Retro Y'all!

I've come to believe that Waylon Jennings doesn't quite get the credit he deserves as a songwriter.  For some reason, when people talk about the great country music songwriters, he doesn't seem to get mentioned often.



Fun Fact;  According to Wikipedia, this song was inspired by an article Jennings read about Tina Turner.

Well, Hello Dolly!

This has already made the rounds, gone viral, been seen by the world and probably all of you, but I cannot get enough of it.



I love Dolly Parton.  I have for ages and ages and ages and ages.  But she frustrates me.  Or, rather, her schtick can frustrate me.

Dolly has spent years crafting a persona--this larger than life image that is the consummate entertainer and performer who makes such an indelible impression on people.  I, and millions of other people, adore it.  And her.  It's certainly played a large part in her popularity over the years and kept her relevant in a country music industry that has become increasingly image-obssessed.

But Dolly the performer, the persona, the image can get in the way of Dolly the artist.  Dolly the musician with the beautiful voice.  Dolly the gifted songwriter.  Emmylou Harris wrote about this in the liner notes to a Dolly tribute album a decade or so ago.  She expressed the wish that more people knew the sides of Dolly that she has known for years. 

Get a copy of her first album, Just Because I'm a Woman.  It is mind-blowingly awesome--full of layers of emotion and beauty and honesty that you don't always feel from the persona.  Then check out any of her bluegrass albums from the 2000's where she's striped down, acoustic, and pure feeling, like the best bluegrass should be.  Finally, get her original greatest hits album, if you can find it and revel in all of her classics the way they were originally recorded.

Which brings me to this video.  "Jolene" is one of Dolly's best songs, but it's never better than the way it was originally written to  be sung--stripped down and raw.  This version is the purest and cleanest I've heard in years.  The original is marked by a plaintive acoustic guitar line that runs through the song.  I've always felt that Dolly's best songs layer in a lot of folk music influences among the country touches.  That's "Jolene" in a nutshell.

By going acapella here, they've restored that original feeling to the song.  I love that Dolly plays with the song in concert--changing "Jolene" to "drag queens" to acknowledge her cross-dressing fans--but this is a song about heartache, yearning and hurt.  You cannot listen to this recording and not feel your heart-breaking for her.  This is pain and inadequacy and fear.  There's nothing polished and slick about that.  That little whisper at the end just nails it.  "Oh.  Jolene."  How can you not cry for this woman?

The other thing that comes out here is what a great harmony singer she is. Honestly, that should be no secret, especially after the Trio albums.  I love to hear her sing with others.  And the look on everyone's faces is awesome--a mix of the sheer joy of performing good music and being awestruck over singing a classic with a legend.  How cool is it that Dolly swaps out her lead vocals for the climactic last verse?  Amazing.

Okay.  I just rambled on and on about a video that is less than three minutes.  I've always told you all that I can overthink and over-analyze anything.  That's why I blog.

I like it when Dolly entertains me, but I love it when she moves me. 

I'm going to have another listen. Or three.

Who else thought the bald guy was wearing a bathrobe at first glance?

Monday Rambles

It was the best of months.  It was the worst of months.  It was April 2016, the month of the never-ending booth redo.

I didn't set a record in April, but I did have a really nice overall total.  It was definitely a case of the very strong first half making up for a weaker second half of the month.  We kind of hit the rocks once the weather got nice and the Derby Festival started.

Thankfully, there's only one more week of the Festival left.  We made it through the fireworks show, the marathon and the balloon race.  Now we just need to make it through the steamboat race, the parade, Oaks Day, and, finally, Derby Day.  A couple of those events really snarl up downtown traffic and the bridge access across the river, so it will probably be a slow week.

I'm running a 20% off sale this week to try and offset any sales dip.  We'll see how well it works.  I don't like having a sale so soon after getting so much new stuff out, but the re-do only took about three times as long as I thought it would.  That will teach me to bring in two dozen tubs of smalls all at once.

My sale started Saturday and will run through Mother's Day.  Saturday turned into a real good day, which I guess is due to the sale.  It wasn't my best day ever, but it was definitely Top 10 and maybe Top 5.  (I'd have to look it up to be sure.)  Sunday was good too.  Now, of course,  I am second-guessing the whole sale thing.  I really don't like doing blanket percent off sales.

I am not planning on doing any major restocking for a few weeks, since I just put so much in.  That will buy me some time to get ready for my yard sale and for junk set out.  It will also give me time to dig some shelves off Sorrow Mountain for the new booth.  I'm setting it up tomorrow using my tables to get it started.  We dropped them off yesterday.  It's going to take a while to find my last few large shelves in the mess that is my storage.  I just hope the former vendor finally got moved out.  I'll put some pics up once I get done.

I'm actually kind of dreading the set up.  It's just a single booth and I am so not used to working with single spaces any more.  I have a huge list of things in my head that I want to put in this space.  There's no way it's all going to fit.  The biggest challenge will be dealing with the column.  The one at my other space is in the aisle, but right up against the front of the booth.  It's a pain, but workable.  This one is smack dab in the booth.  Not fun.

In addition to being Derby Day, Saturday is also an important date for a couple of other reasons.  For one thing, it's the day of the street sale that I consider to be the "official" kick-off to yard sale season.  Everything up to now has been "pre-season."  This is the sale that kicks it off, and it is always grand.  Seven or eight groups of people, including a couple of antique dealers dumping their winter left overs for cheap.  From time to time, I can even grab a couple of pieces of furniture at this one.

Saturday is also Free Comic Book Day, which will mean trips to at least two comic shops, more if I can squeeze them in.  I'll write more about FCBD on Friday, including which of the titles I most want to get.

I went on my usual Sunday junk walk last night and found this. 

Is repainting your shed still a thing?

I'm not totally sure what it is, but I love the little metal casters.  "Casters" is such a cool word.

Is sweeping your sidewalks still a thing?

I've decided to stay home today, since the neighborhood next to ours is having its junk set out.  Booth set up is one thing, but free crap is another matter entirely.  There will always be tomorrow.

Before then, however, it's time for Music for Monday:



Finally, thanks so much to everyone who stopped by and visited or commented during Friday's group blog event.  I think that post is now my most viewed ever!  I hope some of you all are sticking around and finding something to enjoy here.  I know I ended up with a few more blogs to visit out of the experience.  If you're a regular here, but haven't checked out the whole blog hop, you're missing out on some good reading!

I'll be posting two addenda to my original list this week, along with a bit of the usual silliness.

See ya!

Retro Y'all!

We lost one of the greats this week.

RIP Merle.



They don't make 'em like that any more.


Bonus:

Emmylou's version.

Retro Y'all!

Retro Y'all!

Retro Y'all!

I usually post these without comment, since I want the music to stand on its own, but I do have to say a few things here.

This song always makes me think of my mother, who was a feisty thing.  When I was in about fourth grade, I had a teacher who liked to take my glasses away or make the kids who glasses change pairs.  I have no idea what that was about.  She eventually got fired after she tied a student to a pencil sharpener.  Anyway, when my mother found out about the glasses thing, the fur really flew.  She loved a good scrap, my mom.

After she died, I listened to this song over and over for several weeks.  She loved it. 

Retro Y'all!

You just knew this was coming, right?  (Get ready.  I may be on a classic country kick for a while.)



That Loretta, she's a feisty one!

Guess who I'm going to see tonight?

Here's a hint:



Loretta Lynn is on my short list of performers that I want to see while we're all still on this planet together.  She is one of the few last links to the days of "classic" country that we have left.  She's in town tonight and we're going to see her as an extra special treat for me!

I can't wait!

Have another:



One more won't hurt:



And one for the road:



She's still got it, Baby!