Sunday, June 27, 2010

Nature vs. History: The Truth of Evolution and the Evolution of Truth

Yes, you could say that "life evolves." But you could also say -- with more plausibility, I might add -- that evolution lifes. First it maths, then it matters, then it lifes, then it minds, and finally it spirits. But where did all that lovely math come from "in the beginning?" The materialist says yada yada, while we say O.

Who's right? We are. But even if you believe the question is unanswerable, I think that if you think a little harder, you will realize that the materialist is not only incorrect in his metaphysic, but that he cannot possibly be correct.

Now, there can be no "biology of truth," any more than there can be a "physics of intelligence" -- that is, unless you inhabit the inverted cosmos of those dwellers in the Land of Flat. The very notion is absurd, and could only be plausible to someone who couldn't find the aseity of O with both hands and a road map.

For O is not a "God of the horizontal gaps" but of the eternal source that gives birth to each vertical moment. Conversely, the omnipotent randomness of the Darwinian is truly a god of the saps, a dopiate for the scientistic masses to preserve their dogmatic slumber and prevent them from being disturbed by those annoying promptings that emanate from the vertical. Zzzzzzzzzz... Wake me when I'm tenured.

While there is obviously truth in biology and physics -- this being a logoistic universe -- it is absurd to suggest that either is the truth, for truth must be anterior to existence. To suggest that existence is anterior to truth is the fundamental error of all materialists, atheists, and neo-Marxists leftists. Of course they could be right. But if they are right they are wrong, for to derive truth from history instead of nature is to derive no truth at all, just a forever shifting mindscape of perishable opinion.

I was reminded of this again in this devastating new critique of contemporary liberalism, Never Enough: America's Limitless Welfare State. The flight from Nature is ultimately at the root of liberalism's intellectual incoherence, because once you make that first false step into a parallel looniverse, there's no turning back. Unless you turn back, which they refuse to do.

People wonder why liberalism is such an ad hoc, intellectually negligible, feeling-driven enterprise, but they shouldn't. As Voegeli explains, our Founders embraced nature as their first principle -- and when they referred to "nature," they did not mean it in the sense of material nature, but the "nature of things," i.e., reality. In contrast, the progressives rejected this reality of nature, and located truth in history. Thus, for example, since man has no nature, he can be molded by the state into whatever the progressive wishes. There is no objective truth, or morality, or beauty, so normless multiculturalism becomes the norm.

Now, the soph-evident presence of "intelligent design" in our cosmos by no means proves the existence of God, much less the Judeo-Christian God (since real faith requires.... faith, about which we will be posting tomorrow). Rather, it merely proves the existence of intelligence, which is to say, Truth (being that the former is a function, or descent, of the latter -- no Truth, no intellect, no shoes, no service).

The point is, the recognosis of cosmic intelligence merely permits one to disinvert reality to your birthday party, so that one is once again living in a right-side up cosmos and can receive God's presence. In the words of Petey, this is to Return your soul to its upright position and come in for the promised landing.

Yes, this is where the real funwork begins -- your summa vocation -- because now we're back at the humble bottom (instead of the fake promethian top of a grandiose scientism), and must carry out the hard work of spiritual evolution, or realizing what you only know. In short, we move from the materialistic penthouse to the spiritual repenthouse, where we pent and repent again as necessary in order to keep our metanoia fresh and clean.

"Faith" is the gap between what we know and what we shall realize, so long as we cultivate virtue, sincerity, and simplicity, and breath within the space of our silent aspiration. But the more one realizes, the more justification for faith one possesses, until it becomes the norm to simply live in the perpetual uncertainty of an open and unsaturated faith, symbolized in the book by (o) and (---).

In so doing, one lives close to the cosmic spring where the vertical waters flow down into creation on a moment to moment basis. Or, to adopt the mystical formulation favored by Coons, we loiter on the threshold of the transdimensional doorway, looking for handouts from Petey, who usually comes through if he's not too terribly busy.

Biology is about "the adventure of life," whereas a Raccoon is more interested in the "adventure of consciousness" which is the very point of the former.

For us, Life Itself proves that there really is such a thing as a free launch, so we don't spend a lot of time worrying about how this wonderful means of ascent appeared in the supposedly dead and meaningless cosmos of the Darwinians. The point is, it's here, and we're going to take advantage of it. We're going to have our fun in spite of the narrow-minded and scowling Darwinists who think they hold the prison keys to the cosmos. But doors and windows to heaven are everywhere.

You see, the blinkered Darwinist thinks that life only points down and back to the dead matter out of which it was magically given birth. But for the Raccoon, life is a symbol (symbol meaning "thrown across") that always points "up" and "in." We do not see life as a circular series of lateral mutations, but an open spiral that ultimately rejoins whole and part, absolute and relative, time and eternity, center and periphery, man and God.

Our existence is a vertical lifeline thrown down into dead matter in order to divinize and redeem it. And human beings are the "axis" or "pivot" of the whole innerprize. Deep down we all recognize this, albeit often in a garbled and perverted manner, for example, the environmental hysterics or the pompous and deluded LGFers who know they are superior to biology, but have no idea how or why.

Life! If Darwinism is all there is, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing, hnnn, say it again! It is difficult to respect the reductionistic Darwinist who lacks the rudimentary intellectual honesty and the courage of his absence of convictions to be a real nihilist. He has his feet planted in the soil of Judeo-Christian values, even while he has his head planted in his ass.

I'll take Nietzsche over them any day, in whose writing one may at least sense the giddy abandonment of living in spiritual free fall, and feeling satan's stinky breath along one's keel!

My own re-cognition that life is not a Darwinian loway but a spiritual highway is memorialized on Page 87, where it is written,

But then something altogether surprising happened. From our vantage point outside time, we now see that the boundary of life did not end with its own little precarious little dance along the precipice of non-being. Rather, we see that life was bound by two infinite frontiers, one side down and back into dark death and obscure material dissolution, the other side up and beyond, into more subtle regions of Mind and Spirit. Crossing that radiant upper threshold we are witness to...

Boo!!!


I am hardly the first to have experienced (?!). The sacred WTF?!!! is re-enacted by Raccoons from all over the world every March Forth, as soon as we "open our eyes" in the "morning," innocently view creation like a newborn Adam in paradise, and, like our ancestral furbears, blurt the words in wide-eyed astoneagement:

WTF is going on here?!!!

125 comments:

walt said...

A fine post! Vintage B'obstuff, all.

"...the more one realizes, the more justification for faith one possesses, until it becomes the norm to simply live in the perpetual uncertainty of an open and unsaturated faith..."

I still wrestle with it when that "perpetual uncertainty" comes a-knockin', but that's just a wake-up call, right?

Thanks!

Gagdad Bob said...

Thank you, but it looks like today's big discussion is taking place in yesterdays comments. Who's better, Gary Lewis & the Playboys or Paul Revere & the Raiders? Lives are at stake!!!

anon said...

But where did all that lovely math come from "in the beginning?" The materialist says yada yada, while we say O.

Well, that certainly is a better explanation. It's shorter!

Mathematical structures are not temporal so doesn't have to "come from" anywhere. As to the relationship of mathematics to reality, here's an interesting theory.

you will realize that the materialist is not only incorrect in his metaphysic, but that he cannot possibly be correct.

"Naturalism" is a better term than materialism if you want to have a fair argument (yeah, right). Ie, the theory above is a form of naturalism (no supernatural entities required) but doesn't wear the materialist label very well -- it's not matter -- mere stuff -- that's fundamental.

Thus, for example, since man has no nature, he can be molded by the state into whatever the progressive wishes.

Well, I and many other leftists disagree with blank-slate models of the mind. Human beings have many built-in characteristics. As I pointed out the other day, leftist saint Noam Chomsky has been advocating an innatist approach to linguistics for decades, and Marc Hauser has a Chomsky-esque theory of an innate moral sense.

It is difficult to respect the reductionistic Darwinist who lacks the rudimentary intellectual honesty and the courage of his absence of convictions to be a real nihilist. He has his feet planted in the soil of Judeo-Christian values...I'll take Nietzsche over them any day

This manages to combine cartoon versions of both Darwinists and Nietzsche, so is wrong in several dimensions. As I said above, being a Darwinist means recognizing that there is indeed such a thing as human nature, that morality is very likely a part of it, and so in no way leads to nihilism. Nietzsche also wasn't really a moral nihilist, except in the sense that he wanted to complete the process of killing off what he saw as a dying Christian morality so that it could be replaced with something better.

I begin to realize that almost everything you do here involves creating a cartoon image of something you dislike (the left, Islam, Obama, Darwin, whatever) and riffing on it. That suggests that your positive theology, or whatever it is, is equally cartoonish.

Gagdad Bob said...

Good. I give you credit for recognizing your projections. The next step is acknowledging them.

Gagdad Bob said...

Continuing from yesterday's musical thread:

If you've never heard Vanilla Fudge, just imagine the music of Kiss, minus the subtlety. Or Spinal Tap, only not a parody.

Dianne said...

OK - I have to go look up some Vanilla Fudge music and I'll be right back.

Dianne said...

Sorry, I have to disagree. Kiss was way more dramatic. Vanilla Chocolate was just lame.

Gagdad Bob said...

I wonder how many readers know that Raccoons celebrate the birthday of Barry White as the annual feast of the Walrus of Love?

Gagdad Bob said...

My neighbor just happens to be the guitar technician for Kiss!

Suffice it to say, we don't discuss music.

Gagdad Bob said...

Kiss having a guitar technician is a little like Rosie O'Donnell having a make-up artist.

Tigtog said...

To Dianne re:"Never heard of Vanilla Fudge."

They were a Southern CA pop bad with a small margin of success. The most notable thing about them for me was they were one of the first "pop" bands to try and go psychedelic. Check out their version of "You Keep Me Hanging On". It is the only memorable thing they ever did, but they did it in around 1965-66, which for the time was pretty prescient.

Dianne said...

I take up for Kiss against the Vanilla Fudge's, but I don't care much for Kiss either.

There must have been one song of theirs I liked, but at the moment, can't think of which one it was.

Tigtog said...

To Gagdad re: Paul Revere

Went to Amazon to find Vanilla Fudge. Amazon recommends 5 other albums if you like Vanilla Fudge, all 5 were Paul Revere and the Raiders albums. Strange.

Gagdad Bob said...

Vanilla Fudge's version of You Keep Me Hanging On was actually 1967.

It does, however, raise the interesting question of what was the first psychedelic record? Off the top of my head, one could venture the first Jefferson Airplane album, which was recorded in December 1965. The Byrds 5D -- which includes the epic Eight Miles High -- was recorded a month later.

Gagdad Bob said...

Tigtog;

That is a little strange, since Paul revere specialized in concise little gems of top 30 garage rock... I would guess that VF fans might like PR, but not vice versa.

Tigtog said...

To Gagdad re:

"The Byrds 5D -- which includes the epic Eight Miles High -- was recorded a month later."

One of the greats. That song still stands up. That and Mr. Spaceman truly defined McGuinn. He pretty much defined the Rickenbacher sound. I know the Jefferson Airplane used them too, but I always think of Roger when I hear the tinny tinkle of a Rickenbacker.

Tigtog said...

To Gagdad re:

"That is a little strange, since Paul revere specialized in concise little gems of top 30 garage rock... I would guess that VF fans might like PR, but not vice versa."

I would have thought the same. But low and behold Amazon made a cosmic connection. I wonder if Amazon is monitoring our conversation?

Jack said...

Vanilla Fudge freaking out live on the TV

Dianne said...

Ah Yes - which was the first psychodelic record?

"When the moon is in the seventh hour, and jupiter lies within..."

Gagdad Bob said...

Did you know that at the beginning of Eight Miles High, McGuinn is trying to simulate the sound of Coltrane's sax with the Rick? Note as well how much the drums sound like Elvin Jones. They were trying to create a modal sound, and if I'm not mistaken, the song only has one chord!

Gagdad Bob said...

Another interesting factoid: the Allman Brothers, before they had made a record and were crisscrossing the country in a beat up van, were constantly listening to Kind of Blue and A Love Supreme. Note how so many of their early tracks are really "modal blues," such as Elizabeth Reed, or Dreams, Whipping Post, over which the soloists are very free to improvise.

Gagdad Bob said...

Dianne:

That's already a commercialization of the genre, which is a funny thing when you think about it -- watered down LSD music for your parents!

There was also a genre of what can be called "bubble gum psychedelia," such as the Monkees' "Words" or even Brian Wilson's Smile (although I suppose the latter would be "sunshine psychedelia").

Dianne said...

I was just noticing the other night how the Eagles song "Seven Bridges Road" was so blugrass.

Jack said...

I recall a story of The Byrds while on tour played pretty much only Coltrane and Ravi Shankar on the tour bus sound system...over and ove.

Jack said...

...and I love the two MASSIVE bass drums the Vanilla Fudge drummer uses. That is what one might refer to as...Rock *AND* Roll.

Tigtog said...

To Gagdad re:

"Another interesting factoid: the Allman Brothers, before they had made a record and were crisscrossing the country in a beat up van, were constantly listening to Kind of Blue and A Love Supreme. Note how so many of their early tracks are really "modal blues," such as Elizabeth Reed, or Dreams, Whipping Post, over which the soloists are very free to improvise."

Not surprised Bob. I have Love Supreme in my car as well. I, like a lot of others, listen to Coltrane for riff ideas. The man was a Super Computer of derivations on a theme with regard to a melody or scale. Its what I meant by thinking while listening to Coltrane versus enjoying the music of Miles. Coltrane is like hearing an equation being crunched in all its possibilities. But as purely enjoyable, spiritual music, it leaves me cool. Anyone who enjoys blues and/or jazz is going to be aware of Coltrane, especially for improv reasons. You just are not going to turn to him for compositional reasons.

BTW, check out the Vanilla Fudge UTube. Dude, those go-go dancers with the boots were making me hot! They all had that "Twiggy" look going. Big eyes and needing a meal.

Dianne said...

I know - GB. It's a good thing I was there but not present when all of the 60's BS was going on. I was a kid, fighting for it's life. All of that stuff feels like fluff on the outer fringes.

Tigtog said...

To Jack re:
"...and I love the two MASSIVE bass drums the Vanilla Fudge drummer uses. That is what one might refer to as...Rock *AND* Roll."

It goes to eleven.

Tigtog said...

To All

Who represents the best 3-man rock group?

Jack said...

Duanne Allman: A Rock Visionary on the Cusp of Jazz

Jack said...

oops...Duane, not DuanNe.

Gagdad Bob said...

Best three man rock group? If you're talking about instruments, the Who, hands down. Three members only, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble.

Mizz E said...

♫ ♫ ♪ ♪ ♬ What Walt Said™.

ge said...

tossup:
Cream
Jimi Hendrix Exp.

Tigtog said...

To Jack re: Duane

Caught a reference to Capt Beefheart. Have you ever checked him out? If not, try "Green Eyed Beans From Venus". The Capt grew up across the street from Frank Zappa. Strange world. Strange world. If you like Coltrane for licks, you will enjoy the Magic Band.

Dianne said...

I actually MET Stevie Ray Vaughn. He's a good guy.

Gagdad Bob said...

Jack:

I think the latest incarnation of the Allman's is awesome, with Derek Trucks & Warren Haynes. Trucks especially has a modal jazz & sitar influence. I have a number of their soundboard live recordings that you can purchase on their website. Talk about elevating the bandstand...

Gagdad Bob said...

Love Cap'n Beefheart. Like Howlin' Wolf on acid.

Tigtog said...

To Gagdad re: Beefheart

What's not to love? Shoosh. It is an acquired taste. I have pretty much all his albums up to Clear Spot. Those and some bootleg singles in strange colors. I was extremely surprised his most commercial album Clear Spot never got any play.

ge said...

now wait--- '8 miles high' does have chords-- 3-4 of 'em Em-G-D-C
[once the verses kick in]
intro = modal
Gene Clark is the main writer/singer of the tune----Crosby only added the '...town known for its sound' line & got a credit!

As impressionable teen I struck up a conversation w/ an older player from a band appearing at a friend's party circa '68, and he talked up a storm trying pretty successfully to convince me that the Fudge were each [especially C. Appice] 'the best musicians out there' so I bought their alvins for a few years as a pet project....but wasnt much rewarded. In fact that proggier 'virtuoso' show-offy approach spelled the start of the end of now-cherished groovy psych music [short-sweet flanged heaven songs] that i continue to favour

ge said...

...a-and if youre ever called upon to modal-flail some guitar sounds at the beginning of 8 miles high, be sure to throw in some C# {?!---over a Em drone} notes to captcha the flavour

Tigtog said...

More 3-man bands to consider:

James Gang, Grand Funk, Blue Cheer, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Atomic Rooster, The Stooges, The Police...

If we don't count the vocalist, then Led Zeppelin, Mountain, Jeff Beck Group, Queen {icky), Rush, Ramones, Sex Pistols

How do we score the best?

Tigtog said...

To GE re: Modal

"..a-and if youre ever called upon to modal-flail some guitar sounds at the beginning of 8 miles high, be sure to throw in some C# {?!---over a Em drone} notes to captcha the flavour"

What is the difference between modal and drone? Is Joni Mitchell modal or drone in her compositions? This modal discussion has been going on for a while now. My definition is improv without a chordal base. Drone, is just a constant note played with others (bagpipe, sitar, dulcimer, etc.).

Gagdad Bob said...

Led Zepp would never qualify for a three man band, in that they were largely a studio creation with dozens of overdubs. Live they were awful, unlike, say, the Who, who were better live.

James Gang, Grand Funk, Blue Cheer, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Atomic Rooster, The Stooges, The Police...

Yuck to each. I would sooner give up music than be forced to listen to them. I realize that the Police's drummer is quite good, but I find Sting to be such a pompous load, that I can't tolerate him,

Mountain, Jeff Beck Group, Queen {icky), Rush, Ramones, Sex Pistols

Yuck to each, except for some occasional humor in the Ramones.

Gagdad Bob said...

Give me the Jam over the Sex Pistols. No contest.

Gagdad Bob said...

And it is possible that Mark Farner is the worst lyricist in rock history.

Sample:

Mean mistreater, you make me cry,
You lay around, and watch me die.
Mean mistreater, can't you see I'm real?
Are you satisfied, with the way you feel?

And this Shakespearean ode to back-of-the-limo sex with a groupie:

Hey Mr. Limousine driver can I ask you a favor please?
Let her in my door and don't look back here no more
I know you can do it with ease
Although we're on our way from the show and you don't like to get off the track
Please Mr. Chauffeur let's talk things over 'cause she says she loves me and that's a fact
Can you hear what I'm sayin'
It's not like I'm prayin'
You know because you've done it before
So why make me wait
Please don't hesitate
Just get back here and let her in my door
Hey Mr. Limousine driver I know you know where it's at
Too late will be later
You just read your evening paper
And don't worry 'bout what's goin' on in back
Hey, Mr. Limousine driver

Dianne said...

What do you think of Pink Floyd?

Tigtog said...

To Gagdad re: Grand Funk

They actually had an organ player so they don't qualify as a 3 man set.

So far I'm torn between Hendrix's Experience and Cream. The Cream certainly was able to develop a full sound with 3 members. I always felt Stevie Ray was underserved by Double Trouble.

Tigtog said...

Oh yeah, ZZ Top. Can't forget that 3-man set. Simple songs performed well.

Gagdad Bob said...

GFR only added the organist later, after at least half a dozen albums. Cream had some good studio pop songs, but live they were a disaster, like Led Zepp -- just aimless improvising.

Again: in contrast, listen to the Who live at Leeds. It's pretty much tied with the Allman Brothers at the Fillmore East for greatest live album ever.

And the more I hear Double Trouble live, the more impressed I am. We'll have another chance with this upcoming deluxe version of Couldn't Stand the Weather with a previously unreleased concert on disc 2.... although it may include the organist. Not sure.

ge said...

Hi T-t:
your definitions are no doubt solid, 4give my loose use. personally i [gladly] avoid 'study' of music
---
1st jeff back alvin w/ R Stewart
[TRUTH]= 'great'
& i love ronnie lane's [rip] contributions [an april foool born 4/1]
-----
you want a pinnacle of
Leon Russell's ?
he arranged-lengthened this


another is his piano addition to
Badfinger's
Day after Day
he heard it one time and on 2nd pass, played what you hear!! G. Harrison producing

Dianne said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vppbdf-qtGU

ZZ Top :) Fabulous!

ge said...

for my $
it's quite obvious that Pink Floyd was only good when Syd was in control, ie THE PIPER album & his singles & Vegetable Man & Scream thy last Scream.

totally downhill/unlistenable after...
which says as much re my taste [I luv loons] as anything else [but i'm right]

Dianne said...

Did you know that David Gilmore was living in a homeless shelter before he became famous with Pink Floyd?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZSWAkJ3h8E

julie said...

Speaking of ZZ Top, my percussionist friend was showing me this last night. Watch the drummer, after about fifty seconds in. He never misses a beat.

ge said...

the American well
canadian
Syd B ?

Jack said...

There's no doubt that SRV was channeling some serious mojo. His guitar tone alone is a marvel to behold. I didn't appreciate him at the time, but he was/is the very definition of "the real deal"

I need to figure out Derek Trucks--his playing still hasn't hit me yet. Maybe it just takes me a while (see above).

Gagdad Bob said...

Concur with GE. Can't stand Pink Floyd's post-Syd pretentious lyrical overreaching and soulless musical noodling.

Gagdad Bob said...

Agree about SRV's tone. In fact, tone might be the most underrated aspect of music. Sometimes the tone of an electric guitar is just so perfect that nothing else is needed. Santana's made a career out of it!

Dianne said...

Well, shine on you crazy diamonds. :)

Gagdad Bob said...

Here's an out of left field musical pick I've been enjoying lately: audiophile gold disc versions of Killer & Love it to Death by Alice Cooper, here & here. Their two guitarists both had excellent tone, and interacted quite well...

Jack said...

Tone makes all the difference...you could execute the same notes with similar skill and emotional depth but it all gets easily lost without tone. A crappy worker blames his tools, but without good tools it's hard to good work.

I think Pink Floyd has probably had an overall negative impact on my psyche--and that of others as well. I listened *repeatedly* to "The Wall" and "Dark Side of The Moon" as a teenager. Roger Waters is like the perpetually disgruntled, depressed, "smarter than you" goth teenager. They have been, for those unfortunate enough to be drawn to them. a main source of premature faux-cynicism.

It's like taking Jim Morrison's "I'm going to get my kicks before the whole sh*thouse goes up in flames" and removing the part about getting one's kicks.

Gagdad Bob said...

Roger Waters probably has a personality like the Comic Book Guy on the Simpson's.... Like Bill Maher or our own Anon, cynicism and contempt masquerading as intellect.

Gagdad Bob said...

You know what's a sound I like, but which you don't hear enough of? Acoustic instruments but heavy drums, as in Rod Stewart's first four solo albums on Mercury. Mick Waller was a fabulous drummer... To a certain extent, Led Zepp had the same thing going on in their many acoustic numbers.

BTW, John Bonham was profoundly influenced by James Brown's drummers. He really brings the funk, which immediately sets them apart from 99% of those plodding heavy metal groups that couldn't swing if their lives depended on it.

Dianne said...

At least there's some philosphy involved in Pink Floyd songs and not just grunge "music" that sounds like satan about how life is hopeless and suicide is cool.

Gagdad Bob said...

Yes, but isn't it a rather cold and cynical philosophy?

Gagdad Bob said...

Besides, in rock the philosophy is in the sound, not the lyric.

Gagdad Bob said...

Which is why I insist that good rock is profoundly anti-leftist, since it's so celebratory and liberating, the very opposite of those ill-tempered and uptight party poopers. In the 60s the left tended to hate the music, even though it was lyrically compatible with their worldview, because it was just too fun, too much of a distraction from the Revolution.

Jack said...

Yes, grunge was another side path I went down. It is the further devolution of the life force in music.

It has often struck me as curious that some of the poorest countries create the most joyful music and we in the West have it better than Kings could even conceive and we can produce "Dark Side of the Moon" and "Nevermind". Not that there isn't a place for expressing the shadow side of life, but hopefully towards the end of catharsis rather than wallowing and self-indulgence!

Gagdad Bob said...

And of course, western rock was banned behind the iron curtain, for obvious reasons.

Gagdad Bob said...

Jack:

Absolutely! Just look at the incredible flowering of black genius prior to all the government meddling in their lives!

Jack said...

Yes. Black music genius put the Cosmo- in Cosmo American music.

Again:

"A note can be as small as a pin or as big as the world, it all depends on your imagination" -Thelonius Monk

Gagdad Bob said...

The list of great black musicians between 1925 and 1975 is truly astonishing, and enriches my life every day...

ge said...

well this guy was unknown to me til today
a christian rock pioneer...gotta balance out that death metal i was checking out this week :)

Jack said...

Black musicAL genius. I wish I could type!

Jack said...

GB-

No doubt. I feel the same way. To produce so many, in my opinion, world-historical level geniuses from such circumstances borders on miraculous.

Gagdad Bob said...

I would add that there's a fair amount of Cosmo-American country. I'm partial to the Bakersfield sound, i.e., Buck Owens & Merle Haggard. Waylon Jennings borrowed a lot from Buck Owens' guitar driven sound....

Gagdad Bob said...

Interestingly, most of the country greats grew up as impoverished as many of the blacks, e.g., Johnny Cash.... In fact, now that I think about it, some of the blacks came from fairly privileged circumstances. I mean, Miles' father was a dentist who got him into Julliard...

Gagdad Bob said...

This was a great discovery: some obsessive nut has collected and posted every single 93 KHJ Boss 30 starting with 1965.

Gagdad Bob said...

It's the station I listened to as a kid, so I know every single song...

Tigtog said...

To Gagdad re:

"I'm partial to the Bakersfield sound, i.e., Buck Owens & Merle Haggard. Waylon Jennings borrowed a lot from Buck Owens' guitar driven sound...."

Not that I am a fan, but Jerry Garcia was a big fan of the Bakersfield sound.

Stephen Macdonald said...

Few will likely agree (although many would place it in their top 20 or so) but I consider this possibly the greatest pop song ever: Ronettes - Be My baby

Jack said...

The pedal steel solo on "Buckaroo" is utterly transcendent. It gives me chills everytime I hear it.

Waylon was always associated with the theme from "The Dukes of Hazzard" (my first youthful experience of him) so I am a late-comer to his music as well. "Honky-Tonk Heroes" would likely be a desert island record for me.

Tigtog said...

Thought I would add Steppenwolf to the discussion. Talk about your anthems: Born to be Wild. Simple, yet complete.

Stephen Macdonald said...

There is much to be said for jewel-perfect pop songs

(What do you pro musicians think of the late Alex C?)

Stephen Macdonald said...

Country nomination: Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman

Stephen Macdonald said...

Tigtog:

Steppenwolf was my first "grown-up" record once I outgrew the Partridge Family.

Tigtog said...

Sly was a genius. Tower of Power tried to mirror Sly but came up short. Still liked them though. Nice fat sound. It really helps to get at least one big hit.

funny wv: artis

Tigtog said...

To NB re:

"Steppenwolf was my first "grown-up" record once I outgrew the Partridge Family."

I always loved their sound, simple, direct, and driving. I know some found them a little cheesy (they didn't wear well) but their youth and energy was for real.

They were from an age when rock had balls. Seems rock got castrated a few years later.

Stephen Macdonald said...

Now for my next nomination, here's where I expect plenty of disagreement. However it's hard to find a real music lover who can't see the genius in Outkast, even if they wouldn't normally listen to them.

julie said...

(Nice throw, there, NB - time for more popcorn...)

Stephen Macdonald said...

Shake it like a Polaroid picture! is right up there with I feel good! ;-)

Van Harvey said...

"While there is obviously truth in biology and physics -- this being a logoistic universe -- it is absurd to suggest that either is the truth, for truth must be anterior to existence. To suggest that existence is anterior to truth is the fundamental error of all materialists, atheists, and neo-Marxists leftists. Of course they could be right. But if they are right they are wrong, for to derive truth from history instead of nature is to derive no truth at all, just a forever shifting mindscape of perishable opinion."

Pretty much sums it up. None thing (none thing), leads to anonnnnnether. Just like it was an easy guess that if anunce liked Rorty, Marc Hauser, lead rower on the SS life boat ethics, couldn't be far behind. But enough of that, lest anunce leave some more links to material it hasn't read and doesn't come close to comprehending.

As for the music fray... with the exception of The Byrds, Bill Evans, some Paul Revere & the Raiders, some Pink Floyd (in the negative, having had the same hairsbreadth escape Jack described), a little ELP & Police, Rush and Ramones... they just don't spin on my turntable man. And further thought on the matter resurrects too much of the 80's into the ol' noggin. Generally not conducive to current daily life.

Real long hair music anyone? Ehhh... never mind, I'll just nuke another bag of popcorn and enjoy the comments.

;-)

ge said...

Steppen: their big hit was penned by a purty much one hit wonder by the name of Mars Bonfire who also did some LA session work. [wouldnt that be a great way to earn your retirement? 1 big hit that you still retained rights to?!] Van Dyke Parks' brother wrote SOMETHING STUPID which Van pitched to Sinatra whilst receiving adjacent steambath massages in Vegas ...if i told tale that here b4 solly!
den dere's
"Nature Boy"
eden ahbez christlike author
i was one of the few who bought Mars' solo album on its release , and ended up covering a fave from it called TENDERNESS

Susannah said...

Larry Norman...finally some music I can talk about! LOL! (Loved that album..."I was standin'/on the corner/when I heard my bulldog bark...)

What a character he was. He passed away not so long ago. May he RIP.

My musical upbringing was almost exclusively Christian. Except for the oldies daddy would tune into on trips.

Sure wish I could join in fully, but right now I'm stuck in the 19th & prior centuries (Irish Trad.). The tune names are so intriguing. "I Buried My Wife and Danced on Her Grave." :)

ge said...

i'm such the wrong person to hear it's open music appreciation time!
for a good time check out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-Qn9CVnpmc
it's loud so watch yr speakers

Gagdad Bob said...

Be My Baby is Brian Wilson's favorite song. But I think my favorite Ronettes/Phil Spector production might be Do I Love You.

Susannah said...

This is one of my very favorite singer/songwriters. I never get tired of his songs. He, too, has gone before. Mark Heard, 1951-1992

Gagdad Bob said...

When the Beatles came to America, they really just wanted to meet the Ronettes. I think you can see why.

Gagdad Bob said...

Tig:

Tower of Power is VERY underrated, especially when they had Lenny Williams on lead vocals. So Very Hard to Go is one of the great soul anthems of the '70s....

ge said...

seems someone posted a couple of my old new wave band's
songs

Gagdad Bob said...

Definitely a Talking Heads / Devo / B-52s bag.

Gagdad Bob said...

Another epic discovery of recent weeks: the psycho-country gothic kitsch of Porter Wagoner. Who knew?

Gagdad Bob said...

I mean, check out The First Mrs. Jones, if you dare!

Susannah said...

I'm gonna have so much fun on YouTube tonight. Somebody put up the whole album.

Hard Luck and Bad News

Gagdad Bob said...

Or, how about a hard lesson in Cold Hard Facts of Life.

Susannah said...

Tell me mo, mmmm-mmm, tell me mo, mm-mmm

Susannah said...

You know, the "cold hard facts"--not that far from a lot of the folk music I've listened to over the years!

Susannah said...

I can't believe it...another of my long lost vinyl lbums. I'll be up all night!

Susannah said...

I didn't have this one, but I had another one from their country phase.

Shotgun Angel

Sort of the inverse of the Large Marge experience? LOL!

DA were hilarious.

Skorpion said...

Hey Gagster -- you're a "Sunshine Pop" fan, am I right? If you take that genre and add some Love/Airplane-style fuzz/psych, you get these guys.

Susannah said...

I heard this song of DA's back when I was in college, and it has stayed with me ever since. I had *totally* forgotten I had asked this individual to post it!

Susannah said...

Along a recent theme re: Baptists and beer.

Gagdad Bob said...

Mikal:

Yes, the sadly underrated PBC. I wouldn't put them quite at the same level as Spanky, but good shiny happy sunshine pop nevertheless.

black hole said...

Your discussion of evoluton of truth doesn't square with Christian doctrine.

Problem?


As the story goes, the world is going to be transformed into a different place upon the second coming, guaranteed.

That means there is no point in thinking about an adventure of conciousness, either indivually or collectively. It would be a collossal waste of time.

Christianity boils down to salvation by accepting Christ. you No need to loiter on any thresholds or get handouts from Petey to get 'er done. Or any other fancy spiritual footwork.

Your christian commenters have been trying to tell you that. Now they've turned to discussing music.

And they trying to tell you: No fancy spirit music either. Good old country is gonna do it until the last trumpet sounds.

Now you and I both know that's not how it is. And don't fuzz it up by saying you can take Christianity in various ways. Interpret it differently. Nope.

R Godwin, please step forward. Luther's job ain't done yet.
We need a new reformation. Yes we do.

Rick said...

Saw Ringo last night. Heard yello submarine live :-)

Ringo Starr has launched his 11th All Starr Band tour featuring Edgar Winter, Gary Wright, Richard Page, Wally Palmar, Rick Derringer and Gregg Bissonette.

Winter was a lot of fun -- Frankenshtein. Dreamweaver, a song I don't care much for was great even. Wright said Harrison gave him some books way back and that's where he got the idea for dreamweaver. Ringo said last night was the best he ever heard Wright do that song, and that "George never gave me any damn books."

Rick said...

RE Rush, just saw this stat they're peddling for their tour:

"Rush has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and garnered untold legions of devoted and admiring fans. According to the RIAA, Rush's sales statistics place Rush third after The Beatles and The Rolling Stones for the most consecutive gold or platinum studio albums by a Rock band."

Not a fan anymore, but that was news to me.

Rick said...

Hard to count SRV and DT as a trio. It's hard to believe that quality of voice and guitar playing can exist in one person. Not to mention at the same time, go so well together, build on each other, yet could stand alone.

walt said...

C'mon Rick! Just another seven minutes!

You can do it, pal!

wv sez it would be hught!

Rick said...

You remembered!
I'm up early today. At the hospital. Boy has some minor surgery.

ge said...

'Let that Tape keep Rolling' of Larry Norman has a terrif quote from Van's 'Gloria' at the end---so it's not the girl approaching the singer's room but the Holy Spirit!
he's damn good btw...

[[Bob we were shameless T. Heads fans, but the B52s & devo came along after we were established, and unluckily garnered some attention we might have enjoyed from the press & dudes like Eno]]

ge said...

holy grail for sunshine pop et al

Gagdad Bob said...

Wow, there are some obscurities there I've never heard of. Soft Soul Transition?

ge said...

acoustics/no electrics w/ bass-drums?
this band
probably has several in that mode

Van Harvey said...

Here's a clever way of pointing out the difference between approaching a problem from the top down, or from the bottom up.

It’s short, but you’ve gotta watch, and read it, from start to finish.

A conceptual palendrome

Theme Song

Theme Song