88.9 Hey Radio, Rusty Shipp, and Me

Welcome to the third installment of my articles for 88.9 Hey Radio. I'm not sure which angle I should take on this one. Rusty Shipp is an odd band, I guess I'll probably take that angle.


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You can never say that Rusty Shipp is not an ambitious band. First of all, they are in the middle of leading the founding a new music genre called Nautical Rock'n'Roll. Their first album Mortal Ghost won some awards, but this seems to be just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

They're raising money for their second album now and there is a special project in the works. While on a silent meditation retreat the founder of the band, Russ T. Shipp, had an idea for a concept album which they are calling Liquid Exorcist. This will be a full narrative about the after-effects of an underwater sea war.

Rusty Shipp has the feeling of classic rock, melodic hard rock, with a little twist. I like the existential questioning in the song SS Naronic, which is about the ship SS Naronic that was lost at sea in 1893, and the disappearance of which remains a mystery. Here are the lyrics that I took from RustyShipp.com

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[lyrics paraphrased from messages in bottles written during the sinking of the SS Naronic]

3:10 AM, 19th of February, 1893. Our ship is sinking fast, beneath these cold, ocean waves, and we can’t see a thing. Oh, God, please tell me there is more than this, that this cold abyss is not the end. Tell me it’s more than an accident, a warning to teach a lesson, show me how it’s all part of the plan. Curse you, William Roberts! You sailed right into an iceberg, and all hands are lost. We’re down to sea level, and onto an icy Hell. God, have mercy on us! Cattle and charcoal jettisoned to save the boat, but we won’t stay afloat. Human cargo have already gone below, and we’ll soon follow. All hands praying that underwater there is still hope. So bottle up this letter, lest there be no record of us. And pray they don’t think it’s all a hoax. Goodby all. No time to say more.


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This is a crazy concept! Messages in a bottle from these dying people upon this sinking ship. It's even crazier because it's true. I think it's quite revealing that a band would do this type of song. Many of their songs have this searching existential feel to them. Like they're seeking in an authentic way the answers to important questions about life.

For the most part I think this song speaks for itself. Let me know what you think.

Jeff Martin


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That's short and sweet, but I think it covers the subject decently well.


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I've written three fictional pieces that I like so far.


"The City of Peace" - A future history science fiction utopia/dystopia action adventure in a framed story of a father telling his son a story about the child's grandfather. That was a crazy sentence.

http://www.jeffreyalexandermartin.com/2017/08/the-xprize-writing-contest-part-5-of-5.html

"The Birth of Hanniba'al" - A dark, somewhat alternative, historical origin story for the Carthage General Hannibal.

http://www.jeffreyalexandermartin.com/2017/11/write-michigan-short-story-contest-part_30.html

"Matt's Eyes" - Don't read this if you don't like horror stories.

http://www.jeffreyalexandermartin.com/2018/11/a-flash-of-horror-part-4-of-4.html


Here are three of my most popular posts.


"The Making of a Great First Line in Fiction"

http://www.jeffreyalexandermartin.com/2017/12/the-making-of-great-first-line-in.html

"A Letter to My Niece in 2034"

http://www.jeffreyalexandermartin.com/2017/12/a-letter-to-my-niece-in-2034.html

"The Most Important Question in Philosophy - Part 4 of 4"

http://www.jeffreyalexandermartin.com/2017/11/the-most-important-question-in.html


You can find more of what I'm doing here: http://www.JeffreyAlexanderMartin.com

You can support this page at https://www.patreon.com/JeffreyAlexanderMartin

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