aims for a simple life of psychedelic music, subconscious words of wisdom, and cheap cold beer. however, this simple life isn't easy to achieve and maintain – so while justifying his life of luxury, he walks the streets and thinks thoughts - forget everyone else - wake up to yourself - stop fooling yourself - happiness is a dead end - converstation is merely a place where wankers jerk each other off - its ok to be sad
the sunshine, dancing in the jungle the green vines move like smooth jazz-men smiling silently behind their black shades a soft warm breeze shifts the fallen leaves spinning the jungle dance-floor into a blissful confusion where are we, and what are we doing? not really knowing for sure keeps us holy infinite there is a celebration going on somewhere over the green valley somewhere over the cool clear water moving like lime jelly i hear the horns i hear the whistles i hear men chanting and i hear women cheering i close my eyes and face the scattered sun rays streaming through the leaves and vines overhead i feel their vibes their dances pulse through the jungle in-synch with my mellow heartbeat with my misty mind and holy thoughts can they see me? can they feel me? do they know im here? i climb a tree and take share in it's ripe fruits they are intoxicating and i no-longer take part in this existence my mind slides deep into the melt of it's past my memories of distant lives embody and embrace in an array of impossible colours time is forgotten and a perfect eternal dusk hazes my visions and i dig it all cradled in the branches into a euphoric half-sleep where lucid dreams whispered cosmic truths in my ear the jungle-nymph-seductresses universal arts appearing before me and everything so simple somewhere behind our eyes outside this reality
i remember spending my weekends walking around my suburban neighbourhood - i would've been in my later teen years - nights were often spent hanging out with friends, or holed up in my bedroom listening to serious music, trying to read as many classic novels i could get my head around and understand - during the day id lounge around and later on i'd walk around - i worked a couple of nights a week at a local service station that no-one went to - because of this i'd often be up all night and sleep in until midday - there was something so satisfying waking up in a brightly sun-lit room - no alarm to say so - the rest of the day with nothing to do - still warm in my jeans and tshirt
one of the great pleasures i got out of joining the work-force was being
able to buy any album, any cd, i wanted - i no-longer had to wait an
agonising week and a half for another pay-allowance from my father so i
could gather up the remaining $5 required to buy "waiting for the sun"
by the doors, or something like that - now that i worked, i could buy
whatever i liked, whenever i liked - blowing all my pay on music - it
was a liberating feeling - still is
i loved music, and still do - i love having a large music collection, and scanning it at any given time, not knowing what album im going to end up listening to - just keep scanning till something gets my attention - and i think there is something in that - i don't pick what music to play - sometimes it's just time to put on a richmond fontaine album, like i have right now - in hindsight, the day im about to tell you about would've been a great richmond fontaine album kinda day - but i didn't even know their music back then - i knew their vibe, just not their music
where i grew up, there is this long wide straight road on the outskirts of the residential neighbourhood - along this road lined numerous factories, warehouses, junk-pits, empty lots, quarry-holes, that all had the "protected by a guard-dog" kinda vibe, despite the fact they were all vacant or abandoned - in one pocket between a factory and an empty lot, you got a great view of the city skyline, from 20km away - everything always looks hazy from 20km away - there were always jokes about the "saturday night drags" racing down this road illegally, which wouldn't surprise me as there were always pretty impressive burn-out marks tattooed all over the bitumen- im not sure ive developed some of those imagined memories, but im sure i remember hearing some of those saturday night drag races as a kid in bed, with the window open above my head
one weekend i was walking along this road on the way to the most local cd-store - it was a 20minute or so walk, but that was meant nothing to me, and still doesn't - i was used to it, and it was the way of my life - and still is - there are no footpaths along this road, so i walked along the road, a lonely figure, im sure - like tex perkins on the cover of "sweet nothing", or trying anyway - before long, midway down this long wide industrial, the dull grey clouds began to spit, and 50m later it begun to rain - i don't like umbrellas, as they just seem a little too careful - i'd like to think i have other more important things to worry about - so i let the rain fall on me, as i still do to this day - i didn't care - i wasn't doing anything - i don't think i even had any money on me - i was just walking down to the cd-store to browse all the cds there - to have a look - see what's new - see what's in the bargain bin, and see what's still in the bargain bin - to look at the band names like tom waits, you am i, the church, wondering if i'd ever be chosen and fall into their worlds
behind me a heard a car cruising down the road towards me - i moved to my left, closer to the gutter to get out of it's way - and as any lonesome wander can sense, i turned around when i realised this car was slowing down behind me - it pulled to a stop beside me - it was a taxi
- hey mate, where abouts are you going?
- no sorry man, i don't need a lift, im okay
- it's raining mate, come on, where you going? - his voice raised a little as the rain shifted up a gear
- just to jb hi-fi, but i don't have any money
it was at this point i felt embarrassed - internally i yelled at myself saying i should've said the train station or something - who goes to a cd-shop with no money?
- it's okay mate, get in, i'll drop you off
i got in, in the front seat - something i rarely do anymore as i'd prefer to just chill in the back seat by myself, and let the driver text and call whoever he wants to - i reminded the driver that i didn't have any money, and i was serious, but he was cool - he just happy to get me out of the rain, and reminded me that it wasn't a lot drive to where i was going anyway - so i took the lift, too young to really appreciate his kindness, and to appreciate how rare an act like this is
i remember it had pretty much stopped raining by the time we got to the cd-store, and i felt a little pang-of guilt due to that - he left after i quickly thanked him, and i took to browsing the cds - by the time i had finished not buying anything, the rain had kicked in again, and i begun the walk home
whenever i tell people this story, they immediately joke about how the taxi-driver was probably trying to "pick me up" or something - i always joke back saying - no, i swear he didn't want anything.... i mean, i gave him one kiss, but that was it - but it's true, he was just helping me out in the rain - this was probably twelve years ago now, and it's one of those strange memories im never going to be able to forget - it just lingers in the back, in the same way i do now every time i get into a taxi
