A normal day

Waking up late, I skip breakfast.
I turn on the computer, listen to some music.
The sun shines outside, I go for a run in the park.
On returning, I grab a Philip Larkin collection and absent-mindedly read some poems.

It's a fine, but normal Sunday.

I start thinking about what to have for dinner.
The phone rings. My sister.
"You're an uncle!"

My nephew was born on this fine, but normal Sunday, 4:22 PM.

I get on the train to meet him.
Arriving, I see my sister beaming with happiness.
Arriving, I see my nephew perfect and asleep.

I'm back home on this fine, but normal Sunday.

I turn off the light and go to sleep, smiling.
If miracles as huge as this can happen on normal day like this,
Life can't be bad.

At the edge

A sixty-something year old lady sits down next to me in the train. She looks friendly enough; I give her a distant smile and continue reading my book. Then she starts chewing gum. So incredibly loudly! SMECK! SMECK! I give her a surprised look, trying to hide my disgust. SMECK SMECK SMECK!! I frown, and shift uneasily in my seat. SMECK-SMECK-SMECK-SMECK! I can't concentrate on reading at all. SMECK!

I just have to run from this scene, so I get up and find a place at the other end of the wagon. I can still hear her in the distance (smeck, smeck), but it's remote enough to block it out. Then two teen boys start playing a computer game which involves a lot of gunfire and annoying noise. BLEEP! BLEEP! BANGBANGBANG! BLIPBLIP! BANG! Fuck me, seriously.

A man walks in with huge headphones playing hip-hop music loudly, and I'm ready to get up, kick his balls out and scream something like "How the FUCK dare you disturb my quiet reading time?!"...

...and I breath out. I keep it all in, close my book and try to flow with the reality of our noisy, disgusting, who-really-cares? world.

I didn't sleep last night.

Download (Mediafire)
1. Free Loan Investments - Kick his balls out

Never too late

A mention in a post by Martijn at Think Small reminded me of how I planned on posting about The Luv'd Ones. No one I ever talk to seems to have heard of this all-girl 60s group. It's a shame, because how often do you see a girlgroup from that era with a singer who wrote all their best songs herself?

Well, not often indeed.

Char Vinnedge was a real 60s rarity, writing original songs, designing the artwork and managing the band. Without much succes, I must add, but not for lack of trying, and certainly not for lack of quality.

Label Sundazed collected the complete Luv'd Ones output on one album in 1999. The description of the music on their site describes what to expect quite well: an all-girl, fuzzed-out garage update of the Shangri-Las.

Download (Mediafire)
1. The Luv'd Ones - Dance kid dance
2. The Luv'd Ones - Up down Sue
3. The Luv'd Ones - Stand tall
4. The Luv'd Ones - You'll never know