Michael Parenti: Manufacturing History

Michael Parenti: Fascism, the False Revolution

Michael Parenti: Hidden Ideology of the Mass Media

This is a phantasy I wrote about the Yiddish song "Meyerke, mayn zun". I am playing it myself. It was published in 2015 by Edition MatchingArts, ma-collective.com. The piece is dedicated to my father Peter Berman, who introduced me to Yiddish song.

Meyerke - Fantasie

Voor Bas

Firebird:	Hey Rieka! If your stuff is awesome as usual, i gonna be roasted here! Good luck!

Rieka Jay:	hello there firebird... :) downloading yours now... good luck too... just took a peek at your tab... some scary runs there...

Firebird:	No need to cry, Rieka! That's an excellent entry fersure, people will happily vote for you! Nice bossa feel in the accompaniment BTW, the melody fits very nicely.

Rieka Jay:	now that's scarier than i thought when i noticed the guitar... hard to hear though... but anyway, great entry, great guitar playing, something i'd like to learn in the future...

KomplexAxe:	Could hardly hear your guitar Firdbird!

jazbrokr:	Firebird: That was one of my favorite entries ever on Gwar. I want one of those Rolands! Incredible free stuff! Lets collab. It will be like Song X!

jazbrokr:	Rieka, that was some fine playing but Firebird exists in another universe. (for me at least!) Great job.

jazbrokr:	Firebird, it reminded me a little of something Wolfgang Muthspiel might do. The guitar sounded similar to his sound and your phrasing was also similar I think.

Allyrulez:	whut the hell i thought that was a synth saxaphone or something??? Well, crikey, Firb. This is fascinating, like being on another planet or something.... Lots of confusion on my side, but i love being confused!! I dont get it, but i like it. If you and Jaz collab lol omg, that would be the ultimate.. Do it!!!!

zeus:	Exactly what jazbrokr said. I liked both...went with Firebird here

Piache:	woaa firebird,, very nicee your click

Zzgo:	That does it. I'm going to have to try the gambling thing again soon. I made 5k before, I can do it again! Hehe, then I lost it in 15 minutes =( BUT I WANT SOME MIDI ACTION!

Rieka Jay:	jazbrokr, that's the reason i'm so so so scared... :) well, i'm used to loosing whenever my entry sounds like this... and i'm used to loosing too... lol

Rieka Jay:	i get three times the comments i receive than usual when i'm against these professional players, so i feel better being slaughtered by them... hehe :)

Zzgo:	Thanks Firebird! I wanted something to do this afternoon that didn't involve peanut butter and PVC pipes. I recorded my next war in your honor. I only used one sound though =( Where does he get all those wonderful toys?

jazbrokr:	Rieka, you deserve more comment from me. I will be back later with some constructive thoughts about what I liked in yours.

jazbrokr:	Zzgo, gerbil abuse is outlawed in the continental US last I heard. Be careful, the man may be watching.

Firebird:	man...

Firebird:	Ok, first things first. Rieka, you have a *very fine* entry, with great melodies and playing. A lot of people will love it, and so do I. I really dig your subtle bends and the way you shape your notes. Nobody's gonna take that away from you. Whatever happens, don't scare yourself :)

Zzgo:	Rieka, at first I thought we were going into the Peanuts theme! But you went somewhere else...but did Schroeder do that piano? I can see Snoopy dancing to this! I like it, very continuous melodic development...and rockin at the end

Firebird:	zz: pinabutta... how about strawberry jam?

Firebird:	jaz: it's pretty free stuff allright. I'd love to collab with you, let's just start throwing shtuffs at each other... Maybe we can work out a way to trigger MIDI notes over the internet ^^ Everybody, thanks

Firebird:	 Oh btw, the last person to tell me i exist in another universe was my ex wife hehe

Tylus:	firebird that was AWESOMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Tylus:	rieka jay that was coool..in my opinion firebird braught something just too good. click firebird

Professor:	Reika, that backing track reminded me of the theme song from Charlie Brown, hehe.

LordSTERN JazzMan2K:	Oh my... Gawd... I think I'll have a Dead Parrot, please, sir....

guitwiz:	FIREBIRD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dude, I laughed, I cried, I was afraid, I smiled, I smerked, I frowned, I had gas, I was cold, then hot, funny , then not.......SWEEEEEEEET!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love that mood MAN!!!!!!!!

stickyfingers:	Just when I thought GW was getting a bit redundant and predictable, along comes Firebird to breath some life into this house of shred, and stoke the embers of tonal creativity.

LordSTERN JazzMan2K:	R-J... good tune. but Fried Parrot is called the "green chicken"... I LOVE CHICKEN!!!

guitwiz:	Reika, this is bad luck man, your song was beautiful, really it was. But GW needed something like this from someone, and FB is the man!!!!!

LordSTERN JazzMan2K:	I vote for a Jazz category... ;-)

MadBadger:	Mmmm....smoking. Nice.

MadBadger:	Firebird - fusion cat. Mmmm...great.

MadBadger:	RJ - this is great also. I can also understand it - which I can't with Firebird's stuff (which I freely admit is a fault of me and my lack of musicality). I thought it was a bit stilted at times, you could perhaps have let go a bit more, but it was a lovely piece. Click to Firebird overall.

Firebird:	mad: I don't get it either :)

Rieka Jay:	gee, thanks everyone for those great comments... :) more than what i expect them to be...

Rieka Jay:	firebird, i'm getting used used to your music now... the more i listen to it, the better it gets... :) and thanks for the kind words too...

Rieka Jay:	zz..who's schroeder btw? i made everythin' with fruity toots... hehe... i'm actually imaginin' barney this time while i listen to it... i hate that ugly purple dino though... my young sister likes him so much...

Rieka Jay:	jazbrokr, thanks! even though you're not done yet... :) a collab between you and firebird would be wonderful...

olive:	RJ,good lead after 2:00. Firebird very good piece, i had listen it a lot of time......i don't understand all......but i like all !!!! my clik...very refreshing.

lukather/timmons:	Firebird - One of the coolest things I have ever heard EVER here. Sounds kinda like a long day out with Guitwiz, haha. Dont know what else to say, totally awesomely (is that a word? lol) happening, outrageously, incrediblly, weirdly, coolest things I have heard for a while!!

lukather/timmons:	Rieka - Cool ideas, phrases got a bit repetitive at times. Some great lead lines tho, nice tone and subtle (sp?) delay. Nice.

lukather/timmons:	CLick firebird here.

Diamond Don:	Firebird (as in Stravinski?) - very cool free form stuff. There is a certain unity amongst all that confusion. Your click for the great and refreshing change up.

Diamond Don:	RJ - you missed my vote by the width of a high E string. Beautiful piece, I just enjoyed the surprise from the bird. btw, if you turn your logo upside down it kinda looks like a dead parrot ...lol... just trying to cheer you up!

Firebird:	That's one of 'em DD. I used to LOVE that as a child...

Geezer:	RIEKA JAY - Very much liked your piece overall; the way it groove in proportion to that hook was pretty kewl // FIREBIRD - Really, what everyone said - I have a GR33, and I'm looking at it with a new respect today lol

GtrZan:	Oh man, I'm gonna come off like a muscial heretic again but... Firebird, dude, I just don't get it! Free form jazz is just beyond me (which I'm not apologizing for). Your technique sounds incredible in all aspects, but does it jam? I can't tell to be honest. (From your tab it doesn't sound like you're quite sure either, lol) Sounds like a jazz orchestra warming up.

GtrZan:	RJ; nice tune, cool harmonies (though not abused which is cool) A little repetetive as has been said. Maybe change up the lead when the rhythm repeats would be cool. Overall great song, I like when it busts loose at ~2:00.

GtrZan:	I have to abstain due to lack of knowledgable insight

Firebird:	GtrZan: somehow, I just had to get this stuff out of my system. It was just happening and I liked it. I really don't know where the road leads from here, but it will never be quite the same road from now... :)

Frethog:	Firebird: That was way over my head. RJ: A little repetative, but the guitar is smooth and drippy. Clickin' RJ.

Sleeper:	Nice jazzy stuff, FB, but the trumpet really overpowers the guitar, which is what we're interested in here. Can you submit a remixed version that backs off the trumpet - I'd love to here that!

Sleeper:	Terrific jazzy stuff, FB, but the trumpet really overpowers the guitar, which is what we're interested in here. Can you submit a remixed version that backs off the trumpet - I'd love to here that!

jazbrokr:	Sleeper, that was ALL guitar!!!! Firebird is a Roland guitar synth master! Judging from your comment, his formidable phrasing had you and others fooled! This is why this is such an exceptional piece!

GtrZan:	Fooled into thinking it is a trumpet, yes. But fooled into thinking it is musical? Not taking anything away from what Firebird was doing here, but let's define polyphony vs cacaphony and what is musical... I'm sorry, we can't really do that can we. That damn subjectivity thing keeps getting in the way.

GtrZan:	Don't get me wrong, please. Firebird, you have an obvious mastery of the guitar. To be able to branch out it's simple six strings into the different nuances of other instruments demonstrates that very well. (I mean this sincerely) My only beef here is that since "we" don't understand it musically, should "we" be in awe of this piece? (Scott and LordStern are exempt from the pool of "we" here, lol) I liken it to Modern Art vs the Mona Lisa... which would be a very long and interesting analogistic discussion!

GtrZan:	(there should be a LOL at the end of the "damn subjectivity..." line up there ^^^^^) Don't shoot me, I'm just the guitar player!

Firebird:	Thanks for the comments everybody! *Grabs his gun* I highly appreciate your comments gtrzan, you bring up some interesting points.

Firebird:	1) I'm not even trying to fool anybody. Maybe you're deceiving yourself, only you can know. I will come back to that in a while. 2) Definitions are important if you want to come to a basic communication and understanding. Beyond that, easy categories have very little value. Their descriptive worth is really small...

Firebird:	3) Subjectivity is a very subjective concept. As such, it's not at all opposed to objectivity. 4)This is GW, not an ashram. You're NOT SUPPOSED to adore anybody's stuff. I'd say you rather need your critical faculties to judge in here. And ofcourse you're free to like or dislike anything anybody puts up here.

Firebird:	5) Thanks for the compliment. IMO it's really quite dangerous to think in terms of "we". Who's us? And WHY doesn't Scotty, or anyone for that matter, belong to "us"? 6) I'm NOT a fan of modernism for the sake of being modern. A lot of rubbish hides under fashionable names. But this holds true for the ancient arts as well. You really can't expect people to aquire experiences and express themselves within the straightjacket of ancient dusty concepts.

Firebird:	7) As I told in the tab, I have very personal reasons for playing this stuff and putting it up here. Let's call it a mental sanity check :) The stuff IS chaotic, but it's REAL. As were the emotions I experienced while making and hearing it. It was so new, almost frightening to me, I'm really glad there's people who are able to enjoy the energy in this piece. And once more, it's NOT the end of the road, but rather a beginning. There WILL be more structure. But the very nature of this structure needs reevaluation. I hear countless possibilities for new formula's and interpretations. Which makes me happy ;-)

Firebird:	And where I live NOBODY's allowed to carry a gun, thank goodness!! The only flies in the ointment are the cops and the army...

stickyfingers:	Touche'

GtrZan:	Touche' my ass Sticky. Forgive me for having an opinion, (I'd expect better from you Mr Fingers) Firebird; well said amigo.

Scrimshaw:	Kudos to FB for trying something different. However, there was no structure or theme that I could detect and to be quite honest, it sounded like a bunch of tracks of instruments chaotically scrambled together with very little harmony or coherency at any given point in the song. I think the conceptual idea of the direction you were going in was good, but without structure and harmony, there is chaos. Most people want to hear structure and harmony, not chaos. Just my opinion...

Scrimshaw:	Rieka, I also liked the idea you had, but you needed to mix it up more and add some more key changes. Your lead had a very nice tone and your selection of notes was good. I am going to abstain on this one. Interesting war....

Duel:	haha bunch of weird entries here, RJ kinda repetitive but nice melody! gotta love the piano too. FB what's that? hehe sounds like this wasn't too planned but it rocked, gets my click.

stickyfingers:	GtrZan: Sorry, wasn't throwing in the touche' after reviewing all of the above. I was just skimming through while getting ready for work and didn't have time to fully evaluate all of the commentary. Kind of irresponsible of me I guess. Just read something about the superficiality of categories and that nobody is allowed to carry a gun where Firebird lives, and I am not a big fan of Charlton Heston or the NRA (which is not a subject appropriate for this site). But since I have a little time right now, I will comment after taking into consideration all of the text above.

stickyfingers:	Some of your opinions GtrZan, are a little inflamitory, but honest. I believe they were sincere and not malicously directed, maybe a bit abrasive. As in: "does it jam?"; "sounds like a jazz orchestra warming up"; "But fooled into thinking it is musical?"; "Not taking anything away from what Firebird was doing here, but let's define polyphony vs cacaphony and what is musical"; "My only beef here is that since "we" don't understand it musically, should "we" be in awe of this piece?".

stickyfingers:	Firebird has reacted a bit heavy handed, but I agree with some of his points. Especially: "You really can't expect people to aquire experiences and express themselves within the straightjacket of ancient dusty concepts." and "The stuff IS chaotic, but it's REAL. As were the emotions I experienced while making and hearing it."

stickyfingers:	I really don't want to get in the middle of a discussion on what qualifies art. It has been quite a number of years but, Hesse's "Glass Bead Game" and (I forget the author) "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" adresses some of these intrinsic substantive qualitative issues.

stickyfingers:	As far as my own personal musical taste; I am not deeply but somewhat proactive in the listening adventures of third stream crafters or avante-garde/free jazz explorers, and have acquired a modicum of taste for Lennie Tristano, Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Anthony Davis, Eric Dolphy, Coltrane, Gunther Schuller, Mingus, Corea, Zawinul, Anthony Braxton, Bill Frisell, John Zorn and the Knitting Factory troupe, etc.

stickyfingers:	 It's really an individual exploration that may challenge the intellect to set aside all preconceived notions of tonal boundaries. It's there to experience. It's not any more qualified as a serious listening palette than whatever your individual tonal boundaries might dictate. Doesn't mean that it is not a qualified listening experience for those who may prefer a bit more arbitrary cayenne in their sonic appetite.

GtrZan:	Stickyfingers; Now, that's much better! No worries mate. True, I was trying to be honest. The main gist I was trying to convey (not very well apparently) was that art IS subjective whether it's musical, visual, architectural, etc.... So, of course, just because I don't get it, doesn't mean it isn't art. AND vice versa ;) BTW, I admit I had to look up the word "ashram". It's allll good guys

Elrico:	too much to read here ! well, firebird, that trumpet thing is guitar ? waouh, that roland thing and u r amazing... RJ : don't know what to say... click firebird for incredible tonal/atonal or whatever stuff it is. :)

lidpeeler:	Firebird, being a fan of atonal stuff from classical composers (Berg, Weber, Schoenberg), I found your piece to be - awesome! I got alot of exposure to that kind of music years ago, and somehow in a weird way it just spoke to me. I'll be honest, I didn't know the synth stuff was guitar, which to me is yet another cool thing about your post.

lidpeeler:	Rieka, I liked the syncopated thing from about :45 on. Nice melodic playing, but click to Firebird.

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