Dancing in the Dark (The Heart of Darkness Playlist)

I give you a playlist fit for Joseph Conrad and his inspired creation: Kurtz. Musical relief for the darkness and an entry in the Comfort Suite. The liner notes were written 15 years ago for the heart of darkness. Thankfully, these days the songs are mostly available for streaming (youtube, spotify).

Heart of Darkness, A Playlist

• Prince Of Darkness by Miles Davis
  Our musical tour of this territory will start with Miles. This is Richard Perle's theme. Menacing and presented as noble. Righteous music. The album is called Miles Smiles, the second great quintet had found its groove and Miles reveled in it.
• Footsteps In The Dark (Part 1 & 2) by The Isley Brothers
  Again the album title is ominous, Go for your guns and quite belied by the lazy groove and Ronald Isley's lush falsetto
• Congo by Amel Larrieux
  My favorite vocalist went to Congo, she's a bravebird. I've always wanted a live performance of this song, hope springs eternal.
• Crazy Baldhead by Bob Marley and the Wailers
  Kurtz's theme.
• Down Here in Hell (With You) by Van Hunt
  The acoustic version, the Narrated Autobiography starts with the immortal line "My father was part-time painter and a pimp". Dysfunction was the original sin.
• Dancing in the Dark by Bill Evans
  Scott LaFaro, whose exploits were well documented in Sunday Night at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby, had died tragically a few years earlier. Thus it was Gary Peacock who stepped in with ghostly bass runs as counterpoint to Bill Evans's luminous piano.
• I Guess I'm Crazy by Mavis Staples
  Long before Gnarls Barkley, Mavis was telling it like it was. Prince was urging her on at the mixing console
• In the Dark by Nina Simone
  Blues are part and parcel of the heart of darkness.
• Dark Side of the Cog by Incognito
  From the album in which Incognito went electronic
• Slippin' Into Darkness by War
  Funky and dark grooves
• Darkness by Black Uhuru
  The 10' version is bouncy. Darkness seems to rule over the world.
• Dancing in the Dark by Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis
  Something Else was going down with that first great quintet and its offshoots.
• Dancing in the Dark by Duke Ellington
  The Duke's portfolio is endless
• Darkness on the Delta by Cassandra Wilson
  The modern day blues queen
• Blues In the Dark by Count Basie and Jimmy Rushing
  Fruits of a cooking session
• Darktown Strutter's Ball by Fats Domino
  Dave Bruebeck also gives a cool version
• Dark Rapture by Count Basie
• Bohemia After Dark by Cannonball Adderley
  Birdland after dark was a magical place, the birthplace of a quiet revolution.
• Dancing In The Dark by Bruce Springsteen
  The Boss found uplift in Ronald Reagan's morning in America. Hey Iran/Contra was a ball. The seeds were sown of the great reckoning though. Would have been better off with John Wayne.
• Deep In Your Heart by Ronny Jordan
  A trifle to warm the heart
• Dark by Prince

  Somebody take this dark cloud away...
  How could you leave me in the dark?

  The remix, So Dark, which appeared on the Crystal Ball compilation is a reminder that his Royal Badness sometimes needs to leave well enough alone. But then we know that things fell apart
• Light To Dark by Ronny Jordan
  Changing the perspective
• Blues In the Dark by James Carter and Joshua Redmane
  The legendary cutting session immortalized the jook joint in the movie Kansas City
• Dance Cadaverous by Wayne Shorter
  We started with Prince of Darkness, a Wayne Shorter composition hence we'll end with another of his dark themes. I was initially thinking of Juju but that isn't quite foreboding enough. Dance Cadaverous it is then. Ominous and a little crazy, the man got lost in the jungle and is emerging slowly to face the interlocuter. The title of the album stands to reason: Speak No Evil.

See previously: Heart of Darkness

I nominate this note for the Things Fall Apart series under the banner of The Comfort Suite.

File under: music, culture, observation, obsession, whimsy, jazz, soul, perception, Joseph Conrad, Things Fall Apart, Comfort Suite, toli

Writing log. Concept: June 30, 2007

Operation Urgent Fury

Barracks
Truck bombings
Bad optics

Casualties
In a foreign land
French and American marines

Contingency plans
Swift change of the narrative
Operation Urgent Fury

Small island, little scrutiny
Marxist Bishop, revolutionaries
"Visit America before America visits you"

Structural adjustments
Our sphere of influence
Washington consensus

Destabilization strategy
Of brutal leftist thugs
A base for aggression

Scripts readied
Protection of the free world
Prime time address

Rollback of influence
Strategic vision of democracy
Liberation, security in our hemisphere

This is a dangerous situation
The threat posed to our nationals
For their safety is paramount

We decided on preventive action
Moving forward to restore freedom
And bring about regime change

Rapid troop deployment
Our special forces
Armed intervention

Simply responding to an appeal
A formal request for aid
This morning's invasion



After Grenada, 1983

Soundtrack for this note

• B movie by Gil Scott Heron

See also: Excellent Discussions


File under: culture, observation, perception, rogues, USA, war, blood, imperialism, politics, Reagan, policy, strategy, Grenada, language, cold war, Great Game, hatchet job, Observers are worried, poetry, toli

Writing log: September 4, 2022

Staffing Shortages

Staffing shortages in a covidious time
Supply chain snafus, empty shelves and long lines
Rising positivity rates were how we bore witness
For our streets were paved with discarded rapid tests

Inboxes flooded with statements
   explaining the difficult decisions
Structural adjustments:
   "We make every effort to minimize disruption"
"The increase in cases
   created an impact on essential services around the country"
"Our staffing levels are being affected
   by those who are either sick or in self-quarantine"

While sirens were testaments to the ebb and flow of capacity
Partners in health bemoaned the limited testing availability
We were living in an interminable era of incalculable loss
Even as we asked the obvious, what paradise have we lost?

Staffing Shortage, a playlist

A soundtrack for this note (spotify version)

• Man Shortage by Lovindeer
• Inflation Calypso by E.T. Mensah & the Tempos
• Just Can't Get Enough by Depeche Mode
• Got to be Enough by Con Funk Shun
• Never Enough by Groove Theory
• Shortage by Dave Hollister

After Omicron BA.1

This internal displacement is part of a series: In a covidious time

File under: culture, observation, coronavirus, pandemic, economics, covidious, poetry, toli

Writing log: January 16, 2022

Playground Education

They pantomimed the firing squad
Reenacting the march of the bedraggled and confused
The older boys had grabbed sticks
   and descended on a group of us
They lined us up roughly, laughing and barking orders
Repeating phrases they'd heard from their parents
And the dawn broadcast
"We'll finish them..."

They set up a few paces out,
   on the edge of the playground.
"Line up.
Take your marks.
Fire."

Pow. Pow. Pow. Pow. Pow. Pow.
Six shots.
"Attention."

Then the recriminations:
"You. You didn't die properly.
   You. The General. You didn't slump.
Let's do it again."

More laughter.
Scenarios were contemplated for the next round.
"Let the blood flow..."

There must have been something in your look
   that gave them temporary pause
For even as you had kept a brave face,
   you couldn't break out a smile
Appalled frankly. You recognized a wrong,
   something beyond the pale
The comment escaped your mouth, you couldn't help it
"That was someone's daddy."

A brief pause, but then the conversation resumed
Mocking tones infused their frenzied acting
You detached yourself from the game
Dusted yourself
Casually
And walked off
You didn't look back

Playground Games, a playlist

A soundtrack for this note. (spotify version)

• Cruel Summer by Bananarama
• Games by Cannonball Adderley
• Fun and Games by Junior Byles
• Don't Be Cruel by Bobby Brown
• Zombie by Fela
• Games by Chuckii Booker

...

Timing is everything
Observers are worried

...

See also: The Wages of Thermidor and June 4th

File under: memory, Ghana, coup, violence, children, youth, cruelty, blood, fear, culture, observation, perception, Africa, Observers are worried, The Rough Beast, poetry, toli

Writing log. January 4, 2022

End-User Certificates

End-user certificates
Squalid bureaucracy

Did you ever wonder what was in those planes?

Contractual obligations
Roaring trade in ammunition

Did you ever worry about the company you keep?

Warlord clientele
Improvised identities

Did you think it would come to this?

Cult of corruption
Merchants of death

Did you see what they left in their wake?

Bulletproof warriors
Small boy units

Did you ever wonder about the price we all paid?

Cargo of weapons
Shipments from Belarus

Did you realize the tangled web they wove?

Profitable transactions
Collateral damage

Did it mean anything to you?

Neutral brokers
Two-sided networks

Did it really seem innocent?

Equal opportunity
Excess revenues

Did you ever wonder how they sleep at night?

International transfers
Dealers of deceit

Did you remember how it all started?

Final recipients
Embargo detours

Did the excuses really stand up?

Supply chain lubrication
Undesired buyers

Did you get everything that you wanted?

Victims everywhere
Blood and sin victorious

Did you ever wonder why these men are smiling?

Clean hands
Indelible ink

Did they leave a trace?

Rebel militia
Intractable conflicts

Do you ever wonder when this will end?

After: Blood from Stones by Douglas Farah, Darwin's Nightmare and that pulp piece, Lord of War.

End-User Certificates, a playlist

A soundtrack for this note (spotify version)

• Guns are Drawn by The Roots
• Bullet From A Gun by Derek B
• Certified by Guru
• Machine Gun by Portishead
• Sword + Gun by Jose James and Hindi Zahra
• Because of Guns (Hey Joe Redux) by Vijay Iyer

...

Timing is everything
Observers are worried

See previously: Arms on Ghana Plane

File under: arms, weapons, rogues, terrorism, crime, war, Strange Bedfellows, Observers are worried, poetry, culture, observation, toli

Writing log: January 1, 2022