Jimmy Buffett "Savannah Fare You Well"

I'm on vacation this week, so here's another We Used To Play This post:

People have pretty strong feelings about Jimmy Buffett, and those who have negative feelings are usually reacting to a) the over-saturation of the biggest hits and b) the "party" culture around Parrotheads.  (That 2nd one is kinda like how some people don't like the Grateful Dead, based solely on their dislike of Deadheads)

But Buffett has this treasure-trove of really well-written, well-observed, lovely tunes and stories.  And if they weren't obscured by the huge success of party anthems like "Cheeseburger In Paradise," I think more folks would respect his talent.

In 2000-ish Buffett put out a nice collection of tunes, and we played "Savannah Fare You Well," a lovely addition to a great collection of the singer-songwriter under-appreciated canon.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Julio Iglesias "To All The Girls I've Loved Before"

Believe it or not, when I hear this song, I think of hurricanes and their aftermath.

It was 19 years ago this month that I was living in South Florida when Hurricane Andrew devastated whole sections of cities south of Miami.

In the weeks following the destruction, Miami celebrities put together a major benefit show.

I happened to be dating a DJ at the time, and she had tickets. So we found ourselves just 20 rows from the stage in the massive, filled, Joe Robbie Stadium (home of the Dolphins).

If I remember correctly, Gloria Estefan was the organizer and she pulled in a crazily diverse roster of Miami-connected artists and friends.

It's perhaps not surprising that she had Celia Cruz perform with her. You wouldn't blink at the idea of Jimmy Buffett playing in South Florida. You may or may not remember that The BeeGees based themselves out of Miami. And you could probably picture that Estefan roped her friend Andy Garcia into playing some percussion during her set.

But also on the bill . . . Paul Simon, Weird Al Yankovic, Whoopie Goldberg (who sang "Shout") and Stephen Stills.

But best, and weirdest, of all, was Julio Iglesias.

I mean, when was I ever going to see Julio Iglesias in concert? Only a massive hurricane and a fortuitous relationship with a DJ could have made the possible.

He was handsome. He was tan. He lip-synced.

At least I'm pretty sure he was lip-syncing. Because I couldn't otherwise explain how there seemed to be a full backing band of musicians, though he was the only one on the stage.

But hey, he showed up, right? I'm glad he came along, and I dedicate this song, to all the hurricanes, Irene included, that I've loved before.


See the video (and Oprah, lip-syncing) on Youtube.


See one of the funniest Willie Nelson imitations ever, on Youtube.

Little Feat “Dixie Chicken”

You can go on and on all you want about the nobility of artistic pursuits, and yes, I suppose you are right, there is something noble about the “pursuit.” But let’s face it, the artistic life is a daily slog against indignity upon indignity.

You could be the Juliard trained actor, who becomes typecast as “that guy in the talking Hot Dog commercial.”

Or the brilliant but undiscovered novelist who’s paying off his English degree, writing obituaries for the newspaper.

Or the budding fashion designer, who’s hired to make a line of sweatpants.

Sometimes, as creative and as talented as you might be, you will need to use your talents in the most common, unimaginative way possible, to be able to pay the bills.

Which is how a musician ends up at a piano bar.

Sure, I bet he took years of music lessons, spent countless hours practicing, played in bands, wrote original music, and made demo tapes, propelled by a dream of being a recording artist or a sessions man or a composer.

Instead, he was in a Key West bar, taking requests for Jimmy Buffett cover after Jimmy Buffett cover after Jimmy Buffett cover.

I watched him working for every dollar, trying find some life in the songs he’d probably sung a million times, probably sang every day, probably weren’t intended to be played as solo piano songs (“Fins”? I think not).

And the requests were crushingly banal. “Piano Man.” “Margaritaville.” “The Pina Colada Song.” And the dispiriting (ignored) requests for “Freebird.”

I don’t want to sound like my idea is the most original in the world either, but I will tell you that the look on his face was worth the five bucks I put in his jar, before he ever played a note of “Dixie Chicken.”

Clearly, it was a respite from the predictable requests of the day. Clearly he loved Little Feat. And clearly, he was going to wring every note out of this favored request.

Little Feat can stretch out a song, and this guy was going to take full advantage of that leeway. He sang with gusto. He wandered down noodling musical alleyways, circling back to the melody before he had fully lost the crowd (most of whom didn’t likely know the song anyway). He made the most of his mini-vacation, before returning to his reality of having to play “Your Song” for the hundred-thousandth time.

But hey, when you have given your life to artistic pursuits, five dollars worth of dignity is more than enough to carry you through to the next day.



Check out this awesome live TV appearance, featuring Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris and Jesse Winchester!

Jimmy Buffett "Fins To The Left"

You know, being thoughtful and creative isn't only for naming your band.

You can really screw yourself by being creative, but not fully thoughtful, when coming up with your email address.

When my girlfriend had become my fiancee about to be my wife, we started combining things, like bank accounts and bills and such. And just as we had our own shower curtains and knife blocks and copies of Jeff Buckley's "Grace," we had our own email addresses.

But while the extra copies of that other stuff could be sold in a yard sale, we decided to start fresh on the email front, and create a combined address.

We ran through various permutations of our combined names, but either it was already taken, or it was too weird or too hard to remember.

Then we struck on the idea of a play on my last name, "Finn." And we both like Jimmy Buffett, so, hey!

"Fins To The Left"!

Fun Buffett song, terrible email address.

It only took a couple of weeks to figure out that it's a pretty long email address to have to type and re-type.

And not much longer than that to figure out that a sentence, as an email address, is really hard to explain over the phone, to say, a customer service person. Particularly if they don't know the song. Or that MY Finn has to N's.

And it only took a little longer to realize that we were kind of stuck with the silly name, unless we wanted to change our online bank account, cable account, mortgage account, phone bill, and any number of multiple mailing lists we're on.

We are, and for the foreseeable future will be, Finns To The Left.

I know how The Goo Goo Dolls must feel.