Ten Years After

A reunion tour.

Ten years later.

Singing the same political songs.

But it's ten years later.

Everyone's older.

Stuff changed.

And why not? Ten years went by.

So you can't sing the old songs the old way with the old words.

And maybe, being older, the new words make more sense. Resonate more.

And maybe, just maybe, it's even better than the original.

Sit By And Watch The River Flow

Debbie Harry is 70 years old.

Thank about that for a moment...

Preacher Like the Cold

Please Enjoy

Here's Barry McGuire singing "California Dreaming."



If it sounds familiar, that's because producer Lou Adler used the exact same backing track for the Mamas & Papas version, just wiping McGuire's lead vocal and slotting in Danny Doherty. Because efficiency.

Sometimes the wrong version of a song becomes a hit... but not this time!

Make It Easy

Every Second Is A Second Chance To Get This Right...

Missed this when it first came out...

Sick

Travel + Lack of Sleep + Recirculated air = horrible lingering cough that turns into sinus infection that leads to unbearable jaw pain.

But I'm on the right meds now, so hopefully I can finally shake this thing.

Meanwhile, here's this.

Notes From Periods Between Throat Coat

I've been sick. Hellishly sore throat. Mild temperature.

Muddled through. It's going around.

But.

I hate being sick.

I hate the loss of control.

I hate coughing so much I pull a muscle.

I hate the feeling that I can't quite swallow.

That my progress ebbs and flows and when I feel I have a good day it is gone by evening when I can barely speak.

Did I mention I hate being sick?

There's a feeling of being trapped inside something you can't control and didn't ask for and don't like.

There's a brisk perception that all solid objects are waiting for you to close your eyes so they can turn into liquids and drip down into messy puddles on the floor.

And then there's always a single song that pops up all over the place, that is playing on every radio station you happen across in your feverish state.

The good news is I'm almost completely better after nearly a week.

The better news is that song was this:

Early Morning

The silence in the early morning, buzzes and crackles
Static electricity conveying too much possibility and not enough sleep
Too many secrets sent out into the night air
Cold and ripe, waiting for answers that never come
Hoping for sleep that pushes the possible aside
Leaving behind what was
What is
And what will be.

But the night doesn’t listen.
The night whispers desperate truths through the breezes
Calls out in silent protest that you feel
That you feel only when it buzzes
Only when it rings
Only when the first probing prongs of daybreak are safely in the future

It’s the darkness that calls us
The darkness that fills us with dark futures
That seem light only in darkness and dark in the day.
“But what if that’s all reversed?” the night whispers.
And dares you to listen.

-- Early morning, The Netherlands/Belgium, 2 May 2015

Interesting If Not Completely Successful

What do you prefer -- something boring that totally works or something interesting that doesn't completely work?

Or this?

This Guitar

No, Not That One, This One...

Some Day Your Name Will Be A Verb

Dr. Frank from the Mr. T Experience, aka Frank Portman, has written a great angsty teen novel called King Dork.

The protagonist is a teenage boy who plays a little guitar and is forever starting bands with his best friend, who plays a little bass. They name their bands, adopt stage names, design logos and album covers, then move on to a new band... without bothering to rehearse, write songs, learn material, or perform.

As part of the audiobook for King Dork, Dr. Frank wrote and recorded versions of a few of the songs his hero eventually writes in the book.

And here are a few:








The book's plot fizzles a bit by the end, but I highly recommend it because of how well it captures how it feels to be a male teenager trying to figure out life, love, sex, family, and friendships.

Middle Bits Are So Predictable

It was twenty years ago today...

Sheesh, look how young they are.

Then again, we were all probably a lot younger back then, too....

New Graham Parker & the Rumour

Hammer, hammer, hammer.

From the upcoming album Mystery Glue:


Graham Parker & The Rumour - Railroad Spikes on MUZU.TV.

Be Careful What You Wish For

And then there's this:

Exceedingly Vivid

There is no turning back...

The rhythmic late-night thump of tires on the smooth surface of a highway.

The promise of adventure: earned, unearned, and not quite delivered.

The glint of possibilities far in the distance. Never quite realized. Shimmering, shiny, ripe.

And always just out of reach.

5

Music To Drive Out Snakes by

Not to be confused with World Party the band (or the other song "World Party" by World Party). I guess Karl Wallinger likes the phrase "World Party," huh?

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Sunday Deconstruction

Back Pages

Please enjoy Roger McGuinn, Neil Young, Tom Petty, George Harrison, Tom Petty, Eric Clapton, and Bob Dylan.

Breaking on Through To The Other Side

Coming off a couple of months of zero time.

Much accomplished. Much left to do.

Tighter focus.

Longer reach.

Slightly more nimble.

And a lot more grounded.

A month late, but it's finally feeling like 2015.

Who's with me?

No Talking, Just Andy

Andy Partridge + Jerry Harrison + Tina Weymouth + Chris Franz.

Yup.

This. Still.

Joe Freaking Jackson.

Because.