The Reality Of My Surroundings

Jennifer started repeat week at Saying Yes, and the meme spread through the bloggerhood like wildfire. Kathleen and Brando have also run with it. I have been quite successfully resisting the bandwagon, BUT: last night was the English Beat and Fishbone at Turner Hall, which put me in mind of this post from February 2008.

I was a bit disappointed in that they predominantly stuck to the first album; while a classic, there are other great songs they could have worked with. But oh Well, unlike other bands from my childhood, at least they change their setlist once in a while.

The other difference is that this winter is not so bleak and snowbound, and the music didn't unfreeze the deeper recesses of my mind and heart the way it did 2 years ago. Maybe it was the song selection, maybe it is the differences in my professional life, maybe it's just that all the nerve endings are burned to a crisp after the last couple-three years. But FWIW, here's that post from the last time Wakeling and Co was at the Turners:

Searching For A Former Clarity

Mirror in the bathroom
Recompense
For all my crimes
of self defense.
Cures you whisper
make no sense
trajectory into
mental illness.

Sometimes you can recognize meaningful change through small details.

My office is downtown, located shouting distance from several entertainment venues including the huge Bradley Center and more intimate places like the PAC and Turner Hall. So it’s not unusual to see touring buses and trucks driving around or parking.

Sunday was a work day, as was Saturday. By midafternoon, while taking a short break to just gaze out the window, I watched a pair of generic touring buses pull into designated spaces alongside the street. In ones and twos, the occupants stepped off, stretching and looking around, and then each one of them did the same thing: pulled out their cell phone to take advantage of the signal and call - friends, family, some kind of home base. Modern technology has helped to soften the disorientation of touring, letting the crew and artists maintain connections and some level of sanity.

In this case, it was The English Beat and their techs, here to play Turner and we were going to see them later that night. I turned back to the desk; I had to finish what I had in front of me in order to make the show on time.

buy a beach before next summer?
how do you feel in the morning?
if the light's an awful bother
i could always close the curtains.
just close your eyes and count to ten
see if you still remember when
your life seemed easy, you had friends
but that was different than that was then
you're drowning, you're drowning

In 1980 I made my first presidential vote against a candidate, and then watched dumbfounded as America elected a suit that went on to stumble and lie his way through 8 years of deceit and corporate malfeasance. Against this backdrop, punk music was going through a mainstreaming into New Wave, wrapping the energy into a more commercial package; but the music industry had nearly dozed into irrelevance, and the DIY aesthetic released a restless generation of kids, seemingly thousands of new bands exploding into clubs and bars every month.

The English Beat rode this wave, but had a bit different agenda. Wrapping a positivist and multi racial message in propulsive danceable songs built on Jamaican ska and accelerated into a new decade, they were lumped in with the ‘Two-Tone” movement. Their first album was a relentless ska dance party, and many of my friends played it incessantly; but my real introduction was Special Beat Service, their third album, a much more pop-oriented album that Also served as their swan song. They disintegrated into Fine Young Cannibals and General Public.

No it's not a joke it's cards on the table time
Yes I could have phoned
I could have spoke
But how to break the news without beaking your heart
Being dead don't hurt,
No only dieing
Cards on the table time,
Sometimes it's right to say goodnight.

But the band wore their hearts on their sleeve, and the combination of Ranking Roger and Dave Wakeling on vocals, as well as the multiracial makeup of the band and their fans demonstrated that tolerance and unity not only worked, but you could dance to it.
The warmongering of the Right was decried in their actions and lyrics, one of the few New Wave bands that maintained the political outspokenness of the punk bands, without apology.

you tell me how can it work in this all white law
want a short sharp lesson,
want a third world war

i sometimes wonder if i'll ever get the chance
just to sit with my children in a holiday jam
our lives seem petty in your cold grey hands
would you give a second thought
would you ever give a damn, i doubt it
stand down Margaret

we played that 3rd album nearly nonstop. During the early days of MTV, “Save It For Later" was a (short-lived) staple and we danced to the TV like kids in earlier days had danced to American Bandstand. Inevitably on Mondays, as we cleaned up the debris from the weekend, shelving one or two Beat albums was part of the process.

They never made it to Milwaukee, although Wisconsin appeared in their lyrics. Local bands covered Beat songs, and we made do.

And, as inevitably happens, we all got older....and lives shifted, as they will.

buy a beach before next summer?
how do you feel in the morning?
if the light's an awful bother
i could always close the curtains.
just close your eyes and count to ten
see if you still remember when
your life seemed easy, you had friends
but that was different than that was then
you're drowning, you're drowning

I guess a few people noticed that I’ve been kind of AWOL of late, closing the old bloggo and generally making myself scarce. [Incidentally, I’d like to extend thanks to the folks who chased me down anyways. It’s weird, and a bit moving, to have someone you’ve never met express concern.]

One morning I looked at the New Post button, and realized I just didn’t have the energy, inclination, or temperament to throw anything out there; moreover, I dreaded the commenting if I just left a post without anything for some time. Commenting anywhere, in fact, seemed like more than a chore; with the prevailing mood, the likelihood of saying something appalling seemed like a near-certainty. In the end, I had no tolerance or patience, and the Internet is not kind to those without tolerance or patience.
So I pulled the plug and tried to concentrate on MeatSpace.

Strength is not the same as anger
Put the taste back into hunger
Searching the box?,
looking for what?
Pushing the gear back into top?
Put the first back into class
Lose your bottle break the glass
You'll wind up high and dry with just this slow cold comfort.

For several weeks now, the Real World has been coming down like rain; like shit from an incontinent Moose (doncha love my Way with Words?). Professional life has rubbed me raw; old clients have refused to pay, new clients have refused to agree to reasonable fees and existing clients have been demanding full time attention far in excess of contractual and reasonable standards.

Rotating head, keeps on the right side
Colied up and tense remains on the lookout
Expects to be shot or get given the bullet.
Rotating head tries to look on the bright side of things.

For a normal business owner, or even at normal times, a bit of extra work doesn’t come as a surprise and can even be energizing. But the demands in construction season are critical and time intensive; construction schedules hinge upon the work and millions of dollars hang in the balance. Simple mistakes cost tens of thousands of dollars and Owners demand that culpability be assessed and compensated; one particular recent project is costing me a minimum of five figures, and that’s just my liability deductible. Larger firms carry errors and Omissions insurance in hundreds of million-dollar amounts, and one of the bigger firms in town may have $1,000,000 in claims in a given year.

Against this backdrop, we try to run a business, make a living, and maybe - just once in a while- achieve .... well, maybe not Art, but aesthetic satisfaction? Too much to ask?

Sugar 'n' stress,
Do everything at least twice
Catch your fingers in your private vices
Sugar 'n' stress
With a heart like ice
Hope heaven comes in a number of sizes.

In the middle of this, a Construction Inspector decides that I’m incompetent, and immediately sets out to disrupt my projects to the greatest extent possible to prove that I’ve screwed something up. Clients have no way of discerning whether his allegations have any validity, and meanwhile construction schedules are disrupted by Mr. Bureaucracy; everyone’s looking at me to resolve this and get things back on schedule, without affecting the budget, while my new friend smirks.

When two swords slashing at each other
Only sharpen one another
And in the long run even he's your brudda'
Even though that kid's a nazi

Of course, the internal flow of my office is further disrupted by the demands on my time. As we try to complete projects on time and keep the cash flow alive, I have little or no time to direct my younger associates or check their work. Inferior or inaccurate work is released into the real world, with predictable results; further confusion and errors in construction, needing more and more effort on my part ot keep things righted. It’s all supremely frustrating, and of course it bleeds over into the personal life; I had no time for family, friends, or exercising.

And perhaps inevitably, it seemed like I was losing my ability to cope.

one in thirty five is saying sorry through a bottle
say it's your job to scrape a living up, that's all it does
well think it back over it, hurts twice as much as living
itchy finger, finger, trigger, trigger
faster faster faster faster

I couldn’t even bring myself to care much about politics, during one of the most intriguing elections I’ve ever seen, and one of the most crucial. Not to mention one of the few that it seemed the Democrats couldn't screw up.

Just like in the 80’s, we have been living through a greedy, self-centered Administration that is hostile to anybody without a lobbyist or a trust fund. The only foreign policy we seem to have is one of submission to American Empire, and the tragedy of September 11th distressingly gave the political powers the strength and support to force many of their priorities into reality. Wealthy Americans and corporations reaped profits and tax breaks unseen since the advent of the twentieth century, while the economy was starved and wages stagnated.

These thought are so unfair
"If somethings there then it's worth taking."
We know where our hearts are-right behind our wallets,
Yes and that's where they're staying
Grow up together but we grow apart
Always climbing up is our downfall.
A change of blood or a change of heart?
Another change of address will do no good.

Neo-conservative idealogues destabilized the Middle East through fear-mongering and deceit. Ronald Reagan was deified, and the new Presidnet lied to an extent that was inconceivable twenty years previously. Dissent was demonized as treason, as were liberals. Political dialogue narrowed and veered sharply rightward; torture became codified and sanctioned as offical American policy, while widespread surveillance of Americans got authorized at the highest levels in admitted violation of American laws in place since Watergate.

Hatred and bigotry are enshrined permanently into Republican policy, more explicit than anytime during my life. The Southern Strategy writ large and driving nearly everything they do. Fear of others - different races, gays, Muslims- is the wedge they use to divide America into segments that they can dominate, while religious intolerance becomes the norm. Civil rights are becoming eroded, while autocratic powermongers dice and degrade the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.

our correspondent made to wait in the lobby
torn to pieces by three have a go bobbies
young swimmers in these sun dialling times
sweeping the nation with a dance called the breadline
it's in our water, and our education
we are oppressed into association
cheated cheated
it's a joke, but it's not that funny
cheated cheated
change the truth until it's worth
money

All of it has seemed like it didn’t even matter to me anymore. The abandonment of my practice appeared a reasonable response, even as the construction industry lurched into one of the worst years in decades and subseqent employment seemed like a long shot, attractive as it would be to just cash a paycheck again.

there's a training camp when
you come from from saving nations
get a new job and a new leg
social rehabilitation
every time you thing of leaving
you get caught between the lines
it's the training for the funfair
you get taken for a ride
you!
just get-a-job, get-a-job

Finally though, we made it to Turner Hall that Sunday night. Several friends were due to show up to, and I confess that I was pretty eager to see some friendly faces.

Naturally, most of them didn’t show.

Sooner or later your legs give way, you hit the ground
Save it for later, don't run away and let me down.
Sooner or later you'll hit the deck you'll get found out
Save it for later don't runaway and let me down, you let me down.

The Beat opened with a measured version of Whine and Grine/Stand Down Margaret, one of the classics from their debut. Dave Wakeling is the Sole Surviving member of the band and it was quickly apparent that the new (still multi-racial, of course) band was smoother and more skilled than the Beat was during their active years, adding a layer of American soul to the ska underpinnings. I sipped my beer, and looked forward to hearing some new twists on some old songs.

Until, that is, they played their second song.

So cross your fingers say you're on high
Pretend you're in den and see what life brings.
But always taking things as they come
Tends to make you forget to put anything in.
The longer you dwell the more it's like hell
You sit by the well just making a wish.
To make it plain I'll say it again
We're all the same
It's only a game.

With no interval between songs, they launched into “I Confess” the opening song from that album we loved so much. No new twists on this one, the piano charged directly into a straight-up version.

And much to my surprise, I discovered myself tearing up. Okay, hell, not tearing up; call it weeping.

the little you can expect to get
to get from anyone else
makes you look after number one
the only helping hand
you'll ever be offered
is the one at the end of your own arm

draw in like a breath
it goes tight like a wire
you're trying to shout
but your lungs are on fire

The memories of the feelings from all those years ago kept running through my mind. Every next song brought back the feelings of youth; idealism, energy. I remembered those years of dawning political awareness and maturing emotional outlook; I recalled the vibrancy of everyday life when another new day was a gift and nothing stopped us from reaching out to each other.

What then?
Do it right, do it now!
Here there, everywhere
Shouting out "I'm mad as hell"
He pushes his legs against the bed
And feels the triumph flooding through his head
He could conquer,
He could win,
Now that dying only means you're not in next week's programme
Stop being a baby

I would have expected a much noisier show to be responsible for....well, readjusting some internal relief valves, I guess. By the end of the night, we were dancing to the English Beat again, and the band was as good as anyone could have asked. Going to sleep that night, tired and sweaty and a mild ringing in the ears as “Save It For Later” played me to sleep on the iPod, I felt.... like I had some measure of control, again.

The next morning promised to be just as difficult as any preceding. But it seemed at least manageable, somehow.
And.... the past still keeps bumping into my consciousness. The potential of young years, and thinking there may have been something I missed. I know I’m being overly dramatic here, and it can probably be dismissed as the onset of mid-life crisis; but when it’s quiet, I wonder if, all those years ago, I made the best decision when I sold my guitar to make my tuition payment.

Someone just smiled for no special reason,
It looks like the smile's come back into season
It's so easy.
It doesn't have to be a nice day,
Just the only one you've got
And it's coming ready or not!