Sweet blog about Dave

[sheryl]

I just found this, cleaning out some folders. I'm not sure why I saved it. I found it on someone's blog right around this time last year.

I know I've showed it to some people here...don't remember who. Probably wouldn't hurt Dave to see it, either. It can never be a bad thing to know someone in your town appreciates that you're there...and why.

I don't know who the person is...wish I did.

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Evidence that I'm still feeling a little fragile: seeing Soul Asylum, or half of Soul Asylum, on television promoting their new record made me cry.

I mean, I'm not even a fan. I suppose I'm a fan of them as human beings. Their new single is an anthemic pop-rock song called "Stand Up and Be Strong," and it's been criticized for being trite. But words of optimism and perserverance are only trite when expressed by people who haven't been through anything hard. They recorded this album while their bass player (and friend since back in the day) was dying of cancer. A couple of months after they buried him, Dave Pirner's adopted home was underwater. So if he wants to get up on national television and sing "Stand Up and Be Strong" looking like he's happy about it, I'm cheering for him. One of the things that made me cry was when he talked about how Karl Mueller's enthusiasm and perserverance balanced his own cynicism.

Another thing that touched me was the "Make Levees Not War" t-shirt he wore. During the time I've been in New Orleans, three rock stars without previous connections to the city have lived here. Trent Reznor lived in a big old house behind a big fence in the Garden District. It seemed like New Orleans was an Anne Rice vampire fantasy to him. Lenny Kravitz had a place in the French Quarter, and I think he might have owned the Wedding Cake house on St. Charles for awhile. New Orleans was a part-time gothic background to his glamourous life. But Pirner bought a regular house in the Bywater. I've seen him in bars, at second lines, at a Morning 40 show, on Frenchmen Street on Mardi Gras day, even at an ice cream shop. I think he even did some radio shows on WTUL. I've seen him twice since the storm. Sometimes I've wanted to introduce myself and talk to him about Mr. M, but I didn't want to seem like I was sucking up to him because he's a rock star. He was a regular guy here, a participant in the actual life of the city, and he clearly appreciated it for what it really was and not just what it looked like. And he didn't abandon the city after the storm.

Posted by Miss H at 7:40 PM

[no1rockfan]

Thanks, Sheryl. That's a really cool story. And I really think that Dave thinks he's just a regular guy. Thus the cynicism. He doesn't do the rock star thing without reservations. And everything he does do is with purity from what I've seen. Pure and simple.