renaissance man
Well… I pulled the trigger, and ordered me those green tops, from emilyannie.com. I got a bit of discount, and free shipping, as I ordered four items. These beauties:
I’m hoping they’ll arrive in time for my b’day! And we’ve booked a table at an Italian restaurant. So I’m chuffed!
And to fund this sartorial extravagance? I’ve booked two extra shifts, delivering for Amazon. Cool!
Well, Terminal Passage, who regularly uploads music to YouTube that I either really like, or at least find interesting, came up trumps with this.
I was researching the drummers of Casiopea, and Murakami was listed: ‘Occasionally appeared as a second drummer for the band in a few of their live performances’, in the ‘77-79 period! So, around the time of the groups transition from their first drummer, to Sasaki, whose playing I adore.
This album gets a relatively low score, of three and a half stars, purely on listenability. It’s very interesting, being pretty experimental, and perhaps technically deserves a higher rating. It’s also very very interesting from a drummer’s perspective, with some incredible playing. But, it’s not an entirely easy or pleasant listen!
The cover artwork, however, is a very pleasing and delightful surprise, appealing to me massively aesthetically. That gets five – or poss’ even the rare but coveted six – stars from me. Fantastic!
Intent at his work/playing, ‘Ponta’ looks like a major dude in his fair-isle sweater and jumbo earphones!
As it currently stands this post is just a ‘heads up’, to myself, as much as anyone else. No doubt as I listen to it more – I’ve only had a cursory listen so far – I’ll fill in on the musical content a bit more here.
Well… it’s now very late in the day, and I’ve listened more closely to the first four tracks, which would’ve comprised side one, in vinyl days of yore. It sounds like it’s mostly just keys and drums; Ponta along with Jon Fukamachi. If there are other musicians I don’t know who they are!
Musically it’s pretty gonzo! Veering all over the map, with a big nod to funky jazz fusion, but in a decidedly odd and unusual vein. Track one, Dance Of Paranoia, moves between a funky clavinet feel, with busy drums, segments that are driven by acoustic piano bass lines, and some outright weirdly composed stuff. It also features some unusual scoops or dips in volume. Very obviously deliberate, and highly unusual!
Contact Point, track two, sounds like it has electric bass. And is – relative to much of the album – quite straightforward, if still a bit quirky. There are shades of disco space funk in this one. Absolute Space takes the spacey soundscapes vibe and goes much more deeply and freely into it, although the abundant earthy percussion tethers things, with some Airto like organic percussion.
The ballistic yet super tight drumming of Quadriga, track four, is the first instance of something both musically interesting, and also somewhat to my tastes. Up till now, there’s been much to enjoy, but scattered throughout a real kaleidoscopic scattershot mix of stuff, much of which doesn’t float my boat.
But, even here, Ponta oscillates pretty wildly, between driving groove based sections, and much freer segments. This track really is a tour de force of drumming and percussion skills. In places it’s like the kind of weird modern ‘classical’ composed music you hear percussionists performing on Young Musician of the Year. Music by musicians for musicians! Poss’ of very limited appeal to non-musos?
As a drummer, musician and ‘artist’, I can really appreciate the artistry of the whole album, even when it doesn’t necessarily ‘do it’ for me. But with Quadriga I can totally enter the spirit of it. As it’s so intensely rhythmic. Definitely my favourite track so far. But maybe tomorrow, and ‘side two’, will change that?
More musical magic from the early ‘70s. Just sit back and dig it!
Setlist
00:00 Ain't no Sunshine
03:18 Lonely Town, Lonely Street
09:14 Grandma's Hands
11:47 Use Me
16:06 Let Me In Your Life
20:20 Lean On Me
24:43 Harlem
As so many folk note, in relation to Bill Withers, he exemplifies the truth that, in the right hands, a little can really go a long way. Obviously he has a terrific voice. Although it’s not the type of voice you would see winning The Voice (and thank goodness!).
As a guitarist, piano player and songwriter, he’s a little bit like Tom Waits, only even more basic. Like Waits, he’s not a virtuoso on these two composers’ tools. But he is most very definitely an artist, wringing a lot of feeling from a limited technique.
As a child he had suffered with a stutter. It’s hard to credit that, watching this intimate soulful concert, where he seems so natural and at ease, despite playing – as he alludes to early on in the set – with a partial scratch/pick-up band.
Personnel
Bill Withers - Vocals, rhythm guitar, piano
John Barnes - Piano
Snuffy Walden - Guitar
Melvin Dunlap - Bass
Fred Casey - Drums
Wow! I love the interweb for stuff like this. I’m trying to learn more about Casiopea’s original drummer, Takashi Sasaki, I found several YouTube videos, listed on the Discogs website. I’m sharing them here.
These recordings appear to be from a Yamaha music corporation even, which, by the looks of things, was recorded. These live performances show Casiopea already performing several tracks that would appear in the eponymous debut, in ‘79.
Sasaki joins the ranks of my favourite drummers. His playing is tight, crisp, nuanced, with a perfect dynamic range. His drumming is always imaginative, and can frequently be quite busy, but it always fits the music perfectly. A real inspiration.
Several pictures and videos confirm that Sasaki was playing a Rogers kit at this point. I’m very keen to learn exactly what cymbals he plays on the Casiopea debut, as I adore their sound.
And, rather joyously and groovily, it seems that, whilst video of the entire ‘79 Pit Inn gig – from which performance of Midnight Rendezvous I discovered the groop – is not to be had, the complete audio is:
I was reading about the several ‘Sokal’ hoaxes recently, wherein folk (or squally scientists) have submitted fake articles to ‘critical theory’, aka Postmodernist journals, to see if these alleged organs of intellectual inquiry could be easily duped.
They’re named Sokal hoaxes because the first notable example was perpetrated by the physicist Alan Sokal…
I have chronic conditions – psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis – that require ongoing medication. And to pay for this – in addition to the taxes we all pay* – I pay a monthly direct-debit towards a prescription pre-payment scheme.
*Or ought to, and by and large do. I my view it’s those wealthy enough to dodge such joint responsibilities that are our biggest problem.
On my last visit to the chemist, to pick up my regular prescription meds, after 5 or 6 years of never being asked for any proof, I was asked. I told them I had none, as I’d never been asked before. They told me I’d have to bring some proof next time.
I’m not sure what constitutes proof? There’s no physical document or card anymore. There used to be a card. But that’s been scrapped. Toryism shaving off another small fraction from the public purse, to give the fat cats further scope to skim off more cream. So I guess I’ll just have to print out an appropriate email, if I can find one.
The Tories have always disliked the NHS, and for decades they have been systematically butchering it. Tragically the Blair/Brown Labour govt. colluded in the expansion of rapine capitalism within the NHS, making an already dodgy situation even worse. In many ways New Labour was Tory Lite. Tragic!
There are so many layers and levels to all the ramifications of the Tory ‘only money matters’ attitude (I won’t dignify it with the term philosophy!). One of these is to make parking at NHS facilities another opportunity for parasites to drain money from NHS workers and patients.
So not only am I taxed ‘at source’, to fund all our public services, including the wonderful institution that is the NHS. But, as an ill person – something that at its rotten core (I can’t say heart, Toryism has no heart) the right equates with ‘sin’* – I have to pay two more times: once more for my prescriptions, and again, to park.
* There’s a barely disguised eugenicist Spencerian thread at the base of such ideologies, itself heir to the far older superstitions of religions, and dark pre-scientific (mis)understanding, which equates illness (and even ‘ugliness’) with sin and evil; outward manifestations of inner un-Godliness. Conditions that – rather than being understood and treated with due sympathy and care – are to be denigrated and punished.
Oh well, we should’ve known! That 6-2 victory over Iran got us all hyped up. Only for this 0-0 draw against the US to bring us crashing back down to earth.
Went round to Chris’s again. But barely watched the match. It was just sooo un-engaging. Wound up watching Miklas playing on his X-Box and chatting to folk!
My wife was delighted that Ecuador beat hosts Qatar today. Not because the host country has a dodgy record on moral issues. But because she has South-American roots. Her parents came to the UK from British Guyana.
I was delighted as well. But not just because I prefer the cultures of South America – many very troubled (which I believe goes for Ecuador?) – to anywhere backward enough to endorse Sharia Law. But also, frankly, because I hope that, if this World Cup does anything – besides entertaining sports fans and generating lots of money (the first I’m fine with; the second troubles me) – it might cause Qatar to loosen up somewhat. But somehow I doubt it will.
I’m not a footy nut. So all I really know thus far is that beer was eventually vetoed. And given that the beer in question was Budweiser, I would understand if it were about the quality of the beverage. But as it’s not, as it’s a supposedly religious/moral thing… that I find pretty odious.
What’s obviously worse and of far greater significance are things like the deaths of many migrant workers, whilst building the stadia, criminalising people on grounds of sexuality, and making 50% of their own populace second class.
So, even though I skipped the whole preamble/build-up (my usual MO) – I was actually really pleased to note that Gary Lineker and the BBC weren’t dodging these issues. Quite the reverse. Oh, and the match was ok.
We’re round at my sister’s again. Looking after Ali and Sofi. And on this occasion I thought they might enjoy some plasticene fun. So I bought a bit, whilst on a shopping trip with Sofi to the local giant Tesco. I expected them to stock plasticene (they used to). But they don’t anymore. Shocking! Wound up getting some from a pound shop close by.
I opted to make a claymation style Curtis Mayfield, circa 1970. Wearing his distinctive yellow outfit, as sported on the cover of his 1970 album, Curtis.
For some reason I’ve always wanted to make a plasticene Curtis! I’d also like to animate him. I wonder if animator sister Amy might be able to help/collaborate?
I have to confess I’m rather pleased with his spectacles. Making them was tricky but fun. And I think the results are ok. I also need to make him a guitar, and poss a beaded necklace.
The lapels are, as they often were back then, hoooge!!! The white shirt was actually paisley patterned. But I don’t think I’ll bother with that! I may detail his yellow suit a bit more, poss’ with some stitching type marks.
It’s not the best likeness of Curtis. And I’m not crazy about his eyes. But hopefully I can improve on them a bit? I’m pretty pleased with his mouth and nose. And even his beard and hair.
I tried mixing red and black to get an oxblood type shoe colour. But the black, despite only being 33% of the mix, totally dominates!
I’ll be making him a guitar and strap when we get home. And poss’ also the aforementioned necklace(s)? I need to research what guitar he was using round this time. I think he used an unusual ‘black keys’ tuning as well.
Anyway, that was great fun! I don’t ever get round to this sort of thing much any more. I very much hope I can somehow get an animation out of it.
Probably my favourite Beatles album. And a pretty groovy cover to boot. Love that period ‘rubber’ font!
Whilst this is the sixth Beatles album, it’s only the second to not feature any covers. And the strength of the all original set is superb. Arguably not just their best yet, but one of their best ever.
I’ve read that the title itself is a playful variant on the ‘plastic soul’, i.e. fake/inauthentic soul, a term McCartney used about their own Little Richard inspired B-side, I’m Down. and when you consider that their previous waxing was Help! (both out in ‘65), the quantum leaps in both breadth and depth are striking.
One of the things The Beatles went on to become so well known for, with the help of producer George Martin, was their deep dive into the use of the studio itself, and the production, as a further aspect of creativity. And in tandem, the development of the album as an artistic package and statement, as opposed to merely what the term album denotes, a collection of songs.*
Rubber Soul was written and recorded after the US summer tour in which their performance at Shea Stadium both set new attendance records, and helped push them across several thresholds. Meeting such folk as Dylan and Presley, getting deeper into pot and LSD, and further exposure to contemporary Afro-American popular music, all conspired to enhance, expand and enrich their creative aspirations.
Rather bizarrely, to my mind, it was EMI policy at the time to alter the US albums, which in this case meant removing four tracks! The UK/European release comprised:
Side One
Drive My Car
Norwegian Wood
You Won’t See Me
Nowhere Man
Think For Yourself
The Word
Side Two
What Goes On
Girl
I’m Looking Through You
In My Life
Wait
If I Needed Someone
Run For Your Life
The entirety of what was originally side one is terrific. The first four tracks in particular being properly stellar. Think For Yourself is a bit of a dip, but The Word, a pre-emotive ‘Summer-of-Love-bomb’ picks things up again.
Side two kicks of with one of Ringo’s best turns on lead vocals, and two very strong Lennon numbers, in Girl and the humbly sublime In My Life (you gotta dig GM’s fake harpsichord solo!). If I Needed Someone is yet more proof that George Harrison’s best writing occurred whilst he was a Beatle.
The album ends with Run Four Life, which is very like Think For Yourself, in both tempo and feel. speaking of feel, not only has the overall sound become more complex, nuanced and personal, it’s also several shades darker, with anger and alienation entering the frame, where before it was mostly happy go lucky boy meets girl romance.
And on a sartorial footnote… I’m very tempted by this!
Not sure what the source for the above alternate cover type image is. But it’s interesting to see a variant. considering how goofily dressed they sometime got later on, they’re looking pretty cool and fab, in a slightly beatnik hipster type way, here.
* Back in the days before record covers with artwork and info became a thing, shorter playing 78s were stored in what resembled what are now the inner sleeves, albeit in heavier card stock. And collections of multiple discs would actually literally make up an album, akin to a photo album.