Blue Suede Shoes

Well, I got some new shoes in Prague. One pair are blue suede driving shoes. I like them, because I didn't have anything quite like that before. They're quite blue, so I didn't figure they would be every day kind of shoes, but they were inexpensive enough that I'm quite okay with that.

Spring has been resiting here, and so I've taken a bit of a new tack: I am dressing for it, in a (so far futile) attempt to force its hand. Today, that translates into a light striped shirt and the aforementioned blue shoes.

[EDIT] And pants. I'm also wearing pants. [/EDIT]

Now, I think it's interesting how you (and by "you", of course, I mean "I") get used to the shoes you usually wear. I have a pair of skate shoes (Vans) that, on occasion I pull out. They are the closest thing I have to white runners, with the exception of my actual running shoes, which only make an appearance when I'm running. They're not Seinfeld-white exactly - more like grey - but lighter and a bit more bulky than most of my shoes. I was wearing them when we were in Prague, actually (figured they would be quite weather-resistant), and I kept getting the feeling that I had these two foreign objects swinging around underneath me.

I'd be walking along and all of a sudden kind of catch myself:

"What the...? Oh yeah... those are my shoes."

Pause to collect thoughts.

"Okay."

Keep walking.


Now maybe this doesn't happen to you. Or maybe you're just not entirely comfortable admitting it on the interweb. Either way, I find that when I'm wearing unfamiliar shoes, they have a way of distracting me.

So today, as I've been walking in my BSS, I have noticed something I should have perhaps come up with before I purchased them.

They make me feel like I'm wearing slippers.


I'm pretty sure it's the color. The shape is not that different from many of my other shoes, and they are regular, old-fashioned lace-ups, so there is no hush-puppy/slip-on kind of ambiguity going on there. They're just a rather vibrant blue.

One not usually found in footwear. Or, at least, adult footwear.

Oh well.

Spring... where are you?

Extreme

I remember the first time Korey played them for me... we were in high school, and I thought he was crazy. I didn't get it.

But I've loved them ever since.

Korey's tastes have changed since then, and mine have, too, but this has been one group that I just keep going back to. Especially their first album, Pornografitti. It's a concept album about a boy who goes through varying ways of trying to find fulfillment... sex, status, power, materialism... before discovering the pitfall of sin and self-centeredness. He tries to find a way out of being who he is, to be who he knows he should be, and the story turns to redemption and love. It's quite the album.

And it hauls.

It's heavy, it's funky, the guitar-playing is beyond belief and it MUST be listened to at a pretty substantial volume. When I listen to it, I swagger like a very, very happy drunk man. This morning it took me 40 minutes to walk to work. I went once, trying (with some success) to control my desire to air-guitar - or at least make guitarist-face - at the good parts. And there are a lot of good parts. The problem is that, once I got there, there was another great song on, so I had to keep walking and air-drum my way through two more tunes. Finally, I danced my way back in time to get to my meeting.

But just barely.

Now, I got some new filters for my in-ear monitors (they collect the ear wax, which, it seems, I produce quite a bit of) and all of a sudden I can hear the sizzle of the cymbals and the crush of the bass drum again.

It's beautiful.

You really should listen to it.

Walking Home

I got these shots walking home from church this afternoon and then down by the lake this evening.

Lunch

I had the best lunch today that I've had for a while. Grabbed an apple and wandered the mean streets of downtown Geneva (you've got to watch it on Rue du Rhone... the blood feud between the Valentinos and the Guccis is more furious than ever after the recent NY Fashion Week shows). I took a couple pictures I like. And I listened to Blue Rodeo, a wonderful roots-rock/country/folk band that you know if you're from Canada, and should know no matter where you're from.

Hasn't Hit Me Yet (from Five Days In July) - I tend to prefer songs where Jim (Cuddy) is singing... Greg (Keelor) has a voice that suits most of his songs well, but it's not what you would usually describe as pleasant. He puts so much feeling into this one, though, that it's tough not to love it. It's a sad song, but a good sad song.

Head Over Heels (from Five Days In July) - somehow, the 50's piano thing in the bridge that I would expect to kill this song just adds to it. There's a wonderful acoustic guitar picking part offsetting the piano in the verses, and the vocals have some moments of brilliance... "watching the rain through a crack in the window, it's the little things that get you through - like the same sun rising on me as rising over you". Nice.

Rain Down On Me (from Lost Together) - okay, this one is really, really terrible for walking, but what a song. The drums are simple and clean, especially at the beginning of the verses, bass just gliding along with the kick. The piano is putting down some light arpegios and chords in the background, with the classic acoustic guitar driving it all along. And then there's Greg's guitar answering the vocals... gutsy, gritty, just tight enough but just sloppy enough. It's amazingly, achingly, drummer-face-makingly good. And then when the instruments drop out and Jim hits that line: "I used to think I knew what I was waiting (fighting) for... I don't think that anymore". Man... walking pace or not... give me this song, a pair of shades, some comfortable shoes and I could go for days.

Then I fast-forwarded a few to get to Fallen From Grace (from Tremelo). This, unlike Rain Down On Me, would be a fantastic song for walking even if it wasn't a fantastic song. That guitar is just so funky, it's impossible to keep from grooving when it's on. And even, I dare say, a decent while after. Love it, love it, love it!

Walk This Way (Part II)

After careful consideration, here are some of my favorite songs to walk to:

Fall From Grace - Blue Rodeo. It's a little slow, but has such a funky guitar going on in the back that it gives me the kick I need.

Walk This Way - Aerosmith. Ironically, just a little quick, but too groovy to leave off the list. Whenever I listen to it, though, I get visions of those white Adidas (from the video with Run DMC) shuffling forward, and I want to... well, walk that way. And that makes me feel kind of like Ozzy. And that leads me to...

Perry Mason - Ozzy. Heavy, groovy, and stompy (a word Denise coined that I am rather fond of). The tempo is good, but this one is not good for listening to in museums, while shopping, or at any other time in which I am in a crowd of people who I should refrain from crushing.

Until You - Dave Barnes. A little slow, but purposeful. And gorgeous. Is there anything this song can't do?

Steve McQueen - Sheryl Crow. This song hauls, and we're planing to do it for the MNB. This may be the toughest of the bunch to not sing along to as I walk, but it can induce a careless swagger like almost no other song can.

Great Indoors - John Mayer. This one is just a touch slow, but feels sooooooo good. And it's just perfectly in my range, so I can sing to my heart's content as I walk.

Walk This Way (Part I)

I have a lot of rhythm. That can be a good thing... when I'm drumming with a group like my MNB where everyone has good time, it's a very good thing. When I'm sitting on a plane wanting desperately to be playing my drums, my bass... ANYTHING to get out the music that's in me, it's a marginally less good thing. When I'm drumming with someone who has trouble with the whole "count to four" thing, it's actually pretty annoying.

But when it's really like the little girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead* is when I'm walking.

If I get the right song on, I am unstoppable. I am Mick Jagger. I am Henry Rollins. I am David Bowie. It may be a strut, it may be a saunter, it may be a prowl, but when the rhythm is there my feet take on a life of their own and I am just along for the ride.

But then some songs are just a little too quick or a little too slow. I start out walking to the rhythm (because, try as I might, I can't help it) but before long my natural walking speed just has to make itself known. And then it all falls apart. My arms won't move. I trip over shadows. I stumble and limp and generally just scare children and old people. Even if it's a song I love, if it's not the right speed for walking, I have to pass. I don't care when I'm running, and am content to let my legs and my music work separately, but when I'm walking, it has to match up.

And so I was really surprised last week when I put Corinne Bailey Ray onto my stereo from my mp3 player. I never got more than 5 seconds into the album in the time that I've had it, because it's crap for walking. But it's perfect for a party... groovy, spacious, sexy... really, really nice. What else have I missed out on because it's not right to walk to?

So I'm going to have to compile a list of my favorite songs to walk with. Watch this space. And if you have some that work for you, I'd love to hear about them.




* When she was good, she was very, very good; but when she was bad, she was horrid.