tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30868517519245694282024-03-17T23:02:52.231-04:00Bob's Inner MusingsBobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-6036320944675790702023-07-21T12:00:00.017-04:002023-07-21T21:52:33.460-04:00review: Nickel Creek - "Celebrants" tour at Danforth Music Hall in Toronto<p><br /></p><p>You'd think Chris Thile would be satisfied being our generation's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3lH_Tevw5o" target="_blank">finest interpreter of Bach</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>But he's also part of two mighty prolific Grammy-winning progressive bluegrass bands, the Punch Brothers and Nickel Creek. The latter act performed at Toronto's Danforth Music Hall on Wednesday night after nearly 20 years' absence from the city. Part way through "Green and Gray," Thile giggled to himself at the lyric "He's doing fine with his notebook and Discman," quipping "that's how long it's been" before continuing with the next line.</p><p><br /></p><p>Following the song, he and the audience agreed that the Walkman perfected anti-skip protection long before its compact disc counterpart. Musicians of this calibre often aren't this funny or personable. And perhaps this explains their longevity as much as the quality of their songwriting and talent.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQg0wK1YEEjjOMUg678AkSeIOuSNz42WW7MM2_77nlpPamXXheoVs194p9cuXGoOorRUECU4UxwDsrA8ItI714yQFigMJEMTq0UPFcsFU0WSRlliStfzi90pSA4sXdPvZ6vteGNEcKVTl9fLJoxd_hhoqaJdqxjS8FN-kBjonTXTspxjopBZOAXo0BgkN3/s4624/20230719_215619.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQg0wK1YEEjjOMUg678AkSeIOuSNz42WW7MM2_77nlpPamXXheoVs194p9cuXGoOorRUECU4UxwDsrA8ItI714yQFigMJEMTq0UPFcsFU0WSRlliStfzi90pSA4sXdPvZ6vteGNEcKVTl9fLJoxd_hhoqaJdqxjS8FN-kBjonTXTspxjopBZOAXo0BgkN3/s320/20230719_215619.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Nickel Creek was formed by Thile and master violinist Sara Watkins in the late '80s when they were both eight years old, along with Watkins' older brother Sean on guitar. There aren't many of us who can say their childhood bands found superstardom. Theirs has sold 1.5 million albums, and their audience is more than loyal.</p><p><br /></p><p>The band has largely been on hiatus for the last decade, so this show saw them met with a rapturous welcome from the appreciative crowd of 1500 devotees. Songs from previous albums were greeted like old friends, and new songs from their latest effort <i>Celebrants </i>were cherished in complete silence. Except for the solos. Every solo, even twenty songs into the night, was cheered as if they were rounding third base and about to score the winning run.</p><p><br /></p><p>Augmented by Jeff Picker on double bass, the quartet played a nearly two-hour set that oscillated between virtuosic and playful. Thile, now 42, marvelled at one point at the fact that he and his bandmates were adults. "Thinnest Wall," a song about an argument between two romantic partners, saw Thile managing to make his mandolin sound angry for a brief moment, ensuring none of the proceedings were deemed too serious for too long. This ensemble does not lose sight of music's ultimate purpose: to bring joy to a world always in need of more of it.</p><p><br /></p><p>The songs about relationships made way for the topical songs. "21st of May" was about the latest rapture, told from the perspective of an eschatological preacher, which of course is hilarious because the rapture is something that should happen only once, not once per decade.</p><p><br /></p><p>"Given my platform here, I'd be remiss not to get political," said Thile during this section, in an ostensibly serious moment. He kept a straight face while explaining that the United States Coast Guard has been eliminating lighthouses from government inventory these past few years, as GPS technology has largely rendered them obsolete. Considering the current political climate, this introduction to their song "The Lighthouse's Tale" was a moment of levity in what could easily have turned into a much more serious affair. To those who wish for music to be escapism, they breathed a sigh of relief. But soon after the band managed to have an audience of largely non-musicians clap their hands in bars of six beats instead of the usual four, Thile joked that he's moving to Canada. Anyone listening carefully enough knows well he wasn't just speaking about the poutine.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLIEJlyiF5NfdfneOtN2QgcvAg2oSoTY3OjmOmudfaKxDzXuia0i45N9EHe5uBq1ZcCNBPbA4p-UO6y3FNnis5WC7054h9WgZ1gBJvR7ZUGV-t5F_T8ED9jQpsr8t0XnINi9Jax8skBC7STH4KM89HXe5dNkeHz3jlMRO6z4nqLQ6rRLIJ5C9Zs1jtHwW-/s4624/20230719_225503.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLIEJlyiF5NfdfneOtN2QgcvAg2oSoTY3OjmOmudfaKxDzXuia0i45N9EHe5uBq1ZcCNBPbA4p-UO6y3FNnis5WC7054h9WgZ1gBJvR7ZUGV-t5F_T8ED9jQpsr8t0XnINi9Jax8skBC7STH4KM89HXe5dNkeHz3jlMRO6z4nqLQ6rRLIJ5C9Zs1jtHwW-/s320/20230719_225503.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Nickel Creek's Kung fu isn't just their technical prowess, although that alone could have just as easily sustained them as a musical force for this long. There is no shortage of brilliant musicians with audiences almost entirely consisting of musicians. But this band plays for everyone. And even those who aren't musicians can still somehow comprehend that there are so few people who have ever lived that can play music at the level that these players now in their forties can with such ease and interminable joy. It's truly a rare feat.</p><p><br /></p><p>Their vocal harmonies were ethereal, and there was even occasional choreography on stage. The visuals deserve a mention too, as the backdrop almost looked like a cross between a barn and the inside of a cathedral, which was more than appropriate. For those of us who haven't set foot in a church since their first communion, we still felt completely at home.</p><p><br /></p><p>Seamless transitions between songs were made possible by the band's erudite tech who was at the ready to swap out their instruments as necessary, and even once during a song, where a guitar part moved from one musician to another as the change was made—truly a sight to behold. Thile went through multiple mandolins and even a bouzouki, while Sean Watkins played multiple guitars as well. Sara also played guitar on the final piece of the night, "Holding Pattern."</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb7snlTrGtTPTSZ6zVdhv4-Q_1WQchNsI7frMt9C3eocjp09d6--AAfSDLQkhwirezth_mvfAtXMje2Ga_4uxfjDb1vSS0hjp9BgyOOGfcsftlBwrfmSxW_z4DVeLRaBaJoVIWZ1WoxCB2NNbvwx9OA2tosTcOGvnlJNf0md1Xvd-PA_KIH35IocNl34nz/s4624/20230719_225703.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb7snlTrGtTPTSZ6zVdhv4-Q_1WQchNsI7frMt9C3eocjp09d6--AAfSDLQkhwirezth_mvfAtXMje2Ga_4uxfjDb1vSS0hjp9BgyOOGfcsftlBwrfmSxW_z4DVeLRaBaJoVIWZ1WoxCB2NNbvwx9OA2tosTcOGvnlJNf0md1Xvd-PA_KIH35IocNl34nz/s320/20230719_225703.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Every song had different lighting. The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NCO6UzZ2R8" target="_blank">Handelian word painting</a> has the lyric "holding" held for several beats, and the lighting also held itself in place to maximize the effect of the pregnant pause. As we were all filing out, I told their lighting tech how that last piece was beautifully lit. He was gracious, and said the feedback made his night. Being a tech is so often a thankless job, and they usually love it when such intricacies are highlighted to them. Like so many bands, Nickel Creek's techs are just as much a part of the family as the musicians.</p><p><br /></p><p>The opening act was singer-songwriter Aoife O'Donovan, who delivered a set of seven mind-numblingly gorgeous pieces, the last of which was "Iowa," where she was joined by Juno Award-winning Toronto singer Donovan Woods. It was the kind of opening set that left you so satisfied that you almost forgot that there was still another two hours of music to come. Her last album, 2022's <i>Age of Apathy</i>, was nominated for a Grammy. It's not hard to see why.</p><p><br /></p><p>O'Donovan's trio I'm With Her, which includes the aforementioned Sara Watkins as well as Sarah Jarosz, won a Grammy in 2019—proof that there is much exceptionally good music that is being appropriately recognized.</p><p><br /></p><p>Nickel Creek is on tour through October, and Aoife O'Donovan is on many of the dates as well.</p><p><br /></p>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-47517931199483268232022-07-12T05:16:00.079-04:002022-08-07T11:53:01.035-04:00review: Roger Waters - "This Is Not a Drill" at Scotiabank Centre in Toronto<p><br /></p><p>The last time I saw Roger Waters was about a decade ago when he was touring a revamped version of <i>The Wall</i>. That show was brilliant.</p><p><br /></p><p>This one was otherworldly.</p><p><br /></p><p>At age 78 he refuses to rest on his laurels and has stepped up his game.</p><p><br /></p><p>The show was prefaced with Roger delivering a public service announcement on tape—a disclaimer that "if you're one of those 'I love Pink Floyd, but I can't stand Roger's politics' people, you might do well to fuck off to the bar right now" to an enormous roar of approval.</p><p><br /></p><p>Subtlety is not one Roger's strong points. People used to attend his shows and be surprised at its content. This is no longer the case, as his reputation for being outspoken about things near and dear to him is now solidified. No mountain is too high. No issue is too taboo. Everything is on the table.</p><p><br /></p><p>The festivities began in dim lighting with a new somber arrangement of "Comfortably Numb," which was pretty appropriate as we are a whole lot more numb to so many things in 2022. The soaring guitar solo was replaced with mournful cries from one of his two backing vocalists. I couldn't tell which one, as she was obscured from my sight. The staging consisted of multiple double-sided video screens in the shape of a cross as seen from above, and at the end of the piece it slowly ascended with a pomp and circumstance not unlike the spacecraft in that iconic scene in <i>2001: A Space Odyssey</i>. Before that moment, only half of the stage was visible to each audience member.</p><p><br /></p><p>By the second song Roger made his appearance in the darkness amidst the familiar helicopter sample from the top of "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" that encircled the arena in surround sound. Floyd were pioneers of quadraphonic sound at their concerts in the early '70s, and it continues to be a staple of Waters' shows well into the 21st century.</p><p><br /></p><p>Within seconds the scope of the production was clear—the songs we're well accustomed to were going to be about 5% of the experience, and the visuals will be 95%. Like a lot of arena shows, the massive production makes it more like Broadway than rock and roll, as the entire operation has to be automated to ensure everything happens at the exact right moments. But Roger's show takes this concept a step further, as it is a display of the Zeitgeist of our time.</p><p><br /></p><p>The tour is dubbed "This Is Not a Drill." And this is not a nostalgia show—40 to 50 year old music has been reworked to be relevant to the world today.</p><p><br /></p><p>In simple and direct language, these red words drew far more attention to the eye than the band:</p><p><br /></p><p>US<br />GOOD<br />THEM<br />EVIL</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v-a8-bZOUQw" width="320" youtube-src-id="v-a8-bZOUQw"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>At this point it became immediately clear that having a seat near the stage would not be an ideal position to be in. Being at least half way back is optimal so that one can see and process everything in real time.</p><p><br /></p><p>This set design is undoubtedly the work of Roger, not a third party think tank or designer. This is his brainchild, and he is not a passenger on the bus. During rehearsals, longstanding band member Jon Carin called this show <a href="https://www.facebook.com/joncarinofficial/posts/pfbid0YXp1NWgedLQRuHehjp3vKsLEGRs81FQ2ZtF3nm3XJABfZaTGZ15w63Cs6HAc9Yqol" target="_blank">Waters' masterpiece</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>There are fans of early Pink Floyd who have bowed out of seeing Roger this time around because he plays nothing from the first six albums. But when you see the overall production, you very quickly understand why. I love early Floyd as much as the next connoisseur, but it's the later material that best translates to this environment, and it's obviously the material most people know. The song selection is about 80% Floyd supplemented with a few tracks from his solo career. But even the less familiar pieces from recent years still resonated with the larger picture and helped create a cohesive piece—particularly "The Bravery of Being Out of Range," an overt commentary on world leaders who send others to fight their wars for them. This new and refreshing take of the <i>Amused to Death</i> track saw it transformed into a ballad, making for an even gloomier version for the lyrics to be front and centre.</p><p><br /></p><p>Even though it is a Roger Waters show, he is not the star. The message is.</p><p><br /></p><p>He debuted a new song for this tour called "The Bar." In his heartfelt banter prior to it he likened the room with about 19,000 friends to being like a bar, to create as much intimacy as possible amidst this monolithic production:</p><p><br /></p><p>"This is not the bar that the drunks fucked off to at the beginning of the show. This is our bar. The bar in my fantasy world is a place where like-minded people can gather. Those of us who believe in truth and liberty and human rights. Where we can feel at home and exchange the love that we have in our hearts with one another."</p><p><br /></p><p>But that levity was short-lived, as the continued plight of indigenous people in America was his next subject matter to tackle in "The Bar":</p><p><br /></p><p><i><span style="font-family: times;">The girl who brought you in here is Lakota<br />From Standing Rock where they made their stand<br />So from 48's North Dakota here's a message for The Man<br />Would you kindly get the fuck off our land</span></i></p><p><br /></p><p>It often seemed every second word on the screens and out of his mouth was "fuck," but however crass he may be, he's right about pretty well everything. And it only acted to endear him to the crowd, as <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/science-behind-why-swearing-feels-good/12375196" target="_blank">we all swear</a>, after all. In his case it adds that extra sense of urgency that otherwise wouldn't be as adequately expressed.</p><p><br /></p><p>Roger's previous tour was heavily anti-Trump, but his current show is anything but partisan. The orange one was briefly shown once. Waters picked on everyone. He's doing God's work in showing how it isn't left vs. right—it's haves vs. have nots. He sees right through it all with laser precision. Bless him. Anyone and everyone who is part of the problem was in his crosshairs.</p><p><br /></p><p>Throughout the proceedings Roger used his megaphone to highlight anything from income inequality to the hypocrisy of religion to war crimes (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V68aRwrbKO4&t=600" target="_blank">and the whistleblowers who expose them</a>). The central theme of the show was "teach your children well," often reminding the viewer in one way or another to consider who is controlling the narrative of a particular issue at hand, and urging us to not get sucked into the vortex of ignorance compounded by the false sense of security that materialism claims to provide, especially now in this age of end stage capitalism we live in. His aim was to hammer home the (unfortunately still radical) idea that taking care of one another should not be seen as a political statement, but rather a humanitarian one.</p><p><br /></p><p>For most people with their eyes already open it wasn't necessarily provocative, but nevertheless an extremely powerful experience of having a rock star being so finely attuned to the inequalities of the world, which was unthinkable decades ago. The young read about such issues daily on social media, so most of them don't need the education. But a fair portion of his core base of boomers absolutely do. Roger knows the power he carries.</p><p><br /></p><p>The show continued with three tracks off <i>Wish You Were Here</i>. The one proper acknowledgement of Roger's previous life in Pink Floyd was a poignant segment dedicated to founding Floyd member Syd Barrett during the iconic title track (which David Gilmour was brushed from entirely). Sadly it seems the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVQTKSWULu8" target="_blank">Live 8 reunion in 2005</a> was a small blip in the chronology, as their forty plus year old feud continues.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVnssLjKWA3_LfUxJESvKnGj2j1_iOwQavBoxmH2cDMBic14vSFJcXEscpjnq-FNelnWK3vlgVC132C7ZMfiLYQHDITrgRr1LXuiELYFB-N2UyLjcKoFS-v9jtfUSv-0-FbpboYBMpAMBL1NKYUm87yZHBfeaIexWitrmPs_3xRktyNxFV7YaK7TpnQ/s4000/20220709_212024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVnssLjKWA3_LfUxJESvKnGj2j1_iOwQavBoxmH2cDMBic14vSFJcXEscpjnq-FNelnWK3vlgVC132C7ZMfiLYQHDITrgRr1LXuiELYFB-N2UyLjcKoFS-v9jtfUSv-0-FbpboYBMpAMBL1NKYUm87yZHBfeaIexWitrmPs_3xRktyNxFV7YaK7TpnQ/s320/20220709_212024.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>"Have a Cigar" was tuned down two steps to C-minor, making it sound even more sinister. Roger can still hit the high notes with authority, but not for two and a half hours. Some songs were detuned to preserve his voice, as the tour is over three months long. It didn't bother me in the least. Well over a decade into retirement age, it's amazing guys like him are doing this at all.</p><p><br /></p><p>"Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI-IX)" was a welcome addition to the repertoire, having been absent for the last 20 years. It was performed with a surgeon's precision.</p><p><br /></p><p>The first set ended with "Sheep" from the <i>Animals</i> album. A scathing take on people's passiveness to the calamities around them, it was made current by satirizing people who are attached to their Twitter accounts. It was especially effective during the scripture section, as those verses were displayed on the screens in a series of Tweets. This was one of many topical and extremely powerful moments of the evening.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qS8mQc_XfYQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="qS8mQc_XfYQ"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p><p>Needless to say, his band and backing vocalists were spotless. During the jam at the end of the song, the band members lumped together and looked at one another with unbridled joy.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXAzv57dXc-Ml8j_SKD2b6t2kHMEGohBVAudfiZeJGhX5pqWAwc6T-tOXmllXpmAYr1vRyfn2o0i1aFfKw43VC-KQ5CEJSfGt7QzD-wLyRazsIikm9UrHPoMeiKLCqHCacxqc5bpgpS5hsHICz2MYk3VXC3AzzfZ_PcfSPqAl9heggvhErIH7YboHVw/s4000/20220708_221331.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXAzv57dXc-Ml8j_SKD2b6t2kHMEGohBVAudfiZeJGhX5pqWAwc6T-tOXmllXpmAYr1vRyfn2o0i1aFfKw43VC-KQ5CEJSfGt7QzD-wLyRazsIikm9UrHPoMeiKLCqHCacxqc5bpgpS5hsHICz2MYk3VXC3AzzfZ_PcfSPqAl9heggvhErIH7YboHVw/s320/20220708_221331.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyD1Fanf7futTcrWKIdEoKfZZLSW6F0EbpfhVLcB8UOEh7s8f9kGAvLXmR3NsdDx5nYN1yzAZ75F25mTx1qhyZLsfpeeUP4M09RxaHoSe9Nr9dNllapSooAophjEt0Q-MVBWpP_DqIm3qjvRm8kxhvJFi_4w3BYHAGk1-CdDWlWFBW7a_Jl4WA85N0og/s4000/20220709_215401.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyD1Fanf7futTcrWKIdEoKfZZLSW6F0EbpfhVLcB8UOEh7s8f9kGAvLXmR3NsdDx5nYN1yzAZ75F25mTx1qhyZLsfpeeUP4M09RxaHoSe9Nr9dNllapSooAophjEt0Q-MVBWpP_DqIm3qjvRm8kxhvJFi_4w3BYHAGk1-CdDWlWFBW7a_Jl4WA85N0og/s320/20220709_215401.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">During intermission the trademark pig made its rounds, sporting not an inch of subtlety. Anything less would be off brand</span><span style="font-size: small;">.</span></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The second set began with a couple more pieces off <i>The Wall</i>, which paved the way for "Déjà Vu," one of his more recent compositions which was home to the next deeply moving segment of the show. Part way through the piece the words "human rights" appeared on the screens. The right side remained stationary while the left screen scrolled through "human," "equal," "refugee," "reproductive," "trans," and finally "Palestinian," each to rapturous applause.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oyPkmeTzG1g" width="320" youtube-src-id="oyPkmeTzG1g"></iframe><br /><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmgL8m6w9KyNu2NaFHucesKyBoZ4CzC9-EAe3Ys59fXNfJnIV0xUSREYzwHCGf0PdKzmNCedidxFu2y4M5hXN0AhuX3dwefkcfQCmP8XytN_OIMZrh9lIdIvNCH5TFj2is-jtDruZzNV5mB91Dj0er32MbCDD64szzLKF6fwTSySXwh13aZAdFKnuEQ/s4000/20220709_220820(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmgL8m6w9KyNu2NaFHucesKyBoZ4CzC9-EAe3Ys59fXNfJnIV0xUSREYzwHCGf0PdKzmNCedidxFu2y4M5hXN0AhuX3dwefkcfQCmP8XytN_OIMZrh9lIdIvNCH5TFj2is-jtDruZzNV5mB91Dj0er32MbCDD64szzLKF6fwTSySXwh13aZAdFKnuEQ/s320/20220709_220820(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;">It's probably the only thing Waters and Gilmour <a href="https://tribune.com.pk/story/1195692/like-always-pink-floyd-reunites-support-palestine" target="_blank">agree on these days</a>.</span></div><p><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: times;">If I had been God<br />With my staff and my rod<br />If I had been given the nod<br />I believe I could have done a better job</span></i></p><p><br /></p><p>He does not mince words.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE3PlCQHvUZ2Gar_W0uDLniXIZeEBXeWvCu_EVNnrZ7jqjRUPCU6j2qxzL1PklBZzVhV8BA88BBeHYzop0GLYeIT_h05gQQZIq5ofQ0A6H1g3HKolQLpN4VlURcGztJpcMzqlasyrKNDQuyPUjrzQjBE7va6FFiQbp-chv4g4esyZ4b716_sHpFc0WUw/s4000/20220709_220634.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE3PlCQHvUZ2Gar_W0uDLniXIZeEBXeWvCu_EVNnrZ7jqjRUPCU6j2qxzL1PklBZzVhV8BA88BBeHYzop0GLYeIT_h05gQQZIq5ofQ0A6H1g3HKolQLpN4VlURcGztJpcMzqlasyrKNDQuyPUjrzQjBE7va6FFiQbp-chv4g4esyZ4b716_sHpFc0WUw/s320/20220709_220634.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">It takes a real man to say this.</span></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br />"Is This the Life We Really Want?" is the title track of Waters' latest studio album released in 2017, showing he's still as lyrically sharp as he was in his youth:</p><p><br /></p><p><i><span style="font-family: times;">The ants don't have enough IQ to differentiate between the pain that other people feel<br />And well, for instance, cutting leaves<br />Or crawling across windowsills in search of open treacle tins<br />So, like the ants, are we just dumb?<br />Is that why we don't feel or see?<br />Or are we all just numbed out on reality TV?<br />So, every time the curtain falls<br />Every time the curtain falls on some forgotten life<br />It is because we all stood by, silent and indifferent<br />It's normal</span></i></p><p><br /></p><p>It's easy to get lost in the anger and frustration of the world on display if all you see is what's on the surface. But Waters smiled between songs far more than anything else. He is clearly a deeply caring, empathetic, and compassionate man, using his star power to do everything he can to make peace and justice a part of people's mental wallpaper. In less capable hands this show could have easily been sensory overload, but the pacing of the show was exquisite, designed to maximize mental and emotional impact in just the right doses.</p><div><br /></div><p>The second set had a theme of humanizing individuals who have been victims of war, which continued into the <i>Dark Side of the Moon</i> section, which consisted of side two in its entirety. There is some overlap in the material Waters and Gilmour each cover from the Floyd canon in their shows, and in "Us and Them" they both use the same stock footage that they first used for their backdrop on tour in 1974—scenes of drone-like people mindlessly walking down the street in their work attire, at a reduced frame rate. But that's where the comparisons end. Gilmour's show is ethereal and soothing, while Roger's is visceral and challenging.</p><p><br /></p><p>The stock footage then makes way for black and white images that were illuminated one by one—headshots of people who are ordinarily airbrushed out of the story as we become numb to war, but are instead each given their due. They slowly populate the screens into an eventual collage and cover it entirely, culminating in the transition into "Eclipse" where all the faces are suddenly replaced with a line of the triangular prisms from the iconic album artwork. The electrocardiographic heartbeat from the inside of the gatefold sleeve slowly comes to life one colour at a time, and all those faces soon progressively return as the song approaches its climax. It is performed as an extended version with the verse repeating a second time to double down on its impact. The lyrics of "Eclipse" encompass the range of possibilities in one's life, and juxtaposing these meaningful words with all of those faces and the image of a heartbeat so as to give a name to every one of them was deeply moving. If this spectacle did not reach any one of the 19,000 people on hand, I cannot possibly help them.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Iuxc4KkPdY4" width="320" youtube-src-id="Iuxc4KkPdY4"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>1983's <i>The Final Cut</i> was represented with "Two Suns in the Sunset," which Waters explained was about the Doomsday Clock counting down to nuclear Armageddon. It was set to 20 minutes before midnight when it was inaugurated in 1957, and it is now at 90 seconds. The video screen had evocative animations of nuclear war taking place.</p><p><br /></p><p>A few extra verses of "The Bar" seamlessly blended into "Outside the Wall," where the band members were named on the screen as they prepared for their exit—something I've never before seen at a concert. After circling the stage Waters introduced them one at a time as they walked past him down the stairs. The last shot was of the entire ensemble just inside the corridor to the dressing room while finishing the song, and after Roger conducted the band to the final button, the lights went to black.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i4ZLy5OioXA" width="320" youtube-src-id="i4ZLy5OioXA"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Within hours the videos were already being uploaded to YouTube, and as we know by now the comments section is where the cream of the crop of humanity tend to congregate:</p><p><br /></p><p>"It's a concert for fuck's sake. Enjoy and shut up!!"</p><p><br /></p><p>This completely misses the point. This isn't a concert. It is an event. And this isn't the kind of event that's merely "enjoyed." It's not throwaway conveyer belt product. It is art, and not all art meets that description. And this is one of those great works of art that transcends mere likes and dislikes to the realm of being interesting and transfixing. Some truths are meant to make us squirm a little in our seats.</p><p><br /></p><p>"I go to concerts to be entertained and not have politics front and center. I get enough of that every day in the news. I do not need to go to a concert and have politics shoved in my face, whether it be left or right."</p><p><br /></p><p>This is what Waters is up against—people who think musicians should be limited to providing mere entertainment, as if they are unqualified to do anything but play music.</p><p><br /></p><p>A lot of Europeans scratch their heads at this breed of Americans and their culturally-driven desire for the media they consume to feel good, be passively enjoyed as a means of escapism, and require a happy ending. A Roger Waters concert is more like an bourgeois French film—a meticulously crafted thought-provoking piece designed to be purposely uncomfortable at times, and doesn't come to some kind of feel-good resolution, leaving the viewer in a completely different state from the one they walked in with. If they are able to return to their previous state with ease, then they probably weren't paying attention.</p><p><br /></p><p>But to each their own. If people want a nostalgia show that doesn't make them think or feel much beyond "I remember when I lost my virginity to this song," go see the Eagles. Everyone wins.</p><p><br /></p><p>The show took place on the day one of the three big telecom networks went down for the entire day, leaving roughly 1/3 of Canadians without internet access, many of whom scrambled to find Wi-Fi to open up their tickets on their phones. Waters was aware of this and held the show for an extra 15 minutes, resulting in it ending 15 minutes later than scheduled. The IATSE union representing the local crew members who help build and tear down the stage charges an overtime fee of $10,000 per minute, which means Waters coughed up $150,000 out of pocket to ensure as many people as possible didn't miss the first few songs. If this doesn't illustrate his character, I'm not sure what will.</p><p><br /></p><p>Few artists come close to doing what Waters does, if any at all. It is fitting that the man who more or less invented the large-scale arena production remains a leader in his industry nearly 50 years later. Carin is right. This is his masterpiece. It was as if the combined presentation of his music and the imagery was the totality of his psyche, and he wants to share it with everyone while he still can.</p><p><br /></p><p>Upon arriving home I bought a ticket for the second night. This is the first show that's ever made me want to be like a Deadhead and see every night of the tour. Even if it's the exact same show every night. It is that good, that effective, that uniting, and that edifying.</p><p><br /></p><p>After this tour wraps up, it cannot and should not end there. This is a show that tribute bands need to put on for decades, the way <a href="https://bobsinnermusings.blogspot.com/2018/01/review-musical-box-at-danforth-music.html" target="_blank">The Musical Box</a> does for Genesis. As long as the issues highlighted therein are unresolved, this work of art desperately needs to remain in public consciousness.</p><p><br /></p><p>Amidst the mass exodus of happy concert-goers on Front Street, I overheard a fellow patron say "this is the closest I come to going to church."</p><p><br /></p><p>I'm sure Waters shares that sentiment.</p><p><br /></p>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-77099486189189544482022-02-19T01:21:00.096-05:002022-02-20T22:12:53.344-05:00Dear society: Stop this insanity.<p><br /></p><p>I just watched one of those Olympian profile spots. You know, the ones designed to be filler in between events, done with the best of intentions to tell the heartfelt stories of the athletes' journeys to the games. This particular one was a Canadian bobsledder speaking about her experience at the last Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, lamenting how she didn't medal in one of her events.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2SbZxK1G6x38BrfNQwsKwu0_G2i3XHsiClFAkQ5lmCIyHOJi9p10mWohnqYVKBiTMvHBVk8XdM3PJ-xZ1Y3lCwB0g_WrdsD9aOm1R5RIMd2l2G4gikz7cinDi5mqNnvb8XfZ9cja0prDLvUZ9ecG9x1UCIXjPdRc8JoF7WrTuDTpHQ6IuOULM1wDV7w=s960" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2SbZxK1G6x38BrfNQwsKwu0_G2i3XHsiClFAkQ5lmCIyHOJi9p10mWohnqYVKBiTMvHBVk8XdM3PJ-xZ1Y3lCwB0g_WrdsD9aOm1R5RIMd2l2G4gikz7cinDi5mqNnvb8XfZ9cja0prDLvUZ9ecG9x1UCIXjPdRc8JoF7WrTuDTpHQ6IuOULM1wDV7w=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(AP Photo/Michael Sohn)</span></div><p><br /></p><p>She solemnly and genuinely stated, I quote, "I felt like I'd let down my family, my friends, and my country."</p><p>I can't speak for your family and friends, but you didn't let me down because I hadn't even heard of you until twenty minutes ago.</p><p>This brand of well-meaning but ultimately misplaced patriotic language has always left me feeling a bit uneasy, not least because we now live in a world where we can ask an astronaut if they see borders on a space walk.</p><p>This is just the beginning of what deeply irked me about it. In fact, I've been irked about this kind of thing for half my life.</p><p><br /></p><p>I remember watching the Salt Lake City games in 2002 when Canadian freestyle skier Jennifer Heil placed fourth. Many of the major newspapers the next day bore the headline "Oh, so close." Fair enough on first glance, not least because the distance between her fourth place finish and the podium was one one-hundredth of a point as deemed by the judges.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEic3PLm010j-63Hw-jIGvzYJxn-yUn_3Uz9xM38uMv8vHWKu519DdgkM9aEhB2lOi_EOw4BRTHhfp7H3WHsEfza2cE1mtFjXRV7dtYQf_xtJGlJwZo6ql37ASf2PrNLh1iAX5Edq-dNPzZdS7IkTniLtFp7FF4REeN24DE6euioCvNFz0SogBmNBCeC6w=s400" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="198" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEic3PLm010j-63Hw-jIGvzYJxn-yUn_3Uz9xM38uMv8vHWKu519DdgkM9aEhB2lOi_EOw4BRTHhfp7H3WHsEfza2cE1mtFjXRV7dtYQf_xtJGlJwZo6ql37ASf2PrNLh1iAX5Edq-dNPzZdS7IkTniLtFp7FF4REeN24DE6euioCvNFz0SogBmNBCeC6w=s320" width="158" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Fast-forward to the Vancouver games in 2010. On day two Heil won Canada's first medal in front of the hometown crowd. It was a silver. Guess what the headline from the major papers read?</p><p><br /></p><p>"Oh, so close."</p><p><br /></p><p>I wish I was joking.</p><p><br /></p><p>Being second-best in the world at something is not good enough?</p><p><br /></p><p>Even the official <a href="https://freestylecanada.ski/about/history" target="_blank">Freestyle Canada</a> website reused the headline for this entry in their history of the sport.</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Dear society:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Stop this insanity.</span></p><p><br /></p><p>An article in the <a href="https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/the-many-faces-of-jenn-heil" target="_blank">Edmonton Journal</a> about Jennifer Heil addresses the many external pressures athletes face on the world stage. A kinesiology professor is interviewed, who suggests that "cluttering the mind with the expectations of others and the pressure that brings may not be an effective strategy. Own the Podium is about outcomes; own the moment is about process, which is the more effective pathway to success."</p><p>Wonderful. Sounds like a reasonable path to cherish the experience. But in the same article they also referred to Heil's second place finish<span face="arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202124;"> </span>as a defeat.</p><p>Are you kidding me? Being second-best is not even "close"—now it's a defeat?</p><p>Google the phrase "settled for silver" in quotes and you'll get about 325,000 results. Try "won silver" and you'll get 1.6 million. This means roughly one in five instances of speaking about being second-best in the world at something carries the implication of not being good enough.</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Dear society:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Stop this insanity.</span></p><p><br /></p><p>Tonight at the beginning of the bronze medal game in men's hockey, a commentator referred to it as "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOK1USTPAAg" target="_blank">the game nobody wants to play in</a>." Likewise, just before the bronze medal game in men's curling began, much of the chatter from the press box was about how this wasn't the game Canadian skip Brad Gushue was hoping to be participating in, treating the chance to be the third-best in the world at your chosen passion as a consolation match. They even went so far as to say it may not be a big deal for Gushue as he'd won Olympic gold before, barely stopping short of insisting the game should be taken lightly and played more for the two members of his team who'd never won an Olympic medal before.</p><p><br /></p><p>No, no, NO.</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Dear society:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Stop this insanity.</span></p><p><br /></p><p>When someone is named high school valedictorian, they're treated like they've won an Olympic gold because they came in first place. This is obviously a marvellous achievement. But there are nearly 3,500 high schools in Canada, and each one has that top student. With 2.5 million students, that's about one in 700. And that's generous, as it's not even accounting for the sizeable portion of students without academic aspirations.</p><p>By contrast, there are an estimated <a href="https://www.skistar.com/en/corporate/about-skistar/our-industry" target="_blank">135 million skiers in the world</a>. If you qualify amongst the top hundred or so in the world to be in the Olympics, you are literally one in a million. But if you finish in any position apart from number one, you're a failure.</p><p>And yet we wonder why athletes struggle with mental health issues?</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Dear society:</span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Stop.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">This.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Insanity.</span></p><p><br /></p><div>It's fascinating that this kind of thinking exists concurrently with the "give every kid a participation trophy for having a pulse" mentality that permeates much of our society today. It's a bizarre dichotomy that effectively amounts to "if it's our kids (or the kids we're responsible for), let's make them feel great" existing alongside "if you're someone else's kid, you're dead to me unless you win."</div><div><p>From this humble soapbox, all I can ask as one tiny voice is that we seek a happy medium between these two extremes.</p><p>Perhaps we should rethink the language we use in individual sports. In team sports there are only two teams playing, whereby one team typically wins and the other loses. It makes sense in this context that winning and losing is framed in binary terms. But in individual sports<span face="arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202124;">—</span>particularly ones where dozens of athletes are racing against the clock, or especially relying on the input of judges who are prone to emotionally driven biases and various other forms of human error<span face="arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202124;">—</span>it's not a clear cut winner/loser type situation. If whoever is in second place was "defeated," that means in an event with 50 competitors, 49 are considered defeated. But of course nobody actually says that, because everybody knows it's not true.</p><p>Going forward, let's try to remember that literally everyone who makes it to the Olympics is world class. Maybe it's time we steer the conversation in that direction and become more cognizant of this undeniable and remarkable fact while we pick apart the minutiae that separates the top 0.000001 and 0.000002 percentile of athletes. And maybe then we'll progress to a point where we won't have a 15-year-old girl having a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/figure-skating/russias-figure-skating-trio-enter-uncertain-future-1.6355442" target="_blank">complete meltdown on live TV</a> because she was only the second-best in the world.</p><p><br /></p><p>Dear society:</p><p>Stop this insanity.</p><p><br /></p></div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-67865880647768816912021-10-23T22:27:00.007-04:002022-12-05T14:58:25.551-05:00review: Roger Taylor - "Outsider Tour" at Rock City in Nottingham<p><br /></p><p>October 15, 2021.</p><p><br /></p>This was my first gig as an attendee in nearly two years - the last one being The Darkness in 2019.<div><p><br /></p>I
never thought I'd see myself attending a solo gig by a Queen member.
Such a thing hasn't happened since the '90s, and this part of their
lives seemed to be in the rearview mirror. The anticipation leading up
to the start of the gig was palpable amongst the 2,000 or so on hand as that reality set in.</div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ggq1sKoPZy2ZrH7vyJnqgiZyJJ2B9JiZxEqeXROmvkOLAdJ-wxx3C7N0rfCudbX5LaNVlVGeoUCH5lLlENkj-x7ROnm7_K6uuUrxtnvVgDeQyNJcUMsT-1BhTw_m0EnyvfsR0xqs5Y6wNNhpIzsswhgDLZ1whVXsdgF2cnhcksfS2fDXIaOGNjEmmA/s1080/Roger.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ggq1sKoPZy2ZrH7vyJnqgiZyJJ2B9JiZxEqeXROmvkOLAdJ-wxx3C7N0rfCudbX5LaNVlVGeoUCH5lLlENkj-x7ROnm7_K6uuUrxtnvVgDeQyNJcUMsT-1BhTw_m0EnyvfsR0xqs5Y6wNNhpIzsswhgDLZ1whVXsdgF2cnhcksfS2fDXIaOGNjEmmA/s320/Roger.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="text-align: center;"><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Niek Lucassen)</span></div></span><div><br /></div><p><br /></p><div>It was surreal to be in a room full of people singing every word of the
title track from <i>Strange Frontier</i>. I haven't experienced that feeling
since I saw Dweezil Zappa doing "I'm the Slime."</div><p><br /></p><div>"You and me seen better
times" - these words carried an extra layer of poignancy on this
occasion for all the obvious reasons, but at the same time it just
wasn't the case in that exact moment, as this is the best thing every
one of us could possibly have been doing. The joy of being together with
the man whose music means so much to us made it all null and void, even
just for a couple wonderful hours.</div><p><br /></p><div>Point blank, the band was
killer - without question it's the best he's ever assembled. They were
musically and vocally tight. The five of them smiled at one another
throughout, and the elder statesman interacted with his band with the
most genuine of joy. The backing vocals in the early Queen pieces like "Tenement Funster" and I'm in Love with My Car" were perfectly executed.</div><p><br /></p><div>But
it's the main man we all came to see. Roger is so unapologetically
himself. He never looks fully comfortable as the frontman of a band, but
at the same time he also looks like he'd rather be nowhere else. He
wears his heart on his sleeve, just like the lyrics on every one of his
solo albums. It's incredible he's still this good at 72, singing as well
as he did 30 years ago. His drumming chops were in great shape too -
far better than 2005 where he sometimes looked out of breath. He's
taking much better care of himself now. Most of the old rock stars must
have personal trainers and stylists, as they're looking and sounding
better than they did in decades past. Aware of his limits, Roger sat
down at his drum kit just twice - but both were eventful. These guys are
well into retirement age, and we're lucky they're doing this at all.</div><p><br /></p><div>The
band did give him a break half way through, and the interlude of "Rock
It (Prime Jive)" with wingman Tyler Warren on the lead vocal was quite
possibly the highlight of the evening. Warren needs no introduction, and
is absolutely a world class talent. He is unquestionably the best guy
on the planet for the gig. He deserves it.</div><p><br /></p><div>Christian Mendoza was
excellent on guitar as well. On "Say It's Not True" it became clear that
he was closer to Jeff Beck than Brian May, which is precisely why he's
there. Roger doesn't want someone who plays like his old Queen bandmate -
he wants someone who makes it his own and isn't too flashy. Mendoza is
the perfect guy for the job.</div><p><br /></p><div>Bassist Neil Fairclough has done
the arenas and stadiums of the world with Brian and Roger, but he was
just as happy to be in a club, playing spotlessly as always.</div><p><br /></p><div>But
it's Tina Hizon that was the secret sauce, playing four instruments. She
was even on double duty, as Spike Edney wasn't on the gig because he
was unwell. Roger mentioned how the musical director was at the hospital
earlier that day, and near the end of the show to his surprise Spike
came on in shorts and a t-shirt to play the last few songs. Hizon nailed
Treanna Morris' part on "Surrender," and in my head all I could think was
- this was clearly her audition piece. She was a dead ringer. A huge
talent.</div><p><br /></p><div>There was a moment of levity in "Foreign Sand." It's
pretty well inarguably the most gorgeous song he's ever composed, but on
this night after "just say hello" the crowd literally said hello, and
he loved it, laughing his way into the next line. On each night of the tour henceforth the "hello" became more emphatic, and at the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f9GYzfIOVU" target="_blank">final gig in London</a> it cracked Roger up, to which he quipped "it's meant to be serious!" in between lines.</div><div><p><br /></p><div>The triumvirate of Roger, Tina, and Tyler on drums at the tail end of "Up" was a high point as well.</div></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N-CI427BvZk" width="320" youtube-src-id="N-CI427BvZk"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><div><br /></div><div>For the encore Roger came on sporting a shiny red cigar jacket,
looking like a million bucks. They did two covers, and for Heroes the
multi-instrumentalist Hizon played the Robert Fripp part on electric
violin.</div><p><br /></p><div>The only complaint is that the mix often wasn't
great, as it was a bass trap up in the balcony. We couldn't even hear
much of Roger's banter between songs, although the backing vocals were
mixed well. A couple of my friends who didn't know most of the material
weren't overly pleased, because the lyrics are a fair portion of what's
on offer with Roger's earnest and often heartfelt compositions.</div><p><br /></p><div>But
for the most fervent of fans, the setlist was brilliant - songs
spanning his solo career from all but one of his albums, as well as a
fair chunk of the classics he wrote for Queen. I was thrilled to hear "A
Nation of Haircuts" from <i>Electric Fire</i>, and the new tunes all sounded
great too. I wish we could've heard something from <i>Fun In Space</i>, but
Roger's vocal range isn't quite what it was 40 years ago, and his sense
of self-awareness combined with his musical maturity had him assembling a
band and a setlist perfect for 2021.</div><p><br /></p><div>His first four solo albums are all criminally underrated (here's my <a href="https://bobsinnermusings.blogspot.com/2021/09/roger-taylor-fun-in-space-strange.html" target="_blank">review</a> of the first two). It seems almost unfathomable that the drummer of the
most popular of all the classic rock bands (if their sheer number of Spotify followers is an
accurate enough metric to measure this) is playing clubs, but if
anything that just amplified the feeling of intimacy. There was this
feeling of "he's ours."</div><p><br /></p><div>There was supposed to be an opening
act, Colin Macleod, who is apparently quite good but didn't show for some reason. But honestly, after
nearly two years of not being able to see a gig, two hours was the
perfect length.</div><p><br /></p><div>As
we exited the venue there were a few hundred kids lined up for a rave. A
few hours earlier it was people two to three times their age in that same
formation. I hate to sound like an old man or a Luddite, but they had no
idea what they were missing.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-48343552642682083982021-09-05T23:06:00.071-04:002022-09-12T02:55:36.709-04:00Roger Taylor: "Fun in Space" / "Strange Frontier" analysis<p><br /></p><p>I recently revisited Roger Taylor's first two solo albums. They are
pieces of music history that have barely been spoken about since they
came out, and this piece aims to rectify that at least a little bit.</p><p><br /></p><i>Fun
in Space</i> and <i>Strange Frontier</i> came out in the early- to mid-'80s when
Queen were one of the biggest bands in the world, and apart from a Top
of the Pops appearance and some moderate radio airplay of a couple
singles, they soon disappeared without a trace. I'm going to argue that
this turn of events is absolutely tragic. By the end of this piece I'm
pretty sure you'll agree.<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><i style="text-align: left;"></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX0fx0vBeO5lfpHdECuZe-7pyFcRryKUNmceRpamzoQz_RviAxiYfZhF-JcAISW-Jj9WnbO4RPCBbyyLlqtAV_y6UWXOppj7TT_ZG7pUTxpjPNBl0Je18BxeJdOFIQ8dvvbIbJJiwalGULrCVKD1nS2kvOyVRQWcYWglAr65_xo4BRGWIYe4hw7BhcOQ/s700/Fun%20in%20Space.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX0fx0vBeO5lfpHdECuZe-7pyFcRryKUNmceRpamzoQz_RviAxiYfZhF-JcAISW-Jj9WnbO4RPCBbyyLlqtAV_y6UWXOppj7TT_ZG7pUTxpjPNBl0Je18BxeJdOFIQ8dvvbIbJJiwalGULrCVKD1nS2kvOyVRQWcYWglAr65_xo4BRGWIYe4hw7BhcOQ/s320/Fun%20in%20Space.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>In April 1981 Roger Taylor became the
first member of Queen to drop a solo album. Like few of
his peers he wrote and played pretty well every part, as he's a more
than capable multi-instrumentalist. I found side one of <i>Fun in Space </i>to be pretty solid,
save for "Let's Get Crazy" which sounds a bit like an undeveloped idea. But the
great tracks stand out. The energetic driving beat of "No Violins" is
infectious, and it is cleverly textured throughout. The sentimental "Laugh Or Cry" is gorgeous yet sombre, complete with an emotive guitar
solo with phrasing that would make Clapton raise an eyebrow.</div><p><br /></p><i></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ObIbMdZclDU" width="320" youtube-src-id="ObIbMdZclDU"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><div>But
on this latest listen it was "Good Times Are Now" that stood atop the rest.
Musically it's similar to "No Violins," but the subject matter is far more
meaningful. Roger is often conversational in his lyrics, and rarely is
he more down to earth and relatable than he is here:</div><p><br /></p><div><i>I had to take a chance 'cause special moments only tend to happen now and then</i></div><p><br /></p><div>Point
blank, this is one of the best hooks I've ever heard. The syncopation
of those words almost implies the urgency of needing to seize those rare
moments when they present themselves. He goes on:</div><p><br /></p><div><i>Live for the present, it's the only one we have<br />Nobody gets out of here alive<br />Life in the future might never come to pass<br />You know good times are now</i></div><p><br /></p><div>Clichés
they may be, but somehow he gets away with it and makes you feel like
you're hearing such universal messages for the first time. The ensuing
guitar solo in the middle sounds very similar to "Coming Soon" off Queen's <i>The
Game</i> - but "Good Times Are Now" is considerably better because it actually
has something to say. And it's this genuine sense of character that
would permeate his next long player from start to finish.</div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPm_TcWf3EZz49RCoriA8k6sSaSGnNOWaS_av6kPOlDW0aeHvaPmR-upK3TfV-XiMyoQIY5HBt_paWnyARfnRfFIGRsQ3v3TKikY5dQ_yqPOJ6FB0YSzvQlXSG32V-Iqeh-p4-h9baoiFPt2y11TvflCVdzaHMWqCd9GG7vR1u59aZ0Vm810LoBC0pg/s1754/81%20Roger%20Mountain%20Studios%20a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1076" data-original-width="1754" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPm_TcWf3EZz49RCoriA8k6sSaSGnNOWaS_av6kPOlDW0aeHvaPmR-upK3TfV-XiMyoQIY5HBt_paWnyARfnRfFIGRsQ3v3TKikY5dQ_yqPOJ6FB0YSzvQlXSG32V-Iqeh-p4-h9baoiFPt2y11TvflCVdzaHMWqCd9GG7vR1u59aZ0Vm810LoBC0pg/s320/81%20Roger%20Mountain%20Studios%20a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p><br /></p><div>In fan
polls people regularly rate the Roger tracks on the Queen albums from
1978-82 as their least favourites of the era, and with good reason - I'm
now fairly certain he was holding back his strongest material for his
solo album, as the best tracks on <i>Fun in Space</i> are leaps and bounds
better.</div><p><br /></p><div>"My Country" tops any of his output on <i>Jazz</i>, <i>The Game</i>, or
<i>Hot Space</i>. But it's understandable that it didn't end up on a Queen
album, because it was too blunt and opinionated. It's a crying shame in
hindsight, as the change in tempo and timbre when the gated drums kick
in is no less effective than "In The Air Tonight." It also has one of the
top vocal performances of Roger's career, easily on par with any of the
most lauded rock vocals of all time. This should be known as one of the
great war protest songs, but sometimes the world isn't so just. For any
number of reasons, great art often falls through the cracks. "My Country" is one of those casualties.</div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy3elZnHYV6TVTC2id5dz2h6TwUBr4AMMCS7a35326Oj6qOg3shkNJ_FmDayU0e0_t8c4MnlZILbXk7ru0Vt_0Ub3Vet_zxAaTv2A96Zkrk83lTDKIw_ewgGfDBOgt-Jg5hr71YuA24YXGI91HV_6uMKU_kmu44wDYQPoaVAOw1ApfvwPc9AZyqhRD1A/s956/81%20Musicland%206%20(Peter%20Hince).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="956" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy3elZnHYV6TVTC2id5dz2h6TwUBr4AMMCS7a35326Oj6qOg3shkNJ_FmDayU0e0_t8c4MnlZILbXk7ru0Vt_0Ub3Vet_zxAaTv2A96Zkrk83lTDKIw_ewgGfDBOgt-Jg5hr71YuA24YXGI91HV_6uMKU_kmu44wDYQPoaVAOw1ApfvwPc9AZyqhRD1A/s320/81%20Musicland%206%20(Peter%20Hince).jpg" width="241" /></a></div><span style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Peter Hince)</span></div></span><p><br /></p><div>As side two progresses it gets a bit
weak in places, although "Airheads" has a badass and bone-crunching riff, and the title track is a unique and Eno-esque ambient new
wave science fiction workout. Queen's famed "no synthesizers" label had
gone the way of the Dodo the previous year, which Roger even made fun of
in the liner notes. With the title track alone he unquestionably wins the
race for the first member of Queen to find their identity outside of the
confines of the band.</div><p><br /></p><div>I give the album 3 1/2 stars. Ultimately
about half of it is fantastic, which would be the case for the bulk of
Roger's albums going forward.</div><p><br /></p><div>Except for <i>Strange Frontier</i>.</div><p><br /></p><div><i>Fun
in Space</i> has a few individually better songs and moments, but <i>Strange
Frontier</i> is more consistent and cohesive. There's no one song that
sticks out. It's not quite a concept album, but there's a uniformity to
it and every track is part of the greater whole. And the running order
is key.</div><p><br /></p><i></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCsPbTzNy42r2Q6fag3M2gYopssInTxoQw33JQZBksQJchbaggVpU06wOZ6knwUI5qrCzO6gDMa3r0WXd6fdBF1xHD-C5KokV-UGS5zq_iS5aUZ9dOz3ZSld-MttFsG8wclMK71zMmX59AHNjSVgIjEsyK5csqrCp71Aq8q__TYBPs-dsOFCwmGOFVg/s646/Strange%20Frontier.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCsPbTzNy42r2Q6fag3M2gYopssInTxoQw33JQZBksQJchbaggVpU06wOZ6knwUI5qrCzO6gDMa3r0WXd6fdBF1xHD-C5KokV-UGS5zq_iS5aUZ9dOz3ZSld-MttFsG8wclMK71zMmX59AHNjSVgIjEsyK5csqrCp71Aq8q__TYBPs-dsOFCwmGOFVg/s320/Strange%20Frontier.jpg" width="317" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div><i>We're off the tracks, we're off the lines<br />You and me have seen better times<br />Now we're on the borderline and I wish I wasn't here</i></div><p><br /></p><div>A half minute into the album we're clearly hearing a far more developed artist.</div><p><br /></p><div><i>We're trapped inside these dangerous times</i></div><p><br /></p><div>The
title track lays the groundwork for the nine-part story to follow, and "Beautiful Dreams" starts to get more specific. He speaks to the reality
and ease of having dreams come true as children, but that later in life
we need drugs (a secret world of "chemical dreams") to achieve the same
state of bliss. But there's no solution except "nuclear purity," which
is an idea very much of its time as the early '80s were the peak of the
Cold War. There isn't a solution, so nuke us all. "This is the final
twilight; this is the final cure, it seems." All delivered in ethereal
and soaring melodies. Chilling.</div><p><br /></p><div>It segues into "Man on Fire," where
his more optimistic side is on display. Without question it's the most
accessible piece on the album, and thus it was unsurprisingly the lead single. But this upbeat feeling dwindles from
here onward.</div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YttrKkyVKyc" width="320" youtube-src-id="YttrKkyVKyc"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><div>In his 1951 book <i>New Hopes for a Changing World</i>,
Bertrand Russell stated how "One of the painful things about our time is
that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any
imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision." So
many of us start becoming cynical by our 30s as certain realities of
life expose themselves, and these themes of doubt, frustration, and
pessimism permeate the album as Roger's disillusion has started to set
in (a few years of Thatcherism didn't hurt, either). In more recent
years it's pretty clear he eventually said "fuck it" and decided to have
fun with his life. Who can blame him?</div><p><br /></p><div>Even the cover tunes fit
the concept. "Racing in the Street" and "Masters of War" are both excellent
examples of making an existing song one's own. He'd achieve the same
with "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itmWiEG1pss" target="_blank">Working Class Hero</a>" a lifetime later.</div><p><br /></p><div>The interlude of "Killing Time" is a marvellous sonic experience. "Dreams go by just
killing time." He's fixated on dreams again, but this time in a
different context - being consciously aware of it instead of escaping
it.</div><p><br /></p><div><i>We're treading the same old wheel<br />Killing what they can't steal<br />Smile but we just don't feel</i></div><p><br /></p><div>Who would've thought the guy who wrote "I'm In Love With My Car" could come up with something this... real?</div><p><br /></p><div>"Tears
of heartache, tears of rage from living in a tiring age" declares Roger
in "Abandonfire." He's a rhyming couplet type of writer, and he's rarely
been better than on that line. If you want to see inside this man's
soul, it's all over this album.</div><p><br /></p><div>But he remains briefly hopeful:</div><p><br /></p><div><i>Listen to the rhythms of the city life<br />Listen to the rhythms of your soul<br />Listen to the rustling in the undergrowth<br />Follow in their footsteps to your goal</i></div><p><br /></p><div>Almost like it represents the inner ping-pong match of persevering vs. giving up. Brilliant.</div><p><br /></p><div>On the surface "Young Love" is an innocent and nostalgic piece, but amidst the overall narrative it comes across as wistful.</div><p><br /></p><div><i>This is your life, this is your age</i></div><p><br /></p><div>A typical call to arms, but it is short-lived:</div><p><br /></p><div><i>You've seen it before<br />Like your mum and your dad<br />They're dying each day<br />Living a lie that's so sad</i></div><p><br /></p><div>He's
saying young love is precisely that - for the young. Reality soon sets
in. It's messy. David Gilmour and Pete Townshend covered similar ground in "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SGa0DpTl8Q" target="_blank">All Lovers Are Deranged</a>" from <i>About Face</i>, also released in 1984. Give "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqCz6RH0T60" target="_blank">Deep Deep Feeling</a>" from <i>McCartney III</i> a gander too.
These guys know what they're talking about.</div><p><br /></p><div><i>Nobody sees this American dream just fading away, it's a complete waste of time, just a nursery rhyme</i></div><p><br /></p><div>It
seems obvious now, but in the '80s this idea was slowly emerging. Neil
Peart nailed it on "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOgz8kM1VDg" target="_blank">Between The Wheels</a>," and Roger Taylor nails it on "It's
An Illusion" - although with much less subtlety, because Roger Taylor
doesn't do subtle. His heart is on his sleeve, always.</div><p><br /></p><div><i>Our reason is fading away</i></div><p><br /></p><div>A
1979 US postage stamp sported the phrase "fueled by truth and reason."
But by the '80s that veneer was starting to get peeled back.<br /><p><br /></p><div><img alt="" src="https://i.imgur.com/kMFJdJC.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" /><br /></div><div><br /></div><p><br /></p>It all comes together with the last track, "I Cry for You."</div><p><br /></p><div><i>I hope you're fine, I hope all's well, give 'em hell<br />Given time hope springs eternal.</i></div><p><br /></p><div>Once
again, he doesn't sit in his happy place for long enough, as this isn't
an album designed to bring comfort. It questions it, constantly.</div><p><br /></p><div><i>Life has no fun anymore<br />Time is on the run for sure</i></div><p><br /></p><div>Again, he oscillates between optimism and anything but.</div><p><br /></p><div><i>Who finds conclusions with love, hope, and confusion?</i></div><p><br /></p><div>A far cry from the man who wrote throwaways like "Let's Get Crazy" and "Fun It" a few years earlier, innit?</div><p><br /></p><div>And who exactly is he crying for? Himself? The world?</div><p><br /></p><div>Next
time one of us meets him, ask him. He's touring solo next month for the
first time in decades - now's your chance. He'll be flattered that you
even know the songs - trust me. The greatest gift you can give an artist
is your time, and to take the time to ask him about his feelings goes a
country mile further than "I first heard your music in year X," "I lost
my virginity to song Y," or "can you sign this for me?"</div><p><br /></p><div>It's
criminal that this music isn't more well-known. But alas this is what
happens when you're second fiddle to the greatest frontman of all time.
Your music doesn't get the distribution it deserves.</div><p><br /></p><div>At the time
he insisted <i>Strange Frontier</i> is far better than its predecessor, and as
much as it can be reduced to PR to market his current project, he was
right. It's a manifesto to its time and timeless all at once, because
it's just as much about the universal human condition as it was about
the state of the world in 1984.</div><p><br /></p><div>Musically it's largely dated like
so many albums of its time, but persevere with it and peel away the
layers and you'll likely come to see that it's lyrically a masterpiece. A coming of age. He may not be
Springsteen or Dylan, but here he gets remarkably close. 4 1/2 stars.</div><p><br /></p><div><br /></div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-24113486588263501512021-04-02T20:12:00.018-04:002022-06-03T23:15:12.077-04:00review: Yes - "The Ladder"<p><br /></p><p>Rick Wakeman <a href="https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-prog-interview-jon-anderson" target="_blank">once referred</a> to his good friend Jon Anderson as "the only guy I know trying to save this planet while living on another one."</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGdhIBH76eAxU5txlVAHA0gMTJ4jc73P-0w1WnZxAcUyayXO2BV4aL4L8LmAiPeMiIkIhfRi7-wPAQh5wcdYe4FKIP7jIiyzWi8ac1N4-QIrBdF-pkUE-y0Md2zR_P5t7eehFytty2Oia/s2048/wakeman-crop.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGdhIBH76eAxU5txlVAHA0gMTJ4jc73P-0w1WnZxAcUyayXO2BV4aL4L8LmAiPeMiIkIhfRi7-wPAQh5wcdYe4FKIP7jIiyzWi8ac1N4-QIrBdF-pkUE-y0Md2zR_P5t7eehFytty2Oia/s320/wakeman-crop.jpg" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>The progressive rock band Yes has always had a rotating cast of characters. Wakeman doesn't play on this album, but he's the first to say Yes has always had great musicians in it. Whether or not he was just being diplomatic, he was right.</p><p><br /></p><p>By the late nineties Anderson's iconic countertenor was full-on into new age philosophy, and amidst this collection of tracks it is inexplicably infectious, making for the most uplifting Yes album since <i>90125</i> (and to date).</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigAKNUbC5HPWFoz_ElfsBa22lAOVBunjiRHGP_soN2N69BJYRP6DhVNAhrq26TfDeBKsQWw5tbmTK9cTXETTRinUnhqwGMxGKAkY3MQNmjG0o52sH2SZgXvpUN0ptpjsb9tQR_ToQvGjKZ/s600/CD.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigAKNUbC5HPWFoz_ElfsBa22lAOVBunjiRHGP_soN2N69BJYRP6DhVNAhrq26TfDeBKsQWw5tbmTK9cTXETTRinUnhqwGMxGKAkY3MQNmjG0o52sH2SZgXvpUN0ptpjsb9tQR_ToQvGjKZ/s320/CD.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Roger Dean's artwork is once again sported on the front cover, although they had a new logo for this one.</span></div><p><br /></p><p><i>The Ladder</i> had four of the members from the lauded "classic" lineup—Anderson, guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire, and drummer Alan White, augmented by multi-instrumentalist Billy Sherwood and keyboardist Igor Khoroshev (who was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F0SQVFWUk0&t=133s" target="_blank">well appraised</a> of the shoes he was filling).</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN99h2ifce2Uxg2-ryvQOoHj-G0FCEirzlFEPOunn5W6afO3dmhY7mT73JRhihwk6QSGirTnNWcB4FnLcdtsmThKyu5itwhzlbVB8TRhoO3ygspXvFAvLyo3mhqSRKGPUbZA8ETxmL6hFx/s614/promo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="474" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN99h2ifce2Uxg2-ryvQOoHj-G0FCEirzlFEPOunn5W6afO3dmhY7mT73JRhihwk6QSGirTnNWcB4FnLcdtsmThKyu5itwhzlbVB8TRhoO3ygspXvFAvLyo3mhqSRKGPUbZA8ETxmL6hFx/s320/promo.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Their creative peak was pretty well inarguably in the 1970s, and an unexpected second lease on life led to their commercial peak in the mid '80s. By the late '90s they were in a bit of a creative rut and joined forces with Canadian producer Bruce Fairbairn. Finding yourself aligned with the right set of ears at the right time to coach you through the process can make all the difference. By this time it was clear to anyone watching carefully enough that Canada had spawned more successful record producers per capita than any other nation on earth (Jack Richardson, Bob Ezrin, Daniel Lanois, Bob Rock, and David Foster for starters) so the odds were in Yes' favour that something great could happen.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jpLm4Nh7jNM" width="320" youtube-src-id="jpLm4Nh7jNM"></iframe></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>This is the one latter day Yes album where their '70s compositional prowess blends with their '80s pop sensibility. The arrangements are thoughtful, the melody always comes first, and rarely are two choruses identical. And in an era where the idea of album sequencing was now mostly in the rearview mirror, it flows beautifully and cohesively from track to track. They even brought in a sideman, Randy Raine-Reusch, who played a whole score of ethnic instruments, bringing a welcome freshness to their sound which hadn't been fully realized for quite some time.</p><p><br /></p><p>Yes is a vocally driven band, but usually not in the traditional sense. Anderson's vocal best functions as a fifth instrument and is not necessarily front and centre. His words are often merely an extension of the music, not the other way around. Even if you don't believe a single word he says on <i>The Ladder</i>, he offers it genuinely and gracefully, with authenticity and joy. You just can't help but want to be on whatever planet he's on.</p><p><br /></p><p>And it's not just Anderson on the spiritual bent here—Fairbairn nicknamed Howe "Swami" for his role in the process. I'm often a cynic, increasingly hardened by the world, and this album makes me believe magic exists. When these two guys are fully congruent with one another they create magic every time.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrEEfUtVQFy9sVNvE659sWTS-KA_C5HwJKYpZHw2v1e5J-xh7pGu1bHpfqBGKMWRkzi6v-wr1FU9dJUI-rGVXIeAkXDuVv8U7AcYBN-zxRUPO-_rMx91OrdKk_0ycV8yaMC2in8Frws8-1/s2048/Roger+Dean.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrEEfUtVQFy9sVNvE659sWTS-KA_C5HwJKYpZHw2v1e5J-xh7pGu1bHpfqBGKMWRkzi6v-wr1FU9dJUI-rGVXIeAkXDuVv8U7AcYBN-zxRUPO-_rMx91OrdKk_0ycV8yaMC2in8Frws8-1/s320/Roger+Dean.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p>Prog fans hailed the eponymous 10-minute opening track as a return to form, but just as much depth is found in the shorter tracks that follow.</p><p><br /></p><p>"It Will Be A Good Day" sees many baroque-inspired key changes, similar to "And You And I." Anderson and Squire's voices blend together as well as ever, like Lennon and McCartney on "If I Fell."</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSA57ucFdk2rmj25vRKxwUPm1qpKCzze-1HHg68CqrXaiDReBHVSJOh8RyQDxw7fr6ezUJOiKKkF1aC83GurgxgupYDueYe2kGHWfw78iEKScBYxXvaVHLADrEpYH34kkg2Z2V_6qdJckZ/s556/ticket.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="199" data-original-width="556" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSA57ucFdk2rmj25vRKxwUPm1qpKCzze-1HHg68CqrXaiDReBHVSJOh8RyQDxw7fr6ezUJOiKKkF1aC83GurgxgupYDueYe2kGHWfw78iEKScBYxXvaVHLADrEpYH34kkg2Z2V_6qdJckZ/s320/ticket.gif" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>The genre bending and upbeat "Lightning Strikes" is Yes' boldest move since they teamed up with the guys who wrote "Video Killed The Radio Star." The horn section is well-utilized, and the time signature changes galore never feel shoehorned or laboured, similar to what Rush achieved on "Limelight."</p><p><br /></p><p>"Can I" is self parody at its finest, with the counterpoint and lyrics evoking "We Have Heaven" from <i>Fragile</i>. On first glance it's derivative, but Anderson takes it a step further, inventing a language long before Sigur Ros. I have such a soft spot for choral music—the same reason I love the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq77-XImZsw&t=2996s" target="_blank">title track</a> off <i>Drones </i>by Muse.</p><p><br /></p><p>On "Face To Face" Squire makes something as rudimentary as a descending major scale sound like you're hearing it for the first time. The Aretha-like backing vocals are not unlike "Houses Of The Holy" (the song, not the album).</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq75Yq4J8-6MJQhCqFJEd2t7K-nAX-ivFz2WS-48gId3Tc7VP2JNDBOK8RBt2MQvH1fHOOllMMaHyWTw1qBW4hhpITrU4Fyx7bso60jADhZmbuIu6ObjeQLqb-EEu0t5cTkNCetctaaa5k/s600/LPd.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq75Yq4J8-6MJQhCqFJEd2t7K-nAX-ivFz2WS-48gId3Tc7VP2JNDBOK8RBt2MQvH1fHOOllMMaHyWTw1qBW4hhpITrU4Fyx7bso60jADhZmbuIu6ObjeQLqb-EEu0t5cTkNCetctaaa5k/s320/LPd.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Word painting is a musical technique that goes back to Handel, at least—"Ev'ry Valley" from the Messiah first comes to mind. At the end of Anderson's love song "If Only You Knew," on "when I was falling" the textural bit of steel guitar Howe adds literally sounds like something falling. Masterful.</p><p><br /></p><p>"To Be Alive" is pop perfection. Once again the congruency of Anderson and Squire's voices are on full display in the second verse. Howe's only contribution is a bit of lap steel, and it's sublime<span style="background-color: #efffe8; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">—</span>so exceptionally suited to the song that he plays it again like McCartney's solo on "Maybe I'm Amazed." Every note Howe plays on this album is purposeful, crafted with care. His parts are mostly ornamental, and this is not to their detriment. It is an hour-long clinic on how to play for the song, decorating only the spots that need it. This is what musical maturity sounds like.</p><p><br /></p><p>Many of the songs have outros that are completely unrelated to the rest of it, as Fairbairn felt the ideas were too good to leave on the cutting room floor. And somehow it all works. The bit tagged onto the end of "Finally" has a <i>Tales From Topographic Oceans</i> feel to it. The intro unexpectedly recapitulating later in the song is marvellous as well.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaiQCKUjp19eOwHtb4Xigo0WSAfkfXvU09DhYV2MfCR0gBOPTofOejTtTJX_zIAA6c_AodmVnTliMj4g1Vh-6xxy1iX613WBmZdBiVjQjENgoIfX45FD5gYcHYEoc-mXXHI3i2LTxNr8q_/s376/Yes-the-band-1999-2000-Ladder-Tour-GENUINE.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="372" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaiQCKUjp19eOwHtb4Xigo0WSAfkfXvU09DhYV2MfCR0gBOPTofOejTtTJX_zIAA6c_AodmVnTliMj4g1Vh-6xxy1iX613WBmZdBiVjQjENgoIfX45FD5gYcHYEoc-mXXHI3i2LTxNr8q_/s320/Yes-the-band-1999-2000-Ladder-Tour-GENUINE.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>The sudden entry of backing vocals in "The Messenger" is one of the most powerful moments in the entire Yes catalog. Even people who panned this album said they loved this track.</p><p><br /></p><p>"New Language" is not dissimilar to "Close To The Edge" in that there's a lengthy instrumental intro that precedes the core of the song. The backing vocals in the pre-chorus evoke "Leave It" off <i>90125</i>, and in the last chorus Squire's bass part moves up an octave. Tiny sprinkles like this are massively effective, as he manages to somehow elevate the track to an even higher place. It's classic Yes from here onward for the rest of the piece.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitUBErARggS9s5IFlrex0z0-NodkGUE5-BkL_V3xlDE4pSG4-nof8fHuPNh9HSbxwnncYvj5U48gTDFaXbvlAkB9o5ZEU3EQKLXQFpZZpsB33ANQSTvobLQLBHRbkXpharZdrFXSW2BLF7/s432/poster1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="289" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitUBErARggS9s5IFlrex0z0-NodkGUE5-BkL_V3xlDE4pSG4-nof8fHuPNh9HSbxwnncYvj5U48gTDFaXbvlAkB9o5ZEU3EQKLXQFpZZpsB33ANQSTvobLQLBHRbkXpharZdrFXSW2BLF7/s320/poster1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>On "Nine Voices" Howe plays the same 12-string Portuguese guitar he'd played decades earlier on "I've Seen All Good People" and "Wonderous Stories." The "new language" lyrical theme is heard again, similar to "these days" showing up all over the album bearing that name by Bon Jovi (another underrated '90s album). It wouldn't surprise me if the overdubs totalled nine voices, because it wouldn't be Yes at their best if they didn't have that kind of attention to detail.</p><p><br /></p><p>With this album a bunch of guys in their 50s shunned the idea of following timely trends, and in the post-grunge era they produced what should be hailed as a classic. It's an entirely different discussion why the business mechanisms that were needed to help achieve that didn't come to bat for them, but it's all moot now that you're reading this.</p><p><br /></p><p>Give <i>The Ladder</i> a spin—you'll almost certainly be glad you did. It's one of the best rock albums this side of <i>OK Computer</i>.</p><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-52110998913639569502019-02-02T20:44:00.012-05:002021-04-03T13:26:07.977-04:00Dr. Brian May: polymath<center>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This post on the wonders of the </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">New Horizons mission </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">is a two parter, with the first half being expertly done by my good pal and professional astronomer <a href="http://ryanmarciniak.com/" target="_blank">Ryan Marciniak</a>. My part focuses on the path one of my favourite musicians underwent to end up on NASA's rolodex.</span><div><span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;">For Ryan's insightful take on our latest bout of excellence in space travels, go here: </span><a href="https://rhea.ryanmarciniak.com/2019/01/new-horizons-and-ultima-thule-two-perspectives" style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;" target="_blank">https://rhea.ryanmarciniak.com/2019/01/new-horizons-and-ultima-thule-two-perspectives</a><div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The link between music and astronomy begins over 200 years ago with William Herschel. Most famous for discovering Uranus and infrared radiation, he was also a composer. By the 20th century, Danish composer Hakon Borresen wrote a ballet about <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUfCJOGd5IA" target="_blank">Tycho Brahe</a>, and one of German composer Paul Hindemith's operas was based on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xg_ROgGj1U" target="_blank">Johannes Kepler</a>. Polish composer Henrik Gorecki's second Symphony was entitled <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF_h9147RIw" target="_blank">The Copernican</a>. American composer Philip Glass wrote an album about <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoZkFZPi91k&list=PLdpGnTWLHu_GcKU8mk6vGxghaW82GpTum" target="_blank">Galileo</a>, and later composed another opera on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_Fh2TmHZyk" target="_blank">Kepler</a>. Glass also wrote a piece about the constellation <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1qEexSJlUU" target="_blank">Orion</a>.<br /><br /><br />One of the first rock bands to dive into astronomy was Rush, with the vividly detailed "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OMibr8CqQ4" target="_blank">Cygnus X-1</a>" in 1977. About a decade later, Todd Rundgren wrote a beautiful and introspective piece called "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u4P8D8CtBQ" target="_blank">Hawking</a>." But the first rock musician to properly incorporate astronomy into music was Brian May of Queen. In 1975 he composed a piece for the band's <i>A Night at the Opera</i> album entitled "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE8kGMfXaFU" target="_blank">'39</a>," which details an astronaut's journey as per the time dilation effect. The protagonist feels like he has traversed space for only a year, but to the people at home on Earth he has been gone for a hundred. May later revealed how it had another layer to it (unbeknownst even to him on a conscious level at first), about the contemplation of the changes that occur at home and within oneself when one leaves their roots in search of experiences and meaning in life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /><br /><br />May's career in astronomy actually began before Queen did, but he abandoned his Ph.D. studies in 1974 after the band found commercial success. He eventually finished his doctorate on the motions of interplanetary dust in 2007, a topic that had fallen out of fashion in the 1970s but gained a renewed interest as other habitable zone planets were being discovered. An asteroid was named "52665 Brianmay" in his honour the following year.<br /><br /><br />He is also a lifelong enthusiast of stereo photography, an art of 3D photo viewing that traces back to the 1840s. The premise is that two photos of the same object or scene taken at slightly different angles can pop out in 3D, either by crossing one's eyes or viewing the images through a stereoscope. Unbeknownst to millions of Queen fans for decades, May's [and bassist John Deacon's] love for stereoscopy graces the back cover of their debut album.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /><br /><br />May's affinity for stereoscopy never waned. All those years of touring often saw him rummaging through the shops of the world in search of stereo cards, and his collection is apparently one of the finest in the world. He has since written or co-written numerous books on stereo photography, astronomy, music, or any combination thereof.<br /><br /><br />In 2013, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield sent May photos from the International Space Station, which he turned into stereos that he presented at the Starmus conference in Tenerife a year later. The conference was the Woodstock of science, with the added bonus of being able to meet your heroes without a backstage pass. Nobel Laureates, men who walked on the moon, and household names like Richard Dawkins and Neil deGrasse Tyson mingled with the rest of us. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Stephen Hawking was the headliner, and one of the opening acts was Brian May.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The audience of about 500 all received specially designed stereoscopic 3D glasses (designed by May and photo historian and stereoscopy expert Denis Pellerin) to view images of planets, moons, and asteroids in their full 3D glory from their seat in the conference room (not before May began with a 3D image of Freddie Mercury, to much joyful recognition from the crowd of delegates). He also explained how parallax is not only used to calculate our distance from faraway objects in the universe, but by our eyes on a daily basis, as they constantly do these same calculations so that we can see the world in 3D throughout our lives.<br /><br /><br />I was there, in the middle of the oohs and aahs. At one point May stated how he would spend several days at the computer working on single images to maximize their 3D capabilities, to a standing ovation. In a seminar in which he had set the stage by explaining how the school system in his day taught him that it was impossible to be both a scientist and an artist, watching the scientific community embrace his unique blending of science and art a half century later, at a conference specifically designed to blend science with the arts, was nothing short of magical.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /><br /><br />Aside from touring, Brian May's musical activities have mostly taken a back seat in recent years while he has pursued his other passions. He was most recently a scientific and musical contributor to the New Horizons mission. His first solo composition in nearly 20 years, entitled New Horizons, found one passion of his reigniting another.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /><br /><br />He premiered the song at the NASA headquarters New Year's event immediately after counting down to 2019. His goal in writing it was not only to commemorate the mission, but also to celebrate our inherent inquisitive nature as a species. Days later he posted on his blog his own stereo pair of the first clear images of Ultima Thule, the furthest object we have ever travelled to.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />It is of little coincidence that memes like this pop up, as people are now connecting the dots between his musical and academic pursuits:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />Brian May has created a second career in exercising his star power to bring science and academia to the masses in an accessible way. He is a Renaissance man. I'd argue he is the Leonardo da Vinci of our time.<br /><br /><br />Who wants to live forever? Probably no-one.<br /><br /><br />But I wish he could.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div></div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-72347852025334217132018-11-14T22:47:00.000-05:002018-12-24T02:50:54.996-05:00"Bohemian Rhapsody" review (sort of)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So I finally saw the Bohemian Rhapsody film a few days ago, and it seems the entire world wants to hear my opinion about it.</div>
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And everyone knows just how much I loathe giving my opinion.</div>
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Of course I'm flattered - because I've been absorbed in Queen's music and history for 25 years now, both professionally and for my personal delight, this has people thinking I'm qualified to give a more valid and pertinent review than most.<br />
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But that's the problem - I'm so intrinsically connected to this music and their story that I almost feel overqualified to provide an unbiased opinion. When you're this deep in it, you're usually one of two things: a sycophantic fan boy, or in a position of wanting to show respect and gratitude to the people who have basically provided you with a career. I'd like to think I'm somewhere in the middle, never wanting to pigeonhole myself into anything I can't safely crawl out of. But I'd say I'm closer to the latter.<br />
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Ultimately I don't feel any more qualified to review this film than anyone else, because I'm but one person in the grand scheme of things; art is designed for everyone, after all. The same way that everyone eats food, not just bourgeois chefs.<br />
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And this is perhaps disappointing for those who want to hear me say it was crap because of all the historical inaccuracies that undoubtedly would have had me wincing every 30 seconds.<br />
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Alas, that's not what happened. Far from it. I'd heard enough reaction from people who'd already seen it, so I reset my metric of expectation. If we've learned anything from previous music biopics, it's that Hollywood is all about entertainment, not accuracy. If you want accuracy, watch a documentary. So I went in expecting to be entertained and not much more. After all, understanding the intent of art is often paramount to appreciation of it.<br />
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As I sat down in my (strangely more comfortable than usual) cinema chair and was transported back to 1970, all kinds of feelings went through my head. My life insofar as my history of loving this band flashed before my eyes: hearing We Will Rock You for the first time on a cassette tape lent to me by my grade 6 music teacher, learning how to play it (and the rest of the Queen catalogue) on guitar at some point in the ensuing few years, <a href="http://www.bobwegner.ca/images/2006_Bri_Bob.jpg" target="_blank">meeting Brian May for the first time</a>, launching a <a href="http://www.queenlive.ca/" target="_blank">website about Queen's concert history</a>, playing in my own <a href="http://www.simplyqueenband.com/" target="_blank">Queen tribute band</a> in a theatre for the first time, playing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPoAYV-DH9I" target="_blank">A Night At The Opera</a> at the prestigious Massey Hall in Toronto, the countless wonderful people I've met as a result of all of this, and a whole lot other memories, both public and private, that I can't even begin to quantify.<br />
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And then I saw the characters who were overall very well cast (the guy playing Brian was uncanny). And those characters told a story. Not necessarily Queen's story exactly as it played out - but "a" story. It was largely accurate, with some fabrications, and some anachronisms to advance the story wherever necessary. And then there were those two or three scenes that even the most ardent experts on the band would say were complete fiction and never happened. But shift around the timeline a bit, and maybe that scene where Mercury is begging for his job back is more true than one may realize. The definitive Queen documentary called "Days Of Our Lives" came out in 2011, and there were plenty of stories told by Brian May and Roger Taylor that hadn't been previously told. Were those 35 year old stories untrue in 2010 just because they hadn't been told yet?<br />
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And of course there were plenty of omissions, but what can one possibly expect from a two hour movie? It will never be comprehensive.<br />
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I'd walked in thinking I wasn't the target audience. That the film was intended more for people who knew three Queen songs than for people like me. But by the end of the film, as I watched the triumphant Live Aid scene (which was brilliantly reproduced) with tears in my eyes, it dawned on me that tens of millions of people are now experiencing some semblance of the joy that this music has brought me over the past 25 years of my life.<br />
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No matter what we think of the film, its influence on popular culture is already in motion. As of yesterday, the Bohemian Rhapsody soundtrack is Queen's biggest album in the US since The Game, sitting comfortably at #3 on the <a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8484309/queen-highest-charting-album-38-years-billboard-200" target="_blank">Billboard charts</a>. And another Greatest Hits album of theirs is also in the top ten, making this the first time two Queen albums have charted that high simultaneously.<br />
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My adolescent self was bullied incessantly for liking this band. And now 20 years later, they've never been bigger in my lifetime than they are right now. Teenage me and current me are pretty thrilled with the idea. It is a moment I will cherish.<br />
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Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-21097215084423093692018-08-02T22:26:00.004-04:002023-01-13T15:01:10.894-05:00review: Jeff Beck at Budweiser Stage, Toronto<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_88lElRQ8eOxn5NrRadLGsLkRRwWJGmbXfhZtvXnKMprC4F2OV9iI47w8hrqcSnjW8wDGxV5nb2AUWEIdebl0VdU3nujFRKS2WNPMKB4eEuxA9_bqWZqsgLK67ubnNcmk3DPgaLCMIzGnzCYjeaCzohQuhCZZnTRj7Q8yLdHv9XL5Ffqe9xxcyOjalg/s320/20180801_213911.jpg" style="display: none;" />
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I saw Jeff Beck tonight. It was transcendental.<br />
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The evening began with sets by Ann Wilson of Heart and Paul Rodgers of Free/Bad Company. Both were brilliant, and showed no signs of slowing down in their late 60s. Rodgers finished his set proper with Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy, with the final words being the ad libbed "it's my dream". In that exact moment I realized how grateful we should all be that these legendary musicians are putting their bodies through hell for months at a time on the road so that we can be entertained for a couple hours, despite being past what the rest of us would reasonably consider to be retirement age.<br />
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And then Jeff Beck began his set with a piece off his latest album. It didn't take long to realize that his guitar has as unique a voice as the singers who preceded him. He's possibly the best rock guitarist I've ever seen, demonstrating pure artistry through and through. As Jimmy Page repeatedly said when he inducted Beck into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2009, "he just keeps getting better and better."</div>
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So many of the performers from days of yore rest on their laurels, but Beck has always pushed himself to stretch the limits of where the guitar can go. This was the furthest thing from a nostalgia show. Now age 74, he has thus long earned the right to play what he wants. Despite having 17 studio albums under his belt, he did mostly covers, crossing many genres. The second song was the beautiful Nadia from his early 2000s electronica period, and Mná na h-Éireann is a folk song based on an 18th century Irish poem.</div>
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Many of the pieces were different arrangements from what he had done on previous tours, like his encore of the Corpus Christi Carol, this time performed only with his cellist Vanessa Freebairn-Smith. The man is constantly innovating.<br />
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Like Frank Zappa, the guitar is an extension of his brain, and he never plays a piece the same way twice. Instead of using a pick, he oscillates between his thumb and index fingers. He has created a secret handshake on his instrument that is so distinctly him. His sound is as instantly recognizable as David Gilmour's or Brian May's. But to call him an innovative guitarist doesn't entirely capture his essence. He has carved his own brand of creative expression. He is without equal.<br />
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Beck always chooses the finest musicians to tour with. Canadian bassist Rhonda Smith, known for her work with Prince, played brilliantly throughout. Beck is always playing with new people, expanding the sound of his ensemble and never wanting to repeat himself. But legendary drummer Vinnie Colaiuta is one of the mainstays, whenever he is available. I can't believe I paid $45 to see this many of the greats on one night.</div>
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Vocalist Jimmy Hall wasn't on stage for the first four songs, which leaves the audience thinking it's an instrumental show (which I would have been entirely fine with). A brilliant vocalist, Hall sang six songs to add variety to the show as it progressed, including two of the more recognizable tunes, Little Wing and Superstition, the latter of which Beck helped Stevie Wonder write.</div>
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Stevie's Cause We've Ended as Lovers, one of Beck's signature pieces, was delivered with authority and grace, as was the set closer, A Day In The Life. The latter sees a fine balance of Beck's emotive and playful style, and the build to the final chord left the audience in great anticipation for the crashing finale.<br />
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His British humility showed at the end of the night after introducing the band. After Colaiuta signaled to him, he joked - "oh, it's just a piece of wood with wires."</div>
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I haven't been this inspired after seeing a show in probably a decade. It reinforced every feeling and thought I've had to date that has told me I don't ever want to have a day job. One cannot have a day job and work on their craft to become even 1/10th of the well-rounded musician Jeff Beck is. It is a dedication that requires focus, persistence, and zero compromise.</div>
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Big name Toronto musicians like Kim Mitchell of Max Webster fame and Geddy Lee of Rush attended the show. Mike Turner, formerly of Our Lady Peace, summed up the show to me in two words:<br />
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"The. Master."<br />
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And when one's peers are that bold and conclusive, that says it all.<br />
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<br />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-84914329977749894732018-05-12T00:16:00.004-04:002022-04-13T21:18:20.080-04:00Ten Canadian albums that most people under 50 do not know and should<br />
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#1 - Hope by Klaatu<br />
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Klaatu was a big deal when they came out in 1976. In a time (keep in mind it's barely post-Vietnam) when nearly everyone thought the world would be a better place if The Beatles reunited, along came Klaatu with a couple tracks on their debut album that sounded so close to The Beatles that people thought it was the fab four in disguise. It was actually a Canadian band who'd just dropped onto the map. But for me it's their sophomore effort that best defines them. 1977's "Hope" is a concept album, beautifully crafted with an uplifting conclusion. Essential listening.<br />
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#2 - The Langley Schools Music Project<br />
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This is a piece of art unlike any other. Recorded in 1976-77 but unreleased until 2001, this is an hour of music sung and performed by several groups of school children in British Columbia, although with a twist - it is not traditional children's music. The children and their teacher (who started the project) rejected the idea that kids' music should be perpetually happy and upbeat, as it didn't accurately reflect the range of emotion children feel. While there are some peppier numbers like Good Vibrations and Sweet Caroline, they balanced the scale by expressing equally genuine and universal feelings like loneliness and sadness. Pieces like God Only Knows, Space Oddity, The Long and Winding Road (sung solo by a 10 year old), and Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft (see: Klaatu above) are beautiful and sometimes challenging listens.<br />
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The kids play all the instruments too, and the songs carry vibes that range from Philip Glass to Phil Spektor to Gregorian Chant. I'm Into Something Good sounds more like gospel than a silly pop song.<br />
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Even in 2001, it took ten record labels for one to finally say yes to releasing this. That in itself is proof that we have such a long way to go in undercutting stigmas in our understanding of children (and ourselves). This music serves as a reminder that it is okay to express any feeling or idea, not just the ones that society or Facebook say are more worthy of air time than others.<br />
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Even if the technical execution isn't always perfect, this is one of the most genuine expressions of feelings through music you will ever experience.<br />
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#3 - Jaune by Jean-Pierre Ferland<br />
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While plenty of Canadians may not be in touch with their musical heritage, this cannot be said for Quebec and Newfoundland, who tend to wear their culture on their sleeve. While the rest of Canada is used to looking at magazine racks with mostly American content, in Quebec they have their movie stars and their music. And they have classic albums that they cherish like this one from 1970.<br />
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It is easily as good as anything the British or west coast folk movements came up with in the period. The sound is warm, the arrangements are beautifully crafted, and the influences and colours are many. It somehow manages to sound both of its time and like it was recorded yesterday.<br />
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"God Is An American" is satire at its finest (and decades before Bowie's "I'm Afraid Of Americans"). It's almost like it's Quebec's answer to Glenn Gould's "So You Want To Write A Fugue" - absolutely brilliant.<br />
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And if you're not sold yet - in 1971, John Lennon said this was North America's best album of the year.<br />
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And for all you prog heads - a young Tony Levin is on bass.<br />
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If Lake Louise and the Bay Of Fundy are what Canada looks like, then albums like this are what Canada sounds like.<br />
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#4 - The Goldberg Variations by Glenn Gould<br />
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Undoubtedly one of the most visionary and influential musicians ever to play an instrument, this is his definitive work. His original 1955 interpretation of these piano works by Bach are what put him on the map, but the 1981 version has a certain maturity and wisdom to it. His playful approach towards this musical scripture set him apart from his peers, and his iconic and subtle humming along (which no recording engineer could ever manage to remove) is not a detraction - it is all part of the charm. He was seen by many as an eccentric mad man, and I'm sure he wouldn't have resented that label. It takes a mad man to make 200 year old music completely new again.<br />
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This is one of the most important recordings of the last hundred years. And it is Canadian.<br /><br />
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#5 - High Class In Borrowed Shoes by Max Webster<br />
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While virtually unknown outside of Canada, Max Webster were a massive force in their day. Led by Kim Mitchell, they were a sort of Canadian Frank Zappa, but more accessible. All their records went at least gold here, and at their peak they were regularly cited as being amongst the top few acts in the country.<br />
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Their 1977 sophomore effort is likely their finest. Their left of centre quirkiness (both musical and lyrical) defined them, and they created a sound entirely of their own with slick musicianship and hooks all over. No two consecutive tracks have the same vibe, yet it is a cohesive piece. Many of them remain radio classics, like the title track, Gravity, and Diamonds Diamonds. On The Road is perhaps the finest travelling musician song ever written, and In Context Of The Moon says more in 5 minutes than most prog bands could say in 20.<br />
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They are often seen as Rush's little brother, but anyone who was around then will tell you that they more than held their own, and how criminal it is that they did not get their due. Max Webster may well be Canada's best kept secret, and High Class In Borrowed Shoes is probably the best explanation why.<br /><br />
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#6 - Cyborgs Revisited by Simply Saucer<br />
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Simply Saucer are best described as a proto-punk band. They recorded just one album in 1974, although it wasn't released until 1989 (only a 7" single was released while they were around). Their sound was kind of a cross between the Velvet Underground, Kraftwerk, and Television - and that third one is what makes them most interesting, as they came up with this punky sound several years before punk even happened, which is nothing short of revolutionary.<br />
<br />Compiled by engineer/producer/savant <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/article-ingenious-studio-wiz-bob-lanois-was-a-scientist-of-sound" target="_blank">Bob Lanois</a>, side A of the album is the aforementioned studio material and side B is a live recording from 1975. Although this Hamilton, Ontario band remains pretty obscure, the album was reviewed by two publications as, I quote, "the best Canadian album ever recorded." It garnered favourable reviews from bigger magazines like Spin and New Musical Express as well.<br />
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The music is simultaneously visionary and kind to its predecessors. Well worth a listen.<br />
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I'm also happy to report that after several decades of absence, they have reunited and play pretty regularly.<br />
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#7 - Acadie by Daniel Lanois<br />
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Not only is this musically one of the greatest records ever made (not just in Canada), but sonically it is beautiful. Released in 1989, when technology had gone amok and most records had snare drum triggers and dated synthesizer sounds, this still sounds like it was recorded yesterday.<br />
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Lanois had come off the success of producing two massive albums for U2, and had nothing to prove. He had time and space (and he had Brian Eno, which also didn't hurt), and that's exactly what this album sounds like - it breathes freely. The songs are marvellous and soulful. "The Maker" is one of the finest tracks ever written, easily as good as any of U2's best songs from the period.<br />
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This record is one of the most genuine pieces of art to emerge from the 1980s. There is nothing quite like it.<br />
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#8 - Discovery by Ron Hynes<br />
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Ron Hynes was Newfoundland's Gordon Lightfoot, only he wasn't nearly as prolific. This 1972 album is his only released pre-1990s work, and it's easily as good as anything released by Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen in the period. It has everything you'd expect from a quality folk album - introspection, longing, and wisdom far beyond the years of a man at 22.<br />
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Albums like this reach into the psyche of a person better than any therapist or bottle of booze could. It's as real as it gets.<br />
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#9 - Somewhere Outside by The Ugly Ducklings<br />
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The Ugly Ducklings only put out one album in their heyday, but they made their mark. This 1966 long player was psychedelic garage rock mostly influenced by the British invasion (particularly The Kinks and The Who), but a bit more rough around the edges - and I mean that in the most flattering of ways. There is attitude, musicality, and songwriting as good as anything happening at the time. Their most commercially successful song was Gaslight a year later, but it is this album that remains their most important work.<br />
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The last song, the bluesy instrumental Windy City, is way ahead of its time. Its loose guitar and harmonica is early Led Zeppelin before early Led Zeppelin.<br />
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The Ugly Ducklings opened for The Rolling Stones at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto in 1966. Mick Jagger called them his favourite Canadian band.<br />
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#10 - Canadiana Suite by Oscar Peterson<br />
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Oscar's trio is at the peak of their powers in a 1964 to create one of the most beautiful jazz albums ever recorded. The eight tracks are named after different places in the country, and they are eight distinctly different musical landscapes, with influences ranging from ragtime to blues.<br />
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While Oscar's chops are out of this world, he plays with a sensitivity that creates a musical expression of the vast space this great country has. It leaves the listener with the feeling that no matter where you are, there is empty space for peace and solace not far from you - a takeaway that is probably more relevant today than ever.<br />
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Sonically it is also a marvel. It's almost impossible to believe that technology over 50 years old could create an album that sounds this magnificent.<br />
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#11 - Les Cinq Saisons by Harmonium<br />
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Narrowing it down to ten albums was impossible. And this last one is more than an honourable mention.<br />
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Harmonium was once referred to as the "most important Canadian band ever" by the Toronto Sun. 1975's "Les Cinq Saisons" (or "Si On Avait Besoin d'Une Cinquième Saison," roughly translated as "If We Needed a Fifth Season") merited a mention in Rolling Stone magazine's long overdue list of their top 50 progressive rock albums of all time in 2015 (and they also declared it the best progressive folk album).<br />
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The traditional rock band instrumentation notably isn't employed here, as there are plenty of woodwinds and no drums. The music is often playful and whimsical, executed without the slightest sense of inhibition. The album begins with four shorter tracks, one for each season of the year. The summer track "Dixie" has a jazzy ragtime feel to it, and the autumn track "Depuis l'automne" is haunting and pastoral.<br />
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But it is the longer fifth track (representing a mythical fifth season) that takes up most of side two and elevates the album from excellent to otherworldly. This track, the mostly instrumental Histoires Sans Paroles (Song Without Words), is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever committed to tape.<br />
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And to much of Quebec, this is their folk music. There are numerous videos of bands covering this piece. Here's a group of high school kids performing it note perfect:<br />
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<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-22877186503035786992018-01-06T19:09:00.002-05:002022-07-12T04:10:13.846-04:00review: The Musical Box at Danforth Music Hall, Toronto<div data-block="true" data-editor="85eug" data-offset-key="43bru-0-0">
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: times; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last night I saw The Musical Box - truly one of the best shows I've ever seen.</span></div>
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Maybe it's not the greatest idea begin a review with an editorial, but this is one those shows that was so obviously good that no time should be wasted in building up to a punch line.
To those not in the know, The Musical Box are not just a tribute band, but the standard for what a tribute band can and should be. They perform the music of Genesis, but not the "Invisible Touch" Genesis most of us know. It's the Genesis fronted by Peter Gabriel in the early to mid 1970s, when they created progressive rock music that told stories, kind of like Mark Twain in musical form.</span></span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: times; white-space: pre-wrap;">The music isn't just rock songs. It is densely layered and intricately arranged. It is intense. It creates moods anywhere between 1 and 23 minutes long.</span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129;"><span 14px="" font-size:="" pre-wrap="" style="font-family: times;" trebuchet="" white-space:="">This particular show I saw aimed to replicate the Genesis tour of 1974. The set before the encores was 9 songs and over two hours long. Sounds like a pretty niche thing, you say? Well, it is. Most things are these days.</span></span></div>
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Genesis performed live at this time, not only was it a musical performance, but Peter Gabriel donned outfits and masks of the various characters portrayed in the songs. This tribute band replicates the Genesis shows to perfection, both musically and visually, to the point that the Genesis band members gave them their blessing in the form of their multi-track master tapes to work with so that they could improve the show.</span></span></div>
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gabriel once took his son to see them and said, "that's what daddy used to do."</span></span></div>
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is there any higher praise?</span></span></div>
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you had dementia and didn't know what year it was, you were seeing Genesis. There are a lot of good tribute bands out there doing all the great artists, but no other act gets this close.</span></span></div>
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is art in its purest form. It's rock, it's classical, and it's theatre. I walked away from this show <span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif">realizing </span>that this is the classical music of our time.
People may have been stoned in 1974 at Maple Leaf Gardens, but last night at the Danforth Music Hall they were sober, and absorbing every word and visual delight they could.</span></span></div>
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;">It kind of makes me want to create a counterpart for Queen's shows in 1976-77. They were a pretty majestic entity at that time, with a similar balance of music and visuals. Similarly niche, and therefore possible. Food for thought.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Believe it or not, they actually existed before We Are The Champions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;">I</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;">f you have even remotely good taste in music, then The Musical Box is a show you absolutely must see. It is one of the very finest productions the music industry has ever produced. They tour every year.</span></div>
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Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-84805178860149398392017-05-17T02:05:00.000-04:002017-11-11T20:39:25.826-05:00review: Adrian Belew at the Mod Club, Toronto<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="text-align: center;">Adrian Belew my mind last night.</span><br />
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He's an intellect yet accessible.<br />
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Studied yet endlessly creative.<br />
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Calculated yet organic.<br />
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This incarnation of his trio has played together for six years. They are flawlessly tight, yet it feels fresh. The balance of arrangement and improvisation is excellent, neither of which ever outstay their welcome.<br />
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Belew was quirky. There were plenty of funny bits, both musical and visual - anything from pretending his guitar was broken to playing out of sync shots with the drummer to hilarious effect. Never before have I seen an artist whose sense of humour was equally integral to the performance as the music. This is what I've heard seeing <a href="http://maxwebsterlive.ca/file/b766862c49d8.jpg" target="_blank">Max Webster circa 1975-79</a> was like.<br />
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I admittedly didn't know much of the material. He is best known as being a member of King Crimson and for his stints with Frank Zappa and David Bowie (who essentially <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AdrianBelew/posts/10150588871654995" target="_blank">stole him from Zappa</a>, which Belew <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AdrianBelew/posts/10150589290144995" target="_blank">wrote about in two parts</a> shortly after Bowie died). Nearly half the setlist was from his King Crimson years, and the rest was from his extensive solo catalog, save for one track from Lodger (the one Bowie album he played on). Even if a solid portion of the show was 30+ year old music, this is the furthest thing from a nostalgia act.<br />
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Bassist Julie Slick's chops and presentation were equally strong, maneuvering the challenging parts with ease, and she even added swimming goggles to her dazzling ensemble at one point. Completing the trio is the masterfully artistic Tobias Ralph on drums. The rhythm section was technical yet fluid, and not the least bit sterile. The three of them interacted like a family. They genuinely enjoy playing together.<br />
<br />
In sharp contrast to his bassist, Belew looked like a gas station attendant, dressed in a black onesie with a red baseball cap.<br />
<br />
And I've never seen a musician sweat like him. He had a towel next to him, wiping himself off several times per song. Even his fingers were dripping, but they were never slippery. His playing was pristine. He's 67, with the energy level of someone who's 27. Watching him left me exhausted - the best kind of exhausted that a good show in a sweaty pit can leave you.<br />
<br />
And to think performing with an experimental power trio is just one of the things he does. He has a string of solo albums with Beatle-esque songs (yet completely in his own identity; 1992's Inner Revolution is my favourite), he's a serial multi-instrumentalist, and he's an innovator - his latest creation is an app with a musical algorithm that never plays back the same way twice.<br />
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His <a href="http://adrianbelew.net/" target="_blank">website</a> hails him as "a creative force for the good of mankind." It's impossible to disagree. About 500 people were united through music in its purest form.<br />
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He smiled for about 90% of the night. His precision as a guitarist cannot be overstated, and neither can his gentlemanly nature. His demeanour was that of a man who just does not take himself seriously. His craft, yes, but not himself as a person. He is a man completely at peace with who he is, fully realizing that a bigger venue would mean a loss of intimacy.<br />
<br />
The band played two sets. During intermission I ran into my old pal and colleague Tristan Avakian, who declared that our guest of honour was the right lunatic for this asylum.<br />
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How right he was.<br />
<br />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-72468773383087735852016-11-15T01:28:00.025-05:002021-04-03T13:19:57.454-04:00Donald Trump explained for Artists<br />
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In case you've been living under a rock, Donald Trump is now the US president-elect. And people are legitimately frightened not only for their livelihoods, but their lives. Just click <a href="https://twitter.com/i/moments/796417517157830656" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/day-1-in-trumps-america-highlights-racist-acts-violent-threats-w449787" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="http://usuncut.com/news/this-is-a-horrifying-look-trumps-america" target="_blank">here</a> to see what Trump's rise to power produced in the first 48 hours. It ain't pretty.<br />
<br />
Those who minimize this by asserting that it's how Republicans felt in 2008 after Barack Obama was elected are in need of a serious reality check. The only person fearing for their life in 2008 was Obama. The bulletproof glass was for him, not for us.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFe2g6L82d5xwlEeEtGyeqEc6wDgwRFoEbjRA-9kIgvvB2UJc5WSbtS8hxYyJSD1XKVITw1PTP54bGrbH278NxcyDbVAmtThbAxLoEkfx2mJQbWYaC-ny9fV8d2aNvxvZJbShyphenhyphenLjSbvv22/s1600/obamabulletproofglass3.jpg"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFe2g6L82d5xwlEeEtGyeqEc6wDgwRFoEbjRA-9kIgvvB2UJc5WSbtS8hxYyJSD1XKVITw1PTP54bGrbH278NxcyDbVAmtThbAxLoEkfx2mJQbWYaC-ny9fV8d2aNvxvZJbShyphenhyphenLjSbvv22/s320/obamabulletproofglass3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-small;"> (NBC News / msnbc.com) </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Points to whoever's idea it was to save a few bucks by giving the guy who checks guns at the door the night off.</span></div>
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<br />
<br />
But we must be careful not to characterize all Trump supporters as hateful bigots. Hell, even Hillary <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/09/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-basket-of-deplorables" target="_blank">fell for that</a>. Her lack of understanding of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/14/neoliberalsim-donald-trump-george-monbiot" target="_blank">what neoliberalism has done to America</a> is what's deplorable here.<br />
<br />
Or, in plain English - the majority of small town folk are scared, full stop. Their <a href="http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-trumps-rise-that-no-one-talks-about" target="_blank">way of life is disappearing</a>.<br />
<br />
This election revealed a magnetic reversal of the political poles in America. Sure, the Democrats have unsurprisingly attracted the enlightened professional class, having embraced multi-culturalism and caught up to 21st century social ideals as implemented by the rest of the civilized world while drinking all the lattes that their decent salaries can buy.<br />
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But there's one important omission this time around:<br />
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The working class.<br />
<br />
Disillusioned blue collar voters who have marked an X on the Democratic candidate for the last half century have abandoned the party that abandoned them. Trump is their man. He says trade deals have screwed them.<br />
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Republicans, on the other hand, are now rejecting unbridled free market capitalism, which has basically been their <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_the_Republican_Party" target="_blank">entire platform</a> since rotary telephones.<br />
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It may be surprising to most, but some people called this <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/9/1594501/--Wildly-overoptimistic-Richard-Rorty-1997" target="_blank">as far back as the mid 1990s</a>, never mind <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/donald-trump-president-wins-election-noam-chomsky-prediction-a7406831.html" target="_blank">Noam Chomsky</a>.<br />
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Rural America finally feels like they have a voice again for the first time in decades. And urban America is scratching their heads wondering how a bigot just got handed the nuclear codes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ls3loD0e0AD9oFCVTIqJ9TF5dgS5De-93IT5DtJlxRzW-8sy2xQD-IGsjBNz4QEmEAQjwQcXBBFql3lx_vXr9zNmRdD1SoliHmcrF3K2Q6Js-Ufrufoakya7It1UH_r9mAAk28rIMTvi/s1600/the-simpsons-tapped-out-iphone-screen01_656x3691.jpg"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ls3loD0e0AD9oFCVTIqJ9TF5dgS5De-93IT5DtJlxRzW-8sy2xQD-IGsjBNz4QEmEAQjwQcXBBFql3lx_vXr9zNmRdD1SoliHmcrF3K2Q6Js-Ufrufoakya7It1UH_r9mAAk28rIMTvi/s320/the-simpsons-tapped-out-iphone-screen01_656x3691.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #999999;">(20th Century Fox) </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">"It's pronounced 'nuc-u-lar'."</span></div>
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<br />
<br />
Card-carrying members of the two parties hate each other now more than ever, and most of them don't even know why. How do we get them to talk to each other?<br />
<br />
I have just the solution.<br />
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Let's start by framing this in a way the artistic community and anyone with a vested interest in the field can understand.<br />
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We have seen cuts to the arts over the last century. When schools fall short of budget, what's the first thing to go?<br />
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The arts.<br />
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Even <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/actors-condemn-harper-s-culture-cuts-1.735491" target="_blank">some governments make cuts to the arts</a>. Hell, even as far back as Churchill this discussion was happening. During World War II, expenditures had peaked and they needed more money. "How about we dip into the arts?" suggested one well-meaning bean counter. But rationality prevailed, as the British PM quipped, "Then what are we fighting for?"<br />
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So this isn't crazy talk. It's real to all of us who make a living in the creative field. We don't want to see orchestras shut down. We don't want to see films stuck in the pre-production stage because the money didn't turn up.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaTPTIUFUrgldeZTboTu9g0zWtOCNhmB-MlcJMxozSMMA4I6hYi4DIbu70GhyphenhyphenGbGMl8Vyxh5K4uxIULjiViXI65Gx_0r1mhapJApZDoZZJ_VgHeWYiYEhj8S5WDwIAPR2_HcreUk4V0XMX/s1600/tv-jersey-shore.jpg"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaTPTIUFUrgldeZTboTu9g0zWtOCNhmB-MlcJMxozSMMA4I6hYi4DIbu70GhyphenhyphenGbGMl8Vyxh5K4uxIULjiViXI65Gx_0r1mhapJApZDoZZJ_VgHeWYiYEhj8S5WDwIAPR2_HcreUk4V0XMX/s320/tv-jersey-shore.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-small;"> (ANONYMOUS / AP) </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Although we can probably all agree that Jersey Shore shouldn't have even made it to the editing stages.</span></div>
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Now let's take it a step further - where the arts are eliminated altogether.<br />
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No music, no TV, no films, no visual art, no drama, no fiction, no poetry, no video games.<br />
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Sound ludicrous?<br />
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Not to about 50 million Americans. This is how they feel right now. They used to work in a factory that shut down. Or a coal mine. And they live in a ghost town now, because that factory is literally all they had. They couldn't care less about how the big cities are doing well. They're broke, and their kids are sick of Kraft Mac & Cheese.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrsnKDwsaARl1ArgpX840WKcCy0HaKuralqmPMszMrdeqte1xIGesoe2_RfjBOmFw-1UCFiXB9KQdT4y0RuYQJja_ZOv8NM_lDHdkfv4v7fFUAgRtMwCyaeVNq37Q7a6FhybbIY2ENgYO/s1600/heinz-kraft-company.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrsnKDwsaARl1ArgpX840WKcCy0HaKuralqmPMszMrdeqte1xIGesoe2_RfjBOmFw-1UCFiXB9KQdT4y0RuYQJja_ZOv8NM_lDHdkfv4v7fFUAgRtMwCyaeVNq37Q7a6FhybbIY2ENgYO/s400/heinz-kraft-company.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">And it's <a href="http://news.kraftheinzcompany.com/press-release/finance/kraft-heinz-company-announces-successful-completion-merger-between-kraft-foods" target="_blank">Heinz Mac & Cheese</a> now.</span></div>
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<br />
<br />
And if you talk to one of them about this, they'll mention the generations before them. Let's stick with the arts language for perspective:<br />
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"But my father was a musician, and my father's father was a musician. It's all we knew."<br />
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Just entertain the idea that the public education system sucks (<a href="http://www.vice.com/read/what-students-in-europe-learn-that-americans-dont" target="_blank">it does</a>), your IQ level is about 85, and you have few tools for intellectual improvement because this just isn't what your community did. You learned to be a musician, because that's all you needed to be. Things like depending on government handouts and seeing the big city as more than a possible vacation destination were completely foreign to you (without a passport that's about all there is - <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2329298/More-half-Americans-NEVER-traveled-outside-country--passport.html" target="_blank">two thirds of Americans don't have one</a>). You played music, because that's all you needed to do to feed your family, and you were content to do that and only that. But now all the music jobs are gone, and half your town is on food stamps.<br />
<br />
And then a politician running for office comes along saying this:<br />
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"We're going to make America great again. I'm going to bring back the arts. I love music. You're going to have more gigs than you've ever had."<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiGdpnQTM5SksHsgdSSyri94fEkbiWs1mzm8wgN4kVpqJaSblR-cZtoQBdkGIy7e68V8Pu0NGupuqochTYOvbqToRJuwEZA8aqXKzhapKnuycIQaOspihaHK7JVSqvGXK6m3zpDnSkbtb2/s1600/Trump-guitar.jpg" style="text-align: start;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiGdpnQTM5SksHsgdSSyri94fEkbiWs1mzm8wgN4kVpqJaSblR-cZtoQBdkGIy7e68V8Pu0NGupuqochTYOvbqToRJuwEZA8aqXKzhapKnuycIQaOspihaHK7JVSqvGXK6m3zpDnSkbtb2/s320/Trump-guitar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I have great gigs. The best gigs."</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
He's talking to you, trombonist who hasn't had a gig outside of your living room since the Clinton administration. He's reaching you on both a professional and an emotional level. You feel respected and validated. He understands you in a way that the last few presidents haven't. Even <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/30/ronald-reagan-middle-class_n_6578130.html" target="_blank">Reagan said 'screw you'</a>.<br />
<br />
And the thought that you might work again overrides literally everything else. You don't care that he <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/08/us/donald-trump-tape-transcript.html" target="_blank">thinks he can grab women by their genitals without their consent because he's famous</a>. You don't care that he's <a href="http://time.com/4386240/donald-trump-immigration-arguments" target="_blank">blaming immigrants for why you're out of work</a>. You don't care that he says he's <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37243269" target="_blank">going to build a wall</a> to keep the Mexican musicians out.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5xXG5AHL1C7ZRGrXXK26DaagGk5bjk7hQdwJSpKjWFojqxh4JC9mNPDwS5w6TIAGedD4Z_ak5o1l8kumrtKY0ZYRM22dLWgVnOuysYjIwsWE6gPzoUJWnNrPQdwuwDZtEYHs-qi8wZ3w/s1600/trumpdonald_index.jpg"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5xXG5AHL1C7ZRGrXXK26DaagGk5bjk7hQdwJSpKjWFojqxh4JC9mNPDwS5w6TIAGedD4Z_ak5o1l8kumrtKY0ZYRM22dLWgVnOuysYjIwsWE6gPzoUJWnNrPQdwuwDZtEYHs-qi8wZ3w/s320/trumpdonald_index.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-small;">(Trumpdonald.com) </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">There's gonna be hell toupee.</span></div>
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<br />
<br />
When you're poor, nothing else matters. You're afraid, and you're desperate. And now with this guy in the race, you're hopeful.<br />
<br />
You'd better believe you'll be voting for him. And in case you still weren't sure, the other person running for election barely mentioned musicians at all throughout their entire campaign (and when she did, it <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2016/may/10/context-hillary-clintons-comments-about-coal-jobs" target="_blank">didn't go down so well</a>).<br />
<br />
Assuming most people who worked in those factories don't understand the science of climate change (that's <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070218134322.htm" target="_blank">very likely the case</a>), their jobs being outsourced to Asia pretty much boils down to "Let's hire that other band for the half the money even though they suck; plus the drummer is banging your girlfriend."<br />
<br />
Every faction of urban American society needs to find a similar analogy to understand their rural counterparts. Until Trump's detractors engage with his supporters in this very style of dialogue and thereby humanize this overlooked part of the conversation, the country is not going to begin to heal.<br />
<br />
IT consultants? Cancer researchers? It's up to you now.<br />
<br />
Because when Trump is given a second term in 2020, I don't want to be the one who says "I told you so."<br />
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<br />
<br />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-47020779275941581722016-09-04T16:40:00.006-04:002022-09-04T18:54:14.284-04:00Ban the air show?<br />
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Ahh yes, the annual air show in Toronto. That moment during the Canadian National Exhibition when we glorify the tools of combat as warplanes fly through the sky, officially marking the end of summer. Right?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkA6OWe6fAjLHbtAO8jAikl77YhGSgfBuOlKSxalqAvjSllwLTGeelx1548tUZg5Yn-HzYX6C-PE4XBxPZe6ZbAUq1Puz8yC4R3c-XorjP21sx5-noe7J1t76oh1BQSE9MPzIVhXt1l_Iy/s1600/airshow+Signapore.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkA6OWe6fAjLHbtAO8jAikl77YhGSgfBuOlKSxalqAvjSllwLTGeelx1548tUZg5Yn-HzYX6C-PE4XBxPZe6ZbAUq1Puz8yC4R3c-XorjP21sx5-noe7J1t76oh1BQSE9MPzIVhXt1l_Iy/s320/airshow+Signapore.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Because during war, planes are always busy making patterns that look like Don King's hair.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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No, of course it isn't that simple. It is not exclusively a war show. People enjoy and are awestruck by it, if only for the athleticism and precision displayed by the pilots. It's synchronized swimming in the air.<br />
<br />
But it has its detractors, plenty of whom would have it banned in a heartbeat if they could, even just for the noise it makes in a residential area, never mind any anti-war sentiments felt. But let me ask this: how many of the loudest complainers have pursued their passion to the point of building a skill where they can say they are in an extreme minority in their prowess? Probably not too many.<br />
<br />
Of course, warplanes have killed people. And for some, especially now in a city with thousands of refugees, it is a trigger for trauma, as that sound of a warplane in their country of origin would almost always be followed by the sound of bombs, people screaming, and hundreds of lives ending in an instant.<br />
<br />
But here is something literally nobody is talking about. I was on a lovely walk through High Park with a friend, and one of the airplanes made a peace sign. Let that sink in: the international symbol for pacifism was drawn by a warplane, and nobody seemed to notice. One pilot decided to make his statement on the validity of air shows in 2016 with this grand gesture.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8RgqVfSv63Quwu1vhmeF-eK8k1zZnWeuvcKO3yR_6-WhGezGfHBgAqFqgXK9_1JWmdagfkTlUZCGk-EZNuwkGRDyb4DSXMXa7gCdx3xb6ALhTuTB33rwzDfcRpFF1ZIneSF8JXQOcd-NJ/s1600/air+show+peace+sign.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8RgqVfSv63Quwu1vhmeF-eK8k1zZnWeuvcKO3yR_6-WhGezGfHBgAqFqgXK9_1JWmdagfkTlUZCGk-EZNuwkGRDyb4DSXMXa7gCdx3xb6ALhTuTB33rwzDfcRpFF1ZIneSF8JXQOcd-NJ/s320/air+show+peace+sign.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Rachelle Janicki</span> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span> </span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Put this on the front page, and hippies everywhere may go through an existential crisis.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Clearly what's happening here is a re-imagination of the function of a warplane. It's not unlike the white poppy. It, too, offends people, especially those who lost relatives or even fought in a war themselves, as the red in the traditional poppy symbolizes the blood shed for our freedoms. But the white poppy isn't intended to minimize that. It recognizes it, and additionally intends to provide the message that war isn't the only method of transportation to peace. Just ask <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvet_Revolution" target="_blank">Václav Havel</a>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>I'd love to hear from actual refugees about this. This <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2016/08/25/air-show-too-traumatic-for-newcomers-who-escaped-war.html" target="_blank">article in the Toronto Star</a> has gained some traction, but this <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/programs/metromorning/air-show-trauma-1.3747293" target="_blank">far more balanced editorial</a> is the closest thing to an official response from someone from a war-torn country, and even she doesn't advocate closing shop. But these are people speaking for the refugees. We need to open up the dialogue with them and listen carefully, while telling them about our traditions. After all, the reason why we have an airshow every year is to commemorate those who gave their lives to ensure a safe haven for these refugees in which to live some day.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
But if this really is a "nuisance" for the majority, then maybe we should be like Switzerland and have a public referendum on this.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In the meantime, this <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/letters_to_the_editors/2016/09/03/should-air-show-be-cancelled.html" target="_blank">collection of responses</a> to the Star article display a variety of opinions on the matter, which is healthy in a democracy. This shows that the national dialogue on the subject of tradition versus accommodating new Canadians is alive and well.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Whatever your view on this subject is, just try to find the gray. It's never as black and white as we think it is.</div>
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<br /></div>
Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-69977981513017314892016-08-19T00:49:00.000-04:002017-01-02T14:50:20.559-05:00Classic Albums - part deux<br />
<br />
A few years back I wrote about the nature of <a href="http://bobsinnermusings.blogspot.ca/2013/09/classic-albums-of-future.html" target="_blank">classic albums</a>, past and present. But on this occasion I'm thinking about them a bit differently.<br />
<br />
One of the most interesting phenomenons in modern popular music is that virtually every act who sold millions of records in the 70s had a huge creative lull in the 80s. Surely it isn't as simple as artists suddenly becoming dinosaurs who couldn't adjust to new technology or business models. Is there any decade to decade transition in the last century that compares to the marked decline in quality of commercial music like the 70s to the 80s? There is no simple answer. Of course there was still much great music in the 80s, but most of it wasn't seen on MTV. Of course it can be argued that artists of any era tend to have a creative peak that only lasts a few years, but something else is at work here.<br />
<br />
The business had changed in many ways. FM radio went from album oriented radio to playlists in the late 70s, as it was becoming clear that a bigger audience meant higher advertising revenues. With hits now being on both AM and FM radio, albums became progressively less marketable. When there's no need to make an album like you used to, the product becomes less cohesive, not to mention the pressure to create a hit song takes its toll. Almost all successful artists of the 70s did not make the transition into the 80s well. People like Peter Gabriel were the exception to the rule (incidentally, he was flat broke by 1982).<br />
<br />
There were other factors. With the advent of things like video games and creating your own mix tapes, people were spending less money on LPs by the late 70s. For the previous decade, LPs were what most teenagers and adults spent most of their disposable income on. People had prided themselves on their record collections. It was an extension of who they were. Artists knew this. The focus was on creating the great album, not the hit single. The lead single was selected after the album was finished. But with FM radio's change in business plan and record companies following suit, this would no longer be the case.<br />
<br />
They say things move quickly now - just look at how much the nature of popular music changed between 1975 and 1980. You can bet your life that Queen wouldn't have gotten a record deal with A Night At The Opera in 1980. Zeppelin would've been thrown out of the record exec's office with Physical Graffiti. Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here starting with a 13 minute song? Forget about it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ZiVUd58D3-5Xkj6_vYTgJsvVbCPjHDFpDLXcwihq3-QpsH51E4IDYdYKEMofA81dTRRSo3_IAhtK19lCXCoxnQ8e6OOD4F53U1LNpbKTrp5YIZ6RwFo01dd-j9ofxp9Ujob8fJXmgcsV/s1600/Hemispheres.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ZiVUd58D3-5Xkj6_vYTgJsvVbCPjHDFpDLXcwihq3-QpsH51E4IDYdYKEMofA81dTRRSo3_IAhtK19lCXCoxnQ8e6OOD4F53U1LNpbKTrp5YIZ6RwFo01dd-j9ofxp9Ujob8fJXmgcsV/s320/Hemispheres.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"What do you mean it's not marketable? Of course you can make a music video with Dionysus and the m</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">arble white. Place them right beside the </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">hearts of men despaired."</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
There was no comparable seismic shift in any art form until YouTube came along. Today we expect things to change quickly, but in the 70s people really thought the LP would last forever, and along with that, music on the radio that would continue to be new and exciting and more interesting than the previous year. It was the format that drove artists to be great, with the added bonus of new territory to be found as the technology grew.<br />
<br />
A ton of good music has been produced since then and will continue to be produced, but so much has changed in the way the business interferes with the process of its creation when its target is mainstream audiences. Articles like <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/10/hit-charade/403192" target="_blank">this</a> are more revealing than most people would ever want to realize, and I feel like the Grinch for even mentioning it. But this is not a new phenomenon. Motown had already become a musical assembly line by the mid-60s, but most other branches of popular music were about to enjoy a period of unparalleled creativity untampered with by the powers that be. Additionally, any number of artists or record label employees in the late 60s and early 70s would tell you that more revenues were pumped into artist development during that period than ever.<br />
<br />
Music is not consumed the way it was consumed 40 years ago, either. The world is a much different place, not least because there is so much music available and it has become so disposable in the form of downloaded files, as opposed to a physical piece with liner notes and artwork that you stared into while listening to the music and doing literally nothing else for 45 minutes after proudly carrying it home without a plastic bag as if it were a badge of honour, your statement to the world of what's important to you. But nothing lasts forever.<br />
<br />
Artists like Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Doors, Supertramp, Joni Mitchell, and Stevie Wonder truly were a product of their time. 1966-1976 was a magical period to create popular music, and such an environment and canvas will probably never be seen again.<br />
<br />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-80021982666418548972016-02-22T11:47:00.000-05:002016-04-26T23:10:36.880-04:00Black Sabbath - "The End"<br />
<br />
Last night Black Sabbath's "The End" tour hit First Ontario Centre in Hamilton, appropriately named for the legendary band's final road trip across much of the globe.<br />
<br />
Support act Rival Sons opened the festivities. The Long Beach, California band's influences almost exclusively lie in 70s rock, making them sound derivative at times, but there were many moments of excellence, particularly in an extended version of the ballad Where I've Been, where guitarist Scott Holiday offered a soulful solo not heard on the studio version. Singer Jay Buchanan worked hard to win the audience over, and genuinely stated numerous times their pleasure of being the last band to open for Black Sabbath. For this audience of predominantly 60-somethings, they were exactly the right choice.<br />
<br />
The main dish hit the stage a bit before 9pm, with a dazzling video display that eventually revealed the band's logo, leaving the audience mesmerized before even playing a note. They soon launched into the title track from their 1970 eponymous album, and the faithful in attendance sang along to every word.<br />
<br />
Within a couple songs, it became quickly apparent that it would be an uneven performance from Ozzy Osbourne. Several gigs earlier in the tour were cancelled with the frontman having a bout of sinusitis, but it wasn't a case of him being unable to sing. Even though most of the songs were tuned a whole step down, Ozzy sung flat for much of the night, varying from song to song. The front of house sound technician wisely adjusted the frontman's fader to have him a bit lower in the mix than a lead vocal should be, so that his flaws wouldn't be as apparent.<br />
<br />
But there's no hiding from it on video:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DJlixRLO95E/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DJlixRLO95E?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Fairies wear boots, and I don't wear in-ears." -- Ozzy Osbourne <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">{{</span></span>citation needed<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">}}</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
In the world of opera music, for example, audience reaction to such proceedings would range from utter disbelief to seeking a refund, but classic rock crowds generally aren't as discerning. If they cheered after every song Led Zeppelin played in 1977 when 100-pound Jimmy Page (on a diet of little more than groupies and smack) was barely able to play on some nights, then they were going to love every minute of this grand event, shortcomings notwithstanding. With the ever-familiar concert smells in the air, not only does this iconic singer know he can get away with a lackluster vocal performance, every sentence of Ozzy's banter can contain the F-bomb with impunity. Being an orator is not in the job description, either.<br />
<br />
But he still did have his great moments, like his call and response with the audience in War Pigs. Being in the middle of a crowd singing the soaring melodies at
the end of the Nixon era anti-authoritarian war protest anthem is one of the great concert experiences any rock fan
can have, not unlike Hey Jude at a Paul McCartney concert. It is the
same common denominator of bringing people together. And it was extra special this time, knowing it
was the last time.<br />
<br />
His movements on stage were classic Ozzy at all times, often prompting the audience to sway their arms during most mid-tempo passages, for example. But he was the one weak link in an otherwise flawless show. Visually and aurally, it was everything a farewell concert should be. Stock footage of the band in their heyday was used at the right moments, and the vibe was one of celebration of music that not only defined a genre, but created one. The setlist reflected exactly what their audience wanted to hear; all but three songs were from their first three albums. Their next three long players (particularly 1975's Sabotage) showed a great sense of musical maturity, but it was their self-titled debut, Paranoid, and Master Of Reality that pioneered what is now called doom metal.<br />
<br />
Guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler were completely on their game, executing their parts with a surgeon's precision, replicating the album cuts to perfection. Filling in for Bill Ward, drummer Tommy Clufetos was a faithful servant to the music, and his solo spot in Rat Salad was a show highlight. For flare and presentation he gets a 10/10, but it was the polar opposite of someone like Neil Peart of Rush who turns a drum solo into the musical equivalent of a Shakespearean play, complete with plot twists, births, deaths, and an exquisite combination of mainstay sections and forays into the unknown. Clufetos, by contrast, simply offered sheer intensity and power, finally finishing with an ostinato kick drum signalling the beginning of Iron Man, a very effective way of building to one of the many peaks of the evening.<br />
<br />
Utility outfielder Adam Wakeman (son of Yes legend Rick Wakeman) added some keyboard and guitar from backstage, but was only really in the sound mix on a couple occasions, notably not in Dirty Women, which should have a pretty vital organ part.<br />
<br />
The plus side of the songs being tuned lower was that their sound became even more dark and mysterious. The main guitar riffs in N.I.B. and Into The Void sounded like pure Satan, just as the doctor ordered back in 1971.<br />
<br />
The last song of the set proper, Children Of The Grave, was the only one to be performed in the original key, which is actually tuned down a step and a half on the album. The band left the stage, with Ozzy sounding tacky as ever while guiding the audience in a "one more song!" chant. They finished with the staple Paranoid, and the otherwise stoic Iommi cracked a smile towards the end. He may not have been quite as pleased thirty seconds later, though, as Osbourne forgot the lyrics of the entire last verse, despite having a teleprompter at his disposal.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpfltn4yYo9MYVGwmeDzZ2mZ6CsB0t66VyipS3iyjqb4e5yGAqfoQYVuxcSZZPgZq334WDHqRanmE0jUy89fbsU-jQDt8J0rM2oPL9GT46yl76-iL9UoSj12LwXJMq6Ut_4LNdb3v2fP6o/s1600/IMG_20160221_222445.jpg"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpfltn4yYo9MYVGwmeDzZ2mZ6CsB0t66VyipS3iyjqb4e5yGAqfoQYVuxcSZZPgZq334WDHqRanmE0jUy89fbsU-jQDt8J0rM2oPL9GT46yl76-iL9UoSj12LwXJMq6Ut_4LNdb3v2fP6o/s320/IMG_20160221_222445.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The fans couldn't have cared less. Black Sabbath were bidding their farewell, and respect for the music and its creators was all that mattered in the end.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhREffJfKGhieftSvrev5ZHDkicDGCDZxxQxFlf1-iJmXTKVE0FKXvMH0l4Xnz5Xq6TRtaMZoAnjcNHaGdyQjJzkiNvZ1PBioMtUM42m2WZs6FDXUd-Dpw1bLG0rZzd62V06uBK_5NdlNV8/s1600/IMG_20160221_203019.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYjFfRem7yVQt2ix5GAr5Y8tc6pe1dH2nlUG6HxiyypAqGIANWD2HDKFnped10OLAOeDiP6gkqkVWWhEJSBdNPSDPv2865aQgRae1hk_wtARI9rjJxdOhrbr0Vjyr1IikxNOiCp82ySw1/s1600/stars2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYjFfRem7yVQt2ix5GAr5Y8tc6pe1dH2nlUG6HxiyypAqGIANWD2HDKFnped10OLAOeDiP6gkqkVWWhEJSBdNPSDPv2865aQgRae1hk_wtARI9rjJxdOhrbr0Vjyr1IikxNOiCp82ySw1/s400/stars2.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpfltn4yYo9MYVGwmeDzZ2mZ6CsB0t66VyipS3iyjqb4e5yGAqfoQYVuxcSZZPgZq334WDHqRanmE0jUy89fbsU-jQDt8J0rM2oPL9GT46yl76-iL9UoSj12LwXJMq6Ut_4LNdb3v2fP6o/s1600/IMG_20160221_222445.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><br />
<br />
Three and a half stars out of five.<br />
<br />
<br />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-2231718078209624422016-02-02T15:37:00.007-05:002021-04-05T00:26:42.787-04:00Dream Theater - The Astonishing<br />
<br />
We can safely say hell has frozen over.<br />
<br />
Rolling Stone had ceased to
recognize the mere existence of progressive rock until <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-greatest-prog-rock-albums-of-all-time-20150617" target="_blank">literally last year</a>, where Rush were finally given their <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/rush-finally-make-rolling-stones-cover-20150615" target="_blank">first cover story</a> after Britney Spears had her
seventh. And now they're actually writing about a current band in the
genre (the <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/inside-dream-theaters-wildly-ambitious-new-concept-lp-20151203" target="_blank">article</a>
is well worth the read). Dream Theater has existed for over 25 years,
more or less innovated a genre of music (progressive metal), and sold
ten million records without a hit single. Love them or hate them, they
have an audience; a dedicated and passionate one that will fill up
theatres anywhere in North and South America, and arenas in Europe
and Japan - a feat that few artists have ever achieved.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Vertu6tcZZDbtcI7pGu89LM7lF3xZIRYADzUFSRXsgUQtljjAiF9KXJzEsvU-RgW2sAjxW3brsGiSImnw0ZOMZmrxlFk4irAtzb-muQYuCevFV07Lsfp5eUuo73zFV96sO3Pe-s-Pzu1/s1600/dt.jpg"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Vertu6tcZZDbtcI7pGu89LM7lF3xZIRYADzUFSRXsgUQtljjAiF9KXJzEsvU-RgW2sAjxW3brsGiSImnw0ZOMZmrxlFk4irAtzb-muQYuCevFV07Lsfp5eUuo73zFV96sO3Pe-s-Pzu1/s320/dt.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Their
strongest albums are almost indisputably Images And Words and Scenes
From A Memory. But lately their biggest flaw has been their almost
constant need to put their technical
ability before good songwriting, lately to the point that they've almost
become a parody of themselves. I've always thought that they could use
some healthy outside interference, kind of like Rush did ten years ago
with Nick Raskulinecz. Enter veteran producer David Campbell, whose CV
that includes Michael Jackson, Adele, Justin Timberlake, and Muse would
make your computer crash.<br />
<br />
After a couple listens of The Astonishing, above all else I hear a band bravely making a huge
departure from their sound with mixed results - but mostly good. The
concept is king, and the technical wankery is restricted to a minimum,
as it's always complimentary to the story. Refreshing. <br />
<br />
For
the first time, singer James LaBrie is the star on a Dream Theater
album, with keyboardist Jordan Rudess a close second. LaBrie sings all
eight characters in the story convincingly, and perhaps for the first
time, Rudess displays his gifts as an arranger in full.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRm3RyEDYWqjtJKAEwctUc35pLkqz8dSSREb5lyhnVdAZer9NcvOUbjR01nZDFxg7Z0nlFC0_iLJReO-pS4SRjTYAA2KmXj-N_6X0KteUqdsOz-E0XFMidIm0loyWEfnOiFg5Jb97LiGj/s1600/IMG_20160122_222444.jpg"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRm3RyEDYWqjtJKAEwctUc35pLkqz8dSSREb5lyhnVdAZer9NcvOUbjR01nZDFxg7Z0nlFC0_iLJReO-pS4SRjTYAA2KmXj-N_6X0KteUqdsOz-E0XFMidIm0loyWEfnOiFg5Jb97LiGj/s320/IMG_20160122_222444.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Also, National Geographic recently recognized his goatee to be an entire ecosystem.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
John
Petrucci is more of a writer than guitar hero here (which isn't to
demean his contributions on the axe, but to highlight his compositional
abilities), bassist John Myung
holds his own as always, but drummer Mike Mangini comes across as pedestrian, which may sound unusual given his technical prowess and feel in other situations (think <a href="http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/extreme/waiting_for_the_punchline" target="_blank">Extreme</a>). His sound is so processed and artificial that it almost sounds like a drum machine. This is my only major gripe with the album. <br />
<br />
At their best, Dream Theater are
remarkable at what they do, which leaves me all the more sad that Mike
Portnoy isn't on it. Now estranged from his bandmates of 20
years, his playing has a balance of technicality and personality more than pretty well any living
rock drummer, with the possible exception of Danny Carey or Neil Peart. <br />
<br />
At
over two hours long, this album is unlikely to draw hoards of new fans
to the
Dream Theater fold. But it may finally make people realize that
there's far more to this band than long songs where guys play fast.
This is the exact opposite. There are thirty-four tracks, and none
over eight minutes in length. There is depth in the storytelling,
ultimately making this a great example of a 21st century rock opera. It
may not rival Tommy or The Wall, but if you're into
progressive rock and willing to invest the time, you'll very likely find
it to be a
rewarding listen.<br />
<br />
However, like so many double albums, some listeners may find themselves wondering how much stronger it would've been as a single album with a dozen less tracks (people have even said this about the White Album, never mind a Dream Theater album). There are many hooky songs here (like The Gift Of Music and The Beginning), but they may get lost amidst the many ballads.<br />
<br />
So I'm not sure if it can be called "Astonishing". But it is still very good.<br />
<br />
3 1/2 out of 5 stars - their strongest outing since 2009's Black Clouds And Silver Linings. But their best days are likely behind them. Albums like Images And Words and Awake are scenes from a memory (see what I did there?).<br />
<br />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-54483336444159985972015-12-02T03:12:00.000-05:002016-02-23T12:09:16.705-05:00Owen Pallett / Tanya Tagaq - Massey Hall, Toronto, ON<br />
<br />
Tonight the prestigious Massey Hall welcomed a masterful double bill of Owen Pallett and Tanya Tagaq. These Canadian artists both incorporate the violin into their acts, but that's where their similarities end. They are equally mesmerizing performers, but their methods are polar opposites from one another, yet still complementary in the span of an evening.<br />
<br />
No need to list off Pallett's resume, as <a href="http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Owen+Pallett" target="_blank">Google</a> can do that far more effectively than I can. Suffice to say, he has worked with some of the biggest names in the business and has played on a Grammy award-winning record. As a condiment his achievements are plenty to a point that most artists would find themselves fully satisfied, but Pallett always strives for more. As the main dish he truly has his own identity. You are watching the evolution of music before your eyes.<br />
<br />
Sonically he is a force to be reckoned with. Although he has a rhythm section accompanying him (and, on this occasion, a string quartet), he creates panoramic soundscapes on his own with his looper pedal, which he even referred to as a "party trick" before playing a couple of comparatively conventional pieces. Pallett is an intense guy, yet he ensures not to take himself too
seriously, with just enough self-deprecating commentary between songs. His 75 minute set went down extremely well.<br />
<br />
Juno award-winning singer Tanya Tagaq began her set by introducing her band, the 60 piece choir, and its conductor. Her demeanour was that of Shirley Temple with a fire in her belly. She had the whimsical temperament of a child, speaking in such a way that we felt like we were cordially invited guests into her living room, unable to hide her excitement for her inaugural performance at Massey Hall. Her warmth was infectious, and we fell in love with her instantly. Deep down inside she surely knew that she was establishing an extreme in her informality with her banter, as the intensity of her performance would soon have her reaching the polar opposite extreme. But this is where the calculated part of the evening ends. <br />
<br />
Known for her Inuit throat singing, the hour-long improvisation piece started more like The Rose meets Nine Inch Nails. Within a few minutes, it was reminiscent of the middle section of Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love being sung by Bjork. She commanded the stage, both with her five octave vocal range and captivating movements not unlike interpretive dance.<br />
<br />
The piece was a journey through a wide variety of moods and musical conversations between the 65 people on stage. About two thirds into the performance, the combination of her voice and mannerisms felt like an erotic battle cry.<br />
<br />
The light show was very effective, only augmenting the experience rather than compensating for something that wasn't there. With Tagaq it's all about the aural. And it was more than music. It was a pinnacle of human expression. Unbridled spontaneous creativity at its finest.<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3086851751924569428&pli=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Heard live, her music sounds almost nothing like it does on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcOYx4_72Zo" target="_blank">YouTube</a>. The natural reverberation of a fine-sounding concert venue like Massey Hall creates the perfect setting for what she's trying to achieve with her art.<br />
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And the best part is - since her performances are entirely improvised, her next show will be almost nothing like this one.<br />
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<span id="goog_673702753"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAV2UBfu9dV1R9SLloAlAWkInEDR1qhwA5JLQDVs322dQaoNdbEZ5SHVXbOpSxd3a6rNex61cYtWthJ67QB_csYJLFUsMz4f5QX0rHPjZMVFtJB3n7_dFdYqfI7qgrrYQfimAVkVVQxLG7/s1600/index.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAV2UBfu9dV1R9SLloAlAWkInEDR1qhwA5JLQDVs322dQaoNdbEZ5SHVXbOpSxd3a6rNex61cYtWthJ67QB_csYJLFUsMz4f5QX0rHPjZMVFtJB3n7_dFdYqfI7qgrrYQfimAVkVVQxLG7/s320/index.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><span id="goog_673702754"></span></div>
Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-64398318088757828502014-12-20T19:29:00.002-05:002022-08-14T01:56:44.299-04:00Baker's Dozen of Tour Food<br />
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Scouring the restaurants of (mostly) America sure has its advantages when you venture off the beaten path. Sometimes having the Yelp app is handy, but there's also a joy in stumbling upon something fantastic because you simply felt like walking around.<br />
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Touring with a rock band usually results in one nighters where you don't see much more than a hotel, a dressing room, a stage and a van. But when you're with a touring freak show (read: musical) and you sit in a city for a week, you're granted the freedom to explore. Unless it's a hundred degrees outside, you're not going to stay in your hotel room when there are new worlds (and foods) to be found.<br />
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This is my baker's dozen of foods I experienced in about 35 cities in North America.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">13. Causa de Salmon @ Mango Peruvian Cuisine in St. Louis</span><br />
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The menu said - "Aji amarillo infused potato cake chilled & layered with salmon salad, sliced egg & avocado finished with red pepper aioli." Gesundheit. I took one bite, died and went to non-denominational and evidenced-based heaven, and promptly ordered something else on the menu. The item on the left is called Pascualina, which was kind of like a quiche, but not nearly as greasy.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">12. Seitan Bowl @ Native Foods Cafe in Chicago</span></div>
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Hands down, the best vegetarian restaurant I've ever eaten at. I went three more times that week.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">On the wall they had a dictionary explaining the difference between things like seitan and tempeh. Although they're both soy based, they're just as different as steak and scallops. And both delicious.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">11. Schnitzel @ Schmidt's Sausage Haus in </span><span style="font-size: large;">Columbus</span><br />
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Columbus is a very cultured city. There is a German section of town, and this place is right in the heart of it. There aren't a lot of spots to find a quality schnitzel in America, so this was a welcome surprise. The employees even dressed in Lederhosen, much to my delight.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I'm only making $7.95 an hour. Please don't make this any more humiliating."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">10. Traditional Mexican food at ... any place in Mexico</span><br />
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A few steps away from the hotel, we went to this place at least once a day during our two weeks in Mexico City. Just cheese, beans and chicken, but prepared in a way you can only get in Mexico.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">9. Street meat at ... any place in Mexico</span><br />
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They make the corn tortillas right in front of you. No Tex Mex place or grocery store sells anything that remotely compares. This is the real thing, and you can only find it on the streets of Mexico. This particular stall was fortunately right next to the Auditorio Nacional, where my show had a residency for two weeks. Needless to say, I put their kids through college.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The meat on the left was the equivalent to a year being taken off your life. But it's that year at the end when nobody comes to visit you, anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">8. Belgian Waffle in Huatulco, Mexico</span><br />
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Literally a hole in the wall. There were two tables. And they served this:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The one and only moment in Mexico where I wasn't thinking about tacos.</span></div>
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It easily rivaled the best waffles in Europe.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">7. Smoked salmon crepe @ Crepes du Nord in Bridgeport, NJ</span><br />
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One of the few bus trips of the tour had us stopping at this mall in New Jersey. In addition to the standard food court options, there was a stall that served crepes, only one of three locations of this small chain. The house crepe was the best crepe I've eaten in my life - smoked salmon, egg, dill sauce and chives.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The only thing that would have made this better is a building permit to bring their business to Canada. I'd even go to Buffalo for this. Yes, Buffalo.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">6. Ethiopian dish in Washington, D.C.</span><br />
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I wish I could remember what the dish was called or where it was, but it was in Georgetown near Embassy Row. Par excellence.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">5. Traditional Japanese Breakfast in Vancouver</span><br />
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There are countless Japanese breakfast places in Vancouver, and just about any one of them will get you something that looks like this:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">4. Pesto Quinoa dish in my hotel room</span><br />
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Based on a dish I found in Washington DC, I eventually concocted my own version that was even better. It's boiled quinoa dressed in pesto sauce with spinach, sausage and sweet peppers. The only major difference between the restaurant's version and mine was the portion size. This is a hefty meal; ridiculously easy to make and ridiculously delicious. And pretty healthy.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Proof that anything can be concocted in a hotel room.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. Zombie Burger in Des Moines, IA</span><br />
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This place is a national treasure, and it's easy to see why. You get far more than a hamburger here. I'd actually recommend them for their salads before the burgers. Exquisite.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. Papusas @ street market in LA</span><br />
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There's a street market in the Silver Lake area that has a slew of interesting ethnic foods, and this was a combination of Salvadorian foods. Papusas are kind of like pancakes, but with a lot more depth. It came with a few trimmings that I'd never heard of, but it sure was a culturing experience.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. Currywurst @ Berlin Currywurst in LA</span><br />
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The Grand Central Market in LA has so many amazing stalls that it was hard to pick one thing. Until I ate at Berlin Currywurst, which dwarfs them all. I've had nothing like it in my life - it's a base of hash browns, sausage, and sauerkraut with a fried egg and curry sauce on top. Without the slightest hesitation I can say this is the single best meal I ate on tour. All four times I had it.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Honourable mentions:</span><br />
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Baltimore - salmon. East coast seafood has its reputation for a good reason. $30 for a piece of fish and couscous, but you get what you pay for, which includes the location - prime real estate on the waterfront.<br />
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Raleigh, NC - black bean burger @ Bahama Breeze. The best veggie burger there is.<br />
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Philadelphia - coconut tofu. Hip City Veg is one of the best vegetarian restaurants in existence.<br />
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Mazunte, Mexico - enfrigoladas. This rice dish tends to have a bean base (hence "frijol"), but some places go the extra mile and include eggs, meat and vegetables galore.<br />
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St Louis - toasted ravioli. It's a cultural staple. Delicious beyond belief.<br />
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Detroit - French toast. The best French toast of my life was consumed at the Hudson Cafe. We waited an hour for a table, but it was well worth it.<br />
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Toronto - pad Thai. The Evergreen was home to the best pad Thai I've ever had (although I've never been to Thailand). The place actually shut down while I was in Toronto for a two week tour stop. I went there with one band member on a Wednesday and wanted to take another band member on the Saturday, and by then newspaper was covering the walls, appended by a sign saying there was a sushi restaurant coming soon. Just what Toronto needs - more sushi.<br />
<br />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-30619158611326425992014-05-18T01:43:00.001-04:002015-12-08T04:00:59.462-05:005 Songs People Who Hate 'Rush' Need To Hear<br />
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For decades Rush has been referred to by fans and critics alike as the thinking man's rock band. After learning of Neil Peart's extensive book collection shortly after he joined the band in 1974, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson thought, "Hey, maybe this guy can write lyrics." They weren't wrong. His diverse and insightful musings about everything from nuclear weapons to the complexities of relationships have filled Rush albums for the last 40 years.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">#5. Resist</span></b><br />
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One of the best examples of the inner workings of Peart's insatiable mind is 'Resist' off 1996's Test For Echo.<br />
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<i>"I can learn to resist anything but temptation</i><br />
<i>I can learn to coexist with anything but pain</i><br />
<i>I can learn to compromise anything but my desires</i><br />
<i>I can learn to get along with all the things I can't explain"</i><br />
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Powerful words put to perfectly complementary musical tapestry. It speaks of a spirit on a never ending search, yet at peace with what cannot be rationalized. It was all the more personal when performed acoustically in the early 2000s. A gorgeous track in either setting.<br />
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<i>"I can learn to close my eyes to anything but injustice"</i><br />
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Peart could have taken this one line and turned it into an anthem for (insert NGO here), but his songs tend to be novels covering enough bases that no single idea emerges victorious. And as you grow, lines that once passed you by suddenly have an effect on you years after you heard them for the first time. If this isn't good art, then I don't know what is.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">#4. The Wreckers</span></b><br />
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Most bands from the 70s who still exist today are dialing it in on autopilot, riding on the coattails of their past. Rush, on the other hand, are flying high. They're arguably more popular now than ever, especially now that the kids have played the entire Moving Pictures album on the Rock Band video game. The generational gap at Rush concerts has never been more apparent, and of course this is a good thing. But equally importantly, they remain relevant.<br />
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Their last two albums have received rave reviews, some even comparing them to their finest work at their creative peak. 'Clockwork Angels', released in 2012, was highly anticipated and well worth the wait. It is an exquisite blend of the vintage Rush sound with a sense maturity and self-realization of the fact that they aren't spring chickens anymore. In the anthemic chorus of 'The Wreckers', Peart spills his wisdom:<br />
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<i>"All I know is that sometimes the truth is contrary, everything in life you thought you knew</i><br />
<i>All I know is that sometimes you have to be wary of a miracle too good to be true</i><br />
<i>All I know is that sometimes the truth is contrary, 'cause sometimes the target is you"</i><br />
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Many people find themselves disliking Rush because of Geddy Lee's voice. Even many rabid fans would agree that he sounded anything from squeaky to obnoxiously high in the 70s. I actually prefer many later live renditions of the earlier material when Geddy's voice settled down into more of a baritone. With each passing album, Geddy has sounded more mature and grounded, channeling Peart's thoughts and visions with precision and emotion alike. Now at 60, with his age starting to show, his conviction remains unabated. In 'The Wreckers' he sounds like your uncle giving you life lessons that you luckily don't have to wait to learn until you're his age.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">#3. La Villa Strangiato</span></b><br />
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Of all the instrumental pieces in their catalog, this extended piece from 1978's Hemispheres captures Rush at their hungriest and most virtuosic. Despite being at the peak of their powers, the complexity of the arrangements still forced them to record the piece in three separate sections and paste it together.<br />
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After a ripping flamenco flurry of an intro, the first of many themes is introduced and, like a story, every few bars a new character is introduced. After a few minutes of momentum are built, the tale takes a sharp left turn and soon Alex Lifeson gives a clinic on how to construct a guitar solo that captures every emotion a guitarist can go through in sixteen bars of music. While Rush may be thought of as a nerdy band, here Lifeson gets as close to sex as any of their bare-chested contemporaries. He begins sparsely and slowly builds to a fulfilling climax, maintaining utmost intensity through the peaks and valleys. Simply marvellous.<br />
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Even amongst people who hate Rush, Geddy Lee is widely recognized as one of rock's finest and most innovative bassists. He is featured heavily in this piece, taking his Chris Squire-influenced sensibilities to great heights. And just when you think they've thrown in the kitchen sink, a homage to a classic 1930s piece called Powerhouse (recognizable to many as the Looney Tunes assembly line music) is cleverly woven in.<br />
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This is, hands down, one of the finest pieces of rock music ever laid down to tape.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>#2. Mission</b></span><br />
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Plenty of Rush fans maintain that 1987's Hold Your Fire is their least favourite album, largely because Alex Lifeson is more of an afterthought compared to the main dish that he was in their classic era. Indeed, the album is very keyboard heavy, to the point that even they realized that they had exhausted this direction and took a back-to-basics approach on their next album, Presto. But while the guitar is sparse, many of the songs remain excellent. 'Mission' is undoubtedly one of them.<br />
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This song didn't hit me until my mid 20s. I only heard it a couple times as a teenager and it passed me by like much of the Rush synth era. That's just as well, as I wouldn't have understood this song's meaning as a youngster. Peart speaks of all-consuming passion, whatever such ideas may mean to you. He speaks first as one who observes, even envies someone with a sense of fiery attachment that they can't quite understand or relate to:<br />
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<i>"I hear their passionate music</i><br />
<i>Read the words that touch my heart</i><br />
<i>I gaze at their feverish pictures</i><br />
<i>The secrets that set them apart"</i><br />
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But the listener can't be fooled for long thinking this is in third person, as the poet manages to find the words that nobody on the outside of such experiences could ever come up with:<br />
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<i>"In the grip of a nameless possession</i><br />
<i>A slave to the drive of obsession</i><br />
<i>A spirit with a vision is a dream with a mission"</i><br />
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By the time I had achieved some long-standing dreams of my own in my early 20s, this could certainly hit home. Peart soon jumps back to the outsider's perspective:<br />
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<i>"If their lives were exotic and strange they would likely have gladly exchanged them for something a little more plain. Maybe something a little more sane"</i><br />
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This is to say "the grass is always greener on the other side," but far more poetically. Having a mobile job that leaves family and friends behind for months at a time - a lesson learned by countless singers, musicians, crew members, athletes, scientists, international aid workers - certainly can take its toll. And as someone who is one of these people, I can say without question that these few paragraphs of words from Neil Peart encapsulate the full spectrum of emotions one goes through on the road.<br />
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That said, working 70 hours a week in one place can certainly have similar effects. That's the beauty of art - what counts is what it means to you.<br />
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<i>"We each pay a fabulous price for our visions of paradise</i><br />
<i>But a spirit with a vision is a dream with a mission."</i><br />
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The lesson is - there are consequences no matter which path you choose in life. Red pill or blue pill. So choose your poison - door #1, or doors #2 through infinity. The former may seem safer, but these are usually the people who die with greater regrets. He who dies with the most stories wins.<br />
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And, for the record - Lifeson's solo at the end of the song slays.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">#1. Time Stand Still</span></b><br />
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Choices made in "Mission" lead to the effects in "Time Stand Still." If you haven't caught on by now (and without trying to appear narcissistic - but it is my blog, after all!), these five songs represent five corners of my existence thus far. Most geometric objects (at least, those we normally see on a daily basis) tend to have an even number of corners, but most people who live a life as described in "Mission" are everything but square. Not even parallelogram.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Some days I feel more like a tetrahedral-octahedral honeycomb.</span></div>
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The song's title seems simple. Wanting time to stand still. But it's *how* he expresses it. He starts simply by referring to the daily grind and its associated regrets of not being able to do everything one wants to do:<br />
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<i>"Driven on without a moment to spend</i><br />
<i>To pass an evening with a drink and a friend"</i><br />
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Peart absolutely destroys me every time I hear this song. As the months and years pass by, as the people around me get older, as the time left to achieve what I want to accomplish in life diminishes (this isn't pessimistic - it's merely accurate mathematics), these words become more and more meaningful.<br />
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<i>"Freeze this moment a little bit longer</i><br />
<i>Make each sensation a little bit stronger</i><br />
<i>Experience slips away"</i><br />
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Peart triggers every emotion inside me throughout the course of this song, and Lee sings it with such dramatic yet gentle guidance, as if to say there's still time to change your course of action so as not to fall into this trap permanently. The first chorus above represents childhood when compared to the more mature view of the world heard in the second chorus. Peart's sense of reflection in his middle age is clear:<br />
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<i>"</i><i>Freeze this moment a little bit longer</i><br />
<i>Make each impression a little bit stronger</i><br />
<i>Freeze this motion a little bit longer</i><br />
<i>The innocence slips away"</i><br />
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Geddy's delivery of the third chorus tugs at my heartstrings unlike any other. Peart is now speaking from old age, where the changes of the seasons become fewer and the extra years see the generations pass before your eyes:<br />
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<i>"Summer's going fast, nights growing colder</i><br />
<i>Children growing up, old friends growing older"</i><br />
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If only I could imagine how this will make me feel when I'm twice my age. This may well be my single favourite piece of vocal music ever written.<br />
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All art is subjective to taste. Anyone with a smidgen of wisdom understands this. But separating quality art from one's tastes is a virtue. These five pieces of music represent five branches of self-expression that most artists would kill to have people en masse enjoy, be challenged by, or reflect upon even just ONCE. With me, Rush have profoundly succeeded five times. And undoubtedly there are countless people whose top five Rush songs are different from mine for equally or perhaps even more substantial reasons than mine. If you're out there, bring the fruits of your labours this way, please.<br />
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And if you still hate this band, at least after reading this you can hopefully appreciate the honest, personal art that they've created and understand how they've managed to sell 40 million albums with very few hit songs. And, as an added bonus, maybe you'll know me a bit better as well.<br />
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Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-80309928777706131802013-09-19T01:59:00.000-04:002017-01-02T14:51:47.176-05:00Classic albums of the future?<br />
<a href="http://classicalbumslive.blogspot.ca/2013/09/ramble-on.html" target="_blank"><br />http://classicalbumslive.blogspot.ca/2013/09/ramble-on.html</a><br />
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Craig's blog is always a fine read. He is a poet, passionate about the music he loves. Just over ten years ago he started a company called Classic Albums Live, dedicated to recreating albums live on stage exactly as they were recorded, note for note. Just find any YouTube video and see for yourself. Or this one:<br />
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It's perfect. And there's only one kind of perfect.<br />
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I've worked with Craig for a couple years now. His gigs are almost exclusively in theatres, and the standard for perfection is very high. 'Note for note' is not to be taken lightly. Having to play four instruments on a Led Zeppelin IV show taught me entirely new lessons on detail, preparation and mindfulness. I work in an environment with people who cherish and treat this music with the utmost respect it rightfully deserves.<br />
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Reading his latest blog entry got me thinking about the last few decades of music. There is no shortage of great music out there today, but I often wonder how much of the music recorded in the last 25 years will be listened to or reflected upon a century from now. Radiohead's OK Computer is the first one that comes to mind, but not too many others.<br />
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Indeed, rock as an art form peaked between 1967-75, but there have definitely been plenty of classic albums made post-Joshua Tree. Here are but a few:<br />
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Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden<br />
Daniel Lanois - Acadie<br />
Nirvana - Nevermind<br />
U2 - Achtung Baby<br />
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream<br />
Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill<br />
Stone Temple Pilots - Purple<br />
Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory<br />
Eva Cassidy - Songbird<br />
Dream Theater - Scenes From a Memory<br />
The Strokes - Is This It<br />
The Arcade Fire - Funeral<br />
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations<br />
Rush - Clockwork Angels<br />
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^ not a single dud on any of these, and many of them have had a tremendous effect on the evolution of music and even popular culture. But how much of this will actually matter after we're all safely in our graves? Bach still matters, as does Vivaldi, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Ravel, Debussy, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Miles Davis, Coltrane, Elvis, The Beatles, Zeppelin, Floyd, Queen, Sinatra, Streisand and Michael Jackson. But what of the last 20 years is going to rank up there with this elite group of people who each weaved a piece of popular culture in their own image?<br />
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There are countless brilliant orchestral and minimalist composers contributing to the evolution of music in different ways, everything from John Williams to Philip Glass. Frank Zappa's later work is brilliant - Jazz From Hell and The Yellow Shark still boggle minds decades later. And there are guitarists like Tommy Emmanuel who blow all of the rock guys away. Many of his albums are classic albums to me. But not to everyone. And with good reason - so much music is available. Rarely do I meet two people with the same musical taste. Could we have said the same 30 years ago?<br />
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The late 60s and early 70s were a special time for music, no doubt. Money from record sales was pumped into artist development, and for all the right reasons. The industry wanted quality art that sold well. But by the time the digital and video age kicked in, something shifted. The focus slowly gravitated from the music to the image. Image was almost always a key component for the preceding couple decades, but it never superseded the music itself. MTV changed all that. And not necessarily all for the worse. Thriller happened, after all.<br />
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Most mainstream music today is disposable product designed to sell quickly until the next one arrives, just like most other products available on store shelves. But it is a dying breed. It still makes headlines, but the records aren't selling like they used to, for a myriad of reasons. Another piece of encouragement - the Coachella festival exists. It's the biggest annual music festival in the US, and very few of the artists who perform there would be described as mainstream.<br />
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Alan Cross recently noted that there were once a thousand artists each with millions of fans, and now there are millions of artists each with thousands of fans. And the first thing I thought was - what's wrong with that?<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">He's never wrong.</span></div>
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The distribution of music is changing. Thanks to the internet, a record company is no longer the only way your art can be heard by more than 12 people who live on your street. A growing number of artists see the downloading of their music as a form of promotion. Knowing they exist means you might come to the gig and buy the t-shirt, and that's where they actually make money.<br />
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Today's popular music consists of so many genres - rock, pop, bluegrass, whatever you call the Arcade Fire's vast array of influences and creations, r&b, soul and hip-hop, to name a few. Most of today's kids know everything. In the 70s you were either a Kiss fan or you listened to folk music. I guess my preference for for Carole King would've landed me in the latter group. In the 90s I was an outcast at school because I liked 70s rock and thought Mozart was cool. It was all so one-dimensional. But most of today's kids are diverse. They don't care what genre of music they enjoy or how old it is. They enjoy it all. The classic album is being replaced with diversity.<br />
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Rock may be dead, and the classic album may be dead too, but music sure isn't. It has more than a pulse - it is beating through the pulmonary arteries of the fans of millions of bands of all shapes and sizes. No single genre of music is particularly alive right now. Music is alive and well, and that's all that matters.<br />
<br />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-86514687470869962392013-01-10T14:07:00.002-05:002014-05-18T03:45:00.579-04:00Tribute bands<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho2bKGr43eEnHdwX6ylzZP02CmWsqsSlBumhkxfL7Wiyd5si5jKNdjSIgot1P125IJC6Nvb65vWWyy3Tt_5-_oLiU-mDbOWSV3jM5KOfeZmI3XVcIJfcGfWod0k1DExuX2jDY_NYdUDpaU/s1600/Beethoven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
T<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[0]">oday I witnessed someone refer to musicians who perform in tribute bands as, I quote, </span></span></span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[0]"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2390762}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2390762}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2390762}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[0]">"pitiful
copyists who lack the breadth of musical understanding to break outside
one myopic microcosm of infantessimile repetition."</span></span></span><br /><br />^ pseudo-intellectualism and disdain for the majority of musicians - united at last !<br /><br />If
we say nay to tribute bands for the reasons mentioned above, then we
are also saying nay to performing any music written by people </span></span></span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[0]"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[0]">other </span></span></span>than
ourselves. Let's look at this logically:</span><br id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[1]" /><br id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[2]" /><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3]">When
one first learns to play an instrument, they tend to play music written
by other people in order to learn the mechanics of the instrument. So if those
who interpret the music of others are actually hacks, then when does
that point come that they are required to stop playing the music of
others and exclusively play their own?</span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody"><br /></span></span>
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody"><br /></span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdK6nfcZIcJ3qiLwggvWtI5xuooRcWk9nm8bZBc7cNvAILs3kw-Y7Rgs0F8ysviq2TQvQ2JEKKqSM6KbYWs0Z2MkS7kK0HIbdnTsl0cvMNttDihLE4LTOqDkDXaJtN1n7XvmCNTXESCh2/s1600/young_mozart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdK6nfcZIcJ3qiLwggvWtI5xuooRcWk9nm8bZBc7cNvAILs3kw-Y7Rgs0F8ysviq2TQvQ2JEKKqSM6KbYWs0Z2MkS7kK0HIbdnTsl0cvMNttDihLE4LTOqDkDXaJtN1n7XvmCNTXESCh2/s320/young_mozart.jpg" height="320" width="231" /></a><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[6]"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3]"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Yeah, 8 year old Mozart - how dare you play someone else's music in your spare time? Shouldn't you be busy composing?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3]"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho2bKGr43eEnHdwX6ylzZP02CmWsqsSlBumhkxfL7Wiyd5si5jKNdjSIgot1P125IJC6Nvb65vWWyy3Tt_5-_oLiU-mDbOWSV3jM5KOfeZmI3XVcIJfcGfWod0k1DExuX2jDY_NYdUDpaU/s1600/Beethoven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3]"> </span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[6]">So if they ultimately find their greatest passion in the music of others, they are somehow taking the wrong path in life because they aren't playing their original songs for 30 people in a pub who'd rather hear Some Kind Of Wonderful?</span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[6]"></span></span></span><br />
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<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[6]"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJXSxcnzi7RvSED-aBczWfCfGOX07t3O_KcdxwkjBcAdbaC9jky-Cf1X9wErwW5zfeFx7nn5w348ak1r5qaBfHSM0eVJkokor72PzffX6CDZczzGFFGY8PDZQ7X93h4K48DPY7TkHRwlBm/s1600/drunk-guy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJXSxcnzi7RvSED-aBczWfCfGOX07t3O_KcdxwkjBcAdbaC9jky-Cf1X9wErwW5zfeFx7nn5w348ak1r5qaBfHSM0eVJkokor72PzffX6CDZczzGFFGY8PDZQ7X93h4K48DPY7TkHRwlBm/s320/drunk-guy.jpg" height="320" width="296" /></a> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[6]"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[3]"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">I'll bet you my paycheque from the gig that this guy does not want to hear the song I wrote last night.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"></span></span>
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><br id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[7]" /></span></span>
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[9]">The argument against tribute acts is thus: money should not be paid to experience old songs in a concert atmosphere because nobody's reinventing the wheel.</span><br id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[10]" /><br id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[11]" /><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[12]">So
if tribute acts are a waste of time, energy, money and sperm, then by
that account so is every musician who interprets and performs music that
is more than ~60 years old - because all of those composers are dead.
So then we're advocating that all music after the lifetimes of its
respective composers should simply die with them?</span><br id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[13]" /><br id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[14]" /><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[15]">Furthermore
- orchestral music tends to be composed by one person, not the entire
orchestra. So if the above argument stands, even those people
performing music written by someone else during their lifetime are also
hacks because they didn't bother to compose the music or collaborate in
some way with the composer during the creative process.</span><br id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[16]" /><br id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[17]" /><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[18]">Sounds ludicrous when put like that, doesn't it ?</span><br id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[22]" /><br id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[23]" /><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[24]">People
love music because it connects with them in some way, and nothing will
ever replicate the experience of live music. It takes great skill to
accurately interpret the music of another composer or artist, and people
love to experience it being done right. And it creates careers - in
pubs, in theatres, at weddings, at outdoor festivals and at corporate
events - in classical, jazz, opera, funk, r&b, rock and pop. Taking
this away would be akin to burning history books and abandoning
archaeology, as we'd essentially be saying there is no purpose in
preserving important and meaningful moments of our past.</span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[24]"></span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[15].[1][2][1]{comment391659007591592_2395898}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[24]"><br /></span></span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7NOCBnrFzOAAXUAZruJIyUi172FjNkfo5wG9o2HzqyPJcQejTbwGaaal95uEudwJpf_Y_bJ8Oxm9qnhCSoKXd7j8vwvNN2az2b27N9oW72o1AJuGj1c5h_z9UsJxj6N1Hdu2H5WOHtCOD/s1600/IMG_20121030_175912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7NOCBnrFzOAAXUAZruJIyUi172FjNkfo5wG9o2HzqyPJcQejTbwGaaal95uEudwJpf_Y_bJ8Oxm9qnhCSoKXd7j8vwvNN2az2b27N9oW72o1AJuGj1c5h_z9UsJxj6N1Hdu2H5WOHtCOD/s320/IMG_20121030_175912.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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As a professional musician who has been paid to perform both my own music and music written by others - I can say with complete conviction that there is absolutely no feeling like sitting in an empty theatre an hour before show time while they test out the lights, knowing that two thousand people have paid to come see you interpret a piece of music they have loved for decades and that you are going to be a small cog in that machine of time travel and sensory overload.<br />
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This process of musical delivery is far from superfluous, and likely one that the nay-sayers have benefited from without even realizing it. Long live the delivery of music in all its forms. In a world where we have enough things dividing us, music is a force to unite. Stop the squabbling and enjoy - with perspective.<br />
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<br />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-86568910235734420612012-11-16T04:18:00.001-05:002022-03-05T02:49:09.880-05:00Age 30 manifesto<div><br /></div><div><br /></div>I turned 30 last week.<br />
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Here is what I have learned in that cosmic instant of time. Entering my fourth decade I see this as a condensed version of my worldview. When I enter my fifth decade, I hope I will see this assessment of life as grossly incomplete and unevolved. But here be the state of the union at this point in my existence.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlraFJM4WED3Rxq3WOgaklLl8sUEcjenMctYxF_q46Z-4nCd_M-K-DH9JacX_-UCkDdRWM4iQ52Fr0h8mprTXehGdVGbC4gNv6z_Ds0Vhp7SjGt1ngCHsis77VY7joDl8KmexpE5c9bRdf/s1600/Skogafoss+5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlraFJM4WED3Rxq3WOgaklLl8sUEcjenMctYxF_q46Z-4nCd_M-K-DH9JacX_-UCkDdRWM4iQ52Fr0h8mprTXehGdVGbC4gNv6z_Ds0Vhp7SjGt1ngCHsis77VY7joDl8KmexpE5c9bRdf/s320/Skogafoss+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Life is beautiful. It is balance and equilibrium. It is a lesson waiting to be learned. At our peaks we flourish, and in our valleys we reflect. We bask in our glories and weather our storms.<br />
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For some people, glory is achieving a long term goal or living a moment where life's potential as we know it is maximized. For others, it's getting wasted on Saturday night after yet another unbearable week of choosing to do something they insist they don't want to be doing. The mere act of simply existing healthily is sufficient for many. Or anything in between. The full spectrum is at our fingertips. Our storms, if utilized correctly, are where we reassess our place in the grand scheme of things and recharge our batteries. The more storms we experience, the more efficient our storm-weathering skills become.<br /><br />
This world is a place of endless complexity and possibilities. Every possible degree from one extreme to another exists in virtually every thought, concept, practice and experience. This scares some people. It inspires others.<br />
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In this world there is no shortage of willful ignorance, selfishness, greed, corruption and hardship. But there is also a plethora of inspiration from people with no shortage of great ideas that make a profound difference in the world every day at every moment. An endless stream of possibility. And when we think everything has been discovered, that the end of art has arrived, that growth has been rendered somehow impossible - something new blows our minds.<br />
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The most basic and beautiful thing in our existence, love, has been packaged by corporations and sold back to us. Its meaning has been obfuscated by marketing and has evolved in ways it shouldn't have. But plenty of people see through the smoke. To those who do not subscribe to binary thinking, there is no shortage of alternatives to conventional thought. In fact, the very term "conventional" is losing its meaning when ideas at opposite ends of the world are now instantly connected by hand-held devices that are more powerful than the technology that sent man to the moon.<br />
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We have sent a robot to Mars and created music that lasts for centuries, yet we watch Jersey Shore and shoot an Afghan girl in the face because she wants to go to school. We chop down rainforests, and we track a penguin who traveled too far north. These activities are all indeed engaged in by the same species.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXVLX8wnDD5QS2WNx83Erc1QoKtTPlXAyBpP4IuR30jX6yAe8m6oOs0oUcLqWz3Wd-Bpc9xzbZkIskH71HsgI9qqk7pcK7cGqxO8ug_STOXFPKv_Bs_utYOtOXCcI-4YQhTwzd5wQDL3s/s1600/horsehead+nebula+(orion)_ssro.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXVLX8wnDD5QS2WNx83Erc1QoKtTPlXAyBpP4IuR30jX6yAe8m6oOs0oUcLqWz3Wd-Bpc9xzbZkIskH71HsgI9qqk7pcK7cGqxO8ug_STOXFPKv_Bs_utYOtOXCcI-4YQhTwzd5wQDL3s/s320/horsehead+nebula+(orion)_ssro.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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There is so much to be optimistic about. There is an infinite amount of possibility of knowledge, experience and progress to be made. One could argue on technicality that it is finite, but the fact that there are more possibilities than time to bring them all to fruition thus makes it infinite with respect to our individual lives. It is therefore mathematically impossible to be bored in this world. In fact, I advocate that the words "I'm bored" be banned.<br />
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Peace, love and prosperity.<br />
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RFW<br />
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<br />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-45212598485536581332012-11-14T01:27:00.005-05:002021-04-03T13:41:35.589-04:00Solar eclipse<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A total solar eclipse was visible today in much of the southern hemisphere.</div>
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People turned up in Australia in large numbers. Some Queensland hotels had been booked more than three years in advance, and 50,000 people came to the region to see it. For those of us not in the sweet spot of viewability, technology came to the rescue.<br />
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There were two live streams at <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/">www.ustream.tv</a> provided by a single crew. The stations were 70 km apart, just in case the weather didn't fully cooperate. Foresight is king. The primary angles were wrought with cloud throughout, but one of the alternates was completely unobstructed. Only one of the two streams had audio, so you could alt-tab between the two with no need to mute anything.<br />
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And the best part is - all of the technology was solar powered. Is there even a need to elaborate on the pure awesomeness of that statement?<br />
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The broadcast was a resounding success. Not a single glitch, audio nor video - and this is while I had about 30 other tabs open. To declare that spending 90 minutes of my life experiencing this powerful phenomenon from such a distance was a worthwhile investment of time would be an understatement. This kind of technological achievement did not even hit the radar of our wildest dreams a decade ago.<br />
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I took screenshots from the different angles at various intervals. The first image was taken seconds after the moon began to cover the sun, which they referred to as "first contact."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAbID2eZZJjGizKYg3JddWBxjpwS_OqlqC7vJEhfYm-mIe5jnaSj_ZhzSnK7UZLMUGMY_XKtfypgmNLfrnCVfNpOJH0iAb6dMzUNx2QWFcBVWf4U0HlPE-My5Lh8S94TAJ-u0Z0XPd5NNT/s1600/1445+first+contact.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAbID2eZZJjGizKYg3JddWBxjpwS_OqlqC7vJEhfYm-mIe5jnaSj_ZhzSnK7UZLMUGMY_XKtfypgmNLfrnCVfNpOJH0iAb6dMzUNx2QWFcBVWf4U0HlPE-My5Lh8S94TAJ-u0Z0XPd5NNT/s320/1445+first+contact.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlWQAhjIn27bXmJFMHodTktioU3-VP8BnfikmETzS9MwwEgFZp8ZLW-vdG_mDMcyDzW7qZtOwfzQcaCb-3z_Dhxbxtm4vm94eYr31IHLuLh-1dYYYhVcMkkMT0fvh0CvlVlA_qGsxZU7-/s1600/1450.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlWQAhjIn27bXmJFMHodTktioU3-VP8BnfikmETzS9MwwEgFZp8ZLW-vdG_mDMcyDzW7qZtOwfzQcaCb-3z_Dhxbxtm4vm94eYr31IHLuLh-1dYYYhVcMkkMT0fvh0CvlVlA_qGsxZU7-/s320/1450.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjoN2RXmYSDB_L49djwVu1QF93YMRSfOnN18G61yHNWqm2cr5FkM2UDw5IFsNM4ejbU4miNGE0phjXm1qugFAlcG48k4sq2i7IENol3yq7k0V3N6V9INPCZRUfisbsUB363M83U0RV0F5/s1600/1505.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjoN2RXmYSDB_L49djwVu1QF93YMRSfOnN18G61yHNWqm2cr5FkM2UDw5IFsNM4ejbU4miNGE0phjXm1qugFAlcG48k4sq2i7IENol3yq7k0V3N6V9INPCZRUfisbsUB363M83U0RV0F5/s320/1505.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwcde4GY0Bz-qAdaPc_6TPh_JkebY2TeFoxEe410GIria_1rXwKN77J7RLTZj9yKIy1rbZ4ma3XRFqgrYi1SGGhbwXe4yL-lgO_yE5PfIkV4cLrWQ_p1NTsAJb-ct45Tft1HVU1Ma39ZF9/s1600/1522.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwcde4GY0Bz-qAdaPc_6TPh_JkebY2TeFoxEe410GIria_1rXwKN77J7RLTZj9yKIy1rbZ4ma3XRFqgrYi1SGGhbwXe4yL-lgO_yE5PfIkV4cLrWQ_p1NTsAJb-ct45Tft1HVU1Ma39ZF9/s320/1522.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_ijB-uo7264lKVprdQvD23gtUXfH9DAuOO6CVEJW99OB70PMtJAoVLvvyFt-Ui8sJcr788Rojayb6PDOskttaMv4pRtBnm2PSuPyLJuxAG0ISlsa-aKTR3dGB3ANRZJZfDZ1jC_ks3Ho/s1600/1529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_ijB-uo7264lKVprdQvD23gtUXfH9DAuOO6CVEJW99OB70PMtJAoVLvvyFt-Ui8sJcr788Rojayb6PDOskttaMv4pRtBnm2PSuPyLJuxAG0ISlsa-aKTR3dGB3ANRZJZfDZ1jC_ks3Ho/s320/1529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5gIMBwcnZaQphHh-bEt1c1I9W31FkbXXLKYaKS1RSvPS-nQB00jJLqux-gs98EDsCP26sQHsBNtsDsZ9_z1FlWeX5xIaQJlL3odbV3QVPRGnw_0Wk1nXkSGeKdGYh0QyxkSTsuW24fDIP/s1600/1532.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5gIMBwcnZaQphHh-bEt1c1I9W31FkbXXLKYaKS1RSvPS-nQB00jJLqux-gs98EDsCP26sQHsBNtsDsZ9_z1FlWeX5xIaQJlL3odbV3QVPRGnw_0Wk1nXkSGeKdGYh0QyxkSTsuW24fDIP/s320/1532.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxni8EJCz7HaQEdaxWFlSbwAbTOg3I9w-ULqz9BMzchsG7Mx1zcjk1pgZX6KpB6nkmm-wTL6J_p5dLGKxu2Ok3M-JJhwGwSOO0ChWVuCfN58_ctFffykGSCin2_HvLlxa-LwVgadHvxntQ/s1600/1537.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxni8EJCz7HaQEdaxWFlSbwAbTOg3I9w-ULqz9BMzchsG7Mx1zcjk1pgZX6KpB6nkmm-wTL6J_p5dLGKxu2Ok3M-JJhwGwSOO0ChWVuCfN58_ctFffykGSCin2_HvLlxa-LwVgadHvxntQ/s320/1537.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And finally, totality - which lasted about a minute and a half. During totality, animals armed with their sixth sense (read: virtually anything but humans) immediately tap into this new and foreign environment. They behave differently and make unusual sounds. Temperatures have been known to drop 20 degrees Fahrenheit lower than mere minutes earlier.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_bocfSZrjJY3SQ2jv0f-aHZaHnx2WhfJEydNSknspNBnucV9Q2WwUxB9Er3ssD4di8oj092CGp4nlCI3V6JeLUE4M1vyWSVy2okNQKh7piFrtBUZkKON4ogRM1A5zRPvhhoOZVhF9BG_7/s1600/1538.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_bocfSZrjJY3SQ2jv0f-aHZaHnx2WhfJEydNSknspNBnucV9Q2WwUxB9Er3ssD4di8oj092CGp4nlCI3V6JeLUE4M1vyWSVy2okNQKh7piFrtBUZkKON4ogRM1A5zRPvhhoOZVhF9BG_7/s320/1538.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The sun is 390 times further from Earth and 390 times larger than the moon, which is why they appear to be the same size when they are lined up exactly. Neat how the universe has worked these delightful little things out.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpJHNi4Mdiiiai3-iwVnEZg3OVb2RmjfAD1l5SIuhnh2MF0lZPGhEyVMzcfQJx3KAueWnAfXvnM3WzpB9OuMH8LGUzX3t6GTRwWjmvJz3IZsz_Z3tS9Mr9xOWsyUYsHYnkLcQD9xwKoyp/s1600/1542.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpJHNi4Mdiiiai3-iwVnEZg3OVb2RmjfAD1l5SIuhnh2MF0lZPGhEyVMzcfQJx3KAueWnAfXvnM3WzpB9OuMH8LGUzX3t6GTRwWjmvJz3IZsz_Z3tS9Mr9xOWsyUYsHYnkLcQD9xwKoyp/s320/1542.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7yMQLO1Qd2hQ5L63pcOdzTan4R6slwCYuGm3xjObo1TClPy8NrapwEsAD5LomMpmAGKtDue06bUy1Dc32-ruUiOTPMfCVta788G7F4y26JDKSzaYCri7oTYuYWMmzcifFcz9Sz1MCABXv/s1600/1543.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7yMQLO1Qd2hQ5L63pcOdzTan4R6slwCYuGm3xjObo1TClPy8NrapwEsAD5LomMpmAGKtDue06bUy1Dc32-ruUiOTPMfCVta788G7F4y26JDKSzaYCri7oTYuYWMmzcifFcz9Sz1MCABXv/s320/1543.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDtYNF2KEK18GmlpSCidR6yWa6ocKs3SpStYdiK3xPWXdlf4W3pVfWkR4joeWdn5iryRuakvsRlVvK1kQX_eOnQcFS6h0o0TWHP1jvFpg7LbjOzfQ7-B2EIUiOG7py5EcN3pkXXQuFgeM/s1600/1547.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDtYNF2KEK18GmlpSCidR6yWa6ocKs3SpStYdiK3xPWXdlf4W3pVfWkR4joeWdn5iryRuakvsRlVvK1kQX_eOnQcFS6h0o0TWHP1jvFpg7LbjOzfQ7-B2EIUiOG7py5EcN3pkXXQuFgeM/s320/1547.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Incredible shots from the first alternate angle:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr6a5cw-43HtmoEbOPQilLlo32U2aItFzM_nApzykAjENONjx8PJvlQVy-XJpnn4DSwH5aZc74kJaiHLjaLJBuGSXbDi-4xpWFAKquKP5mtOoQIbdehvsNfULQXtPelFaZpQmHCy95rGGr/s1600/1523.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr6a5cw-43HtmoEbOPQilLlo32U2aItFzM_nApzykAjENONjx8PJvlQVy-XJpnn4DSwH5aZc74kJaiHLjaLJBuGSXbDi-4xpWFAKquKP5mtOoQIbdehvsNfULQXtPelFaZpQmHCy95rGGr/s320/1523.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLOWKBfuty7AdjhKUZ0VoLdymQChPKpGYUBSnqrw2lyAbCE5q_6WxUDGFw4K0prms9OE5qFIGaZHQGzzXx-QMAFKY09ieZG3Nvb8Ma6YLTq4EWJ-QvdMRzovLbczZiKLfCJyMkuJfnBgSm/s1600/1541.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLOWKBfuty7AdjhKUZ0VoLdymQChPKpGYUBSnqrw2lyAbCE5q_6WxUDGFw4K0prms9OE5qFIGaZHQGzzXx-QMAFKY09ieZG3Nvb8Ma6YLTq4EWJ-QvdMRzovLbczZiKLfCJyMkuJfnBgSm/s320/1541.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJXm_-MSpOvmhf7YBBJUIdnc-7JNINhtLk3wwkAqGQ9o5z9eVCIrcM7xsZoewitIrIWtVO2dKygECOV3F-tqQw5SwNrqdC_m8g5N4CjItbqFiQQ9xMAssNyRoCtSwMPBWAraClrruUeUW/s1600/1542b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJXm_-MSpOvmhf7YBBJUIdnc-7JNINhtLk3wwkAqGQ9o5z9eVCIrcM7xsZoewitIrIWtVO2dKygECOV3F-tqQw5SwNrqdC_m8g5N4CjItbqFiQQ9xMAssNyRoCtSwMPBWAraClrruUeUW/s320/1542b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A third angle:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXszaLg3ujepw9n7_ZwmaH0jCb4ckWk68ql36uyqomYqdEAMilqSXAx_0H05wyJRDuV2xqAU1HCdxPasS1MjlmCdRwRjDAZIMPOwHxpyCL5LIswzDCFNIWuryM4zgcveh53wO1W6zl2hF/s1600/1540.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXszaLg3ujepw9n7_ZwmaH0jCb4ckWk68ql36uyqomYqdEAMilqSXAx_0H05wyJRDuV2xqAU1HCdxPasS1MjlmCdRwRjDAZIMPOwHxpyCL5LIswzDCFNIWuryM4zgcveh53wO1W6zl2hF/s1600/1540.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorhYC4uHvALgD5oFayKG-ZmJojZJPqADfQoJoF8QdWLqlm8KZ8KY_pWrp-fOK8FVdqYS9vPtSM0KQYl01WhiXGLYsA4WFmWKkBSpqhcOoOJLyD7ZlZTNXccInZ_jLFDTJRFcMRSXs1Hei/s1600/1542c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorhYC4uHvALgD5oFayKG-ZmJojZJPqADfQoJoF8QdWLqlm8KZ8KY_pWrp-fOK8FVdqYS9vPtSM0KQYl01WhiXGLYsA4WFmWKkBSpqhcOoOJLyD7ZlZTNXccInZ_jLFDTJRFcMRSXs1Hei/s320/1542c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0OhFPNNqF1nIqZEQuqE1WQCGAF_2w7OHDQ0E0DnIdpixSAw6fMXMAKeU1LQHv4y8R9lTE1FlNOpad7X2tUNZB31F0x9a8iXCKKorneRljeQxbuptHiVsJVTHMB2UO_V4pbdoA4tOfgJCW/s1600/1600.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0OhFPNNqF1nIqZEQuqE1WQCGAF_2w7OHDQ0E0DnIdpixSAw6fMXMAKeU1LQHv4y8R9lTE1FlNOpad7X2tUNZB31F0x9a8iXCKKorneRljeQxbuptHiVsJVTHMB2UO_V4pbdoA4tOfgJCW/s320/1600.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAbID2eZZJjGizKYg3JddWBxjpwS_OqlqC7vJEhfYm-mIe5jnaSj_ZhzSnK7UZLMUGMY_XKtfypgmNLfrnCVfNpOJH0iAb6dMzUNx2QWFcBVWf4U0HlPE-My5Lh8S94TAJ-u0Z0XPd5NNT/s1600/1445+first+contact.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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And finally, a shot taken by the fine folks at NASA:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwAbWhryYBc33L4E8TX__76yLjdIiOklunjo5ItLlWpJlm5jrhmrDPL3YBfjqAtLz34Fei3Ii-IhE-XUSQEUi-PZLqPnfEbaaIkiR2lLPDz08Mt8bbqKjPofKOj6eMECTvbqRjOhKCwQj/s1600/nasa,+1543.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwAbWhryYBc33L4E8TX__76yLjdIiOklunjo5ItLlWpJlm5jrhmrDPL3YBfjqAtLz34Fei3Ii-IhE-XUSQEUi-PZLqPnfEbaaIkiR2lLPDz08Mt8bbqKjPofKOj6eMECTvbqRjOhKCwQj/s320/nasa,+1543.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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By sheer coincidence, my newest bucket list addition:<br />
<br />
Experience a solar eclipse for real.<br /><div><br /></div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086851751924569428.post-86132401864039909692012-10-13T17:41:00.002-04:002021-04-03T13:09:30.078-04:00Led Zeppelin<div><br /></div>The first five Led Zeppelin albums (through Houses Of The Holy) are beyond legendary, but I feel the later material does not receive nearly enough love. So I'm going to express some thoughts on the music contained on their last three records, much of which shaped my youth and made me want to create music for the rest of my life.<br />
<br />
Physical Graffiti to me
is Zeppelin's creative peak.
Trampled Underfoot, Kashmir, In The Light and Ten Years Gone are
exquisite compositions. These tracks reveal a maturity that is hinted at in previous material like Stairway To Heaven and The Rain Song, but they seem to take their craft a step further here. Older unused songs were thrown in to stretch it to a double album, and some are magical, like
The Rover and Down By The Seaside. To me they are the perfect
representation of the whole of Zeppelin being far greater than the sum
of its parts. There is an element of mystique, a fifth force that
united the four of them musically and spiritually, and these two songs best
exemplify it. This kind of connection is ever so rare, and only shows
up occasionally in even the best of musical collaborations. The solo acoustic guitar piece, Bron-Yr-Aur, also bears mentioning, having an ethereal quality
that most sensible guitarists with 100x better chops than Jimmy Page would kill
to embody.<br />
<br />
Presence, with the
exception of the grand Achilles Last Stand, is a "back to basics" album. The band return to being a four piece with very little studio trickery. But it has its flaws. Robert Plant's voice is chewed from years of drugs and
touring, and John Paul
Jones is barely involved. But the songs themselves are great, particularly Nobody's Fault But Mine and Hots On For Nowhere. Both Page and Plant reveal all in Tea For One. But the grand champion of Presence is Achilles Last Stand, the last true Zeppelin masterwork in
my eyes. I may even go as far to say it is Page's supreme contribution
to the evolution of rock music.<br />
<br />
Page was pretty
messed
up by 1979, so Jones had to take over much of the operation for In Through The
Out
Door, as evidenced by the new keyboard-driven sound. In The Evening and
I'm Gonna Crawl are great tracks (Page bears his soul in the latter), and Carouselambra is a sensational musical adventure. One may see Carouselambra as what Zeppelin might have built upon in the
80s had they survived. It's John Paul
Jones in
exploration mode and Zeppelin is the vehicle. He's searching. And
finding.
Finding wondrous things. And who can't love the groove of Fool In The Rain? This
record is undoubtedly John Bonham at his peak. But I see much of the record as being largely
un-Zeppelin. Many would argue that Zeppelin died after the 77 tour when
Plant's son suddenly died. Plant was never the same. It's a miracle
they even managed to make one more record. <br />
<br />
I'll be seeing the Zeppelin movie from the 2007 reunion gig next week,
and I'm sure I'm going to love it. But it's not Zeppelin. It's not
even 3/4 of Zeppelin. It is far, far less. But it's the closest 20,000
people ever got to seeing Zeppelin again, and I can't possibly express
how envious I am of every one of those lucky people who got to see the
greatest band of the 70s for one last time.<br />
<br />
Except perhaps Paris Hilton. That leaves me with befuddlement more than envy.<br />
<br />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01239364532040436497noreply@blogger.com0