The astrology of Lou’s NPR moonchild "episode", I think.

[essgee09]

Not hippies?J has an east indian guru and has no trouble expressing his love for Zeppelin and Deep Purple.He even wanted Ian Paice to join Dino after Murph left in the `90s!
I was thinking about Miles Davis in the `80s.His records were lame and so were the gigs.It was`nt the old Miles that made the crazy shit in the past.It was more than autopilot,he just did`nt care and he was playing it safe.I`m grateful Beyond and Farm are great records even if the live shows are`nt what they could be.

[King Tubby]

"essgee09" wrote:

Not hippies?J has an east indian guru and has no trouble expressing his love for Zeppelin and Deep Purple.He even wanted Ian Paice to join Dino after Murph left in the `90s!
I was thinking about Miles Davis in the `80s.His records were lame and so were the gigs.It was`nt the old Miles that made the crazy shit in the past.It was more than autopilot,he just did`nt care and he was playing it safe.I`m grateful Beyond and Farm are great records even if the live shows are`nt what they could be.

Having an Indian guru and liking ’70s rock doesn’t automatically make one a hippie. It’s your attitude towards the world that makes one of hippie, a punk, or whatever else. J’s a hardcore brat through and through, middle-aged girth and long hair notwithstanding. It’s where his twisted and caustic sense of humor comes from. He’s just mellowed with age a bit, just like the rest of us have. Some old punks smoke lots of weed and become dubheads (like me); others get a guru.

Then again, to really understand this you had to have been around when the only band that punks and metalheads could agree on was Motorhead, and when such tribal loyalties could be physically fought over. It sounds dumb, and in fact it was dumb, but it did shape the attitudes of those of us who were involved in it at the time.

The Miles comparison isn’t a good one. Miles was making SHIT pop music in the ’80s in a deliberate attempt to sell records to an undiscerning public. The Ramones are a better comparison, who transformed from a vitally energetic band into an autopilot touring machine around 1983. But I have yet to see a Dino show that has coasted along on that degree of autopilot. I think they just need to make it through this (looooooong) tour and take a substantial break. But I’ve been saying that for the last couple of years (in hope of a full-on Schools/Spence Fog stint), and the band nonetheless keeps on touring and touring.

[Annastefka]

"King Tubby" wrote:

Lou and J grew up on the hardcore scene (as did I), so ridiculous tempo changes and occasional "fuck you" attitudes to their audiences are in their blood. I totally get it. They’re certainly not hippies.

That’s a good point Tubby…I really like how you can take your thoughts and boil them down into two or three sentences…well said….you know…I just ramble with my words….I aspire someday to consolidate. That said…

I think some gratitude is in order…Do you know how many musicians, good musicians…heck…great musicians are out in the world unable to make a good living off of playing music? They are still working hanging drywall or behind the counter at Kinko’s during the day..actually here in Athens mostly their wives are working 8 and 10 hour days so the bills can be paid on time..come on…..and imho, it’s by the Grace of God, or the kindness of the Universe, whatever you want to call it…. that these guys are able to make some good money right now doing what they are doing. Sure, there is ambition and I have no doubt that it takes a fair amount of that to really make things happen, self determination needs to reach up to grab the "flow of grace" for sure….call me a hippie but I would certainly be taking a little time out of my day to humble myself and be thankful. Cocky doesn’t cut it for me because when you live in the country like I do, you see what happens to cocky. Cocky gets culled to make room for the younger, stronger and better behaved cock every damn day. You can’t give a cock away around here and if he is real cocky, like pestering everybody, he is the first to go…. .. "Oh, go ahead and strut your stuff buddy ’cause your days are numbered" I’ll say it out loud on my way to the compost pile, go ahead little bird and run after folks with your aggression and just see where it gets you … I was never into hardcore music….I like metal, like Motorhead, you know…but not hardcore music. I was more into music like Van Morrison and Levon Helm…that kind of stuff. Groovy and laid back.
I did go to some hardcore shows while living in NYC in the ’80’s and I wasn’t paying $30 bucks to get in the door…you know what I mean?

I sort of miss the old J and his guitar…..there is a video of J, I think it is one of my favorite videos of any Dinosaur JR song thats out there. OMG….it’s so good..and I’m going to post the link. When you watch it, Notice the eye contact, especially with George…he is playing but he is also taking the time to connect…he is looking this away and that away. They are all connecting. J is way out of his "hide- y hole" Both J and George are doing a lot of "teeth clenching" you know, that kind of grimace face. That look happens when you need to force your energy down into your lower chakras …that is where passion and strength are found. Now, I have already had a "Gemini Episode" and written too much crap but try and hang with me for just a few more moments. Think about hitting a baseball or tennis ball, if you are playing with passion..playing to win…you are going to have to push energy down into your gut to really get the power behind it. Watch a major league player get ready to hit a ball. That sort of clenching or grimacing is a sure sign that there is power and passion behind something. Take the time to do it right now…if you clench or grimace hard you can feel your second chakra, that tightening you feel in your lower belly, that is the chakra of power and passion. J used to play guitar from this chakra..and I tell you the crowd could pick up on that…you could feel it.
I would ask anyone who can to take the time to watch this…..this is why I fell in love with J and his guitar…The funny thing is….at one point during the song J almost seems like "he don’t know what the hell he doing" as they say around these parts. It doesn’t matter because it’s his song….and it is PERFECT and Lou Barlow, if you look at the shots of the crowd..no one is jumping around because they are too..slack-jawed from the onslaught of passion that is coming from J’s obvious love affair with his guitar. That’s it….what more do I need to say. Watch this video of Sludgefeast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnImVkzEzI8 rnImVkzEzI8

That constant rocking from the hips that J is doing is connecting to that chakra as well, in fact, when you need to activate the second or third….rocking forward with your hips is like one of the first exercises that one learns. J is constantly pushing power in this video. AT 4:36 you find a wonderful tempo change…that goes over real well.

Now compare that video to one shot from the other night in Columbus, Ohio that was posted here on Freakscene you can watch it here again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YElgs4Z5sb8&feature=player_embedded# YElgs4Z5 … _embedded#

and I just have to say…"I Swear for Dog" there is not one single bit of eye contact between any of them. Nothing. No first, second or even third chakra activation. In fact, if you notice during J’s solo at (I forget the point, and Gosh knows I really don’t want to go back) but somewhere inside the early two minute mark, his head is bent forward at the neck and that is pushing power into the third eye chakra so he is now "thinking" about what he is doing instead of feeling it.
Now….I love this music…and I ask myself why am I being so critical, I’ll never be on the Dinosaur Jr. Christmas card list now for sure…but the reason why is…I don’t want to be berated for having a lack of passion…OKAY…okay. I’m calm now. In fact, someone commented on the lamness of the crowd in Columbus, Ohio…after watching that video….I again have to look up at the ceiling, but this time with my finger on my chin…while making the sound "hmmmmmmm". I feel sort of bad for dogging on Murph about the timing thing…because now I’m thinking it could be a problem with their fearless Sagittarius leader and a huge lack of passion. I am soooo just saying. I mean, Kudos to Lou, he is still trying to pull some passion out of this thing….I do notice the effort. I hope everyone in this band gets some down time soon and uses it to re-activate.
Hey…I love FARM…..it’s in heavy rotation………..I mean heavy-heavy around here.

Had to edit…because Tubby and I posted at the same time and both included the words Motorhead, hippies and downtime in our posts…ha,ha that’s funny. What’s a dubhead..I will have to look that up. Oh, bummer, I must run out into the real world now and I’ll be gone all day. I’ll have to catch up later. Peace and incense…..

[Annastefka]

I feel like supper is over and I’ve moved my plate forward, thrown my napkin on it and now am getting up and pushing in my chair. I’ve said my piece but….now a few days later…I started thinking about a few things.
One of those things is…I have been making extra money making very special foods for our local farmers market. I make food using ingredients I purchase from local growers, all organic….butternut squash empanadas, potato samosas, quince pastries, blueberry tarts, spinach triangles with yummy organic feta cheese and a "Georgia Baklava" using local nuts and honey I get right down the road. (yum,yum sounds good right) Now that the holidays are right around the corner…I’m starting to get calls for catering parties…which rocks because I have so many kids and Christmas gets expensive even for someone like me who doesn’t like to get caught up in "consumer fetishism". When it comes to "consumer fetishism", actions speak louder than words and my husband reminds me all the time that I am a very "wordy" person. YIkes, all that said…I have to admit…I am so over cooking right now….I can’t even stand to look at another butternut squash…and pecans, I’m starting to hate them with a passion. I had a woman on the phone with me yesterday and she was doing the talking thing, just like I like to do, saying "We just love everything you do….we promised our son when he came home at Thanksgiving we would have some of your stuff waiting for him" "Do you give out any recipes" and the whole time I was thinking…"OMG…this is what I sound like when I get on a talking jag….please just make her get off the phone with me" and I was feeling all of this and she is a good "paying customer". I said this morning that I don’t want to do it anymore…I can’t…peel another potato…clean another sink full of spinach covered with Georgia red dirt..I just can’t look at it.
So Tubby is correct…this Dinosaur Jr run has really just been a bit long….that’s probably it!

Also, a few times in my life…really like only two or three, I have picked up an electric guitar, I was surprised by the weight, they are much heavier than acoustic ones….once out in Dan Dudleys Studio, I put an electic guitar on my body, with the strap and all…and I kept it there for about 15 minutes and it was so uncomfortable for me. This was without moving my arms to play any notes….I remember thinking….I couldn’t do this for an hour or more…and night after night after night. Lord help drummers as well…I’ve told the story here before but it’s a good one…John Bonham and I share the same birthday, and I actually can carry on some nice beats on the congas….so I was thinking…I bet I could learn to play the drums with a drum kit….and I could be really really good very fast. We have a wonderful drummer here in town…named Joe Ellison (love ya’ Joe) and a few times he tried to teach me some stuff….beats and crossovers…he would let us (myself and kids)sit on his lap and hold our hands until we got the right idea…he would do the pedal work…and I was blow away by how difficult it is. I could never make it through one song…not one whole song and hold a beat…no way…..not only is it very physical work but the mental part was the killer for me…I’m sure it gets better when you no longer have to "think" about what you are doing but I would never get to that point. I just wanted to learn to play one song….and after 60 seconds or so that was it….not fun for me anymore…I see bass players…shaking out arms all the time during shows…ouch!
I can’t imagine doing that night after freakin’ night…ARE YOU KIDDING ME…it’s almost insane. This is not an easy way to make a living…it might be an exciting way or an interesting way…but it’s not easy. Top that off with screwing with your circadian rhythm for months and years on end and eating food that is not cooked with love by anyone you know…and last but not least…dealing with a "bar" crowd. I can’t imagine having to sell my empanadas to folks who were drunk, yelling "WE WANT GUYABA PASTRIES" (I use to make those but I don’t anymore) and hurling water bottles at me. (I got that from looking at Noels blog with the photograph of J wrapping his electronics in plastic wrap…the blog said "to protect it from flying water bottles" I would cry…I so want to cry right now just thinking about it. I also hate hotel rooms but I think I’m the only one..my kids think they are the coolest thing in the whole world…My daughter Liliana says she wants to live in a hotel when she gets older…I hope she is thinking The Westin with a concierge and not thinking the Super 8. Of Course, I also don’t exspect J to be able to move as fast as he could when that Sludgefeast video was made…14 years ago, give or take but you know what I’m talking about when I say…..a little flat these days.

I decided that I understand being tired….that things aren’t as easy as they seem and that I probably should have removed the telephone pole before attempting to remove the splinter.

[essgee09]

Yeah the guitar is too heavy for me too.I guess these people get used to the weight of the instruments and just playing for so long but it must be straining or hurting something.Phil Collins can`t drum anymore because his spinal chord is crushing his vertabrae(or the other way around).He can still sing he says

[xindeed]

i think they’re good.

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