Saturday, August 21, 2010

BEAUTIFUL WOMEN, BEAUTIFUL MUSIC


Friday's here, I trade one job at the office for another job renovating the upstairs room at home. This is the part I hate, working to repair the drywall: applying joint compound, sanding, repeat 2 or 3 times. White dust coats everything in the room, including myself. My goal is to finish this phase and get the walls primed by Sunday night. Texturing and final painting next weekend.

I stopped by Jack Jensen's gallery after leaving work, picking up another couple fine pieces. The man is prolific, keeping up with the pressure of empty spaces constantly opening up on his wall. He is very appreciative and honored to have a paying admirer of his artwork.










I'm in the process of reading the book Nirvana, The Chosen Rejects written by Kurt St. Thomas with Troy Smith, which goes through the history of this punk rock band. Wanting to follow along musically, I decided to listen to one of their earliest recorded shows. It happens to be their live performance on March 19, 1988 at the Community World Theater in Tacoma, Washington.

This particular show is only Nirvana’s fifth live performance ever, the first show the band played as "Nirvana". They played two shows in 1987 and then two shows in January of 1988. This is the only available show with Dave Foster on drums.
The only way to describe this show is heavy, raw and loud. You really don’t get the sense that this band would be the defining musical act of the upcoming decade. But that’s exactly the band they transformed into and that’s exactly what’s so great about concert bootlegs — the opportunity to hear the promise of a band.

The trio ripped through 16 songs during the show, including several Bleach cuts: “Love Buzz,” “Paper Cuts,” “Floyd the Barber,” “Big Cheese” (earliest available version), and “Blew” (earliest available version). Also, they rocked a great CCR cover “Bad Moon Rising” (the only available version) to close the show and even attempted Led Zeppelin’s “Moby Dick” (though I don’t have that track on my bootleg). Highlight of the show is without a doubt the rendition of “Spank Thru.”


So temporary
Sensation that will be lost
Joy of the moment


An image so clear
Speaking those unspoken words
Slaps them in the face


Held on so tightly
Never wanting to release
Slips through his fingers


Weeks melting away
Stands on the advancing brink
Scared to look forward


Slipping one more notch
Stagnant genetic cesspool
Minds sink in the swamp


Loud mouthed nasty bitch
Testicles ripped from the crotch
Can't hear their bawling


Download it here:



Wanting to follow the loud sounds with something lighter, I picked a soundboard recording of Coldplay performing live on April 22, 2007 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Their shows put me into a really mellow mood that seems to trigger a flood of haiku. I close my eyes and I'm there.


Fifty thousand strong
Wars end quietly announced
Their dead are silent


Ask was it worth it
A nation that steps backward
Fields of graves left behind


Having reached the end
Mother and father are crying
Farewell, one by one


Sent with intentions
Lied to from the very start
Time has come to part


He's out there somewhere
So lost and out of control
Already forgotten


Fails another time
My brother, I can't get through
What more can we do?

Filling a deep void
A sound that accelerates
To the other side



Download it here:

1 comment:

DuffBeer said...

Volcano Man - You blew it!

"Ask was it worth it
A nation that steps backward
Fields of graves left behind"

Last line has six syllables. At least the way I pronounce them. :-)

(And you didn't think I was paying attention...) - Cheers!