Beautiful voices

For some reason I can't figure out, I got into singing late in life. I started in my 20's and, 30 years later, it's my favorite musical thing to do. I'm fascinated by how people can interpret songs and the technique of singing. I wasn't born with a great voice, but there are songs I just "get", particularly those that have a blues element. I like to think the feeling makes up, at least in part, for technical shortcomings.
But this isn't about me. It's about the voices that mesmerize me.

I don't evangelize about politics or religion. Or anything else...except Eva Cassidy. People who know me are sick of me hearing me talk about her. So maybe I'll get it out of my system by posting it on a blog. Eva was, in short, the greatest female singer of all time. No disrespect to Aretha, Sarah, Patsy or Billie, but when Eva sang, it was on a universal level. A level that said, "I'm singing about our lives. Not just mine, but yours too." At 33, she left us way too soon, in 1996. Melanoma took her.
Please go to YouTube at some point and type in her name followed by Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Make sure you pull up the clip of her at Blues Alley in her home metro area of Washington, DC. You'll see a live recording of her, a few months before she died. It is as close to musical perfection as anything you'll ever see. It's not easy to make a classic song a signature song. But she does it.

To make a baker's dozen, here are 12 more, in no particular order:

1: Bobby "Blue" Bland. He's retired but still with us. Pure Memphis soul.  He takes the technique of melisma to a new level. Half church, half secular, all grit and soul. Don't miss him. Honorable mention to Little Milton too, who is similar to Bland. Recommended listening, his definitive version of "Stormy Monday."
2: Gregg Allman: I don't understand why he's not more appreciated. He is, to be sure. But when you think of great blues singers, his name doesn't generally come to mind. Perhaps still in brother Duane's shadow. But the term "world weary" was meant for him. Recommended: Just about anything but I'm going to go with an obscure blues cover from the ABB Brothers and Sisters album called "Jelly Jelly."
3: Annie Haslam: Retired too. Former lead singer of the band Renaissance. First time I heard her, I could not believe anyone could sing like that. Remarkable technical skill. Give her the right song, something in a classical or folk genre, and there's none better, this side of Eva. Recommended song; Mother Russia.
4: Richard Manuel: One of three lead singers from The Band. Could sing in his natural baritone but also went effortlessly to tenor and just as easily to his falsetto. Never heard a singer glide between tenor and falsetto as easily as he could. He left us in 1986...suicide. I'm still pissed off. Recommended: Whispering Pines.
5: Otis Redding: Like Bland, pure Memphis. Probably nothing I could add that hasn't been written by rock historians. Recommended: His version of a song he co-wrote, "Respect."
6: Sinatra: Again, probably not a thing I can add. But when I hear him, I hear an attitude that I can completely relate to and internalize. Reinvented how to phrase a pop song. Recommended: Where to begin? "But I'll pick Fly Me To The Moon."
7: Marvin Junior: Lead singer of The Dells, the best R&B group you've never heard of. From Junior comes Teddy Pendergrass and every other great R&B baritone. Many rock baritones as well. Still active, as far as I know. Recommended : "Oh, What a Nite."
8: Dion (DiMucci): Another well known voice. Still active. Like Sinatra, an attitude I totally get. There are at least 4 Dions. There's early doo-wop Dion. There's mid, introspective, Dion. There's later, Christian contemporary Dion. And there's latter day, straight rock/blues Dion, with elements of the earlier periods still there. So much to pick from, but for vocal prowess, I'll go with perhaps his best known song "Runaround Sue." A template for what a rock and roll attitude should be. 
9: Bob Seger: Yet another superstar. And well deserved. The best purest rock voice ever. I've never met anyone who didn't admire Seger. After a long hiatus, back on the circuit. Recommended: Live version of "Katmandu."
10: Roy Orbison: Like Sinatra, nothing I can add. What a musical soul. Best known for ballads, but he could rock with the best of them. Like Seger, I've never heard anyone say a bad word about the big "O". Recommended: "Love Hurts." After hearing it, you'll appreciate the more popular Nazareth cover even more for their reinvention of it.
11: Wilson Pickett: The Wicked one did almost everything uptempo. Occasional ballad, but that was just a pause. Just pure grit and soul. I guess I keep coming back to best known songs by these artists, but I'll go with another one, "Midnight Hour." He co-wrote it but, interestingly, his version was a cover of the original by the Young Rascals. Rascals version is pretty damn good too.
12: Tom Waits: Odd choice to some, but as a sort of "anti-singer", he's as much a singer as anyone on the list. Like Dion, a singer with multiple personalities, too many to list. A growl, a croon, a yelp, Waits does them all, honestly. And a tabula rosa for interpretation. Recommended: "Tom Traubert's Blues."

Highly honorable mention: Solomon Burke, John Fogerty, Steve Forbert, Lyle Lovett, Bryan Adams, Axl Rose, Carl Wilson (always wished Brian would have let him sing more), Rick Danko, Matthew Bellamy (lead singer of the band Muse), Patsy Cline, Janis Joplin, Luther Vandross

Happy listening, y'all.

Thanks

I try really hard to avoid cliches. If there's a trend, I'll do the opposite for no logical reason other than it's "just the opposite". As Groucho said "Whoever commenced it...I'm against it."

But I can't resist one cliche, and that's giving thanks on Thanksgiving.

My girlfriend, Valerie, told me this morning that she follows the idea of a fellow teacher of hers. She has these paper figures of turkeys. She scatters them around the Thanksgiving table, with pens, and asks all the guests to fill out things they're thankful for.
I keep a list of gratitudes on my refrigerator, in alphabetical order (sometimes more than one item per letter). So, here it is: (even without the paper turkey figures)
Al-Anon: My program is my bedrock
America: We're not perfect. But feet don't lie. This is where people want to live.
Andy: One of my best friends. We go back to 1980, Los Angeles, and we've been through an awful lot...together.
Baseball: More than a game. It's life, and some of my best memories.
Brian: My son. Somehow, despite every way I've screwed things up, he still turned into an amazing young adult.
Cindi: Along with Andy and Greg, my 3 best friends. Plus, she introduced me to Valerie (see below)
Cold weather: Walking in brisk weather is magic for my spirits, as is the first snowfall.
Depression: I deal with clinical depression. It's brutal when I'm in it, but a source of wisdom when I'm not. Fortunately, that's increasingly most of the time.
EFlat Major: I can hear musical keys and there's something magical about that key. As is also true for its darker companion, Bminor.
Empathy: I seem to have been born with it. Although prone to vacillation at times, it's served me well.
Eva Cassidy: Best singer I've ever heard. We lost her too soon. 
Faith: Even in the darkest hours, I still have it.
Greg: My conservative alter-ego. One of the kindest people I've ever known, and one of the best musicians I've ever met.
Health: Not perfect (hey, I'm almost 57) but I still have it.
Income: Not much at the moment. But I'm still better off than a lot of other people.
Introspection: Another quality I seem to have been born with. It's inspired some of my best songs.
Jeff: My bro. He's done so many cool things for me over the years, but topping the list is the CD mixes he makes for me. A real talent that I'm proud to be the beneficiary of.
(Uncle) Ken: He took me and Jeff in after our mom died. Probably saved my life. He turns 80 in April and we're still close.
Leaves: Since "A" wasn't used for autumn, this is the same thing. My favorite season.
Mom: I had her only for 13 years, but she took us to Broadway shows, paid for my piano lessons, and was a schoolteacher who went back for her masters degree while raising us. Some awesome examples.
Music:I may be the most musical person I've ever met. Music has saved my life. Everything is music to me. Too much to explain.
New York City: Where I'm from. I get OD'd on its energy, so I can't live there. But taking the train down a couple of times a year is major fun.
Old souls: They come at any age. But I know them when I'm with them.
Peaches: My favorite food.
Plattsburgh, NY: Where I went to school undergrad. 4 of the best years of my life. 
Quiet: Increasingly rare in our ADD/TMI society. But I do savor it.
Rivers:I love watching their personalities and moods. The rivers of my life; Hudson, "Harlem" (not really a river), Saranac, Congaree, Los Angeles (a bipolar wadi that is dry except during El Nino, when it becomes a holy terror), Cumberland, Housatonic, Quinnipiac.
Sunsets: Especially in winter.
Travel: Hope to do more, but grateful for where I've been.
Unitarian Universalism: Currently not on the path, but it's taken me a long way.

Veterans: My life's work. That I can write and speak without fear of retribution is due to their efforts and their lives.
Weather: I am a proud weather freak.
Xmas: Magical season, regardless of theology.
Young minds: The "yang" to the "O" above. Again, they can be any age.
Zero: An ongoing search for zero judging, zero intolerance.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all...gp

My 2 election cents

First, a plug for a good friend of mine, Andy Ancel, who posts a wonderful blog called Navigating Life. Andy and I used to do beach walks. Not so much these days. But his blog reminds me of things we might say as we go walking. Check it out at http://navigatinglifestories.blogspot.com

What a juxtaposition of events we've had here in the northeast. In one week, we had Sandy, an election, and a noreaster. (If you're a Romney supporter, one could argue that it's 3 devastating events in one week). Long time meteorologists have said they've never, ever witnessed a hurricane followed a week later by a noreaster.
Since I'm not devastated, I've just been in a reflective mood all week. As have many of my friends, particularly those in the GOP. (My GOP friends are not in the Karl Rove/denial camp. They're hurt but have their feet solidly planted in the real world)

I remember how I felt after the 2004 election. In short, I was devastated. I thought, "This horrific unnecessary war, and Bush gets 4 more years? What the hell is wrong with this country?" I remember getting out my guitar and playing George's (that's Harrison, not W. Bush) "All Things Must Pass" to some like-minded people. Later that night, I was watching the Daily Show because I was curious to see what Jon Stewart would do. He didn't disappoint. His guest was Bill Kristol, the conservative commentator. And, I might add, a friend of Stewart's. Kristol says to Stewart, "Don't worry, Jon. The worm always turns." Stewart responded by saying, "That's OK. Nothing that some porn tapes and a brick of hash can't fix."

That response was so hilariously pathetic (done intentionally, of course), that it managed to lift my spirits a bit.
I have one friend in particular who's a solid, bleed GOP red, conservative. He was also devastated last week. He's more or less come out of it but still in a funk. I said the same thing to him that Kristol said to Stewart.
Because, indeed, the parties always come back. It's happened numerous times just in my life. And I hope the GOP DOES come back, but in its retro, "fiscally responsible, socially moderate, foreign policy-no-neoconservatives-need-apply" mode. Closer to the one I grew up with, not the one that's been hijacked by those in denial and in the stone age....You know the names already.
Arrogance and denial don't get us anywhere. Each party needs a counterweight. Something to drive the party to the middle. I don't know what'll come out of the GOP over the next few weeks. I've heard those who got some religion, so to speak. I've heard others who, incredibly, say the party was too moderate. This is when they're taking a break from their research trying to find the gene that terminates a pregnancy upon rape.
I don't have a sense of what they'll do but I can only hope both sides will sit down and hammer something out that moves us forward. I'm not taking any bets, that's for sure. 
I'm a registered independent who voted for Gary Johnson. Yeah, a protest vote. To protest the stranglehold 2 party system we live in. Had I lived in a swing state, it would have been Obama. But because I live in CT, I have the luxury of going 3rd party.
That's why I plan on contacting my state reps and others so that we in CT can elect the president the same way Maine and Nebraska do...by congressional district, not winner take all. In a poll last year by Gallup, 62% of voters want to get rid of the EC. I've also joined the site www.nationalpopularvote.com. Which is my real goal...Prez elected by popular vote.

And finally, we have a 4th event, one that we can all agree on. My father, who died before I was born, was  in the Air Force in WW2. His father lied about his age to serve in WW1. I'm not a veteran but feel an increasingly stronger obligation to honor our veterans.
I can't write anything that's not cliched, so I won't. But I will say that I'm going back to school (if accepted) to become a full time student, working toward my MSW. And then my LCSW, hopefully starting a private therapy practice specializing in veterans issues. And hopefully using music in some capacity as part of the healing process. Until then, if you see a veteran, a sincere "thank you for your service" or "welcome home" does a lot more good than you might think. So DO it. And (have to add one cliche here), that I can post this blog and have friends across the aisle is a tribute to our country. And that's because of veterans.Thank you to those who've served and kept us safe.

Catch you later, y'all.

The cost of (electoral) college

Twas the night before the election and all 'cross the USA
The people were anxious...tomorrow's the day
Some will wait for hours to step into the booth
Some will stay home with their gin and vermouth

But for 38 states, some blue and some red
The Electoral College had rendered them dead
The 2 candidates had treated these states
Like tuberculosis on a first date

The founding fathers, some centuries ago
Believed that voters should not bestow
The presidency via popular vote
Instead, they compromised; here's what they wrote

"The leaders of states shall elect a committee
From various towns, villages, and cities
This committee shall vote in early December
To reflect the will of the votes in November"

Does anyone know how this process takes place?
Who gets to decide, and in such a close race
When the winner can be so strangely determined
By a ghost of a Daley or a Long or Strom Thurmond 

And in some states, this isn't always true
By law, they can vote for whoever they want to
Add to it, long lines and machines that are mysteries
Election fairness? That is history

I guess it makes for good conversation
But this Electoral College is an abomination
One hopes this is the final nail in its coffin
But until then..."vote early; vote often"