26 November, 2010

SaltedJazz MixTape

Artwork by Shorty

LISTEN & DOWNLOAD
 
SIDE A
Dave Brubeck - Someday My Prince Will Come
Medeski, Martin & Wood - Baby, Let Me Follow You Down
Nick Drake - Saturday Sun
Movie Sample 1 - Philadelphia Story
Lonnie Johnson - Tomorrow Night
Movie Sample 2 - The Lady From Shanghai: Rita Hayworth - Please Don't Kiss Me
Ray Charles - Drown In My Own Tears
Edith Piaf - Polichinelle
Andrew Bird's Bowl Of Fire - Dora Goes To Town
Cozy Cole - Topsy Pt 1&2
Michael Franks - Popsicle Toes
Herbie Hancock - Watermelon Man
John Coltrane - Blue Train

SIDE B
Dave Brubeck - Someday My Prince Will Come
The Ink Spots - If I Didn't Care
Tom Waits - Tango Till They're Sore
Chesterfield Broadcast Sample - The Cigarette That Satisfies
Duke Ellington - Perdido
Movie Sample 3 - Gilda
Mamas Cass - Dream A Little Dream
Movie Sample 4 - Green Mansions
Nina Simone - I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl
Arthur Lyman - Love For Sale
The Andrew Sisters - Rum & Coca Cola
Benny Goodman - Sing, Sing, Sing (With A Swing) - edit
John Coltrane - Blue Train


23 November, 2010

Nietzsche vs. Nietzsche (A story of decadence)

Photo: 'Tomorrow in a year', Hotel Pro Forma


In Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche wrote about two types of selfishness (A 'healthy' form and a 'sick' form). I paraphrase him now because its my lay-opinion that much of what he has written can be happier and more chilled out (a bit more 'easy campese' if you will).

Nietzsche wrote about a 'healthy' form of selfishness which appropriates and gives according to a 'desire to bestow'. Beneath this idea is really nice acorn: That it feels good and can actually be good for you to give things away in honesty and silence (and if one is particularly skilled, in a harmonious way to the recipient of one's potential gifts). It is at this point that I feel Nietzsche reached one of the highest apex's in his trajectory as a thinker.

Its a shame (but also a blessing for us whom are lucky enough to inherit his works), that he poorly grasped Buddhist thought. He is not to blame however, as at the point of his writings, Buddhist practice (that is to say, Vipassana) had not entered Europe. It was still geographically land-locked in Myanmar at the time. Speaking figuratively but also somewhat literally, it was an 'underground' discipline throughout Nietzsche's whole lifetime. The history and historiography of Vipassana are deeply complex and I look forward to learning more about them (It is important to scrutinize the academic legitimacy of a gorgeous story, even when one believes it instinctively).

Nietzsche's mishandling of Buddhist thought and practice can be seen in his attack on Karma. In Nietzsche view, Karma was a tool designed for social repression and a reflection of psychic repression. This was due to the fact that in his view it rewarded 'good' behavior and punished 'bad' behavior based upon a 'value system', and critically, while not questioning or valuing the ethical integrity of the system itself (Nietzsche was the first Western thinker I know of to really explore the finer nuances of the 'value of values' problem, which is to say, the psychologically fine nuances of it).

What Nietzsche misunderstood about Karma (especially in his later works like Ecce Homo when he started becoming sad and egocentric, but also quietly more interesting) is that the integrity and coherence of Karma cannot be intellectualized or conceptualized. Its empirical reality lies in its practice and as such has to be sensed by oneself. We can only understand Karma by experiencing and feeling it. It is a really tough thing to do well however. The great challenge once one begins to realize its importance (even if only to one's own happiness and harmony), is discovering how to do it at the practical level; How does one ensure that one's gifts are harmonious to ones recipients?

This is a timely question (with all sorts of public holidays approaching). But it is also an untimely question in the sense that it is one of the oldest and time-honored questions of them all (A question with a far deeper intellectual and historical heritage than our dear 'canon of western thought'). Feeling the joy of giving is cool, but knowing how to do it well is an art. Nietzsche called this art 'healthy selfishness'. Thankfully, there are other fields of thought that are elegant enough to incorporate practice into their epistemology with far greater coherence.

Now for some 90s Aussie Synth Pop, a bath and a :-)

ps. Updated: I lied (about the bath). I can't stop reading and re-reading this recent paper by the Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG, 'The rule of law beyond the law of rules'. It is profound. It is like a more eloquent and experientially grounded version of chapter 9 of 'A Thousand Plateaus' (and with more juridic intelligence too of course!)

Richard Branson


It goes without saying that this dude is fundamental. The backstory alone is enough.
I bet he loves space yoga from really gifted practitioners.

21 November, 2010

My perfect song of the day


My favourite sense of the word 'perfect' = perfectus, ptp. of perficere to finish, bring to completion (or: Harmony between two bodies. In this case, listener and song)

I like these senses of the word because the existence of 'time' means that everything 'perfect' will become imperfect again unless a new type harmony is attained (This can also reveal the importance and beauty of imperfection too).

These guys are very good at lyrics


I feel an honest bona fide substance behind them .. Just a feeling ..
My only reservation is that I can smell the traces of Ressentiment ..
But perhaps this is just for artistic purposes .. I don't know ..
Epictitus nailed some really peace-loving sentiments in any case ..

(ps. This word 'evil' is really boring in my opinion .. See 'Genealogy of Morals')

17 November, 2010

Holonic

Question 27: What is the difference between a clip and a clop?

Answer: A clip is a syphon waiting for distribution to the jar of souls, whereas a clop is a night owl.

Correct. You have received full marks. The award ceremony will commence at 3am.

Fucked-Up Pendulum
Freestyle 2
AM3:00TYD

16 November, 2010

The Soapbox Mafia


This dude invented the camera.

"Muybridge's skills as a photographer came to the attention of Leland Stanford, a railroad baron and former Governor of California. Stanford hired Muybridge to help him settle a bet -- that when a horse gallops all four of its feet leave the ground at least once. In early 1872, Muybridge arranged a series of cameras along a path, with each camera shutter attached to a trip wire laid across the path; as the horse galloped down the path it broke each trip wire in turn, thus producing a series of still pictures. By May of 1872 Muybridge had succeeded in creating a reasonably good silhouette that indeed showed all four of the horse's feet off the ground at one time, but the photograph's quality was mediocre at best. Stanford wanted a photograph that would settle the bet once and for all, so he agreed to provide the funds necessary for Muybridge to improve his methods."

I like this story.

Amateur perspectives 101



When one admires someone (I mean really honestly admires them), its never the person that they admire but the characteristics and skills that the person that they admire has demonstrated.

We are sophisticated monkeys and lets be honest, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If one eventually moves beyond imitation and discovers their own voice, then fucking kudos to them. Show me how. This is called a really major success in my opinion. Congratulations to genuinely successful people. I love it when people demonstrate something really impressive (that we can all learn from).

Who cares about 'the dude'. That is only an image of what you are looking for. Steal what resources you can from what they have learned, do it yourself and go beyond. Regardless of weather you get there, I reckon its better giving that a shot than letting whatever it is that you do get ossified in any particular person(s).

:-)

(Also I suspect that the art of a really crafty reading of ones heroes is to know what to leave behind as well .. its fun to do justice to one's heroes .. to take their legacy seriously .. that means pushing on in the thick snow .. and having fun)

15 November, 2010

Black Grease

Drake is a bit talented ...



These lyrics are really clever. I totally don't get them but am very curious to learn more about them. Seriously.

I only came across this 'Drake' character last night (quite by accident haha). But I reckon he is very very good !

(p.s.. These Hype Williams cats (whomever they are) are really cheeky and very talented too)

Have a lovely day whoever reads this.

Drake is apparently famous but there are deffo elements of the eternal in his work (See Syphilitic works of Freddy neats .. Skip to 'Fame and Eternity' but feel to look around; the whole thing is pretty funny; I would add that HW are not (too) famous but equally flirt with the eternal)

:-)

(NB: Regarding reading this stuff of Nietzsche above, keep in mind he was literally insane when writing these works and that also these are really imperfect translations : . if you can translate the words out of their insanity and into something that will brighten your day, fucking kudos to you dude)

Woubeshet Feseha



Every track on this cassette is bliss. These are my top three.

Woubeshet Feseha -Unknown 1
Woubeshet Feseha -Unknown 2
Woubeshet Feseha -Unknown 3

Sounds Like Ariel



These two remind me a little of Menopause Man off Ariel Pinks Latest album. Beautiful.

Alem Kebede - Tew Lebe Tesebseb
Alem Kebede - Yefeker Amelu

Silly Love Songs


AOR DISCO EXCLUSIVE #29: Silly Love Songs by Sci-Fi Pogo by AOR DISCO

13 November, 2010

Cupidean intelligence; Hymn to Dionysus shit




A little and lovable thing just send me this texto:

"Yo funny (and still not African American)"

This is my reply ……

I dislike (but also admire) those spiritual jokers that get lost in the bla bla; I mean the ‘Orientalists’ .. Thankfully sometimes they make really cool Art ..

So here are some crucibles of Western thought that are as hard as stone. And soft as any pillow. Take a nap on them and wake up feeling refreshed.

> Freddy Neats: Hymn to Dionysus (check out origin and history of 'Thriambos' if you curious enough ... )
> Cupid and Psyche (from ‘The Golden Ass’; Cupid finds a way to love Psyche while chilling in heaven with the Gods, he does that shit with total detachment .. Cool)
> The outrageous line: “ When ye despise pleasant things, and the effeminate couch, and cannot couch far enough from the effeminate: there is the origin of your virtue.” (From the really classic chapter of a (very) bizarro book)
> Have lunch ~ This is some really hastily thrown together potpourri of the words/tunes of Mr Leonard Cohen and other peeps that clearly respect what he does (Aural sophistation is obviously not the point in this psudo-mix ..; the poetic contents of this bla bla is the crucible, not how shoddily its been taped together)

SO~

I would say that its cool to go anywhere you wish but never forget where you come from. Whoever you are. Hold with a delicate grip both directions of whatever road you rolling on. And don’t forget to strut occasionally (haha). But we don’t like show–offs either (yes, contrary to intuition, (I hope this is your counter-intuition too), peace and joy can for whatever fucked up reason sometimes be deeply offensive to some dispositions; More about that later .. that shit is too terrifying to think/write about right now .. but I give you a puppy glimpse: (see second paragraph (and feel free to go beyond if that's ya bag); Another glimpse in any case is from Jay Z in this track).

So cloak yer grin from time to time .. No dawn without dusk .. Sometimes the mask that comes between these two things has value etc ..

As shit steepens, ya loins become stronger, eventually it gets easier (but only if you are working hard enough haha ! :-)

If there is one thing to really recommend in all of the bla bla above .. it’s the 44minute Leonard Cohen documentary

(its surprising that Cohen's french accent is so amateur tho ;-)

11 November, 2010

Don't look down .. Or do ..


Don't look down - Kanye West (feat. Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco and Big Sean)
~ From the brilliant "Good Twisted Fantasy" mixtape .. which isn't here .. Have fun trying to open the secret files .. haha .. But seriously .. try ..

Eagles play sport too. But I reckon they do look down (haha).

From the Daily Mail. (I recommend reading the whole article .. like most beautiful things, the devil is in the detail(s)

This National Geographic viddy can't be watched in Australia due to copyright licensing stuff, but Aussies can enjoy the cheesy but tasty PBS video. The champagne of Eagle watching is BBC though. You should probably buy that one.

I wonder if there are any eagles that are indigenous to Australia ? Where is a bloody orthinologist when you need one !? haha .. I also wonder if some gangsta ass eagles have just free flown here, accidentally, teaching themselves how to live off the high seas on their way … Has such a bird ever existed ? That would be one cool bird. (And I wonder what type of pseudo 'orthinologist' could answer that question haha)

But hey~ listen carefully to that song. Its really good.

(p.s.. I'd love to get a hi res file of that track and listen to a longer dirtier version of it .. a bit more 'meditative', in the style of theo parrish for example .. let the crest of the loop rise and swell a bit longer .. try out a subtle and foul bassy undercurrent .. after some well placed silence(s), give the string arrangements a bit more presence perhaps .. chuck in a rick ross sample ..? maybe a bit of ennio morricone .. full of flavour but not too cluttered .. like a 36minute version ? well, "wish I had a guitar" as they say haha)

Off to the pool ;-)

09 November, 2010