For three and a half hours I watched the Grammy’s tonight. (Seriously, Grammy’s, some of us have lives, you know?) If it hadn’t been for the fact that I’m teaching this class, I wouldn’t have bothered. It was a broadcast full of strange and irrelevant moments. (Johnny Depp’s ten-second cameo, anyone?) And it served as a reminder that, with each passing year, these award shows become less and less important. There’s hardly anyone left to hand the little statues to anymore, anyway.

That said, I feel obligated to find something to say about the whole ordeal, so here it goes. The highlights according to Kap. If you don’t agree . . . well . . . consider this: I’m just glad it’s over.

Every so often, something newsworthy (though unrelated to the craft of writing) will crop up, and I'll take a few minutes here to blog about it. Today, the topic is Student Loans--in particular the recent Yahoo! article about Yale University suing former students for defaulting on their Perkins loans.

For those who don't know much about the subject, in a nutshell, student loans are on the fast track to becoming the next housing crisis. As more and more students graduate from college (or don't) with tremendous amounts of debt and few prospects for well-paying jobs that will allow them to pay off their loans, the amount of unsecured debt goes up (it's already in the hundreds of billions). When the bubble bursts, what happens? You can't foreclose on an education someone has already received.

This is, of course, a topic that has been written about countless times, and a lot of fingers are being pointed at irresponsible lending practices, at the politicians who haven't been able to stem the unemployment crisis, at bloated colleges and universities, at the students who default on their loans. The one thing everyone seems to agree on is this: there's a storm cloud growing.

I'm no economist. I'm a writer/teacher/creative consultant. I also have no student debt. I'm very, very fortunate that way. And so, I'm not looking to offer up solutions, to weigh in on how this will specifically impact America in the not-so-distant future, or to offer up some half-formed opinion on the wisdom of Yale's decision to sue its graduates. Instead, what I want to focus on is something that does fall within my area of expertise: the problematic rhetoric we so often see accompanying these Student Loans stories--a manner of speaking that raises as many concerns as the crisis itself, in my opinion.

I've always found Iggy Pop to be a fascinating rock star--he's the "Godfather of Punk," with a voice that's part Jim Morrison, part David Bowie, part something else entirely: that pure Iggy energy that has kept his music relevant for over forty years. He's a charismatic performer, a deep thinker (in 1995, his essay "Caesar Lives" was published in the journal Classics Ireland; the essay looks at Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and its applicability to the modern world), a wildman, and a half-decent actor, too, and yet he's always managed to fly just a bit below the radar for a rocker of his stature. (Pop was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 with his band The Stooges.)

In Andrew Goldman's "The Taming of the Stooge" from The New York Time's Magazine, we get a little peek into what makes Iggy tick, and of course Pop doesn't disappoint. (Note: a special thanks to reader Susan for pointing me to this interview!) In this piece, Pop is funny, candid, and even self-deprecating (well . . . at least, as self-deprecating as you can be when you are comparing your penis to a political interest group. Hey, it's still rock 'n' roll, right?) But, for me, the most interesting part of this interview is when Pop is asked about the punk movement of the 70s--for those who don't know, Iggy and The Stooges is often cited as a proto-punk influence, without which we wouldn't have had bands like The Clash or The Sex Pistols.

Punk is often cited as the last "pure" rock and roll movement--that one shining example of rock and roll telling the corporate establishment to stuff it. Iggy complicates that for us. . . .

Right now, my students taking Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life, are spending some time thinking about the relationship between rock and writing. One area we are not going to examine this semester is the anti-rock writing movement. Why aren't we going to examine this? For the same reasons we don't examine the by-laws of hate groups, the doctrines of those churches who picket outside of people's funerals, or the crackpot end-of-the-world manifestos that pop up every time a certain numerical sequence appears the calendar--there's nothing there worth our time.

Still, Johnny Marr writes an interesting article titled "Christ, Communists, and Rock and Roll: Anti-Rock 'n' Roll Books," which takes on these conspiracy theories concerning "the devil's music," and the well-established tradition of protesting rock and roll. This is not an especially recent article, almost 15 years old now, and it focuses largely on books published in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, but it remains illuminating. Perhaps, most importantly, (along with political censorship movements) these kinds of reactionary texts help to illustrate Authority's predictable backlash against what is, at its heart, an anti-authoritarian movement.

This is a message that continues to exist--although if you are still railing against rock nowadays, you run the risk of betraying yourself as someone who is painfully behind the times. (Rock and roll, man? Really? Who's listening to rock and roll anymore?) Not to mention someone who has even their most messed up priorities all messed up. (Seriously, aren't there some video game manufacturers or human rights groups you can hassle?)

One of the common themes we are exploring as we look at rock music is whether or not a lack of anti-authoritarian spirit is at the heart of our current social/political/economic/global crises. The "writers" that Johnny Marr examines would almost certainly argue that this is not the case. Which probably means that it is.

Side note: I believe the Johnny Marr who wrote this article is the legendary rock guitarist who most famously played as a member of The Smiths. I haven't been able to confirm this, but it seems likely. How many Johnny Marrs could there be out there writing about rock and roll?

Ever wonder what the Red Hot Chili Peppers would sound like covered on upright bass? Me either, but I'm glad I checked out this video of "Can't Stop" made by a very talented musician named Steve Metcalf. (He's also a pretty inventive videographer, for that matter.) I've listened to this about three or four times now, and I can't get over just how haunting and articulate it is. This is one you don't want to miss!

Be sure to check out the rest of Steve's videos at Bass Causality.

As most of you readers know by now, spring semester at Community Writing Workshops in Morgantown is going to be an exciting time. We're going to be launching headlong into a class that pairs rock and roll with writing and literature. And what better way to get into that spirit than to celebrate some of the most influential rock musicians of all time. Last night, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts recognized American blues guitarist and singer Buddy Guy, and English rock band Led Zeppelin, with their 2012 lifetime achievement award for contributions to American culture (along with actor Dustin Hoffman, prima ballerina Natalia Makarova, and late-night talk show host and comedian David Letterman).

Reconnected today with an old friend and former student, Ryan Krofcheck, a member of the über-cool genre-bending band, Fletcher's Grove. A smart guy with a lot of interesting things to say about music, writing, and life. If you've never heard these guys play, you need to do yourself a favor, hop on iTunes and check them out--you won't be disappointed!

Okay, so in my last post, I said that writing is hard work and one does not simply sit down and produce great works of literature without experience, training, etc.

I stand corrected:

When I started this blog, I told myself that I would keep it purely focused on the sacred act of writing and not interject with my personal passions. So much for that—it’s my blog; I figured what the heck. Last night, the Philadelphia Eagles officially retired the number of future Hall-of-Fame safety Brian Dawkins (known affectionately as Weapon X).

With only a few words, Dawkins reminded fans everywhere why, for 16 seasons, he was one of the most beloved athletes in professional sports: "I’d like to thank all of you fans for allowing me to be me, to act a fool when I wanted to, to lose my mind when I wanted to, to go out and give everything that I got. I can retire now because I know I left everything I got on this doggone field.”

9-time Pro Bowler and 6-time First-Team All-Pro. 26 sacks. 37 interceptions. 36 forced fumbles. 19 fumbles recovered. And over 1,100 total tackles.

The numbers speak for themselves.

And yet Dawkins is probably best known for his tenacious style, his peerless leadership, his deep religious faith, and his genuine appreciation for his fans. In a time when far too many of our pro athletes are making news for steroid use, spousal abuse, driving under the influence, and other shameful behavior, it’s nice to be able to recognize a player and a family man who held himself to the very highest standards both on and off the field.

Thanks for the memories, #20!

If you’ve never seen Dawkins play, do yourself a favor and watch the highlight reel: