Song Of the Day: February 12, 2005
The sun has come out and is bearing down on the snow, causing it to form gray and brown lumps and then dissolve into dirty puddles. Which reminds me of a story. Grandpa loves stories.
I don't actually believe that a record can save anybody's life. I do believe that occasionally a record will create the illusion of doing so convincingly enough that it's practically the same thing. Consider: In early 1988 I had just been thrown out of school and was working at a grocery store and a fast-food restaurant to pay the bills, as my parents had decided that they no longer wanted to subsidize my drinking and long naps. I was living in a horrid basement apartment, with paint coming off the walls in damp chunks, and a puddle of water in a new and different place every day when I got home from work. Now, I realize that only someone who was terribly privileged and had never really met with any hardships in his life could find this so awful, but I was, and I hadn't, so I did. None of this, of course, kept me from spending whatever money I did or didn't have to spare on records, and one record that came around that winter was the first ChooChoo Train 45 on Picture Book. I believe I had mail-ordered it along with a few others on the label; the only other one I can recall is by the Witching Hour. Anyway, I went out and got the mail one morning, retreated back down into the dark hole, and played this record. Then again. Over and over until I had to go to work.
When I went back outside, the sun was shining brightly and the snow was melting, and I was so happy about finding a terrific new pop record that everything seemed much easier than it normally did. I was in love with the world at that moment. In a couple of months, spring would arrive. It was the start of a wonderful time in my life. I moved into a much nicer apartment with some new friends. Ric Menck and Paul Chastain became the standard-bearers of a renewed search for the true meaning of pop that continues to this day. I joined my first real band. How could anyone hope to convince me that this record isn't magical?
The songs on this 45 are available on The Ballad of Ric Menck CD on Summershine Records. I had intended to provide a link to the Velvet Crush here, but their website seems to be down.
3 Comments:
I have a similar story,,,doesn't everyone? but my band-single was The Pale siants 'Barging into the Presence of God'
Cripes, it sure does make me feel good knowning a record I made had such a positive effect on someone's life.
Ric Menck
This song is perfect
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