your daily demon: zagan

This sixty-first infernal king and president is also known by the name Dagon, possibly inspired by the ancient Mesopotamian deity interpreted as a fish-god or merman, but presents as a bull with griffin wings. When invoked, Zagan’s virtue is in making men witty, the alchemy of any base metal into valuable specie and can turn wine into water, blood into wine, wine into blood and also water into wine. Governing from this cusp day through the twenty-fourth of January, Zagan’s position is in the first degrees of Aquarius. Ruling thirty-three legions, Zagan is opposed by the angel Umahel.

don’t stop

This year there will be no traditional pre-inauguration presidential gala or balls unlike in years past, but there is a throughline of course for a special one-off (at the time) reunion on the eve of the transition of power for the forty-second and forty-sixth office holder. Held on this day at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland in 1993 a cast of celebrities came together in honour of Bill Clinton’s win, including Barbra Steisand, Jack Lemmon, Elton John, James Earl Jones joined by headliners that history judges differently now Bill Cosby and Michael Jackson. The band Fleetwood Mac re-formed (see also) and performed Clinton’s campaign song.

brass in pocket

On this day in 1980, The Pretenders’ 1979 single from their eponymous debut album reached number one on the UK charts and held that position for a month.

Originally to meant to be set to more of a Motown sound, Chrissie Hynde worked with guitarist James Honeyman-Scott to articulate and give form to her lyric narrative about a superbly confident individual with all sorts of clout venturing out on a first date. The title comes from an overheard exchange during an after-show party, “Picked up dry cleaning? Any brass in pocket?” The British and America band members were quite taken with the quirks of their common language.  The next lines “I got bottle—I’m gonna use it” is Cockney rhyming slang—that is, bottle, glass, I got a nice—So special! “Got new skank—it’s so reet,” is a reference to satirist and underground comic artist Robert Crumb.

the revolution will be commodified

pic.twitter.com/3bDuvTTpBL

By Quaranteenage Stepdad and from JWZ

well, who am I to keep you down?

Via the Morning News, we learn that delightfully Nathan Apodaca—the TikTok sensation that lip-synced Fleet Mac’s “Dreams”—has been asked to skateboard in the inaugural parade of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who continues to bring good vibes and positive energy (plus undoing a grave injustice by reacquainting a new generation with the band), and even gave us something to smile about in 2020.

high-times and misdemeanours

Though we want no more Joe Camels—or sugary coffee and preciously flavoured vapes for that matter—and I can understand the intent behind the regulations, we learn via Super Punch, that the state of Maine finds that the mermaid mascot (see also) of a Portland marijuana dispensary runs afoul of the law. Newly opened enterprises aimed for adults are not allowed to use labelling or programming that might appear to target or appeal to people underage with depictions of humans, animals and fruit are specifically restricted.

mlk

Observed on the Monday nearest, US federal holiday in honour of the civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. recognises his birth on the fifteenth of the month in 1929 (murdered in 1968), we had never realised that Stevie Wonder’s song “Happy Birthday” (a far better tune to sing than the traditional birthday party chant even after copyright prohibition lapsed—with even the opening lyrics taking on new dimensions, see also, with this knowledge and embarrassment that this tribute escaped our attention) released as a single from his Hotter than July album in April of 1981 was composed as a campaign to make King’s birthday a nation holiday for America. The song’s popularity compelled Ronald Reagan by November of 1983 to sign the holiday into existence with the first holiday held in 1986 and universally observed (on the state level) by 1993.

also sprach zarathustra

Previously we wrote about the unused soundtrack for 2001: A Space Odyssey and so were pleased to find this addendum, coda to the story from Things Magazine and learn that the film demo tape with the composition by Mike Kaplan, 2001: A Garden of Personal Mirrors, has been rediscovered, more than five decades after it was written and is getting the air time it deserves.