NanciNet Digest 8-14-01
// A list member gets lucky in Austin...
// More reaction to the new CD...
// And more...Enjoy! [BP]
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: NN: Austin City Limit report
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 22:26:04 -0700 (PDT)
From: Tom Overton (thomasmoverton@yahoo.com>
I just got home from the Nanci's Austin City Limits
taping. I am too buzzed to sleep from it, so I'll do
my report now. They said that this show will air in
November along with Mary Chapin Carpenter. Keep a
look out for it then...
I can't believe how much Lady Luck smiled upon me for
this show. As I showed up at the KLRU studios to see
if there were any stand by tickets left an ACL staffer
came out and gave me a regular ticket. Since I was
there early I got to sit up front at a table. Right
in front of Nanci!! It was the closest I have sat of
ANY Nanci concert.
Nanci, as usual, was gorgeuos. The only member of the
blue moon orchestra that I did not see was Lee
Satterfield. Nanci was in great spirits and was
obviously enjoying herself.
Nanci mixed good old favorites in with the new songs
in her set list. Here is the set list she performed:
Great Divide
Flyer
Guif Coast Highway
Clock Without Hands
Wall of Death
Midnight in Missoula
Pearls Eye View
Where Would I Be Without You
Traveling Through This Part Of You
And for her finale she brought out her seven year old
grand-nephew Dakota for "If I Had A Hammer". Dakota
played along on the guitar and was really good.
Being down front, and maybe because I was (very
quietly) singing along, I was getting some eye contact
from Nanci. I basked in her smile. I was lifted yet
again by her voice. I cried some as she sang Great
Divide and Gulf Coast Highway, two of my favorite
songs.
This concert will live in my heart for many years.
Thank you Nanci for coming back to Austin!
Blissfully, Tom O
=====
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Subject: NN: Re: Austin City Limit report
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 08:20:22 -0400
From: "David Begley" (begleyd3@home.com>
Sounds like a great concert. I can't wait for it to be on TV.
When I first heard Nanci back in 1992-1993 or so, she happened to be coming
to my town for a radio show called Mountain Stage. Since I had just heard
of her, I naively showed up to see her, only to find out that there were no
tickets left. But someone saw me walking away and had an extra ticket and I
ended up in the center of the 3rd row. She was doing songs from the Other
Voices, Other Rooms CD, and as you would expect, some of those songs are
still my favorites.
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: NN: Listening To The Radio
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 20:41:20 +0100
From: "Mike Barrett" (mikebarrettuk@hotmail.com>
I've only just got around to listening to last Thursday's Bob Harris show on
Radio 2, when his special guest was of course Nanci. Thanks to whoever
posted the information about this appearance.
She had about 20 minutes on the programme - there was a good interview, two
nicely performed live songs ("Clock Without Hands" and "Travelling
Through This Part Of You"), and the segment ended with the album version of
"Where Would I Be".
At the beginning of the interview, which took place a couple of weeks back,
Bob said that Nanci had had a fall a little while earlier - down a flight of
concrete stairs - and that her arm was in a sling. But she'd said that she
was determined to play, took the sling off, picked up her guitar and did
just that. A super trouper!
Mike Barrett
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Subject: NN: Re: Listening To The Radio
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 19:26:46 +0100
From: "Rick" (rick.bond@ntlworld.com>
> I've only just got around to listening to last
> Thursday's Bob Harris show on
> Radio 2, when his special guest was of course Nanci.
(lurk off)
this broadcast has just been posted to usenet in:
alt.binaries.sounds.country.mp3
alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.2000s
good rip, too - from digital radio.
Rick
(lurk on)
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Subject: NN: Armstrong
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 10:17:13 +0200
From: "Hans Janssen" (hjanssen@zeelandnet.nl>
Hi all,
When I read on the list, before I got the CD, that Armstrong is one of the
tracks on CWH I thought it was Nanci's tribute to Lance..................
met vriendelijke groeten,
Hans Janssen.
http://listen.to/Tish
http://folktrade.da.ru
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Subject: Re: NN: Armstrong
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 18:59:15 EDT
From: DickFile@aol.com
(( Armstrong is one of the tracks on CWH I thought
it was Nanci's tribute to Lance..................>>
I thought is was a tribute to Louis.
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: RE: NN: Armstrong
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 10:38:41 -0400
From: "Panchyshyn,Roman" (panchysr@oclc.org>
What about Jack, the All-American boy?
Roman from Ohio
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Subject: NN: Clock Without Hands (UK perspective)
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 01 17:01:57 +0100
From: John Edward Graveling (kai21@dial.pipex.com>
Having spent the last three weeks in the USA, on my annual road trip, I
have been out of the loop, so to speak. Now that I have my feet back on
the ground and I have had the opportunity to catch up with all the 'chat'
here there are a few comments I would like to add.
I was in San Diego the day CWH was released, but I found the cd easily
and on sale at $13.99 in Wherehouse Entertainment, where I also bought
"Time (The Revelator)" by Gillian Welch, at the same price. Later that
day both cd's were in Borders although Gillian Welch had an additional
dollar off.
I returned to the hotel pool with my personal cd player and listened
intently, as the southern Californian sun blazed down. My first
impressions were favourable. A good record, without quite being the
'classic' Nanci record I had anticipated through all the pre-release
hype. On returning to England on Friday I have also caught up with the
press, and the daily newspapers were fulsome in their praise, as indeed
was CMP (the leading Country publication), it gave CWH 5/5 and concluded,
"CWH is a powerful, emotive album, a genuine re-awakening of the spirit.
Not only is it an album that refuses to be categorised, it is a major
milestone in the recording career of Nanci Griffith". The review does
state in it's early paragraphs that "according to griffith, with the
passage of time she lost something of the passion that used to inspire
her". The review is a good insight and very well written and obviously
draws on the writers knowledge and research.
Interestingly the Gillian Welch cd, is a goodie, but received very mixed
reviews in Music City (Nashville, for the uninitiated). The Tennessean
newspaper called it her career record, something she is unlikely to
surpass, however one of the local music guides was less impressed saying
it lost focus and a number of songs, "Red Clay Halo", "I Want To Sing
That Rock'n'Roll" and "Elvis Presley Blues" were either weak, or out of
place in this collection of material. So there you have it, as I always
maintain, "one man's meat..."
I had the privilege of receiving access all areas passes for Lucinda
Williams gig in San Diego. It was a night to remember on many levels, but
most importantly musically. Lucinda played the longest set she has ever
played, some 2 hours 40 minutes. the sound and venue, 4th and B were
great, as was the crowd. Her band is the best I have seen her with, and
that is saying something, as I have seen her three times previously, each
time with a different band. Jim Lauderdale opened and was his usual
eclectic self, and he did manage to convince me to book his next UK tour.
My little booking agency, aimed at bringing the talented under-current of
Nashville writers to the UK is certainly burgeoning. It has been my aim
to bring musicians and writers across the pond to get exposure for their
music, to a crowd who would probably never get the opportunity to hear
these wonderful talents. The big time promoters are no longer interested
in taking a chance, they have become like the major labels, cocooned in
their own straight jackets. I can now, proudly, list Suzi Ragsdale, Joy
Lynn White, Rod Picott (co-writer of "Broke Down" with Slaid Cleaves, and
"Gettin' To Me" with Fred Eaglesmith), Chelle Rose, John Jorgenson, as
well as those already doing the business on this side of the pond, Jeff
Finlin (with his major label deal here in the UK, thanks to his two UK
tours in the past year), Kevin Montgomery, Bob Cheevers, Doug Pettibone
and Pat Buchanan. Pat took me into the studio to watch sessions being
recorded and what an experience that turned out to be. Met ace writers
Bob DiPiero and Kostas and a whole host of unbelievably talented
musicians. Nashville just has to be the friendliest city on this planet,
wonderful people, with great stories to tell, no egos, just people trying
to ply their trade and get their music heard, and like me "doing it for
the music", is there really any other reason?
John Graveling
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: NN: American radio and TV
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 01 18:33:37 +0100
From: John Edward Graveling (kai21@dial.pipex.com>
Well having spent three weeks in the good ol' USA, I managed to see
Lucinda Williams on the Leno Show, but missed Nanci on Letterman. I had
seen Lucinda on Letterman a while ago. Of the two I much prefer Jay Leno
as he takes himself a lot less seriously than Dave!! For me Letterman is
too full of his own importance and too much of an egotist. But that is
purely a personal opinion. I am sure others will differ, and I do not
have to watch one or the other here in the UK. What is noticeable is how
the humour does not always transcend itself to these ears. A lot of
humour, in my opinion, does not travel well and what a lot of Brits find
funny I am sure Americans do not, and vice-versa.
On the subject of radio, I have only found one really good station in the
Nashville area, namely Lightnin' 100. In the space of one hour we had:
Nanci "Where Would I Be" which seems to be the cut getting all the attention.
Lucinda Williams "Essence"
Grateful Dead "Jack Straw"
Patty Loveless "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive"
The Lemonheads
Susan Tedeschi "Can't Leave You Alone"
Tom Petty "American Girl"
Little Feat and a host of others.
Now that is pretty classy programming, in my opinion, and so much better
than the pap-country that so many stations seem to churn out, across the
country.
John Graveling
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Subject: NN: RE: American radio and TV
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 15:27:58 -0500
From: Ron Hennessy (rhennesy@coserv.net>
Hello John,
Speaking as an American, I like a lot of British humor, for example John
Cleese, as writer and actor. I find "Faulty Towers" brilliant and hilarious;
and of course, "A Fish Called Wanda," with its (often vicious) comparison of
our cultures.
Ron Hennessy
(P.S. I also enjoyed your reviews of musicians.)
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: NN: Clock Without Hands
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 18:45:18 -0500
From: "Geri Hutchins" (hutchins@arn.net>
Normally a lurker, but I have to add my two cents about Clock Without Hands.
I've been listening to Nanci since the early 80's when I walked into a
friend house and said "who's that"..it was Once in a Blue Moon"...still
perhaps my favorite work.
Nanci isn't the 20something who wrote and sang those songs and neither am I.
I wouldn't want her to "return" to those days...too many days and too many
songs ago...too many troubles and joys ago. She has something she wants to
say with this new work and as a fan of this artist, I am always eager to
hear what that is....
Many of her works have taken a while to grow on me and many works that at
first did little for me...like Storms have later spoken to me. CWH is the
same, there are songs I've already found myself humming "Midnight in
Missoula" and "Clock Without Hands" for example...others like "Shaking Out
the Snow"...while the tune hasn't grabbed me the words certainly have.
Other songs I know will find a voice for me later on and some at first
listen may later lose their impact. I have no problem with the critiques
here on this list...but I will make up my own mind and listen with my own
ears.
As far as Nanci's interest in Vietnam..... While a bit younger than
Nanci...too young to have friends who went to Vietnam but old enough to have
friends later in college who came back from Vietnam and old enough to
remember the casualty count every night on the news. Vietnam was a time when
the children of WWWII and Korea broke ranks with their parents and protested
war and questioned the wisdom of the country their parents had fought so
hard to save. As we near the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor...WWWII
defined that generation and Vietnam defined ours. Why shouldn't she explore
the impact it made on her and the people in her life...she can look back on
in and perhaps gain a better understanding of who they were and who they are
today because in part of Vietnam. It isn't a piece in the history books
just as WWWII is not a footnote either...
Nanci picks and chooses her concerns very carefully, she lends her voice to
things she cares passionately about. I remember well her involvement with
the cause of the homeless during the LNGH tour...in Dallas there were places
to donate food and $$. This is no different, she has simply moved on and
found something else.
Do I like every song right now, no. Do I ever like every song,
no...personally I am not a great fan of Julie Gold and typically skip over
those songs.
Nanci is Nanci...a complex person, a complex storyteller who has always
taken her own road and as she says in many songs, left people and loves
behind. Perhaps some fans will drift away because of this work, but it will
also find new ears and bring new things to those of us who intend to stay
around and listen.
Geri Hutchins
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Subject: NN: Clock Without Hands
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 12:16:06 -0700
From: "Jim Mehl" (mehl@ihot.com>
I just listened to it. I think it's the best thing she's done in
several years. I especially liked "Lost Him in the Sun"
and "Pearl's Eye View".
Does anyone know if the John Stewart on the album
is the same guy that was with the Kingston Trio
long ago and far away.
Jim
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: NN: Re: Clock Without Hands
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 21:27:02 +0100
From: "Rick" (rick.bond@ntlworld.com>
> Does anyone know if the John Stewart on the album
> is the same guy that was with the Kingston Trio
> long ago and far away.
Same guy.
http://www.chillywinds.com/
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Subject: Re: NN: nanci number
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 11:01:12 -0400
From: kenn lippert (lippert@nauticom.net>
So are there any 1's besides Kristen Schrull?
I know there are many 2's. Just about anybody that was at the first
Blue Moon Jam in Knoxville got to sing with Lee Satterfield...
kenn "my "lippert" number is 0" lippert
// My Lippert number is 1! [BP]
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Subject: NN: Nanci on the radio
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 14:47:20 EDT
From: Petop@aol.com
Graveling writes:
> "Where Would I Be" which seems to be the cut getting all the attention
A tabulation of playlists I get from around the world shows the cuts being
played the most are:
1. Armstrong
2. (Tie) Clock Without Hands
Roses on the Fourth of July
4. (Tie) Pearl's Eye View
Where Would I Be
6. In the Wee Small Hours
7. (tie) Ghost Inside Me
Last Song for Mother
Lost Him in the Sun
Midnight in Missoula
Traveling Through This Part Of You
12. Truly Something Fine
13. Cotton
14. Shaking Out the Snow
---------------------
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them
myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them on long winter
evenings."
--Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) in "The Big Sleep"
__________________________________
Subject: NN: Re: Nanci on the radio
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 19:55:55 +0100
From: "Peter Wilde" (peter@pmwilde.freeserve.co.uk>
I came across Shaking Out the Snow being played on the London station
Ritz 1035. It had already started when I tuned in so I didn't hear how
it was introduced, but the presenter (Miles Long) must be a Nanci fan
because when it finished he remarked that he's got just about all of her
albums and has "never heard her sound so angry".
Peter
___________________________________
Subject: NN: Clock without Hands
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 08:48:27 -0400
From: "James Troiano" (James_Troiano@umit.maine.edu>
Hi folks: I am pleased with press reviews of Nanci's new CD, most seem to
feel that it is an excellent addition to her collection. There is a pretty
good selection of them found at Nanci's new website. I was particularly
impressed that Alanna Nash liked the new one. As I stated in a previous
post, she has not liked much of what Nanci has recorded in many a year.
Even more satisfying is that Time Out New York gave Nanci a good review.
It is rare that they are very kind to anyone when it comes to reviews. I
quoted some of the favorable commentary from the Boston Globe in a
previous post. They usually love Nanci whether it is an album or when she
igives a live performance. They gave the headline "glorious Griffith" some
years ago when she appeared in Boston and with her recent appearance at
the Newport Folk Festival, it was written that "Griffith was immense". And
they were not describing her size. As I wrote in previous post, I think
the new album is excellent. I even like "Something Truly Fine" and that
feeling is not share by some Nancinetters and I respect that. In the song
she analyzes how she and a former love, probably Erik Taylor, respond
differently to a love which has failed:
You and I are roses
Chose to wither on the vines
With you, you're back to love
With me, I've run from mine
We are some kind of weather
You're the storm blown' cross my life
I am a leaf of autumn
A fallen tear of something fine.
I admit that I did not like the sound at first, but it grows on you. Linda
Ronstad's voice adds a certain something fine. In other verses, she
captures how how love could be bitter and yet sweet. It gives pain or
joy. Some very nice imagery is utilized to communicate these ideas. She
analyzes here and in other songs her her need to "shake out the snow" and
revive herself. The lovely "Clock Without Hands" and Midnight in Missoula"
reiterate Nanci's attempt to wake herself up from an automaton state and
respond to love and life. Disillusion and serious ilIness had brought her
there. There are so many beautiful poetic reflections in this album that I
find it therapeutic for the listener as well as the writer. I am not
trying to convince anyone to my opinion. I enjoy hearing the many
valuable comments regarding the album and I respect them all. Keep them
coming. Jim
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: NN: CWH & NANCI
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 08:48:36 -0700 (PDT)
From: JAMES WARD (jward39212@yahoo.com>
I have been a Nanci fan for over 17 years...
I gotta tell ya....all these mumblings about Nanci's
music is or isn't this or that.....enough already!
For me, if, Clock Without Hands, Armstrong, Traveling
Through This Part of You and Wee Small Hours doesn't
grab you.........then you are missing out on the true
"essence" of Nanci.
In September 1999, I spent the entire month sleeping
on the floor in a hospital waiting room, waiting
endlessly for my lover of 20 years to revive. As the
visiting times in the afternoon are 2:00 and then not
again until 6 p.m., that was the time I went home each
day to shower, feed my animals, and prepare for
another long night of nervously waiting (and praying).
One day I arrived to find a good friend of mine had
brought over a gift copy of Nanci's "The Dust Bowl
Symphony". I put that CD on and when I heard the
version of "The Wing and Wheel" on the CD......I
simply fell totally apart. Each day I would rush home
for my 2 hour reprieve and I would put that song on
repeat....I would cry and cry....but inside....this
song really gave me a release...at a time when I most
needed it. For that, I would follow Nanci ALL THE WAY
TO CHINA....ALL THE WAY TO DUBLIN.....ALL THROUGH THE
SNOW.
In the end, each new song, each new CD is like a
personal "gift" from Nanci to each of us....to remind
us...she will always be there in voice. Each of us
should be grateful that someone we have never met can
offer to us such tender gifts of song.
James n' Mississippi
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: NN: IRS time
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 18:53:21 +0100
From: Charlie Hulme (charlie@dweb.u-net.com>
Friends,
Would anyone care to expand for the benefir of
non-Americans on what it means to
'work for a season at IRS time' ? (cf. White
Roses on the 4th of July, a classic Nanci song.)
Charlie
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: Re: NN: IRS time
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 15:59:40 -0400
From: Steve Robertson (stever@mindspring.com>
> what it means to 'work for a season at IRS time' ?
Because tax returns for most Americans are due by April 15- and can't be
started until all the income reports are collected (usually January 30) the
Internal Revenue Service is forced to hire lots of temporary workers to
process returns during this period. I assume that the person to whom Nanci
is referring took advantage of one of these temporary jobs.
--
>From the Georgia Pines,
Steve Robertson
Subject: Re: NN: IRS time
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 16:56:14 -0500
From: "Jim Woodward" (jwoodward@houston.rr.com>
In addition, tax preparation services (e.g., H&R Block) hire significantly
more temporary staff than the IRS does.
Jim "ain't paid no whiskey tax since 1792" Woodward
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: RE: NN: IRS time
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 20:43:01 -0400
From: "Ken Stiffler" (ksmsc@kmsx.net>
Jim "ain't paid no whiskey tax since 1792" Woodward wrote:
>> In addition, tax preparation services (e.g., H&R Block)
hire significantly more temporary staff than the IRS does.((
And it has always struck me as ludicrous that in the land of government "by
the people" and "for the people" that income tax forms and regulations are
so complicated that many (most?) of "the people" cannot fill out their own
tax forms and, therefore, have to pay a "tax expert" to fill out the forms
for them. Hee Hee Hee.
Ken
___________________________
Subject: Re: NN: IRS time
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 08:10:51 -0400
From: "David Begley" (begleyd3@home.com>
Unfortunately, it is greed of the "people" looking for tax breaks, and the
strong desire of there representatives to stay elected that have created a
great deal of the complexity. (I include businesses in the group looking
for breaks).
As a side issue, this latest tax bill has added thousands of people to the
group that pays no income tax. A family of 4 earning under $35,000 pays no
income tax (I think)? So many people have been removed from the tax roles
that they don't have a reason to care anymore how the taxes are spent. I
would like to see everyone pay something, even a low percent, so that they
won't lose interest in what's going on. It's easy to ask for all kinds of
new stuff when you aren't paying for them.. The cost of missile defense (as
an example), or the fact that the Department of Education can't account for
billions of dollars, would mean more to more people if we all had a stake.
Dave (getting off his tax soap box)
(I am just about finished with the new John Adams biography. People were
rioting over the whiskey tax and property tax that was instituted to pay off
war debts. I wonder how they would act if they paid 50% (and more) of their
income in various taxes as we do now?)
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: RE: NN: IRS time
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 21:20:03 -0700 (PDT)
From: Reid Mitchell (reidmitchell@yahoo.com>
--- Ken Stiffler (ksmsc@kmsx.net> wrote:
> And it has always struck me as ludicrous that in the
> land of government "by the people" and "for the people"
> that income tax forms and regulations are
> so complicated that many (most?) of "the people"
> cannot fill out their own
> tax forms and, therefore, have to pay a "tax expert"
> to fill out the forms for them.
Oh heck, Ken, we're going to answer that as soon as we
figure out why you have to have a college degree to
understand folk music.
Reid
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: NN: IRS time
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 00:39:37 -0400
From: "Kenneth Johns" (KJohns2001@msn.com>
Perhaps it is not the time spent by spare IRS workers, but the time it takes
each tax paying citizen to pay their tax bil that Nanci was talking
about...that time when you work and live without much thought for the fact
that your time and labor are going not for you but for someone else. Of
course, this is in itself an over simplification. The 'tax time' is a
figure of the number of days you would have to work to pay off the Federal
tax load. This load is spread over the entire year of course, but if it were
done day by day, then you end up with the 'tax time' figure most often quoted
as being somewhere between four and five months.
Best,
DJ
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: Re: NN: IRS time
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 09:27:06 EDT
From: Asherman73@aol.com
Too bad we can't ask Nanci what she meant.
For that matter, does David Letterman ever interview his musical guests?
Asher
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: Re: NN: Re: first impressions
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 14:07:24 -0400 (EDT)
From: ConorMG@aol.com
>"Love is something truly fine
>Love is love and truly blind
>Love is only human kind
>Love is something truly fine"
>
>Come on, now! That could have been written by a ten year old girl
>daydreaming in class about the boy across the room with whom she thinks
>she's in love.
I don't think it could have been written by a ten year old, not with this
authority anyway.
It brings to mind many songs, such as 'Green Grow the Rushes-O', and
Anything You Need But Me' off 'Flyer' and 'It's Too Late' off 'LNGHotel'
( a song which always reminds me of the Sir Philip Sydney sonnet, 'Just
Exchange': 'My true love hath my heart, and I have his,
By just exchange, one for the other given....' )
It's like a chant or a mantra, a thing said to hold onto and let hang in the
mind. Love is itself, unique; it is a human phenomenon, and it is a mystery;
it is a fine thing, one to wonder at; it is irrational, though it belongs to
the most rational creature ('human kind' is an old way of saying 'human
nature'); it goes round and round in your mind, puzzling you and asking to be
expressed in different ways and looked at from different angles. These lines
use techniques of rhetorical repetition such as anaphora, parison, ploce and
rhyme to create almost a magical spell, which some say is the essence of
poetry....
I love good lyrics, and think Nanci comes here as close as she ever does to
writing pure poetry.
We all love different things in her music. For my part, I came to her through
her 'folkabilly' songs, so I am aghast when people attack 'Morning Train',
Battlefield' and so on. She ranges over different styles and that is part of
the joy of the woman. Criticism is a good thing but try to do it gently:
'Tread softly for you tread on my dreams'!
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: NN: CWH (MOJO Magazine review - UK)
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 01 19:59:15 +0100
From: John Edward Graveling (kai21@dial.pipex.com>
In the new edition of MOJO magazine (September 2001) there is a highly
complimentary review of CWH.
"A subtle return to form for the Queen of folkabilly.
Nanci Griffith is a songwriter and storyteller of the highest order. It
is something of a relief then, to welcome this collection of mostly
original compositions, the first Nanci Griffith album proper since 1994's
masterful 'Flyer'. CWH is a mellow, reflective set, deep-rooted in
melancholy, but lifted by Griffith's chippy, aw-shucks voice and candy
sweet melodies. Only once, on the magnificent 'Shaking Out The Snow',
does the dark side win her over, revealing an angry, somewhat deranged
voice spitting venom over a pointed, cathartic lyric. Elsewhere the
terrain is more familiar to lovers of her west Texas panhandle tales.
There is room for no fewer than three John Stewart covers, one duet with
Michael Johnson, 'Roses On The 4th of July' and a wistful take on
Sinatra's 'In The Wee Small Hours', adding up to an excellent addition to
the Griffith canon".
Well it will be interesting to see what you all make of that review, and
in particular those who do not like "Shaking Out The Snow", which, at
least here in the UK, has generally been picked out as the outstanding
song!!!
John "food for thought" Graveling
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: Re: Fwd: NN: CWH (MOJO Magazine review - UK)
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 16:00:23 EDT
From: BMiller224@aol.com
>From the MOJO review John quoted:
(( Only once, on the magnificent 'Shaking Out The Snow',
does the dark side win her over, revealing an angry, somewhat
deranged voice spitting venom over a pointed, cathartic lyric. >>
Hoo boy! And this is a compliment! I'd hate to see what that
reviewer says about songs he *doesn't* like!!
Bruce Miller
Oakland CA
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: Re: Fwd: NN: CWH (MOJO Magazine review - UK)
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 10:20:35 +0000
From: "John Courtney" (jc_riselaw@hotmail.com>
Bruce Miller wrote:
>Hoo boy! And this is a compliment! I'd hate to see what that reviewer says
>about songs he *doesn't* like!!
This side of the pond, people tend to like their Art a bit deranged and
cathartic. It helps to take it *seriously*!
Interesting that the MOJO review has decided that Flyer is "masterful". At
the time that album came out, I seem to recall that the same magazine rather
damned it with faint praise.
Also, ConorMG@aol.com wrote:
>These lines use .... anaphora, parison, ploce...".
Well, I've looked it up and - so they do! Challenge for the day: try to work
the splendid word "ploce" into conversation. Could be tricky.....
Cheers
John.
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: NN: CD Problems?
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 16:47:03 -0400
From: "David Begley" (dave@begley.com>
Did anyone else have problems with CWH cd?
- When inserted in my computer, a program executes and brings up a screen to
either go to the web or "play" the CD. Clicking on "play" does nothing.
(But, I can play the CD with the regular CD playing software.)
- The CD will not play in my car. I created a CD by copying the songs to a
CD-R disk, and that plays in my car, but it seems like that shouldn't be
necessary.
And, can anyone explain to me (since I am slow to understand) what "Shaking
Out the Snow" is about?
(I was in the middle of a move from Texas to Michigan when the CD came out,
so I apologize if this was already covered. I didn't read all the old
messages when I finally got back on line).
Dave
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: NN: lunch with nanci
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 18:21:45 -0500
From: "n gaunt" (pawandporschecafe@email.msn.com>
not sure where this lands me on the nanci scale, but i had lunch w/her
today. me and about 20 people at KGSR for their lunch time concert.
sat about 5 feet from her. i spent half the time watching her and half
the time just closing my eyes and opening my ears.
set was "Clock Without Hands", "Traveling Through This Part of You",
"Missoula", and "It's a Hard Life (Wherever You Go). She teased us for
being so quiet. I think its because we were on the air. She left very
quickly, but seemed in remarkable spirits. I had run into her before at
the Don McClean Concert. Forgot that she is a bit taller than I always
imagine her.
yes, i got a few pictures, though not as many as others. i am not one
to go nuts with the camera, perhaps because i feel its a little
intrusive. yes, i have the fashion watch if any of you care to know.
as she was leaving, i gave her a card. perhaps somewhere she is reading
it. so I'm okay that i can't go to city limits tonight. this was so
much better. (thanks to those of you who sent me remarks about ACL
btw). i am not much of a celebrity worshipper by any stretch. but this
was a pleasant way to start a Monday. I went out and bought a lotto
ticket. Maybe my luck will hold.
My Card to Nanci
----------------------------------
Thank You
for being the soundtrack to the last several years of this life. There
were days when I played most of the characters in your lyrics.
Sometimes sweet, sometimes sour, always vivid. Texas is an awfully big
place. It's easy to get lost. Follow your dreams. Your heart will
know the steps. Dance one for me.
----------
Nicholas at The Paw and Porsche Cafe
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: Re: NN: lunch with nanci
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 09:58:09 EDT
From: NanciNetter@aol.com
That was awesome, dude!!
I met Miss Thang, too .. back in '95 .. and you're right, she is a long tall
drink, ain't she! My partner at the time worked for a major airline, and
Nanci being a premium passenger, was greeted by the Special Svcs staff
whenever she winged it. It was routine during the airline's daily Mgt
huddle-ups for Special Svcs to inform the Team what VIP would be flying in or
out of Nashville. When the Mgr of Special Services found out that my
(former) partner was a NanciNut, she told him she's let him know the next
time Nanci was passing through. So one day I'm sitting at home and I get a
call saying "Nanci's flying in today and we might get to meet her, so get to
the airport by 10am!" So I grab my copy of "Flyer" and a Flyer promo poster
I had and I rush to BNA (Nashville Int'l). No promises, but the very sweet
Special Svcs gal said she'd tell Nanci that a couple of fanatics were in the
terminal and would like to meet her. Apparently Nanci was cool with it cuz
when they exited the plane (the Special Svcs staff usually escort the VIPs
off the planes) they walked straight up to us!! Nanci was gracious, but cool
... I stammered something about being a new, HUGE fan of hers and we chatted
about my being from Louisiana and her mentioning Lafayette in one of her
songs (the name of which escapes me at the moment), and then I asked her to
sign my stuff, which she generously did .. then she walked off and got into
her shiny new Hunter green Volvo stationwagon and drove off to her home (at
the time) in Franklin.
And I won't go into the time I sat right behind she and Nineyear at an
outdoors concert in Nashville, watching her get tipsy on beer! She do like
da brew!!
So, where does all that put me on the NanciScale??? Bonafide NanciNut, or
just plain nutts!?! :-?
David
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: NN: Re: CWH
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 10:52:41 +0000
From: "Frieda Reece" (friedalreece@hotmail.com>
I am ashamed of myself. Having listened to CWH quite a lot I did not have
the nerve to write and say what Tim Baird and one of two brave souls have
said - I am not impressed. The album does sound over-produced and glossy,
and although the songs are OK they all sound the same.
And yes, those of us who criticise ARE nanci fans but that doesn't mean that
we lose all our faculties. We are not being "judgemental" or samll-minded
but surely this forum is for us to discuss, to put both sides, not just to
wallow in sugar. Artists are welcome to make art for their own soul but I
don't want to pay for it - I'm too busy trying to make art for my own soul.
I consider myself a fan, just as much as those who won't hear any criticism,
and I am looking forward to seeing Nanci in October in Manchester UK.
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: NN: meeting fans
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 10:39:12 -0400
From: "Kenneth Johns" (KJohns2001@msn.com>
I just read the post where Nanci was nice to the fans at the airport. I
think this was wonderful of her. People who perform in the public eye forget
sometimes what it is like for the 'little people' who favor them with their
adoration...that same adoration that makes them a star in the first place.
Back in the early 80's I was delivering pizza for a living, my first child
had just been born, his mom was in school and I was working hard for every
bit of tip money I could get. Kenny Rogers came to town to perform, and
afterwards he and his band ordered a bunch of pizzas. I fought to get the
delivery. When I got to his suite at the hotel, there they were, Kenny, his
band...lots of women. I was thrilled to actually be meeting this big star.
Then it all fell flat, I suddenly found myself being made the butt of jokes
[I am fat and they thought a fat pizza delivery guy was the biggest joke!
Then they made the comment that I was lucky to even be in the presence of
Kenny Rogers. Finally, to add injury to insult, they gave me a $3 tip on
something like $150 worth of pizzas....which I had taken care to get to them
in perfect shape, not tilting the boxes or anything to make the pizzas run to
one side....try that when you have a stack of ten pizza boxes!
Needless to say, after this meeting I was no longer a Kenny Rogers fan, and
to this day can barely stand the sight of the man on tv before I change the
channel to anything else.
Fame is nice to have I guess, but no matter how famous someone is, if they
are horrible human beings, sooner or later the fans, and the fame, will start
to fade away. I am just happy to learn that Nanci is not one that this is
likely to happen to.
Best,
DJ
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: Re: NN: meeting fans
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 12:53:59 EDT
From: Brimpls@aol.com
It must be complicated, being famous, but for sure if you are a
mean-spirited, unkind person at heart, that will eventually show. The Kenny
Rogers story made me shudder. I'm so sorry that happened to you. It was
cruel.
I remember meeting Diana Ross and the Supremes when I was just a little girl.
My mom worked as a secretary for a concert series at the university in our
town, and the Supremes were coming to do a show there. Mom brought me and
one of my eleven-year-old friends along to the concert and arranged for us to
meet the Supremes at the stage door after the show. Thinking it would be a
lovely experience for us...not so! Although the other Supremes were fine,
Diana was completely snobbish and, well, the word is bitchy. She paid more
attention to some little fluffy dog she had tucked into her fur coat than she
did to her fans. And we were the only fans waiting to meet her, so it's not
like she was overwhelmed. She was very rude to us and left a very negative
impression on me for all time. I haven't been able to shake that memory.
However, most of the "famous" singers and musicians I've met have been
genuinely good people. My eleven-year-old son and I met David Crosby and his
band CPR this summer here in Minnesota; talk about down-to-earth, genuinely
warm people. These guys are making such great music and are so approachable
and generous with their time. I loved the way they spoke with A.J. as if he
were an equal, taking time with him and even asking him how the sound was
where he was sitting. Croz turns 60 today, August 14th, and is having the
time of his life. He's sparkly and magical and overflowing with new songs!
I'm so glad we got to hear them play this summer. Give their new CD, "Just
Like Gravity," a listen, please. You won't be sorry!
I'm heading out now to buy Nanci's new CD. I've been traveling and away from
the CD player, but now that I'm home, I'm ready to give it a listen. Reading
your reviews and opinions has been fascinating, but I need to hear it for
myself now!
Sabrina in Mpls.
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: NN: official nanci mailing list
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 14:49:39
From: "Todd Barrett" (astrocity@hotmail.com>
Hello everyone....I have a question. I signed up for the "official" nanci
mailing list to have a chance to win a guitar and I haven't heard squat.
Has anyone received any kind of welcome message or anything?
Todd Barrett
*Girls With Guitars*
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Balcony/9132/music.html
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: NN: RE: official nanci mailing list
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 19:07:41 +0200
From: "Hans Janssen" (hjanssen@zeelandnet.nl>
(> I signed up for the "official" nanci
(>mailing list to have a chance to win a guitar and I haven't
(>heard squat.
As far as I can remember I signed up for that same mailing list when DS was
released and ever since my mailbox stays empty with official Nanci
announcements, but I tried it again always wanted to have a guitar(for
decoration I think, I can't play)
met vriendelijke groeten,
Hans Janssen.
http://listen.to/Tish
http://folktrade.da.ru
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: NN: Gillian Welch (NNC)
Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 16:45:31 EDT
From: Petop@aol.com
Thought this article by John Pareles in the New York Times might be of
interest to many here:
The hoary advice to authors, "Write what you know," doesn't apply to Gillian
Welch, the songwriter who performed on Thursday night at Town Hall. As one of
countless city folks who fell in love with older rural music, Ms. Welch
writes with terse empathy about events and situations far from her own
experience: moonshining, hard luck, mountain flowers and murder.
Ms. Welch was born in Manhattan, grew up in Los Angeles and met her
songwriting partner and lead guitarist, David Rawlings, at the Berklee
College of Music in Boston. They have lived in Nashville since 1992. Ms.
Welch and Mr. Rawlings perform as an acoustic duo, harmonizing in the style
of hillbilly brother groups, with Ms. Welch playing guitar or banjo.
She sings in a plaintive deadpan, and often strums chords that sound like the
Carter Family's autoharp, while Mr. Rawlings's light-fingered leads hint at
bluegrass mandolin. Their best songs sound much older than they are,
concisely telling stories or professing faith in Jesus. She and Mr. Rawlings
anticipated the longing for rural purity that made a No. 1 album of the
soundtrack for "O Brother, Where Art Thou" (Mercury), on which she appears.
But on songs from her new album, "Time (the Revelator)" (Acony Bell), Ms.
Welch turned to her own life for material. In "My First Lover," she recalled
breaking up to a Steve Miller Band song; in "April the 14th Part 1," she
romanticized a rock band playing a dead-end bar gig. "Everything Is Free"
ruminated on a musical career in the Napster era: "I can get a tip jar, gas
up the car/ Try to make a little change down at the bar."
The musical style switched from old Appalachia to Neil Young ballads. But
while those songs may be closer to Ms. Welch's actual roots, they were also a
letdown. The slow tempos sounded mannered rather than inevitable, and she
traded stoicism for moping.
She was better off with her invented roots, longing for a "Red Clay Halo"
after death or using a mountain-gospel style to proclaim "I Want to Sing That
Rock and Roll," as if rock were sensational and new. Ms. Welch and Mr.
Rawlings are apparently making a transition, and with any luck, they'll find
a way to take the imagination of their old-timey songs into the present.
Greg Brown, a mainstay on the folk circuit, opened the concert moments after
arriving from the airport. Never taking off his floppy fisherman's hat, he
picked his guitar and fondly growled through a selection of songs about love,
weather and wrong turns. Despite an occasional telling line, he chose too
many talky songs, not earning many new fans. He returned to sing with Ms.
Welch and Mr. Rawlings, harmonizing in "Long Black Veil" like the pedals of a
church organ.
_________________________________________________________________
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