I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: THE PEANUT BUTTER CONSPIRACY-“It’s a Happening Thing” (1967).

Who would have guessed that a band from 1967 would come up with a name that seems relevant in 2014 (what with all the peanut allergies).  But they didn’t have that on their minds when they named the band.

I’m not sure that I knew of this band (they are mentioned in this story–although I had heard of the Flamin’ Groovies, also mentioned), although by now they seem like an obvious touchstone.  Because this is a major hippie band.  Indeed, this song seems almost quintessentially hippie.  The title, obviously.  But also the (sixties) fuzzy guitar, the super funky bass, the group vocals (very Jefferson Airplane).  The wild solo with even more fuzz on the guitar.  I especially enjoy the descending vocal line at the end of the chorus.

It’s a fun song, although kind of forgettable (possibly because of the lyrics).  After the chorus, the most repeated line is “Love is the grooviest thing up til now in the world.”  Up til now?

A little research says that the production on their second album is less obviously hippie, but this seems to be their most notable song.

Peace Man.

[READ: September 17, 2014] “Here’s the Story”

This year’s Summer Fiction issue of the New Yorker was subtitled Love Stories.  In addition to all of the shorter pieces that were included in this issue, there were also four fiction contributions.

This story takes a look at an already extant story and finds a story beneath it.  I didn’t realize this until about two paragraphs from the end of the story when it all came clear.  And then in retrospect I realized that there were a lot of hints thrown into the story and either I should have figured that out or, more likely, Gilbert made the hints minor and casual so that, like me, a reader might realize what he or she missed at the end of the story.

I’m not going to give anything away about the story; however, at the end of this post I’m going to put some of the hints that made me tilt my head at the story which proved to pay off in the end).

But without that information, the story was compelling but also frustrating.  Gilbert starts out the story so that you know there will be a sad ending: “It ends with his right hand griping her left…the plane is on final approach.”  The two people, both married meet and think about having an affair.  Both of them are pretty unhappily married with children and living in California.  But the story is told as an impartial report: “we also know that seven weeks earlier the Los Angeles Dodgers played their final game of the season.”

This is relevant because the man, Ted, was at that game (with a coworker whom he despises–the lengthy section with the coworker and his son are very funny).  Midway through the game he bails (after getting Don Dreisdale’s autograph).  And on his way out he runs into Emma.  Emma is with her youngest son at Elysian Park where the second official love-in was going on.  Emma was not there for the love in per se, she just wanted to check it out.  Her husband and two older boys went camping, but her youngest wanted to stay with her.  So they went to the Park and enjoyed watching the hippies.

The Flamin’ Groovies played, as had the Peanut Butter Conspiracy and the Rainy Daze, but it had a much smaller turnout than the first love-in.  Bobby, the little boy, got a balloon and had a great time dancing with the hippies.  When Ted ran into them (after climbing a tree to retrieve an avocado), he began tossing the “ball” with Bobby.  Ted wished that his girls enjoyed sports like he did, but they certainly did not.  Indeed, they were supposed to go to the game with him, but chose not to.

Ted and Emma talked, they made a connection, and then more or less forgot about each other.  A few weeks later, around Thanksgiving, Emma was traveling to Cincinnati to prepare for dinner with her parents.  Her husband didn’t want to go, and thought it was silly for her to head up early and miss their middle son in his Thanksgiving play.  But she insisted and seemed to enjoy a bit of quiet.

Meanwhile Ted was heading to Boston, on a flight with layovers in (ugh, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, good grief).  They wind up on the same plane, and with the kindness of a stranger, they switch seats so they are next to each other.  And in a very brief conversation, they talk about having an affair, in Cincinnati.

Of course, I was devastated to be reminded that the flight was going to crash (c’mon not a spoiler, it’s right in the beginning).  But as the story ends, the secret is revealed and the whole thing came rushing together in a fantastic way.  I suppose it may not be as enjoyable if you don’t know what he’s referencing, but man if you do the story is kind of mind blowing.

Some clues that I wondered about but didn’t think of as clues: (a dog named Tiger, the emphasis on Don Dreisdale, a housekeeper named Alice).