Before I forget, I’ve added some little odds and ends in my “about” page.
In a little while, I’ll be on my way up to the mountains with our confirmation class, my seventh annual such sojourn. We’ve got fifteen-passenger vans to rent (I am the king of driving these behemoths on mountain roads). I’ve got to pack all my vegan supplements, as the food this weekend will be typical camping fare — little for me to consume. And I’m praying for decent weather, and for our kids to leave their cares and their fears down here in the valley below.
So the first two song titles on this week’s FRT are remarkably appropriate! Actually, with the exception of 3,4 and 10, all of these are songs whose titles suggest good retreat themes. #1, by my second-favorite living American female solo artist (after Emmylou) breaks my heart every time I hear it; #4 takes me back to my mother’s old folk records; #6 stirs my spirit, #7 is one of my favorite tracks off what was, in my opinion, the greatest “make-out” album of the ’80s. #8 is a spiritual classic, also from my childhood, given a spiffy upgrade. #9 is from one of my favorite mainstream, middle-of-the-road country singers; the bonus track comes from the mysterious Jennifer Knapp, who more or less dropped off the planet after recording three of the most important and moving contemporary Christian albums of the past decade.
1. “Up to the Mountain” (MLK song), Patty Griffin
2. “Wuthering Heights”, Kate Bush
3. “Plane Wreck at Los Gatos”, Joan Baez
4. “Un Canadien Errant”, Ian and Sylvia
5. “Jesus Christ”, U2
6. “A Change is Gonna Come”, Sam Cooke
7. “To Turn You On”, Roxy Music
8. “When the Stars Begin to Fall”, The Wilders
9. “I Just Wanted You to Know”, Mark Chesnutt
10. “Comfortably Numb”, Dar Williams
Bonus Track: “Sing Mary Sing”, Jennifer Knapp
Hugo, I’m intrigued by the link to Moo Shoes on your “about” page. My question is: how durable are the vegan shoes? They’re comparable in price to leather if they last. I’d like to invest in some, but I’m also pretty hard on shoes. Just curious what your experience has been.
So far so good. I have a couple of new pairs that haven’t been really given the wear test for a long time. They sell Montrail shoes on the site, and those shoes are indestructible. I love them, and have experience with ‘em.
This may sound totally perverse, but singing “Plane Wreck at Los Gatos” over and over got me through my one stay in the psych ward (23 years ago - now fully recovered).
Wow, Lynn. When I was in a similar situation a few years after you, I had a bunch of cassette tapes with me and a walkman; in the hospital I remember listening to Arlo Guthrie’s version of this same song. Amazing…
Have fun!!! I miss church retreats. :-(
On the random subject of songs to get/stay sane to–mine was Hank Williams, “Nobody’s Lonesome for Me.” I must have listened to that song a thousand times in my first 2 years of college.
Re: Favorite music.
You should give Tim O’Brien a listen. I just downloaded some tracks of his, and he’s awesome. Also, Amanda Marshall kicks ass.
Hugo, relax -
While you may still be a role-model to some of your students, to most of us adult posters, you’re simply an interesting voice who ought to be heard and pondered.
Oh, and censoring your online pix means fuck-all if you’re still running around shirtless. Comfort or vanity or whatever combination of the same may be the reasons, you’re still shirtless, you’re just hiding it from the rest of us. What goes for your shirtlessness goes as well for your tight-fitting clothing.
*I don’t see you in real life. I only flipped through a few of your online pictures once. It really doesn’t matter to me, for what *I listen to you for. But if body issues are a thang for you and those for whom you are really concerned, then, bubba, get baggy.
I, for one, am not scouring your online persona for inconsitencies on which to pounce.
The more self-contradictory, un-systematic and non-doctrinaire your observations are, the more I am inclined to trust you as someone who sees the terrain, not just the map you’re trying to sell me.
YMMV
Take care, brother. If I ever make it out to Pasadena again (made an ass of myself over a woman in Altadena once) and get to All SS, I may say hey.
Wow!! You are a complex man!! Have only been reading your blog for a few months and every time I do, you surprise me with your music choices, your background and your spiritual side. How did you arrive at this point in your life? Sudden conversion? Time working on you over a long stretch? Where were you with all this at age 25?
Gosh, Bobbie Jean, if you look through my archives, you’ll find some answers. Let me recommend this archive: http://hugoschwyzer.net/category/memories/
Bonnie, thanks for the suggestions, I’ll check ‘em out.
Oriscus, I’d love to meet you. Thanks for your common-sense.