So I made it through last week... wasn't that hard... busy... good.
Having listened to the little yahoo desktop widget that whispers the upcoming weather to me I knew that the wind was gonna blow, hard, all weekend. I guarded against the cold by stocking up on movies, soup and alcohol (just a little wine, nothing to worry about). Saturday night I was sitting peacefully in my 30 year old LA-Z-BOY (the one my dad won at bingo, or a raffle, or something illegal) with cathode rays hypmotizing me into a stupor and it flitted across my brain: I didn't have any insane people ranting at me in the store all week!!!! While that diminishes my blogable occurances, it certainly is easier on the head. However... moments later my phone rang and...
Me:
He: Heeeey dude!!! How's it going? What's up?
Me: [not recognizing the voice right off] Ah, not much, not much, just hanging out, taking it easy.
He: Heeeey man... that's good, that's good. You doing anything later?
Me: [still not recognizing the voice... but the voice seems to be recognizing me, so...] I don't think so. It's pretty crappy out. Think I'm in for the night.
He: Duuude!! We should go out. We should drink.
Me: [definitely not recognizing the voice...] Ah, who was it you were calling for?
He: You man!!! You!
Me: No, who do you think this is? Who do you THINK you're talking to?
He: Samuel, man!! You!!!
Me: Ah, no... no... I'm, not Samuel, sorry... think you dialed the wrong number.
He: Oh man!! Well... hey, are YOU drinking right now?
Me: ...ah, no, not at the moment.
He: But... DO you drink, man?
Me: Well, yeah, but not right now... don't you think...
He: Smoke, man!!! Do you smoke!!!
Me: Not for a long time.
He: Ah, man. You SHOULD smoke!!! WE should smoke... TONIGHT!!!
Me: But I don't...
He: Man, I'm so high right now...
Me: That's obvious... the phone seems to be giving you trouble. Don't you think you should try to get ahold of Samuel?
He: Oh, yeah, right, man.
Me: 'Kay. Bye.
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Tonight's track is from Damien Jurado. A Pacific Northwesterner with a knack for writing songs that sound like the best, darkest and most melancholy of Bruce Springsteen's back catalogue. Like most of my eventual favourites I came across his first album, Waters Ave S., by accident, receiving a playcopy of it from our Sub Pop rep at the time, France.
France was excellent to talk to on the phone... she was enthusiastic about the music, flustered by the amount of work stretched out in front of her... literally from the description of boxes of promo crap stacked in her little apartment. My mental picture of her was a young Jaime Lee Curtis with long hair tied back, hunched over a computer on her living room coffee table... a cat walking over the keyboard... a rubber tree in the corner butting against a chinese lantern... and stale cigarette smoke masked with just-past-useful air freshner.
But, anyway... Waters Ave S was low key, mid-tempo electric/acoustic affair with Jurado's mumbled monotone vocals somehow managing to make everything compelling. It was followed by the old-timey-er, and spookier, The Ghost of David, the title of which referring to a dream Jurado had about David Bazan... his pal and leader of Pedro the Lion. I Break Chairs came out in 2002 and featured band billing for Damien Jurado and Gathered in Song. It was more balls-out in places, but maintained the Darkness at the Edge of Town vibe from the first two albums. There's been a few releases since this one, but a favourite track of mine is Like Titanic from this album. The constant undertone of feedback drone and celeste plinking bang home the innocence and experience duality of the song. Enjoy.
Like Titanic
1 comment:
You know, that could easily have been me on the phone.
To the point where I'm really, really scared, and am thinking I have to make some serious life changes.
Anyway, what are you up to tonight?
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