January 29 – Wednesday – Graham Nash – Songs for Beginners

Graham Nash seems like such a nice, level-headed man. And this is such a nice, level-headed album. I didn’t work out last night as I had company, but as I waited for my guests to arrive I decided to preview this album since it was waiting its turn on the turntable anyway. It was as I thought it would be – slow. Not as slow as the Cowboy Junkies, which if you remember I said if that album had been any slower it would be playing backwards, but this was just a really soft record. It’s called Songs for Beginners, a title that suits it for its simplicity. It contains nothing memorable except for maybe “Sleep Song” because it’s so sweet. However the album does include songs with messages like “Chicago.” It was, after all, a time when people were beaten, even killed in this country simply for protesting on the orders of mayors and governors who resented the disruption of the status quo. I do applaud Graham Nash and other songwriters for using their art to broaden the social awareness. I am feeling that much stronger today, after learning of the death of Pete Seeger yesterday, a man we should all appreciate.

And, I again appreciate Bette Midler without whom this workout session would have had little aerobic value. Even Max, who I thought might be sick, he was so disinterested, perked up when I started dancing to Bette. Truthfully, I had wanted to buy a Neil Young album at that record store I have mentioned before, but it skipped and I returned it for a new copy. When I had to bring that one back for the same reason, and there were no Neil Young albums left, one of the guys there, a friend you could say, told me to take Graham Nash and I didn’t argue. Sorry Graham. I otherwise really like you.