That awkward titular phrase (he said "tit") has been bastardized from a famous (at least for me) quote from Ray Milland's character in The Lost Weekend. Milland plays an alcoholic in the film, and he was referring to a drink when he uttered the line. I'm thinking about birthdays.
I've got one coming soon, you see--actually on the day of my show this week, for the first time, so I'm definitely gonna make it there on Tuesday, goddammit. And I'm writing about it for the same reason I laugh first, loudest and longest at anything I say that I think may be somewhat amusing: if I don't do it, maybe nobody else will, to paraphrase Dr. John. And while I may marvel at the fact that I'm sixty one (looks less scary to write it out rather than using numerals), and bemoan the fact that that's my real age, I sure hope there'll be plenty more birthdays comin'.
As any of you who've known me for a while, or have read several of these posts, knows, I've been cursed with a heightened sense of the passage of time throughout my life. From about the time I really understood that the rest of you are gonna die (still don't believe that'll happen to me), I've been freaked by the fleeting nature of life. Curiously, though, as I've aged I've become less so: I miss the slowed pace and seemingly endless days of childhood, true, but now, somewhere on the downslope of where my abilities really start to diminish: strength, stamina, mental acuity, ability to control drooling and other bodily fluid losses, before I start to lose my hair (What? No, I think you're mistaken about that....), I seem to be becoming more sanguine about the passage of time, about inevitability. I've been blessed all my life by family, friends, loved ones, general life circumstances, am maybe even more so now, if that's possible, and so I'm just kinda rolling with it. With the help of Depends (a trademarked product of Kimberly- Clark), even the actual golden part of the so-called Golden Years can be something to look forward to--or at least not something to be dreaded, as it used to be.
So here's to us all: I hope we can all enjoy the ride!
This week's playlist:
Caravan Van Morrison
Birthday Fabs
Birthday Boy Ween
The Birthday Present II Loudon Wainwright
Birth Of The Blues Ray Charles
Listen To The Lion Van Morrison
Sweet And Shiny Eyes Bonnie Raitt
Have A Good Time Paul Simon
Born In Captivity Alpha Band
Born Alone Wilco
Born At The Right Time Paul Simon
Born Secular Jenny Lewis/Watson Twins
I Was Born Natalie Merchant
Head Full Of Doubt/Road Full Of Promise The Avett Brothers
All The Years Beach House
On Saturday Afternoons In 1963 Rickie Lee Jones
Can't Outrun The Years Danny O'Keefe
Golden Years David Bowie
As The Years Go Passing By David Bromberg Band
Woman Of 1000 Years Fleetwood Mac
Worrisome Years Greg Brown
How Many More Years Howlin' Wolf
Come Up The Years Jefferson Airplane
Can't Turn Back The Years John Martyn
For A Thousand Years Marc Johnson
Here We Are In The Years Neil Young
Still Crazy After All These Years Paul Simon
Reelin' In The Years Steely Dan
Losing All The Years Seatrain
Wasted Years Van Morrison
Some of these songs obviously aren't, strictly speaking, about birthdays, or years, or that sort of thing. Listen To The Lion, for example, has no apparent connection, except for the fact that I'm a Leo, and it's by Van, and The Avett Bros. thing gives a glimpse into my worldview/thought process; also, I don't hope, or expect, to live for a thousand years, but the Fleetwood Mac song (from the Danny Kirwan-led incarnation of that band) is simply gorgeous. Anyway, c'mon along on Tuesday from noon till two on 91.5 FM, or wool.fm. We're all in this together, after all.
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