In the ongoing journey of cleaning out my computer files…some classics for your viewing pleasure.

Janis Joplin. Would kill to have that voice.

Jean Seberg. Would kill to have stared in the film “Breathless.”

Jim Morrison. Would kill to have been alive to have seen him perform live. That would be a great story.

Jimi Hendrix. Another performance I would love to have seen in person. Oh, and that jacket…I need to find one like it ASAP.

Priscilla Presley. My mum was in Germany shortly after Priscilla and Elvis hooked up and always had wished that she had gone earlier (maybe it would have been her…that would mean I could have been Elvis’ kid). I love these old pictures of her. The hair, the make-up…perfection.

And last, but most certainly not least…TERENCE STAMP. I found this picture in a Vogue coffee table book about what they had going on in their mag in the ’60s. I feel in love with that page it was on (opposite an amazing picture of Julie Christie…another beauty). He reminds me a bit of Serge Pizzorno from Kasabian.

hybelen er strøken og jeg har smålig begynt å pynte til jul.. okai, så jeg har lagt ut noen juleservietter og satt telys og kubbelys oppå, men jeg har også kjøpt mandariner, så det er litt pynta da! idag våkna jeg klokka 12 midt på dagen og fikk nesten hjerteinfarkt, mobilen min var enda på lydløs etter at jeg var på jobb søndag morning, så alarmen min ringte ikke, og jeg sov pent inn de forsømte timene som gikk bort i helga. flau som bare det våkna jeg og gjorde mye lekse fordi jeg hadde skyldfølelse. jeg har nemlig ikke råd til slike forsove seg dager fordi jeg har mange sykedager på grunn av hodepinen, og da er det flaut når en forsove seg dag kommer alikavel… så, får å gjøre det godt igjen til megselv har jeg tatt oppvasken, rydda hybelen, lest, handla, pynta og styrt på som bare det! Nå skal jeg gå meg en tur, høre på Janis Joplin, senere blir det criminal minds og lipstick jungle før natta…

gerade mal wieder gehört, und weils mich immer wieder mitreißt, muss es einfach hier rein:

Lang, lang ist es her seit eine junge Frau mit einer starken, rauen, einprägsamen und charaktervollen Rockstimme begeistern konnte. Die Newcomerin Saint Lu beendet nun endlich die „Rock-Powerfrau“-Durststrecke! Lockige Mähne, die Arme voller Armreifen, den Hals voller Ketten, schicke Boots an den Füßen, großen Ringe an den Finger und ein unglaubliches Stimmorgan: Saint Lu verkörpert den puren, alten, dreckigen Rock! Bei dieser Beschreibung der neuen Sängerin am Rockhimmel vermutet man eins wohl gar nicht: Saint Lu ist eine waschechte Österreicherin!

Foto: saintlu.com

Luise Gruber (aka Saint Lu) wuchs in einem kleinen Dorf in Oberösterreich auf (Nähe Wels) und wusste schon mit 8 Jahren, dass sie Musikerin werden wollte: „Meine erste eigene CD war Janis Joplin. Als ich die mit acht bekam, habe ich sofort entschlossen, dass ich Sängerin werden will. Ich habe in meiner eigenen kleinen Welt gelebt. Wir hatten ganz wenige Nachbarn und ich konnte rumschreien, was das Zeug hält und habe Zuhause meine Performances hingelegt. Meine Eltern waren wirklich froh, als ich dann auch öffentliche Auftritte hatte und nicht mehr so viel Zuhause gemacht habe.“ Zu ihren Musik-Vorbildern zählen neben Janis Joplin auch Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin und Big Mama Thornton.

Im Teeniealter gründete sie eine Band, ging mit 18 nach Amerika und studierte dann auf einer Schauspielschule. Ihren Traum mit Musik durchzustarten wollte sie dennoch nicht begraben. Bei der Castingshow “Starmania” versuchte sie ihr Glück. Es klappte nicht. Trotzdem nahm Saint Lu eine Demo-CD auf und verschickte diese an zahlreiche Produzenten. Patrick Majer (Echo-Gewinner & Produzent von “Wir sind Helden”, “No Angels”, Nina Hagen, “Rosenstolz”, usw.) wurde auf die hübsche und vor allem talentierte Rockröhre aufmerksam und lud sie nach Berlin ein. Dort blieb sie bis heute.

Letzten Freitag kam Saint Lu’s Debütalbum auf den Markt. Die erste Single heißt “Don’t miss your own life” und der Vergleich mit Superstars wie Anastacia und Janis Joplin drängt sich beim Hören des Songs automatisch auf. Im Video spielt Saint Lu das Engelchen und Teufelchen.

Die Streicher des Songs wurden übrigens in den legendären Londoner Abbey Road Studios eingespielt - in diesem Interview plaudert Saint Lu über diese wunderbare Erfahrung, ihr Album, ihr Leben, usw.!

Ich bin völlig begeistert von Saint Lu – sie hat das Zeug die Rocklandschaft ordentlich aufzumischen, internationale Erfolge verbuchen zu können und ihre zeitlosen, aber trotzdem zeitgemäßen Songs der breiten Maße schmackhaft zu machen. Ihre rauchige, leidenschaftliche Stimme geht ins Ohr und ihre sympathische Art verzaubert!

Was sagt ihr zur österreichischen Rockröhre?

Those were the days….

Ja, kanske minus knarket då…  Jag blir ändå hög av musiken.

Friday, tomorrow, November 20th, will be the day I turn 27. The 27 Club, also known as the Forever 27 Club or the Club 27, is a name for a group of influential rock and blues musicians who all died at the age of 27, sometimes under mysterious circumstances. We all know that Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones and Kurt Cobain died at 27, but there are good and plenty more where they came from. Happy birthday Max! –Gee, thanks a lot…

Here’s a list that I compiled of deaths at 27. Some names might appear twice, but don’t blame me. (I’m standing on the brink of death here…)

Alexandre Levy, Louis Chauvin, Robert Johnson, Nat Jaffe, Jesse Belvin, Rudy Lewis of The Drifters, Malcolm Hale of Spanky and Our Gang, Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones, Alan Wilson, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Arlester “Dyke” Christian of Dyke and the Blazers, Jim Morrison of The Doors, Ron McKernan of the Grateful Dead, Roger Lee Durham of Bloodstone, Wallace Yohn of Chase, David Michael Alexander of The Stooges, Pete Ham of Badfinger, Gary Thain of Keef Hartley Band and Uriah Heep, Helmut Köllen of Triumvirat, Chris Bell of Big Star, D. Boon of the Minutemen, Pete de Freitas of Echo & the Bunnymen, Mia Zapata of The Gits, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Kristen Pfaff of Janitor Joe and Hole, Richey James Edwards of Manic Street Preachers, Fat Pat, Freaky Tah of Lost Boyz, Sean McCabe of Ink & Dagger, Maria Serrano Serrano of Passion Fruit, Jeremy Michael Ward of De Facto and The Mars Volta, and Bryan Ottoson of American Head Charge, Andrew Cunanan, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Clifford Allison, Jesse Belvin, Lyman Bostock, Andrés Escobar, Reggie Lewis, John Nemechek, Michelle Parma, Kristen Pfaff, Bobby Sands, Freaky Tah, Pat Tillman, Louis Chauvin, Nat Jaffe, Rudy Lewis, Malcolm Hale, Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson, Arlester “Dyke” Christian, Linda Jones, Roger Lee Durham, Wallace Yohn, Dave Alexander, Peter Ham, Gary Thain, Helmut Köllen, Chris Bell, Jacob Miller, D. Boon , Alexander Bashlachev, Pete de Freitas, Mia Zapata, Richey James Edwards, Rodrigo Bueno, Sean Patrick McCabe, Maria Serrano Serrano, Jeremy Michael Ward, Bryan Ottoson, Valentín Elizalde, Orish Grinstead, Lily Tembo, Jonathan Brandis, Steve Olin, Henry Moseley, William Henry Lane “Master Juba”, Joseph Merrick “The Elephant Man”, Ghazi bin Faisal, Lea De Mae, Pope John XII and Robert Brooke to name a few…

Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, Gründungsmitglied der Rolling Stones…
und nach einigem Recherchieren bin ich noch auf zahlreiche weitere Namen gestoßen. Was die alle gemeinsam haben?
Nun ja, zweifelsohne waren sie großartige Musiker. Aber noch etwas verbindet diese Menschen. Sie alle sind mit nur 27 Jahren gestorben. Janis Joplin erlag mit 27 Jahren ihrer Alkohol- und Drogensucht, Kurt Cobain steckte sich am 5. April 1994 eine Pistole in seinen Mund und drückte ab, der Grund für Jimi Hendrix‘ Ableben waren Alkohol und Schlaftabletten und um den Tod von Jim Morrison ranken sich weiterhin allerlei Gerüchte. Das auffällige an ihnen ist aber, dass sie alle – ausgenommen von Kurt Cobain – innerhalb von 2 Jahren gestorben sind.

Zahlenspiele
Lustig auch: die Quersumme aus 27 ist 9. Zieht man daraus die Wurzel ist es 3. Multipliziert man 9 mit 3 erhält man wieder 27. Weitere Beispiele für die Mystik dieser Zahl gefällig? Die Zahl 27 ist – genauso wie ihre Quersumme 9 – eine mythische Zahl. 9 ist 3 mal 3, Zahlen, die in vielen Erzählungen, Märchen und auch Religionen eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Die Wünsche, die man von einer guten Fee bekommt sind auch immer 3, ein menschliche Schwangerschaft dauert 9 Monate, jeden 27. Tag treffen sich Sonne und Mond zur Vereinigung. In der griechischen Zahlensymbolik bedeutet die 3 eine Vereinigung von Gegensätzen oder Wiedersprüchen.

Forever-27-Club
Oft wird in diesem Zusammenhang vom Forever-27-Club gesprochen. Sogar ein Poster dieser 5 Rock-Heroen gibt es. Manchmal wird auch von der Insel der toten Künstler gesprochen. Angeblich sitzen die alle gemütlich auf einer Karibikinsel und pfeifen sich hin und wieder den ein oder anderen Ofen rein. Manchmal schaut auch Elvis auf einen Whiskey in the Jar vorbei und Dee Dee, Joey und Johnny sind sowieso Stammgäste.

Und an dieser Stelle das heutige Kalendarium:

Am 19. November 1960 wurde Matt Sorum, Schlagzeuger von Velvet Revolver in Kalifornien geboren. Vor Velvet Revolver war der Musiker unter anderem – wie könnte es anders sein? – bei Guns N’Roses tätig (wie sowieso fast die ganze Band).

Eure Blutsschwester.

There is an old Chinese saying which may have been attributed to Confucius and it goes like this,”有朋自遠方來,不亦樂乎.“  Translation:  There are few things more delightful in life than friends visiting from far away places.  Yesterday was such a day–blessed by mild weather, and having riders, both from here locally and as far away as Houston and Louisiana, with whom to share a ride, some local culture, and a nice meal together.  It was just fantastic!–Lorenzo

(L~R) Lindsay, Bruce, Ron, Linda, Jim, Bell, Ed, Brian, Butch, and Larry

Bruce rode up on his new 09 Honda VTX 1300R

Sporting a new look well-suited to his new bike, Bruce also broght his lovely wife Linda

Butch in a "Code: Orange" reflective hoodie

Mike came to visit with us...

...On his new Jeep Grand Cherokee

Lindsay and Ron moments before departure

Just after we got on FM365, Brian (from Houston) joined us for a ride to the Louisiana-side of Sabine Lake

Bruce and Brian, next to his Aprilia Scarabeo 500ie

Code name: Thundercats

Loaded with every gadget known to contemporary men

Very clever Signalfly Wireless Helmet LED brakelight and 3M SOLAS reflective tape

Group takes lake-side snapshot...

And, another (thanks, Linda, for the nice pic)...

Next to the soon-to-be-completed (TX to LA) causeway bridge

Caught up with Ed and riders from Louisiana at the museum--my first time here so the obligatory run up to the 2nd floor to see this...

Replica of Janis Joplin's psychedelic painted '65 Porsche 356 Cabriolet

There is also a bronze sculpture of Janis by local artist Douglas Clark

Of course, not to forget the Robert Rauschenberg exhibit and many other wonderful displays of the rich gulf coast history and culture

Ron had suggested earlier the newly-opened GEO Burrito in Nederland for lunch

...And I ordered three delicious tacos (carnitas, pollo and carne asada), why, are you having problems seeing the tacos?

Parting shot (thanks again, Linda) and a fitting end to a wonderful day...

But of course, the day just wouldn't be complete for Brian, who scooted from Houston to Louisiana, then crossed over both the Veterans Bridge and the Rainbow Bridge, the tallest bridge in Texas!

I rode with Brian to Winnie, then on the way home, feeling so happy, I made some doughnuts to celebrate the day (not really; but I wished that I could)!

*For more photos from our ride today, including the visit to to Port Arthur’s must-see Museum of the Gulf Coast, please go here and comment whenever you feel like it.  Thanks!

¡Así es! el concierto de woodstock remasterizado llega a este blog para recordar aquellas épocas hipiosas. Épocas en las que los hippis; bohemios revolucionarios, hicieron añicos muchos de los esquemas sociales existentes a mediados del siglo pasado para crear una “Revolución de conciencia“. ¿Con qué arma sino con la música es que iban a hacerlo?.

¡Disfruten de estos 6 CD’s! (Con un peso total de 809 MB)

Descargar parte 1 // Descarga parte 2 //

Descarga parte 3 //Descarga parte 4 //

Descarga parte 5 // Descarga parte 6 //

Descarga parte 7 // Descarga parte 8 //

Da click en leer más para ver la lista de canciones ;D

CD 1
1. Richie Havens – Handsome Johnny
2. Richie Havens – Freedom (Motherless Child)
3. John Morris – Choppity Choppity
4. Sweetwater – Look Out
5. Sweetwater – Two Worlds
6. Bert Sommer – Jennifer
7. Bert Sommer – And When It’s Over
8. Bert Sommer – Smile
9. John Morris – There Goes Marilyn!
10. Tim Hardin – Hang On To A Dream
11. Tim Hardin – Simple Song Of Freedom
12. John Morris – Flat Blue Acid
13. Dhanashr – Aga Puriya
14. Melanie – Momma Momma
15. Melanie – Beautiful People
16. Melanie – Birthday Of The Sun
17. Arlo Guthrie – Coming Into Los Angeles
18. Arlo Guthrie – Wheel Of Fortune
19. Arlo Guthrie – Every Hand In The Land
20. John Morris – All You Funny People

CD 2
1. Joan Baez – Joe Hill
2. Joan Baez – Sweet Sir Galahad
3. Joan Baez – Hickory Wind
4. Joan Baez With Jeffrey Shurtleff – Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man
5. John Morris – Bring Scully His Asthma Pills
6. John Morris – Insulin & Quill Intro
7. Quill – They Live The Life
8. Quill – That’s How I Eat
9. Chip Monck – I Understand Your Wife Is Having A Baby
10. Country Joe Mcdonald – Donovan’s Reef
11. Country Joe McDonald – The ‘Fish’ Cheer
12. Santana – Persuasion
13. Santana – Soul Sacrifice
14. John B. Sebastian – How Have You Been
15. John B. Sebastian – Rainbows All Over Your Blues
16. John B. Sebastian – I Had A Dream
17. Incredible String Band – The Letter
18. Incredible String Band – When You Find Out Who You Are
19. Chip Monck – She Is Lost

CD 3
1. Chip Monck – We’re In Pretty Good Shape
2. Canned Heat – Going Up The Country
3. Canned Heat – Woodstock Boogie
4. Chip Monck – The Brown Acid
5. Mountain – Blood of The Sun
6. Mountain – Theme for an Imaginary Western
7. Mountain – For Yasgur’s Farm
8. Chip Monck – Green Acid
9. Jerry Garcia & Country Joe – Green Acid
10. Grateful Dead – Dark Star
11. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Green River
12. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bad Moon Rising
13. Creedence Clearwater Revival – I Put a Spell On You

CD 4
1. Janis Joplin – Work Me, Lord
2. Janis Joplin – Ball And Chain
3. Sly & The Family Stone – Medley: Dance To The Music | Music Lover | I Want To Take You Higher
4. Abbie Hoffman – The Politics Of The Situation
5. The Who – Amazing Journey
6. The Who – Pinball Wizard
7. The Who – Abbie Hoffman vs. Pete Townshend
8. The Who – We’re Not Gonna Take It
9. Jefferson Airplane – The Other Side Of This Life
10. Jefferson Airplane – Somebody To Love
11. Jefferson Airplane – Won’t You Try | Saturday Afternoon
12. Grace Slick – We Got A Whole Lot Of Orange
13. Jefferson Airplane – Volunteers
14. Wavy Gravy – Breakfast In Bed For 400.000
15. John Morris – It Just Keeps Goin
16. Max Yasgur – Max Yasgur Speaks

CD 5
1. Joe – Feelin’ Alright
2. Joe – Let’s Go Get Stoned
3. Joe – With A Little Help From My Friends
4. The Rainstorm -
5. Country Joe And The Fish – Rock & Soul Music
6. Country Joe And The Fish – Love
7. Country Joe And The Fish – Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine
8. Country Joe And The Fish – Summer Dresses
9. Country Joe And The Fish – Silver And Gold
10. Country Joe And The Fish – Rock & Soul Music (Reprise)
11. Johnny Winter – Leland Mississippi Blues
12. Johnny Winter – Mean Town Blues
13. Blood, Sweat And Tears – You’ve Made Me So Very Happy

CD 6
1. Crosby, Stills And Nash – Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
2. Crosby, Stills And Nash – Guinnevere
3. Crosby, Stills And Nash – Marrakesh Express
4. Crosby, Stills And Nash – 4 + 20
5. Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young – Sea Of Madness
6. Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young – Wooden Ships
7. The Butterfield Blues Band – No Amount Of Loving
8. The Butterfield Blues Band – Love March
9. The Butterfield Blues Band – Everything’s Gonna Be Alright
10. Sha Na Na – Get A Job
11. Sha Na Na – At The Hop
12. Sha Na Na – Get A Job (Reprise)
13. Jimi Hendrix – The Star Spangled Banner | Purple Haze | Woodstock Improvisation
14. Chip Monck – Woodstock Farewell

Debo reconocer que en el tema de la música soy bastante machista, no se si por costumbre o cultura rock soy mas de escuchar hombres que mujeres. Pero cuando las chicas entran en mi vida lo hacen con mucha fuerza y no las puedo abandonar.

Aquí mi top five de mujeres cantantes que me roban el corazón. Aclaro que no están puestas en orden de prioridad, cada una de ellas es importante en mi vida por igual. Enjoy.

Carole King

Poca gente sabe lo importante que es esta niña en la historia de la música de los últimos 40 años, su voz y su palabra pueden conmigo.

Nina Simone

La conozco de siempre pero realmente llegue hace muy poco a entender realmente su dimensión, es enorme, me hace llorar y emocionarme profundamente cada vez que la escucho, si no probaron sus mieles aún se las recomiendo, avisando que el enganche es para siempre.

Aimee Mann

La conocí allá en los ‘80 con su primer grupo y volvió a mi vida gracias al soundtrack de la película “Magnolia”, todo en esta artista es bello, y sus canciones son un lugar seguro donde siempre quiero estar.

Janis Joplin

En serio tengo que explicar porque me gusta?

Eva Cassidy

Cuando la descubrí no pude soportar que ya había muerto, es la voz mas dulce que escuche en mi vida, absolutamente irresistible.

Demás esta decir que estas canciones me remiten a mujeres…Pero esa es otra historia.

Sanfranchester is a place made of akasha. It is a place accessed by a curious person living in Manchester, a place made from experience-recollection of Manchester and San Fransisco, their history, their culture, places interlinked. It is part of a curious world indeed, a realm of fables on and around the chess board, wherein is played the great game of love generating form of storylands, storylands of akasha, storylands that adorn the history of our world for mysterious reasons, worlds that are real. Sanfranchester is a place not just found within the strange Mancunian’s heart and mind, it is found also in others in Manchester and places elsewhere. Enter if you like, your world will never be the same again.

This Mancunian is called Beatfreak, one of many sucessors of the age of the Beats and the Freaks of the 50s and 60s, who in turn were sucessors of the Bohemian-Avant Garde-esoterica amongst whom were symbolists and surrealists and others.
Beatfreak had linked up to a group of strange beats and freaks of the past, who dwelled in the hidden corners of history, dwelling in hermitages made from the rejected corner stones of new discoveries of the old found in the 1950s and 1960s which have been even further elaborated upon in more modern times and extended, various things confirmed an new insights gained as new things have ben discovered.
Beatfreak had met this curious group on the akashic plane of free creativity and love during an extended voyage into otherworld. His akashic space ship was his vehicle and he had a secret parking port underneath his apartment an this specal ship could fly the spaces unhindered by the walls of buildings, invisible was his craft but not to akasha dwelllers nd visitors. Akasha had two types, those who lived there, and those who visited, Beatfreak like certain others in the strange woodwork of Manchester was a visitor.

Beatfreak had met a group which hailed back to a certain Pascal Beverly Randolph who existed in both regional lodge times of the PBR days, which were the mid to late 1800s and those later, extending into the early to mid 1900s.  There were, on the akashic level, PBR Rosicrucian lodges in San Fransisco which were havens of oriental interests and conssted of chess playing hash pipe smoking savants of the great mystery, a mystery concerning chess. This type of hash smoking chess playing alchemical Rosicrucianism established by akashic followers of Pascal Beverly Randolph, or PBR, whose motto was Try (a century later screamed in loving ectasy by Janis Joplin in her own way) was an inheritor of strange oriental mysteries which weave in and out of Syria as we shall see and one of which was to do with alchemical elixir matters concerning the sacrament hashish, used in combination with magnetistic visions in mirrors made of a strange black material. Magic mirrors, like that which Alice travelled to her Wonderland, aided hashish visions of not just these akashic PBRrs but ones in history too, sharing such a system with  magnetists that were associated with the earlier Memphis and Misraim Masonic rites, Cagliostro, as well as  Martinist-Boehemist lodges and other such latter day Rosicrucianism of the time, all entwined with a Scottish Rite masonry gone freeform with the new trends of Egyptian fascinations and the powers of new intuitions of the creative imagination. These were the days well before Crowley and others posed as true successors and liberators of that kind of stuff, which was also the stuff of early Bohemia with strange tangled roots even further back. The hashish smoke in the pipes of the akashic lodges however was in fact the very substance itself of the dreams, visions and experiences of hash smokers of the world we live in.
PBR was part African and did things for the cause of Africans in American history. He was born out of the very lands as depicted in the film the Gangs of New York, the Bowery depths of New York, which later became a kind of New Haight Ashbury in some ways competing with Haight Ashbury an drawing on different things also. He is considered by some to have been the first African American novelist. He was a free form Rosicrucian of the literary plane, although having contacts with real Rosicrucians of his time and having access to their works, as well as travelling in certain places in the Midle East an learning about the Druze, the Nuasiri and other strange sects on the fringes of the Christian, Jewish and Islamic realms, he didnt actually in fact join and represent any pre-existing Rosicrucian organisation, yet he crated his own.  He taught Middle Eastern traditions which drew from Tantric traditions from India. His sexual tantra however imperfectly understood at the time, and filtered through the Arab world’s strange fringes was exactly a hundred years before the era of the beat and the freak. He is a major foundation layer of the sexual yogic union filtred through Bohemian creativity which has become eclipsed by the dominance of OTO and Crowley lodges, which through various twists and turns lost some of his original vision.

This African American Rosicrucian was crafting his Rosicrucian novels while Charles Dickens was woodshedding with his ink and pen. His effects on the minds of many was later ‘corrected’ by the Theosophical Society, the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor, Brotherhood of Light, before the OTO and Crowley orders took all this filtered stuff in their own way. It was all this which later became the dominant force behind the esoteric of the latter day Bohemians, in the era before the beats, which was also the time when less conservative and antinomianianism moods crept in via Crowleyite and OTO type lodges. But nowhere was hashish used in tandem with Rosicrucianism more than in PBRs version.  There were those who claimed to suceed him, or borrow from him whilst leaving out the hashish sacrament too and a major branch of the American Rosicrucian organisations, which are at schism with one another uses PBR techings in its own way minus the hashish sacrament. Nevetherless not all latter day PBR’rs went down this edited non drug spirituality path. Some did some didnt and time rolled on by and the Rosicrucian lodges of Eulis in San Fransisco retreated onto the akashic plane, back to where they had originally emerged.
Akashic Rosicrucian lodges of hashish savants entwined with certain other curious souls besides Beatfreak, those involved with the nature mystics of the Californian wilderness, those on the edges of Mexican smoke trails..

“Mercedes Benz”, also known as “The Politician“, is an a cappella song sung by Janis Joplin, in which she asks the Lord to buy her a Mercedes-Benz, a colour TV, and a “night on the town”.

Joplin wrote “Mercedes Benz” together with the poet Michael McClure and Bob Neuwirth, as a critical social commentary on n how people relate happiness to money and material possessions. The song was originally written as something of a negative commentary about materialistic individuals who place too much value on items like a Mercedes-Benz. The song heavily reflects Joplin’s view of what she saw as a materialistic world.

si atasat la piesa in cap ii un tringhi de braz intre care Angela face pişi

I was in Cleveland this weekend, so I made a quick detour to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (and Museum). It’s right on Lake Erie, adjacent to the Great Lakes Science Center, and with beautiful weather I figured I couldn’t go wrong. 

Adult admission is a bit steep–$22 for what is essentially one main exhibit hall, though I didn’t have time to check out the extras like the Bruce Springsteen temporary exhibit or the Pink Floyd wall–but if you are into the “stuff” of rock & roll, you’ll be in heaven. John Lennon’s childhood drawings and the jacket he wore for the Sergeant Pepper cover; Jim Morrison’s Easter card to his mother and the letter notifying his father of his arrest for lewd exposure in Florida; a big purple Cadillac Elvis bought for one of his managers; dozens of performance outfits worn by Mick Jagger, Jimi Hendrix, Aretha Franklin, Steven Tyler and Stevie Nicks; handwritten lyrics to countless songs, including Billy Joel’s scribblings for “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and Joni Mitchell’s loopy scrawl for “Night in the City”; a photographable collection of guitars (but I’ll confess I didn’t stop to find out who all from); and tributes to the forerunners of rock & roll like Robert Johnson, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Woody Guthrie. And one of my favorites, Janis Joplin’s psychadelic-painted 1965 Porsche 356c Cabriolet. 

They’re very strict about photography though, so with the exception of pictures of the Porsche and some of the guitars, plan to get your souvenirs in the gift shop. I’d recommend a good two to three hours to stroll at your leisure, but definitely worth a visit!

[All aboard the Festival Exprizzy---bring your smokes, bring your instruments, but leave your egos at the station.]

Last night I watched the most amazing music documentary, Festival Express. It’s the story of a 1970 summer train ride making festival stops across Canada—with Janis Joplin, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, Buddy Guy, The Band, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and more. Pretty much a culmination of everything I worship and daydream about: suede fringe, skinny dudes with facial hair, illegal behavior, jam sessions, free spirits, groovy clothes, and incredible live music.

[Some festival goers.]

Shocker: the train runs out of booze after an all-nighter. Someone working on the train said to the head promoter, “Hey, man, they drank us dry.” An unscheduled stop at a liquor store, $700 raised in a hat, and they leave with a novelty-sized display bottle of Canadian Club.

A member of the Grateful Dead would later spy some empty gel capsules floating around in the bottom of that bottle as it was passed around the train car. Fun stuff.

“This train was not for sleeping. It was for a lot of other things, but not for sleeping. Very few people slept on this train.”

[Danko and Janis conducting a sing-along with Jerry Garcia (unseen to right).]

While we were watching this Rob asked, “Do you wish you had a time machine so you could go back and be there?” Pretty much. It was as much a treat for the musicians as it was for the concert-goers. They were with their kind—geniuses packed on a train for days, partying, and doing what they love. Oh, to soak some of that up…

If I were on that train, I’d be hacking a lot of ciggie butts and probably taking long pulls from a bottle of wine while singing some harmonies as I wandered from car to car. And, as daydreams go, this one is ripe for a wardrobe pickin’. So here are some select favorites, chosen with a few things in mind: anticipated, imminent jealousy over Janis’ amazing wardrobe, comfort, drama, and zero versatility. Because a furry vest would probably end up being way more necessary than a clean pair of undies.

[YSL Denim Tribute platforms, $895 @ bergdorfgoodman.com]

[Haute Hippie furry vest, $895.]

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“That train was sort of… buzzing down the rails. We achieved lift-off, for sure.”

What a treasure-trove of incredible glimpses, “crystallized moments,” and kick-ass tunes.

Toward the end, up on stage, Janis—with her feather boa headdress and gold crocheted vest—presents the festival organizers with some gifts as a thank-you from the performers. “A genuine train”—model-sized, of course—and a case of tequila.

The train—the train is for rememberin’, man. The tequila—it’s for continuin’, man.

Here’s to continuing.

-Carey

p.s. Janis died just a mere few months after this was filmed. Crazy.

Taking Woodstock (2009)
★★★ / ★★★★

Directed by Ang Lee (“The Ice Storm,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Brokeback Mountain”), “Taking Woodstock” was about the summer of 1969 and the flourishing counterculture that culminated in the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival. Caught among the powerful movement was a family and their debt concerning a motel that no one ever visits. Demetri Martin tried to help out his mother (Imelda Staunton) and father (Henry Goodman) with money and moral support as best he could to the point where he had to sacrifice his career as an interior designer. Stuck in the ennui of rural town, the arrival of his childhood friend (Jonathan Groff) and concert organizers gave Martin and his family a chance to finally get out of debt. The only catch was that they had to somehow take in hundreds and thousands of people (which eventually grew to about a million or so) and deal with the frustrations of the citizens of their own town, the neighboring cities and the media coverage. They also had to find a land owner (Eugene Levy) who was willing to take in all sorts of people and be able to deal with the mess afterwards.

I’ll admit right away that “Taking Woodstock” could have been so much bigger and more interesting. However, I do admire Lee’s choice of telling a story from a struggling family’s perspective, especially from a son who was more than ready to leave the nest but was chained at home because of his own guilt of abandoning his parents when they needed him most. Making that decision gave the film a much-needed heart. I was amused when I saw the family dynamics because Staunton was so intense, Goodman was so passive and Martin was inbetween. But then there were truly touching moments, especially a scene toward the end between Martin and his father when the son finally summoned the courage to do whatever it was that he wanted to do in the first place.

The storytelling was light (even for a comedy-drama) and all over the place which worked at some parts because it reflected that era. With a little bit more focus on the event at hand, stronger script and storytelling, this could have been an Oscar contender. I also would have liked to see more of Jonathan Groff. He had a certain spark about him that intrigued me. It might have been his extremely laidback nature or the way he looked into the main character’s eyes, I’m not exactly sure, but what I’m sure of is that the film would have benefited if it had fully explored characters. On the other hand, as much as I love Emile Hirsch, I felt like his character was simpy a distraction. His scenes could have been cut off from the picture and the final product would pretty much have been the same. But then Liev Schreiber as a cross-dresser and having great comedic timing really had me engaged. With this picture, one thing that didn’t work was almost always coupled with two or three things that worked.

I cannot say that “Taking Woodstock” was a disappointment because it managed to entertain and it had a fresh perspective on the monumental event. But it definitely would have won extra brownie points if it had actual footages of several artists’ performance such as Janis Joplin or Jimi Hendrix, or at least a restaging of some sort.

1)Ry Cooder: Vigilant man

2) Aerosmith:Toys in the attic

3)Bob Dylan:Like a rolling stone

4)Outlaws:Green grass and high tides

5)Mr. Big: Daddy,brother, lover,little boy(The electric drill song)

6)The Allman Brothers Band:Jessica

7)Janis Joplin:Summertime

8)Bermuda Acoustic Trio:Riders in the sky-Sultan of swing

9)Aerosmith:Walk this way(live)

10)Jeff Buckley:Halleluja

11)Lynyrd Skynyrd:Free bird

12)Guns n’ Roses:Estranged

13)Iggy Pop:Louie Louie

14)Led Zeppelin:Bring it on home

15)Janis Joplin:Piece of my heart

16)Ozzy Osburnes:Goodbay to romance

17)Stevie Ray Vaughan:Voodoo chile(slight return)

18)Van Halen:Jump(live)

19)Motorhead:R.A.M.O.N.E.S.(live)

20)Steve  Vai:Bad horsie

21)Guns n’ Roses:Back off bitch

22)Gun n’ Roses:Welcome to the jungle

23)Aerosmith:Dream on

24)Aerosmith:Love in elevator

25)Aerosmith:I don’t want to miss a thing

26)Guns n’ Roses:Don’t cry.

La mia playlist di queste lunghe settimane.

Credo che ci sia una canzone per ogni momento della giornata, da quelli felici a quelli un pò più cupi e tristi.

Buon ascolto.

I have to admit, I feel like a bit of a hack for today’s post title, because a.) it’s a quote I’d never heard until two days ago and b.) it references a pop-culture phenomenon I have little-to-no interest in.  However, it seemed too serendipitous that I was introduced to that quote less than an hour after I had been discussing the very topic of no-win situations with my friend Ang, so I decided not to question the Gods of Blogging and ran with it.

The topic of no-win situations regarding (who else?) men came up while I was talking to Ang Tuesday night.  I had told her the story of how, in true spectacular hot-mess meltdown fashion, I confessed to to one of my male friends whom I dated months ago that I still had feelings for him.  Ang commended me for being honest and having the balls to say what needed to be said, and to an extent I agree with her.  I don’t regret what I did, and I do feel as if a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders since unburdening myself of this burning secret. But at what cost?  Certainly things will never go back to the way they were between me and my friend, if we remain friends at all (I broke the silence between us today to tell him that, while I value him and his friendship, the best thing for me right now is to put some time and distance between us, so I can be sure that I can be sure the feelings I have for him are strictly platonic.)  He didn’t say much, which wasn’t surprising, but was indicative of the rift that my confession has caused.  Which I understand; were I in his shoes, I would be reticent and freaked out, too.  Again, no surprises there – isn’t that one of the main reasons people keep secrets, because they’re afraid of the damage the truth will cause? – but it’s disappointing nonetheless.  So I unburdened my soul, but lost a friend.  Not to mention that there is a small part of me that is disappointed that my confession wasn’t the eye-opening wake-up call this guy needed to realize that he had similar feelings for me, as years of watching dramatic, 11th-hour movie confessions taught me would happen.  Damn you, cinema!

Ang saw it a little differently.  She was in a similar position a few years ago, when she developed a very close friendship with a guy she met in grad school.  Ang and this guy were never romantically involved, because he was dating another girl for the entire duration of their friendship, but Ang and this guy were super-tight (emotional affair, anyone?) and Ang strongly believed that they could have been something more than friends.  However,  Ang left grad school never having revealed any of her feelings to him, and the two remain in touch, if not as close as they once were, as they now live several states apart.  But the whole situation still digs under Ang’s skin, which she told me during our conversation Tuesday, while she praised me for speaking up.

“But either way, we lose,” I said.  “You say something, you lose a friend; you say nothing, and you have this awful pain and frustration build up inside you.  It’s always the same with men.  It’s a no-win situation.” As Janis Joplin said in “Women is Losers” – “Men always seem to end up on top.”

How right you were, Janis, how right you were.  While we women are running around tearing our hair out, agonizing over what to say, what not to say, how to say it, when to say it, etc., men just float along, more or less unaffected and unconcerned, yet always managing to land on their feet and get what they want.  At least that’s how it looks from over here.

So what is a girl who doesn’t believe in no-win scenarios to do?  Unfortunately, I have to get all Oprah-Dr.-Phil-touchy-feeley here for a second, because the only things we can do in these situations is a.) remember that whatever doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, and that every difficult choice we make teaches us something new about ourselves, and who we want to be and b.) look on the bright side.  I don’t walk around feeling like I want to punch babies anymore.  Ang has a free place to stay in Chicago whenever she wants to visit.  They’re little things, yes, but powerful reminders that no situation is without its bright side.

Or we, as women, can take comfort in the knowledge that we have the edge over men in at least one aspect – we get to play with our boobies whenever we want.  And they do not.  Win!

Lucha Reyes, born Maria de la Luz Flores 23 or 28 May (different sources use different birth dates) 1906 in Guadalajara, was one of the earliest of Mexican recording artists, and though recordings in the 1920s, introduced European audiences to Mexican music.   Due to her European success, her difficult personal life and her apparent vulnerability, she has been called “the Mexican Piaf” — and her voice does have some similarities to the French singer — although her throaty renditions of  lower class and generally masculine popular music form, as well as her self-destructiveness, might make her better styled “the Mexican Janis Joplin“.

Having moved with her mother and sister to Mexico City, by her early teens she was singing Revolutionary songs in the Capital and singing between acts in visiting circuses.   At the age of 15, she toured California, becoming a hit on the Mexican-American entertainment circuit.  Returning to Mexico,  and taking her step-fathers family name (Reyes) her then-pure soprano voice was known throughout Mexico where she was one of the first radio-era stars.

In 1925 she was invited by impresario Juan N. Torreblanca to join his Orquesta Típica Mexicana on its European tour. The soprano whose artistic renditions of Mexican classics would not be the Lucha Reyes who returned home in 1927.

The story is that Reyes was just unprepared for a winter in Berlin, and a bad cold or throat infection forced to leave the tour.  The story goes on that a gentlemanly piano player moonlighted in a whorehouse to raise the cash for Lucha’s return to Mexico where she could spend the next two years recovering.   Of course, her non-stop drinking and partying may have had something to do with leaving the tour, and with the dramatic change in her voice:  huskier, edgier and, suited not for delicate songs about La Paloma but perfect for the music of cowboys and cantinas:  mariachi and ranchera.

It’s not just the riotous living and heavy drinking that makes leads to the comparison of Reyes and Joplin.  Remember that when Janis Joplin first came on the scene, woman singers like Joan Baez and even Grace Slick were a sort of earth-mother or girl-friend in their stage persona.  Reyes and Joplin both opted to join a male sub-culture (mariachi for Reyes, the southern blues for Joplin) and burned out trying too hard to out macho the machos.

Reyes, like Jopin, often performed with a liquor bottle in hand, and made on stage references to her  rowdy lifestyle.  That Reyes was the first female mariachi lead singer of note made her antics fodder for the gossip columnists and — like Janis Joplin — an improper example to be pointed out by proper parents to their misbehaving daughters.

And, in the end, it got them both.  Janis Jopin was only 27 when she died of a combination of heroin and alcohol in 1970.   Reyes managed to survive a bit longer, but ended her own troubled life (25 June, 1944) at the age of 38, washing down about 20 barbiturates with a bottle of tequila.

Lucha Reyes was in very few films, in part because her erratic personal life made he a director’s nightmare. But sing she could:

Every so often, when a band is fortunate enough to make one of those instant-classic albums that magazines and magazine blogs tell us so much about, we forget about that band’s other material. Reputation being a funny influence on a band, as well as their fans and casual listeners, we often forget just how great their OTHER stuff can be. In the first of what I hope to be a regular article within the pages of the Electric Comic Book, I invite you to take another listen to some of that ‘other stuff.’ Call it any other blog’s “what I’m currently listening to” entry; I’m calling it a better understanding of the music we love to listen to while we’re tripping through the pages of the Electric Comic Book.

Today’s Spin: “Big Brother and the Holding Company”

The reissue cover of Big Brother and the Holding Company's eponymous debut.

      For every casual Janis Joplin fan, they probably own a greatest hits collection and “Pearl” on vinyl, forgetting she was in a band called Big Brother and the Holding Company. In fact, chances are you’ve seen this album’s cover while thumbing through at a garage sale, basement record store, or your dad’s collection and dismissed it simply because it didn’t say “Janis Joplin.” Likewise, it certainly doesn’t help that classic rock radio continues to refer to the band’s music as that of Janis Joplin alone and without any credit to the incredible musicians who backed her up. In fact, one of the most impressive characteristics of their second album “Cheap Thrills” — often considered one of the greatest of all time — is how often the band goes into these beautiful experimental jams without much input from Janis other than her trademark wail. She was a beautiful soul and blues singer, and should never be forgotten for her talent, but neither should the guitar playing of Peter Albin, James Gurley, and Sam Andrew. Never, ever. However, that’s mostly due to the strength of “Cheap Thrills.” Their first album, self-titled “Big Brother and the Holding Company” suffers in comparison to the sheer power of even the opening track, “Combination of the Two.”  

    Well, jeez, if it’s such a weak album by comparison, why bother listening to it? Because it stands as one of the finest blueprints for the band’s defined sound. For all the psychedelic mayhem and rich, electric-blues of “Cheap Thrills,” it lacks a certain youthful amateurness that “Big Brother and the Holding Company” has. “Cheap Thrills” is for the virtuosos of the world impressed with high-flying theatrics – “Big Brother and the Holding Company” is for the hopeful singer-songwriter who’s not afraid to get silly every once in a while, and refuses to be tied down to a single idea. Hell, if Beck’s Record Club project were to take suggestions for their next project, I would love to see him tackle “Big Brother and the Holding Company” more than anything else on the planet. It’s an open, accessable album that is more garage rock than acid rock, and in its variety, it’s perfect. Even the record’s original liner notes on the back tries to oversell it as the first album of a new movement (and it’s hilariously repetitive, insincere, and clearly written by some underpaid copywriter/temp – but what else can you expect when its original company was Mainstream Records, a jazz label?).

   The album opens with their interpretation ”Bye Bye Baby,” establishing Janis’ strength as a blues/R&B vocalist, and the loose fun of the album itself. Meanwhile, tracks like “Light is Faster than Sound” and the excellent “All is Loneliness” show the band’s penchant to write music to expand your mind to. Tracks like “Intruder” and the classic “Down on Me” are classic Big Brother blues barn-burners, restrained only by the album’s weak production values. It’s unfortunate that the album is its very flat sounding, but the virtuosity is still there, resulting in a feeling that the Stretch of the Imagination Dictionary™ calls a rabid caged dog, happy to at least be able to grit it’s teeth through the bars. 

    But these four songs are as close to ”Cheap Thrills” as it gets. The rest are softer, laid back, and the only time the album falters is the silly “Caterpillar,” wherein Peter Albin writes that he’s a caterpillar, a butterfly, a pterodactyl, and an abominable snowman for his significant other’s love. Quite the argument for the theory of evolution, really. Even then, it’s a fun track that it’s pop-like infectiousness cannot be denied. And a track like “Blindman” is a case that if the band never became the acid rock powerhouse that they did, they would have done just fine performing soulful rock tunes in smaller venues.

   Perhaps not evolution, but change characterizes this album best. The song’s don’t flow well into one another, and it’s much more laid back than what the reputation of Big Brother established live in San Francisco. Yet for anyone serious about the west coast side of psychedelic rock to pass over this hidden gem is only hurting themselves from a unique experience. The brilliance of the music is in the contrast to everything they want it to be, what you expect it to be, and what it really is. It’s not the deep experience you get with “Cheap Thrills,” but just a damn fine pop-psych record.

      Speaking of Big Brother and the Holding Company. . .

The band continues to tour to this day. Today consisting of Sam Andrew, David Getz and Peter Albin (and a revolving door of rhythm guitarists and lead vocalists), they will be appearing at Country Joe McDonald’s “Heroes of Woodstock” show in Albuquerque, NM on New Year’s Eve. That show will also feature Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Starship, Canned Heat, and Ten Years After. Check out the dates here.