I'm walkin' thru the hardened mud
and the trash
discarded products and broken glass
tiny reflections of a misguided path
rebels on skateboards with their
music cranked up
preach death and destruction 'cause
hypocrisy sucks... "Tiny Reflections" from Melanie Zipin's new CD, Shades of Blue.
Rode the bike to Deming to hear Melanie and Jeff play at the St. Clair Winery. Been about three years since I last saw them (in Las Cruces).
Her music blows me away. Although her first CD, Melanie Zipin and the Z Factor - on a wing, has some mighty tasty tracks, Shades of Blue shines like a diamond, polished by life's conflicts and struggles. The pruning which leads to new growth. Now how would I know about Melanie's personal life? Only spoke with her twice in three years. Well, you listen to her words - she's writing down the bones. That's how. In "Tiny Reflections" you hear the generational gap between a mother and child (her son, Rafael, is on the Vans Warped Tour selling his tees).
So I taste every single red. Twice. Decide on a glass of merlot. Four bucks. The server fills it to the brim. I ask if she takes tips. She demurs. I give her a buck. The wind's picking up, the temperature's already sitting at a hundred or so, the tents are flapping, threatening to lift off the ground and fly away. Melanie and Jeff are playing. I shoot them, trying to figure out if my fill flash is actually firing. Won't know till I do the pix, maybe later today.
The server pours me another glass. I'm feeling pretty darn good, opening up a bit. Shoot more pix. Chat with the hot dog ladies. Melanie finishes the first set. They sit. Melanie talks with some girls come out to hear her. I chat with Jeff for a bit. Learn he's from Louisiana. I drink half bottle of water. Say goodbye and drive out on the highway. Eighty-five is too slow now. I settle into a steady 90-95. One more ticket and I'll probably lose my license. But I've got their CDs in my bag, and all I'm thinkin' as I drive east is what I'm gonna eat when I get home.
Up this morning about 1 a.m.. Unpack the Iomega CD-RW drive I bought last week. Cost me almost a hundred, but I'm running a '97 Mac with drives that hold parts of my life's work, and I want a CD back-up for when that day comes. I keep fingers crossed cause I'm not sure my hopped up tricked out Mac is actually gonna recognize the drive. But everything works smooth and now I've got my primary drive safely burned and I'm thinking, hey, I oughta copy Shades of Blue and send it to my ex and maybe I will and I'm feeling so happy right this minute cause Melanie's voice is in my head and the world's a better place just for a little while.
Update! - Pix are here.
