The Electro-Gods of Methane Blue
I have a new song called The Electro-Gods of Methane Blue. You can listen to it here.
To contextualize the song, several years ago, my brother was arrested. From what I understand, he was drunk and driving through the hills of North Carolina in a pick-up truck adorned with activist bumper stickers like “End the New world Order now!” etc. My brother is, for lack of a better description, a hippy about 10 years my senior. He doesn’t share the same father as I. His father died in a plane crash off the coast of pre-Revolutionary Cuba in the mid-50s. A very enlightened person on many subjects as my brother is, I don’t think he really ever came to terms with this. So, as the police officer shines his flashlight in my brother’s face during this traffic stop, my brother replies with one of the more classic lines I can remember:
“I fail to recognize your Constitutional authority.”
He then drives off, leading the police on what was termed a three-countywide low speed chase. He bounced off a couple of guardrails and ended up against a pole. They arrested him.
Of course, it didn’t end there.
As luck would have it, one of the cops involved in the chase died of a heart attack during the incident. The law automatically comes on the accused like a ton of bricks at this point, upping a relatively simple DWI and fleeing the scene charges to second degree murder or manslaughter or whatever. Prison sentences become real. My brother was convicted on all counts and sentenced to 9 years in prison.
For most people, this would be the end of the story. But not when it’s MY brother. No. He gets real indignant to the point where he is put in solitary of sorts. What limited access he has to legal materials is bolstered by a strategy of taking advantage of the laws in North Carolina at the time, particularly the laws that allow citizens to put private leans upon the property of others. My brother made headlines as he proceeded to put leans on the property of the Governor, the Police Chief and other officials whom he accused of falsely imprisoning him or whatever the justification. The assets of the Governor were frozen, credit was cut off, and there was a big hassle. Beautiful! Gotta love his ingenuity.
Of course, they eventually broke him. The legal foundation of his case was scuttled, and eventually the psychological effects of being in solitary took their toll and he began to change his insubordinate ways. He took classes, educated himself in electronics, read lots of philosophical ponderings and was released after several appeals.
Through all of this, I was unable to reach my brother. I had my own shit to go through during that time, and to be frank, I didn’t know where his head was at. Still don’t. I imagine if he were to read this, he would correct the inaccuracies and offer his perspective.
So who or what are The Electro-Gods of Methane Blue? The cops with their flashing blue lights, of course…
GZ
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