SoulAlive said:

^^ it's amazing to me how,she STILL won't take responsibility She keeps listing reasons and excuses why she didn't pay her taxes...always blaming things on others.The government doesn't care about all that...they want their money!

Yep, doesn't matter if you're alive or dead, Uncle Sam's getting his.

You want to live in America - pay your GOT DAMN taxes!!!!! Why do so many celebrities and athletes not 'get it'?

I'm a big fan of Matt Taibbi, the political writer for Rolling Stone. He has expose upon expose of banking instititutions and billionaire CEO's who cheat, lie and steal their way through the legal system and not only do they get away with it, they aren't even prosecuted. I can't read Lauryn's mind but if she's anything like me she's pissed off. I'm just not pissed off enough to not care about the hassles of not paying my taxes. But these people get away with millions (and I'm talking sometimes tens and hundreds of millions of dollars) yet no one is mad at them. But Lauryn is an easy target so she's the face of tax evasion?

Lammastide said:

I'm no Stan. Never owned a thing this woman has done -- and, frankly, she generally gets on my nerves. But I will be the odd man out and say that I like the new track.

We always go on and on about wanting new and challenging art ; work not forward looking to Justin Beiber or Nicki Minaj's remix contribution; work that says something. Here we have a provocative hip hop/spoken word piece that decidedly doesn't sound like every other piece of crap on Top 40 radio and, while crazy bitter, it communicates something relevant to a large swath of humanity who lives a life less charmed than Ms. Hill's. I can overlook her woe-is-me shtick here.

Sometimes we just like kicking folks while they're down or taking shots at easy targets. If Meshell Ndegeocello dropped the same track, we'd likely be creaming over it.

[Edited 5/5/13 10:31am]

Yes, I like it a lot, too. I agree with what's been said that the production's not quite 'there' (though it perhaps it wasn't supposed to be the final mix), but lyrically and vocally it's a powerful, provocative piece of work - and I do love to hear this stuff in music.

One thing that did strike me, though, I have to say, is that if this a fair reflection of the way she sees the world, day to day, you can see why she's got problems. I mean, it's a totalisingly grim picture she paints, isn't it? There don't seem to be any breaks of sunlight shining through the clouds. Hell, my own worldview's a crushingly bleak amalgam of Marx and Calvin, in which the ongoing restructuring of our societies in accordance with the rule of capital stands for the descent of man into total depravity....but even I thought, "Jesus Christ! Lighten up a bit, luv!"

Eh if Meshell had done it, I would've had the same reaction. Just sounds like anime music in the background. You could tell she just put it together in three minutes.

Don't you know Anime beats are that next schitt?

Cinny said:

Don't you know Anime beats are that next schitt?

Cinny said:

mrjun18 said:

Thats what she gets for releasing that garbage ass song. She better sit in that cell for 3 months and write like a mutherfukka.

LOL

deebee said:

Lammastide said:

I'm no Stan. Never owned a thing this woman has done -- and, frankly, she generally gets on my nerves. But I will be the odd man out and say that I like the new track.

We always go on and on about wanting new and challenging art ; work not forward looking to Justin Beiber or Nicki Minaj's remix contribution; work that says something. Here we have a provocative hip hop/spoken word piece that decidedly doesn't sound like every other piece of crap on Top 40 radio and, while crazy bitter, it communicates something relevant to a large swath of humanity who lives a life less charmed than Ms. Hill's. I can overlook her woe-is-me shtick here.

Sometimes we just like kicking folks while they're down or taking shots at easy targets. If Meshell Ndegeocello dropped the same track, we'd likely be creaming over it.

Yes, I like it a lot, too. I agree with what's been said that the production's not quite 'there' (though it perhaps it wasn't supposed to be the final mix), but lyrically and vocally it's a powerful, provocative piece of work - and I do love to hear this stuff in music.

One thing that did strike me, though, I have to say, is that if this a fair reflection of the way she sees the world, day to day, you can see why she's got problems. I mean, it's a totalisingly grim picture she paints, isn't it? There don't seem to be any breaks of sunlight shining through the clouds. Hell, my own worldview's a crushingly bleak amalgam of Marx and Calvin, in which the ongoing restructuring of our societies in accordance with the rule of capital stands for the descent of man into total depravity....but even I thought, "Jesus Christ! Lighten up a bit, luv!"

I think it's sad that this is how she sees the world right now I mean,we all know that the world has its share of problems right now,but there are alot of good things happening now,too.Lauryn is dwelling on the negative things.She really needs to lighten up a bit.

SoulAlive said:

deebee said:

Yes, I like it a lot, too. I agree with what's been said that the production's not quite 'there' (though it perhaps it wasn't supposed to be the final mix), but lyrically and vocally it's a powerful, provocative piece of work - and I do love to hear this stuff in music.

One thing that did strike me, though, I have to say, is that if this a fair reflection of the way she sees the world, day to day, you can see why she's got problems. I mean, it's a totalisingly grim picture she paints, isn't it? There don't seem to be any breaks of sunlight shining through the clouds. Hell, my own worldview's a crushingly bleak amalgam of Marx and Calvin, in which the ongoing restructuring of our societies in accordance with the rule of capital stands for the descent of man into total depravity....but even I thought, "Jesus Christ! Lighten up a bit, luv!"

I think it's sad that this is how she sees the world right now I mean,we all know that the world has its share of problems right now,but there are alot of good things happening now,too.Lauryn is dwelling on the negative things.She really needs to lighten up a bit.

Yeah, I think that's true. It's all too tempting - particularly if you're kind of depressive anyway - to only hear the bad news about the way things are, and ignore the positive bits. But the thing is, although the problems are real, they're never totally overbearing; there are always some successes along the way, and openings where things could change for the better. Sometimes, people protest and organise and fight back against things that are wrong - and that's part of the story too. Poor Lauryn's world seems to be all yin and no yang - at least, if this is anything to go by.

deebee said:

SoulAlive said:

I think it's sad that this is how she sees the world right now I mean,we all know that the world has its share of problems right now,but there are alot of good things happening now,too.Lauryn is dwelling on the negative things.She really needs to lighten up a bit.

Yeah, I think that's true. It's all too tempting - particularly if you're kind of depressive anyway - to only hear the bad news about the way things are, and ignore the positive bits. But the thing is, although the problems are real, they're never totally overbearing; there are always some successes along the way, and openings where things could change for the better. Sometimes, people protest and organise and fight back against things that are wrong - and that's part of the story too. Poor Lauryn's world seems to be all yin and no yang - at least, if this is anything to go by.

Yeah. Like she's forever a "victim". After a while that's not gonna fly as well as it is now.

Timmy84 said:

deebee said:

Yeah, I think that's true. It's all too tempting - particularly if you're kind of depressive anyway - to only hear the bad news about the way things are, and ignore the positive bits. But the thing is, although the problems are real, they're never totally overbearing; there are always some successes along the way, and openings where things could change for the better. Sometimes, people protest and organise and fight back against things that are wrong - and that's part of the story too. Poor Lauryn's world seems to be all yin and no yang - at least, if this is anything to go by.

Yeah. Like she's forever a "victim". After a while that's not gonna fly as well as it is now.

She certainly seems to view herself as some kind of martyr, but it's hard to really tease out any kind of defensible 'cause' from her public statements on the matter. It does look rather more like a situation born of a failure to deal with things that need to be dealt with, wrapped up in paranoia and whatever 'issues' are eating at her. I feel bad for anyone who's not coping properly and 'drowning in their own shit'; but, ultimately, you do have to find ways of facing up to reality and avoiding screwing yourself over - at least enough to stay out of jail!

deebee said:

Timmy84 said:

Yeah. Like she's forever a "victim". After a while that's not gonna fly as well as it is now.

She certainly seems to view herself as some kind of martyr, but it's hard to really tease out any kind of defensible 'cause' from her public statements on the matter. It does look rather more like a situation born of a failure to deal with things that need to be dealt with, wrapped up in paranoia and whatever 'issues' are eating at her. I feel bad for anyone who's not coping properly and 'drowning in their own shit'; but, ultimately, you do have to find ways of facing up to reality and avoiding screwing yourself over - at least enough to stay out of jail!

Yeah. And it seems she could've paid if she wanted to. I don't know, her actions and her words don't match. It's more like "do as I say and not as I do". I can't get behind someone like that. People oohing and aahing because Stevie Wonder sent his condolences. WHO GIVES A FUCK?!

I still haven't heard about who is gonna care for the kids. Don't give a fuck about Lauren's self-involved rants...

kitbradley said:

Right on!!! If someone working at McDonalds weren't paying their taxes, they probably would have received a harsher sentence.

No Kit you're wrong. Lauryn's BIGGEST playing card during the trial was her Non-criminal record. Any American citizen with a clean record is not going to get the kitchen sink thrown @ them the first time they brake the Law.

****************************************************************************

I'm speaking in general here...It upsets me that people go over-the-top Beating down Wesley Snipes, Ron Isley & now Lauryn for not paying their taxes. When the IRS went after Willie Nelson everybody said they were wrong and should leave him alone. Willie didnt serve any time behind bars for the Millions he owed the Federal Government. But for some reason when Black people commit the same Crimes all we hear is "Off with their heads!".....The System is still set up to make Black Folks suffer more and Public Opinion backs it.....Nothings changed....

purplethunder3121 said:

I still haven't heard about who is gonna care for the kids. Don't give a fuck about Lauren's self-involved rants...

She'll probably just ask her mother to watch over them for the three months.

purplethunder3121 said:

I still haven't heard about who is gonna care for the kids. Don't give a fuck about Lauren's self-involved rants...

I said earlier that they have a grandmother so I'm sure they're well looked after.

http://mslaurynhill.tumblr.com/

Lauryn shares the meaning of the single:

Neurotic Society is a song about people not being, or not being able to be, who and what they truly are, due to the current social construct. I am not targeting any particular group of people, but rather targeting everyone in our society who hides behind neurotic behavior, rather than deal with it.

The world we live in now is, in many ways, an abhorrent distortion, an accumulation of generations and generations of response to negative stimuli. Many don’t even have a concept of what normal is, by virtue of having lived afraid, ashamed, as victims of abuse, or inadequately handled for so long. I believe in coming up from under that fear and allowing the psyche/soul to truly heal. I understand that healing is a process, but I also believe that it is our responsibility to seriously care for ourselves, so that we can extend that level of concern for others and positively affect our environment.

I want what is best for Humanity. Humanity, aligned with the Spiritual principles, that help eachindividual conquer fear, and transcend limited circumstance. I believe in healing and dealing with the traumatizing events of our lives, both in this lifetime, as well as those passed down to us, or inherited, so we can live as fully as possible.

The whole world suffers from a lack of honest dialogue. Character and integrity have suffered at the hands of political correctness and corporateagenda, while our society moves further and further towards unhealthiness and breakdown. I oppose these trends.

Everyone has a right to their own beliefs. Although I do not necessarily agree with what everyone says or does, I do believe in everyone’s right to protest.

The overarching message of my music is to get up and stop compromising! And hopefully it will stimulate and motivate the changes that our society needs.

Artists are constantly under media and public scrutiny. This is not a one-way street.

Those of us with the charge of putting out faithful vibrations, have a responsibility to report what we see, and to write about what we know. I have seen some of the best and also some of the worst representations of human behavior. The same way that I exalt that which is high, is the same way I expose that which is abusive, in order to motivate and remind if not all of us, than as many as possible, of the Higher Calling.

Identity said:

http://mslaurynhill.tumblr.com/

Lauryn shares the meaning of the single:

Neurotic Society is a song about people not being, or not being able to be, who and what they truly are, due to the current social construct. I am not targeting any particular group of people, but rather targeting everyone in our society who hides behind neurotic behavior, rather than deal with it.

The world we live in now is, in many ways, an abhorrent distortion, an accumulation of generations and generations of response to negative stimuli. Many don’t even have a concept of what normal is, by virtue of having lived afraid, ashamed, as victims of abuse, or inadequately handled for so long. I believe in coming up from under that fear and allowing the psyche/soul to truly heal. I understand that healing is a process, but I also believe that it is our responsibility to seriously care for ourselves, so that we can extend that level of concern for others and positively affect our environment.

I want what is best for Humanity. Humanity, aligned with the Spiritual principles, that help eachindividual conquer fear, and transcend limited circumstance. I believe in healing and dealing with the traumatizing events of our lives, both in this lifetime, as well as those passed down to us, or inherited, so we can live as fully as possible.

The whole world suffers from a lack of honest dialogue. Character and integrity have suffered at the hands of political correctness and corporateagenda, while our society moves further and further towards unhealthiness and breakdown. I oppose these trends.

Everyone has a right to their own beliefs. Although I do not necessarily agree with what everyone says or does, I do believe in everyone’s right to protest.

The overarching message of my music is to get up and stop compromising! And hopefully it will stimulate and motivate the changes that our society needs.

Artists are constantly under media and public scrutiny. This is not a one-way street.

Those of us with the charge of putting out faithful vibrations, have a responsibility to report what we see, and to write about what we know. I have seen some of the best and also some of the worst representations of human behavior. The same way that I exalt that which is high, is the same way I expose that which is abusive, in order to motivate and remind if not all of us, than as many as possible, of the Higher Calling.

^Everything she said there is true. She just needs her output to MATCH her conviction.