Outside of the irritating reunion/tribute band noise at summertime “festivals” (2 Dog Night, 1/5 of the Yardbirds, hey is that Dickie Betts or did somebody fall off the Blatz truck.. ..)..it’s stretching into a good one. The garden is exploding..the plants we worked at the last few years are happy; the tomatos, herbs, peppers, sunflowers, and (edited by the DHS) are booming. I mean blooming. The Bee Balm is attracting hummingbirds, at least I think they are hummingbirds and not bats or drones from (edited by DHS). My $0.10 cel phone “camera” is not quick enough to take a picture..or is it the telecom that won’t per (edited by DHS, and your friends at SBC, where you can sign up today..).
Listening to some great new music from African guitarist Lionel Loueke..
photo credit: marcin.biodrowski
He plays incredible original music..and always has 3 or 4 things going at once; a melody/riddim line that he sort of “clicks” through his vocal chords, while singing with a beautiful voice…. while playing amazing percussive poly riddims on guitar, while playing leads that sound like Joe Zawinul meets Paco de lucia ….he’s a juggler..all from the heart and head..can’t recommend the guy enough.
Also, the amazing Richard Bona, whose vid is a bit below this post…. just when I think I’ve heard all the permutations, along come people who play with enough electricity to light up Chicago.
Now don’t be worrying that I have gone all whirl on my own self, because:
I also BOUGHT (not “file shared”) the new cd from the Chris Greene Quartet “Soul and Science PT 2″..The CGQ are young Chicago based guys plying the fahnk/modal/straight ahead pool. It’s The Tradition, but without the Jazz Nazi stamp of “IT IZZ THIS OR IT IZZ NOT Z JASS”". It’s also Chicago Jazz..which really is different from the homogenized mess of instant communication jazz, or what we call “The Weather Station Jazz”. It has rough around the edges to it..you can hear the brush marks..you can hear me struggling for an analogy.. Chris is a fine soloist, and the riddim section of Tyrone and Marc propel him and pianist Damien to take things in a very good direction. Perfect summertime music: buy it from the artist himself and contribute to good musics’ (and especially the ARTISTS who make it) well being. A big $10!..hope you have enough after you fill up the F-150, cowboy.
Comments 4
I’m not completely dogmatic on the point, but almost all my music acquistions now are either from the artist, from magnatune, or from a Creative Commons netlabel. I dislike violating
Posted 02 Jul 2008 at 4:47 pm ¶anyone else’s copyright–and yet I never have to do so, because so many people, like me, release work CC.
The same for me ..I have spoken to Chris a little about CC…whether he gets to that point or not is up to him.
I don’t go the “duuude the corporations suck duude..” route because usually the complainers are drinking $5 lattes from..(hmm..maybe NOT anymore!) ..and that argument falls short. We (me and Rena) support Art and Artists..period.. if Chris Greene wants $10 for a delivered CD…I send it to him..and don’t look for a p2p of it.
Since my “conversion” to The Commons, I find that the music I like and listen to usually is free..and if not, then like you, I also pay the Artist directly… same goes for any Art..we have a lot in our house, and we pay the artist as well… no lip service at all…. we like the stuff..and believe in supporting the people who make it..because..we are selfish bastards! who get an incredible buzz and motivation and inspiration from good things made by people who are insane enough in this fucking culture to actually MAKE Art and express themselves.
Today I got a great connection/response to a little piece on ccMixter..and I believe it will open up an entirely new avenue. That is what this about too..Open up and share.
Posted 02 Jul 2008 at 7:44 pm ¶A new thing on the mixter? I’ll check it out this weekend!
I’m with you–it’s not necessary to “dis” major corporations, as their obsolete business models are dis-sing themselves capably.
It’s important instead to work with others, makers and listeners and writers and drawers and photographers, to change the dynamic.
I like that little etsy.com website, where amateur craftspeople sell art to others and make a community for themselves. It’s kindred to the mixter, it’s kindred to a world of communities–and it shows that market-based craft need not be confined to large companies.
Posted 02 Jul 2008 at 7:58 pm ¶Naw, G, it’s an old thing..”The Long Goodbye”.. for some reason that piece resonated with people who do vids and online multimedia stories. So far, according to the stats from the International Trib and the New York Times..it’s been heard by over 3 million people…the # of people who saw the report, which was about the plight of African refugees in France. That’s the power of CC. People can knock themselves in the head trying to get their stuff out to people through reviews, etc..but the real power is ..CC
I’ll report on the new connection here and at ccMixter as it evolves..but it seems to be something very good..as well as something for a great cause.
Posted 02 Jul 2008 at 8:08 pm ¶Post a Comment
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