jesus. has it really been this long since my last post. i dont have anything to say right now. ive been sick so the only thing ive done for days, really, is watch television on the couch under a couple of cats. i can feel my mind atrophy. one thing, i thought id mention. i have written mostly about politics on this blog. this because of the intensity of that part of our american world these days. but from the way people have been posting, i thought it worth mentioning that i am happy to talk about anything musical. questions. thoughts. whatever. i am a musician. i am not a political pundit.
speaking of music, it looks like shirley manson and i (with some possible help from some friends) are going try to cover a lennon song for an amnesty international/darfur charity cd. spent another afternoon with her a couple of days ago. she really is the best woman in rock. i really appreciate people with a complicated world view. especially these days in the climate of easy answers and all the religious nonsense. it seems that thoughtful rationality has been in short supply. speaking of rational thought. found a really good podcast ive been listening to. its called skeptics guide to the universe. info at: http://www.theskepticsguide.org/. has the intellectual rigor but is also really human and conversational. beats listening to mall punk radio music in traffic.
i hope i feel good enough tomorrow to head out to jpl for a lecture on black holes. should be interesting. wow. what a fucking ramble. shirley told me that, if i am going to do a blog, i have to be consistent. even if i have nothing to say. just say that i have nothing to say. so here it is. and was. nothing.
About Me
- -ea.
- after an inauspicious stint as an unremarkable young man, a cursory tour of four high schools in three years with an early departure, perry farrell and i started janes addiction. ______________________________________________________________ i am admittedly, under the best of circumstances, an erratic email returner but if you want to speak directly to me give it a try at: crashintothesea@gmail.com
31 comments:
if you're ever stuck for something to post, maybe you could just make a post relating to a news article that you find interesting (Middle East, arms-industry, poverty, evangelicals, music industry). That way, you don't have to worry about having something pithy to say every day of the week, and it'll give people who have way too much time on their hands (like me) a chance to post comments and analysis about whatever topic you select. just a suggestion.
R.
Nice. I was waiting for a new post honestly. I had been wondering how you felt about people asking you questions that often don't really relate to your posts, and if that like annoyed you or anything. I didnt know if you wanted your blog to be kind of personal for your friends really and not something for fans which it sorta recently became..
Anyways what are your thoughts on Elliott Smith? I think hes the most fantastic songwriter of the last .. 20 years? Ever listen to him? I was checking out your musical interests and noticed Joy Division which you've mentioned somewhere before but every time I listen to them I just cant get into it. Lou Reed is a similar problem, I realize these acts are monumental but I havent grown to appreciate them as much as I should. The Transformer album is pretty cool though.
A rambling within your rambling, take care eric
Did you know that there are 5,878,625,373,183 miles in a light year? The Andromeda galaxy is a little over 2 million light years away.
I guess what I'm getting at is, will time travel ever be possible?
Curt
Hi Eric,
Any more information on the Amnesty International/Darfur charity CD?
And what about any news on Garbage in general?
Hi E-
After all these years of holding down the beats, have you come across anyone who compares to Perk?
And have you listened to the new MUSE album its all about black holes and revelations. Its at the top of my list
-R_
Eric,
Thats great about the collab for Darfur. Any idea when it will drop? Any idea when you'll get that solo album out? Anyone you're wanting to work with on future collabs that you haven't yet been able to?
Jesse
Cats are cool beasts to chill with when one is ill; hope you are recuperating speedily, Eric. You mentioned a podcast - - The Skeptics Guide to the Universe. It will be added to my iPod. Speaking of skeptics, are you familiar with The Skeptics Society and Skeptics magazine (http://www.skeptic.com/)? Also, have you read any of the works of Richard Dawkins? If so, what are your thoughts? Best of luck w/ the Lennon cover; any chance you'll do "Tomorrow Never Knows"?
EA--many great moments listenin to the old stuff.
You mentioned that you were an anglophile...so am i, is it weird that we're americans and we find this small island so compelling? (yes, floyd, zep, new wave... tolkien?)
talkin to friends into trucker country ...not too sure if they were more "honest" or more realistic if you know what i mean?
are we boo radleys shut off from american existence?
sorry for the ramble...just got back from a night w/ friends and got the courage to write
kv
Hey Eric,
I'm a huge fan of Jane's Addiction, Deconstruction and Polar Bear. I have been listening to the latter a lot over the past few weeks, and it has made me anxious for your new album. Will it include your that song "Animals" (that song was sick btw)? Well, good luck with everything.
alright....first skull, i know why you think bodybag sounds detuned; and it might be. i dont remember whether the guitars are. but when you play clean chords on bass it always sounds that way to me as well. dont remember the origin of that one musically. although lyrically it starts out with a wonder about why my boyhood friend chris had died (flyer is about him) and i was still here. i was driving through the desert at the time (i quite like doing that) hence the mountains and gathering clouds etc.
andy - yes i do listen to elliot smith. i agree about his obvious songwriting skill. the amazing thing about him is that he is the only artist i can think of who is as crafty a songwriter as he is but i am not put off by that craftiness. alot of clever songwriting sounds lifeless to me. sounds like cynical cleverness that has the blend of skill smarts that a good tv show has. fine for some but not for me. joy division will always have a special place in my heart but i cant really listen to it much anymore. by example, peter hook taught me how to approach bass as a lyrical instrument. lou reed like most of my favorite artists (pj, nick cave) has always been very hit or miss. that which makes them great is that which makes them over the top sometimes. reaching high you have that much farther to fall.
agentcooper2001- i did not know know the exact length of light year. ive been rounding it to six trillion when referring to it for years. most recently with my wife up at the remodeled griffith observatory.
about time travel, i am currently taking a math class on my way as far up the astrophysical ladder i can get. so i should be able to better answer your question in five or so years. but i do find the idea interesting that if it were possible, why hasnt someone already visited us. you would assume that if it ever became possible someone would have come back to ,say the 1800's, but no one did. so does that mean no one will ever be able to?
rob- i dont know if i am at liberty to disclose info about garbage im afraid. but i will say that shirley sings a song with me on album and its one of my favorite tracks. about the darfur thing, i dont know anything but that shirley asked me if id do it and i would jump off a cliff if she asked me to.
ryan- all players are a unique coupling. it is a bit like comparing lovers. all good just different. there is only one perkins. i played for a few weeks with jimmy chamberlin who was quite good and very different in a jazzy sort of way. and last year with butch vig who was great in a very solid smart choices kind of way. and then there is my friend taylor hawkins who i enjoy watching play as much as i enjoy playing with him. there is something uncontainable and exciting about the way he plays.
jesse- no idea on when or even if the darfur thing will happen. my solo stuff is supposed to be getting mastered on this tuesday. so its close. i think on the future collaborations list there are too many to mention but i think pj harvey is right at the top.
chris- i do know the skeptics society. in fact i always keep an eye peeled for their lecture series out at caltech. interesting stuff. i have read dawkins; blind watchmaker. i really like alot of his ideas. the meme and the selfish gene models. i just spoke about him with my wife the other day because i was struck by how the skeptics guide podcast does a good job in communicating the great wonder of the truth of our world while being properly skeptical of the bullshit in it. whereas, for a layperson, dawkins isnt as good in interviews at communicating that you can replace hooey religiosity with awe inspriing truth about all that great crazy info about our universe.
kv- that is what is one of the most compelling things about england. it is a tiny little island that has taken over the world militarily and culturally. it has had enormous influence and is a little foggy rain soaked rock.
anonymous?- you asked about the song 'animals' if by that you mean the song 'suns gone' (which i think is the same song), yes its on my record. i almost put it up on the net for free because i did such a shitty job of singing it on navarros radio show. i hated that that was the version floating around out there. the album version came out really well.
Eric, are you in contact with anyone from Janes these days? do you have any regrets from the whole Janes experience? can't wait for the new record. i hope i can purchase it online. unless there is a record store in NYC i can pick it up.
Thanks for the feedback on Skeptics Society and Dawkins. I'm impressed by all the reading that you do; the classes that you take; the lectures you attend; and the exhibits you visit. That's some serious culture! What - - by the way - - is your take on religion/spirituality? That is, would you consider yourself an agnostic or atheist? Or do any non-Western religions resonate with you?
Eric;
thanks for getting back in touch and so soon. Hope all goes well with the Darfur release. Hope to hear both tracks real soon. No problems on the Garbage info, keep safe.
Howdy eric!
Haven't quite sussed this blogger deal yet! Anyways, i've really digged your buzz for many a year, tho' it ain't so easy to find your tunes in ireland! Roll on the cyberspace daze and wham i hear you loud n clear! At the mo i'm in australia, perth and been on the road nearly 3 years throughout s.e asia and oz. Which makes it hard to keep up with things. Just heard from my bro that you're releasing a solo project and had to suss it out, can't feckin wait! If i ever get back home, man i'll set you up with a gig no probs...i got a big back garden and a spare couch! Sorted!! So wierd this shit! Well, go neirigh an bothar leat (that's irish for 'may the road rise up to meet you'...or just 'take it easy'!!). Gotta go throw a few shrimps on the barby!! Ciao,
junior...
jesus.
so many people read your blog.
if you play your cards right, you could probably start a diabolical organization bent on worldwide domination.
(watched 'Diamonds Are Forever' last night).
love,
dominic
Hi Eric,
I hope you are feeling better.
Not sure if you remember me but I met you at HBO studios last year when you played with Alanis on the Bob Costas show. I'm Matt Volpe. I spilled my guts out in a letter i gave to you after I met you that explained how much your bass playing and music has affected my life, musically and spiritually. You are a true hero of mine and one of the greatest bass players of our time.
I look very forward to hearing your new record and I'm psyched to see you on the web. I hope to communicate with you when you have the time. Here's my myspace page:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=112047556
All the best and take care, Matt
hi dom. yes i have a plan. but thats my other blog. spectre.com (SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion).
junior- do you surf? sounds like you are in the right part of the world. i really liked australia last time i was there. the country itself, the land, is really unlike any other.
matt - yes i remember the letter. very kind. i recognized your name before i read your post. i will check out your site.
chris - the only janes member i ever really talk to at all, and it isnt much unfortunately, is dave. stephen i run into once or twice a year and perry i have only run into once on the beach a year or two ago. i had just gotten out of the water and he was jogging. we just said a quick hello without stopping.
chris (c. brian) - i was just talking with a friend about this. i always use the word spiritual but only because i dont know any other word with the same implications. i use it to mean concerned with things other than winning the petty battles of life. philosophical is word she suggested but doesnt work either. i feel a ramble coming on so i will stop here and return to your question. i think that religion is a fairytale men have told each other for millenia often wrapped up in dated cultural anchronisms. and there is not one that i have found that is not based on some dogmatic assumption. that being said, dominic, who posts here has been referring me to buddhist bits over the last few years. he is a buddhist scholar with his own blog (http://www.samsara-politic.blogspot.com/). the buddhists can be very helpful. i will never be one but they are easily better than the big three by any "spiritual" measure. i experience knowledge, learning and wonder at our ignorance in a religious way. in that, at the griffith observatory, while waiting for my wife, i was reminded of how places like this are like temples that i regularly visit to experience the wonder at the scale of our universe. it informs me of the size of my personal problems and struggles. it increases the size of my tolerance for others. it excites me with wonder and curiosity for paying attention to my world. in short, it wakes me up. religion can do the same thing for some. i wish it did for more. i now step down off my soapbox.
Eric,
Thanks for indulging me with your take on spirituality, or, rather, "transcendence". Sounds as if you take a more Feuerbachian or Freudian approach to religion? I agree with your point that all religions - - at their core - - are based on some dogmatic assumptions. I also think, too, that Eastern faiths might be less corrupt and hypocritical than the Big Three. Your comment about how knowledge, learning, and wondering can instill awe and humility is powerful; I think that "awareness" in and of itself is indeed religious . . . for it points to vastness, finitude, and things ultimate. I've long been fascinated by what people believe and why they believe. But speaking of caffeine, I've had to switch to decaf and herbal teas. My wife didn't appreciate my addictive tendencies and hyperactivity when I consumed the the real feul from Caribou, Dunkin', Starbucks . . . wherever. -chris (C. Brian)
Hey EA-
I'm curious, are you going to release your new stuff under the name polar bear or EA?(...or deconstruction)
You have helped me through so many paintings over the years its only appropriate that I offer any visual help I can.
Lovers... so does that mean Taylor is playing the drums on this new stuff, what about the other cast, or can you or do you play most of the instruments?
Have a beautiful week-cheerio--R.
ryan - its just going to be me this time. i went to your site. your work is beautiful. i really love the ink on paper stuff; especially "universitario" (sp?).
ryan redux- yes. taylor played on a couple of the songs for me. and i generally wound up playing between 1/3 and 2/3 of the instruments on each song.
Wow, your comments on the Griffith Obs as a kind of 'temple' - exact thing occurred to me 10 - 15 yrs ago when running across photos of the high altitude observatories in South America and Hawaii. Temples to rational inquiry and selfless knowledge. Would be neat to work as a caretaker at one of those, oiling the gears, polishing the mirrors/lenses ... re. soapboxes - plz understand it's refreshing to read your views, cuz in my life all I hear about is jeebus etc. Seems the skeptics are too circumspect and reticent - we swim in an ocean of religious bs here in the us. Anytime any scientist/celebrity throws a lifeline is appreciated.
anonymous- your post about caretaking a scope "oiling the gears" reminded me of an amazing moment my wife and i had at the keck observatory in hawaii. we are good friends with someone who is a keck board member so he hooked my wife and i up with a tour of the scope at the top of mauna kea. 12000ish feet up if i recall correctly. high enough that i got loopy from lack of oxygen. but anyway there was a moment that our guide set up for us. we were in the big dome standing right next to the actual scope itself. this is a machine that is between three and five stories tall. enormous. our guide told us to stand still and be quiet. she then used her walkie talkie to get an engineer to start moving the entire scope. it did not make any sound. utterly silent. like watching a building slowly turn itself over on tv with the sound off. engineering perfection. unbelievable.
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