Remember Borders bookstores? When I used to go they had rows and rows of music and you could listen to whole CDs while sipping a latte or whatever. My guilty pleasure was walking to Borders near our house and losing myself in either the book aisles or the music aisles or, on a really good day, all the aisles.
One night I found myself in the International music aisle listening to a a CD called Shake by Zucchero Fornaciari. I hope I spelled that right. He’s an Italian pop star. If Van Morrison and Clarence Clemons got together and had an Italian baby, he might have sounded like Zucchero. My favorite song, and I think his most popular in the U.S., was Baila Morena, but this ballad was also a favorite and tonight it dredged up those days at Borders and some lost scents I thought were well tucked away. I thought you might like it. If you are a movie buff, you might remember that it was featured in the movie Elizabethtown.
Happy Easter, Happy weekend, Ciao
Chicken out
Yay! The Chicken posted again! I’ve never seen that movie, but I did like the song…
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HI Doug-Yep, the Chicken strikes again, late at night with a melancholic ballad. I really do like the song but more than anything, I miss having that Borders Bookstore right up the street. Do you have a bookstore that you hang out in sometimes? Are there any foreign artists you like?
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I think we have a Borders in Emeryville where I bought both of Jenny Lawson’s books and repurchased all 3 of Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael books. I could get lost in there, it reminds me of going to the library as a child.
My very favorite band right now is The Joy Formidable, who are from North Wales.
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Oops, my bad, it’s a Barnes and Noble…
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Hi Doug-I’ll check out the Joy Formidable. It sounds joyous. We have Barnes and Noble here, too. I can’t walk to it but I do like it and we go there sometimes, just not as often. My only complaint is they don’t have furniture throughout the store so that you can sit and look at a few things. You can go sit in the cafe, but I don’t like to take a seat that someone may want to use to eat, and I’m not crazy about looking at things I haven’t bought in near proximity to food and beverages.
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Yeah, I think the cafe in B&N is basically a Starbucks. I don’t understand the food and beverage combination with new books either, especially given what new books cost these days…
I love The Joy Formidable. They are playing across the bay in SF tonight, but the venue (the Great American Music Hall) isn’t somewhere I feel confident in navigating as a disabled person. That’s OK, though, as I actually saw them at a winery in Sonoma back in November (my first rock concert since my stroke in ’08), and I just read on their website that they’ve added another winery show (in Napa this time) at the end of this tour in late May. So maybe I will get to see them on this go-around.
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Hi Doug-I finally got a little time and went to check out Joy Formidable. I watched a few of their live videos and a couple of their own original videos. I liked “Cradle” the best, but must admit to being quite attentive to the “Last Thing on My Mind” video, as well. Quite a lot of naked bums in that one. And a unicorn. Who am I kidding. I barely glanced at that unicorn. Enjoy them in Napa. What’s your favorite song?
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Yeah, on their website Ritzy explains the video for “Last Thing on my Mind” by saying she was sort of fed up with only naked women in music videos, so she set out to find men in similar onscreen situations, but was surprised at how few choices she found.
I think my favorite song of theirs is The Maw Maw Song, although Cradle, Whirring, and Little Blimp all really get me going as well.
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Hi Chicken! I never saw the movie or heard the song or heard of the band – where the heck was I? Under a rock, I guess. But I like what I heard in the link and related videos. Music and scents … they can take you back like nothing else. Hope things are on an even keel in your world at the moment. I keep thinking of you and yours.
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HI Jenny-even keel at the moment:-). Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts. The movie-probably considered a chick flick, but I liked it. And Zucchero-I never would have heard of him, either, had it not been for that trip to Borders. It was a happy accident.
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A lovely song and clip. I sure miss Borders Books. We still have a Barnes and Nobles here but it’s not the same. Thanks for this pleasant music to round out a holiday.
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Thanks Geo-I miss it, too. Barnes and Noble is good, but ours is not within walking distance and doesn’t have arm chairs and stools you can sit in to while away a pleasant hour flipping through a stack of possibiilities. I don’t think they have the music/headphones, either. Interestingly, in a smaller space next to where Borders used to be, an independent bookstore recently opened and they are doing very well. I love that an independent is in there, but the store is small and every square foot is utilized so efficiently that it’s not the best place to lose yourself. Too many people keeping tabs on you. You lose yourself for one minute and a sales person asks if they can help you, and suddenly you are found again.
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Hi Chickie – just a heads up that I’ve sent you an email. Hope you get it.
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