Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Something/Someone Old
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I don't know why I put so much music in this section. I guess it's because I love so many different kinds of old music. Today I'm celebrating a kind of music often made fun of: smooth jazz.

My absolute favorite band in this genre. I almost didn't include them here, because they deserve a section all their own:

At its worst, smooth jazz can devolve into elevator music, but I still love it, increasingly so as times get more and more stressful. I'm relying more and more now on genres of music I might have made fun of in happier times (Bee Gees, Air Supply, I'm looking at you. Sorry for my earlier snobbery, guys.) Not that I ever made fun of smooth jazz. I loved that from my childhood on.

There's a lot of really talented people who have made their home in this genre.

I'm not sure whether the contempt for this musical genre came from the fact that it was so accessible, removing all the aspects of jazz that were difficult for your average Joe to like, and thus, in the eyes of many, reducing jazz down to a balsamic syrup, or if it comes from the fact that it's a music that comforts and soothes rather than rouses people to anger or irritation, a music that allows you to let your mind go quiet instead of a music that forces you to think.

I think of the first argument as the populist vs avant-garde argument that seems to come up in every musical genre except pop. I could reproduce it in any genre about any artist. And actually, it's not limited to music. The second argument I think of as the punk argument; if something is comforting you, it's probably untrustworthy and definitely pointless. The honest condition of life under the status quo is rage, and that's what music is for:

"A good song should make you tap your foot and want to get with your girl. A great song should destroy cops and set fire to the suburbs. I'm only interested in writing great songs."
--Tom Morello

I like Tom Morello's work a lot, and he seems to be good people, but while I don't exactly disagree with him, I would have to respond by quoting one of my favorite books:

"You can't beat your hands on the wall and scream all the time."
--Antryg Windrose

Something New
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The new Spiderman movie is my something New this week. And this is an unusual entry, because I haven't gone to see it yet, and don't know if I will, and I'd like to see what you all think.

I love Spiderman.

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Actually, I could write an entire essay on Marvel Comics generally, or Spiderman specifically, but here I'll just say that I love Spiderman for the same reason everybody else does: he's an everyman from a working-class background with high intelligence and a good-natured yet wisecracking sensibility. He's everything that's best about an idealized vision of the American working class, and his first arch enemy is a crazed member of the 1%, Norman Osbourne, who ought to be functioning as an employer or even a mentor to this talented and bright young man, giving him good work to do. But unfortunately, Norman Osborne chooses instead to become the Green Goblin, and ultimately his mentoring takes the form of trying to convince Peter Parker that special superbeings like themselves are better than ordinary people:

Hence my deep suspicion of the new Spider-Man movie:

The first thing you hear in this trailer is Peter Parker saying "This is my chance to prove myself." Now, you could make the argument--as I did above--that Peter Parker the young man--not Spiderman the superhero--wants to prove himself by becoming a world-class photojournalist or a top-notch scientist working for Norman Osbourne. But his identity as Spiderman has nothing to do with proving himself to anyone, except perhaps his internalized Uncle Ben and Aunt May. It's the morality they tried to instill in him, inside his own head, that he has to answer to. The business of being a superhero does not involve filling out an application to yet another member of the 1%:

Peter: "So, to become an Avenger, are there like, trials, interviews?"
Tony Stark: "Just don't do anything I would do. And definitely don't do anything I wouldn't do."

OK. So now becoming a superhero is sitting in the back of a rich man's car and asking him what hoops you have to go through to become one.

Don't get me wrong. I like Tony Stark. Actually, since Downey started portraying him, I love Tony Stark. (For those of you who are not comic book fans, Tony Stark, or Ironman, is the son and heir of someone who made billions by developing horrific weapons. Stark's journey from this to some kind of morality is the subject of the Ironman films.) He's a great character. But what he is not, and should never be, is a mentor.

Tony Stark: "Look, I know school sucks. I know you want to save the world. But you're not ready yet."

I can't begin to tell you how this line makes my gorge rise, for multiple reasons. First, since when does a young superhero have to receive approval from some elder in order to be a superhero? The role of elders as moral centers is crucial in Marvel comics (Uncle Ben, Professor Xavier), but I can't remember a moment when a superhero had to receive approval in order to be who he was. That is not the superhero narrative, at least not when you're talking about meta-humans like Peter Parker, or the Hulk, or the mutants in the X-Men. These are people who have had power thrust upon them unexpectedly. They have it; they can't get rid of it even if they want to. The question is what they will do with it.

Tony Stark is different, in that his superpowers come from technology he has invented. Like Batman or Green Arrow in the DC universe, or Hawk in Marvel, to some extent Tony Stark is a superhero because he has chosen to be. Perhaps this is the reason Stark is trying to advise Spiderman, without fully grasping that their situations are different. However, I still can't remember a moment when Batman or Green Arrow or Hawk had to apply to some older superhero in order to get permission to be a superhero. This is a clunky intrusion that, if it becomes widely accepted, will reduce the cool of the superhero genre by about 1000%. Because it now looks like a fucking job application--or a meeting with your guidance counselor.

The other reason I hate this change is that Stark is the last, the absolute last person who should be determining whether or not young superheroes are "ready." The core story of Tony Stark is of an irresponsible, highly privileged person developing a moral compass of sorts. The tension between his selfishness, hedonism, and big ego and his growing need to do something good IS the tension that drives his story. That tension recedes somewhat as he becomes more grounded in what I'll call, for lack of a better term, goodness. But the day the tension goes away is the day that his story ends. And having it end with him being some kind of elder statesman of superheroes lecturing the young does violence to everything I ever liked about Ironman. "Now, now, son, go to class and be a good boy" is not something that should ever come out of that character's mouth. Neither is "Stay close to the ground. Stay out of trouble." It does violence to the character, even in his more redeemed state. This is a process that began, sadly, with Captain America: Winter Soldier: Tony Stark goes straight. Not an inconceivable end for that character, but probably the least interesting, least inspiring, and definitely least fun ending anybody could have come up with.

And it's not only Ironman whose character is violated. Putting Peter Parker into that relationship with Tony Stark disrespects Parker's character by turning him into a teenager who's too big for his britches and it turns all his deeds into something that has to be judged, not on the basis of whether he is using his power responsibly (h/t Uncle Ben) but on the basis of whether some older person thinks he should be using his power at all. From the trailer, I half expected to hear Stark say "You're GROUNDED, young man!" And that insults and damages both characters.

The message that "you are a kid, you should be a kid, act like a kid, stay in school, don't be a superhero" ultimately demolishes every superhero narrative from Captain America to Spiderman to Rogue or Jean Grey. It's the opposite of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. The idea seems to be that if you're under 25, you should conform, obey, and do what you're told. Act appropriately for your age, and your elders get to determine what that is. And the central question becomes "will the teenager obey his elders and be a good boy, or will he become a superhero?" rather than being "how should power be used?"

Comic books, despite being a lowbrow genre, are dealing with the same essential question that Tolkien addressed in The Lord of the Rings. They are wrestling with the issue of power and how to ethically use it, or if that is even possible. Turning that core conflict into "You will behave, young man!" vs "You're not the boss of me!" diminishes not just Ironman and Spiderman, but the genre.

Yet everyone loves the movie.

So, am I misreading the trailer? Or does the trailer misrepresent the movie? Or do people just enjoy the teenager vs parent or pseudo-parent power struggle better than they enjoy asking hard questions about power?

Something Borrowed
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This is an amazing cover. I love YouTube precisely because it encourages people to do things like this and share them with the world. A traditional Jewish klezmer band covering hip-hop. Sometimes I love humanity:

Something Blue
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The Miami blue butterfly is critically endangered. Scientists at the Florida Museum of Natural History say "theoretically, one storm could wipe this butterfly out."

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They don't know the reason for the insect's decline, but they know that tropical storms, loss of habitat, and climate change are contributing factors.

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The Florida Museum is apparently taking action to try and save this butterfly. Good on 'em.

Florida Museum of Natural History researchers are leading collaborative conservation and recovery efforts for Miami blue butterflies by monitoring wild populations, breeding the butterfly in the laboratory and closely studying its ecology to learn how to effectively re-establish it in the wild.

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love the old, new, borrowed and blue theme you put together. Thanks for sharing!

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

And thank you, QMS, for your kind words!

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal I've found myself listening to the channel called Spa a lot. They call it jazz standard. A lot of it is smooth and mellow which makes good background while I'm cooking. Sometimes it dips into the more classical pot, some foreign artists, esoteric, many musical - only pieces without lyrics. Almost musical lithium but sharper than elevator blah. On the 'puter it's mostly WMVY retro. Brings me back to the magical mental kingdom of long gone daze.

Cheers!

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riverlover's picture

Soon to be in an insectarium near you! I have no idea how small habitats can be protected now. South Florida?

There was a nice butterfly house I was in in Huntsville, AL.

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Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@riverlover I don't know, but I live where the Florida Museum of Natural History is, so I should go down and talk to them about it.

Would be willing to post an update in upcoming weeks if people are interested.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Here is a little song
(by Jack White) in the style of rock music (?) metamorphosed into a jazzish sort of a thing. (For Jeremy Corbyn?) It's a cover by that Jukebox band above. To go with your jazz theme.
https://youtu.be/sB6HY8r983c
Apologies for the add that I can't seem to get rid of.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@randtntx Thanks, rand...going over to look at it now!

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@randtntx OK, this is awesome:

To my mortification, I see that "PostModern Jukebox" is the name of a Youtube channel, not a band.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal PMJ seem to play covers instead of original music. They run the gamut of a lot of different genres with some really fun interpretations of the pieces they choose. I happened upon them accidentally on youtube and was impressed.

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enhydra lutris's picture

which I also like, is that it does overlap with elevator music, wedding planners' top 40, and "the stuff your mom likes/liked". Swinging Shepherd Blues and Petite Fleur and possibly Quiet Village from the days when there was only one top 40, not one per genre, all shaded ever so mildly toward rock, but there was the fear that at any second the next phrase would turn them into something else, something we today recognize as Yanni or perhaps the saccharine end of the bubblegum spectrum.

You mentioned the Bee Gees, a great band ruined by DISCO, New York Mining Disaster, Massachusetts, I've Got To Get a Message to You, etc. v. Staying Alive (the horror!).

To me, smooth jazz is cool jazz without the introspection, depth or range, pleasant, enjoyable, relaxing and even fun, but you never get lost in it, which is ok, because you're supposed to be paying attention to your date or co-workers Friday after work in a piano bar.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@enhydra lutris This is exactly right:

but there was the fear that at any second the next phrase would turn them into something else, something we today recognize as Yanni or perhaps the saccharine end of the bubblegum spectrum.

Someday I'll write up the story of how/why I started listening to it again, and even seeking it out, in my 40s. It's actually an interesting story. Maybe next week! I could do a second installment: Smooth Jazz Two: Electric Boogaloo. Smile

As for the Bee Gees, the thing about "Stayin Alive" which I also looked down on for years, is that it's actually talking about something real and dreadful. It's just doing it to a bouncy beat and throwing some sex on top of it to make it seem less horrible.

But it's really talking about the destruction of New York City. Kind of like the Rolling Stones were doing with "Shattered," but instead of having a tone of anger and disgust, the Bee Gees' song is a desperate attempt to keep going in an intolerable situation. Once I got past the image of John Travolta in a white suit, I actually found the song pretty applicable to now.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

enhydra lutris's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal
hint of a decrescendo (or something) from Land of Make Believe thanks to your Mnagione vid, which I still haven't played (very busy morning today)

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

you really think of comics as "low brow". Like Jessica Rabbit, they're just drawn that way. I cut my reading teeth on the Sunday Funnies which evolved into comic books. Some of the best life lessons I learned from comic strips/books (and Star Trek). It amazed me how a Peanuts or BC strip could cram an entire philosophical treatise into a scant four panels.
Keep doing your fine work.

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There is no such thing as TMI. It can always be held in reserve for extortion.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@ghotiphaze Ya got me. Smile
Thanks for your kind words, and long live Trek--imperfect, but never yet corrupted, still holding up that flame after 50 years.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Azazello's picture

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajt_9LaUdJc width:400 height:240]

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Azazello Right. LMAO.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

riverlover's picture

(and has never confessed to her kids). Riley White played smooth jazz, my parents loved his music). He died early.

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Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

Roy Blakeley's picture

and exuberant music. Don't hear much of either these days, but then happiness is not so common these days and exuberance is very hard to find.

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earthling1's picture

Thanks CStMS for bringing up that video.
Comic books and superheroes escaped me in my youth. I started out with "Amazing Stories" and morphed right into Ray Bradbury, A.C. Clark, and Heinlein. Was prowling the used bookstores of Alhambra, California at 8 years old. Was a latchkey kid.
Never stopped reading.
While Tv has turned to old comic book hero's for new programming, I don't recognize most of them. The adult cartoon sit coms like Simpson's, Family Guy, or American Dad bore me.
We need a new series in the genre of Star Trek or Firefly for those of us yearning for something a little more credible, even if a little futuristic.
Or maybe I'm just a nerd.
Have a great day.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@earthling1 Dark Matter is OK, and obviously was made either by Firefly fans missing the show or by someone wanting to cash in on Firefly fans missing the show.

Stranger Things is pretty good, though I have no idea how they're going to continue the story into the second season.

As for written science fiction, I love Bradbury too. He and Ursula Le Guin were my go-to authors for a long time--then I found out they went to the same high school, which is really interesting and odd! Coincidence, or was there something cool about the high school? A good teacher, perhaps?

I like Heinlein and respect him, rather than loving him. He has a few goofy ideas about sex and women, but I like where he's going with the subject. His views have a good heart. Though he's one of those, like Neal Peart, whose art I like or even love who then turn out to be libertarians, which, um...well I have to accept the fact that not everybody means the same thing by libertarian. I have a hard time believing either Peart or Heinlein could be so amazingly cruel as certain forms of libertarianism are. Presenting a bill to your kids upon reaching adulthood for the privilege of being fed and housed, for instance. FFS.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@earthling1 @earthling1 Prowling the used bookstores growing up sounds amazing to me, although being a latchkey kid has some rough aspects to it.

My mom just told me to go to the public library on the afternoons I was with her instead of my stepfather (she had a 9 to 5--8 to 6 really, thank you Reagan--and my stepfather didn't). I don't think that counts as being latchkey. Going to the library was pretty much the best thing ever in my estimation, so those were the best days of the week.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Even Miles said "dude can play." Too frequently thrown in with fuzak/hot tub jazz but there's a lot of passion and soul in his records. I'll always enjoy his music and it's sad he passed so young.

Chuck Mangione always takes me back to a good place. Dad plays trumpet and I heard that record a lot growing up. And I got to play some Spyro Gyra in high school so I always dig that too.

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Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Dr. John Carpenter

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Postmodern Jukebox, one of my faaaaavorite youtube channels, is an ensemble. Lead by Scott Bradlee, it features many many musicians (I include vocalists) that rotate in and out. Here is my favorite singer.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ3BAF_15yQ]

And

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMeN0CFNWmk]

And

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FASi9lrUoYM]

And finally, for those of you who are more on the Christian end of the spectrum (I just enjoy this version), there is this;

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCffgvnynQE]

I just love this ensemble in almost all of it's incarnations. I cannot wait to see them on tour. If they would only come to my city (I'll be traveling to see them).

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Essus That is beyond awesome, and thank you for clearing that up. Sounds like an old-fashioned repertory theater company, but for music. How cool is that.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Wink's picture

Spyro Gyra at a Club called the "Orange Monkey," IIRC, near RIT college in Rottenchester, NY way back in the day. They were just getting going, had one album released, I believe. "c'mon Wink, we gotta get your butt sophisticated... " Although I wasn't a big fan - more a blues guy - they were a really good live band.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Wink @Wink I started off as a blues gal, myself. It's not complicated in the way jazz is. Jazz always felt really complicated to me, kept poking my brain and insisting it work when all it wanted to do was relax into the music. Perhaps that's why smooth jazz became one of my things--the very thing that makes other jazz aficionados not like it--they seem to want their brains to be poked awake.

I realized belatedly that that sounds like a snotty comment. I don't mean jazz fans have normally dull brains and need jazz to wake them up. I mean that jazz fans seem to want to be intellectually engaged by the music, instead of going into the state of mind I usually go into when I listen.

I often turn to music to help my brain go into a less analytical place. Music--listening to it, not making it--is the opposite of work. The other forms of jazz always felt like so much work. Nevertheless, I've decided in my middle age to try again, because I've had a resurgence of interest--a topic I'll get into next week.

It's beyond cool that you got to hear Spyrogyra when they were just starting. Magic.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Wink's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal
I'm from the other side of the state, but my gf lived there (in Rottenchester), and I had a G.I. Bill so I could finish school there. Her friends (who became mine) dragged me kicking and screaming to see Spyro Gyra. The other thing was, it was a hop, skip and a jump to a dive bar that served cheap beer (where a lot of deaf students from RIT hung out) if the band sucked.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

You could be many things, but I think you could be a dynamite art critic, whether it's films, music, play, lit.

Thank you for another great essay.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@HenryAWallace It's my first love. That, and various Florida ecosystems :-).

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver