Nick Lowe "Christmas At The Airport"

When I was a kid, here's what we did on Christmas Eve and Day.

On December 24th at about 2pm, we loaded into the station wagon and drove 2 hours toward western Massachusetts, to get a 4pm "Christmas Pageant" Mass, hosted by Father Brian Flatley, a friend of my Dad's.

By 5:30, we were in Stow at Uncle Joe and Auntie Peg's house for an extravaganza with my Mom's extended family.

Back in the car by 10pm.

Nearing midnight, we had reached home in Newburyport, but I went right back out the door to my friend Brian's house, where their Christmas Eve party was just winding down.

Home by 2am.  Back up now later than 7am.

After presents and breakfast, we were in the wagon once again, this time to Burlington, MA, for a check in with my sister's Godparents.

Then on down the road to Natick, for a meal at my Dad's brother's house.

By nightfall, we were making an end-of-the-run stop at my mother's Aunt Clem's, where we had circled back to seeing a few of the relatives from Joe and Peg's.  And for a number of years, my Great Grandmother was in a nursing home across the street, so we popped in there too.

Then the long quiet ride home.

You can think about Santa and snow and pie and holly and pine needles and mistletoe and even office parties, when you think about Christmas.

But what the bulk of the holiday really involved, was traveling.  And I know this is true for many of you, who spend hours, if not days, in transit just so you can enjoy a little Holiday time with family.

Nick Lowe faces that reality of the holidays on his new Christmas record, with this typically jocular ditty about "Christmas At The Airport."


Hear the song on Youtube.

Nick Lowe "I Read A Lot"

It had been a reeeeally long week, and I was ready to relax and enjoy myself at the show.

Seeing Wilco in Boston, felt like a bit of a reward. And, truthfully, a respite.

The last stretch of time has been pretty taxing on my family. Good things were happening, but the transition has been pretty bumpy.

My wife spent the last year, out of work. She got laid off from her teaching job at the end of the 2010 school year, and she's been drawing unemployment since.

But she got a new job, which she's very excited about.

We managed things pretty well, with just unemployment and my paycheck, but the money was running out. As I was heading out the door to Wilco, I looked at our accounts. The checking account, the mortgage account, the Christmas account and the kids college fund were all down to less than 20 bucks each. And the credit card had only enough space for me to put 4 gallons of gas in the car and pay for parking in Boston.

No worries, though. My wife's first paycheck would be coming the next day. And we will be able to get on track after that.

Just in time too. Her 11 year old car had to have an emergency repair last weekend---the brakes went. My my 10 year old car was basically kaput. But now that she had a job, we could get a loan and buy a replacement vehicle.

More than the money chaos, has been the family chaos. While my wife was home this last year, daycare wasn't an issue. Now we needed to find coverage. Moms and Mothers-in-law, pre-schools and home daycare, pick ups and drop offs and the whole rigmarole have suddenly gone into effect as of 2 weeks ago. It's been quite a task to make sure we had every day and time covered. Logistically, it was like planning an invasion.

And with both adults now working, the house has gone to hell.

Piles of clothes. Piles of toys. Piles of paperwork. Piles of bills. Piles of dishes. Piles of dirt.

The only time we have to try to get a handle on the mess, to sort the piles, to tame the chaos, is late at night, after the kids have gone to bed.

I was clearing a path to my closet, when I saw another pile. A pile of books.

Every year for Christmas, my sister and my brother-in-law and my folks get me a few books. Music books. Nick Hornby. Humor. And over the course of the next year, I plow through them.

But since my first child was born, I was getting to fewer and fewer books per year. And when my second kid came, I only read a couple that year. And this year, just one.

There is a pile of books in my closet, a dozen or more, and it feels like I'll never get to them. Finding time for such indulgences is rare. It takes the moving of a mountain just to schedule things so I can go into Boston for the night to see a band I love.

So I was happy to be walking into the Wang with my friend Dave, knowing that for the next 3 hours, no one would need a diaper change, no one would poke me in their sleep. There would be no dishes to wash. No stack of bills saying "Pay me."

The time was mine.

"Who's the opener?" I asked Dave.

"Nick Lowe."

Bonus! I had no idea he was touring with Wilco. I've always been a casual fan and I've never seen him. Frosting on the cake!

He played "Cruel To Be Kind" and covered Elvis Costello's "Alison." And, because he's got a new album, he played a few new songs, including this one, "I Read A Lot."

Here are the first lines:

I read a lot, nowadays
Much more than before you left me high and dry
in a loveless land
with nothing but time on my hands

I listened closely to this song about being out of a relationship, reading, just to pass the time.

And I remembered what life was like a decade ago, when I didn't have a wife or kids or a house or debt. When I could do what I want, when I wanted, at whatever time I wanted, in whatever way I wanted.

I remembered what life was like. It was a bit lonely.

The paychecks will come. The kids will adjust to daycare. The laundry can be picked up. The dust, swept. And someday, in a few years, I might have some time to read those books.

I loved my freedom.

But I love my messy, messy life much more.

Family, love, friendship, responsibility? Versus freedom? It's a trade-up.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Ace "How Long"

I wrote about Squeeze earlier this week, and as I was writing the post, I was listening to "Tempted" over and over, for the billionth time in my life.

And in watching the video, I was reminded that the bulk of the song is actually sung not by Chris Difford or Glenn Tilbrook, the main songwriters of the band. "Tempted" was sung by Paul Carrack, who was only briefly part of Squeeze.

I was really enjoying his vocal performance, how soulful and warm it is, and I starting thinking, "Why didn't this guy do more?"

I mean, I remember the band Mike & The Mechanics. "The Living Years" was sincere, but kinda sappy. And I knew he had a few solo hits.

But I didn't realize that "this guy" couldn't possibly have done more.

He was a member of Roxy Music for their late 70s/early 80s albums.

He was part of Noise To Go, which was a band put together by Nick Lowe, to back Lowe on his solo records, as well as Lowe's wife-at-the-time Carlene Carter. And they back Carrack on his solo projects.

Noise To Go changed it's name to Nick Lowe's Cowboy Outfit, and that band backed John Hiatt on his "Riding With The King" record.

He was a sessions musician for The Smiths and The Pretenders.

And Roger Waters recruited him as a player and singer for both an early solo record, and the massive "The Wall Live In Berlin" show.

Then there was the aborted album he was making with Timothy B Schmidt and Don Felder of The Eagles, which I'll write about tomorrow.

But it all started with this tune, which I'm sure you remember.

I'd forgotten that Carrack was the singer in the band Ace, who had this hit.

Nice resume!


See the video on Youtube.