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Bluegrass radio
Christmas was a coming, and it was a jumping. As always, put on John Fahey's Christmas slow motion bicycle frolic music - and was struck as well, by another Fahey opus, having discovered a late record, post-humus, I guess, that may be called 'Red Cross.' In homage to his late mission days. It's a drone. Very basic packaging does not readily give clue to the CD's title.
I saw Fahey in the year before he died, and hate to sound like a plebian, but he disappointed me, as he droned, looked so darn tired, was solely electric, and it was all a bit too ambient too me. That's the stuff on this Red Cross record, and it all sounds better I guess in the artistic format of the disk.
Fahey as heard back in Milwaukee was a solemn strange heavy, a blues researcher. A poet of blues especially in that he stretched the form to include some interesting European style inventions. In the 50s Spanish guitar was the one of the epitomes of cool and he had taken a diiferent hack at that same mood. But he could be lax - and drone on - I remember one Christmas unwrapping when my Dad said of John: "He's not earning his money." Which I now hear in the Christmas stuff at least sometimes. Thus, was not surprised to find in the liner notes to Red Cross that Fahey put down much of his old stuff.
Anyway he wrote a book before he died, and an excerpt is located at Furious.com. It's a sad tale, as he got in a pretty burnt out state on his way out - with some redemption and resolution perhaps at end, who can say? - but it shows the magic elixir radio at work as John discovers bluegrass in the air and sets off down the road.
"..I heard this horrible crazy sound. And I felt this insane mad feeling...it was the the bluesiest and most obnoxious thing I had ever heard. It was an attack of revolutionary terrorism on my nervous system through aesthetics...." And he was off into the arms of suspicious saviors: record collectors.
Related
Bluegrass Destroyed my Life
Excerpt .doc
John Fahey Red Cross - amazon
John Fahey Christmas - The New Possibility -amazon
As landers approach Mars, dust storms sited - NewSci, Dec 17, 2003
The dawn's early light on Christmas showed no signs of the British Marsb explorer Beagle. But, carry on Jack, the land crews were running through checklists. The Empire strikes back? Stay tuned? |
Displays via Ink Jet Printing
-NIST.gov Dec 18, 2003
Stellar Nursery
- SciOnline, Dec 19
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