Victor

Neato

DavidR has been a fount of knowledge. Thanks!

Two-handed independence has always seemed to me like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time — to two distinct rhythmic patterns! I can’t imagine pulling it off.

Crossroads

Well said. That’s a good point. The ol’ TV screen did seem especially flat after witnessing that performance in person.

But the CMAs — and next year’s Grammy’s — are a sure bet!

My two cents

Thanks for the thought-provoking and complex discussion topic, Rich. Some sharp minds have made a lot of interesting points here. For my knee-jerk reaction to this year’s Grammys, see the “Did He Win?” thread … we do kinda sound like a bunch of grumpy old men, though, don’t we? Now, I’ll take it to a whole new level. Fact is, we’re ALL right. There’s a lot of bad music being played today … and there has always been. The music industry has always been just that, a business, and it will do what it needs to do to generate the most pofitable bottom line.

In the end, we have only ourselves to blame. Even discriminating consumers such as you’ll find on this board, like to listen to the sweet, schmaltzy, pop stuff now and then. We’ve all been ashamed to find ourselves listening and singing along to some insignificant song at one time or another. We all need escapism occasionally. But for every Ashlee Simpson or Britney Spears out there, there does seem to be a Dave Matthews or John Mayer — those who display significant maturity and integrity as singers/songwriters/musicians. There IS some good music out there if you look for it.

But is there a meaningful, galvanizing artist out there like Lennon or Dylan, for example? To me, some of the best music ever written was during the tumultuous, war-torn years of the 60s and 70s … songs of protest and pro-humanism. We need this type of art now more than ever. We’ve sat back and allowed a Commander-in-Chief to usurp power from the American people, one who made the masses think it’s OK to allow its government to tap its phones because of a bit of propaganda known as the “Patriot” Act.

We’ve sat back and watched as our military overextended itself into Iraq based on a lie, and we’ve allowed our own citizens to be washed away in a devastating hurricane. Where are our songs of protest to shock our fragmented society into acts of civil disobedience? Are we to assume, as John Mayer says, that we are too powerless and too apathetic that we should just “Wait for the World to Change”? Are we all too well-fed and economically satiated to want to step up and try to correct this distopia we’re living in? Do we want to continue to live in the Matrix and regularly pop antidepressants to keep us sane?

I’m of the opinion we badly need leadership — in government, in business, in the arts — that promotes human growth rather than growth in the military/industrial complex. Golf waited for years for its “messiah” in the form of Tiger Woods. We want and need a similarly powerful and dominant figure in the worlds of music and politics. Unfortunately, these iconic figures aren’t easy to come by.

Bruce has already written prolifically about social injustices; I would challenge him to take a central leadership role in this area: Bruce, make your new lyrics less comical and more bitingly satirical. Make your insights into our world situation less obtuse and more cutting. I heard Bruce sing “Imagine” for the first time on his recent DVD. Why not make that song a regular on the set list? Bruce, why not write your own song of peace and prosperity, inspired by “Imagine,” as you have written “White Wheeled Limousine” and “Fortunate Son” based on inspiration from other artists’ affecting works?

I just read a quote from Aaron Brown, the former CNN anchor: “It’s not enough to say you want serious news. You have to watch it. It isn’t enough to say you want serious debate. You have to engage in it.” That statement can be extrapolated to all phases of life.

RE: Peaking

I think this subject needs to be split into two categories — (1) Bruce’s peaks in his career, and (2) his peaks as a musician. Of course, Bruce’s journey in both areas will have peaks and valleys; as others have said, these things are cyclical. Bruce’s career was most successful with his first two records; that seems indisputable. However, he’s been able to maintain a consistent quality of work and a fan base that have allowed him to do what he does for 20 years now, which so few people have ever done.

I think any discussion of Bruce’s career peaks and valleys has to include Big Swing Face. I often wonder if Halcyon Days had come first, and then BSF, would more people have been able to handle a gradual shift in style? From what I understand, Bruce was pretty much forced into the abrupt style shift. That may have hurt him career-wise, since so many fans jumped ship at that time — but it forced him to stretch musically, which is paying off in his more recent work.

To go back to bluegrass and jazz now seems to be a return to Bruce’s elemental basics, musical forms he has merged together so successfully in the past. I think Bruce has been peaking musically since the mid-to-late 90s, during that period he said he recommitted himself to the study of the piano. That work, as he told Marianne McPartland, gave him a new sense of self-confidence to do the type of amazing solo shows we’ve seen so much of lately. It’s inspiring to me that the person who was already at the top of his field decided to step it up another notch, but that’s just what Bruce did.

As DavidR said, I admire Bruce’s Randy-Newmanesque turns in Halcyon Days — I’ve always been a Newman fan — but those songs stand out thematically from the rest of the album and might have been better suited to an entire Broadway/Ragtime album, together with the Trump song, In the Low Country, even The Dreaded Spoon and any other comic-style songs he’s come up with.

I’m looking forward to seeing where Bruce goes after the bluegrass, jazz, and Broadway work. After intensively exploring these elements that make up his overall musical vocabulary, I could see him delivering an album that’s another huge leap forward yet retains his unique, instantly recognizable style.

interesting …

If that’s correct, then I’m glad I made a bad recording of “End of the Innocense” and “The Way it Is” at the CMT taping.

“Best” Looking

To inappropriately paraphrase the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:

“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of all Bruuuce fans will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood … I have a dream that our children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colors of their Avatars, but by the content of their character. “

I officially protest this proposal.

lyrics

erm…

My Favs of 2006

Carey,

Each of the shows I attended had its moments:

There was “Every Little Kiss” at the Atlanta benefit; the solo show in Louisville had a neat “Road Not Taken>Old Kentucky Shore” medley; at the Memphis in May festival, it was a cool “Sunflower Cat>Mystery Train” in the rain.

Of course, the Knoxville show had everything you said, plus the meetup beforehand.

David — Are you just using this award as a way to take women out to dinner? ❗ 😉

Diggin’ the Avatars

Diggin’ the Avatars!

David, my avatar is more impressive than your kudos! 😈

Turnout?

How was the turnout in Malibu? I noticed both Si and the official site made the call-out for last-minute ticket sales. Ticket price looked a bit steep; maybe that was site-specific?

Was it a charity event? Maybe they were taking donations to re-build Suzanne Somers’ beach house. : 😉

Go Carey!

Go Carey! Go Carey! Go Carey!
Go on with your bad self!
Carey was at the “solo” fund-raiser in Atlanta, David.

Vic

Kudos

David, I always suspected your kudo was bigger than mine… 😯 !