BARAKA BASHMENT

eh? eh?

Here is the first of what I hope will be a long and creatively booming adventure. Basically these booklets will be what Baraka Bashment could be if I was more html savvy. You can expect a deliberate and intentional attack on institutionalized anything and the oscification of mystic inquery. Also, you’ll hopefully find attempts at re-appreciating, re-investigating, re-elaborating, and re-evaluating the always already anarcho-mysticsm that is everyday life (with of course some direct perception-bending action).
If you’d like a copy just send me your address via this comment box thing and I’ll send you one free while I can.

All the best,

BB

PS- Hakim B, MMK, and DA already have copies being delivered. Thanks!

Here are two spreads of what’s in the works.

   

I found my first guitar in my own trash-can.

I was 9.

The first recording I made was that same night when I took one of my step-brothers “sound effect” records, put on the track of helicopters, turned up the volume, plugged in my new working red trash-guitar and hit record on my Texas Instruments tape recorder and made a “song.”

It was a love affair ever since.

The first band I decided to learn every song by was Black Sabbath.

From here I jumped into anything German and noisy. And from there I discovered Sonic Youth “Confusion is Sex” and Sonic Youth “Sonic Death” followed immediately by Michael Gira’s The Swans “Kill the Child: Live ‘85-’87.”

Needless to say this has a major impact on a pre-teen’s musical tastes.

When I go back to my mom’s house and look through my old mix tapes I smile at how I managed to make the mix-tape series titled “METAL” 1 thru 7 include such diverse bands as Jane’s Addiction, King’s X, The Cure, Iron Maiden, Kiss (with make-up), The Black Crows all under the genre metal. Awesome.

Over the past few days I have been reinvestigating my noise-violence music leanings that I had left about 8 years ago. Things don’t seem to have changed much, and I’m happy about that. The Japanese are still mutilating ears more than ever and the American scene is still as diverse as it will always be.

Last night I began digging through a whole stew of old homemade cassette recordings of mine and converted about twenty six tracks of noise etc to cd to remix.

This on the heels of playing roots folk traditions for the past year or so.

Dub/dancehall on the decks.

I will sing for the most disturbingly brutal noise band ever if asked.

etc etc

I’m having a shitty week. Not that anything’s happening. And perhaps that’s just it. That mundane stuff has caught up with me for the time being.

When that happens I just get sad for the mountains.

I swear. If I could go back and live in the Colorado big mountains again, and for the rest of my life. I would.

The city is the lonliest place I’ve ever lived.

Listening to Reeltime Travelers (pictured above).

I’ve broken my own rule, which is to respond to every commentor. So Sorry about that! I’ve been a bit busy and still rethinking how to run this. So again, apologies, and thanks for baring with me.

If you’re at all interested, I’ve been talking a bit more over at ProgressiveIslam.org in the form of comments and a few posts (most of which come here as well I think). It’s a great community and a good place to touch base wiht some active-minded Muslims and non-Muslims learning about eachother and themselves. A little bit o’ humor, a little bit o’ aggression, etc etc. A well-read bunch. Picture Traditionalists, Conservatives, Moorish Orthodox Churchists, Sufis, Native Americans, Gnostic Christians, all talking Islamic shop. You can get your own blog sace, (Muslim or not!) and just see what comes up.

Aaaaaaaanyway…

Thanks Sean for the post. It was wonderful to read and I am always honored to have been to the same school with my fellow writers when I see their work. It always impresses me!

Michael. Long time reader first time poster? Thanks so much for the comments and the direction. I know VERY little about shamanic stuffs. It’s almost (unfortunately) like an apropriation taboo with me. I go as far as the major taboos (Casteneda and Harner) and stop, cause I like it too much and get nervous that I’m a cultural imperialist. Any ideas?

Julaybib. Always a pleasure. Any experience I have had has been a loose you f-ing mind or give up the path sort of an experience. Like, the ground is f-ing nowhere and everywhere so you better get used to it. But it feels so lovely when embraced. I think my experiences are filtered through a heavy dose of “crazy wisdom” “theology” and the open up to the crushing strength of the horrendous Divine impulse. and if you can’t love that you’re nothing. Perhas I am allowin git to be too harsh?

And Leile. Long time indeed. Thanks for the link. I haven’t been by your place in so long I feel like we are slightly estranged cousins. I hope you are doing well and will have to stop by ASAP to get the what’s been ups.

((((((((((((((

So, in the mean time I am pushing ahead with a very disturbing manuscript. One that is challenging every grip I have on so-called reality. Who is even writing this anymore I wonder. My body/mind is cleaving into different voices and the book is for now being called “GOD DESTROY GOD: The Adventures of Baba Das Dills of the Many Hills Mostly: A Vade Mecum.” This is basically the expereinces listed above in the form of an identity de/construct. I hope!

We will have to see.

In an effort to make room, step aside, for a truly authentic relationship with the divine impossibility of uncontainable totality made possible, I have begun recording my voice on tape as I freely describe my body in an environment.

For instance, if I am sitting I try to describe as many details as I can about the experience. How my hand looks as I stretch it out in front of me etc. The tradition of Islam comes in Arabic. I’m not going to learn Arabic (even though I began) and don’t want to forever feel like I’m missing something if I don’t. So enough of that. At least the attachment to it being “my path.” Since I came to Islam with the understanding that it was first and formost not a religion, but an impulse (a pulse) I guess I’m stepping back from it (the religion) with the same understanding.

So, I’m starting at zero.

Zero is the eyes. Zero is taste. Zero is noticing an arm outstretched.

I don’t “believe” in God. Never really did. But I embrace the unseen and all its possibility. The unseen has yet to be codified. It is (temporarily?) a no-space with a no-dogma.

My language in all its quirks will simply have to do. God-ness supposedly comes to each in their own language “so that you might understand.” I buy that, but let’s just see about that.

The semi-autonomous and deliberate re-interpretation of the world is always already.

What the Free Order of Intentional Living will facilitate I am not sure.

Let’s see if we can’t stretch this language of ours to the point of snapping. The conceptualization of God will find no safe haven. We’re coming for ya! All entities are suspect. The non-entity of Fakhruddin ‘Iraqi will guide us into a cool summer ditch. Take shade little book binder. Say “ah.”

Happy Birthday.

This is usually a death sentence for a blog, but…

While I redefine this blog, I will be posting and commenting over at progressiveislam.org as one of their main page bloggers. As such I have agreed to cease referring to this space as “my blog” as technically progressiveislam.org is now my blog. Only it’s a collective so we all blog together. There are a lot of opportunities for people to set up their own “diaries” and such over there. I really suggest that you go there for stuff, cause the founders are very informed on the whole spectrum of Islam, and by that I mean MOC, 5%ers, NOI, MST, and all

As it stands now, BARAKA BASHMENT exists as a “Muslim Space” listed on the site. Which for me sounds perfect, since I’d like it to remain a bit undefinable. What I’d like to do here is this:

• Create a site that is committed to “disturbing the he-God” perhaps in the form of a wiki, user maintained log
• Create an on-line journal, the first issue of which I gathered info for about a year ago. Something like Killing the Buddha

This is all I can think of so far. What I don’t want to do anymore is make entertainment out of publically displaying my intimate thoughts regarding very complex issues like God and Islamic institutions. That’s not to say that I don’t need to do it, and publically. Cause I do. But I have found myself publically documenting my ups and downs etc, and I often simply think: why am I posting this. At times I think it’s cause I don’t have anyone else helping on the site and it’s what comes to mind when I think: Oh it’s been a week, I need to post something. Much like I’m doing now!!! Damn!

Anyway, if anyone has any links to some unusual sites that deal with unique subjects please let me know. I need a little inspiration, cause I really want to continue this project, whatever it may be.

Also, there is this new wiki site for ProgIslam.org here. Someone even gave me a little bio, which I thought was pretty apt. If you think it needs to be fleshed out a bit please contribute. Any of it.

With the recent shift in approach over at progressiveislam.org I have decided to take a shift in approach over here. Here is what I propose and could use help in organzing:

1. The site will remain up and we will talk about as much status-quo busting/bursting as possible.
2. The focus will change slightly. Or perhaps there will actually BE a focus.
3. My intention is to take this space and use it as a medium for exploding God-conception—using language to stretch our limited mind-God to the point of snapping. Even if it means me going crazy at the lack of center and the utter irrationality rhizomic nature of it all, I plan on investigating the edges of God in language.
4. I’d love to revamp the site. Make it more websitey and less bloggy. Any ideas? Any cheap ideas?
5. I’d love to know how people could contribute to this and add their two- four- ten- cents. Perhaps articles? Visual art? Or will comments be enough?
6. How can this be cool? Really cool. Anything you’d like to see more of? Less of? I’m taking any and all suggections. Should I keep it exactly the same? Are there even enough of you out there to make such suggestion?

So let me know what you think. I have some ideas, but would love to hear yours.