Tag Archives: the dude abides

Take ‘Er Easy Thursday: Lazy Man Blues

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Chuck Mathieu: bluesman, Dudeist

Chuck Mathieu: bluesman, Dudeist

Welcome to another Dudesday, loyal reader. If you’re just joining us, this is our weekly celebration of the ethos of my favorite movie character: The Dude. Yes, The Dude is a lazy man, but that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate him. And today’s song…if it wasn’t written about The Dude, well, it was written by someone who is firmly on the path of Dudeism. Just look at the title: “Lazy Man Blues“ (click the link to hear the tune).

And the first line is, “Don’t feel like doin’ nothin’.” Well, you don’t need me to tell you that describes The Dude perfectly. He doesn’t feel like doin’ nothin’ except bowling, drinking white Russians, and listening to Bob. He follows that line with “Don’t want no part of workin’” You’re not alone there, Mr. Mathieu.

Then Chuck Mathieu gets to the heart of Take ‘Er Easy Thursday when he sings

There’s workin’ folks that just can’t relax

They’re working hard and breakin’ their backs

One day, they’ll all be dead from heart attacks.

Brothers and sisters, friends of the revolution, can I get an AMEN for Mr. Chuck Mathieu? Yea verily, he speaks the truth! He has seen the light just like The Dude, who is expert at taking it easy, and he sure isn’t gonna break his back working for The Man. And why would he when he can spend all his time at leisure?

Mathieu also has his own version of “Careful, man! There’s a beverage here!” when he warns against going too fast because he might fall and break his glass. Clearly, this is a man who follows the righteous path of Dudeism. And I take comfort in that. It’s nice to know that lazy guys like this are out there takin’ ‘er easy for all us sinners. That about wraps ‘er up. Until next time, you take ‘er easy. I know that you will.

Take ‘Er Easy Thursday: The Dualers

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Well loyal reader, here we are again. It’s our weekly Dudesday celebrating the ethos of one Jeffery Lebowski (at least that’s the handle his lovin’ parents gave him). Yes, I know I didn’t do a Take ‘Er Easy Thursday post last week, but that was only because I was working on publishing the May issue of the magazine. But enough of that. Let’s get on with takin’ ‘er easy.

Will you just take it easy, man?

Will you just take it easy, man?

The Dualers is a band I featured once upon a Ska Saturday, but this band has a song that fits right in there for our theme. Before writing about the song, I should say that this post is largely inspired by my four-year-old son who discovered The Dualers in my iTunes and really grooved to this song. “Take It Easy” (no, it is most certainly not a cover of The Eagles, man!) has the perfect combination of melody and message. The melody is a real easygoing one that is perfect for just relaxing. Then you get the message and it’s just one great line after another. The chorus states, “Take your time, no need to hurry. Take it easy, there’s no need to worry.” Is that Dudely or what? After a brief freakout in which The Dude and Walter don’t make the exchange for Bunny, The Dude realizes that the whole thing is out of his control and he just needs to take it easy.

Then chew on these lyrics:

If you fall from the race

there’s no disgrace

just pick yourself from off the ground.

Sure, those are words we should all live by. When you look at The Dude, he gets knocked out, drugged, and hit in the head with a coffee mug. But he just keeps abiding. And really, isn’t that how the whole durned human comedy keeps perpetuating itself? You fall, you pick yourself up, and ultimately you abide. I take comfort in that. That about wraps ‘er up, don’tcha think? Until next time, you take ‘er easy. I know that you will.

Take ‘Er Easy Thursday: Simmer Down

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One of these guys needs to simmer down

One of these guys needs to simmer down

It’s time once again for our weekly celebration of the ethos of The Dude. The way I see it, we could all stand to take things a little easier. Now, this particular song came along long before The Dude was ever innerduced to the world. However, the message of the song is basically the same one The Dude delivered to Walter after Walter decided to pull his piece on Smokey during a league game: “Will you just take it easy, man?” Only Bob Marley (or whoever sings it) put it this way:

Simmer down, oh control your temper
Simmer down, for the battle will be hotter.

Am I wrong? Am I wrong?

Just think about how many people need to hear the message to simmer down. Maybe it’s your spouse. Maybe it’s that jerk behind you on the freeway (he’s probably driving a Corvette) who looks like he’s making his best effort to park his car in your trunk…while going 75 miles per hour and gesticulating at you because you’re not going 90 like he wants. Or maybe it’s your boss who keeps pressing you for that report that you know no one is going to read anyway. The point is that we’ve allowed ourselves to get way too uptight and maybe we’d all be better off if we just simmer down. In fact, I think it’s such a necessary message for all of us that I am including three different versions of the tune. Until next time, you take ‘er easy. I know that you will.

Take ‘Er Easy Thursday: Overdose on Vitamins

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"Quit your job."

“Quit your job.”

I’m not going to lie to you, loyal reader. I had a hard time finding a tune for Take ‘Er Easy Thursday. Granted, this one is not about The Dude like last week’s selection, but it does celebrate The Dude’s ethos. For starters, the song is called “Quit Your Job,” which is something The Dude would most certainly applaud. And then about 30 seconds into the song, the vocalist says, “money is only as important as you make it out to be.” Think about it. Do you ever see The Dude handle money? Not only that, but when he’s in Maude’s limo, The Dude tells the driver, “You can’t worry about that shit. Life goes on, man.” Indeed. The vocalist also questions whether making it to the upper class qualifies you as a success. Seriously, can you think of a better example of that than The Big Lebowski?

Even though Overdose on Vitamins doesn’t specifically reference The Dude, this band does a pretty good job of singing all about The Dude’s ethos. All in 3:44. Well, that about wraps ‘er up for this week. Until next time, you take ‘er easy. I know that you will.

Take ‘Er Easy Thursday: The Dude Abides by Max Random

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Helping us all abide

Helping us all abide

Once upon a time, loyal reader, someone told your humble narrator, “Someone’s gonna write a song about you one day.” (By the way, if you want to be that person, I’ll start accepting submissions immediately. Oh, and you’ll be rewarded with some Incognito gear.) Well, sometimes there’s a man (and I’m talking about The Dude here) and even if he’s not a hero, he’s worthy of having a song written about him.

This isn’t the first song written about The Dude, but it’s a good one. It makes me laugh to beat the band. Max Random has managed to encapsulate…well, maybe not the entire movie…but a lot of the ins, outs, and what have yous of the film in a little less than four minutes. Not to say that there are any spoilers exactly. Except maybe when he mentions Bunny’s toe (or is it?). Awwww…look at me. I’m ramblin’. The thing is, sometimes there’s a song and it’s the song for its time and place. With the weekend right around the corner and all of us trying to get through one more workday before the weekend, this-a here song I’m about to innerduce just might help us all abide a little better. And I take comfort in that. I done innerduced it enough so that about wraps ‘er up for me. Until next time, you take ‘er easy. I know you will.