Turning Points » Music

Iris Dement

Jeff — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 01:02:15 +0000

I never heard of Iris Dement before, but this song really speaks to our present predicament. The first 30 seconds or so of the video is shaky, but after that it’s O.K. In 1997, Forida State senator John Grant, after hearing the song played on public radio station WMNF in Tampa, got a $104,000 grant pulled. In two days, the stations’ loyal fans raised $122,000. If you’d like to listen to WMNF, click on this link.
I’ve read that this song is WMNF’s anthem, so to speak. It was written in 1996, but the message is as relevant as ever. Even more so, now that the selfishness of the Republican Party is on full display.

For more on Iris Dement, visit her website.

Desiderata

Jeff — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:25:20 +0000

I recently had occasion to painfully recall the line, “Especially, do not feign affection”, from the well-known poem Desiderata, which was very popular in the late 1960s and which achieved even more popularity when the talk-show host, Les Crane, recorded it in 1971. I couldn’t find a video of it that I liked enough to post, so if you would like to listen to Les Crane’s recording of it, follow the link. When I was in college in the late 1960s, the origins of the poem, allegedly written in 1692, puzzled everyone. Thank goodness for the Internet! It was written by Max Ehrmann in 1927.

Update 12/05/2010: Reader Joe submitted the following link for a very nice video of Desiderata. Thanks, Joe!

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be careful.
Strive to be happy.

Leonard Cohen’s Anthem

Jeff — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:46:55 +0000

Leonard Cohen’s famous song, Anthem, has the oft-quoted line, “There is a crack, a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” We would all benefit if we took his words to heart.

Morning Has Broken

Jeff — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 20:40:34 +0000

I went to church this morning. Paging through the hymnal, I was surprised to see “Morning Has Broken”, a song I always associated with Cat Stevens, who has since changed his name to Yusuf Islam. The song has always been one of my favorites, but I didn’t know that it was a religious hymn. It was written by Elizabeth Farjeon in 1931 as a child’s poem and is properly known as “A Morning Song (For the First Day of Spring)”. It was set to the tune of “Bunessan”, a traditional Gaelic tune that was collected by Alexander Fraser in the 19th century. The piano arrangement is by Rick Wakeman, of the band Yes.

Slideshow by Michael P. Flaherty

A Morning Song (For the First Day of Spring)

by Elizabeth Farjeon

Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the word

Sweet the rain’s new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall, on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where his feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God’s recreation of the new day

Summertime in Floyd

Jeff — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:54:35 +0000

I haven’t disappeared – I’ve been on vacation! I left for Floyd on June 23 and stopped at the Greek restaurant just outside of Willis for a gyro before getting into Floyd around 1 p.m. I found that the owner of the restaurant had sold it and opened a new restaurant in Hillsville. But the new management still serves gyros and they are as tasty (and messy) as ever! If you’ve never had one, you should venture on down there (it’s only about 7 miles south of the traffic light on 221) and try one.

After resting up for an hour or so, I met June, of Spatter, at El Charro and we had a great time, chatting up a storm and learning more about each other. June’s partner, Judy, had been in town, so she stopped by with Shaynee and introduced me to her. I had read a lot about Shaynee’s struggles with Cushing’s disease on Spatter, but I didn’t really know what the disease was, so it was good to learn that the disease is manageable by paying close attention to diet and avoiding placing Shaynee in stressful situations. June and I are both about the same age and are both from South Florida, so we remember a South Florida that was slower and prettier than it now is. We had never met in person – just through blog comments and some short off-line e-mails, so it was really great to meet June, Judy, and Shaynee in person! I had a wonderful time!

We met again later in the week, at the Friday Nite Jamboree, and all of us sampled different pizzas at Dogtown Pizza, a portable wood-fired-oven pizza from a couple of great pizza makers out of Copper Hill, VA:

After the Friday Nite Jamboree got going, Dogtown Pizza was doing a great business. I should have taken a picture later, but it was jammed with hungry folks and you couldn’t see the oven or the young lady selling the pizzas!

Here is a shot of the crowd in front of the Floyd Country Store:

Groups of musicians play on the sidewalk in areas built specifically for them. The improvements were financed by a recent community development grant and the results are much safer for the musicians, who used to perform on the sides of South Locust Street. Mike Mitchell, who is playing the fiddle here, is one of my favorite musicians. Check out his music on his website.

Because I was so busy, I never made it to the Country Store to buy his latest CD – I’ll have to order it on-line, like lots of other folks. Mike has a great voice and plays a mean fiddle!

Amy Carol Webb

Jeff — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 22:37:21 +0000

I’m going to a house concert tonight at Palm Lodge, a house built out of Dade County pine in 1912 and a designated historical landmark. After the closing of Main Street Cafe in Homestead three years ago, my friends opened their house as a venue for concerts as a way of keeping the musical community in the area together. Tonight, the performer is Amy Carol Webb, a very well known folk singer from Broward County. I hope she sings her anthem, Stand! tonight – if not, I’ll put in a special request!

Amy Carol Webb has a website, of course, where you can order merchandise. She also has a MySpace page where you can listen to some of her artistry.

Update: Amy sang Stand!, all right and with great audience participation. Amy is really good with audiences and all of us had a great time! Thanks, Amy!

I Can See Clearly Now

Jeff — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:34:47 +0000

This is one of my all-time favorite songs and I think it is very appropriate to listen to it again, after the first days of the Obama administration. No, not all is perfect, but what a difference, eh?

Update 12/05/2010: I was looking at my visitor logs and found that someone had read this post. When I went to it, I found that the video had been removed from YouTube because the account had been deleted. So I found a new video – this is still one of my all time favorite songs, but I do think that my optimism was misguided at the time that I posted this. Who could have foreseen the mess that we are now in? Hope, it seems, does spring eternal.

Clouds on the Horizon

Jeff — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 21:39:29 +0000

I’ve been pre-occupied with some personal issues that I can’t elaborate on at the moment, but perhaps this classic, from The Kingston Trio, will help you understand my lack of activity recently.

I’m hopeful that the sun will start shining once again in the near future.

Imagine

Jeff — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 04:17:17 +0000

A Generational Anthem

Jeff — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 23:11:37 +0000

In years past, a family tradition was to play Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant Thanksgiving Day Massacre every year at Thanksgiving, much to my younger brother’s dislike. Perhaps that is because the song is only truly appreciated by someone who was “of age” during the late 1960s when the the threat of being drafted into the Army and sent to Vietnam was on every young man’s mind. At any rate, for those of you who are of that age, here it is:

Alice’s Restaurant