A few hours after I posted about my vow to be more open to new music, I stumbled across this moving piece by Lisa Lepine (who also managed Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer) regarding the early passing of Scotland Barr (lead singer for the Slow Drags) - I love it when the Universe works this quickly (and the Oz quote at the beginning of Lisa's article was a nice meant-to-be perk!)...
It motivated me to read about the band (who I'd never heard of before) and listen to their songs... and I was touched and impressed (so tragic and yet so hopeful) - earlier today, I made a donation to the Finish the Album Fund... in memory of Vic and Sean (paying it forward for all the "folk angel" acts of kindness these two wonderful men performed), and sending warm thoughts of peace and healing as well as best wishes on keeping the music alive to the remaining band members...
I am once again humbly reminded of how important it is to put our money where our mouth is (and where our hearts are) - it is also a reinforcement of how powerful songs can be, in conjuring memories of our past... leading us to future discoveries... or allowing us the pleasure of enjoying the moment, right here and now...
From the band's website:
After Scotland's diagnosis, the Slow Drags had to quickly change directions. Instead of planning out tours that take months of lead time, the band turned their attention to recording the next album. Unsure of Scot's health, the band began to feverishly sketch out ideas and rough tracks for the double-length LP We Will Be Forgotten. Significant progress was made, as four tracks have been pre-released to the public. However, without the ability to play live shows with any regularity, the band's source of income was essentially cut off. People close to the band know that the next record was important to all of us, especially Scot. Each song detailed an era of his life like a storyboard.
The fact that he chose the name We Will Be Forgotten was ironic, as the concept of this record was to, almost desperately, have people remember. Maybe not Scotland, or the band, but meaningful events their own life history. The band fully intends to see this vision through. The Slow Drags would be humbly honored by anyone that is willing to donate money towards recording the next album. Feel free to visit our website and donate via PayPal. We'll also kindly accept cash or checks made out to Scotland Barr and the Slow Drags. The band graciously thanks you for your generosity.
SONG: Right Where You're Supposed to Be by Scotland Barr & the Slow Drags (can't find the lyrics to this song, but you can watch the YouTube video of their song Dirty Old Waltz)
BOOK: The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature by Daniel J. Levitin
POEM: Walking to Oak-Head Pond, and Thinking of the Ponds I Will Visit in the Next Days and Weeks by Mary Oliver
What is so utterly invisible
as tomorrow?
Not love,
not the wind,
not the inside of stone.
Not anything.
And yet, how often I'm fooled-
I'm wading along
in the sunlight-
and I'm sure I can see the fields and the ponds shining
days ahead-
I can see the light spilling
like a shower of meteors
into next week's trees,
and I plan to be there soon-
and, so far, I am
just that lucky,
my legs splashing
over the edge of darkness,
my heart on fire.
I don't know where
such certainty comes from-
the brave flesh
or the theater of the mind-
but if I had to guess
I would say that only
what the soul is supposed to be
could send us forth
with such cheer
as even the leaf must wear
as it unfurls
its fragrant body, and shines
against the hard possibility of stoppage-
which, day after day,
before such brisk, corpuscular belief,
shudders, and gives way.
QUOTE(S): "But people hear music in all kinds of different ways. Some people experience music as colours; others just see grey water pouring out of the speakers. Some never listen to lyrics, they just fall under a spell. Some eat it whole. Some just take a bite. Some of us like to get on our backs and roll around in it like a dog." ~ Tom Waits
"I love the relationship that anyone has with music: because there's something in us that is beyond the reach of words, something that eludes and defies our best attempts to spit it out. It's the best part of us, probably, the richest and strangest part..." ~ Nick Hornby
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Right Where You're Supposed to Be (Scotland Barr & the Slow Drags)
Monday, June 11, 2007
Tape Full of Love Songs (Jonathan Byrd)
I have lots of strange rules too: I prefer only one cut per artist per mix; I try to go for the obscure song, rather than the better known; given the choice, I would rather use a studio version than "live"; and I usually like to include the song by the original artist, rather than the cover version (however, my friend Mosh got me started on the art of making NOT mixes for a fun change of pace... meaning the whole compilation is composed of remakes... i.e., Big Yellow Taxi NOT Joni Mitchell... and the Counting Crows' version is included). I almost always use the last song on the mix as the title - therefore, I have to choose carefully, since that's the cornerstone/foundation/thematic unifier.
Okay, given all of those anal/retentive/obsessive/compulsive restrictions, I am also here to say that rules are meant to be broken - I certainly do not *always* abide by these, but it is a conscious decision when I do not. Maybe I should call them guidelines - living within these boundaries makes my efforts a bit more interesting and challenging.
SONG: Tape Full of Love Songs by Jonathan Byrd
In my almost-month of blogging, this is the first song I've been unable to find the lyrics for online - I'm using it regardless, and would urge you to visit iTunes, spend the 99 cents and listen... whereupon you'll be convinced to buy The Waitress CD. Jonathan is a brilliant songwriter and a super-nice guy - he's won quite a few awards for good reason.
BOOK(S): Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time by Rob Sheffield
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Liner Notes by Emily Franklin
POEM: I Live in Music by Ntozake Shange
I live in music, is this where you live, I live here in music, I live on c# street, my friend lives on Bb avenue, do you live here in music? Sound falls round me like rain on other folks, saxophones wet my face, cold as winter in st. louis, hot like peppers I rub on my lips, thinkin they waz lilies, I got 15 trumpets where other women got hips & upright bass for both sides of my heart, I walk round in a piano like somebody else/be walkin on the earth, I live in music, live in it, wash in it, I cd even smell it, wear sound on my fingers, sound falls, so fulla music, ya cd make a river where yr arm is & hold yrself, hold yrself in a music."
QUOTE: "The mix tape is a form of American folk art: predigested cultural artifacts combined with homespun technology and magic marker turn the mix tape into a message in a bottle. I am no mere consumer of pop culture, it says, but also a producer of it. Mix tapes mark the moment of consumer culture in which listeners attained control over what they heard, in what order and at what cost." ~ Matias Viegener
