Dear Friends,
We are machines with really only one purpose and that is to make little humans.
When I start to really complicate things in my brain, it helps to remind myself of this fact. Our species does want to survive, even though it seems like we don’t a lot of the time, and when I start to make things into way more than they actually are, I have to remind myself of this simple truth.
I think I am just re-using the speech that Richard Dreyfuss’s character, “Matt Hooper” gives to “Chief Brody” (Roy Scheider) about the shark being the perfect eating machine in Jaws. Making little humans or sharks or puppies is really the only thing all living things are supposed to be doing. Well, that and being food for something else.
We are food for the earth, I suppose. If we don’t play our cards right, though, we will be food for other humans. At least if you read Twitter.
*****
Today, though, we will have the first day of celebrating America. Family and friends will come over and we will hot dog and hamburger and conversate. I will drink a few near beers and later on tonight, we will go out on the lake and watch the fireworks. Fun will be had.
Rangeley puts on a heck of a fireworks show. It’s even better when viewed from a boat underneath them as they go off. It looks like you are right in the line of fire.
Back in the day, I would have dreamt about watching a fireworks show like this under the influence of LSD. That was my favorite thing about July 4th in my late teens, although I don’t think I actually dropped acid and watched them that many times.
I’m pretty sure I did this topic to death a couple of years ago. At very least, this is my fourth straight July 4th celebration in Rangeley and if I get my way, I will be here for the 3rd and 4th for the rest of my days. I kinda like it here.
*****
My favorite record that I have ever stolen, New Order’s Low-Life introduced me to a song that has been among my favorites for almost forty years now. “Love Vigilantes” has been in what I would have to say is my top-ten songs since the first time I pushed play on my purloined cassette.
Something about the story in the song, which was panned by critics at the time, has always just touched me. When I step away from it as objectively as I can, there is really nothing particularly special about the song in comparison to many other songs I love. The music is mid-tempo and the vocals are not sung in a manner that is amazing by any standard, but the whole package has always been special to me.
The song is about a soldier dying, presumably in combat, and figuring it out when he gets home and sees that his “wife lay upon the floor, and with tears her eyes were sore.” He sees the “telegram that said I was a brave, brave man but that I was dead.” Maybe he doesn’t really die at all and it’s a mistake, but I’ve always figured he was a ghost.
It’s very different from almost every other New Order song. I could easily say this is why I like it so much, but that’s not the case. I love a lot of other New Order songs, too. In fact, the whole record is pretty great. It’s gotten me through some rough times like an old, comfy blanket.
“Love Vigilantes” is a great first song. At the point in which I slipped this cassette tape into the pocket of my shorts when walking through Tower Records, I probably hadn’t heard much of their music outside of the dance single, “Blue Monday” from 1983. It could very well be that “Love Vigilantes” is the first New Order song I heard on purpose.
(Side note on “Blue Monday”: It’s the first New Order vinyl I ever purchased. I wish I still had that 12”)
For years, I entertained the idea of covering “Love Vigilantes” but too many people have done bad versions of it and the novelty wore off. I love Duncan Sheik, but his version of “Love Vigilantes” is terrible, as is the Iron & Wine cover, too. Clearly it is a song that should be left alone.
“Perfect Kiss” is back to more of what makes New Order great. It’s a song that I enjoy quite a bit, too, although I would never call it a ‘favorite.’ There is something that New Order does a lot of the time that starts to sound a bit repetitive to me and that’s the single notes hit three or four times as an accent in songs. They started that whole thing in their more dance-y stuff, and it’s great, but I just start to numb out, mentally, when I hear it.
As mentioned, Low-Life has been like comfort food for me. Often, I sing along with “Love Vigilantes” and then let the rest of the record play without really giving it much thought. Today is the deepest I’ve considered the other songs.
I do like “This Time of Night” a lot. I also enjoy “Sunrise” quite a bit. It’s probably my second favorite song on the record. I love how the song creeps in after the somber keyboard parts. Bernard Sumner’s guitar is pretty darn iconic, and it carries the song to really, at least for me, unexpected heights as the ‘sun’ ascends.
“Elegia” is really beautiful, too. Sumner leads the way again over with a beautiful riff over the synths. As far as instrumentals go, it’s just awesome. If you’re reading this and will have a hand in planning my funeral, please play this song at some point during the service. I want people to think about me while they listen.
“Sooner Than You Think” lightens the mood a bit on side B. It’s a little bit choppy and mildly forgettable, but it does pick things up a bit. I also do like the music that accompanies the verses. It’s probably the best part of the song.
I do enjoy “Sub-culture” a lot, too. It reminds me of when I was young and liked dancing to this kind of stuff. It’s really true that if you dance, you can get the girls. I’m not saying I was ever a good dancer. I was probably goofy as fuck, but when we would go to Tommy’s, if I got up there and danced, I would usually make some new friends of the female persuasion. “Sub-culture” reminds me of those days a lot.
Peter Hook’s bass in “Sub-culture” is pretty rad, too. I didn’t want to forget that. The guy has created some great bass lines over the years.
“Face Up” finishes things off. It’s neither unforgettable nor terrible at this point in my life. I do remember really liking it when I was a teenager. The chorus is pretty great, actually.
“Oh, how I cannot bear the thought of you…”
Those maudlin Brits. Gotta love’em.
*****
See you tomorrow.
Baby making machines vs sharks by AI.
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