Issue 4: Coltrane
Welcome to the fourth issue of Everything Is Made Up and not a delay in sight!
“My music is the spiritual expression of what I am — my faith, my knowledge, my being... When you begin to see the possibilities of music, you desire to do something really good for people, to help humanity free itself from its hangups... I want to speak to their souls.”
John Coltrane
Good morning/afternoon/evening to everyone. This is the fourth issue of my newsletter. Blah, blah, preamble.
I’m on time so no need for excuses or apologies!
This week’s issue is dedicated to John Coltrane. No one played the saxophone like him and nobody ever will. The term “spiritual jazz” gets thrown around but Coltrane epitomised the sub-genre by making it more than a genre altogether.
Okay, enough jabberwocky. Let’s begin.
For The Mind
A Genealogy of Blue - Blue is my second favourite colour behind red, although green is staking a claim for the top 2 of my Premier League of Colours. French historian Michel Pasteureau has written books about all three colours but this article takes excerpts from his book, Blue: The History of A Color. I never knew blue was associated with death which seems ironic given the colour of the sky and heavens. But that’s exactly what switched the association during the Middle Ages. Fascinating stuff.
What Developers Really Think About The Nintendo Game Boy - The Game Boy celebrated its 30th birthday a couple of weeks ago. I’ve started a new hobby fixing old ones up and selling them on. I finished my first proper and need to get it on eBay. In this article, GB game developers talk about what they thought of the console.
The Remarkable Story of a Woman Who Preserved Over 30 Years of TV History - I still use my VHS player (usually to watch my 500 Great Goals video over and over). An American woman called Marion Stokes kept 30 years of personal recordings and they’re now being digitized, “one tape at a time”. This all comes as part of a new documentary called Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project by Matt Wolf.
For The Ears
Bushman - Fire Bun A Weak Heart - I fell down a reggae rabbit hole on Friday night and this came up, courtesy of the Spotify algorithm. According to his Wikipedia page, “Bushman remains a humble, down to earth figure who still lives in St. Thomas (Jamaica) with his wife and children, follows a strict ital diet, and bathes in the hot water springs of St. Thomas”.
Nick Hakim - Vincent Tyler - Another algorithmic discovery. I don’t really know how to describe this but it does things to me. But while researching for this, I found a YouTube comment that’ll add a chill down your spine like it did mine. I love music like this in the way it can hit you in places you didn’t know existed.
“Apparently the song is a narrative about finding the dead body of a man named Vincent Tyler who was killed in 2007 in Nick’s hometown of Washington D.C.”
DeBarge - I Like It - Something more cheery. I love this song because it’s exactly how I feel about my girlfriend. That’s it. That’s my review. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk etc.
For The Feet
James Brown Best Dance Moves Ever - It was James Brown’s birthday on 3rd May so it’s only fair you get 4 minutes of his best dance moves. Get on the good foot!
Let’s Go Crazy: An Ode To Prince’s Iconic And Electrifying Dance Moves - And now to a man JB inspired a great deal. It’s a shame this is only 2 minutes long but there’s enough to get you going.
Lionel Messi scores STUNNING free-kick vs Liverpool, his 600th Barca goal - Imagine being on 599 goals for your club and this is your 600th. Liverpool have it all to do at Anfield if they want to reach another Champions League final.
Well I’m gonna make like a missile and cruise. Thanks for reading and join me next time for more of the same. Any comments or suggestions, get in touch!