Diamond Sounds

Last Wednesday my solo project Dead Sea Scrolls played at the Nova Express Cafe in Los Angeles and my friend Myke Weiskopf was kind enough to record it.

This song is entitled "I Can See You In The Dark" (the demo of which was a subject of a previous Diamond Sounds podcast). The studio version will appear on the upcoming Dead Sea Scrolls album to be released later this year.

For more info on Dead Sea Scrolls check out the Dead Sea Scrolls Myspace page.

Dead Sea Scrolls will be playing the last night of their February residency at Nova Express Cafe this coming Wednesday, February 27th, at 9pm. Its a free show, so if you're in town please come by and say hello.

BTW, everyone should check out Myke Weiskopf's blog shortwavemusic, an intriguing and mysterious blend of shortwave radio frequency recordings that never cease to fascinate me.

Happy Super Tuesday everybody!

That is, if you live in Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and/or West Virginia, happy voting!

And remember, there is an equally compelling argument against voting: "Act Responsibly: Don’t Vote!": http://www.lewrockwell.com/mcelroy/mcelroy37.html

While you vote listen to this episode of "Mr. President" from 1947, and see if you can guess which president they're portraying!

Let's all hope our votes are counted!

January 14 is always a sad day for me because it marks the passing of one of my favorite artists, Bryn Jones AKA Muslimgauze, who died on this day in 1999.

Muslimgauze is a huge inspiration to me, and I know his soul and his spirit watches over us all.

A previously unreleased Muslimgauze album entitled "Wish Of The Flayed" has been released as a free mp3 download from the website Arabbox v1.0 at http://arabbox.free.fr/

Here is the title track from "Wish Of The Flayed".

Jacques Derrida - On Religion Part Two

Recorded 2002 at the joint annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL).

From http://www.ubu.com/

Happy New Year Everybody!

Jacques Derrida - On Religion Part One

Recorded 2002 at the joint annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL).

From http://www.ubu.com/

More random musical samplings from a static God.

1. Dreams Now Myths 2 - PBK
2. Beach Blanket Bong-Out - Jodie Foster's Army
3. What Is Rock - Blue Man Group
4. Down On The Old Camp Ground - Dinwiddie Colored Quartet
5. You Can't Pull The Wool Over My Eyes - Benny Goodman
6. You Know Who I Am - Leonard Cohen
7. Molly Ban - Alison Krause
8. Runnin' Blue - Doors
9. Ay, Che Camino - Matió

For more information on how I listen to my iTunes player refer to http://mog.com/Josh_Haden/blog_post/13790.

Diamond Sounds presents music to listen to while reading your favorite religious and/or spiritual text.

1. Too Many Parties And Too Many Pals - Hank Williams
2. Byzantine Crucifixion - Muslimgauze
3. Back Biters & Syndicators - John Lee Hooker
4. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child - Marion Williams
5. I've Been Down That Road Before - Hank Williams
6. Gulf Of Mexico Fishing Boat Blues - Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby
7. Chaos - Wayne Shorter
8. Little Brown Jug - Glenn Miller
9. He Turned The Water Into Wine - Johnny Cash

Ten songs "randomly" selected from my religious playlist for your enjoyment/inspiration while driving, reading, writing, or doing the dishes.

1. (untitled) - Ornette Coleman Group - North Sea Jazz Fest 2007
2. Dreamscapes: Cleft In The Sky - R. Carlos Nakai
3. Down At The Laundrymat - Black Randy And The Metro Squad
4. Minute Prologue - Leonard Cohen
5. Photograph - Sarah Vaughan
6. He'll Be A Friend - Johnny Cash
7. Benedicamus trope: Ad superni regis decus - Anonymous 4
8. I've Gotta Be Me - Sammy Davis Jr.
9. If I Should Lose - The Joyful Noise
10. Baqa Ayiz Tinsani (All That's Left Is That You Forget Me) - Mohamed Ali Ensemble

For more information about Dead Sea Scrolls visit http://www.myspace.com/deadseascrollscommunity

More information regarding Dead Sea Scrolls can be found at http://www.myspace.com/deadseascrollscommunity

CBS Radio Mystery Theater was a radio program started in 1975 by broadcaster Hiram Brown as an attempt to bring back quality 'old time radio' in the age of TV sitcoms and bad Hollywood movies. I remember listening to it before falling asleep as a kid. It had a huge impact on the development of my imagination and creativity and I'll never forget it. The series went off the air in 1982 after producing 1399 episodes.

I was so happy when I found some episodes archived on Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org). This episode is entitled 'Alexander Part 5: The Legend Begins' and was part of a week long series dramatizing the life of Alexander The Great.

'And until next time...pleasant dreams...'

In ancient times music and art were not created for pure entertainment value. Music and art were created to fulfill specific spiritual, religious, and ritualistic needs.

If one were to follow Plato's sacred creed that we should define our terms before engaging in meaningful debate, then one may recognize the worthiness of going as far back in time as possible to look for answers to today's questions.

Today, humanity has gotten no more closer to the meanings of 'truth' and 'beauty' as it had in 400 B.C.

Musical notation from Atlantis, Lemuria, and Ancient Egypt has not survived the ages. This week's podcast focuses on the visionary 20th and 21st century musicians who attempt to show their listeners what music may have sounded like when it had a higher purpose.

Thanks for listening! Stay tuned for next week's surprising episode!

Track Listing:

Gaston Bonheur/Georges Delerue: Karnak Sequence 1
Gail Laughton: Atlantis 21000 B.C.
Gail Laughton: Lemuria 16000 B.C.
Gail Laughton: Egypt 1700 B.C.
Ali Jihad Racy: Funeral Procession/Hymn For The Sunrise
Bernard Herrmann: The Egyptian (Nefer-Nefer-Nefer)
David Arkenstone: In The Gardens Of The Citadel
The Spirit: The Spirit Returns

Welcome to my first podcast! I made this episode to celebrate and commemorate the life of Bryn Jones, aka Muslimgauze, who passed away January 14 1999.

There is much controversy surrounding the politics of Muslimgauze and I encourage everyone who connects with his music to do a little searching and come to your own conclusions. Muslimgauze's overwhelming subject matter was the struggle for freedom and human rights. In my opinion he made extreme public statements in order to raise interest and concern about a problem that has only gotten worse since his death. Bryn Jones was a visionary musician and thinker and his work resonates deeply with me.

I encourage everyone who hears this music and is affected by it to go out and observe his legacy by purchasing some of his music, either at your local record store or through digital music stores like iTunes and emusic.

Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for next weeks surprising episode!