Category: Music

And I Remember How It Was

When we were dancing that first time.

Surrounded by old photographs, and new ones.  Mules, a porch, and three fledglings, in a reclaimed frame.  There were colored lights, uncrossed arms, and exceptional uncertainty.  Not fleeting or temporary.

Undebatable.  Like an address, or a name.

Or the way an E tripped into an M.  In 1965, and again in 1969.

Dancing, yes, but not on some dance floor- we postponed that business.  In favor of umbrellas.  Just in case.  Gotta keep one eye on the horizon.  Or something like that.

Only lately did it occur to me that there is more than one horizon.  Seems important.

Let’s just build a fire,
You can drink your warm red wine.

Honest to the Point of Recklessness

It’s hard to pick my favorite Grateful Dead song.  I named my first-born after one.  I’ve listened to many others hundreds of times.

But if you make me pick one, it would be Althea.

If you haven’t seen it, binge watch Long Strange Trip (on Amazon Prime).  A must-watch for anyone who likes music, and anyone who wants to understand the importance of the Dead in American music.

Bonus: It’s audio only, but many people, including me, believe that the best Althea ever was this one, from 1980.

Here’s my personal Dead playlist.  All live.

It was the 3rd of June

Another sleepy, dusty, delta day.

“In 1967, it was a No. 1 hit for Bobbie Gentry, a singer-songwriter from Chickasaw County, Miss. For two weeks, Gentry was bigger than the Beatles, as her album bumped Sgt. Pepper off the top of the charts.”

“There’s so much power in the brilliant instrumental arrangements in the song, the string section echoing the sound of flowers fluttering down off the bridge, and the pulse of the Tallahatchie River itself.”