Beyond the Rhetoric

Music is incredibly powerful. It’s the kind of thing that can keep you happy and successful, and at the same time, it’s one of the most effective ways to help you achieve a healthy life-work balance. Music can express deep heartfelt emotions and it can help you release all sorts of pent-up frustration. Whether you’re a fan of classical or C-Lo, acid jazz or J-Lo, there’s great value to be had just by listening to some tunes every once in a while.

Although some people may find it to be a bit of a distraction, I actually find that having some music playing in the background helps me work better. I received an iPod as a present a couple months ago from Susanne and this little portable player has been put to great use. It’s great for in the car, walking down the street, or even at my home office. To give you a little peek into what I’m like as a person, may I present five random tracks from my Apple iPod.

Addiction – Kanye West
He’s got to be one of the cockiest guys in the music business and some people may find him a little irritating at times, but man alive is Kanye West a great entertainer. Addiction comes from Kanye’s sophomore album, Late Registration. This track has a bit of a slower pace to it, so it’s good to mellow out on.

Polyamorous – Breaking Benjamin
I came across Breaking Benjamin thanks to a random blog post that I came across one day, so I investigated a little further about the alternative metal band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Their work isn’t particularly innovative or original, but the edgy sound is enough to keep my energy levels at a reasonable level over the course of the day. Polyamorous, in case you can’t figure it out, means “multi-loves” in the same way that polygamous refers to having multiple mates at the same time.

Crawling – Linkin Park
You could say that I’m a pretty big fan of Linkin Park, even though I didn’t really like the more “mature” direction that they took with Minutes to Midnight. The more visceral atmosphere of Hybrid Theory, their first album, is more my kind of thing and Crawling best exemplifies this kind of energy.

Superstar – Lupe Fiasco
Lupe Fiasco’s style of “conscious rap” is similar to what you’d find with guys like Kanye West, Common, and Talib Kweli. He doesn’t feel compelled to rap about drugs, violence, and going to jail. I thought that I enjoyed his first album — you may or may not remember the single: Kick, Push — but his sophomore release is oh so much better. It even earns the Ed Lau stamp of approval.

Go With the Flow – Queens of the Stone Age
You could say that this is an extension of the great Guitar Hero effect, because if it wasn’t for me playing Rock Band on the PS3, I don’t think that I’d be enjoying this awesome track. You really feel like a rock star when you’re banging out on the drums to Queens of the Stone Age.

What about you? I’d be interested to hear about the musical tastes of the Beyond the Rhetoric community? Who knows… you might even introduce me to something I’ve never heard before.

Filed under Arts and Entertainment.