The Factory

"What am I doing wasting my time, playing music, not taking part in society's plan?
It must be hard to understand why all I want to do is hang out with my friends.

Because they are there when I need them, there when I need them most.

In sports and school I never found a home.
The only place I found acceptance was going to shows.
And the story goes on...
Where we dance all night to our favorite songs.

Because they are there when I need them, there when I need them most.

We can stand by everything that we believe.
We don't need their mold to succeed.
We can find our strength through the the ones we love, throughout our lives as we move along.

You can't touch me...

Because they are there when I need them, there when I need them most."



The song I chose to analyze is titled "The Factory" by the band Battery. Battery was a band active in the mid to late 90's who played out of Washington DC. The band adhered to the straight edge principles, which meant each member of the band made the personal decision to reject alcohol and drugs in order to better themselves and pursue more fulfilling lives. Battery played a loud, fast, and intense style of music known as hardcore. Hardcore stems from the underground musical and cultural movement known as punk, but it is faster, more extreme and "hardcore kids" are not generally concerned with the fashion that comes along with the punk lifestyle.

I chose to analyze "The Factory" because it tells the story of what most the story of what most of those who associate themselves with this scene experience. Like any music-based subculture, hardcore is more than just a sound. It is a community, a feeling, and a way of life. "The Factory" is about friendships, but most importantly the friendships made within the hardcore scene. Those drawn to this scene are generally misfits, outcasts and oddballs. They are drawn to the scene because they are merely looking for a place where they can feel accepted. These kids become friends with each other start bands, book their own concerts, write, record, and engineer their own songs. The same 200-300 people attend the concerts on a regular basis and strong friendships are made. This song tells a tale about how these therapeutic, sauna-like rooms filled with those they call friends are there when they are needed most.
    
The band consists of one guitarist, a bass player, a drummer and a singer. The song is fast and appears to have no breaks in between chorus and verse. The guitar riffs are simple and only consist of 4 or 5 basic power chords. The bass parts are not complicated, they are simple following the guitars leads. The drums seem to follow one fast, consistent rhythmic pattern throughout the whole song. The singer is definitely not singing, he is shouting like a madman as his friends join in doing gang vocals. The lyrics are what makes the song. Although the lyrics are straight forward and easy to understand it sends the powerful message that in this word that has rejected you, there is a scene that will embrace and accept you with open arms. The choice of words makes it easy for one to follow. This song was not written for the masses. It was written for those oddballs who seek and find acceptance in the hardcore scene.
    
I like this song because I found acceptance in this scene. Some of my closest and long lasting friendships have been made within this scene. I feel as if this song tells the story of my life.
    

Critical Thinker: Noam Chomsky

        A critical thinker is an open-minded, well-informed individual who judges the creditability of sources, while judging well the quality of an argument. This includes the acceptability of its reasons, assumptions and evidence. Critical thinkers are disposed to seek alternative hypothesis, explanations and conclusions. When we students were assigned the task to write and post about someone who we perceive to be a critical thinker, immediately the first and only person to come to mind was none other than Noam Chomsky.
        Noam Chomsky is a world famous linguist and a major figure of analytic philosophy who teaches linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chomsky is often described as "The Father of Modern Linguistics" and "the most cited author on Earth". The New York Times call him "arguably the most important intellectual alive". Plato once asked, "How can a human know so much that he seems to have had little evidence for?". Chomsky asks the same question about the way children easily master language. Chomsky's approach to the study of linguistics and the cognitive processes is like that of Plato's. They both search for abstract and ideal forms as explanations rather than merely drawing generalizations from observations. The Father of Modern Philosophy, Rene Descartes developed and layed out rules to help navigate safely though chains of logic to reach reliable, though limited conclusions. These rules for thinking logically toward reliable conclusion include, accepting only clear and distinct ideas and the breaking of each problem into as many parts as necessary to solve it. In Chomsky's critical thinking, he adheres tightly to these basic principles. Noam Chomsky is an anarchist who strongly believes in the libertarian left. Chomsky analyzes the traditions of the Luxembourgian, Bakunin, and Kropotkin among others, and draws his own conclusions after critically evaluating every position. After critically analyzing our government, Chomsky has concluded that our government serves the needs of some, and ignores the needs of others. Chomsky cares about the dignity and worth of every person, our government clearly does not.
        When Chomsky writes or lectures he seriously considers view points other than his own. He examines varies sides to a topic, such as hypothesis, explanations, and sources, then endorses a position that is justified by the information that is available. Whether it be in linguistics, or social activism, Noam Chomsky is a critical thinker who uses responsible reflective thinking when deciding what to believe, or do.