Written and performed by Ultravox in 1977 from their album Ha! Ha! Ha!, the existential angst of those times absolutely represents our reality today as well! Wally Jericho's brilliantly distorted guitar encapsulates the din in our society of dread, insecurity and apprehension, as fear increasingly rules our lives. We are the people who die every day...
Read More"Jikela Emaweni" (often "Jikele Maweni" or "Jikela Emaweni Hamba") is a traditional Xhosa folk song famously recorded by Miriam Makeba in 1960. The song, which often refers to "turning around the cliff" or going to the mines, is a staple of South African music and frequently performed. Here I blended the Fezeka School Choir's (Gugulethu, Cape Town) a cappella version with my own musical composition, using African rhythm and percussion instruments (including vuvuzelas!)
Read MoreIt's herring season around Vancouver Island and the local gentle giants gather and wait on the rocky beaches for the murmuration mass of fish that descends on these shores annually... The sea lions were found on the beach in Jack Point Biggs Park and the forestry elements were shot in the park as well.
Read MoreThe bright lure of freedom diminishes your life’s joy in a mad scramble for power… Greed, deception, abuse of power… that’s no plan… Greed is for amateurs. Disorder, chaos, anarchy, now that’s fun! People should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people… They used to say that artists used lies to tell the truth, while politicians used them to cover the truth up... Ever dance with the devil in the pale moon light? Sometimes you have to lose yourself, before you can find anything… Life is pain… anyone who says differently is selling something…
Read MoreHad a run-in with Immigration... no beer, no cigarettes, no whisky... welcome to the 20s, 30s... nothing is affordable... welcome to the U.S. 1930s... cops can't catch criminals... we put them in power instead... cast aside the over-inflation theory of panic... while we live in the streets... no beer, no cigarettes, no whisky...
Read MoreInspired by the 1958 political novel by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer, that depicts the failures of the U.S. diplomatic corps in Southeast Asia, also made into a 1963 film starring Marlon Brando. Here I've used Banksy's politically pointed and poignantly provocative street art to emphasize the point. History teaches us lessons. If we don't pay attention, history will repeat itself...
Read MoreMy old man had a philosophy, peace means having a bigger stick than the other guy. It’s a fine line between standing behind a principal and hiding behind one. After all, if our national leaders were elected on the basis of tricky slogans, brass bands and pretty girls, our country would be in a terrible mess, wouldn’t it? I’m a politician which means I’m a cheat and a liar, when I’m not kissing babies, I’m stealing their lollipops, but it also means I keep my options open. My philosophy is to shoot first and ask questions later. World domination, the same old dream, our asylums are full people who think they’re Napoleon or god.
Read MoreDALAI LAMA: The world doesn't belong to leaders. The world belongs to all humanity. JOHN LENNON: Declare it. Just the same way we declare war, that is how we will have peace. DALAI LAMA: My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness. JOHN LENNON: Everybody loves you when you're six foot in the ground. NINA SIMONE: This is the world you've made yourself. Now you have to live it. BOB MARLEY: One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain. Forget your troubles and dance.
Read MoreEveryone seems to love cat videos, so here is mine. But call it more a tribute to famous 60s & 70s singer & actress Freda Payne, renown for her vocal virtuosity. She is captured here in rare scat form. Also featured are rappers Narrating Benjamin & Anticalm. Music for your cats. Dedicated to Cleo & Jazzy.
Read MoreCumbia is a genre of Latin American music and dance that originated in Colombia, a blend of African, Indigenous, and European musical elements, that has spread throughout Latin America and beyond. Ayahuasca (pronounced 'eye-ah-WAH-ska') is a plant-based psychedelic, affecting all the senses, altering a person's thinking, sense of time, emotions and can cause hallucinations. Many people from all over the world travel to South & Central America and elsewhere to use it in hopes of “spiritual cleansing” and for personal and emotional growth. Cumbia Ayahuasca is a musical & visual journey...
Read More“Perhaps tomorrow we will no longer carry this weight on our shoulders, when the powers that be awaken in the living force of the people, who are tired of rebuilding the rubble, when voices unite and shout, ‘Enough waiting!’ and fear dissipates and thus, we can conquer what we call freedom…”
Read MoreViolence is on the rise... war, insurgency, genocide, random killings... Haiti, Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar, Yemen, Eastern Europe and on the very streets of the world's capitals... Beware... our past is catching up to us... Vocal/Words by Svend Christensen (Anger)
Read MoreThe prairie is on fire. Endangered species are on the run. There is only one place to hide... The Underneath. As human history reverses itself, metaphysical challenges and planetary geological instability force us to ask tough questions, to look for answers where none can be found. Perhaps it is time to retreat and consider other options...
Read MoreFinally on board, settle into the long red eye ahead, close your eyes as the sun sets and lights dim and sleep sets in, Rapid Eye Movement on a journey through spacetime, a dream world all its own... And, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!
Read MoreBhangra (Punjabi: ਭੰਗੜਾ) is a type of traditional folk dance of Punjab area of the Indian subcontinent. Bhangra is especially associated with the vernal Vaisakhi festival. This is an abstract interpretation, a tribute and a surreal journey to that expansive realm of amazing music...
Read MoreFreedom is never free, one cannot measure, weigh or tally up its cost. If there is no tomorrow, then there never was a today... because good things don't come to those that wait. Time beckons us all, into infinity, that last step... wherever you go, there you are...
Read MoreHaving visited Belgium recently and more specifically, the Magritte Museum in Brussels, this pithy jazz nugget is dedicated to that museum and the wonderful people of Belgium, who enjoy a great historical sense of the absurd and they love jazz! To see out 2024, this video is an (hopefully) humourous tribute to René Magritte and surrealism in general...
Read MoreThe recent US election made me think of the Old West, that idealized dream world of mostly fictional heroes and villains, memories fixed as truth by years of watching Hollywood movies. We now enter a new era, where ALL is fictional and the 'truth' delivered to us is parsed, par-boiled and plucked apart from the cold reality we knew and the warmth we hoped for. Spiro Agnew's remarks (from the Vietnam War) seem eerily appropriate for today...
Read More"When there's rain from the sky you can't see my tears... I try to hide all the pain so you can't see my tears..."
Read MoreThe world is a rollercoaster, on a never-ending track, forever careening towards armageddon, but never quite getting there, leaving us to lean left or right at every sudden corner, anxious on the climbs and terrified on the descents, we long for sleep and dream of a life long ago...
Read MoreThe on going retaliatory wars of the Middle East inspired me to revisit the works of the great and controversial French author Louie-Ferdinand Céline, especially "Journey To The End Of The Night'' and "Death On The Installment Plan", where he explores the themes of survival in a hostile world.
Read MoreIt's an underground jungle nightclub from a surreal Wind in the Willows world, one that even Mr. Badger never heard of. This jazz palace was created using Midjourney constructed players, a tinkering with AI stills, as it were. Wally Jericho adds his unique spice to the mix, blowing surreal and punchy lines throughout this wonderful performance...
Read More"Drum and Bass tableaus percolate abstractly across time and space, in Dj fezzbone's latest opus, speculation replacing recognition on this joyous ride of serendipity." Lawrence R. Woodsman
Read MoreSummer has arrived! And despite all the chaos, confusion and desperation in this world, joy rises in song and voices ring out - life is now! Grab it while you can! Together we can overcome...
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