presented without comment

"Hello in There"
written and originally recorded by John Prine

We had an apartment in the city.
Me and my husband liked living there.
It's been years since the kids have grown,
a life of their own, left us alone.

John and Linda live in Omaha.
Joe is somewhere on the road.
We lost Davy in the Korean war.
I still don't know what for, don't matter any more.

You know that old trees just grow stronger,
and old rivers grow wilder every day,
but old people, they just grow lonesome
waiting for someone to say,
"Hello in there. Hello"

Me and my husband, we don't talk much anymore.
He sits and stares through the backdoor screen.
And all the news just repeats itself
like some forgotten dream
that we've both seen.

Someday I'll go and call up Judy.
We worked together at the factory.
Ah, but what would I say when she asks what's new?
Say, "Nothing, what's with you?
Nothing much to do."

You know that old trees just grow stronger,
and old rivers grow wilder every day,
ah, but, but old people, they just grow lonesome
waiting for someone to say,
"Hello in There. Hello."

So if you're walking down the street sometime
and you should spot some hollow ancient eyes,
don't you pass them by and stare
as if you didn't care.
Say, "Hello in there. Hello."

Strange, she runs from the one she can't keep up with.

Things have been rolling along in my life. Sometimes I feel like nothing's happening, and sometimes I feel like a steamroller is on my heels, threatening to crush everything around me at any moment.

I was supposed to have been on a trip to Pennsylvania and New York about a week and a half ago, but due to circumstances beyond my control, my travel companion and I had to reschedule. So I have another six weeks or so until that trip happens. But plenty of things have been happening. I had a decent birthday celebration, both with my self-consumed extended family and with my generous and wonderful friends.

Two days ago, I went to a Stevie Nicks concert in Cincinnati, OH totally and completely alone. It wasn't bad, seeing as how it's not that long of a drive from here. There was some road work that put me getting there later than I had hoped, but I was still there a good 40 minutes before the show. The opening act, Michael Grimm, was really talented and I enjoyed his short set. I was seventh row in the center pit, just left of center stage. It was a great seat and I was really excited to be there. I got my camera in with no issue and managed to get some pretty good pictures from my seat, although they weren't great because my arm kept shaking and I couldn't hold the camera still. During a guitar solo toward the end of "Edge of Seventeen", a bunch of fans got to rush the stage and I was right up front. Stevie always does a walk during this portion of the song and shakes hands with audience members. She didn't shake my hand because the hands directly behind me were higher (fucking tall people), but I managed to touch the top of her hand as she was shaking a hand just to the right of me. It wasn't as magical as I thought it would be, but she was right there, and I couldn't not touch her after she passed me. I would've regretted missing that opportunity, and I am so glad I didn't have to.

She looked and sounded great, and it was really cool getting to hear the newer songs live. This was the fourth time I've seen her live, including twice with Fleetwood Mac. I don't remember the exact order of the songs and I may be missing one or two, but here's a rough setlist from the night.

Stand Back
Secret Love
Dreams
Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream)
Gold Dust Woman
Soldier's Angel
Annabel Lee
For What It's Worth
Rhiannon
Ghosts Are Gone
Edge of Seventeen
Love Is

Poo on you, Paste Magazine.

Here's another review of In Your Dreams that I take issue with. Specifically, the part I have a problem with is the part that calls "Wide Sargasso Sea," "a corny, overcooked tale of fading beauty, tarnished lust, and backfiring arson." If anyone is to blame for the cheesiness of "Wide Sargasso Sea," it is the screenwriters of the film that inspired the song. If people did their research, then I think the reviews would be a little more positive. You have to put the music into context. Stevie Nicks songs are not stand-alone. They are always part of something else.

This article is another that mentions the changes in Stevie's voice. Don't make me reiterate my previous post, people. I mean, to insult the voice of someone like Whitney Houston, who has squandered her talent the last ten years and has allowed her vocal cords to be damaged by hard living and drug use, is one thing. But to insult a 60-year-old woman's voice for natural aging is pathetic. Yes, Stevie's voice is far different than it was 30 years ago. I'll give you that. And yes, some of the damage was caused by drug use and hard living. However, everyone knew that going into this album. Stevie's voice is, if anything, better than it was on her last album. She has been working hard at maintaining her voice. She has a vocal coach, which is something she never had in the '70s and '80s, because she realizes now - after all of her life experience - that a beautiful voice is a gift. It is a blessing that has been received that can easily be taken away. Just ask Julie Andrews. As a matter of fact, ask Stevie herself, who had doctors tell her in the late '80s that she was lucky she could still sing at all thanks to all the cocaine she put up her nose.

She has a dime-sized hole in her nasal passages. That is why her voice is nasally. *sigh* I just get really tired of people listening to an album once by an artist they know very little about, and being able to put their opinions of this album and artist out where the public can read them. It's so annoying.

In Your Dreams

Tomorrow morning I will hold in my hand a brand-spanking-new copy of Stevie Nicks' album In Your Dreams, something that represents a year of waiting for me and so many other fans. This is the first album of all new songs that Stevie has released in ten years. Granted, a live album that came out sometime in '09 had a couple songs that Stevie had never recorded, but this is all original material - poetry for a new generation.

Sidenote: The album has been available for a week through a stream on Rolling Stone's website. I have listened to the album nearly a dozen times, so this is how I feel I'm adequately prepped for not only analyzing the following review, but for forming opinions of my own.

Now, I wouldn't say that all reviews of the album have been glowing, but they have been positive, until Slant Magazine's review that I just read earlier today. You can view the full article here. Here are some of my favorite snippets:

But In Your Dreams indulges in some of Nicks's worst tendencies as a songwriter and is slathered in chintzy, dated production values.
Funny that you say that, considering one of the first comments someone made to me was about how good the production quality of the album is. Additionally, the "chintzy" quality that you reference was actually created on purpose in order to evoke a particular feel.

Unfortunately, the poor quality of the songwriting falls primarily on Nicks's shoulders. "Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream)" was inspired by her viewing of The Twilight Saga: New Moon while on tour, and it boasts exactly the same degree of depth as Stephenie Meyer's vapid, wooden prose.
Actually, Stevie generally takes full writing credit herself, but for most of the songs on this album, it is shared. So how does this fall primarily on her shoulders? Now, Stevie has stated in interviews that the first two verses of this song were written in the mid-1970s, and that she was inspired to complete the song after viewing New Moon. Also, it can be noted that this is merely one of three songs on this album that draws inspiration from literature. I would hardly call that writing that lacks depth.

Even worse is "New Orleans," ... That the melody lifts at the end of each line overemphasizes the final word of those lines, giving the song an obnoxious, stilted cadence. It's perhaps the worst song in Nicks's entire catalogue, reducing the culture of New Orleans to Bourbon Street and vampire lore.
I take issue with a couple of things here. First of all, an obnoxious cadence? What does that even mean? And calling a song the worst song in Nicks' catalogue? How can you make that claim? Have you sifted through dozens of her rough, unfinished demos (like I and so many dozens of other fans have)? Or are you simply considering polished, completed album cuts in this "catalogue"? Additionally, I seem to recall the first few lines of the song making reference to the storm-ravaged New Orleans, and other lines referencing the French Quarter, Mardi Gras, and the city's art culture, so I wouldn't say that she's neglecting any aspect of New Orleans culture.

"Italian Summer" misses its mark almost as badly, with hollow exclamations about how the hard rain in Italy is "so romantic" and, oddly, "soulful."
This statement is particularly hilarious to me, because of the fact that this song contains one of Nicks' best vocal performances ever. And actually, "so romantic" and "soulful" are in reference to the summer in Italy, not the rain itself. You might want to listen to the narrative a little more closely.

The reserved acoustic strumming that drives "For What It's Worth" only exacerbates the song's monotonous melody, highlighting how much range and power Nicks's voice has lost in the decade since the underappreciated Trouble in Shangri-La.
I agree that TiSL is underappreciated, and of course Nicks' voice has changed since then. That was ten years ago, and the woman is in her mid-60s now. As a music critic, you should simply be thrilled that auto-tune is not required on this album, and you should be noting the fact that many of Nicks' contemporaries have stopped even attempting to release new music.

The further away I get from this review, the more furious it makes me. Naturally, everyone is entitled their own opinion, and the opinions of many are bound to differ with mine, but a 1 1/2 star rating is hardly fair to anyone. What's particularly irritating about this article to me is the fact that the reviewer keeps referencing Nicks' previous albums, specifically Trouble in Shangri-La (far from her finest work) and the Fleetwood Mac album Rumours. I've already addressed TiSL and the fact that Stevie's voice has definitely changed since that time, but I would hardly say it lost any power. In fact, since 2005, Stevie's voice has gotten considerably stronger, following a weakened period due to years of drug use. As for Rumours, it was written and recorded over 30 years ago. It's unfair to compare the voice/songwriting ability of a woman in her late 20s whose creativity was partially fueled by drugs and an incredibly public and tumultous breakup to that of a seasoned woman in her 60s who has been living a life of luxury for the last few decades. Most of Stevie's writing now comes from poetry written years ago that she is now reworking and putting her more mature perspective on. Maybe as a fan, I am biased. But, as an English major, I certainly am not. Stevie's songwriting, if it has changed at all, has only gotten technically better. She has always written her music without paying much attention to person, gender, or grammar. Her songs have always been about the flow of the words rather than the consistency of the narrative (something that, oddly, I have always struggled with in my own writing). The songs on In Your Dreams suffer less from this problem than much of her other work has. (I seem to recall what became a pretty heated discussion, during the making of Fleetwood Mac's Say You Will, with Lindsey Buckingham regarding this very issue.) Granted, I find this particular quality of her songwriting to be a plus rather than a negative, but to each his/her own.

I may not be qualified on paper to be a music critic, but considering my degree, the fact that I have taken several music history classes, and the fact that I am more familiar with Stevie Nicks' body of work than probably 95% of music critics/teachers/analysts, I would say I am more than qualified to critique this album. It's not perfect; I readily admit that. In fact, I consider "Cheaper Than Free" a low point, and way closer to that "worst song" status than "New Orleans". But as a collective work? I venture to say this is better than the critic's precious Trouble in Shangri-La, or even earlier Nicks' albums like The Other Side of the Mirror (which I love).

Baby loves to dance in the dark, 'cause when he's looking she falls apart.

I see it's been a while since I posted. I certainly think the death of Elizabeth Taylor warrants a murmur.

Firstly, I do want to mention Lady Gaga. March 12th was the Lady Gaga concert in Louisville, and I will admit that between her set and the opening act, I was getting a little antsy. The Scissor Sisters only played a thirty minute set before the hour-long intermission, but once Gaga was onstage, she more than made up for it. The set was elaborate, and the whole show was set up kind of like a rock opera, with her and friends having their car break down on their way to the concert. She was onstage more than the back-up dancers, and the costume changes were incredibly quick. The only times she left the stage were for set changes, and I'd say that was for less than twenty minutes out of the entire two hours that she played. Her energy was amazing, and she sang all of her really big hits. She even sang a lesser hit which is a personal favorite of mine, "Dance in the Dark". She is one immensely talented individual, and the ticket price was more than worth it. Plus, I found a $100 leaving the arena, so that ended up being my shirt + gas money. All in all, it was a great night.

Now, to Dame Elizabeth. I will admit, I am not a very big Elizabeth Taylor fan. I admire her much more for her personal attributes than for her contributions to film. In fact, I never really considered her to be very talented until seeing her in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof less than a year ago. But I haven't seen very many of her movies, so I suppose I should do my research before making any further judgments for or against her talents. Elizabeth was, however, an incredibly beautiful and classy woman, and despite having eight very highly publicized marriages (and ensuing divorces), she was quite a private woman. Those attributes, in addition to her relentless charity work for HIV/AIDS research, are why I admire her. She always prevailed in the face of scandal, and the opinions of all who knew her personally really attest to her great qualities. She was the last of the true Hollywood Legends, and she will be greatly missed by all.

lyrically challenged

Here's the thing about Stevie Nicks, and I apologize if I have posted anything resembling this statement before, but narratively, her songs make no sense. She changes tenses in the middle of a verse, switches from third to first person, mixes her pronouns, and uses incomplete phrases. Which is why it makes absolutely no sense that I love her music so much. I am such a stickler for grammar and continuity within a story, and tense and person changes are major no-nos. On the other hand, one thing that is so cool about Stevie's stuff is how so many of her songs are connected lyrically, which does create continuity within her entire body of work, and I love that fact. She uses the same characters sometimes in multiple songs, and she will repeat a phrase in one song that she used years before in another, or change it ever so slightly to where you still recognize it as a lyric from a previous song. Here's an example:

from "Illume", on Fleetwood Mac's Say You Will

I like the coastal cities
I like the lights...
I like the way the ocean blends
Into the city at night
Like living on a working river
This coastline is glittering
Like a diamond snake
In a black sky

from "Destiny Rules", on Fleetwood Mac's Say You Will

I like the coastal cities, I like the lights

I like the way the city blends into the ocean at night
It's like living on a working river; the coastline is glittering
Like a diamond snake in a black sky

The first song is about 9/11, and I think that serves as a fantastic description of New York City.

Another lyric cross-reference example:

from "Blue Lamp", from the soundtrack to the movie Heavy Metal

Downstairs the big old house is mine

Upstairs where the stars still laugh and they shine
Downstairs where the big old house is mine
Outside where the stars still laugh and
Stars still laugh and shine
And the stars still laugh and cry and shine
And the stars still laugh and cry and shine
And the stars still laugh and shine and shine

from "Welcome to the Room...Sara", from Fleetwood Mac's Tango in the Night

Ooh, downstairs where the

Big old house is mine
Ooh, upstairs where the
Stars laugh and shine
Oh, Oh well I thought that
You were mine
Well I thought that
You were mine

The first two songs are from the same album, but the other two came years apart. Kinda cool. I think, anyway. I got all of the lyrics from The Nicks Fix, btw.

The reason I mentioned Stevie Nicks is that I was listening to some music last night before bed and was wishing I could write songs. Actually I was listening to The Judds. Other songwriters wrote most of their stuff as far as I know, but they did some great songs with really fantastic lyrics. In my life, I have been touched so much by song lyrics, and can really express my emotion much better through the lyrics of others than I can with my own words. I suppose I should try songwriting again. When I did it before, I was in high school, so the lyrics were sort of lame. But I'm a little older and wiser now, so maybe, just maybe I have a shot at not sucking at it this time around.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

2011 nominees have been announced:

http://www.popeater.com/2010/09/28/rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-2011-nominees/

And my predictions are:
Neil Diamond
Donovan
J. Geils Band
Chic
Tom Waits
Darlene Love
Dr. John

But I do have my fingers crossed for Donna Summer, and the Beastie Boys are a really solid possibility. I just don't like them.

What is perfect pitch?

Today at work I brought up the Taylor/Stevie Grammy debacle again, mentioning a couple of articles I had read about the incident. The conversation then turned to the pitch of singers in general, with mention to Kelly Clarkson as having perfect pitch.

But what is perfect pitch, really? Wikipedia states that it is such:

Possessors of absolute pitch exhibit the ability in varying degrees. Generally, absolute pitch implies some or all of the following abilities when done without reference to an external standard:[4]

Identify by name individual pitches (e.g. A, B, C#) played on various instruments
Name the key of a given piece of tonal music just by listening (without reference to an external tone)
Identify and name all the tones of a given chord or other tonal mass
Sing a given pitch without an external reference
Name the pitches of common everyday noises such as car horns
Identify the numerical value in hertz of a given note.

Almost all of the above examples require some knowledge of music theory. How many people even know what hertz means? If you can reproduce musical notes, then does it mean you do not have perfect pitch if you cannot name each note? I don't understand how this works. I mean, I have a little musical training. I play piano by ear, I can recognize musical dissonance, and I can reproduce any note that is played for me (even if I have to do it in a different octave). But I couldn't tell you if I'm singing an A flat or a B. That's awfully difficult, unless you regularly sing with sheet music or compose music. Wikipedia also (in a link to a separate article) has a list of famous people with supposedly perfect pitch. Has there been a study done on this? Does someone have the capability to reproduce a note and suddenly say they have perfect pitch? How do they know this? And why does this bother me so much?

Thoughts, anyone?

My take on the Grammys

I'm sure everyone (all three of you) is clamoring to hear my opinion on the Taylor Swift fiasco from last night. And yes, it was just that: a fiasco. Taylor is a talented girl, and very pretty, but the truth of the matter is that she cannot sing live AT ALL. She was flat almost completely throughout her performance, which is pretty embarassing when you're singing your own songs, but then she ruined a rock classic by one of the all-time greats. I haven't been able to find the exact quote, but I have read several articles saying that Taylor, earlier in the evening had called Stevie "her hero".

EXCUSE ME???? Your hero? Sure, you know all of the words (but obviously not all of the notes) to "Rhiannon", and likely other well-known songs, but what could a 20-year-old country princess possibly know about Stevie Nicks? Tell me Taylor, do you know the name of the first band Stevie was ever in? How about the name of her old standby back-up singer, that's been performing with her since the early 1980's? And, off the top of your head Taylor, do you know the lyrics to any of Stevie's non-singles, like "If I Were You", "Long Way To Go", or "Too Far From Texas"? Yeah, I didn't think so.

(In case anyone is wondering: Fritz, Sharon Celani, and yes, I know every word to all of those songs.)

Although I didn't watch the red carpet stuff, I do have a few opinions on the outfits for the evening as well, in true Joan Rivers fashion. Also, keep in mind I didn't view the show start to finish. I watched for a bit, TiVo'd an hour while watching Big Love, then played catch-up, so I'm bound to have missed a few debacles. One of my favorite outfits of the night was definitely the one worn by Lady Gaga on the red carpet.

image courtesy Sindh Today

It's bizarre, for sure, but everything Gaga wears is. But somehow this dress works. It's futuristic, yet glamorous, and I like the fact that she's not wearing over-the-top make-up or strange headgear. She looks totally classy, and the heels are ferosh.

Katy Perry on the other hand...

image courtesy Associated Press

...looked HOrrendous. The color, paired with the natural-looking make-up she was sporting, completely washes out her already pale complexion, and the bangs are too short and too poofy all at the same time, if that's possible. She does get extra points for the amazing backless look, but loses those points because of her creepy arm candy (Russell Brand). Every shot of them in the audience made me gasp aloud.

Jennifer Lopez also looked horrible, but her career is in the toilet, so I'll go easy on her this time.

Amos Lee

I went to the Amos Lee show at The Dame last night with LaTisha and Meagan. It was awesome! I got to head out of work a little early, so I headed straight over to Meagan's where we were all three meeting. We walked down to The Dame and got in the enormous line to get in. We probably only waited like fifteen minutes, but LaTisha was a little worried I wouldn't be able to get in because I was the only one of us without a ticket. I made it just fine. We each got a drink at the bar and then we pushed our way to the front of the crowd, partly thanks to my large chest. (What can I say, people move for boobs.)

I got to do some joyous people watching during the show as well. Toward the end, this small group of drunken girls made their way up to the front left. One girl (dressed in a Western-style shirt with a short haircut) had been standing near me for quite some time. When these girls came up, they were dancing like mad. Western girl is dancing and in the groove of the music one of the other girls ends up dancing right up against her. This went on for several minutes, with her even reaching behind her body at one point to put her arm behind the head of Western girl. It wasn't until the song was over, and the girl's friends pointed it out to her, that said girl noticed Western girl was indeed a chick. She danced solely with her friends for the remainder of the show. Seeing Western girl and her REALLY HOT guy friend talk about the hilarity of it all was very amusing. I told LaT and Megs that we're all gonna have to go to the mall together one day and people watch.

The most interesting part of the evening came later. We hung around outside for a little bit hoping to see Amos because LaTisha is totally in love with him and wants to have his babies. Amos' bass player Jaron got sent out (after the small crowd left) to talk to us for a little bit. We asked what their plans were and told him about Lynaugh's. Jaron got Meagan's number and we went on to Lynaugh's, stopping at Meagan's apartment for potty breaks and freshening up. Meagan took her phone charger since it was about to die and we found a spot for her to plug in her phone at the bar. (Wow, we are such nerds!) LaTisha and I ran to Speedway and by the time we got back found out that Jaron and the guys were on their way down. It was further than they thought, so we actually ended up meeting them at the corner of Maxwell and Woodland. Unfortunately they were pressed for time and had to head on back to the bus, so we walked with them. It was drizzling a little bit and cold, but we didn't mind. It was Amos, Jaron, and the keyboardist Michael. We all sort of traded out who we walked with every few feet, which was cool and gave each of us a little time to talk to Amos. He asked me what I did (he already knew that we all met from working at Whole Foods, so we talked about Whole Foods a little), what my ambitions were, and we talked a little about how people in more rural areas tend to marry younger. He made the comment that in our society, you're expected to know your career before you know yourself, and that I totally agree with. We made it back to the bus, said goodbye, and went on our merry little way. It was really cool being able to hang out with Amos and afterwards I learned that his degree is in English. How cool is that?

I guess I'm now an Amos Lee fan.