I had the great opportunity of doing some good ol’ manual labor yesterday at work. I spent the afternoon by myself workin’ on our indoor climbing wall. It was a little slow movin’ but I really enjoyed it, because it gave me the opportunity spend some time alone with my thoughts (which unfortunately doesn’t happen all that often) and of course it gave me a chance to catch up on some old podcasts.
Seeing as I am kind of obsessed with podcasts and subscribe to a ridiculous amount, I had a lot to listen to, from a fun and fascinating podcast about the Muppets, to a live music session with the Cold War Kids, to an interview with Rosanne Cash done by NPR’s Terry Gross. They were all really fun and entertaining, but it was the Rosanne Cash interview that really stood out among the pack. At the time of the interview, Rosanne had recently released her newest album, The List. This record is a collection of cover songs that she selected and recorded from a list that her father, the legendary Johnny Cash, had given to her when she was just 18. He recognized that his daughter was missing out on a good majority of the music that had influenced him, so he made a list of the ’100 essential country songs’ and gave it to her as a both a gift and a bit of a homework assignment. What an incredible gift.
The rest of the afternoon,I found myself of how much I would have loved to receive a gift like that and how excited I am be able to pass on a list like that to my own children someday. Then I started thinking through what my list would be called and what songs I would put on it. But then I thought back to a question that Gross had asked during the interview. Terry pointed out the fact that the past several years had been rough on Rosanne, with the death of both of her parents and her stepmother June Carter and then she lost her voice for three years then to top it all off had to go through brain surgery. “It’s been a rough period. And when people go through a rough time, I mean some people turn to religion, some people turn to drugs or alcohol, some people have nothing to turn to, some people are lost, some people find this inner strength…there were times in your father’s life when he turned to drugs or pills and, but through all his life, I think he had a sense of Jesus in his life….So what about you? (What) have you had that has kept you through all this?” To which Rosanne responds “I adhere to the religion of art and music and small children.”
Yeah it’s pretty awesome that Johnny was able to have such a great musical influence on his daughter. The List is an incredible album. I highly recommend it. Her cover of Dylan’s “Girl From the North Country” is incredible and the duet she does with Springsteen on “Sea of Heartbreak” is breathtaking. But unfortunately it won’t last. As wonderful and powerful as music is, if she keeps looking to it alone for healing and comfort, she will eventually be let down. I am still thrilled about that day that I get to pour hours into making the perfect Beach Boys mixtape for little boy or little girl to listen to while they go to bed. But I am even more excited about the opportunity to spend every day sharing with my kids the love that Jesus has given to me. And it is my hope that rather than getting focused on grooming my child’s musical tastes that I will be able to pass on something much greater. So what kind of an impact are you going to have on your children? And are you being intentional with what you pass on to them?
The cover and title of Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle invoke images of the 43-year-old Bill Callahan loping through the stark countryside on horseback, watching and singing of the birds in his wise baritone. The actual music can be characterized in this way too: the warm string and brass arrangements are careful not to venture too far ahead of a song’s melody or rhythm and Callahan’s voice, as distinctive as Johnny Cash’s, is mixed up front, alone.
Eagle’s lyricism is environmentally considerate too. “Jim Cain,” the record’s opener, finds Callahan turning grimly to the natural world after failing in the material one. “In case things go poorly and I not return / Remember the good things I’ve done,” he croaks, recalling label-mates and fellow self-deprecators Silver Jews. The singers of both groups take poetic pause in the simplest of details, only Callahan is more concerned with carnal injustice than with growing old. “Too many birds in one tree…one last bird without a place to be,” he mourns on “Too Many Birds,” as if he’s endured this same cruelty many times before.
Since Callahan’s musings are the foundation of Eagle, instrumentation is sparse. Most of these songs sound like they were composed on an acoustic guitar and fleshed out by Brian Beattie, whose string arrangements sing and harmonize as well as cushion Callahan’s deadpan delivery. “My Friend” and “Eid Ma Clack Shaw” are the only tracks that are in any sort of hurry, the latter of which is the album’s best song. This a mostly languid work of art, a meditation on the wonder and uncertainty shared by all living things. Whether they shuffle or scurry, all of Eagle’s songs lead you around a different bend than the one you expected.
In the late 1970s, Johnny Cash hosted a Christmas Special each year, and pitchfork has decided to host a couple of their favorite moments the show. I really enjoyed them and I am sure you will too.
Here is a great version of Silent Night, performed by Johnny and his wife June Carter.
Here is the great gospel tune “This Train is Bound for Glory” performed by Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and Carl Perkins.
The late, great Andy Kauffman showing off his expertise by doing Elvis Presley’s “That’s Where Your Heartaches Begin.”
Here are a few more versions of possibly one of the most gorgeous Christmas songs ever written.
Wow…kind of exhausting. So if you dared to actually sample them all please share with us your favorite. Were you suprised by which one you liked the most. I know I was. I hope your ears aren’t actually bleeding, I just want you really enjoy the music.
One of my favorite musicians of all time is The Man in Black himself. One day when I was stumbling around the music blogosphere, I found a remix that just grabbed me.
When I start to listen to this song I find that the echoey choir sound in the background reminds me of the pure emotion that the song drives initially. So the added sounds are merely nothing more than an audible representation of one persons emotional evaluation of the song.
Too technical? It sounds like it feels.
This remix is one of those… untraditional remixes, and because of that it becomes something much deeper and more important.
Johnny Cash – Port of Lonely Hearsts (Midnight Juggernauts Remix) (removed 2/13/09)
This song is sure to evoke some kind of emotion in you, and when it does I hope you embrace it.
I had the great opportunity of doing some good ol’ manual labor yesterday at work. I spent the afternoon by myself workin’ on our indoor climbing wall. It was a little slow movin’ but I really enjoyed it, because it gave me the opportunity spend some time alone with my thoughts (which unfortunately doesn’t happen all that often) and of course it gave me a chance to catch up on some old podcasts.
