RockOm

RockOm Round-up is a quick glance at what's going on around the world in the areas of music and spirituality...

• The ever-changing Thenewno2 - Son of Beatle George Harrison, Dhani dedicates his band's new album, You Are Here, to the yogis of the Himalayas. (chicagotribune.com)

• Gospel Music Association rumors and problems; where does GMA go from here? - "It started with whispers last week that the board of the Gospel Music Association might be closing its doors. Just whispers, that is, until someone with inside knowledge tweeted that GMA was considering closing its doors and asked if this was the end of Christian music." (blog.beliefnet.com)

• Blasting the US with punk Islam - "Punks from the left and right reject us, we're slammed for using Islamic ideas – but we don't care, this tour's a labour of love." (guardian.co.uk)

• Israeli Rock Group Chasidica mixes Metal with Spiritual - "Rock guitars clash with klezmer violins, clarinets and sometimes middle eastern darboukas when Chasidica, a new Israeli rock group takes the stage. Sagi and Idan Givol, two brothers raised as secular Israelis in Ramat Gan are using what they call Chutzpahdik Kedusha to help themselves and others identify with Jewish tradition." (israelinationalnews.com)

• Birmingham audiences to get preview of Yusuf Islam's new musical - "A long-held ambition by The Artist Formerly Known As Cat Stevens to write a stage musical has been realised – and Birmingham fans will be among the first to see a preview. The singer, who changed his name to Yusuf Islam after his conversion to Islam in 1979, will showcase Moonshadow during his show at Birmingham NIA on November 23." (israelinationalnews.com)

RockOm Round-up is a quick glance at what's going on around the world in the areas of music and spirituality...

• Young Israeli settlers go hippie? Far out, man! - "Last week's annual 'End of Days' music festival highlights how a new – and militant – hilltop generation embraces the counterculture symbols of the 1960s American Left." (csmonitor.com)
• Punk meets Islam for new generation in U.S. - "The Kominas... is one of a handful of Muslim punk bands that emerged in the United States in the past few years." (cnn.com)
• Italian musician believes he's found hidden music in Da Vinci's 'Last Supper' - [OLDER ARTICLE] "An Italian musician and computer technician claims to have uncovered musical notes encoded in Leonardo Da Vinci's 'Last Supper,' raising the possibility that the Renaissance genius might have left behind a somber composition to accompany the scene depicted in the 15th-century wall painting." (sunjournal.com)

RockOm Round-up is a quick glance at what's going on around the world in the areas of music and spirituality...

• Katy Perry: Sass, spirituality and secrets - Katy Perry says, "I'll never be really blasphemous. I kind of just straddle the line between being the sex kitten and Lolita. My faith is still important to me and I guess you could say that, spiritually, I'm still a wanderer." (TheStar.com)
• A Muslim meld of punk and piety - "That's about when the cops put an end to one of the strangest cultural mash-ups in North American Muslim history." Here is a story about Taqwacore: a furious meld of punk and piety. (theglobeandmail.com)
• Spirituality and Music 101 - "Music is simply a different form of prayer - or talking to/with/about the human experience of life and its transcendent dimensions, God." (examiner.com)
• Fearlessly I Will Sing the Attributes of the One without Attributes... - "I'd like to share a jewel of a bhajan (devotional music) written by sufi saint Kabir, the great 15th century saint from Varanasi, India..."(blog.seattlepi.com)

By Tom Crenshaw, tom@rockom.net

Music can be the glue that bonds people together from all walks of life. Even in death music can play a powerful role in celebrating life and remembering those who have passed on.

An old friend and a former band mate died a short time ago. Ralph Robinson never achieved fame and glory, yet he was quite the musician who loved music and his drums more than anything. By all accounts he was born to be a percussionist and from a very early age threw himself into his music performing in bands as a teenager, before heading off to a performing arts college to further pursue his passion. After college he went on to accomplish great things with his music, performing as a timpanist with the Salzburg Chamber Orchestra in Austria, the Berlin Philharmonic in Germany, and the New York Philharmonic.

After his stint as a classical performer he turned to the punk scene in NYC, giving up concert halls for the likes of CBGB’s and other notorious night clubs up and down the east coast. I first met him in the late 80s and we soon were playing hard-core Rock and Metal together on the road for several years.

He had requested there be no formal services or a funeral. Instead, he wanted his friends to come together and do what he loved most - play music. We did just that this past weekend in his hometown and remembered him as he wished. The nightclub hosting the reception was filled with his friends from all walks of life - black, white, young, and old came together and remembered him as he wished.

Ralph was the reason we were all there and music was the most appropriate way to celebrate. Celebrating his life in this way was far different than going to a funeral but gave closure at the same time. In fact that closure was given in a very powerful way because no one was sad - it was a celebration of his life. I think that's the way we will remember him from now on... through this celebration and his love for music.

As part of the healing process after a death we all grieve and have a strong desire to remember the most special moments in life we shared with the one(s) who have left us. We naturally gather as families and with friends and recall what we loved most about those people. Music plays an important role in all cultures and societies in not only celebrating birth, but in signifying death and transitioning. The circle is unbroken when we gather and use music as a healing source in remembering those who have gone on before us.