Monday, November 17 - No expectations.

Post 1311, Day 321 of 2014
- 1,417 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

Last week, while I was walking to MOMA to see the Matisse show, just as I passed the NY Public Library (you know, lions), a song popped into my head.

Of course, it is never anything so simple. Along with the song came a lot of extra recollections: Where I was when I first heard it (CCNY-Harlem student bookstore), who I was hanging with (friends/CCNY students, my girlfriend Patti), and when I first played it (only once, on guitar, making up half the lyrics, at 'the Bay' under the Throggs Neck Bridge, and never again).

I also have a lot of memories from that time not specific to the song, but to all the stuff I was doing those days - it was early Spring in 1968, I was just about to leave NYC for California (for the first time), was in the process of dropping out of CCNY for the second time, was playing music and taking psychedelics regularly.

The song is 'No Expectations' (click the title for a youTube video) from the Rolling Stones' Beggars Banquet album, an album that I still regard as their all-time second-best, after Exile on Main Street (which came out three years later). It is the most stripped-down tune on the LP, and probably ever by the Stones, at least to that point. A slide guitar, an open-tuned acoustic, claves the only percussion, and some very restrained keys and organ from Nicky Hopkins (RIP to my all-time favorite rock keyboard player).

It was the title that made me think of the song, and bring back the flood of nostalgia, but only the title had anything to do with my thoughts. What I was thinking about, was that I had no expectations, when I set out walking that morning, of how enjoyable the day would be (had been, at that point). I thought that was one of the main reasons the day was so enjoyable: Because I set out with only a basic direction, and no expectations about how the day would go and where it would end up.

Back to the song. I always thought the slide guitar part was by Ry Cooder (who recorded several tracks for the Stones, beginning around this time. Supposedly, after he had his tracks down, Keith re-recorded copies of them himself, and gave Cooder no credit). It turns out, though, that the story is more interesting. The slide guitar represents Brian Jones' last contribution to the Stones. Almost immediately after, he was fired, and then, shortly after that, he drowned.

This song with its slightly awkward yet evocative lyric was apparently done as a jam in front of an open mic.

It has a great feel, great groove, great hook. Structurally, it is far from unique, but it doesn't really remind me of any other song by any other artist.

Brian Jones was, by all accounts, a real piece of work, and I don't mean that in a positive way. He was also, far and away, the most musically creative member of the band. You can hear him in all the group's most experimental recordings, playing all sorts of instruments: Harpsichord, sitar, prepared piano, vibes and marimbas, as well as being the lead guitarist (because Keith is one of the world's greatest rhythm guitarists).

Once the song entered my head, it stayed. After about a week, I looked it up to check my version of the lyric. Pretty close.

I played it on guitar to find my key (D, if you must know).

Last night, I performed it at an open mic and it got a very good reception.

"Once I was a rich man. Now I am so poor. But never in my sweet short life have I felt like this before."

"Your love is like a diamond. You throw your pearls at swine. And as I watch you leaving me, you pack my peace of mind."

Powerful stuff. And, apparently, memorable.

Food and Diet Section

2014 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:          204.6 lbs

Previous Weight*:        206.4 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:       - 1.8 lbs
                          * Friday, Nov 14
Diet Comment

Good weekend, didn't do all that much one way or the other as far as eating, but I did eat quite a bit of fresh kale I bought at the Farmer's market Saturday morning. Apparently, that's good for my diet. 

Food Log 

Breakfast
A Quest bar.

Lunch
A cocoa-hemp-kale protein shake (coconut milk, kefir, kale, large organic egg, whey powder (24g protein), hemp seeds, hemp protein (7g protein), celery, raw organic cacao powder, fermented coconut water, chia gel, moringa leaf powder, cinnamon and stevia-inulin blend.

Snack
A Quest bar.

Dinner
At Ironwood: 

A custom personal pie, with fire-roasted chicken, bacon, prosciutto, basil, caramelized onions, mushrooms, cheese and sauce, with a delicious (if a little sweet) salad with goat cheese, mesclun greens, tomatoes,  prosciutto and candied walnuts.

Liquid Intake   
Coffee:  28 oz.   Water: 80 oz. A glass of Pinot Noir.

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