I was listening to a mix on YouTube based on Donovan when I came across Moondog. The album cover on the video grabbed my attention, as it looked like the wizard Thoth-Amon from Conan the destroyer. And the music grabbed my attention because it was great, I was instantly drawn into its rhythms, it was like music I already knew but had never heard.
I looked up more details and discovered a fascinating figure. A street musician of New York, blind from the age of 16. An influence on Philip Glass, amongst others, who dressed as a Viking so he was not compared to Christ.
I love Norse mythology, so I felt the echoes of a kindred soul. Most passers-by in the street were unaware of his musical productivity, and that he was a contemporary of people like Charlie Parker and Benny Goodman. This reminded me of Odin, who often disguised himself as a poor traveller. And Moondog looks like Odin.
The song on the album that really grabbed me was “Bird’s Lament“, which was written about the death of his friend Charlie Parker. It was eerily familiar because I’ve heard it sampled in the song “Get A Move On” by Mr Scruff. It’s very strange to hear something new but immediately recognise the riff.
There are always interesting connections to be found when you go searching through things like this. For example Moondog performed with Julie Andrews, and I’ve been recently re-watching Mary Poppins. That doesn’t surprise me but it does remind me that the world is much more textured and interconnected than we see when we try to speed through it.
So as I listened to his music and sifted through interviews and album reviews, I felt a moment of stillness. I don’t know what else I’m going to learn from considering his life and exploring his music, but I do know that something touched me and his music was breathtaking to me.
That is something I am grateful for, because it is a joy to be surprised by something new (to me) and true that has already spread its ripples into the world and created part of the landscape of sound that we live in today.
Pebbles in the pool 