TF Archives

'Because We Can' - by Habersham

Author: Habersham
Saturday, October 29, 2005
A whale shark. A f*cking whale shark!
The largest living creature in the sea and they tell me it's going to be smack dab in the middle of downtown Atlanta. All this thanks to the new aquarium being built which promises to be no less than two football fields in length, not to mention the largest aquarium in North America. More than anything it's an attempt to give Atlanta a kick in the ass, and generate new interest within a very complacent city.

Now, the notion of a miniature ocean safely encased in plastic doesn't exactly sit well with me. In fact it makes me a little nervous. And to answer your question, yes I am a little neurotic, but let me fill you in on some background notes to help you understand where I'm coming from:

1) I have watched 'JAWS' entirely too many times throughout my life.

2) When I visited Sea World in Florida as a child, part of the attraction is a tunnel that runs underneath a massive aquarium (as seen in one of the 'JAWS' sequels oddly enough), in essence allowing you to look any number of sharks or dolphins right in the eye as they swim over you. Well let me tell you, the minute I got to the start of this 'undersea adventure' I ran as hard and fast as I could to get through the tunnel and to the exit, leaving my family in the dust.

Needless to say, it's just not natural. It's simply not the way things are supposed to be! But perhaps this is the very core of our existence as a species: to take all of our common knowledge, everything that history has taught us what not to do…and then do it anyway - simply 'because we can.'

And that's exactly the mentality that has gotten us where we are today as a civilization. You can thank 'because we can' for our leaps and bounds in technology, including decoding DNA and teleporting organisms; and not forgetting those IPod Nanos and Playstation Portables that you absolutely must have. And I suppose at the other end of the spectrum it's good ol' President Bush's 'because we can' attitude that brought about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and generally speaking everywhere else on the planet.

So like it or not, our entire evolution is a product of the 'because we can' theory and practice, and it is in these three words that our future lies. Every progression and transgression in our lives will result from this way of thinking; from pushing ourselves to see if we are capable of breaking free from our own constraints.

This brings me to the purpose of my monthly column. Most of you are familiar with me by way of music and probably expect what you're reading here to relate to that subject somehow. Well, to be honest, it might and then again it might not. I'm going to take advantage of this opportunity to see how far I can push you to think outside of the box, because frankly, at the very least, we owe that much to ourselves.

So whether these articles are about life, politics, music or any art form, my goal will always be to tickle your brain and perhaps even make you question a thing or two. Why, you ask- Simply because I can.
Until next month!

Damon Fonooni (aka Habersham) is regarded by both contemporaries and journalists as "a vital figure in the future of dance music" (Inpress magazine, Melbourne). Internationally acclaimed as both a talented DJ and producer, also displayed is a rare combination of drive, vision, passion and leadership, as demonstrated by his involvement in the following enterprises:
Blueprint Recordings (with Brett Abramson aka Numinous) www.blueprintsounds.com
Lobotomy Records (with Dave Preston, Luke Kalish & Phil K and soon to be an exclusively digital label) www.lobotomyrecords.com
EDM Digital (Described by Habersham as "a labor of love between 5 friends" it is considered by many dance music enthusiasts to be the most cutting edge digital dow
Tags