From: owner-jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org (jangle-poets-digest) To: jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org Subject: jangle-poets-digest V8 #63 Reply-To: jangle-poets@smoe.org Sender: owner-jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk jangle-poets-digest Sunday, October 29 2006 Volume 08 : Number 063 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Subject: Re: [JP] Re: Songs of the Open Road [Jay Votel Subject: Re: Subject: Re: [JP] Re: Songs of the Open Road I count myself lucky to have been on the hillside during Best Black Friday. Along this thread, do people find gender disconcerting when it isn't changed? Maura sings "Galveston" and doesn't change the perspective, which is clearly a male soldier in Vietnam, yet I find no problem accepting that. It's a great song and well done. I particulary enjoy Pete's deep guitar solo in this song -- very 1960s Nashville. One of my favorite versions of "Girl From the North Country" is performed by Lisa Moscatiello (on Well Kept Secrets -- a great CD) and she doesn't change a word. The fact that she was singing about a woman who was a "true love" struck my attention at first, but I quickly was taken in by the performance and that issue evaporated. Tracy Grammer sings the original "Crocodile Man." Chris Smither's version is great, too. I think on the whole, we find many more women singers bending gender in song than men. Culturally, I suppose, it is much more acceptable. The examples of men singing in the persona of women I can think of are John Prine in "Angel from Montgomery" and Richard Shindell in "Ballad of Mary Magdalene" and "Money for Floods." I am sure there are more, but I believe there are vastly more examples of women singing in the persona of men. This could illustrate the fact that until recent times, men predominated the singer-songwriter field. Thoughts? JanglePoets@aol.com wrote: >In a message dated 10/24/2006 3:23:48 PM Eastern Standard Time, >JanglePoets@aol.com writes: > >With regard to your question, Frank, I find it a little disconcerting when > >singers change the pronouns in songs. I really don't care for Shawn >Colvin's cover of the Police song "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" >because Shawn changed "she" to he." Maybe it's just because the original >was so well known to me. > > > >I've been campaigning for a long time for some male vocalist to sing TN's >"Best Black Dress" without changing the pronouns in any way. It would put >an >entirely new perspective on a really great song and give people something to > >think about. Incidentally, it is no coincidence that it was I who first >suggested the Best Black Friday concept for the GFP at FRFF, although Cone >Head >and Trapper John deserve the credit for following through in such a way that >the >event is still being talked about, over a year later, since this went down >at FRFF '05. > >Bruce > >Check out the Kennedys' Official Home Page: http://www.KennedysMusic.com/ >Fab photos, the Official tour diary, dashboard Buddha haiku, groovy >merchandise...what more could you ask for? Check out the Kennedys' Official Home Page: http://www.KennedysMusic.com/ Fab photos, the Official tour diary, dashboard Buddha haiku, groovy merchandise...what more could you ask for? ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2006 16:48:25 -0400 From: Christopher Johnson Subject: Re: Subject: Re: [JP] Re: Songs of the Open Road I was going to mention Angel from Montgomery. My personal preference is to hear the song as it was written, but it really boils down to the performer and what they feel comfortable singing. Sometimes it makes sense to bend the gender, but please don't do it to "Long Black Veil". [g] On Oct 27, 2006, at 10:56 AM, Jay Votel wrote: > I count myself lucky to have been on the hillside during Best Black > Friday. > Along this thread, do people find gender disconcerting when it > isn't changed? Maura sings "Galveston" and doesn't change the > perspective, which is clearly a male soldier in Vietnam, yet I find > no problem accepting that. It's a great song and well done. I > particulary enjoy Pete's deep guitar solo in this song -- very > 1960s Nashville. > One of my favorite versions of "Girl From the North Country" is > performed by Lisa Moscatiello (on Well Kept Secrets -- a great CD) > and she doesn't change a word. The fact that she was singing about > a woman who was a "true love" struck my attention at first, but I > quickly was taken in by the performance and that issue evaporated. > Tracy Grammer sings the original "Crocodile Man." Chris Smither's > version is great, too. > I think on the whole, we find many more women singers bending > gender in song than men. Culturally, I suppose, it is much more > acceptable. The examples of men singing in the persona of women I > can think of are John Prine in "Angel from Montgomery" and Richard > Shindell in "Ballad of Mary Magdalene" and "Money for Floods." I am > sure there are more, but I believe there are vastly more examples > of women singing in the persona of men. This could illustrate the > fact that until recent times, men predominated the singer- > songwriter field. > Thoughts? > JanglePoets@aol.com wrote: Check out the Kennedys' Official Home Page: http://www.KennedysMusic.com/ Fab photos, the Official tour diary, dashboard Buddha haiku, groovy merchandise...what more could you ask for? ------------------------------ End of jangle-poets-digest V8 #63 *********************************