Bonobos, I'm determined to blog every day. Since I can't finish my intended blog on the reconciliation of Crown and Parliment during the first quarter of the 18th century and how that influenced The War of Spanish Succession in time I decided instead the regal you with a Haiku

Tooth paste on my shoe
cracking, falling on the floor
white turns to darkness

MARCH MEANS MOD

Greetings bonobos! Mondo here, back from my interplanetary goodwill tour. Shout out to QXLPZXQ from planet Gliese 581 C.

When last we talked I was musing on how I equate Bob Dylan with winter. Now that its late March my mood has turned Mod.

Time to rev up my GS, straighten out my side vents and put on some Otis Redding.

Now, I’m aware that the whole concept of Mod is rife with vagueness. To really understand Mod Mondo suggest you check out the writings of Pablo Hewitt and Terry Rawlings. But this is how Mondo sees it.

During the late 1950’s a clique of British youth embraced a lifestyle based on existential philosophy, Modern Jazz and cool contential style clothes. Think of them as well dressed beatniks.

Oh, and they drove scooters. And then they began to listen to blues and early Soul music.

More and more kids began to adopt this lifestyle but without any of it’s philosophical underpinnings. Mod became a huge British phenomenon, with lots of little teenaged fops scooting around, attracting attention from the press. They took over Carnaby Street in Soho, danced mysterious dances on the TV program Ready Steady Go, and got into fights with provincial, motorcycle riding Rockers.

Soon the term Mod began to refer to anything new and trendy in mid 60’s Swinging London. By the time it got to the US, Mod meant mini skirts, paisley shirts and the Beatles. Then, as kids starting getting earthy and hippyish in the late 60’s Mod meant the loud shirt your grandfather wore at Thanksgiving.

By 1976 Mod was a dim memory, but within a year or two it came roaring back. Think of late 1970’s Mods as well dressed Punks.

Since then Mod has waxed and waned but never really gone away.

Mondo loves Mod. Authentic Mod, JC Penny Mod, psychedelicsized Mod it doesn’t matter. Mondo loves it.

Especially in March.

March is when this part of the Northern Hemisphere turns into the British Islands. Chilly enough for a parka but not too hot for a boating blazer. Green grass and grey skies. Fog and mist.

Mondo’s Modernism is the inverse of its classical definition. It’s function BEFORE form. It’s the future salvaged from the past. It’s a living Op Art painting. Comfortably cool - a flower in the concrete.

It’s not always easy to be Mod. It’s not always possible to be Mod. But in March, Mod is perfect.

Mondo Loves You

Winter means Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan means winter

I’m not really sure why.

Bob’s most defining moment, “going electric” at the 1965 Newport Folk festival, occured during the muggy summer of 1965.

The seminal Pennebaker Dylan docs, Don’t Look Back and Eat the Document, were filmed during the British faire Mays of 1965 and 66.

Still when mondo thinks Dylan he thinks winter. New York winters. Scarfs and corduroys. Last weeks voice blown across ancient west village streets. Steaming coffee shop windows. Bare trees across from the Chelsea. Coughing heat pipes. Ghosts of electricity.

Dylan is interior. His words turn into memories of moments forgotten. The rhymes bounce off an internal rhythm of too much espresso. His melodies are neon.

Mondo love Dylan and Mondo loves winter. And Mondo loves walking home on cold dark nights with Dylan in his ears.

Mondo Loves You