Who knew Major Tom was such a popular guy? I was listening to Peter Schilling’s “Major Tom (Coming Home)” and I realized I didn’t know all the lyrics for Schilling’s song nor those of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” on which the song is based. In my attempt to be thorough, I checked on a whim to see if there were other songs featuring the wayward astronaut.. I found three making a total of five songs about the Major (there is probably a few more but times was a-wasting.)

A little history about the songs.

———-
Space Oddity was released in 1969 to coincide with the first moon landing. Not exactly a song you want to associate with successful space flight. Speculation is that the song was written in response to the short story “The Sentinel” by Arthur C. Clark which was the basis of the movie and book “2001: A Space Odyssey”, others speculate that it was in response to the movie itself. David has been silent about the details of the song. It is a fair assumption that the song is about the astronaut getting high on the euphoria he feels in space flight, a not very vague allusion to drug use. The song concludes with Major Tom signing off with a cryptic message to his wife and breaking all contact with Earth. This period of David’s life was, not surprising, was marked by heavy drug use. Note: the reference to what shirt he wears is a question about what soccer teams he roots for.

Space Oddity (Major Tom)
David Bowie (1969)

Ground Control to Major Tom
Ground Control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on

Ground Control to Major Tom
Commencing countdown, engines on
Check ignition and may God’s love be with you

Spoken:
Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One, Lift-off

This is Ground Control to Major Tom
You’ve really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now it’s time to leave the capsule if you dare

“This is Major Tom to Ground Control
I’m stepping through the door
And I’m floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today

For here
Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do

Though I’m past one hundred thousand miles
I’m feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much she knows?
Ground Control to Major Tom
Your circuit’s dead, there’s something wrong
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hereee….

“ am I floating round my tin can
Far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do.

———-
As a sort of explanation of “Space Oddity”, Bowie released “Ashes to Ashes” in 1980 (took him long enough). The song references Major Tom (do you remember a guy that’s been in such an early song) and gives us a hint that the Major has come down from his “space high” (though he does say he is still getting high) and wishing that he could come back to Earth. Where he is and how he managed to survive this long is a mystery though we know he is not on Earth. This song was written during the period when David was showing signs of the stress past drug use had on his body and was attempting to get off drugs. There is some speculation that the movie “The Man Who Fell To Earth” (1976), based on the book by Walter Tevis, that David Bowie was playing Major Tom as the character Thomas Jerome Newton, an alien trying to find water for his planet.

Ashes to Ashes
David Bowie (1980)

Do you remember a guy that’s been
In such an early song
I’ve heard a rumour from ground control
Oh no, don’t say it’s true

They got a message from the action man
I’m happy, hope you’re happy too
I’ve loved all I’ve needed love
Sordid details following

The shrieking of nothing is killing
Just pictures of jap girls in synthesis and I
Ain’t got no money and I ain’t got no hair
But I’m hoping to kick but the planet it’s glowing

Ashes to ashes, funk to funky
We know Major Tom’s a junkie
Strung out in heaven’s high
Hitting an all-time low

Time and again I tell myself
I’ll stay clean tonight
But the little green wheels are following me
Oh no, not again
I’m stuck with a valuable friend
I’m happy, hope you’re happy too
One flash of light but no smoking pistol

I never done good things
I never done bad things
I never did anything out of the blue, woh-o-oh
Want an axe to break the ice
Wanna come down right now

Ashes to ashes, funk to funky
We know Major Tom’s a junkie
Strung out in heaven’s high
Hitting an all-time low

My mother said to get things done
You’d better not mess with Major Tom
My mother said to get things done
You’d better not mess with Major Tom
My mother said to get things done
You’d better not mess with Major Tom
My mother said to get things done
You’d better not mess with Major Tom

———-
We all know that Peter Schilling’s song is basically a sequel/reworking of “Space Oddity” with a bit more emphasis on the Major himself. The song seems to suggest that there were problems not associated with Major Tom suffering from space euphoria (though in the end he seems to be suffering from such). Some speculation is that Major Tom has encountered some “space oddity” that requires him to change course but it is too late and he asks mission control to relay a last message to his wife though the collision may not have happened (or happened and changed Tom, a plot used in more than one sci-fi movie since the songs release)… or Major Tom realizes that Earth has written off as dead and that he is resigned to die in space as no rescue will be forthcoming. The song still leaves the sad, empty feeling experienced in “Space Oddity”.

Of course there is the view that this song tells a different story of system failure, that was suspected before launch, and Major Tom loses communications and to the surprise of mission control he re-establishes communication as he is in re-entry to tell them he is coming in.

Or did he turn off his equipment to fake is death (making mission control think he burned up on re-entry) so he can return to deep space (his new home).

Major Tom (Coming Home)
Peter Schilling (1983)

Standing there alone
The ship is waiting
All systems are go
Are you sure?
Control is not convinced
But the computer
Has the evidence
“No need to abort”
The countdown starts
Watching in a trance
The crew is certain
Nothing left to chance
All is working
Trying to relax
Up in the capsule
“Send me up a drink”
Jokes Major Tom
The count goes on

4 3 2 1
Earth below us
Drifting falling
Floating weightless
Calling calling home…

Second stage is cut
We’re now in orbit
Stabilizers up
Running perfect
Starting to collect
Requested data
What will it effect
When all is done
Thinks Major Tom

Back at ground control
There is a problem
Go to rockets full
Not responding
“Hello Major Tom
Are you receiving
Turn the thrusters on
We’re standing by”
There’s no reply

4 3 2 1
Earth below us
Drifting falling
Floating weightless
Calling calling home…

Across the stratosphere
A final message
“Give my wife my love”
Then nothing more

Far beneath the ship
The world is mourning
They don’t realize
He’s alive
No one understands
But Major Tom sees
Now the life commands
This is my home
I’m coming home

Earth below us
Drifting falling
Floating weightless
Coming home…
Earth below us
Drifting falling
Floating weightless
Coming home…
Earth below us
Drifting falling
Floating weightless
Coming coming home…
Home…..

———-
I admit that I know very little about “Mrs. Major Tom” by K.I.A. other that this song takes place after the previous three songs and is told from the point of view of Major Tom’s wife. It seems that Major Tom makes it back to Earth after he loses his fascination with deep space (or a realization he was going to die if he didn’t return), but she mourns the fact that he still suffers from “space euphoria”.

Mrs. Major Tom
K.I.A. (2003)
You went up, so bright Tom
Thought my love was rocketing you along
When you didn’t come back, and didn’t come back
My nova heart collapsed
To a black, black hole

Floating on sine waves in inner space
Awaiting a signal of grace
From ground control, to lost control,
Ballet to battle, halo to hole

You were so far gone
Right was wrong, up was down.
By going still further on,
you hoped to come around.
It was light years long, dear husband Tom.
At last back you’ve come…
Yet still, you’re gone.

Floating on sine waves in inner space
Awaiting a signal of grace
From ground control, to lost control,
Ballet to battle, halo to hole

I watched the skies, for all that time,
And now your asteroid eyes
Say you were never mine.
Never mine, never mine,
Never, never mine…

Floating on sine waves in inner space
Awaiting a signal of grace
From ground control, to lost control,
Ballet to battle, halo to hole

You didn’t burn up, my Major Tom.
You just burnt out.
You just burnt out.

———-
I have little to offer on the song “Empty Glass” by Tea Party other than Major Tom seems to have obtained cult status not only in our world, but in the world of the songs. The voice of the songs seems to be asking the now more deified Major Tom for spiritual guidance as if he has transcended (to the starchild, or rather now starman, of “2001: A Space Odyssey” and it’s sequels?).

Empty Glass
Tea Party (2004)

These premonitions shine like stars that
Fall to earth too fast
I see the empty glass

Where do we belong
Tell me Major Tom
Because nothing’s making sense
I listen and lament

For golden years that pass like thunder
And soldier on through time
This empty glass is mine

Where do we belong
Could you help us Major Tom
Because nothing’s making sense
I listen and lament

A starman will come
When diamond dogs run
We need ground control
We’re losing our souls

A starman will come
When diamond dogs run
We need ground control
We’re losing our souls

We’re losing our souls
We’re losing our souls
We’re losing our souls

What do y’all think? Do you know of any more Major Tom songs or perhaps a Major Tom movie (I could have sworn that there was a feature length or a short based on the songs) or stories?

Mood: undecided

Email this post

1. What do you like more – pop or rock music?
I lean more to rock, the harder the better, but I still listen to plenty of pop as well.

2. A favorite male artist?
I don’t seem to have any one favorite male artist – I like a range from David Bowie to Bruce Horsnby to Glenn Danzig.

3. A favorite female artist?
Sames as with the last question, I have a range from Pat Benatar to Stevie Nicks to Lita Ford to Doro Pesch.

4. What is the most unknown band you know?
All the unknown bans I knew are either broken up or now famous.

5. Which music do you like the most when for dancing?
Techno and house.

Join the Gimme 5 crew.

Feelin’ sleepy

Email this post

Sometimes you wonder if people really listen to what they are saying.

Case in point, the Pruett family. Bush’s spin doctors, in an effort to counter the Sheehan effect (since the smear campaign didn’t work) and to stop the loss of support for the war, have come up with a pro-Bush family of soldiers that all the males have served or are now serving in the war in Iraq. Read the ABC News article and then come back.

First, how is this family even remotely like the Sheehan situation. It seems that all of the members of the Pruett family that are serving are still alive. Having a death in the family is a very different situation than knowing that you can lose a loved one. The Pruetts just do not understand what Cindy Sheehan is going through, she lost her son. I hope and pray that all the Pruetts make it back home alive and well when the war is over, but I have a feeling things will change if one or more does not make it back.

Where does it say that Sheehan is not supporting the troops? The Pruetts make it sound like Sheehan is against the troops if she is against the President. Sheehan has already said that she supports our troops, that she is protesting the lies (intentional or unintentional) that Bush used to justify the war.

“It’s right there in my heart how proud my boys are to be there.” Sheehan’s son was eager to go as well and considered it an honor to serve, Cindy herself said she was proud of her son serving, but why is Tammy Pruett trying to imply otherwise.

By the way Tammy, you boys are there to serve the country not the President. Any action or order that is counter to the welfare of the country is NOT part of the soldier’s job no matter where the order comes originates. The President can only lead the war, he cannot declare it. Our system is set up to prevent a power hungry administration from seizing total control over this country.

“It’s not very patriotic,” said Amber, who has a 6-month-old daughter with Evan. “I think they’re being disrespectful to our country.” How is it not patriotic. In my opinion, standing up for what you believe in is more patriotic that blindly following the leader. Sheehan is not being disrespectful of the country or of the troops, she is exercising the rights that the forefathers died for. Without such rights and their practice, we would be no better than the Islamic state of Iran.

Tammy and Leon Pruett say that their sons are fighting in Iraq so that people like Sheehan have the right to protest. This war had nothing to do with protecting our rights. No matter who many terrorist or evil dictators there are, only we can take away our rights.

“Our boys have told us time and time again how appreciative the Iraqi people are,” Tammy said. “Our country is based on freedom and other people around the world deserve freedom.” No one said the Iraqi were unappreciative, least of all Sheehan. If the President had said simply that we are going into this war to remove a tyrant that the Iraqi people are unable to remove themselves and thus remove a credible threat to Middle East stability and world peace, he would have had the same support, probably more support from our allies. Freedom not something you deserve, it is something you work for, something that requires constant upkeep.

And Leon Pruett, who also served in Iraq, said that for him the war is “absolutely” worth it. “If you’ve seen what I’ve seen, you’d have a different view,” he said. It isn’t worth the reasons we were given for going in. If there were WMD’s and if Saddam had been sponsoring terrorist, then maybe. Again, Sheehan is not really protesting the war, she is protesting the lies that got us into it.

Face it people, we invaded another country, a policy a free society should be reluctant to practice. The terrorist weren’t in Iraq before, but they are now. We are in another Vietnam with no way out. We can’t withdrawal right now because of the instability that we caused, but we must have a better plan than “wait and see” for pulling out our troops and we need to get them out as quickly as possible to allow Iraq to get into governing itself or we’ll end up with another Iran.

Mood: angry

Email this post

You probably all know by now about the famous (or infamous according to the Chinese government) Furong Jiejie, aka Sister Furong, aka Sister Lotus (her real name is Shi Hengxia). If you haven’t heard, she is a young woman (28 years old) in China that post a few pictures of herself on the Internet bulletin boards of two of China’s major universities with messages proclaiming her beauty and talents and the desire for relationships. Shi became a hot item on the Chinese web and she capitalized on that popularity with a blog which showcased even more of her suggestive (though non-nude) pictures. Like other bloggers, the young lady talks about what she finds interesting and how her day is going, just the stuff that the paranoid government can’t allow to be published (I stubbed my toe – ooo, scandalous and revealing state secrets too), the same narcissistic prattle we all do (isn’t that a prerequisite for blogging?), unlike others the Chinese government is trying to shut her down or hide her away.

Since I have been living in a hole in the deepest part of the backwoods, I was not aware of this person before reading about her on FARK so I did a little research, read a few articles, looked at some pictures, and visited her sites. I agree her writing is probably a little shallow (as I have to rely on translations since I can’t read any of the Chinese dialects) and she has a little inflated opinion of herself (though I suspect a little tongue-in-cheek is in play), but I am flabbergasted at all the people who call her ugly to the point of inducing involuntary regurgitation. I mean, she is not exactly Bai Ling

but she is far from ugly.

Hell, from the pictures I’ve seen she has a nice arse, a nice figure, and, I dare say, a cute face. I must have a different definition of beauty.

Too bad she is in China as I am interested in having a dialog with Shi to get her side of the story…. and to compliment her on her arse.

Feelin’ cool

Email this post

Ahhh, the joys of night classes. You work hard all day, eat a very late lunch/early dinner, and meet in class till the late hours of the night (it only meets once a week). You rush home after class to get the kids bathed and bedded then you try to wind down to the sleep stage. You go to bed and perchance to sleep, perchance to dream. And of what do you dream? GOING TO FREAKIN’ CLASS! Sometimes I really hate the little men and women in my head that program my dreams. Would it hurt to have a dream about making love to a dozen beautiful women, youse guys.

Here is something different. I subscribe to Quote A Day (QAD subscription link), a Gopher distributed email newsletter that, well, sends you memorable quotes each day. I was reading through the email and came across the “Gopher Central’s Question of the Week “Do you think that Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a son killed in Iraq, should have the right to speak against the war?”. Am I missing something here? When was the First Amendment repealed? What makes Cindy Sheehan any different (other than the fact that her exploits have been over hyped by the media as they are wont to do)? She is only saying what thousands of mothers have been saying in private. For those who are interested, here is an op-ed about the attempt to run a smear campaign against Cindy Sheehan.

Don’t look at me, I didn’t vote for Bush.

Email this post

1. Fan:: Farscape (want me some hot Peacekeeper lovin’)
2. Scum:: wad (not a nice word to call someone)
3. Lily:: Munster (oo la la, you can bite me anytime Lily)
4. Humid:: wet (as with sweat)
5. Ghetto:: Blaster (yes, I’m that old)
6. Remember me?:: No, and I hope I never do (a line from a movie?)
7. Polished:: presentation (as I wish I had one)
8. Compose:: music (like I would ever)
9. Squish:: ze bug! (ala Starship Troopers that plays ad inifinium on TBS)
10. Future:: Past (you have to know Lexx to get my reference to that one)

Join the Unconscious Mutterings crew.

Feelin’: cool

Email this post

Shall We Band Together?

1. What if any instrument do you play?
Piano and guitar, neither very well.

2. If you could choose to play an instrument what would it be?
I would love to play the fiddle and the banjo, of course after I have learned to play them.

3. If you were in a band, what would your band?s name be?
XXtreeme Wheaties, I just like the name. We are full of fiber with a sweet side and we are EXTREME!

4. What type of music would your band play?
A selection of old pop-rock, metal, and ballads with a distinct Southern flavor.

5. Would you continue to be good for years to come, or would you and your band end up in Branson playing for bus loads of elderly?
After a few years, the whole band would be lost in a freak cheese packing accident, except for the female roadie that everyone slept with and she’ll sell her story to the papers and then try to create a tribute band. After five years the tribute band will be revealed to be the original band that suffered amnesia and were slaves to the female roadie. We then regain our memories and go on final farewell tours for the next twenty years.

Join the Friday Five crew.

Feelin’: cool

Email this post

I can just here you now – “No more memes please!”

Well, it is better than slinging poo and yelling “there’s a monkey on the wing!”

Okay, not much better but it is a start.

What to do, what to do. I could tell y’all about my classes, but they would bore you into unconsciousness. I could talk about the difficulties of mowing a lawn with a battery powered push mower but it makes me sweat just thinking about it. I could tell you about the time I had an orgy with three redheads, but I’d be telling a fib. I could post some photoshopped pictures but I don’t have any ready.

So I guess I’ll leave you with these words of advise… Don’t eat aluminum foil, it makes your mouth all yucky and gross feeling.

Mood: undecided

Email this post

1. What is the most curious animal that crosses your mind? Why?
Cats. Yes, I know cats are pretty common place, especially at my house, but they are the enigmatic of all the animals. You never know what they are thinking.

2. Do you know an animal, which becomes extinct?
I personally don’t know any animals that went extinct, but I do know that they do so at an alarming rate.

3. What do you think of the seal slaughter in Norway?
I don’t see how anyone can kill young seals in the first place. I understand it is an attempt to control the population, but why not limit the hunting to adult male seals as in deer? Would make a lot more sense in population control. The reason that young seals are killed is that the pelt of the younger is more valuable than that of adults.

4. Where´s the ending of your love of animals?
Till the try to kill/eat me. I leave you alone/you leave me alone has worked so far, but an animal that threatens me or my family and friends will not survive long.

5. Which animals/pets did you have as a child?
Lots of cats, a few dogs, and a couple of shared rabbits.

Join the Gimme 5 crew.

Mood: undecided

Email this post