If you look back at recorded history whether biased or not one thing is consistently true and that is the fact of war. War has been a consistent part of human culture regardless of race, religion or geographic location since the beginning. In the beginning there was war and according to the Bible there always will be war, until Jesus returns. If you’re not into Jesus then you might believe that humans will eventually evolve into a peace loving non warring species. Then there is the possibility that eventually like in the film “Rollerball” war will be reduced to a game. Another possibility is that in the future the government of the united Planet Earth confines all wars to a designated region of the world that would be called “The War Zone.” That way whatever the reasons for the war will be transferred to the “war zone” where the warring factions can try to kill each other without killing innocent people and destroy property that has nothing to do with whatever the issue being fought over is. This will give an opportunity to whoever wants to be involved in a war to fulfill their dream.
Steve Albini died yesterday April 7, 2024 at the age of 61 from a heart attack. The photographs of him are from Friday, July 12, 1996 in Portland, Oregon at Suburbia a warehouse type venue with no acoustics. It was a hot day in the 90 degree range and there was no air conditioning. My camera lens kept steaming up along with my glasses that I was wearing. I was doing it as an assignment for John Chandler an editor at the then existing Seattle Rocket magazine. Albini was playing with his group “Shellac” and was a renowned multifaceted figure in the alternative music scene. He produced albums for artists like, Nirvana, the Pixies and P. J. Harvey and captured their raw authentic sound.
At this time the news is filled with the pro-Hamas/Palestine protests going on at college campus’. The entire premise of the protests is flawed and many of the people involved are completely ignorant of any historical basis for their opinions. As an example with transgender human beings supporting Hamas when they would be terminated because of religious reasons if they lived in that society. Every generation thinks that the world began when they first gained the ability to discern it.
There are songs in your life that bring back vivid memories from the past that are connected with the first time that you heard it. In the case of the song Suzie Q by Creedence Clearwater Revival the first time that I heard it was in a bar in the city of either Warren or Detroit, Michigan after I was discharged from the army in August 1968. I thought that it was an amazing song then and still do now because of John Fogerty’s captivating vocals and the extended jam.
“Touareg Blues” is a genre that is a combination of American blues with traditional Touareg music from North Africa’s Sahara region. The Touareg people are comprised of a large Berber ethnic group spread out across parts of Libya, Algeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
The other day I was working on an article for Blues Rock Review and I was thinking about how it seems that there is a never ending discovery of new blues artists that never hit the big time. Then I remembered that blues has been embraced around the world on all the continents. It is interpreted through their culture and language along with being true to the original sound that came from America. I decided to look at China and I discovered Zhang Ling (张凌) a pioneer of Chinese blues. He lives in Beijing, China and the link below is for his 2020 album release “Drinking Blues.”
♪Jesus♬Rocks♬The♬World♪ 