Coltrane’s Freestyle

Breaking conventions of the day – a blueprint for hip-hop

Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and ’50s. Each in their own way, free jazz musicians attempted to alter, extend, or break down the conventions of jazz, often by discarding hitherto invariable features of jazz, such as fixed chord changes or tempos. While usually considered experimental and avant-garde, free jazz has also oppositely been conceived as an attempt to return jazz to its “primitive,” often religious roots, and emphasis on collective improvisation.

Free jazz is most strongly associated with the ’50s innovations of Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor and the later works of saxophonist John Coltrane. Other important pioneers included Eric Dolphy, Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, Bill Dixon, and Sun Ra.

Starting in bebop and hard bop, Coltrane later pioneered free jazz. He influenced generations of other musicians, and remains one of the most significant tenor saxophonists in jazz history. He was astonishingly prolific: he made about fifty recordings as a leader in his twelve-year-long recording career, and appeared as a sideman on many other albums, notably with trumpeter Miles Davis.

Here are some classic compositions from Coltrane and Davis:

.:: LiBM ::.

The Dunny UK Series

These vinyl toys by KidRobot are like 6 – 10 pounds in price each, and are some of the most creative-disturbing-cute vinyl toys that you will ever see. I don’t know at what age you would introduce these to your kids, or if the logic is to be an adult, and buy them for interior decoration, but either way – they will definitely set you apart from the pack whether it is at the monkey bars at the playground, or in the overpriced high-maintenance condo.

You can check out more and buy at: FuturePlastik.co.uk … those UK boys are always ‘out there’ with the culture and art, lol.

.:: LiBM ::.

Art by Venomx

Some great concept records

Many rappers can rap: talking about their ice, cars, hoes, and such – anyone can do it. But what distinguishes a rapper from an MC is their ability to tell a story; for 3-4 minutes to take you on a mental ride through their lives and how they see it. To feel their emotions: elation or pain, bliss or remorse, concept records have pushed the artform ahead, as rappers have stretched the boundaries of imagination.

Nas – One Love

- This was the song that got Nas on the hip-hop light as it was his first major music video. Even Mobb Deep was up in it

Canibus – I honor You

- Sick concept

Hypervigilance

a hinderance or an accelerant?

To all blend DJ’s, abstract artists, digital designers, application program developers, fiction writers, and like-minded individuals; hypervigilance, which you may interpret as paranoia, needs to be realized, channeled, and understood appropriately for your forward momentum. Growing up, I am sure we can all recall those kids that were weird, dressed funny, socially were out of place, but they excelled in the arts; paintings, drawings, molding, et cetera. A possible reason for this is having hypervigilance, which can be described as “an enhanced state of sensory sensitivity accompanied by an exaggerated intensity of behaviors whose purpose is to detect threats. Hypervigilance is also accompanied by a state of increased anxiety which can cause exhaustion. Other symptoms include: abnormally increased arousal, a high responsiveness to stimuli and a constant scanning of the environment for threats”. So in the structural definition, a hypervigilant person can be likened to one who is very paranoid about themselves, their surroundings, and exaggerate subtle environment cues as threats to their own safety.

Causality to the Creative

So if this sounds like you, don’t worry, its even better if you are somewhat creative as researchers have correlated links between hypervigilant people and creativity, a study in the September 2003 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that the brains of creative people appear to be more open to incoming stimuli from the surrounding environment. A University of Toronto press release noted, “Other people’s brains might shut out this same information through a process called ‘latent inhibition’ – defined as an animal’s unconscious capacity to ignore stimuli that experience has shown are irrelevant to its needs. “Through psychological testing, the researchers showed that creative individuals are much more likely to have low levels of latent inhibition. “This means that creative individuals remain in contact with the extra information constantly streaming in from the environment,” says co-author and University of Toronto psychology professor Jordan Peterson.

Benefit for you

It appears that reduced latent inhibition can be beneficial for creativity as decreased latent inhibition may make an individual more likely to see connections that others may not notice. This may explain why so many creative individuals partake in solitary acts; it fosters inspiration and creativity by absorbing environmental stimuli. Or how you may have some friends that will comment and be able to talk about the strangest and peculiar details of life. However, with all this sensory stimulation, one can be overwhelmed – which in some cases, can lead one to madness. But interestingly enough, Einstein, Newton, and other creative individuals that have enhanced mankind were labeled as ‘genius’, but many said that they bordered on the line of madness and insanity. Many times, I always thought I was a genius or maybe I was just crazy … I am sure many of the hypervigilant folk can relate.

And now, onto the creative art

Sources:

http://highlysensitive.org/highly-sensitive-people-latent-inhibition-and-creativity/

http://your-austin-dwi.com

Jailbird

True story:

A carrier pigeon in Colombia gave new meaning to the term “jailbird” when officials discovered that it was trying to smuggle cell phone parts into a high-security prison, a news report said.

The carrier pigeon has Colombian authorities concerned there may be a new way to smuggle goods into prisons.

The bird was carrying the contraband on its back in a little suitcase, the Caracol news outlet said Monday.
source: CNN.com

Let no one say that criminals are not innovative and creative people; they obviously just have a hard time channeling their skills to non-criminal acts. Hustlers will always find a new, innovative way to do something better, faster, more effecient, or in this case – without detection from ‘the man’.

.:: LiBM ::.