Ok, Ken, I think you should put your name first in the “About” section of this blog.  I’m obviously not contributing a lot.  How the Hell do you find the time!  Oh, that’s right you’re currently without gainful employment.

Sorry.  Thank you very much for all the work you’ve done.  I love all the images, maps, etc.  If I can ever figure out how I’ll add some of my own.

Anyway, I wanted to comment on Alexander Severus.  He has always intrigued me as an interesting subject for a historical novel, and because so little is known about him an author would have wide scope for speculation.  I love to entertain “what if” scenarios and explore the lives of dynamic but obscure  political figures who would have made a distinct historical impression but for bad luck and timing.

Gore Vidal’s excellent historical novel, Julian, about the last pagan emperor of the Roman Empire (360 CE – 363 CE) has probably forever barred any writer from tackling the subject again.  That ruler’s failed attempt to organize the multitudinous pagan religions of the Roman Empire into an effective counterforce to Christianity makes him along with the Emperor Hadrian (117 CE – 138 CE) my favorite Roman emperor.  Another worthy candidate for historical fiction is the Emperor Majorian (457 CE – 461 CE) who made the last real effort to save the Western Roman Empire by attempting the re-conquest of Africa from the Vandals and so regain the Western Empire’s primary food source,  but more about him in 200 years.  There is also, of course, the exceptionally distasteful examples of the Emperors Pupienus (April 238 – July 238 CE) and Probus (276 CE – 282 CE) and whether or not they ever met, but I continue to digress.

The Emperor Alexander Severus (222 CE – 235 CE)  ruled for thirteen years almost to the day and with relative wisdom after the assassination of his depraved cousin, the Emperor Elagabalus in 222 CE.  He respected the Senate and attempted to revitalize that political body by restoring much of its former authority.  Though not quite fourteen when he ascended to the Imperium, his mother Julia Mamaea (niece of Emperor Septimius Severus, founder of the Severan Dynasty) had made sure he was well-educated.  He must also have been well-advised by his mother and prominent jurists such as Ulpian.  Given the ruthless rapacity of the army he could not have remained on the throne for so long without some ability.

Except for Septimius, the founder of the dynasty, none of the Severan Emperors seemed particularly interested in procreation, and it is also curious that the Emperor Caracalla styled himself as Alexander which was then imitated by his nephew.  This would be a further topic for exploration in a novel.  Alexander Severus was probably only married once to Orbiana, a Senator’s daughter, but after two years she was banished as punishment for her father’s supposed attempted assassination of the young Emperor Alexander.  Like is his fellow Syrian cousin, Elagabalus, Alexander Severus may have been homosexually inclined.  Such is the fun of fiction.

Like his namesake, Alexander Severus may have been a  reasonably successful general as well because of his defeat or at least containment of the newly emerged Sassanian Empire (224 CE – 651 CE) of Persia.  It seems unlikely that he would have ruled for so long if he were not somewhat capable.  When he was assassinated by his troops in Germany in 235 CE there must have been much more complexity to the situation than, as Eddy G. claims, that he and his mother were parsimonious when paying the troops or that the Emperor’s desire to negotiate with or buy-off the Germans lead to his death.  To reiterate he would make a fascinating subject for a fictional treatment.

Jeg har tidligere skrevet om Majorian. Jeg var dog sikker på, at jeg havde lagt deres første ’Dressing Room Concert’ på bloggen, men tilsyneladende ikke. Så her kommer de to første, mens vi spændt venter på de næste. Det er Martin Thaulow som står bag optagelserne.

Majorian – Island – Dressing Room Concerts (Part I)

Majorian – The Death In The Windowsill – Dressing Room Concerts (Part II)

Tjek i øvrigt Majorians MySpace site for at høre de tre numre fra deres seneste EP.

Lørdag d. 15/11-08 spiller The River Phoenix koncert på Rust på Nørrebro. Der er tale om et helt specielt set, bestående af en række stille numre, hvor størstedelen er nogle de ikke har spillet live før. Billetter kan købes hos Billetlugen og hos Gaffabillet for 60,-.
 

Det er deres sidste koncert i Danmark inden de tager på tour i Tyskland. Næste performance i Danmark vil være på fødeøen Bornholm d. 27. december hvor de trykker den af sammen med Majorian.

Kom og støt op om bandet på lørdag og få en fantastisk musikalsk oplevelse!

Endelig fik jeg lyttet til alle bands, som besøger dette års festival. Jeg havde skrevet en del bands ned før jeg begyndte gennemlytningen, og der var egentlig ikke ret mange tilføjelser. Blandt dem jeg har sat på spilleplanen, som jeg ikke  kendte i forvejen er The Notwist, Casiokids, Kiss Kiss Kiss og Bob Hund. Jeg har tilføjet et link til Roskilde Festivals egen fine bandbeskrivelse og et link til MySpace, så I kan høre musikken. Nogle af dagene bliver lidt hektiske…

Søndag:

13:30 – Majorian | Beskrivelse – MySpace
18:00 – The Late Parade | Beskrivelse – MySpace
19:30 – Rumble In Rhodos | Beskrivelse – MySpace

Mandag:

13:30 – Sleep With All Of Your Friends | Beskrivelse – MySpace
18:00 – Kiss Kiss Kiss | Beskrivelse – MySpace

Tirsdag:

16:30 – Jong Pang | Beskrivelse – MySpace
18:00 – The River Phoenix | Beskrivelse – MySpace
21:00 – Casiokids | Beskrivelse – MySpace

Onsdag:

19:30 – Beta Satan | Beskrivelse – MySpace

Torsdag:

18:30 – Choir Of Young Believers (Pavilion) | Beskrivelse – MySpace
19:30 – MGMT (Odeon) | Beskrivelse – MySpace
22:00 – Radiohead (Orange) | Beskrivelse – MySpace

Fredag:

14:00 – Kate Nash (Odeon) | Bekrivelse – MySpace
16:00 – Band Of Horses (Arena) | Beskrivelse – MySpace
17:00 – Gnarls Barkley (Orange) | Beskrivelse – MySpace
19:30 – Kings Of Leon (Orange) | Beskrivelse – MySpace
21:00 – Mogwai (Arena) | – Beskrivelse – MySpace
01:00 – The Streets (Orange) | Beskrivelse – MySpace
02:00 – Spleen United (Arena) | Beskrivelse – MySpace
03:00 – Familjen (Pavilion) | Beskrivelse – MySpace

Lørdag:

12:00 – The Ting Tings (Odeon) | Beskrivelse – MySpace
14:30 – José González (Odeon) | Beskrivelse – MySpace
16:00 – Tokyo Police Club (Pavilion) | Beskrivelse – MySpace
17:00 – The Fashion (Arena) | Beskrivelse – MySpace
20:00 – The Notwist (Astoria) | Beskrivelse – MySpace
00:00 – The Raveonettes (Arena) | Beskrivelse – MySpace
01:00 – The Chemical Brothers (Orange) | Beskrivelse – MySpace

Søndag:

16:00 – Enter Shikari (Arena) | Beskrivelse – MySpace
19:30 – Bob Hund (Orange) | Beskrivelse – MySpace
20:45 – Hot Chip (Arena) | Beskrivelse – MySpace
22:00 – Jay-Z (Orange) | Beskrivelse – MySpace
00:00 – Digitalism (Arena) | Beskrivelse – MySpace

Majorian har igennem det sidste stykke tid fået gode anmeldelser med på vejen fra bl.a. MyMusic, Soundvenue og 5 ud af 6 stjerner i Musikmagasinet Gaffa. I går stod de i finalen i dette års Livecontest sammen med tre andre bands. Efter en veloverstået koncert i Amager Bio var både publikum og dommere enige om at Majorian var den rette vinder.

Men hvad er det Majorian har som de andre ikke havde? For mig er det et fængende univers, man ikke kan lade være med blive tiltrukket af. En tilstand hvor man lukker øjnene, slår lyttelapperne ud og bliver et med musikken. Blandingen af den specielle vokal fra Maria Mortensen og den stemning det omkringliggende band skaber er eventyrligt. Majorian skal opleves live og dette er der også rig mulighed for, da de som vinder af Livecontest bl.a. fik et gig på årets Roskilde festival samt en betalt Danmarksturné til efteråret.

Denne video er fra deres debutkoncert på Loppen:

Hør mere Majorian på deres MySpace side.

Links:
http://livecontest.dk/
http://www.myspace.com/majorian
http://www.roskilde-festival.dk/2008/forside/system/band/singleband/majorian/