Before Todd Snider took the stage, the house music consisted of a recording of an Elvis Presley concert from his stint in Vegas. Most people prefer the young, snarled-lip, hip-shaking, vivacious Elvis, but I have a fondness for the high-collared, sequined jump suit, sedentary Elvis. Sure the music is a little overly dramatic and comes across as a production, rather than the spontaneous combustion of his early music, but I still like it. I think it stems from my youth when my mother would put records on the turntable when she cleaned house on Saturday mornings. This was the one time during the week that we would get to listen to music, and although I didn’t have a choice in what was played, loved it. I trace my love for music today back to those Saturday morning in our trailer in Pomona, Kansas. Artists such as Elvis, Johnny Cash, the Dave Clark Five, and Tom T. Hall were part of the Saturday morning playlist. While I listened to the music, I loved studying the album covers . One of the covers consisted of Elvis in his sequined glory, and I remember wanting to be able to wear clothes like that. Before I die I will strut around for a day in a sequined jump suit.
One of the songs played before Todd Snider took the stage was “In the Ghetto,” a song written by Mac Davis. I remember from his album covers that Mr. Davis had a hairy chest that many women found sexy. I’ve abstained from waxing my chest for almost 20 years because I’m waiting for the resurgence of hairy-chested sexiness – I’ll be ready. Anyway I remember Mac Davis from his song “It’s Hard to Be Humble.” I need some of his music for my Ipod. My experience Friday night is a testament to the power of music and its ability to return an individual to his or her childhood.
One of the songs that Todd played Friday night was “I was Lookin’ for a Job Before This One,” a song about a guy who hangs drywall for a living. Each time I listen to the song I think about a conversation that I had with our contractor when we were going through a recent kitchen renovation. He told me that guys who did drywall work could be very tempestuous, and their drug and alcohol use could make working with them a challenge. He told me a story about a group of guys who were hanging drywall for him who didn’t show on the job for three days. On the fourth day, a group of them pulled up to the job site in a beat-up late 70’s Monte Carlo. One guy hopped out of the car, grabbed a cooler at the site, and jumped back in the Monte. As they were pulling out of the drive, the contractor ran over to the car and asked them where they were going. One of the guys responded, “Dude! We can’t stick around – the crappie are bitin’ at the lake.”
I wish I had a job where the fish determined my work schedule. Someday I will write a short story about drywallers.
In my next entry I promise to talk about food. I have a feeling that all of this rambling has hurt my blog’s credibility. In the next entry, I plan on trying a recipe for Cheesecake Truffle Bombs. Until then.
Love and happiness,
muddywaters
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