Talkin' Gibberish Blues

You do what you must do & you do it well...

2012-01-15T11:22:00.001-08:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about work. I happen to be in a men's bible study called Winning at Work & At Home & I'm reading Working by Studs Terkel. Subconsciously, I suppose doing both of these at the same time isn't really a coincidence, but Working has been sitting on my shelf for a long time & I didn't think to read it when we we started the section on work a few weeks ago. I just happened to pick it up the other night while I was playing with Lillian. Both ask the question, one implicitly, the other explicitly, why people do what they do.

Mostly what got me to thinking about work, though, are the pictures of my Grandfather that my sister posted on the computer. I always knew that my Grandpa worked in paint, I often boast about how he was one of the scientists that worked on the first exterior latex paint. Then it got me thinking about Opa, & how he gave me my first paying job (other than the money to go to Bud's party store my ol' man gave me for mowing the lawn) painting the cow palace. It probably took me a month to do a job that should've taken me four days, but luckily for Opa, I got paid by the job & not by the hour, not counting the life lesson & the lunch that Oma made for me everyday.

I can't say as though I'm extremely proud of my profession as a paint salesman. It pays fairly well, it's a relatively safe job, & for the most part, I think I'm pretty good at it. I usually enjoy it, although I'm not crazy about working for a big corporation & all the silly things that go along with that. Two of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to work are when people try to make their job out to be more important than it really is, or, on the other hand, when people just show up to collect a paycheck & don't give it their all. The most important thing for any man at his job, in my opinion, is if he has anything to show for himself the end of the day, & I usually can say I got something accomplished when I go home. I think I'm a pretty hard worker most of the time. I hate leaving work with unfinished business. My two favorite things about my job are shooting the breeze with my customers & putting paint away & cleaning & organizing the store. You get to know people pretty well doing my job, or at least as well as you want to know them. Getting to know them is good for business, but I'd like to say I'd get to know them even if it wasn't. Who knows? As far as putting paint away, there's something to be said about manual labor. Just about every man I know, or at least the ones I respect get an odd satisfaction out of manual labor.

Take my old man, for instance. He's a pastor, & a good one at that. I don't think he'd be half as good at what he does if he didn't grow up on a farm. He still works at the farm a lot. I think he gets his energy for being a pastor from working the land. Some people get their energy from talking to & being around other people, not my dad, he gets his energy from work. I never asked my dad how he came to the decision to be a pastor. The idea of pastors being "called" always intrigued me. I know in some way he was "called" by God to be a pastor, but I never knew how that actually happened, maybe it's a series of events, maybe it's God's voice actually entering his ears. Maybe he doesn't even know, but I do know that the world wouldn't be the same without him as a pastor. The reason I know he was "called" to be a pastor, is because, if given a choice, if it were up to him, I'm quite certain my old man would've chosen to be a builder or a farmer, or something where he works with his hands.

So maybe we are all "called" to do what it is we do. My mom & my sister are on this kick where they go on ancestry.com & figure out where are relatives come from. It's fascinating to me to reflect on my own life & all the tiny little decisions I've made that have greater consequences. For example, if I didn't know my friend Mike, & had we never went to Grand Valley State University, I never would've worked in the paint business. Had I never worked in the paint business, I never would've met my friends Dan & Kelly & they wouldn't have introduced me to my wife Christie. Had they never introduced me to Christie, Lillian wouldn't be here. So maybe our "calling" has nothing to do with what we want, maybe we're just God's vessels. Think of all the small, seemingly inconsequential decisions all of my ancestors made that led to me sitting here right now. Maybe the fact that Gramps was a paint man, & Opa hired me to paint was just the writing on the wall.

This may sound corny, but my biggest aspiration in life right now doesn't have much to do with a career, but rather to be Lillian's Dad & Christie's husband. Maybe Lillian will do something great, but that reminds me of a song, where a guy talks about his son, & he wonders how can he expect more out of his son than he did for himself. Have you ever seen that Cosby Show clip, where Theo gets bawled out for having bad grades? He tells his dad that he doesn't want to be a doctor or a lawyer like his parents, he just wants to be a regular person who drives truck. He tells his dad he hope he would love him anyway. His dad tells him that's the dumbest thing he's ever heard. The older I get, the more that scene bothers me, I know they were trying to say you should strive to be the best you can in life, but it implies that truck drivers & janitors don't strive to be their best. I like the poem where the guy tells his friend's newborn daughter that he hopes she turns out to be normal, if that what it takes for her to be happy. I hope I never give Lillian a big speech about how she needs to do something big & important with her life, & I don't want to be one of those parents who lives vicariously through their kids. That's just sad. I just hope whatever she's called to do, she does it the best she can. I think the world needs teachers & nurses or even janitors just as much, if not more, as they need CEO's or doctors or senators.

I'm not sure what I would do if I could do whatever I felt like. I've always dreamed about owning a record store or a book store, but in 20 years, there probably won't be anymore of those, besides, Grand Rapids already has a great record store. I've always dreamed about being an English Teacher, but those aren't exactly in high demand, either. Besides, I'm not sure I have the time or the patience to go back to school for that long. I always thought it might be something to be a congressman, but I'm pretty sure I don't have the personality for it. Besides, Ottawa or Kent Counties never elect Democrats, & I don't plan on moving. So, for now, I'll just keep on selling paint, after all, it's what I was called to do.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

I Was Meant for the Stage-The Decemberists

Angel From Montgomery-John Prine

Rivers & Roads-The Head & the Heart

America!-Bill Callahan

Moody's Mood For Love-King Pleasure

Have a good week, friends...

Every time I pass that way, I always hear my name...

2011-07-03T10:47:00.000-07:00

Great Dylan albums tend to end in a way that signals towards the direction of the next album. It Ain't Me, Babe ends Another Side of Bob Dylan & warns that he was not merely a protest singer leading any kind of movement, & by the time Bringing It All Back Home came out, all those protest songs the folkies loved were gone. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue puts the final nail in the coffin of Bob Dylan's solo acoustic career & by the time Highway 61 Revisited came out, the solo acoustic songs were gone. Desolation Row, the last song from Highway 61 Revisited hints at the surrealism that could be found on Blonde on Blonde. Blonde on Blonde ends with the marathon Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands, an ode to his new wife & a life off the road that would characterize his next eight years living the simple life & raising a family. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight closes out John Wesley Harding but sounds like it could be on the country album that follows it, Nashville Skyline.

Street Legal ends with a searching song, Where Are You Tonight (Journey Through Dark Heat). The song on the surface sounds like he's searching for a woman, but the song suggests the search for the woman is only a cover up for what the singer's (I say the singer, because we fall into the trap of assuming that a songwriter is always writing in first person) really searching for. With lines like "if you don't believe there's a price for this sweet paradise, just remind me to show you the scars" it sounds like the gospel is on his mind. He spent his next three albums singing the gospel.

Slow Train Coming, Saved & Shot of Love continue to amaze & confuse me ten years or so after hearing them for the first time. It's a strange intersection between the Christian faith I've grown up with my whole life & my favorite songwriter/performer who was always been a figure of rebellion. The move angered many of his fans in the same way he did when he plugged in an electric guitar 14 years prior. The concerts around this time had hostile audiences expecting to hear old songs that didn't have anything to do with Jesus & Dylan didn't give them what they wanted. Often he would respond to heckling with mini-sermons in between songs.

The first of these albums, Slow Train Coming, has some wonderful songs, but Dylan falls into the trap of being wronged by someone. I hear the same angry dismissive attitude of Positively Fourth Street, where the singer rejects others as being on the wrong side. It hardly meshes with the joy of being born again. There are also some odd & some might say racist lines about sheiks wearing nose rings. Even the song with the nicest sentiment, "I Believe in You", has an us vs. them quality to it, chastising family & friends for not understanding why the singer believes in his Savior.

The next album, Saved, however, seems to let go of the anger. The greatest example of this is "What Can I Do For You" where the singer admits he owes everything to his creator & finally gives his creator the best harmonica solo he possibly can. Saved was panned by critics & fans alike, but it's my favorite of the three gospel albums, both in the sound & in the lyrics. The live versions of these songs from that time are even better. There is a surrender in these songs, described best in the song "Saving Grace".

The wicked know no peace and you just can’t fake it
There’s only one road and it leads to Calvary
It gets discouraging at times, but I know I’ll make it
By the saving grace that’s over me

Shot of Love is an incredibly uneven album, both in content & in quality. Some of the songs speak of faith, others like Lenny Bruce go back to secular concerns. Around this time, Dylan began to add his old songs into his r'epertoire, with his old songs benefiting from a gospel sound.

This brings us back to transitions. Shot of Love ends with the beautiful Every Grain of Sand, a song that perhaps signals a new sound & a new direction for Bob Dylan's music. The song acknowledges that despite the fire & spirit of some of his earlier songs, there is some doubt that goes along with his newfound faith & perhaps hints at him moving away from it, depending on the last line, but I'll get to that later.

"When the pool of tears beneath my feet floods every newborn seed." This sounds like every newborn seed of faith washed away by one's own sorrow or doubt. I like the honesty in this song. We Christians have a way of only showing others our best side, especially if we can make ourselves look better before others. There's a line from the song Precious Angel off the Slow Train Coming album where he says "you either got faith or you got unbelief & there ain't no neutral ground". That sounds more confident than he sounds here in Every Grain of Sand. To admit doubt is to admit your own humanity, even if it makes you look weak in your faith. You have to appreciate the sincerity.

The song hints at Matthew 10:29-31. "29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.[b] 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

It also hints at that Footprints poem where someone is asking God about a dream they had walking along the beach. There are two footprints symbolizing the author walking with God, & during the hard times there are only one set of footprints. The author assumes that God left him during the hard times, but God tells him that he was being carried by God.

"I hear the ancient footprints like a motion of the sea. Sometimes I look & there's someone there, sometimes I look & someone's there, other times it's only me."

Back to the end the song, that could possibly effect the entire meaning of the song. Here we have the most significant lyric change of Bob Dylan's career. The album version ends cynically with "I'm hanging in the balance of the reality of man". "The reality of man" sounds to me like we are all stuck here with a puddle of tears searching for something that may or may not be there. Every live version of the song I've ever heard (which is quite a few), however, he ends the song more hopefully, "I'm hanging in the balance of a perfect finished plan". Never before has a song's meaning changed so much with one lyric change. It hints that maybe those footprints were God's after all. This just goes to show you Dylan's power as a songwriter, but part of me wonders if this change is just another trick in his bag.

After Every Grain of Sand, after Shot of Love, Bob Dylan's music transitioned to a different direction, & never again did he write songs explicitly about his faith. He would continue to sing many of his gospel songs in concert, even to this day, none being performed consistently as good as Every Grain of Sand, always sung with the "perfect finished plan" ending. I've seen this song performed a couple different times in person, & it's always the highlight of the show, & I know it wouldn't be if it were sung in it's original form. Never before have I taken a song so personally. There's a question in there that every Christian must answer for themselves, or better yet, to allow God to reveal to them. For me, I choose to hear that we're hanging in the balance of a perfect finished plan.

In the time of my confession,
in the hour of my deepest need
When the pool of tears beneath my feet
flood every newborn seed
There's a dyin' voice within me
reaching out somewhere,
Toiling in the danger and in
the morals of despair.

Don't have the inclination to
look back on any mistake,
Like Cain,
I now behold this chain of events
that I must break.
In the fury of the moment
I can see the Master's hand
In every leaf that trembles,
in every grain of sand.

Oh, the flowers of indulgence
and the weeds of yesteryear,
Like criminals,
they have choked the breath
of conscience and good cheer.
The sun beat down upon the steps
of time to light the way
To ease the pain of idleness
and the memory of decay.

I gaze into the doorway of
temptation's angry flame
And every time I pass that way
I always hear my name.
Then onward in my journey
I come to understand
That every hair is numbered
like every grain of sand.

I have gone from rags to riches
in the sorrow of the night
In the violence of a summer's dream,
in the chill of a wintry light,
In the bitter dance of loneliness
fading into space,
In the broken mirror of innocence
on each forgotten face.

I hear the ancient footsteps like
the motion of the sea
Sometimes I turn, there's someone there,
other times it's only me.
I am hanging in the balance
of a perfect finished plan
Like every sparrow falling,
like every grain of sand.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Gettin' By-Jackie Greene

Beyond Here Lies Nothing-Bob Dylan, Together Through Life

James River Blues-Old Crow Medicine Show

Every Grain of Sand-Bob Dylan, Grand Rapids 2001

Early Morning Raid-Ian & Sylvia

Happy Wednesday, friends...

andrew

There's a Song My Mama Sang

2011-05-08T04:09:00.000-07:00

It always amazes me when I come home from work every day, when Christie's been taking care of Lillian all day long, she is still smiling at her & laughing with her the same way as if she hadn't seen her in days. The amount of love Lillian receives from her mother is over abundant. Lillian is easy to love, most of the time, but even when she isn't Christie is patient & her love doesn't cease. I know she gets this from her mother & her grandmothers. My sister's got the same example from my mother & from Grandma & Oma. I've been blessed with some wonderful mothers. Let's all say a prayer for those girls who haven't been shown the same example, because some day they'll be mothers too.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Sing Me Back Home-Merle Haggard

This Land is Your Land-Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings

Troublesome Houses-Bonnie "Prince" Billy & the Cairo Gang

I'll Be Your Mirror-The Velvet Underground

Granny-Vic Chesnutt

Happy Sunday, friends...

andrew

Help of the Helpless

2011-02-13T03:18:00.000-08:00

What keeps me coming back to the record store is the idea that inside each neatly wrapped disc or piece of vinyl might be some little secret that you'd never heard before. That secret might say any kind of truth, any kind of blurring of the truth, a flat out lie or any tall tale that might illuminate the world you live in. It might tell you something about a world somebody else lives in or a world that is to come. You either connect with a song or you don't, & even if you don't connect with it, it can still have a good beat with some nice harmonies. When you do connect with a song, it becomes a part of you, changes the way you see things. It reveals something new to you almost every time you hear it.

A good song is like a well pitched baseball game, you have to be paying close attention to the subtleties & nuances of the game, or it will be boring to you. It's also like a marriage, a performer can be giving it his or her all but if the listener isn't giving it their all the two of them might as well quit each other. A good song has many layers, it might mean something to one listener & something completely different to another. The way a lyrical phrase is turned can affect the meaning, making it completely different from the meaning on the page. Sometimes the meaning of a song is subtle, the performer wants you to draw your own conclusions, other times a performer can be beating you over the head with the meaning.

One song that's been finding me since I was a little kid is the hymn "Abide with Me". I have several recordings of this song (check out Ella Fitzgerald's version) although none quite sound like they did during evening church services sitting next to my mother when I was a kid. A version I've been listening to a lot lately is by Matthew Perryman Jones.

A simple definition of the word "abide" would be to stay with someone or something, but it means a whole lot more than that. To stay with someone can be rather passive, someone can stay with someone else for a lack of a better place to go. To abide, though, requires a persistence to remain with someone or something, even though the conventional wisdom is to leave. To abide with someone is not a pleasant experience. Think of two people holding on to each other while falling from an airplane. It's easier to let go than it is to hold on. What a perfect metaphor, God holding on to somebody that most people would say isn't worth holding on to when it would be easier for Him to let go.

Consider the lyric, "I need Thy presence every passing hour". The way my brain works when I hear this line is I think of a really hard time that I made it through, when I may have prayed for help. This is exactly the opposite of the truth that this song gets to. The inference I make when I think this way is that all the other hours I made it on my own. Every passing hour doesn't mean when I think I need "Thy presence" the most, it means every passing hour, regardless of how easy or hard, jubilant or depressing, exciting or mundane that hour may be.

This leads to the center of the song. A great song for me always has a center, one singular line that the rest of the song hinges upon. The rest of the lyrics are the background & the d'enouement. You have to have a problem if you need a solution, & the problem in this song is the line "thou hast not left me, though I've oft left thee". The reason I say this song has been finding me since I was a little kid, is that I don't think I choose to listen to it because it's got a good beat & some nice harmonies. It's not even up to me when I hear it. I used to think "though I've oft left thee" meant that there were times in my life in the past when I've strayed from God. When I hear it now, I realize that every day I stray from God, & every day he doesn't leave me. Every day He abides, makes a conscious effort to stay by my side, even when I give Him no reason to.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Abide With Me-Matthew Perryman Jones

Helpless-Neil Young with The Band

Go Folks Go-Bonnie "Prince" Billy & the Cairo Gang

Up on a Mountain-The Welcome Wagon

Lord I'm Discouraged-Charley Patton

Happy Sunday, friends...

andrew

The Back is Soft but the Seat is Hard, Why Can't They Get it Right?

2011-01-09T03:44:00.000-08:00

I haven't been to our church in a few weeks as a result of Christmas parties & work. What I like about our church is that I always leave with a clear understanding of what it takes to be a Christian.

Last summer on a Saturday I was at a party, & I was talking to some people who I didn't know very well, & everyone was talking about what they were doing the next day. They asked me what I was doing & I told them I was going to church & whatever else I was doing. This lady, most likely in her late thirties with a couple of kids, said something to the effect that if she ever stepped in church the place would probably burn down. I missed a good opportunity to witness to her, mostly because I always feel like some sort of salesman. I don't like it when people try to sell me something, so why would anyone want me to sell them something. That's a subject for another day.

If I were to take a poll of people who claim to be Christians about why they don't go to church, I think the majority of people would fall into two categories, or a combination both.

The most common reason would be apathy. I think most people who don't go to church are in a habit of not going to church, & we humans have a hard time of breaking habits, especially when we don't have a compelling reason to do so. We may not think we can come up with a compelling reason, but the answer to this problem can be found in Isaiah 6:8, or in one of my favorite hymns, "Here I Am, Oh Lord, Send Me." "If you cannot speak like angels, if you cannot preach like Paul, you can tell the love of Jesus, you can say He died for us all."

The second reason is the same reason that most likely kept the lady at the party from going to church. Many people feel they don't belong at church, that church is for the high & mighty, the people who have it all together. This couldn't be farther from the truth. I like to imagine how much different church would look if it were filled with prostitutes, drug addicts, drunks, thieves & murderers. Would these people be embraced during that always awkward time of greeting at the beginning of the service, or would most people stick their nose up at them & look the other way? I know what my first inclination would be. But consider how much more powerful the message of Jesus' forgiveness would be to people who walk into church thinking they don't belong there but are welcomed once they are there.

Us regular church attenders, whether we are willing to admit it or not, think we have it all together because we are there at church every Sunday. Our sins are no less sinful than the prostitute or the murderer in God's eyes. The two biggest blocks to salvation are the thoughts that I don't need Jesus Christ because I'm such a good person or thinking that Jesus Christ can't & won't forgive someone like me. Which thought is easier to get rid of? Either we have to get our hyper-inflated egos out of the way and/or we need to get the weight of our sins off our shoulders. The good news is that Jesus took care of both of them on the cross, all we need to do is accept it.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Late for Church-The Drive By Truckers "All that hollerin' makes me wonder, does a whispered prayer get heard?"

The Wild Hunt-The Tallest Man on Earth

Here I Am, Oh Lord, Send Me-Mississippi John Hurt

Watch Me Fall-Uncle Tupelo

Wall of Death-Richard Thompson

Happy Sunday, friends, no matter what you're doing...

andrew

Save all of your light for those who can't sleep at night.

2011-01-01T07:24:00.000-08:00

Every year I tell myself I'm not going to watch the ball drop. This year I thought I wasn't going to even stay up until midnight, but we had some friends over & we were having a good time so I did. If there's one thing that makes me sad is watching all of those people in the cold in Times Square & wondering if they are getting what they want out of life. I don't know that they'll find it wearing one of those hats and the glasses that say the year. Then there's poor old Dick Clark who gets trotted out there like a robot every year, all made up to look like he's perpetually 50 years old, all to hold on to some preconceived notion of what New Year's Eve should look like. The wee hours of the morning make me sad, too. I'd much rather get up at 3 in the morning than stay up until 3. It just feels unnatural, I think God made the day the way he did for a reason. There's enough darkness in the world, why make it any darker by sleeping through the best hours of the day?

I tell you what doesn't make me sad, though, is spending 2011 with the best little family I can imagine. A toast to Christie, Lillian & little Winston doggie. Lillian even gave us a couple smiles this morning, it's going to be a good year.

Five favorite songs of the day

Souvenirs-John Prine

I'm New Here-Gil Scott Herron

Empty Hearts-Josh Ritter

Compared to What?-John Legend & the Roots

This Year-The Mountain Goats

Happy 2011, friends...

andrew

2010-12-17T13:06:00.000-08:00

I'm "that guy" with the camera that has to take a picture of everything.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Crepuscule with Nellie-Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane, At Carnegie Hall

My Favorite Things-John Coltrane

I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing-Sufjan Stevens

Keep Eye on Other's Gain-Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Lie Down in the Light

A Little Bit of You-Laura Cantrell, Not the Trembling Kind

andrew

2010-11-28T03:50:00.000-08:00

I've learned only a few things in my first week as a pappy. First of all, babies aren't like the rest of us. Most of us don't know what we want. We have so much stuff, so many ways to be entertained, so many different things to eat or drink, so many people to interact with to be strengthened or to be discouraged by, that with all of these things flying around in our head we can't seem to pinpoint what it is that we really want. Lillian's different. She only wants to be held, to be warm, to be fed & to not have gas. I'm not sure she even cares if she has a dirty diaper or not.

I've learned I'm not a very patient person at 3:00 in the morning. I want to hurry up, change the diaper, feed her, burp her & for her to be back to sleep in twenty minutes. I've come to learn it doesn't really work that way. I think Lillian can probably sense this frustration, so the problem becomes worse. I'm learning, though.

Christie is quite a bit better at sensing what Lillian needs than I am, thankfully. A couple weeks ago, if you would have told me that Christie would be up with me at 6:30 in the morning smiling contentedly & telling me how happy she is I would call you crazy. Motherhood suits her perfectly. She only gets about half the amount of sleep she used to, but she is okay with it. She knows how to take care of everything Lillian needs, & she enjoys it. She is patient, kind, gentle & I couldn't ask for a better mother for my daughter.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

This Side of the Blue-Joanna Newsom, The Milk Eyed Mendor

Tangled Up in Blue-Bob Dylan, Detroit 2006

Whatever Gets You Through the Night-John Lennon

Hello in There-John Prine, Souvenirs

Naked As We Came-Iron & Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days

Happy Sunday, friends.

andrew

I will want for nothing more

2010-11-13T05:23:00.000-08:00

It's Saturday morning, & it's most likely our last weekend without the sound of a little girl in the house. I'm extremely excited about that. My usual Saturday morning routine when I don't have to work involves getting up around 6:30, taking a shower, letting the dog out, making coffee & then basically doing nothing productive until Christie gets up. I'll read the news on the internet, music reviews, blogs, I'll listen to tunes. I've come to cherish this little time of mine, & I guess I won't have it any more. I'm okay with that, I'm 31, it's time for a change. That little girl of mine will be more exciting than anything on the internet, anyways. I hope she doesn't mind listening to jazz in the morning, until she discovers cartoons.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Say It (Over & Over Again)-John Coltrane, Ballads

Workingman's Blues #2-Bob Dylan, Kalamazoo

My Sweet Lorraine-Oscar Peterson Trio with Coleman Hawkins & Nat King Cole

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ayQq5AQxF0

I Haven't Either-Andy Gullahorn

'81-Joanna Newsom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb5Jp_duKNM

Happy Saturday, friends.

andrew

Soul to Soul Our Shadows Roll

2010-11-03T04:07:00.000-07:00

Bob Dylan played The Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo on Friday night, an intimate little place that appears to be better suited for a production of Macbeth than a rock concert. It's in these little places that Bob usually shines, when the sound doesn't fly around up in the rafters only to be left to die. The audience is usually more attentive, as well, & since it only holds about 3000 people, you're not usually distracted by the endless amounts of people talking through the show, playing with their cell phone or getting up to get another beer. I imagine being surrounded by professors, English & history majors. Bob Dylan has something to say about the English language & American history, too.

His show on Friday was, in a sense, a history lesson, although not a linear or chronological one. His greatest strength as a songwriter has always been to marry the universal with the personal, to take a simple idea & layer it with meaning. It's never occurred to me before Friday how uniquely American Bob Dylan is, & how infused with the American landscape & history his canon is. His vision of America is one that exists outside of or in spite of 24 hour cable news channels, Walmart, strip malls, facebook & subdivisions. It tells of an America that contains the age old struggle between men & women & all of the infidelity, the heightened & diminished expectations that goes with it. The second song, It Ain't Me, Babe wonders how much does a person have to invest when they enter into a relationship, & the conclusion is maybe you'll never get everything you want out of a relationship. In looking for everything, you are forgetting what's really there. In "Beyond Here Lies Nothing", he paints a picture of a love that leads you blindly down a dark path of trouble.

There are two songs about floods, first, "The Levee's Gonna Break". The Levee's Gonna Break was written the year after Hurricane Katrina, but could be talking about either Katrina or The Great Mississippi Flood. Bob seems to be saying there have been floods in the past, & there will be floods again. On this night, he closes the song with the opening sarcastic line, "everybody saying this is a day only the Lord could make."

The second flood song of the night, Highwater (for Charley Patton) was written months before September 11. There's a little more going on with this one, the historical references to musicians, scholars & cultural places of interest where science & religion & political ideologies meet, fly by quickly. We'll start with the musicians referenced, obviously there's the great blues singer Charley Patton who's song High Water Everywhere is the precursor to this song. "I believe I'll dust my broom" comes from Robert Johnson who sold his soul to the devil so he could play guitar on Highway 61 (we'll talk about that later), "the cuckoo is a pretty bird" comes from the Appalachian folksinger Clarence Ashley. "12th street & vine" is a place that Big Joe Turner, one of the earliest people to play rock & roll most likely walked. Vicksburg, MS was effected by the Great Flood of 1927, & was where people met who were displaced by the flood. Clarksdale, MS was also effected by the great flood & was where Bessie Smith died of a car accident, also on Highway 61 Revisited. Bertha Mason was a creole character from the novel Jane Eyre. George Lewes was one of the early proponents of Darwinism, "they got Charles Darwin trapped out there on highway 5" alludes to the Scopes Trial of 1925, that place in American History where science, religion & political ideology collided. Months after the song was written, the phrase "I want him dead or alive" was uttered countless times by George W. Bush in reference to Osama Bin Laden.

In addition to being one of Dylan's greatest songs of the last twenty years, it was one of the highlights of the evening. It's current stop start arrangement, with brief harmonica breaks in between, creates an incredible tension in the song that didn't exist before.

Highway 61 Revisited, written 36 years before Highwater, refers to the Highway that goes from Duluth Minnesota where Bob Dylan grew up all the way down to Mississippi. The song deals mostly in mythical characters doing all kinds of things on Highway 61. One can imagine Robert Zimmerman hearing all of the great blues musicians from Mississippi hundreds of miles away down Highway 61 & dreaming up the mythical character of Bob Dylan.

Workingman's Blues #2 is the perfect example of Bob Dylan having a pulse on what happens in America where one man's millions is just as important (if not more) as another man's next meal. Again, though, this song written in 2006 before the economic crisis hit, could have also been applicable 70 years ago. You can easily imagine "Low wages are a reality if we want to compete abroad" being uttered in every corporate board room & factory across this country. The people who say something like this know how it effects them personally, but they don't know what it means to the low wage worker. I don't believe Bob Dylan's ever really "worked" a day in his life like he sings in the song, but somehow he gets to the heart of what it means for a man to work. Work is identity, & without it he is "forced into a life of crime". He's played it the last three times I've seen him in concert, & I can see why, it is extremely poignant. Believe it or not, there's some hope tucked away at the end. They say that poor people have an incredible sense of resiliency, & Dylan gets to the heart of that too. "I got a brand new suit & a brand new wife, I can live off rice & beans." Just before he sings this verse in concert, he steps out from behind his organ to the center of the stage. It's an incredible piece of performance art as he inhabits the character of the worker as if to say "here I am, I've got nothing to hide, what else can you do to me that hasn't already been done?".

Only in America does a line like "we drove that car as far as we could, abandoned it out west" as Dylan does in Tangled Up in Blue. Performances like these are what keep me coming to Bob Dylan shows. Despite the roughness of his voice, & often laxidasical performances, he still can bring out a performance like this. He brings his best to the first verse, & the crowd reminds him of how good a performer he can be so it builds on through the rest of the song. It's a personal tale, but it could belong to anyone, & now thanks to performances like this, it does.

There's one song that pulls all of these songs together, When the Deal Goes Down. It combines all the joys & sorrows, the despair & the hope, the faith & cynicism of all of them & condenses it into a poetic, bittersweet little song. The song is at once my grandmother's chair, the blanket my sister quilted for my unborn daughter, & my wife at home. "More frailer than the flowers, these precious hours they keep us so tightly bound". It is all the struggles & joys of a life lived together, a beautiful song & a fitting capture of Bob Dylan's patriotic rhapsody.

1. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
2. It Ain't Me, Babe
3. Beyond Here Lies Nothin'
4. Just Like A Woman
5. The Levee's Gonna Break
6. Tangled Up In Blue
7. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
8. If You Ever Go To Houston
9. High Water (For Charley Patton)
10. When The Deal Goes Down
11. Highway 61 Revisited
12. Workingman's Blues #2
13. Thunder On The Mountain
14. Ballad Of A Thin Man

(encore)
15. Jolene
16. Like A Rolling Stone

These Days

2010-10-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

Days

What are days for?
Days are where we live.
They come, they wake us
Time and time over.
They are to be happy in:
Where can we live but days?

Ah, solving that question
Brings the priest and the doctor
In their long coats
Running over the fields.

3 August 1953

From The Whitsun Weddings
© The Estate of Philip Larkin

I love that poem, I've probably posted it here before. I wonder if everyone asked themselves at the end of every day what they lived for that day if they would be honest with themselves & if they would be happy with their answer. As fast as time goes, it's easy to go through a day trying to get to the next day, like that John Lennon song goes, "life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." I don't know what's worse, living for the wrong thing, or having nothing to live for at all. I heard a story on This American Life recently about a teenage kid who accidentally hit a girl riding a bicycle with his car. It wasn't his fault, but he had to go through life with the guilt of killing someone. The girls parents told the kid that whatever he did in life, he'd have to do it twice as good because we was living for two people now. What a responsibility, & what a weight. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, maybe we should ask ourselves what we're living for.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Ready to Start-Arcade Fire, the Suburbs

32-20 Blues-Robert Johnson

It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)-Bob Dylan

These Days-Nico

Need a Dollar-Aloe Blacc

Happy Friday, friends...

andrew

When I Get Home

2010-10-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

I was thinking alot about Oma today, ten years after she died. I remember my mother calling to give me the news. The day of her funeral was a perfect fall day, mid sixties, sunny with the mums in full bloom. I remember Oma making lunch for us when my dad would take me to work on the farm. No one sits down for lunch like that anymore. The day of her funeral was a perfect day to listen to my old man talk about his mother more eloquently than anybody else could. I think we sang Rock of Ages that day, what a great song, & I remember how Oma sang. No one sang like her, she had a very high pitched voice when she sang. She didn't have a conventionally great singing voice, but she sang with a feeling that conveyed love & conviction, & a connection with the past. I remember thinking that day that the song didn't sound the same without her singing next to us. I remember driving by the farm after the funeral, how the front porch always saw Oma standing & waving until your car was out of sight, like she wanted to make sure she told you that she loved you & to tell you that she hopes you make it home safely & to remind you to come back again soon. That reminded me of my old man standing in the driveway waving until your car was out of sight. Christie always tells me how much she loves that my old man does that. The day of the funeral was a perfect day to plant a tree, life's crazy circle spinning around & around. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, a life, a birth & all sorts of wonderful silly little things in between like new Christmas ornaments & Aunt Rose's birthday on Thanksgiving, making dogs sing, euchre tournaments, going to the American legion, "better than a kick in the pants" & "you're getting a little big for your britches".

A lot has changed since then. I can't help but think how much she would have loved Quinn, Ella, Avery, Sophia, Kaliegh, Lucy, Christie & Lillian.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

When I Get Home-Elizabeth Cotten

Box of Rain-the Grateful Dead

Go to Sleep, The Avett Brothers

Airline to Heaven-Billy Bragg & Wilco

When the Roses Bloom Again-Laura Cantrell

Happy Saturday, friends.

Build a ladder to the stars, climb on every rung

2010-05-31T18:40:00.000-07:00

There's a ton of things that excite me about being a pappy, & there's probably just as many things that quite frankly scare me to death. Depending on my mood, sometimes the things that excite me pop into my brain easier, other times it's the other way around.

I'll always remember the first days of kindegarden & the new shoes I had. I can picture them now, they were brown faux leather with stitching around the edges, pretty stylish considering the velcro. I remember avoiding the sandbox during the first days of recess, so as not to get my new kicks dirty, until Ms. Kolver & my mother told me it was okay to go in the sand. My wife will be the first to tell you that little things like this persist in my adult life. I wonder where these things come from, my father was never afraid to get his shoes dirty. I often wonder whether or not my child will have these little pieces of neuroses. Are these things biological? Learned? A little of both? I know we are our parents' children, & we are also influenced by those around us. I'm sure we pick up many traits all on our own without any influence. I can't help but wonder whether I should go with instinct & keep my child's hands washed at all times or if I should teach them not be be afraid of germs & have them lick a gasoline pump right off the bat. If anybody has any suggestions, I'm not being rhetorical here, I'd love to hear it.

On to something positive, I'm looking forward to playing with my kids. Really playing. Making up a stupid game & playing it for hours the way my sister & I could see how many times we could throw a ball across the room with only one hand without dropping it. Or the time we'd lay upside down with our head hanging off the couch & calling it "truck". I'm sure this will drive my wife crazy, & I have to admit it, I'm looking forward to that too. I'm looking forward to scheming with the kid & Winston to figure out how we can wake her up in the morning, too.

I'm looking forward to taking the kid for a walk & explaining to them everything we see, even when their only a few months old. I don't think I'll be too good at baby talk, maybe that will change. I'm looking forward to playing the kid classical music & jazz when they can't sleep at night & I'm looking forward to them rolling their eyes at me when I play the same music when they're 15. I'm looking forward to reading them stories, 'cause I know I'll be just as intrigued by the stories as they will be. I've already bought Frog & Toad All Year.

I'm worried about not being able to show the kid how to work with their hands. Let's face it, I'm not the handiest dude in the world. Maybe I'll have to take them to grampy's for that. Speaking of grampy, & I'm not trying to be mushy or sentimental here, I'm worried I won't be half the father he was to me. My old man was my hero when I was a kid, & has been ever since. He had a way of showing me what it means to be a man in every sense of the word without ever opening his mouth. When he would stop & shoot hoops with me, even for just a few minutes when he was walking home from work it made me feel like I was on top of the world. He & my mother had a way of making us feel loved & cared for without spoiling us. I worry about striking that balance between giving my kids everything they need without spoiling them. I guess, maybe if I can figure that out the rest just might fall into place.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Naked As We Came-Iron & Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days

God's Small Song-Bonnie "Prince" Billy, The Letting Go

Here At the Right Time-Josh Ritter, Monster Ballads

Hang Me, Oh Hang Me-Deep Dark Woods

Up a Tree (went this heart I have)-Cotton Jones, Paranoid Cocoon

Happy Memorial Day, friends...

andrew

It's these little things they can pull you under...

2010-04-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

"You are the beat of my heart & the light of my life." This is a lyric I've had running through my head the last few days. In one of his last interviews, Vic Chesnutt told NPR's Terry Gross that the song "Granny", the last song on what would become Vic Chesnutt's final album, was taken verbetem from a dream he had about his own grandmother.

Granny, oh Granny
what you doin' by the kitchen sink?
what you doin' by the kitchen sink?
she said, "i'm just makin' up some hamama cheese"
she said, "i'm just makin' up some hamama cheese"
she said, "i'm just makin' up some hamama cheese"

Granny, oh Granny
what you doin' with your false teeth
what you doin' with your false teeth
she said, "I'm just pickin' out the blackberry seeds"
she said, "I'm just pickin' out the blackberry seeds"
she said, "I'm just pickin' out the blackberry seeds"

Granny, oh Granny
where did your husband, my granddaddy go?
where did your husband, my granddaddy go?
she said "he went off to heaven just before you were born"
she said "he went off to heaven just before you were born"
she said "he went off to heaven just before you were born"

she said, "you are the light of my life & the beat of my heart"
she said, "you are the light of my life & the beat of my heart"
she said, "you are the light of my life & the beat of my heart"
she said, "you are the light of my life & the beat of my heart"
she said, "you are the light of my life & the beat of my heart"

I'm no songwriter, but I'm sure many songwriters pour over lyrics that they write, & may have a tendency to over edit, when most likely, the first draft of lyrics were perhaps the most powerful, when the idea is new. What a gift it must be to have a song come to you in a dream, & it takes alot of courage to write it down & leave it be, without editing. What's great about the song is the rawness of it. To listen to it seems like your peaking in on a private conversation that wasn't meant for your ears. That doesn't necessarily come from the lyrics, but with the rawness with which Chesnutt sings it.

I just got done reading The Shack today. When "Papa" says "I'm particularly fond of..." to & about any number of people, it sounds alot like "you are the light of my life & the beat of my heart". I think that if anyone else said that phrase about that many people, it would start to sound insincere. People think that there should be a limit to the amount of people we should love, but God (& the book) shows us that we should love everyone, especially the people towards whom we have anger & hatred.

I heard a story on the news the other day about a girl who had some sort of disorder which wouldn't allow her to distrust anyone. The girl would walk up to everyone she met & told them that she loved them. The girls' mother, probably for good earthly reason, puts her through exercises to teach her to distrust people. What a sad commentary on our world that is. I think we have an opposite view of trust than what we should. I think we don't trust people until they give us reason to trust them, when I think we should trust first until we're given reason not to. This distrust we all carry along with us is not only a barrier to loving one another, it's also a barrier to us even being decent to one another. Think of road rage, how easy it is to give someone the finger or cut somebody off because it's someone you'll never have to talk to.

Another great thing about the book, is that it makes you think of the possibilities God can create in your life, if you're interested in hearing what He has to say to you. Of course, it's a story, & my cynical mind will always consider someone crazy when they tell me that God speaks to them. It's easy for me to go to church, to pray before dinner, & know all the right answers about forgiveness & salvation, but I'll admit it's not always easy to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Not that Jesus makes it hard, but my brain & all sorts of other things get in the way of talking to Jesus like I would my wife or my mother or father. Give the book a read, friends.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Sweetness Follows-REM, Automatic for the People

Ahead of the Curve-Monsters of Folk

But for You Who Fear My Name-The Welcome Wagon

But for you who fear my name,
the sun of righteousness will rise
with healing in his wings.
And you shall go forth again,
skip about like calves
coming from their stalls at last.

You shall be my very own
on the day that I
cause you to be my special home.
I shall spare you as a man,
as compassion on his son
who does the best he can.

But for you who fear my name,
the sun of righteousness will rise
with healing in his wings.
And you shall go forth again,
skip about like calves
coming from their stalls at last.

You shall be my very own
on the day that I
cause you to be my special home.
I shall spare you as a man,
as compassion on his son
who does the best he can.

(instrumental)

But for you who fear my name,
the sun of righteousness will rise
with healing in his wings.
And you shall go forth again,
skip about like calves
coming from their stalls at last.

It's All Over Now, Baby Blue-Bob Dylan, 1999

Lucinda Williams-Vic Chesnutt, West of Rome

Happy Saturday, friends...

andrew

Our Endless Numbered Days

2010-03-30T18:16:00.000-07:00

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

All That Matters

2010-03-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

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

we should shine a light on...

2010-03-14T17:29:00.000-07:00

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

Root that mountain down

2010-02-16T18:14:00.000-08:00

Today, for your reading & viewing pleasure (& mine), two poems I love & a picture of the woman I love.

The Grower of Trees, the gardener, the man born to farming,
whose hands reach into the ground and sprout
to him the soil is a divine drug. He enters into death
yearly, and comes back rejoicing. He has seen the light lie down
in the dung heap, and rise again in the corn.
His thought passes along the row ends like a mole.
What miraculous seed has he swallowed
That the unending sentence of his love flows out of his mouth
Like a vine clinging in the sunlight, and like water
Descending in the dark?

Wendell Berry - The Man Born to Farming

I have been spared another day
to come into this night
as though there is a mercy in things
mindful of me. Love, cast all
thought aside. I cast aside
all thought. Our bodies enter
their brief precedence,
surrounded by their sleep.
Through you I rise, and you
through me, into the joy
we make, but may not keep.

Wendell Berry - A Poem of Thanks

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

I Won't Be Found-The Tallest Man On Earth, Shallow Grave

I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground-Bascam Lamar Lunsford, Anthology of American Folk Music

You have to listen to I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground to fully understand I Won't Be Found, but not to enjoy it.

For Every Field There's a Mole-Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Lie Down in the Light

Got the Farm Land Blues-Carolina Tar Heels, Anthology of American Folk Music

Skinny Love-Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago

Smile-Charlie Chaplin, Modern Times

Happy Tuesday, friends...

andrew

Please tell my mother...

2010-01-31T15:36:00.000-08:00

Dear Mother,

Christie & I were in the cookie aisle at Meijer today, & I suggested we get some Ginger Snaps. I asked her if she liked Ginger Snaps & she said emphatically, "No!". I asked her if she's ever tried Ginger Snaps she said equally as emphatically, "No!". I said I used to love Ginger Snaps as a child & she said that she preferred Windmill Cookies, which I also enjoyed. So, eager as I was to open her taste buds up to the delicious snack euphoria that is Ginger Snaps, I opened up the bag on the way home. I gave one to her & asked her how she liked them. She replied, "meh, they're nothing to write home about". I disagreed, of course, & stated that indeed, they are something to write home about. So that's what I'm doing this evening, I'm writing to you, my dear mother, to tell you how delicious the Archway Brand Ginger Snaps are. Try a bag today.

Love your son & your not convinced daughter-in-law,

Andrew & Christie

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

I Feel a Change Coming On-Bob Dylan, Together Through Life

It's Good to Be On the Road Back Home Again-Cornershop, When I Was Born for the 7th Time

Brimful of Asha-Cornershop, Brimful of Asha

Rocketman-My Morning Jacket

We Three (My Echo, My Shadow & Me)-The Ink Spots

Happy Sunday, friends...

The Master's Radio

2010-01-23T05:23:00.000-08:00

My old man really likes Bluegrass music. He tells me all about the songs they play on RFD TV. I wish I had that station so I could see what he's talking about. If I had a bluegrass band, I'd call it Uncle Harry & His RFD All Stars. Anyways, here's some of my favorites I think he'd like.

That one ain't really bluegrass, but it's great all the same.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Wayfaring Stranger-Bill Monroe

The Book of Right On-Joanna Newsom

Jesus in New Orleans-Over the Rhine

Love Vigilantes-Laura Cantrell

Carpetbaggers-Jenny Lewis with Elvis Costello

Happy Saturday, friends...

andrew

Where Were You?

2009-12-26T19:12:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was in the car listening to Fresh Air with Terry Gross who was interviewing one of my favorite singer songwriters, Vic Chesnutt. He was talking about his latest album, his career, his atheist beliefs & lastly his battle with doctor bills since he became a paraplegic in 1983. Chesnutt, despite his following & his relatively successful recording career was in debt $50,000 to hospitals that he had no way of paying even though he had "health insurance". I knew quite a bit about Chesnutt's career, but I had no idea that he had trouble with doctor's bills. Driving in the car, I had a pretty good thought to send him an email, but as always happens, life gets in the way. Here's what it would've said:

Dear Vic,

I've been listening to your music for the last ten years, & it's meant alot to me. Thank you. I recently heard you on Fresh Air with Terry Gross & was blown away by the song Granny. I was sad to hear about your doctor bills. It's shameful that we live in a country where we can't take care of our basic needs. I know you are an atheist, but, if it means anything to you, I'm praying for you & I hope everything works out okay. Take care.

andrew

Vic Chesnutt committed suicide yesterday.

The sad irony is this sad fact from spinner.com

"Chesnutt first grabbed national attention in 1996 when his songs were covered by an impressive list of musicians -- including Madonna, R.E.M., Smashing Pumpkins and Indigo Girls -- on a compilation for Sweet Relief, an organization benefiting musicians without health insurance. Chesnutt was grateful for the exposure but told Spinner, "When I talked to Sweet Relief about my problem recently, they were just like 'Woah, that's too big of a problem for us. You're going to have to talk to somebody else about that.'""

Vic Chesnutt also performed on a benefit CD for Alejandro Escovedo, who several years ago was in a similar predicament.

Life is short, friends, lend a hand.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Kick My Ass-Vic Chesnutt, Drunk

Kick My Ass

I'm so sorry you had to kick my ass
You said I ruined your life
I didn't mean to do that
I had to untangle where we was entwined
I was strangling me...were you breathing so fine
the jam I was in when things weren't working out
led me to the brunt of your swinging bout
I'm so sorry, I regret everything
what can I do to take back that swing
I'm so sorry a scuffle ensued
but things are so much better I guess thanks to you
I'm so sorry you had to pull my hair
I had to take care of business
there was a lot of business giving there

Cutty Sark-Vic Chesnutt, Drunk

Flirted With You All My Life-Vic Chesnutt

In My Way, Yes-Vic Chesnutt

My Hope is Built on Nothing Less-hymn

andrew

Christmas in Grand Haven

2009-12-21T05:12:00.000-08:00

Christie asked me the other day what my favorite part of Christmas was the other day, & I told her the Nunc Dimittis, otherwise known as the Song of Simeon from Luke 2:29-32. Not only is it a beautifully written piece of literature, it's one of the most hopeful moments in scripture & an excellent example of finding peace in Our Savior. Simeon basically says he is ready to die in peace now that he has seen the Christchild. The juxtaposition between Jesus' birth & Simeon's death is striking. Only through death can we find true peace. What greater earthly gift can anyone have than to be able to die in peace? 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 mirrors this idea, not only that we shouldn't be afraid of death, we should live as though in death we will find victory. My Christmas wish for you is that find peace not only in Jesus' birth but more importantly you'll find peace in His death as well.

Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace;
Because my eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples:
A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Little Drummer Boy-Bob Dylan, Christmas in the Heart

In 1979, Bob Dylan wrote a song called "What Can I Do For You?", which I always thought was Bob Dylan's own rewrite of "Little Drummer Boy". The harmonica in "What Can I Do For You" is what Bob can play for the Christchild & in the song he gives one of the greatest harmonica solos of his career.

Thirty years later, when Bob Dylan shocked everybody by releasing a Christmas album (with all the proceeds going to feed the hungry), he recorded "Little Drummer Boy". Not a bad version at that, & a brilliant little video that evokes Christmas in every little farm town in the midwest in the forties & fifties.

Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming)-The Children's Chorus of the South German Radio

Of the Father's Love Begotten-Hymns for All Saints

The Friendly Beasts-Sufjan Stevens, Songs for Christmas

If all music videos were like this one, they might be worth watching.

Silent Night-Huey "Piano Smith & the Clowns"

Merry Christmas, friends...

andrew

Do Right to Me Baby (Do Unto Others)

2009-12-14T14:48:00.000-08:00

My pal Kyle gave me a disc of Christmas songs by the band Low the other day. One song is called If You Were Born Today referring to if Jesus was born today. Here's the lyrics:

If you were born today
We'd kill ya by age eight
Never get the chance to say:

Joy to the world and

Peace on the earth
Forgive them for they know not what they do

Blessed are the meek and

Blessed are the humble
Blessed are the ninety and nine

Deny the flesh

Deny all that's evil
Tonight you'll deny me thrice

If you were born today

We'd kill ya by age eight
Never get the chance to say...

Ooooo...

The song underscores how difficult it must've been for the early Christians who didn't have the benefit of having faith instilled to them as children or the benefit of living in a country where Christianity is the majority. They had to suffer their faith. I imagine that people looked upon early Christians as we might a cult. It reminds me of one of my favorite verses:

Well, I rapped upon a house
With the U.S. flag upon display
I said, "Could you help me out
I got some friends down the way"
The man says, "Get out of here
I'll tear you limb from limb"
I said, "You know they refused Jesus, too"
He said, "You're not Him".

I think there's two lessons to be taken from all of this. One, don't take anything for granted & be thankful for your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, teachers, friends & pastors. The more important lesson comes from Mattew 25:40.

"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Come Thou Font of Every Blessing-Sufjan Stevens, Songs for Christmastime

In the Summertime-Bob Dylan, Shot of Love

"I'm still carrying that gift you gave, it's a part of me now, it's been cherished & saved. It'll be with me unto the grave & on into eternity."

God Said No-Dan Bern, New American Language

If You Were Born Today (song for Baby Jesus)-Low

Do Right to Me Baby (Do Unto Others)-Bob Dylan, Slow Train Coming

Happy Monday, friends...

andrew

Blues This Morning Falling Down Like Hail

2009-12-10T17:48:00.000-08:00

Dig this, friends, I had the greatest dream last night. Christie, my pal Ryan & I walked into a diner somewhere down south for breakfast. We're sitting at the bar waiting for our food to come & who should walk into the restaurant? None other than Mrs. Elizabeth Cotten, the little known blues guitar player & singer who died in 1987. Her best songs include Freight Train Blues, Oh Babe it Ain't No Lie & Shake Sugaree. When I saw her, I said, "look everybody, Elizabeth Cotten's here!" Somehow she seemed to know who I was & she asked how I was doing. I told her I was doing good, but it had been a long time since I'd heard any good music. She said, "oh that's too bad". I said, "yup, it sure would be nice to hear some good music". She then played "Freight Train Blues" for me. Then the alarm clock went off.

Whenever I listen to Elizabeth Cotten, it reminds me of sitting next to Oma in church & listening to her sweet voice singing.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

When I Get Home-Elizabeth Cotten

Ain't No Tellin'-Mississippi John Hurt

Do You Hear What I Hear?-Bob Dylan, Christmas in the Heart

Once in Royal David's City-Sufjan Stevens

Intervention-Arcade Fire, Funeral

Happy Thursday, friends...

andrew

Tell me now, am I wrong in thinking that you have forgotten me?

2009-11-07T17:57:00.000-08:00

We've all had that moment when a song hits us at just the right time, you're very receptive to what the song is saying & the song delivers what we're looking for. The song fits the mood, the mood fits the song. Whenever this happens, time seems to stop, if only for a few minutes. Bob Dylan played a song that fit the mood of Detroit on Friday night, a song called Workingman's Blues #2. The perfect song for the perfect place at the perfect place. What more can you ask for of an artist? To stop time & to shed a little light on the problems of the day with humor & earnestness. When Bob Dylan stepped to the middle of the stage & grabbed his mic, he looked and sounded like an angry farmer at a small town meeting explaining his plight, "they burned my barn & they stole my horse, I can't save a dime". I've heard this song in concert before, but I've never heard it like this before. I'd like to think Bob realized the power of his own song to a city hit harder than any other with poverty, unemployment & corrupt leadership. There's anger, sorrow & most importantly, defiance. A perfect lullaby for Detroit.

One could say that Bob Dylan is anything but a generous performer. He doesn't say a word to his audience except to introduce his band, he isn't a crowd pleaser & on most nights it appears as if he could care less if the audience is there or not. This night was no different, except in the care he gave to every word he spit out. He commanded the stage in a way I haven't seen before & by playing more than half of his songs from the last four albums he made you forget that he's the Bob Dylan of the 1960's who wrote all of those classic songs. Watching him perform center stage with his shadow behind him shows us an image of a living, breathing artist who is at once both living up to his legend and shattering it at the same time.

Detroit, Michigan
Fox Theatrer
November 6, 2009

1. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
2. The Man In Me
3. Beyond Here Lies Nothin'
4. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (Bob on guitar)
5. Summer Days
6. Desolation Row
7. Cold Irons Bound
8. Sugar Baby
9. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
10. Po' Boy
11. Highway 61 Revisited
12. Workingman's Blues #2
13. Thunder On The Mountain
14. Ballad Of A Thin Man

(encore)
15. Like A Rolling Stone
16. Jolene (Bob on keyboard
17. All Along The Watchtower

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Skinny Love-Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago

Workingman Blues #2-Bob Dylan

Sam Stone-John Prine, Souvenirs

Ballad of a Thin Man-Bob Dylan

Won't Want for Love-The Decemberists, Hazards of Love

Happy Saturday, friends...

andrew

Bowling Trophies

2009-10-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

So many people are upset about Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Before today, I couldn't tell you more than three people who were on the list & I'm guessing that most people who are upset about him either also don't know & or don't agree with many past winners. I don't get upset about who wins the MTV video music awards, because I just don't care who wins the best hip hop video. Like Jerry Seinfeld says, "awards are stupid...it's all a big jerkoff". My thoughts? They gave him the award not for what he has done, but for what his (uncompleted) agenda is, & perhaps to goad him into doing more for peace, in light of his upcoming decision on what to do in Afghanistan. My guess is that Obama himself isn't all too excited about winning the award & the expectations & apparent disdain from his opponents that come with it. So everybody settle down, it's not as though he asked to win.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

No Man's Land-Sufjan Stevens, The Avalanche

Man of Peace-Bob Dylan, Infidels

Stop Breaking Down Blues-Robert Johnson

Sabotage-The Beastie Boys

Shine on Me-Reverand Gary Davis, If I Had My Way

Let the light from the lighthouse shine on you & me, friends...

andrew

Evil is Alive & Well

2009-09-13T17:29:00.000-07:00

An actual conversation I had with a customer (one whom I've never met) the other day:

Customer: Can I get a credit application?

Me: Oh sure, that's always a good idea. It'll just take me a minute to print one off. pause... Busy day today?

Customer: Yeah, busy life. With that baboon we have in the White House I have to work twice as hard.

Me: Huh.

Customer: He wants to take from those who have money & give it to those who don't. The thing is those who don't have anything never will.

Me: Here you go. hands him application.

Now shame on me for not saying anything, part of me was selfish & realized it would be bad for business to disagree with him, part of me was shocked by what he said, completely unsolicited. This is the kind of hatred that causes people to fly planes into buildings & start wars. I'd like to think that everyone who protests at these town hall meetings, tea parties & "marches" on Washington are genuinely concerned about deficit spending & supposed government run health care but I rather doubt it.

Let's save the nazi claims for the actual nazi's, shall we? Funny, that trade freedom for security & you will have neither sign could've been used for an anti-war protest as well.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Please Tell My Brother-Golden Smog

A Hard Rain's a Gonna Fall-Bob Dylan, New Orleans 2003

Sinkin' in the Lonesome Sea-The Carter Family

Tower Song-Townes Van Zandt

When I Get to the Border-Richard & Linda Thompson, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight

Happy Sunday, friends...

andrew

Storms are on the ocean, storms up in the mountains too

2009-08-20T02:30:00.000-07:00

I got up at 4:30 this morning because I was supposed to go on a charter fishing trip on Lake Michigan with a customer of mine, but apparently the waves were too big so it got canceled. Now, this doesn't bother me too much because, honestly, I wasn't really interested in fishing too much. Now, I'm in that precarious position of wondering what to do with the rest of the day. I'm not expected at work today, but there's a ton of stuff I could catch up on.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Thunder on the Mountain-Bob Dylan with Charlie Sexton, 8.4.09

We Three (My Echo, My Shadow & Me)-The Ink Spots

Love Vigilantes-Iron & Wine, Around the Well

On up the Mountain-Jakob Dylan, Seeing Things

Uphill Mountain-Jackie Greene

Happy Thursday, friends...

andrew

We laughed & had a good time you & I

2009-07-03T05:47:00.000-07:00

I was on my way to the Shawmut Inn the day my old man called me & told me that Emily had Ella. I was so proud I think I told all the waitresses there. We've been having fun ever since. Ella is fun to play with because she has a wonderful imagination & tons of energy. I can see the best in Bob & Emily in her. She's the best birthday present I ever got. Happy birthday, bean. We love you.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Forgetful Heart-Bob Dylan, Milwaukee, July 1, 2009

The Times We've Known-Charles Azsnavour

Thunder Road-Bruce Springsteen

Uncle John's Band-The Grateful Dead, Workingman's Dead

Get Out of Denver-Eddie & the Hot Rods

Happy Friday, friends...

andrew

How the days turn into weeks turn into months...

2009-07-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

I haven't been listening to much music lately. I've gotten into podcasts to pass the time to & from work. My favorites are This American Life, Cartalk & Countdown. Hearing the songs I Love You (for sentimental reasons) by Nat King Cole & I Came to Hear the Music by Bonnie "Prince" Billy on my shuffle just might snap me out of this. Whilst at class I think I might just sit out on the front porch & listen to a couple albums. Any suggestions?

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Try a Little Tenderness-Otis Redding

I Love You (for Sentimental Reasons)-Nat King Cole

Love Vigilantes-Iron & Wine, Around the Well

Life is Hard-Bob Dylan, Together Through Life

I Came to Hear the Music-Bonnie "Prince" Billy-Ask Forgiveness

Happy 4th of July weekend, friends...

andrew

Everybody's gonna jump for joy!

2009-05-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

If my nephew Quinn is seven years old, that must make me old. So much has changed since he was born but it all seems like such a short period of time. I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that Quinn's not a toddler anymore, but at the same time it's hard to remember a Quinn without Ella, let alone all the other rugrats running around the Woehlke & McClelland compounds. I do remember him spitting up on me at least twice & it never bothered me in the least. Quinn & I will always have a special bond because we both know what it's like to grow up with two sisters. It's been fun watching what an interesting little man Quinn has become & it'll be more fun to see where he goes from here. Happy birthday, Quinntessential.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Red Right Ankle-The Decemberists, Her Majesty, the Decemberists

Out on a Weekend-Neil Young, Harvest

Heart of Gold-Neil Young, Harvest

This Dream of You-Bob Dylan, Together Through Life

It's All Good-Bob Dylan, Together Through Life

Happy Saturday, friends...

andrew

Am I Too Blue for You?

2009-05-17T17:14:00.000-07:00

My mother once told me that jazz musicians must not worry if they play a wrong note or two. She's probably right, spontaneity lies at the heart of every jazz session. I don't know anything about playing jazz music (or any instrument for that matter), & I'm also not sure how much of a jazz composition is planned out before the session begins. I do know this, however, that Miles Davis' Kind of Blue is the closest thing to musical perfection that I've ever heard. Maybe this is why it is such a highly regarded album, even among people who don't call themselves jazz enthusiasts.

Never mind all of that, I don't call myself a jazz expert by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, the more music critics I read, the more I realize most of it is complete & utter bullshit. Some people will knock you over the head with what they think is the most clever explanation they can think of regarding an album or a concert, comparing the work to any given number of musicians who came before. This is lazy writing that displays that the only way they can relate the music to their audience is by calling to mind another musician that everyone will know. Other critics feel as though they aren't doing their job if they aren't tearing down a piece of art that they can't create themselves.

The only critics that are worth the paper they write on, in my opinion, are the people who make you want to listen to a given piece of music. I realize I may be setting myself up for failure, here, but that's okay. I could tell you about the musicians (including John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly & Bill Evans) who played on the album or about the circumstances behind the recording, but that just doesn't do it justice.

What sets this album apart is the space between the notes, or the notes that aren't played. It was one of the first album's of jazz spontaneity to not knock you over the head with the feverish pace of notes that you can't keep up with. I think Miles could've done that if he wanted to, but his real skill was to create a mood with extremely well placed notes that had purpose, & that purpose at many times was to let his fellow musicians shine. This is nowhere more evident than the opening notes of the first track, So What, where the piano & the bass do a little two step together that start things off slowly. It isn't until 50 seconds in that the horns come in, but the bass & the piano hold the spotlight until those definitive notes of Miles come in to remind you whose album you're listening to. Listen to the way the piano stays behind the beat ever so slightly, Evan's isn't begging to be heard, he realizes what he's a part of. Coltrane's solo a few minutes in rivals Miles, but by this point it doesn't matter who's playing what because everything is so laid back.

Most importantly, for me, is that this album always sounds like 8:00-10:00 pm on a Sunday summer evening. Every song & every note holds together a mood that, doesn't let go. To this day, I can't tell you which song is which, & it doesn't really matter, they are all pieces of one great big masterpiece filled with different shades of blue. So, it's Sunday evening, friends, open up the windows turn on the sprinkler, pour yourself a drink & enjoy this masterpiece.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Flamenco Sketches-Miles Davis, Kind of Blue

So What-Miles Davis, Kind of Blue

Song No. 2-Miles Davis, Quiet Nights

BS II-Charles Mingus, Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus

Tony Adams-Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros, Rock Art & the X-Ray Style

Happy Sunday, friends...

andrew

Sing me back home

2009-05-10T17:27:00.000-07:00

Maybe justice is served. Maybe my punishment for not helping my mother clean as a lad is that I will be forced to mop floors on mother's day from age 29 (the age my mother had me) forward. Such was the case, though, I was stuck at work on Mother's Day & I had two customers all day long & raked in a whopping $37. I could have sat in the office all day & read (or sulked) but I figured I could crank up some Miles Davis & do some cleaning instead. I'm sure all of the higher level executives for my company were doing the same.

I remember looking forward to when my mom cleaned the floors in the kitchen because that meant that we got to eat dinner in the living room in front of the television. When the carpets got cleaned, all of the furniture got thrown together in the middle of the room which was perfect for a fort. It didn't take much to entertain me when I was a kid. My mom used this to my disadvantage by trying to fool me into playing a game to see how fast we could clean the kitchen. Happy Mothers day, Ma, thanks for everything you do for me, especially those things I don't even know about.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Sing Me Back Home-Merle Haggard

I've never been to prison, but the line "there's a song my mama sang" gets me everytime.

All That Matters-Mark Knopfler, Shangri-La

All of You-Miles Davis, 'Round About Midnight

I'd Like To-Mike Ireland

Help! I'm Alive-Metric

andrew

Some people they tell me I got the blood of the land in my voice...

2009-04-28T18:14:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like getting an anticipated brand new album the day of it's release. I still get as excited about it as I did when I was thirteen years old. There's no longer 30 seconds then the 30 seconds it takes to get the wrapping off a cd, but the payoff is well worth it. To slap the cd into the player & search through the liner notes for clues that might decode the magic that the cd might hold. Who does the artist thank? Are lyrics included? What kind of pictures are on the inside?

I got home to an empty house with Bob Dylan's Beyond Here Lies Nothing sitting on the counter. Maybe this is why Christie spent the afternoon with her mother. Anyways, I didn't feel guilty about popping this into the cd player & turning it up nice & loud. There's good news & bad news regarding this album. The bad news is that to my ears I don't hear any great songs. Modern Times had Ain't Talkin', Love & Theft had Mississippi. The good news is that I look forward to listening to the album as a whole, not just certain tracks. There's both a cohesiveness & a diversity to these songs that hold it together.

The album challenges your perceptions, the opening track Beyond Here Lies Nothing sounds quite bleak but actually celebrates love in the moment, even if that love will someday betray you or leave you all alone. The closing track, It's All Good, takes that annoying cliche & proves it to be false every time, no matter how many times you tell yourself that it's all good. Life is Hard is Bob Dylan trying to sing as if he has to prove that he can hit the high notes & in his straining comes up with quite an effective performance. My Wife's Home Town copies the melody of the blues standard I Just Wanna Make Love to You & is downright annoying. If You Ever Go to Houston swings easily with charming lyrics wrapped in myth & tall tales. I haven't made my mind up about Forgetful Heart yet, I like the singing & the tempo. Jolene has a terrible guitar riff that is just as bad as the lyrics from the refrain "i'll be your king & you can be my queen".

This Dream of You is the first time I realized that this album doesn't sound anything like it's predecessors. Maybe it's Mike Campbell's guitar or David Hidalgo's (Los Lobos) accordion. I either love or hate Shake Shake Mama, I haven't quite figured it out yet. When I found out that there was a song called I Feel a Change Comin' On I cringed, fearing a "we have a new president & it's a new day" kind of song, but it's actually quite good. It's got a '70s pop song kind of feel to it. This is probably the most palatable to the average listener.

There we have it, friends. This album won't go up there with the great Dylan albums of all time, but it sure makes for a fun listen & a definate difference from the last two albums. If I had to rate it, I'd give it a 7. Give it a spin & see what you think.

I Feel a Change Comin' On

Beyond Here Lies Nothing

Life is Hard (the picture depicts Christie when she's listening to this album)

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

If You Ever Go to Houston-Bob Dylan, Beyond Here Lies Nothing

So What-Miles Davis, Kind of Blue

Sec Walkin-My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges

Life is Hard-Bob Dylan, Beyond Here Lies Nothing

Sway-Alejandro Escovedo

Happy Tuesday, friends...

andrew

heading for another joint...

2009-04-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

Today was a day for new possibilities. Let me start with the best news of the day: Christie has a job interview this Wednesday or the next that she's incredibly excited about. She shrieked, yes shrieked, with glee when she called me to tell me about it. It sounds right up her ally, but I'll let her tell you all about it.

Second, Jeff from work put in an offer on a house today. We've been discussing this for a long time now, & after one offer fell through he feels really good about this. The best part (for me, anyway) is that it is literally right across the street from the store which means he can never ever quit.

Finally, serendipity, I may have myself a new employee. A few weeks ago I found out that a customer of mine is a Bob Dylan fan so last night I made a compilation of my favorite live Dylan performances. Originally, I planned on making a couple of cd's, it turned into seven. Yes, I understand, this is the heights of dorkitude. This almost puts me in dungeons & dragons territory. Said customer came in this morning & I handed him the goods. We got to talking & I told him that we were hiring & he told me that he could find several candidates. One being his son. His son came in later today & filled out an application. His son just might be the best qualified applicant for the worst job, he has painting experience, he has a college degree (journalism, broadcasting) with a 3.9 grade point average, & the best part, he used to host a late night jazz program at CMU. Sure enough, he recognized Bitches Brew playing in the background. He's applying for an $8 an hour part time job. I might feel guilty for hiring him.

And now, for not particular reason, a poem:

Wine Comes in at the Mouth by William Butler Yeats

Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That's all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Where Were You?-Vic Chesnutt, West of Rome

Boom Boom Mancini-Warren Zevon

Wake Up-The Arcade Fire, Funeral

I Can't Stand the Rain-Ann Peebles

Newry Highwayman-Bob Dylan, Belfast 1998

Newry Highwayman
In Newry town, I was bread and born,
In Stephen's Green now I die in scorn.
I served my time to the saddling trade,
But I turned out to be a roving blade.

At seventeen I took a wife,
I loved her dearly as I loved my life;
And for to keep in fine array,
I went a-robbing on the King's highway.

I never robbed any poor man yet,
Nor any tradesman did I beset;
I robbed both lords and the ladies bright,
And brought their jewels to my heart's delight.

I robbed Lord Golding I do declare,
And Lady Mansel, in Grosvenor Square;
I shut the shutters and bad them good night.
And home I went then to my heart's delight.

To Covent Garden I made my way,
With my dear wife for to see the play;
Lord Fielding's gang they did me pursue,
And I was taken by the cursed crew.

My father cried, "O, my daring son."
My wife she wept and sighed. "I am undone."
My mother tore her white locks and cried;
Saying, "In the cradle he should have died.

And when I'm dead and in my grave
A flashy funeral pray let me have;
With six bold highwaymen to carry me.
Give them good broadswords and sweet liberty.

Six pretty maidens to bear my Pall,
Give them white garlands and ribbons all.
And when I'm dead they will speak the truth,
He was a wild and a wicked youth.

Happy Monday, friends...

andrew

I treat the rooms I live in with care, the windows are small & the walls almost bare...

2009-04-01T15:45:00.000-07:00

This blog is only written for my own selfish reasons (well, aren't they all?). I'm looking for Heidi & anyone else who cares to weigh in on the subject to suggest how we should arrange the furniture after we put the floor in this weekend. I'd like to put the tv stand either to the left or to the right of the sliding doors 'cause that's where the cable outlet is, but I could probably hide the cord somehow if necessary. We have too black endtables (not shown) & one slate endtable (like the coffee table in the picture) & a slate coffee table. We also have a 6' high black book shelf (okay, cd's, who am I kidding?) & a 4' high black book shelf, one full length couch, one loveseat & one chair. We have a fairly large mirror with black frame & quite a few black & white pictures with black frames. Eventually we are planning on getting an area rug (any thoughts on color/style?). The window shade/curtain is tan, almost the same color as the couches. Whatever guidance you'd like to give would surely be appreciated.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

It's All Over Now, Baby Blue-Bob Dylan, Kalamazoo 2008

Workingman's Blues #2-Bob Dylan, Kalamazoo 2008

Tonight Will Be Fine-Leonard Cohen, Songs from a Room

Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum-Bob Dylan, Kalamazoo 2008

Our Town-Iris Dement

Happy shuffling, friends...

andrew

all my powers of expression & thoughts so sublime could never do you justice in reason or rhyme...

2009-03-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

Christie's birthday is tomorrow, & I've thought about 10 different ways to start this blog about her, but they all seem rather silly to me. First, I wanted to tell a story about the first time we met, but I don't think a story about how she was expecting me to be my friend Ryan would really do her birthday justice. She says that I never talked to her too much, I just think I was scoping her out & playing hard to get. I was trying really hard not to beat her in darts. I also won't tell you about how on our third date I took her to see a crude movie (Clerks II, not nearly as brilliant as the original), or how I thought the place we went on our first date was perfect but she didn't think so. I was going to compare to the 1984 Detroit Tigers since she was born that year, but that probably wouldn't come off right. So, I'll just tell you how happy she's made me. Had you told me when I was 25 that I'd have a dog sleeping in my bed, a stereo with country music presets, that I'd some day see Carrie Underwear in concert, that I frequently watch What Not to Wear & that I'd be enjoying every minute of it, I'd spit in your eye. That's just how she is, though. She'll make you enjoy something you never thought you would. She's beautiful, intelligent, loving & compassionate & I'm a very lucky man.

Happy Birthday. Haha, you're going to hate that I posted that picture, but Winston really wanted it included.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Our Town-Iris Dement

Under the Red Sky-Bob Dylan, Masonic Temple, Detroit April 12, 2005

Gimme Shelter-The Rolling Stones

Suzanne-Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man

Chicago-Sufjan Stevens, Illinois

Happy Monday, friends...

andrew

Advances on spirit & your soul

2009-03-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

At a time when I think our company might be better served to condense it's hours of business due to slumping sales, it does the opposite, making it mandatory for every store to be open Sunday & an hour later during weekdays. That's an added 11 hours a week with no more hours added to the budget, probably to be absorbed by yours truly. I've been told that nobody higher up than me wants to hear any complaints or arguments as to why this might not be a good idea, that's usually a good indicator that it's not a good idea. But what do I know?

In other news, our castle is in a state of transition as we prepare to put our floor in next weekend. I can't fully enjoy sitting in my favorite chair knowing that the ominous stack of flooring next to me needs to be reckoned with.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Billy-Bob Dylan, Stockholm, Sweden March 23, 2009 Bob Dylan debuted this song from 1973 at his first show of 2009, a mighty fine outing, if you ask me.

One More Cup of Coffee (the Valley Below)-Bob Dylan, Oslo March 25, 2009

To Go Home-M. Ward

Northern Sky-Nick Drake, Bryter Later

I Believe In You-Bob Dylan, Stockholm, Sweden March 23, 2009

Happy Thursday, friends...

andrew

What am I gonna do when I run out of lawn to mow?

2009-03-11T15:59:00.000-07:00

One of the trade offs of being happily married is that the break up & unrequited love songs just don't have the same sting to them. I've been listening to the George Jones classic A Good Year for the Roses a lot lately, though. What a perfect country song, it paints such a clear picture I can see the table that the ashtray sits on & the baby's room down the hall & the unkempt lawn.
The second verse tells you that a wife is leaving his husband, but the facts of their marriage don't tell nearly as much as the inanimate objects of the first verse. I'm not sure what happened to country music since this song came out, but I wish it would more closely resemble this.

I can hardly bear the sight of lipstick
On the cigarettes there in the ashtray
Lyin' cold the way you left 'em
But at least your lips caressed them while you packed
Or the lip-print on a half-filled cup of coffee
That you poured and didn't drink
But at least you thought you wanted it
that's so much more than I can say for me

What a good year for the roses
Many blooms still linger there
The lawn could stand another mowin'
Funny I don't even care
As you turn to walk away
As the door behind you closes
The only thing I have to say
It's been a good year for the roses

After three full years of marriage
It's the first time that you haven't made the bed
I guess the reason we're not talkin'
There's so little left to say we haven't said
While a million thoughts go racin' through my mind
I find I haven't said a word
From the bedroom the familiar sound
Of one baby's cryin' goes unheard

What a good year for the roses
Many blooms still linger there
The lawn could stand another mowin'
Funny I don't even care
As you turn to walk away
As the door behind you closes
The only thing I have to say
It's been a good year for the roses

Along the same theme is a song by Wilco, in which the singer tries to tell himself that if he only cleaned the house & did the laundry & kept the small little details of the house going that it would bring back the wife that's left him.

Hate it Here

I try to stay busy
I do the dishes, I mow the lawn
I try to keep myself occupied
Even though I know you’re not coming home

I try to keep the house nice and neat
I make my bed I change the sheets
I even learned how to use the washing machine
But keeping things clean doesn’t change anything

What am I gonna do when I run out of shirts to fold?
What am I gonna do when I run out of lawn to mow?
What am I gonna do if you never come home?
Tell me, what am I gonna do?

I hate it
I hate it here
When you’re gone

I caught myself thinking
I caught myself thinking once again
Have to try to keep my mind out of this
Try not to pretend

I’ll check the phone
I’ll check the mail
I’ll check the phone again and I call your mom
She says you’re not there and I should take care

I hate it here
When you’re gone
I hate it
I hate it here
When you’re gone

I try to stay busy
I take out the trash, I sweep the floor
Try to keep myself occupied
Cause I know you don’t live here anymore

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Hate it Here-Wilco, Sky Blue Sky

I just read there's a new Wilco album in the works soon!

A Good Year for the Roses-George Jones

If Anybody Gets Funked Up (It's Gonna Be You)-George Clinton & the P Funk All Stars, The Totally Awesome Power of a Fully Operation Mothership

If I Should Fall From Grace With God-The Pogues, If I Should Fall From Grace With God

Bertha-the Grateful Dead

Happy Wednesday, friends...

andrew

I'm ready to go anywhere...

2009-03-01T04:57:00.000-08:00

Before I met Christie, I'd never seen the ocean, let alone take a week long vacation. So, here it is, two vacations within one year. I'm off to Florida, today. I hope the ocean is still blue.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Overpowered by Funk-The Clash, Combat Rock

Watching the Detectives-Elvis Costello

Caroline-Old Crow Medicine Show, Tennessee Pusher

This Side of the Blue-Joanna Newsom, The Milk Eyed Mendor

White Winter Hymnal-The Fleet Foxes

Happy Sunday, friends...

andrew

A Sunday Smile

2009-02-22T17:48:00.000-08:00

Friday's nice, the last day of the work week, that is unless you have to work Saturday's. Saturday is nice, but there's too much pressure put on Saturday, either to have a great time or to get something accomplished. If I don't get something accomplished on a Saturday, I feel kind of guilty. Me, I'm a Sunday man.

Let me tell you how my average Sunday goes. It may sound boring to you, but to me, it's perfect. I wake up somewhere between 6:30 & 8:00 & I get ready for church. I let the dog out, make some coffee (coffee always tastes better on a Sunday morning) & I'll either putz around on the computer or watch television for an hour or so. I'll either catch up on reruns of "Spectacle, Elvis Costello with..." or I'll watch the Sunday morning news programs, my personal favorites are Meet the Press (although it's not quite the same since Tim Russert passed) & Reliable Sources. Around 9:00 or so, I grab the dog & plan a stealth attack for waking Christie up. I'll drop the dog right around Christie's face so that he licks her until she wakes up. I'll grab her coffee & then go back to whatever television show I was watching.

10:30 church starts. I hate to say it, but we're those people that always show up about one minute before the service starts. From there, it's on to breakfast. We switch back & forth between the Wharf Pavillion & the Morningstar. The Wharf is faster & more inexpensive but the food isn't quite as fancy as the Morningstar. Each place has it's charm. From there, we usually go to the Bookman & pick up a magazine or two.

Sunday afternoon is hardly ever planned out. Many times we'll talk about doing something substantial, but we usually end up sitting around the house. Lately, Christie has had a lot of homework to do, which leaves me to read, play video games, take the dog for a walk or find some documentaries to watch on television. In the summer, we'll go for a walk on the pier or downtown with the dog. Sometimes we'll go shopping. Dinner on Sunday evenings is always at home, nothing special. Christie usually watches Desperate Housewives on Sunday evenings, in which case I'll either read or listen to tunes in the other room. I'll usually go to bed around 10:00 or so.

Some great discoveries have been made on Sundays. I took a walk in downtown Grand Rapids about 9 years ago in the wintertime & stumbled upon Vertigo Records. When I lived in Grand Rapids, I'd usually save my trips to Vertigo for Sunday. My friends & I used to have a tradition of going to New Beginnings restuarant on Sunday mornings until we wised up & discovered Wolfgangs or the Sundance Grill. Going back further to when I was a kid I remember going to bed & listening to the Mitch Albom show on WJR on Sunday nights. It was at that point that I learned to enjoy the last few hours before Monday came around.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Godspeed-Jenny Lewis, Acid Tongue

Bridges & Balloons-Joanna Newsom, The Milk Eyed Mendor

On Eagle's Wings-Hymn

The Tracks of My Tears-Smokey Robinson

Uphill Mountain-Jackie Greene, Giving Up the Ghost

Happy Sunday, friends...

andrew

We're all in this together

2009-02-20T14:42:00.000-08:00

There's too much depressing news lately. Here's some songs that might put things in perspective. If there's something bad about the internet (I'm sure there's plenty) it's that it is so much easier to post a link to an article or a video than to say something original, but when in Rome, right?

Jenny Lewis-Sing a Song for Them

If you sing a song, sing a song for them
If you sing a song, sing the song for them
For the bats and belfry and the fairies on Main Street
For the deadbeat daddies and the Boulevard freaks
For the little girls with the carousel eyes
And the brick-a-brak finding housewives, losing their minds

Sing the song for them, if you sing a song
Sing the song for them
If you sing a song, sing the song for them

To the never-made-its, and the unrecognized
To the alley rats and the tenement flies
To the weekend tweakers, the blond and the blind
To the ex-thrill seekers in the methadone lines

Sing the song for them
If you sing a song, sing the song for them

To who you are, and will never be
To the shaking hand of the maker we’re all going to meet
Sing the song for them
If you sing a song, sing the song for them

Old Crow Medicine Show-Lift Him Up

When a man has got the blues and feels discouraged
And has nothing else but trouble all his life
But he's just an honest man like any other
Living in a world that's tearing at his mind
If he's sick and tired of life and takes to drinking
Do not pass him by don't greet him with a frown
Do not fail to lend your hand and try to help him
Always lift him up and never knock him down

If he stays out late at night because he's troubled
Or because his home is not what it should be
Have a smile for him wherever you might meet him
It will help him find the right way don't you see
If he gambles when he's in the town or city
Tell him what he ought to do to win the round
Do not fail to lend your hand to show him pity
Always lift him up and never knock him down

If he has no friends and everything's against him
If he's failed in everything he has tried
Try to lift his load and help him bear his burden
Let him know that you are walking by his side
If he feels that all is lost and he has fallen
Help to place this poor man's feet on solid ground
And when this world has turned its back against him
Always lift him up and never knock him down

Last but not least, this is also an Old Crow Medicine Show song, but most of you would be more willing to watch Norah Jones. This is wonderful. My mother might even like this one.

Norah Jones-We're All in This Thing Together

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-DIXck5Ffo&feature=PlayList&p=7603B7C658D9F826&index=55

Well my friend, well I see your face so clearly
Little bit tired, little bit worn through the years
You sound nervous, you seem lonely
I hardly recognize your voice on the telephone

In between I remember
Just before we wound up broken down
Drive out to the edge of the highway
Follow that lonesome dead-end roadside sound

Chorus:
We’re all in this thing together
Walkin’ the line between faith and fear
This life don’t last forever
When you cry I taste the salt in your tears

Well my friend, let’s put this thing together
And walk the path that worn out feet have trod
If you wanted we can go home forever
Give up your jaded ways, spell your name to God

(Chorus)

All we are is a picture in a mirror
Fancy shoes to grace our feet
All that there is is a slow road to freedom
Heaven above and the devil beneath

(Chorus)

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Hard Ain't It Hard-Woody Guthrie

Caroline-Old Crow Medicine Show, Tennessee Pusher

Anything I Say Can & Will Be Used Against You-T-Bone Burnett, Tooth of Crime

We're All in this Thing Together-Norah Jones

Boom Like That-Mark Knopfler, Shangri La

Maybe I'll have something to say tomorrow.

andrew

musta been the hand of the Lord...

2009-02-09T15:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday, friends. It was a pretty uneventful weekend here in little old Grand Haven, which is usually how I prefer it. I did see something in church this weekend I won't soon forget. I feel like I was invading on their private moment when I saw it, but I couldn't help but watch it. There is a family in church every week that has four boys, probably ages 8-15. One of the boys is mentally challenged. It doesn't look like he can walk, speak or communicate in any way. Unfortunately, I don't know hardly anything about the family, although I overheard once that the father sacrificed something for the health of his son. During the sermon & during the prayers, the father would hold the son's hands & stroke them in such a way that seemed to me as though he was trying to pass the message on in any way he could. Perhaps this is part of their regular routine, but it was still incredibly moving. It must take an incredible amount of faith to be in their position. I can't begin to know what is in the head or heart of that kid, but maybe he knows his Lord & Savior in ways we never will.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

When You Awake-The Band, Before the Flood

You're A Big Girl Now-Bob Dylan, Hard Times in Alabama

I Will Follow You Into the Dark-Death Cab for Cutie, Plans

Oliver James-Fleet Foxes

So Real-Jeff Buckley, Grace

andrew

I don't carry dead weight, I'm no flash in the pan

2009-02-02T16:13:00.000-08:00

Here's me stealing Sarah's idea & dorkifying it. You could probably ask me my ten favorite musicians/bands in a week & get a totally different answer but for today...

1. Bob Dylan
2. Miles Davis
3. The Velvet Underground
4. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
5. Wilco
6. Iron & Wine
7. Sufjan Stevens
8. Alejandro Escovedo
9. Bonnie "Prince" Billy
10. Patti Smith

honorable mention

woody guthrie
arlo guthrie
otis redding
marvin gaye
kevin davis
leonard cohen
the band
uncle tupelo
REM
Vic Chesnutt
Son Volt
The Clash
Joni Mitchell
Elizabeth Cotten
The Grateful Dead
The Roots
Elvis Costello
josh ritter
van morrison
thelonious monk
john coltrane
the new pornographers
the white stripes
warren zevon
frank sinatra
johnny cash
nick drake
the drive by truckers
the decemberists
jolie holland
joanna newsom
muddy waters

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

London Calling-The Clash

Watchin' the Detectives-Elvis Costello

Grace Cathedral Hill-The Decemberists

Train in Vain-The Clash

Living Well is the Best Revenge-REM

happy monday, friends...

andrew

Thus the world, like a jaded coquette, spurns our attempts to give ourselves to her wholly.

2009-02-01T14:48:00.000-08:00

John Updike died this week at the age of 76. I'm far from an expert on his canon, but I would consider him one of my favorite authors. What do I like about Updike? His critics say that he wrote eloquently about nothing at all, but I would say the opposite was true. I think he could find the profound, the ugly & the beautiful in every day life & every day lives & could write about it in such a way that could illuminate the human condition. He took a workmanlike approach to writing, I remember hearing once that he went to an office everyday & wrote at least four pages. It's been a long time since I've ready any of his short stories, but I think I'll go back to them soon.

REQUIEM
By JOHN UPDIKE

It came to me the other day:
Were I to die, no one would say,
“Oh, what a shame! So young, so full
Of promise — depths unplumbable!”

Instead, a shrug and tearless eyes
Will greet my overdue demise;
The wide response will be, I know,
“I thought he died a while ago.”

For life’s a shabby subterfuge,
And death is real, and dark, and huge.
The shock of it will register
Nowhere but where it will occur.

Endpoint & Other Poems

Ironically, I started reading Bound for Glory by Woody Guthrie this week. Woody's style couldn't be farther away from Updike, but it's beautiful all the same. This passage made the hairs on my neck stand up straight when I read it on the plane heading home from Dallas:

"My eyes closed tight, quivering till they exploded like the rain when the lightning dumped a truckload of thunder down along the train. I was whirling & floating & hugging the little runt around the belly, & my brain felt like a pot of hot lead bubbling over a flame. Who's all of these crazy men down there howling out at each other like hyenas? Are these men? Who am I? How come them here? How the hell come me here? What am I supposed to do here?

My ear flat against the tin roof soaked up some music & singing coming from down inside of the car:

This train don't carry no rustlers,
whores, pimps, or side street hustlers;
This train is bound for glory,
This train.

Can I remember? Remember back to where I was this morning? St Paul. Yes. The morning before? Bismarck, North Dakota. And the morning before that? Miles City, Montana. Weeks ago I was a piano player in Seattle.

Who's this kid? Where's he from & where's he headed for? Will he be me when he grows up? Was I like him when I was just his size? Let me remember. Let me go back. Let me get up & walk back down the road I come. This old hard rambling & hard graveling. This old chuck-luck traveling. My head ain't working right.

Where was I
Where in the hell was I?
Where was I when I was a kid? Just as far, far, far back, on back, as I can remember?
Strike, lightning, strike!
Strike, goddam you, strike!
There's lots of folks that you cain't hurt!
Strike, lightning!
See if I care!
Roar & rumble, twist & turn, the sky ain't never as crazy as the world.
Bound for glory? This train? Ha!
I wonder just where in the hell we're bound.
Rain on, little rain, rain on!
Blow on, little wind, keep blowin'!
Cause them guys is a singin' that this train is bound for glory, an' I'm gonna hug her breast till I find out where she's bound."

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

The Roving Blade-Bob Dylan, 2000

Pretty Peggy-O-Bob Dylan

She Came Along to Me-Billy Bragg, Mermaid Ave Vol I

"the women are equal & may be ahead of the men"

Another Man Done Gone-Wilco

December 1999-Jolie Holland, Catalpa

Happy reading, friends...

andrew

Stop Kickin' My Dog Around

2009-01-25T06:10:00.000-08:00

What happened to my dog? One day he's my furry little friend, the next day I pick him up from the groomers & he looks like he belongs in a Taco Bell commercial.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Suzanne-Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man

Buddy, Won't You Roll Down the Line?-Uncle Dave Macon-Anthology of American Folk Music

Gone Till November-Wyclef Jean, Carnival

Thunder on the Mountain-Bob Dylan, Kalamazoo 2008

Before This War-TV on the Radio

Happy Sunday, friends...

andrew

The sky cracked it's poems in naked wonder

2009-01-23T10:41:00.000-08:00

The way it goes is I complain about working too much, & then an afternoon comes when I finally get to leave early & I don't know what to do with myself. Then I sit at my computer & wonder what I'm going to do all afternoon & soon enough the afternoon turns into night & I get to go back to work the next day. Here's a few poems I read whilst whiling away the hours. I don't think I'll do very good at retirement.

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Emily Dickinson, 1861

Life, friends. Is Boring. We Must Not Say So.

Life, friends, is boring. We must not say so.
After all, the sky flashes, the great sea yearns,
we ourselves flash and yearn,
and moreover my mother told me as a boy
(repeatedly) 'Ever to confess you're bored
means you have no

Inner Resources.' I conclude now I have no
inner resources, because I am heavy bored.
Peoples bore me,
literature bores me, especially great literature,
Henry bores me, with his plights & gripes
as bad as achilles,

Who loves people and valiant art, which bores me.
And the tranquil hills, & gin, look like a drag
and somehow a dog
has taken itself & its tail considerably away
into mountains or sea or sky, leaving
behind: me, wag.

John Berryman, 1964

Oh, & for those of you who are interested & aren't suffering with dial-up, here's some selection from 2008's best albums.

The Black Keys, I Got Mine, from the album Attack & Release.

My Morning Jacket, Sec Walkin, from Evil Urges

Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Easy Does It, from Lie Down in the Light

Alejandro Escovedo, Sister Lost Soul from Real Animal

Wolf Parade, Fine Young Cannibals from At Mount Zoomer

Beck, Gamma Ray from Modern Guilt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIBw-lbxtT4

REM, Living Well is the Best Revenge, Accelerate--finally a decent album from REM.

Fleet Foxes, White Winter Hymnal

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Dig! Lazarus, Dig! from Dig! Lazarus, Dig!-this wins the award for the only music video I watched in 2008, & it's quite funny.

Sun Kil Moon, Tonight the Sky, from April

The Drive By Truckers, Two Daughters & a Beautiful Wife, Brighter then Creation's Dark

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Hopscotch Willie from Real Emotional Trash

The Roots, 75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction) from Rising Down

& last but not least, the finest song from Bob Dylan's Tell Tale Signs, Red River Shore

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

The Show-The Roots, Rising Down

Cold Son-Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Real Emotional Trash

I'll Be Glad When You're Dead, You Rascal You-Louis Jordan & Louis Armstrong

My Sweet Lord-George Harrison, The Concert for Bangladesh

Keep Eye on Other's Gain-Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Lie Down in the Light

Happy Friday, friends...

andrew

Inside the museums infinity goes up on trial...

2009-01-19T16:45:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday, friends. Tomorrow, as you watch the inauguration of our 44th president, you'll gaze at the stage & wonder. What will the next four years bring? Will the Iraq war end soon? Will the economy start to turn around anytime soon? What primer was used on the front rail of the stage? Well, friends, I can answer one of those questions for you. It was A-100 Oil Primer. It is a slow drying alkyd primer, ideal for proper adhesion on any exterior wood surface. I suppose you are also wondering which person stared at this crossroads of history & sold them this primer. Well, dear readers, it was me, & I'm pleased to say that I touched this little piece of history. The railing was built & primed here in West Michigan, in little ol' Zeeland & was shipped to Washington DC in specially made crates where it was painted with Duration Exterior Paint. After the inauguration, it will be shipped to Texas where it will be re-used for 2013.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Sodom, South Georgia-Iron & Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days

Dear Mrs Roosevelt-Woody Guthrie

Dear Missis Roosevelt, don't hang your head and cry;
His mortal clay is laid away, but his good work fills the sky; This world was lucky to see him born.
He's born in a money family on that Hudson's rocky shore;
Outrun every kid a-growin' up 'round Hyde Park just for fun;
This world was lucky to see him born.
He went away to grade school and wrote back to his folks;
He drew such funny pictures and always pulling a joke;
This world was lucky to see him born.
He went on up towards Harvard, he read his books of law;
He loved his trees and horses, loved everything he saw;
This world was lucky to see him born.
He got struck down by fever and it settled in his leg;
He loved the folks that wished him well as everybody did;
This world was lucky to see him born.
He took his office on a crippled leg, he said to one and all:
"You money changin' racket boys have sure 'nuff got to fall;"
This world was lucky to see him born,
In senate walls and congress halls he used his gift of tongue
To get you thieves and liars told and put you on the run;
This world was lucky to see him born,
I voted for him for lots o' jobs, I'd vote his name again;
He tried to find an honest job for every idle man;
This world was lucky to see him born,
He helped to build my union hall, he learned me how to talk;
I could see he was a cripple but he learned my soul to walk;
This world was lucky to see him born.
You Nazis and you fascists tried to boss this world by hate;
He fought my war the union way and the hate gang all got beat;
This world was lucky to see him born.
I was torpedoed on my merchant ship the day he took command;
He was hated by my captain, but loved by all ships hands;
This world was lucky to see him born.
I was a Gl in my army camp that day he passed away,
And over my shoulder talkin' I could hear some soldier say:
"This world was lucky to see him born."
I guess this world was lucky just to see him born;
I know this world was lucky just to see him born;
This world was lucky to see him born.

No Man's Land-Sufjan Stevens, The Avalanche

Thin Blue Flame-Josh Ritter, The Animal Years

War is Kind-Jakob Dylan, Seeing Things

Mother you saw my eyes
On the fourth of July
Under a banner of roman candles
Mother war is kind
Like hell but I am fine
Brother have you gone west
Have you followed through once yet
You are still younger how dare you forget
Brother war is best
In the morning when you've had rest

Like a lost dog between houses
In the unknown open country
Line up at dawn to see who's missing
My age is a metaphor
It only speaks of everything before

Daughter you wear my name
Those are my eyes keep 'em raised
I may have scars but I give more than I take
Daughter war is safe
Where you are far away
Lover are you gone
My heart has taken too much on
One octave lower than thunder it drums
lover war is done
In more ways than just one

Like a lost dog between houses
In the unknown open country
Like an outlaw now standing
At the foot of infinity
The sun is wild
And just in front of me

Happy Monday, friends...

andrew

It's been good to know ya!

2009-01-18T13:47:00.000-08:00

Well, what do you know. 50+ years after being blacklisted from television for having communist friends, Pete Seeger was at the Lincoln Memorial today, playing in front of thousands of people including future president Barack Obama. Seeger, his grandson & Bruce Springsteen played a singalong version of Woody Guthrie's most famous song, This Land is Your Land.

On an unrelated night, my pal Glorious is heading to Maui in a couple of weeks & that got me to thinking about our trip to Hawaii & looking at pictures. One of the things that excited me most about Hawaii is going to the edge of a cliff & watching the waves crash against the rocks. It is pure, unadulterated nature, it's extremely powerful, dangerous & beautiful. The rocks stop the water at an instant, & over the course of many years the water slowly erodes & sculpts the rocks. It's just like life, I guess, some things change you at an instant & others slowly work on you.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Thunder Road-Bruce Springsteen

What's Goin' On?-Marvin Gaye

People Get Ready-Curtis Mayfield

Sing Me Spanish Techno-The Pornographers

No Cars Go!-The Arcade Fire

Happy Sunday, friends...

andrew

One last deal gone down

2009-01-17T16:06:00.000-08:00

The song "Changing of the Guards" has been swirling around in my head for the last few days. It opens up the album "Street Legal" which was almost universally panned by critics for sounding like Vegas. With only a couple of listens, it's easy to tell why with it's backup singers & horn section. It's a big sound, & there are a lot of big issues to deal with. Sometimes, though, if you try to tackle too much in a song, it sinks with it's own weight & that is most certainly true of several songs on this album.

Changing of the Guards, though, isn't one of them. I love a song that I can't figure out & I've never been able to figure out this one, & I've tried. Every listen gives a different explication. Give it a try, if you must.

Changing Of The Guards

Sixteen years,
Sixteen banners united over the field
Where the good shepherd grieves.
Desperate men, desperate women divided,
Spreading their wings 'neath the falling leaves.

Fortune calls.
I stepped forth from the shadows, to the marketplace,
Merchants and thieves, hungry for power, one last deal gone down.
She's smelling sweet like the meadows where she was born,
On midsummer's eve, near the tower.

The cold-blooded moon.
The captain waits above the celebration
Sending his thoughts to a beloved maid
Whose ebony face is beyond communication.
The captain is down but still believing that his love will be repaid.

They shaved her head.
She was torn between Jupiter and Apollo.
A messenger arrived with a black nightingale.
I seen her on the stairs and I couldn't help but follow,
Follow her down past the fountain where they lifted her veil.

I stumbled to my feet.
I rode past destruction in the ditches
With the stitches still mending 'neath a heart-shaped tattoo.
Renegade priests and treacherous young witches
Were handing out the flowers that I'd given to you.

The palace of mirrors
Where dog soldiers are reflected,
The endless road and the wailing of chimes,
The empty rooms where her memory is protected,
Where the angels' voices whisper to the souls of previous times.

She wakes him up
Forty-eight hours later, the sun is breaking
Near broken chains, mountain laurel and rolling rocks.
She's begging to know what measures he now will be taking.
He's pulling her down and she's clutching on to his long golden locks.

Gentlemen, he said,
I don't need your organization, I've shined your shoes,
I've moved your mountains and marked your cards
But Eden is burning, either get ready for elimination
Or else your hearts must have the courage for the changing of the guards.

Peace will come
With tranquility and splendor on the wheels of fire
But will bring us no reward when her false idols fall
And cruel death surrenders with its pale ghost retreating
Between the King and the Queen of Swords.

Street Legal was released in 1978, a year later the album Slow Train Coming would be released, an album that announces to the world that the singer has been saved. I think there are many examples on Street Legal that point towards the singer's conversion, especially the last two verses, which sound a bit like Revelations. Could the Changing of the Guards be the end times? If so, what's this business about Jupiter & Apollo. If we are speaking of palm reading, here, she (whoever she is) is the middle finger. Maybe she has personality issues. When the Jupiter & Apollo verse is sung, it sounds to me like "I couldn't help Apollo" but the lyrics read differently.

Another theory could be that the song is autobiographical, yet shrouded in metaphor. 16 years is the time between the singer's first album (fortune calls) & the time the song is being recorded.

The fascinating & frustrating part of Dylan's music is that there are millions of meanings that could be derived from most of his songs. They could be about any number of things or nothing at all, but the lyrics are so brilliant. He uses language like a magician, but like a magician, you wonder what the trick is behind the illusion. How could there ever be a line like "the angels voices whisper to the souls of previous times" that didn't mean anything?

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Seven Year Ache-Roseanne Cash

Gone Till November-Wyclef Jean

Less Than Zero-Elvis Costello, My Aim is True

Love Henry-Bob Dylan, World Gone Wrong

Here at the Right Time-Josh Ritter

Happy Saturday, friends...

andrew

Throw my ticket out the window...for tonight I'll be stayin' here with you

2009-01-05T15:39:00.000-08:00

Mike & I have dreams of buying the building pictured above (which is located right down the street) & turning it into a record store & a disc golf shop, although it's probably not zoned for retail space. Vinyl is making a bit of a comeback, but mostly for music dorks like me. Compact discs are still my preferred medium, but those are waning fast, even for me, as the mp3 & portable music players set in.

I've had many dreams that didn't come true throughout my life. Starting out, I wanted to be a pastor like my ol' man, then I wanted to be a shortstop for the Tigers. When I realized I wasn't the greatest baseball player in the world, I figured I could be a sportswriter like Mitch Albom. I then realized that the chances were slim of making it onto a major newspaper, so somewhere later I ended up selling paint. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. In fact, as one dream fell away, I figured I added another layer of contentedness. I hope so, anyway. My dreams are simpler, now. I just want to keep my wife happy, have a couple of decent kids that don't hate me & paint for fellow old people when I retire & maybe see a couple of concerts in between.

I always liked this verse from Floater (too much to ask), which I believe was stolen from some Japanese writer.

My grandfather was a duck trapper
He could do it with just dragnets and ropes
My grandmother could sew new dresses out of old cloth
I don't know if they had any dreams or hopes

I had 'em once though, I suppose, to go along
With all the ring dancin' Christmas carols on all of the Christmas Eves
I left all my dreams and hopes
Buried under tobacco leaves

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Java Jive-the Ink Spots

Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)-Bob Dylan, Shepherd's Bush Empire, 2003

Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You-Bob Dylan, Nashville Skyline (on vinyl!)

Song 2-Blur

I'm not sure what made me think of this song, but I do remember having it in my head when I walked across the stage to get my diploma when I graduated high school.

It Makes No Difference-The Band, the Last Waltz

Had I heard this song a little earlier in life, I may have dreamed of being in a band. This is such a perfect, simple little song that suits Rick Danko's voice perfectly. I get the chills everytime I watch this, especially when Garth Hudson's saxophone comes in.

Happy Monday, friends...

andrew

As those of old have sung...

2008-12-22T17:26:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas, friends. Christie & I didn't get around to sending out Christmas cards this year & I kind of regret it, so, as corny as it sounds, I'll try to make up for it here. What's a Christmas card without a poem?

Christmas Bells

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The Carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said;
‘For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!’

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
‘God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!’

Christmas Bells
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Grand Haven is a wonderful place to live at Christmas time. Downtown is particularly festive, with lights on all the trees. My favorite place to eat is at the Dee-lite, because you can sit by the window & look at the lights & watch the people walk by. The Snug is also pretty good, & you can look at the nativity scene on the hill & there's always Christmas music you can here from across the channel.

We got a wonderful looking tree this year, we cut it down ourselves. We received some great Christmas decorations for our wedding, including an embroidered tree skirt & ornaments from the Tommelins & of course the nativity scene from my sisters.

Speaking of weddings, Christmastime is a good time to look back at the year just past. What a year 2008 was. There are almost too many blessings & highlights to mention, & some challenges too, but we're only here to talk about the positives. I'll never forget the way Christie looked in her wedding dress or how blue the ocean was. I'll never forget dancing with my mother or listening to my dad's sermon. I could never have imagined how much I'd like a dog or how welcoming in-laws could be. I could never have imagined how much fun it is to come home to my wife every night.

Christmas can be an orgy of consumerism & greed, but only if you let it be. I hope everyone can look past all that & truly find peace, the peace of Simeon at meeting his Savior or the peace of hearing your grandparents belting out the nunc dimittis on Christmas day.

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Christmastime is here-Vince Guaraldi

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas-Judy Garland

Put the Lights on the Tree-Sufjan Stevens

I Saw Three Ships-Sufjan Stevens

Lo! How a Rose E're Blooming-Sufjan Stevens

Happy Monday, friends...

andrew

Ring Them Bells!

2008-12-18T18:20:00.000-08:00

Great news, friends. Nathan Crede Siegert was born Tuesday, December 16 at 6:15 pm. Seven pounds 10 ounces, I'm told & I hear everybody is happy & healthy. I can't wait to see the little shaver, I hear he's really something. I couldn't be prouder of Holly & my old pal Ryan.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Amazing Grace-Sufjan Stevens

I know this song is always played at funerals, but why not play it when someone is born?

Come Thou Font of Every Blessing-Sufjan Stevens

Is this a Christian Reformed song? I don't remember ever hearing it when I was a kid, but I've heard it quite a bit in churches around here. It's a good one.

Danko/Manuel-The Drive By Truckers, The Dirty South

If you've been standing within earshot of my shower the last couple of days you would've heard this song.

Forever Young-Bob Dylan & The Band, The Last Waltz

Forever Young

May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous,
May you grow up to be true,
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.
May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

Empty Hearts-Josh Ritter, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter

A great song for the new year, if you ask me.

Josh Ritter
Empty Hearts lyrics

So save all of your light
For those who can't sleep at night
And who can't even sing to their shadows
Oh they ride into town
And they throw the shots down
And they save the last round for the windows

Singing don't let me into this year with an empty heart
With an empty heart
Don't let me into this year with an empty heart

I'm inside with my friends
We build fires and pretend
That the night could just bend on forever
While outside in the frost
Are the wolves and the lost
And we sing to the dogs or whoever

Singing don't let me into this year with an empty heart
With an empty heart
Don't let me into this year with an empty heart

There's a friend that I have
And for her I'll go back
You see all of these empties that I'm holding
They're too much for a man
Empty arms, empty hands
And she'll know me by the sound of my hoping

Singing don't let me into this year with an empty heart
With an empty heart
Don't let me into this year with an empty heart

Happy Thursday, friends...

andrew

The Birth of the Cool

2008-12-16T05:51:00.000-08:00

It's Tuesday morning, I have the day off & I haven't yet figured out what I'm going to do with myself today, so naturally, I'm wasting time listening to music & drinking coffee. I heard a song yesterday while I was at work & I'm trying to figure out which one it was. What a dork, eh?

I think I figured it out, I think it's Moon Dreams by Miles Davis. It's got that lazy Saturday afternoon kind of sound. Miles was bar none one of the coolest human beings to ever walk the face of the planet, but this song sounds like it should come from some parlor in 1940's New York City with some old ladies drinking tea in the afternoon.

That's what I love about jazz, there aren't any lyrics to ruin what your vision of what the song is trying to say, or even better, the song could be about what you're experiencing at the time you hear it. It's a story without a plot. It sets the mood, it elicits emotions out of the listener without explaining why those emotions are there. You'll have to figure it out for yourself.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Moon Dreams-Miles Davis

Freddie Freeloader-Miles Davis, Kind of Blue

Kush-Dizzy Gillespie, An Electrifying Evening with Dizzy Gillespie

The Friendly Beasts-Sufjan Stevens

Brother Can You Spare a Dime?-Bing Crosby

Happy Tuesday, friends...

andrew

Our Assets are Frozen!

2008-12-04T14:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Thursday, friends. For a bit of levity in these trying times, I bring you a few clips of the comic genius of the Muppets. I know there are some readers that may not see the brilliance of the muppets, but hopefully some of these clips might change their minds.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Back on the Chain Gang-The Pretenders

Kush-Dizzy Gillespie, An Electrifying Evening with Dizzy Gillespie

This is Radio Clash-The Clash

Rum & Coca-Cola-the Andrews Sisters

Dancin' Days-Led Zepellin

Enjoy, friends...

andrew

2008-11-27T05:35:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving, friends. There's not much new to report, here. Work is done for four days & I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself. I'll probably hang some lights outside & whatever Christie wants done around the house. Tonight is Grumpy Old Men night, Mike & I are going to watch that classic movie after the Thanksgiving get-togethers are over. We will try our whole soul best to talk Christie into being an honorary Grumpy Old Man, but we'll see if she's interested or not.

Tomorrow marks the one day of the year Christie gets up earlier than I. By the end of the day today, Christie & her mother with purses full of coupons will have their battle plans marked out for the Friday after Thanksgiving Massacre of Shopping. They'll be out on the road by 4 am & home by 12:00.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Long Black Veil-Johnny Cash & Joni Mitchell

We Praise Thee, Oh God, Our Redeemer Creator

Thanksgiving Day Parade-Dan Bern

Helpless-Neil Young & the Band, The Last Waltz

Alice's Restaurant-Arlo Guthrie

Happy Thanksgiving, friends & eat my shorts...

andrew

Take what you need you think will last...

2008-11-20T17:14:00.000-08:00

Happy Thursday, friends. Conversation about all kinds of things start up at work both with fellow employees & with customers. I try my best to stay out of politics (with customers anyway) unless someone asks my opinion. Everybody seems to have an opinion about what is wrong with the economy & what the government should do to fix it. I'm not sure there is a right or a wrong answer to this question. The only answer that seems correct to me comes from my youngest employee, 20 year old Jeff. He deftly opined that the cause of all of this is greed. We are a country that wants what it can't have & does any number of despicable things to get them. I can't think of too many people who are exempt from this disease, if any. Maybe they'll vote no on greed.

Here's one of my favorite poems, it's a bit long but worth every second. It's one of two poems that got me interested in poetry. I don't think I've been the same since the first time I'd heard this.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Dear Mrs Roosevelt-Woody Guthrie

The Big Three Killed My Baby-The White Stripes

War on War-Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Hey Joe-Jimi Hendrix

Little Green-Joni Mitchell, Blue

Happy Thursday, friends...

andrew

Don't get up gentlemen, I'm only passing through...

2008-11-12T17:37:00.000-08:00

The sentiment of this poem could be applied to any number of things in life. For me, there are books that remain unread on my shelves, cd's that hardly get heard & yes, outdoor chairs that hardly ever get sat in. Christie often reminds me of the book she bought me for Christmas last year that I still haven't started, War & Peace. Hopefully I never have a dog I don't pet or a wife I never speak to.

The Chairs That No One Sits In

You see them on porches & on lawns
down by the lakeside,
usually arranged in pairs implying a couple

who might sit there & look out
at the water or the big shade trees.
The trouble is you never see anyone

sitting in these forlorn chairs
though at one time it must have seemed
a good place to stop & do nothing for a while.

Sometimes there is a little table
between the chairs where no one
is resting a glass or placing a book facedown.

It might be none of my business,
but it might be a good idea one day
for everyone who placed those vacant chairs

on a veranda or a dock to sit down in them
for the sake of remembering
whatever it was they thought deserved

to be viewed from two chairs
side by side with a table in between.
The clouds are high & massive that day.

The woman looks up from her book.
The man takes a sip of his drink.
Then there is nothing but the sound of their looking,

the lapping of lake water, & a call of one bird
then another, cries of joy or warning--
it passes the time to wonder which.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Boots of Spanish Leather-Bob Dylan, Hamburg 2003

Desolation Row-Bob Dylan, Wembley 2003

Shooting Star-Zurich, 2003

Tom Sawyer's Later Years-Kevin Davis

Lost Highway-Hank Williams

Christie's watching the Country Music Awards this evening & I'm reminded of the fact that Hank Williams was stripped of his membership to the Grand Ole' Opry. If Hank Williams doesn't belong in the Grand Ole' Opry no one does.

Happy Wednesday, friends...

andrew

2008-11-10T13:37:00.000-08:00

Today is my mother's birthday, & since I have only a few pictures of her without me in it on my hard drive, I've posted some pictures I think she'd appreciate.

I now have the dubious distinction of being half as old as my mother. I'm no math genius but I'm pretty sure that can happen only once. That must mean that she was 29 when she had me. I don't know what the significance of all that is, other than the fact that I have no kids. Maybe the fact that I'm half as old as she is explains the uncontrollable urge to play scrabble & to go for a drive for no particular reason.

Happy Birthday, mom. We miss you & we love you.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Ballad of a Thin Man-Bob Dylan, Kalamazoo 11.8.08

Thunder on the Mountain-Bob Dylan, Kalamazoo 11.8.08

People Get Ready-Curtis Mayfield

Freddy's Dead-Curtis Mayfield

See that My Grave is Kept Clean-Blind Willie Johnson

Happy Monday, friends...

Keep the Car Running

2008-11-06T18:12:00.000-08:00

There's very few things that will keep me up past midnight, especially on a work night. It's also a rare occasion where a Bob Dylan concert is not the highlight of the week, but both of these were the case this week. I stayed awake long enough to watch Barack Obama quote the great Sam Cooke song, A Change is Gonna Come. It was the biggest piece of history we've witnessed since the start of the Iraq war or perhaps September 11. I'm not ashamed to admit that I got goosebumps more than once watching the events of the election unfold.

I guess it's easy to get swept up in all the excitement & rhetoric to believe that this won't be politics as usual. T Bone Burnett wrote not too long ago:

presidents come & presidents go
they rise like smoke & fall like snow
'do you believe the things you say?
you're lofty thoughts are filled with hay
what is this faith that you profess?
that led to this colossal mess?
When you awaken from this coma
you'll find you were in Oklahoma
When you come out of this self-delusion
you're gonna need a soul transfusion.

It's also easy to be such a cynic to believe that nothing can change. Maybe it's no mistake that a president's mistakes are remembered more than his successes. Maybe it's a self fulfilling prophecy. One of the most patriotic things I can do is to keep an eye on Barack Obama's doings over the next four years & look for reasons not to vote for him the next time around. The most patriotic thing that you who did not vote for him can do is to look for the positives as reasons why you might want to re-elect him in four years. Maybe we'll meet somewhere in the middle & something might get done.

I look at it as though five of us are collectively purchasing a car. The cars we have to choose from fit some of our needs, others not as much. Maybe the best car to choose from has things we don't like about it. After we've handed over our money it's ours & we've got to live with it whether it was our first choice or not. The better we maintain it, the better it works for us, but we still have to ultimately decide whether it will safely get us where we want to go. If not, we'll have to get rid of it & get us a new one. Okay, it's a stretch, but it's the best I can do for now.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Goin' to Acapulco-Jim James & Calexico, I'm Not There Soundtrack

Palestine, Texas-T Bone Burnett, The True False Identity

There She Goes, My Beautiful World-Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, The Abattoir Blues Tour 2004

Blowin' in the Wind-Bob Dylan, University of Minnesota, November 4, 2008

Keep the Car Running-The Arcade Fire, Neon Bible

Happy Thursday, friends...

andrew

the loser now will be later to win...

2008-11-03T15:52:00.000-08:00

I'm sure I'm not the only blogger in the world to reference the song "The Times They Are a Changin'" today or tomorrow. A great song transcends the time frame & the circumstances for which it was written. This performance is from 1981 on one of Bob Dylan's gospel tours. The song is not out of place when seen through the lense of Bob Dylan's conversion to Christianity. It's a bit corny to think of this song the day before an election, but I can't help it.

I know it's cliche, but I truly believe that tomorrow's election is the most important of my lifetime. I believe that one of the positives that will come out of the past eight years is that the citizens of this country will no longer be passive about what their government is doing. There is too much at stake for the future of this country & in people's lives to sit idly by without taking an active interest in what's going on. A lady I work with told me that at 60 years old, this is the first election she has ever voted in. Another gentlemen told me that even though he is kind of "racist" he can't help but vote for Barack Obama.

Here's why I'm voting for Barack Obama.

He opposed the war from the start when it wasn't politically beneficial for him to do so & he wants to bring the war in Iraq to a close.

He is respected throughout the world & will restore our broken reputation. He sees a value in communicating with our enemies, knowing full well that it is easier to speak ill or do harm to someone when you don't have to look them in the eye.

He has pragmatic, holistic solutions to this country's ills. The environment, our economy, our infrastructure & our national security are all intertwined.

He doesn't shine a light on or hide from his race. He doesn't see things in black & white, literally or figuratively.

He's willing to be honest with people about the sacrifices they may have to make & about the fate of the economy.

He has no major ties to lobbyists or corporations.

He gives intelligent, well thought out answers to hard questions & sees both sides of issues.

He instills hope in people, & doesn't use fear as a campaign tactic.

He believes that everyone who wants it should have health care, & I believe he'll do everything he can to make sure they can get it.

His economic policy favors the middle class rather than large corporations.

He has run an honest & an honorable campaign that isn't based around negative attacks on his opponent.

I'm excited to cast my vote tomorrow.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

The Times They Are a Changin'-Bob Dylan, Avignon 1981

Evil Urges-My Morning Jacket

It Makes No Difference-The Band, the Last Waltz

A Hard Rain's a Gonna Fall-Bob Dylan, Brixton 2003

Anthem-Leonard Cohen, The Future

Happy election day, friends...

andrew

Maybe I'd a done some good in the world...

2008-10-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

A coworker recently said something along the lines of "I just want to do good things for people & get paid well for it". I think there's both an oxymoron & some truth to that statement. The oxymoron comes from the fact that I half believe that a good deed is one that doesn't get rewarded. The truth comes from the fact that I believe it's what just about everybody in the world is looking for. Selling paint isn't the most rewarding of occupations at the moment, if it ever was. I have a job, though, so I shouldn't complain. But I do, 'cause I can.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

The Pick-Up-Sufjan Stevens, The Avalanche

Ring Them Bells-Bob Dylan, Tell Tale Signs

This song has been in constant rotation lately. On the way home from Detroit the other day, I posed the question to Christie, what is the difference between two people's brains that makes one of them think this is brilliant & the other to think it's crap?

"they're breaking down the difference between right & wrong"

Stop Breaking Down-Robert Johnson

"this stuff I got's gonna bust your brains out, gonna make you lose your mind"

Frankie & Albert-Mississippi John Hurt

We Call Upon the Auther-Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Dig! Lazarus Dig!

Happy Wednesday, friends...

andrew

The sun gets passed from tree to tree...

2008-10-19T06:10:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday, old man! I'm not sure if you read these things or not. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. It's better to talk to people in person. I don't think it was a coincidence that they had a John Deere tractor at the church pumpkin sale yesterday. One of the really nice couples at church were giving hayrides through Duncan's Woods (not that Duncan). The man restored a 1947 John Deere he got from his in-laws & now he gives rides to people buying pumpkins every Saturday & Sunday & to senior citizens. I can't help but think that you two would make good friends, his name is Bill, & he was the janitor at St John's for a long time before he retired a couple of years ago. It was a great unexpected ride through the woods, even though Christie was a little embarrassed to be riding on a hay ride with a bunch of little kids.

You gave us alot of memories in the fall. I especially remember that cart that you made out of those big old iron wheels that we used to take the leaves from the yard out to the woods. Every year you'd tell me stories about how big a deal it was when pheasant season came around & it sounded like the most wonderful thing. I sure am glad you used to take me out to the farm on Saturday's to work. I'm not sure I appreciated it then, but I sure do now. Anyway, we'll miss you today & we love you.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Muzzle of Bees-Wilco, A Ghost is Born

Freight Train Blues-Elizabeth Cotten

Mama, Your Papa Loves You-Elizabeth Cotten

Screen Door-Uncle Tupelo, No Depression

When I Get Home-Elizabeth Cotten

Happy Sunday, friends...

andrew

Sittin' on Top of the World

2008-10-16T16:13:00.000-07:00

Well, Winston, it's just you & me. Christie has class & is hanging out with a friend tonight so I'm left to fend for myself. Winston & I decided to take a drive to see Mike's new roof, I just realized that I should've taken a picture of it, but since I don't have before & after pictures it probably wouldn't do it justice. He did a good job, it almost looks like a brand new place.

I don't know what it is about the fall that turns me into a big sissy, but I get all giddy about seeing the town & my neighborhood in a whole new spectrum of colors. The colder weather makes me want to get outside that much more, believe it or not. Everything seems more, I don't know, well preserved. Winston is an excellent riding companion. He sits contentedly, not leaving his seat except to put his paws on the side of the door to look out the window. Tonight, we rode like kings.

So, greetings from our little corner of Grand Haven on a beautiful fall evening.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Sitting on Top of the World-Bob Dylan, Good as I Been to You

Sunset Soon Forgotten-Iron & Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days

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

Love & Some Verses-Iron & Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days

Flightless Bird, American Mouth-Iron & Wine, The Shepherd's Dog

Happy Thursday, friends...

andrew

Something's Burning Baby

2008-10-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

Christie & I had a wedding to go to on Saturday in my old neighborhood in Grand Rapids. On my way there I saw a house on fire on Lake Michigan Drive, it was fully engulfed in flames. The fire trucks were there & about 15 cars sat by & watched. I wish I could've stopped to take a picture but I would've been late for the wedding.

On my way home (Christie was in the wedding so I was by myself), I stopped by the old house on Valley. It looks to be vacant & there's a for sale sign in the big front window. I always regret not having the time or the money to fix the place up proper. I always thought that if I had $10,000 & a couple more years I could've turned it into a great little house. If if's & buts were candy & nuts we'd all have a wonderful Christmas. The place looked to be in poor shape. Not that it was great when I left it but the yard was in good condition.

On the way back to Grand Haven, I stopped by to see what the burning house looked like. All that was left was the chimney, everything else had burned to the ground.

I don't know what these things have to do with each other, but it got me to thinking. Our culture is very obsessed with newer, bigger & better things. Perhaps one good thing that could come out of this economic mess we're in is that people will start to appreciate the things they have rather than always wanting something new. I'm a hypocrite, however, because after I realized I didn't have the time, money or skills to fix up an old place, I bought a brand new condo that requires absolutely no maintenance.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Red River Shore-Bob Dylan, Tell Tale Signs

32-20 Blues-Bob Dylan, Tell Tale Signs

Keep an Eye on Other's Gain-Bonnie "Prince" Billy

Thunder Road-Bruce Springsteen

This Heart's on Fire-Wolf Parade, Apologies to the Queen Mary

Happy Sunday, friends...

andrew

Most of the time, I'm halfway content

2008-09-30T17:20:00.000-07:00

Darn this digital age we live in, no longer do I have to wait until an album is in my hands. No longer do I have that annoying packaging to work through before I can pop a cd into the player to hear it proper. Now, you can usually hear songs from a new album long before it's released. I've always resisted this so that I can hear it in it's intended sequence from start to finish.

For Bob Dylan's latest "Bootleg Series, Vol 8, Tell Tale Signs", though they are making the album available for preview on NPR.ORG. If it weren't NPR & if it weren't available in full, I probably would wait until it comes out next week. So, as we speak & for the first time, I'm sitting down by the computer for a listen. Here's my thoughts so far, we'll see how far I get.

The two disc set is a collection of studio outtakes, soundtrack releases & live performances between the years of 1989-2006. The live performances don't excite me because I've heard many of them before, same goes for the songs released for various soundtracks. The meat of this collection comes from the studio outtakes. 1989 is often seen as a return to form for Dylan as far as studio albums go, many of the albums from the 80's were abysmal. Most of Dylan's albums had outtakes that surfaced as bootleg recordings (also 99% of his concerts). After 1989, however, he clamped down on the recordings so that his recordings wouldn't be heard against his wishes. The ironic thing about this is that during the eighties many of his best works were left off his albums. For many of the albums released post 1989, rumors swirled about outtakes of certain songs but nobody could hear them like they did in the past, until now.

Many of these songs are hard to evaluate without comparing them to their official album versions.

Mississippi-As I mentioned during the last blog, this version is older than the album version that was released. This version swings slowly, much more laid back then the album version. This is everything I'd love to imagine about Dylan performing in the studio, confident in his song, simple without any frills a producer can add.

Most of the Time, Oh Mercy Outtake-The album version of this song proves that if Dylan had started his career in 1989 when Oh Mercy was released, he'd still make it. The original album version doesn't rest on Dylan's legend nor does it try to sound like a Dylan song. The version featured here sounds much like a Bob Dylan song, complete with acoustic guitars & harmonicas. Again, a much more laid back performance, not without it's own merits, although I still think the original fits the feeling of the lyrics more.

Dignity, Oh Mercy Outtake-This one sounds just like a studio demo, unlike the first two songs on the album which could stand by themselves as fully realized, completely finished songs. It's fun to hear him work out the lyrics & melody to this song, playing it solo on piano. Without the band backing him on this one, however, it's stripped of it's power.

Someday Baby, Modern Times Outtake-It's well known that this song's melody "borrows" (some call it the folk process, others call it theft) from a Muddy Waters version of a song by the same name. Muddy "borrowed" the melody from someone way down the line & of course the copyright rules have expired. Dylan adds some new lyrics of his own & copyrights the song as his own. A lot of people have a problem with this, & probably for good reason, but it's a practice that many blues, folk & rock & roll artists have done for years. This song is a blatant example as it sounds so much like the original. The version here sounds much different than Muddy's version, it's as if Dylan was pushing the envelope of what he could get away with, as he has for years.

Red River Shore, Time Out of Mind Outtake-Musicians & producers who worked on "Time Out of Mind" have raved for years about this song. Us goofy fans have drooled over the possibility of this song being released & here it is. On first listen, it has all the earmarks of a masterpiece, but we'll have to wait & see.

Tell Ol' Bill, North Country Soundtrack alternate version-I've heard this version before, this is one of the rare occasions since 1989 that outtakes have surfaced. It's a minor song, to my ears. The official version swings along nicely, this one's a bit more sinister.

Born in Time, Oh Mercy Outtake-This is another example of a song coming out of a session for one album & being released later on 1990's Under the Red Sky. He should've stuck with the original. This version has much more grit & fire to it, the album version is weak in comparison.

Can't Wait, Time Out of Mind Outtake-This version smokes the album version. Bob Dylan has command of his vocals & the band follows closely behind. It sounds like a three piece band, piano, minor guitar frills & minimal drumming. It doesn't fit the swampy sound of Time Out of Mind, it's much more straightforward. To boot, it's almost a completely new set of lyrics which gives us use for both versions. One of the highlights so far, Dylan's voice soars higher than anything that came after it.

Everything is Broken, Oh Mercy Outtake-No amount of improvements can make this song more than a clunker to my ears.

Dreamin' of You, Time Out of Mind Outtakes-What fascinates me about this collection is the number of discarded songs from Time Out of Mind that are built around lyrics that were used for other songs. This song would've fit well on Time Out of Mind if it weren't the fact that it shares many of it's lyrics with the officially released (& superior) Standin' in the Doorway. I hate to say it, but this song is more dynamic than anything from Time Out of Mind, listen to Dylan's guitar fills!

Huck's Tune, Lucy You Soundtrack-I've heard this song before. This song shares a lyrical trick with many of Dylan's later songs that a seemingly beautiful song throws a couple of absurdist lyrics in it to show he's not getting soft. "all the merry little elves can go hang themselves"

Marchin' to the City, Time Out of Mind Outtake-This song shares many of the same lyrics with the officially released Till I Fell in Love with You, although believe it or not, this song sounds like a gospel song. This one could be special.

Highwater (for Charley Patton), Live version from Love & Theft-This is the quintessential live version of this song, his voice is full of fire & grit & all the while Freddy Koella's guitar teases him to push it a bit further. I've heard this one many times before.

Stay tuned for disc two, or pray for it to be over so you don't have to hear about it anymore, whichever you choose.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Girl from the Red River Shore

Can't Wait

Romulus-Sufjan Stevens, Greetings from Michigan

Men of Good Fortune-Lou Reed, Berlin

Amazing Grace-Sufjan Stevens

Happy Tuesday, friends...

andrew

We've no less days

2008-09-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

Christie took me to see a documentary about Hospice where she works last night. It was quite interesting to me, I always love a good documentary. It was part infomercial for Hospice, part snapshot of hospice workers, & most importantly part snapshots of lives that ended with hospice care. The documentary shows what I hope I've always known, which is that every life has an interesting story. There's nothing particularly noteworthy about the lives highlighted in the movie except that they are genuine & sincere. The main character of the documentary was a regular guy, albeit very funny, but the most moving scene came when the dying man's stepdaughter drove him in his four wheeler out to the pond just to sit & soak it in. Having had two grandparents die in the care of hospice workers, the documentary hit home for me. Those workers took care of all kinds of little details for my grandparents that I can't even imagine & for that I'm incredibly grateful.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Blind Willie McTell-Bob Dylan, Brixton Academy 2003

The song that may have killed my ipod, I was at work today for a couple of hours & my ipod was plugged into it's dock & playing incredibly loud when all of a sudden it stopped & it still isn't working. I suppose if it has to be blown, this is as good a song as any to accompany it's demise.

Keep an eye on Other's Gain-Bonnie "Prince" Billy

Amazing Grace-hymn

Fish & Whistle-John Prine

People Puttin' People Down-John Prine

Happy Sunday, friends...

andrew

Everybody moving, if they ain't already there...

2008-09-27T06:27:00.000-07:00

It's been quite the year for my pal Ryan. He found out he's going to be a pappy, he bought himself his first house & now he's going to be a married man. He called me last night & gave me the big news. I couldn't be happier for him, Holly he is a real peach & the perfect gal for him.

Just to give you an idea of how good a friend Ryan is, I called him after I proposed to Christie & told him that she turned me down & he said "oh man, I'll be right over". What a jerk I can be. I can't wait to see them in a few weeks.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Mississippi-Bob Dylan, Tell Tale Signs

Here's a sneak preview of the upcoming Bootleg Series release, it's an outtake from 1997's Time Out of Mind. The song was left off the album & reappeared on 2001's Love & Theft in a vastly different arrangement. I've only heard this one a few times, but I still say that the Love & Theft version is superior. It's a great song either way, & each arrangement evokes different meanings. "All my powers of expression & thoughts so sublime could never do you justice in reason or rhyme."

Someday Some Morning Sometime-Billy Bragg & Wilco, Mermaid Ave Vol I

It was a perfect morning for a walk with the doggie.

For the widows in Paradise, for the fatherless in Ypsilanti-Sufjan Stevens, Greetings from Michigan

A Change is Gonna Come-Sam Cooke

The Bends-Radiohead, The Bends

Girl in the War-Josh Ritter

Happy Saturday, friends. I hope it's as lovely where you are as it is here.

andrew

These are not my tunes but there mine to use...

2008-09-25T17:42:00.000-07:00

Well friends, fall is here & that means new seasons of all the top rated television shows. For me, it means I'll hopefully be avoiding the television as soon as the election is over. I don't know why, but television series don't do it for me anymore. Either the shows are getting worse or my taste isn't evolving.

I often think about oldies radio stations & how a great many of the people that listen to them have been listening to the same group of songs since they were originally released so many years ago. Every now & then, if I'm in the Detroit area, I'll turn the radio to 89x, which was a new station when I was a teenager, & they are playing the same songs they did back in the early '90s. Now, I like Pearl Jam & Nirvana as much as the next guy, but I don't think I could listen to them & bands like them exclusively for the rest of my life.

As my wife watches the season premiers of "Ugly Betty" & "Grey's Anatomy", I'm sitting here at the computer listening to some songs I haven't listened to in a long time.

Child's Song by Tom Rush

A song about a teenager leaving home, most likely prematurely, & not necessarily on the best terms. Rush in this song doesn't allow you to see things from the parents perspective, if he did it would make the song too complicated & the message would get lost. If you could find one lyric in the song that would capture it's essence it would have to be "ain't no use in shedding no more tears, mama, ain't no use in shouting at me pa, I love you but that hasn't helped at all".

Dress Blues by Jason Isbell

I still haven't bought Jason Isbell's album because it bothers me that he had to leave one of the finest rock bands around, The Drive By Truckers. This song makes me want to change my mind. It has the simplicity of a great country song, if I had my way this would be the kind of country music played on the radio. I'm not sure if the song is anti-war, it merely paints a picture & lets you draw your own conclusions.

What can you see from your window?
I can't see anything from mine.
Flags on the side of the highway
and scripture on grocery store signs.
Maybe eighteen was too early.
Maybe thirty or forty is too.
Did you get your chance to make peace with the man
before he sent down his angels for you?

Mamas and grandmamas love you
'cause that's all they know how to do.
You never planned on the bombs in the sand
or sleeping in your dress blues.

Your wife said this all would be funny
when you came back home in a week.
You'd turn twenty-two and we'd celebrate you
in a bar or a tent by the creek.
Your baby would just about be here.
Your very last tour would be up
but you won't be back. They're all dressing in black
drinking sweet tea in styrofoam cups.

Mamas and grandmamas love you.
American boys hate to lose.
You never planned on the bombs in the sand
or sleeping in your dress blues.

Now the high school gymnasium's ready,
full of flowers and old legionnaires.
Nobody showed up to protest,
just sniffle and stare.
But there's red, white, and blue in the rafters
and there's silent old men from the corps.
What did they say when they shipped you away
to fight somebody's Hollywood war?

Nobody here could forget you.
You showed us what we had to lose.
You never planned on the bombs in the sand
or sleeping in your dress blues.

No, no you never planned on the bombs in the sand
or sleeping in your dress blues.

After the War-Dan Bern

In contrast with Dress Blues, you can throw subtlety out the window with this song about a veteran of the Iraq war forced into a wheelchair for the rest of his life. My only hope with this song is that Bern took an actual veteran's perspective & turned it into a song rather than taking liberty with how he thinks a disable veteran must feel. Every great song has that one lyric that grabs you & keeps you coming back to it. There's something that strikes me about "I hope the blisters on my fingers turn into callouses before too long".

Keep Your Light Trimmed & Burning-Blind Willie Johnson

Every now & then if I know someone's coming from a distance to where I am, I'll throw out the phrase, "I'll keep my lamp trimmed & burning for you". People probably think I'm crazy, which I probably am. Nobody sings the gospel like Blind Willie Johnson, his voice is fire & brimstone & his background singers sing like the gospel.
Upon this Tidal Wave of Young Blood-Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

I can't think of any song that makes me want to go out & conquer the world quite like this one. It's the voice of dissent, of youthful rage that needs a place to be heard.

Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie-Joanna Newsom

I don't know a single soul who likes Joanna Newsom's voice. I know there must be someone out there otherwise she wouldn't have sold any copies of her three albums. It starts me to wondering if my ears are filled with tin. But then I give a listen to the way she sings, "that's why I love this town, just look around" & then I realize it's the rest of you who are missing out :).

Nature Boy-Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Christie & I often have arguments about music because our tastes are so different. I tell her that if the (country) radio stations she listens to played some of my music as much as the stuff they usually play & passed it off as a "hit" that she would like it just as much. I'm probably wrong about this, but every now & then I'll play a song like this over & over again & she starts singing along. Believe it or not, Christie likes a song by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. At other times, though, I'll play a song that I think she'd love & she tells me she hates it, so what do I know?

Nick Cave is an interesting character, one whom I think if I ever met him, I wouldn't like him. I'm pretty sure he's an atheist, at the very least he isn't a Christian. Either way, he seems enamored with the language of the bible. On his latest album, he has a song called Dig Lazarus Dig in which he takes the story of Lazarus & puts it in America & posits the idea that Lazarus didn't really want to be raised from the dead. Maybe his fascination with the bible will sink in some day, if not, I believe you can learn alot about yourself from someone whose beliefs are the opposite of your own.

I realize that none of this has anything to do with the song Nature Boy, but you're just going to have to take my word for it, it's a great song.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

One By One-Billy Bragg & Wilco, Mermaid Ave

Blood in my Eyes-Bob Dylan, World Gone Wrong

Subterranean Homesick Blues-Bob Dylan, Bringing it All Back Home

Inflammatory Writ-Joanna Newsom, Bridges & Balloons

I Got Mine-the Black Keys, Attack & Release

Happy Thursday, friends...

andrew

Leave the wine glass out & drink a toast to never...

2008-09-14T19:10:00.000-07:00

Christie complained that I haven't blogged in a while, & as a result of sitting around & doing not much of anything all weekend I've got nothing to say. Normally, I wouldn't be proud of this fact, but the most productive thing I got accomplished all weekend was hang my dartboard in the garage & updated my ipod. I played some video games, watched a couple movies, went to church, did some reading, listened to some vinyl, played with the dog. The worst thing is, I don't feel guilty about it at all.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

After Hours-the Velvet Underground

September of my Years-Frank Sinatra

Tangled Up in Blue-Bob Dylan, Modena 1987

Rock of Ages-Bob Dylan, Santa Cruz 2000

If Dogs Run Free-Bob Dylan, 2001

Happy lazy Sunday, friends...

Another Man Done Gone...

2008-09-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Sunday, friends. There's nothing much to add today. I got up early this morning to watch Man in the Sand, the documentary about the long lost Woody Guthrie lyrics put to music by social activist & singer/songwriter Billy Bragg & the band Wilco. It was quite moving, especially the first hand accounts from Guthrie's daughter Nora.

The documentary is a perfect example of how, as hard as it seems, you can't look at a person's life & condemn it based on certain behaviors. Woody Guthrie's life has been romanticized by some, demonized by others. He was a womanizer & considered to be a communist by many but also stood up for anybody who was having troubles. I guess we're all that way, there's something about all of us to like & probably something just as easy not to like about everyone. Why focus on one & not the other?

The pastor gave a pretty good sermon today about following the bible as a blueprint in the face of many hardships & challenges. That's a pretty good metaphor for how I'd like to relate to people, as though maybe there's some sort of struggle I don't know about so I hope I can just look for the good in people.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Another Man Done Gone-Wilco, Mermaid Ave Vol. I

At My Window Sad & Lonely-Wilco, Mermaid Ave Vol. I

All You Fascists-Billy Bragg, Mermaid Ave Vol. I

The Unwelcome Guest-Billy Bragg, Mermaid Ave Vol. I

Dignity-Bob Dylan, MTV Unplugged

Happy Sunday, friends...

andrew

I was free as the sun shining on our faces...

2008-09-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

The air conditioner is off, the windows are open & I've got a sweatshirt on. This is when I like Grand Haven the most, most of the tourists are gone, things have cooled down a bit but things are just as beautiful as ever. After dinner, we picked up the dog, stopped by to wish Gloria a happy 60th birthday & then went for the ol' pier walk. It's nights like this that I realize how lucky I am to live where I do, not that I'm bragging (okay, maybe I am). Every Friday night should be like this.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Spirit on the Water-Bob Dylan, Modern Times

Slow Down-Alejandro Escovedo, Real Animal

Thank You Too!-My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges

Romulus-Sufjan Stevens, Greetings from Michigan

I Am Still What I Meant to Be-Will Oldham, Joya

Greetings from Grand Haven, friends...

andrew

Gotta stand up close to the teacher if you ever wanna learn anything...

2008-09-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

It's been seven long years since I had to go back to school, & I think I've almost completely forgotten what it's like to have new classmates, new teachers & new subjects. Come to think of it, the last good friend I ever made in a classroom was one of my best, Ryan. We shared an American History class my freshman year in college. The professor, ironically, was Japanese & could not pronounce my name very well. It was also my first college class. I sat by these two football players who hit on this other gal & cracked bad jokes the entire time. I figured this didn't bode well for my college career. Luckily, it got better, thanks to friends like Ryan.

Nowadays, the new school year hardly registers on my calendar, & except for the few minutes it takes for me to get from my house to my car & my car to the store & the weekends Summer hardly registers. There's all sorts of summer activities I missed out on this year, through no one's fault but my own. I've only played golf about five or six times, no tennis. I don't think I've hopped on my bike once & I haven't hit the hiking trails either. I have seen the ocean for the first time (okay, that was in the spring) & swam in it numerous times, traveled to Indianapolis, Detroit & Charlevoix, & walked my dog, though.

We've been hearing alot about Alaska, lately. In the past few weeks I've heard of two groups of people I know of that have rented RV's & driven around Alaska. A customer of mine recently moved to Holland from a town north of Fairbanks. He was a cop, & he said there was a ton of crime for a small town of 3000. Then there's that Vice Presidential candidate. Why am I mentioning all of this, you ask? Well, it's an excuse to play a clip from Northern Exposure. Sicely is my idealized vision of Alaska; a small town surrounded by wilderness filled with quirky characters that all know each other & where the arts flourish.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

The End of the Innocence-Bruce Hornsby

This song has been in heavy rotation lately.

Remember when the days were long
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky
Didnt have a care in the world
With mommy and daddy standin by
But happily ever after fails
And weve been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyer dwell on small details
Since daddy had to fly

But I know a place where we can go
Thats still untouched by men
Well sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in th4e wind
You can lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the ned of the innocence

Obeautiful, for spacious skies
But now those skies are threatening
Theyre beating plowshares into swords
For this tired old man that we elected king
Armchair warriors often fail
And weve been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers clean up all details
Since daddy had to lie

Bt I know a place where we can go
And was a away this sin
Well sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair spill all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocnece

Who knows how long this will last
Now weve come so far, so fast
But, somewhere back there in the dust
That same small town in each of us
I need to remember this
So baby give me just one kiss
And let me take a long last look
Before we say goodbye

Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence

Passenger Side-Wilco, AM

Blue is the Color of a Broken Heart-Old '97s

I Hear a Voice Calling (It Must be my Lord)-Bob Dylan, Toronto 2002

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds-The Beatles, Sargent Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band

Happy Tuesday, friends...

All Good Naysayers Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace!

2008-08-27T17:23:00.000-07:00

I remember a billboard when I was a kid that said, "say something nice about Detroit". I don't know why I remember that, but it seemed to have stuck with me. Whenever anyone from the west side of the state talks about how bad Detroit is, I feel the need to defend it. With the farce that is the mayor's office (I don't remember past mayors being too good, either) & the crime, it's not easy to think of too many good things to say about Detroit. We had a bit of an uptick with the city being cleaned up for the All Star game & the Super Bowl. Come to think of it, I can't really say what it is that I like about Detroit, but I always have a soft spot in my heart for it. No one can explain that feeling like Sufjan Stevens, check out this video for some great footage of Detroit.

This evening, when all of the states' delegates were announcing their votes for the Democratic nominee, every state made a small speech about what's great about their state. When it was Michigan's turn, a delegate gave a laundry list of of what's wrong with Michigan-poverty, unemployment, jobs being shipped overseas. It was incredibly compelling, & it made me a little sad.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head!-Sufjan Stevens, Michigan

Romulus-Sufjan Stevens, Michigan

The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll-Bob Dylan, Don't Look Back Soundtrack

Honest with Me-Bob Dylan, Elizabeth 2008

The Mercy Seat-Johnny Cash, American III, Solitary Man

Happy Wednesday, friends...

andrew

Everybody's sayin' this is a day only the Lord could make...

2008-08-26T16:04:00.000-07:00

(pictures & video courtesy of none other than mr. dan vanderwall...)

Performing live music in front of an audience must be a lot like surfing, once you are up there on top of a wave you can either stand & wonder how it is you got there or you can keep on pushing towards a higher wave (not that I've ever been surfing or performed in front of a live audience). I've seen many concerts where Bob Dylan has been content coasting along, & others where he's struggled to even get up on the wave.

We showed up at the Horseshoe Casino in Elizabeth, IN on Saturday night a little late due to construction south of Indianapolis. When we got into the casino & saw an empty hall, we wondered for a short minute if we made it to the wrong place until we looked at our ticket & saw Rain or Shine. We missed out on most "Watchin' the River Flow", an appropriate choice considering the location. It was a welcome sight to see Bob so up close, on guitar no less. We were about eight rows back, the best seats I've had in a long, long time. I was hoping to see him stay on guitar for at least a few more songs, but during Mr Tambourine Man he was back behind the organ. He seemed to be a bit frustrated with his band, making gestures with his hands the tempo he wanted them to play.

It looked like it might be a rough night as Bob seemed to keep throwing dirty looks at the bass player & the lead guitar player. Things improved a bit with Stuck Inside of Mobile (with the Memphis Blues Again), but this song usually plods along kind of slowly in concert. The next song seemed to turn things around, Ballad of Hollis Brown, which seemed to turn everything around. The song was played entirely acoustic except for Bob's organ. The song sounded as though it came from one of these small little farm towns in southern in Indiana (with his wife & five children & his cabin breakin' down).

That song seemed to give him confidence that stayed through the entire evening. From there, he seemed to leave the band behind, they were having trouble keeping up with him, & it didn't matter. The first great surprise of the night came a couple songs later, Visions of Johanna, one of two of his greatest lyrical masterpieces, in my opinion. His singing rivalled the brilliance of the lyrics, his vocals danced around the melodies, taking many side jaunts but always staying ahead of the band. The energy didn't stop there, a frenzied version of The Levee's Gonna Break was next, the first time all night that the band started to click behind Bob's singing. The song ended with Bob repeating "everybody's sayin' 'SAY WHAT?' this is the day only the Lord could ma-ake!". By then I realized that this show was much better than any I've been used to in the last five years.

The highlight of the show was yet to come, though, as the band started into the opening notes of one of Bob's best known gospel songs "I Believe in You". The song, I believe was an unspoken tribute to Jerry Wexler, the producer who worked on the song for the album "Slow Train Coming" who recently passed away. It was an incredible performance, too, one of the greatest moments I've witnessed at a concert. The extended harmonica solo was reminiscent of What Can I Do for You? & left me with the chills. See for yourself, thanks to master taper Dan Vanderwall...

Things just kept rolling around with Honest with Me, with a last verse that sounded like Bob was shooting the words out of a canon. At this point, he was clearly enjoying himself & couldn't keep from laughing as he shouted out these lyrics in such a fashion. He had an odd mannerism all night long as he would sing a lyric & then quickly shift towards the crowd & raised his left hand like jazz hands. I've never seen a show when Bob was more animated, let alone even cracking a smile...

Other highlights include a version of Make You Feel My Love that even Christie might've liked & an eerie version of Ain't Talkin, a song I was hoping to hear.

The whole weekend was wonderful, we got to see Dan & Jill's lovely decorated home. They were tremendous hosts & showed us around Indianapolis, including a wonderful record store called Indy records. A weekend to remember, for sure...

1.	Watching The River Flow (Bob on electric guitar)
2.	Mr. Tambourine Man (Bob on keyboard and harp, Stu on acoustic guitar)
3.	Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again (Bob on keyboard, Stu on acoustic guitar)
4.	Ballad Of Hollis Brown (Bob on keyboard, Donnie on banjo, Stu and Denny on acoustic guitars, Tony on standup bass)
5.	Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum (Bob on keyboard)
6.	Visions Of Johanna (Bob on keyboard, Donnie on electric mandolin, Stu on acoustic guitar)
7.	The Levee's Gonna Break (Bob on keyboard, Donnie on electric mandolin, Tony on standup bass)
8.	I Believe In You (Bob on keyboard and harp)
9.	Honest With Me (Bob on keyboard)
10.	The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll (Bob on keyboard and harp, Donnie on electric mandolin, Stu on acoustic guitar)
11.	Highway 61 Revisited (Bob on keyboard)
12.	Make You Feel My Love (Bob on keyboard and harp, Stu on acoustic guitar)
13.	I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) (Bob on keyboard and harp)
14.	Ain't Talkin' (Bob on keyboard, Stu on acoustic guitar)
15.	Thunder On The Mountain (Bob on keyboard, Stu on acoustic guitar)

	(encore)
16.	Like A Rolling Stone (Bob on keyboard)
17.	Blowin' In The Wind (Bob on keyboard and harp, Donnie on violin, Stu on acoustic guitar)

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

I Believe in You-Bob Dylan, Elizabeth, 2008

Freedom Hangs Like Heaven-Iron & Wine

The Thanks I Get-Wilco

Boo Boo's Birthday-Thelonious Monk

Younger than Springtime-Oscar Peterson

Happy Tuesday, friends...

andrew

Everybody said they'd be right behind me when the game got rough...

2008-08-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

I've been looking forward to this weekend for a long time. We're hopping in ol' maxxine & heading down to Indianapolis early tomorrow morning to see Dan & Jill. Dan & I are going to the Bob Dylan concert tomorrow night & Christie & Jill are going to do anything but go to the Bob Dylan concert. I think they have both sworn off following us two idiots to these things. I'm going through my memory to try & think of all the concerts Dan & I have been to, here's what I've come up with. I hope I'm not forgetting anything.

Elana James & the Texas Two
Jimmy Vaughan
The Decemberists
Alejandro Escovedo
Wilco
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Bob Dylan in 2005, twice in 2006 & now 2008

This marks my 15th Bob Dylan concert since 2000. My first concert was in July of 2000, I went with a friend of mine whom I haven't spoke to in years. Now I know what most of you are going to say. Obsessed much? Haven't you heard all of the songs by now? Isn't he dead? I've heard it all. There's not much I can say in response to these things, I figure you either get it or you don't. The way I look at it is, if Shakespeare came to your town every year or so to share one of his plays with you, wouldn't you want to hear it? But then again, Shakespeare probably wasn't even Shakespeare before he was dead & gone.

I have to say, though, that my expectations of these shows have waned throughout the years. Half of the reason is because the excitement isn't quite what it once was when it was new & also because I don't believe the performances are as good as when I first started going. See for yourself if you like.

Bob Dylan in 2000....

Bob Dylan in 2008

These days, I hope for a couple of songs I haven't seen before & I always look for that one moment when the spontaneity of the music meets up with the excitement I bring to hearing the music for the first time. A live performance is a two way street, the person up on stage is only half of it, the crowd feeds off the performer & the performer feeds off the crowd. In this respect, Dylan never lets me down as a performer. He never sings a song the same way twice, sometime it works, sometimes it doesn't, but you know he's always trying to create that moment of magic that has never been seen before. When he's on, the magic lasts the whole show, other times you only see it during one song or even one lyric line.

We've got eighth row seats tomorrow, so this will be the closest I've been in a long time. We'll see how it goes.

In other news, one of my best pals Katie turns 30 tomorrow. Katie's one of those friends that you want to have around whenever something good or something bad happens. She'll stick by you through anything. It's hard to imagine that I've known her for only ten years now, it seems like we've been friends all our lives, & that's a good thing.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Gates of Eden-Bob Dylan, Rochester 2000

Blue is the Color of a Lonely Heart-The Old '97s

Ashes of American Flags-Wilco, Kicking Television

You Turn Me on I'm a Radio-Joni Mitchell, Miles of Aisles

I Wish I was a Mole in the Ground-Bascam Lunsford, Anthology of American Folk Music

A Long December-The Counting Crows, Recovering the Satellites

Happy Friday, friends

andrew

Dear Landlord...

2008-08-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

Working for a big corporation can be quite frustrating, you never really know who it is you're working for. You've got your boss & your bosses boss & his boss over him. You've got your customers. You've got your sales representatives, your credit department & your employees. I suppose you could even throw shareholders in there. All of these people want different things. The one thing they all have in common is that they all want money. Some want more sales, others want more margins, some want you to cut expenses, some want more hours, others want lower prices. Some days I dream of working for some nice old benevolent man who has complete trust in my abilities & leaves me alone except to give me an atta boy or a nice Christmas (tofu) ham for me & my family.

No matter, today I put it all those people behind me & did some manual labor reorganizing things & cleaning. It's no wonder my old man loves to work outside so much doing yardwork, moving dirt around, growing things, improving things. Improving things has an incredible effect on your psyche.

My early Friday song today is by none other than Uncle Tupelo. You can find any number of songs that will say essentially the same thing by guys like Merle Haggard, Hank Williams & Louis Armstrong but today I like this one.

INTRO:

G

VERSE 1:
G D
Sometimes I get upset when people treat me bad
C G
I don't have time to think and so I get real mad
C
And I pull my hair and find somewhere where I can be alone
D G
And when I do I think of you and head myself back home

CHORUS:
C D G
For I got chores to keep me busy, clock to keep my time
C G D
A pretty girl to love me, with the same last name as mine
C G
When the flowers wilt, a big old quilt to keep us warm
D G
And I got the sun to see your blue eyes, and tonight you're in my arms

VERSE 2:
Sometimes I get unwound when fancy cars drive past
Money don't get me down, I can't make it last
And I bite my nails and if that fails I go get myself stoned
And when I do I think of you and head myself back home

CHORUS

HARMONICA SOLO:
| G | G | D | D |

| D | C | C | G |

REPEAT VERSE 2

CHORUS

END:
G C D G

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Here's to the State of Richard Nixon-Phil Ochs

Blue Eyes-Uncle Tupelo

Mutiny I Promise You-The New Pornographers, Challengers

Rocket Man-My Morning Jacket The other day a Neil Diamond song, today an Elton John song? What's come of me. Winston's makin' me soft.

A Change is Gonna Come-Sam Cooke

Happy Thursday & Friday, friends...

andrew

Solitary Man

2008-08-12T16:34:00.000-07:00

Whenever Christie isn't home during the evenings, I feel as though I should fit in everything that she doesn't like to do in the few hours until she gets home. My first instinct is to turn on some Joanna Newsom & play some Madden Football or turn on a Woody Allen movie. Eventually, though I just sit in the chair with Winston, watch tv & wait for her to come home. I am going to make her prediction come true, though & have a boca burger & chips & salsa for dinner.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Solitary Man-Neil Diamond

I promise this will be the only time Neil Diamond makes the cut. Who knows, maybe I'll want to listen to some Michael Bolton.

Astral Weeks-Van Morrison, Astral Weeks

In a perfect world, this album would start playing at different places everytime you opened up the door to go to work on a beautiful day. "to be born again!"

Soldier's Grin-Wolf Parade, At Mount Zoomer

Twenty years from now, I hope I don't look at my cd collection & realize that maybe I only listened to bands like this to make me forget that I'm getting old. I sure do like it now, though.

Radio Free Europe-REM, Murmur

I'm pretty sure I used to drive my parents crazy listening to this band really loud in my bedroom.

Country Feedback-REM, Out of Time

Happy Tuesday, friends...

andrew

I'll remember you, when the wind blows through the piney wood...

2008-07-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

It's well known that scent is the closest sense related to memory, although I usually focus on hearing. When I hear a song I haven't heard in a long time, it can bring back memories, but those memories can often be tainted by what I think about the song. Chances are, if I liked the song, it will provide a good memory, which is usually all I'm looking for anyway.

The sense of smell doesn't lie, it brings back the most vivid of memories. The cottage in Interlochen smells exactly the way it did when I was a kid, which may sound like a bad thing, but it really isn't. I think it's a combination of campfires, woods & the lake. It's amazing how much things changed since the last time I stayed there, & how much things stayed the same. Obviously, the personnel is quite different than it used to be, there was a lot more people, & a few less people, at least when I was there. My mom & Joyce didn't do any puzzles, but they played scrabble. My dad & Mark were once again the perfect mixture of making sure people were having fun & not doing anything stupid. It was a wonderful couple of days filled with old & new memories.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Dreamin' of You-Bob Dylan, from the upcoming Tell Tale Signs release coming in October. Apparently, this song wasn't used for the album Time Out of Mind because the lyrics were later used in Standin' in the Doorway.

Girl of the North Country-Bob Dylan, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

California One/The Youth & Beauty Brigade-The Decemberists, Castaways & Cutouts

Better Halves-My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges

Thank You Too!-My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges

Happy Wednesday, friends...

andrew

I See People Who are Supposed to Know Better Standin' 'Round Like Furniture

2008-07-23T18:07:00.001-07:00

Maybe there's just too much entertainment. I find myself sitting in the living room with both the laptop & television with Countdown with Keith Olbermann on television. I'm watching the dog to make sure he doesn't chew the wires from the x-box that I never play & I find a clip of A Hard Rain's a Gonna Fall from the latest tour on Youtube. I've got an Itunes gift card that I got for my birthday that I'm using up.

I find an album of Jack Kerouac reading excerpts from one of my favorite books, On the Road. I read the book around the time of Heidi & Scott's wedding. I remember the day because all the girls were in the house drinking Mimosa's & I was out underneath the carport happy as a clam reading that book. I think I finished it that day.

On the Road is one of those books that interests me because there's a part of me who always wanted to be a part of that freewheelin' lifestyle where people find adventures & artistic expression in everyday life. Jazz is playing in every night club. You're in trouble every time you set your suitcase down so you better keep moving. Nothing is safe, nothing is easy.

I know that lifestyle never fit me, I could never sleep in a car. I feel guilty if I'm not at work for more than three days. I'd rather spend my evenings at home than do just about anything. That doesn't mean I can't let that crazed, scatter-brained coffee & cigarette filled bop prose wash over me as my wife irons clothes upstairs & my dog lies on the carpet & chews on his toy before I go to bed at 10:00 & get up at 5:30 tomorrow morning to go to work. Maybe tomorrow I should get rid of all this entertainment & milk some cows or something.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

It Ain't Me, Babe-Bob Dylan, Rolling Thunder 1975

Boom!-The Roots, the Tipping Point

The Drunkard's Special-Coley Jones, Anthology of American Folk Music

Old Lady & the Devil-Anthology of American Folk Music

Salt Peanuts-Dizzy Gillespie, An Electrifying Evening with Dizzy Gillespie

Happy Wednesday, friends...

andrew

Tis the song the sigh of the weary?

2008-07-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

Another day, another great artist to talk about. In 1995, I was working for Mill Creek Townhouses in Ann Arbor. Every Monday, the company they hired to mow the lawns would show up. There was one fella that worked for that company that looked just like Jerry Garcia. They showed up to mow the lawn the day Jerry Garcia died, I'm sure that fella got a lot of funny looks that day. It's hard to imagine that was 13 years ago. I didn't know much about Jerry Garcia back then, I knew he was the guy that sang for that group that sang that song that went "I will get by" that had skeleton versions of themselves in the video.

Now, I know what many of you are thinking, the Grateful Dead are those ugly dudes that did alot of drugs & played music all around the country for those dirty hippies that also did alot of drugs & you are probably right about all of it. But if that's all you see, you're missing out on a lot of great music. But I'm not talking about the Dead today, I happen to be one of those crazy people that prefers the Jerry Garcia Band to the Grateful Dead. The Grateful Dead made some good studio albums in my opinion, but they are most known for their concerts. Their concerts to me sound as though they are going nowhere, the shell of their songs are there but are lost in endless guitar noodling & pointless jams. The Jerry Garcia Band, however, contains everything I like about great music. It has wonderful harmonies from the background singers, wonderful organ from Melvin Seals & a focus that the Dead never had. Garcia is not tied to the Grateful Dead catalog so he can play whatever he wants to, his favorite traditional & contemporary covers. His vocals & more especially his guitar solos have an intense focus. The music is rooted in the past & has a focused spontaneity to it. Check out the version of Run for the Roses found below, it gives a Grateful Dead classic "It Must've Been the Roses" a run for it's money. This is Sunday afternoon music.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Run for the Roses-Jerry Garcia Band

Waiting for a Miracle-Jerry Garcia Band

How come the future has to take such long time when you're waiting for a miracle?

Hard Times-Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson Tribute Concert (song by Stephen Foster)

HARD TIMES

Stephen Foster
(Arr. Ralph McTell)

Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears
While we all sup sorrow with the poor
There's a song that will linger forever in our ears
Oh Hard times come again no more.

Tis the song, the sigh of the weary,
Hard times, hard times, come again no more
Many days you have lingered around my cabin door
Oh hard times come again no more.

While we seek mirth and beauty and

music bright and gay
There are frail forms fainting at the door
Though their voices are silent, their pleading looks will say
Oh hard times come again no more.

Tis the song, the sigh of the weary,
Hard times, hard times, come again no more
Many days you have lingered around my cabin door
Oh hard times come again no more.

Tis a sigh that is wafted across the troubled wave,
Tis a wail that is heard upon the shore
Tis a dirge that is murmured around the lowly grave
Oh hard times come again no more.

Tis the song, the sigh of the weary,
Hard times, hard times, come again no more
Many days you have lingered around my cabin door
Oh hard times come again no more.
Oh hard times come again no more.

Sing Me Back Home-Merle Haggard

Restless Farewell-Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra Tribute Concert

Happy Sunday, friends...

andrew

That Thin Wild Mercury Sound

2008-07-19T06:38:00.000-07:00

It's Saturday morning & Christie's plans of going to the beach aren't looking too good. It's quite cloudy outside & it's now raining.

I've spent the morning getting hardly anything accomplished except for loading music onto my computer. The last one I just popped in is On the Corner by Miles Davis. I can't imagine anyone I know listening to this album except for maybe Dan Vanderwall & not making a face like Miles is making here. My mother once said that it didn't much matter if a jazz musician missed a note, & although I don't think she meant that as a compliment, it's absolutely true. Sometimes the great moments come in the missed notes, & that was never as true as on On the Corner. It's an absolute mess laid over a repetitive little drum beat & a bass line that comes in every ten seconds & repeats itself. I can hear cats from all over the neighborhood hissing at Miles' trumpet. Problem is, I love it. Great music has the ability not only to soothe, excite & inspire but also the power to DISTURB, no matter how many people don't like it. This music is more sardonic than any Public Enemy record or anybody else that cares to stir people up with words. This challenges what jazz could & should be. Much like Dylan changed the nature of songwriters' subject matter Miles changed the sounds jazz musicians made.

If Miles had released this album after Kind of Blue, he would've been assassinated. Thankfully, he eased his way up to it with Bitches Brew.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

We Call Upon the Author to Explain-Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Dig Lazarus Dig

So What-Miles Davis, Miles in Berlin

On the Corner/New York Girl/Thinkin' of One thing & Doing Another/Vote for Miles-Miles Davis, On the Corner

Sister Lost Soul-Alejandro Escovedo, Real Animal

I've already fell in love with this album after two days, this song in particular. The video is pretty bad but the sound is wonderful...

Always a Friend-Alejandro Escovedo & Bruce Springsteen!

I just found this out this morning, it's pretty incredible that someone who couldn't even sell out the Wealthy Street Theater in Grand Rapids is playing with Bruce Springsteen. Maybe Grand Rapids is just lame.

Happy Saturday, friends...

andrew

My Aim is True

2008-07-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

This was supposed to be the summer I took a break from playing golf. The past three years I played on a golf league, to minimal degrees of success & enjoyment. This year, the change in employment meant a clean break from the golf league, so I thought I might try to skip playing golf altogether. A fourth of July visit from my best golfing partners, Ryan & MIke, through that out the window.

I hate boring golf stories as much as the next guy, but you must bare with me on this one.

This afternoon, Christie suggested that we should play golf. I reluctantly said sure, we made a tee time at Fruitport Country Club & off we went. We played golf on our second date, & I remember being how surprised at how well she hit the ball for someone who never plays (alright, I'll admit I was surprised how well she hit the ball for a girl), but other than that, it was unremarkable. We went to the driving range once, too but I don't remember her hitting the ball too far. Today, however, was a different story. Every time she hit the ball she hit it a long way, I'd say she averaged about 230 yards a drive & most of them were perfectly straight. I would have been impressed if it were someone who played golf all the time, but for someone who never plays, & doesn't care how good she does I was enthralled. I am not exaggerating in the least bit, I'd say her farthest drive was about 280. She didn't mess up any shots when she gave a full swing, on the other hand, her chips & putts were atrocious, but that shouldn't take away from the show.

On the last whole, par five she stepped up to the ladies tee & smacked the ball a good 260 right down the middle of the fareway. The next shot (five iron, she asked me just like she did all day long) landed right on the green. As we were riding towards the green I told her that she was putting for an eagle & how rare that was. After I chipped on to the green, I told her to take her time & line up the putt & just as I start to tell her where to aim (yeah, I'm turning into that guy) I see the ball shoot past me, not even close. She was able to save par on the last hole of what was the wildest round of golf of my life.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

When the Day Met the Night-Panic at the Disco

Onion Soup-Vic Chesnutt, Is the Actor Happy?

For Every Field There's a Mole-Bonnie "prince" Billy, Lie Down in the Light

Rainy Day Women #12 & 35-Bob Dylan, Stirling Castle 2001

Keep Eye on Other's Gain-Bonnie "prince" Billy, Lie Down in the Light

Happy Sunday, friends...

andrew