A Free Man

It was a Harry Potter filled weekend in A Free Man’s household this weekend. I finished the book in an orgy of laziness on Saturday - don’t worry, no spoiler from me. Although, Dr. O’C’s Mom spoiled it for both of us by passing along some gossip she’d heard about the ending, and people wonder why your loved ones’ mothers are hard to deal with. In addition to finishing the book, on Sunday we went to see the new Harry Potter film. It was good, what you expect from a Harry Potter movie. But what I found amazing was the number of advertisements before the movie. There were no less than 20 standard 30 second TV commercials before the previews, advertising in themselves, even started. We don’t get to the movies often, so I think that this seeping in of TV commercials before the films is stands in starker contrast than if we went every week. I don’t know what it’s like in the States, but I imagine very similar. When we were leaving in 2004, there would be a couple of commercials prior to the films, so I suspect that number has risen since then. What annoys me is that I’ve paid £7 to go and see the film and then I have to be subjected to 20 minutes of ads before another 10 minutes of ads before the film? Harry Potter is OK because product placement can’t be slipped into the film, but in a lot of cases you are then subjected to another 2 hours of advertising in the form of product placement.

Advertising is nothing new, but it’s become ubiquitous in the past couple of decades and its crept beyond the places we expect it - TV, radio, newspapers. I wonder how long the average person goes without seeing an advert. As I type this virtually any website (this one included) that I go for sourcing or information is festooned with ads. When I venture outside, I will see advertising on peoples’ clothes, cars, buses, trains, sides of buildings, and so on. When I go shopping anything that I purchase and place in a bag is like a little kick back to the shop in which I’ve just spent money. If I buy a coffee, I advertise with their takeaway cup. Can anyone in the States name a sports arena not named for some company or another? These things are often a blight, while in Crete this spring we were driving along the north coast, enjoying the rugged hills rounded a curve and were confronted with a bright red Vodafone billboard that was the size of an office building. Nice.

And one could continue. What’s troubling is that advertising is perhaps the only media (and I use the term loosely) in which deception or even outright lying is inherent. This is particularly insidious in advertising to children and there is less and less government control of advertisers. The ultimate goal is to sell the product, and any means necessary is OK. I don’t remember the last item I purchased solely because of an advertisement, but I am brand loyal. I buy Apple computers, Levi’s jeans, Sainsbury’s groceries and I could go on but I am, in effect, advertising. My point is, where does this brand loyalty come from? In some cases, maybe the brand I use is superior, but in other cases (groceries, coffee) it is not. So, despite thinking myself an intelligent discerning consumer, I am susceptible to some sort of advertising.

A few years ago a novel called “Jennifer Government” by Max Barry came out - yes I realize this is an advertisement. It’s a novel of a dystopian future, “1984″ or “Brave New World”, in which giant conglomerates run the world. People are named based on the company for which they work - Julia Nike-McDonalds, for example. The police and the NRA are publicly-traded security firms; and the U.S. government only investigates crimes it can bill for. Hmm - privatization of public services, private security contractors running war zones and parents, God knows why, are already naming their children for corporate brands. Maybe we should auction off the naming rights for Baby D, or shall we just wait until they go to work?

Image credits:

Harry Potter Bus

Jennifer Government

Popularity: 14% [?]

“There was never any good old days
They are today, they are tomorrow
It’s a stupid thing we say
Cursing tomorrow with sorrow…”

Gogol Bordello - “Ultimate”

In the last couple of months I’ve taken up jogging. The sole reason for this is so that I can eat more ice cream after dinner and not gain the horrible ice cream belly. I really don’t enjoy jogging - for about two minutes when I’m running down hill toward the Thames from my house I have a brief feeling of elation which is crushed by the realization that I’m only three minutes into the run. In fact, I’m convinced that anyone who says that the enjoy jogging is either a liar or a masochist.

The point is that while jogging I like to listen to music that reflects my mood and drives me slightly harder. This is generally slightly angry, or jaded post-punk stuff - Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” is a great jogging song, as is Nirvana’s “Serve the Servants” and The Clash’s “White Man in Hammersmith Palais”. Basically anything that’s got a fast tempo and enough angst to make me feel like I’m not the only one suffering. By these criteria, Gogol Bordello’s new album “Super Taranta!” works as a jogging album, and kept me going this morning.

I heard about Gogol Bordello on NPR’s All Songs Considered podcast. They were described as an outstanding live band and the new album as somewhat more lyrically mature than their past records. The host described it as “gypsy punk” and I thought - concepte album, get the single and move on. Concept bands or albums can go one of two ways, really bad - Sinead O’Connor doing reggae covers, most of The Alan Parsons Project recordings - or really good - The Drive-by Truckers’ first two albums and most of The Pogues records. Gogol Bordello fits into the latter category. In fact, The Pogues are a good place to start. Eugene Hütz, the colorful frontman for this band, sounds like Shane McGowan with a Ukrainian accent. Like the Pogues mixed up traditional Irish music with punk rock, Gogol Bordello mixes up traditional gypsy music with post-punk rock.

The more I listen to this album, the more I like it. It’s a constant barrage of funky, Eastern European punk. It gets you moving from the opener and keeps on you, never slows down, never wanes. What’s remarkable about it is that you don’t get sick of it. I thought it peaked about four or five songs in with “Supertheory of Supereverything” and “Harem in Tuscany”, but it keeps going relentlessly “Forces of Victory”, nine songs in, is as good as the opener and the meat of the album. The use of untraditional instruments like the accordion (love it), fiddle and things I can’t even identify lends credibility to the album - it’s not like Sinead O’Connor doing reggae. And while staying in their gypsy punk genre, there’s enough diversity to keep you from getting bored. Finally, though this is the first of their albums I’ve heard so I have no basis for comparison, their lyrics are plenty creative, if slightly grammatically painful - like these from “Supertheory of Supereverything”:

“I don’t read the Bible
I don’t trust disciple
Even if they’re made of marble
Or Canal Street bling

My brothers are protons
My sisters are neurons
Stir it twice dlja prekrastnih dam…

Do you have sex maniacs
Or schizophrenics
Or astrophysicists in your family?”

I hope that the album title is a play on the tarantella - a traditional Italian dance that according to legend results from the bite of a spider. If the dancer stops, the poison is lethal, if the dancers carries on dancing they’re OK . That’s what this album is like, once you get started listening to it and get bitten, you won’t be able to stop. By the time the album closes with the title track, you’ll probably be exhausted, but I bet you’ll want to hear it again.

The verdict - if you like The Pogues, The Clash maybe with a bit of dub or reggae thrown in - then buy it. I got it as an eMusic freebie, but it’s definitely worth owning however you go about it.

Images:

Album cover

Live photo

Popularity: 11% [?]

“But, your flag decal won’t get you
Into Heaven anymore.
They’re already overcrowded
From your dirty little war
Now Jesus don’t like Killin’
No matter what the reasons for.
And your flag decal won’t get you into Heaven anymore.”

John Prine - “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get Into Heaven Anymore”

I had the dubious pleasure of watching some of the CNN/YouTube/Yahoos with Broadband debate on the internet this week. I’m not so sure about the format, some of the videos were a bit gimmicky, but it’s good to hear the candidates discussing real issues as opposed to the flag waving contest of 2004. I thought it would be fun on this political Friday to look at the 2008 Presidential candidates and where they stand. If I with all of them it would be more of a political weekend, so I’ve just dealt with the top 3 according to the most recent polls.

The Democrats

Hillary Clinton: Ah, Senator Clinton, she’s still leading the pack, although Obama is gaining ground. I am a (Bill) Clinton Democrat, but I am also one of the people that can not vote for Hillary under any circumstances. This is not because I am a Hannitized Hillary hater, or a misogynist or any of the typical arguments. It’s because the last seven years have been a vivid demonstration that the hereditary presidency is just not a good idea. If Hillary were elected and re-elected for a second term we would have had the same two families ruling the country for 28 years. Isn’t that what we rebelled against back in the 18th century? Thus if Hillary is nominated I will be forced to vote either Republican or for a third party candidate - I hear Nader is running again.

This is slightly disappointing, because I am a big fan of Bill Clinton’s and Hillary’s positions on a number of things are solid. I think she needs to run a bit more left of center, but she’s smart and competent. I’m sure that she wouldn’t be as much of a disaster as Bush, but it’s massively unhealthy for American, already veering toward plutocracy, to creep towards a virtual monarchy.

Barack Obama: An extremely attractive candidate, he’s moving up in the polls and has more money than God. His health care plan sounds good. He’s young, good looking and induces excitement everywhere he goes. I think it would be good to have a non-Baby Boomer president - you guys had your shot! The only problem I see with Obama is his relative inexperience. Prior to 2000, I would have said that wasn’t a problem. It’s the cabinet members and advisors that you surround yourself with anyway. But, the last 7 years have been living proof that inexperience is a big-fat problem. Thus, I’m hesitant, as charmed as I am with Obama, to get on his bandwagon until I see who he would bring along with him.

John Edwards: I like what John Edwards says a lot. He’s the one of the top three willing to run left. His health care and tax plans are well reasoned and sensible. He’s the only candidate really addressing the growing poverty problem in the States. The problem is that I don’t know if he’s genuine. He seems kind of plastic and the fact that he’s incredibly wealthy makes his talk about poverty seem slightly disingenuous - Romney-esque even. If the primary were today and I was registered as a Democrat, I would vote for him, though.

The Republicans

Rudolph Giuliani: Remarkably still leading in the polls, which I think shows you how screwed the Republicans are this time around. Rudy has one issue - he was in New York at 9/11 and stood around looking officious. At least he wasn’t reading “My Pet Goat”, but does that qualify him to be president? I don’t think his flag decal is going to get him in to heaven or the White House.

None of the Above: True! In the latest FoxNuz poll, None of the Above is running at 20% and in second place. Personally I think this is the best candidate the Republicans have to offer and they should be encouraged to nominate this candidate. Is this a recognition that 8 years of Bush/Cheney means that this party is no longer competent to run the country and thus will forfeit the game? I fear not.

John McCain/Fred Thompson: The old bald guys are running neck and neck in third place. McCain has no money and lost more of his campaign staff this week. Thompson has spent no money and is not even officially running yet. I know what McCain stands for and it seems his party doesn’t like it. I don’t know what Thompson stands for, but it doesn’t seem to matter. It’s also worth noting that Thompson has less experience as an elected official than Barack Obama. The Republicans see him as the new Reagan. Yeah, that’s how bad it is for the Republicans. Actually, that [tag]Newt Gingrich[/tag] is many Repubs’ Great White Hope is how bad it is.

Romney deserves a mention - he’s not in the top three, but he’s running first in Iowa and New Hampshire. The big questions for Mitt - can the Evangelicals and the Mormons get along enough to get him nominated? And does anyone believe anything that comes out of his mouth?

I’m personally pleased that Florida has moved their primary up as I am registered as an absentee voter in that state. I’m surprised, because after the debacle in 2000 and the subsequent 7 years I’m not sure Florida deserves to make any kind of political decisions. But at least I’ll have a little bit of say in who gets nominated.
 

Image credits:

Jesus and the flags

Billary

Popularity: 15% [?]

“Hail to Georgia down in Dixie!
Our college honored fair and true,
The Red and Black is her standard,
Proudly it waves!
Streaming today and the ages through,
She’s the fairest of the Southland,
We’ll pledge our love to her for aye,
To that college dear we’ll ring a cheer,
All hail to dear old UGA!”

As it feels like Autumn here in the midst of the British summer, I’ve got to thinking about the college football season. It’s just over a month until my beloved Georgia Bulldogs open their season against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in beautiful Athens, Georgia. September 1 is when my Saturdays become off limits to family and friends - though that may change this year. Probably won’t be able to convince a crying baby that a Georgia football game is more important than a new diaper.

College football is the one American sport that I remain truly passionate about. There’s something special about this sport for me. I’ve never become a real fan of any professional sports franchise - I just can’t drum up the passion required. I grew up in a small town in north Florida when the nearest professional teams in any sport were in Atlanta or Tampa - and the Braves, Falcons, Hawks and Buccaneers all sucked. I think unless you feel allegiance to one of the big cities were pro teams live, then you don’t feel allegiance to the teams. But just down the road in Gainesville lived the University of Florida Gators. I am ashamed to admit these days that I grew up a fan of Florida football.

We all make ridiculous youthful mistakes and fortunately I had the opportunity to get my Bachelor’s degree at the finest public university in the South, the University of Georgia. And as a bonus, during my time at that fine institution, I became a die-hard fan of the Georgia Bulldog football team. I’ve been to other universities since then and have cheered on, with a modicum of enthusiasm, the Missouri Tigers basketball team and the Oxford Blues cricket team. But none of these teams induce the passion that my Bulldogs do.

Now, it can be difficult to be a Bulldog football fan. Last season in particular was rough. Big wins over Auburn, Virginia Tech, South Carolina and Georgia Tech did not compensate for heartbreaking losses to Florida (damn Gators), Tennessee and, er, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Even prior to last year I can recall more than one occasion which I had invited friends (Alex, Nathan, Jason, Casey, etc.) to share my joy in watching my beloved Dawgs play one of their big rivals and without fail they would lose. These exercises were a lot of fun, watching football is always better with friends. I remember one game, Georgia-Alabama, when my friend Alex showed up to watch the game in full Tide regalia, including an Alabama cowboy hat. As I recall, the Dawgs actually won that game, huh Alex? Perhaps the most painful thing for a Dawg fan to deal with, however, is the Florida problem. This is particularly difficult for a Floridian like myself who has friends who call University of Florida their alma mater. Georgia has lost 13 of their last 14-ish to their nemesis, the aforementioned Florida Gators.

But I’m a true fan, a glass half full fan. Last year was an anomaly. Prior to the 2006 season, the Dawgs had won at least 10 games for four consecutive seasons, had two SEC crowns. They’ve owned perennial rivals the Tennessee Volunteers, South Carolina Gamecocks and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The last time the Dawgs missed a bowl appearance was 1996. Under coach Mark Richt we’re 61-17 and after the rebuilding year of 2006, it’s only going to get better.

So, from September 1 through early December on Saturdays you can find me in my study. I’ll be listening to the radio broadcasts of the Georgia football games on the internet. We’ve got one of the best radio announcers in the business in Larry Munson. The legendary voice of the Georgia Bulldogs is an old school radio commentator, one who makes listening to the game more exciting than watching it could ever be. I used to watch the games on the TV with the sound down and listen to the play-by-play on the radio. For reasons that aren’t clear to me, they don’t show a lot of college football on British television. Last year they started to offer video of some of the games on the internet - but it was small and pixellated and stopped all the time - basically more frustrating than it was worth. So I spent my Saturdays listening to Larry and his sidekicks over the internet. It’s better that way.

Larry’s 87 years old and will only announce home games this season. Things change, but I will miss hearing him call the games. Here’s one of my favorites from the Georgia-Tennessee game in 2003. Go Dawgs!

 

 Munson - Georgia v. Tennessee 2003 [1:47m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 10% [?]

“Our aspirations are wrapped up in books
Our inclinations are hidden in looks…”

-Belle & Sebastien - “Wrapped Up in Books”

I, like millions of other people, am now the proud owner of the latest Harry Potter book. I’ve joined the ranks of people that turn up to work or school slightly bleary eyed from staying up later than usual to press onward in the final story of the boy wizard. Don’t worry, I don’t intend to reveal any of the plot to those who haven’t read it yet. I do find it strange that one of the top web searches this week is Continue Reading »

Popularity: 9% [?]

“Squeaky swings and tall grass
The longest shadows ever cast
The water’s warm and children swim
And we frolicked about in our summer skin

I don’t recall a single care
Just greenery and humid air…”

-Death Cab For Cutie - “Summer Skin”

I wasn’t going to write this post. There are a number of reasons for that: it seems kind of trite to write about the weather, I thought I would take on a British “mustn’t grumble attitude - keep a stiff upper lip and get on with it, and with Dr O’C pregnant it’s actually good that it’s been cool in air-conditioning free Britain. Continue Reading »

Popularity: 8% [?]

” I’m sorry, two words
I always think after you’re gone
When I realize I was acting all wrong
So selfish, two words that could describe
Old actions of mine when patience is in short supply…”

Feist - “So Sorry”

I first heard of Feist on NPR’s “World Cafe” podcast. The live music she played was good but what caught my attention was the host, David Dye, comparing her to Joni Mitchell. Mitchell’s album “Blue” is one of my all time favorites. In fact, I’m a big fan of good female singer-songwriters in general, so I thought I better have a proper listen to Feist. Continue Reading »

Popularity: 7% [?]

I am a political junky. There’s nothing as frustrating, fascinating and utterly fruitless as the political process. American politics in particular has taken on such an artificial, dirty and bizarre quality that it’s no wonder other folks aren’t as delighted as we expect when we spread it on them.

One of my favorite things about politics is the manipulation of language to the end of convincing an apparently gullible public that a policy designed to screw them over is actually really good for them. The Bush administration has been superb at this.

What’s stuck in my craw today, however is wordplay that lots of politicians are fond of, the non apology. While listening to BBC Radio 4 this morning I heard Lord Somebody-or-another discussing the mess in Afghanistan. When asked what was going wrong, he answered “Mistakes were made”. This phrase is becoming pervasive in politics, often used in lieu of an actual admission of wrongdoing. Some examples:

1. US Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez “I acknowledge mistakes were made…” regarding the US attorney firings. 13 March 2007
2. US Senator Joe Lieberman “So why do I trust President Bush in spite of the mistakes that were made?” February 2007
3. General David Richards “In the fog of war, mistakes were made…” in reference to a US air strike that killed numerous Afghanis. October 2006
4. Speaking on BBC One’s Question Time, former UK Foreign Secretary said “mistakes were made” by the US following the Iraq invasion.
5. A Nottingham youth offending team in charge of monitoring a teenager later convicted of murdering a jeweller has admitted “certain mistakes” were made.

And the trivial from today’s news…

6. Florida school administrators speaking about poorer than expected test scores admit that “mistakes were made”.
7. Ohio Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher says some mistakes were made in the state’s handling of a job worked by the wife of Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman.
8. And finally, three Hoosick Falls (New York) high school seniors admit that mistakes were made after they were caught drinking during an overnight school trip.

And we could go on and on. This political catchphrase has become such a ubiquitous non-apology, that folks have begun to accept it as one.

“Mistakes were made.”
“Oh, OK, well at least he feels bad about it, admits responsibility.”

But that is the problem. This catchphrase implies no personal responsibility by the speaker. The use of the passive voice relieves the speaker of any admission of personal wrongdoing. At best this statement is an attempt to protect the subordinates that actually made mistakes. At its worst it is an obstinate refusal to accept responsibility in the face of logic, facts and good sense.

The explosion of the use of this catchphrase is symptomatic of one of the biggest problems in American (and likely world) politics - an absolute refusal to accept responsibility for errors. Harry Truman famously kept a sign on his desk saying “The Buck Stops Here”. I think our current president’s desk sign would say: “The buck was stopped, but not by me.”

Popularity: 8% [?]

There are a few things that I’m obsessive about – well more than a few, but for the sake of argument – music, politics and baseball. Music is the only one of these things that isn’t consistently disappointing to me. But its baseball season and that means that like it or not, I’m reading box scores, keeping up with the NL leader in saves (Francisco Cordero of the Brewers) and who is leading the AL wild card race (Detroit). As an expat, it’s rare that I get to watch a live game, but mlb.com and ESPN have good highlights clips. And I’d like to point out that my fantasy team is leading the league.

Alex Rodriguez makes $27 million per year (that’s more than $45,000 per at bat). The New York Yankees team salary is over $195 million which is more than the GDP of some sovereign nations and over 8 times that of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. This money differential renders most clubs uncompetitive. MLB has no real consistent enforcement policy regarding steroids and other performance enhancing drugs, and don’t get me started on Barry Bonds and the home run records.

Despite all this, from April to October, I follow along. That’s because I love the game. I love the slow pace and the Byzantine rules and scorekeeping. I love hearing the crack of the bat and the thump of a blazing fastball in the catchers mitt. I love the national anthem and the organ music in the ball park and the seventh inning stretch. My Dad is a baseball fan and he passed that on to me. He’s a Dodgers fan, so I was until I got to the age when you start to disagree with your Dad and then I became a Braves fan. I loved the Braves when they sucked. The 80’s when they wore powder blue and averaged 65 wins per season. When Dale (The Stormin’ Mormon) Murphy was their sole All-Star. There’s something pure about a team that bad, something simple and something loveable. The best thing was that every single game could be seen on “The Superstation” sandwiched between reruns of “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “Dallas”. That glorious 1995 series win over Cleveland made it all worth while, yet their hapless record in the post-season kept things simple. Two other reasons to love the Braves – Chipper Jones, who’s in his 14th season with the club, a true rarity in modern baseball and Bobby Cox, who is one ejection away from breaking the major league record for being tossed as a manager, that my friends is a record!

When I moved to the midwest I began a flirtation with the Kansas City Royals. Columbia, Missouri is equidistant between KC and St. Louis, so the choice of a local team came down to the Royals, who for the last 20 years have been the Braves of the 80’s, and the Cardinals - a slick, big budget successful team. The Cardinals still had the spectre of Mark McGwire and doping and home runs and money hanging over them, so I looked West as young men are want to. The Royal’s Kauffman stadium is one of the best I’ve been to in major league baseball. “The K” is intimate, there’s not a bad seat in the house and the perennial poorness of the team generally means that there are plenty of seats available. I’m sure its days are numbered, but it was a great park while it lasted.

MLB is mostly big money and spoiled players and drugs and just bloated like a tick on a stray dog. I think where you can find the purity of baseball, especially a night at the ball park is in the minor leagues. One of my favorite movies, and the best baseball movie ever, is “Bull Durham”. This film paints a romantic and hilarious picture of minor league baseball and is probably the only Kevin Costner movie that is ever worth seeing. There are 246 minor league teams spread all over the country, thus you are probably not far from a minor league club. Admission is dirt cheap, parking is not usually a problem and in most parks you can sit close enough to smell the players sweat if that’s your kind of things. A lot of these guys make it to the bigs, so you may get a chance to see a player before he becomes a greedy, drug ridden freak.

When I go to visit my parents in Florida, my Dad and I usually catch a  game. The Daytona Cubs are a Class A affiliate of Chicago playing in the Florida State League against such perennial powerhouses as the Brevard County Manatees and the Lakeland Flying Tigers. The Cubs play at Jackie Robinson Ballpark which sits on the Intercoastal Waterway. It’s so named because, according to the club website in 1946, Robinson came to town for spring training with the Montreal Royals. He was banned from playing in Jacksonville and Sanford, but not in Daytona.. His first plate appearance came in an exhibition game against their parent club, the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson then became the first African-American player in the Major Leagues.

Dad and I go to to watch the Cubs, fill up on bad hot dogs and pretzels, I keep score, we try to catch foul balls and usually come away with some kind of free promotion. We enjoy the Florida summer twilight and do the things that fathers’ and sons’ have been doing in America for over a century. Enjoy a game of baseball. I’ll miss that this summer.

And as Ebby Calvin LaLoush says in Bull Durham: “A good friend of mine used to say, ‘This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.’ Think about that for a while….”

Popularity: 10% [?]

“And if the world does turn, and if London burns
I’ll be standing on the beach with my guitar
I want to be in a band, when I get to heaven
Anyone can play guitar…”
-Radiohead

At some point in my childhood it was decided that I should take piano lessons. I don’t know by whom, but I have memories of afternoons spent in the company of dowdy older ladies banging away gracelessly at scales and “Fur Elise” and “Frere Jacques” in their potpourri scented living rooms. I remember subjecting my family to clumsy renditions of Christmas carols in the holiday season. I remember painfully long recitals in church fellowship halls. Basically I remember really disliking piano lessons. I also remember arguments with my Mom and her telling me - “If you quit now you’ll regret it for the rest of your life”.

You reach a point in your life where there’s no longer shame in admitting that your parents are (VERY occasionally) right. Since my aborted piano lessons, music has begun to mean more and more to me. It may be safe to say that I am obsessive about music. I think about points in my life relative to music I was listening to then. When I hear a favorite album it opens the floodgates of memories. I like to have a soundtrack to my life. The advent of iTunes has been wonderful - I list, I rank, I obsess. There’s nothing like seeing a favorite band live or tearing the shrinkwrap off of a new album and anticipating that first listen.

However, I’ve always felt a little bit like a musical parasite. Consuming but never producing (although I guess the music industry relies on folks like me). And there has been many a time that I yearned to go back into those floral living rooms and bang away at “Greensleeves”. About a year ago, I made the decision that it was time to learn how to play music and if one wants to play rock music or derivations of rock music, one must learn the guitar. So for Christmas of 2006, the long suffering Dr. O’C purchased for me a lovely Yamaha acoustic guitar.

I would love to tell you that it all came back to me, my musical training. I would love to tell you that shortly after I finish this writing I will go and write my ninth original song and with that but the cap on my demo. I would love to tell you that we have a gig booked in Birmingham next Saturday. I would love to tell you that. What I can tell you is that I spend two hours every Thursday evening with five other men, with jobs and families and one slightly post-teen emo girl (who I imagine finds us all old and loathsome). We are patiently mentored by an excitable and very talented Polish guitarist in a school computer classroom strumming and plucking clumsily along. And I can tell you that I practice when I have an hour or so during the week and that in just like a lot of things I’m getting better slowly. I gracelessly play scales and “Frere Jacques” and “Greensleeves”. But I also can play a decent rendition of Johnny Cash’s “I Hung My Head” and “Hurt” and Oasis’ “Wonderwall” and on a really good day, a passable version of Steve Earle’s “Galway Girl”.

My mom was right, but you have to really want it, and I didn’t . You have to look at practice as a treat not a chore. At 11, there were just way too many more enjoyable things to do. At 35, when there’s time in a busy day to practice, I love it. Dr. O’C may not love it, nor our neighbors (I think the dog likes it - see photo above) but for me it’s a chance to relax and try to work out how to make the music I hear come out of that guitar. I have no aspirations of running away and joining a rock band or releasing a top 10 album. I think my goal is to be able to make music even just a little. And if I can play a lullaby to my baby or serenade Dr. O’C with a love song, that’s just a bonus.

And yes - Baby D will be taking music lessons….

Popularity: 9% [?]