A Ringing Uncertainty

Song 479: Just like my previous personal friend song post seven weeks ago, this week's musical delight Just Don't Know by Eddy & Kim Lawrence, written by Eddy Lawrence, also comes from one of my Fast Folk colleagues, appearing here accompanied by his wife, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. During the early 1990s when we both were hanging out in the NYC area, I found Eddy's work quite inspiring, to the point that I even borrowed the glow from one of his ironic lyrical gems, called Sleepdriving Again, turning it into Drivin’ in My Sleep Again (and I just happen to have a lyric video of that Country Drivin’ track which you can check out by clicking on the title). This particular jewel originally appeared on his 1992 sparkler Used Parts (which also featured Sleepdriving Again), but I actually only heard it for the first time recently. I had perused a Facebook page of his that showcases his nature photography, and while enjoying and sharing some of his raccoon photos, I also discovered the YT video, which I highly recommend, not just for the cool tune you'll get to hear, but also for the cool raccoon pics that you'll get to see. Regarding the message in the words here, personally, I feel like I've already seen the evil and the silly and the weird and the strange, and I would guess that at this point in his life he has too, and, as we both understand, anything can happen when you just don't know.

The Real Message Behind the Words

Song 478: The day after International Peace Day seems like an appropriate moment to add Kill For Peace by The Fugs to the playlist, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Not long after I arrived at NU in the fall of 1969, I started hearing a lot of music I hadn't heard before, thanks mainly to a group of new friends who shared their gems, and one of them introduced me to the humor of the Fugs, which I found quite entertaining. However, I did not get to hear all of their recordings, and I only became aware of this one recently when I posted a query on Facebook asking people about their favorite anti-war songs. Someone suggested this cut, providing a link to it, and even before I got through it the first time, I had decided to add it to my YouTube playlist Dave Elder's Favorite Anti-war Song Videos, which you can check out by clicking on the title. Far or near or very middle east, sadly, plenty of Americans have gone there in the last few decades to kill for peace. The attitude expressed in the lines If you don't like the people or the way they talk, if you don't like their manners or the way they walk, kill, kill, kill for peace might remind you of how some folks feel about immigrants, but when the group did this tune, a large share of the U.S. population feared those gook creeps (the Vietnamese), whereas, these days, plenty of those in the so-called opposition feel that if you let them live they might support the Russians. As the Fugs understood when they created this parody, the real problem is not the target, but the people who need to kill in order to get a mental ease and a big release.

Good Thing the Wish Didn’t Come True

Song 477: This week the playlist features the sound of Crash and Burn by The Bangles, written by Vicki Peterson, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. The hit Walk Like an Egyptian (Song 271) turned me into a Bangles fan when it came along in 1986, and Different Light became a regular spinner on my turntable during my last 2 years in CA, so when a new Bangles LP appeared not long after I moved to Brooklyn in the fall of 1988, I soon added it to my stash, and it also got plenty of spins. This track closes the album on a very energetic note, and by the time the needle circles around to the final cut, this female quartet has clearly demonstrated their ability to rock as hard as any male crew, though I had already concluded, even prior to my first listen, that they had totally proven that point with their 1986 release. While the singer here expresses the wish that she could Crash and Burn, I'm quite glad she didn't - at least not until after this record got finished. I know what it feels like to Just want to drive and drive and drive, or be in a place where I'm Watching all those bridges burn behind me, but as far as 20/20 hindsight, I do wonder, with the new year only a few months away, just how much genuine hindsight 2020 will actually bring. To make this point, I just happen to have a t-shirt with the slogan I'm for hindsight in 2020 which you can find in my merchandise store (the link is also on the Stuff page of daveelder.com).

The Flame Comes and Goes

Song 476: This week on the playlist you can hear Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. By the time If You Could Read My Mind (Song 398) began climbing the charts in early 1971, I had developed an interest in Gordon Lightfoot, and as I added his LPs to my collection in that era, my appreciation of his music continued to grow. When this hit came along a few years later, though, I felt like he had exceeded my heightened expectations, and it remains one of my all-time GL favorites. During that stretch, I rode the romantic roller coaster a few times, and more than once, I also could have said Sometimes I think it's a shame when I get feeling better when I'm feeling no pain. Even today, I can picture every move that a man could make, and there might be moments When I feel like I'm winning when I'm losing again, though these days, those feelings do not come from a romantic roller coaster ride.

An Unusual Reaction to a Break-up

Song 475: This week on the playlist is a good week for Walking the Floor Over You by Ernest Tubb, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. One of my favorite LPs from my aunt and uncle’s country music stash that I often enjoyed spinning on their turntable during our visits to their Ohio home every other year back in the 1960s was a country hit collection from that era, which included this track, in addition to a number of other cuts that have appeared on this list, the most recent previous example being Wabash Cannonball (Song 466). Relishing Mr. Tubb's saga, I soon came to believe that walking the floor over a lover who had moved on was a normal and common behavior, though during my early adult years in the following decade, I soon dismissed that idea, since I never saw anyone do it, or ever heard of anyone doing it. Now someday you may be lonesome too, and of course, Walking the floor is good for you, but I would bet that, if indeed, your heart breaks right in two, probably you will find a different way of expressing your feelings, even if you can't sleep a wink.