Thursday, January 09, 2003
Stormy Tuesday
I haven't had time to put up the recording I promised a few blogs back. I have been a little busy. Perhaps this weekend I can share the story of what happened when I went out to join the open mic sunday night.
I talked to Josh two nights ago, during our band, /dev/NOISE's practice. Josh sounded great. We could only talk for ten minutes - In 10 minutes, we covered a lot. His mind, ravenous for input, was back online. He asked me for another copy of Strunk And White's "Elements of Style" - and he also completed a very difficult, many layered book by Marshall McLuhan called Understanding Media. (this book would benefit by being made into hypertext. I hope that happens one day)
He told me that when he finished he had only two words for me. "F**k you". I'd blown his mind. I'm glad. He planned to re-read the thing again yesterday. This blows my mind. It took me months to get through Understanding Media. I'd read a chapter, and I'd go off and buzz for week or two. I internalized that book years ago, I don't recall details of it, but I know it has influenced me. For the past four years, I've been writing a fiction book called the "Meme War", about some Orwellian concepts in language. That story is far from ready, but I think I'll try and get segments up on the web. I look forward to discussing UM with Josh when I see him on Sunday.
.....
Most people when they get out of rehab find it difficult to live for more than a day at a time. Josh told me he wanted to live long enough to make an album... and then he could die. With a little hesitation, which worried me a lot, he followed that up with: "After I finish it, I'll find another reason to live, I'll make another one, or something."
....
Before I hung up, everyone in "/dev/NOISE" gave Josh a rousing chord of encouragement over the cell phone. Afterwards I sang lead with the band on Stormy Monday for Josh. We put our hearts into it. Here's the mp3 of Stormy Monday, that session. .
Later,
Michael
¶ 1:14 PM
