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11.08.06 5 pm Politics and music have at times mixed together perfectly well. We've probably all, at one time or another, been moved by music that has exalted social change, or tried to raise awareness about particular issues. However there is something about music artists speaking about politics that tends to get up people's noses. I think it's because a lot of musicians have egos (after all, they feel like they deserve to be heard musically, which tends to be a very deep, personal drive - barring the KFeds of the earth - poor, poor, KFed - don't worry KFed, there are plenty of other pop superstars in the world for you to live off/with). So musicians can sometimes by default come across as a little bit too 'precious' and self-involved. When they open their gobs about social issues or politics, it can be grating. Nevertheless, I fee inclined to open my gob. See, I have an unhealthy obsession with American politics. I watch way too much CNN. I read way too much news. The reason I care is that the social, economic, and foreign policy mandates of the U.S. have far reaching implications in the world. We have to ask ourselves, what is 'justice' in a world where we define ourselves against over-simplified characterizations of 'enemies' and carry out a preemptive military doctrine against countries whose people suffer for events they had no control over, with soldiers thrown into hell because they saw an opportunity through military service to change their own lives. Meanwhile, back home, upper-middle class America watches Friends reruns and football. They trust the language of a leadership that represents big-oil, a language consisting of phrases like 'evil-doers' and 'dead or alive'. The most powerful politicians in the country cover their hearts with their hands and praise the glory of the troops, while sheltering their own children from the same peril. Pundits like Bill O-Reilly vilify grieving mothers who deign to question the very premise of the reason their child DIED. They are labeled as unpatriotic. Wacko. They are LIBERAL. They don't love America. They don't want to WIN. And the so-called American Dream that is articulated in such an emotional way by those who benefit most by it, is dreamt on an un-level playing field, where those who need prescription drugs the most - who cannot afford them - pay the most. Where people who are the most financially desperate are punished with the most exploitative rates from banks. Where people who have very little, and are black, huddle together in hordes while their lives are washed away by broken levies, as their family and friends starve and die. Heck Of A Job, Brownie. Where is the outrage? Well, as of last night, we saw a little of it. Americans started to take their country back. Control of the House, Democrat. Control of the Senate, probably Democrat (pending the Virginia recount). Today a contrite Bush replaced Donald Rumsfeld, the stubborn architect of a failed Iraq policy. So lets just hope that finally, true change can start to occur. To any of you out there who I have offended, I apologize. But if we can't share our ideas about real issues, what do we have? I think everybody should be encouraged to ask questions, to debate. To listen. To care. The deeper you get, the more murky it may seem, but the only alternative is Apathy. Suffering, Death, Greed, Spitefulness, Selfishness, Competitiveness, Superficiality - are ugly to really look at. But Apathy is the ugliest of all. And it lurks everywhere. Perhaps, as another poster commented in another of my blogs - I should stick to making music. :) But I believe that if we explore what's wrong, if we fight the apathetic tendencies we all possess, we might have a chance to become a kinder species. Who, deep down, doesn't want that? 08.20.06 9 pm We all know the the West consumes vastly more than it's fair share of global resources at the expense of poor countries. As capitalism and industry propel trade and economies, vast swathes of people at the butt end of the deal work their asses off for nothing. They know nothing of the hope and opportunity and possibilities that we take for granted (myself included) every day. Now - I love my iPod. When Apple first introduced it I remember thinking 'who is going to pay hundreds of dollars to walk around with their entire music library'? Now, of course, it's a massive hit, and Apple has been rewarded handsomely for it's foresight. (The Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field Notwithstanding....) So I use my iPod everyday. I go for walks while I'm at my office and pick a soundtrack for the movie in my head and just go. I read an article today about where our iPods come from. I encourage you to check it out and consider what it means. They way we economically pillage the rest of the world is shameful, and yet we expect big cars, advanced electronics, all the luxuries and wonders of the modern world. Check out this article. Reminds me of a show I watched once where they interviewed a woman living on the poverty line in a shack in Indonesia, working 16 hour days in a factory that makes jeans that are sold at Walmart. They flew her to the U.S. to see a Walmart and she was in disbelief at the Western lifestyle, and the fact that the jeans retailed for more than she makes in a whole year.... What a world. How do we change it? 06.14.06 5 pm Just stepping in for a short hello. I'm really happy that the record has recieved some good college radio airplay across Canada, as well as some good national CBC Radio exposure on various shows. As an independent artist, the greatest gift you can recieve is the chance to have other people hear what you are doing. So thanks to everyone who is helping me do that. A video production company in Toronto has made a conceptial treatment for one of my songs. It was fascinating to read someone else's take on the atmosphere of my music. They basically captured the feeling of the song perfectly but in a distinct way that I would have not imagined. So if funding comes through, we'll make a mini-movie to my song. Music feels really cinematic to me so I'm looking forward to that. Also, the company that has been selling my older music to national U.S. TV has accepted my new record. So, possibly, between 6 months to a year from now, I'll be hearing that one of my songs was used in something like 'VH1 Goes Behind The Scenes Of Magnum PI'. Actually that would rock. (That brings to mind the weirdest uses of my older music on TV so far, which included Country Music Telivision's Most Shocking Survivalists, and Boys Vs. Girls, a reality show on a cable network in the States.) I have not yet found out what a 'shocking survivalist' is.... 05.05.06 6 pm This is a must-see video released by JPL that shows the Huygens probe descending onto Saturn's moon Titan. While that thing was descending and discovering a whole new celestial world, some guy was at a fashion show proudly wearing a new pair of the most expensive Kenneth Cole shoes, admiring his reflection in a window, and scoping the room for Fun Chicks. And the Fun Chicks were tossing their hair, sipping drinks, and talking about Nothing. And the President was playing with his dog Barney. And confused and terrified Iraqis were grieving the violent deaths of relatives in events of 'regrettable collateral damage'. And a bear was eating a berry in a national reserve. And Mean people were using, getting, disposing, Stupid people weren't concerned with it, and Kind people were wondering what the point is. And some hominid-scientists were on the edge of their seats, the stupendous wonder of how tiny our spot in the universe is, the backdrop of unfolding revelations. 05.04.06 5 pm I have temporarily put down my book on string theory and picked up something far less headache inducing, a book called 'The Rotter's Club'. It's a comic study of a family in 1973 Ireland. It is lighter fare, to be sure. I had been going gray exploring the nature of light (particles - photons - that behave like waves, strangely. The arc of the chosen path of a photon is determined by the cumulative simultaneous probability of paths.... I'm not going to pretend to understand this). I'm very happy to report that the CBC picked 'Answering Machine Diaries' for a full-on 'CBC-stamp-of-approval' internal release. They requested 30 more copies which went out to all their radio stations, with their own written bio. I have no idea exactly what it will mean overall in terms of airplay, but it seems to be a pretty cool thing to happen for an independent release like mine, so I'm very grateful. I've also had some podcast exposure for which links have been added on the main page. I urge you to check out these podcasts. The thing about it is - there is so much amazing independent music happening. There is almost nothing on Top 40 that I care about. It's truly inspiring to hear all the great work that's out there. Speaking of which I was recently at the CD release party for Rob Szabo, and the music and performance was amazing. This CD was produced by my friend Scott Cooper and it is really worth getting. That's it from me, for now... 04.03.06 6 pm Just along the outskirts of my view here, the city looks like it is set against a painted backdrop (almost like those glass frame-paintings they used in 'Gone With The Wind'). We had thunder earlier, but I was denied my lightshow. It's as if we were in a giant dome, like a massive version of that one in The Truman Show. That same principle of relative reality can be considered on a truly macro level..... It's something we don't like to think about, because it can be a little sickening to really dwell on..... that everything we know and understand is set against a backdrop beyond which we have no knowledge or awareness or understanding. We really don't comprehend where we sit in the grand scheme of things, we just react to what we can 'see', whatever's in front of our noses, and act as if our lives are set within the confines of some underlying 'absoluteness', such as the evolved hominid conception of 'God' (or a million different varieties thereof). But in my view, if you remove that fantasy, then it places the responsibility for understanding and coping with and sculpting reality solely on the individual. We might actually have a more caring and moral society if we stopped relying, from the outside in, on instituations that feed us reassurances about death, and social codes for supporting conceptions of 'otherness'..... Anyway. A recent dream that I scribbled down: I'm at John Kerry's house with his wife and him. It was massive. We were sitting in a back garden arguing about politics. I had to remind myself who I was talking to a few times. I'm going to Times Square in NY with my brother Ian, who in my dream is a 14 yr-old Somalian child. We are running up and down wide steps late at night and are a little bit lost, but are having fun. It's the middle of the night. I'm in the country again, it's really sunny. In a large house, my whole family are in different rooms, but I am outside. All of a sudden, the walls of the house collapse inwards, but quietly, as if they are almost weightless. I fight an insinct to go towards the house to fish people out and instead turn towards surrounding forest. The farther away I walk into the forest, the more beautiful it looks. It's a sunset, and I am walking up an incline but I never get to see over the edge. The further I go, the more brilliant the sunset. 03.23.06 7 pm As of this past Tuesday the new album became available on the iTunes Music Store, actually on all of their world stores, which is great. They've not set up in Korea yet, so my ambition to become a Korean pop star will be delayed slightly. Ko-rea! Actually, I think the best thing you can be in Korea is a pop star and a speed skater. So there's work to do. Watch out Apollo Ono, or whatever your name is. I'm lacing up. I will be 'Shining Scott' in Korea. Forever. Other than that I'm just gearing up for the album release and continuing to count atoms. I wish I could fly and hurl mini bundles of electricity at people who need a little stupification, a little settling down... Like bad-tempered people in expensive cars in parking lots at Dominion who go full throttle a foot past a stroller so that they will be noticed in their power. Anybody who needs to show off, verbally or otherwise, is covering up for something. I was just in New York. St. Paddy's Day Friday night. A zoo. I watched the Leafs get humiliated by the Rangers at Madison Square Gardens on Saturday night. Sunday I slept Fresh Air Deep in Connecticut. After a midnight walk through Central Park on Monday night, it was reported the next day that there was a wild coyote roaming the area where we were. If it had approached me, I would have stood, defiant... ham-fisted, even... after great concentration I would have levitated 10 feet and sent and energy bolt down onto the poor creature's head. They would have had a ticker-tape parade for me on Tuesday and by Wednesday I would have announced my candidacy for President in the 2008 election. Of course, before I did that, I would have had to join a Church. Everybody has a Church and a Flag there. 03.06.06 6 pm I'm more of a Lennon fan but 'Jenny Wren' is a beautiful song... Well, here we are in March. The big release for radio was delayed but for a very good reason. I have a great new publicist who feels strongly about my music and wants it to be heard. It's so exciting that there is going to be a whole bunch of muscle behind the record beginning April 18. Actually, beginning last Friday - Ken was being interviewed by CBC Radio 3 last Friday and was asked to add a song to the national playlist. Lo and behold, he chose 'Red Dress' by yours truly. Considering what it would mean to begin playing live again. I'd have some technical issues to deal with, but I know they could be.... i.e. how do you simulate 28 simultanaous musical events happening at the same time when it's only you on stage... I might take a page out of Scott Cooper's book and use an iPod. We shall see. String Theory! |
