DENNIS MACHINEGUN THOMPSON: THE MUSIC LIVES ON FOREVER


Music creates order out of chaos: for rhythm imposes unanimity upon the divergent, melody imposes continuity upon the disjointed, and harmony imposes compatibility upon the incongruous. Yehudi Menuhin

Do you think my home music collection might be slightly eclectic? Really? I thought so.

Music has been so important to me. The value we place on the sounds of music defines our character. Music is intended to entertain, soothe, rabble rouse, spread loving feelings, and to connect to your vast body of emotions and at times your intellectual thought/emotional mood or state of mind.  Music amplifies your own feelings.


MUSIC: Mainly it is about Empathy:

1. Understanding of another's feelings: the ability to identify with and understand somebody else's feelings or difficulties

2. Attribution of feelings to an object: the transfer of somebody's own feelings and emotions to an object such as a painting We live in some hellacious times don’t we? We need some order in the midst of all this chaos. Music can provide this order for you.

3. You can use music to lift you right up and out of the doldrums, or some music can put you to sleep.

4. Why does everyone have such differing tastes for various musical styles? Well, that depends on what turns on the pheromones in your brain.

It also depends on the quantity of exposure to a particular song or a particular music genre. That means your environment. Your immediate circle of friends and family can influence your musical bent. It is also your own magnetic draw to a certain emotion or lyric.

5. Did you ever stop to think why you like what you like? If I were to interview you and ask what are your three favorite songs and why, could you answer me without a little time to pause and think?

Great video and so much fun...click on it...



When I first heard “My Generation” by The Who, I was working at a gas station a bit north of downtown Detroit. I was driving home listening to the radio when this song came on. I had to pull the car on to the shoulder of the freeway, as I was mesmerized and slack-jawed and awestruck. Who (haha) in the hell were these guys? Wow!

When their insane drummer Keith Moon explodes in the last two verses I went nuts. I slapped the steering wheel in time and screamed, shouted and whoo-hooed like a madman. A song from heaven was just sent to me personally.

That is the key. That song was written just for me in my mind. The future of drumming in rock had just arrived. No more “Just play the pocket" crap ever again for me. I was reborn that night. The sky was now the limit.


That is how good music should work for you too. A song that connects so well, that you wish to personally own it. The song is an extension of you, your feelings, and your entire persona. You get it!


When I first heard the Jimi Hendrix's Are You Experienced LP  Just smoked some great Thai Stick and I got it immediately. This band was from another planet. My home planet, wherever that is—I forget.

Jumped around playing air guitar with a broomstick for 5 hours. Listening to every tune over and over and over again. The rest of the guys got quite a kick out of my broom performance because when they walked in on me I just kept playin’ that broom. Whoo-hoo!



When I first heard the song “Afro Blue” and the album, “Meditations” by the John Coltrane Quartet, I lost it again. These f**kers were downright dangerous! I also immediately realized that my drumming was woefully inadequate compared to this master drummer by the name of Elvin Jones. I have studied him all my life. The same for Keith Moon and Mitch Mitchell.

It became time for me to hit the woodshed for the rest of my life.

When I was a young tot I heard “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and I fell in love with that tune. I fell in love with “Quarter to Three”, by Gary U.S. Bonds. The same for the Contours. “Do You Love Me?” The same for the Beatles “She Loves You” and the Stones’ “Satisfaction.”



The point of all this is why my personal music library is all over the map. A good song is a good song and will stand the test of time no matter the artist.

The music lives on forever. 

Love what you love and take no prisoners. What does it for you may not do it for the next person. So what? Be yourself, always. You are as unique as each snow flake in a snowstorm. I like a lot of different music and that’s the way it is.

Pure and simple. MGT 

1 comment:

Jason MacDonald said...

This man is the driving beat of the Detroit sound, that's the real fortune and glory far more powerful than a lousy dollar.

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