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Subject: shindell-list-digest V6 #180
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shindell-list-digest    Thursday, September 2 2004    Volume 06 : Number 180



                               Today's Subjects:
                               -----------------
  [RS] waist deep in the big muddy        [sharon G <sdgold60@optonline.net>]
  [RS] Re: shindell-list-digest V6 #179                      [DrTobs@aol.com]
  [RS] There Goes Richard...                             [RockinRonD@aol.com]
  [RS] Re:Wayne                           [Roxylee <roxylee@frontiernet.net>]
  [RS] Cancion Sencilla                                   [Patience9@aol.com]
  [RS] Last Fare of the Day             [Susan Koval <shkoval@optonline.net>]
  Re: [RS] Last Fare of the Day                   [rfoxwell@wso.williams.edu]
  Re: [RS] Last Fare of the Day                           [BashamPAS@aol.com]
  Re: [RS] Last Fare of the Day                           [Rongrittz@aol.com]
  [RS] Day of the Last Fare         [Norman Johnson <njohnson@ent.umass.edu>]
  Re: [RS] Day of the Last Fare                           [Rongrittz@aol.com]
  Re: [RS] Day of the Last Fare   [Chris Foxwell <rfoxwell@wso.williams.edu>]
  Re: [RS] There Goes Richard...    [adam plunkett <adam_plunkett@yahoo.com>]

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 02 Sep 2004 05:52:56 -0400
From: sharon G <sdgold60@optonline.net>
Subject: [RS] waist deep in the big muddy

what Bob Patterson didnt mention in his post is that FUV is playing the Hell out of Waist Deep in the Big Muddy... I hear it in the morning and Denis Elsas has been playing almost every day

you can check the WFUV playlists for exact info....or maybe whenever im in the car, i happen to hear Richard Shindell being played

sharon G 
waist deep in her own Muddy of the GOP 

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 02 Sep 2004 07:24:20 -0400
From: DrTobs@aol.com
Subject: [RS] Re: shindell-list-digest V6 #179

Hey all,
It's good to see I'm not the only one with 2 copies of Vuelta!  My web order arrived Tuesday, but I already had 6 days of listening pleasure under my belt, courtesy of Barnes and Noble. 

My two "repeat" songs..."Hazel's House"-the guitar is stuck in my head, and "Che Guevera t-shirt"-the imagery is stuck in my head!  T-shirt is also the song that grabbed me most when I heard it live at his last show.

"The Island" package deal-hotel, airfare, sometimes tips-beware of Time shares and Vacation Clubs!!!!
Thanks again, Richard :)

Toby

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2004 07:47:13 EDT
From: RockinRonD@aol.com
Subject: [RS] There Goes Richard...

Little doubt that "Vuelta" is a masterpiece and testament to an enormously  
talented man at the peak of his powers.  "There Goes Mavis" is just so  
beautifully and sensitively arranged, it even won my wife over and she isn't,  
necessarily, a Richard Shindell fan (she also pointed out, as an enthusiastic  
birder, that female canaries DO NOT sing, only the males do).
 
But I still believe "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" is an odd  inclusion.  To 
me it just doesn't fit with the original songs on the  record.  I know this may 
be an unpopular sentiment, but I love the  storybook quality to Richard's 
songs on this album.  "Waist Deep" feels to  me like an ugly dose of reality, 
even though it is wonderfully arranged and the  music is beautifully played.
 
Ultimately, in my view, this is Richard's best record since "Sparrow's  
Point."  It may even become my all time favorite.
 
RonD

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2004 08:16:15 -0400
From: Roxylee <roxylee@frontiernet.net>
Subject: [RS] Re:Wayne

>Airfare + Hotel + Tickets to see Wayne Newton.
>Pat

Thanks, Pat, I was drinking coffee when I read this. <G>

Roxy, cracking up!

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2004 10:44:20 EDT
From: Patience9@aol.com
Subject: [RS] Cancion Sencilla

and i just pass over it

I am obsessed with Cancion  Sencilla and have had that one on repeat more 
than any of the  others.

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 02 Sep 2004 11:45:56 -0400
From: Susan Koval <shkoval@optonline.net>
Subject: [RS] Last Fare of the Day

I'd like to add to the many positive comments made about Vuelta so far - it
really is a terrific album. 

 

I have a question about Last Fare of the Day. From being on this list, I
knew the song was about 9/11. Although I see that in the song booklet it
says "New York, Fall 2001/Spring 2002" under the song title, how did people
on the list know this song was about 9/11 prior to the printing of the
booklet? I think it's a great song, but based strictly on the lyrics I
wouldn't have known it was about 9/11. Or am I missing something?

 

Thanks,

 

Sue K

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 02 Sep 2004 12:12:14 -0400
From: rfoxwell@wso.williams.edu
Subject: Re: [RS] Last Fare of the Day

Quoting Susan Koval <shkoval@optonline.net>:

> I have a question about Last Fare of the Day. From being on this list, I
> knew the song was about 9/11. Although I see that in the song booklet it
> says "New York, Fall 2001/Spring 2002" under the song title, how did people
> on the list know this song was about 9/11 prior to the printing of the
> booklet? I think it's a great song, but based strictly on the lyrics I
> wouldn't have known it was about 9/11. Or am I missing something?

We're using information gleaned from Richard's own descriptions of the song,
from live performances and radio interviews and whatnot.

By the way, I love exactly that subtlety that you've observed.  You're right,
there is nothing about the lyrics that screams "9-11!!" (though there are
touches that serve to ground the song in location and time), and it stands
perfectly well as a story on its own.  One of the beautiful aspects of
Richard's music is that he doesn't beat you over the head with a given topic;
instead, he refers to the subject intimately or tangentially, usually through a
person's point of view--"Last Fare", "Arrowhead", "Reunion Hill",
"Ascent"--such that the subject matter is revealed rather than announced.

- --Chris

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2004 12:12:46 EDT
From: BashamPAS@aol.com
Subject: Re: [RS] Last Fare of the Day

Sue writes: I have a question about Last Fare of the Day. From being on this 
list, I
knew the song was about 9/11. Although I see that in the song booklet it
says "New York, Fall 2001/Spring 2002" under the song title, how did people
on the list know this song was about 9/11 prior to the printing of the
booklet? I think it's a great song, but based strictly on the lyrics I
wouldn't have known it was about 9/11. Or am I missing something?

I think the most obvious answer is that he talks about the 9/11 connection 
when introducing the song at his concerts (or at least the one I attended). It's 
typical of Richard to write a song that isn't in your face about its subject 
matter - so much is left to the imagination and intelligence of the listener. 
By the way, how does everyone else feel about the arrangement of Last Fare on 
Vuelta? I'm still not used to all those drums. It seems a much more powerful 
song performed with just guitar and vocal. And while on the subject of the 
record, isn't The Island a magical song? I love the allegory of paradise slipping 
away piece by piece.

Phil


In a message dated 02/09/2004 16:54:22 GMT Daylight Time, 
shkoval@optonline.net writes:

> Subj: [RS] Last Fare of the Day 
>  Date: 02/09/2004 16:54:22 GMT Daylight Time
>  From: shkoval@optonline.net
>  Reply-to: shindell-list@smoe.org
>  To: shindell-list@smoe.org
>  Sent from the Internet 
> 
> 
> 
> I'd like to add to the many positive comments made about Vuelta so far - it
> really is a terrific album. 
> 
> 
> 
> I have a question about Last Fare of the Day. From being on this list, I
> knew the song was about 9/11. Although I see that in the song booklet it
> says "New York, Fall 2001/Spring 2002" under the song title, how did people
> on the list know this song was about 9/11 prior to the printing of the
> booklet? I think it's a great song, but based strictly on the lyrics I
> wouldn't have known it was about 9/11. Or am I missing something?
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> 
> 
> Sue K

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 02 Sep 2004 12:28:45 -0400
From: Rongrittz@aol.com
Subject: Re: [RS] Last Fare of the Day

>> You're right, there is nothing about the lyrics that screams "9-11!!" <<

And that's a good thing, because it helps make the song timeless.  Some other "9/11" songs (Lucy's "Land of the Living" and Mark Erelli's "The Only Way") aren't quite so subtle, and therefore have a much shorter shelf life.

RG

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 02 Sep 2004 17:12:57 -0400
From: Norman Johnson <njohnson@ent.umass.edu>
Subject: [RS] Day of the Last Fare

Susan wrote:

>>  I have a question about Last Fare of the Day. From being on this list, I
knew the song was about 9/11. Although I see that in the song booklet it
says "New York, Fall 2001/Spring 2002" under the song title, how did people
on the list know this song was about 9/11 prior to the printing of the
booklet? I think it's a great song, but based strictly on the lyrics I
wouldn't have known it was about 9/11. Or am I missing something? <<

The first scene is Last Fare occurs sometime after 9-11 but not on 9-11 (which was- oddly, a beautiful sunny day). The sense that I get that it's about 9-11 is when she says "thanks, I couldn't bear to hear another word" after the narrator turns off the radio.

Norman

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 02 Sep 2004 17:47:57 -0400
From: Rongrittz@aol.com
Subject: Re: [RS] Day of the Last Fare

>> The sense that I get that it's about 9-11 is when she says "thanks, I couldn't bear to hear another word" after the narrator turns off the radio. <<

Of course, she also could have been referring to Howard Stern.  ;-)

RG

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2004 18:36:39 -0400 (EDT)
From: Chris Foxwell <rfoxwell@wso.williams.edu>
Subject: Re: [RS] Day of the Last Fare

On Thu, 2 Sep 2004 Rongrittz@aol.com wrote:

> >> The sense that I get that it's about 9-11 is when she says "thanks, I couldn't bear to hear another word" after the narrator turns off the radio. <<
>
> Of course, she also could have been referring to Howard Stern.  ;-)

Ha ha ha!

- --Chris

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2004 16:11:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: adam plunkett <adam_plunkett@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [RS] There Goes Richard...

Food for thought on the inclusion of the cover:
 
A) Obviously, it fits the scene of the current events but I think it is similar to *some* of Richard's politically slanted story songs.  "Che Guevere Shirt", while a very different song, themeatic it is also a dose of reality about the narrator's situation.
 
B) It comes after "Fenario".  In my opinion, this song - as great a tracl as it is - is much different than the rest of the album.  It goes wonderfully with "Big Muddy".  I think it may have been to make the transition from "Fenario" to the rest of the songs a little less strained.
 
Pete Seeger has had a revival of late which I think is wonderful.  Three tribute albums(which I recommend), this cover and Dan Bern just put music to his poem "The Torn Flag".  
 


RockinRonD@aol.com wrote:

But I still believe "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" is an odd inclusion. To 
me it just doesn't fit with the original songs on the record. I know this may 
be an unpopular sentiment, but I love the storybook quality to Richard's 
songs on this album. "Waist Deep" feels to me like an ugly dose of reality, 
even though it is wonderfully arranged and the music is beautifully played.


RonD
Take Yahoo! Mail with you! Get it on your mobile phone.

------------------------------

End of shindell-list-digest V6 #180
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