ONE OF THESE THINGS FIRST

ONE OF THESE THINGS FIRST by Nick Drake.

Thanks to Volkswagen almost everyone has heard of Nick Drake, but it wasn't always this way. On balance that's a good thing but I'm not sure I ever got a bigger thrill of discovery from any single artist . That was thanks to Corbett. I remember I got my own copy of "Way To Blue" at a Blockbuster Music on 23rd Street while I was up visiting my Grandpa (the same one who built the Myriad) the fall of 1995. What is it with these songs? Are they placid? Unsettling? You can't get to the bottom of them.

Of the three albums, "Bryter Layter" always struck me as the weakest. That's the purist in me talking. Even so, Corner Bistro has long had a copy of "Way To Blue" in its jukebox, and over the years I've listened to every track there, and in my opinion one song sounds the very best there: One Of These Things First. Here it is for you.

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While I have your attention: Congratulations to our two teams for their wins this weekend, congratulations to Paul and Medina for their new baby girl, Anessa, and safe travels to Amy and the girls!

LISTEN.

Photo: Corner sign (1).

THE GIFT THAT KEEPS GIVING

THE GIFT THAT KEEPS GIVING by Super Furry Animals.

Happy Labor Day! We're very much trying to get back into the swing of things here, but the world is conspiring to make it easier for us. Our flight from Turkey landed early, Sarah had the apartment well in hand, Martin was happy to see us, I got to watch all of the Arsenal highlights from the past three weeks, I got to see Oklahoma hang half a hundred on some team in the first half, Arsenal won in style yesterday, and we had good company for dinner both nights we've been back. And, to the extent we're recovering from jet lag, we have an extra day off to sort that out!

Still, I'm not fully back on my game yet so I won't bore you with too much commentary on the song today. It's from the Super Furry Animals' latest release, and it's been a favorite here for a couple of months. It fills me with good vibes.

LISTEN.

Photo: Ferry on the Golden Horn.

Ministry of Special Cases

The nice thing about the train, I've said (everybody's said), is it gives a little mental space to read. After doing a bit of work, I finished up "The Ministry of Special Cases," a comic/tragic novel set in Buenos Aires set during the early days of the military junta in the mid-70s.

It helped reading it having been to B.A., it's a very particular city. One example--it's key knowing just how wide the River Plate is--it's like an ocean, really.

The narrative arc went somewhere completely different than I expected it to and left me feeling pretty glum. Also left me on an empty train because I read the last 10 pages after we pulled into Penn Station! It's a good book, kind of leaden funny in some places, but overall I recommend it.

CHARLIE (from Shoot The Piano Player)

CHARLIE (from Shoot The Piano Player) by George Delerue.

Charlie's theme opens Truffaut's second film, Shoot The Piano Player. I've long known this movie as "Bob Dylan's favorite movie" on the basis of having heard that somewhere. (Or possibly because Dylan namechecked it in the liner notes to The Times They Are A-Changin':

there's a movie called
Shoot the Piano Player
the last line proclaimin'
"music, man, that's where it's at"
it is a religious line
outside, the chimes rung
an' they
are still ringin')

Be that as it may, this tune is so mesmerizing. The way it's written and played it seems to loop around on itself so as soon as it comes to the end, I have an impulse to start it up again. Usually when I read about this tune it's described as "honky-tonk." I don't really agree. I mean, maybe it has some formal characteristics of honky-tonk, but there's something so twitchy and nervous about it. It's catchy but it doesn't really swing like I would think honky-tonk piano should. Who knows. Fun stuff regahdless. P.S. Charles Aznavour is a god. Off to D.C. for the day, so see you Friday morning!

LISTEN.

Photo: Houston median.

Take this badge off of me

I'm back from a productive, rewarding, but grueling trip to DC & Virginia. Amy had kindly recorded the Arsenal match (another win, here we come!), so I watched that for a bit, but this post is just an excuse to continue this week's crane blogging, this one from my office window.

Photo: Crane on F Street NW.

The wheels came off but they're finding their way back

There hasn't been a non-music post here in a week or two which is probably good. Went up to Maine, so I haven't seen the last few Arsenal matches, which is definitely good. Read a couple more books, but they're about Maine so we'll be using them at the other place--no need to blog them twice! And that's about that. I did see a somewhat disjointed and unswaggering (?) win over Bolton yesterday. Take the three points any way we can. Which is what Liverpool usually do, but not yesterday. Going down to DC again tomorrow for work, and also to visit Grandma and Mom, Mark, & the girls. Should be fun...

Photo: Crane gone bad in Waco.

Where have all the hobos gone

One nice thing about taking the train is it gives you a chance to catch up on your reading. On the way down from New York, I sat next to Scooter Libby (yeah that one), who was reading a Naipaul book, and I was finishing up a really enjoyable little book, Mr. Vertigo by Paul Auster. I won't go into plot details, but there are a ton of moving passages on the great plains (the narrator spends a lot of time in and around Wichita) and on mortality. Well, the whole book is about living and dying, but mostly about the living. It's an easy, approachable read and I really recommend it.

On the way home I finished a book I got in Oklahoma last time called Land Of Bright Promise: Advertising The Texas Panhandle And South Plains, 1870-1917. This was just a punt, but I had a feeling it would be interesting to read about selling the Texas Panhandle, more interesting than the area itself at least! Unfortunately whatever promise it held wasn't really delivered. There was a lot of decent research and some good trivia, but not much narrative flair. Next.