The Machine’s Pump Volume 27 – #12 – December 2024

Well, Christmas 2024 is behind us. The year is almost used up. Politically, the right has been super angry about inflation, transgender anything and the pesky southern border. And the left has been super worried that democracy is collapsing, as Mr. Retribution seeks personal vengeance. Almost everyone knows this, because it’s damn obvious. On TV and the internet but half of the country chooses to live a charade and substance doesn’t really matter anymore. It’s all about manipulating and appealing to primal instincts. And, indeed, if one uses the right buzzwords and pretends to be sincere, a whole lot of folks will follow. I’ll continue to encourage everyone to think for themselves and avoid people who profess to know God’s will. Only a stupid and/or arrogant person would make such a claim, but humans are always eager to follow a leader and join a tribe. We’re all insecure and, for many, a solution to that reality is to align oneself with folks who have a like-minded grievance; the first step to losing one’s identity and, in fact, becoming even more insecure. Once you’re convinced the “others” are the enemy it’s a lot harder to come back to the middle and those who aspire to become authoritarian leaders know this, of course. It’s a huge ego boost to survey your minions and bark orders and watch them jump to gain your favor. That’s why such “leaders” crave loyalty. Their egos are that fragile, and desperate for indications of power and, for them, there’s a fine line between being loved and feared. And I guess if they’re screwed-up enough, they can’t tell the difference. Whatever, here we are, handing the controls over to billionaires and half of the country is happy to do it if the cost of a fast-food meal would just come down a couple of bucks. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

THE MYSTERY OF THE UNIVERSE
Okay, that’s out of my system. Thanks for humoring me. Sorry if I bummed you out. I didn’t mean to. I’m just playing like an expert. Actually, the sad state of our sad country is not even one of my top three concerns right now. I spend my time thinking about (1) music, (2) saving animals and (3) the enormity of the universe. And #3 is not a joke. I am convinced if I continue to dwell on, and try to understand, the vastness of space, everything else will fall into place. Hey that rhymes! “Once you understand the vastness of space, Everything else will fall into place!” Altogether now! It makes the follies of the masses less important, yet increases the strength of the individual. Humans have done a great job turning our little planet into something which is only here to serve our selfish interests. Of course. What’s mine is mine, right? Screw everything else, especially anything beyond Mars or Jupiter. Those planets are as dumb as Saturn and Neptune. Besides, life is about comfort and convenience and making as much money as possible. And I know it’s hard to not feel that way. The daily grind is a grind. Who has the time to think outside of oneself? Maybe it’s a good idea to just stop thinking on occasion. And that’s where music comes in, for me. It’s always ready to take me for a ride into the unknown; where cool weird stuff can happen and often does. As for saving animals, well that’s the tippity-top of everything. Having a rescued dog or cat make eye contact with me and show me trust in their eyes is a feeling which can’t be matched. I think I’m addicted to it and it’s a very expensive habit! But that’s just me.

THE FUN OF BEING
Here are some things to check out on YouTube if you find Brave Combo an interesting curiosity.

• JAPANESE COVER COLLECTION – Covers of famous Japanese songs. Hear Brave Combo at 1:24 (“Castanets Tango”), at 2:03 (“Akira’s Eejhanaika”) and at 2:20 (“Aoi Sanmyaku”).
• FISH OUT OF WATER – Some guy profiles our recording of “Do Something Different” from our album, A NIGHT ON EARTH. He has a nice smile.
• FLYING SAUCER – A Japanese band named Brahman covered our song, “Flying Saucer” many years ago and lots of young Japanese bands are now covering their version of the song. This is a recent posting by some Japanese band performing “Flying Saucer,” at what appears to be a rehearsal, perhaps. They do a fine job!
• HAPPY HANUKKAH – Here’s a recent video of Brave Combo performing our song (from our album HOLIDAYS) “Hey, Little Dreidel” with the fantastic Greater North Texas Youth Symphony in McKinney, Texas. This was a blast!
• HORA BIALIK – Continuing the Hanukkah theme with one of my favorite horas, in my backyard.

Many Brave Combo projects are in various stages of completion. Time is the enemy. Noon to midnight ain’t nothing! But I am determined and some of these creative masterpieces have deadlines anyway, which is good. As December 2024 turns into January 2025, I hope you find something which sheds a positive light on the chaos and gives you a perspective which makes sense and makes you smile, because you know we’re just on this tiny speck of dirt, laughingly dwarfed by what’s going on OUT THERE. Think about it and have a delicious snack.