Monday, October 9, 2017

2017-10-09 (Chameleon - Herbie Hancock)


Chameleon - Herbie Hancock (1973)

Mitch and I are on a real quest -- one of the most worthwhile quests I've ever set out on. We are on a quest to find and place ourselves in the middle of "hipness" in Lexington. It is the winter of 1993, we took an apartment in an affordable complex a couple of miles from campus, on the Winchester side of town. Never mind school for now. I wasn't into it. There was too much else going on.

It's Friday night. River Runt Spook Floaters are playing at Lynaugh's. They are one of the best around... from Cincy. Have you heard their version of "Peg" (Steely Dan)? Sometimes they bring the horns section. I can't wait to use my newly acquired bomb proof ID (the one time I was glad I looked so much like my big brother). Mitch says, "before the show, let's stop by this guys house over off Waller and smoke down." That sounds a little nervy to me. Everything does. Going around all of these new ("cool") people, going to the show... some after-party, I'm sure. And smoking down just amplifies it times a million. But, this is the trip we are on. I am rarely comfortable these days, but I am, at the very least, along for the ride.

These guys have a whole house, with an upstairs, framed things on the wall, nice tapestries, a swanky ash tray, tons of cds, and yes -- some really good weed. We commence. Cue Herbie! Loud! Crystal clear! From space! I have not heard this. I guess I have not heard anything like this. What? No electric guitars? No white boy angst and ego? Is it Jazz? Is it club music? It's the opposite of folk music. It's alien to folks. No oovy-groovy change the world thing. It's not of this world. This music that was released the year I was born, before most of the great funk albums, before disco... It's 20 years on and it still sounds so tomorrow. This sound busted open so much space in my musical mind. I can feel myself becoming cooler now... now that I know about this.

Thank you, guy from Mitch's chemical engineering class. Thank you Herbie! Let's head to the show. Don't fail me now, Don's ID.





No comments:

Post a Comment