February 2011 - Page 5 of 6 - Ramblin' with Roger

D is for Dylan covers

There was a quite peculiar version of Simon & Garfunkel’s The Boxer; I remain convinced to this day that was done in retaliation for a snarky S&G song.

Let’s face it: Bob Dylan didn’t/doesn’t have the prettiest voice in pop music. But his strength as a songwriter, especially early on, allowed listeners to become familiar with his songs through the performances of others.

Joan Baez, as noted previously, was an early advocate and performer of Dylan’s music, as were Peter, Paul, and Mary, who had two Top 10 songs written by Dylan way back in 1963, Blowin’ in the Wind which hit the charts in June and got to #2; and Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right, charting in September, and ending up at #9.

But it was 1965 that Dylan really broke through, both as a performer and an artist being covered. The Byrds’ Mr. Tambourine Man hit the charts in June 1965, reaching #1. Cher’s All I Really Want to Do started its climb to #15 in July, and It Ain’t Me Babe by the Turtles charted in August, eventually getting to #8. Meanwhile, Dylan had his first hit with Like a Rolling Stone, which started its ascent in July, eventually getting to #2 in September, blocked from the top of the charts by the Beatles’ Help!

Mojo magazine compiled a list of top 10 Dylan covers, while Paste magazine has listed what it considers the 50 Best Bob Dylan Covers of All Time. Meanwhile, Dylan Cover Albums.com boasts 30,000 covers. The podcast Coverville recently offered its fifth Bob Dylan Cover Story in seven years.

Of course, this cover thing can go both ways. Here’s a list of songs covered BY Bob Dylan. While quite a few were from his early career, there were also a bunch from the 1970 double album, Self Portrait. I know this very well because I bought that LP for my high school girlfriend; then we listened to it, not quite as impressed as we had hoped we might be. In particular, there was a quite peculiar version of Simon & Garfunkel’s The Boxer; I remain convinced to this day that was done in retaliation for a snarky S&G song called A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara’d into Submission), in which Simon parodies Dylan; “Albert” in the song is almost certainly Dylan’s manager at the time, Albert Grossman.

Bob Dylan Covers Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” (but doesn’t almost everyone?)

ABC Wednesday – Round 8

ROCK ‘n ROLL Fridays: The Beatles

Find some way not to reward what I can only call intentional stupidity.

“We are like other memes in that we will ask you thirteen questions each and every Friday. But our little “twist” is that each week we will pick a singer, band, era or category and pick thirteen of their songs. Each of our questions will be based on the lyrics.

For the end of 2010, a double-length meme of the Beatles. As though I could resist.

1. HARD DAY’S NIGHT: “You know I work all day, to get you money, to buy you things, and it’s worth it just to hear you say, you’re gonna give me everything…”
Have you ever supported another person?

Well, my wife and I support our daughter. When Carol was in grad school, I was making the vast majority of the income, but now, as with about a fifth of mixed gender couples in the U.S., she makes more than I do.

2. ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE: “Nothing you can make that can’t be made. No one you can save that can’t be saved. Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time, it’s easy. All you need is love…”
What 3 things do you need besides love?

Water, food, music.

3. BACK IN THE USSR: “Been away so long I hardly knew the place, gee it’s great to be back home…”
What is the most unusual place you have visited?

Barbados, 1999. Don’t know that it was unusual as much as it was FAR AWAY.

4. DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET?: “Listen, doo da doo, do you want to hear a secret? Do you promise not to tell?…”
What was the last secret you heard?

What a silly question.

5. DRIVE MY CAR: “Baby you can drive my car. Yes I’m gonna be a star. Baby you can drive my car and maybe I’ll love you…”
When was the last time you drove someone else’s car?

1987, I think. It was definitely when I was working at FantaCo.

6. EIGHT DAYS A WEEK: “I ain’t got nothing but love, babe. Eight days a week”…
What was the longest week of YOUR life?

First week of the daughter’s life – utter exhaustion.

7. GET BACK: “Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner, but he knew it couldn’t last. Jojo left his home in Tucson Arizona, for some California grass. Get back!Get Back! Get back to where you once belonged…”
Where do YOU belong?

A reasonable question. As Marvin Gaye sang, “Wherever I lay my hat, that’s my home.”

8. GOOD MORNING GOOD MORNING: “Everyone you see is half asleep, and you’re on your own you’re in the street…”
What is your morning routine?

I usually get up about 5:30 a.m. While my wife is in the shower, I am at the computer for about an hour, which consists of 1) checking my e-mail, 2) going to the blogs on my list, 3) writing something for my blog, ideally for several days in the future, as opposed to that morning. Then I get dressed, then make Lydia’s lunch while listening to the local news, especially the weather.

A lot depends on the daughter. If she gets up on her own, that could be anywhere from 6 to 7, and if so, I need to occupy her; that could be a book or talk. If I get her up at 7, I get her breakfast, then her mother does her hair, then I take her upstairs to get dressed, make sure she goes to the bathroom, check to make sure her homework and lunch are in her backpack, then help her with her coat and walk her to school.

9. HELLO GOODBYE: “I don’t know why you say goodbye I say hello, hello, hello…”
Who was the last person you said goodbye to that you look forward to saying Hello to again?

Well, when I’m at work, it’s the folks at home. Since I’m home, it’s folks at work.

10. YESTERDAY: “Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away, now it looks as though they’re here to stay, oh I believe in yesterday…”
What was the best event of yesterday (the day before today)?

Reading a bunch of newspapers.

11. WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU: “We were talking about the space between us all and the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion…”
Spiritually, do you believe in the afterlife, reincarnation, or nothing at all?

I believe in the likelihood of an afterlife, but don’t think less of those who don’t.

12. WHEN I’M 64: When I get older losing my hair, many years from now…will you still be sending me a valentine, birthday greetings, bottle of wine?…”
What was your favorite age to be?

37; that’s when I went to library school.

13. WE CAN WORK IT OUT: “Try to see it my way, do I have to keep on talking till I can’t go on? While you see it your way, run the risk of knowing that our love will soon be gone, we can work it out…”
What is the most drastic thing you ever did to try to save a relationship/friendship?

Hitchhiked hundreds of miles.

14. THE NIGHT BEFORE: “We said our goodbyes the night before, Love was in your eyes the night before, Now today I find, you have changed your mind…treat me like you did the night before…”
Anything change drastically just overnight for you?

Always depends on my dreams. When I dream a lot that I can remember, it stimulates my imagination.

15. FOOL ON THE HILL: “But nobody wants to know him, they can see that he’s just a fool. And he never gives an answer but the fool on the hill sees the sun going down and the eyes in his head see the world going round…”
Were you ever teased or bullied in the past?

Sure, especially in second and sixth grades, oddly.

16. SHE’S A WOMAN: “My love don’t give me presents, I know that she’s no peasant. Only ever have to give me, love forever and forever, my love don’t give me presents…”
What was the last gift your significant lover gave to you?

For Christmas, a waffle maker, albums by Elvis Costello and Bruce Springsteen, and a Hess truck.

17. SEXY SADIE: “She came along to turn on everyone, sexy Sadie the greatest of them all, Sexy Sadie how did you know, the world was waiting just for you…”
What is sexy about your significant other?

She’s sexy when she’s spontaneous.

18. REVOLUTION: “You say you want a revolution, well you know, we’d all want to change the world…”
What would you change about the USA right now if you could (besides war)?

Find some way not to reward what I can only call intentional stupidity.

19. PENNY LANE: “Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes, there beneath the blue suburban skies…
Tell us about your favorite street. It doesn’t have to be the one you live on now…

Lombard Street in San Francisco.

20. PAPERBACK WRITER: “It’s a thousand pages give or take a few, I’ll be writing more in a week or two. I can make it longer if you like the style, I can change it round and I want to be a paperback writer….”
What would your book be about if someone advanced you money to write one?

A roman a clef about people in choirs.

21. NOWHERE MAN: “He’s a real nowhere man, sitting in his nowhere land, making all his nowhere plans for nobody..”
Who do you feel is clue-less?

Only one? OK, Michele Bachmann.

22. NORWEGIAN WOOD: “She showed me her room, isn’t it good Norwegian wood?”
What piece of artwork or furniture are you most proud of?

A piece my late friend Raoul made a VERY large birthday card.

23. MICHELLE: “I love you I love you I love you, that’s all I want to say, until I find a way, I will say the only words I know that you’ll understand…
Have you ever dated a non-US-born person? (If you are from another country, have you dated anyone outside your borders?)

No.

24. MAXWELL’S SILVER HAMMER: “Bang Bang Maxwell’s silver hammer came down on her head, bang bang Maxwell’s silver hammer made sure that she was dead…”
How would you like to die if given a choice?

In my sleep.

25. MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR: “Roll up for the mystery tour. The magical mystery tour is waiting to take you away, waiting to take you away take you today…”
What was the last tour you went on?

Last fall, my wife, daughter, and parents-in-law took a train ride.

26. LADY MADONNA: “Lady Madonna baby at your breast, wonders how you manage to beat the rest…”
How do you feel about public breastfeeding?

It’s fine. There is an ad campaign around here supporting breastfeeding.

17 November, 1927-2 February, 2011

Trudy is survived by her son, Roger Green (Carol) of Albany, NY; two daughters, Leslie Green of Lemon Grove, CA and Marcia Green of Charlotte, NC…

Writing an obituary is often a negotiated exercise when more than one person has to be satisfied with it. The one below I started writing. The mechanical stuff – who she’s survived by, e.g., – is easy, but I was having trouble with the middle section. So one sister wrote a bunch of stuff for that, then the other sister and I had to trim that down, not just for length (and thus cost), but because it was a bit disjointed. This is the Thursday night draft version, not yet approved by the first sister, but it’s close enough for the blog.

Incidentally, the website of the Charlotte Observer has annoying instructions for submitting an obit. It tells you to either call or e-mail for more information.

Interesting/strange thing about the photo to the left: my mom cut the neutral background out of the picture about two weeks before she died, and no one knows why, possibly not even her. It’s not as though there was someone else in the shot.

I suppose it is quite obvious, though probably inappropriate for me to say, that my mom was a real babe when she was younger.

CHARLOTTE – Gertrude Elizabeth (Trudy) Green, 83, of Charlotte, NC, passed away on Wednesday, February 2, 2011 in Charlotte, NC. Born in Binghamton, NY, she was the daughter of the late Clarence and Gertrude (Yates) Williams, and the widow of Leslie H. (Les) Green, who died in 2000. She was a member of C. N. Jenkins Presbyterian Church, having served as a Deacon for multiple terms and on various other church boards and committees.

Trudy graduated from Binghamton Central High School, and worked at a number of jobs dealing with finances, including at McLean’s department store, and Columbia Gas & Electric in Binghamton, and as a teller at First Union Bank, from which she retired. She also participated in several family-owned business ventures, including President’s Club and Avon.

She was a loving and supportive wife, mother, grandmother, and surrogate parent, who found joy in helping her family, her church, her community and others. She was a God-loving, long time member of Circle #3 group, where she was the Treasurer, Presbyterian Women, and various Bible studies.

Trudy was a very social person, caring and honest, with a beautiful smile. She loved cookbooks, calendars, clocks, boxes, and bags, and in later years, developed a love for word puzzles. She used to participate in bowling leagues and Bingo.

She is survived by her son, Roger Green (Carol) of Albany, NY; two daughters, Leslie Green of Lemon Grove, CA and Marcia Green of Charlotte, NC; three granddaughters, Rebecca (Rico) Curtis of San Diego, CA; Alexandria Green-House of Charlotte, NC; and Lydia Green of Albany, NY; and several cousins.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, February 8 at 2 pm at C.N. Jenkins Presbyterian Church, 1421 Statesville Ave, Charlotte, NC 28206. The family will receive friends at the church from 1 to 1:45 p.m.

Contributions in her memory may be made in lieu of flowers to University Adult Day Care, 1324 John Kirk Road, Charlotte, NC 28262, (704)510-0030.

The third pic shows my parents – damn, I’m an orphan – at my graduation from library school in 1992. The fourth is at my mother’s 80th birthday party in 2007.

Arthur of AmeriNZ, the guy from Auckland via Chicago who I’ve certainly mentioned in this blog, wrote a blog post about my mom and me. Best pair of sentences: “The largely artificial Internet life is all too often detached from real life, and we lose sight of the real-life humans we’re interacting with. Yet the Internet can also deliver connections we’d never have had otherwise.”

Amen.

Super Bowl rituals QUESTION

Back in the 1980s, I had these friends who hated football. In particular, they had a particular antipathy towards the secular holiday known as Super Bowl Sunday. So in retaliation, they would all go out together to eat, not in front of the TV, but at a nice restaurant. Then they would go to a 7 p.m. movie, as the game was going on.

Me? I’ll watch the game AND the commercials. But I have no designated snacks or particular apparel I wear.

Do you usually watch the game, and will you be viewing this year? What will you actually want to see – the game, the ads, the halftime performance of the Black Eyed Peas? I actually have that thing you can pause live TV, which is good, because, sometime during that evening, I’ll need to put the daughter to bed. Do you have a rooting interest? Mine is with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have been installed as the underdog, even though they’ve been to the Game twice in the past decade, and the Green Bay Packers, not in 15 years.

And a question for you folks outside of the US: CAN you watch the game? By what method? Is it carried on a local network, or can you access FOX in Finland?

My Rail Adventure

There’s this guy who looks terribly familiar. He and this woman introduced themselves to each other. He had a small entourage; I peg him as a politician, but cannot suss out who he is.

[Written before my mom died.]
Sunday, I went to church primarily because I was teaching adult education.

Odd dichotomy: I was going to put my mother on the prayer list, yet at the same time, I didn’t want to hear several dozen people individually telling me they were praying for me and my mom and my family and/or they were sorry. [Yet, subsequently, getting several dozen e-mails – or a reading a post like this has been comforting.]

But there WERE people who already knew – my wife had told her Bodacious Bible Babes (R) group, which included one of the pastors, so it was already written in the concerns and announced at the early service. One church member asked what she could do to help. I requested that she take me to the train station on Monday a.m., if possible, so that I didn’t need to take two buses to get there, and she did.

Those living in Albany area know that the Albany train station is not in Albany, but rather across the Hudson River in Rensselaer. There used to be this dingy* building directly leading to the platform. But now it’s all spiffed up.

For years, train travel was the way I got to Charlotte, but it had to be well over a decade since my last trip. It was before the commonality of laptops and cellphones, that’s for sure. Opted not to bring a laptop – well, it would have been my daughter’s cute pink one, but that’s not why I didn’t bring it.

It was a sociological experiment. I did bring my cellphone, only because I needed to be in touch with both my family in Albany and Charlotte. And I brought something called books; I figured that being unplugged, I’d have a better chance to read them. Also had three magazines to finish.

The train was the 10:05 a.m., but the board said it was going to be 10 minutes late. No big deal since I had an hour and forty-five minutes to wait in Penn Station in New York City. Then it was 20 minutes late, then 30. Still feeling OK when the train did arrive 45 minutes late. I was feeling grateful that I wasn’t counting on another train that was scheduled to be 2 HOURS, 45 MINUTES LATE.

For reasons I don’t know, the people on the train I took were transferred to another train. We took off, but we didn’t get too far – we hadn’t even gotten to the next stop, Hudson, when I, and presumably others, literally smelled something wrong with the brakes. The train stopped, the train personnel investigated. After a few minutes, it was determined that we had to leave that train, walk across a narrow platform to another train, and then travel to NYC.

The train arrives at 2:30, 15 minutes after the train to Charlotte had departed. Pardon my language, but CRAP, what do I do?

I ask some Amtrak person who directs me to the wrong place, and I’m bouncing around in a mild panic when I hear three names over the loudspeaker, including mine, “go to dgvfc 8”. WHAT? “dgvfc 8.” I thought it was gate 8, but it turned out it was Amtrak ticket counter 8. Just in time, I get a ticket on the Acela train to Washington, DC.

The Acela train is particularly nice. I see how we’re going to catch up with the other train. The Acela goes from Boston to New York to DC, the best part of the system I think.

About four rows in front of me, there’s this guy who looks terribly familiar. He and this woman introduced themselves to each other. He had a small entourage; I peg him as a politician, but cannot suss out who he is. He gets off at Philadelphia. Finally, as I’m getting off the train in DC, I ask the woman. She tells me that he’s US Senator Tom Harkin, who I correctly recall is a Democrat from Iowa. Nice green tie he’s wearing.

I do, in fact, get to board the Crescent train to Charlotte, which ends up in Atlanta. (The stretch from Atlanta to New Orleans is closed Monday through Thursday for track repairs.) I call my wife and daughter, my sister Leslie, get something to eat, finish my first book (more about which, eventually) So it’s about 8:30. I’m tired, a little melancholy. I call my old friend Mary (she’s not old; I’ve just known her a long time), and talk a bit before my connection suddenly died. I thought to go to sleep, but never really do until about 12:30, for about an hour. Train pulls into Charlotte at 2:40, only 20 minutes late. My sister Marcia picks me up, and we go to the house. Eventually, I fitfully go to sleep in what has been my mother’s bed.

*When I wrote dingy, I almost wrote the word “dinghy”, which somehow seemed appropriate.