Nick Cave, Space Cadet, AFI New Music, Hanoi Rocks, Looking Tragic, Begging for Trouble and Some Exploring

It was like Christmas last Thursday with Nick Cave, Space Cadet and AFI all dropping new music. Nick Cave was a complete surprise - a full album of wonderful goodness. Just the thing for being cooped up during Mud Season. 

The Space Cadet song is next in line, so good, wonderful post punk with some guitar work by the iconic Brian Baker. Their full album drops in March, can't wait.

Space Cadet

AFI dropped 2 songs, one of which was released as a single with a video of sorts. One was really good, the other, well, kinda meh and the weakest of the four songs released so far in my opinion.

'Begging for Trouble' is the better of the two, perhaps my favorite of all four. Catchy, melodic, I dunno, just all around good. It's a great showcase of Davey Havok's wonderful vocals as well. I'll put it on my mp3 player so I can take it running with me if I can figure out how to buy a downloaded mp3 of it.

The other song, 'Looking Tragic', is the single and, well, I dunno, not my favorite thing. Kinda too rocky, the vocals back to that stoccato thing I don't care for, or something. It's a terrible earworm too. Not bad but not great. But in the cold harsh light of 2021 I guess I'll take what I can get. It's hard to fault them for the video, trying to shoot a music video during a pandemic is challenging at best and clearly they were trying to do the responsible thing by staying socially distanced so you have to give them points for that. But I'm not a fan of those quick, seizure inducing cuts. Which perhaps comes from being 90 million years old though as I recall I hated them back in the day as well. Davey Havok's pouting at the camera brings to mind Hanoi Rocks somehow, don't ask me how, but that old much maligned 80s band somehow sprang immediately to mind out of the dusty depths of my memory. That pink mic stand though! It almost makes up for everything. Almost. 

Also, maybe it's just the hypnotherapist in me but I think it's maybe not the best idea to start a song with, 'Wait a minute, this may be boring. Is it less than a total mess?' According to their press release, ' " 'Looking Tragic' addresses the theme of overstimulation resulting in desensitization. Melodic and driving, the song came to life quickly and immediately stood out as a track to make bodies, if not sentiments, move." ' In plainer words, it has a good beat and you can dance to it, and social media sucks. Which is ironic because for reasons I can't fathom, the bass player decided to go after two fans discussing their disappointment in the new song on the band's own social media, making fun of them in a sarcastic way that made the innocent bystander think, 'Man, what a dick.' Ah the train wreck of social media, it's so hard not to stop and watch even though you know you shouldn't.

And just for laughs I had to go look up Hanoi Rocks to see why they popped in my head and, yeah, I'm not crazy. At least not for this anyway. The pouty lips, the tiger striped shirt, memory is a funny thing. I haven't thought about Hanoi Rocks in a million billion years.

I took the bike out for a spin yesterday, exploring some nearby back roads. The lower elevation trails are a muddy mess and I can't imagine the higher up trails are in great shape for fat biking so I decided to keep it local and rode from the house. The views did not disappoint.

Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona all in one photo.

Mesa Verde

La Platas

Sleeping Ute

These dirt roads are in a subdivision that's supposedly the first 'archeological subdivision' in the U.S.

It's a beautiful area with 35 acre lots most of which are currently undeveloped so it's very sparsely populated. And many of the residents are part time. I rarely see people or cars. I have mixed feelings about it though, the archeological sites are Native American ruins and it's great that they've been preserved but . . .  these are mostly huge fancy houses, very wealthy people living here who've taken over ruins that really ought to belong to the Native Americans. But yeah, that's not going to happen and at least the area and the ruins have been preserved. Still hard not to feel some second hand guilt. But I'm so very thankful to have this area so close by, great for biking, running, dog walking.

The other exciting news for the week is that I finally got my meat back from the processor. We drove an hour to Utah to get it, took forever to load it onto the truck then even longer to get it in the freezers in some kind of orderly fashion. Then a day later the processor called and said they found more of our meat and we had to go back. The butcher never cut up the bones so I have whole legs and spines that I have to deal with now, way too big to fit into a crock pot for broth or to give to the dogs. I had to buy a bone saw from Amazon, we'll see how this goes. And who knows what kind of watch lists I'm on now.

Our first chuck roast. After 30 years of vegetarianism it took me a long time to be able to eat meat again and even longer until it actually started to taste good. I'm so grateful to be in a position now that I can raise my own meat and take ownership of it. It tasted as good as it looks.

I suppose I'd better stop stalling and get to my weight lifting. It looks like Xterra racing may be a likelihood this summer. Arizona hosted the first Xterra of the year yesterday and apparently it went down o.k. Only 100 people allowed but it was something I guess. Maybe I'll get a vaccination by April? I haven't been in the pool for over a year, it's going to be ugly and hopefully that'll be enough time to prepare for a summer race or Nationals this fall. I guess I'll wait and see just like everyone else, wondering when life will start to return to somewhat normal.

One Bad Day

The week before last was difficult but good. But difficult. I took my first steer and heifer over to Utah to be processed. Or rather I paid a very wonderful and knowledgeable cattle woman and her father to haul them to Utah for me and Jonny and I followed behind. Of course it's not an easy thing. For years before I got the cows I wondered how I would deal with it, if I even could. The thing that helped the most was watching videos of other city type folk who had moved to the country and loved their animals and treated them kindly, allowing them to live their best lives then giving them the most humane 'bad day' they could. One especially kind man in particular had learned how to slaughter and butcher his sheep himself in the most respectful way. His channel is here, I won't post the video because I imagine it will upset people and I'm not trying to upset people or make some kind of point. I've made peace with the Circle of Life but not everybody else has. I have a friend who has always eaten meat who's already told me point blank that she refuses to eat the meat from any of my cows if she comes over for dinner. Even though she doesn't even particularly like the cows. And she eats factory farmed, grocery store meat which is a million times more inhumane and less healthy for humans, cows and planet alike. But I'm not here to judge or lecture or force her into something that makes her uncomfortable when she's a guest in my home. We all have our inconsistencies and I'm starting to think they're an important human coping mechanism. Because that's how I'm dealing with this - cognitive dissonance, denial, whatever you want to call it. I can't think about it too much or too deeply. My friend's father who helped trailer the cows said it's important for people to have a relationship with their livestock, it contributes to their quality of life. And my friend said the cows looked really good which made me feel better because I'm still only learning what 'really good' looks like and she's an expert.

I was surprised by the atmosphere at the processing plant. There was a herd of 20-30 sheep in the holding area and they were very calm, some of them coming up to the fence to be petted. My cows were also calm when they were unloaded. It was nothing like what I'd seen on t.v. and in documentaries. It's a very small place, they have only one butcher. I met him and he said he'd been doing it for 37 years and was really proud of his work. My friend commented that meat cutting is truly an art. I had to answer a lot of questions about how I wanted my meat cut up and I felt stupid not understanding what a lot of the terms meant. I had to ask a lot of questions. Hopefully I made good decisions because I'll confess that I'm still not sure what I signed up for.

The good side of this is that the remaining cows now have a somewhat better quality of life. At first I worried that they would miss their herd mates but that night all four of them were frolicking and running around, kicking up their heels with enthusiasm I hadn't seen in a while. If anything they seem more content and calmer in general. Six cows is too many for my land during an exceptional drought and the past 4 months have been hard on my pastures and my pocketbook. Hay is already expensive and many people are gauging, charging twice the normal prices. Thankfully I found a place just 5 minutes from my house that was selling for only slightly more than normal and I should have enough hay to take me through to when the pasture starts growing again. 

I'm going to get a trailer and make the next processing appointments now so that I don't have and overstocking problem again. I'm still going to try to find someone to do on farm processing but at least I'll be prepared if I can't or if I can but the person falls through. It's interesting that many of the things I worry about aren't the problems I eventually end up having.

One cow is due to calve in May and the other is not yet pregnant. We'll try again on her next heat cycle and if it doesn't work I'll have to wait until late summer because if she gets pregnant much later she'll be calving in winter which I really don't want. I also like the idea of the calves being farther apart. It makes management more difficult but it will help with the overstocking issue. It feels really good to be back down to 4, so much more manageable.

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Last week my back finally felt recovered enough to attempt a full on, 'real' Crossfit sort of workout. I'd been gently easing back into weight lifting the previous week or two and it didn't feel like I was overdoing it but it's taken me 2 days to feel sort of recovered. I had to trudge through 6" of uncharacteristically wet sloppy snow yesterday to dig out the wire cow fence that had become buried in snow and remove the coat of ice off the wire and this was not fun with sore muscles, especially my poor arm muscles. But I got it done and today finally feels better. Hopefully the bike trails are groomed and I can get the Fatty up there for some riding. And more snow is on the way! Hopefully. The recent moisture finally seems to be making a dent in the drought. Hopefully the trend will continue on through spring. Mud season isn't my favorite but I'll welcome it if it means some much needed moisture.

I'll end with a nice sunset because why not?

In the heat of the night walking into a dream.

 

Just Like a Memory it Twists Me

Two months ago I was rifling through some old paperwork and a piece of notepaper that had been stuck between the larger pages fluttered to the ground. I picked it up, read it, froze then went into a sort of panic. It was a note from Kevin Seconds thanking me for letting him and his band, 7 Seconds, stay at my house. The panic was because I had zero memory of this. 7 Seconds was my favorite punk rock band during the mid-80s and Kevin Seconds was absolutely my favorite front man. The band and the man were and are legendary, iconic, beyond influential in the punk rock world. They meant so much to so many, including me, back in the day. If they had stayed at my house and I'd forgotten about it then it was for sure time to find me a home because it meant my memory had so deteriorated that I was a danger to myself and others.

When I was in college I put on punk rock shows, a task that had fallen unwillingly into my lap. I hated it and I only did it because I wanted to see cool bands. I let the bands stay at my house to save them money on hotels. Much as I hated all other aspects of show promotion, I enjoyed having the bands stay. I met a lot of fantastic people and nearly everyone was appreciative and respectful. So if 7 Seconds was at my house it meant I'd arranged and attended a show with them and I remembered neither. Not the tiniest glimmer of a memory. How could this be?

I finally did the math that I probably had pictures of the show somewhere so I started digging through a box of old photos and sure enough I found a packet of photos. They had faded away to practically nothing but eventually I was able to make out a pipe organ in the background which meant the show had taken place at the old chapel in the Channing Murray Foundation building which also meant I hadn't organized the show. And then thankfully it all came back to me.

This had all happened my last semester of college during which I'd relinquished my concert promoter career to my friend Josh. I'd also moved to a different house from where all the other bands had stayed. I was trying to picture the band in the old house and of course came up with nothing. I was also trying to picture Kevin Seconds as he looked in 1985 when I'd first seen him in Madison, Wisconsin.

When in fact this was what he looked like in 1986 at the show in question. Also the music was markedly different. They played some of their old hardcore songs but they were touring on their 'New Wind' album which was a huge departure from the standard punk rock formula. They had added melody and tempo changes to the songs, I think one of the first punk bands to do so. They were so far ahead of their time and probably influenced so many of the more melodic punk bands that came many years later. I loved that album. So much. I had forgotten all about it. I've been playing it over and over. Sadly the rest of the punk rock world was not so receptive. Punk Rock aesthetics are so bitchy.

 

I can't understand why such details mattered to my memory and it's still a bit concerning. The human brain is endlessly fascinating and terrifying. But at least I finally remembered what had happened. About halfway through the show I realized Josh would have nowhere for the band to stay because Josh was still in high school and living with his parents. And yeah, my favorite punk band stay at my house? Twist my arm. I went up after the show and offered up my house and everyone involved was more than happy to take me up on it. Thankfully my roommates, who weren't at all into punk rock, were laid back and used to me and weren't all that shocked or put out when I came home from the show with a band.

My roommate's sister was in town and she'd taken all the cushions off the couch for her to sleep on so there wasn't even a good place to sit other than the floor and I had no food for them since I hadn't been expecting company but they didn't seem to care and were thankful for showers and a floor to crash on. I remember Kevin Seconds asking to borrow a curling iron and I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. I don't know, I found it funny somehow. The best I could do was lend him my blow dryer with some attachments. I also remember Kevin and I lingering over some cups of coffee and tea on the front porch the following morning while the rest of the band slept. It was one of those beautiful Midwest fall days, sunny, blue skies, warm but with a cool breeze. Perfect. He lamented his upcoming day in the van and I lamented having to spend my day in classes and at the lab. Then I had to leave for classes and I left him and the band to lock up the house after they left. Thankfully he left a nice thank you note (the only band member who ever did) or I would have forgotten the whole thing.

I never saw them play again after that nor did I buy their next album. Listening to it now, I don't care for it nor the album that came after it. I'm not sure how I knew I didn't like it without buying it. I'm also not sure why I never went to see them again. Or maybe I did and didn't like it, I truly don't remember. But I was curious about what had become of them and of course the internet has the answer. Remarkably they kept at it until 2018, just 2 years shy of their 40th anniversary. Sadly they finally had to break up due to the bass player's and drummer's health issues. They kept touring and putting out albums throughout all those years. Kevin Seconds still does solo acoustic shows, the music being very different from 7 Seconds. His voice is still so crazy good after all these years and lifetimes, amazing.

I also discovered that he paints. One of his paintings came up on my Facebook or Instagram or something and I loved it but by the time I saw it many people in the comments had said they wanted to buy it. I checked the website where he sells his paintings and it wasn't there so I assumed he'd sold it to someone in the comments. Then a week or two (or three?) later he posted that it was for sale and this time as luck would have it I'd spotted the post right away. I snatched it up, I couldn't believe my luck. Apparently his good stuff goes pretty quickly.

'First art piece of the new year. I had a great time with this one despite the fact that I actually listened to the insane and delusional Trump Atlanta rally speech while painting, something I definitely wouldn’t recommend.'

It's even more fantastic in person. I was thinking I'd have it framed but now that it's hanging in my house I'm not so sure, it looks good as it is. The crows and ravens around here play such a big part in my daily life. They chase away the hawks that circle over my chickens and tease my derpy steers who love to chase them. I didn't buy it because Kevin Seconds painted it but it somehow makes it all the more special that he did. A bit of my beloved past hanging on my wall in the present.

Now I wonder what other good stuff I've forgotten about?