I spent the early part of the Fourth of July over at Ault Park. I went for a run around the trails. It had rained all the night before and was still raining, so the trails were muddy and slippery. I had to walk them in places. It was fun, though. There's something very enjoyable about being alone in the woods in the rain.
Here are some pictures I took while I was there (l-r): imprisoned flowers, muddy trail, muddy legs, muddy shoes, non-muddy snail
BOOKS BOUGHT:
BOOKS READ:
Hotel California--Barney Hoskyns
The full title of this book is Hotel California: The True-Life Adventures of Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Mitchell, Taylor, Browne, Ronstadt, Geffen, the Eagles, and Their Many Friends. That's a mouthful right there. Although I don't care even one tiny bit about David Geffen stories, I like most of the other musicians mentioned in that run-on title. In a fit of boredom, I actually counted up the albums I had by the musicians mentioned in the title. I came up with 94, so this book was right up my musical alley.
Hotel California examines the Southern California music scene from about 1965-75 with a close look at the rise of the singer-songwriter movement and the country-rock genre popularized by the Eagles. It was actually a pretty good book. My only complaint was that parts of the book paid too much attention to Joni Mitchell's voracious sexual appetites. I don't remember exactly, but I think she had sex with everyone in the title with the possible exception of Linda Ronstadt and Neil Young. David Geffen was gay, but I'm pretty sure she tried to get with him anyway. When the author wasn't keeping track of bedpost notches, he was telling interesting anecdotes about all my favorites. He also gave Gene Clark his due respect and credit. That right there is enough for me to recommend this book to anyone with similar musical tastes.
The Adventures of Augie March--Saul Bellow
Augie March was a great book for the first 300+ pages. It followed the titular character's boyhood and young adulthood in Depression-era Chicago. Special emphasis was given to Augie's relationship with his family and his many employers. Then Augie went down to Mexico to train an eagle to catch lizards, and it seemed like all the characters suddenly stepped into a Malcolm Lowry novel. It was strange.
Augie eventually finished up the Mexican chapter in his life and went back to Chicago. Then it seemed like Saul Bellow didn't know what to do with the story so he just had Augie marry somebody he met down in Mexico. It was a disappointing ending to what started off as a very interesting, well-written book.
Augie March is considered a classic in many circles. In my mind, it's half classic/half disappointment. I liked the author's Henderson the Rain King much more.
One Picture for Every Page of Thomas Pynchon's Novel Gravity's Rainbow--Zak Smith
Zak Smith got the idea of making a drawing or painting that represented what took place on each page of Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow. It was a great idea, but the final result was surprisingly dull. After about 50 pages, it became glaringly obvious that Zak Smith's art wasn't consistently interesting enough to pull off the project. Illustrated became very repetitive. How many pages can he represent with a black and white scribble?! He was always sure to draw the sex parts, though. I guess that's what happens when you let a pornographer make a book. A much better idea would've been to commission a different artist for each page.
I read Gravity's Rainbow about seven or eight years ago. I didn't reread it when I read Zak Smith's book. Maybe it would've been more interesting had I tackled both books simultaneously. Maybe not.
CURRENTLY READING:
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman--Lawrence Sterne
Swann's Way--Marcel Proust
The Book of Yoga--Christina Brown
I saw Gaetano Donizetti's Lucie de Lammermoor at the Cincinnati Opera on Saturday night. Lucie is the 1839 French version of Donizetti's original Lucia di Lammermoor which came out four years earlier in Italian. I'm not sure why they made two versions. The Italian version is supposedly more popular than the version I saw, but I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the opera in French. Ah, who am I kidding? I don't speak Italian or French, so it's all the same to me. I'm helpless without the surtitles.
Here's the story: Henri wants his sister Lucie to marry a political ally named Arthur. He thinks that this arranged marriage will put him in good with the new king. Unfortunately for him, Lucie isn't the slightest bit interested in Arthur. She's in love with a man named Edgar, who just happens to be Henri's sworn enemy. We don't need to go into much more detail than that. Let's just say that things don't work out for Henri...or for anyone else in the opera, for that matter. Let's cut right to the death count.
Henri lives, but he might as well be dead. Everybody's blood is on his hands and getting Arthur killed is probably not the best way to impress the king. The moral of the story is this: Don't try to arrange other people's marriages for them. Let them marry whomever they want. When it comes down to it, it's really none of your business. Stay out of it; you're just going to get everybody killed.
Lucie de Lammermoor was one of the best operas I've seen in the last year or two. I was impressed by the performances of all four main cast members. Gaétan Laperrière as Henri was my favorite. He brought a wonderful cockiness to the role. Strangely enough, I thought Sarah Coburn's Lucie was actually the weakest of the four. She got the biggest ovation at the end, so what do I know? I'm probably just comparing her to Natalie Dessay who sang the role on the CD version I listened to so much during the last couple weeks. I'll be honest...I have a bit of an opera crush on Natalie Dessay.
After much debate, I finally bought a new computer today. I got an iMac (2.8GHz/24" display/320GB). The first one I bought had a defective ethernet port, so I took it back and got a second one. I've had it for about two hours now. The mouse is weird, but the monitor is so damn beautiful that I'm sort of developing crush-like feelings for it. I'm not sure, but I think it feels the same way. It took my picture when I turned it on.
I would like to officially thank everyone who gave me their input on new computers and upgrade options. I don't know the first thing about computers, so I actually used your advice. I would also like to thank Hewlett-Packard's inept customer service department who convinced me with their conflicting information and hang-ups that I no longer had any interest in their product line. I would also like to thank the Magic 8 Ball which answered "Without a Doubt" when I asked if I should switch over to a Mac. Oh, and thanks to my parents who offered to contribute a bit of cash to the purchase as an early birthday present. Their generosity allowed me to go from the 20" display to the 24".
I guess now I've got to spend some time figuring out how this new system works. I'm a bit perplexed not having a right-click option anymore. And I guess it's time to say goodbye to Sparky the Homemade Computer. He served me well for a few days. I almost went blind from the 16 color display, but at least I didn't have to hang out with the hobos at the library.
Using only a Swiss Army knife, two 8lb dumbbells, and some spare computer parts, I have (kind of) made a computer that (sort of) works. It features an impressive 16 color display and absolutely no musical capabilities. It does, however, feature an annoyingly loud buzzing sound emanating from its inner-workings. That might be because I couldn't get all the parts to fit back into the tower and the hard drive is actually sitting outside the computer. I'm fairly certain everything is going to blow up any minute now. I can once again check e-mail from the comfort of my home (read: in my underwear), so it's worth the risk.
I would post a picture to show you this new monstrosity of computing power, but right now my computer can only speak to my digital camera in Spanish. I don't have any time to mess with pictures anyway. I keep getting security pop-ups warning me about an upcoming computer-related issue called "Y2K". I really need to investigate.
]]>My family went downtown to see the Reds play the Red Sox yesterday. The Reds were murdered by a score of 9-0. I would normally be upset if I went down to see a game and the Reds lost by that kind of score. Fortunately for me, I went to the game as a Red Sox fan. I wore by floppy Red Sox hat and my Pega Luna, Manny! t-shirt. I know it's terrible to root against my hometown team, but I refuse to be a Reds fan as long as Gary Majewski is on the roster.
For those of you who don't know, Gary Majewski is the worst pitcher in the history of baseball. He's got floppy girl hair and carries a career 7.75 ERA as a Red. The team traded away their starting right fielder and shortstop to get him (and a couple other hacks). The crazy thing is this: he was injured at the time of the trade!!
Booing Gary Majewski is more fun for me than seeing a Reds victory. I booed him when he came into the game in the fifth inning. I booed him when he allowed his inherited runners to score. I booed him when he gave up a homerun to a tiny man named Dustin Pedroia. I booed him when he sulked off the field at the end of the inning. I was in the seventh row behind the dugout, so I like to think he heard me. I like to think I made him cry.
I also got to boo Homer Bailey, the starting pitcher who is supposed to be the future of Reds pitching. No pitcher should ever be named "Homer"...especially one that gives up three of them in 2 1/3 innings. I felt kind of bad booing him. He's clearly in over his head. Kid needs to be in AAA right now.
Other highlights of the game were drinking three bright blue icy beverages, hanging out with Mr. Redlegs, and seeing the most absurd scoreboard announcement ever. I also got a red strip on my arm where I missed with the sunscreen.
I've been looking for an excuse to post about Gene Clark for a couple months now. I wanted to write about how he was a founding member of the Byrds and how he wrote "Eight Miles High" and how he left the group because he was afraid to fly (and because Roger McGuinn is a jerk) and how he made some beautiful, underappreciated music with the Gosdin Brothers and Doug Dillard and then spent the 70s releasing album after album of music that topped most everything Gram Parson's overrated ass ever thought about recording and how Bob Dylan said he wished he'd written "For a Spanish Guitar" and how nobody cared and how Gene Clark drank too much and how he bought drugs with the royalties he received when Tom Petty covered "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" and how Yo La Tengo covered his "Tried So Hard" on Fakebook and how he eventually died in 1991 of a bleeding ulcer.
I'm not going to write any of that, though. Instead, I'm just going to say that the cover of Re-Arrange Us by Mates of State looks an awful lot like a combination of the covers of Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers and the Gene Clark compilation Flying High. The guy from Mates of State even looks a bit like Gene Clark.
Thanks to Homebody for giving me an excuse to write about one of my favorites. I swiped the Mates of State cover art from her.
]]>Although I can only find eleven ticket stubs, I'm pretty sure that last night's James Taylor concert was my 17th. I haven't missed any of his local appearances since 1992. If James Taylor's in Cincinnati, I go see him; it's just something I do. The downside of seeing a musician that many times--even if he's a favorite--is that things can get a bit repetitive after awhile. Really, do I need to hear "Fire and Rain" or "Something in the Way She Moves" again? They're lovely songs, but over a dozen live performances is enough for me.
That's why I was happy to hear that James and his band had recorded an album of covers (release date TBD) and that his versions of other people's songs would feature heavily in this summer's set. It's a good idea. Although James Taylor is an accomplished songwriter in his own right, many of his most famous songs were actually covers. He usually does a good job interpreting other people's songs. I was interested in hearing the new covers he'd chosen and how his versions held up against the originals.
The majority of the songs in the Riverbend show were covers. JT's got to keep the rubes up on the lawn happy, though, so he threw in some hits as well. It was a pretty good mix. Some of the covers were songs already associated with James Taylor like "You've Got a Friend" and "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)". Most of them were versions of songs I'd never heard him perform before like "Why Baby Why" and "It's Growing".
The highlight of the covers was "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" from the musical Oklahoma. It sounds like a terrible idea on paper, but it worked surprisingly well. If he hadn't announced that the song was from the musical, I probably would've taken it for a new original. The lowpoint of the night was James Taylor's version of Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman". First of all, a lot of the audience laughed when James announced that the song was made famous by Glen Campbell. What?! Why are you laughing at Glen Campbell? Glen Campbell is awesome. That got me all grumpy. Getting me even more grumpy was Lou Marini's flute-work on "Wichita Lineman". It was far too loud and interfered with James Taylor's singing. He ruined the song. Lower your volume or wait to play your flute until James is finished singing, please. You're dealing with the lyrics of Jimmy Webb here; they deserve to be heard. Thank you.
Here's the setlist for the show. In the case of the covers, I have included the composer or the musician who originally recorded the song.
First Set: It's Growing (the Temptations)/Get a Job (the Silhouettes)/Country Road/Whiskey Before Breakfast (traditional instrumental)/(I've Got to) Stop Thinkin' 'Bout That/Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb)/Why Baby Why (George Jones)/Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' (Rodgers & Hammerstein)/Everyday (Buddy Holly)/You've Got a Friend (Carole King)/Mexico/Shed a Little Light
Second Set: Instrumental intro-->Hound Dog (Big Mama Thornton)/Only One/Walking Man/(I'm a) Road Runner (Junior Walker)/Sweet Baby James/Some Days You Gotta Dance (the Dixie Chicks)/On Broadway (the Drifters)/Steamroller/Carolina in My Mind/Your Smiling Face/Shower the People
Encore: In the Midnight Hour (Wilson Pickett/Steve Cropper)-->Knock on Wood (Eddie Floyd/Steve Cropper)/How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)(Holland-Dozier-Holland) -->goofy outro
Looking back, I'd say this was my favorite James Taylor concert since at least the mid-90s. I've never seen him put on a bad show, but all the fresh material this time out really added to my enjoyment. A newcomer to James Taylor might have preferred a more traditional JT setlist, but the covers-heavy set he's performing this summer was just what I needed. I look forward to the release of his new record.
Every new "Today" seems more anxious than ever. Do you find more solace in "Yesterday" or "Tomorrow"? Why?
Submitted by Bee Whisperer.
Hey, don't go projecting your personal anxieties on me. I've got my own issues and they've got nothing to do with "yesterday", "today", or "tomorrow". That's just hippie talk. Go whisper to a bee, QotD.
]]>My uncle recently decided it was time to part with his collection of vinyl. It saddened me to hear this, as there's nothing I hate more than seeing a collection scattered to the wind...especially a collection that I'd long admired. (It also saddened me when I remembered that I gave him an Italian picture disc of Black Sabbath's Vol. 4 for Christmas last year. I guess I should've gone with the CD.)
He gave the records to his son to put up on eBay. As soon as his copy of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here showed up, I checked my PayPal account to see how high I could bid. I spent the week in anticipation. With 45 seconds left in the auction, my shaky hands typed in my bid and I took the prize. You might not think this is a big deal, but this was no ordinary copy of Wish You Were Here. This was the limited edition on blue vinyl that came out of Holland in 1977. I've had my jealous little eyes on it for years.
Here's something you might not know about me: If I had to make a list of my favorite things, I would put blue vinyl in about the #7 spot. I don't especially care for red vinyl or orange vinyl or green vinyl, but blue vinyl makes my heart flutter with happiness. I can stare at blue vinyl for hours. I can hypnotize myself with it.
If you're looking for me during the next week or so, I'll be on my front porch staring at the sun through a copy of Wish You Were Here. Feel free to stop by for a chat.
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