The Major League Baseball season is underway, and, perhaps for the first time since the 1994 strike, I'm not particularly excited. I will follow the Saint Louis Cardinals' (and a few other teams on the semi-ups, like the Yankees, Mets, Tigers, etc.) play throughout the season. They look to be as middling as they were in the 1970s and 1990s. I'll probably try to go to some baseball games in Chicago, since I'll be teaching through June, and, if I can get my act together, set foot in either Yankee or Shea Stadium when I'm back in the New York area. But my interest has, to put it mildly, dimmed substantially. Maybe it's just that I'm getting older and increasingly feel I don't have the mental or emotional space to devote to retrograde, monopolistic, social, secular opiates like professional baseball (or even college sports--I hadn't realized the NCAA and NIT basketball playoffs had begun until friends on a sports list started posting about and C asked me about the "brackets"). But I do think another part of my disaffection comes from the lingering steroid/performance enhancement scandal, which hasn't been fully addressed, by any of baseball's major players. MLB, including its administration and the owners, and the Players Union have bandied about punitive Band-Aids, when not demonstrating that they're in denial, and Congress's entry into the debacle was just a lot of bad spectacle. So what did we learn? That lots of players were using performance enhancers, but only a few, like Barry Bonds, have been pilloried. That some high profile players like Roger Clemens probably also were doping, but have lied about it, or maybe they haven't. That José Canseco, of all people, is turning out to be one of the most honest people in this whole mess, and he's even fingered the gazillionaire Adonis himself, A-Rod (A-Roid?). The reality seems to be that countless other players from the late 1980s onwards were probably using steroids and performance enhancers, that MLB and the union probably knew, and looked the other way, and that they want to condemn and punish players who got caught, without taking any responsibility for their action in abetting the situation, or admitting that it was beneficial for their bank accounts, which is what it all comes down to in the end, no? With 28 million people just getting by on food stamps these days, who has time for truculent, whining, lying multimillionaires? Well, maybe a few, if they're named Albert Pujols (at top), or José Reyes (at right), or Derek Jeter, or Johan Santana....
•••
And now, for a little nostalgia. 40 years ago, a St. Louis Cardinals baseball player turned in a season-long performance that is unlikely ever to be challenged. I'm talking about Hall of Famer Bob Gibson's astonishing season, when he registered a modern era-record low ERA of 1.12. The league ERA was 2.90. The 32-year-old Gibson's overall numbers were equally remarkable. He threw 28 complete games, 13 shutouts, surrendered only 198 hits in 304 2/3rds innings, and struck out 268 batters. Perhaps his weakest stat was his win-loss total: 22-9, which presses the question, how on earth did this eventual Most Valuable Player award and Cy Young winner lose 9 games?
Derrick Goold offers some answers in his recent St. Louis Post-Dispatch article: Gibson's teammates weren't getting a lot of hits against his pitching opponents, who included some of the other great pitchers of that era: Juan Marichal, Don Drysdale (who pitched 58 2/3rds consecutive scoreless innings, a record that stood for decades), Tom Seaver, Ferguson Jenkins, and Gaylord Perry. To quote Goold:
In his first 10 starts that season, Gibson was 3-5 despite a 1.52 ERA, mainly because opposing starting pitchers had a 1.34 ERA against the Cardinals.
His teammates scored two or fewer runs in eight of Gibson's losses that season and twice he lost 1-0, once when Gaylord Perry twirled a no-hitter.
Eleven of Gibson's 34 starts that summer were opposite another Hall of Fame-bound pitcher. He went 5-5 with a 1.45 ERA in those games.
"We wish we could have done more on his behalf," Cardinals Hall of Famer Lou Brock said. "Not just the ERA, but the victories. He could have won 30. ... As a hitter, you make it a goal to destroy the pitch before it destroys you.
"You could not do that with Bob. You could not destroy his pitch. You don't have a lot of time to come up with a plan to destroy something you can't see."
One of the results of that season was that Major League Baseball lowered the pitcher's mound, shrank the strike zone, and clamped down on trick and illegal pitches. Gibson's record in 1969? 20-13, with a 2.18 ERA, and 269 strikeouts. Only 4 of his 28 complete games that season were shutouts. These days few leading pitchers, who throw fewer games and fewer innings because of the 5-man starting rotations and ample relief corps, ever approach 10 complete games, let alone 4 shutouts or ERAs under 2.00; last year's ERA titlist, Padre Jake Peavy, came in at 2.54; last year's shutout leader, Arizona's Brandon Webb, posted 3; and last year's complete game top finisher, Roy Halliday, only posted 7. The AL Cy Young winner C. C. Sabathia, managed only 4 complete games, 1 shutout, and a 3.21 ERA, while the NL Cy Young winner, Peavy, had no complete games and no shutouts. Both pitchers also only won 19 games. A different game indeed.
Hello Around the Worldmusic left the medievil spheres but were not stepping back to the future. A few weeks ago i found myself in a second hand cd shop again..hadn't seen one in months. i love to browse thru the leftovers, the discarded and disillusions, and naturally with my 'knowledge' pick up a buy or two, with a price of 50 c there's not much to loose anyway. First cd that caught my eye , Silverfish, had been requested here just a week before..odd synchronicity, but it got me going. Meanwhile i had scored about 5 and come across several cd's called millenium series, they were numbered and yes before i was ready i scored all 10 of them. Now the light there was very bad, i even mentioned it to an employee who reacted irritated, customers such a pain in the ass.. Anyway for 5 euros i decided to buy the lot, when i came home i was surprised to see what i bought. It was remastered music from the EMI classical catalogue , music played/arranged by the worlds greatest classical symphony orchestras and top soloists, the highest of the hi-brow, rubbing shoulders with the derelict in a sec.hand shop..life's little ironies.
As the series started in the early 17th century with Vivaldi's four seasons the idea came to mind to post the series here, as a follow up of my medievil series. I haven't posted any classical thusfar probably because my collection of classical music is rather small, and i'm certainly not a connaisseur. However the main reason i decided to do it now was simple, i liked what i heared. Obviously the series has a greatest hits element to it, most will recognise this or that..I will recode in the highest quality and as the cds are all close to the 80 min cd limit, downloadsizes will be around 180-200 mb range. I'm not sure what you(visitor) prefer 1 big download or broken in 2 , let me know.... I will include the inside info on what and who is playing where in a 300 dpi-readable format jpeg.
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (March 4, 1678 – July 28, 1741) was born in Venice (that day an earthquake struck the city !). His father, Giovanni Battista, a barber before becoming a professional violinist, taught him to play violin and then toured Venice playing the violin with his young son. At the age of 15 (1693), he began studying to become a priest, 10 years later he was ordained a priest, and soon nicknamed il Prete Rosso, "The Red Priest", probably because of his red hair. Vivaldi suffered ill health because of asthma. Vivaldi became maestro di violino (master of violin) at an orphanage called the Pio Ospedale della Pietà . It was during these years that Vivaldi wrote much of his music, including many operas and concerti. Has fame grew and by 1725 he was a busy man producing opera's, playing violin for the pope and what have you.
It is also in this period that he wrote the Four Seasons, four violin concertos depicting natural scenes in music.The inspiration for them was probably the countryside around Mantua. They were a revolution in musical conception: in them Vivaldi represented flowing creeks, singing birds (of different species, each specifically characterised), barking dogs, buzzing mosquitoes, crying shepherds, storms, drunken dancers, silent nights, hunting parties (both from the hunter's and the prey's point of view), frozen landscapes, children ice-skating, and burning fires. Each concerto was associated with a sonnet of Vivaldi's hand, describing the scenes depicted in the music. They were published as the first four of a collection of twelve, Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione, his Opus 8, published in Amsterdam by Le Cène in 1725.
Johann Sebastian Bach (March 21, 1685 – July 28, 1750) was born in Eisenach, Germany. He was the youngest child of Johann Ambrosius Bach, an organist at St. George's Church, his father taught him to play violin and harpsichord. His uncles were all professional musicians, whose posts ranged from church organists and court chamber musicians to composers. One uncle, Johann Christoph Bach (1645–93), was especially famous and introduced him to the art of organ playing. His parents died when he was 10 and so he moved in with his oldest brother, Johann Christoph Bach (1671–1721), the organist at nearby Ohrdruf. There, he copied, studied and performed music, and apparently received valuable teaching from his brother, who instructed him on the clavichord.
Bach was a prodigous composer and performer, after his death his reputation as a composer declined; Bach's work was regarded as old-fashioned compared to the emerging classical style. But then several notable composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Mendelssohn payed hommage to him and began writing in a more contrapuntal style after being introduced to Bach's music. Chopin, before performing a concert, used to lock himself away and play Bach's music and so a hundred years after his death he'd become one of the greats.. His contributions to music, his "musical science", are frequently bracketed with those by William Shakespeare in English literature and Isaac Newton in physics.
George Frideric Handel (Friday 23 February 1685 – Saturday 14 April 1759) was born in Halle Germany. Handel displayed considerable musical talent at an early age; by the age of seven he was a skilful performer on the harpsichord and pipe organ, and at nine he began to compose music. However, his father, a distinguished citizen of Halle, was opposed to his son's wish to pursue a musical career, preferring him to study law. In 1702, following his father's wishes, Handel began the study of law at the University of Halle, but after his father's death the following year, he abandoned law for music, becoming the organist at the Protestant Cathedral. In 1704, he moved to Hamburg, accepting a position as violinist and harpsichordist in the orchestra of the opera house.
In 1710, Handel became Kapellmeister to George, Elector of Hanover, the man who in his lifetime amassed/enherited a lot of land and in the end as King George I even Great Britain. His heirs still rule (they renamed themselves Windsor) . Anyway Handel came in the wake of this family that amassed ever more power. He settled in London permanently in 1712, receiving a yearly income of £200 from Queen Anne., he spent most of his adult life in England, becoming a subject of the British crown on 22 January 1727. His most famous works are Messiah, an oratorio set to texts from the King James Bible, Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks. Handel never married, and kept his personal life very private. Unlike many composers, he left a sizable estate at his death, worth £20,000 (an enormous amount for the day), he was buried in Westminster Abbey.
So here's the first in a series of ten, add some contrast..
01 - A.Vivaldi - The Four Seasons-Concieto No.1 in E major 'Spring', RV 269-I Allegro (3:22) 02 - A.Vivaldi - The Four Seasons-Concieto No.1 in E major 'Spring', RV 269-II Largo (2:24) 03 - A.Vivaldi - The Four Seasons-Concieto No.1 in E major 'Spring', RV 269-III Allegro (4:24) 04 - J.PAchelebl - Canon a 3 on ground in D (4:57) 05 - J.S.Bach - Orchestral Suite No.3 in D major, BWV 1068-II Air (4:22) 06 - T.Albinoni - Adagio (7:45) 07 - G.R.Handel - Arrival of the Queen of Sheba (Sinfonia)(Solomon) (2:48) 08 - J.S.Bach - Concerto for Two Violins in D minor BWV 1043-II Largo ma non troppo (7:41) 09 - L.Boccerini - String Quintet in E major, Op.13, No.5-Minuet (3:55) 10 - G.F.Handel - Organ Concerto No.13 in F major 'Cuckoo and Nightingale'-I Larghetto (2:12) 11 - G.F.Handel - Organ Concerto No.13 in F major 'Cuckoo and Nightingale'-II Allegro-Kadenz-Tempo (3:46) 12 - G.F.Handel - Organ Concerto No.13 in F major 'Cuckoo and Nightingale'-III Larghetto (2:54) 13 - G.F.Handel - Organ Concerto No.13 in F major 'Cuckoo and Nightingale'-IV Allegro (3:15) 14 - J.S.Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No.2 in F major, BWV 1047-I Allegro (5:27) 15 - J.S.Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No.2 in F major, BWV 1047-II Andante (4:14) 16 - J.S.Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No.2 in F major, BWV 1047-III Allegro assai (3:04) 17 - G.F.Handel - Water Music-I Allegro (2:38) 18 - G.F.Handel - Water Music-II Air (5:18) 19 - G.F.Handel - Water Music-III Bourree (0:46) 20 - G.F.Handel - Water Music-IV Hornpipe (0:51) 21 - J.S.Bach - Suite for Violoncello No.1 in G major, BWV 1007-Sarabande (3:11)
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Hello, The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy is nearing it's last page..alas oh well there's something in the pipeline a small encore and a bigger one..sort of later, for now here's the penultimate Fit 25, but first what happened last week,
Arthur is still trying to gain advice on the planet Hawalius, but when he finally leaves the planet, the spaceship he's on develops "a major glitch" just as they jump into hyperspace. Meanwhile, on Earth, Tricia McMillan agrees to go with the Grebulons and work out a system of astrology that would be valid on the planet Persephone (Rupert), in exchange for exclusive rights to the story.
Back in The Guide's offices, Zarniwoop Vann Harl, the new editor of the guide, asks Ford to be his restaurant critic. He explains that there is a new Guide, aimed at families rather than hitchhikers, and they plan to make one and sell it in billions of billions of alternate worlds. Ford steals the Dine-a-Charge and Ident-i-Eze cards from him, then hacks into the accountancy system. The universe there is equated with the artificial universe inside Zarniwoop's office, and Ford discovers Zaphod, in a shack by the beach, claiming he has been there on his own for a month. Zaphod claims that the Presidency and the Krikkitmen were just a distraction, and that they have "shrunk the Vortex and given it the voice of that Lintilla chick" in order to create the new Guide. The episode ends with Ford going to floor 23, and being forced to jump out of a window, in order to escape from Zarniwoop Vann Harl, who is revealed as a disguised Vogon.
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Hello, Sundaze ended up in 1981, unplanned . The albums today all have a dance element, in fact two were used by the Twyla Tharp dance troupe... Craig Leon has had a very long and wide ranging career as a producer, from punk to classical these days, that said this was his first of only 3 soloalbums... You can multiply that number by ten for my next artist, Stephan Micus. This world traveller has been expanding his vision of a transcultural music by learning to play numerous instruments and let them inspire him to explore the musical possibilities. His work too has been regularly chosen to dance too, this one Koan isin general maybe a bit too ambient but then ballet can display a storyline ...finally another Twyla Tharp commision, this time written and perfomed by David Byrne and friends..The Catherine Wheel...within a wheel..within a wheel..
Craig grew up in Florida, where he received private classical music training in keyboard performance, composition, and musicology. While working in local bands and on local rock and R&B records as a keyboard player and arranger he recorded in various studios including Criteria in Miami. He eventually built his own recording studio with the help of his friend, Alex Sadkin, another Floridian who also worked at Criteria at that time. After producer, Richard Gottehrer brought in Sire recording artists, he offered Craig an appointment in New York as his assistant. As a result, Leon moved to Manhattan in the early 1970s where he accepted an A&R position at Sire Records in New York under Gottehrer and his partner Seymour Stein. There he was responsible for the discovery and early development of the Ramones and Talking Heads amongst other artists. He produced the first Ramones album and also concentrated on licensing more adventurous European records which the majors were unwilling to release in the U.S. At Sire, Craig learned the skills necessary for the production, as well as manufacture of recorded music.
After producing the 'Live at CBGBs' compilation for Atlantic Records, Craig joined Richard Gottehrer and Marty Thau to set up a production company called Instant Records. Projects included the early Blondie records, Richard Hell & The Voidoids and Suicide. Other productions throughout the 70s included Chilliwack, Willie Alexander and the Boom Boom Band, Martha Velez & The Wailers (co-produced with Bob Marley and Lee Perry), Robert Gordon& Link Wray, Moon Martin (including 'Bad Case of Loving You' and 'Cadillac Walk'), Rodney Crowell, Guy Clark, The Roches(with Robert Fripp), Dwight Twilley, Sir Douglas Quintet, The Records and others. In the early 80s came The Fabulous Thunderbirds,The Bangles,The Beat Farmers,etc. In the mid 80s Craig relocated to the U.K. at the request of Statik Records (an independent subsidiary of Virgin) where he produced Jeffrey Lee Pierce, Flesh For Lulu and others including mixing for The Chameleons and The Sound. Since that time he has been active in both the major and alternative music scenes in the UK with over 40 chart records.
He has always been concerned with the development of new ideas and working in alternative forms within contemporary music. He has written and performed on three albums of his own, including "Nommos" (a dance piece based on North African ethnic themes and electronic music, that was used by members of The Twyla Tharp dance troupe which was also used as the opening exhibit for the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art in 1981),and the full length score of the Kosh Dance Theatre piece, "Klub Anima", which deals with alternating classical and modern electronic forms. _Craig has recently produced a number of classical projects including "Wings of Song" for Sir James Galway and The London Symphony Orchestra,"Romance of the Violin" for Joshua Bell and The Academy of St. Martin In The Fields, an album of original compositions with Elysium (featuring members of Sequentia) and the Vienna RSO, three number one classical albums with new age/classical artist Izzy,an album of folk song transcriptions for Andreas Scholl,"Wayfaring Stranger", the debut recital album for soprano Natasha Marsh, a crossover project for Italian soprano Giorgia Fumanti, and a disc of the music of Italian Cinema with the composer Luis Bacalov including performances by Luciano Pavarotti, Sting, Deborah Harry and others. He has also produced 6 folk-electronic albums for Texas folk artist Cassell Webb.
01 - Ring With Three Concentric Discs (4:53) 02 - Donkeys Bearing Cups (5:57) 03 - Nommo (6:48)
04 - Four Eyes To See The Afterlife (11:17) 05 - She Wears A Hemispherical Skull Cap (6:48)
Born in 1953 in Germany, Stephan Micus made his first journey to the Orient at the age of sixteen. Fascinated by the variety of musical cultures around the world Micus has travelled in virtually every Asian and European country as well as in Africa and the Americas. Studying with local master musicians he learned to play numerous traditional instruments, many of them unknown in the Western world. However, Micus‘s intention is not to play these instruments in a traditional manner, but rather to develop the fresh musical possibilities which he feels are inherent in them. In many of his compositions, which he performs himself, he combines instruments that have never before been played together. The resulting dialogues further reflect his vision of a transcultural music. Many of Europe’s leading dance companies have chosen his work for their productions. He has performed hundreds of solo concerts over the last 30 years throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas
In search of musical culture and context Micus has travelled extensively, in particular in India, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, Afghanistan, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Thailand, Egypt, Burma, Sri Lanka, Turkey, USA, Canada, Israel, China, Gambia, Senegal, Nepal, Ladakh, Sinkiang, Venezuela, Tanzania, Argentina, Peru, Ghana, Mali, Jordan, Georgia, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Yemen, Cuba, Lebanon, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Cabo Verde, Mauretania, Armenia, Karabagh. Micus used his travels to study a variety of instruments including guitar, concert-flute, sitar in Benares (India), flamenco guitar in Granada (Spain), shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) and sho (Japanese mouth organ) in Kyoto (Japan), suling (Balinese flute) in Ubud (Bali), Uillean pipes in Carna (Ireland), sinding (African harp) in Gambia, dondon (talking drum) in Accra (Ghana), doussn’ gouni (African harp) in Bamako (Mali), duduki (Georgian oboe) and Georgian polyphonic choral singing in Tbilisi (Georgia), hné (Burmese oboe) in Yangon and Mandalay (Myanmar), duduk (Armenian oboe) in Yerevan (Armenia), bagana (Ethiopian lyre) in Addis Abeba, nohkan (flute of the noh theatre) in kyoto (japan). Bulgarian polyphonic choral singing in Plovdiv (Bulgaria). In addition to his exclusively acoustic instruments Micus also uses his voice, at times – with multitrack recording techniques – creating whole choral pieces by himself.
01 - Part I (2:36) 02 - Part II (11:53) 03 - Part III (11:27)
04 - Part III Continued (5:42) 05 - Part IV (4:28) 06 - Part V (9:49)
Born May 14, 1952, in Dumbarton, Scotland, Byrne was raised in Baltimore, MD, he played guitar in a series of teenage bands before attending the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, where, feeling alienated from the largely upper-class student population, he dropped out after one year. However, he remained in the Providence area, performing solo on a ukelele before forming the Artistics (also known as the Autistics) with fellow students Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth. After changing the name of the band to Talking Heads and enlisting onetime Modern Lover Jerry Harrison, the group signed to Sire Records; a series of LPs, including the debut Talking Heads '77, 1978's More Songs About Buildings and Food, and 1980's Remain in Light followed, establishing the quartet as one of contemporary music's most visionary talents.
During a band sabbatical in 1981, Byrne teamed with Brian Eno, the producer of much of the Heads' work, for the collaborative effort My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, a complex, evocative album which fused electronic music with Third World percussion and hypnotic vocal effects. That same year, Byrne also began exploring theater, composing The Complete Score From the Broadway Production of "The Catherine Wheel," a dance piece choreographed by Twyla Tharp. Byrne's score is always interesting and frequently brilliant; it draws on the instrumental talents of such session greats as drummer Yogi Horton, percussionist John Chernoff, guitarist Adrian Belew ,and Eno. Horton's drumming establishes a muscular funk foundation for much of the material, which also showcases Byrne's underrated guitar playing. Highlights of the program include "The Red House," with its eerie use of deconstructed vocal samples, and the lovely faux-juju "Ade."
01 - Light Bath (1:09) 02 - His Wife Refused (4:31) 03 - Ade (Byrne, Brian Eno)(3:22) 04 - Walking (Byrne, John Chernoff) ( 0:52) 05 - Two Soldiers (Byrne, Brian Eno) (3:31) 06 - Under the Mountain (0:53) 07 - Dinosaur (2:36) 08 - The Red House ( 3:17) 09 - Wheezing (3:12) 10 - Eggs in a Briar Patch (3:31) 11 - Poison (2:31) 12 - Cloud Chamber (2:50) 13 - Black Flag (2:29) 14 - My Big Hands (Fall Through the Cracks) ( 2:46) 15 - Combat (Byrne, John Chernoff) (2:45) 16 - Leg Bells (Byrne, John Chernoff) (2:40) 17 - The Blue Flame (3:25) 18 - Big Business (Byrne, John Chernoff) (5:06) 19 - Dense Beasts (3:11) 20 - Five Golden Sections (2:53) 21 - What a Day That Was (5:30) 22 - Big Blue Plymouth (Eyes Wide Open) ( 4:43) 23 - Light Bath (1:10)
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Hello, after last weeks easy beats , we go up a gear or two tonight, some french beats making their way, Daft Punk got their name from a melody maker reviewer who described them as daft punks, whilst opening for Stereolab then as an indie trio. They sure made a meal of that qualification, considering their name recognition after a decade. You'd expect they released a body of work but defacto they've produced just three studio albums. You could say they kept a low profile, considering their masked performances you'd be right there too. ANywway their first body of Homework is , to me still the best ...Pills came out of the French rave scene and with Electrocaine they chose for a harder electro sound, it broke up the duo..anyway the band seems to have gone on indefinite hold as their last album still awaits release...Another big duo on the french scene are Cassius they compiled and mixed what turned be the bonus cd to the last Muzik Magazine edition..pity that was...
Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo met in 1987 at a secondary school in Paris, the two became good friends and later recorded demo tracks with others from the school. This eventually led in 1992 to an indie rock formation with Laurent Brancowitz on drums, Bangalter on bass and de Homem-Christo on guitar. The trio had branded themselves Darlin', after The Beach Boys song of the same name, which they covered along with an original composition.Stereolab released both tracks on a multi-artist Duophonic Records EP and invited the band to open for stage shows in the United Kingdom. A negative review in Melody Maker subsequently dubbed the music "a bunch of daft punk." Instead of dismissing the review, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo found it to be amusing. Darlin' soon disbanded, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo formed Daft Punk and started experimenting with drum machines and synthesizers.
In 1993 Daft Punk attended a rave at EuroDisney, where they met Stuart Macmillan of Slam, co-founder of the label Soma Quality Recordings.The demo tape given to Macmillan at the rave formed the basis for Daft Punk's debut single, "The New Wave", a limited release in 1994, it also contained the final mix of "The New Wave" called "Alive". Daft Punk returned to the studio in May 1995 to record "Da Funk". It became their first commercially successful single the same year. The band signed with Virgin Records in September 1996, and made a deal through which they licensed their tracks to the major label through their production company, Daft Trax.
"Da Funk" and "Alive" were later included on Daft Punk's 1997 debut album Homework. The album was regarded as an innovative synthesis of techno, house, acid house and electro styles, and is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential dance music albums of the nineties. They combined the aforementioned music styles and elements of rave that were crowd pleasers. The most successful single from Homework was "Around the World", which is known for the repeating chant of the song's title. Daft Punk's skills at producing filter effects "to make sounds shiver up your spine, 'ardkore's sped-up and helium-squeaky vocals" lends itself to the developing style of speed garage. A mixture of rave, house, jungle (circa 1994) and ragga chants were combined with a new style of syncopated beats and textured snare drum sounds. This combination proved successful for Daft Punk in the club scene and helped bring mainstream attention to their music.
By 1999 the duo were well into the recording sessions for their second album, which had begun a year earlier.2001's Discovery took on a slicker and distinctly synthpop-oriented style, the group states that the album was conceived as an attempt to reconnect with a playful, open-minded attitude associated with the discovery phase of childhood. This accounts for the heavy use of themes and samples from the late '70s to early '80s era on the album. Its single "One More Time" was a major club hit, the singles "Digital Love" and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" were also very successful in the UK and on the United States dance chart. A 45-minute excerpt from a Daftendirektour performance recorded at Birmingham, UK in 1997 was also released in 2001, entitled Alive 1997. 2003 first saw the release of the feature-length animated film Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem. Daft Punk produced the film under the supervision of Leiji Matsumoto, whom they have said is their childhood hero. The album Daft Club was also released to promote the film. It features a collection of remixes previously made available through an online membership service of the same name.
The duo released the album Human After All in March 2005, reviews were mixed, mostly citing its overly repetitive nature and seemingly rushed recording. The singles taken from this album were "Robot Rock", "Technologic", "Human After All" and "The Prime Time of Your Life". The earliest official statement from Daft Punk concerning the album was "we believe that Human After All speaks for itself." A Daft Punk anthology CD/DVD entitled Musique Vol. 1 1993-2005 was released on April 4, 2006. It contains new music videos for "The Prime Time of Your Life" and "Robot Rock (Maximum Overdrive)". Daft Punk also released a remix album of Human After All called Human After All: Remixes. A limited edition included two kubricks of Daft Punk as robots. On May 21, 2006, Daft Punk premiered their first directed film, Daft Punk's Electroma at the Cannes Film Festival sidebar Director's Fortnight. The film does not include their own music, midnight screenings of the film were shown in Paris theaters starting from the end of March 2007, Initial public comments have since been positive. Daft Punk released their second live album titled Alive 2007 on November 19, 2007. It contains the duo's performance in Paris from their Alive 2007 tour. The album includes a 50-page book showcasing photographs shot while on tour. The live version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" from Alive 2007 was released as a single.
01 - Daftendirekt (2:44) 02 - Wdpk 83.7 FM (0:28) 03 - Revolution 909 (5:26) 04 - Da Funk (5:28) 05 - Phœnix (4:55) 06 - Fresh (4:03) 07 - Around The World (7:07) 08 - Rollin' & Scratchin' (7:26) 09 - Teachers (2:52) 10 - High Fidelity (6:00) 11 - Rock'n Roll (7:32) 12 - Oh Yeah (2:00) 13 - Burnin' (6:53) 14 - Indo Silver Club (4:32) 15 - Alive (5:15)
Pills, (previously '"Ice Bath") was formed by Anthony Sandor and Ludovic Bordas in 1991. They pioneered the french underground sound on Rave Age Records. Pills debuted at the first official rave party in france in 1992, along side of William Orbit, 808 State, and Underground Resistance. In 1995 they released Foundation Ludovic Bordas left the band after disagreements about the direction when recording Electrocaine, Antony Sandor kept the band alive and directed the sound of Pills into a blend of acid house, electronic pop, and hip-hop elements while also revealing a slightly dark banlieu edge . Electrocaine was followed up in 2000 by Music Soldia , in 2002 the release of the last album Cosmic Carnival got stuck in the pipeline..
01 - Garden Party (5:34) 02 - Fun-K-Tronic (4:05) 03 - Drugstore (5:13) 04 - Junky Star (5:11) 05 - Hurricane (7:29) 06 - Darkside (8:14) 07 - Black Pearl (6:19) 08 - Amazing Dread Club (4:28) 09 - Rock Me (3:34) 10 - Free Step (4:28) hidden 11 - Rock Me (remix) (4:34)
Cassius, a new addition to the top ranks of French electronica circa 1999, actually comprised two of the scene's most experienced producers: Philippe Zdar and Hubert Blanc-Francart (AKA Boom Bass). They first met back in the late '80s, working in the same studio (Zdar was an engineer, and Boom Bass was just learning the trade). Boom Bass worked with MC Solaar, and combined with Zdar to release two EPs on Mo' Wax as La Funk Mob during 1994. Zdar also teamed with Etienne De Crécy (from the Super Discount project) to release an LP as Motorbass. Finally, Philippe Zdar and Boom Bass came together in late 1998 as Cassius. Combining the jazzy hip-hop of Boom Bass with Zdar's phase'n'filter acid-disco, Cassius debuted with the single "Cassius 1999," a club anthem and British Top 20 hit late in 1998. The full-length album "1999" appeared early the following year. "Au Rêve", was released in 2002 with vocals from Jocelyn Brown , Steve Edwards, and Ghostface Killah on "Thrilla". In 2003 they mixed and compiled the bonus cd to what was to be the final word from Muzik Magazine. In 2006, Cassius released "15 Again", a conceptual album with tracks inspired by what they use to listen when they were teenagers.
01 - Drugs - Brain On Drugs (Chateau Flight Remix) (4:14) 02 - Manhead - Doop (Reverso 68 Remix) (4:44) 03 - Bergheim 34 - Take My Soul (3:00) 04 - Black Strobe - Me And Madonna (4:30) 05 - Bosco - Novo Screen (Kiko & Gino S Remix) (2:53) 06 - Agoria - Hold Up (3:48) 07 - Goldfrapp - Train (Ewan Pearson Dub Mix) (Edit) (0:59) 08 - DSL - Padampam (Dub Mix) (3:41) 09 - Metro Area - Orange Alert (DFA Remix) (1:48) 10 - Scratch Massive - Seeing Is Believing (Frank Arbaretaz Remix) (3:00) 11 - Scott Grooves - Mothership Reconnection (Daft Punk Remix) (3:54) 12 - Charles Manier - Change You (2:13) 13 - Feadz - Split Again (3:26) 14 - Bergheim 34 - Random Access (B43 Original) (4:20) 15 - Cassius - The Sound Of Violence (Reggae Rock Mix) (4:56) 16 - Audio Bullys - Turned Away (Tony Senghore Electric Vocal Mix) (3:23) 17 - Cassius - Thrilla (The Streets Remix) (3:07)
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Princeton’s Sonic Fragments Festival to Explore Sound Art
Princeton, New Jersey, March 9, 2008 – For two days in March, Princeton University graduate students will play host to an international group of scholars and practitioners who are gathering to explore the roles of narrative and mediation in art practices that engage sound as a material. The symposium will consist of three panel discussions as well as an exhibition of audio-works for portable music players made expressly for the geography, architecture, and social spaces of the Princeton University campus.
“As technology becomes more portable, artists are able to explore work that bridges the gap between public and private,” says Sonic Fragments co-organizer Seth Cluett, “making the sonic equivalent of the sketch, the landscape painting, and the hastily scribbled note available for the sound artist.”
The exhibition will begin the festival on the afternoon of Friday, March 28th. Thirty iPods and corresponding maps will be made available for check-out from the Mendel Music Library Circulation desk in the Woolworth Center for Musical Studies. After participants have had time to explore the audio-works, opening comments and a panel comprised of artists and musicians will start the symposium. The first panel will consist of musician and sound artist William Basinski, whose melancholy minimal electronic music has achieved critical acclaim; artist Jon Brumit, whose Neighborhood Public Radio project is featured in this year’s Whitney Biennial; multimedia artist Brenda Hutchinson, who will lead sunrise and sunset bell-ringings throughout the festival; as well as sound artist Michael J. Schumacher, founder of New York’s Diapason Gallery for Sound Art.
After more time Saturday to explore the site-specific audio-works, the second panel will take up the notion of narrative as it relates to sound practices. Kristin Oppenheim’s spare and hypnotic sound installations invoke layers of personal memory, while Stephen Vitiello’s work transforms incidental atmospheric noises into mesmerizing soundscapes that alter our perception of the surrounding environment. Mendi + Keith Obadike collaborate on interdisciplinary projects investigating race, history and identity, and Thomas Levin, a curator and cultural theorist, focuses on sound technologies and issues of surveillance in media practices.
The symposium’s third and final panel will address issues of mediation in sound art. Rubén Gallo will talk about Mexican sound artist Taniel Morales's Pirate Radio. Ed Osborn will present his kinetic and audible sound installations, while Camille Norment will discuss her artistic practice, which extends the fine arts into extra-disciplinary realms such as scientific research, city planning, and interaction design. Tianna Kennedy, program director of Brooklyn’s free103point9 transmission arts network and a participating artist in the festival, will discuss issues related to transmission, participatory practice and social sculpture.
“We hear long before we see,” says Sonic Fragments co-organizer Betsey Biggs, “and throughout our lives we move through a world of sonic fragments which are mediated by our bodies, memories, environments and technologies. Through these interventions, sounds assemble themselves into hazy narratives which each of us filters in a slightly different way. Sonic Fragments will explore the ways in which contemporary artists use sound, narrative and mediation to create meaning in their work.”
Sonic Fragments is sponsored by the Princeton University Department of Music, The Peter B. Lewis Center for the Performing Arts, The Graduate School, The Sound Lab research group in the Department of Computer Science, The Aesthetics and Media Track in the Department of German, The Program in Media and Modernity, The Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies, and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.
• Friday, March 28 + Saturday, March 29, 2008 • Friday: March 28, 11am - 4pm Saturday: March 29, 9am - 12pm Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Ringing, O' Tongues of Freedom (5:07mins) my sound art piece at the Sonic Fragments: Narrative and Mediation in Sound Art, A Symposium and Festival at Princeton University. My piece is a "hushed contemplation of memory, freedom, loss, and hope during a time when select men and women claimed The Battle of Princeton as insurance towards their eventual freedom. Featuring nighttime field recordings of the 1844 Bell and the Battle Monument, renderings of the Monument inscription, and digitally processed voice." I was fortunate to have vocal contributions from Steven M. Adams (Biological and Life Sciences Librarian and Interim Psychology Librarian), and Joshua B. Guild (Assistant Professor of History and the Center for African American Studies).
This is part of a sound art tour of various locations on the Princeton Campus and surrounding areas. The works and a map of the tour locations will be available on the symposium website, as well as on iPods made available at the Mendel Music Library during the Symposium. The Symposium itself features the participation of some truly dynamic and compelling sound artists and sound/narrative/new media thinkers including: Stephen Vitiello, Camille Norment, Mendi + Keith Obadike, Tianna Kennedy, and Princeton's own Ruben Gallo (Associate Professor of Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Cultures) and Thomas Y. Levin (Associate Professor of German) For more information check the Sonic Fragments website: http://sonicfragments.artdocuments.org/
AUDIOLOGO's piece! • Thursday, May 1, 2008 • Taplin Auditorium Fine Hall Princeton University Princeton, NJ 8:00pm
You Are Most Beautiful When... my live performance piece for the Composition Program's General Exams Concert. Despite the somewhat dry title, this concert promises to be a quite exciting affair with new works from my compatriot Graduate Fellows in Composition, Mark Dancigers, Anne Hege, and Andrea Mazzariello (as well as myself). Each of us has written work in response to a particular composer's work. My piece is a response to Der Doppelgänger by Austrian composer Franz Schubert (1797-1828) as performed by legendary contralto Marian Anderson and her long-time accompanist, pianist Franz Rupp. The theme of my response is gratitude, creative collaboration, and friendship, and features the participation of MuthaWit's Boston Fielder (I plan to make use of his reported 5 octave range!) along with other special special guests, plus dance, and video. This is the second requirement of my 4-part General Exam. I hope to see you there!
For Directions to Princeton and information about parking (no campus parking permits required after 5pm, and meters are free after 7pm) and trains (NJTransit) check this link: http://www.princeton.edu/facilities/conference/visiting_the_campus/
Hello, Into the Groove is honoring another grandmaster of soul, a man that overcame more then being black, he was blind too, later another important sense was taken from him, smell. Adversity didnt keep him from creating music, that over the years amasssed 26 grammy's worth of recognition. Not that that's important, what is he touched the hearts and hips of millions.
Steve Wonder (Steveland Hardaway Morris) was born in 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan. Wonder was born premature and was put into an incubator. When too much oxygen in the incubator caused cataracts to grow behind each eye, it left the infant blind. The family moved to Detroit when Wonder was 4, and he began singing and playing instruments in church at an early age. He took to the piano, congas, and harmonica in particular. He was educated at the Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing, Michigan where he was trained in classical piano. When he was eight his parents divorced four years later, at the age of twelve, Wonder was introduced to Ronnie White of the popular Motown act The Miracles, he brought Morris and his mother to Motown Records. Impressed by the young musician, Motown CEO Berry Gordy signed Morris to Motown's Tamla label with the name Little Stevie Wonder.
Little Wonder had his first major hit, "Fingertips (Pt. 2)", a 1963 single taken from a live recording of a Motor Town Revue performance. The song, featuring Wonder on vocals, bongos, and harmonica, and a young Marvin Gaye on drums, was a #1 hit on the US pop charts and launched him into the public consciousness. Dropping the "Little" from his moniker, Wonder went on to have a number of other hits during the mid-1960s, including "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", "With a Child's Heart", and "Blowin' in the Wind", a Bob Dylan cover which was one of the first songs to reflect Wonder's social consciousness. By 1970, Wonder had scored more major hits, including "I Was Made to Love Her", "For Once in My Life", "My Cherie Amour", and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours". Besides being one of the first songs on which Wonder serves as both songwriter and producer, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" is one of the main showcases for his backup group Wonderlove, a trio which included at various times Minnie Riperton, Deniece Williams, Lynda Laurence, and Syreeta Wright, whom Wonder married on September 14, 1970, they divorced eighteen months later, but they continued to collaborate on musical projects.
Arguments over creative control had Wonder leave Motown, he independently recorded two albums, which he used as a bargaining tool while negotiating with Motown. Eventually, the label agreed to his demands for full creative control and the rights to his own songs, and Wonder returned to Motown in March 1972 with Music of My Mind, an album which is considered a classic of the era. Unlike most previous artist LPs on Motown, which usually consisted of a collection of singles, b-sides, and covers, Music of My Mind was an actual LP, a full-length artistic statement, and began a string of five albums released over a period of less than five years, that make up what is generally considered Stevie Wonder's classic period. October 1972's love album Talking Book featured the #1 pop and R&B hit "Superstition", which is one of the most distinctive examples of the sound of the clavinet. The song, originally intended for rock guitarist Jeff Beck. His third consecutive masterwork of the decade and his career, Innervisions, featuring the driving "Higher Ground" followed by the memorable epic "Living for the City" hits.
On August 6, 1973, just days after the release of Innervisions, Wonder was in a serious automobile accident while on tour, when a log from a truck went through a passenger window and struck him in the head. This left him in a coma for four days and resulted in a permanent loss of his sense of smell ! The album Fulfillingness' First Finale appeared in July 1974 and set two hits high on the pop charts: the #1 "You Haven't Done Nothin'" (a political protest song) and the Top Ten "Boogie On Reggae Woman". Wonder released what he intended as his magnum opus, the double album Songs in the Key of Life, in September 1976. Sprawling in style, unlimited in ambition, and sometimes lyrically difficult to fathom, the album was hard for some listeners to assimilate, yet is regarded by many as Wonder's crowning achievement and one of the most recognizable and accomplished albums in pop music history. The album became the first of an American artist to debut straight at #1 in the Billboard charts, where it remained for 14 non-consecutive weeks. Two tracks fairly jumped out of the radio with energy, becoming the #1 pop/r'n'b hits "I Wish" and "Sir Duke". Songs in the Key of Life won his third consecutive Album of the Year and two other Grammys.
Possibly exhausted by this concentrated and sustained level of creativity, Wonder stopped recording for three years.His tentative return was with a mostly instrumental soundtrack album for the film Journey through the Secret Life of Plants (1979). The 80's saw Wonder scoring his biggest hits and reaching an unprecedented level of fame evidenced by increased album sales. Hotter than July (1980) became Wonder's first platinum selling album, and its single "Happy Birthday" was a successful vehicle for his campaign to establish Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday as a national holiday. The album also included his Bob Marley tribute "Master Blaster (Jammin')", and the ballad, "Lately". In 1982, Wonder released a retrospective of his '70s work with Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium and included three more hit singles in his catalogue, including the ten-minute funk classic "Do I Do" (which included legendary jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie), "That Girl" (one of the year's biggest singles to chart on the R&B side) and "Ribbon in the Sky". 1984 saw the release of Wonder's soundtrack album for The Woman in Red, the smash hit "I Just Called to Say I Love You". The following year's In Square Circle featured the #1 pop hit "Part-Time Lover". He featured in Chaka Khan's "I Feel For You", playing his signature harmonica, aswell as on the Eurythmics' single, "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)". By now, Stevie Wonder was an American icon.
After 1987's Characters LP, Wonder continued to release new material, but at a slower pace. He recorded a soundtrack album for Spike Lee's film Jungle Fever in 1991 with a video for "Gotta Have You", and released both Conversation Peace and the live album Natural Wonder during the same decade. Wonder's first new album in ten years, A Time to Love, was released on October 2005. The first single, "So What the Fuss", was released in April and features Prince on guitar and background vocals from En Vogue. A second single, "From the Bottom of My Heart" was a hit on adult-contemporary R&B radio. 2007 saw "A Wonder Summer's Night" , a 13 concert tour - his first U.S. tour in over ten years. Stevie is currently working on a new album titled The Gospel Inspired By Lula which will deal with the various spiritual and cultural crises facing the world
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Stevie Wonder - Anthology ( 74, 117min * 195mb)
A triple album collecting Stevie Wonders sixties work (1962-1969)
01 - Thank You (For Loving Me All The Way) (2:51) 02 - Contract On Love (2:04) 03 - Fingertips (Part II) (2:59) 04 - Workout Stevie, Workout (2:40) 05 - Castles In The Sand (2:08) 06 - Hey Harmonica Man (2:36) 07 - High Heel Sneakers (3:05)
08 - Uptight (Eveything's Alright) (2:52) 09 - Nothing's Too Good For My Baby (2:35) 10 - Blowin' In The Wind (3:28) 11 - Ain't That Asking For Trouble (2:41) 12 - I'd Cry (2:31) 13 - A Place In The Sun (2:48) 14 - Sylvia (2:29)
15 - Down To Earth (2:46) 16 - Thank You Love (2:53) 17 - Hey Love (2:44) 18 - Travelin' Man (2:49) 19 - Until You Come Back To Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do) (2:57) 20 - I Was Made To Love Her (2:34) 21 - I'm Wondering (2:50)
22 - Shoo Be Doo Be Doo Da Day (2:41) 23 - You Met Your Match (2:36) 24 - I'd Be A Fool Right Now (2:54) 25 - Alfie (3:10) 26 - More Than A Dream (3:46) 27 - For Once In My Life (2:45)
28 - Angie Girl (2:57) 29 - My Cherie Amour (2:51) 30 - Don't Know Why I Love You (2:43) 31 - If I Ruled The World (3:33) 32 - Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday (3:01) 33 - Never Had A Dream Come True (3:10) 34 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered (2:34)
35 - Heaven Help Us All (3:12) 36 - I Gotta Have A Song (2:32) 37 - Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer (2:56) 38 - If You Really Love Me (2:58) 39 - Something Out Of The Blue (2:58) 40 - Do Yourself A Favour (6:01)
Songs in the Key of Life became the best-selling and most critically acclaimed album of Stevie Wonder's career. It won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal and Album of the Year. The album also topped Billboard's Pop Albums and Black Albums charts for a record breaking 14 weeks out its 44 week in the Top 40 alone, and was one of the first albums by a solo artist to debut at #1 in its first week of sales. Unfortuantely my bonus single has gone awol, so you'll have to do without..for those that haven't bought the cd and or remaster and find vinyl ripping impossible-without a player here's your chance to reconnect...
01 - Love's In Need Of Love Today (7:02) 02 - Have A Talk With God (2:40) 03 - Village Ghetto Land (3:22) 04 - Contusion (3:43) 05 - Sir Duke (3:49)
06 - I Wish (4:10) 07 - Knocks Me Off My Feet (3:34) 08 - Pastime Paradise (3:24) 09 - Summer Soft (4:10) 10 - Ordinary Pain (6:12)
11 - Isn't She Lovely (6:30) 12 - Joy Inside My Tears (6:25) 13 - Black Man (8:18)
14 - Ngiculela - Es Una Historia - I Am Singing (3:46) 15 - If It's Magic (3:10) 16 - As (7:04) 17 - Another Star (7:57)
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !
Hello Alphabet Soup has reeached X, and i have to say my X-files total number is low, therefor just the two today, first Xymox, they came by here once before as Clan of Xymox in the Eurotour/Netherlands with their first official album, however they started out as Xymox and dropped the Clan part in 87 reverting back to Xymox for a decade but since 97 the Clan part is back on . Confused..well Xymox second album under their old moniker came after a unexpected success with Twist of Shadows , that caused expectations to rise considerably for the sale of the follow up and when it didnt manifest, the label execs blamed the shortcomings of their bloated predictions on the band (as usual). It left the already recorded followup in limbo..exit halfthe band and the label. That was 92 ..they are still here...My second band Xploding Plastics ..sounds friendlier then semtex.. are produce a very continental lounge beat, the vienna scientists Kruder and Dorfmeister of Norway.
Clan of Xymox, also known as Xymox at various parts of their career, are a darkwave/gothic rock band founded in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, in 1983. The Subsequent Pleasures EP was self-published under the name Xymox, at that time consisting of Moorings on guitar and vocals, his girlfriend Anke Wolbert on bass and vocals, and Pieter Nooten on keyboards. A chance meeting with Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance led to an invitation to support that band on a UK tour, and then a recording contract with their record label, 4AD Records.
Their debut album, self-titled under their newly adopted name Clan of Xymox, was released by 4AD in 1985, and drew comparisons to Joy Division and The Cure. 1986 saw their second album, Medusa (considered by many fans to be their finest work), continuing in this dark vein. They released two albums and a number of singles on 4AD before shortening their name to Xymox in 1988 and signing to a subsidiary of Polygram. Their releases as Xymox were in a more synthpop/dance music vein. Twist of Shadows was the band's most commercially successful album, selling 300,000 copies. With 1991's follow-up Phoenix (with Nooten back on board) Xymox was making an effort to escape its obscurity and be more commercial. There were those who labeled Phoenix as the work of a band that had sold out, but while eerie, high-tech tunes such as "Smile Like Heaven," "Written in the Stars" and "Mark the Days" are slicker and more pop-minded than Xymox's mid-1980s work, they're far from bad. The gloominess and overtly European qualities that had characterized early Xymox remained, though Xymox was definitely thinking in terms of the pop-rock audienceless alas it wasnt as successful as it predecessor, and when their recordlabels executive nitwit declined to release the next album, Metamorphosis, Nooten and Wolbert left the band for good.
With only Ronny Moorings remaining they moved to an independant releasing Metamorphosis and Headclouds The Xymox era ended in 1997 when, in the midst of a revival in the Gothic scene, Ronny Moorings made the decision to restart Clan of Xymox . In 1999, they signed with the Metropolis label and released Creatures, which was followed a year later by the two-CD Live. The 2001 album Notes from the Underground was reinterpreted on the double remix CD Remixes from the Underground, which landed in 2002. Farewell from 2003 was a themed album with bittersweet goodbyes to lovers and friends the main topics. The 2004 collection The Best of Clan of Xymox found latter-day highlights next to re-recordings of the band's early material. Two years later, the album Breaking Point was announced by the single "Weak in My Knees."
01 - Phoenix Of My Heart / Wild Thing Outro (4:11) 02 - At The End Of The Day (3:42) 03 - The Shore Down Under (5:15) 04 - Mark The Days (6:10) 05 - Believe Me Sometimes (4:54) 06 - Wonderland (4:57) 07 - Written In The Stars (5:03) 08 - Dancing Barefoot (3:40) 09 - Crossing The Water (3:46) 10 - Smile Like Heaven (4:47)
Xploding Plastix is the musical child of Jens Petter Nilsen and Hallvard Hagen. Both based in Oslo, they started making music together somewhere late 98-early 99. After about a year of playing, sampling, programming and focused tune writing; they decided it was time to let the public hear what they'd been up to. This resulted in a 6 track demo late 99. About 22 hours after first shipment, record companies were on the phone, and months later, 5 out of 6 tracks were released on various lables.
Xploding Plastix has a very organic sound, weaving hypnotic grooves with nostalgic jazz and using scratchy sampling and a variety of sound effects along live played instruments, and cover a wide range of styles. Dark-toned, full of raw energy and sleazy acid jazz, Xploding Plastix’ Amateur Girlfriends Go Proskirt Agents carries a somewhat funky attitude, entertains with its exciting rhythms, cool looping beats and humorous hints, creating a special and lively pulsating atmosphere. And let's not forget Vienna, they seem to have caught that virus aswell....well there's a lite version
01 - Sports, Not Heavy Crime (5:07) 02 - Funnybones & Lazylegs (4:48) 03 - 6-Hours Starlight (3:22) 04 - Behind The Eightball (4:49) 05 - Single Stroke Ruffs (2:28) 06 - Treat Me Mean, I Need The Reputation (4:58) 07 - Relieved Beyond Repair (1:45) 08 - Tintinnamputation (4:26) 09 - More Powah To Yah (5:26) 10 - Having Smarter Babies (4:57) 11 - Far-Flung Tonic (4:51) 12 - Happy Jizz Girls (2:54) 13 - Doubletalk Gets Through To You (5:23) 14 - Comatose Luck (3:39)
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !
is a (very) young artist, now living in Brooklyn, whose (nude, especially) portraiture and installation art are garnering increasing attention. Of course he blogs.
Here's Sepuya (at right), with Printed Matter's AA Bronson, from a photo taken (by Sepuya, 2008, all rights reserved) when Bronson interviewed Sepuya for BUTT 22 (NotSafeForWork!), a (maga)zine he has appeared in several times:
Here's an image from Sepuya's series "beloved object + amorous subject, revisited." (There's more on his site.) To read his thoughts on his life and work, try Butt, # 22.
His installation "Subject-Object Proof no.2", a special project for PULSE Art Fair, New York City (part of the Armory Show), is on view from tomorrow until Sunday. Art critics, get writing.
Hello, it's Eight-X vinyls time again, and today we have two acts with multiple identities. Fingerpritz, apparently the name Fingerprince was too " no sex please we're british", and so they left it too track two here (wink). Well, they released three albums with limited commercial success, before reinventing themselves-at least the two prime artists- as the Silencers that in the cause of the decade to come had considerable success. But here's how it started....Up next, Modern English, i had saved this one for spring as i think its a wonderfull spring album, it surprised their first fans as it was so upbeat and far from the doom their debut album displayed. Sadly they havent been able to overcome "After The Snow" and kept melting afterwards, a pity. Lastly today..After the break up of The Beat (UK) two new bands formed from the ashes, both were to become as successful in their own right. Fine Young Cannibals..(more on them next week) and General Public, which started off as a bit of a supergroup with members aboard from Dexy's Midnight Runners and Mick Jones (Clash). As these supergroups tend to do-they fall apart- and so it was after General Public's second album, but here at their debut thinks were all hunky dory....
Before forming The Silencers, vocalist Jimme O'Neill and guitarist Cha Burns were active in London's new wave music scene. O'Neill wrote songs for Paul Young and Lene Lovich, while Burns played guitar in Adam & The Ants. In 1979 they met and formed a post-punk/new wave project called Fingerprintz, and released three albums under that moniker: The Very Dab, Distinguishing Marks, and Beat Noir. They earned some critical recognition and notable appearances on John Peel's radio show and the BBC's In Concert radio series. On all their albums, you can find a sound that reminds the post-punk era, and when you listen to the songs, you will undoubtedly feel an evolution, noticing however obvious links between the tracks of the album. In the second album, Bob Shilling became Bogdan Wiczling (but it seems this is the same person anyway!!), and the music also became much more accessible, with tracks such as Houdini Love, Jabs and the famous Bulletproof Heart .Tracks were not anylonger composed by Jimme alone, since he was now helped by Cha. On the third album (recorded in Paris and London) the same musicians were present, plus Sadie "The Cat" (Jimme's wife). Beat Noir is actually the beginning of the "Silencers" sound.
Fingerprintz split in 1985, subsequently O' Neill formed a duo with electropop singer Jacqui Brookes and they released two singles in 1983: "Haunted Cocktails" and "Lost Without Your Love." When Brookes released a solo album "Sob Stories", O' Neill wrote or co-wrote a majority of the tracks and played guitar and other instruments on the album. However, soon after O' Neill and Burns were playing music together again, this time joined by drummer Martin Hanlin and bass player Joseph Donnelly, a cousin of Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr. After considering a number of oddball band names they settled on "The Silencers." More on them later, meanwhile i finish here with the sad fact that Charles Burns has died, on March 26th 2007 age 50 , following a battle with lung cancer.
07 - Hey Mr. Smith (2:45) 08 - Tough Luck (2:48) 09 - Invisible Seams (4:32) 10 - On The Hop (1:43) 11 - Beam Me Up Scotty (5:15)
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Modern English - After The Snow (82 ^ 89mb) Formed in Colchester, Essex, England, in 1979 by Robbie Grey (vocals), Gary McDowell (guitar, vocals), and Michael Conroy (bass, vocals) originally known as the Lepers. The group expanded to "Modern English" when Richard Brown (drums) and Stephen Walker (keyboards) A debut single, "Drowning Man" was released in 1980 on the Limp Records label. The band's full-length Mesh & Lace, released by 4AD Records a year later, was inspired by the stylish gloom of Bauhaus and Joy Division, Modern English released the singles "Swans on Glass" and "Gathering Dust" before recording their 1981 debut LP Mesh & Lace. Boiling with raw anger, dissonant rhythms, and weird noises, Mesh & Lace confused and mesmerized.
The follow-up album After The Snow (1982), recorded by the same line-up, was a minor revelation, as they introduced warmth and strong guitar harmonies (most notably on the hit "I Melt With You"), rejecting the tinny bleakness of the debut. It was well received in the USA, selling 500,000 units, and the band relocated to New York to consolidate a popularity encouraged by college radio. Their album Ricochet Days had a crisper production with hits such as "Ricochet Days" and "Hands Across the Sea". However sales turned out dissapointing, as the label had expected another Melt with you hit. Exhausted from touring, Modern English began falling apart, by the time of Stop Start, released in the US by Sire Records in 1986, Walker and Brown had left (been fired) and Aaron Davidson (keyboards, guitar) had joined.
The band had tried too hard for commercial success, pushed by their label and subsequent producers. Grey returned to England to form a new outfit, but reconvened Modern English in 1990 with Davidson and Conroy. They released Pillow Lips on the TVT label, selling 300,000 units. Robie Grey and band member Ted Mason co-wrote and produced a second release for TVT recording with live strings and multiple harmonies. It received very little enthusiasm from TVT. Locked into contractual obligations with TVT, Grey subsequently put the band on hold to study and travel, and Mason handled the legal issues of getting out of the TVT deal.
In 1995, Modern English with Matthew Shipley (keyboards), Ted Mason (guitar, vocals, production) and John Solomon (drums), recorded Everything's Mad for the Imago label. Robbie Grey continues to tour extensively on the US club circuit, and in 2001 signed a new recording contract with A.P.G. Music. 2007 saw the repackaged/remastered re-release of "Everything's Mad" for the Mi5 Recordings label distributed by Caroline/EMI. .
01 - Someone's Calling (4:01) 02 - Life In The Gladhouse (4:22) 03 - Face Of Wood (5:49) 04 - Dawn Chorus (4:40)
05 - I Melt With You (4:05) 06 - After The Snow (3:45) 07 - Carry Me Down (5:21) 08 - Tables Turning (4:31)
The band General Public formed after the 1983 break-up of The Beat (known as The English Beat in North America). Ex-Beat vocalists Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger joined up with keyboardist Mickey Billingham (Dexys Midnight Runners), bassist Horace Panter (The Specials) and drummer Stoker (Dexys Midnight Runners/The Bureau) to form the new band. Guitarist Mick Jones of The Clash was also originally announced as a band member. General Public signed to I.R.S. Records and released All the Rage (1984). However, by the time the album was released, Jones was no longer a member of General Public, although he did play guitar on the majority of the album's tracks. Kevin White (who also played on the album) was now the group's official guitarist and sixth member. In Britain, General Public had a minor hit with the eponymous track called "General Public" The band fared better in North America, where their second single "Tenderness" was a top 40 hit in the US and Canada. "Tenderness" was featured in the film Clueless (1995) and is used over the final credits.
For the follow-up album, White and Stoker were replaced by brothers Gianni and Mario Minardi on guitar and drums, respectively. Despite featuring a track from the soundtrack to Weird Science, Hand to Mouth (1986) was significantly less successful than the debut album, and the band soon split up. Roger and Wakeling worked on various solo projects for the next few years, before reuniting in 1994 to perform a cover of The Staple Singers hit "I'll Take You There" for the Threesome soundtrack. The song, credited to General Public, was a surprise top 40 hit in the US and Canada, and a minor hit in the UK.
The duo (now the only members of General Public) stayed together to release the album Rub It Better in 1995, recorded with the aid of producer Jerry Harrison. But sales were dismal, and Roger was tired of the grind of touring, so they soon broke up again. Beginning in 2000, Dave Wakeling began calling his backing band alternately either General Public or The English Beat. He then toured (mostly in North America) as either "The English Beat featuring Dave Wakeling" or "Dave Wakeling & General Public". Aside from Wakeling, this new backing band featured no original members of The (English) Beat or General Public, although reportedly Ranking Roger and other Beat members turned up as guest performers at a handful of shows. Wakeling and Roger reunited again in 2005 when The Beat officially reformed.
01 - Hot You're Cool (3:45) 02 - Tenderness (3:35) 03 - Anxious (4:18) 04 - Never You Done That (4:08) 05 - Burning Bright (4:22)
06 - As A Matter Of Fact (5:14) 07 - Are You Leading Me On? (3:08) 08 - Day-To-Day (3:27) 09 - Where's The Line? (4:03) 10 - General Public (4:22)
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Hello Around the World leaves the medievil spheres . Hugh De Courson Projet Electro-Medieval isn't that electro at all, apart from the digital production, in fact a parade of instrumentalists and singers pass by so dont expect much much electro. It's French, and the songs are based on 12th century , sacral works..those were the ones that got scripted....furthermore part 2 of the Cryptichon sampler.
Hughes de Courson is one of the most adventurous musician/producers from France. Dropping out of the family business (as in the militairy), when he was 18 wrote his first songs.As a self taught musician, he specialised in French folk music, then in what is now called "world music." He met Gabriel Yacoub in the army, they were both trying to escape by pretending to be mentally ill. We really did became mad and also very good friends. Once set free (to despair of my heroic families!), Hughes produced his first album "Pierre de Grenoble," and then formed Malicorne with Yacoub.
In 1973, with Gabriel Yacoub, Hughes de Courson founded the group Malicorne that very successfully paved the way for a new musical trend of folk music from all over Europe. A few years later he set up his own label “Ballon Noir” and signed a large number of artists such as Dan Ar Braz, Kolinda, Akendengué and La Bamboche. During a 10 year period between 1972-1985, French Folk, in France, was not a marginal field but a main musical stream, selling between 30.000 and 300.000 copies. After Malicorne broke up, ten years after its debut, and the folk movement began to wind down, de Courson composed scores for modern dance and film soundtracks, and embarked upon a fascinating series of inter-cultural collisions. The most successful of these was "Lambarena," where he and the Gabonese singer-composer Pierre Akendengue mixed traditional African sources with the music of JS Bach. In 1992, he won the Leonardo da Vinci prize, which permitted him to spend three years studying music in Egypt, Israel, Syria, Yemen, Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, and Macedonia. Among his typically polyglot and diverse recent projects are a theme for the Mediterranian Olympic Games, a cycle of dialogues between childrens' voices and assorted ethnicities called "Songs Of Innocence" (co-produced and composed with Tomas Gubitsch), and a chart-topping album by the Finnish female supergroup, Värttinä.
Hughes' albums are all large-scale works. He is an arranger rather than a soloist. On many he combines electronic effects with medieval or baroque instruments. Mozart in Egypt takes works by Mozart and emphasises the oriental elements in them. The 25th symphony is played with a much-enlarged orchestra. Autumn 2001 saw the release, again on Virgin Classics, in the same cross-over trend as Lambarena and Mozart in Egypt, of O’Stravaganza, a “Fantasy on Vivaldi and the Celtic music of Ireland”. And in 2003, after having released Lux Obscura, an ‘electro-mediaeval’ album, inspired by sacred music of the 12th century, Hughes de Courson composed the music to Philippe Découflé’s show’ Tricodex’, performed at the Opéra de Lyon, the Théâtre du Châtelet, in Paris, and later toured in the USA. In 2005, Hughes de Courson released on Virgin Classics a sequel to the best-seller Mozart in Egypt, and has recently been commissioned to write rearrangements on the national anthem of Qatar.
01 - Stella Splendes (4:45) 02 - Passu Torratu (4:46) 03 - Muort' Oramai (6:29) 04 - Alle (4:28) 05 - Fera Pessima (2:49) 06 - Loyauté (3:39) 07 - Saltarelli (5:19) 08 - Lux Obscura (6:45) 09 - Canon Énigmatique de la cour du roi Henri VIII (0:33) 10 - Sederunt Principes (3:42) 11 - Biauté (3:27) 12 - Puzzle Canon (1:42) 13 - Qui n'aroit autre déport (10:23)
201 - 3rd And The Mortal, The - Vandring (1:35) 202 - In Extremo - Ecce Rex Darius (4:00) 203 - Ordo Equitum Solis - Message To Pan (3:10) 204 - Susan McKeown - A Mhàire Bhruinneall (2:02) 205 - Merlons, The - Aergus (3:05) 206 - Lisa Gerrard & Pieter Bourke - The Unfolding (4:35) 207 - Corvus Corax - Najo Ratte (4:04) 208 - Hedningarna - Höglorfen (4:54) 209 - Asgard - Antiquum (3:41) 210 - Luis Perez - Alba (6:14) 211 - Garmarna - Varulven (Voc.Emma Härdelin) (6:28) 212 - Das Zeichen - Siddhi-A-Ham (5:02) 213 - Engelsstaub - Ignis Fatuus (4:15)
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Hello, i'm dreaming of a white easter, meanwhile The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy continues in it's Quintessential Phase, there's just no stopping them or is there ?
Last week...
The episode opens with a Grebulon spaceship suffering an accident, and losing nearly all records of what it is and what it should be doing, along with the crew's memories of why. Based on what little remains of their orders, they land on the tenth planet from the Sun, and start to 'monitor' Earth.After a year's travelling Arthur has returned to the co-ordinates ZZ9 plural Z alpha - where he is expecting to find Earth, and perhaps Fenchurch. In its place, he finds a barely colonised planet called NowWhat, although with the right continents for Earth. The creature at the information desk explains that beings from a "plural" region are not advised to travel in hyperspace due to the risk of slipping in dimensions. He is directed to Hawalius, a planet of oracles.
During a flashback, the introduction between Trillian and Zaphod Beeblebrox is revealed. But on a parallel Earth, an American and blonde Tricia McMillan (who was left behind by her universe's Zaphod) is interviewing Gail Andrews, an astrologer, about the effect that the recently-discovered planet Persephone (nicknamed Rupert) will have on astrology. The Grebulons, monitoring this, have an idea. Later, Andrews and McMillan talk. Andrews has sensed that McMillan is unhappy about the stars - McMillan reveals that she met an alien (Zaphod Beeblebrox) at a party once (a variation of the previous flashback ensues), but didn't get to go with him because she fetched her bag. She also reveals that she just missed out on a TV job in New York City because she did not go back to fetch her bag. Meanwhile, Zaphod (who does not appear in the book) is attempting to meet Zarniwoop once more, convinced that the Total Perspective Vortex (from Fit the Eighth) was not just his imagination. He has arrived at Saquo-Pilia Hensha, the new location of the offices for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He sneaks into the building pretending to deliver pizza, and goes to the editor's office. He meets Zarniwoop Vann Harl, who promises to explain matters.
The story turns back to Arthur, who has arrived at Hawalius. He is told by an oracle that prophecy is a dead business now, due to news reports from the future using time travel. He is given a piece of free advice - "it'll all end in tears, probably already has", and sent on his way to the next cave. Back at the Hitchhiker's building, Ford is also sneaking in. He climbs into the building through the ventilation system, disables a security robot (which he dubs "Colin") by hardwiring it to be happy all the time, and then gets it to cover his entrance to the editor's office, finding out along the way that the Guide has been taken over and is no longer owned by Megadodo Publications. He too manages to get into the editor's office and finds that Vann Harl has been expecting Ford. The episode ends here on a cliff-hanger.
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Hello, the fifth inside out coming up , as we celebrate the equinox/spring , hi jacked by the Church and turned into Easter and Christs death/rebirth celebration, still the pagan egg thing his stayed, but there's dark clouds ahead. As things get more and more inexplicable in the material world we need to clear up the mess thats been created, specially by religions and yes secret societies too and im not forgetting men's greed and ignorance though these are weaknesses that derail both sides.
Before getting to two new mind enhancing binaural brain beaters , there's the The Secret Teachings of All Ages to be had, a genuine master piece and recognised as such right from the start..and still, though obviously some holes have been shot in it, but in general its almost unbelieveable how this Manly Hall could have come to all that in 6 years of writing and research.. However, First up a man brought to my attention not that long ago, and because he stays clear of the usual channels of publishing (control) and self publishes his work , his main marketing strategy so to speak is doing lectures, radiotalks and having a number of rather slick websites, all geared to specific parts of his portfolio. Make sure to have a look, here's Tsarion's websites navigation page
Described as a teacher's teacher, Michael Tsarion is a Divination Scholar and Sidereal Mythologist. An expert on Stellar Astrology, he is the creator of the Archetypal Stellar Taroscopic Astrological system of Hermetic Divination, and founder of the online Taroscopic Mystery School. Michael is a descendant of a long line of philosophers, free-thinkers, ascetics and visionaries. His Himalayan born mother was a well-loved, internationally recognized clairvoyant, whose affiliates included a host of celebrities and academics. She attended J. Krishnamurti’s premier college in India and was later honored as the very first clairvoyant to be a regular on Irish Television.
Michael is also the grandson of Tara Singh, the renowned philosopher, author and teacher of the theosophic tome A Course in Miracles. He was the intimate friend of J. Krishnamurti (the World Teacher), Swiss architect Le Corbusier, Keith Critchlow, Alan Chadwick, Eleanor Roosevelt and President Nehru. He was entrusted, by the latter, with India’s 5-year plan of restoration after British withdrawal. Tara Singh also played a key role in the Rev. Paul Solomon’s Fellowship of Inner Light, one of the first true American mystery schools. He now heads the Foundation for Life Action in Los Angeles.
Michael was born and raised in Ireland and grew up learning metaphysics from Krishnamurti, Rev. Paul Solomon and Peter Balin. Growing up surrounded by leading free-thinkers and mystery school creators he was under pressure to find his own authentic voice rather than becoming dependant on the systems and influences of others. He has honored his pedigree by dedicating his life to the deepest research concerning the seminal metaphysical sciences. And unlike so many, he believes in honoring the work and the names of his mentors. He takes it as a given, the words of :
A people which takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendants.(Lord Macauly)
Intuitive since birth, he was introduced to the Tarot at age 11 through Rev. Paul Solomon’s premier mystery school - the Fellowship of Inner Light Movement and learning of its profound effect on the human intuition and its value as an empowerment tool, committed his life to bringing Tarot into the lives of others.
Tsarion has written a self-published book titled Atlantis, Alien Visitation and Genetic Manipulation (2004), produced and presented a 6-part, 22-DVD, ~60-hour series titled Origins and Oracles which explores ancient mysteries and forbidden knowledge, he's also the co-creator of the TimeGnosis Personal Timescopes system and he is part of the Horizon Project.
He often applies his occult knowledge to the real world, which includes his acceptance of the conspiracy theory that the United States presidency has always been and still remains a tool of the European Royal houses, the Freemasons, the Vatican, and a mysterious Egyptian "Black Pope". In his presentations, he shows many images and quotations from various sources such as the Bible, Carl Jung, Jordan Maxwell, Tony Bushby, David Icke, Aleister Crowley, Erich Fromm, Leonard Schlain, Aldous Huxley, Manly Palmer Hall, and William Comyns Beaumont, and Sigmund Freud. He uses these and many other sources to expand on what other people have discovered.
More esoteric subjects include a belief that the history of the world has stemmed from alien visitation in pre-diluvian times (before the Great Flood) who were being pursued across the galaxy, made their way to Earth. And started to enhance our predecessors to serve their needs, which backfired and nearly destroyed earth. These days these bad guys rule in the background in a truly machiavallian way, setting parties up against eachother, in biblical times they were more out in the open and presented themselves as god or angels.
I don't have to tell you that to this date this religious mess has worked wonders to keep this place a slaughterhouse, currently were being set up again for another bout of destruction between the christians, jews and muslims all succered by the same 'alien demons'. The creation of a a new world order serves their purpose because when the controls are set they will completely take over the top echalons and turn the remainder of humans into mindless slaves...Well thats the plan anyway.. and as all this is mindboggling to most, their chances of succeeding are better then desirable.
Here's part one of a long talk (200min) he held on the future of mankind, for those intending finding fault and keeping their truth fine, for others there's much to be learned here, specially the last 40 min are inspiring. Its been chopped up in 19 parts at you tube , however at Videogoogle you can see The Future of Mankind lecture integrally , so consider this a teaser
On this page you find a big number of other videolinks , and radio talks
Some Quotes from Tsarion's book Atlantis, Alien Visitation and Genetic Manipulation
Just because one does not have an actual “mark” on their forehead or a physical gun to their head does not mean we are free. Today, we are free only to do what we are told. We need to be reminded that there are two main methods of affecting hanges and imposing control on any animal. The first method is by direct training. This is accomplished by schools, universities, recalcitrant parents, and peer groups.
A general state education is a mere contrivance for molding people to be exactly like one another; and as the mold in which it casts them is that which pleases the predominant power in the government…it establishes a despotism over the mind…(John Stuart Mill)
The second method is by the instigation of changes to the environment of the animal.Though these are almost always beyond the awareness of the creature, they are extremely impactive. By exercising both methods, the Hidden Masters accomplish all the behavioral changes they require. The results are apparent for anyone who cares to see them.
To repress rebellion is to maintain the status quo, a condition which binds the mortal creature in a state of intellectual or physical slavery. But it is impossible to chain man merely by slaving his body; the mind also must be held, and to accomplish this, fear is the accepted weapon. The common man must fear life, fear death, fear God, fear the Devil, and fear most the overlords, the keepers of his destiny. (Manly Palmer Hall)
We are powerfully imprisoned in these Dark Ages simply in terms in which we have been conditioned to think. (Buckminster Fuller)
We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)
If you think of yourselves as helpless and ineffectual, it is certain that you will create a despotic government to be your master. The wise despot…maintains among his subjects a popular sense that they are helpless and ineffectual.(Frank Herbert)
Born on March 18, 1901 in Peterborough, Ontario, Manly Palmer Hall was raised by his maternal grandmother who brought him to the United States when he was very young. From an early age, Mr. Hall studied the full range of the world’s ancient wisdom traditions. Unlike so many of his contemporaries, he concluded that wisdom was not to be found on only one path or in only one religion. Instead, he saw wisdom as the highest realm where philosophy, religion, and science come together without boundaries. Barely twenty years old, the gifted young man began his public career in the fall of 1920 when he was invited to speak to a small group on the subject of reincarnation. The following year he was asked to hold a lecture program in Los Angeles and continued teaching and writing for another six decades. He showed thousands how universal wisdom could be found in the myths, mysteries, and symbols of the ancient Western Mystery teachings and how to embody this wisdom in their own lives.
“To learn is to live, to study is to grow, and growth is the measurement of life. The mind must be taught to think, the heart to feel, and the hands to labor. When these have been educated to their highest point, then is the time to offer them to the service of their fellowman, not before.”
Mr. Hall always felt that before the student could embark on an esoteric career, they must first build a sound and sane personality from which to launch such an endeavor.Two books he wrote in the early 1920s, The Lost Keys of Freemasonry and The Ways of the Lonely Ones, are also available and have enjoyed numerous re-printings
During this period Mr. Hall began planning his large volume on symbolical philosophy, The Secret Teachings of All Ages. He traveled extensively in 1923 and 1924, visiting many great cultural centers in Europe, Asia, and Egypt. A favorite place of Mr. Hall’s for searching out rare and ancient wisdom texts was the British Museum in London. These travels strengthened his convictions about the importance of comparative religion and deepened his understanding of significant contributions made in the interest of human spiritual evolution. Immediately upon his return, he set seriously to work on his encyclopedic outline of the Western esoteric tradition, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, which describes in some detail the most ancient theory of education, which was in the keeping of the Mystery schools. It took Mr. Hall six years to complete the work on the book and raise the enormous sum of $100,000 in 1928 necessary to print the first edition. It was richly illustrated and a first three editions were sold out before they got to the printers. They'd be worth a bundle or two, even today a reasonbly good facsimile will set you back 200 dollars.
In 1934 Mr. Hall founded the Philosophical Research Society, dedicating it to the ensoulment of all arts, sciences, and crafts, and devoted to the one basic purpose of advancing the brotherhood of all that lives, to meet all lovers of wisdom on a common ground. The society still hosts a wide range of lectures, seminars, workshops and performances on philosophical subjects and runs a bookstore and library. Located in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles since its inception, it has for decades been a place of learning for all spiritual traditions and was designated a Cultural Site by Los Angeles City Council in 1994.
Writing about the life of Manly P. Hall is no simple matter, as he was unremittingly prolific in all his endeavors. Mr. Hall authored over two hundred books on occult subjects ranging from works on astrology, the Bible, Tarot, dreams, mysticism, Eastern and Western philosophy, religion, psychology, symbology, and reincarnation, plus hundreds of essays and a monthly magazine published called the PRS Journal. Over the course of six decades he delivered eight thousand lectures. He spoke for up to two hours extemporaneously, weaving a mesmerizing tapestry of wisdom. He was recognized both in the United States and in Europe by rare book-dealers as a knowledgeable collector of philosophical treatises and hermetic/alchemical manuscripts, some dating back to the fifteenth century. His collection of books brought about the creation of the PRS Library, which is still visited by scholars today and is perhaps unique in the US. Mr. Hall loaned books on Alchemy from his collection to Professor Carl Jung when he was writing his now famous book entitled Psychology and Alchemy.
"Hence the disciple of the Ancient Wisdom is taught to realize that man is not essentially a personality, but a spirit."—Manly P. Hall
Retrieve your destiny provides 60 minutes of soothing music combined with a unique combination of window brainwave frequencies. These are extremely precise frequencies that seem to resonate and act on the body at the cellular level.
The special combination of theta brain wave frequencies on this prgram induce expanded states of consciousness associated with deep meditation. Cumulative benefits include: Greater slarity of thought, increased creativity, more epaceful states of mind, enhanced ability to concentrate and improve well being.
Enjoy a deeply relaxing meditative state as you are transported by other-worldly music and Hemi-Sync® to an encounter with a non-physical friend. Tabla drums and synthesizer are featured in this Eastern-influenced composition by Micah Sadigh, PhD. The enchanting experience of The Visitation can be an ideal stimulus for spiritual growth.
Micah Sadigh (Hemi-Sync) - 01 - The Visitation (28: 31)
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The Major League Baseball season is underway, and, perhaps for the first time since the 1994 strike, I'm not particularly excited. I will follow the Saint Louis Cardinals' (and a few other teams on the semi-ups, like the Yankees, Mets, Tigers, etc.) play throughout the season. They look to be as middling as they were in the 1970s and 1990s. I'll probably try to go to some baseball games in Chicago, since I'll be teaching through June, and, if I can get my act together, set foot in either Yankee or Shea Stadium when I'm back in the New York area. But my interest has, to put it mildly, dimmed substantially. Maybe it's just that I'm getting older and increasingly feel I don't have the mental or emotional space to devote to retrograde, monopolistic, social, secular opiates like professional baseball (or even college sports--I hadn't realized the NCAA and NIT basketball playoffs had begun until friends on a sports list started posting about and C asked me about the "brackets"). But I do think another part of my disaffection comes from the lingering steroid/performance enhancement scandal, which hasn't been fully addressed, by any of baseball's major players. MLB, including its administration and the owners, and the Players Union have bandied about punitive Band-Aids, when not demonstrating that they're in denial, and Congress's entry into the debacle was just a lot of bad spectacle. So what did we learn? That lots of players were using performance enhancers, but only a few, like Barry Bonds, have been pilloried. That some high profile players like Roger Clemens probably also were doping, but have lied about it, or maybe they haven't. 
That José Canseco, of all people, is turning out to be one of the most honest people in this whole mess, and he's even fingered the gazillionaire Adonis himself, A-Rod (A-Roid?). The reality seems to be that countless other players from the late 1980s onwards were probably using steroids and performance enhancers, that MLB and the union probably knew, and looked the other way, and that they want to condemn and punish players who got caught, without taking any responsibility for their action in abetting the situation, or admitting that it was beneficial for their bank accounts, which is what it all comes down to in the end, no? With 28 million people just getting by on food stamps these days, who has time for truculent, whining, lying multimillionaires? Well, maybe a few, if they're named Albert Pujols (at top), or José Reyes (at right), or Derek Jeter, or Johan Santana....
