Well, with Fiona  I had my first view of the first episode of "Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: A Musical Journey " and it was really informative as well as a powerful insight into the start of the blues. I am not sure about the idea that the Blues is the big contribution of black Americans to music because I think it is music that reacted to their oppressive situation and as their situation got better the blues became less relevant to them.

 Jazz on the other hand was not a reaction to the racialism it was a genuine and unique form of music which I personally think had far more influence on the blues rather than the other way round. Of course, improvisation per se was not unique because Bach and Handel did it as well as many other musicians and it has probably been going on as long as man has been making music. But it was never developed as far as it was with jazz.

 Jazz also went on to influence rock and pop music far more than the blues even though a lot of rock and pop is based on the blues although the rhythmic and harmonic content  is more derived from jazz. I don't know if I can be bothered to look this up so-called "academically" because I have a sneaking feeling they might not know what they're talking either! Still, Mr Scorsese's film this evening has certainly got me thinking and the music was great!

So being a glutton for punishment I decided to watch a film after this because I was after some more high culture but my low-down wife who seems hellbent on going even lower wanted to play Bust a Move on the Nintendo DS. I married up and Fiona married down. I have continued to rise up and she has continued to descend. I spent the last two hours having my mind expanded and emotions pulled apart by the film "The Colour Purple" and I must admit it did have me in tears at the end and in some parts as well. I know it is fiction but it struck me that many of the scenarios were indeed true to life. A truly amazing film and I just might read the book although fiction rarely grabs me because I find trying to understand the real world a lot more amazing.

With that sombre feeling that I've just been through an emotional wrangling machine I think I will checkup a few things on the Internet and get myself to bed. Anyway, my current bedtime reading is my new Clouds book and the great thing about Miles driving the car is I can look at the great clouds and use my Clouds book to check them out as we go along. Every cloud has a silver lining!