shadysidebury

This is amazing. Found it as a result of StumbleUpon- I wouldn’t normally use that, but on this occasion it was a goldmine.

more about "Music from a tree- this must be seen …", posted with vodpod

Posted in Music

I discovered this version of the song on Sunday- it's always been one of my favourite Bob Dylan songs, although I don't particularly care for the way he sings it. I have always loved the chorus:

I see my light come shining,

From the west unto the east

Any day now, any day now,

I shall be released.

What better expression of defiance is there? As long as you can defy a challenge, or face it head on, where it is impossible that it can be defied, there will be a release.  (The bass line is very groovy, and I like them when they're like that.)

Warren Zevon's swansong. For a man who believed he 'may have made a tactical error in not visiting a physician in twenty years', suddenly being faced with an uphill battle against an inoperable form of mesothelioma (asbestos-related lung cancer) must have been quite a shock.
However, it doesn't show in Warren Zevon's swansong 'The Wind'. The album moves pleasantly between driving rock (opening track 'Dirty Life and Times' being a prime example, and tender ballads, such as the album's closing track 'Keep Me in Your Heart For Awhile', written by an ailing Zevon as a gift to his family, with a message that fans have taken to their hearts.
The guest list on this album reads like a who's who of modern music's greats, Ry Cooder, Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty, to name but a few.
However, what shines through beyond anything else on the album is the courage shown by Warren, who refused treatment in the belief that it would weaken him. Zevon does not seem at all unwell, which is remarkable when you consider that he was essentially dying by inches as he was recording the album. The only song on the album not written or co-written by Zevon seems to attest to that- a cover of the Dylan classic 'Knockin' On Heaven's Door'. For those of you who are by now itching for a sample of the album, I have included a video below this text which accompanies my favourite track of the eleven on the album- 'Keep Me In Your Heart for Awhile'.

Wow. I can't actually believe it, but I can listen to "that song" again. Mind you, it's still a slight "Ouch!" feeling which comes with it...and don't even go there with the original. (Nothing to do with my dislike of Bob Dylan's singing voice, but an inability to keep the "Written for a movie, written for a movie, doesn't relate at all" mantra up for long.) However, as odd as it seems, I do occasionally get the urge to play it. God knows why, because it doesn't matter how long it's been, it still reminds me.  And I can only play a verse before I have to stop...so, no progress there.  I missed the boat on Warren Zevon a couple of times, but I have to say, I love the guy's music. (Expect future posts to focus on a few of his songs.) The problem with "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" will also make a future protected post.

"Come on sunshine, what can you show me, where can you take me, to make me understand? The wind can shake me, brothers forsake me, the rain can touch me, but can I touch the rain? All at once it came to me, I saw the wherefore, and you can see it if you try. It's in the sun above, it's in the one you love...you'll never know the reason why."
This Gordon Lightfoot song is wonderful... it makes me smile on an emotional level. Many things make me smile on a physical level, but this track makes me smile on an emotional level, because I listen to it, and realise that as slow as it is, I'm making progress. In addition to making progress, I'm not forgetting. I was so worried that making progress would mean forgetting the good stuff. Sure, I'm still bothered by some of it- memories I can't hope to get rid of, because they're there in technicolor, I'll remember them 'til the day I go, but I'm learning to live with it..therefore today's a good day. May each and every one of you have a good day today.

Although I'm an acoustic guitarist primarily, it would be dreadfully disrespectful of me not to pay tribute to the man who created one of the world's premier electric guitars. He did more for electric guitarists singlehandedly than Fender did with two men. Of course, what I'm grateful to him for is his invention of multitrack recording. If he hadn't invented the 8-track, I wouldn't be able to share music with people all over the world through the Internet as I can now, because there's no way recording technology would have got that far. The video below shows Les Paul performing with Chet Atkins...a great of fingerstyle guitar, to whom I am personally indebted. He piqued my interest in that style. But back to the subject of this post...may Mr. Paul rest in peace, and may God bless him for what he did for music whilst he was here.

This is so "quirky", I had to blog about it. Seeing as I'm a member of the official George Harrison forum (why would I not be? :)) I have been following the creation of a very interesting art project by a fan over the past four months. The fan finally revealed the finished result on Saturday, and I only saw the post today- shame on me, but having had such a good weekend...those who helped make it so know who they are...:) I'm entitled to have to catch up on the action around the board.

So- I present to you a YouTube video of a life-size George Harrison marionette performing one of his later songs. Enjoy!

I discovered this song last night, and it speaks to me in such a way that I felt compelled to write about it. It's so beautiful, and Jackson's lyrics convey something about this journey I still feel I am on, that I do not feel capable of conveying myself.



I love it, and hope you enjoy it too.

All the best...and go on and make a joyful sound.

*sigh* I can't believe it's here already. I guess early April is always a problem of sorts for me- well, I suppose it has been for the past couple of years. April 8, 2007, was the day a dear friend passed away after three years of fighting cancer. Even today, two years down the line, I sometimes sit and think "How the heck did that happen? I wasn't ready." Then I have to remind myself that even if I wasn't, Chris was, and that's what matters. Also, that's the bit that hurts, because there was so much we didn't get to say. So much I would've liked to ask. Of course, there were smiles, more of those than anything, but there were things which should've been discussed. I wish I'd had a better understanding of her beliefs on life after death, but then, to ask would have been to admit my worst fear. I know Chris must have thought about it, but to discuss it with me would have been too much. Thankfully, I have many memories which I can smile at, but it involves doing a lot of work to get to those when the memories of the last days are so powerful. (I can remember many of those better than the very early days.)  I guess it's a case of getting through it as best I can. Music will help. So, I'm posting a video of one of Chris' favourite songs- the one I played on loop three days before.



Is it weird to miss somebody you hardly knew so very much?

If it is, I don't care. The missing is an indication of the depth of love, I guess.

Isn't that the way they say it goes
But let's forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell them I'm fine and to show
I've overcome the blow
I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words could just convince myself
That it just wasn't real
But that's not the way it feels

Jim Croce had a way with words, and this song has worked its way back into my life, after some time where I hadn't listened to it. With April on the horizon, I'm finding it again, enjoying it again, if that were possible...You see, this was a track I discovered on April 9th, 2007. One day after dear Chris had passed, and the day I heard. I desperately needed something other than George Harrison to listen to, and I still had a disc of Jim Croce music (the second disc of "Jim Croce: The Essential Collection") to listen to. It was lucky in a way, although the first track got less than a second of airplay after hearing the first line:

If I could put time in a bottle...

Bottling time was too attractive an idea, and a miserable idea at the time..so I flicked the next track button on my CD player. Jim's strong voice came out with the opening lines of "Operator", which I enjoyed, but when he got to the chorus, my soul began to sing.

Those words meant a lot to me in that time...more than I can say. Still do, and with April approaching, they'll take on significance again. I'll weather it this time, because I have to. Chris would want me to...and in the meantime, here's the song. I'll post more about Jim in the future.

The above is one of my favourite George Harrison songs, which I tend to apply to music. (I've not yet tried Formula 1 racing...if anybody has, please tell me what it's like!) However, I decided to write this post in tribute to George on the occasion of his 66th birthday. He was the reason I discovered spirituality, you could say. After I discovered him I found Chris, and through the pair of them, I found God. George is a hero of mine, his music keeps his memory alive, and for that I'm forever grateful. May His light shine on, and may he rest in peace.

God bless you, George!

PS:

Couldn't leave without posting a couple more videos.



Looking for my Life- another favourite George track, although you could say I like every record the man ever breathed on. :D (That wouldn't be true, though, because I sometimes have difficulty listening to "Horse to the Water".)

This next video is posted in tribute to George, and mostly in tribute to dear Chris, who loved it.



May God bless them both, and the rest of you, richly!

Hare Krishna for dear George and Chris.

Townes Van Zandt.



This beautiful song has a powerful message, which is obviously best conveyed by the artist himself- to my disappointment, I couldn't find the original version on YouTube. I've only recently discovered Townes, and I'm so very pleased I did. (A double CD in HMV for £6.99- great find.)

Love his music, and hope my readers might come to learn something of him too.

Enjoy!

Shady

Please play the song as you read the text below.



Dear Chris,

Today is your birthday. I can hardly believe it's been two years since you left, and three years since we met. In the time you were here, you taught me a lot, and continue to teach me, even through spirit- "Pum! Para arriba y mejorara!"- "get up, dust yourself off and all will improve"...or simply "Para arriba"- "Life goes on."

We shared so much in our short time together, which leaves a gap nobody will be able to fill. I must walk forward, knowing that you are watching me from your spiritual Home, at "His holy feet". I hope you are satisfied with the choices I am making with regard to my spiritual path, which was the path you set me on. I learned much from you in your battle, and through the way you conducted yourself in said battle. I pray you are now at peace, but I know you are. After so many challenges, how could you not be?

God bless you, "mi querida amiga", my dear friend.

Below is a condensed version of my experiences with Chris, and particularly the last. I tell the story with the greatest respect for her, and out of respect for her. She was such a great influence on me that it doesn't seem right that I should keep this story to myself.

Without further ado:

April

In order to tell this story with the respect it deserves, I must state that there were good times before the part where the real story begins. Before April 3, 2007, it was paradise. Life was good for me, and I didn't think it was going to turn upside down that quickly. I'd known since January 23, 2007, that things probably were not going to work out the way I would have liked them to for Chris. She had fought a courageous three year battle with cancer.

I had only known her for eight months when I became aware of the fact that she was not going to make it. As far as the signal, there were three words: "I leave now."

Her English had been perfect until that point, so that was when I knew. Trying to hide it was difficult, the way in which I said "OK" must have given something away....I'll never know now, of course.

Time passed, around two months, and I'd forgotten about the gut feeling I'd had that evening. I logged into the messageboard where Chris and I used to communicate most of the time on the evening of April 3, 2007 at 11.00pm.

It was then that I read the words I'd dreaded, the words which started me shaking, as I had not done before. I got up and tried to walk across the room, swiftly deciding that getting up was not the best idea.

At that point, my faith was tested to the limit, the spirituality I'd found through Chris and her hardships desperately needed for me to stay the course now.

I drank a cup of hot, sweet tea, in order to quell the shaking and combat the shock- first time I'd ever needed assistance to do something like that. Later, I lay in bed chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, when I'd shortly before uttered the words: "If it has to be this way, then

Hmm. This is a slightly different entry to what I'd usually post. Perhaps that's a good thing, 'cause it maybe shows that my preoccupation is lessening. (Any thoughts, Jan? ;-)) However, I've just mastered one of my favourite songs on the ukulele. (The George Harrison version, of course...anybody who knows me even a little would be able to guess that. :))

More music....a song I discovered recently which makes me think of a certain someone.



God bless, Chris.

Being a musician, I have lots of "favourite" songs. This is another of those- I cannot yet play it on guitar, but I'm getting there. Please Come to Boston by Dave Loggins.