It’s Saturday, a beautiful day with temperatures around 78 degrees. Once again we’ve gone from winter into summer. Last night I hung out and watched Frailty, directed by Bill Paxton. A little gruesome but a tense thriller with a religious theme. I recommend it. I originally saw it when it first came out in the theaters and liked it enough to rent it via Netflix a few years later. Bill and I stayed up to watch Bill Maher and soon we were fast asleep in bed. Woke up and took a shower, had some coffee then headed out into the world for bagels and newspapers while Bill slept.

He doesn’t eat bagels and doesn’t read the newspapers so it was an easy errand. It was a beautiful morning though. Nice day for a bike ride I thought but didn’t want to deal with getting it tuned up and ship shape. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next weekend. I had some breakfast, read the papers and checked email while Bill stirred and got himself ready for his acting and voice classes. I watched another dvd called Fuck, about the use of the word fuck in present society. It was alright, nothing that I didn’t fucking know already.

I went out for a walk around Hoboken and wore a blazer but it was too warm for that. I looked good though I was overdressed. I wandered over to Pier A and most of the grass was covered with people sunbathing. I snagged a spot by the wall and looked at Manhattan. I tried reading but there was so much going on that I was too distracted to concentrate on a book. After about an hour I went shopping at the supermarket and came home and chilled out. Juan came over for an hour and chilled with me.

That’s about it for my day. Time for a shuffle.

Hollywood Swinging – Kool and the Gang
Funky pop from Jersey City, pre-JT. These cats were quite a party band. When JT joined they started singing songs like Joanna and for me that wasn’t up to par.

Tenement Yard – Jacob Miller
Classic reggae about how dreadlocks can’t live in a tenement yard. Jacob Miller had such a great voice and a dynamic presence on stage and he was on the chunky side. Died in a car crash in the 70’s. His backing band were Inner Circle known for the Bad Boys theme from Cops on TV.

Foolish Love – Rufus Wainwright
First song on his first record. Not my favorite of his but still better than most. He’s playing the Gramercy Theater five nights in June. Can’t get a ticket. Not even one. This song has a great stride to it, when it gets past the beginning.

So Cruel – U2
From Achtung Baby. If there were any records that U2 made that I really like, most of this would be one, but for sure it would be the one that followed this, Zooropa. More adventurous and engaging and shows a big Eno influence.

You Got the Silver – The Rolling Stones
I think this is Keef’s first lead vocal from Let It Bleed. Pretty cool, laid back country-esque type of thing. Must have been a Gram Parson influence.