Le Monsieur on Reality AKA すみませんでした.

Well, well, well.

Apologies to the world outside the Internet -if there is such a thing- for my long absence from this page. My good friend Seba said to me the other day, chided me if I'm honest, about my lack of updatingness on the Le Monsieur Blog!

"What kind of gentleman keeps people waiting for that long for a reply to their desperate cries?!" He said.

And, he's right. If you can imagine it, I'm bowing humbly as I type, which means that I can't see the keyboard and have just dislocated my shoulder joints. But that's OK, because breaking ones own arm as an apology is perhaps a very apologetic thing to do. Selfless, passionate and above all apologetically painful. The way it should be, gens. Recently I've been busy with exploring the world of reality, and it's a bit like an injection. That is, shiny, filled with liquid and occasionally painful. (Like my synonyms, maybe.) But as a few of my compatriots iterated to me, reality is a waste of time. If you're going to live, they said, you have to work your way around the pockets of reality and play with it like a new puppy that needs to be trained. Eventually, reality will bend itself into a position that you'll desire to be wedged into and you'll be satisfied wit yourself. Wow.

Such philosophy is a akin to Yoko Ono's messages of wisdom on Facebook, but phrased slightly more oddly. If you knew my compatriots, you'll be very doubtful of their motives in handing out such dodgy advice like condoms in a red light area. But if you knew me, you'd know that I'm a typical Monsieur, who already dodges between reality and unreality like a serial killer in The X Files, and so I agree with them, kind of. What compatriots I have, readers. If you had compatriots like them, you'd be covering the world with a velvet cloth so you dance on it.

And, it'd be fun.

Le Monsieur.

Le Monsieur Listens...On The Corner -- Miles Davis.

Let me make one thing clear, I am not a jazz critic. I am though, Le Monsieur, and would like to think that I have a good ear for music. So, I'll admit that I do listen to Jazz. Recently, maybe it's something to do with entering ones second quarter of life that makes me do it, I've been drawn into the leanings of the jazz world that I touched upon briefly when I was in my teens. One things for sure, there are a lot of Jazz fans out there, and with all the sub-genres of jazz alone, that's enough to cause a metaphysical fist fight very quickly when the wrong combination of these fans is placed together at one time. So, now's a safe to mention that I'm listening to one of the allegedly "most controversial Jazz albums of all time", that, according to a particularly verbatious reviewer on Amazon is "Miles Davis' Metal Machine Music".

Obviously, it can't resemble Metal Machine Music, Lou Reed's none too subtle fuck off to commercial fans, as I've actually listened to it in it's entirety on more than a few occasions. The only people who've actually listened to Metal Machine Music all the through are now locked away in an asylum somewhere counting matchsticks on a far too regular basis. No, On The Corner, to mention the album title at last, - how postmodern of me! - is very listenable, and although it is a very challenging piece, it more than rewards the listener with the will to see it through to the end. I said before that I'm not a jazz reviewer, and I really don't want to be either, if they can get so complacent as to what music is actually allowed to be jazz that they rubbish anything different from the norm straight away. No, I'm a citizen of the planet, and as such I take everything as it comes. Sure, back in 1972 this was a revolutionary sound for a Jazz artist, but in these years of Internet and Organic Coffee, the revolutionary element has gone, and the controversy has turned into enjoyment.

The one thing that can be said about On The Corner is that is it certainly makes it's point quickly. As the sleeve notes impart, this album was made with attitude to spare and it shows in the music! The pace of the album is fast and furious and even the marathon grooves of Helen Butte/ Mr Freedom X don't get tiresome over their nearly twenty-five minute length. Of course, the sound of On The Corner is still revolutionary for it's (then revolutionary) production techniques and complete disregard for the listeners who appreciated his earlier, more Jazz-like albums. Hence, this album is a brave one, and one that could have been a disaster, but it isn't and Miles Davis merely cemented his reputation as Jazz's greatest experimenter extraordinaire.

This is an album that needs listening to if one wants to fully understand it's heart and soul, so I'll save the traditional analytical adjectives for another review. Simply put, you may not like this album after listening to it, but if you get anything from it, take the fact that it was sheer will and pure restless creativity that created it.

Le Monsieur