Imperial BedroomLast night it was Spike; tonight it's Imperial Bedroom, except that I've now moved on to the Cocteau Twins' Blue Bell Knoll. If I were going to be Clarence, the Elvis in my bathroom would be Elvis Costello. Oh yeah, that's another similarity between "True Romance" and "Pulp Fiction": how focused Clarence and Vincent are during their bathroom jaunts. Clarence doesn't hear a gunfight beginning and Vincent doesn't hear Butch toast a Pop-Tart.
I had a dream about NCS last night for the first time since I can remember. His parents were in it, which has to be a first. I liked RSS very much, but I doubt I have ever dreamed about her. There was a ditch or a creek or a small river, like the Lieutenant or a fen canal from Waterworld and people in goth on the left bank where I had mistakenly strayed.
I haven't listened to Imperial Bedroom in so long! And "Beyond Belief" is such a great song.
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History repeats the old conceits |
Elvis Costello, Imperial Bedroom, Columbia, 1982
On a tape I compiled about a certain situation in my life, I included "Beyond Belief." Pertinent songs with impertinent lyrics:
I've got a feeling I'm going to get a lot of grief
Once it seemed so appealing
Now I am beyond belief
My Imperial Bedroom dates from at least 11th grade and is, besides my Police tapes and maybe Combat Rock, my oldest piece of music. I threw caution to the winds and gifted my vinyl to the Old Lyme Congregational Church's White Elephant Sale several years ago. Joshua Tree, a Steve Martin stand-up, London Calling, English Settlement, the red and blue Beatles' greatest hits, lots of Moody Blues. So I can't count records. To transcribe "Beyond Belief" I tried to use my Walkman so I could type at the computer, but neither Imperial Bedroom nor This Is the Sea worked in it. Library audio tapes do, thus far. So I believe I need to replace my tapes with CDs, not get a new Walkman.
I'm watching the Olympics, of course: the women's figure skating short program is tonight. I can't believe Surya Bonaly has never won a medal. She is such a strong performer, a powerful jumper, combining athleticism and grace. Am I alone in perceiving racism? Well, there was also her cutting loose with a back flip on the ice during practice in 1992 or '94 when such jumps are forbidden in the Olympics, which might have pissed off the judges.
I know that my reasoning in my dislike of sports is illogical. I dislike team sports and direct competition between individuals or teams, but both my favorite Olympic events are scored by the subjective perception of judges. That's the most direct involvement of another person on the athlete's performance that I can imagine and is in addition to the keen mental struggle of a skater or gymnast throughout the performances of the athletes before.
Also the commentators have spoken of the disappointment of the U.S. hockey team. By which they must mean the U.S. men's hockey team, because the women won the gold. I guess since the women won two whole days ago, everyone's forgotten now.
Another gripe, while I'm at it. This morning CNN interviewed U.S. military pilots who will probably soon bomb the life out of a country they know nothing of. The offensive systems have been refined to remove the bomb-droppers physically and emotionally from the results of their actions. Not that I absolve myself of responsibility in the likely war: I elected my part of the President and Congress that will declare and fund and organize the war. So anyway. The interviewer asked a pilot if he feared anything flying over Iraq, implying death via the biological and chemical weapons I don't doubt Saddam Hussein has developed. "Nah, nothing," the pilot answered, arrogantly.
If the pilot thinks there's nothing to fear from Iraq, why is he bombing it?
I sacrificed skating for the rebroadcast of CNN's International "Town Hall." Apparently the White House intended through this censored-question and circumscribed-answer session to demonstrate to the world the popular support behind the U.S.'s current military build-up. Oops. Several intelligent, pacifist questions were asked. Unfortunately, dissenters also disrupted the discussion, but at least a few people were able to pose courteous yet pointed questions (think of Christianne Amanpour quizzing WJC about the former Yugoslavia during another CNN posing.
Questions like "Why is does the U.S. apply its foreign policy so inconsistently, wanting to bomb Iraq but selling weapons to Indonesia (whose regime also practices genocide) and allying itself to Israel (who slaughters Palestinians) and doing nothing about Turkey (who slaughters the same Kurds Saddam Hussein uses for target practice)?" Secretary of State Madeline Albright asserted that Hussein is by far the worst, the most dangerous dictator yet. Right.
And another, a not-question: "If this were a town hall meeting, people would be able to speak their minds and not just ask questions. This is not a democratic meeting. The President has admitted he cannot destroy all the weapons and has said he wants to 'send a message' to Saddam Hussein. [The American people] will not want to send a message with the blood of Iraqi men, women , and children." After saying that, the speaker was escorted from the hall (he was one of the yellers). Quite true that the name of the program was incorrect, but still the forum was a valuable one. Especially since he was able to declare (on my behalf, so thank you) that war is not the answer.
An Army soldier called in from Mannheim (Germany) and declared that if any USAn life had to be lost for this cause, let his be the first. Okay, let his be the first. But his is not the right to volunteer the life of an Iraqi citizen.
My. Vegetarianism and pacifism in two days. Tomorrow I'll buy Birkenstocks.
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Last modified 18 February 1998
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