Shaken (with Salt)

So in case you’re out of the sewing circle of gossip, Em practically dislocated her shoulder in her rush to throw in the towel. No California trip together, no nothing, she just called it off (I know?! What the Fuck! that’s what I thought!) but, hey, she’s got her reasons.

Now, I could tell the story of how I wandered around Tokyo drinking sake, my boxers hanging out of my shorts mumbling Bukowski-like only to eventually sleep in a park, but that’s not the fun part of manic-depressive. So put some booze in the blender and drink up, damn it.

In any proper breakup-- and this was defiantly one of those-- you gotta find music that gets it right. You gotta play it smart though, after my first big break up, I went with The Police box set. Figured songs like The Beds Too Big Without You, and other melancholy pop stuff was a good idea. It wasn’t. I was a mess. Overkill. So folks here you go, my got broken up with right before I got home to California, but still rockin it up the road mix.

Going down the Road Fellin’ Bad – The Grateful Dead. Poppy as hell. Great road song in general, and hell it’s the Dead, so it’s local. Plus look at the title! perfect! It goes great with the trainwreck I was smoking. A nice long lasting, no paranoia strand with a great peak, the pot was good too. The song just gets the trip started on the right foot.

Jessica – Almond Brothers. An instrumental work of classic guitar art. I don’t know who Jessica is but she’s got a great song going. You can’t help but dig it, especially in a car at 80plus MPH.

California – Joni Mitchell. First of all a fantastic song with the lyrics “California coming home/ gunna see the friends I dig/ I'll even kiss a sunset pink/ California coming home”it's sentimental, and beautiful, you can basically feel the golden grasses of Pachaco Pass singing it with you. This was in the running for top song of the trip.

Don’t Know Where I’m Bound- Johnny Cash. On the San Quentin Prison Live Album. In case you didn’t know, San Quentin is in San Francisco, so it’s homegrown too. As the title suggests, the song is a prisoners struggle to find what he’ll do when he’s released from prison. Anyone who lives in Toyama should know the feeling. Me in London? Who knows…

More Whiskey!- The New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble. Theres only one reason to drink whiskey, and thats to bury your feelings as deep as possible. The NYSJE gets it right.

Ooh La La (I Wish That I Knew What I Know Now) – The Faces. If there is a flip side to getting broken up with, its finding this gem of a song. It’s about learning it all the hard way, the singer has a sort of pre-egomaniac Rod Steward but still Rod Stewart voice, that belts it out like a man that knows what he’s talking about. Plus the singer is talking about learning shit from his grandpa, who I was on the way to see when I was listening to the song. On repeat. For like an hour.

A Summer Song – Chad and Jeremy. A really sapy melancholy song about love taking its course in accordance with the seasons, and eventually being cool with it. It has sort of a Let it Be vibe, so a little bit goes a long way with this track. This is the song on the mix that needs to be on it, but can't really be listened to while the car is in motion.

Such a Night – Dr. John. In contrast to the previous track, this song has absolutely no relevance to anything. It’s just a rockin’ song from the 70s on The Last Waltz soundtrack which I happen to be into right now, and Dr. John is a god in LA, so it has that going for it too. The stylized way he sings it makes it a good song for singing in the car.

Margaritaville – Jimmy Buffet. This was defiantly the song of the trip. Boozy, disorientated, about being a local in sunny paradise, and (as expected) it’s about margaritas which go great with tacos which was my official food for the trip. We drank about a thousand of the beauties with salt on rim for our margarita pub crawl-- which was a great idea. Hell, its time for another one... I’ll just give you the lyrics straight.
Mix 'em if you got 'em.

Nibblin' on sponge cake,
watchin' the sun bake;
All of those tourists covered with oil.
Strummin' my six string on my front porch swing.
Smell those shrimp
They're beginnin' to boil.

Wasted away again in Margaritaville,
Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt.
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame,
But I know it's nobody's fault.

Don't know the reason,
Stayed here all season
With nothing to show but this brand new tattoo.
But it's a real beauty,
A Mexican cutie, how it got here
I haven't a clue.

Wasted away again in Margaritaville,
Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt.
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame,
Now I think, - hell it could be my fault.

I blew out my flip flop,
Stepped on a pop top,
Cut my heel, had to cruise on back home.
But there's booze in the blender,
And soon it will render
That frozen concoction that helps me hang on.

Wasted away again in Margaritaville
Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt.
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame,
But I know, it's my own damn fault.
Yes, and some people claim that there's a woman to blame
And I know it's my own damn fault.