tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632029549152237270.post1214392141031222330..comments2023-11-03T03:46:35.665-07:00Comments on Tom Russell: Notes from the Borderland: Adventures in the Skin TradeTom Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134977181127153226noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632029549152237270.post-49172062490250565992008-08-31T18:23:00.000-07:002008-08-31T18:23:00.000-07:00My response to both this blog post and when you sa...My response to both this blog post and when you said something similar at World Cafe on Friday was that you should check out Michael Merenda of the Mammals and Mike & Ruthy. He is an superb songwriter and has several CD worth of good solid songs - many of which give me the shivers.<BR/><BR/>Links:<BR/><A>http://www.michaelmerenda.com/</A><BR/><A>http://www.mikeandruthy.com</A><BR/><A>http://www.themammals.net/</A><BR/><BR/>Great show on Friday - Thanks.Lab Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10984914318577169221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632029549152237270.post-1430007006867361322008-08-26T15:33:00.000-07:002008-08-26T15:33:00.000-07:00" Correction "That would be Alice " Neel " not Nea..." Correction "<BR/><BR/>That would be Alice " Neel " not Neal. A distinction that makes quite a difference. Slippery auto spell and haste.Saddle Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15640646036914910941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632029549152237270.post-33496704887269589962008-08-26T14:51:00.000-07:002008-08-26T14:51:00.000-07:00STARBUCKS & ART ( A Rebuttal...STARBUCKS & ART<BR/> ( A Rebuttal )<BR/><BR/>Editor's comments always hit the spot for me. Just minutes ago I was waitng in line at a Starbucks and a well heeled gentleman behind me with a Dali mustache was waiting to get his coffee " special ground " as it turns out, to suit the coffee maker on a G5 Citation Jet. The barista commented on his Dali like mustache. The gentleman then reveals that he actually has eight original Dali paintings along with a Chagall and an Alice Neal signed lithograph just to mention a few. This cat is dressed to the nines and I am in Carhartt overalls, but go ahead anyway and broach the subject of Chagall as he is a favorite of mine. A once in a thousand year talent in my view. This guy, I discovered after a few minutes discussion was only a poseur with money but no real appreciation for what he had. " Wax" he answered the barista's question as to how he kept the mustache that way. I bid him a good flight. Appearance without substance.<BR/><BR/>Starbucks is about cleaned out of cd's after their half price summer clearance. Still saw some Dylan in their Artist's Choice series. Never a disappointment with any of the many I have bought over the last 4 or 5 years. In Joni Mitchell's version she echoes Tom's music executive story with her own in her introduction blurb. She says that the "muse" is gone and only the "ick" has been left in music these days. The music exec told her in effect that we are selling cars these days. Fast ones or something like that. Don't quote me on it, go out and get one if you can. As for me, I keep falling for the baristas and rely on the 4 shot espressos to keep up the miles. It ain't the cup, it's the content. How else can one really appreciate Dylan, Waits or Cohen? We that appreciate Tom Russell already know the answer to that. It's what keeps me going along with that other stuff. At least they have good taste in music. <BR/>The " Song " goes without saying.<BR/><BR/>-ST Just out there . . .Saddle Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15640646036914910941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632029549152237270.post-35152299580620148672008-08-26T10:12:00.000-07:002008-08-26T10:12:00.000-07:00The key in that rant is the lack of a sense of roo...The key in that rant is the lack of a sense of roots and a work ethic. The only way to learn to write good prose is to read good prose, take it apart and learn how it works.<BR/><BR/>Then make your own.<BR/><BR/>Same with songs. Imbibe the great stuff, the stuff that gives you "The Chill," until it's part of who you are. Then write to stand up next to that standard.<BR/><BR/>It's a lot of fucking work and it requires more honesty than most people are willing to accept.<BR/><BR/>After years of working with a folk festival and its songwriting contest, the thing I would like to get across to aspiring artists is that not everyone has it in them to be a songwriter.<BR/><BR/>There's no shame in being great singer and a great player and interpreting others' work. It's a hell of a lot better than diminishing your true talents with bad material.editorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632029549152237270.post-74729806948872999872008-08-26T08:24:00.000-07:002008-08-26T08:24:00.000-07:00This is all completely true, and it's something th...This is all completely true, and it's something that I try to stress to the people that I co-write with and produce.. and basically mentor. <BR/><BR/>But there's another side to all of this. A lot of the blame for all of this lies at the foot of the record execs. How many times have we heard that "the record company wouldn't let us put more than one good song on this record." Corporate bottom-line bottom dwellers have taken over, and the fact is that most of the music we are still exposed to is fed to us through the mainstream (Grammy winning!!!!) media. And the record industry is to blame for the blandness and sameness that is out there. Yes, the young artists are ultimately responsible for their own songs and career... but I think most of them think it's out of their hands, and it's true that we are in an era of instant gratification, the NOW generation. Nobody wants to do the work, they just want the recognition. But if someone did come out who had the goods, would they even have a chance? Maybe now they would, but in the last few years, if they didn't fit the mould, they would have probably been brushed off. <BR/><BR/>Another major problem is that the artist has to deal with the perception of the audience. People's perception is screwed up because of the messages they are conked on the heads with by the media, "be somebody," etc. They aren't told to "work hard and do something worthwhile, then be somebody." They want it now, or not at all. But the trouble is, with the karaoke mentality, there are no boundaries anymore, everyone is a star. People are so self-absorbed now that I don't think they have time for art. It's sad. I've seen people hassling major stars on big stages, wanting to get up there and show off! <BR/><BR/>We have a big job at hand to try to turn things around, and I agree with TR wholeheartedly, but the problem is bigger than just the song. People need to turn off their TVs and learn to use their brains again. Maybe they would learn to listen to subtlety and depth and meaning instead of just harsh ear-blasting badly mastered volume. No wonder no one has an attention span anymore. <BR/><BR/>DCDon Coyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01970942755968533199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632029549152237270.post-17695200982887636742008-08-26T07:22:00.000-07:002008-08-26T07:22:00.000-07:00Amen my brother.Amen my brother.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08330518529659347488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632029549152237270.post-23071432545045844812008-08-26T06:42:00.000-07:002008-08-26T06:42:00.000-07:00Absolutely brilliant and undeniably true. The hard...Absolutely brilliant and undeniably true. The hard work is the hard work, and it never changes. Head down, nose to the grindstone. Write. Repeat.GermantownonFifthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07762483694295049270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632029549152237270.post-31889365783854966072008-08-26T05:14:00.000-07:002008-08-26T05:14:00.000-07:00My hope is this: that all art is outsider art. It...My hope is this: that all art is outsider art. It's the job of commerce to make (most of) us insiders, and so it's the effect of commerce to create a few outsiders, always only a few, looking in, telling us what they see.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07677259538893700048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632029549152237270.post-70769646889839248922008-08-25T22:21:00.000-07:002008-08-25T22:21:00.000-07:00Whew ! ! No mas palabras to add to that Tomas.-Sa...Whew ! ! No mas palabras to add to that Tomas.<BR/><BR/>-Saddle Tramp<BR/><BR/>Via: Winona, Minnesota birthplace of James Earle Fraser <BR/>(sculptor and teacher) who gave birth to The End of The Trail, The Buffalo Head Nickel, The Navy Cross Medal and so many, many more great sculptures. That mold has been broken as well. I zig-zag towards The Mississippi River and Wisconsin and whatever else I can find. Maybe a lost Dylan song floating on Huck Finn's ghost raft. If I could be so lucky. No whining here. Just respect and eyes wide open.Saddle Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15640646036914910941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632029549152237270.post-46703063828277995602008-08-25T19:28:00.000-07:002008-08-25T19:28:00.000-07:00Look at me Tom, Im a black leather- clad rugged in...Look at me Tom, Im a black leather- clad rugged individualist with blue wing titto, just like the other 5000 biker types at rally in nowherville, USA. A nation of leisure, incapable of an unhomogenized original thought where everything is referenced awsome and amazing. It scarcely leaves an adjective leftover to describe creation or the Maker.<BR/>We dont fit in cause we arent buying what they're selling<BR/><BR/>What makes Nelson's "Red Headed Stranger" Springsteen's "Nebraska" and TRussell's "Man from God Knows Where" great? I dont know, but it sails close to reality and I know it when I hear it. The creative well you draw from must be deep. Be advised it does not go unnoticed or unappreciated.<BR/><BR/>Keeping the city safe on Ladder Truck Co 5 in Somewhereville, TX. A place where love abides. Aint that IRIS a dandy. Darkness may be out and about but it dont prevail.mateohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01634018725615738189noreply@blogger.com