Wavlake
Cranky • Patrick Manian
Play, boost, and more on Wavlake ⚡️🎵
Patrick
npub1kzj9...nqyu
Buddhism, music, freedom, morality, etc…
Dear Ear Dreamers,
I'm reading Lord of the Rings again... (fuck, its good). Apparently Hobbits give presents to other people on their own birthdays. Bilbo calls it "not a bad system."
So today, on this bizarre national holiday that shares my birthday, I’m following suit—and giving you a gift:
An album called Cranky.
I conceived it in 2023 after a few years growing desert dough, though a handful of these songs go back a decade. A handful are 'city', some are more 'folk'.
I don't know if this is a genre, but I keep thinking of these tunes as headphone music — one-on-one, emotional, raw, genre-jumping and far from perfect. In a day when AI is soon to top the charts, I don't expect this to be playing in any clubs. It veers towards solitude and a long stare at the ceiling.
P.S. I have many people to thank for this coming to be.
Andrew Stevens (drummer for more projects than I can find) for playing the drums on all the songs and engineering machinations out in the high desert.
Joe Ulmer (Rann drummer) for mixing the city ones with proper super fund slime.
Tim Walsh (Jimbo Norman / Stepkids drummer) for mixing the country ones with proper twang.
Ivan Anderson (Cyberattack/Sweet Fix) for Peace and Quiet picking.
Jeff Manian (MSU/Sweet Fix/Jimbo Norman) for B3 magicals on Tired Along.
Dan Manian (MSU/Jimbo Norman, WWB) for laying down (too) many good bass takes on Lost my Way.
Hannah Gentiles for making my photo likeness crisp.
Happy listening! May you find some old memories and enjoy some new feelings.
P.S.S. I'll call out the 3rd song. It's a quirky one that keeps creeping closer to my heart. It has to do with the Buddhist notion of 'attainment' After all these years, how good it feels to realize I'll never attain anything!
P.S.S.S. The USA, a monastery I am quite fond of in the Catskills and I all 'began' today. It's always been a confusing day to me. The disparate forces of hot dogs, fireworks, long silences, peace, pain and my desire for ice cream cake all seem swirl together — especially the way America is going these days. And yet, there is hope, because in at least some sense, we are all free — even when we're Cranky.
Happy 4th of July.
P.S.S.S.S. This was originally sent via email to a listserv on July 4th
#music
I’m pretty sure the response would be “a wizard is never late!”
Decrepit bogs
Forgotten logs
Make for a hell of a night
Were I a frog
Retirement home Bingo
Enthralling
To those in the know
"I slept, and dreamed that life was joy;
I woke, and found that life was service.
I acted and behold, service was joy."
The Dial (July 1840) — Poet Ellen Sturgis Hooper
This is my favorite song of the new batch. The joy of being a total newbie at all times. Tossing away any ideas of knowing better. Whimsical... just feels like me these days. Especially after leaving behind an overly serious aikido dojo.
#music #wavlake
Wavlake
Wavlake
Turn up the value ⚡️
Written back when I was a lonely lad in my 20's Neo soul style. But in hindsight, it could apply to many things - i.e. regrets, hesitations, desires...
Wavlake
Wavlake
Turn up the value ⚡️
What do you think of this statement?
Philosophizing at its core is to help guide our rational mind back towards intuition and sensation
#philosophy
I trust the world to put us where we are needed.
People think of “doing good” as volunteering or donating. But where your money sleeps is a hidden force — shaping war, surveillance, and ecology.
“Something very simple happens when you answer the question “who are you?” When you are describing or explaining or even just inwardly feeling your “self.” What you are actually doing is drawing a mental line or boundary across the whole field of your experience. Everything on the inside you are feeling or calling your “self,” while everything outside that boundary you feel to be “not-self.” Your self-identity depends entirely upon where you draw that boundary line.” - Ken Wilber from No Boundary
#philosophy
Beautiful fantasies
Interweave horrific realities
Creating rich tapestries
This dance never ends
Be careful when you take a stance
For where is ever shifting
And now is no sure footing
Wisdom is truly self-sovereign and decentralized. No teacher can give it to a student, they can only help others to recognize it. Is it the same for everyone? That doesn’t make it centralized. We all have our own tunnel down to source.
How did we get here?
Where do we go?
Silly to think
We run the show
- popped in my head on a recent zen retreat
All those years ago
We used to sing and dance
And laugh and be free
But now I'm old enough to know
These feelings come and go
Older now is old is enough
Now there's somewhere I'd rather be
Wavlake
Wavlake
Turn up the value ⚡️
What really matters to me?
That when I sit down to make new music, whatever comes out is free to be what it is.
Same goes for meditating, writing and talking.
Same goes for planning, at least parts of, my day.
Should I choose a certain direction, that’s cool as long as I am not forced because of identity or fiscal responsibility.
Rituals, schedules, or practices may seem antithetical, but they create space and ability without confining it. Rhythm without rigidity.
#freedom #creativity #philosophy
Inspired by Vinny Testaverde and @heatherlarson here's another track for Wavlake:
This new song includes a lyrical nod to Vinny Testaverde who played professional sports for 21 seasons. I don't think the song is really about him. But his pose on the (attached) sports card speaks deeply to the feeling of the song, for me at least.
Wavlake
Testaverde • Patrick Manian
Play, boost, and more on Wavlake ⚡️🎵
Is nostalgia a trap?
“All those years ago
All those years ago
We used to sing and dance and laugh and feel free
But now I’m old enough to know
Those feelings come and go
Older now is old enough
Now there’s somewhere I’d rather be”
#wavlake #newmusic
Wavlake
Wavlake
Turn up the value ⚡️
Sporty is a masterpiece filmed in a vile apartment based on a huge jacket and a timeless truth: sports.
#sports
“The mind is vast and creative. Teachings can be helpful, but the way [of Zen] is still guided by experiment.” - Robert Aitken
This is why centralized authority is never sufficient and should be minimized in the grand scheme of things.
#zen #buddhism #philosohy