The Hat

The first occasion on which the Quaker's hat came publicly and officially into trouble was at the Launceston Assizes in the year 1656, before no less a person than Chief-Justice Glynn. "When we were brought into the court," says Fox, "we stood a pretty while with our hats on, and all was quiet, and I was moved to say, 'Peace be amongst you!' 'Why do you not put your hats off?' said the judge to us. We said nothing. 'Put off your hats,' said the judge again. Still we said nothing. Then said the judge, 'The court commands you to put off your hats.'" George Fox, with amazing simplicity, asked for some Scriptural instances of any magistrate commanding prisoners to put off their hats. He next asked to be shown, "either printed or written, any law of England that did command such a thing." Then the judge grew very angry, and said, "I do not carry my law-books on my back." "But," said Fox, "tell me where it is printed in any statute-book, that I may read it." The chief-justice cried out "Prevaricator!" and ordered the Quakers to be taken away. When they were brought before him again, the chief-justice asked Fox whether hats were mentioned at all in the Bible? "Yes," said the Quaker, "in the third of Daniel, where thou mayst read that the children were cast into the fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar's command with their coats, their hose, and their hats on!" Here was a proof that even a heathen king allowed men to wear hats in his presence. "This plain instance stopped him," says Fox. "So he cried again, 'Take them away, gaoler;' accordingly we were taken away, and thrust in among the thieves, where we were kept a great while." After nine weeks' imprisonment "for nothing but about their hats," as the chief-justice told them, they were again brought before him, grimly wearing the offending head-near. "Take off their hats," said the judge to the gaoler. "Which he did," says Fox, "and gave them unto us; and we put them on again. Then the judge began to make a great speech, how he represented the lord protector's person, and that he had made him lord chief justice of England." The Quakers were incorrigible.

Ambient Music

How is one supposed to discuss "ambient" music? (or should it be "ambient music"?)This stems off of the whole, "how does one discuss music at all?" issue. I don't want to simply list of a string of adjectives that bear little meaning outside of my individual world-view, but how else can it be described at all?

Specifically: "Gravitational Pull vs. The Desire for an Aquatic Life", how am I supposed to discuss this?I mean, /I/ think this is a great album, except for the time I was awfully tripping-balls... but even then, I chose it because it was one of the most soothing and mellow records I owned, even if in the end it was still /too intense/ for that trip...

So fuck it, why not simply /embrace/ the subjective?

I've owned this album for a good long while now. I bought it, probably, during my first semester at University. I remember spending my three-hour break between history and philosophy sleeping in the St. Josephs college student lounge, listening to this record. Am I subtlely saying this album will put you to sleep? No, but I'm saying this album is /great/ to fall asleep to. Around this time I was also listening to the first cLOUDDEAD album nearly every day (in fact, in that two-year period, I probably listened to cLOUDDEAD 1.5 times a day, on average) So as a triumvirate, I propose SOTL-cLOUDDEAD-Boards of Canada (because they just /fit/, even if I never bought their albums) BoC has the distinction of being one of the first "cool" bands I was aware of (also Plaid--hey umu, remember Plaid? what was that song of thiers I liked?)

I was going to complain about how the song titles are essentially meaningless to me, and mention how indistinguishable the songs themselves are. But that's not to say they aren't "songs", and despite the pace, they do have their own melodies, and they're just as legitimate as any other melodies (in fact, even more legitimate that a lot of "melodies" propagated by Of Montreal, for example)

Initially I wanted to pair this with a discussion of "At All Ends" by dee Yellow Swans, but I think I'll save that discussion for another time. (or possibly later today, depending on how I feel)