Playing right now: Essential Alice in Chains and Nick Drake Five Leaves Left
Guess I missed a few weeks. I can’t believe I’ve been so busy. That’s not a bad thing; it just always surprises me. Unfortunately, missing a bit leaves me with all of these things that I’ve seen and want to talk about, and then I have to resist writing a 20-page post for everyone’s sake.
So where to start? Well, I got a very lovely surprise in the mail. Came home the other night and there was a package with yarn and a nice Rowan magazine in my mail bin. Thanks Glacia! The colors of the yarn are lovely. And in spite of my knit-drought, I felt inspired the minute I touched the yarn. The feel of the wool under my hands made me want to drag out my needles. I haven’t yet, but I know that I will today. There are also quite a few patterns that I want to make from the Rowan. I really don’t like Other People’s Patterns, most of the time. But I saw some things in the magazine, some nice layering pieces, that might be nice for work, and even for Paris in the winter. J’adore!
Been finding a creative outlet with my ongoing interest in artists trading cards and the Doodle Swap Project. I’ve been doing this with a group of friends for the past year or so, and the project is growing. It forces me to think creatively, even when my mind wants to be lazy. And when the mail starts coming in, I have all of these beautiful, miniature pieces of art from around the world. You should give it a try, if you’re artistically inclined.
Still want to write a bit of a review of Indian Rezervation Blues and More, but I have this idea that I want to listen to all three disks from end to end. I’ll try to do that this weekend.
Last week was Record Store Day! It’s a day for supporting your local, indie record stores instead of doling out money to the big chains. I get a lot of my stuff from Amazon and iTunes, I can’t lie. But I’m now determined to spend a lot more time at my local store. I’ve been passing a place that’s not ten minutes from here, and they have vinyl, used and rare stuff. It was nice to finally visit, and I was only too happy to part with my money. I’m not going to bore you with the whole list (I think,) but it went something like this: Best of the Ramones; Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks; Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings 100 Days 100 Nights; Keith Jarrett Works; Best of Dinosaur Jr.; The Music of Keith Jarrett; Dave Brubeck Solo Piano. Phew! There were also giveaways, so you’d think that’d be enough music for the week. NOT SO! I think I’m giving in to this drive to collect everything that I want before I start school and spend all of my money on books, instead. I had just downloaded I Learned the Hard Way by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings that same morning. That group is a whole post, in itself, but not today. Then, I went home and realized that I’d missed Dark Side of the Moon by Flaming Lips feat. Henry Rollins. So I bought that from Amazon, too. Last night? Well, I think that stopping at the record store could be my new Friday ritual. I’m backtracking and reliving a lot of rock that I missed in the 80s and 90s and now, so I got Alice in Chains Black Gives Way to Blue, Essential Alice in Chains, Black Flag Louie Louie, and Nick Drake Five Leaves Left. Excellent take! I only wish they’d had some Pantera!
Now… My new love of last week was Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, which is why I have to get back to them later. This week is Brad Mehldau. I first heard him when I created some stations on last.fm for Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett. I had my doubts about him. He’s well known for his covers of Radiohead songs, which didn’t inspire confidence in me. (Wait.. insert 20 minute phone call from my mom HERE.) I’m a little snotty about jazz. With no disrespect to the Kenny Gs of the world, that’s not jazz to me. That’s easy listening. It’s just taking the words away from the music, and playing the melody. For me, jazz is about deconstruction; if you’re going to play something, you need to take it apart and put it back together in way that’s totally new, complex and thought-provoking. I don’t want easy-listening. I want my heart squeezed so hard by the music that I think I’m dying with the passion of it. So I’m happy to find that that’s what you get with Brad Mehldau. I bought Highway Rider, and I’m passionately in love. It’s epic, the orchestrations are huge and lush, and Mehldau is a musician’s musician. I couldn’t resist, so I also bought Day is Done. Not disappointed yet. I love, love, love this guy. I often listen to modern musicians and wonder who we’ll be looking at as masters in fifty years. I think Mehldau might be one of them. (This is also what led me to Nick Drake. People keep comparing Mehldau’s phrasing to Drake, so I had to seek him out. Guess who else I love, now?)
And last, but not least, I don’t think that I’ve mentioned that this is now a 3-Cat House. Tigger came to live here last October. Her human is in the military and couldn’t be with her, so she came to live with us full-time. It was a rough transition, but things have started to settle down. Tigger is very Tigger-like, and almost takes my feet out from under me when she runs by. She “chats” a lot (all the time); I have no idea what she’s saying, but she’s getting stuff off her chest. Rock on, kitty!
Oh, and I’ve been neglecting the Mighty Rollins Kindle! I’ve been dragging around Preferred Blur in regular book form, and I’m finishing that today. So I can get back to my beloved Kindle again. Thanks Hank! Oh, and there was a scuffed book sale at Akashic Books, so I ordered four books. I’ve been wanting to read some stuff from their City Noir series, so I bought Paris Noir and Miami Noir. Someday, if I’m super lucky and very diligent, maybe one of my stories will be included in one of the Noir books. At least it’s something to aspire to.
Been sitting here forever, and I have a big day ahead. I’ve also been slowly building a home gym, and today I have to pick up my elliptical and put it together. I guess I’d better get moving.
Mad Love,
G.
