no stairway
here are some songs I know:
“pepper” by Butthole Surfers. when I think of this song, and I’m thinking of it right now cause its playing, I think of the George Washington Parkway just across the river from DC. on that stretch between the 14th and Memorial bridges, by the Lady Bird Johnson memorial. about a decade ago, it came on the radio in December when Mar and I were out on a court-ordered visit. I was in the back seat behind the passenger. Mar was next to me. it was cold. Mike was in the front seat with his girlfriend at the time. I was probably 13.
I made some tea.
mom got me a teapot for xmas. it came with a dent in it, but it works. she didn’t wrap it. she handed it to me in the plastic bag it came in.
she also gave me some tea bags. the tea bags came in a ziplock bag with a note that read “guaranteed not to make you fall on your face in a parking lot.” also in this bag was one sock. in the sock was wrapped a xmas tree ornament shaped like the state of Indiana. on it reads “Merry Christmas from Valparaiso – 2007″ in cursive.
tea’s nice. my apartment is messy, and there’s nothing on the walls, but tea makes it seem like a home. I need some honey. maybe I’ll get some honey tomorrow.
“going out west” by Tom Waits. I’m not going to lie, I think about the film version of “Fight Club.” at one point, Edward Norton and Brad Pitt walk into this bar as its closing and go into the basement to have a fight club, and this song is on the jukebox in the bar. I also think about driving. like going west. I think of western Kansas at night. I don’t even know if I had this in the car when I drove west, but I was humming it.
earlier this month when I got off of the bus in Portage, it was about 2 degrees out. god damn, was it cold. it was cold, as, balls, with snow everywhere. it was about 11:30 or so, everybody on the bus was asleep; anyone still on the bus after Portage was going to South Bend, I think, and South Bend is a hike.
anyway. the bus station in Portage is behind a bank, across the street from a McDonalds and I got off and didn’t see anyone, and then I heard my mom scream “dude master! dude master!” and she ran directly in front of the bus and give me a hug. Mar was in the car across the street and she’s laughing. my mom calls me “dude master.” I don’t get it. that’s alright.
“she’s a rainbow” by the Rolling Stones makes me think of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I had this in the car … I was about to note that it’s funny that most songs make me think of driving. but I guess that’s not really surprising.
this song is on an album called “Their Satanic Majesties Request,” and beyond this song, which is like getting a solid B on a test, is the best one on it. that album fucking sucks.
“you wear it well” by Rod Stewart. Massachusetts with my dad and cousins and Mar when I was about 10.
now. what. you’ve got to be kidding me.
ok, while I was sitting here, pontificating on the Stones, a fly lighted right on the edge of the mug of tea I was working on. tried to shoo it away, and the motherfucker goes farther in to the cup. the fly just drowned in my tea. that’s pretty gross. so I got a new cup and put the kettle back on. I want more tea, son.
“the late greats” by Wilco. more songs about the road. after going back to Indianer for Orthodox xmas in January of, of, let’s see … one year ago, I flew back to San Diego. and got the truck out of long-term parking. and drove inland, late at night. and in the mountains on Interstate 8, this song came on.
pot is whistling. I have to get more tea.
“bonzo goes to bitburg,” the Ramones. no road. just think of Josh.
“euro trash girl” by Cracker.
I don’t know much about Cracker other than this song, and it’s enough. this song is a driving song. Neil turned me on to it. when I left for California, he gave me a burned CD, which is … yeah. it’s on the hassock next to me, right now. it reads, in Neil’s handwriting, “Andrew does not Look a thing like Jesus…” his punctuation. he’s referring to Andrew, our friend, who is very religious.
the disc has over 100 songs on it, and at first I didn’t think it would play in the truck. I tried it on Joliet Road before I had even left town, and it didn’t take. but by the time I was on the interstate in Illinois it kicked in. and this Cracker song was on it, and I was listening to this song in Kansas when I stopped in, hold on. I’m looking it up on Mapquest … when I stopped in a town called Moscow for gas. Moscow is a grid of about six streets, a bunch of dilapidated houses and a gas station next to a massive grain elevator. this song was on when I stopped for fuel and sunflower seeds.
looked at the sun setting between the silos. kept going. started “euro trash girl” from the beginning. Neil is now in Huntington Beach. Andrew is going back to Bethlehem.
“the two sides of Monsieur Valentine,” Spoon. driving in the dark in DC. this song begins with “every morning I’ve got a new chance.”
and that’s probably true, but I don’t feel like getting out of bed tomorrow.
one time you told me that you got shivers from a david bowie song. it was one of his well-known songs, but it caught me a little off guard just the same.
whenever i hear “there’s one thing-that makes me sick-it’s when people try to hide behind politics-wish their time would go by fast-but they always seem to make it last!” and the refrain “bonzo goes to bitburg and goes out for a cup of tea-as i watched it on tv, somehow it really got to me.” i get the same feeling. it makes me sad for some reason. the song was written in response to reagan attending a cemetery in bitburg germany where ss officers and nazis were buried. joey by the way, was jewish.
I actually remembered you telling me that. also, just bought Zeppelin IV and had the store order “Honky Chateau.”