2024 / Nov 25 - Dec 1
Things I Have Enjoyed This Week
[10 min read]
Positive affirmation
I am deserving of love and/or pie. Specifically, this pie. This chocolate pecan pie covered in spicy red chili dust from Chocolate Maven. It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.
Don’t Sleep Too Long
Something I have enjoyed most weeks since about like 1998…The Olivia Tremor Control, aka OTC, aka The Olivias, aka Olivia.
On Friday (Nov 29, 2024), Olivia released their first two new tracks in years. And they’re both really good.
They only put out two full-length records: Dusk at Cubist Castle in 1996 and Black Foliage in 1999. I can’t overstate the importance of those records in my life. To paraphrase A Hard Day’s Night…they loom large in my legend.
When I was a kid (probably like 15), I heard Dusk at Cubist Castle, which one of my older sisters brought home from Athens, GA. In my memory, she played me Jumping Fences and Courtyard, and the music blew my mind instantly. I don’t think I understood what indie music was—all I knew was that there was this album I wanted but couldn’t find anywhere (not in Mobile, AL, anyway), so I spent like two years checking for it every time I went into a record store. Eventually, I got my hands on a copy. To me, it was like having a new Beatles album or something. Seriously. From the start, I loved it as much as anything I had ever heard—it was Houses of the Holy, the white album, #1 Record/Radio City, Harvest, and Dusk at Cubist Castle. Then Black Foliage came out and was equally as important and lovable. I listened to both over and over and over. I still do.
I went to Athens for school as well. My friends and I went to all the Elephant 6 shows we could. Those shows and albums formed my ideas about what a band or musical project should be, how it should be recorded and presented, the importance of DIY, everything. I never got into punk, but I had the Elephant 6 bands. While Neutral Milk Hotel was the band that made it big in the mainstream (and I love them dearly), to me it was always all about Olivia.
There were two guys leading the band: Will Hart (the avant garde experimentalist) and Bill Doss (the 60s pop crafstman). Smash those two things together and there’s the magic. There was an Olivia breakup, a reconciliation, a reunion tour or two. A third record was finally in the works. But a few years ago, Bill Doss went on ahead. And on Friday, apparently only hours after the two new tracks came out, Will Hart went on ahead, too. Robert Schneider and some of the other E6 folks will continue the effort to finish the album as a tribute to their beloved friends. And I very much look forward to that day.
In like 2015 or so, Misty and I moved back to Athens for a couple of years. At some point, Misty was on the Super Shuttle to the airport in Atlanta. She noticed that Will Hart was in the van as well. When they arrived and everyone was milling around, getting their bags, she went up to him and told him something along the lines of “thank you for making so much incredible music. It’s meant so much to my husband and me for such a long time.” She said he froze and looked kind of stunned and stared at her for a beat. Then he said thank you and hugged her tightly. When I go to shows or whatever, I never say anything to my creative idols. I’m too shy. But I’m so glad Misty had this encounter. I hope that Will and Bill both knew what their music means to so many people. The world is a better and more magical place for having had them both.
Here are the new tracks:
And a Stereogum article that has Robert Schneider’s touching post about Will.
But if you only listen to one Oliva track, start here:
Nyc-25 on Apple Music • Spotify
Roadrunner
Got outta the car at the trailhead and saw this one. It leaned out from behind the juniper to eyeball me and assess my threat level, then trucked around and ran off into the grass. What a thrill to see one of these!
I think the last time we saw one was back in March in California. At the beach, weirdly enough. Or rather, in the shrubs in the hills above the beach, wandering through our campsite like it owned the place. Which it prolly did.
Fun fact: roadrunners sometimes collect shed snakeskins and use them to line their nests. Neat.
Meep meep!
Lessons
When’s the last time you (at least partially) reevaluated something you’ve been doing your whole life? I started playing guitar when I was 10. It’s been a lifelong passion/obsession. Now, in my 40s, I’ve started taking lessons. Online video lessons, but still.
Sometimes it makes me feel inadequate and pouty because I can’t keep up or I’m just not grasping it.
Sometimes it’s super fun and I feel like I’m getting somewhere new. That’s the good stuff.
Teen Girl Playing Declan McKenna Over and Over and Over
Speaking of learning guitar…
I wanted to try out some guitars so I made the trip to…gulp…Guitar Center.
Ugh! Gross! Get it off me!
On the day you go into Guitar Center, it is probably the worst experience you have that day. It’s like their concept is “what if a migraine headache was a store you could visit.” There is always loud music playing over the store radio or Spotify or whatever. Plus the sound of at least half a dozen people poorly and loudly playing the riff from Smoke on the Water or Sunshine of Your Love or some Alice in Chains song or whatever. Plus drums and keyboards and DJ equipment. All playing loudly and simultaneously. On this particular trip, it was an old guy shredding some metal riffs (quite well, I might add), someone eking out Enter Sandman in a very halting way, and someone playing some electronic drums. The drums were being hit so hard that I could hear the drum samples coming out of the PA *and* the sounds of the sticks hitting the rubber pads.
But then there was also a teenage girl playing the intro riff to Declan McKenna’s Brazil over and over and over and over and over.
At first it was “what is this? I know this.”
Then it was “oh, right! Brazil!”
Then it was “okay, she’s got this one down, can she move on?”
And then finally it somehow became sweet and rad and I was like “CRANK IT UP!”
So I could barely hear the guitar I was trying out, but it was worth it to hear this girl who is starting out on her journey. It’s probably the first thing she’s really getting the hang of and mastering. And she’s got good taste. I’m sure my sisters got sick of hearing me play the Secret Agent Man riff (shut up!) or Cocaine or Wild Thing over and over and over when I was 10 or 11. It’s an important stage in the process and, even tho it’s annoying to everyone else, I can’t convey how thrilling it is to get there when you’re a newbie.
Rock on, guitar center girl. 🤘
Prince Covers
I was listening to Holly Humberstone’s cover of I Would Die 4 U. It’s so good. I really really really like it a lot.
I Would Die 4 U on Apple Music • Spotify
Which made me think of another favorite Prince cover: Cyndi Lauper’s version of When You Were Mine.
When You Were Mine on Apple Music • Spotify
I also like this little clip of her talking about “how we were gonna salt and pepper this thing.”
The Ragers Van Featuring Large Marge
We were at a stoplight. A van with a huge graphic of Large Marge on the side passed through the intersection. Specifically, it was the claymation large marge at the moment her eyes pop out of her head. And I don’t mean like an old beat up van with a hand painted Large Marge on the side. I mean a new van with a very nice, professionally done, two-tone vector graphic decal of Large Marge. And as it turned through the intersection, the back window had another decal: THE RAGERS. I assumed this van had a social media account, but I googled it and found nothing. But I didn’t have to google it to know this: it fucking ruled.
Yacht Rock: a DOCKumentary
Really fun. Trailer says it all. The biggest laugh comes right at the end of the movie from Donald Fagen not having a sense of humor about all of it (big surprise).
Guy Clark & Verlin Thompson - Creative Camaraderie
☝️Guy Clark that I drew for @ fod_project
That whole Roman Empire thing…I still don’t understand it. I didn’t get it back when people were talking about it and I don’t get it now that it’s coming up again with the release of Gladiator II. Men are thinking about the Roman Empire on a regular basis? I’m proud to say I’ve never thought about it once ever. (I’ve always been resistant to the idea of Being A Man, so I suppose this is one more baffling item on the list that makes me thankful that I miss the mark of whatever it is to Be A Man.)
But! Here’s something I do think about on a regular basis. Sometimes I think about Guy Clark and Verlin Thompson. They just pop into my head from time to time.
In this case, the chorus of the Guy Clark song, “Cold Dog Soup,” was stuck in my head. And it always makes me laugh:
“There ain’t no money in poetry
That’s what sets the poets free
Well I’ve had all the freedom I can stand”
If you don’t know, Guy Clark was one of the Austin country guys who had like a low level hit in the 70s(?) with LA Freeway. And another low level hit later on with Anyhow I Love You. He’s one of those people that you may not know, but plenty of people have covered his songs, including Lyle Lovett.
Verlin Thompson is a songwriter (and amazing acoustic guitarist) who never got very famous at all, as far as I’m aware. But the two of them I think were sorta musical best friends.
I learned about them back when that Live at the Bluebird Cafe show used to be on CMT or TNN or something. The Bluebird is a famous tiny music venue in Nashville and they filmed a show there that was a songwriters-in-the-round format. Guy and Verlin were on and it was obvious they were buddies, playing and singing on each other’s songs. Verlin played his punny and silly sweet songs and Guy played some of his classics, most notably, the wonderful Dublin Blues (not a blues song).
I learned that they toured together regularly. It was mostly just the two of them, playing in the same format as the Bluebird—trading songs and playing and singing with each other. Small venues. They were never superstars. They did this for years and years and years.
So I guess I think of them from time to time because that seems so great to me. It’s the same reason I think about the Elephant 6 bands pretty regularly. I love this idea of like a big gang of musical pals hanging out and playing on each other’s songs and having a grand ol’ time.
Creative camaraderie—that’s what it is.
I was gonna say it’s an aspirational thing, but the truth is, while writing this I realize…I think I’ve got it. My buddy Ben and I send each other the songs we’re working on for feedback and encouragement. Same deal with my buddy Shannon, and he and I usually play together when I’m in Chicago. My friend Kristin sings on some of my songs and we occasionally get to help her bounce ideas for a new theatrical piece. And Misty helps me with my songs at every single stage. And she lets me read her excellent short stories and give her feedback.
Anyhow, I love it.
More Owls!
I was hiking after work at the Eldorado Preserve. It was getting dark and I was still pretty far from the truck, so I decided to put away my headphones. (I guess so that if a mountain lion struck, I could hear the last few soft padded footsteps of the beast ever so slightly before it took me out. [JK. You’ve got a better chance of being struck by lightning while simultaneously winning the lottery than being killed by a mountain lion. Just make sure you look around before crouching to tie your shoe—they hit deer at the back of the neck.])
So I put the headphones away and I immediately heard an owl hoot, followed by a response hoot. It was cool but I figured I wouldn’t see either of them. But then I looked up toward the tree line and saw a large house cat sitting in the top of a tree—Owl! Great horned owl! It called again. It was answered again. I saw both but was only able to get a crappy picture of one of them. But! I also got this crappy recording of them hooting. You’re welcome.
Ice Cubes
Wouldn’t it be funny if it was just “ice cubes” with no explanation?
We went to this fancy Japanese restaurant for Thanksgiving.
I ordered a drink that was a cloudy amber sort of color. But as I drank it down, the lone giant ice cube became visible. And inside the ice cube was a golden aspen leaf. It didn’t have to be there—it could’ve just been a regular-ass ice cube. And it’s not like the leaf is adding flavor; it’s just something beautiful you get to look at. They did this little extra thing, and it was so nice. (I don’t know if you know this, but I love poplars so much I make instrumental music under the name Poplr. [Aspens are in the poplar family.])
It’s the wee little surprises that really fill one with delight.
One More Little Sidetrack About Guy Clark and Verlin Thompson
There’s this Guy Clark live album, and on it, Verlin plays this song about where he’s from, a place that’s not even a town, but just a bend in the river called—brace yourselves, motherfuckers—Greasy Bend. He tells a story of some farmers there getting into a brawl while his mom—Darwettia—watched it all go down while sitting on the porch and playing her mandolin. “I like to tease her and tell her she’s a whole lot like Frances Scott Key was.” 👏👏👏
Note: spell check apparently has no precedent for Darwettia.
New Indoor Condor!
Dolly Parton
I don’t know how this started, but when it’s getting dark and the first star is visible in the almost-night sky, we always refer to it as Dolly Parton. Whatever star it is, just the first one we can see.
Example: Look! Dolly Parton! [POINTS AT STAR]
Take it for a test drive. I think you’ll like it.
☝️Dolly Parton above Bandelier National Monument. I think this is that comet that’s visible right now, not actually a star. But a celestial body is a celestial body.
Thanksgiving Songs 🩷🩷🩷
What did you enjoy this week? I’d love to know. Leave it in the comments - thanks!
HAVE A GREAT WEEK! ✌️❤️🤘
Your pal,
Robert