This is fun to watch and listen to:
Yesterday was Valentine's Day...one of the most overhyped "holidays" in my view...maybe that says more about me than the day. To fight my inner cynic, I made a playlist on my iPod to play at work yesterday. I included all songs in my library that have the word "love" (or include it, aka "Lovely Rita) in their title. I was only moderately surprised to find that of my 4,000+ songs, 285 of them have a title containing those four letters - L-O-V-E.
If I go to iTunes and search on "love" I get a gazillion results.
My 285-song playlist included some classics and some funny results, that represent the spectrum of the human condition vis-a-vis the concept of love. A few examples:
What's Love Got to Do with It - Tina Turner
Love Hurts - Gram Parsons
Love Has No Pride - Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt
The One I Love - REM
Runaway Love - Ludacris
Love Shack - B 52's
Falling in Love Again - Billie Holiday and, of course,
Love is All You Need - The Beatles (Duh)
But the song that captures the vibe of what love really has to do with "it' is Bob Marley's One Love...and you can't help but sing along:
One Love!
One Heart!
Let's get together and feel all right.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The Lucky One (Alison Krauss)
PRESS PLAY:
Tonight is the 50th Grammy Awards, so it seems fitting that I would post something on my episodic blog. Why Alison Krauss? Because she has won more Grammys than any other female. Period. Shocking, isn't it?
Here's the rundown on her achievements:
It's 8pm. Time to watch to see if the "lucky one" wins again.
UPDATE: Alison Krauss and Robert Plant won the 2007 grammy for "Gone, Gone, Gone." The 2007 Grammy program was horrible.
| Alison Krauss - Th... |
Tonight is the 50th Grammy Awards, so it seems fitting that I would post something on my episodic blog. Why Alison Krauss? Because she has won more Grammys than any other female. Period. Shocking, isn't it?
Here's the rundown on her achievements:
- A total of 20 Grammys
- Her first win was 18 years ago - 1990 - for the best bluegrass song
- Every award she has won has been in the Country, Bluegrass or Folk category with
the exception of being part of the Album of the Year team for "Oh Brother Where Art Thou's" soundtrack - She is nominated tonight for Best Collaboration (with Robert Plant) for a song from their very cool album Raising Sand AND for Best Female Country Performance.
It's 8pm. Time to watch to see if the "lucky one" wins again.
UPDATE: Alison Krauss and Robert Plant won the 2007 grammy for "Gone, Gone, Gone." The 2007 Grammy program was horrible.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Raining in Baltimore (Counting Crows)
PRESS PLAY:
Debbie and I went up to the Ram's Head Live in Baltimore last night to see Adam Duritz of Counting Crows play a benefit acoustic set. I won the tickets on 94.7 The Globe Classic Rock radio station a couple of weeks ago. I called and identified the name of the movie Oh Brother Where Art Thou ("What was the name of the movie starring George Clooney that had a bluegrass soundtrack produced by T-Bone Burnett?"). Yeah for Weazel.
The performance was awesome. The venue was so-so. And the crowd sucked.
The highlights:
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Debbie and I went up to the Ram's Head Live in Baltimore last night to see Adam Duritz of Counting Crows play a benefit acoustic set. I won the tickets on 94.7 The Globe Classic Rock radio station a couple of weeks ago. I called and identified the name of the movie Oh Brother Where Art Thou ("What was the name of the movie starring George Clooney that had a bluegrass soundtrack produced by T-Bone Burnett?"). Yeah for Weazel.
The performance was awesome. The venue was so-so. And the crowd sucked.
The highlights:
- The show was a benefit for the Johns' Hopkins' Pediatric Epilepsy program. It was totally organized by some 40-somethings whose daughter was treated there after having some pretty scary seizures. The Harris' are doing good stuff, and raised $260,000 around the event. Check out The CarsonHarris Foundation for what they are doing.
- The concert was fabulous (what i could see/hear - more on that in the lowlights section of this post). It was Duritz and two former roommates - members of the band Lonestar - on acoustic guitar. They come out, with a wheelie Coleman cooler of beer, plunk down on the stage and proceed to play some very innovative versions of lots of Counting Crows songs, and quite a number of covers. They had planned a great somewhat Baltimore-themed set.
- Adam played a song from pre-CC days that he hasn't performed since 1989. It was from a band called The Himalayans, and the song was called "Save My Life." It was fun to hear.
- Sloppy drunk is never pretty. For the first half of the show we stood (there is no seating at Ram's Head) in the balcony. During the warm-up we staked out a place with a view. But the shit-faced couple to our right were so blotto that they morphed from taking about 4 feet of space to taking (to quote Debbie), "the space of five people" at the railing. Needless to say, for a short girl like me, that pretty much meant no seeing Adam. And then there was the stumbling, and American Idol-like performance by the guy, throughout the set, augmented by constant groping and making out. The spilling of a drink on the woman next to them was a nice touch. Did I mention he had a wedding ring and she did not. Jeez - take it somewhere else where you can drain the mini bar and perform your rendition of "Rain King" in private.
- So, we go downstairs to SEE and HEAR the show. Why do
people go to concerts in small, intimate venues, and then stand around talking throughout the show? Between the well-meaning, big swinging dick investment bankers who were sponsors, the "VIPs," and the partiers in the back, there was a constant drone of chatter during the show. Show some respect people. Go to a freakin' bar if you want to talk the whole time.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Happy Birthday (Stevie Wonder)
Press play to watch and listen:
Steve Wonder wrote this song as part of the campaign to establish a national holiday in honor of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And today is the 2008 date of that holiday. Watching some tributes, clips of Dr. King's speeches, and thinking about what he and others made possible, I got to thinking - "could there really have been anyone who was AGAINST the idea of a holiday in his honor?" Of course, lots of folks.
They said it would "cost us money." They didn't like the idea of singling out one man for a movement (can you say Ghandi?), and it would be crazy to believe that the fact that he was a BLACK man didn't have the greatest weight for the detractors.
Today the Seattle Times re-ran a story they originally ran in 1983, a year before the first MLK Jr. Holiday. It is most definitely worth the read...some great history and facts, but also a view into the times.
Happy Birthday, Dr. King.
Steve Wonder wrote this song as part of the campaign to establish a national holiday in honor of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And today is the 2008 date of that holiday. Watching some tributes, clips of Dr. King's speeches, and thinking about what he and others made possible, I got to thinking - "could there really have been anyone who was AGAINST the idea of a holiday in his honor?" Of course, lots of folks.
They said it would "cost us money." They didn't like the idea of singling out one man for a movement (can you say Ghandi?), and it would be crazy to believe that the fact that he was a BLACK man didn't have the greatest weight for the detractors.
Today the Seattle Times re-ran a story they originally ran in 1983, a year before the first MLK Jr. Holiday. It is most definitely worth the read...some great history and facts, but also a view into the times.
Happy Birthday, Dr. King.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
We are Family - Sister Sledge
Ok, no audio or video on this one. Just a photo of my nephew, Drew, and me. We are at a sushi place in Breckenridge Colorado.
I first saw and held Drew when he was 2 + 1/2 weeks old, loved watching him grow up, hung out in Ocean Beach, have had a blast in Breckenridge pretty much every year since 2000, watched him graduate from high school and play in the all-star football game in San Diego this summer, and am proud of him as a young man.
When we met at the airport in Denver last Saturday (along with my sister in law, Carol, and four (YES FOUR) of Drew's buddies), I was taken aback by the five o'clock shadow and maturity in his face...and it's only been a few months since I last saw him.
Drew is smart, handsome, a great athlete and, despite 18-yr old appearances, very sensitive and caring. We had a great time skiing/snowboarding together this week, especially today.
His brother, Davis, is great too. More on him in another post.
I first saw and held Drew when he was 2 + 1/2 weeks old, loved watching him grow up, hung out in Ocean Beach, have had a blast in Breckenridge pretty much every year since 2000, watched him graduate from high school and play in the all-star football game in San Diego this summer, and am proud of him as a young man.
When we met at the airport in Denver last Saturday (along with my sister in law, Carol, and four (YES FOUR) of Drew's buddies), I was taken aback by the five o'clock shadow and maturity in his face...and it's only been a few months since I last saw him.
Drew is smart, handsome, a great athlete and, despite 18-yr old appearances, very sensitive and caring. We had a great time skiing/snowboarding together this week, especially today.
His brother, Davis, is great too. More on him in another post.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves - Eurythmics
PRESS PLAY, PLEASE:
I'm not a huge Hillary fan. But I have to say that this morning I am happy for her. Silly pollsters, Silly so-called experts. Silly, silly press.
The fact that the networks, and every cable news station on Earth, has been playing her "getting emotional" video is infuriating. Mitt Romney "got emotional" several times in the last couple of months, but the press did NOT play it to death. I'm not a DOUBLE STANDARD-ACCUSING GIRL, but this is just too glaring not to call FOUL.
Who knows who will win the Democratic nomination. I have been a John Edwards supporter since 2002, but it's not looking so great for my man. Whether it's Obama or Clinton, we have to unseat the current regime.
Today, I say, Go Hillary. You deserve a moment of emotional celebration.
I'm not a huge Hillary fan. But I have to say that this morning I am happy for her. Silly pollsters, Silly so-called experts. Silly, silly press.
The fact that the networks, and every cable news station on Earth, has been playing her "getting emotional" video is infuriating. Mitt Romney "got emotional" several times in the last couple of months, but the press did NOT play it to death. I'm not a DOUBLE STANDARD-ACCUSING GIRL, but this is just too glaring not to call FOUL.
Who knows who will win the Democratic nomination. I have been a John Edwards supporter since 2002, but it's not looking so great for my man. Whether it's Obama or Clinton, we have to unseat the current regime.
Today, I say, Go Hillary. You deserve a moment of emotional celebration.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Auld Lang Syne - Dan Fogelberg
Press PLAY:
I meant to get this posted yesterday, the last day of 2007, to complete my trilogy of acknowledgments of departed musicians. The saddest "celebrity" loss of this year for me would have to be Dan Fogelberg. He died just a couple of weeks ago after a pretty long fight with cancer.
My history with Dan Fogelberg goes back to my adolescence, when my friend Lisa (dubbed "the cakaholic" by my brother Chuck) and I used to play the Souvenirs album incessantly, singing along to Mornin' Sky like we had been born in bluegrass territory, and whispering the lyrics to "Song from Half Mountain" as if every word was a song unto itself. And oh, was he a cutie.
Just for the record, this took place long before Dan became a household name for pop hits like "Longer," "Run for the Roses," or the song highlighted in this post. His music then was less layered, more acoustic, but the lyrics were no less complex or thoughtful....maybe just a little less accessible in the pop music sense.
I remained a fan through those popularity spikes, but in many ways enjoying his alternative albums even more - Twin Sons of Different Mothers with Tim Weisberg, and the bluegrassy High Country Snows.
I remained a fan even after seeing him perform at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in 1993, seemingly overly drunk or stoned or something and pouting about the sound...leaving the stage once or twice, and putting on a crapola show.
I remained a fan despite the groan that emanates from my partner any time she hears his n
ame, or any song he sings. (Do you detect a bit of a theme in these posts?). It's been tough, at moments, to stay true to my love of Dan over the years in this household, but I have managed.
I remain a fan. Why? Because I think he had a great gift for songwriting.
Oh, and he was a cutie.
Bye Dan. Hello 2008.
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I meant to get this posted yesterday, the last day of 2007, to complete my trilogy of acknowledgments of departed musicians. The saddest "celebrity" loss of this year for me would have to be Dan Fogelberg. He died just a couple of weeks ago after a pretty long fight with cancer.
My history with Dan Fogelberg goes back to my adolescence, when my friend Lisa (dubbed "the cakaholic" by my brother Chuck) and I used to play the Souvenirs album incessantly, singing along to Mornin' Sky like we had been born in bluegrass territory, and whispering the lyrics to "Song from Half Mountain" as if every word was a song unto itself. And oh, was he a cutie.
Just for the record, this took place long before Dan became a household name for pop hits like "Longer," "Run for the Roses," or the song highlighted in this post. His music then was less layered, more acoustic, but the lyrics were no less complex or thoughtful....maybe just a little less accessible in the pop music sense.
I remained a fan through those popularity spikes, but in many ways enjoying his alternative albums even more - Twin Sons of Different Mothers with Tim Weisberg, and the bluegrassy High Country Snows.
I remained a fan even after seeing him perform at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in 1993, seemingly overly drunk or stoned or something and pouting about the sound...leaving the stage once or twice, and putting on a crapola show.
I remained a fan despite the groan that emanates from my partner any time she hears his n
ame, or any song he sings. (Do you detect a bit of a theme in these posts?). It's been tough, at moments, to stay true to my love of Dan over the years in this household, but I have managed.I remain a fan. Why? Because I think he had a great gift for songwriting.
Oh, and he was a cutie.
Bye Dan. Hello 2008.
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