Lust, Lecherousness, and Love

by Gregg Chadwick

Peter Clothier's scurrilously witty new novel "The Pilgrim's Staff" explores lust, lecherousness, and love through the voices of two men from two disparate centuries. David Soames, a contemporary figurative painter living as an ex-pat in Los Angeles, receives a curious package in the mail from an English cousin. Wrapped in layers of tape and memory is the two hundred year-old journal of an English gentleman, who begins his tale with the words,"I am no Rake!" "Rake" is a wonderfully antiquated word that refers to a man caught in the snares of immorality, particularly concerning the charms of the opposite sex. 

William Hogarth

A Rakes's Progress:3

The Rake at the Rose Tavern

62.5x75.2 cm oil on canvas 1734

Collection Sir John Soane's Museum, London

Writing this on the 10th of November, in a coincidence worthy of Clothier's novel, I am reminded that the 18th century English painter William Hogarth was born on this day in 1697.  Hogarth's pre-cinematic series entitled "A Rake's Progress" immediately comes to mind.  Reflecting his own deep history in the arts as both writer and arts administrator, Clothier deftly weaves artistic concerns into "The Pilgrim's Staff." In Clothier's novel both men richly voice their own sexual histories with honesty and quite a bit of humor that echoes the satirical artworks of fellow Englishmen Hogarth, Thomas Rowlandson, and George Cruikshank. 

Clothier's "The Pilgrim's Staff" is not a mere romp. The novel also explores the destructive potential of family legacy and the clouded history of power, abuse, and sexual slavery in 18th century Imperial England as well as in our contemporary world. "The Pilgrim's Staff" is a book about sexual pleasure and also a cautionary tale that reminds us not to lose the love as we lust. Highly recommended!


Notes on Peter Clothier and "The Pilgrim's Staff"

Peter Clothier learned about masculinity the British way: boarding school and Cambridge--and spent twenty years in recovery in men's group work. 

Previous books include two novels, a monograph on David Hockney, and a memoir, While I am Not Afraid: Secrets of a Man's Heart. His recent book, Persist, was acclaimed as the "ultimate survival guide for any creative artist." 

Find out more at: http://www.thepilgrimsstaff.com

Shout Out to Peter! I am honored that my painting, The Embrace, and my studio are featured on your cover. Bravo on your new book!

You've Got It

by Gregg Chadwick

You've Got It

(Song by Song Review of Bruce Springsteen's New Album - Wrecking Ball)

"She is beautiful, and more than beautiful; she is surprising. Black abounds in her, and everything she inspires is nocturnal and deep. Her eyes are two caves dimly glittering with mystery, and her gaze illumines like lightning: an explosion in the darkness."

- Charles Baudelaire , The Desire to Paint from Le Spleen de Paris, trans. by Edward Kaplan

Gregg Chadwick
Golden Gate
30"x22" monotype on paper 2011

Springsteen's You've Got It (Listen Here) is a call to a union of a different kind. The song begins with a simple understated guitar and vocals vibe that sounds as if it could have come from a lost demo from his audition at Columbia Records for the legendary John Hammond.

No one ever found it, ain't no school ever taught it

No one ever made it, ain't no one ever bought it

Baby you've got it, baby you've got it

Come on and give it to me

Piano and a pedal steel guitar fill in the spaces behind the singer and the song begins to build into a horn swathed ode to lust and love.

Yeah, you can't read it in a book, and you can't even dream it

Honey, it ain't got a name, you just know it when you see it

Baby you've got it, yeah, baby you've got it

Come on and give it to me

Like good whiskey, the rasp in Springsteen's voice and Marc Muller’s bluesy guitar solo compel us to sip slowly and appreciate the company we are with. In this instance Springsteen's line from his song No Surrender is absolutely true: 

We learned more from a three minute record than we ever learned in school

Like Springsteen sings, some things can't be learned from a book, but they still take a lot of practice to get right. 

All lyrics from You've Got It -  Copyright © Bruce Springsteen (ASCAP)

More Song by Song Reviews of Wrecking Ball:

1. We Take Care of Our Own

2. Easy Money

3. Shackled and Drawn

4. Jack of All Trades

5. Death to My Hometown

6. This Depression

7. Wrecking Ball

8. You've Got It

9. Rocky Ground

10. Land of Hope and Dreams

11. We Are Alive

More at:

"Bruce Springsteen's widescreen vision of America on Wrecking Ball is filled with terror, tension, tenacity and above all else, triumph which may not replenish your bank account, but it will replenish your soul."

-Anthony Kuzminski, Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball, antiMusic

"What was done to my country was un-American."

Shackled and Drawn

Jack of All Trades

Death to My Hometown

From Down Under: Sean Sennett Talks With Springsteen About Wrecking Ball

All Things Shining by Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly

The Working Man's Voice - The Wall Street Journal

A More Chaste Review of You've Got It by Jonathan Lack

Parsing the Samples and Quotes on Wrecking Ball

Bruce Springsteen, Théatre Marigny press conference, Paris, February 2012

Don't Miss This Upcoming Event on NPR:

NPR Music will broadcast Bruce Springsteen's keynote speech from the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas. The live webcast of that address will take place on NPR Music on March 15 at noon Central time.

You've Got It

by Gregg Chadwick

You've Got It

(Song by Song Review of Bruce Springsteen's New Album - Wrecking Ball)

"She is beautiful, and more than beautiful; she is surprising. Black abounds in her, and everything she inspires is nocturnal and deep. Her eyes are two caves dimly glittering with mystery, and her gaze illumines like lightning: an explosion in the darkness."

- Charles Baudelaire , The Desire to Paint from Le Spleen de Paris, trans. by Edward Kaplan

Gregg Chadwick
Golden Gate
30"x22" monotype on paper 2011

Springsteen's You've Got It (Listen Here) is a call to a union of a different kind. The song begins with a simple understated guitar and vocals vibe that sounds as if it could have come from a lost demo from his audition at Columbia Records for the legendary John Hammond.

No one ever found it, ain't no school ever taught it

No one ever made it, ain't no one ever bought it

Baby you've got it, baby you've got it

Come on and give it to me

Piano and a pedal steel guitar fill in the spaces behind the singer and the song begins to build into a horn swathed ode to lust and love.

Yeah, you can't read it in a book, and you can't even dream it

Honey, it ain't got a name, you just know it when you see it

Baby you've got it, yeah, baby you've got it

Come on and give it to me

Like good whiskey, the rasp in Springsteen's voice and Marc Muller’s bluesy guitar solo compel us to sip slowly and appreciate the company we are with. In this instance Springsteen's line from his song No Surrender is absolutely true: 

We learned more from a three minute record than we ever learned in school

Like Springsteen sings, some things can't be learned from a book, but they still take a lot of practice to get right. 

All lyrics from You've Got It -  Copyright © Bruce Springsteen (ASCAP)

More Song by Song Reviews of Wrecking Ball:

1. We Take Care of Our Own

2. Easy Money

3. Shackled and Drawn

4. Jack of All Trades

5. Death to My Hometown

6. This Depression

7. Wrecking Ball

8. You've Got It

9. Rocky Ground

10. Land of Hope and Dreams

11. We Are Alive

More at:

"Bruce Springsteen's widescreen vision of America on Wrecking Ball is filled with terror, tension, tenacity and above all else, triumph which may not replenish your bank account, but it will replenish your soul."

-Anthony Kuzminski, Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball, antiMusic

"What was done to my country was un-American."

Shackled and Drawn

Jack of All Trades

Death to My Hometown

From Down Under: Sean Sennett Talks With Springsteen About Wrecking Ball

All Things Shining by Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly

The Working Man's Voice - The Wall Street Journal

A More Chaste Review of You've Got It by Jonathan Lack

Parsing the Samples and Quotes on Wrecking Ball

Bruce Springsteen, Théatre Marigny press conference, Paris, February 2012

Don't Miss This Upcoming Event on NPR:

NPR Music will broadcast Bruce Springsteen's keynote speech from the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas. The live webcast of that address will take place on NPR Music on March 15 at noon Central time.