The women all look at you like you're bad, and the men all hope you are

[vovat]

One of the stories on MSN today was "5 real Romeos, 5 surprise proposals." So did they all drink poison and stab themselves, or what? I don't usually think about it, but it's a little weird how "Romeo" has come to mean a really romantic man. I guess that happens a lot with the names of people (whether real or fictional) that come to refer to a certain type. Like how "Jezebel" has come to mean a literal whore, when I think the original context was that she was a whore in the figurative, Biblical sense, i.e., a worshipper of gods other than Yahweh. Anyway, I like some of Shakespeare's work, but I've never been a big fan of Romeo and Juliet.

A dream (or perhaps a series of dreams; it can sometimes be difficult to tell where one ends and another begins, especially in retrospect) I had last night involved my old school, the development I used to live in, and trains that made stops at places like England, Paris, and Monhegan Island, a place up in Maine that's primarily an artists' colony [1], but my dad used to go there for gestalt therapy sessions. I have a lot of dreams about riding trains, probably largely because I used to do it a lot, back before I learned to drive.

You know, I like both spaghetti and bagels separately, but going from eating to one to the other makes for kind of a weird taste. I guess that's why sorbet was invented. Unfortunately, I didn't have access to any of that.

I've been listening to a CD bethje just got. It's called Making Singles Drinking Doubles, and it's a collection of single tracks made by artists on Bloodshot Records. One of the more interesting tracks on it is a weird bluegrass cover of XTC's "Complicated Game," by a band called Moonshine Willy. It has a completey different mood from the original (which I love, by the way), but it's quite cool in its own way. I notice they leave out the verse about voting and the bridge (which I often forget about myself; it's the "they wanted Tom, they wanted Joe" part), though. Neko Case contributes a version of "Rated X" that's pretty similar to, but not exactly the same as, the one on The Tigers Have Spoken. I understand that this was originally a Loretta Lynn song, and I don't think I've heard much of Loretta's actual music, but I like most of the covers of her stuff that I've heard. Also, countblastula put one of the songs from the album she did last year on a mix CD, and I thought it was a good song. Anyway, getting back to the record, I like the Kelly Hogan tracks and the Meat Purveyors' medley of Madonna songs. The last track, Jon Langford's "Nashville Radio," is also pretty good, although his vocals are a little on the hoarse side. (Incidentally, the song has a bit of a They Might Be Giants connection, in that former TMBG backup musicians Brian Doherty and Tony Maimone both play on it.)

[1] Jamie Wyeth, son of Andrew Wyeth, has (or at least had) a house up there. I've never been into it, but my brother has, and he said it contained a lot of Nazi paraphenalia and a wind-up penis.

Comments

[zimbra1006.livejournal.com]

I got a song off iTunes from that comp -- the John Wesley Harding (my favorite British folkie) and Kelly Hogan one. I think it's called "Make Believe," and I like it a lot. I saw the two of them in Chicago in April and really enjoyed Kelly, somewhat to my surprise.

incidentally, the first time I paid attention to the album title was on my iPod, and since it cut off the whole title I thought the name of the album was "Making Singles [as in, people] Drink." I still think that's a good title.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that duet is a pretty cool song. And I think John Wesley Harding played on some Minus 5 songs. It's amazing how many musicians I know of through their work with the Minus 5. Actually, I've heard that Scott McCaughey originally sang the song "Courage Is The Smallest Bird" with Kelly, but I know of no recording of their singing it together.

Beth and I saw Kelly with Neko Case and Carolyn Mark, and then some time later with Nora O'Connor. She's a good singer, but her songs usually take a little while to grow on me.

And "Making Singles Drink" WOULD be a pretty cool album name.

[loz]

! I've never liked Romeo and Juliet either. It has to be the most overrated work ever. Lesser known of Shakespeare's plays are exceedingly more engaging and thoughtful. It does have some beautiful lines, I'll admit, but the story has always irked me.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Romeo and Juliet themselves really strike me as more impulsive than deeply romantic. Mind you, I'm not sure any of Shakespeare's plays have particularly realistic portrayals of romance, but Romeo and Juliet are particularly dumb.

[revme.livejournal.com]

Is "Nashville Radio" the one about Hank Williams Sr? Something like "ever since he was just a little bitty baby, he couldn't get rid of the pain" or something? I saw him when he opened for Frank Black a few years ago, and I thought that song was awesome. He was OK, though, but yeah, Not necessarily really a singer.

Like to hear some of the tracks on that. I like the original of "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights". And hey, Complicated Game Bluegrass would be interesting.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I didn't actually know what the song was about, but that line is in it, so I think you're right.

[revme.livejournal.com]

AWESOME. I'm guessing I'll have to get that compilation then!