This is the music-related blog for Jonathan (Scooter) Clark, also known in the electronica world as DJ Bolivia, a producer and DJ from Atlantic Canada. I listen to (and produce) a lot of folk, indie, rock, and hip hop music too!
I also run a company (Replant.ca Environmental) through which you can sponsor the planting of trees to build forest reserves and community forests, which are protected from commercial logging. Please visit: www.replant.ca/environmental
Friday, February 16, 2024
Dune, Part 2 - Walking Without Rhythm
Growing up, Dune was one of my favorite science fiction books. The Dune timeline turned into a fairly lengthy series of books - six by original author Frank Hebert, and another twenty or so written by his son and co-collaborators. And to be fair, the quality of the books went downhill fairly quickly (in my opinion). The second book was panned by many, and that seemed to set the tone for the series.
Yet it survived.
Dune has recently been turned into a couple of movies, as I'm sure that anyone with any connection to modern culture is well aware of. I guess I can show you the trailers, on the odd chance that you haven't heard of them.
But what you might not have known (because I didn't realize this until earlier today) is that in Dune part 2, Christopher Walken plays the role of Emperor Shaddam IV. Why is this relevant, and why am I writing about this? Simple. When I reminisce about the days of old, and start playing YouTube music videos at 2am, this particular video is always one of my weapons of choice:
One thing that I always liked about this song is the lyric, "Walk without rhythm, and you won't attract the worm." When Fatboy Slim released this back in 2001, I immediately realized that Norman Cook was referring to the story of Dune. Hardly anyone else did though, probably just me and about one million other science fiction fans.
Well, now that Dune's worm-riding is about to become entrenched in contemporary pop culture, the lyric should make a lot more sense to everyone.
That's all that I have to say. Just a brief reflection on one of my favorite music videos from two decades ago. I'll leave you with the trailers for Dune Part 1 (released last year) and Dune Part 2 (coming out in a couple weeks), and for those of you that missed Part 1 and need a quick synopsis of the story before you head to the theatre, I'll share that below.
As promised, here's the Coles' Notes version of the Dune story:
Dune is set in a far-out future where the galaxy is basically a mix of medieval vibes (Middle Eastern influenced) and super advanced tech. The entire universe is hooked on a valuable resource called "spice" or melange. It's only found on a desert planet called Arrakis, which is also known as Dune. Melange can extend a person's life, boost their mental powers, and even let pilots navigate through space without needing a computer. Needless to say, this potent drug is in high demand.
The main character of the story is Paul Atreides. He's a young prince whose family is given the job of managing the planet Arrakis, taking over from their rivals, the Harkonnens. Of course, there's a catch: this is basically a setup by the Harkonnens and the Emperor to wipe out the Atreides family, which they believe is getting too powerful and popular.
As Paul grew up, he was trained by his mother (Lady Jessica) in politics, combat, and some other phenomena that are difficult to explain. Lady Jessica is part of a secretive sisterhood called the Bene Gesserit. The goal of the sisterhood was to manipulate bloodlines and politics to create an entity that they call the Kwisatz Haderach. And it seems that Paul might be this prophet.
The Harkonnens attack and basically decimate the Atreides forces. Paul and his mother escape into the desert where they link up with the "Fremen" (free men), who are the hardcore natives of Dune. These folks have adapted to the brutal desert life, and they're very xenophobic, but they start to believe that Paul might be the rumoured Messiah.
While in hiding, Paul's powers increase, due to being around so much spice. He starts to get visions of possible futures, and starts to see the role he might play in the future. He takes on the name Muad'Dib (the Mouse of the Desert) and becomes a leader among the Fremen, teaching them advanced combat. Their plan is to take back control of Arrakis from the Harkonnens.
Muad'Dib and the Fremen warriors storm the capital, and successfully overthrow the Emperor. By controlling Dune, Paul now controls the spice, and by controlling the spice, he controls power everywhere. The book ends when Paul seizes the throne, and hints at the challenges ahead. I don't know where the movie will end.
Despite the sweeping cinematography, "Dune" isn't just about savage battles and desert warriors. It has some deeper themes linked to environmentalism, the dangers of hero worship, and the complexities of political and religious power. The Fremen planned to transform Dune into a more habitable place, and are deeply connected to their environment.
I won't go into what happens after the first book, but basically it's a space opera and political thriller which is set on a desert planet that's as deadly as it is beautiful. It's a coming of age story, laced with deceit, mysticism, and the fight of David against Goliath.
And there you go, now you can go watch Part 2. But if I were you, I'd watch Part 1 first - it was pretty good.
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I'm Jonathan Clark, known online as DJ Bolivia. Do you want to learn more about DJ'ing and music production? If so, visit:
