Kevin Slick: Journal

I'm getting pretty tired of hearing news-talk shows debating the question "Is it okay for the government to spy on citizens?" So, they're talking about the NSA secret spying deal, but in my mind the asking the wrong questions. I believe a better talk show would start with this; "The president says it's okay for him to break the law whenever he feels it's in his or the country's best interest, do you agree?" Remember - the laws of our country give the president legal means to wiretap, even to get permission after the fact. We shouldn't let the talk show hosts obscure this point - the question for all of us is: Do we let the president break the law?
For me, the answer is no.
We all must decide.
Good night, and good luck
-Kevin

This will be a news rather than views entry.
Four new albums are up on the CDBaby page. There's "Thunderstorm, Radio and Keyboards" which is an all instrumental album similar to some of my film score work. It's full of sonic audio landscapes from gentle mood pieces to strange journeys into sound.
Also new to the page is "Laughing Symbols:NoSono by Neo Pseudo. This is the classic collection of early Neo Pseudo recordings that gathered rave reviews for it's quirky, delightful tunes. Also from the Neo vaults comes "Folks like Us" and "Postcard" two albums recorded in the early 1990s when the band had re-lcated to Philadelphia. "Folks" features the acoustic side of the band as they sounded during their residency at Makams Kitchen and their gigs at Godfrey Daniels. "Postcard" features tracks that were recorded as a follow up to "Ritual Laughter" and several studio tracks recorded at the Pseudo House. This album also includes the famous version of "Riot in Heaven" recorded live in one of their return shows at Penn State - the ultimate Pseudo wackiness!

It's that time of year again, time to put together the "best of" lists - best films, best albums, greatest achievement in obscure whatever.
With a three year old son, I never go to the movies so I can't comment on the cinema, but I can offer my favorite album suggestions. Here they are in no particular order:

Kate Bush - Aerial. Those who know me have heard me rave about Ms. Bush's music over the years so it should be no surprise that her first album in 12 years makes the list. I loved the beautiful sparse melodies and how her singing has matured over the years. She retains all the passion of previous albums but moves beyound the wall of sound that powered her work from the mid- eighties.

Robert Plant - Mighty ReArranger.
It seems to me that Led Zepplin was such a powerful musical force because they combined the awesome playing of the musicians and the magical, voodoo ritual elements that they gathered from around the world and planted at the heart of their songs. That voodoo, mysica,magical groove is alive an well on Plant's latest album with more of a nod towards world music than to heavy metal.

Neil Young - Prarie Wind
Neil goes acoustic again, and once more travels to Nashville to gather many of the folks who worked on Harvest. The title fits the music exactly. Old wooden songs from someone looking back at life's landscape.

Abigail Washburn - Song of the Travelling Daughter.
Washburn plays banjo with the old-timey outfit Uncle Earl and I'd recommend their latest album as well. Travelling Daughter takes the drama and passion of old timey music and grooves in the modern world. There's nothing here that sounds out of place or cliche- the open back banjo is the logical instrument for these songs which include probably the only traditional appalachian mountain chinese music you'll ever here.

Laura Veirs - Year of Meteors.
Excellent moody modern melodic music. Ms. Veirs writes insightful songs that have a timeless quality while still sounding completely contemporary. One of the best of the singer-songwriters.

Emma's Revolution- One
By far the most uplifting song I've heard on disc this year leads off this recording by the duo of Sandy and Pat. This album is full of powerful lyrics and memorable music including (in my opinion) the most touching and real song to come from the tragedy of 9/11. You can find this recording at their website www.emmasrevolution.com
Bruce Springsteen - Devils and Dust
Let's not forget the boss! This album came out earlier in the year but I haven't been able to stop listening to this collection of stories, fables and dreams. Combined with the 30th anniversery of "Born to Run" - by the way, don't miss the special CD/DVD combo celebrating that one - it's a good time to stop to appreciate the amazing body of work Bruce has produced. The new album is harsh, beautiful, and perfect.

I hope you have a lovely time over the winter holidays and a grand beginning of the new year!

As the smoke rises from the fire
Into the air
My soul rises on a prayer
To the sky
I return home to the heart of the one
Where my soul is reborn
When day is done

It's snowing gently here in the Rocky Mountains. I've been looking for a good book of daily meditations, but haven't had the time to visit the local bookstores, so I've been writing my own. Here's a couple of samples. What do you think?

Let my soul rise into the unbroken sky
Stretching transparent thin
Around the earth
The fibers of my skin, my heart, my soul
Touching every corner of the world
And then returning
With the breath of every living thing inside me.


I will melt my being, dissolve into infinity
Like water
Like beautiful dust
To reach into the earth
Into every inch of planet
Reborn with every living thing
With every name of God etched in my soul

What is there to be thankful for? Often I think of the big things: family, health, etc. This morning, however, I looked out the window and saw the sunrising, throwing a golden light on the Rocky Mountains. What more do I need?
Happy Thanksgiving, and I hope you find many things all around you to be thankful for.
-Kevin

I think it's time for a new verse to that classic song from Lee Hays and the Weavers- Wasn't that a Time? The following article came from Sojourners magazine and their website www.sojo.net I think it's an excellent expression of my feelings and hpefully the feelings of many others who watch the ever increasing boldness of the far right in our country.
Washington, D.C. ------(Friday, November 18, 2005) Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners and Convener of Call to Renewal, made the following statement today on the narrow passage of the House Budget Reconciliation Bill.

STATEMENT BY JIM WALLIS:

The prophet Isaiah said: "Woe to you legislators of infamous laws ... who refuse justice to the unfortunate, who cheat the poor among my people of their rights, who make widows their prey and rob the orphan." Today, I repeat those words. When our legislators put ideology over principle, it is time to sound the trumpets of justice and tell the truth.

It is a moral disgrace to take food from the mouths of hungry children to increase the luxuries of those feasting at a table overflowing with plenty. This is not what America is about, not what the season of Thanksgiving is about, not what loving our neighbor is about, and not what family values are about. There is no moral path our legislators can take to defend a reckless, mean-spirited budget reconciliation bill that diminishes our compassion, as Jesus said, "for the least of these." It is morally unconscionable to hide behind arguments for fiscal responsibility and government efficiency. It is dishonest to stake proud claims to deficit reduction when tax cuts for the wealthy that increase the deficit are the next order of business. It is one more example of an absence of morality in our current political leadership.

Budgets are moral documents that reflect what we care about. Budget and tax bills that increase the deficit put our children's futures in jeopardy - and they hurt the vulnerable right now. The choice to cut supports that help people make it day to day in order to pay for tax cuts for those with plenty goes against everything our religious and moral principles teach us. It says that leaders don't care about people in need. It is a blatant reversal of biblical values - and symbolizes the death of compassionate conservatism.

The faith community is outraged and is drawing a line in the sand against immoral national priorities. It is time to draw that line more forcefully and more visibly.

I applaud those House members who have stood up for better budget priorities and fought hard all year to keep issues of basic fairness at the forefront of this debate. And I thank those on both sides of the aisle who stood up and did the right thing in voting against this bill, despite pressure from the House leadership. These strong voices provide some hope for getting beyond an ideology that disregards the role of government for the common good.

" Remember the last time you had an irrepressible smile on your face?, God has that picture on his refrigerator." I don't know the origin of this quote, just heard it at Meeting today and I thought it was worth sharing.

My favorite new button, that I wear on my jacket, is "I'm not Anti-Bush, I'm Pro-Intelligence" For me that is a pretty good snapshot of my feelings.
The current administration shows contempt for thinking, for understanding and clearly has disdain for anything approaching broad-mindedness.
These are tough times, "times to try the soul" as a wise songwriter once put it. The same wise songwriter also said "Be of good cheer, this too shall pass, I've had kidney stones so I know"
Or, as Winston Churchill once said,
"When you're going through hell...keep going"

Check out new albums at CDBaby! "Winter Song" my album of traditional Christmas music in a new-folk sort of setting is now out on CD. You'll also find the classic Neo Pseudo album "Vanity Frizbee" Look for other gems from the Neo Pseudo closet coming soon.
On a lighter note here's my thoughts on the recent World Series. For those of you who missed it or didn't really care, the Chicago White Sox swept the Houston Astros in four straight games, each of which could have easily been won by the Astros if they had managed to score any of the hundred or so runners left on base. My theory is this: God has cursed the Astros for intorducing "Astro-Turf" or artificial grass to baseball and organized sports in general. Their painful losses and the fact that they were teased with many possibilities to win the games is evidence of the magnitude of their original or in this case artificial sin!
Here's another thought - something is wrong with this society when it's harder to adopt a homeless cat than it is to have a child. No one asked me what I planned to do with my son if he threw up on the furniture, so why do I have to fill out a three page questionaire with questions like "What will you do if your cat scratches the furniture?" or " Did you imagine having an indoor, outdoor/indoor/ outdoor, indoor on weekdays, outdoors on weekends, travelling cat, cat to play with in the park..." What? I could hardly make heads or tails of the absurd questions...what did I imagine? Well, I can "imagine" a cat that can fly, but that's not what I'm expecting! As you might guess I was recently turned down by the shelter for adopting a cat. Get this - the shelter will call you if they accept you, but don't have to time to call and tell you if you don't pass the review of the almighty judge of potential cat owners...something is wrong here! Oh yeah, I almost forgot - how am I supposed to have three references from vets if I don't already own a pet?
So, no cat yet, I'll look to the newspaper and notices in coffee shops someplace where the pet nazi's aren't watching!
Since writing this first part I discovered that the local Humane Society in Boulder Valley is a much more friendly place to get a pet, so as I write this "Garbo" is crawling all over the desk and meowing along with the stereo.