"In the beginning and in the end, it is the cry - the cry of love and life, of despair and death, and of passion and music - that is." 

            - Carlos Santana

What if some or even all of our most deeply embedded truths are not more than further illusions in the temporal bubble bath? 

You go in that team 

I go on this team 

Divide everything

A flag or a number

Make 'em opposites

So there's a reason

Stigmatization

Okay, now we can fight

  - Stereolab

 

 

The basic issue in the United States and elsewhere is not so much that the people are "too conservative" or "too liberal". The problem, rather, is that almost no one will think for themselves. The spires of noble achievement are forever off limits to those who merely copy, borrow, steal, rearrange, retaliate, react, "game the system", etc. 

The advertising industry, through manufacturing artificial desires, arrests the personal and intellectual development of what ought to be, by now, the living gods of the future.

The uninitiated are the most rigid and doctrinaire, the most unyielding in their strictures, practices, beliefs, habits, expectations, etc. Barring the occasional bout of beginner's luck, the seeker of wisdom paradoxically arrives at the gate with every answer already known, every problem already neatly solved and packed away. They often seek not so much to learn what might be true, but merely to confirm what a person already believes. It turns out, perhaps, that having a "beginner's mind" is a lot trickier than they anticipated.  

The most adept, on the other hand, are almost by definition an unholy mess. Uneven corners abut unexpected diversions into intricacy piled on top of intricacy spilling out at odd angles amid the most lurid juxtapositions, fantastic propositions, implications, possibilities, etc. Aware of every nuance or potential complication that may arise to upset the pattern, thereby possessing some of the least settled opinions on almost any matter, the truly learned can appear slovenly, sometimes even to the point of immorality, to observers casual and otherwise, sympathetic and unsympathetic, similar or distinct, real or imagined, etc.

Spotlight: Zakir Hussain

Multisyllabic musical mastery permeates this career retrospective Zakir Hussain mix from NTS, showcasing one of the most important and influential musicians of the past century whose diverse collaborations spanned a multitude of styles and genres while maintaining links to the rich musical traditions of the Indian subcontinent and beyond.

For fans, musicians and collectors, be sure not to overlook the Tabla Beat Science 2-DVD set released in 2003 by Palm Pictures entitled "Talamanam Sound Clash: Further Adventures in Hypercussion" with Karsh Kale, Ustad Sultan Khan, Bill Laswell and "Gigi" Shibabaw joining Hussain on stage for a fiery and uplifting live set recorded at the Fillmore in San Francisco in June 2002 (presented in both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 Surround), along with a generous selection of bonus material. The quality of the performances, sound and video are all excellent, making this essential viewing for the inititated as much as new musical explorers.