From the Book of Tea:

The sympathetic communion of minds necessary for art appreciation must be based on mutual concession. The spectator must cultivate the proper attitude for receiving the message, as the artist must know how to impart it. The tea-master, Kobori-Enshiu, himself a daimyo, has left to us these memorable words: "Approach a great painting as thou wouldst approach a great prince." In order to understand a masterpiece, you must lay yourself low before it and await with bated breath its least utterance. An eminent Sung critic once made a charming confession. Said he: "In my young days I praised the master whose pictures I liked, but as my judgement matured I praised myself for liking what the masters had chosen to have me like." It is to be deplored that so few of us really take pains to study the moods of the masters. In our stubborn ignorance we refuse to render them this simple courtesy, and thus often miss the rich repast of beauty spread before our very eyes. A master has always something to offer, while we go hungry solely because of our own lack of appreciation.

This was written by Kakuzo Okakura (1862-1913) in a remarkable little book that I highly recommend. It's available at Amazon and at Project Gutenberg . (Hint: The copy at Project Gutenberg is a free download.)

I bring up this quote because I am now praising myself for liking what a master had chosen to have me like. I am a big Miles Davis fan. I particularly liked what Miles was doing when he went electric. In 1969 he started his electric heresy with In a Silent Way. Bitches Brew was a monster. But Miles lost me with On the Corner. Well, I am found. I just finished listening to On the Corner and it's incredible. I'm not sure I even played it all the way through when I first bought it 30 years ago. How I got to listening to this 30 year old masterpiece is another musical journey that I have been on in the last two days.

I have listened to a lot of music in these last two days so this will only be a summary. Details in the future when I have absorbed it more. My 19 year old son, Robby, is into dance, techno, trance, and who knows what all. I told him that this electronic shit isn't new. I have some Stockhausen (Stockhausen: Kontakte No12) that I used to listen to in the 60s that he should hear. (It's an old Deutsche Grammaphon recording without the pianos.) I did play Oxygène for him. "That was done before I was born?" Of course, I also have Switched-On Bach by Walter Carlos. The current version is by Wendy Carlos but mine is by Walter, when he still had a dick.

But that's old stuff. I really hadn't heard a any new electronic stuff that I like. Until yesterday.

I have a couple of interesting CDs that I will cover in detail some future time: L. Shankar's Soul Searcher and Apocalypse Across the Sky by the Master Musicians of Jajouka. They are both produced by Bill Laswell. I have read some about him. A very intersting person. He as been referred to as a "multi-talented, genre-busting, all-round superbeing". Can't beat that. Whatever he does is interesting. It turns out that EMusic has 11 Bill Laswell CDs. I downloaded several yesterday and was blown away. I went back this evening and downloaded the rest.

I did a Google search on Laswell and find out that he was influenced by Stockhausen and Miles Davis (among many others). The Miles Davis album that blew him away as a kid was On the Corner. Which is how I came about to drag it out and put it on the turntable.

But wait, there's more! A musician that Laswell seemed to collaborate with a lot is Jah Wobble. EMusic has 8 Jah Wobble CDs. Incredible stuff. I downloaded all 8. (Gotta love DSL.)

We're not through yet! Another name associated with Laswell is Pete Namlook. EMusic has 25 Peter Namlook CDs. I only downloaded one. I listened to it and will be back for the other 24.

My mind was reeling by this point. To clean the pallete, so to speak, I downloaded an interesting CD I saw listed at EMusic: North Folk Flyer by the Black Twig Pickers. The notes on the page said: The Pickers hail from the musically fertile Virginia-North Carolina line, playing traditional Appalachian bluegrass as "mountain ragas," to the accompaniment of night insects, passing trains, and the noise of wandering children. The music retains its charm of tradition while subverting any concept of standard bluegrass. It just made my mind reel more.

A little catching up on some weblogs will settle me down, says I. So I went off to wood s lot. Can I escape this music here? Nooooo. Mark has links to articles about DJ Spookey and his illbient music. This guy is a fucking genius! I tried to read it and there just wasn't any room in my head to absorb it so I have bookmarked them.

It gets worse! EMusic has 3 DJ Spooky CDs. I have all three now. Good shit!

I am undone.