Bliss..

Clearing the backlog - So, rewind to Thursday night. It's the night of the opening of my Seminar show, and also a day that was filled with good, solid music. Can I just say that the importance of good music in your life is definitely underrated, especially the old classics that were so often inundated with the foresight of what we are today. I mean Janis Joplin was asking Lord to buy her a Mercedes Benz 40 years before Mormons and Jews were hawking DVDs on the Life of Christ and the Holy Oil of Israel, (respectively, of course) on MTV. Essentially Ms. Joplin's aesthetic allusion to the relationship between religon and commodity preceded the abuse of mass media as ways to commodify religon. I am a harsh critic, simply because I feel that slotting an ad on how Jesus can save all your problems along with ads plying comsumers to spend, spend, spend on things that will make your life *so* much better, is extremely problematic. Spirituality does not come in a bottle or a DVD, and watching it suggested on TV makes me ashamed to be part of this generation of degenerate spirituality and instant gratification.

Anyway, coming back on track. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the blue grass band playing at the opening, and it reiterated how much I love the sound of a double bass. The night took a turn for the even better when Pooty-Tang informed me that she was taking to me to see (for my birthday) Orchestra Baobab! I was introduced to Orchestra Baobab about 2 years ago and had been a fan since. To watch them live was great, plus the Noho hippies were out in full free-loving force, which made for excellent people watching. :) I retired for the day excited that THE James Brown is performing at the Calvin on May 9th and I'll be damned before I miss a performance by the godfather of soul before he croaks. After singing 'Sex machine' all the way home, I just had to sit down and buy some of my favourite Janis and Wild Cherry songs on iTunes. At least I didn't have to worry about waking up in the morning with some insipid pop song stuck in my head.

Currently listening to : Leftfield - Rhythm and Stealth