Some of you who’ve been following the blog from the beginning will remember on my personal profile, I suggested I am usually good for a positive reframing. But sometimes it is hard, even for me. The reality is that we are just one news cycle away from some pretty big holes. It reminds me of the computer games my son James used to want me to play with him. Generation, neurological…whatever it was, I would always jump immediately into the big hole. I feel like that now--it appears we are playing on a course where the golfers ahead have left some pretty big divots.
Today’s track is once again, the first tape I picked up. I knew it was over there. I had listened to it recently. Somehow when I shuffled over to look through the tapes, and I saw Scot’s handwriting on the label, I knew today was the day for this song. The title on the label is, “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,” but I think there might be some infringement issues on that name, so I’m calling it, “Such a Mad World.” The track is another solo demo of material Scot wrote for “Folklore”, which never made it to the band. I love how at the end of the track, you can hear Scot just sitting there alone and on his quest.
During this period, (early 1990')Scot read several accounts of how songwriters who's lyrics he admired used a techniques of hallucinating sounds and words to various melodies. This approach opened up a wellspring of poetry from deep within him. Normally I don’t think of Scot as a guy gifted with gab, but I do have a huge box of this poetry though, which down the line, I want to go through and do books. Yes, poetry too! I think this song uses lyrics like Dylan does, poetic—but bitingly clear as to their meaning. As dark as the song is, please do notice the words Scot lays out for us at the beginning of the track, almost like a protective charm for a dangerous journey, “Hearts hold what’s waiting for you.”
Today’s artwork is very open-ended. What’s up with this guy? A lemming on a unicycle? And what’s with the target on his back? Is he trying to head for that island maybe? The place he's leaving doesn't look that bad? He doesn’t look particularly scared? Maybe he’s got a parasail in his backpack? Maybe that's a flying unicycle!
1 comment:
there was no space for a comment on it's a mad,mad, mad world so I am dropping down a blog to say that the boy had it absolutely right. Once cops were called pigs amd mow the pigs are getting back at us. much love, big sis, ml.
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