Those are my boys, ten years ago. Unorganized Hancock. The Spare Heir playing the drums was eleven. His big brother was either seventeen or eighteen. They did this whole thing themselves, no input from either my wife or me. I think I might have held a camera, because someone must have, but I don’t remember it.
I’m glad that we have evidence of the passing of time like this. Moving picture family album entries are better than snapshots. But it makes one wistful. They’re out on their own now, and we are adrift ourselves. We’re not on an island, but we’re definitely in the sun here in the Yucatan peninsula, so the song kinda fits.
If there’s still anyone out there who thinks that social media sewers like YorubaTube are actual meritocracies, show them this, and then tell them it got 1,000 views in a decade. Then mention that “Charlie bit my finger” got 897 million views, and was sold as an NFT for $700,000.
I have often counseled my children that in the long run, it’s better if people ask why there’s no statue dedicated to you, instead of asking why there is a statue dedicated to you. That kind of thinking might be thin gruel, I’ll admit, but it’s kind of nutritious, too.
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If Brian Wilson had sat down to write “Deacon Blues,” it might have popped out as “Islands in the Sun”—shifting from a man seeking darkness to a man seeking light.
Both songs feature memorable music layered over a subtext of accumulating darkness; in both, the singer envisions a fantasy alternative to an unhappy life. In “Deacon Blues,” the singer indulges in a stream of nihilistic, self-centered vignettes. But if Wilson were writing a song that started from the same depressed point, he might redirect the yearning onto an island in the sun. His happy place would be a bright, Beach Boys vacation with loved ones. Wouldn’t it be nice?
That joyous family vision comes to life in Weezer’s YouTube video for “Islands in the Sun”—the Mexican Wedding version, not the Spike Jonze Cuddly Wildlife version. I like to think the Sippicans were strolling past a celebration in the Yucatan, connecting the scene to their own family through that video. Maybe it’s a wistful connection, but you have every right to be contented and proud of what you have given to the world.
Russ Davis! Russ is a longtime friend and supporter of this blog, and our children’s efforts.
I found the kids’ version of this song especially amusing, partly because I used to play the song in a cover band back in the day. Now I’m finding it even more interesting, because until you told me there’s a “Mexican wedding” video to accompany the original, I had no idea it existed, or what possessed me to rummage around in ten year old UH videos to post it again. Then again, I’m in the land of second-hand Quixote, and imported Borges magic realism, so I’m ready to let my mind drift a bit.
And where are they – and how are they – Now?
And …..it’s no surprise you’ve read Borges!
Hi Harry- Well, there’s this: Impromptu Unorganized Hancock Reunion
Their lack of views is simple to explain: sharp haircuts, no fake-ass ripped jeans, no faded t-shirts from places/bands they’ve never seen. Oh, and talent, more talent than anyone seen on TV,
I don’t have any children but I heard someone say the other day that God is very kind to people who do not have children because he never lets them know how much they missed in life.
Hello Robert- Children are God’s signal that life should go on.