Inspiration: Theodore Roethke

I studied Roethke while working on my (economically worthless) English degree at the University of Toledo. The son of German immigrants, he grew up in Saginaw, MI and graduated from the University of Michigan then moved on to Harvard. His childhood home in Saginaw, Mi is now a museum where special events and poetry readings are held. While teaching at Michigan State in Lansing they figured out he was bipolar, which probably explains why he didn't stay teaching at one college for very long. He died of a heart attack in a friends swimming pool in 1963--the pool was filled in and made into a Zen rock garden.

As a teacher, Roethke insisted that his students memorize poetry so they would have something to hold on to during tough times. One poem that I have memorized, and yes, it comes to mind during tough times, is "In a Dark Time":

In a dark time, the eye begins to see,
I meet my shadow in the deepening shade;
I hear my echo in the echoing wood—
A lord of nature weeping to a tree.
I live between the heron and the wren,
Beasts of the hill and serpents of the den.

What’s madness but nobility of soul
At odds with circumstance? The day’s on fire!
I know the purity of pure despair,
My shadow pinned against a sweating wall.
That place among the rocks—is it a cave,
Or winding path? The edge is what I have.

A steady storm of correspondences!
A night flowing with birds, a ragged moon,
And in broad day the midnight come again!
A man goes far to find out what he is—
Death of the self in a long, tearless night,
All natural shapes blazing unnatural light.

Dark, dark my light, and darker my desire.
My soul, like some heat-maddened summer fly,
Keeps buzzing at the sill. Which I is I?
A fallen man, I climb out of my fear.
The mind enters itself, and God the mind,
And one is One, free in the tearing wind.

Here's a short film featuring Theodore Roethke, also titled "In a Dark Time".



  

Road Trip Mix Tapes

My family traveled so much when I was a kid. Usually down to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee around Easter time. My dad would always have a box of tapes for the road. Some were made especially for the trip, usually full of upbeat songs to keep him awake. Many were hits of the fifties, but he did go through a disco phase in the late seventies (who didn't?). Sometimes he would just listen to what was on the radio to get local traffic info.

There are certain songs that make me think "ROADTRIP!" Some even take me back to a specific place, or the even car we were in. There is a groove, or a drive, that a good roadtrip song must have. Something about it pushes you forward, it echoes the anticipation in your soul, and sometimes you forget how fast you're going.

This 1980 single from Christopher Cross reached #2 on the Billboard charts and I consider it the road song that all others aspire to be. This video was from SCTV and pokes fun at how Michael McDonald was all over the radio that year as a lead and background singer.



Some other classic examples that come to mind include "Get Back" by the Beatles, "Don't Bring Me Down" by ELO, and "Green Onions" by Booker T and the MG's.

I still like to make a special mix CD for vacations or special occasions. That way when I hear the song months later it triggers a memory of that time. This song by Jens Lekman of Sweden was on a mix CD that we listened to the day after our wedding. When my wife heard it months later she said, "This reminds me of when we got married." I laughed because the song is about a guy chopping his finger off while cutting avocados.



When I travelled down to Tennessee a few years back I had a car with a USB port in the radio so I put together an eight hour playlist on my thumb drive. Some were classics that took me back to previous trips, but many were new songs that had that feel. One that will always remind me of that trip is "Keep the Car Running" by Arcade Fire:



As summer comes, if you have the luxury of taking a vacation, put together a special roadtrip mix and create a soundtrack for your memories.

Inspiration: CBC Radio

A nice thing about living in the Detroit area is our access to Canadian Television and Radio. Since I started listening to classical music in high school, the daytime format on CBC Radio opened me up to many composers. I also loved watching channel 9 CBC-TV and channel 32 TV-Ontario. But the best media gift from Great White North arrived every midnight on CBC Stereo.

On weeknights in the 80s I would listen to "Brave New Waves" hosted by Brent Bambury. The show exposed me to alternative and independent music that I was unlikely to hear anywhere else. Brent would profile artists nightly and play some obscure music from around the world. I would set up my reel to reel to record the shows (that way I could get all four hours on one tape) then would mix the stuff I liked down to cassettes.

When the weekend came along CBC aired Nightlines hosted by Ralph Benmergui and later by David Wisdom. Nightlines also played alternative music, but the more accessible kind.

Another notable show that was required listening was Frantic Times featuring the comedy troupe known as the Frantics. They created the greatest of all Canadian superheroes Mr. Canoehead (brother of Ted) and were known for the cathcphrase "a boot to the head". My friends and I would listen every week then have inside jokes that would leave the rest of the school scratching their heads.

I still love listening to what they now call CBC Radio 2. Shows like Shift, Drive, Tonic, The Signal, Deep Roots, and Canada Live ensure that there is usually something good to listen to. It reminds me of what college radio once was. Thank you Canada for proving that sometimes state funded media can be cool, not just a tool.