You fought hard and you saved and learned, but all of it’s going to burn. And your mind, your tiny mind, you know you’ve really been so blind. Now’s your time burn your mind. You’re falling far too far behind. Oh no, oh no, oh no, you gonna burn! Fire, to destroy all you’ve done. Fire, to end all you’ve become.
-Arthur Brown, Fire
Ignore the reference to an obscure psychedelic musician, this has nothing to do with music. I just like the song and, well, the theme of this post is fire.
Back in my youth when TR was president, that newfangled internal combustion engine would never make an impact, and women wore corsets I actually was a volunteer fireman. Thus I have a little firsthand knowledge of what people who fight what nature wants to ignite risk. To this day dim feelings of how combustible so much around us can be in the right circumstances flickers over my awareness. I make sure to keep all levels of alcohol in my home low even if I have to imbibe it myself.
Ypsilanti, Michigan has a lovely firehouse museum full of restored rolling stock, historic equipment, and a Victorian fire hall you can get a glimpse of the past in. It’s a lot of fun for the meager $5 entry fee. Well, fun for an odd man with a camera and monopod at least. As usual here’s some pictures of what I hovered around.
When the temperature is hovering around 100 most people do the sensible thing and stay indoors or at least in the shade with an iced glass of planters’ punch. However, during the heat wave we had this summer I showed my contrarian nature and went out. Possibly the reason for this was just to gather gist for my whine mill as I do love to complain. But the major reason I think was that I get stir crazy in the house and like to wander. Not surprisingly I brought my camera along and managed to keep my sweaty fingers from sliding off the shutter button too often.
I planned to have lunch at a microbrewery housed in a building that has been used as such since the early 19th century. It is located in the town of Mount Joy which neither was elevated nor particularly rapturous but was quaint enough. Upon arrival I found that the main street was cordoned off for an auto show. Since I love anything having to do with autos I wandered up and down the street for a bit under the sun becoming a human puddle with a camera.
After that is was off to Bube’s Brewery (if you think of “boobs” or “pubes” when you see this name keep it to yourself) which is housed in a fascinating old building. Its long history as a brewery means a dark industrial atmosphere with catacombs and a dining/bar area which feels like a cave. Very low and reddish mood lighting doesn’t dissuade that impression of stifling antiquity but that’s part of the charm. Good atmosphere, food, and drink made it a happy respite from the heat.
Lastly I traveled to the Hans Herr House in the Amish country of Lancaster County, PA. Built in 1719 it’s now a nice way so see how those who founded the Amish community first set up shop (or farm).
I went to that farm actually to hear an acquaintance (Oliver Craven) play in the lovely duo The Stray Birds. It was nice to sit in an apple orchard and hear music until a summer thunderstorm came to finally lower the temperature a touch. It was almost worth fleeing for shelter.
The only interior picture I took of the concert that wasn't blurry.
Last Tuesday we went out on the town (not the town I live in since there isn’t much town to out upon) and saw Neko Case in concert. It took place at the lovely Meymandhi Concert Hall in Raleigh, NC. If you don’t know who Ms. Case is you might recognize her as part of the Canadian band The New Pornographers. In her solo work she veers away from the harder rock sound of that band and instead ranges from honky tonk and country-rock to haunting ballads. In general she’s hard to categorize as a solo artist but is well known for her powerful and lovely voice. When it was announced she was touring in support of her new album Middle Cyclone and a show was to be relatively nearby we made sure to grab some tickets.
Outside Meymandhi Concert Hall.
Getting there is not half the fun when you have to drive two hours. Still we had additional motivation for the trek in the form of dinner at the Raleigh Mellow Mushroom location. After overeating and visiting a high end chocolate shop across the street (yay for dark chocolate with chili cream filling) we headed over to the concert. The last time we were there we saw The Swell Season fresh off of winning the Oscar for best song in the movie Once. What was great about both times was ease of parking. You have to love a place where you don’t have to pay too much to literally park across the street.
It’s a classy venue (probably too classy for me!) and the lobby had several bars set up with top-shelf liquors and beers plus big honkin’ cookies for purchase. We beelined over to the T-shirt area so I could pick up the mandatory concert garb.
Mr. Puggy, get out of the way of the shot!Front of Neko Case concert shirt.Back of shirt being examined by Snuffy.
When seated we found the opening act was not really to our liking so we twiddled our thumbs until the main event. Neko made up for that disappointment with a great voice and fantastic set of old and new songs. I was happy to hear cuts from her previous album, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, which is a favorite of mine. On the down side we had a drunken hooting woman behind us with the amazing gift of projecting her voice with the force of an air horn. After professing her love for Neko several times she went into request mode loudly wishing the song “Prison Girls” be sung immediately since it “kicked ass”. The backup singer on stage had the job of being snarkstress to people like this who yelled by throwing out quips like: “Oh! Let me make a note of that (mimes pen and pad); Raleigh, 4/7/09, ‘You’re awesome’. Got it.”
Recently music memes have been popping up quite a bit on Facebook and other places. I was reflecting on whether to do one of those when I realized that some songs were closely related to specific years in my life. Sometimes a song can set up a sympathetic resonance with a certain time or event in a way that thinking of one brings the other into focus.
With this in mind I decided to take the last 20 years and pick out a song for each one which vividly caused that vibration in time for me. As I went through those two decades there were some runners-up that were so deserving that I can’t help but comment on them as well. Lastly, just to make this as confusing as possible, I’m going to take them out of sequence and just choose an entry for a year that catches my fancy that day. Eventually all 20 years and (almost) 20 songs will get their moment.
“I’ve got a very irregular head”
Had Roger Keith “Syd” Barrett not withdrawn from the world of music and lived a quiet, modest life for the remaining 36 years he may have just been a footnote to the history of the band he named Pink Floyd. Like Nick Drake, who was a contemporary, this story involves mental illness, reclusiveness, and a small loyal fan base that never let him be forgotten altogether. Often either characterized as a genius who fell to pieces or as a moderately talented artist whose demons led him to drugs and career immolation the truth about Barrett’s life is the mean of those views. In short, Syd Barrett burnt brightly as the creative force behind Pink Floyd’s earliest work only to drop out of the band and then music due to mental illness likely intensified by heavy drug use. It was Barrett’s compositions which created the memorable psychedelic-tinged early Floyd hits like “Bike” and “See Emily Play.” Erratic behavior led to him being eased out of the group starting with A Saucerful of Secrets, their second LP. A brief solo career ensued resulting in two albums: The Madcap Laughs and Barrett (both released in 1970 although Madcap was based on recording from ’68 and ’69.). After having little success with those and a few aborted later ventures he left music for good to garden and paint at his mother’s house in Cambridge until he died in 2006. He never recorded again. Early on in his self imposed exile he attracted a fervent fan base and a mythical persona which made spotting the recluse a notable event. The “Syd Barrett Appreciation Society” even self-published a fanzine, Terrapin, in the mid-70’s to keep his memory alive. Once again like Nick Drake the influence that Barrett had on music was felt but never acknowledged until after his death with quotes like these:
“The few times I saw him perform in London at UFO and the Marquee clubs during the 60s will forever be etched in my mind. He was so charismatic and such a startlingly original songwriter.” –David Bowie
“I wonder what music would be like if he’d never lived.” – Guy Garvey (Elbow)
Syd Barrett: The Madcap Laughs.
As far as my introduction to Syd Barrett is concerned it came about due to the popularity of the band he once led. You couldn’t live during the era that saw the release of Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall without having some exposure to the music of Pink Floyd. The Wall was one of my first purchases in 1984 on that newfangled “compact disc” format. Related events like Laser Floyd at concert venues were an institution that gave teens a purpose for being stoned. Seeing and listening to all this gave me an interest in the earlier works of the band where I discovered the story of Barrett’s career with them. I picked up the first Pink Floyd album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and heard music I liked that didn’t have the current lead singer, Roger Waters, at center stage.
Years later in 1988 I came across the album “Opel” at a record store and purchased it. A compilation of unused takes and unreleased tracks from Barrett’s solo years its immediate appeal to me was the rough, sometimes unfinished, feel of the songs and vocals. He had a talent for writing pieces that would wedge themselves into my head either through lyrical playfulness or blunt emotional force. Later that year I acquired his two solo albums which while more finished still had that ember of instability which made his work interesting.
Listening to this now in comparison to some comparable music of the time like The Soft Machine, Ken Ayers, or Nick Drake I find that Barrett’s solo work seems like a cross between the singer/songwriter and psychedelic genres. He made music that is fragile by way of haunted and in a general sense reflected the aimless and confused feelings I had struggling with early adulthood. The track Opel is the one I listened to most and remember best with its elongated semi-wail that Syd Barrett sings in the final passage. Simple lyrics indeed, but the delivery was what I never forgot:
I’m trying
I’m trying to find you
To find you
I’m living, I’m giving,
To find you, To find you,
I’m living, I’m living,
I’m trying, I’m giving
