Of comebacks, charity, and the end of cleanup (as we reopen for the decade)

Originally scheduled for earlier today (2/2), but delayed till later tonight because of how long and ambitious the end result finally became.

Last we met anyone in the Dixwell universe, circumstances beyond the control of Adanson's new management left them high and dry for the rest of 2019. Their last Music Time revue of the old decade was on October 10, and from here, wedding parties, Independence season, and election frenzy followed up till early December. Not to mention election-reform protests in their home turf of Marigot left them little choice...but to cancel all remaining activity at House 4270 until further notice, for fear the violence (or Heaven forbid, a fire) extended to their premises. (The nature reserve portion was still open for business, if but cautiously.) Meanwhile, the other half of the original crew remained stationed in the Florida Panhandle for post-Michael cleanup.

As 2020 began, every facet of the Adanson machine--the old crew and the new team, as well as their record-label partners at Autrison, and their venerable backers, Mediaset/AEG Live/LiveNation--had been missing each other so much for so long. All it took for a reunion...was a big comeback at re.BUILD.

Preparations began on January 5, when Mediaset et al. sent out e-mail reminders to the Nature Islanders in question. Date: Saturday 25th. Time: 10:00 a.m. Eastern, 9:00 Central. Venue: M.B. Miller County Pier, Panama City Beach, FL.⊙ A long bout of negotiations with many a major broadcaster had ensued long enough for the former to pay the rest of the original crew from Marigot's Adanson, and most of the Autrison personnel, passage to the Panhandle--with barely a few days to go.

The two groups left Dominica on the 22nd and 23rd respectively, and arrived in Panama City Beach (via a Greyhound bus from Tallahassee's airport) on the latter date. Autrison's personnel went first, followed by the Marigot residents. In both cases, they had to endure the ongoing swarm of earthquakes in Puerto Rico during their morning stopovers at San Juan's Luis Muñoz Marín--an inconvenience they did not fail to mention in their interlude commentary two days later.

When the combined team finally returned to the stage, 'twas "the day American TV took a day off" (according to the media trades). And for a reason: Held till 11:02 p.m./10:02 in three parts (the middle one a showcase of public-domain/open-source music), re.BUILD: The Panhandle Concert (as this edition was officially called) was simulcast across every U.S. broadcast network, the likes of which had not been encountered since early editions of Stand Up 2 Cancer. You know the names: ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, The CW, MyNetworkTV, and PBS...plus Univision and Telemundo for the Spanish folk (subtitled). On cable: HBO, Starz, and Showtime, plus TNT, MTV, MTV Live, VH1, BET, TV One, Aspire, and NickMusic. (Even CNN and MSNBC pitched in with the occasional hourly report.) In the territories this performance came to the aid of, ZNS in the Bahamas and WAPA Puerto Rico also carried it; those in the Nature Island already received the U.S. telecast through various channels on Marpin and Digicel. Elsewhere, you saw it on...

• CTV, Global, and tvo in Canada (plus CBC/SRC's Ici Télé in Québec)
• Televisa (Mexico)
• Globo (Brazil)
• BBC and Sky (Britain)
• France 2/3, M6, and Arte (France and territories)
• Italia 1 (Italy)
• NHK (Japan)
• SABC and Mnet (South Africa)
• The Seven/Nine/Ten networks (Australia)

... and the list goes on. (The webcast marked Adanson's official return to Livestream.com, after a couple of years on Vimeo Watch and Amazon Twitch.) Admission-, tax-, hassle-, prejudice-, and commercial-free--unless the E/I cutaways (at 2:18/1:18 and 5:30/4:30) proved otherwise on the free-to-air affiliates carrying it. (The mandatory E/I pre-empted commentary and backstage action shown elsewhere.) Produced by Mediaset, AEG Live, and LiveNation, along with Brad Lachman Productions and CBS Television Studios; distributed by Trifecta in the U.S., Bell Media in Canada, and the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC); worldwide sales/distribution and master feed by Mediaset.

Proceeds from this edition go towards disaster relief in Florida, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and Dominica, as well as the digital-rights and open-source movements.

At the time of airing, the Panama City Beach event was already the world's most watched television/online event so far in the 2020s. Estimated audiences: 14,000 in person at M.B. Miller; 89 million (U.S. Nielsens); 2.5 million (Canada); 150 million (worldwide, TV only); 400 million (globally, bundling in Livestream webcast/radio airings/live cinema screenings). Helps that it came on the eve of not only the next day's Grammy Awards, but also the following week's Super Bowl LIV.

Not surprisingly, it received a whole lot of media attention, which still lingers on at this writing. To quote the prestigious New York Times a few days afterward, re.BUILD is "essentially Live Aid reborn, with a dash of Sábado Gigante and a dose of '80s Top 40 thrown in for good measure". Although reception was overall positive,music website Pitchfork complained that this edition "is to benefit concerts what The Lord of the Rings is to celluloid: It knows exactly how to begin, but hardly how--or when--to end." As the last paragraph of a Daily Beast report went: "Charity concert, cultural showcase, or copyright protest? You decide."

As re.BUILD already visited that other Panama City (in Central America) on October 13, 2018, quips over the venue locations (from Alfred Dixwell,cousin of Sam the raccoon) were inevitable during the first interlude of the Florida event (before 11:00 a.m./10:00).

Starting the day after re.BUILD (26/1), it was back to business--big time--for the Dominican vinyl mavens. That Sunday afternoon, Autrison drove off to Jacksonville's Vinyl Record Pressing plant (on the other side of Florida) to press a new bunch of Upcomer acetates for their New Year's feast, scheduled for this Friday (or the next if overwhelm from the pressing sets in). Late last week, their current skeleton staff over in Giraudel gave them a hand by providing them the remaining masters and acetates needed for the label's so-called "New Series". Catalogue codes in Autrison's original series came in the form of "A####";⊙⊙ this time around, they're starting anew with "AN####", based on the order the corresponding tracks were performed at Adanson's concerts and parties from 2020 onward. Therefore, "AN0001" is assigned to ABBA's "Happy New Year" (because what else to start this new decade with?), while Gershwin's original 1924 performance of Rhapsody in Blue is filed under "AN0002". At the Pier, Queen's "The Show Must Go On" (AN0003), the Skidmore College Orchestra's rendition of Dvořák's New World "Scherzo" (AN0004), and ABBA's "Intermezzo No. 1" (AN0005; played twice as the local attendees were coming over) followed on a setlist that goes all the way up to AN0174 (at this writing). With next week's New Year's fling (a month late--par for the course with those charity critters et al.), expect this numbering to surpass the AN0700 range. To follow along, visit the Adanson Jukebox on last.fm; select "Recent Tracks" or the scrobble count; and select "2020" in the yearly stats.

As for the Nature Islanders' agenda: While Mas Domnik takes place back home, a paid symposium on Hurricane Michael and its aftermath will take place during February 23-25--after which they'll hold their next Panama City Beach rendezvous. By mid-late March, the old Adanson stalwarts wrap up their cleanup mission, and will follow it up with another jam session. Come April 18--Record Store Day--Adanson will hold a one-day version of the Easter Ball they wanted to stage last year. (Easter Sunday falls on the 12th this year.) One more week in the Panhandle...and then it's off to the next disaster zone, the Abacos and Grand Bahama post-Dorian. (But not without an encore of re.BUILD, this time in Grand Bahama's more or less debris-ridden Freeport--as had been their plan all along.)

As we wind down this entry: To think I've long neglected LFM's "Loved Tracks" feature for so long, a revival is in due order. As the Nature Island folk hold their New Year's party in you-know-where, I'll mark the tunes I call "Captain's Choice" (denoted by an anchor in my paper notes) and Autrison deems as "standouts". I've been stuck on nine of them since late 2018; don't be surprised if the tally soars above 50-70 when all's said and done.

To end this bulletin: Been a long, long time coming, but here's a very long look at what you missed at Adanson's other Music Time revues last September and October--all of them licensed to Autrison from the traditional labels and whatnot. (Too many open-source cuts to list here; we'd be here for days if we tried.)

9/9:
Lottery Picks (by Month):

• February
• • "If You Build a Wall (We'll Tear It Down)", VO5 & Mr. Levy
• • "Safety First", Brotherhood of Man
• March
• • "Bohemian Rhapsody", Queen
• • "It's Woman Time", Tasha P
• • "Which Do You Choose?", UNDER17
• April
• • "Bitter Heart", The Tryfles (Recorded in 1986, but you'd swear it came out in 1968 once you heard it)
• • "Runner in the Night", Ryder (UK Eurovision candidate, 1986; 7th place)
• June
• • "Believe", Kana Nishino
• • "Pushing On", Oliver $ & Jim Jules (from We Are Your Friends)

Mandatories by Month:

• June
• • "Conviction of the Heart", Kenny Loggins (continuing the eco-activism anthem bandwagon at Marigot #4270)
• September
• • "First Day Back at School", Paul & Paula (because, this being the start of you-know-when, well...)
• • "Help Me", Cornell Phillip & Michele Henderson (thanks to Dorian still fresh in many critters' minds--and being on DBS' playlist the other week)

21/9:
Lottery Picks (by Month):

• February
• • "Butterfly Collector", A.R. Kane
• • "I Hope I Get It", A Chorus Line Ensemble (from the 1985 film adaptation; one of the standout tracks in Adanson's cancelled 2019 Easter Ball)
• March
• • "Taki pejzaż" ("Such a Landscape"), Ewa Demarczyk
• April
• • "E' de' det här du kallar kärlek", Lasse Holm & Monica Törnell (Swedish Eurovision candidate, 1986; 5th place)
• June
• • "Change My Mind", One Direction
• • "Darling", Kana Nishino

Mandatories by Month:

• July
• • "House of Love", East 17 (continuing the eco-activism anthem bandwagon at Marigot #4270)
• September
• • "Basics in Behavior", The Living Tombstone & OR3O (continuing the back-to-school bandwagon)
• • "Glo Ko Ko", Mongstar (courtesy of Autrison's backup team in St. Lucia, where this song and its artist hail from)
• • "Happy Soul", Daniel Johnston (in memoriam)
• • "Wasn't That a Mighty Storm", Pamela Reinagel (for the affectees of Dorian in the Bahamas, as well as Tropical Storm Imelda in Texas)
• • "What a World", Maywood (whose lyrics are eerily reminiscent of 9/11--two decades before the fact)

24/9:
Lottery Picks (by Month):

• February
• • "A Moment to Myself", deadmau5
• • "Takin' It to the Streets", The Doobie Brothers
• March
• • "King of Glory", Todd Dulaney & Shana Wilson-Williams
• • "She ・Know ・Be - Koi no Himitsu", UNDER17
• April
• • "Close to Your Heart", Luv Bug (Irish Eurovision bid, 1992)
• • "Itsudatte Chousensha", Momoiro Clover Z
• June
• • "Feel That Fire", Orange Grove (Dutch Caribbean group)
• • "Happy Birthday", Kana Nishino

Mandatories by Month:

• September
• • "Globe All Warming", NiyoRah (or in the words of the Adanson announcers, "another message for the planet")
• • "New Sunday", Shake Keane (courtesy of Autrison's backup team in St. Vincent; the fewer countries that remain on my explr.fm map for this, the better)
• • "School Days (Ring Ring Goes the Bell)", Chuck Berry (continuing the back-to-school bandwagon)
• • "They Tried", Ric Ocasek (in memoriam)

27/9:
Lottery Picks (by Month):

• February
• • "Long Train Running", Traks (covering the Doobie Brothers)
• • "Tokimeki wa Forever", Noriko Hidaka
• March
• • Exile One's "Medley Vol. 1"
• • "Gem Stone", UNDER17 & Funta
• April
• • "Give Me Your Hand", Red Flag
• • "The Love of My Life" ("L'amour de ma vie"), Sherisse Laurence (Luxembourg '86, Eurovision)
• June
• • "Griechischer Wein", Orchester King Royal
• • "Kimi tte" ("You"), Kana Nishino

Mandatories by Month:

• August
• • "Magat milkitna dulaa", Mariem Hassan (Western Sahara; if only to fill in another blank on my explr.fm map)
• September
• • "Homework Blues Stomp", The Verve Pipe (continuing the back-to-school bandwagon at Marigot #4270)
• • "I Need to Wake Up", Melissa Etheridge (after which Adanson took a break from new arrivals in the eco-activism sphere)
• • "September", Earth, Wind & Fire (The significance of the number 21 in the first line is quite relevant here: Adanson did perform on the 21st of that month, and Google turned 21 on the date of this MT edition--hence the management's decision to pair it with AKB48's "Google+ Sky" [yes, that Japanese idol group honoured the search giant's now-lamented social service] and Dan Aston's "Lemonade Sea" [Aston himself was once on the Plus--and this Captain's contact list].)

1/10
Lottery Picks (by Month):

• February
• • "Amazing Grace", Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood
• • "Parallelograms", Linda Perhacs
• March
• • "Thank the Lord I'm Singing Again", The Blind Boys of Mississippi
• April
• • "Money Can't Buy It", Annie Lennox (from a 1996 movie with Sandra Bullock and Burt Reynolds, which and whose subject matter we will not discuss here)
• • "Valley of the Kings", Allez Allez
• June
• • "Lucky", Kana Nishino
• • "Oti Nikan", Asani

Mandatories by Month:

• September
• • "Another School Day", Hello (because, well…'twas still first term)
• • "Diell në krahë", Zhaba (Kosovo; another for my explr.fm map)
• • "Heyr, himna smiđur", Eivør Pálsdóttir & Margrét Eir (Faroe Islands. This could have been the one that ensured coverage of 160 territories on my explr.fm up to that point...were it not for the MusicBrainz data that confirmed it was a collaboration. Reaching back to Pálsdóttir after Ash Wednesday.)
• • "Land of the Free", The Killers (Back in 2018, it was Bazzi's "Beautiful"; now in 2019, this politically important "Song for Good" nominee takes the crown as VMA standout.)
• • "Monster", Skillet (because Halloween was approaching)

8/10
Lottery Picks (by Month):

• February
• • "It's Getting Harder All the Time", The Mindbenders (from To Sir, With Love; also heard during Part 1 of the Panhandle concert)
• • "Rest Day", Nobuo Uematsu (from Tales of Destiny)
• March
• • "Like Dog", Picky (from Dominica's 1986 Calypso season)
• • "Nirekin", Gozategi
• April
• • "Ototoi Oide", Hanae (end theme #2 from Kamisama Kiss)
• • "What Am I to You", BTS
• June
• • "Fakopo Oka to e Kakapu", Palu Tupou & Veiongo Fakaua (Tonga)
• • "Motto", Kana Nishino

Mandatories by Month:

• July
• • "Lollipop Candy BAD Girl", Tommy heavenly6 (taking advantage of Halloween)
• September
• • "Apple for the Teacher", Monty (on the belated occasion of Teachers' Day; Adanson postponed this gig for four days thanks to the "Dwivay" at the Roseau Bayfront on the 4th [Friday], DBS' generous relay offerings on the 5th [Saturday], and the stroke of a Manse manager on the 7th [Monday].)
• October
• • "Eyon Elhoor", Ahmed Fakroun (Libya; this and the Tongan highlight finally got me 160+ countries on my explr.fm map)
• • "How Dare You", Greta Thunberg (In light of the ongoing climate-change protests, Autrison found this September 23 speech too important to ignore.)

10/10
Lottery Picks by Month:

• February
• • "Electric Blue", Icehouse
• • "Traitors of Salisbury", Soul Puss (straight from Adanson's very own Marigot)
• March
• • "Something of a Rabbit", Rose Droll
• April
• • "For You", Sothzanne String
• • "Just Communication", TWO-MIX (theme from Gundam Wing)
• June
• • "Contrecoup", They Might Be Giants
• • "Good Golly Miss Molly", The Milwaukee Coasters (covering Little Richard)

Mandatories by Month:

• July
• • Intro from "Mr. Crowley", Ozzy Osbourne
• • "What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse", The Black Dahlia Murder
• September
• • "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades", Timbuk 3 (continuing the back-to-school cycle)
• October
• • "The Addams Family", Vic Mizzy and His Orchestra
• • "It's a 'B' Movie", David Newman, New Japan Philharmonic & Brave Little Toaster Cast

Speaking of explr.fm: Outlook sees us reaching 176-177 territories during the New Year's bash, as we come closer to covering all 210 sometime by April or May. As developer u/dkd3 notes on Reddit, only one other user has hit that mark so far.

In our next entry, stats from August 8-13 (as far as I can reconstruct them), and the setlist from January 25. In the weeks ahead, a new score for the Unspooled saga, and the resumption of draft development for Books 1, 2, 3, and 6--as well as the perfect first line to the entire series (via an announcement on Writer Sanctum, KBoards ' spiritual reboot). And next we meet, our first rerun at our new host (re: January 2019's VCL outage). Till then, take care, stay connected, be safe on the streets, enjoy your February...and God bless.

Speaking of critters, I'll be off to discuss commission opportunities with "SkyPup" on Inkbunny.

Closing photo by j.s. clark, 8/9/2005; available under CC-BY 2.0. (Just so you know Adanson's current whereabouts.)

⊙ The same spot where SandJam will be held in April.
⊙⊙ Hypothetical numbers supplied by lastfm.shikaka.net's "Milestone tracks" for this Captain; "Happy New Year" is A2129 in the old system.
⊙⊙⊙ Held by SESAF, the Southeastern Society of American Foresters.

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