Autumn Souvenir

I've never quite bought into the Radiohead hype. I think they've put out a few really good records (alright, "Ok Computer" is VERY good) and a few average ones. I do hear that they're amazing live, and I hope to see them one day. If you haven't heard the news, the next Radiohead record will be released digitally on October 10th. And they'll be releasing it on their OWN. Yes, you are reading correctly. The wheels are in motion for major change. www.radiohead.com

Where's today's Bob Dylan? Come you masters of war You that build all the guns You that build the death planes You that build the big bombs You that hide behind walls You that hide behind desks I just want you to know I can see through your masks You that never done nothin' But build to destroy You play with my world Like it's your little toy You put a gun in my hand And you hide from my eyes And you turn and run farther When the fast bullets fly Like Judas of old You lie and deceive A world war can be won You want me to believe But I see through your eyes And I see through your brain Like I see through the water That runs down my drain You fasten the triggers For the others to fire Then you set back and watch When the death count gets higher You hide in your mansion As young people's blood Flows out of their bodies And is buried in the mud You've thrown the worst fear That can ever be hurled Fear to bring children Into the world For threatening my baby Unborn a...

So a friend of mine told me that he's a bit tired of Dylan because his roommate repeatedly plays "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35", which has to be Dylan's worst song on a great Dylan record. No, I don't mean that it's his worst song overall; it's not even close, but it's likely one of the worst songs on one of his near perfect records. In other words, remove this from "Blonde and Blonde" and you have a perfect record. Ok, now that I've taken way too many key stokes to explain that, let's get the point: When I heard this, I told him that I had to make him a Dylan mix. Similar to the Springsteen mix that I made for N, this was nearly impossible. I wanted to limit this to 21 songs. Here it is: She Belongs To Me It Takes a Lot To Laugh, It Takes a Train To Cry It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) Shelter From the Storm Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues Don't Think Twice, It's Alright Not Dark Yet Masters of War My Back Pages Vi...

I've never really wanted to know all that much about Nick Drake's personal life, as I've always found that it's best to let his music speak for itself. Nevertheless, whenever I'm afforded the opportunity to learn something, I can't help but take a look. A beautiful interview with Nick's sister Gabrielle can be found here: http://www.sfbg.com/blogs/music/2007/09/gabrielle_drake.html

About two months ago N helped me put a map I'd just bought onto my bedroom wall. Once it was up, we both looked around at different places in the world. For some reason I'm always fascinated by what could be going on, if anything, in the seemingly quiet parts of the world. I find myself transfixed on the Northern parts of Russia or Canada. After a minute, Noreen's eyes landed on a country that was unfamiliar to me. She quietly uttered, "I can't believe it says Myanmar". I had little clue what she was talking about, so I inquired. See, I knew that N was born in Burma, but what was Myanmar? She went on to tell me that the present "government" or juntas changed the name to Myanmar once they took control. N only knew this country as Burma. It's where she was born. She was not born in Myanmar. Amazingly, in the last week or so the Burmese people have joined in the tens of thousands to march for democracy and freedom. Evidently nine protesters were kil...

I could make this entry long-winded and full of disappointment, but ya know what, it's just not worth it. Tonight's two-hour debate was just terrible. Aside from John Edwards, and perhaps Joe Biden, the candidates completely phoned it in. Barack Obama looked TERRIBLE. He was listless, predictable and all over the place. Hillary Clinton, whom I was starting to like a bit, threw me back to my original opinions on Hillary: stiff, too conservative and too aligned with the elites (and wait, she voted FOR the Iran resolution today. Is she kidding?). People argue that she can play the game and that'll help her get into office. Is that what this country really wants and needs? Just another caricature who can play the game? Maybe some do, but not me. We're in pretty desperate and critical times right now and we need something NEW. We need someone with heart, vision and curiosity. We do NOT need the same old. And what about Tim Russert? What is your favorite passage in the bible?...

I am too tired to get out everything, and boy is there a lot to recap, but I want to get out what's fresh, so here it goes.... Our four day jaunt up to Oregon was likely one of the greatest vacations of my life. Not only did I experience some things that I never have before, but I shared it with a wonderful person who added to the experience ten times over. In addition, my ongoing self-discovery seemed to have opened up even more. In the past three months, I've learned more about myself that I have in the previous ten years or so, and this trip only opened up more. Instead of recapping each day and what we did, let's just go with some of the memories that seem to bubble to the top: Lithia Park, Ashland, OR: What a beautiful little nugget in a small town. The duck pond is literally FILLED with ducks. They're all over the pond, crowded on the banks, walking all over the grass, hanging across the street. They are EVERYWHERE. Once they seem to gain your trust (e.g., see you...