#545 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Saturday December 31)
Good morning,
POETRY
I Am Signaling You Through the Flames
By Lawrence Ferlinghetti
I am signaling you through the flames.
The North Pole is not where it used to be.
Manifest Destiny is no longer manifest.
Civilization self-destructs.
Nemesis is knocking at the door.
What are poets for, in such an age?
What is the use of poetry?
The state of the world calls out for poetry to save it.
If you would be a poet, create works capable of answering the challenge of apocalyptic times, even if this meaning sounds apocalyptic.
You are Whitman, you are Poe, you are Mark Twain, you are Emily Dickinson and Edna St. Vincent Millay, you are Neruda and Mayakovsky and Pasolini, you are an American or a non-American, you can conquer the conquerors with words....
MUSIC
Music for the New Year!
After my waxing poetic about Chicago and Steely Dan, and my mother’s appreciation of both, here is more on these two seminal groups from Mark DiMaria:
We have corresponded on these groups and your Mom's appreciation of them before. As you know, Chicago was my favorite musical group in high school and my early college years… Here are a couple selections to show you how great they actually were:
(1) ‘Introduction,’ their very first studio recorded song -- Be sure to listen with headphones through a good browser (my Chrome works best), to get the true big band volume of the horns to start, and the wonderful driving bass playing of Peter Cetera, long before he wimped out and became a middle of the road balladeer --
(2) "I'm a Man," a live recording from the really early days as Chicago Transit Authority, which shows their rock roots well -- Pay some attention to what Terry Kath is doing back there on his electric guitar, and again, headphones and a good browser work best --
As for Steely Dan:
(1) My favorite song of theirs to sing -- "Don't Take Me Alive" from The Royal Scam --
(2) Of course, the greatest guitar duel of all time, between Skunk Baxter and Denny Dias, on "Bodhisattva" from Countdown to Ecstasy --
By the way, Bodhisattva is one of my favorites as well! And lest we forget, it is a state of great personal sacrifice and investment. Merriam Webster defines a bodhisattva as “a being that compassionately refrains from entering nirvana in order to save others and is worshipped as a deity in Mahayana Buddhism.” Kind of like Sam Foster…
Have a great weekend,
Glenn