16 August 1997: Downs and Ups

Saturday, 16 August 1997:

Downs and Ups

So there's a woman I know here in town who I have a huge crush on. It's really rather embarrassing, all the more so because we actually dated for a short while a year ago, and she felt it wasn't going to lead anywhere. And she may well have been right - we're very different in many ways - but tell that to the screwy wiring in my brain, that doesn't much care about such things. I ran into her today, and we're always perfectly friendly, but it always feels a little like having a serrated knife twisted in my gut. It leaves me feeling rather off-kilter and melancholy for the rest of the day.

I think if I could have every damned hormone in my body surgically removed, that I'd be a lot happier.

Grump.

So the albums I bought last night are pretty good. Marques Bovre and the Evil Twins is a Madison area band that I discovered when they opened for a Sonia Dada concert last year. They do straightforward, heartland rock, and it's pretty good stuff. This particular album was Big Strong House, which I think was their second. The title track and "27 Years" are both very good, although "I Like Gyrls (Who Like Gyrls)" is just basically dumb. I would never have gotten into this band if that's all I'd ever heard; fortunately, I was turned onto their Flyover Land disc, which is excellent.

I have a weakness for certain fluffy pop music, and bought the new Del Amitri disc, Some Other Sucker's Parade. It's not as good as Twisted, but they're still a great 'hook' band; "Not Where It's At" is as slick and catchy a pop tune as I've ever heard, and it's not some cheesy, synth-ed up dance junk.

Finally, I bought Collective Soul's Disciplined Breakdown. It takes me a while to get into their albums, because of the spare and forced mixture of guitar and vocals, but they're pretty good anyway.

I'm working up upgrading my music page in my Web, but it's not there yet. It will probably be a few weeks, since I'm only doing a little bit at a time. Right now I'm working on essays on two of my favorite bands, The Who and Jethro Tull.

I picked up my friend Karen getting back from New York (she flew into Chicago and took the bus up; I guess it's cheaper that way than just flying into Madison). After dropping her stuff off, we went to the Wild Iris Cafe for dinner, and then wandered along State St., bought coffee, and sat on the Memorial Union Terrace on Lake Mendota for a while. It was a nice, leisurely evening.

I've been going to this one coffee shop (the Espresso Royale) long enough that both the Friday and the Saturday night people know my usual order.

It's cool, but pretty humid, this weekend in Madison, so I turned on my A/C. I generally shy away from turning it on if I can help it; I get a little antsy when I'm shut up in an enclosed environment. But when it's oppressive, it's oppressive. Ick.

And now they're playing Ella Fitzgerald on the Saturday evening jazz show on public radio; not a bad way to end the day...

Michael Rawdon (Contact)