aka jetison

Stephen Bruton

2009-09-23T21:14:00.000-07:00

"The Soul of Texas Music"

We're losing too many wonderful artists and performers lately, I had not intended this blog to be an obituary but I have to say a few words about Stephen Bruton. I've been following him since his early days as part of Kris Kristofferson's original band. He is the high harmony and lead guitar you hear on those performances. He also played on the Bob Dylan Pat Garrett session and had a part in the movie Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid with Dylan and Kris. In later years he went on to play with Bonnie Raitt and others as well as producing and playing with Alejandro Escovedo and putting out some solo work as well.

He was the musician's musician and lent his art, authenticity, and feeling to many projects along the way. Some of his last projects will be heard soon. He appears fittingly with Kris Kristofferson on Kris' new CD Closer To The Bone, and in the soundtrack to Crazy Heart that he was working on with T Bone Burnett when he died. T.Bone Burnett called him "The Soul of Texas music".

Below are some links to samples of his work.

Below are some links to samples of his work and an interview segment.

With Kristofferson at: Austin City Limits

Song Preview:Getting Over You

Song Preview :Waiting for a LongTime

Live Performance !:Nothing But The Truth

Epiphany:Interview

NRPS

2009-08-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

Another era passes with John Dawson founding member of The New Riders of the Purple Sage.

Jim Dickinson 1941-2009

2009-08-17T09:49:00.001-07:00

Musician, Producer, and Recording Artist, and owner of The Zebra Ranch Jim Dickinson has remained largely unknown to most outside the music business, however has been deeply entrenched since the early days of Rock and Roll at Sam Phillips' Sun Records Where he cut Cadillac Man in 1966. He played piano on The Rolling Stones Wild Horses, and played on Bob Dylan's Grammy winner Time Out Of Mind sessions ! He was also in the House Band at Atlantic Records and backed Aretha Franklin and Sam and Dave.

It doesn't get much better than that !

...in progress

Les Paul Lives On...

2009-08-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

I am thankful for an opportunity I had to spend an evening with Les Paul at his Monday night gig at the Iridium in New York City about 7 years ago. I knew at the time I was experiencing a legendary moment and it occupies a special place in my musical memory bank today. He was sharp as a tack, laughed and joked with the audience, played with guest musicians, and generally held court creating a comfortable space to be completely enthralled with the man and his music. And man - did he play !

We love you even more - Les !

Full Stop

2009-08-15T05:40:00.000-07:00

This photo about says it all for me as I once again put on the brakes, rest / recover, and move toward new goals. In contrast to one of the posts that began this blog a few years ago which described a person quite broken, this post reflects, in similar circumstance, an extremely worn and tired individual but with a recognizable inner strength and vision just waiting to be released. This event then, must be noted with a current post to mark the moment.

I unexpectedly realized yesterday that the past 3 years have been very productive though perhaps in unexpected ways. I have developed new artistic skills and self awareness, explored new musical paths, made an invaluable new group of friends, grown even closer to my wife, and together we have begun to form a vision of our future. But, in further reflection, these may not have been the biggest gains made during this period.

If I were to label the last 3 years I would perhaps call it 'The Constant Commute' as my main impression is being on 495 driving to or from my job, punctuated with brief moments of eat, sleep, and work, and fueled by music and caffeine. Yet somehow as the odometer measured my linear progress, I was imperceptibly accumulating the intuitive implements needed to blaze a new trail. This period should more realistically be labeled 'Milestone'.

These implements came in the form of acceptance and positive feedback from family and a continually growing group of friends and coworkers who repeatedly and graciously chose to listen, share, commiserate and celebrate feelings of mutual interest. And while these brief encounters provided the balm which made the daily routine less painful, the full weight was not to be realized until the camouflage of employment and blacktop was removed. In this new light these gems transfer their true luminance and register value far beyond their physical worth !

This post then, becomes an homage to all those who helped get me here, I hope I've made it clear along the way who you are and offered some repayment in kind.

So here I am, bouyed by their spirit at yet another beginning, wrapped in expectations, uncertainties and a rough hewn plan.

Until the aforementioned blazing begins, however, I need to smolder a bit.

Almost Heaven...

2009-04-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

Part I

With no disrespect to residents of West Virginia, John Denver may have gotten it wrong. It was about 1am on Wed[/Thur], about half way through James McMurtry's set [the third act of the night that I reached nirvana - that I fully realized where I was and why. It could have been partly the lack of sleep or partial dehydration, but it was definitely the searing electric guitar going over, under, around and through every level of intensity in that small room and hitting every nerve.

I was in Austin, the Continental Club, doing simply what one was meant to do - slip over the edge of consciousness into a meditation, where the laws of physics no longer apply. And if some higher power should decide at that moment that my time here has concluded, rest assured a sweet ride is awaiting outside to provide the ultimate transportation !

Saturday -

We arrived in Austin for the second time in consecutive years, and basically picked up right where we left off. With the exception of a monolithic condo complex that had stolen the parking lot of our favorite morning launch pad - austin java, things looked pretty much the same. Cathy and I were both ragged from a long and tough New England winter and job pressures, so our planning was not up to its usual snuff making scheduling and my hopes of making it a productive trip questionable. Cathy had done her job well though, and we were here. In Austin, at least from a visitors perspective, there always seems to be a conflict between relaxation and choosing from the full menu of entertainment, cultural, and commercial venues. I kept trying to remember this was supposed to be a vacation - but the city was calling.

A short ride later we were settling into our perch on the 15th floor overlooking downtown Austin and the water. Friend and food awaited.

When we go to New Orleans we always make our first stop The Gumbo Shop to get a quick fix on the local cuisine. Fortunately Austin has our friend and consummate host Donna, who generously offered us a wonderful lunch greeting of homemade etouffee - a perfectly delicious start ! Our first evening found us too tired after a full travel day to look for unplanned entertainment. The amusement for the evening came when we went downstairs at the hotel to have desert and walked into a Boston University Alumni hockey tournament gathering in the bar area which saw Boston pull off a dramatic come from behind win. So far we had traveled 1700 miles to watch hometown hockey - Boston is EVERYWHERE !

BU Hockey Video - Final 3 minutes

Sunday -

Texas has a long rich history, and we decided to spend our first full day picking up where we left off last trip. We wanted to see the next battle site following the Alamo, where the troops of Col. Fannin were also defeated and massacred by Santa Ana at Goliad, a 2 hour ride south. What we hadn't expected was the bonus history lesson on the Spanish era of Texas and to find that this town claimed the birth of cattle ranching in Texas.

The Mission Espiritu Santo, below, records some of the Spanish legacy.

Goliad - Mission Espiritu Santo

I'm not sure why angels painted in the the 18th century look like Elvis - but I decided to cover my bets by singing 3 Hound Dogs and 1 Love me Tender later as a self-prescribed penance.

We finished the afternoon of Easter Sunday with a meal at The Hanging Tree restaurant - NO, really - I'm not kidding !

The Hanging Tree - THE CART WAR OAK

This concluded our brief history lesson and provided additional depth and understanding to our growing knowledge of Texas. Next it was time to get back to Austin in time for our our scheduled evening music event !

So, that concludes the first 24 hours of our trip - still a whole week to go, but that was too much to fathom at the time, we were still getting our feet on the ground. When thinking toward a second consecutive vacation to the same location I was doubtful the second visit could offer the same level of excitement, enthusiasm, or experience as last year's overwhelming awakening, but again Austin rewarded us with more that our fair share of new offerings and old treats and still left us wanting more !

It should prove more logical and interesting if I provide further information on the musical, artistic, and other points of interest on our visit in separate posts, so please stay tuned for more.

Winter Beat

2009-03-08T12:25:00.000-07:00

What I did on my winter vacation -

Well, it's nice to be able to finally write March on paper and see the snow melting and baseball on TV. I'm not a winter person and this winter was more severe than normal right from the start so it was quickly obvious I'd need a survival strategy. I coincidentally uncovered a Fela Kuti CD I had bought last summer and not yet listened to. Finding the upbeat rhythms and revolutionary message just what was needed to begin the immunization, I became focused. The similarities between Kuti and Bob Marley were obvious so it seemed a perfect opportunity, with an abundance of commuting time and a stash of generous gift certificates, to expand my knowledge of African and Jamaican music - the mission was now defined.

It proved to be the perfect choice - and so it went for 3 months as the on line research, the CD orders and arrivals, and the infectious beats and musical histories eased me through the weather, the miles, the days, weeks, and months. The scene seemed pretty well set, and was going quite nicely the plan seemed to be working, I was unaware of an unexpected surprise that was about to put the proverbial cherry atop the sundae.

Another nice diversion this winter was the unexpected arrival of Elvis Costello's Music/Interview show on Sundance Channel. It is an entertaining show with an impressive list of guests and a truly knowledgeable and engaged host. During a show visited by Jacob Dylan we were treated to a discussion of Joe Strummer and a performance of one of his songs. These guys don't mess around and pulled no punches by delivering a killer version of Straight To Hell, !

I like to think of myself as musically aware and fairly knowledgeable, but for some reason I slept through the punk scene missing The Clash and some other bands of note in the process. Of course I had heard the hits, but that hardly qualified. In addition, I somehow missed the reemergence of Joe Strummer despite his consistently great reviews. Though I had recently put both The Clash and Strummer on my catch up list, Straight To Hell, was like a slap in the face and it was suddenly clear I could wait no longer - I had been missing something vital. Having now begun to wade into the extensive catalog, I am a changed man and feel like a baby just learning to walk. Without exaggerating I can say I haven't had a such a musical moment since I first heard Elvis, Dylan or Professor Longhair many years ago !

So as the Ides of March approaches in a new year, I can say I'm probably having the best musical year since 1970. Though there is some personal shame in realizing again the extent of my subjective ignorance, I am heartened also by the fact that there still remain enough discoveries to keep me looking forward to new experiences of equal or greater weight. At my age that is an important thing to know !

Houston, We Have A Winner !

2009-02-01T15:01:00.000-08:00

N.A.S.A. - The Spirit Of Apollo

This project unexpectedly came to my attention on a sampler disk I received from Paste magazine, and admittedly caught my attention because the track featured Tom Waits. While it's fun to pick up the latest CD from your favorite artist and revel in the intimacy of familiarity, for me part of the real joy of music is finding something totally new and foreign that takes me somewhere I wouldn't have naturally gone and teaches me something in the process.

I'll start by stating that I'm basing my comments on the basis of what I've seen and heard on 4 pre-release cuts, so my final opinion could change, but I'd pay the package price even if this was all there is. I also have a lot of homework to do as I know very few of the players on this project.

N.A.S.A is the brainchild collaboration of DJ's Sam Spiegel (Squeak E. Clean) via NY & Los Angeles, and Ze Gonzales (DJ Zegon) Sao Paulo, Brazil with guests including Tom Waits, Kool Keith, Karen O, , David Byrne, Chuck D and others. In addition to the music, there is collaboration with a mixed bag of visual artists, including OBEY/Obama artist Shepard Fairey, who provided 5 interchangeable CD covers and a video. There will also be a documentary on the making of the project.

With a brilliant border bending mix of rap, reggae, rock, techno, pop, funk and much more there's a lot here to get into. I've never been much on pure pop, rap, or techno. I have viewed these genres as interesting but limited in scope and development. But here these genres are melded into a wonderful gumbo that perfectly releases the flavor of each ingredient.

And, by the way - if you think policies of the recent past have left no imprint on public consciousness check out the video for 'Money' below.

I hope you'll check it out - I think its worth it !

ANTI - The Spirit Of Apollo Home - with music samples & Trailer link

Video - Money - Large HD Playback @ Youtube

Art - multi Cover Artwork

Why I Love My Wife

2009-01-22T19:27:00.001-08:00

Reason 10, 000, 001

This week I unexpectedly received this photo message on my iPhone from my wife while at work - I had recently told her I was looking for a new pillow. This picture is SO immediately spontaneous, funny, cute, cuddly, childish, intimate, sweet, therapudic, and desperately welcome ! This picture came to me like a drink of water in the desert - the only thing in the weekday wasteland that reminded me that there was something really real.

I have never had any wallpaper photo on my iPhone other than a picture of Cathy... I like knowing she's there. This photo may replace the current one because it says Cathy to me maybe more than perhaps even a real photo of her - the love, the laughter -the young woman who became my friend when I needed one and partner because she wanted to.

This is more than a picture of stuffed animals. It says remember who you are, remember how to smile, remember someone cares, remember what matters - it's life - it's simple - it's US.

Miracles Happen - "Yes They Can"

2009-01-18T09:29:00.000-08:00

A Metaphor For Hope

Thursday, January 15, I arrived home to the ironic juxtaposition of 2 news stories. One, the unexpected and heroically successful avoidance of near tragedy as a crippled aircraft landed safely, and the anticipated performance of George W. Bush's presidential farewell speech. I could not help but consider, as I watched the reporting that evening, how lucky the passengers were to have such an experienced and clear thinking pilot, Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger III, in the face of such grave danger ["is there any other kind?"], and speculate what if things had been different. Suppose, mixing our metaphorical news stories for the sake of contrast, our President had been at the controls at that fateful moment. Without wishing to make light of a very serious incident let's explore the possibilities.

A plane full of passengers sits in anticipation on a cold New York runway headed for a warmer welcome a few hours away in South Carolina. The plane begins its routine lift off and suddenly routine turns to crisis with a loud noise - birds have unexpectedly entered the jet engines resulting in flames and total loss of power. Our pilot unaware of the crisis or how to deal with it continues on the normal flight path banking sharply to the left. The passengers seeing the flames report to the aging flight attendant named Mc...something that the engines are in flames - he dismisses our concern and replies that the "condition of the engines is fundamentally sound." Another member of the crew reports to the Vice... I mean Co Pilot that we are losing altitude, his confident assesment is that we are "in the last throws of ascent."

The pilot, lacking the flying skills to avoid the George Washington Bridge collides with the span destroying it and further damaging the aircraft. Fearing the appearance of weakness he blames the passengers for the impending disaster and arranges quarters at Riker's Island for their detention. Sensing the need for the appearance of leadership, he declares war on New Jersey. Situation under control - what a leader !

As the plane decends quickly we can hear the distant voice of Air Traffic Controller Blagojevich reciting Kipling to offer an air of calm to the situation. Someone suggests a bailout, but amid confusion and disagreement it is too late. On a wing and some well placed Faith Based Initiative the plane settles in the hudson River among a crazy quilt rescue fleet of utility vessels. Cold water is rising quickly - time for survival is short. Our ever vigilant CoPilot, still keen eyed for geese, shoots a ferry captain in the face with his shotgun. Despite the odds crew and passengers are rescued.

Later, our fearless pilot gives a press conference under a banner reading "Mission Accomplished" detailing the success of the flight and his masterful skills at the controls. Seen through his eyes [the only legitimate perspective] its been pretty much smooth sailing and a grand ride - we should all be thankful.

As I reflect on this twist of plot I realize that in a very real way we were all on that plane on that day . Today Sunday January 18, 2009 we are all standing on those thankfully bouyant wings in the Hudson in a foot of freezing water awaiting our rescue. Today's screen images reflect our new captain arriving by train not ferry, and our plane pulled from the icey waters quite bruised but still in tact - as are we.

All You Have To Do Is Dream

2008-11-17T18:19:00.000-08:00

New - Old music

For those of you who don't know, and how would you, I'll tell you the name of my favorite lifetime record release - Music From Big Pink by The Band. Being my favorite album [which also contains my two favorite songs] it stands to reason that I likewise revere the 'Big Pink' sessions [recorded in 1967 and released in 1975] as The Basement Tapes by Bob Dylan as one of the most historically significant sessions in musical history.

Imagine then, my longtime disappointment at not being able to get my hands on a copy of the available, but officially unreleased remainder of the Basement Tape sessions after searching for nearly 20 years !

The closest we got was an excellent recent release a few months ago of I'm Not There from the biographical film of the same name.

Until NOW ! As the opening song on the 5 disk (unofficial) set The Genuine Basement Tapes says All You Have To Do Is Dream ...and, it seems, wait long enough.

I won't go into much more detail here - I've just begun to wade into the 103 song collection, but from what I've heard so far, the wait and the money spent were well worth it !

This post wouldn't be complete without a nod to John L. who told me about the store where I found them and especially my wife Cathy who patiently waits while I roam near and far and dawdle in unkempt out of the way places in search of music. I wouldn't want to count the collective hours over our entire time together she's sacrificed to my endless panning - but a big Thanks is due ! This time I came up with pure gold !

Some examples -

It was just a coincidence that I had this post to contrast my last, but we span 40 years between the two. Here's Bob Dylan circa 1967 hiding out with his buddies and reinventing himself and music - again ! He's been recording for maybe 5 years and he's already on his third radical change in direction. I've included lyrics again because these are SO different from anything in music now or then - only Dylan could write down these words and say - that's a song ! ...and then never release it.

Finding this song is like peeling the top layer off of a master painting to find another sketch or rough prelude to the well known strokes we all know - it really gives us a new view of the the artist and his process.

Song Preview:All You Have To Do Is Dream

All you have to do is dream - Bob Dylan

If the farmer has no silo
And his fuel cost runs up high
Well, that's just how much I would love you
If you'd just only let me try.

In some nice young up to date kitchen
Let us get acquainted, dear
And them old floor birds will just quit eatin'
And just grin from ear to ear.

Two floor birds and a prudent baby chick
Yes that ain't, that ain't much to bust
But restriction causes damage
And damage causes lust.

So poor little girl, come blow this horn
Hard as any whole night seems
It's very easily done actually
All you have to do is dream.

Well, them old back scrapers are a dime a dozen
And I can get a call for a nickle
Yes, but look what an earful I get and it's all awful too
Every time I try to go get me a little tickle.

So, gimme one sweet loaf of bread
Just one sweet loaf, fill it up and I'll be gone
Yes, just like some of these old floor birds
Who fly from dawn to dawn.
Oh yes, who fly from dawn to dawn
Yes, who fly from dawn to dawn
Oh, fly from dawn to dawn.

The second example has Dylan singing [what an understatement !] a version of a traditional sea shanty style song - but his delivery and passion make the song live and breathe ! Listen to this performance and it's clear [as if we needed any further proof] that Bob Dylan is a born musician.

So it's rise up my lads
Let your hearts never fail...

Song Preview:Bonnie Ship the Diamond

Basement Tape info:The Genuine Basement Tapes

More than a Song

2008-09-14T15:27:00.000-07:00

"Some of us scare ourselves to death in the dark  to be where the angels fly "

Red River Shore

In the context of today's entertainment market, unlimited music outlets and technology, a song is a snapshot of time, a batch of downloadable bits, or a source for sampling, a commercial sales tool, or the current earworm cum soundtrack to your momentary ADD consciousness.

In its inception a song was not only entertainment but a form of communication, the original news network containing the latest stories of interest, survival, and conventional wisdom. The most interesting of these were copied, embellished, reinterpreted, and passed down through generations, over time becoming templates for expression and our link to the past - also known as tradition.

Well, no revelations there - I'm stating the obvious, but it does help add context to a recently released song by Bob Dylan - Red River Shore. It's also no surprise dylan should release a song rooted in the tradition in which his name first became a synonymic icon.

It is, however, particularly in the current American Idolized sub-prime talent market, rare to watch musical history being written. Which makes the emergence of this song (and others on Tell Tale Signs: the Bootleg Series Vol. 8) so exciting. Few songs we hear today will remain relevant during one generation much less become part of the molecular structure of time eternal.

Bob Dylan remains true to himself, true to a tradition - the student, the artist, the teacher, the MASTER. Yet, he breaks the bounds of the mortal artist by also becoming a vital link in a golden chain.

I must admit that without having read the liner notes I would not have known that The Kingston trio sang a like named song but I did research the writers Jack Splittard/Randy Cierley linked below. I have not further researched possible earlier versions. But the template is certainly familiar - love pursued at the risk of, hardship, emotional desperation, and life itself. The song though, is more than merely a cover, a rewrite, a reinterpretation, or a derivative. Dylan - as always, almost reinvents a genre using language that transcends anything that has come before and setting a new standard for what must come after - this is Dylan's song, and we are extremely fortunate to be his contemporary audience.

If you had to pick one song representing Dylan's 'mature' period this would certainly be a great choice. In addition this CD set provides a perfect archeological insight to the foundation of his last 20 years and also amazingly includes a Robert Johnson cover, a divine duet with Ralph Stanley, a blazing live version of High Water (for Charlie Patton), and an 8+ minute Civil War epic !

I also came to another realization during a recent conversation with my brother. What could be offhandedly considered the liability of a deteriorating voice actually becomes the perfect patina and physical weight for the lyrical framework Dylan lays out in his current canon. In fact, he becomes a vocal peer of such timeless legends as Armstrong, Howlin' Wolf, and so many others. Dylan has always known how to use his voice in any context and this song is as perfect an example as you can find.

I kept staring at the cover photo and thinking it reminded me of someone. When I finally realized who I was thinking of I came up with the following comparison which lends some credence to my previous observation.

I present the some lyrics and some referential links below as well. I have not yet found a copy of the Kingston Trio song.

The Kingston Trio

Red River Shore

(Jack Splittard/Randy Cierley)

At the foot of yon mountain, where the big river flows, there's a fond creation and a soft wind that blows.
There lives a fair maiden, she's the one I adore. She's the one I will marry on the Red River shore.

She wrote me a letter. She wrote it so kind and in that letter these words you will find.
"Come back to me, darling, you're the one I adore. You're the one I will marry on the Red River shore.

I jumped on my bronco and away I did ride to marry my true love on the Red River side.
But her pa knew the secret and with twenty and four come to fight this young cowboy on the Red River shore.

I grabbed my six shooter, spun 'round and 'round 'til six men were wounded and seven were down.
I can't fight an army of twenty and four when I'm bound for my true love on the Red River shore.

At the foot of yon mountain, where the big river flows, there's a fond creation and a soft wind that blows.
And there lives a fair maiden, she's the one I adore, but never will marry on the Red River shore.

----------------

Bob Dylan

Red River Shore

Some of us turn off the lights and we laugh  In the moonlight shooting by 
Some of us scare ourselves to death in the dark  To be where the angels fly 
Pretty maids all in a row lined up  Outside my cabin door
 I never wanted any of ‘em wantin’ me  ‘Cept the girl from the Red River shore

Well I sat by her side and for a while I tried  To make that girl my wife 
She gave me her best advice and she said  Go home and lead a quiet life 
Well I been to the East and I been to the West  And I been out where the black winds roar 
Somehow though I never did get that far  With the girl from the Red River shore

Well I knew when I first laid eyes on her  I could never be free 
One look at her and I knew right away  She should always be with me 
Well the dream dried up a long time ago  Don’t know where it is anymore 
True to life, true to me  Was the girl from the Red River shore

Well I’m wearing the cloak of misery  And I’ve tasted jilted love 
And the frozen smile upon my face  Fits me like a glove 
But I can’t escape from the memory Of the one that I’ll always adore
 All those nights when I lay in the arms  Of the girl from the Red River shore

Well we’re livin’ in the shadows of a fading past  Trapped in the fires of time
 I’ve tried not to ever hurt anybody  And to stay out of the life of crime 
And when it’s all been said and done I never did know the score
 One more day is another day away From the girl from the Red River shore

Well I’m a stranger here in a strange land  But I know this is where I belong
 I ramble and gamble but the one I love  And the hills will give me a song
 Though nothing looks familiar to me  I know I’ve stayed here before
 Once a thousand nights ago  With the girl from the Red River shore

Well I went back to see about her once  Went back to straighten it out 
Everybody that I talked to that seen us there  Said they didn’t know who I was talking about 
Well the sun went down on me a long time ago  I’ve had to go back from the door
 I wish I could have spent every hour of my life  With the girl from the Red River shore

Now I heard of a guy who lived a long time ago  A man full of sorrow and strife 
That if someone around him died and was dead  He knew how to bring him on back to life 
Well I don’t know what kind of language he used  Or if they do that kind of thing anymore  
Sometimes I think nobody ever saw me here at all  ‘Cept the girl from the Red River shore

Song Preview:Red River Shore

Reference 1:Kingston Trio

Reference 2:Randy Cierley

Reference 3 - Nice Resume:randy sterling

Donna

2008-08-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

I thought I heard a request -

Well, Donna, since you mentioned it, a dedication is in order. I'm not sure of the exact context of this particular recording but it's clearly not the released single. It's hard to project the later lives of the artists we lose early, but in listening to this performance I hear a lot of what Freddy Fender brought to his style. With that in mind it's clear that Richie Valens left a valuable legacy - all the more remarkable since he was limited to giving us so few samples.

Thank you for reminding me of this song and its personal connection - and for being Donna !

B is for Buddy, Bob, & Billy Joe - C is for Cyclone

2008-05-15T19:24:00.001-07:00

I was around 10-11 years old when I first became aware of a place called Texas-

Buddy Holly

at least in a musical sense - a more grown up way. I must have seen Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers earlier perhaps - but that was just TV (black and white), some mythical character projector that lent as much caricature to the landscape as the characters. I was a small boy in Ohio and my world was just as small but as I was to find out much later, music could make that world much bigger.

The first song I remember hearing in my life was Good Night Irene (a Leadbelly song it turns out), but it wasn't until Elvis hit in '55 that I knew that music was more than a song - it was a LIFE FORCE ! Then came Buddy Holly another original - but as quick as he showed up - he was gone. That may have been the first time in my life I was aware of death, and the danger of geography - the risk of getting somewhere. Learning he was from Texas expanded my geographic awareness, my boundries now extended to Memphis in the south and Texas to the west.

Fast forward to 1970 [I'll fill in the blanks in other posts], and my first chance to take control of my musical education. With my primary exposure to date being rock, my mission was to expand my musical knowledge exploring musical history and roots. Fortunately, to that end, rock at the time was incorporating many kinds of music including country. It was 'outlaw' country that first grabbed my serious attention, when Waylon Jennings, a real country artist, released Honky Tonk Heroes. The big deal here for me though was finding Billy Joe Shaver - a real Texas songwriter - the songwriter behind that breakthrough album. He soon after released his own album Old Five and Dimers Like Me, which has remained a lifelong favorite. I knew I had found the real deal, and that's when Texas was officially added to my DNA.

An interesting circumstance that Waylon Jennings, who I soon found out had been in Buddy Holly's band, should bring me full circle back to the Texas connection.

Billy Joe Shaver

About the same time another name from my rock and roll past, Doug Sahm [front man for The Sir Douglas Quintet], returned after his British Invasion/Hippy Rock sojurn and declared his Texas roots [which was nearly the same as coming out of the closet back then]. To see a cowboy hat on a rock and roller was a strange, especially when that musician was quite seriously embracing his history. When he released Doug Sahm and Friends his mature musicianship was realized. He spent the rest of his life through many collaborations, pseudonyms, and bands [including the Texas Tornadoes] dedicating himself to the music and the musicians that he revered. He was a master cutting across many musical styles from rock, to Tex-Mex, to Blues, R&B and certainly expanded my musical vocabulary as much as any other musician.

While Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker, Kristofferson, and many others were making it big on the music scene, Billy Joe and Doug were busy being the stonemasons of the Texas music tradition, while adding some new tricks to their trade as well. I'm happy to say, I followed them every step of the way and they never disappointed.

Doug Sahm

I don't remember exactly what led me to Bob Wills. Was it a side trip from my Jazz or Bluegrass explorations ? Six degrees of separation from a country artist ? Quite likely it might have been researching the traditional roots of bands like Asleep at the Wheel or Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks. Either way, this was an important link for me into Texas music tradition and history. Back to a time when Texas was Texas, a place few people outside the state borders knew much about and a culture undiluted by the influences of mass media. It was easy to see during my recent visit the remaining tradition of the local dance halls and it was awe inspiring to be walking in the footsteps of so many musical legends, traditions, and finally touching physically and emotionally the turf of my musical heroes and inspiration. These are the reasons my recent Texas trip was more a pilgrimage than a vacation.

Bob Wills

Postscript:

I could not call this post complete without mentioning that nearly 9 years after my first discovery of Bob Wills, I found myself in an unexpected situation - with a young woman on the night of our first meeting, perusing her small but eclectic record collection which contained - you guessed it - A BOB WILLS boxed set !! The overwhelming odds of meeting a woman who even knew who Bob Wills was, much less owned an album would be far beyond lottery statistics. That album [and mine] are still in the house we've lived in for 25 years !! "Big Ball's In Cowtown" ! AAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWW !

A is for AUSTIN - and ALEJANDRO !

2008-05-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

Where do I begin to relate the excitement of my recent Austin experience ? Perhaps I'll just start alphabetically...

When I was in line at the Continental Club waiting to see Alejandro Escovedo [a long time dream come true!] a tall long-haired [Richard Brautigan looking] guy - a loyal fan - clued me in that Alejandro had played with non other than BRUCE the week before - so I had to get to Youtube right after the show to see this AWESOME clip ! Nice to see our local boy getting some long overdue national exposure !

I now anxiously await the new CD , REAL ANIMAL to be released June 24 [how can I wait ?!] - fortunately I got to hear some of the new tracks live to help appease the waiting.

Track Listing

1. Always a Friend
2. Chelsea Hotel '78
3. Sister Lost Soul
4. Smoke
5. Sensitive Boys
6. People (We're Only Gonna Live So Long)
7. Golden Bear
8. Nuns Song
9. Real as an Animal
10. Hollywood Hills
11. Swallows of San Juan
12. Chip n' Tony
13. Slow Down

I Have Seen The Gates Of Heaven !

2008-05-02T08:05:00.000-07:00

1315 Congress St. is indeed Paradise ! I have been to Austin, and aside from New Orleans no place (I've been) comes close ! After seeing Alejandro Escovedo and Jon Dee Graham on back to back nights at The Continental Club nothing here on earth can be the same again !

...and if you think the '60/'70's are dead - just go to Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Tx [where we saw another of my favorite bands The Gourds !] . It ALL comes together there [I wrote this short poetic observation down while on the premises...]

Bikers, hippies, and brides to be, Hardwood, neon, boots and beachwear / dancing to surrealist fruit namesakes and beerbottle bounty

I am SO grateful to all the Texans for their hospitality and to our incomparable hostess Donna for EVERYTHING - and of course my spouse for putting up with me always - and to SG for bringing all the pieces together. One of my BEST experiences EVER !

More details soon...

Chicago 10

2008-03-23T14:51:00.001-07:00

A new movie depicting the true historical events of the Chicago demonstrations and riots at the 1968 Democratic convention has recently opened. What is shown in the movie will seem unbelievable to those who did not live though the times. The movie should be seen by everyone because it is a reminder what REAL activism (and a REAL police state) looks like. It also shows the extremes of the justice system in action. Because no film/video equipment was allowed in the courtroom, the trial portion of the movie is animated. This now seems fitting given the circus atmosphere of the trial.

BIG Mischief

TESTIMONY OF ED SANDERS at the chicago Conspiracy Trial September 24, 1969 - February 20, 1970

The following was actually revealed in testimony at the trial. The document drawn by Yippie members in a meeting in preparation to their activities in Chicago. DADA, political theatre, social activism, and more.

"Predictions for Yippie activities in Chicago:"

 "A. Poetry readings, mass meditation, fly casting exhibitions, demagogic Yippie political arousal speeches, rock music and song concerts will be held on a precise timetable throughout the week, August 25 to 30.

"A dawn ass-washing ceremony with tens of thousands participating will occur each morning at 5:00 A.m., as Yippie revelers and protesters prepare for the 7:00 A.M. volleyball tournaments.

 "The Chicago offices of the National Biscuit Company will be hi-jacked on principle to provide bread and cookies for 50,000 as a gesture of goodwill to the youth of America.

 "The Yippie ecological conference will spew out an angry report denouncing Chi's poison in the lakes and streams, industrial honkey fumes from white killer industrialists and exhaust murder from a sick hamburger society of automobile freaks with precise total assault solutions to these problems.

 "Poets will rewrite the Bill of Rights in precise language detailing 10,000 areas of freedom in our own language to replace the confusing and vague rhetoric of 200 years ago.

 "B. Share your food, your money, your bodies, your energy, your ideas, your blood, your defenses. Attempt peace.

"C. Plan ahead of time how you will probably respond to various degrees of provocation, hate and creep vectors from the opposition."

"D. Learn the Internationale.

 "E. Bring sleeping bags, extra food, blankets, bottles of fireflies, cold cream, lots of handkerchiefs and canteens to deal with pig spray, love beads, electric toothbrushes, see-through blouses, manifestos, magazines, tenacity.

 "Remember we are the life forms evolving in our own brain." . . . .

Four 

Psychedelic long-haired mutant-jissomed peace leftists will consort with known dope fiends, spilling out onto the sidewalks in pornape disarray each afternoon."

eight

"Universal syrup day will be held on Wednesday when a movie will be shown at Soldiers Field in which Hubert Humphrey confesses to Allen Ginsberg of his secret approval of anal intercourse."

nine

"There will be public fornication whenever and wherever there is an aroused appendage and willing apertures"

thirteen

"Two-hundred thirty rebel cocksmen under secret vows are on 24-hour alert to get the pants of the daughters and wives and kept women of the convention delegates."

Link: Chicago 10 Movie Trailer

Tale of 2 Shirts

2008-02-03T17:07:00.000-08:00

Nancy To The Rescue !

Everyone has had that certain piece of clothing that is Special. It's just the right weight, color and size and the more you wear it the better it feels. It's the one you go for on those special days, and the one piece of clothing you plan your wardrobe schedule around. The one you can't stand to have out of service in the wash and puts your life back in order when it's back in the lineup. Once upon a time my wife Cathy bought me such a shirt from L.L. Bean. I've lost track of when, but for perhaps 10 years, that shirt (at left above) has been my year round buddy. Last year ended with the realization that even after several desperate attempts to force a few last elbow-torn wears my faithful buddy could no longer be called to service.

So began the search for a replacement. The shirt had long disappeared from the L.L. Bean catalog, and though Cathy had bought me a couple of similar shirts they were a bit heavier and not quite the same. I searched a lot of other stores, but came up empty. It began to look like the end of the road.

Then it was Christmas. There was a present from my sister in law Nancy that appeared to be a much needed shirt, but I had no idea the surprise that lay in store. When I opened the present - there to my amazement was a shirt the exact SAME color and material as he shirt I had just retired !

And so the story ends with a new beginning - new shirt is perfect, being the same color and weight, but just different enough to be identified now as 'Nancy's shirt' and I expect to get just as many comfortable years of enjoyment from this shirt. Thank you Nancy for making it a special Christmas 2007 and for filling a gaping hole, not only in my wardrobe but my life - somehow you seem to do that often !

Praise the Lord -

2008-01-26T18:51:00.000-08:00

and Pass the Funk !

Well, Christmas brought me a fistful of my favorite presents - Amazon gift certificates ! So the challenge was now on - assemble the perfect list of purchases, making maximum use of EVERY musical penny. Most of my January was consumed with this new obsession. The nice thing about a large gift certificate sum is that it affords the opportunity to buy 'big ticket' items like boxed sets, or to spend a bit more on a 'luxury' item like an out of print CD that I might regularly pass on. I have also learned that by using the Amazon resellers that sell discounted new or used product you can double the value or your purchases - Hallelujah !

GOSPEL

Much of my musical collection in addition to just being things I like to listen to are part of my ongoing interest in the history and evolution of music and tracing specific genres through to their roots. So a few months back I had written down 'Gospel' in one of my notebooks. While I had always been aware of Gospel in popular music from Little Richard, to Sam Cooke, to Aretha Franklin and many others, and knew the biggest names such as Mahalia Jackson, I had never taken the time to go inside the genre to it's real players and environment - the ones who didn't cross over to popular music.

As usual, a connection to Bob Dylan led me to my most recent awareness and pursuit. Dylan's Religious releases 1978-1981 have recently been the subject of a CD and Documentary Gotta Serve Somebody, in which top gospel performers sing the material from Dylan'sSlow Train Comin', and Saved. While many of Dylan's fans were confused by these releases, I had always thought they contained some of his best performances so I took a special interest in these new gospel interpretations. The CD and documentary were inspirational and left me wanting more. Fortunately there are at least a couple of DVD's containing documentaries on the history of Gospel music and I have ordered them to deepen my knowledge of this important music and its players.

James Brown and Funk

Another missing link in my music collection was the absence of James Brown. Always on the fringe of 'mainstream' he had created his own signature sound that defied strict categorization and changed music. My interests in many other kinds of music, the scope of his music in time and style, plus the mountain of available releases perhaps led to an unconscious avoidance or confrontation with such a formidable force. Well, no longer !

Since my musical agenda seemed to be free at the moment, and James' death [which reminded me of his gigantic contributions] was still hovering in the recent past it seemed time to right this senseless wrong - but where to begin ?

I leapt head first into the deep waters of the Amazon and tried to stay afloat in 50 years of releases and musical history. I used a reference book I had, additional biographical websites and even e-mailed my friend and funk aficionado Lou with James Brown inquiries. They were valuable in helping me cut through the mountain of material to get a clearer picture of what I was after. I did narrow in on a few sets that look good and put a few on my wish list as well.

I nearly crashed the Amazon site by ordering some obscure and out of print materials. I Immediately began getting the standard order confirmations followed the next day by a string of cancellations and delayed shipping notices as several vendors realized they could not meet the inventory requirements of my orders.

Fear not, a man with a musical mission, and FREE money CANNOT be stopped. I promptly replaced my orders with alternate sellers, and was rewarded with confirmations and expedited shipping.

Several things are of interest and make the James Brown story very interesting. Like Elvis, his career began in the 50's and had to endure the changing musical and political landscapes of the 60's, 70's, and beyond creating the need for constant reinvention for survival. His catalog was one mainly comprised of singles even as the industry became a more album oriented medium. In addition to his main James Brown musical identity, much of the story revolves on the band and its members which was constantly changing contributing to the evolution of the music. The importance of the band as a musical tool through which to develop new musical ideas, there is a subset of instrumental releases by the various bands some songs featuring James on organ. The band members came from a diverse musical background adding to the complex mixture which James used to his visionary purpose.

Of course the most obvious and visible contribution is that the James Brown bands were the crucible that forged or forced FUNK from the raw elements of Rhythm and blues and poured it still molten on the musical world first directly, then through his musical expatriates and disciples Bootsy Collins, George Clinton, Sly Stone etc.

Now all that remains is to watch, listen, and absorb the real meaning of all this music. A pleasant task !

My thanks to all those who contributed to my latest musical expedition !

War, War, War

2008-01-07T19:43:00.001-08:00

I.

Since the beginning of the current war, I had been wanting to give a listen to one of my favorite LP’s from the 70’s, War, War, War by Country Joe McDonald. Seems strange to call an album about war a favorite, but in terms of artistic merit, contemplatve lyrics, and a few catchy tunes as well, it is certainly a standout acheivement. Somewhere along the way I did put on the LP and found it just as startlingly real and relevant as it was when it was released. The LP is actually an adaptation of the poems of Robert W. Service from the collection Rhymes of a Red Cross Man originally published in 1916.

After listening to the LP I wanted to refer back to it more often, but listening to LP’s these days is logistically challenging, it is not available on CD, and I just never found time or focus to transfer the LP to CD - until this weekend.

Repeated recent listenings have deepend my thoughts on the subject and broadened my scope to other artists and songs or collections about war. I took notice of the relative absence of such songs in present times as opposed to the other war eras, due likely to the reduced participation requirements of the current population. I remembered too, in the early days of my childhood, my mother singing WW I & II songs, one lyric stands out - We're on our way to Heligoland to get the Kaiser's goat. While putting together a brief list of memorable war songs present and past, I also realized that war songs can be divided into several distinct categories.

The first category comes straight from the source - songs created FOR war. These would include marches, charges, cadence songs , soldier work or ‘spirit’ songs such as Yankee Doodle.

The second category - reportage. Songs dealing with a mostly straight descriptive or narrative presentation by an observer or participant of a event, situation or condition of war. You may remember a song from the sixties The Bismark, by Johnny Horton

The third category is farcical or songs employing humor. Those songs perhaps using black humor or outright farce to redirect the reality and horror of the state of war. Two that come to mind are Fixin’ to Die Rag by Country Joe and the Fish, and Draft Dodger Rag by Phil Ochs.

The fourth category I would describe as autobiographical. Usually a more serious and personal look at any one or group of soldiers stating their observations, feelings, reactions, and the effects of their personal experiences, sometimes taking the form of letters.

The last two song categories are either pro - celebratory in nature such as Ballad of the Green Beret, Sgt. Barry Sadler, or protest - anti war in sentiment like I Ani't Marchin' Any More by Phil Ochs.

Of course a songwriter might incorporate any number of these themes in a single song Snoopy and the Red Baron comes to mind, or even Please Mr. Custer.

And, so it happens in my world. A simple thought on our current situation and a musical need or curiosity leads to a more in depth study of a musical genre and a few emotional and educational surprises come along the way - that's how I learned to learn. When recently asked on 60 Minutes what music meant to him Bruce Springsteen said that when he was young music informed him, I didn’t know how to do it myself until music came along and opened me up not just to the world of music but to the world period, you know, to the events of the day. To the connection between culture and society and those were things that riveted me, engaged me in life,” Springsteen says. “Gave me a sense of purpose.

And so it was with me, in many ways music has been my Cliff Notes to life.

I will continue in Part II with some observations of particularly eloquent War songs contributed by artists from my generation.

Today's History/Geography lesson. Thanks, Mom.

Helgoland or Heligoland , island (1994 pop. 1,730), c.150 acres (60 hectares), Schleswig-Holstein, NW Germany, in the North Sea. Formed of red sandstone, it rises to c.200 ft (60 m) above the sea and is largely covered with grazing land. Strategically located near the mouths of the Weser and the Elbe rivers, Helgoland was captured by the Danes in 1714, was occupied by the English in 1807, and was formally ceded to England by Denmark in 1814. In exchange for rights in Africa, England gave the island to Germany in 1890. The Germans installed fortifications, which were razed after World War I according to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. However, Germany refortified Helgoland in 1936 and used it as a naval base in World War II.

...and the song goes -

We're on our way to Heligoland
To get the Kaiser's goat.
In a good old Yankee boat
Up the Kiel cannal we'll float.
I'm a son of a gun to meet a Hun,
We'll make them understand,
We'll knock the Heligo--
Into Heligo--
Out of Heligoland.

Cover Flow !

2007-09-26T19:49:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night I organize my record collection; I often do this at periods of emotional stress. there are some people who would find this a pretty dull way to spend an evening, but I'm not one of them. This is my life, and it's nice to be able to wade in it, imerse your arms in it, touch it. High Fidelity - Nick Hornby

FINALLY - my record collection is BACK !

The picture below (also from High Fidelity) was me on any given night [or day] when I needed to be 'involved' with my music. Part of the musical experience, as any real baby boomer or music freak can tell you, was getting physical with those albums just as you would in any 'real' relationship.

That may be one of the biggest reasons (other than money) that I was a late adopter to the digital music age. I bought my first CD player and CD's [The Band, and K D Lang-Ingenue] sometime around '92-'93 - at least 6 years after I bought my last LP [Aerosmith-Permanent Vacation] and far behind the leading audio edge of the day. Over time as my ears got used to the different sound, and digital production got better I warmed up to the new format. Later as compression technology gave birth to pocket sized music players, I quickly embraced the idea of traveling with my entire music collection - hundreds of CD's - in my pocket - something I could never have imagined in my youth !

Though the benefits of portability had trumped some of what was missing in the digital world, scrolling through an anonymous title list on a small screen, though efficient, lacked the tactile excitement and mounting anticipation of picking up an album, absorbing the related visual, freeing the disk from its comfortable quilt-like enclosure, and carefully placing it on the waiting turntable, and watching, mezmerized, as it spins you toward the point of sensory overload.

Now that has changed ! Someone has considered the afore mentioned experience worthy of a digital do-over. NOW THERE IS COVER FLOW ! Apple iTunes has introduced an animation application that comes very close to recreating the visual excitement of actually searching through your record collection. As you can see in the above photo, just drag the mouse [or your finger on an iPod] side to side and your 'albums' flip front and center for your consideration the rest of the collection remains stacked left and right giving one that sense of order, mass - power.

It looks as if you're reorganizing your record collection, what is this cronological?
No.
Not Alphabetical?
Nope.
What?
Autobiographical.
No F_____n' way.
Yea - I can tell you how I got from Deep Purple to Howlin' Wolf in just 25 moves.
Man...
If I want find the song Landslide by Fleetwood Mac I have to remember that I bought it for someone in the fall of '93 pile but didn't give it to them for personal reasons.
That sounds...
Comforting ?

Yes.

High Fidelity - (Screenplay)
D.V. De Vincentis, Steve Pink, & John Cusack
based on the novel by Nick Hornby

Richard Brautigan

2007-09-16T08:18:00.000-07:00

January 1935 – September 1984

Brautigan, along with Dylan (Bob not Thomas) and soon Kerouac, Ginsberg, Miles Davis and Warhol gave me the roadmap I had been missing. The years 1968-1971 were like a door had been opened and I was kicked through it.

To a kid who did not get a proper grounding in reading or much other acedemic underpinning, someone like Brautigan was just the thing to learn not only that reading could be fun, but that there were forms I could read, and understand, and that one did not need to be a Rhodes Scholar to write, express yourself, and get published. I was smart enough, however, to know the difference between pop art and more serious artistic forms - but it was usually the former that led me to the latter.

Trout Fishing in America, his best known work, was an experimental novel published in 1967. At that time, for me, a book was a book. They all looked the same and were structured the same, and for me certainly all equally unapproachable. On some level I knew there was more to writing but me and alot of other people had yet to see it. Then, suddenly there was Trout Fishing. In my favorite chapter "The Hunchback Trout" the creek is likend to 12, 845 phonebooths and he, the fisherman, is a telephone repairman - and when he cooks the trout later its hump tastes "sweet as the kisses of Esmeralda." Each 1 to 6 page chapter was another beautiful metaphoric journey - and I could finish the book in a day.

Then came books of poetry with titles like Rommel Drives Deep Into Egypt and Loading Mercury with A Pitchfork each with its cache of jewel-like poems falling somewhere between haiku and heaven.

About the same time came malls and the first chain bookstores "Waldens" followed by some more eclectic independent suburban bookstores, making these books available to anyone to browse or buy. No more sterile libraries hiding faceless books on endless shelves shrouded in the mystery of Melvil Dewey's daunting decimal classification system in casketlike drawers of cards.

Brautigan's star faded along with the '60's subculture and the '70's brought more new style writers like Tom Robbins, Douglas Adams, and more published poetry joined his books in the growing Poetry sections of the bookstores. But my original (now out of print) Brautigan books (with their $1.95 and $2.95) prices still occupy very hallowed space in my collection - and my heart, as does Richard, who much like Kerouac and others found life a tough hand to play.

Sample 1:Bio

Sample 2:Poems

Sample 3:Trout Fishing In America

Perfect Fit ?

2007-09-10T18:38:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm really gonna show my age here but this is almost science fiction - certainly unbelievable by today's standards.

They used to have these machines in shoe stores. After the correct style and fit had apparently been made, final confirmation was made by stepping up on the platform of this podium and putting your feet, proudly encased in their new footwear, into the slot where they would be subjected to a dose of X-Ray for a final see through view.

It seemed cool because you could look into the special viewing portal and see your toes right through the shoes ! This podiatric peep show left no doubt if proper clearance and fit was achieved.

Needless to say, the health hazards* made this tool short lived, but it remains permanent part of my earliest shoe shopping memories.

* measurements performed during the late 1940s indicated that the doses to the feet ranged from 7 to 14 R for a 20 second exposure...surveys at the time indicated that more than 60 percent of inspected machines exceeded the American Standards Association recommendation of 2 R to the feet per five second exposure.

More Info:Shoe-Fitting Fluoroscope

Michael Bloomfield

2007-09-07T06:36:00.001-07:00

For the past month I've been obsessed with Michael Bloomfield. Well, much longer than that really - I first listened to him in '68 when he was working with Al Kooper. He did some solo work, and had a short lived band The Electric Flag, and played with muddy Waters and others. I didn't catch up with his earlier work with Dylan, and Paul Butterfield till '70.

Who knows why something grabs a hold of you at a particular time, but strangely enough that time is now. Like a deer in the headlights I have listened almost exclusively to just a few sessions continuously and repetitively while commuting and during lunch, and other spare moments. I was hungry for something tough to bite into and savor and this guitar went straight to the marrow and stayed there. Maybe now also because I have now gathered a mass of his music (thanks to new and reissues), which in the past has been hard to get.

Like many musicians of that era, whose genius drove him too close to and finally over the edge at a young age, he left us too young but left us just enough to call a legacy. He was more than just a blazing blues guitarist - he was a smart musician. He had big ears and knew how to play in the context of a band always knowing just where to be and what the larger presence required. He played with the obsessive passion of someone who lives of, by, and for the music. I believe he ranks with the likes of Hendrix, Allman, Garcia, and Stevie Ray to name a few. It is perhaps no coincidence that none of them are here today.

I am grateful for the contributions of Michael Bloomfiled, thankful for his passion and his legacy, and thankful that his music can continue to do for me what possibly it could not do for him.

Thank you.

Recommended Samples:

Sample 1:Maggie's Farm - W/Dylan at Newport '65

Sample 2:Drinkin' Wine-Electric Flag

Sample 3:Stop - W/Al Kooper - Super Session

Sample 4:Born In Chicago - Fillmore West '69

Wellfleet, Ma Cape Cod

2007-09-06T20:28:00.001-07:00

Most folks reeturning from a relaxing Cape Cod vacation probably would have posted a nice scenic beach photo to honor the occasion, but not me. I chose the front doors of a church in process of restoration. The former Catholic church, now named Wellfleet Preservation Hall when finished will be used to facilitate music, dance, and other artistic and community gatherings.

Perhaps the perfect transformation, in my opinion, for a Catholic church.

More Info:Wellfleet Preservation Hall

Kerouac

2007-09-06T06:32:00.000-07:00

On The Road

If they had let (or even made) us read this book in high school I might have learned how to read and certainly how to think, perhaps even write, long before I found these true directions on my own. But it was a different time. In 63-64 this book was only 7 years old and the world had yet to feel the full impact of this book (the midwest being even further behind) and Kerouac was not taken seriously as a writer then either.

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (published 6 years before On The Road) was about the most daring thing they let us attempt and it was dry and a bit less obvious to my yet untrained mind. Cars, alienation, jazz, seeking truth on a different path could have been just what the literary doctor ordered. Oh well... the times were what they were and lacking resources (there were no internet/Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Borders, TV/Radio talk shows, no cable, satelite, FM, NPR or PBS) I had to get there on my own about 10 years later.

This is the 50th anniversary of the book's publishing, and in Kerouac's home town of Lowell, Ma. the original scroll manuscript of On the Road - yes, 120 ft of unparagraphed documentary - is on display, and I took the opportunity to make the pilgrimage to the holy grail of modern popular literature. While I don't unconditionally revere either the book or its author, I do believe that the book is an important social and literary documentary of the time. In addition it stands the test of time in story and character, it remains a 'right of passage' to young readers especially those who are seeking a less traditional path, and is certainly a pathway to a larger movement both literary and social known as the The Beats. Strip away the pop iconography associated with the movement and you still have a very large legacy of artistic and political achievement.

There is nothing I can say regarding the book or the author that hasn't been said previously. To a kid from the midwest lacking identity, direction, role models, or even much imagination I could have experienced, perhaps, what Bob Dylan did "I realized there were others out there like me". If you haven't read On The Road or any of Kerouac's work, or taken some time to investigate the Beats I would recommend even a brief look - if you have, I would recommend a revisit.

Sample 1:Steve Allen Show

Sample 2:Jazz

Sample 3:On The Road and Dharma Bums

Noble Creatures

2007-07-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

Forget Evolution and Creationism - both points are moot - we now have a new frame of existential reference. For now we have The Gourds, and for now I'll call it Divine Coaxation.

Voice / Reason

2007-06-21T14:02:00.001-07:00

something's on my mind... as soon as I figure out exactly what it is I'll have more - in the meantime use the picture above as inspiration for your own ideas...

O.K. let's start with some quotes - something to move the process forward.

"In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity."

"America... just a nation of two hundred million used car salesmen with all the money we need to buy guns and no qualms about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable."

Hunter S. Thompson

"Whoever controls the media, the images, controls the culture."

"The only thing that can save the world is the reclaiming of the awareness of the world. That's what poetry does."

Allen Ginsberg

"Revolution is not something fixed in ideology, nor is it something fashioned to a particular decade. It is a perpetual process embedded in the human spirit."

"I believe in compulsory cannibalism. If people were forced to eat what they killed, there would be no more wars."

Abbie Hoffman

Channeling Franz

2007-06-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

These thoughts consume me lately...

I have the attention span of a flea.

My life might be someone else's bad dream.

I can't use a hamper.

You Can Run...

2007-06-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

you can even hide, but not forever ! This musical scofflaw has finally been apprehended. I found him in between some equally shady company Rodney Crowell and The Flying Burrito Brothers in a holding stack ready for reentry to the 'big house' of my main organized CD collection.

Although this mission HAS been accomplished, the world of country music remains thankfully at risk forever due to the adventures of Waylon and his gang.

Also of Note:

I forgot to mention a bit of trivia in the last post. Waylon had been a member of Buddy Holly's band and narrowly missed being on the tragic crash in 1959 that killed Holly - another outlaw who made his mark in his short time.

Jennings wrote in his autobiography, “[Buddy] had a dose of Nashville where they wouldn't let him sing it the way he heard it and wouldn't let him play his own guitar parts. Can't do this, can't do that. 'Don't ever let people tell you you can't do something,' he'd say, 'and never put limits on yourself.'

OUTLAW WANTED !

2007-05-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

* REWARD *

If you have seen or know the whereabouts of this outlaw please contact this site immediately !

Well, that outlaw has jumped bail and turned up missing in my CD collection, and this desperado is gettin' ornery. It's not often I misplace a CD, but life has been hectic lately and I'm lookin' at about a thousand CD's so there's a stray in the herd and I'm out to get 'er back in the fold.

I've been listening to this CD [and its counterpart by Billy Joe Shaver Old Five and Dimers Like Me shown below] since its release in 1973. While it wasn't the first rock based country album, it was the first by an established Nashville country artist. The young Rock audience had recently been softened up to country influence by the likes of Gram Parsons and The Flying Burrito Brothers and The Byrds, Emmy Lou Harris, The New Riders of the Purple Sage, The Allman Brothers, up and comers like Jerry Jeff Walker, and Kris Kristofferson, and of course Doug Sahm and Dylan. Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis had been around for a long time breaking the rules, and Buck Owens had earlier introduced a pretty rockin' 'Bakersfield sound'. But this was the time for it all to come together - and it did with Honky Tonk Heroes an album of songs written completely by Billy Joe Shaver. The dues had been paid - it was time to cash in !

In later years Cash, Jennings, Kristofferson, and Nelson would team up touring and recording as The Highwaymen, and though Cash and Jennings have passed on Kris, Willie, and Billy Joe continue to carry on the legacy.

Honky Tonk Heroes was not released as a CD until '99 but remains a great milepost from which to trace country and rock backward and forward.

I'll be forced to drag out my vinyl copy of the album till the CD shows up I guess.

A Testament !

2007-05-08T20:05:00.000-07:00

I Almost Dyed !

2007-04-04T18:38:00.000-07:00

Who ordered the code red?

Well, this is just one of several highway incidents I've dealt with recently on my daily commute. Driving through this was an adventure. For about a mile and a half a half inch of solid rust-red dye the consistancy of tomato soup had traffic in a 30 minute delay most of the day. It was splashing everywhere and cars were covered. Later in the day it snowed and as Cathy viewed the scene from the opposite direction later on her southward commute she said it looked like a bloody masacre.

Part Of 495 North Turns Red After Dye Spill

(WBZ) LITTLETON A stretch of Interstate 495 north in Littleton was shut down early Wednesday morning after a truck spilled several containers of liquid dye on the highway, turning the road red.  State police say the containers fell off the tractor-trailer shortly after 10 p.m.   The non-toxic dye covered about 1,500 feet of the road. Several drivers said their vehicles were also splattered by the liquid. 

RY COODER

2007-03-04T19:32:00.001-08:00

Three Chords and the Truth !

Ry Cooder is a national treasure ! He's done it again with another fine release about as different and far from mainstream as you can get. Working from an all inclusive multi genre palette he has fashioned a kind of musical Grapes of Wrath complete with an illustrated story book and a fully developed cast of charactors. Faintly blurring the line between fact, fiction, animal, and human he draws out the commonality of the human condition and the struggles for justice including charactors from J. Edgar to Hank Williams, while the spirits of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Cesar Chavez, Martin Luther King and many others loom large in the background.

Ry Cooder, like Paul Simon, is perhaps one of the few artists who can manage to take concepts based on reality and turn them into fully developed artistic projects in the 'pop music' arena with depth, clarity, and enough musical breadth to sustain a consistant and engaging performance over an entire record. Yes, he's done it again !

A TOAST !

2007-03-04T18:26:00.000-08:00

Since I'm still trying to shake off the nostalgic jetlag of the previous post, I am reminded of a toast my father would give at almost any occasion he had te opportunity. It is simply a reminder to take advantage of the opportunities we are offered while we have the chance.

"Here's to it to do it. And if you don't get to it to do it, I hope you never get to it to do it again."

Thanks, dad - I'll try to keep that in mind.

Welcome back !

2007-03-04T17:21:00.001-08:00

It's only been 17 years -

but who's counting - and who cares ? David Bromberg is back and life is good !

Blink your eyes and you're liable to find that 36 years have gone by, such is the mind bending reality when looking at David's first album cover (yes vinyl - 1971) and his new CD Try Me One More Time with its artwork mirroring his first release.

After starting out as a club performer, and much sought after master session musician, David built an extremely admirable reputation on his own with his legendary Review style performances featuring full bands including drums, fiddles, mandolins, guitars, horns and a wide range of musical styles from dixieland to blugrass and rock and roll. And his albums were equally diverse usually spanning the whole gamut of style on a single record. He did it all ! Then after a lot of albums and years on the road, he decided on a career change. He became a violin maker and broker currently owning his own shop in Delaware.

During his exile I was lucky enough to catch a couple of very rare appearances he did at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge Massachusetts, Harvard University. I am now equally happy to have some new Bromberg music to add to my musical experience.

Being of course older, and less concerned now with the commercial consequences associated with a new release, David has released a CD of 16 tunes, mostly traditional songs, with a more decidedly focused and laid back style than his previous recordings. While this collection is free from the forceful sometimes manic attack of his earlier work, it is rich with feeling and subtle tonal colorings and a quiet confidence that comes with mastering one's domain (forget the Seinfeld reference).

It is here where Bromberg works his magic, transforming the carnival barker persona (reference Sharon, his tour de force finale of past years> and becomes the side show slight of hand master. Drawing us into what at first seems to be one thing and then with further imperceptable examination becomes something a bit different.

All this is to say that David Bromberg has succeeded in delivering a masterful, memorable, and pleasurable long awaited collection of songs made all the more meaningful with the detailed liner notes outlining the origin, history, and personal anecdotes to each song. This feels like the album he didn't have time to make in his earlier years, and I'm thrilled that present circumstances have provided the time and motivation for its release now.

As other musicians of my generation continue to release music, with the exception of a few embarrassing "shoulda let sleeping dogs lie" moments, the comparison seems to be the energy and hubris of youth vs. the comfort and artistic maturity that comes with age. The trick is to maintain a certain measured level of the former in the product of the present. Artists like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen (to name a few), and now David Bromberg have proved that irons left in the embers of ancient fires needn't grow cold.

I finished my first round of listenings, by taking an unintended nostalgic time travel at 33 1/3 rpm, listening to his first album on the same turntable on which it was originally played when I was a much younger man. I guess all I can say is I'm thankful and happy we're still here to repeat the experience.

Visit David Bromberg's website

Alleluiah !

2007-02-10T12:42:00.000-08:00

Gutenberg had to invent moveable type to revolutionize mass communication and biblical awareness, it took another 450 years for Edison and Marconi to take it to the next level. Today we instantly transmit our thoughts and sounds almost by reflex.

This oblique historic reference adds some technical context to the release of a new CD offering by one of our greatest artists, Rickie Lee Jones the sermon on exposition boulevard.

This welcome release is exactly the kind of music that has kept me alive for so many years. And its release in the dead of winter will certainly bring a contemplative warmth to the dark chill of the season and world events.

This latest work of inspiration and improvisation certainly ranks with the finest releases of this artist and others of our generation. Personal comparisons are drawn to Mingus by Joni Mitchell, Horses, by Patti Smith, New York Tendaberry, by Laura Nyro, Slow Train Comin', by Bob Dylan, and Graceland or Rythm of the Saints by Paul Simon. Favorable comparisons have already been made elsewhere to Astral Weeks, by Van Morrison and musically to The Velvet Underground.

Though one could easily be skeptical of the subject matter (as I was initially) this project takes a more democratic approach to religion. In asking the most pertinent and difficult question "How can you pray in a world like this?" the answer is returned so easily "You are the prayer". We begin to see religion as accessable, something to be used as a tool that could fit comfortably in our hands rather than a weapon. We are also reminded that we can have fun (as we "drive around heaven in our Elvis Cadillac") and that tragiclly sad events can have happy endings - I find it comforting to know, for instance, that "Janis Joplin's got a job on the corner in a bar - so I guess we're doin' alright."

This new project born of vision, determination, magic, and stunning artistry found its inspiration in Lee Cantelon's book The Words, and grew from what was supposed to be a reading or two by Ricki Lee for Lee's low tech recording to a full scale project fronted by Rickie Lee. The CD, which is largely improvisational, does an excellent job of maintaining continuity throughout while still providing an ample supply of surprises, grooves, and an overall mystic consciousness - it even has a single Falling Up, an instrumental Road To Emmaus, a DVD, and features guitarist Peter Atanasoff playing a garage sale guitar.

That Rickie Lee should be cut form the same determined, rarified, and stylistic commercially fringed cloth as Tom Waits and the above mentioned artists, means drawing varying amounts of criticism, praise, interpretation, and indifference at any given time. It also helps put her in my top list of favorite performers.

This one is a classic.

Visit Rickie Lee Jones website

Photos

2007-01-20T19:12:00.000-08:00

These numbers -

startlingly bold, painted as tall as ourselves on the entrance wall were perhaps our first physical impression of the apartment we had come to investigate as our first possible cohabitant address...

Looking Back

As I get longer of tooth it becomes harder to remember details of past events. Yet even when I'm lucky enough to remember, or be reminded, of certain facts it is harder to conjure up the emotional fervor of that long ago event. That is a special toxic potion reserved for the moment - and though one can come close when later a smell, a sound, or perhaps a dream dislodge a molecule buried deep in the brain unexpectedly hurtling us through time and space to a sudden exhilarating stop this precious folly soon ends leaving its own sweet hyperlink hard-candy aftertaste - a sweet and welcome confection.

Such a moment presented itself recently on an unsuspecting Saturday, routine as any other of recent Julian regularity. A startling and most welcome e mail jumped off the computer screen in the form of a familiar name and into my throat soon to be joined by my now rapidly beating heart !

Transition

After responding to a newspaper ad Cathy called me at work to say she had located an odd but possibly unique living opportunity and invited me to join her at the location to see for myself. The building was old, and though it had a certain charm, lacked the finish one usually seeks when planning a move. Since we knew nothing of the neighborhood, the owners, or the potential pitfalls, we approached with caution yet in the end either through naivety or a sense of adventure we signed on. We were soon to find out what that decision would mean.

Cathy and I, young and still very much in the adrenaline rush of youth and our unexpected and blossoming relationship gathered our individual belongings and prepared for the next more communal step in the experiment. As we packed, unpacked, and warmed to our new situation we learned a good deal more about the specifics of our surroundings.

A Special Place

We were located in an older Historic part of town in a VERY special building a unique 3 story row-house of 7 sections built Circa 1875. Just a few hundred feet uphill from Rt. 50 within view of the Ohio river, down the hill from the the more affluent part of the neighborhood which included a very scenic park, and we would find out later just a few miles from where we had both been brought home (next door) as newborns in the respective years of our birth.

The house was old and in need of extensive structural repair but the owner Steve had done a great job of maintaining the historic integrity, while updating the living quarters with a contemporary and comfortable feel. In another situation of the typical landlord/tenant relationship (or less) this could have been just another average or even disastrous living arrangement. This place required a special ingredient to make it work, and that ingredient was a VERY special couple, the owners, Steve and Mary.

Though it was their official capacity, to call them landlords would be a gross mischaracterization. They were first and foremost friends, or on any other given occasion perhaps any member of your immediate family you might happen to need, also enablers in the best sense of the word, and finally, it must be said, ringmasters of a strange little circus under a most charming tent in which we were delighted to perform for nearly 4 years.

To be continued...

Kenneth Patchen - 1911 - 1972

2006-12-13T21:00:00.000-08:00

A Birthday Remembrance

13 December 1911

"The argument of innocence can only be lost if it is won."

I'm happy to get a chance to pay tribute to one of my first favorite poets on his birth date. I first started reading Patchen in the '70's impressed with his unbending idealism, voice of conscience, and artistic avant pacifist determination in the face of extreme odds, and of course his words.

Though lesser known than most writers, his unique talents as writer, artist, sculpter, and jazz-poet pioneeer, place him in a class by himself. Born in Niles, Ohio, into working class roots, much of his work deals with mankind's injustice to mankind, and the blatent shortcomings of the ruling class. And love - all of his books were dedicated "For Miriam". He produced several series of "Picture Poems" many distributed to friends in handmade books with personally painted covers, as seen below and at the enclosed link.

Link 1 (D2X): Kenneth Patchen

Link 2 (Google): Painted and Silkscreened Poems by Kenneth Patchen

Alien Cactus

2006-12-02T21:05:00.000-08:00

NO, it's not the name of a new band, or a new film,
or even a new designer fragrance. But what else
would you call this spiny creature ?

It's been in our home for probably at least 15 years if my memory is near accurate, and as you might surmise has been a product of great neglect - or great freedom if you wish to take another view. either way it has mostly been perched on our kitchen window sill and left to fend for its fortune.

Once beheaded, I grafted its prickly head back onto its body. At times left desert dry, its makeshift external roots somehow lived off the relative humidity. Though obviously victim to some pock marking parasitic attacks it has survived in a house where other more attended plants have not.

Somehow last week this crazy Alien Cactus caught my attention and closer inspection found it with barely enough dirt on its bone dry root-ball to maintain balance and upright posture. In a fit of guilt I repotted this punch-drunk pot dweller, and now wonder if care is really for the best - after all, it seems to have done pretty well so far without my help.

Mister Mojo Rising

2006-12-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

MOXIE or Moxy

SYLLABICATION: mox·ie

PRONUNCIATION: 'mäk-sE

NOUN: Slang 1. The ability to face difficulty with spirit and courage. 2. Aggressive energy; initiative: “His prose has moxie, though it rushes and stumbles from a pent-up surge” (Patricia Hampl). 3. Skill; know-how.

ETYMOLOGY: From Moxie, trademark for a soft drink.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moxie

Moxie, a carbonated beverage, is considered to be the USA's first mass produced soft drink.

Created in 1876 by Dr. Augustin Thompson of Union, Maine, Moxie was first marketed as a patent medicine in Lowell, Massachusetts under the product name “Moxie Nerve Food”.[2] Moxie was said to cure ailments ranging from softening of the brain to “loss of manhood.” In 1884, it was sold in carbonated form and merchandised as an invigorating drink, which claimed to endow the drinker with "spunk."

The name entered the American language, when a person was said to be "full of Moxie", meaning that the person was skillful, or spirited. In this popular meaning, the word is sometimes spelled moxy. Moxie became unique in that it was the name of a commercially produced soft drink, also included in dictionaries.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Today's New Word

Recently an esteemed family member Susan [AKA Susan Gets Native], posted a reminiscence about an earlier period in her life when she had what she described as 'MOXY". It was an enjoyable and entertaining post which prompted a personal reflection on when or where I had actually lost what I considered to be my Moxy.

I remembered it as quite sizable, so surely if misplaced it should be easily found, yet I haven't, even accidentally, stumbled over it in at least 20 years it seems. So, it was I began my search. Looking first upstairs, then downstairs, in closets and pantries, in the cluttered basement and garage, in the trunk of my car, and in vintage boxes containing other artifacts of the period in which I assumed I was in possession of said Moxy - nothing. I drove around to previous places of employment thinking perhaps I had left it behind in haste, but still it was not to be found. Where was this elusive spirit, the mysterious potion of passion ? The legend of my own mind ?

This dilemma now certainly required a much deeper investigation - further inquiry as to its location possibly requiring GPS or other specialized equipment or perhaps even recruiting science to determine the precise molecular structure and physical manifestation of its character - I'm talkin' DEEP !

So, beginning at the beginning, my first display of Moxy came at an early age in the form of resistance to my involuntary commitment to the Catholic school system. After a very short time I realized this harsh environment, where torture was not only taught but practiced, was no place for a sensitive young boy and it was up to me to take control of my destiny.

My first act of defiance (much to the chagrin of my mother) was one to be played out daily at the school bus stop with all the resistant physical strength I could muster for as long as I could hold up. My resistance continued,days, weeks, months - like a cartoon scene my animated arms and legs stretched to full extension could not be forced through the limited entry space of the bus door, regardless of the manpower applied to the task. My wailing wiggling body was too much for the ears or grasp of my intended captors. And so this one boy insurgency went on for quite awhile until, I suppose, I was eventually worn down like McMurphy in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - a valiant but futile effort ending in total humiliating submission. I was in time, however, to have my victory.

My next attempt at escaping this daily persecution would not seem so extraordinary except to remember that it was being planned and executed by a less than worldly undersized six year old with all the precision and determination of a long incarcerated hardened criminal. An act so simple yet so brazen as to allow my small mittened hand to deliver me from that evil I had been taught so often to fear.

The school bus that took us to the Catholic school was actually owned and operated by the local public school and our passage on that system ended about one quarter of a mile from our school. Herein lay the core of my new plan. Between the bus drop off and the school I was a free man. I would simply lag behind unnoticed by the rest of the drop-off group go over to the curb and stick out my thumb for a ride as I must have seen older kids do at some previous time. This sounds pretty logical but like most kids I had only taken the plan so far and neglected some key realities, but determination and desperation trump detail and the plan is executed. The drop off is made, I lag behind unnoticed, all was going according to plan, I get to the side of the road and stick out my tiny green-mittened hand, raise the thumb to its proper angle and elevation and waited for my escape vehicle to arrive.

Almost immediately a big car pulls over, asks my destination and I'm in the back seat and on my way home - brilliant ! The couple in the front seat ask my name, school, address,and seemed perfectly willing to drive me straight home - too easy ! On arrival they walk me to my front door and explain to my stunned mother the series of events and they are on their way. It turns out that they were parents of one of my classmates whom they had just dropped off at school. My mother without missing a heartbeat had me in a taxi en route to my school all within about fifteen minutes. So ends my great escape - the the catholic empire survives, and I'm in for another round of corporal punishment from the veiled Mafia. But I had made my statement ! Though I never repeated such an act the incident remains a high water mark of Moxy in my childhood portfolio.

The rest of my school career was pretty dismal, any remaining moxy safely locked away through 10 more years of suffering until graduation when I was pardoned and released like a caged bird into the wild. Freedom was to last but 9 months, until the US Military had other plans and I was set to be drafted. Perhaps a bit of Moxy spilled forth when I decided to take matters into my own hands and enlist, hopefully shifting the odds of (wartime) survival a bit in my favor (a very smart move indeed !). Yet this was more a reactive move and though clever may not really qualify as a "Moxy moment".

My next era of perceived Moxy came after entering the military and lasted for 6 years until my father died and further realities of life subdued my enthusiasms considerably. In hindsight, the term "Loose Cannon" comes to mind, what I had mistaken as Moxy, was in fact an under-educated arrogance that was nothing more than a byproduct of an immaturity cocktail followed by a testosterone chaser. Come to think of it, I stopped drinking then as well - a wise move.

From that point on any remaining opportunities to display true Moxy were replaced by the pragmatic pro-activity of maturity. Certainly I had past the point of spontaneous exuberance, but still there were some sweet moments, like the puzzled look on a supervisor's face as I calmly gave him my notice without ever revealing the true reasons, like a poker player executing the perfect bluff; or the personal satisfaction gained by the puzzlement of others when I failed to act in an expected behavior. Over time I had unknowingly discovered that Moxy can have many disguises acquiring pleasing subtleties previously unknown to the novice purveyor.

So in retrospect, it appears my missing Moxy wasn't really missing. It had simply peaked early, and having accomplished its appointed mission, found closure at an early age, and matured into a new guise of stealth cunning with an undercurrent of humor. Perhaps this discovery might have caused some disappointment, but having opened this round of self examination, the afore mentioned Susan came to the rescue by providing a clever and much appreciated conclusion.

In an unexpected retort to a comment I had left on her blog she replied clever and quick "My Moxy needs some Mojo". WOW ! Aside from the pure poetry of that phrase [!], it was with these words that I found (albeit some time later) my satisfying answer - to appreciate the Moxy for what it was (and had become) but to also find new inspiration in the Mojo of life.

Right On Susan - THANKS !

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mo‧jo

Pronunciation Key - [moh-joh] –noun, plural -jos, -joes.

1. the art or practice of casting magic spells; magic; voodoo.

2. an object, as an amulet or charm, that is believed to carry a magic spell.  [Origin: 1925–30, American; cf. Gullah moco witchcraft, magic, prob. akin to Fulani moco'o medicine man (c represents voiced palatal stop)].

An amulet, often a small flannel bag containing one or more magic items, worn by adherents of hoodoo or voodoo.

Personal magnetism; charm.

The Holy Grail !

2006-11-25T06:15:00.000-08:00

Orphans - Tom Waits

"A yellow dog know when he has sinned"

Thanksgiving Indeed ! A major release from my favorite musician is reason enough for giving thanks. Though Tom is not everyone's cupa joe this lengthly set offers a sizable portion of grit and groan. Orphans, delivered on 3 CD's titled Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards introduces his unique array of charactors through a cacophony of percussion and effects. As prolific and profound as Dylan though perhaps not as accessable, Mr. Waits will provide passage to places beyond your imagination if you are willing to get on board.

This is one of my four favorite releases this year (including Miles Davis-The Cellar Door Sessions, Alejandro Escovedo-The Boxing Mirror, Bob Dylan-Modern Times, and Ornette Coleman - Sound Grammar).

Norah Jones recorded one of the songs on this set Take The Long Way Home on her 2004 CD Feels Like Home. Unfortunately, there are no liner notes in the 94 page book that accompanies this release to give further details regarding the dates of the recordings or the projects for which these songs were written. We will have to find out that information somewhere else.

For the curious listener wishing to sample the goods for a less damaging ante I would recommend the 1999 release Mule Variations. This CD offers a generous (less expensive) sampling of the mature artist with nearly the breadth of style included on Orphans.

I wouldn't say that Tom Waits is an aquired taste, I think you'd either like his unique style or not. If you're in the second catagory there's an excellent alernative offered by renowned bluesman John Hammond.

His excellent CD released in 2001
titled Wicked Grin is comprised completely of Tom Waits songs, and features the master himself on one of the cuts.

This CD is more accessable to the average listener and is, pound for pound, the heaviest lyrical output on a CD since perhaps The Basement Tapes was released under the Bob Dylan catalog in 1975. Well worth a listen.

Street Legal

2006-11-18T21:00:00.000-08:00

... and over the hill -

A pretty big month I guess. A birthday and my 36th annual car inspection, but who's counting? One new twist however, is provided by my WONDERFUL spouse who instead of making fun of just another in a long list of my foibles, phobias, and downright craziness decided to pamper my undeserving rear end in an act of sheer unselfish generosity which I appreciate beyond description.

A couple of years ago about this time of year I happened to idly mention that one of my biggest phobias (measuring a full 8 or 9 on the Richter scale) in life for me is getting my car inspected. This has been a major discomforting event every year of my life as a registered driver - dental or proctology exams register with far less impact - barely a tremor. What's the big deal ? Well, of course I've blown it out of proportion I'm sure, but my experience with cars has not been a totally pleasant one, in fact for me they have been at times, a failed expectation, a fear, a source of varying degrees of anxiety, an unwanted expense, and generally just a necessary inconvenience.

Fears of something going horribly wrong or a blatant (perhaps fatal) display of my menial automotive skills begin the entry into panic mode. Visons of missing the appointed inspection mark, a tail pipe probe revealing a less than acceptable emission (a concern not limited to vehicle inspections), a sudden uncontrolled lurch of the vehicle into the inspector, responding inappropriately to the barrage of commands dictated by the Drill Instructor, uh, Inspector. Then, of course, is the fact that I'm interacting with a governmental function eliciting any number of hallucinations of the thematic Gestapho or Gulag variety, and finally the ever-present fear of inspection failure causing a mandatory repeat of the whole Kafkaesque process. And let's not forget - there's a DEADLINE. So the annual reminder of all these major and minor traumas - the inspection - is just one huge grain of salt in a permanently open wound. I'd prefer to just admit to my treasonous offenses under waterboarding and be done with this whole thing - "OK - I DID IT - STOP !".

So imagine the surprise to my unbelieving ears, and my relief, when my loving wife without hesitation replied to my confession that she would be more than happy to remove this unnecessary aggravation from my Post Traumatically Stressed psyche. Aside from being the most caring and loving wife, she is probably one of the best drivers since Neal Cassidy and possesses a built in GPS system to boot ! So while it's no surprise that this chore would come more easily to her than me, there is no way to measure my gratitude except perhaps in the added mileage bestowed on this weary traveler.

Thank You my Love !

Falling Back

2006-10-29T17:41:00.000-08:00

United States Year 2006 DST Ends at 2 a.m. October 29

Well, that dreaded time of year is here once again. Twice a year we have to change the clocks to accommodate some change in the time structure based on daylight hours. While it does serve some useful advantage I suppose, my biggest gripe is having to stay up until 2-am to make the necessary change. It would certainly seem to make sense to enact the change at a more reasonable hour. I would try setting my alarm to wake at the appropriate time, but would I set it for an hour earlier to be sure I don't sleep past the appointed hour ? Either way I'm losing sleep ! I should have a more flexible attitude regarding such unavoidable matters, but I inherited this particular prejudice from my father and some patterns are hard to shake.

Just to make matters worse, today it suddenly got unexpectedly dark around 4:30 in the afternoon, could have something to do with global warming I suppose but it felt considerably colder today than yesterday.

I'm Younger Than That now

2006-10-29T07:21:00.000-08:00

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Jetison
To: Recipients
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 12:50:34 PM
Subject: RE: Hi...

Hope your day is going great - the meeting went well...

I was born in 1957 !

----- End of Message ----

It began with a quick e-mail from my new job, with a cryptic reference to an incident that had just occurred at work.

If it had been a newspaper headline, or a network news teaser it might have read.

Older Man Narrowly Survives Collision With Youth - Ego Bruised - Condition Guarded

But 1957 ? It was a knee jerk reaction to a moment of panic. The product of a bad math education and diminishing reflexes. The result of vanity confronting the ropeadope reality of life. A desperate act of instinctual survival, even if that survival was only a useless symbolic gesture to preserve some degree of self image.

OK, so what do you do when you're an older guy on your first week of work, you're filling out an online web form asking for your birth date and your 20-something trainer is looking over your shoulder ?! If you don't want to look like you're ready for the 'Geezer Farm" (even though they've already figured that out) you MAKE UP a date QUICK !!!! I was feverishly trying to do the math in my head to come up with a believable date - and the numbers were spinning in my head like an over oiled slot machine, but I'm not a math whiz, so this was the first number that popped into my head and I typed it in almost without hesitation (even though the whole process was happening in slow motion like a bad accident, in my mind)!

Yea, I know it sounds pretty stupid - I'm no spring chicken, and I know I don't look like one either, nor am I ashamed or depressed about my age, in fact I'm quite comfortable with where I am. But panic trumps common sense and pride or vanity grabbed the wheel as an imaginary highway sign suddenly appeared above my cube - EXIT 60 - GRAMPS - CUBICLE 1 - MEALS ON WHEELS DELIVERIES IN REAR.

So - maybe what they don't know, won't hurt 'em I guess - keep 'em guessing, at least on the ugly details. For starters, I've performed a clever transformation of my wheeled walker into a close facsimile of a media cart, and aside from the odd looks I get when wheeling a tape deck into the bathroom, things seem to be going well.

If things get desperate - I mean if they (those young whippersnappers) decide to make any trouble I'll just have to whack 'em with my cane.

SAVE THE ALBUM

2006-10-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

I copied this post from my weekly OffBeat newsletter from New Orleans because it speaks to the way I feel about music and the way I listen to music. Yes, I may be something of a relic these days in the land of downloads and shuffle plays, but to me it is the Album that defines an artist or group and its legacy, the medium that separates the "one hit wonders" from the serious artist, and the Album which speaks to me as a whole creating a complete concept or space for exploration of a theme and allowing for transformation of dimension. Radio is sometimes an acceptable alteration of this pattern, but when listening to radio, I usually listen to programs, or stations that have some thematic context for the programming. I listen to a lot of music in MP3 format, but I NEVER use shuffel mode preferring to maintain the music in its original context thus preserving the artistic space of the material.

What follows is the commentary from Offbeat and Insound as it apeared in the newsletter.

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We in New Orleans are acutely aware of changes in the music industry since we now have to go to bookstores in Jefferson Parish to buy new international albums. Part of Tower Records’ bankruptcy has been blamed on downloading, the phenomenon that threatens to change the nature of the music business. Insound.com, an online music retailer, is worried about the future of the album, alarmed by the tendency to download only favorite songs by an artist and not the album they were found on. To this end, Insound.com is selling albums on vinyl, CD and digitally, but the downloadable material will only be offered in the context it originally appeared—as a part of albums, for the most part. “While the sale of individual tracks certainly makes sense technologically for pop music, it is fully not in the best interest of the independent music community. It hurts not only artists, but also labels, retailers, and distributors,” says Matt Wishnow, President of Insound. “If I love [a band], I love them for [their albums] and not for particular songs on those albums. We want to continue to nourish fans who feel this way about the album.”

OffBeat Weekly Beat Newsletter, KEEPIN' NEW ORLEANS, WAY FUNKY!, October 26, 2006, Volume 4 No. 42

Save The Album! Pet Sounds needs you! Slanted Enchanted needs you! Spiderland needs you! In the Aeroplane Over the Sea needs you! Insound is the general in this battle and we're enlisting your support. Starting now, Insound is selling albums digitally. That's right, album ONLY. The reason record labels curse printers and obsess over test pressings for. The reason drummers trade blood for studio time for. The Album. Insound

When The Music's Over

2006-10-22T12:39:00.000-07:00

The music, in the reminiscent tone of Jim Morrison, was over - finally. Well, not all music, more like that annoying 20 minute song you want to skip over on the LP of life, or that horrrrrrrible pop song that gets stuck in your brain and plays in continuously despite your strongest efforts to hit delete. It was Friday the Thirteenth '06 - my lucky day. My last day at a miserable job. Actually, it wasn't the job that was so miserable but the company. Either way, it was over. I left the parking lot after the finish of my 8pm shift, Dylan appropriately screaming Drifter's Escape from the car speakers My trip hasn't been a pleasant one / And my time it isn't long,... my thoughts blurred as the headlights cut the January darkness of the exit road. ...and while ev'rybody knelt to pray / The drifter did escape. Freedom, whatever that meant, was mine - for now.

Returning home, as if from war, I was numb - there wasn't much left. By strange coincidence the name of my former department (Product and Technical Support Department) shares the same acronym as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - some cruel joke I suppose - it was time for rehab.

There are no journal entries to show how I spent my first weekend, but my first 'officially' posted act of the following week was to shampoo the carpets. Perhaps subconsciously a clean sweep, but I think Freud would have agreed that the carpets were just damn dirty. The rest of the week was a quiet gathering of thoughts as I recall, and then Cathy and I had planned as our first declaration of freedom a concert in Cambridge, Ma. preceded by a dinner at one of our favorite restaurants Henrietta's Kitchen.

As we were seated in the restaurant, settling in and just beginning to study the menu an unexpected ironic coincidence occurred. The owner and founder of my recent and former place of employment walked in with his family and was seated right next to us ! Could this actually be happening, the infamous Doctor making a house call? I was close enough to reach over my shoulder and touch him or perform any number of other sinister deeds if I was of such a mind. I was not however, and remained satisfied just to revel in the irony of the moment, the perfect serendipitous end and beginning to this chapter of my life - served as an appetizer, gratis.

My miraculous overdue recovery presented itself three months later in the unexpected form of Yogic breathing methods and meditation, assisted through a course taught by The Art Of Living. Over the course of several more months, some breakthrough art projects, a vacation to Portland, Or., continued exercise, scheduled R&R, a lot of yard work and home improvement, this blog, and an employment search rounded out the rest of the summer. Fall brought with it a vibrant change in color, above average temperatures, and yielded a new job as well - a return to my professional roots.

That return came with an unexpected emotional bonus when an overwhelming reception by new and old friends greeted me upon my arrival. This warm welcome and my return to familiar surroundings can hopefully mark a reprise of positive employment experiences and a new beginning.

And that, as exclaimed in a memorable episode of Friends, is closure !

Editor's note: This is the conclusion to my first post: Zero Sum Game - Sound Lessons in Survival of the Corporate Soul.

Topsfield Fair

2006-10-08T21:15:00.000-07:00

Daddy Wasn't There

Fun Day ! We got up early, Cathy had the Austin Powers song Daddy Wasn't There (to take me to the fair...) going through her head - we were getting ready to do something for the very first time - we were going to the Topsfield Fair.

Not the kind of thing we'd normally do, but a friend wanted to go, it was a beautiful fall day, and we decided to go with the flow and investigate a side of massachusetts we'd not experienced before. If nothing else it would be a chance to get outside and get some fresh air and take photographs. And of course it was a historical field trip as the Topsfield Fair is the oldest in the country.

What began as the Essex Agricultural Society Cattle Show with its annual exhibits/fairs held in various sites around Essex County to showcase agriculture, Topsfield Fair has been held annually at its existing location since 1910. It is fitting that the fair eventually settled in Topsfield, for it was at the town's former Cyrus Cummings Tavern that twenty or more men first gathered that February in 1818 to form what soon became the Essex Agricultural Society.

It turned out to be a fun day. Even though we did not participate [i.e. spend money above admission] in a lot of the offerings, there was a lot to see and do. Many events having to do with vegetables, arrangements, various sculptures, and contests for best specimens - including, of course, the biggest pumpkin. Lots of animals to be seen as well, my favorites were the Budweiser Clydesdales and the sporting birds of prey, the Peregrine Falcon and other various species.

There were rides, and LOTS and LOTS of FRIED food ! We opted for the healthier baked potato lunch. And then there was the highlight of the day ! As I separated from my companions, taking "the road less traveled", my reward for such adventure was finding the "SMALLEST HORSE" exhibit !

Upon reconnecting with my spouse and friend they were more than disappointed to hear they missed such a rare viewing opportunity, especially when they heard I did not pay the requisite $1.00 admission (Buffalo Bill there was on his cell phone and neglected to see me wandering nonchalantly through - I didn't actually see the admission sign till I exited the exhibit, but once in I sort of figured I was an interloper). I was expecting some sort of 'wild west' challenge, but managed to lope away without incident.

So, an unexpectedly fun outing for us all, and we managed to get through the day without stepping in anything we wouldn't want to bring home with us !

An Early Mentor

2006-10-08T15:34:00.000-07:00

I was around 10 years old and rather naive. My father owned a delicatesson on the main square in a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. A few doors down from the delicatesson was a movie theatre and my father was friends with the manager, Mr. Corbus, a tall, mustached, balding man of 50 or 60. I remember some of the movie titles appearing on the marqee. To Hell and Back, East Of Eden, Rebel Without A Cause, Giant, The King And I, Jailhouse Rock. From time to time, we would get free passes to the movies, or get to visit in the manager's office above the theatre with its own view window into the theatre, or get to see the projection booth. It was like getting to see the man behind the curtain - darkest mysteries revealed.

At some point during this period I obtained an autograph book, probably from my father, for the purpose of getting the autographs of Cincinnati Reds players we met during a catering delivery to one of their houses. Whether it was a Cub Scout project, or just a sudden whim, the book was now available and one of the next times we were in Mr. Corbus's company I asked him if he would sign my autograph book. Obligingly, he took the book, penned his offering, and handed its proud recipient the resultant entry. Since I was not aware of the tradition of offering a dedication or commentary as part of the signing ritual my reaction was understandably curious when, book in hand, I read the following inscription.

My admiration of this dubious event, and its spontaneous brilliance, were lost on a ten year old boy struggling to come to terms with the larger much less subtle issues of youth. I remember questioning, but not understanding whatever explanation, if any, was offered and life went on - and on. In fact I haven't really thought of that incident or placed any importance to it until recently. The delicatesson, the autograph book, Mr. Corbus, my parents, all gone, yet so many years later the experience and its significance comes roaring down the track like an old freight train with overdue cargo.

We are, at times, given gifts of undeterminable value we may not deserve for reasons we may never know. That's one of life's glorious mysteries. If we're lucky, we stumble across them from time to time. I'm sure if there is another dimension with an awareness of ours, Mr. Corbus would appreciate that his clever timeless riddle, though still not fully decoded, has at least been recognized for its appreciating value.

Who knows how many other gems are out there ? Let's hope that while humankind continues its quest for life's greatest answers we don't overlook the gems beneath our feet.

Thank you Mr. Corbus - you are indeed !

A Fine Example

2006-10-08T13:52:00.000-07:00

An Eye Spared Improves Sight

We should all take a moment and reflect on the quiet and humble courage displayed by the Amish community in reaction to the horrible tragedy they have suffered. A community based on thoughtful actions and compassion maintains its faith, moral character and dignity.

When asked "Can an outsider join the Amish church/community?" "A local Amishman recently remarked,

"You do not need to move here to adopt a lifestyle of simplicity and discipleship. (http://www.800padutch.com/atafaq.shtml).

.edu-cation ?

2006-10-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe I'm just behind the times, but the college admission process seems to have changed a bit as this screen pop up will attest. Where was this doggie door to the hallowed halls of higher education when I needed it ? There's an old joke "Last week I couldn't even spell Physician now I are one" that seems appropriate here. Sign me up !

A Delicious Anniversary

2006-10-05T13:41:00.000-07:00

Meatloaf and the Meaning of Life

It all started tonight with bringing the meatloaf home. No actually it started long before that though I didn't know it then. Tonight, while on an errand to get a meatloaf for dinner, after picking up the meatloaf and bringing the meatloaf home in the car I began to think of how I met my wife Cathy. Nancy, Cathy's sister, asked if I wanted to go with her and her sister (Cathy) to see a local fireworks display. She didn't mention meatloaf. Not that there was any reason to bring up the topic of meatloaf, or not to, meatloaf just never came up.

At the fireworks I didn't think about meatloaf, there were too many other distractions and I guess I never really thought about meatloaf that much even when not distracted. Perhaps if there had been a fireworks that looked like a meatloaf, or if a Meatloaf song had been played, maybe I would have made the connection - but no such association was made that evening. If we had perhaps had meatloaf for dinner that night I'm sure it would have played a special role in our evolving history, but we had pizza not meatloaf. Come to think of it pizza holds no 'special' place in our life so who's to say meatloaf would have either. Even when Cathy and I got together again and talked long into the nights about books, records, philosophy, history, etc., still - no mention of meatloaf. At our wedding two years later - no promises of meatloaf were in our vows to my recollection. On our honeymoon, three long weeks of driving across country and back only ourselves to talk to - not a thought or mention of meatloaf !

At some point in our blooming courtship, cohabitation, and early marriage we must have had meatloaf for dinner but if so I never placed any significance in the culinary event. I had no thought then that 25 years hence I would be bringing home meatloaf. Who knows how many times in our 25 years we've had meatloaf, I still saw no great importance to any of these occasions. Lets see, it might be possible that we would have say 5 or 6 meatloaves a year that would be 125-150 meatloaves total (not counting tonight's meatloaf). Yet not until tonight have I attached any significance to even one of the meatloaves we've shared over the years. What a selfish uncaring bastard !

Over the course of a lifetime most people contemplate the meaning of life at some point. If not in the 'larger' sense certainly it crosses one's mind "Why am I here ?". I doubt that many have answered "Meatloaf". Yet tonight for me suddenly while putting on the cruise control and watching the present moment through my windshield listening to the CD player* the sum of my existence seemed suddenly to boil down to one very clear thing - meatloaf. Expanding this hypothesis would also mean that everyone who has had a role in shaping who I have become must also have had at the center of their invisible universe meatloaf even though they were never aware of such a guiding force.

So now I ask myself, why has it taken me 57 years to find this magical meatloaf meaning of life, and now that I know the answer is my journey here finished or actually just beginning? My birth, my childhood, my survival to elder adulthood, meeting and spending many happy years with Cathy - the whole strange trip can now be neatly wrapped up in a metaphorical meatloaf sitting on the front seat of my car, at six o'clock on Sunday evening October 5, 2003.

After all the years of searching, studying, struggle, travel, frustration, and so many questions. Even after having been unknowingly face to face with the answer so many times it all seems now so easy. Life to me means simply "Bringing Home the Meatloaf".

I suppose if someone had offered that answer when I was 25 I would have dismissed or even more forcefully rejected the notion as I did often in those days. It wouldn't have seemed enough, I wouldn't have understood that a simple meatloaf means so much more than dinner. Now 32 years later I feel quite content with my newfound wisdom. I am at peace.

Finally. A meatloaf haiku.

Bringing home meatloaf
a cosmic flow of meaning
and dinner as well !

*CD - TRIUMVIRATE - Bloomfield, Hammond, Dr. John (1973)

Songs for These Times

2006-09-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

INFIDELS

"Sometimes Satan Comes as a Man of Peace"

Bob Dylan wasn't in that much favor in the mid 80's, but during this somewhat murky period of his career there are some overlooked gems. On the heels of his much criticized religious period it was the early years of Ronald Reagan (remember him ?) just eight years after Nixon's resignation, the end of the Vietnam war - the beginning of "Trickle Down Economics". Some of the other news of the year 1983 may look unsettlingly current.

President Reagan dubs the Soviet Union the Evil Empire
Israel and Lebanon sign a peace treaty, yet civil war in Lebanon continues
A bomb planted by Shi'ite Muslims destroys the U.S embassy in Beirut (87 people killed)

Dylan, as usual, addresses all the issues head on in a collection that sounds even more relevant today than it did 23 years ago. With lines like -

Who's gonna take away his license to kill // they say patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings // sundown on the union... they don't make nothin' here no more //

While his most famous lines like "Sometimes even the president of the United States must sometimes have to stand naked" still bring applause in concert, they sound like naive idealism in the face of today's reality. Check out this CD if you haven't heard it or listened to it in a while - it'll make you mad or help ease the pain.

Package This !

2006-09-29T12:19:00.000-07:00

DIGICRAP !

I HATE Digipak packaged CD's !!!!! I know, I guess, they're supposed to be more environmentally friendly - but dammit I want to preserve what artwork is part of the CD package - and digipak doesn't do that. I end up putting my CD in a Jewel Case anyway or burning a CD copy so I can use the CD without screwing up the package !

Old School ? I don't care - I pay for a CD I want it and the artwork protected !

And Dual Disc format ? What do I do with that ? File it with my DVD's or my CD's or start a new file ? Don't want to use the CD in the normal way and risk damaging the DVD. I just burn a copy of the CD for everyday use and file the original disc with my DVD's. And if they're Digipak - I use another Jewel Case for that as well.

There are certainly more pressing world problems than my views on CD packaging, but I doubt I'll be tortured for expressing my views unless Jewel Cases become part of the next terrorist plot or the Digipak lobby finances the next US president.

Groovers Paradise

2006-09-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

This Year's Playlist

My main focus is always music, it gets me through every day. I have no memory of life without music. It is always playing in my head, it is my reference point to everythng else in life, and it keeps me as close to sane as I'm likely to get. Of course my wife is the greatest love of my life, but she may never have risen to that lofty status had her small but respectable record collection not passed muster on our first meeting twenty eight years ago. Much like the lead character in High Fidelity my world revolved around my record collection and I had very definite opinions as to what constituted a "serious" musical appreciation. In turn, a large part of my character assesment when meeting someone was finding out their music tastes.

I've been blessed the last few years with an abundance of free time, available resources, and technology to more fully indulge in my music interests. This year has seen me with more time than money, so my purchases have been primarily my "A" List artists leaving less opportunity for experimentation with new music selections. The satisfaction and curiousity gap has been nicely filled with XM radio.

This seems like a good time to review my music purchases for the year, so here I'll list my favorite releases of the year to date. I hope to add a bit more diversity to the list before the year ends.

CD Purchases January - September 2006

1. The Boxing Mirror - Alejandro Escovedo
One of my favorite artists narrowly escapes death and releases one of the best albums of his career.
2. Modern Times - Bob Dylan
Dylan at the top of his game !
3. Change in the Weather - Eric Lindell
Solid New Orleans groove rock.
4. Thunderbird - Cassandra Wilson
One of today's finest artists builds on her previous releases with a nice twist - beyond categorization - smooth and edgy.
5. Pay The Devil - Van Morrison
In this case the overused moniker "Belfast Cowboy" applies. The master puts his unique imprint on some of country's best. A homage to his biggest influences, a few originals, and flawless execution !
6. The Seeger Sessions - Bruce Springsteen
Bruce switches gears a bit and goes folkie - but turns it up a notch with rousing New Orleans style arrangements.
7. People Gonna Talk - James Hunter
A rhythm & blues renascence - think Sam Cooke, but no copycat - this British cat swings - just ask Van Morrison.
8. All The Roadrunning - Mark Knopfler/Emmylou Harris
Two of our finest artists doing what they do best.
9. Black Cadillac - Rosanne Cash
Perhaps the best written album of the year !
10. The River In Reverse - Elvis Costello / Allen Tousaint.
It took a disaster to bring these two together, but it's a match made in heaven (which we all know is New Orleans) !
11. Mercernary - Dr. John
Standards funkified by the Doctor - good for what ails ya - and if nothin' ails ya - it's good for that too ! (thanks Weez !)
12. You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker - Willie Nelson
Willie pays tribute to one of Country's finest song writers, and turns in some of his most beautiful performances in the process.
13. The True False Identity - T Bone Burnett
T Bone takes a break from producing and goes solo - not your average album - mysterious and riveting !

Reissue - Not: The Cellar Door Sessions 1970- Miles Davis
Columbia continues with its "Miles Sessions" series, giving us a more complete look at one of his best bands - an Apollo era Lewis & Clarke on acid - they are mapping new territory and fortunately we are along for the ride !

The rest of the list:

Heavy Ornamentals - The Gourds
This Old Road - Kris Kristofferson
Morph the Cat - Donald Fagen
What's Going On - The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
The Town and The City - Los Lobos
Bluegrass - Jim Lauderdale
Country super Hits Vol. 1 - Jim Lauderdale
The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions - Miles Davis

Redux:

Shangri-La - Mark Knopfler
The Ragpicker's Dream - Mark Knopfler

TERROR ALERT !

2006-09-13T22:03:00.000-07:00

I'M AFRAID MY PROSTATE MAY EXPLODE
before I finish this post !

Once again I am torn between my usual hesitation to address graphically unpleasant subject matter and a need to voice my opinion on a disturbing trend. It's not that I am obsessively concerned with hygiene or opposed to using language that some might consider obscene (in the proper context), or even that I don't find occasional humor in matters of distaste when cleverly presented.

But I don't find 'fart jokes' funny, and I know I could never properly care for an infant without depleting the world's supply of hazardous material protection gear. Therefore, language regarding bodily function is usually absent from my conversation and draws little reaction on my part when presented by others. I prefer the "Las Vegas" rule of bathroom etiquette - "What happens in the potty, stays in the potty".

So it is with great trepidation and care that I approach this post. Now that you've been properly prepared - let's begin.

ENLARGED PROSTATE, Erectile Disfunction, weak stream, decrease in semen - I face these threats and I'm supposed to fear Osama ? According to this report all males over the age of fifty are walking terrorists with a ticking time bomb up their ass, I'm surprised they let us anywhere near an airport ! I'm living on borrowed time even as I compose this post.

And just as I was feeling depressed about these life altering encounters I heard an even more disturbing array of maladies so unfathomable as to conjure visions of Dr. Hyde's laboratory and prefaced by the image altering adjective "FEMININE". Vaginal, dryness, itching, yeast infection, menstrual, period, and then there's also the bipartisan commonly faced afflictions like Hemorrhoids, Genital Herpes, and the occasional seemingly extraterrestrial maladies like RLS (restless leg), and various other "Syndromes".

Once past the shock of perhaps facing some of these explicit symptoms there was a brief moment of relief as I realize they are about to announce a treatment. Of course that relief is short lived when they begin an endless list of "rarely occurring" SIDE EFFECTS which sound even more uncomfortable or life threatening than the disease. Dizzyness, rash, dry mouth, insomnia, mood changes, weight gain, fatigue, blistering, burning, itching, or peeling, liver problems, blurring vision, heart trauma, etc. And, as if that isn't enough, there follows a multitude of suspicious disclaimers. THANKS ALOT ! Is that the best that a monopolistic, non-regulated, 'free' market, record profit, twenty first century, pharmaceutical industry can do ? These people decoded the human genome for Christ sake ! They take erections, and Universal Health Care and leave me with a life threatening side effect ? NO THANKS !

I want some payback ! Take some of that lobbying money and come up with a decent side effect like a KICK ASS HIGH ! I want to know if I'm unlucky enough to be stricken with an unfortunate assault on my well being that I can take something that will make me not care. Oh well, I guess there's always medical marijuana or in desperation assisted suicide. OOPS, I forgot - the federal government doesn't believe in appeasing it's suffering citizenry, especially if there's more money to extract from the veins of your ailing body. "Suck it up you self pitying malingering bastard - life sucks, deal with it ! And don't even think about dying on us, we'll hook your ass up to a machine and pass a law to keep you alive dammit - and stop breathing so hard, you'll thaw the stem cells." Yep, it's all there in the "Human Dignity and Compassion Act".

Of course there is an occasional teaser of a benefit that could play right to the soft spot (so to speak) of the male psyche, but while the suggestion of a 4 hour erection is at first intriguing, the idea of a trip to the emergency room preceded by a certainly difficult vehicle entry and an embarrassing emergency room admission is enough to initiate the onset of ED - Thanks again !

Finally, after barely surviving the explicit aural assault and the disturbing account of the threats to our most private human functional existence, my next question is this. Why is a certain segment of our population so frightened of sex education, birth control, the errant sight of a female breast on TV, or the occasional "F word" utterance, but seemingly unmoved by this daily exercise in bad taste proffered by the pharmaceutical conglomerates and the network media ? Talk about national security - this disturbing information should be CLASSIFIED, impenetrably sealed, trucked to and buried beneath a remote mountain, and all records placed far beyond the reach of the Freedom of Information Act ! If I had wanted to acquire this much knowledge of the human body I'd have gone to medical school.

So, at this point it's hard to tell if the cure is worse than the disease. It's kinda like a Katrina victim in New Orleans being told "The good news is we're here to rescue you, the bad news is - you're going to Texas" (sorry Texas, but as long as W. is a recent memory you're gonna have to live with the fallout).

I can only conclude with this statement. The next time I hear the phrase "decrease in semen", I want to know that our Navy is being downsized !

MASS MoCA

2006-09-06T20:40:00.000-07:00

Bats, Books, and Mild Amusement

We paid a visit to one of my favorite places over the Labor day holiday MASS MoCA [Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art] located out west in North Adams, Ma. The building is an exhibit in itself. Housed in an old factory building, many of the original features of the factory have been preserved lending an archival authenticity and paying respect to the building, its former workers, and the art currently housed within. Of special note are the restrooms, preserved in their work-weary reality.

There were several notable exhibitions:

Gunnar A. Kaldewey: Artist Books for a Global World
Four Collaborations in Depth

A wonderful exhibition of Artist Books - one which included a 45 RPM record with a wood cover, and several others of different sizes and media.

Carsten Höller: Amusement Park

An exhibition of amusment park rides [some lit], gave the feeling of being in an abandoned amusement park, the experience was very surreal or extraterrestrial yet grounded in the heavy machinery required to provide the super sensory experience.

Artist Link

House of Oracles: A Huang Yong Ping Retrospective

The artist was one of the leading figures of the Xiamen Dada movement In the mid-1980s.

The History of Chinese Art and the History of Modern Art - washed two minutes in a washing machine features 2 art texts washed and the resulting pulp displayed on a piece of broken glass sitting on an open tea box.

Bat Project IV features part of an airplane fuselage partially framed in bamboo and housing 300 taxidermic bats.

Artist Link

Recollection by Artist Peggy Diggs

A whimsical and sometimes startling exhibit of jars containing important artifacts of the artist's life. In one jar a pillow case from the first time she slept with a boyfriend. Most whimsical, an uncle's watch with his wife's pubic hair glued to its face. Most startling, final hospital artifacts and a post mortem picture of father.

Artist Link

As always the museum visit was intellectually challenging and inspiring. MASS MoCA is an important artistic resource and any art enthusiast should visit as often as possible !

New Music

2006-08-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

Modern Times - Bob Dylan

I caught the premiere of Modern Times last night on XM Radio.

Sweet ! At 65 Dylan is in full command of his abilities. Drawing on a lifetime of musical experience, and backed by a band he says is capable of pulling off anything, he sings with wisdom and self assurance. Part minstrel, part blues man he's released a mature collection of music here, a perfect opposing life-cycle bookend to his cosmic electric youthful genius.

This new collection fits perfectly as a continuation of his last 2 releases. I probably would have enjoyed this album if I had listened to it 30 years ago but I know I wouldn't have been able to fully appreciate its depth and wisdom until now.

Thanks again Bob !

FACTOTUM-2

2006-08-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

"If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start." Charles Bukowski

I saw the movie FACTOTUM this weekend (see previous post). The movie did a very good job of portraying the characters, their surroundings, and their situations in true Bukowski style. Acting and cinematography - excellent. It could have been improved, in my opinion, by a more developed story line, and dramatic variation. The emotional tempo of the film was a bit flat and less humorous than a Bukowski read, probably by design. It's worth seeing if you're a Bukowski fan.

Here you can read several reviews of the film.

There is also a recently released Bukowski documentary available. Born Into This.

Beverage Alert

2006-08-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

BITTERSWEET LENNY'S R.I.P.A.

What can I say, except - TOO COOL !

Check out the product info at Shmaltz Brewing Company, and have a cool one on Lenny !

Too Rolling Stoned

2006-08-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems as if Mr. Dylan does not share the fascination with technology (at least as it applies to the recording industry) that some of us do.

I'll defer to his expertise in the matter - to a point, based on his accrued accomplishments, his level of knowledge, his technical expertise, and my respect for him as an artist. I take a less extreme stance because as a music enthusiast I want to remain open to new artistic experiences and that commitment involves buying, listening to, and some measure of acceptance of the CD medium.

I thoroughly agree that some musical accomplishments, Brian Wilson / Good Vibrations, the Beatles, Phil Spector, etc. can't be duplicated regardless of modern technology. It's amazing what they produced with the primitive tools available. I can't imagine Robert Johnson being recorded in modern times and having the same emotional impact.

Most of us do what we can with what we're given, try our best, and fall somewhat short a lot of the time. I think its always a good idea to challenge the status quo in the interest of finding a better artistic result and Mr. Dylan has always been very much about doing just that.

As for CD's - As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm not sure I have enough room for much more "stature" !

I anxiously await Mr. D's new CD.

Excerpts from latest Rolling Stone interview:

"Brian Wilson, he made all his records with four tracks, but you couldn't make his records if you had a hundred tracks today... You do the best you can, you fight that technology in all kinds of ways..."

"You listen to these modern records...There's no definition of nothing, no vocal, no nothing, just like -- static."

"CDs are small. There's no stature to it."

MAGNUM P.I.

2006-08-21T16:24:00.000-07:00

Payback's A Itch !

I usually refrain from writing about bodily functions and physical maladies because they're just gross. I do however have a certain obligation to warn my fellow citizens of potential dangers or unexplained incidents responsible for their elevated anxieties. I will dispense then, with my usual attempt at political correctness in the interest of delivering the impact required of this message. This latest INCIDENT ALERT has to do with my weekend encounter with Poison Ivy and its unexpected disproportionate and possibly global consequence.

The first indication I had broken the usually amicable alliance with my immune response system was a strange 4 note repetition in my subconscious similar to the refrain in the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. As the musical symptom became increasingly frequent and gained intensity I recognized it as a guitar tuning device sometimes sung as "My Dog Has Fleas". That was quickly followed by swelling of the forearms combined with a craving for spinach straight from the can, and finally the incessant itching.

Over the course of similar past afflictions, and being extremely disciplined about not scratching, I have come to use a rather odd home remedy. The "remedy" for itch relief consists of holding the affected area under running water set to the hottest temperature one can physically stand short of requiring a lengthly stay in the Burn Center of the closest Shriner's hospital. The strange combined sensations of pain and pleasure derived from this ritual of Hydrotherapudic/Sadomasochism can best be described as a painful orgasm. An experience similar, I assume, to having intercourse with a determined monk during immolation, accompanied by the expected euphoria of forbidden ecstacy and an appropriate measure of requisite guilt. Anyway, I digress.

The latest allergic progression has taken the form of several large blisters on my right forearm a few of which, due to their unusual proportion, have recently been added to the registry of planets. These seemingly benign forms have actually begun to develop their own gravitational force and I have it on strong scientific authority are causing concern on several global fronts. Tidal rising, changing weather patterns, and planetary orbit data are but some of the reports collected to this point. I'm told there is fear of a 3 day lunar eclipse and Al Gore has already hired a production crew !

I strongly suspect that my current affliction is also responsible for the recent disappearance of my car and house keys, lower than usual gas milage, and an unusual incidence of irregularity. Hopefully additional over-the-counter medication or an accelerated natural regression will thwart these potential natural disasters before we are forced to once again test the competence of FEMA !

For a more popular interpretation on the Poison Ivy dilemma take a look at the lyrics to the Lieber and Stoller song "Poison Ivy", a hit released by the Coasters in 1959.

Happy Birthday

2006-08-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

Charles Bukowski
1920-1994

I read a lot of Bukowski. He's always good, but every once in a while he throws in an extraordinary line that is just phenomenal and just leaves me breathless. Here is such a line from a recent book.

"Life can be vacant like the inside of old shoes while dogs howl in the rain."

Charles Bukowski - The Flash of Lightning Behind the Mountain

Conspiracy Theory:

2006-08-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

Plot Foiled ?

Maybe not. Government officials are eager to announce their latest victory in the war on terror. But, maybe the plot was actually a success. Perhaps, the idea was never to actually blow up planes with liquid explosives but to disrupt the entire liquid supply of the 'free' world. Since they have already caused a very effective shortage of fossil fuel the next logical step would be to expand that shortage to ALL liquids. Money from black market liquid sales would further fund other terrorist activities.

An additional theory purports the story to be a fabrication of the American government and its coconspirator Great Britain. The arrest story, in addition to providing valuable antiterrorist propaganda, is a corporate/government plot to delegitimize the current liquid supply. The answer to this market instability is to provide government certification and supply for all liquids. Of course certified liquids would carry increased purchase price and eliminate competition further increasing the profits of corporations, lobbyists and in turn politicians. Anyone discovered in possession of black market liquids would simply be arrested as a terrorist.

This is the next step in the corporate American coup, where the only legitimate source for any item would be the 'Official' government source. The ultimate in supply side economics.

Wicked Pissa

2006-08-15T22:49:00.000-07:00

Feeling Pissed Off ? Relieve Yourself.

The Top 10 Most Fascinating Urinals

Link - Top 10 Urinals

I would add one more. That would be the cat drinking fountain at the home of Earnest Hemingway in Key West, Fl., the base of which is actually a urinal taken from "Sloppy Joe's" a local bar. A picture can be seen at the Hemingway Home site.

Conspiracy Theories

2006-08-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

In Search of the Magic Bullet

Conspiracy Theories provide a valuable resource. They provide an alternate version of a reported event. This resource if used properly, can question conventional wisdom, challenge the status quo, help sharpen our perceptive powers, and better separate truth from fiction. While it might not be useful to actually believe that the moon landings were staged, it does help to examine the possibilities of how and why such an elaborate hoax might have been accomplished. This becomes even more relevant in the case of a disaster or an incident of national or international impact.

When we see the words "Conspiracy Theory" one usually thinks of "nuts" or "kooks" on the fringe of society, subscribing to an alternate reality having little to do with those of us in the so called main stream. But let's take a look some of the current theories and consider their impact on our current state of life.

9-11 was a government plot
Global warming is a man made crisis of major proportions
Global warming is a natural phenomenon with little or no impact by humans
Evolution is a myth
Iraq facilitated the 9-11 Al Qeada attacks and had weapons of mass destruction
Theories of Holocaust denial

All of the above positions are seen by one or another group as conspiracy theories. Some refute long established scientific fact, some are based on partial facts or conflicting beliefs, some are complete or partial fabrications, some are championed to promote a specific agenda. All these and others share the common trait of shaping the policies and opinions of our world every day.

With that in mind, and a growing awareness of how technology and prejudice can shape the information we receive, it becomes imperative that we develop a keen filter with which to process and formulate our personal version of reality. Recently the phrases "We did not anticipate" and "Failure of Imagination" have been used to both make excuses for and explain the reasons for tragic events. Lives can and do depend on the quality of our collective consciousness.

I may, on occasion, post a "Conspiracy Theory" to test this principle. My intention is to keep this blog as ideologically neutral as possible. The theories are put forth as a kind of puzzle or exercise in imagination to test the logic of events that shape our lives. And, of course, perhaps inject a bit of wry humor as well.

Record Store Retreat

2006-08-13T21:55:00.000-07:00

The times they are a Changin'...

A recent article in The New York Times reported on the impending demise of the music store. A focus of the story was that few members of the web-savvy 'Download' generation see the purpose of the music store experience for purchasing packaged music when it is ready and ripe for the digital picking. That left only the remaining more mature customer base, primarily Baby Boomers, those unable to break the emotional connection between music and its package.

As I started to consider what was happening, I began to reflect on what these changes meant to me as a member of that more 'mature' set. I've been buying records for almost as long as I can remember, and conventional wisdom might see me as one who laments the passing of a ''golden age', I wanted to examine if this was indeed true.

Music has always been my passion, it was the first thing in life I realized as being special. Music quickly became my connection with the world, and still holds that power as recently revealed when, waking from a 6 hour heart operation, my first semi-conscious thought was an obscure line from a Tom Waits song. When I was a kid my parents took me to buy 45 RPM records, when I was a teenager I could ride my bike to the chain department store and purchase whatever LP's my limited allowance could provide. When I returned home from the military and got a job my musical tastes were more mature, I had a new stereo, I had disposable income, and I bought LP's with a vengeance. I had a lot of music history to catch up on, and since I had no other major interests, music became my main focus. I listened to the music with new ears, and read everything I could in the music trades. I averaged about 5 LP's a week for about 8 years which culminated in a collection of over 2000 albums that still take up a major portion of one room. I branched into new musical forms, jazz, blues, country, bluegrass, folk, electronic, Avant-Garde, and even a little classical in all their various forms [no opera thank you].

On vacations a major part of the trip was spent looking in the well stocked retailers of the bohemian and major metro areas we visited for the rare and eclectic releases unavailable in our native mid-western locale. On departure our suitcases were well packed with our necessary apparel, but the return trip often saw our clothes and laundry scattered in the back of the car, our precious cargo of records and books secure in our gorilla-proof luggage. A brief decline in music purchases followed my marriage and its adjusted priorities, but as our household income rose so did my CD purchases which now take up a major portion of another room.

Being an artist as well as a music enthusiast, the connection between the music and the package was very special. The link between image and sound is inseparable to most who grew up with that format. Major artists contributed artwork - some became stars in their own right, some labels could be identified by their graphic design - Blue Note, ECM, Prestige. You could spend hours holding that 12 inch square package just looking and listening,reading liner notes and peering into gatefolds which sometimes opened into posters. Some became treasures - a clear plastic sleeve for Captain Beefheart's Clear Spot, or the Stones Warhol cover with a functional zipper, Neon Park's Little Feat covers. But while those packages still hold value for me, the time for sleeve gazing and hours of doing nothing but listening beneath the headphones have long passed, and soon the downsizing of my living space will necessitate parting with all but the most treasured and irreplaceable of my vinyl collection.

So, as I look at the new menu of music formats and distribution, is something missing? Perhaps. I resisted CD's at first, though due more to their increased price and player affordability than esthetics. When I finally made the leap I found it cruelly ironic that the format got smaller as my eyesight got poorer, but I reveled in their quality, and portability. Now that I have several MP3 player's that can transport my entire music collection in my coat pocket, computers that can access music in an instant and an internet that can give me more information on any artist or music release than I ever dreamed possible with the ability to instantly order any CD available from my desk, and satellite radio, I feel amply compensated for any tactile deficiencies in the medium.

I have now come to realize that the only reason music and art were ever really associated were the necessities of the distribution chain. So while I value the memory and pleasure the records, and their packaging have brought me, I appreciate the technological advances and advantages. I will still go to CD stores to satisfy my musical consumerism until new methods of distribution become better established, but I feel content that I will adapt to the next paradigm, and I take comfort in knowing that I probably won't have to wrestle my walker through the security gate of the local retailer.

FACTOTUM

2006-08-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

"Some people never go crazy, what truly horrible lives they must live". Charels Bukowski

FACTOTUM, a movie based on the book by Charles Bukowski opens next week. Here's a link to the official movie site.
http://www.factotummovie.com

Also an interview with Matt Dillon who plays Chinaski (Charles Bukowski).
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5633495.

Bukowski is one of my favorite writers. A previous Hollywood effort "BARFLY" is one of my favorite films, I'm hoping this one will measure up as well.

Quote: Bat Masterson

2006-08-10T20:48:00.002-07:00

"There are those who argue that everything breaks even in this old dump of a world of ours. I suppose these ginks who argue that way hold that because the rich man gets ice in the summer and the poor man gets it in the winter things are breaking even for both. Maybe so, but I'll swear I can't see it that way."

(This last quotation was also Masterson's last words, as it was the bit of column found on the typewriter Masterson was using before he died while typing).

Bartholomew "Bat" Masterson
1853-1921

U.S. Marshal and sports editor/columnist

Blind Taste Test

2006-08-10T20:48:00.000-07:00

Well the idea of blindness as a cuisine had never occurred to me, but we were introduced to the concept last night when we went out to dinner.

A couple came in and was seated next to us, and the gentleman asked the waitress if they had a Braille menu. The young waitress answered no, and explained they only had the one menu for the restaurant and moved on to the next item on her requisite service list. The female in the couple then mentioned to the waitress that they used to have a Braille menu and inquired whether it had been discontinued. Again the waitress responded that she was only aware of the one standard menu. The woman, not satisfied with the answer, matter of factly asked the waitress if she knew what a Braille menu was - to which the waitress replied "No". The woman explained that it was a menu for blind readers and the man interjected "I can't see." The woman then directed the waitress to go ask the hostess for a Braille menu and soon after the man's hands were quickly scanning the textured pages and an order was quickly placed.

This was another of those situations where we are exposed to the plight of the physically challenged encountering common obstacles to things we take for granted every day. As I left the restaurant I felt very lucky.

Later, upon giving this incident further thought, I recalled hearing similar stories recently regarding shortcomings of the modern education system. Kids who can't locate well known geographic locations or are unaware of seminal historic facts. At that point the solution became clear. It is our responsibility to challenge our service personnel to a higher level of knowledge.

I thought of ordering my next meal by tapping it out on the table in Morse Code [Named after Samuel F.B. Morse 1791-1872) U.S. inventor]. Yes, I know it is an obsolete communication tool, but if it was good enough for our forefathers that should command some respect from these young whippersnappers. They could practice on their computer mice between alien kills. Or I might perhaps recite my request in Esperanto [an artificial language devised in 1887 as a means of universal communication. From the pen name Dr. Esperanto - Ludwik l. Zamenhof 1858 - 1917 Polish physician. From the Latin - sperare - 'to hope']. See, aren't we having fun - and we haven't even gotten our appetizer yet !

Right now I'm thinking about a nice side order of 'Skillygallee' [A favorite Union soldier dish (Civil War 1861-1865 - Ulysses S. Grant commander) - salted pork fried with hardtack crumbled into the mixture (Hardtack - a biscuit made of flour with other simple ingredients rationed to Union soldiers - AKA 'tooth dullers' and 'sheet iron crackers'); precursor to the K Ration - (WW II 1941-1945 )- 1941, Dr. Ancel Keys (a University of Minnesota physiologist) assigned by the U.S. War Department to design a non-perishable, ready-to-eat meal that could fit in a soldier's pocket.)].

Anyway, you're starting to get the idea. We could base the value of our gratuity on a bonus question - there's incentive ! And how about another Diet Coke before the lightning round please. Workers could earn and accumulate Service University Credits of Knowledge. Imagine their quick climb from minimum wage to economic power as they prove to employers everywhere that their education really SUCKs !

Who knows, with enough diligence applied to this new mission we could even end up with a literate president

Zero Sum Game

2006-08-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

Sound Lessons in Survival of the Corporate Soul

A quiet comfort was the feeling as I sat alone at home in the early January morning the day after I left my job - the suffering was over. Or, I should say, the source of the pain was removed - the suffering would remain for awhile. I left with none of the enthusiasm I had felt 2 years earlier when I was hired to that large, prestigious company with a high profile identity. In fact I felt much as a POW must feel upon release. I had been broken - identity and freedom was a concept that would take some time to grow into.

It did not take long after joining the company to realize that all was not what it initially seemed. The cardinal rule NO EATING OR DRINKING AT YOUR DESK was strictly enforced and set the authoritarian tone. The fact that water was a concessionary exception was offset by the 5 minute total daily limit on bathroom breaks. Basically everything at this place started at the broad pyramidal base of order with what you could NOT do and ascended to a continually narrowing peak of freedoms.

That was "House Rules" - the rules of order. When it came to each job description things got exponentially worse. The specific steps and hierarchy of each task were intricately woven into a complex matrix of opposing dictates. Picture a spider web where every move the victim makes to extricate himself from peril merely entangles him deeper into the mesh until either frustration or fatigue eventually proves fatal. At this company you were always in the web.

The final chapter of this story comes at the end of my two year tenure, a period of daily frustration and physical deterioration - approaching the point of fracture. Having tried my best to play the dutiful soldier and trying, difficult as it was, to fulfill the complex doctrine of performance indicators and regulatory mandate I was playing a losing game. As my performance review date drew near I had no idea that they were about to play a new hand to which I had only one recourse. Reviews here required completing 12 intense pages of performance indicators, imposed initiatives, and intended goals, all calculated to a final score using a formula that would have challenged even the great Einstein.

I entered my review meeting, faced my supervisor, and began the quarterly exercise in futility, much like the scenes in the movie "Shawshank Redemption" where Red faces the parole board. I was, however about to be introduced to a management concept that exceeded anything I had encountered in my 30 year professional career and beyond my wildest imagination.

The current review behind us, the meeting moved on with "things to come" and my manager became alive with enthusiasm as he began to unveil this "New review process that will improve, simplify, and revolutionize our performance appraisal process !" He's nearly beside himself with an excitement that I'm afraid can only ultimately end in bladder control failure as he continues to unravel his outrageous plan. "Here's how it works - and it's so beautifully simple and easy for everyone ! Are you ready?"

"Here it is. We now have only 3 categories of performance! If you MEET your expected performance numbers - you get a 1. If you exceed those numbers you get a 2. If you fall short of your expected goals you get a 0. No more complicated forms, no more nuanced gradations of performance or sliding scales and formulas - 1, 2, or 0 ! How great is that ? Your management team worked a long time to find simple and fair system for everyone!"

Well, my jaw nearly dropped at this ridiculous plan. I didn't know which was sillier, the plan itself or his childish enthusiasm for its inception. I was back in second grade - the grading system was PASS/FAIL - they were actually going to face me next quarter with possibly less than acceptable performance numbers and tell me that I WAS A ZERO - that my previous quarter's boring, sometimes frustrating, and non-fulfilling yet generally acceptable work, was worth NOTHING to them ? "Thanks for nothing, lets try again next quarter." I was curious to know which of the latest management schools suggested that negative motivation was actually an incentive tool ! I wondered why, if an employee was actually a ZERO, they would continue to give them a paycheck for labor they considered less than acceptable.

As usual I kept all these questions and my disbelief to myself, supported his conclusions and ended the meeting in a cordial manner with a handshake. As I passed through his door on my exit it was already clear in my mind that I would not experience another review at this company. I spent three more months at the company and tendered my resignation.

A soft snow begins to fall, it's January, I have far to go.

Category: Essays

Introduction

2006-08-07T17:54:00.000-07:00

Commentary and observation -