Strangely Appropos

Ahhh... Dionne prior to Psychic Friends... and Bacharach. The best combination ever.

[Not Quite New Music] Where Dan Seals is a Prophet

I had the realization yesterday that Dan Seals is (was, apparently!) a prophet. And not the alien variety who inhabit the Bajoran wormhole.

This might, topically, seem like blasphemy. Owning to Danny Wayland "Dan" Seals being a sweet, guitar toting country western star whose fame lay in the wasteland of the 1980s with no particular religious calling that I can discern. Which under normal conditions is a prerequisite for prophethood.

I'm not embarrassed to admit that I shed a tear when I learned he had PASSED AWAY upon boning up on his discography on Wikipedia this morning! Apparently I was smoking a great deal of crack in March 2009 to have missed this. Dan Seals was an integral part of my childhood. Back when I listened to a piped in version of the Grand Old Opry (on AM, since FM had long foresaken such awesomeness for the obviously more pertinent NKOTB) and knew exactly who was referred to when someone mentioned the "Redheaded Stranger" or "Beaucephus."

I "met" Dan when my Dad received a tape of his The Best (1987) and promptly left it somewhere, still under plastic, to be lost in the sands of time. Fortunately for Dan (and me), I have really sticky fingers when it comes to unprotected music, so I pocketed the 4" x 3" of plastic and magnetic tape and hid in my room. Little did I know how the lyrics would shift my reality (hrm... perhaps there are wormholes involved afterall?)

So, Everything that Glitters (Is Not Gold) is - after Toto's Africa - one of my favorite songs of all time. When my Dad died and I uploaded hundreds of his CDs on my iPod (in between crying my eyes out and cutting down wild blackberry bushes in my mom's backyard), I was sitting in DTW when it cued up:

But oh sometimes I think about you

And the way you used to ride out

In your rhinestones and your sequins

With the sunlight on your hair

And oh the crowd will always love you

But as for me I've come to know

Everything that glitters is not gold

The sentiment behind it is the reason I've been obsessed with Haley Bonar's Big Star (off 2009's Big Star) since downloading her Daytrotter Session. Particularly the lines:

i'm gonna read your stories

spend springtime in the gardens

tell my children all about the days

but i can't make you happy

i can't make you money

i can only fold your laundry

But Dan's All that Glitters isn't the only bit of lyric work that occasionally takes up space in my head. "...Believes without a doubt, that I could move a mountain and someone to tell it to..." (One Friend). "And they rage on some how searching for the answers/In the night like shadow dancers before their time is gone/They rage on..." (Rage On). "But you still move me/Though I'd never let her know/There's a place inside of me that just won't let you go..." (You Still Move Me). Siggggghhhhhh.

Danny Wayland "Dan" Seals (1948-2009) American Musician, Amateur Prophet, integral part of my childhood and sometime resident of my brain, you are missed.

Grrrrr!!!

A sort of cavalcade of my current mindscape (which is surprisingly alright - considering):









(Although AC in sequin spandex is kind of awesome in it's own right, of course. And of course, I couldn't post that version).

Crazy weekend so far. Of particular note the 1 am mochi run in Queens after quite a few more beers than was strictly necessary. And the introduction of my red patent leather heels. My goodness I love those shoes. I think I want to label this post, "Grrrrrrrrr!!!"

[Mixes] Werewolves & Convicts

I like to make music mixes.

Finding corollaries between songs is something I seem to do automatically- perhaps the downfall of having an indexing mind - and recently I've been working on a couple of interesting ones (to me).

Firstly: Werewolves

This would seem like a strange theme for mixes, and the tenor of what I'm working towards is always in the back of my mind (folksy, lyric intensive and earthy). Luckily, I ran across this song (from Secret and Whisper - who I LOVE) yesterday to add to the mix:



I also have Blitzen Trapper's Furr, which is a beautiful song -->



And Richard Shindell's version of Dar Williams' Calling the Moon. Richard Shindell has such a wonderful voice.

Secondly: Convicts

The second mix only has two songs, thus far (maybe three, if I decide on Blanche's version of Running with the Devil):

Johnny Cash's version of Nick Cave's Mercy Seat (it might be sacrilegious for me to prefer Cash's version, since I adore Nick Cave, but it's true. Especially his delivery on the lines, "And anyway I told the truth, but I'm afraid I told a lie" in relation to his not being afraid to die) -->



And Blitzen Trapper's (yes, one of my current music obsessions) Black River Killer. I'm sure my fellow passengers on MTA transit are probably less inclined to sit by me when I'm mouthing:

So you make no mistake
I know just what it takes
To pull a man’s soul back from heaven’s gates
I’ve been wandering in the dark about as long as sin
But they say it’s never too late to start again.

Chinese New Year's Resolution #1: Your ears have requested new music, NOW!

[ed. note] This was originally on Facebook, but I moved it for purposes of unwieldiness.

One day I woke up and realized that there was more music in the world than I could ever possibly know about (about two weeks ago - so I guess I'm following the Chinese New Year... yeah...). Probably because I'm a Librarian (i.e. Nerd), I decided that a a thorough study needed to be made. So utilizing methods fair (linktivity, youtube, MySpace, etc...) and foul (badgering my friends and random people on the street - thanks to the guy who explained the Watchmen instead on Friday night!), I have been trying to succeed at this Chinese New Year's resolution #1.

Because I have found some really sweet song prose and some absolutely HORRIBLE stuff, I thought I would start to make a list. The following is, per literary set-up, that list (in no particular order, since I have the memory of a goldfish on a good day):

#1: Asa [Asha] - So Beautiful
Nigeria folk/pop. This song was so beautiful (so aptly named!) - but I profess that I was a little disappointed that Asa wasn't referring to her lover when she sang about "Queen of my World." I might have to put this on a mix for my Mom - which isn't nearly as cool as when I gave her her last one featuring the lyrical styling of Tupac Shakur: "And even as a crack fiend, mama/You always was a black queen, mama." I'm beginning to believe that no one gets my humor.

#2: Ivri Leider
My friend, Adam, is still giving me beef about professing that I was moving to Israel to hook up with the aforementioned "Jesse." (I believe my exact words were, "I can be that girl in Chelsea in thirty minutes!") Frank sent me this after I complained about Charro/David Hasselhoff smack downs, so I was understandably concerned that what little is left of my brain would disintegrate under the onslaught of a singer who had called up the related songbar (on YouTube) "Erection Selection." The minute "Jesse" smiled, I was totally hooked on this song. And it's really catchy.

#3: Owl City
This was also a completely random choice (admittedly since Mr Owl City, also named Adam, is very cute). I'm not usually into electronica, but it's really awesome that Mr Owl City writes these catchy tunes while suffering from amnesia. And the female backing vocals suits his voice perfectly. I really liked the lyrics for "Saltwater Room" ("what will it take to make or break this hint of love"?) I actually bought this album and often listen to it as I slide through Midtown at 2am (which is happening with increasing frequency of late).

#4: Carl Creighton
I found Carl Creighton on Antifolk - which apparently is a "scene" unique to New York. He has a very nice voice (I prefer male singers to female anyway). A lot of the Antifolk stuff sounded very similar (including a gentleman who bore a terrible resemblance to my arch-enemy, the Pseudo-Archivist "A"), but Creighton's lyrics were very clever and felt honest to me. I particularly liked "Derrius," and bought the album. I also emailed him (to tell him how cool he was) and hope that he has a gig in the area at some point. And he wrote back! Yes!

#5: Rodney Crowell (This was actually cheating, I have know about Mr Crowell since Roseann Cash's "Tennessee Flat Top Box" days)
Sex & Gasoline is a really good album. Particularly liked "I've Done Everything I Can." As a note about the album cover - I think Crowell looks completely shocked to have a twentysomething woman in a g-string in his bed. I think at moments like that, you just have to go with it and accept your wiles.

#6: Azis!!!
Ok. This was completely a Frank thing (via PerezHilton). It really did destroy my will to live for a few minutes - but then had me crying at work as I recalled the video during weak (databasing) moments... which is pretty much all day. Peter actually asked me if I could spread the drug-love. Sadly, I had to let him know that I was completely sober and just being myself. Here is the madness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXqWSDp4gEc&feature=related

As per Wikipedia, Azis actually ran for a seat in the Bulgarian parliament. Democracy boggles my mind.

#7: She Wants Revenge
Wasn't so sure about this at first, "Tear you apart." Until the lines, "Now a little crush turned into a like/And now he wants to grab her by the hair and tell her." Then I was like, "Wow. That is Knife Party intense. I have to listen to this on the train!" Joaquin Phoenix directed the video for the song. But who the hell are the "Reds"???

#7: Tegan and Sara
Completely random find. I thought, "Wow, these girls have funky cool hair," so I clicked on their MySpace (still pondering asymmetrical haircuts, tho I look better with long hair). I think this just reminds me that I should move to Canada. I think most of my favorite bands are Canadian (including my obsession with Neverending White Lights). The song "Nineteen" is me at nineteen. Man, am I ever happy to be thirty.

#8: AJ Lite (this was also cheating, since Kish sent me the link)
Kish actually sounded like Pete Steele (Type O Negative - how the years have led us apart!) on one of the tracks. This was also cheating, but since I've been back at Mrs S's cataloguing, I haven't had too much time for much more than sleeping, typing out my missives on Facebook so that my fam knows I'm alive, and hanging out with my Posse.

#9: Brendan Benson
Since I'm secretly (well, not so much now) in love with Brendan Benson (who I never knew about pre-Raconteurs), I was very happy to see that he had done some solo work. All I can say is how cool would it be to hang out with Brendan Benson and Jack White? And I also realized (this has nothing to do with anything), that I am band-stalking Josh Homme!

#10: Feist
This sounded like a name I should know (being only one name of consequence) - so I checked her out. Really liked "How my heart behaves." Feist would be good background music for... certain activities (noting to those with Valentine's Day coming up).

#11: Ingrid Michaelson
Cary sent this to me (I vaguely remember her from a ten second clip on VH1 in the era when I actually owned a television). The video is very cute. I liked the lyrics "I'd buy you Rogaine when you start losing all your hair/Sew on patches to all you tear."