Hey there. My new Favorite Song Of All Time (until the next one comes along) is the Derek Trucks Band's "Down in the Flood," an old Bob Dylan song that's on the band's 2009 CD ALREADY FREE. It's freaking awesome, with lots of GREAT guitar, I can't stop playing it, and you should check it out.
COMING SOON, I should have a list of "The Best of All Blues." After months of listening to kplu.org's "All Blues" show from 6 p.m. to midnight Pacific Time every Saturday and Sunday night, I FINALLY started taping the best stuff I could catch, and have now filled-up four 90-minute tapes worth of great stuff. (I'm a low-tech, low-budget guy, but sometimes it takes me FOREVER to figure out the obvious.) So I should have a long list of that for you soonly. That music has certainly helped keep me awake and moving at work lately.
ALSO SOON: Remember when I used to write about music at this blog? Well, I hope to listen to some Olde Favorites over my weekend, and we'll see what comes out of that. Maybe even some new stuff....
Monday, May 4, 2015
Saturday, April 11, 2015
My 800th post????
Yeah, I can't believe it either....
Latest musical discoveries -- all thanks to KPLU-FM's "All Blues" program, every Saturday and Sunday from 6 p.m. to midnight Pacific Time, and streaming at kplu.org. Especially good stuff is marked with a *: I'm still drawn most to the funny stuff, big dramatic productions, and anything with a good riff I can hum or whistle along with.... Lyrics I can screech along with are good, too....
Alabama Shakes -- *You Ain't Alone. (Brittany Howard's singing is amazing. This hits HARD, like some great lost '60s R&B track.)
Rhiannon Giddens -- Black is the Color.
Danielle Nicole -- *You Only Need Me When You're Down.
Stacey Jones -- *Can't Do Nothing Right.
Chris Joyner -- *Hallelujah.
Irma Thomas, Tracey Nelson and Marcia Ball -- *Sing It.
Buddy Guy -- *Meet Me in Chicago. (Buddy burns up the guitar on this.)
Joe Bonnamassa -- Jelly Roll Baker. (Silly song, but I like the way he sings it. The guitar's pretty good, too.)
Ann Peebles -- *Read Me My Rights. (Why wasn't this a hit?)
Ronnie Earl -- *Eddie's Gospel Groove. (You will swear that this is some forgotten early-'70s Santana jam.)
Lyle Lovett -- *She's No Lady, *My Baby Don't Tolerate.
Carla Thomas -- *B-A-B-Y.
Joan Osborne -- *Shake Your Hips. (Another silly song, but I like the way she sings it -- and her backing band is great, once they stretch out with the tune.)
Johnny A -- *Drinkin' Rye. (Not as amazing as his "Wichita Lineman," but nice.)
J.B. Lenoir -- Voodoo Music.
* Lawrence Gonzales: DEEP SURVIVAL (2003) -- This was in the Adventure/Travel section of my favorite local used bookstore, Book 'Em in Port Orchard, Wash. -- but it's not really travel writing. Gonzales spent years interviewing survivors of disasters to see what got them through it -- how they lived while others around them died. He interviews people who fell out of airplanes, fell off of mountains, people lost in the mountains for days, 911 survivors, people who were adrift at sea for weeks, pilots, astronauts, and more -- and comes up with some theories about things they all did that helped them survive.
Gonzales was started on this project by his father -- who was shot down over Germany during World War II, fell 21,000 feet inside the cockpit of his bomber and survived the crash, was held in a German POW camp ... then went on to earn a PhD and become a microbiologist.
Some of the folks Gonzales writes about are friends who were killed in plane crashes ... plane trips he said "No" to at the last minute.
It's weird, but I laughed all through this book. Gonzales has a lot of Attitude as a writer, and some of these stories ARE funny. And others will rip your heart right out. Still others will make you wonder how dumb people can be -- and just how much abuse the human body can put up with and still survive.
I tried to read Gonzales' rock&roll novel JAMBEAUX a few years back, and couldn't get through it. DEEP SURVIVAL is way better -- it's the best thing I've read in months. See if you can find it.
Only one complaint about Robert Christgau's memoir GOING INTO THE CITY that I raved about last time -- I propped it open so I could eat lunch and keep reading ... and the book's back broke and the pages started to fall out. I paid $30 for THIS?
Latest musical discoveries -- all thanks to KPLU-FM's "All Blues" program, every Saturday and Sunday from 6 p.m. to midnight Pacific Time, and streaming at kplu.org. Especially good stuff is marked with a *: I'm still drawn most to the funny stuff, big dramatic productions, and anything with a good riff I can hum or whistle along with.... Lyrics I can screech along with are good, too....
Alabama Shakes -- *You Ain't Alone. (Brittany Howard's singing is amazing. This hits HARD, like some great lost '60s R&B track.)
Rhiannon Giddens -- Black is the Color.
Danielle Nicole -- *You Only Need Me When You're Down.
Stacey Jones -- *Can't Do Nothing Right.
Chris Joyner -- *Hallelujah.
Irma Thomas, Tracey Nelson and Marcia Ball -- *Sing It.
Buddy Guy -- *Meet Me in Chicago. (Buddy burns up the guitar on this.)
Joe Bonnamassa -- Jelly Roll Baker. (Silly song, but I like the way he sings it. The guitar's pretty good, too.)
Ann Peebles -- *Read Me My Rights. (Why wasn't this a hit?)
Ronnie Earl -- *Eddie's Gospel Groove. (You will swear that this is some forgotten early-'70s Santana jam.)
Lyle Lovett -- *She's No Lady, *My Baby Don't Tolerate.
Carla Thomas -- *B-A-B-Y.
Joan Osborne -- *Shake Your Hips. (Another silly song, but I like the way she sings it -- and her backing band is great, once they stretch out with the tune.)
Johnny A -- *Drinkin' Rye. (Not as amazing as his "Wichita Lineman," but nice.)
J.B. Lenoir -- Voodoo Music.
* Lawrence Gonzales: DEEP SURVIVAL (2003) -- This was in the Adventure/Travel section of my favorite local used bookstore, Book 'Em in Port Orchard, Wash. -- but it's not really travel writing. Gonzales spent years interviewing survivors of disasters to see what got them through it -- how they lived while others around them died. He interviews people who fell out of airplanes, fell off of mountains, people lost in the mountains for days, 911 survivors, people who were adrift at sea for weeks, pilots, astronauts, and more -- and comes up with some theories about things they all did that helped them survive.
Gonzales was started on this project by his father -- who was shot down over Germany during World War II, fell 21,000 feet inside the cockpit of his bomber and survived the crash, was held in a German POW camp ... then went on to earn a PhD and become a microbiologist.
Some of the folks Gonzales writes about are friends who were killed in plane crashes ... plane trips he said "No" to at the last minute.
It's weird, but I laughed all through this book. Gonzales has a lot of Attitude as a writer, and some of these stories ARE funny. And others will rip your heart right out. Still others will make you wonder how dumb people can be -- and just how much abuse the human body can put up with and still survive.
I tried to read Gonzales' rock&roll novel JAMBEAUX a few years back, and couldn't get through it. DEEP SURVIVAL is way better -- it's the best thing I've read in months. See if you can find it.
Only one complaint about Robert Christgau's memoir GOING INTO THE CITY that I raved about last time -- I propped it open so I could eat lunch and keep reading ... and the book's back broke and the pages started to fall out. I paid $30 for THIS?
Monday, April 6, 2015
More music books....
* Barry Miles: ZAPPA: A BIOGRAPHY (2005) -- I'm not much of a Frank Zappa fan, but if you are, there is a ton of history and information in here, and some of it is smoothly and involvingly written. Just not sure how much of a perspective and overview you get. Miles has SO MUCH history and info to fit in that the book sometimes feels crammed. It wasn't very well edited or proofread, either. It reads like a rush job, in places.
The best part of the writing comes right up front, where Miles describes how Zappa was convicted in his early 20s on a totally bogus pornography charge and spent 30 days in a crammed, hellish cell in the San Bernardino County Jail. The experience scarred Zappa for life. From then on, he doubted anything anyone in a position of authority told him -- and spent his 30 days imagining guitar chords so loud they could knock down the jail walls.
This is such a great story, and Miles tells it so well ... that he repeats the whole thing a few chapters later.
Zappa was so productive as a recording artist that later chapters start to seem like laundry lists of tours and albums and lawsuits and other happenings. Miles seldom pauses to provide much perspective until after Zappa dies. But the details are definitely here.
I would have liked a more detailed discography -- it takes up a score of pages anyway, with the contents of more than 60 albums listed. Everybody who ever played in Zappa's bands is mentioned in the text, but they aren't credited in the discography. Maybe that would have taken too much space.
Still, worth a look if you're a fan.
* Kent Hartman: THE WRECKING CREW (2012) -- If you're shocked to learn that The Beach Boys, Byrds, Monkees, Grass Roots and Gary Puckett and The Union Gap didn't always play on their hits, you might find some surprises in this look at the wildly talented but mostly anonymous Hollywood studio musicians who played on scores of hits back in the '60s and '70s.
This is the bunch that played on Phil Spector's hits and kept on backing star solo artists and bands into the mid-'70s. Hartman uses the life stories of guitarist/singer Glen Campbell, drummer Hal Blaine and bassist Carol Kaye to show how the Wrecking Crew began and evolved, from "Be My Baby" to "Love Will Keep Us Together."
Other members of the Crew included keyboardists Larry Knechtel, Al DeLory and Mike Melvoin, bassists Ray Pohlman and Joe Osborn, guitarists Tommy Tedesco and Louie Shelton, drummer Jim Gordon, and many more. Many of the Crew went on to performing or producing careers on their own -- like Campbell, Knechtel (with Bread), producer DeLory, producer Shelton, Gordon (with Eric Clapton), and others. Sonny Bono's even in there. If you've heard '60s and '70s pop, you know these folks' work. But most of them didn't get album-cover credits until the '70s.
And all along the way there were musicians who resented being replaced in the studio by the Crew -- but other than Michael Nesmith, most of them faded away....
There are some neat stories here if you don't already know the territory, but if you've read about Phil Spector in any depth, you may not find many surprises.
What, you mean The Partridge Family DIDN'T play on their own albums...?!
* Robert Christgau: GOING INTO THE CITY (2015) -- Consider this a rave. Christgau, the rock critic who's been rating records in monthly columns and once-a-decade books since the late 1960's, has written a memoir about his life and career that is absolutely gripping once he actually starts recapping his career as a critic. I laughed all through it, and I like very much the way Bob mixes together memories of his writing, music, and his love life. I like very much the way he tells TOO MUCH, more than you probably want to know. And at the end, Bob comes across as a normal guy with a neat job -- dedicated, workmanlike, modest. Yeah, sure.
The best part of the writing comes right up front, where Miles describes how Zappa was convicted in his early 20s on a totally bogus pornography charge and spent 30 days in a crammed, hellish cell in the San Bernardino County Jail. The experience scarred Zappa for life. From then on, he doubted anything anyone in a position of authority told him -- and spent his 30 days imagining guitar chords so loud they could knock down the jail walls.
This is such a great story, and Miles tells it so well ... that he repeats the whole thing a few chapters later.
Zappa was so productive as a recording artist that later chapters start to seem like laundry lists of tours and albums and lawsuits and other happenings. Miles seldom pauses to provide much perspective until after Zappa dies. But the details are definitely here.
I would have liked a more detailed discography -- it takes up a score of pages anyway, with the contents of more than 60 albums listed. Everybody who ever played in Zappa's bands is mentioned in the text, but they aren't credited in the discography. Maybe that would have taken too much space.
Still, worth a look if you're a fan.
* Kent Hartman: THE WRECKING CREW (2012) -- If you're shocked to learn that The Beach Boys, Byrds, Monkees, Grass Roots and Gary Puckett and The Union Gap didn't always play on their hits, you might find some surprises in this look at the wildly talented but mostly anonymous Hollywood studio musicians who played on scores of hits back in the '60s and '70s.
This is the bunch that played on Phil Spector's hits and kept on backing star solo artists and bands into the mid-'70s. Hartman uses the life stories of guitarist/singer Glen Campbell, drummer Hal Blaine and bassist Carol Kaye to show how the Wrecking Crew began and evolved, from "Be My Baby" to "Love Will Keep Us Together."
Other members of the Crew included keyboardists Larry Knechtel, Al DeLory and Mike Melvoin, bassists Ray Pohlman and Joe Osborn, guitarists Tommy Tedesco and Louie Shelton, drummer Jim Gordon, and many more. Many of the Crew went on to performing or producing careers on their own -- like Campbell, Knechtel (with Bread), producer DeLory, producer Shelton, Gordon (with Eric Clapton), and others. Sonny Bono's even in there. If you've heard '60s and '70s pop, you know these folks' work. But most of them didn't get album-cover credits until the '70s.
And all along the way there were musicians who resented being replaced in the studio by the Crew -- but other than Michael Nesmith, most of them faded away....
There are some neat stories here if you don't already know the territory, but if you've read about Phil Spector in any depth, you may not find many surprises.
What, you mean The Partridge Family DIDN'T play on their own albums...?!
* Robert Christgau: GOING INTO THE CITY (2015) -- Consider this a rave. Christgau, the rock critic who's been rating records in monthly columns and once-a-decade books since the late 1960's, has written a memoir about his life and career that is absolutely gripping once he actually starts recapping his career as a critic. I laughed all through it, and I like very much the way Bob mixes together memories of his writing, music, and his love life. I like very much the way he tells TOO MUCH, more than you probably want to know. And at the end, Bob comes across as a normal guy with a neat job -- dedicated, workmanlike, modest. Yeah, sure.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Progress reports
Here's a quick look at some fairly current rock&roll books -- I may have a longer write-up on some of these eventually....
* REMEMBERED FOR A WHILE (2014) -- An authorized companion to the music of Nick Drake, compiled and edited by Cally Collomon and Gabrielle Drake. This is a huge (400 large pages), gorgeously produced book that includes memoirs about Nick by his friends, relatives, and fellow musicians, complete lyrics to all his songs, in-depth discussions about how he recorded each of his albums, a detailed three-year diary by Nick's father Rodney Drake covering the period when Nick's mental illness was at its worst, and MUCH more. Also included is critic Ian MacDonald's long article on Nick, "Exiled from Heaven," which makes the case that Nick's PINK MOON isn't about Depression, it's about coming back from the darkness. Only question I have is a mention about supposed "problems" with the great BRYTER LAYTER album -- the only "problem" I can find mentioned in the text was that Island Records couldn't come up with a good cover photo, and that delayed the album's release by four months. This is a beautiful book, but I still think hearing any of Nick's albums will tell you all you need to know. Warning: It's EXPENSIVE.
* GOING INTO THE CITY (2015) -- A memoir by rock critic Robert Christgau. This gets Really Good around Page 100, when Bob starts talking about going to college, listening to music, and getting laid regularly. Not sure about those first 100 pages -- but Bob is still his usual opinionated, know-it-all self. I'll be making a list of the new big words he uses here. So far, after Page 100, gripping.
* SOUND MAN (2014) -- Memoir by record producer and engineer Glyn Johns. I've skimmed most of this, and I'm sorry to report that Johns doesn't come across as anywhere NEAR as cranky and funny as he did in an '80s interview he did with Bill Flanagan for MUSICIAN magazine. And I think that's too bad. Still, lots of great stories about working with the Stones, Beatles, Who, Clash, Small Faces and Faces, Joan Armatrading, Fairport Convention, etc. Pretty compulsive.
* THE JOHN LENNON LETTERS (2011) -- Well, I said "fairly" current. Some of these are not letters. Some are postcards with six words on the back. Some are shopping lists or laundry lists or barely coherent scribbled notes apparently stolen from Lennon's apartment in the Dakota. That said, the actual LETTERS are mostly pretty great, and Lennon in anger was something else. Beatles biographer Hunter Davies edited and is his usual charming self. Lots of great photos. Worth a look.
I'll be back soon, with MORE....
* REMEMBERED FOR A WHILE (2014) -- An authorized companion to the music of Nick Drake, compiled and edited by Cally Collomon and Gabrielle Drake. This is a huge (400 large pages), gorgeously produced book that includes memoirs about Nick by his friends, relatives, and fellow musicians, complete lyrics to all his songs, in-depth discussions about how he recorded each of his albums, a detailed three-year diary by Nick's father Rodney Drake covering the period when Nick's mental illness was at its worst, and MUCH more. Also included is critic Ian MacDonald's long article on Nick, "Exiled from Heaven," which makes the case that Nick's PINK MOON isn't about Depression, it's about coming back from the darkness. Only question I have is a mention about supposed "problems" with the great BRYTER LAYTER album -- the only "problem" I can find mentioned in the text was that Island Records couldn't come up with a good cover photo, and that delayed the album's release by four months. This is a beautiful book, but I still think hearing any of Nick's albums will tell you all you need to know. Warning: It's EXPENSIVE.
* GOING INTO THE CITY (2015) -- A memoir by rock critic Robert Christgau. This gets Really Good around Page 100, when Bob starts talking about going to college, listening to music, and getting laid regularly. Not sure about those first 100 pages -- but Bob is still his usual opinionated, know-it-all self. I'll be making a list of the new big words he uses here. So far, after Page 100, gripping.
* SOUND MAN (2014) -- Memoir by record producer and engineer Glyn Johns. I've skimmed most of this, and I'm sorry to report that Johns doesn't come across as anywhere NEAR as cranky and funny as he did in an '80s interview he did with Bill Flanagan for MUSICIAN magazine. And I think that's too bad. Still, lots of great stories about working with the Stones, Beatles, Who, Clash, Small Faces and Faces, Joan Armatrading, Fairport Convention, etc. Pretty compulsive.
* THE JOHN LENNON LETTERS (2011) -- Well, I said "fairly" current. Some of these are not letters. Some are postcards with six words on the back. Some are shopping lists or laundry lists or barely coherent scribbled notes apparently stolen from Lennon's apartment in the Dakota. That said, the actual LETTERS are mostly pretty great, and Lennon in anger was something else. Beatles biographer Hunter Davies edited and is his usual charming self. Lots of great photos. Worth a look.
I'll be back soon, with MORE....
Monday, March 16, 2015
Return of the Moondog
Along with all the usual stuff, here's what I've been playing for customers at work lately, including tapes from KPLU's "All Blues" program....
Dumpsta Funk -- *Blues Wave.
Tedeschi Trucks Band -- *Come See About Me.
Geneva Magness -- *You Were Never Mine.
Aron Jones -- *My Love Remains.
Dixie Cups -- *Iko Iko.
Allman Brothers -- *One Way Out, Don't Keep Me Wondering.
Shamekia Copeland -- *Never Goin' Back, *Lemon Pie (for the poor).
Ray Charles -- *Mess Around.
Jeff Beck with Imelda May -- (Remember) Walking in the Sand.
Maria Muldaur -- I'll Be Glad.
Sonny Landreth -- *Zydeco Shuffle.
Screamin' Jay Hawkins -- *I Put a Spell On You.
Beth Hart and Joe Bonnamassa -- *I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know.
Wild Magnolias -- *Party, *Coochie Molly, *Pocket Change.
Irma Thomas -- *River is Waiting.
Irma Thomas, Tracy Nelson and another woman who's name I can't remember -- *Sing It.
Johnny "Guitar" Watson -- *Gangster of Love.
J.J. Cale -- *Lies, Call Me the Breeze.
Slim Harpo -- *Tina-Neena-Nu.
John Mayall -- *Room to Move.
Johnny Rivers -- *Memphis.
...plus a few more new songs by women, one doing a joyous new version of "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair," another with a great rocker called "You Only Need Me When You're Down," and a third with an angry rocker called "Can't Do Nothing Right" -- I'll try to get names on these....
NOTES: "Gangster of Love" has got to be the silliest "blues" ever. "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" is dramatic and stunning -- the best thing I've heard in awhile. "I Put a Spell on You" is a little primitive (mid-'50s, right?), but I love that one great line: "I don't CARE if you don't want ME -- I'M YOURS!" "My Love Remains" is by a Seattle artist -- a little "Purple Rain"-ish, a little Hendrix-ish, but good. "You Were Never Mine" is sad -- a bit reminiscent of Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me," but good stuff. "Come See About Me" is more good stuff from Tedeschi-Trucks, with nice guitar -- wish they'd included it on MADE UP MIND.... "Never Goin' Back" is a nice spooky crime tale; "Lemon Pie" is a hilarious political protest song. "I'll Be Glad" might be the first blues song by Maria Muldaur that I've ever liked. The other stuff with a * listed above is recommended.
Weather here has gone from sunny and near 60 to pouring rain and in the low 40s. I told everybody it was too early for Spring, but....
I'm tired and my feet hurt. However, I wrote a new short story that suddenly popped into my head on Tuesday morning -- Ghod knows what I'm going to do with it -- and I'm looking at another big writing project....
More soon....
Dumpsta Funk -- *Blues Wave.
Tedeschi Trucks Band -- *Come See About Me.
Geneva Magness -- *You Were Never Mine.
Aron Jones -- *My Love Remains.
Dixie Cups -- *Iko Iko.
Allman Brothers -- *One Way Out, Don't Keep Me Wondering.
Shamekia Copeland -- *Never Goin' Back, *Lemon Pie (for the poor).
Ray Charles -- *Mess Around.
Jeff Beck with Imelda May -- (Remember) Walking in the Sand.
Maria Muldaur -- I'll Be Glad.
Sonny Landreth -- *Zydeco Shuffle.
Screamin' Jay Hawkins -- *I Put a Spell On You.
Beth Hart and Joe Bonnamassa -- *I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know.
Wild Magnolias -- *Party, *Coochie Molly, *Pocket Change.
Irma Thomas -- *River is Waiting.
Irma Thomas, Tracy Nelson and another woman who's name I can't remember -- *Sing It.
Johnny "Guitar" Watson -- *Gangster of Love.
J.J. Cale -- *Lies, Call Me the Breeze.
Slim Harpo -- *Tina-Neena-Nu.
John Mayall -- *Room to Move.
Johnny Rivers -- *Memphis.
...plus a few more new songs by women, one doing a joyous new version of "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair," another with a great rocker called "You Only Need Me When You're Down," and a third with an angry rocker called "Can't Do Nothing Right" -- I'll try to get names on these....
NOTES: "Gangster of Love" has got to be the silliest "blues" ever. "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" is dramatic and stunning -- the best thing I've heard in awhile. "I Put a Spell on You" is a little primitive (mid-'50s, right?), but I love that one great line: "I don't CARE if you don't want ME -- I'M YOURS!" "My Love Remains" is by a Seattle artist -- a little "Purple Rain"-ish, a little Hendrix-ish, but good. "You Were Never Mine" is sad -- a bit reminiscent of Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me," but good stuff. "Come See About Me" is more good stuff from Tedeschi-Trucks, with nice guitar -- wish they'd included it on MADE UP MIND.... "Never Goin' Back" is a nice spooky crime tale; "Lemon Pie" is a hilarious political protest song. "I'll Be Glad" might be the first blues song by Maria Muldaur that I've ever liked. The other stuff with a * listed above is recommended.
Weather here has gone from sunny and near 60 to pouring rain and in the low 40s. I told everybody it was too early for Spring, but....
I'm tired and my feet hurt. However, I wrote a new short story that suddenly popped into my head on Tuesday morning -- Ghod knows what I'm going to do with it -- and I'm looking at another big writing project....
More soon....
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Moondog's Friday night dance party!
The playlist:
Pat Boone -- Isn't That a Shame, Blue Suede Shoes.
Perry Como -- Dream On Little Dreamer.
The Lettermen -- Worlds.
B.J. Thomas -- Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, I Just Can't Help Believin', Hooked on a Feeling, Mighty Clouds of Joy, Suspicious Minds.
John Denver -- Back Home Again, Annie's Song, My Sweet Lady.
Abba -- Fernando, Chiquitita.
Air Supply -- Lost in Love, All Out of Love, Every Woman in the World, Sweet Dream....
...So did you think I was JOKING about Getting Good With God in my last post?
Well, ... I WAS joking. Here's the REAL playlist....
Wild Magnolias -- *Party, *Coochie Molly, *Pocket Change.
Three Dog Night -- *Out in the Country, *Celebrate, *My Impersonal Life, *I Will Serenade You.
Badfinger -- *No Matter What, *Baby Blue.
Elvis -- *Promised Land.
Journey -- *Lights, *Feeling That Way/*Anytime, *Somethin' to Hide.
Elton John -- *Teacher I Need You, *Have Mercy on the Criminal..
Todd Rundgren -- *Couldn't I Just Tell You?
Chicago -- *Questions 67 and 68, *Feeling Stronger Every Day.
The Cars -- *Dangerous Type.
Rush -- *Time Stand Still, *Force Ten.
Fleetwood Mac -- *Oh Well, *The Green Manalishi, *Why?, *Sisters of the Moon, *World Turning.
Kansas -- *Miracles Out of Nowhere, *Questions of My Childhood.
Five Man Electrical Band -- *Absolutely Right, We Play Rock and Roll, Money Back Guarantee.
Steely Dan -- *My Old School, *Dirty Work.
Motorhead -- Killed by Death (live).
Manfred Mann's Earth Band -- Living Without You.
Rolling Stones -- *Happy, *Tumbling Dice.
Heart -- *Mistral Wind.
Moody Blues -- *The Story in Your Eyes, *Question, *It's Up to You.
Nick Drake -- *Pink Moon, *Things Behind the Sun, *From the Morning, *Northern Sky.
Also tossed in a few tracks taped from KPLU's "All Blues":
Los Lobos -- I Walk Alone.
Johnny Rivers -- *Memphis.
John Mayall -- *Room to Move.
Buddy Holly -- Not Fade Away.
Slim Harpo -- *Tina-Nee-Ni-Nu.
John Hiatt -- Riding With the King.
J.J. Cale -- Lies.
Coming Eventually: Reviews of REMEMBERED FOR A WHILE, a huge official companion to the music of Nick Drake -- this will probably be the Book Of The Year for me ... and THE JOHN LENNON LETTERS.
PS -- That last post about supposedly satanic rock stars got more looks than anything I've written here in MONTHS. So, I see what the drift is here and will be acting accordingly....
Pat Boone -- Isn't That a Shame, Blue Suede Shoes.
Perry Como -- Dream On Little Dreamer.
The Lettermen -- Worlds.
B.J. Thomas -- Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, I Just Can't Help Believin', Hooked on a Feeling, Mighty Clouds of Joy, Suspicious Minds.
John Denver -- Back Home Again, Annie's Song, My Sweet Lady.
Abba -- Fernando, Chiquitita.
Air Supply -- Lost in Love, All Out of Love, Every Woman in the World, Sweet Dream....
...So did you think I was JOKING about Getting Good With God in my last post?
Well, ... I WAS joking. Here's the REAL playlist....
Wild Magnolias -- *Party, *Coochie Molly, *Pocket Change.
Three Dog Night -- *Out in the Country, *Celebrate, *My Impersonal Life, *I Will Serenade You.
Badfinger -- *No Matter What, *Baby Blue.
Elvis -- *Promised Land.
Journey -- *Lights, *Feeling That Way/*Anytime, *Somethin' to Hide.
Elton John -- *Teacher I Need You, *Have Mercy on the Criminal..
Todd Rundgren -- *Couldn't I Just Tell You?
Chicago -- *Questions 67 and 68, *Feeling Stronger Every Day.
The Cars -- *Dangerous Type.
Rush -- *Time Stand Still, *Force Ten.
Fleetwood Mac -- *Oh Well, *The Green Manalishi, *Why?, *Sisters of the Moon, *World Turning.
Kansas -- *Miracles Out of Nowhere, *Questions of My Childhood.
Five Man Electrical Band -- *Absolutely Right, We Play Rock and Roll, Money Back Guarantee.
Steely Dan -- *My Old School, *Dirty Work.
Motorhead -- Killed by Death (live).
Manfred Mann's Earth Band -- Living Without You.
Rolling Stones -- *Happy, *Tumbling Dice.
Heart -- *Mistral Wind.
Moody Blues -- *The Story in Your Eyes, *Question, *It's Up to You.
Nick Drake -- *Pink Moon, *Things Behind the Sun, *From the Morning, *Northern Sky.
Also tossed in a few tracks taped from KPLU's "All Blues":
Los Lobos -- I Walk Alone.
Johnny Rivers -- *Memphis.
John Mayall -- *Room to Move.
Buddy Holly -- Not Fade Away.
Slim Harpo -- *Tina-Nee-Ni-Nu.
John Hiatt -- Riding With the King.
J.J. Cale -- Lies.
Coming Eventually: Reviews of REMEMBERED FOR A WHILE, a huge official companion to the music of Nick Drake -- this will probably be the Book Of The Year for me ... and THE JOHN LENNON LETTERS.
PS -- That last post about supposedly satanic rock stars got more looks than anything I've written here in MONTHS. So, I see what the drift is here and will be acting accordingly....
Sunday, March 1, 2015
OMG!
I'm aware that my original plan for this blog -- to review what I call "Strange Music" you might have overlooked, or at least off-the-wall books about music -- has drifted a bit in recent months. For this lapse I hope to atone.
In an effort to get this return to the drawing board started, I visited my favorite local used bookstore, Book 'Em here in Port Orchard (free plug), and imagine the delight I felt when I discovered a copy of FROM ROCK TO ROCK -- THE MUSIC OF DARKNESS EXPOSED! (1990), a book that promises to show once and for all how many '60s, '70s and '80s rock stars SOLD THEIR SOULS TO THE DEVIL!
The book was compiled by a former working musician named Eric Barger, who spent 20 years in the biz, in a couple of bands that went nowhere. Eric says in his intro that he took advantage of every illicit attraction the rock and roll lifestyle had to offer, and clearly this book was his effort to atone.
Because clearly Barger felt guilty. And scared, make no mistake. And Lord knows there are so MANY things for a God-loving Christian to fear....
You can probably guess most of the culprits. There was little doubt about some of them -- AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Guns 'N' Roses, Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, Van Halen, Def Leppard, The Beastie Boys, Led Zeppelin, Madonna, Michael Jackson ... and of course The Beatles, who started us all down this Highway To Hell way back in 1964.
I was surprised by how many of these satanic rock stars are also conveniently dead -- Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, Brian Jones (Rolling Stones), even Elvis Presley.
But what REALLY shocked me is how many previously-thought-harmless "artists" have sold their souls to the Dark Lord -- Cyndi Lauper, Lionel Richie, Journey, The Cars, The Who, Rod Stewart, Belinda Carlisle, Roxette, Wham!, Bananarama, Huey Lewis and the News, John Cougar Mellencamp, Hall and Oates, The Police ... even Bruce Springsteen!
I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP!
Of course, it was no surprise to find The Beach Boys listed in this book. And even my heroes The Moody Blues have apparently had their ungodly moments -- anybody who heard their KEYS OF THE KINGDOM album knows that. ... Even Yes!
Shocked! SHOCKED I was! And grateful for the info, so that I may now purge my music collection and begin my long-postponed climb up to godliness. I've got a long way to go....
Which doesn't mean there aren't some minor problems with Barger's book. The writing actually isn't terrible. But he gets names wrong, he mis-attributes songs to the wrong artists, he doesn't know what to do with an apostrophe -- golly, I haven't had so much fun marking the errors in a book since Jerry Lucky's PROGRESSIVE ROCK FILES.
Then there's Barger's lapses in logic, his inability to see that something might be intended as a joke (how can anyone take Motorhead's "Killed by Death" seriously?) or for a dramatic or metaphoric purpose, his inability to grant that there might be any other way to godliness other than The One Way he pushes. Oh, and his book's organized terribly.
Possibly most hilarious of all is a LONG middle section in which 1,500 artists are listed under the guidelines of a 12-step "offensiveness" scale which lets you see with a glance just what's so offensive about all of them. Tons of these acts I've never HEARD of -- I have to assume they are LOUD bands...? And a good portion of these artists get a "12" rating, which means Barger isn't done investigating them yet. I'm sure Camel and Joan Armatrading and The Hollies aren't being kept awake at night by this.
King Crimson isn't even MENTIONED. Too scary?
And this book was written in 1990! Can you imagine what kind of book Barger could write TODAY? I'll bet he'd at least have a LOT of inspiration....
My favorite mistake is where Barger puts the words of The Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the U.K." into the mouth of ... Rod Stewart. Which has got to be a copyright violation. Or some kind of violation, anyway. I'm sure the LAST thing Rod The Mod wanted to be was the Antichrist.
This book is hilarious. LOTS of great cheap laughs.
And yet. And yet....
Looking around at the grim reality of today's world, and at the fates of so many rock stars ... I don't think popular music is ENTIRELY to blame for ALL of our MANY troubles, nor do I think teenage rebellion inevitably leads to drinking, drugs, early pregnancy, voting Republican, and eventual takeover by the Dark One.
But I agree that it's a Good Thing to get Good With God.
So, from now on it's strictly Pat Boone, The Lettermen and The Kingston Trio for me. Starting immediately.
See 'ya in church!
(PS on March 2nd -- I see I forgot to mention Ozzie Osbourne. He's all over Barger's book, I just forgot about him. It's nothing personal, I swear to ... well, you know.)
In an effort to get this return to the drawing board started, I visited my favorite local used bookstore, Book 'Em here in Port Orchard (free plug), and imagine the delight I felt when I discovered a copy of FROM ROCK TO ROCK -- THE MUSIC OF DARKNESS EXPOSED! (1990), a book that promises to show once and for all how many '60s, '70s and '80s rock stars SOLD THEIR SOULS TO THE DEVIL!
The book was compiled by a former working musician named Eric Barger, who spent 20 years in the biz, in a couple of bands that went nowhere. Eric says in his intro that he took advantage of every illicit attraction the rock and roll lifestyle had to offer, and clearly this book was his effort to atone.
Because clearly Barger felt guilty. And scared, make no mistake. And Lord knows there are so MANY things for a God-loving Christian to fear....
You can probably guess most of the culprits. There was little doubt about some of them -- AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Guns 'N' Roses, Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, Van Halen, Def Leppard, The Beastie Boys, Led Zeppelin, Madonna, Michael Jackson ... and of course The Beatles, who started us all down this Highway To Hell way back in 1964.
I was surprised by how many of these satanic rock stars are also conveniently dead -- Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, Brian Jones (Rolling Stones), even Elvis Presley.
But what REALLY shocked me is how many previously-thought-harmless "artists" have sold their souls to the Dark Lord -- Cyndi Lauper, Lionel Richie, Journey, The Cars, The Who, Rod Stewart, Belinda Carlisle, Roxette, Wham!, Bananarama, Huey Lewis and the News, John Cougar Mellencamp, Hall and Oates, The Police ... even Bruce Springsteen!
I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP!
Of course, it was no surprise to find The Beach Boys listed in this book. And even my heroes The Moody Blues have apparently had their ungodly moments -- anybody who heard their KEYS OF THE KINGDOM album knows that. ... Even Yes!
Shocked! SHOCKED I was! And grateful for the info, so that I may now purge my music collection and begin my long-postponed climb up to godliness. I've got a long way to go....
Which doesn't mean there aren't some minor problems with Barger's book. The writing actually isn't terrible. But he gets names wrong, he mis-attributes songs to the wrong artists, he doesn't know what to do with an apostrophe -- golly, I haven't had so much fun marking the errors in a book since Jerry Lucky's PROGRESSIVE ROCK FILES.
Then there's Barger's lapses in logic, his inability to see that something might be intended as a joke (how can anyone take Motorhead's "Killed by Death" seriously?) or for a dramatic or metaphoric purpose, his inability to grant that there might be any other way to godliness other than The One Way he pushes. Oh, and his book's organized terribly.
Possibly most hilarious of all is a LONG middle section in which 1,500 artists are listed under the guidelines of a 12-step "offensiveness" scale which lets you see with a glance just what's so offensive about all of them. Tons of these acts I've never HEARD of -- I have to assume they are LOUD bands...? And a good portion of these artists get a "12" rating, which means Barger isn't done investigating them yet. I'm sure Camel and Joan Armatrading and The Hollies aren't being kept awake at night by this.
King Crimson isn't even MENTIONED. Too scary?
And this book was written in 1990! Can you imagine what kind of book Barger could write TODAY? I'll bet he'd at least have a LOT of inspiration....
My favorite mistake is where Barger puts the words of The Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the U.K." into the mouth of ... Rod Stewart. Which has got to be a copyright violation. Or some kind of violation, anyway. I'm sure the LAST thing Rod The Mod wanted to be was the Antichrist.
This book is hilarious. LOTS of great cheap laughs.
And yet. And yet....
Looking around at the grim reality of today's world, and at the fates of so many rock stars ... I don't think popular music is ENTIRELY to blame for ALL of our MANY troubles, nor do I think teenage rebellion inevitably leads to drinking, drugs, early pregnancy, voting Republican, and eventual takeover by the Dark One.
But I agree that it's a Good Thing to get Good With God.
So, from now on it's strictly Pat Boone, The Lettermen and The Kingston Trio for me. Starting immediately.
See 'ya in church!
(PS on March 2nd -- I see I forgot to mention Ozzie Osbourne. He's all over Barger's book, I just forgot about him. It's nothing personal, I swear to ... well, you know.)
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Friday night playlist 5
Mostly '70's Album Rock Night! --
Three Dog Night -- *Out in the Country, *Celebrate, *Let Me Serenade You.
Kansas -- *Miracles Out of Nowhere, *Questions of My Childhood.
Fleetwood Mac -- *Oh Well, *The Green Manalishi.
Journey -- *Feeling That Way/*Anytime, *Something to Hide, *Lights.
Deep Purple -- *Hush, *Kentucky Woman, Black Night, Speed King, Demon's Eye, *Highway Star, *Space Truckin' ((for Leonard Nimoy)).
Five Man Electrical Band -- *Absolutely Right, We Play Rock and Roll, Money Back Guarantee, Julianna, *Signs.
Rush -- *Time Stand Still, *Force Ten, *Marathon, *Distant Early Warning, *Manhattan Project.
The Who -- *Slip Kid, *Music Must Change, *I Can See for Miles, *Let's See Action, *Join Together, *The Relay, *5:15, *I'm the Face, *Disguises.
Pretenders -- *Message of Love, *Don't Get Me Wrong.
Go-Go's -- *You Thought.
Bangles -- *Let it Go, *September Gurls, *Not Like You.
...What can I say? I was starting to wear-out the old Soul/R&B hits, I had to give them a night off. Have been listening to Joe Tex's best-of, though -- "Show Me," "Skinny Legs and All" and "I Gotcha" are all pretty great -- I hadn't heard "I Gotcha" since about 1973....
Saturday night it'll be all KPLU's "All Blues" -- have also been making more tapes from their shows, hitting customers with Taj Mahal's "Fishing Blues" and "Swat That Rabbit," Ry Cooder's "Get Rhythm," Duke Roubillard's hilarious "Alimony Blues," Betty Wright's "Clean-Up Woman," Sam and Dave's "Soul Man," Ann Peebles' "I Can't Stand the Rain," Staples Singers' "Respect Yourself," Robin McKell's "Bound to be Your Baby," Shamekia Copeland's "Can't Let Go," and some others I can't remember right now.
Have also been reading, of course. Non-fiction now, after that glut of novels I downed last month. Lots of Joyce Carol Oates essays in her collections WHERE I'VE BEEN AND WHERE I'M GOING, UNCENSORED, THE PROFANE ART, and CONTRARIES. Oates is pretty interesting on writers I'll probably never read, like Hemingway and James Joyce and D.H. Lawrence, Joseph Conrad, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Herman Melville. UNCENSORED has a funny piece on memoirs -- JCO had a pretty dim view of them at one time, even though she ended up writing a good one, A WIDOW'S STORY.
Am currently reading Bee Lavender's LESSONS IN TAXIDERMY, a memoir by a woman from my area in Washington who was diagnosed with cancer at age 12 and went through a series of operations, then contracted lupus. It is somewhere beyond scary -- horrifying, harrowing, jaw-dropping, horrible, riveting ... and starkly, beautifully written. And I'm only halfway through.
More soon.
Three Dog Night -- *Out in the Country, *Celebrate, *Let Me Serenade You.
Kansas -- *Miracles Out of Nowhere, *Questions of My Childhood.
Fleetwood Mac -- *Oh Well, *The Green Manalishi.
Journey -- *Feeling That Way/*Anytime, *Something to Hide, *Lights.
Deep Purple -- *Hush, *Kentucky Woman, Black Night, Speed King, Demon's Eye, *Highway Star, *Space Truckin' ((for Leonard Nimoy)).
Five Man Electrical Band -- *Absolutely Right, We Play Rock and Roll, Money Back Guarantee, Julianna, *Signs.
Rush -- *Time Stand Still, *Force Ten, *Marathon, *Distant Early Warning, *Manhattan Project.
The Who -- *Slip Kid, *Music Must Change, *I Can See for Miles, *Let's See Action, *Join Together, *The Relay, *5:15, *I'm the Face, *Disguises.
Pretenders -- *Message of Love, *Don't Get Me Wrong.
Go-Go's -- *You Thought.
Bangles -- *Let it Go, *September Gurls, *Not Like You.
...What can I say? I was starting to wear-out the old Soul/R&B hits, I had to give them a night off. Have been listening to Joe Tex's best-of, though -- "Show Me," "Skinny Legs and All" and "I Gotcha" are all pretty great -- I hadn't heard "I Gotcha" since about 1973....
Saturday night it'll be all KPLU's "All Blues" -- have also been making more tapes from their shows, hitting customers with Taj Mahal's "Fishing Blues" and "Swat That Rabbit," Ry Cooder's "Get Rhythm," Duke Roubillard's hilarious "Alimony Blues," Betty Wright's "Clean-Up Woman," Sam and Dave's "Soul Man," Ann Peebles' "I Can't Stand the Rain," Staples Singers' "Respect Yourself," Robin McKell's "Bound to be Your Baby," Shamekia Copeland's "Can't Let Go," and some others I can't remember right now.
Have also been reading, of course. Non-fiction now, after that glut of novels I downed last month. Lots of Joyce Carol Oates essays in her collections WHERE I'VE BEEN AND WHERE I'M GOING, UNCENSORED, THE PROFANE ART, and CONTRARIES. Oates is pretty interesting on writers I'll probably never read, like Hemingway and James Joyce and D.H. Lawrence, Joseph Conrad, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Herman Melville. UNCENSORED has a funny piece on memoirs -- JCO had a pretty dim view of them at one time, even though she ended up writing a good one, A WIDOW'S STORY.
Am currently reading Bee Lavender's LESSONS IN TAXIDERMY, a memoir by a woman from my area in Washington who was diagnosed with cancer at age 12 and went through a series of operations, then contracted lupus. It is somewhere beyond scary -- horrifying, harrowing, jaw-dropping, horrible, riveting ... and starkly, beautifully written. And I'm only halfway through.
More soon.
Monday, February 16, 2015
Friday night playlist 4
...Along with the usual recent stuff, lately it's been Philly Soul hits of the early '70s!
I was already listening to and loving Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, but thanks to Sony/Legacy's cheap Philly Soul best-of, I'm hearing again for the first time in awhile O'Jays hits like "Love Train" and "Back Stabbers" -- both of which sound REALLY good in the digital format. The singing, the playing, it's all great.
About the O'Jays' "For the Love of Money" I'm less sure -- I tend to have trouble with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's more "messagey" songs -- but I quote from it almost every time someone brings a stack of winning Scratch tickets into the store....
I've already raved about Teddy Pendergrass's GREAT singing on The Blue Notes' "The Love I Lost" and "Bad Luck," two old favorites. One of the bonuses of this Philly Soul best-of is that you get the LONG versions of the hits ... but sometimes less is more, in this case.
Also gave me a chance to hear for probably the first time in 30 years MFSB's "TSOP" and The Three Degrees' "When Will I See You Again" -- which sounds like heaven, like a latter-day Diana Ross and the Supremes hit, just gorgeous.
I thought in a best-of like this, Sony might actually list who the members of MFSB WERE, might give the studio musicians some credit, for a change. But there are no credits here, so if you want to know who's PLAYING this stuff, you're out of luck. They sure sound great, though.
My only other complaint is -- why isn't the O'Jays' "992 Arguments" on here?
...My Ghod, what's next for the white kid from Idaho? Barry White??
Have also been playing at work ... I'm sort of embarrassed to admit ... TAPES of the best stuff from KPLU-FM's "All Blues" program, tapes of the stuff that's impossible to find, or that a guy on a tight budget like me can't afford.
So far, that includes Johnny Guitar Watson's silly "Gangster of Love," Dr. John's hilarious "Why Come it is?", Eric Bibb's moody "Follow the Drinking Gourd," guitarist Sonny Landreth's great "Zydeco Shuffle," Ry Cooder's silly "Crow Black Chicken," and guitarist Johnny A's gorgeous "Wichita Lineman" -- yes, the old Glen Campbell hit. This veers kind of close to muzak in places, but it's really an amazing piece of work. If you're a fan of the original, you should try to track this down. Or check out "All Blues," streaming on kplu.org between 6 p.m. and midnight Pacific Time, Saturdays and Sundays.
My newest e-book memoir, WHAT HE MEANT, a tribute to my old writer buddy Don Vincent, is now available for $2.99 at Amazon.com's Kindle Store.
The book's an attempt to make sense out of my best friend's sudden death a couple of years ago, and to figure out why he apparently gave up writing in his later years and went silent -- despite his many big plans for huge fantasy-novel writing projects.
The book recaps some of the experiences we went through together. We shared an apartment twice -- he let me sleep on his couch for free for six months once when I had nowhere else to go. Once we were in love with the same woman. We both went into shock at the death of his fiancee in a car wreck. I was later the best man at his wedding, and he was the best man at mine. And he encouraged me to join the Air Force and make a skill out of the one talent I had.
He was always a better, funnier, more vivid, more imaginative, more disciplined writer than I was. And I told him so. I wouldn't be writing this without him as a role model.
This may be another book that hardly anyone will be interested in, but I had to write it. I had to get it out of my system.
What will I write next? Well, I've been thinking about that old rock-group novel....
I was already listening to and loving Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, but thanks to Sony/Legacy's cheap Philly Soul best-of, I'm hearing again for the first time in awhile O'Jays hits like "Love Train" and "Back Stabbers" -- both of which sound REALLY good in the digital format. The singing, the playing, it's all great.
About the O'Jays' "For the Love of Money" I'm less sure -- I tend to have trouble with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's more "messagey" songs -- but I quote from it almost every time someone brings a stack of winning Scratch tickets into the store....
I've already raved about Teddy Pendergrass's GREAT singing on The Blue Notes' "The Love I Lost" and "Bad Luck," two old favorites. One of the bonuses of this Philly Soul best-of is that you get the LONG versions of the hits ... but sometimes less is more, in this case.
Also gave me a chance to hear for probably the first time in 30 years MFSB's "TSOP" and The Three Degrees' "When Will I See You Again" -- which sounds like heaven, like a latter-day Diana Ross and the Supremes hit, just gorgeous.
I thought in a best-of like this, Sony might actually list who the members of MFSB WERE, might give the studio musicians some credit, for a change. But there are no credits here, so if you want to know who's PLAYING this stuff, you're out of luck. They sure sound great, though.
My only other complaint is -- why isn't the O'Jays' "992 Arguments" on here?
...My Ghod, what's next for the white kid from Idaho? Barry White??
Have also been playing at work ... I'm sort of embarrassed to admit ... TAPES of the best stuff from KPLU-FM's "All Blues" program, tapes of the stuff that's impossible to find, or that a guy on a tight budget like me can't afford.
So far, that includes Johnny Guitar Watson's silly "Gangster of Love," Dr. John's hilarious "Why Come it is?", Eric Bibb's moody "Follow the Drinking Gourd," guitarist Sonny Landreth's great "Zydeco Shuffle," Ry Cooder's silly "Crow Black Chicken," and guitarist Johnny A's gorgeous "Wichita Lineman" -- yes, the old Glen Campbell hit. This veers kind of close to muzak in places, but it's really an amazing piece of work. If you're a fan of the original, you should try to track this down. Or check out "All Blues," streaming on kplu.org between 6 p.m. and midnight Pacific Time, Saturdays and Sundays.
My newest e-book memoir, WHAT HE MEANT, a tribute to my old writer buddy Don Vincent, is now available for $2.99 at Amazon.com's Kindle Store.
The book's an attempt to make sense out of my best friend's sudden death a couple of years ago, and to figure out why he apparently gave up writing in his later years and went silent -- despite his many big plans for huge fantasy-novel writing projects.
The book recaps some of the experiences we went through together. We shared an apartment twice -- he let me sleep on his couch for free for six months once when I had nowhere else to go. Once we were in love with the same woman. We both went into shock at the death of his fiancee in a car wreck. I was later the best man at his wedding, and he was the best man at mine. And he encouraged me to join the Air Force and make a skill out of the one talent I had.
He was always a better, funnier, more vivid, more imaginative, more disciplined writer than I was. And I told him so. I wouldn't be writing this without him as a role model.
This may be another book that hardly anyone will be interested in, but I had to write it. I had to get it out of my system.
What will I write next? Well, I've been thinking about that old rock-group novel....
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Death duties
In her JOURNAL 1973-1982 (2007), Joyce Carol Oates painted an idyllic portrait of her long marriage to her husband Raymond Smith. They were very happily married for 47 years.
In her vivid, painful memoir A WIDOW'S STORY (2011), Oates tells how she lost her husband.
Ray contracts pneumonia, and Oates rushes him to the emergency room. He spends a week in the hospital, seems to be recovering -- and then a hospital-borne infection invades one of his lungs and he's gone within 24 hours.
Oates feels like she's been slammed in the head with a hammer, and she sleepwalks through the next six months, performing a seemingly endless series of "death duties" she'd never imagined could be so empty and meaningless.
The grief eats her up. She can't sleep, she can't write, she has trouble functioning in public. About the only place where she gets a break is at the oasis of her teaching job at Princeton University.
In this long, dark, soul-searching memoir, some of the best moments are actually FUNNY. Oates' neurotic cats shun her, because they think she's taken Ray away from them. Oates gets practically buried in sympathy gift baskets, and almost begs the mail and UPS to stop delivering items to her home.
Her friends help get her through it, even if she can't answer the phone when they call. Dozens of cards and letters pour in too, some of which it takes her months to read. Her main method of communication after Ray's death is e-mail.
This book doesn't make hospitals look good. Oates can't sue the hospital because she had her husband cremated -- she couldn't stand the idea of anyone cutting into him during an autopsy. You won't trust doctors and hospitals much, either -- every doctor in this book is worthless. They say the wrong things, do the wrong things, take the wrong actions, misdiagnose diseases.
Later in the book, when Oates develops shingles, her own doc misses it and she suffers in pain for another two days until the doc sees his mistake -- and by then the medication she's given doesn't have half the effectiveness it would have if the doc hadn't messed up.
The docs keep prescribing sleeping pills and anti-depressants -- Oates has more than enough pills to kill herself if she wants, but she's scared of becoming addicted to sleeping pills.
There are lighter spots. Oates also shows more about what her marriage was like. There are flashbacks to her and Ray's married days including a horrifying year in Beaumont, Texas; in Detroit, and in Canada. Going through Ray's papers, Oates finds a draft of a novel Ray tried to write before he met her. She includes parts of it in the memoir, and briefly considers completing it. The book sounds good to me -- but Oates points out she doesn't know where Ray was headed, or what he intended to fill the gaps.
This may not sound like light reading, but read with her earlier JOURNAL, WIDOW'S STORY makes for a warm, loving portrait of a long marriage, and a harrowing recap of the steps Oates had to take before she could say without fear "This is what my life is now."
My book about my old writer buddy Don Vincent is just about done. I have a few dozen "Strange Music" song-titles I want to plug-in as chapter titles, but the rest of it's finished.
This is probably another book that almost no one will be interested in. But I had to write it.
In her vivid, painful memoir A WIDOW'S STORY (2011), Oates tells how she lost her husband.
Ray contracts pneumonia, and Oates rushes him to the emergency room. He spends a week in the hospital, seems to be recovering -- and then a hospital-borne infection invades one of his lungs and he's gone within 24 hours.
Oates feels like she's been slammed in the head with a hammer, and she sleepwalks through the next six months, performing a seemingly endless series of "death duties" she'd never imagined could be so empty and meaningless.
The grief eats her up. She can't sleep, she can't write, she has trouble functioning in public. About the only place where she gets a break is at the oasis of her teaching job at Princeton University.
In this long, dark, soul-searching memoir, some of the best moments are actually FUNNY. Oates' neurotic cats shun her, because they think she's taken Ray away from them. Oates gets practically buried in sympathy gift baskets, and almost begs the mail and UPS to stop delivering items to her home.
Her friends help get her through it, even if she can't answer the phone when they call. Dozens of cards and letters pour in too, some of which it takes her months to read. Her main method of communication after Ray's death is e-mail.
This book doesn't make hospitals look good. Oates can't sue the hospital because she had her husband cremated -- she couldn't stand the idea of anyone cutting into him during an autopsy. You won't trust doctors and hospitals much, either -- every doctor in this book is worthless. They say the wrong things, do the wrong things, take the wrong actions, misdiagnose diseases.
Later in the book, when Oates develops shingles, her own doc misses it and she suffers in pain for another two days until the doc sees his mistake -- and by then the medication she's given doesn't have half the effectiveness it would have if the doc hadn't messed up.
The docs keep prescribing sleeping pills and anti-depressants -- Oates has more than enough pills to kill herself if she wants, but she's scared of becoming addicted to sleeping pills.
There are lighter spots. Oates also shows more about what her marriage was like. There are flashbacks to her and Ray's married days including a horrifying year in Beaumont, Texas; in Detroit, and in Canada. Going through Ray's papers, Oates finds a draft of a novel Ray tried to write before he met her. She includes parts of it in the memoir, and briefly considers completing it. The book sounds good to me -- but Oates points out she doesn't know where Ray was headed, or what he intended to fill the gaps.
This may not sound like light reading, but read with her earlier JOURNAL, WIDOW'S STORY makes for a warm, loving portrait of a long marriage, and a harrowing recap of the steps Oates had to take before she could say without fear "This is what my life is now."
My book about my old writer buddy Don Vincent is just about done. I have a few dozen "Strange Music" song-titles I want to plug-in as chapter titles, but the rest of it's finished.
This is probably another book that almost no one will be interested in. But I had to write it.
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