[kj] My thoughts on Letters From Cythera - A Raven anecdote

[Rob Moss]

This bit is worth sharing about Raven




I recollect one of the more unknown talents of the Night Raven – I am speaking of his peculiar gift of being able to throw his voice in the manner of a skilled ventriloquist. The first time I became aware of his obscure talent 

was loitering with the Night Raven on the platform of Camden underground station after a rehearsal back in late May 1982 prior to the American tour. There were about 30 or so people within the close proximity of each other, standing silently, waiting for the tube. A young woman near to us appeared to be looking for something in her bag. While in the process of rummaging through her bag, the woman accidentally dropped her keys onto the platform, which drew the attention of a few bored onlookers. The woman bent over to pick the keys up and, as she grabbed the keys, her posterior seemed momentarily suspended in a most ungracious position. Just at that moment, a squeal of a fart echoed loudly throughout the cavernous station. The woman suddenly stood bolt upright, which in itself appeared as though it were a symptom of guilt, further exaggerated by a somewhat beetroot complexion. The Night Raven and myself, along with several other individuals on the platform, could not constrain our mirth. As I stood on the platform some 26 years later, my world felt emptier than ever without the Night Bird’s perpetual jesting. I know I speak for everyone (with the exception of a few tour managers!) when I say we all truly miss him. Yet he wants us all to know that under the right circumstances, he will return with just the love of a few people, warm memories, the appropriate tipple, the right location and of course an array of strategically placed shiny objects (a couple of silver coins and a stolen fork will do). 







----- Original Message -----
From: Alexander Smith
Sent: 04/07/14 02:31 PM
To: A list about all things Killing Joke \(the band!\)
Subject: Re: [kj] My thoughts on Letters From Cythera

I just finished reading the book as well -- and I should qualify that to say that by 'reading' I mean skimming whilst taking great big breaks and skipping over several passages.

To be fair, Jaz does warn in the beginning of the text that it is by no means a conventional "rock n' roll" memoir," nor is it composed as such (despite myriad instances of prurient behavior). With the utmost respect for the author, even if you take a third of Jaz's accounts seriously and/or at face value, the sheer staggering amount of impenetrable babble contained herein is enough to make James Joyce's "Ulysses" seem like light, beach reading.

I don't doubt for a nanosecond that Jaz believes his own musings on philosophy/spirituality/theology/the occult/conspiracy theories, but it's such a conflagration of disparate concepts that it is truly a strenuous task to make sense of any of it, least of all when you try to apply them objectively. Jaz, by contrast, seems to cherry-pick various themes to suit whatever circumstances are confronting him at the time, and then asserts them as inarguable fact (example: the blithe declaration that "night-dreaming" is evidence of "impurities of the soul" -- how exactly does one quantify this?) 

Then again, if you've picked up this book, you already *KNOW* you shouldn't expect anything conventional or straightforward. If you know that going in, you shan't be disappointed. 

In terms of documenting the travails of Killing Joke, one can't help but wish there was a little more. Jaz does indeed go quite in depth in various capacities, but one yearns to hear "the other side" of the story. It will assuredly never happen, but I'd love Killing Joke's story to be told as an "oral history," ala Legs McNeil's "Please Kill Me" and/or -- dare I invoke it -- "The Dirt," which chronicled the ridiculous career of Motley Crue, complete with all four members' strikingly contradictory recollections. 

A particularly gripping passage was Jaz's ruminations on the death of Paul Raven, although even here he falters because of a tireless, mythologizing insistence on referring to his former band mate as "The Night Bird," "The Magpie," "The Night Raven," as opposed to simply, say, "Raven," or even "Paul." 

Personally speaking, I think the passage about "Lucky" Ted Parsons was a bit unnecessarily petty, speculative and ultimately a cruel thing to put in print.

Alex in NYC

On Apr 6, 2014, at 10:50 PM, Were Wolf wrote:

Having read Jaz's book I was interested to see mention of Aleister Crowley and Kenneth Grant, as I have several of their works. Also that Geordie, a Qabalist, goes so far as to wear a different coloured pair of underpants, for each day of the week! Intriguing too was the London flat fire incident, after KJ performed a ritual. Jaz also quotes the lyrics to 'Madness' which he says echoes "Christ's perplexing remark that you are all Gods." (John 10: 34).

What particularly struck me is Jaz and Geordie referring to "Lucky" T.P. as a walking, talking "Talisman of doom and misery", and that if you stand next to him a lightning strike will probably hit you! I can confirm this from personal experience, as soon after I met "Lucky" I developed a serious health condition ( I am now fully recovered I am glad to say, as Nietzsche said "That which does not destroy us only makes us stronger"). Jaz points out that "Lucky" is a nice chap, but that he attracts bad luck to those he comes into contact with. Coincidence?

What are your thoughts and impressions of Jaz's book, if you have now had the opportunity to read it?

I hope Jaz comes to London on his proposed Spoken Word Tour, to elaborate on the themes contained in his Great Work.

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