Given to Fly (2017) – Pearl Jam

Posted on April 6, 2023 by observationblogger — 2 Comments

Given to Fly is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music written by guitarist Mike McCready, Given to Fly was released to radio on December 22, 1997, as the first single from the band’s fifth studio album, Yield.

[Verse 1]
He could’ve tuned in, tuned in, but he tuned out
A bad time, nothing could save him
Alone in a corridor, waiting, locked out
He got up outta there, ran for hundreds of miles
He made it to the ocean, had a smoke in a tree
The wind rose up, set him down on his knee
A wave came crashing like a fist to the jaw
Delivered him wings, “Hey, look at me now”
Arms wide open with the sea as his floor
Oh, power, oh

[Chorus]
He’s.. flying
Whole
High.. wide, oh

Given to Fly proved to be the album’s most popular single. The song topped the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and eventually peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. Worldwide, the single charted well, reaching number five in Finland, number six in Norway and Spain, and the top 20 in Australia, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

McCready on the song:

It was snowing here in Seattle, which it rarely does, and so they kind of shut down all the streets and I couldn’t get my car out of the driveway. And I have a Volvo and you’d think those would be able to drive in the snow, but no, it wasn’t going anywhere, so I was kind of stuck in my condo. And I wrote that riff [for “Given to Fly”] and the “Faithfull” riff that day

References:
1. Given to Fly – Wikipedia

Tagged with: given to fly, Pearl Jam
Posted in Music

Friday I’m In Love (1992) – The Cure

Posted on April 5, 2023 by observationblogger — 6 Comments

There was no other song I sung louder before going out on a Friday night than Friday I’m In Love. I mentioned in a recent post that Eric Claton’s Let it Grow whetted my appetite to enjoy the night ahead, but today’s feature track was the bees-knees as far as venturing the town. The jangly-rustic guitar intro and then Robert Smith’s salty voice ‘I don’t care if Monday’s blue‘ always got me rockin’. There is another song by The Cure that I adored growing up called Pictures of You.
Later in life, I came round to enjoying a similar sounding English rock band – The Smiths.

I don’t care if Monday’s blue
Tuesday’s grey and Wednesday too
Thursday, I don’t care about you
It’s Friday, I’m in love
Monday, you can fall apart
Tuesday, Wednesday, break my heart
Oh, Thursday doesn’t even start
It’s Friday, I’m in love

Friday I’m in Love was released as the second single from their ninth studio album, Wish. The song was a worldwide hit, reaching number six in the UK and number 18 in the United States. Robert Smith, the song’s primary writer, described it as both “a throw your hands in the air, let’s get happy kind of record” and “a very naïve, happy type of pop song.“

In the early process Robert Smith became convinced that he had inadvertently stolen the chord progression from somewhere, and this led him to a state of paranoia where he called everyone he could think of and played the song for them, asking if they had heard it before. None of them had, and Smith realised that the melody was indeed his.

The video below, directed by Tim Pope, features the band performing the song in front of various backdrops on a soundstage, in homage to French silent filmmaker Georges Méliès: the video features the appearance of characters from his The Eclipse, or the Courtship of the Sun and Moon.

Reference:
1. Friday I’m in Love – Wikipedia

Tagged with: Friday I’m In Love, the cure, wish
Posted in Music

Forever Young (1973) – Bob Dylan

Posted on April 4, 2023 by observationblogger — 9 Comments

This is one of Bob’s most endearing songs. Dylan is quoted as saying that he wrote Forever Young in Tucson, Arizona, “thinking about” one of his sons and “not wanting to be too sentimental“. I like all versions of this song I have heard; including the original below from Planet Waves, the whimsical version from The Band’s The Last Waltz and Joan Baez’s sacred conveyance of Bob’s songwriting also presented below.

May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you

Most songs from Dylan are raw and individualistic in nature, but Forever Young (like for example: Blowing in the Wind or The Times They Are a-Changin) encapsulate a universal message of perfect reason. Forever Young is pliable for any parent trying carefully, but boldly to impart their insights on anyone young, impressionable – growing up in the world.
I think that’s what makes Bob Dylan such an exceptional poet and songwriter is he seamlessly hones into a weighty core of a theme and unveils its texture and resonance to appear as brilliant as the light of day.

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift

May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
And may you stay
Forever young

According to the Wikipedia reference below: (Forever Young) was written as a lullaby for his eldest son Jesse, born in 1966, Dylan’s song relates a father’s hopes that his child will remain strong and happy. It opens with the lines, ‘May God bless and keep you always / May your wishes all come true‘, echoing the priestly blessing from the Book of Numbers.

Dylan performed the song live 493 times between its live debut in 1974 and its last outing in 2011.This includes a duet with Bruce Springsteen at the Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

References:
1. Forever Young (Bob Dylan song) – Wikipedia

Tagged with: Bob Dylan, Forever Young, Joan Baez, the band, the last waltz
Posted in Music

Special Edition Post – Jordan Peterson’s Use and Understanding of AI and ChatGPT

Posted on April 3, 2023 by observationblogger — Leave a comment

This is a follow – up to my post 20/3 – 26/3/23 – Chat GPT 4.0, but it was super interesting to hear Jordan Peterson’s take on his use of this AGI which is going to envelope the world in no – time.

Someone wrote in response to Peterson’s remarks in the video below:

We’ve been getting warned about AI for decades, and now that it’s here, we’re openly embracing it…..even when we know it’s not in our best interest. Literally, 90% of my friends were uploading AI self-portrait paintings onto social media just several weeks ago. “Wow! Look! Isn’t it cool? Yey! I want one too!” They didn’t even flinch or bother to question where that art comes from, nor did they read the terms of agreement in the app’s contract when they downloaded it. Nobody gives a toss. We are perpetual children when it comes to technology. We barely even waited a month after we finalized the design of the first atomic bomb before we used it on a city. Anybody who thinks we have a grasp on balancing our relationship with technology is full of it.

Below Peterson’s insights is Douglas Murray; a regular spokesperson on this blog who described how even the creators of this AI are calling for a six-month suspension of AI development. They are worried and this, in itself is unprecedented.

If you want to see first-hand how good GTP 4.0 is, then look at the concluding video by Dave Lee in What happens when AI takes over 1 million humanoid robots?

Tagged with: AI, Chat GPT 4.0, Jordan Peterson
Posted in Science

27/3 – 2/4/23 – LGBTQ, Armageddon & Nazare

Posted on April 3, 2023 by observationblogger — Leave a comment

Welcome to Monday’s News on the March – The week that was in my digital world.

Jim Jefferies on LGBTQ Community (High & Dry)
Comedy video excerpt at Pod Hardcore Fan

Geoff James Nugent (born 14 February 1977) is known professionally as Jim Jefferies. He is an Australian comedian, actor, and writer

‘Excellent, raw, objectively honest and very funny‘.

(Watch entire comedy excerpt here)

The End of the World: Bart Ehrman on What the Bible Really Says About the End
Video interview by Michael Shermer at Skeptic

Shermer and Ehrman discuss: Ehrman’s religious journey • Who wrote the Bible and why? • how to read the Bible and the book of Revelation • Who wrote Revelation and why? • why Jesus spoke in parables • why worry about climate change if the world is going to end soon? • David Koresh and Waco • Reagan and end times politics • how Jesus became a capitalist and militarist • faith healers, televangelists, and other Christian con artists • Christian ethics and what Jesus really said about the poor and needy.

Bart D. Ehrman is a leading authority on the New Testament and the history of early Christianity and a Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (View entire video interview here)

Nazare: Love and Pain on the World’s Biggest Wave
News article at BBC Sport

Since it was first surfed, a little over a decade ago, the Portuguese town of Nazare has become the undisputed home of the world’s biggest wave.

The stretch of sand, the salt haze, a spike of cliff and a scarlet lighthouse.

Most of all, Cotton can see Nazare’s waves. They are small today, relatively at least, but there is still a backdrop of bubbling white water and churning white noise.

When the swell is right and the surf is up, it is a different story on a different scale.

Nazare, a small town 60 miles north of Lisbon, is where towering waves – some the height of 10-storey buildings – crash to shore. (Read entire news article here)

Tagged with: Armageddon, Bart Ehrman, BBC Sport, comedy, Jim Jefferies, LGBTQ, Michael Shermer, Nazare, portugal, Skeptic, surfing, Wave
Posted in Movies and TV, News, Reflections, Sport and Adventure

Flaca (1997) – Andrés Calamaro

Posted on April 2, 2023 by observationblogger — Leave a comment

Flaca (Skinny) is the second song posted here from Argentine rock-great Andrés Calamaro after his exceptional – Cuando No Estás. I wrote how my seven-year-old daughter Katherine Rose introduced me to his music a little while back and I have been a fan ever since.
Kat is pictured left with a modern ‘Great’ of domestic Colombian Football – Macalister Silva. This photo was taken just yesterday by yours truly at my son’s football training with the ‘Millionarios (Millionaires) Academy‘ in Bogota.

Kat like a lady possessed plays today’s featured track ‘Flaca‘ (Skinny) over and over again and has done for ages. I can’t blame her because it’s one of my favourite Latin rock songs too. I never grow tired of hearing it. Also, Calamaro’s inclination to present a sound and ‘look’ reminiscent of Bob Dylan won’t make me like him any less. On the contrary, I always thought until hearing him that strains of ‘Dylan-esque’ texture and music were sorely missing from Latin American music.

A loose English translation of Flaca follows:

[Chorus]
Skinny, don’t stick your daggers in my back
So deep, they don’t hurt me
They don’t hurt me.

Far away in the center of the Earth
the roots of love
Where they were, they will remain.

[Verse]
come in forget me not
I left our forgotten years
In the back of the closet
From the guest room.
those were golden times
From a better past.

Although I was almost wrong
And I tell you little by little
Do not lie to me
don’t tell me the truth
Do not stay silent
don’t raise your voice
Don’t ask me for forgiveness

Although I almost confess to you
That I have also been a companion dog
An ideal dog that learned to bark
and go back home
To eat

Flaca is the second single by Argentine musician Andrés Calamaro, included on his solo album Alta Suciedad, released in 1997 and with more than 176 million views on YouTube. It is the most viewed and well-known song by the artist. It ranks 23rd on the list of The 100 Most Outstanding Songs of Argentine Rock. Both the single and the solo album were acclaimed by the public, the song as such is considered the most representative and well-known of the artist.

Calamaro stated:

Flaca is a song that has an instrumental development with very small movements, because it revolves around the same harmony, it is monotonous and at the end it has a change in the harmony that becomes a little more complex within the same chords and through the new notes and colors that the harmony has is where the instruments and the voice of the last melody begin to sound. For me it is a song that has more importance in the musical than in the lyrical.
Flaca can be understood as the string of ‘innocent’ lies that one tells out of love, wanting to say one and ending up saying the opposite: don’t lie to me, don’t tell me the truth

Reference:
1. Flaca (canción) – Wikipedia

Tagged with: Andrés Calamaro, argentina, Flaca, Katherine Rose
Posted in Music

Expert In a Dying Field (2022) – The Beths

Posted on March 31, 2023 by observationblogger — 2 Comments

The Beths is an exciting Indie Rock group from New Zealand. I became familiar with their music reading Max’s blog at PowerPop. This is the second song to appear from them here after Happy Unhappy. I am still in the early – discovery stage of their music, but I like what I have heard so far. They produce hip and breezy alternative music.
Today’s featured song – Expert in a Dying Field is an exemplar of why I find them so appealing. The music video below cleverly delivers their message. It’s homely, intimate, transparent, unusual, witty and engaging. Frankly, it’s just a breath of fresh air to see young talented music artists holding a candle up to older generations. The finale of the song from 3:00 is bold and stunning.

Expert in a Dying Field is the title track from The Beths third studio album released on 16 September 2022. It received acclaim from music critics.

[Verse 1]
Can we erase our history?
Is it as easy as this?
Plausible deniability
I swear I’ve never heard of it
And I can close the door on us
But the room still exists
And I know you’re in it

[Verse 2]
Hours of phrases I’ve memorized
Thousands of lines on the page
All of my notes in a desolate pile
I haven’t touched in an age
And I can burn the evidence
But I can’t burn the pain
And I can’t forget it

[Chorus]
How does it feel (How does it feel)
To be an expert in a dying field?
And how do you know (How do you know)
It’s over when you can’t let go?

As a librarian, I feel this song haha

The group principally consists of lead vocalist Elizabeth Stokes, guitarist Jonathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclair, and drummer Tristan Deck. Elizabeth Stokes and Jonathan Pearce originally met in high school, and they met both Benjamin Sinclair and Ivan Luketina-Johnston when all four attended classes at the University of Auckland, studying jazz. The Beths were formed in late 2014.

The band is known for its use of vocal harmony, using the voices of all four band members. Members of the band have cited Alvvays and Bully as inspirations for their work. The former group has already featured here.

Reference:
1. Expert in A Dying Field – The Beths – Wikipedia
2. The Beths – Wikipedia

Tagged with: Alvvays, expert in a dying field, the beths
Posted in Music

Let It Rain – Michael W Smith

Posted on March 30, 2023 by observationblogger — 5 Comments

Today’s song Let It Rain could be described as a meditative companion piece of a previous song I wrote about by Michael W Smith Healing Rain. Let It Rain was written by songwriter and artist Michael Farren; However, Michael W. Smith released it first according to The Berean Test web site dedicated to analysing lyrics in Jesus’ name.
The Chorus repeats the same line 18 repeats throughout this song.

[Chorus 1]
Let it rain, let it rain
Open the floodgates of Heaven
Let it rain, let it rain
Open the floodgates of Heaven
Let it rain, let it rain
Open the floodgates of Heaven
Let it rain, let it rain

According to the reference below: (Let It Rain) disseminates a request for God’s blessing upon us, narrates His rulership and reign over all creation, and describes His mighty demonstration of His strength...All of the words are quoted or paraphrased from the NIV translation of the Bible.

The intermittent Bridge is from Psalm 97:

The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;
let the distant shores rejoice.
Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

You can read more about Michael W Smith’s biography in my previous posts, but below is a snippet of his upbringing from Wikipedia:

Michael Whitaker Smith was born to Paul and Barbara Smith in Kenova, West Virginia. His father was an oil refinery worker at the Ashland Oil Refinery, in nearby Catlettsburg, Kentucky. His mother was a caterer. He inherited his love of baseball from his father, who had played in the minor leagues. As a child, he developed a love of music through his church. He learned piano at an early age and sang in his church choir. At the age of 10, he had “an intense spiritual experience” that led to his becoming a devout Christian. “I wore this big cross around my neck,” he would recall, “It was very real to me.” He became involved in Bible study and found a group of older friends who shared his faith.

Reference:
1. Michael W Smith – Let it Rain – The Berean Test
2. Psalm 97 – Bible Gateway

Tagged with: let it rain, Michael w smith
Posted in Music

A Thousand Years (2011) – Christina Perri (The Live Room)

Posted on March 29, 2023 by observationblogger — Leave a comment

Christina Perri meeting her music-maker in the Live Room

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: ‘It wouldn’t be a week in my blog-space without a Christina Perri song‘. The last song by Perri – You Mean the Whole Wide World to Me was presented here 16 days ago, so effectively my blog-space has been in hiatus for 9 days.

When I first heard this song ‘A Thousand Years‘, I wasn’t smitten with it. I found it a bit too commercial and sappy for my musical tastes. Then my daughter Katherine surprisingly put ‘A Thousand Years‘ on, and it woke me up. I understood; ‘If my daughter likes this song, then I’m missing something in it‘. My seven-year-old angel put me onto Andres Calamaro so it’s not as though I’m not going to revisit ‘A Thousand Years‘ through her lens. And by golly was I missing something!

[Verse 1]
Heart beats fast
Colors and promises
How to be brave?
How can I love when I’m
Afraid to fall?
But watching you stand alone
All of my doubt
Suddenly goes away somehow

[Pre-Chorus]
One step closer
[Chorus]
I have died every day waiting for you
Darling, don’t be afraid, I have loved you
For a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more

The version of Perri singing this below in The Live Room is in my humble estimation one of the best live music performances I have ever seen. As I described above, this event appears to me as though Perri is confronting her musical maker. Muhammad Ali in his fight against Foreman in Zaire had a similar glare to Perri discussed here. A surreal occasion of sanctuary, sobriety, perfectionism and creativity. You can almost taste it. ‘It’s now or never‘.

Ali went back to the corner. The nightmare he’d been awaiting in the ring had finally come to visit him. He was in the ring with a man he could not dominate. He was stronger than him. Who was not afraid of him. Who was going to try to knock him out and punched harder than Ali could punch. This man was determined and unstoppable. And Ali had a look on his face that I’ll never forget. It’s the only time I saw fear in Ali’s eyes. Ali looked as if he looked into himself…’Alright this is the moment.This is what you’ve been waiting for. This is that hour. Do you have the guts?’ He kind of nodded to himself. Like, got to get it together boy. Really got to get it together and you are going to get it together. He nodded some more as if he was looking into the eyes of his maker. And then he turned to the crowd and yelled ‘Ali boma ye‘ and a hundred thousand yelled back ‘ Ali boma ye‘.

I find watching Perri perform this song in the video below so comforting, but awe-inspiring. Pure beauty at it most rudimentary. The astute musicians accompanying her – ‘have got her back‘ and they are rallying to help her do the best she can and make this ‘her sanctuary‘. I recalled in other articles how the guitarist and back-up singer Johnny Hanson reminded me of my best friend John Lilburne, not only because of how he looks, but in measure of temperament. He’s steadfast and so supportive.

A Thousand Years was written by Perri and David Hodges, for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1. The song is about the love affair between Edward and Bella in the novel and subsequent film series Twilight. This song’s official video has over 2 billion views, making it one of the top 100 most-viewed YouTube videos. By July 2013, the song has sold over three million digital downloads in the US.

Reference:
1. A Thousand Years (Christina Perri song) – Wikipedia

Tagged with: a thousand years, Christina perri, George Foreman, johnny hanson, Katherine Rose, Muhammad Ali, Twilight
Posted in Music

The AnkiDroid Collection (Part 37) – Tutankhamun, Radiation & The Bronze Age

Posted on March 29, 2023 by observationblogger — Leave a comment

Ankidroid additions related to Science, History and Philosophy. More information about Anki can be found in this article.

Pharoah Tutankhamun (King Tut)

Face of the pharaoh. A gilded wooden statue of Tutankhamun, which was found in the room of his tomb known as the treasury. His youthful face is a reminder that Tutankhamun died young, but his reign was of major significance for restoring Egypt’s traditional gods.

Howard Carter above with anonymous worker at the opening of King Tut’s tomb

Tutankhamun (King Tut) was the antepenultimate Pharoah of ancient Egypt. He died in 1323BC aged 19.

His tomb was discovered in 1922 in the Valley of Kings and revealed 5000 artifacts. King Tut’s curse was associated with those people associated with the opening of the tomb who soon fell victim of the curse. The reality is the average duration of life for those who should have suffered from the curse was more than 23 years after the curse was supposed to become effective according to James Randi. he also added the group who guarded his tomb died at an average age of 73 years. It seems the curse of Tut was a beneficial curse.

The head of the team of discovery Howard Carter did try to dissuade the nosey press, intruders and robbers with the threat of a Supernatural event.

What is Radiation?

Radiation is the emission of energy as electromagnetic waves or as moving subatomic particles especially high energy particles which cause ionization. The electromagnetic force is a charge which causes chemical reactions. This is what makes chemistry happen. Chemistry is the the study of electron configuration. Light for example is electromagnetic radiation. Ionizing radiation starts knocking electrons out of molecules causing them to break up or stick together and hence break the bonds of DNA.

The Bronze Age

The Bronze Age was a prehistoric age between 3000 and 1200 BC which covered South East Europe, North Africa and West Asia. The age was characterised by use of tin and copper to make bronze and protowriting. It encapsulated the early features of urban civilisation.

Its violent and sudden collapse was caused by volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, invasions by sea peoples, drought and economic collapse due to ironworking.

Tagged with: chemistry, Egypt, Howard Carter, King Tut, radiation, the bronze age, Tutankhamun
Posted in Reading

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