Before I get into the details of this episode of Something Like, I’d like to share some resources relating to the current protests against anti-black racism and state-sanctioned violence in America:
There is an anti-racism demonstration in Berlin this Saturday, June 6th at 2pm, starting at Potsdamer Platz.
More protests in Berlin and across Germany this week:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA4-bsdqf2B/
Protestor bail funds and support networks:
Anti-racism texts:
THE FANTASY WORLD MASTER LIST OF RESOURCES ON HOW TO DISMANTLE SYSTEMIC RACISM:
Janaya Future Khan on what white people must know:
The Other Box on how to be actively anti-racist:
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “It’s OK to live a life others don’t
understand,” writes author Jenna Woginrich. That’s a healthy attitude for
an eccentric person like her, who taught herself by trial and error how to
run a small farm with a meager budget while all alone in the middle of
nowhere. But does her advice apply to everyone? I say yes, it does. All of
us have quirky behaviors and idiosyncratic ideas and odd feelings that
other people find hard to understand, let alone appreciate. I bring this to
your attention, Gemini, because the coming weeks will be a time when it’s
best for you to emancipate yourself as much as possible from the need to
be perfectly understood as you express your raw, pure, unique self.
(Rob Brezsny’s FREE WILL ASTROLOGY, Week of June 4, 2020)
The premise for this episode of Something Like is one I’ve been mulling ever since I came across a cassette tape of Frank Perry’s 1989 Zodiac album at the Free Store on Hornby Island. It got me thinking about how and why so many musicians have sonically explored the world of astrology and the universal traits of its signs. Where better to start a 12-part series on astrology than with the curious and witty, loquacious and adventurous, busy and creative minds of the Gemini? Sure, they have a reputation as heartbreakers, but they’re also the best friends and collaborators you could ever ask for (especially for Scorpios like me). It’s no wonder that the Gemini’s insatiable desire to communicate has produced so many brilliant musicians, some of whom we’ll listen to today: Prince, Laurie Anderson, Suzanne Ciani, and Sun Ra to name a few.
- As ever, the intro for Something Like is by Roger 3000
- During speaking segments, the music under my voice is Harry Partch’s Castor & Pollux (1952), and then Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Suite Castor et Pollux (1773)
- Originally aired on Cashmere Radio and 96.5 CHFR Hornby Island Community Radio
Tracklist
Frank Perry: Gemini, (Zodiac, 1989)
Prince: Why the Butterflies (Piano & A Microphone, 1983, 2018)
“Blue” Gene Tyranny: Leading a Double Life (“Blue” Gene Tyranny, 1978)
Emerald Web: Through the Garden of Mirrors (Valley of the Birds, 1981)
Brian Eno: St. Elmo’s Fire (Another Green World, 1975)
Robert Creeley: Gemini (Goddard College, May 18 1973)
Marion Brown & Gunter Hampel: Gemini (no.520) (Gemini, 1983)
Laurie Anderson: Born, Never Asked (Big Science, 1981)
Michele Mercure: Beside Herself (Beside Herself, 2018)
Mort Garson: In Love, Gemini (Signs of the Zodiac, 1969)
Joan Armitrading: What Do You Want (To the Limit, 1978)
Fleetwood Mac: Silver Springs (1977)
Suzanne Ciani: The Eighth Wave (The Velocity of Love, 1985)
The Travelers: Wanderer (1960)
Ströer Duo: Nomad Song (Nomaden, 1985)
Just Us: Easy
Yves Jarvis: Talking or Listening (The Same But By Different Means, 2019)
Tushiya Sukegawa: Gemini (Bioçic Music, Astrology, 1993)
Sun Ra: That’s How I Feel (Languidity, 1978)