THE SIGNAL from David Katznelson
"For all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, 'It might have been'."-John Greenleaf Whittier
There is something truly special about the last night of Hanukkah. Lighting up all of the candles of the menorah…turning off all the houselights and sitting and watching the candles go down—taking bets on which one will burn out last as it gets darker and darker. Knowing that the magical 8 days and nights are coming to an end, coming to an end with a room of smoke and darkness.
The soundtrack for tonight is as would be assumed…very important. And today we can look into a few suggestions, if you need some, about music to listen to while watching the candles burn down:
The Velvet Underground: Most every Velvet Underground record works for this moment. You can have a fuzzy time and listen to WHITE LIGHT WHITE HEAT or you can opt for the warmer groove of the third record (featuring the song Beginning To See The Light which fits so perfectly for the holiday) or dig into LIVE AT THE MATRIX and get lulled into the live sounds of the band.
LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD by John Coltrane: Spiritual is my favorite Coltrane moment of all, and the song will slow down the melting wax, make heavy the drips with its beautiful lysergic rhythms and melodies.
The PRISONERS soundtrack by Jóhann Jóhannsson: OK, not you are getting dark. But if you want some Maccabee vibe, the night before battle….knowing that the candles are about to burn out and you are tired from 8 sleepless nights and you are reflective and feeling the weight, Jóhannsson will create that moment for you.
The Everly Brothers, any “early years” compilation: So you don’t want to go dark but instead dreamy. Dreamy like candles are dreamy. Songs like Dream and Kentucky and Roving Gambler and Devoted to You. Everything will get warmer…a little more forrest woody.
Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou: The Ethiopian pianist, whose life story is incredible and worth reading up on (still living in a clay hut outside the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem), plays the piano like the ocean plays the waves. Songs like Homeless Wanderer are otherworldly meditations that play off the dancing flames.
BEETHOVEN’S 5th by Ludvig van Beethoven: I mean…the guy turned 250 yesterday. A good time for the ultimate dramatic candle burn. Hell, playing the 5th while watching the menorah aflame will make it seem like the world might just open up before it is all over.
There are so many more great soundtrack ideas for the 8th night (Black Sabbath’s first LP, Funkadelic’s MAGGOT BRAIN, Solomon Burke’s ROCK AND SOUL (thank you Barb!), The Twilight Singers’ BLACKBERRY BELLE, Paula Frazer’s INVISIBLE CREATURES, Ekin Fil’s MAPS, Langston Hughes’ WEARY BLUES (with Charles Mingus) and on and on and on). Please let it be known some of your own!
Both of these docs are going to be telling some wild wild stories, with the inventor of Rock and Roll and one of the funkiest humans to roam planet earth. Oh yeah (my thoughts about Little Richard, posted right after he passed this year, are here).
23 Most Powerful Secret Societies
This article is a fantastic dive into many of the greatest secret societies of all time, some I knew, some I had no idea about. All of them read like great Hollywood movies. Many of them men-only which to this day I don’t understand and could never be down with. Sorry Bohemians—you have amazing members in your club…but going into the woods without women? Are you nuts?
MacArthur grant sculptor’s ’Air Garden’ takes shape in Sebastopol
I am definitely taking the kids to see Ned Kahn’s masterwork up in Sebastopol. Silver lining of the dark dark dark Covid times: outdoor art.
Windmill House Once Rented by Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller Hits the Market for $11.5 Million
One Gentle Evening Suave
by Rachel (Bluwstein)
One gentle evening suave, I'll go
Outside and immobile,
Not speaking to a single soul,
I'll sit awhile.
I'll rest like one who seeks refuge
From the sirocco's heat,
In the shade of a leafy tree,
While sitting at its feet.
I shall pretend to have forgot
That fate's decree is signed,
Which changes my few festive days
To mourning predestined.
One gentle evening, suave, I'll go
Outside and immobile,
Not speaking to a single soul,
I'll sit awhile.
