The Rebel in me

I am the sort of person who is consistently working for the opposition in an expected course of action, view, or habit. For example strict vegetarians make me want to eat raw meat and gun down camels, extremely obsessive correctness of any kind brings out my hidden sarcasm and coldness, and when I observe public displays of affection, my senses tell me to put off dating for eternity.
So what I’m trying to say is this; if you're doing or saying something, and you make it very obvious that you won’t budge or hear out a perspective, then odds are, I will turn it down. And if you’re going to ask me why, well it’s cos life is extra entertaining that way.

I know I’m hardly alone when it comes to rebelling this way and people like us do make up a huge slice of this world….you know the ones I'm talking about, the ones who can never just be of the same opinion with a prevalent and regularly held way of thinking. Someone who insists that David Bowie’s version of ‘Man who sold the world’ was the best version, that Gin Blossoms was better than Matchbox Twenty or Counting Crows, that the answer to "Michael Jackson or Madonna?" is Tears for Fears, that Hendrix’s ‘Bold as Love’ was one of the finest instrumentals to be ever played, that Marvin Gay out-funked Gloria Gaynor or Smokey Robinson, or that Lifehouse is somehow the quintessential alternative band.

I’m not a music contrarian. But in case you meet one, you can bet your lucky dime that their going to be packed with a 10-minute lecture as to why Gary Moore never outperformed Lynyrd Skynyrd.

And what is the reason that you or I or our friends should resort to this need to disagree or play mine-is-better-than-yours? Is it just for the sake of thrusting our opinions, or to emphasize our unique eccentricity? Is it really that important? Are we really that bothered? I think we are very concerned. I think that for folks whose characters and personalities have been shaped by music or art we swear by, we replicate just as easily the next day to people we interact with; by beliefs that make unquestionable significance or make so trivial significance that we venerate them all the more; by those long stretches of time we give to them and by the effort it takes to adopt them, not just for a moment but to be dependent on it for life -- that is not anything you can admit defeat to so effortlessly or willingly. You wrangle with and you go against the standard not just to be an arrogant prick, but to stick up for all that you've held onto over the years…. even if you're absolutely wide of the mark.
In other news, saying that someone sounds a bit like a bunch of other singers might seem a bit like a mash up. True, it reads like Lior Narkis is going to sound like a mass confusion of influences and styles and run on sentences. And while his sound is varied and complex I would never for a second suggest that he is anything less than brilliant. Underrated yes. Conflicted yes. Great musically and lyrically, double yes.

He’s not to be confused with the pop artist who goes by the same name, who is also from Israel and far more famous than he is. What sets him apart other than the genre of music and the distinctive sound; is that he spells superb originality. What he does have is a weight and sound that is captivating. By this track you’ll have already decided that you’re going to listen to the song one more time, maybe more, and you’ll want to understand what he’s talking about because those who hear him want to be a part of something this wonderful.

Here’s the one and only Lior Narkis featuring Sia on this track ‘I’ll forget you’

Things you cant get out of

I’ve become aware of the fact that I’ve been using my mobile too much lately. And by the time I realize it’s too late for me to be conscious, my sleep has disappeared and I lie awake wishing I hadn’t thrown away my sleeping pills. I wish I could turn off my mobile but I fear the result of an anxiety attack. I remember very clearly, the day I left my mobile at home. I was expecting a call from the crooner. That day didn’t go so well. I was grumpy, restless, I cussed all day and I had hallucinations. I’d hear my phone ringing faintly when it really wasn’t. I’d feel the need to check my bag for the phone to check my messages or missed calls and then realize I didn’t carry it with me. That’s when I accepted the reality that I had a problem. I’m not even sure if it’s completely physical or if it’s also a psychological issue. It’s sort of bizarre to understand how one can get so attached to a little device. This has of course got me thinking about other things in my life that I might be obsessed with- like some other gadget or food or alcohol or men. I think I might just try to go without any of the above for a couple of days, or at least choose one and see if my opinion or anything like that changes.

My sister has told my older sister and me that she wants to get married to her boyfriend next year. When my older sister told me that in 2003, I screamed for joy and wished her luck but you see it’s a different case with my twin. My folks are pretty cool with our lifestyle but if there’s one thing they’re particular about, it’s the religion part of it. We’ve been brought up in a devout Baptist (protestant) home and my dad is an important man at our home church so my twin’s plans of marrying her boyfriend who happens to be Hindu by religion, well, isn’t going to get him screaming for joy. Last night I was hunting for a photo album that had a picture of my sister and me when we were kids. I found it in my drawer with no trouble at all.
And now, the music- I’ve been listening to this brilliant artist all day at work- Sia is an Aussie singer.

The album 'Some People Have Real Problems', is stunning work. One of the outstanding tracks is the three minute up-tempo ‘Buttons’ that I’ve uploaded below, which is alluring in its own right. So now do yourselves a favor and enjoy the track.