Ryan H. Walsh's 'Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968' (2018)

Ryan H. Walsh, Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968. New York: Penguin Press, 2018.

A kaleidoscopic time portal into trippy Boston centering around 1968, but opening out into the 1960s and 1970s. The possibilities for further study of its phenomena are wide and deep. 

The biggest revelation for me was musical, with Boston bands like Ultimate Spinach (a sort of psychedelic Doorsy head band); and interesting historical context for powerful music with which I was already quite familiar (James Brown, Velvet Underground, Van Morrison).  

And you get all sorts of crazy details about the local music scene, clubs, musicians, cultish and political activism (particularly "the Lyman family"), underground newspapers, Michelangelo Antonioni's Zabriskie Point (1970), the freaky What's Happening, Mr. Silver? show, Howard Zinn, Timothy Leary, Steve McQueen, the Boston Strangler, Tony Curtis, Aerosmith, Maria Muldaur, astral projection, Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers, Barney Frank -- and more! 

Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968 probably syncs well with an altered state, too, or so one can imagine. Can you dig? 

Today's Rune: The Self. 
   

James McBride's 'Kill 'Em & Leave: Searching for the Real James Brown' (2016)

James McBride, Kill 'Em & Leave: Searching for the Real James Brown. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2016. The American subtitle is different. Oh, don't ask why . . .

From the moment I first heard him to this forward-moving moment and beyond, James Brown has been, is and will be an important musical flame inside my internal soundtrack. For me, his sound (with various bandmates) from the 1960s and 1970s is what really turns the heat up. 

And so I was greatly pleased to check out this recent take on Brown, who was born on May 3, 1933, and died on Christmas Day of 2006. 

McBride takes us along on a quest. Along the way, fresh details are come upon, or coaxed out of people who knew James Brown. And the milieu: McBride doesn't sugarcoat race or culture or history or music. He lays out hard truths in particular about race in America, and the power divide.

McBride starts with the Southern setting of the James Brown story: "There is nowhere in the USA quite like America's South; there is no place more difficult to fully understand or fully capture . . . The South is simply a puzzle . . . You cannot understand Brown without understanding that the land that produced him is a land of masks. The people who walk that land, both black and white, wear masks and more masks, then masks beneath those masks." (page 8)

McBride spotlights an aspect of the milieu that I'd not connected before: the creation of the Savannah River Nuclear Site and total displacement of people who lived in the area (pages 52-55): "The thousands of blacks there simply vanished into history" (page 54). Brown would end his years in the same region.

McBride also gets into the music, and "why funk is as challenging as jazz. You must know when to enter the groove, and what to play. Funk -- any good music, really -- requires space. Knowledge of when to throw in your small contribution and when to lay out . . . Consistently. Every time." (page 147) 

Today's Rune: Journey. 

Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown (2014)

Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown (2014): Directed by Alex Gibney, produced by Mick Jagger. Aired on HBO and available with extras in DVD format. 

This one's an entertaining and insightful documentary for any and all James Brown fans. The archival footage is worth the whole package; newer interview footage is also better than the usual in such motion documentaries. 

I'm pretty well-versed in James Brown musicology and cultural impact, but even so, with Mr. Dynamite I learned a lot of new stuff, new ways of considering things. 

(In one of the more surreal scenes of Mr. Dynamite, see presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey sing along with James Brown in 1968. It's plain bizarre!) 

Alex Gibney is a trenchant documentary filmmaker -- compare with some of his other works such as Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005); The [Lance] Armstrong Lie (2013); We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks (2013); Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (HBO, 2015); Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (2015).

Today's Rune: Gateway.      

  

Signs and Wonders at the North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival (2015)

Chimerical Chinese light configurations in Cary, North Carolina, at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre. Cool beans, Wellington!  Thanks to the gestalt effect, we know a dragon when we see one.

Nearby Dorton Arena in the gloaming. Looks the same as when I was Boy Scout for two years, during which time there were a couple of jamboree-type events. I remember on one occasion, the sun was so hot we fried eggs on a rock. The last concert I saw here, as a young adult, was James Brown. The "paraboleum"-style architecture was designed by a Polish fellow who died in a plane wreck; its construction dates back to the early 1950s, though it has since accrued something like the patina of a 1970s vibe. 

Peacocks and roses at the Chinese Lantern Festival.  

Nearby Bond Lake. There's a nice trail that goes around it, and plenty of birds nesting. 

Full-length shot of the dragon situated on the edge of a small lake. I fell into a hole more than a foot deep while roaming around taking photos, coming out a bit surprised and muddy but otherwise unscathed. It was worth it. 

Today's Rune: Possessions.  

'The Hippest Trip in America: *Soul Train* and the Evolution of Style and Culture'

I picked this up in transit and finished last night: Nelson George's The Hippest Trip in America: Soul Train and the Evolution of Style and Culture (William Morrow, 2015 paperback edition; originally published in 2014).

As its full title lays out, this nifty tome covers the history, context and impact of Soul Train, from its Chicago roots to LA, from Don Cornelius to the singers, from the bands and dancers to the business angles.

Don Cornelius and Soul Train are a trip. I still sporadically catch syndicated episodes and am especially enthralled by the 1970s performances. One of my favorites features a chubby young Al Sharpton giving James Brown some kind of improvised award -- real showmanship at work all around and all the time. This is how it's done, people. Can you dig? 

RIP, Don Cornelius (1936-2012).

Today's Rune: Breakthrough. 

Sean Egan's 'The Clash: The Only Band That Mattered' (2015) - Take Two

Sean Egan's The Clash: The Only Band That Mattered (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield,2015).

Let's get into some of the nitty gritty. First, the links between reggae and punk. As Egan points out, reggae began to expand globally in the late 1960s and 1970s. One of the big watershed moments of broad consciousness-raising about the style came with The Harder They Come (1972), Perry Henzell's low-budget, mesmerizing Jamaican film starring Jimmy Cliff. "[R]eggae was sometimes a big influence on British punk bands either by osmosis (Johnny Rotten of The Sex Pistols had a long-standing love of the genre) or imitation . . . 'Police & Thieves . . . was The Clash's first foray into the medium, and an unexpected triumph" (pages 35-36).

Next, links with rap, starting in 1980: "'The Magnificent Seven' wasn't quite the first-ever rap recording by a white artist: Blondie's punningly titled 'Rapture' appeared . . . a month before the release of Sandinista!" Egon argues that "'The Magnificent Seven' was the first example of rap being used for social commentary. As it preceded . . . Grandmaster Flash's 'The Message' by two years, it could even be suggested that without [its example], hip-hop would not have embraced the political content from which it is now indivisible" (pages 146-147).

Backtrack, Mr. Egan. Let's not forget James Brown and tracks such as "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud" (1968), "Make it Funky" (1971), "Funky President (People It's Bad)" (1974) and so on. How about Sly & the Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" (1969) and Gil-Scott Heron's "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" (1970-1971)? And back through reggae channels again. Toss in tracks from The Rolling Stones ("Miss You," 1978), Kurtis Blow (1979) and The Sugarhill Gang (1979) and I'd say there's plenty of interplay to spread around, with political content ranging from broad to specific. (Most of these live on through sampling).

What's cool is how memory works: I can remember most of these songs without even playing them again, including virtually every track put out by The Clash. The only true challenge comes when recalling a small bit of music or lyrics, then trying to piece together the origin -- a sort of mix and match endeavor. Can you dig?

Onward!

Today's Rune: Separation (Reversed).

Françoise Gilot's 'Life with Picasso' (1964): Take One

Françoise Gilot and Carlton Lake's Life with Picasso (1964), a thoroughly fascinating, well-written and entertaining memoir, serves as a sort of gold standard for this kind of book. Reading it inspires quick resort to the internet for further research about the characters and artworks discussed within. 

Life with Picasso also serves as an inspiring "classroom" and "studio" for further reflection, possibly even action, as in the James Brown song, "Get Up Offa That Thing!"

At the time of this posting, Françoise Gilot is ninety-three years old. Pablo Picasso, who was in his sixties when they became paramours in 1944, died in 1973.

Today's Rune:  Breakthrough.  

Twenty Fifteen of the Common Era

Into Year 2015

MMXV 

14 Nivôse CCXXIII

New Year's, a wedding of Space and Time, requires: 

Something Olde

Something New

Something Borrowed

Something Blue . . .

A Sixpence in your Shoe

All such elements are jammed into my newly vamped gym jukebox iPod mix. Before last year lurched into this one, I purposely deleted my entire playlist and began a new one. It was high time.

The new stripped down core-first-round playlist, to be expanded during this year  -- already fondly known as Twenty Fifteen -- goes like this . . . playback is in random order, and sometimes I switch earphones or headphones to highlight different aspects of each track for the benefit of both the other ear and the other side of the mind . . . a good way to keep it fresh, keeping it reel-to-reel.

Open Up Like a French 75 -- drink or artillery, take your pick:

Breaking Glass  (David Bowie)

Chinese Rock (Ramones)

Editions of You (Roxy Music)

Feeling Good (Nina Simone)

Get Up Offa That Thing (James Brown)

I'm a King Bee (Slim Harpo)

The 'In' Crowd (Bryan Ferry)

Lust for Life (Iggy Pop)

See-Line Woman (Nina Simone)

Shake Your Hips (Slim Harpo)

Sound & Vision (David Bowie)

Super Bad, Parts 1 and 2 (James Brown)

Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum (Bob Dylan)

What in the World (David Bowie with Iggy Pop)

You Know I'm No Good (Amy Winehouse)

This stuff works for me. Specifically for the time blocks spent on things like the stationary bike, moon walk or regular treadmill. 

I've picked up a whole new appreciation for "Get Up Offa That Thing" (1976) -- can listen to it, the extended version, dozens of times and hear something new. For now, it's the side track electric funk guitar parts and embedded mutter-rapped words such as "Melvin Parker [on drums] . . . North Carolina . . ."   

2015: The adventure continues . . .

Today's Rune: Initiation. 

Get On Up

It's 104 degrees out in North Texas - what do ya do? In the American tradition that goes back just under 100 years, I headed for an air-conditioned movie theater! 

Get On Up (2014) -- aka "The James Brown Story" - directed by Tate Taylor and starring Chadwick Boseman, occupies the same ballpark as Oliver Stone's The Doors (1991 -- with Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison) and Olivier Dahan's La Môme / La Vie en Rose (2007 -- with Marion Cotillard as Édith Piaf). It offers a similarly telesoped and kaleidoscopic -- and necessarily streamlined -- vision of the artistic star of the show, set within some kind of social and historical context. In each example, the genius-talent aspect of the star remains mysterious  -- God-given or lucky, or both -- but the human element is shown as comprehensible. Of these three biopics, I liked the lead actor and historical character in all of them, but Get On Up provides the best overall experience -- at least it did for me. 

Let it be known that I was a serious fan of Édith Piaf, Jim Morrison and James Brown going in and remained one coming out, but I also felt enriched by these cinematic perspectives. 

Hot outside? Check out Get On Up, if possible, in a movie house that sports a powerful sound system. No kidding: the musical experience alone would be worth the effort.

Rune: The Self. 

Tar Heel Nation 3: Maceo Parker

"Pass the Peas!" Maceo Parker (b. February 14, 1943, in Kinston, North Carolina), sax player and all-around cool musician, comes from a family of musicians -- including older brother Kellis Parker (trombone) and younger brother Melvin (drums). All three played in Kinston (Blue Notes, Junior Blue Notes, Mighty Blue Notes) and all three went on to college, the two younger brothers to North Carolina A & T (Agricultural and Technical) in Greensboro in 1961 and 1962 respectively and Kellis via the very first small wave of students to desegregate and begin integrating the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1960. (In case you were wondering, it took nearby Duke University until 1963 to desegregate -- so we're just fifty years on as of this posting).

The younger Parker brothers were hired by James Brown -- a whole story in its own right. 

I came to know about Maceo Parker through listening to James Brown & co. recordings -- records, cassette tapes, eventually CDs, whatever was at hand at the time, beginning in my later teens. Try like I did a long version of "Cold Sweat" (1967) and hear JB rapping in 1960s' style: "Put 'em where it's at now. . . Let 'em have it!  Blow your horn! Blow your horn, Maceo! . . . Get it!" The name Maceo stood out (Spanish-traced name for "gift of God") -- making me want to know more.   

This fall, Maceo Parker will be touring in countries like Argentina and the Czech Republic, but he can also be experienced live in Tar Heel Land. Where and when? Memorial Hall at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (where I saw my first formal jazz performance as a teen) on Friday, September 27, 2013, with George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic. Here's a link formore details. From the promotional:

'It’s hard to tell which came first, Maceo Parker or the funk. Maceo got his start with James Brown, and for over 20 years he has been building a new funk empire, fresh and stylistically diverse. In his blistering solo career, he navigates deftly between Brown’s 1960s soul and George Clinton’s 1970s freaky funk, while also exploring mellow jazz and hip-hop.' 

Can you dig? If all else fails, you can get yourself a brand new bag.

Sources include:

Markus Gruber documentary, My First Name is Maceo (2003, 2004 DVD).

Maceo Parker, 98% Funky Stuff: My Life in Music (Chicago Review Press, 2013), especially pages 41-53. 

Today's Rune: Breakthrough. 

The Hardest Working Man (Take I)

I'm about halfway through The Hardest Working Man: How James Brown Saved the Soul of America (2009), a stellar little book by James Sullivan. Very exciting stuff about James Brown, well-contextualized -- where he came from, what he did and how he did it. Sullivan structures the thrust of his chapters around the immediate aftermath of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., when the Hardest Working Man in Show Business helped stabilize the popular situation, which had been ruled by intense anger, riot and contagion. 

In The Hardest Working Man, we learn a lot of unexpected things, like the apparent fact that 28-year old Barney Frank came up with the idea of broadcasting Brown's concert, something that quickly (and quite improbably) came to fruition as Live at the Boston Garden: April 5, 1968 (WGBH-TV).

The Hardest Working Man does a lot of other connecting of the magical dots -- even beyond the idea that anyone who puts their mind to it ought to be able to connect any point A with any point B, no matter how unrelated either may seem.

One connection to Brown's arc was none other than Sweet Daddy Grace, "a legendary charismatic figure born in 1884 in the Cape Verde Islands . . . A demonstrative preacher with a Daliesque mustache who prompted members of his congregation to speak in tongues . . . often accompanied by multiple bands 'to assure jumping dance music' . . ." (Sullivan, pages 56-57). 

Brown seized upon some of Sweet Daddy's showmanship in developing his own stage act, and the rest is history . . . (to be continued).

Today's Rune: Breakthrough.  And a Fine & Happy 60th Anniversary to my parents, Don and Barb France!  

Three Films: 'Smashed,' 'Albatross' and 'Rampart'

Three indie-type films, all worthwhile in an offbeat kind of way: James Ponsoldt's Smashed (2012), Niall MacCormick's Albatross (2011) and Oren Moverman's Rampart (2011). Besides having one word titles, each flick showcases a major character effectively portrayed by a strong actor, and in each, the main actor is backed by a strong ensemble cast. I liked them all about equally.

In Smashed, Albatross and Rampart, family systems inform character development. At the outset of Smashed, Kate (North Carolina native Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is an alcoholic grade school teacher, married to a fellow drinker (Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad), daughter of a reclusive alcoholic (Mary Kay Place). With Albatross, Emelia Conan Doyle (Jessica Brown Findlay, Downton Abbey) is the hero (or heroine if you prefer). When the film begins, she is caring for her ailing grandparents, her mother committed suicide a while back, and she's an aspiring writer. The main collision comes when Emelia begins working for a nuclear family at their Bed and Breakfast, befriends a daughter her age (late teens), offends the "shrew" of the house and dallies with the father (a stalled out middle-aged writer), not necessarily in that order. In Rampart, LAPD cop Dave (Woody Harrelson as anti-hero) has extended family, work and personal problems. A cagey US-Vietnam War veteran, he's quite messed up and in dire need of psychiatric rehab, though he thinks he's the greatest "soldier cop" in the world. Imagine if Lance Armstrong joined the LAPD . . . The backdrop is the late 1990s as the Rampart Scandal begins to unfold. Sort of like Magnum Force, if Dirty Harry had taken a darker turn and had family around town. Smashed, Albatross and Rampart each has a certain quotient of alcohol and drugs, come to think of it.

     
Today's Rune: The Mystery Rune.  

Le deuxième sexe

Where were you born, when? What kind of "upbringing" did you have? How much "socialization?" How did you learn about the world, how do you learn about it now? All these "factors" go into our worldview, our ideology, our way of perceiving, filtering, interpreting "reality." So it's no surprise that people -- those who publically share how they think about perception and ideology -- tend to emphasize one or two elements and neglect others. "Race." "Gender." "Socio-eocnomic class." "Religion." "Sexual orientation." "Disabled Status." Political theory -- or political "leanings." Dispositions. Preferences. Response to the "laws of the land," especially those contested or challenged. All worth thinking about, as a mix and blend just as much -- more so, as far as I'm concerned -- than as isolated or stand-alone ingredients. The whole is greater than its constituent parts. Strength through diversity, as it were.  

Year of birth, location, situation. Consider that in 1967, Loving vs. Virginia overturned the status quo about "race relations" in the USA: henceforth, "mixed" couples could be together without being criminalized.

Consider that in the previous year, James Brown scored a hit with "It's a Man's Man's Man's World."

Some of the lyrics:

You see man made the cars
To take us over the world
Man made the train
To carry the heavy load
Man made the electric lights
To take us out of the dark . . .
This is a man's world
But it would be nothing, nothing
Not one little thing
Without a woman to care . . .

Consider that "adult women" (21+) could only begin voting throughout the entire United States in 1920. 

Consider that "black people" (then considered anyone with any degree of African ancestry -- did that include those of "white" African ancestry, too?) were "guaranteed" equal protection as citizens in 1868 (a direct result of secession and the American Civil War).

Consider a core component of the XV (15th / Fifteenth) Amendment to the US Constitution (1870):

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.  [Note: women therein obviously not conceived of as citizens, nor anyone under 21].

Consider the case of the War of 1812 veteran who purportedly killed Tecumseh in battle -- Colonel, Congressman, Senator and US Vice President Richard Mentor Johnson (1780-1850) and his "common law" wife, Julia Chinn, who happened to be "black" (or "mulatto," as she was sometimes characterized at the time).

1) They were never formally married.
2) They were an "interracial couple."
3) They had at least two daughters (Imogene and Adaline/Adeline).

Consider that upon is death, Johnson was honored with a considerable obelisk in the Frankfurt (Kentucky) Cemetery, but that after her death in 1833, Julia Chinn (without recorded birthdate) received no marker at all (so far as I can determine). Also, she'd been his father's slave. But unlike South Carolina Senator and presidential candidate Strom Thurmond (1902-2003), Johnson was quite open about his "crossing of racial barriers" in his own time and place while he (and she) lived. 

Now, pluck Julia Chinn and Richard Mentor Johnson out of their time and place and drop them into the world of 2013.  What would be different? What might be the same? How much would it matter whether they lived in Paducah or New York City, Palookaville or Phoenix, Arizona?  

Today's Rune: Journey. Pictured above: the latest English language edition of Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex, originally published in French in 1949 as Le Deuxième Sexe (Tome I as Les Faits et les Mythes).         

Rewind: Funky Christmas, Santa Baby

It's weird how we lose so many right around Christmas. I'm so glad to have seen James Brown, the Hardest Working Man in Show Business, doing his thing, before he died in 2006, before I ever have to die. Merry Funky Christmas, indeed!










I've plugged the book on Cuba's own Alberto Korda (Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez); now I'll plug the documentary, Hector Cruz Sandoval's Kordavision (2005). This guy was way cool and, like Diane Arbus, lives on as a role model for any still-aspiring hepcat photographer . . .




















Next, I love the fact that Charo (i.e. María Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Moquiere de les Esperades Santa Ana Romanguera y de la Najosa Rasten) and Don Rickles are still touring -- I used to smile big time watching them on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show when I was a kid staying up late on school nights (much as I still do).

I'm also sad to note the passing [in 2008] of another late night (and Batman) favorite, South Carolina-born (like James Brown) Eartha Kitt, who performed the original 1953 "Santa Baby" and more. Zowie!

Carry on, those of us happy enough to still count ourselves among the living, and RIP to those gone (but not by any means forgotten) . . . Merry Funky Christmas to all!

Jumping the Cow: An Occurrence in Little Rock Occupied

One September 10, 1863, a 15,000 man Union force under the command of Major General Frederick Steele captured the strategic town of Little Rock, Confederate capital of Arkansas that had a population of a few thousand at the beginning of the American Civil War, soon to be swelled by soldiers and refugees. Just days before the troops in blue arrived, two Confederate generals had fought a duel outside of town -- resulting in one death (that of President James K. Polk's nephew, Brigadier General Lucius "Marsh" Walker).

Marching into Little Rock with the rest of the army came my great-great grand uncle Jeremiah C. France (1840-1865), 43rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and the direct descendent of one of my 21st century buddies, with the 27th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. Confederates never retook Little Rock during the war.

In June 1864, after the bloody spring campaign that culimated in Jenkins Ferry (covered in yesterday's post), the Little Rock occupation force was roiled by an odd occurrence. Here's 43rd Indiana commanding officer William E. McLean's version, with context, from The Forty-third Regiment of Indiana Volunters. An Historic Sketch of Its Career and Services (Terre Haute: C.W. Brown, Printer and Binder, 1903), pages 28-29:

[Union commander in Little Rock, Major General Frederick] Steele was a West Point graduate and an officer of the regular army when the war broke out, devoted to his profession, of engaging personality, an officer whose courage was never questioned, but whose judgement in regard to me was very faulty. His chief of staff, Colonel F. H. Manter of Missouri whose tragic fate, subsequently after the return of the army from Camden [Arkansas], produced a very unpleasant impression, both among the soldiery of Steele's army and the citizenship of Little Rock.

General Steele had given a dinner at his headquarters in Little Rock, in honor of General Dan Sickles, who had been sent by the war department to investigate the condition of affairs of the army of the Trans-Mississippi department. It is said that champagne and other liquids flowed freely upon that festive occasion regardless of the fact that it was the Sabbath.

In the afternoon, probably a half or three quarters of an hour after dinner, Colonel Manter ordered his horse and orderly, proposing a ride to the home of a prominent citizen of Little Rock. He prided himself upon being the finest horseman in Steele's army; six feet high in his stockings, with an Apollo figure, which he was very fond of displaying; the day being beautiful and the streets crowded, a fine opportunity for display was presented.

It so happened that a cow was lying on the street, ther being no city ordinance prohibiting either cow or hogs from running at large in that city.

In a moment of unaccountable folly, Colonel Manter attempted the foolish feat of making his splendid charger jump the cow.

Putting his spurs into the horse the animal started to leap at once but the cow sprang up so suddenly that Colonel Manter was thrown violently upon the ground, falling upon his head, and breaking his neck. . . Thus died, from an act of folly, the man whom rumor said, was the controlling spirit of the commanding general, his mouth-piece and most confidential adviser. Had he died upon the bloody field of Jenkins Ferry, with his face to the foe, his fate would have been a brighter
one. . .

On a related note, the cow-jumping colonel Manter is also mentioned in the Report of the Joint Committee of the Conduct of the War at the Second Session Thirty-eighth Congress ("Administration of the Department of Arkansas," page 81. Washington: US Government Printing Office, 1865) in another unflattering way:

General Steele retained upon his staff certain officers in high positions who were obnoxious to the thinking portion of his general officers, and, with few exceptions, to his colonels, for their profligacy, drunkenness, imbecility, disgraceful behavior, and neglect of duty. These officers were, his chief of staff, Colonel F. H. Manter, 32d Missouri infantry, who did not belong to any regiment of General Steele's command, and his adjutant general, Lieutenant George O. Sokalski, 2d United States cavalry, and his provost marshal general, Lieuteant Colonel J. L. Chandler, 7th Missouri cavalry. General Steele has been repeatedly advised of the injury these men were doing to him, the army, and the country."

Human nature -- the tragedy and the comedy.

Today's Rune: Harvest.

    

Graham Greene's The Comedians, Part III

In The Comedians (the 1966 Graham Greene novel and 1967 Peter Glenville film), every primary and secondary character is placed into a precarious situation. Not a single one can remain complacent and each must do something. Faced with existential choices and much to lose, they do act. It's not always pretty how things turn out, but the important thing to Greene is that real decisions are being made. Within the overall framework of Papa Doc's Haiti, there doesn't seem to be much effective that any of these characters can do, and indeed, it often comes down to either fleeing for safety or fighting against hopeless odds.

 

The South American ambassador (played by Peter Ustinov) and his German-born wife (Elizabeth Taylor's character) have diplomatic immunity up to a point, and can be of limited help -- until ultimately they must depart the country or be imprisoned. Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Paul Ford and Lillian Gish) have come to Haiti to establish a vegetarian center, but their naïveté is quickly blown away by what they see and experience. Major H.O. Jones (Alec Guinnes), a flim-flam man (and self-proclaimed World War Two veteran of Burma), is a disaster from start to finish, but even he makes definite choices along the way. Dr. Magiot (James Earl Jones), Henri Philipot (Georg Stanford Brown) and barman Joseph (Douta Seck), all Haitian born, decide to attempt direct opposition against Papa Doc's Tonton Macoutes, regardless of the extreme danger in so doing. Brown (Richard Burton) is the manager of a quaint hotel bequeathed to him by his mother. His world, along with the other Haitian characters (who are also his compadres to varying degrees), is on the chopping block if he remains in country. To further complicate matters, he's been having a love affair with the South American ambassador's wife. His decisions are made on a more willy nilly basis as push comes to shove.

Greene seems to be asking this not only of his characters but of all of us: What would Jesus do? What would the Buddha do? What would Marx have you do? How about Papa Legba? Or Mary? In your life when confronted with such choices, what will you do?

Today's Rune: Fertility/The Mystery Rune.              

Graham Greene's The Comedians, Part I

Graham Greene's The Comedians, a 1966 novel set in Haiti, was transformed into a movie by Peter Glenville in 1967 -- working from the screenplay adaptation conjured up by Greene himself. A writer's dream. The movie version turns out to be not only good but also scary and conciousneness raising. The setting is Haiti as it comes increasingly under the control of Papa Doc Duvalier and his murderous enforcers, the Tonton Macoutes.   

   

The cast of The Comedians is stellar. Of course, there's the real-life chemistry of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor; but there are also memorable performances by James Earl Jones, Roscoe Lee Browne, Georg Stanford Brown, Cicely Tyson, Gloria Foster, Raymond St. Jacques, Peter Ustinov, Zakes Mokae, Lillian Gish, Paul Ford and Alec Guinness -- ten years before Jones' voice would be lent to Darth Vader and Alec Guinness would portray Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Today's Rune: Possessions.       

Al Green on Stage at WinStar in the Chickasaw Nation

Al Green and his wall-of-sound backing group started off the bat with a tight rendition of "Take Me to the River."  The crowd -- coming to WinStar Casino in the Chickasaw Nation, just north of the Red River from places like Dallas-Fort Worth, Louisiana and other parts of Oklahoma -- erupted with delirious affirmation. A rough thunderstorm had passed just prior, delaying the start time by about forty minutes. We'd come out of shelters and back into tightly arranged seats in an auditorium that (The WinStar Global Event Center) holds about 3,000 people. The rest of the show was a hit, too.  

Seeing him perform, it was clear to me that 66-year old Al Green is very much his own man. However, he's also a compendium of other great male soul singers: Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and James Brown, to name a few, as highlighted in a medley of songs including Redding's "Dock of the Bay" and "I've Been Loving You Too Long (I Can't Stop Now)." The way he dramatically kept taking his coat off and putting it back on reminded me of James Brown. And he proffered long-stemmed red roses to members of the audience, a gesture I'd seen Mick Jagger perform at a Philadelphia show quite a few years back. His backing band and vocalists were important ingredients to the show. The Reverend Mr. Al Green introduced the backup singers as his daughters. They have powerful lungs and weirdly, their performance of "Take Me to the River" reminded me of a similar live performance of the song by Talking Heads, complete with similar backing vocals.  

As with Talking Heads, I'd seen Al Green at a show in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a while back (in the 1980s). To compare, his earlier performance was more laid back, and briefer, maybe forty-five minutes, short and sweet. Here, given the distance many had come to hear him, he lengthened the performance time to almost ninety minutes, in part through medley, banter and the inclusion of traditional "sing along" songs. I doubt anyone went away disappointed, especially not after Al and band covered many of his own songs, dynamite material ranging from the aforesaid "Take Me to the River" to "Let's Stay Together."

A little more about WinStar Casino. It's the biggest casino complex I've ever experienced. It's quite a walk from one end to the other -- indeed, those who need assistance can be conveyed by golf cart. Each section is devoted to a geographic theme: Beijing, Paris, Cairo, London, Vienna, and Rome, for example. It feels like being inside a gigantic space ship with all the whistles and bells, a very science fiction milieu. After the concert heading through again on Friday night, the place was bustling with people and energy. Wild and very different from run of the mill living.

Today's Rune: Harvest.       

Comes and Goes in Threes

Fare thee well of three to tell: Ben Gazzara (1930-2012) -- pictured above left in a still from John Cassavetes' Opening Night (1977), with Gena Rowlands and Cassavetes; Don Cornelius (1936-2012); and Mike Kelley (1954-2012).  

Here's one of my favorite moments in all of Soul Train: after Don Cornelius speaks with James Brown, he introduces Al Sharpton,"an astouding young brother" -- then 19 going on 39 -- who's there to give a presentation as National Director of the National Youth Movement, Incorporated. "And what do we have here?" Cornelius asks of Sharpton, who proceeds to award Brown a "Black Record" for his gold record, "The Payback." Sharpton observes, "We feel 'The Payback' is sort of like the theme song for young black America in 1974."

Mike Kelley, Detroit-connected member of Destroy All Monsters and independent artist, went out with a bang within 24 hours of Don Cornelius. Kind of extra eerie when you consider the cover of the Destroy All Monsters CD, November 22 1963 (2007 import). When I see samples of his installation work, I'm reminded of Detroit's Tyree Guyton and the Heidelberg Project.

Today's Rune: Harvest.