The Tao of All Nighters

Pulling an all nighter was not fun last night, and I think you can argue I did it in the most hypcritical fashion.

Sleep is a basic human function, with hormones regulating our sleep pattern, and whether we want to destroy that normal pattern is up to us. (On a side note, I probably quadrupled my lifetime intake of Mountain Dew so I could make until after the exam.) My exam, which for my eastern religion class, was centered around the Chinese philiosophies of Confucianism and Taoism.

The reason I write this is to note two particular discrepancies (EDIT 27.4.2010: PARADOX thats the word) in my studying. One of the main virtues of Taoism is that things happen, and we shouldn't try to fight the natural order of the universe. By staying up all night and not sleeping, I go against my circadian rhythm, which is our body's biological clock.

The second Taoist principle I violated is "unlearning." Now this makes about as much sense as the rest of Taoism, but in order to learn the Tao you need to "unlearn" everything. So by learning what I could about the Tao and didnt "unlearn" anything, I went against another Taoist principle.

The most influential music in my life

What do I even listen to? I could list, but its more than that. its more what moves me, what shapes who I am. Call me pretentious, but I probably don't listen to what you do, mostly because you probably have bad taste in music.

In fact, my favorite band, Yes, is arguably the most pretentious band ever. They made an album (Tales from Topographic Oceans) based on an obscure buddhist paragraph on how to live every aspect of your life. That's right; not a song, but an album. A full 4 song, 80 minute double LP. They frequently showcase their obvious talent, and they know they're better that your band. Subtle changes, epic music, way too much talent, a vision. . . Yes is the best reason I have that I listen to what I do.

Yes got me into a lot of old music, including The Beatles (the most important band ever), Cream, among others, but also the band I believe to be the greatest of all time: The Who. I say this based on the fact that they were immensely talented, had a signature sound, went their own path, were pioneers, and were the best at what they did. Known as the greatest live band ever, The Who consisted of A drummer who had never taken lessons before, A screamer (nay singer), a silent-but-deadly bassist, and the musical genius in their guitarist. Combining their talents, ideas, and "we're going to shoot god" ambition, The Who were the first (and best) rock band.

Another old school band that I enjoy more every day, that I suppose would be the combination of the two aforementioned bands, is Pink Floyd. Their sweet, psychedelic licks are good as any, and have in my opinion, the greatest album of all time: Dark Side of the Moon. The album stayed at #1 on the billboard charts for over a year, and has a lot of my favorite songs, including my favorite, The Great Gig in the Sky. The album flows so well, it's scary. DSotM is absolute pinnacle that any band would kill themselves to achieve.

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