Dear Friends,
I’m sitting here today thinking about what a different trip to Maine it was this year. There was, of course, the sobriety of it all, which I’m happy to say remains intact. But it was also different in other ways.
Before I get back to the sober part, I want to touch on something that has been on my mind a lot this year and that is using this time to really recharge my brain and body. I took it easy this year and I feel rested. Maybe it is the wisdom (or acceptance) of getting older, but I was really tired when I got here, and I made sure to be smart about it. Rest is not easy for me as my mind is always busy, but rest I did.
*****
It wasn’t particularly easy or hard to stay sober. I really wrestled with the weed thing when I got here. My brain was like, “Hey man… you can just smoke weed while you’re up here and then dump it again when you get back to Phoenix. I know, though, that has never worked for me in the past. I can be good for a while and just take a little toke before bed, but eventually it ramps its way up to smoking way more than I want or need.
The booze part was not as hard as I thought, but there were certainly moments where I thought about taking a little swig here and there. I also thought, maybe I can just take 2024 off and see where I am at next year. That thought crossed my mind a few times on this trip, but again, I know that is just not what I need.
I’m good with where I am as I stare down the barrel of going home and being lonely for 9 weeks. I made it for the first six weeks prior to getting here without taking a drink or having a toke, so I can make it nine. I’ll have a lot on my plate, too, so I can totally do it.
*****
Other than that, Rhondi and I are going to do an early celebration of our 18th anniversary tonight. I’m going to take her out to dinner at a place here in the area called The Hungry Trout. The chef there is a favorite of ours and we’ve eaten his food at many of the different establishments in and around Rangeley where he cooked when we have celebrated in the past.
Eighteen years is a long time and a short time and just time. It’s hard for me to wrap my brain around it, but I also wouldn’t want it any other way. She’s a keeper.
*****
Happy Wednesday everyone.
*****
Back in the days when the idea of cable TV seemed like a decadent waste of money I didn’t have, I found good stuff on TV where I could. At some point in 1989, I saw Night Music which was on after the news on Channel 12 (which was NBC in Phoenix) on Sunday nights. One of the guests that night was a band I had heard of but not yet heard, Bongwater.
In those days, one of my prized possessions was a bong, so how could I not be interested in a band called ‘Bongwater?’ Luckily, they did not disappoint. What they did, though, was amaze and confuse me and I was instantly infatuated with them.
I was already a fan of Ann Magnusson and had developed a huge crush on her from seeing her in movies like The Hunger, Desperately Seeking Susan, and A Night In the Life of Jimmy Reardon. Now here she was in a band that made my head spin. My love for her was complete.
(Side note: I got to interview her for LA Weekly about eight years ago and she was delightful.)
The next chance I got, I hit up Zia on 7th Avenue and picked up a copy of Too Much Sleep. It was quickly followed up by just about everything I could find by the band, but Too Much Sleep was my gateway and remains my favorite.
(Side note 2: I have to reserve the right to revisit Bongwater later this year and perhaps call another record of theirs my favorite.)
I must admit that not every mood is good for Bongwater. They are a band that you have to be in the mood for when you hit the play button, but if you are in the right mood, they are amazing. There is so much going on within the seventeen songs on Too Much Sleep.
Sometimes the band is just fucking around with the listener. If you’ve been paying attention, you already know I love that most of the time. There are instances of spoken word and noise collage on Too Much Sleep that pop in here and there, but it is done with a great sense of both humor and drama.
“Talent Is A Vampire” is a great example of the wide range of Bongwater. Magnusson does a conversation around a slightly disco-ish rave up with a drum machine playing a fast drum loop. The way it is put together was unlike anything I had really heard at the time. It was kind of like Velvet Underground had kids who were in their 20s and had some talent but weren’t exactly sure what to do with it.
When I listen now, I wonder if the early Ween records were influenced by Bongwater. They were kind of happening at the same time, but there are similarities there, for sure. Both bands had these sorts of fragments of songs/glimpses of conversation on their records.
“Psychedelic Sewing Room” is a really perfect example of Bongwater’s approach to pop music. The lyrics take the piss out of popular culture, but the music is equally interesting. I love the little story Magnusson tells during the last half of the song.
The second half (I have the CD) starts off with a couple more of my favorite Bongwater songs. “Splash 1” is a Roky Erickson cover and has this great late 60s folk feel to it. I can easily imagine the cast of A Mighty Wind singing it as a lost track from the film. There is a fun little end to it, as well.
“He Loved the Weather” is another kind of thing entirely. The guitar work on it is fucking great, though. It’s kind of low in the mix, but there. Super demented behind this seemingly benign vocal. Listen more closely, though. “He loved the weather but hated me” is a great line.
“Teena Stays the Same” reminds me of what some of my friends were doing down in the Tucson music scene in the late 80s and early 90s. Lots of cool reverbs on the guitars and sort of fragmented riffage. Time machine! Come quick.
One thing I would do with a time machine is go back to San Francisco in 1991 and get to the Bongwater/Happy Mondays show earlier. I missed a bunch of Bongwater’s set and I regret it greatly.
“One Hand on the Road” is a great riff, too. I really dig that song a lot. It’s also got the Tucson feel to it. I’m guessing some of my buds down there were listening to this stuff, too.
I could certainly go on lauding this record and dropping copious superlatives about the last five songs. I had forgotten how much I truly love this record. It’s so…creative. Bands like Bongwater should come back around and show folks how it is done, but I’m guessing that ship has long saild since Bongwater ceased to exist in 1992.
Come back, Ann and Kramer. Please.
*****
See you tomorrow.
Has AI ever actually met Ann Magnusson?
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