Cut Grass

After no mow May

Reluctantly trim the edges

Leaving a wild patch

Greetings from L.A. by Tim Buckley

When I reviewed Buckley’s second album Goodbye and Hello I noted that his reputation as a fey romantic folk singer was a misconception as it turned out he was actually a cheating lowlife who had walked out on his wife and infant son early in their marriage. This 1972 release only amplifies the impression that he was pretty much a sex addict on a path to inevitable self destruction.

The album opens with a cheery number about sleeping with a black woman and hiding from a jealous husband, and moves on to songs about asking someone to get on top, creaking bed springs and there are no prizes for guessing what ‘talking in tongues’ is referring to. There is no love or romance here, just drunken screwing around with the morals of an alley cat.

Musically, it’s pretty much by the numbers sleazy blues sung in a throaty croak which reminded me of Jim Morrison’s voice on LA Woman - another ‘romantic’ who was on a similar downward spiral. No coincidence that they both died without ever seeing their 30th birthdays.

Poltergeist

Although this film was directed by Tobe Hooper (of Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame) it very much has Stephen Spielberg's distinctive fingerprints on it. He wrote the story, co-wrote the screenplay and produced it, and it follows similar beats to his other films of this era of focussing on a typical suburban American family with 2.4 kids and a dog, facing an otherworldly threat. In case though, rather than aliens (friendly or not), the menace is coming from inside the house with (not really a spoiler if you've seen the title of the film and the poster) poltergeists coming out of the TV.

It really doesn't take long for the film to get going and amp up the peril with a mix of animated and practical special effects that mostly hold up. It's billed as a horror movie, but it doesn't really rely on jump scares but rather more leaning into the action and humour of the situation (scary clown dolls notwithstanding). I think I first watched this on a VHS from the video rental shop, so seeing it again on a bigger and sharper screen shows some of the cracks but it's still mostly enjoyable.

Wild Iris

Down in the meadow 

Where the wild iris grows free 

Natural beauty

Mountain, Pest

Continents crashing 

Ancient insects now trapped in time 

Climbers confounded

Weasel

Due to a mix up
For my drawing class I bought
An artist's weasel

Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

For a long time I thought that Captain Beefheart was just a novelty act like Doctor Demento or Weird Al, so this album was something of a revelation. To say it’s hard going is an understatement, and first impressions are of a shambolic racket with different musicians noodling to whatever groove is playing in their heads while some crazy dude rants random beat poems over the top.

Continued listening is worth it though, although it doesn’t get any easier. This is actually meticulous free jazz where the apparent randomness will sometimes resolve into a tight focus before splintering off again. The lyrics are similarly thought through as a piece of performance art that would obviously go on to inspire people like Tom Waits and David Lynch.

Moonlight-on-Vermont-tastic!