Clouds, Time & Spiraling Planes (revised August 19)

 

Credit: Jinik Renatus, Jinikal Art.

(Update: September, 9, 2025. A new, and even better video from Jinikal. This one features amusing little pentagrams! See: Cosmic Joy: The Infinite Playgrounds.)

It occured to me recently that in the earlier days of blogging, I made a point of trying to feature new digital artists on Trans-D, a habit I somewhat abandoned after the genre grew to such a degree I could no longer keep track of it. And, I can only marginally keep track of the burgeoning AI video artists; new artists seem to appear literally every day.* But, every now and then, a video makes an appearance that resonates on a personal level - call it kismet - and, well,  Jinik's In a World Where Time and Space are Distorted is one of those videos.

Don't be fooled by the title. Time and space are not "distorted." In terms of spatial effects, they are either intentionally (or intuitively) orchestrated and organized around the laws of pentagonal phi and/or the Fibonacci series,** and best of all, Jinik created some fantastic spiraling clouds! Regarding time, spiral clocks  (also here) and time spirals are all the rage in cyberspace, everywhere from scientific circles to Fantasy Fandom worlds.

As it happens, spiraling clouds are not unusual in the real world. I see them every day, albeit on a smaller scale. Inset left (above) is an example I shot earlier this summer but often the golden spiral's signature paisley shape can be found on a much larger scale. (Below is a detail of a photo found in a previous cloud post.)

A cloud in desperate need of a Phi-shell!

Clouds and spirals? Can't get any better! Thank you, Jinik Renatus, your video made my day!

(My apologies for all the typos and delays with the text... hopefully, now corrected!)

______________________________________________

* I have been featuring them on Mac's memorial, with the latest appearing on this post... and his birthday post.

** I want to be perfectly clear about my use of mathematical terms regarding art here. That is, while phi may, indeed, be mathematically present in a work of art, the exact math is not required for it to fit the criteria of possessing the Golden Meme; best described as a shape, sound, or movement based on a mathematical ratio present in the geometry of the pentagram - in itself, a fractal - that is so perfect in its mysterious beauty and/or powerful efficiency that it might be described as Divine, or Golden. Regarding space-time, the Golden Meme represents a key to understanding the eternal.

(Note: The Golden Meme as a theory and an artistic investigation is mine alone and is not currently recognized as valid by any accredited source. It is also in its infancy. In any case, for me, it serves as an organizing center for the pentagonal phi material I've been amassing for 6 years. See: Reflections on Water, or the golden snail shell on the sidebar.)

 

Vale, Marianne...

"Will you take me across the channel,

London Bridge is falling down

Strange a woman tries to save

What a man will try to drown

And he’s the rain that they predicted,

It’s the forecast every time

The rose has died because you picked it

I believe that brandy’s mine

And all over the world

Strangers

Talk only about the weather

All over the world

It’s the same"

- Lyrics to Strange Weather, written by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan, 1987.

***

"I know I'm not young and I'm damaged," she wrote defiantly. "But I'm still pretty kind of funny."

- Marianne Faithfull, ironic till the very end. In youth, irony is an art... In old age it's a necessity. This quote was sourced from the BBC's comprehensive tribute.

I'm sad to report that Marianne Faithfull slipped away from us on January 31 of this year. Weirdly, I didn't find the news till yesterday, although I can't understand how I managed to miss it.

It seems like I had just blogged about her recently. So, the news hit hard. Marianne was a special  woman; sort of a triple goddess figure: a charming, gracious lady, a bawdy  broad, and, lastly, an enchanted little match girl. But, for those of us who more or less grew up with her, she was an invincible survivor. Throughout all of her trials and tribulations she remained strong, maintaining her dignity and a sense of humor. Oh, and she remained an unapologetic smoker, an outstanding feat of resilience these days.

As a performer she was unique; she had at least 3 incarnations. Marianne #1 had the clear-bell voice of an angel. Marianne #2 sang like a wildcat on the prowl. Marianne #3 was the world-weary chanteuse. She could've glammed it up with feathers and furs, but, she never needed to. She was the real deal.

And, we'll miss her.

(The lovely photo - inset right above - was taken by Bruce Weber in 1996 and can be found on MF's website, along with many other great shots.)

The Man Who Sold the World (last update: 2/3/2025)

"Oh no, not me

We never lost control

You're face to face

With the man who sold the world

- Lyrics from The Man Who Sold the World, 1970, David Bowie.

***

Amusingly, the day Donald Trump was inaugurated this song trended on YouTube. The Man Who Sold the World was an early Bowie tune which never received much airplay till British pop-diva, Lulu - whom DB adored - brought it to the top of the UK charts several years later.

Nirvana covered the song in the 90s - above is an MTV performance - and totally nailed it. But, meanwhile, hiding in the Saturday Night Live archives is, perhaps, DB's most definitive interpretation of the "man" who is revealed to be an eerily puppet-like figure. (Also see.) Featuring the German performance artist, Klaus Nomi, the full video can be found here.

***

"I was saved by God to make America great again."

- A grandiose (delusional) statement attributed to Donald Trump on the day of his inauguration sourced from USA Today's Donald Trump sworn in as 47th president, declares 'America's decline is over'.

America's "decline" is over? No, judging by the news headlines over the past 8 days, many, both here and abroad, secretly fear the alleged "decline" may have just begun.

Moreover, America may be losing the support of friendly nations and allies due to the present administration's seemingly pathological disregard for diplomacy. (See article here and videos of officials from Germany, Ireland, and Denmark.)

Observe: 

• Trump is withdrawing from the Paris Agreement (again), reversing U.S. climate policy

• Trump administration launches nationwide immigration enforcement blitz

• Trump’s new gender rules gut a key part of the Prison Rape Elimination Act

• Trump uses mass firing to remove independent inspectors general at a series of agencies

• What is US birthright citizenship and what does Trump’s executive order do?

• Brazil slams US after dozens of deportees arrive handcuffed

• Trump imposes tariffs, sanctions on Colombia after it refuses deportation flights

(Update)

• US freezes foreign aid for almost all countries including Ukraine, except Israel and Turkey

• Trump offering buyouts to all federal workers

• Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans

***

The news is coming fast and furiously these days. I've never seen anything like it. Every day introduces a new abomination... with the leader of the new administration shooting out executive orders with machine gun-like rapidity. If this is an element of his strategy then it's effectively disabling us, leading some Americans to wonder: has there been a coup?

Seriously...

(Continued below the jump...)

Navigating the New Year (Revised: 2/15/2025)

Red Shoes - cellphone photo - 2024, DS.

 (Text added & revised February 9 - 15, 2025)

About the photo: It looks like it might be a reject from a fashion-photo shoot; in reality' it was anything but. Nor was it any sort of "selfie," or so I thought when I shot it.

Actually, when I first noticed the way the shadows were falling on the motel balcony that night, my first thoughts were on all the geometry that lay beneath my feet. I had to use it. Shot in just the right way, the shadows, the balcony, the railing, my feet...

well, to make a long story shorter, I think it worked. Basically, I just kept my eye on that corner in the foreground and kept shooting.

"I began to see the possibilities offered by the regular division of the plane. For the first time I dared to create compositions based on the problem of expressing endlessness within a limited plane."

I've posted the (single) money shot (above). Poised in the red shoes, I seem to be standing on a spiraling, impossible plane designed by M.C. Escher, (quoted directly above). Success! A birthday gift!

But, then, there was the matter of the red shoes. Because, apart from the pop of color the shoes provided, intuition informed me that the red shoes had more significance; perhaps, a personal one. It also occurred to me that, although I had heard references to red shoes in the past, I had never read the original fairy tale... 

(Continued below the jump.)

***

"... Booker T. & the M.G.'s played a handful of instrumental R&B tunes, wearing brilliant lime green suits, then they were joined by an identically attired Otis Redding who electrified the audience with his sexually charged singing style.He sang his 1965 song "Respect" which was topping the charts because of a popular new interpretation by Aretha Franklin. Redding finished with a riveting "Try a Little Tenderness". The crowd responded by standing and screaming for more. Redding had been included on the bill through the efforts of promoter Jerry Wexler, who saw the festival as an opportunity to advance Redding's career. Until that point, Redding had performed mainly for black audiences, besides a few successful shows at the Whisky a Go Go..."

The festival would be one of his last major performances: Redding died only six months later, in a plane crash, at the age of 26."

- A quote sourced from the Wiki entry for the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival which rock purists recognize as more relevant to rock music history than Woodstock, the larger and more famous festival which followed in 1969.

I found the video (above) of Otis Redding on Christmas day. It was my first gift of the holidays. In spite of his tragically short career, Redding was considered the King of Soul and it's confirmed by this stellar Monterey Pop performance. There's a few moments in the video when he extends a note in such a way it pierces your heart. Can't touch that.

Note: Redding died at age 26; a tad too soon to gain entrance into the 27 Club. Interestingly, however, also performing at Monterey were Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin... while Brian Jones wandered through the crowd. And they, like Morrison and, later, Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain, are members of that incorporeal group of rock dignitaries who died at the tender age of 27.

Otis beat them to it.

In Memory of Otis Redding and His Revolution

Happy New Year!

(More below the jump...)

Dark Eros & Gothic Dreams

Untitled painting, detail, 1960, Leonora Carrington. (Click to enlarge)
The full image can be found below the jump-break....

(From) Spirits of the Dead by Edgar Allen Poe

"Thy soul shall find itself alone

'Mid dark thoughts of the grey tombstone;

Not one, of all the crowd, to pry

Into thine hour of secrecy.

Be silent in that solitude,

Which is not loneliness - for then

The spirits of the dead, who stood

In life before thee, are again..."

(From) Speak, God Of Visions by Emily Brontë

"So, with a ready heart I swore

To seek their altar-stone no more;

And gave my spirit to adore

Thee, ever-present, phantom thing—

My slave, my comrade, and my king.

A slave, because I rule thee still,

Incline thee to my changeful will,

And make thy influence good or ill;

A comrade, for by day and night

Thou art my intimate delight..."

(From) Elm by Sylvia Plath

"I am inhabited by a cry.   

Nightly it flaps out

Looking, with its hooks, for something to love.

I am terrified by this dark thing   

That sleeps in me;

All day I feel its soft, feathery turnings, its malignity.

Clouds pass and disperse.

Are those the faces of love, those pale irretrievables?   

Is it for such I agitate my heart?"

(From) Letter to Sainte-Beuve and a prose poem by Charles Baudelaire

"Poet, is it an insult, or a well-turned compliment?

For regarding you I’m like a lover, to all intent,

faced with a ghost whose gestures are caresses,

with hand, eye of unknown charms, who blesses,

in order to drain one’s strength. – All loved beings

are cups of venom one drinks with eyes unseeing,

and the heart that’s once transfixed, seduced by pain,

finds death, while still blessing the arrow, every day."

"Dreams! Always dreams! And the more aspiring and fastidious the soul, the more its dreams exceed the possible. Every man has within him his dose of natural opium, endlessly secreted and renewed, and how many hours do we count, from birth to death, that are filled with positive pleasure, by successful deliberate action? Shall we ever truly live, ever enter this picture my mind has painted, this picture that resembles you?"

***

No tricks, just treats. Have a great holiday... with hidden pleasures... and mysterious treasures.

(Below:  Apocalypse by Cigarettes After Sex with some clips from Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride.)

(continued below...)

Higher Ground - A Meme

Devi Vijaya Lakshmi - the Lakshmi of Victory - a colorfully painted statue - G - DS - 2024.

In the Hindu understanding of the cosmos, the female counterpart of Vishnu - Lakshmi - is the Devi, or goddess, of prosperity... "who is the guiding light for the world - who has obtained the sustained (continued, everlasting) glance (Grace) from Brahma."

Also: "She is often depicted sitting upon a lotus and adorned with lotus at her hands and feet. Many of her names, Padmā, Kamalā, Ambujā, refer to the lotus. The lotus has powerful symbolism in Hinduism. While its roots are in the mud, its stalk rises clearly through the murky water, with its petals blossoming above, untouched by the mud. It is a symbol of rising above the material world through divinity, of being good in the midst of negative influences."

You will note how precisely the figure of the Devi fits within the Golden Egg I transposed over it. I have seen this phi configuration often in depictions of Hindu goddesses, reminding us that the pentagonal golden spiral is very prominent in ancient Near & Middle Eastern art. See my Paisley post.

Lakshmi was first introduced on this blog in this post. (Shyamala Gopalan didn't name her daughter Kamala Devi for nothing. She saw the future.)

(For more images of this beautiful Devi, try here.)

***

prosperous (adj.)

synonyms: thriving, doing well, fortunate, successful, lucky, rich, vigorous, roaring, strong, productive, flourishing, booming, opulent, golden...

antonyms: depressed, poor.

- Via Google/Oxford Languages. Prosperous is a word few of us can really wrap our heads around. Why is this?

I see them every day now in southwestern Albuquerque... more of them, and more frequently: the misfortunate nomads - the darker side of the American dream - wheeling their life's belongings in shopping carts down the vacant streets with no destination... no protection, no peace. They appear to be American refugees of every description. While I was never one of them, I, too, was homeless - and, theoretically, still am - but the emergence of the new Traveler or Nomad and the plight of the disenfranchised is not a recent development. I began living in my car the year following Trump's inauguration. And, then, came the Black Hole - the Pandemic. We all know the rest.

It is true: we - none of us - can "go back"; "back" no longer exists as we once knew it.

(Continued below the jump...)

Five Spirals for December - #4 The Vision of St. Cecelia by Orazio Gentileschi

The Vision of St. Cecelia, Orazio Gentileschi (1620). Geometry: 2023, DS.

In ways, this post is an addendum to my previous (2022) Gentileschi post where the image above was first introduced. At the time, I had just had an automobile accident and my computer was stolen from the trunk of my destroyed vehicle. So, I wasn't able to overlay a spiral.

But, I have that capability back again, and, once tested, The Vision of St. Cecelia proved to be as golden as I suspected; and, actually, a little bit more! Orazio's spiral accomplishes what every good spiral ought to; it behaves like a clockwork.

As you can see from the images above, inset left, and inset below - and to see them best, click on any one of them for a sort of slide show - regardless of the spiral's size or orientation, its basic relationship to the image is not changed; it's proportions are, instead, systematically measured.

The spiral's activity in relationship to the painting, in this case, is determined by the apex (or acute tip) of the triangle and its direction in relation to the angel. The smallest spiral - and the most basic - informs us of the general focus of the design, which, as we might suspect, begins with the angel - Cecilia's "vision" - but  inevitably terminates on the body St. Cecilia.

But, Orazio has gone one step further. His spiral can be rotated (clockwise) and he shows precisely where it ought to go. First, the apex is turned from the angel's waist - its robes tied up in what appears to be an enormous bow - to the end of the white fabric. Note that the triangle's side is now facing Cecilia's pipe organ (inset right). Note also that, after every shift, the spiral still terminates on some portion of Cecilia and/or her clothing. How well this works, of course, relies on the size of triangle - the further the spiral has to turn will require a larger spiral.

Lastly, we carry the spiral to the furthest notch: indicated by the end the palm branch held in the angel's hand. The spiral is now enlarged (see below) and the triangle's side is up against the pipes of the organ... a perfect alignment. Is this significant? Well, yes, because, as it happens, Saint Cecilia is the Patron Saint of Musicians and Music. So, the spiral has made a cryptogram.

Of course, it might help to know Saint Cecilia's official story. But, I'll have to be brief, because I can't quite get it myself.

In Orazio's painting, the man in red facing Cecilia is most likely her formerly pagan husband, Valerian (who converted to Christianity), and the man in the doorway is her brother-in-law. All that's missing from the frame is the Roman soldier who was eventually martyred along with the rest of them. (although I haven't the faintest idea why). In any case, she and her husband must've never consummated their marriage before their untimely deaths as Cecilia died a virgin. She also "sang in her heart to the Lord"... and, along with martyrdom and her virginity is how she became a saint.

BTW, the 2 small wreaths of flowers - in the angel's hand and behind Cecelia, on the pipe organ - are chaplets of roses and lilies.

Another image that appeared in the first Gentileschi post in which I also found a spiral is the painting of Mary Magdalene, created by Orazio's daughter, Artemisia... an artist rediscovered, perhaps, fifty years ago or less. And they are still discovering her! (Image is below the jump.)

Anyway, Artemisia has finally come into her own in the modern world, and, if you have little prior knowledge of her, I suggest you read this older Green Women post...

Venus in Furs - Aphrodite on Wheels

 

"You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last

But whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast

Yonder stands your orphan with his gun

Crying like a fire in the sun

Look out the saints are comin' through

And it's all over now, baby blue

The highway is for gamblers, better use your sense

Take what you have gathered from coincidence

The empty-handed painter from your streets

Is drawing crazy patterns on your sheets

This sky, too, is folding under you

And it's all over now, baby blue

All your seasick sailors, they are rowing home

All your reindeer armies, are all going home

The lover who just walked out your door

Has taken all his blankets from the floor

The carpet, too, is moving under you

And it's all over now, baby blue

Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you

Forget the dead you've left, they will not follow you

The vagabond who's rapping at your door

Is standing in the clothes that you once wore

Strike another match, go start anew

And it's all over now, baby blue"

- Lyrics from It's all Over Now, Baby Blue, 1965, Bob Dylan - (vintage live performance).

"Never apologize, never explain – didn’t we always say that? Well, I haven’t and I don’t."

- Marianne Faithfull, found here.

***

December 1st, 2023

Interestingly enough,  yesterday, while not quite meaning to, I (innocently) stumbled into a witches brew of related occurrences which emerged almost simultaneously. And, it all began when a song began playing in my head the very minute I got out of bed. It was an old Bob Dylan tune sung by a woman... possibly a Joan Baez cover. In fact, the song was playing for hours in my mental background...  all the while I was discovering some of the most amazing spirals I had ever seen in ancient works of art. So, there's that synchronicity.

Then again, if you've read this blog before, you know my policy regarding tunes that come unbidden into ones head... one must find them, explore them, and (inevitably) post them. Which is how Faithfull's cover of this song came to appear here, tucked inside this brilliant video. And, really, the juxtaposition of the older, wiser, matured Marianne Faithfull's voice with her youthful, Venus-like (immortalized) self is perfection. The younger Venus is sweet, fresh-faced and visually flawless; the older Venus who sings Dylan's wistful song is still beautiful, but now has balls (she has dearly paid for). Although the younger goddess charms us, we ultimately put our trust in the older, unapologetic Venus. Inset left is one cover photo for what was her first mismanaged attempt at a comeback album - featuring Baby Blue... - finally released in 1985. 

As it happens, It's All Over Now, Baby Blue is considered Bob Dylan's Symbolist offering... which is interesting, as Symbolist has come up in a recent post. It is also a song which has been covered by many people. (Note: excellent cover by Van Morrison and Them).

I also learned and relearned some curious things about Ms. Faithfull... the film-clips featured in the video, for instance, were from a vaguely erotic 1960's French/British film (with surrealist overtones) she once starred in -  Girl on a Motorcycle / La Motocyclette  -  along with that (gorgeous) French actor, Alain Delon (who plays her extramarital lover). (Spoiler alert!: Apparently, our  motorcycle girl dies en route to meet her illicit lover; i.e., a stereotypical bad ending for a "bad" girl... that is, "dark Venus" through misogynistic eyes,)

Speaking of "dark Venus," Marianne Faithfull has another connection, a family connection, with one of the darkest fictional Venuses of all time: Venus in Furs (also here). Her great, great uncle, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (re: origin of the word masochism) actually wrote the book! I do remember this from reading her 1994 autobiography - possibly one of the best autobiographies I've read.  What I didn't remember about Venus in Furs, however, is that it was later illustrated by Salvador Dali, an artist I'm featuring in an upcoming Venus-related post!

(Oh yeah, and there's one more thing: Marianne, like Patti Smith, and myself, was also born late in December.) (And, now, for a moment of a silence.)

In any case, it occurred to me today that if a reincarnated Sandro Botticelli was alive (and painting) in the mid-20th century, it might have been Marianne Faithfull's likeness we would see, wavering around on her massive scallop-shell in the Birth of Venus. Of course, if Botticelli were alive in the mid-twentieth century, he probably wouldn't have bothered with the shell. He might have, instead, clothed her in black leather and set her on a motorcycle.

And, in an earlier incarnation? How about a large bird? (See below.)

Stay tuned.

Venus on the move - riding the goose who laid the golden egg - circa 400 BC.
G - DS - 2023

(December 3 note: There was a time when Venus Aphrodite was neither nude, nubile or blonde. She rode, fully clothed, upon a swan - or upon a golden goose - and she carried a staff... or, with both hands  swirled a (sometimes red) chiton in the air above her head. Once, and possibly only once, she balanced a golden plant in her palm... held before her like a sword balanced on its hilt. This happened somewhere near the very beginning...)

The Season of the Witch (Revised 12/27/23)

 

"When I look out my window

Many sights to see

And when I look in my window

So many different people to be

That it's strange, so strange

You've got to pick up every stitch

You've got to pick up every stitch

You've got to pick up every stitch

Must be the season of the witch"

- Excerpt from Season of the Witch; Donovan Leitch, 1966

As we all know, the witching season commenced yesterday, the first day of October and will continue throughout the month until, at least, the second week of November. It was actually a day of epiphanies for me, and fairly positive. But, all the while a song was playing in the background of my mental arena, an old Donovan (website) tune: The Season of the Witch.

Naturally, I eventually turned to YouTube... finding the great video ( above) by Lana Del Ray animated with a... Betty Boop cartoon? Surprise, it was an absolutely brilliant match! Sadly, the owner took it down. I decided to stick with the Donovan's original.

Also included: a great vintage live cover by British performer Julie Driscoll, too, who now performs under the name of Julie Tippets.

 

Oh, and one more thing, I'd like to announce that Trans-D now has a new friend #12; a much nicer number than 11 (the number of chaos). Thanks, Julia and welcome!

Meanwhile, just in case I can't make it to the table on the actual witching day, the 31st, may you and yours have a wonderfully weird witching season!

PS  Joan Jett rocks it.

Vale, Sinéad!

Sorry, but I had to switch videos again! Just found: Sinéad & Roger Waters in a live performance of Water's "Mother" in Berlin. Note: this song is addictive. (I posted Water's newer, solo version here. It's odd, but I was a little snarky - okay, very snarky and I apologize - about Water's bad mother relationship at the time, but I notice I can sympathize with Sinéad's... Ah well, none of us aren't guilty of some sexism, right?)

Meanwhile, here's the missing video: My Lagan Love. Former previous tune: Moorlough Shore. Also, remember this collaboration?

***

This just found... on the lovely blog, Sophia's Mirror: Caoin na Sídhe - Keen of the Sídhe - A Tribute. Also, while there, read Emma's Invocation, from which the quote below was taken.

"We pray for all women who are suffering for their beliefs,

or because of the beliefs of others.

We pray for all women who are suffering for their ideals,

or for their dreams unable to be realized,

or for no other reason than that they are female.

We commend all these women to your grace, Blessed Shekinah,

may they find solace in the shadow of your shining wings."

***

"At the age of 15, her shoplifting and truancy led to her being placed for eighteen months in a Magdalene asylum called the Grianán Training Centre run by the Order of Our Lady of Charity. In some ways, she thrived there, especially in the development of her writing and music, but she also chafed under the imposed conformity. Unruly students there were sometimes sent to sleep in the adjoining nursing home, an experience of which she later commented, 'I have never - and probably will never - experience such panic and terror and agony over anything."

-Via the Wiki entry for Sinéad O'Connor.

I wasn't able to sleep at all last night. And, after I finally dealt with the morning routines and entered cyberspace I was immediately confronted with the news that Sinéad O'Connor has died...

Sinéad O'Connor was an artist's artist. Her intensity and her breathy voice with its dazzling range was sheer poetry and, for many of us, the first of its kind to emerge in the (late 20th Century) rock & roll world. Her technique gave international exposure to a lilting Celtic style -  as in the video above featuring the traditional song, Moorlough Shore - which would eventually become influential across many musical genres. Her popular hit "Nothing Compares 2 U" (originally written and performed by Prince) became solid gold in the music industry. (See the early live version below... impassioned to the degree of an alchemical combustion. Suggestion: watch it in full screen mode.)

I think she was a little scary to (even) me in those days. I sensed a sensitive woman whose calling in life, coupled with her spontaneous and quirky outspokenness, might bring her undeserved tragedy one day. And it did... the world, being what it was in those days... and, to some degree, still is. From the Guardian article:

"She became just as well known for her shaved head and outspoken views. Ripping up a picture of the pope created a huge backlash – there were death threats and radio boycotts. Frank Sinatra wished to “kick her ass”.

Many considered that O’Connor was vindicated by subsequent revelations about Vatican cover-ups of sex abuse scandals."

I think, like many an anguished artist, O'Connor had "the sight," but as in the lives of many artists around the world and across most periods of history, their vision is often confused with madness and cannot be tolerated within the context of the societal status quo then current.

Farewell, daughter of Brigid. Slán abhaile.

Sinéad & her son, Shawn

"But 56 is way, way too young to die. The millions who love you have been dreading this for, oh, three decades, even though you had a life force strong enough to power 50 lifetimes. I hovered for updates when you went missing in 2016; I read your aching, awful posts grieving your son Shane who died by suicide last year, only 17, the worst thing of all."

- From Michelle Griffin's touching tribute: "We needed you, Sinead, the crazy-brave anti-Barbie."

(If the singing bird has flown away, we've no one but ourselves to blame.)

The Golden Smokey Robinson

 

"William Robinson Jr. was born to an African-American father and a mother of African-American and French descent in a poor family in the North End area of Detroit, Michigan. Robinson's ancestry is also part Nigerian, Scandinavian, Portuguese, and Cherokee. His uncle Claude gave him the nickname "Smokey Joe" when he was a child. In 2012, Robinson explained:

'My Uncle Claude was my favorite uncle, he was also my godfather. He and I were really, really close. He used to take me to see cowboy movies all the time when I was a little boy because I loved cowboy movies. He got a cowboy name for me, which was Smokey Joe. So from the time I was three years old if people asked me what my name was I didn't tell them my name was William, I told them my name was Smokey Joe. That's what everyone called me until I was about 12 and then I dropped the Joe part. I've heard that story about him giving it to me because I'm a light skinned black man but that's not true.'"

- Via the Wiki entry for Smokey Robinson. (Above) is Smokey Robinson and the Miracles performing one of their greatest hits (circa 1962) You Really got a Hold on Me.

Smokey Robinson was golden, is golden and forever will be golden (from 2018)!

(A belated happy & healthy Juneteenth to one and all.)

Later note:  Those 4 amazing boys from Liverpool didn't do too badly with this tune either... and they wasted no time in snagging it! Smokey's hit went to the top of the charts in 1962... the Beatles covered it in 1963. And, to their credit, they covered it authentically (the BBC recording). (Hopefully, this was to Smokey's financial advantage.)

Vale, O Queen!

 

Tina Turner, the Queen of Rock & Roll, died yesterday. She was a one-off and another powerful feminine force to be reckoned with. And, her voice - I can't imagine a world without that incredible voice. Rock on, Tina!

Tina & Bowie? Sublime.

"She and Bowie always had one of the most endearing rock-star friendships — they always brought out the weird in each other. They duetted on his strange Pepsi commercial, starring David as Dr. Frankenstein and Tina as the rock goddess in his laboratory, both singing on “Modern Love.” They also duetted on a weirdly touching synth-reggae version of “Tonight” in 1984, about lovers separated by death, their voices meshing for the payoff lines “I will love you till I die/I will see you in the sky/Tonight.”

- Via the Rolling Stone tribute: We’ll Never Live in a World Without Tina Turner. The Pepsi commercial can be found here.

Ne Me Quitte Pas

(5/4/23 Update: Erivo link has been repaired.)

Most activity seems to be winding down on this blog, but the music continues. I was first introduced to the song (in its original French version)  Ne Me Quitte Pas (Do Not Leave Me) by American artist, Nina Simone, and have loved it ever since. Occasionally I do a YouTube search for newer covers by different artists and sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised... as in the case of the video (above) starring Brazilian artist, Maria Gadú. Love it.

Also, Cynthia Erivo performs a pretty cover (partially) found here, and I'm happy to report I found an early (and possibly the best) live Nina Simone video of the song. Beautiful.

For a French/English lyric translation, try this page.

No Ordinary Love

 

Smooth as silk. Sade Adu from 1993. (YouTube channel)

Vale, Jeff Beck!

 

It seems a little ominous that my first post of the year should report (yet) another passing... but, I just learned today that we've lost another legend: guitarist Jeff Beck, whose 2014 performance (in Paris) of one of his signature tunes is above.

Honestly, I've yet to get a handle on 2023 - and, it looks like Jeff Beck didn't bother - but, if it means anything, he was performing right up till his final curtain (see BBC article). Somehow, I don't believe even death can really stop him.

For a vintage performance, see the Yardbirds video in Heart Full of Soul.

The Song of the Golden Dragon

For the holiday, a brilliant, impassioned performance by Estas Tonne. Born in the Soviet Ukraine - along with, quite possibly, a guitar in his arms - he is (as of this century) a traveler, a troubadour and a street-musician (as can be seen in his video above).

For further information regarding Estas Tonne: his website and YouTube page.

(A special thanks to John for the heads-up!)

(Note 1/10/23: the accompanying article - regarding the goddess Hygeia - which originally appeared here is being revised and given a new post URL).

The Mad Minstrel in the Gallery

"In days of peace 

sweet smelling summer nights

of wine and song;

dusty pavements burning feet.

Why am I crying, I want to know.

How can I smile and make it right?

For sixty days and eighty nights

and not give in and lose the fight."

- Lyrics from With You There to Help Me, 1970, Ian Anderson.

I've been searching through my mental catalogue of music for the past week, trying to locate a particular set of sounds that somehow fit my present (precarious) situation... and the present place of this blog in time... but, regardless of my efforts, I just could not find the right tune.

That is, until this morning, when my present housemate greeted me with Ian Anderson and the musical moment presented above (alternate video). Yes, this tune is a vintage one - another one from over 50 years ago (!) - but it's a time-traveling tune, i.e., a pentagonal manifestation... and, by this, we know it's timeless.

And, by who better than the Mad Minstrel from a band named Jethro Tull? The man who transformed Bach so deliciously... and who can be recognized so effortlessly in the Tull poster (inset right).

Incidentally, Jethro Tull is touring now in the UK and will be elsewhere in Europe next year. (Timeless is forever.)

It just occurred to me that the winter solstice is almost upon us... and many moons ago, I chose Jethro Tull's album, Songs from the Wood as a seasonal favorite. Above is a great live version of the title track. (Note: Velvet Green, live.) Sadly, the  related video and links were broken in the solstice post... only to be (happily) resurrected here.

For lyrics (in English) to Songs from the Wood and Velvet Green see this Obsidian Magazine article written by Peg Aloi: Love from the Fields; The Imagery of Pagan Britain in the Songs of Ian Anderson.

Update (12/3/22): Epiphany: Ian Anderson as The Fool in a tarot deck. Traditionally, The Fool is the wild card... and numbered 0... a sort of alpha/omega in the circle of the Major Arcanum. Generally depicted as a youthful, carefree (and careless) vagabond, in one of the original decks he is also shown playing a pipe - specifically what appears to be the bag-pipes.

Various interpretations of The Fool include a madman or wild man, vagabond, jester, and wandering minstrel or bard... and eventually, the Joker, a trickster. In games it represented both the highest card and the lowest trump.

I particularly like the interpretation (found here), quoted below:

"The Fool represents the beginning of the journey of life, represented by the Major Arcana of the Tarot. They are the 0th card, meaning although they are at the beginning of the journey they can really enter the Major Arcana sequence at any point.

They represent both the beginning of the journey and the entire journey itself. They have an air of tranquility. They transcend the mundane reality of stress and work and encourage us to see the world with what the Zen masters call Beginner’s Mind."

Inset right is The Fool from the very early Sola Busca tarot deck, created in Italy during the late 15th century.

If the future was yesterday, then, when is tomorrow?

"Standby. You're on the air. Buenos noches Senores y Senoras. Bienvenidos. La primera pregunta es: Que es mas macho, pineapple o knife? Well, let's see. My guess is that a pineapple is more macho than a knife. Si! Correcto! Pineapple es mas macho que knife. La segunda pregunta es: Que es mas macho, lightbulb o schoolbus? Uh, lightbulb? No! Lo siento, Schoolbus es mas macho que lightbulb. Gracias. And we'll be back in un momento.

Well I had a dream and in it I went to a little town And all the girls in town were named Betty. And they were singing: Doo doo doo doo doo... Ah desire! It's cold as ice And then it's hot as fire. Ah desire! First it's red And then it's blue. And everytime I see an iceberg It reminds me of you. Doo doo doo doo doo... Que es mas macho iceberg or volcano? Get the blanket from the bedroom We can go walking once again. Down in the bayou Where our sweet love first began. I'm thinking back to when I was a child - Way back to when I was a tot. When I was an embryo - A tiny speck. Just a dot. When I was a Hershey bar - In my father's back pocket. Hey look! Over there! It's Frank Sinatra Sitting in a chair. And he's blowing Perfect smoke rings Up into the air..."

- Lyrics from Smoke Rings by Laurie Anderson, from her 1986 soundtrack album Home of the Brave. Inset right is a photo found here.

(New, 11/8.)  In the video Anderson utilizes two instruments she actually invented: a tape-bow violin (which she uses at the end of the performance)*, and a "talking stick," which is the second microphone she occasionally sings into at certain moments during the piece which distorts her voice so eerily.

Note one other eerie thing: the set of numbers that suddenly appears on the screen in the background at the end of the performance. 911. When I first saw those numbers (appearing after a large "SOS"), I figured that maybe it was a reference to 9/11/01... but, no, the video was allegedly shot in 1987. Prescience? Or, am I just missing something? 

(Later note: Actually, I'm not missing something as much as forgetting something! I believe 911 is the emergency phone # in New York, the rest of the USA, and many countries!  Well, duh.)

***

Well, "the times, they are a changing" and quite literally. It's DST here in the states and we've just gained an hour... just in time for an interlude post hosted by that enigmatic woman in the video above, Laurie Anderson, a time-traveler (to be sure), whose amazing performance took place almost 40 years ago... and the world has, yet, to catch up with her.

Case in point, from 1981, O Superman. Ditto. While we're almost there, she's one step ahead of us... which is just as well, as the prognosis is not all that fluffy. On the other hand, when it comes to War - the Great Destroyer - time seems to stand still, or, maybe civilization just gets stuck in the same trench-like groove...

But, never the artist! The video above is from 2018, Anderson's collaboration with the Kronos Quartet.

________________________________________________

* “I used this instrument to play lots of sounds... initially car crashes, saxophones, and barking dogs. Later I began to work with audio

palindromes, words that produce different words when reversed. Audio palindromes are not predictable like spelling inversions. ‘God’ is always ‘dog’ backwards. With a lot of experimentation, I produced songs for this instrument that could be played forwards and backwards."

- Laurie Anderson via this .pdf page. More information can be found on this German site, and in the BBC article: Oksana Linde and the Forgotten Pioneers of Electronic Music.