____________Expressions in Song & Spirit & Social Change____________

The first track from the 1986 release of ‘They Might Be Giants,’ might have been written as early as 1984. The fun and upbeat tempo suggests an überstanding of the lyrical wit. This Brooklyn based duo has certainly mastered the oratory style which has been described by indigenous peoples as ‘speaking with a forked tongue.’ The most obvious example. of course, is the lyric ‘and now the song is over now,’ when in fact, those lyrics are only a bridge.

Regardless of the superficial title created to classify segments of an overall creation, the point is clear. It’s not over when it is announced that ‘it’ is over. As an artistic creation, the lines are entertaining, and thought provoking. This song, penned 1984~6, is perhaps prophesizing what is apparently today called ‘alternate facts.’

I’m not quite able to recall completely the quote from a senior member of the current administration that I read in an article from Time magazine’s 6th or 13th issue, yet I will summarize. Essentially, the quote meant, ‘show me how to do it legally.’ Now, in the age of alternate facts, apparently, I am able to bend these words to mean whatever I would like them to. IMHO, this statement is one of the best examples of ‘Everything Right Is Wrong Again’ that could exist.

The essence is, I know these actions are morally questionable, yet, I’m only concerned with the legality of the situation. Even phrasing this statement is a move away from the Arthurian principle of ‘might does not make right,’ since it is obvious, that to re-spin this statement into  it’s base form, means ‘tell me how to get away with it.’ Personally, I’m glad that it’s finally okay to use double speak publicly, without fear of retribution from a vigilant press. My only regret is that I was burdened early in my life by the belief of honesty, which of course makes great poetry, but not good politics.

‘A man without conviction.’ ‘A man who doesn’t know.’ These statements are interpreted often as signs of a weak character, yet to find throughout time other statements which validate the thoughts expressed by the ‘pop star’ Boy George in his song ‘Karma Chameleon’ by Culture Club, suggests that he was in fact, providing insight beyond the veil. That he personally has experience of  what in Qabalistic terms is referred to as the Ain Soph Aur or ‘limitless or eternal light.’ For instance, in a recent translation of The Tao Te Ching, by Ursula K. Le Guin, she translates the first chapter using what I find to be interesting phrases. ‘So, the un-wanting soul sees what’s hidden, and the ever wanting soul sees only what it wants. Two things, one origin, but different in name…’  Shambala 1998.

This idea is reflected in several other elements, one being Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. ‘(The sage commander) holds to no fixed position or identity. Thus his wisdom emerges in the moment, on the spot.’ There is also a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote which essentially means the same thing. ‘Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow, speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said to-day.’ These reflections upon personal engagement with the laws of creation allow for us to see how each moment we face challenges which will either fall into our range of expertise, or not.

The willingness to achieve new solutions to persistent challenges is one of the greater gifts of humanity. It isn’t really curious then, that even Einstein has addressed this type of thinking. ‘Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.’ To relate this quote to Le Guin’s translation, the persistency of wanting provides the consistency of fulfillment, however this fulfillment is still within illusion. The un-wanting soul, seeing the hidden, is able to engage with ‘the man behind the curtain,’ and thus attend to real needs and address solutions that require outside the box thinking.

As much as each of these statements can be actualized in the Zen phrase of ‘chop wood, carry water,’ the reverse must also be true, ‘chop water, carry wood.’ Or, play as well as you work, play while you are working, work while you are playing. Remembering that insanity is performing the same action and expecting different results.

As each of us reach towards our greatest potential, we must stay aware that others have been in this direction before, that the signpost up ahead, your next stop, ‘The Twilight Zone’ is still  a road marker, and we have not gotten off the path as long as there are signs of humanity along the way.

2,500 years ago, 180 years ago, about 60 years ago, 34 years ago and today, don’t let your self- talk lead you into atrophic thinking, allow yourself freedom of thought, and keep in mind what Emerson said: ‘A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.’

As Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr stated, ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same.’ It’s interesting to see how that phrase is based in truth, like many others which survive the gen.0 updates. A reason why it has been a while since I have blogged weekly, has been my own belief that each must somehow ‘be better’ than the previous submittal.

My ego, my atrophic thinking, insinuated pre-conscious thoughts into my belief about the blog. No More! Hope, humor and child like abandon are some of the qualities that I find in Put One Foot in Front of the Other from the 1970 movie Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town. In the scene, Winter, the antagonist in the story, is recognizing his unhappiness, comprehending that is his decision to continue that mindset and learning that he has the ability to change.

These psycho-emotional challenges are true for us today as well, or as my cousine once said, ‘everyone lives in their own existential hell.’ The scene in the song specifically reflects several key points in the archetype of change. From Winter’s first words, ‘I really am a despicable creature,’ to the impetus to change, the use of the word ‘reflection,’ many of these parts of the song relate to points in inner struggle. The song itself is almost like NLP for kids!

Aside from the ‘fun’ inherent in the movie, is self-awareness and self-determination. These characteristics, along with the societal implication of ‘reflection,’ are main ingredients to change, as evidenced by the song.

Self-talk, or in today’s commerce based verbiage, NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) is an inherent part of change. Referring again to Karr’s quote, I was once told ‘There is nothing new under the sun.’ In the frame of mind I was in at the time of the conversation, it was a depressing statement. Not until much later did I recognize that the verbal coinage I was tossed also had a flip-side. While I initially interpreted the phrase as ‘you can’t make a difference,’ I later thought of the freedom offered by the same statement. If there is ‘nothing new under the sun,’ why not try a different path?

Or as one of the lines in the song states, ‘Don’t be the rule, be the exception!’

* For the sake of expedience, I have ignored all the symbolism of Kris Kringle. Specifically that KK is two thirds of KKK, or numerically that K.K. is 11:11. On an up note, Snow Miser/ Heat Miser follows Put One Foot in Front of the Other, worth a listen!

The Led Zeppelin song has many references to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. One of the lines which I like quite a bit is ‘Sing as you raise your bow.’ The implication here is interesting because the arguments that I have been making over the course of the blog are that ‘one good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain.’ However, if the song is accompanied by an arrow, brings a bit more to the process, wouldn’t you think?

Interestingly, it also brings to light what I have been thinking about so much and why it has taken me so long to write this particular blog. A friend was discussing with me how the ring in Tolkien’s books was the A-Bomb, even though Tolkien himself said otherwise. For a moment, I was considering if technology itself is ‘the One Ring,’ which would be curious to argue on an electronic blog. I remember having a conversation with the same friend, pointing out that technology is a subset of nature, and as a result of that, there can be no computational device which can work through the mathematics faster than nature, since at the very least, it is starting form a seriously disadvantaged point in time.

We have just gone through a somewhat radical change here in America, and I believe that there will be interesting times ahead, for all of us, as we face the future of our country. I believe that as we look for answers in our lives to our current dilemmas, that relying on the lessons and examples provided  by nature will allow us as emotional beings, to flow like water and to follow the best course to the sea. One of the reasons that I like this song, The Battle of Evermore, is the example that it provides for the strength to do battle, yet reminding that ‘The pain of war cannot exceed the woe of aftermath.’ As far as I am concerned, that is an absolute.

The difficulty then, is who to follow, how to choose, and where does the hope begin? I hold the opinion that, as music is a language, that the time, attention to detail, control of one’s body, and patience required to learn to play any instrument are also the skills that are required to be in leadership positions. As far as I know, the most famous musician to have held public office is Clint Eastwood, though he is more recognized for his other artistic skills. Maybe only musicians can be allowed to run for office, until such time as our current structure of government can be properly overhauled.

In the end though, once the journey has begun, there must be change, and as Led Zeppelin communicates to us ‘The magic (music) runes are writ in gold to bring the balance back, bring it back.’

Community is the subject of M. Scott Peck’s book, The Different Drum. I had the fortune of hearing him speak once, and I recommend listening to his talks, or reading his books. The introduction to The Different Drum contains a story which is called ‘The Rabbi’s Gift.’ The story was about the rejuvenation of a monastery. A visiting rabbi had noticed the town built around the monastery had dwindled in size, and entered a state of disrepair. Upon approaching the monk’s habitat, he noticed similar features there, and in the personalities of the monks themselves. One of the monks asked the visiting rabbi what they could do to rebuild their monastery. The rabbi’s response developed a new attitude in the monks, causing them to listen to each other, and begin to treat each other with dignity. As a result, the monastery experienced a renewal, as the energy and respect was felt by visitors, who eventually asked to join them. The monastery, of course, is a community with a singular purpose. What the Rabbi witnessed was the loss of the spirit of the community. There are many ways of obtaining an objective. From the perspective of someone who has lived, played and worked in many environments, the vitality involved in community based methods towards achieving a goal is noticeably different than in only being allowed a singular mode of production.

Lately, there have been a number of people in my life who have spoken of ‘the singularity.’ This state is not conducive to diversity, and therefore not conducive to music. From a Millennium Blues perspective, the prefix ‘com,’ meaning ‘with,’ contrasted to the prefix ‘sin,’ meaning ‘without,’ provides a strong hint of why community based music rings true to the soul of a music lover. A stronger example of this is Funkadelic’s ‘One Nation Under a Groove’  compared to Justin Bieber’s ‘Runaway Love’.  I always feel good when there is a strong correlation between the meaning of a word in ‘The Handbook of Poetic Phonetics’ and the word’s etymology. The next thoughts may be a bit down the rabbit hole, yet would be fun to see which feathers are ruffled as I use musical references to distinguish between community and singularity.  Anarchy in the U.K., a vital punk album and a milestone in The Sex Pistols’ career allows them to take their place amongst poets. ‘I am an anti-Christ,
I am an anarchist.’ Now, calm down, calm down. Picture some of the mansions you have seen owned by ministers and preachers. Do those dwellings represent the spirit of someone who purportedly threw the money changers out of the temple? Wouldn’t many of us be against that spirit, or anti the anointing of the hypocrites? While the origins of anarchy means without a chief, breaking the word down through its’ poetic meaning allows for a stronger correlation to Psalm 118:22.

Poetically, anarchy is: an – without, arch – arch, and chy – keystone to an arch. This makes sense as the keystone is the most obvious stone in an arch, and therefore selected for its’ beauty. This selection for beauty stands in contrast to Bob Marley and Bradley Nowell singing ‘The stone that the builder refused shall always be the head corner stone.’ ‘Spirit, sensing sublime emanation, realizes ego is all that death’s scythe can harvest.’ The head corner stone has no need to be in a place of honor, doing what it was created to do is its’ own reward. The image here, perhaps, best represents the difference between a ‘keystone’ and a ‘head corner stone.’

Unfortunately, today’s society places value on the keystone, interestingly, there is a quite accurate description of how political ‘keystones’ are selected, from an English author, Douglas Adams: “The President is very much a figurehead – he wields no real power whatsoever. He is apparently chosen by the government, but the qualities he is required to display are not those of leadership but those of finely judged outrage. For this reason the President is always a controversial choice, always an infuriating but fascinating character. His job is not to wield power but to draw attention away from it. An orange sash is what the President of the Galaxy traditionally wears. On those criteria…”  Especially, with the inclusion of the orange sash, a striking similarity to today’s political climate exists. The focus of media towards the ‘keystone’ leads most people away from comprehension of the true problems, and as any builder could guess, that leads to an unstable foundation. What is the secret? How shall we place our goals towards maintaining and building stronger foundations? How would our society be best served by recognizing the head corner stone where they exist, and how they work within our communities.  These questions may be answered in what the visiting rabbi told the monks: “One of you is the Messiah.”

I was once asked, which Open Mic do you go to? There really is only one answer to that question, according to Michael Stipe and R.E.M. ‘All of them.’ – no reason to second guess. A blue collar tavern, a vacation musical mecca, or a devotee’s realm of pitch, palate and precision carpentry. Is any musician unbiased? There must be a reason why B.B. King plays ‘Lucille,’ and Willie Nelson continues to play ‘Trigger.’ Though each of these bards have a relationship to their audience, which places B.B. King in threads that Kanye should have worn when he was with J. LO, while Willie wears pony tails and overalls, which probably have been painted in; their choice of guitar signifies the troubadour’s familiarity with each instrument enhances each performance.

While playing to audiences is a hallmark of any seasoned performer, the Millennium Blues pushes aside presentation and reaches instead towards communication with the humorous subtlety of Chris Rock in the first ‘Rush Hour’ -“Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?” While the Blues are about relating to tone and toil of not having power or standing in the community, or society at large, Millennium Blues considers the possibility of balance between the truth of toil and the turbulent troubles of ownership and culture in modern society.

In order for the dialogue of societal change to begin, the topics must be understood. These issues of classism, racism, sexism, and nationalism are played out on a global level through music every day. If you would, a live action version of Hesse’s ‘The Glass Bead Game’ – a cultural response to Funkadelic’s clarion call ‘Let’s Take it to the Stage!’

Since these troubles exist in every nation, and the traditions of music in some areas extend to times when a stronger harmony existed between the land and the people, Millennium Blues holds that the cathartic synthesis of rhythm and melody (thesis) with the lyrical summation of the super-ego struggles of each generation (anti-thesis) is an imperative step in building a foundation of societal cohesion. The group of people adopting these methods, whether they be audience, congregation, or governed, will have a stronger framework of language and commonality with which to dialogue about possible solutions to life’s challenges, thus allowing music to return to its’ roots of celebration, communication and camaraderie with people and environment, and to be among the manners in which our society may arrive at the benevolence foreshadowed in John Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme.’

Rhythm, meter, and rhyme each have a relationship to music, and therefore Blues and Millennium Blues. Of course, these words represent the way that the structure of music is discussed, without actually playing music, since music is a language, or as Stevie Wonder preaches, “a language we all understand.”

These basic ingredients of rhythm, meter, and rhyme make up the basic recipes to which all musicians adhere; the Staples of the Blues, the Cupboard of Cool. As our earth grows closer together in knowledge, communication, and sharing of resources, one of the best additions to the global culture has been World Music, which is unsurprisingly, an ancestor of Millennium Blues.

This skein of comprehension, this network of veins, provide for us framework. Background, through traditional melodies, rhythms, and instruments, and a direction to continue to push as the muses whisper, coax, and howl at those who have a penchant for Cloud Nine.

The 12 bar, or 16 bar blues are some of the most common recipes traded back and forth by musicians all over the world. These outlines allow for an instant dialogue to be begun by players of all levels. Perhaps this foundation is the reason that “Rock and Roll is here to stay,” though as some have noted, rock seems to abstract itself from rhythm, and as such is much more difficult to dance to.

Millennium Blues, on both hands, and tapping feet, or swaying hips, works to engage and involve the physical body in the body of knowledge being broadcast through the chords chosen by the composers. Through maintaining and merging traditional sounds and melodies with the types of ‘emo’ angst felt in today’s first world ease, musicians are sounding attention to issues where imbalanced rhythm of societal resource can be improved to the benefit of all creation.

An example of these types of lyrics can be found in my song ‘Grace,’ which will be released as a companion to the currently self-published “The Handbook of Poetic Phonetics.”

When I was a young boy, the winds they spoke to me, whispered into my ears the secrets of the birds and bees.

Now I’m not much older, but a harder road I walk. The wind’s always around me, reminding me of our first talks.

Grace grants, grants Grace! Flower and Bloom, Beauty Creates.

Where there is life to be lived, Appreciate!

                Dizzy from the noise of the loud and busy city, underneath the chaos, I hear hushed tones of greenery.

It’s really no surprise to find all living things can talk, telling stories of creation, the wind echoing these thoughts.

Grace grants, grants Grace! Flower and Bloom, Beauty Creates.

Where there is life to be lived, Appreciate!

Cold and lonely evening, long walk home, hearing hymns of praise that shake my bones.

Rhythms of nature, smells of the sea, reminding me of One Heart effortlessly.

Grace grants, grants Grace! Flower and Bloom, Beauty Creates.

Where there is life to be lived, Appreciate!

Please follow me on Twitter – @geoecholocution

Thanks for tuning in this week, and stay on line for further adventures!

‘Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih. Somebody cry why, why, why?’ Some of you might remember Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland’ and these lines form the song ‘Homeless.’ ‘Strong wind, destroy our home. Many dead tonight, it could be you.’ Fortunately for the Pacific Northwest, last weekend’s storm was not as strong as had been forecast. Yet, some of us still sing, ‘We are homeless, homeless.’ Interestingly, this song creates two related thoughts, the first, we don’t know nature as well as we believe, and the more resources we have to understand and adapt, the more likely we will survive intact. The second thought, that Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland’ album is one of the ancestors of Millennium Blues.

First, the impact of this weekend’s storm was lessened due to their being two central points of circulation within the storm itself. These decentralized points contributed to the overall reduction of the storm’s wind speed. In terms of social knowledge, perhaps equating the two eyes as the homeless and the sheltered is not so far fetched. Since each of these groups have adapted/adopted behaviors which allow for their continued survival among the resources they have access to. Some of the in common behaviors may be reaching out to peers, and acknowledging the power of nature and natural law. While those with more limited resources may place more emphasis on utilization of resources in more efficient manners, and those with greater resources may place more of a focus on political skills, or delegation of resources and responsibilities.

The second thought that the song creates for me, and how it relates to the Millennium Blues is perhaps more an outline of how these factors work together. As in music, the differing ideas created by the rhythms and melodies which result in the harmonic vibration  of a new note are at the essence of exploring Millennium Blues as an art form. The new ideas which are imparted to a new demographic of listeners, as well as presenting older ideas in a new rhythmic structure are the essence of music and art, being able to be a part of this tradition, as ancient and venerable as it is, is one of the reasons that Millennium Blues will continue to play homage to ancestral arias, as well as blaze ahead in the direction of sound that no band has thought to tame.

I’m sure you know that the blues are a very natural part of music, and nature is of course part of the blues, I’ve thought since I began to listen to lyrics, that most great songs included elements of nature. Here is one of my adventures with one of Mother Earth’s smaller children, which is also available in my book The Handbook of Poetic Phonetics.

I’m still not sure why he called me. It may have had something to do with my eccentricity. The front desk attendant had called to ask if I would help to get a squirrel out of another guest’s room. It seemed like an interesting challenge, so I accepted, and went off on a squirrel hunt. The Japanese couple showed no signs of relief as we entered the room, perhaps if I had been wearing a uniform? The squirrel was in the walk in closet, so I went in to talk.
Squirrels are normally very excitable, and I’d imagine that being trapped in a closet had pushed the little guy into an enhanced state of wtfness. I remembered an interesting part of Alice Walker’s “The Temple of My Familiar”, wherein she describes being able to communicate with any creature whose eyes we may look into. I was about to put her information to the test. As the squirrel was demonstrating his level of freaked-outedness by doing several laps around the shelves of the closet, the attendant was getting curious about what was going on, and was talking about calling a professional.
They say that squirrels are quite friendly, and as we were getting to know each other, the desk clerk opened the door. The squirrel ran out of the closet and into the room. The couple was slightly more interested now, and I grabbed a towel from the back of a chair, as the squirrel ran back into the closet. The clerk was still
asking to calling a professional, and I assured him that I would be able to handle it. After following the squirrel into the closet, I shut the door. As before, I was following the squirrel’s eyes and imagining the trees that I was sure the squirrel was missing.
I was imparting the idea of safety, and to demonstrate such, I spread the towel out with my hands and bowed my head to the squirrel as a way of waving the white flag. At some point the squirrel had stopped running around the shelves, and I was slightly startled when the flightless Sciuridae perhaps imitating the fighting Uruk-hai, hopped onto my shoulders. This must have been the point when the squirrel was testing me to see if trust would be possible. For some reason, after another lap around the closet shelves, the squirrel stopped on a shirt hanging from the shelves and stayed. Because of the look I was receiving, and the fact that for the first time, the squirrel had stopped within my reach, I felt that it was now time.
Using the towel as a glove, I picked up the squirrel with my hand, opened the closet door and walked to the window. I wish I had more recollection of the looks on the guests and the desk clerks face, though I really just wanted to get the squirrel to the open window. As the squirrel was very close, jumping towards the window was the best bet in the squirrels mind. Free, trees and grass for the rambunctious rodent. The only harm I received was a scratch so light, it took several hours to bleed through. I only noticed in the morning. I do hope that the Japanese couple were entertained enough to have an interesting story for their travel home. I still wonder if I should have charged the hotel.

As in “We hold these truths to be self-evident” and “One good thing about music, when it hits, you feel no pain”. Self-evident: for a phrase from a bunch of bible thumping white guys, who had just defended their turf against what was probably the largest military industrial power for most of the 18th century, it packs power. Of course, as a musician I prefer “What It Is, IS What It Is” which has the same meaning, but lends itself to rhythm with much more mojo.

Mojo, the magic, the method, what gets it done. Mojo, which woke me up in the middle of the night to hear Mike Murdock describing ways in which he had been blessed by his biblical belief. The stories he shared were detailed and decisive through his delivery. He mentioned tithing his last hundred dollars one day; and the next sitting in a church where a guest pianist was playing and remarked on how the lord had told him to give Mike a hundred dollar bill. Not necessarily remarkable for any who practice peace, though I was struck by a memory of Jun-san, a Buddhist nun I met on the Walk for Justice to raise awareness about Leonard Peltier. Jun-san had shared one of her first visits to the U.S. in which she was ‘moved’ to go to a certain street corner, and wait there. After a few moments, someone drove up, asked her if she was Jun-san and when she replied, the person said ‘I was told to bring you money’ and gave her a few hundred dollars.

What it is, is What it is. These stories are self-evident, the truth that Mike and Jun-san shared essentially proof of Oneness, Connectedness, Divinity, and my favorite, the Funk. Truth, Tradition and Tribe are a commonality in each of these stories. The fact each of these people experienced the favor of the force from vastly varied foundations furthers my faith, belief and gratitude while providing insight into what I believe may be the greatest jedi mind trick of them all: LISTENING.