The Road~ A Principle To Keep

?A Second Ago, Is truth?

Why is time controversial? Time has a privileged present, only now is real. Time seems to be the universal background through which all events proceed, such that order can be sequenced and durations measured.

The question is whether these features are actual realities of the physical world or artificial constructs of human mentality. Time may not be what time seems — this smooth unity without parts, the ever-existing stage on which all happenings happen.

To appreciate time is to feel the fabric of reality. What does this mean, time is "not real?" I have been researching on different viewpoints about different philosophies relating to time existing. I was able to get a good understanding of what was talked about. I was able to come up with my own "beliefs"; the three basic properties of time come not from the physical world but from our mental states: A present moment that is special; some kind of flow or passage. When I thought of this, a spark went off in my mind, it's not about the"time" that we were living through in the physical world, it's about being in that special present moment, nothing else exist; no past no future, it's all a created mentality. Bingo!! This is what I was looking for, so that I can implement this into my daily life, what's left of it. I have learned now to accept the outcomes of events/situations that I have lived through as a student, there's no going back, it's gone, simply forward, keeping the mental state in a present state.

This is the exact Principle that I want to apply to The Road and in general,daily life, is time real? Which in my principle that I chose is no, it's an illusion. In the book The Road, I see that a principle that could be used in the book, would be this one because as the father and the son travel along the tough path, they go through a mentality of time, trying to survive which is a big theme in the story. The characters have to go through a series of stages of mentality, dealing with time passing, even we could see that the characters struggled to contain their hope/believe of survival over a certain period of time. We can also connect time to daily living, where we can obviously see that time plays a major role in all our life, since the time we were born. So what if I told you time doesn't exist and that you shouldn't use the clock to manipulate your life. Well, that would be hard for use all to do, since we're so mechanicalized, it would take us a long time to adapt to that mentality.

I love this topic so much I ask myself questions that make my viewpoint change, the way I live, the way I feel, the way I learn. Its up to you to decide whether you want to see the change in yourself?

~Good Day! 

Some sources:


http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-time-an-illusion/


http://www.exactlywhatistime.com/


http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/olivia-o-leary-the-only-currency-in-your-life-is-time-don-t-let-others-dictate-it-1.2490344

Album Review

The John Butler Trio

~ April Uprising ~

     From the first to the last, each and every track on this album is a perfect example of The John Butler Trio’s innovative and moving talent with music. Emotion and expression gush through the music from start to finish. This is an exceptional album, to say the least, and one that should definitely be in your listening library. April Uprising is an album that will be racking up some serious play-time on iTunes.
    This album got its name after John went on a journey to discover his ancestors in Bulgaria, during a “Who Do You Think You Are” episode on television. The April Uprising was an important event in Bulgarian history. The album name and back-story leaves one to only guess at the Trio’s inspiration and vision for this masterpiece. I believe Australia seemed to be lacking in the export of great music, and was formerly stuck in an era of electronica euro-trash that the country managed to finally shrug off and stamp out in the early 2000’s. The John Butler Trio has stepped into the void and taken a seat firmly in the spot light. Their recent live set from Red Rocks Australia was outstanding, and allowed the band to show off their amazing live presence, musicality and accuracy. The band is as tight on the stage as they sound in the studio. It’s really quite amazing
    John Butler's creative technique with finger-picking is captivating, often freakish to watch since he plays with nail extensions, filed down to points (claw like) to play with. He also is famously known for removing the octave G from his 12 string and making it an 11 string. He also frequently uses a lap steel guitar. His acoustic skills are crisp and enticing and feature heavily in this album. You need to really listen hard to hear the back melodies and tones he creates, especially in his solo pieces like the very famous “Ocean”.
    Butler is backed up by two extremely talented musicians: Nicky Bombay and Byron Luiters. John doesn’t push himself to the front in this album; the rhythm section of this band is just as important to the make up of the band as the leader is. They don’t just supply the accompaniment to the singer, they supply the music. Nicky Bombay (Drummer) and Byron Luiters (Bass) add the texture that makes the acoustically-driven guitarist Butler shine. It’s all about balance, and these guys have it right.
    My initial response to the album was that of instinctively responding to a catchy song, when you can’t get it out of your mind. I was singing, “I’d Do Anything” in my head for the next few days, and my sister was playing “Don’t Wanna See Your Face” every time I passed his door en route to the kitchen. This album leaves its mark on you and won’t be out of your head for weeks. Concern regarding the album’s length rear’s its ugly head (with 15 tracks the album is incredibly long). Listening through the album from start to finish, I think it’s easy to lose track of where you are. On the plus side, it’s more music for your money - so why am I complaining?
    I am going to take a little time to look in depth at a few of what I consider to be the best tracks from this album. From such a wealth of excellent material it’s a tough task to pick out the jewels, so forgive me if I sidetrack by saying a little about most, if not all, of the songs in this album.
    The first song on the album has a mysterious and serious beginning, starting distantly and building and evolving into a creative, vivid song. Once you bear the brunt of the initially boring guitar build up, you are rewarded with an enjoyable chorus. The catchy jingle of the chorus certainly brings out the revolutionary in all of us, and sets us up for the rest of the album, which in places follows the same course. John Butler’s vocals in this piece are stunning, his vocal style matching up well with this number. He uses a more subtle tone of voice at the start, but then we are reminded of his rebellious outspokenness and his voice flows with force in that punchy chorus once again.
    One Way Road is a vivid interpretation of Butler’s socially conscious side regarding politics. Backed up with juicy funk bass licks and flourishes, this song seems to be a very popular one with the trio’s growing fan club. Making it to number one in Australia’s music charts, this song is like a get- up–and-go merry go round. It’s impossible to sit still when you hear this song.
    C’mon Now didn’t appeal to me personally. It sounded to me more like some lame frat boy jumping around gayly to the same 4 chords at a strange Australian carnival, or maybe that’s just what he’s getting at? Either way it’s still entertaining, but not my cup of tea, though like most songs on this album it has the ability to sink its sharp talons into my mind and just won’t let go. It’s definitely a catchy festival -pleaser of a song, for a crowd that’s drunk, stoned or tripping on acid.
    I’d Do Anything, a song any old-school Butler fan will love. His clean and light-sounding electric guitar cuts through you. Your ears prick up from the moment you first hear this track, though I do find the chorus to be whiney and Justin Bieberesque. Then the slick bass line brings me back to the real world. The 3 members of this band glue together tightly for this song, and their live performance of I’d Do Anything from Red Rocks is a performance I can watch again and again. Captivating.
    Don’t Wanna See Your Face: ‘This song got groove’! From the very beginning your body’s overwhelmed with an undying urge to rock with that funky beat. It’s easy to get lost in the lyrics in this song until the line “get out the door” - you can’t help but sing along with “Don’t wanna see your face no more”.
    After a mid album lull we get right back to what Butler does best with Mystery Man. He seems to dig back into his roots a little with his guitar work, and I’m sure the older fans will respond well to this track. I believe this shines through with every track on the album but in particular this one, with a chorus we can sing along to and a guitar melody to make us lose our nodding heads.
    There is a lot of info in the booklet about the album itself, accompanied with lyrics, and information about the different guitars used on each track. What was even more impressive was the digital version of the album on iTunes - it had an interactive movie-style menu. The menu allows you to look through the album’s songs and information, videos, posters and the credits, with a stylish photo gallery style presentation whilst the album is playing.
     All in all it’s simple to say… Buy this album, if you are looking for great alternative rock. This album is jam-packed full of what I perceive to be real music; it sounds fresh and catchy, with inspiring and philosophical lyricism and a wide variation of musicality and technique, even though the music is heavily political in places, you don’t have to be into politics to understand, or to enjoy. Butler makes his songs listenable to a wide audience. There is something for everyone to enjoy in this album from the young to the old, The Rock and the Roll and even the Old Spice. However, I do not recommend buying this album if you are looking for more instrumentalist work from Butler - if that’s the case you might want to take a look back at his earlier albums and a specific song by the name of “Ocean”.
   The new line up of the trio from the last album have shifted from creating long extended jams to a more common songwriting approach and structure; we have lost a little virtuoso, but gained a little sanity. . The baseline politics, personal, emotion, creative and fun that we see in his earlier albums have just been re-packaged into a more commercially appealing album. To wrap it all up, I eagerly await the next installment of a John Butler Trio album or tour - and you should too!

Some Sources:

http://sputnikmusic.com/review/35821/John-Butler-Trio-April-Uprising/

A common spark point of criticism I have found in many of the reviews I have read regards the album’s length

http://www.musicomh.com/albums/john-butler-trio-2_0310.htm

http://www.allgigs.co.uk/view/review/4730/John_Butler_Trio_April_Uprising_Album_Review.html

http://the-guitarplayer.com/2010/03/21/john-butler-april-uprising-album-review/

http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=1701672