M. Ward, “Chinese Translation” and Fleet Foxes “Ragged Wood”

Posted on February 9, 2009 by Jon Martin

Seven months, huh? Man, that’s got to be some sort of record…

Anyway, hello! I wanted to share these two songs with you because, well, I sort of owe you, and because I went to see live music on Friday and it made me very happy indeed. On Friday, I went with my friend Chris to see our friend Andy/The Pluto Tapes perform at the Kick-Off Cabaret in Arlington. { There. Is that enough links for you?} The Pluto Tapes were, as ever, lovely and it was great to see friends and to get stuffed with barbecue beforehand. I miss getting out. The dissertation is a terrible beast, which won’t even let me post on this blog. { Please don’t tell it. It thinks I’m just in the next room…} Sitting there, and watching people perform, was a wonderful, uplifting experience after so much time spent toiling away. Of course, it did also drive home just how much I miss living in a place with good, live music. { Notice how you’ve never heard of York, England as one of the U.K.’s premiere music scenes? Well, you would have, if you’d ever noticed York!}

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Bob Dylan, “Desolation Row”

Posted on July 9, 2008 by Jon Martin

And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot
Fighting in the captain’s tower
While calypso singers laugh at them
And fishermen hold flowers

Like most people, when asked, my father’s favorite Dylan record was Highway 61 Revisited. It was, for him, a landmark. While he definitely liked certain tracks from earlier records more, this was the album that he felt most comfortable listening to from start to finish. My father was definitely much more of an album over singles person than most people that I know, and so it was the album that I spent so much time listening to when my father chose to play Dylan. I can remember sitting on the floor, next to the speakers, wondering what on Earth might be going on in all of that “noise.” This song took years to make any sense to me at all – and now, well, it’s strangely the shortest eleven-minute song I know. I never feel that it takes very long to run its course, and I’m always a little sad when I’ve finished shaking hands with all of these characters. Continue reading →

Site News

Posted on June 30, 2008 by Jon Martin

Hello!

Well, that last entry turned out to be a bit of a false start, eh? I wanted you all to know that, starting next week, the site will be returning to action! I’ve had a lot of real life things going on – dissertations, relationships, rabid wombats – and it’s been a pretty busy few months. Still, don’t think that means that I haven’t missed you! So, when the site returns to action, I would expect an entry a week to start with. Sometimes, I will post more, and sometimes it will stretch to ten days – but I think we’d all like a routine! Hopefully, we’ll be able to settle on a “post day” that we can all come to rely on.

And with deepest sincerity, I want to extend my gratitude to all of you who have kept watching and reading. It’s wonderful to see so many of you come and go, even when I give you no reason to! I love having you as readers, and I hope to return to making it worth your while! And, as ever, I’d love to hear your stories… do consider keeping this thing going by contributing!

See you very soon,

Jon

Great Lake Swimmers, “Your Rocky Spine”

Posted on February 29, 2008 by Jon Martin

I’ve never thought of “Americana” as an adjective that would make me want to buy anything. I’m not given to effusive patriotism, and it’s really not a word that seems to mean very much in particular. In this case, the word was “Canadiana,” but the principle seems to be same. Just the same, one listen to “There Is A Light” on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” and I was hooked. And despite the fact that that song (in a close tie with “Changing Colours”) is my absolute favorite from the album, I want to draw your attention to the single – “Your Rocky Spine.”

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Fountains of Wayne, “Hackensack”

Posted on February 27, 2008 by Jon Martin

I used to know you when we were young
You were in all my dreams
We sat together in period one
Fridays at 8:15…

I spend a lot of time waiting. It’s probably the thing I do the most. I wait for inspiration to strike. I wait for people to write. I wait for days to pass along, so I can go back to where I belong. The refrain of this song “But I will wait for you / As long as I need to / And if you ever get back to Hackensack / I’ll be here for you” is fixated on the removal of that unforgettable someone. When you spend as much time waiting as I do, you can’t help but wonder just where everyone has gone to. All those people that, once upon a time, kept your days and nights full and longing-free. It’s hard, and confusing, to lose touch with so many that I love and care for. And worst of all – it makes you boring. Even to yourself. Continue reading →