I have a busy day today so this will have to be short. Yesterday I went to in-person therapy. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize it till I got there but it was only a 30-minute session. The trip takes an hour and a half each way. On the bright side it’s good for my physical health, I walked 7.62 miles. That’s because I walk to and from the train station at both ends of the trip. There was also a stop for my free donut. I can walk forever, my legs and body don’t get tired, at least while I’m walking. It hit me after I got home and fell asleep while watching TV. I’m not sure the two things are related. I have not been sleeping well of late. Last night had a new twist. I ran out of nasal strips. They were supposed to come yesterday but were delayed until today. I have unusually small nasal passages which leads to congestion. I am one of those people who have trouble breathing through their nose when they lie down. I also have post-nasal drip. Those things conspired to give me a nightmare. I dreamed that I swallowed a button, not a clothing button, but a small political campaign button with the attached pin. It got stuck in my throat and I was worried that it would cut up my insides if I swallowed it and my esophagus if I coughed it up. I was gagging and scared. I woke up to find my upper respiratory system exploding. I was coughing and sneezing and filled with phlegm. Did the dream sensations cause the physical reaction or was it the other way around? I don’t know but I’m sure it is related to the fact that I was having trouble breathing.
I programmed next week’s Gord’s Gold last night but now I have to change it as I just got Dar Williams’ new album I’ll Meet You Here, and have to play something from that. I am being lazy now and not checking but I believe that Dar is the most played artist on Gord’s Gold. There are two reasons for that; I love her music, and she’s been releasing singles from the album so there’s a plethora of new music. There is an irony to her being my most played artist as she’s an example of what I think is the most overplayed subgenre of folk, the sensitive singer-songwriter. Moreover, Dar is partly to blame, she has ruined a generation of songwriters. How? By making something exceedingly difficult look easy so that people that can’t do it think that they can. “Dar is so emotionally honest and so open; I can do that!” Sure, you can, but because you do not have her complex internal world or her talent to make it come to life, your emotional honesty doesn’t make for good music. I don’t want people to think of Gord’s Gold as highlighting singer-songwriters. I play fewer of those than most folk DJs. My favorite subgenres of folk are ones with swing, and ones with intricate relationships between instruments and voices. I like music that appeals to the Bach side of my brain or makes me want to move. If there is just a musician and a guitar, I want to be told stories, four-minute plays. I love the gothic atmosphere of the Child Ballads.
I tried to write a parody of the “I’m so sensitive” drones that I want to avoid so sing on-air but I’m not a good enough songwriter to write a bad song to spec. I try and write a drone and find that I can’t help but put in the changes of tempo and mood that the drones eschew. If someone wrote the melody I could come up with the words, I’m a good enough wordsmith to write poorly on spec. At least I’d like to think so. I am hungry so I’m not going down that road. Instead, I’m going to declare victory and eat breakfast.
Wise Madness 