Arcade Fire - Chemtrails, 9/11 & Other Oddities

I have uploaded a new video to my YouTube channel entitled "Arcade Fire - Chemtrails, 9/11 & Other Oddities" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRQMLVUkVHM

There is a lot of information in this video that has not really received any attention anywhere. I felt it was time to try and correct that oversight. Some of the information (particularly the embedded "code" in Arcade Fire's video "Signs of Life") is quite staggering and I'm surprised I haven't heard it being discussed in alternative knowledge research circles. Please check out the video, share it far and wide, give it a "thumbs-up", etc., if you want to.

Enjoy!
Carl (The Truth Seeker's Guide)

Songs For Chaotic Times

 It’s interesting how things can develop in the space of a few weeks. Recently I’ve turned some of my musical work on its head by feeding my alternative views of the world into my creative efforts. I have long laboured in vain to try and open a few eyes in the musical arena, specifically because I feel that the medium is an excellent platform for suggesting alternative ideas to a receptive audience – who may not have considered such notions under normal circumstances. It is a little bit of a cheat, almost subliminal in a way, but at least it is slipping positives into the public consciousness rather than how it is often currently utilised.
 
 The resistance to this idea, among the many musicians I know has, been staggering. Even if they are simply a low level, gigging band or artist, they see the move as “job suicide”. I can understand this sentiment though. We live in hard times and jobs aren’t easy to come by. This is especially true of musicians. Musical venues are closing left, right and centre, pubs have largely moved away from live bands/instruments (toward singers with backing tapes and the spawn of all evil that is “Karaoke”!) and the Festival scene has really tightened its belt. Added to this, people are turning less and less to musical “multi-taskers” (like me). They are buying cheap cameras and software to create their own multi-media promotional packages and doing much more session recording from the comfort of their own homes.
 
 This doesn’t change the fact that there is always an appetite for live music though. Even in the dark days of mass UK recession during the 1980s, the music scene was thriving. Musicians are always looking for the holy grail of the profession, an untapped source of inspiration that can set them apart from the well-trodden paths of the mundane. I believe that the vast subjects addressed in alternative community are a huge untapped resource, a new artistic muse as it were, that could tempt the egos of some of my fellow musicians to participate. Another sneaky move, I know, but the outcome would ultimately be a positive one.

 Despite this, I have met a wall of opposition and closed minds. They are happy to work with me on any other aspect of performance and creativity, but not this. One or two are happy to discuss the subject though, even participate anonymously, provided I don’t cite their names… strange, but I respect their wishes. I had recently been working on an original song, which I envisioned as a light hearted, well-meaning look at scepticism toward obvious evidence of hidden global agendas and lies perpetuated amongst the mass population. For this, I brought on board one or two musical friends as unnamed session musicians (I can’t play the drums for a start, so I’ve needed at least that much!) and was surprised how “into” the concept they were – at least in an advisory capacity!
 
 This has opened a window (for me) into their perceived notions of the subject. This is what one of them said: “I understand these are serious subjects, but it has the danger of being too preachy… like those Christian rock bands you see! It needs heart, a story, emotion. That’s what people want from music. They need to relate.” I understand this perfectly. Yet, music often walks a fine line between sentiments from the depths of the soul and trite emotional slogans. The balance is very delicate. Assigning soul to serious life changing matters and the pursuit of evidence is a tough nut to crack. As he (my musical friend) said, “You may as well read from the phone book, or the ingredients on the back of a packet of food, and set it to music.”
 
 I thought this was a bit mean spirited at first. I’m an open minded bloke though, so I asked them to sit down with me and “brainstorm” the whole concept. I soon came to realise that my first “truth” related musical piece was exactly like they had described, so (despite a month of work committed to the project) we scrapped a huge amount and went back to the drawing board. What they threw at me was this: forget how you might want to spread the word, wake people up, etc. How has it affected me? The story should be enough to give people pause for thought. I naturally knew this, but had perhaps lost sight of it in favour of the intent and message.
 
 Out of this has come something I’m incredibly buzzed about. Several weeks on, and I have written ten songs that form an overarching narrative – in other words: enough material for an album. Two songs (“Hypnobox” and “The Dream”) are at the production stage - with one, a reworking of my original piece (called “It’s Alright”), getting close to being finished. The collective named for this project is (ironically) “The ‘Guide” and the album is tentatively entitled “Songs for Chaotic Times.” What will come of this is anybody’s guess. I hope I’m not jinxing it all by sharing some details with you (at this early stage), but I have a positive feeling about it. Once I’m comfortable with the production, I will start making tracks available here and elsewhere for you to listen to. So watch this space.
 
 Amidst this busy time, I’ve also decided to take the plunge and do my first public talk, drawing upon much of the research I have compiled here on the blog. I am currently assembling a two hour presentation discussing “The Olympic Paradigm” and some aspects of the larger global agenda that relate to it. I hope to set a date for this soon (probably November-ish) and it will probably be in the Birmingham area (UK). As soon as I have nailed down the details, I’ll let you know more.
 
As always, I just want to say thanks to all of you who continue to read/visit my humble little corner of the web, and for all the support I have received along the way. I truly appreciate it.

Until next time… stay well, keep smiling and the best to you all.
Carl (The Truth Seeker’s Guide)

The Who Sell Out - London Olympics Closing Ceremony

 The London 2012 Olympics have come to a close with what the media dubbed “the greatest party in the world”. Watching the proceedings was an uncomfortable experience for me and gave me the unfortunate opportunity to address a few concerns I’ve had of late about my own life. But I will come to that in due course.

 Much as I’d come to expect, the Closing Ceremony was yet more ritual of subtle (maybe not so for some) imagery and mass perceptual manipulation. From the moment Timothy Spall appeared as Churchill reciting The Tempest, surrounding by a landscape covered in newspaper style slogans and literary references (including one reading “A Martian sends a postcard”!), it was this would be more of the same trite that was unleashed on the population two weeks ago.

 The ceremony lurched from the sublime to the ridiculous: a shedload of all-seeing eyes, checkerboard patterns, butterflies, images of crying athletes, bowler hats adorned with light bulbs, fashion models bedecked in gold, silver and the odd Egyptian headdress, Monarch numpty Russell Brand, Annie Lennox looking like a zombie –surrounded by black and red, atop a flaming sail boat from the River Styx, a giant white pyramid (constructed from 303 boxes – to represent the 303 Olympic events, apparently!), the band Muse getting all demonic, and a huge luminescent octopus with its 8 sucker tentacles spread across the union jack! The only bright spark in all this was Eric Idle’s rendition of “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”.

 The Queen was, unusually, absent – perhaps she’d used up all the expressions from her scorn face, first witnessed during the Opening Ceremony. An announcer bleated on, at one point, about “these days (of) the cult of instant celebrity status” and Bored Coe received a deafening seal-clap from the stadium crowd when he extolled the success of “the people who stood guard to keep us safe” during The Games. Yeah right…

 I had heard the rumour that The Who would perform and really hoped that it was just a rumour. However, by the end, it became apparent that the rumour was true. It is bad enough that these performers (The Closing Ceremony was built around live music) agree to take part in such tub-thumping, mass distractions… although I perhaps expected more of The Who.

 Watching Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend beneath a giant flaming Masonic Phoenix (ritualistically born from the ashes of the extinguished “Olympic Cauldron”) really did unsettle me and bring home certain truths about the damning nature of the music industry. When Townsend penned the songs from “Tommy” (of which “See Me Feel Me” / “Listening To You” were performed at The Closing Ceremony), he was addressing many issues such as child - based isolation and trauma and (most importantly) the cult of personality / mass, blind followings.

It was insulting to see how these songs became an anthem supporting the very subject they had once condemned, when played in The Ceremony. The phrase “sell out” could easily be applied to the changes made to the lyrics of Baba O’Riley in the performance. For the occasion, Daltrey sang: “Don’t cry. JUST raise your eyes. THERE’S MORE THAN teenage wasteland.” As the final act of the show, I couldn’t escape the feeling that they were effectively the final ingredient in the casting of a large scale, ritualistic spell.

 I suppose this is ultimately the true nature of much of the entertainment “mass distraction” industry. As a musician who makes a fair amount of his financial “bread and butter” from the trade, I am aware of the potential trap inherent in the field. I have often walked a fine line between a passion for performing / doing the right thing, and “selling out” to some degree. I sometimes find this disturbing and there are times when I truly want to get out of the game altogether. Thankfully, my association is low to moderate level (and unlikely to ever change, given my age and convictions!), yet it doesn’t change the fact that I am worryingly a very minor part of this “distraction trade”.

 Worse still, as my regular readers will know, I was (until recently) front man of a quite successful tribute band to The Who. My first reaction to The Who’s involvement in the event was one a hypocrite. I literally felt like I had been “fooled again”! This initiated a “long night of the soul”, where I contemplated many aspects of my life and just how little I had perhaps “awakened”. I discussed this the following morning with a musical friend who (maybe a little unfairly) said that all musicians are ultimately “sell outs”. She did, however, sensibly remind me that I have a knack of taking these matters a little too seriously sometimes. I initially felt that by being even remotely dismissive and brushing such things under the carpet, totally undermines any efforts made on the part of those waking up to the reality of the world.

 Eventually, I got things into perspective, lightened up and realised that I had been a little hard on myself… especially when she reminded me that, as a musician, there are things I can do to redress the balance. So watch this space in that regard…

 Did The Who “sell out” in time for The London Closing Ceremony? Maybe they did such a thing long before… who can say. I will certainly be eyeing them with a little more caution from now on though. I am not naïve to the reality of the music biz, but it is unfair to tar all musicians with the same brush. There are many artists who have always maintained their integrity and avoided any “serious” level of “sell out” – a good example would be Bob Marley. This is not me making excuses for the profession… but it is in some cases true.

 I realise I have been absent from posting articles recently. Ironically, this has been caused by a heavy musical workload! I do have some projects close to completion that will hopefully mark the beginning of my using music in a more positive light. I will post this material fairly shortly. For now though: stay well and sane, be happy and try not to let the ball get too far out of sight!

Until next time.
The Truth Seeker’s Guide.

London Olympics 2012 - Related Articles:

Part 1: "The Culture of Fear" -
http://thetruthseekersguide.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/london-2012-part-1-culture-of-fear.html
Part 2: “Zion, Messiahs, Plagues… Oh My!” -
http://thetruthseekersguide.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/london-2012-part-2-zion-messiahs.html
Part 3: "Close Encounters of the Olympic Kind" -
http://thetruthseekersguide.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/london-2012-part-3-close-encounters-of.html
Part 4: "Shadows and Symbols" -
http://thetruthseekersguide.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/london-2012-part-4-shadows-and-symbols.html
Part 5: “London Calling” -
http://thetruthseekersguide.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/london-2012-part-5-london-calling.html
Part 6: "And Finally... Some Mind Games!" -
http://thetruthseekersguide.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/london-2012-part-6-and-finally-some.html

The Opening Ceremony of The London Olympics 2012 -
http://thetruthseekersguide.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/the-opening-ceremony-of-london-olympics.html

The Who Sell Out - London Olympics Closing Ceremony -
http://thetruthseekersguide.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-who-sell-out-london-olympics.html

The Paralympic Games, Saturn Worship and Other Oddities -
http://thetruthseekersguide.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-paralympics-saturn-worship-and.html


Books available from Carl James:
Science Fiction and the Hidden Global Agenda - Volume One - http://www.lulu.com/shop/carl-james/science-fiction-and-the-hidden-global-agenda-2016-edition-volume-one/paperback/product-23209429.html
Science Fiction and the Hidden Global Agenda - Volume Two - http://www.lulu.com/shop/carl-james/science-fiction-and-the-hidden-global-agenda-2016-edition-volume-two/paperback/product-23209433.html
What Really Happened at the London 2012 Olympics - http://www.lulu.com/shop/carl-james/what-really-happened-at-the-london-2012-olympics/paperback/product-23221527.html