INTERMISSION

My next post will be on Monday, September 15. Thanks for tuning in to this site. Dan

On High In Blue Tomorrows

Tomorrow I will get up in darkness as usual. I love drinking coffee at 4:30 in the morning. My dog likes it too...not the coffee but the pre-dawn. For her it is the way the back yard smells. It's sorta musty and humid and has scents of night animals. I always crack the back door and take a sniff myself before letting her out. My main issue here is skunks. I actually like the smell of skunk diluted. But a real dose of skunk is quite intolerable. A few years back she took a direct hit of skunk spray and I had to make her stay outside all day. And I had to run to the grocery store to get a couple of quarts of tomato juice and bathe her in that while trying to hold my nose. (Tomato juice seems to be the "fabric refresher" for dogs who ran into skunks.) But, assuming there are no scents of skunk in the pre-morning, I will let her out to sniff and wander. And then, I will turn on this computer to check mail and maybe blog awhile. But this is Labor Day Weekend, so tomorrow I think I will begin my vacation with a post and call it quits until September 15th. I hope that, if you have been following along, or checking in now and then, you will take some time to scroll back and read or listen, or watch things I have posted in the past. Right now I am thinking of opening up another site on the 15th, if I do I will let you know at that time. Any blogs that you go to and leave comments I will know about because they will pop up on my e-mail, and I will respond to these. Right now I have to turn my attention to things like a roof that leaks on my face when it rains, and the coming of cold weather in a couple of months, and where I will put all the plants I need to bring in when the day comes, putting my shop in order, the sharpening and the oiling of tools, and maybe even the using of tools I have abandoned for awhile, so as to play in cyber-space....promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep.

Inuit Throat Singing

Traditionally when the men were away on a hunting trip, the women left at home would entertain themselves with games, which may have involved throat singing. Two women face each other usually in a standing position. One singer leads by setting a short rhythmic pattern, which she repeats leaving brief silent intervals between each repetition. The other singer fills in the gap with another rhythmic pattern. Usually the competition lasts up to three minutes until one of the singers starts to laugh or is left breathless.

At one time, the lips of the two women almost touched, so that one singer used the mouth cavity of the other as a resonator, but this is less common in present day. Often, the singing is accompanied by a shuffling in rhythm from one foot to the other. The sounds may be actual words or nonsense syllables or created during exhalation. (Wickipedia)

"Vivian" , by Edison Woods

Julia Frodahl, lead vocal with vocal support by Noe Venable

Edison Woods, "Nest of Machines"

Edison Woods is an ensemble of musicians whose performances are hard for me to wrap language around. Here are a few words that come to mind: dark and dreamy jazz; magically meloncholic, ambient poetry, and goose bumps that come from a far away place. Julia Frodahl directs the ensemble. This clip from a live performance in Turin, Italy includes a list of the cast of participating artists at the end. So sit back, relax, and get ready to be haunted.



Lyrics:

We can still
Spot the birds
from the city
And below a bus bound for relief
No one sleeps
La da dee da dee da

We’re a nest of machines on an island
Making wings making wings making wings
And the birds are calling as if to say
We know what you hope for

Coo kee kee coo de kee coo de kee
Coo kee kee coo de kee coo kee
Coo kee kee coo de kee coo de kee
La da dee la dee da la da dee

Sprout and The Bean , by Joanna Newsome

The Eliminators, "Commanche"

Good old fashioned surf music performed live in Huntington Beach, California (Surf City, USA), but if you get a creepy feeling listening to it, you are probably having a flashback of a brutal scene in Tarentino's Pulp Fiction....the basement of Zed's pawn shop.

Aliki Vougiouklaki, "Thalassa Platia"

I have no idea how Aliki's last name might be pronounced. Nor do I know what the song, "Thalassa Platia" is about. Aliki was a foremost star in her native land of Greece in the late 50's and into the sixties. Here she is in the film Mantalena (1960)

How Many Ways Can I Piss People off?

First of all, I will vote for Obama, no doubt. I am so sick of the Republican agenda these past 8 years. But secondly, I have to admit, I am disappointed in the Democratic Convention. Impassioned and distinguished figures stepping to the podium, no doubt about it. But they recite the same litany over and over about a platform based on the idea that this country needs a change. I hope Obama takes it, but this is a big missed opportunity as far as I am concerned. The convention conforms so insidiously with the campaigns ( on either side) for the past 40 years or so. I am sorry, but I think it is a real blunder for the Democratic party to step into this boiler-plate formula of convention etiquette when the core of it's message is change. To me, given the momentum of this platform, Obama should have been first to take the mike and announce, "this is going to be a different kind of convention". I do understand this business of people that must be sucked up to in order to swing votes. And so the convention needs women testifying for Obama to appease the pissed off Hillary fans, and so on. I'm just saying, the Democrats, seems to me, have compromised the vision for the protocol. Will I still vote Democratic? Damn straight.

"Rivers and Tides", Andy Goldsworthy

If you haven't seen this documentary about the work of Andy Goldsworthy, I hope you will. As an artist in the post modern world, Goldsworthy struggles to hold onto some involvement and engagement with the the natural environment that is our deliverer, but about which we may not be so contemplative anymore. After all, isn't a piece of meat just something you buy at a store? Many of Goldsworthy's works are short lasting engagements with the forces of nature. And most of the work survives only by documentation. I hope that the cost of our advancing technology is not the larger organic world that sustains us.

P.J. Harvey in concert, "Dress"

P.J. Harvey came up out of England. I don't know too much about her. She has a great voice, and very long legs! She started out as a trio act when she was a teenager. Robert Ellis worked drums then and is shown in this video. Mick Harvey on bass, backed up Nick Cave for quite awhile.

7:00 Am, Jaqueline Taieb (1966)

Jaqueline Taieb was a popular figure in the French pop music of the 60's. Paris and London were undergoing a fashion revolution led by Mary Quant and Vidal Sassoon among others. "7:00 Am" is like an awakening of a girl entering the Mod Generation.

Le Cakewalk Infernal, 1903

George Melies was one of the earliest pioneers to use special effects in cinema. This is an edited clip with "Satan's Cakewalk" music over-dubbed.

Thanks for the heads up, Fay.

I have been blogging since March. It's been an enjoyable pastime. And I appreciate all who have checked in to see what I post. But Labor Day approaching is like an alarm bell in my head. Last night, what was left of tropical storm Fay perched over my house and spilled it's guts. I awoke with the splatter of water on my face from a leak in the ceiling over my bed. This needs attention! And my garden is now a big weedy mess I must address. Plus, I have a few projects I feel like working on. So, I think I will make Labor Day, a day to shift my attention so as to be sitting good for Fall weather, and ready for the Winter to follow. A stitch in time, saves nine. Labor Day is September 1st. So I will post until then, and sign off. I will take two weeks to do other things and return on the 15th of September. Thanks for tuning in, and I will post a few more things between now and then. d.

Touch The Sound

Evelyn Glennie plays Steve Reich

Evelyn Glennie was born in Scotland. Her father played an accordian in a Scottish country band. Evelyn became profoundly deaf at the age of 12, and yet went on the be one of the most widely acclaimed solo percussionists known today. She speaks often as sound being a sense of touch. She plays barefooted frequently in order to feel the vibrations of sound better. This idea of sound as a tactile dimension is central in Thomas Riedlsheimer's documentary about her, "Touch The Sound". This video clip is a montage of sorts, of Evelyn performing "Clapping Music" by Steve Reich.

A Little Prayer, Evelyn Glennie and Fred Frith

from the documentary Touch The Sound by Thomas Riedelsheimer (who also directed Rivers and Tides, about the work of Andy Goldsworthy). Here Evelyn Glennie is recorded improvising with Fred Frith in an old sugar factory in Germany. Fred Frith was a founding member of a 70's avant-garde rock group known as Henry Cow, and then later in a band known as Art Bears...both bands delivered music with political and societal messages. And both bands often called upon the vocal talent of Dagmar Krause also featured on this page.

A Little Prayer, Evelyn Glennie and Fred Frith

Ana Karakasheva dancing in Palma, Spain

Ana dancing to two hang-drums and a tabla.

Dagmar Krause

Dagmar Krause was the lead vocalist of an Avant-pop trio known as Slapp Happy. (Early 70's, Europe) She could do some stange things with her vocal deliveries that you might say bordered on the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard. But here is Dagmar in a film noir kind of melodramatic mood. I am not sure if this a Slapp Happy piece or not, since that band consisted only of Krause - vocals, Anthony Moore on piano, and Peter Blegvad, guitar. Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht (of Three Penny Opera fame) wrote a play called Happy End. It was not a success. A few songs from the play are still performed from time to time. Surabaya, Johnny was one of those. I was hoping to find Meryl Streep doing a version, since she performed in Happy End on Broadway (or off Broadway?) a number of years ago. No luck. Mostly the song is performed in French or German. But here's Dagmar Krause giving you the English version.

"Take that damn pipe out of your mouth, you rat!" Dagmar Krause

Persian Love, Holger Czukay

Holger Czukay was born in Germany in the early days of World War II. He must be in his mid70s by now. Looking back on his involvement in music in the 60's and 70's, he can be viewed now as a pioneer in a number of ways. As a bass player and engineer for Can, an eclectic ensemble that incorporated world music and minimalist composition into their performances, Czukay went on to step it up a notch with his interest in found sounds on short wave radio. He would record these onto tape and compose music around them. Of course, this was all pre-digital and before the many kinds of remix and mash music that is popular today. For Czukay, it amounted to endless cutting and splicing of magnetic tape to come up with the final sound. Persian Love was not his first of such blends, but the first one I heard while listening to a world music compilation on vinyl that came out in the early 80's. I think it precedes such music as found on the My Life In The Bush of Ghosts LP by David Byrne and Brian Eno. (An album of music wherein found radio broadcasts were overlaid with original musical scores.) The video shown here is of still photos of Can, the place where it it all started. I haven't heard Radio Wave Surfer which came out in the late 80s. But I'd like to find it. It is my understanding that it consists of musical compositions wherein the short wave radio is incorporated as a live interactive instrument.

Holger Czukay, Persian Love

Demon In Disguise, David Bromberg

In the 60's David Bromberg was attending Columbia and also working on his guitar proficiency. He started hanging out with the Reverend Gary Davis who had migrated up from the south and landed in Harlem. David picked up on the Reverend's bluesy finger picking style ,and later mixed rhythm and lead up a bit as he moved through quirky vocal deliveries. In 1972 he released an LP called Demon In Disguise. I got to see him a couple of times when he played some Chicago clubs. He was a kind of likable oddity. He looked out of place when he came on stage, as though he just walked out of some dark stacks in the Columbia library and dropped by to sing a song. He had an amazing proficiency with the guitar and had a dramatic way of under-stating it as he delivered some outstanding songs. This clip is from a live performance in 1985, backed up on harmonica by John Sebastian.

Demon In Disguise

What's Missing From This Picture?

Yep, Shirley, the baby squirrel has graduated from my make-shift squirrel neonatal unit and is entering a training program sponsored by the State Wildlife Association and she has her own personal squirrel re-habber to facilitate her further growth and re-acquaint her with what it means to be a wild squirrel. Soon she will forget that once she lived in a house with some guy that kept calling her Shirley. But you know, what goes around, comes around. And who knows? Maybe some distant day in the future, Shirley may be perched in a tree cracking nuts, and see a human staggering down the side walk and then fall lifeless to the ground. And maybe something will click in her little squirrel brain, and she will scamper down the tree and run over to the lifeless form and climb up on it, and stand on her hind legs and flag down a passing motorist. And thus, in her own squirrely way she will facilitate this person's admission to a re-hab program somewhere. Stranger things have happened....or maybe not. But anyway, as long as she doesn't turn into one of those Geico squirrels getting her kicks scaring motorists by running out into the street in front of them, I will be happy.

Teach Your Children, The Castillo Kids

Julie 8, Jessie 10, and Joey 12 My favorite Youtube troubadours !

Shirley, for the time being....

At first, I was thinking that if I was to be caring for this squirrel for any long length of time, I would ask blog readers to help me name her. But, since I think this baby will be going to a new home tomorrow, I decided to call her Shirley, for the time being. I am fairly sure she is a girl squirrel...but I could be wrong. I got up twice in the night to give more fluid and I think I have made a gain on the hydration problem. On the second feeding, she really didn't want to get up and tried to stay curled up in a little ball in my hand. I did manage to get a drop of fluid into her. And then returned her to bed so she could get her 'beauty sleep'. Yesterday, I found a wildlife re-habber in my part of the country and sent her an e-mail. She called a few hours later. As it turns out many of these re-habbers work on a volunteer basis for the love of nature. Luanne, as it turns out specializes in re-habbing song birds. But she gave me a number of someone else about 30 miles away who specializes in squirrels. So I am waiting for a call back from her, in hopes of putting Shirley in a most helpful environment. For squirrels in isolation, socialization with other squirrels is difficult once returned to the wild. So, I am hoping that tomorrow, I can get Shirley to a place where she can grow up with other little lost squirrels, and find a boyfriend, and get married, and have little squirrel babies of her own. First, I have to get her through today and tonight. Wish me luck.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things, Julie Andrews

A classic song by Julie Andrews from The Sound Of Music. At risk of being a conspiracy nut, let us take a closer look at what she was really singing about. A rare clip of the performance before it was edited to get a PG rating.

What A Difference A Day Makes, Dinah Washington

featured in a brief but meaningful clip from the film, Run Lola Run...starring Franka Potente...she is hard to miss in this movie...she has florescent red hair and seems born to run.

Gray ('Squirrel's) Anatomy

Progress Report: Jane (Squirrel) Doe has improved since this morning when her body temperature seemed low (cool to the touch). Also feeding technique has improved by bringing a baby syringe into the picture. (Thanks to my sis for getting me one of those when she went shopping this morning.) Also, I am getting better at holding the patient's head between my forefinger and my thumb while cupping her body in my palm. The syringe is calibrated, so I now know exactly how much fluid is being administered. A baby squirrel of her age (approx 2-3 weeks) needs about 1 cc of fluid every 2 hours. This is not a feeding schedule at this point, it is a re-hydration schedule. If I take the baby squirrel's skin along her back and gently pinch it into a fold between finger and thumb, it should quickly flatten and form back to the body. If, upon release of the fold, it lingers and then slowly returns to normal...that is dehydration. (I am just telling you this in case you find yourself one day in a similar situation...walking along and then suddenly, a baby squirrel you almost stepped on enters your life.) And now, for more than you ever wanted to know about baby squirrels: They don't find that peeing and pooping come naturally. I am not sure how the mother squirrel helps this process along, but I have learned that a warm wet q-tip gently applied to the baby's anus and ambiguous looking genitalia stimulates this process. This usually gets results. 48 hours ago, it never entered my mind, what a baby squirrel's poop should look like. And now it preoccupies me. What a difference a day makes!

Baby Squirrel Update

I have been looking for a wildlife rehabber to help this baby, and currently waiting for e-mail response. Today I will call Tennessee Wildlife for help in locating help in - or near - my county. This morning the baby's body temperatue does not feel as warm as before, so that has me worried. Right now she is inside a cotton sock that rests in a container of leaves. The container sits on a double folded towel over a heating pad set on low heat. I have a small table lamp next to the container to provide some bulb heat from overhead. Room temperature is 81.

I Scare Myself, Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks

Dan Hicks was one of my favorite musicians in the mid-seventies, and that says a lot since there was a lot of music going on then. But Dan Hicks had the groovy kind of sound that took you out of your particular time zone. When I first heard him, I imagined him as a lounge singer in some dark dive of a lounge in Palm Beach, Florida - post Korean War. I don't know that he ever played Palm Beach. He was mostly West Coast. While he is the writer and lead singer, I tend to think of him more in forties and fifties terms as a band leader. Over the years he has always been backed by an incredible and ever-changing troupe of talented musicians. My favorite combo was with Sid Paige on violin, and Naomi Eisenberg and Maryann Price on background vocals. (The 'Lickettes') None of these are on this video. But Dan Hicks can perform this awesome song in his sleep with whoever might be there on a particular gig. He can do all that and chew gum too.
I Scare Myself, Dan Hicks

The Creature Between my Finger and my Thumb

She just had some liquid to drink, and then a paint-brush bath of sorts. She can't see, and I am not sure if she can hear since her ears are still seemingly glued to her head. But she does know, I suppose, that when she is held like this, she gets a couple of drops of Gatorade. All ready for another nap. And now I can go to Youtube to look at squirrels. Or maybe find a tune by the Squirrel Nut Zippers.

Squirrel Nut Zippers, Put A Lid On It.

Quite a talented and wacky bunch to come out of the Carolinas in 1993. I got to see them early on ('94) in Nashville, at Robert's Western Wear, a somewhat famous little joint on lower Broadway, just next door to Tootsie's Orchid Lounge. They had a nice sense of theater and costume that reminded me of the early days of Dan Hicks and the Hot licks. Camp and retro jazz...especially swing.
Put A Lid On It, Squirrel Nut Zippers, 1997

My Squirrelly Situation

Well, the baby squirrel survived the night in Mallory's fishbowl curled up inside a cotton sock I stayed up until midnight giving him/her drops of orange Gatorade. to treat for dehydration. Repeated this routine at 2am then again at 4:30am and since then hourly. Each time I reach inside the sock to fetch him/her for feeding I half expect to find a little dead squirrel, but he/she is hanging on. At this point I consider this a female squirrel. I am on-line between feedings, looking for helpful hints for dealing with baby squirrels, and I have made this tentative gender identification. Right now she is here on my computer desk inside the sock which now rests in a little wire basket, which in turn rests on a heating pad set at low. Besides dehydration, the next worst thing is for a baby squirrel to be cold. So I have cut off the AC so as to avoid drafts and it is currently 84 in the house and I am sitting here typing in my underwear. It's amazing what a guy will do for a cute squirrelly girl! Actually I am rather matter of fact about all of this. Fact is, if I hadn't picked her up off the driveway she'd be dead by now. And right now she is in a pretty cushy womb-like environment. If she dies, it will be more peacefully than being eaten by the stray cats around here. I estimate her at 2-3 weeks old. Her ears are still pinned flat to her head and she may not open her eyes for another week or more depending how accurate my age assessment is. Her poops are the size and color of poppy seeds...not good...a sign of dehydration. So I am looking for better poop.! I have to give her some fluid in a few minutes and after that a sponge bath. Well, actually not a sponge bath. Q-tips are recommended, but I don't have any. So a bowl of luke-warm water and a No.10 red sable water color brush will be the best attention I can provide for now. Anyway, nature calls, so more later.

Born Again Squirrel

At first I thought he was a dead mouse. I found him on my gravelly drive-way while going to check the mail. Just a few inches long and lifeless. But when I poked him with my finger he wiggled and squirmed. Since then I have been trying to keep him warm and hydrated. It is an emotional sort of study, since he seems to want to live. Right now I have created a new womb for him or her as the case may be. And I feed this little thing that wants to live with a kind of eye dropper dispensing droplets of Gatorade. Funny, I know, but it is the next best thing to pedialyte for a baby squirrel. Right now, he (or she) is sleeping soundly in a soft white cotton sock I have doubled over to make a nest or womb for him. The sock sits right next to this keyboard. I know where he fell from and it is some 30 feet up on a branch of a White Oak tree that overhangs the driveway. How he survived that fall and landed on rock, I don't know. I've been feeding him hourly since 4pm. It is going on 11pm now. I don't know what else to do. I couldn't very well step over him and say " tough luck, dude". Here are a couple of baby pictures. He may not live the night out. But I am trying my best to make it happen for him. It's not like he is an endangered species or anything. But, it seems he wants to live, so I guess I will try to help. I sorta dread falling asleep tonight and waking in the morning. I will probably get up numerous times. How could you not? If I can get him over his disastrous fall, I will bring him up awhile, and then turn him back to the trees he came from.

5,6,7,8s sing "I'm Blue"

The 5,6,7,8s are a Japanese rock-a-billy trio that played as a popular club act in Tokyo. They covered American pop, rock, and be-bop from the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80s...which is how they came up with their name...5,6,7,8s. When Quentin Tarentino was scouting locations and setting up for the filming of Kill Bill I, he was in a clothing store and heard the band on the store's P.A system. He subsequently tracked them down and put them in the movie. They are shown in the film singing 'Woo Hoo" ( which one can catch snippets of on numerous television commercials), and also a portion of "I'm Blue". Here they are performing "I'm Blue" for members of the crew while on location shooting Kill Bill I. And, I do believe Tarentino is out there on the dance floor shaking it like all the rest.

Journeyman Pictures.

I discovered Journeyman Pictures while surfing Youtube for features about China. Journeyman Pictures is London's leading distributor of topical news features and documentaries. They had posted a documentary entitled "The Great Firewall of China." It is an overview of censorship in China, and includes some insights into deals of the government with Google/China and Yahoo/China that include sanctioning of the government's censorship policies. The piece is about 20 minutes long, and includes some interesting discussion of guerilla blogging as a rising trend enabling information out of China or into China to circumvent the "Great Firewall". I would show the feature except that embedding is disabled. (Oh, the irony!) You can find the documentary by typing The Great Firewall of China when you go to Youtube. It interesting to check out, since you can then click on Journeymanpictures who posted the footage, and see their catalog of other features from around the world.

Silly Me!

All these past several months with tensions building between Russia and Georgia, I was wondering why Condoleeza hadn't gone gone over there in the interest of peace. I am ashamed of myself. All this while, Rice was working over-time on a ten missile defense system deal with Poland. Of course, this missile installation about 100 miles from the Russian border has nothing to do with Russia. Who could be so paranoid as to think such a thing? Russia, maybe? I'm not taking sides with Russia, but it does seem that the idea of multi-national peace talks has been lost along the way, and we are back to walking softly (tiptoeing, even) and carrying a big stick; in this case, ten big sticks. I suppose now, the next step might be the sinister game of 'my stick is bigger than your stick.' But what do I know?

The Agony, The Ecstacy, and the Politics Too

I've loved watching the Olympics. All the excellence in sport coming together from all around the world. Spectacular! Michael Phelps! Nastia Luikin! Misty May Traener and Kerry Walsh! Usain Bolt?!!! American news media is loaded with up - close and personal stories of our Olympians. And they are truly wonderful tales of sacrifice and commitment. Some of these are agony stories, but mostly we favor the ecstasy. Best of all are the stories of injury and hardship, and struggle and the overcoming of these to be here now on the podium holding gold. Mainstream media loves to turn these portraits that have some reality to them, into soap operas...cut to commercial. Meanwhile Russia and Georgia are at each other's throats. News of that? No hard information, really just governmental attitude from our country mostly indicting Russia. But what do we know, really? All our journalists seem to be partying in Beijing. I take no sides but do notice the absence of coverage. South Ossetia, a province of the Democratic Georgia was already having issues with it's homeland. Both the province of Abhkazia and the province of South Ossetia view themselves as break-away republics seeking their own sovereignty. This is not as yet recognized internationally. The province borders Russia. So Georgia gets nervous and tries to reclaim this alienated province, and Russia thinks, it is time to pull Ossetia to the other side of the line. This tension has been going on for quite awhile. But it doesn't make much news. In fact, Condaleeza Rice, who "supposedly" specializes in U.S.- Russia relations offered no diplomacy along the way to re-direct this stupid show-down. And it is costing lives, but who gives a shit when we are counting gold in Beijing? Meanwhile, have you seen an American journalist from Beijing doing a piece on the China-Tibet problem? Me, either. I don't know all the answers, but it's obvious,mainstream journalists in America, don't even want to look at the questions.
What seems sad is the passivity of the American people and the consequent inability to look deeper than the personality cult we've become addicted to. I have two links on the side bar (scroll down) that offer some journalism about things going down these days. Global Voices is awesome, but you have to work to find your way on this site. Basically, they pick up blogger information from people in various countries where shit is going down, translate it to English, and give you a picture of what it looks like from their point of view. Truthout offers some of what's left of independent journalism. But it is a somewhat tedious exercise to go to these and other sources to look look into matters. And that is the rub, the passive resignation to whatever mainstream media wants to feed us. If you know of other sites where one can get information about what is really going down, I would like to know about them, because the only thing that seems half-ass honest on tv is the daily weather report. And that is about 60% reliable.

The beat goes on.

It's hard to keep up with things at my age, my brain cells are flaking off like dandruff. In fact, dandruff may be the way that dying brain cells make their way to the surface. Ever think about that? Well, I did. Yesterday. I was watching some tv show about people "being touched by an angel". And I am so jealous because no angel has touched me yet. I had a close encounter at a strip joint once. Suffice it to say, there was no touching.
Anyway it seems now that people aren't getting touched by angels so much. Instead, they are having "epiphanies".
An epiphany, it seems, is one of those weird little moments when some light bulb goes "blink"! And there is this sudden clarity about life and reality. Actually, I had one of these epiphany things just the other day. I left the house to hop into my truck, but all of a sudden I see I have a flat tire. I stared despondently at it for several minutes. I guess I was hoping I might get touched by an angel then, or if the angel didn't touch me, maybe she would just patch my tire. But this was when I had my epiphany. Life can really suck all of a sudden.

The Medium Is Still The Message

Image I kidnapped from a cool Youtube video from Nate and "The Happy Prescriptions". I don't have GPS, but I think this came out of Brooklyn.

Playing The Building, David Byrne

David Byrne is first associated with Talking Heads I suppose. Amazing music in it's time. And the stuff they cranked out still stands the test of time. Byrne is also known for his collaborations with Brian Eno as in My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts LP, wherein found sounds from the likes of radio broadcasts of evangelists, mediated political raps, music from other lands, and so on got mixed and mashed to create some pretty amazing musical tapestry. He also did some pretty cool stuff with Twyla Tharp dancers (The Catherine Wheel).
Playing The Building was a site-specific sound installation he staged in the 9,000 s.f. Battery Maritime Building in lower Manhattan. There are several things that are cool about this installation. First of all, the idea of making the environment itself the instrument. He places an electric organ on the empty 2nd floor and re-wires every key such that it attaches to the architecture of the space. Lines run out of the organ and attach to small motors strapped to such building elements as metal beams, columns, plumbing pipes, electrical conduit and so on. Secondly, rather than trying to compose in this context, Byrne opens the exhibit as participatory art. People visiting the show could sit down at the organ and Play The Building. Byrne explains the idea:

The audience makes the music

from David Byrne's Playing The Building installation

Jersey Girl

This song has been covered by Springsteen, Bon Jovi, and others. But Tom Waits wrote it, and sings it best. And I sometimes wonder if it isn't about Ricki Lee Jones. The sweet thing about it, is that it is one of those love crush songs that anyone who has ever fallen madly in love with someone knows. The way such a crush re-orders your life, and there is this restless longing and desire to be with that person, and how you would do just about anything it takes to be there. Jersey Girl, Tom Waits

Adam Solitaire

Manipulation of a black and white found photo, on the back of which was written "Adam Solitaire". Adam Solitaire is one of the earliest writings of John Huston. A play that found it's way to Broadway in the late 1920s. Huston was actually in his twenties at the time. So what I deduce (my dear Watson) is that this photo was taken of some performance of the play, although not from that era. Most likely it is from the fifties. A press photo for some Playhouse production somewhere else in time. It does bear, on the backside, handwritten instructions for cropping and also the photographer's stamp: "Please credit: Francis Bruggiere", the photographer. So, anyway, Francis, I found your photo at a flea market. I cropped it, and re-shot it on my phone cam (- set to 'negative') , then sent it to my computer, and re-shot it with my phone cam (on 'solarization') . I know, kind of a weird thing to do, but it is 2008, and we do a lot of weird things with our time these days.

The Galaxy Song, Eric Idle

A little bit of relativity from Monty Python's, The Meaning of Life (1983)

Channeling Dylan Thomas

Amanda Palmer, "Runs In The Family"

Off her soon-to-be-released CD: " Who Killed Amanda Palmer?",produced by Ben Folds. Video directed by Michael Pope. If you haven't heard this song or seen this video...let's just say, it's on the intense side.

Sunrise on Pike's Peak

3 1/2"X5 1/2" Post card collage. D's M.

After The Goldrush, Neil Young

In the original version (1970) there was this line "look at mother nature on the run in the 1970's", so this is a later performance of course because the line now is "look at mother nature on the run in the 20th century". Neil Young still sings this dreamy song, except it now is "....on the run in the 21st century." Toward the end of the song, he sings "and I dreamed I saw a silver spaceship flying in the yellow haze of the sun."....and a line or two later, "...the loading had begun, we were flying mother nature's silver seed to a new home in the sun." Interestingly enough, Jefferson Starship had an escape plan all figured out, in their LP, Blows Against The Empire, which also was released in 1970. Seems like a lot of young people were having the same idea. I don't think there is much out there of a sociological, or cultural anthropological nature on the dis-banding counter-culture of the post 60s, but I do remember everybody seeming to want to go somewhere else. And I was one of those.

After The Goldrush, Neil Young

Blows Against The Empire

I still have the original 1970 issue on vinyl of this psychedelic classic by Paul Kantner and with Grace Slick collaborating.
Jefferson Airplane had inspired a lot of escapism through it's hypnotic rock...White Rabbit being a pivotal piece wherein Alice became the pied piper of hallucinatory experience. Not all escapism is bad. If a Mack truck is coming at you in high gear, it is best you get off the street....fast. Ditto the prospect of bullets, bombs, and napalm, or even the thought that such was going on. The only sad thing about it to me, was that while the government publicly condemned the use of pot and hallucinatory substances, drug enforcement was at an all time low. Why? Because a drugged out counter-culture loses it's activist edge, kicks back and grooves on escapist music. So, while the Woodstock phenomenon and The Summer of Love still had it's idealistic and even utopian draw, by 1970 many just wanted to get the hell out of here. And by 1970 even Jefferson Airplane was coming apart. Paul Kantner, a big fan of Robert Heinlein, science fiction author, began developing a concept which he had his first thoughts about while reading Heinlein's "Methusalah's Children". The idea had to do with a rag-tag counter-culture gang hijacking a government starship which would be ready to launch circa 1980. (This was cool, because it gave us doped up hippies a whole decade to plan just how we would pull this off!)
Anyway, the Blows Against The Empire album came together and all sorts of people were on it in addition to some members of the crumbling Jefferson Airplane. The concept album gave birth to a re-vamped Airplane, which was now the Jefferson Starship. The album needs to be listened to in it's entirety. But I will take you past the part where they hijack the starship, and have escaped the earth's pull. I got it off of youtube, and it features some footage of Paul Kantner performing at his 65th birthday party and includes some clever audio mashing with the original sound, plus some psychedelic imagery in case you are still on drugs and waiting for the ship to come in.

Have You Seen The Stars Tonight?

Regina Spektor, Fidelity

Millions have heard this and fallen in love with both the song and the singer. If you are one of those, then it's nostalgia day for you and me. Video by Marc Webb. (Also coming soon to a radio near the dashboard in your car or truck, Regina and Ben Folds singing "You Don't Know Me" from Ben Folds "Way To Normal" cd scheduled for release late September.)

Regina Spektor, Fidelity

Blue Monday

What I need today is something to boost my spirits....like the Go Gos maybe...they got the beat...Ooh, better yet, the Castillo Kids cover the Go Gos! OK, here's Julie, age 6, lead vocal; Jessie, 8, piano; and Joey, 10 on guitar.

If Dogs Run Free

Bob Dylan, from the New Morning LP

Maggie Died Today

It was about 1992 or thereabouts, I was working a lot in the woods. Back in a hollow where there was a home-made sawmill. I love wood, and so I went there a lot, to hang out with the sawyer, Bud. Eventually I lived out there for a number of months in a shack, just to have this access to freshly cut wood. It turns out this little place was somewhat lost in time. Bud was reclusive. But the story of Brush Creek Hollow, is another story altogether. Suffice it to say that an abandoned dog wandered into the hollow and made a place for herself under Bud's shack. She was pregnant. She was a black and white border collie. Bud named her Ma-Dog. She had a litter of 5 or 6 pups, I don't remember exactly. But one day the little pups came wandering out into the sunlight. They were all cuddly and delightful. And there was one in particular that caught my eye. She was marked like Ma-Dog, except she was with reddish fur instead of her mother's black. Ma-Dog was a good mother, but once she had weaned her pups, she disappeared. By this time, I had taken an apartment in the city. And I took this pup with me.
I wanted to surprise my young son with this little fur ball. We named her Maggie. Maggie Tail So Waggy to give you her full name , for the record. And now she was into the city life and my son and I had fun doing videos of her. But, I was living some kind of semi-nomadic life at the time. And I needed to go to New Mexico on a project that would take several months. So Maggie went to live with my girlfriend at the time, Kathy. Kathy remains one of my favorite people because of her heart and her sense of art. By the time I returned, Maggie and Kathy were so bonded that it was obvious they should stay on together.
Maggie was an awesome dog in her prime. When she ran she was like a deer. She bounded on all fours. Boing..boing...boing..through tall grass. A sight to see. And she lived her life out as Kathy's devoted pal. Kathy was the perfect one for Maggie. They took care of each other. I visited over the years. Maggie always remembered me.
And so today she died. Frail and ready to go at 15 years...some 105 years in human terms. The photo is by Kathy of Maggie in her prime, exploring Brush Creek.

Cologne, Ben Folds

An "official" video off the Way To Normal CD to be released this Fall. It is a piece of Ben Folds music theater featuring Ben Folds on piano and vocals, Jared Reynolds, bass player, as choral conductor, Sam Smith on drum, "Tambo Man" on tambourine, un-named choral singers and backfield piano players. Video producer Neil Berger as MC of the " Musik Berger " Show. The cat remains un-identified at this time. Maybe a stray.

You Don't Know Me, Ben Folds

I guess you might call this an "unofficial' video produced by fans. The song is from the forthcoming Way To Normal CD (September 30 release) and features Regina Spektor singing with Ben. A nicely done little video from origin unknown.

Amanda Palmer, live in Chicago

Here is Amanda opening her show at the Lakeshore Theater with a colorful tribute to Ben Folds who produced her forthcoming CD "Who Killed Amanda Palmer?' ( a subtle play off of David Lynch's Twin Peaks series wherein who killed Laura Palmer was an on-going theme.) Here Amanda, lip-synchs "Cologne" from the forthcoming Ben Folds CD, "Way To Normal". Anyway, nobody really killed Amanda Palmer and here she is live:

Nico (for Leni)

The Smell Of The Hard Sell

I got up pre-dawn as usual. Four a.m. It gives me a few hours to putter around before I have to meet the requirements of daytime. And I started out thinking about Ballet mecanique which I posted a day or so ago. And I was surfing around on Youtube about that period in Paris (the 1920's) And it occurred to me to see what there was on Man Ray. He was an avant garde photographer in those times. But you know how those related videos appear. And I got interested in his connection with Coco Chanel. He turned some coin shooting some fashion photography for Coco. I will post on Man Ray's experimental work tomorrow. Because now I am into the world of fashion and perfume and all that jazz. And I am on my second cup of coffee, and it is only 5a.m. Sun won't show up for another hour. Plenty of time to watch beautiful women make lots of money selling perfume. Perfume is, of course, a thing that can't be smelled by sniffing the tv screen. At least, not yet. So it 's hard work to convey in words and pictures , the smell you need to buy and wear. So the following videos are about selling smell on a visual medium.

Classique, Jean Paul Gaultier

I can't tell you much about this video...the text was in Italian. Maybe you should ask Alice, when she is 10 feet tall.

Valentino's Rock n' Rose

"introducing a fragrance inspired by a new generation of Valentino women....a rose on the outside, and a 'rocker' on the inside." Mona Johanneson, model.

Midnight Poison

This is how you sell a new fragrance by Christian Dior. Starring Eva Green, actress/model; directed by Wong Kar-Wal

"work it, baby..work it..."

This clip is listed as from 1983...but I think it may actually have been from the 1987 film entitled Portfolio which was an expose of sorts on the inside world of modeling. There was also a 1984 docudrama by the same name, it might have come from there as well. I don't know. I haven't seen either. But the clip is an amusing picture of noted fashion photographer Steven Meisel ( Madonna's photographer for her book some years later) coaching models on a shoot. Work it, baby....

Who's on First?

This is the original 1940's gag by Abbott and Costello. This is how Vaudeville played it's way into early films. It is followed by a more up-to-date version.

History repeats itself.

Conversation between George Bush and Condaleeza Rice....based on a gag routine of Abbott and Costello (Who's on First?) re-written for the current times by James Sherman.

"Who's On First" - - revisited

Condi! Nice to see you. What's happening?
Sir, I have the report here about the new leader of China.
Great. Lay it on me.
Hu is the new leader of China.
That's what I want to know.
That's what I'm telling you.
That's what I'm asking you. Who is the new leader of China?
Yes.
I mean the fellow's name.
Hu.
The guy in China.
Hu.
The new leader of China.
Hu.
The main man in China!
Hu is leading China.
Now whaddya' asking me for?
I'm telling you, Hu is leading China.
Well, I'm asking you. Who is leading China?
That's the man's name.
That's who's name?
Yes.
Will you, or will you not,
tell me the name of the new leader of China?
Yes, sir.
Yassir? Yassir Arafat is in China?
I thought he's dead in the Middle East.
That's correct.
Then who is in China?
Yes, sir.
Yassir is in China?
No, sir.
Then who is?
Yes, sir.
Yassir?
No, sir.
Look Condi. I need to know the name of the new leader of China.
Get me the Secretary General of the U.N. on the phone.
Kofi?
No, thanks.
You want Kofi?
No.
You don't want Kofi.
No. But now that you mention it, I could use a glass of milk.
And then get me the U.N.
Yes, sir.
Not Yassir! The guy at the U.N.
Kofi?
Milk! Will you please make the call?
And call who?
Who is the guy at the U.N?
Hu is the guy in China
Will you stay out of China?!
Yes, sir.
And stay out of the Middle East! Just get me the guy at the U.N.
Kofi.
All right! With cream and two sugars.

Just Being Here Now

One moves through childhood and education, and growing up, and more education... and adulthood. It is a road as long as the number of your years of a gaining literacy...a sense of history; it is all positive acceleration and the more you know, the more you want to know, and the hungrier you are for what is not known yet. And somewhere along the line there is a leveling off...and it is not because you have learned it all, it is that you have learned a lot, but still can't see what it adds up to. Is that what they call the mid-life crisis? I don't know, because I am over that now. I do look back down the road I traveled. And, yes, there are fond reminiscences. And there is, as well, the seeing of how many holes there were in the road I relentlessly ran. Should I go back and fill them, these potholes in my life? No. I think I would like to be in this present. Not using it to get somewhere else. I think I just want to be here now. I close the back door to keep out the flies. The breeze through the screened window gives me goosebumps. My dog nudges my arm with her cold wet nose. I scratch her head. And then I scratch mine.

Piano Phase, Steve Reich

Piano Phase is a composition for two pianos. Here Peter Aidu performs the piece solo.

Steve Reich on Phase Patterns

An excerpt from an out-of print documentary about Steve Reich. Here he discusses the evolution of his work from tape patterns and tape loops to the performance of such pieces live by musicians in real time.

The State of Things, Wim Wenders

Trailer for the film "Der Stand der Dinge" by Wim Wenders, featuring music by the Del Byzanteenz. (John Lurie on sax)

Ballet mecanique

Once upon a time, long, long ago..1924.. in a land far, far away..Paris..there was a simmering stew pot on the stove. A cauldron of artists, writers, poets, film-makers being stirred by the big spoon of change. Dudley Murphy, an early film maker and Fernand Leger, also a film maker (and one of my favorite painters) envisioned a film and then went on to co-direct it. It stands today as a masterpiece in early experimental film: "Ballet mecanique." While the film seems to begin and end in pastoral and romantic images....a young woman happily swinging on a swing, and later, posing by the Lilac bush, virtually all imagery in between speaks of the mechanization and industrialization of life. The film was about 16 minutes long. All it needed was musical accompaniment.
Enter George Anthell. He moved to Paris just in time. He had just completed a European tour playing Chopin to mixed reviews. It seems the 23 year old had a habit of pounding the piano rather than playing it. Upon meeting Leger and Murphy he was in perfect synch with their ideas and composed a score for the film. And it was a rather insane kind of music for his time. The music called for 8 player pianos to play amidst the sounds of fans being struck by sticks and pieces of leather, along with bells, whistles, and sirens going off. Really brilliant. The piece turned out to be twice as long as the film and in the film's debut it was not used. (Anthell, nevertheless, is still included in the closing credits of the film) It wasn't until the 1990's that editing technology enabled a way of marrying the original film to an abridged version of Anthell's music.
You can learn much more about this if you are interested. Suffice it to say both film and music here foretell the sounds and imagery that were yet to come.

Ballet mecanique....in two parts.

Part One

Part Two

Sport Stacking

While this is not yet an Olympic event, it is still fun to watch. This is World champion Steven Puruggunan, age 10 performing the 3-6-3 in 6.21 seconds. ( A cycle of stacking 3 cups, then 6 cups, then 3 cups) Here is Steven in competition at the World Sport Stacking Competition in Denver, Colorado.

Sad Song, Au Revoir Simone

Well, this is a heartbreaker. Three cute gals plan a party and nobody shows up.

Doctor, My Eyes"

Jackson Browne wrote a lot of good songs. This is one of my favorites. It was on his debut album in the 70's. You can see him on Youtube performing it, I'm just posting the lyrics.

Doctor, My Eyes...

Doctor, my eyes have seen the years
And the slow parade of fears without crying
Now I want to understand

I have done all that I could
To see the evil and the good without hiding
You must help me if you can

Doctor, my eyes
Tell me what is wrong
Was I unwise to leave them open for so long?

cause I have wandered through this world
And as each moment has unfurled
Ive been waiting to awaken from these dreams
People go just where they will
I never noticed them until I got this feeling
That its later than it seems

Doctor, my eyes
Tell me what you see
I hear their cries
Just say if its too late for me

Doctor, my eyes
Cannot see the sky
Is this the prize for having learned how not to cry ?

"Creep"

I guess today is Amanda Palmer day. Here she performs a Radiohead classic at the Middle East in Boston. Nice video capture by somebody of Amanda doing it cabaret style.

The Living Room by Amanda Palmer

The Living Room is an emotionally powerful and mournful song written by Amanda Palmer in the aftermath of the sudden death of her friend, Ben Chappel. (2006?) Amanda met Ben when he arranged to do an interview with her for an article in The Gothamist. He never wrote the article. But they did meet and became good friends. Amanda's grief seems apparent in both the lyrics and her delivery of this song.

The Living Room by Amanda Palmer
Forty seven strings are pulled by this angelic beating girl, and it breaks our hearts to hear the music that comes out of her. Shoulders hang on folding chairs - this will be our church tonight - we have dug out foxholes to be here; not an atheist in sight. Laughing, shaking, taking oaths, breaking sacramental cups, we pour the magic in our coats, thinking it can leave with us. But it's the wrong way out. Twenty steps, but it's so harming when they talk out loud -bend to brace your fingers on me. I've been breathing evil air, sharing needles with the sky, looking up remembering; Regina said they are just old light. But you somehow understood my over-saturated skin; you held your hand up to my neck, and played me like a theramin. I see London, I see France - and all the things that we won't do. And if I never leave this chair, maybe I can go with you. But it is a long way out. Twenty steps, but it's so harming when they talk out loud -bend to brace your fingers on me. It's a long way out, past the bar and past the awning, past the easy crowd, back into the end. We have found our solace here in this unexpected place. Like a startled dying man kneels in prayer, just in case. And while the night sky sadly lit all that you were sleeping through, death took my friend Benjamin - but he left his keys with you. So I'll kiss the air instead, as not to disturb his sleep. And if you never wake, my love, maybe you can come with me. But it's a long way out. Twenty steps, but it's so harming when they talk out loud -bend to brace your fingers on me. It's a long way out, past the bar and past the awning, past the easy crowd, back into the end of harmony...back into the end of harmony...back into the end of harmony...back into the end.

Way To Normal

September 30th marks the release of the latest CD from Ben Folds, "Way To Normal". Having been privy to this quirky musical drama recently, I must tell you each scene is mesmerizing. A bit of Samuel Beckett with twists of irony and dark humor that could only have come from the illuminated and transcendent mind of Ben Folds. Starring Ben Folds, guru, vocals and keyboard, Jared Reynolds, butler, bass guitar, and harmony, and Sam Smith as Chauffeur, drums and harmony. I must say, I came away from this listening experience feeling some hope and a sense of renewal; a feeling that I could be normal too, if I just tried a little harder. I even felt a little more normal having listened to this CD. So, I strongly recommend you give it a listen. If I can be more normal, I know you can find your Way To Normal too. (Actually, extremism is cool when focused on peace. It sucks when it is about killing. And this is just me spouting off, and has nothing to do with this album.)

Shamans of the Peruvian Amazon

Himalayan Shaman

A shaman working with a woman who has a toothache. Nepal, 1991

Thrushing in Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury is a small town in West Virginia along the Kanawa River. A coal mining town. I guess I know it from times there in the late 40's and early fifties as a child. My Grandfather and Grandmother lived there. Grandaddy was a coal-miner, as were many in that small town. But he also had this other skill, or special calling. He was a "Thrusher". Women brought sick babies to him, and he healed them somehow. I have no direct recall of this, but as I grew older, I heard about it from one of my aunts. And for years, I wondered about it. What was it exactly that he did? He must have had some stature in this community, that women would bring him their sick babies.
I guess it was sometime later, as an adult, in my 40's, and taking stock of my life, (as David Byrne put it, "Well, how did I get here?) I wrote my aunt and asked her what it was my grandfather did; what was the healing process? And she wrote back about how babies sometimes get the "thrush". Thrush, as it turns out, is a fungal disease that was prevalent mostly in young children in those days. It was characterized by milky white lesions that formed on the lips, or mouth, or in the throat. And it made babies and little children very unhappy. And worried mothers would bring their sick babies to my grandfather, and he would perform a thrushing ritual to cure them.
The thrushing ritual was basically this. My grandfather would cradle the baby back in his arms and recite a scripture. After that, he would take his hand in an open fist and place it to the baby's mouth. And then he would blow through his open fist and onto and into the baby's mouth. And that was it. I wrote back to my aunt and asked her what the scripture was that my grandfather recited.
Her reply came on a small slip of paper, which I still have to this day. It said: " Ezekiel 16:6." In other words, it was the 6th verse of the 16th chapter of the Book Of Ezekiel in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible. So I looked it up. Here was the incantation my grandfather performed over the sick babies:
Ezekiel 16:6 - "And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, 'Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou was in thy blood, Live."
Why this seemed to work, I don't know. I don't believe my grandfather had some kind of special breath. But it is possible, I suppose. I know he chewed tobacco. Maybe the tobacco breath affected the fungal problem in a healing way. Or maybe it is just that a poor person, a mother of a sick baby, unable to see a doctor, will resort to whatever desperate means to make her baby well. Or maybe the act of the ritual and the believing in it changed the relationship of the mother to the child in some ambiguous positive way and this helped the child's healing. The mother is less scared and the child senses this and is made stronger by the mother's confidence. Faith-healing comes down to belief. Believe. Be Leave. Leave it Be. Let It Be. Or maybe the Thrush just comes and it goes all by itself.

Everything Merges With The Night

from Another Green World, Brian Eno, 1975.

Charisma Then And Now

I think in the past perhaps there were certain people who were able to provide their community with some sense of connection to the divine. Access to that which transcends mortality. There were soothsayers, witch doctors, shamans, priests, and gurus who had such a convincing wisdom in their speech and their behavior that those who listened and followed felt some path was opened into a future beyond their own lives. The charismatic leaders of various times were the intermediaries, the middle-men that enabled the average Joe to strike a deal with immortality. Jesus was a middle-man, so was Buddha. I think there are actually statistics suggesting that people of the Catholic faith have fewer mental health issues than Protestants. And why would that be? In the Catholic faith, there are so many middle-men to suck up to. How many saints are there these days, anyway? Not to mention the Blessed Virgin Mary...Mommy...?! In the Protestant world, it is just you and the Man upstairs. And he walks softly and carries a big stick! That could put you on edge.
Well, that was then, but this is now. In the post-modern world is there any charisma to be had? Well, it is alive at many levels. There are people and faiths out there that can compel suicidal commitments to action. Out there right now, is a man who can be led to strap bombs to his body and blow himself up in a busy marketplace because some middle-man sold him this deal, wherein, he, because of his actions. will go to some eternal place, and there will be some endless line of virgin girls waiting for him, that he can fuck for all eternity.
But here in America, we have the big ennui going on. But we do look for the personalities that can take us into the future. Not into the afterlife, so much as into the next days. We need some charismatic people to step up. Not to lead us into a blissful eternity, but into a better tomorrow. We need a charismatic realist.

The Dance on Pause

I was watching Anne Teresa DeKeersmaeker and Michele Ann DeMay, wonderful choreographers, dancing to Steve Reich's Piano Phase. (Youtube) And I paused the video several times to shoot photos off my computer screen with my phone-cam. This is my favorite shot. I am posting it as a visual preface to the video that follows with them performing to Reich's "Come Out".

Dancing Life's Highway.

Did you ever car dance? Drive down the road sorta bouncing around in your seat to some groovy music, moving the head and shoulders to the beat? Maybe doing some hand jive thing on the steering wheel? Head-banging the dashboard? Etc. Well, what if you had Anne Teresa DeKeersmaeker and Michele Ann DeMey in the back seat? And what if you slipped some Steve Reich into the CD player? It might go a little something like this:



It could be there are two kinds of people, those who find that minimalist performances make them want to pull out their hair, and those who seem to get buzzed by it. I am in the latter bunch. Of course, I could get buzzed watching Dekeersmaeker and DeMey do anything. If you didn't catch their performance for Steve Reich's piano phase on an earlier blog, you can find them among the related videos that pop up at the end of this clip.

The Sculpture of Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck works with synthetic materials such as fiberglass resin, and silicone to produce photo-realistic sculpture that are virtually indistinguishable from real life except for the scale of the pieces. His figures are either disproportionately large or small. Because of the manipulation of scale, Mueck's work is often referred to as hyper-realism. The issue of scale in his work adds an emotional power and commentary regarding his subjects, perhaps speaking of the relative significance of the subject in a culture, or the emotional significance of a stage in a person's life, whether it be the suggested life of the subject, or the interior life of a viewer of the work.
Here is a summary regarding Ron Mueck and his work lifted straight from Wikipedia. It is followed by two short videos showing some of Mueck's work. I had originally posted two 10 minute segments showing work and process but then discovered there is a missing 3rd part. So I deleted those. You can find these on Youtube if you are interested. I just found it frustrating to not be able to present the 3rd segment.
Ron Mueck
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Ron Mueck (born 1958) is an Australian hyperrealist sculptor working in Great Britain.

Mueck's early career was as a model maker and puppeteer for children's television and films, notably the film Labyrinth for which he also contributed the voice of Ludo, and the Jim Henson series The Storyteller.

Mueck moved on to establish his own company in London, making photo-realistic props and animatronics for the advertising industry. Although highly detailed, these props were usually designed to be photographed from one specific angle hiding the mess of construction seen from the other side. Mueck increasingly wanted to produce realistic sculptures which looked perfect from all angles.

In 1996 Mueck transitioned to fine art, collaborating with his mother-in-law, Paula Rego, to produce small figures as part of a tableau she was showing at the Hayward Gallery. Rego introduced him to Charles Saatchi who was immediately impressed and started to collect and commission work. This led to the piece which made Mueck's name, Dead Dad, being included in the Sensation show at the Royal Academy the following year. Dead Dad is a rather haunting silicone and mixed media sculpture of the corpse of Mueck's father reduced to about two thirds of its natural scale. It is the only work of Mueck's that uses his own hair for the finished product.

Mueck's sculptures faithfully reproduce the minute detail of the human body, but play with scale to produce disconcertingly jarring visual images. His five metre high sculpture Boy 1999 was a feature in the Millennium Dome and later exhibited in the Venice Biennale.

In 1999 Mueck was appointed as Associate Artist at the National Gallery, London. During this two year post he created the works Mother and Child, Pregnant Woman, Man in a Boat and Swaddled Baby.[1]

In 2002 his sculpture Pregnant Woman[2] was purchased by the National Gallery of Australia for AU$800,000.

Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck

"My World Is Empty Without You, Babe"

In the 60's Diana Ross and The Supremes were second only to The Beatles in popularity and commercial success. " My World Is Empty..." was one of their Motown chart busters. But this isn't about The Supremes. This is about the Del Byzanteens. I think they put out a couple of EPs in the early 80's. They were a part of the New York No Wave scene. No Wave was a creative and perhaps, nihilistic hodge-podge of artists, musicians, film-makers and such. (Maybe hodge-podge isn't the word...more like a bee hive. A bee hive that someone or something gave a mean kick ...and all of a sudden there was the angry buzzing and a whole lot of activity.) In terms of music that came out of it, it is difficult to name names, the whole scene was in constant flux. The focus was on "happenings" and jams more than polished repertoire. James Chance and The Contortions comes to mind. Patti Smith and Lizzy Mercier Descloux were there in some shadowy way. Lydia Lunch. Richard Hell...I believe he performed as Richard Hell and The Voidoids. And there were others, I am not a scholar of the genre, if No Wave can be said to have such distinct boundaries. So here is what happens when The Del Byzanteens re-interpret "My World Is Empty..." ( John Lurie, saxophone; Jim Jarmusch, vocals and keyboard; Phil Kline, vocals and guitar; Dan Braun, drums and percussion; Phillipe Hagan, bass.)

Question of The Day

What do Erik Satie, Pole Dancing, The White Stripes, and Kate Moss have in common? Well, not a whole lot. But maybe something. It's sorta like Six Degrees of Separation. They're going to be connected somewhere, somehow. And actually we can throw me in the mix too. because I swear to this day that I saw Kate Moss in a supermarket in Nashville about four years ago. I know it sounds bizarre, many believe that Kate does not eat food at all...maybe she sips some kind of nectar. But I saw her eyeballing vegetables...brusselsprouts, if I am not mistaken. She was picking out the littlest ones and putting them in a bag. As millions of people know, Kate Moss is an English super-model who struck gold with her proclivity toward "waifishness". Twiggy, of course had done that decades earlier. But things work in cycles. Suffice it to say that Twiggy, and Kate Moss too, found their fame in fashion and their controversy in the debates regarding borderline anorexia. "When is skinny too skinny?"
Erik Satie is someone I didn't even know about until today (Oops, another hole in my cultural literacy.) My son started talking about him while we were hanging out today. Turns out, Satie was a French writer, composer, and pianist - and a bit of a DaDaist too. Very much in the groove of that early 20th century Parisian Avante Garde He lived 1866 -1925. And he left behind some interesting piano compositions They were short and seemingly simple. But in that manner, it seems they were in some ways a precursor to minimalist music that was yet to be defined -and even your basic pop tune.
Pole Dancing. I don't know where this concept originated, maybe with some mythological idea that the male phallus is like some kind of cosmic pole, that once planted in the ground, defines the center of the universe. In reading some of the works of Joseph Campbell, I recall that there were some tribes that were nomadic. But they had a sacred pole they carried with them. And whenever they stopped wandering for awhile, they planted the pole and they were thus once again, in the center of the universe. They carried their center with them. Pretty cool idea actually. And one can well imagine eligible come-of-age maidens dancing around this thing. And that brings us to the Maypole. Spring. Time for planting seed. Time for pretty girls to dance around a pole holding onto ribbons. And that brings us to today, the post modern era wherein it seems so easy to bring anything down to the level of the least-common denominator of mass culture. The basic formula is to take any icon and figure out how to make it into a plastic image that can be purchased for 50 cents in those gum-ball like machines just inside the door at Walmarts. As for the cosmic pole? It has found it's way to the local strip joint down the road. There you can find scantily clad women embracing a pole.
The White Stripes. I love the Stripes! Jack and Meg...a love story born in the middle of a garage rock revival, and still kicking it pretty good. And among their many hits was "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself". It was so good it needed a video. How about Kate Moss pole-dancing? Yeh, that's the ticket! And you can check it out on Youtube, a million and a half already have. But then enter the Stranger. I don't know who posted this. But he had the idea that he could snatch Kate Moss up from the White Stripes video and then put Erik Satie's Gymnpedies, No. 1 piano under it. This is what I like about Youtube, the fan devotions that yield unusual and interesting connections. Like Kate Moss pole dancing to Erik Satie.

Ben Folds, Hiroshima

The song tells the true story of Ben Folds falling off the stage at a performance in Hiroshima, Japan. The video is a stop-motion animation piece created by Corn Mo, an artist who opened for Ben on last year's tour.

Jaco Pastorius

I had two rare opportunities to see Pastorius performing with Weather Report...once in Chicago, and then again in Nashville at the Exit In in the 70's. Weather Report was a great jazz ensemble started up basically by Josef Zawinul a pianist, and Wayne Shorter, a saxophonist. Both had played with Maynard Ferguson. Weather Report as an ensemble had many faces. More than two dozen musicians performed under this umbrella at one time or another. One of the ways in which Weather Report broke away from the ensembles before them, was that, instead of breaking out into a round of improvisations by one member after another, they would slip into a place where they were all improvising at the same time. If you like jazz fusion stuff then check out Mysterious Traveler or I Sing The Body Electric. The Weather Report that I knew consisted of Josef Zawinul on keyboards, Wayne Shorter on Sax, Dom Um Romao, percussion, and Jaco Pastorius, on bass. But this piece is not about Weather Report, per se. It is about Jaco.
Jaco Pastorius was one of the best bass players I have ever seen. During the Weather Report gigs he often did a solo performance that was a kind of interlude in the show; giving others in the band a breather off-stage. And he could be quite dramatic, even spell-binding. The crowds loved it. The sad thing here was that Jaco Pastorius was struggling with bi-polar disorder. This was the 70's, and medical science didn't have a grip on this problem. And so he self-medicated on drugs and alcohol. And it wasn't long before he was out of control. And one night, he picked the wrong fight and wound up in the hospital. He died then. At the age of 32.
Jaco Pastorius, "Portrait of Tracy"

John Prine and Iris DeMent

When Prine wrote "In Spite of Ourselves" it was intended as a duet. Here he picks the perfect partner to sing the song with him. Iris Dement is the epitome of Southern charm, and that is just what I need on a miserably hot day here in the South. Great song writer, cute and talented Southern gal, and an endearingly quirky song. Perfect combo!

The Traveling Wilbury's attend a joyous funeral.

I am not sure who all was a part of this group of mega stars hanging out at Dylan's Malibu studio. But they definitely had fun jammin' and coagulated for awhile as The Traveling Wilbury's. The name seems to have come from one of those classic cliches in recording, "we'll bury it in the editing". So these guys were jamming along and not too non-plussed about little errors along the way. Tom Petty is cool and laid back in his delivery. And George Harrison is still happy and healthy here. We are talking about putting Roy Orbison, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne,Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan together in one room. This video is post Orbison, because he died in the middle of the fun,but in the audio I think Roy Orbison is singing. And so it is an edited piece. The song becomes a dedication to him. In the video an empty rocking chair sits cradling Roy Orbison's guitar. A joyous funeral.

The Bitter Truth

It was early morning when the mood struck me to go out into the woods. I was feeling pensive and reflective. It seemed that to just walk the faint trail into the dark and shadowy greenness of the woods would suit my mood somehow. I was feeling perplexed and somewhat discouraged about the state of life, this late in life. So many things around me seeming still so messed up after years of trying to make things better. Well, I wasn't always trying to make things better in some big sense, sometimes I was just coping, or even just slacking off. And so it seemed a good thing to walk this trail and just inhale the damp muskiness of the earth just doing it's thing. The smell of the natural decay of fallen leaves and trees. And I found a wonderful place of water- worn limestone where the sun was filtering down and I stopped there to sit and just absorb my oneness with the earth in some little way. Listening to birds. Smelling the air. And freezing as a passing deer froze too, at the sight of me. And I patted the ground, and renewed my commitment to save the earth. And that is when I heard the laughing. And it was the earth observing me. And the earth said to me, "What are you rambling on about you poor idiot? You are trying to save me? Is that it?" I nodded faintly, still stunned that the earth was talking to me. Then the laughter got even louder. And then it stopped. And the voice began to speak in quiet but no uncertain terms. "I don't give a shit about your pathetic life and the situation you find yourself in. I have seen your kind before. They come and they go. No big deal. And you are going to save me? You need to get a grip. It's your own ass you are trying to save, not mine. So cut the "Save Our Planet" crap! I was rolling around in the universe long before you. And I will be doing that long after your little self-absorbed life has turned to dust. Do you think it matters to me whether I am a wonderland of lush fields and mountain streams, or whether I am one vast dead sea, or a sphere of ice? Can I spell it out any more simply? I am a planet. I go rolling and spinning around the sun. I have been doing it for tens of thousands of years. It's what I do. And I have seen a lot of heavy shit go down. It's not me you need to save, you fucking ego-maniac. It's you. And, frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."

Far Away, Far Away

Guitar solo of the Russian song Daleko, Daleko, performed by Krzysztof Plotrowicz on 7-stringed guitar (tuned: D,B,G,d,,b,g,d')

Violence, Derrick Jensen

Audio excerpt from Derrick Jensen's 3 CD set of talks entitled The Other Side of Darkness. Video source unknown.

George Carlin, "Modern Man"

Lagoya/Presti perform Tango by Isaac Ibeniz

When Alexandre Lagoya, a classical guitarist of Greek and Italian ancestry, teamed up with, and subsequently married Ida Presti, a French classical guitarist who many consider to be the greatest guitarist of the 20th century, they became world- acclaimed as a classical duo. They performed some 2000 concerts together before her untimely death in 1967 at the age of 42. Here they perform in a video that seems from some other enchanted time and place.

Alan Watts: A Conversation With Myself, 1971

The following four videos make up this documentary originally made for NET. It is posted on Youtube by the son of Alan Watts, Mark Watts. Running time for "A Conversation...." is approximately 30 minutes broken out in the segments shown here.

Many may be familiar with the work of Alan Watts. If not, you can get a fairly decent overview on Wikipedia. In short, Alan Watts was a philosopher and writer who first gained popularity in the 60's and 70's. He was a conduit in the many exchanges of Eastern and Western philosophy, religion and music that had risen to the surface of the American culture in those decades. As one who was a serious scholar of Eastern philosophy, his books popularized and introduced Eastern thinking and meditation in those East-meets-West movements. I first became aware of Watts through two of his books: The Wisdom Of Insecurity, 1968; and The Book - On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Really Are, 1966. Because he was articulate and provocative in his numerous talks and lectures his writings became increasingly popular and well known. His earliest popular fan base probably came when he began doing brief oral presentations on KPFA(Pacifica Network) in San Francisco.

The Documentary, Alan Watts: A Conversation With Myself was made at his mountain retreat on Mt. Tamalpias above San Francisco in 1971. Alan Watts died in 1973 at the age of 58.

"A Conversation..." continued

Alan Watts

"A Conversation..." continued

Alan Watts



A Conversation...concluded

"Hop The To Go Let's", Juniors the and Danny by

The 1950's classic (58?) "Let's Go To The Hop" by Danny and the Juniors played backwards. And if you listen closely you will see that Paul McCartney is not dead.

What Can I say?

If it is Saturday, it must be Lila Downs Day. I was thinking I might post a Lila Downs song today, and had picked out La Llorona, when Ana en route to Barcelona, sent me this one. Lila live in Madrid singing Paloma Negra. I have an earlier posting of her doing this same song, but this is nice too. I hope you like it. Many of my blogs are for my own amusement, I suppose. I post what I want to look at, listen to, or think about on a given day. So it is Lila day today. In my earlier posting of this song you can find the translated lyrics, I think. Basically, it a scorned lover's lament, and perhaps some re-assertion of personal dignity.

Lila Downs, "La Llorona"

If you have been to my blogsite over time, you know I have a fondness for Hispanic culture and music. And I have posted a couple of performances by Lila Downs in the past. Here she sings "La Llorona". La Llorona (the crying woman) is a classic figure in Hispanic folklore. The story, which has so many cross-cultural variations it must be viewed as mythological motif, is of the ghost of a woman lamenting her dead children. It was she who killed them. She drowned them. Who this woman was, what her circumstances were, and why she drowned her children has been told in many ways. Perhaps the first La Llorona was the Greek Medea who killed her children after being abandoned by Jason. More recently, Susan Smith here in the United States was characterized by Time magazine as La Llorona after murdering her two children while distraught over the loss of her lover.
This video features Lila singing La Llorona. The visual montage seems a bit heavy-handed to me, but nevertheless. a great song by a great singer of songs.

The Big Escape

It was in the mid-70's when I was so disgusted or so disappointed, or so disenchanted with everything, I decided to hit the road. And I drove some 20,000 miles before I kinda got things out of my system. The 60's, and 70's too, had been so wonderful in some respects, and such a mind-fuck at the same time. So, I decided to drive around for as long as I could. And it got to be an addiction to just keep driving. I was totally equipped for the road with a Toyota Land Cruiser four-wheel drive,and all the camping gear one would need for the occasion. But point is, I couldn't stop driving. I was definitely on the run. And I ran into this woman, in the middle of nowhere, somewhere on a gravel road in Alaska. And so I wrote this piece about her and to her.

Sunday, March 16, 2008
A Note On Captured Rotation
Fading in legibility, these letters--- this vague statement of what happened then---carried with them some obscurity as to the terror they marked, some vague curse up to God over cause, perhaps.Such was this patina of her old tattoo---and such the cold glow of it's pale and shiny white field. A luminescence that had wrapped itself around her wrist---bright with no light of its own----dragging her cold as the moon goes around with a smile that was fixed after dying. Dead things are still things--- going about and doing things. And this one wore "fate" dug in shallow on her forearm in a murky dark ink. Faint , as to requiring polite repeated glances several times over the coffee poured. Glancing between the counter top and the window---and passing through again to the counter and the window and seen only then as FATE. The window then looked onto nothing except the bleakness of a dark gray mid-winter's day. And neither that dreary presence, nor hers, nor mine was to be explained by any wisdom asking might gain. To trail a cold wet rag across the counter----these letters could I date them---to wipe up spots and crumbs---might spell out some moment---to squeeze out a murky water from her fingers to the sink---so long ago, as some day of last energies---of some last act of carving out resignations mindlessly, but of no less account---of wrist from rag---of elbow from wrist from rag---of shoulder from elbow and wrist from rag---of neck from shoulder and elbow, wrist and rag--- of head from neck from shoulder from elbow from wrist from rag. And me. and what else? A cup of coffee. And a spoon. And, oh yes, a napkin. Some "thank you" drifted out of my mouth and into the air between us. And "You're welcome." came back in a distant thrown voice not seeming to come from her lips. Then her eyes stopped short with "Who said that?" And mine looked back, not knowing.

Lives In Motion

The bus was empty except for the man and the woman sitting across from one another, up close to the driver. They each seemed somewhat listless, turning now and then to peer out the window. She glanced at her nails several times. He glanced at his watch and fumbled with the shoulder strap of his briefcase. They gave each other a brief smile and a nod as their eyes met in passing. "I see you have already gotten you shopping done," he said, with a slight gesture of his chin toward the several shopping bags on the seat beside her. "Oh no, not really," she replied, "it's just a bunch of stuff I am taking to the recycling bins." He smiled and nodded, his eyebrows lifting to suggest his understanding. "On your way to work?" she asked, as she watched him fumble with one of the leather straps of his brief case. "Umm, not exactly; I 'm on my way to the library," he replied. "I love books." she said. "Me too." he replied. They both got off at the next corner.