Strong Winds, Destroy our Homes?
21 10 2016‘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.
