Today’s tune on this Sunday's Stumblin’ Along is Take a Walk by Passion Pit. This was one of the tunes that I had been listening to on January 28, ‘23, while I was three sheets to the wind in Central Park after pints and in my drunken stupor decided to take a picture of the Balto statue. (Stumblin’ Along 1/29 ‘23) The next day, somehow the dots connected that a weekly history-focused piece could have its own day of the Week to Week Notes.
Anyway, I the chorus to this tune is so uppity but when you acutally dissect the lyrics it’s a pretty detailed interesting story. To me the song is special so it won’t be the last time it’s on in the background of a Stumblin’ Along.
Opening lines seem to indicate that the narrator of the tune has been around the block and hasn’t been to anywhere familiar like home in ages. Sounds like he is in a big city by the the skyscraper reference.
The narrator loves his country and can sense the opportunity at claiming the economic ladder, but he never pictured himself being the entrepreneur on his own.
Ahh so finally we get the picture that it’s about New York in the US of A. Prior to working for himself, he had an previous job experience at Penn Station selling flowers on the street.
Sidenote: Before I was going around gypsying out Week to Week Notes cards at baseball stadium parking lots and drinking pints at pubs around the area, I once sold women’s perfume for a day in New York City. It was my the summer after my sophomore year and I was all excited to head into The City with a suit on. The company that I applied to advertised themselves as a sports marketers so I figured that sounded interesting. After nailing my interview, where I was so nervous to even ask much questions like what the hell I’d actually be doing on a day to day, as soon as I got there I could tell something was off and this wasn’t like the internships all my friends were doing. My first day, it was in the middle of June so I was sweating my arse off walking all around New York City with my mentor named Hassan. He was much better at getting the women to buy the product, I only sold 2 packages of women’s cosmetics from some very nice older women helping me out on my first day. I only lasted one day, as soon as I got home I explained the racket to my parents, mentioned that something did feel a bit off with the company, and they laughed, “You sure it’s not a pyramid scheme.” The phone call the next day telling Hassan I wasn’t coming into work was brutal - we were boys for about 6 hours. Anyway, that 1 day of selling women’s cosmetics when I was a duped 20 year old was my only sales experience. Funny story, haven’t thought about that in years.
Sorry, back to the narrator of the tune. The way he is talking in this verse, it appears he is reflecting on the past when. With the details from above, it looks like he must have emigrated to New York.
After he worked to save up money to pay for his relative’s trip to the US, they decided to move away from New York. So after sacrificing to get them over here, his family still isn’t together for more than a week or so. This must’ve been an extremely common occurrence of the US back in the 19th & 20th century.
Sidenote: Sometimes walks are the best. Bit of fresh air, clear the mind, maybe Stumble Along.
Another Sidenote: Yesterday I took Decker for a walk and listened to this tune the whole time.
This tune came out in ‘12 so Passion Pit may have been tapping into the aftermath of the ‘08 Financial Crisis. It seems like the narrator started his own financial firm. Judging by the details earlier in the song about his family coming off the boat, the song could maybe be about the Great Depression or another downtime in American history. It’s a bit vague, but the narrator can still tell himself things could always be much worse.
His wife doesn’t seem to be all that much affected by the downturn, almost ignoring it entirely. I guess it could symbolize the Keeping Up With The Jones’ element of American culture.
Wow, now he’s sharing a roof with his mother-in-law, this guys got a ton on his plate!
Now he’s got kids too, a whole other ball game. It’s always been inherent that everybody wants their children to have a better life, so we can all relate.
Sounds like his financial firm either got duped by bad investments or got caught up in some white-collar crime. He decides to go for a stroll as his stress release.
The chorus of this song is amazing. It can sometimes be heard blaring over the speakers at Yankee Stadium after a Bronx Bomber draws ball 4. That’s where I initially associated the song, but it also first featured in Taco Bell's Doritos Tacos Locos advertising campaign back in ‘12 too.
This is even more blatant Keeping Up With The Jones’ theme, as he outwardly explains it was all a front from borrowing. At least he’s getting some action!
The writer and singer of the tune, Michael Angelakos, told MTV News…
“It's about very specific family members, the male hierarchy, and how the men in my family have always dealt with money…They all came here for capitalism, and they all ended up kind of being prey to capitalism. And I'm not making any political statements or anything, but it's ironic and it's sad… I really don't consider myself a very political person. I really don't like political songs, frankly. I didn't want people to read it the wrong way. I was more or less interested in analyzing my own family, and that was my way of talking about myself, because I'm a product of these men; I'm their blood. And that was a new way for me to express something."
Phew! As a pretty much 30-year-old American apolitical capitalist who certainly believes there should be certain safety nets, I thought I was going to have to defend capitalism and come across like an Ebenezer Scrooge. Thankfully this tune is just about his family’s story!
Jeez, my bad for going with a song that’s a bit heartbreaking about a narrator down on his luck. Songs like this one are so interesting because they have deeper themes and elements that I think people can relate to. It’s also brilliantly written that Angelakos could take a catchy hook like take a walk with a happy melody and add a detailed family story about how things can go awry. The narrator at the beginning of the tune seems to have good intentions trying to provide for his family and by the end there are important lessons that come when you’re too prideful. Even though it’s sorta melancholy, it’s one helluva tune.
On to Stumblin’ Along, Stumblin’ Along, Stumblin’ Along…
The title of this new section for Stumblin’ Alongs needs to be credited to my Uncle T. He came up with it and the concept. Thanks Tommy! My grandparents grew up in the Bronx and whether they want to admit it or not, have some awesome tales my family has been lucky to hear throughout the years. This week’s isn’t so much about the Bronx a nice story Nancy G shared with me about my dad last weekend. This Note came from my grandpa after Nine Ball…
When your Dad had his construction company your Mom also put out bids for jobs. They landed a CBS job to a floor at the Ed Sullivan Theatre for the David Letterman show. Without knowing I knew your Dad, Mike, the general contractor at CBS, went on and on bragging to me about what a great job this young guy Ivan did on the floor…He did everything on this floor except for putting the locks in the doors.” Then I told him Ivan is my son in law. Ask your Dad he’ll remember.
Small world. Good man yourself, Ivan! Sorry I mean, dad. Here was the next day when my grandma sent me a Note after Livin' In America…
The first time we met your dad he came out to Westwood and ended up helping Grandpa put up our kitchen cabinets. We knew he was a keeper!
There you go, just 2 nice bits of wholesomeness for your Sunday that I enjoy having Noted. Let’s talk some ball…
Another week where there was so much sports going on during the weekend that the New York Baseball Report was pushed into Sunday’s Stumblin’ Along.
Game 22 (4/21 ‘24)
- Luis Gil’s command has been on today from the get-go. His balk was a bit questionable. The 25-year-old starter goes 5.2 innings with 9 strikeouts to 3 walks while allowing only 1 run. When Gil can find the strikezone, he has the potential to be a really special pitcher. His stuff is excellent.
- The Yankees’ bats start a 2 out rally in the 5th inning as they score 4 runs on Stanton-Rizzo-Torres walks followed by Alex Verdugo, Jose Trevino, and Oswaldo Cabrera singles. Victor Gonzalez closes out the game on a great defensive play to get the last out. Yanks win!
Game 23 (4/22 ‘24)
- 1 PM game against Oakland. 5 pitches into the game, the umpire tosses Aaron Boone because a fan behind the dugout was chirping balls & strikes. There is always something new in baseball, that’s a first.
- The Yankee bats are sleepwalking. This game had very little low energy after the 1st inning ejection. Scoreless game until the top of the 9th when the A’s score 2 and the Yanks get shut out. Bad loss.
Game 24 (4/23 ‘24)
- Didn’t get home until the 8th inning from work & pints. Rizzo hit a 2-run homer in the 1st inning that would end up being the game’s deciding factor. I caught Clay Holmes picking up the save, Yanks win!
Game 25 (4/24 ‘24)
- I got home right before Anthony Volpe tripled to RF. Poor defense by the Oakland right fielder, but Volpe did hit it on the screws.
- Aaron Judge homered earlier in the game, Rizzo took one deep in the 5th, and Juan Soto went yard later on. The Yanks win!
Game 26 (4/25 ‘24)
- Jose Trevino hits a short porcher off the foul pole to get the Yankees on the board in the 2nd inning. It’s the NFL Draft night and the Knicks are on as well so another 3 TV set up of sports night.
- Nestor Cortes gives up 2 homes in the 3rd inning but provides the team some length as he now has pitched 7 innings for the 3rd straight game. The Yankee bats didn’t do much aside from Trevino as they split with Oakland at home. Not a good series for the Bronx Bombers.
Game 27 (4/26 ‘24)
- Rounds 2 & 3 of the NFL Draft plus the Rangers play Game 3. Another 3 TV sports night, can’t complain. Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo, and Trent Grisham go yard. Grishman, a former Brewer, gets a bit of revenge on his former team with his first blast as a Yankee.
- Luis Gil again had his command on, but I guess his stuff wasn’t there. Gil goes into the 6th inning but allows 5 runs. The game goes to extra innings where Mike Stanton hits a double to give the Yanks the lead. In the bottom of the 10th with a 1 run lead, Aaron Boone decides to give the ball to Michael Tonkin to close it out. I have no idea who this guy is. In his first pitch, the ball gets away from Trevino, and the runner on 2nd advances to 3rd. Before the next pitch, Tonkin takes too much time on the pitch clock and gets awarded a ball. 2 pitches later he gives up a single to tie the game. Yanks would go on to lose and Tonkin would get cut from the team right afterwards.
Game 28 (4/27 ‘24)
- Shane looks like a natural in a Yankee hat. On our trip down to Westwood I went over all the numbers the Yankees have retired in Monument Park. He looked at me blasphemously…
- Yankees blow out the Brewers in a laugher. Judge, Verdugo, Stanton, and Rizzo all go yard as Jose Trevino closes out the game allowing just 2 runs. The Yanks are 18-10 through their first 28 on their chase for their 28th World Series Championship.
After a 15-game stretch where the Mets were red hot going 12-3, they’ve come back down to Earth this week. Since last Sunday, they have lost 5 of their last 6. JD Martinez, who signed with the Mets late into spring training, made his debut with the team this week. The 36-year-old 6-time All-Star will serve as the team’s primary DH. At 13-13, the club in Queens will look to stay above .500 as Jose Quintana is on the mound on Sunday against his former team, the St. Louis Cardinals.
Quite a few Sundays ago, somehow in my drunken stupor, I Stumbled Along to The City Reliquary in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The museum filled with cool New York City history is open on Saturdays and Sundays from Noon to 6 PM. For a $10 visit, you can see a ton of cool relics from The City. This week's Stumblin’ Along on Week to Week Notes features another piece on an assortment of things on one of their displays.
I nearly skipped over the rest of the display thinking there wasn’t much there. Before deleting the picture from my phone, I gave it one last zoomed-in glance and saw something peculiar…
Week to Week Notes can’t afford to pass up the opportunity to do some research on united pipe Nipple co. Fellas, before you start getting any ideas, Oxford defines nipples in 2 ways…
1) the small projection in which the mammary ducts of female mammals terminate and from which milk can be secreted.
2) a small projection on a device or machine, especially one from which oil, grease, or other fluid is dispensed in small amounts.
Obviously, the united pipe Nipple co. has to do with the ladder. UPN has been family owned and operated out of of Long Island City and has long-standing ties with New York City’s five boroughs. They specialize in the manufacturing and custom fabrication of pipe nipples made from carbon steel, red brass, stainless steel and aluminum pipe. As a manufacturer since 1934, United Pipe Nipple has offered great service and quality pipe, pipe Nipples, valves and pipe fittings at competitive prices.
Just figured I’d give a local New York family operated business that has been around for nearly a century a shout out!
This Week’s Bit on The Roman Empire
This week your quick bit on The Roman Empire brought to you by Week to Week Notes featuring Ancient Rome: The Exhibition in New York is on the Sidus Vallis.
The Ancient Romans would call the wooden stakes above Sidus Vallis, otherwise known as stars of the valley. Whenever the Roman armies would set up camp, they would dig trenches and stick these Sidus Vallis around the entire camp as a protective measure. The legionaries would hammer these stakes into the ground. The temporary spiked barricade thwarted off raids. The actual ones that the Romans would use in their day were much sharper than the safe ones displayed above.
Similar concepts of the Sidus Vallis have been used in much more recent times. For instance, when I saw that at the exhibit, it reminded me of the barricades on the Normandy beaches during WWII. The Czech hedgehogs pictured above weren’t meant to stop soldiers but more so the Allied ships and tanks. Interesting stuff that the Romans can claim they created!