The Pre-Read

Drunk Parking

Brilliant ad campaign from Brazil I believe.

Sometimes we need see things from a different persepctive to understand the true meaning.

 

Goodbye Phoebe

Such sad news. It is reported that Phoebe Snow has passed away.

The New York Times has a really wonderful write up of her life and career. The Times says she was 60, but other sources put her age at 58.

I didn't know much about her, other than she had an amazing voice and that she seemed to have disappeared for a time. Apparently she had a daughter born with developmental problems and devoted much of her time to taking care of her. The daughter, Valarie, who was not expected to live beyond toddler age died in 2007.

In a recent interview Snow said her daughter was her reason for living, that through her she experienced the best love had to offer. Maybe it's fitting that she deserves rest now, after a life of challenges.

The song for which she was most well known is also my favorite. Poetry Man is so emblematic of a period of time in my life. Listening to it transports me to my childhood where the cares of the world are far, far away.

Phoebe Snow will be so missed. if there is an afterlife, I hope she is happy now with her grateful daughter and together they can make beautiful music.

 

Who Knew?

I like Mare Winningham.

I remember her mostly from movies in the 80s. She was in St. Elmo's Fireand was kind of labeled one of the Brat Pack. Although she never really seemed to attractthe type of news that other member like Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Andrew McCarthy, Judd Nelson or Emelio Estevez would attract.

Since that movie I've noticed her in a number of features and television movies/series and she's always terrific. She gets a great deal of work and that has resulted in at least 11 acting award nominations including an Oscar nomination for 1996s Georgia. She is currently co starring in the HBO Mini Series Mildred Pierce starring Kate Winslet.

While she has never gained the kind of fame that her past co stars may have, maybe that's not such a bad thing considering that fame.

Regardless, she's a terrific actress, but she also had a talent I knew nothing about. She can sing. And when I say she can sing, what I really mean to say is SHE CAN SING!

While I enjoy seeing her in front of the camera, I think she has a whole career in music should she want it. I mean...listen to that voice!

Who knew? 

Elton John

I am still amazed by his talent.

V for Victory

When I was very little, I can remember seeing some people holding up the peace sign. In a time when the war in Viet Nam was pulling the country apart my uncle and his friends, would espouse peace and love.

I also remember my mom, who spoke english as a second language, when asking about the spelling of a word " do you mean V as in victory, or B as in boy?" and she would hold up the peace sign. Finally, one day I said something along the lines of "you know, when you hold up your fingers in the sign of the V you're really holding up a peace sign."

She smiled at me and said it was fine if I thought it was a peace sign, but to her, it was the sign of Victory. She remembered, as a child herself, seeing newspaper photos of Winston Churchill holding up his fingers in the sing of Victory; saying to the world that while England may be on the ropes, there is no doubt that victory was ahead.

Seeing the throngs of people in Egypt holding up the V sign reminded me of my mom. And it made me reflect that the tenants of freedom, of liberty that a people strive for are timeless, and whatever the symbols they use, the meaning behind them is universal. The right of the people to govern themselves.

Let's hope the aftermath lives up to the expectations of those who now taste liberty.

Much To Young

While I was pretty much raised in Southern California I was actually born in Texas. I've listened, off and on, to country music most of my life. When I was in high school I didn't listen to it much, but thumbing through old yearbook photos I notice that didn't prevent me from wearing a cowboy hat from time to time.

I still have a couple of hats, a couple pair of boots, but don't wear them much these days.

When Country Western music started to crossover with more contemporary sounds in the '90 I noticed I was listening to it almost exclusively. Garth Brooks, Clint Black, Lorrie Morgan, George Strait...well the list goes on.

The music was twangy enough for my likes, but mainstream sounding enough that the public really seemed to embrace it.

I officially learned line dances, learned to two step and turned out to be fairly good at both if I do say so myself. I even taught a few classes here and there.

There was something truly liberating about the music and the dancing. Where couples dancing usually meant standing in front of your partner and moving about; two stepping necessitated embracing your partner. And there was always something very special about that I enjoyed. I remember more than once being asked to dance and almost always obliging.

The years have moved on and so have I. Country Western music is a little more pop sounding to me than I like. I've tried to listen to any number of CW stations, but I inevitably revert back to an oldies CW station, even if oldies now refers not only the the golden age of country music, but even music from the '90s.

Someone asked recently why I don't go dancing any longer. I mentioned, of course, the lack of connection to the music. But that's only part of the reason. The truth is I feel old.

It's not that I'm tired or anything like that. I just feel terribly old. I can't imagine walking into a bar and being the oldest, or at least one of the oldest people there.  Now I'm not really that old, and maybe this is more in my head, but the people in bars now are in the 20s and 30s. I'm not in either any longer.

I was going through You Tube and came across the song below. It's funny because this song, more than most, brings me back to that dancing time that I enjoyed so much.

So here it is. And who knows, maybe one of these days I'll find a Country Western bar that plays the oldies from the 1990s and I'll don my hat and boots and cut a rug.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Phooey on Episodes 1,2 & 3

Apparently THIS is how it all started!

 

Zack Wahls For Office

Not just articulate, but he speaks with authority and resonance. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of him. I hope we'll be seeing more of him in elected office. 

 

The Walkmen

It no secret that when it comes to current popular music I'm fairly out of the loop. My channels of choice on Sirius/XM range from political discussion to 70s, 80s and country western music. My favorite is probably channel 22 which is a return to the New Wave tunes of the early to mid 80s.

But the other night I caught David Letterman's musical guest and I was blown away. The Walkmen are a five member band whose music is ... well hard to categorize. It seems vaguely old fashioned in a way I can only describe as having memorable melodies. Of course I don't mean to intimate that current popular music doesn't have meoldies, it's just that I seem to ahve trouble discovering them.

Lead singer Hamilton Leithauser's vocals can be described as a cross between Rod Stewart and Bob Dylan but with an intensity that I haven't found in either.

There's something I enjoy about a singer who seems lost in his music; for that brief two or four minutes to be inveloped in the story he sings. Leithauser doesn't just have a great voice, he has a great sense of feeling. And he's really great to look at which is nice.

It's amazing that this band has been together for 10 years and whatever they're doing seems to be working. Their latest album Lisbon has received great acclaim and for good reason.

I always feel I'm too old to go to concerts these days. But if The Walkmen find their way to my neighborhood I will probably pay them a visit.

If they come to your 'hood, check them out and let me know what you think.

 

Wanda Jackson

I don't know much about Wanda Jackson, but I do know this.  I think she's great.

A musical career that really took off in the 50's and continued in different forms until the early 70s, Jackson seems to have had a resurgence in the 21st century.

Teaming with Jack White, she has a new album; The Party Ain't Over. She appeared on Late Night with David Letterman on Thursday and well, she's right, the party is far from over.

Here's the clip from that show. Again, I don't know much about her, but I can tell you i'm going to order this CD and will look through her catalogue. She sounds fun, and who can't do with a little more fun?