#phillystacks

[phillystacks]

Music: The Never Ending Track If I had a dollar for every time i read someone with a status or a tweet that said something along the lines of "music is essential to my life" or "i need music to survive" i'd probably have $10. Lol, no I'd probably have around a milli. But even as cliche as the phrase sounds it is very much true. Maybe the fact that it's considered cliche is a testament to its "trueness". My own experience with music is exciting and even magical at times. When my schedule affords it i like to dedicate time to just sit and listen to all sorts of sounds created by all sorts of artists. I'll close my eyes and let my mind ingest the information and produce images that go along with the music. At times i feel myself get lost in the sounds to the point where I'm no longer on this plain of existence. My mind transports me to a zone where what i see is only limited by the tune playing. It almost feels like I'm on a ride through a universe. Each track has its own unique features and traits that paint a vivid picture. Once the album progresses to the next track my scenery changes and i fall into the next environment, experiencing new sensations with it. For the most part there is a clear distinction between one musical environment and the next. But sometimes the transition isn't as clear cut as i might expect. Sometimes i'll listen to a track that doesn't actually end with one final note, rather it continues on and fades out of audible hearing. Whenever this happens I experience the song differently. I begin to wonder why the song doesn't end, why the artist chose to fade out to nothingness? At first it felt like a movie without a happy ending (although i've come to love those sometimes more than the happy ending ones). A person who is very close to my heart explained it to me in a way that I'll never forget. She said maybe it isn't that the artist didnt want to end the song. Maybe it is simply that the a artist CANT finish the song. Perhaps the song is just so powerful in the mind of the artist that to cut it off abruptly would take away from its beauty. Perhaps the artist realized that the only thing we can do is simply let it go on and slowly move away from it and continue on the journey that the rest of the album has in store. With that new perspective my experience listening to music shifted slightly to accept this notion. Whenever I get to these infinite tracks I can see as they slowly escape my senses and I appreciate the song even more for that reason.

[phillystacks]

Hallways

Here's a glimpse into my mind. 

[phillystacks]

Have you ever had a dream that had something that stuck out as being strange? So strange that you couldn't help but realize that you were dreaming? Afterwards did you try to fly, or make someone you like appear? If so you have experienced lucidity in a dream or have had a lucid dream.

I was never very aware of this type of thing but I do realize now that as a child I always had the ability to pull myself out of a dream whenever I felt it was getting too scary for me. I remember I could also make myself fly, but I could only fly if I believed I could fly. Any shred of doubt would sending me falling out of the sky.

I first had a taste of full lucidity about two years ago. My best friend had recently passed away and I was have a lot of wild dreams. One of these nights I dreamt that I was at a house with a huge plot of land. It felt somewhat like a farm. I was sitting on the front steps of the porch to the house. It was a bright sunny day out and my little cousins were off to the right playing tag with each other. I remember while sitting there my friend, who was dead, come up and sat next to me. He looked at me and smiled. I felt as if I was in a haze, or a trace and couldn't say anything to him. I could only stare. After a bit he said to me "Well aren't you gonna say hi?". Still I sat there frozen to the steps. He says to me "You know you can speak right?" in an attempt to coax me out of my state of paralysis. I didn't and so my friend began taunting me to break out of my spell. (Oddly enough that would be something he would have actually done in order to get me to do something) Finally after sometime of feeling irritated at the badgering I shout "FINE! THERE, YOU HAPPY?!" I felt completely different. My vision was crystal clear and the sensations were all flooding in. I could feel the sun on my skin, I could feel the steps I was sitting on, and I could see my deceased friend clear as day. I knew that this wasn't reality, that my body was fast asleep in bed, and that this guy in front of me didn't exist in reality. I conversed with him for some time and in doing so I observed his mannerisms and his way of speaking. Everything was spot on, from the clothes he had on, to the sound of his voice. From the mannerisms he had, to that very distinctive mole on his cheek. We spoke for some time and I eventually asked the one question we all would ask if given the chance, "What happens after I die?" And as expected he couldn't tell me. Soon after I woke up back in my bed completely exhilarated from what I had just experienced. I went back to sleep with the intentions of going back into that dream and sure enough I became lucid again. This time around I willed him to appear in my dream again.

To this day I'm not sure if my friend came to me from the afterlife in a dream, or if I simply manifested him from the beginning. What I do know is that since that day I have had several lucid dreams. What I can say about them is that the excitement isn't necessarily from the visuals. More so its the feeling of it all. Knowing that the environment around you doesn't actually exist, and then being able to manipulate you're surroundings in incredible. Even the simplest things are fascinating. Being able to pick up a handful of dirt and feeling every granule slip through your fingers. Or laying flat on a bed of grass and being able to pick out every single blade of grass. I shows that your mind can truly create incredible things and it's really fun being able to experience it for yourself. So far I've been able to levitate in a dream, punch through a wall, and even bring someone who was dead in my dream back to life.

It really becomes a virtual reality that you have control over and I definitely look forward to falling asleep because of it.

If you find this kind of thing interesting and you want to give it a try here's a link to a website that talks about lucid dreams and the different ways of achieving lucidity.

http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/

[phillystacks]

PhillyStacks x Pyrosky

I recently finished this music video project with an up and coming local artist from Virginia who I happened to have gone to school with. He goes by the stage name Pyrosky and as you can tell from his lyrics he has a message and flow of his own. This is the song "Know Me'and it is off of his debut mixtape "SBFWAM". Enjoy.

[phillystacks]

Happy Birthday to the gawd.

[phillystacks]

The beautiful woman to next to me is a goddess in her own right. She is a loving and wise soul that I had the pleasure of meeting last sunday at the annual D.C. Loves Dilla event to commemorate the life of the arguably most influential person in HipHop up to this point. This is Mrs. Yancey, J Dilla's mother. 

This was my first time attending the event. Last year saw features by notables from Dilla's camp including Slum Village, Guilty Simpson, and Dilla's own brother John Yancy AKA Illa J. Unfortunately none of those were present this time around but that didn't take away from my experience. At first when we arrived the location was a bit sparce in attendees. There were a few DJ's up in the booth spinning Dilla tracks, attempting to hype up the small crowd. There was a guy busy painting a picture on a canvas. (You can actually see him at work behind us in the picture.) And there were a few people up at the bar getting their drink on. Soon enough the locale began to fill up and I noticed people on the dance floor. As I came closer I could see a bit of a dance contest ensuing with people forming a circle and dancers taking turns showcasing their skills. I couldn't help but admire their excitement, their sense of friendly competition, and basically the cool vibe of it all. Why can't they spin tracks like this at the club? I wouldn't be soo hesitant to go if that were the case.

After some time of watching the spectacle one of my good friends pointed out Mrs. Yancey in the crowd. She was off to the side enjoying the music and the dancers. I wanted to make a move over to her but the giant bouncer next to her made it a bit nerve racking. Some time later i found Mrs. Yancey sitting down and I took my chance. She greeted my warmly and agreed to taking a photo. 

It was an amazing experience. I sat there and conversed with her for a decent amount of time. We spoke of her family, Dilla and Illa J, the experiences at these different events, the effect that Dilla's music has on a massive amount of people, and even about the personal loss of life that I have experienced in my life. I spoke with Mrs. Yancey about being influenced to first listen to Dilla by a good friend and I told her how much I'm sure he would've loved to have been in my spot talking to her. She smiled and said "You owe it to him, huh." And to be honest I felt like I did. It was a chance of a life time.

The whole experience was fantastic. It's funny how Dilla has become a god of sorts. Every name in the industry calls him the greatest and his beat production is the stuff of legends. I read so many articles about dilla, watch so many interviews, and listen to his music that it becomes that way for me too. And as a result it begins to feel as if those around Dilla are gods too and on a bit of a pedestal. But in reality Mrs. Yancey was very much approchable and receptive to everything I asked her. She spoke to me like a regular person and never once held herself higher than anyone else. I appreciated that in her and it left a lasting impression on me. I felt like I was close to Dilla and that was a magical feeling. 

Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to bring in my camera so I couldn't get any video of it all. (-_-) But I don't mind as much because the experience of it all was worth it and is something I'll carry with me for the rest of my life. Thank you Ma Dukes.

[phillystacks]

Meet Timothy McGurr. He is a photographer/videographer as well as the son of the legendary New York graffiti writer, Futura. McGurr started off as a graphic designer living in Tokyo, Japan. While out there he began capturing his life and adventures through the lens of a camera and adopted the name "13thWitness". From there McGurr's career has grown to become a very lucrative an exciting one. With photographs varying from beautiful structures, to famous celebrities 13thWitness has created a name for himself and has redefined the art form to one that is his own. I really love the various perspectives that 13thWitness chooses to use in his photos. He can make a building look beautiful and mesmerizing. The photos of celebrities like Jay Z, Ben Baller, Levi Maestro, and John Mayer, to name a few, give you an intimate and candid feeling. As if you're there with them having a good time. And I think the most inspiring thing about 13thWitness is the fact that though he has wealth and fame it was never the motivation for his art. He started his photography as something he loved and a way to express himself. I feel the same way about my passion for film. Even though it would be lovely to be getting paid handsomely for my skills I truly do enjoy being able to create something entertaining for everyone to enjoy, huge paycheck or not. Here's a link to 13thWitness' website if you'd like to check out his photography. http://13thwitness.com/

[phillystacks]

I think its very healthy to have an interest in something other than what the latest trendy clothes to come out is, or the top 10 songs on the radio, or even which cell phone to purchase next. For me I've had a long lasting interest in science. When I set aside the general things I worry about on a day to day basis and focus on the idea's that science brings out it can be absolutely fascinating. I laugh every time I imagine the scope of the universe at the insignificance of my own existence in comparison. While I'm down here worrying about what kind of hot sauce I want on my burrito there are chemical reactions that would annihilate this planet instantly going on all around space. 

One of the best moments I had was a night I was hanging out with my friends around the corner from my house. It was a clear night and the moon was full. I remember looking up at the moon and realized that given if I had the technology I literally could go up to that object in the sky. That the moon and the stars arent just pretty images pasted on a ceiling, but actually things. The moon existences and so do an infinite amount of places that I can't even begin to imagine.

And that's only the tip of the ice berge because if you want to really start me up is if you ask me about string theory, or the idea of multiple dimensions higher than the 3rd that we live in. Parallel universes, and the idea that every single action I make causes a split from one universe to another. The fact that this is all real, that it can be mathematical proven to be true is astonishing and incredibly interesting to me.

The video I linked above is a snippet from a show that Stephen Hawking participated in. I think if you're the kind of person who finds any of what I said interesting this is a great place to start because Hawking breaks down complex theories in a way that paint an interesting picture and are very easy to understand. This snippet is from an episode where Hawking is talks about his theories as far as alien life. Check it out, its worth opening your mind up to something other than what club you're hitting up this weekend.