Tag Archives: John Lennon

Dracula’s Lament

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Well I was all set to start writing about a half hour ago but I started playing So It Goes by Nick Lowe on guitar, then wound up playing Stereotypes by the Specials and then I went into Give A Little Bit by Supertramp and then finally found myself playing The True Wheel by Brian Eno and I was in heaven.

So many changes but so much fun to play. A welcome distraction. My callouses are coming along quite nicely and my index finger on the left hand isn’t as cramped as it had been. I haven’t been playing as much as I would have liked to but apparently not playing had served me well.

This evening from Bill: You know baby, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
Me: Aw I agree baby, I feel the same way. I AM the best thing that’s ever happened to you.

Last night I went down to Julio’s apartment and hung out. Like old times, we had a bottle of wine and talked. Stine and Alexander are in Denmark and Julio is flying out there on Saturday, not coming back until next year. And by next year, I mean in a couple of weeks.

It was good last night, we talked about McSwells and how he doesn’t ever want to go there again. Not even for a drink, but of course I am always game to hoist a pint or two with Rand.

We also talked about seeing Macca at both Madison Square Garden and CitiField. He felt the Garden was more intimate but the sound and sightlines at CitiField were much better.

Julio also had 2 Christmas presents for me, which was an awfully nice surprise.

One was a biography on Paul McCartney that just came out. I had read the reviews and they were quite good. It’s by Peter Ames Carlin and not a puff piece. I don’t think I’ve ever read a McCartney bio, except for the authorized one by Barry Miles, Many Years from Now.

That was good, but Paul was directly involved in it. The one that Julio gave me last night mentions how Paul has been rewriting the past to suit his needs, like saying that he basically wrote In My Life. Julio hoped I didn’t have it and I didn’t.

He also hoped I didn’t have the other book, John Lennon : The Life by Phillip Norman. I didn’t have that either but I did take it out of the library earlier this year and read it. Julio was dismayed by that but also to be on the safe side, gave me gift receipts for both books.

I did take a walk to Barnes and Noble in Hoboken this afternoon looking to exchange the Lennon book, but they had a meager selection. I could go to another Barnes and Noble in the city and exchange it there, but it’s such a lovely picture of John on the cover and not wanting to disappoint Julio, I think I will end up keeping it.

But I may go into the city and just take a look see. There is that Beatles book scheduled to be released in June 2010, You Never Give Me Your Money but I don’t think I can or should wait that long.

I came upstairs and stayed up to watch Craig Ferguson’s 1000th broadcast. I’m really enjoying his show and last night was very funny. No Craig Ferguson, he had puppets instead, interviewing the guests and also had Jason Segal and Nathan Danforth with The Broken West featuring Ferguson’s Dracula puppet singing Dracula’s Lament from Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

So sweet that I posted it on Facebook. Just something really nice and Jason Segal is cute too. And now I am posting it here too…

The Belldog

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Well it’s been a lazy, good for nothing Friday. No, not really. Been busy. Did some laundry, went to the library, smoked a cigar on the stoop. That’s basically it. So that means, since I have nothing to write about, it’s time for the iTunes shuffle.

The Belldog- Brian Eno & Cluster from the album After the Heat. A good song by one of my favorite people teaming up with 2 German guys named Moebius & Roedelius. The UK Music press labeled the genre, Krautrock. A nice meditative and mechanical song. Hard to find. I had a cheap vinyl copy and sometime ago I found a download which I promptly downloaded.

Sad But True- Orbital My favorite Orbital track. Probably a great club track but how would I know? I dislike clubbing. I got this disc (Snivelisation) from Rand & Lisa and played a few tracks for Bill last night. He loved it but couldn’t find it on iTunes. Since I had the disc available, he uploaded that and saved some dough.

My Mummy’s Dead- John Lennon from Lennon Legend. No editing the list here. This is the last track from John Lennon- Plastic Ono Band. Of course the title betrays what a downer it is. Only 1:16 long which is more than enough time to move onto the next track.

Oddly enough, following the Walrus comes,

Egg Man- The Beastie Boys, from Paul’s Boutique. Paul’s Boutique is the Beastie Boys 2nd album and a step forward from Licensed to Ill, produced by the Dust Brothers. Great use of Bernard Hermann’s Psycho strings at the end. The actual boutique, once located on the Lower East Side has been gone for years and the cover is now unrecognizable. Hope Adam Yauch recovers soon enough.

The Part You Throw Away- Tom Waits, from Blood Money. Got this and the companion CD, Alice, from the Arcata contingent a few years ago. It’s a great pair of records, but not something I play too often. Very downbeat, Germanic cabaret feel.

I Got You (I Feel Good)- James Brown, from Live at the Apollo Volume 2. 29 seconds long, a very fast version used as a bridge between songs. I would have loved to have seen this show in 1967, but I doubt if my parents would have been so keen on going to Harlem to satisfy the whims of a 5 year old. It’s definitely a phenomenal record.

Dreaming- Blondie, from Blondie’s Greatest Hits. Another great song. Clem Burke is a fantastic drummer on this, but then again he’s always a fantastic drummer. He used to pop up at McSwells from time to time, just to have a drink. He’s an acquaintance of Chaz’ I believe. One of my favorite Blondie songs.

Come Together/Dear Prudence/Cry Baby Cry [Transition]- The Beatles, from the Love album. A good mash up courtesy of Giles Martin, George Martin’s son. Seems like it’s been more than a week since I saw Paul McCartney last Friday with Bill, Anne & Earl, Julio & Stine, but it’s true. And this is another disc that Anne got me a few years ago.

Simmer Down- The Wailers from the Bob Marley- Songs of Freedom boxed set. I love the early songs of the Wailers. So young and fresh with the ska. Easy to see where the 2 Tone bands got some inspiration. Fun to sing along and dance to, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Pretzel Logic- Steely Dan, from the album of the same name. Another great song and one of my favorite Steely Dan songs. Where did you get those shoes? Now Becker & Fagen are on tour, playing all their hits. No money in record sales these days, so they’re on the road, one night devoted to the Royal Scam, another night for Aja etc. I’m not going, too much money.

Hey Hey- Neil Young, from his Greatest Hits. Neil’s response to Punk Rock which was basically over by the time this came out. And Johnny Rotten didn’t die. It was Sid. This is the heavy version, not the acoustic. It did get airplay on the late lamented WPIX-FM back in the day.

That’s about it. I know how much you all like the shuffle reports.

Don’t know if I’ll post tomorrow, I may be in Otisville, if Pedro ever calls back.