Simply put, it’s an existentialist art form.

Now I can’t exactly make the same claims for other genres of music, because their cultural roots are quite different. So as a personal opinion, no other musical style, apart from rock (and all its more metallic sub-genres) contains a stronger emphasis on individual expression. Although I do respect and appreciate a good dose of pop/RnB/indie every once in a while, I can’t help but feel that the mainstream scene has become more manufactured. What happened to the good old “rock n’ roll” that used to inspire us in the past? The development of a genre into an artifact of our cultural psyche has always fascinated me. Call me old school, but the latest tunes from Lady Gaga, American Idol and Glee are nothing but spawning grounds for capitalist ideals.

The Classical Godfather

Contrary to idealist notions of creativity, rock music did not have an “Aphrodite moment” when it burst into the scene. It started its rather slow, but dynamic evolution from the tensions between jazz, blues and classical music, which are commonly known  as the metaphysical precursors to all other musical styles and ideas. Taking into account its material roots, rock was a deviation from these styles, insofar as it glorified the musician’s ideas and emotions, rather than technical finesse.

Classical music, however, continues to remain an extension of basic musical principles, or logic. For example, only certain types of instruments could be part of a symphonic orchestra. In addition, composers were expected to have a certain level of achievement, before they could be given due credit. Even as Kant had put the fundamentals of Western philosophy firmly in place, the classical framework similarly gave the rock musician a universal set of principles (e.g. score, arrangement, instrumentation) to play around with.

Jazz and Blues are not antithetical to the classical form, but bearing different origins, they were techniques that questioned the legitimacy, or meaning, of the classical ideal. At this point, one may also deduce that jazz is synonymous with post-modernism, since it opens the score to many different interpretations. In effect, these earlier developments were thus the catalysts for the crystallisation of rock as a distinct genre.

Welcome to the Jungle…of rock n’ roll.

By the 80s, the culture known as “rock” had come full circle. The music, I would argue, wasn’t just a different arrangement of notes; it also became a political voice that challenged the very institutions that gave rock’s predecessors the status of “high-culture”.  Even as mainstream pop/RnB spoke about finding and losing love, rock music was essentially a reflection of the self. The individual was supposed to be the centre of his/her universe, but the state of the world (e.g. politics, poverty and even love) was getting in the way. Truth, according to some rockers, could be only be discovered if one had the courage to bring down the walls of capitalism and other institutions of social control. Their calls for freedom, if you ask me, had quite an ironic end, when MTV took over and turned countless acts into sellouts.

Nevertheless, rock musicians have come to embody certain values, that to me, are more genuinely human than all the other audiovisual products we get today. Could it be that rock, with all its colorful genres and sub-genres, is the Romanticism of Modernity? By the general consensus, this remains a long-shot. To me, it represents conviction…and a life that needs to be lived on the edge. So turn up the speakers folks, it’s time for a rockin’ romance.

Tonight’s entry will be an “off-beat” take on a subject many of us can relate to. In reference to the above title, I will be leaving the job I have held for more than a year. Although I have learnt a lot during my time there and I’m certainly grateful for the opportunities that were given to me, there are a few insights, or arguments (depending on whether you agree with them) that can be a viable starting point for further discussion.

But first, a cautionary note: the ABCs of career planning are derived from my experience in a SME (small-medium enterprise). Certain aspects may or may not be similar to what goes on in a MNC, so it would be good if readers working on the other side of the fence can offer their views.

In my humble opinion, finding that perfect fit for our career should always include these three aspects:

Advancement
I have been led to believe that there are two kinds of people in any given company. They are namely, the ones who treat their job as a career and those who are just doing their job. For the latter group, it’s all about paying the bills, so salary takes precedence over climbing the corporate ladder. While this used to be the dominant trend with older and perhaps more conservative groups, younger professionals—who are brought up in a more affluent society—are learning to place an emphasis on prospects and opportunities instead. Questions such as “how can this job help me develop my potential?” or “are there any marketable skills thant I can acquire?” are now the issues to consider when it’s time to check out the Recruitment page. I personally feel it’s important that job-seekers be clear about their own career goals, as some employers may not share or understand them.

Bosses
Despite the multitude of opinions on “effective management”, not everyone in a position of authority has the ability to lead. Good leaders are always a gem, and the best ones are still able to retain subordinate loyalty even when it seems the work couldn’t get any worse. Unfortunately, it does become problematic when individual output is used as an indicator for a manager’s promotion. Being able to perform exceptionally well as an individual is radically different from getting an entire team to work effectively in unison. These people, otherwise known as “soloists”, often have trouble setting realistic and replicable goals for the rest of their department. Therefore, if a process cannot be replicated, the team will not be able to meet the target!

An effective boss, or leader, must also be open to feedback from his/her subordinates. For me, it was very trying when a manager or supervisor did not take enough time to listen and understand the difficulties that the team was going through. To quote General Colin Powell on the meaning of leadership:

“Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”

Culture
Perhaps the hardest and most intangible part to assess would be the culture of the company, and most of us will not get a feel of it until we’ve been there for a considerable period of time. Nevertheless, it defines the social make-up of a working group, and it has the potential to make a team… or break it. Here are just a few questions that can be used to review a company’s culture:

1. Do your colleagues take the initiative to know you better, or do they just mind their own business?
2. Apart from work-related matters, are you able to appreciate and identify with the things your colleagues are talking about?
3. When something goes wrong with a project, do the people in the team work together to resolve it, or is there a tendency to pass all the responsibility to just one person?

So there, my final take on finding the “career of your choice.” For those entering the job market, I hope this will help resolve some of the apprehensions you might have during these uncertain times. As for everyone else contributing to the economy, it’s about time you contribute your comments too!

To escape the hype on the Twilight saga, I’ve been spending almost every other night with this awesome series in my archives. Blood+ was given to me a couple of years ago, but characters like Edward Cullen have made me somewhat cautious with vampire flicks. Japanese productions are no exception to such an impression—the live action version of Blood: The Last Vampire, with its stunning visuals and gorgeous babes, also failed to deliver a compelling story. With blood-sucking stories pervading the media, one can’t help but feel that the scriptwriters have wasted precious time plagiarising Bram Stroker.

But Blood+ was quite an exception and I would like to argue that it has certain features that make the narrative more intelligent than any of the Twilight novels, or films.

First, there is a clear biological basis for the existence of vampires, or Chiropterans, as they are more commonly known in the series. As discovered by Dr. Julia Silverstein, these creatures possess an extra nucleotide that enables them to take on a human form and yet have superhuman strength. Instead of supernatural beings with occult powers, the vampires in Blood+ are an alternative species, with traits and behaviours that adhere to an evolutionary framework. For example, the blood of the Chiropteran queen is fatal to the progeny from another queen. This gives the protagonist, Saya, the ability to kill and destroy any creature that is spawned from her sister’s blood, because the two girls are the only queens of their generation.

Second, the themes of humanity and family ties have a stronger resonance than heterosexual romance. I do not really subscribe to the idea of  “two lovebirds against all odds” because there is more to life than just being dictated by one’s feelings. Although Blood+ does have a love story on the side, the main course with the character development is still the concept of self-actualisation and coming to terms with one’s place in a harsh world. Both Saya and her elder brother Kai constantly struggle to find a reason for fighting. In doing so, they begin to understand a bit more of themselves and their purpose in life. For those who are familiar with the series, there’s actually a lot of depth and development to Kai’s character and I feel much of the story’s moral underpinnings can be dervied from his experience.

Finally, and perhaps in my opinion the most tangible aspect, is the soundtrack by renowned composer Hans Zimmer. With works like The Last Samurai, Pirates of the Carribean and Batman Begins, need I say (or write) more? The haunting music for Blood+, with much of it on Haji’s melancholic cello, is no exception. The German musician is a genius, period.

Blood+ will be available for loan to all friends and readers of the blog. If you’re a straight bloke, I guarantee Saya will be a hotter pick than Bella from Twilight…anytime.

A recent controversy involving a prominent local church got me thinking about the impact of prosperity theology among the faithful today. Many Christians use the word “blessing” rather loosely. More often than not, we are over-exposed to testimonies of individuals who have experienced material gain. By the use of the word “material”, our present frame of reference would naturally relate this to money. Indeed, most of the things that we ask and get from God, do involve a great deal of money. While there is nothing wrong with expressing our gratitude for all the good we get from above (we should always give thanks in any circumstance), it is quite another matter, when financial gain is used as a selling point to get people to give, or even believe…in the Son of God.

The gospel according to the prosperity preachers, is fundamentally based on a few verses that are in my opinion, exploited for the benefit of our consumerist society. For example:

The miracle of the five loaves and two fishes (John 6: 5-15): A young boy offers his share of bread and fish to Jesus, who prays and feeds it to five thousand people. Twelve baskets of barley loaves are left over. The sheer up-size of the boy’s offering is often used to motivate the masses to give and expect bigger things.

Malachi’s prophecy (Malachi 3:10): The prophet warns the children of Israel about the consequences of robbing God and says that the “Lord Almighty will thrown open the floodgates and pour out so much blessing that that you will not have room enough for it”. Again, it is not about the act of tithing, but rather the consequence of tithing vis-à-vis money that has become the key marketing message.

As thin as the line may seem, it always pays to remember that God is never a vending machine. Cheques in the offering bag will not give us the desires of our heart. In fact, if we desire more money, or a better financial position, we might just be asking for the wrong things. The scriptures have never been clearer, when it comes to the issue of God and money:

“You cannot serve both God and Money” – Matthew 6:24

“For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” – 1 Timothy 6:10

When the rich young ruler (a man who had everything else right) walked away because he could not bear to part with his riches, Christ gave his disciples a metaphor of absolute impossibility.

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” - Matthew 19:24.

Are those who claim that we can have both God and great riches, trying to get the camel into the needle’s eye?

The question of whether Christians should be rich (or should be condemned because they are rich) is still subject to debate. The desire for wealth, however, is definitely incompatible with the teachings of Christ. As believers, we should not expect a windfall whenever we take the initiative to obey; prophets and missionaries have devoted their lives to absolute obedience and were martyred for it. At the same time, it is also foolish to deliberately devote ourselves to abject poverty, as that will lead us to cultivate a covetous attitude.

I shall conclude with an excerpt from Proverbs 30. I personally feel it is especially meaningful, because it describes, in very human and realistic terms, the attitude that every believer ought to cultivate, with regards to the material things in life.

“Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.” (v8-9)

I can’t help but feel a sense of awe whenever I pick up a good out-of-print book. Besides the fact that I’m one of the few privileged readers who have access to it, there’s also a profound sense of “reverence” in coming to grips with the author’s work. It’s still a mystery that little attention from the American media has been given to Robert Franklin Young; I only knew who he was after viewing the TV anime for Clannad and RahXephon. Details into Young’s life are also shrouded in obscurity — it wasn’t until his death in 1986 that the science fiction community realised he had been working as a janitor in a Buffalo public school.

However, a humble life is not the sole claim to Young’s greatness as an icon in the genre. This anthology, which was first published by The Science Fiction Book Club in 1966, is a testament of Young’s skill in crafting worlds that are both controversial and comforting. Contrary to what mainstream readers may assume, there are no dystopian visions nor complex jargon to turn off those who are not acquainted with the genre. Young’s works are essentially parables of humanity and I’m quite certain that it can even strike a chord in the heart of a supermodel wannabe carrying an iPhone. Given the possibility that I’m the only one in Singapore who has retained a hardbound copy of the book, loans will be highly selective. If you’re looking at getting yourself a copy, I’m happy to recommend the UK site of AbeBooks, which provides a few good listings/links of rare book dealers. For those who need more information, here’s a synopsis to three short stories which are etched in my memory.

The Dandelion Girl
When his wife goes on jury duty, Mark Randolph takes a short retreat in the woods and meets a girl named Julie Danvers. She claims she’s from the future, 240 years ahead of him. She tells him, “Day before yesterday I saw a rabbit, and yesterday a deer and today you,” and an interesting relationship ensues. This short story has often been touted as Young’s quintessential piece and its images and themes have become popular references in Japanese pop culture.

Little Red School House
In an industrial society where parents have no time to be the primary caregivers, children are sent to a red schoolhouse where they are given an “induced elementary education” in the form of intravenous drugs. A boy named Ronnie believes that the kind and gentle “Miss Smith” (an imaginary elementary school teacher) is real and embarks on a dangerous and mind-wrecking journey. For all psychology or Freudian buffs, Little Red School House is a cogent example of how infants acquire the crippling Oedipus Complex.

Your Ghost Will Walk
Two androids escape a harsh taskmaster, who in turn uses a car-fanatic droid to bring them back. The final gem in the book may bear some semblance to the Three Laws of Robotics conceptualised by Isaac Asimov, but the robots in this story are nothing but absolute tools for human control, or so it seems…