From: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org (shindell-list-digest) To: shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Subject: shindell-list-digest V12 #420 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 Thursday, March 14 2013 Volume 12 : Number 420 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [RS] Re: shindell-list-digest V12 #419 [Joel Gillespie ] Re: [RS] RS at Labryinth Cafe 3/9/13 [] [RS] Final Four [ozwoman321@aol.com] Re: [RS] RS at Labryinth Cafe 3/9/13 [Carol Love ] [RS] Transit [John McDonnell ] Re: Re: [RS] Transit & The Examined Life [ookpik@verizon.net] Re: [RS] Transit & The Examined Life [] Re: Re: [RS] Transit & The Examined Life [ookpik@verizon.net] Re: [RS] Transit & The Examined Life [Carol Love ] Re: [RS] Transit & The Examined Life [Janet Cinelli ] Re: [RS] Transit & The Examined Life ["Laurence Krulik" ] Re: Re: [RS] Transit & The Examined Life [ookpik@verizon.net] Re: [RS] Whippoorwill and Transit [Carol Love ] [RS] The Final Four [richard rosenbloom ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:23:42 -0400 From: Joel Gillespie Subject: [RS] Re: shindell-list-digest V12 #419 Perhaps he used "vortex" because it more or less rhymed with "exits." Sent from my iPhone ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:00:53 -0700 From: gina Subject: [RS] Vortex shmortex And then there are interpretations like these. Keep it simple. Love it. :) Gina On Wed, Mar 13, 2013 at 8:23 AM, Joel Gillespie wrote: > Perhaps he used "vortex" because it more or less rhymed with "exits." - -- ******************************* "and all i want is something i can write about, all i want is something i can cry about..." - -n.f. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 9:02:15 -0700 From: Subject: Re: [RS] RS at Labryinth Cafe 3/9/13 >> The way he and Shulman were interacting, I got the feeling RS may have a blues phase coming on. << Also known as "RG's Nightmare Scenario." RG ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:36:17 -0400 (EDT) From: ozwoman321@aol.com Subject: [RS] Final Four Reunion Hill Transit Susan www.labyrinthcafe.com www.facebook.com/labyrinth.cafe.concerts www.browardfolkclub.com www.gotfolk.com "god bless the sound of music, god bless the golden rule..." ~ Danny Schmidt ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 05:43:09 -0400 From: Carol Love Subject: Re: [RS] RS at Labryinth Cafe 3/9/13 Ron wrote: > You know, I could swear that when I was reading most of the Shindell-list > archives a few weeks ago I remember reading a show review -- it may even > have been one of mine -- in which he played an electric for the whole show. > Gonna go back and see if it's just something I dreamed. ......My set list seems to have disappeared, at least for now. When I saw him he probably did 15-16 songs, close to the Labyrinth playlist but a tad shorter. He did 3-4 songs with his *acoustic* guitar, tops. And he even had TWO electric guitars up there, but of course I can only tell you one was black and one was white. (They both had strings!!) There was a harrowing moment when Richard's foot got tangled in all the cords, but he managed to get free. The way he and Shulman were interacting, I got the feeling RS may have a blues phase coming on. I don't know if it was my proximity this time or not, but the entire show I could him keeping beat with his foot. I could hear it tapping the entire time. Kinda cool. Although I had to consciously lock my legs, so I did not accidentally join in. I sadly fit the white girl stereotype. I have no rhythm, although I can on occasion dance without excessive embarrassment ...Carol ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 07:25:18 -0400 From: John McDonnell Subject: [RS] Transit Hey All, Chris and Carol and Norman have given me new insight into Transit, but I have to say, although well embedded in the song, the sinister and sinful horde of motorists seems more than a little harsh. I think I resist it because I am frequently a member of such a horde, and tend not to think of myself as deserving of punishment just because I finally got in front of that jackass in the BMW that cut me off a mile back. But it may. One of the appeals of the song--the appeal of many RS songs--is how it moves so easily between the quotidian and the divine, and Transit, in this sense, bumps up against my subjective experience. I like the "well-insured horde" bestial image, but its also very responsible for people to be well-insured, so its somewhat conflicting for me for this to be pejorative. And so it seems that my subjective experience prevents me from appreciating the song--which, oddly is not the inverse of a subjective experience helping appreciate a song for me. And, Chris, thanks for reviving the "Fleur-de-Lis" discussion--my head hurts revisiting "a billion blue eggs of eternity" and "The Seven Seals"--but we could have some fun again! John McD ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:01:26 -0500 (CDT) From: ookpik@verizon.net Subject: Re: Re: [RS] Transit & The Examined Life OK, I need to weigh in here too-- For me, "Transit" is above all a story about grace*; among other things, it's a modern reworking of the parable whose name I can't remember at the moment, but something like the Unjust Servant. Consumerism, too, but even more about revenge vs. forgiveness--and in both of those cases about losing focus**, getting one's priorities all backwards. To me, RS is contrasting a bunch of people who are well-insured (not just that their cars are insured, which, yes, is a measure of social responsibility, but who probably have excellent health insurance, and life insurance, and all the other measures of middle-class respectability and knowing that everything will be taken care of) with Sister Maria (who is probably vowed to poverty, and owns nothing, and theologically at least is one of the "lilies of the field" who looks to God to take care of daily needs) and also with the prisoners (who have lost everything, not given it up voluntarily; not for holiness, but for crimes--and yet, in a different way from Sister Maria, they too are dependent on someone to provide all that is needed). And the motorists, who (at least in this formulation, and/or by contrast with the prisoners) are so angered by the delays of traffic on Friday afternoon commute*** that they are "flipping the bird and screaming obscenities" and cutting one another off--endangering their own lives and others', totally caught up in rage and hatred, missing the beauty of the world. By contrast, 1) Sister Maria, giving thanks for her old van and the opportunity for music, enjoying the sunset (I don't have the song handy--is that my imagination, or a contrast RS makes with "the angry old sun there on the horizon") and then the voices of her choir; 2) the prisoners, who are *human beings* as well as "mobsters and murderers"...and they blossom into song, with "the light of forgiveness on all of their faces," living in that moment of grace... *which is why it's my very favorite RS song**and it just occurred me as I'm writing that a "focus" is a lens, and so (in a different sense) is a "vortex," and it's probably pushing things too far as I tend to do, but is RS making an implicit pun here?***with which, FWIW, I can completely identify Jean Rossner ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:27:26 -0700 From: Subject: Re: [RS] Transit & The Examined Life >> I love how the music of the song crescendos up toward that moment of grace as well..... << There's a wonderful jump to a G chord in the song that happens twice, at "And in they all went like sheep to the slaughter" and "And so it began, in glorious harmony," and are easily what makes this song so great to play on guitar. RG ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:02:54 -0500 (CDT) From: ookpik@verizon.net Subject: Re: Re: [RS] Transit & The Examined Life Gina, I'd just sent my reply off when yours arrived, but I think we're on the same page. And I love your return address--is "so-be-it.net" your own domain? Jean ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:03:19 -0400 From: Carol Love Subject: Re: [RS] Transit & The Examined Life Christine wrote: > I also think Transit is about finding beauty in ugly places. After all who > would expect a lovely choir of lifers at a local prison. I also think he is > referring to the fact that we don't really look at the world around us as > we move through it. .........How about the irony that is it the "upstanding citizens" who are the ones that the vortex takes in and it's the car thieves and crack dealers, mobsters and murderers who are singing a hymn? I think I'm repeating myself, but that song especially speaks to me because I can't tell you being raised as a fundamental Christian how often I sang, "Softly and Tenderly". And even while I don't look for God indoors anymore, I do still love that hymn. Gritz says "God is in the details" ~ what about the refrain from that hymn?? Come home, come home, Ye who are weary come home; Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, Calling, O sinner, come home! ...Carol ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 10:18:35 -0700 (PDT) From: Janet Cinelli Subject: Re: [RS] Transit & The Examined Life I don't really agree with this. To me, most of those people going to the vortex are just regular people, working hard and trying to make ends meet. I can see myself getting sucked into that vortex too, especially after being stuck in rush hour traffic, though I'd like to believe that I would've stopped for Sister Maria. Not to change her flat but to call AAA to help her out. Idk, maybe I'll give it another listen with fresh ears. But maybe I'm just a typical American, hell bent on consumerism! Janet - --- On Tue, 3/12/13, Pete Jameson wrote: For me, Transit is an indictment of consumerism, keeping up with the Joneses, and a lack of moral depth on the part of many Americans. I, too, got sucked in by it, with the starter house in Westchester County, the SUV, and the inevitable departure from a deep relationship with Maker. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 07:43:52 -0400 From: Don Vining Subject: [RS] =?us-ascii?Q?=5BRS=5D_=3D=3Fwindows-1252=3FB=3FUmU6IFtSU10gTGFz d?= =?us-ascii?Q?CBOaWdodIU=3D=3F=3D?= What happened to the subject line of my original note? Does smoe.org not some like Macs? Carol Love asked: "....Don, I am right in thinking that this is the first time RS had brought a "band" to Florida??? We were in for a surprise when Richard announced that this would be his first all electric concert. ....Did he light it on fire at the end, or do any Pete Townshend worthy windmills?????" I don't know anything about his previous appearances in Florida. I was referring to his Feb 2 Concert Window performance when he was probably thinking "Why did I leave the warm weather and come here to be in a blizzard?" No windmills or fires were OK with me although I remember being very impressed when Jimi Hendrix smashed his guitar in the big finale! Don ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 11:12:53 -0700 From: Christine Thomas Subject: Re: [RS] Transit & The Examined Life I also think Transit is about finding beauty in ugly places. After all who would expect a lovely choir of lifers at a local prison. I also think he is referring to the fact that we don't really look at the world around us as we move through it. > - -- "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: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 17:15:06 -0700 (PDT) From: "Laurence Krulik" Subject: Re: [RS] Transit & The Examined Life What are the chords leading up to that G? B Does it move into a different key? B I could never understand musically why that part is so pleasing to the ear. On Tue, Mar 12, 2013 at 7:28 PM, null wrote: >>> I love how the music of the song crescendos up toward that moment of grace as well..... << > There's a wonderful jump to a G chord in the song that happens twice, at "And in they all went like sheep to the slaughter" and "And so it began, in glorious harmony," and are easily what makes this song so great to play on guitar. > RG ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:47:04 -0700 From: gina Subject: Re: [RS] Transit & The Examined Life Interesting how many levels and interpretations this song can speak to. That's why it's so good. ;) For me, Transit begins with the rush and crunch of the routine and our preoccupation with "getting there," and then shifts direction as we focus instead on Sister Maria, who has slowed down and can find beauty and bring joy to unexpected places. I like Janet's idea that the folks swept into the vortex are just regular people going about their lives, and Nancy's idea that they're more asleep than evil. The "how had it happened, they had all missed their exits, how had it happened, was it some kind of vortex" line is, for me (not knowing anything about the geography of that region, and where Paterson is in relation to the Delaware Water Gap), simply commenting on that feeling we sometimes get when we're so focused on driving and the frustrations of traffic, that we forget to notice where we actually are (which is kind of what Christine said). Gina On Tue, Mar 12, 2013 at 11:12 AM, Christine Thomas wrote: > I also think Transit is about finding beauty in ugly places. After all who > would expect a lovely choir of lifers at a local prison. I also think he is > referring to the fact that we don't really look at the world around us as > we move through it. > > > >> > > > -- > > "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 - -- ******************************* "and all i want is something i can write about, all i want is something i can cry about..." - -n.f. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:55:31 -0500 (CDT) From: ookpik@verizon.net Subject: Re: Re: [RS] Transit & The Examined Life On 03/12/13, Carol Love wrote: .> ........How about the irony that is it the "upstanding citizens" who are > the ones that the vortex takes in and it's the car thieves and crack > dealers, mobsters and murderers who are singing a hymn? YES! So it's not just the Unjust Steward (aha! that's the word I was looking for), but also the repentant thief--St. Dismas, if you're Catholic or Orthodox--and, um, the publican who beats his breast and asks God for mercy. - -- Jean, your friendly local Jewish Catholic Quaker ex-seminarian ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2013 22:14:39 -0400 From: Carol Love Subject: Re: [RS] Whippoorwill and Transit Norman wrote: > I think I understand Transit. I don't understand So Says the Whippoorwill. ....Like I said, I think both songs, and some others I'm sure I'm forgetting involve magic realism. First and foremost, you need to love a song where Richard basically yodels. I think the message is that you have to let go in life. You have to leave the windowsill, you have to stop guarding your heart. You don't really live until you do this. Metaphorically you have to leap into the blue. However, Richard, being Richard, he says this sideways using talking birds and mountaineers flying off to make the point. (He has to have an existential crisis with Father Brown on the way, too.) It works for me. John Irving does this with bears and TS Garp's short stories. My 2.5 cents worth & thanks to RG for making me give this song a second chance. ...Carol ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:55:11 -0400 From: richard rosenbloom Subject: [RS] The Final Four The Final Four: Here's the problem -- three out of four are total RS favorites. I was taken by Reunion Hill the first time I heard it, reinforced by several live performances within three months. For me it is the quintessential Shindell song in terms of melody, imagery, lyrics and topic. The ordinary person dealing with life on a daily basis under frequently extraordinary circumstances. Part 1 is not the issue. ***REUNION HILL over Courier. As I noted earlier in round 1 I first heard Wisteria and Transit live outdoors at Lincoln Center. Wisteria made me homesick and brought unexpected tears. Transit stunned me by switching so subtly from the jerks on the highway of a summer weekend to the inspiration of sister Maria's choir. The songs couldn't be more different thematically and musically. It is possible to love two very different things equally. And I've been going back and forth all week. Ultimately it comes down to this: While Wisteria will always make me wistful for an imaginary idealized childhood, I prefer the uplifting feeling that builds as we muddle through the traffic on our way to enlightenment. ***TRANSIT over Wisteria ion a split decision. I may have to abstain from the finals. Just sayin'. Richard in NY ------------------------------ End of shindell-list-digest V12 #420 ************************************