tim!: Cry Baby Record Review 2001 Weeping and welling up. I'm not a big crier. I said recently that I had done some serious crying earlier this year, and that I'm done for the year 2001. What I do have though is a propensity for the Well-Up, and some mournful longings. Welling up is just like having your eyes get wet. It's how guys cry. There are two options: The first is what has been mentioned, the Welling. The true definition of the Well is the number of tears that take drop formation and fall south. I'm going with two, any more and you are now crying. If you have to wipe your eyes with your hand, you have moved on. It's a fine line. The second is the all-out sobbing/wailing/runny nose/shaking bit that happens only every now and then. I can really only speak for YT here, as I don't spend a lot of time around crying men. As a rule.
There are several songs that have the power to release this welled-up welling. First and foremost we have Van Morrison. And before you get all excited, not just any old Van will do here. I personally own only 2 VM albums - the first one and the second one. I'm sure there are a ton more, but I have only heard two. Anyone says that Moondance is his best work is full to the eyes with excrement, and has never heard the debut, Astral Weeks. If you hear someone say this, turn and run away from them; because either they are flat out lying, or they are full of excrement. Moondance is good, especially for a sophomore attempt. But on a per-song average weeping basis, AW wins. This is not a record review, but the good thing about AW is you can be licking-the-floor-for-answers depressed and listen to the album and think: Yeah, I know. But the greatest thing here is that while AW has that capability, it also contains the power to connect to the highest moments. The day is one of those Spring days when it first is smelling like Spring. I have a window-down fetish, regardless of weather, so the windows will be down for this exercise. You will now be feeling like you own the world, a truly magical feeling. On this day, you can see Julia Roberts walking down the street and completely ignore her, because on this day, she should be asking you for your autograph. She should be following you. The kind of day where you flip people off, just for fun. The volume cannot be loud enough here. The weeper is track 3, Sweet Thing.
Another I was just reminded of is that damn John Lennon Christmas song, with the kids singing. Fuck off is all I have to say to that - but I will invariably listen to the whole thing. More of a hollow longing here than a true Well.
And this brings us to the King, The Master of the Well...
Leonard Cohen.
The album to be very careful of here is The Best of Leonard Cohen. The first three tracks are an emotional gangbang on your soul. But, if you have some pent-up emotions that just can't find a way out, go spend the $10 and sit back and wait. You'll sleep like a baby. There has never been a time - never - that I have listened to this album and not Welled.
I would put Leonard up against Nick Drake any day. Nick Drake is just plain depressing, not to say I don't like him. But he doesn't offer anywhere to go with this, it's just there. LC is like a roller coaster of emotion. One of those that goes back and forth - one of the boat ones - which eventually start flipping upside-down, and around and around. Based on this absence of Welling during a Nick Drake song, he has fallen short of making the list.
U2.
What we have to consider here is The Joshua Tree. Track 5, Running to Stand Still. This song is about Heroin addiction. I have never personally taken Heroin, but I can imagine the appeal is magnificent, and the loss of its presence devastating. What blows me away is how can this song about Heroin addiction make a person melancholy, unless that person is a Heroin person. It's Bono. That Sonnofabitch can belt one out. I have a feeling that he's a bit of a Prima Donna, maybe even a Drama Queen while he's at it, but hey - he writes good songs. What're you gonna do?
This concludes the weeping/welling portion of the interview.
And now the opposite of The Well. Feeling Good.
As previously mentioned, feeling good is magical. At least it is for me. There are certainly songs for which driving around and listening to and singing badly to the music are perfect for. Made for.
a) Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - American Girl.
b) De La Soul - Tracks 1-10 of Buhloone Mind State. Skip #5
c) De La Soul - t14, Say No Go, 3 Feet High and Rising.
That's enough. Surely there are a bunch more, but the formatting is getting to be too much. Dismissed. The Tom Petty will have to be on the radio, unless you want to sit through Breakdown. Again. But the point is here that it matters not. It matters nay. Having the windows down is good to control the volume level, so it doesn't all go into your ears. And the speed of the automobile will just naturally increase. This is one of those days where when pulled over, you might just flip the cop off to see his/her reaction. Maybe offer them a donut that is conveniently located in your glove compartment, or on the floor.
I need to get this to a cool thou, or Master will be displeased. Twenty to go.
