music | dual personalities

September 17, 2014

“Don’t look at your feet to see if you are doing it right. Just dance.”*

by chuckofish

So did everyone watch Dancing With the Stars on Monday night? As you know, I am not a fan of reality television, but I do sometimes ~~get caught up in~~ watch DWTS.

Since I was already depressed by daughter #1’s exit to the big city, I figured I would be a couch potato and check out DWTS. And I admit–I enjoyed it! Yes, it is pretty low-brow, but one can’t read the Psalms by candlelight every night. Also, I had the 4-way texting thing going with my children, which definitely raises the enjoyment level ten-fold. Even daughter #1, who was at work, had it on, because it is, after all, an ABC show! (The boy was watching some game, but he threw in a comment or two about Lolo Jones.)

Okay, so my faves are:

of course, Sadie Robertson, Duck Dynasty heiress. She is another untrained natural, like Kellie Pickler, who is great to watch. (And I love her parents in the audience.)

sadie-robertson-duck-dynasty-dancing-with-the-stars-season-19

Sadie and her dad

Jonathan Bennett, the cutie from Mean Girls whom my daughters derided, but it is probably a case of methinks-the-lady-doth-protest-too-much;

and Alfonso Ribeiro was quite the dancer–and props for not doing the Carleton!

But I am very disappointed that Lolo Jones didn’t make it to the second week. She is so beautiful and talented! And that is what is so stupid about this show–she is off and Betsy Johnson, Tommy Chong and Michael Waltrip are still on!

For now, I am on Team Sadie. How about you?

*Anne Lamott

5 Comments

September 12, 2014

“Sorry don’t get it done, Dude.”*

by chuckofish

Since it is her birthday week, daughter #1 made the movie pick for this Friday.

Directed by Howard Hawks, Rio Bravo (1959) is John Wayne’s answer to High Noon which he thought was “Un-American”. You remember, in High Noon, Gary Cooper is the sheriff who asks for support from his town and gets none. Supposedly it is an allegory of the McCarthy era in Hollywood. Please.

Well, in Rio Bravo, John T. Chance, the sheriff, is surrounded by allies—a drunken deputy (Dude) trying to pull himself together, a young untried gunfighter (Colorado), a “crippled” old man (Stumpy), a Mexican innkeeper (Carlos) and his wife (Consuela), and an attractive young gambler (Feathers) whom Chance tries to kick out of town. He repeatedly turns down aid from most of these people because he thinks they will get hurt helping him, as his friend Ward Bond does at the beginning of the film. They all come through and help him anyway. That is the American Way. A motley crew bands together and vanquishes the Bad Guy, who is rich and powerful and has a lot of hired guns.

It is a great movie. It even has several musical interludes thanks to Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson.

It is a classic John Wayne role and he is ably supported by Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, and Ricky Nelson.

Daughter #1 and I highly recommend it.

* John T. Chance in Rio Bravo

4 Comments

August 29, 2014

When the light is changing

by chuckofish

I deserved a treat, so I ordered Mary Chapin Carpenter’s 2010 CD The Age of Miracles.

I am one of her oldest fans (and I mean that both ways)–although we are contemporaries after all, so never mind. Anyway, she never disappoints. It is a very good album and there is one song which really spoke to me. Listen, fellow introverts, and enjoy!

And, oh boy, the weekend is upon us once again! The painting in my bathroom is finished (thank you, Gary!) and so my project is to put the room back together.

I will also be readying the house for daughter # 1 who arrives home in a week for a birthday visit. Lots to do–but all fun stuff.

Hope your weekend is full of fun stuff too!

P.S. Today is Joseph Cotton day on TCM–so nothing thrilling to report there. He was in some classic movies, including Citizen Kane and The Third Man, but I am not a big fan of his. With a few notable exceptions like Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt (1943), he made a career of playing the second lead, the good guy who is kind of boring and makes the lead look sexy and dangerous in comparison. In that genre, TCM will be showing Duel in the Sun (1947) which, even though it stars a hot young Gregory Peck playing Cotton’s bad younger brother, is a pretty terrible movie. I liked it as a child though, mostly because of the ethereal Lillian Gish who plays the aging southern belle who had a thing a long time ago for her reckless creole cousin and so takes in his half-breed daughter, played by the terrible actress Jennifer Jones. Whenever Gish is in a scene, “Beautiful Dreamer” plays in the background and follows her around eerily. I’m sure I had no idea what was actually going on, i.e. rape, wreckage and ruin. King Vidor directed it all with a heavy hand, but it does have a rousing musical score by Dimitri Tiomkin.

So watch it if you’re in the mood for a bad melodramatic western–and I’ll admit, sometimes I am. But I really don’t like Gregory Peck as a bad guy.

5 Comments

July 21, 2014

We are climbing Jacob’s Ladder

by chuckofish

Lovebirds circa 1988

Since my dual personality already posted about her silver anniversary and the wonderful wedding in England that started it all, I will refrain from doing so. My pictures from the big event are pretty much the same.

I will limit myself to this one of daughter #1 (almost 5) and the boy (2 1/2).

The boy, as previously noted, was coming down with chicken pox, but he was enough on the ball to be quite taken with the wedding. It was in the fall, after all, that he came home one day from pre-school and announced that he “had decided.” “Decided what?” I gamely asked. “I’ve decided to marry Lauren B.”

And, reader, he did. Just about twenty-three years later, he did–and in July as well!

I don’t think he would have been contemplating wedlock if he had not attended this great wedding in England. You just never know what your younguns are thinking.

What a bud.

Anyway, how was your weekend? I estate-saled, ran errands, tore wallpaper off the walls of an upstairs bathroom (you gotta have a project), attended church, and planted a rose bush.

As I noted on Friday, I planned to watch Road to Perdition, but I could not find my copy! Can you believe it? Curses again. Instead I watched The Naked Jungle (1954) with Charlton Heston, Eleanor Parker and William Conrad with a really bad French (?) accent.

You remember–it’s the one about the plantation in South America that is in the path of a 2-mile-wide, 20-mile-long column of army ants! It was clearly shot on a soundstage, but it is better than it sounds. Charlton is always worth watching.

On Saturday night I watched The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).

I am not a fan of Wes Anderson–he is highly over-rated, if you ask me–so my expectations were low. I enjoyed it, however, mostly because I am a minor fan of Ralph Fiennes. He is wonderful (who knew he could be funny?) and elevates the material. There are the usual cameo appearances by Wes’s hipster friends (Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Ed Norton, Bob Balaban, etc.) and inappropriate (and an inordinate) use of the F-word, but it is worth watching for Ralph and his sidekick played by the very funny teenager Tony Revolori.

I was a reader once again at church (substituting for vacationing lay readers) and I read the story of Jacob’s dream of the angels ascending and descending the ladder (Genesis 28:10-19a). I also read Romans 8:12-25, which includes “you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear” and also “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.” Good stuff.

Here is a terrific rendition of the old negro spiritual “We are climbing Jacob’s ladder” sung by a Dutch men’s chorus. (I love that they pronounce Jacob as “Yacob.”) We don’t hear this one much anymore–probably because of the refrain: “Soldiers of the cross.” Listen to the whole thing–it’ll rev your engines to start the week off right!

If you love Him, why not serve Him?

(Here are all the words.)

10 Comments

May 23, 2014

Happy Friday–like the blast of a trumpet!

by chuckofish

This Friday has been a long time coming–what a long week! But we have a three-day weekend coming up, so it’s all good.

FYI May has been a big month for birthdays already and this weekend we have two more favorites: Bob Dylan (May 24) on Saturday

and Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25) on Sunday!

Those are two great reasons to celebrate this weekend! One good way to do so would be to re-read Self Reliance, which I have been meaning to do–how about you?

“Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.”

–Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self Reliance

Another way would be to watch No Direction Home (2005)–a film chronicle of Bob Dylan’s evolution between 1961 and 1966 from folk singer to rock star. Directed by Martin Scorsese, it uses archival footage and recent interviews to tell the story of the illusive Bob, who refuses “to be simplified, classified, categorized, or finalized”. And why should he be? He is, like Emerson and those other guys mentioned above, a “pure and wise spirit,” both great and misunderstood.

Dylan and Emerson are certainly on the same page. Here’s Bob:

‘Trust yourself
Trust yourself to do the things that only you know best
Trust yourself
Trust yourself to do what’s right and not be second-guessed
Don’t trust me to show you beauty
When beauty may only turn to rust
If you need somebody you can trust, trust yourself’

How Emersonian can you get?

So enjoy your weekend and trust yourself. Eat cake.

6 Comments

May 1, 2014

“I figure if a girl wants to be a legend, she should go ahead and be one.”*

by chuckofish

Martha Jane Canary (May 1, 1852 – August 1, 1903) was born today in 1852. She is, of course, better known as Calamity Jane.

Born in Mercer County, Missouri, Canary was the oldest of many siblings. Her father was a farmer. After some legal wrangling over land, the family sold their property and left Missouri in the early 1860s, heading for Montana gold. But they fell on hard times; her mother died in a mining camp in Blackfoot City, Montana, when Canary was about 9. After taking the children to Salt Lake City, her father died soon after.

Her life, already a hard one, became at that point the stuff of legend. As she became a dime-novel heroine and stage performer, she enlarged her myth with every new story. It is nearly impossible to know where the truth lies and who she really was. Well, she was and still is an intriguing oddity that fires the imagination.

Not surprisingly Calamity Jane has been portrayed by myriad actresses on the large and small screen. In the movies she has been played by Jean Arthur, Jane Russell, Yvonne De Carlo, Doris Day, Catherine O’Hara, Ellen Barkin–to name a few. On television Stephanie Powers, Anjelica Huston and Jane Alexander have attempted to represent her.

Of the movies I like The Plainsman (1936) with Jean Arthur as Calamity and Gary Cooper as Wild Bill Hickok.

Directed by Cecil B. DeMille, it is a very exciting movie and Arthur and Cooper are well matched. I’m sure the plot has practically no basis in reality, but it is a good movie and Jean Arthur is no glamour girl. Cooper, as usual, is adorable.

I also like Anjelica Huston as Calamity in the 1995 TV mini-series Buffalo Girls, an adaption of the book by Larry McMurtry. Physically, she is the most like the real Martha Jane–tall and somewhat manly and with (we hope) a heart of gold.

One of the most ridiculous presentations of Calamity Jane’s life is that put forth in the1953 musical Calamity Jane, starring Doris Day.

But one can not help but love this rendition and Doris Day who always gives 110%. This film focuses on the relationship between Jane and Wild Bill (Howard Keel) and Doris gets to sing lyrics like: “At last my heart’s an open door / And my secret love’s no secret any more.” Yikes. The song won the Academy Award for Best Song that year, and with Doris singing, why wouldn’t it?

I think I will watch Doris in Calamity Jane because I DVR’d it when it was on TCM on her birthday a few weeks ago. Here’s a little something to whet your appetite:

So let’s raise a glass to Martha Jane Canary on her birthday, the American legend and the real woman, whoever she was.

*Attributed to Calamity Jane

5 Comments

April 29, 2014

Modern life: one, two you know what to do

by chuckofish

There are many aspects of modern life that drive me crazy and some that genuinely alarm me. But there are a few things that are pretty cool.

When daughter #1 was home and we were lunching at our favorite Cafe Osage, we both pricked up our ears when a certain song was playing in the background. “Who is that?” we both said.

We couldn’t pin it down, so daughter #1 got out her phone and opened some new-fangled app and held up her phone for a moment. “Oh,” she said, checking her phone. “It’s Steve Earle and the Del McCoury band!”

A few days later, having ordered it on Amazon, it appeared at my door.

Pretty amazing, n’est-ce pas?

Anyway, it is not a new album (1999), but it is a very good one–great songs including a favorite of mine, “Dixieland”. You gotta love a song that a) is about the 20th Maine and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and b) works the unmelodic name of Chamberlain into it several times:

I am Kilrain of the 20th Maine and I’d march to hell and back again
For Colonel Joshua Chamberlain – we’re all goin’ down to Dixieland

The CD also includes the song “Pilgrim”, which I hope someone sings at my funeral–Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, GIllian Welch et al would be nice, but not a deal breaker.

I am just a pilgrim on this road, boys
This ain’t never been my home
Sometimes the road was rocky ‘long the way, boys
But I was never travelin’ alone
We’ll meet again on some bright highway
Songs to sing and tales to tell
But I am just a pilgrim on this road, boys
Until I see you fare thee well

Ain’t no need to cry for me, boys
Somewhere down the road you’ll understand
‘Cause I expect to touch his hand, boys
Put a word in for you if I can

Hats off to Steve Earle and modern technology!

6 Comments

March 27, 2014

(Ladies and) Gentlemen, start your engines!

by chuckofish

A few weeks ago I picked up a couple of CDs at an estate sale. (Yes, I still listen to CDs!) I should have gotten a lot more at this particular sale, but I just couldn’t stand there picking through them.

Anyway, the other morning I was listening to some of these oldies but goodies. The William Tell Overture, written in 1829 by Gioachino Rossini, was the one that really stood out for me. I mean you’ve heard it a million times–it’s a total cliche for Pete’s sake–but, boy, is it good! Try to erase the Lone Ranger from your mind. Forget about all those cartoon characters waking up at daybreak in the pastorale section of the piece.

Imagine instead this dual personality speeding down the road, hitting all the lights on my way to work. Amazing. I recommend listening to the whole thing, but here’s the finale:

Well, I guess it is time to reacquaint myself with the classical music I grew up listening to.

What music do you listen to in order to get your motor revving in the morning?

6 Comments

February 25, 2014

We could open up this suitcase full of sparks

by chuckofish

I used to be “with it”. But they changed what “it” was. Now what I’m with isn’t “it” and what’s “it” seems weird and scary to me.”

–Grampa Simpson, From “Homerpalooza” (Season 7, Episode 24)

Sadly, I can relate to Grampa Simpson. Can you? I guess this is an inevitable part of aging. Not that I was ever too “with it” to begin with…but a lot of modern pop culture seems “weird and scary” to me. Hello, Kim Kardashian. And The Batchelor. I don’t get that either.

However, as readers of this blog know, I have a soft spot in my heart for Eminem. I try to keep an open mind. Occasionally I even go to a concert.

Such was the case last Sunday night when I ventured downtown to the Sheldon Concert Hall to see Josh Ritter.

Mostly I bought the tickets to see his opening act Gregory Alan Isakov. My Old Man bailed on me at the last minute (he had a headache) and so the boy stepped up and went with me. He was a good concert date.

It was a sold out concert. Unfortunately, a lot of the audience arrived during Gregory Alan Isakov’s performance which was annoying. And rude. And the poor guy’s band was not with him. They had to leave in Chicago, he explained, and so he was on his own for the rest of the tour. It had been “super fun and scary” since then.

I kind of love him for saying “super fun”.

Gregory epitomizes the introverted artist who must perform. And to stand up there without his band–zut alors! But I thought he was wonderful, performing his set of seven songs from numerous albums with humor and spirit.

Before his last song, he said, “I’ll leave you with a sad one, because that’s how I roll.”

Is he my kind of guy or what!

On the flip side was Josh Ritter who bounded onto the stage full of self-confidence and raring to go.

He put on quite a show, which I enjoyed very much. His fans, who filled the theater, were enthusiastic. Two middle-aged women to our left were down-right embarrassing–swaying and giggling like teenagers. (They also made several trips to the bar, which probably explains a lot of their behavior.) Please shoot me if I ever behave like this.

We opted to leave before the encores in order to avoid the parking lot mayhem and because it was a school night after all. But I was glad I had nudged myself out of my routine.

(My thanks to the boy who took these photos on his iPhone.)

7 Comments

February 10, 2014

“Grant us strength and courage…*

by chuckofish

Talk about dark and dreary–that was our weekend! But it was brightened a whole lot by my Saturday outing to historic Kimmswick for lunch with my good friends.

We dined at the celebrated “Blue Owl” restaurant. Our food was yummy and the company, as always, hilarious. Carla, our intrepid social planner, drove as usual. It is great to be like a child on these outings and just follow along. I mean that. With all my heart.

The boy came over and burned a CD for me. It is the soundtrack to the movie Inside Llewyn Davis.

Yes, that’s Justin Timberlake singing. It is a wonderful CD and I highly recommend it. (Also highly recommended by daughter #1) How can you miss with T. Bone Burnett producing? Well, you can’t.

I have also been listening to the new CD Old Yellow Moon with Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell.

I believe it just won a Grammy in the “Americana” field. What is this field, you ask? I had never heard of it, but it seems to be a category where old singers are put so they can still win Grammys. I am not trying to be harsh but, c’mon, this is a straight on Country album. I think Steve Martin and Edie Brickell were nominated in this field too. Anyway, it is a good album and I especially like their cover of the Kris Kristofferson song “Chase the Feeling” which includes the classic line: “You got loaded again, Ain’t you handsome when you’re high.”

Speaking of music, I heard that my friend Andrew Hunt will be opening for none other than (be still my heart) Dwight Yoakam

in Austin, TX soon. He will not be with his band Johnny Appleseed, but some other guys. Boy, wouldn’t it be great to see that concert? Okay, Dwight may not be the heart-throb he once was, but neither am I.

Saturday night I watched The Commancheros (1961) with John Wayne and Stuart Whitman.

Stuart Whitman (who replaced James Garner, Charlton Heston and several others) and the Duke in that iconic faded red shirt, leather vest and kirchief.

Stuart Whitman (who replaced James Garner, Charlton Heston and several others) and the Duke in that iconic faded red shirt, leather vest and kerchief.

It is the last film directed by one of my favorites, Michael Curtiz (Casablanca and The Adventures of Robin Hood). He was very ill, dying as it turned out, during the filming of it and John Wayne stepped in and actually directed most of the movie. He took no credit for it, of course. Any film from this era of John Wayne westerns is always a winner in my book, especially when you have had it up to here (already) with X-Game sports at the Olympics.

At church on Sunday I was confronted with the fact that they have cut out a section of my pew (fifth row, epistle side) to accommodate oldsters with walkers. Carla had warned me about this, but still it was a bit jarring on Sunday morning. I had to find a new pew, and for oldsters like me, that is not easy! C’est la vie. I’ll live.

The boy and daughter #3 came over for dinner on Sunday night. I made Episcopal souffle, a nice salad and cut up a baguette for dinner. Perfect.