The Walking Rock Alphabet: J

Nothing like old man injuries to let you know just what a mess you are. Two days ago, I told you about how I gave up a lazy day on the couch to make my way around the neighborhood to the sweet and spiky sounds of Archers of Loaf. 

It turns out I should have not strayed from the couch. Late in the night, my back stiffened up. Getting up from my chair became a struggle. I got almost NO sleep that night because it hurt too much to move. 

How could an activity that is so low-impact cause so much pain? (Cue the fat loser jokes.) A lot of it is due to the fact that I still do think I’m 15 (emotionally, this is true.) Stretching is for wussies. Proper attire is a waste of time.

As I continued to lay in pain last night, I put the question out on twitter. How do you mend an achey back? Thankfully, I didn’t receive any crazy-ass answers, as I followed ALL instruction. A heating pad...then a cold pack...then a hot bubble bath. Stretching instructions from my fabulous yoga expert. I kept hoping for somebody to tell me to down a bottle of whiskey, but that didn’t happen.

By bedtime, I was back to my normal level of uncomfortableness, which continued on to this day. Being that it was once again 75 degrees outside, no way could I skip another day. Since proper shoes was yet another suggestion from the previous night, I dug through my box o’ shoes in the basement and found a forgotten Christmas present from two or three years ago. Yes, it is time to fuck myself up again!

Sunday’s post also pointed out my musical issues for this portion of the alphabet. Since my attempt to re-sync some additional albums failed, I only had two choices for today’s walk. Thankfully, one of them was a classic - Jesus of Cool by Nick Lowe. 

Unintentionally, Nick Lowe has become the all-star of the Hudson walkathon. Two albums he produced (Damned Damned Damned, Armed Forces) has already been soundtracked, so I guess it is only fitting that I include what I believe is his greatest solo album.

Never heard of the Jesus of Cool album? That’s because a bastardized version of it was released in the US under the name of Pure Pop For Now People. Both versions have been out of print for over 20 years...and that’s a crime. Labour of Lust may have had the hit single (“Cruel to Be Kind”), but Jesus of Cool is the template for his entire career.

Lowe is a power pop master, but lyrically he’s way more clever than almost anybody else in that genre. Jesus of Cool has songs about the music industry (“Shake and Pop”, the b-side “I Love My Label”), a castrated Fidel (“Nutted by Reality”), and a tribute to the tragic silent-film actress “Marie Provost”. Add to that poppy parodies of metal (“Music For Money”), The Bay City Rollers (“Rollers Show”), and disco (“I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass”), plus the perfect radio pop sound of “So It Goes” and “Heart of the City”, and you have an album that should be in everybody’s collection.

Since my plan was to take it easy today, coupled with a full-length reissue that includes eleven bonus tracks, I admittedly skipped from track to track today. Sue me for not sticking to my format, but I still ended up with an album-length’s worth of tunes.