Tuesday 2 July 2013

Summer 2013

it's a slow summer
the weather can't make up its mind
and the radio sounds wrinkled
my acoustic guitars have lost some of their siren
and sound more like wheat fields

we slow down in the summer
the theatres run shows from september to may
so it's nice to have some down time
of course there's a lot to do
but things can sit
and make shadows in the afternoon sun

as we age we return to the music of our youth
i've been tapping into my eldest son's music
he's on his own path
deep on the trail
he likes urban music
specifically from a certain apartment block in new york
he's into the truth
and is repelled by the hard sell
still i wonder if his music will survive
and if indeed he will return to this music when he's my age

i grew up on 70s pop
ho ho ho it's magic
i don't like spiders and snakes
hey kids rock 'n' roll
one hit wonders
i doubt if many of them actually toured
they got thrown onto the charts
somebody made some money
and then they disappeared
still - it's nice to hear them still in rotation on satellite radio

we've returned to earlier times sonically
again - it's all about the single
it was the same growing up as a teenager in the 70s
it really wasn't until the mid 70s when i started capturing time with entire albums
i was 15 in 76
more aware
and in need of something more than rhinestone cowboys and ballroom blitzes

my son and i were on a drive
and i had supertramp's crime of the century on
we listened to the entire album together
in silence
as we drove the corners of toronto
upon completion he commented that the album
did a good job of accompanying the landscape
cool

right now he's lost in northern ontario
on a 36 day canoe trip
no running water
no electricity
just nature and food drops
despite this
he went to great extremes to make sure he had his music with him
i picture him paddling and portaging
and grooving to some crazy truth telling shaman from inner nyc

celebrity is dead
who really gives a damn?
little kids?
people without friends?
you fly a flag
you'd better make it wave with something real and true
because we've met the new boss
and they're as boring as the old boss

i suspect my son will remember this time
as a time in his life when he became aware of the true meaning of bullshit
he's ahead of schedule
happy birthday lucas

craig martin
july 3, 2013
whiskey and planter's dry roasted peanuts