ALONG COMES MARY

You know my posts when I get real passionate & emotional about a favorite song that is eating me alive I am loving it so much? Well, this might turn into one of those posts. I’ve been on a real Bjork binge lately, & particularly her song Hyperballad from her 1995 masterpiece, Post. It took on many new meanings for me when I got to see Tori Amos cover it at The Greek Theatre last summer; complete with a very Tori-esque mash-up as she combined Hyperballad with her own Cloud on my Tongue along with 80s anthem You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)…yes, that’s how Tori works 😉

Hyperballad is a very intense song that many believe to be the best in Bjork’s catalog; with lyrics that go:

“We live on a mountain/Right at the top/There’s a beautiful view/From the top of the mountain/Every morning I walk towards the edge
And throw little things off/Like car-parts, bottles and cutlery/Or whatever I find lying around/It’s become a habit/A way to start the day

I go through all this/Before you wake up/So I can feel happier/To be safe up here with you”

At first, I didn’t know what to make of these lyrics, that go on to say:  “It’s real early morning/No-one is awake/I’m back at my cliff/Still throwing things off/I listen to the sounds they make/On their way down/I follow with my eyes ’til they crash/Imagine what my body would sound like Slamming against those rocks/When it lands/Will my eyes/Be closed or open?”

Basically, Bjork (who wrote Hyperballad) has said that she feels we can begin to lose ourselves in relationships, & its important to remember ones self when you’re in one. In this song, it means getting up & having your morning coffee with your dark self, even if it is contemplating suicide, “So, you wake up early in the morning and you sneak outside and you do something horrible and destructive, break whatever you can find, watch a horrible film, read a bit of William Burroughs, something really gross and come home and be like, ‘Hi honey, how are you?'”The Icelandic native has said of this song.

Before I researched the song to begin this post, I did what I often will do; I like to carefully listen to each word & put myself in the situation; my mountain top & cliff in my mind became one of my most favorite places to visit: the ocean & coves in Shell Beach, California. I envisioned waking before my boyfriend, which is difficult for me as I’m not a morning person; you will find me at my grumpiest then (Hehe), which could be a good thing as a lot could go down between me & myself in the early morning, we could be right near the park looking onto the ocean, where I love to go to the edge of the gorgeous water & coves. I could indeed get used to thinking, throwing stuff & remembering whats gone on in my life, or maybe what even went down last night.

I got to thinking about creating this post even more so when I got word that there are 3 wine festivals coming to nearby Shell Beach, In Pismo Beach! One that particularly caught my eye was their Chardonnay Festival. Pismo & Avila Beach will host the 7^th Annual International Chardonnay Symposium 2015, bringing together top Chardonnay producers from around the world. Gain a deeper appreciation for one of the world’s most noble grapes during an in-depth, three-day immersion in the Chardonnay Symposium’s vineyard-to-glass series of seminars that includes: grand tastings, educational panels, winemaker luncheons & dinners, winery & vineyard tours, and winery tastings. The 7^th Annual International Chardonnay Symposium 2015 is proud to call Pismo Beach and Avila Beach home, partnering with several hotels in these two charming, seaside towns to provide luxury accommodations located on destination beaches, only minutes from the top-shelf wineries of SLO Wine Country.

You know how much I love wine & The Central Coast, so I encourage you to check out this event, as well as 2 others headed their way: The Wines, Waves & Beyond Weekend & Taste of Pismo.

Are you a fan of Bjork, Central California, wine…or all of the above? I’d love to know your thoughts! xo