morningambassador’s posthaven

www.myspaceantics.com

It's been a moody day of sharing.... because of events, and well... mood.
Like Hope caught behind, last left after all ills departed Pandora's not-to-be-opened box, let peace rule the day when all is said and done.
December fourth - you have been instructive, and for that and life I am grateful.
December fifth to follow, and I'd like to be here for it.
Peace and sweetness - Hope and encouragement to all.

I have admired Richard Feynman for years. To me, the mark of true genius is to take the complexities of - in his case physics - and paint the picture simply enough for non-physicists to apprehend its essential truth. Once one gets to the core, that truth can then be applied to innumerable fields and examples. If that isn't magical, I'm not sure what is.

Analogy opens locked boxes everywhere.

'lurdanhelhart commented on YouTube under the following video:' "Proof that knowledge makes life more joyous, more hopeful, more ineffably __beautiful__, than all those who claim "ignorance is bliss" can possibly imagine."

Intriguing. Stunning.

There's something about acoustic music. Don't get me wrong. I love what electric can do for a smashing song, but I dig skeletons... bare bones sound and the talent to bring it forth simple and unabashed. I feel the same way about stories, peeled back to mythology, to folk tales, peeled back to dreams and experience, back to the human imprint internal if not eternal.

There's something about Beck. Any way he serves it up, I will listen. You can too, if you so desire. Here are three acoustic pieces from a radio show presentation in November of 2008. They are: "Gamma Ray," "Orphans," and "Modern Guilt."  I especially like these versions of the latter two.

And just to be 'fair,' one great electric submission of live "Loser" to wrap up.

Not much more to say. The mood is driving the music selection tonight. Sometimes it's the music that gets a person through to the other side. Here's hoping! Cheers!

Electric Alert: DO NOT stand in water, for safety sake:

There will always be trouble. Misunderstanding, Distance, Loss. It is one side of a coin which cannot be separated from its more joyous face. The butterfly on the lotus petals of the heart alight first on one, then the other, and so it goes in neverending counterpoint and interplay. Trouble. How much and when? If it was known, then what would be different? Anything?

When I first saw the movie, "Harold and Maude," it was a revelation. And the times after that. The story, images, set pieces. The acting, the soundtrack... has stayed with me so many years that I'm coming full circle, having turned from youth to age, running the gamut of character... Not quite. But someday soon I will wake up and think of Ruth Gordon in a new light: less as teacher than peer. I don't want to fear... trouble. This is life.

Two versions follow, one from the movie and one by Eddie Vedder. Enjoy the light that comes from behind the dark, roiling clouds.

I honestly don't know about this penchant of mine for posting spoilery film endings, but some contain the most moving moments in the whole piece. If you haven't seen either the American or Spanish movie renditions, don't let me spoil you if you think you might be interested someday.

The themes of reincarnation and perception within perception, lives within life grab me every time.

What brings the whole scene together for me is the beautiful "Nothing Song #4" by Icelandic band, Sigur Ros. The song is natively entitled, "Njosnavelin." No pronunciation guide included, I'm afraid....I'm still working it out myself. :)  Genre: ethereal?

Molly Tuttle is a talented young woman from a family of musicians. She's been playing with them and on her own for years back into childhood. Many of the songs she performs are traditional folk tunes like this one: "Old Man at the Mill," but of late she's been writing her own songs as well. I've been watching her ramp up her already staggering talent for years, and I feel fairly certain that she is someone to watch in future.

Besides her confidence and vocal range, in this video there is also her invigorating demonstration of clawhammer guitar, a personal favorite of mine. She has a natural feel for the content and emotional tone of the songs she sings. There are so many beautiful videos out there of her renditions, solo and with her brothers and the rest of the family, it was hard to pick what else to showcase... I'll leave that to you should you find interest here. Enjoy.

http://www.platetectonicmusic.com/id150.html

I was one of those people who loved Wes Anderson's movie, "Steve Zissou: The Life Aquatic."
It's one of those movies (and directors, most likely) that you either love or you don't.

Just one of the myriad things I dig in it is the soundtrack, a portion of which is Seu Jorge singing Bowie songs accompanied by his acoustic guitar in character... and the beautiful language of Portugal and Brazil, Angola, among other places.

Here are three from the movie: "Life On Mars," "Starman," and "Queen Bitch." The latter is played during the credits - and wow - what is that huge painting in the background?... Of course they add more in the context of the story and the character Jorge plays. These won't be for everyone, but I hope folks will like their mellow whimsy and acoustic Portuguese take on Bowie.

An aside: I've been away from this blog for over a month. Hard for me to believe, and I hope to be back more consistently now. I was off participating in NaNoWriMo - (Inter)National Novel Writing Month - 50K words in 30 days. One of the best distractions I've ever had.

I'll post about it separately, but since this is my first entry in such a long time, I thought I'd mention it.

*I see that the embedding has been 'disabled by request.' If you click on through where it says 'Watch on YouTube,' it should work just fine. so now that big black box is just a fancy 2-click link. :)*

Taken as a whole, or even watched in bits, this was a very enjoyable and varied way to spend time with Neil Young and his current musical and visual endeavors. There are some lovely effects to augment the music, along with heartfelt renditions of solo pieces.

I hope you enjoy it as I did and will again.

You've been there since I turned on to music at a very young age, Neil, and it continues to be quite something to watch your evolutionary arc through what you choose to share with the public.

Individuated models for growing up and older are valuable in my book.

... wherever in your travels you may be
I wish you smooth sailing and food/drink for your
journey on

It seems like yesterday that you turned 40,
still here with us celebrating

And still... here and not forgotten.
Thank you for everything.

       

From their Wikipedia page at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadou_%26_Mariam

"Amadou & Mariam are a musical duo from Mali, composed of the couple Amadou Bagayoko (guitar and vocals) (born in Bamako 24 October 1954) and Mariam Doumbia (vocals) (born in Bamako 15 April 1958). The pair, known as "the blind couple from Mali" met at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind, and found they shared an interest in music. Amadou lost his vision at the age of 16 while Mariam became blind at age 5 as a consequence of untreated measles."

Here is their official website:  http://amadou-mariam.com/_sites/AMADOU2008/html/index2.htm
There are some lovely videos and other goodies there as well.

I just heard them for the first time the other day while watching 2009's Glastonbury Music Festival on television, and all of a sudden out of all the bands there was one unrecognized, totally magnetic and joyful sound that I had to stop and find out: just who are these people? Apparently in many parts of the world they are quite well known and have many albums out

I would love to find a clear, non-wobbly live version of either of the songs as the entire band is very different to watch than just to listen - so dynamic, so varied in motion, so full of exuberant joy. I'll keep looking. In the meantime, above is a music video for one song, and a static album version of a different song in the video below.