(Normally, I'd be saying that that was first posted on Mark Is Cranky...except that today I'm nowhere near a computer. Instead, I've written this ahead of time. If any of it turns out to be false, if I get up on June 24th and listen to Ace of Spades by Motorhead, well...I'll give you your money back.):
As you read these words, I am sitting on the couch in a rented house on the coast of Maine. I've got a book in my hands and the morning cup of coffee by my side.
It's not often that I can predict what CD I'll be listening to an entire week in advance. But on vacation over the last couple of years I've become a creature of habit. First thing in the morning there are two equally strong cravings: coffee and music. The black water doesn't exactly "win", but it does get first attention. While the water is heating (we use a French press, official equipment of TrueCoffeeSnobs® everywhere) the first CD of the day is selected.
Pat Metheny released New Chautauqua way back in 1979. As an initial solo offering, it's just amazing. I've been listening to it for over twenty years and have come to love its shifting and morphing acoustic textures. There's something very calming about the music. The words I'm looking for are meditative and introspective. What my brain needs on vacation. Time to unplug and reflect.
Yea, a bit of reflection has gone on by this time. I'll have poured several books and magazine articles into my head, written a few reviews and essays, sat atop Cadillac Mountain, enjoyed a few 'beverages', cooked some dinners and annoyed the wife with an obscene amount of twisty and weird instrumental music.
Except for New Chautauqua, which she loves.
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