The Alien, the Prince and the Boxer

What do they all have in common?

They’re all man. They’re all unique. They all payed a high price. They all had quite a life.

They’re all dead.

They all have been one of the reasons why we live the way we do today- so they all are a reminder of a fight, because they all have been fighters. But they are also a reminder, that we still fight the same things, deal with the same theme. Sadly.

They all crossed borders and showed that the world is not black and white. They showed the world that it is o.k. to be who you are and that equality is a reason to fight for. Yes, they took up equality before we thought about it again and they even haven’t been the first ones. Already in their lifetime they thought that it was time for a real change. Wish we still need. Sadly, things went just a bit better, but not as far as they should be.

The Boxer showed how to be a man abroad the clichè he himself seems to be. That being a coloured human means to be strong as any other human and that this is the reason to be treaten equaly. Much the same it was with the Prince. Showing the world that being a man means more then just macho. But he was disciminate as black, yes he was put in the box as such, thought he was not and much more. MTV denied him the same rights as other artist, as they put him in the black box untill they understood he was universal, should be treaten the same. The Prince even was not only clourblind, he even did not care about your gender, your sexuality. Just like the Alien, who thought us that  man can be women enough and be an in between. That things in life are colourful and all but black and white.

But still we differ in black and white, in man and women, in different rights. Gender and sexuality still are an issu to discriminate and even the clour of your skin can make your life harder, less fair.

How can this be still going on? How can people still believe that one is better than the other, that there is reason to believe equality should not be a reality. How can the conservative and far right and sometimes far left too still tell people to think in hate. Have they been so lucky and got the success to keep people stupid and make them stupid again? And why are those who know better not fighting harder, doing more, are louder and mor to see? Why are so many in silence? Have they given up because they have been thought their is no chance? Have we heard too many lies?

How come that women fight against women and want them to be stupid, weak and just home and a birth machine? How come that black and coloured people fight for  those who don’t want them to see as equal? How can homosexuals fight against themselfs? How can it be that a man still has to be macho? How can it be that we teach children on and on that they are not worth the same, not worth having the same rights. We know so much better, but most of us seem to teach them the old clichè.

And religious organisation are going on in pressing people into stereotypes and have the success to impress with lies and people have been getting so used to the fact that they can get away with crime.

But children use to be colourblind and without hate and make no difference between them.

We teach them. Why don’t we stop?

Why are we so silent about this fact? I wonder on and on why people have easy to go on the streets in the name of hate but not in the name of love, justice and equality? Why do so many think it won’t help. Or do they believe it is not important? It’s a paradox, that they believe in hate fights that politic can do a change, but not when it is about a better future. Or isn’t this a paradox at all?! Is it the fear that keeps them believing that the ”god” ol’ way is best, even know that this is untrue?! Is it that we lost faith in change as we tried it so many times in history and again and again we fell. Have we forgot that the rules of nature are part of our life too?

We are the generation who should know best, but it seems we don’t.  When I search the internet and read the papers, there is no way to find to achieve higher arwareness, no new way to make people change their mind. No way to get them up and on the street for a real change.

Will the things we do now be enough? Can we wait any longer? But I guess we have to have patience, have to have faith in time. We have to believe that people will one day see. But when, when will this be? So I guess we have to go on, even when we feel tired, even when we fail, fall back, when we have to fight again and again until we are there we want to be, have to be as human kind.

When will people feel, we all deserve the same rights as I always felt it that way. I could never understand, that people make difference. 

Love& Light

LP visus CD

Seems this is no question at all, isn't it?

Don't be that sure. The lovers of LP will nearly kill you for the wrong answere. But I refuse to let me blinded by the love of them. 

Seriusly, it is actually a good question. 

Let's see who wins, the CD or the LP.

Remember the CD came into stores around 1990 and made the life for the LP a hell of earth. The new thing the better quality they say and less place and easier to handle. True, true the world bought all in CD what they had on LP. Many did for sure had their doubt but as the CD became cheaper and your flat got space, it was no hard question to go on buying the CD. 

Nearly dead the LP was, but some refused to give up and then their was Disco and Techno and all the DJs needed LP. Thought these days no longer, but on the other hand, the best DJs are those with LPs or am I wrong. 

Now a CD is cheaper to produce and can give more money buy selling them than a LP.  

Now after nearly 20 years things have changed and we have streaming. No need of CDs anymore. But less quality of sound came with the new versions. Your Ipad still has a high music quality, but the generation after got down with it and now their are far away from being excellent. But all we know that and for what we use the new technic it is not needed. Or do you need to hear the music in such a high quality when you do your sport?

Still we want good music home and have quality, keep what the artist is actually doing. 

By the way - sadly to say, the quality of pop songs, and most charts songs have been going down and many CDs, many albums are not the same as it used to be, but when you have to pay less, you don't care that much about it. 

But then again, some artist have produced very rare and beautiful albums and even made the CD out of paper, not plastic. They worked with storybooks and art and made it special to buy a CD, not just a plastic box with a plastic thing which has music on it. 

Some even made an LP version, but as the LP nearly was out, many albums from the around 92- 99 are not to find on a LP or are only to find in little numbers and therefore expensive.

But who is better now- the CD or the LP? 

The testindustry says it is the CD with the better sound, which the LP lovers deny and they say it is a trick. 

Then LP lovers say the sound is not that hard, it is softer, more naturally. 

As a human myself being hard of hearing I can't hear the difference.

But I can tell you some things about the CD and LP.

The CD is cheaper, easier to produce, has a high sound quality and does not take much space, is easy to bear and handle and collect and it does not matter how high the quality of the songs.
You can even have singles and a lot of remixes, which I like a lot.
A CD comes also in papper versions and with art made just for the CD. 

The LP has more space to have a cover feeling like art and making it special. It wights in your hands and makes you listen to music more carefully and take it not for granted. The LP needs more time to be cherished and lives longer for sure (as a CD has a lifetime of about 20 years they say). And if you hear a scratch on the LP it reminds you of life. You choose more carefully what music you buy and will enjoy it for sure more like being happy.

............ ..... So no one wins in my eyes. 
When I just want to buy music or have a -Best of-, the CD is still first choice. When I want something to listen to when I travel, then it is the CD I take with me. When I want to mix things or just have a single, then I stream or have my I tunes. 
When I want to keep a special album until I die or even give it to the next generation, I will buy a LP. It is luxury, it is special and for all time. The LP makes me remind to listen also to CDs more carefully again and to be true, because of all the cheap music I stopped buying CDs long time ago and only bought them when I thought the music worth it. And I even have my cassettes/ tapes... they still are functional and the radio DJ is still to hear on them. 
But sometimes it is a question of money. Like the money I have to pay for the K.D. Lang LP "Invincible summer" is quite high. Thought David Bowie LPs are worth now much more, even -Blackstar- is now over 30 Euros up to already 70 till 80,-€. 
Yes, the big time for LPs maybe never comes back as it is nearly impossible to produce as much as needed already now. 
So for me, I like both and will take it that way and this way and have fun.

Love & Light

 

Tonight my David, Goodnight my David!

A man is gone, he has sent himself for the never ending sleep. 

A man we believed would live forever.

But this man got more then the mostly simple R.I.P on the News, on Twitter, on Facebook.

How so? Because he was special. 

I am sure most of us are not the big David Bowie fan, but most of us have minimum one album of him home. 

How come we feel sad about his being dead? 

When I read all the postings, it is always with a clip from youtube or a story people tell. Those stories are not I remember what I did when... People told us what they remember. Those stories are about David and I, You and me and we. It is David in there lives. Inside their lives, not just meeting on the surface. Thought next to no one really meet him or got to know him. He seldom gave interviews. There have been next to no home stories for papers and TV. He remained mostly silent about his private life. But we knew him one of a kind, a man who was really accepting people. He was color blind, did not care about your sexuality and gender. Had no interest in your age as it was just a number, not your personality and he was always looking the same, but different. He was cool. 

Mr. Bowie  had a big influence in many homes. He touched our mind, our heart and souls. 

He showed that music is much more then just an easy listening thing. He showed that you can be commercial and in the same time outstanding and special and an outsider. He showed that you can be creative and have your spleen and in the same time be earnest and truthful and credible. He showed that you can make a concept album and have it in the same time done with your heart. 

Lucky man he was, as many struggle to get the same result. Seems people have forgotten or are afraid to believe this is possible for each artist. 

And his voice, deep, soft and commonly, yes classic and in the same time special and outstanding. 

No wonder that we could and still can find us in him as the common people and the outsider. 

The other day I was talking with my friends, will he ever go on tour again? Now we know, he wont and know we understand the last big show was at Tate Modern to show his art and I remember when the 24. Album came out it felt much like it could be his last one. Doing the best songs in new versions a-like and remembering his career, his time on several places. As a Berlin guy it felt special. Here in my town he got a new start and became the biggest star and it was the beginning of an era of -do what you like and make your own image- and it was after all the beginning of becoming a legend.

Yes, David Bowie was already in his lifetime a legend and he truly was. 

Already to feel after his peak and strongest time. Having created imagination and figures who died and then come back and be another man. He was the man on the moon and will always be. Because even if he did not made many albums he was never out, never away, never unloved. People like him, love him or have respect. Now the last album is a new step in every way. His legacy if I may say and as Dumbledore once said: Happiness can be found even in the darkest of time, if only one turn on a light. 

Blackstar will be that light I guess. A wild mix of experimental music and classic choices. 

So- a Legend, a real one. 

Just look at the numbers. It is the 25. album and his last one. He became 69 and suffered 18 months from cancer. The Blackstar came out on his B-Day the 8. January 2016.  I wonder when the first conspiracy theories will come out. 

One thing is for sure, the CD won't be cheap for a long time, but the LP will go up in prices faster and higher then it cost yesterday. 

But even a legend dies at the end. This is another sad thing and make us remember that we all die at the end, no matter what. It thus is a reminder that of all the big stars we lost another one and there are just a few still living among us. 

Do I need two hands to name them? I am not sure. But sure I am that the man have gone and just the women are still there. So it seems.

A Cher, a Streisand, a Midler and Tina just to name the women who came from bottom to top and gave the music world and many peoples hearts so much, much more then all the stars of the new era. Yes, they are next in line and old too. 

But there are not only that. They changed music and TV, changed movie and the way a star lives and should be. Just like David. 

And to all the young fellows... Those stars have been the first to break free from what they have been allowed. A Monroe, a Bogart, a Sinatra... they had rules much harder and could not live all along the way they wanted as a star or do what they wanted- not 100%. But Stars like David knew that and had learned the discipline too. A secret of the success. 

From the stars of the new era only Madonna has the same discipline and controlled way of being a famous person. 

But back to David. He is the star of the generation born from 1950 to 1980. We have been grown up with him. We found a man, a way, a light for our lives and saw visions and warnings, hope and love with him. 

That is another reason why we are sad and cry about this lost. 

David- tonight... Thank you for the music, thank you for being you and the time you have been among us. May your new journey be a funny time. And... let's dance...!

LOVE & LIGHT