cosmic american music

over the past year or so
i've been revisiting the music of
gram parsons
30 yrs ago i listened to
the flying burrito brothers
and the byrds
and got to know some of his music
of late i've listened to his two last recording projects
where he was striving for and indeed accomplishing
the character of sound he sought
with emmylou harris in the harmony
and elvis presley's studio band to back him up

his concept for music had something of a religious character
and i am wondering if albert einstein would be
willing to include someone like gram
in his concept of cosmic religion

gram was pretty young
though the maturity of his lyricism
belies his age
he died at about 27

his notion was that country music
soul the blues rock and roll
funk and gospel folk bluegrass
would all merge into one
large musical genre which he termed
"cosmic american music"

i don't think he foresaw the recording explosion
which has in some ways mitigated
the development of a characteristic american sound

but in his spirit of things
gram did lay down some principles of musical expression
which are still very alive today

one need only look to the recent revival
of american roots music spawned by
"o brother where art thou"

venues such as "the grand ole opry"
and "austin city limits"
have broadened their aesthetic borders
to allow an american urgency often
motivated by electric guitars
and louder rhythm sections

and an array of gifted performers
who feel equally at home with acoustic ballads
and rockin blues and acapella gospel hymns

so in a way gram parsons was a bit of a visionary

in a previous post i noted that albert einstein
was looking to the "free intelligent religious disciple
of the cosmos" the man or woman who emerged from within a
tradition but then by virtue of the power of their vision
give voice to the values that transcend religious dogma
he was essentially placing his trust on the
possibilities stemming from research similar to his own
or perhaps highly dedicated souls like gandhi
who practice a faith tradition
but extend that tradition beyond the walls of the
ashram
or the church or the synagogue
(he mentions st francis on more than
one occasion)

gram was a bit more down to earth in his
cosmic vision
he really believed that musicians of all (american) styles
could get along and benefit from one another
and that by sharing in musical spirit
musicians could do something to bring about a better world

one wonders what he would have thought
of the mindless expressions that emerged
in rock and roll in the mid and late 70's

i think there are some folks really taking that vision
seriously even if they don't know
the philosophical bearings of
gram parsons

sting seems to be more than willing to stretch
his musical expression to jazz to africa to
south america and to north american popular music

certainly the grateful dead perhaps
the most "cultic" of all late 20th century
musical acts
utilized
whatever american sound they could
to give a free expression to their band
and they existed perhaps as the true
inheritors of the vision
there's being perhaps best termed
"psychadelic cosmic american music"
i've come across numerous bluegrass albums
featuring jerry garcia on guitar and banjo
and we all know he could play the blues

and neil young must be regarded
as a voice willing to use the styles of the day
as well of those of the past
even willing to make "sound study albums"
i think of his explorations of rockabilly
and techno
he is perhaps the greatest exemplar of
what gram parsons had in mind
but has gone about his work with
an inimitable (although young artists do well to emulate him)
style which uses the full pallette of north american color
(with the exception of jazz...i can't think of neil and jazz)

van morrison and of course bob dylan both have sought
to incorporate the influences they appreciate
morrison going even a little broader than dylan perhaps

gram burned intensely and quickly
but the spirit does live

i would like to proclaim
the value in distancing musical expression
from electricity
that all the genre's of musical expression
in america can find fertile ground for listening
and performing in small venues
without amplification
cosmic american music unplugged
completely

hear local sustainable music
music that is both entertainment
and education

pete seeger lives on

i desire an dream of doing a country recording
with
bjork