…Or to be more precise- Ian Brown and the Fire Element in Chinese Medicine.

May 31st marks the first ever performance of Ian Brown in Israel.
If you don’t know, Israel is not a place where we get many performances by wonderful artists such as Ian Brown. Security issues are always clouding potential visits from rock gods- even if they are not justified, and when someone finally comes our way- we pray for weeks that performance won’t be canceled in the last minute.

This summer we are blessed with a shower of performances- Ian Brown is a perfect way to start the shower,  but we are extremely thrilled by the long over- due visit by the one and only Morrissey. That’s expected in July, and will be mentioned here again, but let’s get back to Ian Brown.

There’s something about Manchester.
When I visited Manchester on 2004, and it seemed very ordinary to me. Nothing about it seemed to explain what is known as Madchster, the golden age of Manchester music-wise. To name a few bands that came out of the city- Joy Division, New Order, The Happy Mondays, The Smiths, The Fall, and of course- The Stone Roses.

What is it in the water of Manchester that creates such fire in the people who live there?
I don’t really know, but there has to be something with fire- even the uniform Manchester United players wear are red!

The news about the performance took me back to the late 80’s, to the first time I listened to the album.
Listening to it back then was a good experience for me. I didn’t understand the word as Ian Brown did not really give any attention to singing his words very clear, but it didn’t matter- the music was good enough for me back then.
Over the years I went back to the first album of the band and without a doubt, it was always a joy as the music was just about perfect and the musicians excellent.

Today I listened to “I Wanna Be Adored” and it hit me:
The Wood element is very present as the lyrics of most of the songs have a lot to do with anger translated into violence, but they are balanced with some what soft melodies- all very beautiful. But the Fire element is much more present:

“I wanna be adored
You adore me
You adore me
You adore me
I wanna
I wanna
I wanna be adored”

The Fire element type need to feel loved, as Peter Mole said in one of his wonderful lecutres last year in Israel- and we all know it to be true. Ian Brown maybe didn’t know it at the time but he certainly felt it as he says later in the song:

“I gotta be adored”

The need to be noticed, to be loved, seeking that love- practically demanding it- are all signs of a Fire imbalance.

The Stone Roses broke up and we now have Ian Brown, who is always the center of attention.
The Fire element is very much present in the lyrics on his solo career, as is plainly seen on his brilliant album Solarized- songs of love and devotion, and all from a different aspect of the Fire element, more about relationships, more of the Pericardium, as he says on “The Sweet Fantastic“:

“I feel fantastic
you make me feel majestic
you’re the sweet fantastic
your love is hypnotizing
your love
is mesmerizing”

Time is a wonderful thing. It allows you the time to get used to changes in your life, it gives you perspective. It does not heal anything, it just gives you a chance to get used to the new reality in your life.
In this case, it’s not about the need of being adored anymore. It’s all about the love that makes him feel like the king of the world.