Just Dreaming |
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Saturday, October 12, 2002
I still love "Private Road", after all these million times listening to it, mostly smoothly rocking down the road. Sure sounds good to me, sitting right here right too though. I like to explore music... but then it's nice to sit back and love something I know I love, again. Friday, October 11, 2002
"Party Pooper" is hypnotic. Although I'm probably prone to being hypnotized today - - zoning out isn't a real stretch... Wait, now it's going off on a trip to outer space. At 8:43 it's by far one of the longest songs from LOTL. Of course, even LOTL doesn't always choose the ones *I* would, to give the extended treatment.. OK, I think the reason it's called "Party Pooper" is that it just hangs around too long. You're thinking, "well, it's not their strongest dub, and it doesn't have any of those lovely feminine vocals, or any fun little dialogue samples... So, it is a bit of a "Party Pooper." I'm determined to get through the whole thing though! Of course, I know I'll be rewarded with "Patience," a song I've discovered I love, recently, so I can hang on. Hey wait! So in the last 30 seconds we are treated to some scratchy old 45? I know there's no way I would like this vocal to "Patience" without this particular LOTL backing track, one of the strongest.... Somehow Heather Lewis' half-asleep reading just works though. She's the polar opposite of some of those big name over-hysterical female singers... She sounds so real. Carry-over Affection Now I've got all my Land Of The Loops here, two full discs worth. I'm finding myself liking the strangest tracks, like "France" or "Dream In Stereo" better than ever. This is after all the same "group" I am loving on other stuff. As I cruised back from lunch, "Marshmellow Pillows" stuck on repeat. I started this afternoon with a CD of tracks from "Puttering" and some singles. "Fresh Pond Parkway" is LOTL at it's best... nice riddim, lazy Heather vocals, fun little sound effects, and really odd little dialogue interjections, like a guy declaring in a low voice, "I think I'm in love with you," then this girl with a really odd voice coming back with, "No you're not, right, you *can't* be." I love Heather on this! Then the tacked on weird little bit at the end. Some guy, "I've got an incurable case of VD," and a weirder guy, "Oh sh*it yeah, that's bullsh*t. Bullsh*t!" Just writing it doesn't do it justice though. I love those little odd parts, somehow they just fit. "I have fought the good fight," he said. "I might as well talk to the ocean." - such was Senator Byrd's lament after losing the debate in the senate. Talk to the ocean!! "You appreciate perfectionism in others." True, which, I imagine, is another reason I like my best friend so much. I was thinking earlier, how someone I don't even talk to that much was giving me more advice than I really wanted... I was thinking how my friend only occasionally gives me advice, and when she does, she's gentle, kind, and wise. :-) Thursday, October 10, 2002
I was talking to a Chinese man I've worked with many years. I've noticed he never seems to get bigger and smaller - he just stays the same, pretty thin. So I asked him about that. His reply: "I don't eat." Ha. The trouble with me lately is, I keep thinking, "well, I'll eat less after (something). Soon..." Like today, I am half thinking of Sweet Tomatoes. Their specialty is salads, and those are extra-fresh and good. However, they also have lots of potatoes (baked) and pastas, and all sorts of other goodies to tempt. "All you care to eat." Dangerous! So I'm like, "I better eat while I can!" "His Majesty King Raam" is like a dub fairy tale... Perfect! It's really fun exploring non-reggae dub. :-) Which is in no way inferior! ;-) Wow.... I just listened to the one Lemon Jelly KY track I hadn't heard before, "A Tune For Jack" (who gets *no* tunes from me any more :-)) and I really liked it. Especially the piano. Which leads to the fourth track, "His Majesty King Raam", mmmm. I think these guys are one of the closest to Land of the Loops, in their sensibility, that I've heard. Even though LJ is almost entirely dub... with the odd vocal interjection (well, like many LOTL songs in that respect, actually.)  I love her - I can't help it..... This morning I wrote myself a note, in the midst of eating a very hard pear. "Eat fruit, it doesn't make you fat." My typical thought to myself when I feel it's time to get thinner... It's time. I'd love to be sleeping late today. I tried some Lemon Jelly just now, and it's not right for my mood this morning. I suspect it's better music for driving, or for at home in the middle of various PC tasks. Each some is a long, somewhat repetitive (although pleasant) dub.... I wish I had all my Land Of The Loops with me! I was listening to "Marshmellow Pillows" this morning driving.. I love that dub! I sure like Heather from Beat Happening's work on LOTL... So far I haven't really been able get into Beat Happening itself though. They're nothing like LOTL.Wednesday, October 09, 2002
The problem with discovering that the vast majority of people simply are not cool enough for you is, you can get pretty lonely... At least, the "vast majority" is not every single soul on the planet. I only wish Epitonic would include more groups, like LOTL. I like what they write about the American Analog Set, "tending instead toward the warm, mellow, bliss of a late summer's afternoon." This site's got some of the best music writers on the web.  My Morning Jacket's "Phone Went West" reminds me so much of what might have been one of Neil Young's better songs, if Young had written it instead. "Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me I'm right. Tell me there's no one else in the world..." ...Something I need to do is to actually listen to the Beat Happening's box set. Mostly because I like the lead singer, Heather Lewis, a lot - - from her work on Land Of The Loops. It drives me nuts that LOTL only has out what it does - not nearly enough. Epitonic has a cool biography of Beat Happening, with comments like this, "And listening to Beat Happening really does make you feel younger somehow, not in a na�ve way, but in an innocent, careless way." I'd say music like LOTL, and some of the other things I'm listening to lately, makes me feel more alive. About younger? Hmm, I don't know what people "my age" are supposed to listen to, and I don't really care. I don't think I fit a demographic - but I don't do it on purpose, it's just what I like, the way I am. I've been thinking, I tend to like liberal college kids music. It just works out that way. Somehow. I did feel completely out of place at my conservative university. I thought my own thoughts, anyway.Tuesday, October 08, 2002
No wonder no one has "Eastes Park"... It's weird, even by LOTL standards! I like it... Hmm, I got back onto Lemon Jelly, "Nervous Tension" again, by mistake.. Ha haa.. I read a sweet note last night that was actually from Sunday night, after I'd gone to bed.. That's a comfort for me... Why is it, with the people I see regularly day to day, the vibes are so different at different times... Yes, this morning, there was the long-haired girl, and the chemistry there seemed good... Then, I nearly pass another, the "little tiny one", and she seems quite distant today. (Edit: Strike the long-haired girl.) I hate it when people underestimate me, too. In high school, after my speech running for Student Body Treasurer, one of my coaches (and teacher) told me, "I didn't think you had it in you." My response, if I'd been honest, "Well, you're stupid!" I do have it in me. ;-) Although, I have no great need or urge to prove this to anyone. I do the things I want to do because I want to, not because I want to prove someone else wrong, or impress the masses... The frustrating thing is, most people do not understand me! They'll apply some garden variety rules of thumb to me, as if I am like other people. Wrong! I do have a good friend who understands me a lot better.... I should be thankful for that.... It's other people who think they know what's best and so forth, that drive me crazy! I have a feeling, that the girl with the long dark hair here could slay my heart if she really wanted to. We just came close in the hallway, and... The question is, does she want to? I'd say she looks a lot like that girl in a famous photo or two of The Band, being delighted by that particular young women... I'm not sure if we'd make a good pair or not. You can't really tell until you get to know someone better, and give it a try. That would be interesting to find out, though. Monday, October 07, 2002
Ha ha hahaa.... "All the ducks are swimming in the water, fa la la la la la, fa la la la la la..." Lemon Jelly's got some bizarre touches. Like on the happy song, "Nice Weather For Ducks." Sounds like a storm is on it's way...  What a funny song! Lemon Jelly's "Nervous Tension." I think I like these guys...I'm still getting a feel for them though. Sounds like some good dance/chill. A lot better than most of that type.... It feels a lot later than what the clock says. I'd guess, 11:30PM at least, or later.... Lemon Jelly's got really long songs, and they're the type I like long. Good background music for working at one's PC. It's likeable.. I suppose I should make myself go to bed, soon. I'm not sure if it will work. I wonder what I'll think of Lemon Jelly in time. This stuff is relaxing. For me, for tonight, anyway.."This world is not my home, this world is not my home, this world is not my home, this world is not my home... I'm just passing through.... I can't live at home in this world any more, I can't live at home in this world any more, I can't live at home any more, I can't live at home in this world any more, I can't live at home in this world any more.... This gospel song runs through three or four songs on Stars On ESP, and I love it. Falls Flat Apparently His Name Is Alive songwriter Warren Defever listened to "Good Vibrations" again and again over many months. "Universal Frequencies" is an attempt to record a song *like* "Good Vibrations" but not exactly a version of it. For me, it doesn't work. The obviously copied elements from the classic Beach Boys' song are stuck into another song, and it just falls flat. "Good Vibrations" is a very hard song to do, and a halfway version doesn't really work as a tribute. Nor does it stand on it's own. It's a blemish on an otherwise excellent "Stars on ESP" album. At least we know he has good taste. (On a related note, some guy named Jason Josephs sure misses the boat on "Dub Love Letter." He is about as wrong as a human can be! He shouldn't be allowed to write reviews after that. Reading his review was about as pleasurable as getting a sore throat. ;-)) News Of The Horrible Ugh, I would read some disturbing (old) news this morning. They should just call it, "News of the Horrible" instead of "The News." Evil-infested men, black, white, whatever, get entirely too much attention. Losers. Dub Love Letter How can they possibly manage to bring all these elements together in such a pleasing way? The organ sounds like something out of a horror B movie - or maybe 'Repo Man." The bass rhthm is perfectly mellow reggae - something out of the early 70's pre-digital age, maybe Lloyd Parks or Leroy Sibbles. Pop/indie lead feminine vocal - she's singing a trippy fairy tale. Then that odd middle eastern instrument, I can't place. Perfectly placed, drifting in and out. It feels very exotic... Like maybe lounging in a Turkish hash tent. She sings, "follow you anywhere (if you'd say you care." I care. I love this girl. It happened already! The grumpiness came to me... I think I've smoothed that out now. Maybe if I just put my headphones on and concentrate... Usually people love to come to talk with me when I'm in the midst of some enjoyable music though. On my headphones. It's like a magnet.... Thinking about yesterday - - I think she was surprised when we went straight to the Dollar Shoppe the very first stop. I wasn't in the mood for that (even though I like to browse those places other times, ever looking for a bargain) but she'd wanted to go there for a while, and she was so set on it. Then, she just blossomed for the next couple hours. She felt happy, we'd done exactly what she wanted to do. It pays to be nice to people you love. For today, "You don't want to be brought down by their randomly grumpy mood." Randomly grumpy! True, I am sensitive to those... I'd better hide out. Sunday, October 06, 2002
How can the users online be ten times as many one time to the next? I wonder how accurate those numbers are... I'm finding I like the early girl vocalist in HNIA best.. Shoot, their "Blue Moon" is something completely different. Man I love her. She kind of tries to take care of me. She gives good advice too. She's sweet... I like that kind of girl. I wonder who has more bootlegs floating around, Bob Dylan or Elvis Presley... I'm beginning to think it's Elvis. There are so many Dylan shows out there though, and he keeps playing even more. Still, Elvis has tons! "You're as smooth as you are sweet.  Come to you, from across the street... In my bed, I cannot rest, 'till we sleep together." - His Name Is Alive, "Across The Street" In connection with the none too surprising arrests of terrorists living nearby, I just read, "Portland is a good place to hide." Yeah. ;-) That was a good outing... She insisted we go to the dollar store, and the clerk there was very nice. Apparently, she'd found some Zoloft pills on the floor, partly crushed, just then.. "Who would leave those there like that?" Where's the line between polite clerk-ish discourse, and, something else? :-) The canopied trees over a trail we rarely visit were turning their colours. People were oddly friendly, each place we went. New Seasons was remodelled. I didn't like what they did, but I think they wanted to gain a little extra room... I guess I'll get used to it. I have to get outside... as soon as this done. Seems like a perfectly good day for a short walk. Hmm, where? I was going to take a shower... Then all this Butterglory turns up suddenly. I can't go now! (Hmm, wait, spoke too soon. Ah well, I have tripled my small number of Butterglory songs now... This is certainly a nice surpise.) That instrument is *not* a flute. What is it? Hey, HNIA has a song called "Red Haired Girl."... I have to hear this one.. "What Else Is New List" is the song which drives me craziest trying to figure out what the refrain reminds me of... Almost Mamas and Papas. Like a James Bond movie at the start. A touch of Petula Clark, later. A little Spanky and the Gang. I wish they had a lot more songs in *this* vein. His Name Is Alive has one her or another singing, more often than not. "Dub Love Letter" is so charming. The little flute, not often enough. The bassline. This song takes me away. I'm actually smiling. :-) It's so incredible how the right music at the right time can just push you right into a happy state. Or at least an easy smile. Like the best of friends. Whenever you need it. Of course, I enjoyed my first cup of coffee so much this afternoon, that I had another. Completely against the rules! That is, the rules of going to sleep at night. I'm not sure that's what's keeping me awake, now, but it could be.. Ah well. You've got to break the rules sometimes. |
