The Schaltraum

Those of you over 50 will no doubt remember Professor McLuhan and his time in the Sun.

If you are in that age category that never had a chance to see a Slinky take on a life of its own (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZL6RGkPjws) McLuhan may seem like a feint whisper in your Global Village.

So, you may ask, what was McLuhan's shtick? What was so special about this soft spoken, James Joyce scholar that catapulted him to Guru Status and kept him top dog on mostly everybody’s list of Mighty Media Mavens, right to - and past the point - when his internal cache overflowed, a fatal error occurred, and he clocked out peacefully on New Year's Eve, 1980?

McLuhan, as described by Wikipedia, was "a technological determinist."

Ah ah ... that and $3.89 buys you a gallon of gasoline.

But it buys you a whole lot more if you want to take the time and to have a go at how McLuhan conjures the "look and feel" of the world we live in and of the folks who take long strides to influence whom we are and how we function.

This reflection is underscored, again, by Wikipedia when they cite one of McLuhan's key points: "... that the dominant communication media of our time will shape the way humans think, act, and ultimately perceive the world around them. Technologies—from clothing to the wheel to the book, and beyond—are the messages themselves, not the content of the medium."

Would seem to many of us self evident - which - in a back handed way - is a shame.

Many of us were never on the bus, as was McLuhan.

We “slinky-ed” our way into this techno-toy world without having experienced many of the conditions our parents encountered.

We by-passed sitting under The Apple Tree and shot through to Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

For many of us there was no digging away at older foundations. Who had the time?

We were on a fast lane, giving heave ho to our Parent’s sense of rationalism and embracing an array of archetype ideologies that came about as if blown by the wind. We sought out new structures, no longer content to feel burdened with what our parents wrought.

Into this fray, Stage Left, enters Marshall McLuhan, bringing with him an unconventional look at our World and the tools needed in the deconstruction of our shared realities. Visual cues, pattern recognition, links and metaphors - an array of Plug Ins that McLuhan with the firm hand of a classically trainer Scholar uses to challenge how we look at and deal with the Bing and the Bang of our Boom.

In his day, McLuhan was taken very seriously by many; today, more is the case that many tend to scuff at his “Message.”

McLuhan, though, never seemed to be without a measure of jest often directed towards himself, his colleagues and “Professionals.” Experts, as McLuhan liked to reminds us, are those who tend to stay put.

And that may be one of Life’s Standing Eternal Truths after “the Check is in the Mail.”

McLuhan had numerous notions and ways of describing what he saw going on about us... here's one from an interview he gave to Playboy Magazine back in 1961:

"Acoustic space is organic and integral, perceived through the simultaneous interplay of all the senses; whereas "rational" or pictorial space is uniform, sequential and continuous and creates a closed world with none of the rich resonance of the tribal echoland."

Ya gotta love the guy's sense of humor, eh?

Well, he did tell the best Batman joke I have ever heard.

In his brief period of time, McLuhan achieved "Celebrity/Star Status" both on TV and the Big Screen (Thank you, Woody!)

He also cut a record... "The Medium Is The Massage."

For those of you good folks who want to add to your collection something that is rather difficult to categorize, have a go at the following link, fasten your seat belt, and head off into the Gutenberg Galaxy:

http://rs209.rapidshare.com/files/75224788/Medium.zip

Did McLuhan have a schtick?
Media Guru? Erudite Punch and Judy Artist? Perhaps, an Academic Pinky Lee?
Have a listen to “The Medium Is The Massage" and decide for yourself.

My read on McLuhan... I like to think of him as a didactic “free lancer” - one who nicely in his day - was apt to lance freely.

This one has been a while in coming...

Having taken some time off, a recovering period from my activities with The Flat Landers...

(shucks! thought I had found The Edge, just past the local Walmart - and, as you might guess - when I went back with my tape measure and camera, the Walmart was gone. Aha! another conspiracy in the works! )

Guess it's about time to re-plumb from the well of experience... and this is just the ticket to get back into the thick of things.

William Karel's THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON maybe the best "conspiracy documentary" since Orson Welles sleighted his hands and brought forth F IS FOR FAKE.

What we got here is no failure to communicate.

This maybe the worlds' best rendering of how to do a "conspiracy film"- a genre of recent that has had for the vast Movie Devouring Public its ups (DA VINCI CODE ) and downs (THE HOAX).

DARK SIDE has it all: ex-Nazi scientists, The Cold War, Hollywood, CIA, Russians, Dick Nixon, Astronauts, Stanley Kubrick,Vernon Walters, and - my personal favorite - that witty Defender of the Nation, Don (The Man who made it sweet for artificial sweeteners) Rumsfeld.

Recently,I've shared this video with a few folks on both sides of the Pond.

The question that is nearly always posed... Is it true? A Moon Walk Conspiracy?



Mr. Karel is an excellent film maker. He has made a number of serious documentaries on various topics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Karel).



Dark Side of the Moon is true in this manner; he has fashioned a great story out of old footage, conspiracy themes, interviews with "experts" and dashes of clips from rather famous people who add credibility to his tale. And, it is "true" that he has a sense of storytelling that does justice to Orson Welles.



As to the main thrust of the film - was the Moon Walk faked by Hollywood - well, I venture to guess each of us will have to wander off and go down that route alone. Wikipedia does, though, have this to offer about the film: "It is finally revealed that this is a mockumentary as the end credits roll over a montage of blooper reels, with the main participants laughing over the absurdity of their lines or questioning if particular ones would give the joke away too soon."



This "mockdoc" aired by Arte in Germany for the first time on April 1st, 2002... guess that in itself says volumes about the Germans, their sense of humor, and how they viewed DARK SIDE.



For those that would like to see Karel's THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, have a go at the following Veoh link: http://www.veoh.com/videos/v1478710Z8SNhKkf?c=theSchaltraum



Schalti in Berlin

A great topic, folks... one that has come up on several yahoo user groups recently.



Of course, what determines “Vintage” from my view point directly depends whether you can remember Sandy Amorós (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Amorós) dissapearing into deep Left at the old Ebbets Field and bailing butt for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1955 Words Series.



A “say what” response from this tells me that vintage for you is somewhat of a vague reckelection of The Monkees, “Last Train from Clarksville.”



Vintage, right? Could be.



Most people tend to think of Vintage Music (VM) as something your Grand Parents listened to as kids. Old, scratchy things that resembled flattened mounds of pressed cow turds and produced sounds akin to Ma Edison using her boy Thommy’s discarded wax cylanders to buff up her nails.



Scratchy, old, dust collecting, heavy, old throwaways - just some of the terms that come to mind when we think of recorded music from a distant, long gone era.



Yada, yada, yada - and bing-bang- boom... so who needs it?



Old stuff, old crap from somebody else’s rotten times. God, if we don’t have today enough of our own rotteness to deal with.



Will someone call that Chinese guy, Feng shui and have him haul it all away...



The thing is - we all need it - and we must make sure we still have access to it when we need it the most.



With that in mind...



From the perspective of the Schaltraum, the question isn't whether vintage music per se is crap or not, but, rather, is the music faithful to “The Cause."



And what just might “The Cause” be?



Enrichment.



Hedonistic interpretation, pure and simple. Does it, in the words of Howlin’ Wolf, “do the do...”



Without sounding too pedantic, Vintage Music has been dooing the do since the time it first needed to be done.



Of course, we don’t have to stop at only what we define as Vintage Music.



Can anyone take exception with the idea that good music is good music, regardless of what age it comes from and in what form it takes?



Here in the Shaltraum, good music is taken for what it is: expression. And expression embodies a spirit that usually transcends whatever the expectations one gets from the all too frequent "after the fact packaging" and other types of hype necessary for some entity to help enlighten that load of coins you carry around in this lifetime.



So, strip away the hype, forego the packaging, and we get down to the nitty...



We're talking here of zest. A healthy “Perk-Up” for the ears and mind - that little, unexpected something that makes you feel real good and helps you get out of bed and face what the world will throw at you.



When you hear good music, you know it. Needs no explanations or apologies. The stuff stays with you for life.



Case in point: my 82 year old father. During a recent scavaging at LA’s Amoeba Records (http://www.amoeba.com/) we found a collection of songs on a cd by Ukulele Ike. Unlike as it is for The Old Codger (http://wfmu.org/playlists/OC), Ike - for - my father, brough no recognition. But, once we started previewing the cd, he began to recall the lyrics of songs he hadn't heard in over 60 years. In fact, before long, he was singing along with the cd.



Is it simply with age comes appreciation of vinatge? Surely, if one asks him to name any song from the last 2 or 3 years - or the names of any of the Academy award winning songs from the last 6 years - he'd answer with a shrug. And he is not alone... can you name the Academy Award wining song from 2004?



Hang with me, folks and I’ll save you a trip to Google: the winning song was “Al Otro Lado Del Rio” from The Motorcycle Diaries



Following where I’m going with this?



Take the song, I'm a Woman. Credited to the "prolific" Tin Pan Alley duo, Lieber and Stroller and stemming from the early 1960's. It has the feel of a vintage tune.



It's not.



Yet, to this day, when you hear the Maria Muldaur versions - the one I know best is her recording with the Kweskin Jug Band - it holds its own and stays as fresh as the day it first graced the recording studio. Wouldn't be surprised that 40 years from now, I'm a Woman will still hold together.



If not vintage now, certainly to be vintage later.



Now, if you are somewhere between Sandy Amorós and The Monkees, this is as good as it gets for a way to measure Vintage Music.



Spirit.



Zest.



And a vast amount of Vintage Music has a tendency to be just that way, spirited, zestful... which brings me to Mae West.



For years I have been fascinated with a song she did in the movie, Belle of the Nineties (1934). The song is called They call me Sister Honky Tonk and, folks, there is a lot going on here that comes across the big screen (or tiny iPod!). You can have a gander yourself by seeking out the clip on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eI6iI-ZqRU



You might even be surprised by recognizing one of the world's best known composers tickling the 88s behind Mae's performance.



The sound from the Google clip is a bit "iffy," right? Not particularly Klipsch friendly?



No guessing needed as to what is put-offish for most listeners of VM.



I concede the point: a major hindrance for anyone who want to put out the enrgy to appreciate songs from the vast array of VM has to face limitations due to the diminished sound quality so often prevelant in a legacy left to us in a stockpile of pre hifi, pre-digital and prehistoric recorded music.



Though, it doesn't need to be that way. A little sonic-TLC can go a long way to help one appreciate what's there.



Have a go at the Youtube clip. If you like the song - and want to add it to your iTunes - you can dl my ripped version at this link:



http://rapidshare.com/files/42892638/SisHT.mp3



Makes me thankful that we still have Vintage Music for us to enjoy kicking around in one form or another.



And thankful, too, that there are others who share these sentiments...



Joel in his Schaltraum Berlin 18,07,2007