The delightful Mrs. Freak has been out of town this weekend. She was also out of town last weekend. Between trips she suggested I put together a post about spending time on the road. Since I recently did a post on that theme I’m still doing a post related to Mrs. Freak’s travels, it’s just taking a slightly different form than she was expecting.
Grizzly Bear “Graceland” (Paul Simon)
Mrs. Freak spent this weekend attending the Minnesota Garlic Festival. The festival is run by her cousin’s husband the hippie garlic farmer. This is the fifth year for the festival and it functions as a yearly gathering of her family. They all make a pilgrimage to the family farm to visit their uncle and catch up with each other, sort of like Paul Simon’s pilgrimage to Graceland.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band feat. Doc Watson “I Am A Pilgrim” (Merle Travis)
I don’t think the yearly pilgrimage to the family farm in Minnesota has the spiritual aspect that you find in this song, but I think it’s satisfying for Mrs. Freak’s soul in its own way.
Dr Dru and Jellica “Brick House” (Commodores)
The journey up to Minnesota included a secondary pilgrimage, to the Laura Ingalls Wilder tourist trap in Wisconsin. They’ve set this thing up at the site of the homestead where Little House In The Big Woods takes place. My daughter loved all of the Little House books and wanted to see it. They’ve got a replica of the titular little house. Not surprisingly it’s made of logs, not brick.
Violent Femmes “Step Right Up” (Tom Waits)
Last weekend Mrs. Freak was up in Michigan for the World’s Largest Yard Sale. This was the second time she has gone, so this may be turning into another yearly pilgrimage. I don’t know if anybody at any of those barn sales was doing the kind of hard sell you hear in this song. I especially like how Gordon Gano screams “Turn up the volume!” in his adenoidal voice.
Extra Fancy “Sell Your Love” (Iggy Pop)
There was no love for sale at the Longest Yard Sale. It is, after all, a family-oriented event. So is the Garlic Fest, but they always have a wide variety of garlic-related products available for purchase.
I’ve fallen for Kristian Matsson’s (performing as “The Tallest Man on Earth”) version of Graceland. Very simple arrangement. Hauntingly redemptive. But then Carrie Fisher can do that to a man, bazooka or no.
http://www.weallwantsomeone.org/2010/05/26/the-tallest-man-on-earth-graceland-paul-simon-cover/
Thanks for letting me know about the song. The link to the song has been deleted from the post you mentioned, but I’ll try to track the song down elsewhere.
Funny you should mention Carrie Fisher and her bazooka, last Friday I went to see the Blues Brothers movie at the old prison in Joliet.
I just found it, and you’re right it’s a wonderful version. Wish I had known about it when I put this post together.
I saw an earlier post (The Naked Voice, December 10th 2006) about an a cappella version of ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ that was originally thought to be performed by Rockapella but turned out not to be. I think the artist you’re looking for is the UMD Generics, they’re a student a-cappella group from the University of Maryland. Their tracks are available to download on their website (below). This track is from the album ‘G Spot’, for some reason it’s not on the track listing on the website, but it is there. It’s on the end of ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’ which in itself is a very good a cappella cover, as is their version of ‘Take On Me’.
http://www.umdgenerics.com/media.htm
Thanks for the link Matthew, there’s some good stuff there. But that isn’t the version of Gansta’s Paradise that I posted.
I like garlic and yard sales. I think I would like Mrs Freak. I wonder if she spent a truck load of money of loads of stuff that she has already got 10 of at home?
Go Mrs Freak!
lucky for me, one of my best buddies needs to furnish her practically empty vacation house. I love having a project, and she loves not having to go to yard sales!