The Knife - Alternative Music from Denmark

My son, Chris turned me on to The Knife - a brother & sister group from Sweden. Great studio music.....

Paul McCartney - Blackbird

An altered book project earlier this year featured the song lyrics from Paul McCartney's "Blackbird". Recently on NPR I heard a review of a concert in New York City by Paul McCartney and the reviewer's favorite song of the night was an acoustical version of "Blackbird".


When interviewed regarding the song Sir Paul said that the song was written during a time when he was discouraged about the climate in the Deep South. Blackbird is a song about a young African American girl living during those times. The song has taken on a new meaning for me as I listen to the lyrics.

Standing Knee Deep In A River - Dying of Thirst by Kathy Mattea

Lyrics:

Friends I could count on, I could count on one hand

With a left over finger or two

I took 'em for granted, let 'em all skip away

Now where they are I wish I knew

They roll by just like water

And I guess we never learn

Go through life parched and empty

Standing knee deep in a river dying of thirst

Sometimes I remember sweethearts I have known

Some I have forgotten I suppose

One or two still linger,  oh,  and I wonder now 

Why I ever let them go

They roll by just like water

And I guess we never learn

Go through life parched and empty

Standing knee deep in a river dying of thirst

So the sidewalk is crowded, the city goes by

And I rush through another day

And a world full of strangers turn their eyes to me

But I just look the other way

They roll by just like water

And I guess we never learn

Go through life parched and empty

Standing knee deep in a river dying of thirst

They roll by just like water

And I guess we never learn

Go through life parched and empty

Standing knee deep in a river dying of thirst

Brandi Carlile - The Story

A friend managed to get us great tickets - front row center stage for the Sheryl Crow concert at Starlight Theatre last Thursday evening. The best seats I have had the pleasure of sitting in. It made the concert seem so personal with no one sitting in front of you. The expressions of the entertainers were easy to see and you realize how important the audience is to the performance.

Brandi Carlile opened for Sheryl Crow and she blew me away. So much talent in such a tiny frame. She looks like she is 19 years old at most, but is a seasoned 26 year old with lots of talent to spare. A great voice, good stage presence, and a smile that is contagious. Visit Brandi's website for more information. http://www.brandicarlile.com/ I highly recommend her for your Summer listening pleasure. Brandi's MySpace http://www.myspace.com/brandicarlileband

Sheryl Crow kept the concert on track as the storm front approached the Kansas City area. She was very entertaining, her voice sounds as good live as on CD and she seemed to be enjoying her visit to the city. Sheryl has girlfriends in the area and has stayed in touch through her celebrity. She seems like a Midwestern girl returning home.

You notice alot of small details that you would never pick up further back in the audience. Like Sheryl Crows percussionist had a silver teapot windchime he used for one of her songs! I was excited because I make them.

Must to my dismay, Sheryl once again brought up her very public engagement and then break up with Lance Armstrong during the concert. I was hoping she had recovered from the heartbreak, but it just takes time. Sometimes alot of it. Lance has moved onto Kate Hudson apparently. What a guy....

Sheryl looks as great as ever, is a survior of not only failed relationships, but breast cancer. She is tough and that's why she continues to delight her fans. One thing she doesn't share in common with Lance Armstrong.

This is Wyatt, the new man in Sheryl's life. She adopted her new son this year and she looks so comfortable with him. I love the hats.>

Ella Fitzgerald - The First Lady of Song

This week I changed the background music on my blog to one of my favorite female vocalists, Ella Fitzgerald. Please listen to this rendition of "Summertime" a duet with Louis Armstrong, another one of my favorites. I miss the music of this era, even though it was before my time, I adore it.

Miss Ella is timeless and an inspiration to me while I work in my studio. Her voice soothes me and I disappear into the music and my art. I suppose it is a form of meditation to me. I finish my work in the studio refreshed and relaxed. Much like gardening in the warmer months, my art is therapy and doesn't seem like work at all. Hours pass quickly, and I look up from my work and admire my handiwork. I am sometimes surprised at how much I have accomplished in what seemed like moments.

I hope you enjoy the varied handcrafts we have been producing over the last few weeks for the upcoming show. Lavender sachets, lots of mosaics, jewelry, decoupaged hearts, glass totems, wire work, and so much more. I love them all and I hope you will too.

In the meantime, please pick up a CD of Ella Fitzgerald and let her voice sweep you away on these cold winter days...

Birth name: Ella Jane Fitzgerald
Also known as: First Lady of Song; Lady Ella
Born: April 25, 1917(1917-04-25)Newport News, Virginia, U.S.
Died: June 15, 1996 (aged 79)Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Genre(s): Ballads, swing, traditional pop, vocal jazz
Years in Music Industry: 1934-1993
Label(s): Capitol, Decca, Pablo, Reprise, Verve
Website: http://www.ellafitzgerald.com/

Source: www.wikipedia.com

Flaming Lips at the Uptown

I recently went to a Flaming Lips concert at the Uptown Theatre with my son, Chris. He is 25 and has been sharing music with me since he was 8 years old. He has introduced me to String Cheese Incident, Les Claypool, and recently the Flaming Lips.

After a quick dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant we were headed downtown to the Uptown Theatre.

I knew this was going to be a unique experience when the roadies began handing out lazer pointers to every person in the crowd before the show began. Aren't lazer pointers frowned upon and banned in some venues?

I pointed to the balcony that was filled with large orange beach balls that were about three feet in diameter. Chris smiled and said that they would soon be falling onto the crowd below. Really? This was going to be fun.

The crowd was primarily of my son's generation with a few of us older gals speckled throughout the crowd. We had the same expressions on our face. Anticipation, bewilderment, and delight. Alot of the veterans were blowing up tangerine balloons and throwing them below into the crowd.

Wayne Coyne, the front man for the Flaming Lips climbed into a large clear sphere and his crew pushed him off the stage into the crowd. He walked, crawled and rolled around the lower level of the theatre being supported literally by his enthusiastic fans. This was awesome!

Once back on stage the show picked up speed and it was a thrilling ride. Everyone was on their feet singing along with the band knowing each song word for word.

On one side of the stage were girls dressed up like Santa Claus dancing with flashlights. On the other side of the stage, girls dressed up like aliens dancing with flashlights. The stage was covered with props. A video screen behind the group at one point featured Richard Simmons "sweating to the oldies" in his trademark red and white striped shorts. He seemed to be dancing along with the music as the band played.

The Flaming Lips perform with a grand sense of humor, have a gift for crowd interaction, and promote good will.

The lazer pointers blazed, the tangerine beach balls bounced from hand to hand and confetti fluttered into the crowd below. It was a combination of New Year's Eve, Mardi Grais, and Halloween. Some of the crowd came in alien costumes, as mustard and ketchup bottles, etc. Their fans are loyal, enthusiastic and exuberant. The crowd is as much fun to watch as the performers. It was a good group and I told my son Chris that his generation is such a nice group of people. He smiled and said that they weren't all like that. They never are....

Later in the performance glow sticks were thrown out to the crowd and purple sticks now flew with the tangerine beach balls, yellow confetti, and red lazer pointers. What a spectacle. This was great!



Wayne Coyne would stop the music and his image would pop up on the big screen from the mini cam on his microphone. The crowd would go silent and Wayne would share his sage advice with his fans. Like be kind to one another. Be enthusiastic in your life. He commended the members of the audience that came in costume saying that it's the things we didn't have enough courage to try or do that cause us regret.

Kay Barnes, former Mayor of Kansas City presented the Flaming Lips with a key to the city. I thought this was an odd bit of trivia but maybe it had to do with the message the Lips give to their fans.

Like you can't control the world but you can control what you do. If you are unhappy with the world make a difference by exercising your right to vote.



Last, he held up a bugle and explained why it had a speaker in the bell. The bugle was developed during the Viet Nam War due to the number of military funerals that require the song "taps". There were not enough musicians that could play "taps" so the bugle with the song built in was invented. You push down the valve the song begins to play from a recording built inside. Wayne explained why the bugle was developed and that it is again being used now in the current war. He asked that the current generation make a difference so that this type of instrument would not be necessary in the future.

Their song "Ya ya ya ya" has become a political statement song among their fans.

If you could blow up the world with the flick of a switch
Would you do it?
(Ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya)
If you could make everybody poor just so you could be rich
Would you do it?
(Ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya)
If you could watch everybody work while you just lay on your back
Would you do it?
(Ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya)
If you could take all the love without giving any back
Would you do it?
(Ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya)
And so we cannot know ourselves
Or what we'd really do
With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?
With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?

For me it caused me to reflect on how I use my power and this led me to sponsor the Turner House Organization at our recent Gypsy Festival. Do I use enough of my power for bettering my community, helping those in need, sowing good seeds? I think we can all make a difference by realizing that we have power in the first place and then choosing ways to use that power wisely.

It occurred to me that this type of entertainment is perfect for my son's generation as they grew up playing video games. Images flashing across the screen, lively music and a little boy sitting in front of the television with a controller in hand with fingers rapidly moving the controls. This concert was very much like that. Very visually entertaining, great music and a crowd interacting with the band and each other. The band never stopped performing, the balls never stopped bouncing, the confetti fluttered and Wayne would pick up a streamer gun periodically and shoot streamers into the air toward the ceiling.


I encourage you to step outside your routine and venture out to a Flaming Lips concert. You will never forget it and you will leave pondering how a man of our generation has taped into our children's generation by using great music, old fashioned showmanship, and a youthful playfulness. My son calls him the hardest working man in the business as Wayne creates alot of his own props in his garage in between tours.