From: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org (shindell-list-digest) To: shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Subject: shindell-list-digest V12 #375 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, February 12 2013 Volume 12 : Number 375 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [RS] Pedro's pix [Pete Jameson ] [RS] Much madness--continued [John McDonnell ] [RS] Much Madness round 2, take 2 [TOBY ERLICHMAN ] Re: [RS] Interview w/ RS in the Hartford Courant ["Michael & Linda Marmer] [RS] Much Madness Round 2? [Bart Gallagher ] [RS] Interview w/ RS in the Hartford Courant [Vanessa Wills ] Re: [RS] RG's picks. [Vanessa Wills ] Re: [RS] Much Madness Round One continues. [Chris Foxwell ] [RS] Round 2 - My picks [Christine Thomas ] [RS] The Weather! [Isabel Frey ] [RS] My CDs are Home / MP3's not Synched [Laurence Krulik ] Re: [RS] Much Madness Round One continues ["Claire Latham" Subject: [RS] Pedro's pix 1. May -- as for the over-wrought interpretation from one our fellow Shin-diggers, I will invoke the great Eric Burdon and the Animals and Bo Diddley's response to their cover of his material: "Man, that sure is the biggest load of rubbish I ever heard in my life..." 2. Arrowhead 3. Juggler 4. Kenworth 5. The Things That I Have Seen 6. Money for Floods 7. The Weather: O.k., I'll offer my dos pesos: my favourite stanza is "Here's to all you moms and dads, holdin' on together, heaven knows you love your kids, you might even love each other...you work all day and you sleep all night and find an hour for dinner...time's too short to sit and whine about all this dreary weather..." I live in the Ligonier Valley, part of the Allegheny Mountain Range, in the Appalachians -- the local whiners tell me that we are the second cloudiest region in the country (after Seattle), but my Irish heritage has taught me to "see the blue sky even on the cloudiest of days", so I appreciate not only Richard's minimizing our national obsession with weather (thank you, TWC), but also his evocation of the struggle that is matrimony...Bridey & I've been married for 23 years now and our two kids are off at college, so we're seeing more of (just) each other than we have since the early 90s and we're working at a new "us"...this song evinces the mercurial nature of love... 8. Spring -- it's a song I enjoy hearing every time...largely due to its optimistic nature, the tin whistle, and the soaring fiddle...Courier is a fine song, but militaristic reflections are among my least favourite of Richard's pennings...excepting Arrowhead -- which I hear as a tale of fealty to his fellow men and sainted Ma... 9. Cancion Sencilla -- a cancion bonita 10. Gethsemani...I, too, have made plans to visit Merton's hermitage, but have never made it...'tis a 6 hour drive to Louisville, perhaps this year...I dig Sparrows Point but Gethsemani speaks to me on a "Spirit-quest" level... 11. Che 12. Nora That's all, folkies... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:09:21 -0500 From: John McDonnell Subject: [RS] Much madness--continued Hey all, Very surprised by some of the choices--how some of the "classics" lost out to some of the newer works. Never thought, for example, that "Gethsemani Goodbye" would ever get chosen over "Sparrow's Point." This is what I miss about the list--the variety of opinion within a general agreement about the quality of the work.. Here are my choices, some of which are made by no more than a visceral reaction to the song that I have not really been able to articulate: 1. May (over Bye Bye) 2. Arrowhead ( over Beyond the Iron Gate). Arrowhead is one my all-time favorites--not really sure why. Great song, but I'm not sure why I like it SO much. 3. Juggler Out in Traffic (over Blue Divide). This is an example, for me, of newer work beating some "classic"--a title track to boot. 4. Kenworth of My Dreams (never really liked the Grocer's Broom as a song, though I really try to support local businesses when I can) 5. The Things that I Have Seen (over Gray Green). 6. Money for Floods (over Lazy). After Sandy hit us here on Long Island and after all the disclaimers and exclusions for homeowners on their "flood" insurance, the song has a new ironic resonance for me. 7. The Weather. 8. The Courier. 9. Cancion Sencilla. 10. Sparrow's Point 11. Che Guevara T-Shirt. 12. Nora. Some were easier choices than others--the most difficult were the ones in which I did not feel strongly about either song. Cancillon Sencilla and Smiling, for example. Not that they aren't good songs or I skip them--they just never really resonated with me, but I didnt want to make an indifferent choice. John McD. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2013 06:27:01 -0500 From: TOBY ERLICHMAN Subject: [RS] Much Madness round 2, take 2 Sorry if this has been sent twice...I'm not sure my posts are going through, as I'm not seeing them in my digests.... 1. May- May wins it for me, even though I love the idea behind Bye Bye....so clever Bye Bye 2. Arrowhead-wins because it is classic RS. Beyond the Iron Gate 3. Juggler Out in Traffic-love this song! Blue Divide 4. Grocer's Broom- I think this is one of Richard's best but most overlooked songs. One of my favorites...but so is Kenworth-damn! But Grocer's Broom narrowly wins for me. Kenworth of my Dreams 5. The Things that I Have Seen- just because! Gray Green 6. Money for Floods Lazy-Such a fun and playful song! 7. Memory of You-another hauntingly beautiful song The Weather 8. The Courier-I love this one because one of the first times I saw Richard was at an outdoor dog walk/benefit concert for our local SPCA, and he substituted Terrier for Courier....it was hilarious, and I think that was the moment I fell in love with the man, the music:) Spring 9. Cancion Sencilla-a beautiful song, I love the richness of Richard's voice on it. And I don't speak a word of Spanish! Smiling 10. Gethsemani Goodbye Sparrows Point- classic 11. Castaway Che Guevara T-Shirt- grabbed me the first time I heard it, one of my favorites. And yes, I bought the t-shirt 12. The Island Nora- I love this song so much I named my dog Nora. When she was about 3 months old I took her with me to see Richard at Concerts Under the Stars, an outdoor venue. He came over to see her, I told him her name was Nora and he scooped her up and hugged her. I have a great photo of that moment. And he played Nora that night and said it was the first time he played a request from a dog! Toby Sent from my iPhone ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2013 06:02:39 -0500 From: "Michael & Linda Marmer" Subject: Re: [RS] Interview w/ RS in the Hartford Courant Folk Next Door is where he sang his song The Home Team about a baseball team always being in last and how he roots for the home team. The school has CDs of selected tracks for the show Folk Next Door, as the CD with his song on it is out of print. I heard the song on folk alley dot com. I contacted the school and they made me a copy of that cd as I gave them a contribution to the school. http://wwuh.org/records/albums/fnd1.htm Mike ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2013 23:05:00 -0500 From: Bart Gallagher Subject: [RS] Much Madness Round 2? Here are Bart's Round 1 Part 2 selections. 1. May (over Bye Bye) Not a big fan of either, but I usually skip Bye Bye. I have two daughters and couldn't stand the thought of them just up and leaving, though they're both out of the house now, sort of. 2. Arrowhead (over Beyond the Iron Gate) Arrowhead is perhaps my favorite RS song, but that may be saying too much. We'll see "who" the eventual winner is...it's up there but who knows? Richard plays it almost every time live and like Ron said, always flubs something. Or starts in (maybe just tuning or "checking" the first chords), and then decides to play something else, and returns to it later. Or, the other way around too. Please Richard, never stop playing Arrowhead! 3. Juggler Out in Traffic (over Blue Divide) I connect more with the car drivers than the juggler. And, man thats how it is driving in NYC sometimes. Wife's girlfriend was actually punched by an unfortunate "window washer" when she refused his efforts to clean her pristine windshield. Thanks for the Warren Zevon reference Ron. 4. Kenworth of my Dreams (over Grocer's Broom) An early favorite, and a rare fun Shindell song. And because "hauling vermin up to Buffalo" was an early misheard lyric. I'll take the bourbon, thanks. 5. Gray Green (over The Things that I Have Seen) I like Gray Green, great instrumentation/sounds. Sentiment of days gone bye with my own. Kind of a sleeper song. 6. Money for Floods (over Lazy) 7. Memory of You (over The Weather) Sorry Gene. But I'll still lobby for a live performance of The Weather! 8. The Courier (over Spring) Easy one here. Courier is one of the top 5 or top 10 for sure. Though after 30 inches of snow here on the north shore of LI (Felt like six feet of snow, blowing through my radio.) Spring is sounding mighty spritely! 9. Smiling (over Cancion Sencilla) Sorry, I skip the Spanish songs, though I like some authentic spanish/mexican/south american music, even if I don't understand. I really should learn Spanish, in spite of taking two years in high school a lifetime ago. 10. Sparrows Point (over Gethsemani Goodbye) He is headed to land on D-day. I don't care if William is too old at 21. I stood on the New Market, VA battlefield, taking it all in, and the thought occurred to me..."Glad I wasn't here on May 15, 1864". 11. Che Guevara T-Shirt (over Castaway) Another top 5 here. Che would be proud. 12. Nora (over The Island) I don't really care for either. But, Nora makes some obscure references for an engineer that are appreciated by more literary listeners. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2013 23:36:27 -0500 From: Vanessa Wills Subject: [RS] Interview w/ RS in the Hartford Courant There's a neat article in Sunday's Hartford Courant. It includes some brief comments from Richard on the new directions in his songwriting and tidbits about the start of his career. http://www.courant.com/entertainment/music/hc-richard-shindell-0210-20130210,0,2358081.story "Folk Singer Richard Shindell Back On the Road", by Jason Simms Feb. 10, 2013 'Richard Shindell first came to Connecticut as a last-minute fill-in in 1992 for a WWUH concert called "Folk Next Door." '"He was one of the lesser known performers at that point," says Ed McKeon, who organized the concert and still hosts a show on the station. '"I showed up there completely green," recalls Shindell. "It was one of the first times I ever sold a record." He sold a few, actually, and says the experience "was kind of a shot in the arm."' More at courant.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2013 10:40:26 -0600 From: Shelda Eggers Subject: Re: [RS] RG's picks. Ron wrote: >4. Kenworth of my Dreams (over Grocer's Broom) >An early favorite, and a rare fun Shindell song. And because >"hauling vermin up to Buffalo" was an early misheard lyric. I'm still laughing about this. Priceless. I also really enjoyed all the extra lyrics. Thanks. Best, Shelda, who seems to have "Blue Divide" running through her head all morning, despite having chosen Juggler yesterday. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:46:32 -0500 From: Vanessa Wills Subject: Re: [RS] RG's picks. Thank you so much for sharing these lyrics! I hadn't even realized "The Island" had changed so much. - --V On Mon, Feb 11, 2013 at 6:17 PM, wrote: > it's fun to share early versions of RS songs ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2013 02:14:07 +0300 From: Chris Foxwell Subject: Re: [RS] Much Madness Round One continues. On Mon, Feb 11, 2013 at 11:16 PM, RFC wrote: > ...if the version of "May" you're referring to is the Fast Folk version, > yeah, that's pretty much the definitive one in my opinion. > I'm not sure if it is or not. It, and a number of the other "live"/"bootleg" versions to which I've alluded in my vote descriptions, comes from a single disk of live performances -- a disk that you sent me, I believe!, years ago while I was living in Boston. I'd hop on Spotify to compare it to this Fast Folk album, which I don't otherwise have, but alas, Spotify isn't licensed over here in the Middle East. Chris - -- "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 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2013 15:00:48 -0800 From: Subject: Re: [RS] Fast Folks Recordings >> Just listened to this version of 'Castaway' and Richard's treatment of it makes it a very different song for me - in a good way. << If you want to hear a Fast Folk recording that makes an RS song sound very different, look out for "On a Sea of Fleur-de-Lis" done strummed and much faster. RG ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:52:11 -0800 From: Christine Thomas Subject: [RS] Round 2 - My picks 1. May Bye Bye May wins hands down for me. I adore this song. 2. Arrowhead Beyond the Iron Gate Definitely Arrowhead. I actually use it as a ring tone right where Richard is singing "I do not have a gun." 3. Juggler Out in Traffic Blue Divide I never really listened to either. My listen today reveals that I like Juggler out in Traffic much, much better. 4. Grocer's Broom Kenworth of my Dreams I love Kenworth. 5. The Things that I Have Seen Gray Green The Things that I have seen wins this pair up. 6. Money for Floods Lazy Lazy. Neither of these are favourites of mine. 7. Memory of You The Weather Definitely The Weather 8. The Courier Spring I love the Courier! 9. Cancion Sencilla Smiling Smiling. But I don't really like either of these songs. 10. Gethsemani Goodbye Sparrows Point Definitely Sparrow's Point 11. Castaway Che Guevara T-Shirt Che Guevara T-shirt 12. The Island Nora The Island - -- "Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh?" he whispered. "Yes, Piglet?" "Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's hand. "I just wanted to be sure of you." Adopt a dog it will change your life. www.turtlegardens.org www.saintsrescue.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2013 09:54:11 -0500 From: Isabel Frey Subject: [RS] The Weather! John Platt is playing Wisteria on WFUV as I'm typing this. :) Here's my pick - The Weather! Oh, and the others.... 1. May or Bye Bye Definitely May. 2. Arrowhead or Beyond the Iron Gate Arrowhead. While I like BTIG, I sometimes get frustrated when I don't understand the lyrics. It's fun to watch Richard sing Arrowhead live betting whether or not he gets the versus in the right order, lol. 3. Juggler Out in Traffic or Blue Divide Blue Divide. 4. Grocer's Broom or Kenworth Kenworth. Interesting pairing - one person retiring and one just starting out. 5.The Things that I have Seen or Gray Green The Things that I have Seen 6. Money for Floods or Lazy Money for Floods (Gene and I often invoke this song at Falcon Ridge, not for all the rain but the port-a-potties used to be supplied by a company called Flood's.) That's not why I picked it though ;) 7. Memory of You or The Weather Lol, The Weather isn't one of Richard's best songs, not by a long shot, but there's something about it that really touches me. Over the years it's become something of a running joke for me and Gene, but I really do love it. 8. The Courier or Spring The Courier - see Arrowhead above. 9. Cancion Sencilla or Smiling Smiling 10. Gethsemani Goodbye or Sparrow's Point Sparrow's Point, although I like to think that someday there will be a sequel where William comes home. Not likely a Shindell song, though... 11. Castaway or Che Guevara T-Shirt Che Guevara, although I like them both. 12. The Island or Nora Nora, hands down. I'm not sure why, but I'm definitely partial to Richard's older songs. I'm looking forward to seeing him in March. Maybe some of the newer songs will grow on me. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:24:47 -0500 From: Laurence Krulik Subject: [RS] My CDs are Home / MP3's not Synched Given I've seen a lot of "I need to dig up my old Richard CDs", as an FYI, you can access most of his catalog for free via Spotify (as long as you're listening via a desktop device - you need to pay for the premium service if you want to hear it on your mobile device). However, they don't have Reunion Hill and Sparrow's Point (although some of those songs are on the live albums). Helpful, especially during March Madness. Here's the link to Richard's catalog: Richard Shindell ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:56:13 -0500 From: Howie Subject: The Kenmore of my Dreams (was: Re: [RS] RG's picks.) At 11:40 AM 2/12/2013, Shelda wrote: >Ron wrote: > >>4. Kenworth of my Dreams (over Grocer's Broom) >>An early favorite, and a rare fun Shindell song. And because >>"hauling vermin up to Buffalo" was an early misheard lyric. > >I'm still laughing about this. Priceless. Also from the archives: - -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [Richard Shindell] The Kenmore of my Dreams Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 07:45:01 From: Young/Hunter Information Reply-To: richard-shindell@magenet.com To: richard-shindell@magenet.com Hehe... Jane Locastro wrote this parody and posted it to the Dar-list. With her permission, I had to send it over here! Too funny... Kerry :) - ------------------------- Thanks to darlister Andrea Hartmann for the idea, and apologies, of course, to Richard Shindell. The Kenmore of My Dreams I sold my washing bucket I sold my washing board A friend said he would take me to The big appliance store I walked around until I found The model I had seen In the advertising supplement: The Kenmore of my dreams. The salesman sang its praises He said "I'll demonstrate..." "This is Wash," he told us, "This is Agitate." We knew that there were cheaper ones, Without the famous names, But I proudly put my money down On the Kenmore of my dreams. Now sometimes, late at night when I can't sleep I grab a pile of dirty clothes, No one sees, no one knows, I load it up and turn that Kenmore on A lot of folks, they followed suit Convinced, when they saw mine They said using those old washboards, Just takes up too much time To spend your life in drudgery Can make you wanna scream They thanked me and went out to buy The Kenmores of their dreams Now sometimes, late at night when we can't sleep We grab piles of dirty clothes No one sees, no one knows We load 'em up and turn those Kenmores on My laundry's looking pretty good My clothes are mighty clean I load socks and shirts and everything I load my old blue jeans So if your hamper's piled high Just send it all to me, I'll wash anything, for anyone In the Kenmore of my dreams I'll wash anything, for anyone In the Kenmore of my dreams... ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2013 20:48:59 -0500 From: Laurence Krulik Subject: Re: [RS] Much Madness Round One continues. 1. **May** Bye Bye May rules - great story. While this wasn't a difficult choice, I dig Bye Bye a lot. 2. **Arrowhead** Beyond the Iron Gate Given how much I've heard Arrowhead (and continue to hear it at his live shows) I'm not super jazzed about it *right now*. However, it was one of the reasons I started liking Richard and an overall terrific song. So, I could go a few years without hearing it again, but for this exercise I stepped back to that place in time where it had a major impact. 3. **Juggler Out in Traffic** Blue Divide Not a question here. Juggler is one of his finest songs. 4. Grocer's Broom **Kenworth of my Dreams** I've got to be honest here and say that I never really listened hard to Grocer's Broom (until today... another reason why this exercise is so great). It's a fine song, but Kenworth holds a special place in my heart. It's funny, catchy, and, if covered by Brad Paisley, would shoot to the top of the country charts. 5. The Things that I Have Seen **Gray Green** * * By a margin. Don't love either. 6.* *Money for Floods** Lazy I think Lazy is Richard's worst song. Lyrically just unappealing and I could live without the melody. If Money was tied to anything else, though, it likely would have lost. 7.* *Memory of You** The Weather The Weather is just OK. Decent "filler" song. 8. **The Courier** Spring "It's not my job to ask the questions...." 9. **Cancion Sencilla** Smiling Maybe only because I've seen him play Cancion live and I thought the idea of him writing his first "simple song" in Spanish was, well, cute. 10. **Gethsemani Goodbye** Sparrows Point Now this one was really tough for me. Gethsemani gets it for no good reason. 11. Castaway **Che Guevara T-Shirt** When I first was exploring Richard's music, Che was my epiphany Richard song when I said to myself, "this guy is the real deal". "While the moon, a word he's yet to learn, betrays him to the cameras." Probably the best Shindell lyric ever. 12. The Island **Nora** * * Nora's story is great and I think we had many discussions about it on this list. Reminds me of Famous Blue Raincoat which I wonder if influenced Nora. On Fri, Feb 8, 2013 at 9:44 AM, wrote: > Okay everyone, here's the second part of the first round. Once we have 12 > winners here, they'll be added to the previous 13 winners, plus the 6 songs > that got a first round bye, plus, by popular demand, one "second chance" > wild card from the losing songs from the first two rounds (moderator's > choice, and right now it would likely be "Abuelita" simply because that > seems to be the pairing that most people were agonizing over) for the round > of 32 . . . that is, 16 head-to-head matches, which we'll do all at once. > > By the way, in order to work in the wild card, it means I had to drop two > songs from this round, but I feel pretty safe that most people won't miss > "Merritt Parkway," and that many people aren't even familiar with > "Satellites" from the CD "12 Songs You've Heard Before, Just Done Slower > and With Fewer Instruments, and One New Song." > > We'll give this round a week, or until submissions stop coming in. > > 1. May > Bye Bye > > 2. Arrowhead > Beyond the Iron Gate > > 3. Juggler Out in Traffic > Blue Divide > > 4. Grocer's Broom > Kenworth of my Dreams > > 5. The Things that I Have Seen > Gray Green > > 6. Money for Floods > Lazy > > 7. Memory of You > The Weather > > 8. The Courier > Spring > > 9. Cancion Sencilla > Smiling > > 10. Gethsemani Goodbye > Sparrows Point > > 11. Castaway > Che Guevara T-Shirt > > 12. The Island > Nora ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 09 Feb 2013 23:06:28 -0500 From: Norman Johnson Subject: [RS] I am a terrier Toby wrote: >> 8. The Courier-I love this one because one of the first times I saw Richard was at an outdoor dog walk/benefit concert for our local SPCA, and he substituted Terrier for Courier....it was hilarious, and I think that was the moment I fell in love with the man, the music:)<< That is so funny. I wish I could have seen that! Norman ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2013 20:20:51 -0000 From: "Claire Latham" Subject: Re: [RS] Much Madness Round One continues This is really making me think about the songs and listen with fresh ears to those I'm tempted to fast forward on and to consider why I like the ones I do so much. 1. Bye Bye - "I could bring her back to them, with a few strokes of this fountain pen" 2. Beyond the Iron Gate - tough decision because I do love Arrowhead for oh so many reason. BTIG makes me think and I find myself creating scenarios and working out what it means. I love the melody, too. 3. Juggler Out in Traffic - the minor key feel and the sense of being invisible 4. Kenworth of my Dreams - It's my Dad's favourite - and I love the first line 'Sold my old Camero.' for some strange reason. 5. Gray Green - the sentiment, a lullaby cleverly written 6. Lazy - I think someone mentioned the bossa nova feeling. Also the sense of being totally wrapped up in someone and this song being the only way to express it. 7. The Weather - I love this song. It makes me smile immediately. Love how it goes through different types of relationships, especially the Mom's and Dad's. If anyone has any tips for how to get the driving guitar sound in the intro on the 'Reunion Hill' recording, I'd be grateful - maybe I just can't move my hand fast enough or I'm not catching the strings just right! 8. The Courier - masterful songsmithing as only RS can. "A hundred marionettes I am the string pulled by the sure hand Animating what was still I am invisible and faithful I am a courier" 9. Cancion Sencilla - because it sounds so beautiful, as a love song should and although it's all about the language on first hearing, it ends up being a love song to his wife by virtue of that respect to her native tongue. 10. Gethsemani Goodbye - it's a more complicated song than the pretty, and skilled, melody would have you believe, another great relationship song 11. Che Guevara T-Shirt - as someone else noticed it goes with Fishing, and tells a great story on its own. 12. Nora - clever writing in a deceptively simple song. It made me look up Heloise and Abelard to better understand the song - which I'm not sure I do to this day. This line strikes me : "Hunched on our bar-stools, calling our truce" Claire ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:25:41 -0500 From: Peter Booth Subject: Re: [RS] Re: The Kenmore of my Dreams THAT is funny! Was it ever recorded? Peter On Feb 12, 2013, at 2:18 PM, wrote: > > I'M SO HAPPY NOW > > Took back my toaster when I left > You make it sound like petty theft > And if you'd bother to inspect > You'd know the landlord has my check > I'm surprised you'd even look > for spices since you never cook... ------------------------------ End of shindell-list-digest V12 #375 ************************************