Dear Friends,
Today marks the beginning of Liam’s 18th year. I can’t believe he’s been part of my life for 17 years. Where has the time gone?
According to the interwebs, that day featured a record rain fall somewhere in Minnesota. I remember being in the hospital with Rhondi awaiting Liam’s arrival. She was having terrible back labor pains, and I was super worried about her. I hated seeing her that way. I felt helpless and it didn’t seem like the hospital staff were able to help her much.
But that afternoon, he arrived. They took him to the NICU for a bit as he had some fluid on his lungs (or so they thought). I stayed down there with him for most of the time he was in there, going back and forth to tell Rhondi what was happening. When we finally got to have him with us, I was so relieved to hold him.
He was the “Baby man.”
He’s always been kind of a hoot. Liam is a natural performer and enjoys being the center of attention when he wants to be. I love that about him. He’s got just enough of my introvert/extrovert combination that I think he will be able to remain just humble enough to not make people want to kill him because of his talent and confidence.
I’m very proud of him if you can’t tell.
Happy birthday, Liam. I hope this year is the best yet. I love you.
*****
I’m looking forward to this week. We got in a nice rhythm in my classroom last week and I look forward to keeping that going, building on it, and pushing forward. I also get to meet my new reading students this week, too. That will be interesting. Some of them don’t speak a lot of English.
*****
I’ve been killing myself to think of the circumstances behind buying The Specials self-titled debut from 1979. I know I bought it in 1984 or 1985, but I can’t think of where or why. I don’t remember getting turned onto them by anyone…but it could have been my old friend, Christine, in the spring of 1985. Either way, I’ve had the record for a long, long time and I can’t remember how I got to it.
My guess, and it is only a guess, is that in those days, I really liked the mod girls. I had a crush on several that hung out at Tommy’s, which was a teen dance club in town, and they would occasionally play “A Message to You Rudy” or “Do the Dog” and thought it was so cool how the mod kids danced to it. Part of me really wanted to be a real mod, but it just wasn’t in the cards.
To be honest, I also can’t really get down with a lot of ska music. I’ve tried. Truly, I have, and I may try again, but most of it just kind of makes me mad. I love this record, though, and The Specials have a place in my heart that, as mentioned, goes way back.
I just wish I didn’t feel like such a poser when it comes to them.
It’s a weird thing to think about, right? How loving a record can make you feel like a poser. Bear with me here as I think I need to explore this feeling.
For one thing, when I first got this record, I often only listened to the two songs that I mentioned a few paragraphs ago. They are the first two songs on Side A and probably the most well-known of the songs, too. I would get bored with The Specials kind of quickly, early on, until I met another mod girl who really wanted to get high and listen to the whole record.
As I unfolded the various layers that makes up The Specials, I learned that while I really like “Do the Dog” and “A Message to You Rudy,” I really love the whole thing. I have grown very fond, over the years, of songs like “Doesn’t Make It Alright” and “Dawning of A) New Era,” for example, as well as the kindhearted groove of “It’s Up to You.”
“Monkey Man” has the greatest funk to it, as well, and I can see how people really got their groove on this band back in the day. It disappoints me that I skipped on the opportunities I had to see them. Again, it’s the poser thing. I’m just not a 2-tone guy and while I kind of wanted to be one, I was always more in The Jam and Who’s school of Mod stuff.
“Blank Expression” fully charms me now, too. The guitar style on this record was so different to what was floating my boat in 1985 that it has taken me a long time to appreciate the way Lynval Golding and Roddy Radiation played on this record.
I mean, the closest thing to punk rock is “Do the Dog” and that song absolutely cuts a fucking rug, but most of what happens on The Specials is more soul influenced than punk. There is an energy to “(Dawning of A) New Era” that matches what I remember being into back in the day, but it took me until 1987 to actually hear the song. I think by that time, though, the weed had done its trick and making out was happening. Now that I think of it, that may be a huge reason why I grew to love the whole record.
I guess “Little Bitch” has the punk attitude, too. I did like this one a lot when I finally got around to listening to it. I think I put it on a few mixed tapes over the years, as well, but that was probably more for the song title than anything else. It’s a groover, though. I’m certainly digging it right now.
I really should listen to The Specials more often. They make me happy. Who cares if I don’t really care for a lot of ska. I don’t have to listen to those other bands.
*****
See you tomorrow.
I don't like AI ska either.
Comments