Wise Hypocrite

In this 'Transformation' episode, a listener's question on moral relativism ("when is racism a moral failure?") prompts a philosophical musing on ethics - how do we assess the moral worth of people from different times and cultures? What moral standard should they be measured against? Does morality necessarily involve choice? What's really going on when we express a moral judgment?

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To many, John Coltrane is more than just one of the Greatest musicians who ever lived - he's a religious figure. Worshipped as a Saint, what stands out most about him is the spiritual intensity of his music.

In celebration of last week's release of the newly-discovered album "Both Directions At Once", we take a close look at the man, the music and the myth of John Coltrane.

Music:

* "India - Live at the Village Vanguard 1961", John Coltrane

* "Freedom Now Suite", Max Roach

* "Alabama", John Coltrane

* "My Favourite Things - Live in Stockholm 1963", John Coltrane

* "I Could Write A Book", Miles Davis Quintet

* "Spiritual - Live at the Village Vanguard 1961", John Coltrane

* "A Love Supreme, Part 1 - Acknowledgement", John Coltrane

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/shalom82/playlist/1PenyB56gGnYTAjQceOhoW?si=0Nzjkgv6SUS9yS3MMDXahQ

http://www.thegreateverything.com/introduction-to-jazz-john-coltrane-a-love-supreme/

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In this episode of The Great Everything, I take a look at the evolution of one of pop culture's greatest and most terrifying icons - Count Dracula. From his monstrous, hairy-palmed origins to his current status as dark, romantic heartthrob, Dracula's main power has always been the ability to adapt with the times, and embody the desires and fears of current society. What do the various versions of Dracula through the ages tell us about ourselves?

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Yesterday, a newly published travel diary by Albert Einstein shocked the world, revealing his "racist and xenophobic" thoughts on the Chinese, Levantine and uhhhh... well, mainly just the Chinese. Was Einstein a racist? Is that even the right question? In this episode, I ramble about what's going through our minds when we use, and hear, generalisations.

BBC Article: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-44472277

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On the 100th episode of TGE, I brought in Marc, with whom I founded TheGreatEverything.com long ago during the Peloponnesian War. We talked about career change, pursuing your dreams, and the challenges of marketing a blog and podcast about, well, everything!

Thank you all for helping me get TGE to 100! Here's to 100 more...

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Today's Art episode is a culture bite about a musical piece so radical, so erotic, so goddam crazy, it's premiere provoked a riot! Igor Stravinsky's "Le Sacre du printemps", The Rite of Spring. In today's culture, would any piece of art provoke a similar reaction? Might Lars Von Trier's controversial new movie "The House That Jack Built", which provoked mass walkouts at the Cannes Film Festival, become a future classic?

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Kendrick Lamar's recent debacle, when a white girl he had invited onstage sung the 'N word' has highlighted a worrying tribalism surrounding uses of that word. Here are some reflections on what happened, on the 'N word' and the power of language.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIbkUbdpBMs

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If you’ve ever listened to hip hop, you’ve heard rappers spit out grunts and various other strange noises. From Biggie’s “Uhh!”, to Kanye’s “hahn?” to “ayy” to “skrt skrt” to farm sounds, in this episode we take a look at some of the weirdest hip hop ad-libs.

Music:

- Notorious B.I.G - ’Hypnotize’

- Ol’ Dirty Bastard - ’N***a Please’’

- Fetty Wap - ‘Aye’

- Drake - ‘Free Smoke’

- Chance the Rapper - ‘Mixtape’, ’14,400 Minutes’

- Run the Jewels - ’Hey Kids (Bumaye)’

- Rick Ross - ‘Devil in a New Dress’, ‘Sanctified’

- Jay Z - ‘Ain’t No Nigga’, ‘Hard Knock Life’, ‘Who You Wit’, ‘Sunshine’

- Kanye West - ‘Goldigger’

- DMX - ‘X Gon’ Give It To Ya’, ‘Get At Me Dog’

- Baby - ‘What Happened To That Boy’

- Busta Rhymes - ‘Everybody Rise’

- Juvenile - ‘Ha’

- Migos - ‘Slippery’

- Lil Yachty - ‘King Boat’,

- Chief Keef - ‘Bang’

- Interview Playboi Carti w/ Lil’ Uzi Vert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYtJdIr1sqM

- Kanye West “hahn?” supercut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcH9EDlT

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Richard Wagner is one of the most influential musicians of the 19th century, and is widely considered a pioneer of modern music.

In this ART episode, I take a look at his revolutionary opera, Tristan und Isolde, and how his use of recurring themes (leitmotifs) and delayed gratification, lead to one of the great musical orgasms of all time. Yes, I’m talking literal orgasms. The opera ends with a lady singing, dying and climaxing, all at the same time. Yuck. But also hey, pretty sounds!

Music:

- ‘Vorspiel’, from Das Rheingold, cond. Georg Solti, Vienna Philharmonic

- ‘Prelude to I Act’, from Tristan und Isolde, cond. Willhelm Furtwrangler, Philarmionia Orchestra

- ‘Begehrt, Herrin, was Ihr wunsch’, from Tristan und Isolde, cond. Herbert von Karajan, Berlin Philarmonic

- ‘Liebestod’, from Tristan und Isolde, cond. Karl Böhme, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra

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In his essay "On Liberty" (1859), the philosopher John Stuart Mill formulated a cogent, and some would say definitive, statement on the importance of free speech.

Rather than the interference of the State in private affairs, Mill was concerned with a type of social opprobrium he called "the tyranny of public opinion", and its ability to enforce conformity and stifle individuality. Unpopular opinions need the most protecting, not just because they encounter the most resistance, but because even bad opinions help us refine our own views, so that good ideas may be held not as dead dogmas, but as living truths.

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