Thursday, August 24, 2006
"Animal Logic I," Marillion – "Clutching At straws," and "The Quantum And The Lotus:"
I think one of the best "little moments" is seeing that Amazon.com box arriving in the mail. I don't order things often because I have no shortage of music, DVDs or reading material. But I occasionally take 2-3 items off my wish list for a few reasons; it's fun getting that little box in the mail, their prices are cheaper than I would pay in a local chain store, Amazon has an amazing selection and inventory, and things go out of print.
The last two are likely the most interesting reasons. The selection online cannot be matched by any "brick-and-mortar" stores. I've found a few albums that were out-of-print, or close to, for the same price as readily available titles. One time I paid close to $30.00 for a piece of music I really wanted that was out-of-print, though it wasn't on Amazon, but usually I pay $10 or less for a single disk album.
The same goes for books and DVD movies. While I feel badly for traditional stores like Tower Records, I also remember paying more than $15.00 for a CD that cost only a buck or two to create, package and ship. Everyone who likes music has been fleeced by this, and in return for the hundreds or thousands of dollars we paid out over the years we received a $5.00 check. Tower also could have gone online, but it's a family company whose patriarch held firmly to an outdated business model.
I took two CDs off my wish list. The first is Animal Logic I. Stuart Copeland on drums, Stanley Clark on bass and Deborah Holland doing vocals. These are three musicians producing an album that is musically brilliant and satisfying. This isn't one of those derivative "musician's album" pieces of music that is difficult to listen to, but a clean, sharp and melodically pleasant work. Amazon had to ship this from a third-party vendor, which makes me think it's about to go out-of-print, (a common signal event in the music distribution world.) If you like good rock by top-flight musicians I highly recommend this album.
The second is Marillion – "Clutching At Straws." This is another in a line of British progressive rock bands that produce my favorite kind of music. Genesis, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Yes and Marillion is the kind of stuff that fills my CD collection. I don't mind being a rock dinosaur because the music is so damn satisfying. I have almost every Genesis release and I never get tired of listening to it, especially the stuff before Peter Gabriel left the band.
But "Clutching At Straws" is a bit darker than most. It's about drug and alcohol addiction, but more about when the addiction causes your entire life to crash around you. It doesn't end in a happy place somewhere inside an AA meeting, but inside a bar. "Just another empty gesture with an empty glass." It's a wonderful darkness that lets the mind drift to that place where we process the truly serious side of our lives and emotions.
"But I've got no discipline, got no self control. Just a little less painful here with my back against the wall."
The mournful "Sugar Mice" near the end of the album is the kind of song that stays in haunted memory, that touches that chord of failure in us all:
"Well the toughest thing I ever did, was talk to the kids on the phone.
When I heard them asking questions I knew that you were all alone.
Can't you understand the government left me out of work?
I just couldn't stand the looks on their faces saying 'what a jerk.'
"But when it gets right down to it there's no one really left to blame.
When it gets right down to it there's no one really left to blame.
Blame it on me. You can blame it all on me.
Sugar mice in the rain."
I swear to god this album can still bring a tear to my eyes. It reaches that painful place inside and says, 'we know how it hurts and how sometimes it doesn't get better.' It's a genuine expression of that darkest aspect of our lives – guilt, shame and constant failure.
Why listen to such an album? (You may ask.) I'm not advocating listening to albums like this on a daily basis, but some of the finest rock albums ever made are about the dark side of our lives. "The Wall" is about one man's descent into madness. "Tommy" is about a boy driven deaf, dumb and blind by witnessing his father's murder, and the torment he suffers before rising to exaltation and eventual crucifixion.
Sometimes our lives take a dark turn and we need music and books and paintings to reflect that, to express the hurt so we can let it go as much as possible. Catharsis or grieving, art helps us share our pain and find solace in unity. It is as necessary as that which makes us feel good, those heroic moments where everything works out and everyone is happy in the end, because life is not always like that.
Musically this album also kicks ass, and you have to love a band whose lead singer goes by the name of "Fish."
I also ordered a book called; "The Quantum And The Lotus." It was recommended to me and it's sat on my wish list for a while now. The book is about a series of conversations between a monk and an astronomer – about how science and Buddhist thought are becoming increasingly intertwined. I'll post more on this after I read it.
I think one of the best "little moments" is seeing that Amazon.com box arriving in the mail. I don't order things often because I have no shortage of music, DVDs or reading material. But I occasionally take 2-3 items off my wish list for a few reasons; it's fun getting that little box in the mail, their prices are cheaper than I would pay in a local chain store, Amazon has an amazing selection and inventory, and things go out of print.
The last two are likely the most interesting reasons. The selection online cannot be matched by any "brick-and-mortar" stores. I've found a few albums that were out-of-print, or close to, for the same price as readily available titles. One time I paid close to $30.00 for a piece of music I really wanted that was out-of-print, though it wasn't on Amazon, but usually I pay $10 or less for a single disk album.
The same goes for books and DVD movies. While I feel badly for traditional stores like Tower Records, I also remember paying more than $15.00 for a CD that cost only a buck or two to create, package and ship. Everyone who likes music has been fleeced by this, and in return for the hundreds or thousands of dollars we paid out over the years we received a $5.00 check. Tower also could have gone online, but it's a family company whose patriarch held firmly to an outdated business model.
I took two CDs off my wish list. The first is Animal Logic I. Stuart Copeland on drums, Stanley Clark on bass and Deborah Holland doing vocals. These are three musicians producing an album that is musically brilliant and satisfying. This isn't one of those derivative "musician's album" pieces of music that is difficult to listen to, but a clean, sharp and melodically pleasant work. Amazon had to ship this from a third-party vendor, which makes me think it's about to go out-of-print, (a common signal event in the music distribution world.) If you like good rock by top-flight musicians I highly recommend this album.
The second is Marillion – "Clutching At Straws." This is another in a line of British progressive rock bands that produce my favorite kind of music. Genesis, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Yes and Marillion is the kind of stuff that fills my CD collection. I don't mind being a rock dinosaur because the music is so damn satisfying. I have almost every Genesis release and I never get tired of listening to it, especially the stuff before Peter Gabriel left the band.
But "Clutching At Straws" is a bit darker than most. It's about drug and alcohol addiction, but more about when the addiction causes your entire life to crash around you. It doesn't end in a happy place somewhere inside an AA meeting, but inside a bar. "Just another empty gesture with an empty glass." It's a wonderful darkness that lets the mind drift to that place where we process the truly serious side of our lives and emotions.
"But I've got no discipline, got no self control. Just a little less painful here with my back against the wall."
The mournful "Sugar Mice" near the end of the album is the kind of song that stays in haunted memory, that touches that chord of failure in us all:
"Well the toughest thing I ever did, was talk to the kids on the phone.
When I heard them asking questions I knew that you were all alone.
Can't you understand the government left me out of work?
I just couldn't stand the looks on their faces saying 'what a jerk.'
"But when it gets right down to it there's no one really left to blame.
When it gets right down to it there's no one really left to blame.
Blame it on me. You can blame it all on me.
Sugar mice in the rain."
I swear to god this album can still bring a tear to my eyes. It reaches that painful place inside and says, 'we know how it hurts and how sometimes it doesn't get better.' It's a genuine expression of that darkest aspect of our lives – guilt, shame and constant failure.
Why listen to such an album? (You may ask.) I'm not advocating listening to albums like this on a daily basis, but some of the finest rock albums ever made are about the dark side of our lives. "The Wall" is about one man's descent into madness. "Tommy" is about a boy driven deaf, dumb and blind by witnessing his father's murder, and the torment he suffers before rising to exaltation and eventual crucifixion.
Sometimes our lives take a dark turn and we need music and books and paintings to reflect that, to express the hurt so we can let it go as much as possible. Catharsis or grieving, art helps us share our pain and find solace in unity. It is as necessary as that which makes us feel good, those heroic moments where everything works out and everyone is happy in the end, because life is not always like that.
Musically this album also kicks ass, and you have to love a band whose lead singer goes by the name of "Fish."
I also ordered a book called; "The Quantum And The Lotus." It was recommended to me and it's sat on my wish list for a while now. The book is about a series of conversations between a monk and an astronomer – about how science and Buddhist thought are becoming increasingly intertwined. I'll post more on this after I read it.
# posted by Phillip T. Alden @ 7:12 PM 
