Credit…Louisa Gouliamaki/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Listening to NPR this morning, I learn that Greek composer and politician Mikis Theodorakis died Thursday at age 96.
Theodorakis’ music for the film Zorba the Greek became a worldwide shorthand for a seize-the-moment kind of joyfulness.
The music and the film scene still provide one of the most memorable scenes in my lifetime.
— kenne
White-winged Dove On Ocotillo — Image by kenne
‘Hold Tight’ — Oil Painting in Black and White by kenne
Hold tight
Hold tight
If you wanna make this feeling stay
Hold tight
Hold tight
Don’t let this moment fade away
Hold tight
Now tears gonna stay
Everybody gets the chance someday
Call it once it last you think you’ve got it made
Not a word that anyone can say
That can change the way you feel
Cause you know that love is real
You can choose within you fall in love
Anybody any moment any way
‘Cause no matter who you chose
There’s a chance that you might loose
Gonna the best that I can do
Hold tight
— from Hold Tight by David Romani / Davide Romani / Mauro Malavasi / Paul Adrian Slade
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
I can’t let this month get by without recognizing the 50th anniversary (May 21, 1971) of the release of Marvin Gaye’s
masterpiece album, What’s Going On.
“OK, let’s just get this out of the way. Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On LP is a masterpiece. If it’s not in your top five
or at least within the realm of your top 10 albums of all-time, then I seriously think you need to reevaluate your list.
Not many albums give you a snapshot of the world at the time of its release and still remain very relevant decades later.
What’s Going On most certainly does.” — Terry Nelson (albumism.com)
Gaye released the single, What’s Going On, after co-writer Renaldo “Obie” Benson saw police in Berkeley, Calif.,
brutality beat anti-Vietnam War protesters. Gaye would later say, “What mattered was the message. For the first time,
I felt like I had something to say.”
The album went platinum, and Rolling Stone would place it among the greatest albums of all time.
Now fifty years out, its influences are evident today as the nation wrestles with inequality and a racial reckoning.
— kenne
Ground Zero Blues Club Memphis (01/21/10) — Abstract Art by kenne
“There are only two kinds of songs;
there’s the blues,
and there’s zip-a-dee-doo-dah.”
— Townes Van Zandt
Fishing Boats Docked at Galveston Bay, Texas — Image by kenne
[Verse 1]
Sittin’ in the mornin’ sun
I’ll be sittin’ when the evenin’ come
Watching the ships roll in
And then I watch ’em roll away again, yeah
[Chorus]
I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time
[Verse 2]
I left my home in Georgia
Headed for the ‘Frisco bay
‘Cause I’ve had nothing to live for
And look like nothin’s gonna come my way
[Chorus]
So I’m just gonna sit on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time
[Bridge]
Look like nothing’s gonna change
Everything still remains the same
I can’t do what ten people tell me to do
So I guess I’ll remain the same, yes
[Verse 3]
Sittin’ here resting my bones
And this loneliness won’t leave me alone
It’s two thousand miles I roamed
Just to make this dock my home
[Chorus]
Now, I’m just gonna sit at the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Oooo-wee, sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time
[Outro]
*Whistling*
Galveston Bay — Image by kenne
Janet Yellen — Source: Getty Images
Biden: Yellen needs a “Hamilton” musical. Dessa: Here you go.
Kae Tempest (formerly Kate Tempest) — Source: scenestr.com
Helen Reddy (October 25, 1941/September 29, 2020)
Van Morrison — Source: Ryan H. Walsh
“Into the Mystic” in Van Morrison’s 1970 Moondance Album
We were borne before the wind
Also younger than the sun
Ere the bonnie boat was won
As we sailed into the mystic
Hark, now hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic
And when that foghorn blows
I will be coming home
And when the foghorn blows
I want to hear it
I don’t have to fear it and I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And magnificently we will flow into the mystic
When that fog horn blows
You know I will be coming home
And when that fog horn whistle blows
I got to hear it
I don’t have to fear it and I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And together we will flow into the mystic
Come on, girl
Too late to stop now
“Into the Mystic” — the words and melody ethereally flowing together as one —
is about a spiritual quest. But over the years the song has become much more —
an affirmation of life for me, and I would like to think for my generation,
as well, should we choose to embrace its sentiments, an anthem of lives
lived as we float down that stream, merrily or otherwise, after leaving
this mortal coil. I am honored that my path intersected with friends departed,
and I am a better person because it did. The fog horn has blown for them
and they will be coming home.
It is indeed too late to stop now.
Album Cover of Emily Barker’s Latest CD.
“Over the last few decades, the Sparrow has gone from being one of the world’s most common and widespread birds to being Red Listed as a species of high conservation concern,” Emily reflects. “When writing the song, my thoughts returned to the sparrows outside my window – how sad it would be to look out and not see and hear their vibrant movement and chatter. I hope that day never comes.” Read more . . .
Johnny Mandel — Source: Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett posted on Twitter Yesterday:
If Johnny Mandel had just composed “The Shadow of Your Smile” – one of the most beautiful songs I have been honored to record – it would have been enough to earn his standing as one of the finest composers of our time.
. . . and let’s not forget the arrangement Mandel did for Natalie Cole in the song “Unforgettable!”
“Joshua Tree was named by Mormon pioneers — The arms looked like Joshua beckoning them to the promised land.”
Joshua Trees — Images by kenne
Joshua Tree Fruit
Source: Sideshow Alley
Sideshow Alley is an online live music video series brings together the finest new and established artists and filmmakers at unexpected locations in New York City and Melbourne. These creative filmmakers make new friends in alleyways and on rooftops, recording each artist performing one song, one take, with no fixed agenda and no rehearsal.
I first learned about Sideshow Alley from blogger, The Hobbledehoy.
— kenne
“Because of you I have found some great new bands
that I adore and wouldn’t have even known about.
Thanks for the chills down my spine!”
@JOSHDIME VIA YOUTUBE
Becoming is Superior to Being 