Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Shake 'Em On Down

On days like today, when I never do find the rhythm of the day and nothing seems to come together how I want it to, and I come home and it's a little too warm in the house and smells like stale dog, I have one sure fire cure. Bukka White's "Shake 'Em On Down." I'm going to share it with you. Go ahead. Download this puppy. When I hear this, it reminds me of late nights out on the porch, the smell of pine hanging slightly in the air. You can almost hear the crickets and the squeak of a rocking chair in the guitar part. This is a song for dancing around your house while you do the dishes, hoping for a cool breeze to come in the kitchen window. And this is a song that plays in the background of any party and entices heads to bob. And this is a song for a late night stop on a back road, with a couple of cold beers in you already and one in your hand that hangs slightly behind you and the other one is draped over the shoulder of the guy you've enticed out of the car. "Where are your shoes?" "Don't worry. We'll find them later.*" "You're crazy." "I hear that from people." "How do you even dance to this?" "You've got to come closer." "I hate this music. It's so fucking weird." "Then I'll dance by myself." "It'd be better if you were like other girls." Well, shit. That sucked. I forgot about that part. I was thinking about the dark trees and the moon and the feel of the gravel on my feet and how good and alive I felt. Fuck it. That's how I feel when I hear this song, like there should be dancing and sly grins and good times. I've got to stop taking shit like that personally and I've got to stop hauling it out like it deserves any space all this time later. I'd be better off devoting my time to shakin' 'em on down. Anyway, now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I was trying to convince him to dance to Bessie Smith and I should have known better than to expect him to be comfortable with any song called "Do Your Duty." So, yes, "Shake 'Em On Down." Good times. *You will, too. Not the sock, that's gone, but the shoes are in the back seat where you left them.

6 Comments:

Blogger Exador said...

That web page is great. I love that old 20's and 30's blues on a scratchy record.

2/28/2006 09:24:00 PM  
Blogger Aunt B said...

I think Skip James is my favorite old-timey blues dude. I love him. And you're right. The scratches of the record add something to it.

These kids today... they'll never know the soothing sound of a needle in a record groove; that empty crackling sound of anticipation.

Shoot, boy, you make me want to dance.

3/01/2006 07:20:00 AM  
Blogger Plimco said...

I wish to begin every Wednesday with this song for the rest of my life.

3/01/2006 08:05:00 AM  
Blogger saraclark said...

Do you listen to Nashville Jumps on WRVU on Friday mornings? It's been around forever and it is a kick ass way to end the week and start the weekend. I usually stream it on the computer.
At the old job everyone loved it except for one redneck who didn't get it. I always enjoyed when everyone would sing "Drunk" the one word song, over and over. There was always lots of Friday morning dancing. I've got to get the new job people introduced to it soon.

3/01/2006 10:31:00 AM  
Blogger Aunt B said...

I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't know that I could listen to WRVU on my computer.

3/01/2006 12:11:00 PM  
Blogger saraclark said...

No big deal. Some places won't let you stream audio on their systems, but I bet you can. You will need RealPlayer or equivalent installed and then you can listen to the live current stream or click on their schedule and stream archived material from certain shows.
I'm waiting to see if the IT Nazis come and get me here.

3/01/2006 01:07:00 PM  

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