[Robert Simpson, Limited Store Window Montreal 1936]
“First… and then” by Handsome Boy Modeling School
I didn’t go to concerts until I was in college. Across from my room was a triple room with three guys. One was a nice enough guy (now a doctor), a Frenchman (still one of my best friends), and a skinny white kid with turntables. He was an Oklahoma boy with an easy laugh, low-key love for Jesus, and hair that stood five inches straight up (no gel or hairspray.) We connected on music (obviously,) and we would take turns listing bands we loved. (Was one Handsome Boy?) Just so happened that one day, he knew that the Handsome Boy Modeling School was coming to town. So we all (4-5 of us including the Frenchman) piled into a car, and once we were at the venue (it changed owners a few times so I forget the name) — my life was forever affected. I would spend the rest of my 20s going to shows around Minneapolis. But to the point, “First… and Then” is still my favorite song of all time. Not to mention, the hook has some of the best life advice I’ve found:
“First. Exhale with the excel, and then, call your crew on your nextel
And then, open up a beer and roll an L, and then, party all night rest well
But first, exhale with the excel, and then everything you do you do it well
And then, even if you’re hurt you never tell, and then, everybody love the clientele”
ON SUNDAY we head to New York.
The featured image is in the public domain through wikimediacommons