Tag Archives: David Byrne

Little Fishes

Last night was mellow. Called old friends, Billie and Connie. Billie is in Washington DC, Connie is in the Highlands of New Jersey. Haven’t heard from either of them in a while and since both were in my thoughts I gave a call.

Spoke with Billie first. He just got back from a Mexican vacation. I left a message for Billie a couple of weeks ago, mentioning that Bill and I might be visiting DC in the autumn if there was a March on Washington again.

Well so far no progress has been made on that front and right now it looks like we’ll be staying in Hoboken.

It was a good talk with Billie though. Both Bill and I miss him, having had a good couple of weeks a year or so ago when he was up in Manhattan training for his now defunct job at Chop’t, a way over priced salad bar.

Then I spoke to Connie as I sat on the front stoop, enjoying a Saint Luis Rey Rothchilde. It was an enjoyable talk, interrupted by a network failure on my end. She’s always a joy to talk to.

I can’t believe it’s been years since I last saw her, despite driving past her street in the Highlands some summer days. I’d love to see her again but it all depends on how she’s feeling. One of my favorite things is to make her laugh and I often do.

She’s a real sweetheart. Many a time I spent with Connie involved dancing around her house and I look forward to many more times I can perform a pas de deux with Madame Constance. Or stand out on her ledge, playing her wind chimes and making the neighbors think I’m doing tai chi.

Last night David Byrne was playing a free show at Prospect Park, opening up the summer season of Celebrate Brooklyn. Years ago I would have been there at a moments notice. But the threat of rain and the hassle of Brooklyn proved to be too much to consider.

If it were Talking Heads I would have been there for sure.

But last night was a Monday night and I do have to consider my state of mind with regards to work the next day. It’s not like when I was working in the music business where going out and coming back the next day exhausted or hung over was expected.

I stayed home and Bill came home just in time to catch Weeds which was very good. I love Justin Kirk. He rocks. Ever since Angels in America I’ve loved him and on Weeds he is most excellent. After that we watched Nurse Jackie, starring Edie Falco and that was really good, perhaps even better than Weeds.

Bill was trying to upload the still image from the TV of his appearance as a Saudi king on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. He stayed up until 2:30 which around the time I sort of woke up from the very loud thunderstorm going on outside.

I crept through the apartment closing the windows, which were left open just a crack. Didn’t want to take any chances. And it came down in sheets this morning.

I was able to swim on over to my polling place and place my vote for Dawn Zimmer as some Cammarano cronies lurked nearby. The old school political machine of Hoboken churns on.

The other night while Bill and I watched the Tony’s it seemed that the show was sponsored by Big Pharma. One commercial that had some macabre chuckling was for some anti-depressant.

Shots of various actors in black and white, looking into the camera with sad expressions on their faces. What is depression? Who does it hurt?

Then they push the drug with the side effects of suicidal thoughts. If you’re depressed, take this drug and it will probably make you think about suicide if you weren’t thinking about that to begin with. Ridiculous.

And it will probably make you constipated, so you’ll have something to think about while you’re on the bowl.

Up The Neck

Well it’s a chilly yet sunny afternoon in Hoboken. No Manhattan today, no thanks. No new York. Staying out, staying local, staying alive. Ha ha ha I’m staying alive staying alive. Pretty mellow. Last night I watched Wristcutters: A Love Story which I liked a lot more than I expected to. I’d give it four stars out of five. Patrick Fugit is the lead. I last saw him in Almost Famous, a five out of five stars movie. He played the Cameron Crowe character. He was adorable in that and he still looks good.

I won’t give too much away in telling you that the story takes place in limbo and all the inhabitants are people who killed themselves. Now that you know the premise I think it would be worth your while to check it out. Tom Waits is also in Wristcutters and that was fun to watch, though when Tom appeared I had to put the subtitles on so I could decipher what he was saying. I like Tom Waits. My sister was into him first back when he was on Asylum Records, but didn’t quite get his stuff. It wasn’t until I was sharing an apartment with Jimmy Lee that I actually got into him.

That was with Swordfishtrombones, Tom Waits first release on Island Records. Tom was producing himself and using various household objects as musical instruments, which definitely got my interest. I remember hanging out with Jimmy Lee and I was moved to tears when the song In The Neighborhood played. Not a terribly sad song but an air of melancholy and day dreaming throughout. Almost mournful horns playing in the background. The bladder moved up to the eyes.

After Swordfishtrombones, came Rain Dogs and that seemed to be a record that everyone I knew had. I saw him on tour for that album, mid-eighties at a theater on Broadway. A celebrity studded audience, we had better seats than David Byrne. A great show, or rather a concert. Tom was a bit theatrical on stage, quite magical actually. I’d love to see him should he tour again but last time he was in New York the tickets were quite pricey. David Byrne pricey.

Walked around Hoboken for a spell this afternoon. Walked up to the Burlington Coat Factory where they just had a grand re-opening. That means they moved a few racks around and added some white paint on top of the depressing battleship gray inside. It was a confusing visit. Almost bought a tie but wound up buying a pair of black jeans for 20.00 since the blue jeans I was wearing had developed a nasty tear right in the crotch.

I walked back home after that, running into a neighbor who has a singing engagement on Tuesday and has a very scratchy throat today. I wished her well, telling her to break a leg. Just watched Waitress which was cute but ultimately sad. Sad because of Adrienne Shelly who was murdered soon after she directed the movie. It’s definitely light fare and would play nicely on Lifetime.

Here are some Hoboken snaps.
Me and my shadow
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Someone loves Jim
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Spring springing forth
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