This past Friday, Ann Marie and I went to go see Arcade Fire play at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City. After missing a chance to see them back in November '04, in a small club in Columbia just before they took off to massive acclaim, seeing them in a big venue seemed like a letdown to me--big shows always seem more impersonal, more detached, and of course more logistically annoying.

However, this show turned all those expectations on their head. The sound was great, the venue was great (open-air on a lovely night), and the band was phenomenal.

After a solid opening set by LCD Soundsystem (which was terrific for the first few songs, then became repetitious), Arcade Fire took the stage with stirring drama and never let up 'til the final note. I haven't listened to them as extensively as Ann Marie has, and the impression I had of them was a mostly melancholy and darkly-Gothic group.

However, what I saw that night was anything but--it was emotionally powerful music played with sheer ecstasy. Ten people on stage, throwing themselves into it with all they had. Running around the stage, switching instruments between most every song, trading roles with what seemed like controlled chaos. Singing their hearts out song after song, whether they were at a mic or not. It was inspiring to see such commitment and synchronicity, where no one was just providing backdrop--every member was alert and aware and engaged in each word, each moment of the songs. The playing and singing was tight and faithful to the original recordings; in Ann Marie's words the songs were just like they were on record, but more so--more intense, more expressive and emotional.

It's been a long while since I've seen a show that all-around successful, and a band so fully on one wavelength and executing in such passionate unison. Hard to think of a better band playing right now--they really convinced me.

See a few photos I took at the show, and below is a brief video clip I recorded of the rousing finale, "Wake Up".

Labels: Life, Music

It's a rare rock reunion that catches my attention, let alone interests me. But I was genuinely excited when I heard that The Police are reuniting for a tour, and even more excited when I watched their mini-set/press conference. They sounded terrific--like they'd never left.

The Police are a band who've been woven through the fabric of much of my life. I can still remember being a kid and seeing the huge Zenyatta Mondatta poster on the wall of my best friend's older brother's room. I remember wearing out my Ghost In The Machine cassette, almost as fascinated by the design of its package as the music itself (though I admit I didn't realize for a while that the symbols on the front were the band members). And I vividly remember the palpable, electric excitement that was in the air when the band's final album, Synchronicity, was close to release. To this day it's still the most excited I can remember, well, seemingly the whole world being about a new album--television, magazines, newspapers, all abuzz about this coming event. And later in life, after I'd left them behind to an extent, I found them all over again due to my dear friend Tris cluing me in to parts of their catalog I'd overlooked.

While I've rarely thought about them when I consider my greatest influences or "favorite bands ever", this reunion has helped crystallize the impact they've had on me for over 25 years. My well-worn Message In A Box box set has been getting a workout, and its unearthed memories, associations, and admiration for their work has woken me up to the strength of their influence on me.

Looking back at them after all these years, I'm almost baffled by how iconoclastic they were. Incredibly tight and accomplished as musicians, with a sound that was extraordinarily dark and brooding for a popular act and lyrics that ranged from offbeat to outlandish, they forged a unique sound. Like the best artists known for synthesizing existing genres into something new--from Elvis to Led Zeppelin--The Police made their punk & reggae starting point a launch pad into territory that only they could explore.

In light of all that, I thought I'd share my favorite Police tracks. For those who know them well, it's a comparison of sorts, and for those who may only know the most familiar singles, maybe a chance to find something new.

By album, chronologically (with iTunes song links and Wikipedia album links):

Outlandos d'Amour (1978). This album is a fun, tight, punk-influenced rock album, though very raw and unformed compared to what lay ahead. Big hit 'Roxanne' was here, though my faves are the straight-ahead rock of 'Truth Hits Everybody' (probably the hardest they rocked until the much later 'Synchronicity II'), the suicidally desperate 'Can't Stand Losing You', and 'Be My Girl-Sally', worthwhile for its great chorus, which alternates with a truly cracked ode by Andy Summers to his, er, inflatable girlfriend.

Regatta de Blanc (1979). Here's where the real sound of the band emerges. 'Message In A Bottle' is probably their second-most-iconic song and is still brilliant. Along with the edgily yearning 'The Bed's Too Big Without You', it features the sort of hypnotic, off-kilter, almost backwards-sounding bass guitar riff that Sting was such a genius at. This distinctive technique of his has been a huge influence on my approach to bass playing and has informed some of the most successful bass parts I've written over the years.

Zenyatta Mondatta (1980). To me, this is the first classic Police album. Their sound became smoother, more expansive, and more graceful, and a sort of unsettling quality crept in between the seams. My favorite song on this album, 'When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around', exemplifies this with a spare, hypnotic rhythm, rich guitar echoes from Andy Summers, and bleak post-modern/apolocalyptic lyrics from Sting. 'Canary In A Coalmine' and 'Man In A Suitcase' are also expertly crafted pop songs that contrast a sort of bleak despair in the lyrics with a bright, engaging melodic sound.

Ghost In The Machine (1981). Here is what I consider the Police's masterpiece. It's a departure from their first three records, and the wiry, raw strength of the individual band members starts to get sublimated to the song. But there's an absolutely unique sound and feel to this album that the trio plus producer Hugh Padgham created which has never been seen again. A rich, dark, smooth texture pervades this record, a sound at once futuristic, alien, and dreamlike, yet which can still engage at a grooving, visceral level. It starts off with the remarkable 'Spirits In The Material World'--one of the most subtly unusual pop songs ever, again with that trademark backwards/descending/off-beat bass line of Sting's. 'Hungry For You (J'Aurais Toujours Faim De Toi)' is a gripping, lustful song, and 'Too Much Information' is a cycling, hypnotizing, irresistible beat, one of my faves to simply listen to and dig. The album gets a bit more strange and almost sci-fi toward the end, where two of my favorites, the propulsive rush of 'Omegaman' and the dark dream of 'Secret Journey', send it off in style.

Synchronicity (1983). Seemingly seen by many as the band's peak, to me this is an album of contradictions. It's a mix of absolute brilliance and simple filler, alternating breathtakingly accomplished songwriting with flimsy, thin throwaway numbers. This probably represents the increasingly un-democratic dynamic within the band at this time, but ironically enough, the album's signature tune (and probably that of the band as a whole), 'Every Breath You Take', is the most evenly-balanced song on the album, relying only on simple, restrained, and equal contributions from each band member for its effect. It's almost hard to listen to this massively iconic tune now with any objectivity, but when I do, I marvel at its understated magnificence. What restraint, what economy--not a note or moment wasted, not anything added needlessly, just the soft, urgent proddings of all three musicians that perfectly captures a mood of love, loneliness, loss, and menace all at once. After making a song like this, any band could reasonably decide that there was nowhere else for them to go. But other excellent songs accompany it here. 'Synchronicity II' is surely one of the most bizarre songs ever to be a big hit, with its doomy grandiosity and lyrics that connect rush-hour stress to a sort of Loch Ness monster, and the heartbreaking 'King Of Pain' packs an intensely sad, emotional lyric into an edgy, unsettled rock song. I can't think of a more dark and bleak album that's found such mainstream success.

So here's to The Police--a band that carved a path all their own, who created genuine excitement and power through raw musical and lyrical accomplishment, and who should rightly go down as one of the best rock bands of all time. I really dig 'em.

Labels: Culture, Music

"It's funny how someone you've never met manages to stay with you." - Grant McLennan, from the song "Trapeze Boy"

Grant McLennan, one of the most admired singer-songwriters in Australian rock history, died this weekend of an apparent heart attack at the age of 48. His musical history spans more than 25 years, first with the influential Aussie indie group the Go-Betweens, then into a partnership with the Church's Steve Kilbey under the name Jack Frost, and into a string of marvelous solo albums. While he never achieved the chart success his richly melodic and heartfelt pop deserved, appreciation for his work runs far and wide. The Australian Performing Rights Association recently named his autobiographical song "Cattle And Cane" as one of the 10 greatest Australian songs of all time.

Of all time.

I never met this man, or even got the chance to see him perform live, but he meant a great deal to me, as I'm newly realizing with the sting of his passing. The news hit me surprisingly hard, as though it was someone I knew, and it's still weighing on my heart. It frustrates me and saddens me and makes reality seem wrong somehow.

But I think I did know him, in a sense, as did everyone who's enjoyed and been touched by his music over the years. McLennan had an uncanny knack for combining melodies that were pure gold and instantly likeable to lyrics that were often deceptively sharp and painfully honest. The result was often heartbreakingly beautiful.

I've spent many, many hours listening to his four solo albums, his two albums with Kilbey, and various parts of his Go-Betweens work. I've spent hours more learning and playing his songs on acoustic guitar. Singing heartfelt laments like "Stones For You" or "Hot Water", I felt that McLennan's heartache was my own, and mine his. Feeling the adrenaline thrill of listening to songs like "In Your Bright Ray" or "Surround Me" while driving with the windows down on a warm spring day, I felt a sense of unbridled potential that made me want to kiss someone at that moment, just to share that hopeful energy that almost made me want to cry. Listening to the stark, spare lines of "Cattle And Cane" is dark October skies, a lonely wind, and those moments where I feel that I'm alone in the world.

Yet somehow, with Grant, you never really feel that you're alone. He's alongside you for the pain and exultation, grin on his face and wink in his eye. It's there in his music, and I'll always have that.

Thanks, Grant. You are already missed.


The Music of Grant McLennan
In an effort to get this richly deserving musician in more ears, here are some links to his music.

iTunes offers only a small part of McLennan's work, but here are a sampling of his classic songs that they do have available for download:

With the Go-Betweens:

• Bye Bye Pride
• Streets of Your Town
• Bachelor Kisses
• The Ghost and the Black Hat
• Cattle & Cane
• The Wrong Road

Solo work:

• Easy Come, Easy Go
• Stones For You
• Haven't I Been a Fool?
• Surround Me
• Fingers
• Black Mule

And here are links to purchase or learn more about his work:

Solo albums:

• Watershed
• Fireboy
• Horsebreaker Star
• In Your Bright Ray

With Jack Frost:

• Jack Frost
• Snow Job

And of course, the Go-Betweens.

Labels: Music

Just for the fun of it, a random snapshot of some of the current tunes on my old MP3 player that I'm listening to while running. (iTunes, download, or informational links provided where available.)

Sufjan Stevens, Dear Mr. Supercomputer
I tend to like starting runs with a bright, thoughtful tune with enough solid propulsion to get things off to a good start. Stevens weaves a clicking, beeping, thumping mover with a web of staccato acoustic sounds--drums, horns, layered vocals, vibraphone.

Wolfmother, White Unicorn and Dimension
This raging new young band from Australia wears their classic-rock influences on their sleeves, but boy do they rock. They mix in just enough oddness, pulp-fantasy lyrical whimsy, and prog-rock flourishes to take their straightahead sound up a notch. 'White Unicorn' is all wide-screen drama (you can almost see the smoke machines during its hazy breakdown), good for distractions during the toughest early part of my run, and 'Dimension' is just a pounding, driving rocker that helps me keep pushing.

Michael Moorcock's Deep Fix, Time Centre
This instrumental oddity from a musical project between legendary fantasy author Moorcock and members of Hawkwind is a semi-hypnotic, cyclical build up from early-80s synth and drums to big bass guitar that for some reason, has been a standby of my running tunes. One of those that just works--never the center of my workout, but always a good go-to tune.

Genesis, Watcher of the Skies (live)
Wrapping up this segment of prog-rock is this early classic from Genesis, back when Peter Gabriel was the lead singer, wearing dresses and fox-head costumes on stage. Starting off with airy mellotron full of daybreak yearning and portent, it slips into great, rolling rhythms and terrific bass hooks from Mike Rutherford. A musical short story, with peaks, valleys, and a rousing finale. The version I'm listening to is a rare uncut version left off of their classic Genesis Live album from 1973. And it's long enough that I can run a whole mile to it!

Kasabian, Club Foot
Coming back to the present day with this seething, driving, edgy tune from these British alterna-rockers. Big dancy beat, buzzing guitar, and urgent vocals create a great running vibe.

King's X, Fly
This song has what I love most about this hugely underrated band--massive, propulsive riffs, alternately soulful and soaring vocals filled with harmony, and oodles of energy. A great spark of energy that just seems to make the clouds open up.

Broken Social Scene, 7/4 (Shoreline)
The odd time signature creates movement under a churning bed of restrained tension that breaks out all over the place as the song builds. Great load vocal and harmony by Leslie Feist, terrifically woven instrumentation. Maybe the best indie-pop since The Replacements.

The Rolling Stones, Don't Stop
Just a great, catchy, yearning-with-a-wink, love/lust-sick tune from the Stones. Obviously the chorus is a good message when trying to finish a run!

Nawang Khechog, Leading the Path of Non-Violence
Stark, beautiful Tibetan flute is a great complement to the lush greenery, big skies and rolling hills surrounding the trail, and a soothing balm at the end of a satisfying run.

Labels: Music, Running

Now that we're comfortably settling in to 2006, and everyone's finally taken down their Xmas trees (you know who you are), I'd like to take a quick look back to 2005 and pick what I think are the finest of the finest songs released during the year.

For those with iTunes, I've included direct links for each of the songs below, so you can quickly hear a clip for yourself and buy it if you like (they're all worth it). So without further ado:

1. Stars - Ageless Beauty
This magnificent blast of shimmering, urgent wistfulness comes from perhaps my favorite album of the year, Set Yourself On Fire. Sheer, unmitigated pop brilliance.

2. The New Pornographers - The Bones Of An Idol
This concise, patient number builds gradually into my favorite musical moment of the year: its sparkling, harmonious outro. Highlights the honeyed power of Neko Case's voice.

3. The Darkness - Dinner Lady Arms
A hair-raising track from a hair-raising album of British glam metal. Mix one part Def Leppard's "Hysteria", one part "Killer Queen", add a pinch of ELO, and turn up to 11.

4. The Church - Tristesse
A simply beautiful reading of their classic song from 1986, with guitarist Marty Willson-Piper taking over on vocals. The lush bed of layered acoustic guitars is rhapsodic.

5. Jamiroquai - Feels Just Like It Should
Funky, grunty, shifty dancefloor number with a catchy-as-hell elephantine groove. Dirty, sweet, and very nice.

6. New Pornographers - Use It
Hyper-kinetic, driving, rollicking slab of cheeky, winking innuendo with a gale-force chorus that'll take your head off.

7. Tegan & Sara - I Bet It Stung (live)
The live setting adds a touch of extra grit and moan to this stuttering, impassioned track from their So Jealous LP.

8. Gorillaz - Dirty Harry
Sly, terrifically constructed track that mixes a thick, blipping groove with children's choir, handclaps, and some nice rapping.

9. Kings of Leon - The Bucket
Just a great, catchy, southern-fried bit of modern rock with primal guitar work and nice shifting chords against pedaled bass.

10. Oasis - Lyla
Oasis sweeps back on the scene with this super-hooky number, all bright, British stomp and stadium chorus. Fun and rocking.

11. Son Volt - Bandages & Scars
The best track from their new album is a classic, dirt-road number that reaches the level of their wonderful first album, Trace.

12. All-American Rejects - Move Along
Yeah, it's slick, processed rock-pop, but I like these guys, they do it really well. A gutsy, propulsive, high-energy number.

13. Iron & Wine and Calexico - History Of Lovers
A warm, dusty, super-catchy bit of gently folksy melody. A perfect combination of Sam Beam's breathy voice and Calexico's southwestern twang.

14. Sigur Ros - Glósóli
A great distillation of this band's varied moods and intensities, slowly drifting from atmospheric sadness to roaring, tragic massiveness.

15. Death From Above 1979 - Black History Month (iTunes session)
Though this duo is too often content to stretch one small idea into a full song, this is a good one. Dark, dramatic, snarling bass riff sets an edgy mood for the haunted vocals.

2006 is looking like it will be a good year as well (can't wait for that new Church album, coming this spring), but 2005 delivered a great array of varied, smart, memorable music. Happy listening!

Labels: Music

Back from several days in Portland, Oregon, to visit dear friend Tris and his milieu. The trip was full of obstacles, from a flight change on the way up to chilly, rainy weather and a persistent cold which dogged me from my second day there. But of course it was worth it, to see the many faces I hadn't seen in ages (Dr. Lass, Connor, Luke & family) and to have the chance to work again with Tris & Connor. Finally, after a grinding acoustic stint on 12-string guitar and hurried rehearsals for an impromptu full-band show, I started to feel some of that old magic come back--the energy that informed my old bass lines in the days of Neuman Rael and the more inspired moments of the first Dissident 27 CD. Rhythm started clicking, interactions with Connor's shifting beats became active, and space and percussiveness turned wet clay into percolating, punchy creativity. In the midst of feeling crummy & cold, this energizing force was another reminder of the value that music brings to my life.

My gratitude for Tris & Stephanie's hospitality. Other highlights: great food (from Thai to diner), a fruitful trip to magnificent Powell's bookstore (since 1971, just like me), the ultra-mercurial Dodge Dart (a sedan version of the old green van from high school, I tell you!), and season four of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Labels: Life, Music

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've been listening to essentially nothing but King Crimson for weeks now, progressing slowly through their 1973-74 lineup and skipping randomly to earlier and later works (well, I've mixed in a few other things--a pinch of Curtis Mayfield, a little Sigur Ros, a bit of Stars). As I've been enjoying it I've also been picking through it intellectually, pondering its complexity and the way it strains against formula, and also thinking about why it's appealing so much to me now.

The other day I made a connection that helped shed some light on that. I remembered a gig with local flamenco band Los Desterrados I sat in on a couple months ago, a loose session which contained one of my favorite musical-performance moments in ages. In thinking on it, I realized that this performance held a sort of key that has been subtly unlocking me ever since.

What happened at this particular show was an unplanned and serendipitous combination of musicians, a non-group which immediately transcended any genre. In addition to the core guitar and percussion flamenco-based elements of Los Desterrados, there was a cellist and a young woman playing the Cuban tres, an instrument that hovers between a guitar and mandolin. After a few somewhat discombobulated flamenco-esque numbers, the cellist took charge (bless her heart) and launched into something that was utterly un-flamenco, something that was vaguely neo-classical but with a modern rhythmic pulse. This immediately set all the flamenco players on their ears; there was a general sense of having nowhere to hang their hats, musically speaking. Their rules no longer applied, their comfort zones were gone.

By force of numbers alone, they might have overruled her. But, ditching them like a musical double agent, I leapt into the fray with the enthusiasm of a freed prisoner and drove things in her direction, using the weight of the bass to set the tone and to fend off any attempts at conventionalizing the sounds that were, at that moment, swirling out unrestrained by routine, pattern, or unconscious habit. Safely cut off from safe harbour, the musicians were forced to sink or swim, to be fully conscious and present in the moment, and the result produced an energy among us that was entirely unlike what is generated in a typical by-the-numbers genre-specific performance.

As the improvised piece rolled on and billowed, the energy grew; I found myself grinning like a fool as I acknowledged its presence, opened myself to it, and felt it connect me to everyone else there. In that moment we were conduits; we were playing things we never played, working together in ways we never worked together, becoming enveloped in a flow and electricity which came from no plan or intention. I wasn't trying, I wasn't working; I was just keeping up with this essential sound coming from within and without me, through my hands. It was a form of ecstacy. A few times I looked up into the faces in the audience, and saw glimpses of hushed wonder there; they too were feeling it and in their quieted near-reverence were participating in it. I could tell that while some were distracted, others were truly "getting" it.

The same held true for the musicians. As the energy of the piece gradually trailed off and evaporated into a gentle, equally unplanned finale, there were looks on our faces ranging from flushed to intense to bemused bewilderment. A few seemed to realize what had happened; others were confused; some were simply pleased and surprised. But I knew what I'd felt, what I'd experienced--an extended moment of freedom, of artistic levitation, of no rules, no borders. At that moment I wanted more of that. I didn't want to play anything rote, anything easy and familiar. I wanted to go chasing off after that energy, that muse that exists wholly above the level of a predictable band having a good or even great night.

With that in my blood, it's little wonder that I've since found my way to immersing myself in music that pushes barriers right down and walks in places alternately shadowy and brilliant; places whose darkness is the kind of deep, damp dark that only comes from digging very hard and deeply; whose light is the crisp sun that warms a peak found by struggling up a twisting, rocky path. Like anything else, music is full of routine and drudgery and frustration; but in my experience of it, it's the one thing that holds the potential for the type of transcendence that can make months of slogging, and an entire confused and yearning life, seem worth it to me, many times over.

Labels: Music

I'll probably write more formally about some current music I'm digging the in the Sounds section of this site, but I wanted to think out loud about it a bit here.

What I've been listening to the most lately is King Crimson--specifically, three old live recordings from their staggeringly powerful 1973-74 lineup (Heidelberg and Mainz, Germany, and Central Park, NYC). It occurred to me this weekend that I tend to listen to Crimson the most when I'm in a learning or self-discovery mode. Listening to them is a form of education on both emotional and intellectual levels. There's an exhilarating quality to the sheer muscular power of their music, especially in the '73-'74 lineup with the monstrous rhythm section of John Wetton on bass and Bill Bruford on drums. Inseparably combined with that energy, though, is an edginess, a discomfort, an almost chilling quality to the music. It strains and struggles against its limitations, the grinding of its internal tensions coming through loud and clear. The result is exciting and disturbing, and as such is a good, compact emotional laboratory for life. The result is also, for me, very conducive to focus, concentration, and discipline. Also to self-analysis and responsibility. The philosophical approach of bandleader Robert Fripp has also been a growing influence on me, which is a subject for another time.

Along with providing fuel for general introspection, it also makes me think about my own artistic ideals, which I keep so close and under wraps that I even end up hiding them from myself too much of the time. I think about the ongoing struggles these musicians have engaged in against the mediocrity of mainstream culture and the boundaries of the genres they've worked in, and I ponder the current state of such struggling, and whether I have any potential role in it. I've spent far too much of my time not playing music, not participating in that struggle which is far and away the most meaningful and rewarding to me. The reasons are complicated, too tangled for me to sort out in one session or to try and describe here. But my latest round of Crimson-ing has got me thinking about it. What are my motives, what are my ideals, and what are my options? It's exciting and disturbing at the same time. And I doubt Fripp himself would have it any other way.

Labels: Music

I recently went to this year's Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, TN; it was my first one of these big multi-day music festivals, and it was quite an experience. Overall it was a study in contrasts; a logistical mess that made me feel my age, but also a rich palette of musical artistry and unexpected whimsy.

The trip started off presenting its adversarial face first--drenching storms on my way through St. Louis, then hot and muggy weather at the start of the festival. Figuring things would be pretty well organized and smooth-running on the fourth year of the festival, I was a bit appalled at the general sense of disorder that greeted us on our arrival. Unannounced detours, haphazard routing of vehicles, staff who were largely clueless and unaware of the most basic facts about the grounds and facilities, and lots of items in the printed festival guide that simply didn't match reality. Sure, putting on an event like this is an enormous undertaking, but the routine failures at the most basic level were a source of frustration throughout much of the event.

But enough of the bad side--the good side (apart from my considerable good fortune in having such a beautiful companion) was the fantastic music on display. Indeed, there was really too much to see--with an average of four shows going at any one time, sacrifices had to be made (sorry, Allman Brothers & Black Crowes).

The highlight of the whole festival for us was a rousing, utterly fantastic show by Ray LaMontagne. If you haven't already heard this guy (you may have caught his single "Trouble" on the radio and thought you'd accidentally stumbled across an early-70s-soul station), I recommend you run (or click) right out and look him up. No, really, go ahead; I'll be here when you get back. More than simply a soulful, energetic, and expert performance, what made this one so special was the genuineness and magical in-the-moment quality of the performance. The man himself was humble, subdued, and taken aback by the ecstatic response of the packed crowd. Most of the songs were energized by a slight "winging it" quality; shifts in structure, transitions, and endings were often called or materialized in spontaneous interaction (sometimes visual, sometimes telepathic) between Ray and passionately creative upright bassist Chris Thomas, and there were a couple moments where things teetered on the absolute brink of going off the rails, only to be brought back by the quick-thinking musicians. This "un-canned", searching quality made for an exilhirating and unpredictable experience.

Apart from LaMontagne, other highlights of the festival included a rousing and typically brilliant set from Iron & Wine (one of the best, if not the best, groups in America at the moment); an energetic and grin-inducing set from Josh Ritter; intriguing oddness from Mike Gordon (ex-Phish)'s set with the Benevento/Russo Duo duo; Trey Anastasio's take on the James Gang's "Funk #49"; and an arresting blast of sound and light from The Secret Machines. Non-musical highlights included intriguing info on natural building & living from the Sequatchie Valley Institute, a variety of fruit smoothies, a tent that didn't leak in three days of rain, and the luck to be able to share the whole thing with someone who enriched it all.

Labels: Life, Music

Musidora. A brief touch with the eternal today, the kind of momentary electric rapture that can sustain in lean times. A pair of blue eyes today, sunlit pools of sky, sent my heart singing, and on the drive home my voice joined it. Thrumming energy ran through me all day, making me high, connecting in a rush all the sparking, frayed cables of intensity and drive that provide the separate bursts of motivation that carry us through random tasks, here all bundled for a moment and kicking me like a horse with its summed charge. On that singing drive home I was joined by Steve Kilbey (on CD, though that was incidental) and the wonderful dreaming tension of his words and the heated urgency of the music underneath and between was the perfect echo to my heart.

Catching your awareness of such feelings in time to fully center yourself in the experience of them can be difficult. Fully explaining it, impossible. But this is the best I'm going to do for today. It was a sense of wonder.

I don't expect these kinds of posts to mean anything to anyone but me, but if they remind me, they serve their purpose.

Change is afoot. The spark finally caught this weekend to changes that will thoroughly revamp this whole site. Yes, change is afoot and this will only be the start of it.

Labels: Life, Music

Songs of the Day: Velvet Underground - "Jesus", Wax Poetic - "Tell Me" (feat. Norah Jones), Arild Andersen Trio - "Cinderella Song".

So much flying around the synapses at the moment. I'll have to fire off a few quickies to try and catch them.

Sampling, fair use, and artists' rights. I've been thinking about these topics a bit lately, after reading an article in the last issue of Wax Poetics and downloading the Grey Album put together by DJ Dangermouse. It seems to be a pitched battle between the 'anything goes' fair-use advocates (more info) and rights owners, mostly corporate. On one side you have those who essentially see creative content as part of a vast, connected palette to be used by anyone who chooses. The assembled sounds of thousands of albums over the decades, all raw material for ongoing creativity and experimentation. The other extreme allows no use of a creative work without explicit consent and legal clearance.

What's the answer here? I haven't fully sorted that out for myself. I can understand the motives of both sides but ultimately feel that the truth is somewhere in the middle. So long as artists and those who own the copyrights are properly compensated for use of their work, I don't see much harm in the fair-use doctrine. But as an artist myself, I instinctively support the right of an artist to ultimately control their work. One may not have to get permission to sample, but if the source artist specifically doesn't want their work used in a certain way, their wishes should be respected. Those in favor of extending the concept of compulsory licensing beyond such areas as simple broadcasting and into the unrestricted manipulation of artistic works run the risk of destroying the artist's ownership over their own work. It's true that the current situation is largely a mess, with massive corporate entities dominating the copyright & publishing-rights arena--but I can't help but be nervous about the activists who are trying to dismantle the current music-business model. What makes me nervous is that while they're correctly pointing out the unfair nature of the system--artists give up a lot and get very little in return--they're taking it upon themselves to undermine a system that in fact really does sustain the lives and careers of many musicians. In both the issues of use and distribution, it may be the artists themselves who end up caught in the middle and left in the dust. This is far from resolved.

Ralph Nader. I've been trying to decide what I really think about this guy. On one level, you have to inherently admire someone who so doggedly marches into battle as he does. But overall I find myself sad and disappointed with him. His supporters readily attack people who express those kinds of sentiments, taking a philosophical high ground and condemning those who would sacrifice their ideals to support one of the major political parties. But the truth is that by continuing to mess with presidential politics, Nader himself is undermining and putting at great risk the ideals he's fought for his whole life. He seems obsessed with the notion that two-party politics is the greatest evil facing our world today. He may be right; I don't think he is. One has only to look at how his long-championed causes have suffered under the withering abuse of the Bush administration these last few years to see that he's on a fool's errand.

Since he cannot possibly hope to win the presidency, I choose to believe that he's misguided, and not the only other logical conclusion--that he is intentionally playing spoiler to help show just how bad things will get under the current system. Furthermore, by again coming out of nowhere (what's he been doing these last few years, anyway?) in an attempt to hit some kind of grand slam, he's undermining the very spirit of his personal philosophy--that power should ultimately reside in and come from the people. How so? By ignoring the grass roots. By avoiding the Green Party, he's shown that he didn't believe in them from the start, and as an independent, he's building no kind of practical grass-roots movement. The Ralph Nader we all thought we knew before 2000 would instead be working tirelessly to develop organization and focus at the local level--building a movement from the bottom up that derives its power from shared local energy, not an iconic run for the highest office. His foolish run tricks progressives into hanging their hopes on one man, a cult of personality, rather than making the changes in their own communities that will have meaningful, lasting change. For all of that, Nader has betrayed his ideals, and he's lost my respect. The saddest part is that I agree with him on most all of his issues--but I can't in good conscience support his run. I'm an independent and progressive, but it's Kerry all the way for me. The goodness in this country is being driven out by Bush and it must stop. But, in the interest of democracy, please learn more and decide for yourself.

Sometimes, the internet makes things too easy. Tonight I saw the video that's been in the headlines today--the beheading of that poor American worker in Iraq. I wasn't looking for it--I accidentally stumbled across a link in a discussion forum of an altogether unrelated site, and, doubting its veracity, followed it. And it was the real thing. I'll spare the gentle reader any discussion of it, but its impact on me was unexpected. I didn't realize until it was too late that I had just given away a part of my innocence that I can't get back. I wish I hadn't seen it.

But that's a lousy note to end a day's post on. So instead I'll end on a happy thought. I had lunch yesterday with someone unique in the world, who never fails to give me hope in the goodness and beauty in life. Someone whose mere presence reminds me both of my weaknesses and failures, and of my potential for redemption and transcendence. I'm not worthy but I'm grateful to her.

Labels: Music, Politics

Songs of the Day: Jay-Z - "99 Problems", Ween - "Roses Are Free" (live at Bonnaroo), Patty Griffin - "Blue Sky".

Labels: Music

Songs of the Day: Roy Ayers - "Freaky Deaky", Tinariwen - "Aldachan Manin", Living Colour - "Release the Pressure" (live from Slim's 12/05/01).

Labels: Music

Songs of the Day: I've been worshipping at the altar of Larry Graham's thumb today--it's all about Graham Central Station. I never gave these guys much of a chance, thinking they were "just" an offshoot of Sly & the Family Stone. But recently I decided to dive in and ohh, boy. This is some of the baddest, funkiest music ever made, and Graham's monster bass guitar tone and earthy funkiness instantly catapults him into the upper reaches of my bass heroes (currently guys like Chris Squire of Yes, Dave Pegg of Fairport Convention, the late John Glascock of Jethro Tull, and John Wetton from the early days of King Crimson are up there). What kills me even more is how ahead of their time Graham's outfit was--tracks like "Have Faith in Me" from Now Do U Wanta Dance and "Tell Me What it Is" from Graham Central Station sound like they were beamed back to Graham from the future--they blow my mind. I've been listening to a lot of great 70s soul lately--Slave, Lakeside, Gil Scott-Heron, Instant Funk--and now with Graham, it just keeps getting better.

Dangers of the Atkins Diet: While an alarming number of people jump on the low-carb bandwagon, looking for a silver bullet that will absolve them of discipline and accountability, few seem to be considering the greater cost this will have on the world around us. (Not that this is anything new for our overconsumptive country.) The simple fact is that if a large percentage of our population goes on such low-carb diets, it will wreak havoc in terms of deforestation, pollution, overgrazing, and soil degradation. Everyone looking for a quick fix for their weight problems should pause and consider the larger sustainability issues of their choices. We're all part of a tightly connected system, and the little decisions we make have ripple effects. Please think about them.

On a personal note, I have to say I think the whole Atkins thing is a load of crap. The reason you lose weight on the low-carb diet isn't because of some magic mystery formula--it's because you're exercising discipline. People think they're doing something really clever, but all you're doing is being selective about what you eat and controlling portions. It's just a reshuffling of the same fad diets that have existed for decades. I've been a vegetarian for over 4 years now, and when I started I dropped 25 pounds that I haven't put back on. I'm here to tell you, you don't need animal protein to be healthy and happy. I'm not even close to a model vegetarian, but I'm healthy with low blood pressure, I run 12 miles or so per week, and am alert and active all day at work.

It's just discipline, folks--if you think it's anything else, you're going to end up failing, because you believe it comes from anywhere but inside of you. Having some kind of system is a good thing and can help anyone--heck, I struggle with my diet at times, we all do, and any help is a good thing. But rather than fooling yourself over a hocus-pocus miracle diet, you'd be better off following a more sensible plan like Weight Watchers (which cleverly dumbs down nutritional tracking into an easy-to-follow guide) or better yet, take a good hard look at your priorities and principles, and really learn something about nutrition. While you're at it, I recommend reading up on the benefits of vegetarianism. I don't want this to sound like a lecture--I've still got a lot to learn myself--but I do know that we're all in this together and we need to make choices that benefit not just ourselves, but those far away from us and those yet to come.

Number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq since George W. Bush made his "bring them on" challenge: 557 (764 total to date).

Labels: Music