#nochy

Our first review of the year covers an album from Poland, where Christian Maiwald records under the moniker mayforest.  This gorgeous 45-minute track loops and layers from opening crackle to gracious exit, expressing a sense of suspension: a clock in honey, moving incrementally and almost unnoticed. We applaud the composer for making this a single piece, as it started as several pieces that were…

The Transformed Man - William Shatner (Pt. 1: Lucy in the Sky w/Diamonds)

Four score and 2.5 years ago, I was getting a ride back to my dorm with one Daniel Fester.  I seem to remember some sort of large floating car that I was a passenger in.  I assume he was ok to drive, but I am pretty sure I wasn’t.  I couldn’t tell you where we came from, but a theater part no doubt.  Regardless, we stopped on the way at some sort of convenience store or gas station for something that I may have paid for and left on the counter.  Dan waited for me in the car.  When I got back, perhaps having left the car door open even in the dead of Winter, and not being afraid of carjacking in this small midwest town, a glorious rendition of “Lucy in the Sky (With Diamonds)” blared from this land yacht's speakers.  

“What is this?!”, I said shutting the massive car door.  Then I noticed it was obviously William Shatner speaking over the bombastic orchestration, alternating his words with some sort of impossibly straight rhythmic, all-too-white background singers.  “Is he high?  What the hell is this? How have I never heard this before?!”  “AND YOU’RE GONE!” echoes into space.  His orgasmic oration, flows velvety soft like a white chocolate fountain.  When he says “yellow”, that is all you can see, when he says “picture yourself”, you do so, and you see this self you call you from outside yourself and also from within.  It all washes over you like a warm oil, soothing and yet a bit unnerving - you can’t breath in oil. 

I’m afraid I may have frightened dear Dan as I leaned into the speaker mounted into the door.  It was a religious experience.  I had worked the overnight shift at an easy listening station, but this was beyond any mere muzak of this Earth.  This was beyond this plains plain plane - transcendent, mythical, majestic, daring, frightening and magical.   

I ran up the stairs to my room, where roommate Lee Howard was probably reading some tome, the sort of thing I suppose you are supposed to read in college, but only someone like Lee actually does.  I burst into the room, “LEE!  I have heard the Ultimate Thing!”  I tried my best to describe it to him, probably better than I have above, and yet also somewhat incoherently I’m sure (it is difficult to describe touching the Face of God).  If anyone could understand this however, it was Lee. I called the radio station.  A DJ of some collegy midwest sort answered, perhaps unaccustomed, or all-too-accustomed to late night phone calls from sages and prophets.  I explained that I needed to hear the song again so I could try to record it.  He said he’d play it again, but didn’t know when he could get to it.  I guess even in this 1,250 horse town, he was still worried about getting caught playing one song too many times in one evening.  (Children: this was before youtube or even the internet itself - I could not type in “William Shatner Lucy Sky Diamond” into any browser and achieve immediate recall from a shared InfoMind.  I had to (get tis) wait for it to play on the radio so I could record it onto a tape cassette.  Never mind, this is too much really - I don’t expect you to understand).

Hours passed, still no re-play.  I called the station again.  I begged him to play the song again.  I guess it was about 3am when he relented.  (Children:  I never stay up that late anymore, but I usually am awake then.  Perhaps I am worrying about your well-being or your future, perhaps I am thinking about something that can easily wait until the morning to resolve, or even another day). 

A critic said regarding The Transformed Man (of which said song is one of eleven), "It's unclear if Shatner is merely having a good time and goofing around, or if he's embarrassingly dead serious, and creating an overly indulgent work...", "...you cannot tell if Shatner is play-acting or painfully serious. The result is a must hear, (unintentional?) comedy classic.”