School of Rock

    The Whack ol Ladies have been busy being moms and trying to get out to shows whenever possible. Blogging about all that has fallen by the wayside of late but since I have a few minutes to myself with no one breathing down my neck begging to use the computer I'll take a little time to ruminate.
    It's no secret that I like to talk about music but I have absolutely no background in music theory or  even the history of music. It's just  a nerdy fascination akin to collecting stamps . I don't pretend to know anything about the technical aspects of music making, either - I just know what I like to listen to.
      My oldest daughter and I share a very similar taste in music and it has been fun to watch her musical interests evolve over time.  I didn't want to be didactic and only play classical music  because I thought it would increase her brain capacity.  When she was fussy,  we listened to Arlo Guthrie, Jonathan Richman, Bob Dylan, The Beatles or Simon and Garfunkel.  All of my old Jonathan Richman records made perfect kid music. All 3 of my kids think that every child knows the words to "Dodge Vegematic" and "Abominable Snowman in the Market." In the early days of musical child rearing I only refused to listen to or buy any of the "Wee Sing"  or "Barney" recordings. As a matter of fact we were a Barney -free household even though all the other moms kept telling me how their children were mesmerized by the purple fellow. I just couldn't go there. We danced around to David Bowie instead.
     As my oldest daughter grew, she began to have an opinion about what she wanted to hear. If there was a long car ride in our future, we could travel a long way with recordings from old Disney movies or Danny Kaye's "Hans Christian Anderson." After I got tired of Disney we moved into the recordings from kid friendly Broadway tunes.

 

      I would like to take this opportunity to thank Baz Luhrmann for his vision in the movie, Moulin Rouge. That movie helped introduce another generation to David Bowie and Elton John.  My girls were surprised to find out that most of the songs in the movie were actually "old!" I guess the Shrek movies and Gossip Girl have helped to educate another generation in the oldies from the 1980's too.
    Now my big girl and I go out to hear music together and talk all nerdy about it. 


    

The More Things Change....

I don't know what I expected. Somehow I thought that the music venue drinking scene would have changed more in the 10+ years  I had been away from it.  Public intoxication seems to have no shelf life. I freely admit my fondness for a good Surly or two, but still find sloppy drunks who shout at musicians really annoying- and don't get me started on the public barfing.
Last summer my oldest daughter and I went to hear a wonderful line up of musicians at an outdoor concert.  I will admit that I did take the opportunity to point out the hazards  of public drunkenness. Twin brothers "thing one and thing two" were having a great time until they had to make a run for it. Sloppy drunk man behind us asked whether we liked Cloud Cult and then wondered if the band on stage was Cloud Cult ( um yeah, it was dude)

This weekend I actually almost told someone to "shush" when he was talking loudly while Jeremy Messersmith was singing. Granted, Jeremy came on at 11 and the crowd was well on its way to that happy place but I really wanted to hear the music. The Whack ol' Ladies  found a nice spot on the upper balcony and enjoyed the rest of the show from there.

Puzzled Looks

I have to admit that I forget that I am getting older most days. My 15 year old does her best to remind me that--in fact I am no longer young and  moms of a certain age should not be singing along to the radio or dancing around the house.

However on more than one occasion when I have been engaged in a conversation about music with someone born in  the latter half of the last century, I get a confused look. I hear them saying to themselves--"who is this strange woman-child and why does she speak like one of my peers?" I am usually a bit demur and apologetic about my interest in new music- like I can't help myself. "Um yeah I do think Jack White is a crazy genius."

Last week I was getting my hair cut and highlighted by the most charming 20ish stylist with many fabulous tattoos peeking out from his sleeves. We talked the usual small talk about celebrities and current events until I heard a Mason Jennings on their music mix. When I proceeded to tell him about the fabulous concert I went to last summer with Mason Jennings and Cloud Cult he stopped and stared  at me with the "wait- aren't you too old for that?" look. Luckily I really am too old to care what he thinks.

It's been a while but the Whack ol Ladies are going out tomorrow. Jeremy Messersmith will be singing at the Varsity.

Playin' With the Queen of Hearts

My little brother tortured me with a cassette tape player when he was about 8 years old. He chased me around the house playing the song "Playin with the Queen of Hearts" over and over and over  again. It was brutal but somehow our relationship grew into the  supportive one it is today. I like to remind him of his awful taste in music back then- but I guess I was the one who listened to the Partridge Family when I was 8 .  I will admit that I tried to influence his musical choices after that period. I was worried that he was headed down the wrong  path.  The first tape I ever made for him had the Boomtown Rats on one side and The Jam on the other. He listened to it on our very modern Sony Walkman. The following year I got him Big Country's "The Crossing."  I am  pretty sure he was the only kid in his grade that had a Big Country album. He was that cool.
Happy Birthday, little brother. I think I'll make you a "mix tape" from the bottom of my heart.

Canary in A Coma

When my best friend Marilyn & I first heard The Police's "Canary in a Coal Mine" we misheard a critical word for the comprehension of the song.  We thought the canary was not in a “coal mine” but rather in a “coma.” This was 1981 and The Police was one of the few “new wave” bands sandwiched between Rush and Bob Seeger on the commercial radio stations of western Massachusetts.  The nonsensical image of a little canary in coma fit right in with our burgeoning appreciation for the new music we were slowly learning about via our friends’ older siblings or from reading Rolling Stone. That semester our art teacher was on sabbatical and we had a very laid back substitute who let us use all the art supplies. No more line drawings with charcoal pencils; we were allowed to break out the oil paints and canvas!   Marilyn, who went on to study art at RISD was inspired to paint a canary with little "x" over its eyes. Once we learned the real title of the song, it just didn't carry the same amount whimsy.

Marilyn continued to be a gifted visual artist until her death from cancer in 2009.

Music and Memory

     I can't hear Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" or "Sweet Sixteen in Leather Boots" without being transported to my best friend  Marilyn's family room circa 1980- dark paneling, overstuffed couch and a big stereo. I think I even hear her mom giving us dating advice- but that's another story. February 22nd would have been her 47th birthday if she had not been snatched away by cancer  a year ago. 
Not all songs I hear from the past have such a visceral effect, but Iggy can really bring me back. We bought that album at a used record store without knowing anything about Mr. Pop. We listened to it at top volume flailing around the room any time her parents were gone. Marilyn was fearless and so much more confident than any other 16 year old I knew. She had these skin tight red corduroys that she called her "rock star jeans" and only she was brave enough to wear them to school. These 2 songs have that incredible power over my brain. It automatically switches into flashback mode. I wish I could  as easily remember all that philosophy I studied in college. But then again, David Hume wasn't my best friend.



 

A little background

Once upon a time I devoted a large portion of my thought process to thinking and talking about music with friends. The first record I consciously remember buying was a 45 of the Archie's singing "Sugar Sugar." My musical tastes followed along with the times and my age- Partridge Family, Donny Osmond, Jackson 5 until I was 10. John Denver and The Beatles til 13. 7th grade seemed to be the time when what you listened to defined who you were.  Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and Jethro Tull meant you were cool. John Denver was out.

  Most people I talk to who love music seem to always remember these "wake up moments" in their own musical history.  Saturday Night Live is one of those cultural windows for many teenagers. First you have to stay up late and that automatically makes you older and cooler.  I saw Devo for the first time on SNL and they kind of freaked me out a bit until I realized that I actually liked how completely different they were from everything I had ever seen before.  When I saw the B52's I was convinced I wanted to put those Grateful Dead and Neil Young records aside for awhile and see what else was out there. They were kind of the gateway band for my upcoming obsession. I went out and got a used copy of the Sex Pistol's  "Never Mind the Bullocks" and began a new adventure.