Rudi

SongStuff While I think about it… Moderators: I know well enough that they aren’t appreciated most of the time. Sometimes it’s laborious to mind the site and pander to the members. A bit like having to mind the kids when all you really want is an hour or two to yourself? Yes, I was a mod once . Contributors: Moderators are contributors, but so is everyone who reviews a service, product or critiques somebodys work. They are also those who stimulate ideas that can be serious or funny. The least appreciated contributors seem to be the technical experts who enable us to function better with their assiduously acquired knowledge. Regulars: I sometimes feel embarrassed that there are more regulars here than I know about. They spend their time elsewhere on the forums and so I think of them as newbies until I notice their post count. Then I realise it’s been too long since I visited the creative forums and listen to some tunes or read some lyrics. Imposters : They are not interested in us. They are here to impress us, court our praise and inspire us to follow them. When they fail (they always do) they move on. They most frequently are responsible for the ‘Too Good to be True’ posts. Queue Jumpers: Imposters are queue jumpers, though not all queue jumpers are imposters. Why do I call them queue jumpers? Because I liken the lounge to the front page of a newspaper, and they only want to be on the front page. To be noticed first, whether they deserve it or not. ‘Too Good to be True’ posts: An enticing title, almost always misleading. So after you’ve read it, you wish you hadn’t. Why? Because it’s just another ‘queue jumper’ who wants attention. Typically that post will be their first or second. They have a band to advertise, a product, a website, or maybe just their own work. I usually feel duped after reading such posts. The lounge: Most of us put in the time and become part of the community and give something back to it. Most of us will post our work in the areas provided for that purpose. I realise that the lounge welcomes ‘shameless self promotion’, but I for one will only reluctantly read or respond such posts. I’m not proposing any change to the lounge’s purpose & function. I understand that there are pros as well as cons in all this. Just making my position clear. Songwriting, Lyrics, Recording. The creative areas seem to take care of themselves. With people interacting and getting to know one another and their work. They make their own mini communities. If I were John, I would be most satisfied with this state of affairs. To have carefully created something, launched it, and eventually see it not only function, but propel itself forwards under its own momentum with minimal maintenance. It’s a bit like parenting. You nurture and prepare a child as best you can, but then see them head off into life as their own person, maybe doing stuff that you never foresaw. Mosh Pit: It’s a volatile place that could be shut down at any time because it could become dysfunctional & nasty. Why is it there? In there, we can reveal the parts of us that are normally not seen. Sometimes we may not like what we see, but that is its real function, because if we confine ourselves to time honoured social etiquette we become sanitised and bland. Most important of all, we get to see what others make of the newly revealed us. The creative areas are the converse of this. They are like pre-school play pens; with safe rounded edges and soft flooring. Being creative often means getting out of the play pen and into some dirty, maybe even toxic areas. Pound for pound, I have personally found more inspiration in the mosh pit than elsewhere.That’s why books, film & video games all involve conflict and struggle of some sort; be it physical, mental or intellectual. There’s a reason that there are no successful stories where everything is wonderful all of the time. All the same, most Mosh Pit contributors probably wonder how long the place can last. I think that the longer it does last, the better we collectively are. By better I mean more resilient, flexible and generally robust mentally and emotionally. Taking a few bruises now and then is fine. Only if anything more serious occurs will we need to reconsider closure. This post turned out longer than I had intended. It wasn’t meant to be definitive or all inclusive, but just a sketch. I appreciate everybody here that I know. I have not harboured any grudges (yet). I sometimes worry a little about friends that disappear for a while, or visit less frequently; - Yes I do have someone in mind right now. I’ll check FaceBook later on. Sometimes people that seem the least grounded or discerning, demonstrate remarkable insight or integrity, and other qualities that don’t always show. That’s why I have not yet given up on anyone here yet. I continue to be surprised and rewarded by remaining open to those I disagree with. I'm happy to learn from anyone at all. John: are you still reading this? Thank you for maintaining SS and being here ALL THE TIME man. That goes for the Mods too.

- Hail To The King - Avenged Sevenfold

Gloomy Sunday Billie Holiday

The Spotlight Kid - Captain Beefheart & Magic Band

I dont always need to know the intent of the artist. I only need to be moved by it. The listening experience should be enough. We shouldn't have to worry about being bamboozled, or something being over our heads. We only need to be ready for it. Sometimes we are not ready. I made the point elsewhere about not being ready for Dr John (Gris Gris) when I was 16. Its been said that if you could express what you want in another way there would be less point in doing it. No honest artist wants to confuse us IMO. He wants us to 'get it'.

Flicker – Widespread Panic

Mission in the Rain – Jerry Garcia Band Fine version of a special song.

I was a visual artist before I was a musician. I thought that was my vocation. Clyfford Still & Mark Rothko were my influences at Art College. Their paintings are neither figurative nor abstract. Rothko painted huge paintings at suggested viewing them from 18” inches away. So for me, music should have been no less ambitious, and I liked Pink Floyd’s Ummagumma & the title track to Saucerful of Secrets was my favourite recording for a year when I was 16. Even after I became ‘conventional’, all the lyrics in the songs of the time were weird and sometimes impenetrable. Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Syd Barret, Robert Hunter, Neil Young, John Lennon, Nick Drake etc. So for me, surrealism and abstraction in lyrics are almost the norm. I recall posting one of my songs in the lyrics forum, and no one had a clue what it was about. I was dismayed, because to me it was obvious. It was a wakeup call though. So my next song was ‘It Doesn’t Matter What I Sing’. John Moxey’s songs are far heavier than mine. He should chime in here.

La Pistola yel Corazon - Los Lobos (I'll just take it as read that monostone hates it)

Good Morning Britain - Aztec Camera (nice to get this one in at last )

The Fear - Lily Allen

I though I was going to see a lyric? What goes on?

Cold Night - You Me At Six

Ah Leah - Donnie Iris

Still well overweight. Exercise is essential but difficult. I take dancing lessons at the moment. Have done for about a year now. When I started the instructor asked if I was a musician; which impressed me a lot! Dancing is complicated and an ongoing struggle to remember all these steps. I fail most of the time but I'm still trying. I also took up badminton at the suggestion of my son Ben. Only once a week though. Then it transpired that they break during the summer months. So not enough badminton going on! To make matters worse I am now working a complex shift pattern that means I can only get to half of the remaining sessions. This is also going to affect the dance classes next year. I used to do karate training. I did it for 15 years and loved it. I eventually stopped because I had so much time out with injuries. I knew that age was taking its toll & that I needed to start taking it easier, but I just couldn't do it. I stopped training 16 years ago. I wondered maybe if I could take it easier now? So I phoned up my old Karate instructor yesterday and had a wonderful conversation with him. He's a older than I am and has seen people stop & resume training a lot through the years. My absence is not the longest by far, and his oldest club member is in his 80s. He also told me an incredible story about himself. First of all its important to understand that he is the longest serving indigenous karateka in the whole of the uk; meaning he has been training longer than any other Brit. He started in the 60s, and is now an 8th Dan. For more than 50 years he has presided over many thousands of gradings, from white belts up to senior black belts. Its not always realised that when someone of his seniority advances in Dan grade, that its 'awarded' by his peers. This is simply to maintain the 'gap' between all those others continually rising in the ranks below them. There is nothing wrong with this. Its how things are done. However, when he started his own organisation recently, his peers were no longer there & he was not altogether comfortable with his status of 8th Dan. So he decided to undergo a grading himself to ratify his rank. But who is senior enough to grade him? He decided to seek such people out. After some time he eventually he arranged his grading with a panel of senior karateka headed by a Japanese Sensie in Bulgaria. He had never met any of them before. Always one to consider his students, took a bunch of those with him also, so they could benefit from training with different people. So he arranged the trip. The airport run, the flights, transport to the hotel in Bulgaria etc. They duly arrived the day before his grading was to commence. However, on arriving at the hotel, his name was being called in the lobby. He was approached by an envoy of the Karate Sensies and politely told that he must accompany him to attend his grading. He was given 10 minutes to be ready. He tried to explain that the grading was scheduled for the following day, but the delegate was adamant that he attend 'now'. So my teacher had been up and traveling for 24 hours. He hadn't had a shave, a shower, eaten properly, nor had any rest. Now he was being conveyed to the dojo for his grading. I dont know what he had to do during this session (and its not good etiquette to ask!) but it will have been thorough and extensive. Whatever transpired, he achieved his objective and his 8th Dan was endorsed by the Sensies he had sought out. I was not at all surprised to learn that the sudden 'change of plan' and haste was in fact part of his grading and evaluation. They knew well enough his time of arrival and deliberately surprised him in that way. That's karate for ya! Anyway, I start back karate training tomorrow morning (just as well I'm not grading eh?).

I wish I knew. No idea unfortunately!

Diamond : Beryl

Everything is gonna be alright - Beryl Marsden

Informative. I knew nothing of this!

Round 'Bout Midnight - Anthony Braxton

Money Money - Grateful Dead

Lucky Man - Sean Hayes

Hi Richard, Teek, Yes this was done here before a long time back. At that time the lyrics looked like a patchwork quilt made from silk, sackcloth, polyester and leather. Its certainly worth a go though. Perhaps agreeing to a rhyming pattern or verse length would be useful too.

Handful of Glass - Chris Koza