SOUNDTRACK: LOS LOBOS-“The Circus Comes To Town” (1992).
I have heard Phish play this song many times. I never would have guessed that it was Los Lobos.
The original is a gentle folk song, with a delightfully strained vocal.
For all of the multicultural musical approaches that Los Lobos takes, this song is really quite straightforward. It’s simply a well written and beautifully sung song. This whole album is full of songs just like it. Highly recommended.
[READ: September 10, 2019] “‘The Book of Directions'”
This is a short Shouts & Murmurs piece which is pretty funny.
It begins by saying that the new publication, “The Book of Directions,” looks at the oral tradition of direction-giving. Examples include: “Go two block down the street, make a left, turn right at the light, and you’ll see the sign.”
The author of the book is “the French hothead Pierre Trout.”
So really this piece is about making fun of the French for their desire to not be helpful when tourists are lost. Trout finds American direction-giving to be amazing, elegant and, of all things, helpful.
Trout was amazed when he came to the United States and looked for directions to his hotel. Instead of getting a rebuff, he was told “it’s right over there.” it was so simple. Of course its right over there is useless unless accompanied by a finger point or a head gesture “but sometimes I use it without any gestures at al which is beautifully confounding for foreigners.”
The book includes entries on historic directions: “They’re right across the Delaware” and humorous directions, “If you’re under water, you’ve gone too far.”
One of his favorite directions is “Head on straight for about a mile.” Trout says he uses it all the time, even when the destination is not straight on about a mile, just because of its meter.” The heck with accuracy, “I prefer a direction to be beautiful.”
And obviously nobody minds because he never heard complaints form anyone.
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