Friday music time! This week we’re starting the Random Ten with a band I found out about last year and got to see live last weekend, called Those Darlins. The best way to describe them, really, is that they’re a really fun hybrid between country and punk. The three women in this band, Jessi, Kelley and Nikki Darlin, have one of the most unique sounds I’ve ever heard, and I fell in love the instant I heard them. So we’ll start with a few songs from the band, then hit shuffle on the iTunes machine, see where we are ten songs later, etc. More videos after the jump! [photograph of Those Darlins by Veta&Theo]
1. Jason Mraz – “The Remedy (I Won’t Worry)”
2. Phish – “Chalkdust Torture”
3. Foxy Shazam – “Drain You” [Nirvana cover]
4. The Crystal Method – “Wild, Sweet and Cool”
5. Pink Floyd – “Keep Talking”
6. Sam Bush – “Girl From the North Country” [Bob Dylan cover]
7. The Beatles – “Carry That Weight”
8. Widespread Panic – “Surprise Valley”
9. Brandi Carlile – “Shadow On The Wall”
10. John Vanderslice – “Too Much Time”
Yay, it’s almost the weekend, so it’s time for music! I do believe I’ve started the Random Ten with Abigail Washburn before, but I’m doing it again, because I had no idea when I woke up yesterday morning that I would be seeing her live and meeting her last night. Abigail Washburn is cool. She picked up a banjo sometime during college and fell in love with the music of Doc Watson, and before she knew it, she was being offered a record deal. This sort of upended her life plans at that point, as she was fluent in Mandarin, and was planning on moving to China to go to law school and live the rest of her life there. Instead she played music and ended up marrying the great banjo genius Béla Fleck. Oh, that was the other surprise of last night — Béla played with her. It was truly one of the greatest shows I’ve seen in the past several years and, though I was already a fan of both, I am even moreso today. So let’s listen to a couple of songs from Abigail, then you know the drill. Hit shuffle on the iTunes, see where we are ten songs later, listen to some music and then goodbye. More videos after the jump!
1. Sha-Na-Na – “Blue Moon” [fom Grease]
2. Britney Spears – “Breathe On Me”
3. Bon Iver – “Beth/Rest”
4. Brad Paisley – “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive”
5. Portishead – “Half Day Closing”
6. Phish – “Poor Heart”
7. The Sea and Cake – “The Argument”
8. Pete Yorn – “Sense”
9. Janet Jackson – “You Ain’t Right”
10. Jason Mraz – “Sleeping To Dream”
Um, this is a really good Random Ten, except for the embarrassing Britney Spears part. I have like five of her songs in my iTunes, I swear, and that’s it.
It’s almost the weekend, so here’s your music post. We’re starting off this week with one of my favorites, “Whiskey Lullaby” from Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss. No particular reason, except that I was listening to it a lot last week and it’s so lovely. So listen to that, then we hit shuffle on the iTunes, see where we are ten songs later, watch some videos, blah blah blah. More videos after the jump!
1. Jason Mraz – “Not So Usual”
2. Trisha Yearwood – “I Want To Live Again”
3. The Band – “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”
4. Nirvana – “About A Girl”
5. Garth Brooks – “Two Of A Kind, Workin’ On A Full House”
6. Ricky Martin – “Love You For A Day”
7. Jimi Hendrix – “Fire”
8. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “The Power Of Equality”
9. Dietrich Schoenemann – “Dark Sight”
10. Jessica Lea Mayfield – “Lounge Act” (Nirvana cover)
My iTunes insists on showing you all the cheesiest pop and country in my entire collection. I love it.
Here’s your round-up: There was an atrocious election, as Americans went to the polls and loudly shouted, “We are confused and angry about being confused and angry, and also, we have the collective memories of goldfish! USA! USA! USA!” There are a few silver linings though. The end.
Dismayed by the fact that over the past 24 months they have not experienced the immediate short-term personal gain they had hoped for, Americans went to the polls Tuesday and, for the 112th consecutive time, elected the candidates they deserve.
Some other things happened, we are sure, so scroll and click on things if you’re not caught up yet. Done? Okay, good.
Remember, if you’re in Philadelphia tomorrow, Truth Wins Out will be Lifting Its Luggage in protest at the NARTH convention. A good time will be had by all.
For music this week, I’m starting with an old classic from the Pretenders. Just ’cause. Chrissie Hynde rocks my face. And the way the second verse of “I’ll Stand By You” suddenly modulates down from D Major into C Major, and then back into D for the chorus, is nothing short of brilliant, as sonic painting goes. So, Pretenders, shuffle, first ten songs that come up at random, more videos after the jump, The End.
1. The Dandy Warhols – “I Am Sound”
2. Robert Shaw Festival Singers, cond. by Robert Shaw – “I Will Arise”
3. The Killers – “On Top”
4. Culture Club – “Karma Chameleon”
5. Jason Mraz – “The Dynamo of Volition”
6. Bright Eyes – “You Will. You?Will. You? Will. You?Will.”
7. The Antlers – “Sylvia”
8. Bonnie Raitt – “Feeling of Falling”
9. Beyoncé – “Disappear”
10. Les Miserables – Original Broadway Cast Recording – “Look Down”
And two other interesting things I haven’t had a chance to write about: Alaska teabagger Senate candidate Joe Miller has an adviser who is so anti-gay it’ll make your head spin, and Peter LaBarbera is so very, very upset with me and Joe Jervis. I’ll deal with that next week, or something. Y’all can help me decide if it’s worth it.
For music this week, let’s see…I went to the record store last week and I scored. It was just one of those nights when you’re perusing the used bins and you just rack up, which is one of my favorite things in the world. One thing I picked up which, somehow, I didn’t have, was New Favorite from Alison Krauss & Union Station. Out of all the things I bought that night, that’s the record that keeps going back and back and back again into the stereo. So, let’s pick the opening track from that record, “Let Me Touch You For Awhile,” and then there’s this other absolutely beautiful song that came into my life pretty recently as well, from a singer/songwriter named David Mead. It’s called “Mojave Phone Booth,” and for some reason it Just Feels Right. The version I’m posting is from a live show at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, Georgia, and can be downloaded here. Then we hit shuffle and find out where we end up on the other side! More videos and another picture from Memphis’s Gay Rights March after the jump.
1. Sigur Rós – “Viðrar Vel Til Loftárása”
2. BT ft. JC Chasez – “The Force of Gravity”
3. Jason Mraz – “Spirit in the Sky” [Norman Greenbaum cover]
4. Marissa Nadler – “Mary Come Alive”
5. Brandi Carlile – “Downpour”
6. James Taylor – “Line ‘Em Up”
7. Tina Turner – “What’s Love Got To Do With It”
8. Cut Copy – “Hearts On Fire”
9. Dar Williams – “I Won’t Be Your Yoko Ono”
10. Grizzly Bear – “Cheerleader”
Having attended the Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast in San Diego last week, Jason Mraz took to his blog to explain, on a personal level, part of why his support for LGBT people is so fierce:
When I was in high school, I experienced being bullied. For whatever reason, there were a few students that enjoyed calling me “faggot” as I walked thru the lunchroom. On one occasion, just before graduation, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and picked up a few punches, kicks and scrapes to add to my story. I never knew why the handsome lads called me names or felt the need to bully me, but it happened and I let their actions contribute a great deal to my moving away from that community.
Shortly after the row, my best friend came out, sharing with his friends and family that he was gay. In my small town, this was uncommon and since then I’ve considered my friend to be the bravest man in the world. Aware of the hate within our community, I was afraid my friend might be inviting trouble to his door — but that never stopped him from being fully expressed.
This is why I am actively seeking equality for the whole. When all of us are acknowledged as the human equals that we really are, there will be no space left for bullying. It will no longer be wrong to choose one thing over another. Equality and Separation cannot exist in the same space.
I love that man.
His experience sheds light on why the Religious Right’s lies about anti-bullying programs are so hollow. Linda Harvey and others hide the fact that they support the bullying of LGBT students by telling their sheep that discouraging bullying against LGBT students somehow stifles their religious freedom. The only way that could be true is if the full exercise of their religious beliefs included berating and abusing students different from them. Indeed, all of the proposals and programs to limit LGBT bullying merely seek to bring all students to a level playing field, where all bullying is treated seriously, whether due to a student’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, race, religion, size, or whatever stupid reason kids are bullying other kids. The fact that we have to talk about it is sad, but it’s reflective of the reality that, while things are getting better in many places, LGBT kids still often deal with schools where that sort of bullying is either ignored or tacitly supported.
Jason Mraz is straight. But he dealt with the same sort of bullying I did (worse, in fact, as I was never physically hurt), simply because he was perceived as different, and in middle schools and high schools across the nation, “different” is often interpreted as “gay.” Indeed, though, among the kids who fall victim to that sort of bullying, it’s often because the kid (whether or not he/she is actually gay) is more talented, more creative, smarter, or a whole host of other characteristics that vulnerable kids view as threatening. (It’s important to remember, as always, that the kids doing the bullying tend to be extremely vulnerable and battling their own demons, as well. That’s why this requires such a holistic approach.)
It’s heartening to see public figures like Jason get behind issues like these as truly fierce advocates, because the younger generations are already basically on board with issues of equality and fairness. It’s also heartening that, among people who younger folks respect, the Religious Right messages of hatred and fear are mostly absent. It’s not surprising, though, because these days, it’s becoming harder and harder to find people who are truly intelligent, creative, talented or inspiring who still cling to messages of vilification, discrimination, and animus toward LGBT people. While the Religious Right may still, as a force, be obnoxious, and still have the power to hurt untold numbers of people, as the years roll on, that power is dwindling, and will continue to do so. The only hope people like Maggie Gallagher have left is the (unproven) axiom that people grow more conservative as they age. It might hold true in certain areas, among certain subsets of the population, but there’s no evidence that people start hating gay people more as they grow older. One of the main reasons, I suppose, is that Generation X and the Millenials are probably the first generations among whom a solid majority know and love gay people, in their families, neighborhoods, churches, schools, etc. They know, from personal experience, that Religious Right spewing about LGBT people is garbage, and thus, they are out of reach for the Peter LaBarberas and Matt Barbers of the world.
This, by the way, is why they’re turning their wigging out up a notch. They’re spooked. And they can’t blame it on Hollywood. They can’t blame it on Teh Homosexical Agenda. They only need to turn an eye on the bright light of reality and knowledge to see why they’ve lost the war.
As a straight man I really have nothing to gain by standing up for equal rights for Gays, Lesbians, Bisexual, and/or my Transgender friends. Except for the fact that I have many friends who are still subjected to hurtful comments by a society that hasn’t yet embraced fully the nature of… nature.
Supporting a limiting system of rules for specific people to follow is prejudice. It’ the Antithesis of Christ Consciousness and (like smoking) it’ Soooo last century.
Allowing love to freely flourish will only enhance the life experience – For All.
Toward the end, he makes a salient point about how important it is for those who aren’t directly affected by this issue of civil rights and justice to plug in and speak up:
I understand many people who stumble onto this blog are already dialed in and ready to transform the world. Much of my community is too. But there are some who still don’t care one way or the other about the ways of being in the world. Thereby, it’ up to us to share our positive outlook on our favorite issues.
That’s the key, really. The more that we can encourage our friends and families to make like a Diane Savino and speak, the closer we’ll be to a place where LGBT equality is a foregone conclusion and the voices of hatred are not silenced (because this is the United States, of course), but are so marginalized as to be rendered irrelevant.
Read the whole thing.
In other news, I had a love affair with this Jason Mraz song a few years ago, so I think I’ll post it.
UPDATE: Egad, most of the comments over there are pro-equality and pro-humanity, but there are a few backwards fools in there. I’m trying to set them straight as long as I have patience, but any of you who want to go lay the smack down, be my guest.
Friday music time! This week we’re starting the Random Ten with a band I found out about last year and got to see live last weekend, called Those Darlins. The best way to describe them, really, is that they’re a really fun hybrid between country and punk. The three women in this band, Jessi, Kelley and Nikki Darlin, have one of the most unique sounds I’ve ever heard, and I fell in love the instant I heard them. So we’ll start with a few songs from the band, then hit shuffle on the iTunes machine, see where we are ten songs later, etc. More videos after the jump! [photograph of Those Darlins by Veta&Theo]
