From Wet and Cool to Hot and Humid

Must be summer...

I'm a Dirty Rat

Pack-rat that is. Ask Mrs. 17. She calls me a Hoarder. She don't know. Ask her how many times I've needed to fix something, and have just the cure.

There's nothing wrong with saving 20 or so Ice Cream buckets. There's always a need for 200 or so twist ties. And screws, nuts and bolts? Don't get me started.

So I have a folder on my desktop labelled "Save" that happens to be full of tunes I've saved. I don't know why, so I guess we'll find out together.

See? If I hadn't "saved" them, we'd have nothing to share tonight.

A Beach Full Of Shells

A little Folk, a little Celtic, a little Rock 'N Roll.  When it comes  to singer-songwriters, Al Stewart is one of the best.                                                                         
Released in 2005, 'A Beach Full Of Shells' is his fifteenth studio album. 

A Love Supreme

Feels like a John Coltrane kind of day.

Mr. Coltrane went into the studio on December 9, 1964 and recorded 'A Love Supreme" in one session.  The other musicians were Elvin Jones on drums, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and one of my favorite Jazz pianists, McCoy Tyner.

Who's Behind the Door

Kinda gettin' back into the "Theme" thing, but where'd we come from?

BTW, today is the summer solstice, so it only gets darker from here.

Through The Deep, Dark Valley

The Oh Hellos are Tyler and Maggie Heath, a brother and sister from Texas, and the group of musicians who back them up on the road and in the studio.

Their music has been described as folk-rock but I think they transcend such simple labels.

'Through The Deep, Dark Valley' is their second album.

Maybe It's Time To Build An Ark

There might have been five days without rain since the first of May.

Things are starting to get kind of scary.  Most farmers couldn't get in their fields to plant their crops until last week.  Those who farm in lowlands may not get a crop in this year because the ground is too damn wet.

The hay is now two feet tall.  It should be a hell of a harvest if we ever have enough dry days to mow it, cure it, bale it and pull it out of the fields.

And my gardens?  My potatoes, corn, cabbages and winter squash have all been planted.  Most of my chilis, tomatoes, broccoli and beans are in the ground too, but I haven't even begun to plant carrots, beets, salad greens or summer squash.  Most years, everything is in the ground no later than the first week of June.  This year I might be planting right up to the fourth of July.

Never thought I'd be hoping for a drought.  Just a mini drought, mind you, one that lasts three or four weeks so the farmers will have enough time to bring in the hay.

I Swear, She's Trying to Kill Me

This "Summer Retirement" thing ain't workin' out. She's got me tillin'. She's got me mowin'. She's got me weedin'. She's got me waterin'. Today she made me build a gawd-damned door! From scratch!

 She's really cutting into my porn-viewing time.

It's no wonder I had a dream last night that I was back to work.

Rising Sons

Rising Sons was a folk and blues band that launched the careers of Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder.

This was their only album.

Droppin' Like Flies

Last week we lost Leon Redbone and Roky Erickson. 

This week it's Dr. John. 

I now understand how my parents felt when the people who created the music of their youth began droppin' like flies.

We Have a Problem Here

We have a problem. We're getting stuck in an endless loop of "Themes". We gotta fix that.

You Become Naked

When it comes to most albums by The Beatles, I can take 'em or leave 'em.  Sure, they're all good albums.  It's just that they tend to be a bit too slick and overproduced for my tastes.  The exception is the so-called 'White Album'. That one definitely has a place on my list of Top Ten Greatest Rock albums.

The Alien Has Left The Planet

Roky Erickson was a pioneer of Psychedelic Rock as the singer and songwriter for 13th Floor Elevators.  The band broke up when Roky was admitted to a psychiatric hospital and diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic.  He spent three years inside, where he was dosed with Thorazine and subjected to electroconvulsive therapy.

Therapy, indeed.

After he was released from the hospital, Roky made a musical comeback of sorts.  He started another band that he called Bleib Alien.  (Roky often claimed he was from another planet.)  Renamed Roky Erickson and The Aliens in 1979, they went into the studio and recorded the songs that ended up on an album called 'The Evil One'.

Roky left this planet to walk with ghosts, zombies and two-headed dogs on May 31, 2019.  Thought I'd pay tribute to him by playing 'The Evil One'.  It's some damn fine Rock 'N Roll.