sinking is all I have planned

I spent yesterday afternoon hiking at Great Falls -- the less-popular Maryland side, for you locals -- and it was wonderful beautiful wonderful wonderful perfect beautiful wonderful. More breathless praise and perhaps photographs to follow later.

But while we were walking through the easier parts, I was thinking about the Aimee M*nn show I'd seen at the 9:30 Cl*b on Saturday night. It was a great concert, and she actually seemed pretty relaxed. For her. Which is to say totally on edge, but at least interacting with the audience. The two other times I've seen her, she literally stared straight ahead and didn't say one word between songs.

What I was thinking was this: Shawn C*lvin would go hiking with you. Most of the other women singers I like, at least the girl-with-a-guitar ones, would go hiking with you. Melissa F*rrick would go hiking with you; she would bring beer and cigarettes and sit out on the highest rock she could find. The Ind*go G*rls would go hiking with you and then take you out to a nighttime bonfire at an Indian reservation in the back of their friend's pick-up truck. There would be naked children running around and many, many barking dogs, and Emily would give you her flannel shirt if you got cold.

Then I went down the whole list. All of us are already besties with Dar, basically, and would do anything with her. Antje actually kind of IS our friend, tangentially anyway, which is a bit surreal. Erin McK*own would totally go see bad movies with you on a rainy Sunday and then run around the supermarket with a watergun throwing grapes or something.

Even Beth Ort*n, who is sort of cool and remote, would have coffee with you at the diner in the middle of the night. You'd probably be intimidated, but you would be able to have a cool, remote conversation. And Liz Pha*r, Ms. "Fuck and Run" Herself –- you might only be able to discuss how she's such a HUGE SELLOUT, but you could concievably be with her in a bar at 3 a.m., drinking steadily while she furiously seduces men like a black widow spider.

But Aimee M*nn? Would not go hiking with you. Would not have coffee or talk or watch movies with you. I can't begin to picture it. I think she is so freaking fantastic and her lyrics absolutely blow me away, but she's kind of scary. I'm scared of people who are that intense in general –- they just burn so brightly and so angrily. The word "brilliance" comes to mind in both the intellectual and physical senses.

So yeah. When we organize a hiking trip with all these people, Aimee might have to wait and be brilliant by herself in the car. I sort of don't think she'd mind, though -- hopefully she won't be realizing the Beauty of the Rain any time soon...