by Jacob Khepler of Mothers News etc.
twitter: @mothersnews insta @lilchamp__
Rough year. List is in no order.
10. ROCKS- Gems are nice but basically all rocks are cool to look at.
9. PLANTS- I don’t buy big plants, I just get tiny clippings and grow them. It takes a while and it’s very nice to watch them change slowly over time.
8. FRIENDS- You see them in the street or at a show, they have a smile or a hug for you if you need it. Fun to talk to. You change when you’re around them, in a nice way. You both meet in an undefined place somewhere in the middle of who you both are. That’s nice. Even when you don’t see them for a while, they’re still out there. They’re always a part of you.
7. OLD BOOKS- New books keep coming out but old books are still there. It’s nice to read old books to remind you that people were always pretty far out, making crazy decisions, getting swept away with emotion, playing music that people around them didn’t understand, and hanging out in an apartment on drugs. From day one! From before day one, even!
6. RECORDS- By records I mean “recorded music released on purpose”. Except in a few extreme cases, even the shittiest record has someone somewhere in there putting their heart, their talent, their awareness, or their intent into it. I have a “Persuasive Percussion” record, you’ve probably flipped past it at the record store a million times, it has a black and white cover that’s just a bunch of circles. It and many records like it were sold in the 50s and 60s, mostly because stereo was just invented and the industry needed records that could show off stereo sound and entice buyers. It’s very tight and the arrangements are pretty crazy and fun, and if you listen on headphones, right before a particularly dizzying marimba passage, you can hear someone take a quick, deep breath. It’s like suddenly zooming in on a single Argonaut as they row their mighty vessel through a particularly hairy storm. Sometimes people are really trying to open up a link, and sometimes the only way to speak is in a language you are inventing directly in the moment.
5. BREATH- Of all the things the body absolutely has to do, maybe breathing is my favorite, more so than eating, sleeping, and going to the bathroom. If you’re reading this soon after I wrote it, and you’re in the northern hemisphere, it’s winter– breathing is crisp and clear. If you get too stressed, try to focus on your breathing- it is and isn’t under your control.
4. SUN RA, MOON DOG, SOME GLAM ROCK, GLENN GOULD, ETC. – It’s such a blessing that in addition to having a complete unflinching approach to life and the creative act, they were also truly good. They didn’t just look good, or say wild stuff! They were so good it washed over everything they did. Not a cart leading a horse but a horse alone, deciding where to go of its own volition.
3. WATER- I spent some time this year in Omachi, a small town in the mountains of Nagano prefecture, Japan. They were very proud of their water, It rolled right off the mountain, into pipes, and into big mossy stone cisterns that dotted the main drag. We drank from it every day. Recently Xander and I were talking about Abner Jay – Xander’s favorite songs of his are all the sad ones- my favorite is “Swaunee” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRPUVHnzGCc , about laying down on your belly on the banks of the Swaunee River and drinking directly from the source. “I wouldn’t want to use a cup, it might be diseased!” Probably the best song I know about water.
Abner Jay “Suwanee”
2. MUSIC- It’s so wonderful that music remains so mysterious but also so helpful! Albert Ayler said that music is the healing force of the universe, I guess that’s the best theory so far. Sometimes you tell someone that you’re in a band or whatever, and they ask you if you really think you’re going to make it. I think that’s a massive disconnect from what’s good about playing music. Although it’s a blessing when you share it, just playing music is its own richly satisfying reward, an activity that is strongly recommended to anyone that enjoys music in any capacity.
1. MATSUKAWA KYOGAKU- Taiko drummers youth ensemble. They played a set as part of a festival and went on immediately following a ponderous obsequious blowhard. They quietly and quickly loaded in a lot of equipment, set up on the stage of a temple in the woods, exploded my heart mind and face, and then loaded out. to the best of my understanding, the intermittent yells are up to the individual drummer’s discretion, and mean only “I’m here right now”.
