The Desert Fathers believed that the wilderness had been created as supremely valuable in the eyes of God precisely because it had no value to men. The wasteland was the land that could never be wasted by men because it offered them nothing. There was nothing to attract them. There was nothing to exploit. The desert was the region in which the Chosen People had wandered for forty years, cared for by God alone. They could have reached the Promised Land in a few months if they had travelled directly to it. God’s plan was that they should learn to love Him in the wilderness and that they should always look back upon the time in the desert as the idyllic time of their life with Him alone.
The desert was created simply to be itself, not to be transformed by men into something else. So too the mountain and the sea. The desert is therefore the logical dwelling place for the man who seeks to be nothing but himself—that is to say, a creature solitary and poor and dependent upon no one but God, with no great project standing between himself and his Creator.
This is, at least, the theory. But there is another factor that enters in. First, the desert is the country of madness. Second, it is the refuge of the devil, thrown out into the “wilderness of upper Egypt” to “wander in dry places.” Thirst drives man mad, and the devil himself is mad with a kind of thirst for his own lost excellence—lost because he has immured himself in it and closed out everything else.
So the man who wanders into the desert to be himself must take care that he does not go mad and become the servant of the one who dwells there in a sterile paradise of emptiness and rage….
The desert is the home of despair. And despair, now, is everywhere. Let us not think that our interior solitude consists in the acceptance of defeat. We cannot escape anything by consenting tacitly to be defeated. Despair is an abyss without bottom. Do not think to close it by consenting to it and trying to forget you have consented.
The Avalanches are bent on filtering their all-encompassing record collections through sampling and original instrumentation that owes most to hip-hop. The Australian group truly arrived in 2000 with Since I Left You. An expansive suite in the lineage of sample-based landmarks such as Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, the Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique, and DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing….., the album distinguished itself with an unbridled sense of joy — exemplified not only by the sound of whinnying horses — and minimal original vocal content, left to ingeniously recontextualized voices from disparate sources. Even in the wake of numerous awards, sales certifications, and the attainment of a global following, its stature continued to heighten through the release of the group’s long-anticipated 2016 follow-up, Wildflower, a more collaborative effort that offered new shades of psychedelia and topped the Australian album chart. We Will Always Love You, another wide-ranging set filled with imaginative pairings of featured artists, returned the group to the Top Ten. They reappeared in 2026 with “Together,” an ecstatic dancefloor collaboration with Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza, and Prentiss.
Before the Avalanches took shape in 1997, core members Robbie Chater and Toni Di Blasi, along with fellow founding member Darren Seltmann, were in the Melbourne-based noise-punk band Alarm 115. The deportation of drummer Manabu Etoh prompted a new project, the making of a sample-based demo — utilizing scores of used records…
In the works for over two years, a period lengthened by sample clearances and other business matters, Since I Left You, the Avalanches’ first album, was issued first in Australia in November 2000. A continuous hour-long collage pieced together with thousands of samples, it received a response from critics and the public similar to its glowing quality. The group even had the blessing of Madonna, who allowed them to use the bass line from her early hit “Holiday.” Beggars Banquet offshoot XL issued the album in the U.K. in May 2001, and a U.S. edition on Sire followed that November. “Frontier Psychiatrist” and the title track charted in Australia and were Top 20 hits in the U.K., where the album reached number eight. Remixes from the select likes of formative inspiration Prince Paul, Stereolab, and Cornelius enhanced the Avalanches’ image. The album led to four ARIA awards and was eventually certified platinum in Australia.
Admiration for Since I Left You seemed to intensify with each year that passed without a follow-up. What early supporters and converts got instead was a handful of scattered remixes for the likes of Belle and Sebastian, Wolfmother, and Franz Ferdinand until 2007, when the group seemed to disappear entirely, leaving only rumors of a potential second album. In truth, they had started banking material that over time grew to 40 songs. Nothing resembling an album was ever finished, though, as the Avalanches devoted surplus energy to other projects, like scoring a King Kong musical and working on an animated film that never saw the light of day.
The silence ended in July 2016 when the Avalanches — essentially Chater, Di Blasi, and De La Cruz — made their proper return with Wildflower. The trippy album drew from their interim projects, and while it boasted its own lengthy list of sample sources, it also featured numerous guest instrumentalists and vocalists across the fields of left-field rap and underground rock, from MF Doom and Danny Brown to Jennifer Herrema and David Berman. Warmly received by listeners and critics, Wildflower topped the Australian chart, went Top Ten in the U.K., and entered the Billboard 200 at number 27….We Will Always Love You, was released in December 2020 and entered the Australian chart in 2020.
It is never too late to discover previously unknown-to-you creators and creations, whether you’ve missed them for decades or centuries. Where there’s life there’s listening.
I just discovered The Avalanches, their first album released twenty-six years ago. It is like unwrapping a gift that has been under the tree all this time.
Above is a good description, though reading about music you haven’t heard is a poor substitute, especially when it is a kind of music you have little reference for. When The Avalanches music emerged, not just using samples but mostly composed of samples, the term “plunderphonics” was used. (However, the samples are all cleared, not stolen.) Like creating a mosaic out of found objects, it could be a mess, but if you are artists, it could be a masterpiece.
I know this music is good, not just because I like it or because of the reviews and regard, but because when it was playing this morning, a very discriminating and picky listener passed by and said, “good music.” It is. Up. Lifting. Listen.
Sometimes it is done with Patti Smith. She (along with Zen masters, along with other musicians like Kurt Cobain) is in the lineage of the Beat Poets, who faced with a crazy world, talked crazy. Or so it seems. Songbird inmates of the asylum. Don’t try to get out; you were never in.
This from Space Monkey on Patti Smith’s Easter:
Space monkey, sign of the time, time Space monkey, so outta line, line Space monkey, sort of divine And he’s mine, mine, oh he’s mine
A stranger comes up to him Hands him an old, rusty Polaroid It starts crumbling in his hands He says, “Oh man, I don’t get the picture This is no picture, this is just, this just a, this just a”
“This is my jack-knife, this is my jack-knife This is my jack-knife, this is my jack”
I am an idiot. Or at least I should learn that at any moment, I can say something so wrongheaded that it should be classified as idiocy. Below is a post from March 2017, two months into the first Trump administration. I believed that the more Republicans tied themselves to Trump, the more he would be an albatross around their neck. So far, now in the second Trump administration, that still hasn’t happened. What an idiot!
Ah! well a-day! what evil looks Had I from old and young! Instead of the cross, the Albatross About my neck was hung. —The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Barring extraordinary intervening events such as impeachment (which may not happen), Donald Trump will be president for the next four years. For those unhappy with that prospect, one obvious strategy is to limit his power/damage by reducing the number of Republicans in Congress and elsewhere.
As complex tactics are devised to achieve that end, here is a magic incantation—an albatross—that can help:
REPUBLICAN President Trump
Yes, it is that simple. Three words. It was only months ago that many Republicans were distancing themselves from candidate Trump—trying to hold onto their integrity, dignity, principles and sanity. Once he won, it was understandable that they stood by him, given the power that comes with the office. A lot of Republican dreams could come true with a Republican president, even if it is Trump.
Now Republicans are wondering about the consequences of being attached to the wackiest and least popular president in modern history—maybe ever (after only two months in office!). Not even distancing is going to work, since Trump showed during the campaign that he would attack anyone at any time, regardless of party. Those attacks carry a lot more weight now that he is actually the president.
Even if Republicans try to delicately distance themselves, it should be made as difficult as possible. And the best way to assure that is to identify Trump regularly as REPUBLICAN President Trump. Not President Trump. REPUBLICAN President Trump. REPUBLICAN President Trump.
Thirteen years ago, a North Carolina minister, Bishop William Barber II, began the Moral Mondays movement. I posted about here.
Join us for Moral Mondays: A Southern Call to Conscience as we engage in a season of nonviolent moral resistance against extremism in government. Founded in 2013 in North Carolina by Bishop William J. Barber, II, Moral Mondays is a protest movement that centers impacted people, people of faith, and moral leaders who hold elected leaders and government accountable to enact a moral agenda that responds to the urgent needs of the poor.
We are calling on people of moral conscience to join us for Moral Mondays throughout the summer and fall as we work to enact a moral budget and moral public policies for the nation.
Though this was 2013, a few years before the Trump era, there has never been a time when regressive movements in America tried to take us back to a less humane, democratic and moral time. Fortunately, there has never been a time when progressive, humane and moral movements have not pushed back and forward. Moral Mondays was one of those.
Why do I emphasize that progressive Christians can save America now and restore humane and moral democracy? There are of course millions of non-Christians and non-religious citizens who have gotten behind that work in the past and millions are doing that today. Our efforts are worthy and necessary.
Progressive Christians are in a unique position. There have been and are a large number of Christians who believe as a matter of faith that America is a Christian nation and that their faith demands that much of our 21st century progress, like much of the 19th and 20th century progress, is not what God or Jesus wants. It is fine for Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and those of other faiths or no faith to argue otherwise. But other Christians who believe differently are not so easily dismissed, although dismissed they have been and will be. We can look to the most prominent Christian in the world, Pope Leo (who happens to be American), as an example of what can be said and done.
This is a call that progressive Christians stand up and stand out together for an alternative vision of America—a humane, democratic and above all moral America. Moral Mondays was and is such a movement.
It wasn’t and isn’t easy. Christian churches supported slavery, using the Bible as proof text. Opposing Christians tried to explain that as a matter of Christian principle and as a matter of humane morality, they were wrong and it was wrong.
It is Monday. Moral Monday. We would like to think of every day of the week—including the sacred days for our various faiths—as Moral days. But if one day a week is all we can handle, it’s a start.
This song was written in New York City Of rich man, preacher, and slave If Jesus was to preach what He preached in Galilee, They would lay poor Jesus in His grave. –Woody Guthrie, Jesus Christ
It is Sunday, a day of worship for many Christians. It is Flag Day, established in 1912 by President Woodrow Wilson to honor the American flag. It is the birthday of President Trump, which he is honoring by holding a UFC event on the lawn of the White House.
Among these four—Jesus, the American flag, President Trump and the UFC—I’ve selected Jesus. I would hope that faithful Christians would agree with that selection, but who knows?
Woody Guthrie is one of the most significant musicians in America. He was not the first or last to use song to protest and feature many national infirmities, but he may be the best.
Many think that his song This Land is Your Land should be chosen as our new national anthem. His family has resisted this, saying that in the wrong hands, it could be used for malevolent purposes. They may have a point. Look at how the American flag and American patriotism has been misused.
Today’s song is Woody Guthrie’s Jesus Christ. When it comes to misuse and misunderstanding, some versions of that faith may be at or near the top of the list.
Jesus Christ was a man who traveled through the land A hard-working man and brave He said to the rich, “Give your money to the poor,” But they laid Jesus Christ in His grave
Jesus was a man, a carpenter by hand His followers true and brave One dirty little coward called Judas Iscariot Has laid Jesus Christ in His Grave
He went to the preacher, He went to the sheriff He told them all the same “Sell all of your jewelry and give it to the poor,” And they laid Jesus Christ in His grave.
When Jesus come to town, all the working folks around Believed what he did say But the bankers and the preachers, they nailed Him on the cross, And they laid Jesus Christ in his grave.
And the people held their breath when they heard about his death Everybody wondered why It was the big landlord and the soldiers that they hired To nail Jesus Christ in the sky
This song was written in New York City Of rich man, preacher, and slave If Jesus was to preach what He preached in Galilee, They would lay poor Jesus in His grave.
If you are a Democrat, you are receiving maybe dozens of texts and emails each day from various Democrats running for various offices or from organizations promoting various good causes. The messages vary in content and tone from “You’re a good person who has helped before and can help again” to today’s annoyed text:
“We begged you to help overturn [Citizens United]. We pleaded with you. And still…nothing.”
The text includes pictures of Amy Klobuchar and Adam Schiff.
All this, at a time when Democrats justifiably have little confidence that the Democratic Party, with its current establishment, has a hope or a clue to restoring democracy in America. (Ironic, given the name of the party.) The reasons for that lack of confidence are too many to list.
Are there glimmers of hope and effective action? Yes. Glimmers, and thanks to those who provide them. But overall, the reaction of the Democratic Party to a dire America and to the disaffection of their own members is: Stay the course, because this American travesty will collapse under its own unpopularity and damage. Trust us, people. And give us money.
There are dozens of people—maybe hundreds—who could engineer and lead a Democratic insurgency. The party’s response to that is—again—stay the course. We know what we’re doing. Look at how successful we’ve been. Maybe there are a few minor repairs needed, but why fix it if it’s essentially not broken?
Jesus, Dogen and Donovan each have something to say about mountains. In some ways the same thing.
Jesus says that faith can move mountains, by which he may mean that understanding the nature of things, including mountains, will allow us to see that mountains are always moving, if we will see it. Jesus is all about what we don’t see that is right in front of us.
Dogen says that mountains are mountains and mountains are walking. If you can walk, mountains can walk. Those without eyes to see mountains cannot notice, understand, see, or hear this reality.
Donovan sings about this reality of mountains appearing, disappearing, appearing.
Jesus
He answered, ‘Because you have so little faith. In truth I tell you, if your faith is the size of a mustard seed you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; nothing will be impossible for you.’ (Matthew 17:20, New Jerusalem Bible)
Dogen Zenji
Priest Daokai of Mount Furong said to the assembly, “The green mountains are always walking; a stone woman gives birth to a child at night.”
Mountains do not lack the characteristics of mountains. Therefore, they always abide in ease and always walk. Examine in detail the characteristic of the mountains’ walking.
Mountains’ walking is just like human walking. Accordingly, do not doubt mountains’ walking even though it does not look the same as human walking. The buddha ancestor’s words point to walking. This is fundamental understanding. Penetrate these words.
Because green mountains walk, they are permanent. Although they walk more swiftly than the wind, someone in the mountains does not notice or understand it. “In the mountains” means the blossoming of the entire world. People outside the mountains do not notice or understand the mountains’ walking. Those without eyes to see mountains cannot notice, understand, see, or hear this reality.
If you doubt mountains’ walking, you do not know your own walking; it is not that you do not walk, but that you do not know or understand your own walking. Since you do know your own walking, you should fully know the green mountains’ walking.
Green mountains are neither sentient nor insentient. You are neither sentient nor insentient. At this moment, you cannot doubt the green mountains’ walking.
From Mountains and Waters Sutra, Shobo Genzo, Fascicle 15 (1240)
Donovan
The caterpillar sheds his skin to find a butterfly within
Caterpillar sheds his skin to find a butterfly within
First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is
First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is
Here is a simple formula to determine the level of danger posed by the actions of a government leader.
The theory is that the danger (D) posed is directly proportional to the idiocy of the leader (I) and the power of the leader (P):
I x P = D!
Thus, as the idiocy or the power increases, so does the danger.
You may find this formula handy.
Note: The exclamation point (!) does not denote an element of the formula. Rather, it indicates that the mere word “danger” does not convey how intensely dangerous the state of affairs might get, under the least optimal circumstances.
The point of all religions and spiritual traditions is to have us see and hear openly and clearly.
At times, some have seen and heard openly and clearly. When they have, they may have taken it upon themselves to help others do the same, realizing that this would be of general benefit and would reduce general malificence.
How they did that is how we have ended up with an overwhelming set of different traditions. Stories, texts, practices, philosophies, on and on. So much so that experts ancient and modern sometimes miss or avoid the point, some out of selfish expediency, many out of good intent but occasional incomplete understanding. Some have gotten the point and try to refocus our attention on it. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t.
When people see and hear openly and clearly, they see and hear themselves and everyone and everything in the best possible way. Things will not immediately or ever be perfect. They can’t. But things will be better.
Every word in the Bible, whichever version old or new, was meant and is meant to reach this point. The connection isn’t always obvious. Some direct and didactic guidance and teaching is not exactly beside the point, since it is apparently aimed at making us better people who are better together. Still that is not quite there. Then there are the stories that defy interpretation as making things and us better, though interpreters try. Again, the point remains, even if more obscure.
Whatever your tradition or philosophy, you can trace it back to someone who saw and heard openly and clearly, and whose followers tried as best they could to perpetuate it effectively, sometimes keeping the point, sometimes losing the point.
The good news is that each of us can dedicate ourselves, within and without those traditions, to the point. Once there, as the progenitors knew, better is on the way.
Bob Schwartz 