Here we go again. Welcome to Breaker’s Point #2. I’m your host, Josh Carus. I went to Paris this past weekend and it felt pretty surreal. I walked around the Louvre, saw the Eiffel Tower, and had some authentic French cuisine, which, yes, included escargot. That stuff is hard to eat. When I ordered it, they gave me some sort of tool and a tiny fork, and man was I confused. A lovely French surgeon had to help me get the *gulp* snails out of their shell. He was getting so frustrated, and he was clearly an extremely nice guy, and my incompetency in eating a French delicacy clearly struck a nerve. It was funny. Anyway, seeing the Eiffel Tower, to me, was a real pinch-me moment. Shortly after the sun sets, the Tower is lit up gold with sparkling lights. I have never been so emotionally affected by a building. Studying abroad is awesome man; this s**t really is once in a lifetime. I can go on and on about my Paris weekend getaway. The last thing I will say is that I went to a club in France and the DJ was literally sampling Coltrane among other jazz legends and putting it over a house/dance beat. It was cool. We also got drinks at 5 am with two Norwegian girls we met on the street. That is another story in and of itself, but they were cool, I have never met someone from Norway before. That was my first weekend trip of the semester and I cannot wait to embark on more.
There is not much else to talk about for me this past week. I will mention though that I am getting very antsy to play shows. It dominates my thoughts. I guess you guys probably do not know the thought that I put in my live shows because you are not living in my head, but I hope that it comes across for anyone who has seen me live. In a way, I am upset that the two full band shows I played last semester were the same setlist, although for the Funk N Waffles show I added 2 more songs, She Said She Said by those Liverpool lads, and my original The Night. I played The Night completely differently than I played back in Boonton, NJ at Redhouse. That is something that feels cool to me. I love to play songs different ways depending on where they turn up in the set and what the song before it is. I want to do that more and I also want to play more shows with different setlists every single time. I have the songs to do it, especially given that I have written so many since the last time I even stood on a stage. Excuse the rambling, but this is my newsletter right? It’s supposed to be my thoughts right? You do not need to read everything if some things are not that much of interest to you. I am trying to let you into my brain and you can take or leave it—either one is cool with me. :)
Behold, this week’s Grateful Eight:
* While, the French honestly do not love Americans or speaking English understandably so, they were super accommodating. A lot of the time I felt like a confused idiot, but everyone has patience. I guess I am not used to that, and that must have been why I noticed it.
* Every Wilco live release is available through the basic Nugs.net subscription and they are downloadable. That is so cool of Wilco. I wish Bruce would do the same. He won’t though.
* Baseball is back! The Mets made a great deal for Chris Bassitt from the A’s. They also signed RHP Adam Ottovino. I can not wait for Mets Baseball.
* Max Scherzer; and Jacob deGrom for that matter
* Continuing with the sports front, March Madness is beginning. The time difference is tricky, but at least I will not be watching games in class like I previously have. I can pay attention more. Maybe I will learn something.
* French French Fries, or Frites as they are known over there.
* A beautiful day today in London. This city ain’t known for its weather.
* There are a select people who really understand my art and my music and my passion, and what I am doing creatively. Genuinely, it sounds so cliché, and it may be cliché for good reason, but to have even one fan means the world to me. So gratifying.
This Week’s Rare Mnemonic Advice/Josh Carus Recording: Pieholden Suite (Wilco)
I love Wilco. Wilco is my favorite band. Jeff Tweedy is tied for my favorite songwriter with…well…you know who. Even if you barely know me, you know who. This is one of my dad and I’s favorite Wilco deep cuts. It is off their 1998 album, Summerteeth. It is song that has like 3 key changes within 3 minutes, but they all work and I guess that is why suite is in the title. This is a rare time where I do not remember recording this at all. Usually, I have some concept of where I was or something, but for this one I do not. It is cool looking back in my voice memos and finding little surprises like this one. This was recorded in November 2020. Enjoy!
Here is a link to last week’s issue ICYMI:
And here is a link to my music: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/mnemonicadvice/need-a-vacation
