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Sept. 24. 2007 The News Argus 3 Optnton/Editqrial Point—Counterpoi Creativity in today music Larry Williams ARGUS STAFF Where's the creativity? Where's the creativity? That's all you hear from the older generation Wasn't it just a few decades ago that their music (rock, disco, funk, etc) was seen as uncre- ative, by their elders? Remember the movies from back in the day? Remember how it seemed like all the par ents hated what their children was listening to. So why would it change now? Coming from an older generation, of course the newer music is going to sound different, but to say uncreative, is crazy. With Hip-Hop, in particular, with all the samples and remakes, I can sympathize with the cry for more creativity, but I wouldn't say it's totally bull. One reason why I say Hip-Hop is creative is the range of styles. In Hip-Hop, though lately there's been a "cookie cutter" mentality, there are sub divisions within. From the Roots, a Hip Hop Band that conveys a neo soul vibe, to T.I, with his hustler street tales; you can't box the whole genre in. There are so many subgenres spawned from Hip-Hop, like Trip-Hop or the modem Rock Fusion, this in itself should show the creativity in it, shouldn't it? What gets the older generation babbling is what they see on television, though. Let's be honest, what good has come from the television lately? As everybody knows, the TV/Radio industry is nothing but a business. So of course, you are going to see and hear the most uncreative stuff on air. Music companies are only going to invest in an artist(s), they feel is marketable, across the board. Thus back to stuff already done before, but with a little twist, so they say Thinking as the music industry, an artist who is really creative, is seen as unconventional therefore hit or miss in the company's eyes. So why would they take a risk? I think that's what the older generation needs to under stand first. Plus, doesn't radio have a format. How can you truly be creative, with a format? Usually cre- ahvity is defined as "out side the box" right? Temple Jolly ARGUS STAFF Black Folk's music is travailing in creativity. Rap has dominated having no good purpose. Consequently, the music is recycled, lyrical contents are shallow, and it's one dimensional. Historically, black people are renowned for their musical influence on the world. Black musi cal creativity extends from musical instruments to the majority of musical geru-es (Gospel, Rhythm and Blues, Soul, Funk, and Rap) that touch every aspect of the black experience while creating musical balance. Moreover, drums, horns, guitars, etc. are imperative to the expression of that experi ence. Unfortunately, since Hip Hop has become the dominant genre, black music has become one dimensional, stifling the balance and benefits of the others. The rhythms of R&B, Soul and Funk are gratifying and timeless; therefore sampling and remixing their tunes is undoubtedly the reason for Hip Hop's success and longevity. However, over time this has led blacks from musical innova- Jp urban artists exercise no instrumental talent, *■’ so they are unable to ;; _ bring raw melodies existence. Instead, rap artists have con- • ** .w -*• - vinced themselves that PPT.'' sampling beats and h- remixing is innovative. k !■ Besides lacking lyrical content is shal- I low. There is no depth ^ because it is deficient of intellectual and ^ c affectionate challenge. Photo courtesy of MCT Wire Service „r ■ u performs with his daughter Alsha Morris, left, at Meadow Brooks “ is basically about Wffifflnival in Rochester Hills, Michigan, September 12,2007. possessions," said jj|||B|r Jasmine Brannon, 19. Director of Student Services, Sherri Faysour says the lyrics speak to the "vagina" instead of the female's heart. W Ray Bullock, 22, says the lyrics "have an influence on the way males dress and the younger generation's r inability to separate reality from fantasy" Hip Hop has a rightful place in black music, but it does not need to dominate the music scene since it does n't unite or uplift these days. Since its domination, it has been a major disruption in the plight of black people. Motivated by love, musical variety is the binding force that aide blacks in accomplishing the goals and task at hand. Brenda Taylor, Freshman Seminar Coordinator agreed, saying Hip Hop is lacking a soulful element. "There is no love in it," Taylor said. li Photo courtesy of MCT Wire Service ^^er performs with his daughter Alsha Morris, left, at Meadow Brooks nival in Rochester Hills, Michigan, September 12,2007. What the Muslim Brotherhcx>d means for the U.S. Rod Dreher MCT WIRE SERVICE "Our strategy is this," President Bush said last month. "We will fight them over there so we do not have to face them in the United States of America." He was talking about jihadists. And Bush is behind the curve. The president apparently missed the smok- ing-gun 1991 document his own Justice Department intro duced into evidence at the Holy Land Foundation trial in Dallas. The FBI captured it in a raid on a Muslim suspect's home in Virginia. This "explanatory memo randum," as it's titled, out lines the "strategic goal" for the North American operation of the extremist Muslim Brotherhood (Miwan). Here's the key paragraph: "The process of settlement (of Islam in the United States) is a "Civilization-Jihadist" process with all the word means. The Ikhwan must understand that aU their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civi lization from within and "sab otaging" their miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God's reli gion is made victorious over all religions. Without this level of understanding, we are not up to this challenge and have not prepared ourselves for Jihad yet. It is a Muslim's destiny to perform Jihad and work wherever he is and wherever he lands until the final hour comes, and there is no escape from that destiny except for those who choose to slack." The entire 18-page platform outlines a plan for the long haul. It prescribes the Muslim Brotherhood's comprehensive plan to set down roots in civil society. It begins by both foimding and taking control of American Muslim organi zations, for the sake of unify ing and educating the U.S. Muslim community _ this to prepare it for the establish ment of a global Islamic state governed by sharia. Husain Haqqani, head of Boston University's Center for International Relations and a former Islamic radical, says that the Brotherhood "has run most significant Muslim organizations in the U.S." as part of the plan outlined in the strategy paper. The HLF trial is exposing for the first time how the international Muslim Brotherhood — whose Palestinian division is Hamas — operates as a self-conscious revolutionary vanguard in the United States. The court docu ments indicate that many leading Muslim-American organizations — including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the Muslim American Society — are an integral part of the Brotherhood's efforts to wage jihad against America by non violent means. The Muslim Brotherhood is an affiliation of at least 70 Islamist organizations around the world, all tracing their Photo by Garrett Garms Many students are not aware of the harm that wear ing an earpiece constantly can cause. Hearing loss a problem among college students Grant Fulton ARGUS STAFF A on? person only has one set of ears, and once they have been damaged there is little one can do to repair them. So, what volume is your MP3 player Many college students have cell phones or some other types of electronic device in their ears all the time. Often, they are not giving their ears time to rest from the con stant volume they deal with every day. Many students don't realize that when they have some thing constantly in their ears it could result in either tem porary or permanent loss of their hearing. Studies show during the aging process hearing loss gradually occurs. Denise Beason, a junior nursing major, has researched the amount of sound waves and the effects of high vol ume noise. Statistics from Medicalnewstoday.com show that about 29 million Americans are diagnosed with hearing loss and of that, 3.2 percent of those people are between the ages of 18 to 24. In order for students to succeed in a classroom when they have a hearing loss, they may need to sit in the front of the classroom. Students may need to try to find a quiet place to study to give their ears a break from noise. This will create healthier and stronger ears. "Be mindful of the loud sounds that you are exposed to such as the music that students might listen to," says Beason. Health experts have stated that the best way to prevent hearing loss is by eliminating noise or by wearing some sort of hearing protection to reduce the chances of hear ing loss. If someone knows that they are going to be at a concert or a loud movie then they should bring a pair of earplugs to protect them from hearing loss. heritage to the original cell, foimded in Egypt in 1928. Its credo: "Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader Quran is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope." Sayyid Qutb, hanged by the Egyptian government in 1966 as a revolutionary, remains its ideological godfather His best-known work, Milestones, calls for Muslims to wage. violent holy war until Islamic law governs the entire world. According to a 2004 Chicago Tribune investigation, establishing the Brotherhood in the United States has been a 40-year project that has worked mostly under ground. Richard Clarke, the former top U.S. national security official, told the Senate in 2003 that the Muslim Brotherhood is the common thread linking ter rorist fundraising schemes in the United States — which likely explains why so many mainstream American Muslim organizations were named by the feds as "unin dicted co-conspirators" in the HLF trial. High-profile organizations with roots in the Muslim Brotherhood have successfully established themselves in a paramount position to define Islam in America according to a radical politicized model. And they've done so without the American public having the slightest idea about their real agenda. Indeed, the Bush adminis tration is unwittingly helping the Islamist cause by including their leaders in public events, thus conferring them legitima cy. On Labor Day weekend, the same Department of Justice that's presenting evi dence of the ISNA's involve ment with radical Islam at the Dallas trial sponsored a booth at ISNA's national convention in suburban Chicago. No rational person believes America is going to exchange the Constitution for a caliphate. Rational people aren't the point. As the London subway bombings showed, even a tiny cell of committed radicals can kUl a lot of people. Mustafa Saied, an American Muslim who left the Brotherhood, told the Tribune that he worried about the radicalism the Brotherhood inculcated in its membership here. "With the extreme element," he said, "you never know when that ticking time bomb will go off." As long as they commit no crimes, CAIR, ISNA and the other Brotherhood-related groups have the right to advocate for their beliefs. But they don't have the right to escape critical scrutiny, and they deserve informed oppo sition. Courageous Muslims like Dr Zuhdi Jasser of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy are sounding the alarm about radical Islam's stealth takeover of U.S. Muslim institutions. Why are the news media ignoring this? Fear of being called Islamophobic? This has got to stop. Six years after Sept. 11, we're still asleep. Islamic radicals have declared war on us — and some are fighting here in what looks like a fifth column. Read their strategy document. It's there in black and white, for those with eyes to see.
Winston-Salem State University Student Newspaper
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