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Post by maddogfagin on Apr 25, 2012 19:41:26 GMT
Jethro Tull gets thicker on "Brick 2" www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/25/us-jethrotull-idUSBRE83O16F20120425By Iain Blair LOS ANGELES | Wed Apr 25, 2012 2:56pm EDT "It's the same thing. You've trained all your life to do it, and she knew this was her last mission, and she was filled with a profound sense of sadness and loss. And that's how I feel as I get into my last years of being a touring musician." The pipe and slippers by the fireside are beckoning. Interesting he says "a touring musician" which rather gives the impression he could carry on as just a recording artist.
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Post by nonrabbit on Apr 26, 2012 7:28:36 GMT
Jethro Tull gets thicker on "Brick 2" www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/25/us-jethrotull-idUSBRE83O16F20120425By Iain Blair LOS ANGELES | Wed Apr 25, 2012 2:56pm EDT "It's the same thing. You've trained all your life to do it, and she knew this was her last mission, and she was filled with a profound sense of sadness and loss. And that's how I feel as I get into my last years of being a touring musician." The pipe and slippers by the fireside are beckoning. Interesting he says "a touring musician" which rather gives the impression he could carry on as just a recording artist. I think he will slow down all round. He said he wanted to do other things. I would be very surprised if he toured as much as he has - I suppose if he slows down he'll find it even harder to do any touring maybe that's been in the back of his mind for a while. I would like to see him write a bit more and not necessarily just music, I'm repeating myself but I would like an autobiography.
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hipflaskandy
Journeyman
OK - this was a while back!
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Post by hipflaskandy on Apr 26, 2012 9:13:04 GMT
I know two or three folks have done an edit like yours but IMO it spoils the continuity of TAAB2. Back in the days when APP was released, the "hare . . . " monologue was edited out on by some people who couldn't fathom it out but my view was, at the time amd even now, it was all part of the somewhat quirky nature of its inclusion. Rest assured no one else releasing albums at that time would have even considered such a piece in the middle of an album. The 'merits' of any artistic 'whole piece' are never in question from this quarter - fully appreciate the works intentions (of both pieces mentioned TAAB2 & APP). But, surely, whether or not the artist intended the piece to be consumed as a whole becomes irrelavant (to that individual), if any given listener finds any part unlisteneable/unpalatable? As with APP before it, I've heard the new piece 'as a whole' - and do appreciate the 'story' development in full, in each case. But my personal choice, now, is to dispense with the parts that IMHO now definitely 'spoil' the continuity of my music-listening pleasure. Funny you should raise the subject of APP. My way of listening to that ALWAYS misses out the 'Hare Specs' section. 'Whaaaat?' you cry! It's like hearing a joke - very much appreciated at the time - but on repeated listens, pales.... I cannot bare the interruption of the rather 'classy' music (yep- I'm in the 'APP was great material' camp!) Likewise then, my own sense of continuity of TAAB2 is not offended by the omission of the 'talky bits' I've attended 'Poetry & Literary Evenings' over the years (due deference to my Lady Pamela).... John Cooper Clarke, Brian Patten, John Hedley, Alan Bennett and more... Interesting... entertaining... to a point... Just not this guy's 'bag' I'm afraid. So 'poetry' and 'readings', like many other 'artforms' (for example Ballet, Sculpture, Art) just don't 'move me' like music can and does. Respect to your opinion MDF - but firm stance here in sticking to mine - they're only personal opinions after all - and thank the gods we're all different, eh?
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Post by steelmonkey on Apr 26, 2012 12:02:54 GMT
Oh yeah....let's talk about being led by the nose to poetry, ballet, opera, sculpture etc by gurls.....not to mention Joni Mitchell.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2012 12:04:48 GMT
What Gerald did next www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Gerald-did/story-15918754-detail/story.htmlIf you ever wondered what had happened to precocious ten-year-old Gerald Bostock, wonder no more. The trials and tribulations of the St Cleve schoolboy formed the basis of Jethro Tull's progressive rock album Thick As A Brick back in 1972. The album, encased in the pages of local newspaper with a headline story about Gerald being disqualified from a poetry competition, was full of lyrics allegedly written by the fictional boy. Forty years on, West Country based Jethro Tull prepare to return to the character, now 50-years-old, with an anniversary tour that will come to Bristol's Colston Hall later this month. The band's founder Ian Anderson says: "With Thick As A Brick I was setting out to parody progressive rock. It was a time of bands like Yes, Genesis and King Crimson and while they have musicality and are very detailed in arrangement, they were becoming increasingly self-indulgent and pretentious. I thought it would be fun to do something in that genre. It is extreme prog rock, a deliberate spoof." So with a large dose of surreal British humour, Jethro Tull unleashed Gerald Bostock into the world. "It's a comedic mash-up that covers some darker points," Ian says. "It looks like fun and games but there is a lot of dark stuff reflected in it, too. "Now, 40 years later, we've released the sequel. I thought about Gerald and the things that could have happened to him and the album explores those lyrically and musically. "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? "We've made changes to update it, for example instead of the St Cleve newspaper it's St Cleeve.com, but it's very much about now, not then." But if the lyrics have been updated to imagine Gerald's fate, the sound of the album has not altered. "The sonic palate is still the same," says the man who brought flute playing to rock music. "We still have the Hammond organ, plenty of glockenspiel, the Gibson guitars. It's the same colours in the paintbox. There is a nod and a wink to the music of 1972. There are little 'remember-mes', three- note phrases that crop up now and again. Some people will get it and others will miss it. In the same way Mozart was a master at linking in elements of his earlier work, I've tried to do the same – although I'm a grubby little upstart rather than a grand musical composer. "Actually, one of the only things that hasn't changed across the whole album is the futility of war. In 1972 the Americans were a year away from pulling out of Vietnam and we know what happened then. Here we are a year away from pulling troops out of Afghanistan. Sadly, some things don't change." Back in 1972, the album was a world-wide success and took the number one spot on the American Billboard chart – and excerpts from the piece have regularly featured in Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson live shows since. Ian says: "I would have been very surprised and extremely disappointed if it had been a total flop. I was just trying to do my best job at the time. "As with everything I have done since I prepare myself for failure and sometimes I get what I prepare for. With this album, if half of all the Jethro Tull fans liked it I would consider that a major achievement because of the numbers that would involve." A large number of the band's fan base, are, like the artists themselves, based in the West Country, and Ian remembers the first time he performed at the Colston Hall. He says: "It was in 1969 and we had just the basics on stage, a few Marshall Cabinets and that was it. You can't change the acoustics in the Colston Hall – it can be jarring if it's too loud and unforgiving if you make the wrong decisions. "In the last 20 years technology and the equipment has moved on apace and people expect to see and hear the sound better than they ever could before. We won't have the excuses we had before if it doesn't sound good this time." Joining Ian on stage will be fellow musicians John O'Hara on keyboards, David Goodier on bass, Florian Opahle on guitar, and Scott Hammond on drums. Ian adds: "I live in the South West, just about, and three of the band are Bristol boys and doing a lot in the city when they're not performing with me. I've worked with them for ten years." Ryan O'Donnell also joins the band on stage performing and singing as part of the new theatrical presentation involving videos and character actors – again, in a nod to the amateur dramatics of 1972. Jethro Tull play Colston Hall on Saturday, April 28, at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £25.50-£28.50. Tel 0117 922 3686
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2012 16:05:23 GMT
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Post by steelmonkey on Apr 26, 2012 16:21:40 GMT
See you in Florida, 2Tull...it's warm enough to sleep outside all year around and we can walk between the seven venues.....no worries about disorientation or tourist rip-offs....I speak Yiddish.....and though 3 of the gigs are a frisbee toss or three from Disney World, forget it....no Disney !
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Post by maddogfagin on Apr 26, 2012 17:40:43 GMT
I know two or three folks have done an edit like yours but IMO it spoils the continuity of TAAB2. Back in the days when APP was released, the "hare . . . " monologue was edited out on by some people who couldn't fathom it out but my view was, at the time amd even now, it was all part of the somewhat quirky nature of its inclusion. Rest assured no one else releasing albums at that time would have even considered such a piece in the middle of an album. The 'merits' of any artistic 'whole piece' are never in question from this quarter - fully appreciate the works intentions (of both pieces mentioned TAAB2 & APP). But, surely, whether or not the artist intended the piece to be consumed as a whole becomes irrelavant (to that individual), if any given listener finds any part unlisteneable/unpalatable? As with APP before it, I've heard the new piece 'as a whole' - and do appreciate the 'story' development in full, in each case. But my personal choice, now, is to dispense with the parts that IMHO now definitely 'spoil' the continuity of my music-listening pleasure. Funny you should raise the subject of APP. My way of listening to that ALWAYS misses out the 'Hare Specs' section. 'Whaaaat?' you cry! It's like hearing a joke - very much appreciated at the time - but on repeated listens, pales.... I cannot bare the interruption of the rather 'classy' music (yep- I'm in the 'APP was great material' camp!) Likewise then, my own sense of continuity of TAAB2 is not offended by the omission of the 'talky bits' I've attended 'Poetry & Literary Evenings' over the years (due deference to my Lady Pamela).... John Cooper Clarke, Brian Patten, John Hedley, Alan Bennett and more... Interesting... entertaining... to a point... Just not this guy's 'bag' I'm afraid. So 'poetry' and 'readings', like many other 'artforms' (for example Ballet, Sculpture, Art) just don't 'move me' like music can and does. Respect to your opinion MDF - but firm stance here in sticking to mine - they're only personal opinions after all - and thank the gods we're all different, eh? I agree. The world would be a sadder place if we all had to like and admire the same things. For me the narration pieces complete the story and validate the listening experience. I like a good story and with TAAB2 we have one, albeit from IA's musical mind. Have to agree with you about ballet - poetry readings I can take in small doses as long as I've been to the pub for a swift pint or two beforehand. One thought that has occurred to me is that who, in musical terms, would or even could produce an album along the lines of TAAB2 apart from the fertile mind of Mr. Anderson and his merry bunch of musicians. I can't think of any.
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Post by nonrabbit on Apr 26, 2012 17:57:22 GMT
He looks Elvish in that pic.
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Post by maddogfagin on Apr 26, 2012 18:09:53 GMT
From www.getbracknell.co.ukIan Anderson at The Hexagon By Linda Fort April 26, 2012 Legendary rock flautist Ian Anderson normally wakes up at about 6am, but the rigours of his present tour means he is sleeping until later. From his hotel room in Sheffield, he said: “I didn’t wake up until 7.30 this morning and I thought, I must be really tired.” Tired or not, a call just an hour later brought forth a stream of erudition from the musician who is currently in the middle of his 19-date Thick as Brick 40th anniversary tour. The concept album was based on a poem written by a fictitious 10-year-old boy poet called Gerald Bostock – really Anderson himself – illustrated by an imaginary local newspaper called the St Cleve Chronicle Anderson explained that he had been asked to revisit the Thick as Brick album endlessly by “fans, well wishers and people in the music business” and had always dismissed the idea. “I'm simply not interested in nostalgia and repeating the past.” However when the discussion turned to what Gerald Bostock might be doing now, he became intrigued. The result is a new album exploring Gerald’s career and a website – www.stcleve.com – to amuse fans with the goings on in the three fabled parishes of St Cleve, Linwell and Little Cruddock. Anderson, 64, said: “There were a number of ways that Gerald could have developed. He might have been a politician, but that seemed a little too obvious. “He could have become an investment banker and I suppose I could have had some fun with that. “But I began to think that Gerald might not have set his sights on a grand career and might want just to be an ordinary man, something like a corner shopkeeper.” As a result of these musings, Anderson wrote the songs for the Thick as Brick 2 album and the tour involves playing all the songs from the two albums back to back. The result is a concentrated musical performance with no let up for the players. He said: “There are only about 16 bars during the whole performance when I am not actually playing something.” The musical instruments from the first album feature in the second one – but not the musicians. “Three of the original band members just don’t play music any more for various reasons so it was not possible to magic that back again,” he said. However the musicians taking part are those who have toured with Anderson, either with the band Jethro Tull or backing him on his solo tours over the years. He said: “I didn’t want the new album to be a parody of original. I just wouldn’t find that interesting. “And I can only write as Ian Anderson, the musician that I am now, not the Ian Anderson of 1972.” However there is plenty of parody on the website where Anderson has exercised his sense of humour to amuse the fans. But do the fans like the new music? He said: “I don't give a s*** whether anyone likes it or not – that is not why I did it. Of course it is very nice to hear if people do enjoy it.” However, he was quick to point out that the album was currently at number one in the Rock Radio chart in the US. “Whether that translates into sales remains to be seen,” he added. He has no plans to retire – “people in my business usually have to be dragged kicking and screaming from the stage”. And did he enjoy recording the new album? Like the colonoscopy he had last year – “only in retrospect”. Ian Anderson and his band will be at The Hexagon in Reading on Thursday, May 3. Tickets start at £25.50. To book call the box office on (0118) 960 6060 or visit www.readingarts.com
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Post by nonrabbit on Apr 26, 2012 18:56:40 GMT
he said: “I didn’t wake up until 7.30 this morning and I thought, I must be really tired..........” But do the fans like the new music? He said: “I don't give a s*** whether anyone likes it or not – that is not why I did it. Of course it is very nice to hear if people do enjoy it.” ;D ;D ;D
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2012 19:07:39 GMT
See you in Florida, 2Tull...it's warm enough to sleep outside all year around and we can walk between the seven venues.....no worries about disorientation or tourist rip-offs....I speak Yiddish.....and though 3 of the gigs are a frisbee toss or three from Disney World, forget it....no Disney ! I just listened to American Woman, The Guess Who live. Would that be brainwashing me to stay home? Stay away from Florida. Hell, let me tell you about Florida...
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Post by steelmonkey on Apr 26, 2012 22:40:28 GMT
some 400,000 hours...have come and gone...
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Post by nonrabbit on Apr 27, 2012 7:15:22 GMT
Interview on Reuters Entertainment - Thurs 26 April uk.reuters.com/article/2012/04/26/uk-jethrotull-idUKBRE83O16S20120426Q: You've never stopped touring, either with Tull or by yourself. You must love it?A: "I met an American astronaut recently who was about to return to a five-month mission on the International Space Station, and she responded the way I feel about touring - 'I don't want to come back,' she said. "It's the same thing. You've trained all your life to do it, and she knew this was her last mission, and she was filled with a profound sense of sadness and loss. And that's how I feel as I get into my last years of being a touring musician." and yet another example of Anderson's Ace Analogies Q: "The music industry's changed so much since you began in the ‘60s. What's your take on it today?"A: "It's much more competitive and over-subscribed in terms of participants and wannabe-participants. But we also have a lot more choice and it fits the age. We eat fast food and snack, and it's the same with music. I don't think we sit down and listen to music the way we used to. We tend to snack on it while we're multi-tasking and on the move. So we hear more music than ever before. I'm not sure that we actually listen to it. But the access is unparalleled in terms of ease and cheapness."
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hipflaskandy
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OK - this was a while back!
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Post by hipflaskandy on Apr 27, 2012 8:23:15 GMT
One thought that has occurred to me is that who, in musical terms, would or even could produce an album along the lines of TAAB2 apart from the fertile mind of Mr. Anderson and his merry bunch of musicians. I can't think of any. The genius, originality, prowess and inventiveness of the man (and by influence, those around him) is never in question in this household! - You're right MDF, I can't think of any that even come close!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2012 15:02:20 GMT
'Thick as a Brick 2' capitalizes on old magic to create new soundwww.wildcat.arizona.edu/index.php/article/2012/04/039thick_as_a_brick_2039_capitalizes_on_old_magic_to_create_new_soundExactly 40 years have passed since Jethro Tull’s over-the-top prog rock concept album Thick As A Brick was released. The album’s fictional narrator, a young English boy named Gerald Bostock, has grown old since then. So what happened to him in all this time, anyway? Any number of things can happen in a lifetime. The possibilities are basically endless. That is the deceptively simple premise of the classic’s follow-up, Thick As A Brick 2. Credited to Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull’s frontman (purists are sadly missing Martin Barre, the band’s brilliant guitarist), Thick As A Brick 2 nevertheless harks back to the band’s roots in the wild excesses of the ‘70s. It’s big, it’s beautiful, and it’s downright batty when it wants to be. Though the album is split into 17 different tracks, it is really best listened to as a single chunk, like its predecessor. Lyrically, the listener follows the life of Bostock through its what-ifs, maybes and might-have-beens. Did he grow up to be a banker? A soldier? Maybe a televangelist, or a delusional bum? Or perhaps, worst of all, he grew into a soul-crushingly ordinary man, whose life slips away while he isn’t looking? The listener certainly doesn’t know, but drifting along through the glorious murk of Anderson’s words (some of which he speaks instead of sings) is half the fun. The other half, of course, is the music. As with its predecessor, there are parts that feel like the backing tracks to children’s book readings. Mostly, these accompany Anderson’s forays into spoken poetry, which are enjoyable for some, but, understandably, not for everyone. Detractors rest assured, though, that these strange interludes are setups for some heavy and pristine rock. Tracks like “Banker Bets, Banker Wins,” “Shunt and Shuffle,” and “Kismet in Suburbia” can stand up against any of the hard rock offerings in Tull’s history. Tying the two together are folkish, dreamy sequences, the quintessential example of which is “A Change of Horses.” If you want to rock from start to finish you’ll get a little bored. But if you don’t mind some calm waters between the rapids, the interplay between the two is flawless. If you happen to be a fan of Jethro Tull or prog rock in general, trust that you have only to acquire this magical album to be nothing but happy for 53 minutes. Anderson has obviously aged, just as his fictional protagonist has, but there’s plenty of life and more cleverness yet in this old fox. If you’re new to this scene but are brave enough to leave the commercial mainstream, give Thick As A Brick 2 a try. You may walk away hating it, but you’ll have a hard time claiming that it’s anything but a pure original. And for any listener, but especially fans, the last 30 seconds are perhaps the best part of the album. You might hate yourself for thinking it, but you’ll find yourself admitting that there was no other way for Thick As A Brick 2 to end. Give it a listen to see what I mean.
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Post by steelmonkey on Apr 27, 2012 16:13:40 GMT
People are listening to this release, understanding it and writing good reviews......what next? World peace, global cooling backdown? health consequence-free chocolate, beer and opium ? I blundered into a exclusive webcast at Bob Weir's studio last night in san rafael via a well-connected deadhead friend and throughout the performance all I could think about was getting back to TAAB II which was paused in the car right at the intersection of Shunt and Shuffle and Change of Horses. I was given a few CD set of highlights from the recent 72 CD boxset of the Europe 72 tour....hope they don't get TOO dusty waiting their turn in the CD player !!!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2012 16:51:44 GMT
what next? Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album
Metal to Word - the Tull/Ian Anderson enigma would be complete.
Imagine that.
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Post by maddogfagin on Apr 27, 2012 18:31:18 GMT
what next? Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album Metal to Word - the Tull/Ian Anderson enigma would be complete. Imagine that. At least a nomination for Poet Laureate of Great Britain. Reckon IA would be on a par with previous holders of the post, not forgetting the present encumbant From 1668 to the present day: John Dryden Thomas Shadwell Nahum Tate Nicholas Rowe Laurence Eusden Colley Cibber William Whitehead Thomas Wharton Henry James Pye Robert Southey William Wordsworth Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Austin Robert Bridges John Masefield Cecil Day-Lewis Sir John Betjeman Ted Hughes Andrew Motion Carol Ann Duffy
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Post by steelmonkey on Apr 27, 2012 18:58:08 GMT
Isn't laureate the stuff in shampoo/ And what about dirty Phillip Larkin ?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2012 17:31:24 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2012 13:19:09 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2012 14:23:57 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2012 16:36:28 GMT
Canada continues the bombing of the St. Cleve Chronicle & Linwell Advertiser's foundations. I dare not cut&paste this damning document. THICK AS A BRICK 2 – It ain’t no Jethro Tull www.musicjunkies.ca/?p=695edit; A failure, but not a lost cause. Some of the decisions are puzzling, but a little of the music stands up. Thick As A Brick 2 won’t make anyone’s best-of lists (but now that I’ve said it Brick 2 will probably win a Grammy) but it won’t be the final nail in the coffin either. Take it for what it’s worth. Note the Grammy nods! ;D
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Post by nobodyspecial on May 3, 2012 4:42:27 GMT
TAAB should win a Grammy - not TAAB2.
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Post by nonrabbit on May 3, 2012 15:30:04 GMT
Oh I seriously love this album.
So moved by the marching beat on Wootton and the flute playing leading the march.
So moved by ending the album with the song "What If's ..." and his playing TAAB1 and in typical Andersonesque style adding a bit at the end.
Fav line today and yesterday "Some four hundred thousand hours have come and gone"
It captures the magic that I've been listening to for over forty years and I want more.
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Post by steelmonkey on May 3, 2012 15:42:29 GMT
ditto that......'some four hundred thousand hours, have come and gone' is a line that echoes in my brain...
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2012 18:11:17 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2012 18:12:55 GMT
ditto that......'some four hundred thousand hours, have come and gone' is a line that echoes in my brain... I'll say.
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Post by steelmonkey on May 3, 2012 18:23:43 GMT
The 400,000 line reminds me of 'Benny' a character played by Tom Waits in a neglected Coppola film called 'Rumblefish' who muses about time flying: ' and ya think about it...and ya might only have 35 summers....35 summers'
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