two years on:

Looking up at the stars, I know quite well
That, for all they care, I can go to hell,
But on earth indifference is the least
We have to dread from man or beast.

How should we like it were stars to burn
With a passion for us we could not return?
If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me.

Admirer as I think I am
Of stars that do not give a damn.
I cannot, now I see them, say
I missed one terribly all day.

Were all stars to disappear or die,
I should learn to look at an empty sky
And feel its total dark sublime,
Though this might take me a little time.

-- W.H. Auden

April 19, 1951

Bing Crosby's Facebook page informs me that on this date, "Bing & Louis Armstrong are in the Decca studios, where they record Gone Fishin'."

You sent that track to me once, thinking it was a Miles Davis recording.

These little things remind me of you.

I'm

singing Radiohead's 'Creep' and strumming the hell out of my guitar while the tropical storm rages on all around me.

For want of a better expression - it feels fucking good.

arithmetic

art by Shelley Kommers

with every count I take
since you took your leave of me
my sorrows multiply - as we are -
through and through

there is nothing more for me to add
no quantity of words can enliven grief
there is nothing left for this unfortunate fool
but the arithmetic: one heart divided in two

[fin]

----
my second attempt at bad poetry.

too much time on the keyboard

and not enough on the fretboard. Too much time gaming, and not enough writing. Too little time spent reading.

There's lots to look forward to, however. My solo in the Brandenburg concert, a sizeable (yet discreet) role in my next play and two paid gigs. One of which is a concert of game and anime music! Very exciting business.

I've been jotting down a lot of things on the go, but they just don't make the cut. I'll come up with something soon.

From Lyrics to Music: Chocolate Jesus (Somethin' for the Kids on Easter)

art from "Sinfest" by Tatsuya Ishida

"I've discovered something, it's a candy item; it's a kind of an immaculate confection, there's a cross on one side and a bible inscription on the other, and you put it in your mouth and when it's gone...you can... get up and leave. This is somethin' for the kids on Easter. This is called a Chocolate Jesus." -- Tom Waits

If there is one thing that my theist friends and I can be in agreement with this Easter, it is that amongst all that is odious and derisory, there is nothing quite as demotic and tasteless as the commodification of religion.

Religion is a search for salvation; a marriage of such a fundamental pursuit of the sacred with one's desire for profit would surely render a disservice to one's faith and its followers. And it isn't just about putting a monetary price on the sacred; that isn't necessarily a profanity. But in the words of Stewart Lee, comedian, when you combine "a search for a profound spiritual truth in the universe, which is admirable, with a love of, a kind of inane seaside souvenir shop tat - you don't often see those two things working as a team." Can a religion really be taken seriously if its followers have been reduced to purchasing cheap comestibles and tacky toys in their appreciation of the divine?

The influential Tom Waits throws this into sharp relief with his song "Chocolate Jesus", first released on his 1999 album, Mule Variations. The published take was recorded outside a farmhouse; the crowing of the rooster is live. But it is his 1999 appearance on Letterman, in which he struts his stuff with a megaphone that is essential viewing.

An alternative interpretation of the lyric offers a caustic criticism of the type of follower who believes that his salvation may simply be bought from the gas station store around the corner.

Happy Easter.

----
Don't go to church on Sunday
Don't get down on my knees to pray
Don't memorize the books of the Bible
I got my own special way

I know Jesus loves me
Maybe just a little bit more
I fall on my knees every Sunday
At Zerelda Lee's candy store

Well it's got to be a chocolate Jesus
Make me feel so good inside
Got to be a chocolate Jesus
Keep me satisfied

Well I don't want no Abba Zabba
Don't want no Almond Joy
There ain't nothing better
Suitable for this boy

Well it's the only thing
That can pick me up
Better than a cup of gold
See only a chocolate Jesus
Can satisfy my soul

When the weather gets rough
And it's whiskey in the shade
It's best to wrap your savior
Up in cellophane

He flows like the Big Muddy
But that's ok
Pour him over ice cream
For a nice parfait

Well it's got to be a chocolate Jesus
Make me feel good inside
Got to be a chocolate Jesus
Keep me satisfied

-- Tom Waits


h/t: Junyi for introducing me to Waits.


[fin]

----
"From Lyrics to Music" is a series on good songwriting.