Performer: Nirvana
Songwriter: Kurt Cobain
Original
Release:
Nevermind
Year: 1991
Definitive
Version:
The studio version, I guess.
As
I might have mentioned, to me, Nirvana is the sound of Fall 1994, them, Smashing Pumpkins and Soundgarden … and Pearl Jam, of course. But Nirvana more then anyone else. As I’m sure I mentioned, my love of their music was in
bloom after it was too late.
As
I mentioned … nearly two years ago (good ol’ No. 899), in November 1994, Debbie
and I took our second overnight trip together, to Toronto. The reason behind
the trip was to see the Barnes Exhibit—a collection of rarely seen paintings
from Impressionist masters. Toronto was the closest it apparently was coming to
Columbus. After glorious trips there with Scott in 1991 and 1992, I didn’t need
a second reason to visit Toronto once more.
After
our tumultuous arrival, a good night’s sleep and a great morning’s wakeup, we
headed from our suburban location into the city. The first order of business
was to head to the Art Gallery of Ontario for the Barnes Exhibit. Actually, the
first order of business was lunch in nearby Chinatown, but you get the idea.
The
Barnes Exhibit was pretty cool. I’ve done some reading since and learned that
the collection wasn’t totally unknown, but at the time, I didn’t know anything
about it. I liked the idea that there were all these paintings by Monet and Van
Gogh and Matisse that I’d never heard of or seen anywhere, even in a book.
Debbie,
who adored Monet, loved the exhibit more than I did, although she said later
she would have preferred to have seen a bit more Monet. Who wouldn’t? Before we
left, we visited the gift shop, and Debbie bought me a present that she had me
open after we got outside. It was a framed print of Cezanne’s The Card Players.
Debbie said I should have it for my poker group.
That
was a good surprise; another came after we left the gallery. We were hiking
back to my car to put away my painting before heading to further sights
downtown, when we were accosted by a couple of people. They explained that they
were filming a movie and were looking for extras to be part of the crowd in the
background.
Well,
that would be fun. We agreed, except the shooting would take place
tomorrow—Sunday—and Debbie and I had to be back on the road due to my lack of
vacation time after joining The Dispatch. So we had to decline. To this day, I
have no idea what movie it was or whether it even saw the light of day.
We
walked over to Toronto Eaton Centre to do a little shopping before heading to The
Fish House for dinner by way of SkyDome. We bought a couple of Christmas ornaments
at the late, great Eaton’s—miniature replicas of an old Christmas catalog and
shopping bag. Surreptitiously, I also bought Debbie a jade otter that she had
oohed and aahed over earlier, for her upcoming birthday.
We
had an excellent seafood dinner at The Fish House, which Scott and I found in
1992, and, all too soon, our Toronto weekend was over. It was a seven-hour
drive home the next day, so we had to get going almost as soon as we got up. It
had been my fourth trip to Toronto in the past five years—my second-favorite
city behind only Chicago.
What
I didn’t know was that, until further notice, it was the last time I visited
the city. A return is long overdue, but I don’t have anything scheduled. Time
just slips away …
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