A music and life review blog about the world at large as seen from the eyes of a former Los Angelino now currently living in her beloved New England and trying to make sense of it all...
In the shadows of tall buildings Of fallen angels on the ceilings Oily feathers in bronze and concrete Faded colors, pieces left incomplete The line moves slowly past the electric fence Across the borders between continents
In the cathedrals of New York and Rome There is a feeling that you should just go home And spend a lifetime finding out just where that is
In the shadows of tall buildings The architecture is slowly peeling Marble statues and glass dividers Someone is watching all of the outsiders The line moves slowly through the numbered gate Past the mosaic of the head of state
In the cathedrals of New York and Rome There is a feeling that you should just go home And spend a lifetime finding out just where that is
In the shadows of tall buildings Of open arches endlessly kneeling Sonic landscapes echoing vistas Someone is listening from a safe distance The line moves slowly into a fading light A final moment in the dead of night
In the cathedrals of New York and Rome There is a feeling that you should just go home And spend a lifetime finding out just where that is
(from Jump Little Children, “Cathedrals”, courtesy of metrolyrics.com)
Thanks for tuning in....Until next time...in sadness....Cheers.
I’m not sure why this happens but when I tell people I listen to classical music nearly every day they seem surprised. They look at me, somewhat perplexed, and tilt their heads and say ‘huh’. I think perhaps because of the music I’m likely to have playing on my computer either at home or work they think I’m not attuned to listening to any other kind of music; or they read my blog and make their assessments based on what they read. What few people don’t know is that more often than not I put the local classical station on at night before I go to bed, or in the car, or anytime I’m so inclined – which is as it turns out about once a day.
When I was growing up I was surrounded by people who not only listened to classical music, but were opera trained singers and actors. More often than not after - dinner - listening in the living room revolved around classical music and/or opera. While I wasn’t always in the room when that was going on – sometimes it was so loud it was hard to miss. Thankfully the house was big enough that I could, if I wanted to, escape and go play my drums (imagine the polarity of THAT night). Either way, what was instilled in me was a love of classical music, some operas and when it came time to study music it was the obvious choice. Start at the beginning and go from there. Classical music for me is something that I use for relaxation, something that reminds me of my family, and a tool that I use for my writing. When I’m feeling less than inspired I drown myself in it and let everything go. I’m told that if you know what you are listening to you can even hear the influence in my music.
So began yesterday, Sunday, after a day of tears and walking the beach on Saturday feeling the anniversary of my mother’s death, I lay in bed, not wanting to move. It is rare for me to not want to get out of bed. I have to either be sick or sicker. But it was an unexpected way to spend the morning. Perhaps it was Abby bringing me coffee in bed (yeah – I know – and I too love the band Squeeze so don’t think I didn’t chuckle when I saw her bringing me my travel mug full of hot, not so black coffee) or maybe it was the emotional hangover from the previous day, or simply the fact that it was Sunday and it was quiet for a change, but it was a nice change of pace. After about a half an hour of enjoying the silence I flipped on the Bose and put my favourite classical station on – KUSC. To my lovely surprise they had on a gorgeous choral program and very little talk. As we lay around drinking morning beverages, eating breakfast and chatting the music added to the calm and the feeling of a brand new day. It was so peaceful, slowing down, and letting the morning sink step by step upon us.
After the choral program they shifted gears and played some Baroque – a favourite genre of mine – and I heard some Johann Pachelbel I had never heard before (a sonata in G). It’s always a cool thing to hear someone’s music that doesn’t often get played in the radio. Of course if you listen to it carefully you can hear that it’s his work. Since most musicians favour certain notes it’s an easy connection to make and a refreshing one at that. Basically, it was a prefect morning that was enhanced by some new sounds (including a version of “Amazing Grace” I’d never heard before), some old sounds and some inspirational juice. I highly suggest you start off your Sunday that way sometime soon. Because in the hectic world we live in – with all the noise and chatter – sometimes you have to let the world fall down.
Speaking of the world falling down - rude awakening moment of the week: this morning at 7.20 the construction started next door and not just a little banging but MAJOR saws, hammering and yelling. I called the LAPD at 7.50 and was told by the dispatcher that they were not allowed to work on a holiday. When I called at 9 – I was told they were. I wish the police would get their stories straight or at least know the laws they are sworn to protect. Needless to say the yahoos next door are still at it and show no signs of giving us all a break today. I hope their world falls down on them.
I was at a loss this week for a CD to review. You see, there are weeks when I am nearly obsessed with a song or a CD – it’s inhabited me, it’s haunted me – it’s maybe sent me to another plain as music has always done. I think I’m lucky that way – not everyone feels music and I’m grateful for it’s inhabitance of my soul. Maybe it’s no different than the person who feels that way about archeology or cooking, or maybe it is. Since art is subjective and, if you’re a Dadaist, art can be anything, it’s hard to quantify. I do know we all have our passions and if we don’t - we are dead. Irrespective of your passion – it’s good to have one, or a few – they keep us alive and aware of who we are and where we belong.
So I’m sitting here typing away rather uncensored as I listen for the first time to the CD that Abby suggested I review. This week’s offering: David Gray’s latest, a live CD of covers, A Thousand Miles Behind, released this past October. I’m not quite all the way through as I write this but so far I’m enjoying my listen. While doing a little research I did stumble upon his website and watched the Live Earth video of him and the reclusive Damien Rice singing “Babylon” (I’ll post it below). It was worth the detour since it was a performance that I had missed. But back to this CD; so far, so good.
I have to say, I think you need to be a fan of his to really enjoy this CD. His style is mellow and thoughtful and it’s not for everyone. All the songs are done in this manner of slow-moving, mildly sad, yet introspective way. Although, don’t get me wrong – hearing him cover Bob Dylan’s “To Ramona”, “One Too Many Mornings”, and “Buckets Of Rain” is a real pleasure and I do believe he does justice to these fine pieces of work.
One of the really cool things about this collection of covers is that some of these tunes are rather unexpected. I never thought I’d hear him sing the Barry Gibb song, “In The Morning”, done so beautifully and with a sensitivity to the tune that can bring you to tears. Though perhaps that says more about Barry Gibb’s songwriting than anything else since every tune that brilliant man has ever written, with the right production values, can do that (I believe a lot of his brilliance has been lost amid the schlocky disco production and sappy crap that has made him and the Bee Gees a ton of money – it’s a true shame that many don’t recognize this fact). Another surprise worth the price of admission is Bruce Springsteen’s “Philadelphia”. Surely few others could do this song justice in the way that David Gray has done. However, the most surprising for me is the Randy Newman tune, “I Think It’s Going To Rain”. I admit, I’m not a fan of Mr. Newman’s but after hearing this version of one of his songs I realize that, much like how I feel about Ani DiFranco, it may have less to do with the songwriting and more to do with the delivery. I think both are very fine songwriters but I don’t want to hear them sing their own tunes. David Gray remedies this and does it well. He has opened my eyes to Mr. Newman and perhaps now I won’t be so quick to dismiss him.
Overall I think this CD is a very sweet listen and will open anyone’s eyes to a few songs they may have never given too much thought to. It has opened my eyes and I hope you check it out. www.davidgray.com and www.myspace.com/davidgray
Last week I filled you in on my Christmas Holiday. In between the miles of travel and the martinis I learned some unexpected news. It was Christmas Eve and my niece’s first church recital; she did an amazing job and was as cute as a button! After it was all over while we were standing in the pew congratulating her and gathering our things I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was a dear old friend of mine from college, Sue, whose nephews were in the same chorus with Cate. As her brother and her wife looked on we did a little catching up – though not too much since we all had family to attend to. The inevitable question came up – ‘how’s (my ex boyfriend and her best friend) Jim? The last I heard he was an art teacher in The City, is he still doing that?’. Silence. A very long moment. A bombshell. ‘I’m sorry to tell you but he passed away five years ago of cancer’. WOW, not what I was anticipating and certainly not the time to talk about it. I gave her my card and hoped to hear from her.
After getting back to Los Angeles, settling in with a nasty cold and catching up on my myspace, I learned that Sue had put in a ‘friend’ request. Cool. It’s always good to be in touch with old friends – it makes us feel as if our ‘childish’ indiscretions and wild nights weren’t as bad as they seem in retrospect and that hopefully all is chalked up to ‘those crazy years’. Though I may never ‘get over’, (laugh), Sue calling me ‘the bitch on wheels’ (I used to ride my bike furiously across campus and apparently looked so intense it gave people, or Sue, the impression that I was well…you get it) I am glad she tapped me on the shoulder. It took some courage, and I don’t know why I was afraid, but I had to email her and ask what happened to Jim. She explained how they found each other and how it was just in time. She was in his life his last few months thanks to a mutual friend and they managed to reconnect, hang out and just ‘be’. I gathered she felt at peace about his passing.
It’s so odd to find this out five years after the fact. Jim and I lost touch long ago but he was one of my favourite boyfriends and I loved him. I still wear the pinky ring that we got in the West Village too many years ago – the rings that made us the ‘power twins’ – he wore his on his right hand, I wore/wear mine on my left hand so that when we held hands our rings touched. I have never taken it off except to record (the ring bangs on my guitar which can sometimes be an unwanted noise). I know now I will wear this ring until the end of time.
I was deeply saddened at Christmas to learn of his passing and, this week, to learn more details. One might think, ‘why would you be sad? You weren’t in touch and for all you know he had long ago forgotten about you’. But that’s not the point, is it? The point is that we are touched by those we love and no matter how many years pass between hearing their voice or getting an email, they remain a part of us. While they may get tucked away and sometimes put aside to protect our emotions from pain, they are somewhere inside of us. Maybe we bring them up to the surface sometime on a rainy day in private, or maybe they cross our minds when we walk around our old college. This week I mourned not only his loss, I mourned the loss of possibility. I will never get to thank him for opening my eyes to Punk music and dark beer. I will never be able to tell him again how talented an artist he is. He’ll never know I still have one of his self portraits. I’ll never meet his wife and be able to thank her for loving one of my favourite people more than I ever could. I’ll never be able to say how sorry I am for how things ended and for what a jerk I was to handle it the way I did. But no matter what – he will stay with me and when I get the courage I’ll look at our old pictures as I’ve done over the years – only this time I’ll know that he is gone. Somehow it changes everything.
I admit I didn’t start to pay attention to Ryan Adams until 2001 when “New York, New York” became a hit. I mean, who can forget the haunting image of The World Trade Center in the background (shot just days before 9/11) as he sang his ode to the great city I grew up around and love to this day. It was in those trying days that I started to really pay attention to this guy. In the midst of all the personal hell I was going through having been in NYC on ‘that’ day and the reasons I was home, I was able to grasp a hold of some new music that in some ways helped carry me through those horrible weeks that followed. Needless to say, I’ve been a fan ever since and his latest release, an EP entitled Follow The Lights is no less gripping.
The title song from this EP, “Follow The Lights”, among three new songs of seven, has really struck a chord for me. From the first time I really ‘heard’ it (as featured on an episode of the ABC show “October Road”) I was hooked. Perhaps it was the timing of the release, it being The Holidays and me feeling homesick, or perhaps no matter the time of year it’s easy to identify with wanting to go home – wherever that is in your heart - even if no one is there to answer the door. Home is where we feel our naked feet and the grass beneath them, home is where we feel whole or where the ghosts live that either encourage or discourage us to return.
These very moments as they pass It’s like you’re just dreaming of busting someone else Hands they hold a candle to the pages These days they go so fast These days are ours
Follow the lights that line the streets connecting telephones Follow the lights from house to house And they will lead you home They will lead you home Cause there was never anywhere to go There was never anywhere to go But home
If every second year is true Our love is strong enough to guide the way we walk through Hands inside of hands Hearts inside of hearts Like eyes closed Side by side and through
Follow the lights that line the streets connecting telephones Follow the lights from house to house And they will lead you home They will lead you home Cause there was never anywhere to go There was never anywhere to go But home
If everything we are is true Our memories are attics in those houses on the hill Our love is there above us holding everything so still And we are always here Yes we are always here
So follow the lights that line the streets connecting telephones Follow the lights from house to house And they will lead you home They will lead you home Cause there was never anywhere to go There was never anywhere to go There was never anywhere to go But home, home [courtesy of http://www.metrolyrics.com]
As you can imagine from the lyrics the melody is sweet, touching and the music moves us along like a slow river in the deep south. It is surely one of my favourite songs of 2007.
As for the rest of the Ep – it is worth every song. The other two new tunes on it, “My Love For You Is Real” and “Blue Hotel” are fine pieces of work that will whet your appetite for his next release out, hopefully, later this year – another recording he’ll do with The Cardinals tentatively entitled The Cardinals III/IV. The remaining songs are newly redone older songs of his (a cover of Alice In Chains’ “Down In A Hole”, “This Is It” from Rock n Roll and “Dear John” from Jacksonville City Nights) – but with a catch – they are recorded live and thusly, for the purist in all if us, make them even better than the original versions. I tip my hat to anyone who can record live and not use all the tricks that machines afford us. What you hear is what they did, and felt in that moment – it is absolutely one of the best feelings for me. No overdubbing, no layering, just the music as it was in the studio without all the extraneous noise that comes from a concert recording. Very cool and worth downloading the whole EP (which I always prefer to do instead of just the songs I think I might like) or buying it in a real store. www.ryan-adams.com or http://www.myspace.com/ryanadams
As you can probably guess if you’re a reader of this blog (where I use titles of songs to lead into a topic in my life) I did indeed go home for The Holidays. Thankfully I was able to spend nearly two weeks back east visiting with old friends and touching base with those I don’t see as often as I would like. It was a busy time and of course I didn’t even see everyone I would have liked but those I got to made the miles fade away and made me feel at home.
After a delayed flight in Los Angeles on the 18th of December I landed in Newark and was quickly brisked away to what has become a tradition for me and Fritz. He picks me up (this time in his new car) and we hustle back to Riverdale, drop of my crap and hightail it to Josepina’s where we try to get our order for food in before the kitchen closes and where they make the best Vodka Martinis in town. This time we were joined by his new girlfriend, Debbie, who, unlike the last one, isn’t a recovering alcoholic. Not that I’m against people who are recovering (one of my dearest friends is in AA) – but this last one was a headache and I’m glad she’s out of the picture since I never felt comfy having a drink in front of her thusly making time around them less fun. Though admittedly last year I made a point to get drunk in front her – I was kind of pissed that although they had broken up I was having to spend Christmas Eve with her so I kind of let loose. Ok – maybe that was more than you wanted to know. Needless to say I really like Debbie and I hope this works out for him – he deserves a woman like her and it’s about time he date someone we can all hang out with and like. She’s a real keeper.
After catching up with our college bud, Courtney, the next day we hightailed it to Brooklyn for dinner to see my dear old friend, Jodi, whom Fritz had never met despite us knowing each other for eight years. Another Vodka Martini, some very tasty food, stimulating conversation and meeting Jodi’s new girlfriend (odd that these two friends seem to be embarking on new relationships at the same time within a week of each other) and a good time was had by all. Despite a ‘new’ restaurant, and new surroundings, I felt at home. Sometimes ‘home’ has to do with the people at the table and not where that table is located. I’m glad we hauled our asses out there – it was well worth the trip.
Next up was a trip to Boston to see Amanda and Rosemary. It was Thursday the 20th and it was time to break in the new car, aptly dubbed Klaus. For the most part it was an uneventful drive up until Fritz got tired and asked me to take over, conveniently in a snow storm. Hmm…oh well, he knows I love to drive and he knows I love weather so it worked out very well – but instead of heading into to town we had to go straight up to Redding for fear of getting stuck in nasty weather traffic. It was a smart move to just get on up there because the snow didn’t stop until well into the night. Unfortunately, it was also the day Amanda was having surgery on her shoulder so they weren’t exactly home when we arrived. Oh well. After some shoveling and sheer will we got up into the driveway and had a good time in the car watching the snow and drinking some Sam Adams Winter Lager that I stashed in a snow bank to keep cool. Why not make the best of it, right?
Thankfully they showed up just as our hunger was making us contemplate loosing our spot on the hill/driveway that we’d worked so hard for to head out into the storm. Yep – they have four wheel drive so any errands (including dinner) that evening were consequently run in their vehicle whilst Klaus rested and snuggled up with his first snow. Even though Amanda was on painkillers and just basically out of it it was another good night at ‘home’.
Next up after a leisurely breakfast with the girls: a ‘queer eye’ makeover for Fritz. It was time for him to loose his “Michael Bolton” locks and cut the shit off. We went back to my old ‘hood in Somerville and got an appointment at Judy Jetson’s – a place I used to get my hair cut back in the day. WOW. Wonders never cease – he looked great! We also had enough time to walk into Harvard Square and hit the old streets. I was comforted to realize that much of what I’ve always loved about Harvard Square remains. It is and always will be a very beautiful part of town and I’m so glad for my time there.
Saturday rolled around and it was time to head out to The Berkshires to catch up with Lauren and Katherine (my second favourite niece). Fritz and I took one of my favourite roads and traveled out Route 2. It was simply amazing and beautiful! Thanks to the snowstorm everything was covered in white and idyllic in it’s feel and look. It was truly magical as was our time with them which included meeting Lauren’s new cheese making boyfriend, David, who managed to convince me with his deft pouring hands that Gin Martinis are the bomb. You rule, man, really you do. Another keeper.
After a breakfast of Lobster Benedict (only in New England) on Sunday it was time to head down to Connecticut to see my sis and my first favourite niece, Cathryn so I could spend the week with them and hang out for Christmas. It was a busy week – my dear old friends Corrina and Nicole swung by on Wednesday for the night (good times) and then Thursday and Friday I used my carpenter skills to finish up the window between the kitchen and living room that a looser carpenter my sister hired never bothered to finish. It’s ok – he did a crappy job and I had to fix his work – if he had stayed the window would have eventually collapsed so it all worked out in the end. It wouldn’t be a trip home without working on my sister’s house - something I greatly enjoy.
Anyhoo……my last night in town, Saturday, was spent in Times Square with Fritz, Debbie, Nicole and Corrina. I rarely do such touristy things in NYC but it was, after all, The Patriots/Giants game and what better place to watch than in the middle of the city with the game being played just miles away. It was very exciting and if you’re wondering who I was rooting for I chose The Patriots since it was when I was living in Boston that I learned how to watch Football. It’s kind of hard NOT to root for them when you live there – it’s like The Sox – it’s in the water and you drink it.
Overall it was an amazing time at home. The weather was awesome – I got my snow – I got my hugs and I ate some amazing food. I even saw a movie (Juno – awesome!) with my sister for the first time in years - just like we used to do on Christmas Day when we were old enough to stretch our legs and get away from the family whilst they lounged in front of the fire. It was all very sweet, and it really felt like home – ghosts or no ghosts.
Thanks for tuning in…Happy New Year & Happy Russian Christmas…Until next week…CHEERS!!
Ps. I’ve posted some pictures on my myspace page under the title “Christmas ’07…” www.myspace.com/laraschuler
I grew up in Connecticut and North Carolina - I am a singer-songwriter currently living back in Northeast while contemplating the workings of this new life.
