Welcome

Welcome to my new blog, entitled, "Indie-cent Speech." The name of the blog comes not only for my appreciation for independent music artists, but also for independent thought. Both of these subjects, as well as a random smattering of others, will no doubt define this blog.

Ever since I was a little kid, I can always remember being fascinated with the fact that I live in a country where I am free to say whatever I wish, with only few exceptions. As I have come to maturity, and now living in Washington D.C, I have come to realize that this right is in fact a double-edged sword. While there are a lot of intelligent people on both sides of the aisle who can effectively contribute to a national dialogue, more often than not, these are not the people who speak the loudest.

I'm not going to pretend that I am a neutral moderate, because I'm not. While I was raised in a split-household in terms of political ideology, I am an active registered Democrat. I have canvassed for Democratic candidates, including President Barack Obama, for the Democratic National Committee and have served as an intern in the office of a prominent VA State Senator. However, I don't let this political classification define all of my political thought and I'm not going to spend my time spouting only the words of liberal commentators such as Keith Olbermann, because I don't agree with him all the time either. Instead, I'd like to think that I enter most discussions with an open mind, but after weighing the facts, I usually come up on the left. I also don't sign on to the slogan that, "the left is always right," even after all of the times it was shouted before DNC canvassing. There have definitely been plenty of times since the dawn of my political awareness that I have disagreed with the words or actions of Democratic officials, but I definitely disagree with conservatives more often.

Politics will most certainly not be the only topic of discussion on this blog. Along with my passion for politics, I also have a deep-seeded obsession with music. I'm really excited to have a place where I can express my thoughts about the music industry, popular music, and independent music. I am particularly intrigued by the history of rock and roll and the blues, and in recent years I have been heavily influenced by the music of independent artists. There are few things give me more pleasure than introducing someone to a particular artist or song that they most likely wouldn't hear on commercial radio waves and seeing the pleasure that it brings to them. This blog will be a tool for this type of expression as well.

Ultimately, I would like this blog to be a learning experience for me and for the people who read it. I think it will provide a great outlet for me to produce something tangible from the stream of thoughts that run through my head all day.

I'd like to conclude by stating that some of my views and opinions will not sit well with everyone, perhaps even some of my closest friends, but there's nothing that I would like more than to spark friendly, intelligent discussion.

Cheers,

SNC