Overheard in my back yard over the course of several hours on New Year’s Day:
“Why do you think that Cripple Creek song is stuck in my head?”
“You mean ‘Up on Cripple Creek she sends me’?”
“No, I mean like Neil singing ‘Hey hey, Cripple Creek ferry.’”
“What is Cripple Creek anyway?”
“Want me to Google it?”
“Nah. What are the odds that there are not one but two songs about Cripple Creek?”
“Isn’t the other one by the Band?”
“It might be the Grateful Dead.”
“Cripple Creek Ferry” has kind of a CSNY vibe—is it Neil solo?”
“I think it has a touch of Graham Nash.”
“Or Gram Parsons!”
“Wasn’t Gram Parsons that foxy one?”
“Gram Parsons was pretty foxy for a while, in that feathered-hair leather-hat kind of way. Is he the one who dated Joni Mitchell, or was that Graham Nash?”
“I think Gram Parsons was dating Emmylou Harris.”
“No, Joni was dating Gram Parsons.”
“Well, she definitely was dating Graham Nash in that one photo.”
“They’re not necessarily dating. I think they’re just talking about Woodstock.”
“No way. Look at her! They are definitely talking about their relationship.”
“Plus, she drew the cover art for ‘So Far.’”
“I love that art–I painted it on the basement wall in my parents’ house when I was a kid.”
“Is ‘Helpless’ a Neil Young song too?”
“It’s actually CSNY. I’m sure because it’s on ‘Déjà Vu.’”
“Which one is ‘Helpless’? You mean ‘Helplessly Hoping’?”
“No, ‘Helpless’ is different. You know, ‘Blue blue windows behind the sun.’ Same album, though.”
“I thought that was on ‘So Far.’”
“’So Far’ and ‘Déjà Vu’ have almost the same exact song list. They both sound like the titles for greatest hits albums, but one came right after the other, so what’s that all about?
“But ‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’ and ‘Ohio’ are only on ‘So Far.’ You definitely want both of those.”
“‘How can you catch the sparrow?'”
“You know Neil Young has kids with CP from two different wives.”
“What Neil Young album do you like best?”
“’Harvest.’”
“WHAT?”
“Well, that and the one where he’s leaning against the tree.”
“’Everybody Knows This is Nowhere.’ Obviously that’s his best.”
“Do you think ‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’ is about Judy Collins? Was she in all that scene?”
“Hey, does Neil Young even sing on that? I don’t think I hear his voice, so why is it on the CSNY album?”
“Want me to Google it?”
“Nah. What about Nick Drake? Did he hang out with them?”
“It all has kind of a Cripple Creek vibe.”
“Did you know ‘Woodstock’ is actually a Joni Mitchell cover?”
“I wonder if that photo of her and Graham was taken at Woodstock.”
“I can’t believe you like ‘Harvest’ best.”
“What, it’s not like it’s ‘Harvest Moon’ or something. The only bad song is ‘A Man Needs a Maid.’”
“It’s true—it’s horrible.”
“Hey, watch it–I like ‘Harvest Moon.’”
“Sure, it’s fine, but it’s a little lite, don’t you think?”
“Doesn’t Nicolette Larsen sing backup on that?”
“And Nils Lofgren plays on it.”
“Was Nils Lofgren in Crazy Horse?”
“How about Carly Simon? She was dating ALL of them, wasn’t she?”
“She is so fabulous. I just saw a photo of her with Bill Clinton and you could tell Bill was going for it.”
“Isn’t ‘You’re So Vain’ about Mick Jagger?”
“She dated Mick Jagger too?!”
“No, it’s about Warren Beatty!”
“But did she also date Mick Jagger?”
“I wonder if Annette Bening likes that song.”
“And you know ‘Angie’ is about Angie Bowie.”
”I wonder how Angie felt about the whole finding them in bed thing.”
“Isn’t that just a rumor?”
“Well they put the scene in ‘Velvet Goldmine.’”
“Ah, the movie only I can love.”
“Why do you think Ewan MacGregor plays his Iggy just like Kurt Cobain in that film?”
“To up the hotness.”
“So ‘Up On Cripple Creek’—is it maybe from when Mickey Hart was in The Band? Or is that Robbie Robertson singing it?”
“That was Jefferson Airplane that Mickey Hart was in.”
“Mickey Hart—wait, who was the guy who did those drum circle albums?”
“That was Mickey Hart. How come he just suddenly became the singer of Jefferson Starfish—oops, I mean Starship—after Paul Kantner left?”
“You’re thinking of Marty Balin, not Mickey Hart.”
“No, I’m sure there was a Mickey.”
“Whatever. Why did Grace Slick just sit back and let him be the singer? The whole band was about her, and now all of a sudden she’s just standing there banging the tambourine?”
“You know Camper van Beethoven has that line, ‘Take off that jumpsuit; you look like Grace Slick.’”
“I thought Mickey Hart was in the Grateful Dead? No, I was thinking of Bob Weir.”
“I think Mickey Hart was in both, actually.”
“Wasn’t he China Kantner’s father?”
“No, that’s Paul Kantner, the guitarist. Remember when China Kantner was on MTV?”
“Not to be confused with China Phillips.”
“Who?”
“Daughter of Mama Cass and Papa John. The Mamas and the Papas were so cool; how did Wilson Phillips come from that?”
“Howard Stern is obsessed with Papa John Phillips, ever since he pulled celebrity rank to get a liver transplant and then was photographed in a bar like a week later.”
“I thought that was Mickey Mantle–didn’t Mickey Mantle do something like that?”
“Mickey Mantle?? You mean Mickey Hart?”
“Is Papa John Phillips the same person as Papa John Creach?”
“Were the other two Wilson Phillips sisters—Carnie and whatever the other one’s name was—was their dad Brian Wilson or Dennis Wilson?”
“Must have been Dennis. Brian would have been a totally awful dad.”
“Come on—all rock stars are awful dads.”
“That’s not true—John Lennon was a great dad for about the last three years of his life.”
“Not to Julian.”
“And you know ‘Hey Jude’ is about him.”
“Too bad that was written by Paul and not John!”
“Yeah. How he went from being the subject of that to ‘Sitting on a pebble by a river playing guitar’ is beyond me.”
“Well, he was only about five when it was written.”
“Sean’s age when John died.”
“And who the hell sits on pebbles? Ouch!”
“Are you sure? I think Sean was ten. Want me to Google it?”
“Nah. He was five, I’m positive.”
“Do you think of John Lennon as being from New York?”
“I do.”
“No way. Yoko is a New Yorker. Sean is a New Yorker.”
“Julian is a Brit.”
“Julian probably lives in LA, though.”
“So you actually seriously think ‘Harvest’ is better than ‘Everybody Knows This is Nowhere’?”
This is awesome. I’ve engaged in many a similar conversation in my time. But do I have to remain in the dark about the number, ages, and genders of the speakers?
Also: were you transcribing the conversation as it occurred, or is this from memory?
Me: Do you think Stephanie Wells has a photographic memory?
Myself: I dunno, I think she’s making it up.
I: Isn’t there like a song or album photographs and memories?
Me: My mom has lots of photo albums.
Myself: Mine lost her memories.
I: I liked the Harvest album.
Me: This was a unique idea for a post.
Myself: Yea, but don’t tell her it was good.
I: Why? Because Dave thinks we don’t need to stroke each other?
Me: Screw it, it was good though.
Myself: Yea, but do you really think this took place in the afternoon?
I: Maybe Stephanie wrote the post in the afternoon…
I’m grateful for the detail about the conversation taking place over several hours–I was imagining it happening boom boom boom, like dialogue in a Tarantino film, which would be crazy.
p.s. I think the Wilson sisters are indeed Brian’s; will anyone cop to knowing this one way or the other?
BTW if anybody want’s to hear a really great cover of “Cripple Creek” (by Robyn Hitchcock and the Electric Trams, May 18th of last year), I posted it here. Also Danko & Helm doing a really great version of “Ophelia” on this mix tape.
“Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” is actually about Judy Blume. The original title was “Suite: Judy Blume’s Eyes,” but they had to change it when she objected.
Tim, are you making stuff up?
Are You There, God? It’s me, Joni.
I, too, pictured it as dialogue in a Tarantino film, and I loved every second of it. In the middle of reading it, I actually thought of taking it as a script and filming it. This was my favorite part:
“Isn’t ‘You’re So Vain’ about Mick Jagger?”
“She dated Mick Jagger too?!”
“No, it’s about Warren Beatty!”
“But did she also date Mick Jagger?”
“I wonder if Annette Bening likes that song.”
“I wonder if Annette Bening likes that song” is the best response anyone could have asked for.
And Rachel: I have no idea whether the Wilson sisters were Brian’s or not. Want me to google it?
Rachel, why would I wanna make stuff up? I mean, truth is a danger to fiction, right?
Also, I heard it more as Mamet dialogue: William H. Macy and Joe Mantegna firing lines back and forth.
Ha! This is classic. I know who kept saying “Nah” to “Do you want me to Google it?” And that photo of Bill Clinton and Carly Simon is definitely suggestive: Shtuppin’!
Godfree: “You know if you get ANY song stuck in your head, all you need to do is sing ‘Electric Avenue.'”
Mind and Brain indeed. I may be getting better as I get older at the whole face to name to movies/music thing, but this is way over my head.
Entertaining, just for the sharp repartee. Even for me. Good post, ssw.
This post made Ellen think of the Carly Simon biography she was reading recently. And made her ask me to put Velvet Goldmine on our Netflix queue.