Monday, back to work. Didn’t really leave the apartment yesterday except for going out for bagels and the papers which I didn’t get since I met Julio on Washington Street. He had gotten the text message that I sent him last week. I don’t mind getting him and Stine bagels but hey, a little something in return would be nice. A trip to the shoe outlet, or Syms to look at new suits. I also invited the two of them to see Bill in The Crooner over the weekend, but Stine has a bronchial infection so they were no go.

Yesterday was nothing special, hence the iTunes shuffle listing yesterday. Annoying to some? Ok, annoying to one I suppose. But I had to write something. Tomorrow I don’t even know if I’ll have any time to write since I’m toying with the idea of meeting up with the suited guys at G lounge in Chelsea. It was ok last time I went, and it certainly is fun to hang around with handsome guys suited up and laughing at my comments. If I was more of a fop, I’d be holding lilies and doing my best Oscar Wilde impersonation. ‘Either the wall paper goes or I do’.

Supposedly those were Oscar’s last words. I also heard that ‘I am dying, as I have lived, beyond my means’ were his true last words. I think Scott ‘Buddy’ Thompson from The Kids in the Hall nailed it on the head when he claimed Oscar Wilde’s last words were actually, ‘Oh shit!’.

Bill was up and active this morning. He slept better than I did and has been attempting to curb his snoring with Breathe Right strips on his nose and some concoction made by the Breathe Right company where he gargles with it, lubricating his throat and enabling a nice night’s sleep. He’s been using these products for nearly a week and I told him last night that he still snores, though last night was relatively quiet.

I got to work on time, bought flowers and settled in, starting up the office. 10 days to go. The atmosphere was a bit odd though. It may have been because of the holy day, Passover and President Naomi who is Jewish was nervous because a) her daughter and her husband and new baby were hosting a Seder with in laws and b) it was going to be the first time in a long time that her husband Joe has actually left the zip code where he resides. He’s not a shut in but just doesn’t want to leave West Orange.

I told Cynthia, a nice woman who works in the office, that I was leaving and we chatted online though she sits about 10 feet away from me. She immediately messaged me to take her with me. I don’t know if President Naomi knows about how unhappy some of her employees are. It’s a small office, no privacy and two of the queen bees, and I don’t mean Wally, have the capacity to go off the rails sometimes. More than once a month. I’d be glad to not work with them.

The day ended finally and I wandered around midtown hoping that the line for the bus wouldn’t be so bad.

It was. I didn’t car, I read about Captain John Smith in the New Yorker. Should I resubscribe? It’s about to expire next month and I do enjoy it…

Nothing happened today so that means it’s Shuffle Time

Day Dreaming -Aretha Franklin
Great late Atlantic Records period for Miss Aretha. On the NPR website they interviewed Arif Mardin about this specific production. Really space agey for Aretha. Must’ve been around 1972-73 when the future held promise.

There Was a Time -James Brown
One of my all time favorite James Brown songs. This is the studio version, the real killer version is on Live at the Apollo. A list of dances from around the country or at least the south. It’s still an amazing song.

I’m A One Man Woman – Barbara Lynn
Another Atlantic Records singer. Famous, to me at least, for singing You’ll Lose a Good Thing, featured in the Hairspray movie. I loved that song so much that I bought this which has one or two stand out tracks on it. This isn’t one of those tracks.

London Calling – Dave Grohl, Steve Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello
Live from the Grammy’s this tribute to Joe Strummer works better as a video and you can get that online at Youtube.com no doubt. Go ahead it’s worth it. I’ll wait.

High Risk Insurance – The Ramones
From the Phil Spector produced End of the Century album. A cleaner wall of sound meeting the brothers dirty wall of sound making something odd and enjoyable in moderation.

You Must Be Mad- Marine Girls
Bedsit jazz from England. Perfect for a battleship gray day like today. Tracey Thorn from Everything But The Girl’s first group. Really cool though, must’ve been around 1983.

Living a Lie- The dB’s
Sunny Afternoon is what I remember following Marine Girls from a mix tape that I made when I was DJing at McSwells, but that was in the analog age. Now this is the iTunes shuffle everything digitalized rewriting my memories. Good song from their second lp, Re-percussion. Power pop at it’s finest.

God Lives Through – A Tribe Called Quest
More mellow jazz type things, this time from the Tribe. Last song from Midnight Marauders which was a great album. They lost the plot eventually but their 2nd and 3rd albums are legendary and ground breaking.

Daytime Nighttime Suffering -Paul McCartney and Wings
A b-side from Macca which turned out to be better than the a-side. One of the last Wings releases, late 70’s where we find Paul flirting with contemporary disco type drum beats. Different world back then, that 1979.

Pandora- Cocteau Twins
La da dada. That’s about you can figure out what Liz Fraser is singing which is fine by me. Added to their appeal and guaranteed to make you look and sound like an idiot if you tried to sing along. And is she singing ‘peanut butter, peanut butter, peanut butter’ towards the end? You tell me.

Reel Around the Fountain – The Smiths
First song on first album. Did anyone know what was to follow? 23 years of Morrissey? I doubt if they knew. Slap him on the patio. Go ahead. Slap Morrissey. Johnny Marr from the Smiths is now in Modest Mouse and they have the number one record in the US this week.