Comfort, Sowing

Hot chocolate and cream
Sowing the seeds of sweet dreams
Comfort in a mug

American Beauty by Grateful Dead

I’d often wondered about the music of the Grateful Dead. What was it that inspired legions of Deadheads to follow a band of aging hippies on endless tours across America? They were not the sort of band who got played on the radio in the UK, so it was a long time before I actually listened to an album and then on the insistence of a friend, one of the many carefully curated bootleg concerts.

It wasn’t the cosmic psychedelic space jam that I was expecting. It was … ok. Mellow blues and cosy Americana with a hint of country. It struck me listening to this album this morning that the music is really quite incidental to the experience of tripping out in a field in the California sunshine with a genuine community of like minded friends, before packing up the microbus and driving a couple of hundred miles to the next gig.

This album won’t knock your socks off, but it’s not trying to. It’s the perfect expression of the hippie ethos of tuning in, turning on and dropping out, and I wish there was more of it in the world today.

Vincebus Eruptum by Blue Cheer

There’s a general rule of thumb with this list, that if there’s a sixties band that you haven’t heard of, then there’s generally a good reason for it. In this case, aside from an entertaining hard rock cover of Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran, the rest of the album manages to be tedious and overblown which is quite a trick when it’s only half an hour long.

File under historical curiosity only.

Groan, Warm Sun

Ancient bones creaking
She stretches in the warm sun
Lets out a small groan

Copper Blue by Sugar

I’d always assumed that Bob Mould was some sort of punk name and therefore slightly disappointed when Hüsker Dü imploded that he didn’t form a band with Fred Fungus and Terry Toadstool. Anyhoo, Mr Mould is on good form here with some excellent post-punk/indie guitar rock with a slightly more mellow and melodic edge.

Most of the songs are about dysfunctional relationships and I can’t help wondering if lines like “The act, we wear it thin again” are a reference to the acrimonious breakup with his former bandmate and drummer Grant Hart. Apparently the only time they re-united for a benefit gig the only songs they played were “Hardly Getting Over It” and “Never Talking to You Again”. Yikes.

Anyway, this is great breezy stuff to put on when you’ve just been dumped and need something to cheer yourself up. Even if you haven’t been dumped, you just want to take Bob out for a beer and sympathise. Favourite tracks are probably Hoover Dam and If I Can’t Change Your Mind, which even features some lovely harmonies.

Vivid, Clouds

The sky stained scarlet
Vivid clouds reflect the sun
A shepherd’s warning

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, illustrated by Tove Jansson

Whilst I've read The Lord of the Rings multiple times over the years, I don't think I've sat down and read the Hobbit from cover to cover since I was small. When this edition was announced, featuring illustrations created by Tove Jansson for the Swedish edition of the book, I couldn't resist. I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves on their trek to the Lonely Mountain to reclaim their treasures from the mighty dragon Smaug.

The illustrations definitely add to the story, with a unique perspective on familiar characters. I particularly loved this version of Gollum that Jansson produced because it wasn't clear (at least from the text that she was working from) how big the character was supposed to be! All of the illustrations have been collected here but I highly recommend buying this book to see them in context.