today. i've been listening to pearl since late last night. her awesome quote makes me think of my own early sobriety, and how i really need to keep on keepin' on: blogging, therapy, meds, vitamins, cool music, eating right, running, working, meditating, being grateful for what i have (instead of dwelling on all i've lost).
it's day 23 for me. i used to not be able to go more than a day without booze. now i'm looking forward to staying sober for a whole month. yeah, no more compromising myself. i really am all i've got. we only get so many chances in this brief life. i'm a totally lucky dude. i'm sober, have a roof over my head, plenty of healthy food in the house, and a really cool therapist to help me figure stuff out when i feel uncertain about what to do next.
plus i have this blog (and all the other awesome bloggers) to help me feel less isolated and everything. oh, and janis is keeping me company big time. she's singing me and bobby mcgee.
epic.
do you have a favorite janis joplin tune?
Thanks for this post today, Zach. It's so good to know that you have 23 days. One day at time, it works to stay sober.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about Janis today. Always do on October 4th.
It was when Janis Joplin died in 1970 that I began to be concerned about my own drinking. I had wanted to be like Janis Joplin and was devastated by her death.
I had just seen her in the movie "Woodstock." Something strange had happened during that movie. For no reason that I could explain, when I saw her on the screen I began to cry. That had also happened when I saw Jimi Hendrix. They died within a few weeks of each other not long after I saw the movie.
Early in the day my friend returned from Vietnam on Dec. 8, 1970, we were driving out to the California coast to see his family. It was then, on the car radio, that I heard Janis Joplin singing a song I had never heard before and in a style of singing I had not heard previously from her. It was "Me and Bobby McGee." That was my introduction to to her posthumous album, "Pearl." It was such a surprise and so heartening to hear her voice again, particularly on that fateful day. I'd say that "Me and Bobby McGee" is my favorite Janis Joplin tune.
This is my favorite performance of hers:
http://youtu.be/r5If816MhoU
It was my good fortune to be able to attend the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 during the summer after I graduated from high school. By the time my friends and I tried to buy tickets, the only available tickets were for the Ravi Shankar concert. We were present for what turned out to be the first Ravi Shankar concert in the United States -- a high point in my life! When I listen to the recording, I am 17 years old again on that magical foggy Sunday in Monterey:
http://youtu.be/lk60ObnbIOk
Music has the power to heal us, too
thanks so much for your support, am. i'm slowly starting to catch up on all the things i'd been putting off during my "extended" lost weekend. now that all the empty bottles are finally out of the house, i'm doing a bit of dusting (and lots of laundry!)
ReplyDeletei was glad you also remembered janis on the 4th. thanks for the awesome links! yeah, i think music can heal us big time. i totally miss my piano. i had to sell it when i moved into this crazy high rise building (too many people). one good thing: i was able to use the money to pay the security deposit when i moved into the new (current) apt.
now when i'm in the mood for classical music, i just listen to a beethoven or mozart cd, instead of playing my much missed piano. or there's always youtube. so life goes on.
monterey pop and woodstock are my 2 favorite concerts to watch on dvd. it's so cool that you were able to make it to monterey pop. ravi shankar's positive energy is what good music is all about!
here's my 5 favorite janis joplin tunes:
1. ball and chain
2. me and bobby mcgee
3. little girl blue
4. a woman left lonely
5. piece of my heart
okay, time to go throw my clothes in the dryer. hope your weekend went totally well for you. any luck w/the job search? *fingers crossed*
(1) Piece of My Heart
ReplyDelete(2) Bobby McGee
(3) Trust Me
(4) Cry Baby
(5) Mercedes Benz
Growing up in the late '60s/early '70s in a strict military household, there were very few albums around. My mother had a couple of classical albums (Mozart and Beethoven) plus something by European pop singer Caterina Valente that she'd brought with her from Germany. (My dad was stationed in Frankfurt in the early '60s, where they met.) My dad's collection: A Jim Nabors album of "patriotic songs" that had been handed out for free by the Air Force, a Bill Cosby comedy album, and... Janis Joplin's "Pearl"! :) I find their "collections" both funny and a bit touching... My dad grew up quite poor in rural East Texas, and I believe that her rawness and honesty appealed to him (though he would never admit to liking such "hippie" music!) :)
p.s. Since moving back from NYC to Austin in 2010, I've been forced to live in a one-room apartment since I've, up until now with my new job, just been temping. One thing I really miss is being able to play/enjoy my music very loud, which I used to be able to do when I rented a small house from 2000 to 2007. Since I'm now surrounded by neighbors and I don't want to disturb them, all I have is my iPod/headphones... Now that I have a good job, though, I'm looking for a house/duplex/garage apt when my lease is up in Feb. so I can again really play my music. (Long story short: I feel for your missing your piano! --- perhaps in the future you'll be able to not live in such crowded quarters?)
awesome selection, beth. yeah, mercedes benz is a really cool song. i had a totally hard time just choosing 5 tunes.
ReplyDeletei lived in a studio apt for a little over a year (with my piano!) but since all my neighbors were artists and musicians - nobody made a fuss or anything, and i was totally into playing beethoven at 3 am. (especially when there was plenty of rain and thunder goin' on outside).
i only moved out because i wanted to be able to walk to my classes, shops, and such (public transportation totally sucks). little did i know i would have to let go of my piano. not a lot of painters and poets in this crazy high rise i call home!
but i do have lots more room (1 bedroom apt.), and i really enjoy the view from my huge living room window.
i hope you can find a really cool house to rent. creative people need plenty of space to dream and create. good to hear pearl made it into your father's record collection. my parents' were totally into classical music, so i decided to be a rebel or something :-)
Hey, where are you, Zach? Come post how you are doing!
ReplyDeletehey, susanne lee - thanks for checking in with me! yeah, i'm gonna post an update right now :-)
ReplyDelete