From: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org (shindell-list-digest) To: shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Subject: shindell-list-digest V9 #128 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 Monday, July 30 2007 Volume 09 : Number 128 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [RS] evolution [Jim Colbert ] Re: [RS] New songs! ["Vanessa Wills" ] Re: [RS] New songs! [Janet Cinelli ] Re: [RS] New songs! ["Vanessa Wills" ] Re: [RS] New songs! ["Chris Foxwell" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 10:20:37 -0400 From: Jim Colbert Subject: [RS] evolution > I really > do love the emotion and phrasing, the way he emphasizes certain words > on so many of the tunes.? In addition, musically, it is spare yet > wonderfully textured, sprinkled with just the right additions of > percussion, second guitar, violin and bass.? Save for "Born in the > USA," which I just plain don't like, the vocal "performances" on SOD > are truly what defines the record and makes it very special. IMHO. > of course. > I'd agree with that. I'm also particularly fond of the Greg Anderson feel on production, as I've mentioned in the past. I've always felt Larry Campbell, awesome musician aside, was just never a great fit for Richard. Also very nice post about FR, Vanessa- captured the flavor for those of us unable to get there. - -jim c. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 13:31:15 -0400 From: "Vanessa Wills" Subject: Re: [RS] New songs! I'm kicking myself because like a fool, I waited until today to try to buy a ticket for Richard's NYC show this Friday and it is sold out. Boo! I mean, I'm glad the tickets sold well, of course, but I'm actually extremely bummed that I'm not going to see the show. ::sigh:: Anyways, I almost forgot: Richard also debuted a new "Beatles-inspired" song at the Beatles Forever workshop, called "Bye, Bye." I liked the song; I don't think it went over as well as it might have, though, as folks were generally looking to let their hair down and wax nostalgic with familiar Beatles covers. Like "Balloon Man," it seemed to be itself concerned somewhat with the project of songwriting. I can't remember the chorus exactly, it was something along the lines of: "And I could bring her back again,/ With a few strokes of my fountain pen,/ All's forgiven, start again,/ But that's not how the story ends." I liked the idea of a writer exploring the sensible limits to artistic license. I recall Richard saying that "Bye, Bye" is a response to a particular Beatles song, but not being especially familiar with the Beatles catalog, I'm not sure exactly which, and I don't recall enough lyrics from the verses to look for clues now. I would think "Hello Goodbye," perhaps. - --V - -- "True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring." - --Martin Luther King ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 11:16:45 -0700 (PDT) From: Janet Cinelli Subject: Re: [RS] New songs! - --- Vanessa Wills wrote: > that "Bye, Bye" is a response to a particular > Beatles song, but not being > especially familiar with the Beatles catalog, I'm > not sure exactly which, > and I don't recall enough lyrics from the verses to > look for clues now. I > would think "Hello Goodbye," perhaps. > > --V The song is She's Leaving Home. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396545433 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 14:24:14 -0400 From: "Vanessa Wills" Subject: Re: [RS] New songs! Thanks! That makes a *lot* more sense. the lyrics: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Alley/5118/beatles/shes_leaving_home-ly.html On 7/30/07, Janet Cinelli wrote: > > --- Vanessa Wills wrote: > > > that "Bye, Bye" is a response to a particular > > Beatles song, but not being > > especially familiar with the Beatles catalog, I'm > > not sure exactly which, > > and I don't recall enough lyrics from the verses to > > look for clues now. I > > would think "Hello Goodbye," perhaps. > > > > --V > > The song is She's Leaving Home. > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who > knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. > http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396545433 > - -- "True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring." - --Martin Luther King ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 17:16:22 -0400 From: "Chris Foxwell" Subject: Re: [RS] New songs! Nice review, Vanessa! I was also at FRFF, and had a fantastic time; it was my first time doing the whole camping thing, and I gotta say, the weather made for a very...interesting initiation. I went with a friend, another volunteer at Passim (her first time camping too), and I'm pleased to say that under the influence of a well-designed mix CD and Richard's great playing, we have a new Shindell fan. I finally got to meet Gene and Isabel, and I also spotted Reinhard but wasn't able to say hello. Vanessa, Gene told me that you were around, and I was hoping to meet you too, but alas! no such luck. Perhaps next time. I can't really add much to Vanessa's excellent rundown, except to retract my inadequate--if not outright inaccurate--description of the new song "State of the Union." Having now heard it twice more, these times without running back and forth to Passim's front desk, I now see (hear) how much I missed in my original description. (In my defense, I had suggested that might be the case...) I apparently missed the whole element of the narrator starting the song off as a criminal, trying to amend his ways, etc., as Vanessa detailed. I liked the song a lot more after the two additional listens. Quick correction to the lyrics that Vanessa posted: the change in the last line of the chorus that occurs at the end of the song is from "I hear it can happen that way" to "But it don't always happen that way." As far as the identity crisis within "Balloon Man," I confess that I didn't really experience much trouble with it. This is actually kind of refreshing; as most on this list know by now, I'm usually on the extreme side of lyric/literary analysis and consistency, and it's nice for once to kick back and say "meh." :-) Seriously though, I felt like the chorus operated as a gentle reminder of how many amazing, eccentric, wonderful people there are in the world, that the world is a richer place with them, and that one's experience of the world is often richer for taking the time to register them. I didn't hear it as Richard attempting to justify the song, but rather as a "lifting" out of the stream of description to provide this reminder, rather like emerging from water to take a rejuvating breath before submerging once again. (Perhaps that is how the song itself can be interpreted? That it is good to rise above the matters that consume us daily and partake now and then of those breaths of fresh air wandering the streets?) I guess you could equate "reminding" with "justifying," and make the same argument, but I'm not sure that necessarily follows. "Enhancing" or "sharpening" work just as well, for me at least. In any case, the actual last line of the chorus is "that Balloon Man lives in it [the world] too", by the way; small difference from "that Balloon Man is here too," but rather more poignant. Erm...perhaps this is really bad form, discussing these new songs while most haven't been able to hear them yet? :( Eep. If so, sorry... Chris On 7/30/07, Vanessa Wills wrote: > > (I wrote this at 3am last night and apparently fell asleep before I sent > it! > The fact that I am surprised to learn this tells you something about how > bone-tired I was when I was writing it. So please forgive me if my writing > here is less than strictly erudite.) > > I just got home from Falcon Ridge. It was my first time back in about five > years. I am so glad I went, and fully intend to return next year if I can. > Things were a little crazy with my little band of fellow FRFF-ers. There > were three of us who had done Falcon Ridge twice together, and three > newcomers. My friend M. and her husband had to leave quickly on Saturday > morning because of a family emergency, and one of our newcomers was a brat > all weekend (after going on beforehand about how outdoorsy she was, she > declared hours after we arrived Thursday that she just realized that she > hated camping and wanted civilization and spent most of the weekend > sleeping > in her car. uggh.) So that left me trying to keep things organized and > lead > what was left of our little band of Falcon Ridge neophytes through the > weekend. As it happened, my companions (there were effectively three of us > by Saturday) were just wonderful to enjoy Falcon Ridge with. It made the > experience that much better to help share it with people who were new to > the > Ridge. But alas, the craziness meant that I didn't get to spend as much > time > wandering through campsites looking for familiar faces (or unfamiliar > faces > that belonged to familiar e-mail addresses) as I would have liked to. It's > a > shame; finding cool song circles and such was one of my favorite things I > missed from FRFFs past. But for a first festival in a long while (or just > a > first festival, period) we were pretty happy with ourselves in terms of > doing a lot of what we wanted to do and honestly, it was hard not to feel > positively blissful a good amount of the time. I was just so wiped by the > time midnight rolled around and I know that I am antsy all day if I don't > have an excellent spot near the mainstage, which of course necessitates > getting up at what some may affectionately refer to as the buttcrack of > dawn. > > I'm happy Gene and Isabel managed to spot me at the mainstage early in the > weekend, and we touched base and chatted several times throughout the > festival. (It was so great to see you guys!! I feel like I was always > slightly zombietastic--chalk it up to sleep deprivation!) During Richard's > set, I also managed to recognize Reinhard snapping a photo, so I got to > meet > him for the first time. > > I caught all of Richard's workshop and mainstage sets, so I got to hear > "Walden Well," "State of the Union," "Parasol Ants," and "Balloon Man." > > Walden Well, most of us have heard in some form by now, I think. The > melody > is lovely as ever, but I think I could still use a few more listens before > I > have a real take on it. I really came to love "State of the Union" by the > end of the weekend. Richard performed it at the Friday Night Summer's Eve > Song Swap, but the circumstances were less than ideal, given that a huge > electrical storm actually shut down the stage for a time and sent muddy > campers slipping and sliding into the dining tent for cover. (Out of the > thousands of folks on the hill, I would say that maybe about 150-200 > remained when the lightning subsided, the rain continued to pour down, and > the show began again. But then, it wouldn't be Falcon Ridge if you weren't > at some point soaking wet and sitting on a muddy tarp in the dead of > night, > hearing music weave its way between raindrops to meet you.) > > Anyway, Richard performed it again in his own mainstage set on Sunday, > with > John Putnam, Lincoln Schleiffer, Sara Milonovich, and a drummer whose name > escapes me right now. It's wonderful, I think; I really like it. It > reminds > me a little of "Confession," actually. The song opens with the narrator > pondering why he hesitates to rob from an "easy mark;" it is his routine > to > victimize others in order to support a heroin habit, until he's struck by > unfamiliar pangs of conscience. He soon sees that there is a cycle of pain > here, him spreading his suffering to others, and he tries to end it by > kicking his own habit. He enters a methadone clinic and starts treatment, > and it seems to go well for a while, but then he falls back in with his > old > friends, falls back into his heroin addiction, and while on a run to get > more, he's stopped by the police, arrested, and then sent to jail where he > one day sees the president giving a State of the Union address, "grinning > that grin," "thinking he's some John Wayne," and talking about "shooting > and > drilling our way out of this," and he sees that the situation seems > hopeless, that the cycle of pain seems like it will never end, and as > Chris > mentioned the character describes that he feels as though trying to end it > is akin to rolling a stone up a hill endlessly a la Sisyphus. > > The chorus of the song is: > "If not now, then when?, I keep asking myself, > Over and over again > Make it right, break free, get rid of the junk, > They say it can happen that way." > > Except I believe that after the part where the narrator's addiction > relapse > is described, the last line of the chorus becomes: "But it just didn't > happen that way." I do love Richard's voice on this song. > > In some ways it's as bleak as "Confession"--both characters seem trapped > in > their sadness, and neither song gives the listener any very good reason to > think that the character will find his way out soon. Of course, both > characters have chemical dependencies. Here, the character can't kick his; > in Confession, it's a little less clear, I think, whether the character > can't kick it or won't kick it because he prioritizes his material success > over his mental health. In both, though, one character's personal anguish > is > presented as a symptom of a larger social sickness. I think that's an > important similarity between them. "State of the Union" has a more > explicitly political content, obviously. I meant to write much more, but > I'm > getting pretty exhausted (still haven't slept since coming home from > Falcon > Ridge!), so I'll just say that Chris, I didn't see this character so much > as > aiming to "spread freedom" (such a loaded concept these days) as simply > trying to end his perceived complicity in perpetuating suffering (only to > discover, of course, that forces larger than him keep him locked in that > cycle, so that breaking the cycle seems a Sisyphean task). The other thing > I'll mention before I move on is that I think "Get rid of the junk" is > such > a nice line here since it ties together the parallels and the connections > between the character's personal challenges kicking his drug habit and the > broader project of "cleansing the world of all evil, oppression, and > violence," as one famous Russian once put it. > > I heard "Balloon Man" for the first time today. I forget the chorus > exactly--I think it was, "You are half a world away,/ I thought you would > just like to know,/ That balloon man is here, too," or something very much > to that effect. Like Chris said, it's mostly a kind of admiring > description > of a very odd character. I like the idea fine of simply beautifully > describing a peculiar sight--but then the chorus comes, and it's > intriguing > enough that I begin to want more out of this song. It goes from being this > very sweet, simple song with modest aspirations during the verses, to all > of > a sudden being a song that has a "you" and that makes metatextual > references > to the point of describing Balloon Man at all. I want this song to choose, > although I appreciate that if the narrator says much more about why he > decided to tell about Balloon Man, that undercuts the reason he's already > given, namely that he "thought you would just like to know." I guess the > thing is, there are lots of things we say just because we figure that > others > might want to know, but somehow the chorus comes off sounding as though > taking time and effort to carefully describe Balloon Man needs to be > apologized for, when I think perhaps it would be better to just let the > description stand on its own without that. Or, if there really are deeper, > more interesting claims to be read out of the chorus, I wish these were > explored more. I hope some of this makes sense, I am very tired. Anyway, I > tend to like the song but I think I'm a little confused by it because it > seems like the song wants to be both a beautiful description for > description's sake _and_ a kind of commentary on the point or use or value > of telling, but I'm not sure it's going about all that in the best way. > > Ron G asked: > > < odd > Richard songs.>> > > Yes, Virginia; there is an odder Richard song than "Hideous Grin," (which > I've found intriguing, actually). Of the other three new Richard songs, I > really love "State of the Union" and think I could stand to spend a little > more time with "Walden Well" and "Balloon Man," but I'm overall favorable > towards them. "Parasol Ants" isn't really one I can see myself warming up > to, unfortunately. > > OK--my eyes can barely focus anymore. Time to sleep! > > --Vanessa > > > > On 7/27/07, Rongrittz@aol.com < Rongrittz@aol.com> wrote: > > > > >> Richard described it as the oddest song he's ever written << > > > > Odder than "Hideous Grin?" To me, that one pretty much set the bar on > odd > > Richard songs. > > > > RG > > > > > > -- > "True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see > that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring." > --Martin Luther King > - -- "We were born in a dark age out of due time (for us). But there is this comfort: otherwise we should not know, or so much love, what we do love. I imagine the fish out of water is the only fish to have an inkling of water." - --J.R.R. Tolkien ------------------------------ End of shindell-list-digest V9 #128 ***********************************