// Some of our favorite music of aught 3, and more on 
// the "next Nanci." Enjoy...[BP]

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Subject: NN: Revival of the Nancinet 
   From: MUSIKERIN (musikerin4u@yahoo.com>  
   Date: Dec 11, 2003 9:44 AM 

Well, I guess you done did it, Brother Bill!   Your humble inquiry into the
salvagability (is this an English word?) of this list has stirred up
feelings of remorse and guilt in all of us who had strayed away, and
injected a new energy into this sleepy group.   

When I opened my email this morning, I was overwhelmed by the number of
messages waiting for me.   Not just the typical 200 or so messages that
faithfully offer to enlarge and invigorate certain body parts of mine (how
do these people know if I need my member enlarged?), or to reduce my debt
(what debt?), but no, there were so many messages with "NN" in the subject
line.  Hurrah!

Maybe the responses, which all too often quote Nanci's lack of new music as
the reason for the impending demise of this list, might inspire Ms. Griffith
to get cracking on a new album again?   I am told she sometimes reads the
posts on here.

Okay, back to some real work this morning. 

Have a wonderful Holiday Season, everyone.  And above all, peace, peace,
peace.... in your hearts, your homes, your relationships, and amongst all
people. 

Donate

// we've been told often that Nanci doesn't 
// read this forum, I'm afraid...[BP]


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Subject: Re: NN: best of '03 
   From: MUSIKERIN (musikerin4u@yahoo.com>  
   Date: Dec 11, 2003 9:27 AM 

Not new this year, but something I bought late in 2002 was John
Prine's "Sessions at West 54th" DVD.

Todd - I totally concur on the John Prine DVD.  A must-see for all John
Prine fans and delightful performances with Iris.   I must have watched it
at least 5 times before I finally had to return it to the friend who loaned
it to me.

Donate

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Subject: NN: Nanci in the studio 
   From: James Troiano (James_Troiano@umit.maine.edu>  
   Date: Dec 11, 2003 9:39 AM 

Hi all: Someone posed the question is Nanci working on a new album. I read
that she is going into the studio to record a new CD. We all look forward to
the results.

My favorite singers, candidates for the next Nanci, are: Eliza Gilkyson,
Susan Werner, and Kate Campbell. They are the only singer songwriters who
come close to moving me in the same way as Nanci Caroline. 

See you, Jim Troiano  

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Subject: Re: NN: A topic for discussion... 
   From: MUSIKERIN (musikerin4u@yahoo.com>  
   Date: Dec 11, 2003 9:15 AM 

David wrote:
Well, for me the next Nanci is Lucinda Williams. 
was beginning I discovered Nanci when I
in my recovery from drug addiction.  

Great summation, David. The best compliment a musician wants to
hear(especially a songwriter) is how relevant their music has been to the
trials of their listeners' lives. Having a recovering addict in my own
family, I can see where some of Nanci's and Lucinda's lyrics relate.

I would have liked to think that perhaps I would be the next Nanci once my
CD comes out, but you all are talking about YOUNG blood here, so I won't
qualify after all. :) I guess Lucinda will do nicely as well. "Talk To Me"
is definitely one of my favorite NG songs, too - I cover it a lot.  Maybe
just because she talks about Germany?

Thanks for sharing, David.

Donate

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Subject: NN: Nanci memories and musings 
   From: Paul Larsen (pbl2@utah.edu>  
   Date: Dec 11, 2003 9:58 AM 

(After reading this, I apologize that the thoughts are not more cohesive/do
not flow better.  Then again, if you really knew me you would not be
surprised...)

Deb wrote:
The last concert of hers I attended was in the summer of 2001,
and Nanci was in the middle of "From a Distance" singing, "And 
there are no guns, no bombs," and some drunk hit a nearby power 
station and that was it. Hundreds of hopefuls waited an hour 
and a half hoping for more as a lingering late-summer twilight 
stretched into darkness.

I remember that concert very well.  It was my children's introduction to
live music, and who better than Nanci to make that introduction.  I will
never forget how excited they were to give her roses (and how the "security
staff" looked pleadingly at me to just back away from the stage because they
had no idea how they would deal with someone rushing the stage.  Fortunately
it did not take long to hand her the roses).  My family brought with us as
well a co-worker and his wife, and they thoroughly enjoyed the show and have
become big fans of hers since.

I also remember meeting you, Deb, at the concert at Snowbird - was that
Spring 1998? - sitting to my left in the second row.  That was my first time
seeing Nanci live, and I will always remember the pure electrical emotion
and how she ended her encores with the then-unreleased "Darcy Farrow" with
just Pat on the percussion and Nanci singing a cappella.  I cannot think of
any other concert I have attended where the audience has been that silent.
I also remember being awed at the power she could exert with such a minimum
of effort.

Yesterday my wife and I celebrated our tenth anniversary.  Having been
raised sort of a music snob (cello player with a classical pianist father
who raised us kids with the credo that "Country Music" was an oxymoron,
though I have since opened my mind a bit), my wife and I had a really tough
time finding music to which we could both listen and enjoy.  Then a
co-worker introduced me to Nanci just after her Flyer album came out.  I was
hooked, and my wife and I could finally agree on something musically!
Needless to say we agree on a few more things than that to have lasted this
long, but Nanci has always been one of those artists that has always been
there through our marriage and as we have started our family.

So (coming to a point of sorts) Nanci has been a great influence in my life,
and I still get emotional when I hear some of her songs.  When I hear "Turn
Around", for example, and think of my own daughter, I grow almost
melancholy, and work harder to enjoy the time I can enjoy with her now.  I
am glad for this list and for the opinions shared on it.  I have discovered
other less-known artists whose music I enjoy through the opinions of
individuals on this list, and I would be sad to lose that contact.  Of
course, being one of the guilty lurkers (but what do I have to say that is
of value to anyone else ?), I guess if the list disappeared, you could just
blame me.  I'm used to it, after all - I'm a computer technician!

Paul "No, really. I will try to think of something relevant to post!" Larsen

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Subject: NN coming back to life, favorite albums 2003, and the next Nanci 
   From: Ed Maier (evhmaier@yahoo.com>  
   Date: Dec 11, 2003 11:05 AM 

Ever since I changed ISPs, I've had real problems
posting to NN. Majordomo allows me to s*bscr*be
to the NN, allows me to receive posts from NN, but
WILL NOT allow me to POST from my current ISP 
(sbcglobal.net). I wish someone would tell me why.
I had to set up a separate Yahoo mail account just 
for the nancinet. And I hate typing into this little
Yahoo text window. End rant. sorry.

Anyhow, I would post far more frequently, albeit the
usual 1-5 line posts, were this not a problem.

2003 favorites:
John Cash- American IV
Emmylou Harris- Stumble Into Grace
Martina Mcbride- Emotion
Kate Campbell- Twang On A Wire

The next Nanci:
Man, that's a hard question to answer. Beats me.
I'll know her when I hear her. 

Ed Maier
Arlington, TX

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Subject: Re: NN: Re: Which pre-2003 records do you play most? 
   From: ConorMG@aol.com  
   Date: Dec 11, 2003 1:05 PM 

2003 has been for me a year of listening to albums that seem to have a unity
about them.  I've thoroughly enjoyed the circular effects and recurring
motifs in these three:

Lee Ann Womack  'Something Worth Leaving Behind' 2002   
It's a schmaltzy, smoochy sort of record with a wealth of instruments,
backing vocals and heart-string-tuggingly warm, rich, sensual sounds, but it
works like a dream on me.  The title track is a big song with an inspiring
idea, and it must be good to manage to override irritating me hugely with
its opening  lines ("Hey, Mona Lisa, who was Leonardo?...")  When it is
reprised at the end it's stirring in the same way as 'Man of Constant
Sorrow' in 'O Brother'.  The second track 'I Saw Your Light' is a massively
produced smooth number with claims on the pop charts, and many folk fans
will hate it but this one is haunted by it.  It's like 'More Than a
Feeling', 'Every Breath You Take' and 'Stockton Gala Days' in the way you
want to wallow for ever in its waves of sound.  Then there are the two Julie
Miller songs, the raunchy 'I Need You' and the powerful 'Orphan Train' which
takes me back to Fairport Convention in the days of their grandest,
Purcell-like British folk rock sound circa 1970. 

All year this has been the only record I want to play late at night, apart
from:

Gretchen Peters' 'Gretchen Peters'  
Not enough has been said about this modest minor masterpiece!  When she
sings 'Revival' at the end I should weep, but I'm usually stretched out on
the floor, the wine bottle is empty and it's past time to go to bed.  It
feels like a reprise of the first song, 'Souvenirs', which started: "I set
out like Kerouac" (the one flaw on the record, but I know what she means;
some people are inspired by Abba; each to his own; peace, as they say) "in
my American car Carryin' a dream and a road map  Deep in my American
heart...I've been searching for the promised land But it's just another neon
come-on roadside stand: Little tin toys that fall apart,  That's all they
got here.  I come all this way to find my heart. All I get is souvenirs.
They got Mount Rushmore on a cup. Everyone needs one of those.  For a dollar
more they'll fill it up.   You can drink out of Lincoln's nose...." All done
in a consummately exact and feelingful voice, a little sharper than Lee Ann
Womack's but nearly as sweet.  Bach makes tears threaten like this too, and
I don't know why. Perhaps it's being overwhelmed by a glimpse of passing
perfection. Goldengrove unleaving.

Rosie Thomas's 'When We Were Small' is my third most played unified record
this year, an unusual, beautiful, mysterious bringing together of voices and
sounds.

My other seven most played this year are:

Mary Gauthier  'Filth and Fire'  2002
Caitlin Cary  'While You Weren't Looking'  2002
Allison Moorer 'Miss Fortune'  2002
Dixie Chicks 'Home' 2002
Patty Griffin '1000 Kisses' 2002
Little Johnny England 'Mercs and Cherokees' 2002
Hootie and the Blowfish 'Cracked Rear View'

There is so much good music coming out, especially from American and
Canadian women, that I seldom listen to my vast collection of older records
(mainly bought on markets), though I do listen to classical music on BBC
Radio 3. I do worry about this, which is why I wanted to hear what other
people were listening to. Will these current favourites be neglected in ten
years? 

Perhaps the question should have been 'Which records do you know and love so
well that you rarely put them on?'  In that case I would name: 
Alison Krauss  'Forget About It'
Lucinda Williams  'Car Wheels'
Kim Richey 'Glimmer'
Sara Evans 'No Place That Far'
Linda Ronstadt 'Hits'
Planxty, Irvine and Brady, Pentangle, Fairport, Dick Gaughan...

The new Nanci Griffith:
Apart from these and the 2003 records, the big discovery for me this year
was that I'd never heard an early record by a startling young singer.  She
has an amazingly powerful voice and mature delivery for someone so young,
and blasts her way through a range of interesting songs in the best modern
folk tradition, with remarkably pure-sounding guitar arrangements that take
you back decades, while refreshing the style.  I was completely overwhelmed
by her rendition of a song that I hadn't much liked or properly listened to
before, called 'Mary Margaret', and the record is called 'There's a Light
Beyond These Woods'  1982.  Now this IS a classic I can commend to you!

Conor



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Subject: Re: NN coming back to life, favorite albums 2003, 
         and the next Nanci 
   From: Ed Maier (evhmaier@yahoo.com>  
   Date: Dec 11, 2003 2:29 PM 

--- ConorMG@aol.com wrote:
evhmaier@yahoo.com writes:


Anyhow, I would post far more frequently, albeit the
usual 1-5 line posts, were this not a problem.
Oh please sort it out!  You are more important than
you know with your mails. 
 This list nearly died for lack of your input, and
--the way things domino 
these days --civilisation might follow....

LOL!

If I could *just* remember my email moniker and
password for Yahoo, everything would be dandy.
I sometimes suffer from these little brain f@rts
that become increasingly more common as I approach
sixty-five. Just wait. You'll get your turn, too.

:-)

Ed Maier
Arlington, TX 



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Subject: Re: NN: Neko Case 
   From: Tina Shackleford (tshackleford@earthlink.net>  
   Date: Dec 11, 2003 6:50 PM 

Robert wrote:


I don't know about who might be the next Nanci, but my 
vote for the most exciting new (very) alternative country 
artist is a woman named Neko Case.  

Coming out of lurking to agree wholeheartedly!

Neko Case's Blacklisted was my favorite album of last year -- it's one of
those breathtakingly perfect CDs for a sad, late night, with torchy, full
songs sung by an amazing voice. Highly recommended, as are her earlier
albums.  Neko Case changed tempos this past year; she's one of the lead
vocalists for the power-pop band The New Pornographers, and their CD
Electric Version spent a lot of time in my car player last summer.  If I
ever get around to a 2003 top-10 list, that one's on it for sure.

Tina

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Subject: NN: BBC infor
   Date: Fri, 12 Dec 2003 10:33:33 -0000 
   From: Paul Reeve (paul@preeve.plus.com>  

To add to Paul Castles post re Nanci on BBC4, I found this on the Emmylou
Harris list

Emmylou on BBC4 Friday 19 December 2003 at 09 'clock. 
Radio Times previews one hour programme as follows.

" Keith Richards and Elvis Costello contribute to this portrait of the
American country star"

and on Saturday 20 December
at 11.50 under the title "From a Deeper Well". 
The Old Grey Whistle Test Special Concert Special featuring Emmylou and the
Hot Band from 1977 is being broadcast immediately after. It is all part of
BBC4's Country Ladies Night with 8 hours of continuous programming featuring
Dolly Parton, Nanci Griffith, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris and a host more.

Just keep the list going - its a lot more interesting than most!

Paul

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Subject: NN: Last post 
   From: Keith Farman (keith.farman@ntlworld.com>  
   Date: Dec 11, 2003 4:47 PM 

the following arose from my own interest in philosophy and 
what seems to be a common theme in NG's work - an interest 
in the neglect of women and their achievements.  
Simone Weil was a French philosopher who died in 1942 
having refused to eat more in her English exile than 
was available to her compatriots in occupied France.
We have a nice simple, dismissive, modern word to 
describe this - anorexia.  It just happens she was 
also a genius.  So though in literal terms this is 
little connected with NG, in terms of what drives 
some of her interests it seems to me relevant. 
It has the merit of being short.

Regards

My last post couldn't have made much sense as the song was left off.  So for
what its worth:

Simone

Chorus

Pilgrim of the absolute
Sublime human mind
She died of her passion
For France and all mankind
Simone...
Gravity and Grace
With a loving face

Men of genius
As the saying goes
Women's recognition
No one ever knows
Thinking was her passion
Love was her repose

Outsiders' patron saint
Injustice tore her soul
She found food for thought
But not for her fragile frame
And when of love she died
They called it suicide

How do we mark the passing
Of a troubled mystic soul
The tribes of faith all claim her
Distorting her belief
This restless soul unreconciled to peace
When others lived in grief.

Chorus

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