Tom Waits' Atlanta show available for streaming at NPR

Big, beautiful, gargantuan thanks are due to whatever arrangement was made that is making Tom Waits' Atlanta show from his Glitter And Doom tour available for streaming at NPR. I worked another nine hours for low wages tonight, I drove home in a car that feels like it's about to flatline, and I walked into a home full of loved ones who deserve a much easier life than the one they currently live.

Anyway, all that said, I have found my smile for the night. It's been a long time coming as well. All I did was click PLAY. And Tom Waits is doing his thing. I hear the reactions of the sold out audience at Atlanta's Fox Theater. I hear their applause, I sense their smiles, and I just know that most of them have goosebumps listening to the singer, the storyteller, the man of theater open the show with "Lucinda" from 2006's Orphans collection. I had those goosebumps when I saw him at the Ryman for that tour and I've got them now. I sip from the last beer waiting for me in the fridge, close my eyes, and I'm in that crowd again.

Already aware of the setlist, I synchronized my iPod to it this morning (except for three songs I don't own!) and listened to much of that playlist today. So far, only five songs into the streaming concert performance, the studio versions pale in comparison to these onstage gifts. Waits and his band really, really sound fantastic. Every song seems to come from a different part of the world. So far, there's no sameness to dull the listener's senses. The energy is high and he's at the top of his game. He's playful, wild, and just about perfect here.

"Such A Scream" is given a rabid jazz treatment that reminds me a bit of Prince on his Sign O' The Times concert film. Funky guitar, sexy sax, and I can just see him strutting around all Cock of the Walk-style. Following that comes "November" with its slow and seductive Spanish guitar. No matter the song, no matter its flavor, his voice is just born for these stories he shares. I'm so appreciative of this moment, lost in beauty.

If you love him, if you like him, if you're even a bit curious about him, check the stream, give it your full attention, and smile big.

She went all Mia Hamm on that Walmart lady.

Ever get told that something's against policy and get the lamest reason as to why? Here's the awesomest reply to the lamest reason. Actually, I think the consumer was out of line but that doesn't mean she didn't make me smile.

She said I couldn't bring it in because they sell bikes in the store. So I said but those bikes don't look anything like this and this is clearly not a brand new bike, so why is that a problem. She insisted that for the safety of the other customers I couldn't bring it inside, so I asked her why she thought a bike controlled by an adult was more dangerous than a shopping cart being pushed around by someone's bratty kids. 

So she switched back to the excuse that they sell bikes in the store so I couldn't bring another bicycle in. I was starting to get really frustrated since I had ridden all the way there seemingly for no reason, so I asked her if they also sold shirts in the store. She said yes so I took off my jersey and said well then I'd better not bring this in either. She got kind of flustered and said that it was a different situation but couldn't explain why. So I said that if they also sold shorts in the store that I'd better not wear those in either and I took off my shorts. Same goes for the shoes and sunglasses. Now I'm standing there in my spandex and a sports bra... (click here for the rest)

It's my blog and I'll vent if I want to.

My dad lost his phone. I gave him my phone. My wife gave me her old phone since she recently upgraded to a BlackJack II. Now the phone she gave me keeps conking out on me. It just freezes up any old time and it's all I can do not to slam it against a tree. My old phone worked fine. This is what I get for being nice, huh? Lesson learned.

I can't find my camera bag. No worries. The camera isn't in it. I did have around six rechargeable batteries in it though. This frustrates me more than an estimated $20 loss should.

The rest of the stuff is too tedious and oft documented to go into. Basic stuff. We're broke. The cars aren't much better. Transmission still sucks in the van after following the advice of the car guy and dropping $500 on the fix he recommended. My car is making a noise that I can't quite explain. It's not in the engine. It sounds more axle-related? Ugh.

And folks aren't tipping at work like they used to. (Says me. Says AP.) Life's more expensive and my income is less than it used to be. Blah, blah, blah.

Anyone got a happy pill?

New York, I Love You

I've been reading lots of French porn romantic literature lately. It's beautiful and thoughtful stuff. One book in particular is really knocking me out. I'm almost finished with it and the closer to the end I get the sadder I am that I'll be done with it. It's a collection of short stories by Anna Gavalda entitled I Wish Someone Were Waiting For Me Somewhere. I recommend it to anyone who saw and loved Paris, je t'aime.

Thinking of that fine film, warmly presented with so many delicate and sweet vignettes of love and passion, loneliness and truth, I smile tonight at the news of a similar project in the making, New York, I Love You. The lovely Whitney Matheson at USA Today's Pop Candy podcast and blog interviewed musician/actor Saul Williams recently and he made mention of the fact that he would be featured in one vignette directed by none other than Miss Scarlett Johannson. I love them both and I'm excited about this film.

Apparently, the producer of both films wants this to be a continuing series of films celebrating various connections between people in cities around the world. Can Nashville, I Love You be far off? I'd love to see some local talent tackle this idea.Typing that, I'm reminded of one of my favorite You Are So Nashville If... entries from Nashville Scene:

You think there ought to be a movie called Nashville that people can understand. —Joe Robertson

Agreed.

Here's "List of Demands" by Saul Williams. It's used in a Nike ad and is my new favorite workout song.

The Rain Dog sayeth:

"My life is like an air-traffic controller's: moments of boredom broken up by moments of sheer terror."

And other pleasing quotes from Tom Waits here.

Hiram Bullock, dead at 52.

I remember seeing him with David Sanborn at Starwood way back when. Hiram Bullock was one of the best I've ever seen.

So good and such a cool showman as well. My dad and I often recall watching Mr. Bullock walk that little barricade in front of the stage like a tightrope while impressively killing on that pretty guitar.

Here's the news at All About Jazz.

I'm gonna miss summer when summer is gone.

Chicks dig dudes on scooters, right?

Tuesday morning, weather permitting, I will attempt to learn how to operate a scooter.



Don't worry, Ma. I promise to always wear a helmet.



Full report upon request.

Surface

As Peter Himmelman sings "Gratitude," I blog here.

With no ride-share (read: mooching) options available to me today, I'll turn the key and give the old Honda another go for the first time since last Saturday night as I head to work in an hour or so. Wish me luck. It didn't sound too good on that last ride.



I'm still pondering better paying jobs, but it's easy to feel limited when unsure of the car's ability to get around. I tend to just think of gigs in walking distance. So far, that's a hospital and a library, neither of which are necessarily hiring right now anyway. It's possible that I should worry less about some things and just look for the best job possible, regardless of car concerns. I didn't go to college, but I'm a nice guy, a team player, and eager to learn. Surely there's a $10+/hr. job out there for a guy like me. Colleagues who like to blog and Twitter would be cool, but anything that pays the bills would suffice.



All is well otherwise. I've gone back and "rediscovered"  Peter Himmelman's latest and am playing it over and over again. The inspiration I feel in his words simply amazes me. I'm glad for the music, life, and love that I feel most days. I tend to worry and fret more than I should, but Himmelman's songs always lift me out of those moments of frustration and fear. It can get a whole lot worse than old cars and low-wage jobs. And it can get a whole lot better, too.



Here's to positivity and hope. I'm hanging onto both.

I've seen the future and it will be.

All you bloggers blogging about The Dark Knight. I love you all. However, I've got neither the cash nor the time to see it for myself.



That's cool though. I'll see it soon enough.



For now, I'll just sit on my couch in the dark, sipping Guinness from a frosty mug and listening to the Batman soundtrack from 1989.



Prince.



Me. All dressed up, a silhouette in the window.

Funky, funky.

Flat broke?

I saw this behind a dumpster near my apartment.

I want noise outside my window.

Outside my window is quiet. It's 2 a.m. and all is silent. Inside, it's me, listening to opera and worrying about more car-related stuff. Boring, domestic worries. Nothing out of the ordinary. It's just another night in Nashville for this husband, father, son, worker, wannabe writer, forever dreamer.



Meanwhile, my lust for life in the big city is back. I'm happily married and this is a marriage which brings together a country girl who has no use for the "hurry hurry" attitude, everything you want is here notion of big city life, and this city boy who sees a hair too little romance in the "take it easy" attitude, everything you need is here notion of a slow-paced small town life. We compromise easily here in my hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. It's an easy town for compromise and happiness. I love Nashville.



But right this minute, actually these past few days, it's all things New York in my head. I borrowed E. B. White's Here is New York from my local library and read it in a flash yesterday. Down time at work tonight was spent perusing Flickr accounts full of New York City seduction: Hotel Chelsea, the Bronx, Greenwich Village. My heart beats a special beat for New York. I recall a very nondescript photo of me sitting in the window of the Hotel Chelsea which hides somewhere in storage along with many other pictures from my one visit there with my father way back in 1991. Something about that trip permanently turned my head ever so slightly but forever in the direction of that wonderful city. It's been seventeen years and its pull now is as strong as it ever has been.



There's this man I work with. I admire him more than he knows. He lived in New York for a number of years and tells the greatest anecdotes of his time there. He always prefaces apologetically when he's launching into another tale. "Yet another New York story...," he always begins. Of course, the truth is that I hang on his every word. Everyone in his stories is from somewhere else: Jamaica, Germany, Japan, etc. Everyone there is brave, doing there what they could not do in the place of their birth.



I'm happy here. In Nashville, my wife and I have our struggles, but it's a good place for the kids. And, as I mentioned, it's also a good compromise for a country mouse and a city mouse in love. If you like the arts, sports, or music, Nashville is good. If you like outdoor activities like hiking, boating, or biking, Nashville is good. It's just times like these that I wish I had a few grand to drop on a nice escape. I'd sit on my hotel bed at the Chelsea, look through the Village Voice, and listen to all of those cars outside my window, honking in the city streets like it's rush hour at 3 a.m., never sleeping. Similarly, I'm rarely sleeping, always dreaming.



Tonight, I dream of New York. I wish I was there.

More from the mouths of babes.

While stealing some quiet time to read a book yesterday morning, my daughter wanted me to play with her. Selfishly, I told her that we'd play later but for now I just wanted to read my book. Ever the persistent little girl, she asked me to read my book to her. It was E. B. White's wonderful Here is New York. Struggling to maintain my quiet time while not coming off as rude to my young princess, I spoke but paused in the wrong place, giving her the perfect opening to, well, make me laugh.

I began, "No honey. I can't read to you now. I just don't..."

She finished, "You don't know the words?"

They're getting hitched.

Two very nice people who read this blog and love this town are getting married tomorrow.



My very best to Rich and his lovely bride Aline. May they live happily and prosper together. Hopefully they can make that move to our fair city in the near future.