Monday, May 01, 2006

Blessings!

How did Beltaine/May Day get translated into International Workers' Day? I'm not sure that I see a connection, but there it is. Of course, International Workers' Day seems a trifle too socialist/communist for the US, so we don't celebrate our workforce until September. Of course, today was the day that many took off to protest the recent anti-immigration sentiment that has been stirred up in the media recently - I say "stirred up" because there has been nothing really new happening, and yet immigration policy has become the hot issue in the past several weeks. I do believe that I've become officially jaded.

Today was another beautiful day. I would have felt like having a naked day again, but I was at work - a place that does not induce the desire to be naked in me. I did, however, manage to waste most of the day on craigslist. I've decided that some dating while waiting for CollegeFriend to show up (and gauge the depth of feeling in that relationship) is okay. There have been no commitments, per se, but I am interested in keeping the door open to see what will happen when he arrives.

I know that all 3 of you who drop by on a regular basis have been dying to know what the "I" section of my CDs contain. It really shouldn't be much of a surprise, though, since I've never been much of an INXS fan...that leaves the following CDs by the Indigo Girls in my collection (yes, that's right, they are the only "I"s I have):

Strange Fire - the 2nd CD I owned by them. They look so young on the cover!
Indigo Girls - this self-titled CD was the first I had. It was this tour that I went to see. I sat in the rain under a trash bag. They were beautiful!
Nomads, Indians, Saints - This is perhaps my least favorite album.
Rites of Passage - Ghost is haunting...and it always reminds me of the first woman I was in love with.
Swamp Ophelia - the title track of this CD always makes me think of the hot, humid DC summers.
1200 Curfews - I just love their cover of Dylan's Tangled up in Blue.
Shaming of the Sun - Just this: "We own nothing, Nothing is ours, Not even love so fierce, It burns like baby stars. But this poverty is our greatest gift. The weightlessness of us as things around begin to shift."
Come On Now Social - They got a bit back to their southern roots in this one.
Become You - I really wasn't as into this one as I was the previous. I think that my tastes started to shift a bit.
Rarities - This is the most recent one I picked up. Haven't given it a fair listen.

The Indigo Girls were really the music that dominated my 20s. At one time, I contemplated becoming a road-groupie, in the manner of Deadheads. And I was once known to utter the phrase, "I want to have Amy Ray's baby!"

I'm interested to know about what other Is I might be missing, but I'm also interested in what band held such sway over you for so long.

Peace and a blessed, joyful Beltaine to you all.

12 comments:

P'tit-Loup said...

Thank you Spin for the lovely greeting. Sorry I have been blog awol for the last week. See my blog for more details.

As a result I missed several letters: Coral Egan, Equation, Cesaria Evora, Feist, Stan Getz, Gilbeto Gil, Dexter Gordon, Billie Holiday of course, Herbie Hancock, Incendio.

Aravis said...

I read regularly, but haven't been very good about suggesting bands. Sorry!

Indigo Girls also remain a favorite of mine. I can't think of any other "I's" either, so I'll leave that to others more musically brilliant than myself.

Enjoy those dates. :0)

writinginAK said...

When I went to my cd collection to check on my I's (all Indigo Girls plus INXS Kick, which we were just thinking about and singing from "Devil Inside" at a coffee shop yesterday...), I realized a very important F that was neglected:

Melissa Ferrick, Freedom. It's a GREAT cd. She's a little Ani diFranco-ish. I got turned on to her just before I left the Bay Area. I haven't gotten much into her later music, but that's a great album.

The Indigo Girls music has been absolutely grounding music for me for years now ... when I studied abroad in Mexico for a semester my last year of college, listening to Nomads, Indian, Saints and the Indigo Girls albums kept me from going crazy when I thought I might or needed a little comfort to address homesickness. The Indigo Girls still remind me that I'm not alone in the world.

And the Swamp Ophelia title track is totally humid DC for me too.

I forgot it was May Day ... my Mom always used to bring us over to an elderly neighbor's house first thing in the morning and hang a woven paper basket of flowers on the doorknob and knock and run away. I meant to do that this year for our neighbor who just lost her husband, but I forgot. :( Maybe we'll do it belatedly.

Hyde said...

From Wikipedia:

International Workers' Day (a name used interchangeably with May Day) is the commemoration of the Haymarket Riot of 1886 in Chicago, and a celebration of the social and economic achievements of the international labor movement. The 1 May date is used because in 1884 the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, inspired by labor's 1872 success in Canada, demanded an eight-hour workday in the United States to come in effect as of May 1, 1886. This resulted in a general strike and the riot in Chicago of 1886, but eventually also in the official sanction of the eight-hour workday. The May Day Riots of 1894 and May Day Riots of 1919 occurred subsequently. In 1889, the first congress of the Second International called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago riot. These were so successful that May Day was formally recognized as an annual event at the International's second congress in 1891.

Anonymous said...

Hey, I drop by on a regularly basis. Just don't usually say anything. Lurker sensibility and all. Also, as far as the music choices go, I'm not only in another country but probably on a different planet. Maybe even in a alternate dimension.

HistoryGeek said...

Please, everyone ignore my whinge about my readership. I do know there are a lot of people reading...in fact, this lovely music thread I have going seems to have upped comments recently.

Trust a historian (thanks Hyde!) to give us the scoop on International Worker's Day. That rocks!

Alecya G said...

I think I fell in love with Amy Ray the minute I heard her sing "Tangled up in blue" I've worn my 12:00 curfew set out. I need to buy it again. Its right behind my list of Ani CD's as far as ones that have been listened to so much they need to be replaced.

Flash said...

Interpol show a bit of promise & a dodgy old 80's band It Bites made a wonderful album called Once around the world but that's me for I's & I think I'm all caught up. Yay!

Of course it'll come as no surprise when i tell you Depeche Mode are my Indigo girls. 25 years, man & boy.
And that's the very first time I've ever used that phrase, bollocks!

Cody Bones said...

So does this make me number 4 (JK. As far as the I's go, IMHO, no list is complete without Iggy Pop. I really believe that he is one of those few people that have invented a new genre of music.

Anonymous said...

I don't suppose that your an Iron Maiden fan Spins, hmmm.

Anonymous said...

Workers unite rah rah rah....

Jessica said...

haha, the IG's dominated much of my college and high school life! I wanted Amy Ray's baby too!