Violent Dancer

In a rare turn of (in)consistency, this morning I heard a tune on satellite radio that I'd forgotten about: T. Rex's Cosmic Dancer, from '71's awesome Electric Warrior. It had probably been 12 years since I heard this tune - and it's so bloody awesome. 

There's something about the glam thing from the early '70's that is serene and pompous, in a good way. Mott the Hoople also had it, and Bowie too.

While we're on the T. Rex thing, my fave song from Bolan and Co. is Children of the Revolution, which I've wanted my band to play for a long time. So freaking cool. As amazing as the original is, I truly love the Violent Femmes cover of it, from their totally underrated third album, Blind Leading the Naked. 

Not sure what my Milwaukee lantzmen were smoking when they made the album and video, but I want some.

The Art of Chumus & Making Music

Today, I was telling a buddy who likes the way I make chumus, how I make it. It's complicated, and I wanted to tell him exactly how much of whatever ingredient or spice to put in, but I couldn't. It was impossible to convey, in conventional units of measure, how much to use. It's more art than science.

Now I'm watching my kids make up their own game and have a blast playing it. You can see them come alive, living the moment, totally engaged. It just dawned on me that that's the way making music should be approached. If you can tell someone exactly what it takes to create a perfect final product, you're done for. Forget passion, personal touch, unique artistry. There can be no exact instructions or recipes. No one told my kids how to make up a game - that would have killed the moment and their creativity. 

Anyway.

I'm a huge sucker for early 70's glam, e.g. Sweet, Mott the Hoople, Bowie, etc. Here's a long lost AWESOME tune. Kiss even did a kick-arse version of it (oh God, that video is fucking hilarious!) on the Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey soundtrack. Yes, I said that.