Trail of Blue Ice (Portage Valley, AK) by Janson Jones
“Often when I write I am trying to make words do the work of line and color. I have the painter’s sensitivity to light. Much . . . of my writing is verbal painting.”
~ Elizabeth Bowen
Two of the worst words in the history of language: ignorance and indifference ~ L. Liwag
Few words tonight. Too many thoughts running through my head about the world in which we live. To much tumult to reconcile in a coherent post. Janson’s “Blue Ice” image is the perfect visual accompaniment to how I feel.
My overall mood can best be expressed by Dead Can Dance’s Lisa Gerrard singing “Now We are Free.” Many thanks to my compatriot Janson Jones for reminding me of their incredible music.
And to close the evening, here is “Host of Seraphim.” Let me warn you that this particular vid can be very depressing. I may try to tackle this topic tomorrow.
Lola's Curmudgeonly Musings 
Didn’t watch alot of the video. I work with the homeless with my church. To see it up close and personal is heartwrenching. I am partial to the elderly homeless, especially this one couple who come to eat. Both frail, rail thin and her with her walker. Yet, he shuffles around and gets her comfy and then comes in line for food. They say nothing as they eat, but you can feel the devotion they have for each other. Some of the elderly we serve have a place to live- just no food at the end of the month. Some have a great sense of humour about their situation, others are rude and have “you owe it to me” attitude. Most are articulate, polite and honestly, fun to talk to! Many are men who, oddly enough, were the victims in a divorce. They are paying rent and child support yet cannot afford a place of there own.
Summertime is the worst. The heat takes it’s toll on these folks. Some come in and just sit because it’s cool. Some eat very little, they just want something to drink.
But for a few hours they have some refuge from the streets. Somewhere they can be treated with dignity and respect. And when you look in their eyes you can see their soul.
The Dead Can Dance video you linked is pulled from a rather intriguing and moving film entitled Baraka (dir. Ron Fricke, 1992 or so). It’s an engaging film — and if you haven’t seen it, you really should. There’s some valid criticism about exploiting “the exotic” — but I still find the argument in the film quite engaging. Mostly its a film without a plot. More about theme. And the soundtrack is as beautiful as the cinemotography. Dead Can Dance is one of the bands used in the film, also with original score by Michael Stearns.
Definitely worth checking out, if you haven’t seen it already. It’s on DVD and on BluRay (the BluRay edition is INCREDIBLY beautiful!)
Thank you. I did not know that. I’ll have to look for it. Don’t have BluRay yet…..
Great songs, I can totally understand where you’re coming from.
Thanks. I had forgotten about them until Janson mentioned them in one of his Twitter posts. Really haunting, beautiful music.
If you haven’t heard of them, you should check out a group called October Project. If memory serves me right, I believe their best album is Falling Further In, but it might be their first album (the self titled) October Project. It’s beautiful, haunting music.
I have heard of them, but I don’t remember how they sound. I’ll have to check them out. Thanks. Your musical knowledge is always appreciated.