Peter Gabriel- Digging in the Dirt (1992) music video by John Downer

"Digging in the Dirt" is a 1992 song by British musician Peter Gabriel. It was the first single taken from his sixth studio album, Us. The song was only a minor hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, but it topped both the Billboard Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts. The song was moderately successful on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at #24.

The music video for the single was directed by John Downer and utilised stop-motion animation, a technique used in the videos for Gabriel's earlier hits "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time". The work was painstaking, especially for Gabriel himself who was required to lie still for hours at a time over the course of several days. The video won a Grammy award in 1993 in the Best Short-Form Video category.

The video is largely an exploration of the issues in his personal life at the time- the end of his relationship with Rosanna Arquette, his desire to reconnect with his daughter and even the self healing he was looking for in therapy.

In the video, Gabriel is displayed in a variety of disturbing imagery- including being buried alive, consumed by an overgrowth of foliage (thanks to a gruelling stop-motion process) and flying into a rage while trying to swat a fly. This time, Gabriel returned to stop motion and claymation- that had served him so well in the 1980s, forgoing (the then primitive and time-consuming) computer graphics used in "Steam".

From the onset, the word "help" forms in the grass while dark imagery plays. Gabriel eerily morphs into a skeleton while at the same time trying to excavate himself. Ultimately, the viewers are left with a gleam of hope as "help" morphs into "heal" after Gabriel symbolically rises from the soil, clad in white.

The Secret World Live version of the song is far more intense than the studio version. This is due to a chaotic blend of disturbingly high pitched distorted guitar (by guitarist David Rhodes), as well as occasional jarring synth bass stabs (Tony Levin) and an expansive performance by Manu Katché on the drums. The stage craft for the song is considered a highlight of the show. Gabriel wore a special "helmet" with a video camera attached in an antennae-like way, showing in great detail his facial expressions, while moving in time with the music. This is used to create a particularly grotesque image of Gabriel, most prominent during the "freak-out" sequence in which the camera is graphically pointed down Gabriel's throat.

Lyrics:
Something in me, dark and sticky
All the time it's getting strong
No way of dealing with this feeling
Can't go on like this too long

[Chorus:]
This time you've gone too far [x3]
I told you [x4]
This time you've gone too far [x3]
I told you [x4]

Don't talk back
Just drive the car
Shut your mouth
I know what you are
Don't say nothing
Keep your hands on the wheel
Don't turn around
This is for real
Digging in the dirt
Stay with me, I need support
I'm digging in the dirt
To find the places I got hurt
Open up the places I got hurt

The more I look, the more I find
As I close on in, I get so blind
I feel it in my head, I feel it in my toes
I feel it in my sex, that's the place it goes

[Chorus]

I'm digging in the dirt
Stay with me I need support
I'm digging in the dirt
To find the places I got hurt
To open up the places I got hurt

Digging in the dirt
To find the places we got hurt




Below is the Digging in the Dirt video, the live concert footage from the Secret World Live DVD, and The Making of Digging in the Dirt music video. Enjoy!

"Daisy Bell" (1961) by John Kelly, Carol Lockbaum, and Max Mathews for IBM

"Daisy Bell" was composed by Harry Dacre in 1892. In 1961, the IBM 7094 became the first computer to sing, singing the song Daisy Bell. Vocals were programmed by John Kelly and Carol Lockbaum and the accompaniment was programmed by Max Mathews. This performance was the inspiration for a similar scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Below the pictures there is a video clip you can play with the audio recording. Enjoy.
Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do
I'm half crazy all for the love of you
It won't be a stylish marriage
I can't afford a carriage
But you'll look sweet upon the seat
Of a bicycle built for two.

PHOTO #1: IBM 7094 Emergency Power Off Switch
PHOTO #2: IBM 7094 with operator, John Szallasi
PHOTO #3: IBM 7094 tape room
PHOTO #4: IBM 7094 console
PHOTO #5: Bob Sparks with IBM 7094
PHOTOS #6-10: Various Pictures of the IBM 7094

Pistol Poem (1960) by Brion Gysin

Brion Gysin was a close friend of the beat generation author, William Burroughs. He was also involved in much experimentation with audio, the written word, and visual poetry. In 1960 he recorded his “Pistol Poem” in London for the BBC which had commissioned him to produce some work for broadcast. The recording engineer reportedly almost left the recording session because he said he could feel 'evil' coming from the bizarre “poem” which inter-spliced audio samples of Gysin reciting number counts with gunshots.

The Legend of Jason Becker - Documentaries, Performances, and Television News Clips

Inspirational documentary about guitar prodigy Jason Becker. Near the end there is a segment at Kennedy High School where Jason performs Yngwie Malmsteen's Black Star with his band at a talent show. The performance is nothing short of spectacular.

Also included is a collection of performances and TV news clips.

Jason Becker (born July 22, 1969) is an American neo-classical metal guitarist and composer. At the age of 16, he became part of the Mike Varney-produced duo Cacophony with his friend Marty Friedman. They released Speed Metal Symphony in 1987 and Go Off! in 1988. Cacophony broke up in 1989 and Becker began doing solo work, having released his first album Perpetual Burn in 1988. He later joined David Lee Roth's band and recorded one album with him. However, Becker's success was hampered by his then-diagnosed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and was given three to five years to live. In 1996, Becker eventually lost the ability to speak and now communicates with his eyes via a system developed by his father. Despite his disability, he continues composing by using a computer.

At the age of 20, he joined David Lee Roth's band, replacing Steve Vai, who went on to join Whitesnake. While recording the A Little Ain't Enough album in 1989, and preparing for the subsequent tour, Becker began to feel what he called a "lazy limp" on his left leg. He was soon diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and given three to five years to live. He could barely finish the recording, using low-gauge (thin) guitar strings and other techniques, which would make it easier to play with his weakening hands. Although he managed to finish the album, which was released in 1991, he did not join the supporting tour due to his inability to perform on stage; former Lizzy Borden guitarist Joe Holmes took Becker's place on tour.

Due to his illness, he eventually lost the ability to speak and now communicates with his eyes via a system developed by his father. Although his ALS gradually robbed him of his ability to play guitar, to walk, and eventually even to speak, he still remains mentally sharp and, with the aid of a computer, continues composing. In the back of the Perspective CD case, Becker states "I have Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. It has crippled my body and speech, but not my mind." His medical condition has remained stable since 1997. In 2003, Jason posted on his website that he was feeling better and had gained some weight, while the folder for his 2008 album Collection also mentions an upcoming book.

In 1996 Becker released an album entitled Perspective, an instrumental album composed by him (with the exception of Bob Dylan's song "Meet Me in the Morning"). The writing of the music had been started before ALS completely crippled his abilities. By using guitar and later, when he was unable to use both hands, a keyboard, he continued to compose while his disease worsened. However, when Becker could no longer physically play even a keyboard, his friend and music producer Mike Bemesderfer helped him with a music-composing computer program which could read the movements of his head and eyes enabling Becker to continue to compose after he lost control of his entire body.

Several years later Becker released Raspberry Jams (1999) and Blackberry Jams (2003), the first contained various unreleased demo-tracks and the latter contained demo-tracks and alternate versions of songs that were later reworked and published into other albums.

Two tribute albums to Jason Becker have been issued. Respectively entitled Warmth in the Wilderness I and Warmth in the Wilderness II, they feature guitarists such as Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, Marty Friedman, Joe Becker, Rusty Cooley, and Mattias Eklundh. The album profits were sent to Becker to help him with his medical finances.

On November 4, 2008, Shrapnel Records released a new Jason Becker album entitled Collection. The album includes three new songs in addition to some older recordings (some never before released) and features Marty Friedman, Greg Howe, Joe Satriani, Michael Lee Firkins, Steve Vai, and Steve Hunter.
In 2008 Paradise Guitars worked with Jason to design a Jason Becker signature guitar. The design is based on the Peavey with colored number fret inlays. Features include a genuine aldermaple neck with steel 2-way truss rod, maple 16" radius fingerboard, 24 jumbo thin frets with colored number fret marker inlays, black Floyd Rose Pro Style floating Tremolo with Floyd Rose Tremolo stop, Sperzel red satin tuners, 14 degree tilt-back headstock with black Paradise logo and matching tremolo and electronics plates. The pickups are DiMarzio pickups; a P.A.F. body, Pro-Custom in the neck colored yellow and red, a DP116 HS-2 in the neck colored green, and a Tone Zone-Custom in the bridge colored pink and blue. These colored pickups compliment the colored inlays and seem to give the guitar a rainbow effect. There is also a red 5-way switch and purple 1-11 volume knob.

Information on Jason's latest projects and about ordering his CD's can be found on his website.
References: http://jasonbeckerguitar.com/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Becker