Showing posts with label Randy Newman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Randy Newman. Show all posts

Tuesday, 2 March 2021

March On .. And Support Artists

I don't buy much music these days, my collection is huge and I am selling a lot of CDs I bought on Discogs. I've written previously that I have bought albums because I think I should have them . The good thing about this is that the artist get's supported from the initial sale , although subsequent resales don't actually benefit the artist although often money I get from Discogs sales does by music. This week, although I don't need it I have ordered an album by Deodato and singles by The KLF and Roger Williams on vinyl. 

The albums I have for sale I have in a stack next to my desk and I actually listen to them to see if they are worth keeping. I think one or two have made me think "Why the hell did I buy that?" but most ate worth listening to. I am currently listening to a five disc budget reggae compilation called "The A To Zion" and it is rather good but it's still for sale.

Other's like "Meet The Humans" by Steve Mason (ex of the Beta Band) were so good that I pulled it from the store. I have the attitude that if you put something in a box or drawer that that's it , it's not going to be played, but yesterday I was listening to a Randy Newman box and after the five excellent discs of his Americana I remember I had a couple in the "N" box , and next to those two was an NWA compilation , so three discs for that box actually got played yesterday.

The main reason I am writing this is that I got a missive from Jordan Reyne on Bandcamp about her new album Chapter Zero  . Jordan does not put her music on leech like streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music that make a fortune for their owners but pay the artist a pittance. I cannot see how the model can properly work, but for almost all artists it doesn't so if you share a Spotify playlist with me you go down in my estimation.

Ever since I saw her opening for The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing at Think Tank? (see here) six years ago she has remained the most impressively original artist I have ever seen or heard. She is also a very approachable person , and her set that day was so stunning that I bought three CDs on the spot. So a new album is always an essential purchase , and buying from Bandcamp ensures that artist gets fair recompense for their work.

I am looking forward to hearing the new album and you gat a digital copy of all her work here for about thirty quid. Not only is she a musician she puts together videos for her songs on her YouTube channel here. You will be impressed.

Though it's the opener from here last album "Bardo" , "Then They Came For You" shows her video creation skills off, and is a song for our times.

Sunday, 5 October 2014

Sunday Sermon:Pitch Black Into Naked Religion




Apologies for this being slightly ranty rather than positive, although it's just some things that have recently crossed my mind brought tho the fore by last nights dream. Given the nature of the post I thought Randy Newman's "God's Song" would be appropriate.

I slept well last night,, but woke up from a dream that I remembered some of. It didn't finish, and nothing bad happened but it was a pre disaster scenario which could be dealt with with certain precautions. This is the dream as it happened. Basically I was is a Pitch Black scenario (Pitch Black being the best sci fi "B" Movie since Alien starring Vin Diesel as Riddick). I was in the deserted outpost building with the knowledge from diaries that were strewn about that the previous occupants had been wiped out by the inhabitants of this planet. I was with a group of people who sounded like eastern European Bond villains, and they had returned from a reconnaissance trip with what looked like tatty Russian dolls about two feet high. I knew from the diaries that these were eggs of the vicious creatures that had destroyed the previous occupant. I said that we had to get the m outside immediately. Then the argument started.:

Them: "How do you know they are dangerous?"
Me: "Look at the evidence, theres been violence here and the diaries have drawings of eggs and descriptions of the creatures that hatched and probably killed them all"
Them: "How do you know that these are the same"
Me: "Even if they're not we should err on the side of caution, leave them outside then we are safe and we can observe with a lesser amount of danger"
Them: "We think they are cute, so they're staying"
Me:"That is not a good idea, being cute in a hostile environment is not an sensible objective stance to take"
Them:"They're staying, we think they'll be fine"
Me: "What do you base that on?"
Them: "The look cute"

Then I woke up, and thought , this argument is a lot like religious faith (Mainly Creationists)  vs  Science. Science always questions itself and that's how truths are discovered, and extreme religion uses this to deny science while refusing to question it's own belief. I know it was a laboured tale to illustrate a basic point but I've met many religious people who use it as a moral supportive code and do not force it others or question others beliefs. My problem is when religion is used as a bludgeon to spread ignorance (ie Creationism).

The Lovers

Anyway the second vaguely religious point was something I noticed from this Facebook post here.  When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden they were happy, God was happy and all was great until Satan got Even to eat the apple and they discovered SHAME and started wearing makehift clothes which got God angry and he chucked them out of the Garden. So using that scenario wearing of clothes is and obvious sign of Satanism , because God wanted us to be naked.





David
So why is there such a furore when we see a nipple, willy or pussy or bum?  If God's will were to be carried out we should all surely be naked. Actually there is the practicality of weather and keeping dry and warm, and let's face clothes can make a person with the most unappealing body look good. It's that that if we see someone "exposed" there's far more uproar than a knifing or shooting, so if you do see someone either laugh, appreciate or ignore, don't act like a Daily Mail reader.

OK that's my Sunday Sermon , have a brilliant day everyone, I'm enjoying my holiday (and fully dressed)