Artist Crush: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Ummmm......did you guys know bout her? Cause I didn't. And she is awesome. And she is playing in a train station. And it's like the 50's. And her shoes, her guitar, her hair, her everything. Her song to sing. And she loves god. She had a musical calling to preach. Seriously? Have we lost our souls? Can we ever get back to there? I don't think so.

Family Time

I was recently in the small town of Bellevue, Iowa to celebrate my Grandmother's 90th birthday. Her family has been in this town for many generations and it was really humbling and eye opening to meet extended members of my family as well as the friends she has in her life and the strength you create and nourish in a true community. The birthday party was a blast, ham sandwiches, potato chips, and lots of cake. My father and sister sang to her and it is quite the tear jerker, I am honored and touched to share it with you:



You are your family, no escaping that. Keep in touch with them and hold them close.

How Did I Not Know.....

....about Chet Baker?

Dad, you dropped the ball on this one! How dare people who know me well not know to inform me that I just might be into this guy? I was working in the bar last night and this song came on and I was hooked. I woke up this morning and bought three of his albums and they are gorgeous. His playing is like his singing, so soft, light handed, but certainly not weak......and he is sexy.



He did a bunch of drugs, got his teeth knocked out and couldn't play for a while then got dentures and played again. Moved to Europe in his later years then apparently died falling out of a hotel window.

Typical.

Mr. Miller

"Death has no meaning. All is change, vibration, creation and re-creation. The song of the world, registered in every particle of that specious substance called matter, issues forth in an inequable harmony which filters through the angelic being lying dormant in the shell of the physical creature called man. Once the angel assumes dominion, the physical being flowers. Throughout all realms a quiet, persistent blossoming takes place."

- Henry Miller, The Rosy Crucifixion, Plexus

...And it only gets better from there and before there

This is from page 317 in my copy, not even halfway through. Henry Miller is slowly becoming my favorite author, though this is only the third book of his I have read. For all his reputation as a drinking, sex obsessed, filthy mouthed man; I find none of this relevant or even all that apparent in his writing as a whole. He is both in awe of the Universe and the beings who dwell in it and in complete disgust of it at times. I feel the same sentiment. A lonely, quiet observer who connects with his reader to connect with himself to connect with everything. Or nothing? Special inspiration for me at the moment.

My Dad. and his Music.

I remember it was quite a few years ago when my father told me he wanted to do a piece of music that would conceptualize a whole day of sound and condense it into an hour or so. At the time I was just like, "oh, cool." And that was that. I lived randomly here and there at my parents house between then and now, before moving to New York, where upon visiting home could still hear the tinkerings of sound coming from his music room. He shared bits and pieces of it as it was coming along and we were all excited when one of the tracks was chosen for a dance movement not too long ago in Seattle. But recently, he sent me an e-mail to let me know that he had put the whole day (hour) up for sale in its entirety and is curious to see if there will be any response. I am too. It is asking a lot of listeners to put aside an hour to listen to one piece of music, especially in the quick to judge, static, and increasingly low expectations of consumers in today's music industry. Each track breathes it's own life, but as a concept album of a whole day, you can only really understand the wind down drugged out feeling of going to work after lunch if you actually have the lunch.....The album (1d1h..one day one hour) playfully weaves real, everyday sounds such as cars honking, alarm clocks, and news reports with a musical soundtrack sometimes electronic and fast paced, or at times slow and jazzy and very..cool. It is a conceptualized "day in the life" of a contemporary office worker explored through sound. From dreaming to waking, then on to the commute, it is just screaming with visuals. A true auditory movie. Now just to get someone to animate this bitch and we've got a true work to behold. I salute you dad, your vision is coming to life. Please take a moment to listen to some samples of the piece and I encourage you to purchase the whole work as it only really translates when experienced from start to end. Check it out on CD Baby here.

I love my daddy.

My Parents Win

Not that it's a contest, but.........honestly. Look at them:

This is my parents in Amsterdam for their first wedding anniversary. 1978 y'all. My mom is 21 years old. Whoa. Rock Stars maybe? And my mom knitted my dads sweater, which I remember him wearing growing up.

Also, yes, I am still bothering with bothering you about thinking about what you will send me for the Haunting topic! Oh, you don't know? Well check it out here. do it.

Gary....sigh

I was so lucky to find the Telekon vinyl in San Francisco, it sounds so beautiful in record form. This song isn't initially my favorite, but there's something very hypnotizing about it. I woke up with it in my head today. Numan. Done. Gonna dedicate my next DJ set to him.........

What took me so long?

I've always known I liked Joni Mitchell, even before I heard her music. Some things you know matter to you before you even know why. On the road trip Rosebud put Joni on as soon as we hit the California coast and it was beyond a cliche moment because it's kind of an absolute necessity to do if you have any sense about you. From that day on I knew a relationship was forming and it continues. Rosebud made me a data disc of three Joni albums, awesome. But the real moment was my first Joni record. I wake up in the morning and I put it on. I come home at night and I put it on. It's beautiful. I cannot find a date on it, but it's pretty damn early on in her legacy. Part One is I came to the city and Part Two is Out of the city and down to the seaside. It makes me smoke cigarettes and drink though. I am a product of my environment.

This is an amazing song that is on the record, but seriously, look at this woman. No contest. And I am so busy being free.............



Bring this back.

People Take Down Planes.

Am just getting ready to head into the the city.......puttin' on clothes, playing with hair, listening to NPR.

Brian Lehrer is one of my favorite journalists/host of radio on WNYC, I listen to him almost daily. Today he had a fabulous discussion about the current health care debate, but it was followed by a conversation with John Farmer about his new book covering the truths coming out about 9/11 and what was happening at a government and systemic level. Basically, there was no shit together and people lied about how situations were handled. Surprised? Not really, but we should know and we should react. Anyway, what really stopped me. What made me realize that I didn't need to keep touching my crazy hair and making mirror face was when he said "...Before the passengers took the plane down...." Whoa. People got together on the plane and took it down themselves to prevent a larger catastrophe that was surely inevitable. That's huge, it breaks my heart, it's beyond human and it is something I want to take with me.....forever, but especially today. Think about it and think about our potentials for destruction and for heroism. And how they can come together.......

Listen or explore more here

Also, sorry it's been almost a month since a post. Or I guess I'm not. But don't think I don't care about you or have things to share. It always comes.

To The Curiosity In Us All...Do it for Studs!

It is October. Seriously? Yes.

I am taking this moment, this month, maybe the rest of my life to honor a fairly recent discovery. His name is Studs Terkel and he is a pioneer and a true hero of American Journalism. He died last October at the age of 96 and never stopped trying to share the voice of the real America. The hard working people who have immense worth and stories to tell, but it takes people like Studs to get these stories out there. He is beyond an inspiration to me right now, encapsulating my new found respect and love for my country a la Steinbeck, Ferlinghetti, and now...Terkel. A while back I was listening to NPR and they played some of his interviews with survivors of the Depression; I was moved like I ain't been in a long long time. I picked up his book Hard Times yesterday which goes more in depth with the era and the people who lived through it as well as Studs process of documenting these stories. I've only read the foreward and feel honored and like I'm doing my job as a human by exploring this piece of work further. Studs, this month is for you. For the people who just want to count and your beautiful way of letting them know that they do. Serious tip of the hat.

Please, if you have some time, you can listen to the Depression Era Interviews and understand a little more about where our country came from, it's amazing how much has changed. Frightening actuallly.

Guys, I think I found a Grandpa. But he's dead too.



1912-2008 Thanks Dude.

Heroes

An actual 1945 publication copy of the book. It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever laid eyes on.

I don't know if any of you remember, but I remember telling many of you that the Road Trip I recently returned from was indeed partially inspired by the book "Travels with Charley" by John Steinbeck (also from when I was reading "Dark Star: The oral biography of Jerry Garcia" and its references to the Merry Pranksters). Anyway, back to the point.

John Steinbeck is my new hero. Sitting in my all time top five authors, he is creeping his way up and possibly sitting at number one right now because I just finished "Cannery Row" and am overwhelmed with his grace in capturing human beauty. I cried twice when reading it and on my way to work finished it on the Subway. On my way home that night I opened it back up and started over from the beginning. That's a rarity for me.

One character in the book I found myself really identifying with (or at least hoping to), though she is only written about for one brief chapter is Mary Talbot. Of her he says this:

"...she seemed never to touch the ground when she walked. When she was excited, and she was excited a good deal of the time, her face was flushed with gold. Her great-great-great-great-great grandmother had been burned a witch."

"In the afternoons when Tom was at work Mary sometimes gave tea parties for the neighborhood cats. She set a footstool with doll cups and saucers. She gathered the cats, and there were plenty of them, and then she held long and detailed conversations with them...it concealed from Mary the fact that the Talbots didn't have any money. They were pretty near absolute bottom most of the time, and when they really scraped, Mary managed to give some kind of party. She could do that. She used her gift as a weapon against the despondency that lurked always around outside the house waiting to get in at Tom."

"Tom said, 'Why don't we face it for once? We're down. We're going under. What's the good kidding ourselves?' 'No we're not', said Mary. 'We're magic people. We always have been.'"

And we are indeed.

This book has a character for everybody too, Doc is super dreamy to me, especially when he actually orders the Beer Milkshake- anybody would fall in love with him at that point. Oh, you don't know what I'm talking about? Why don't you find out.

What's a book that has really effected you (or is it affected, god damn grammar)? Please share!