Jayaraych's blog: "the blog of the log"

As many may have heard, prolific science fiction/dystopian author JG Ballard recently passed away. Quite a number of his novels and short shories found their way onto the Silver Screen such as Crash, onto TV such as the BBC series Home which was based on The Enormous Space, or into the music of many artists such as Joy Division, Orbital, the Boggles, Radiohead, Hawkwind, The Normal,  Madonna, Sisters of Mercy, etc.  Today my profile playlist shall feature a few of those that I was able to find files for.

here is my personal favorite.  Inspired by High Rise and Man on the 99th Floor, I present Hawkwind- High Rise . If the video doesn't work check my 1st comment

(Calvert / House)
Flat block
Of two dimensions
Neon totem pole to the sky
Keeping scores of people stacked up so high
Above the ground
But all they can hear is the sound
Of the wind in the antennae
It's a human zoo
A suicide machine

Childhood
Of concrete cube shaped
A flypaper stuck with human life
Caged up rage
Swarming hornet hive
Tear out the telephones
Rip up the pages of directories
And wreck all these
High speed lifts and elevators
Be a sabotage rebel without a cause

High rise
Living in a high rise
High rise
Living in a high rise
High rise
Living in a high rise
High rise
All stacked up in a high rise block

High rise
Living in a high rise
High rise
Living in a high rise
High rise
Living in a high rise
High rise
All stacked up in a high rise block

Starfish
Of human blood shape
Tentacles of human gore
Spread out on the pavement from the 99th floor
Well somebody said that he jumped
But we know he was pushed
He was just like you might have been
On the 99th floor of a suicide machine

High rise
Living in a high rise
High rise
Living in a high rise
High rise
Living in a high rise
High rise
All stacked up in a high rise block

EDIT: Here is a link to read what his friends and colleagues wished to say about his passing

http://www.ballardian.com/