Eric Steckel - Milestone

Euphoria and/or anger management

Playing loud music loud - and there is a distinction to be made - is a brilliant musical narcotic to either incite you to a greater euphoric high or act as a palliative when the vessels are about to spurt their red.

Having just returned from my walk which is always intentionally a pleasurable experience, I can confirm it was positively heightened by listening to Eric Steckel whose album 'Milestone' was probably my favourite release of 2010, evidenced by the fact it is one of the few folders that has remained on my walkman since put there. What a brilliant young guitarist and singer who has an absolute affinity for the blues. He also has the talent - like Gary Moore and other greats - to hold and ride feed-back.

Another young guitarist who perhaps impressed me most in 2009 was Jimmy Bowskill and his 'Live' album. Euphoria at full volume.

In my latter years as a teacher, there was plenty to enrage me. Often political and/or philosophical - and at national/local/institutional level - I dealt with it in two major ways: the first was to rant to anyone near enough to have to hear as a wonderful catharsis for me but often indiscriminate verbal shrapnel-swipe at them, and the second was to listen very loud to one song in particular [at home rather than at school, and you'll see why] which was Rage Against The Machine's 'Killing in the Name' with the anthemic if hardly articulate 'fuck you I won't do what you tell me'. Listening now very loud as I write - not angry, just reminiscing - and it still drives out its crescendo of curative noise.

As I write this I am also mindful of the very recent shootings in Arizona and the media analysis of the potent power of all language and the potential dangers of violent rhetoric. I believe this song's context as well as the context within which I have placed its usefulness to me separates it from that kind of danger, but I repeat I am mindful that this is a sensitive issue.