Let me just say that sometimes I envy the copy guys. You're in, you're out, no muss, no fuss. Just making copies. I'm not sure if I feel *worse* for the guy in the Hall of Fame. I mean, I guess I regret that Glover's not rolling in dough, but I don't know why he's not.
Now this reminds me of the time years ago in SF when my friend and I were at a copy shop and the dude who worked there was helping her print out her resume. When he saw that she'd worked in Santa Cruz he said he'd been in a band there--Camper Van Beethoven. I can't remember which one he was, though. He seemed fairly bitter about it. I think he was one who sided against Dave Lowery.
(And in trying to figure out which one he was on the wikipedia I found a page for dieselhed! They were one of my faves back when I lived in SF)
We were just talking about Camper Van the other day. They played Take the Skinheads Bowling on JackFM.
Conversations You Can Have in San Francisco Bars
::walk into the Gold Cane tonight on Haight Street. Get happy hour margarita and put the Dusty Springfield 33 1/3rd book on the counter. Bartender bends over to take a look and I flip it for his review::
Bartender: That's a cool series. I just read the Daydream Nation one, and really liked it.
Me: Actually, I'm writing a book in the series.
Bartender: Really?
Me: Yeah, on Tom Waits' Swordfishtrombones.
Bartender: That's one of my favorite records! Well, actually I like Rain Dogs best. Then Swordfishtrombones and Bone Machine.
Me: Rain Dogs is probably his most perfectly realized album. But Swordfishtrombones is where he reinvented himself and his style.
Bartender: So that's on Continuum? They do a lot of academic books. I just read
[some philosophy book involving the word "dialectial"]
Me: Huh. Do you study philosophy?
Bartender: Some. I just got my MFA in poetry.
Me: Here's a line of inquiry I've been pursing recently. I've been thinking about Tom's work compared to Frank O'Hara's.
Bartender: That's an interesting take. Definitely something in the conversational style. You know who you might want to read? Ted Berrigan.
Me: Brother Ted!
Bartender: Yeah. Berrigan was a huge O'Hara fan. Tried to write like him. But I think he's even closer to Waits' style.
Me: I will definitely check him out.
Bartender: Shit. You're writing about Tom Waits. That's the best job ever.
I must say I do like "An Interview with John Cage" by Ted Berrigan.
I was half-expecting this to just be an empty page....
I was half-expecting this to just be an empty page....
And when is anything about John Cage going to meet your expectations, I ask.
Truth!
Heh. It was a good perspective to have because it doesn't feel like the best job ever right at this particular instant.
But it was good to bounce stuff off a thoughtful Waits fan who hasn't devoured all the research I've done. Because even devout Waits fans haven't read all the shit I've read and spent a solid year on one record.
So! In Tracy Chapman's "Give me one reason" can someone with madder Google skilz than I tell me what the lyrics are for the background vocals?
