everything you ever wanted to know about nothing at all...

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Our Endless Numbered Days








When I was 26 years old, it was the last year before I met Christie. I like to call it 2006 BC. What does this have to do with anything? Well, Christie turns 26 tomorrow, which means I am really old, & she is still very young, & beautiful & caring & sweet & many many other things. Happy Birthday, my sweet wife. I love you.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

He's Funny That Way-Coleman Hawkins

Each Coming Night-Iron & Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days

Love & Some Verses-Our Endless Numbered Days

The Last Song I Will Write-Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit

Easy-Joanna Newsom, Have One on Me

Happy Tuesday, friends...

andrew

Saturday, March 20, 2010

All That Matters


Go ahead, if you want & go out to a bar, your favorite restaurant, to a movie, a show, a sporting event, whatever you want, but for me, I'll take a simple Saturday night with my favorite meal my favorite doggie & my favorite wife. In bed by 10:00.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

All That Matters-Mark Knopfler, Shangri-La

http://popup.lala.com/popup/360569492415666698

My darling girl
My darling girl
You're all that matters
In this wicked world
All that matters
All that matters
My darling boy
My darling boy
All of my sunshine
And all of my joy
You're all that matters
All that matters

Well, I can't stop the pain
When it calls
I'm a man
And I can't stop the rain
When it falls, my darling
Who can?

My darling girl
My darling girl
You're all that matters
In this wicked world
All that matters
All that matters
My darling friend
My darling friend
All we've got going
Is love in the end
It's all that matters
All that matters

Precious Angel-Bob Dylan, Slow Train Coming



Our Town-Iris Dement



The Perfect Space-Avett Brothers, I & Love & You



All Blues-Miles Davis, Kind of Blue



Happy Saturday, friends...

andrew

Sunday, March 14, 2010

we should shine a light on...



On Friday night, 800 or so of some of the strangest people you'd ever see crammed into the Calvin College Chapel. The average age looked to be about 20, young kids with '70s era suits, mustaches, skin tight pants, knit caps covering unwashed dreads, black eyeliner, not the kind of thing you see on the streets of Grand Haven & certainly not the kind of thing you would expect to see on the campus of Calvin College. They were all there to see the strangest character of them all, Joanna Newsom. They sat quietly in rapt attention to every oddly turned phrase, every manic strum of harp & every spine chilling warble that came out of her mouth. Her backing band included a mad scientist drummer in a three piece suit sans shoes & socks, a handsomely dressed trombone player with an average of about 20 seconds of playing time per song, two attractive looking violin players & a guitarists/banjo player (the brother of the mad scientist drummer) who at times played indistinguishably from the star of the show.

This is no freak show, as you might expect, the harp playing is no novelty act for wierd people who are looking for something wierd to listen to. This is a finely tuned, finely rehearsed cast of characters playing music, the likes of which you've never heard. Let me say that again, you've never heard music like this ever before, & if these people should retire & decide to become pharmaceutical sales reps, you'll probably never hear anything like this ever again. If you had to pin it down & put it in a box, it would combine both the elements of an opera & a folk song.

As talented as Newsom is as a harpist, piano player & songwriter, her greatest strength as a performer comes as a singer. Her odd voice effortlessly lilts between sharply & smoothly sung syllables. The lyrics aren't easily decipherable most of the time, but they are sung in such a way that makes you want to look them up & read them, & when you do, you aren't disappointed. Let me end by saying one more time, you've never heard anything like this before.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Occident-Joanna Newsom, Have One on Me

Mercy me, the night is long
Take my pen to write you this song
Lord, is it harder to carry on
Or to know when you are done

All my life, I’ve felt as though
I'm inside a beautiful memory
Replaying with the sound turned down low

Long-life, show your face
Slow-heart, curb your taste
Smoke me out of my hiding place
Long-life, state your case

What in the world are we waiting for
Building glowing cities along the shore
Where the wind batters in
Baiting my kin like a matador

So much value, placed upon
What lies just beyond our plans
Waving my handkerchief
Running along, till the end of the sand

Long-life, speak your name
I'm so tired of the guessing game
But, something is moving
Just out of frame
Slow-heart, brace and aim

Breaching slowly, across the sea
One mast, a flash, like the stinger of a bee
To take you away
A swarming fleet
Is gonna take you from me

The universe is getting loose
Sodden spread from some leaden disuse
Rushing, unhinged, toward diminishing lights
Like a headless caboose

I'll wait for you alongside the ocean
And make do with my no-skin
But then, Long-life, will you let me in
And then, Slow-heart, are you gonna know him

Long-life, speak your name
I wait, while I decry the wait
And when I die, may I relate
Slow heart, congregate

To leave your home and your family
For some distortion of property
Well, darling, I can't go
But you may stay
Here, with me

Not Dark Yet-Bob Dylan, Osaka Japan

Baby Birch-Joanna Newsom, Have One on Me



The Book of Right On-Joanna Newsom, The Milk Eyed Mendor

Soft As Chalk-Joanna Newsom, Have One on Me



Happy Sunday, friends...

andrew

Blog Archive

About Me

Grand Haven, Michigan
the sun shines on a dog's ass every now & then...