Brothers and sisters, next time you get pissed at your brother or sister, pull up this clip and see if you can make it past the 2:26 mark without getting some perspective.
If that don’t work, try dusting off your Hummel figurines while playing a Gentle Giant album.
And then Richie, Richie said, “Hey man, let’s dress up like cops, see what we can do!”
Something, something said, “You better not.”
– Television, “Venus de Milo”
I’ve been thinking about these lines from Television’s “Venus de Milo” since details of the Boston Marathon Bombing and post-bombing reign of terror emerged. I believe the lines refer to an actual prank that old high school friends Richard Meyers and Tom Miller (later known by the surnames Hell and Verlaine, respectively) considered pulling. I’ve been thinking about these lines, because I can’t shake the feeling that the Tsarnaev borthers’ motivation for their recent acts of terror were partially fueled by similarly idiotic notions that usually are quelled by that voice saying, “You better not.”
Call me cynically naive—or naively cynical—but I’ve been a little bugged by the backflips the media, some politicians, and people around me are doing to tie the acts of domestic terrorism the Tsarnaev brothers committed into broader, organized efforts of FOREIGN TERRORISTS. I’m not saying all possible ties shouldn’t be investigated nor that the influence of international terrorist and other political/religious zealotry was absent from their acts, but as a Boston columnist named Kevin Cullen pointed out on an interview I heard on Philadelphia’s WHYY radio last week, these brothers pretty much grew up in America, as part of our culture.
“We ask,” he said at one point, “‘Why do they hate us?’ The ‘us’ is us.”
Sounds of the Hall in roughly 33 1/3 minutes!
My Sunday-themed episode of SNSI was already in the chute and ready to go before the events of last Monday afternoon. In the aftermath, I decided to postpone that episode in favor of a tribute to the great city of Boston. As the week went by, I questioned whether to go ahead with the Boston episode in case there were those still affected by the events or those that might be overwhelmed with the deluge of constant media updates. With the city and surrounding areas still healing I thought that the tribute episode might be “too soon.”
So, I’ve decided to return to my Sunday-themed episode and graft the tribute to the end of that episode. So if you wish not to listen to the Boston episode simply stop the show after the RTH “bumper” following the Etta James song. I chose not to talk and simply play some great songs. The Boston episode is by no means complete or definitive and should not be taken as such. It draws heavily on songs and bands that are familiar.
It isn’t unusual to make some personal connection when tragedies like this happen. Perhaps you have lived in Boston, or walked down some of the streets where the bombings took place. Maybe you know someone who was there on Monday. For me it wasn’t simply that I am a marathon runner, but rather that my wife is always waiting for me at the finish line. I’m even more determined in the future to one day cross that finish line in Boston and see her waiting there.
Life is fragile, but our common resolve to make this world worth living will forever be strong.
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Eno, heal thyself!
Only in the cruise-control world of Brian Eno can this become a reality!
The £35 million hospital is the first to incorporate Eno’s installations, which aim to evoke a “serene atmosphere” and enhance the hospital’s “three dimensional, all-embracing means of treating patients”, in its architectural design.
This is kind of cool on many levels, but at the same time I can’t help but crack up at the notion of “regular people” with tubes shoved in their orifices being force-fed Eno’s highbrow Muzak and light show. And will this stuff be heard over all the machines buzzing and beeping and hospital staff coming in and out of rooms?
These are days of disturbance and anxiety, but this little teaser of a groove is having a fortifying and optimistic effect on me, I hope it does on you too.
Peace Warriors, unite. Can we recapture the unfulfilled promise of this Eric Burdon & War performance and take it to the next level? I think we can. I think we can… Meet me in Copenhagen if you believe.
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