Monthly Archives: June 2019

Oh Mercy

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No desire to write a long blog post this week, either. Maybe I’ll never write another one of those TL;DR types of efforts that I used to pour so much energy into. Why? No one cares about what I’ve written about, so why not simply write whatever I want to write?

It’s possible that I feel this way because I just finished up a laborious technical writing project. I’m pleased I was able to get through it, learn some new things, and yes, buy a new guitar with some of the money.

Writing 200,000 words about my dead son also might have taken some of the starch out of me. Being a non-celebrity, “grief journals” are no way of currying favor with agents in today’s world of publishing.

I also have a bunch of writing to do for a summer session course I’m taking at USM. I’m saving my words for that. Oh, and I’m once again acquiring yet another certification to do something brand new later in the summer. Insurance wasn’t really for me. The new project seems to be a better fit and offers a better return on my time spent studying.

Lastly, I’m using my free time to play guitar instead of writing. In the past, it was always my writing that took precedence. I’m really digging the guitar.

In lieu of lots of words, here’s a song by Mark Eitzel. If you’ve never heard of him, you should check him out. He’s a talented dude. His music and some of the interviews I’ve read with him make him seem like someone that I’d enjoy having a conversation with.

He was featured because WMBR has been highlighting music connected with the LGBTQ community. This is because June is unofficially recognized as Pride Month. The historical tie-in is that the last Sunday in June is when many Pride events take place to commemorate the anniversary of Stonewall.

This song by Eitzel has a refrain about being a “ghost drifting by.” I am able to identify with that.

Oh mercy, oh mercy, don’t look in my sore eyes
I just want to believe, honey, the road will rise
Who, who, who, am I?
Oh, who, who, who, am I?
I’m a gho-o-o-ost drifting by
I’m a gho-o-o-ost drifting by
Yeah, who, who, who, am I?
Oh, who, who, who, am I?
I’m a gho-o-o-ost drifting by
I’m a gho-o-o-ost drifting by

One of the Cool Kids

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Once upon a time, everyone wanted to be one of “the cool kids.” I’m not sure what today’s kids want.

I love that WMBR’s “Breakfast of Champions” show always features a Band of the Week (BOTW). Often, it’s one I’m less than familiar with. Or like this week’s selection, Cloud Nothings, one I’ve forgotten how damn good they are. Take that qualifier with a “grain of salt” since we are now living in a post-rock world.

Cloud Nothings are from Cleveland, Ohio, the city immortalized forever by the anthem, “Cleveland Rocks.” It does (and has before), which may be why the Rock &  Roll Hall of Fame resides there. Another rock history footnote: Cleveland was home to Raspberries (not, The Raspberries), too.

Here’s the video for Cloud Nothings’ “Hey Cool Kid.”

Music more, write less

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Some people begin blogging to write exclusively about a passion they have. Music is that kind of topic.

A blog like When You Motor Away is a great example of blogging about the thing you are gaga about—which in their case is music—specifically, the kind of off-the-radar indie pop and rock that I’ve been following for more than 30 years.

Since Mark died, this kind of music has been one of a very few sources of joy for me. When they say that music speaks universally across our differences, I’d concur.

Radio stations like WMBR have served as stand-ins for friendships I’m lacking. I’ve memorized the program schedules of numerous stations and particular DJs. Like I know that Friday morning at 8:00, Jon Bernhardt will be playing bands, like Monnone Alone (who get written-up nicely via WYMA). Bernhardt opened his show today with another Australian gem, Possible Humans, playing a 12-minute “screamer” from their latest record. Pitchfork likes them, so there you have it. For someone who cut his musical teeth reading rock criticism, writing like this review about Possible Humans’ prior record (see the first paragraph) carries forward the torch left by prior rock journalism luminaries like Lester Bangs, Griel Marcus and others who once wrote for Rolling Stone, Creem, and even, SPIN. Continue reading →

Countering Contempt

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I’ve heard Arthur C. Brooks before. I apparently didn’t pay close enough attention.

Perhaps I saw that he was president of a think tank that tilted away from my ideological proclivities. Or, like often happens in life when you first encounter something that will later possess greater meaning—you pass on it once, or several times.

Book TV, which broadcasts on C-Span 2 each weekend, is what the network bills as “television for serious readers.” It’s 48 hours of nonfiction books and authors discussing their works. For someone like me who gravitates towards that genre, it’s a place I usually end up at some point each week.

After Words is a feature where one author interviews another nonfiction writer about a book they’ve written and it usually has a thematic orientation. This week, Senator Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska) interviewed his friend Arthur C. Brooks about his latest book, Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt. Actually, I think the show was taped earlier and likely, I was viewing the rebroadcast.

Arthur C. Brooks’ new book about countering contempt.

Continue reading →