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.
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.
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.
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?
This is a weird month for me. As I've said before, I've never been much of a Christmas holiday mood type of person. I mean, being a Christian I, of course, celebrate and enjoy the meaning and spiritual aspects of the holiday. But i was never one for the music and shopping and all that. To be honest, they always made me somewhat melancholy.
My mom passed away on Christmas day last year so now I actually have a reason to feel the way I do. But to be honest, I'm of mixed emotions. I miss her terribly, but she didn't suffer and she had, as they say a "good death." But still, there are times this month when it's obvious things would be a lot more fun were she around.
So in the midst of my melancholy today, I searched You Tube for some music to lift me. And I came across Louis Armstrong. Here is a man who was, by all accounts, very much loved. He was generous, he was gregarious, and he had fun in life. He is sorely missed, but we are lucky to have his music live on.
The wonderful OldOldLady of the Hills (she calls herself that, although I don't think she's really very old at all) posted recently on her blog (Here In The Hills) that art can have an emotional tug or feeling. She is so right. And that is true of almost any type of art. There is something it can evoke from your deepest self. SOmetimes it's laughter, or sadness, anger or all of the above.
I feel that way when i watch these clips below. I watch them and a part of me is transformed to the audience watching Armstrong get into the groove. I tap my feet and never want his performance to end. It's almost as if he's transcended the stage, and is now part of the music itself. And those around him, those who are performing with him seem equally changed.
So it's a cloudy day today, I have reason to feel a little sad, but Satchmo also give me good reason to smile and be happy.
Enjoy your weekend, and until it comes, have a Happy Friday!
Since the first time I saw them in a Hyundai commercial I've been in love. Besides amazingly fun and unique music and videos, the guy (Jack Conte) is so terribly handsome....actually both Jack and his partner Nataly Dawn are terribly handsome. I just love the way they seem to get along totally in tune with one another.
And they seem to be somewhat philanthropic as well. It's almost as if you thought "wouldn't it be nice if there were two really cute people who loved each other so much that they made beautiful music together and cared more about others than themselves"...well, that seems to be the case with Pomplamoose.
Now, for all I know they could be the type of people who go through the 15 items or less line with 20 items, but you know what? I don't care. They're pretty to look at, even more wonderful to listen to and this link below will get you a wonderful compilation of Christmas songs of theirs if you agree to donate a book to a worthy cause.
I'm doing it, I hope you will to.
I'm not a big Christmastime fan which is not to say I'm not a fan of Christmas, but I've never been a big fan of the hoopla of shopping, music and the like. But these guys, their music and the fact that they seem so ... sweet, makes me enjoy this time.
I didn't know what to make of this video at first. Though being a cat lover I was totally pleased to see and hear it.
What I didn't know was this is a piece that has been in existence for some time. It is apparently attributed to Gioachino Rossini because it borrows music from his 1816 version of Otello. That, apparently, is about as close as Rossini ever got to writing music for cats.
Regardless of who and when, it's fun to see and hear.
It's been a while since I've posted. Again, it isn't as if I have nothing to write about, but the things I want to write about I'm beginning to think are far to personal to share or might not be read in the same frame from which they were written.
I should just get over myself and write. I have always found it cathartic, and if there's one thing I need nowadays, it's catharsis. Especially tonight.
News flashed of the passing of Lena Horne.
I'm not sure how many people are familiar with her these days. I remember watching television in the 70s and the staple, in those days, was the variety show. And Lena, along with so many others were staples of television back then.
But of course she was much more than just a frequent guest of a summer variety show, or a late night talk show. She was a star. And she was black.
There's a wonderful obituary to her in the New York Times that basically says-the only thing that stopped her from being a mega star was the color of her skin. How amazing to think that we lived in a time where that could be a determination of someone's future...that is to say the color of their skin. But then again, we have the whole thing in Arizona going on so maybe we're not that far removed after all.
In reviewing all the footage of Ms. Horne singing, it is perhaps the one below that was her most famous. She went on to record a tremendous amount of records and was, at one time, the top seller for RCA Victor of any female vocalist in their history. Just goes to show you that skin color doesn't really matter if you've got something to offer and Lena Horne had a great deal of talent to offer.
So here's her signature song. But check out You Tube, there's much more of her, and it's all good.
While I don't mean to compare the struggle for Equal Rights and Marriage Equality to that of the peace movement during the Viet Nam war. I can't help but feel like some of us are under siege; having to settle for what others feel is fair for us.
Ooh, the storm is threatening My very life today If I don't get me no shelter I think I'm gonna fade away
War, children It's just a shot away It's just a shot away War, children It's just a shot away It's just a shot away
See the fire sweeping My very street today Somebody oughta gimme shelter Or I think I'm gonna fade away
War, children It's just a shot away It's just a shot away War, children It's just a shot away It's just a shot away
Rape, murder It's just a shot away It's just a shot away It's just a shot away It's just a shot away It's just a kiss away Kiss away, kiss me
Somebody, give me shelter Give me shelter, somebody Give me shelter
The flood is threatening My very life today Gimme, why don't you Gimme some shelter Or I think I'm gonna fade away
War, children It's just a shot away It's just a shot away It's just a shot away It's just a shot away Shot away, shot away
It's just a kiss away It's just a kiss away Kiss, kiss, away...
