Dear Friends,
If I had one wish for the world right now it is this: I wish people would remember that respect is the key ingredient to making our relationships with other people work. We don’t have to agree on everything, but if we respect each other, we can move forward and figure out how to make the world livable. Maybe not a garden of Eden, but at least a place where we aren’t divided to make rich people richer than anyone needs to be.
This really isn’t a lot to ask. Unfortunately, though, enough people have been stepped on, over and over, that there doesn’t seem to be a need for people to give each other the benefit of the doubt. There is also no reason for people to trust each other right now on the basis that most of us are not out to screw anyone over. Most people are good, but they don’t trust that others are good, too. That sucks.
I see children every day who have no real idea about what it means to be respectful or empathetic. If the numbers were smaller than they are, I wouldn’t give it a second thought, but over half of my class has no idea about self-control, respect, or accountability.
It’s not doom and gloom, because I’ve seen lots of kids turn things around and do it quickly, but it is defeating to know that there are so many young parents out there who don’t know how to show their kids what it takes to be a part of a community. I know tons of people who are also struggling to feel like they are part of something positive. People are so angry out there, many of whom I know, and yet they don’t really know what they are actually angry about.
That also sucks.
*****
What doesn’t suck, though, is that we can do something about all of this. Be kind when you don’t need to be. Listen to someone you don’t know very well so that you can understand what it is like to be them. Stand up for yourself and others who might not be able to stand up for themselves.
*****
The soapbox is going away.
*****
Last night we had a great jam at Aaron’s house. We are calling this project “Philo Beddoe” after Clint Eastwood’s character in Every Which Way But Loose. We wrote a bad ass song during the jam and it felt really good to create something brand new. Not sure what will happen with this thing, but it is fun and different from anything I have done before.
*****
Have a happy Thursday and enjoy your day…enjoy a Cracker. 😊
*****
When I first heard Cracker back in 1992, I was hooked. “Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)” got played on the radio all the time and I was listening to the radio at Easy Street while I worked every afternoon doing prep for the next day. I got paid on Fridays and it was not uncommon for me to hit Zia on a payday to pick up a CD or two.
I liked their self-titled first album, Cracker, a lot.
In those days, I was listening to a lot of things that we way weirder and way heavier, but the songwriting on Cracker was top notch and super catchy. The CD was my palate cleanser at the time, and it was on heavy rotation for a good long while. As I look back, I’m not surprised that I got into it.
It was kind of late in the game, but I got into Camper Van Beethoven a little bit in around 1990. They played a show at the Mason Jar and I went because I had liked a few of their songs that weren’t “Take the Skinheads Bowling” and they were great live. When I heard “Teen Angst…” I realized it was the same singer and it made me even more curious about the band.
That song is one of those ‘perfect’ songs. The words are great. The riff is great. The attitude is great. It has a little bit of punk rock in it and a lot of manly sass. Is that a thing, ‘manly sass,’ or did I just make it up. I have no idea, but I’ll take credit for it.
On a side note, “Manly Sass” would be a fucked-up band name.
By the time I get to “Happy Birthday to Me” which is the second song, I’m already hooked, so all the other goodness, including track 2, is just a bonus. I remember being really worried that “Teen Angst…” was going to be the only good song on the record. I’m glad I was wrong to worry.
Not only is “Happy Birthday to Me” a really good song, but the third track became a favorite of mine, too. “This Is Cracker Soul” has a nifty little riff and a bit of boogie-woogie in it, as well. David Lowery’s vocals are just fantastic on this whole record, and he sells the listener on a song as well as anyone.
There is a certain amount of jangle rock happening here. I don’t mean that as any type of insult, but again, compared to what I usually like to listen to, Cracker’s stuff is very polished. I have to think that this was an effort by Lowery and the band to do something that would make money. I have to doubt that Camper Van Beethoven made them a whole lot.
“I See The Light” is another solid song. When I listen to these songs now, I get a really solid picture of myself driving my old Nissan truck and I’m singing along with this whole record. I could be making that up, but it just feels right.
There is also a lot of beauty on this record. “Another Song About the Rain” is touching and you can really feel on a lot of these songs that Lowery, and his buddy, guitarist Johnny Hickman, have both had their fair share of tough moments in life. Maybe it is the country tinge that permeates Cracker, but no matter what it is, the songs will make you think and make you feel something.
The one song that I am a little disappointed in is “Don’t Fuck Me Up (With Peace And Love).” This one just doesn’t quite live up to the name. I don’t know why it bugs me, but it does. Even now, I just don’t jive with it.
But the rest of them are excellent.
*****
See you tomorrow.
AI's version of a world where everyone respects each other.
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