| The
Crossing - January 2010
On December 11th, my family
lost a dear member, Ronnie Barlow, Jr., my first cousin, a brother, a husband,
a father, a son, a friend. This was a loss that happened so suddenly and
so unexpectedly that it’s impact has still not been fully felt by those
who knew him. No mistake is made in knowing his wife, three sons and daughter
are feeling the brunt of this impact. In the midst of work, preparing a
new Crossing, getting in a fender bender, finding a dead body and having
my 80 year old neighbor somehow mistakenly thinking my building was his
building and knocking on my door at 2:30 in the morning on a 5 degree night,
all the while ‘celebrating’ the holidays, let’s just say it’s been quite
a month. But hey, I’m not complaining. This is Life, with death just on
the other side of the door, doing its thing. The frozen dead body I found
with my cousin? Well, that’s another story. (Apparently she suffered a
heart attack and was found frozen to death before making it back home.
May she rest in peace.)
Ronnie, according to the
eulogy spoken by his sister, had the musical tastes of his young children
and listened to whatever they listened to and I believe it. But, that’s
not quite the way I remember it.
Now let’s journey back to
an earlier undisclosed time. It was the music of The Rolling Stones and
The Who that I heard emanating from Ronnie’s upstairs room. It was the
early sounds of The Police, Boston, Sammy Hagar and even a little Ozzy
that I most associate with my third oldest cousin. It was these sounds
infused with my growing awareness of The Beatles and listening to rock
stations KWWK and KSHE that helped inform my ever growing early tastes
in music. Was Ronnie the biggest music fan ever? Not to my knowledge. But
I know he embraced most everything that was thrown at him, including Life
in a big, big way. Most of all his family whom he still embraces and encourages
to live on and embrace all that Life has to offer. Ronnie always had a
great big smile on his face. (We literally can not find a picture where
Ronnie is not smiling. We don’t think one exists.) Ronnie was a friend
to everyone and a stranger to no one as evidenced by an EIGHT hour
wake in which, by the exhausting end of it, we were all convinced he was
gonna pop out of the casket and claim it was all a big joke. How could
this be? How could someone so full of Life pass away so suddenly? And thus
is Life. For a family that is no stranger to tragedy, we can learn to deal
again, yet still marvel at the curveballs thrown. All the while we embrace
each other and love each other as best we can. If we turn on some music
and remember one who has passed on, it can only help. Embrace each other.
Embrace Life. ‘Cause you never know when one or the other will be gone.
And if you start to feel ‘should I really dust off that old record/CD or
watch that old comedy that I haven’t heard or seen in a million years and
are convinced I outgrew?' I think Ronnie would say ‘go for it!’
Recently released and not
mentioned in last edition:
* The Who - Greatest Hits
* Elbow - Asleep in the
Back
* Saosin - In Search of
Solid Ground
* Rose Chronicles - Happily
Ever After
* Gregg Rolie - Rain Dance
* Alicia Keys - The Element
of Freedom
* Vedera - Stages
* Real Estate - S/T
* David Vandervelde - American
Bread
* King’s X - Tales from
the Empire: Live in Cleveland 1992 (CD/DVD.)
* King’s X - The Bigger
Picture: 4th Album Pre-Production
* Big Head Todd & the
Monsters - Red Rocks (CD/DVD.)
+ The Black Crowes - Cabin
Fever
1/5
* Katherine McPhee - Unbreakable
* The Wreckery - Past Imperfect
(2 CD’s.)
* Steve Earle - Copperhead
Road (Rarities Edition.)
+ Cloudy with a Chance of
Meatballs
+ Final Destination
+ Adam
1/12
* Vampire Weekend - Contra
* Freedy Johnston - Rain
in the City
* Sharon Shannon - Saints
& Scoundrels
* Ringo Starr - Y Not
* Laura Veirs - July Flame
* Randy Kohrs - Quicksand
* Sidewalk Prophets - These
Simple Truths
* OK GO - Of the Blue Colour
of the Sky
* Seabird - Rocks into Rivers
* Blackwood Creek - S/T
* Melissa-Bel - Brave
* Brooke Fraser - What to
Do with Daylight
* Eloy - Visionary
* Spin Gallery - Embrace
* On the Rise - Dream Zone
* Brainstorm - Memorial
Roots
* Stone River - Valley of
the Butterflies
* King Crimson - Lizard
* Jeff Scott Soto - One
Night in Madrid
* Blockhead - The Music
Scene
* O.A.R. - Rain or Shine:
Live
* All Time Low - MTV Unplugged
* The Road soundtrack (Nick
Cave and Warren Ellis.)
* The Guess Who - a few
reissues
+ The Hurt Locker
+ The Burning Plain
+ Brothers at War
+ In the Loop
+ Amreeka
+ Moon
+ Departures
+ Fame
+ Big Fan
+ Post Grad
+ Passing Strange
+ Che
+ Halloween II
1/19
* The Eels - End Times
* The Editors - In this
Light and On this Evening
* Tape Deck Mountain - Ghost
* Light This City - Hero
Cycle
* Adrian Crowley - Season
of Sparks
* Danny Barnes - Pizza Box
* Kevin Barker - You and
Me
* Josephine Foster - Graphic
as a Star
* Cold War Kids - Behave
Yourself (EP.)
* Various Artists - Almost
You: Songs of Elvis Costello
* Gretchen Wilson - Greatest
Hits
* Jethro Tull - Living with
the Past: Live 2001
+ Gamer
+ Pandorum
+ Outrage
+ Whiteout
+ The Invention of Lying
+ Magnolia (Blu-ray.)
1/26
* Patty Griffin - Downtown
Church
* Blue Rodeo - The Things
We Left Behind (2 CD’s.)
* Ellis Paul - The Day After
Everything Changed
* Corinne Bailey Rae - The
Sea
* Lady Antebellum - Need
You Now
* Spoon - Transference
* Magnetic Fields - Realism
* Animal Collective - Campfire
Songs
* Tal & Acacia - Wake
Me
* The Heligoats - Goodness
Gracious
* Royal City Riot - Whatever
You Please
* I See Hawks in L.A. -
Shoulda Been Gold: Best of
* Shurman - Still Waiting
for the Sunset
* The Octagon - Warm Love
and Cool Dreams Forever
* Enigma - Platinum Collection
* Taking Dawn - Time to
Burn
* Alice Cooper - a few reissues
+ Michael Jackson’s This
Is It
+ Whip It
+ Surrogates
+ The Boys are Back
+ Bright Star
+ Little Ashes
2/2
* Lifehouse - Smoke &
Mirrors
* Monolake - Silence
* Midlake - The Courage
of Others
* Album Leaf - A Chorus
of Storytellers
* These New Puritans - Hidden
* Santana - Supernatural
(Deluxe edition.)
+ Amelia
+ Zombieland
+ Cold Souls
+ New York, I Love You
+ Love Happens
+ Casablanca (Blu-ray.)
+ Mystic River (Blu-ray.)
2/9
* Allison Moorer - Crows
* Lynn Miles - Black Flowers
(2 CD’s.)
* Watson Twins - Talking
to You, Talking to Me
* Massive Attack - Heligoland
* Hot Chip - One Life Stand
* Luther Allison - Songs
from the Road (CD/DVD.)
* Brian Jonestown Massacre
- a few reissues
* The Buzzcocks - a few
reissues
* Trouble - a few reissues
* David Bowie - S/T (Deluxe
edition.)
+ Couples Retreat
+ A Serious Man
+ The Stepfather
+ My One and Only
+ The Time Traveler’s Wife
2/16
* Peter Gabriel - Scratch
My Back (Covers project.)
* Jim Campilongo - Orange
* Juliana Hatfield - Peace
and Love
* Story of the Year - Constant
* Field Music - S/T
* The Errors - Come Down
With Me
* The Bee Gees - Mythology
(4 CD box set.)
+ Coco Before Chanel
+ Good Hair
+ Law Abiding Citizen
2/23
* Michelle Branch - Everything
Comes and Goes
* Carrie Newcomer - Before
& After
* Daniel Merriweather -
Love & War
* The Rocket Summer - Of
Men and Angels
* The Streets - Computers
and Blues
* Past Lives - Tapestry
of Webs
* The Shout Out Louds -
Work
* Deadstring Brothers -
Sao Paulo
* Alkaline Trio - This Addiction
* Was (Not Was) - Pick of
the Litter: 1980-2010
* Julian Cope - Peggy Suicide
(Deluxe edition.)
* Larry Kirwan - Rockin’
the Bronx (book.)
+ The September Issue
+ Sorority Row
+ Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s
Assistant
+ Paris
3/2
* Natalie Merchant - Leave
Your Sleep
* Black 47 - Bankers and
Gangsters
* The Whigs - In the Dark
* Rogue Wave - Permalight
+ Ponyo
+ Private Lives of Pippa
Lee
3/9
* Jimi Hendrix - Valleys
of Neptune (Unreleased final sessions.)
* Alberta Cross - The Broken
Side of Time
* Black Rebel Motorcycle
Club - Beat the Devil’s Tattoo
* Josh Rouse - El Turrista
+ Capitalism: A Love Story
+ The Stoning of Soraya
M.
+ Planet 51
3/16
* Drive By Truckers - The
Big To-Do
* The White Stripes - Under
Great White Northern Lights: Live (CD/DVD.)
* Aiden - Live in Chicago
(CD/DVD.)
* Armored Saint - La Raza
+ Astro Boy
+ Bandslam
3/23
* She & Him - Volume
Two
* Dillinger Escape Plan
- Option Paralysis
* Jonsi Birgisson - Go
3/30
+ The Baader Meinhof Complex
LYRICS of the MONTH:
There isn’t any one song
I could pick for this month, but I thought this would be a good one.
When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only
light we'll see
No, I won't be afraid
Oh, I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand,
stand by me
So, darling, darling
(Chorus:)
Stand by me
Oh, stand by me
Oh, stand
Stand by me
Stand by me
If the sky that we look
upon
Should tumble and fall
Or the mountains should
crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't
cry
No, I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand,
stand by me
And, darling, darling
Stand by me
Oh, stand by me
Oh, stand
Stand by me
Stand by me.
Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber
and Mike Stoller, the song “Stand By Me” as performed by Ben E. King was
first released in 1961 and covered by many artists.
See you in February.
Chris Barlow
cbcrossing@yahoo.com
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