Posts Tagged ‘Bob Dylan’

« Older Entries

I And Love And You

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

Not much happened today, at least not around Hoboken. It was a day off for me and I was fairly busy. Laundry and errands were the main things and both were accomplished with relative ease. I scanned the job listings but didn’t send anything out.

I did send an email to a cousin of mine and once again asked if he knew of anything opening up. I did not get any response last time and I’m really not holding my breath this time. I sent some emails to Danny the K and Greg Stevens a week or so ago and there was no response from them either.

I sent yet another resume to the local bibliothèque, this time asking for a response either good or bad. Whether or not I hear from the head librarian remains to be seen. Julio told me they were looking for help at his company but only looking at women which for me, sucks.

It would have been something else though since Julio and I, despite being good friends, always clashed when working together. We worked different nights at Maxwells and the rare times we worked side by side proved to be difficult. But I would have happily put my shoulder to the wheel and done whatever I could do to get that job and keep that job.

I mainly stayed local today, thought about checking out some galleries but by the time I gave it some serious consideration, the moment had passed as did my interest. It’s been otherwise a very boring day and I didn’t mind at all.

It’s also Bob Dylan’s 70th birthday today and I as well as a few other Facebook friends have been posting videos of Bob or covers of Dylan’s songs online. I actually started last night, with Fourth Time Around, one of my favorite Dylan songs, from Blonde on Blonde.

I think credit for my admiration of Bob Dylan should go to Joe Lizzi, a bloke I worked with at Right Track Recording almost 20 years ago. Joe liked Bob a lot and lent me Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde.

Initially I saw a lot of similarities between Highway 61 and the first Velvet Underground record. Tom Wilson produced the Velvets record as well as Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Johnston produced the rest of Highway 61, but Wilson also produced Bringing It All Back Home in its entirety.

I did have the brief occasion to meet Bob once, only for a few minutes at Right Track. I forget what he was doing but I did escort him to the studio he was due in and told him I liked his songs. I know, how original eh? Mickey Hart from the Grateful Dead was also in another studio and I told Mickey (who was really super nice) that Bob was in the studio. I’m not sure if they met up, but despite my avoidance of the Dead, I did know that Bob and the Dead toured together a few years before that day.

Today is also Patti LaBelle’s birthday and she seems to be getting the short shrift again. I am not sure if I met Patti LaBelle, she may have recorded at Right Track as well, it was the top notch recording studio in New York City for a while, but I did see her sing at a Prince after show 2AM concert at Roseland where she started wailing and Prince surrendered the stage to her, telling Patti it was all hers.

All in all it’s a good day for music, 2 great personalities and performers to be thankful for.






Tags:, ,
Posted in I Love Music | No Comments »

I Am the Law

Wednesday, May 11th, 2011

Well here I am again, standing behind the counter at the cigar shack. Thomas is pounding out a rhythm, totally flat and off beat, his titanium ring hitting the wood of the counter and making quite a noise. No charm in that.

It’s been a better day than yesterday, time is flying by- not like the other day when it really zoomed but faster than yesterday. I finally finished the Keith Richards autobiography and I enjoyed it very much.

He explained how he fell off the ladder in his library as well as falling out of a tree in Fiji. He says he did not snort his father’s ashes and I believe him. That story came after his brain surgery and the doctor told him, ‘No more bumps’ which means no more cocaine.

And the story went that Keef mixed up his father’s ashes with some blow. His relationship with Mick is like 2 brothers, bitchy and forever intertwined. I can relate to that somehow.

Now perhaps I can get back to the New Yorker where I am reading about Jane Fonda and I have not even cracked open Mojo or Uncut yet. I’ve been carrying it around in my bag since I bought it a few weeks ago.

Listening to Bob Dylan’s Love & Theft in the store right now. It could be my favorite Dylan album. Bob is going to be 70 in a few weeks. I saw him in the 1990’s but did not stay for the whole show.

At the time I was more interested in seeing Patti Smith who just came out of exile after Fred Smith passed away. Bob was nice enough to offer her the opening slot on the tour and she wisely took it.

I went with my Weehawken roommate William. It was odd being in the lobby of the Beacon Theater and seeing familiar faces of people that I had assumed that had died a while ago. The look of shock on my face was more than likely noticeable.

Patti Smith was enjoyable and since I was not so much into Dylan at the time, we left midway through his set. I didn’t get it and I think he was doing Alabama Getaway when William and I made a hasty exit. Not into the Grateful Dead at all you see.

Right now I am downloading the Roches self-titled debut album. I’ve always liked them and was fortunate to see them twice, once at Town Hall as the Roches and once at the Bottom Line as the Caroling Carolers.

When I worked at Farfetched I would play Keep on Doing, the Roches third album often and almost every time I would play it, someone would ask if they were hearing the Roches and when I would answer affirmatively they would almost always go on about how much they loved them.

I also have to confess that I had a crush on Margaret A. Roche for the longest time, nothing sexual just a sheer admiration since she wrote some of their most beautiful songs. I have their debut on vinyl somewhere but I felt I needed to have The Hammond Song on mp3 and on my iPod.

And of course the Roches tie into the Wainwright family thanks to Loudon’s wandering eye. I expect to be playing it at the cigar shack tomorrow. That should raise a few eyebrows. Hey, if you’re in the neighborhood, stop on by and say hello. Just don’t be a douche.

Now I am home and quite happy to be here. Bill is awake, first time in days that he’s been awake when I walked through the door. It’s nice to see him in a vertical position.

Tags:, , , , , , ,
Posted in moldies but moodies | No Comments »

Love Me Do

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

Lazy lazy lazy. Wet outside, been raining all day, melting most of the snow. Not even sure if I’m going to write today. Still not sure.

Last night was fine and mellow and quiet. Bill and I watched Robin Williams latest HBO special which was very funny in spots and not so funny in other spots. Spotty performance I guess.

Bill is on the train heading to Saddle River Tours in Garfield for a drive down to Atlantic City. That’s his evening for him. Me, right now I’m watching the first DVD of Bob Dylan: No Direction Home. PSE&G came today. Pretty sure it was the same guy as last month.

Once again it took 5 minutes and once again there was no charge. He did say the stove was about 50 years old and perhaps it was time for the landlord to get a new one. I know better. I doubt Peter the landlord would do such a thing.

But it’s working now and that’s what really matters. Last night, it was all a big pot of water cooking to a slow boil to make things warm. And humid. Now it’s dry and warm.

Just had some lasagne that Karen had sent me home with on Christmas Eve. There is still some left for Bill but I don’t think he’s the reheating type and I guess I’ll be eating that tomorrow, just so it doesn’t go bad. It was very good though.

Now I’m putting in the second DVD of Bob Dylan but I think I will hold off and watch the news so I can find out what’s been going on in the world. Besides the woman who tackled Papa Ratzi. The Nigerian guy who tried to blow up a plane over Detroit is an interesting story but what’s most interesting is the passengers who acted to subdue the flaming Nigerian.

In the New York Times there’s an article about the guy being the son of a prominent Nigerian banker which immediately makes him suspect, what with all the money schemes coming via email from Nigeria.

Overall just a lazy day, promising to be a lazy evening. More Bob Dylan, maybe the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. Nothing much on TV tonight anyhow. Bill and I watched most of the Paul McCartney: Good Evening New York City concert DVD.

Bill loved it, but still we couldn’t see ourselves with Anne & Earl and Julio & Stine in the crowd. Still it was a fun watch. Bill went to bed midway through and I turned it off before the encores last night. But I did finish it off this afternoon.

I always enjoy listening to the Beatles, but during the holiday season they become much more special. It’s interesting to read the comments on their thousands of YouTube clips. So many people, younger people get into the Beatles for the first time. I

just think that’s amazing, but I always felt any person that loves music, at least almost as much as I do, eventually discover the Beatles and become fans, getting a thrill seeing their videos and interviews online. I think that’s fascinating.

I’ve decided to not write tonight.

Tomorrow I’ll be participating in an open reading of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice at 12:45PM. Join us, it should be interesting and fun, even! Yea or Nae!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/event.php?eid=214034390730&index=1

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in the day after yesterday | 2 Comments »

Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)

Friday, November 27th, 2009

It’s a Friday, feels like a Saturday. Back in the day, when I lived in Lodi, this would be the day that my parents would go off to Cherry Hill, coming back on Sunday. That usually left my brother Brian and myself at home.

I would spend the day, walking up to the Garden State Plaza, buying records at Sam Goody, books at Schiller Books and then walking across Route 4, over the cloverleaf to Alexanders where records were $4.99 generally.

Maybe some cookies at David’s Cookies in Bamberger’s, or a cheap sandwich at Kresge’s. Then a walk home walking faster than the cars stuck in traffic on Rochelle Avenue. A simpler life it was then.

Don’t recall what Brian and I did for food, but being after Thanksgiving there were bound to be leftovers, pies and brownies and Pfeffernusse which would usually stay in a glass canister for months on end.

I remember one time Brian had a small party, I was upstairs watching Yellow Submarine on a black & white TV. Some friend of Brian’s was playing Dear Prudence on guitar which to my ears was amazing. I don’t remember his name but he also kept his pack of Marlboro in his Frye boots which I thought was sooo cool.

I suppose it must have been 1977 since I bought the 10th anniversary issue of Rolling Stone which made me somewhat hip, or so I thought. And that’s my memory from 32 years ago.

Right now, since nothing else is on I’m watching A Hard Day’s Night on VH1 Classics. Sure it’s distracting me from writing but it’s a fun distraction.

It’s been a giddy day for me today. Don’t know why but I’m not about to question it.

Maybe it had something to do with yet another cannabis free dream last night. This one, I was Bob Dylan’s assistant at his hotel somewhere in Manhattan. I had a problem dealing with his barbecue utensils & tongs so I asked a New York Times reporter in the next room what I should do with them.

Just then Bob entered and said not to touch them. Fine enough, I said I was leaving and I would see everyone tomorrow. As I was leaving the hotel room, in the hallway some guy grabs my arm and tells me to come with him.

Having no say in the matter I go with him and we wind up on the roof of the hotel. He starts telling me that he’s upset with the fact that I’ve been dealing weed in his hotel. Apparently he, and only he was allowed to do such dealings.

I plead my case, stating that it’s impossible, that I hadn’t smoked any weed in over a week! That actually got me off the hook.

I woke up to Bill watching Sanford & Son in the next room. After I got myself awake and alive, Bill and I walked around Hoboken a bit. Stopped by the Guitar Bar to say hello to Jim.

I bought a guitar strap with the Guitar Bar logo on it which Jim graciously took a couple of bucks off the price. I’d still love Jim even if he charged me full price.

Then it was off to the Post Office to pay some bills. Bill saw me put the local mail in the wrong slot and after the letter left my fingers he asked if I had put a stamp on it.

I know at the apartment I thought about using a Homer Simpson stamp and when Bill mentioned that I thought I did. But doubt being what it is, I got back on line and told a postal worker about what I might have done.

He directed me to walk down the hall to the customer service window. I rang the bell and told them and they retrieved the letter, with no stamp on it. Then I had to get back on line and buy some stamps.

Being in a giddy mood, almost manic, I chatted with the man behind the glass, answering his question about using a credit card with a ‘Yes, Ma’am’. ‘Ma’am?’ he remarked and I apologized with him saying in turn, ‘It’s OK, Miss’. It was all a big giggle.

Came home Bill took a nap since he’s working from 6:00PM to 6:00AM. Overtime rarely comes to his office and he jumped at the chance. I changed my guitar strap, played some songs, Elton, Beck, Simon & Garfunkel, and Elvis Costello. Trying to figure out La Vie en Rose as well.

Woke Bill up at 4:00 by standing over him and playing The Lion Sleeps Tonight. A giddy day. Giddy I tell you, Giddy!

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Whats for lunch? | 2 Comments »

Series of Dreams

Friday, May 29th, 2009

Earliness ensues. Been a pretty good day thus far. Last night Bill and I watched both The Naked Civil Servant and Resident Alien. It was Quentin Crisp night on Park Avenue. The Naked Civil Servant was very good, mainly for John Hurt’s top notch performance.

Resident Alien was a bit of a downer, Quentin living in a tiny apartment in the East Village, getting some negative feedback from Seniors Active in a Gay Environment (SAGE).

Quentin claimed to be a successful failure and some people in the documentary are say some awfully mean things about him. It’s definitely not a love letter, unless it was from Frank Booth in Blue Velvet.

I would see Quentin Crisp from time to time on the street in the East Village, blue rinsed hair, looking like a dandy. I might have said hello to him once or twice. He probably responded in kind, being polite and well mannered. That was probably the early 1980′s.

John Hurt was in Resident Alien, playing himself and interviewing Quentin on the streets of New York City, and some eerie shots with each looking at the other though as mirror frame.

Bill enjoyed the DVDs and then it was off to bed for him while I stayed up until almost 1:00. Slept good, told Bill to use my bus pass this morning since I wasn’t heading into the city.

Had a nice relaxed breakfast and did some laundry, leaving the apartment around 11:45 to do some grocery shopping. I’m so domesticated.

Listening to disc 1 of Bob Dylan’s Tell Tale Signs quite a lot today. Also listened to Bruce Springsteen’s Magic album which was really good. Never played it from start to finish.

Some of it is typical Bruce & E Street stuff and some of it is extraordinary. Also played some of Born to Run. Not the title track, that would be a bit much. No, I played 10th Avenue Freeze-out, Night and Backstreets.

Just seemed like a perfect day to play some Bruce with the windows open and the sun breaking through the clouds.

It was so nice out I decided to wander around Hoboken. Not many people around on a Friday afternoon. Rain was forecast but all you needed to do was look outside, where it was cloudy but sunny as well. The glass was half full as it were.

I wound up by Pier A and sat and continued reading the Eno biography. He just did some half hearted demos for Television, working with Robert Fripp, had a lung collapse and was hit by a car.

A busy life indeed. Up next should be David Bowie, Talking Heads, Devo and U2.

Now it starts to rain, a few raindrops fall on the windowpane, raindrops in puddles on a neighboring rooftop. I like living on the top floor.

Now I’m playing disc 2 of Tell Tale Signs and like disc 1, it opens with a version of Mississippi from Love & Theft. There’s so much Dylan out there, different eras and styles. I do like 1965-66 Dylan but not much from the 1970-80′s. I have Blood on the Tracks but I just can’t get into it.

Yet.

I didn’t ‘get’ Blonde on Blonde the first time I heard it and that was in the 1990′s. Ann Boyles played that record a lot and tried to get me into it once or twice. I thought it was a character flaw, but the flawed character was me.

I really do like the 1990s to the present Bob Dylan. Seems like a very good fit. And the band behind him, lead by Tony Garnier for the past 15+ years is really good.

The rain has passed, mere minutes later. No biggie.

Tags:, , , , , , ,
Posted in Iron my Shirt | 2 Comments »

32-20 Blues

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

It’s Wednesday, and it feels like a Tuesday since Monday was a holiday. Last night Bill and I marched, I saw awesome Andres and met Joe Jervis. It was pretty cool that Bill was with me to see these other bloggers that I enjoy reading. The word becomes flesh.

We made it home after running into the Virgin Megastore on Union Square which is going out of business. I was able to buy CD’s that my local record store, Tunes didn’t have.

Still no Budos Band but I was able to get Bob Dylan’s Oh Mercy and the 2 disc set of Tell Tale Signs, Number 8 in the Bootleg Series. At 30% off I couldn’t resist.

We made it home in time some clip show on NBC, about the most well known lines from TV. It was totally worthless filler. It seemed to go on forever. How much NaNu NaNu can one person take? Bill liked it enough though.

At 10:00 Bill wanted to watch Lawn Hors d’œuvre SUV but I figured he would rather watch Keith Olbermann reporting on Judge Sotomayor. As soon as I changed the channel he forgot all about Lawn Hors d’œuvre. Bill’s a Puerto Rican from the Bronx and so is Judge Sotomayor so he was feeling especially proud.

It was no surprise that the right wing had nothing to say but “no” in regards to the Judge’s nomination. She’s going to pass since the Republicants don’t have anything to block the process.

We watched the news and then The Simpsons at 11:30 which was from the second season. A classic episode featuring Harvey Fierstein as Carl. As soon as I heard the word Mynoxodil I knew what the episode was.

It is certainly in my top ten Simpsons episodes but for Bill it was his all time fave.

He was off to bed after that and I joined him soon after that. I slept OK but once again I could have used a few more hours of sleep. I guess I can catch up with those missing hours on Friday since my Fridays are still furloughed.

Work was OK. Vivek told me he was going to be in Seattle today and tomorrow and I was surprised to see him in the office. I was fairly busy, things seem to be going smoothly.

I was ambushed by another conference call from out of the blue but I stood my ground and stopped the call, putting them on hold until I was able to get Sanjay in on the call.

Too much of what Vivek and Sanjay do is secretive or at least I’m out of the loop, while on the other end of the line in the conference call they seem to think I know it all. That is one of the biggest parts of my frustration. Those outside the office think I’m running the show whereas in the office, I’m just a cog in the machine.

I plan to keep plowing on, doing my best. What else can I do?

I had a chance to check out JoeMyGod earlier than I usually do and there was a picture of Bill and myself. That was a kick. I regretted not taking a picture of Andres and I just got a message from him saying he regretted not having a good picture of me and Bill looking dapper. He said dapper, not me.

Now we’re watching a documentary on PBS of the making of the Broadway show In the Heights. Bill’s getting a thrill just watching it and I knew that he would. One of these days Bill will be trodding the boards, saying lines.

Who knows? Perhaps they will be lines that I’ve written.

Tags:, , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Yesterday's News Tomorrow | 3 Comments »

« Older Entries