TOBY PETZOLD

I park my Pontiac
Down the hill out in back,
Late every afternoon
With a Coke and a cigarette.
And all of the neighbors there
They see a nice old man.

And the girl there across the street,
She sits on her front porch swing.
She never realized
What I told her with my eyes
How back in the second war
I killed twenty German boys
With my own bare hands.

And the woman inside my house,
She won’t stop talking.
She never says a thing;
She just keeps talking.
And I might just leave her still
After the sun goes down.
And I smoke this cigarette…

I was saddened today to hear of the death of Billy Preston. A native of Houston, Texas, Billy was at the heart of some of the greatest music of his generation. Which is to say, of all generations.

He played with the Beatles, the Stones, Bob Dylan, and dozens of other great artists. But Billy Preston was himself a great artist —and a good man.

Thanks for the music, sir. You will be remembered.

I’m taking off May Day to show my solidarity with my peops.

(Actually, I just want a three-day weekend.)

There’s a couple of pixies on the local access channel (Channel 10) being weird and playing cool videos —one of which is this animated thing by a group called UNKLE. Fucking fantastic! “An Eye for an Eye” is the title of the track. And the song is as brilliant as the video. Excellent stuff.

I didn’t know that chicks like Samantha and Alexandria had such good taste, although I’ve always hoped it was so.