Hella psyched

to see Son Volt on Saturday!

listening to: Wreckless Eric, Son Volt's new one, All Songs Considered podcast, ipod on random again.

Lost Marbles

Ever since we moved into our house, we have found and kept many keepsakes left over from the original owners. This started when we began finding bullets that the lady had taken to hiding in little places around the house , or saving and restoring original doors, re-using original bricks- things tlike that (we didn't keep the bullets).

But one of the most intruiging things has been the marbles. The previous owners had children that they would have raised in this house in the 50's or 60's. Two boys, I think. I've met one, now in his 60's. Since we moved in, we began finding little marbles anytime the earth in the back yard was disturbed and they seem to be marbles that these two kids must have played with in our back yard 50 years ago.

My current house project is building a brick patio in our back yard, which first requires me to dig out about 6 inches of hard clay off the top (double that depth after the soil has been tilled). I'm borrowing what is like a tractor without a seat from my father-in-law, and as I rototill the ground, I check for marbles. Yesterday I found 9 more!

I keep them in a jar and they are one of my favorite new things. It's strange, because I never played marbles (and I'm even sort of against them because it's like teaching little kids to gamble). But I think, for me, maybe why I'm so drawn to them is that they symbolize boyhood/childhood. And even more than that- since they are burried under several inches of dirt- they represent a lost childhood. Which is timely, due to the fact that, at the eve of my fatherhood, I find myself reflecting on my own childhood quite a bit.

I'm sort of putting someone else's childhood/history to rest while examining my own and while "paving" the way for my child's all at the same time. And that's very heavy for me.

Being a Son Volt fan is a full-time job.....

.....and I'm workin' overtime.

Got the record "The Search" on my lunch break at Rasputins last Tues. along with a promo limited-edition bonus EP. Got a second bonus EP at Best Buy later that week and some other itunes exclusive outtakes.
Been listening non-stop ever since. About 30 songs in all. Man!

I was listening to the album after work while helping students with HW, when a student insightfully said, "This is L.A. music." So I asked what she meant and she replied, "Because this is the kind of music I would listen to if I were driving all the way to L.A." She "gets" it.

I've gotta be honest. It's not their most accessible. In fact, this is probably their worst. But the fact is that Jay Farrar's worst beats anybody's best by miles. So it's still incredible to me.

A lot of different instrumentation: sitar, tape loops, keyboards/synths, piano, organ, female bgvs.

Lyrically, there's more anti-war/ anti-corporate/environmentalist lyrics. Along with a lot of schitzofrenically juxtaposed lyrics like this one:

He sings in falsetto while playing a lone piano...
"She said, 'I still love you, but I don't know if I wanna spend the rest of my time with you- the rest of my life with you.'"
...then the band kicks in and he sings...
"High on adrenaline, it's new day!"

What a funny pairing of lines. Although I am someone who has personally received that first line myself and someone who has woken up to a new morning optimistically, I have never experienced the two coinciding. But it's genius because it leaves you wondering and imagining.

Note to my faithful readership: if you are a Son Volt novice, check out their first record, "TRACE" first. It's much more listener-friendly. Plus it's a classic and should be in everyones' home.

Man, I can't deliver a full review right now. I'm still processing the whole thing. But I am just fully enjoying myself. I love Jay Farrar the way that my students love Hillary Duff or (Lil') Bow Wow. And I'm totally in touch with that part of it and I'm loving it!

demo finished

New songs from Peter Stanley are up at the Winter's Fall Myspace page. They're the rough mixes of a demo we finished last week right before Keith's wedding.