Beer check

The Rockland Brewery, from Columbus Ave. in Roxbury

The Robinson “Rockland” Brewery at 55 – 71 Amory Street was active from 1884 to 1902. The building and smokestack still stand. Mr. Robinson, the former owner, ran the brewery for Kenney producing Elmo Ale, named for Robinson’s son. The building later became Trimount Tool Company. It is now a Futon factory with residential artist’s lofts.

-from Boston’s Lost Breweries, Jamaica Plain Historical Society

In their head – On her boot

“What was that?  Something mushy. 

“Oh, yuck.  That’s disgusting.  Why don’t people pick up after their dogs? 

“It’s February.  You’d think that at least the shit would be frozen solid, but no such luck.  It must have been fresh.  I wonder if it came from that retriever up there?  No, I would have noticed him squatting.

“How do I get it off my boot before I get to Jina’s?  There’s no grass anywhere.  Guess I’ll grab one of those papers out of the box and tear off a page.  Hey, Madonna’s on the cover of the Phoenix.  That’ll be appropriate.

“I better fold it over so the shit won’t soak through.  Foot up, wipe, ewww!  I got some shit on my glove!”

In their head – Not again

 ”Dumped again.  Well, at least I won’t have to put up with his snoring anymore.  Or the way he just assumes I’ll do the cooking and cleaning up.  Or his loser friends, hanging around waiting for something to happen instead of getting out and doing something.  So why does it hurt?

“I’m better off.  Yeah.  Why did I keep going with Brett?  I know I want something more.  I know I can be happy.  Someday, I’ll be able to make that feeling last. 

“I wish I was more self-confident.  I keep hanging around with losers like Brett, just so I don’t feel so alone. Why don’t I think I deserve someone better?  Why do I keep settling for guys just because they want me?  Do I need approval that much?

“I should be fair.  Brett wasn’t that bad.  He was kind, just oblivious to what I wanted.  Made me feel like a shrew, nagging all the time to get him to pay attention.  Maybe I deserved to be dumped?

“Maybe it’s me.  Do I hate myself so much that I figure anyone who likes me must have a problem? 

“Is it for the best?  Maybe we’re both good people, and it just wasn’t meant to be.  Now we can both go and find someone right.  Or someone else, at least.  I gotta look for a special guy and do what it takes to make it work.  Make the choices myself.

“Just once, I’d like to be the dumper, not the dumpee.”

In their head – I see

“This new pair of glasses is just another reminder that I’m getting older.  Still, gotta love them.  For a few days everything is sharper and clearer.  Probably because the new lenses are clean and unscratched, but the new prescription doesn’t hurt.  I didn’t notice squinting before, but it feels good now that I’m not doing it. I even get a little depth perception, until my left eye fades again.  Everything looks fresh and clean.  

“Reading is a pain though, just like it is every time I get new glasses.  Once I started with the progressive lenses, I didn’t miss the bifocals.  Progressives are great, once you get used to them.  There’s always an area of the lens that’s just right for what you want to look at, whatever the distance.  But I can’t just move my eyes to look at things.  If I move my eyes just a tiny bit, without moving my head, things get out of focus. Gotta move my head too.  Moving so the proper part of the lens comes into play is tiresome.  

“Each new pair of glasses is a little different, so it takes some time to get used to them.  And as I get older and the glasses get stronger, the sweet spot gets smaller, especially in the middle distances, where the usable area is just that small strip down the middle of the lens.  The computer screen is worse than reading paper. Problem is, my desktop computer screen is usually at that middle distance.  In a week or two, I won’t notice it anymore, but now it’s sort of annoying.”

In their head – On the third hand…

“I hope the extra songs on the deluxe editions of “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” and “Strangers Almanac” are worth it.  The new stuff probably won’t be as good as the cuts on the original albums, but those albums were so good that I have to get the new versions, even at the “deluxe” price. 

“I’ve gone down this road before.  Sometimes I can’t resist.  Look at “Entertainment!”  ”Entertainment!” is the best album ever and Gang of Four is the best live band ever, so I got sucked in.  I’ve got my original vinyl version.  I’ve got the original CD version, which came with the “Yellow EP” as an extra.  I’ve got the remastered CD, with additional live cuts tacked on the end. 

“Then I have two greatest hits packages that both include most of “Entertainment!”  I have “At the Palace” on vinyl and two Peel Sessions discs, one vinyl and one CD.  Those are anchored by cuts from “Entertainment!” 

“And when the band got back together after 20 years and re-recorded the album to make “Return the Gift”, I bought the original version, the version with remixes of the songs by other artists, and a limited edition CD of the band playing the songs live on the reunion tour.

“I got even more stuff off the Internet.  I figured out how to capture YouTube videos and burn them to DVD.    I pulled down bootlegs of shows from back in the 70’s and 80’s with BitTorrent.  I want it all!”

In their head – On the other hand…

“Damn record companies.  I’d really like to get the extra material from the “Deluxe” editions of “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” and “Strangers Almanac” that I saw in those Oxford American music issue ads.  I’ll bet its fun stuff.  Outtakes of songs that didn’t make the original album, alternate takes, live versions, and unfinished demos of songs that did make the album, and covers of songs by other bands.

“I’d buy the bonus tracks, even though those songs were never intended to be released and the production will be crappy. But I won’t buy them if I have to repurchase albums I already have, especially at an inflated price.  If the songs were really that good, they would been on the original album.

“Elvis Costello did this. Talking Heads too. Hey, I’m a fan.  I’ll buy the crap that’s piled up in corners of recording studios over the years.  Just don’t sell me what I already have as the main part of the package, and jack up the price too! 

“Why can’t they put out a rarities album?  Collect all those demos, covers, live cuts, bad songs, and whatever other detritus is laying around, and put it on a record.  Look at what Neil Young is doing with his Archives.  He’s putting out concert albums, and he’s putting out a huge box of unreleased stuff, 26 CDs worth on 10 DVDs.  Yeah, it’s expensive, but I’m more likely to buy that then to buy all the albums over again just to get the extra stuff.

“In the meantime, I guess I’ll just go to BitTorrent for the Whiskeytown and Lucinda Williams extras.  If someone’s going to be ripped off, it ain’t gonna be me.”

In their head – On the one hand…

“The CDs that come with the Oxford American music issue are great.  I never heard of half the artists, but I’m going to track some of them down and listen to more of their stuff.  The magazine sure is full of ads though.  

“Those ads for “Deluxe Editions” of “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” by Lucinda Williams and Whiskeytown’s “Strangers Almanac” piss me off.  I’ve heard those were great albums, and I wanted to buy them and check them out.  But I’m not going to pay an extra $10-15 for a “deluxe edition.” It might have more stuff in the booklet.  Big deal.  And there’s the “extra bonus tracks” that they’ve tacked on to make each album into a 2 CD set.  If anything, I’d rather have a version that doesn’t have a few crappy songs added on.  If they were any good, they’d have been on the original album.  Now, I have to find room for the big  two disc case and fiddle around to avoid the junk and hear the album the way is was supposed to be played.

“If I only want a song or two from an album, I can go to Amazon and buy MP3s to play on my iPod and only spend a couple bucks  But sometimes, when I’ve heard that an album is really good,  I like to buy the CD.  I can still rip the songs to my iPod, but I can also play the album whenever I want pretty much anywhere I want.  In the car, at my friend’s house, whatever.  And I like collecting the CDs.  For some reason it’s more satisfying to have the package with a disc and a booklet, not just the songs on a computer disk somewhere.

“If they’re not going to let me buy the album I want for a fair price, screw ‘em.  There’s always BitTorrent.”

In their head – Just say it

“This song has to be perfect.  It has to show Melissa the way she makes me feel.  How I love the way her skin is so warm and soft.  The way her breasts concentrate that sensation in two lovely mounds.  The way the exquisite tension builds when I hold her tight, peaking as I slide inside her.  I want to share how I feel with everyone, but I need her to know.

“Good thing I’ve got my guitar in my lap right now.  I can’t wait until tonight.

“Where do I start?  It’s tough to write love songs without being sappy or sounding like every other guy.   “You’re like a spring day.  You carry my heart away.  You make me happy and gay.” Yuck.  Similes are so mechanical. I need a metaphor that works.  Something more subtle.  “Waves roll over me, carry me away.  I wash up on the beach, where sunshine rules the day.”

“You know, I could just say it. “You make me hard.”  Well, maybe a bit classier than that.  But straightforward, honest, sharp description.  Make it real.  Leave the dressier language for another time.  Yeah, that’s the way to go. 

“I hope she likes it.”

In their head – I choose Fred

“People seem to get a lot of comfort from religion.  But they seem to believe in some really cruel, unreliable gods.  Do they think they deserve to suffer?

“My “god” wouldn’t need my worship.  He’s not an insecure power that needs constant reassurance, especially not from beings he can control. Not that he’s a micromanaging god.  He leaves us to our own devices most of the time.  Still, he’d appreciate it when we try to make the world a better place for us all, and he allows for our weaknesses when he does check in, as long as we’re trying our best.  He wants us all to be happy, and if we make the effort, he does what he can to help.

“I think I’ll call this power “Fred” to keep from thinking of him as one of the gods worshiped by institutional religion.  Hopefully I won’t anthropomorphize Fred into a human “him” in spite of the name.  After all, I’m hoping that Fred is kinder and more consistent than most of the humans I know.  Fred won’t remove all trials and trouble from life, because Fred realizes that humans need to be tested in order to reach their potential.  But if I go out and persevere in making a good faith effort to do unto others as I would have them do unto me, Fred will do his part to ensure that things work out for the best in the end.

“I’d like to believe in an omnipresent being, one that wants me to be happy.  It’d be comforting to believe that something was looking out for me, with my best interests at heart. Fred may not really exist, but I should be acting like he does anyhow, right?  Can’t hurt.”

In their head – What happened?

“I think I’m gonna puke. Should have skipped the coffee.  I hope this bus quits bouncing so I can make it home before I throw up.  Why do I do this to myself?

“Wish I had got more sleep.  I’d feel better.  Good thing I woke up early so I could sneak out before she woke up.  Jeez, I can’t even remember her name.  Can’t remember fucking either.  We didn’t use a condom.  Gotta shower.  I hope I didn’t catch anything.  Wonder if she’s on the pill?  Christ, I wonder if I told her enough so she can find me? 

“I’ve gotta get some sleep, but I’ve gotta find the car first. Where the hell did I leave it?  I looked everywhere this morning, I think.  But if it’s not in that neighborhood, where could it be?  Last I remember, I was at JJ Foley’s with Frank.  I’ll give him a call and see if he knows anything.  I wonder if that’s where I met what’s-her-name?

“My head hurts.  Damn, it’s bright this morning.  Wish I had sunglasses.  Ow!  Another fucking pothole.  If I hadn’t lost my car, I wouldn’t have to take this ride.  Worst comes to worst, the city will tow it and send me a notice.  If it’s not stolen, or smashed up.  Shit.  What’ll I do in the meantime?”