There’s been a lot of hubbub about Mad Men‘s use of the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” on the show; Producer Matthew Weiner and Co. paid $250,000 for the usage. Yes, that’s a crazy-stupid lot of money. But then again, it shows just how much the Tibetan Book of the Dead — upon which the song was based — and its influence were part of the mid-late 60′s zeitgeist. In fact, this was the show’s second reference to the Tibetan Book of the Dead in two weeks. (Earlier, the show depicted ad-exec Roger Sterling, his wife, and other well-to-do New Yorkers taking an LSD trip under the guidance of none other than Dr. Timothy Leary, whose book The Psychedelic Experience quickly gained fame as an acid-trip roadmap, based on the TBotD.
But as the LA Times‘ Show Tracker blog points out, this was not the first time the song had appeared on TV. It actually showed up in an animated Beatles cartoon, which you can watch here, below. But do check out Show Tracker for more.
Adam Yauch — aka MCA — of the Beastie Boys has died.
I can’t believe it either.
Small May 5 update: The story’s everywhere now. And then there’s this “News in Photos” gag from The Onion.
Band names can come from anywhere, but this one was a pleasant surprise. This UK hard rock band seems to take its name from this modern documentary film championed by Buddhists and meditators for its depiction of how meditation can help the incarcerated.
Not big news, just kinda cool.
From the "Mixtape" cover
The announcement I just saw about rapper A Cultivator (yes, that’s his name, “A Cultivator”) made a big deal like he’s the first person to bring rap and dharma together. But that’s hardly true — if you’ve been visiting the Horse for a while you know there’s been plenty of that. But that doesn’t make the idea any less worthwhile. Of course, with rap, so much is in the delivery, so you’ll have to see for yourself how A Cultivator stacks up, but you can do that by downloading his “Buddhist Hip Hop Mixtape” for free. Click here. From Skillful Methods Records, whose mission, they say, is “to build a movement based on the deepest values and meanings by which people live and contribute the art that will encourage and advance all toward the realization of enlightenment.”
Note: a little Googling seems to suggest that A Cultivator is down with Dorje Chang Buddha III, a spiritual teacher who’s been the subject of some notable controversy and criticism.
“Dharma-Burgers,” as I’ve said, aren’t some new fast-food sandwich — though they can be every bit as dubious as a Mc-DLT and a super-sized “New Coke.” A “Dharma-Burger” is, actually, any example of Buddhist ideas or imagery employed in the marketing or production of (usually non-Buddhist) services and consumables. Sometimes they’re okay. Sometimes, they’re beyond the pale. What do you make of this one?
That’s right. It’s the sign for a Portuguese strip club called the Buda Bar. (more…)
I’ve written about them before here and on Shambhala SunSpace, but this not-unimportant post-punk turned full-on rock band is back (again) and referring to Buddhism in the press for the coming release of their new album, Choice of Weapon. As I say, this isn’t the first time; The Cult’s last album had some Buddhist themes, and singer Ian Astbury has spoken about his affinity for Tibetan Buddhism before, even writing a piece called “The Buddhist Way” for SPIN back in ’09.)
And The Cult’s weapon of choice? (more…)
Huge thanks to the eagle-eyed Sam DeWitt for giving me the heads-up about Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, a band which, according to Pitchfork, “blends philosophies of Buddhism, meditation, and mantra with the band’s love of extreme sounds like black metal, industrial, and noise. Their name, for example, pins a reference to the Buddhist deity Yamantaka with a song title from doom metal band Sleep’s Dopesmoker.” [A true classic, sez the Horse. And so far, YT//ST seems to be very much my cuppa tea, too.]
You can listen to the band’s whole new LP online here.
There’s a video, too:
YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN – COUNTING TRACK from LZKA on Vimeo.
More from Pitchfork:
Pitchfork: What‘s the narrative behind your new rock opera?
Alaska B: We’re Buddhists, so it’s about the Buddhist concept of struggle to enlightenment. The sound started out trying to approximate the energy of rock’n'roll — that strong psychic energy that’s been carried since the 50s. We had this idea that when you see Tantric Buddhists, it’s people making a lot of noise together; it’s this long journey where you start in one place and don’t know exactly where you end. We were trying to imagine the same vibe but in the rock’n'roll context– replacing those sounds with our sounds.
Ruby Kato Attwood: Our aim when we perform is to create an empty space– a sacred space– compared to what’s called the Samsaric world, which is ever-changing and full of chaos.
Check out the full Pitchfork piece, which has LOTS more to it, here. It also includes online streams of three songs. Whaddya think?
When I was a young, bitter punk rock kid, much of the (very small amount of ) light I saw in the world usually came from seeing that others had as caustic and cynical a take on things as I did. One exception, though, was Pianosaurus, a band that absolutely slayed on their instruments – all of which were children’s toys. Their record, Groovy Neighborhood (left), was playful and non-cynical. To my best friend Josh and me, it was summer freedom on vinyl.
I always wondered what happened to those guys. Well, now I have some answers, thanks to Marc Maron and the newest installation of his fantastic comedy-insider podcast, WTF, which features non-comedian Dr. Stephen Dansiger – psychotherapist, happy family man, and lifetime musician who’s played with some great bands, including Pianosaurus. So: why is this relevant to this blog? Well, Dansiger is also a Zen meditator now. (He’s friends, too, with Josh Korda of Dharma Punx.) And he talks about all of this, and how he’s gotten to the other side of some seriously rough times, on WTF. Click here to listen online. Or download via iTunes.
Warning: if you’re not comfortable with the word that the “F” in “WTF” represents, this won’t be easy listening for you. But it’s a good listen nonetheless.
The Pittsburgh band White Wives has released their new video, “Hungry Ghosts” — something many Buddhists will know about, but which the great music site Consequence of Sound is covering, too:
Small mouths, bloated bellies, thin necks. No, this is not a description of our high school prom dates but of the fabled hungry ghost, a supernatural being often filled with more desire than one could possibly consume. Completely driven by unfulfilled cravings, they want nothing more than satisfaction that’s never quite enough. Sound familiar? Pittsburgh-based White Wives dive head first into this age-old yet always relevant theme in their video for “Hungry Ghost”, a garage-punk/alt-rock anthem that serves as the third track off their debut LP, Happeners.
Here’s the video — and head over to CoS for more info and White Wives tour dates.
White Wives – Hungry Ghost from Cluster 1 on Vimeo.
Barn Owl, one of my very favorite musical acts these days, played a show hosted by the SFZC. Watch, listen, enjoy. It’s two great tastes that taste great together!
Barn Owl from auraloptic on Vimeo.
Another act that played SFZC was Date Palms. Click here for that.
