Favorite Books
Here's some of my favorite reading:
The Keepers of Light.
Beginning at a White Oak.
Women Keepers of Lighthouses
Favorite Music
Lisa DeBenedictis has a wonderful album out, called Tiger (and the title song is the strongest) which is very original and mines the ethereal pop vien without channelling the Beatles. She compares well to the aritsts listed on the website, Tori Amos, Sarah M., Aimee Mann. She reminds me of Enya and Kate Bush meets a little Brian Eno with the slightest touch of Beatles or Procol Harum. Her songs remind me of Tori Amos, only a little quieter. She is casually listenable while at the same time intrigues. Also, I highly recommend taking a listen to
Tom Paul
. His lyrics are original and accessible, which makes listening to his songs a joy and not a chore.
If you love music, read this. And visit the Creative Commons.
Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow (CD). Fantastic
"monster" guitar and funky Wurlitzer.
There's not a bad sound on this CD, reminds me
of an Exile on Main Street with better playing and
production quality. Although this CD is recorded and
mixed in analog it is very quiet and clear with
excellent dynamic range. Good job, Sheryl.
Kelly Willis - Well Travelled Love. For me, this is
the Kelly Willis I first became acquainted with on
Austin City Limits. Great mix of rockabilly, Bill
Haley and country with her unique bluesy country
vocals.
Shawn Colvin - Holiday Songs and Lullabies (CD). I
never heard a melancholy Christmas record before,
but this one is wonderful. It's overall quiet
"sound" and sensitive singing of
traditional airs is suitable for any season.
Diana Krall - All For You (CD).
Alanis Morrissette - Unplugged (CD). The only
unplugged I can stand, because it's not very
unplugged.
Patsy Cline - Heartaches. Excellent, superior
production quality for a compilation CD of some of
her best work. Rich, lush sound with a hint of hiss
from the original master tape--if you don't hear
that then you know it's over processed.
Patsy Cline - Live at the Opry. Rare original
recordings from her radio show appearances lend and
air of excitement, honesty and out of control-ness
to old favorites. No lush strings, not crooning
backup singers, the slide guitar is up front and
Patsy is not toned down for television!
Mary Chapin Carpenter Hometown Girl
10,000 Maniacs In My Tribe
Alison Kraus Now That I've Found You
U2 Joshua Tree
Pam Tillis Homeward Looking Angel
Police Every Breath You Take: The Singles
Some Albums (LPs) I have (or had before selling off the collection )
Talking Heads More Songs About Buildings and Food
Police Synchronicity
U2 War
U2 October
U2 (October original DJ-album recorded live)
Other Stuff:
Suzanne Vega - Solitude Standing (CAS). Tom's
Diner and Ironbound Schoolyard, need I say more?
Waiting in the wings: Alison Krauss, Kelly Willis
(Bang Bang), Natalie Merchant, Sarah Brightman,
Natalie Imbruglia, No Doubt, Dave Matthews, Blondie
(Parallel Lines, Plastic Letters), a smattering of
Jewel, Simon and Garfunkel and John Philip Sousa.
Favorite Songs
Favorite Songs (not including anything from 60's
bands, 40's standards, traditional):
Closer to Fine - Indigo Girls
Like the Weather - 10,000 Maniacs
Sunny Came Home - Shawn Colvin
Redemption Song - Bob Marley
Hand in my Pocket - Alanis Morissette
Thank You - Alanis Morissette
Possession - Sarah McLachlan
Voices Carry - Aimee Mann
Dreams - Cranberries
Don't Speak - No Doubt
What I am - Edie Brickell
Heirloom - Bjork
Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
Favorite Films
Sarah McLachlan - Mirroball (DVD).
Sarah Brightman - La Luna (DVD), very entertaining
show.
Some random musings, not altogether there, but I had to put them somewhere.
"Closer to Fine" has to be up there with
the best songs ever written and was a song I fell in
love with the first time I heard it on WHFS back in
the early 80s. Whatever your opinion of the Indigo
Girls, I like the way they trade off guitar rhythms
and use space when both playing at once. You should
give the version from Lilith Fair DVD with the
Indigo Girls, Meredith Brooks, Jewel, Sarah
McLachlan a listen. Natalie Merchant has a lovely
rich warm voice and "Like the Weather" was
a song I instantly identified with. When I first
heard "Redemption Song" in the late 70s it
sent chills up my spine.
Okay, you want some traditional airs? Campbell's
Farewell to Redgap. Blow the Wind Southerly.
Marches? Sousa's Washington Post; Stars and
Stripes Forever.
It is prophetic that two favorite songs have always
been Amazing Grace and Redemption Songs by Boby
Marley. The melody of A.G. is simply the most
haunting I have ever heard. I like the soft laid
back quality of R. S. It is nothing short of the
intervention of divine providence, as our ancestors
would have said, that in my search for roots that I
should discover I am descended from the desperately
sought connection to the American Revolution and at
the same time discover that my ancestor who served
the cause of Liberty so well and at such great risk
and personal cost would come from a slave holding
family.
One of my favorite pieces is the Stars and Stripes
Forever by John Phillip Sousa, which brings us to
the interesting topic of the national anthem. You
may not know it but the Star Spangled Banner is set
to the melody and accompaniment of an old English
drinking song To Anacreon in Heaven. The Star
Spangled Banner is the current national anthem of
the United States of America. Unlike most national
anthems, which are warmongering paeans to the
destruction of their enemies, the national anthem of
the United States is about the survival of the then
new nation. The "rockets red glare" is
that of fire being received and withstood, the
"bombs bursting in the air" are those of
British warships firing on Ft. McHenry in Baltimore
harbor. The words to the Star Spangled Banner were
written by Francis Scot Key, held prisoner on a
British ship during the bombardment. In the morning
he was relived to find the flag of the United States
of America, the "Stars and Stripes" waving
over the Fort McHenry. The giant flag, nicknamed
"Old Glory" still exists, battle scarred,
and can be seen in the Smithsonian Institution.
Stephen Foster and John Phillip Sousa are perhaps
the two greatest American musicians to come out of
the nineteenth-century. Foster was the first
professional songwriter and is of interest to the
current debate over Napster. Pirating of his sheet
music cost Foster uncounted millions (and this is
billions of dollars today) and may well have been
the richest man in the world had he been able to
track sales of his songs. The irony was that Foster
was an accountant by occupation. It's clear that
copyright law is being used to stifle artistic
creativity and academic endeavor today, having
become a slave to business and twisted against the
law's stated purpose: the furthering of the arts
and the protection of artist's rights. It now
functions mainly to protect the interests of large
corporations that have largely turned music into a
commodity with little regard for the livelihood of
artists. We always seem to go from one extreme to
another. It's natural in a democracy the
interests of business are given greater importance
than the social goals spelled out in the preamble of
the copyright law. This is because politicians
always side with anything that will bring greater
prosperity to their community, more revenues to
their coffers, more power to their selves.
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