So inaugural ceremonies took place today, an occasion for tepid protest in capitols across the blue states. I didn't commemorate the day, in fact, I barely remembered it. A casual look through the information still shook me a bit, if only because I realized the extent of my political numbness.

The coverage of the protests left me cold. Attention-seekers got coverage, the cleverest slogans and wildest costumes, and that's the image of resistance, but it looks so sad and silly, political dress-up identity hopping, that it's pointless.

On a fundamental level, Abu-Gharaib restagings (covered in the Times) and other shit like that, in which people claim to represent real suffering, are repulsive to me. So you think the media image is important, that makes sense, but do you think simulations of images known worldwide are necessary when, as an audience, we're already so saturated by the real image that a fake isn't going to reinforce it or revive the outrage it provoked? As an unnecessary reference to something that has already been completely consumed, the fake is dead. It has no political value. But the costume is still there, and it's still generating attention, both from amused/impressed antiwar buddies and media, so what is it without some political utility? It's a fucking theater piece based on real lives without consent, similiar to a 9/11 cash-in, done comic angry rather than a lump-in-yr-throuat maudlin. It's easily dismissed as a second-rate knock-off or crass, depending on the severity of the spectator.

So I get to feel outraged (read: satisfied) and I don't have to do shit, huh? Yeah, maybe it's apathy (not quite right- I do sluggishly care), but I still think it's better to be out of a protest rather than in it. If I had more money, I'd donate some amount to something worthy (not likely to be much), to abate the guilt.

Meanwhile, the avalanche of bad news (from my perspective) continues, my responses are hopelessly impotent, and my outrage (read: satisfaction) dwindles. That bad will get worse seems inevitable, and doom don't feel good. I need an outlet.

Luckily, I still buy records (so...uh..sorry MoveOn....yeah I thought I clicked "send payment"...), and I can find sympathy with fellow doomnik Mr. Lif. He maps the apocalypse pretty casually, and the beats are good. The destruction will be as bad as I think, but it'll be cool along the way. So I chuckled when I realized the Mr. Lif/Aesop Rock stop in Austin, was on the same day as the inauguration.

So, I'll get my protest after all, huh? Put your hands in the air, Austin! Got me thinking about politics in music. The situation is similiar to my beef with protests, except music is obviously entertainment; you don't have to abstract a step to feel uncomfortable. Still, I love me a good political rap song. They make for good rhetoric--- they have the right attitude, confident and aggressive, and they're inclusive--- and if rhetoric makes the world go round, the lyrics matter. Rather than overanalyze (call me cowardly), I'm gonna trust that first impression.

So, yeah, my hands'll be in the air.