Zaireeka! We've Got It!

As the bassist slowly but surely begins the album, the life given is in the form a heartbeat of pulsing bass. During this continuous pulse the influx of slamming drums and strange inflections from otherworldly insturments the lyrics "Okay, I'll admit that I really don't understand" emerge as though they are voiced by an invisible heavenly choir placed directly behind the stereo systems. Wailing voices proclaim in ethereal tones the only line of track one. The clutter disappears and the simple voice and guitar strumming is all that remains. This dissolves into the rest of the cd which contains many "Oooohhhs" that seem to be squeezed from the vocalists while instruments produce a wide range of both simple and complex sounds. One moment the whole room seems to be involved in a strange conglomeration of mass confusion. However, out of all this clutter a piano, keyboard, guitar and grouping of horns seems to select what is truly important. And the next thing that occurs is a scary wail, no longer angelic or peaceful but rather quite frightening. While a piano melodically keeps time bass surges and a soft flute in the background emerges for a short period of time until another steady bass wave overtakes it along with several horns.

The cd is then broken by the roar of a jet engine which overtakes the entire room and one's senses periodically throughout track number three. There is melancholy dronings and predominately depressing piano attempts to lift the song which really rolls on with unfortunate lyrics that are expressed slowly and with intense sorrow that is revealed in deliberate and painfully uttered words. The slow pulse of the song is felt rising and more jet engines develop before being interrupted by a high pitched whining that surrounds and envelops everything.

The rest of the cd moves on with a very random and yet deliberate fashion. The songs contain strong piano and keyboards that are interrupted with intense guitar riffs and wailing waves of synthesized sounds. The cd in concluded with a very lovely starting tune and a nice bass thumping in the back. The simple presentation with concrete lyrics and no singing, but rather a deliberate talking conclude the album with a very unique manner that brings complete order out of a work of art that ranged from seeming chaos to simplicity and order. The musical conclusion of the album is dissimilar to the final lyrics in that it seems to have been reduced to chaos once again with thumping bass, thrashing drums, wailing and an intense climax of some serious dog pound barking action.

Project 1

Starbuck's Coffee and Atmosphere: Each Sold Separately

As the door swings open a whole new world is revealed containing a motley arrangement of people who have one thing in common: caffeinated beverages. But not just any old type of coffee, this is Starbucks. This corporation has embodied and ruled the coffee industry for nearly four decades and for good reason. The people come here for a purpose. There are lines to be jumped into, waits to be waited, orders to be ordered and highly caffeinated steaming drinks to be consumed among a myriad of other potential activities. A gentle and continuous rustle of business is intertwined with people’s everyday lives which are given zest and politely turbocharged by their various java beverages. Patrons of this particular watering hole come for a distinct type of spirit that owes its enticing properties to foreign coffee beans and sugary whipped toppings. The whole scene teems with life of varying degrees. The business men, complete with pressed ties, glistening shoes and the occasional twinkle from a cufflink are here on a mission, laptops under continuous stress while blackberry cellular devices sing their never-ceasing ring tones ranging from chirps and beeps to Justin Timberlake. The pressure of selling who-knows-what to whomever is both escalated and made more bearable by the buzz of several once potent, now empty and lifeless cups of strong coffee. The background noise is almost indiscernible and unless carefully examined most likely would never be deciphered. The noise within the café is a conglomeration of an ambient play list of a mellow jazz fusion that slowly pulses is almost constantly interrupted by the sharp orders being yelled out, “Caramel macchiato for Susan!...Chai Tea for Amber!”. There is a constant hum which ebbs and flows depending on the mood and intensity of the occupants’ conversations. The demographic that is being either exploited or provided service to here is varied beyond what almost any other business experiences. Of course there are the business men, they are driven here in flocks to continue work or settle into the springy teal sofa configured with geometric shapes and read the paper between meetings. The population here goes so far beyond just this single example of an individual to include college students, people who are most likely these students’ professors, teen-aged individuals looking hip and independent, soccer moms with shrieking children in tow and the assortment of other individuals that are not so easily typified or described.

However, it is certain that all of these varying peoples from their own unique walks of life have ended up here for primarily one thing and have stayed for any number of other reasons. The freshly ground and brewed beans are the aforementioned sought after item and the atmosphere is so relishing and agreeable that these people decide to stay, pursuing their various activities at leisure (or fervor in some cases) within the buzzing hub of activity that is Starbucks. Of course, “There's always somewhere else to get a coffee. But this is not about just getting a coffee. It's about where you sit while you drink it” remarks Sean Nelson, a writer for various Seattle newspapers. And nowhere is this idea more embodied than within the calm lounge of Starbucks – particularly when there is available a rare opening on the smooth tan leather chair that can swallow a human being in a single sitting.

Although it would not be fair to simply call Starbucks a lounge when it is clearly so much more than that. Customers’ varying motives for choosing this particular java joint range from the ever-enjoyable coffee to the contagious atmosphere and include any number of reasons in between. One of the reasons as to why Starbucks has attained such a strong foothold within a relatively simple market that they now dominate is the atmosphere that they sell. Where else are you going to find a relatively active public place at 10 PM on a Thursday night where it is possible to have a meeting or do homework? Of course the library is always an option but if students wanted to study in a stale room with humming florescent lights full of dead people I’m sure they would find their way into a morgue in favor of a library. Starbucks has aided in the perpetuation of the twenty four hour lifestyle that arose some time within the past decade. Very rarely during the 50s would someone see a sign proclaiming “All-Night” or “Open 24 Hours”. The rapid advances and diffusion of technology have propelled our society into one that deems it necessary to seize all twenty four hours given to us in a single day and make the most of them. As such late night coffee binges readily available at the local Starbucks are common in aiding one’s endeavor to remain awake into the wee hours of the morning to accomplish their various activities.

Upon visiting a Starbucks lounge just past nine it was startling to see and hear so many people inside one place. The transition from cold, dry air outside to the warm and almost humid atmosphere within was shocking and profound. Immediately one knows that they have entered into the private Starbucks world that sometimes remains hidden from the rest of society. Indeed, this little latte shop that has been so profoundly affected by the surge of capitalism and has been thrust into such a mainstream market remains a little niche of its own in a sense. Many people are unaware of the self contained entity that exists within these stores at the varying times. Everyone can advise you to go to Starbucks to get your morning joe or some caffeine to tide you through a rough afternoon. But not everyone is able to remark upon the subtleties of the Starbucks culture. By this I am referring to the language that Starbucks uses in order to retain the Italian espresso roots of its business. Ask the layman about a “venti”, “cappuccino” or “latte” and he may give you an answer but it is quite possibly incorrect. Venti is Italian for twenty…as in the ounces of your drink. Cappuccinos are not what are sold in gas stations for 99 cents. Rather, cappuccinos are espresso based drinks topped with steamed milk and dense foam. Now a latte retains many aspects of a cappuccino yet has important differences. A latte contains more milk and less foam than its super caffeinated brother and as such packs less punch but still retains a cosmic amount of flavor. And this is what you smell as you walk into a Starbucks that smells very pleasant and seems to wash all over your body. Aside from the distinct aroma of endless combinations of vanilla, hazelnut, caramel, Valencia, crème, toffee nut, almond, mint, raspberry and an array of seasonal flavors the sense of smell is immediately assaulted with tantalizing side dishes that hide behind the shiny glass counter case. Behind the gleaming case lie various muffins, scones, loaves, sweet rolls, cakes, pies, nut breads and many are coated with sugar crystals that make them look as though they have fallen through heavenly clouds made of pure sweetness. The multitude of olfactory sensations that have not been properly exercised with various smells lying dormant until one enters a Starbucks will be assaulted once a person enters a few foot range of the door and upon opening the door the full forced assault on the nose commences.

Everything about Starbucks radiates a complex form of sophistication from the elegant lighting that seems to exude enough light to suffice although the lights themselves hardly perform admirably. The earth tones seem to blend from tiled floor to seat cushions and then slide onto the walls and picture frames. Everything is a light form of a beige or a earthen toned russet. The sophistication lies in the subtleties of design, planning and business procedures. Such as my good friend Maggie Knight pointed out to me in a random meeting at a Starbucks, “Starbucks offers a plethora of sizes, flavors and temperatures of drinks as well as seating. Seats range from couples to quartets and include seats for the solitary people…loners. They try to suck you in with their crafty little mugs and hip drinks. Also, they have the real stirring sticks, not the dinky little things.” As all these little intricacies are revealed certain aspects regarding the functioning of the business come to light and it is more and more clearly seen as to why Starbucks has gained such momentous popularity since its opening in Seattle’s Pike Place Market in 1971. The corporation has expanded to almost 16,000 stores worldwide with thousands of different drink combinations…most of which are rumored to be quite tasty although the only one that this author can provide detail about is the cinnamon dolce latte. With the warm zest of coffee and the tongue tantalizing sugary aftertaste this drink is one to be enjoyed behind the door in a local Starbucks completely immersed in the aforementioned atmosphere.