Flight 93 Memorial groundbreaking

I’ve written before about the Families of Flight 93 and their tireless efforts to build a memorial on the site where their loved ones died trying to stop a horrendous attack. Yesterday the group broke ground on the new national park in Shanksville, PA, and I had the honor of attending. A beautiful day, a ceremony I thought was very appropriate and respectful.

The only negative was a man in the VIP section (which means he’d been invited) complaining to another man about new jobs in the federal government. He said that the last thing we needed was more government telling us what to do. I was sorely tempted to ask him why he bothered to attend this government event if he felt that way, but I didn’t want to mar the day.

If you haven’t been to the temporary memorial, I urge you to go. Listen to the ambassador tell you what happened and put yourself in the shoes of the people who acted that day—it will humble you.

 

November 6, 2009

Arguments based on a false premise never succeed. C’est tout.

 

Surprise

After all this Beach Boys and other pop records comes . . . Jeff Beck!! This is one of those “high school boyfriend had this on in his car a lot.” I bought the vinyl. Then I saw the CD somewhere and picked it up. Probably the best thing I got out of that brief relationship.

Great sound—another unbelievable guitarist. Best version of “Superstition” I’ve ever heard. Really, every song, from “Black Cat Moan” to “I’m So Proud” . . . this is an exceptional album.

 

Next

After Beach Boys should come Beatles, right? Well, no. At least not yet. I was talking to a certain rockstar recently and I confessed to him that I did not own a single Beatles CD. He was shocked. When he recovered, he said, “Just because they’re always on the radio, right?”

Well, not exactly. I’m just a bit younger than the British Invasion. I was alive, I was just not pop-music cognizant. Those years make a difference, as Michael Winerip wrote this past Sunday in the New York Times (I don’t agree with that “lucky” part, just that it’s different for us born that year). My oldest sister owned Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road and I don’t know what else. My other sister owned the White Album. But not me.

So after that discussion I thought some more about the Beatles. When the remastered stuff came out a few months ago I listened to some of it on Helen Leicht’s show. It sounded so good. And so I’ve decided to start with Rubber Soul and go from there. We’ll see how much it gets into the rotation.

 

Why I don’t have more Beach Boys CDs

Box sets: good or bad? Well, it’s not that easy a judgment. On the plus side, they often have alternative versions of songs as well as the most familiar, and maybe even a few you’ve never heard. On the bad side, they are slices of a history, not complete album creations with songs in a very specific order. (I’m such an editor sometimes!)

I wanted this collection and so of course I got it. And I listen to it regularly, from a very early version of “Surfin’ USA” to “Kokomo.”  Most often I pick up disc 3, which goes from “Heroes and Villains” to “‘Til I Die.” It’s a great collection and it satisfies my desire to hear the Beach Boys.

But now as I review what I have (also some original Smile recordings and some live stuff) I’m thinking I need to buy Surf’s Up. I’d like to get Spirit of America (which was the 2-disc follow-up to Endless Summer) because I listened to that a lot but it’s not being made anymore and so I’d have to buy it used.

And I’ve read articles that say I should listen to Dennis Wilson’s album and Carl Wilson’s album (vinyl only?). So that makes at least four more I want to get. This housecleaning thing is really backfiring . . .

 

Larger picture

On this election day, the NYTimes has an article about people in Iowa becoming less enchanted with this president. Yesterday the enviralists were quoted in the Coal Tattoo complaining about the lack of momentum on dealing with mountaintop removal—ironically, the very same people who have spent a lot of energy and money fighting both of the president’s choices for OSMRE director.

Both of these examples make me ask the same question: What do they want? What did they expect? These are not rhetorical questions. I’d sincerely like to know. The only answer I can come up with is “miracles.”

Everyone (well, almost everyone) acknowledges that things were a real mess on January 20, 2009—in the words of Niecy Nash, “foolishness and mayhem!” And (to continue the Clean House analogy) we elected Barack Obama as our “go-to guy.” However, it’s going to take more than a yard sale and some good closet organization to fix our problems.

Change takes TIME, folks. Laws have been made (and broken!). An awful lot that has been ignored or avoided or mishandled has to be fixed.

If you want to effect change, you can start today by voting. And then after you’re finished voting, how about volunteering to do something with a positive impact instead of a negative one? Instead of just tearing down and discrediting any progress that has been made (that comment is directed to MSM as well), try to make a little progress of your own. Don’t just sit at your keyboard waiting for miracles to happen.

 

The missing years

Not many people know what happened to the Beach Boys between Pet Sounds (1966) and 15 Big Ones (1975). Brian Wilson’s breakdown is well chronicled. But what happened to everyone else? Tough times. Lots of European touring. But they never quit making new music.

I’m listening to the above pictured album (1972), originally 2 LPs. “Funky Pretty,” “Marcella,” “You Still Believe in Me”—songs most people don’t know. After this I’ll put on Carl and the Passions or Holland (now a double-disc CD set). And yet I don’t have one of my all-time favorite Beach Boys albums, Surf’s Up, on CD (yet!). That one is incredible and needs no bonus tracks.

Anyone interested in the true evolution of the depth of musical talent in this band needs to explore those years . . .

 

Pet Sounds

“I once had a dream so I packed up and split for the city . . . “

This album is considered Brian Wilson’s greatest artistic achievement. It’s often mentioned in the same breath as the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper. Everything that came before, all the beach songs, all the car songs, all the girl songs—with their complex arrangements and harmonies—led up to this point. It’s an aural feast.

I had it on CD and then they remastered it and released it with a lot of rehearsal recordings so my husband bought it for me. Even though I have heard the songs for years (“Good Vibrations,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” etc.), when I played the remastered versions I felt like I was hearing the album for the first time. Amazing.

And (unlike what I said about The Band and listening to work), I really like hearing Brian Wilson rehearse on the bonus tracks. Here I want to hear the work as well as the Work.  Don’t ask me why . . .

 

October 28, 2009

If you are following the My CD Collection entries and you’re just not into the Beach Boys, come back in about a week. It’s probably gonna take me that long to get through everything I have to say.

First time I saw the Beach Boys (i.e., Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine, and Bruce Johnston) was August 1975 at the Allentown Fair. The Captain (former Beach Boys keyboardist) & Tennille opened. That was the first time the Beach Boys truly entered my consciousness. After being out of the spotlight for a while, they were releasing a new record and doing a comeback tour.

Even though we were about halfway back in the crowd, the concert was a blast! We had so much fun—singing, dancing—”bushy bushy blond hair-dos, Surfin’ USAAAAA!” By the time I left for college shortly after that, I know I owned the Endless Summer double album (a must-have for anyone who likes the Beach Boys). And from that time on, I started acquiring more music as I could afford it. And if I went to a show, I was always in the front row.

 

Mandy Barnett

I can’t remember where I picked up this CD but I do remember why—she had appeared in a Patsy Cline tribute show called Always and all the adverts for this album mentioned that. I love Patsy Cline (as you’ll soon see) and I figured I’d make up my own mind if she sounds like Patsy.

Well, I don’t think so. She sounds like Mandy Barnett. And that’s a good thing. Strong, clear, breaking-at-the-right-places voice. Nice selection of ballads and faster tunes, fiddles and accordion. This is what I call a Sunday morning CD—something that calms and relaxes. Perfect with coffee and the Sunday paper.