Remembering 2001 and thinking about the current crises — yeah, there’s a lot going on in parallel — brought 2001 Train song, “Drops of Jupiter”, to mind. The words appeal to my maudlin side and lift me.
But tell me, did the wind sweep you off your feet? Did you finally get the chance To dance along the light of day And head back to the Milky Way? And tell me, did Venus blow your mind? Was it everything you wanted to find? And did you miss me while you were Looking for yourself out there?
Yesterday’s sun was a pale red imitation of its usual glory, keeping temperatures down, but, man, that smoke. Health experts are saying that Oregon’s smoke has gone off the chart and is the worse in the world in some places.
Because of all this, we were keeping the cats in. Tucker was good about it. After showing interest in leaving, he shrugged, swished his tail, washed his chest, curled up, and went to sleep. Boo was erratic, insisting on trying to leave before finally settling by my feet.
But young Papi…oh, boy. The ginger wonder insisted every few hours through the night, “I must leeeaaavvveee.” I finally gave in to him at eight thirty this morning. Then I had to mask up, go out and call him back.*
Which brings me to today’s music. It came to me as I walked around calling the boy. Here’s The Proclaimers with “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” from 1983.
*(And now, the ginger glory is sitting here, staring at me and mewing, “I must leeeaaavvveee…”)
As I was in the bathroom cleaning up and doing things (I farted the opening chords to Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water”, for which I’m pleased, proud, and embarrassed), another song kicked into my head. Don’t know why it started. As it won’t leave, I’m sharing it to drive it out of my mind before I go out of my mind.
A rough night culminated in late slumber that ended with a dream and music.
I’ve posted “Highway Star'” by Deep Purple here before, but it was in my dream, so I thought I’d stay with it. It was the live version from their Made in Japan album, 1972. I had that album and used to listen to it at ear-bleeding levels. It’s a damn intense, unrelenting song, an eruption of unapologetic rock, almost to such levels that it’s parody.
Here it is, the looonnng live version, fresh from ’72.
A little Wallflowers invaded my stream this morning. “6th Avenue Heartache” came out in 1996. About a homeless man, the lines that caught my fancy this morning is the refrain.
The song has a Bob Dylan/Tom Petty flavor to it. That shouldn’t surprise; Mike Campbell, the guitarist who worked with Petty so much, plays the slide guitar, and Jakob Dylan, who wrote the song, is Bob Dylan’s offspring.
It’s a mellow throwback. Enjoy your day, and wear your masks, please.
“Careless Whisper” by Wham came out in 1984. I vividly remember being on Okinawa, accompanied by the wife, and all these women being quite taken with this song. So sexy…yes, a wonderful slow-dance song, one that invited warm belly rubbing.
Dance forward several decades. I’m in the car on an errand, chasing music via satellite radio, when a song sort of familiar but also different caused a pause to listen more. Then, seriously, I giggled, because I was hearing a metal version of “Careless Whisper”. Modern tech in the car’s infotainment system identified the group as Seether.
I wasn’t familiar with Seether. Later, at home, I hunted more info on them from the web. Today, a little word and sound association, and here I am, playing Seether’s cover in my head.
Thought I’d share it. Emotional with a different nuance than the original, it’s an interesting cover of an old song, good theme music for interesting times..
Trump and his Pentagon are shutting down the independent military newspaper, The Stars and Stripes. One hundred sixty years old, working on a fifteen million dollar budget, it’s a bitter end to a venerable institution.
I was in the U.S. Air Force for over twenty years. Overseas, we looked to the Stars and Stripes for laughs, information, distractions, sports scores, and a touch of home. You could usually walk into an office and find a copy of the latest daily sitting on a table or desk, pick it up, and check it out. Sometimes the Jumble word puzzles were done, or the NYTimes crossword puzzle was half-finished, or the Sudoku was begun. In Europe, it was the source for finding out what events were planned, such as festivals and volksmarches. Everywhere, it told us what was happening at other theater bases, and when college registration and terms were beginning. It also carried the AFRTS television and radio schedules and highlights, and the show times for the movie theaters.
This all helped keep us connected and grounded. That was (pause to absorb shock) over thirty years ago for me. (Another pause to absorb shock.) Satellite entertainment was just becoming available, and we were watching tape-delay productions of ‘live’ shows. The Internet and web were just beginning to stretch and flex. Phones were still tethered to walls and desks by long cords.
So, yeah, as Zimmerman sang, the times they are a-changing. I usually look forward to change, hoping that we’re advancing our technology in ways to improve our lives and conditions, or defeat diseases and advance cures. I’m in favor of change that levels the field and delivers justice, equality, freedom, and opportunity for all. Perhaps the time has come for the Stars and Stripes to cease, because its purpose has been overtaken by advances. In memory, though, I’ll recall it fondly, and think of its passing with a sigh.
But then, that’s what happens with so much of our things, isn’t it? We outgrow them, and they fade away.
I did not want to get up. Still sifting dreams, I thought I was due to stay in bed for at least another hour. I’d been up late into the morning, sucking up my latest TV addition, “Mr Inbetween”. An Aussie show, I’m watching it on Hulu. I love his daughter, Britt. Played by Chika Yasumura, she steals whatever scene she’s in.
So it kept me up and awake, and I didn’t want to get up. But the cats, particularly Tucker (my long-hair black and white big bruiser) (he’s a blokey-bloke) and Papi, the young ginger blade, thought the day required my attention. After a bit of failed negotiations and stalling tactics, I yielded, telling them and myself, “Here we go.”
Well, here we go led to the chorus, “Here we go, rocking all over the world,” out of the 1975 John Fogerty song, “Rockin’ All Over the World”. When I thought about it, though, I began remembering Status Quo playing at Live Aid 85.
For Fogerty’s release in ’75, I was a few months out of military tech school, newly married, and stationed at Wright-Pat AFB in Ohio. Ten years later, when Status Quo played the song at Live Aid 85, I was living in a tent city outside Cairo, Egypt, playing war games. Still married, though, but my wife was staying with her family. I believe I dimly recall seeing Status Quo’s Live Aid version while I was heading home, during a fuel stop at Torrejon Air Base in Spain. We had time to kill, so we walked around the exchange to see what was new and get an AAFES burger.
So this simple song is today’s theme music, brought to you by stubborn cats and nostalgia. I decided to go with Status Quo’s Live Aid version because I like the crowd’s energy.
Hope you enjoy it. I know I used it before, if memory serves (but it doesn’t always serve, does it?), but I’m using it again. Remember to wear your mask. Cheers
Today’s theme music is a ‘Feline’s Choice’. Each night, my fur boys crowd the door and meow a request to go out. I not infrequently imagine a musical circling around their activities. Often, when they go out and sit down, listening to the darkness and listening, they sing this Pat Benatar song, “We Belong”, from 1984. Only, my boys aren’t singing, “We belong to the light, we belong to the thunder” they’re singing, “We belong to the night, but we run from the thunder.”
They’ve changed other words, too. I only know some of them, as my flooflish is limited. I’m not personally a big fan of this song; too eighties. If you were there, you probably understand.
My mind is serenading me wit Red Ryder’s 1981 song, “Lunatic Fringe”, today.
Back when I was commuting and working in an office, I’d often think of this song. I always seemed to encounter people with perspectives and facts that didn’t align with reality. Feels like I’m seeing and hearing more of it on the television, radio, and intertubes. Yet, I always wonder if I’m the lunatic fringe, out of sync with reality. That drives me to verify and vet information, and trace stories, looking for the source.
All this is helpful while writing. I enjoy elements in what I read (or the movies and television shows that I watch), so I plug it into my writing. When I’m writing, I enjoy an imaginary reader wondering, “WTF?” This is especially true if I laugh out loud when I’m writing it.
Here’s a sample of “Lunatic Fringe” lyrics (h/t to Metrolyrics.com), followed by the song.
Lunatic Fringe I know you’re out there You’re in hiding, and you hold your meetings I can hear you coming, and I know what you’re after We’re wise to you this time we won’t let you kill the laughter Lunatic Fringe – in the twilight’s last gleaming This is open season, but you won’t get too far ‘Cause you got to blame someone for your own confusion We’re all on guard this time against the Final Solution We can hear you coming
We can hear you coming no, you’re not going to win this time, your not gonna win
Michael Seidel, writer 