HW: OFF: 10 things I think I think

[Henderson Keith]

Hey Folks...

Just some random commentary during this lovely quiet evening on the banks of
the River Aare...

10) It's the Biz... is not a particularly good album, and although I've
assimilated Doug P.'s earlier thoughts on this work (echoed here just now by
someone else in simliar mention of Chadwick's man-machine rhymthic evolution
over this time) and accept them as valid points, I simply don't like much of
this album.  The reggae-dub bit (w/ recycled lyrics, true) is something I
rather liked, and Gimme Shelter is perfectly fine though misplaced.  But a
lot of it comes across as the dreaded "F" material (rhymes with "Killer,"
which it's not).  And it *most certainly* has nothing to do with any stuffy
middle-age anti-'dance' attitude!!, though it *is* true that I fervently
dislike "quintessentially" techno music.  But I *really* love
pseudo-trancey-spacerock from Hungary (primarily) like Masfel's
"Anglyatojas" and all the Korai Orom stuff ('1997' is quite trancey) and
also Colorstar.  So I just don't think Hawkwind is best suited to go any
further into this realm, 'cause obviously these other bands do it so much
better.  IMHO.  As I (echoed by Mr. Anderson, wherever he might be lurking
on this list) long ago suggested, Hawkwind would be better off reclaiming
their title as "Kings of the Stone(r) Age," and headline with Kyuss/QotSA
opening.  Chadwick is versatile enough to fulfill that drumseat certainly,
and I'm sure Alan would love it.  Play Bedouin tracks in the set if need be.
But that's old news, so forget it.
9)  "Sonic Attack" is one that I rather am attached to, because it was the
first HW album that I purchased when it was truly new.  "Levitation" I think
had been out a few months before I dubbed a cassette copy from my brother.
The artwork was (to my eyes then) absolutely stunningly cool at the time
(maybe now it looks rather hokey and artificial I dunno) and I was a
metalhead (still am I guess, to some extent) that thought Huw's guitar was
essential to the sound of the band at that time (even though I, already by
then, loved Quark and Space Ritual with merely rhythm gtr and Dave's
decidedly anti-guitar hero soloing which is, to my ears now, every bit as
"good" - see Palace Springs/89 tour).  "Choose Your Masques" I always have a
warm thought for also, 'cause I still remember the moment that my eyes met
with my copy (that currently resides in Pittsburgh PA in a house with
another copy, my brother's, in the same room) in a record store in State
College, PA without knowing of it's imminent release whatsoever.  And then
also th subsequent running back to my dorm room to put it on in short order
after shelling out perhaps $16 (which was a lot for an LP back then) that I
probably didn't have to spend that month.  I have a similar memory (though
opposite in sense) of the moment I had in Chris' Warped Records in Lakewood,
OH upon flipping through a copy of Kerrapp! or something and seeing a short
paragraph in the "News" section mentioning Bob Calvert's death.
8)  Here in central Europe, they have trees that look very much like Buckeye
trees, but they're much taller and the nuts, while very similar in
appearance, are not so large and round, but are lumpier and flatter.  I
don't think these are true Buckeye trees, but they must be in the same
family.  There are weird birds here too.
7)  Echoing Eric S.'s sentiments on the events of five years ago, but in a
greatly different way - my experiences during that time were fantastically
memorable for both wonderous and tragic reasons.  When Diana died, I learned
of it immediately as it was being announced on BBC World Service shortwave,
just like the rest of the world that was still awake - it was night in
Europe and quite late even in EDT, but it was noon where I was.  I was
sitting at base camp, 19,000 feet above sea level looking up at the peak of
Xixiabangma Feng (one of the world's 14 8km+ peaks) in the Himalaya, on the
Tibetan side (internationally-famous climber Andy Lowe died in an avalanche
on the Nepal side in c. 2000), and reading the book (brought along by a
collegue partly for ironic reasons, which became unfortunately even more
ironic in months ahead) "Into Thin Air," about the tragedy on Everest two(?)
years previous.  My personal thoughts about Diana were pretty much
emotionless disconnection (which is just the way I am, "genetically" I guess
it might be, in any such situation) with just a thought of "Hmmm...when I
was in the Russian Arctic in May '94, Jackie O. died.  How weird."  A day or
two later (?), at roughly 10 AM or so, I thought "Well, Hawkwind should be
going on stage about now, and how odd that I'm not there.  But,
*really*....What am I talking about?!"  Days later, after reaching 'our'
summit location (23,000 feet, 7,000 meters) on the 'col' that marks the
exact border between Tibet and Nepal (now looking down at precisely where
Andy Lowe died), my good friend and tentmate Shawn suddenly had an epsiode
of numbness and incoherency.  Now that the trial/gag order is long over, I
suppose it's not against protocol to make any such statements.  So anyway,
he was evacuated to lower elevations (the aforementioned base camp) where he
quickly recovered his wits and health.  But as a precaution, he remained for
a number of days to continue acclimatization and to be monitored.  During
this time of inactivity, he developed what is becoming more widely
understood now in the context of overseas flights as "deep vein thrombosis"
in his leg, and thereby a blood clot that caused massive swelling in one
leg.  Soon thereafter he was evacuated (carried many miles) to the point
from which he was driven to Lhasa, then eventually Hong Kong and finally
Cleveland.  Somewhere along the line, his leg was cured by blood thinners
and antibiotics, but by then a portion of the clot had gotten loose and
ended up in a lung.  The trial documents are public, so I won't bother with
too many more specifics, except that after a number of operations,
infections, pneumonia, and relapses later, he died in Cleveland on "Black
Friday," 1997, the day after Thanksgiving which is called such by those who
have to work in US shopping malls.  The wrongful death lawsuit that I've
hinted to (defeated in short order) was established on the argument that he
died of a classic case of altitude sickness that pointed to negligence in
planning the field operation.  Which is, as I've just outlined, not at all
true given that the organism (common & usually-harmless bacteria) that
destroyed his lungs probably entered his body in Hong Kong, though nobody
knows for sure.  Anyway, Shawn had attended the 1995 Hawkwind concert at the
Agora in Cleveland with me as well as two Gong shows at the Odeon in the
next years.  He had been a fan of mainly hardcore/industrial/punkish music
in previous years, but had grown into really becoming a true spacerock fan
in those years we shared an office together in Columbus.  So, as I stayed on
the mountain for an additional month or so, I knew almost nothing of these
events until October.  I can say that living for 32 days at 23,000 feet on
nothing but glacier ice below your feet is um, exhilirating.  And when the
late September winds started seriously howling at night through the narrow
u-shaped slot in the rock that was this 'col,' it was quite phenomenal.  (Oh
yeah, it was as cold as -32C also.)  And when I played my one 90-minute
Hawkwind comp. tape with my Walkman while these winds added more
'atmospherics' to the music, it was an otherworldy experience.  Esp. when
A&B/GV came on (Warrior version).  The feeling of extreme 'tinyness' that
astronauts must feel was with me at those moments, huddled there in a
sleeping bag now alone in my tent at night.  Unbelievably, I don't think I'd
made sure to have the song "Kadu Flyer" on that tape...silly me.  Well,
that's enough on that issue.....
6)  Star Nation has not gotten hardly any mention here in recent months.
Their album "Silver Age" is it called (?), is really quite wonderful and I
can't be bothered to care much one way or the other about the half-assed
live documents and such coming out when this fine original material is
waiting to be heard and recognized.  And I know that Steve Hayes was moving
to the UK back in August, and I think Steve Taylor might have gone over
there as well, so why are we not hearing about live shows and other things
about them?  Richard is busy on the new HW album I hope is the reason.
5)  I listened to the Strange Trips Farflung (w/ ltd Nik) SD release the
other night with the headphones on, and was reminded at how seriously
excellent it was and how it really is a loss to have Tommy and crew not be
able to continue in this vein.  "Nine Pin Body" can't be missed now - you
must get yourself a copy - Jerry, Andy G. you got any left?  (Not for me - I
brought mine with me.)
4)  I think the list, while still my favorite place on the internet and I've
been here more-or-less continuously since c. 1993, has reached a 'middle
age' plateau where we just don't 'do' as much constructive and fun projects
as in years past, like the Hawkbrawls, t-shirt projects, Codex & FAQ
generation, etc.  Is there nothing else, save Mike's anti-DA guerilla
campaign, that we can accomplish in pursuit of worldwide unity in
Hawkfandom?  (My contribution soon to come...wait for it.)  We talked years
ago about having our own 'summer camp-type' event, which Hawkwind themselves
pretty much went and did for us (though I didn't make it last time...this
coming year for sure!, if.....).  Is there anything else, while we sit and
wait for live dates?
3)  Steve Lindsey, what did you ever do with my nice colour slides that
you've enjoyed all these months?  :)  You know, the ones that aren't
actually mine?  Or yours?
2)  As previously mentioned, I'm going next week to an outdoor/camping fest
here in rural Schweiz to see Dr. Feelgood (thanks for the background on
them) and Deep Purple.  The latter being (chronologically) my first (or
perhaps second after Steppenwolf) favorite band beginning in c. 1972, so
this will kinda be a '30th year' anniversary event of my personal rock music
fandom.  And hence an appropriate old bunch of geezers to celebrate it with,
eh?  But for the first time, I might actually be able to see a hint of the
smoke on the water of Lake Geneva just 80 miles or so to the south.  I
dunno, I still think Ian Gillan is one of the best vocalists in rock history
and I'd just as soon hear him sing without all the over the top screaming of
those old days.  That he's unable to do anymore anyway.  (Hmmm...I saw
Blackmore & Candy on TV here, doing a live music video of this renaissance
silliness he's into now...quite comical, his fake hair didn't really match
the leggings don'tcha know?)
1)  The song "Liberty Bell" (that's the right title I think?) by The
Gathering is perhaps the best song I've heard in five years (well, it's
several years old now), since perhaps Porcupine Tree's "Don't Hate Me" in
any case.  And although the title doesn't suggest such, the lyrics (and to a
certain degree the music too) are really 'space-oriented' and if you like
driving psych-blanga, you can't not like this song.  And The Gathering in
general, to at least some degree.  To be honest, I didn't really like
Anneke's singing style very much at all at the outset (the quality of her
voice is remarkable in any case), but over the years I've started to find
her exaggerated "vocal sustain" (for lack of a better word) quite
interesting and unique.

Over and out...
Grakkl (FAA)

P.S.  I should have brought more long-sleeved shirts with me.