What if Prog was one of Us

Ten things that people that don't understand prog say:

1. (Nine minutes into the song) "This is the SAME song?!"
2. "I didn't know that a band could dedicate a whole album to fairies & dragons."
3. "It wouldn't kill them to put in a guitar here or there."
4. "Sounds like Rush & Genesis mated and had a child that should be locked in the attic it's whole life."
5. "Why is he dressed up like a flower? (or lizard, or fox, or...)"
6. "The keyboard sounds like a chicken being strangled a wind tunnel."
7. "When The Beatles wrote 'Sgt Pepper's' I don't think they meant to spawn this."
8. "(Seventeen minutes into song) "This STILL the same song?!"
9. "A Sex Pistols song! A Sex Pistols song! My kingdom for a Sex Pistol's song!"
10. "Sounds like those piano lessons came in handy for something."


This month's grocery store song is "One of Us" by Joan Osborne. As i understand, Joan is primarily a blues singer but this was an attempt by her record label to make her more marketable. Not an awful song, but does fit in well with the crashing of metal shoppings carts being stacked.

kurdt

In Kurt Cobain's Journal, he attempts to explain how heroin overcomes you, and he uses the editing in a television show or movie to explain it. In a televised story, a person exits the door of one room and then enters the door of en entirely different building; your mind doesn't go, "My god! That door is a portal from place to another place!" Instead, you realize that time elapses between those two shots, but is unnecessary to tell. He likens that to heroin consumption- you think it's only once in awhile when there's actually no supposed time in between.

That's how i feel about this blog. After months of thinking that it's only been a few months of not doing an entry, i was startled to find that it was back in September. If that isn't the death of a blog, i don't know what is.

Kurt is on my mind lately as i just had the opportunity to read a bio on him called Heavier Than Heaven by Charles Cross. It's very well researched- he had access to many of Kurt's possessions such as his artwork and parents- but i can't help by think that Mr. Cross did not really like him. This is because he seemed to take pleasure in pointing out throughout the book how Kurt was untruthful about his past, e.g. being homeless and sleeping under a bridge, his first concert. i certainly don't begrudge a writer wanting to get facts straight, but the wording in each case seems to denigrate Kurt, and i am not a Nirvana obsessed fan.

i am a fan, regardless of how much heroin he did, how little he disrespected others, how he plead with record labels to sign him even offering to sanitize his songs, because his music is fucking brilliant, and it's long time that we realize that the artist is not their art and vice versa.

This entry's grocery store song is "My Hometown" by Joe Jackson. I am at odds with including songs by musicians whose overall body indicates a true dedication to art, but i happened to hear Joe's song one day and realized that it fits in well with choosing laundry detergent.

Think Global, Rock Local

i do an annual party that i call, unoriginally, The Shindig. It was made better a few years ago when my musician friends started setting up & playing. The downside is that i need to visit with all my party guests when all i really want to do is watch & listen to the music, because i have such a profound appreciation for each of them.

Some of these friends i have known peripherally over the years, others i met after the great incident of 2008 (aka, the divorce). Those that i met at that time were doing the same open mics as i, although better. One in particular is from a local band that was popular from the mid 80's to the early 90's, when they cashed it in to become pharmacists, chefs and financiers.

i had dismissed them as an REM tribute band, but when they released an EP in 1989, i found myself listening to it over and over again. i then saw them whenever i could, which wasn't much, as it was the wind down to the above mentioned careers. They reunited a few years ago, and i have seen every motherfucking show they've done since then.

Which is a long intro to say this: it disturbs me how many dismiss their local music scene. The big acts that people pay hundreds of dollars to see now were once local- with the exception of a couple that were manufactured in some Florida factory. Peter Townsend once said, "Any night, any band could be the best rock & roll band in the world." That'll Learn Ya proved it on many a night.

This week's grocery store song is "I've Been in Love Before" by the Cutting Crew. It was the second biggest hit they had in the States, the first being "I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight," also a strong contender for GSS. What is annoying about this song is the over produced instruments & vocals, which was common in the 80's for mainstream bands. And usually makes for a great song to hear when you're picking out crackers.

I'm Trying to Break Your Heart

i reach for stars, planets, black space, anything that is unreachable when the music is off. For as long as i can remember, it has connected me to something where flesh ends and whatever animates the flesh begins.

Soul? Life force? Spirit?

i am not drunk, nor high, although it might sound it. Instead, i am trying to share why the opening chords to "How Soon Is Now" make me feel as though a good friend suddenly came by, why i can't help but dance to "Just Like Heaven," why The Descendents force me to pump my fits like a teenager, why Cat Stevens was one of my best friends at the age of 7.

This week's Grocery Store Song is "Stay" by Lisa Loeb. From what i hear, she is rather talented, but unfortunately the masses remember her for this sweet, cutesy number that was most likely helped along the charts by appearing in "Reality Bites." It is a very good song, especially the guitar work, which is not easy....i've tried. While a bit pretentious, the video tried to stand out by using minimal edits. Perfect for running your fingers over stacks of bread as you dance down the aisle.

REMember

Many music writers will at some point discuss where they were when they first heard the Beatles. For me, it is the kid who remembers where he or she was when they first heard So. Central Rain.

That was when music became exciting for me. Before those notes & words, I loved music, but never so much as suddenly discovering something that was mine/ours. The Beatles, Cat Stevens, Billy Joel had all been handed down; i was taken by it, but did not believe. REM was borne from something that didn't crave hit singles or stadium sell outs. It borrowed from the past, as all art does, but built it new. They probably didn't care if you liked it, but they believed, and because they believed, so did you.

REM appeared to be the band that launched "college rock,' or"alternative" music. I fell for those labels, as it allowed me to dangle it above those that loved Led Zeppelin and look down my nose at them. Now considerably older, i see that it was quite possible to enjoy Led Zeppelin & REM simultaneously, but i do not regret my past. i needed a flag to fly as i marched forward, serving under many commanders: The Replacements, Husker Du, Fugazi, The Cure.

So, as i mow my lawn, and some kids drive past laughing at the aging guy wearing a T short by some old fart band, i resist the temptation to tell them that i was once in that car. Instead, i hope that they are looking for their own flag.

Grocery Store song

A grocery store song is a song that you hear (wait for it) at the grocery store, that you haven't heard in years and yet recall it. Chances are, it was a one, or two, hit wonder, but nonetheless still a good song.

This week's GSS is "Mary's Prayer" by Danny Wilson. Released in 1988, it is the antitheses of rock, but the music is quite good, reminiscent of soul, and the lyrics are well written and above all, catchy.

astronomical

The compromise of attempting to end a relationship: travel more, alone. Be alone, more.

Finally heading back to Vermont tomorrow...only two days, but I'll take it. Don't know where i am going, where i am staying, what i am doing.

(Liar. Hiking Equinox Trail. But no definite start or end time.)

Heaven!

had sappy

The National's song Sorrow opens with the verse:

"sorrow found me when i was young
sorrow waited, sorrow won."

i have been thinking lately about where my love of music came from, particularly of melancholy music. One of my earliest memories is listening to 45's with my neighbors, brothers Mike, Tom and Jim. It was were their older sister's records and plastic turntable; i don't remember the color, but given that it was 1974, it was probably gaudy with flowers. We sat cross legged on the floor playing each one, and immediately Seasons in the Sun connected with me. i wanted to stay there listening to it over and over, but their impatience won out. That Christmas, I nagged my mom for the current K-Tel collection, "Dynamite," which contained Seasons in the Sun.

Each time new music came to me, i was drawn to whichever song was introspective, sad: The Monkee's I Wanna Be Free, Cat Steven's How Can I Tell You, Simon & Garfunkel's El Condor Pasa, and so on. That is not to say that i did not- do not- love other songs by artists, just that i found myself playing their saddest songs repeatedly. And, i can indulge in Boom Boom Pow or Wannabe as well as the next guy.

The music has grown with me, as has the art and literature. i feel myself growing that way- solitary, internal- not necessarily sad, but there are those that would argue their connection- just listening. Sitting at a conference table at work, standing in line at the mall, ordering a beer in a noisy nightclub.....all of it is just sitting cross legged on a floor, not wanting to move, absorbing the lyrics about someone committing suicide. And seeing the happiness in it.

water

Often, when i get a glass of water, especially after manual labor, the taste-in site of what others say, there is a taste- is like a perfect harmony, or a night sky that resembles a painting. It has some connection to that which makes our soul sing.

The second thought i have is how fortunate i am to live in a country where potable water is plentiful, and wonder what it must be like to have to replenish a water supple each day with a trip to the nearest source. This appreciation is an ongoing awakening occurring within me regarding modern conveniences.

Lately find myself wanting to live simply. It started with owning less and less, whether it be clothing, knick knacks, kitchen utensils. That has grown over time to this fairly radical fantasy of wanting to be almost homeless: living out of a van, obtaining day to day just what is needed for that moment. It's not that this fantasy is unattainable financially- i have a decent 401k that would be gutted by penalties if i were to cash it in, and a home to sell that would bring in a good profit- but grapple with the fallout of the decision. In short, that i am separating myself from the rest of the world.

It is challenging to see that same people day to day, even friends and loved ones. There has always been something very appealing about interacting with others on my own terms- strangers allow this luxury, as no stranger, with a balanced mind, expects intimate conversation. So i fantasize about this scenario, or occasionally a worse one (zombie apocalypse) that forces this scenario on me.

One can dream.

if it's too loud, you're too young

It's not enough to say the music of today sucks, it's derivative, soulless... people have been saying that for generations, and it comes across as only one thing: you're old, and cannot let go of the snippet of fun you had between the ages of 16 and 23.

i was curious about The 1975, as i thought it was a good name for a band. Good, not great, but it never ceases to amaze me how little thought is put into a band name. But, that's a topic for another time. Because the lead singer is about to date Taylor Swift, a venture that will wrap up in a matter of months when she has enough material for a new album, i recalled that curiosity. i found a few of their songs on youtube and listened. And i started to go down the path- they're derivative, soulless...and i paused. It's not my thing but that doesn't mean that they're not someone else's thing. There is a 14 year old (or hundreds) out there right now who feel that The 1975 say what they cannot, that the band's music somehow clarifies a part of them that sits as a ball of confusion within them. That is how Pink Floyd were for me, then REM, then a number of bands.

i can't help but chuckle when i see the bumper sticker: i am not old, you're music really does suck. But it's not a manifesto, it's an observation that seeks to assure those of us aging that we had a heart one time, and the world didn't understand that heart, and fuck 'em, we're going to make them see it anyway.

That is what each generation is trying to do, no matter how lame their music is.

the circle

Cath came into my life again. She hadn't left entirely, as we'd see each other at various inter agency functions, but at this particular inter agency function, it included an overnight.

Some of my experiences have been marked by this strange ability to delude myself; even as I walked to her room at 11:30 PM, i told myself that nothing would happen. In spite of delving into multiple texts of Buddhism, and a true appreciation for the Four Agreements, i cannot live a fully sincere life.

i think of my mother, who, if there is another side to this world, sits in disappointment or has an understanding beyond us and knows that humans are creatures that take themselves too seriously, and therefore create emotions like envy, jealousy and love as a way to give false weight to our years on earth.