Feeling Better

As promised in a previous post, here's a (necessarily) brief update on exactly what has made this blog a content-free zone the past five years. (I also simultaneously published a post about my family during the same time period.) Follow along below the fold.

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Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

After my re-introduction post a few days ago, I thought I would follow up with a catch-up post attempting to briefly summarize the past five years since I last posted here. I'll likely expand on at least some of these in greater depth in the weeks and months to come. I thought I would simultaneously publish two posts: one about myself and this one, about my family. You can find the one about myself here. And follow below the jump.

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As I Was Saying…

<Tap tap > Hello? Is this thing on?

Well howdy there, Internet people (to quote Belle of the Ranch, one of my favorite YouTubers). Where the hell have you all been?

Just kidding. 🙂 I cannot believe my last post was nearly five years ago. So much has happened, both not-so-good and good, that I scarcely know where to begin. This post, then, is simply to get the ball rolling.

I have a long list of future posts, the result of a furious two weeks of writing (so far, with more on the way) to begin to make up for five years of radio silence. I have a particular order in which I want to publish them, but inspiration struck regarding these topics, and I've learned to obey the muse when she appears.

I'll preface by emphasizing up front that I'm okay after emerging from the darkest period of my life. That will be subject of my next post, but I wanted to be clear: I'm safe, and am taking steps to address long-standing issues in my life once and for all. I have a long way to go, but I'm determined to confront and deal with them once and for all. I'm off to a very good start, thanks to the help of my sister, my nephew, my mother, and my amazing friends. I would also like to thank the doctors, nurses, and emergency personnel who demonstrated heroic levels of care and lent a sympathetic, non-judgemental ear when that was what was called for. I would not be here without them. I can never truly repay them for their kindness. Love you all, and I'll do my level best to be the person you make me want to be.

***

If you or a loved one needs help, the Suicide and Crisis Hotline is available 24/7 here in the US by calling or texting 988. You can also visit the Samaritans 24/7 Helpline at samaritanshope.org. You are not alone.

***

I don't have any decent, semi-recent selfies to share, but I have something better: my sister's pup Cooper. Here he is giving her the side-eye for not showering him with what he deems is a sufficient number of treats:

And here he is post-treat chow-down. As you can see, you always know what he's thinking, good or bad 🙂:

***

Some things never change, including me ending with several (hopefully) appropriate songs to wrap things up, starting with Julie Miller's lovely "By Way of Sorrow":

Next up is Victoria Williams with "You Are Loved":

One from The Kinks, one of my favorite bands, with "State of Confusion":

And last but not least, one from the soundtrack to Before Sunrise, one of my all-time favorite movies - Kathy McCarty's lovely cover of Daniel Johnston's "Living Life":

Stay tuned for more posts in the very near future. Just gotta type them all up (I wrote them all by hand). Watch this space!

Another Brief Check In

 Hello all. I hope everyone is having a good summer. This is just (another) brief post. 

As I mentioned in my last post, it's been a difficult few months. Again, I prefer not to go into the specific reasons, other than to say I'm dealing with some health issues of my own, as well as those of my nephew. I will say that my nephew could use all of the positive energy and thoughts you can spare. Thank you.

This has been a particularly dark period, but the one thing that helps me without fail is music. So, I'll share a few songs from the music that's helped during this time.

First is something from a collaborative album between John Hiatt, one of my very favorite songwriters (I named one of the main characters in my old comic strip after him) and the great Jerry Douglas, who is both a solo artist and a member of Alison Krauss's band Union Station. Their album is called Leftover Feelings, and this track is "All The Lilacs In Ohio":

This is actually the second time Hiatt recorded this song; the original version was on his excellent 2001 album The Tiki Bar Is Open, with his superb backing band The Goners:

That's Sonny Landreth on slide guitar, by the way. He also appears with Hiatt on this 1988 appearance on David Letterman, performing the title track to Slow Turning:

Next is a song from what is what will almost certainly be the most moving album you will hear this year, Allison Russell's Outside Child. It is a harrowing, deeply personal, but ultimately redemptive effort, and is well worth your time. This is "Persephone," a tender song about first love, and its healing power in even the darkest of times.

She is also a member of Birds of Chicago, with her husband, JT Nero. I'm just beginning to explore their music, but one song that immediately stood out is "Real Midnight," the title track of their 2016 album:

 I'm looking forward to checking them out further. She was also in the Canadian roots-rock band Po' Girl (she's a native of Toronto), and I hope to hear some of their work as well. I first became aware of her through her participation in Our Native Daughters, a collaborative album recorded in 2018 by Russell, Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, and Leyla McCall. This is a powerful song called "You're Not Alone," performed at the 2019 Newport Folk Festival:

The entire album is equally good; do yourself a favor and give them a listen sometime.

That will do it for this post. Be good to yourselves.

A Brief Check In

 Hello all. Apologies for the long gap since my last post. 

This has been a difficult stretch. I've been feeling very down the past 4-6 weeks, for reasons I won't go into here. The one exception that I will discuss is my nephew's illness, which has, unfortunately, come back with a vengeance. He has had a very hard four years, and the path forward will be equally challenging. I can't go into details, but any positive thoughts you can send his way would be most appreciated. Thank you.

I've been willing myself into writing again on a daily basis, even if it's usually only for a minute or two. Anyone who has issues with mental health can understand that there are days when that minute or two represents a major victory over the darkness. It's an ongoing battle, but one I can't afford to lose. And I won't.

Again, my apologies for the somber nature of this post. I'll end with the one song I can think of that feels appropriate: Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down," taken from the 9/11 broadcast honoring the frontline workers at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. While the video quality is a bit iffy, his seething, defiant delivery comes through loud and clear and says what needs to be said.

Take care, everyone, and be good to yourselves. And to others. We can use lots more of that these days.

The Write Stuff

 Hello all. Just a brief post this time. 

The different/unique post I'd mentioned in my last post for this week... will actually be appearing *next* week. (Sorry!) But it's because it's expanded in scope - in a good way - not because I'm stuck. So, I'm going with the flow, as I try to do when inspiriration strikes like this. Hopefully you'll feel it was worth the extra wait. :c) Keep an eye peeled on this space!

***

I've been digging into Bryan Ferry's solo discography quite a bit the past few weeks, and have been thoroughly enjoying it. While I've always been a Roxy Music fan, the only solo work I was familiar with were his two 1980s solo efforts, Boys & Girls (1985) and Bete Noire (1988). Both were excellent; in fact, I borrowed the title of this post from a track off Bete Noire:

That's a very young Johnny Marr on guitar, incidentally. I could be mistaken, but I think he co-wrote this with Ferry.

The next track is the title track from Ferry's 1976 album Let's Stick Together. 

Only someone who is Bryan Ferry-level cool could get away with not only pulling off a white suit but looking effortlessly stylish as well. (Having Jerry Hall in a catsuit draped all over you while wearing it doesn't hurt, I suppose. ;D) Not sure about that mustache though...

Here's another track from the same album, and one of my favorites from his solo catalog: "Chance Meeting." Roxy Music did a terrific version of it on their 1972 debut album, but I think he actually manages to top that powerful version with the stark, deeply personal version on Let's Stick Together. Here's a great live version from 1999:

I'll end up with one more from 1988's Bete Noire album. This is "Kiss and Tell," which also features Johnny Marr on guitar (on the studio version, not this live version).

That's going to do it for this post. 'Til next time, have a great weekend...

This & That: Vaccine 1, Cass 0

Hello all. A very brief post, for reasons which I think are explained by the title. 

I received my second shot yesterday (Pfizer), and woke up today feeling as if a truck ran me over. Achy, sore, and very, very tired. From what I gather it's short-lived, so I just took it easy today. I even fell asleep for a half-hour, which I only do during the day when I'm not feeling well.

Needless to say, I didn't do much writing today, but I do have the longer posts I've mentioned in the pipeline. Moving took up a lot of my free time, but I got back on track the last few weeks, so keep an eye peeled.

That will do it for this post. Have a good week, everyone!

***

I've had two songs running through my head all day, so I thought I would share them with you. 

First is a track from the final Dire Straits album, On Every Street (1991). It has several excellent songs, including the title track, "When It Comes To You" (which was covered by John Anderson, who had a big hit with it on the country charts), and this one: "The Bug." Here's a terrific live version from 1996, with some smokin' guitar from Mark Knofpler:

Completely unrelated to that is the other song: "Feets Don't Fail Me Now," from Utopia's self-titled 1982 album. This song, written by Utopia front man Todd Rundgren, is insanely catchy, even by his standards, and the video is utterly charming in an early-MTV way. (I think Rundgren also directed the video, but I could be mistaken.) I guarantee that a) you won't be able to get this one out of your head once you've heard it, and b) you won't mind at all. :c)

That will do it for this week. 'Til next time...