Thursday, August 30, 2007

Pontiaka Pontian

For your viewing and listening entertainment(for those who don' think I'm crazy for liking this stuff) yet another Pontian YouTube video.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the community focus and vibrant nature of folk dance. American dance has gotten so individualistic, but even we have square dancing and line dancing.

Sophocles said...

Andrea,

You're right about the individualistic focus and also now I'm beginning to understand the community building aspects of square dancing and line dancing now that you've mentioned this. I just never thought of this before. Thanks.

As for this Pontian Dance stuff I've been posting, it's hard to describe why I suddenly like it so much. On one of my previous "Pontian Dance" posts I said a bit more.

Anonymous said...

Sophocles,

I'd read about your punk days. I never was really exposed to that type of music so I don't understand what it's about. Your connecting it with Pontian dance is surprising. So is punk music also about triumph in battle over oppressive forces?

Sophocles said...

Andrea,

You're right, there is no connection between Pontian dance and punk rock except in me, in the effect these two very different musics/customs have had in me.

That being said, punk rock as it was in the late 70's and early to mid 80's is hard to describe .

I just rented this DVD "American Hardcore-The History of American Punk Rock from 1980-1986) and once again I experienced the ethos of the movement and its movement. It was about standing against oppressive forces, but in many ways not in ways I can agree with anymore, nor even completely even then when I was in it.

If you are interested, I would rent out this DVD. It's a new release. Howver, caution should be given you as it is vulgar and irreverant so only watch it as to understand what happened back then.

The effect of punk rock is enormous and in a way all pervasive in our modern culture. Just look at styles that at one time were unheard of to the extent of their prevalence today(tattoos, piercings, hair styles, music styles, the apathy and cynicism of people it seems in general) and a host of other things that to the uninitiated are not apparent but to myself and those that took that ethos to heart, much of the modern world makes sense in the light of Punk Rock.

I believe one day I will do some posting on this subject. For myself, punk rock was rock n' roll at its very purest-stripped of all the fluff and rendered at its bare minimum, which was one of its attractions to me, its "purity". Which sort of ties into my consciously being an Orthodox today as I have come to know that this Faith is pure and undefiled and able to save to the uttermost.

Hope I made some sense.

Anonymous said...

Sophocles,

I was a very conservative Christian in those days and saw categories of music and other art more through a black and white, "evil" and "pure" judgmentalism. But now I'm opening my mind to these categories and am trying not to look at them in such a Puritanical fashion. Stark truth has always appealed to me, but my delicate sensibilities, though hypocritical, kept me from seeing truth in less conservative places. I've always trusted more overt "Christians" to give it to me straight, though even that label is more fuzzy to me now. Music has a way of bypassing that language and getting to the heart of things. The greatest artists don't seem to have as many taboos, and I'm trepidatiously trying to find my way around my old ones. Still, we have to guard ourselves from venturing too far into areas where we are tempted to sin, but now I believe the Saint can rise above that and see God in everything.

Thanks so much for explaining and for the DVD reference. I'll see if Netflix has it.

Anonymous said...

Oh and about the true and pure Orthodox Faith, it is such a relief to have a trustworthy Church to listen to unguardedly!

Sophocles said...

Andrea,

Cool. But I need to let you know that I do not endorse the viewpoints of many of those in this DVD as from watching it, it would seem that many of them had not grown inwardly. But this call is not mine to make. Who knows. I'm not sure how strict you are with what your kids watch so, this is not a family DVD as such.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the warning.