long time coming
I guess I haven't written anything here since June. How embarrassing. Apologies to my faithful readers.
Now that it's 2006, it seems like a lot of loose ends in my life are being tied together. New Year's Eve Eve is the non-official anniversary of the wife and me, who have known each other for 12 years, somehow, and we spent a nice half-asleep night discussing the many weirdnesses that brought us together and then kept us at arm's length from each other for half the time since we met. It's assuring that things that that weren't expressible in words for so long can be talked about in terms that are at least understandable to each other, even if things still couldn't be explained to an outsider in any coherent way. Part of me realizes that so much of the weight of such doings degrades quickly along with the memories and immediate feelings themselves, but a much larger part of me is glad that time brings demystification and disarms any unexploded ordinances. Previous attempts to discuss the past were an approximation at best, and now I feel even if I'm not able express it fully, at least I can talk without making any major, embarrassing misstatements. And maybe that 90% success is as much as can be hoped for. As every good Buddhist knows, words never get to the heart of anything, and maybe that's for the best.
On the other side of the same time period, I have finally made contact with a former bandmate from my punker and less likable days. I last talked to said bandmate years and years ago following a tour that left some bruises (and yet, when compared to a later tour with a replacement member, was actually quite civil and successful). Actually, more precisely, our last communication was a series of letters left in one another's mailboxes in which he accused me of a number of interpersonal atrocities prior to his moving halfway across the country, claims which may have been entirely correct for all I can remember. My attempts to Google him in the years past went nowhere. So today, after hearing he was back in town and having failed in my tentative attempts to track him down, as luck would have it I ran into him. We chatted briefly about the olden days and swapped phone numbers, and will hopefully hang out soon. So, yeah, here's to time healing old wounds, whatever they specifically were. Getting older definitely has its downsides, but I'm real into the general mellowing and understanding that comes with it.
In less personal news, I discovered karmadownload.com and, more importantly, that many of the great tunes that were previously available to me only via streams from London pirate radio stations can now be legally and cheaply downloaded. I did so with True Tiger Recordings' "Eye of the Tiger Vol. 1" which, despite the questionable Survivor reference, is an excellent mixtape of synthetic Grime wonderfulness (and a few less wonderful ventures into R&B territory, but nevermind that). Worth purchasing for the multiple versions of the WD25 riddim (a weird, creaking-rope and synth pad jig that seemingly lacks a distinct beat but is nevertheless ridden to great effect by Wiley, Aftershock, Virus Syndicate and others) and "Let it go", a breezy song which might be a little too pleasant if not for the first verse in which Doctor plays the straight man while Bear Man spits from the perspective of an actual bear. I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, but that's what I love about Grime. What other hip-hop-related music would employ that level of goofy smartness? Exactly. Download it from http://www.karmadownload.com/album/?2139864, or at least take a listen to the samples.
It will hopefully take me less than six months to post here again.
Now that it's 2006, it seems like a lot of loose ends in my life are being tied together. New Year's Eve Eve is the non-official anniversary of the wife and me, who have known each other for 12 years, somehow, and we spent a nice half-asleep night discussing the many weirdnesses that brought us together and then kept us at arm's length from each other for half the time since we met. It's assuring that things that that weren't expressible in words for so long can be talked about in terms that are at least understandable to each other, even if things still couldn't be explained to an outsider in any coherent way. Part of me realizes that so much of the weight of such doings degrades quickly along with the memories and immediate feelings themselves, but a much larger part of me is glad that time brings demystification and disarms any unexploded ordinances. Previous attempts to discuss the past were an approximation at best, and now I feel even if I'm not able express it fully, at least I can talk without making any major, embarrassing misstatements. And maybe that 90% success is as much as can be hoped for. As every good Buddhist knows, words never get to the heart of anything, and maybe that's for the best.
On the other side of the same time period, I have finally made contact with a former bandmate from my punker and less likable days. I last talked to said bandmate years and years ago following a tour that left some bruises (and yet, when compared to a later tour with a replacement member, was actually quite civil and successful). Actually, more precisely, our last communication was a series of letters left in one another's mailboxes in which he accused me of a number of interpersonal atrocities prior to his moving halfway across the country, claims which may have been entirely correct for all I can remember. My attempts to Google him in the years past went nowhere. So today, after hearing he was back in town and having failed in my tentative attempts to track him down, as luck would have it I ran into him. We chatted briefly about the olden days and swapped phone numbers, and will hopefully hang out soon. So, yeah, here's to time healing old wounds, whatever they specifically were. Getting older definitely has its downsides, but I'm real into the general mellowing and understanding that comes with it.
In less personal news, I discovered karmadownload.com and, more importantly, that many of the great tunes that were previously available to me only via streams from London pirate radio stations can now be legally and cheaply downloaded. I did so with True Tiger Recordings' "Eye of the Tiger Vol. 1" which, despite the questionable Survivor reference, is an excellent mixtape of synthetic Grime wonderfulness (and a few less wonderful ventures into R&B territory, but nevermind that). Worth purchasing for the multiple versions of the WD25 riddim (a weird, creaking-rope and synth pad jig that seemingly lacks a distinct beat but is nevertheless ridden to great effect by Wiley, Aftershock, Virus Syndicate and others) and "Let it go", a breezy song which might be a little too pleasant if not for the first verse in which Doctor plays the straight man while Bear Man spits from the perspective of an actual bear. I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, but that's what I love about Grime. What other hip-hop-related music would employ that level of goofy smartness? Exactly. Download it from http://www.karmadownload.com/album/?2139864, or at least take a listen to the samples.
It will hopefully take me less than six months to post here again.
posted by dmg at 10:12 PM
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