So Lee what kind of music do you like then?
I like the kind of music that is deplorable.
The kind of music that stinks the place up
like a rancid-smelling aphrodisiac.'
I bet you're more rock than pop,
more indie than dance yeah?
I like the kind of music that fosters
almost totally negative and destructive
reactions in young - and old - people.
Right. I was only making conversation.
We walked in on karaoke night
sat on stools by the bar
some girls chatted with you
I couldn't say a word
I prayed you didn't insist we 'have a go'
like when we sang Take That in
a Bulgarian ski lodge
Everyone was light-hearted and
effortlessly messy
I couldn't speak only drink
The song choices were uniformly terrible
according to Lord Snooty, but
one very excuse me hot chick shone
singing Real Love by R. Kelly
followed by an even hotter piece
performing Strutter by Kiss
you see what I mean
I clutched my glass, sure to be
ejected as a buzzkill
and tried to enjoy the San Franciscan night
The second summer of COVID
still working from home
time passing slowly summer days merging
noticed a free show at the Barbican Library
Did the calculations and disappeared
from my upstairs station for a couple of hours
Tangerine Dream: Zeitraffer celebrated
the 50-year history of the pioneering electronic band
Original synthesizers, unseen photos
Catholic Church controversy, rotten religious music
and John Peel's letter
My first encounter was the double live Encore
(see 'Our Belgian Friends' episode)
checked out Cyclone, Rubycon, Sorcerer
and more from the local record library
bought Force Majeure on transparent vinyl
They accompanied me throughout those
teenage years and beyond, a school
unto themselves. We parted ways in the mid-80s
but reconnected in the digital era
One of the many musical threads connecting
my youth with the present
And I was back at my desk before
anyone noticed I'd been away
'Mum, this is Iggy Pop over here, look.
You were listening to the stuff about him
but looking at Pete Seeger.'
'Oh, is this the junkie punk then,
not that other man?'
I went to the Annie Leibovitz exhibition
'BB King. Yeah, saw him last time I was in Moscow.'
He moves on to Aretha Franklin.
'Ah yes, the Queen of Soul. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Absolutely."
I don't even remember going to the
Annie Leibovitz exhibition
One Easter holiday, we were going to visit
my parents' Belgian friends
'You remember Marion and Michel.
They visited here when you were little.'
Mum had asked if she could bring some presents for them
and had received a list of records
Which she duly purchased and which of course
I sneakily recorded onto Boots C90 cassettes
as soon as no one was around, because that's just what you did
I guessed Santana's Moonflower and
Tangerine Dream's Encore were for Michel
And Watch by Manfred Mann's Earth Band
featuring the hit single Davy's on the Road Again
and Kate Bush's debut The Kick Inside were for Marion
I remembered watching The Persuaders! with Michel
and bouncing up and down on the bed with Marion,
we didn't have much to say then, but now
we had the excuse me lingua franca of records
oh God this was going to be great
I was suspicious and resistant to change
for far too long and for which I make no apology.
Our corporate motto was "we embrace change"
and we ran it up the flagpole several times a day.
I thought CDs were wrong but it turned out I was.
Move on, silly rabbit. Revisionist.
Anyhoo, My First CD by Fisher Price
was You're in a Bad Way by Saint Etienne,
February 1993 (yes I held out a long time).
The conversion moment was a long dark night
during which I had a demonic battle
with the food poisoning.
I was up all night, weaving and waving
a-bobbing and a-bobbling, throwing
up and over and clinging on
to the radiator, totally ignored
by the masses the missus and demented in the brain,
thinking you're finished pal, can't sit down
can't stand up, can't go to sleep, and
all through my mind,
all through the feverish diminished
remnant of my mind went the refrain,
you're in a bad way.
On the nose. At least not out of the nose.
It had just come out and was my mental
earworm companion during those wobbling hours
of internal upheaval.
Man, I was shivering all night
knee trembling with fatigue
and ejecting the Fowl Poisones.
Redecorating the bathroom
- don't be vulgar.
One's dignity is up for grabs
in such a situation.
Beware the pink chicken.
And so I bought the CD single of
You're in a Bad Way by Saint Etienne
as soon as the devil's work was done
and I was ready to emerge
into the fresh hell of another day.
I had a vision
(never trust a vision)
for a Doors tribute band
called the Trap Doors.
At the end of The End, the fake
Jim Morrison would announce
that he'd had enough
and was going to Paris
to write some poetry
and have a bath.
Then - poof! - he would
disappear in a puff of smoke
(down a cunningly hidden
stage trap door you see.)
It came to me in a vision
(never trust a vision)
I would write 50 poems
on 50 dog biscuits, not real
dog biscuits, but er....
background images made to look like
dog biscuits, whatever dog biscuits look
like, I don't have a dog
That's one poem per biscuit
per state of the US of A, you see
a series of miniature verses,
ecstatic yawps in a minor key
enigmatic koans each and every one
I gasp in wonder at the
mere thought of them
And then I would, out of duty
show them to the world,
or 50 dogs, who would promptly
refuse to look at them
Instead I got drunk and
looked at what was new on Netflix
(I don't have Netflix)
She seemed an unlikely aficionado of
psychedelic slash garage rock
the composed, power suit wearing Essex girl
eager to hobnob with the bigwigs
and fasttrack her way to senior management
She knew I was a record nut and didn't like
'secrets and bullshit' so when she picked
my name out of the Secret Santa hat said:
'I got you. So how about instead of some cheap crap
you get a couple of records from my
old collection? I got no use
for them any more'
At the Christmas team lunch, she
handed over two unwrapped vinyl originals
by the Stooges and the 13th Floor Elevators
both in Excellent (EX/VG++) condition
'I used to hang around with these bikers,
friends of my brothers, sweet
guys really'
I had no carrier bag so clutched them to the
inside of my winter coat as I made my steaming
way home through the slushy rain
in time-honoured greatcoat 70s music fan style
but with shorter hair, and shinier shoes
Some swam, some floated on lilos, some lazed in rowboats,
some took off with kayaks and paddle boards.
I liked to gaze down at the fish, bobbing
in my wetsuit and wearing my fancy goggles.
As I dragged my carcass out of the lake at 12.55
I heard someone hiss my name 'Hey Lee!'
It was Feddie Paycock, from The Big Music TV show, very much not my area.
'You know your music yeah, well see those guys on the bench.'
I followed his outstretched finger.
'They're from Javelin Spring, you remember them.'
Of course I did, massive album in 2007, disappointing follow-up,
personal problems, and now a reunion.
'I'm going to film and interview them later but I've got
lake rash and I need some time to source the ointment.'
Everyone knew about the dangers of lake rash.
'Can you charm them, you know, entertain them, for a few mins.
Thanks buddy' and off he waddled.
I had my own tasks to attend to, in Accounts Legible, but
I dripped over to the lead singer who I recognised as
Morgan Gabbard and introduced myself. He shook my hand and
I turned to the other guy, he must be a newcomer.
I sputtered out my name which is Lee Holloway Towers
and he grabbed my hand, stared into my face and said
'It's me Paul Turner Highbury.
We went to school together remember.'
'Sure. You played the piano.'
'Keyboards now, I guess. Joined the Javs last year,
been working on the new album.'
'That's great.'
'Do you work on The Big Music TV show?'
'Kind of.'
'You look very wet. And cold.'
'Do you like my goggles. They magnify the fish.
Would you like to try them. THEY MAKE THE FISH BIGGER.'
He lost all track of time, I expect
he was thinking of her once again
tuned into his tunes the only time
he felt in touch, up there
roaming the platform mounds
of Monte Albán, so far from home
The Castle, Druganaut, Run Thru,
Stone Flower, Atlas, Ten Years Gone
the list goes on (and on)
He never lost track of time
but here he wandered lonely as he was
allowed, afloat on the ruins until
sharp, distance, thrust back
into the moment he ran to the meeting point-
but the bus had left without him
His guide stood stoicly by the sign
doing his best to appear diplomatic
'I hope you don't mind paying
for a taxi back to town'
He couldn't complain, he'd lost
track of time, adrift in the past
gliding through the mounds the temples
bursting with the music and
the myths of all their ancient histories
Theme from a summer place
A Summer Place
theme from a Summer Place
Theme from the summer place
A Summer Place
Sleep Walk Classical Gas
Stranger on the shore
Tequila Harlem Nocturn
Peter Gunn theme
Sleep Walk Pipeline
Last Date Frankenstein
Stranger on the Shore
the Last Date Love's theme
Cast Your Fate to the Wind
Theme to Van de Valk Theme from The Quite Man
Green Onions Wonderland by Night
Classical Gas!
Wipe out Wipe Out. Take five
Apache Rebel Rouser Honky Tonk
Green Onions Ronchy Walk don't run
Exodus Bolero
Midnight In Moscow
Theme from Hawaii 50
Yaketty Sax Sleepwalk
Apache Tubular bells
Albatross Albatross
Albert Ross
┏┏ ┏━┛┏┏ ┏━┃┏━┃┛┏━┃┃ ┏━┛
┃┃┃┏━┛┃┃┃┃ ┃┏┏┛┃┏━┃┃ ━━┃
┛┛┛━━┛┛┛┛━━┛┛ ┛┛┛ ┛━━┛━━┛
New songs require pattern recognition,
expectation-building, and repeated
exposure before the reward circuit kicks in.
One passive listen
on a playlist will never get there.
d p d d w n
t e w l
Your brain needs repetition
to find the pattern, and it
needs the pattern to release dopamine.
Three listens minimum before
your auditory cortex
builds enough predictive models
to generate a reward response.
_____ _ | __ \ | | | | | |_ __ ___ _ __ _ __ ___ __| | | | | | '__/ _ \| '_ \| '_ \ / _ \/ _` | | |__| | | | (_) | |_) | |_) | __/ (_| | |_____/|_| \___/| .__/| .__/ \___|\__,_| | __ \ | | | | | | | | _____ |_|___|_| | | | |/ _ \ \ /\ / / '_ \ | |__| | (_) \ V V /| | | | |_____/_\___/ \_/\_/ |_| |_| |__ __| | | | | |__ ___ | | | '_ \ / _ \ | | | | | | __/ __ |_| |_| |_|\___| \ \ / / | | | \ \ /\ / /__| | | \ \/ \/ / _ \ | | \ /\ / __/ | | \/ \/ \___|_|_|
You wore your powder blue jumper as Kirsten called it, not sure if she liked it or she was taking the piss (aside: she was taking the piss although she really did like you, remember that time she clasped your hand to her substantial bust) but she wasn't even there the last time you went clubbing which was 2004, look Luca has a new gf which stands for girlfriend maybe even back then a Spanish girl called Isabella who you liked although she was very formal perhaps because she was very formal certainly too formal for Luca as it turned out but hey we're going clubbing now or at least the indie disco which even at your age
Earlier we're at the pub across the road and I go into the cubicle to pee because I like my privacy it's not a crime shut your face but after a while the door is bashed in and the doorman accuses me of taking drugs in there and some lad's laughing like he set me up what the fuck is this place I mean if I was doing drugs which I wasn't why not kick me out of the pub I didn't even tell my friends about this incident and it still enrages me on my so-called deathbed were those lads having a laugh because even then 40 years ago I was too old and wore a powder blue jumper which actually broadcast a certain continental glamour
A few pints do me in and are not ideal preparation for the indie disco as we shake around to some oldies and when A-ha comes on I'm half-heartedly jigging next to Isabella who beckons me closer hello and asks in all seriousness 'What is the meaning of these words Take On Me?' she's trying to improve her English, and I can only reply that it's a poorly expressed semi-meaningless phrase from a Norwegian pretty boy plus I never liked this song none of which satisfies her in fact makes it worse she loves the song I've lost the dressing room I won't make it to the end of the season, and anyway Luca will soon tire of her and turn gay but that's another story
I was lucky enough to attend the premiere
of the Dylan movie
You thought they were all kidding you
in Times Square. It focused on his
friendship with Elvis and the songs they
recorded together. Some said it
played fast and loose with the truth
but I thought it was tremendous fun and full
of the timeless tunes those guys created
Now I'm back home in the UK, heading
to Liverpool and look! There's the giant
mural of Dylan with the Dubliners alongside
the M62, a fifty-foot-high replica of the
Mystery Tramps album (Columbia Records, 1963)
Heading to the Odeon for the UK-version of
You thought they were all kidding you
which for reasons no one understands
has been retitled They all did tricks for you
Where all the scenes with Elvis have been
replaced with scenes featuring John Lennon
about how they invented skiffle punk
in the back of a London taxi, the
controversial album that meeting led to
and from which, truth be told, their
careers never entirely recovered
An ex-colleague's birthday in a walkable part of town
I'm 10 years too old to be here a common condition
turn up half cut, look for my pal Luca who's
being the centre of attention with
some lads I don't recognise
Our hostess is playing songs from her iPod
do you remember the iPod did you have one cue
unknown comedian talking head.
Very 80s selections but they sound
good plugged into the big amplifiers.
A-ha followed by The Cure followed by the
Ski Sunday theme followed by the B-52s
Then someone's rugby shirt boyfriend
decides to be the DJ replacing the iPod
everybody wants to be a DJ
with some contemporary tunes that
nobody knows (and yes I do mean me)
I force myself to chat with the lady of the house
and her fabulous teeth also her best friend,
who as we always have to mention,
is [famous guy's] daughter
Then Naomi (not her real name) turns up and I'm
quite excited because I haven't seen her in three years
and we used to be very close (at least I thought so,
though as her boss technically that may fall
into the zone of delusion)
She's resplendent in white I'll say chiffon
like all bridal Christmas caked up; let us
admit it's a fashion I am unacquainted with.
Slimmer, tanned and golden hair a-flowing.
Naomi sweeps over for a chat. She's heading off
to China soon and not even for travelling, for a real job.
I myself personally speaking have no job and
nowhere to be also am legle xs
I gaze into her sparkling eyes her taut and
let's face it succulent skin not to mention
her too-big nose (hands up, a mild turn-on)
and also while we're at it, glitter on the cheek come on.
Her estuary accent has been toned down several degrees.
What has happened in the intervening years. And China?
But I'm disappointed in the unrelenting JOB TALK
inquisition. I will not can not answer "what have
you added to your CV since I last saw you?"
Now I love Voodoo Chile (Slight Return and all) but it's
not a winner and DJ-boy's been yanked from the decks
not decks and the 80s have resumed.
The Bangles play and we swap some amusing anecdotes.
Blondie play and I tell a rather good joke.
Our hostess and her best friend
so-and-so's daughter turn out to be country folk and
we're soon enjoying a Wurzels medley. This gets them dancing
where Beyoncé and Robbie and Kylie
and especially Jimi Hendrix have failed.
Soon they're all on the floor, elbows akimbo
and jerking about in a style that escapes me
Champagne appears, my pal Luca finally sidles
over 'OK, I've had enough of this shit.'
I glance at Naomi in her wedding dress
surrounded by admirers of her
own generation, bye bye now
I say good night to the ladies
Say Goodbye to Hollywood
that realm of false prophets
there was no true glamour
no lasting fame to be found there
Say Goodbye to Love, the love
you never knew but looked for
in all the wrong places
you'll miss the seeking but
not the not finding
I'm all packed up and I'm on my way
Say do you think this is the
morning of our lives? he asks
It's too soon to ride that pony boy
not time yet to say hello
<first thoughts>
this is the now this is the moment
we are /n/ sitting here now and tomorrow
and the next /o/ day we start to become
someone new we hope against all hope
/f/ come on now do you really believe
change is /a/ possible soon come
certainly it will /u/ soon come
sure it will roll them /l/ out
standing on the edge roll them out /t/
going down to the crossroads
throwing /w/ the dice or die
by another man's plan /e/
switch it up now change it up break it
up and /w/ don't look back you can't
stand to go /e/ on like this
so better start to /r/ stand to better start
standing up for fear of /e/ falling down
we understand you're nervous and scared
hang /o/ on to that then hold it now hit it
and let it go /n/ or you'll still be standing on the
razor long time /c/ come let's bring it on home
in 100 days check /e/ in again this time next year
sensational optimism for next april 14
play /e/ careening again in memorial
of who you /g/ used to be and don't be sad for
what you had don't /g/go there too late
just be glad for who you are /s/ what a homily
what a hominid what kind of a holy are we
<only thoughts>
a treacle sponge pudding
'mind you don't burn your mouth'
Robin Trower on Rock Goes to College
pudding in a bowl in the dark
the black and white portable tv balanced
on the back room shelf while
their news or soaps are on in the front
pudding with a moist sponge and sticky sauce
I didn't know much about him
a Great British tradition with retro charm
but hungry for music, any music
feathery textured no custard thanks
boiled or was it steamed in a can, lick
hadn't thought much of recent episodes but
fish face Trower's loving every moment of this
'why don't you turn the light on in there?'
lick the spoon, maybe he's for the older brothers
I didn't know how you could be the singer
when the band had someone else's name
Daydream was the highlight, golden syrupy notes
coming through the tinny tiny speaker
comfort food music memory leakage in the dark
Clash - White Riot (car radio 1977)
dissolving stars warm aural womb axis jewel of
pitch blown-glass hooted crystal owl containers
gay umbilicus made in her own throat flopped of
gauze stretch the hot ghost place let it flow
motionless upper uphill teach it tricks on the
floor dissolving stars uncurled teach impossible
words rich into a dry riverbed unchanging axis
flexible revolving nameless see what that voice
see what aerial language listening at the height
it could become lie down tenuous lie down pitch
in a normal way on the nameless floor pitch let
it flow heaven let it flow pitch uphill at the
height into various blown-glass woman discovered
totally alone see what toss it see what play
with it tricks see what audience could become
motionless against a background paused valuable
unable to resist against background of hot ghost
dissolving listening language clutching herself
.jpg)
When they I started off
announce a world confused, then became
tour, I hope they happy, and now I'm a
clarify which triangle. This is the
world. My dog sound of licking
taught me advanced a 9 volt battery.
calculus after Finally a use for
hearing this my pineal gland
Definitely Imagine you
hiring these two are in the 1950s and
to play at my you are allowed to
abduction. I used show them them one
to walk normally music video from the
before watching future. My 4-year-old
them, now I walk daughter and I have found
in microsteps our favorite band
My 10 minute I finally
drive to work now found what the 0.01%
takes exactly remaining bacterias
27 mins and 53 are doing when I use
seconds. So glad bleach for cleaning.
my grandma's cat First time I've been
recommended this proud to be human
to me in a dream in weeks
I put this I played it on
on a loop in the my phone to a
gym and ran on homeless guy and he
the treadmill for hours lives with me now.
in the wrong direction. Finished watching
My shoelaces tied them- this for my first
selves and I don't time and can now
even own shoes speak Braille
- Look, these are all my old records
- In this barn?
- Yes, they've been here for decades. This is a rare copy of Last Train Home by the Undertones. Even Peel never heard it
- In this freezing barn on the top of a hillside?
- Yes and this is the original of Stinks of Locker Room Pride by Hole
- I don't think
- I used to buy so many singles. K-Hole 3000 by Kraftwerk, with The Speaking Calculator on the B side. Haven't heard that in ages
- You really believe this pile of crumbling artefacts
- I wish I had a jukebox to play them on, a proper old school Wolitzer
- Take my hand. Look at this view
- It's like that painting The Natural Heart by Friedrich Wilhelm Richter
- Your fingers are like icicles. I can't see your breath
- Why are my priceless records in a barn at the top of a mountain though
- It's more of a hill. And it's time to go now
- Wait. I want to sing one more song
The repetitive, intrusive thoughts
What Is and What Should Never Be
The stuck song syndrome
Royals, The Underdog, Roar, Soul Bossa Nova
Associated with anxiety and depression
Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing
Mein Jahr der Ohrwürmer
Somewhere Only We Know
It didn't make any difference if I liked the song
Yellow Brick Road
Scritch that cognitive itch
Just Can't Get Enough
The twenty fourteen to fifteen season
Sun In My Morning
when Happy was inescapable, when
earworms were a constant presence
Typically benign, neutral-to-pleasant
Siberian Khatru, Gigantic, Where's Captain Kirk?, Dat
A form of involuntary cognition
We Have All The Time in the World
Your Brain on Music, wired to ruminate and reflect
Just a normal part of how our brains process music and memory
Kick Over the Statues, Seasons (Waiting on You)
When feeling dreamy, bored, or nostalgic
Baby Don't Change Your Mind
associated with a wide range
Wake Up, The Mayor of Simpleton
of habitual behaviours and compulsions
Gusanos, tarlo musicale, keep a list
Ghost Town, Moonlight Shadow
Involuntary cognition
What Goes On (VU), Iko Iko, Africa, Be My Wife
Catchy structure, repepetititive
The Only Living Boy in New York
Dallamtapadás, korvamato, make a list
Buffalo Stance, Lola, Johnny Remember Me, Radioactive
An involuntary intrusion, difficulty shifting focus
Sunday Mornin' Coming Down, Champagne Supernova (not that version)
Have you tried chewing gum?
Take Me to Church, Crush, Let Me Roll It, Dexter Main Title
It could block the sub-vocal rehearsal component
Poker Face, Kracked, Hollow Talk
Vers d'oreille, make a list
All the Young Dudes, I Dream of Jeannie, Total Eclipse of the Heart
no rhyme no reason, stuck stuck stuck
Mental amplifiers randomly popping into your head
I Shot the Sheriff, Eternal Flame, The Best Day of My Life
Persistent or distressing earworms
Only Girl (In the World), Are you Ready for Love, Get Back
Acting as intrusive, unwanted thoughts
You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties
fragmentation is related to working memory differences
Ørehænger, kulağakaçan, make a list
Who's That Chick?, Galvanize, Them Heavy People, Linger
A subtype of obsessions
Japanese Slippers, Hilary, Mean To Me, Roy Walker
The worrisome Ohrwürmer
Alice the Camel has Five Humps, Shoehorn With Teeth
Se me ha pegado, neural loop
Not So Manic Now, Land Ho!, Rather Be, Irk the Purists
Musical imagery repetition, auditory cortex
Marks To Prove It, Good Times (not that one), I Got the News
Seasonal variations
Mistletoe and Wine, All I Want for Christmas is You
They say earworms lasting more than 24 hours may be caused
Delilah, Parklife, Dreamy Days
by cancer metastasizing to the brain
A calm summer's day. Mid-20s, visiting 'home'.
You stopped off, as was your habit, at
a second-hand record store and
spent your last twenty, as was your habit,
on a haul of Steely Dan LPs in excellent condition
No one picked up your phonebox call, so you
caught the bus, trudged up the road.
Where the hell were they? You told them
you were coming.
Let myself in, killed
the alarm, made a drink and
put my new vinyl acquisitions on
the old turntable.
Opened up the sliding doors
found the old football, kicked it up and
around the back garden
in the wild sunshine, Can't Buy a Thrill,
Countdown to Ecstasy blasting loud
from the old turntable. Where
the hell were they?
I swear I first heard
Oh Bondage! Up Yours! one Sunday
afternoon when it was played
on BBC Radio 1
I was in my bedroom; I went cross-eyed
my heart briefly stopped, I'd never
encountered anything so
electrically-shocking
And it was introduced most
enthusiastically by
Jimmy Savile
I heard it in my bedroom I swear
witness this portly grey-headed fellow
plugged to his latest playlist
entering the lift at his local tube station
white-bread suburban old school reggae enthusiast
earphones generously leaking as the doors close
and the next song starts at full volume
the little kid standing next to him looks up
grinning and starts jigging along to the tinny hiss
rumbled
Come to think of it
which I obviously have nothing better to do
what with lying here waiting to die
The last time I danced
in public may have been in Turkey
I had a tooth abscess jfc and ffs
every bite was a dice with death
A group of misfits retired to a bar
a 'Rose for the lady?' man chanced his luck
and I actually bought one, as a joke, as a
kind of joke, to ingratiate myself
We all knew I wasn't serious
I'm not a serious man, but
it broke the ice at least
And the next thing you know
we're inside, two beers and
one rose down with the
poison briefly at bay, and a gruesome
Middle-aged knees-up is occurring
as Everybody Needs Somebody to Love
plays, dignity is cast aside
the Brits are on the dancefloor
And that, for what it's worth
which is nothing, may be the last time
I danced in public
Some years ago I read an article about
John Cale which mentioned the
then 65+ year-old was sporting silver trainers
And I said to myself, when I'm 65 I'm gonna
wear silver trainers
maybe walk upon the beach
how you gonna like that
Will they be Converse
will they be Puma
you'll have to wait and see
And once, at Barons Court underground
station, some young Asian lads
complimented me on my trainers
which were kind of silvery actually, and
it wasn't in a sarcastic way.
I was flattered since
I was about 35 and then they shuffled
off and chatted about how their man
Osama bin Laden was showing America
a thing or two, and this was well before 9/11
In a different age, I may have adorned
both feet and body in silver (a moment of profound
alignment from a synthetic being)
Minor episodes come back to me
in random patchwork
that last morning in Chicago:
head out for an early walk
gather some final air
visit unfound doors. I was
over the I-90 when the drama hit
Never had a clue
about anything much
certainly not about spiders
and/or kidsmoke, but it
still sent powerful signals to my crust
The way it rose up and up
relief or resolution
mystery or mystique
before overcast deflation
then time to head back
towards Old St. Patrick's and
one last breakfast with you
💉💉💉Anaesthesia
D R I L L
↳ zZZZzzzzTT! Dr Looming
[high-speed turbine] can't hear the radio now
(((( 🦷 )))) remember when, no not now
“Irrigate with NaOCl... watch the apical seal.”
........ tap ..... .... tap ... ....
jsssst focus on the music
< ℵ > Dr Gulping ( glub glub )
... caaww in a traaah ...
Isolation (Rubber Dam)
° open wider ° he's
WIDER. Dr Lumen 🥼
[ ⎶⎶⎶ ]
~ pink rubber snakes ~
sliding into the 🕳️
skritchole... suck dont choke
{ % % % }
“Working length confirmed at 21mm.”
pls don't say Fuji 9 ⚕
third fkn time I've been here
wha can oo see
doon too me
< 🌀 > Cavity
∆ ∆ ∆
burnt clove & ozone. ♱𝔅𝔦𝔱𝔢 𝔐𝔢´ཀ`
—|—|—|— ( hum: mmm-mmm-mmm-mm-baby )
( numbness spreads like white ink in water )
0101010101001 dont know where to focus
[ 💉 ] grip 💺
“Engaging the canal orifice.”
. . . . . . (((( 🦷 )))) . . . . . . . . .
( distorted vibration ) heavy breathing
... w-ooo-rd ... s-ay ... all up in my face
~~ { 𝝈 } ~~ can't even hear Elvis
... we can goo ooon ... don't even like Elvis
Extirpation
(( 🔊 )) Old Doc Lumpkins
whine—EEEEEEEEEEEEEE—pop
☠️ NERVE DEPARTURE ☠️ nubniss, numbness
“Paper point is dry.” oh baybee
√ √ √ cheaper to take it out
and sealed. ~~ 600 for this
s-picious mmm
Irrigation 💧💧
[ ⊞ ] ... caaar gaa waah...
~~ [ 𝄢 ] ~~ very intimate
trap trapped, <got to go>
biting down on a ghost.
reconfiguring of dental facial 🦷
aethetica 💀 Nearly done
<back to the office>
| ( ˘ ³˘)♥︎ (˵˘ ³˘… |
I had a solid job all right just a student summer job
and I drove my little (brown hatchback) car okay
the car my father figure bought me but I drove to my job
which I found every day also Saturday for the overtime
I suddenly wanted £££ and it was a job I could understand
fill in the forms add up the numbers steal the stationery
stare at the girls get the rewards
you scummy summertime creep
singalonging to the radio in your brown pop-pop car
Some days he needed the (legal) powders on account
of failures of nerve then one last Friday spent
his dough on a new (vinyl) release and danced
around his bedroom in that big white shirt
With grease in his hair dervishing to Gut of the Quantifier
now as my mind goes back to those few minutes of
genuine spinning delight I still feel affection
for that lost little loser all so small in le grand ensemble
but he had that release & he felt free for those five minutes
All the corny classics were playing
on the hotel dinner playlist, and
later there'll be a display of cultural dancing
- 'We really should have gone into town.'
- 'So tired though.'
- 'I know, it's exhausting doing nothing. Oh I used to like this one.'
I listen intently, confusion falls upon my grizzled features
and ... nothing - 'What is this?'
- 'What is this! You know all the songs, that's what you always say.'
I knead my chin in a hopefully amusing way.
- 'It's catchy, sounds 90s, maybe European. I give up.'
- 'Ha ha! Gotcha, I win!' gloating
- 'So what is it then?' annoyed
- 'It's Lemon Tree. You must know Lemon Tree.' nodding along, humming along
- 'With all due respect, what the hell is Lemon Tree?' playfully cross
- 'This is Lemon Tree. Everyone knows it.' smug
I didn't know Lemon Tree
The last big night out, still
10 years older than present company
From bar to bar
cocktails and Ubers
the young(er) ladies in
their summer dresses
Zooming round
Trafalgar Square as the radio played
Cake in the Ocean
it sounded good to me
in that time and place
You weren't with me
you were never with me
on such occasions
'I never was much of a dancer', now
let's go way on back go way on back to when
was the last time I danced
in public. It may have been Leap Day 2012
at that pub near Farringdon where we all met up
I arrived with the Australian girl, but
it was the last time I saw her. She
ended up in Finland. Anyway after
many drinks old Beatles songs were
blasting out loud for those who
cared about such things. I seem to recall
A chair was wielded, in jest not
anger, and old spinach head was mocked
I stomped and shook
to You Can't Do That like a... like
some teenybopper. I was briefly free
of the bonds, I wanted to tear my hair out