New Dylan Tune..

...I Feel a Change Comin' On.

Not sure what I think yet. I'm glad it's not the "OMG, Barack is so cool" song that I irrationally feared it might be. Really, that would quite out of character for Dylan. The song is actually about love. Sounds pretty good I guess.

It Looks Like Spring...

IMGP0300
Originally uploaded by susanelectro

...and my Chihuahua says, "finally"!

Cumberland Blues

Falls-Corbin, KY
Originally uploaded by susanelectro

If it's good it must end so they say. So it was for my break from academics and responsibility. For our final primavera break, my wife and I decided to venture to Kentucky to visit my uncle in Southeastern Kentucky. I've been going there my entire life, so it feels strangely familiar when I'm there. It's like entering some other dimension where I live somewhere else. It really is quite relaxing to be somewhere else without the anxiety that is typically synonymous with travel.

One of my favorite spots in the area is Cumberland Falls. Unless my past knowledge deceives me, Corbin Kentucky's largest water fall happens to be the second largest water fall in America, only second to Niagara. Of course, can we really consider something touching Canada to be truly American? I guess so, but in no way does some big giant round-shaped water fall thing make the simple majesty of Cumberland Falls and less...Majestic! If you are ever in the area please do pay the falls a visit. Kentucky is not just for Hillbillies any more. I'm looking at you Calipari!

New Life...

My cousin, to whom I'm very close, brought her second baby into the world yesterday. With that occasion in mind I started this poem, of which I've only just begun.

As the sun rises on the chilly morn,
And the cars all line the streets.
The passengers with their coffee cups,
Bump to the urban beat.

The men in orange work the roads,
And Toil in the dirt.
As a lady passes through a crosswalk,
In a short black hounds tooth skirt.

We putter here and sometimes there,
The truth far from our sight.
A crying baby brings me pause,
And the cars fade in to night.

Professors utter empty words,
Unbecoming of a princess.
The street preachers mumble in the street,
Making far too much of less.

The sun sits high upon its breast,
The rocks warm to the front.
I sit in the shadow,
And the crickets whimper for want.

We putter here and sometimes there,
The truth far from our sight.
A crying baby brings me pause,
And the crickets fade from sight.

Born Under a Bad Sign...

...Been down since I begin to crawl.

I picked up the "Born Under a Bad Sign" record by Albert King today. It came out 1967, and basically revived the dying blues brand, leading to a resurgence in old-fashioned blues aesthetics. King was a huge influence on Stevie Ray Vaughan, and it shows. I can hear licks all over the album that most people would probably associate first and foremost with Stevie, but King was able to convey the same emotion with less notes. He probably lacked the virtuosity of a player like Vaughan, but was able to create more personable grooves that mastered depth and space. That's what's so great about the blues. On the outside, it would be easy to dismiss the style as one dimensional and limited, among the ranks of the great players, every possible emotion is covered within the same scales of eight beautiful notes.