Psalm 115

How does that saying go? I have ears but I cannot hear? I think it's from the Bible?

(Psalm 115)

(Don't ask me why I'm getting all biblical on you today; I really couldn't say. It has nothing to do with this post.)

In 1989 Patrick gave me the Nirvana album Bleach on CD. I was a junior in high school, working at the library as a page. He was 22 or 23, a library aide, with a moustache and a raised truck. We were just friends.

I'd never heard anything like Bleach before, and I wore that CD out (I had to buy a replacement copy a couple of years ago). He gave me lots of music over the years, and introduced me to stuff I'd never heard before. Some of it stuck (Afghan Whigs, Captain Beefheart, Melvins, Black Flag*) and some of it didn't (and never will! Rainbow, Ornette Coleman, Return to Forever), but the point is, that Nirvana album was the start of us listening to a ton of music together. Usually at maximum volume!

All this time we both assumed that Dale Crover (from Melvins) played drums on the entire album (without bothering to look or otherwise investigate). To be honest, I like Nirvana (to a point; I don't really like any of the songs from their third album) but I've never really listened that much to the drums on Bleach because Kurt's the star of that show. I mean, it's kind of a big sloppy mess, or at least that's how it seems at first. Anyway, this morning "Negative Creep" came on while I was driving to work (right when I was passing the 5 on the 710!) and I finally heard the difference between Dave Grohl's playing on Nevermind and what I thought was Dale Crover's playing on "Negative Creep." I know, I know, "finally heard the difference" makes me sound pretty inattentive but what got my attention was the pretty gnarly double bass drumming. A light bulb went off in my head! Ah ha! This is why we prefer Dale Crover to Dave Grohl!

(Don't get me wrong: I love the Foo Fighters but for me it's like loving McDonald's: you try not to tell anybody about it. And Dave's a cutie. I mean, really: even with a psychopath beard that guy's really attractive. Possibly a sell-out, definitely good-looking. And my liking the Foos and Dave Grohl will be our dirty little secret.)

(If you go to this forum, you will see that I am not alone in assuming it was Dale Crover, and also in not bothering to do any research. And you'll see that Dave Grohl admits that he sucks at double bass drum and so, never does it in the studio [I didn't research if he "never does it at all"]. And you will see that some Nirvana fans have a sense of humor... and some do not.)

So I had to look it up, where I found that while Dale does play on three tracks on Bleach (and one of them, "Floyd the Barber," is one of my favorite Nirvana songs of all time! "Lounge Act" on Nevermind is another), that's Chad Channing on drums on "Negative Creep," NOT Dale Crover.

Teenage boys across the world have made this discovery millions of times before I did, it pretty much means nothing except that my ears are now opened (praise Jesus!), but still, I thought I would share it with you. It makes me wanna get my iPod out and listen to... "Blood Witch" by Melvins! Woo-hoo! Let's go Melvins!

*King Crimson, the Birthday Party, Bad Brains... it's a long list of stuff we both now love!

P.S. Since I'm writing about music here, I want to also add: over the weekend, 100.3 FM played their Top 100 Rock Albums of All Time, and I happened to be in the kitchen with Jules in the Moby Wrap when the album "Crosby, Stills & Nash" came on. I love this album! They played the whole of side 1, and me and Jules were rocking out. "You Don't Have to Cry" is so beautiful. I love that song. I always try to fit my crappy voice somewhere in the middle of the harmony (with little success, but I love singing along). So in case you were wondering, I don't just like music that's all grungey and loud. Hopefully Jules will like lots of different types of music too!