We’re told that Nov. 15 will be the last day for Pints&union in New Albany prior to the pub’s inglorious “Hail Mary” flight to the Highlands: Here’s the epitaph: “In the end, Pints&union didn’t deserve New Albany.”
I’ll be marking the occasion with appropriately themed music: Speaking of epitaphs, a wonderful song called “Get Out and Stay Out.”
There’ll be daily postings on my NA Archipelago page at Fb, which then will be aggregated here at the website.
Ironically, on Wednesday 9 October LEO Weekly revealed its 2024 Readers’ Choice poll winners. Pints&union captured 2nd place among the tally of best SoIN restaurants, and 3rd place for best SoIN bars. The LEO poll’s other SoIN winners (Lady Tron’s and The Exchange in food, The Alcove and Wine Shop NA in drink) will NOT be moving to the Highlands, and readers are encouraged to patronize them and celebrate good times, c’mon.
And now, a few resonant tunes, beginning with this bonus banger from Sleaford Mods.
When the outlook is bleak, there is no more of an informative listen than Pink Floyd’s album Animals. Specifically, “charade” is a word featuring prominently in the song “Pigs (Three Different Ones),” offered here for your listening and dancing pleasure as you scout New Albany for a new local pub, all the while hoping your latest third-space refuge doesn’t abandon you.
The Courier Journal helpfully reminds us that in the beginning, P&u “brought ‘new energy’ to downtown New Albany,” but then the craft mixologist’s ennui set in, and “the one place I (the owner) wanted” turned out to be located in the Highlands, not humble NA.
I got chills, they’re multiplying
And I’m losing control
‘Cause the power (Bardstown Road’s) supplying
It’s electrifying (electrifying)
The 1964 album Thanks for Nothing by Rosemary Clooney (George’s aunt) is a conceptual venture of sorts with a theme of abandonment, loss and rejection. Songs include “Hello Faithless,” “All Alone,” “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” and the title track.
Empty arms, misty eyes
Broken dreams, cloud skies
Thanks a lot, thanks for nothin’ at all
Useless ’cause, wasted tears
Must forget, could take years
Thanks a lot, thanks for nothin’ at all
Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway’s 1972 hit “Where Is the Love?” symbolizes the sentiments of disappointed regular pub patrons who kept coming back for more; at the end of the day, they might as well have been Oakland A’s fans, watching forlornly as the moving vans depart.
Where is the love?
You said, was mine, all mine
‘Til the end of time
Was it just a lie?
Where is the love?
As you might imagine, the expression “high and dry” originally described a boat that had been beached, or was in dry dock. Figuratively, “high and dry” describes being cast into a difficult situation without help or sustenance. Radiohead’s song doesn’t lack for timely relevance, does it?
You’d kill yourself for recognition
Kill yourself to never, ever stop
You broke another mirror
You’re turning into something you are not
The Cashmeres were a doo-wop group formed in Atlanta in 1949. I’ve no idea whether this gem, “Don’t Let The Door Hit Your Back,” is representative of the group’s work, but kudos to the bass player. His groove is strong.
Who could blame casually discarded regular P&u customers recalling this 1978 album track from the band Blondie, as propelled by the great Clem Burke’s drumming?
Don’t go away sad
Don’t go pre-fab
Don’t go be bad
Don’t go away mad
JUST GO AWAY (GO AWAY)
There were good times at the pub, yes. But feelings remain mixed as departure nears, and it brings to mind bands like The Smiths. How soon is now? Johnny Marr and Steven Patrick Morrissey asked this question all the way back in 1985. Perhaps there’ll be an answer over yonder in the Highlands, on glittering and trendy (seriously?) Bardstown Road, where people know what a shrub is and can appreciate cocktail-borne innovation.
Or is it a better question to ask “How SoIN Is Now”?
When you say it’s gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
See I’ve already waited too long
And all my hope is gone
Let’s face it. Without lyricist Bernie Taupin, there is no Elton John as we know the international pop star.
“I can see by your eyes you must be lying when you think I don’t have a clue.”
Music offers insight, even solace. Lacking that, it can comprise a soundtrack to epithets and a clenching of fists. As an example, consider “I’ve Seen That Movie Too,” a 1973 track from the album “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”
So keep your auditions for somebody
Who hasn’t got so much to lose
‘Cause you can tell by the lines I’m reciting
That I’ve seen that movie too
The panicked and disorganized retreat by Union forces following their defeat in the First Battle of Bull Run was derisively tagged “The Great Skedaddle,” and to be perfectly honest, when Pints&union moves from New Albany in November, the pub’s evacuation to the beckoning Highlands is likely to be far more orderly.
But let’s continue to mark the occasion of the departure with appropriately themed soundtrack music: Eartha Kitt’s stellar rendition of “The Day the Circus Left Town.”
My heart still recalls when it seems to my mind
That my heart only knows how to frown
How my heart almost broke when they left me behind
The day that the circus left town
Don’t forget our hash tag: #pintsskedaddle2024
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