Watch your six--and your twelve--at nine

We've made it through the year, at last!
All the pain, the fears, and bliss
Are rightfully now called "the past".
God. What happens to us after this?

Ice and snow at nine

This day of Yule, this longest night,
A silver maiden cuts the gloom
Exposes all, with face so bright
So full and cold, this bitter moon

There will also be music at nine

Because I have a copy,
I thought I would share this:
"The Santaland Diaries"
By David Sedaris

écoute et répète 103

Listen and repeat.

Nuts are parve at nine

This festival of lights
It lasts eight nights
We're now three-fourths through
So I'll play a suite
That should help complete
All these songs I'll play for you

No Christmas songs at nine

The first of December is later tonight
Some cold weather came and then it passed
Tomorrow I'm putting up Christmas lights
But for now playing some of the tunes I've amassed.

écoute et répète 102

Listen and repeat.

Conspiracies and time travel

To think, only fifty-five years...
Honestly not that much time
But it sure brought a lot of tears
We'll hear about that at nine.

Ya never know

When I get off the train at stupid o'clock in the morning, I stand just behind the control booth (next to the first door). This morning, the operator slipped me an envelope. Inside was a brochure, business card, and a note saying that it was "time to introduce myself. Happy Thanksgiving". BECAUSE I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR A YEAR.

So, it turns out he's a local DJ! He's got a Facebook page, but that's it. And that's OK. I put the brochure on the fridge at work (hey, advertising) but kept the card.

Anyhow, he produced the above track. It's nifty moments like this, the weird coincidences that make up my life. Oh, hell; my life is magical. Just enjoy this tune and know that he's never driven that train in a way that made me pray.

Punch a card at nine

Next week is only three days long
And also super-slow*
Tonight I'm playing lots of songs
How off to work we go.

*I do not work in the food or travel industries, so this is true for me and possibly you as well.

Magnets have two poles at nine

What I remember most from Vegas
Was trees of palm and pine
Tonight, I showcase two bands
That signify that time

staffing announcement

I'm out this week (I have to pack)
Week after that, I'm far away
So post-election's when I'm back
Slot's free till then. Who shall play?

Spooktastic! at nine

Oh, such spooky times ahead
A time for quiet introspection
Then costumes! Day of the dead!
Then a time change and an election.
How we got here's hard to say
Maybe harder to comprehend
We know things could go either way
I guess we'll find out in the end.

Totally talking about Halloween at nine

It's coming! In a mere three weeks
The spookiest of holidays--
Frighting bumps and creepy creaks--
And dread no pablum can assuage.
Now, come our days of gloom and doom
A fearful battle between views.
I think the scariest costume
These days would be "breaking news".

Industrial-strength rage at nine

Truth told its story, one fall day
We then let falsehood take a turn.
We listened to what they had to say
"A need for balance" was our concern.

No one hears the rabbit's side
When it speaks for itself
Or when those cries are from inside
A newly fattened wolf.

They say, "speak truth to power,"
But power never cared.
Now, let the bastards cower
I'm too angry to be scared.

écoute et répète 101

Listen and repeat.

Maybe just a drizzle at nine

The fire burns inside us all
We try to wash it down
And flood it with enough tears
We fear that we may drown
Even though it smolders still
All of the rage and pain
Might be calmed a moment here
By soothing gentle rain

Leaves change at nine

Tomorrow's the first day of autumn
A much cooler day I will spend
Doing those kinds of things
That an Equinox brings
Like balancing an egg on its end

Two, maybe three flutes, tops. At nine

So! Brubeck was right
Japanese can play good jazz
Mostly, it's "Take Five"

écoute et répète 100

Listen and repeat.



A mash-up of this was the very first track I played at the Velvet. Eleven years ago this month.

Happier times at nine

Not enough light and way too much heat
Tonight's a collection of Brazilian beat.

Team Wombat not involved at nine

Rub-a-dub-dub
No, really. More dub.

Ladypipes at nine

A great voice is lost
So many came before her
But none stand above

A regular cavalcade at nine.

"I don't use any chemicals,"
She says. It just so happens,
And not to get to technical,
It's just another name for atoms.

Pop a pill, do a shot, snort up a line
We'll have tunes about poisons and drugs this time.

Countdown at nine

The source of monsters, source of power
The cause of shadows on a wall
A clock that ticks, close midnight hour
Once it is set, so burn we all

The shape of many childhood fear
The force behind "tornado drills"
It's been less than a hundred years
It lingers still, unhurried ills

"It saved a lot of lives," they said
We promised one every three days
For those ashen, un-buried dead
"The wind will blow" the old song says.

It only proves who's left, not right
Come dance to songs of bombs tonight.

écoute et répète 98

Listen and repeat

Catch some shade in a tree at nine

With heat up in the hundreds
It's been hard to keep cool
I can't think of a better time
For some summer yule.

Hunker down at nine

One thing I have learned
Summer can be dangerous
It's not just the heat

écoute et répète 97

Listen and repeat.

This is a real plant, by the way, and it will hurt you in horrible ways. Heracleum mantegazzianum is not playing around. And yes, it does require the sun to activate its toxins.

Going low and deep at nine

Friday the thirteenth!
And another day of luck
But I did that back in April
So tonight, we're doing dub.

écoute et répète 96

Listen and repeat.

Listen to what I'm doing instead at nine

If I only played a single song
For each and every state
The set would last four hours
Which isn't all that great.

Maybe some dub at nine

It's summer now, and every tree
Rings with loud cicadas
All this heat reminds me
To chill out with Jamaica

écoute et répète 95

Listen and repeat.

Cross a magic line at nine

Summertime at last is here
With all its heat and all its sun
That is, in the northern hemisphere
And in the south, winter has come

Ignore all time zones at nine.

We all love other cultures,
Their food, music, wardrobe
Tonight we're going to relax
With tunes from around the globe

écoute et répète 94

Listen and repeat.

écoute et répète 93

Listen and repeat.

A wide range of 'what?' at nine

I won't be in next week
A convention's in the way
But tonight is unexpected
Music from anime

écoute et répète 92

Listen and repeat.

NASA mix-tape listening party at nine

The signal was sent, the message received
No one expected, not once in their dreams,
They would ever live to see the day
To get a response from so far away
All based on a phrasebook they had sent
Packed up on a rocket, away it went
A circular, exquisite sound museum
And tasteful nudes. Oh, you should see 'em
Decoded at last. How extraordinary!
It simply requests, "Send more Chuck Berry."

écoute et répète 91

Listen and repeat.



Thanks, Deadpool!

Once again, at nine

Both good times and bad times
Have rallies and relapses
But nothing's as consistent
As good ol' death and taxes.

écoute et répète 90

Listen and repeat.

Friends are the family you pick, at nine

Maybe she died, like Bambi's did
Maybe she's in another state
Or she was awful, god forbid
I'm sure some of you can relate.
But twice a year is Orphan Bowl
This weekend and Thanksgiving
A pot-luck for abandoned all
Forgetting and forgiving.

écoute et répète 89

Listen and repeat.



Or instrumental.

And also with you... at nine

April felt like it would never end
It lasted forever, for what it's worth
And here we are now, in another month
Suddenly, it's May the Fourth

écoute et répète 88

Listen and repeat.

Kitties! At nine.

Pointy on five ends
Out of the six, one is soft
Wagging angrily

Smoke 'em if you got 'em at nine

I can't, because I'm studying
For some inevitable test
But if you're under no restrictions
Just do what you think is best.

Crossed fingers at nine

Here it is, the thirteenth day
And last day of the work-week
We'll just see what comes our way
"Try our luck", so to speak.

écoute et répète 87

Listen and repeat.

Hanami with us at nine

Sakura in bloom
Pink petals fall everywhere
So soon after snow

écoute et répète 86

Listen and repeat.

Blame some ancient empire at nine

Passover starts and it's Good Friday
"Blood-libel" smears are at their highest
The greatest way to be an ally
Is call out nascent anti-Semites

écoute et répète 85

Listen and repeat.

Sniffle along at nine

The days are getting warmer
The sound of nature's calling
But we only care
About things in the air
When the air is full of pollen

Rollin' in green at nine

I'm Irish, but not Catholic
So saints' days are odd to me
But I will be diplomatic
So some Irish songs it'll be

écoute et répète 84

Listen and repeat.

Replace your smoke detector batteries at nine

The pendulum swings back this week
What's found will soon be lost
Grand efforts to keep candles cheap
With only one hour's cost.

écoute et répète 83

Listen and repeat.

Spin cycle at nine

Washing is a sacred act.
And daily ablutions
Help fight disease, a proven fact!
Our finest institution
Even our clothes are kept well clean
We wash all of those little bits
At least until the poor machine
Gives up the ghost/goes on the fritz

Wear extra socks at nine

The end of February, I know
I should expect the cold and ice
We had some rain but nary snow
Which isn't much, but still is nice.

écoute et répète 82

Listen and repeat.

Dance through the zodiac at nine

A story has been passed down
In paintings, silks, and lacquers
On how a monster called Nian
Feared red and firecrackers.
Not long after the solstice
A second moon disappears.
We celebrate the animals
Who symbolize those years

écoute et répète 81

Listen and repeat.



No, really.

Lots of sammich fixin's at nine

An event at work and lunch was served
It stretched two hours across the noon
Planning for futures, we observed
Big bags of bread-rolls in the break room

écoute et répète 80

Listen and repeat.

Take a deep breath at nine

There's one more month that we can shelve
With all its events, good or ill
But I think that out of the twelve
This last one had most need to chill

écoute et répète 79

Listen and repeat

And repeat

And repeat

And repeat...

Lower your ph at nine

It starts as something deep within
Becomes a great pain in the ass
But it's not the ass the pain is in
So just repeat, "This too will pass."

écoute et répète 78

Listen and repeat.



Again! Again!

Longer cuts at nine

The thing that I was doing
Just took a different route.
I thought I had a lot of time
And then I just ran out

écoute et répète 77

Listen and repeat.

Infrastructure week starts at nine

My goodness, what a week it's been
It does no good to stamp and shout
But, before we know how far we're in
It might be good to sort things out

écoute et répète 76

Listen and repeat

try to relax your jaw at nine

It is the new year
It hasn't been a full week
And I need a break