I didn't realize he was w/Ten Years After. I liked some of their stuff.
I have been listening to The Bluest Blues for quite awhile now and I marvel at how good Lee is on that song. It's one of those songs that has guitar playing that unseat multiple emotions. It's a damn shame he passed away so early.
I will check out the On the Road to Freedom album. Thanks for the heads-up.
Tyler, Thanks for sharing Aesop Rock. Pretty cool of you to share the video explaining the depth of his repertoire. I like a view into others perspectives; it gives me a starting point in finding common ground to relate to.
I liked None Shall Pass, but that song is cursed with a bad beat. I start to tap my foot, but it never works it's way up and gets the back of my brain buzzing. It reminds me of the Redman line, "If I have a beat that's whack, I'm gonna sell it to ya." Dang shame, it takes away from an otherwise kicking jam.
I realized I'd heard Rings from my nieces. I like that, though it might be the more of his mainstream songs.
Take a moment, and look up his poem "The Devil and Billy Markham."
Published in 1979, it first appeared in Playboy magazine.
Classic Shel: funny, pithy, homespun... and with a great ending.
I'd link it here, but then I'd probably spend some time in 'banned camp.' Because: Shel, you know?
Sorry for the late reply. I had never read this before.
Read with my wife a few weeks ago. I love the part where our hero has a showdown for heaven with "God". When he arrives at the match lined up by the Scuzz, God is shooting pool. He explains that on the seventh day that is how he gets down; "Straight pool for heaven."
That part of the story really got my wife and I into a serious debate. "God" is unmasked as the devil, Scuzz is revealed to be the devil as well, and BIlly is warned not to look to closely at himself or he might not like what he sees. My wife took this as Shel saying that there is no God or Devil, but our collective choices and actions that create good and evil. I was raised a good Catholic, so I immediately thought that it was just the devil deceiving Billy all along; God would never scratch.
Thanks so much for sharing! I never would have thought Shel Silverstein had so many faces when I was reciting Boa Constictor in front of my 1st grade classmates.
Portland, Galactic jams. I feel like everything you bring to the table brings hope and love. Even better your a fisherman. I'll probably never make it out to the pacific northwest, but if you're ever back in Ohio I would love to fish Steelhead on the Rocky River with you; with your mentality I would have a good time even if we didn't catch a dawg-gone thing.
I'm digging this tune. Crescendos have to fall, but a good horn section goes a long way.
Us Ohio boys might be familiar with Jonathan Edwards. The Shanty should be on every jukebox in Ohio. However, its the only song of his you'll hear (except Sunshine which sucks). Our wedding party walked down the aisle to Train of Glory. I love the lines:
Here come doctor I'ma gonna ask you once again, didn't you leave Ohio with a heavy load of friends. He said yes boy when we left the station your friends were on board, but West Virginia was all they could afford.
PDX, I thought I was tired until I listened to Down North. I gotta a little life left in me just TURN ME LOOSE! Wish I would've seen this in time to check out a show. I gotta get out more. Good call on the Eddie Hazel, by the way. Make my funk the P-Funk, I wants to get funked up!
Portland, Galactic jams. I feel like everything you bring to the table brings hope and love. Even better your a fisherman. I'll probably never make it out to the pacific northwest, but if you're ever back in Ohio I would love to fish Steelhead on the Rocky River with you; with your mentality I would have a good time even if we didn't catch a dawg-gone thing.
I'm digging this tune. Crescendos have to fall, but a good horn section goes a long way.
[video:youtube][/video]
Thanks. I listen to a ton of music. It’s my reprieve from my very heavy, very real work I do for my career. I see enough sadness and hopelessness and such in my 9 to 5 that I use music to counter the heaviness of it all. With that most of what I listen to is upbeat, hopeful, and in general uplifting. I did the morose, heavy, ‘dark’ stuff in my 20’s. In my 40’s I want an escape from all that. Though I’ll occasionally listen to Tool or whatnot. My tastes are pretty diverse. So thankfully I have a huge slice of the musical pie to choose from. Hip hop, jam bands, funk, bluegrass, electronica, and much that falls in between. I just know when I turn on my stereo my goal is to come away in a better mental, emotional, and spiritual place than when I started.
These are the types of messages I’m trying to ‘inject’ into my psyche.
PDX, I thought I was tired until I listened to Down North. I gotta a little life left in me just TURN ME LOOSE! Wish I would've seen this in time to check out a show. I gotta get out more. Good call on the Eddie Hazel, by the way. Make my funk the P-Funk, I wants to get funked up!
Yeah man, shame you missed them when they were in Cleveland and touring. But, they will no doubt come back around. We went to a local jazz bar here in town and they opened for the band we paid to see as headliner and they BLEW them away. We left much more excited about Down North than the headliners. So good. The singer has some moves, that's for sure.
Regarding funk, I absolutely love original black funk that has soul, grit, and a bit of down home truth to it. I actually struggle with white funk music as it seems void of honest, raw, deep from the gut, soul (imho).
Speaking of Funk.........I have a new [well, I've been wanting to do this one for over a year] idea for a Music thread. I am going to PM you and Portland and ask you a question about it. I'd love to hear input from both of you before I start the thread. Let me know in the PM and I'll start the thread.
I actually asked you two multiple questions.
Last edited by Versatile Dog; 03/09/1909:28 PM. Reason: More info
And one more...While Post Modern Jukebox is outstanding, the real gem here is Morgan James, the smoking blonde with the powerful voice. If you do a YouTube search you can find a large number of Morgan's songs. I saw her in Akron and got my picture with her.
(The last woman to sing is Ariana Savalas...Telly's daughter.)
1. #GMstrong 2. "I'm just trying to be the best Nick I can be." ~ Nick Chubb 3. Forgive me Elf, I didn’t have faith. ~ Tulsa 4. ClemenZa #1
Gotta admit, I was wondering where is the beat; slow starter. Once it started, I had a feeling like it was on the tip of my tongue, but couldn't quite place it. I was standing back absentmindedly chalking up my cue and trying to visualize a shot line when I just started singing, "We sick an' tired of-a your ism-skism game - Dyin' 'n' goin' to heaven in-a Jesus' name, Lord. We know when we understand: Almighty God is a living man. You can fool some people sometimes, But you can't fool all the people all the time. So now we see the light We gonna stand up for our rights!" Right after the horns started to kick in on the last part. Wish I could say I nailed the shot, but it was a nice moment of recognition anyway.
Thanks for the listen. Gives me an idea for a comparison as well.
When I was about 12, my friend and I decided we were going to panhandle out by the bus stop. We set out or hat and proceeded to play some horrible music that nobody heard, since there wasn't a soul around. Some dude drove by smiling with his head hanging out the window of his pickup.
He stopped and asked us what we were doing. We gave him our line about how we were bluesmen trying to earn our way back home. He looked down at my beat up hand me down guitar and asked if I knew how to play anything. I did my best to play Clapton's version of "Malted Milk."
When I finished he told me to wait there and he'd be back in a half hour. This guy stopped whatever the heck he was doing that day and drove to his house three towns away to bring me two cassette tapes. One was entitled acoustic blues and one was electric blues. I asked him how I was supposed to return them to him. He asked if I knew Joel (so and so). I said yeah, and he just told me to give them to Joel when I was done with them.
Joel never got those tapes back. I wore those suckers out, especially the acoustic tape. There was a version of "Gallows Pole" on there that blew my mind. This isn't exactly it, but as close as I can get:
I had a Bob Dylan 3 disc set called "The Bootleg Series." The first disc is amazing; listen to "Last Thoughts on Woodie Guthrie," but the second disc has a gem called "Seven Curses."
Listen to this and tell me it's not a variation of Gallows Pole:
So many of these songs were just part of a common consciousness that can't be reserved by rights. When you share something with others that you want them to relate to in a very personal manner you don't get to dictate how they relate to it. Despite your intended meaning.
I'll lighten it up some. I'm a firm believer that there isn't enough fishing music in the world. This song dates back to the 20's. Taj Mahal is best known for it:
Her's my favorite version. It's just some random guy jammin' it out. I think he might me a painter because he's got it smudged on his pants. Regardless, he can play. I change some of the words, but you better believe I'm singing this when my wife and I are motoring down to the honey-hole looking to catch our limit and steal a moment together:
My wife & I went and saw this band last night and I am not exaggerating when I say this...I have honestly probably seen 1000+ gigs and this may well have been the greatest of them all. I went in knowing what I was going to hear, but I had no idea what I was going to witness when it came to the live experience. My god...the sheer love, joy and funky soulfulness of the grooves were infectious and mind blowing. My wife and I were BLOWN. AWAY. Like nothing I have ever seen....tears, goosebumps, exhilaration and absolute awe at watching them and being absorbed into their art. I also don't think I have EVER seen a band so honest in their conviction and their love & joy in sharing it with an audience. Honestly, words can't do them justice. Btw, War & Treaty are also a real couple....they have an amazing story behind how they met, making music and the name of their band.
This isn't a video from the Portland show I saw, but it captures them enough to share with you all somewhat of their live experience, but I will be honest....they KILLED this song last night and Tanya channeled her inner Tina Turner as they freakin' rocked the house down!
Support the arts, support live music and PLEASE...GO SEE THIS BAND! I promise that you won't be disappointed. My soul won't ever be the same...music is love.