The Soulless

I once came up with a theory, an idea really, that not every body that walked the earth carried within it a soul. Six billion carcasses crawling about the world but perhaps only a billion or a million had what some might call a genuine human spirit. I defined this soul or spirit as that intangible aspect of person's creation that facilitated a genuine connection with another.

That definition is somewhat tautological but I'll assume you get the gist of my meaning. The point is you might sit in a Starbucks amongst 20 people, walking, talking, sipping and chatting, but you might only feel the presence of a handful of other genuine people. For only a few of them was there a proof of a life beyond simple motion.

Ever talk to someone and get the feeling that there is no depth beyond what you're seeing and hearing? I'm not talking about mere superficial communication nor am i talking about intelligence or knowledge. This isn't about whether someone can talk at length about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or cost-benefit analyses of hedge-fund investing. I'm talking about proof of life. I'm talking about evidence that something real and creative exists in person beyond pulsating blood-flow.

I mean, at the risk of sounding obnoxious, how can some people not be into music? or into sports? how can some people not genuinely feel for the plight of the american indian? Now none of these are proof of life in and of themselves. Everyone is different. But everyone should have SOME passion. I don't care if its bird-watching or old Dr. Who episodes or religion; but there has to be someTHING that makes a person feel alive and in turn demonstrates a life beyond the pulsating rhythms of heart.

And the ultimate point is that this passion, whatever it is, can serve as a metaphor for life. It helps them understand the nuance and complexity of life through their comprehension of the nuances and complexities of that passion. It's as if they are able to participate in the phenomenal creative aspect of the universe through this passion. God talks to them and fly-fishing is the medium.

But I didn't necessarily believe that everyone had this passion. I didn't believe that everyone could participate in creation. Not everyone had a soul. Why would this be? I don't know. It just made sense. Something told me that the universe wasn't so egalitarian as to bestow this power of spirit to every living being.

I mean look at the biological and physical earth. Everywhere there is inequality; some lifeform exercising dominion over others. This is not to say that there isn't balance. I believe that the universe does everything in its power to achieve equilibrium. But not every thing exercises the use of every force to equal degrees.

Electro-magnetism. Gravity. Nuclear forces. They all exist but in unequal distributions about the universe. It seemed logical to me that if there were a such thing as god-power,
the force of creation or soulness, that it too might be distri-
buted about the universe as unequally as any other universal force.

Now is there evidence of this? Sure. I talked about some of them. Perhaps we should look at souls as a sort of wealth of spirit. Some have more than others. Some are filthy rich and others are completely devoid.

And this isn't a value judgment. I'm not saying that soulless people are sociopaths and soulful people are the kings of the world, though there might be some overlap. I'm just describing a possible phenomenal fact of life.

*****

For the last 8 years or so Radiohead has been my favorite rock band in the world. Their music is transcendent. Some of the things they do, musically... I wish I were better versed musically and linguistically so that I could appropriately express the genius they demonstrate as a cooperative musical entity.

I remember being taken to one of their concerts in Montreal for my 23rd birthday. To this day it stands as one of the most supernatural experiences I've ever had.

The Roots are also such a band. They too are phenomenal (if I may be allowed to use that term for the 17th time).

Well there are some new players on the scene, for me.

Finally got around to picking up the new White Stripes album. Awesome. Jack White is going to be something else. We'll be hearing from him for some time to come. Meg and Jack hit the scene around the same time as a bunch of other acts like The Vines and The Strokes but the comparisons should end right there.

For a while I've been touting the virtues of Jay Dee (aka Jay Dilla) and his production. It became obvious to me sometime around 2005 that this guy might just have been "the greatest hip-hop producer of all-time." He died that year from...something. But his I keep unearthing (thanks to posthumous releases) more of his material and it is so consistently beyond words. He was taken away from us all to soon. You want to talk about soundscapes? The creation of auditory universes?

Rounding out my dream 2008 releases are Gnarls Barkley and MF Doom. The former are known to everyone but so should the latter. The kid is ridiculous. A rapper straight from the old school style but completely new and creative in his technique and flavor. My hope is that one day he achieves the critical and commercial popularity that my last unsung hero of the underground, Mr. Mos Def.

Alright. Peace out folks. It's snowing and I have no boots on.