Bach 10, Brandenburg Concerto 1

Johann Sebastian Bach, Brandenburg Concerto no. 1 in F major, BWV 1046, Netherlands Bach Society 

The Lost Art of the Mix Tape

Nostalgia is a difficult thing, because there can be both good and bad in it. I walk a fine line whenever I think back to the old days, because sometimes it refreshes the spirit, and yet sometimes it poisons the soul. 

I do, however, have no qualms about revisiting one of the most sacred rituals of my youth—the blessed mix tape. 

My son rolls his eyes when I mention this, saying, "Yes, old man, we now call them playlists." 

No, young man, that is hardly the same thing. The mix tape was an act of love, which was far more than the sum of some tunes you lazily strung together. There was hard work involved. You had to dust off the vinyl, set the stylus just right, and constantly check the levels. 

You chose your songs wisely, since it wasn't just a matter of clicking and dragging with your mouse. You looked deep inside, and you asked yourself how your picks reflected everything about who you were. 

The mix tape was a total expression of all you held dear. To give someone a mix tape had almost the same weight as a marriage proposal. There was a profound art to it. 

I made at least fifty of them for the lost love of my life in college, though I now suspect they were only played when I happened to be around. 

I later fell for an artsy and bohemian girl, and I spent three whole days compiling her first tape. 

I'm fairly sure all of those cassettes are now in some landfill, but the memory of creating them is far more vivid to me than any image of their faces. 

During my Wilderness Years, I had no friends, so I compensated by making mix tapes for myself, including a set I planned to listen to on a final trip to my homeland of Austria, where I somehow intended to die on a mountaintop. While I never made that trip, those four tapes remain some of my most prized possessions. 

One day, I finally met a nice girl, and I had one last opportunity to do a final mix tape. I knew it would be the last one, for the CD had by now replaced the cassette as the way we listened to music; there was absolutely no romance in burning a CD. The young lady, however, still strolled around with a Walkman, and that was my way to her heart. 

Men are such pathetic creatures, right? Especially the sentimental ones. 

I stayed up all night putting this one together. The trick was always to hand it over like it was no big deal, even as I was completely twitterpated. 

I eventually married that woman, and who I am now would be impossible without her. The tape sits on our dresser, next to an ancient boom box I keep only for the purpose of playing that one darn tape. 

To this day, the ideas and values expressed in my musical choices are a source of pride. If you want to figure out who I really am, this collection will give you a good clue. 

• • • • • 

Crowded House, "Weather with You", from Woodface (1991) 

Julius Caesar, and the Roman Empire, 

Couldn't conquer the blue sky. 

Blur, "London Loves", from Parklife (1994) 

And words are cheap when the mind is elastic. 

Capercaillie, "Claire in Heaven", from To the Moon (1995) 

Up here I see a new tomorrow. 

Level 42, "Play Me", from Forever Now (1994) 

All the women of my dreams, 
Were the kind who lived beyond my means. 

Kevin Gilbert, "Goodness Gracious", from Thud (1995) 

Goodness Gracious not many people care,
Concern is getting scarcer, true compassion really rare. 

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, "Sunset Road", from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones (1990) 

October Project, "Something More than This", from Falling Farther In (1995) 

Whatever you fear,
Whatever you hide,
Whatever you carry deep inside,
There's something more than this. 

Donald Fagen, "Countermoon", from Kamakiriad (1993) 

At every pay phone
There's somebody cryin'. 

Thomas Dolby, "Close but No Cigar", from Astronauts & Heretics (1992) 

I remember, I remember, I remember
The promise in your eyes,
As black as the night I drove you to the airport. 

Echolyn, "One for the Show", from As the World (1995) 

As the world shakes it on down,
Some learn to dance and others just drown. 

Marillion, "Dry Land", from Holidays in Eden (1991) 

In all the tine that I've known you, 

You've been so edgy and nervous. 

Swing Out Sister, "Don't Let Yourself Down", from The Living Return (1994) 

Trust in love and you'll have no regrets. 

King's X, "The Train", from Ear Candy (1996) 

Don't try to take the ride, sit back and let it rain. 

Paul Weller, "Round and Round", from Paul Weller (1992) 

Movin' up to collect our prizes,
Sinkin' fast into life's surprises. 

Clannad, "From Your Heart", from Lore (1996) 

Wise beyond your years,
Made my life more worthy now. 

Spock's Beard, "Waste Away", from Beware of Darkness (1996) 

Some people are like gravy
Spilled on God's Sunday shirt. 

Jamiroquai, "Virtual Insanity", from Traveling Without Moving (1996) 

And it's a wonder men can eat at all,
When things are big that should be small. 

Phish,  "Down with Disease", from Hoist (1994) 

Waiting for the time when I can finally say: 
This has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way. 

Peter Gabriel, "Steam", from Us (1992) 

You know your culture from your trash, 
You know your plastic from your cash. 

Iona, "Irish Day", from Journey Into the Morn (1996) 

It is here that time has granted, 
That the light should still burn on. 

And just for a lark, here's a YouTube mix of the entire bloody thing: 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRvgjypMPqhpHn75gN1oJLOzxIafUxGfc

Frippisms 6

The way we describe our world shows how we think of our world. 
How we think of our world governs how we interpret our world. 
How we interpret our world directs how we participate in the world. 
How we participate in the world shapes the world. 

Frippisms 5

If we are divorced from the consequences of our actions, our actions are likely to be inappropriate. 
Perhaps dangerous. 
Perhaps disastrous. 

Frippisms 4

Want is of the earth; 
Wish is from the stars. 

Frippisms 3

Discipline is a vehicle for joy. 

Frippisms 2

Heaven and earth share the same space. 

Frippisms 1

Over the years, I have developed a deep admiration for Robert Fripp. Casual listeners may know him as the force behind King Crimson, and dedicated musicians may know him for the founding of Guitar Craft. 

I admit that his recordings sounded like noise to me at first, and his words once seemed a bit too pretentious for my taste. My estimation slowly changed as I slowly changed. 

I have only seen King Crimson in concert twice, but each time I was amazed by the mastermind sitting on a stool behind the rest of the band, in almost complete darkness. He didn't like a rowdy audience, and he wouldn't tolerate flash photography. He was centered on the music, with absolutely no interest in putting on an act. 

I found myself collecting the short sayings, or "Frippisms",  he would share from his journals, which stuck with me almost as much as passages from Epictetus or Marcus Aurelius. He was talking about the art of music, and yet the insights also applied to all aspects of life. 

I don't know if this is a complete list, or even if there is such a thing, but here are the ones I managed to assemble. As always, your mileage may vary. 

• • • • •  

The quality of a person is primarily revealed by their conduct in front of: 
sex; 
money; 
the expression of negativity; 
the use of time; 
the exercise of authority over others. 

Bach 9, Es ist dir gesagt, Mensch, was gut ist

Johann Sebastian Bach, Es ist dir gesagt, Mensch, was gut ist, BWV 45, Netherlands Bach Society 

The Traveller

It feels like 1982 all over again. . .  

Only one fellow, Geoff Downes, is now left from the original quartet, but the sound and the spirit are still mighty strong. What a pleasant and uplifting surprise! And the cover is by Roger Dean! 

Asia, "The Traveller (Into the Light)", from Indigo (2026) 

The album release date is November 6. 

Go ahead, you know you want to return to a simpler time, when you could sing along to Journey, Toto, or Foreigner, without a care in the world.  

Dreams turn from diamonds to dust 
Empires that crumble and rust 
Rivers run dry, smoke fills the sky 
Over and over and over and over and 

Into the light we carry on 
Hold on til daylight when new days dawn 

Nations divided and torn 
Anger and evil reborn 
Chaos, confusion, mindless delusion 
Over and over and over and over and 

Into the light we carry on 
Hold on til daylight when new days dawn 

One day you'll find yourself 
Under a moonlit sky 
Tossing the sovereigns of hope 
Into the well of your dreams 

Into the light we carry on
Hold on til daylight when new days dawn 

Bach 8, Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder

Johann Sebastian Bach, Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder, BWV 135, Netherlands Bach Society 

Bach 7, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme

Johann Sebastian Bach, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140, Netherlands Bach Society 

Bach 6, Easter Oratorio

Johann Sebastian Bach, Easter Oratorio, BWV 249, Netherlands Bach Society 

I Joy Not in No Earthly Bliss

"I Joy Not in No Earthly Bliss" (1588)

William Byrd (1540-1623) 

I joy not in no earthly bliss, 

I force not Croesus’ wealth a straw: 

For care, I know not what it is, 

I fear not Fortune’s fatal law. 

My mind is such as may not move,  

For beauty bright nor force of love. 

I wish but what I have at will, 

I wander not to seek for more. 

I like the plain, I climb no hill, 

In greatest storms I sit on shore 

And laugh at them that toil in vain, 

To get what must be lost again. 

I kiss not where I wish to kill, 

I feign not love where most I hate: 

I break no sleep to win my will, 

I wait not at the mighty’s gate: 

I scorn no poor, nor fear no rich; 

I feel no want, nor have too much. 

The court and cart I like nor loath, 

Extremes are counted worst of all; 

The golden mean between them both, 

Doth surest sit and fears no fall. 

This is my choice: for why? I find 

No wealth is like the quiet mind. 

Happy the Man

Contrary to common opinion, I am not a Luddite. I am only concerned when technology is sought out as a substitute for thinking, instead of merely as an aid to thinking. 

As a case in point, I was pleased to stumble across all the usage data on my music app, which showed me that what I was actually listening to, from day to day, was not necessarily what I thought I was listening to, or what I had been telling other people I preferred the most. How enlightening, and how frustrating, to have the facts get in the way of the assumptions! The technology had done its job. 

For example, is Marillion really my "favorite" band, as I usually advertise? Apparently not, if I bother to consult my habits over the last few years. Much to my surprise, two albums by Happy the Man are at the top of my playlists, and that's also by quite a large margin. 

In hindsight, I suppose it is fitting, because the real credit should belong to the art that soothes the soul during the daily grind, not necessarily to the grand productions that serve me well at moments of extreme elation or dejection, but do little for me while I am making my tea, or going for a country drive, or scribbling down my unexceptional musings. 

Happy the Man were a quirky expression of the late 1970's, broadly falling into the "progressive" rock category, though I always come back to simply describing them as eclectic. They produced two albums for Arista Records, at a time when their peculiar style was already markedly out of fashion, and they would now probably be entirely forgotten, if not for a small but dedicated group of followers. 

Their music is not for everyone, but for me it strikes a perfect balance of intellect and passion, complexity and simplicity, simultaneously a comfort and a challenge. I can either pay very close attention, or just have it on in the background, and I oddly feel much the same as when I am listening to Bach or Coltrane. 

Fans will speak of their similarity to early Yes, Genesis, or Gentle Giant, and while I do see the connections, I also get a jazzy, Canterbury vibe here, much like the wonderful mood that strikes me with Hatfield and the North, Caravan, or Soft Machine. It is also no accident that Kit Watkins later went on to play with Camel. 

I still remember the craze for the lists of Desert Island Discs in the late 1980's and early 1990's, and I am just now realizing how both of these collections have crept up on me to become my faithful companions. 

Happy the Man, s/t (1977) 

Happy the Man, Crafty Hands (1978) 

Bach 5, Mass in B minor

Johann Sebastian Bach, Mass in B minor, BWV 232, Netherlands Bach Society 

Song of Summer

Frederick Delius, Song of Summer, John Barbirolli/London Symphony Orchestra (1967) 

Finlandia

Jean Sibelius, Finlandia, Op. 26, Herbert von Karajan/Berliner Philharmoniker 

Bach 4, Jauchzet, frohlocket!

Johann Sebastian Bach, Jauchzet, frohlocket!, BWV 248, Netherlands Bach Society 

Bach 3, Gloria in excelsis Deo

Johann Sebastian Bach, Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191, Netherlands Bach Society