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 The Commander-In-Chief circa 1974

The early seventies: all things permitted. 

The revolution was over.

We had lost.

Party time.

We were doing mountains of blow (coke not yet addictive—cause for celebration), drinking, clubbing.

O my fellow sprouts, I did the mandatory twig infatuation with Burroughs' thousand wounded galaxies on the nod, heroin, every single layer and cell of my being down to the Core perfect, perfect, humming, buzzing, fuzzy and gleaming.

I quit abruptly when I realized, wisely, that morphing into junkiehood would seriously screw up my drinking.

The key to successful living is in one's intention.

I studied the Physicians Desk Reference, concocting pill cocktails. My basic rule of thumb was to note the maximum dosage recommended for a given drug and not exceed that amount by more than a factor of two or three, on the maiden voyage, anyway. Black beauties+valium+rum: good for drinking lightyears into a blackout. Cocaine+mushrooms+brandy: intergalactic shuttles landing in North Beach earthport. Alpha Ralpha Boulevard.

Friends began dying.

Car crash. 

Suicide.

Overdose.

Mr. San Francisco reigned over the city.

The Manual at www.instrumentality.com.

I had the classic book on the science, art, craft ... the mojo required to produce a Number One Hit in Great Britain, The Manual (on how to get a #1 hit the easy way), on my website, instrumentality.com, for many years. It was the only the only thing people came to look at, I think. And then a couple people asked for pdf's of the book within a week. I suggested they do the right thing and buy the damn book. And then,

the lightbulb went on. 

"Why not get a commission from Amazon?"

So I took the book down & linked to the book through the affiliate thing. Now I realize there are no copies available. Soooooo ... I've put this treasure back online.

I'm sorry for violating copyright. I am sorry for stealing from the KLF. But I secretly believe they know the extent of my crimes. And are smiling.

My intro from the site: 

With all due respect to the copyright notices below, Instrumentality presents The KLF's "The Manual" on how to get a number one hit in England. This document is as insightful, if not moreso, into the workings of the music business and the making of songs as any other texts we've ever encountered.

Essential for anybody interested in music, or the music business, or looking for a good reason to get out of the music business.

And herewith a few excerpts from the masterpiece:

firstly, you must be skint and on the dole. anybody with a proper job or tied up with full time education will not have the time to devote to see it through. also, being on the dole gives you a clearer perspective on how much of society is run. if you are already a musician stop playing your instrument. even better, sell the junk. it will become clearer later on but just take our word for it for the time being. sitting around tinkering with the portastudio or musical gear (either ancient or modern) just complicates and distracts you from the main objective. even worse than being a musician is being a musician in a band. real bands never get to number one - unless they are puppets.

if you are in a band you will undoubtedly be aware of the petty squabbles and bitching that develops within them. this only festers and grows proportionately as the band gets bigger and no band ever grows out of it. all bands end in tantrums, tears and bitter acrimony. the myth of a band being gang of lads out "against" the world (read as "to change", "to shag" or "to save the world") is pure wishful thinking to keep us all buying the records and reading the journals. mind you, it's a myth that many band members want to believe themselves.

so if in a band, quit. get out. now.

I've been in the studio with a musician, of all creatures, working on an arrangement for Pop Down The Years. I thought I needed a real musician to help me. I think these guys believe they get paid by the note. After two sessions I gave up.

I am reminded of David Bowie's 50th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden ... where his guitarist Reeves Gabrels turned Robert Fripp's magnificent, timeless 3-note guitar figure for "Heroes" into a 6-note monstrosity ... the beginning of the end of their partnership, I believe.

In any case, I'm scrapping everything we've done. Writing the proper arrangement on my own - as it should be - an homage to the songs of the golden era of pop music - and then back into the studio to rerecord guitar and vocals.

Like I should have done in the first place.

Here, you can download the original, just me and my gr-33. 

*"Knox," you ask, "what do you mean 'perfect?'" And my reply is,"Child, Pop Down The Years is my favorite song of ALL my songs [today] and I wouldn't change a thing on this particular rendition. Therefore I like to think of it as the perfect love song to the music of my youth, and to a girl, of course."

But then you might just say,"Bongos, Knox, it needs bongos."

And, jeeezus, you might be right.

I don't know the story behind this photo essay. A friend sent it to me. I colorized it. The soldiers are giving the little pig Kagor, a sweet red wine. The auto-translation from the Russian wikipedia reads thusly:

Kagor (from the French. Cahors), a sweet wine, cooked red varieties of grapes, cultivated near the town of Cahors, partial fermentation or deliver content and then adding alcohol.
They differ spify temno-rubinovoy colour, the completeness, soft, velvety, fine cocoa-chocolate tones in taste and bouquet.  These are prepared in many wine regions. The main characteristic of this type of cooking wine-cooking. 

They differ spify temno-rubinovoy colour? I like that.

 

Beyond that, I know only that I look at this sequence of photos several times a day. I hope you will find as much pleasure in looking at it as I do.

 

BTW, did I mention that I have launched the first social networking site for pot-bellied pigs?

Yoshi's These Little Pigs Website. 

 

I still have to pretty it up, but if you know a pig, or an animal that likes pigs, please direct said beast to  These Little Pigs so they can make some new friends!

 

And, let us drink a toast, at last, to the brave little pig the commies shot into space. 

The Montgomery Block one month after the Earthquake and Fire of 1906.

The Bank Exchange sits behind locked iron doors at the corner. A.P. Giannini's Bank of Italy, which was to change its name to the Bank of America and eventually become the world's largest, then occupied offices to the right.

The following comes to us from the Transamerica Corporation and the California Historical Society, from a booklet originally entitled
"Secrets of Pisco Punch Revealed: Being a true account of the recovery of San Francisco's Long Lost Favorite of Favorites," by William Bronson.

In the post Gold Rush days, a bar was a very important place. 

And the Bank Exchange was one of the most important drinking  establishments in San Francisco. Located in the Montgomery and Washington Streets corner of the famed Montgomery Block, the Bank Exchange was the place leading bankers met to transact business in the absence of an official stock exchange. Its proximity to the waterfront attracted the leaders of commerce, and from the first day the Bank Exchange’s swinging doors opened in 1853, the leading sea captains, miners, lawyers and politicians came to discuss affairs of the day, while partaking of liquid refreshments. 

No history of the social life of San Francisco would be complete without mention of the Bank Exchange, a barroom that opened in 1854, survived the Earthquake and Fire of 1906, and continued to thrive with everwidening fame until its doors were closed forever by Prohibition. 

The principal foundation for its renown was Pisco Punch, a mixture  which, it was said, went down like nectar and came back with the kick of a Missouri mule. Another description is credited to Oliver Perry Stidger who for many years managed the affairs of the Montgomery Block, that fabled building in which the Bank Exchange was located. He likened Pisco Punch to the scimitar of Harroun whose edge was so fine that after a slash a man walked on unaware that his head had been severed from his body until his knees gave way and he fell to the ground dead. 

1. Wash dishes
2. Finish setting up music studio, power supply from Mike, sample disks for emu sampler
3. Get vacuum-forming machine for chess pieces
4. Get supply of materials for new series (A Love Supreme wall hangings) of artwork
5. Make Tangerine Sky business cards for the big do up in wine country this week
6. Make list of people I owe money to, will be able to clear up soon.
7. Get a wife, or 2 or 3 girlfriends, or a bunch of groupies
8. Stop eating alone so much. Have dinner parties or dates. Need new place settings and silverware.
9. Make some pasta to go with braised short-ribs & veggies
10. Finish four or five half-finished pieces for Sun Pop Blue before starting new ones. but post every day.
11. Decide what to do about fourth piece of "seasons" cd ... record new bird sounds ...
12. Find a DAT machine to transfer old music tapes to hard-drive
13. Hit gym 4 times a week
14. Set up G3 mac and go thru all old floppies & zip disks ... old music files to export to gen midi, & hopefully, Flapping in pagemaker to import into InDesign to make pdf ...
15. Look into finding illustrator to make graphic novel of Flapping. 
16. Finish Last Unforetold Man vocal cd: backing vocals, harmonies, string part for Take Me Down & Maia, get Angie into studio for Pop Down the Years, get some help arranging that one, also.
17. Silk-screened covers for Flapping. Mini-cd with "lost" songs ...
18. Shoot "Serge" modular synth videos - put up on YouTube, send to synth blogs. Post "flight of the atom bee," Flapping edit
19. Begin intense targetted promotion of limited edition Flapping
20. Do Year-in-the-Life-of-a-Winery & vintage spanking postcards book proposals
21. Pick up new cologne - Dolce & Gabbana this time
22. Help Nate develop new products for www.myhoneybun.com ... find real marketing person.
23. Wash dishes right now.
24. Steam-clean carpets.
25. Get a house-cleaning service. 
26. Take care of free-lance clients.
27. Raise rates. 
28. Focus on living life in the slow lane 
29. Develope multi-level marketing scheme for the Ché brand ...
30. Wash dishes immediately
    
31. Continue research regarding this wrong dimension thing we seem to be caught up in.
32. Book some live shows or, failing that, do some open mic's
33. Wash dishes.
    

Archaeologists dig up prehistoric couple:

"Archaeologists working on the eve of Valentine's Day carefully began digging up the bones of a prehistoric couple on Tuesday, hoping to keep their 5,000-year-old embrace undisturbed forever.

The pair, buried between 5,000 and 6,000 years ago in the late Neolithic period, are believed to be a man and a woman who died young, because their teeth were found intact. Archaeologists have hailed the find, saying that double burials from that period are rare and none have been found in such a touching pose.

The burial was unearthed on the outskirts of Mantua during construction work. The site is 25 miles south of Verona, the city where Shakespeare set the story of 'Romeo and Juliet,' and the discovery fueled musings in the media about prehistoric love.

Menotti also has said there is little doubt the couple's pose was born of a deep love." 

Nothing else matters.

These two ... and you ... make the world go 'round.