Okay, here's one for all you fringewatchers out there. Buckle up. I'm warning you ...
For the last several years, I've been aware of some general weirdness lurking out in the hinterlands of reason. I first heard about the Mandela Effect late one night (or early one morning) on Art's Bell Coast to Coast radio show. That was back in the mid-2000s when I was pulling a second job with RGIS Inventory Specialists and driving home in the wee small hours of the morning. I vividly recall tuning in mid-show and listening for about twenty minutes while trying to piece together that night's topic. Something about thousands of people mis-remembering monumental events such as 9-11, Nelson Mandela's Death or The Challenger Disaster. Bell's guest, a very intense gentleman with a reedy voice, postulated that these incorrect or false memories were proof positive that our universe - the space-time continuum, if you will - is not exactly as it seems. Every day we file memories away in our mind, and for the most part these memories jibe with humanity's recorded history and consensus reality. However, in some instances, we remember some specific event - such as Nelson Mandela dying during the 1980s while in prison - only to learn later that our memory never truly happened. Of course, Bell's guest had some theories to explain this phenomenon he eponymously labeled as The Mandela Effect:
1) We're all living inside a virtual, simulated world - a huge computer program, if you will - a la The Matrix. When confronted by an incorrect memory, like Mandela's death in prison, we are actually encountering a "glitch in the Matrix." In other words, the computer program governing our sense of reality contains an error: two deaths for Nelson Mandela, one death in the 1980s, and one death in 2013. This theory goes on to propose that numerous such "glitches" are evident all around us if we just look for them, e.g. two dates for the Challenger Disaster, 1984 & 1986; a famous portrait of Henry VIII holding a turkey leg that never existed; two different spellings for the famous cartoon Bears, Berenstain and/or Berenstein; multiple or non-existent deaths for celebrities like Ernest Borgnine, Fidel Castro, Larry Hagman and Betty White.
2) Somewhere in our recent past, the wall separating our universe from another parallel universe collapsed. Because this cataclysm occurred on a quantum level between quarks and other subatomic particles, we never consciously sensed anything. As a result of this collision, the parallel universe melded with our universe, and two divergent and sometimes inconsistent timelines now exist side by side. Whenever our minds perceive these timeline anomalies, think of the common deja vu sensation, we filter out any anachronisms and explain away the weirdness with myriad rationalizations. The further we move away from the collision, the more our universe blends with the parallel universe, and the harder it becomes to remember our own separate history before the collision.
3) Time travel exists in our future. Time travelers from our future have traveled back to the past and altered various events, sometimes intentionally and sometimes by accident. These changes are called Time Shifts. When we mis-remember things like Mandela's death or the spelling of the Berenstain Bears, our minds are actually recalling our reality before a Time Shift occurred. This theory of the Mandela Effect dovetails quite nicely with the concept of The Butterfly Effect, which postulates that one small insignificant disturbance in the timeline - e.g. a butterfly flapping its wings - interacts with reality in such a way as to drastically alter history and create chronological hurricanes in the space-time continuum.
Now the skeptic in me dismissed all this stuff immediately when I heard it, filing it away in my mind for future reference along with hundreds of other kooky notions I've encountered over the years: hollow earths, fake moon landings, 9-11 conspiracies, falsified Obama birth certificates. Occasionally, I'd stumble across mentions of the Mandela Effect in my online reading, but I never really gave it much thought. Then, a week ago, I found myself musing about the Mandela Effect while perusing an article on The Simulation Hypothesis, an actual philosophical argument that pretty much fleshes out explanation 1) above. Later that same week, I was researching various schizophrenic delusions - namely Capgras & Cotard Delusions - and found myself considering the Mandela Effect again. And lastly, this morning I came across the Mandela Effect on Coast to Coast AM again. My curiosity suddenly re-piqued, I decided to do a little digging and re-familiarize myself on the weirdness.
And then it happened ...
I went through Art Bell's archives and discovered that the show I remember hearing around 2005-2006 never aired. According to the Coast to Coast AM website, Art's first shows addressing Time Slips occurred after my employment ended at RGIS. Hmmm. I dug more and came up with the program I remembered, but that aired in 2009. And the guests were Whitley Streiber and Starfire Tor, two pretty famous fringe authors that I am VERY familiar with. I couldn't find my reedy voiced man unless I went to shows in 2007 & 2009 with Lionel Fanthorpe, only he has a decidedly British accent that I don't recall at all. I also discovered that Fiona Broom first began writing about the phenomenon in 2005, but the term Mandela Effect itself did not originate until much later. Once again, well after I quit working late nights with RGIS.
Weird. Or is it ..?
Looking back on my life, I've been living with the Mandela Effect since my childhood. I don't know how many times our family dinner table discussions revolved around mis-remembered events or mis-appropriated deaths. A running joke for years debated the "dead or alive" status of actor Burgess Meredith. We all "knew" the Penguin kicked the bucket back in the early 80s, but then, lo and behold, he'd pop up in another Rocky sequel. The same thing with Elizabeth Taylor, Ernest Borgnine and most recently Kirk Douglas (still alive??) and Lloyd Bridges (dead??). In addition to mis-remembered deaths, my brothers and I also hotly contested the existence of TV episodes that we'd "seen at Grandma's," but never actually aired in our reality, i.e. the last Gilligan's Island where the castaways were rescued or the last Hogan's Heroes where WWII ended. I don't know why we only ever saw these episodes at my grandmother's house. Perhaps, her residence on Trowbridge Avenue existed in some nexus between parallel universes. Whatever the explanation, I'm sure my brothers and I could come up with dozens of more instances where our memories conflict with consensus reality and recorded history.
So what does this mean? Are we truly encountering glitches in a computer simulation, or remnants of a parallel universe, or time slips caused by errant time travelers? Or is the human mind just a relentless story-telling machine that continually reorganizes, revises and rewrites the interior monologue narrative we call life? I certainly don't claim to know the answer. I'm just positive Burgess Meredith died shortly after filming Rocky I. I know because I watched coverage of his funeral live at my grandma's house.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Sunday, August 9, 2015
In Praise of Country Music - "Blowing Away" by Eric Kaz
I write a lot about jazz, blues, bluegrass and classical music. Those who know me even casually hear me constantly rave about my favorite funk bands - Fred Wesley & the JB Horns, George Clinton, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Big Sam & Funky Nation, EW&F. I've also been known to expound upon Latin music - salsa, son, even some tejano - and other eclectic genres from around the world: Gaelic, Zydeco, Marabi to name a few. Needless to say, I'm very opinionated about my taste in rock music - The Guess Who, Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears, Toto, Ambrosia, Hall & Oates etc. - which I guess is now called "Classic Rock," or as my young coworkers refer to it "Grandpa Rock." I almost never talk about country music, however.
Buddy Rich, being wheeled into the operating room after one of his heart attacks, was asked if he was allergic to anything. "Yeah," he replied. The ER nurse waited with pen in hand. "Country music," he quipped. I used to laugh at that anecdote uproariously when I was a kid. Although I loved bluegrass, I hated country music. It all sounded like Porter Wagoner to me. I couldn't understand or relate to it. The closest I got was country rock, groups like Pure Prairie League, American Flyer, Atlanta Rhythm Section and The Allman Brothers. Later on, in college, I used these groups as a starting point to explore country music in general. Two songwriters, in particular, served as my bridge into "real" country, Craig Fuller and Eric Kaz.
Fuller, the Columbus, Ohio native formerly with Pure Prairie League, and Kaz (songwriter to the stars) made up one half of the country rock "super group" American Flyer. The other half was comprised of Blood Sweat Tears alum Steve Katz and The Velvet Underground's Doug Yule. I stumbled onto American Flyer via Steve Katz, who I admired from BS&T and its precursor, The Blues Project. When it came to American Flyer, however, Katz took an immediate back seat to Fuller and Kaz who - between the two of them - wrote every memorable song on the group's two stellar albums: American Flyer & Spirit of a Woman.
Of all the great country rock tunes on these albums, one truly blew me away (pun intended), Eric Kaz's "Blowing Away" from Spirit of A Woman. Fuller handles the mournful lead while the haunting background vocals are intoned by a young Linda Ronstadt, one of the many stars lining up to sing Kaz's seemingly endless string of pure gold hits. The lyrics - maudlin, melancholy and wistful - are pure country and great in the hands of an able male vocalist like Fuller. But years later, in the hands of superstar Ronstadt, "Blowing Away" truly becomes transcendent on her Living In the USA album.
Truth be told, Ronstadt's version clearly shows that "Blowing Away" is a woman's song, a fact made even more evident by the other female artists like Cher and Bonnie Raitt who have recorded and performed Kaz's hit it to great acclaim. Bonnie herself says as much in this live recording of Blowing Away. Here we have a stripped down arrangement of the tune with Raitt's inimitable phrasing transforming Ronstadt's anthem into a pure country, honky-tonk torch song. A quick word on Bonnie Raitt. I'm constantly and consistently blown away by everything I hear her perform. Not only is she one of the best country vocalists of all time, she sings flawless background harmonies and plays some seriously kick-ass blues/slide guitar to boot. As her rendition of Tennessee Waltz with Nora Jones shows, she can also get down and tasty with the best of them.
But back to "Blowing Away." The song reaches its pinnacle during a live memorial concert for Little Feat frontman Lowell George. In this version, we have Fuller, Ronstadt and Raitt all sharing vocals while Kaz, the songwriter himself, backs them on keyboards. NOTE - this is a live recording of an intimate and very exposed arrangement performed in a large concert hall. From the first note, these pros find themselves fighting sound and acoustic issues symptomatic in every cavernous venue. At the opening, Linda gets a pitch and fearlessly opens a cappella. Then Craig hears his guitar is too loud in the mix and plays it down. Any musician watching spots the non-verbal communication between Linda and Craig immediately, and every time I see Ronstadt cup her left hand over her left ear at :25, I want to hug her. By the time the three-part harmony comes in, though, these cats have solved it all.
Chills!
And you know they've nailed it because Linda comes off mic after the chorus with the biggest smile on her face. That smile also promises what follows will be epic. And it doesn't get much more epic than Bonnie Raitt's turn at the verse. Whereas Linda rendered the melody straight and angelic, Bonnie bends the meter and melody, phrasing the verse in a smoky, gutsy way that indelibly stamps it all her own. Bonnie is first and foremost a musician, and this is exactly how she approaches her vocals, instinctively finding alternate notes and meters the way a guitarist, pianist or horn player develops a phrase. This time, when Fuller and Ronstadt return, Linda takes the high harmony, and for the next choruses the three create an aura and energy that transfigures the tune to another level.
Songs like "Blowing Away" helped me discover pure country music. And performances like Ronstadt, Raitt & Fuller's took me from appreciating country musicians to finally loving pure country in an of itself. Not all of it, mind you. I still don't like Porter Wagoner. But over the years, I've developed a very strong and specific taste for today's pure country artists like Bonnie Raitt, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson & Martina McBride. Top-notch songwriters and performers evoking the same poignant emotions as traditional country while never compromising melody and musicianship in favor of what I call "Pop Crap". (You know what I mean -voice synthesizers, hysterical vocal histrionics, monotonous computerized rhythms and other studio gimmicks that hacks use to try and hide the fact that they can't carry a tune or play a lick.)
So the next time you check out what I'm listening to on Spotify, don't be surprised if you see some country artists sprinkled in with all the rest of the stuff I typically listen to. Good music is good music, pure and simple. And as a bonus, here's my favorite Eric Kaz tune, "Cry Like A Rainstorm," performed by Craig Fuller & Kaz together, by Linda Ronstadt, and finally by Bonnie Raitt (my favorite version, btw). Just don't expect me to start drinking Budweiser.
Buddy Rich, being wheeled into the operating room after one of his heart attacks, was asked if he was allergic to anything. "Yeah," he replied. The ER nurse waited with pen in hand. "Country music," he quipped. I used to laugh at that anecdote uproariously when I was a kid. Although I loved bluegrass, I hated country music. It all sounded like Porter Wagoner to me. I couldn't understand or relate to it. The closest I got was country rock, groups like Pure Prairie League, American Flyer, Atlanta Rhythm Section and The Allman Brothers. Later on, in college, I used these groups as a starting point to explore country music in general. Two songwriters, in particular, served as my bridge into "real" country, Craig Fuller and Eric Kaz.
Fuller, the Columbus, Ohio native formerly with Pure Prairie League, and Kaz (songwriter to the stars) made up one half of the country rock "super group" American Flyer. The other half was comprised of Blood Sweat Tears alum Steve Katz and The Velvet Underground's Doug Yule. I stumbled onto American Flyer via Steve Katz, who I admired from BS&T and its precursor, The Blues Project. When it came to American Flyer, however, Katz took an immediate back seat to Fuller and Kaz who - between the two of them - wrote every memorable song on the group's two stellar albums: American Flyer & Spirit of a Woman.
Of all the great country rock tunes on these albums, one truly blew me away (pun intended), Eric Kaz's "Blowing Away" from Spirit of A Woman. Fuller handles the mournful lead while the haunting background vocals are intoned by a young Linda Ronstadt, one of the many stars lining up to sing Kaz's seemingly endless string of pure gold hits. The lyrics - maudlin, melancholy and wistful - are pure country and great in the hands of an able male vocalist like Fuller. But years later, in the hands of superstar Ronstadt, "Blowing Away" truly becomes transcendent on her Living In the USA album.
Truth be told, Ronstadt's version clearly shows that "Blowing Away" is a woman's song, a fact made even more evident by the other female artists like Cher and Bonnie Raitt who have recorded and performed Kaz's hit it to great acclaim. Bonnie herself says as much in this live recording of Blowing Away. Here we have a stripped down arrangement of the tune with Raitt's inimitable phrasing transforming Ronstadt's anthem into a pure country, honky-tonk torch song. A quick word on Bonnie Raitt. I'm constantly and consistently blown away by everything I hear her perform. Not only is she one of the best country vocalists of all time, she sings flawless background harmonies and plays some seriously kick-ass blues/slide guitar to boot. As her rendition of Tennessee Waltz with Nora Jones shows, she can also get down and tasty with the best of them.
But back to "Blowing Away." The song reaches its pinnacle during a live memorial concert for Little Feat frontman Lowell George. In this version, we have Fuller, Ronstadt and Raitt all sharing vocals while Kaz, the songwriter himself, backs them on keyboards. NOTE - this is a live recording of an intimate and very exposed arrangement performed in a large concert hall. From the first note, these pros find themselves fighting sound and acoustic issues symptomatic in every cavernous venue. At the opening, Linda gets a pitch and fearlessly opens a cappella. Then Craig hears his guitar is too loud in the mix and plays it down. Any musician watching spots the non-verbal communication between Linda and Craig immediately, and every time I see Ronstadt cup her left hand over her left ear at :25, I want to hug her. By the time the three-part harmony comes in, though, these cats have solved it all.
Chills!
And you know they've nailed it because Linda comes off mic after the chorus with the biggest smile on her face. That smile also promises what follows will be epic. And it doesn't get much more epic than Bonnie Raitt's turn at the verse. Whereas Linda rendered the melody straight and angelic, Bonnie bends the meter and melody, phrasing the verse in a smoky, gutsy way that indelibly stamps it all her own. Bonnie is first and foremost a musician, and this is exactly how she approaches her vocals, instinctively finding alternate notes and meters the way a guitarist, pianist or horn player develops a phrase. This time, when Fuller and Ronstadt return, Linda takes the high harmony, and for the next choruses the three create an aura and energy that transfigures the tune to another level.
Songs like "Blowing Away" helped me discover pure country music. And performances like Ronstadt, Raitt & Fuller's took me from appreciating country musicians to finally loving pure country in an of itself. Not all of it, mind you. I still don't like Porter Wagoner. But over the years, I've developed a very strong and specific taste for today's pure country artists like Bonnie Raitt, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson & Martina McBride. Top-notch songwriters and performers evoking the same poignant emotions as traditional country while never compromising melody and musicianship in favor of what I call "Pop Crap". (You know what I mean -voice synthesizers, hysterical vocal histrionics, monotonous computerized rhythms and other studio gimmicks that hacks use to try and hide the fact that they can't carry a tune or play a lick.)
So the next time you check out what I'm listening to on Spotify, don't be surprised if you see some country artists sprinkled in with all the rest of the stuff I typically listen to. Good music is good music, pure and simple. And as a bonus, here's my favorite Eric Kaz tune, "Cry Like A Rainstorm," performed by Craig Fuller & Kaz together, by Linda Ronstadt, and finally by Bonnie Raitt (my favorite version, btw). Just don't expect me to start drinking Budweiser.
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