musical ramblings

I bought the MATISYAHU-Youth cd today . . .
the very first song, "Fire Of Heaven/Altar Of Earth" is AMAZING . . . first time listening to it, I was just blown away . . .
trying to listen to the other tracks, but Track 1 is one for the ages . . .

the lyrical content is real cool, really like that--
I remember when I first starting listening to Bob Marley--
I was pretty anti-religion, but something about his sincerity. . .
his way of conveying his love of Jah, God, the Creator,
impressed me and I let down my guard enough to listen to his message--
there are some other works which are also deeply spiritual--
from Handel's Messiah to church hymns, but Marley was something else . . .
the music and the message aren't separable, it's a part of who he was--
most modern pop figures don't seem to be able to convey that-- or their spirituality is something separate from their music . . .
I don't like so-called "Christian Music" because it doesn't feel organic, they're focused on a specific message but they don't live or embody their beliefs in the way that someone like Marley and Matisyahu seemed to . . .
Most of what I’ve heard of modern religious music tries to be religious first and foremost and the music seems to be an afterthought. We live in very different times than Handel and Bach and the like--we seem removed from our religions and our spiritual core. With Marley and Matisyahu, they are involved with spiritual doctrines that assert the primacy of spirituality in the lives of its followers. Spirituality is an everyday and the music is an extension of it as well.
Perhaps I am only saying that because that is what I’m struggling with, trying to forge some kind of synthesis between the sacred and the profane . . .

i remember the first time i heard Public Enemy, i was totally blown away by the mixes, the lyrics-- it was like discovering punk rock all over again. i've leaned toward rap with heavy lyrical content ever since.
i do like some of the melding of forms tho--
remember Afrikaa Bambattta and Johnny Lydon doing "World Destruction"? that was crazy good.

i grew up around 8 mile, which i hated, the north side was all white and the south side was all black-- not a lot inbetween in my neck of the woods, but not really fitting in i got to experience the best of all worlds.
i listened to motown, listened to hard rock, listened to hip-hop/breakdancing stuff, hardcore and whatever else . . .
Punk Rock will always be my fav, but that's my personal preference.
I like Bach and the Cro-Mags, too.

Been looking for some Kronos Quartet CD's, replacing my Takes a
Nation of Millions . . . cd, need some Fall, got some P-Funk but want some more, dig that choral cd with the Tibetan Monks, and I love the pow wow drumming.
I seen the KODO drummers twice live-- they were really good--man those guys are in shape . . . they did a show in Boston a few years ago . . . after having run the Boston Marathon earlier that day!

I'm not musical at all, but I've always been interested in mixing musical styles-- melding different forms to make something new . . . in some ways, thats why i enjoy hip/hop rap--- you can take a rock guitar riff and use it in a rap song that might also feature African drumming or anything else you want . . .
Jazz/R&B/country/Native drums . . . anything . . .
I'm all about the merging of old forms to create something new . . .

I've always like punk bands that do cover songs--- there's always some gems to be found-- but bands that give their own unique interpretation of a song . . .
I always hated the Carpenters when I was growing up, but hearing Sonic Youth redo "Superstar" was totally amazing-- it made me view the original in a whole different light . . .
I'm listening to Sonic Youth's "Get into the Groove" right now . . . again, a masterful retooling of a song that I could care less about. It's not them redoing it as much as it is them almost deconstructing it . . .
I look at good hip/hop as a deconstruction of the original, a reworking of the original . . .

The Circle Jerks totally skewered so many 70's classics with the album Golden Shower of Hits-- as sung by Keith Morris, the lyrics seemed so ridiculous . . . but i've always liked the sonic crunch of hardcore annihilating some well known pop song.

Chant Down Babylon was produced by several of the Marley kids, with guest vocals-- a hip/hop reworking of the master's classics . . .
some of the songs are quite good-- not better than the master himself,
but a different lens to view them through . . .
they even have Steven Tyler singing on a song—

The reggae cover album of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon was pretty good, really out of context, but thats me being semi-sober for the last few years . . .
i have yet to see The Wall sober, i.e. not dosed-up--
is there really anything comparable to that in hip-hop? maybe i am old and out of touch--
maybe Eminem's flick covers that territory-- semi-autobiographical story about a young person's struggle to make it in the music biz/adult world . . . but is it on par with The Wall?
I thought of Husker Du's Zen Arcade in much the same terms as The Wall, or the Replacements' Tim.

what i been up to

haven't been up to much, hanging out at the Old Man Army, not doing much writing or anything like that-- did see Flags of Our Fathers, will try to write a review, maybe not, nobody much reads my posts anyways, so . . .

Fat laces or not?
Whatever came with the dang shoes . . .
Baggy pants or tight?
baggy cuzza my phatazz and thick thighs
Loose or tight fitting shirts?
loose due to my beer belly
Hi-top or low?
lows these days
Studded belt or regular?
regular old black pleather
Stocking cap or baseball hat?
under the helmet? watcha mean?
Tats or plain?
tatted, more to come
Boxers, whitey tightey, or commando?
boxer briefs—

In my CD case today:
Husker Du- New Day Rising
7 Seconds- Walk Together, Rock Together
Minutemen- Double Nickels on the Dime
Descendents- Somery
Fear- The Record
Bad Brains- best of Comp
Minor Threat- Compete Discography
Dead Kennedys- Plastic Surgery Disasters
Dead Kennedys- In God We Trust, Inc.
New Order- International
MDC- Best of . . .
Dinosaur, Jr.- Whatevers Cool With Me
D.R.I.- Dealing With It
Offspring- Smash
Black Flag- Damaged
Bob Marley- Mellow Mood
Bob Marley- Soul Rebel
Bob Marley- Duppy Conqueror
Bob Marley- Legend
Jimi Hendrix- Best of . . .
Meskwaki Nation- Pow Wow Songs
Northern Wind- Jingle Dress Pow Wow Songs
Millard Clark- 49 Songs (hand-drum)
2Pac- All Eyez on Me
Gypsy Kings- Best of . . .
Kraftwerk- Robots
Marley kids & guests-Chant Down Babylon
The Smiths- The World Won't Listen
Gang of Four- Entertainment

Books I like:
The Indians of the Western Great Lakes 1615-1760- W. Vernon Kinietz
Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee- Dee Brown
Spirit and Reason- Vine Deloria, Jr.
The Great Law and the Longhouse- William N. Fenton
The Mishomis Book- Eddie Benton-Banai
Ojibway Tales- Basil Johnston
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven- Sherman Alexie
Black Elk Speaks- Black Elk and John Neihardt
Brave New World- Aldous Huxley
1984- George Orwell
The Way It Is- Ajahn Sumedho
Shambala- Chogyam Trungpa
The Tao of Physics- Fritjof Capra
Turtle Island- Gary Snyder
ANYTHING BY SHAKESPEARE