Category Archives: I Love Music

I Never Knew Love Like This Before

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Another new page, or perhaps a new chapter. Who knows? Maybe it’s still being written. Time was spent once again volunteering at the bibliothèque. It went well, the staff wish I could get hired full time, I wish I could get hired full time, but not right now I guess. It’s a good gig, I like them, they like me. Only time will tell. They’re good people, some true Hoboken characters. I spent the time today putting away books and CD’s and DV’s, and also helping out people looking for items which I was able to do since I had just put most of those items away.

As I was putting away some of the audio visual items, I started talking to a young man named Esteban. He had taken out Television- Marquee Moon last week and I checked it out for him last week, Today I asked him what he thought and he was it was too much of a guitar record, which he wasn’t looking for but liked it. I guess he didn’t have a Stan Bogdansky in his life enthusing about Tom Verlaine and company like I did back in the day. I still remember Stan singing Prove It as I waited so we could go to a show.

Esteban did ask me for some suggestions and I asked if he was into something rock and roll, or something more on the chill out side of things. He was interested in the chill out side so I suggested Brian Eno, Another Green World. Half instrumental, half with vocals. He recognized Eno as being the producer of U2 and I told him there was so much more. We talked about Talking Heads and he recognized Remain in Light, having taken it out previously. He knew Once In A Lifetime from a movie.

He almost took out Remain in Light again but found Speaking in Tongues which is good but definitely pales in comparison to Remain in Light. I described it as more of a ‘pop’ record and he sort of looked disdainful. I explained there was nothing wrong with pop music, that the Beatles and the Rolling Stones were considered pop when they started, and perhaps they still are pop 50 years later. He also expressed a fondness for Blonde on Blonde having taken it out a while ago, I Want You being his favorite song.

I made a remark about Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands being 17 minutes long, and he corrected me telling me it was actually 12 minutes. He asked how I knew so much about music and I explained I have friends (Harpy & Juan) and family (Frank & Annemarie) that turn me onto music all the time, plus I suggested getting Mojo and Uncut magazines. He never heard of those and was very excited when I told him that each month the latest issues of those magazines come with free CD samplers. Sometimes new stuff sometimes old stuff on the samplers but almost all of it is very good.

I guess I will have to volunteer next Wednesday at the bibliothèque so I can find out what Esteban thought of my suggestions. He seemed like a nice enough chap. There was another patron who is trying to get every record from Rolling Stone’s issue of the best 500 albums. That seemed a bit much, but then again it Rolling Stone which is better read nowadays for Matt Taibbi’s reporting rather than music coverage. Some of the bibliothèque staff saw a flier for the Hoboken Fair Rent Association benefit on October 25 at Maxwells and wanted to know if that was me listed on the flier. It is.

So right now I am walking a tight rope. The future is uncertain as well as unwritten and out of my hands.




07 Prove It

I Love You Bill Vila

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Another day in Hoboken. Plenty of parking to be had and not much of a reason to write, except to write those 500 words and be done with it. I am still in a bit of a funk and I guess I will work my own way out of it eventually. I was pretty tired yesterday and had a nice nap in the late afternoon. And I had a dream where I had woken up from the nap and opened the door while holding the guitar as Bill walked in. Of course that didn’t happen. Bill didn’t come home until a few hours later, having had a lesson with his voice teacher in preparation for the singing of the national anthem and another song during the seventh inning stretch.

That is happening tonight at the baseball stadium of the Staten Island Yankees which is supposed to be close to the ferry terminal. I am fairly ambivalent to the whole thing. Of course seeing Bill sing is always a thrill. The national anthem takes about one minute and thirty seconds to sing. The other song, written by Irving Berlin more than likely takes about two minutes and hopefully thirty seconds to sing. It’s not one of my favorite songs and hopefully once that song is completed we can head back home.

There was a plan to see my brother Frank at Maxwells. He is going to see the dB’s and I would be going to see him, but since I am feeling the way I am feeling I would much rather just go home than do anything that involves going out. Plus as much as I like the dB’s on their records, I find them live to be rather dull. They’re all competent musicians but live there is something lacking. Of course I’ve had hit or miss experiences when going to see the dB’s which my brother brought up when we spoke the other day on the phone.

As usual writing helps me out despite my dislike of writing. To quote Dorothy Parker: “I hate having to write but love having written”. That sums it up for me basically. Last night Bill and I watched the Sound of Music. He had never seen it before from start to finish (and technically he still hasn’t since he walked in on the first half hour) and he loved it and kept thanking me for showing it to him. I enjoyed it myself but still it didn’t lift me out of my funk. Perhaps it would take something other than a movie that is almost as old as I am.

I went to bed before Bill and did not sleep that well at all. Lots of tossing and turning and not much rest in that. I could have used a few more hours but I was up before Bill and when I went out he was still asleep. And now it’s going on almost three hours with no contact from Bill. Perhaps he is still asleep. I did turn the volume up on the phone so if he decides to call I will hear it. But if he doesn’t and heads to the Staten Island Yankees game without me, well then I am off the hook and able to do nothing whatsoever which of course, is more than fine with me.

Sleep seems like the proper option which I hope to do the first chance I get, the sooner the better.