THE ALARMING JUXTAPOSITION

The Triumph of the Human Spirit

WOMAN

      is

MOTHER

      is

NATURE

      is

   LIFE

The Spiritual Breakdown of Humans

AM : Herr Sultan 3 billion euros to stop refugees

RTE : 3 billion euros? You drive a hard bargain   

          guzel! How much per head does that come 

          to? Mehmeeeeeet! Tell the slave to bring

          some of our fine turkish coffee. We shall

          enjoy our coffee in golden cups, on the 

          golden coffee table while we sit on the

          golden thrones...eer chairs. So how much 

          per head, guzel?

AM : Need to go to the toilet herr Sultan...

RTE: It's down the corridor guzel Merkel. Don't

         use too much of the golden paper, it's

         expensive...

                                                                                    

Not the executioner will scare me
Nor the hate and torture
Nor the barrels of death's rifles
Nor the shadows on the wall

Nor the night
when the last star of pain is falling down

But the blind indifference
of the merciless world

"Ikke Bødlen"              (Halfdan Rasmussen)          

BEST MUSIC OF 2015

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Abyss by Chelsea Wolfe

A quite personal and dark affair, excruciatingly heavy and doomy
at times. Chelsea Wolf said in an interview that she makes her guitar go places where her voice cannot. She also understands music dynamics and her compositions resemble a rudderless vessel at the mercy of tsunami waves. There is a certain hollowness you feel inside when the music's over. Wolfe's unconventional vision has created a masterful album teetering between the avant garde
and accessibility, the best album of 2015!






"Primrose Green" by RYLEY WALKER

Riley's old fashioned finger style acoustic guitar style, although owing plenty to the 60s British masters, is enchantingly and elegantly understated with rich psychedelic harmonic overtones colouring the airwaves that tickle the ears. Seriously unique...








"Psychic Warfare" by CLUTCH

The old headbanger in you will have a tough time keeping up with this one. You will get a sore neck because Clutch have evolved into a mean furious machine. Stoner? Nah, just hard hitting roc n' roll...









"Universal Themes" by SUN KIL MOON

Mark Kozelek is genius! "Benji" may have gotten better reviews but I find this one more intriguing. It's cool to experiment but it's cooler to experiment and get results. It is immeasurably difficult to deliver this stream-of-consciousness lyrical style with such confident and exhilarating storytelling. Amazing vocal delivery as he shifts from shouty to spoken effortlessly. A work of avant art...






"Tomorrow Is My Turn" by RHIANNON GIDDENS

Take a super talented member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and put her in a studio with supreme producer T Bone Burnett and you will get a timeless, knowledgeable masterpiece that reaches out to the blues, jazz, country and gospel. Giddens has impeccable knowledge (let alone taste) of the roots of American music. Hauntingly graceful she may be the most talented of her generation...




"Below The Belt" by JAMES LEG

James Leg (John Wesley Myers) is like a man possessed as he continues to preach his hyper garage punk blues (like he did with Black Diamond Heavies). Really, who needs a guitar when a distorted Fender Rhodes sounds so devilish! His Tom Waitsian voice adds more to the shambolic nature. A close listen will reveal just how excellent an instrumentalist he is. Check out the infectious southern rock/mariachi Casa de Fuego. It will make you hit the repeat button until you run out of fingerprints!




"Love, Fear And The Time Machine" by RIVERSIDE

Marius Duda has perfected the Gilmour-ish side of Floyd. The elegance, the eloquence, the majestic gentleness that emanates from this work is unparalleled...if only David Gilmour was playing the guitar on this...








"Children Of The Night" by TRIBULATION

Swedish death metal. But wait, there are some goth undertones. And it has some proggy bits. Hey, there is some black metal feel about it, too. And what am I hearing? Is that old skool riffs?
It all blends together immaculately without holding back the forcefulness of this metal masterpiece...







"Hey Joe Opus Red Meat" by OTIS TAYLOR

Fancy a different take (or two) on Hey Joe?
It gets the atmospheric trance blues Otis Taylor treatment...










"Ashes & Dust" by WARREN HAYNES & RAILROAD EARTH

Does Warren ever take a break to rest? He definitely has the Midas Touch and can probably play anything. He can be as heavy as Metallica with Gov't Mule, reggae, southern rock jams...
Here he plays more acoustic than electric guitar with the much underrated Railroad Earth and the results are exceptional...







"Kyrr " by KONTINUUM

Paying tribute to fellow Icelanders Solstafir, Kontinuum switch direction to a more atmospheric and melancholic post goth metal. The sound of cold isolation.
There must be something in the water there in Iceland...








"Blue Room" ANA & MILTON POPOVIC

A pretty straightforward covers album but made with a bucketful of affection towards these songs....










RE-RELEASE OF THE YEAR
"Amused To Death" by ROGER WATERS


The best Pink Floyd album after The Wall...












SONG OF THE YEAR
"Long Strange Golden Road" by THE WATERBOYS

Mike Scott is the Bob Dylan of the UK. There are many autobiographical songs out there. "Alive" (PEARL JAM), "At Seventeen" (JANIS IAN), "Tangled Up In Blue" (BOB DYLAN), "Bedsitter Images" (AL STEWART), "The Loner" (NEIL YOUNG), "Coal Miner's Daughter" (LORETTA LYNN) to name a few. This eclipses most of them! Stunning delivery by Mike Scott backed by seasoned Nashville session men. And a hammond organ to die for...





Long Strange Golden Road

A CASE OF GULLIBILITY

The Bataclan was a place where Jeff Buckley wowed young impressionable girls with his handsome looks and soaring voice which he was still experimenting with, pushing the envelope. Sadly, he never
got the chance to realise and fully explore his immense potential.

The Bataclan today is known for the pop/alt/rock, Queens of the Stone Age offshoot, Eagles of Death Metal. And carnage.....
And unmanned drones spreading even more carnage "with the bravery of being out of range"(R.Waters).
It is crime for crime.
Religious dogmas have, since their inception, fed on the gullibility of humans. Political dogmas, the same...

Islam is rising
The Christians mobilising
The world is on its elbows and knees
It's forgotten the message and worships the creeds



"Armageddon Days Are Here"        (THE THE)





Ask anyone to prioritise human rights. You will probably get answers like "freedom", "food",
"work" etc
Actually, it can be argued, the first and utmost basic human right is the right to life itself.
And religious and political dogmas have blatantly disrespected the most basic of human rights through the ages. And they have done so because of the gullibility of human beings.
Commerce has thrived on the gullibility of human beings. Even personal relationships have been built and consequently shattered because of the gullibility embedded in the DNA of humans.

We cannot change the ways of humans. Maybe we should do away with dogmas. And a good way to start is with abolishing the religious ones....

But God didn't build himself that throne
God doesn't live in Israel or Rome
God doesn't belong to the Yankee dollar
God doesn't plant the bombs for Hezbollah
God doesn't even go to church
And God won't send us down to Allah to burn
No, God will remind us what we already know
That the human race is about to reap what it's sown

"Armageddon Days Are Here"       (THE THE)

AYLAN

Three days in a dinghy boat, battling against the waves

Twenty souls hanging on to dear life, in a boat designed for eight

Had my wife and two kids in a huddle as the violent waves grew fierce

There was stench of vomit, stench of urine, but worse the was the stench of fear

Caught a glimpse of the captain as he bailed out in to the sea

Guess he weighed up all his options, each man for himself and soon disappeared

I let go of my loved ones and grabbed the rudder instinctively

Turned around and my folk were gone, swallowed by the deep black sea

All my hopes, all my dreams, all my will is gone

Gone with the lifeless body of this child, washed up on the shore
3 years old, never kissed a girl, face down in the sand
3000 years won't be enough to wash the blood off of your hands

The place we left was nothing much, but it was the place that we called home

Till the sky cracked open and fire fell down and the tanks began to roar

Gave all my life's savings to secure a place for 4 on that dinghy boat
Off to some kinda promised land to start anew, a leap into the unknown

The full moon shone down on us and on our expectations too
A moon so unromantic, deadly relentless, a moon so insecure

All my faith, all my beliefs, all my intent is gone

Gone with the lifeless body of my child, washed up on the shore
And for the rest of my life as short as it may be, I'll be branded a refugee
But there ain't no refuge, ain't no asylum, for a ghost of a man like me

THE GREEK SLAPSTICK AND EUROPEAN BURLESQUE SHOW

Emotional beings.
Erratic beings.
Human beings.

You may have countless degrees from the finest educational institutions in the world.
You may hold the most coveted and respected positions in politics.
You may have the benefit of experience in diverse situations.
But,
If you cannot control your emotions on one hand and you can't deter idealism and dogma from driving you blind on the other,
you CANNOT make rational decisions.
Oh, and, by the way, a bit of higher IQ could come in handy….

The big boys from the EU, the lion tamers of this circus, have shown monumental inadequacy and blurred vision. They probably don't want a young leftist stirring unrest in the house. NOTHING worth having comes without some kind of FIGHT. And they pull on the rope...

It's our tradition to control
Like Erich Honecker and Helmut Kohl
From the Ukraine to the Rhone
Sweet home uber alles, Lord, I'm coming Home
Come on, sugar daddy bring me home



"Sugar Daddy"                            (HEDVIG)




Flying the flag of democracy (which, try as I might, I have failed to detect in Europe, let alone the rest of the world) the leftist clown of the circus has shown monumental inadequacy and blurred vision.
Democracy über alles (with the true meaning of the words) is a utopian expression as long as politicians (or even maybe, humans) implement it. And he pulls on the rope…

This is not a black and white world
To be a live, the colours must swirl
And I believe that maybe today
We should all get to appreciate
The beauty of grey…



"The Beauty Of Grey"                (LIVE)



The common Euro currency was obviously built on sand. A single/united monetary policy but individual fiscal policy? In which educational institution did you learn this, oh great leaders?
One side is black and the other is white. But maybe granting Greece a hiatus from the Euro for a period of time, give them a change to devaluate and restructure and be a bit more competitive…
and re-enter. I mean, nobody lost their virility from abstaining from sex for 4-5 years. Maybe they get that crazy look in their eyes but that's about it...
But then again, you hold the degrees, not I…..

Who am I to judge the house that the wheelchair man built…
Who am I to judge the hapless leftist….aw FFS

Now, nobody lives forever
Nothin' stands the test of time
Oh, you heard 'em say "never say never"
But it's always best to keep it in mind
That every tower ever built tumbles
No matter how strong, no matter how tall
Someday even great walls crumble
And every idol ever raised falls
And SOMEDAY EVEN MEN'S BEST LAID PLANS
LIE TWISTED AND COVERED IN RUST
When we done all that we can
But it slipped through our hands
And it's ashes to ashes and dust to dust...

THE GATHERING OF THE PRIVILEGED

The most important headline of the last six months that hapless journalists around the world failed to highlight has nothing to do with war or disease.
It ain't Syria…
It ain't ISIS…
And it sure as hell ain't Ukraine…

This world is the playground of 1300 billionaires who own 75% of its wealth! This outcome of the new face of Capitalism that has monopoly written across its face has been bred by the vanity and greed of humans and it is the scariest thing these pair of ears have ever heard. Even more scary than Penderecki's
Threnody For The Victims Of Hiroshima.

Corporatism and globalisation form a lethal concoction. There's the "haves" and the "have-nots" with the latter harbouring utopian thoughts that the "haves" will share their spoils. They call this action a "redistribution of wealth". Words of course, at some point, tend to lose their meaning, like, where is the civility in civilisation so I wouldn't hold my breath on the redistribution front…

Redistribution will happen if and when things get ugly. And I imagine they will, maybe not soon, but they will… Much uglier….

Got my trophies on the wall
Heads I've hunted down the hall
And I guard my winnings well
Carry them with me when I go

"Lust For Power"      Justin Sullivan (NMA)














Working in a cubicle and have a name tag, they suck your lifeblood...
Working in marketing pushing their goods, you are sleeping with the devil…
It's called earning a living too, though…

Consume more than you need
This is the dream
Make you pauper
Or make you queen
I won't die lonely
I'll have it all prearranged
A grave that's deep and wide enough
For me and all my mountains o' things

"Mountains O' Things"     (TRACY CHAPMAN)




The sad thing is that Bruce Cockburn never came across that rocket launcher. Launch one on the G7 meeting. The G7…. these arrogant leaders of the most "advanced" economies in the world. They gather for annual meetings to discuss the fate of the have-nots…

INTERIOR                                  DINNER TABLE                                        EVENING

French President   : Madame Chancellor let me express my gratitude for the hospitality. The frog's legs
                                sauteed in lemon sauce ces't magnifique and let me commend you on your attire
                                too! It brings out the unsexiness in you…

German Chancellor : Oh monsieur President, danke…
     (blushing)

American President : Yeah, Mother Theresa ain't got nothing on her, harharhar… my goodness these
                                  caramelised baby mushrooms are heavenly…

English PM            :  This steak is soooo juicy…..

German Chancellor  : Mr Prime Minister you haven't touched your steak. Is there a problem with it? I
  (to Japanese PM)      can have them catch some raw fish from the lake outside…

English PM           : This steak is soooo juicy….

Italian PM             : So how about distributing some of the starving immigrants to you guys. This wine
                                e meraviglioso! Italian, right?

German Chancellor : Yes indeed, it is Italian. What was your other question Mr Prime Minister?

English PM             : This steak is sooo juicy…

Italian PM               : I was asking you about the immigrants…

English PM             : Can't a man enjoy his steak in peace? Why do you have to spoil it with silly
                                  demands….. sooooo juicy….

German Chancellor : Ready for sweets? You should try the chestnut and amaretto roulade…

American President : Holy Cow! Just to think we've been raising our kids on cherry pie…. This
                                  is so tasty….

English PM             : Delicious. I'll stuff my face with another helping…. What do you do with
                                  the leftovers madame Chancellor?

German Chancellor : In the garbage bin.  The poor cats feed on them…. I can have some in a
                                  container for you to stuff your face on the flight back my dear PM….

American President : Yeah, doggie bag for me too….

Canadian PM         : May I commend you on a lovely dinner madame Chancellor. My congratulations
                                 to the chef and the kitchen staff, you must be paying them well….

German Chancellor : Pittance really, they're only a bunch of immigrants……


So, when you come across that rocket launcher Mr Cockburn, please start with the G7 meeting.
And then move on to the Bilderberg meeting. The movers and shakers of the world. These people are close to 100 so you will probably need two rocket launchers. Oh, and I hear Kissinger is still attending and actually hasn't missed a single meeting. To be honest I'm surprised he is still alive. So make it three launchers just to be on the safe side…..

                             

I have to raise every voice
At least I've got to try
Every time I think about it
Water rises to my eyes

Situation desperate
Echoes of the victims cries
If I had a rocket launcher
Some sonofabitch would die


"If I Had A Rocket Launcher"
(BRUCE COCKBURN)

LEFTOVERS & COCAINE

With all respect to harlots, this place reminds me of the Rise and Fall of Bordelloland.

Ever since the inception of this bordello republic, the elitists and the nepotists have sucked the blood dry from it's veins, turning people into the impoverished and desperate yet hapless primates they have become. We are at the last few drops of blood, the leftovers, so, these few bloodsuckers are at each others throats. For the leftovers….live on TV…

My mother tells me tales of how her mother ordered her to chew bread when she was only a child to feed her newborn brother. Technology and welfare have progressed since those days, civility has not…

If I cannot sell you the "leftovers" idea, then how about the cocaine conspiracy theory?
A month or so ago, YKAN (the drug enforcement agency of bordelloland) managed to confiscate 100 kilos of cocaine. Now, a keen mind will point out that 100 K's of coke for an island with less than one million population is a lot of white dust. Check that, it's a HELL OF A LOT of white dust. Makes me wonder…do they snort half of it and the rest they use it to bathe the famous Yeroskipou lokkumia (traditional sweets) in? Or maybe slap some on the faces of politicians before they go on TV making them look like kourabiedes (traditional Xmas sweets). I mean, makes the assistant attorney general with make up look like an extra from "Night of the Living Dead".
Cocaine is not a cheap drug if you can't get a high from music and wine. A doobie will cost 20 Euros?
1 gm of cocaine is over 100 Euros so who is using it? Those who can afford it, of course. In Cyprus,
it's most of the "well off". We are talking Doctors, Lawyers, Politicians, Businessmen (who haven't gone under)… A nose diaphragm test will prove it. So, take away 100 K's from these people and they will go at each other's throats… Conspiracy theory over.

In truck stops and hamburger joints
In Cadillac limousines
In the company of has beens
And bent-backs and sleeping forms
On pavement steps
In libraries and railway stations
In books and banks
In the pages of history
In suicidal cavalry attacks
I recognise…
Myself in every stranger's eyes

And in wheelchairs by monuments
Under tube trains and commuter accidents
In council care and county courts
In drawing rooms and city morgues
In award winning photographs
Of life rafts in the China seas
In transit camps, under arc lamps
On unloading ramps
In faces blurred by rubber stamps
I recognise…
Myself in every stranger's eyes

And now from where I stand
Upon this hill I plundered from the pool
I look around, I search the skies
I shade my eyes, so nearly blind
And I see signs of half remembered days
I hear bells that chime in strange familiar ways
I recognise…
The hope you kindle in your eyes


5.06 AM (EVERY STRANGER'S EYES)
                                             Roger Waters




So hold on to the ones dear to you. Hold on tightly...