Monday, January 10, 2011

We Got Those Subterranean Homesick Blues (or "Adam's in the Basement Mixing up the Semi-Gloss")


In 1965, Dylan had the "Subterranean Homesick Blues."

In 1980, The Jam sang "We're going underground..."

In 1983, Tom Waits informed me, "There's a world going on underground."

Dostoevsky wrote his notes down there.

Dylan and The Band recorded their tapes down there.

And I practically grew up down there. In the basement.

I love the basement. I'm from the basement. Now Erin & I are moving into the basement.

Not any dreary, unfinished basement, mind you. It's Adam & Josh's renovated basement! We might be moving down, but in many ways, we're moving up. Freshly painted, new bathroom, cable TV. Not bad at all.

So what's to write about, huh? Big deal, you're in a nice basement. Ah, but the underground is rife with metaphor! And literary allusions! Plus, there'll be the constant struggle of living without our usual amenities -- our books and LPs stored away! Fewer kitchen appliances and gadgets! Less room to roam! Our cats living with dogs!

Did I mention the dogs? Howl! Ha, there's a literary reference right there! (I'll try not to write in a vein too similar to "In the Sellwood Kitchen", with my now legendary, off-topic blathering.)

So onward and upward! Or downward! Either way, forward!

2 comments:

  1. You forgot Ben Folds Five's "Underground": "I'd love to mix in circles, cliques and social coteries--that's me!"

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  2. No, I didn't forget it! I'll be sprinkling song references through this series!

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