| When a coffee log meets a lot of coffee... and life. |
| Written by Troy Ferguson |
| Friday, 18 September 2009 15:07 |
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I was searching through some files... and stumbled across the ‘coffee log’ that I kept while on tour through the U.S.A. with Fantomas, a couple of years back. This was a notebook wherein I recorded every cup of coffee I drank, along with place purchased, price, and a rating out of five stars. As I recall, we all got a kick out of the ludicrousness of that undertaking, and the increasingly dramatic and outlandish descriptions of appalling coffee at creepy, wrong turn-type highway stops in America’s badlands. That document attested to a few things: 1. I drink a lot of coffee; 2. That the parallel universe those on extended rock ‘n’ roll tours exist in is entirely different to the idea of touring most people have; and 3. I can be quite dedicated and obsessive, particularly when the situation doesn’t call for it. I figured a blog based on that coffee diary might offer insights into, er... all of the above, but it would more likely raise questions like; “so Starbucks doesn’t taste the same in 49 states?” and “why was this boring fellow on tour with one of Mike Patton’s bands?”. Perhaps it’s better to cut to the chase, without any lurid tales of burnt coffee grounds and suspiciously-toilet-y flavoured swamp beverages in “jumbo fun clown delight” paper cups from voodoo huts in Louisiana. Looking through those entries seemed to reaffirm what I have always suspected: that the reality of our lives is probably not best measured by any sweeping arcs of accomplishment and failure. Those things are usually defined on others’ terms, while the essence of our lives is found in the details and trivia, the things we commit to which appear as foolishness and folly in the scheme of things we’re told we should care about. Nobody else has much of a say in what we do; and those things conventional wisdom might scoff at may well be evidence of a life on one’s own terms. I really get a kick out of the fact that those behind CDM count down the days until a release by the Jonas Brothers; and that a physicist friend who works for the atomic clock in Colorado is an obsessive collector of Barbie Dolls. When I think of the late actor Robert Mitchum, I don’t think of his movies or notorious 1950's drug bust -- I only remember that he had a swear word self-tattooed on his arm. My friend J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr is more likely to recommend a TV cop series than a record he’s worked on or heard, while another friend who is noted worldwide for his outspoken political views spends a great deal of time worrying that record stores may soon become extinct. When I hear that one should “look at the big picture” and “avoid getting hung up on the small stuff”, I cannot help but disagree. Vehemently. Nobody should be expected to live an overview of their own lives: what a thoroughly dull, appalling and cynical idea. The minutiae and diversions which appear so inconsequential in an overview are where all the colour and action is. The fire and passion with which we engage our various interests is who we are, and nothing is really a waste of time, even keeping note of every cup of coffee you drink on a US tour. Participating in your own life, IS your life. TROY FERGUSON is a DJ on 95 bFM. Listen to his show 'The Rock n Roll Wire' on Fridays, from 12-2PM. |
