Watching this is like being punched. Hard. So don't say I didn't warn you.

I didn't know that this footage existed. It's raw, obviously shot by a fan from the crowd. Maybe on a cellphone, hell, I don't know.

This is from Johnny Cash's last concert. It took place barely a month after the death of June Carter, Johnny's beloved wife of 40 years. ("Beloved" isn't really the word, but there isn't any one word.) The date was 6/21/2003. That's two days before what would have been June's 74th birthday.

This is hard to watch. Cash was in terrible health and was probably dealing with as much heartache as a man can feel and still keep breathing.

As a matter of fact, Cash only lived a few more months. He passed on September 12, 2003.

Anyway, here's the clip. Cash talks here about having lost June and dedicates the classic Angel Band to her. If you can make it through this without your eyes leaking you're a stronger man than I am.

There are more clips from the performance at YouTube. Click here to see them.

Labels: Johnny Cash, Music, You Tube

I feel like blogging, but I don't feel like writing anything about bladder cancer. I'm friggin' SICK of writing about bladder cancer. So I'm going to borrow a page from MCF and answer the questions from the famous Proust Questionnaire:

• 1) What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
  
  If I were to answer this question seriously, I'd say the most miserable thing in the world is the loss of a child. But if I were to answer the question sarcastically, I'd say ... oh, screw it. After bringing up the loss of a child, who can be sarcastic?



• 2) Where would you like to live?
  
  Where I live now. Well, in this state and in this county ... but maybe somewhere more rural.



• 3) What is your idea of earthly happiness?
  
  Spending the day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg with my family.



• 4) To which faults do you feel most indulgent?
  
  Ah, damn. I indulge in a LOT of faults. I'll say I'm most guilty of indulging in compulsive behavior. Anything that can be done compulsively ... smoking, eating, drinking ... I've either done it in the past or still do it today.



• 5) Who is/are your favorite hero/heroes of fiction?
  
  OK, let's see, there's Sam Fisher, Spider-Man, Batman, etc, etc, etc.
  
  
• 6) Who are your favorite characters in history?
  
  You know, that really is an odd way to phrase it: "Characters in history." Nonetheless, my list of mortal heroes from real life would have to include St. Peter, Ronald Reagan, Thomas Sowell, Johnny Cash and Ray Charles.
  
  
• 7) Who are your favorite heroines in real life?
  
  OK, uh ... My mom, St. Dymphna, Loretta Lynn, and of course Mary, Mother of God.




• 8) Who is/are your favorite heroines of fiction?
  
  Holy crap! I never think about some of these things. If I gotta come up with something, I'm saying Flo from the Progressive Insurance commercials. "Surprise! Let's bag these up."



• 9) Your favorite painters?
  
  Damn. I don't have any favorite painters. I'll say The Red House Painters are my favorite painters.



• 10) Your favorite composers or musicians?
  
  Well, Gov't Mule, Pink Floyd, Tool, Tony Rice, Marvin Gaye, Metallica, Frank Zappa, Merle Haggard, Phish, and the artists I listed above.



• 11) What qualities do you most value in a man?
  
  Holy crap, I never even THOUGHT about this. I'll say that what I want in a man is someone who's tall, dark and handsome who'll hold me when I cry.



• 12) What qualities do you most value in a woman?
  
  Honesty, accountability, reliability, virtue, reason, reverence, and big, big boobies.



• 13) Your favorite virtue?
  
  Kindness.
  
  
• 14) Your favorite occupation?
  
  I worked in radio for eight years and had a great time. I didn't make any money, but I had a lot of fun.



• 15) Who would you like to be?
  
  Me, but cancer-free. DOH! I was gonna go without mentioning cancer in this post.



• 16) Your most marked characteristic?
  
  I'm inclined to say sarcasm.



• 17) What do you most value in your friends?
  
  Like MCF, I'd say that I value friends who have shared interests and a similar sense of humor. And who're capable of having actual conversations. And who have big, big boobies.



• 18) What is your principle defect?
  
  Selfishness. It's at the root of everything I do wrong.



• 19) What is your favorite color?
  
  Black. I guess. I never think about it.



• 20) What is your favorite flower?
  
  For real? Geez. Uh ... the ones I don't have to mow around.




• 21) What is your favorite bird?
  
  My favorite bird would be the one Johnny Cash flipped in that famous picture taken during his concert at San Quentin.



• 22) Who are your favorite prose writers?
  
  C.S. Lewis. Thomas Sowell. Elmore Leonard. Chuck Palahniuk. And a number of other writers, all of whom I'm too lazy to code links for.



• 23) Who are your favorite poets?
  
  Dammit, maybe I shouldn't have done this questionnaire. I don't have any favorite poets. I do have favorite lyricists, though ... so I'll say Bono, Merle Haggard, Frank Zappa, John Mellencamp, and Glen Phillips.
  
  
• 24) What are your favorite names?
  
  Does this mean names of mine? I have two informal nicknames, Flounder and Derail. I'll answer to either of them as readily as to the name my mother gave me.



• 25) What is it you most dislike?
  
  People who don't take the time to learn about the issues but still voice their opinion loudly. Childishness. People who won't act their age.



• 26) What historical figures do you most despise?
  
  Well, the obvious ones; Osama bin Ladin, Hitler, etc. But also the Clintons, Margaret Sanger, Richard Dawkins.
  
  
• 27) What event in military history do you most admire?
  
  Operation Overlord.
  
  
• 28) What reform do you most admire?
  
  Well, I was glad when Vernon Reed reformed Living Colour.



• 29) What natural gift would you most like to possess?
  
  I'd like to have the strength of a thousand men. And be able to fly. And shoot lasers out of my butt. Do those qualify as natural gifts?



• 30) How would you like to die?
  
  Well, I came into this world naked, bloody and screaming ... and as long as I don't go out that way, I'll be happy.



• 31) What is your present state of mind?
  
  Distracted and kinda bored



• 32) What is your motto?
  
  "Death to Smoochie."

Labels: Blogs, Gov't Mule, Johnny Cash, Metallica, Personal, Trivial Matters

Joe Henry's voice isn't instantly accessible, make no mistake about that. But he's a heck of a songwriter. His song King's Highway tells a story that might even be too bleak for Johnny Cash to have recorded. This song gave me chills when I actually listened to the story. Gov't Mule does a great cover version, but this video features Henry performing it himself:

For those of you who're curious, but don't want to watch the music video, the lyrics to King's Highway are:

I might just change my mind
Sometimes you can never tell
Where a story will unwind
Or how deep is a shallow well

Sometimes you would never guess
Who's all talk and who just might
Find a way or lose themselves
On the King's Highway tonight

I am just like many more
Who lie in bed still and numb
Waking up and I can see
Just how dark it has become

Who knows no better angels now
Who knows none but an earthly light
Who's waiting for a stranger
On the King's Highway tonight

Wasn't how I had it planned
When it finally came around
I took a man with my own hands
But I held him close when he went down

He hadn't time to be afraid
His look was only of surprise
Staring up from where he laid
On the King's Highway tonight

I took the little that he had
Only as an afterthought
He wouldn't have to feel so bad
To think I killed him just because

He was passing through this town
Only 'cause he looked about right
He stopped when I flagged him down
On the King's Highway tonight

I might just change my mind
Sometimes you can never tell

Labels: Gov't Mule, Johnny Cash, Music, You Tube

I read Janet's Tell It To Me Tuesday regularly, but don't usually contribute because I just don't often feel like I have anything worth adding. Better to keep your mouth shut than to add something pointless, right?

But this week's topic happens to be a subject I know a little about: songs that invoke anger. Or, as I interpret the topic, songs to listen to when you're good and pissed off.

I've mentioned before that music therapy is the only thing that works for me when I get highly aggravated, and what I often do is listen to good anger-music to get it out of my system. Once I've heard a few tunes ... good and loud, mind you ... and maybe let out a couple of primal screams ... I tend to feel better. Here are some of the songs that help me bring the anger to a head, dissipate it, and get on with my life.

Pantera: "Regular People"

There are a ton of good Pantera songs when it comes to lettin' off some steam, including B13's outstanding choice, but the one I'd pick is "Regular People", a song about having had it up to here with somebody's BS. As heavy metal goes, Pantera was one of the best bands ever ... and their music was the kind that perfectly suited aggressive, angry lyrics. Each and every track on Pantera's amazing "Vulgar Display of Power" is a monster, and "Regular People" is one of those "critical mass" songs for me.

Sample lyric:
I’ve trampled on that road
That you think you own.
You and that ’smart ass’ attitude,
It’s time to stop the fiction.

Some YouTuber has put together a music video for the song, featuring video from some video game. I have no idea why, the video adds nothing to the music ... but you can sample the song here:

Metallica: "Wasting My Hate"

Of course, the worst thing about being good and mad at someone is that when you get mad and stay mad at some idiot, you're giving them too much of yourself. When you're mad at someone, you're giving them your time, your energy, your mind and your body. And most of the time, when you think about it, the person you're mad at isn't worth the sacrifice.

Metallica's "Load" features a song called "Wasting My Hate", and it really puts it all in a nutshell. The band's James Hetfield wrote the song after hearing a story from country and western legend Waylon Jennings: Jennings was sitting in a cafe having a cup of coffee when he noticed a guy sitting in the parking lot, in the passenger seat of a truck, giving him the evil eye. Jennings looked away, but when he looked back, the guy was still looking at him. So this time he tried to stare him down, but the guy didn't budge. The longer he sat there, the angrier Waylon got, and finally he decided to walk outside and really give it to the guy. And when he got outside and approached the truck, he realized that the guy was sound asleep, head cocked back on the seat, and actually staring at no one and nothing. "Man," Waylon is reported to have said to Hetfield, "I was just wasting my hate on that guy."

Sample lyric:
Good day, how do,
And I send a smile to you.
Don't waste, don't waste your breath,
And I won't waste my hate on you.

Again, the YouTube video features unrelated and irrelevant video, but you can hear the song here:

Johnny Cash: "San Quentin"

Johnny Cash didn't write protest songs to be trendy or to attract attention. If Johnny wrote a song in protest of something, it was because he was good and pissed off. Such was the case in 1969 when Johnny visited San Quentin State Prison in California to perform for the inmates and saw them living in conditions not fit for human beings.

According to the liner notes from Cash's legendary live album "Johnny Cash At San Quentin", Johnny wrote his classic song entitled "San Quentin" during the first hours of his visit to the penitentiary. That was the thing about Johnny Cash... when he converted to Christianity, he took the call seriously. Including Christ's call to His followers to visit and minister to those in prison. Cash believed that people who'd committed crimes should pay their due to society, but that they shouldn't be reduced to something less than human. What he saw at San Quentin appalled him. During his concert that day Cash asked for a drink of the same water that the prisoners drank and found it filthy and disgusting. Later, Johnny debuted the new song for San Quentin's inmates, stirring them to the point that he had to perform the song again, immediately, to satisfy them. Imagine that. Imagine being one of the guards or the warden in that infamous hellhole, watching as a pissed-off country rocker got your whole prison population all worked up, all at once.

Sample lyric:
San Quentin, I hate every inch of you.
You've cut me and you've scarred me through and through.
And I'll walk out a wiser weaker man;
Mister Congressman, you can't understand.

And here's a clip of that very legendary performance:

Tool: "Bottom"

The heavy progressive rock band Tool just gets better and better. Their 2001 album "Lateralus" is possibly the finest example of heavy progressive rock that's been turned out by any band ... but each of their albums is good in it's own right, and 1993's "Undertow" features a number of great songs, including "Bottom".

"Bottom" is a song about wallowing in your own spite ... and let's face it, we all do that from time to time. But "Bottom" is an honest song; a song that admits that when you're wallowing, you're doing nothing more than celebrating your own failure. Still, wallowing has it's appeal. Sometimes when you're good and mad you just want to be left alone to enjoy your anger. And there's nothing wrong with that, as long as you get it out of your system and move on. Have a good wallow, then get up and get on with it.

Sample lyric:
I have swallowed the poison you feed me,
And I survive on the poison you feed me.
Leaving me guilt-fed. Hatred-fed. Weakness-fed.
It makes me feel ugly.

Again, ignore the animation that some YouTuber has attached to the song and just enjoy Tool's groove:

Billy Joel: "Pressure"

Is there anything worse than some jackass who just can't wait to tell you what you should be doing when things fall apart? Not much. And we all know the type, too. We all know some blowhard who just lurks in the background, waiting to see if you're going to fall on your face, not caring what you're doing or what you're learning or how hard you're trying ... just waiting for that chance to waltz up and say "You know, if I were you..."

Billy Joel has obviously dealt with those kinds of people before, and his 1982 album "The Nylon Curtain" contains a track that sums them up to a tee. Billy even sings "Pressure" with a voice that's about to crack from anger, making it obvious that he's not singing about a hypothetical lunkhead. Some smart-ass actually inspired this song. I hope he knew that it was about him when he first heard it on the radio.

Sample lyric:
I'm sure you'll have some cosmic rationale.
But here you are with your faith
And your Peter Pan advice.
You have no scars on your face
And you cannot handle pressure.

And here's the classic music video from the '80's.

Labels: Blogs, Entertainment, Johnny Cash, Metallica, Music, Personal, You Tube

I saw this as a meme at a blog I was reading earlier. It's kinda cool. Go to You Tube and type the year you were born into the search bar, and then post a few of the videos at your blog.

I found some neat stuff from my birth year, 1969.

Here's a truly weird commercial for the truly sweet '68 Mustang:

You're not gonna find a bigger Johnny Cash fan than yours truly, here ... and I enjoyed the following clip from 1968 of Johnny performing Ring Of Fire on TV with the Tennessee Three and the Carters (I'm pretty sure) on background vocals. Nonetheless, Johnny was clearly hopped up on some kind of pills. Note the way his hand jump all over that guitar, doing everything except playing the darn thing:

How about the Red Soviet Army, showing off a bit in Moscow?

It's no secret that I'm not a John Lennon fan, and this '68 clip is as good a bit of evidence as any as to why I don't like the guy. These words, coming from Lennon, would probably be touted by most as brilliant ... but put Mike Myers in a shag wig and have him deliver these same words with the same accent and people would realize that it's pure comedy: "Don't write pop songs and do that and do that, everything you do is the same thing, so do it the same way."

Even 38 years ago, drugs were baaaad neeeews, man. About a minute in you'll see a woman holding a spray-paint can and a cigarette, dancing. She is easily the most wonderful human being I've ever seen.

Labels: Blogs, Johnny Cash, Links, Memes, You Tube

Indulge me.

Everybody is entitled to mope now and then, right? Maybe a little moping, on occasion, is good for you. Maybe. I mean, how do you know you're happy except by comparing your happiness to the times when you're unhappy?

I turned 38 yesterday. There is absolutely nothing special about turning 38.

Nothing.

One more year is over. Big deal.

I was feeling that way already, even before my son called to tell me that he now has a new baby sister. My ex-wife has been pregnant and "due any minute now" for the past couple of weeks. God, who's sense of humor is boundless, chose to give my son's new sister the same Birthday as me.

This basically means that I'll never have my son on my Birthday again.

By the way, my son's new sister also shares a Birthday with Mark Twain, Billy Idol, Winston Churchill … and such famous nutcases as G. Gordon Liddy, Abbie Hoffman, and Clay Aiken.

I like my ex-wife's husband and I'm genuinely happy for their family, but the main thing that I feel is jealousy of their new daughter.

I'm jealous because all of her good birthdays are ahead of her and all of mine are behind me. When you're young, every birthday is increasingly important. Each passing year represents new potential. With each year you put behind you, your abilities increase and your opportunities develop and your potential just goes through the roof.

Then, at some point between 20 and 30, personal potential reaches critical mass and it's "use it or lose it" time. If you do well, if you maximize your potential, you end up with a list of victories. If you don't, at some point you turn around and examine your life and realize that your potential is part of your past.

Then, each Birthday becomes sort of a macabre anniversary. Just one more yearly reminder that you're a little further from the cradle and a little closer to the grave. You're not yet dead, but you're no longer really alive in the ways that matter … you're just metabolizing food and oxygen and waiting for the day you stop doing that.

Yeah, I got my mope on, alright.

Of course, moping (like everything in life) is made better by music. Every element of life needs a soundtrack, even the downtimes.

When I was a teenager, with all the desire to mope in the world (but with no real reason to mope, ironically), my mope music was goth rock and metal. Bands like The Cure, Black Sabbath, Nine Inch Nails … songs like Metallica's "Fade To Black" or "Coma" by Guns N' Roses.

When you're young and congratulating yourself on how seriously you take the dim perspective of life, you can convince yourself that there's actual depth in lyrics such as these, from The Cure:

I crouch in fear and wait
I'll never feel again
If only I could remember
Anything at all

Then, you get older and have some real problems … maybe go through a real crisis or two … and you realize that Robert Smith of The Cure, whatever his legitimate charms may be, is nothing more than a fat British crybaby when it comes to lyrics.

A few of the bands I listened to in those days managed to write some meaningful lyrics … and Johnny Cash's stiring cover of the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt" (with it's remarkable video) absolutely legitimizes the lyrics of that particular track. But, if you want real mope music, you have to look for songs with lyrics that actually deal in a real way with life's constant stream of mundane catastrophes.

With that in mind, I'm appropriately ambivalent about presenting

The SouthCon Top Ten
Mope Songs Of All Time

#10
Song: "And All That Could Have Been"
Artist: Nine Inch Nails
Album: Still

When Nine Inch Nails released their 2001 live album, initial copies came with a bonus disc called Still. The bonus disc was a set of re-recorded versions of older NIN songs, performed acoustically (or, at least, in a toned-down arrangement). Some of the songs were new, and best of all was the album's centerpiece, a desolate and cold piano and vocal piece called "And All That Could Have Been." Trent Reznor (who, basically, is Nine Inch Nails) writes songs about depression and despair quite frequently. It's rare, though, when he manages to avoid melodrama and come up with something honest and raw, a real expression of painful regret.

Sample lyrics:

I know you tried to rescue me
Didn't let anyone get in
Left with a trace of all that was
And all that could have been…

Please, take this and run far away
Far away from me
I am tainted
The two of us were never meant to be

---

#9
Song: "Don't Follow"
Artist: Alice In Chains
Album: Jar Of Flies

Layne Staley of Alice In Chains was always very open about the heroine addiction that eventually killed him, and many of the bands fans (including this one) got tired of the songs about smack. Now and then we'd hear that Layne was in rehab, that he was trying to get clean and sober. It was always to no avail. Sometimes, I suppose before a rehab stay, Staley would write honestly and openly about the mess he was making of his life with his addiction. This song is the best track on the band's 1994 EP.

Sample lyrics:

Hey, I aint never coming home
Hey, I'll just wander my own road
Hey, I cant meet you here tomorrow
Say goodbye, don't follow

---

#8
Song: "Evaporated"
Artist: Ben Folds Five
Album: Whatever And Ever Amen

This is just one perfect little album. Recorded live in the studio, Whatever… features some rollicking good piano from Ben Folds and outstanding support from his guitarist and drummer. This is the kind of album that my generation may have needed in order to realize what was so special about those first few Elton John albums in the early 70's.

Ben Folds is known for smart, funny, acerbic lyrics … and that's the kind of content that dominates the album. So it's something of a surprise that the album's closer is so stark.

Sample lyrics:

Don't you know I'm numb, man.
I cant feel a thing at all.
'Cause its all smiles and business these days
And I'm indifferent to what I've lost.

---

#7
Song: "My Curse"
Artist: Afghan Whigs
Album: Gentleman

Afghan Whigs made a name for themselves by combining soulful arrangements, jangling rock guitars, and lyrics that were often shocking and blunt. They didn't stray from that formula on their 1993 release, which ended up being the band's strongest set.

One track in particular, "My Curse," was really very confessional on the part of lyricist and singer Greg Dulli. In fact, he found the song too painful to sing. A guest female vocalist was brought in to sing the lead vocal for that track on the album, changing the perspective enough that Dulli could bear to record it.

Sample lyrics:

Hurt me, baby.
I flinch so when you do.
Your kisses scourge me.
Hyssop in your perfume.
Oh I do not fear you.
And slave I only use as a word to describe
The way I feel when I'm with you.

---

#6
Song: "Christmas Morning"
Artist: Lyle Lovett
Album: The Road To Ensenada

This was the album that Lyle released after his highly publicized break-up with his former wife, Julia Roberts. I think that we fans knew to expect some painful songs. I don't think, though, that anyone was prepared for the frank and often brutal sting that many of these songs conveyed, especially the darkest track of Lovett's career (so far).

Sample lyrics:

The girl at the grocery, she's pretty. Seems nice.
She looks right through me with eyes cold as ice.
She never answers when I ask her name.
She only says I should have a great day.
But, hey, what could she mean by that?
Perhaps I'm the fool she takes me for.
Not anything more.

---

#5
Song: "Perfect Blue Buildings"
Artist: Counting Crows
Album: August And Everything After

On paper, the album should be unlistenable. On paper, it's one depressing dirge after another, with two upbeat rock songs ("Mr. Jones" and "Rain King") sticking out like a pair of sore thumbs. If it weren't for the striking and memorable arrangements, and if it weren't for the best set of lyrics of Adam Duritz's career, this album surely wouldn't have succeeded. For my money, the best track on the album is "Perfect Blue Buildings," as honest an expression of weariness as has ever been recorded.

Sample lyrics:

Its 4:30 a.m. on a Tuesday.
It doesn't get much worse than this.
In beds
In little rooms
In buildings
In the middle of these lives which are completely meaningless.

---

#4
Song: "Dirty Day"
Artist: U2
Album: Zooropa

It does take a certain courage to write honestly about your life when things are going well. Especially if you're a rock star. Imagine the dilemma U2's Bono faced while recording the band's 1993 follow-up to the highly successful Achtung Baby. Write about the joys of being a rock-star and you might seem cocky, only a notch above David Lee Roth at best. But, if you complain about being a rock-star, you're just another Eddie Vedder-style whiner. What do you do?

Thankfully, Bono is a skilled lyricist. Yes, rich and successful people have their downtimes, too. Apparently, Bono knows something about a life lived in the shadow of an abusive father. Nobody, rich or poor, ever quite gets over that. As always, Bono expressed himself with aplomb and universal appeal.

Sample lyrics:

You're looking for explanations.
I don't even understand.
If you need someone to blame
Throw a rock in the air
You'll hit someone guilty…

Wake up. Some things you can't get around.
I'm in you. More so when they put me in the ground.

---

#3
Song: "Why"
Artist: Annie Lennox
Album: "Diva"

Did anyone really expect Annie Lennox to have such an amazing career after the Eurythmics broke up? I didn't. I really didn't give her much of a second thought, so I was amazed when I actually paid attention to her first solo album and realized that it was outstanding.

What's more, the first single from that debut album was a masterpiece of regret and candor. As the song builds, Annie's crescendo ends with heartbreaking vocals and deeply resonate message about the regret that plagues many of us in our later years.

Sample lyrics:

This is the book I never read.
These are the words I never said.
This is the path I'll never tread.
These are the dreams I dream instead…

And these are the years that we have spent.
And this is what they represent.
And this is how I feel.
Do you know how I feel?
'Cause I don't think you know how I feel.
I don't think you know what I feel.
I don't think you know what I feel.
You don't know what I feel.

---

#2
Song: "Sunday Morning Coming Down"
Artist: Johnny Cash
Album: Sunday Morning Coming Down

Part of the reason that so many of Layne Staley's (mentioned above) lyrics about addiction and substance abuse never resonated with me (with the noteworthy exception of the song listed above) was that he flatly glamorized drug use. Oh, yes, he presented his addiction as a sad and troubling thing … but he also seemed to see himself as somehow romantic and admirable; sort of a Jack Kerouac for the grunge generation. Layne Staley might have had the experience necessary to sing about addiction, but he didn't have the authority to make the songs speak to everyone.

Johnny Cash had that authority. Partly because his big, booming voice just commanded any listener's attention … but also because Cash had cleaned up and stayed clean. Unlike Staley, Johnny Cash's regret about his drug-addled past was real, lasting, and life-changing. So when Johnny Cash released a song about the hopelessness of addiction, you knew that you were hearing truth. Of all of Cash's songs from that well-remembered perspective, my favorite is the title track from his 1972 album.

Sample lyrics:

Well, I woke up Sunday morning
With no way to hold my head that didn't hurt.
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad,
So I had one more for dessert.
Then I fumbled in my closet through my clothes
And found my cleanest dirty shirt.
Then I washed my face and combed my hair
And stumbled down the stairs to meet the day …

In the park I saw a daddy
With a laughing little girl that he was swinging.
And I stopped beside a Sunday school
And listened to the songs they were singing.
Then I headed down the street,
And somewhere far away a lonely bell was ringing,
And it echoed through the canyon
Like the disappearing dreams of yesterday.

On a Sunday morning sidewalk,
I'm wishing, Lord, that I was stoned.
'Cause there's something in a Sunday
That makes a body feel alone.
And there's nothing short of dying
That's half as lonesome as the sound
Of the sleeping city sidewalk
And Sunday morning coming down.

---

#1
Song: "That Lucky Old Sun"
Artist: Ray Charles
Album: Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music

Nobody else could have gotten away with it. When Ray Charles announced to his record company that he planed to follow up a string of successful pop and soul recordings with a country and western album, people were stumped. Why? Why on earth?

Well, because Ray grew up in the American south and loved the music he'd grown up with. And, because Ray recognized something in that music that he wanted to convey to his audience. There was a pain in many of the best of those songs, and he knew and loved the people who'd felt it. He wanted to tell their stories.

Ray Charles sings this song with a genuine, emotional weight. Listen to it and it's easy to forget that he went blind as a child. I've heard nothing, nor have I ever read anything, that so clearly conveys what it's like to work a difficult and unrewarding job, feel unappreciated, and see no end in sight. Ray's eyes might have been blind, but his remarkable performance of this song makes it obvious that he had seen into the abyss.

The lyrics, in their entirety:

Up in the morning.
Out on the job.
I work like the devil for my pay.
But that lucky old sun's got nothing to do
But roll around heaven all day.

I fuss with my woman. I toil for my kids.
Sweat 'til I'm wrinkled and gray.
While that lucky old sun's got nothing to do
But roll around heaven all day.

Dear Lord above, don't you see I'm pining?
Tears all in my eyes.
Send down that cloud with a silver lining
And lift me up to Paradise.

Show me that river, take me across.
Wash all my troubles away.
Like that lucky old sun, with nothing to do
But roll around heaven all day.

---

Wow.

Ray Charles. Johnny Cash. Annie Lennox and U2 and Afghan Whigs and Alice In Chains, etc. If you'll excuse me, I have a CD to burn.

And thank you for indulging a fat ol' redneck who's had a rough week.

Labels: Johnny Cash, Music, Personal

Oh, yeah… a week ago, the Unseen Blogger tagged me with a book meme, and I committed to completing it.

Along the way I noticed that MCF had done the meme, but he'd changed it to an 80's animation theme instead of books since he vaguely remembered having done the book variation in the past. Then Otis got in on the action, doing the cartoon version as well.

Then I remembered that MCF definitely had done a version of this meme before, and that he'd tagged me with it, too. So, since I'd already done this kind of thing once before, I decided to change it up myself. Instead of books and instead of cartoons, my version is about albums:

1. One book album that changed your life:

I'm going with Tony Rice's amazing Cold on the Shoulder. Before I heard this album, I was just like every other uppity dipstick when it came to bluegrass music. I thought I knew what it was all about, I thought it was all about these kinds of people, and I looked down my nose at bluegrass in general. Then I heard Rice. There was no getting around the fact that the guy was a remarkable musician. I don't think I appreciated his absolute mastery of song, though, until I heard Cold on the Shoulder. There were moments (the best example is the track "Wayfaring Stranger") when I sat in wide-eyed disbelief at the inexpressible beauty of what I was hearing. I've been an unabashed and enthusiastic bluegrass fan ever since. And, here's the thing about bluegrass fans: Often when two of us are together and hear someone else mocking bluegrass, you might notice a sly exchange of glances. It's an exchange that says "Remember when we were ignorant a-holes, too?"

2. One book album that you have read more than once listened to a zillion times:

My favorite album, Pearl Jam's Ten. I absolutely love this album. I can't be objective about it. It's just my album. It was the perfect album, released at the perfect time, with each perfect song written and recorded perfectly. I have so many associations and memories with this album. I can remember specific times in my life when it was the background music… specific instances when one song or another from this album was on the radio. I can play each solo on the album in perfect, synchronous air-guitar. I know and can sing along with each of Vedder's grunts, moans and fricatives. And this is an album, not a collection of songs. In case you had any doubt, the band opened and closed it with a brief instrumental bookend piece. It is meant to be heard as a whole, and I hear it as a whole quite frequently, even all these years later. Oh, if only Pearl Jam had ever done even one other album that was half this good. If only they'd concentrated on the music and less on the politically ostentatious posturing. If only, if only….

3. One book album you'd want on a desert island:

Yes, Ten is my favorite album… by my favorite band is and will likely always be Metallica. Yes, I'm aware that Metallica sold out, Metallica sucks, Metallica are a bunch of irrelevant old men, Metallica are yadda, yadda, yadda. Just shut your yappin' pie hole, OK? I don't want to hear it and I don't care. Metallica is my favorite band. The thing is, It's like I'm Metallica's battered wife. I keep taking them back because they used to be so good to me. They still love me… I just know they do, and they'll show it again one day! So in spite of pointless sets of cover songs and blatant instances of hubris and otherwise wonderfully written and played albums that were ruined by an incompetent producers, I keep going back. If I had to pick a single Metallica album to take on a desert island… a place where time stands still, where no one leaves and no one will…it would have to be Master of Puppets. I'll just never get tired of it. It's their high-water mark, they're standard by which I judge every subsequent effort, and an album I could listen to any day of the week. The band created that album by following their instincts, not a trend… and it will go against the grain until the end.

And if you can name the two songs from the album that I quoted in that paragraph (WITHOUT Googling the lyrics), you get ten bonus SouthCon points.

4. One book album that made you laugh:

When The Darkness released their album Failure To Launch, I got what they were doing. I didn't enjoy it, but I got it. They were trying to be heavy and be funny at the same time. Some music critics thought it was impossible and that the band could only be seen as a joke, but I knew better. I knew better because of SOD's outstanding, hilarious Speak English Or Die. This 30 minute blast of thrash metal from 1985 was simultaneously heavy-as-anything and also extremely funny. Even in 1985, SOD recognized the political correcting of rock and roll that was taking place (Rock Against Drugs, anyone?) and they were having no part of it. Speak English Or Die is a thrash metal classic with enough riffs and monster leads to satisfy any metal fan… but with lyrics that literally caused my buddy John and I to have to pull over to the side of the road the first time we listened to the album because we were laughing so hard. Songs like The Ballad Of Jimi Hendrix and Chromatic Death and the blistering title track were so much fun. In much the same way as This Is Spinal Tap from the year before, Speak English Or Die both mocked and celebrated everything that is big and dumb and loud and stupid and wonderful about heavy metal. It remains a cherished favorite of mine to this day.

5. One book album that made you cry:

When Layne Staley of Alice In Chains died, my immediate reaction was cynical disgust. I'd been a fan of the band for years, but I'd also heard all the stories about Layne's frequent overdoses and rehab stints. I wasn't surprised to hear that he'd finally OD's and died. "Stupid junkie," I thought. "If he couldn’t clean up and quit taking the drug that he knew was killing him, why should I give a damn? Just one more dead junkie, right? If somebody is bound and determined to kill themselves with drugs or drink or alcohol, then so be it. Screw 'em. Let 'em die."

A year or so after Layne died, I happened to be listening to an old favorite of mine, the Alice In Chains EP Jar Of Flies. It may be that for the first time I actually paid attention to the lyrics on that particular day… or it may just be that I was just a little more sensitive and a little less cynical than usual for some reason. Anyway, the hopelessness and utter sadness of the lyrics hit me for the first time. Songs I'd always liked, such as Don't Follow and I Stay Away… and, most especially, No Excuses… hit me like a ton of bricks. The honesty, the desperation and the pitiable pleas in those songs overcame me. I found myself actually choked up and wiping away a few tears for Layne and for everyone who was ever swallowed whole by an addiction. There but for the grace of God go I.

6. One book album you wish would have been written recorded:

A live album by The Sleestacks would have been awesome.

7. One book album you wish had never been written recorded:

There is one artist… one and only one, about whom I can say the following: I absolutely can not stand a single song she's ever recorded. I hate, loathe, and despise every one of her songs… at least every one of her songs that I've heard. I make a great effort to hear as few of her songs as possible. And so I can say, for certain and without qualification, that I wish every single album and/or song ever recorded by Shania Twain had never been recorded.


8. One book album you are currently reading rediscovering:

I don't suppose I'll ever get tired of Johnny Cash at San Quentin, maybe my favorite live album of all time. Everyone knows and refers to the Folsom album.. and, granted, Folsom really is a masterpiece… but I can't help but prefer San Quentin. This is one album that has so many layers and so much rich texture that I don't think I'll ever hear all of it, appreciate it entirely, or really fully get it's significance. The music itself, of course, is outstanding. Everyone knows A Boy Named Sue, of course… and, yes, it is indicative of the rest of the album. However, it's only a scratch of the surface. There is so much on the San Quentin album. There's an energy… an urgency… about this recording. It might come from the prison crowd, obviously thrilled about the rare occasion of a night designed to entertain them. It might come from Cash himself, only a year or two into his own sobriety and his marriage to the great love of his life, June Carter. It's probably a combination of the two. Songs like "I Don't Know Where I'm Bound" and "Starkville City Jail" make the rapport between Johnny and his audience palpable. The centerpiece of the show, two back to back performances of the protest song San Quentin, literally make my spine tingle… and the closing gospel set of songs wraps it up with an honestly hopeful finale. God bless the record execs at Sony who decided to finally make the entire recording available in 2000. This is a once-in-a-lifetime set, and I get something more out of it each time I hear it.

9. One book album you have been meaning to read listen to:

At Christmas in 2003 I gave Wendy Brand New's album Deja Entendu, and, shockingly, we both enjoyed it very much. It's rare that we both enjoy an album. I can only think of five or six examples. Anyway, both of us liked Deja Entendu and, somewhere along the line, one or the other of us acquired Brand New's previous album Your Favorite Weapon. I remember listening to it once or twice and thinking that it was really good, really solid, and that I'd probably end up enjoying it quite a bit if I'd just keep listening to it. You know how it goes, though. Sometimes an album just falls through the cracks. Now and then I remember that Your Favorite Weapon is among our music collection and I'll feel guilty about not listening to it more than I have. I'm sure that I'll really enjoy that darn CD… if I only give it the chance to win me over!

10. Tag some others:

My usual standby: If you read this and you're inspired to write something similar, consider yourself tagged.

Labels: Blogs, Johnny Cash, Memes, Metallica, Music

As I've covered ad nauseum here, I'm a Catholic Convert in the mostly Baptist South. That makes me an oddball.


I’m also an unapologetic heavy metal fan in the culturally conservative South, which doesn't make me an oddball particularly… there are quite a few other heavy metal fans 'round these parts.


The thing is, I'm as socially and politically conservative as any good ol' Southern Red Stater. What separates me from most of my cultural contemporaries is, for the most part, the minor issue of musical preference.

I like heavy metal. Most of my peers like current country music. I absolutely loathe country music.

Well, I loathe what passes for country music these days. The crap that they play on country music radio. They can tell me that it's country music all they want, but I know the difference. I grew up listening to Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn and Merle Haggard. I know the difference between real country music and the Shania Twain / Rascal Flats / Toby Keith garbage that is marketed as country music these days.

Here's why I'm on this rant today: Now and then, one of my cultural contemporaries will let me know… either subtly or overtly… that he or she doesn't approve of my taste in music. Nine times out of ten, what happens is this: some rabid fan of modern so-called "country music" will make it clear that, in their opinion, if I were a real conservative, a real Christian, a real whatever, I wouldn't listen to Metallica and AC/DC and Black Sabbath.

My response is always to insist… usually futily… that most heavy metal is harmless and that the really irresponsible and dangerous lyrics are the ones in modern country music. I honestly believe that. When it comes to lyrics, metal is silly, fun, harmless music for the most part. The lyrics of modern country music, on the other hand, are an awful influence on impressionable young people.

That's my thesis… and that's what the following experiment is designed to prove.

So here's the setup… I'm going to post a brief summary of the lyrics to a given song… after the summary, I'll pose the question… have I summed up a metal song or a modern country song? You can click the link to find out the specific song I'm referencing.

So check out these song summaries and judge for yourself… which kind of lyrics are really the worst possible influence on young people?

Example #1: "I had my first sexual experience when I was under-age and drunk. I remember it fondly."
Country or Metal?

Example #2: "I like women who listen to Bon Jovi and get drunk and naked in public."
Country or Metal?

Example #3: "Don’t let peer pressure or material concerns prevent you from confessing belief in God."
Country or Metal?

Example #4: "If a woman is in a relationship with an abusive man, she should murder him and cover up her crime."
Country or Metal?

Example #5: "If a woman is involved in a relationship with an abusive man, she should murder him in the most grizzly way imaginable."
Country or Metal?

Example #6: "Teach your children that prostitution is a viable alternative to poverty."
Country or Metal?

Example #7: "America is a great country and worth fighting for."
Country or Metal?

Example #8: "I've met a woman who would like to build a relationship slowly, but my goal is to screw her and dump her."
Country or Metal?

Example #9: "Mortal leaders are corruptible, but their power is nothing compared to the peace of Heaven."
Country or Metal?

Example #10: "I have come to this establishment to get drunk and arrange a one night stand, and I won't leave until I've been forced to do so."
Country or Metal?

Labels: Johnny Cash, Links, Music