Marcus on Being Straightforward

The party conference season has just ended in the UK, & the race for the Presidency is in full swing in the US. In this context, when we have seen & heard so many protestations by leaders & their would-be replacements, you may well imagine how forcibly I was struck by the following passage by Marcus Aurelius [Meditations , Bk.11.]:

Barack Obama

Mitt Romney

Joe Biden & Paul Ryan in debate.

David Cameron

Ed Miliband

Nick Clegg

"15. How hollow & insincere it sounds when someone says, 'I am determined to be perfectly straightforward with you.' Why, man, what is all this ? The thing needs no prologue; it will declare itself. It should be written on your forehead, it should echo in the tones of your voice, it should shine out in a moment from your eyes, just as a single glance from the beloved tells all to the lover. Sincerity & goodness ought to have their own unmistakable odour, so that one who encounters this becomes straightway aware of it despite himself. A candour affected is a dagger concealed. The feigned friendship of the wolf is the most contemptible of all, & to be shunned beyond everything. A man who is truly good & sincere & well-meaning will show it by his looks, & no one can fail to see it."

The Best Year for Music ?

What do you think is the best year for music in the 20th century ? 1956 and 1968 must surely be strong contenders, at least from the perspective of Rock music. However, the best year for music as far as I am concerned in the 20th c. is 1948. The reason is that John Lee Hooker, Hank Williams, Charlie Parker & Muddy Waters were all recording masterpieces in that year; also, laying the foundations of so much music to come. That list of names is actually quite hard to take in once you start thinking of what they achieved in music collectively.

Hank Williams

Charlie Parker

Muddy Waters

Charlie Parker very much appreciated Hank Williams' songs, a taste extremely unusual in his milieu, where Country or Hillbilly music was generally regarded as unsophisticated nonsense, certainly not worth serious attention. There are stories of Parker baffling his acolytes & other hipsters in New York jazz hang-outs, where he would put Hank Williams repeatedly on the jukebox. People remember this so vividly because it was such an eccentric thing to do in that place at that time. When challenged about it, Parker would say "Listen to the stories, man." I like to think it was one genius recognising another.*


So - 1948. & I haven't even mentioned Lightnin' Hopkins, or Flatt & Scruggs, also recording that year .....



*My source for this story is Ken Burns' Jazz. I use the word genius advisedly in the case of each man.

John Lee Hooker

Marcus Aurelius

"17. For the thrown stone there is no more evil in falling than there is good in rising."


- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 9