Angels On David Byrne's Birthday

Angels is one of The Husband's Favorite songs. It came up on shuffle on my Ipod during my morning commute today. I became rather lost in the recording & this David Byrne composition seemed to speak to me in a new way.

I had been considering the front page story of the NY Times that made known the recent government study that found the poverty rate in our country is at a 52 year high. Nearly 3 million citizens fell below the poverty level in the past year & many more are not counted because they have moved in with friends or families, their unemployment has run out, or they do not making enough money to pay taxes. They fall off the radar & are no longer even a statistic.

I now presume that radical Right Wing religious fundamentalists, the individuals that rage for their own gain, & the ultra- Religious Fanatics are very possibly going to ruin this once great bastion of liberty & freedom for everyone.

We are, it seems, a mindless & violent species. I worry about the future of this world when people are driven to this degree of ignorance, greed & stupidity.

There are no angels left in America anymore

They left after the Second World War
 Heading west

Stopping briefly in Japan
 During the 60's

Then in Tianamen Square
 During the last decade

They kept heading west to who knows where

What are they after?

What are they looking for?

A messiah who never comes?

A virgin birth?

A perfect drug?

A sign, any kind of sign?

Anything that looks slightly out of the ordinary


Flying over fields & factories

Momma's going off her head

Daddy's bringing home the bacon

Open up the pearly gates

Fruit of salty lubrication

Tangled up in arms & legs

I can barely touch the bottom

Now I'm working up a sweat!

I'm ready now

I'm ready now

I can barely touch my own self

How could I touch someone else?

I am just an advertisement

For a version of myself

Like molecules in constant motion

Like a million nervous tics

I am quivering in anticipation

Like the sunlight on their wings

I'm ready now (don't look back)

I'm ready now (I'm ready for this)

I'm ready now

The sensuous world - the smell of the sea

The sweat off their wings

The fruit from the trees

The angel inside

Who will meet me tonight

On wings of desire 

I come back alive

I'm ready

I'm ready

(I put the dogs outside)

I'm ready

I'm ready

(to take that ride)

I'm ready now

I'm ready now

(to take that wine)

I'm ready now but where are you?

Byrne
1994

Born On This Day- May 14th... David & Bobby

In November of 2005, The Oregonian's Music Critic- David Stabler honestly wrote of the music that he wished to played at his funeral & why. He then implored his readers to submit 3 of their own choices. Mine was published & I could not have been more delighted because I am a publicity whore. If I can't see my image on the screen, I find some solace in seeing my name in print.

Click if you want it bigger...

Today marks the birthday of a pair of artists: David Byrne & Bobby Darin, that are very important to me. So much so that I included them both in my own list of songs for my own memorial party (there will be no funeral, please):

Procession: Once In A Lifetime by Talking Heads
Recessional: Beyond The Sea by Bobby Darin
Service: Aquas de Marco- Antonio Carlos Jobim

Runners-up & I wish to have included at the party:
I Got You (I Feel Good) by James Brown
God Only Knows by Brian Wilson
If I Had A Boat by Lyle Lovett

It is hard for me to to erase the memory of Kevin Spacey 's ghastly performance as Bobby Darin in the offensive film- Beyond The Sea from my hard drive.

David Byrne, one of the most important musicians in my considerably long life. He looks a bit like the Husband.

I'll Take- Man That Stephen Is Simply Zany About... for $100, Alex

What is David Byrne?

September Song... Angels

Angels is one of The Husband's Favorite songs. It came up on shuffle on my Ipod during my morning commute today. I became rather lost in the recording & this David Byrne composition seemed to speak to me in a new way.

I had been considering the front page story of the NY Times that made known the recent government study that found the poverty rate in our country is at a 52 year high. Nearly 3 million citizens fell below the poverty level in the past year & many more are not counted because they have moved in with friends or families, their unemployment has run out, or they do not making enough money to pay taxes. They fall off the radar & are no longer even a statistic.

I now presume that radical Right Wing religious fundamentalists, the individuals that fuel the Tea Baggers' rage for their own gain, & the ultra- conservatives are very possibly going to ruin this once great bastion of liberty & freedom for everyone.

I watched the Republican Presidential debate & followed in fear during Monday’s broadcast as CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked whether an uninsured 30 year-old who had chosen to go without insurance should be left to die if he falls unexpectedly ill.

Ron Paul: “What he should do is whatever he wants to do & take responsibility for himself.That’s what freedom is about.”

Blitzer pressed: “But, Congressman, are you saying the society should just let him die?”

“Yeah!” whooped the crowd as they applauded. In 2008, Paul's campaign manager, a healthy, but uninsured 49 year old, died from pneumonia  & left his family with $400,000 in medical debt.

We are, it seems, a mindless & violent species. I worry about the future of this world when people are driven to this degree of ignorance, greed & stupidity.

There are no angels left in America anymore

They left after the Second World War heading west

Stopping briefly in Japan during the 60's

Then in Tianamen Square during the last decade

They kept heading west to who knows where

What are they after?

What are they looking for?

A messiah who never comes?

A virgin birth?

A perfect drug?

A sign, any kind of sign?

Anything that looks slightly out of the ordinary

Flying over fields & factories

Momma's going off her head

Daddy's bringing home the bacon

Open up the pearly gates

Fruit of salty lubrication

Tangled up in arms & legs

I can barely touch the bottom

Now I'm working up a sweat!

I'm ready now

I'm ready now

I can barely touch my own self

How could I touch someone else?

I am just an advertisement

For a version of myself

Like molecules in constant motion

Like a million nervous tics

I am quivering in anticipation

Like the sunlight on their wings

I'm ready now (don't look back)

I'm ready now (I'm ready for this)

I'm ready now

The sensuous world - the smell of the sea

The sweat off their wings

The fruit from the trees

The angel inside

Who will meet me tonight

On wings of desire 

I come back alive

I'm ready

I'm ready

(I put the dogs outside)

I'm ready

I'm ready

(to take that ride)

I'm ready now

I'm ready now

(to take that wine)

I'm ready now but where are you?

Byrne
1994

Summer Song #9... & She Was

& she was lying in the grass
& she could hear the highway breathing
& she could see a nearby factory
She's making sure she is not dreaming
See the lights of a neighbor's house
Now she's starting to rise
Take a minute to concentrate
& she opens up her eyes

The world was moving she was right there with it
 (& she was)
The world was moving was floating above it
 (& she was) & she was

& she was drifting through the backyard
& she was taking off her dress
& she was moving very slowly
Rising up above the earth
Moving into the universe
Drifting this way & that
Not touching ground at all
Up above the yard

The world was moving she was right there with it
 (& she was)
The world was moving was floating above it
 (& she was) & she was

She was glad about it... no doubt about it
She isn't sure where she's gone
No time to think about what to tell them
No time to think about what she's done
& she was

& she was looking at herself
& things were looking like a movie
She had a pleasant elevation
She's moving out in all directions

The world was moving she was right there with it
 (& she was)
The world was moving was floating above it
 (& she was) & she was

Joining the world of missing persons
 (& she was)
Missing enough to feel alright
  (& she was)

BYRNE, WEYMOUTH, FRANTZ, HARRISON

1985

Born On This Day- May 14th... Post Apocalyptic Favorites: David Byrne & Bobby Darin

In November of 2005, The Oregonian's Music Critic- David Stabler honestly wrote of the music that he wished to played at his funeral & why. He then implored his readers to submit 3 of their own choices. Mine was published & I could not have been more delighted because I am a publicity whore. If I can't see my image on the screen, I find some solace in seeing my name in print.

Click if you want it bigger...

Today marks the birthday of a pair of artists: David Byrne & Bobby Darin, that are very important to me. So much so that I included them both in my own list of songs for my own memorial party (there will be no funeral, please):

Procession: Once In A Lifetime by Talking Heads
Recessional: Beyond The Sea by Bobby Darin
Service: Aquas de Marco- Antonio Carlos Jobim

Runners-up & I wish to have included at the party:
I Got You (I Feel Good) by James Brown
God Only Knows by Brian Wilson
If I Had A Boat by Lyle Lovett

It is hard for me to to erase the memory of Kevin Spacey 's ghastly performance as Bobby Darin in the offensive film- Beyond The Sea from my hard drive.

David Byrne, one of the most important musicians in my considerably long life. He looks a bit like the Husband.

Blast From The Past... Wild Wild Life

A high point in 2009 seeing was David Byrne in concert in June. Mr. Byrne & Talking Heads have been favorites of the Husband & mine since the time we 1st met in the late 1970s. My appreciation has not diminished. This song is from the terrific & quirky (of course) 1986 David Byrne film- True Stories which was written with Beth Henley & starred John Goodman (my 1st time seeing him) & Swoozy Kurtz.. 23 years ago, this was what I was listening to. Wild Wild Life needs to be played at my memorial service.

Once In A Lifetime

I was not sure how the Husband would feel. I was afraid to ask. I had just spent 2+ hours having a truly transcendent experience, but he had come down with a major summer cold & had spent time that afternoon in a dentist chair, & I didn't know if he had been comfortable or present during the evening. I was overcome with relief when we were outside, walking down a South Park Block street, & the Husband turned to me & said- "Am I wrong, or was that the best concert we have ever seen (& we have seen quite a few concerts in our 30 years together)?

I had given the Husband 2 tickets to see David Byrne in concert for his birthday (hoping he would take me). The concert is called- Songs of David Byrne & Brian Eno, & all the songs were associated with their collaborations. David Byrne is a very important musical artist to us as individuals & as a couple. In 1977 at a party, I heard a song- Psycho Killer that actually changed my mind about listening to music. At that time in my life my musical menu was full of Sondheim & my high school & college favorites: Carole King, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Paul Simon, & lots of MO-TOWN. When I heard my first Talking Heads single I am sure I was quite high, but the song made a very strong impression under any condition. I had never heard something so raw & primal & yet tuneful. I have remained a life long fan. I have every album by Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Byrne's solo albums, his collaborations with Brian Eno- The Catherine Wheel & My Life In The Bush With Ghosts & his Oscar winning score to The Last Emperor with Ryuichi Sakamoto. I have never stopped listening. Three David Byrne songs are in my Top Ten All Time Favorite Songs. My favorite song ever is Once In A Lifetime & I still get shivers every time I hear it.

The concert opened with David doing some patter before the first number instead of after. He noted that there seemed to be no professional photographers in the house & he suggested that the audience feel free to take pictures. Sure enough, the crowd whipped out their phones & started clicking. The first song was Strange Overtones, the hypnotic single off the newest Eno/Byrne collaboration- Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. The Schnitz's reverberating walls were an incredibly jarring transition from punchy studio sound of the original. Things only went up from there, as the accompanying dancers boosted the visuals. Their dance moves, which traded off with the members of the band, seemed to mimic Byrne's own jerky mannerisms, as well as the themes of the songs, such as dancing with office chairs during the working man anthem- Life Is Long. The entire band, singers (including my friend Redray Frazier, who is from Portland) & dancers were dressed in all white. The choreography was better than any modern dance concert I have attended. Our seats in the first balcony gave us a perfect view of the movement. My eyes kept going back to to the extraordinary male dancer-Steven Recker, so hot, so cute, so talented, so charismatic! The singers danced, the dancers played instruments & at times the entire band would dance. By the time they played Once In A Lifetime the entire audience was on their feet & dancing. For the second encore, an entire marching band in wedding attire came down the aisles & on to the stage where they stripped to silver go-go pants while playing & dancing to Take Me To The River & Burning Down The House!

What a great birthday present... I am such a thoughtful husband.