From: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org (shindell-list-digest) To: shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Subject: shindell-list-digest V2 #339 Reply-To: shindell-list@smoe.org Sender: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk shindell-list-digest Wednesday, November 22 2000 Volume 02 : Number 339 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [none] [Lee Wessman ] [RS] Favorite CD and Joan [Janet Cinelli ] [RS] NORA ["Norman A. Johnson" ] Re: [RS] NORA [patrick t power ] [RS] Shindell 101. [Rongrittz@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 10:21:42 -0800 From: Lee Wessman Subject: [none] Geez, I should be working, but... this thread about what songs we skip is interesting stuff. Some of the songs on Ron Gritz's list of skippers are among the greatest RS songs, and he skips them because he's heard them so many times. Watch how RS newcomers react to his songs. "Are You Happy" is, of course, a perfect intro -- Richard Shindell 1A. During concerts, "Lazy" always grabs 'em. (As well it should, I might add; I'd love to hear more written in those bossa nova chords.) "Mary Mag" and "Fishing" are instant hits because you don't have to work hard to get the stories. And of course, he throws in a lot of the upbeat stuff just to keep his set popping along at a brisk tempo ("Arrowhead," "Iron Gate," "Kenworth," "Shades of Gray.") That makes the slow songs more welcome to the ear and more accessible. The best RS song that I have never gotten to hear him do live is "May." I would imagine that one gets even the newcomers.It is the song that finally made lightbulbs go off for my daughters, ages 14 and 12. Richard and Dougie MacLean are the only two of "my" musicians that they always want to go see, and Richard is the only one they try to turn their friends onto. And "May" is the song they always want their friends to hear first. We'll be driving along in the car, and I'll manage to get their radio station off and my tape in, and "May" comes on and they turn to their friends and say, "OK, you gotta listen to this. Picture it in your head. This guy's on the run, and he's calling his wife from a phone booth ..." So maybe "May" is the quintessential RS song. It can make a teenager shut up. Geez, I should be working ... - -lee ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 16:54:35 -0800 (PST) From: Janet Cinelli Subject: [RS] Favorite CD and Joan Hi all! I'm usually a lurker but want to peek out and give my 2 cents for the current threads on the list. As to my favorite cd of Richard's it has to be Blue Divide. I really love the song "TV Light". It made me take stock of my life in relation to how much time I waste watching tv and ignoring my life! Maybe some of you long time marrieds can relate because it can come down to growing apart from your mate while sitting side by side! I also like the song "Arrowhead", it was the first song I ever heard Richard play live, at Summerfest in Massachusetts this past summer. As to Joan Baez, I don't want to show my age (alright I'm 42!) but she was the first person I heard sing a song from the perspective of the opposite sex and it really impressed me! I like her version of "Reuion Hill", I think she conveys the wife's sadness about her husband. I also really like Dar's background vocals. Back to lurkdome for me! Janet Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 19:14:22 -0500 From: "Norman A. Johnson" Subject: [RS] NORA Ron mentioned skipping lots of songs on SPARROW'S POINT even though it's his favorite album. I agree with what he said about the roller coaster of emotions from the intense "The Courier" to the dirge "Sparrow's Point" to the "zippy" "Kenworth" and ending with the engimatic "Fleur De Lis". But what makes SP for me is "Nora". It's wonderfully and compactly written. It has a mesmerizing melody and Richard's voice is haunting. Most importantly, it's a great and unfinished story. I want to know more. I want to read the play Nora wrote? How far did the narrator and Nora go? Was it just Jimmy Carter-esque "lust in the heart" or something more? I think it's just "lust in the heart",BTW. How did the narrator and Nora meet? Did he know Nora before he knew her husband? For some reason, I think they did. Then there's those of the "Nora is dead" camp. I don't (s-word) to that scenario but it's fascinating what this song brings out. Nor(m)a(n) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 22:15:14 -0500 From: patrick t power Subject: Re: [RS] NORA I agree with Norman on this one . . . Of course, "Nora" is the very first Shindell song I ever heard (on Dar's "Christians and the Pagans" EP), so I suppose it holds a special place with me because of that. Its imagery, melody and story are very compelling. With regard to the enigmatic "On A Sea of Fleur de Lis", I have begun to play this song a lot lately and for some reason, it has begun to make more sense to me -- although I couldn't explain why; perhaps it's osmosis. Pat ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 22:38:51 EST From: Rongrittz@aol.com Subject: [RS] Shindell 101. << Watch how RS newcomers react to his songs. "Are You Happy" is, of course, a perfect intro -- Richard Shindell 1A. >> It's funny, though, how a song considered to be a "perfect RS intro" . . . indeed, the song that probably introduced many of us to Richard (either on the "When October Goes" compilation or as the first song on his first CD) . . . is actually LESS like the type of songs we consider to be "quintessential RS songs" than just about anything he's ever written. I mean, I can point to most Richard songs and find at least a couple of others that are at least basically similar -- in theme, in characterization, in musical structure. Yeah, there are some glaring exceptions: "Lazy" and "Transit" are two quickies that come to mind. But there sure ain't nothing else like "Are You Happy Now," making it interesting that it seems to be the song that catches the attention of most RS newbies the first time around. RG ------------------------------ End of shindell-list-digest V2 #339 ***********************************