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Post by nonrabbit on May 12, 2012 16:30:06 GMT
Now thats a lot worse than mailsh*t !! ;D
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tullist
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Post by tullist on May 13, 2012 4:09:56 GMT
Doggy poo-poos in the morning mail represents some kind of extreme in the Tull Literature....dunno what exactly....but it's ....uh....extreme. Normally the act of someone with a psychotic nature exacting their form of revenge against a former friend or friends who dared to expound views in contrast to their own. Yes, we've all met and known such "wonderful" characters in our lives but in the end the best way to deal with such people is to ignore them and, happily, they go away as the attention that they crave doesn't materialise. Maybe drawing to fine a line on a subject that has a little more interest to me than maybe it should but I would mark that as demented moreso than psycho. Possibly Bernie could help with the delineation, but pretty sure psycho involves lack of emotion, like the type of person who could hack up a family member and be emotionless about it. I have seen very high estimates of psychosis in the upper one per cent, particularly CEO's and politicians, the ability to act dispassionately coming naturally,(while still having the mental capacity to say the right thing and to feign emotion where necessary) apparently evident in something like one per cent of the population I believe. Now this is a somewhat lame follow up to the Sharon Osborne tale, guess the Osborne's are into that, seems like Ian was relating a story from years ago, maybe on one of the videos about Ozzy $h1tting out the window of a limo I think it went. Truly no wonder why the Sabs are much more popular than Tull in the past 30 years, I mean that kind of behavior is like right down Main, High or Patrick St. I will say that line, and lines had resonance the first time I heard it off the first box set, I am sure my buddy and I were high fiving or something, but finally pretty much a Tull curiosity, for instance, I will have the audacity to say either Hot Mango Flush are its superior, a little more sophisticated. In fact I had very similar feelings about General Crossing when I first heard it, loved it as a one off laugh, less so as a Tull piece. Another one though, is General Crossing, where I would love to have video of Ian recording the lines, as well as video of the laughter at the beginning of WYTTHM/ Anyway this video is possibly already up here in the 81 or 2 column, but this guy did a pretty good job on that song. I like the intensive plumbing diagram to see how precisely we are going to exact this punishment, and of course the Scots or Irish country house down the lane where that unassuming man/perpetrator lives. Pretty good. youtu.be/5LjFFZ-FEoM
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Post by nonrabbit on May 13, 2012 8:20:04 GMT
Normally the act of someone with a psychotic nature exacting their form of revenge against a former friend or friends who dared to expound views in contrast to their own. Yes, we've all met and known such "wonderful" characters in our lives but in the end the best way to deal with such people is to ignore them and, happily, they go away as the attention that they crave doesn't materialise. Maybe drawing to fine a line on a subject that has a little more interest to me than maybe it should but I would mark that as demented moreso than psycho. Possibly Bernie could help with the delineation, but pretty sure psycho involves lack of emotion, like the type of person who could hack up a family member and be emotionless about it. I have seen very high estimates of psychosis in the upper one per cent, particularly CEO's and politicians, the ability to act dispassionately coming naturally,(while still having the mental capacity to say the right thing and to feign emotion where necessary) apparently evident in something like one per cent of the population I believe. Now this is a somewhat lame follow up to the Sharon Osborne tale, guess the Osborne's are into that, seems like Ian was relating a story from years ago, maybe on one of the videos about Ozzy $h1tting out the window of a limo I think it went. Truly no wonder why the Sabs are much more popular than Tull in the past 30 years, I mean that kind of behavior is like right down Main, High or Patrick St. I will say that line, and lines had resonance the first time I heard it off the first box set, I am sure my buddy and I were high fiving or something, but finally pretty much a Tull curiosity, for instance, I will have the audacity to say either Hot Mango Flush are its superior, a little more sophisticated. In fact I had very similar feelings about General Crossing when I first heard it, loved it as a one off laugh, less so as a Tull piece. Another one though, is General Crossing, where I would love to have video of Ian recording the lines, as well as video of the laughter at the beginning of WYTTHM/ Anyway this video is possibly already up here in the 81 or 2 column, but this guy did a pretty good job on that song. I like the intensive plumbing diagram to see how precisely we are going to exact this punishment, and of course the Scots or Irish country house down the lane where that unassuming man/perpetrator lives. Pretty good. youtu.be/5LjFFZ-FEoM I think the explanation for Down at the End of your Road will probably be something to do with a jealous, disgruntled neighbour taking action against the rich, successful one in the road - not that unusual. Taken to the extremes can result in arson and death. Or maybe a building company who wishes to build etc using devious tactics to remove someone ie. to gain the last house in the site that the reluctant owner is holding on to. I've heard of companies using underhand, sometimes extreme measures to remove the people from their homes in a bid to rebuild ranging from dumping things next to their house, bricks in the sewage etc etc . Maybe I'm wrong but I've found a lot of Ian's lyrics are usually based on everyday things but somehow sound like fairy tales - magic ;D
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Post by steelmonkey on May 13, 2012 17:13:35 GMT
So Ray...what your are calling psychosis is actually the signs of a sociopath...psychosis defines an individual responding to audio or visual hallucinations and/or internal stimuli and a host of lesser examples like ideas of reference ( the TV is talking to me, God exists) severe paranoia ( they put chips in my head, they see us, God is watching). Probably over 80% of politicians and leaders combine the traits of a sociopath with narcissistic or borderline personality disorders. Temporary psychosis, that emerges in stress, delirium, PTSD etc, was fairly rare till LSD and it's cousins made it a day in/ day out fact of emergency room life...crack now the same. Sociopaths emerge quite early...the kids who tortured puppies and slugged little jewish boys indeed ended up in jail or in charge.
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tullist
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Post by tullist on May 13, 2012 18:49:33 GMT
So Ray...what your are calling psychosis is actually the signs of a sociopath...psychosis defines an individual responding to audio or visual hallucinations and/or internal stimuli and a host of lesser examples like ideas of reference ( the TV is talking to me, God exists) severe paranoia ( they put chips in my head, they see us, God is watching). Probably over 80% of politicians and leaders combine the traits of a sociopath with narcissistic or borderline personality disorders. Temporary psychosis, that emerges in stress, delirium, PTSD etc, was fairly rare till LSD and it's cousins made it a day in/ day out fact of emergency room life...crack now the same. Sociopaths emerge quite early...the kids who tortured puppies and slugged little jewish boys indeed ended up in jail or in charge. Yeah Bernie I say this because of things read or heard day to day, by and large online, and as a result of getting maybe halfway through this book, www.amazon.com/The-Psychopath-Test-Journey-Industry/dp/1594488010 a year ago. Recall it concerns a guy who intentionally had himself committed, or was wrongfully committed, cannot remember now, and his findings being institutionalized. While a perfectly good book I believe I only read about half of it, library book. I would like to see a factual account of the actual emergency room, and psychiatric hospital accounts, (for reasons of accuracy extending well beyond the Bay Area) of LSD cases vrs crack cases, I would suspect crack dwarfs it so as not to be comparable. While I will allow that there are thousands who never returned from psychedelic experience, were it accurately gauged, vis a vis total psychedelic experience vrs total crack experiences, and a percentage divined of who was permanently damaged, crack would come out very much the worse. Adding to that alcohol and prescription drugs. Yes it could be a dangerous path as exploration normally is, but I do not think it accidental that its, LSD's and all hallucinogens, some much stronger, have been villified to the extent that it was, because BIG DADDY could see it was changing people's mindsets. Additionally, as an unfortunate outgrowth of Sergeant Peppers, it invited alot of people to the dance, with whatever baggage they were bringing such as conceivably extant damage of one kind or another that was exacerbated by psychedelic experience I suspect there was a high percentage of people who never should have been dosing, like the girl Zappa used to refer to, Suzy Creamcheese. Like I have recommended several times, this is the book to read concerning this subject. Storming Heaven. Jay Stevens. Foreword by Mickey Hart! Today and hopefully from now on I will be checking these small constructs of mine, as I notice a 330 am jabber from last night does not make pure sense.
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Post by maddogfagin on May 14, 2012 13:30:11 GMT
From www.popmatters.comJethro Tull's Ian Anderson: Thick As a Brick 2 By Sean Murphy 14 May 2012
Ian Anderson: Living in the Present However unwittingly, Ian Anderson wrote his artistic epitaph all the way back in 1976. “Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young To Die!”, the hit from the album of the same name, used music as a metaphor (or vice versa) where he, understandably, wondered if—or when—a musician might be reasonably expected to retire. The answer, of course, has always been straightforward: when the musician feels like it. Whether written off by critics, ignored by trend makers or still selling out arenas, only the artist can decide when it’s finally time to walk away.
For an iconoclastic prog rocker who is currently enjoying his 44th year as leader of Jethro Tull, it’s at once ironic and appropriate that his first single, from 1969, is entitled “Living in the Past”. The next sentence is inevitable: whether or not Anderson is figuratively wallowing in the brighter glow of glory days long gone, he soldiers on. As it happened, he was—and is—not yet too old to rock and roll. (That sentence was inevitable as well.) Jethro Tull continued to make remarkable music throughout the ‘70s and was steady if not always impressive during the ‘80s. Things slowed down dramatically in the ‘90s and no new material has surfaced in almost a decade. Nevertheless, Anderson has been an indefatigable performer, leading his ever-evolving line-ups on tour pretty much without pause. If his voice was effectively shot many moons ago, the crowds still turned up for the shows.
Was he supposed to fade away or quietly tend to his salmon farms? We tend to mock our elder statesmen when they get lazy or lose inspiration. (This begs the uneasy question: is rock and roll almost exclusively a young musician’s game? With few exceptions in terms of both quality and consistency, the answer is a resounding yes.) And so: what is there to say about someone who continues to make music past retirement age? Fair play and cheers to anyone who is willing and able to stay in the game. All of which is to say it was surprising, but not disheartening to hear a new album was in the works. On the other hand, revisiting—and updating—a progressive milestone and masterpiece? Hmmm.
Ian Anderson, who has cycled through sidemen the way his more hedonistic compatriots once speed-dialed through dealers, has yet another cast of characters for this recording. The gentlemen from the ‘72 line-up have been gone for ages. The one exception, throughout, has been Martin Barre, lead guitarist from the second album on. Distressingly, if revealingly, Barre is nowhere to be heard on these proceedings, which are intriguingly (if revealingly) entitled Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson: TAAB2 (Thick As a Brick 2). Hmmm.
Expectations were moderate, to put it mildly. Simply, if harshly put, the notion of this entire enterprise seemed like a recipe for fiasco, an exercise equal parts ill-advised nostalgia, indulgence and obvious lack of inspiration. Recent years have not been kind to either Anderson’s voice or, judging from the scarcity of new works, his muse. In the great old days, these were the two sharpest arrows in his quiver.
And yet, here he is, pressing on because he can; because he needs to. The verdict? It’s not terrible. It’s not even bad, actually. And yet, it is difficult to determine if it’s really very good. It is not remotely an embarrassment which, given the stakes and circumstances, is not an inconsiderable achievement. Of course there will be fans prepared to protest Anderson’s audacity: how dare he meddle with the legacy of a dearly-loved album, etc. Those unforgiving, unimaginative folks are advised to give this one a miss, though they may in fact be missing out on material that is interesting and more than occasionally quite satisfactory.
Martin Barre is sorely missed (on principle if nothing else) but in fairness, his young replacement Florian Ophale acquits himself more than adequately. The rest of the band, including drummer Scott Hammond, bassist David Goodier and keyboardist John O’Hara may not make anyone forget the ’72 crew, but—again, in fairness—few outfits (then, now) could.
The impetus of this endeavor is a doubling-down of sorts, revisiting a gambit employed for the original. Thick As a Brick, as the elaborate faux-newspaper packaging declared, featured lyrics from an eight year old wunderkind called Gerald Bostock. Now, 40 years on, Anderson imagines the various paths this fictional character’s life may have taken. As such, careers ranging from banker to soldier to preacher are explored, with varying levels of effectiveness.
The lyrics are mostly okay, but seldom encroach on the rarefied air Anderson occupied for the initial decades of his career. The music is, frankly, better than any reasonable fan could hope for. At least the instruments are all being played by human beings and there is a merciful minimum of studio tinkering and technological trickery (thanks in no small part to mixing engineer—and prog rock MVP—Steven Wilson). The vocals? There is no way around it, the vocals are weak. At this point Anderson utilizes a strategy of necessity, half-speaking in a sing-song style. Unfortunately there are also sections of deadpan narrative delivered in an unembellished speaking voice. These moments are aesthetically disappointing, more so for their unoriginality and the last resort of sorts that they signify than anything else. Overall, there is sufficient variety, in terms of the pacing and the sounds, to result in a discernible, sporadically pleasant flow. The packaging is neither as clever nor as impressive as the original, but the old version didn’t come with a bonus DVD featuring interviews, a making-of feature and lyric readings (this one does).
The key question remains: is it memorable? Will it be returned to with any regularity? Check back in a month, or a year, or a few decades. Grading on the curve, it seems unsporting to be excessively harsh. This project could never replace or even compare favorably with the first one, but not many albums could. To this listener (and long-time fan) the results are much more lively and worthwhile than anything Anderson has done since the early ‘90s. That he had the tenacity to pull this off without resorting to self-satire puts him in a better light than most of his peers who are safely enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and/or debasing themselves during the Super Bowl.
Bottom line: the effort does little to affect the impact of the ‘72 release. Or any of the albums that preceded or followed it. It puts the clearest perspective possible on the question only the most ardent fans bother to ask (and, as such, serves as a curious kind of public service): what would happen if Ian Anderson had stuck around for another 40 years after he created Thick As a Brick? Answer: this is what would have happened.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2012 14:18:05 GMT
www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-57421027-10391698/ian-anderson-makes-sequel-to-jethro-tull-album/The most noticeable aspect of "TAAB2" is that it was recorded and released as an Ian Anderson solo album rather than a Jethro Tull one - it doesn't feature Tull's longtime guitarist Martin Barre. Anderson explains that it was mutually agreed that he and Barre would work on separate projects. "I'm like a football team manager," he says. "I had to pick the right people. I really felt that the guitar player that I've been working with in the last ten years at the Ian Anderson shows - which outnumbers the Jethro Tull shows in the last few years - not just he, but the other musicians, too, were the people I felt I wanted to work on this album."
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Post by maddogfagin on May 15, 2012 9:27:07 GMT
So Ray...what your are calling psychosis is actually the signs of a sociopath... So what are the signs and attributes of a sociopath? From what you're saying my ex-son in law is one and so is someone I work with but a professional explanation would be appreciated.
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Post by steelmonkey on May 15, 2012 15:51:45 GMT
Sociopaths lack empathy...they hurt people cuz they can't imagine how their actions impact beings outside of themselves. Psychotics do things cuz voices in their heads tell them to do so or they are defending themselves from imaginary dangers.
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2012 1:03:48 GMT
Jethro Tull's Little Milton, at 50 May 17, 2012 - 8:47AM Opinion www.smh.com.au/opinion/blogs/wokkapedia/jethro-tulls-little-milton-at-50-20120516-1yqe3.htmlSpin me back down the years and the days of my youth. Draw the lace and black curtains and shut out the whole truth. How would Gerald Bostock have gone in his NAPLAN tests? He was, it was said, something of a wizard with the pen and ink, back in the days before computers. Would his parents have allowed him to sit them? Perhaps they might have thought there was a political agenda going on in the background. Can't have political meddling in the playgrounds of young minds. Perhaps they didn't mind; they were, it has been shown, ambitious for their son. But then, whatever happened to Gerald Bostock? And should we care? First, who is Gerald? Forty years ago, he was a young scamp, dubbed "Little Milton". He won an award for his poem Thick as a Brick, presented by the Society of Literary Advancement and Gestation. His parents, David and Daphne, however, lied about his age. He was really nine when he wrote it and 10 when he won. His local village newspaper, The St Cleve Chronicle & Linwell Advertiser, profiled him and his family, printed the epic poem, and ran a second more scandalous story on how a local lass blamed Gerald for getting her pregnant. Poor Gerald also had his award rescinded after four psychiatrists, upon hearing his poem on the BBC, concluded it was the result of someone with "an unwholesome attitude towards life, his God and country". Ostensibly, it was because he was alleged to have said an offensive word after reading the poem. The word, the paper reported, was "g--r", which didn't exist. It created a furore. The judges twitched, and gave the award to Mary Whiteyard, aged 12, for her poem He Died to Save the Little Children. But Gerald didn't exist, either. He was the product of that constantly imagining mind of Ian Anderson, singer-songwriter, flautist and guitarist of Jethro Tull. Thick as a Brick (a poem more than 3000 words in length) was the lyrical canvas upon which Anderson set his prog-rock opus. One can use that last phrase without embarrassment, for it was at the time progressive rock and it was long: Side 1, Thick as a Brick Part 1; Side 2, Thick as a Brick Part 2. Little Gerald was the locus of Anderson's view of the struggle between the individual and the state, the mainstream and the conforming moulds of society. And surely, the winner of the poetry competition, little Mary Whiteyard, was Anderson's shot at anti-filth crusader Mary Whitehouse in Britain in the 1970s). Really don't mind if you sit this one out. My words but a whisper, your deafness a shout! Forty years on, Gerald is 50. How has life treated him? Which roads has he travelled? It's here that Anderson has made the concept interesting, for he gives Gerald five alternative lives: different shifts in the wind that shape a person's destiny. The "what ifs, maybes, might have beens, soft petals on a breeze". Says Anderson on his website: "The theme of this anniversary “Part Two” album is to examine the possible different paths that the precocious young schoolboy Gerald Bostock might have taken later in life, and to create alter-ego characters whose song-section identities illustrate the hugely varied potential twists and turns of fate and opportunity. Not just for Gerald, but to echo how our own lives develop, change direction and ultimately conclude through chance encounters and interventions, however tiny and insignificant they might seem at the time. "In the development of the piece, the divergences of life's infinitely forked roads finally give way to an almost gravitational pull which results in convergence to, perhaps, a pre-ordained, karma-like conclusion. "As we baby boomers look back on our own lives, we must often feel an occasional 'what if' moment. Might we, like Gerald, have become instead preacher, soldier, down-and-out, shopkeeper or finance tycoon? "And those of more tender years – the social media and internet generation – may choose to ponder well the myriad of chance possibilities ahead of them at every turn. "Odd chap, life ..." TAAB2, as the sequel is called, is purely Anderson's vehicle. Indeed, the CD labelling is "Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson TAAB2". His old Tull chums do not appear, not even guitarist Martin "Lancelot" Barre, with whom he toured just a few months ago in Australia. (And a jolly fine show it was too in Melbourne even if Anderson's voice was straining in the upper register.) The CD packaging echoes the newspaper design of the original, but updated, thus the newspaper is now www.stcleve.com. (Go to it to find all that's happening in the three parishes of St Cleve, Linwell and Little Cruddock.) For instance, there's this: Headline: "New life for the Old Library?" Antique Book-seller Matthew Bunter, purchased the Old Library in Linwell village last month in the hope of reopening in due course as an online book download centre and erotic literature emporium. “It will perfectly supplement my more traditional range of literary wares,” said Mr Bunter, former church warden at St Olive's. “Got to move with the times before the times move with you,” pondered Matthew, with wry humour. The music, in parts, also echoes and samples the original. They're a necessary link in the chain for the narrative, for this is a work that doesn't instantly draw you in. Without the startling freshness that imbued TAAB1, Anderson has had to use the same paints and brush as are now well-recognised in rock, but layer it as one would a novel. Hence, it needs to be listened to without distraction. (In fact, a few years ago Anderson told this writer that there was no new rock music any more, nor would there be; all the parameters had been set.) TAAB2 reveals itself slowly and, because of that, for those accustomed to instant gratification, it could be considered a difficult work. Anderson acknowledges this: "The conceptual and heavily lyrical nature of the beast, however, might be out of place in the attention-span-deficit world which we seem to occupy these days. But, having toured in 2010 and 2011 in Italy, Latin America, Australia and other countries where passions run high, I decided that maybe the world – or our little corners of it – was, in fact, ready for a bit of more substantial and weightier fare. "Starting with lyrics and then thinking of the music is not normally the way I work, but it was here. A title, a few words or a verse or two and then the acoustic guitar was immediately to hand to conjure up a full song section out of the growing lyrics. Having a plan was important. Stories to tell made it all easier. The imagination-filled process of thinking how things might have turned out for the young and older Gerald kept me fascinated. Maybe you will be too. And maybe not. "Ah, well – you can always go and watch The X Factor and the Eurovision Song Contest." What would Gerald be doing now? Would he be having tea and biscuits, cardigans and small comforts in the 'burbs or champagne and cocaine in the City? How much of life is luck – there-but-for-the-grace-of stuff — and how much is destiny? In his various ways, Gerald is everyman. How did we get to this place where we stand now? Do we remember the turning points, or even recognise them, while measuring out coffee spoons? Was there a plan? Were those building blocks of Gerald's youth merely bricks?
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tullist
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Post by tullist on May 17, 2012 2:35:34 GMT
Listening to the Oxford show I really gotta say that Scott Hammond is just a f**k. I mean to say that man is dealin and slicin. Florian several gold stars, of course he is not Martin, or Mick Abrahams or Jimi Hendrix but that young man is carving his own niche in no uncertain terms, definitely bringing his own information to the testimony, while acknowledging the past masters. In this show that power chord that leads into Power and Spirit would lift Pete Townsends eyebrow. And A Change of Horses presents like some weird desert oasis under millions of stars where some new understanding is arrived at, I can almost see those Bedouin guys on camels. They know stuff. Particularly impressive is that part of Side 2 of Brick most normally written off, the first five minutes of Side 2, is as impressive as any part of the TAAB1 performance. I feel like gobbling a whole lotta hermione now. Has anyone actual had any of the delectable item? Is is McTasty?
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Post by maddogfagin on May 17, 2012 7:51:59 GMT
Listening to the Oxford show I really gotta say that Scott Hammond is just a f**k. I mean to say that man is dealin and slicin. Florian several gold stars, of course he is not Martin, or Mick Abrahams or Jimi Hendrix but that young man is carving his own niche in no uncertain terms, definitely bringing his own information to the testimony, while acknowledging the past masters. In this show that power chord that leads into Power and Spirit would lift Pete Townsends eyebrow. And A Change of Horses presents like some weird desert oasis under millions of stars where some new understanding is arrived at, I can almost see those Bedouin guys on camels. They know stuff. Particularly impressive is that part of Side 2 of Brick most normally written off, the first five minutes of Side 2, is as impressive as any part of the TAAB1 performance. I feel like gobbling a whole lotta hermione now. Has anyone actual had any of the delectable item? Is is McTasty? The final instrumental bit of Confessional leading into Kismet is pure Tull, even more in a live setting. Love that short piece.
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Post by steelmonkey on May 17, 2012 15:39:32 GMT
I think it's pure, peak Tull from 14 thru 17 nonstop. That's how I listen to TAABII....start at 14 and then stop at end of 13 to give it a rest for a day or two....Now I have a boot of Harrogate which will premiere in my car CD player tomorrow ( the kid's Tull tolerance does not include boots...she can handle polished live like the Mother Goose on Aqualung 99 or many of the cuts on Light Music and Living with the Past but actual boots make her cringe).
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2012 22:14:30 GMT
Anderson continues "Thick as a Brick" storyline Thursday, May 17, 2012 By Kevin Dillard my.hsj.org/Schools/Newspaper/tabid/100/view/frontpage/articleid/527916/newspaperid/4415/Anderson_continues_Thick_as_a_Brick_storyline.aspx“Jethro Tull” frontman Ian Anderson kept waiting since 1972 for the followup album to “Thick as a Brick”, “Thick as a Brick 2: Whatever Happened to Gerald Bostock?” (TAAB2). The original concept album, “Thick as a Brick”, follows the life of Gerald Bostock, a young man whose parents lied to him about his age. “Jethro Tull” released the album March 10, 1972 originally, with a 2009 remastered release. The album held a single 43-minute song with a pause in the middle where the listener flipped the vinyl to the other side. America instantly fell in love with “Thick as a Brick” at its debut. Anderson recorded TAAB2 only after Derek Shulman's urging in early 2010. Shulman motivated Anderson to modify a number of his current, unreleased songs to form the basis of TAAB2. Shulman's poking and prodding finally warmed Anderson to the idea of a new album, and he began writing pieces such as “From A Pebble Thrown” and “Give 'Till it Hurts”. Lyrics such as “Ripples from a pebble thrown make tsunami on a foreign shore” force the listeners to think about their actions and how they affect other people and entities. The cheery tone, yet slightly dark content created a conflicting theme throughout the album. In “Give 'Till it Hurts”, Anderson sang about religious corruption. Reverend Bostock told the congregation that the coffer contained nearly no money, but the faithful flock stood by, as he prepared to shave the needy and bereft. Anderson continued the album through the mind and life of Bostock, which went through the events proceeding the defrocking of the Reverend. An unknown firm employed Bostock as a banker, during which he embezzled millions. The government found out, and Bostock, who owned no home after serving prison time, dredged out a living as a homeless man, found love, and sought a civil union with his male partner. Anderson brought up the issue of homosexuality several times throughout the album in “Swing it Far”, “Confessional” and “Old School Song”. Bostock confessed his homosexuality to his disapproving parents in “Swing it Far”, in which Anderson implied criticism for the intolerance for homosexuals in society today. Bostock's bitter words about his father displayed how such intolerance tore families apart and created hate and havoc between people who normally love each other. The audio reminded the listener of the preceding album but refused to directly copy it. Anderson took the light flute and heavy rock organ sound straight from his earlier days in “Thick as a Brick” and “Aqualung”, which provided the older listeners with a reminiscent smile. The dark insanity that bored deep into the human soul, and the lighthearted tone of the album provided an insight into the truth of human life and death; the frailty of the mind, with insanity and depravity that loomed overhead and waited to devour the mind and soul. The sorrow, love, hate and happiness in this album provided the listener a short ride into another person's life, earning Anderson, and TAAB2, 5-out-of-5 stars.
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Post by steelmonkey on May 18, 2012 0:46:35 GMT
Allright...the guy gets a lot wrong...but you can't argue w/5 stars and Ian does deserve massive credit for being so unambiguously pro gay rights and dignity.
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Post by snaffler on May 18, 2012 15:52:25 GMT
Allright...the guy gets a lot wrong...but you can't argue w/5 stars and Ian does deserve massive credit for being so unambiguously pro gay rights and dignity. "....i'm one of those people who recognises the feminine side of my personality. It's something i'm aware of and not afraid of. I'm not even 100% sure that i'm not gay. i could be, i just havent had the opportunity to try it out. If there ever was one, it probably went by about 30 years ago." IA acoustic magazine june 2009
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Post by steelmonkey on May 18, 2012 15:57:44 GMT
So why no gig in San Francisco....a.k.a: Gay Mecca ? Maybe with Village People, Pet Shop Boys or Frankie Goes to Hollywood as an opening act.
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Post by snaffler on May 18, 2012 16:04:11 GMT
his moustache isnt big enough and the mayor has banned anyone who doesn't dress like village people.
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2012 21:41:48 GMT
Thick as a brick 2 Ian Anderson Rating: 1/2 www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Music/Superheavy-power/Article1-857947.aspxGOD, it’s jethro dull! There was a time when a particular kind of human would revel in the music of Jethro Tull, the 70s Brit prog rock band that was (supposedly) a parody of a 70s Brit prog rock band. With Ian Anderson and his lip-o-suction flute, this hairy lot appealed to a university crowd familiar with the fact that Jethro Tull was a 17th century English agriculturalist. It turns out that Anderson (and his blasting flute) has crossed over to the 21st century. His latest project: a ‘sequel’ to Tull’s much ‘respected’ 1972 album, Thick As A Brick (TAAB). If TAAB now is seen as a handicraft curio from the Proterozoic era, TAAB2 (which has Anderson alone doing the cooking) is a no-holds-barred boredom-inducing personal extravagance. Tracks such as ‘Power and spirit/ Give till it hurts’, ‘Upper sixth loan shark/Banker bets, banker wins’ and ‘A change of horses’ (that should be on a Robin Hood soundtrack and nowhere else) are supposed to be clever. But with all its huffing and puffing and classic rock poses, I’d rather go with Mama Mia: The Musical. It’s official then: Anderson on this album is my personal Anglo-Saxon Cacofonix. And the worst album cover award goes to...
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2012 19:36:33 GMT
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Post by steelmonkey on May 25, 2012 20:44:14 GMT
That's okay...the frequent flyer miles i earn travelling around to kick all those one and and zero star distributors sorry butts will probably earn me a free flight to Florida and hotel stays for the seven night tour of brick gig/ baseball spring training venues next september. I'll get the guy in Palo Alto over the weekend. Fort Pierce ?, Fort Myers, Old Farts?
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2012 14:36:47 GMT
Bygones will not be bygones oxfordstudent.com/2012/05/31/bygones-will-not-be-bygones/Posted on 31 May 2012. Ophelia Stimpson speaks to Ian Anderson, lead singer of Jethro Tull and veteran musician… ‘Ian Anderson. Now he’ll be an interesting bloke to talk to.’ So said some of the more mature regulars at the pub when I told them I’d been offered an interview with the charismatic frontman of Jethro Tull. As far as I knew, he was ‘that one’ who successfully managed to incorporate the flute into rock music, with an appearance which wouldn’t look out of place if he were playing some sort of Keith Richard’s-esque cameo in Pirates of the Caribbean. So I gathered that there’d be a fair bit to him, but that was as far as it went. Apparently, though, if you don’t know about Ian Anderson then you ought to; in retrospect of the interview, I can vouch for this. It was in 1972 that Jethro Tull released Thick as a Brick (TAAB) – a concept album based on the fictitious schoolboy Gerald Bostock which humorously records his day-to-day shenanigans in one continuous 44-minute burst of progressive rock. And now, 40 years on, Anderson has returned with his creation of Thick as a Brick 2, which in a nutshell delves back into the concept of Gerald Bostock who would now be aged 50. So what’s changed? The first TAAB instantly became a number one Billboard Chart album; is it really worth trying to recapture Gerald’s fictional life so rooted in its context of 1972? It was at the end of 2010 that Anderson was experiencing a sort of ‘private meltdown’ as regards to the resurrection of Gerald Bostock. Having been asked to create a follow up album on numerous occasions, and having rejected all previous approaches, Anderson finally felt it was time to resurrect the character which generated much of the acclaim still associated with his career today. But how to make it relevant? It perhaps takes less effort than one would think, hints Anderson – imagining how a life has developed over the course of a few decades is perhaps, in fact, perfectly natural. “As we baby-boomers look back on our own lives, we must often feel an occasional ‘what-if’ moment. Might we, like Gerald, have become instead preacher, soldier, down-and-out, shopkeeper or finance tycoon?,” That’s all very well for our parents, I said, because they can map their own ‘what-if’ moments against the release of the original TAAB album. How can we young’uns relate to this sort of thing when we’re yet to know where our paths will take us? ‘Well, it can do you a lot of good, in fact’, says Ian. ‘Kids these days are bombarded with huge decisions at a very young age – all you need do is pick your A-level choices and already you’re sort of narrowing life down. The sooner you start to realise that, the sooner you can keep your options open or establish your preferences.’ This all sounds suspiciously similar to the speech from my 6th form open day. ‘I’m not trying to preach, and I’m not aiming my music at the youth alone. The point of this record is not to feed you a quaint little tale of a fictional person, the point is exactly to make many different people think.’ I said I found Ian’s reference to ‘thinking’ quite interesting; you can argue significant degrees of mental engagement seem like a foreign concept in today’s Top 40, where messages can be, well, insultingly literal. Ian picked up on this; “people don’t deserve to be spoon-fed – we’re an intellectual species, and if we dumb down music or any kind of art we become numb. You’re probably thinking “who is this silly old codger, making us think about stuff”, but someone needs to provide the antidote to all things ‘X factor’. None of us are stupid; I’ve had letters from prisoners in the USA telling me about how a certain nuance in my music has brought about a change in their intellectual outlook. If I can make people boxed into the label of ‘convict’ expand their mental horizons, I must be getting something right.” The conversation then flowed by seamless association to the subject of challenge. Anderson’s career has spanned a generous 40 years thus far and it is by no means waning. “I think the important thing is to keep your mind open and active at any age. I don’t read music but I’ve played my flute with symphony orchestras in my time – I’d never be able to interpret music in the same way as traditionally professional flautists, but likewise they’d struggle to apply an intricate flute solo to a piece of rock music. When I meet such musicians, it is always fascinating to test each other and see what we can get out of it.” I wondered about Ian’s thoughts on those making music from downloadable computer software in our current era of music. “I’m not refuting the fact that it takes talent to produce something good from computers. But the thing is, kids today grow up with computers – you lose that magic of taking the time to explore a new instrument. Computers are good because they creatively involve people, and creativity is always good, but I’m suspicious of music being made by people from software which has been assembled by someone else – it seems to me generic, and not music in real time.” There’s a lot to be said for listening to people like Ian Anderson – it’s easy to remain unaware and consign them to the passages of previous decades when actually their music is a lifetime craft. Anderson is an artisan, quietly and humbly producing a sound where he has paid strong attention to quality. He is not a part of history, but a stalwart of the present day.
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Post by maddogfagin on May 31, 2012 19:31:33 GMT
Bygones will not be bygones oxfordstudent.com/2012/05/31/bygones-will-not-be-bygones/Posted on 31 May 2012. Ophelia Stimpson speaks to Ian Anderson, lead singer of Jethro Tull and veteran musician… ‘Ian Anderson. Now he’ll be an interesting bloke to talk to.’ So said some of the more mature regulars at the pub when I told them I’d been offered an interview with the charismatic frontman of Jethro Tull. As far as I knew, he was ‘that one’ who successfully managed to incorporate the flute into rock music, with an appearance which wouldn’t look out of place if he were playing some sort of Keith Richard’s-esque cameo in Pirates of the Caribbean. So I gathered that there’d be a fair bit to him, but that was as far as it went. Apparently, though, if you don’t know about Ian Anderson then you ought to; in retrospect of the interview, I can vouch for this. It was in 1972 that Jethro Tull released Thick as a Brick (TAAB) – a concept album based on the fictitious schoolboy Gerald Bostock which humorously records his day-to-day shenanigans in one continuous 44-minute burst of progressive rock. And now, 40 years on, Anderson has returned with his creation of Thick as a Brick 2, which in a nutshell delves back into the concept of Gerald Bostock who would now be aged 50. So what’s changed? The first TAAB instantly became a number one Billboard Chart album; is it really worth trying to recapture Gerald’s fictional life so rooted in its context of 1972? It was at the end of 2010 that Anderson was experiencing a sort of ‘private meltdown’ as regards to the resurrection of Gerald Bostock. Having been asked to create a follow up album on numerous occasions, and having rejected all previous approaches, Anderson finally felt it was time to resurrect the character which generated much of the acclaim still associated with his career today. But how to make it relevant? It perhaps takes less effort than one would think, hints Anderson – imagining how a life has developed over the course of a few decades is perhaps, in fact, perfectly natural. “As we baby-boomers look back on our own lives, we must often feel an occasional ‘what-if’ moment. Might we, like Gerald, have become instead preacher, soldier, down-and-out, shopkeeper or finance tycoon?,” That’s all very well for our parents, I said, because they can map their own ‘what-if’ moments against the release of the original TAAB album. How can we young’uns relate to this sort of thing when we’re yet to know where our paths will take us? ‘Well, it can do you a lot of good, in fact’, says Ian. ‘Kids these days are bombarded with huge decisions at a very young age – all you need do is pick your A-level choices and already you’re sort of narrowing life down. The sooner you start to realise that, the sooner you can keep your options open or establish your preferences.’ This all sounds suspiciously similar to the speech from my 6th form open day. ‘I’m not trying to preach, and I’m not aiming my music at the youth alone. The point of this record is not to feed you a quaint little tale of a fictional person, the point is exactly to make many different people think.’ I said I found Ian’s reference to ‘thinking’ quite interesting; you can argue significant degrees of mental engagement seem like a foreign concept in today’s Top 40, where messages can be, well, insultingly literal. Ian picked up on this; “people don’t deserve to be spoon-fed – we’re an intellectual species, and if we dumb down music or any kind of art we become numb. You’re probably thinking “who is this silly old codger, making us think about stuff”, but someone needs to provide the antidote to all things ‘X factor’. None of us are stupid; I’ve had letters from prisoners in the USA telling me about how a certain nuance in my music has brought about a change in their intellectual outlook. If I can make people boxed into the label of ‘convict’ expand their mental horizons, I must be getting something right.” The conversation then flowed by seamless association to the subject of challenge. Anderson’s career has spanned a generous 40 years thus far and it is by no means waning. “I think the important thing is to keep your mind open and active at any age. I don’t read music but I’ve played my flute with symphony orchestras in my time – I’d never be able to interpret music in the same way as traditionally professional flautists, but likewise they’d struggle to apply an intricate flute solo to a piece of rock music. When I meet such musicians, it is always fascinating to test each other and see what we can get out of it.” I wondered about Ian’s thoughts on those making music from downloadable computer software in our current era of music. “I’m not refuting the fact that it takes talent to produce something good from computers. But the thing is, kids today grow up with computers – you lose that magic of taking the time to explore a new instrument. Computers are good because they creatively involve people, and creativity is always good, but I’m suspicious of music being made by people from software which has been assembled by someone else – it seems to me generic, and not music in real time.” There’s a lot to be said for listening to people like Ian Anderson – it’s easy to remain unaware and consign them to the passages of previous decades when actually their music is a lifetime craft. Anderson is an artisan, quietly and humbly producing a sound where he has paid strong attention to quality. He is not a part of history, but a stalwart of the present day. Interesting find TT. Thanks.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2012 21:18:08 GMT
www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/2012/jun/030612-Album-review-Thick-as-a-brick-2-Jethro-Tulls-Ian-Anderson-EMI.htmAlbum review:Thick as a brick 2 This is an album that bears careful listening to, lyric sheet in hand June 05, 2012 Mumbai Lindsay Pereira Thick As A Brick 2 Artist: Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson Label: EMI Price: Rs 395 Rating: *** Around four decades ago, Ian Anderson of rock veterans Jethro Tull, came up with a concept album. It was the thing to do at the time primarily because — unlike today’s audiences and their attention spans akin to goldfish — listeners were able and willing to invest a certain amount of time on concept albums. So, Tull gave them Thick As a Brick, an epic poem supposedly written by an eight year-old called Gerald Bostock. Thick As a Brick 2: Whatever Happened to Gerald Bostock? revisits the life and times of that mythical schoolboy who is, supposedly, now a 48-year-old with a lot on his mind. It’s an ambitious thing to do, not simply because the words ‘concept album’ will compel most teenagers to run in the opposite direction, but also because fans don’t take kindly to bands messing with a classic. Finally, there’s that tricky production issue — how does one revisit the prog-rock sound of a 40 year-old album without sounding like an idiot in 2012? Well, he pulls it off, in a little over 50 minutes. ‘Take me on the ghost train,’ he sings on opener From A Pebble Thrown. ‘20p and there you are. Scary in the tunnel night, white knuckle fingers on the safety bar, which way to blue skies? Phantoms pop from cupboard doors, mocking, manic laughter shrieks, dark promises of blood and gore.’ It’s vintage Anderson, starting from where he left off in 1972 when he wrote: ‘Your sperm’s in the gutter, your love’s in the sink.’ As the album progresses, Anderson lets Gerald Bostock live the life of soldier, banker, homeless man and ordinary guy. Lattes make an appearance, as do mortgages and Starbucks muffins. This is an album that bears careful listening to, lyric sheet in hand. And yes, that legendary flute does make its presence felt too.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2012 21:24:25 GMT
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Post by maddogfagin on Jun 8, 2012 8:15:25 GMT
I suppose that the above would go partly to explain MB's non involvement in TAAB2 but as for Doane's non participation I think it's more to do with health and family matters.
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Post by nobodyspecial on Jun 11, 2012 17:26:05 GMT
So, has anyone read the afore-mentioned 'Goldmine' piece??? Is there anything new and revealing or just a typical IA 'answer-rehash' to the typically 'rehashed' questions? Anyone....
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Post by maddogfagin on Jun 12, 2012 7:53:25 GMT
So, has anyone read the afore-mentioned 'Goldmine' piece??? Is there anything new and revealing or just a typical IA 'answer-rehash' to the typically 'rehashed' questions? Anyone.... Not yet nobodyspecial but I'm hoping TT will be able to track it down. This is the cover if anyone should find it on sale
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2012 13:39:02 GMT
So, has anyone read the afore-mentioned 'Goldmine' piece??? Is there anything new and revealing or just a typical IA 'answer-rehash' to the typically 'rehashed' questions? Anyone.... Not yet nobodyspecial but I'm hoping TT will be able to track it down. This is the cover if anyone should find it on sale Goldmine evades me. Thanks for the cover pic. MORE! Trapdoor - if you need. www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showpost.php?p=7782108&postcount=449Show me a good man. I'll show you the door. The last hymn is sung and the devil cries >>More.<< Well, I'm all for leaving and that being done, I've put in a request to take up my turn in that forsaken paradise that calls itself >>Hell<<' -----
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Post by maddogfagin on Jul 28, 2012 8:00:34 GMT
Planet Rock: Albums of the year . . . so far At #9 - TAAB2 Tull fans around the world uttered a near simultaneous gasp of apprehension and joy when Ian Anderson announced that he was to record a sequel to the classic concept album, Thick As A Brick. The idea, whilst sound, was undeniably risky. What if the album was a stinker? What if it tarnished the heritage of an all time classic concept album? The thought was pretty damn unbearable...
Well, thankfully THICK AS A BRICK 2: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GERALD BOSTOCK was a triumph.
While this isn't a Tull album in the purist sense, it certainly sounds a lot like it. Aside from the iconic flute flourishes, musical genres are adopted and abandoned at the flick of a well drilled key change, while Ian's tremendously recognisable voice hasn't really changed in 40 years.The album's greatest success, though, is that it DOES feel like a sequel to Thick As A Brick. The characters and themes are given a modern world setting along with a slightly more modern musical twist.
If you're a Tull novice, you're not going to want to jump in here. This is an album for people who have lived with Gerald Bostock's exploits for 40 years and it's only part of a story. It's not a perfect album by any means. As with any progressive album, you have to invest a certain amount of yourself into the listening experience. Like the original, it's not an album that you can really dive into the middle of; the songs make sense as a whole but independently they can seem a little detached, and perhaps a little difficult to digest. As a result it's difficult to pinpoint any real defining highlights - all you need to know is that the album as a whole works, and it works very well. In fact, perhaps the greatest praise that one can heap upon TAAB2 is that it could have been released when Tull were at their absolute peak and it would have been accepted gladly by their fans.
KEY TRACKS: A Change Of Horses, Kismet In Suburbia, Pebbles Instrumental/Might-Have-Beens
(On a side note, TAAB2 is amongst the best produced albums of the year. It's crisp and clean but warm and organic. It feels like an album that was produced for vinyl, rather than for the the digital age. As a result you really do get the various nuances of light and shade, where space is as important as noise. Modern records - especially rock records - seem to lack the subtlety of pre-digital era productions. The loudness war is a real issue these days, and producers need to work a lot harder to remember that there's more to making a great rock record than maxing out those dials for extreme dynamic compression. Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson worked on TAAB2 along with engineer Mike Downs and mastering engineer Peter Mew, and they deserve a standing ovation for their stellar work).www.planetrock.com/music/backstage/albums-of-the-year-so-far/albums-of-the-year-so-far/
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