46 Years Ago: The Jimi Hendrix Experience Release 'Electric Ladyland'

46 Years Ago: The Jimi Hendrix Experience Release 'Electric Ladyland'

This Just In From Seattle Music History!!!         One of rock’s most groundbreaking and ambitious albums, The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s ‘Electric Ladyland,’ arrived in stores in October 1968. In a way, humanity is still trying to catch up to its futuristic musical vision.

Certainly, very few of those who heard the double LP upon release could easily wrap their heads around the eclectic and unpredictable songs sprawled across its challenging four sides of vinyl. And there’s no denying much had changed in the Hendrix camp (management, band upheavals, legendary drug consumption, etc.) over the course of ‘Electric Ladyland’’s oft-interrupted and continent-hopping yearlong recording process.

But once they got past the initial shock of absorbing so much music in one big lump, patient listeners came to realize that ‘Electric Ladyland’ further pushed the sonic breakthroughs Hendrix explored on the Experience’s first two records, ‘Are You Experienced’ and ‘Axis: Bold as Love,’ to the very limits of his boundless creativity (not to mention the era’s available recording technology).

Among the familiar Hendrix hallmarks pushed into overdrive are guitar-powered singles (‘Crosstown Traffic,’ ‘Gypsy Eyes’), ethereal psychedelia (‘Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland,’ ‘Burning of the Midnight Lamp’), traditional (albeit epic-length) blues jams (‘Voodoo Chile,’ ‘Still Raining, Still Dreaming’) and six-string fireworks galore (‘House Burning Down,’ ‘Voodoo Chile [Slight Return]’). And while the saxophone-infused ‘Rainy Day, Dream Away’ and arty space-jazz-fusion of ‘1983 … (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)’ tested listeners’ open minds, at least they were saved until side three.

So whether one recognized ‘Electric Ladyland’s’ formidable, if unwieldy, genius right away or had to work for it, the final studio album released during Hendrix’s lifetime was a stone-cold classic. An album both of its time and well ahead of its time, if you catch our meaning.

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Alice In Chains’ Mike Inez Discusses The Loss Of Layne Staley: ‘We Were Supposed To Grow Old Together’

This Just In From Seattle Music History!!!                                                                            Alice In Chains bassist Mike Inez discussed the loss of Layne Staley and Mike Starr to drug addiction in a new interview with the Lucas H Gordon Show.

“Drug addiction is beyond the music business. Whether you’re a washer, dryer, or repair man, drug addiction and alcoholism seems to go through all walks of life. It’s a pretty crazy business we’re in already, it’s just such a shame when your friends pass away so young, we’re supposed to grow old together.” He added, “It’s just sad.”

Inez also discussed the Seattle Grunge scene and Los Angeles music scene.

“The difference between the LA scenes and Seattle scene, is a band like Soundgarden was together for 10 years before they got signed by a major label, so they had a lot of time to get together and gel as a band.”

“Even all of the bands like Nirvana, Alice In Chains in the early days, Pearl Jam, and Mother Love Bone they had a lot of time to jam before they release their music to the world. So I think that was very important, where here in Los Angeles they were trying to mix and match bands like, ‘Oh we need a bass player with long blonde hair, we need a singer with curly hair.’ They were just trying to do that, so the music started lacking I think because of it.”

“But I tell you one thing about the LA scene, there were more girls in the 80’s here than I’ve ever seen in my life, it was a really fun time to see that. I was very young at the time, but it was nice in high school to see a band like Van Halen play a backyard party, or Motley Crue playing the Whiskey. It’s really cool to see these bands. Me and Slash are the only two guys born and raised here, everyone else comes here, but we’ve been here the whole time, we’ve seen it come and go.”

World Class Violinist Josh Bell In An Out Of This World Performance & Life Lesson Live In Washington D.C.

This Just In From Seattle Music History!!!                                                                                   "A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?"

Share if you took the time to read this 

#eye opener #consciousness 
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?"
Share if you took the time to read this 

Joshua Bell

#eye opener #consciousness