Friday, June 27, 2008
All I Ever Wanted...
Last time we met, I had a major work event coming and an Emmylou CD to buy. Well, since then, the event went extremely well--it was well-attended, my boss was happy, and, more importantly, her boss was happy. But it was also extremely stressful and demanding.
The day after it was over, I came down with an awful cold that settled right down in my chest. I'm still coughing stuff up. It left me too wiped to do much besides work, sleep, and eat Cap'n Crunch, the miracle cure-all.
However, today, after working like a madman for a week to get ready for it, at five p.m., my vacation starts! Ahhhh!
And what a vacation it will be! I'm going to read, watch Batman DVD's, visit my favorite thrift stores, drink coffee, take pictures, ride my bike, clean house, work in the yard, go camping, find a theater that's still showing Iron Man, and sleep!
I'm also going to blog, since I have quite a bit to say about the new Emmylou, yard sales, old posts, Roger Green, comic books, Days of Our Lives, and some other stuff.
But for now, there's one more day of work to do, a report to finish, a recommendation to type, data to correct, and a boss to meet with.
And so I must depart....
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Today is E-Day!
The "E" of course being Emmylou!
Well, life, they say, is what happens when you are making other plans. I had to drop one countdown post from my plans, because I didn't have time to finish it. I'll try to get to it this weekend.
I'm going to get the CD today, but will not have time to give it a good listen until Thursday because of work. I'm also most likely not going to be able to post again until the weekend.
In the meantime, go here and check out some of the tracks, plus video interviews, etc.
See ya!
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Emmylou Count Down #3: Share the Love!
It seems like practically every interview, article, and spotlight about Emmylou Harris makes mention of the many artists she's worked with and the many others she's championed over the years. Her reputation as a musical collaborator and a supporter of other artists is legendary. This countdown post pays tribute to one of the many things that makes me love Emmylou so much.
Enjoy!
Gillian Welch:
Patty Griffin:
Iris Dement:
The Louvin Brothers:
Guy Clark:
This hardly scratches the surface,of course. There's also Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Nanci Griffith, Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill, Rodney Crowell, The Whites, Delia Bell, Buddy Miller, Sam Bush, and so on and so forth....
Next: Take a left!
Enjoy!
Gillian Welch:
Patty Griffin:
Iris Dement:
The Louvin Brothers:
Guy Clark:
This hardly scratches the surface,of course. There's also Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Nanci Griffith, Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill, Rodney Crowell, The Whites, Delia Bell, Buddy Miller, Sam Bush, and so on and so forth....
Next: Take a left!
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
When Eddie Met Emmy (Emmylou Countdown Continues!)
Part 2 of a series of posts to prepare the way for the release of the new Emmylou Harris CD in June. See Part 1 here.
(Yes, I know the CD drops in a week. Yes, I know I've gotten behind again. oh well...)
It all started with one song, my love of all things Emmylou Harris. Interestingly, it wasn't one of her songs, which is kind of fitting if you start to think about the long history of collaborations she has.
I'm pretty sure I've written about this in the past, but my mother was a huge Linda Ronstadt fan, which meant that I in turn became a Linda Ronstadt fan. In fact, by a the time I was about 13 or 14, I was listening to those albums more than she was. The stereo was in her bedroom, so I had to have permission to listen to them. Sometime after my parents divorce, she sold most of her albums, but she kept the stereo and gave it to me, along with all of her Ronstadt albums.
My favorite Ronstadt album is Prisoner in Disguise, which has some great songs on it. I used to play it over and over and over. One of the songs, a traditional tune called "The Sweetest Gift," had the most beautiful harmony vocals. I asked my mom if she knew who it was, and she gave me the name, Emmylou Harris, but not much else.
Later on, I noticed the same lovely harmonies on other Ronstadt songs: "I Never Will Marry" (from Simple Dreams), "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)" from Heart Like a Wheel. I was hooked. I had to find out more.
The first ELH solo song I heard was "Two More Bottles of Wine", which actually kind of shocked me a little. My sweet little harmony singer was singing hard-rocking, twangy country drinking songs? What was this? It took a while to grow on me, but it did. Obviously, this was an artist of great versatility, much like Linda Rondstadt.
At some point, the public library began to circulate LP's for patrons to check out. One day, I found Blue Kentucky Girl in the "new arrival" bin. And, that, as they say, was all she wrote. I checked that album out dozens of times and played it endlessly. It remains to this day one of my favorite ELH albums.
There probably isn't a better overview of who Harris is musically than BKG, an amalgam of hard-rocking country, traditional music, old time country, lovely harmonies that all work together because you can feel the love she has for the music in every song. Several of my most favorite ELH songs come from this album. (More on that later.)
BKG burned Emmylou into my brain for sure, and I've been a mad crazy fan ever since!
Next: Emmylou loves other artists!
(Yes, I know the CD drops in a week. Yes, I know I've gotten behind again. oh well...)
It all started with one song, my love of all things Emmylou Harris. Interestingly, it wasn't one of her songs, which is kind of fitting if you start to think about the long history of collaborations she has.
I'm pretty sure I've written about this in the past, but my mother was a huge Linda Ronstadt fan, which meant that I in turn became a Linda Ronstadt fan. In fact, by a the time I was about 13 or 14, I was listening to those albums more than she was. The stereo was in her bedroom, so I had to have permission to listen to them. Sometime after my parents divorce, she sold most of her albums, but she kept the stereo and gave it to me, along with all of her Ronstadt albums.
My favorite Ronstadt album is Prisoner in Disguise, which has some great songs on it. I used to play it over and over and over. One of the songs, a traditional tune called "The Sweetest Gift," had the most beautiful harmony vocals. I asked my mom if she knew who it was, and she gave me the name, Emmylou Harris, but not much else.
Later on, I noticed the same lovely harmonies on other Ronstadt songs: "I Never Will Marry" (from Simple Dreams), "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)" from Heart Like a Wheel. I was hooked. I had to find out more.
The first ELH solo song I heard was "Two More Bottles of Wine", which actually kind of shocked me a little. My sweet little harmony singer was singing hard-rocking, twangy country drinking songs? What was this? It took a while to grow on me, but it did. Obviously, this was an artist of great versatility, much like Linda Rondstadt.
At some point, the public library began to circulate LP's for patrons to check out. One day, I found Blue Kentucky Girl in the "new arrival" bin. And, that, as they say, was all she wrote. I checked that album out dozens of times and played it endlessly. It remains to this day one of my favorite ELH albums.
There probably isn't a better overview of who Harris is musically than BKG, an amalgam of hard-rocking country, traditional music, old time country, lovely harmonies that all work together because you can feel the love she has for the music in every song. Several of my most favorite ELH songs come from this album. (More on that later.)
BKG burned Emmylou into my brain for sure, and I've been a mad crazy fan ever since!
Next: Emmylou loves other artists!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
I'm psyched!
Image nicked from Ear X-tacy page.
It's going to be a rough week, so this will be well-deserved rest and relaxation.
Also, there's a comic show this weekend, plus one of the best church yard sales in the city.
If I can just keep from going insane until then.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
It's Ride Your Bike to Work Week!
I know it's Wednesday, but there's still time to participate!
Details here.
And if you need to ride the bus part of the way, use the bike rack!
Details here.
And if you need to ride the bus part of the way, use the bike rack!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
My Political Thought of the Moment....
One week from today could very well be the first Kentucky Democratic primary where my vote actually matters in the decision. Our primary is so late that usually the nominee has all but declared victory. I got kind of excited about that possibility in the early primaries, when it started to look like the contest between Obama and Clinton would not be quickly or easily decided.
Now we're a week away from the primary. Even though he's pulling ahead in all the counts, every state is being watched and analyzed, poked and prodded, polled and sampled, looking for signs not only how the race to the nomination will go, but how things might play out in the fall. And I'm so freaking tired of it all.
I've gone from wanting my primary vote to really matter in the overall scheme of things to wishing that Clinton would see the writing on the wall and bow out gracefully. I'm willing to give up my one chance of a primary vote on something that isn't a done deal for a few extra weeks for the nominee to pull a fractured party together and get ready for the convention and November. I'll gladly trade my moment in the sun to help improve the party's chances at winning in the fall.
I only wonder when/if Clinton will say the same thing. Hopefully sooner, rather than later.
Related: Keith went to see Obama last night. (I had to work late.) He came home positively glowing. It's time to start focusing on the general election, people.
Now we're a week away from the primary. Even though he's pulling ahead in all the counts, every state is being watched and analyzed, poked and prodded, polled and sampled, looking for signs not only how the race to the nomination will go, but how things might play out in the fall. And I'm so freaking tired of it all.
I've gone from wanting my primary vote to really matter in the overall scheme of things to wishing that Clinton would see the writing on the wall and bow out gracefully. I'm willing to give up my one chance of a primary vote on something that isn't a done deal for a few extra weeks for the nominee to pull a fractured party together and get ready for the convention and November. I'll gladly trade my moment in the sun to help improve the party's chances at winning in the fall.
I only wonder when/if Clinton will say the same thing. Hopefully sooner, rather than later.
Related: Keith went to see Obama last night. (I had to work late.) He came home positively glowing. It's time to start focusing on the general election, people.
Friday, May 09, 2008
The Emmylou Countdown Starts NOW!
The new Emmylou Harris (aka The Goddess of Music) CD goes on sale in about a month, so I'm starting the Eddie-torial countdown. Needless to say, I am so psyched about this and absolutely cannot wait. (I'm debating taking the morning off on release day so that I can be at Ear X-tacy when it opens to get a copy. Seriously.)
All of the reviews I'm reading are glowing and what I've heard so far is fabulous.
So, to pass the time, I'm starting a countdown to release featuring highlights and some of my thoughts about songs and albums and such.
First up, the early years:
I suppose the whole Gram Parsons/Emmylou Harris story has become such a part of American music history that there's no need to recap the whole thing. I do wish that more of it had been captured on film. There's simply not enough video record out there of the two of them singing together.
Even though it's his show, you can see and hear so much in her performances that speak to the performer and artist that she will become--especially those warm, achingly beautiful harmonies. I don't care who she sings with, she has such a way of elevating others' performances and adding such richness and depth with her harmonies, but she does it without ever taking over or stealing the show.
I'm not normally one for YouTube photo montages, but this one has such great shots of the two of them, plus some performance clips that I can't resist it. It's one of my favorite songs from the Gram/Emmy era:
Parsons is such a cutie in those old pics, that it almost makes you wonder what he'd look like had he lived. Would he have the rugged, survived-the-hard-life handsomeness of Kris Kristofferson?
Or the perennial hit-by-several-speeding-trains-simultaneously, lucky-to-be-alive-and-upright look of Keith Richards?
Of all the artists who have self-destructed way too early, there are only two that make me ponder the loss and imagine what might have been every single time I hear one of their songs. Parsons is one. Janis Joplin is the other.
I think that knowing what Emmylou's career has been is part of what makes me ponder what would have happened to Parsons. It's probably inevitable that she would have gone solo. She simply has too much talent not to. But would it have been a graceful parting? What would he have done post-Emmylou?
Of course, the flip side to that is what would her solo career have looked like if he were still around? She typically included a Parsons tune or two on her early albums. Would she have felt that need to keep his music alive if he were around to do it? Would she have done more songwriting in her early solo career? Would she have always made such interesting musical choices? Or would she have broken away from his influence and gone in a totally different and unexpected direction? Would we still have such a rich catalog of Emmylou Harris albums? Regardless of how differently things might have played out for her, one thing is for sure: it would have been worth listening to. Parsons may have helped her refine her talent, but her innate musicality was there from the beginning.
As for Parsons, I'd like to think that with the rise of the Americana and alt-country movements of the past ten years or so, he would have enjoyed a career resurgence on his own, which would have led to the inevitable Parsons/Harris reunion album.
One thing we wouldn't have, though, is this song, which she wrote after his passing. It rips my heart out every time I hear it.
Next time: My first Emmylou Harris album!
All of the reviews I'm reading are glowing and what I've heard so far is fabulous.
So, to pass the time, I'm starting a countdown to release featuring highlights and some of my thoughts about songs and albums and such.
First up, the early years:
I suppose the whole Gram Parsons/Emmylou Harris story has become such a part of American music history that there's no need to recap the whole thing. I do wish that more of it had been captured on film. There's simply not enough video record out there of the two of them singing together.
Even though it's his show, you can see and hear so much in her performances that speak to the performer and artist that she will become--especially those warm, achingly beautiful harmonies. I don't care who she sings with, she has such a way of elevating others' performances and adding such richness and depth with her harmonies, but she does it without ever taking over or stealing the show.
I'm not normally one for YouTube photo montages, but this one has such great shots of the two of them, plus some performance clips that I can't resist it. It's one of my favorite songs from the Gram/Emmy era:
Parsons is such a cutie in those old pics, that it almost makes you wonder what he'd look like had he lived. Would he have the rugged, survived-the-hard-life handsomeness of Kris Kristofferson?
Or the perennial hit-by-several-speeding-trains-simultaneously, lucky-to-be-alive-and-upright look of Keith Richards?
Of all the artists who have self-destructed way too early, there are only two that make me ponder the loss and imagine what might have been every single time I hear one of their songs. Parsons is one. Janis Joplin is the other.
I think that knowing what Emmylou's career has been is part of what makes me ponder what would have happened to Parsons. It's probably inevitable that she would have gone solo. She simply has too much talent not to. But would it have been a graceful parting? What would he have done post-Emmylou?
Of course, the flip side to that is what would her solo career have looked like if he were still around? She typically included a Parsons tune or two on her early albums. Would she have felt that need to keep his music alive if he were around to do it? Would she have done more songwriting in her early solo career? Would she have always made such interesting musical choices? Or would she have broken away from his influence and gone in a totally different and unexpected direction? Would we still have such a rich catalog of Emmylou Harris albums? Regardless of how differently things might have played out for her, one thing is for sure: it would have been worth listening to. Parsons may have helped her refine her talent, but her innate musicality was there from the beginning.
As for Parsons, I'd like to think that with the rise of the Americana and alt-country movements of the past ten years or so, he would have enjoyed a career resurgence on his own, which would have led to the inevitable Parsons/Harris reunion album.
One thing we wouldn't have, though, is this song, which she wrote after his passing. It rips my heart out every time I hear it.
Next time: My first Emmylou Harris album!
I am the nightlife!
According the standard geek-scale, I have a real low threshold for quality in my super-hero movies--I loved both the last Clooney Batman and Catwowan, after all.
There's just something about those movies that don't take themselves or their source material too bloody seriously that appeals to me. I can see some elements of that in the Iron Man previews I've seen, so I'm looking forward to seeing it. (Maybe this weekend...)
In the meantime, there's this:
There's just something about those movies that don't take themselves or their source material too bloody seriously that appeals to me. I can see some elements of that in the Iron Man previews I've seen, so I'm looking forward to seeing it. (Maybe this weekend...)
In the meantime, there's this:
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Totally stolen from today's Journalista!
Animation is about the only thing that can make a Chick tract more bizarre and creepy than it already was:
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Sigh!
Apparently, I'm doomed to never again know the consistent feeling of having work that is:
a) plentiful
b) meaningful
c) suited to my temperaments and talents
I was informed yesterday that once my current "assignment" is over, I'll be returning to the status quo, which is none of the above. I almost cried.
The only real bright side is that there is no visible end date to the current assignment.
Have some links while I mope:
RIP Alfredo. (I have to say that The Rack is my favorite web comic and the only one I actively make the time to follow.)
The Boy Toys of the DC Universe.
Stuffed animals playing board games. (About London,yet!)
Donate to David Pirkola, comics retailer seriously wounded during a robbery. (via Journalista)
How about a video to make us all feel better. Maybe Kasey Chambers?
Um...maybe not.
a) plentiful
b) meaningful
c) suited to my temperaments and talents
I was informed yesterday that once my current "assignment" is over, I'll be returning to the status quo, which is none of the above. I almost cried.
The only real bright side is that there is no visible end date to the current assignment.
Have some links while I mope:
RIP Alfredo. (I have to say that The Rack is my favorite web comic and the only one I actively make the time to follow.)
The Boy Toys of the DC Universe.
Stuffed animals playing board games. (About London,yet!)
Donate to David Pirkola, comics retailer seriously wounded during a robbery. (via Journalista)
How about a video to make us all feel better. Maybe Kasey Chambers?
Um...maybe not.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Because Roger demanded it!
Ten things about me you probably never really wanted to know.
1. For the last two or three weeks, I've ridden between 20 and 30 miles on my bike.
2. I've been a vegetarian for just about as long as Keith and I have been together.
3. When I was 26, I quit a job that I hated without any prospects lined up. I kind of miss being able to do that.
4. I collect Catholic religious and devotional items, which amuses some people to no end. I knew I had become rather infamous for it when a friend at work brought me a statue of Our Lady of Grace that her mother (who I had not met) saved for me from the house of a friend who had passed on.
5. When I was younger, one of my favorite things to do after dinner was go back and finish off the gravy after it had gotten cold. My grandmother used to leave the gravy bowl on the table for me.
6. I'm taking this Friday off, which excites me because it's payday! I'm also going to be spending the weekend at a friend's apartment, catsitting. So, it's kind of like having a mini-vacation.
7. I need a haircut.
8. I do a lot of ordering through Amazon, but I typically get used stuff through the marketplace sellers.
9. We've seen more live music so far this year than we did the whole year last year.
10. I've been leading a financial literacy class on Monday evenings.
Happy, Roger?
1. For the last two or three weeks, I've ridden between 20 and 30 miles on my bike.
2. I've been a vegetarian for just about as long as Keith and I have been together.
3. When I was 26, I quit a job that I hated without any prospects lined up. I kind of miss being able to do that.
4. I collect Catholic religious and devotional items, which amuses some people to no end. I knew I had become rather infamous for it when a friend at work brought me a statue of Our Lady of Grace that her mother (who I had not met) saved for me from the house of a friend who had passed on.
5. When I was younger, one of my favorite things to do after dinner was go back and finish off the gravy after it had gotten cold. My grandmother used to leave the gravy bowl on the table for me.
6. I'm taking this Friday off, which excites me because it's payday! I'm also going to be spending the weekend at a friend's apartment, catsitting. So, it's kind of like having a mini-vacation.
7. I need a haircut.
8. I do a lot of ordering through Amazon, but I typically get used stuff through the marketplace sellers.
9. We've seen more live music so far this year than we did the whole year last year.
10. I've been leading a financial literacy class on Monday evenings.
Happy, Roger?
Monday, April 14, 2008
Then and Now: Steve Earle Edition
Classic Steve Earle:
Recent Steve Earle:
Mmmmmm.....Steve Earle....
BONUS: Emmylou does Guitar Town!
Recent Steve Earle:
Mmmmmm.....Steve Earle....
BONUS: Emmylou does Guitar Town!
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