Some music I’ve been listening to recently: Breakwater, The Whispers, and Morella’s Forest

I discovered Breakwater on a whim. When I heard the first few seconds, I realized that Daft Punk sampled this song to make “Robot Rock”. This was a really fun song with the right mix of guitars, bass, and synths. How did I not know about this band even though they were before my time? This song really slaps and I want to check out their other songs and their albums.

Can’t you tell I’ve been on a bit of an old-school kick? I heard the song Rock Steady a few times a long time ago, but this song came to my attention after seeing it used while synching the Sami Zayn dancing meme. I was unaware that The Whispers have been around since the 60s and I have heard some of their other songs before. One such example is “And the Beat Goes On” which I also recently heard while I was shopping one day. Of course for my generation, we mainly know it because “Miami” by Will Smith used the beat for that one. “Rock Steady” is a really fun song that will certainly get one moving.

Technically, I’ve listened to this song before, but not this version. This is the lost band Morella’s Forest who were a gothic rock/new wave band from the 80s. Two of the members would be none other than Ronnie Martin and Jason Martin of Joy Electric and Starflyer 59 respectively as well as their one-time side project The Brothers Martin. Joy Electric would re-release this song in their typical experimental synth pop sound, but I wasn’t aware the song was older than that. It was surreal hearing that song with guitars, basses, and drums though. I also found out Ronnie and Jason were only 18 and 16 when they recorded this album that was lost until this year. It was very fascinating getting into the musical history of the Martins since I listened to both bands starting out in junior high and Joy Electric was certainly an influence on Ospreyshire as a recording project. No, this is unrelated to that Tooth & Nail band that was there in the 90s and early 00s.

#PreyingMissionaries: May those children get restitution against these devils!

I just found out about this expose documentary that NTV (a Kenyan news station) recently premiered when I checked out The Advise Show and I’m still bawling my eyes out while also feeling enraged. Just as I thought the Hakuna Matata trademark issue was bad enough in Africa, my heart just broke when I found out about this story.

These demons in missionary’s clothing known as Gregory Hayes Dow and his wife/partner-in-crime Mary Rose Dow opened up an orphanage in Bomet, Kenya in 2008. For 9 straight years, these thugs beaten, abused, dehydrated, starved, and raped over 83 children in their home. Also, 3 children died with the youngest being at 1.5 years old. I cannot tell you the fury that I feel from hearing about this case and watching the full documentary on YouTube (you can watch the whole thing here). One thing that was a huge kicker in this case was that Gregory was a registered sex offender and child molester who violated HIS OWN DAUGHTER from his first marriage!

How the hell was this guy allowed to build an orphanage let alone allowed to work with children? Did he pay off some government officials or something like that? This orphanage makes the one in The Promised Neverland look like a utopia (you’re welcome, anime fans). I hope these two demons get punished for their atrocious crimes. R. Kelly was treated worse than the Dows and he has more money than them! You might as well call this Surviving Gregory Dow for crying out loud. Definitely a #FirstThem case on so many levels.

Now, I’m going to have to call out certain people on this matter. If you call yourself a feminist and don’t call out this behavior, then you are a hypocritical piece of crap. I bet you if Gregory and Mary Rose weren’t white, you know this would be global news. All you #MeToo and #TimesUp people better call these people out like they did Bill Cosby. I’m sure Gloria Allred is silent about this matter. Yeah, I said it. If you care about the well-being of children, then this story should make you grieve and beg for the Dows to be punished. Stories like these have made me cynical about humanity as so many so-called humans are just plain monstrous. We have people in jail (America, Kenya, or otherwise) who’ve been punished worse for much MUCH less! Kenya and the rest of the world need to vet these missionaries with iron rigid standards. I hope this story goes viral and I want the Dows to be the freaking face of child abuse and pedophilia.

NEVER FORGET!

Video courtesy of NTV Kenya.