Category Archives: music

Music

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CD mixes -- The SmithereensMy husband is the best CD mixer ever. I think it stems from his CD mixes -- Art Garfunkelwide-ranging curiosity about all things pop culture. He’s open to every music genre and has an encyclopedic knowledge of who recorded what and when, where and with whom. He even made tape mixes back in the olden days — not easy! But now he’s got CDs and computers and iTunes and he comes up with some brilliant mixes. (In fact, five years later people still say that the mix he created for our wedding favors was the best. Ever.) So you can guess what my Valentine’s present was: A lovely, lovely mix of some beautifully quirky love songs. Like The Smithereens’ “A Girl Like You” and Art Garfunkel’s “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever).” There’s also “Message of Love” by The Pretenders, “This and That” from Michael Penn,Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris’s “This Is Us” and some Fleetwood Mac, Bruce Springsteen and Van Morrison plus a song I’ve never heard, “Renaissance Eyes” by Don Dixon. This CD is a keeper. My husband, too.

Bonnaroo

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bruce_springsteenOh my gosh, y’all. Bruce Springsteen is going to be in my backyard this June. Well, my bonnaroodayparents’ backyard, really. And actually not their backyard at all, but at least in my hometown of Manchester, Tennessee. That’s where the four-day music festival Bonnaroo is on a 700-acre farm every second weekend in June. Bonnaroo started in 2002 as a jam-band gathering and now tens of thousands of fans jam the festival grounds to hear some of music’s best. The first couple years, my dad’s Rotary club helped out with parking. Now, my parents usually head out of town when it’s Bonnaroo time, although the crowds generally don’t overflow to Manchester proper. And I am sort of kind of somewhat seriously thinking of trying maybe to go this year, although tickets are at least $250 (am I the only one who remembers when concert tickets were less than $25???) and it’s hot and that’s my fifth wedding anniversary weekend and I could probably talk my husband into a really nice evening out instead. Hmm …

Perfume

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perfumeI am in love with this perfume. Why had I never heard of it before? Why have y’all been rich-hippiehiding this from me? I saw the name “Rich Hippie” in the window of a new boutique that recently opened in downtown Florence, Alabama, and was immediately, like, “That is so me, really,” although I was with my husband and he pointed out that I am neither rich nor a hippie and am, in fact, a middle-aged suburban grandma who watches secretly watches Oprah. Not groovy. So the next day I ditched him and made it in to the store, Grassroots, by myself. After sampling four or five different Rich Hippie scents, I settled on Bohemian Wedding: “Chic, romantic, earthy floral with notes of Sumatran Patchouli and Italian citrus.” Yes, indeedy. “Wow, you really are a hippie if that’s the one you like the best,” the store owner said, admiringly. Or maybe that was just respect in her voice for One So Old. Hard to tell. I didn’t tell her, however, that I missed out on the late 1960s-early 1970s Flower Child-era by a few years. I could have been a great hippie and I so wanted to be, but my parents made me go to bed by 8 p.m. — 9 p.m. when I got a little older. And by the time I got old enough to embrace hippie-dom, everyone had gone all corporate and instead of love-ins we went to discos. Sigh.

concertI just realized I bought this Rich Hippie perfume on the 40th anniversary of the Beatles’ rooftop “Let It Be” concert. In concert-crowdfact I bought it as I walked back from a recreated homage of that concert a group of local musicians performed on the rooftop of our downtown drugstore.  Most of us watched down below from an alley. Matt McKean, the photo editor at our local daily newspaper, the TimesDaily, took these pics. (Go to www.timesdaily.com to see more.) In the crowd shot, I’m in the lower right-hand corner — well, half of me is — in a light blue jacket just above a woman in a black jacket. It was cold but great fun, even though I wasn’t wearing my Rich Hippie then. But I think I will from now on. If you want to get in touch with your inner Rich Hippie, go to http://www.rich-hippie.com/.

Christmas Music

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20051Christmas in our family kicks off with the annual hunt for the Christmas CDs — which I found this year, strangely enough, in the look-through-these-and-get-rid-of-what-you-don’t-want box of discs slated for giveaway. Some years they’re in with the tree ornaments, some years they’re wrapped up in the stockings and one year I even found them with the Easter decorations. But we always find them. And am I glad, because we love these CDs. I am not a music critic — proved by the fact that I remember every word of the Monkees’ “Daydream Believer” and most 1970s TV jingles — but I do know that my family’s favorite Christmas CDs are some of the best around. And it’s not hard to find them in stores, at least: Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret always offer stellar collections, as do Pier One and Starbucks. Really! You just thought those CDs were at the cash registers to spur you into another impulse buy, didn’t you? Give in to the impulse. You’ll be glad you did. I especially am impressed with these collections because they feature such a variety of artists and styles, with some beloved classics as well as up-and-comers. Here are some of our top choices from years past (find them on amazon.com and other sites):

  • “The Perfect Christmas — Holiday Music 2005” from Bath & Body Works is a two-disc set (we immediately lost the bonus four-song Paige Armstrong third disc). Standout tracks include Melissa Etheridge’s “Christmas in America” and Barenaked Ladies’ “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” as well as reflective and soulful versions of “Song for a Winter’s Night” by Sarah McLachlan and “River” by Rachael Yamagata.
  • “Christmas Eve/Christmas Morning Holiday Music” from Victoria’s Secret, 2005, is essential for our family Christmas. We’ve spent many hours in the car during holiday travel/shopping belting out Cyndi Lauper’s “Feels Like Christmas” and Fountains of Wayne’s “I Want an Alien for Christmas.” And Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews’ “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is the five-star version of this pop icon.
  • “The Perfect Christmas — Holiday Music 2006” from Bath & Body Works is another must-have. Highlights are The Pussycat Dolls’ sexy “Santa Baby,” Rob Thomas’s matchless “A New York Christmas” and The Click Five’s rockin’ “My Girlfriend (Forgot Me This Christmas).”
  • Any of the six “A Very Special Christmas” albums released from 1987 to 2003 to benefit Special Olympics with music superstars such as Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Bon Jovi, Madonna, No Doubt and Stevie Nicks. Each one is a gem.

Elvis Under Glass

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Elvis lives! Well, sort of. Fiber artist Martha Beadle, of Florence, Ala., created this whimsical and absolutely wonderful collage of our favorite Tupelo, Miss., native. Martha uses fabric snippets, embroidery and embellishments such as beads and buttons to tell stories that may be inspired by a favorite line of poetry, a family memory or just something that catches her eye. And, of course, Elvis caught mine.  I saw him at a local arts and crafts show, and when Martha said she had taken him to a show in Tupelo but nobody bought him — in Tupelo! — I knew he was meant to come live with us. Photos do not do him — or any of Martha’s works — justice. Every time you look at one of her collages, you can find something different. I am especially in love with Elvis’s red satin pants here and his jewelry. Fabulous! Take a close-up look at her works at her Web site, http://www.marthasneedleeccentricities.com/home.html.

An Epic Read

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Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon were among the women singers/songwriters whose music defined a generation: the hippie baby-boomers coming of age in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Sheila Weller’s book, “Girls Like Us,” explores the trio’s intertwining lives and how their successes changed the music industry. It’s a fascinating look at these women’s beginnings, their personal and professional struggles and the men who inspired them (although not always for the good). It’s also an homage to the rise of feminism and the fast-track advances in women’s rights from one decade to the next. Sounds like a must-read, right? Well, maybe. It’s long — more than 500 pages — detailed and peppered with references and observations that do nothing to move the story along. Also, Weller writes with interminably long sentences, relies on distracting hyphens and parentheses and can’t disguise an annoying sort of exclusionary elitist attitude that’s prejudicial and unattractive. For example, she believes that the only smart and progressive women found in America in the early1960s were at the elite Northeastern women’s colleges. Really? Hmmm … That’s just one instance of Weller’s biased and insider approach. But, that being said, I’m glad I read this book. If you’ve ever belted out Simon’s “You’re So Vain,” if King’s “Tapestry” is on your best-album-ever list or if a mellow mood sends you to Mitchell’s “Clouds,” this is the book for you. But if you like quick reads and straightforward writing, it’s not.

Box Supper

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This was the yummy picnic we concert-goers got Thursday night at the outdoor performance Sounds at Sundown in Florence, Ala. Ensembles from the Shoals Symphony at UNA (University of North Alabama) performed in the backyard of the Rosenbaum House, the only structure in the state designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. And as good as the music was, you know food always gets my full attention. This tasted as good as it looked, and it’s exactly the way I like to eat: small bites of lots of different things. Here’s what was packed so elegantly into our beribboned boxes: Pasta and vegetable salad, crackers, fresh grapes and a lovely strawberry, stuffed olive (olives in a cheese-straw-like dough), two miniature round crustless sandwiches (with maybe

My friends Henry and Sarah Gaede enjoy music, food and good company at Sounds at Sundown.

My friends Henry and Sarah Gaede enjoy music, food and good company at Sounds at Sundown.

chicken and some other salad?), two small meat-and-cheese wraps, a petit four and a cheese trio of pecan-crusted cheese ball, cheese-stuffed grape tomato and a bite of spicy and peppery jack cheese. Lovely! I’m always happy at any event when the food is from Rhoda P’s Catering Service in Florence — she always, without fail, does a stellar job. We also got bottled water and you could buy glasses of wine.

If you haven’t been to the Rosenbaum house, go. Now. This treasure has been lovingly restored and is fascinating. I know very little about Frank Lloyd Wright and even less about architecture, but I’m amazed at Wright’s talent and vision every time I visit. Every inch of every space is functional and organic and so stylish is an elegantly spare way. Visit http://www.wrightinalabama.com/ to learn more.

Elizabethtown

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For most critics, the soundtrack to Cameron Crowe’s “Elizabethtown” (2005) was a far, far better thing that the movie itself. I remember sitting through the Kentucky homecoming/Western road trip/journey of self-discovery film determined to watch Elf Boy to the bitter end (and can we all agree that Orlando Bloom is adorably cute but only at his best when surrounded by hobbits and/or pirates?) and making a mental note to get the soundtrack. And you know how useful mental notes are: Not very. Anyway, fast forward three years, and my brother serendipitously gives me the soundtrack for my birthday. Eureka! It’s wonderful, simply wonderful — better than I remembered. You’ve got Elton John, Tom Petty, Lindsey Buckingham, Nancy Wilson, My Morning Jacket, The Hollies and others with these deeply evocative and authentically rooted songs, including a hauntingly beautiful rendition of Stephen Foster’s 1855 ballad “Hard Times” by folk-rock duo Eastmountainsouth. Go to amazon.com to sample or to add to your collection.