My buddette, MyShingle’s Carolyn Elefant [the only weblawger I've ever met in
person and the internet's Marco Polo of Solo] recently passed the responsibility of
the Music Baton onto me. Like Ernie, I took this occasion to think about a
lifetime filled with recorded music (and even recalled my first “fave” song — Sheb
Wooley’s “Purple People Eater,” 1958).
Preface: Until a few years ago, I was like most American males: I had music
playing as “background” virtually all the time when not in class, at the office, or
watching television. I was always purchasing new recorded music and making
my friends listen to songs and sounds that I liked. Then, as mentioned earlier
this week, I found myself listening to a lot less music. There were a
number of causes:
(1) it was a lot harder to keep up with new music when my significant
other and her 4 kids moved in with me in 1994 — over those three years,
I broke the habit of seeking out new sounds, was on homework and tv
patrol a lot when not working, and no longer had the biggest sound system
in my home.
(2) When my health got bad, my doctors were often suggesting quiet
activities like meditation and naps.
(3) along with discovering haiku came an appreciation for silence, small
moments and paying attention to the task at hand;
(4) I tried and enjoyed audio books, which became an important “reading
technology” for me; and
(5) even if it were true 40 years ago, as I insisted to my Mother, that I could
do homework better with music on, I definitely cannot do better work now with
songs in the background.
Nowadays, I listen to music when listening to music is my primary activity — which
can be as seldom as once or twice a week, or less. This makes some of my Music
Baton answers somewhat problematic.
leaving the morning-glory
songless…
a katydid
ISSA
What is my total volume of music? This is such a male question (especially the
adolescent and young-adult members of the gender). How big is your . . . .?
LPs: Over the years, I have sold off or given away all of my LPs. There were
probably 400 once. The last big batch were ditched (brought to a used record
store in Harvard Square), while packing up 29 years ago, just before leaving law
school for good.
45s A few years ago, I found a stash of a dozen 45 rpm “singles” at my parents’ 
home and decided they held enough curiosity and memories to be rescued, even
though I know longer have the means to play them. (Please, don’t tell my brother
that his initials are on many of them.) Besides “cool” jacket covers depicting The
Young Rascals, Dion, and The Lovin’ Spoonful, there are very worn-out original-
pressing copies of the following singles:
“Gloria” by Them, written by lead singer Van Morrison
“She Loves You,” by the Beatles, on Swan Records;
w/ “I’ll Get You”
- I have misplaced the German version, “Sie Liebt Dich“
(”ja, ja, ja”)
“I’m a Man,” by the Yardbirds,
“Mr. Tambourine Man,” the Byrds
“Dirty Water,” the Standells
“Yesterday” & “Act Naturally,” the Beatles
“Paint It Black” & “Stupid Girl,” - by the Rolling Stones
“Bama Lama Bama Loo,” by Little Richard (Penniman) (1964)
["Got a girl named Lucinda, I call her the Great Pretenda" -- woooo-oh!]
CDs I’ve pared down this collection a few times, too (mostly because I keep moving
into smaller and smaller places), and now have around 100. They’re about evenly split
among albums from the major stages of my life: Rock ‘n’ Roll and Blues from college
and law school, and through my mid-30s [late 1960s through '80s], and Country, which
I mainly listened to through the 1990s. There’s a tiny bit of jazz and classical (in case I
need to impress a woman).
begging actors
play one more song!
spring snow
ISSA
Audio Cassettes: I have never purchased pre-recorded cassettes, but have often recorded
cassettes (for my own personal use, of course) from other formats — usually making tapes
of 90 or 100 mintues of one artist. My best guess is that I have about 50 such compilations.
Since it still has a cassette player, I have a bunch of tapes in my car, which are most likely
to be used on long road trips. When I do listen, my choices are likely to be: Dwight Yoakam.
Rosanne Cash, Cat Stevens (interest rekindled, due to the uproar last year about his terrorist
roots), Vince Gill, or The Eagles.
MP3 Please don’t be shocked: I own no iPod nor any other similar device for storing
downloaded music (except for the hard drive of my computer, I guess), and I have never
downloaded any piece of music. I’m MP3lessEsq!
loneliness–
that song the shrike
is singing!
ISSA
What is the last CD I bought? - For the reasons that I gave two days ago, this question should
more appropriately ask “what is the last album I bought?” A collection of songs released
together by an artist is an album. “CD” is merely the format in which the album of recorded
music is most often purchased nowadays. Soon, “CD” will be an anachronism, too.
In the past two years, I’ve purchased three albums:
Kinky Friedman’s first album “Sold American” (30th Anniversary CD
edition, 2003), with such classics as “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns
in the Bed” and “High On Jesus.” I actually purchased it as a gift for a friend who
told me she didn’t think there were any Jewish Cowboys and had never heard of
Kinky. (Yes, I made myself a copy.)
The re-released CD-version of “Urban Verbs,” the 1st album by the new wave
pioneers of the same name. The Verbs were the toast of NW D.C. and its vanilla
suburbs in the late 1970s and early ’80s, and I saw them live often. Their guitarist
and music composer was a good friend of mine, and the band was my very first
flesh-and-blood client (a dispute with a club owner in DC Small Claims). See a
Verbs poster and the album cover.
The remastered 2004 version of Emmylou Harris’ Luxury Liner album, 
which was originally released in 1976. Although I have always liked this album a lot,
I primarily purchased the CD, because one of the two bonus cuts was written by my friend
Laurie Hyde Smith. It’s called “Me and Willie” and should be a country classic. Sadly,
the sample at Amazon.com is way too brief.
What song am I listening to right now?
None, of course.
See Preface.
What five songs do I listen to a lot because they are special to me? There are a
myriad of songs that are special to me. The ones that I frequently want to hear have
to be well-crafted as songs first, and only secondarily have a connection to a particular
time, place or person. Here are the ones that come to mind for my “request” list:
“Man Smart, Woman Smarter” by Rosanne Cash, from her 1979 album “Right or
Wrong.” (I first heard it by Robert Palmer on “Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley,” but
don’t have that version any more.) Why? Because the second part of the title is so
very true — “women got the men in a puppet show”. It was written by Norman Span
(a/k/a King Radio).
“Pancho & Lefty“, by Emmylou Harris and/or Willie Nelson (written by Townes
Van Zandt). Simply, a perfectly told tale, filled with irony and pathos.
Lefty, he can’t sing the blues
All night long like he used to
The dust that Pancho bit down south
It ended up in Lefty’s mouth
“You Can All Join In,” by Traffic and Dave Mason, written by Dave Mason.
It’s impossible to hear it without having your spirits lifted , and your conscience
renewed.
Yellow, blue, what’ll I do
Maybe I’ll just sit here thinkin’
Black, white, stop the fight
Has one of these colors ever bothered you?
Three songs by Dwight Yoakam also are frequent selections for me — they do
what a good tune (especially a country tune) should do: tell a story and convey
an emotion that rings true. If the emotion is a sad one, catharsis should follow.
“I Got You” ["Yeah, let them go right ahead and sue, 'Cause it don't
matter long as I go you"];
“Since I Started Drinkin’ Again” ["I ain't shed one lousy tear for you, since
I started drinkin' again']“;
“I Don’t Need It Done” [when you have a "real true love", you don't
need it done by anyone else]
Rodney Crowell’s “‘Til I Gain Control Again,” tells of the kind of love I
have always wanted to have and to feel. Great lyrics and music (and piano intro).
Just like the sun over the mountaintop
You know I’ll always come again
You know I love to spend my morningtime
Like sunlight dancing on your skin
Five people I’m passing the musical baton to? This assignment is only for
volunteers. I wouldn’t draft anyone to carry the burden.
Thank you, Carolyn, it was good medicine.
-
You know, it might be time to listen to Keith Jarrett’s “The Melody 
at Night, With You,” which I find soothing (and inspiring, as Keith
has been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and yet is
productive, creative, alive, within the constraints of CFS).
in thin trees
an off-key nightingale too…
first song
- all haiku by ISSA translated by David G. Lanoue -
From Troy, NY, comes a 
