“Isaac” by Bear’s Den

It’s been over a year since I posted anything on this blog.  Maybe I can get started again here—sort of a new year’s resolution (since all my other resolutions aren’t going that well).  I’ll start with a music video of a song I heard just this week and liked a lot.  The band is Bear’s Den, an alternative folk group from Britain.  I checked out their CD Islands from my local library and am really enjoying it.  I’m not sure what the song is about exactly, but it seems to be referencing the biblical story of the sacrifice of Isaac (a story I frankly never liked and have always found disturbing).  At one point the lyrics say:

Isaac I have never seen you look so afraid
With your head pressed so hard against the stone
You look so alone

But love seems to win in the end with the repeating chorus:

I’m going to give all my love to you

Whatever this song means, I think it’s quite beautiful.  I’m always a sucker for moody banjo.

New Sam Amidon

I just found out that Sam Amidon, one of my very favorite musicians, has a new record (CD?) coming out soon.  Bright Sunny South will be released on Nonesuch Records on May 14.  It will contain a variety of traditional and contemporary songs.  Below is one of the songs, a cover of Tim McGraw’s “My Old Friend.”  (For the record, I only know this because I read it.  I couldn’t name a Tim McGraw song if my life depended on it.)  I also read there will be a cover of a Mariah Carey song which has me curious.

Probably my favorite song off of Amidon’s last record was his rendition of the old Sacred Harp hymn “Kedron.”  The new CD will include a version of the shape-note tune “Weeping Mary.”  I think my first exposure to shape-note singing was the wonderful record Rivers of Delight by the Vermont-based Word of Mouth Chorus.  I read that Sam Amidon’s parents, Peter and Mary Alice, both sang on that 1978 recording. That was an interesting bit of trivia and insight into Sam’s interest in Sacred Harp music.  Below you can listen to the Word of Mouth Chorus singing “Weeping Mary.”  I can’t wait to hear Sam’s version.

Weeping Mary  

Hi, Your Head’s on Fire

I’m a big fan of the ever quirky band They Might Be Giants.  Last month they released their 16th album, Nanobots, and it’s a good one. One of my favorite songs is the opener “You’re on Fire.”  Below is an unofficial, fan-created video for this song consisting of archival footage.  Nicely done.  The creepy monkey kids rule!

Just a piece of Kansas trivia:  The large pink face that appears around the 1:45 mark and again at the very end of the video is none other than renowned Emporia newspaper journalist William Allen White. They Might Be Giants have long had a thing for William Allen White whose face also appears in their 1986 videos for “Don’t Let’s Start” and “Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head.”  I love this strange connection between They Might Be Giants and the man for whom the top children’s book award in Kansas is named.

“Combustible heads—I read an article all about them.”

 

Jan Terri’s Comeback

Back in 2010 I blogged about the incomparable Jan Terri.  The Chicago-based songstress recorded a couple of CDs in 1993 and 1994 but since then has been virtually absent from the world of music.  This has left her scores of fans to repeatedly watch her videos on YouTube and wonder if she’d ever record again.  Well, good news!  I was thrilled to recently discover that after a 19 year hiatus, Ms. Terri is back performing and planning the release of a new CD, The Wild One.  I read that it was going to be released in 2012, but I can find no evidence of this yet.  There has been one single released, complete with video:  “Excuse My Christmas.”  If this is any sign of what’s to come, it will be worth waiting for.

If you aren’t familiar with Jan Terri, check out her 1994 video “Journey to Mars” below.  It features early 90’s techno effects with girls in silver jumpsuits and big hair walking through a psychedelic O’Hare International Airport—all to the accompaniment of the musical stylings of Jan Terri.  I love in the closing credits that two of the “silver girls” did hair and makeup.  It’s awesome!  Beam me up, Scotty!

Auld Lang Syne

As the new year quickly approaches, we will soon probably be hearing the familiar strains of “Auld Lang Syne.”  What a strange little song.  I certainly know the tune.  I can probably stumble over about half the words. But please don’t ask me to explain what it all means!  Something about forgetting old acquaintance and taking cups of kindness?  Like I said, a strange little song.

For me this song will always be associated with Guy Lombardo.  As a child, if I was able to stay up late and watch the festivities on TV, it was Guy and His Royal Canadians who always played in the new year with this beloved song.  This was before the days of Dick Clark, and now even Dick is gone.  Boy, do I feel “auld.”

One of my very favorite renditions of this song is by local Lawrence, Kansas musician Sam Billen.  He manages to take this cliché of a song and make it into something truly beautiful.  Click below to listen.  And Happy New Year to all!

“Auld Lang Syne”  Sam Billen

Star of Wonder

Merry Christmas all!  This is one of my favorite Christmas songs by one of my favorite music groups—The Roches.  Wishing you peace and joy.

“Star of Wonder”  The Roches

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  John 1:5

Joni Mitchell – The Way It Is

Joni Mitchell has always been one of my favorite musical artists.  I’ve been a fan of hers for a long time.  How long?  Well, let’s just say that as a teenager I spent hours listening to her album Blue on an 8-track tape player.

I recently ran across a video from 1968 of Joni singing a song entitled “The Way It Is.”  I’d never heard this song before.  Apparently, it was never released on any of her records.  It exemplifies much of what made me fall in love with her music:  the beautiful singing, the unusual guitar chords, the haunting melody, poetic and provocative lyrics, the simplicity of solo voice accompanied by solitary instrument.  What a shame this song was never recorded.

This video can only be viewed on YouTube. Click this link to watch:  The Way It Is

Jane Siberry a.k.a. Issa a.k.a. Jane Siberry

Last weekend I had the good pleasure of seeing k.d. lang in concert in Lawrence, Kansas.  But the real reason I attended that concert was to see the opening act:  Jane Siberry.  I’ve waited nearly three decades to see Jane perform live.  Her quirky sensibilities were in full evidence with the very first words from her mouth:  “Hello…I’m Janie Cash.”

Canadian singer/songwriter Jane Siberry is one of my all-time favorite musicians.  I instantly became a fan after first listening to her 1984 release No Borders Here, and I’ve loved her ever since.

Jane is an interesting character.  In 2006 she sold most of her worldly possessions:  her house, her car, her instruments, etc.  She began traveling with only the clothes she could carry in a knapsack and a travel-size guitar.  Her only address was a post office box.  Her only bill was for her cell phone.  She began posting her music online and giving it away or letting people pay whatever they felt was fair.  Oh, and she also changed her name to Issa to help start her new life afresh, like an empty cup.  Then in December 2009 she changed her name back to Jane Siberry.  Apparently, the new name wasn’t simplifying things but rather complicating them a bit.  Anyway, whether she calls herself Jane Siberry or Issa or even Janie Cash, she is an amazing creative artist who follows her own path.

Jane’s music covers a wide range of styles and moods.  She seems to always be experimenting and exploring new paths.  I find her songs often have an almost cinematic quality.  They can be the musical equivalent of a short film.  “In My Dreams” from her 2009 release With What Shall I Keep Warm? is one of those tunes.  It’s a beautiful song about family and memories and dreams.  Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and allow yourself to float away in the beauty of this song.  “We are laughing…We are happy…No one’s missing…We are holy in my dream.”  Listen below.

“In My Dreams” – Jane Siberry    

Sigur Rós – Glósóli

This is just a beautiful, magical, spine-tingling video from the wonderful Sigur Rós.  You need to watch in full-screen mode.

He Was Despised

Today is Good Friday.  What has been running through my mind all day is the haunting aria “He Was Despised”  from Händel’s Messiah.  The words are taken from Isaiah 53:3:  “He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”  It is one of my favorite moments, though there are many, from Händel’s oratorio.

I found this video of an unusual performance in Vienna.  The aria is sung by countertenor Bejun Mehta.  I know nothing about this production but feel it conveys in a non-traditional way the passion and suffering of the rejected Christ.