I recently returned from a European vacation, sadly without Chevy Chase as my driver. The first two days were spent in Paris so I could be at my good friend GF's wedding on Aug. 29.
I arrived in Paris three hours late due to a delay taking off in Toronto, but after checking in to my hotel had enough energy to visit the Montparnasse Cemetery, the resting place of Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, among many others. I had not been there on prior visits to Paris, it was interesting. I spent most of the rest of the afternoon in Jardin du Luxembourg, near my hotel, before taking a short nap and meeting up with high school friends who were in for the same wedding from Los Angeles (GF's last residence before Paris.) We had a nice dinner and a few drinks afterward.
The following morning, I walked to the Arc de Triomphe (maybe 45 minutes) and then the length of the Champs Elysee to the Louvre, and across to Ile de la Cite for a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral. After that, it was time to head back to the hotel to shower and change, and the rest of the day was devoted to what was a lovely wedding and reception.
On Saturday, I took in the exhibit at the Centre for Contemporary Art (which I had passed the day before and was intrigued by, mostly because the building was quite cool.) Then I walked to St. Germain Cathedral to visit there, as well, and took a leisurely stroll along the Seine to Eiffel Tower park, where I was meeting the wedding gang for an afternoon picnic. We spent a few hours in the park before I had to rush off for a flight to Budapest. That segment of the trip will be the next posting...
September 11, 2008
August 22, 2008
Ten minutes to meltdown
This morning I had the distinct pleasure of being woken up by Slobberbone's "Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today." Now eight years old, this record grows in stature every time I think (or as was the case, when my alarm system selected it at random as the record I would hear first) to play it.In a way I often think of this as the last Slobberbone record, which isn't fair of course, because two years later the band put out "Slippage" which is no slouch of a record either. But it's hard to deny that for a band that was known for their incendiary live shows and that toured small clubs relentlessly with an electric assault that couldn't be denied, that the "roots" sound of EYTWRWWT captured Brent Best, Brian Lane, Jess Barr and Tony Harper at their best and most varied. From the opening chords of "Meltdown" through the rock raveups of "Placemat Blues" and "Lazy Guy" to my personal favourite track, "Bright Eyes Darkened" (which, on reflection, might have been a bit of a window into the sound of the band that rose from S'bone's ashes, The Drams) and the majestic "Some New Town" this record is simply top notch from start to finish.
In other news, I just received four discs worth of Blind Willie McTell. The package is thin on liner notes and leaves a lot to be desired from a packaging perspective at first glance, but at $6 a disc I can't really complain too much. More once I've listened to it.
August 21, 2008
Down the tracks to an unwritten future
I recently watched two good music documentaries, "Down the Tracks" about the music that influenced Bob Dylan before he influenced everyone else, and "The Future Is Unwritten" about Joe Strummer's life before, during and after the Clash.
"Down the Tracks" was interesting, though as one might expect from a film that had no official involvement from Dylan himself, it left me a little wanting at times. Still, the archival footage of various country blues artists like Son House, Blind Willie McTell, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Leadbelly, and many others, as well as extensive interviews with many of the Greenwich Village folk scenesters of the 1960s was pretty engaging, and definitely renewed a long-dormant interest in the music that inspired the Bard of Minnesota. Toward the end the director veers off course maybe a little, trying to make an argument that Dylan's flirtation with country music also connect him to Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers and others, but it's not as compelling as the part about the country/delta blues players and Woody Guthrie.
The downside is that my credit card is getting a workout the past few days. The upside is, if you're an eBay shareholder at least, there's more business there.
"The Future Is Unwritten" I greatly enjoyed. Joe Strummer, along with Bob Dylan, had as much to do with opening my eyes to the world as anyone when I was an adolsecent. Seeing someone be that political, relentlessly, made quite an impression on me, so watching this documentary was a bit like witnessing a eulogy for an old friend. The interesting part to me was the post-Clash, pre-Mescaleros interlude, which probably only covered 10 minutes in the documentary, but is the biggest blank spot in Strummer's life for me -- though perhaps if I ever got around to reading the copy of "Redemption Song" I bought ages ago that might not be the case. In any event, seeing how Strummer reacted to the rise and fall of the Clash, and his discomfort with the level of fame they reached is quite striking, and makes the brief return to glory he had with the Mescaleros prior to his death in 2002, all the more sweet. Check out the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg3md__8IaQ
And I can tell you, having seen Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros three times in New York (well, ok, twice in Brooklyn, once in New York proper AKA Manhattan) that his last band wasn't his best -- it would be hard to top the Clash from 1977-1982 -- but it was damn close. I still remember my excitement in the fall of 2001, while marooned by work in central New Jersey because our office building was rendered uninhabitable by the 9/11 attacks, sitting on the NJ Transit train into Penn Station, barely able to sit still as I headed toward the City. This was the first time I was going to see JOE STRUMMER since the regrettable "Cut the Crap" tour of 1985 or 1986.
I got off the train and almost ran the 20+ blocks from Penn Station to Irving Plaza that night to see Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros. I don't think I even owned their records at the time, so I didn't know what I was going to hear. But what I did hear was awe-inspiring. A long lost artist leading a new band, looking happy and joyful, and playing new songs that were as strong as his old, even if they did sound like they came from a very different place. That he and the band mixed in about 10 or so Clash songs didn't hurt either.
"Down the Tracks" was interesting, though as one might expect from a film that had no official involvement from Dylan himself, it left me a little wanting at times. Still, the archival footage of various country blues artists like Son House, Blind Willie McTell, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Leadbelly, and many others, as well as extensive interviews with many of the Greenwich Village folk scenesters of the 1960s was pretty engaging, and definitely renewed a long-dormant interest in the music that inspired the Bard of Minnesota. Toward the end the director veers off course maybe a little, trying to make an argument that Dylan's flirtation with country music also connect him to Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers and others, but it's not as compelling as the part about the country/delta blues players and Woody Guthrie.
The downside is that my credit card is getting a workout the past few days. The upside is, if you're an eBay shareholder at least, there's more business there.
"The Future Is Unwritten" I greatly enjoyed. Joe Strummer, along with Bob Dylan, had as much to do with opening my eyes to the world as anyone when I was an adolsecent. Seeing someone be that political, relentlessly, made quite an impression on me, so watching this documentary was a bit like witnessing a eulogy for an old friend. The interesting part to me was the post-Clash, pre-Mescaleros interlude, which probably only covered 10 minutes in the documentary, but is the biggest blank spot in Strummer's life for me -- though perhaps if I ever got around to reading the copy of "Redemption Song" I bought ages ago that might not be the case. In any event, seeing how Strummer reacted to the rise and fall of the Clash, and his discomfort with the level of fame they reached is quite striking, and makes the brief return to glory he had with the Mescaleros prior to his death in 2002, all the more sweet. Check out the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg3md__8IaQAnd I can tell you, having seen Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros three times in New York (well, ok, twice in Brooklyn, once in New York proper AKA Manhattan) that his last band wasn't his best -- it would be hard to top the Clash from 1977-1982 -- but it was damn close. I still remember my excitement in the fall of 2001, while marooned by work in central New Jersey because our office building was rendered uninhabitable by the 9/11 attacks, sitting on the NJ Transit train into Penn Station, barely able to sit still as I headed toward the City. This was the first time I was going to see JOE STRUMMER since the regrettable "Cut the Crap" tour of 1985 or 1986.
I got off the train and almost ran the 20+ blocks from Penn Station to Irving Plaza that night to see Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros. I don't think I even owned their records at the time, so I didn't know what I was going to hear. But what I did hear was awe-inspiring. A long lost artist leading a new band, looking happy and joyful, and playing new songs that were as strong as his old, even if they did sound like they came from a very different place. That he and the band mixed in about 10 or so Clash songs didn't hurt either.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
