TO WHERE I AM NOW

The Art Of Listening should be the title of my next album should I find the time to make one. It seems like a forgotten skill, it even extends to the art of watching. I was in a movie theatre somewhere in America and during the film there was a couple who were both looking at their phones during the film. In Australia I was in an arty cinema watching a Tarkovsky film and a woman answered her phone and proceeded to have a conversation. Really? What is the matter with people? Last tour a ‘friendly fan’ sat at the front table and was looking at his phone during a rather heartfelt song, I came off the stage and continued playing right up to the table, I was right on top of him before he noticed. I think in the past people were better listeners. Distractions were few, nowadays the unfolding world is right there in your pocket and there’s a possibility that what’s happening outside where you are at that moment is more interesting. You could be missing an alien invasion, the starting of a war on Earth or a message from Daphne at the office agreeing to a date. This Banksy pic captures it, but am I going mad or is there another better one than this that I can’t find?

I was talking about listening because that’s what Dare and I did in the studio today. We listened to and started pre-production on the Ahad album, then we listened to the songs we have started for another new Noctorum album (looking at 2023-24). It’s been a while since we heard where we are at with it as we’ve been busy with Space Summit and the Jerome project as well as some guitar for Arno and Chuck’s daughter Gracie and her She’s King project in Chicago. (I don’t think I have posted that one yet, I’ll find it.) We are also still working on the mastering of Space Summit, but hope to be done by the end of the weekend. Tomorrow we are back on AA as the songs fly in from Istanbul. We’re going to be very busy with this one.

Because I have so much time, I started a Duolingo French course. You might wonder why not German, well Olivia has that covered and if I can do the French and the Spanish and Olivia can do the German and the Portuguese and we can both do Swedish that’s pretty good for Europe – Italian would be nice. Duolingo is a really smart way of learning if you are busy but have goals and language needs and brain stimulation challenges. As I had French at school there’s a lot of words and structure and accent I know, putting it all together is another thing, hopefully this is the way to do it.

Somewhere in the archive I’ve lost my torch (my torch, not my touch). I have a place where I always put it, but it’s not there anymore. It could be anywhere in this maze of music. I must have used it to explore a deep dark corner, put it down and it’s rolled into oblivion and is now living with a million socks and left-handed gloves. I’ve had people say to me are the records in order? If they weren’t it would be a sorry old archive and finding anything would be impossible. Every day would be exciting in its randomness, but if you just had to listen to The Hapless Child by Michael Mantler you’d be very frustrated (especially because it’s so good). There are always records that need putting away, that’s true, but when it starts to get out of hand (like right now) then I attack.

With the weather turning cold, coats are back, skies are grey, it’s good to be trapped in here with the records and the guitars, online sessions, working on projects, playing, listening to amazing music and writing. The reading is still suffering, how do you fit that in? Sleep less maybe? But if I didn’t get proper sleep I wouldn’t be able to do the other things properly. How has this time vacuum happened? Is it just because of the internet? Visuals, posts, emails, Netflix, Amazon Prime, latest news? I have a theory that the more you do, the more you can do! We’ll see, hm, I must carry on with the cold fusion experiment.

Music tonight has been just one thing and I’ve been dying to listen to it. When The Beatles’ White Album reissue came out I bought it on vinyl. Then I realized that I hadn’t bought the version that I wanted because it didn’t have The Esher Demos, so I had to buy it again. Then I realized that there are three extra discs of outtakes that were only available on CD and it was some ridiculous price – a bag of Aztec gold, a head of the Hydra, the essence of the Madagascan crested newt and a donkey. I just couldn’t do it. Recently I found it on eBay, I bid for it and to my surprise won it for a reasonable price – the blood of a lark, a Mohican, four Citroen grills and an onyx egg. So that’s what I’m listening to right now, the Sessions discs 4,5 and 6. (It also comes with a great big book.) The nerd community loves this stuff and I must say listening to it for the first time I am as happy as an acrobat in aspic.

How many times have I bought this album? I have various vinyl copies from different countries, early CD versions in big bulky cases and thinner versions, I have it as part of the Mono CD box set, the Stereo CD box set, the Mono vinyl box set and the Stereo vinyl box set. Ha ha, mad! I love it. What a great addiction, what a fun hobby, what a brilliant disease, what a fantastic obsession. Thank you to whoever is responsible for making me love music.

Song Of The Day is The Muse whose visits I welcome.

 

The Muse

Nobody knows where you come from
Full of ideas and light
Down to your toes you are a song
With silver threads of night
You only appear where shadows play
And sometimes you like to hide
And then you’re a dove or a tiger’s claw
I feel you deep inside

And if you wear your cloak of jewels
Or your anger on your sleeve

If I imagine you into reality
Can we dance like man and wife
Can we fuse our souls to our dying breath
Then you bring me back to life

And when you don’t come I sit and wait
In a lonely room
Weaving my thoughts in complex webs
Waiting for your loom
The candle burns on till morning comes
I listen to my dreams
Whatever I wish in this reverie
You’re never what it seems

Can’t you grace this humble heart
Capricious spectre come to me

If I imagine you into reality
Can we dance like man and wife
Can we fuse our souls to our dying breath
Then you bring me back to life

(Willson-Piper / Mason)
Noctorum – Offer The Light (2006)