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08/29/2004 Archived Entry: "Sunday Music"
Sunday Music (Sorry, folks, I'm on a kick here and ain't got too much else to write about 'ceptin WPA and I'll leave that for now...how much can a fellow rant anyway):
"The Sky is Crying" by Elmore James. It's been raining all weekend. I had to go out last night and pick up a big bottle of Jolly Pumpkin brew (local Michigan brewery) and a four pack of Dogfish 90 minute IPA. I wanted the 120 minute, but it’s 9 bucks for a regular size bottle. This song makes me think more of empty bars than lost love. Stevie Ray tried to cover it awhile back and didn't seem to get either right. Maybe because it's not really a Texas song...it's more like Detroit come October (or as we see this weekend, late August) song.
"A World Without Tears" by Lucinda Williams. Another crying song. I just stumbled upon a website off of Metafilter a few minutes ago called something like: Old Men Who Cry. Dan Rather's mug was the splash page. Lucinda Williams writes songs and sings the way Sheryl Crow wishes she could. I used to think Chrissie Hynde was the female Bob Dylan. Now I think it's Williams. I heard this one off of a downloaded CD. “Are You Down” followed on its own thanks to the kind folks at WDET (I feel like I’m promoting them these days..). It, too, is about rain and crying
Can't put the rain back in the sky
Once it falls down
Please don't cryRain turns the dirt into mud
Warm and messy
Like your love
On their own, the lyrics do very little. Within her raspy, mournful voice, they do so much.
"Chill Out (Things are Gonna Change)" by John Lee Hooker. I was on the phone when this came on the radio. It's from the "let's get together and collaborate with John Lee" days. The Healer worked well, this disc a little less. The last disc that came out in this spirit - either right before or right after he died; I can’t remember - was a failure. I once drove down to where Hastings Street used to be so that I could find the place Hooker sings about in "Boogie Chillin." All that remains is the street sign and the service ramp to I-75. City planners destroyed the historic Black Bottom neighborhood (after the War?) in order to build 75 - and with that destruction went Hastings Street. You would think that a city which experiences so much unwanted destruction due to neglect, racism, and economic issues would have not wanted to force destruction upon a vibrant community. Think again.
