Saturday, October 24, 2009


WHERE IS MY MIND
?

I love it when, like last night after a long day in the office, on the train home I'm sitting among all the staid salarymen of mostly older years who live outside the city, and after listening to an elderhoodly interesting podcast on history or science I suddenly have a craving for some mindscouring tunerush so I dive into for example the Pixies' Surfer Rosa, one of my dozens of top 10 albums ever, with Bone Machine for starters, get down, and Where Is My Mind not long after, whoa, I crank it UP, let's wail, and all at once the nearer heads turn to see what that odd new tiny pounding and screaming noise is, and wonder why those little drumsounds and microriffs are squealing out of my silverhaired head as factoids of puzzlement begin crawling all over their faces: what is this casually dressed, ponytailed elder with two gold earrings listening to?

Other earphoners my age are mellowing out to classical music perhaps, or maybe golden oldies from the Heian era, some koto tunes, catchy J-pop items of the 1930s or kabuki music, who knows, I can't hear it, but you can bet your last guitar pick they ain't listening to anything like the Pixies, who rule this particular train.

"Where is my mind, where is my mind, wheeeeere is my mind...
Waaaaay out on the water, see it swimming..."

Total.
***

In which connection, a GenX take on this reality:
Why Our Parents Were Cooler Than We Are Now
When They Were Our Age


8 comments:

Tabor said...

OJ, I admit it, while Christmas shopping yesterday I bought myself two CDs and yes, they were classics of the Debussy/Vivalde variety. I am such an old lady.

Marianne said...

So glad to hear it. I confess, when I listen to my music on my ipod on the airplne or train, I look around sheepishly...kinda embarassed that I like whiny white boys singing teenybopper lovesongs...wondering about the seepage....

Kay Dennison said...

The kids in my neighborhood laugh when I pull up and the Rock Hall of Fame radio station is blasting The Eagles or the Stones from lil' Miss Ruby's radio.

I guess old ladies aren't supposed to rock! Sue me. LOL

Robert Brady said...

Rock on, one and all.

Mage said...

Mine didn't. I am us. Thank you.

joared said...

Your tune reminds me of one to which I periodically gravitate -- "Goin' Crazy."

As for my listening pleasures I usually have some jazz radiating outward from my car. Enjoy hearing the very talented Toshiko Akiyoshi with Lew Tabackin and their Big Band and wonder if they have a Japanese following?

Robert Brady said...

Maggie, you're most welcome. We rock.

***

joared, Toshiko and Lew do indeed have a following here, one of many years' standing. In which connection, have you heard the younger jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara?

joared said...

No, I hadn't heard of Hiromi Uehara, but I have now!

Wow! Just listened to her trio's "XYZ" on YouTube.

Couple things come to mind:
Interesting I'm encountering these Japanese female jazz musicians. What's going on with female jazz musicians there?

Marian McPartland, originally from G.B., has continued to be a name jazz pianist in U.S. (in her nineties now,) but don't think we have too many other females playing instruments in jazz -- well, Diana Krall.

Second thing about Hiromi is think she's the first recent male or female musician who has brought that long hair feature to jazz that seems to drive the rock music fans insane.

Thanks for bringing her to my attention. I may have to write about her in the future. Meanwhile, if you generate any writing about her and/or Japanese jazz, I hope I don't miss reading it.