Takes me right back to sitting in the Copper Fox in Oneonta NY, with a Genny Cream and listening to the jukebox. Come on sing along: " Crossing the highway late last night, he should've looked left, and he should've looked right, he didn't see the station wagon car. The skunk got squashed and there you are. You Got your dead skunk in the middle of the road .......stinkin' to high heaven."
I have a college buddy, Geoff (see 45 # 6), and he was somewhat of a world traveler when I met him. Still is. But anyway, one weekend in college he and I took a road trip from DC back to my home town, the aforementioned Oneonta, NY. At the time he was enamoured with things country. You know: diners, spitting, and long neck beers. So he was looking forward to gettin' out of the city. We were almost to our destination, somewhere along a lonely stretch of I-88. All of a sudden Geoff says, "What's that smell?". Not necessarily in a bad way, but an "Oh My God!" way. I told him it was a skunk, that had likely been hit crossing the road. He hooted and hollered like he had just smelled his first apple pie. Not sure he remembers this, but it made his day, and I haven't forgotten turning him on to skunk.
Loudon Wainwright sporting a Sex Pistols shirt
Loudon has a long creative history. I remember him as the singing surgeon on MASH. He has written many great and funny songs over the years. A recent favourite was a beautiful song he wrote about visiting Hank Williams' grave the day Fred Rogers died, "Hank and Fred." (Yeah, Mr. Rogers.)
( http://www.lwiii.com/videoplayer.php?flv=Hank_Fred_496x285.flv&width=496&height=305&title=Hank+and+Fred )
I also love Johnny Cash's version of Loudon's "The Man Who Couldn't Cry,"
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgK-1mpSljI ) on Johnny's first American Recordings album.
Loudon has quite the musical family as well, having married two different musicians: the late Kate McGarrigle, and then Suzy Roche. His offspring have some great musical blood. Several are musicians, including Rufus Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright. Rufus does my favourite version of "Hallelujah" (Leonard Cohen) ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR0DKOGco_o ) which was featured in the Shrek movie, but someone else's version appears on the soundtrack. And I have to mention Lucy's song "Chicago"
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fhXWHA0kn8 ), which my children love.
I am ashamed that I don't have many of Loudon's albums. He is one of those artists I've wanted to hear more of.
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