It is a piece of ancient wisdom that to philosophize is to learn how to die. From Socrates onwards, the philosopher is the person who has no fear of death, but accepts their fate with calm and contentment. Yet, how do philosophers themselves die? This song will explain and the answers are unexpectedly and darkly funny? As some of you might recognize, this song is also an indirect homage to Brian Eno.
http://www.broadjam.com/casBoth nights sold out at the Opera House, so hopefully we can take this show to other cities around Australia and maybe get over to london or New york?
Some pics from the show . . .
My enquiries into death have lead me to some strange and often fascinating places and ideas - none more so than the idea of the death of death. . . Post-Humanists see death as avoidable, a thing that may be kept at bay indefinately, and perhaps they are right. It has been pointed out, quite rightly, that death is a terrible waste. According to one estimate approximately 55 million people die each year. Only 3 million of these are caused by human action, mostly wars and other violence, accidents and suicide. The remaining 52 million deaths are by ‘natural causes’, principally illness of one form or another. In the eyes of the posthumanists, this loss is an outrage. The great pain that death causes loved ones left behind is one thing, but death is also a waste of the years aperson spends acquiring knowledge and experience. . IT has been estimated that each death represents the loss of information equivalent to a book. (Unless you are a complete fuckwit of course) This means that each year the information loss to mankind is comparable to that contained in the British library.
Let’s look at the dimensions of the human holocaust that we call “natural death.”
The death toll in the Year 2001 was worst in India. Almost 9 million casualties. The bodies were piled nearly as high in China. The United States fell in third, with 2.4 million fatalities. 21 nations lost over half a million lives, each. These 21 countries represented all cultures, races, creeds, and continents. The human death toll in the Year 2001 from all 227 nations on Earth was nearly 55 million people, of which about 52 million were not directly caused by human action, that is, not accidents, or suicides, or war. They were “natural” deaths.
Just watched a dvd on Oaxaca (southern Mexico) and the celebrations of Día de los Muertos - found a great section which had a band playing The peanut Vendor and lots of dancing with masks of the grim reaper, skeletons, ghouls etc.
I’ve read several versions of what it is all about and have come up with this, which I will use during the show . . .
A combination of pre-hispanic and Catholic traditions of the memory of deceased ancestors, relatives and friends.
The subject matter may be considered morbid from the Anglo Saxon perspective, In Mexico the Day of the Dead is a time of celebration and remembrance, and although it occurs at the same time as All Saints’ Day and All Souls Day, the Mexican expression is much more colourful and joyfull with emphasis on celebrating and honoring the lives of the deceased,
rather than fearing evil or malevolent spirits!
Such differences of experience on this one - seems there has been absolutely no consensus on sex education. I went to a Church of England school in North London - the boys were hearded off to the headmasters office, the girls to the headmistress, we were shown slides of mutilated genitalia - syphilis, gonorrhea, herpes, genital warts etc etc and then told this is what would ‘most probably’ happen to us if we fornicated with the girls outside of marriage - sex was for procreation!
I am wiriting a section of my new show (Sex, Death and Desire) on addiction to pornography - particlularly on the creation of the addiction. I have one fantastic interview with a porn addict describing the moment as an 11 (possibly as old as 13 but certainly no older) year old he was exposed to some hard core photos which he discovered in a brown paper bag left by his older brother - the shock of seeing such images was such that he believes he is trying to get back to that moment that rush when his world was turned inside out. This kind of impact can only happen in childhood.
. . . any other stories on the subject would be greatly appreciated.
I’ve been going through my Brian Eno collection - still brings me pleasure. Under-rated as a lyricist - even on tracks like “On some faraway beach” from “Here come the warm jets”
Cast up on a plateau
With only one memory
A single syllable
Oh lie low lie low.
Then there’s Apollo - even though Deep Blue Day has been in movies (Trainspotting) and get’s heard time and time again it is still sounding fresh - you couldn’t date that album.
As this makes up a large part of my show - I thought I’d I would source a few opinions on what desire is?
He who Binds Himself to a Joy Does the winged life destroy He who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in Eternity’s sunrise William Blake
For most of us, the major part of our lives are centered around desires which provide the main impelling force. We are so habituated that we take this as very natural and do not ever think twice about it. In modern times we even go to the extent of affirming that the satisfaction of our desires is necessary and indispensable.
On the other hand all spiritual paths insist on the importance of overcoming desire. And we ourselves become conscious of the suffering and hollowness which inevitably accompanies desire when we make an effort at a greater self-awareness and self-mastery. This is an issue which confronts not only spiritual seekers but all those who aspire to rise above the existing dualities of pleasure and pain and lead a higher life.
We’ve finished the Sex, Death and Desire logo . . .
Some information about the show is now on the Opera House Site
This will be updated once I’ve decided exactly what the content will be. Comments on the logo please . . .
Just booked my flight to LA - March 7th - to see philosopher Simon Critchley who is currently at the Getty Institute. Hoping to film him gving his insights into Sex, Death and Desire, of which he has many. We are also working on some new tracks for another CD - not even a working title, perhaps “Songs about Sex, Death and Desire”. If you have never heard any of the Critchley and Simmons tracks, lend an ear to “Humiliation” - I’d suggest the remix of the title track or “What is Desire”.
Hoping my new website will be coded by the end of this week - full of insights into the show.
Oh did I mention it will be performed at the Sydney opera House on April 20/21 2007.