High Screeching Blues

I won't screech on my brakes, lady
I'll only swerve for yah
Bent up spinners in the passing lane
True to shield, insincere to yield
Purity insecure
May the true sick never yield
Watch my snout
Find it in your driving diving cards
A pin-point pendulum
From a leading forehead
Painting some wedge
Painting breath
Panting breadth
A bright yelp from knees
The universe is a bratty spleen
Teen tensed up yacking spitting cordially
Into the tin receiver
These receding emotions
Cramped between the oils and cosmic pillow
Good fella, good riddance, good forbidden
No gawk no hawk no guru can put us together
Don't you tell me what to do
Don't you tell me what to do
Don't you tell me what to do

Notes of a Vinyl Junkie

Right before I moved back to Marblehead, I did a total inventory check on my record collection. Including LPs, 12" singles, 7", 10" LPs, and 20" 78s, the grand total was 885.

Having a huge record collection has its advantages and its disadvantages. The disadvantages include:

1) Find space to keep 'em in
2) Movin' 'em

Moving sucks and moving records sucks more. My dad once cracked "At least you don't collect old tanks." So I've been trying to reduce. I've already given away around 50 LPs and now I'm in phase two. I'm really trying to hone in on the albums I actually like to listen to. Example: Turns out I had three copies of BTO's Greatest Hits. BTO? I fucking hate BTO.

However, there are advantages to having a seemingly endless amount of albums. You find gems you totally forgot you had. Recently I've been blown away by a couple titles I'd like to share:

Leon Russell- Carney, 1972, Shelter Records
It's a fine blend of honky-tonk rock and wonderful songwriting. Back-up vocals and guitars by Mother Don Preston (probably the reason for the Leon Russell crack in 200 Motels). It's a weird album and yet it hit #2 on the Bilboard charts. Sometimes you gotta miss the '70s. The album closes with it's strongest track, "Magic Mirror."- primarily just Leon's piano and a cool click-track-esque backbeat. I believe I got this from my Uncle John who gave me his record collection. Hope he's doin' well...

Leon Redbone- On The Track, 1975, Warner Bros. Records
Man, let's hear it for Leons. Didn't realize that until I started writing this. At any rate, this is such a solid record. It seems every decade tries to bring back swing music and in the '70s, everyone was all about western-swing, like Dan Hicks and Ry Cooder. From the opening track "Sweet Mama Hurry Home or I'll Be Gone," you immediately lean back in your chair and re-fuckin-lax. And Jeeeesus that voice of his. He makes "Polly Wolly Doodle" sound cool. Though Lionel Barrymore already made it cool in You Can't Take It With You but that's an argument for another day...

Stefan Grossman & John Renbourn, 1977, Kicking Mule Records ("It's Easy to Be Easy When You're Easy!")
OK now we're going off the deep end. Got this from a man in Indiana and never listened to it until last night. All this album is two guitarists, two microphones, and a shitton of notes. These mothers are CRAZY. Easily the best guitarists no one has heard of. Three or so tracks on this album are straight up guitar rags, but the rest is this unheard of fusion of jazz, rock, and folk. Needs to be heard to be believed.

***
Jeeze, so many albums. And with RSD almost upon us, I think I'm gonna keep it simple. Only two titles really have me excited, like Jimmy Fallon's 7" for his Tebow/David Bowie which is probably the only funny thing he's done since "Idiot Boyfriend." I'm more excited about the re-release of Bright Eye's A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded which came out this month.

It's all about building a well-rounded record collection. Or rather sculpting in my case.

Self Reflection

What I love making movies about-
- telephones
- female legs
- day drinking
- bad puns
- songs from the '80s

Case and point-

Last Love Song For Now

I swear this is my last poetic ramble about high school. Then back to 2012-

I'll fully admit I made it hard for myself. I was jaded most of the time. But there was one moment. Completely out of the blue in the last parking lot.

Here we go, Hall and Oates.
Who are they?
If you can believe it, those are two dudes.
They ARE?

Your feet dangled off the back of my car. Mine too.

And I can just...HAVE these?
Yeah, my dad was going to get rid of them and I knew you collected them.
I've been looking for some of these forever...

Funny how you can look forever for something and yet never have your eyes on what's important.

Simply put, it was one of those moments that I can only jot down in fragmented ideas and quotes, but if I could, I'd write forever about it.

A Quarter for a Nickle

Do you know the song "Falling for the First Time"? That was Benjamen's favorite song. That was it for him. He felt he lived every line in that damn song. Such a martyr for his art, whatever that was. His art I mean. His poetry was okay but ended up being thinly veiled attacks against me. He felt the world owed him one. God, that damn song. He would turn up the radio and shut his eyes. I couldn't get through to him at all. He was such a martyr for everything. I guess that's what money can buy you. The ability to drop out of school and listen to that damn song all day long. I couldn't stand listening to that song again, I mean that honestly. If I hear that song again, I will shut off my radio.

***

I didn't understand anything. The only thing that seemed significant to me was watching the sun rise through half opened eyes and the frost clinging to the car. The morning was made for soft voices over the cold.

Mr. Thomas Doesn't Go To Washington

My favorite right as an American is my ability to express myself freely without being censored, abridged, or suppressed. I dig living in a country where everything is on the table to discuss.

However, the freedom to say whatever you want does NOT give you the right to be a douche.

Tim Thomas is perfectly within his right to disagree with the Federal Government. I don't disrespect him for that. What I do disrespect him for is his lack of tact.

It was simply the wrong forum. The emphasis of the event and the President's speech was on teamwork, and Thomas is an amazing teammate. The President was honoring the Boston Bruins, not Tim Thomas, Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, et. al.

I think a better example to talk about other than the Theo Epstein comparison is the Beatles in 1965 when they were honored with the MBE medal. John Lennon didn't believe in receiving the award and ended up returning his medal as an act of protest in 1969. BUT he still went with the other lads to Buckingham Palace and thanked the Queen and enjoyed the day...with a "little help from his friends"...

But that's just the point. You're being honored as a whole, not as individuals. Take up your beefs elsewhere.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Thomas now. I love him. As I've said before on this blog, I live through this team and this event is no different. There have been times recently where I've refused to even be in the same room as certain people I don't like and that's pretty immature. In fact, it's wildly childish. So the next time these opportunities arise, I'm going to straighten my tie and keep my head high. No need to build walls and burn bridges.

Now let's get to the two things we should really talk about.
1) Why the hell does Obama get Campbell's number? Then again if you did 44, Seidenberg would have something to say too.
2) Start Timmy tonight. Let's beat the hell out of the Caps and go into the All Star Break at #1. GO BRUINS.

Why Tonight's Loss Gets Me Down

Sure, tonight's 3-2 loss to Tampa is our first since that awful Vancouver bout. But we've been in a slump since then. We've won, but we haven't played our best. Thomas has let in 11 goals in 3 games. Took is having a tough time too. Horton did step it up tonight with two goals. But we are not looking the way we did in the fall and early winter.

They say we live through our sport teams. I defiantly live through the Bruins, more so than any other team. Their playoff run and subsequent loss in '10 disheartened me but I knew we would be better in '11. And I knew I was gonna be better in '11. And when the Bruins won the Stanley Cup, I dedicated myself to being just like them. Dedicated to my work, brave, honest, aggressive, and confident. Every day I try to live like Claude Julien is my boss.

Lately I've been pretty depressed and side-tracked, and so have the Bruins.

But tomorrow will be better. It's the first day of the Spring Semester- a perfect metaphor for new beginnings. So I'll work hard and when I have to perform at work Saturday, the B's will perform Saturday at home against New York. And we'll both get the two points for the win.