birthday Archives - Page 43 of 50

Joni Mitchell is 70

I’m pretty sure I heard the CSNY version of ‘Woodstock’ first, but I prefer this more plaintive version by Joni Mitchell

Back when the Okie and I were married, I had the date of August 22, 1974, circled on our calendar for three months. We were going to see Joni Mitchell at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

Comes the day, and Uthaclena and his girlfriend at the time were sitting in the front of the car, and the Okie and I rode in the back. The Okie took this opportunity to berate me for virtually everything I ever did wrong in our two years of marriage to that point, including things we had previously discussed and I THOUGHT had been long resolved. All the way from New Paltz to Saratoga Springs, some 105 miles and close to two hours away, to the SPAC parking lot, to our seats, when I figured it would finally stop; it did not, even as Tom Scott and the L.A. Express began to play.

Finally, I walked away and found a vacant seat in the theater. I had to move a couple of times because there were people wandering around with flashlights making sure the lawn-seat folks didn’t sneak into the amphitheater.

I went back to our seats at intermission, and she was crying greatly because they were going to boot her out of the concert. Someone had said she was sitting in his seat, and I had BOTH of our tickets; the staff had misread the other guy’s ticket, and the situation was resolved.

We listened to the rest of the concert and then returned home in stony silence.

She moved to Philadelphia a couple of months later, and at some point in the next year, one of us filed for divorce, while we exchanged rancorous correspondence.

Funny thing, though; over the next few years, we managed a truce, then pleasant conversations on the phone or by mail over the next few years.

In 1981, I went to visit her in Philadelphia. We talked, had a nice time. By coincidence, there was a concert nearby and we attended. It was, of course, Joni Mitchell.
***
Lyrics, plus snippets of all of her songs can be found at jonimitchell.com

Favorite songs -album on which it first appeared:

20. Shadows and Light – The Hissing of Summer Lawns
A moody song, even more so on the live album named for this tune.

19. Come In From The Cold [LISTEN] – Night Ride Home
“Back in 1957
We had to dance a foot apart”

18. Ray’s Dad’s Cadillac [LISTEN] – Night Ride Home
I may like this for the pair of possessives in the title.

17. Woman Of Heart And Mind [LISTEN] – For the Roses
The contrast of the music and some of the lyrics makes it very effective.

16. Trouble Child [LISTEN] – Court and Spark
Nice bass line, plus I like the way it segues into Twisted

15. All I Want [LISTEN]– Blue
“I am on a lonely road and I am traveling
Traveling, traveling, traveling”
And I definitely got that sensation.

14. Free Man in Paris [LISTEN] – Court and Spark
“I felt unfettered and alive”
That’s how it made me feel.

13. You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio [LISTEN] – For the Roses
The radio references I found quite clever, such as:
“If there’s no good reception for me
Then tune me out, ’cause honey
Who needs the static”

12. Raised on a Robbery [LISTEN] – Court and Spark
Atypical for Joni, this rocks.

11. Help Me [LISTEN] – Court and Spark
And in a coda to the main story above, my rebound relationship after the Okie, I made an unfortunate reference to this song. The relationship lasted six weeks and I wasn’t in another for nearly three years.

10. The Jungle Line [LISTEN] – The Hissing of Summer Lawns
I first heard this album at the house of my friend Jon and his girlfriend at the time, Sue. She was a huge Joni fan but wasn’t sure she liked this particular album. I said, “Well, then, give it to me.” I liked it, especially this song. She ended up keeping it.

9. Blue [LISTEN] – Blue
My late friend Donna George’s nickname for herself was Blue.

8. Court and Spark [LISTEN] – Court and Spark
I often go back and forth trying to decide whether Court and Spark [LISTEN], or Blue is my favorite Joni album.

7. Woodstock [LISTEN] – Ladies of the Canyon
I’m pretty sure I heard CSNY’s take first, but I prefer this more plaintive version.

6. The Circle Game [LISTEN] – Ladies of the Canyon
This is an early song that became a hit for Tom Rush, but I always preferred Joni’s.

5. Twisted [LISTEN]– Court and Spark
This is that Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross song from 1962 that was such a hoot when done by Joni, plus Cheech and Chong.
“So why should I feel sorry
If they just couldn’t understand
The idiomatic logic
That went on in my head”

4. Big Yellow Taxi [LISTEN] – Ladies of the Canyon
“They paved paradise
Put up a parking lot.”
Still true, unfortunately.
Love the giggle when she ends the song.

3. The Same Situation [LISTEN] – Court and Spark
Always thought this was one of the most devastating lyrics ever:
“You’ve had lots of lovely women
Now you turn your gaze to me
Weighing the beauty and the imperfection
To see if I’m worthy”

2. A Case of You [LISTEN] – Blue
“Oh I could drink a case of you darling
And I would still be on my feet
I would still be on my feet.”
I love the guitar here.

1. River [LISTEN]– Blue
One of Donna George’s favorite songs. She was a huge music fan, so I was truly mystified one day when she said she had never heard the ‘Jingle Bells’ motif in this song until I mentioned it in passing.
***
Watch: Joni Mitchell in a Rare, Career-Spanning Interview from June 2013 (105 minutes)

The eldest niece is 35 (tomorrow)

Rebecca’s been busy with lots of jobs to make a living, but it is the music that really matters.

The best part of Rebecca Jade’s early growing up was that she lived not that far away. I was in New Paltz or Albany (NY), and she and her parents (my sister Leslie and her now ex-husband) were living in Jackson Heights, Queens, NY, a couple-hour bus ride away. So I saw her a month after she was born, and then several times the next couple of years, including on her first and second birthdays.

Then they moved away, first to North Carolina, then to Puerto Rico for over six years, and I never made it down there, much to my regret, since the photos made their place seem beautiful. I’ve noticed, though, that when I did get a chance to see her – at my grandmother’s funeral, visiting New York City – there is photographic evidence that I was the one who was coloring with her or upon whose shoulders she sat. I’ve also mentioned that when RJ was three and four, she looks a lot like my daughter at three or four (or vice versa.)

She and her folks went to the San Diego, CA area, where I would visit as often as possible, but most often I’d see her at my parents’ house in Charlotte, NC. She is a dozen years older than Marcia’s daughter Alexandria, and she was a GREAT big cousin, just as Alex is a great big cousin to Lydia.

Even early on, Rebecca was interested in music, following in her mother’s footsteps. She was in some trio when she was about 16, and they even recorded some tracks. The problem was, and I say this not out of pride but in fact, she was the only one who could really sing.

Another thing was into was basketball. She was a star on her high school team, and a starter on her college team at U Cal Berkeley; I actually got to see her play live once when her team played in the NYC area. Of course, I made it to graduation from both HS and college.

She got married on 3/7/05, 37 being the uniform number of her husband Rico Curtis when he played football in college and subsequently. 5 was RJ’s uniform number in college.

Rebecca’s been busy with lots of jobs to make a living, but it is the music that really matters. She’s singing with so many different groups I have lost track; she’s quite eclectic. There’s Siren’s Crush, and the Soul Tones, and some jazz quartet.

She’s put out one album, thanks to Kickstarter, and is now working on a second one. Here’s her website. You can listen to a couple of cuts from her new project with Rebecca Jade and the Cold Fact.

She recently wrote her mantra on Facebook: “When we aren’t constantly trying to achieve and even surpass our creative potential, or we choose to give in to mediocrity, a part of our soul is neglected.”

Happy birthday, Rebecca. I love you.

Rebecca.Soultones — Rebecca Jade with the Soultones

Random Memory of My Father: Savannah, GA

I’m sure it didn’t hurt my father’s perception that we hung out with three of my female colleagues.

For my job, I used to go to the national conference of our association every year (far less so this century.) In the fall of 1998, the event was in Savannah, Georgia, this Atlantic coastal city that had a certain old-world charm. Among other things, it was a walkable locale with a sense of its history.

My father, who was living in Charlotte, NC at the time, decided to drive down and visit me. It was about 260 miles and 4.5 hours away, but when he suggested it, I was all for it. I had come down on a Saturday, and while there was a mixer on Sunday, the conference did not start in earnest until Monday; it was just cheaper at that time to fly down a day earlier, even considering the hotel costs.

Well, my father LOVED this place. He had never been there before but talked about wanting to relocate to the city. I’ll admit that I too was taken by the locale, whereas I found Atlanta, which I had visited three years earlier, sprawling and oppressive. I’m sure it didn’t hurt my father’s perception that we hung out with three of my female colleagues, one from my immediate office, plus Donna from Long Island, and Kellie from upstate, with whom he could playfully flirt.

The BIG THING in Savannah at that time was that Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, the 1994 book by John Berendt, and the 1997 film, directed by Clint Eastwood, were set in the city. I had seen neither, though, oddly, I owned the movie soundtrack.

The five of us went to a bunch of historic houses, ate at a couple nice restaurants – it was probably the first time I had key lime pie – and generally had a great time. Then my dad and I just talked for an hour or more at the end of each of the two days he was there.

He left Monday morning. That period may have been the single best time I ever had with my father; within two years, he was dead. So I treasure that trip, and those people who hung out with him, even though I’ve totally lost track of Kellie.

Two songs about Savannah – Hard-Hearted Hannah – Ella Fitzgerald – for a time, I dubbed one of my friends as Hannah. Don’t know why; she wasn’t hard-hearted at all.
Jug Band Music – Lovin’ Spoonful

My father would have turned 87 tomorrow.

Robert De Niro is 70

Meet the Parents (2000) – the first of these ‘Ben Stiller as a Focker’ movies,

Robert De Niro is one of the greatest movie actors ever. Yet, I have missed almost all of his signature roles. I have never seen: Godfather II, Taxi Driver, and The Deer Hunter. I always meant to watch Bang The Drum Slowly, Stanley and Iris, and This Boy’s Life, among others, but never did. Goodfellas I’ve seen only in bits and pieces

What HAVE I seen?

Raging Bull (1980) – this I saw on video, in the past few years. I remain convinced that if I had seen it in the theater, I would have liked it better. As it was, it took me a while to warm to it.
The King of Comedy (1982) – possibly his best role that I’ve seen, as a comedian obsessed with a talk show host, played by Jerry Lewis.
Awakenings (1990) – it borders on treacle but doesn’t quite make it there. With Robin Williams as a feel-good doc.
Cape Fear (1991) – I was sufficiently scared during this movie. Never saw the original with Robert Mitchum
Wag the Dog (1997) – my favorite of these movies; about faking a war. Its biggest drawback is that it was plausibly true.
Jackie Brown (1997) – I actually enjoyed this Tarantino film, which is the last one I saw
Analyze This (1999) – trading on his tough-guy image, it stars Billy Crystal as his shrink
Meet the Parents (2000) – the first of these ‘Ben Stiller as a Focker’ movies, and while I mostly enjoyed it, it was the only one I needed to see
New Year’s Eve (2011) – watched this on New Years’ Eve 2012 with my wife on a hotel TV. The overpacked storyline, directed by Garry Marshall.
Silver Linings Playbook (2012) – yes, I liked it well enough, but not as much as some other Oscar-nominated films.

What are YOUR favorite De Niro roles?

Mick Jagger is 70, tomorrow

The Wikipedia describes “the hypnotic riff Brian Jones is playing during the verses pays a tribute to Bo Diddley’s song ‘Diddley Daddy'”

I started reading this Philip Norman book about Mick Jagger last month, and I’ve never understood the physical appeal of the man, but it is palpable from the very first chapter. He continues to be such an icon that there was a (relatively) recent song about him, Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5. A lock of his hair fetched $6,000 at auction recently; it was for charity to be sure, but still.

Anyway in honor of Sir Michael’s 70th birthday, here are my 20 favorite Stones songs. The album references are to the UK releases; worse than with the Beatles, the US record company could be swipe one song and stick it on another album, or two.

20. Start Me Up -Tattoo You (1981)
Not sure I liked this song as much as appreciating another’s enthusiasm for it. I went to my 10th high school reunion, and it was deadly boring. Afterward, a bunch of us went to our friend Cecily’s house and partied until about 6 a.m.

My good friend Karen was playing this brand new song by the Stones; she must have listened to it a half dozen times or more that night, quite loudly, if memory serves. This was well before I heard it too often in a certain commercial.

19. You Gotta Move – Sticky Fingers (1971)
A gospel standard that still sounds like the band.

18. Play With Fire – B-side to “The Last Time” single (1965)
Love the contrast between the pretty guitar and intense feelings in the lyric.

17. Dead Flowers – Sticky Fingers
I rather liked the faux country feel of the song. And for some reason, always liked the line about the US mail.

16. Ruby Tuesday – single (1966)
It wasn’t as strong as Nirvana would do later, but they had a few songs where the verse is lovely and quiet, and the chorus more robust.

15. Lady Jane – Aftermath (1966)
Brian Jones’ dulcimer helps to make this a beautiful piece. Sounds vaguely Elizabethan, or something.

14. Love in Vain – Let It Bleed (1969)
A Robert Johnson song, played with a bit more country feel than the original.

13. Please Go Home – Between the Buttons (1966)
It’s the echoey effect of the chorus, the distorted guitar, plus a theremin, played by Brian Jones, which gives it an almost early psychedelic feel.

12. Happy – Exile on Main Street (1972)
This is Keith Richards’ signature song with the band. And with the brass, it sounds so, well, happy.

11. Jumpin’ Jack Flash – single (1968)
Great guitar line. “But it’s all right.”

10. Backstreet Girl – Between the Buttons
Brian Jones on glockenspiel and Jack Nitzsche on the harpsichord, plus an accordion. Lovely waltz that was a social commentary on some UK sex scandal of the day.

9. Street Fightin’ Man – Beggars Banquet
Its muscular guitar playing and off-the-beat drumming give the song urgency. What is its politics is a bit unclear.

8. I Got The Blues – Sticky Fingers
Bluesy organ of Billy Preston, not to mention the horns made this for me.

7. 19th Nervous Breakdown – single (1966)
Wikipedia describes “the hypnotic riff Brian Jones is playing during the verses pays a tribute to Bo Diddley’s song ‘Diddley Daddy’… The song is also well known for Bill Wyman’s so-called ‘dive-bombing’ bass line at the end of the song.” The tune was ripped off by other artists, it was so infectious.

6. Mother’s Little Helper – Aftermath
In some ways, an anti-prescription drug song:
“And if you take more of those
you will get an overdose
No more running for the shelter of a mother’s little helper
They just helped you on your way
through your busy dying day”

5. I Am Waiting – Aftermath
Another soft/loud song. Always loved the intentional echo effect in the vocal in the last chorus. There’s a great cover of this by a group called Ollabelle.

4. Paint It, Black – Aftermath
Brian Jones’ sitar. “I want to see the sun blotted out from the sky.” When the press made it the “good” Beatles v. the “evil” Stones in the day, this full-bodied tune was a good example of the latter.

3. You Can’t Always Get What You Want – Let It Bleed
I went to see the movie The Big Chill when it first came out in 1983. The first scene is a funeral, and the organist is noodling about when I recognize this song and started laughing; I’m the only one in the theater to do so for a long 30 seconds until other people start getting the joke. From the French horn opening to the great choir response, a tremendous song.

2. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – Out of Our Heads (1965)
What’s to say? One of the most recognizable riffs in all of pop music, often stolen. This song is always on the list of greatest singles, and rightly so.

1. Gimme Shelter – Let It Bleed
My favorite song is this apocalyptic tune, with the great Merry Clayton vocal.