Cass's Glasses Redux (a/k/a The Vision Thing, Plus Songs for a Summer Weekend)

Happy Friday everyone. Just a brief post to share a few things while I work on several longer posts (honest!). 

First, I thought I'd share a pic of me wearing my new glasses. Well, relatively new; I got them in late March (yes, I need to post way more often): 

This is my day-to-day business look, for better or worse ;c) - other than when I remember to a) bring my contacts and b) actually put them in (spoiler alert: not very often - ditziness still reigns, alas). Anyway, I like the new spectacles quite a bit. 

This is also how I usually wear my hair (also for better or worse). :c) For some reason most of my pictures show me with it down; in reality, though, I typically wear it up, simply because I don't want to get up at the crack of dawn and spend an hour-plus trying to tame it. (First world problems, I know... :c))

I also thought I'd share a few songs from two albums I've really been enjoying this year. Both of these albums have one thing in common: Jason Isbell, who both produced both records and played on them with his band, the 400 Unit (which features his wife Amanda Shires, moonlighting from her solo career).

First up is Strand of Oaks, who released several terrific albums the past 5-6 years that I somehow missed out on completely. Fortunately I'm making up for lost time, starting with with this year's Eraserland album. Here's a clip of his performance of "Ruby" on Stephen Colbert's show. In addition to Mr. Isbell (lead guitar) and Miss Shires (fiddle), his band features several members of My Morning Jacket, and, on drums, Will Johnson, of Centro-Matic/South San Gabriel. Great stuff:

The second album is one of my two favorite albums of 2019 so far (along with Bruce Springsteen's remarkable Western Stars), Josh Ritter's Fever Breaks. I rarely comment on politics online, but "All Some Kind of Dream" captures how I feel about America the past three years under the Orange Sh*tgibbon - albeit with far more eloquence (and much, much less profanity) than I am capable of. I think in years to come - assuming we still have a functioning democracy, that is - this will be remembered as one of the songs that sum up the horror/sh*t show. Be sure to listen to the lyrics on this one:

I'll end with another song from Fever Breaks, "Old Black Magic." I usually post live performances of songs in my posts, but Jason Isbell uncorks a tremendous, blistering, minute-plus guitar solo at the end of the studio version that is so smoking-hot I just had to share it. Play this one LOUD:

That will do it for now. Look for several longer posts in the near future (again, honest!). Have a good weekend, everyone...

Hello, How Are You?

Greetings one and all. Haven't written for quite some time... and won't really in this post either. :c) (Sorry!)

I just wanted to say hello, and that I *do* hope to write a new post for real this weekend. It's a long weekend here in the States, so I really have no excuse not to at some point. :c) Watch this space; lots to chat about since my last missive!

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I don't think I've ever posted a picture of myself wearing my glasses, oddly enough. This is how I usually look at work when I don't wear my contacts. Unfortunately my prescription has changed, and they no longer make these frames. Bummer, as I really liked them. Oh well. Hopefully I can find a pair I like just as much.

Think that will do it for now. See you this weekend (I hope)!

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I thought I'd end with "How Are You," a great song from Cheap Trick's third album, 1978's Heaven Tonight. You know it's a great album when a song this good is only about the fifth or sixth best song. Check it out if you've never heard it. (Same goes for their first two, Cheap Trick and In Color; all three are stone classics.)

And because one Cheap Trick tune is never enough, here's "Surrender," from 1979's Live at Budokan. The studio version is on Heaven Tonight, incidentally. Both versions are wonderful; it's such a joyous, life-affirming song. And they're still going strong, 40 years after this was released! God love 'em. :c) Enjoy!