1. I was listening to several Dire Straits albums a couple of days ago. In the back of my mind, a memory stirred. I'd read somewhere that Mark Knopfler regards JJ Cale as a significant influence on his music, songwriting, and singing style. I remember thinking at one point, and I don't know which album was playing, how much Mark Knopfler did, indeed, sound similar to JJ Cale. A jolt of pleasure shot through me.
So, today, I fished out my cd called The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale. Eric Clapton headed up this project. Clapton, Tom Petty, Willie Nelson, John Mayer, Don White, Christine Lakeland and host of other musicians perform covers of sixteen JJ Cale songs.
I love this album. Its third track features Mark Knopfler performing "Someday". Until I purchased this album, I'd never heard "Someday" and today my world stood still when it came on. To me, much of the genius of JJ Cale's way of playing and singing the Tulsa Sound is that he's never in a hurry. His songs move, they have a drive, but its unhurried, deceivingly casual. It's a perfect style for Mark Knopfler and I replayed his cover of "Someday" a couple of times, just to let Knopfler's vocal and instrumental stylings slow me down, put my mind at ease, and open the way for me to feel the emotion of this song about a guy who suffers the illusion that the woman who left him without saying goodby will someday be coming right back.
Willie Nelson sings my other two favorite cuts on this album: "Songbird" and "Starbound".
2. I mixed myself a Yuse (bourbon, Cointreau, sweet vermouth, bitters) some time after five this afternoon and watched two terrific college basketball teams, Illinois and Missouri, stocked with veteran players, play a ferocious, fast-paced, physical, and emotional interconference rivalry game (the Braggin' Rights game). Illinois is one of the nation's top-ranked teams and Missouri's success this season has gone somewhat unnoticed, even though they soundly thumped the very talented Oregon Ducks earlier this month. Well, if Missouri was considered an underdog in this game, they proved to be equal to the challenge of playing Illinois, led for most of the game, fiercely defended their lead, and, in the end, defeated Illinois, 81-78.
3. When I took a few quarts of chicken stock to the basement freezer and took out a couple of quarts of crab stock to use in Sunday's fish chowder, I spotted an unmarked frozen quart of hamburger soup. I can't remember when I made it, but no matter. I heated it up and on this chilly December evening it was the perfect dinner.
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