What's the Matter With Me? I Ain't Got Much to Say...

Over to you, Kevin McFadden...

Tone Deficit

Can't tell your oh from your ah? Go, go or else
go ga-ga. What, were you born in a barn? Oh.
Ah. What do you say when the dentist asks?
No novacaine? Nah. The joke's on us, Jack:

we gnaw ourselves when we reallly ought to know.
Can't tell the force from the farce, nor our
cores from our cars. The horde works hard in this
new nation of shopkeeps, moles in malls, minding

our stores when we should be minding our stars.
Harmony, whoremoney--can we even tell
the showman from the shaman? Or are we
the worst kind of tourists, doing La France

in low fronts, sporting shorts at Chartres
and so alone in our elan? Nope. We're Napoleons
of nowhere, hopeless going on hapless,
unable to tell our Elbas from our elbows.

from POETRY, September 2006

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Strange Fruit-Billie Holiday

This must've flipped a bunch of wigs back in the day. It sure flipped mine. Just look at that face. Her voice, her facial features, her songs all spell out tragedy, but it's so beautiful.

Windfall-Son Volt, Trace

catching an all night station, somewhere in Louisiana, it sounds like 1963, but for now, it sounds like heaven...

So What?-Miles Davis, Kind of Blue

What I like most about Miles, is that he never needed to be the center of attention. He was never the fastest player, never going for the grandiose solo, he realized that greatness lies in the spaces between the notes. Listening to his earlier bands, you'd never really know who was the star, whether it was Gil Evans, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly or Miles himself. I'm about a third of the way towards owning the entire Miles Davis catalog. Maybe before I retire, I'll have 'em all. Bitches Brew is next, even though Melvin warned against it.

Various Stages-Great Lake Swimmers, Bodies & Minds

Spirit on the Water-Bob Dylan, Modern Times

I keep thinking about you, baby, I can't hardly sleep...

Happy Thursday, friends...

andrew