Down By The River

Since I quit smoking, I have to make myself take a break from work. When I smoked cigarettes, it was so convenient to just "step out for a smoke" and get little breaks throughout the day (not to mention a little lift from the nicotine infusion). Now, I take 5-15 minute walks around downtown (weather permitting).

Lately, I've decided to take the little Nikon along and maybe document what I see.

Today, I decided to take a walk down by the Cumberland River.

Just across the river is LP Field (formerly Adelphia Stadium), home of the Tennessee Titans (formerly the Houston Oilers). Not caring too much about football, I've never been inside. The funny thing is that I spent my first seven years in Houston, and did go see the Oilers play at the Astrodome at least once. Anyway, "Nashville Stadium" (as I like to call it) might have been a cool venue for a Grateful Dead Concert, but I guess we'll never know.

Looking East...what is that over there?

Alice Aycock's "Ghost Ballet for the East Bank Machineworks" has generated some heated controversy here in Nashville. This was my first view of it up close. I'm not sure I love it, but I don't hate it. I applaud any and all efforts towards public funding of artistic and cultural expression, even if I don't personally love each and every such work of art. In the present case, I am willing to reserve judgment and continue to encourage the further development of the riverfront park concept.

Of course, I still miss Red Grooms's "Tennessee Foxtrot Carousel" which used to be right over there...

OK, back to work.

--rgc

Music City, U.S.A.

--rgc

Art In The Alley

Who is A.R. Remis? Is that his/her name? This painting/collage appeared in the alley between 2nd and 3rd Avenues recently. Or did I just notice it? In any event, I have grown quite fond of it.

Nearby, arachnids build homes in every crevice.

Looking towards 3rd Avenue.

--rgc

California (Pt.9): San Francisco to Nashville

10/7/07

On Thursday, our room at the Golden Gate Hotel was on the front of the building, on the fourth floor - one of those bay windows was ours. Tonight, however, we would stay in Room 107, on the first floor behind the kitchen. Were the kitchen furnishings also charmingly antique? Yes, they were. There was also a surprisingly lush courtyard/garden out the window that gave the room a sense of calm and quiet compared to the bustle of Bush Street. (?!?)

After a splendid lunch at Duca, we went back to savor Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination at SFMOMA. I do not have the time right now to say very much about this exhibit except to say how much I appreciated its lighting and display. Each object was dramatically well lit (and boxes that had independent lighting allowed one to press a button to illuminate the inside of the box). Cornell's work borders surrealism and abstraction, romanticism and modernism, profundity and sentimentality, the banal and capital-A Art. A richly illustrated catalog of this exhibit has been published by Essex Peabody Museum and the Yale University Press.

There was nothing left to do after all this but take a nice nap back at the Golden Gate Hotel.

After a peaceful repast, we headed down towards the financial district for an authentically delicious French dinner at Cafe de la Presse.

10/8/07

Flying east, time plays cruel tricks. Even though we spent much less time actually travelling, it was relatively late at night when we arrived back home. Fortunately, we had wisely planned to take the next day off to recover our equilibrium.

What a delightful trip.

--rgc

California (Pt.9): Route 1 South

10/7/07

Driving south was, in many ways, scarier than the drive north, what with being in the outside lane and its even more precipitous perspective. That, and having along for the ride the bride's family, whom I am to deliver to the San Francisco International Airport for an afternoon flight to Japan. What an honor - and responsibility!

Yet, this time, I knew what to expect, so it wasn't quite as shocking as that first time. And I do believe I am a good driver and had faith that we would safely reach our destination. Even so, I was relieved to drop the minvan off at the rental place and be back on foot for a while.

Next: Back to the Golden Gate and Back Home.

--rgc

California (Pt.8): More Party Pics

Sorry about the poor quality of the pictures. I'm still getting used to this new-fangled digital camera doohickey.

It was a beautiful wedding and a very fun night. It was so nice to see so many people I rarely get to see, since we all live in different parts of the country. At least we have the Internet...

Next: Back to San Francisco

California (Pt.7): Party Pics

California (Pt.6): Toasts

Inspiring words.

The father of the bride, who speaks very little English, composed a toast "with the help of the dictionary" that was as eloquent and moving as any native speaker's. Truly astounding!

Welcome to the family, Michiko!

Next: A Lovely Reception

California (Pt.5): Wedding Ceremonies

10/6/07

The first was a Native-American ceremony took place in a round house on the nearby reservation. The guests were driven by schoolbus up an impossibly narrow and windy road, through the primordial redwood forest, to the top of the mountain. It was was a deeply moving ritual, but no photographs were allowed.

Then, everyone loaded onto the schoolbus and headed back down the mountain to the Annapolis Winery for a civil ceremony presided over by David's aunt, our own Judge Judy. The ceremony included a traditional Japanese saki ritual and vows written and composed by the parties.

It was beautiful, happy day.

Congratulations David and Michiko!

Next: Let's Party!

--rgc

California (Pt. 4): The Sea Ranch

10/6/07

The Sea Ranch is a unique place, a planned community that seeks to minimize humanity's impact upon the ruggedly beautiful coastal environment.

(photos by Lizzy)

Next: Nuptials & Other Rituals

California (Pt.3): Route 1 North

10/5/07

These pictures don't really capture what it's like. The water is actually hundreds of feet below us and there is no guard rail and it's the windiest, hilliest road I've ever driven - way more extreme than Route 1 around Big Sur. There were definitely times when I couldn't even look - my focus was on the road right in front of me. Breathtakingly (scarily) beautiful scenery, but I constantly felt like I was about to drive off the edge of the earth. Let's put it this way, it took about three hours to drive eighty-five miles. Intense!

(Photos by Lizzy)

Next: The Sea Ranch

California (Pt.2): Golden Gate Bridge

10/5/07

San Francisco is a beautiful city and the Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most magnificent of man's creations. It was another gorgeous day and we were on the road.

It was also difficult not to reminisce about Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead what with every street sign a legend: Mill Valley, Mt. Tamalpais, Stinson Beach, Novato, San Rafael. . .

Winterland 12/31/78 is on the stereo, so here we go! Wahoo!

(Photos by Lizzy)

Next: The Long and Winding Road

--rgc

California (Pt.1): Nashville to San Francisco

10/04/07

Lizzy’s brother, Dave, was to be married in Sea Ranch, California on October 6th, so we caught a morning flight from Nashville to San Francisco (via Detroit). Crossing time zones as one travels west creates a sense of going backward in time, or rather creates a “day” that is longer than twenty-four hours. So, it was a surreally crisp and clear afternoon when we finally checked into the Golden Gate Hotel on Nob Hill. We had stayed at the Golden Gate on our honeymoon, thirteen years ago, and it was still very much the same: More bed and breakfast than hotel per se, the small rooms are furnished with beautiful antiques and an even smaller (and also antique) bathroom. It is a splendidly Victorian experience complete with afternoon tea and a cat.

Further re-creating our honeymoon, we ducked into Scala's for an early dinner and a beverage. From our table by the window, I could watch the doorman for the Sir Francis Drake Hotel do his thing. He was hugely entertaining and it was a singularly San Franciscan spectacle with the cable cars trundling up and down Powell Avenue.

Sated, we headed down to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art for a special preview of Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination. Unfortunately, we only had about twenty minutes to breeze through the exhibit before the panel discussion was to begin with curator Lynda Roscoe Harrigan. (That was OK, because we knew we’d be back and could spend some time in the galleries on Sunday.) The discussion was fascinating and a lot of fun, actually, because it was clear that these people were not only scholars, they were also fans of Joseph Cornell’s work. It was also a treat to see some excerpts from some of Cornell’s films, none of which I had ever seen before. I’ll have more to say about the exhibit itself later, but it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see so many of Cornell’s masterpieces together in one place. Wow!

Next: A Drive Up the Coast

--rgc

Lantana

A gorgeous day today. The lantana have gotten huge.

--rgc

First Day of Autumn

We need rain here in Middle Tennessee.

--rgc

Grateful Dead MP3s Removed at Dead.Net

Not long after I posted this, the powers-that-be at Grateful Dead, Inc. suddenly, and without warning, removed all of the MP3 files from The Taper’s Section and The Grateful Dead Radio Hour and replaced them with streaming-only audio applications.

Not surprisingly, the comments sections overflowed with howling protests and bitter incriminations. The following week, David Lemieux, GD archivist and host of The Taper Section, posted a rather feeble explanation, which read in part:

Recently, I, and others that work on dead.net, became aware that certain fans
had been regularly downloading the tracks offered in the Taper Section. From the
very beginning, this program has always been intended to be a "for streaming
only" service. Downloading was never announced, described or promoted in any
manner. The situation that developed over the past months is very different than
my original plan.

Translation: “Bad Deadheads! When we posted these mp3s (complete with file size information), we had no idea that you would be downloading them!”

Please. That is disingenuous in the extreme. And insulting to boot!

“The situation that developed” was one where hundreds, if not thousands of fans, gleefully downloaded their favorite band’s music, hung around the website, generated a buzz, maybe even purchased some items from the online store. The horror!

I’m sure this is not David Lemieux’s fault. He’s a nice guy who really does seem to appreciate the band’s legacy. So, then who did pull the plug? And why? Was it the lawyers? Rhino? Bob Weir? No further information has been forthcoming.

Now, I could forgive the crude, but effective, “bait and switch” tactic if there was, you know, actually something to buy. CD/DVD releases have slowed to a standstill over the past couple years. Heck, give me the option to pay cash money for those MP3s! Nope. Nada. Nothing.

Well, sure, there is (yet another) “best-of” compilation available exclusively at Starbucks.

And a 24/7 Grateful Dead Radio Station is debuting on Sirius.

Then there’s the Grateful Dead videogame.

Uh...OK. Meanwhile, existing titles are slowly being allowed to go out of print.

I suppose they are going after a new demographic, trying to replenish the fan base. Maybe it will even work for them in the long run. But I doubt it – not without proper and respectful attention to the musical legacy itself.

Oh, and pissing off your biggest fans doesn’t strike me as the winning-est marketing strategy either. But, what do I know?

The whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Think I’ll listen to some Tool.

--rgc

Now Playing: Robert Pollard

Robert Pollard continues to deliver what hardcore fans and record collectors desire most: lots and lots of records. Over the past several months, Pollard has released a somewhat bewildering deluge of CDs, LPs, EPs, compilations, and seven-inch singles on a myriad batch of labels. To cap it all off, not one, but two full-length “official” albums will be released simultaneously on Merge on October 9.

Sure, lots of fun for said hardcore fan (myself included), but what about the music?

I don’t normally go for compilations and “best-of’s,” but Crickets: Best of the Fading Captain Series 1999-2007 (Fading Captain Series #44 CD) is a real delight. Of course, I already have all forty-three previous volumes (many in multiple formats), but Pollard’s exquisite knack for sequencing makes this a surprisingly satisfying album in its own right. The six previously unreleased tracks are merely icing on the cake. And what good cake it is! Let’s be honest, this compilation contains the only good songs from some pretty mediocre albums (e.g. Airport 5). On the other hand, cherry-picking from an otherwise massively rewarding discography only reminds me of how great some of those original albums really are. Crickets also contains some vinyl-only gems that are otherwise a bit inconvenient for causal listening (for example, the power-pop classic, “Sensational Gravity Boy”) This very attractive two-CD package not only makes for a good introduction to Pollard’s non-Guided By Voices material, but amply rewards the hardcore fan’s mandatory purchase. Highly recommended.

Speaking of the late, lamented Guided By Voices, Live From Austin, Texas (New West DVD/CD) offers yet another glimpse of GBV’s final tour in all its terrible beauty. Relatively tame compared to the monumental The Electrifying Conclusion (Plexifilm 026 DVD), it’s still drunken debauch. For fans only.

Silverfish Trivia (Prom Is Coming PIC1 CD/EP) was supposed to be the title of the next big record on Merge, but was quickly re-sequenced and released as an inconspicuous EP back in May. Pollard’s instincts may have been correct in releasing this as an EP, since this is easily one of the strongest records he’s released since the demise of GBV. Bookended with quasi-minimalist string instrumentals, the whole record hangs together nicely as a kind of prog-rock suite (especially on vinyl). Highlights include the lovely “Circle Saw Boy’s Club,” a sweetly-sad evocation of lost youth, the majestic “Touched To Be Sure,” and “Cats Love A Parade,” an epic, multipart exculpation of love and betrayal that stands as one of Pollard’s grandest achievements. More songs would have upset the delicate emotional balance that makes this an excellent example of the short-form EP at its most effective. This one gets my highest recommendation!

The Takeovers: Bad Football (Off Records 993 CD/LP) follows up last year’s Turn To Red (Fading Captain Series #40) Many fans are hailing this as some sort of return to form and, while this is more overtly rock-ish than some of Pollard’s more recent stuff, I’m not sure what all the fuss is about. “Pretty Not Bad” has a charmingly punkish swagger and a catchy chorus while “Music For Us” is just down right silly. As for the rest, well, even after several listens, this mostly sounds a bit phoned-in to me. But, hey, I could be wrong. I may listen to it tomorrow and its genius will be strikingly apparent. It’s happened before with Mr. Pollard’s prolific output!

In anticipation of Pollard’s one-two punch on October 9, yet another vanity label, Happy Jack Rock Records, has been (and will be) releasing one seven-inch single per month over the next year, each containing an unreleased song on the B-side. Supposedly, some sort of box or container will be available, along with a possible CD compilation of the B-Sides available upon the series’ completion in July, 2008. If the first three installments are any indication, Pollard’s new albums, Standard Gargoyle Decisions and Coast To Coast Carpet Of Love, will be a strong follow-up to last year’s From A Compound Eye and Normal Happiness. In the meantime, it’s fun to know I’ll have these little gems arriving in the mailbox every month.

Finally, The Circus Devils: Sgt. Disco has just recently been released on Ipecac (a super-limited edition 2-LP on Rockathon is due to arrive on September 28). The Circus Devils moniker has allowed Pollard the opportunity to indulge his most experimental and prog-influenced proclivities and, at 32 tracks, this is by far the most elaborate Circus Devils record to date. Like previous Circus Devils albums, this one hangs together amazingly well as some kind of obscurantist, art-damaged rock-opera. If you can get in the mood for that kind of thing, this one is definitely a keeper.

At fifty years old, it would appear that Robert Pollard is hitting a new peak of creativity. How encouraging!

--rgc

14 Days Without a Cigarette

Today is my fourteenth day in a row without a cigarette thanks to an amazing new drug. Chantix interferes with the brain's nicotine receptors to reduce the smoker's desire for a cigarette. It certainly worked for me.

Now, let me be clear, I was very motivated to quit. It was only a matter of when. I had a routine physical a few weeks ago and I talked with my doctor about smoking cessation methods. He said many of his patients had had success with Chantix and recommended I give it a try.

Like other psychoactive drugs(e.g. Prozac, etc.), you start at a low dosage and slowly increase. So, you pick a "quit day" one week in advance and begin taking the low-dosage medication. During that first week, you are allowed to smoke and, as the dosage is increased, smoking becomes less and less pleasant and satisfying and more and more foul-tasting and nauseating. Really!

All this is not to say that I don't still crave a cigarette - and those first few days were still pretty damn hard to bear. But, Chantix has definitely taken the edge off the pain of withdrawal symptoms and allowed me to continue to function - even at high levels of stress - without smoking.

To tell the truth, I wish I could be one of those people who can smoke two or three cigarettes a day, or only when they're drinking because I really enjoyed some of those cigarettes. The problem is that if I have one cigarette, I'll have a pack a day and that's no good.

So, hooray for modern psychopharmacology!

--rgc

New Car!

I took my 1994 Honda Civic Si to the dealership for some maintenance and, as I had feared, several thousand dollars worth of work needed to be done. Seeing as the car was only worth about $1K, Liz and I decided it was time for a new car.

Lo and behold, this beautiful, Certified Used 2007 Civic Si Coupe was on the lot, just waiting for me. Four hours later, I drove off in it. What a great car! 197 horsepower, 6-speed manual transmission, Z-rated alloy wheels, and a red-line at an astonishing 8000 rpms - this thing screams! The 7 speaker, 350 watt stereo with subwoofer makes it a real joy to drive. Awesome!

This also gave me an excuse to figure out how to post photographs to the blog. (Gee, that wasn't difficult at all!)

Maybe I'll go for a drive...

--rgc