An August Story in September

I should have offered this last month in commemoration but I'm tardy. Better late than never I guess.

An older gentleman comes into the store looking for help. He asks me if we have old records on CD, I respond yes, we do and ask what record he is looking for. And then he does it. Makes the classic mistake, mostly made by men, (sorry guys I'm no sexist but it's true) of assuming that my knowledge of a subject is bound by my chronological age. He says "You probably don't know this but Elvis had a country record and I was wondering if you had it."

Now there's no way this man could know that my mother was a huge Elvis fan. There's no way he could know about her Elvis Christmas ornament that only she could hang on the tree, that my first home permanant was ruined by the news of his death or that I think Peter Guralnick's 2 volume set on Elvis is the best biography I ever read. I can't fault him for that. But I do sell music for a living. I am, if nothing else, a professional. That doesn't mean I know it all cause that's not possible but I do know Elvis.

I say, "Isn't that the one with his cover of "He'll Have to Go"?"

His jaw drops in disbelief. This young person knows what he is talking about. "You're joking," he says.

And, in an example of having just the right line just when you need it, I say "Sir, I never joke about Elvis."

DVD fun

Based on my friend Terry's recommendation, I added the new BBC "Robin Hood" to my queue and I can report it's a total romp. Described as having a contemporary twist, which I can say after the first 3 episodes aparently means no one wears tights and everyone is a smart ass, it's just flat out fun. With it's quick pacing and lively score the epis go by fast. Like potato chips, it's hard to enjoy just one so plan your viewing accordingly.

Ryan Again

Ryan Adams & the Cardinals
September 22, 2007
Michigan Theatre-Ann Arbor, MI

My funniest bootleg story is this. A few years back (2002) my friend Marla and I went to see Ryan in LA, the first US show on the "Gold" tour after the European leg. It was a great trip and a fabulous, if marathon long, show. The highlight for me was hearing "Oh My Sweet Carolina" live for the first time. It's a terrific song, suffused with a homesickness for a South and a hometown that is gone and perhaps never really existed in the first place. When they got to the lines "I miss Kentucky/and I miss my family" I screamed real loud cause, well, I do. Months later when Marla got the bootleg of the show we listened excitedly (it was very poor quality, one of those that sounds like the mike was in the ice bin) until we got to my scream and the cool hip LA people around the mike began to mock me and make disparaging remarks about hicks with no shoes. What a buy-to spend good money on a bootleg just to hear yourself made fun of!

I was thinking of that story last night when we saw Ryan again and again he did "Oh My Sweet Carolina". (And yes, I did scream again.) It was a beautiful rendition-the Cardinals do harmony almost as well as Emmylou Harris did in the original-and such a treat to hear. There were several old favorites last night ("Sylvia Plath", "Wildflowers", "Goodnight Hollywood Blvd") which I was glad for since Marla doesn't really like the Cardinals era Ryan as much and hearing the older songs temporarily stopped her Grateful Dead remarks. I get what she means but I don't think the Cardinals stuff is so far removed from "Heartbreaker" (which she loves) or else why would they be able to work them into the new songs so seamlessly?

Speaking of new songs there were very few last night-only two songs from "Easy Tiger" were featured. "Goodnight Rose" opened the show and they had a very extended "Off Broadway", which I still don't care for. Unlike in the spring, Ryan was playing both guitar and piano and playing them very well. Like "Off Broadway" several songs turned into extended jams, unfortunately they were on my least favorite songs like "Dear John". My only other complaint was the show's shortness-only an hour and a half. I, for one, would have been happy to listen lots longer and I think the enthusiastic crowd would have agreed. But overall I thought it was a good show, one I sorely needed.

Colorful Gift Idea

My new favorite gift to give? A personalized box of Crayola crayons. And by personalized I mean you pick the colors. How cool is that? I first heard about them months ago on http://www.birdchick.com/ when the Birdchick's husband, fondly known to her loyal readers as NBB (for Non Birding Bill), got her a box of all brown crayons cause he says all brown birds look alike. So I ordered 2 boxes for gifts and only now, after the occasions are over, can I say you have to check it out.

www.thecrayolastore.com