Star’s End is Kitaro, or Vangelis. It’s not Yawni… er, sorry, I meant Yanni. It is Ian Boddy or Klaus Schulze or Dieter Moebius. It’s not… well, it’s just something you either understand or you don’t.
Star’s End is a weekly radio and live Internet show. You can’t really call it music, although it is. But it’s so much more than just music. You know how when people find a new religion, whether it’s an actual religion, or the latest health fad, or the absolute best brand of running shoes, the fervor is there. Although when it’s accompanied by a beaming red face and an unctuous smile, it’s more a crusade.
Space Music – which is what Star’s End is – lacks the ready-for-the-rubber-room mania that seems to accompany religious fervor, yet has most of the other traits. Except Space Music is all about relaxing. (Not chilling.) It’s about letting go, letting your mind go wherever it wants. Wherever it happens to lead you is fine, because the thrill, the mystery and the adventure, are all in the travel not in the destination. And with Space Music, your mind does all this traveling while your body is in its favorite easy chair, or flat on your back in bed, or smoking your favorite cocktail, or whatever it is you do to relax.
Sure, the destination is absolutely great. But it pales in comparison to the travel, the actual act of moving from Point A to Point B, even if getting from Point A to Point B should involve 17 stops between. It’s not how far the body travels, but how far the mind travels.
And where. Even Neverwhere.
It’s unfortunate people travel for the wrong reasons. And just as unfortunate is the apparent lack of ability to relax enough to enjoy Space Music.
Are you still reading? And are you thoroughly confused? Good. Confusion is good. That means you’re beginning to get the scent. It means you’ve opened your mind at least enough to allow some doubt, some insecurity, some desire to know more, into your thought processes. You’re not there yet, not by a long shot, but you’re making good progress on the road to understanding and appreciating Space Music.
Although I think they’re closely associated in the minds of most people, Chuck van Zyl says, “Star's End is a radio show that originated on WXPN around 1976 - while The Gatherings is a concert series I founded around 1992. It is important to know the distinction; the two are cousins, not twins.”
Article comments