Séamas Aloysius
@seamusaloysius.bsky.social
1.6K followers 1.4K following 8.3K posts
Elder Free Form Radio Head ॐ Return to the Underground World Peace Now - Shaman and Seeker of Truth Unbound "Quaker, Commie, Hippie" - My Soul's in the Lost & Found 🚫No solicitations. Thank you
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seamusaloysius.bsky.social
Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) is the seventh studio album by The Kinks, released on October 10, 1969. It reached #105 on the Billboard 200 Top LP's chart; the single "Victoria" reached #62 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Arthur was met with almost unanimous acclaim upon release. It received generous coverage in the US rock press, with articles running in underground magazines such as Fusion and The Village Voice. It garnered back-to-back reviews by Mike Daly and Greil Marcus in Rolling Stone magazine's lead section; Daly rated it as "the Kinks' finest hour", and Marcus went so far as to call it "the best British album of 1969". Reviews in the UK were also positive. Although it received a mixed review in New Musical Express, Disc & Music Echo praised the album's musical integrity, and Melody Maker called it "Ray Davies' finest hour ... beautifully British to the core".
Ray Davies constructed the concept album as the soundtrack to a Granada Television play and developed the storyline with novelist Julian Mitchell; however, the television programme was cancelled and never produced. The rough plot revolved around Arthur Morgan, a carpet-layer, who was based on Ray Davies' brother-in-law Arthur Anning.
After the commercial failure of Village Green Preservation Society, the Kinks could have gone one of two ways. They could have forgotten about making cohesive, "veddy British" albums and gone back to simply putting together album-length collections of unrelated songs. Or they could have moved from concept albums to full-fledged rock operas, full of third-person tunes that would enable Ray Davies to further distance himself from his audience.
They chose the latter, earning themselves a solid core of new fans along the way. The pleasure of Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) is that, while it shows the Kinks' readiness to tackle the rock opera form, it retains a close connection with their more pop-oriented past. Opener "Victoria" remained a concert favorite for years afterwards, while the delicate "Shangri-La" likewise took on a life of its own outside the rock-opera format.
seamusaloysius.bsky.social
Hot Rats is the second solo album by Frank Zappa, released on October 10, 1969. It reached #173 on the Billboard 200 Top LP's chart.
The album was dedicated to Zappa's new-born son, Dweezil Zappa. In February 2009, his band, Zappa Plays Zappa, won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for their rendition of "Peaches en Regalia."
Having temporarily disbanded the Mothers Of Invention, Frank Zappa recorded this exceptional solo album. His group was renowned for musical satire, but here the artist opted to showcase his prowess on guitar. Aside from "Willie The Pimp," which features a cameo vocal by Zapppa's old friend Captain Beefheart, the set is comprised of instrumentals. The players, including Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Ian Underwood, are uniformly excellent, combining to provide a solid jazz-rock platform for Zappa's compulsive soloing. Here the guitarist relishes a freedom which, while acknowledging past achievements, prepares new territories for exploration. As such, Hot Rats was a pivotal release in Zappa's oft-misunderstood career.
Because Hot Rats focuses on instrumental jazz-like compositions with extensive soloing, the music sounds very different from earlier Zappa albums, which featured satirical vocal performances with extensive use of musique concrète and editing. Multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood is the only member of the Mothers to appear on the album and was the primary musical collaborator. Other featured musicians were Max Bennett and Shuggie Otis on bass, drummers Aynsley Dunbar and John Guerin and electric violinists Don "Sugarcane" Harris and Jean-Luc Ponty.
seamusaloysius.bsky.social
"In the Court of the Crimson King" is the debut album by King Crimson, released in the UK on October 10, 1969. It reached #28 on the Billboard 200 Top LP's chart and #5 on the UK LP's chart.
The album is generally viewed as one of the strongest of the progressive rock genre, where King Crimson largely stripped away the blues-based foundations of rock music and mixed together jazz and Classical symphonic elements. In his 1997 book Rocking the Classics, critic and musicologist Edward Macan notes that In the Court of the Crimson King "may be the most influential progressive rock album ever released". The Who's Pete Townshend was quoted as calling the album "an uncanny masterpiece". It’s astonishing to think that when this record was released in 1969 King Crimson had been together for less than nine months.
It’s astonishing to think that when this record was released in 1969 King Crimson had been together for less than nine months.
Aside from the impeccable musicianship, the record’s impact was helped enormously by Barry Godber’s cover painting. Commissioned by Crimson lyricist, Pete Sinfield, rarely has an album sleeve so accurately conveyed the shock-and-awe reaction which this extraordinary music produced in its listeners. Even the jewel-case format has done little to dilute its iconic power.
It was Fripp’s idea to subtitle the album “An Observation By King Crimson”, which had the effect of framing the five pieces within an implied concept of sorts. Fripp also his suggestion that there be no print anywhere on the exterior artwork.
John Gaydon, Crimson’s co-manager at the time recalls Island Records were worried about objections from retailers who would be confused about the lack of information on the sleeve. “Fripp said, well, it’ll be the only record in the shop without anything down the spine on it, so they’ll know which one it is. Which was brilliant when you think about it.”
In light of this, Pete Townshend’s declaration that the album was “an uncanny masterpiece” seems something of an understatement.
seamusaloysius.bsky.social
October 10, 1946, John Prine was born.
Happy Heavenly Birthday John. Thanks for the music.
seamusaloysius.bsky.social
Pablo Picasso in front of “La femme au jardin “, 1932.
Musée Picasso Paris.
#ArtSky #Picasso
Reposted by Séamas Aloysius
jael.bsky.social
SCOOP: The Bureau of Land Management says the largest solar project in Nevada — the Esmeralda 7 mega-farm — has been canceled

The news was quietly dropped via a sudden website update with no public word from any of the companies involved or a statement from the agency

@heatmap.news
Esmeralda 7 Solar Project Has Been Canceled, BLM Says
It would have delivered a gargantuan 6.2 gigawatts of power.
heatmap.news
seamusaloysius.bsky.social
Released in the UK on this day in 1988 (US on 10/11), ‘Rattle And Hum’ is the sixth studio album by U2, and a companion to the rockumentary film directed by Phil Joanou.
Following the breakthrough success of ‘The Joshua Tree’, the Rattle and Hum project captures U2’s continued experiences with American roots music on the Joshua Tree Tour, further incorporating elements of blues rock, folk rock, and gospel music into their sound. A collection of new studio tracks, live performances, and cover songs, the project includes recordings at Sun Studios in Memphis and collaborations with Bob Dylan, BB King, and Harlem’s New Voices of Freedom gospel choir. The album went to number one in several countries and sold 14 million copies. The lead single “Desire” became the band’s first UK #1 song while reaching #3 in the US.
Reposted by Séamas Aloysius
Reposted by Séamas Aloysius
neilmatheson66.bsky.social
#BOTD 1917. Remembering jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk. (d.1982) #Jazzsky
Reposted by Séamas Aloysius
cajunblue.bsky.social
🚨 Today in Portland, large groups peacefully gathered to unite against hate and oppression. 1/2
Reposted by Séamas Aloysius
mrsbettybowers.bsky.social
One thing we've learned from the American judicial system: The first 34 felonies are on the house*.

*Terms and conditions may apply. See prosecutors for details if you're not white. Or rich.
Reposted by Séamas Aloysius
govpritzker.illinois.gov
Reporting live from Chicago, there’s no “hellscape” I’d rather be in.
Reposted by Séamas Aloysius
roblarocque.bsky.social
Quote of the Day:
"America has the best politicians money can buy"
- Will Rogers
#QuoteOfTheDay #WillRogers #PoliticalCorruption
Reposted by Séamas Aloysius
nothoodlum.bsky.social
“Very, very unfair and even worse than Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl. Your favorite president was snubbed for someone who’s not even American.” www.reuters.com/world/venezu...
Reposted by Séamas Aloysius
antongerashchenko.bsky.social
⚡️The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Maria Corina Machado.

The Nobel Peace Prize committee awarded it for "her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela."
Reposted by Séamas Aloysius
repgregstanton.bsky.social
As Arizona braces for potentially deadly flooding, AZ-07 still doesn't have a Representative in Congress.

Speaker Johnson needs to swear her in now so she can advocate for the people of her district and coordinate with emergency management officials.
Reposted by Séamas Aloysius
subrosamagick.bsky.social
Sunrise at Stonehenge today (9th October) was at 7.19am, sunset is at 6.27pm ☀️