on this journey,
i frown for the losts,
there seems no word for things i gained.
dance with me, oh universe.
til this day is over.
There’s a quote in one of Joni’s song that somehow feels so familiar, a subject of contemplation.
All the guilty people he said,
They all see the stains,
On their daily bread, on their christian name…
Familiar because it pretty much sums me up.
I see stains everywhere I go, the negativity around a place is the first thing that may catch my attention.
So, the question came into my mind, am I guilty? Is the problem actually within here?
But I know that I see all the stains because the knowledge I have. Is the knowledge the sin itself?
To think deeper makes me come to a conclusion, it is not the stain-seeing that makes me guilt, it’s actually the way those stains influence me, the way I react. Usually they make me sad, annoyed, affected by all the negativity, thus becoming the stain itself.
So, now what I hope to see in myself is the grace to clean the stains, or the ignorance to live with them.
Yeah, grace and ignorance, dualism, as usual.
dear little stranger,
i stomped on your one life,
and failed to preserve the other eight.
for that, i am sorry.
may your souls have a pleasant journey,
and freed from the tragedy of reincarnation.
that’s my very best to you.
as for your remaining,
you shall think nothing about it no more,
it’s the life that is priceless, not the dead.
so, i shall treat it just like the other mortal waste,
in trash, into the dirt,
become one again with this shanty mother earth.
If you are guessing the title, then I shall tell you. No no, it’s not Lord of The Dong or anything like that, hehehe.
It’s actually Lesson of The Day.
Well, not quite new actually, not up to the day, but just say that this is the first time I record it in my tumblr blog.
So I learn again that wherever there is organization/hierarchy/institution/crowd/group/you name it, there shall be a power, and power tend to corrupt, one is superior to others.
And I learned that there is no such thing as equality in this life.
No? You don’t agree?
If you say that: 1=1
Then I shall say that 1 on the left might not have the same quality as 1 on the right.
Life is 1.
It’s monopoly, it’s monotheist, it’s tyrant with absolute power.
What about 0?
Well, it should be the condition before the Big Bang event, I guess. Or maybe it’s some kind of Undead being.
Put 1 and 0 together, then it will become binary, yin yang.
So, I learned again, Yin Yang is not about equality, it’s about balance and harmony.
I shall take Yin Yang path then.
So, who you’re gonna get to do the dirty works, when all the slaves are free?
So, this time I want to talk about the music that I favored.
No Nooo, I’m not going to boast about how tasteful I am in choice of music, I actually considered myself musically illiterate. If somebody happens to pop question like “What is your favorite music?” I’ll probably response with a “Huh?”
I just won’t say that I loved jazz or orchestra or classic just to falsely show how classy and artsy I am.
So again, this is not about wine tasting competition, this is about the sound of my soul, ok? Pheww, let’s keep going, it feels good after putting this kind of disclaimer, because you know, people nowadays are very easily misunderstood you and then get offended, hohoho.
Back to the topic, the music of my life would be the most songs by Joni Mitchell, and she the singer-songwriter herself would be my all time favorite artist and poet.
For you who know who she is and enjoying her music as well, I shall tell you that I have been listening to her for at least 4 years. At first, I was drawn to her most “commercial” album Blue, then I advanced to her much more sophisticated later albums such as Wild Things Run Fast. Now for months, I stayed with compilation album Travelogue, listening to Job’s Sad Song and The Judgement of The Moon and Stars, seven days in a week enjoying the matured voice singing many songs from her youth, adding them with thick layer of aged experiences.
And for you who does not know who Joni Mitchell is, few things I can describe about her (from my point of view) are:
After reading all of that, for you who find yourself curious and want to try to taste her music, I must warn you though, her music is not some catchy tunes that will glue onto your mind easily, I would simply say that it will take time to actually feel most of her songs, she is a poet, the lyrics of her songs are naturally deep and personal. At her prime time, her music publisher actually told her to made more “radio friendly” song.
Of course, if you insist, I would recommend you to start with some of her “easier” songs. If you are feeling a little bit naughty right now, try You Turn Me on, I’m a Radio, that is a song from her For The Roses album, a song she made sarcastically after being told to create more radio friendly song, and ironically that song actually was very well received. If you are melancholy, try River, or Blue, those two songs are from her Blue album. If you are feeling old and wise, try Both Sides Now.
Basically, that was what I did when I stumbled upon her music, I started from easy to sophisticated, song to song, to the point that I choose each of her album for each phase of my life. So, try that if you could, and after that, whether you are into her music or not, it will be your call.
Last but not least, one thing I want to share is about my past music taste, I loved mainstream pop songs, I loved the so called diva level singers with their sharp melodic voices. But now, they are much like confetti seen on TV set, nothing but a bunch of high pitched screamers slapping their colorful shiny boobs and asses around. Things change, time flies, and I’m glad that I get to know a bit about Joni and her music.
Ciao.
