MARCH ROUND UP

March did not get off to a good start and had been a roller coaster ride ever since. The things I did and got up to during this month are mind blowing!

 

I worked Sat 1st, and we had a lady collapse. We were kept busy keeping her well and alive until the ambulance arrived. To be honest I thought she was going to die, it was harrowing and scary. And of course even worse for the poor lady. It was a reaction to new medication, and she is ok. But boy, were we tested that day!

 

I lunched after with my good friend C, at Caves Beach Hotel, wasn't that hungry and in a bit of a state, but as always she made me feel heaps better.

 

The Oscars were held early in the month and as is my custom I took time off to watch it live. My sister A also had time off work and we had a celebratory afternoon with bubbles and seafood!

You can read all about my predictions, thoughts on the show, and wrap up of fashion.

 

As part of my Project Declutter and Revamp, my first new piece of furniture arrived. A lovely cabinet for the lounge room. This arriving set off a domino effect of clearing out and rearranging, but I'm pleased with the outcomes!

I've also been playing the guitar with my niece and nephew, who are having lessons. And I bought myself some Bongo Drums!!

And then things got really nuts.

 

Someone once said to me if you live large, large things happen, good and bad. And I guess bad happens to make us appreciate the finer things in our life. I have written about mental health moments before, and I am lucky to not suffer very much, but I do suffer them from time to time. Usually I can see warning signs and nip things in the bud, but this time it snuck up on me and I was down for the count but only briefly. The thing that pushed me over, was not how I was treated during an incident (which is to say not at all well!), but how others included in it were. Piss me off and upset me is one thing, but my friends, well that is a whole other thing and I admit my reaction to this was not at all classy. The combination brought me to my knees.

 

I've got a pretty tough exterior due to 'stuff', but that exists to protect a very fragile and sensitive interior. It takes a lot to break through to it, so kudos to the shitheads that get there!!! However, it's always pleasant to find out who one needs to avoid in life! I prefer to keep personal things private, but I see so many people suffering similarly or worse, I feel the need to share so they don't feel so isolated and alone.

 

But during all this I had a lot to be grateful for, things that jerked me right out of that bad head space. I attended a GenXWomen lunch at Noahs with the fantastic Joanne McCarthy as guest speaker, attended an literary dinner at Cooks Hill Hotel, talked Haruki Murakami at bookclub, and Marched in March. All the while supported and loved by fabulous friends and family, you all know who you are, godammit I love you guys!!!

And then I heard a song I loved and like that I got my mojo back.

 

Which was perfect timing, as I was entering one of the busiest fortnights I have ever had, in life and at work.

 

I have been organising for some months an author tour for my friend, Anita Heiss and her friend Lisa Heidke. It was a lot of work, but really can you call having so much fun at 5 events over 2 days work?

 

I also managed to squeeze in a Neil Finn concert, and celebrate what would have been my beloved Pop's 100th birthday.

 

My friend D, who I have known since I was 5 also dropped by with Vodka - now there's a friend that knows me well - for a catch up.

 

The second week brought the new Cardiff Library opening, a NAG Supporters public meeting, a large vintage fashion show and gardening talk and meetings at work, and a meeting with ABC about the Writer's Festival, of which I shall be part of. I lunched with D, bought a stack on vinyl, had another movie night at work, and then pretty much crashed.

In fact I literally crashed on the Thursday when I took quite the tumble in the rain, my mind was elsewhere and I think the universe wanted to bring me back to earth, lol. I did a fair bit of damage to some body parts but nothing broken, just my pride!

 

I got together with my beloved Tweeps, for another great Tweet Up, this time at The Edwards, as organised by C. And it was a fabulous night, of chatter, friendship, drinks, laughs, and funnily enough, not much tweeting! My lovely friend L stayed with me for the occasion and she finally got to meet a whole lot of people she had been conversing online with for years.

 

The following day, L and I headed into Frankies Place for a leisurely brunch and then checked out the latest exhibition at Newcastle Art Gallery. We then wandered the length of the mall, chatting art, photography, and politics. I also saw The Great Beauty, and Inside Llewyn Davis.

I am planning on some quieter months, I need to bury myself in some great literature, and catch up on some quality viewing.

Don't Think Twice It's All Right: the moment I 'discovered' Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan!!!

 

I don't know what to say, I adore his music more than almost anything, except The Beatles.

 

And that my friends, is really saying something.

 

But it wasn't always this way, I knew Dylan, knew his stuff, as a music lover how can you not? But I think I got caught up in the whole he can't sing, he's a bit too precious, and he's difficult, and I just didn't GET him. Funnily enough, these are the things I love about him the most now! I also was overloaded on his popular folksy stuff way too much in music lessons when I was younger, no matter how good something is, if it is shoved in your face too much, too often, it becomes tiresome. 

 

And so it went.

 

When his book, Chronicles, Volume 1, came out, I read it purely out of curiosity, not knowing how much I would love it. Or how much it would make me smile, because of his history and knowledge, and because he was bloody funny.

 

But also...because he is a wordsmith, a poet, a man with a turn of phrase that delights me, and now has a profound effect on me.

 

And then one day out of the clear blue sky I heard Don't Think Twice It's Alright on the radio...I song I knew, knew well, but up until then had never really heard.

 

I remember it so well, it was about 7 years ago, I had my new car about a week, and was driving and thinking about a boy long gone, and this song came on, and I just like that I got Dylan.

 

I remember going home and digging out his greatest hits and playing it over and over again, sobbing and smiling.

 

And I was gone...in the best possible way.

 

And it wasn't really about the long gone boy, or every other long gone relationship, it was just the right words to express those feelings, the culmination of life's disappointments and the calmness I felt about them upon hearing that song. Which is why it is my go to song for comfort now. At least that's my interpretation of the feeling of it.

 

It is not his best song I guess, but for those reasons it will remain my favourite forever, and one song I will never tire of hearing.

 

I know it is about Suze Rotolo disappearing overseas and abandoning him, mostly as he'd been a bit of a dope and a bit too intense for her, but of course he was bereft and missing her. I read her book and can appreciate both sides of the situation, it's also a fine book.

 

To me Don't Think Twice It's All Right is also about self respect and love and yearning. All the things that make the world go round really.

 

And it's a very polite fuck off too, and I love the ambiguity of that.

 

"You just kinda wasted my precious time, don't think twice it's all right."

That could possibly be one of my favourite lyrics ever.

 

I think it's also about people not realising the impact they can have on others, for good or for bad, and how we can unwittingly treat others not as well as they deserve, or be treated similarly ourselves, sometimes without even realising until after it has happened.

 

Other lyrics that really sing to me from it are:

 

"It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe" - advice I need to pay more heed to!

 

"But I wish there was somethin' you would do or say. To try and make me change my mind and stay" - That moment where you're waiting for that last grand gesture.

 

"I gave her my heart but she wanted my soul" - that thing where you give the very best of you to someone and they kinda stamp on you and destroy or try to destroy your soul, purposefully or not.

 

"Goodbye's too good a word, babe. So I'll just say fare thee well" - the ultimate kiss off!

 

Bless you Bob, whenever I feel down or used or hurt I listen to it and somehow, melancholy as it is, it makes me feel better, it warms my heart, hugs me lyrically and assaults every sense in my body in such a way it can bring me to tears. Sometimes tears of joy, sometimes tears of genuine sadness. I don't mind either way, to me that is the testament of a perfect song.

 

Musically I love it's rhythm, and the fingering on the guitar is so sweet and intricate. Add in the mellow harmonica and his voice (forlorn and melancholy), to me, sounds pretty perfect and that is why I love it so.

Don't Think Twice It's All Right (the song)

 

I could go one forever about Bob, but many have done it before me and so much more eloquently.

 

So instead, here is a list of my favourite things:

 

The Blonde on Blonde album cover

 

Blonde on Blonde 

 

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

 

Blood on the Tracks

 

Time Out of Mind/Love and Theft/Modern Times trilogy

 

Christmas in the Heart

 

Like A Rolling Stone - his best song

 

Subterranean Homesick Blues - all those words, all that attitude, musically fluid, and THAT video!

 

If Not For You and the pretty xylophone riff

 

Don't Look Back AND No Direction Home

 

The vibe and sentiment of Knocking on Heaven's door and Forever Young

 

His sense of humour...probably moreso in later life

 

He wrote the Ab Fab theme song...many years earlier of course

 

Chronicles, Volume 1

 

His wild hair and those cool black sunglasses

 

He's daggy AND the epitome of cool simultaneously

 

His authenticity

 

His intelligence

 

His way with words

 

His politics and hippy peace

 

He does it his way

 

He is fucking important musically

 

The perfect poetry of Blowin' in the Wind

 

"You may call me Bobby, You may call me Zimmy" in You Gotta Serve Somebody

 

Manfred Mann's cover you You Angel You

 

The Band and The Last Waltz

 

Theme Time Radio Hour

 

The beauty and fragility of Just Like A Woman

 

And the way I'll be your Baby tonight makes me melt

 

It's all over now, Baby Blue - his voice is not great in this, but the intent in there and his phrasing and rhyming is fabulous

 

Every single lyric he has ever written

An aside, I've been working on this for over a week, and could do forever and still not be happy with it. No doubt, once I hit publish I will think of something to add or change, but I'll let it go for now...it seems the right thing to do...

 

Songs that make me smile: TUSK

I love how certain songs and music you love (or not) can take you to a place, time, and feeling and just make you smile.

Tusk by Fleetwood Mac is one of those for me.

And I have to say just listening to it today has brought me so much joy and happiness if I could bottle it I would!

 

It's the title track to their 'experimental' album from 1979. Their own White Album if you will. At the time one of the most expensive albums ever made. A follow up to their instant hit album, Rumours, Tusk sold nowhere near as well.

 

There are two reasons the song strikes a chord with me; the song itself, and my memories of it as a child.

 

I would have been 8 when Dad bought the album Tusk, and I remember him particularly playing that song really loud. It is a song that needs to be played loud I think.

 

I also remember it's unusual but now iconic film-clip, set in a large stadium with a marching band (The University of Southern California Trojan marching Band) and Fleetwood Mac mucking about on it. I remember them carrying a cardboard cut out of John McVie and I couldn't work that one out, where was he? I know I spent a lot of time thinking about that. I now know he was in Tahiti holidaying. I was a strange kid but it all intrigued me somehow, it was funny and weird and large, in sound and in look. I have always loved large and overblown anything.

 

I also thought Mick Fleetwood was a bit weird jumping around all over the shop and Christine wasn't featured much. As an adult I realise Mick was probably on something, and as a drummer his mind must have been blown hearing his drum solos played out so amazingly, and that Christine never liked the limelight.

 

I remember the film-clip being played a lot on Countdown, so much so I figured it must have been number one, but I don't think that was the case. Maybe it was just played a lot or maybe I thought it was played a lot, the mind is a funny thing.

 

I remember Lindsay had no beard and looked so good looking, and he was laughing and having fun and I was so in love with him. Also a few of the marching band members hugged him and I thought I need to play an instrument to get into a marching band! I remember Stevie looking fabulously cool in a see through cream strapless dress and a floppy straw hat, I loved her baton twirling. I do remember Mum mucking about with some of her own marching girl moves which amused and embarrassed us equally. To see your Mum bust moves like that when you are 8 is strange. Mum had been a champion marching girl when she was a young girl.

 

That film-clip is ingrained into my soul, my childhood, my memories!

 

The song is also one of those great songs, an instant classic and because it is essentially an instrumental song, you don't hear it on the radio so much these day. In fact it's a song I rarely hear at all.

 

It starts with a tribal drum beat and what sounds like an audience over it and then after a few bars the vocals come in very soft but in beat with the drums. And then a few guitar chords in between beats. It builds slowly then a funky guitar beat with more singing and some tribal style chanting, and Lindsay shrieking, "Don't say that you love me". Very anthemaic and very addictive.

And the manic drum beat to the steel guitar solo, all the while that same original drum beat continuing and finally the brass section of the band striking in. Building to a loud cacophony of perfection.  

 

It is such a positive and uplifting image from my childhood, it awakens every sense and I will never tire of hearing it!

 

And I'm sharing it here today as I've had a rough week and I always revert to comfort music when I'm feeling weary. A Fleetwood Mac compilation came through my hands at work and the timing was serendipitous and I was also playing it in the car today feeling good after some time spent with fabulous friends. I flicked the volume up high, very high, and played it on repeat all the way home.

And just like that I got my mojo back!