Cotton Mather’s Robert Harrison gets brownie points for ambition. Death Of The Cool (The Star Apple Kingdom) comprises 11 of the 64 songs he’s been writing in an extended fit of creativity inspired by the I Ching, the ancient Chinese divination text—one tune per hexagram (or reading). Seriously. Harrison will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week.
Harrison: There is an order to things in the world of people, and that order mimics nature. One doesn’t have to know about the order to be a part of it and have no choice in the matter. It’s only that knowing where you are in the order on any given day can be helpful. It’s like knowing the name of the town you’re driving through. Gaffney, S.C., has that bizarre water tower that’s supposed to look like a peach. It’s, um, mimicking nature in a different way. But when you see that water tower and know you’re in Gaffney, your options broaden. You might then, for instance, look on Yelp to discover the Big T Burger is a very horrible place to eat. Then you’ll know to drive on to the next exit. You’re still in Gaffney for the time being, but you don’t have to die there. This is why I consult the I Ching on a regular basis. I like to know where I’m at in the dream until I can figure out how to wake up.
Speaking of dreaming: I was dreaming about buying a house in 2003, and looking for something south of the city when I spotted a new listing in the Austin Chronicle and followed a hunch to consult the I Ching. When I received the very auspicious reading, number 11: Peace/Advance, I decided to make an appointment to see the house and ended up buying it. Of course, the Sage was not suggesting that I buy the house, ignore up-keep, let the yard go to seed, and that it would all turn out fine in the end. By the same token, reading number 8: Union, which helped inspire today’s new song, nowhere mentions “and then they lived happily ever after.” It merely states that the situation is favorable for a union. It could go on to say, “should this union lead to a long-term relationship you’ll likely have to spend the next several years projecting your business all over the other person and re-enacting your parents errors before you get to find out whether or not it’s built to last.” But you have other readings to help you navigate those eventualities. And today is about a little slice of sunshine we made for you called “Candy Lilac.”
“Candy Lilac” by Cotton Mather was performed by Robert Harrison, Whit Williams, Darin Murphy and George Reiff. Recorded by RH at Star Apple Kingdom with additional recording by Lars Goransson at Sounds Outrageous. Mixed by Lars and mastered by Bob Ohlsson
