John Prine Photograph by Ron Baker (public domain)
We had an apartment in the city Me and Loretta liked living there Well, it’d been years since the kids had grown A life of their own, left us alone
John and Linda live in Omaha And Joe is somewhere on the road We lost Davy in the Korean war And I still don’t know what for, don’t matter anymore
You know that old trees just grow stronger And old rivers grow wilder every day Old people just grow lonesome Waiting for someone to say, “Hello in there, hello”
Me and Loretta, we don’t talk much more She sits and stares through the back door screen And all the news just repeats itself Like some forgotten dream that we’ve both seen
Someday I’ll go and call up Rudy We worked together at the factory What could I say if he asks “What’s new?” “Nothing, what’s with you? Nothing much to do”
You know that old trees just grow stronger And old rivers grow wilder every day Old people just grow lonesome Waiting for someone to say, “Hello in there, hello”
So if you’re walking down the street sometime And spot some hollow ancient eyes Please don’t just pass ’em by and stare As if you didn’t care, say, “Hello in there, hello”
This video has been on YouTube since May, so you may have seen this “flash mob” creation. Whether you have or not, it’s a treasure! I learned about this video from my Houston friend, Charles White.
Down along the Texas gulf coast and the Louisiana/Texas state line you will find the cities of Beaumont, Post Arthur and Orange, locally called the golden triangle. This area of southeast Texas has produced some of the best Blues, Cajun, country and zydeco music of the 20th century, such as Clarence Garlow, Long John Hunter, Tom Hunter, Janis Joplin, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, Ezra Charles, Joe Jonas — the list goes on. Among these greats is Barbara Lynn. In the early sixties, Barbara wrote and recorded, “You’re Losin’ a Good Thing,” which in the 70’s was also recorded by another Texan, Freddy Finder. Some of you may have seen her on American Bandstand like I did in the sixties.
I love Erin Ivey’s music — a beautiful voice with very smooth and creative lyrics. Additional, she just came out with a music video that I must share. You may think it’s a little weird and I will give that, but it is very creative and well done. Plus, she’s great to look at! If you also like it, you are in good company.
Malcolm Gladwell is a writer for The New Yorker and best-selling author of such books as The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliners. In a recent article in The New Yorker, “Creation Myth,” writes about one of his ongoing themes, how ideas are interconnected and resulting products are remixes (copies) of earlier ideas. In a posting on yesterday’s fastcodesign.com, Blinda Lanks writes about Gladwell’s article and a video by Kirby Ferguson, “Everything Is a Remix.” The third in a four-part series, which explores appropriation throughout culture — the use of borrowed elements in the creation of a new work. Yes, there is ‘ . . . nothing new under the sun!” Or, everything is just a variation of a theme.
It’s a long, long road From which there is no return While we’re on the way to there Why not share And the load
Doesn’t weigh me down at all He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother
Often we are moved to pity when we see and experience suffering, but does the feeling manifest into acts that show caring and sharing? Are we a society that takes care of its most needy members? I think not! It seems to be all right (the “New Normal”)to spend trillions to kill while seeking to destroy the social advances of the 20th century. All Peoples are our brothers!
When it comes to guitar playing, there may be no such thing as #1, but among those inline for the honor would be Roy Buchanan. His touch is unbelievable! What a sense of rhythm and timing.
Image produced by kenne turner from a photo by R.R. Rodriguez
This is the most viewed video I have produced with now over 3,500 views. It’s a montage of clips covering several of the songs Carolyn Wonderland performed at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck in Houston, a warm June evening, two years ago. It would be great if Carolyn would include Tucson in one of her tours, or Phoenix would be good too!
The “Future Starts Slowly” — What a title. I love it!
I recently wrote in a June 23, 2011 blog posting, “We live in a world in which our thinking is ‘here and now,’ focusing on how to make things faster and cheaper. The now needs to involve longterm thinking, focusing on slower and better.” The result is quality, which describes The Kills latest single, “The Future Starts Slow.”
“Dreamy and feverish, hooky and repetitive, obsessive and claustrophobic,” are the words used to describe The Kills new album on the 2011 Lollapalooza website. Whatever the words, the duo is a group I would like to see live, instead, I will settle for this excellent video.
Leon Russell was in Tucson this last May and sadly, we missed him.
You know a musician is good when he is able to play successfully in any genre: pop, rock, blues, country, bluegrass, standards, gospel, etc. — did I mention that he’s a great songwriter! Russell was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Monday, March 14, 2011.
