Game-changers

[fat_fleet]

electricBeeb.jpg

Can you dig it?

[kcearl]

You killed the thread!

[fat_fleet]

It's a god-given talent.

[grimtraveller]

[triquee]

First memory of music was when I was 4. I used to sleep with the clock radio on. Kool and the Gang's "Cherish" came on and the sound of the music filled my dream. Woke up singing it. Lots more memories like that. But that was the first time it happened.

Then, it was hearing Stevie Wonder singing "Overjoyed" at school when I was 5 or 6.

When I was 7, it was the first time I'd heard "Man in the Mirror" on the radio in my mom's car.

There must have been others in between, but the next I remember is R.E.M. "Drive" when I was 13....B 52's "Roam" around that time too..."Blister in the Sun"...gosh, so many...

Then came a whole string of things, but most notably "Caught a Light Sneeze" by Tori Amos when I was 16. That was probably the biggest game changer.

Then began my musical love affair with the Lilith Fair bunch...

"Fast Car" hit me like a Mack truck, but I think it probably did that to everybody.

In college, I ingested Sting's full catalog - put it down when I got to "Desert Rose" (ugh).

Next huge game changer was Tool's "Lateralus."

When I was in my early 20's I did this internship in Chicago at the Field museum. I had the day off and found an art gallery...wandered through and found myself in an all white room, walls colored by video of a bunch of children holding hands, running in a circle. Then the music started. It was children singing "Wicked Game" in the most haunting way.

Then began a year or so of pining over Chris Isaak's lovely voice.

I can remember exactly where I was the first time I heard Eminem - like people remember exactly where they were when they heard Kennedy was shot.

[fat_fleet]

[grimtraveller]

For some reason this reminds me of the Incredible string band

While I've been on holiday, I've done quite a bit of reading on this lot. Some members of the group have written books that cost a fortune second hand but are available free online if you don't mind downloading, punctuating and printing off. I've been fascinated with the case since 1978. Just to show how sad I've become in middle age, I can tell you who 8 of the 9 people in the picture are !

[fat_fleet]

For some reason this reminds me of the Incredible string band

me too!

While I've been on holiday, I've done quite a bit of reading on this lot. Some members of the group have written books that cost a fortune second hand but are available free online if you don't mind downloading, punctuating and printing off. I've been fascinated with the case since 1978. Just to show how sad I've become in middle age, I can tell you who 8 of the 9 people in the picture are !

Yeah I like reading about them too....so charismatic! I probably woulda thrown it all away to run with those guys if I was around back then. I mean, I know the crimes were atrocious and all but I think there was truth behind it sometimes....ego really is a too much thing!

[grimtraveller]

me too!

I just checked ~ it's the cover of "The hangman's beautiful daughter". I thought I'd seen it somewhere before !

Yeah I like reading about them too....so charismatic! I probably woulda thrown it all away to run with those guys if I was around back then. I mean, I know the crimes were atrocious and all but I think there was truth behind it sometimes....ego really is a too much thing !

Susan Atkins made a really interesting point not long before she died. She was commenting on how, over the years people continually asked how anyone could've gotten involved with Manson and didn't anyone pick up any dangerous vibes at the time. And she said "the simple fact is, that in 1967, there was no reason to be afraid of Manson. He was a hippie guru type that was into acid and free, adventurous and plentiful sex ~ like many, many others that converged on the Haight and California at the time" or words to that effect.
Interestingly, the Haight had started to go bad long before the Manson crowd did, mainly because of hard drugs and big business cashing in on the Hippie happening.
The thing that often makes me wonder about those that advocate eradicating the ego, the proponents never do so themselves and they overlook the reality that our ego is us. It's the core of our identity and being. It may be good, it may be bad but either way, eradicating it is far more dangerous than indulging in it ! Far better to learn to control what's negative than blitz it and worsen the situation.

[grimtraveller]

I've been thinking recently about some of the game changers for me in terms of instruments I like. Some I can pinpoint while others I have no idea. They were so gradual that I can't think of anything specific.

I love the electric piano. That period from 1965 and songs like "The night before" and "You like me too much", right through to the mid 90s and Sheryl Crow's "All I wanna do is have some fun", right through rock and in particular jazz rock. Although I loved guys like Chick Corea {Return to Forever} and Jan Hammer's {Mahavishnu orchestra} playing from the early to mid 70s and the jazz stuff inspired me to go out and buy a clavinet, the guy whose electric piano really went 'kloong' with me and made me really listen to it with both ears and to the extent that I went out and bought a Fender Rhodes, was a guy called Jim Lockhart who was a multi instrumentalist and vocalist with the seminal Irish folk rock band, Horslips. He played flute, uillean pipes and all manner of keyboards. It's his performance on "High volume love" on the 'The unfortunate cup of tea' album that really did it for me. I don't know why.
Like the mellotron, it's an interesting and underrated instrument.