tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:/blogs/gosh-it-s-complicated?p=1
What it's all about
2020-12-09T20:39:32+00:00
Lathe of Heaven
false
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/6495512
2020-12-09T20:39:32+00:00
2022-04-26T10:08:17+01:00
Just a bit of fun No.2
<p>Continuing an occasional series where I learn a classic rock guitar solo, and hopefully discover something about the original guitarist's style and improve my own technique.<br><br>In this short solo that punctuates the end of the song, Andy Powell really shows off the ear he has for the harmony he's playing over. The very first phrase outlines the D minor by picking the A, immediately sliding up to D and without a pause bending on up to F, only to release back to the D and finish the phrase by hitting an F below. He's only starting as he means to go on though, following the backing chords with some nice intervalic jumps and lots more string bends including a double-stop bend towards the end.<br><br>Just forty seconds, but perfectly formed.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="vfJTrJSGbis" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/vfJTrJSGbis/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vfJTrJSGbis?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><br> </p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/6492382
2020-12-05T15:04:48+00:00
2022-08-06T21:27:47+01:00
Just a bit of fun No.1
<p>I like to learn to play other people's solos to grow my own skills, and get insights into their playing. The videos are just a bit of fun, and of course, I do not own the copyright.</p>
<p>I wish I'd known Laurie Wisefield at the time he played this solo. He could have explained techniques to me that I've only discovered in the last five years. Specifically, economy and sweep picking. It's all over the guitar channels on You Tube these days, but back in the 1970s, the information was not so readily available, and passed me by entirely.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="hxd3ZC386LE" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/hxd3ZC386LE/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hxd3ZC386LE?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/6465259
2020-10-28T21:25:07+00:00
2022-04-26T11:14:03+01:00
The Hunted (Gameplayers of Zan)
<p>This piece is one of several in the works currently, inspired by a science-fiction novel, The Gameplayers of Zan, by M. A. Foster.</p>
<p><a contents="Listen to the music." data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/2516991/the-hunted-gameplayers-of-zan" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#cc0000;"><em>Listen to the music</em></span></a><a contents="Listen to the music." data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/2516991/the-hunted-gameplayers-of-zan" style="" target="_blank">.</a></p>
<p>The heroes we are following in the plot come from a race of slightly altered humans who live on a reservation, away from the sprawling overpopulation of ‘old humans’ that covers the planet, and with whom they live in an uneasy truce. At this point in the story, they have to enter the old human world to rescue an imprisoned friend. </p>
<p> The human world is strange, dirty, noisy and frightening to them, but the little party does manage to find the girl, and get her released into their custody. She is physically OK, though very weak, but appears now to have the mind of a new-born. </p>
<p>They start making their way back to the reservation, but something goes wrong, and they realise that they are being tracked by a mysterious and sinister group of humans, and know that if they are caught, they may be killed. In fact, they are finally caught at the fence that marks the safety of their reservation, and the girl they rescued is shot and killed. </p>
<p>In this music, I have tried to convey the alienation they feel, and the terror of the chase, ending with a lament for their lost friend.<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/5e5e765343f102d9f91cd0e7d7cfad3f9a32822c/original/the-hunted-the-fence-blog-image.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/6361492
2020-06-21T21:26:10+01:00
2023-04-02T16:19:13+01:00
Roughshod Theropod
<p>In a previous post, I said I’d be writing music inspired by M. A. Foster’s The Gameplayers of Zan novel. Which I am. But I’ve also been writing other things which don’t relate to that project, the first of which is <a class="no-pjax" href="/track/2370037/roughshod-theropod" data-link-type="track" data-link-label="Roughshod Theropod"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><i>Roughshod Theropod</i></span></a>.</p><p>I’m very happy to have had two fine musicians play on this instrumental with me. Thank you to Dave Blackburn who played and recorded the drums at his commercial studio <a class="no-pjax" href="/links" target="_blank" data-link-type="page" data-link-label="Links" contents="Beat n’ Track"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><i>Beat n’ Track</i></span></a> (see my links page). Also to the amazing Jim Reeves who played the bass.</p><p>I’m really pleased with the result. I hope you enjoy it also.</p><p> </p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/a349a737b4c8d44565fa07afe901eb8bb9598dac/original/roughshod-theropod.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/5555223
2018-12-15T08:25:53+00:00
2022-08-06T21:29:21+01:00
New Review of Now There's No Room
<p>The Dutch Progressive Rock Page has <a contents="published a review of the album" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.dprp.net/reviews/2018-085/#lathe-of-heaven" target="_blank"><span style="color:#cc0000;"><em><strong>published a review of the album</strong></em></span></a>.<br><br><em>'What at first sounds like a singer/songwriter album [...], I now regard a beautiful album cast by a songsmith. I especially like how many of the songs reveal their intensity slowly.'<br><br>'... an excellent album to sit down to enjoy with a peaty whisky.'</em><br><br>So pour yourself a glass of Lagavulin, and put on your headphones!<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/bd2b70bf984c62bcbe4806563a49fb7cca693067/original/dprp-logo-cropped.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/5535837
2018-12-02T13:29:20+00:00
2022-04-26T10:32:16+01:00
What To Do Now?
<p>'Now There's No Room' is written, recorded and released (<a contents="and available here" data-link-label="ALBUM" data-link-type="page" href="/album" target="_blank"><span style="color:#cc0000;"><em>and available here</em></span></a>). I had lots of things I wanted to say, and I got it all off my chest, so the question arises, what to write about now? </p>
<p>I've decided to get right away from the political stuff and write some pieces based on a novel that I've loved since I first read it at age eighteen. It is, I suppose, science fiction, but not in the 'cowboys and Indians in space' genre by any means. </p>
<p> The Gameplayers of Zan by M.A. Foster is an obscure novel. I've never met anyone else who's read it. I may explain some parts of the plot as each piece of music is completed, but here I'll just say that two major things have appealed to me. </p>
<p>The first is that it's modelled after a Greek tragedy; the 'good guys' do succeed eventually in their endeavours, but at great cost to themselves. It's intensely bitter-sweet. The second only occurred to me recently, and it's that three of the four main protagonists are female. They are strong not only in the way they're written, but in their characters. That's refreshing - especially in the realm of science fiction, and laudable given the novel's publication date of 1977.<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/234bdda043d315fa84816dccd04056209694155e/original/gameplayersofzan.jpg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>For more information about this unknown, but worthy classic,<em><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;"> </span><a contents="click here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/a-lesser-known-classic-from-the-1970s" target="_blank"><span style="color:#cc0000;">click here</span></a><span style="color:#cc0000;">.</span></strong></em></p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/5420330
2018-09-08T13:08:49+01:00
2022-04-26T10:35:55+01:00
CD - Now There's No Room - Released Today
<p>This is a limited run of the CD version, so if you want a copy, get your order in! Pre-orders have been posted, thank you to everyone who ordered. If you'd like a copy, <a contents="click here" data-link-label="ALBUM" data-link-type="page" href="/album" target="_blank"><font color="#cc0000"><i>click here</i></font></a>. </p>
<p>Of course, if you can't be bothered with all that mucking about with physical things, you can grab a download of most of the music <a contents="on the same page" data-link-label="ALBUM" data-link-type="page" href="/album" target="_blank"><font color="#cc0000"><i>on the same page</i></font></a>. The CD album includes an extra track and a number of interludes that tie the songs together.</p>
<p><strong>The Sibylline Books</strong> Joni Mitchell sang, 'You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.' Never a truer word... </p>
<p><strong>Now There's No Room</strong> How long until all the figures of speech we have that allude to animals are made permanently obsolete? </p>
<p><strong>Misunderstood</strong> How to avoid worrying about anything. </p>
<p>Trope - interlude </p>
<p><strong>Suit </strong>Some of the villains of the piece. </p>
<p>Salt - interlude </p>
<p><strong>The Barefoot Chocolate Maker</strong> By way of contrast, a true story about a good man who really made a difference. </p>
<p><strong>Theme</strong> (extra track - CD only) </p>
<p><strong>Marionettes</strong> 'The puppets refuse to return to the box'. </p>
<p>Glass Bubble - interlude </p>
<p><strong>Panopticon / Rome Burns</strong> How much is it possible to really know in these post-truth days, and how should we respond? </p>
<p>Greetings from Earth - interlude </p>
<p><strong>The Last Song</strong> We certainly won't be around in a million years. Will there be anything at all to hint that we were ever here?<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/8a80516cd0156c5477c6b64ec6025632177691cc/original/front-cover-banner-crop.jpg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.jpg" class="size_xl justify_left border_" /></p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/5412272
2018-09-02T11:05:40+01:00
2022-04-26T10:37:56+01:00
CD - Now There's No Room - 8th September Release
<p>Super excited about the official release of the CD album 'Now There's No Room' less than a week away - on the 8th September. This is a limited run, so if you want a copy, you should get your order in! <a contents="You can pre-order right now" data-link-label="ALBUM" data-link-type="page" href="/album" target="_blank"><em><span style="color:#cc0000;">You can pre-order right now</span></em></a>, and it's at the perfectly reasonable price of £6.93 + £2.00 postage and packing. </p>
<p>The CD album includes an extra track and number of interludes that tie the songs together. These are only available on the CD version. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>1 The Sibylline Books</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>2 Now There's No Room</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>3 Misunderstood</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">* Trope - interlude </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>4 Suit </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">* Salt - interlude </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>5 The Barefoot Chocolate Maker</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>6 Theme</strong> (extra track)</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>7 Marionettes </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">* Glass Bubble - interlude </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>8 Panopticon / Rome Burns </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">* Greetings from Earth - interlude </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>9 The Last Song</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/bb39bd458a243431928ae6ee73c0185b2f0d43c7/original/cds-box.jpg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/5375410
2018-08-05T16:49:41+01:00
2024-01-21T19:19:34+00:00
Now There's No Room - CD album release
<p>Lathe of Heaven is proud to announce the CD album 'Now There's No Room' will be released on Saturday 8th September. </p>
<p>You can click to buy on pre-order now, and we'll send you your copy in the following week. In addition to the songs listed in the download section of the music page, there is free bonus material on the CD album version only. This extra music was created to connect the songs together in a way that makes a complete, immersive experience for the listener. Hey.... it's a prog rock concept album - how could we do it any other way?<br><br><em><a contents="Click here" data-link-label="ALBUM" data-link-type="page" href="/album" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#cc0000;">Click here</span></a></em><span style="color:#cc0000;"><em><strong> </strong></em></span>for the album page.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/c4cb76fd8b0fc93b448ea69b648b574729b2d31a/original/front-cover2-122mm.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/5348632
2018-07-16T23:40:56+01:00
2024-01-21T19:19:34+00:00
Can we have an original hit?
<p>The Ed Sheeran / Marvin Gaye lawsuit going on currently points to a sickness in popular music at the moment. </p>
<p>Over the last couple of decades, money has become increasingly tight in the music business. It's more and more expensive for a label to get a top 5 hit, so even the profits on a successful song aren't a patch on what they were. </p>
<p>Labels becoming more litigious is more likely as profits decrease. You've got to get your money somewhere, and you have to protect your brand. What's more, whereas a suit used to be about a stolen melody, more and more, we're seeing claims about chord sequences. Part of the Sheeran/Gaye lawsuit is the claim that the chord sequence is the same. It'll be interesting when someone tries to claim ownership of the I IV VI V sequence, which has been used in scores, if not hundreds of hits. </p>
<p>Which brings us to playing safe with song writing. Again, because so much is at stake to produce a hit, nobody who seriously tries to make a living from their writing is going to try to be original. It's a waste of time. While for the most part, nobody sitting down to write a hit says, "I'll start by stealing part of this other song," they may well start jamming on that trusty I IV VI V sequence. </p>
<p>So we hear chart songs becoming increasingly similar because taking a musical chance is pointless, and we see more lawsuits as songs rely more and more on their similarity to each other in order to be hits. </p>
<p>Another consequence is that over the course of a generation the average chart listener has heard less and less variety in harmony, and like a child who has only eaten burgers and fries, any new taste / harmony they're subsequently introduced to is treated with deep suspicion. </p>
<p>And that's no way to have a hit. </p>
<p>For music that ignores all considerations of chart success, but still wants to be loved, <a contents="click here" data-link-label="ALBUM" data-link-type="page" href="/album" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#e74c3c;">click here</span></a>.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/291b18b57e90ff866ef81470f8ef68856c6dba11/original/broccoli-crop.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/5315069
2018-06-24T23:02:05+01:00
2018-06-30T10:35:54+01:00
How do you listen to music?
<p>As I was growing up, I heard music pretty much in album format only. My folks didn't often have music radio on, so I didn't hear individual songs very much. When they listened to music they'd switch on the radiogram (!) and put on the soundtrack to Fiddler on the Roof, or High Society with Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. Or they'd put on a symphony by Mendelssohn or Beethoven. They didn't have any singles. </p>
<p>This was just background to me, as I didn't really get into any of it, but I realise that it shaped the way I listen to music to this day. I play albums. I rarely use shuffle on my MP3 player, always preferring to select an album. Even now, if I come across a new band, I'll buy a CD and listen to it as a whole. </p>
<p>How about you? </p>
<p>The other thing I do is hardly ever put on music as background while I do something else. I much prefer to settle down and give the music my undivided attention. I immerse myself in it. I have a decent hifi, and some great headphones, and unless I'm in the car, that's how I'll listen. I guess I'm in a small minority in this. </p>
<p>What do you do?<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/ce269ce27252d31b18297c2ee5102852b19d2cf1/original/album-covers.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">My first dozen music purchases. Quite a few classics in there!</p>
<p> </p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/5266050
2018-05-31T23:10:23+01:00
2022-04-26T10:41:34+01:00
MP3s and WAVs For You
<p>Uploaded to the <a contents="music page" data-link-label="ALBUM" data-link-type="page" href="/album" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#cc0000;"><i>album page</i></span></a><span style="color:#cc0000;"> </span>are all the tracks for 'Now There's No Room' in full resolution wavs. And now you can have them in high resolution MP3 format too. </p>
<p>So if you have a slowish connection and wavs are just too cumbersome to download, you can choose the MP3s. If you are a stickler for quality though, you can take the time to have the music at full hifi resolution. It's up to you, and for the moment, everything is still free. </p>
<p>What more could you ask for?</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/eb13999873b3fcc79b1b2304d9a1373d971f0346/original/spectrowaveeformthingedit.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/5195300
2018-04-22T14:21:31+01:00
2022-04-26T11:16:32+01:00
The Last Song
<p>Children being born today will inherit a very different planet from the one we have known throughout history. The way things are going, the change they will see in their lifetimes won't be intelligently managed or even curtailed. It will be catastrophic. Catastrophic to people, but also to most other living things. Which also means catastrophic to people.</p>
<p>We don't seem to be capable of averting this, and I started wondering what evidence would be left of us in some distant future time. What would be left to show of our self-important species? No wood that we've used, no concrete. Even plastics won't last. Cut diamonds would still be around, but they would be hard to find. Some radioactive elements where power stations and missile silos once were might still be detectable, but again only in specific locations. </p>
<p>The asteroid that killed all the non-avian dinosaurs left a tell-tale trace of iridium in a specific geological layer around the entire planet. Is there an equivalent that would be a ubiquitous tell-tale of human civilisation? </p>
<p>One thing that will survive us will be those little space probes launched in the 1970s - Voyagers 1 and 2. They will continue on their outward flights indefinitely, with nothing to destroy or even weather them very much. What if some space-faring aliens stumble across one of these probes one day? That's where The Last Song begins. </p>
<p><a contents="Listen here." data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1484943/the-last-song-wav" target="_blank"><em><span style="color:#ff0000;">Listen here.</span></em></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="color:#ff0000;"><em><strong><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/7a1eff3d86ba37b37c36fc2562d1e31e747bf60e/original/voyager-golden-record.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></strong></em></span></p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/5183236
2018-04-15T21:41:03+01:00
2022-04-26T11:21:44+01:00
Panopticon / Rome Burns
<p>A while back, I read about something called a panopticon. It's a kind of building that could be used as a prison or other institution. </p>
<p>Imagine rooms - cells - arranged to create the outside wall of a circular building, with one-way mirrors making up the inner walls. An observer could sit at the centre of the building and see any occupant at a glance, but none of the inmates would be able to see if they were being watched at any time - they'd just know it was possible. </p>
<p>It struck me (as it has many people in recent years) that this is a good analogy for our society. With CCTV, the CIA and MI6 watching us electronically, with Facebook and associated organisations data mining - we're all being observed at some point in some way. We don't necessarily know when, or how much; we just know we might be, and at some point certainly are. </p>
<p>It's also become clear that the internet's own algorithms filter what we find in searches. Rather than being a window onto the entire world, it's more like a mirror reflecting ourselves back to us. Ironic and sinister, don't you think? We live in a panopticon, but we are not the observers, we're the observed.</p>
<p>I thought about how helpless we all are in the face of this. And a similar sense of helplessness often creeps over me when I think about the enormous problems we face as the human race, and that the Earth faces because of us. I retreat into my personal world, attending to those things I do have control over, and shutting out the bigger picture. I think most of us do. </p>
<p>Fiddling while Rome burns.<br><br><a contents="Listen here." data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1484938/panopticon-rome-burns-wav" target="_blank"><font color="#cc0000"><i>Listen here.</i></font></a></p>
<p><br><span style="color:#ff0000;"><em><strong><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/5bf2a5ad337c9a0bfcb664836af9e1e39312fa52/original/panopticon.jpeg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></strong></em></span></p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/5176561
2018-04-11T22:20:30+01:00
2022-08-06T21:38:30+01:00
Those who cannot, will be destroyed on the lathe of heaven
<p>Lathe of Heaven sounds religious doesn't it? And it is, sort of. Vaguely. Well, almost entirely unlike religion as it turns out. To explain... </p>
<p>A favourite novel of mine is The Lathe of Heaven, by Ursula Le Guin. While writing the book, she was apparently very taken by some Taoist verses by Chuang Tse XXIII, which she used here and there in the story. The book title is from one in particular: </p>
<p><em>' To let understanding stop at what cannot be understood is a high attainment. Those who cannot do it will be destroyed on the lathe of heaven.' </em></p>
<p>Years after the book was published, Le Guin discovered that this is a terrible translation of the original writing, but it was way too late to do anything about it. She still liked the sentiment though, and so do I. I take it to mean something like, 'To know that something is unknowable, but still struggle to understand it, is a path to madness.' </p>
<p>So why did I call this project Lathe of Heaven? I'm not letting on, but if you think about it hard enough, perhaps one day you will understand.</p>
<p><a contents="By the way, here's the music." data-link-label="ALBUM" data-link-type="page" href="/album" target="_blank"><font color="#cc0000"><i>By the way, here's the music.</i></font></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/1544afbb0cd166cf3abc8a759153dbbdfc664277/original/lathe-book-cover.jpg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/5170431
2018-04-08T12:44:11+01:00
2022-04-26T11:24:59+01:00
The Barefoot Chocolate Maker
<p>Now for one of the good guys. </p>
<p>A while back, I stumbled on an extraordinary story on the BBC's 'Food Program'. It told of an engineer, a New Yorker called Mott Green, who moved to the Caribbean island of Grenada. He fell in love with the island and the culture. He also found that although they grew cocoa beans there, for some reason they didn't make chocolate. </p>
<p>In fact all the cocoa they grew was sold to the commodities market. The growers made very little money, as all the value is in the final product - the chocolate on our confectionery shelves. The program also mentioned another cocoa bean growing region - Africa's Ivory Coast. There, children are sold to the plantations, to work for years. It's not a stretch to call it modern-day slavery. </p>
<p>In Grenada, Mott wondered why they couldn't make the chocolate themselves, cut out the middle men and sell chocolate direct to the retailers. He figured that if everyone was part of a collective, all that added value would benefit the locals. </p>
<p>He put his engineering skills to work and built a solar-powered chocolate factory in Grenada, keeping it going with constant maintenance, and mastering the art of turning cocoa beans into chocolate. In partnership with locals Doug and Edmond Browne, he set up the Grenada Chocolate Company, making fine chocolate to sell around the world. </p>
<p>True to his environmental aspirations, the first batch of chocolate bars to be delivered made its journey from Grenada to the UK on a brigantine sailing ship - powered by the wind! </p>
<p>But there's a tragic twist to this tale. One night, while doing emergency maintenance, Mott was accidentally electrocuted. Despite his tragic, untimely death, he has left an amazing legacy. The Grenada Chocolate Company lives on, and more and more local growers are joining the collective as the customer base grows. </p>
<p>Oh, and I can personally affirm - the chocolate is really good!<br><br><i><a contents="Listen here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1484922/the-barefoot-chocolate-maker-wav" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Listen here</span></a><span style="color:#ff0000;">.</span></i></p>
<p><span style="color:#ff0000;"><em><strong><a data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.grenadachocolate.com/" style="" target="_blank">Find out more about the Grenada Chocolate Company</a></strong></em></span><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/2cbaf35d1cf0ea674e5a099779aa32c2b2776245/original/grenada-71-crop2-101.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/5155997
2018-03-30T13:59:01+01:00
2022-04-26T11:25:48+01:00
Suit
<p>So here's one of the main villains of the piece. </p>
<p>There's a type of person who is without conscience, but who understands very well what comforts people, and what they'll pay good money to hear. They present themselves as respectable human beings, but are abjectly vile and corrupt. They each have their own schtick, but underneath it all, they're all doing the same thing - they're gaining power and making money from gullible and vulnerable people, without a care for the misery and destruction they cause. </p>
<p>From promoting racism or denying climate change, to just scamming folks of all their money in the name of God or even in the name of healthy living, they perpetuate real evil in this world. This song is for them.</p>
<p><a contents="Listen here." data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1484919/suit-wav"><font color="#cc0000"><i>Listen here.</i></font></a></p>
<p><span style="color:#ff0000;"><em><strong><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/ecaa0a391c3a086d3f6b486dc8531d3ec4406407/original/snake-oil-salesman.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></strong></em></span></p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/5122438
2018-03-11T16:23:02+00:00
2022-04-26T11:08:00+01:00
Now There's No Room
<p>I suppose this song is an epilogue to The Sibylline Books. </p>
<p>I was thinking a about all the expressions in the English language using animals as a metaphor. Wolves at the door, elephant's memory, eagle eyes, busy as a bee... When you think about it, there are a lot of them. And now we're approaching a time when these expressions will be referring to things that no longer exist. </p>
<p>They'll all be dead as the dodo. </p>
<p>People try to argue for the preservation of wildlife by seeing its direct value to humans. 'Don't cut down the rain forests because they might contain cures for human diseases'. 'Don't kill all the bees because they pollinate many of our crops'. </p>
<p>Absolutely true. But to me, the destruction of the planet's biodiversity is also an aesthetic crime worse than demolishing every art gallery in the world. Every plant, animal, fungus and microbe alive today has an unbroken evolutionary history all the way back to the first emergence of life nearly four billion years ago. And we're mindlessly erasing it all. </p>
<p>Mother Earth kindly stepped in to do the vocals for this one. Maybe we should listen before it's too late?<br><br><a contents="Listen here." data-link-label="ALBUM" data-link-type="page" href="/album" style="" target="_blank"><em><font color="#cc0000">Listen here.</font></em></a></p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/5110364
2018-03-04T14:17:47+00:00
2022-04-26T11:14:53+01:00
The Sibylline Books
<p>According to legend, Tarquinius - a pre-Christian-era king of Rome, once had a fairly disastrous haggle with a prophetess - or Sibyl, when he wanted to buy nine scrolls of precious wisdom from her. She named a price, which he refused. In response, the Sibyl cast three scrolls into the fire. She offered the six remaining scrolls at the same price, and when Tarquinius protested, she burned another three. He eventually bought the last three scrolls at the original price, fearing to lose them all. </p>
<p>Douglas Adams re-told this story in his book, 'Last Chance to See', about his experiences travelling around the world with biologist Mark Carwardine, in search of some of the world's most endangered animals. Adams' version is an allegory for the extinctions we're causing - not understanding the true worth of what we're losing. </p>
<p>Since then, one of the animal subjects of his book - the Yangtze river dolphin, or baiji - has become extinct. Another, the northern white rhino, exists now only as a half dozen individuals in zoos. Adams' account inspired this song. It's a story, so settle down, and when you're sitting comfortably, I'll begin. </p>
<p><em><a contents="Listen here." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://latheofheavenuk.com/track/1484905/the-sibylline-books-wav" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#cc0000;">Listen here.</span></a></em></p>
<p><strong><a contents="Douglas Adams - Last Chance to See" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/last-chance-to-see-by-douglas-adams-and-mark-carwardine-1803226.html" style="" target="_blank">Douglas Adams - Last Chance to See</a></strong><br> </p>
<p><strong><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/5452132084c250ce7e6e4e9d6e7d93b6a20eeac6/original/sibylline-oraclesedit.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></strong></p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/5105551
2018-03-01T16:43:20+00:00
2022-08-06T21:39:57+01:00
Marionettes
<p>A while back, on the peer at Santa Monica, I saw the most useless puppeteer ever. I felt sorry for the marionette being dragged around, getting his legs tangled up. He and the puppeteer weren't making much of an impact, (except to make me laugh behind my hand).<br><br>Some time later, I saw a video on You Tube taken back when the Occupy movement was protesting all around the world. The viewpoint was from the third or fourth floor of a building in the fancy district of some western city. The street below was brimming with Occupy protesters marching past. Then the camera panned up to show a group of toffs on a balcony dressed for a ball. They were obviously highly amused by all the proles below.<br><br>It's an old cliché, comparing a person or a group of people to puppets. But the two images stuck in my head and demanded to be made into a song.</p>
<p>We do have the power to make changes for the good in this world. The Occupy movement was stamped out, but that doesn't have to happen. Perhaps the #MeToo movement will have more success?</p>
<p><a contents="Listen here." data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1484931/marionettes-wav" target="_blank"><font color="#cc0000"><i>Listen here.</i></font></a></p>
<p> </p><p><font color="#000066"><b><i><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/31b08aacbbe97abfe582032eb7c0057193143980/original/edited-occupy-police-march-banner-1.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></i></b></font></p>
<p style="text-align: right;">Image: Kelsey Whipple </p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/5099988
2018-02-26T20:43:41+00:00
2022-04-26T11:33:52+01:00
Misunderstood
<p>Over the last few years, it's become clear to me that many people aren't interested in what's true. What they're interested in is believing things that make themselves feel good. This song is about those people.<br><br>Folks have the right to believe that unicorns exist and the world is flat if they want. But when it comes to fixing a host of desperate problems the world faces, the first step is to acknowledge that the problems exist. We're not doing very well at step one.</p>
<p><em><a contents="Listen here." data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1484916/misunderstood-wav" target="_blank"><span style="color:#cc0000;">Listen here.</span></a><br><strong><a contents="Listen here." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://latheofheavenuk.com/track/1484916/misunderstood-wav" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#cc0000;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/032a720a0ffd3cd1fe264804940f1673c3565113/original/shark-w-credit.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></a></strong></em></p>
Lathe of Heaven
tag:latheofheavenuk.com,2005:Post/5079798
2018-02-14T23:14:10+00:00
2022-04-26T11:38:42+01:00
What's it all about?
<p>When you're young, you learn about falling in love. The resultant elation and/or despair is usually the most powerful thing that has happened to you up to that point, so it's not surprising that if you write songs, that's what you write about.</p>
<p>As you get older, you live and love, and inevitably lose some you love. You start to realise that the world around you is not a static thing; that ten years is fleeting and full of change.</p>
<p>Then there's the state of the world. When I was born, there were half as many people on the planet, and there were already signs of strain. I remember confident claims that the Earth's resources were infinite. We now live in a world of 'peak oil'. I remember campaigns to save a single iconic species from extinction, but now we're destroying entire habitats. </p>
<p>So these days, I'm preoccupied with all the ways we're screwing things up, and all the forces that conspire to maintain this catastrophic momentum. </p>
<p>Some choose to believe what makes them comfortable, rather than what's true. Others exploit that tendency for their own ends. Many know in their hearts that things are in a terrible state, but feel too overwhelmed to do anything about it. They occupy themselves with manageable problems and day-to-day pleasures; never daring to look up. </p>
<p>On the other hand, there are <em>a few</em> signs of hope; a few people who make a noticeable change for the good, and I write about them too. <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/270744/7f8b41ecd0c5b407d0a2e33741875fbd3688727f/original/there-may-not-be-enough-for-everyone-p2.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: right;">© 2011 Jeff Parker. caglecartoons.com </p>
Lathe of Heaven