Lists of subject matters to avoid during film school

1. Childhood
2. Death
3. Actors
4. Adolesence
5. Home
6. Alcohol
7. Break-ups
8. Room mates
9. Anything in apartments
10. Philosophy 101
11. 20-somethings in oversized suits
12. Old people
13. Muses

I Am Jacob Wren

I say I am Jacob Wren because I have read his book “Unrehearsed Beauty” and it seemed like something I could have written.

I happened to meet Jacob Wren shortly after and was surprised at how we were different. For a while I thought he was an impostor, someone who posed as him during personal encounters or public ones. The Real Jacob Wren was and still is probably writing short paragraphs about the minute things of the mind (and sometimes of the soul).

Alas, it will remain for now a veiled truth who the real Jacob Wren is. But I can tell you that the one I met is not him. No, this particular man was more like a briefed version of Jacob Wren, someone who was well aware of Wren and his internal life, his writings, possibly his taste, but stood only as a representative, like say a customer service agent who is the company when you call in to complain, a Jacob Wren for hire.

The trouble is in coinciding your written persona with the one of your social presence. I figure Jacob Wren has trouble doing so, so he hires these mercenaries to war in the urban jungle for him, but unfortunately these men are not competent enough. Well, I will admit, it is a hard leap to live in the world of your art and to develop according behavioral characteristics and to later carry that self around in public. It is easier to live in other’s people art, specially when these men are for the most part lonely writers.

Is Jacob Wren not a social man? Is his exuberance subdued? And who are these bored timid actors who pretend to be him? I’m not so sure, but when I read “Unrehearsed Beauty”, I become Jacob Wren, I infuse my being with my synthesis of his written being, and I can choose to be him, or be an enhanced version of myself through him. I guess every reader of “Unreheased Beauty” is walking around today with a little of Jacob Wren within them. I guess it can be said: we all are Jacob Wren.

-Taken from “Unrehearsed Beauty” (CoachHouse, p. 55)

Grafh - Autografh (New Limited Download Album)

Donwload the album here

This here is an invitation to download Grafh’s new album. For those who don’t know him, he’s probably one of the best rappers in the world at the moment. This album is better than Jay’s latest, “Kingdom Come”, which many people found disappointing. It is also better than Nas’ “Hip Hop is Dead”, which many people also found disappointing.

Let’s face it, Jay-Z can’t be bothered to be inventive at this point. He does not need to make that effort. He is so many miles ahead of every other rapper that he can evolve at a snail’s space and still maintain a steady lead.

Now Nas is a tricky one. He eschewed technical rhyming for something which he believes is more poetic, or purer. He thinks rap is a lot of poetry, and when it deals with crime and guns, it’s street poetry. So when he raps, he tries to evoke cinematic visuals and punctuates the verse with simple aphorisms. But his flaws are obvious, he is an internal rapper, he cannot project any essential charisma, his ‘presence’ on a song is low-key. That’s fine. But this is rap music, the kind of music with the most cinematic potential, the most textural and the most in which the vocal presence of the artist has the potential to have many dimensions. In this game, Nas is a preacher, a quiet poet, with apparent insights. Not enough.

But Grafh has what Nas lacks in terms of presence. And he has what Jay-Z has in terms of verses. If he’s better or not, we’ll see in the long run. But for now, his hunger is apparent. He displays skills undoubtedly. If you’ve heard him before, and followed his mixtapes, you know he can be funny, serious, and clever, in ways that hint at an interesting depth. This depth is probably the biggest reward we get with this album. It is clear his skills go beyond the simple act of rhyming words, and evoke a unique insight into the literal and visual capabilities of the kind of unique vocal performance rap inherently is. This man will blow your mind.