i'm going to house a mother—...

for some reason the topic of housin' came up in my evening chat with the Cat Mom. I'm referring to the urban phrase that means to show dominance over another or thing, made infamous by EPMD in the seminal track2—I'm Housin' from their groundbreaking debut Strictly Business, 1988...

this morning I went about the task of sending a youtube video of 'Im Housin'' to the Lady Cat, for she is not familiar with a lot of hip hop, which always strikes me strange since she comes from Freeport and one of her best friends could probably recite the lyrics verbatim at a moments notice...

it should be of no surprise that someone would attempt to remake this song for their purposes—whether it be for a greatest hits collection or playing it out live—what have you. In fact, as some of you might already know, Rage Against the Machine did a cover of the tune on the collection 'Renegades'. Its not a very good, nor is any  other track on that particular record. The band was already in the midst of hating each other and breaking up as it did, shortly after. Gone were the days of 'Killing in the Name of' and 'Bulls on Parade'—a song I have dubbed the most aggressive in the history of the planet. To put it short, I'm a fan of RATM, just not of anything they did on this retread release...

i prepared to send the video when I came upon the comments section. I was alarmed to find out that people felt the Rage version was superior, and one comment went further in shocking me by asking which version came first. Man alive! Am I still on the planet or have I been sent to some remote corner of hell, where taste has been expunged?...

i'm all for allowing people their opinions, but they are like assholes, they squeeze more shit out  than anything else. Allowing people to go on believing that their taste is true is a crime. No one with a discernible ear could possibly determine that the Rage version is superior and that in fact they should have never even attempted covering a song that is so good, it could not be done anymore justice than when Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith first put it down so many years ago...

i blame this on the youth, who I've been told can't be blamed but the fact remains—this younger generation that is now entering their 20s has absolutely no idea of what aesthetics are. This is not some salvo of a crotchety old man, I'm not a fan classical music but i can understand its depth, nor am i a fan of Elvis but they tell me 5 million Elvis fans can't be wrong (i'm still looking into that), i understand why people don't like sports, radishes, or rainstorms. I know why the caged bird sings, for pete's sake i live in the constellation of logic!...

the only logical explanation to listening to the two versions of this song and choosing the Rage cover over the flawless original is that kids just don't know any better. They are conditioned differently than past generations, at a far greater curve than the generations before. The Internet, coddling, drugs and cable television has robbed this generation of its ability to effectively create a viable opinion about anything. They are brainwashed. How else can you explain the Jonas Brothers?...

so i'm housin'...