Friday, July 11, 2008

Acting Crazy

Many of you will be too young (or claim you are) to have heard of Little Feat, But back in the day, before most of you kids were born, no not you, you're nearly as old as I. Don't look around, pretending I'm not talking to you--but you kids, the ones of you in your forties, probably don't remember Little Feat. First incarnation began in 1969, and the live recording that Old Folks Boogie comes from is called, Waiting for Columbus, and was performed in 1977 at the Rainbow Theatre in London. They're categorized as Blues/Rock/Country. Most of you will probably hear this as country and hate it. But I listen to your music, and pretend to like it. Oh hell, I did tell you the truth about that, didn't I? Damn. If you aren't going to listen, then I'm going to make you read some of the lyrics, because they speak to me of the situation I find myself in these days.

"Off our rockers, acting crazy, and with the right medication we won't be lazy"

(Now you're starting to understand what I'm talking about?)

"Old folks boogie, boogie they will
Cut you up, 'cause it's as good as a thrill"

The point I'm trying to make, is that whether you're bipolar or just old and crazy, sometimes you just can't help being impatient and cruel. You don't even know your doing it. I'm not talking about you fairlane. You just seem to get off on it. Me, I can't help myself. I've got an excuse.

And, as always, just when I'm wanting it, here comes ghost with this: Willin'

25 comments:

D.K. Raed said...

well, I'm so old, I remember Little Feat, but cannot remember what I thought of them, not a single song comes to mind! I'll have to listen to your link to remind myself. Did I like them, or maybe I was more into Hendrix & Led Zep, hmmmm ....

I was just catching up reading your recent posts that I missed. Wow, lots went on & yet you are still here, still game. You ARE unsinkable (as I dubbed you some time ago, in some other venue).

Just know, we all understand impatience (I think), but cruelty? Nope, didn't see any evidence of that (and I DID look)! Hope things are better w/the new meds.

Utah Savage said...

d.k., so glad to see you. I sure pissed the women off. And the sad thing is, once the really long comments started flying and they were all pissed off, I stopped reading. I knew they were all so far of topic, it kind of pissed me off. So then you know the rest. I was kind of an asshole, but really, if you feel so impassioned about your topic, post it on your site. I like a lively discussion, but when the comment is longer than the post you're commenting on, maybe you need to use that material at your place. Could be it's too good to waste in a somebody else's comment thread. I never see that kind of thing going on on other sites. Mary Ellen is charming where ever she goes, but she really went off on me.

As for the new meds, it takes awhile to taper off the old one and gradually increase the new one. So, I'm a little of this and a little of that. Bipolar is what I am. Swinging back and forth. It will settle down soon.

Linda-Sama said...

oh my god, ms. savage, I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE LITTLE FEAT! one of my all time favorite bands...Lowell George was a genius!

what I loved about them is that their music was beyond categorization. was it rock? blues? jazz? countryfied? all of the above....

this culture is so into putting people and things into boxes that we're uncomfortable with things that we can't.

peace, sis!

Linda-Sama said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-baXCdrjmjA&feature=related

here's a youtube of the original Feat with Lowell George -- a hotty in my opinion (lead singer with beard and hat)

Nan said...

Guess I'm also in that old folks category, because I've got Little Feat on vinyl.

It's your blog, your space, if you occasionally piss people off, that's their problem, not yours.

And I've never seen any evidence of cruelty in your writing. Frustration and personal pain, yes; cruelty, no.

Randal Graves said...

Forties = kids? Shit, that means I'm in diapers. I'm not David fucking Vitter, dammit. Ain't my fetish.

And I know who Little Feat is/was.

If you get cranky for whatever the reason is, so be it. It's your place, and as others have said, it's not done out of Bushian malice.

Now lets all go and find some Care Bears to stab with pointy sticks and set on fire.

anita said...

i'm 48, and i remember little feat. but i was the youngest of 5 kids and my older brother and sisters were 'hippies' (or at least claimed to be) so i was essentially weaned on the music of the summer(s) of love. which is why, i guess, i post the old hippy music on my blog because it was key to my development, not that i'm an aging hippie or new age hippie or any of those things.

i'm glad you're hanging in there utah. when you wrote about 'cycling' the other day, it really hit a nerve for me. i have that experience (or a similar experience) quite often. although it usually is kicked off by drinking (which i'm not supposed to do), it doesn't just 'happen.'

so i asked my new shrink (who is so wonderful i can't believe it it almost makes me cry that after all these years, and i mean YEARS, i've finally found a therapist who works with me in a real, substantial way, he's a real pro) if he thought i was bi-polar. he wouldn't answer the question, but rather asked me why i thought i might be. then i got confused. and we moved on to other things. i realize my issue is (primarly)very severe depression.

anyway, hope you have a nice day today.

Anonymous said...

My sister and I had Little Feat on vinyl, too. She probably still has the album. The bitch. She took all our vinyl.

I love the song "Fat Man in a Bathtub."

s. douglas said...

My dad loves Little Feat.

It's called perspective, my dear.

We're just blogging.

I'll cure cancer later.

Utah Savage said...

"There's a fat man in the bathtub with the blues, I hear him moan, I hear him moanin, I hear him moanin"

I once took a photo of my ex, my first/last love sitting in the tub wearing a fedora and reading the paper. I always think of him when I play Little Feat.

But the all time great Little Feat song, in my humble opinion, is "Willin."

Utah Savage said...

Linda we are Soul Sisters, no doubt about it.

Nan, Dcup, Little Feat on vynal--now you guys are OLD. Actually that is where Little Feat should be, but I have it now on my Itunes.

Randal, care bears!!! I have no idea what your talking about, nothing to look at, keep moving.

Anita, we need to talk. Seriously, Dixie Chicken, original group, my god women, if your really want to make some money, sell that on ebay. Put it on itunes first then sell it on ebay. Make the bastards bid on it and bid high. You have a treasure. About the depression thing, we should talk mental illness and all it's stages. I plan to do some serious blogging on the subject since everybody knows I'm crazy.

fairlane. Is your dad single at the moment, by any chance?

DivaJood said...

I not only remember Little Feat, I confess to actually loving them back in the day. The link you provided is for a recent performance of Old Folks Boogie - and they just rock it. Bald or not, Little Feat still rock.

As for you, I think that posting honestly about your struggles with bi-polar gives hope to others. Telling the truth about one's struggles helps others to tell the truth.

Blogging is an odd way to communicate, however, because people don't get subtleties. We don't see body language, we don't hear tones of voice, we don't get the benefit of emotional tone that face to face conversation gives. So sometimes bloggers have misunderstandings, or flat out fights with one another.

So the bottom line is that you need to be true to yourself - I like to read your blog because that's what I see - a person being true to herself. Your language is colorful, your ability to turn a phrase is legendary, and people will come and go. You need to write for the audience of one: yourself. If you do that, then that's all that matters.

And 60 is the new 30.

Utah Savage said...

Diva darling, you crack me up! 60 is the new 30! Well I'll just have to tell that guy I have a crush on who is mid forties that I am really younger than he is, but even so I could teach him a thing or two. Yeah really, i could teach him... Oh fuck it, those things make my legs quiver and cramp. I guess I'm not really all that limber anymore.

Linda-Sama said...

I also have Feat on vinyl...and I still have my original Beatles' albums....anybody wanna make me an offer? I need to start funding my next trip to India....

Ghost Dansing said...

the question is always whether or not you're willin'

According to George's recollection, he was kicked out of Zappa's group after proposing the song "Willin," ostensibly because the song is about a truck driver that contains references to drug and alcohol use. Zappa was an inflexible opponent of illicit drug use within his presence. "Willin'" and "Dixie Chicken" are among George's most well known and frequently recorded songs.

Utah Savage said...

Ghost, what would I do without you?

Spoony Quine said...

` Wow! That Old Folks Boogie is awesome! Had to stop listening after five minutes to comment, though....

Unknown said...

US: regarding the short story. I do have an idea that I'd like to propose to you: that perhaps you could write the story if I give you background, details and profiles. You would, of course, take full credit for writing it. god knows you can do a far superior job than I. Just a thought and no worries if you don't want to.

I have a name for the antagonist: Andy Green. Given that it's inspired by his real name, I really like it. Horrible, disturbed, nasty son of a bitch.

Utah Savage said...

Oh Pagan,Keep talking for a few minutes ad I think you'll have it written in no time. You have the writing chops to do it yourself. I can feel the writer in you yearning to be free. But by all means, give your brilliant ideas away, and if I make millions off your story, where do you want me to send the thank you note and dozen long stemmed roses?

Bukko Boomeranger said...

I was lucky enough to see the Feats on the tour that resulted in that double-disc live set when I was in college in Maryland in 1977. Also saw the new Feat at the Magnolia Music Fest in Florida in 2000. They are a rare case of a band that re-formed and is still good, albeit in a slightly different way.

I have "Waiting for Columbus" and a bunch of other Little Feat albums on vinyl. Mrs. Bukko has some too. They were among the bits of the vinyl collection that made the cut for what was worth putting in the 20-foot shipping container for our exile. There are still those of us out there that hang onto these nuggets.

We are also lucky to have a friend in California who's a prolific (but not profit-making) bootlegger. He's got connections inside the music industry who give him tonnes of tapes and CDs. He burns them for anyone who gives him blank CDs. In addition to about 1,300 Greatful Dead CDs he made for Mrs. B, we have live Feat boots among the 500-plus old Dylan, Who, Jefferson Airplane, Rolling Stones, etc. My favourite is the 1965 Stones at a concert in Honolulu, with the CD filled out with rarities, blues covers and creepy stuff you maybe never heard like "The Family" and "Cocksucker Blues."

In short, we have more music than we could play in a lifetime. And what do we spend our time listening to? Downloaded podcasts of left-wing talk radio from Air America and Nova-M. (Our lives are all about politics too.)

Utah Savage said...

Dear Bukko, my new best friend. Are you my younger alternate universe sibling, perhaps? Need to ship a container of CDs home to sis? I just had a birthday, remember? I know it takes awhile to paddle to the old country, but I sure would like to hear Mick sing, "Cocksucker Blues." Why don't you post it? Better yet, drop it in a comment and I'll just poach it that way. That;s my favorite, since I'm not so great with the linky thing unless it's handed to me on a silver platter.

BTW as you kids say, I blog rolled your ass last time I saw you somewhere. Not saying where. I love rolling a man when he isn't paying attention. No dark alley or anything.

enigma4ever said...

oh they were so wonderful...still are...although Lowell George is singing up above....I used to go see them in concert- with Hall&Oates and also another time they were with Lynerd Skynnard...in the Ol'days you could go to an all day show and sit in a stadium drinking coolers of pinacolatas and roasting in the sun....and see band after band...I miss those days and how the music was cheap...6-15 dollars for that kind of music...thanks for "Willin'....there is also Sailing Shoes and Dixie Chicken...and so much more....

Blueberry said...

I am the right age to remember them. Willin' is my favorite too. They are a major musical influence on so many bands, you can't count them. Check out The Band of Heathens, one of my local favorites.

Mauigirl said...

I remember Little Feat, and I love Willin'! Thanks for reminding me of them!

Bukko Boomeranger said...

Savage -- sene me an e-mail with your postal addy to Richard.Buck@MH.org.au and I'll burn you a copy of the Stones rarity and mail it to ya, gratis. Part of the deal with our bootlegger friend is that he wants us to share the joy of his music. It's a Deadhead thing -- spread the sound around. We've sent bootlegs to people in Canada, Paris, Sweden, all over down here and of course, lots of people across the U.S. As the Blues Brothers said -- "We're on a mission from God." Only in this case, it's a pagan god of rock 'n' roll.