Entertainment, both natural and man-made

John, on his blog By Stargoose and Hanglands, shared a great video last Friday with Captain John singing a lovely sweet song.  John mentioned the Music Maker Relief Foundation, which I'd never heard of.  I went to the site immediately afterward and it brings me great joy that this foundation exists.  They are working to preserve American musical heritage, to help the great older musicians who never made big bucks from their love of music.  Take a jog over there and have a look.  I think it links well with our music Fridays that Robin got started on her blog, The New Dharma Bums (with husband Roger).

Speaking of music, Friday night my family and I went to Mesamerica at our local Discovery Museum's planetarium.


Our music was recorded, unlike the video. We took my 8 year old grandson and he sat there transfixed. Until he fell asleep thirty minutes into the 60 minute show! It was a dizzying visual display that put me into an hypnotic state. There I sat next to my first husband, joking about all the mind-bending drugs we had taken in our youth and how we could have just skipped all that if we'd had this technology back then! The same planetarium is running Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon later this month, and I am tempted to go. There was another fantastic visual show this week on Saturday, the sunset! I saw the house next to me all lit up it a pink glow, so I grabbed my new iPhone 11pro and ran outside. There I met one of my neighbors, also taking photos of the sky. It was changing minute to minute and we talked while we took our pictures. It was insanely beautiful.

The weather was warm all weekend: 68 on Saturday and 70 on Sunday. I mean, so sweater at all! Just a cotton shirt and some jeans and I was good to go. I had lunch on Saturday with a new friend, and we ate and chatted for two hours. Her husband has Parkinson's, so we did talk a lot about that. On Sunday, my friend of 31 years who lives near Boulder, came over and we went to lunch in a restaurant that turned out to be very noisy, so when the waitress brought our water we informed her we were moving to the patio. There was a stiff breeze out there, but it was better than the noise inside, and as long as you were in the sun, the breeze was not a big bother. Another yummy lunch, eaten leisurely while talking with a very dear friend. Afterward, we walked a couple of blocks to an amazing store called Nature's Own. My friend is quite knowledgeable amount gemstones and minerals and she wanted to check it out. She ended up buying a couple of beautiful stone bowls and a vase. They have extraordinary amethyst geodes that I would love to have, but at a cost of $7,000, I had to pass. Sigh.
I finished up my Sunday by going over to the kid's house to watch the Super Bowl. Actually, eating was my main objective and the ads came in second, with the game finishing last. I had heard that POTUS bought a thirty second commercial, but I sure didn't see it. The half-time show was the usual over-the-top music production with scantily clad women bumping and grinding their way through a medley of their hits. Oh-la-la. Maybe I'm just jealous of their youthful exuberance (though both performers were in their 40s and 50s) and physical fitness. I mean, pole dancing in your fifties? You've gotta be in damn good shape! That, I am not.

TGIF

I was sick this week with a cold that settled in my chest. Sunday was a lazy day, barely moving about at all except to let Lucy out for a pee. I watched a lot of recorded programs on the television, notably, for this post, a John Sebastian special on Folk Music (PBS). It was extremely bitter sweet to see...so many of the singers and songs from my teen years, and the artists that I emulated when I was playing music with friends, and later, publicly. The Lovin' Spoonful, The Kingston Trio; The Limelighters were early influences and music that my parents listened to. Those early ballads and songs adopted and adapted by white American folk singers also had a common style: smooth (too smooth), mournful, too removed from their origins to feel authentic. I didn't know that then because this was the first time I'd heard many of the tunes. One of the reasons I grew bored with folk music of America was because it became, well, boring for me. Too slow, too down tempo, too mournful. Some songs endure for me, of course, and this one is particularly bitter sweet.

 One of the songs I sang often was Guthrie's Deportee. I was all about folk music with a social conscience. It was a great song for my voice, but after some time I just felt sad when I sang it, so I dropped it from my song list. It is a fine, song, however, and so I'll include it here.

  And what, I ask you, has changed? The music of Peter, Paul and Mary, the artists mentioned above, the adapted folk music sung by Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, these informed my view of America and the world. They were songs that called out social injustice and clamored for change. Maybe I'm under the influence of my illness still, maybe melconcholy from my recent relationship split, maybe being in a new town and state and still finding my way, but I'm just not feeling all that warm and fuzzy about the human race as a whole. Of course our President and Republicans in Congress aren't lifting my mood either. The rich keep getting richer and the poor get poorer. This song, written in 1934 by Goebel Reeves, still rings true in 2019. I performed this song, in a workshop, for Ronnie Gilbert who was leading the day-long workshop way back in the early 1990s. Mary McCaslin was also in that workshop and she and I worked on a song together (Ronnie asked us to) and performed it later in the day. I have no recollection what song that was! But I'll always remember with great happiness that Ronnie thought I ought to be performing. She said, "I don't care if it's in somebody's house, but you've got to be singing." I may not have followed Ronnie's advice, but I sure still enjoy music. And I sing in the shower. Here's what I finally listened to in order to lift my spirits and steady my heart.

TGIF

Another Friday, more music! Here's a video by my friend Lynn Zanetta. Lynn and I went to high school together, and reconnected about eight years ago. I was surprised to learn that she has quite the musical talent, as a song writer, musician and singer.

She played a lot locally in her small town of Downieville CA. I went with her to a concert in Sacramento and she was singing along in the audience. The person on stage marveled at her voice and wanted to know who she was. I've been to a couple of her house concerts as well. She's a lovely and loving person and I wish I had more opportunities to sing with her.

Nancy Northrup is another friend whose musical career really took off shortly after I met her. We thought we might sing together, but I didn't pass muster with her. I was out of practice, and not really good with improvisation and harmony, which is what she was looking for. So, she went on to team up with others and has had three cds produced by John Beland, famed Nashville studio musician who was also a part of the Flying Burrito Brothers.

 Next week:  Tammi Brown and Bob Reid, two more friends with actual music careers!

Have a great weekend, filled with music!

Monday Musings

I was listening to music today, and this song came on. It's one that I've always loved -- for the music more than the words.  I looked up the words today, and, wow.  The universe works in mysterious ways.

Shotgun Down the Avalanche

I'm riding shotgun down the avalanche, ooh
Tumbling and falling down the avalanche, ooh

So be quiet tonight
The stars shine bright
On this mountain of new fallen snow
But I will raise my voice into the void
You have left me nowhere to go

I love you so much and it's so bizarre
A mystery that goes on and on and on
This is the best thing and the very most hard
And we don't get along

After countless appeals
We keep spinning our wheels
On this mountain of new fallen snow
So I let go the catch and we are over the edge
You have left me nowhere to go

I'm riding shotgun down the avalanche

Sometimes you make me lose my will to live
And just become a beacon for your soul
But the past is stronger than my will to forgive
Forgive…

I'm riding shotgun down the avalanche, ooh
Tumbling and falling down the avalanche, ooh

So be quiet tonight
Be sure to step lightly
On this mountain of new fallen snow
But I will raise up my voice into the void
You have left me nowhere to go

I'm riding shotgun down the avalanche

Breaks my heart.  There is music aplenty about the heart of love.  Sometimes it seems that my life has an overabundance of the heartache of love.  I'm not looking for pity or soothing words, I'm just stating how I feel today.  I have felt the good love of my family (in particular my daughter and grandchildren) and certainly a great wonderful group of friends.  But coupling?  Romantic love?  Damn, it's been hard.  As Shawn says, "This is the best thing and the very most hard."

*** A few hours later, after a walk and some conversation, I feel much more steady.  See?  Like the Buddhists say, it's just stuff passing by and through.  You can observe it and watch it come and go.

Monday Musings

I have been doing a daily music thing on Facebook, wherein you post LPs that are a big part of your musical history and influence.  When first nominated, I thought, "Oh bother..." but I have thoroughly enjoyed this musical journey. 

You know how certain smells can take you back in time?  Well, for me it is the same with music.  I suspect that many people feel this way.  Music transcends time, gets to a specific part of our brain that knows no time.

These the tunes of my early life.  Formative.  Affirming.  

Of course there was new music later in life, as I'm always curious and open to new 'sounds.'  Even hip-hop and rap provide inspiration at times.  "Girl" bands, like The Clicks, shot adrenaline into my bloodstream when I was in my 50s; the Indigo Girls rocked my world in my 40s.  Artists like Janis Ian came back on the scene and sparked my imagination once again.  My husband re-introduced me to classical music (he is a fan, and very knowledgeable) at a much deeper level than I had known before. 

Our new home provides even more avenues for music appreciation: we have regular concerts of every genre.  Last week we saw a group called "Horns A Plenty" which blew me away.  Look them up on YouTube.  They are great.

In these times of the utmost cray-cray and craven politics, let music be your balm, your inspiration and the fire that gets you marching in the streets.  I'm thinking of the music of Les Miserables.  The Song of Angry Men.  To the ramparts!

Monday Musings

My husband gave me this fantastic magazine a couple of days ago:

Ms. Mitchell has been on the scene for a very very long time, and thank goodness.  Her work has been one of the most influential musical and artistic/poetic experiences in my life.  I think the first album of hers I purchased was For the Roses.  It would be awhile before I listened to her first albums, Song for a Seagull being the first.  I'm listening to that this morning and am transported by her genius.

I first heard the song "Michael from Mountains" from Judy Collins' album Wildflowers, 1967, when I was a mere 10 years old.  Side two contains another Mitchell classic, "Both Sides Now."  Dad bought that album, for himself, and I instantly fell in love with it.  Little did I know at the time about this singular songwriter would become so important to me.

She spoke to my adolescent dreams, in poetic language that went to the heart of things I was already feeling but could not articulate.  Here I was, a creative, artistic young woman in a family who (I felt) did not understand me at all.  Like many teens, I dreamed of a life like none that I had known.  Many of my fantasies were romantically idyllic, but isn't this the way with hormones and inexperience?  It's the stuff that dreams are made of, and propels one into independent life.  Her self awareness and empathy with the human condition were especially compelling to this girl.

"Song To A Seagull"

Fly silly seabird
No dreams can possess you
No voices can blame you
For sun on your wings
My gentle relations
Have names they must call me
For loving the freedom
Of all flying things
My dreams with the seagulls fly
Out of reach out of cry

I came to the city
And lived like old Crusoe
On an island of noise
In a cobblestone sea
And the beaches were concrete
And the stars paid a light bill
And the blossoms hung false
On their store window trees
My dreams with the seagulls fly
Out of reach out of cry

Out of the city
And down to the seaside
To sun on my shoulders
And wind in my hair
But sandcastles crumble
And hunger is human
And humans are hungry
For worlds they can't share
My dreams with the seagulls fly
Out of reach out of cry

I call to a seagull
Who dives to the waters
And catches his silver-fine
Dinner alone

- J.M.


Pure poetry.  Along with Leonard Cohen, also Canadian, perhaps one of the best musical lyricists/poets of my time.

Thanks to Steve for giving me the magazine (he knows how I love her) and sending me on this magical journey back in time.

My dreams with the seagulls fly
Out of reach out of cry

Tragique et Sublim

 

 

S.O.S. of a Man in Distress

Why do I live, why do I die?
Why do I live, why do I cry?
Here is the SOS of a man in distress
I've never had both feet upon the ground
I'd rather be a bird
I don't fit into this skin
I'd like to see the world turned upside down
If ever it were beautiful
It's lovelier from above, from above
I've always confused life
with the comic strips
Even wished I could transform
I feel something
That draws me
That draws me
That draws me up
Into the great lotto of the universe
I don't have the right numbers
I don't fit into this skin
I don't want to be a robot
Eating, working, sleeping
Why do I live, why do I die
Why do I live, why do I cry
I think I'm catching waves
From another world
I've never had both feet upon the ground
I'd rather be a bird
I'd like to see the world turned upside down
I'd rather be a bird
Sleep, child, sleep

This song is ever more poignant because the young man died in 2007, at 23 years of age, from cystic fibrosis. I have never heard of him before, but heard him this morning on a playlist of a friend. His story emerged, and I have watched several videos of his work on You Tube. How sad his passing, how grand that he lived on earth and shared his love and talent. Tragic and sublime.

Whistle While You Work

There is something supremely satisfying in cleaning house while listening to music.  I have several play lists I've made for the task, but this my latest and best.  All these songs compel my body to move.

Where Not to Look for Freedom - The Belle Brigade

Get the Party Started - P!nk Greatest Hits...So Far!!!             

This Magic Moment-Lake Street Dive-Fun Machine 

Oh, Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison-Black & White Night

Defying Gravity (Glee Cast Version)

Frim Fram Sauce-Diana Krall -The Very Best of Diana Krall

That Better Day - ByrdJones - Radio Soul

Thing Called Love- Bonnie Raitt-The Best of Bonnie Raitt

Faith-Lake Street Dive     Fun Machine - EP           

Shawn Colvin   -These Four Walls           

Sweet Caprice-Mumbo Gumbo  Fun Pak

Emerald Street-Eliza Gilkyson  - Beautiful World        

We Belong Together  -Rickie Lee Jones   Pirates

Ecstasy-George Fenton   Living Out Loud Soundtrack

I'll Fly Away-Gillian Welch & Alison Krauss-O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Keep On the Sunny Side-The Whites O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Music from the Film)

Hey, Soul Sister-Train  - Hey, Soul Sister

Common Threads-Bobby McFerrin  - Medicine Music

Going up the Country-Canned Heat  The Best of Canned Heat           

100 Years-Five for Fighting  -The Battle for Everything           

Dancing With Myself (Glee Cast Version)

Hollaback Girl- Gwen Stefani Love, Angel, Music, Baby

Wild Night-John Mellencamp - Words & Music - John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits

Julie's House-Leo Kottke - Leo Kottke: Essential Folk           

Daughter-Loudon Wainwright III   - Daughter

Walkin' After Midnight-Patsy Cline - Best of Patsy Cline

Me and That Train-Patty Larkin- A Gogo

Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk  Rufus Wainwright  - Poses           

You Got the Silver-Susan Tedeschi - Hope and Desire

Burning Down the House-Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense

What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)-Kelly Clarkson  - Stronger

Take Me to the River-Talking Heads- Stop Making Sense

Ho Hey-The Lumineers  - Ho Hey - Single           

Royals -Lorde  - Pure Heroine            

Quite a mix of musical styles -- I do have eclectic tastes.

Today I've been really organizing, throwing out junk, and making room for a new desk to hold my new computer that's coming on Monday.  I purchased a 27 inch iMac and am very excited!  I currently work on a MacBook Pro laptop, which is a great computer and has served me well for 4 years.  I want a large screen in order to process my photographs, and after checking out a couple of friends' iMacs, I knew that was the right move for me.  I'll be able to view the photos in large format, which is what I want when making corrections with Lightroom or Photoshop.

And so, house organization in my small apartment is a must.  Where to fit in such a monster? After considering many spots, I've selected the best location and the work is on to make it fit.  And the music is keeping me buoyant and joyful.

Project Complete!

Eve has done it! The project is complete, and I can't wait to receive my cd. I donated to her fundraising campaign because her music inspires me and I believe in financially support creatives and artists. Indiegogo was the fundraising tool. I love that this digital age allows us to collaborate and contribute to each other in many ways.

Speaking of things creative, I've been working this weekend on setting up my own shop on the retail site Etsy. It's called "conLuz" (with light, because, you know, photography is all about light) and features my photography. I am hoping to generate some interest and sell some images! See the Etsy badge on my side bar and go have a look. I was inspired to start this shop because of the other photographers using this site to sell their work. Many have hundreds of followers and produce some very lovely work.

I also recently purchased a great hand-made back pack on Etsy and I LOVE it. It's a paisley print and very 1960s retro.   Go to LauraHoweDesigns to see more of her work.

Happy shopping.