Eleni remembers the Challenger exploding, and last week wasn't her 21st
birthday but I bought her a beer anyway. It was a Corsendonk dubble.
We celebrated at the Hastings Station Cafe with drinks, over priced "tapas", and some live music. The music, provided by a girl whose name escapes me, was excellent. This small, blonde girl, with her ukulele, first added some enjoyable background music to our conversation. However, as the night continued, we were picking up on more and more of her covers, got into the music, and clapped and cheered at the end of each piece.
Mumford and sons, Michael Jackson, Cee Lo Green, Nora Jones, OutKast, and more, all found our ears. An old suitcase full of five dollar bills laid spread open in front of her. I melted into the booth, far away from the others, enjoying my Prima, and felt the need to grab some paper, to write down the experience in the hopes of not forgetting. As I trotted outside and across the street to my car the siren could be heard in the night.
I returned to a clapping and cheering table as I scribbled in my notebook what was soon to be a memory. I was asked by a few people, not what I was writing, but what was in that notebook of mine, they wanted to know how my brained worked. I felt hesitant, as if my heart was in my notebook, but to be honest, I only wished it were. I was wearing my corporate polo, holding my corporate pen, with my black corporate shoes, and pleated corporate pants, and the majority of this small pocket notebook was filled with to-do lists for my corporate job. I kept my notebook close, maybe because I didn't want to disappoint their curiosity.
I looked up from my writing and the siren was gone. It wasn't that she had simply stopped playing, but had left entirely. I searched around the room to no avail. And as I too was about to leave, she walked back to the mic and sang some more, so I sunk back into my booth, and enjoyed the notes as they floated out open windows, towards the Hudson, away from the city, and into the night.
And now, since I'll post some of Tom Waits' music whenever I get a chance, I share with you how a song can be trasformed when it is covered by a girl with a ukelele.
First, here is Tom Waits original song Innocent When You Dream from his album Frank's Wild Years:
And now for it's cover, in the hands of a girl with a ukelele:
We celebrated at the Hastings Station Cafe with drinks, over priced "tapas", and some live music. The music, provided by a girl whose name escapes me, was excellent. This small, blonde girl, with her ukulele, first added some enjoyable background music to our conversation. However, as the night continued, we were picking up on more and more of her covers, got into the music, and clapped and cheered at the end of each piece.
Mumford and sons, Michael Jackson, Cee Lo Green, Nora Jones, OutKast, and more, all found our ears. An old suitcase full of five dollar bills laid spread open in front of her. I melted into the booth, far away from the others, enjoying my Prima, and felt the need to grab some paper, to write down the experience in the hopes of not forgetting. As I trotted outside and across the street to my car the siren could be heard in the night.
I returned to a clapping and cheering table as I scribbled in my notebook what was soon to be a memory. I was asked by a few people, not what I was writing, but what was in that notebook of mine, they wanted to know how my brained worked. I felt hesitant, as if my heart was in my notebook, but to be honest, I only wished it were. I was wearing my corporate polo, holding my corporate pen, with my black corporate shoes, and pleated corporate pants, and the majority of this small pocket notebook was filled with to-do lists for my corporate job. I kept my notebook close, maybe because I didn't want to disappoint their curiosity.
I looked up from my writing and the siren was gone. It wasn't that she had simply stopped playing, but had left entirely. I searched around the room to no avail. And as I too was about to leave, she walked back to the mic and sang some more, so I sunk back into my booth, and enjoyed the notes as they floated out open windows, towards the Hudson, away from the city, and into the night.
***
| Here are some drawings that made it into my notebook that night. The Batman was drawn by Bryce, and Catwoman drawn by Beilin. The decapitated scribble in between was written by me last December; a blog post idea that never made it to print. A peek into how my brain works. |
***
And now, since I'll post some of Tom Waits' music whenever I get a chance, I share with you how a song can be trasformed when it is covered by a girl with a ukelele.
First, here is Tom Waits original song Innocent When You Dream from his album Frank's Wild Years:
And now for it's cover, in the hands of a girl with a ukelele:
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