You are currently browsing the daily archive for May 1st, 2008.
In accordance with my last blog, two songs of mixed mood…
One: I Had No Intentions from the wonderful Damian Jurado
the most haunting and touching song I’ve ever heard.
Two: Dana Carvey (Garth from Wayne’s World) doing a superb Neil Young impression
…watch your honey drip, can’t keep away.
Fans of Led Zeppelin, and if you’re not one why are you here???, will recognise those lyrics as being from Black Dog. It’s time I mentioned mine again. I came off the happy pills a few months ago, cold turkied off em. I figured I’m too young to be sticking anti-depressants in my mouth as routine everyday. Since then, and I’m sure thanks to being in a wonderful relationship, my Black Dog has long been distant.
There is, however, a road home from my Dad’s house when I can always feel it close when I drive home at night. The road is an old country road, bleak and barren in the dark and dusk across fields that are so flat and bare they once served as an airstrip in the War. It’s almost like a mental trigger, turning into that road. During the daylight I love that road, it’s twists and turns make for a great drive and one where I always try to find the perfect apex’s and speed lines. At night though it makes me too contemplative.
Of course there’s an alternative road. One that leads through the street-lit village my Dad lives in. But it’s longer, which serves well as a metaphor. I’m thinking now that it’s good to think on my ‘dark’ issue rather than avoid it as then the road to eventual well being is a much longer one that is often blocked (lots of road works). Whereas if I drive that bleak road in the dark then I tend to be out of the thought space by the time I hit the main roads again and I haven’t simply put the thoughts away ignored and unresolved.
In my tired but not tired enough to sleep state on Sunday I decided to watch Clerks 2, again, having recently watched the making-of documentary on the dvd. It’s not a terrible film and though there are elements I would have thrown out of the script the second I saw them – or not even written them – including an un-Kevin Smith like dance section complete with ridiculously cheesy montage and crane shots to the Jackson 5’s ABC there is plenty to laugh at… Pillow Pants.
You kinda made me smell your fingers..
However, one of the best things about this film was a discovery for me: Soul Asylum. Somehow this band had skipped me by despite the connections with Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden style emergence.. I barely even registered Runaway Train in my mental jukebox. So I promptly spent plenty of time on youtube (my current financial situation has stopped my going straight to the cd purchase stage) and finding out what I’ve missed. Accordingly:
Today I’m happy to say I have both my eyes functioning properly. I managed to get a bit of grit stuck in my eye yesterday (I’m pretty special, huh?) and it was off to hospital as the first aider here couldn’t get it out with numerous saline baths. Unfortunately it seemed to be mental health day down at the Walk In centre which meant a long wait despite my Priority status – I had something in my eye afterall – with a lot of amusing and loud conversations during my HOUR AND A HALF wait while my eye leaked more water than Thames Water. After spending the day looking like an NHS sponsored pirate apprentice I removed the pad last night and continue to apply some kind of gel directly on to my eye for a few more days.
Aside from Soul Asylum my jukebox of late has been pretty varied. Daft Punk (thanks Linda), the new Rogue Wave, Damian Jurado and The Desaparecidos have all been playing in my ears. Not to mention the first BrokenOrchestra album which I’ve been listening to with a notebook and critical ears as we’re well underway with writing the second album.
