What's on the Pod - Week of August 22

I listened to Tangerine Dream a lot in the eighties. They were doing the soundtracks for cool movies such as The Keep based on the F. Paul Wilson novel and had great albums.

I listened over and over to Tyger, while I was writing Azarius in the wee morning hours. It seemed the appropriate background music as I wrote about angels and demons in spiritual warfare with humanity.

The haunting tones mixed with the poetry of William Blake evoke dark visions.

Squeaking
I owned cassettes in the eighties, so the one I listned to a million times squeaks every time it spins around to the words from Blake's London:

In every cry of every man,
In every infant's cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban,
The mind-forged manacles I hear...

It was time for an update, so I went for the whole album download since it's not a piece that lends itself to the purchase of a single track.

"Tyger" is not for every taste but it's an interesting work, excellent for late-night listening with the visualization features turned on your PC.

Book on Pod
I searched and searched for a new suspense novel I wanted but couldn't hit on anything, so I wound up getting 1776 by David McCullough. I've always been fascinated by the Revolutionary War era, and by McCullough's work.

I covered a press conference he did for Truman and was enthralled by his tales of his research. He outlined how Truman received word in his office of Pres. Franklin Roosevelt's death and how he ran from his office to the oval office.

Believing it important to retrace those steps in order to understand what must have been going through Truman's mind as the enormous responsibility settled over him, McCullough arranged to run with a couple of security officers through the hallways of the White House. His recounting of the experience was hillarious.

Part of his point was that to understand people you must understand their times, and to understand times you must understand people.

From what I've listened to so far of 1776, he does just that, beginning with a fascinating portrayal of King George.

Guess I'll be busy with that for about 10 hours.

R.S. 500 Progress: 43 songs