Video: They Will Have Their Reward (by Daniel Ra)
Sometimes it's hard to hear justice at first ...Yet we are asked to diligently seek it ...
When you take your big prize home, be sure to tell me
You won it with your bag of tricks, flicks, and candyAnd I'll be sure to tell you, you've done a good job
For making yourself feel good from the people you rob
Daniel Ra is a singer-songwriter and a member of theGuild, along with Melvin Bray (language artist), Lisa Samson (novelist), Yaisha Harding (writer), Ercell Watson (comedian), Eugene Russell (singer-songwriter-rapper-actor), Russell Rathbun (storyteller), Daley Hake (photographer), Ed Sohn (multimedia artist), Prisca Kim (writer), and Claudia Burney (novelist). Learn more on theGuild's Facebook page.
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Comments
maybe i'm missing the point. Is he saying carnivals are bad, and people shouldn't have fun?
Posted by: nl6125 | June 25, 2008 6:36 PM
No grace here; just a thorough raking over the coals.
Posted by: Steve | June 25, 2008 8:38 PM
hmmm... that's not how I took this at all. It's not that carnivals are bad - man they are a blast! I remember taking my kids once and getting lost with them in the world of wonder and amusement. This for me is the issue: while we play people are dying. Reaction to such pieces of art do not have to be interpreted as guilt-inducing; maybe they can be but simple reminders (which I need often) that there are multiple realities: some playful and some death-inducing. That just what I was thinking...
Posted by: Tom Livengood | June 25, 2008 9:53 PM
What - is there about 4 sentences in this 'song', and how many cords, 5 maybe 7. The fedelity is poor but this sounds like it was samples not recorded live in a studio or maybe a friends basement. Songs that make it normally have a story to tell and a melody that you can hum or whistle. This song has neither -
Oh the Simon comments that come to mind...I can't be that mean. OK - maybe one.
'Have you thought about doing something else with your life?'
Blessings -
.
Posted by: Moderatelad | June 26, 2008 8:30 AM
his musical style is ambiguous and uneasy.... he seems to be not into catchy and simple McMusic. i don't think it was just poorly done, maybe it was intentionally challenging
isn't music a matter of taste? or are you someone who is credentialed to tell someone to do something else with their lives? 4 sentences, 5 maybe 7 "cords", poor "fedelity"... it doesn't seem like you're qualified to be a simon cowell. this is creative expression, not pop-cultured mtv
also, has no one engaged with just one layer below the meaning here? do you really think that this song is condemning entertainment at a carnival, and not the happy-go-lucky way that humankind bows before materialism to the extent that people near the top are buying luxury at the expense of the marginalized, exploited poor behind the scenes?
and that's just one interpretation.
Posted by: anon | June 26, 2008 10:39 AM
Be careful anon, at pointing out spelling errors. It doesn't further the discourse, and bad spelling can often be a sign of dyslexia rather than sloppiness or ignorance. That having been said; Mod, you needn't have been snarky. Rather than quote a snide comment from Simon Cowell, I sort of like a quote from a radio personality here in town, "not my demo[graphic]." I'm a professional musician and while I didn't really like the music, I'm pretty sure it wasn't aimed at me (and maybe not at you, either).
Peace,
JEM
Posted by: JEM | June 26, 2008 12:31 PM
Hi,
Please stop fighting =(. Yes the sound of the song is intentional. I put the vocals in the back on purpose as to make the lyrics ambiguous. I'm influenced by wall-of-sound aesthetic akin to My Bloody Valentine.
Also, the slideshow isn't meant to make you feel bad, but to make you think and consider just something about Western Christian privilege and juxtapose that with the static religiosity of the Pharisees.
Dan
Posted by: Daniel Ra | June 26, 2008 4:23 PM
Posted by: JEM | June 26, 2008 12:31 PM
Be careful anon, at pointing out spelling errors. It doesn't further the discourse, and bad spelling can often be a sign of dyslexia rather than sloppiness or ignorance.
Excuse me but I am king of the mis-spelled words on this site. (LOL) I type like I talk and have been the brunt of many comments here - someone has to bring a little humor to this site once in awhile.
I'm knot as dumm ass you thinck I am. (lol)
Blessings -
.
Posted by: Moderatelad | June 26, 2008 6:34 PM
Excellent video. Very profound. The people who don't get will probably have to have something trumatic happen to them before they do. It's ok to have fun but realize you can't rea
lly have fun untill every living soul can have fun with you. Have no empathy toward others and your day will come and you'll wish it didnn't. In other words what comes around goes around
Posted by: Ray Vogelpohl | June 26, 2008 10:32 PM
Posted by: Daniel Ra | June 26, 2008 4:23 PM
Sorry to be 'shreading your baby' but if you have to explain what you were trying to say - maybe you fell a little short of the mark? Lyrics are extreamly important in telling the story. You can put them in the back to make them 'ambiguous'. But that really works well when the listener knows the lyrics and still hears them even when they are surpressed. Wall of sound - find if it still communicates the message. Vivaldi playing against and MOS visual of the V-N war with bombs exploding and guns blazing - that works in Paltoon. Think out of the box and as a first time viewer is what I have done in the past on projects. You clearly have talent - keep going!
Blessings -
.
Posted by: Moderatelad | June 27, 2008 11:34 AM
Mod: "Excuse me but I am king of the mis-spelled words on this site. (LOL) I type like I talk and have been the brunt of many comments here - someone has to bring a little humor to this site once in awhile."
I hope you didn't think I was making fun of you! You're very gracious to find humor when people make fun of your (or anyone's) spelling, but I still don't think it furthers the conversation and can hurt people's feelings. Besides, it sets one up to be shot down by the spelling and grammar police.
On the other hand, some misspellings are really funny...
Piece,
JEM
Posted by: JEM | June 27, 2008 3:28 PM
Ray V: "Have no empathy toward others and your day will come and you'll wish it didnn't. In other words what comes around goes around"
This comment confuses me. Are you saying that having fun automatically precludes empathy. Also, are you saying that if people don't have empathy that terrible things will happen to them? There are a whole LOT of people out there who would beg to differ if they cared enough. And do these terrible things happen here on earth, i.e., karma, or at the judgment day?
I think it's possible to have fun and be passionately empathetic. That being said, I saw the video as a wake-up call to make sure we don't get complacent, rather than a prohibition on frivolity.
And Dan, I truly hope I didn't hurt your feelings by saying I didn't like your music (this piece, anyway). I would say that it's a lack in me rather than in your music. The example you cited for why you mixed it the way you did was completely lost on me, which inclines me to think that I just didn't get it. I'm very glad to hear that it was a conscious choice, though, and done with skill.
From one musician to another, KEEP PLAYING!
Peace,
JEM
Posted by: Anonymous | June 27, 2008 3:40 PM
Maybe I am just getting old but I couldn't make out any of the lyrics--the music just drown out his voice. And I don't get the connection between people having fun at a carnival and poverty. What am I missing?
Posted by: Richard | June 28, 2008 10:06 AM
this idea of a carnival isn't to guilt-trip anyone who has fun while people are suffering. that's hardly the point... at least the way i see it, the extreme contrasts shown in the video portray the inequality in a handful of people winning/gaining through deceit while thousands are receiving little as a result. the lyrics totally remind me of factories in free trade zones where workers have little rights and no political capital to even advocate for themselves. but then the whole thing is portrayed as helping poor economies and reducing poverty (= bag of tricks).
Posted by: P | June 30, 2008 1:30 AM
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