time on “this pitiful stone” as a Sisyphus Stroll, and his desire to leave it all behind. However, Quelle’s perspective in the previous verse has brought him back from the brink. Using absolutely gorgeous imagery to describe his misery, and his eventual conclusion that there are reasons to continue on; Cavalier realizes that the powers that be are the ones making him doubt his worth, and if there’s one thing he loves, it’s an underdog story, and standing against the ruling class in today’s society is about as big of an underdog that you can be. EAT THE RICH (i’m tryna burn this bitch down) The lead single for Guns, “Obamacare” features this absolutely haunting, choppy synth lead pounding away until a short piano melody erupts into the enormously heavy, and honestly sinister beat drop. On the surface, “Obamacare” seems like a simple flex track, with Quelle laying down ultra-confident bars, painting a picture of other rappers being terrified to take Chris on. However, watching the music video, you begin to realize the secondary meaning that he’s attempting to outline; anarchy. Quelle’s hook game has been massively improved, even from his last few records, with the catchy chorus starting off with lyrics that any anarchist would be proud to chant in the streets. I'm tryna burn this bitch down, I ain't tryna break in Fuck your opinion 'bout us, to me don't mean nathan I brought the wave, brought the rain, brought the lake in Eyes on the cake and yours is for the takin', wait man Lyrically painting a picture of a society that is sick of being oppressed by the ruling class and is finally ready to rise up, Chris’ anarchist nature is made very clear in the music video. The chorus features a robber burning down a building and making off with a comically sized money bag, while a cop, in an ironic twist of fate, is stuck behind bars, as well as a literal lake of blood rising while pieces of cake, depicted as boats, float around the blood lake. If you were look at this from a surface level perspective, you would likely see a flex track, as Quelle’s second verse particularly comes off as “look at how much better I’m doing than you”. But watching the video, it becomes clear that he’s rapping from the perspective of the 1%. We see Chris and his “friends” sitting around a table, playing cards, while his verse details some of the privileges the 1% live with; being able to gamble money away while people in the lower classes would significantly notice a few more dollars in the paychecks. Their neighbors are high ranking pharmaceutical industry members with access to any drug they can imagine, vacationing together in southern beach houses, eating steak and eggs until gout forms. These lavish lifestyles are bound to anger the lower classes, who are literally starving. Hence the chorus’ overt “eat the rich” themes. ROMANTIC LOVE & LEGACY (and when i win, we win) Following “Obamacare” as a much needed positive note(s) to end the record on, the album’s love song, which features Quelle’s wife Jean Grae on the refrain, might seem a bit out of place on this album at first glance. However if you’ve made it this far into the review, you can likely conclude that Chris is making the point that finding the right person allows both of you to muddle through this hellscape known as our society with a bit more ease. You hold each other up in times of darkness, and celebrate big in times of light. One person’s victory becomes our victory. Quelle and Jean married in mid 2018, and if you were looking for a compelling reason to keep going on “Straight Shot”, Quelle is letting you know his with “You, Me, & Nobody Else”. Finally, we are brought to the closer “WYRM”. This track shows Quelle ruminating over the idea of his legacy, and how he will be remembered when he’s gone with absolutely gorgeous lyrical expertise, particularly in his first verse. He’s aware that most people who are born into this world are forgotten sooner than later, and the only way to be truly remembered is if you have a worthwhile legacy. Calling back themes previously mentioned throughout the album, he feels like he's done enough to be remembered, but don’t we all? Will you remember me? Am I just a moment for few to see? Another black face rapping nigga on a cash chase? Dozen for a dime, penny for your mind at one time? Chris is aware of the saturation of rappers in the game now and worries that his legacy will be downplayed and forgotten due to the direction he took his art in. Rappers who are making music just for the money are a dime a dozen lately, and he’s concerned that his legacy will be tarnished due to those who aren’t in it for the right reasons. Overview This is by far Quelle’s best album to date, in my opinion. Guns does an unbelievably gorgeous job identifying the many ways our society has been oppressed into submission, while simultaneously summarizing how we can rise above the few and be better people for it with intricate detail. Chris’ lyrics are sharper and more layered than they've ever been, and the self-produced beats are beautiful beyond words. Guns is not only a milestone for Quelle Chris’ career, as this is by far the most cohesive and conceptually brilliant piece of work he’s ever released, but it also represents a breaking point in our society, as well as the framework for how we can better ourselves and the people around us on the long road ahead. Quelle has nailed every aspect of this project, stringing these 13 tracks together into a album that is far greater than the sum of its parts. 9. 2/10 Favorite Lyrics “Guns”: Verse 1 “It’s The Law (Farewell Goodbye Addio, Uncle Tom)” Verse 1 “Wild Minks” Verse 1 "Straight Shot" Verse 2, by Cavalier "Box of Wheaties" Verse 2, by Denmark Vessey Talking Points How does this album compare to the rest of Quelle’s discography? Do you think I’m reaching with some of the points I made during this review? What are your favorite lyrics? How do you think this album will be looked back on in 5 years?
Lost in america trailer documentary. When they reach the light, they turn away their eyes from the blinding glare. Year: 2006 - Studio: Manglobe - Links: MAL | Anilist | Kitsu | AniDB | ANN With the earth's enviroment destroyed humanity survives inside domed cities in small pockets of civilization. Encouraged to consume and waste products, their daily needs are attended to by AutoReiv androids who manage their lives, families and careers. When a virus starts to wake up these AutoReivs and give them dangerous self awareness and a monster starts stalking the streets a privileged detective, an AutoRiev engineer and a child AutoReiv find themselves in the middle of a much larger mystery then they ever could have realized with all of humanity at its center. Cyberpunk. Mystery. Psychological. Post-Apocolyptic. Ergo Proxy is all of these things but none of them quite capture why I love it so much. When it comes up for recommendations it's closely compared to Ghost in the Shell, Serial Experiments Lain and Psycho-Pass but it's also one of the shows I have marked on my MAL as being entirely unique. So what is Ergo Proxy? I love Ergo Proxy for a lot of things but let's start with the incredible style of the show. Quite darkly lit, it uses this to best effect to play around with light, color and framing regularly. Set in a familiar styled city and with gorgeous backgrounds, no episode skimps on detail or visual meaning. As the show shifts between the grand scale of the mystery they are involved in and the intense character focus the art never fails to keep up and provide an interesting watch. While the art and direction get a lot of focus, the animation has it's moments as well. The OST is also remarkable. With Kiri by Monorail for the OP and Paranoid Android by Radiohead for an ED, the music is often as harsh and oppressive as their enviroment it uses sound to its fullest. Near religious chanting gliding over harsh instrumentals cover scenes of goverment while echoes haunt the city and piano's attempt to soften the shock of all that they will learn. But more than anything I love the way it experiments and plays around with the format for its narrative. Ergo Proxy is a rare show that balances both a strong character focus along with heavy world-building and plot events. Rather than pigeon-holding itself into a strict episode format or relying on exposition to carry itself past key points, Ergo Proxy enjoys changing itself up to suit the situation at hand and provide very different experiences with each episode. Some episodes throw out the traditional viewpoint and give us a third party perspective to the main group, while other episodes might focus on the internal narration of a particular characters viewpoint. Others throw out expected structure all together and become almost genre episodes, the sort of stuff that wouldn't be out of place in a more episodic western show where characters are separated or in bizarre situations, and deliver a unique perspective on what's going on that way. Despite its complexity, Ergo Proxy is a highly popular show because of the way it engages people with its style and story and is highly regarded as one of the top psychological sci-fi shows especially for people new to this sort of experience. (I did not expect this to turn into a mini WT!, but oh well) Ergo Proxy isn't... Straightforward. For people who find a lack of definitive answers on every point or ambiguous storytelling frustrating then this may not be the show for you. There is almost no hand holding in the show when it comes to the vaguer aspects of its story and it does expect you to keep up with what's going on and for first timer viewers it can be very easy to get lost if you miss certain details or assume certain events are "filler" and skip-able when they aren't. Fortunately this is exactly where a rewatch can come in handy as you have everyone looking at each episode from a different angle and can help clear up confusion and provide different perspectives on what's going on. Proposed Schedule I'd like to start the rewatch on Saturday the 11th of January, posting one episode topic a day through to Monday the 3rd of February which would be the final overall discussion. Time wise I'm in Australia, so my ideal times are quite out from the usual times rewatches are hosted on the subreddit so I can really only do 2pm GMT or 10pm GMT (click links for timezone conversions). Vote here for which you'd prefer. Availability The only legal streams are in America/Canada: Funimation, Hulu, tubitv Some regions may have it available on Youtube via Funimation however I strongly recommend people do not watch via Youtube sources. The overall visuals of the show are very dark already and Youtube's player makes things near impossible to see at times particularly in key moments. Sub vs Dub Both versions have an equally skilled cast and there's no real loss in watching one over the other. There's a few fansub's available, but be aware when looking for them that older subs may have Re-l's name misspelled and anything using "Lil" instead is old enough that it's not recommended. That said, the English dub is high quality and my personal recommendation. Focusing more on sounding natural and conveying meaning, it doesn't always strictly line up with the original dialog as a direct line-to-line translation but this is usually to its benefit. Some discussions which I found awkward to read and understand work better in the dub because they restructure the conversation to fit the meaning and characters better. The cast is also fantastic with voices like Liam O'Brian and Travis Willingham and does a great job of communicating the tension and emotions of various scenes. I know there are French, Spanish, Italian, German and Polish dubs available but I don't personally know about the quality of them so hopefully someone might be able to chime in on that. How to participate r/anime has grown a fair bit of late and I've noticed more and more newcomers in interest threads wondering how these work. Everyone watches one episode a day, and each day a topic to discuss that episode will get posted at the same time. Aside from that there's no real requirement for how you participate in a rewatch. While there's some fairly standard types of posts, such as analysis, reactions or general thoughts people have, posts are not bound to these formats. If you want to participate but writing about episodes isn't your forte or don't think you'd have much else to say you could always: Find or make your own fanart whether its detailed or simple, hand drawn or edited screenshots. Talk about the music or sound in the show. Write your own fan-fiction about the episode's events. Come up with questions/polls/quiz's to prompt discussion. Or don't make a top level post at all and simply reply to others! Also don't feel like it's required to reply every episode. As with every show some episodes have more to talk about than others so if you're not feeling a post on any given day just skip it and come back when you do have something you want to share. The rewatch will be first timer friendly! No spoilers are allowed past the current episode. This includes names of characters, hinting at events or upcoming episodes styles, blatantly calling out what is foreshadowing for future events to first timers (eg, "this one part will really matter later. " Save it for when it does matter and call back to it) and any sort of "laughs in rewatcher" jokes. This ensures that all first timers get the same great experience that we had when we watched it without feeling shoehorned into thinking or feeling a particular way about the episodes and events or being pushed into certain revelations.
Lost in america nest egg. I'm lost in Brazil. Brazil is lost... Lost in america film. Lost in america free online. I Still hope, Kiske will return by next album. and this is my hope cades. Borrow your parents car you can still be in a relationship with a girl without a car lol. Lost in america gambling scene. Lost in america the gathering field. Lost in america roger ebert. My best friend Alice Cooper, is a total legend and still rockin at a young 71.
I recently had a dream that my friend and I meant Alice Cooper at a bar. From what I remember, I saw Alice Cooper pick up a dart from a table and throw it at the dartboard. Alice did not hit the bullseye, but he did hit the outer layer. The point is that even during a dream, Alice Cooper appears to be a normal person. It was pretty cool that I met Alice Cooper in one of my dreams. After that, some other dude asked me if I could help him with a math problem. Then I woke up. Lost in america movie trailer.
Lost in america casino scene. Eu te amo ALICE COOPER, CV É O MEU TUDO, NUNCA SE ESQUEÇA SE MIM. Love this song, fan-freakin' tastic. You're poison. Great song Alice cooper. Why was this song not a national hit. Indonesions ndru 33. Lost in america first. Lost in america cast. Lost in america by candelario lesson plan pdf free printable template word. Lost in america podcast youtube. Amazing Song. Loved this when it first come out and still a great song now. Lost int. american airlines. Lost in america gathering field.
Lost in america gathering field lyrics. Classic song, every word strikes close to the heart. Lost in américain. Energy. Sounds like rough sex. D. 0:30 thank me later. O itscared the livin piss outta him. Lost in america imdb. I own the world's only time machine, and I'm giving free rides back to the 80s. Who wants to come along. Lost in america full movie.
December 30, 2007 from TheTruthSeeker Website The exploration flight over the North Pole "I must write this diary in secrecy and obscurity. It concerns my Arctic flight of the nineteenth day of February in the year of Nineteen and Forty comes a time when the rationality of men must fade into insignificance and one must accept the inevitability of the Truth! I am not at liberty to disclose the following documentation at this writing... perhaps it shall never see the light of public scrutiny, but I must do my duty and record here for all to read one day. In a world of greed and exploitation of certain of mankind can no longer suppress that which is truth. " FLIGHT LOG - BASE CAMP ARCTIC - 2/19/1947 0600 Hours- All preparations are complete for our flight north ward and we are airborne with full fuel tanks at 0610 Hours. 0620 Hours- fuel mixture on starboard engine seems too rich, adjustment made and Pratt Whittneys are running smoothly. 0730 Hours- Radio Check with base camp. All is well and radio reception is normal. 0740 Hours- Note slight oil leak in starboard engine, oil pres sure indicator seems normal, however. 0800 Hours- Slight turbulence noted from easterly direction at altitude of 2321 feet, correction to 1700 feet, no further turbulence, but tail wind increases, slight adjustment in throttle controls, aircraft performing very well now. 0815 Hours- Radio Check with base camp, situation normal. 0830 Hours- Turbulence encountered again, increase altitude to 2900 feet, smooth flight conditions again. 0910 Hours- Vast Ice and snow below, note coloration of yellowish nature, and disperse in a linear pattern. Altering course foe a better examination of this color pattern below, note reddish or purple color also. Circle this area two full turns and return to assigned compass heading. Position check made again to base camp, and relay information concerning colorations in the Ice and snow below. 0910 Hours- Both Magnetic and Gyro compasses beginning to gyrate and wobble, we are unable to hold our heading by instrumentation. Take bearing with Sun compass, yet all seems well. The controls are seemingly slow to respond and have sluggish quality, but there is no indication of Icing! 0915 Hours- In the distance is what appears to be mountains. 0949 Hours- 29 minutes elapsed flight time from the first sighting of the mountains, it is no illusion. They are mountains and consisting of a small range that I have never seen before! 0955 Hours- Altitude change to 2950 feet, encountering strong turbulence again. 1000 Hours- We are crossing over the small mountain range and still proceeding northward as best as can be ascertained. Beyond the mountain range is what appears to be a valley with a small river or stream running through the center portion. There should be no green valley below! Something is definitely wrong and abnormal here! We should be over Ice and Snow! To the portside are great forests growing on the mountain slopes. Our navigation Instruments are still spinning, the gyroscope is oscillating back and forth! 1005 Hours- I alter altitude to 1400 feet and execute a sharp left turn to better examine the valley below. It is green with either moss or a type of tight knit grass. The Light here seems different. I cannot see the Sun anymore. We make another left turn and we spot what seems to be a large animal of some kind below us. It appears to be an elephant! NO!!! It looks more like a mammoth! This is incredible! Yet, there it is! Decrease altitude to 1000 feet and take binoculars to better examine the animal. It is confirmed - it is definitely a mammoth-like animal! Report this to base camp. 1030 Hours- Encountering more rolling green hills now. The external temperature indicator reads 74 degrees Fahrenheit! Continuing on our heading now. Navigation instruments seem normal now. I am puzzled over their actions. Attempt to contact base camp. Radio is not functioning! 1130 Hours- Countryside below is more level and normal (if I may use that word). Ahead we spot what seems to be a city!!!! This is impossible! Aircraft seems light and oddly buoyant. The controls refuse to respond!! My GOD!!! Off our port and star board wings are a strange type of aircraft. They are closing rapidly alongside! They are disc-shaped and have a radiant quality to them. They are close enough now to see the markings on them. It is a type of Swastika!!! This is fantastic. Where are we! What has happened. I tug at the controls again. They will not respond!!!! We are caught in an invisible vice grip of some type! 1135 Hours- Our radio crackles and a voice comes through in English with what perhaps is a slight Nordic or Germanic accent! The message is: 'Welcome, Admiral, to our domain. We shall land you in exactly seven minutes! Relax, Admiral, you are in good hands. ' I note the engines of our plane have stopped running! The aircraft is under some strange control and is now turning itself. The controls are useless. 1140 Hours- Another radio message received. We begin the landing process now, and in moments the plane shudders slightly, and begins a descent as though caught in some great unseen elevator! The downward motion is negligible, and we touch down with only a slight jolt! 1145 Hours- I am making a hasty last entry in the flight log. Several men are approaching on foot toward our aircraft. They are tall with blond hair. In the distance is a large shimmering city pulsating with rainbow hues of color. I do not know what is going to happen now, but I see no signs of weapons on those approaching. I hear now a voice ordering me by name to open the cargo door. I comply. END LOG From this point I write all the following events here from memory. It defies the imagination and would seem all but madness if it had not happened. The radioman and I are taken from the aircraft and we are received in a most cordial manner. We were then boarded on a small platform-like conveyance with no wheels! It moves us toward the glowing city with great swiftness. As we approach, the city seems to be made of a crystal material. Soon we arrive at a large building that is a type I have never seen before. It appears to be right out of the design board of Frank Lloyd Wright, or perhaps more correctly, out of a Buck Rogers setting!! We are given some type of warm beverage which tasted like nothing I have ever savored before. It is delicious. After about ten minutes, two of our wondrous appearing hosts come to our quarters and announce that I am to accompany them. I have no choice but to comply. I leave my radioman behind and we walk a short distance and enter into what seems to be an elevator. We descend downward for some moments, the machine stops, and the door lifts silently upward! We then proceed down a long hallway that is lit by a rose-colored light that seems to be emanating from the very walls themselves! One of the beings motions for us to stop before a great door. Over the door is an inscription that I cannot read. The great door slides noiselessly open and I am beckoned to enter. One of my hosts speaks. 'Have no fear, Admiral, you are to have an audience with the Master... ' I step inside and my eyes adjust to the beautiful coloration that seems to be filling the room completely. Then I begin to see my surroundings. What greeted my eyes is the most beautiful sight of my entire existence. It is in fact too beautiful and wondrous to describe. It is exquisite and delicate. I do not think there exists a human term that can describe it in any detail with justice! My thoughts are interrupted in a cordial manner by a warm rich voice of melodious quality, 'I bid you welcome to our domain, Admiral. ' I see a man with delicate features and with the etching of years upon his face. He is seated at a long table. He motions me to sit down in one of the chairs. After I am seated, he places his fingertips together and smiles. He speaks softly again, and conveys the following: 'We have let you enter here because you are of noble character and well-known on the Surface World, Admiral. ' Surface World, I half-gasp under my breath! 'Yes, ' the Master replies with a smile, 'you are in the domain of the Arianni, the Inner World of the Earth. We shall not long delay your mission, and you will be safely escorted back to the surface and for a distance beyond. But now, Admiral, I shall tell you why you have been summoned here. Our interest rightly begins just after your race exploded the first atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. It was at that alarming time we sent our flying machines, the "Flugelrads", to your surface world to investigate what your race had done. That is, of course, past history now, my dear Admiral, but I must continue on. You see, we have never interfered before in your race's wars, and barbarity, but now we must, for you have learned to tamper with a certain power that is not for man, namely, that of atomic energy. Our emissaries have already delivered messages to the powers of your world, and yet they do not heed. Now you have been chosen to be witness here that our world does exist. You see, our Culture and Science is many thousands of years beyond your race, Admiral. ' I interrupted, 'But what does this have to do with me, Sir? ' The Master's eyes seemed to penetrate deeply into my mind, and after studying me for a few moments he replied, 'Your race has now reached the point of no return, for there are those among you who would destroy your very world rather than relinquish their power as they know it... ' I nodded, and the Master continued, 'In 1945 and afterward, we tried to contact your race, but our efforts were met with hostility, our Flugelrads were fired upon. Yes, even pursued with malice and animosity by your fighter planes. So, now, I say to you, my son, there is a great storm gathering in your world, a black fury that will not spend itself for many years. There will be no answer in your arms, there will be no safety in your science. It may rage on until every flower of your culture is trampled, and all human things are leveled in vast chaos. Your recent war was only a prelude of what is yet to come for your race. We here see it more clearly with each hour.. do you say I am mistaken? ''No, ' I answer, 'it happened once before, the dark ages came and they lasted for more than five hundred years. ''Yes, my son, ' replied the Master, 'the dark ages that will come now for your race will cover the Earth like a pall, but I believe that some of your race will live through the storm, beyond that, I cannot say. We see at a great distance a new world stirring from the ruins of your race, seeking its lost and legendary treasures, and they will be here, my son, safe in our keeping. When that time arrives, we shall come forward again to help revive your culture and your race. Perhaps, by then, you will have learned the futility of war and its after that time, certain of your culture and science will be returned for your race to begin anew. You, my son, are to return to the Surface World with this message..... ' With these closing words, our meeting seemed at an end. I stood for a moment as in a, yet, I knew this was reality, and for some strange reason I bowed slightly, either out of respect or humility, I do not know which. Suddenly, I was again aware that the two beautiful hosts who had brought me here were again at my side. 'This way, Admiral, ' motioned one. I turned once more before leaving and looked back toward the Master. A gentle smile was etched on his delicate and ancient face. 'Farewell, my son, ' he spoke, then he gestured with a lovely, slender hand a motion of peace and our meeting was truly ended. Quickly, we walked back through the great door of the Master's chamber and once again entered into the elevator. The door slid silently downward and we were at once going upward. One of my hosts spoke again, 'We must now make haste, Admiral, as the Master desires to delay you no longer on your scheduled timetable and you must return with his message to your race. ' I said nothing. All of this was almost beyond belief, and once again my thoughts were interrupted as we stopped. I entered the room and was again with my radioman. He had an anxious expression on his face. As I approached, I said, 'It is all right, Howie, it is all right. ' The two beings motioned us toward the awaiting conveyance, we boarded, and soon arrived back at the aircraft. The engines were idling and we boarded immediately. The whole atmosphere seemed charged now with a certain air of urgency. After the cargo door was closed the aircraft was immediately lifted by that unseen force until we reached an altitude of 2700 feet. Two of the aircraft were alongside for some distance guiding us on our return way. I must state here, the airspeed indicator registered no reading, yet we were moving along at a very rapid rate. 215 Hours - A radio message comes through. 'We are leaving you now, Admiral, your controls are free. Auf Wiedersehen!!!! 'We watched for a moment as the flugelrads disappeared into the pale blue aircraft suddenly felt as though caught in a sharp downdraft for a moment. We quickly recovered her control. We do not speak for some time, each man has his thoughts... ENTRY IN FLIGHT LOG CONTINUES 220 Hours- We are again over vast areas of ice and snow, and approximately 27 minutes from base camp. We radio them, they respond. We report all conditions Base camp expresses relief at our re-established contact. 300 Hours- We land smoothly at base camp. I have a LOG ENTRIES. March 11, 1947 I have just attended a staff meeting at the Pentagon. I have stated fully my discovery and the message from the Master. All is duly recorded. The President has been advised. I am now detained for several hours (six hours, thirty- nine minutes, to be exact. ) I am interviewed intently by Top Security Forces and a medical team. It was an ordeal!!!! I am placed under strict control via the national security provisions of this United States of America. I am ORDERED TO REMAIN SILENT IN REGARD TO ALL THAT I HAVE LEARNED, ON THE BEHALF OF HUMANITY!!! Incredible! I am reminded that I am a military man and I must obey orders. 30/12/56 - FINAL ENTRY These last few years elapsed since 1947 have not been kind... I now make my final entry in this singular diary. In closing, I must state that I have faithfully kept this matter secret as directed all these years. It has been completely against my values of moral right. Now, I seem to sense the long night coming on and this secret will not die with me, but as all truth shall, it will triumph and so it shall. This can be the only hope for mankind. I have seen the truth and it has quickened my spirit and has set me free! I have done my duty toward the monstrous military industrial complex. Now, the long night begins to approach, but there shall be no end. Just as the long night of the Arctic ends, the brilliant sunshine of Truth shall come again... and those who are of darkness shall fall in it's Light... FOR I HAVE SEEN THAT LAND BEYOND THE POLE, THAT CENTER OF THE GREAT UNKNOWN. Admiral Richard E. ByrdUnited States Navy24 December 1956.
Welcome, grump fans, to the world of Alice Cooper. You won't ever leave, trust me. A recent mushroom trip made me realize that there seems to be a lack of empathy and ethical awareness when studying psychedelic and sacred medicines, specifically when it goes into the study of Ayahuasca. There appears to be this mindset of, "Well it comes from nature so all of us should be able to have access to it! ", but forget that from Nature also came whole ethnic groups and within those ethnic groups, whole cultures with whole philosophies and whole forms of art. And alongside these groups of people, are medicines and plants that they have come across and used for centuries, and have developed intensive rituals that consist of song and dance and stories when under the influence of the plant or medicine. It doesn't matter what your ethnicity is, mushrooms and plants grow everywhere, and there are bound to be some sort of psychoactive mushroom or fungi or plant in many parts of the world, from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the Pacific Islands, the Americas. And guaranteed with research you will find the culture that it is connected to, how they used it ceremoniously, and why. What beliefs it brought them to, and how. The Celts, for example, used to take what are now called, "Liberty Caps", Psilocybe Semilanceata, because it was native in that region, and it's speculated that this is where the idea of the "Fae" originated from. Meanwhile, in Central America, Psilocybe Mexicana is the specific species of mushroom that was also known as "teonanácatl", which the Aztecs revered and used ceremoniously in their society. And, you know, we live in a day and age that really takes a lot of this shit for granted. The United States is already an unethical country, but Western science and philosophy tends to view Nature as a vending machine rather than the exact thing that birthed us. It's irrelevant whether one believes in some "higher power" or not and whether one believes psychedelics can make you "speak to God" or not, but it is certainly arrogant that we look at plants and fungi such as these, and though we apply whatever conscious level meanings we want upon them, subconsciously we view them as just something to consume and "trip out" on. Let me reiterate that there seems to be this belief that Nature is a vending machine for all sorts of wonders, and we're born to conquer Nature and consume Nature. And when it's shown to make people more loving, more present, more "connected" to nature, and see its medicinal value that medicine men and women have known about for centuries, I feel like " American" society has gotten more than a bit ahead of itself with the legalization and studies of all these sacred plants while the Original Americans are either discriminated by the media and incarcerated unjustly for petty drug possessions or live on reservations that have no "proper address" by USPS standards, essentially making it difficult or impossible to vote. And then society blames the whole if a select few fall into crime because of their desperate attempts to just fucking live a decent life. (And then we have the ethics of Iboga use, which is and was used in Bwiti culture. The majority of African countries are still recovering from European colonialism. Let's stop and think for a second about how America treats Black people too, yeah? ) And this is all while certain people get so out of touch with reality that they believe themselves to be "called" to become a "shaman" and then proceed to make what is a mockery out of proper Ayahuasca ceremonies, leading to people harming themselves or getting seriously fucked up mentally. Not because of the plant itself, but because someone was arrogant enough to think they knew what they were doing, when in reality, they bought into a $700+ "shamanic training course" from the internet by some "New Age" scam-artist. And the disrespect some people will have with their viewpoints of certain plant medicines is incredibly terrifying, because you'll have this contradictory view of, "These are spiritually enlightening! Use them sacredly. ", to, "These are fucking trippy! You can totally use them recreationally! ", and meanwhile psychology is indeed trying to figure out how to use them correctly. And then some people get into this "ego trip" where they try to see how "far" they can go into the Mind via "heroic doses", mistakenly believing that medicine men and women were constantly taking that amount when that's not the case at all. And they do this every two weeks, coming to the same "revelations" over and over and over. Some people just like the way "God's" voice sounds, but they never actually listen. And this is the reason why this subreddit can be such a "circle-jerk"; everyone's just coming to the same revelation that everyone else comes to and then pats each other on the back for "gaining wisdom" when in reality they're lost in a nifty idea that has no pragmatic value for the everyday world. Elsewhere, scientists and pharmaceutical companies attempt to create "pharmahuasca", in a laboratory, ignoring the cultural significance of the plant-based brew, Ayahuasca. There's a whole process, a preparation, a meditation, a way of praying with the ceremonies. And when people, specifically people of Native America, get reasonably angry about what is essentially the blaspheming of a ceremonial brew, other people respond with, "But it's a gift given by Nature! We should all have it! " Sure, it's a gift alright, but how would you feel if your parents got you a gift you adored and then your sibling stole it from you, destroyed what was meaningful to you about it, even dissecting it down to the last piece, and then giving you the pieces back because they got bored of it? And as this is all going down, we have extracted DMT from the plant that is brewed for Ayahuasca, burned the chemical itself, and wonder why we see "machine elves". Why DMT makes us feel like Life as we know it isn't as "real" as we first think, and why DMT feels like the "afterlife" and Life is just a "simulation". Well, Life feels like it is a "simulation", aka, artificial, because when you extract a chemical of a living breathing entity such as a plant, and then consume nothing but the chemical, there's no deeper substance to it. There's nothing Natural left to what once was a plant. This is raping Mother Nature, all while blaspheming a whole people's culture. Probably why Salvia Divinorum takes no shit from anyone who decides to disrespect them by treating it as nothing but a "plant to smoke and trip out briefly on". There's nothing to gain from the plant because it's kicking your ass from your attempts to rape him. And personally I think there will be huge repercussions to attempting to inject DMT into the blood stream for long periods of time to "explore hyperspace". What one may end up finding is that they are just swimming through the Abstract, the Chaos, an aspect of the deeper Mind that is unnecessary to explore so deeply because it is the Imagination become enhanced, and the Imagination cannot be of use if there is no implementation of an idea into daily reality. You might as well just meditate and lucid dream, instead of abusing a substance in the name of escapism masked as "exploration". Compassion does not end with compassion for your fellow human by just viewing them as a generic human. Compassion only begins there. Compassion continues by respecting their cultures, knowing what boundaries you might be crossing and stepping back, knowing that life does not just mean "human", and doesn't end with "animals", but also includes all the plants that are helping you breathe and feel energized and fueled with nutrients and even help you realize yourself if you are open to unlearning what you thought you knew. But when you go into a psychedelic trip thinking you'll "learn the secrets of the universe", you'll consume the plant for it's effects and then convince yourself you found "God" or "enlightenment" because you forgot how the Imagination works, or have never known anyways. Which, I'm not against the strive for awakening or whatever, but it's important to note that these medicines are meant to help you unlearn so that you can relearn something that'll be better for yourself. You unravel your inner mental knots so that you can get back in the world and interact with it in a different fashion. You unlearn what makes you arrogant or ignorant or blinded or depressed or anxious or paranoid and then come back to reality, ready to refresh your Mind with better material. Reading, meditation, dreaming, these are all interesting enough, or should be, especially when one comes back from an experience. Mental health you see is important. Socializing you realize is key to a lovely life. Engaging with a flawed society at a different angle so that it can be improved can be important if change is to be made. You might see that sobriety, really is underrated in a society that teaches us to drown ourselves in chemicals of any and everything. Psychedelics can show you that, or you can ignore that message. But, you go back to your meds. You go back to your work. You go back to your school. You go back to your hobbies. You back to your family, and you try to make new friends. You save up your money. You take a walk in nature. You eat good food. You drink hot beverages. You watch a good, bad, or cheesy movie. You play a fun video game. Etc. But if we're going to research psychedelic medicines, we'd best be sure that the people who originally used them benefit from the studies to the highest degree. And we best not disrespect a ceremonial brew, and we best remember to respect nature, and we best remember to respect the people, or otherwise we're bringing about the same exact type of damage that these past generations have been bringing. The damage from a mindset that everything from Nature is for us to take, without any sort of permission or valuing Life on more than just a monetary scale. Remember that.
The three comic books that went with this album were really well done too. I could picture it being a really fun rock musical with the comic being nearly storyboards, only with much more detail and dark beauty. Oh yeah, come on. Now, let me take you babe, down to the river bed Well, I got to tell you something That'll go right through your head I got a line on you babe (I got a line on you babe) Yeah, I got a line on you (I got a line on you babe) Come on. Now, put your arms around me, every little bit of your love Oh, you know what to do, I'll make love to you You got the right stuff, and I do too I got a line on you babe (I got a line on you babe) Yeah, I got a line on you (I got a line on you babe) Yeah! Got my eye on you babe, on your velvet skin I wanna put my hands were they've never been Get real hot in the midnight steam Soaking in the rain of my favorite dream Your lips are red, the moon is blue I only ask you once what you want to do Gonna touch you babe 'til the night is through Look out honey, got a line on you Oh yeah. Oh, now the winter's almost over, The summer she's coming on strong. Oh I could love you, love you, love you, love you all year long I got a line on you babe (I got a line on you babe) Yeah, I got a line on you (I got a line on you babe) Ah yeah! I got a line on you babe (I got a line on you babe) Yeah, I got a line on you Yeah, yeah, yeah! I got a line on you babe (I got a line on you babe) I got a line on you I got a line on you babe.
Lost in america 2019. Lost in america army. Lost in american. Lost in america lyrics. America lost in delusion. My favorite song from them. Kicks so much ass. Helloween is perfect. Alice Cooper hard rocker building a house of fire and married for over 35 years. Dr. Phil self help guide and counselor now on his second marriage. Is there something weird about that. Lost in america album.
In the darkness. theres so much i wanna do...
About The Author: Bernie Sanders
Info: U.S. Senator from Vermont and candidate for President of the United States.
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