And so we've reached the end of the Discography. I want to thank everyone who participated over our two year run, whether it was writing or listening or responding. I've gone to the trouble of including Gary Beatrice's last post from year one because it pained me to think that he wouldn't be here with us at the end.
Thank you, as always, for being my friends, and I am honored and humbled to know you - and, as Robert Graves opined, good-bye to all that.
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| OK, so I shamelessly swiped this off of Margie's Facebook page, but I'm sure she won't mind. Here's the family saying goodbye to GB. For those of you who didn't know him, you missed a rare and gentle soul. |
Gary Beatrice
Warren Zevon, Keep Me In Your Heart
My mother is a fantastic artist. When I was in my late teens she took up painting and she was outstanding. All of the Beatrice homes have her paintings. About 30 years ago she took up sculpture, and without any doubt that was her calling. She used all type of wood and stone and would frequently spend upwards of six months on a single piece. She sold a few, was commissioned to make more, and won sculpture competitions from New York to Phoenix.
Sadly I did not inherit her artistic skills. If I had I would have used them to write a song. I would have written a beautiful good-bye song to my wife, Margie. It would not have been a sad song, although death and separation are certainly sad. The song would be about love and friendship and be gently hopeful.
Since I can't write or sing a song I am steeling Warren Zevon's good-bye song and dedicating it to my wife and children:
Hold me in your thoughts
Take me in your dreams
Touch me as I fall into view.
When the winter comes
Keep the fires lit
And I will be right next to you.
Sometimes when you're doing simple things around the house
Maybe you'll think of me and smile.
You know I'm tied to you like the buttons on your blouse
Keep me in your heart for a while.
Dave Wallace
I was trying to find the right song
to say sayonara to Year Two of this song blog, and I realized that I'd already
chosen it back in Year One, Week Fourteen. So I'm picking it
again. Drift Away by the great Dobie Gray perfectly
captures my feelings about music and its power to heal us and take us away from
our daily troubles. I wish everyone happy travels as you continue to
drift away on your own musical journeys.
Dave Kelley
The
dark specter of Trump's dystopian America has haunted much of the blog, and
continues to do so for me. One of the many things that has been made clear
is the hypocrisy and moral midgetry of the religious right. They despise
someone as fundamentally decent as Obama and worship at the feet of someone as
despicable and devoid of virtue as Trump. If Jesus ever does return,
those fuckers better have somewhere to hide. Preach Johnny!
Kathy Seiler
I
know I've been absent from Discography for quite a while, but thought I'd put
in a final post to end the year. I'm not sure I ever really recovered from the
events of earlier in the year and now that we are back on campus I know it will
be just another set of challenges, joys and sorrows, as I begin what feels like
the New Year to me.
One
of the changes in our life this past year was selling our house and moving into
a far too small apartment. It was fun for a bit, but it's made me realize a lot
about what I'm ready for and what I'm not ready for... and I'm not quite ready
for year round living in a small apartment. I thankfully traveled a lot this
summer and have quite a bit of travel in my future, which I'm hoping will help
with the waiting until we find our next home. Patience is not my strong point.
In
all of these events, this song has been an anchor for me, and a valuable
reminder. The reminder is that I am home wherever I am if I have love around
me. It reminds me of all that I have and how lucky I am to be anywhere so full of
love from my husband, my kids, and my most incredible friends. It also reminds
me when I'm away from them that I can still hold on to their love even when I'm
away.
So
for everyone who might not be exactly in the place or space they want to be,
give this song a listen. Maybe it will speak to you as it did to me.
Phil Seiler
Patty
Gurdy
This
wasn't what I intended to write about this final week but life has its twists
and turns and at the last moment I was delivered this gem of a performer. I had
no idea I needed more hurdy gurdy music in my life but I totally did. One of my
favorite things about this song, and Patty herself, is the wonderful amalgam of
her accent. She's German but learned English young, spent some time growing up
in Scotland and England, and admits to watching too much American YouTube
videos. Beauty and joy comes from the unexpected melding of many things. A
lesson for our time. (And if you want more evidence of that I recommend
watching the original version of this song by her Folk Metal band Storm Seeker.
Rock
on, good people.
Gary Scudder
Lucinda Williams,
World Without Tears
Nicole Atkins,
A Dream Without Pain
I'm closing out the Discography with two songs that seem to go together, the first from Lucinda Williams, a singer who has been a mainstay on my playlist for twenty years, and the second, from Nicole Atkins, an artist I only discovered this year. The two songs seem to go together, at least in my addled mind. I always wanted to have a theme week based on two songs which we think belong together, even if they're not connected in any way. About the only connection between these two would be, arguably, that they fall into the alt-country category, although Atkins really only ended up in that neighborhood once she moved to Nashville and released her latest album,
Goodnight Rhonda Lee (from which
A Dream Without Pain is drawn). Lucinda's
World Without Tears is from the album of the same name. Yes, I know it borders on sacrilege, but I've long proposed that
World Without Tears is her best album. Beyond that, the obvious connection is that they are both heartbreaking appeals for a better world, and what better to having playing as we close out the American century in the Trumpian end times.
