New song from Sara Bareillis. I like the song, I like the video, I like the sentiment:
Who cares if you disagree/You are not me/Who made you king of anything?/ So you dare tell me who to be/Who died and made you king of anything?
Who hasn’t dated a guy like that??? Good riddance!!! (BTW, Sara, who is known for the hit song “Love Song”, actually has other songs on the “Little Voices” CD I like better (“City”, “Gravity”).
Archive for the ‘Music’ Category
Beware: morbid story below
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010I finally had a chance to glance through the newspaper the other day and I read this horrible story about a man who jumped from a roof onto the stage where a band I like, The Swell Season, was playing in Saratoga, Calif. last week. The suicidal man, out on bail for a variety of offenses, landed a few feet from where singer/songwriter Glen Hansard had just finished the song “When Your Mind’s Made Up”. Ugh! How awful for everyone involved!! Here’s a link to a news story if you really need to know more: http://www.themoneytimes.com/featured/20100823/onstage-suicide-concertgoer-jumps-his-death-swell-season-show-id-10125505.html
What’s their secret??
Sunday, August 8th, 2010
Before the kids, my husband and I would see the orchestra perform at Blossom once or twice a summer. I would look at the people who had their kids with them and hoped that when I was a parent, this was something we could do with our kids, too. I figured if we started when the kids were really young, they would learn from an early age how to behave at something like this. Well, we had kids and started taking them to Blossom at an early age (it’s actually one of their favorite activities of summer). But their behavior, though normal kid stuff, isn’t exactly what I had envisioned. And it keeps my husband and I from being able to actually listen and enjoy a concert. So we go without them most of the time. And last Saturday night we sat by a couple with a young boy and girl who behaved perfectly the entire time. It was disgusting. I couldn’t stop staring at them. Last night my husband and I went and again sat by these people. Again, the kids were just abnormally cute and perfect. At one point they were blowing bubbles and looked just like a commercial. Apparently the Blossom photographer thought so too, because he walked by, saw them in their bubble bliss and took about 50 photos of them. I don’t know what their secret is, but I think I need to sit somewhere else next time.
I don’t know a whole lot about classical music …
Monday, August 2nd, 2010… but I do know that the sounds The Cleveland Orchestra make on a summer night at Blossom Music Center are sweet and perfect. I can’t imagine anything sounding more divine. Cleveland may not have viable championship sports teams, but we are lucky enough to have one of the best orchestras in the world.
The Avett Brothers: a new musical find
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010I’m hooked on their songs “I and Love and You” and “Head full of doubt/road full of dreams”. I have only heard them on 91.3 the Summit. I guess they’re an “alt country” band. I don’t know what that means, but I know this doesn’t sound like any country I’ve ever heard. I don’t know about their other songs, but I’m really digging these. (P.S. They are opening for John Mayer on August 13 at Blossom at 7 p.m. Doesn’t it figure it’s the same night as my opening reception at the Massillon Museum of Art!)
Consider yourself warned
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010If you find “Christmas in July” as annoying as I do, steer clear of 102.1 this Sunday. They’ll be playing holiday music the entire day. Eek.
Not the VH1 of our youth
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010I remember when MTV first came out. The all music video format was so successful it was followed by a sister channel, VH1, which was more mellow and parent-friendly. Fast-forward to 2010. We don’t have cable, but the TVs above the exercise equipment at the Nat do. I don’t think of myself as a prude, but when I looked up from the treadmill to see what was on the TVs, OMG! The videos by Miley Cyrus (“Can’t be tamed”), who is not even 18, Lady Gaga (“Alejandro”) and Christina Aguilera (“Not Myself Tonight”) totally shocked and appalled me. When I searched the Internet to see if the Aguilera video was controversial or not (I was hoping it was and not just the norm nowadays), I saw that on YouTube you have to say you’re 18 to be able to view it. What does that tell you?? That VH1 shows X-rated music videos now??
On a different note, I was surprised to see that Akron’s own Black Keys’ video “Tighen Up” made VH1’s Top 20. Unfortunately, that video was very disturbing to me also. I’m going to go back living in my cave now, thank you very much.
“Seeing Green” in more ways than one
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010
Artists can be as “green” as anyone else: for proof, check out the Artists Archives of the Western Reserves’ upcoming juried show, “Seeing Green: Creating Art in an Era of Sustainability.” Two of my new “FoUNd & Fresh” pieces were accepted into the show (yay!): That Girl and Missed Again, so my husband and I are planning to be at the opening reception this Friday, June 11 from 5-8 (regular gallery hours are W-F 10-4 and Saturdays 12-4, 1834 E. 123rd St.) The gallery is a stone’s throw away from the heart of University Circle, so before the opening, my husband and I are going to try to do the “A Little Afternoon Music” thing at the Cleveland Botanical Garden. Every Friday until August 27 from 2-5 you can enjoy live music, made-to-order sushi (not for me, but my husband will be thrilled!) and a cash bar on the patio (unless it rains, then they’ll move the shindig indoors). I’m looking forward to it! Those outdoor gardens are a slice of heaven!
UPDATE: Yesterday my husband and I did get to catch “A little afternoon music” at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens, and it was a slice of heaven. The only problem was that we were only there a little more than an hour. My husband had never been to the outdoor gardens, and it was tough choosing between sitting on the patio listening to the fine sounds of Larry Hancock, or taking in the beauty of the gardens. We did both, not doing justice to either, but something is still better than nothing. I loved watching the people in the audience enjoy the music, the gardens, each other … and just being alive. 
Afterward, my husband and I went to the opening reception of the “Seeing Green” exhibit. The show was really good and I was very proud to be a part of it. I met some of the other artists, and quickly became a fan of Tiffany Laufer, an author and award-winning filmmaker. She wrote a wonderful children’s book called “Porch Dreams” about a dog who lives his dreams and even learns to recycle — how could you not like her? 
(bellaboobooks.com)
John Mayer is another example …
Monday, June 7th, 2010of people who personally may be jerks, but professionally do a pretty amazing job. Some of his lyrics jump out at me every time I heard some of his songs, like in
“Clarity”
By the time I recognize this moment
This moment will be gone
“Wheel”
And airports
See it all the time
Where someone’s last goodbye
Blends in with someone’s sigh
Cause someone’s coming home
In hand a single rose
or from “Split Screen Sadness”:
So I’ll check the weather wherever you are
Cause I wanna know if you can see the stars tonight
and
I called
Because
I just
Need to feel you on the line
I guess they make more sense when you hear them in the song. Anyhow, the point is, sometimes because I can’t stand the person, I can’t go beyond that to be open-minded about their work. You know how you won’t go to a movie sometimes because you just can’t stand the actor or actress who’s starring in it? But in other situations, it doesn’t bother me. With no rhyme or reason. One thing I know: John Mayer writes some pretty good songs.
Is there a message here?
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010The last time I saw my doctor (a woman, married, mother of three) and we talked about the challenges of parenthood, she mentioned something like “You know, I just learned that suicide was one of the leading causes of death among pioneer women”. Then the other day she told me, “Did you know Valium was the #1 prescribed drug for women in the ’60s; that’s where the Rolling Stones song, Mother’s Little Helper * ( … she goes running for the shelter of her mother’s little helper … ) comes from.” Mind you, her daughters are older and she’s really enjoying a whole new phase of parenthood with them, so it’s not like she’s dropping hints about how she feels now. It’s just an admission that parenthood is hard, has always been hard, and always will be hard. Period.
*http://www.lyricsfreak.com/r/rolling+stones/mothers+little+helper_20117873.html (If you get a chance, read the lyrics. I’ve heard the song a hundred times but never knew what all the lyrics were until I just read them. Very interesting, 40 years later.)