The Twelve Caesars (Suetonius, 121 AD)

Creasy wrote in his Battles that the obscure machinations of warring east Asia “appear before us through the twilight of primaeval history, dim and indistinct, but massive and majestic, like mountains in the early dawn.” So one would expect the lives of such rulers as the Caesars to exhibit likewise such mythical prominence. But the stories provided by Suetonius, while they must be read with a skeptical eye now and then, feel too minutely detailed, too personal and arbitrary, to be anything but truth. It’s a mountain of anecdote and hearsay, so as history it is somewhat unreliable, but it’s as vivid a collection of character portraits as has ever been assembled.

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SCNTST – “Percee Scan”
Self Therapy

I don’t always go in for these songs that use real-world sounds as their basis (Matmos and M.I.A. are exceptions), but this one repurposes a scanner it for more than just rhythm, assembling several distinct voices from it. The beat could stand to be a little less house-y, but otherwise it’s a solid and highly original sound. “So Tough” is another amazing track if you’re looking for something less weird. (insound)

Riches are held in esteem, but may be enjoyed by the worst as well as the best of men; Glory is a thing deserving of respect, but unstable; Beauty is a prize that men fight to obtain, but, once obtained, is of little continuance; Health is precious, but easily impaired; Strength is a thing desirable, but apt to be the prey of disease and old age. (And, in general, let any man who values himself upon strength of body know that he makes a great mistake; for what indeed is any proportion of human strength compared to that of other animals, such as elephants and bulls and lions?)

But learning alone, of all things in our possession, is immortal and divine. For reason alone grows youthful by age; and time, which decays all other things before it carries them away with it, leaves learning alone behind.

Pseudo-Plutarch, De liberis educandis

Silo – Prime Movers
Alloy

With their single-minded, heavy, groove-focused, mostly instrumental songs, Silo fall somewhere between Trans Am and Tortoise. That the repeating portion is so prominent in most of the songs may turn a few off, but it’s simply a thicker tapestry into which subtle patterns can be woven. (swim)

What mean you, fellow-citizens, that you thus turn every stone to scrape wealth together, yet take so little care of your children, to whom, one day, you must relinquish it all?

attributed to Socrates

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Speedy Ortiz – “No Below”
Major Arcana

A straightforward quality indie-rock album for the most part, with this excellent track striking a rather darker tone than the rest. The growling bass and lurking guitars lead to a wonderfully noisy but ultimately restrained finale, and the song slips away before it overstays its welcome. (insound)

Even as a young officer he was such a hard drinker that his name, Tiberius Claudius Nero, was displaced by the nickname ‘Biberius Caldius Mero’ – meaning: ‘Drinker of hot wine with no water added’.

Suetonius – The Twelve Caesars (Tiberius)

Is crime consonant with nobility?
Then noblest is the crime of tyranny.

Euripides

The written word has taught me to listen to the human voice, much as the great unchanging statues have taught me to appreciate bodily motion. On the other hand, but more slowly, life has thrown light for me on the meaning of books.

Marguerite Yourcenar, Memoirs of Hadrian

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Grails – “Future Primitive”
Deep Politics

Grails takes it back a couple notches after the sublime Burning Off Impurities and tense Doomsdayer’s Holiday. Here be restrained distortion, subtle arrangements, piano solus, and less overall dread. It’s Morricone-infused 70s psych rock with an undercurrent of unease, and it’s a very good listen. (insound)

Emperors are necessarily wretched men since only their assassination can convince the public that the conspiracies against their lives are real.

Domitian (shortly before his own assassination)

For mature thought there is no mechanical substitute.

Vannevar Bush, As We May Think