Music IV

Something for Friday. If you are a fan of Radiohead, I think you will really like this. If not:

You used to be alright.
What happened?
Et cetera, et cetera.
Fads for whatever.
15 steps and then a sheer drop.

Clip is from 2008 live video album, In Rainbows - From the Basement; video direction by David Barnard. Full screen with some volume is certainly warranted here.

[NOTE: If you really are a fan of Radiohead, you've undoubtedly already seen this. Yorke is especially insightful from 3:30 on].

[NOTE: Originally posted July 5, 2013]. 

Music III

Icelandic cellist and composer Hildur Gudnadottir has just released a spectacular new album, Leyfdu Ljosinu (Icelandic for "Allow the Light"). Recorded live in a single take with no post-production manipulations, the work uses electronics and loops to multiply her cello and voice into a stark, yet breathtaking, world of sound. Spacious. Buoyant. This is an amazing piece of music. 

[NOTE: Originally posted August 27, 2012].

Music II

In December of 2009, Portishead released a single (and a video) to raise money for Amnesty International. The recording(s) were released on International Human Rights Day to mark the anniversary of the United Nations' historic "Universal Declaration of Human Rights". The video is beautifully shot and the music, the first offering from this somewhat reclusive band in several years, is really nice. I especially like Beth Gibbons doing the vocals sitting in a chair.

Winter sigh, summer's gone
Holding off tomorrow's sorrow

[NOTE: The "tear" referenced is that produced by ripping, not crying].

[NOTE: Originally posted March 11, 2011].

[NOTE: Of somewhat  tangential relevance here, I am currently reading Gibson's (see Books VII) Spook Country, the second book in his Blue Ant Trilogy, and am struck by the similarities between Beth Gibbons and Hollis Henry. Great book, by the way]. 

Music

I very much enjoyed sorting through my posts about books. Thought it would be fun to do the same thing for music. But, then I was struck by the lack of any obvious connection between "music" and "thus i have seen". Music is heard, not seen. And then I found these words from Zen Master Tung-shan Liang-chieh:

If you listen with the ears, it is incomprehensible.
If you hear sounds with the eyes, it is truly knowable.

-The Record of Tung-shan

So, here you go. Thus I have seen:

This is a clip of Nik Bärtsch's Ronin live at the 2006 Berlin Jazz Festival. The Swiss pianist and his talented quintet play an entrancing brand of minimalist, ethnic jazz that has been termed "Zen funk". The song featured in the clip, "Module 33", is from Stoa.  Yes, he is palm muting the piano. [NOTE: Additional videos and music clips for Nik Bärtsch can be found here].

[NOTE: Originally posted August 19, 2010].

Gibbon Songs

Clip is essentially a slow, somewhat shaky (sorry),  pan through the forest outside of Tikon (see Tikon) where we were running transects. Of interest is the raucous singing of the Hoolock gibbons in the background. Really starts going around 0:31. Turn up the volume to best hear the chorus. [NOTE: It was about 9:00 in the morning when I decided to stop counting rattans for a minute and dig out the video camera to record this].

Books VII

I have been a huge fan of William Gibson since the release of his first novel, Neuromancer, in 1984. Was a perfect read for someone moving to the Peruvian Amazon. I have since read everything that he has written. I have repeatedly enjoyed the Sprawl Trilogy, the Bridge Trilogy, his most recent novels set in a contemporary world, i.e. the Blue Ant Trilogy, his short stories and his recent collection of essays. I have recently (yesterday) finished re-reading Pattern Recognition, which The Economist called “probably the best exploration yet of the function and power of product branding and advertising in the age of globalization.” Really a great book, and, for those who don't already know him, a good introduction to this prolific and creative author.

[NOTE: This is a new post. Can't believe I haven't ever written anything about William Gibson. I so enjoy the texture of the fictional worlds created by this man].

Books VI

Am about halfway through Jiang Rong's (Lü Jiamin) marvelous book, Wolf Totem. What an engaging, beautifully rendered story about Inner Mongolia, the Cultural Revolution, grassland ecosystems, ethnic nomads, Han Chinese, agricultural collectivization - and wolves. Great book (thx, Jeff). [NOTE: The exquisite wolf portrait is by Danish photographer, Morten Koldby].

[NOTE: Originally posted on August 23, 2011].

Books V

Paul Reps (1895-1990) was one of the first haiku poets in the U.S., and, together with Nyogen Senzaki, was the editor of the wonderful collection of dharma stories, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (1957). This was the first zen book I ever read.

James Ishmael Ford offered this beautiful story about Paul Reps yesterday on the Sweeping Zen site:

"At one point Reps had traveled to Japan, with plans to visit a respected Zen master in Korea. He went to the passport office in Japan to apply for his visa and was politely informed that his request was denied due to the war that had just broken out in Korea.

Reps sat down in the waiting area. He had come thousands of miles with the plan to study with this master in Korea. He was frustrated and disappointed. What did he do? He practiced what he preached. Reaching into his bag, he mindfully pulled out his thermos and poured himself a cup of tea. With a calm and focused mind, he watched the steam rising and dissolving into the air. He smelled its fragrance, tasted its tasty bitter flavor, and enjoyed its warmth and wetness. Finishing his tea, he put his cup back on his thermos, put his thermos in his bag, and pulled out a pen and paper upon which he wrote a Haiku poem.

Mindfully, he walked back to the clerk behind the counter, bowed, and presented him with his poem, and his passport. The clerk read it and looked deeply into the quiet strength in Rep’s eyes. The clerk smiled, bowed with respect, picked up Rep’s visa and stamped it for passage to Korea. The Haiku read:

Drinking a cup of tea, 
I stopped the war."

[NOTE: I have spent a lot of time in visa offices around the world, and am thoroughly humbled by the patience and creativity exhibited by Mr. Reps]

[NOTE: Originally posted May 31, 2011; edited slightly].

Books IV

Pulitzer-prize winning Beat Zen Buddhist poet and eco-activist Gary Snyder turned 83 last week. Don't know how I missed this. He's a role model and hero of mine. This from Practice of the Wild:

"Our skills and works are but tiny reflections of the wild world that is innately and loosely orderly. There is nothing like stepping away from the road and heading into a new part of the watershed. Not for the sake of newness, but for the sense of coming home to our whole terrain. "Off the trail" is another name for the Way, and sauntering off the trail is the practice of the wild. That is also where - paradoxically - we do our best work".

[NOTE: Go here for nice film profile of Gary Snyder. A belated happy birthday and best wishes for many more].

[NOTE: Originally posted on May 16, 2013. Practice of the Wild is probably my favorite book in the whole world. It resonates deeply with me on some many levels. Inspirational. This is a must read].

Books III

Am about halfway through Matthew B. Crawford's marvelous book, Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work. Useful words about the decline in tool use, about making and fixing and taking care of things, about the value of meaningful work and self-reliance. An extended fugue on the idea of "let me make myself useful". I love this book. [NOTE: Crawford wrote a wonderful essay for the NY Times called "The Case for Working With Your Hands". Touches on many of the same ideas as the book. Well worth a read].

The photo above shows the piping that the plumber's assistant did when he hooked up our new boiler (see Oil to Gas). Took him several days to do the work. Carefully following the schematics for the Burnham ES 2 boiler, he worked slowly, carefully, and kept a meticulously clean work space (unlike the plumbers). Was totally engaged with what he was doing and was clearly enjoying himself as he cut and sanded and soldered and wrapped. This, I think, is what Crawford is talking about. Nice job. [NOTE: I have totally forgotten this craftsman's name, although I spent hours watching him work and asking questions. He was very patient with me].

[NOTE: Originally posted January 10, 2013].