The first time I aired John Mayall's "Play The Harp" on KCOU, I thought, "Yeah! This is cool! Who wouldn't like to hear this blend of guitar, harmonica, and vocals as a pick-me-up?!"
Then, I thought about how I'd reacted.
"What a strange way to feel about a blues tune," I thought. "Blues music, as the term implies so bluntly, isn't supposed to be a joyous romp. It's supposed to be a stark, heartfelt reminder of the pain and injustice that life sometimes heaps mercilessly upon people. As great as 'Play The Harp' is, it isn't blues--at least not entirely. At the time it was released, it would have fit in well on KSHE's album rock playlist."
Years later, while talking with my brother, I praised the spitfire guitar part of The Bob Riedy Blues Band's instrumental, "Just Off Halsted," which I'd heard on KDHX.
"This is the way blues music should sound," I enthused.
"Yes, if only blues sounded more like jazz," my brother responded.
Alas, I must admit, I'm not always a blues purist.
Well, it's time for some coffee. I won't drink it without anything in it, though. I'll make sure to drown out the coffee taste with tons of creamer and at least five packets of sugar...
...There! Coffee, in its, um, most natural, undiluted form--tasting, um, almost nothing like coffee...
There's a parallel there, but I'm trying not to think about it.
