From: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org (shindell-list-digest) To: shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Subject: shindell-list-digest V7 #168 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 Tuesday, July 12 2005 Volume 07 : Number 168 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [RS] Dave Carter/ Eva Cassidy [Gerry Evans ] [RS] Folk Music, Dylan and Pat Wictor [B Gallagher ] Re: [RS] RE: songwriting miscellany [Rongrittz@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2005 02:25:08 -0700 (PDT) From: Gerry Evans Subject: [RS] Dave Carter/ Eva Cassidy There's a world of difference between the two....Cassidy certainly had a great voice and was a talented guitarist and arranger but she couldn't write songs. She sang some great songs but will only ever be known as an interpreter. I'm convinced Dave Carter's songs will eventually be recognised by a wider public and the fact he died too soon will be seen as a secondary issue. The Parsons/ Harris analogy is a good one and immediately occurred to be when I read Tracy Grammer's 'mission' statement shortly after Dave Carter's death. I think it was the 80's before Gram Parsons' name began to be widely bandied around by the musical chattering classes (7 or 8 years after he died). It may also take that long for Dave Carter's name to register in the same way. Sooner or later a major name will record one of his songs and I reckon the dominoes will then start to tumble. Gerry ____________________________________________________ Sell on Yahoo! Auctions  no fees. Bid on great items. http://auctions.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2005 14:08:28 -0400 From: B Gallagher Subject: [RS] Folk Music, Dylan and Pat Wictor Meshing with our discussion on writing, I took this directly from Pat Wictor's newsletter that I got the other day. http://www.patwictor.com Bart - --------- I recently reworked a Bob Dylan song and, in the process, deepened my love for folk music. I know that the word "folk" is a highly contested term. In his book "Deep Community," Scott Alarik offers his 10-year old niece's definition of folk music: "All the songs are ABOUT things." I agree. For me, worthwhile songs have to have some real meaning--literal and symbolic, explicit and implied, lyrical and musical. Meaning is especially important because we're increasingly surrounded by meaninglessness. Folk music is acoustic music that *means* something. To start the process of reworking the Dylan song, I started with the most important lever for meaning - the lyrics. I took the lyrics of Dylan's "Oxford Town" and imagined the words as a piece of poetry and asked: - - What kind of mood and tone does the language have? (conversational? reverent? wry? dark and foreboding?) - - What are the specific features of the lyrics that convey that mood? (Everyday speech idioms? Biblical references? Clunky "surprise" words? References to primal natural elements--the moon, "the sun don't shine", etc.) - - What visual images come to mind? (What's the "movie" that plays in your mind as you read it?) With the "movie" from the lyrics in my head--images of darkness, sorrowful songs, closed doors, etc.--I then considered the music. Dylan's upbeat, fast-paced music did not fit with my "movie," so I changed the music to fit the lyrics as I experienced them. Just as the very same spoken words convey different meaning whether they're whispered or shouted, or uttered with a smile or a frown, the meaning of song lyrics depends a great deal on the musical arrangement and delivery. I encourage you to go through this exercise with "Oxford Town" or another song that you love - focus on the lyrics as a poem and ask yourself what they mean. If you are a musician, then craft some new music for your meaning. If you aren't inclined to do that, then just enjoy the meaning your reading has helped to make. Making meaning - this is what I love about being a folk musician, and why I'll always consider myself one. - - Read Bob Dylan's "Oxford Town" lyrics: http://bobdylan.com/songs/oxford.html - - Scott Alarik, "Deep Community: Adventures in the Modern Folk Underground": http://tinyurl.com/9mg4y - - - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2005 21:22:58 -0400 From: LN Davis Subject: Re: [RS] RE: songwriting miscellany I just love the SONG "Tanglewood Tree" (heard on a sampler) and was that close to buying the CD, but was feelin very short of money and checked online and did not like the other songs QUITE as much. What's your #2 on that CD? - lisa Rongrittz@aol.com wrote: >>>Many of you have mentioned Dave Carter--what's a good CD for intro to his >>> >>> >work? Is he an acquired taste, or could a Shin-head handle the hardcore >stuff? << > >Buy "Tanglewood Tree." Buy it now. You don't like it, you've got RG's >money-back guarantee. Of course, if you're REALLY willing to take the leap, get >"When I Go." But I will not be held responsible for the big puddle you make >when you hear "Kate and the Ghost of Lost Love" (a.k.a. "the most perfect >song ever written"). > >RG ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2005 22:47:57 EDT From: Rongrittz@aol.com Subject: Re: [RS] RE: songwriting miscellany >> I just love the SONG "Tanglewood Tree" (heard on a sampler) and was that close to buying the CD, but was feelin very short of money and checked online and did not like the other songs QUITE as much. What's your #2 on that CD? << Well, I love the song "Cat-Eye Willie Claims His Lover," mostly because I'm a sucker for Post-Modern Mythic American Music's time-honored "Card Playing & Murder" repertoire. RG ------------------------------ End of shindell-list-digest V7 #168 ***********************************