the third late friday night eclectic buffet

hey it's friday night again - a long week filled with details - events - happenings - but essentially a good week. i have heard more and more people commenting on how they're tired of the snow and winter and what's weird is that this year it's not bothering me . . . . well it hasn't yet anyway. so i thought i'd start the post with an old item that could add a little heat to things. there's a thousand and one jobs this thing could do but starting with melting the ice off my front porch would be one of 'em.

moving on with the heat theme i'd like to share a favourite tune of mine from the long lamented talking heads. i still recall the thrill of buying my first head's album which i only bought because brian eno produced it "more songs about buildings and food." i stuck with the heads through "fear of music" and especially loved "remain in light". from that album comes this tune entitled "crosseyed and painless".
david byrne. brian eno. the talking heads. a creative triumvirate that came together for a very short time in the late seventies, early eighties. through their work individually and collectively, they brought about a radical change in the manner with which popular music was played and heard.

here are byrne and eno looking slender and intelligent.
the tune and lyrics which stick with me over that twenty seven year span is called “crosseyed and painless”. described as “fractured electro funk”, this tune brings together byrne’s art school sensibilities with his abiding passion for rhythm and runs both through eno’s burgeoning (at that time) passion for world music and found sound.

byrne’s lyrics were written not so much with the intent of providing a conscious message as to give a sense or intimation of something contained unconsciously in the words relationships and so interpretation is very much in the moment and also very much a reflection of the interpreter.

the heads can be heard here live in rome in 1980. the video’s a bit ropey but it captures the spirit of the band. funk. art. smarts. dance. thinking. hips and head.

crosseyed and painless

lost my shape - trying to act casual!
can’t stop - i might end up in the hospital
i’m changing my shape - i feel like an accident
they’re back!- to explain their experience

isn’t it weird / looks too obscure to me
wasting away / and that was their policy

i’m ready to leave - i push the facts in front of me
facts lost - facts are never what they seem to be
nothing there!- no information left of any kind
lifting my head - looking for danger signs

there was a line / there was a formula
sharp as a knife / facts cut a hole in us
there was a line / there was a formula
sharp as a knife/ facts cut a hole in us

i’m still waiting...i’m still waiting...i’m still waiting...
i’m still waiting...i’m still waiting...i’m still waiting...
i’m still waiting...i’m still waiting...
the feeling returns / whenever we close our eyes
lifting my head / looking around inside

the island of doubt - it’s like the taste of medicine
working by hindsight - got the message from the oxygen
making a list - find the cost of opportunity
doing it right - facts are useless in emergencies

the feeling returns / whenever we close our eyes
lifting my head / looking around inside.

facts are simple and facts are straight
facts are lazy and facts are late
facts all come with points of view
facts don’t do what I want them to
facts just twist the truth around
facts are living turned inside out
facts are getting the best of them
facts are nothing on the face of things
facts don’t stain the furniture
facts go out and slam the door
facts are written all over your face
facts continue to change their shape

i’m still waiting...i’m still waiting...i’m still waiting...
i’m still waiting...i’m still waiting...i’m still waiting...
i’m still waiting...i’m still waiting...

here’s the link for a live version of this song:
crosseyed and painless
after a sloppy start, phish finds the pocket in the groove with this take of "crosseyed and painless" recorded at the rockpalast in 1997;

perhaps you're needing a little cool down now - some time to chill - take a moment or two then to look at one of my favourite works by the great dutch artist m.c. escher entitled "three worlds".

finally, in the realm of very cool comes this ambitious project developed by british architect norman foster to be built in the middle of moscow some time in the next five years. with a total floor area of 2.5million square metres – the project’s scale is unprecedented. At 450m in height it will also be one of the tallest structures on the planet.
here's where you can go to see renderings and read much more about the crystal island.