By Jack Stephen
9:00 AM, Saturday, in the car leaving the Palm Springs International Airport.
On the radio: Lee Dorsey, “Ya - Ya” (1961).
I didn’t really see this track coming. My mother-in-law had it on her R&B mix CD as we drove to her place after landing in Palm Springs. This was the track I needed—something I had never heard. I guess Lee was one of those New Orleans guys, who got a little something going. I’m pretty sure the KKK and racism in general was still pretty intense back in those days, all the more respect for these great R&B tracks that came out of this era. Here’s a cool song by a dude who probably went through a lot. I also learned that he opened for the Clash on their U.S. tour in 1980. Let’s get this spring break going already.
11:15 AM, Sunday, at the pool.
On the radio: Sophia Loren, “Zoo Be Zoo Be Zoo” (1960).
A vignette: Sixty degrees outside, the saltwater pool is about seventy-five degrees. The San Bernardino Mountains loom in the distance with a slight dusting of snow from the night before. I hear a trash truck pull up, upsetting the stillness in the warming air. I lay back on a chaise lounge chair. A leaf blower mutes an ad for the upcoming humanitarian award dinner at the community center. The palm trees sway in the light breeze, adding punctuation to the clear blue sky. “Zoo Be Zoo Be Zoo” seems about right for this moment. I remember I forgot my beach towel.
Around 2 or 3 PM, Monday, relaxing by the koi pond.
What am I reading: Accordion Crimes by Annie Proulx (1996).
This book is fantastic. She traces the journey of an accordion through a hundred years. Characters from all over the map are ironically linked by the desire to become musicians. This fact is paired with the mysteries of happenstance and serendipity. I am always struck throughout my reading to this pull or draw to make music. This often starts with the “next” character sort of just staring at the accordion. Even in all of the hardship, and lack of practical knowledge (outside the absence of folklore passed down type stories), these people mostly just sort of decided they should probably give it a go. They already had the accordion; how bad could it be?
In doing a little accordion research, I took a little stroll down memory lane and pulled up the following track.
What I am listening to: They Might Be Giants, “Don’t Let’s Start” (1986).
I had no idea that They Might Be Giants’ lead man John Linnell was a renowned accordion player. I thought the bad were okay and probably just one of those 1980s bands that brought a little something unique to the alternative music genre—kind of like Wall of Voodoo or Big Country. They had songs that were good lyrically but sounded a little helpless. (“Anna Ng” and “Birdhouse in Your Soul,” for example.) Nevertheless, I love “Don’t Let’s Start”—it is such an awesome song. It is one of those tracks David Byrne probably had a wet dream about a time or two. The video is excellent as well, great concept. I think it was shot in reverse or something; whatever, it looks sweet. “Nobody ever gets what they want and that is beautiful,” thinking about life, outstanding work by They Might Be Giants.
2:30 PM, Tuesday, walking down El Paseo.
The Rodeo Drive of the Palm Springs area is El Paseo. Located in Palm Desert, it is an assortment of high-end shops and restaurants with people and attitudes to match. I guess you should have some sort of air of importance if you are buying a $700 dress for a casual Friday BBQ. I don’t know. I guess it is good people are rich, but do they understand perspective? Talk about fantasy land! Who is the richest around here? Who knows? Definitely not me. I’m wearing plastic Birkenstocks—$50. Whatever, we went to eat at the Tommy Bahama Restaurant and got a mediocre $27 burger, we’re here aren’t we?
What is playing on the speakers lining the street: The Temptations, “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)” (1971).
This felt like the perfect track for walking on this street at this time. Regardless of where you are, this is just a great track. Sort of like “The girl from Ipanema,” this song resides in a fun place in our mind, where we wonder: what if? Having this orchestra arrangement with members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra really adds to the mystique. This is the perfect track for walking along really any street.
11:00 AM, Wednesday, heading to Los Angeles on the 210.
What’s on the radio: Phillip Bailey and Phil Collins, “Easy Lover” (1984).
Now here’s a great song. Phillip Bailey and Phil Collins just knocking it out of the park. I was already a fan of their works separately—Earth, Wind, and Fire and Genesis. Now they’re doing a track together. They sing off each other providing an example of how a rock / R& B duet should be done. The keyboards/guitar solos complement each other as well. It is just a well-made song. Also, interestingly, I’m pretty sure they both had experienced this “Easy Lover” at times in their careers, adding to the poignant tone of the lyrics. (Note: Phillip Bailey was born and raised in Denver. He attended Denver East High School and cut his teeth playing in a band: Friends and Love.)
6:30 PM, Wednesday, chilling in Altadena, sipping on a Martini.
What we are listening to: Morgan Wallen, “Last Night” (2023).
My buddy and his wife are big country fans, so every time we visit, we get exposed to another artist we’ve been missing out on. This was a pretty fun song, reminiscent of a lot of country hard-drinking songs. I guess it’s funny because we’ve all been there, “last night we let the liquor talk,” especially now that we’re older and those nights are in the rearview mirror. It’s fun to look back though, wow, we’ve come a long way! Our friends are pretty into this artist, and I didn’t know Morgan Wallen was headlining the last night of the Stagecoach Festival they’re going to. Two weeks after the world renown Coachella Music Festival, it’s the Stagecoach Festival for three days of country music. Thanks for the update Los Angeles, we never even knew of Morgan Wallen or the Stagecoach Festival for that matter.
1:45 PM, Thursday, back at the pool.
What’s on the speaker: Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66, “Mas Que Nada” (1962).
This was really the perfect song to wrap up this spring break. I have no idea what they are singing about. Is that Spanish or Portuguese? It sure sounds cool. This is a really fun genre of music, at some club in Brazil in the 1960s. No doubt, it was a great time! Right now, I am at the pool in Rancho Mirage, it’s a beautiful day, everyone has an easy smile on their faces, my wife, father- and mother-in-laws’ and this track is humming along. I guess everything is right in the world, or at least it seems so right now. We fly back to Colorado tomorrow, and as I wander through the airports, I know what song will be in my head: this one.
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