August 12, 2008: I Love Gorges.

Returned last night from 3 days in the Inland Empire (as it once was called)--Spokane and Coeur d'Alene. K went to her ??th class reunion while I sat through one of the most spectacular lightning storms I've ever seen at Lake Coeur d'Alene. K, Ian, and I saw old friends too: Scott Orme, English prof at SCC, and Tod Marshall, ditto at Gonzaga University. Tod, in fact, has just sealed the deal with the University of Michigan to publish his second book of poems. Here's a link to his last book, Dare Say, on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dare-Say-Winner-Contemporary-Competition/dp/0820324620/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218561692&sr=1-4

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Now Spinning: We've bought a butt-load of CDs lately, both K and I. Here's what's being added to the I-Pod: Sweet: Best of Sweet. The Pogues: Red Roses for me; Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash; If I Should Fall from Grace with God. Green on Red: Green on Red; Gas, Food, Lodging. The Three O'Clock: Sixteen Tambourines; Baroque Hoedown. Iggy Pop: New Values. Brook Benton and Dinah Washington: You've Got What it Takes (3 disc set). Pink Floyd: Piper at the Gates of Dawn; Saucerful of Secrets; Soundtrack from the film More; Atom Heart Mother. The Ramones: Leave Home; Rocket to Russia. Squeeze: East Side Story. I don't have the energy to comment much on these other than to say it's typical us--a little bubble-glam, a little punk, a little indie-rock, a little new wave, a little classic rock, a little psychedelia (both first and second wave), a little jazz (a lot o', I should say). Some of these acquisitions replace LPs and EPs I once owned, while with others I am exploring more fully records only my friends had copies of when I was younger. Some, alas, are things I'm listening to for the first time ever--even 40 years removed from the original release date (How sad, eh? But that's the way it is with some things.) I will comment on one record in particular--the Pink Floyd soundtrack from More: Though I have only read the synopsis of the film in the album's liner notes (it sounds dreadful--I can't wait to see it) the music is excellent--much better than many of the luke-warm reviews on Amazon would have you believe. It made fine driving music as I made my way through the Columbia Gorge last Friday. It also makes a fine companion to the album of psychelelic Italian film music Delirium of the Senses (see July 23). Is there a connection in all of this to Antonioni's Zabriskie Point? I wonder, since PF did music in that film too. So much to investigate--stay tuned.

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Though John Edwards would have made a fine attorney general if he hadn't revealed himself to be an utter cad (though I have to say, something deep inside of me is not surprised), remember the drive between Portland and Spokane contains wonders such as these 10: (1) Multnomah Falls. The Indian legend that says the waterfall memorializes an Indian princess who sacrificed herself to the gods may be a complete fabrication (it would be interesting to make a study of such things), but there is no arguing that the waterfall is a spectacular must-see on the trip. (2) The Columbia Gorge. Well duh. As K.D. Laing once put it so well, "I love gorges." (3) Maryhill Museum & Stonehenge replica. As I wrote in an article some years ago: "Maryhill is home to wild contrasts--peacocks and rattlesnakes, Rodin sculptures and basalt boulders, French fashions and cowboy hats, chess sets and Native baskets. Such juxtapositions declaim most eloquently that there is no place where great art does not belong." (4) The tree farms between Irrigon and Umatilla. Weird, I know, but somehow I love seeing these endless rows of trees and wish I could pull over and take a walk in their strange cathedral aisles. (5) Barges full of grain moving down river. (6) Fishing for shad at John Day dam. (7) G&J Dairy Freeze in Umatilla. Second time on this list! (8) Smell of sweet onions between Irrigon and the Tri-cities. (9) Basalt scablands from Ritzville to Cheney. (10) The view of Spokane coming in from the west on I-90, as you descend into the valley. Always a pleasure.

Ciao,

JBF