Wicked as It Seems by Keith Richards on Grooveshark

I saw this 10 years ago and just looked at it again. Dylan seems stiff and, as usual, unrevealing, not wanting to be pinned down or categorized—the Master Evader. He talks about destiny, and in the end, starts to smile a bit. Ed does a great job of interviewing a dodgy customer, and asks him why he still does it (touring, appearing) and Bob says,

Because I made a bargain with destiny…

…Ed: Who’d you make the bargain with?

Bob: With the chief commander.

Ed: On this earth?

Bob: On this earth and in the world we can’t see.

Poet for the ages…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKkZcgrec8A

I’m frustrated by having so much material to post, but so little time to do so. So, rather than let it all slide, here are snippets from my trip last week to Mendocino and Humboldt counties:

On the road to Petaluma, Nicasio Lake is looking dry, and it’s only June…the Russian River valley looks dry, except for the verdant vineyards, sucking all that river water up, there’s widespread overplanting of grapes in California…A hand painted sign by the river said “Salmon can’t drink wine.”…On my way back from Arcata, I came down Hwy. 101, a lot easier driving than heading back down the coast…went swimming in the Eel River again…a lot of logging trucks on the road…a spiffy little Porsche passed me, it had a GoPro camera mounted on its roof…all these people cluttering YouTube with GoPro videos of whatever…then jumped into the Russian River (above) — there are nice pools south of Hopland at Indian Rock — the water is a nice temp this time of year, no algae buildup yet…then a pint of dark Monster Ale and fish tacos at the Ruth McGowan Brewery in Cloverdale…the next day I went out to Ocean Beach in SF, it was foggy, the surfers looked like ghosts in the mist…2 lifeguards in their trucks, reminded me of my lifeguarding years at Lake Tahoe, Santa Cruz, and Stinson Beach — what a great job!…fog on the Waldo grade, and a thin finger of white fog reaching into Mill Valley…saw some young people crossing street in MV, looking smug…young, rich, entitled:

“Dinner for 2 at the French Laundry, $700 — yeah, baby!”

“Blinded by my Beemer’s high-intensity headlights — tough shit!” Sorry, they just piss me off…our local lagoon has 1000 faces, and Friday it was sparkling in the afternoon sunlight…I’m goin’ home, bome, bome, bome-bome-bome,
Home, bome, bome, bome, back home…

Music del Semana: On most of the trip I played The 2 Tone Collection, a kind of remarkable blending of ska and punk that went on in the UK in the ’80s and somehow was never picked up on in the USA.

0602. Let's Do Rock Steady by The Bodysnatchers on Grooveshark

Don't Fight It by Wilson Pickett on Grooveshark

A great album: https://grooveshark.com/#!/album/The+Best+Of+Wilson+Pickett/380576

Every so often Dylan just knocks me out. Jeez what a song. If you happen to be, uh, of this era, you know every nuance of this song. The harmonica. Every few years I get out Blonde on Blonde and revel in it. Well, I see you got your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat…Where did this all come from? It stands up after all this time. A fine way to start this foggysunny morning…

Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine by Bob Dylan on Grooveshark