Dear Friends,
Some days, you just have to mutter, slightly under your breath, “hmmm.”
Two weeks into half of my heart being 3000 miles away, and I don’t know what to say. I go through this ‘lost puppy’ sadness thing that feels like what I imagine depression to be for the first few weeks she is gone every year. Usually, I would just drink and smoke weed every night so I could pass out, but this year, well, if you’ve been reading, you know.
When I got sober in my 20s, I used to hear the phrase, “First you get sober, and then it’s real.” I remember wondering when it was going to get “real.” In those days, I threw myself into school, then started a band, and it was then, when Hillbilly Devilspeak came along, I threw myself headlong into that. It became my new addiction.
Things never got really real until I found myself married and with a son and faced how unhappy I truly was with my life. I wasn’t unhappy with Ryan, that’s for sure, but even that situation was not what I wanted it to be, and I’ve never really learned how to be the guy I want to be for him. It’s better now, at least I think so, but it could be better still.
I’ve been in a funk, as of late, but I haven’t wanted to drink or smoke. I’m perfectly happy with feeling good physically. I could sleep better, but not so much that I want to feel shitty from having had three 7% beers and/or a bunch of way too powerful pot.
So, I think, and I write, and I work on little projects. Or big projects. Or I watch TV.
I also think about how empty the house feels without Rhondi.
Three weeks, though, I will be there with her and all will be well, including the bug bites yet to come.
*****
I’ve been watching Loudermilk the last few nights. It’s a bit maddening, but I like it. The sobriety stuff is really hitting close to home, and I like that, too. After finishing Resident Alien, I needed something new and Loudermilk is filling the need. The plethora of good TV available makes things a bit better. Happy to listen to any suggestions, too.
Speaking of Resident Alien, I’m guessing the show won’t be back. The way they ended it seemed like, and I’m just going off of my gut here, like maybe the show had run its course. I hope I’m wrong because it is still quite entertaining, and I’d love to see it finish strong. If you haven’t watched it, you definitely should.
*****
Patting yourself on the back is dangerous. You’re very likely, at least at my age, to injure or aggravate a shoulder in doing so. It’s best just to smile and nod knowingly to yourself.
If I’ve learned anything from this process, I have a diverse musical taste and that’s a nice thing to have. In the early to mid-1980s, I was listening to a lot of different stuff. I don’t think I would have given myself a lot of credit for that then. In fact, I was worried that I was some sort of poser.
In high school, I was under the impression that the coolest people tended to listen to just one type of music. How dumb is that? A well-rounded taste in music makes life better. I guess, maybe, when you’re a teenager, you don’t have any real urge to make life better except when attempting to have sex.
Maybe skateboarding, too.
Like most people who were 14 and into music, the Thompson Twins were on my radar. In 1983, I became aware of them because of the song “Lies” which is a great pop/new wave song. When Into the Gap came out the next year, I got a cassette of it. I could have bought it or it might have been a gift, I don’t remember, but I do remember enjoying the heck out of it.
Into the Gap is full of catchy, pop gems and the best part is that several of the ladies I was interested in as a freshman and sophomore were fans of the Thompson Twins, too, so there was something to talk about. I suppose “Hold Me Now” was my favorite, but I also really liked ‘The Gap” and “Day After Day.”
The latter of the two, “Day After Day” has this super funky bass line over some very non-rock and roll percussion. It’s almost like Oingo Boingo, XTC, and Talking Heads had a little new wave baby. Probably just a splash of Talking Heads, but you probably get my drift.
Listening to the record takes me back to being 14. It’s wild, and I know I’ve mentioned this before, but some of these records that I loved as an early teenager are really a form of time travel. I can close my eyes and see my room on Charleston and 47th Avenue. I can even picture pushing the eject button on my little console stereo so I could slide the cassette tape into it and hit play.
“No Peace for the Wicked” is another solid pop song. I’m not going to go so far as saying that I really like all the songs, but the middle of the recording is pretty great. I don’t know if it will make it into my regular rotation again anytime soon, but stranger things have happened.
I don’t want to forget going a bit further into “The Gap.”
I didn’t know until earlier today that the Thomspon Twins had taken an extended holiday in Egypt when they decided to just be a three-piece and fired the other members of the band. Not that I was surprised that they had been a five-piece, and maybe even a sextet for a while, but I have always thought of them as a trio.
“The Gap” has a decidedly middle eastern flavor to it that I’ve always liked. The bass line has this little edge to it, but it’s also very much a Morris Day and the Time bassline, too. If you don’t believe me, listen to the two bands back-to-back.
“Sister of Mercy” reminds me of being on the dance floor at Tommy’s not knowing how to dance to this song. Was it a slow dance number or did you do a slow disco-ish boogie? Who the fuck knew.
Time travelling. Again.
*****
See you tomorrow.
AI sees the Thompson Quads
No TV recommendations other than what's already on the list, but they're putting the finishing touches on Tron 3.