tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55151196881940493832024-03-18T21:35:03.969-07:00Bobo SpeaksMusings, ramblings, and screeds. Mostly on music, the music business, and how technology effects culture. But why limit it to that. I am sure I will speak on subjects as mundane as haircuts, and as elevated as spiritual life.Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-89765989937919768662011-08-30T14:28:00.000-07:002011-08-30T15:29:15.318-07:00We are suffocating in our soft safetyLast night I got my ass kicked. Actually it was not my ass, it was our ass. It was the bay area getting a considerable musical ass kicking by a 5 piece band from out of town named <a title="The Sway Machinery" href="http://www.swaymachinery.com/" target="_blank">The Sway Machinery.</a> They just rolled in from SFO, had a perfunctory sound check, waited through there local support, weathered an extra 40 minutes of sound person buffoonery, walk out on stage in their sharp gray suites and well chosen ties, and proceeded to show the small crowd that was left on a Sunday night “just how it is done”. <p><a href="http://jessewalkershaw.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/sway.jpg"><img title="Sway" src="http://jessewalkershaw.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/sway.jpg?w=198&h=200" alt="The Sway Machinery at Beatbox 8/28/2011" height="200" width="198" /></a></p> <p>From the opening bars of the first tune, till the grand finale of their closer, they owned us. They ruled, and they never for one moment let us think that they were not present right their on the Beatbox’s stage, reinventing music in their image. Unlike the “artists” I and so many of my colleagues purport to be, they were not doing the audience a favor by stooping to shower us with their own natural nobility and beauty. Nor were they mindlessly shoe gazing into the inner space of creative fugue (often a mask for wondering about whats for dinner later, your girlfriend back home, and the issues of late stage capitalism). NO. there they were taking sound and shaping it to their whims, all the time telling the audience with every look, gesture, or utterance, that they were here to entertain. Just on their terms, and not necessarily how you thought it might be when you held the box in the store. Like rough sex where you could not have imagined just how good that feels when they put something like that up there. And instead of saying no no, you are saying yes yes YES YES <span style="font-weight: bold;">YES YES <span style="font-size:130%;">yeeeessssssshhhhhhhhh.</span></span></p> <p>So I went home with that buzz and crackle in my ears. The hiss of too much sound, cause I could not bring myself to put in my $400 ear plugs, and miss a single piece of wave form, no matter the earthly cost of so heavenly a transcendence. And when I got there I had a good long think about the what how and why of my Sway Machinery encounter. From so much beauty just hours before, my mind traveled down many a sad and ugly road, and left me to conclude, we here in the bay area creative community are drowning, literally choking, on our safety. The hype of a permissive free wheeling anything goes creative mean is a lie, a sham, another self satisfied assumption of a soul that can’t stand to look at the truth in the light of day. The facts will out the truth as surely as the sun sets through the fog on Ocean Beach serially freezing our summer nights, that the proof in the pudding is 3.2, when we bill our selves as 90 proof.</p> <p>While it would be impossible for me to know all the nooks and crannies where our several million residents make their cultural artifacts, and throw down their souls into public displays, I do get around a bit. I have a natural curiosity which has stalked off with a number of this cats 9 lives. So turning my unjaundiced eye on my collection of friends, connections, and recollections, I have to admit we are mired collectively in the past. Not just our past, but Miles Davis’s, Jango’s, Edith Piaf’s. Jim Morrison’s, The Carter Family’s, James Brown’s, and the past of any corner of the worlds ethnic heritage pre Beatles. It’s not that I don’t understand this longing for a richer broth than the thin soup of our self referential culture (a song referencing a movie based on a sitcom taken from an idea in a book inspired by a song), its a great garnish, a wonderful set of spices, but it’s just not the main course. Doubled down with the fiction of permissive anything goes equaling creativity, and you get a meal that’s past it’s shelf date, and ill prepared by an inattentive chef. </p> <p>There are so many other factors at play, but when broken down to the fundamentals, there is nothing at stake for the majority of bay area artists or audiences. Rare is the bird who comes to the bay area to “make it” in any creative field not directly tied to stock options and ipo’s. We are neither the seat of Hip Hop, Performance Art. Slam Poetry, Contact Improv, or …well….anything beyond internet marketing. Few make a full time career out of such a passion, unless underwritten by a working spouse, or a trust from ones past labors (or ones predecessors). So if you succeed wildly, or flop disastrously, the results to your food and shelter situation are much the same. With your peers sharing that boat, what fuels the engine that urges you on to greater heights in imagination, or what governance do you have to perfect your craft, and so translate that which is within to your audience. And the audience, living a comfortable bay area life, can’t be too bothered by anything outside their sphere. They need to get up in the early AM to toil at their keyboards making widgets and gizmos to assist others to buy buy sell sell. They have far too much at stake in the prevailing paradigm to open up to dangerous ideas, and epiphanal moments that cast doubt on the whole edifice of their small measure of success.</p> <p>So art becomes the back drop to sumptuous living. Some unobtrusive jazz (choose your period) at the bar, not so loud that you can’t bray back and forth with your friends, and feel like you are immersed in a cool blue bath of hipsterness. Or folk dancing to any old folk. It’s strange enough to be of interest, but as you don’t understand the words (if there are any) no intellectual shame need to intrude on your visceral fun. A good time had by all, except the poor Bosnian peasants who wrote the tune of sorrow during one blood bath or another. And doesn’t that painting of clean earth tone lines depicting a dog with a city scape for teeth look great above the sofa. Such an in joke of a dogs life for big city livers.</p> <p>This paucity of repercussions leaves us open to a serious thrashing when the aliens , who grew up in a very different environment, with bigger muscles, quicker reflexes, and GREAT BIG SCARY MANDIBLES, land in our local night club, gallery, performance space. They might be working hard hard hard at their craft, and polishing their ideas day and night for years, up against similarly challenged people all vying for the limited number of seats at the table for shows, parts, or column inches. And that’s all they do Go out and win, or no supper, no heat, no shelter.</p> <p>So my friends, let us collectively look deep into our cultural soul, and wonder what its all about for us. Do we want to continue on this road to nowhere. Being superseded by the flavor of the month that washes in from out of town. Forever marginalized by our acquiesce to the status quo. Or will you join me in reaching down deep, quitting that vacuous project to recreate the sonatas of some obscure 17th century Bavarian composer, ending your refusal to utilize electric amplification due to your purist pretensions, and boo the next weak ass bastards off the stage who aren’t willing to challenge you to feel, or unwilling to put the time in to make a credible showing of their true natures. Will you make a point of seeking out the people who are willing to give their all as collaborator, as audience, as fellow travelers on the way to somewhere better. Jump off the treadmill into the unknown. You have nothing to lose that was worth hanging onto anyway.</p><p>XXOO</p><p>
<br /></p><p>Bobo
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<br /></p>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-6822821404740038602010-11-20T14:04:00.000-08:002010-11-20T21:31:39.674-08:00Musics in the 21st century, record store versus library or both. Using a segmented market to create an Information empire<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiMJY_nqSI-2XbQs2O5bTN_3atZFKfhIM4BMcj63_Pz-GDUwqQcguPHTO_AoTMcdKxg1B9_6pkm5LSdOuJAWOlhVn4unaku0GlcQ8wajXkDlZdwYhuRyZHNjrApJbn48M-jTu3twxBrX0t/s1600/baby-drunks.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiMJY_nqSI-2XbQs2O5bTN_3atZFKfhIM4BMcj63_Pz-GDUwqQcguPHTO_AoTMcdKxg1B9_6pkm5LSdOuJAWOlhVn4unaku0GlcQ8wajXkDlZdwYhuRyZHNjrApJbn48M-jTu3twxBrX0t/s320/baby-drunks.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541757614039570578" /></a><div style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;">OK. I seem to raise some hackles with my last post. I would prefer to be thought a fool for what I was actually saying, so I will attempt to lay out a small corner of my reasoning on the subject at hand.</span></div><div style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;"><br /></div><div face="Helvetica" size="medium" style=" ;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 18px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;">People want “Hollywood movies and TV shows,”....“they don’t want amateur hour.” </span></div><div style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 18px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>Steve Jobs 9/1/2010</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; ">I think Mr. Jobs has succinctly summed up how apple will relate to what culture it will deem feasible to distribute. As itunes is already the largest purveyor of music the world has yet to see, this would be worrisome. However I believe that while in the short run Apple is having huge success continuing this 20th century mode of operation, in the end it will prove it's undoing when technology moves just a few steps further in making information packets smaller, faster to download, and affordable to store. Because in the end it is all about convenience.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; ">With over 13 million songs, itunes sounds like it has an impressive head start on any future competition. But even with it's early entry into the market, and a formidable parent company, that is no guarantee of continuing dominance. So let us look at these salient facts, and see if they are as large a barrier to entry. </div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; ">Personally, I have almost 13,000 songs in my itunes library (a paltry 70 gigs, including less than a quarter of my CD's, and almost none of my LPs). Thus the itunes store at 13,000,000, has only 1000 times that amount of music as one fellow (me) who buys the majority of his music one CD at a time, and only loads them into itunes sporadically. One can imagining any serious contender for the online music crown closing that gap with just a bit of money and elbow grease. As for the apple itunes vertical integration connection. To some extent this can act as a negative. Apple is competing with other music players, and more significantly, phone providers. As the mobile is well on the way to replacing all other gadgets (camera, laptop, entertainment center) apples has not been motivated to let everyone in to play on their field, and certainly not with their ball. The web is awash in complaints and advice about making itunes work for your Droid, your Razr, or for those unfortunates who are running Vista on their PC. If I were seeking to launch a new web based music emporium, 3 guesses where I would seek my funding</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; ">Apple has a formidable R&D team, and a great can do culture. I have many friends there working on a variety of the Apple products/apps. They are a bright, talented, and hard working crew. I have no doubt that Apple can stay a step ahead of the technological competition barring any unforeseen game changers (a leap forward in nano technology for example). Yet we are swiftly approaching a juncture where the scalable base line technology for storing, organizing, searching, and distributing data (musical or otherwise) will be available to a much wider array of players. At that point other much more volatile factors will become decisive in who controls the online music market.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; ">itunes, with over 5,000,000,000 served is certainly making money hand over fist. However we know that the majority of those sales come from a relatively few numbers of items. Much of the rest (like Go Van Gogh) makes only a few pennies a month, or has "not yet" been unearthed. While we were all caught up with the Long Tail concept back in the early days of the web, those with cooler heads, and better business models have concentrated on pushing their users/consumers towards that which makes a sale. However that does not invalidate the long tail theory, more so, it points out that we were not yet ready to make the transition to a more mature web commerce. The briefly lived Lala cloud model had much to recommend it. You could port your whole playlist around with you, and load up what ever you already had in your library (a very slow process) . But they were a bit ahead of the curve, and I certainly wasn't willing to buy a song, even for a dime, if I could not port it to the other parts of my musical world (you need to posses the mp3 file, to make it the soundtrack of your youtube video). So without a stronger revenue model, they died a terrible death. IMHO the cloud/individual ownership hybrid will win in the end, if a savvy player can utilize both the targeted market of the hit parade, and one stop shop of retaining and growing long tail capabilities.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; ">As I said above, it;s all about convenience. Of the 13,000 songs in my itunes library, only 40% are represented in the itunes store. Thus not only are they un-pingable, so a waste from the marketing/social network perspective, but I had to find and purchase 60% of my music from a divergence of non apple sources. "Had I had a single place to turn to for my "destination for music" , I would not be spending so much time down at Amoeba Records, and may have saved many barrels of oil. </div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; ">Obviously there are issues inherent to having all the recorded music on the planet available from a single source. Take licensing. It's a big world, the music is owned by a plethora of artists and labels, and add to the pot all the market differences between selling songs for a dime online in Ghana, and a buck online in the USA. Makes for a scary set of legal and intellectual logistics. And who will pay for content that generates no revenue, just sitting there waiting to become the flavor of the month. These problems are not insurmountable, but require someone looking at the the long term, not the short payoff. To date, itunes is still using the 20th century business model of an individual artifact selling for a specific fee in a specific market. This is a holdover from the days of records, and radio where access to music was constrained by the physical limitations of time (airplay) and space (retail square footage). At 160 gigs, the ipod can already carry a quarter years worth of continual music Pandora, with its small library of 700,000 songs would take almost 4 years of continual streaming to get through, so while we still have a limited amount of time to learn of music, we certainly are well on the way to solving the space issue,</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; ">So why this insistence on selling songs one by one as the only workable model. We know that as individuals we need to have full portability and control before the dollars can be pried from our tight little fists. We also know many of us are only interested in buying a small number of items preselected for us by marketeers, freeing us from the tyranny of choice. But we also know that a significant sub set of us are seeking exposure to more options, and that even the most mundane tastes can still seek a bit of depth in their proclivity, and be shopping for tracks too obscure to fit the itunes bill. </div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; ">The model with most hope to shoulder aside itunes will succeed with a multi channel approach, like itunes they will sell single downloads, but also offer a subscription service like Netflix watch instantly, married to a pay per extra download function. The consumer can choose to buy the one off, or pay a small monthly fee ($10 is small enough to get a groundswell) which entitled them to unlimited streaming of all content, plus the download of a few tracks (enough to get them thinking about downloads every month, but not so many as to eat up the cost of doing business). If one wishes to download more, they can pay a members rate per extra download. Content providers would be paid based on actual traffic percentage of the pie ( by per stream or per download). Providers like Go Van Gogh would continue to make their pennies, but could attain more revenue by driving traffic to the service for streaming and potential downloads. much as we do with our current song widget which links to the itunes store, This will increase overall traffic, and thus more filling overall in the pie. Apple/EMI would still make their millions off the Beatles as they would still be driving sales. </div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; ">The consumer will be happy to have the convenience of a one stop shop for all of their music needs. The punters will have their instant Lady Gaga, and the curious will have an endless supply of fresh music. And unlike itunes, with it's anti amateur hour, and lack of musical breadth and depth, as the culture continues to fragment, and tastes become more and more balkanized, the fact that all tastes are catered too will keep this boat afloat. </div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; ">XXOO</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; ">Bobo</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; ">Trouble maker</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; ">Friend to the band</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; ">http://www.govangogh.net</div>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-50869021898767528602010-11-16T15:55:00.000-08:002010-11-16T17:06:01.066-08:00Beatles on Itunes, one old dinosaur climbing aboard one soon to be dinosaur,<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiATxFbCl2eGQvAGEJip549l3Z_IXpIa4r35PhRi5DrYRQLNbmid_6Nm62fD5JspMrMH4mjFItlQlauIF0oYvpEoM2JA0ru-5Cvar1mvzrXpxqYPqUUOKbioWUxyz2uXHFFHiog4JufcCv5/s1600/dinosaurs.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 312px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiATxFbCl2eGQvAGEJip549l3Z_IXpIa4r35PhRi5DrYRQLNbmid_6Nm62fD5JspMrMH4mjFItlQlauIF0oYvpEoM2JA0ru-5Cvar1mvzrXpxqYPqUUOKbioWUxyz2uXHFFHiog4JufcCv5/s400/dinosaurs.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540318254360550946" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Last night the TV commentators were all abuzz. The Beatles will finally be on itunes thanks no doubt, to running out of any other coherent idea to boost Beatles holiday sales this year. Yes, you can now have the same reduced quality audio, and the same 5 computer restrictions (unless you pay the "premium") for the entire Beatles catalog, which most of you already own in one form or another.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Why should we care. The Beatles are as ubiquitous as the bible in a Motel Six. It's not like this ushers in a new age of technological wonder, or a significant broadening of the itunes offerings. To my jaundiced eyes, this is just a further acknowledgment of business as usual over at itunes. A flawed model enjoying it's last halcyon days before someone comes along to eat it's lunch. And in this souped up web crazed world, with a new brilliant idea made possible by the latest fastest biggest yet every other second, this will be a short enough interval that even our attention deficit age will still be awake when the whip comes down. </div><div><br /></div><div>itunes, sure we all got our product on it. Go Van Gogh make its pennies a month, month after month after month. We are out there, supposedly on the tipity tip of the long tail, garnering the very small benefits of someone else's considerable R&D.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yet from where I am standing, there are galaxy after galaxy Apple/itunes seems to know nothing about. This was brought home for me in hearts when itunes introduced Ping, their recent move into the social networking sphere. By design, but what I see as a conceptual flaw, Ping is limited to music that can be found in the itunes store. While I am sure the graphs and venn diagrams aplenty that justified this business logic make great sense in a short sighted world, perhaps the MBA's might consult someone with more peripheral vision next time. Less than a third of my itunes library is matched in the itunes store, and thats not because I am a big ACDC fan, or any of the other mega platinum itunes hold outs. It's because the itunes model is not broad, it is looking to sell the same 1000 things to the same Billion people, while using smoke and mirrors to pretend to be something grander than the CD section at Best Buy.</div><div>Anyone with half an ounce of discernment has to get their music elsewhere, no matter what flavor that music might be.</div><div><br /></div><div>And apple can only blame itself when Mark Zuckerberg, or who ever come from left field to make itunes the VHS tape of the 21st century. By not actively seeking to be the complete aggregator of all things musical, in a quality format, heading step by step in a declared manner towards the INEVITABLE subscription service we all envisioned several decades ago, they have set themselves a course to extinction. Whether it's a meteorite hit, or a profusion of flowers, itunes has failed to show how they will be able to go the distance when calamity strikes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Will apple mend it's ways, invest the time and cold hard cash into creating the inclusive affordable model all artists and music lovers can embrace? Not without some fast and fancy foot work, and bringing in some fresh thinkers to their mix.</div><div><br /></div><div>XXOO</div><div><br /></div><div>Bobo Bubalisky</div><div>Trouble Maker</div><div>Friend to the band</div><div>http://www.govangogh.net</div><div> </div></div>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-25109214898999107962009-07-13T08:19:00.000-07:002009-07-20T11:01:33.129-07:00Will the Ukulele save us<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCz9fy3RkbBYgfe_lEtOsWivwC1afdQkLDYDP9HGLWUdZeOgeG_4_04h5eCVCX0U6bTFj7mvE9gYvpI6Ig-A_WsIy5M6-OP4IcuoVFpJiLGSED2DzTI95djKzUbSNrfM_-OsRcWWHYE3s0/s1600-h/Mayakovsky_1929_a.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCz9fy3RkbBYgfe_lEtOsWivwC1afdQkLDYDP9HGLWUdZeOgeG_4_04h5eCVCX0U6bTFj7mvE9gYvpI6Ig-A_WsIy5M6-OP4IcuoVFpJiLGSED2DzTI95djKzUbSNrfM_-OsRcWWHYE3s0/s320/Mayakovsky_1929_a.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358008653128637202" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><a href="http://kpfa.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I was </span></span></a></span></span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><div style="text-align: left; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; display: inline !important; "><span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><a href="http://kpfa.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">listening to the </span></span></a></span><a href="http://kpfa.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">radio</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> this afternoon, and this quote came up </span></span></span></div></span></div></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">"art is a hammer to beat the world, not a mirror to reflect it" </span></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I looked it up, and it's credited to either Vladimir Majakovsky (the esperantist and assassinated poet) or Nikolai Vladimirovich Nekrasov (the suicidal Russian Futurist) depending who you trust (trust no one). </span></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The discussion was on the emergence of the avant guard</span></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> artists in Europe (late 19th early 20th centuries) who sought to challenge the democratization of culture made possible through the mechanism of the mass market. This has become a timely issue once again due to the growing ubiquity of the web. We worship technology. Each day we try a new widget, get an upgrade on our x or our y and z. It helps us run faster, smarter if we are already smart, or make it possible to live our science fiction lives in a more science fiction way. CGI makes for new forms of entertainment. Internet browsers make restaurant choices for us as we drive to dinner. And if we look back, this utilization of technology has always been an engine for radical change. For example, the Impressionists sprang from the spread of photography, changing the economic model of portraiture. Or that Art Nouveau arose as increased industrialization making it possible to create less expensive object of art, and a burgeoning middle class able to afford them. The Gatling gun started the</span></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> road away from mounted calvary and frontal wave assaults .</span></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I always looked on these phenomena in a positive light (perhaps not the Gatling gun), "Oh, now we can do this instead", not "this repressive homogenization of the vitality of human culture".</span></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I am obviously a bit slow, After all, for Majakovsky and Nekrasov the industrial revolution and mercantile imperialism had been in full swing for over a century, How could they have failed to view the seeds of cultural homogeny as a threat. Our historical counterparts were no more slouches, and perhaps less so, than our current crop of radical thinkers. The Luddites may have arose from concern with the loss of their livelihoods. Yet there were far reaching negative effect from the changes in their industries. In 1812 the average person had real need of more affordable rugs, trousers, and coats. Unfortunately we long ago passed the point w</span></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">here we can produce all that everyone needs at a price everyone can afford, and have moved on to a world almost solely about possessions and economic relations.</span></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Majakovsky and Nekrasov are active at what I consider the tipping point, In my groovy 21st century mindset, I always thought the emergence of phonographs, nickelodeons , and radio to be exciting. The ability to transport cultural artifacts made for many lively new mixes. Jazz found it's way around the world. Tango swept the globe, and on and on. I had failed to see that, much like my own issues with the army of one ubiquity of culture generating and distributing technology, that the flood of modernity might be seen askance by those who wished to not be buried under an avalanche of bakelite and steel. </span></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">So here we are in 2009. We are nearing a possible artistic endgame of one big culture controlled by whoever owns the filter (buy your ad words here, now with extra zilch), there is less and less to be excited about, and more and more reason to pull at the bit. One can wish to turn back the clock, but how many clicks. Prior to Democracy Now podcasts. Before Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy. Earlier than mass produced penicillin. I think not We can't go back, so we have to move forward wisely and with a great more vigor than we used to get on the road we want to get off. Shorter showers, and composting won't get us there. The basic precepts we live by need to shift. The lie is that we all need to continue to consume at faster and greater rates or the world will end. Maybe the house of cards of centralize corporatism will end, but life will go on, just with less stuff. We don't need a 762 Billion dollar a year US military, to defend the strategic interests of the riches 500 people on the planet. Nor do we need $150 concer</span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">t tickets, or 8 dollar blouses. The quality of either is questionable.</span></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">But, let us get back to the origination of this post, as it got me thinking about what does re</span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">flect our current culture, and how little there is that might smash through societies apathy.</span></span></div></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">One could say that reality TV, like Real Housewives of New Jersey or American Idol are more than metaphoric mirrors. I am not so sure, as i have come to distrust my thinking on mass culture, due to my total distain and snobbishness (yet I can't look away from the 100 million car pile up). </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The hammer is also an oddity. I think it's the Ukulele. A very gentle hammer indeed, but</span></span></span></p><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 96px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilL51decujEZoMyYZ_TZaUZJ9ctApxryJbJ_kc49InVlZkmvXDkh3NiHuu6qduHNRNoB1uJ1zIfagfnXEW6aYknABbpYkc-gBd7xt8I5AmRaae7L3cROVGIQlwqggcNUVAE3bC22fw9KZD/s400/Uke.angel.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358014399331526466" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">look at how subversive it is. It is small, and can be carried everywhere on foot. It is intimate, meant for small gatherings (perhaps your living room), unlike most of our VERY LOUD AND OBVIOUS corporate culture that needs REALLY BIG SOUND SYSTEMS in GIANT STADIUMS. It makes a gentle sound, unlike the aggressive aggro of most common fare. It is amazingly simple (four strings) in an increasingly complicated world. It's made of wood (that alone is a dangerous idea), so can be made with fairly primitive tools. <br /></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Now everyone doesn't need to take up the Uke. That would just lead to flagship Uke stores on Union Square, and KTELL Uke hits sold on late night TV. A Uke in every hand, a chicken in every pot, not a world for vegetarians or Bobos.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">What we do need is that which enliven us, that which brings us together in celebration.</span></span></span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">With or without Ukes, REALLY BIG SOUND SYSTEMS, or consideration if you are a mirror or a hammer (I am smashing, I spent a lot of time smashed). Thats why I will be spending this Saturday night at Cafe International. Go Van Gogh (no Ukes), whether mirror or a hammer, are people sharing their love and efforts with who ever cares to know. I for one can never get enough of such a kind offer. So there I will be, to dance and frolic. I will have my life energies recharged. I will relate to my existing friends, who I have real, not virtual connections with. And I will have the opportunity to meet new people, and forge new relationships in an environment that is neither alienating nor hostile. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">XXOO</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bobo </span></span></span><br /></p></div>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-2977100039646920722009-07-09T11:04:00.000-07:002009-07-09T11:19:34.225-07:00Purists are really annoying<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdKjoC5G9mOZNO_oGzoDYTYVnF96Rtjapc6VLFScrhcYIyrIJmin2aJVohpsfZGIY2qml4KlGXS-X8JdO8RItiV8Bov0FDZldlaKpMSkleXxMnspSfEH-2skTCkas2Ec29FHgDjq0kWCDD/s1600-h/Music.From.The.Old.Country.Front.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdKjoC5G9mOZNO_oGzoDYTYVnF96Rtjapc6VLFScrhcYIyrIJmin2aJVohpsfZGIY2qml4KlGXS-X8JdO8RItiV8Bov0FDZldlaKpMSkleXxMnspSfEH-2skTCkas2Ec29FHgDjq0kWCDD/s320/Music.From.The.Old.Country.Front.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356526286639719346" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/swf/13/widgetPlayerMini.swf?emailPlaylist=playlist_783739&backgroundcolor=FFFFFF&font_color=000000&posted_by=artist_464360&shuffle=&autoPlay=false" height="83" width="262"></embed><br /></span></span><a href="http://www.reverbnation.com/c./a4/13/464360/Artist/464360/Artist/link"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><img alt="Go%20Van%20Gogh" border="0" height="12" src="http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/content/13/footer.png" width="262" /></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border="0" width="0" height="0" src="http://www.reverbnation.com/widgets/trk/13/playlist_783739/artist_464360/t.gif" /></span></span><a href="http://www.quantcast.com/p-05---xoNhTXVc" target="_blank"><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-05---xoNhTXVc.gif" style="display: none" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt="Quantcast" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 17px; font-family:arial;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As I am always willing to put my money where my mouth is, I am sharing with you some of our recent work. In this case it is a tune written in the late 19th century by my great grand father Israel Isaac Shamfrof. I have taken a great deal of liberty with the tune, adding whole sections, and the band has gone off the dub end as well. While there were no recordings made by old Izzy Isaac, there is sheet music which we used to infer his intent. For us, this was a point of departure. Looking at this Klezmer tune as part of my folk tradition, I did what any good folk artist does, and used the tune as a vehicle to move through the musical world we inhabit. That world encompasses Lee Scratch Perry, Tiny Tim, John Coltrane, The Thrills, and legions more.</span></p><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Within Go Van Gogh we have had disagreements about this process. The fact that I almost always write a new section for the songs we cover is contentious. Everyone is not always down with how I take the song somewhere that the original composer would never have considered. I have different knowledge in my head than they did. As most of them are long dead, I doubt they mind. However one still must contend with the living.</span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">So if anyone is interested, take a listen.</span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 17px; font-family:arial;font-size:12px;"><p style="text-align: right;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></p></span>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-49497880995904581352009-06-29T09:01:00.000-07:002009-07-08T20:55:20.238-07:00Professional Gear, No talent.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgQoWlJtm2vzAMm8jKDLLzSz5mi_yiB9G6PK2WXq2Bfq5a3WLDlQUu3KWO9_282OJkwCOp2xZku-eYp184rMtjsU26TYlyxieVGtAGLzl38_QnLfNON-AIgIs_4G0Gp6ufR6_H4FEZmm54/s1600-h/rumbariver.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 242px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgQoWlJtm2vzAMm8jKDLLzSz5mi_yiB9G6PK2WXq2Bfq5a3WLDlQUu3KWO9_282OJkwCOp2xZku-eYp184rMtjsU26TYlyxieVGtAGLzl38_QnLfNON-AIgIs_4G0Gp6ufR6_H4FEZmm54/s320/rumbariver.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356134173022234450" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I was watching On The Rhumba River which could be considered a Congolese </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JEdf7XsV5g"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Buena Vista Social Club</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. </span></span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/01/congo"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Papa Wendo</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> (Antoine Kolosoy), a Singer and band leader now deceased, but then in his late 70's, is asked to put the band back together. Not in any Blues Brother way (as this is real life) but to earn some cash. It's 2004 Kinshasa, the war and the final Mobutu years having taken their toll.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Wendo sets about finding as many of the old group as possible while being trailed by a French film crew. In themselves, these slice of life scenes would make the film worth seeing, but the music, what little we get, is amazing. Filmed over the course of a few rehearsals, we are let into a world populated by his aging crew of players and dancers. Everyone already knows the material, so songs seem to emerge from the either, set off by a rhythm, or a snatch of melody. The dancers, who's performance role is never clarified, glide beautifully around the rehearsal room, which made </span></span><a href="http://govangogh.net/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Go Van Gogh</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> rehearsals seem so utilitarian and dull in comparison (who are a lively crew).</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">There were many stand out scenes, but one specific moment inspired this post. I have included it here. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwHq8TyPBctJ9ul6Joc_sOcY8wBjTmVgwVBnmQe3hZlZN3aQ1U1mcdwIFscMUWSXYb_8t93xOAHn7E5YESt0g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This is the first rehearsal shown. The band is just fooling around. They glide into a tune, the dancers and various people are sitting around chatting, and we are treated to the live take of what is happening in the room. They are sounding great. They are coaxing beautiful tones out of their instruments, but please note the instruments themselves. The saxophones are in need of re-corking, mouth pieces held in place with tape. In later scenes you see the guitar is going through a tiny amp, and at the end of this cut, check out the hand percussionist. He is playing on an old box missing half it's top. Yet his rhythm and tone are spot on.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">These old cats are making world class music in a concrete and tin rehearsal room, with gear that they have nursed through the privation of war and kleptocratic poverty. They are well past the bloom of the rose, have not been a functioning group for quite some time, yet they hit the sweet spot.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Let us now venture back to the bay area. Here one often sees posts</span></span></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihiriPvMJ9J8MjHLwPiyP8KsRRINP7LwqW8UnRjBhfeqjw51c8q3tgkvf9DBBWpVNblK7vFoqyLV_qPhB79azKthd2pujOOt8JamfyeF-nEBMjdiZckoIvdQr3uHEuAp1T5hKdfOgdfKph/s320/3ne3o13lbZZZZZZZZZ9775c6cf7cc4d941f62.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356146085598435842" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">for musicians claiming to have, or demanding you have "PRO GEAR". It's an absolute must for the aspiring metal head, or hard ROCKIN dude and dudette. I did a simple search for this illusive "pro gear" in the current CL, and the first one I came across was posted by a fellow who says "</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I smoke weed when I play. I’m psychedelic friendly, but not opiate or amphetamine friendly"</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. Following the link, we discover his choice of drugs has not enhanced his first tune, which goes on and on, sounds like fuzzy shit, and held my interest for less than a millisecond. He does include pretty pictures of his instruments. Unfortunately lacking a clue, or much in the way of musicality, they are wasted on his 29 year old conception of use. Perhaps when he is in his 70's he may be able to play a balsa-wood box to as great effect as our Congolese friend. One can hope.</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">So the point is obvious. We have become a society all about stuff, and the importance that brings to the process, rather than being all about intrinsic value and the quality of the craft. All about the show, and not about the substance. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">In the two cases before us, the music says it all. One could say "a great mic makes a better recording". But in whose hands. Mr. "pro gear" has a current studio recording. He had the time to go back endlessly to make each note perfect. Even if you love his music (which I did not), the actual sound quality could not hold a candle to the live recording made in a cement and corrugated tin room back in 2004 Kinshasa. In fairness, not all the "pro gear" posts were made by people lacking skill (many were, not all)</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">We have become degraded by the consumerist culture. By the worship of bigger better, fast and faster. Appearance has taken precedence, all form over function. Part and parcel in the crisis capitalism we have bought into.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I for one, will endeavor to do more with what I have. My skills and WHATEVER falls to hand. It's the people and what they create that count. Don't buy the lie.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Thats all for now.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">XXOO</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bobo</span></span></div>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-92067711297250822732009-06-27T10:26:00.000-07:002009-06-30T12:36:26.544-07:00Revisiting the death of regionalism ( t)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8Szb5bjTtjm73qUk0tFQ1T2ZD0ELJAye5dNTlqSsMVCWa8gzCmx7ZsymvzZdDAdPfL2D-LtG0xNl0lnyKIV9OFjRypnXTXbQIGNqAtJjUcRYjk8PQ2kI-n3aeoKg5Qy8WQyfxKt23gZ_/s1600-h/monoculture01-450x299.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8Szb5bjTtjm73qUk0tFQ1T2ZD0ELJAye5dNTlqSsMVCWa8gzCmx7ZsymvzZdDAdPfL2D-LtG0xNl0lnyKIV9OFjRypnXTXbQIGNqAtJjUcRYjk8PQ2kI-n3aeoKg5Qy8WQyfxKt23gZ_/s200/monoculture01-450x299.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353203579082493746" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">OK maybe I am a Luddite after all. While flush toilets, and central heating are wonderful, there are some things 19th century I will be sad to never know. Specifically I am on about the lack of local flavor due to the ever consolidating forces leading to mono culture.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Just to annoy myself, I will dredge up a few boring well known ideas, to enable the getting on with it of todays issue.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">1. 99% of all people have contact with some form of neighbors. Thus no culture exists in a vacuum, as even that 1% will eventually meet someone in the 6 degrees of separation world. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">2, Cultures have been in constant flux for thousands of years. Sometimes due to political factors, or more likely from the battle between the traditional/digestible, and the weird thing that just came over from next door.</span></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">3. Starting well before Alexander, kicked ahead by the Islamic conquest, and them amped up by European imperialism this process has been gaining speed for thousands of years. The world shrinks, our neighbors grow more diverse, and the politics of culture become more of an issue as we are subjugating, or fighting off subjugation.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> 4. In the early 20th century with the new technologies of waxed cylinders, radio, and Motion Pictures, "CULTURE" has been portable to the masses to greater effect. Subsequent technologic developments has increased this potential cultural interaction exponentially.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">On to the bone I am currently gnawing.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In the post cold war period, the consolidation of all distribution of culture into fewer hands has almost strangled the spread of ideas to the masses, even while the availability of all cultural ideas has become possible to every individual.<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Thus the war between the new and the old has taken on a more sinister tone. With the new being introduced from the outside, often simultaneously worldwide, instead of popping out of the imagination of an initiate, or idiosyncratically arrive from down river as an artifact selectively included in the baggage (intellectual or otherwise) of some stranger. The old jettisoned in a race for the perceived benefits of modernity.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This has brought us a wealth of dance floor favorites, and my personal tastes have always been more about the clash of cultures, than the purity of any given milieu. Yet n</span></span></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRfexZjrXkcIdwgZrRr_EchAcRCHVmL53lpa3YWPcLNilCcsZ_6X6gJSEOUB1RKy-espSrUJU3xEv2xdwnFqWBMRRnz1_rIOFwPwp62nnpssxJ9oZDMERK2xP0-gJrksvJn5hxAfCru1k/s320/musiccatalog_j_john-coltrane-a-love-supreme-deluxe-edition_john-coltrane-a-love-supreme-deluxe-edition.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353202508296527346" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">ow I worry that we will soon have no source material to work from at all. The constant updating and further iterations through the perpetual influx of the same data globally will mean the stew in the pot in Cameroon will have all the same ingredients as the stew in the pot in Boston. Essentially making all our music,literature, film, etc one more BIG MAC experience.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">On the flip side of this argument, as my friend Connie from Go Van Gogh expounds, this access to all things, both the latest, as well as all material ever recorded in any form, means that we each have the opportunity to use all source material in our individually odd way. That creativity is not dependent on milieu, and comes from a much deeper place. She claims that some artists will always be able to step outside the given box, and bring forth something new and valid. No doubt thinking of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcG7Vk_rzcA">John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme"</a> and "Interstellar Space".</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I do not agree. Yes some people will pull from this deeper place. But a writer will write using a language. A language will have an underpinning of basic concepts about the world. Even if you throw grammatical rules out the window. Even if you make up new words for your new concepts, your writing utilizes some portion of the existing set of ideas, and your innovations still have a connection to all the knowledge you acquired related to that language and the underlying concepts it grew from.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Similarly, Coltrane, while transcending the bop and modal mediums, was directly influenced by contemporaries laboring in similar territory. That he could take the ball and run so far ahead is a testament to his own brilliance and craft, but not a sign that he made the whole thing himself, unconnected to that which shaped him.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I hear great work every day. Someone somewhere is always on the ball. We are an endlessly creative species. Some of the credit is due to technology. Clem from </span></span><a href="http://www.watchaclan.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Watchaclan</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> throws some tracks together with the band. He pops them onto his myspace page. If I am linked, I get a notice the next time I login. If I don't know </span></span><a href="http://www.watchaclan.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Watchaclan</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, maybe I hear their tune </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiDRPUurDsY"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Balkan Qoulou</span></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">on </span></span><a href="http://eastblok.de/ebm/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=196"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Eastblok Records Balkan Beats #3</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> which I happened upon somewhere else on the web. So here is a tune I totally dig. It's an old Algerian Berber song </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8KCrBPp9VI&feature=related"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Q</span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8KCrBPp9VI&feature=related"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">ou</span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8KCrBPp9VI&feature=related"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">lou L Ch'hilet Laâyani</span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> (it plays as the second song on the preceding link), but redone as a Balkan brass tune as played by this very eclectic band from Marseilles. It is a blessing to live in a time where so much cultural fecundity is possible. </span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But I have to consider what happens next. </span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">What happens when the last Berber village gives up it's last song for repackaging. What happens when the last un-mined 60's era funk drum part is finally utilized as some pop songs break beat. What happens, when hollywood has remade their last old sit com. If all the new sitcoms were based on material from the old sitcoms, and all the new berber songs are based on Casio beats, or Michael Jackson melodies, how fast does the feed back loop descend into one bland piece of shit noise.</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Thats all for now.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">XXOO</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Bobo</span></div></div>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-52945995443054193102009-06-17T11:38:00.000-07:002009-06-17T14:27:05.912-07:00That dangerous step down the road to socialism<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUc73ifMoehgk7TxhNSoOrIlyazUTN0P4GaLn3HKYw2WVgsmRg_ZL4lFGJRvk2Sf-XHoj3st6gupqKS_Qpwpaszy4v0Ct8eul9q4vJw-Z7EACl5jj0eFk6pT-yemg8lX3WiFpYZfvjLwsQ/s1600-h/pinpoint-flyer.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 286px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUc73ifMoehgk7TxhNSoOrIlyazUTN0P4GaLn3HKYw2WVgsmRg_ZL4lFGJRvk2Sf-XHoj3st6gupqKS_Qpwpaszy4v0Ct8eul9q4vJw-Z7EACl5jj0eFk6pT-yemg8lX3WiFpYZfvjLwsQ/s320/pinpoint-flyer.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348408263601690002" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Well, there we were last night at a dance preview. A friend of a friend, choreographer </span></span><a href="http://couragegroup.org/background/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Todd Courage</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> lacked financial backing, but with a lot of friends, put on a preview of the work he is set to put up at the JCC later this year. Needing cash to compleat the thing (costumes, lighting tech, publicity, and what not), he threw a preview party, and showed portions of the work in progress, made sure everyone had plenty of wine and sugar to get the checkbbooks lossened up, and hustle hustle hustled. </span></span><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I had never been to such a thing, but thought it a brilliant move on Todd's part. Plenty of people in this town who still have the green, and if they can feel connected to what's going on, all the better. They are just patrons, so they give support, but have no say in the shape the work takes.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Todd, like myself, has many years put in as a creative force, so his gathering really got me thinking about what it means to be an aging artist in this world. One who has not achieved a lucrative full time career in their chosen field. The young are solidly connected with a profusion of peers all hooked together in the rituals of mating. Not yet firmly established, they are all too willing to dive in, in order to gain a reputation, or to build their portfolio. For the most talented, or the most aggressive, support networks coalesce into professional networks. Few continue their work into mid adulthood who are either late bloomers, or who are too far out front of what is common in the marketplace.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">For the performing artist, especially for those in the director role, the choice of continuing to undertake ensemble projects requires either riches or madness. Not only must one come up with the space to create and the venue for performance. but a troop of musicians, actors, or dancers (for a musical, all three) are either expensive to hire, or a monster to organize (often both). Our new friend Todd needs costumes for his troop, being a choreographer, not a clothing designer, he then needs to collaborate with someone to realize his sartorial vision, and while materials can break the bank by themselves, serious design talent costs. The same is true of having a score written, lighting designed.... and the list can get very long.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Even in the microcosm of </span></span><a href="http://govangogh.net/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Go Van Gogh</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> there are many moving parts. In a "Group" as opposed to a "Project", one can often find the skills within the team. </span></span><a href="http://govangogh.net/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Go Van Gogh</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> creates all its own promotional material, does its own graphics and web design. But who is to say that the group would not fare better in the marketplace if all these tasks we</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">re handed over to a full time pro. Some one who can devote far more amassed skill than any part timer in that role. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Those who have made that difficult step into full time professionals of their creative crafts, must marshal their time in financially lucrative ways. While thats great for their craft, it may in some cases, be less wonderful for their art. A work for hire, after all is not a true collaboration. It is an effort fully subjugated to the requirements of capital. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This opens the door for those who are not so encumbered to jump ahead creatively, and snatch opportunities of a different sort. I personally know dozens of very skilled and creative people who are laboring at jobs that either don't fly high enough, or have little to do with their aspirations. They have spent years acquiring skills and experience, and now when asked for their time, wish to be payed at the same rate as full time professionals in that line.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Who can blame them. </span></span></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 246px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm7k9deQjhyHQRIqpe8DoN4GrO4isC-Hy-IiPushDzY3LgkGC6l3bJoSiTUhF_0aKOVfeJvwHI7K9TNb6dJkJ_jb0785i3cveCpYcKqyBwPh4cVPfgiFaZ1gj1daf1QDbe3NaKX1JXeznP/s320/Flagbearer.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348408661713585410" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I can. Through ego, or the wish not to be seen as a lesser light, they are throwing opportunity on the scrap heap. It is a marketplace after all. To be taken seriously you must show your track record. Rehearsing your band for 10 years may make for a tight set, but the club needs to know how many drinks they will sell. This is demonstrated by how many drinks you sold at the last place. The same is true in every discipline. If you are a fine graphic artist, who has published your work. What campaigns have you created as a marketer. What copy have you published as a journalist.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">You see how it is. By insisting that the world bend to our ideas of the marketplace, we cut ourselves off from synergistic opportunities. The very work that could gets you out into the publics eye. The very affirmation that the marketplace demands.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">So I call on my fellow creatives to create together. Not selflessly, not as charity, not without objective. Look around you. Who in your network, your community, is doing great but under appreciated work. Who could benefit from what you do, but can't afford to pay your asking price. Is there a possible trade off of visibility, or even the exchange of services. The musician who writes a piece for a dance troop may end up with a paid commission down the line. A visual artist who designs and paints a set for a play might have their other work displayed for sale in the theatre lobby. The possibilities are huge. And if you must be paid for your time, consider working on a sliding scale for projects that might take flight, or that allows you to more fully realize the work you prefer to do.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Or you can keep trying to claw your way in to the "dog eat dog" world that passes for art, intellectual property, and commerce. Personally I would rather inhabit a scene where the operating principle is "from each according to their abilities, to each according to their need".</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Thats all for now.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">XXOO</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bobo</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px; "><p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 43, 184); font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></p></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></div></div>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-2974500960251244052009-06-11T09:48:00.000-07:002009-06-16T10:28:42.888-07:00But that means your giving it away for free!!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic7n3S9kSE6u560wKSIXUeIZl5fOEj_mDqrefjhKXUpVBPhX6tmsUoE0pEL-tFbY4iImIfSzbzM1h3c9jGt23-U9darTjhb_QEXYanGNaHXqtUMjPh1y6Kmw2X2O1jGkMiaFrHiGBPcN7Z/s1600-h/Torquemada.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 177px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic7n3S9kSE6u560wKSIXUeIZl5fOEj_mDqrefjhKXUpVBPhX6tmsUoE0pEL-tFbY4iImIfSzbzM1h3c9jGt23-U9darTjhb_QEXYanGNaHXqtUMjPh1y6Kmw2X2O1jGkMiaFrHiGBPcN7Z/s320/Torquemada.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346145947420996850" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I love the internet. Never has something so trivial come to mean so much to so many people. When I tell people I don't believe in the internet, it's like I was telling </span></span><a href="http://www.cs.drexel.edu/~gbrandal/Illum_html/Torquemada.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Tomas de Torquemada</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> that Jesus was just my ancestral cousin who spent too much time in the desert. And the web is considered akin to Santa. Presents appear, but I am telling you "no guy in a red suite is involved". Everyone is bamboozled, holding the false belief that all commerce and cultural life will benefit from everyone spending large chunks of their day sitting alone staring at a screen while life goes on without them.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Yet the web is hysterically funny, and bizarre flotsam of ages past washes up on the cyber shore to amuse and consternate. There are a number of lessons about technology in this story, so I will meander a bit in hopes of sparing some of you a lifetime of painful memories and lasting regrets. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Long long ago, in a far away land that used to be called San Francisco (bearing little resemblance to the San Francisco post double bubble) there was a band called </span></span><a href="http://www.govangogh.net/sounds/Studio/Comic%20Book%20Opera/10%20Dragon.MP3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Comic Book Opera</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. This band was a crazy power trio of Sax Bass and Drums, the pre </span></span><a href="http://govangogh.net/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Go Van Gogh</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> project by the Walkershaws. This spunky little band played regularly in all the likely, and unlikely places, and being made up of young people, was always looking for the main chance. Back in the 80's, pre internet, for a band that usually entailed some sort of record </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">deal. CBO had a lot of get up and go, and not the most radio friendly sound (as they predated the Jazz and World music revivals). Check out their tune </span></span><a href="http://www.govangogh.net/sounds/Studio/Comic%20Book%20Opera/10%20Dragon.MP3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Dragon</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, and then compare it to </span></span><a href="http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1987.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The Top Hits of 1987 </span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> ,the year the band decided to forge ahead and record an Album on their own. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Their pal Eric Cope had a small label </span></span><a href="http://lost-in-tyme.ucoz.com/blog/2008-06-30-245"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Insight Records</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> which put out interesting music. Eric was seriously into DIY punk enterprise. He agreed to help get the record out, as long as it only cost him time and information, so the band(and their financial backer Bobo Bubalisky) co released their one record as Insignt/The Laryngitis Label as a LP (long playing record. In other words vinyl).</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">CDs were first brought to public attention at</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> a press conference called "Philips Introduce Compact Disc" on March 8, 1979. While technologies are making their way from the lab to the store shelf at ever increasing rapidity, in 1987 when CBO was deciding how to release their magus opus, they knew exactly one person with a CD player (Mark, you always were ahead of the curve). The compact disc selections in </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">record st</span></span></span></span></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 242px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68Kwxkk_jAcbmZc9f1yMSQAsr9mbPSkcFbRb2h3LoRqMDD8rOY1Of6O47bP4g_7zNexuhxauuicqoU4s2mJIXFnRhW-rMCJDciYjZBlbA9Ji0b9SYK2jKgG2IAsJf6vURUzmzrgQGqrVU/s320/CBO.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346146443923051506" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ores were meager at best. Yes a clear case of "Coulda Shoulda Woulda".</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">A difficult disc put out by a difficult band might have done exceedingly well. After all, who were these CD owners. Monied, educated, and young. The very people who would in a few short years, be filling the </span></span><a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/up-and-down-club-san-francisco"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Up & Down Club</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, and hanging onto every note from </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B7btsk6ASE"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Charlie Hunters</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> guitar. But yet another self made record by some weird band could not get distribution beyond where the band could reach in their 1970 Toyota station wagon. So like many other great groups, finding the way forward to be tripped up by the decisions of the past they eventually moved on, and their record after selling 80% of the 1000 pressed, faded away to an undeserved obscurity.</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">But the internet, as I was saying above, knows nothing of obscurity. It's all about niche. And if you have filled a niche anytime in the past 10,000 years, someone somewhere is looking for you. In this case, due to the excellent taste of Mr Cope, there is a far flung tribe of dark rock post punk aficionados who value his releases, and consider them all the more valuable per their obscurity. As Comic Book Opera bares the Insight imprint, Curious Guy who writes the </span></span><a href="http://phoenixhairpins.blogspot.com/2009/02/comic-book-opera-st-lp.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Phoenix Hairpins</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> blog posted not only a review of the </span></span><a href="http://phoenixhairpins.blogspot.com/2009/02/comic-book-opera-st-lp.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Comic Book Opera</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> record on his February 14th (Valentines day, how apt) blog, but also put the complete LP up as a </span></span><a href="http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YDSFDNAX"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">zip file for any and all to download</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">So what does this all mean. Nothing to most people, who due to the vastness of information/garbage available, will never become aware of this twist in the fabric of history. A few of those post punk fans have found a new flavor due to this (new to them) Insight. The band can have a chuckle. Oh look dear, our old LP on the internet. Weren't those solos cute. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">But what of the great lie. That the internet is where not only culture is going, but where commerce is going. Curious Guy looks at this old CBO LP as a quaint find from musics colorful past. Similar to archivist putting out the early 20th century Rembetico records of </span></span><a href="http://amanyala.blogspot.com/2006/03/rembetiko-of-month_03.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Rita Abadzi</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> I so adore. Yet Eric Cope from Insight, and Bobo from The Laryngitis Label are still alive. The Walkershaw, as rights holders, still own the music. Yet no royalty or sales dollar will be forthcoming from this micro activity. Just considered to be another user generated content in the web 2.0 world. So the commerce being created here is advertising revenue from Google and Megaupload.com selling eyebal or clickthroughs .</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Don't get me wrong. I am overjoyed on a personal level that Curious Guy has reviewed and posted this gem from Bobo's past. I do not fault him, or wish to hinder him in any way. In fact, I did not have a digital copy of the record I financed, so due to Curious Guy's efforts, I have the tracks in my itunes, available to share with whomever. But the fact remains, the model doesn't work, if we all labor like slaves, alone in front of our screens, spending our intellectual capital, while the chains tighten, and our real world opportunities shrink away. Content isn't free. The CBO LP cost money to record, and to press. Curious Guy spent money to buy it. His time was spent putting up his blog, just as mine is spent telling this story. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Who gets paid ?</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Thats all for now.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">XXOO</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bobo</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></div></div>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-12444849157311252312009-06-06T12:07:00.000-07:002009-06-06T13:37:31.160-07:00Is this the "golden age" or the shape of things to come.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsTT0EyfrQTd54u6VQz1xrFwTz24RJcFWsxgey7AmwB3rqOEAFxhjsoQZ1z6VPkRZcLd_QTOY2SFbLou0Zz9VEhQ1NF8wf_3qrUZ9iZ69xEOkthgP-6kyPQKTvuUkCXWRh8C9F9doisxzg/s1600-h/golden-age-1715.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsTT0EyfrQTd54u6VQz1xrFwTz24RJcFWsxgey7AmwB3rqOEAFxhjsoQZ1z6VPkRZcLd_QTOY2SFbLou0Zz9VEhQ1NF8wf_3qrUZ9iZ69xEOkthgP-6kyPQKTvuUkCXWRh8C9F9doisxzg/s320/golden-age-1715.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344316071976331138" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I was reading a post on </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a href="http://midemnetblog.typepad.com/midemnet_blog/2009/05/bruce-houghton-why-am-i-still-optimistic-about-the-music-industry.html">Bruce Houghton blog "Why Am I Still Optimistic About The Music Industry?"</a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> wherein he first lays out the gloom and the doom, but is then uplifted by the emergence of an independent musical middle class. Those who are either self released promoted and represented, or who do so through smaller labels which are "all about the music" (my quotes not his).</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">While this is certainly a true phenomenon, one your own Bobo is looking to join, I cant blithely skip along down indi utopia road, as I have little faith that our corporate masters will leave us to our own devices long enough to have a lasting impact. I posted the following to Gary's blog </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">"I know deep in my heart that technology alone will not shift the fundamentals of our culture and economy. We are at a very interesting time, where many things are possible, but unfortunately what is most probable is an inevitable reshuffling back to the status quo. Albeit with a new face. Google/Apple instead of EMI/Sony Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Wealth and power are too consolidated for any new system to truly emerge on a mass scale. Try accessing forbidden web sites in China if you doubt it."</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQGdWTVZx6caFTyLI2DkPR_Pm-JLqAlTYJeoIe6MwlsqCdFMb-e4Cqaa-gHLA_Z8tWH_Jx5u_p6JYg-sqXxyE5Kt-gLAEm92f4jCYsAQbj30Y6NccLreIQ70S2JWqI4LBdMJfCRb8BSVuI/s320/GVG.VVG.Color.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344315019771986930" /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Pessimistic ain't I.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">So dear reader, am I off the mark. Has the tide turned. Has the standard level of/and access to technology gotten out front of the corporate state. Are we on the cusp of a new age of reason, where each of us is endlessly connected to our 6 degree's of separation. The web cam in place in every Tuareg village, so we can dig to the grooving of the local youths guitar culture, while in </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bukharan_Jews">Bukhara</a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bukharan_Jews"> the few remaining Bukhari Jews</a> will be dancing to dollar downloads from our fave Klez Ska band </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a href="http://govangogh.net/">Go Van Gogh.</a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Or will we see these days as the lost golden age of the global internet culture, before it was swallowed up as an extension of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6M9-YBuPpQ">Sam Waltons</a> empire. Sam may be dead, but his family lives on. They have a lot of wealth and power. They know how to hire bright people to get bigger and bigger (<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-style: italic; font-family:Times;font-size:16px;"><a href="http://www.mygreenjourney.com/2009/01/dr-seuss-lorax-you-need-thneed.html">A Thneed's a Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need</a></span>), but it's only Walton world if we let it be.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:13px;">So my dears shake off that indifference. Forget Bobo's pessimism. Rush down to the <a href="http://www.amnesiathebar.com/Amnesia/Amnesia_-_Home.html">small local bar</a>, and buy a drink, buy the CD straight from the band. Shop at local designers like <a href="http://www.walkershaw.com/">Walkershaw</a> for your dresses, coats, pants, and blouses. Get your food from <a href="http://www.localharvest.org/">local people</a> who care what they sell. And don't forget to vote for people you trust, not just the ones your told you must.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:13px;">Thats all for now</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:13px;">XXOO</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:13px;">Bobo</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-39030565082004704632009-06-03T12:31:00.000-07:002009-06-03T15:27:01.323-07:00Why I want to be a POP star<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYTEcXIHp0-90CYWC6fGzuH4jkCjtEuFacOzYx8SU47jfoyfdMha0p_WzcbQQs27c0MeoIAusfpX8CAfTbyTVusas5ruAlvpN0RfsGbJD0XZKZa2___0Bh88m0z0qVj2w9svmEi1pf4vhE/s1600-h/plastic.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYTEcXIHp0-90CYWC6fGzuH4jkCjtEuFacOzYx8SU47jfoyfdMha0p_WzcbQQs27c0MeoIAusfpX8CAfTbyTVusas5ruAlvpN0RfsGbJD0XZKZa2___0Bh88m0z0qVj2w9svmEi1pf4vhE/s320/plastic.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343215620858598402" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It's all about the money, isn't it. POP stars get to sleep late. They have FAB GEAR. They are driven, or drive SUPER cars in CANARY YELLOW, or FIRE ENGINE RED. They get LOTS OF SEX, and everyone wants to know them.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">But thats not why I want to be a POP star, well not entirely. I want to do the work. The writing of the tunes. The rehearsing the band. The long days and nights in the recording studio. The ecstatic audiences dancing wildly in the darkened ball room. Thats where the real fun is. If you want to sleep late everyday, wait tables at night. Want a fancy car, be a stock broker. Fab Gear, open a boutique. Lots of sex, not usually a positive job attribute.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">But to work on your own music all the time, that is a rare career. Most working musicians spend their nights playing other peoples music, whether a band leaders, or in a cover band. They are certainly honing their chops, and getting their stage legs under them, but what about the creative muscle. One you need to flex if you hope to work through all of your ideas to find the 2% worth sharing with the world.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Unlike the "art" world, where they prefer their painters DEAD and BURIED, the POP star industry want's fresh young meat. The myth is your at your best when you are young. But the truth is you are at your most marketable as a slab of beef, or a ready made commodity. Is </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-xIulyVsG8"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bob Dylan</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> putting out work as great as he did in the mid sixties, when he was at his peak. How can we judge. Dylan continues to reinvent himself time after time, but based on his own interests not that of the market. So if Bob doesn't speak to you as strongly as he did on </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO0gSJGJ7Fs"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Highway 61 Revisited</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, it may just be that either his work doesn't appear as new and exciting based on past experience and familiarity with that set of concepts and sounds, or that his vision has become more and more personal as he has matured, and the two of you have moved apart. While it is true that his voice (never the greatest of his attributes) has lost a bit of its elasticity, his delivery has gained in character.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">A better example is our dead friend </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Nr0dUcrAU0"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Serge Gainsbourg</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. He did manage to stay as fresh as a decaying alcoholic junky could through out his 30 year career. He moved from his start in the traditional chanson style, into whatever took his fancy over the years. In the early 60's he discovered brazilian, congolese, and afro cuban sounds. His 1971 psychedelic masterpiece </span></span><a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Serge+Gainsbourg/Histoire+de+Melody+Nelson"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Histoire de Melody Nelson</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> is the most listen-able recording I own from that period. By the time I saw him in Brussels 1985 on his Love on the</span></span></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 185px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0XWf_fkNfg3UUnjRvyf1KCwQwKphuzftepqJ4ALMC0hyphenhyphen2P5oUvckDZo4ungCE9iZX8I8TJ3QaT4-oUtR_ejbVWhyoThYtkxuIztmmJqMEbnJhHxXhSapogBPdOCGoXVvUkEwBbY9P90a8/s320/Gainsbourgb.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343215967060990546" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Beat tour, he had already moved through a number of Reggae sounds into a up to the second hot dance sound, and as always scandalizing the media with his video of </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE06lqT0Y2g"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Lemon Incest</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> staring his daughter Charlotte. The audience at his show was the most age diverse audience I had seen before or since. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">So while visually old Serge and old Bob are not as appealing as some lean scantily clad POP Prince or Princess, they may still have the goods, perhaps in greater depth than they did (or the PP's will ever have). And, it is my assumption the same may be true of any of us, given a chance to work entirely on ones craft and creativity. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">We are living longer, and while the overall population is growing younger, those of us still kicking it as mature producers of culture are also becoming a larger audience. Just one that is routinely ignored as irrelevant to the arts and nightlife industry. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I say they do so at their own peril. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As the youth move more and more into home bound solitary interaction with machines. Getting more of their software and entertainment for free through P2P networks (they didn't go away), do you think anyone over the drinking age will actually buy French flavor of the month </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMy7DRLlDaE&feature=fvst"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Plastiscines "Barcelona"</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> based on the music and the sound all by itself. The sound is so dated, it's slept with the grandfather of every sound in town, and the song itself is pure dross. Now the band looks great. The right haircuts (long), skirt length (short), and boot style (tall). They appeared to be skilled, and if they can rise above the mediocrity of the market they are fighting tooth and nail to enter, I am sure they will hit it big with teens.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">But can you picture yourself buying their downloads on Itunes, or carrying their CD up to the counter at Amoeba Records. I think not. I have yet to catch myself humming along, or singing "Lets get down in Barcelona" no matter how many times my daughter subjects me to this song. And I am subjected. The Plastiscines are suddenly everywhere teens exist. Put out by Nylon records the new label from the teen magazine of the same name, the band is being leveraged through Nylons existing marketing into hoped for multi channel disposable consumption profits.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">In light of the current implosion of capitalism, to assume these people know what their doing is laughable. The band may hit it big for years, or zip they are gone. But do not think I am bitter to not get my Nylon chance like those fresh faced mademoiselles. My haircut, after all is strictly Joy Division 1979. My skirt length is pants only (not even a utility kilt). My boots are a very 1964 ankle height. My Label, Laryngitis, is not so loud. And my magazine is strictly ones and zeros, so here I am amongst the many. My dreams of POP stardom however are still alive. As I work on this great puzzle of inspiration and experience, I am finding more and more of the pieces making up the picture I seek. So who knows, it ain't over till the fat lady sits on your cat. And then it's only over for the cat.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Thats all for now.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">XXOO</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bobo</span></span></div><div><br /></div></div>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-4600780721285355362009-06-02T13:54:00.000-07:002009-06-02T15:03:40.059-07:00Now your a has been at 20<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh17KziGyBeX5DCAfEUV8RzRFt9K13RydfinaE_MuqjeIvWMHg-feJ6nsEntN_wKJ-dFbe684XuHXjvI13O9K6CegPh1p_NTBGCU6e6_61MTRdys0P993ml5jSWNVNMUWo01VR_ooL3leqr/s1600-h/05-01-2009+-+EO+Smith+-+001.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh17KziGyBeX5DCAfEUV8RzRFt9K13RydfinaE_MuqjeIvWMHg-feJ6nsEntN_wKJ-dFbe684XuHXjvI13O9K6CegPh1p_NTBGCU6e6_61MTRdys0P993ml5jSWNVNMUWo01VR_ooL3leqr/s320/05-01-2009+-+EO+Smith+-+001.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342839581442865698" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwxwDl6aXO7cDjwUQkgcJDYlE2R5LkmxAZuGwG809Od1tqoM1xN5vaqoPubFphVmQMNV-c2SjU0e94KMyJuuW7lY9WQzMGr9C6jUc-Cia5QDEbmLg56Vi0JCccjBXNk8rLDNvm0XyO-cI/s1600-h/05-01-2009+-+EO+Smith+-+001.jpg"></a>Thankfully, having never been, I can never be a has been. I have no plummeting sales, or decline in venue size to worry about. All these years at the bottom have been the happiest of my life, and as it's all up from here, as my old friend Alfred E Newman would say "what me worry".<div><br /></div><div>But what about the instant celebs of our youtube global internet culture. Today I came across <a href="http://www.dbassett.com/">Desiree Bassett</a>, who at 13</div><div> year of age was already being touted as the worlds greatest female guitarist. While I doubt the veracity of that claim, being pals with <a href="http://www.luckylounge.com/">Ms Carmen Getit</a>, who plays with far more verve and pinache (cause shredding isn't everything my dears), Ms Bassett by age 15 was sharing the stage of the MGM Grand with<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw3EqjJjy6A&feature=related"> Sammy Hagar.</a> What peaks will she have left to climb by the time she reaches voting age. Or will this be a case of arrested development, as a merciless industry pumps up the volume on this smiling goddess of the guitar. Flaming out early from the grind necessitated by building a career large enough to satisfy the gatekeepers of the "professional music business". </div><div><br /></div><div>No doubt Mom and Pop Bassett are sane people, socking away the concert and CD dough. Making sure Desiree keeps her grades up, and has plenty of time for a teenage life. Looking out for their kid like all good parents would by supplying the guidance for a more varied life than onstage adulation, and back stage emotional taxation. </div><div><br /></div><div>Perhaps my cant is just one of sour grapes. having never reached the stage of the </div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 248px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrePSrwRQwurJCeIJvjz8SMdF75aPWccqhMUbxE2DpWQPYv5SdwwKpw6b4AVi1-aeKUyNU47J37CgWYAU8UduHzc6o67IIKWeSbcfrKI5feanitVCEAY17NYyLJMnaX2_YOx1EmL0G1dY6/s320/clown.concertina.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342853876372879394" /><div>MGM Grand, or been sponsored by Fletcher Limousines. After all at 15 I was not much of a musician, spending my time pursuing other interests. So here is a poem about a life lived.</div><div><br /></div><div>In my 20's I thought I was the greatest</div><div>But I can now see that my ideas were just the latest. </div><div>Clues, hadn't the vaguest. </div><div>By my 30's I was starting to really cook. </div><div>But couldn't get the public to give me a look. </div><div>In my 40's I didn't give a dam.</div><div>Played for myself, thought the business a scam. </div><div>Now that I hit 50.</div><div>I think my music's uplifting. </div><div>With a bit of depth.</div><div>Not too much riffing.</div><div>I'd like to have had an easier life.</div><div>But then I should not have made music my wife.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thats all for now</div><div><br /></div><div>XXOO</div><div><br /></div><div>Bobo</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-89596294697573838832009-05-31T12:36:00.000-07:002009-05-31T20:08:04.421-07:00Don't be more about money than music (You can still make a living)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQcWhMR66aAjweG9BVtp9WcO1EaojlXtQZb7MVOJpNvK7knzxqWUQmR7oiG_uiJrPV9kOx1C6DYcdJoch4OTGKd1jRKCOfsDPi_sLuJ5xAbxmktevORRlmZ19HX7xCPVkyeHG8dXmGaSNY/s1600-h/dead-end-sign.jpg"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpgwSuwkahn8CdEVjp3sV38L7bP5gVZJJbPBiXpIO1YIXmlkf9Mq9qTBFGYmTnwpCDAxXaTThWy4cBKykS55SbnPUvMn3V4A3lVQc2KtwWhz74lbGYOQolWoqBZVkaA3gVR0UM93t5H1G/s1600-h/339px-John_Zorn.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpgwSuwkahn8CdEVjp3sV38L7bP5gVZJJbPBiXpIO1YIXmlkf9Mq9qTBFGYmTnwpCDAxXaTThWy4cBKykS55SbnPUvMn3V4A3lVQc2KtwWhz74lbGYOQolWoqBZVkaA3gVR0UM93t5H1G/s320/339px-John_Zorn.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342160730230573394" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I was reading John Zorn's introduction to </span></span><a href="http://www.tzadik.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Tzadik's Radical Jewish Culture series</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> where he states </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">" There have been occasions when the jewish content of the music delivered has been unclear, or even non-existent. My role as executive producer in these instances has been to question the artist. If the</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> answer is simply "I'm jewish—this is what I'm doing—that makes it jewish music"—the project is rejected, returned to the artist to do with as they wish. If they can articulate a well thought out response and their sincerity and honesty is clear and unquestionable—I go with it—even if I don’t entirely go with the program."</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I find Mr Zorn's attitude exemplary, to be lauded, as it shows a commitment to a specific vision, one about the content itself, rather than as a catch all gimmick, or a purely economic driven model. Unfortunately few share this predilection. More often than not what begins as a labor of love (and a very specific love at that) bogs down in the day to day battle to stay afloat. And once the money starts rolling in, god help your soul. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I know it's the music business, but cutting corners is not where it's at. The externalities are not as obvious as in fabric dying, or oil drilling. No one is getting cancer because a label is dealing in sub standard esthetics. But we all suffer from the cheapening of our life experience.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I guess what I am really on about is living a right life, and so setting a good example through right deeds. You may say "choose your battles, the ones that really matter". And yes switching to Mass Transit, increasing local organic farming, reducing carcinogens, and upholding freedom of assembly are all more important. But where does the slippery slope start. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The powers that be show us how to live like sharks. How to be predators, consuming whatever is in your path, and leave nothing but your waste behind. Just enough to feed the hungriest of the little fish. It is the message we get on the news, in the movies, in the history we are taught. I find it to be a false message leading us further down a dead end road. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 172px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXThx3RAnoOVwfL66SSQO6r1moH8NBGTeYAfG1IplpvFWcJretkoyCzTibjBvVEv-pSspitOy0NmlcZ6NyvuhYuD7iGoMEEggzsivUi-gYtuQhlpIBk0ZGxYAYj9YW8iIPuO8GjR3B52LT/s200/dead-end-sign.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342161104603738610" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">So I am starting with our own actions on a daily basis. The ones we actually control, like Mr Zorn, who makes conscious choices based on his ideas, rather than what his community or his accountant says. You do what you can find in your heart to do. I just hope your expectations for life, yours, your circle, and all of us, are large enough to take the road less traveled, instead of being herded down that dead end. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Thats it for now</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">XXOO</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bobo</span></span></div></div>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-43002907603451507952009-05-29T16:44:00.000-07:002009-06-11T13:26:23.098-07:00Sound Quality is great, but what about the quality of the music?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-G2tXvyj4NOO1KTBSkU85jl_CGSdTMa5BuluuU9S3VlRZ-dDlptQnQNCiAmO-tB5RSBswY07mJbKVErTdmHPObZRI7yjz3_ARpyGiw0FfXRtmZ7AgiQRbGsXnvVlZ1UqSDN-TSjgxNiZB/s1600-h/dakar.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-G2tXvyj4NOO1KTBSkU85jl_CGSdTMa5BuluuU9S3VlRZ-dDlptQnQNCiAmO-tB5RSBswY07mJbKVErTdmHPObZRI7yjz3_ARpyGiw0FfXRtmZ7AgiQRbGsXnvVlZ1UqSDN-TSjgxNiZB/s320/dakar.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346169003163236066" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 19px; font-family:'Lucida Grande';font-size:12px;"><h2 style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; margin-top: 30px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></h2><div class="entry" style="line-height: 1.4em; "><div class="snap_preview"><p style=""><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">So I was in the car today, flitting about, destroying the environment one gallon at a time. It was the time of day that radio, especially left wing talk radio, was at it’s most unlistenable. I only have so much space in my head at a given moment, so that tuner needed to move over rover, for what ever CD was in the glove-box. In this case there was a compilation I bought a number of years ago put out by </span></span><a href="http://www.dakarsound.nl/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Dakar Sounds</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. It was their 1st sampler, and when I first bought it, it stayed in the changer for quite a while. I am particularly found of music from Senegal, Mali, and that not quite North African Saharan region (a broad swath of cultures, but much of it grabs me).</span></span></p><p style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> The CD leads off with Niety Noon by Etoile 2000 . A roclikin tune with a crazy guitar rhythm and a cutting sax. The perfect lead in to this Senegalese dance party. So I am bouncing in my cushy leather seat as I head down the road, when it dawns on me. the actual sound quality of this CD, while not absolutely crap, is not so pristine. Those Dutch cats at </span></span><a href="http://www.dakarsound.nl/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Dakar Sound</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> are reissue experts. And I owe them a certain debt for turning me on to some of the great bands they are rereleasing. I am sure they worked hard on the old tapes and other possible source material, and in the real world, this is the best sound they could replicate. Because</span></span></p><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-13" title="51VXE5ED22L__SS400_" src="http://govangogh.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/51vxe5ed22l__ss400_2.jpg?w=300&h=300" alt="51VXE5ED22L__SS400_" width="300" height="300" style="max-width: 100%; float: right; padding-top: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 7px; display: inline; " /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">for them, it is all about the GREAT MUSIC, in the whatever form they can put it out. </span></span></span><p style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Now I know that our Dutch friends are out to make a buck. But the road less traveled is never an easy road. So I am assuming for them it is 90% about the music. They can listen to a scratchy old record, recognize the greatness, say to themselves, lets put some effort into this, and get this music out there. And really, the results are mostly stellar.</span></span></p><p style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">So why, in our perfect digital wonderland of take 407 vocals, and take 629 guitar solos, in a music industry that takes 2 to 3 years to put out a bands next release, when every tiny detail can be perfectly controlled, why I ask you is the majority of new music release today such absolute dreck.</span></span></p><p style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Dakar Sounds dutch grave robbers putting out brilliance from an earlier age and thousands of miles away. Record companies in Los Angeles, New York, and wherever unable to unearth the great bands that are pounding on their office doors. Radio, even local college radio, is the same story. Why would you demand a level of technical brilliance, but not a level of musical brilliance.</span></span></p><p style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> It boggles the mind what people are settling for, and what they turn away from. The trappings of professionalism are just another sham to perpetrate sameness. We have become lazy listeners suckled on the comfort pap of recognizable melodies and beats. Sounds that do not make us work for our pleasure.</span></span></p><p style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Meanwhile, out on the long tail, things are getting interesting. Off in the land of hundred sellers stuff is bubbling to the surface. If you waiting for the usual suspects, the standard bearers of reduced standards to drop it on your plate, don’t hold your breath.</span></span></p><p style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Thats all for now.</span></span></p><p style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></p><p style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">XXOO</span></span></p><p style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></p><p style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bobo</span></span></p></div></div></span>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-91136037586645738942009-05-27T17:15:00.000-07:002009-05-30T10:28:33.249-07:00Desperate for validation by the Blogosphere. Can you help.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXHvk2fElJq929t_pCkMvM1t5VopBTyzWCVzE582wTAQrUtPgEA0MgUd1w0-BPm_4pq2wfMZ8byPzhPpaSM-jbkht9EuTIFVBh7P9_8QsJaVI4PVdV3m-mL7CClfG4ZJrk5ALn3_X6UiKl/s1600-h/cantor_singing.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 136px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXHvk2fElJq929t_pCkMvM1t5VopBTyzWCVzE582wTAQrUtPgEA0MgUd1w0-BPm_4pq2wfMZ8byPzhPpaSM-jbkht9EuTIFVBh7P9_8QsJaVI4PVdV3m-mL7CClfG4ZJrk5ALn3_X6UiKl/s200/cantor_singing.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340672287217327986" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It's not easy being a product of the mishmashmix of Jewish and Americana. Some how no one believes your really any one thing, because your not. You go to temple and dig the cantor, but you fall asleep with the transistor radio next to your ear full of the Supremes or the Doors, You know you should not love Buck Owens on Hee Haw, but you do. </span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">So you wander in the wilderness for 40 years (or 49, but who's counting). Somewhere along the way you amass a wild array of experiences, ideas, skills. And if you are any good. If you have something to say or share thats not just a repetition of the next guy in line. You let it out. Now maybe the geniuses of this world can let it out any way they want. Maybe they can make perfection out of the either it self. Not me. It all comes out through that early life filter. That digging the cantor supremes on the radio filter. </span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:arial;"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As I am making my way creatively all the bits and pieces are still clinging to my clothes, falling out of my hair and into the soup. Sounds messy because it is, but beautiful and wonderful too. And feeling music is a collaborative process, between performer and audience, or within a group, I seek out those who have something to add, rather than only choosing people<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: normal; font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap; font-family:arial;"> on the same page. It's a marketing nightmare.. let me tell you.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">If I were stronger, or a trustafarian, I could not care. Get up on my high horse and cruise off in</span></span></span></div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 155px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPIrCdpgTsFD-uxR7raDc3AGoWvX-GO0woV1W6Zdsuz5eU_KBPR63_1rcet2E-u8SEuwADo_aaBbcMpBn3HGWJFEeOOw3KlASDsws7Nsesnnt8dXd-QT-2NMShJCaErNL3q7hvXzr9UoKT/s200/7567150_1055525894.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340672497781715362" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">to the sun setting just beyond the field of dreams. But thats not me. Mr of the world, in the world, people loving person. And who doesn't want to be loved, and be told "YES YES YES... you have IT" (as Neal Cassidy would say), or at least "Darling, ve had zuch a goot time. Didn't ve Ethel".</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">So my friend, can you spare a moment to help out a guy in need. Can you rea<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ch into your back pocket and hand me a bit of that stuff I have seen you spending elsewhere. Just a few lines would do. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><a href="http://govangogh.net"> Click here</a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><a href="http://govangogh.net"> Go Van Gogh write anywhere.</a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Thats all for now.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">XXOO</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bobo</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:'Lucida Grande';font-size:11px;"><br /></span></div></div></div>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-18431702027093941602009-05-26T12:54:00.000-07:002009-05-26T16:41:14.535-07:00Mommy why is the man next door yelling at you<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEvZy-IP7Hyf6oWPEUjda8w1J5g75pxTfODM_-ax6qBNMGI4ooGlFZrpYqF41aUaGBsffdtjwN1WOKLIfo0ie0CuQ81rD-jXrTtfVaEZllQ94M5V1pfJnIp2ZB_KoE9pdRG9O3SAX-hbPl/s1600-h/stalinDM2109_468x551.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 272px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEvZy-IP7Hyf6oWPEUjda8w1J5g75pxTfODM_-ax6qBNMGI4ooGlFZrpYqF41aUaGBsffdtjwN1WOKLIfo0ie0CuQ81rD-jXrTtfVaEZllQ94M5V1pfJnIp2ZB_KoE9pdRG9O3SAX-hbPl/s320/stalinDM2109_468x551.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340269767268549250" /></a><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As a musician, living here in NIMBY city has it's moments. Never have so few felt entitled to so much, and me and mine are not exempt from that phenomenon. I certainly feel it is my right to utilize my living space within the limits imposed through noise ordinance and common sense. However not all San Franciscans adhere to this notion, and like the state under Stalin, or Pinnochet, feel it is their paternalistic right to stick their oar in.</span></span><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Connie, who plays Sax and leads </span></span><a href="http://govangogh.net/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Go Van Gogh,</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> recently told me some entertaining stories of neighbors past and present. Apparently there are residents of our fair metropolis who are easily unhinged by a little music in their day, and according to Connie, every block has one.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">While living on Market Street back in the day, Connie's neighbor across the courtyard, and over the back fence was Eric, who would replant his garden at 3 AM. Flood lights blazing, happily raking and hoeing, their was Eric on a quarterly schedule. But at 3 pm, a single alto note would send Eric into a screaming rage. "Shut UP...SHUT THE FUCK UP" would sail into Connie's Window on a regular basis. Connie was somewhat immune to this, having recently moved from living over a glass shop on Sanchez. There serenaded by the sound of grinders all the livelong day, Connie would occasionally work on a tune. Inevitably, a bearded man would appear under her front window. He would pace back and forth, face reddening, eyes glazing in FURY. Finally unable to contain his rage, out would come "Stop..STOP, STOP that NOISE". Of course Connie would attempt to ignore him. Like Eric, he did not even live in her building, and the grinding of the glass shop grinders was far louder and persistent.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Not all these complainers were screamers. These days Connie lives in a cute little cottage, nestled back off a busy street behind larger flats. No building abuts hers, and the folks downstairs, like all the previous folks in all the previous downstairs, are not bothered by, and actually enjoy her melodious offerings. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Across the way, however, in the next lot, in a large and noisy apartment house, in a large and noisy city, a city full of street cars, sirens, and intoxicated partying youth, lives W (name masked to protect the guilty). Poor unhappy W. Not too many years ago W lived elsewhere. It must have been heaven on earth there, and no noise must have ever intruded into W's consciousness. Now W lives next to a SAX DEAMON, playing night and day. NEVER GIVING W A MOMENTS RESPIT. Or so W says. He expresses his displeasure by throwing paper airplanes notes of extreme protest into Connie's yard. Practice at 11 AM....get a note, have a compositional sectional for Sax, Violin and Bass at 7pm get two notes. Connie, being tenderhearted retreated into the back of her house, closing all the doors and windows, but it was not enough. Paper airplanes rained in Connie's yard. One could wonder why W won't get a life. But anyone who spends months in a one</span></span></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 295px; height: 107px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD1lJjdx__Flb-TVCJiF-0gdcTvrUkEWyJcCBLHpugTP5-T8ZTVlTjCpNgavziLWQ7IrgtqZZ8MXsgtgAvquyfI5tHL6LpXt2PCP_WFQhcrJzFRV8-leuZ15vGuVmJbwENnVJl4gHmbkfX/s320/fly.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340269014967607522" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"> way non dialog by paper airplanes is likely to be socially challenged. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">And W is not alone. This has become a San Francisco treat for the seriously self entitled. Think back to that thriving hub of San Francisco nightlife on 11th street. Sidewalks and clubs packed night after night. Live music spilling out of restaurant and bar doorways.... oh yeah, thats no longer so. The well healed folks who bought lofts and TICs in Soma put a stop to that. This abrupt end to our good time, and cultural renewal aided and abbetted by the make a buck machinations of our real estate elite, and all the new homeowners looking at their investment, instead of what makes a home (as it is not just the 4 walls dear) .</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I have noted elsewhere how we have over regulated ourselves to the point where little in the way of culture can grow. The plot thickens when put together with the money big real estate spends greasing the wheels towards a more unaffordable tomorrow. Now that they are aided and abetted by a short sighted citizenry out for a capital gains liquidity event, we have a very unappetizing stew. One bite is all it takes, to turn your rainbow world beige.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The impact of this pot full of poison pills goes way beyond "where can culture happen". It goes after the root itself, leaving us with the fundamental question "can culture exist in a broad sense at all if there is no place craft can develop". </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Now out in the wide open spaces where your neighbor is a ways down the road this may not prove such a problem. But most people live crammed together in cities and towns. Think of all those city kids horrendously massacring Mozart, Gershwin, and Copeland. Shredding away at those Jimmy Page licks, or Johnny Thunders chords. Trying to blow hot on those cool Miles and Train modal motifs. If Eric is out in the back yard screaming, bearded man is down in the street shouting, and W's paper planes are falling like cherry blossoms in the yard, the poor little dears will be scared for life, never manifesting their own piece of the puzzle. All that will remain for our edification and enjoyment on the aural tip will be software installing knob twiddling headphone wearing techno pumping futurists, endlessly sampling the finite output from the good old days, or the homespun few country cousins able to make it out the gate.<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Yet, one must ponder how this used to work. Did we not always have these issues of space and noise. Were we kinder and more accepting. Were the walls thicker. Did music have a more accepted role in our lives, not just the choice between managed perfection of the self initiated experience of Ipod, Itunes, I tuned the rest of you right out. Versus the ever present public soundtrack for easing the consummation of the commercial interaction. Has this dampening down of natural environmental experience, this ongoing interference of meaningful intercourse, made us so sensitive to any actual flowering of reality in our home spaces, that the most bruised of us must act out in rage and intolerance, or risk the madness of recognizing the true hell of everyday existence.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Perhaps musicians should organize into real estate clubs. Put in our spare pennies to develop little high-rise ghettoes. All banded together in our urban enclaves, living 100 to a building with rehearsal spaces in the basement, and night clubs in the lobby. Think of the cross pollination of sounds, when Pedal Steel lives next door to Kora, and Flamenco has dinner with Rocksteady. We can make as much noise as needed. We can endlessly entertain ourselves, and leave the faint of ear to their own prechewed clear channel lives, while we dance together and play room to room.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> Thats all for now.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">XXOO</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bobo</span></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></div></div></div>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-24264596044568099982009-05-24T17:31:00.000-07:002009-05-24T19:28:30.945-07:00The one man band, possibly bland.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The corporatist world would have us believe in the Army Of One. It's what the personal computer industry is built on. It's the wet dream of your boss at work. But I just don't see it. If you really think that dance your doing by your self is the Tango, well good</span></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFJSGP7JL_SJZdB5KZCkChLlT3XAF9YXoOWTMj2x5lbcePij9-Jrgke1pxRBRw6PLmog2ootxxhdre86tPSNjCTYgtAiUu2ejaJiQxhuy4YXYo6BcPDgDKfgbZfmdXsyQIwkBPOfKaogxt/s320/TangoCoupleGerry.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339579970111217266" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">luck to you friend.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Yes, yes, I know I went into this all before, but recently I was mixing some tracks at </span></span><a href="http://www.wallysound.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span></a><div><a href="http://www.wallysound.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Wally Sound's</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> studio. Wally was at the controls, and he has a lot of controls under his control. Not only does he have all the old school 2 inch 24 track gear, but he is up to date in the digital world. When you need to make that sax sound like metal birds chirping for 7 seconds, Wally just happens to have bought a plug in with that in mind. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Plus Wally has great ears, and can slice and dice your bits and bytes with easy going alacrity. Wally does charge for his expertise, but gives good value, and at the end of the day, you end up with tracks that you wont be shoving under the counter at your online store "oh that track, well... I sorta didn't... well,, it's not quite..., here look I got this better one". You know it's true. When you don't take care of business, you gots no business to take care of.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">But if you work with people who have real skills, both playing in the band, and professionals on the technical tip, you have something lasting at the end of the day. Something that you can</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> play 20 years on and not cringe because it sounds dated, or under done. Take for exact instance </span></span><a href="http://govangogh.net/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Go Van Gogh's</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> latest single </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.govangogh.net/sounds/Studio/From%20The%20Old%20Country/02%20Cheycha%201.mp3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Cycek.</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> Not only is the tune extremely well </span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">played, but Wally mic'd and mixed the band to a crunchy clear perfection. Recording at home would not get us the same quality of sound, unless we had put in the years Wally has of accumulating great mic's and gear along with the time put in learning how to use those tools.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">If you haven't got the money, and your lack of social skills mean no one in their right mind will work with you, sure, go ahead, make your art alone out in the barn, down in the basement, in your little room over the garage. Geniuses can always milk fresh sounds out of whatever falls to hand. I used my old fostex 2 track untill it died, followed by a yamaha 4 track, followed by Logic express on my mac.</span></span></div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlHvlYwmUXTCH10Uw5tYOSYorkZmf7CsUKVUzEhwvGciMzqkFSwaxRphn4VnOsBA5sHgjOD58r9YUpZ_ppeCkt9HOBsFbK2QAdylql8APQ0UBVFt3tlH0rn5mQWZeFwCizTu4Bk-mBu-E/s320/402px-Beethoven_death_mask4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339580473572244530" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">All great for fleshing out ideas, but personally not being Beethoven, or Beck even, I find the Vaseline and handkerchief route is far less satisfying than <span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">playing together with others. The work I can hold my head up about, and without reservation ask you to </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><a href="http://cdbaby.com/cd/govangogh"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">PAY ME FOR</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> was </span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">created in collaborations where everyone brought the love and skills to the table. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Thats all for now</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">XXOO</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Bobo </span></span></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-58062687385026747682009-05-22T19:31:00.000-07:002009-05-23T15:12:22.848-07:00Why would I settle for the taste of a machine over almost any persons ?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlxQU17g2jN0jSVS8-vcEjazN0Y2pIFfjxvm6mTI6YST8RjQYxKLf3Ktju1oXSRhe-oABOFfZ3FXdfn9AM8JEd2ezbsPdd1tNaOznB3LYUueMMyDNDI3LSREXsCumttvwVVUyTH1WhZOx/s1600-h/Luddite.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlxQU17g2jN0jSVS8-vcEjazN0Y2pIFfjxvm6mTI6YST8RjQYxKLf3Ktju1oXSRhe-oABOFfZ3FXdfn9AM8JEd2ezbsPdd1tNaOznB3LYUueMMyDNDI3LSREXsCumttvwVVUyTH1WhZOx/s320/Luddite.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339135661970853618" /></a><br /><br />I am not a luddite. <div><br /></div><div>Really. <div><br /></div><div>I have been using computers in my day to day from 1982 on. Helped <a href="http://govangogh.net/">Go Van Gogh</a> get online, and started an internet business, both in 1995. I am all for tools of every sort if they improve the quality of life.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>But.... letting a programed application be the arbiter of my cultural diet is even more ridiculous than hiring a robot to be a high end chef. You can program in all the ingredients and measuments, but in the end that robots got no taste to speak of.</div><div><br /></div><div>I enjoy what I can gleen from Pandora, Last FM, Mog and other sites of musical aggregation. I adore the shuffle feature, both with Itunes, and LaLa. I know those intrepid coders are working hard to parse the data of our recorded choices, whether straight through the app, or by anaylizing our commentary. I am sure they will eventually come up with a convincing replica of expertise in suggesting/feeding us that which we already like. But dear reader, I doubt they will ever succeed in bringing that quantum leap that allows us to associate two unconnected things, and recognize the rightness in each, when no conceivable link is perceivable. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That takes the visceral experience itself. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">"Ah" you say. "That strawberry is very like Tuareg music". "What" says the app. "A strawberry is a piece of fruit, Tuareg music is a genres of electric rock from Saharan Africa. These things can never be linked". "Oh" you say. "But the Strawberry also reminds me of sex with Betty Balasko in the back of her mothers Buick sedan. She was wearing a short short skirt, and we were coming from the store with fresh strawberries and heavy cream for desert, and a Muddy Waters song was on the Buicks radio as we made our pleasure, the boxes of Strawberries jammed on the floor in the back, it's scent mixing with the electric jump blues, echoing up through the years, as now <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aphid/3471670323/">Tinariwen</a> plays on <a href="http://kpfa.org/">KPFA</a>'s world music show, and I eat my strawberry's and yogurt for breakfast." </div><div style="text-align: center;"> <img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-GcFh2Ha3koZkW7Au941ZfYTx3b9dvA7U80f4zMViJZxknsJXKDyKIL0JV9e1LVsUG0Mt7t41ximpQ0S4Yy6G2M6vuw46E0gZ2C8Oe2i6SmsWfGikjyMuiKAhzudIBDeZ50MKsuNhpU5Q/s320/strawberry.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339134887295099762" /></div><div><br /></div><div>Ok so that is a bit over the top. People turn me on to new things all the time, having nothing to do with Betty's mothers Buick. And there are even people who consistently come up with gem after gem, jumping genres left and right, just somehow having their finger on the pulse. Which is exactly what those dear coders are after. </div><div><br /></div><div>However statistics are not a replication of life, and the business model on the net is to give you the narrowest possible answer for the broadest possible question. Otherwise how can their advertisers or the sites themselves sell you a widget, or a gadget. If you like strawberries, they are going to try and sell you strawberry massage oil, or strawberry jam, a clock in the shape of a strawberry, a strawberry complexion face cream. They are not going to try and sell you a CD by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aphid/3471670323/">Tinariwen</a> or <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axfmrgGt-gc">Etran Finatawa</a> .</div><div><br /></div><div>So my dears, as we progress into the brave new web 3.0 world, and the data-mining of user generated content brings on cross selling opportunities for the emergent filter gods of the net, think before you just settle for the pseudo choice you are being offered. Consider if there is another way to find fulfillment. Like doing the legwork you used to do, before the marketeers tried to relieve you of the guesswork. The easy answer is not always the right answer. Be the arbiter of your own taste, and share those tastes freely. It's only their world wide web if you use them as the only filter.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thats all for now<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>XXOO</div><div><br /></div><div>Bobo</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-6378453735070515592009-05-21T10:11:00.000-07:002009-05-23T15:11:56.292-07:00A bar is not a concert hall<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5oXiOXUT03jA1XUq9Fphyue6OeNCOHGhRfoqL4oe_GQEG7UVv9LREiMpfsNlP8rCD0BgmfymNSwaz6L4jcXLO_1c4VPaNyHH79DcEPAx-IthofrYA518T2-DOJFNXM9EHli5C3RrzwuVm/s1600-h/fa39bc82-9b27-4bbb-9425-d719a72e09ac.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5oXiOXUT03jA1XUq9Fphyue6OeNCOHGhRfoqL4oe_GQEG7UVv9LREiMpfsNlP8rCD0BgmfymNSwaz6L4jcXLO_1c4VPaNyHH79DcEPAx-IthofrYA518T2-DOJFNXM9EHli5C3RrzwuVm/s320/fa39bc82-9b27-4bbb-9425-d719a72e09ac.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338669662608071298" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />I may be middle aged, but I am not dead yet. I still enjoy evenings out, and being a huge fan of music (in its many forms) I love nothing more than to hear/see it performed live. Here in San Francisco the options are many. Those with discerning tastes can usually find a good bet, and the undiscerning .... well they are after all undiscerning. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">But I must say I am rankled by the norm for many of these musical outings, and while I can fathom how we got here, I fail to see why this status quo remains. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">In western culture we have an essentially dichotomy. The high culture was supported by the rich (read church until after the reformation), and pandered to their tastes, with the myth being edification of God or a higher ideal. Then their was the low culture. That of the people, by the people, and for the people. This was often not well remunerated, as it was a community undertaking. With the past several centuries of urbanization we have seen a middle ground emerge, the dance-hall, the vaudevillian stage, the supper club and any number of other entrepreneurial institutions. Now days almost all entertainment hovers somewhere in this middle ground, the well healed rubbing elbows with the hoi polloi. Musicals </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">like Wicked are a current example of this phenomenon. Who can say (beside us) if it is all and fine that culture races to the middle, but let us look at what has happened to the age old institution of the tavern at the crossroads. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Taverns, or bars as we now call them, have provided excellent service for millennia as community halls, gathering places for the citizenry, entertainment venues, social club, and refuge from alienation. Somehow in our modern age of specialization the bar keep has lost sight of this cohesive calling, and decided that this is to tough a nut to crack. The ancient Romans paid no cover charge to hear the Lyre and the Drum, I doubt they had to wait till midnight for their favorite flautist and singing duo. It's not that their was no scenes or subcultures in these bygone times, just that the division of age had not become such a division of taste. Taverns were not geared solely towards youthful naredowells, but were places all people went. When Bill Sikes meets Fagin in that London Tavern, it's not full of a monochromatic crowd in any regard beyond economic class. </span></span></div><div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJGnbuY-dui-TR1u4WXoeIWK6YgllpTvqv059qMdZKhcApFQmp85oOnZVD1l-600TmXpijq4f7Z0PUEnU40IRbb17O751wQ7PKHFLhdWPvBj0ADoOUVTFHJlKOpokGdJDYCcHn_kOjftEb/s320/180px-Bill-sikes.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338351439875267650" /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It's the neighborhood place for social interaction, whether thats to get laid, plan a robbery, or kick your heals up. So when we look at the modern San Francisco bar in contrast, the canned music, or even musical group is far too loud to plan a drink order much less a heists. It starts so late, only the most desperate, youthful, or underemployed could possibly stay their long enough to meet someone new. And even if met, could hardly be able to converse over the 110 decibel beat. So older folks, or those wanting more out of their time stay away in droves. Thus the proprietor takes the road that is tried and true, a veritable self fulfilling prophecy , and caters to the same small slice of life, the aforementioned, young, desperate, and responsibility-less. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Whereas the Concert Hall, no longer the church knave, or barons ball room, has attacked the problem from the other end, and come up with the inverse solution. A bastion of intellect and skill, yet mired in a consevatism, self inforced by the both those who hold the purse, and the protectionist bent of the artists themselves. This create problems when in a bid to appeare relevant, the programing strays from the conventional fare to utilize something deemed safe in the popular sphere. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Case in point. We went to see the wonderful Cuban pianist Ruben Gonzales play at Davies Symphony Hall. While the acoustics were great, the audience was stuck in their seats. Instead of rocking the isle to some of the groovinist dance music ever written, they sat squirming in polite</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2yOxD0awwUEXaMfbUIPTIXAVkhlPa-nE_tyfpUuhg-BId-jcWLefJfhdDwrnjvfn2RMWrTVykWWu0IqrbiOM-OGhZmw-hQqY_r_Y7ZqITp4JKEEytnthvIUAG48agvmTt3MJqW2whX9P_/s1600-h/Rub%C3%A9ngonz%C3%A1lez.jpeg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">attention. This must have been a great disappointment to Mr Gonzales. Meanwhile back in the clubs, art bands with no swaying power, bash their drunken patrons over the head with deafening drones, as the crowd stands arms crossed in mute dullness.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">But all is not darkness and gloom. The community does attempt to get it's needs met, and some gal/guy out to make a buck will always rise to the bait. In my little city it happens to be happening down at the Cafe. The most exciting and interesting music in town is taking place at Revolution Cafe, The Cafe International, and a few other low profile, venues. The shows start at a reasonable time. With no sound system to speak of, the musicians tend to keep things to a listenable level. They are not the best places for dancing, but that never stopped dancers when the beat takes, and no usher is rushing you back to your seat.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The drawbacks are obvious. Without the demon alcohol, less money changes hands up and down the line, so a vibrant professional scene is not going to happen here. Plus the modern world is full of RULES AND REGULATION, so it's easy to get shut down for lack of this permit, that permit, and the other permit you need to pay and pay and pay for.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">So my friends, I see a dilemma. We need venues for culture, but economics rules the world, and money mixes with culture just the same as money mixes with politics. Culture needs to be kept broad, but how that happens is by "we the people" making good decisions in what we patronize, who we vote for, and how we interact with our existing institution, whether that be a bar, a concert hall, or city hall.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">XXOO</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Thats it for now</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bobo</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><br /></div>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-34563659083388455612009-05-20T09:32:00.000-07:002009-05-20T11:16:22.066-07:00Where will the next Bravo contestant come from?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7OxdgpwE5A-w45QVQg6gwyAE3_OeVR3b8tngwZOLWfuLit7o27t53U__z7WDcohJkP-7ljzqDeOE26-7aqUh7vlzpOxmAcS9FvnbcIHTtD3Xe77C1wAU-yQH69B8MSDVm_U3QC4QljCAI/s1600-h/uglydress.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 165px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7OxdgpwE5A-w45QVQg6gwyAE3_OeVR3b8tngwZOLWfuLit7o27t53U__z7WDcohJkP-7ljzqDeOE26-7aqUh7vlzpOxmAcS9FvnbcIHTtD3Xe77C1wAU-yQH69B8MSDVm_U3QC4QljCAI/s320/uglydress.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337971019814387234" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I was watching Bravo down at the Gym this AM. It's the only time I see such things, as I am unwilling to pay for the privilege of being marketed to. There I was on the treadmill sweating away my considerable pounds, being regaled by the latest antics of the cast of Fashion Show (an even lower brow replacement for Project Runway, but no Tim Gunn). During the commercial break while they touted their other shows such as Top Chef, it dawned on me "these shows are all about a world that is FADING FAST, and will soon be impossible to enact".</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">After all, in a world already dominated by Olive Gardens, Chevys, and other chain eateries, or Gapped, Banana Republiced, and Hot Topiced retail, who will be left to provide the ounce of skill needed to compete in Bravo's fall line up. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">With retail rents jacked into the stratosphere (pushed up by the chains stores like Walgrens, and Starbucks), along with the lowered prices and esthetic expectations brought on by the sweatshop retailers mentioned above (Old Navy dresses for $10 bucks, come on) where is tomorrows young designer going to open shop, or even find a small boutique willing to give them a start. How will the skill's and expertise that can only be built from public experimentation arise, if there is no longer an outlet for the creativity of individuals.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And food. ho ho ho. Are these contestants only to come from the few urban centers that have not fully succumb to the call of the mild. Will the next top chef be smothering deep fried chicken in gloopy cheesy cream sauce, over a bed of curly fries.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVaoU0aOlzKvDGp3S5rCQzif7fukDQdkPQCxh3m9HFI9Lr9PoEIYzCqaDbGoswGHuVzki3YJai6wnDPcp3HRUTiALsEw-oYWKTCVRqqCU4CW5Rxk1jL-WH1YGZcfQQfoV8mfrsMBOetbyo/s320/o.g.uglyfood.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337969003936795858" /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">As a San Franciscan, I can still avail myself of a fine meal, and a well cut coat. But even here in this supposed bastion of the creative and bon vivant, the center will not hold. The tide of capitalist centralization that long ago killed the mom and pop businesses of any town USA has made serious inroads here. Matched with the mass market media, and the failure of the world wide web to deliver anything that is not pre wrapped by google, soon the only thing new and interesting on TV will be the latest side effects warning on the anti depression drug commercials. And even the monied class will be left with the choice of Bloomies or Barneys, as the rest will be swept away in the race to the bottom. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">But It doesn't have to be this way. If we all stay awake long enough to make good choices, and act rightly, we will not be doomed to cheese sauces on curly fries and $10 dresses. Don't be like the City of San Francisco using lowest bid contracts, that save pennies, but lose dollars in local taxes and local jobs. Eat in local individually owned and run eateries. Shop in mom and pop businesses, even if it costs a tad more. The service will be better, and you may end up with the things that works for you. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">Otherwise, soon your only choice will be to do copious research online to be able to make the most minute purchase, as the chain store employee wont know, and at those wages may just not care. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia;"> </span>Oh and sorry that $10 dress colors ran in the wash turning all your other clothes Pink. Didn't you know Pink is the new Black.</span></div>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-74288127081179337102009-05-19T13:08:00.000-07:002009-05-23T15:11:07.487-07:00I grow tired of the sounds in the modern world.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJqDD1T-vCk1cJs3n7pqSlAhORMi_grDo4U7KOVY04zlLGd9ILqCvn_tRlTCQuTuiXOjHPsm8hF7Qm7URfyuAXfj_sruegWdzgXNE04ALfN-bukevHjrNxTvnQ11RH69pyTapfz3ghXqZ/s1600-h/Lee-scratch-Perry-ap01.jpg"><img style="text-align: left;float: right; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 320px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJqDD1T-vCk1cJs3n7pqSlAhORMi_grDo4U7KOVY04zlLGd9ILqCvn_tRlTCQuTuiXOjHPsm8hF7Qm7URfyuAXfj_sruegWdzgXNE04ALfN-bukevHjrNxTvnQ11RH69pyTapfz3ghXqZ/s320/Lee-scratch-Perry-ap01.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338665412265339378" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div> </span><!--StartFragment--><h2 align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Due to the ground b</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">reaking work of King Tu</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">bby, Lee Scratch Perry, and other Dub pioneers, by the mid 80's we grew enamored with a variety of musical movements emerging from this marriage of technological possibilities and a evolving mix of esthetics. Great music was breaking out all over the world. From Cairo to Capetown,</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> Kyoto to Karachi, using digital tape decks, hard drives, sequencers, and basic originality, the global dance floor was emerging. We were all benefitting from this wellspring of new flavors washing back and forth, inspiring and informing.</span></span></span></span></h2><p class="style5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="style5" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">So what has changed</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="style5" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">As in any other modern discipline, music has succumb to the sirens call of technology. I am in no way a purist/luddite, but it comes to me that the machines we use have become so difficult in their complexity, that we suffer from their ubiquity. With the democratization of music production and distribution, there is a huge potential upside. Any genius can record a masterpiece in their Cleveland Closet, and instantly distribute it worldwide. But how rare is that brilliant voice, and how vast is the dross pumped out like bilge, not just from closets in Cleveland, but board rooms from London to LA.</span></span></span></p><p class="style5" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="style5" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">That a piece of software can replicate any sound or rhythm is of immense use. A person, with a great deal of skill, knowledge, and just a few affordable ingredients, can make a full orchestra appear out of the ether. My issue is with the operative "Skill and Knowledge" factor. Complexly useful tools may produce very exact results, which is great, however the amount of knowledge, and developed skill are far harder to come by then what is suggested by the sales figures for our modern range of midi triggers, pro tool packages, and programmable drum units. The majority of musicians are part timers, whacking away with their chosen axe in idiot glee and reckless abandon to varying results. In my considerable experience (I have the hearing loss to prove it), the majority of groups are poorly put together, unoriginal, and under rehearsed. So consider what this recent musical army of one explosion has unleashed upon us all.</span></span></span></p><p class="style5" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="style5" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">My friend Eric has a vinta<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">ge Oberheim Synth that he would drag out to play with us at the old Odeon Bar. It is a cantankerous machine, that in lesser hands would still produce sound, but Eric, being an amazingly skilled piano player, as well as a seasoned producer/recording <span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">engineer, would milk that machine for every d<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">rop of <span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">valu<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">e it's designer crafted into it .<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="style5" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 141px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCjI5ViE-PSKj5dhG9YtJ5Meyop0iGY5IlGwo4TtvCj-BWV3SkwiSS3Wf9JEdRJUebn_z1T2FQ1y8T4UNQsMR89PSTXlOplYvRvFDPrYbGylf3OKb6NyZOg5ne9E-LbnV6Wo0mu_JKB4Hu/s320/31c3_2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339144140511792562" /></span> That <span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">meeting of both technical and mus<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">ical skills that elevated Eric's use, over mine for example, highlights the basic problem. Lee Perry, Suba, and the boys in Air all have a depth to their skill sets as musicians and technologist. Just because you can talk the talk doesn't mean you can walk the walk.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="style5" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="style5" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Unfortunately the flood gates are open wide, and if there is a buck to be made, bad culture will be promoted. One can make the same argument for the electric guitar (and I do), but just the guitar alone wont annoy more than those neighbors within the range of your amplification. Plus the guitar is a simple enough tool, and extremely visceral, that it welcomes individualization of utility in ways that knob twirling, fader shifting have not yet achieved.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="style5" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="style5" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">All this mediocrity, on either or both ends of the tech savvy/music ability graph has created a rising tide of Sneaker Pimp sound a-likes and bedroom youtube divas. They are clogging the cultural highways and byways, like so much sonic cholesterol. I am praying for a massive musical coronary to kill the bloated beast.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="style5" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="style5" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">In the mean time I find myself ranging far and wide looking for music not using a drum machine or canned sounds. Groups that are an aggregate of talent, rather than the vehicle of a single vision. Anything new, old, or new again that is music of flesh and blood, rather than the singular rationality of machine capitalism.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="style5" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="style5" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Thats all for now.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="style5" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="style5" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">XXOO</span></span></span><o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515119688194049383.post-75695384763255045322009-05-19T11:49:00.000-07:002009-05-22T08:13:37.129-07:00We Live In An Age Of Charlatans<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Xmp0LQ9l13oW_4uw94n6Nf4ZGVAXkBBMTF8qMfkqIz208D9i5ZmKqba5uXGU_tJyQei9zXmrk-SL879AsQcTWqmiJdiUuCey6TM3YEtqDcF0quDITeLXpxaBamwOUFBSn9cKXXQGRX0x/s1600-h/greenspanxyz.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Xmp0LQ9l13oW_4uw94n6Nf4ZGVAXkBBMTF8qMfkqIz208D9i5ZmKqba5uXGU_tJyQei9zXmrk-SL879AsQcTWqmiJdiUuCey6TM3YEtqDcF0quDITeLXpxaBamwOUFBSn9cKXXQGRX0x/s320/greenspanxyz.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338665973763533986" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">We live in an age of charlatans. Crooks rule the roost, and experts only excel at emptying our pockets. The days of honest labor, and forthright principles are over (if they were ever more than a myth), replaced by the dog eat dog world of personal advantage of an anything goes corporatism. One thing is certain, those who live by the law of the jungle make poor citizens of the world. Doubly troublesome, the beast kings not only rule, but set the standard that we are meant to follow. If the bar of basic humanity is set so low, it is assured in the limbo- dance of life that none will make it under, trapped on the beast side of the bar.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Each may have the ability to choose correct behavior. But when the examples of rightness are few and fading, while beastliness is extolled from every screen, speaker, and page, the standards of conducting ones self in society, the world, even your most intimate relationships, soon descend to the lowest depths where fear rules the roost. Fear of failure, fear of violence, fear of ostracism.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">How stressful this modern life, where one is whipped on to compete, to conquer, to control, to endlessly struggle against the weight of carrying the king beast, like great apes upon ones back. Needing exponentially greater effort day to day to keep the roof over your head, and the latest gadget on hand to assure your readiness for continuous exploitation. Those who buck when the bit is places between their teeth are quickly medicated, incarcerated, or marginalized. "Stress", we are told by the mental health charlatans. is just a matter of how you view your situation. I am sure that will comfort our friends in Baghdad, or residents of the Eastern Congo. Life is stressful due to the complete disconnect between what we are given as expectation by our exploiters and their henchmen, and what we can perceive to be right action and healthy relationships, both to those around us, and to the world as a whole.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">While we are not yet one giant work camp, Auschwitz like in its work makes free death march, we are on that path. For many the treadmill of labor is broken only by the respite for propaganda in the form of thrilling spectacle. The audience as victim is misdirected to believe themselves participant. But participating indicates an active creative roll, to do rather than to be done. And the spectacle is all about the opportunity to market product, lifestyle, world-view. All of which are narrowly defined by arbiters with a rigid definition of the acceptable or desirable. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In our charlatan world success is only possible in terms of market, and market through the machinations of technology and legislation has come to include the complete array of possible purchasers. How unfortunate it is that instead of seeking to connect us all in that which calls to the highest ability and aspiration in each as an individual, instead we are pandered to at the most base and lowest point. Making anything produced for this global slop bucket of degraded ideas fit only for swine. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">You can go along to get along. You can reach for the brass ring. But then what do you have, a brass ring. Or you can stay awake. Not pass on what your fed, just because it easier than challenging fallacy. You can choose to act rightly, and being awake, you will recognize what that means in all your daily actions. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">You can create for the better, rather than sell yourself short, and accept the lies told us by charlatans. </span></div><div><br /></div></span>Bobo Bubaliskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617608558385618374noreply@blogger.com0