thurston - ra book review
thurston - ra book review
it seems artforum/bookforum hacked to pieces the SITP review i was assigned, here is the original copy for those interested: SPACE IS THE PLACE: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra ------ John F. Szwed (Pantheon)
reviewed by thurston moore - 768 words
Sun Ra came from Saturn believe it or not. Quite a few of the beings roaming our streets with creative genius minds are, for the most part, of interplanetary origin. We look at them as freaks or, in less harsh terms, exotics or eccentrics. They seem to situate themselves as sentient, sensuous artists with music a very primary force for them to communicate with their mothership. Obvious examples are the likes of Alexander Scriabin, Moondog, Albert Ayler, Captain Beefheart - artists critically referred to as "otherworldly" and "mystic". It is important for those of us with longstanding Earth roots to study the works of these artists so as to gleam information from the spheres. This is from whence energy/life-force and knowledge is free and immortal: born of the cosmos.
It is fortunate to find any cosmic messenger articulate enough to use this planets spoken words alongside his/hers more abstract musings to teach cosmic philosophy. Two of the most influential individuals of 20th century popular culture who worked in this realm were Sun Ra and the writer Philip K. Dick. Though these two men may not have known each other and were completely distinctive from each other by experience they both appeal to the sensibility of the irreal. Dick was convinced he was channeling high religious concepts of cosmologic conflict and salvation through narratives re: the common man. He was prone to hallucinations of time travel through a layered universe where the soul was progressing to a state of purity whilst the host bodies grew old. The fact that humanity was possibly focusing on life in a reverse mode to the way the cosmos created it freaked him out. He passed away in a state of anxiety and wonder leaving a treasure of encoded sci-fi and contemporary "fiction". Sun Ra's kinship to this existence was that he too believed man a victim of mixed signals (indeed, one LP's title is It Is After The End Of The World ) and that truth was to be found in the lower strata of daily life. He surrounded hisself with musicians chosen for their antisocial and downtrod nature and created a cult of mystic dialogue, sophisticated artistry and disciplined ritual.
Szwed, a professor of anthropology and Afro-American studies at Yale has a keen and scholarly interest in linguistics. This, by turn, is the most fascinating aspect of a highly compelling bio as we fall further and further into endless arcana and obscurist tracts of ancient knowledge from whence Sun Ra enlightens hisself and others to what he has always known. The subgenres of Egyptology, world theology, and race theory discovered through Szweds research amongst Sun Ra's vast reading history is dizzying and profound. Throughout the 50s and 60s we follow Sun Ra as he integrates and develops a musical theatre of concepts derived from "antique" black teachings. It references cosmology and philosophy through the traditional American swing music of Fletcher Henderson. By all accounts Sun Ra and his Arkestra's radical fire music performances in NYC during the late 60s/early 70s were the most beautiful and heavy moments of a truly transcendent avant-garde. Amira Baraka claimed Ra to be an intellectual visionary of Black Art. John Coltrane moved into dimensions of playing admittedly influenced by Sun Ra. Ra was an authentic outsider always speaking in gentle, cryptic terms. He and his coterie walked the streets living hand to mouth and wearing space robes and glitter. They were completely and utterly hip.
For reasons only his publisher may know Szwed spends a bit too much time researching the fact that Sun Ra was raised within an Earth family (residence: Birmingham, Alabama - the Magic City, of course) christened Herman Blount. It is obvious and inconsequential to the true nature of Sun Ra's call: man's right to liberation through space travel and cosmic tones. "S ome call me Mr. Ra, some call me Mr. Re, you may call Mr. Mystery." Aside from instances of denigration and cluelessness re: rock music Szwed does seem to know what the real deal is as he prefaces his story with a beautiful quote from Louis Armstrong: "Our music is a Secret Order". You either believe or you don't. (Charles Mingus believed whole heartedly in Sun Ra as when Ra first came to New York and walked into the Five Spot."What are you doing down here, Sunny?" Sun Ra answered, "I come down to the Village a lot." "No," said Mingus, "I mean what are you doing down here on Earth!")