Dear Friends,
I spent the end of last night in such a funk. It mostly stemmed from eating so much food yesterday afternoon over at Doug’s with the J’s and the family that I just couldn’t get out of my own way. Every little thing, like the last few minutes of the Suns game I saw, just put me in a bad mood.
It was a really lovely evening up to the point where my stomach said, “Whoa, Tiger! I’m only yay big.” It’s always good to have some time on the patio with everybody. Rhondi made an amazing meal, and we extended the celebration of her birthday.
*****
Today is one set of parents’ 40th anniversary. It’s been a rough week for them, and they’ve been on my mind a lot. I can’t imagine how they are feeling right now, but I hope they know they are loved, and we celebrate with them today hoping they are feeling good about who they are and all they have built together.
It’s crazy to think of how 40 years can seem like a blink of an eye in some ways. I have some fairly specific memories of that day back in 1984. My buddy, Matt P., was there with me at the wedding. My grandparents, Jack and Val, were there, too. I was my dad’s best man.
I remember being so happy for my dad that he had found someone to love and who loved him. He was a dutiful dad during what had to be some very lonely years for him, and I can understand now how difficult that must’ve been. Lori came along and gave him a new way of looking at life. Love can do that for you.
It couldn’t have been easy for Lori to step into the situation she did. I was not a bad kid, but I was kind of a mess. I was beginning to scratch a lot of surfaces in those days and the rollercoaster ride was really just beginning. I think she was 27 or 28 at that point and considering I almost have three kids now that age or older, I know that isn’t nearly as old as I thought it was back in 1984.
Life comes to all of us pretty damn fast.
Too fast, sometimes. But no matter what, we are all here in 2024 just doing the best we can to be the best we can. I love my dad and my Lori. I’m so happy they have each other.
*****
On a completely different note, a profound “Fuck you” to the Starz Channel. I really enjoyed their Hightown series set in Cape Cod. It’s a serious bummer the way they ended it. For fans of a very good police-type show, I recommend it, but don’t get mad at me if you watch and go, “What the fuck?” like I did at the end of season 3.
The show ended on a pretty righteous cliffhanger but won’t be back for season 4. Starz could have given us one more short season and tied things up. Between this and the way they treated Pennyworth, eff Starz in the B.
TV rant over.
*****
Had a really good jam with Amy, Dana, and Ward yesterday. We made some super fun noise.
*****
Plumbing planning took a step forward. Headway will be made this week.
*****
It is only by chance that the 70th record was from 1970. I don’t plan these things, really. It’s just the way it worked out.
This is the first Doors record to be released after I was born. It’s almost as old as I am. In fact, it wasn’t even recorded until after I was born, so by some weird cosmic sense, maybe I have a hand in it somewhere. I mean, my dad was and still is a huge Doors fan. I probably know more of Jim Morrison’s lyrics by heart than just about any other lyricist because I heard them a lot when I was young. I’m not complaining.
Even in high school, in the midst of my punkest years, I still went through a pretty heavy Doors phase and even had a concho belt. I remember having to give it up as collateral during math class one day because I didn’t have a pencil and that teacher didn’t give you a pencil unless you gave them something of yours.
That moment was a bit of a nightmare because I was frying pretty damn hard and the noise from the silver belt kinda set the LSD off in my brain like a bunch of firecrackers. I think I kept it together pretty well. I aced the algebra test, but I didn’t make a habit of taking tests on drugs.
Morrison Hotel starts off with “Roadhouse Blues” on the “Hard Rock Café” side (side A) and it is an absolutely classic song. Robby Krieger’s guitar and Ray Manzarek’s tack piano riffage are unforgettable. I instantly perk up when I hear the opening notes of the song. “Do it Robby, do it!” could easily be, “Do it Lonnie, do it,” as Lonnie Mack played the bass on the song, but no matter what, it’s one of my favorite songs.
As the album continues, there is a bit of a lull with “Waiting for the Sun” and “You Make Me Real.” They aren’t bad songs, but they aren’t my favorites. If I had to choose one to listen to, it would definitely be the former. Krieger is a bad ass on “Waiting for the Sun,” too, but the verses drag for me.
“You Make Me Real” is kinda fun, I suppose, but there is something about the lyrics that are kind of basic. Ray Neopolitan is playing a pretty cool bassline in the song. I wonder what they did for this one live or even if they played it in their sets in those days. Morrison was pretty much in trouble with the law a lot in those days, so it might never have been played live.
“Peace Frog” is another favorite of mine. It spoke to me pretty loudly back in the 80s and still does. It’s groovy and pissed off and the lyrics are full of venom. Morrison’s use of blood imagery is powerful, especially when you consider what was going on in the news in those days. I can’t leave it, though, without reiterating the groove. It’s fucking jivey and I love it. When I DJ I often play it and it pisses me off if people don’t recognize the groove in the song.
“Blue Sunday” is one of those Doors-y ballads that works because of Morrison’s baritone and it’s short and sweet. Krieger and Manzarek had such a nice connection and drummer John Densmore rarely, if ever, overplayed a song. Case in point, “Ship of Fools” really swings because of Densmore.
Side two is the “Morrison Hotel” side. I used to avoid this side, but the older I get, the more I like it. “Land Ho!” is kind of a fun song and once again, Robbie Krieger shines. I have to believe he enjoyed playing his parts a lot. They are kind of feisty and kind of fun.
“The Spy” has this bluesy, lounge thing going on. It’s pretty fantastic. Seems like it would be a good song for a driving scene in a movie. Maybe it will make it into a story one of these days. I kinda love it.
“Queen of the Highway” is kind of meh, to be honest. There is a thing about the Doors that I go back and forth on when I listen to them. It’s the whole self-cannibalization thing. They do it a lot. “Indian Summer” totally feels like a mellow excerpt from “The End.”
At least “Maggie M’Gill” is a good ender. It’s got the whole stomping blues kind of thing going on and Morrison is sounding pretty dark and ominous. I’ve always wondered about “Tangie Town.” I did a cursory search on it by looking at that song meaning site, but it didn’t mention it. Sometimes it is better just leave things alone.
*****
See you tomorrow.
Do you know her?
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