Honesty!
Before he became yet another cautionary tale about the dangers of drug abuse, Evan Dando and his Lemonheads seemed poised to maybe be a big deal; surfer-model looks, coupled with a warm voice and an easy way with a melody. How could he go wrong?
(Crack is wack, kids).
This is actually a cover, a lament from ancient pre-DVR times (“What if something’s on TV, and it’s never shown again?“). But underneath the faux-country-twang and jokey lyrics is something a little bit sad and very much real.
It’s got nothing to do with camping or city slickers; it’s more universal than that.
It’s about that moment when you realize – or finally admit – that you can’t be what somebody else needs.
You put on a different identity because you wanted it to work, and you wanted them; but it’s time to come clean, and let them go.
My favorite Evan Dando song is actually a cover too, of Victoria William’s song Frying Pan. It was recorded on the Sweet Relief album put together in her support, back in 1993, but I like this live performance from 2008 too:
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The part that goes
We got mountains
We got beaches
We got love that makes us mad
Love that has to teach us
Has probably run through my head more times than any other lyrical fragment (no mean accomplishment).Report
“Outdoor Type” came up the other day and I couldn’t get it out of my head, just kept singing it over and over. This seemed like the week for it. IIRC, it was the only song on the album that I thought was any good – and it was a cover. I think Dando was in a pretty bad way by that point.
It’s a Shame About Ray is a good little low-stakes pop/rock record. And he had a *really* good voice; I imagine it’s shot now.
I liked this track:
“It slipped my mind, that I could use my brain…”Report
And here I thought you were a Billy Joel fan.Report
So I google “is the Canadian Billy Joel” and got only one hit.Report
I think “My Drug Buddy” is one of the very best songs ever. They say the things that make you fall off the wagon aren’t always the big obvious emotional upheavals or trauma, but the little triggers—going to an ATM, having the house to yourself when the spouse/roommate is called away, finding a forgotten $20 in a coat pocket—that suddenly show themselves to be the first step of a short walk to being high again. This song is so full of them, it’s almost dangerous to listen to. Because that’s the whole problem with being an addict, isn’t it. Being high is fun. It makes you happy. It makes everything else in your life un-fun, so you look forward to getting high that much more. This is a lovely, sad song about bliss.
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I can’t get the video to embed, but there it is.Report
This song is actually one of the touchstones that kept me from ever having a drug problem. Because it made far too much sense to me, and if that was what using was like, well. Obviously I would never want to do anything else again, if I once got started.Report
Hmmm…..this show is from ’07, and he seems/sounds reasonably together:
I had some friends go see him fairly recently (within the last couple years sometime); I guess he didn’t show for one show, and I heard at another he was supposedly kind of a mess, asking for drugs from the stage. But I wasn’t there, and I don’t know if any of this was playing with public perceptions of his persona, or if he’s off the wagon again.Report
Yeah, the performance I linked was from 2008 and it seemed pretty together – and rather heartfelt.
My very scientific survey of the internet suggests he is on again / off again.Report
I have “Into Your Arms” running through my head constantly right now because I’m learning to play it on the guitar. I started lessons a couple of months ago and fine motor muscle memory is not so easy for my 50 year old fingers. But for some reason the chord progressions in this song feel more manageable and the tune feels fresh and fun so I’m spending a lot of time with it.Report
I love it! Thanks for sharing. That song sums up about 50% of my frustrations with online dating. You have to know who you are and what you want before a relationship can be successful. Easier said than done.
Don’t ask what makes up the other 50%.Report