Monday, August 29, 2016

Count Zero


Well, Count Zero is certainly a very different novel and not what I expected to be a follow-up to the famous Neuromancer. Unlike his famous first novel, Count Zero's prose is less Burroughs and more conventional while switching back and forth between three characters in each chapter until their stories intersect. While this makes the novel easier reading material, some of the magic and zany-ness of the first novel, set almost a decade before the events that transpire in Count Zero, is lost. Nonetheless, Gibson tackles in an interesting and postmodern way the consequences of AI becoming sentient and interacting with us in ways more aligned with Vodou and non-Western religions. Indeed, that is precisely the most interesting thing about this global dystopic future of zaibatsu domination and wealthy elites, becoming less human with each passing day, it seems, fighting for control of biochip innovations and power while changes in the Cyberspace resemble more and more Haitian Vodou possession and the intercession of powerful lwa.

In this regard, it is also interesting to note the much larger role played by black characters in this novel, African-Americans from the Projects of a New Jersey suburb, as their understanding of sentient fractures of the fusion of Wintermute and Neuromancer makes perfect sense within a Vodou worldview. Although sometimes reduced to stereotypical lines, specifically Jackie and Beauvoir, I found Beauvoir (perhaps a name inspired by the illustrious Haitian of that same name?) intelligent and his definition of Vodou as getting stuff done useful (paging Prothero?). And despite the skepticism and condescending remarks from various cowboys, observers, and dealers, the conceptual field of perception of the Vodouizan and their Haitian Creole speech and memory of mapou trees and possession, makes just as much sense as Marly's confrontation with the boxmaker (Gran Met). Indeed, perhaps that is the one of the powerful lessons of Count Zero regarding technological progress and innovation: the differences between the past traditions and advances in cybernetics are not so much linear but an entwined series of roots and routes. 

After discussing this novel via email with a relative, I think they are correct about this largely acting as a pot-boiler work in the so-called Sprawl Trilogy, with Gibson's use of Vodou, Rastafarians in Neuromancer and Japanese themes throughout the series as instrumental, conceptually and metaphorically, while also being post-modern and traditional simultaneously, as the Joseph Cornell-like boxes indicate. It would be an intriguing project to look at Gibson's Sprawl Trilogy in comparison with the neo-hoodoo novels of Ishmael Reed (and Japanese By Spring), Dany Laferriere's Japan-inspired novels that also feature Haitian and Japanese themes in conjunction, and some of the interesting research on mathematics and the sciences in African, Haitian, Rastafarian, or Santeria religions. Perhaps bones, charms, and computers have more in common than we realize? 

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Bill Evans on Scott LaFaro

 

Enjoy a fascinating interview with Bill Evans about Scott LaFaro. LaFaro was the perfect bassist to accompany Bill Evans, no offense directed to Eddie Gomez.  Scott was melodic, intuitive, independent-minded, and perhaps my favorite jazz bassist in a trio context. As Evans says in this interview, it's difficult to explain LaFaro's playing, but one must experience the "ride."

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Neuromancer


William Gibson's Neuromancer is the kind of science fiction novel one could easily revisit on an annual basis. Like William S. Burroughs, the prose is a tad challenging, but like Philip K. Dick, Gibson is full of creative ideas and interesting theories on technology, mainly cyberspace, advances in artificial intelligence, and dystopic settings. Gibson, unlike Dick, actually has stronger female characters, mainly in Molly, and even throws in a Rastafarian space colony later in the novel, perhaps inspired by Dick and Nelson's influence from the Nation of Islam? Nor can one ignore the importance of dark and dangerous multinational corporations, bringing to mind an idea I've heard regarding Japan's contributions to the rise of corporations while also falling into some phildickian themes. Anyone looking for thought-provoking science fiction on film-like urban landscapes, metaphysics, technology, action-packed heists, and some perhaps accurate state of the world in the near future should read this. 

Friday, August 19, 2016

Brunner on SF


John Brunner's comments on SF and its relationship with "real" literature are interesting, perceptive, and thought-provoking. Brunner's commentary on the "science fiction ghetto" brings to mind Philip K. Dick, LeGuin, and Disch who also tackled the stigma of being science fiction writers who valiantly improved the literary and artistic style of SF. As Brunner says, we should not be surprised then by Vonnegut's science fiction elements in Slaughterhouse Five or the science fiction-y gadgets of the Bond series. The distinctions between the "ghetto" and other forms or styles of literature have perhaps even blurred more with the passage of time.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

RIP Bobby Hutcherson


Rest in peace, Bobby Hutcherson. Hutcherson is by far my favorite jazz vibraphonist and his ability to bring together or collaborate with many other unique and talented instrumentalists in jazz is a delight. Whether it was Andrew Hill, Grachan Moncur III, or even Eric Dolphy, Hutcherson could keep up with the best. Thank you, Bobby Hutcherson.

Rose Gold

Walter Mosley's Rose Gold received an astonishingly accurate review in the Los Angeles Times. It's satisfactory, draws the reader into LA's various social classes and geography, and is always entertaining and keeps one on one's toes. That said, the novel was uneven and not as well-written or interesting as the earlier Easy Rawlins novels. Despite naming the novel after the missing Patty Hearst-like character behind Easy's case, Rosemary remains largely unknown and we barely hear her in her own voice. The same could be said about the radical group that "abducted" Rosemary, who are not anywhere near interesting like previous cases Rawlins took involving radicals (A Red Death). In addition, this novel could have cut maybe 20 or 30 pages by removing some probably superfluous sub-plots or minor cases Easy takes on the side. If it is unclear what I am alluding to, I am referring specifically to the Percy Bidwell problem and the issue regarding a white mother and her black baby, but at least the latter was relevant to the central case in a small way. Nevertheless, Mosley is a master of the trade and never fails to write addictive entertainment and interesting social commentary.

Monday, August 15, 2016

You Do Something to Me from The Bridge


Sonny Rollins is a mater of melody, perhaps even surpassing Ella Fitzgerald's masterful singing of this Cole Porter-penned standard. As for Jim Hall's guitar solo, I could take it or leave, but Rollins is phenomenal here. Rollins always was a the saxophone colossus when it comes to gentle swinging numbers or ballads. 

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Carlin on Charlie Rose


Enjoy an interesting and too brief interview from 1996. George Carlin is one of American comedy's greats, and here he articulates some rather fascinating influences and how his comedy shifted in the 1990s and 2000s. While one may take issue with his detachment from the outcome of our current 'experiment,' Carlin's probably right in how he traces the roots of comedians and attests to their importance.

Friday, August 12, 2016

Armando's Rhumba

 
 A personal favorite from Chick Corea's Latin-inspired album, My Spanish Heart. Jean-Luc Ponty's violin playing is spectacular and brings to mind some of the best Cuban music.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

1984

Chomsky on Democracy Now! discussing Orwell 

I am ashamed to admit I only recently read Orwell's famous novel, 1984. Now, after finally finishing it, one can see how so much of the science fiction literature and film after Orwell's masterpiece are so clearly influenced by Orwell's keen understanding of totalitarianism and the recent horrors of the Second World War. Orwell's inventive use of language, interest in metaphysics, constant allusions to mental health and more bring to mind the works of Philip K. Dick (mainly Flow My Tears) and even some of the most prominent intellectuals and writers who so often reference Orwell or his ideas in their work on politics, US foreign policy, or more. Although I think Aldous Huxley is probably right about future totalitarianism requiring more subtle and unique forms of social control than what Orwell conceived for 1984, Orwell's quite nuanced and wrote a better novel than Huxley's classic, and in turn surpassed his earlier Animal Farm, an enjoyable parable I read in middle school. 

Hitchens on Orwell


Enjoy this fascinating lecture by Christopher Hitchens on Orwell. I am currently reading 1984 and found this enlightening and pertinent. 

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Huxley at Berkeley


I was listening to this a few weeks ago and just decided to revisit it. Huxley's prophetic words about the War on Terror are particularly relevant. 

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes


My favorite singer of a beautiful song written by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach. I love The Platters, but this and the rendition of "Smoke" from Naipaul's interview on BBC's Desert Island series are my top recordings of this classic. Kern always wrote the most lasting standards. 

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Rahsaan Roland Kirk


Happy birthday, Rahsaan Roland Kirk. He left us in 1977 and remains an elusive figure for my jazz explorations. Nevertheless, Kirk was a talented multi-instrumentalist who celebrated black history in his music, making him worthwhile. His work on Mingus's Oh Yeah is worth a listen, too. 

Remembering Abbey Lincoln


Today is Abbey Lincoln's birthday. She passed in 2010, but I only learned about her music in the last few years. Lincoln's certainly one of the most distinctive and talented jazz vocalists in the genre's history, and deserves to be mentioned up there with Billie, Ella, Sarah, and Dinah. She was even in my favorite Spike Lee film, Mo' Betta Blues. Her take on "Lonely House" is definitive. 

Friday, August 5, 2016

Stompin' At The Savoy


I was listening to live recordings of Benny Goodman's group from 1938 and came across their take on "Stompin' at the Savoy." Goodman is great, but Max Roach's lyrical drum solo on the 1954 recording with Clifford Brown is unforgettable. Roach is undeniably one of my favorite jazz percussionists, and moments like this illustrate how bop and post-bop freed the drummer from the restraints they had to deal with during the swing phase of the 1930s and early 1940s. Roach's lyrical side as a soloist is a treat on Saxophone Colossus and Monk's Brilliant Corners, too. Perhaps Roach's M'Boom phase is next on my list for jazz to devour. More drummers could use Roach's sense of melodicism.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Said on The Clash of Civilizations


Edward Said articulates the many, many problems of Huntington's famous (or infamous?) book. I was just perusing Huntington's work and shocked by some of the appalling lack of nuance and detail or just vast generalizations he made. For instance, the brief mentions of Haiti emphasize it as some aberration that is a lone civilization or culture, one that is not perceived by Latin Americans as part of the region and seen as bizarre or different from the lens of Anglophone Caribbean peoples. When making these statements, Huntington relies on the words of a Panamanian politician and one quoted Afro-Caribbean. One would think more nuance and evidence would be buttressed by Huntington, akin to his more careful attention to modern Japan, but I guess Haiti does not merit the additional scrutiny. With people like Huntington as an intellectual influence in the Bush administration, one can see why the 2004 coup took the shape it did.

Death of the Liberal Class


I don't agree with everything Chris Hedges has to say, but I think his prescient words on the liberal class are especially relevant to 2016 and the political quagmire we face today. I perused the book in which this talk is based on and find much of it often accurate, especially as regards the liberal establishment in media, politics, and elsewhere's complicity in the service of power. Hedges is one of the best at articulating complex ideas of Chomsky, Wolin and others for thought-provoking and insightful analysis, and much of it strikes me as particularly pertinent to the Democratic party in 2016. 

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Waltz For Debby


My favorite song by Bill Evans with one of my favorite alto saxophonists. Adderley's soulful sound surprisingly works quite well with the introspective style of Bill Evans. Hearing their collaboration brings back some of the best moments of Kind of Blue

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Political Economy of Mass Media


A fascinating 1989 talk by Chomsky in Madison, WI. Chomsky discusses the manufacturing of consent and relates it to the American interventions in Central America during the 1980s. Fascinating stuff and very thought-provoking, as one would expect from Chomsky. I saw him speak in 2010 and find this 1989 talk more humorous and intriguing than the award ceremony I attended.  Moreover, Chomsky's sense of humor was present in the earlier lectures than what I saw, although I am naturally glad I had an opportunity to see him speak.