Alternate Angles

Vicissitudes Album Notes

1 RIDING WITH THE TOP DOWN

Riding along the coast of San Diego, watching the surfers at sunset, inspired this one.

I was probably yearning for a Corvette convertible.

Riding with the top down, head full of new sounds

Cool Pacific air, blowing through my hair

I can even see the tree tops high about my ragtop

My Cutlass Supreme, rides like a dream

Through valleys and fields that roll like these wheels

I'm past the point of knowin', where I'm even goin'

2 REUNION

Friendships can ebb and flow at times, but it’s often been my experience that trying to recapture long-lost
relationships isn’t easy. People and lives change, often not in similar ways. But some may be among those
who once knew us best and are true links to our past—should we care to go there.

It's good to see you friend, it's time we make amends

Remember when, tie loose ends

Maybe find new ways to begin again

(Chorus)

Did you find what you were looking for?

Still think more or less, less is more

You always said life's just a metaphor

For all those places you've never been before

We went our separate ways, waiting for some better days

Well let's just say fools have a way

Of leaving all to chance and come what may

3 WHERE LOVE GOES

This places all the blame for a breakup on the other person but of course, it’s

usually a two-way street of incompatibility. By hey, it’s my song!

Don't be fooled by the passionate look on her face

She'll lure you in and leave you without any trace

She'll tell you how you're not like other guys

Things left unsaid are like words to the wise

'Cuz her heart, is where love goes to die

She'd never try to hurt you or treat you unkind

She's only jaded by the way love has messed with her mind

She'll tell you tales of treachery and lies

That's just her way of saying goodbye

'Cuz her heart, is where love goes to die

You'll pay the price for the men who have broken her heart

You'll feel the love when she starts to pick you apart

You'll know it's over but you won't know why

It'll finally hit you when you're hung out to dry

That her heart, is where love goes to die

4 MOVING UPTOWN
Instrumental.

5 VICISSITUDES

It’s often said that things that stress us out the most are those we can’t control. Vicissitudes—sometimes
good but more often unwanted things that suddenly just happen to everyone at various times—are just part
of the cycle of life. They do keep things interesting and unpredictable.

You'll think you're on a roll but you'll lose control

What you gonna do to save your soul

Jagger lied, time's not on his side

Life's ups and downs are one bumpy ride

(Chorus)

And I feel sorry for you

I feel sorry for me too

There's nothing we can say or do

To stop these vicissitudes

It can happen so fast, all things must pass

Changes will come but even they won't last

Try to ignore or somehow even the score

But you'll just have to learn how to weather the storms

6 I DON'T THINK SO

There’s a singer-songwriter I like who seems too self-absorbed to bother with even basic courtesy when
encountering him at his shows. I have talked to others who have had this same experience. Of course, he’s
not alone in being unapproachable, but he seems to excel in this area. As the song suggests, we’re not
talking groupie-type encounters here, just something as simple as a “hello” and an appreciation for coming.
Not cool.

You have a way with words, you can turn a wicked phrase

You and your old man, were a lot alike that way.

But you can't find the words, just to say hello

Thanks for coming, friend... Enjoy the show

(Refrain 1)

I owe you nothing pal, I'm here to play a gig not boost your morale

You pay the price, I play the show

But going out of my way just to make you feel whole

I don't think so

You play a mean guitar, that never seems out of place

With that endearing snarl, that never seems to leave your face

Maybe life on the road, ain't what it's cracked up to be

I drove hours just to see you... Pay some attention to me

(Refrain 2)

I owe you nothing, pal, I'm here to play a gig not boost your morale

You pay the price, I play the show

But coming on to me like we're the best of bros

I don't think so

7 HERE ONE MINUTE, GONE THE NEXT

It’s never made sense to me how people spend their short time on this planet cultivating knowledge,
skills and relationships, only to have it all vanish forever in a heartbeat. Someone else decides what is worth
saving of their valuables and personal effects, with the rest relegated to a dumpster.

I once knew a guy with a hungry mind

Expert in all things refined

Held the reigns at a blue-chip firm

Once made William F. Buckley squirm

Healthy, wealthy and wise

Then he died

He talked of his legacy, now that he's gone

They just talk about his perfectly manicured lawn

Trophies and awards, custom-made drapes

Tossed in the trash with his kinky sex tapes

Uncovered like a pack of lies

When he died

(Chorus 1)

What the hell's the point, it's anyone's guess

But like doesn't make one lick of sense

It's like living large while you're writing bum checks

Here one minute and gone the next

There will come a day when this song gets played

For a second time, for old time's sack

Dad's cute little pastime, music to his ears

Fussing over words nobody else hears

"Erased like a memory," he'll cry

When he dies

(Chorus 2)

What the hell's the point, it's anyone's guess

But life doesn't make a damn bit of sense

Any meaning gets lost in what we forget

Here one minute and gone the next

8 ELEGY

As noted above, death draws to a close everything a person strived for and attained in life. Special, unique
talents can’t be replicated. This song is my inarticulate way of honoring the great spirit of the late Jeff Beck.
Cut a bit short at a youthful 78, his passion and depth of emotion, played flawlessly with an economy of
motion, grabbed me in my teens and never let go. I probably better captured that style in the song

"Stop and Go Traffic" from a previous album.

9 LET IT ALL GO

I used to spend too much time and effort on relationships that just weren’t going to take off no matter how
hard we tried. But in hindsight, they were all touchstones to something better.

We say goodbye, not in so many words

We pick and choose, things we never heard

Why ignore, things that get too hard to hide

Let's face the truth about how we feel inside

(Chorus)

Let it all go, let it all go

We can't find what we're looking for

Till we let it all go

I'll think of you, where the morning light

Worked its magic, and made it seem so right

It's like a dream, we always used to say

Nothing it seemed was

Standing in our way

10 ALL DRESSED UP AND NO PLACE TO GO

I could have just come right out with it and named it “The COVID Song.”

This pan-damn-demic won't be outdone

It's getting to be too much work to have a little fun