New Moon Breakdown


Take it from the top. Hmmm---what works for musicians might just work for the people at large. If you're looking for revitalization, do-it-yourself deprogramming, and maybe even a couple of solutions for that which seems insoluble, the new moon is your ticket. It's a bona fide starting point, like the opening credits at the premiere of an Angelina Jolie movie. Plus, if your conventional wisdom says that chances for redemption are rare, this one comes every 28 days. And all at no cost to you!

If you're going to tap into the psychological benefits of starting afresh, it can only help to do it in concert with the cosmos. If a pop psych tract tells you that all change must come from within, you might want to take that with a grain of salt. Besides, everyone who tries to be aware knows that it's tough to alter your mindset all on your own. All the more reason to be less arrogant and garner a little help from the sky. Even though you can't see its black on black up there, the new moon is exerting a profound influence on your molecules and
synapses---not to mention the more metaphysical stuff.

New moon occurs tomorrow at 10:01 AM est (while the moon is in Sagittarius---Beethoven, Jimi Hendrix, you get the general drift). This I know because I have
a unique lunar calendar produced by Luna Press, out of Boston. This beautiful, magazine-like object is much more useful to me than a Blackberry could ever be, all apologies to our technological wonders.

So Thursday morning at 10:01, take a few deep breaths, have a moment of silence, and you magically have a clean slate.

(Luna Press is at PO Box 15511 Kenmore Station, Boston, MA 02215---
phone--(617) 427-9846 web-ism at www.thelunapress.com)


Now, in the interest of linguistic R&D, the Breakdown---

"Rubbernecking a tornado on a flat-screen TV, outside snowflakes are Rockettes, the high kick erroneously attributed to Ray Davies.
You've ended up in a place where artists don't normally live (whoops!)
and the music in the bar is never anything but more seventies revival, always a safe bet.
Whenever I hear a chainsaw, I think of the Plasmatics, that tape must really hurt---we got as punked out as we could but when the tap started sputtering, we knew our beers were numbered.
U-turn to the wonders of reverb, how it adds a Shakespearian eloquence
to a rudimentary riff, & you stumble back out into the sun, still doing penance for running over that rabbit that flashed in the headlights at 4am."

-------Lp

Strum Warnings


As the U. S. government enters another cycle of overdue indictments and old as well as new lies are confirmed or exposed each day, it would be fitting to remember a few courageous, intelligent artists who spoke out when they still held the minority view. Also, after the fricasseeing of the Dixie Chicks for one remark by Natalie Maine at a British concert, these musicians knew they could be facing malicious attempts to sabotage their careers.

The first cautionary voice I noticed came from Steve Earle in his 2002 release, "Jerusalem". The first cut, "Ashes to Ashes" warns of the dark side of our response to the Twin Towers disaster, particularly the opportunities for xenophobia, demagoguery, and a mindless version of 'patriotism' that would inevitably erode the guarantees of a free society. Everyone should also read Mr. Earle's eloquent manifesto in the liner notes to "The Revolution Starts Now", his follow-up CD from 2004. For this project, Steve Earle also made the daring commitment to do all the sessions in just a few days in order to get his message out before the election.

Rickie Lee Jones channeled Tom Paine as well as Paul Revere in her 2003 recording, "Tell Somebody What's Happenin' in the USA (Repeal the Patriot Act)" from the CD
"The Evening of My Best Day". She also felt compelled to include a short prose statement urging citizens to shout "No!" to their representatives about the vile affront to civil liberties euphemistically called the Patriot Act.

In her delightfully wicca cum Alice (in wonderland) approach to reality, Laura Love issued "Welcome to Pagan Place" (2003), in which she continued to decry the corporatization of everything while singing her joyous, life-affirming arias. Again, I direct you to the liner notes, wherein Laura articulates the dread so many of us felt as we watched Bush's gang spiral ever more deeply into death & destruction as a growth industry.

Finally, in 2004, came the real 'shock & awe' of "American Idiot", Green Day's purifying blast of rage, sorrow, and general kiss-my-ass insouciance -- a solid resolution to totally reject the crap being foisted upon us by our leaders. "American Idiot" has sold over 10 million copies worldwide and the new concert DVD, "Bullet in a Bible" is truly awe-inspiring and energizing. Green Day is obviously spreading a healthy skepticism throughout suburbia and beyond. You can believe it will bear fruit, in the form of less tolerance for war and other stupidities, not too far down the line.

Please take a moment today to thank all these gutsy musicians for resisting the idiotic pronouncements of the military/industrial spokesheads for the last four years. They've reminded us that the true power lies in our own compassion and common sense -- coupled with a refusal to accept "leadership" based on fear, manipulation, and a "blizzard of lies".*
---Lp

*see Dave Frishberg's cool song of the same name from about twenty years ago.


THINGS to check out ____ Phil Och's propulsive rhythm guitar playing on "I Ain't Marchin'
Anymore"

Remember Your Animal


My father was known and respected by a diverse community of people -- he had a wall in his den covered with plaques and honoraria. From early on, the man knew how to get results. At the age of 23, he was responsible for getting an entire hospital train, with all its equipment and staff, safely across the war zone in Northern Africa. After his "retirement", he even had a political career in which he tried to accomplish many positive things for public schools, as well as a few universities -- a natural outgrowth of his life-long career as an educator.

Yet with all his achievements and his amazing ability to exert a positive influence over thousands of lives, it stunned me to suddenly have a realization as to the single most important thing he taught me. He loved to play his old Martin guitar and sing everything from Stephen Foster tearjerkers to the zen-like hilarity of "Midnight on the Ocean",

"It was midnight on the ocean, not a streetcar was in sight.
The sun was shining brightly, and it rained all day that night.
A north-south wind was blowing and the rain was snowing fast;
A barefoot boy with shoes on stood sitting in the grass..."

But the song that most resonated in my skeleton and psyche told of a daring night time raid, an act of Robin Hood-like courage and mayhem. Sitting under a teenage pecan tree this late October, the whole song came back to me -----

"The Fox went out on a chilly night,
Prayed for the moon for to give him light.
He had many a mile to go that night
Before he reached the town-o, town-o, town-o
He had many a mile to go that night
Before he reached the town-o.

Well he ran 'til he came to a great big pen,
The ducks and the geese were kept therein.
He said, 'A couple of you are gonna grease my chin
Before I leave this town-0, town-o, town-o,
A couple of you are gonna grease my chin
Before I leave this town-o.

He grabbed the grey goose by the neck,
Flung a duck all across his back.
He didn't mind the 'Quack quack quack!'
And the legs all danglin' down-0, down-o, down-o
(repeat)

Well old Mother Flipperflopper jumped out of bed,
Out of the window she cocked her head.
She said, 'John, John! The grey goose is gone
And the Fox is on the town-o, tokwn-o, town-o........

John he ran to the top of the hill,
He blew on his horn both loud and shrill.
The Fox said, 'I better flee with my kill
'Cos he'll soon be on my trail-0,................. (& repeat)

Well he ran 'til he came to his cozy den,
There were the little ones, eight, nine, ten.
They said, 'Dad, Dad ya better go back again
'Cos it must be a mighty fine town-o....(etc.)

Then the Fox and his wife without any strife,
Cut up the goose with a fork and knife.
They never had such a supper in their life,
And the little ones chewed on the bones-o, bones-o, bones-o
They never had such a supper in their life,
And the little ones chewed on the bones-o."

So it really is true -- nothing we possess and pass on is more important than our songs and stories, and most of the claims of the so-called "real" world pale in comparison and simply don't do justice to our true spirit. And ultimately, nothing displaces that subversive humor, that sacred disrespect for all that is sanctimonious, that wink we share behind the backs of the oh-so-literal-minded powers that be.