06 April 2024

Spring Fever, Cabin Fever

You made it through the month of March without being as “mad as a March hare” but there there is April, May and most of June to survive before summer, so spring fever is still a possibility.

“Spring Fever” is an interesting term for a phenomenon or perhaps a pseudo-illness. The term seems to have entered English in the mid-1800s. Linguistically, it is interesting because it has two meanings which are opposites. There is the term contronym to describe words that are also antonyms. Examples include words such as cleave which can mean “to cling” or “to split”, and the verb “to dust” which can mean to remove dust (cleaning a house) or to add dust (dust a cake with powdered sugar).

Similarly, “spring fever” means a sluggishness, apathy or inertia at this time after winter OR a renewed energy and freedom at the opportunity to get outside and be active again. 

The negative feeling is related to the dormancy, like a hibernating animal, that occurs for many of us in colder climates during winter. Like a bear coming out of hibernation, we are slow to get moving.

The more positive meaning applied to this seasonal change is experiencing new-found energy after being confined mostly indoors for a few months. Time to start that spring cleaning, get back to exercising, start working on outdoor projects, and get into the Sun.

It’s not a real disease or fever, but historians think the American colonists coined the term to refer to the weakness, fatigue, and irritability many felt after a long winter without fresh fruits or vegetables. These symptoms could be quite real but were probably signs of the very real disease scurvy which also plagued sailor on long voyages. Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C. Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs and without treatment, causes decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding from the skin.

“Cabin fever” is phrase we started using in the early 1900s for a kind of claustrophobic reaction we have to be “trapped” inside with less to keep us busy and no access to nature for an extended period. I love cabins, so the thought of being in one seems quite pleasant to me, but that might change if I was snowed in for a month. You could get cabin fever in an isolated cabin in the woods, but it can happen in a home in the suburbs or a city apartment too. Ever notice how crowded your local park is on those first really warm and sunny spring days?

In German, they have the difficult-to-pronounce term frühjahrsmüdigkeit which is literally translated as “spring tiredness”, so this is not a purely American phenomenon. The German version is on the negative side. It means a temporary mood characterized by low energy levels.

Is there any science to all this? Though the diagnosis of “spring fever” or “cabin fever” probably doesn’t appear in any manual with a code for your insurance coverage, there are things that can cause all the symptoms. The cause most often noted is hormone imbalance.  One hormone that increases our happiness is serotonin, whose production depends on daylight, so the level may be lowered over the winter. Serotonin is the basis for many anti-depressant medications. The lowered serotonin might also allow melatonin, a hormone related to sleep,  to have its way with us. The longer days of spring and summer allow more endorphin, testosterone, and estrogen to be released.  It has also been suggested that this seasonal readjustment of hormones stresses our bodies and we react with a feeling of tiredness.

The cure or prevention is getting outside, being active, and getting some sunlight (a half hour is enough to help). Avoid taking any melatonin tablets for a while.  Eat less food and, as those hormones adjust, increase vitamins and proteins. Look at the cures for seasonal affective disorder and get happy.

05 April 2024

R.E.M.



R.E.M. (sometimes written as REM) is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. They were formed in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry.

They were one of the first popular alternative rock bands. Their first single, "Radio Free Europe", came out in 1981 on the independent record label Hib-Tone. The single was followed by the Chronic Town EP in 1982, the band's first release on I.R.S. Records.

The band had no name as they went through several months of rehearsing and even when they played their first show on April 5, 1980, at a friend's birthday party held in a converted Episcopal church in Athens.

They had a number of pretty terrible names as possibilities including "Twisted Kites", "Cans of Piss", and "Negro Wives." R.E.M. is supposedly a random dictionary grab by Stipe - though I find it hard to believe it was random. 

The fact that we see the name both as R.E.M. and REM also makes the most obvious origin of the band's name as a legitimate acronym for "rapid eye movement" questionable.  That term was first used in the early 1950s when REM (pronounced as a word) sleep was identified as a normal stage of sleep characterized by the rapid and random movement of the eyes and dreaming. The allusion to dreaming is a nice one for the band, but they maintain that it was not selected for that reason.

Nevertheless, they did use the idea in some early promotions as shown below.


 
A reader of this blog wrote to say he heard that it comes from a measurement, as in 3 microREMs, with one microREM being one-millionth of a "roentgen equivalent man." That's interesting, and unsubstantiated, and I still like the dreaming allusion a lot better.

In 1983, the group released its critically acclaimed debut album, Murmur, and built its reputation over the next few years through subsequent releases, constant touring, and the support of college radio.

Following years of underground success, R.E.M. achieved a mainstream hit in 1987 with the single "The One I Love". The group signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1988, and began to be more political and environmental in their songs. They also started playing large arenas worldwide.





R.E.M.: Document (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)
And I Feel Fine (The Best Of The IRS Years 82-87)

They released fifteen original albums.
  1. Murmur (1983)
  2. Reckoning (1984)
  3. Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)
  4. Life's Rich Pageant (1986)
  5. Document (1987)
  6. Green (1988)
  7. Out Of Time (1991)
  8. Automatic for the People (1992)
  9. Monster (1994)
  10. New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996)
  11. Up (1998)
  12. Reveal (2001)
  13. Around the Sun (2004)
  14. Accelerate (2008)
  15. Collapse Into Now (2011)

01 April 2024

April Fools



Maybe today you were the victim of a practical joke. For centuries, April 1 has been a day marked by hoaxes and practical jokes played on people around the world.  If you fall for one of these pranks, then you are an April fool.

This tradition goes back to Europe in the mid-1600s and crossed over to the English-speaking world in the late seventeenth century.

Although the origin of April Fools is still debatable, most references trace it back to France and the French calendar reform of the sixteenth century.

Up until 1564, the Julian calendar was the accepted one to use in France and the beginning of the New Year was around April. But King Charles IX declared that France would begin using the Gregorian calendar which has New Year's Day on January 1.

Those who did not accept the change became the focus of April jokes and were mocked as fools. Pranks were played on, like being invited to parties that never occurred. In rural areas, word of the change was not always known, so these people were also mocked for celebrating the new year on the wrong day.

The tradition of pranking these "fools" commonly included sneaking a paper fish to their backs. These victims were called Poisson d’Avril, or April Fish. Today the term is still used in France for April Fools where the tradition is more popular with younger children. Bakeries and chocolatiers even make fish-shaped treats for the "holiday."

Why related to fish? That's unclear but it has been suggested that it relates to the zodiac sign of Pisces (a fish), which falls near April.

In Italy,  Il Pesce d’Aprile, or April’s Fish, is very similar. Youngsters secretly attach a paper cutout pesciolino (small fish) to the back of a school companion and then everyone asks, "L’hai visto?—Chi?—Il pesce d’Aprile!" (or Have you seen?—Who?—the April Fool!) and laugh at the Fool.

In France, Italy, the United States and other countries, adults get in on the game - usually minus the fish.

basket cases

“Basket case” has multiple meanings nowadays. Referring to a person it often means someone unable to cope with mental or emotional stress, especially due to anxiety. It can be temporary. Someone who is very nervous, tired, and unable to think or act normally. "By the end of the day, he was a complete basket case".

Used to describe a non-person, it can be anything that is impaired or incapable of functioning ot is beyond repair. For example, "The company was in such financial trouble, it was considered a basket case".

Simply defined, it means stressed out, or unable to cope

But why basket? 


WWI wounded arriving at triage station, Suippes, France

In World War I, soldiers who had lost all of their limbs and could not be safely carried on stretchers were put into makeshift baskets. The term is considered insulting and dates back to around 1919. 

The Oxford English Dictionary says the colloquial term “basket case” originated in the United States shortly after World War I, and meant “a person, esp. a soldier, who has lost all four limbs.”

But there is some evidence that is a mythic origin.

"However, the phrase, which initially referred to American soldiers supposedly left limbless by the war, was a product of the postwar rumor mill in the US. No quadruple-amputee American soldiers existed, and there’s no evidence that any head-and-torso survivors from any country were carried around in baskets."


25 March 2024

Doobie Brothers, marijuana and doobies



The Doobie Brothers started when drummer John Hartman went to California in 1969 hoping to meet Skip Spence of Moby Grape. He wanted to join a Moby Grape reunion that never happened.

Spence introduced Hartman to singer, guitarist and songwriter Tom Johnston and the two proceeded to form the nucleus of what would become The Doobie Brothers. They called that early incarnation "Pud," and had a number of lineups and styles. As a "power trio" with bassist Greg Murphy and later with a horn section, they gigged around San Jose. In 1970 they teamed up with bass player Dave Shogren and singer, guitarist and songwriter Patrick Simmons.

Johnston has said that the Doobie Brothers name can be credited to a friend who thought it served the band's fondness for "doobies" - a slang for marijuana cigarettes.

Since this site is more about name etymologies (and not really a music site), let's take a look at the doobie connection.


Marijuana has always had a good number of nicknames. "Joints" is a common one. "Spliffs" is another that refers to cigarettes rolled with a bit of cardboard or a rolled business card in one end to serve as a mouthpiece. These are also known as a "crutch" or "roach." In North America, "roach" usually means the smoked-down butt of a joint.

Where did "joint" as a marijuana cigarette come from?  Ultimately, it's from French where it is an adjective meaning "joined" (past participle of the verb joindre). And that comes from the Latin iunctus, the past participle of iungo meaning "I join."

You might guess it has something to do with joining that spliff filter/mouthpiece, but it seems not.

By 1821, "joint" had become an Anglo-Irish term for an annex, or a side-room that is "joined" to a main room. By 1877, this had developed into U.S. slang for a place, building, or establishment that had a negative or questionable association - like an opium den.

By 1935, "joint" was being used to refer to the hypodermic needles used to inject heroin and other drugs at such establishments.

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, its first usage in the sense of "marijuana cigarette" is dated to 1938.

Before we get back to the band, let's just say that for our international readers in Europe, some Commonwealth nations and the Middle-East, joints or "spliffs" are rolled by mixing cannabis or hashish with tobacco.

A more modern usage of the past 20 years in North America is the term "blunt" which is rolled using a cigar skin, from which the filler tobacco has been removed, and replaced by marijuana.



The Doobie Brothers played live all over Northern California in 1970 and attracted enough of a following to get a contract at Warner Bros. Records. Their following was not essentially potheads but leather-jacketed motorcycle fans.

But the band's 1971 self-titled debut album didn't really play to that audience and featured acoustic guitars and some country influences.

Album two was Toulouse Street and had the more rock-oriented hits "Listen to the Music" and  a cover of The Byrds' recording of "Jesus Is Just Alright."

With some changes to the rhythm section, their sound became more of a mashup of R&B,  country, bluegrass, hard rock, roadhouse boogie, and rock and roll.


They had a string of hits in 1973 including two songs that every bar band covered -  "Long Train Runnin" and "China Grove" from the 1973 album The Captain and Me.

Personally, I liked the addition of Steely Dan's (see our post on that band) guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter.

They had their first #1 single with "Black Water."

What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits was a multi-platinum album. The album also has the horn-driven funk song "Eyes of Silver" and during this period and for several subsequent tours, the Doobies were often supported on-stage by Stax Records legends The Memphis Horns

The band was under contract to release another album in 1976 and they turned to Michael McDonald to add songs to Simmons and Porter's offerings. The resulting album was Takin' It to the Streets which marked another change to the sound which pleased some listeners and pissed off some of their original followers.

Their harder guitar-based rock gave way to "blue-eyed soul" and soft rock with keyboards and horns.  Baxter and MacDonald had both spent time in Steely Dan and Baxter's playing was more jazz-inflected guitar and McDonald's voice became the voice of the band in this period. His "Takin' It to the Streets," and "It Keeps You Runnin" were both hits.

A greatest hits compilation, Best of the Doobies, also came out that year and it was certified in 1996 by the RIAA as "Diamond" for sales in excess of ten million. The follow-up was a volume two of songs.