I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.
Edgar Allen Poe

The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.
- H. L. Mencken

Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so
-Bertrand Russell

What I have been telling you, from alpha to omega, what is the one great thing the sigil taught me — that everything in life is miraculous. For the sigil taught me that it rests within the power of each of us to awaken at will from a dragging nightmare of life made up of unimportant tasks and tedious useless little habits, to see life as it really is, and to rejoice in its exquisite wonderfulness. If the sigil were proved to be the top of a tomato-can, it would not alter that big fact, nor my fixed faith. No Harrowby, the common names we call things by do not matter — except to show how very dull we are ...
-James Branch Cabell

May 23, 2015 - 12:37 p.m.

Songs from the East Villanelle

Ugh, I slept late again, I don't like sleeping late. Well tomorrow I have to get up early and maybe that will break me of the habit.

I always didn't but yesterday I followed through and made pancakes for breakfast. It's always worth doing that. The thing I can't figure out is why my coffee tastes better after pancakes. But it does.

Last night I went to Rockwood Music Hall to see Maura Kennedy. It was the release party for her brand spankin' new album, Villanelle: The Songs of Maura Kennedy and B.D. Love. I have heard many of the songs from it and have been looking forward to hearing the whole thing. I played one of the songs, Fireflies when I DJed on Monday. I had Maura send me the file so I could play it. I didn't have the physical album till last night.

I was doing merch, did I need to tell you that? So I got there 25 minutes before doors. I was not the first one there. The Facebook event said 7:00 but that was the time for doors so some people got there half an hour before that. Some people being Bill and Fred. It's a Kennedys show in New York, I'm going to know people. For once I didn't sit with Fred in our usual table as we had the merch table set up in the back. If you are playing Rockwood 3 that is the smart thing to do. Upstairs in the back room is a terrible place to sell things. It's crowded and loud and poorly lit. People can't find the merch.

OK so who else was there? Karen, Eliot, Norm, there had to be others I know. The problem is as I was sitting in the back I couldn't see anyone and the way I usually remember who was there is by mentally scanning the room. It felt odd that Jeff & Karen weren't there. They moved away and I'm not used to that.

As you can tell from the title the album was a collaboration with B.D. Love. He is an author and poet and Maura either adapted his poems or based songs based on his stories, or wrote the music to his lyrics. That's not the same as adapting a poem. He wrote the lyrics to be sung, the poems were not written to be songs. They don't lend themselves to common song structures. They are true art songs.

Whatever the origins the songs are wonderful. On the album they were recorded with a band. Last night she was accompanied by Pete who can sound like he's playing moe than one guitar but that's not quite the same thing Pete is on in but it is not a Kennedys album. The feel is different. It's not better, it's not worse, its' different .And it's wonderful. I haven't listened to the album yet so I don't know the titles. One of them sounds like it was a traditional folk song that was made into a rock song in the 60s. I love that I so strongly got that feeling.

Give a listen to Fireflies. This is in Maura's spooky voice. I love Maura's spooky voice.

After the show sales went better than they usually do in a Rockwood album release show. I've learned to have low expectations at those. I had to rush to get to Trader Joe's before they closed at 10 so of course I stayed and hung out with the Pete and Maura. Yes I know I can resist anything but temptation.

I actually made it TJ's before closing. It's only about 15 minutes away by subway and walk. I had the rare bad checkout guy. He didn't chat. He didn’t offer to give me an entry into the weekly raffle even though I brought my own bag, and he put the eggs on the bottom. The great thing about Trader Joe's is that happens so rarely as to worthy of note.

When I got home I made my favorite dinner, sweet garlic chicken. I keep adding more garlic. I might have to start calling it sweet chicken garlic. Last night I made it with chicken thighs.

The worst part of sleeping late this morning is that I missed most of A Thousand Welcomes. Kathleen Biggins had health problems and this was her first show back. I was so happy to hear her voice when I did turn it on. She has taught me more about Irish music than anyone.

I'm going to be having two separate adventures with chicks before the next time I write. One is tomorrow morning so expect an afternoon edition of Wise Madness tomorrow. A very sleep edition.


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please hold me accountable.





Memories: Not that Horrid Song - May 29, 2018
Wise Madness is Now In Session - May 28, 2018
The NFL and the First Amendment - May 27, 2018
On The Road Again - May 26, 2018
Oliver the Three-Eyed Crow - May 25, 2018



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Horvendile May 23, 2015
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