New to Me

Shel Silverstein's The Missing Piece Meets the Big O is one of my favorite books for kids. You might love The Giving Tree, or Where the Sidewalk Ends, or any one of the prolific Silverstein's other works, too. But until yesterday, I had no idea about the breadth of Silverstein's talents.

On my way to work, I heard an interview on the Bob Edwards Show (as an aside, Edwards is a treasure, and it remains a shame that SiriusXM has decided not to record new episodes) with Bobby Bare and Bobby Bare Jr. from 2010. The Bares, notable musicians in their own right, had just produced a CD of songs written by family friend Silverstein and covered by artists like Lucinda Williams, My Morning Jacket, Kris Kristofferson, Andrew Bird, and John Prine.

As I started listening to the interview, I thought, 'hey, that's cute - they turned some Shel Silverstein poems into songs'. Goes to show you what I know.

Shel Silverstein wrote 'A Boy Named Sue'. Shel Silverstein. The children's book author. Wrote one of the enduring classics in country music history.

He also wrote 'The Cover of the Rolling Stone', made memorable by Doctor Hook & The Medicine Show.

'Twistable, Turnable Man', the name of the Silverstein tribute record, features a cover of the Doctor Hook hit by the inimitable Black Francis and his Pixies bandmate Joey Santiago. It's terrific:

The 12 Days of Gheorghemas: Day 12

On the 12th Day of Gheorghemas, Big Gheorghe gave to me . . .

Twelve Weeks Late On Appreciations
Eleven Months of Awesome
Nothing. Not a Single Thing.
Nine Gifts for Friends
?????????????????????
Seven Books for Reading
Six cocktails
Five gooooals / things
Four legal mic drops
Three critters and an otter
Two names for naming
And a fat guy in a jer-sey

March the Twenty-Fifth

No one's hangin' stockin's up,
No one's bakin' pie,
No one's lookin' up to see
A new star in the sky.
No one's talkin' brotherhood,
No one's givin' gifts,
And no one loves a Christmas tree
On March the twenty-fifth.

--Shel Silverstein

I don't know if it'll make any change, but I figured it's time for me to start posting.

And, commence the letdown.

I suppose it can’t be as big a letdown as a Monday night in early March, so it’s as good a time as any to close out 2013 and move forward. Seems like we haven’t really gotten in gear here in 2014, and I take the blame for it. I could blame Dave for stealing my stuff on Day 8, or Dennis for posting nothing on Day 10, or the group for ensuring we were going to drift into ’14 even without my lag . . . but nope. This was my mental block.

The only bits I have of any value are a few music recommendations and some overdue thank-yous to yous guys, so here goes. My annual end-of-year “20 from 2013” CD (antiquated, not yet obsolete) is now feeling a tad stale, but there is still some good listening that a few of you may have yet to hear. Spotify list forthcoming.

Here goes:

Black Joe Lewis, “Come To My Party”
Cage The Elephant, “Come a Little Closer”

Most significant of my gratitude surrounds my wedding day over a year ago. Quite a few of you made the trek – through snow and ice (honestly, who gets married in January?) – to wish me well and drink like hell. Here’s to Three Sheets to the Wind, O’Sullivan’s bar, and all of you great friends who left me humbled and honored that day.

Arctic Monkeys, “I Want It All”
Neko Case, “Man”
Man Man, "Head On"

And to the best wedding gifts a man could ask for:

Squeaky/Zman. (Yes, it's signed.) Man.

Teej/Baconbaking (went quickly)

Dave and Buckles each (gift certificates also went quickly)

And the Marls… man man.

And others I have omitted. My sincere apologies.

Queens of the Stone Age, “I Sat By the Ocean”
Vance Joy, “Riptide”
Okkervil River, “Down Down The Deep River”

More good friend stuff . . . the 20th Annual Outer Banks Fishing Trip happened last August. I still can’t believe we have done something without fail for that long. We can’t even get through 12 days of Gheorghemas. It was spectacular, with most all of the mainstays going to great lengths to be there. Here’s to 20 more, God willing. Hell, here's to OBFT XXI, if that happens.

The Mowgli's, “San Francisco”
Non sequitur: My wife turns 40 this year, and for kicks, we’re headed to the Outside Lands Festival in Golden Gate Park in August. Join us if you have the means. Which I don’t, but that’s not stopping me.

Trombone Shorty, “Shortyville”

Here’s to Rob. And this short post. This was my favorite tune of 2013. There are no words.

That about does it. This feels like Ween’s cover of “Piano Man” in Toronto ’96 (awesome but slightly NSFW at the end, which you must wait for), but less hilarious. This is house-cleaning and music. Have at it.

Rounding out the 20…

Dr. Dog, “Broken Heart”
Delta Rae, “If I Loved You [feat. Lindsey Buckingham]”
The Avett Brothers, “Another Is Waiting” (I know, I know, Rootsy)
Bear's Den, “Agape”
Dan Croll, “From Nowhere”
Portugal. The Man, “Modern Jesus”
Caitlin Rose, “Waitin'”
Jason Isbell, “Relatively Easy”
Ages and Ages, “Divisionary (Do the Right Thing)”

Oh... and...
(My wife’s selection, not mine)...
Ylvis, “The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?)”

Thanks to all, and to all a Happy 2014!