Last week I had the opportunity (not passed up, of course) to see Wilco at the House of Blues in Orlando. Probably I’d have not elected to attend on my own, what with a couple if kids and a wife just coming out of a protracted bout with the flu, but my nephew had asked back around Thanksgiving and I’d already committed. I was just marginally familiar with Whiskey Tango Foxtrot [update: it’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The other is WTF?] (my younger brother and I listened to it on the way to and from the commissioning of the U.S.S. Mason about a year and a half ago, and rather liked it. My nephew had also put a couple of tunes from the same disk on a mix of music he’d sent me back then, and it grew on me even more. Still, I had no idea what to expect, and my familiarity with the band was so miniscule that I had no idea what they’d even look like (as if that were at all important). All in all, a perfect place to be walking into a concert of the sort I was about to attend.
Dave, my nephew, majors in philosophy and religion at Florida State University. My wife is a little disdainful of his choice of school (she’s a Florida alumn, and Gators and Seminoles don’t get along all that well) as well as his choice of major, but I find that it makes for some extremely interesting conversations. Dave was brought up in a fairly conservative and (in my estimation) rather fundamentalist Christian household, and so I (privately) believe his choice of major is somewhat of a rebellion and somewhat of a private quest to discover exactly what his beliefs are. Dave’s also been quite involved in music both from a listening point of view and as a performer, so we have that in common as well (although I’ve never had the patience for learning an instrument, everyone else in my generation of family (read: five sibs) has, and they’re all good). We’re in this music exchange at the present, and I’m digging out some tasty stuff from the ’70s through ’90s to give him to listen to. Skipping the Wilco concert was not an option from several points of view.
I got there early and grabbed some nearly edible sushi to go from a take-out restaurant just a few buildings away from the HoB. Dave showed up about five minutes after I finished, and he had three other students with him. Some of them had had a philosophy course in common with Dave, while others possibly shared his interest in…how can I put it? Reviving dead, semi-antique stereo and stage electronics. All of them scruffy, some wearing woolen caps that are (I guess) trendy amongst the disaffected. Me, I was wearing work clothing: tropical weight wool pants, black shoes, and a white short-sleeved buttondown. In short, I looked like a dork.
We got into a discussion of what’s good music while in line; horrified (in retrospect) I found myself claiming that Sgt. Pepper’s wasn’t even in the top five Beatles albums, which…what in the hell was I thinking? For those of you who aren’t up to speed on this, here’s what’s on that album (besides the utter crap, that is):
- A Day In The Life
- When I’m Sixty-Four
- Within You Without You
- She’s Leaving Home
- Fixing A Hole
- Getting Better
No, I think this belongs in the top five. Even counting the White Album as two, I think Sgt. Peppers is deserving of a top-five ranking. So, wrong am I. Forever in shame will I live.
In other music news, an acquaintance of mine has a new CD out. I met Mike a few years ago; he and I were both the odd spouses out at our respective wives’ class reunions. At the time, Mike was a former band frontman turned graphic artist. Fast-forward to last September; his daughter and mine both attended the same daycare. Last week or so, Mike hands me a CD. I get in the car, give it a listen…and thought it was bad. Really, really bad. Thing is, younger daughter Abby just loves it. I run through it a few more times, and it begins to grow on me. And Abby…Abby is singing along with it. At three years of age, she’s in the back, rocking out, with "Do The Destroyer" coming out of her mouth at just the right times. The band Mike is in is called Rocket 88, and they’ve gotten back together after an extended breakup. Check it out if you get the chance. It’s rockabilly that sort of reminds you of The Cramps, which I thought of after about the second listen. And not without reason.
I’ve mentioned previously that I’ve been a bit busy. It’s actually more than that; I got promoted last month, and I’ve been up against deadlines ever since, to the point that I haven’t truly had time to savor the recognition. But sometimes good things come in pairs, and so I got a spot award last Thursday (first time for each, in my career) which sort of made me feel extra appreciated. I’d never gotten any sort of bonus before that was in recognition of performance, and I’d never gotten a promotion that I hadn’t asked for. Both of these were highly unexpected, which made them that much more of a validation.
At home, the dog and cat had gotten into sort of a pissing contest, with our living room and dining room as the jousting ground. The carpet had to come up, and also the padding. Last weekend I repainted the ceiling and the walls, and laid about two-thirds of the area in wood floor. The rest I’ll finish this week. We’d considered bamboo (because of its durability and because it’s quickly renewable) but decided that both of these rooms would be done in maple plank engineered wood flooring. So far, it looks wonderful. As funds and time permit, we’re going to slowly replace the carpeting in the house with wood, and probably the kid’s rooms and the guest room will be done in bamboo.
So you see I’ve been a bit on the busy side. I’ve also been attempting to wade through Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle, which I’ve had since Christmas. Without the kids and the home projects, I’d normally be able to knock out even books as thick as these in just a couple of weeks. As it is, I’ve got about a hundred pages to go in The System of the World. I love Stephenson’s work, and this series hasn’t disappointed (although the pace is rather more leisurely than some of his other work). At this point it’s hard to see how it’s all going to wind up, given the short dash to the end. My very favorite part, though, was in the first volume. I’d excerpt it, except it’s just about smack in the middle of a rectangular prism of books about 6’x6’x1′ in size, under my bed. Formerly these books occupied the three very large bookcases in the room I’m reflooring.
I hope this wasn’t all too boring. And I hope that both of these things happen: that I work my way through this frantic activity, and that I can come up with something worthy of Obsidian Wings’ readership to post. And while I’m thinking of something to say, I’d appreciate it if any of you bright people out there could tell me if you know anything at all about Neuro Net, good or bad. My older daughter has cerebral palsy, and we’re engaged in this program to attempt to retrain her to whatever extent we can. This is very similar to something my father is involved in, but I’m not sure if any of it has got any clinical data to back it up. Anything any of you can offer would be much appreciated.
And now back to the comments wars.
(she’s a Florida alumn, and Gators and Seminoles don’t get along all that well)
The real problem, of course, is that both schools suck. Go Big Ten! 😀
As a Purdue grad, my observation is that FSU doesn’t have much in the way of anything resembling engineering. My father-in-law is somewhat more dismissive.
Returning to music, though, I have to thank LJ, I think it was, for cluing me into this: Schein’s Israels Bruennlein, the complete edition recorded by Weser-Bremen Renaissance. Wonderful recording of one of the unsung masters (and masterpieces) of the German Renaissance; highly, highly recommended.
Oh, and while I’m making random snarky collegiate comments: I’d normally be all supportive of a fellow Big Tenner but I’m still ticked at Purdue’s chop-blocks on the Wisconsin defense during the big game. Cost us three of our starting four defensive linemen. Evil, evil, evil…
Loved _YHF_. Loved loved it. Strangely though the only great song on it is “Poor Places”. An album I like even a lot more is _Day For Night_ by the Tragically Hip, which also is made up of songs which are parts of a much greater whole.
Good luck with your daughter.
I believe you were right the first time, and musically Sgt Pepper is at best the 5th best Beatles album. As an event and performance it is of course important. I was around at that time, but still think the distance and volume of rock since make it very difficult to judge the value of the earliest work. All I remember is that “Meet the Beatles” felt very fresh and energetic.
“…that I can come up with something worthy of Obsidian Wings’ readership to post.” Mission accomplished. Thank you.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Heh. I made the same mistake, as I now have Whiskey Tango Foxtrot inextricably intertwined with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
For the uninitiated, the former is WTF? I’ll acknowledge further embarrassment and edit the post.
I’ll have to check out that Schein thing. While we’re on that tilt, one of my favorite pieces of vinyl is a multi-disk set published by the Smithsonian called Six Partitas for Solo Harpsichord (Bach). Wonderful recording, and wonderful music. I’ve also got a few Deutsche Gramaphon recordings in my shrinking vinyl collection that are outstanding; I think one of them is Beethoven’s Fifth and Pastoral (the latter of which would be instantly recognizable to any frequenter of Loony Tunes and the like). Ausgezeichnet!
WTF (heh, I never realized that connection) is the new Tanya Donelly. I suppose I have both Foxtrots in the collection now. Anyone know any good foxtrot compliations out there? What is a proper foxtrot anyway?
Whoops, that Whisky Tango Ghosts. I guess I never did learn my radio alphabet.
So what is WTF?
Sgt. Pepper is maybe top five. I’d put the White Album, Rubber Soul, Abbey Road, Revolver and maybe even Let It Be in front of Sgt. Pepper. It just hasn’t stood up as well over the years.
It’s funny how some songs grow on you, how some songs stick with you and sound as good as ever, and how some songs just sound really dated. My son likes Linkun Park, but they didn’t float my boat because there’s too much screaming. But then I heard a couple of their songs the other day, and they weren’t that bad. Some bands like AC/DC have great staying power, well, at least to me. One of my favorite albums in high school was Songs in the Key of Life. Back then, I thought it was a masterpiece. Last year, I bought the CD and it sounded so old, even corny in a couple of places, though some of the tunes held up pretty well.
So sorry to hear about your little girl, Slarti. Prayers are with you. Write when you can.
Slart: Not a single boring word in that post, including “and” and “the”.
I’ve rearranged my Beatle album favorites as well, with Revolver taking the top spot for now. Beatles For Sale (“Beatles 65” in America) has received much listening lately, too, because I’m trying to learn a bunch of the songs on guitar.
“A Day In The Life” is sublime, but Sgt Pepper has fallen musically in my estimation (this is all relative; it still comes to the desert island with me)Remember this: “Strawberry Fields” and “Penny Lane” would have been on “Pepper” if the Beatles marketing juggernaut had not required a steady singles output. Think of “Pepper” with those two songs on it!
But “Pepper” as a package of 1960s delights (design, psychedelia combined with McCartney’s aching nostalgia, first album to include lyrics, the idea of an album as a progression, or song cycle) is a real cultural artifact. This song cycle thing was overrated, as Lennon pointed out, but the Fab Four and George Martin managed to create the illusion of coherence and progression.
George Martin had a little series on PBS a few years ago and toured in the U.S. One thing he played was the original demo of John Lennon playing acoustic guitar and singing “A Day In The Life”.
Stunning.
I’m sorry, Sgt. Pepper is easily top five, and I’m afraid most of you don’t get a vote on that, because you’re not British. Just the way it works. You’re not allowed to rank Beatles albums.
I can’t remember how old (young) I was when I first listened to it, but it blew me away – the production. It’s not so much about the songs. Clearly there are albums with a greater quantity of better songs. But listen to A Day In The Life with headphones on. The drums are scary. I was about 9 maybe the first time, then really tried it again when about 17. Even more of an effect; none of the other albums can do that.
Like I said – not up for voting.
All the best to Slarti & family.
At the risk of starting a real s&*tstorm, I’ll weigh in on the Beatles: Paul McCartney is, by far, the most talented of the four.
Now when I was a young, disaffected college student, I loved John Lennon for his in-your-face attitude and politics, and I’ve always admired George Harrison’s spirituality. But look back at the music: almost all the good songs on Sgt Pepper, the B-side of Abbey Road, songs like Yesterday and Michelle… all McCartney’s work.
Yes, the drumming on “ADITL” was groundbreaking. Ringo is the most famous and most underrated drummer in history. Sgt. Pepper had lots of very cool air fills.
Let’s not forget engineer Geoff Emerick, too.
O.K.. Gotta go listen right now.
JKC is right about McCartney. But this is another subject not up for discussion for most of you. Sorry. Feel free to discuss who was the best American in Monty Python, however.
Strangely, when I was younger, I preferred the whimsicality of Sgt. Pepper/Abbey Road/White Album era Beatles; the older I get, the more I seem to prefer the enthusiasm of their early songs. The exuberance of songs like “I Want to Hold your hand,” “Please Please me,” “I Wanna Be Your Man,” “Twist And Shout,” etc. is almost … proto-punk. Delightful as the later songs are, I think they’re sometimes too clever for their own good. Lyrically more memorable, maybe–I expect I’ll be able to sing anything off Sgt. Pepper on my deathbed–but less exciting somehow, less thrilling, less young.
I hope nobody minds a minor threadjack, but I’d just like to mention that I saw Spamalot last night and for you Python fans who might be thinking about seeing it, I’d advise you to book your tickets now if you have any hope of seeing it before the heat death of the universe.
If you haven’t already, check out Brian Wilson’s “Smile.” Terrific album, getting its hooks in me deeper with each repeat listen.
I’m a big Wilco fan since their Uncle Tupelo days. How did you enjoy the show?
One of my favorite albums in high school was Songs in the Key of Life. Back then, I thought it was a masterpiece. Last year, I bought the CD and it sounded so old, even corny in a couple of places, though some of the tunes held up pretty well.
CB, I had an identical experience with SITKOL last year. I had all of my Stevie Wonder CDs stolen from my apartment in New Orleans during a party in 1998, and hadn’t really listened to SITKOL since; but I always told myself I had to replace it. When I did, I found way too much filler (though “I Wish” is still one of my favorite SW songs). “Fulfillingness’s First Finale” holds up great, though. “Innervisions,” too.
Slarti – so how was the show?
Oh, and it goes 1.Revolver/2.Rubber Soul/3.White Album/4.Abbey Road/5.Sgt. Pepper. Jeez, I don’t even like the Beatles that much and I know that.
Uh-oh. Here we go on the Lennon/McCartney thing. Pretty soon, we’re in a Yoko and Linda slamfest.
Yes, McCartney is a virtuoso. As I think, Time Magazine pointed out a million years ago, he could play a Bach toccata on a foghorn. Yes, he’s a melodic “idiot savant”. Yes, yes, yes.
Lennon’s lyrics were better. Lennon’s early songs were better.
Oh, hell, I love Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle equally.
Thus with Lennon and McCartney. And, George Harrison is Duke Snider.
George Martin said something like this to a new engineer: If one Beatle shows up today, you’re going to have the time of your life. If two walk in and start to work, you will experience something extremely special. Three, and you’re witnessing genius. Four? Unfathomable magic.
Yoko, anyone? Hey, I wouldn’t change a thing.
OT: my brother and some friends (and i) did a Top 100 favorite albums list a while ago. we all submitted our top 100 (or 50 or 200) albums, in order, and then the person running it compiled the lists to come up with a master list (here). but nearly as interesting as the final list itself are the stats that he generated from the indivudual lists (here), ex:
Most albums in the top 50:
The Beatles, 4
Bob Dylan, 3
The Rolling Stones, 3
Most albums in the top 100:
The Beatles, 5
The Velvet Underground, 4
The Rolling Stones, 3
Radiohead, 3
Wilco, 3
Albums listed by 8 of 9 voters:
Abbey Road, The Beatles
Highway 61 Revisited, Bob Dylan
Nevermind, Nirvana
Most common years, top 100
1968, 7 albums
1969, 7
1972, 6
1996, 6
Composite top 100
75 different artists
12 albums by female artists/bands fronted by women
11 albums by black artists
average year: 1981.1
etc.
So you didn’t mention how the Wilco show actually was. 🙂 Their latest, A Ghost is Born, didn’t get nearly as much attention — particularly because it didn’t come with the news-ready record label drama that YHF did — but it had a lot of interesting material. I’d rather see bands like Wilco fail in the service of trying something different and new than see other bands succeed at being mediocrities.
(Earlier this year, professional analinguist [thank you, Vanity Fair!] James Lipton had Martin Scorcese on Inside the Actors Studio. For the promos for the show, they used the guitar coda from Wilco’s “At Least That’s What You Said,” off the latest CD. I thought it was a great use of the music, not dissimilar to Scorcese’s use of the “Layla” coda in Goodfellas.)
On the matter of the Beatles, I rank the albums thus (UK releases only):
1. “White Album”
1. Revolver (tie)
3. Rubber Soul
3. Abbey Road (tie)
5. A Hard Day’s Night
6. With The Beatles
7. Sgt. Pepper
8. Help!
9. Please Please Me
10. Let It Be
11. Yellow Submarine
12. Magical Mystery Tour
YS ranks above MMT solely for the inclusion of the rockin’ “Hey Bulldog” and “It’s All Too Much.”
True story: I started playing guitar at age 14 (21 years ago!), and my guitar heroes of the time included Prince, Eddie Van Halen and Jimmy Page. Of course, I was nowhere near as good as them. The first time I listened to Abbey Road on CD, with a pair of headphones, I switched to playing bass. That’s what an impact Paul McCartney had on me.
Yup, Paul (above, not Macca) is right about the early stuff. There is nothing like hearing the Beatles hit the mics on “She Loves You”.
Try and learn the middle harmony part (Harrison) on “This Boy”. Christ.
One overlooked Lennon talent. Superb, driving rhythm guitarist.
No kidding about that, John. Playing those constant eighth-note triplet strums on “All My Loving” is a hard task on its own. And John could break out a decent solo when he had to: “Long Tall Sally,” “Slow Down,” “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” “Dig A Pony” . . . of course, so could Paul. (“Taxman,” “Ticket to Ride” . . . )
I’m kind of with Paul in that I’m appreciating the early Beatles a lot more now, but it’s probably a result of familiarity. I hadn’t really heard too much of the older stuff so it’s newer to me. On the other hand, all I have to do to hear Sgt. Pepper’s is close my eyes.
Who is the better Beatle? Heck, what’s the best season of the year? The release of the Anthology material really revealed Ringo’s genius, IMHO.
“Oh, hell, I love Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle equally.
Thus with Lennon and McCartney. And, George Harrison is Duke Snider.”
Who gets to be Richie Ashburn (says this lifelong Phillies fan)?
I didn’t say? Damn. Well, I’ve been writing on my laptop and the damned browser advanced features on the touchpad keep eating my posts, so what I thought I wrote and what I wrote are probably quite different. Obviously my impressions of the gig went into the oubliette (leedle Heinlein reference for ya there), so here goes:
The warmup band was an act out of Chicago, IIRC, called Head of Femur. At first they were interesting, in a sort of Robert Smith-fronted ska sort of way, but then they fell into pretentious and then downright annoying. My nephew and his buds were also annoyed, so there may have been sort of a contact annoyance going on there. But they seemed to take themselves awfully seriously, and the performance lacked any fun or spontanaeity. I couldn’t wait for them to stop, by the end.
Wilco came on after a short break (during which I purchased a couple of the HoB’s $5 beers, and opened very strongly. I’m not familiar with their work to the point where I can identify any songs (except ones like Heavy Metal Drummer and I Am Trying To Break Your Heart and Reservations, all of which they did. It seemed as if they did all of YHF. Now, I’d had (as I said) little in the way of expectation of the group visually or even talent-wise; YHF I’ve heard was recorded largely by Tweedy, because he’s so demanding in the studio. I have no idea whether that’s true. What I didn’t expect is broad and deep talent. The guitar player (Nels Cline, apparently) seemed to exist for the sole purpose of laying down this flowing tapestry of dischord, while Tweedy’s acoustic was nearly lost. At times, Cline seemed to be playing the guitar with a wire brush or a steel comb; it didn’t really matter which because all there was for the listener was this wave of sound perpetually breaking. After a couple of numbers, though, Cline moved to picking and a cleaner sound (this changed frequently during the show, as needed) and quite impressed me with his talent both as a lead and as an emitter of complex and occasionally extraordinarily odd subtext for the lyrics (which are occasionally odd in their own right). Tweedy himself mostly strummed acoustic, but in a couple of numbers he showed himself to be quite talented as a guitarist as well.
The drummer, Glen Kotche, was (as drummers ought to be) the source of energy for the group. He seemed to be having a ball the entire time (especially during Heavy Metal Drummer, which they dedicated to his parents who were sitting in the balcony backstage) and was bang-on. A drummer can pull the entire group together and make the show, or be an annoying distraction; Glen was cleary the former of these. As an aside, I have experienced the latter when I took my wife to see Sarah Evans and some other performers; Sarah’s drummer was just awful.
The bass player I didn’t care for all that much. He played what appeared to be an early ’60s vintage Fender Precision Bass, and when he used that instrument the bass was muddy. However, he did play a couple of numbers on what looked to be an old Hofner violin bass, and there the sound was strong and clear. I preferred that to the indistinct, booming of the Precision. Could have been a sound-booth issue, but this sort of thing ought to have been worked out by now.
There were a couple more members of the band, both on keyboards most of the time. The fellow on piano (they had an actual upright piano onstage; this is fairly uncommon in these days when you can get a nearly identical sound out of an electric piano) did quite a bit of complicated, off-key-and-tempo-sounding counterpoint similar to what you hear in I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, and the other keyboard player handled mostly the electronic sounds. Except, of course, for when he was needed as a third guitar player, which task he performed well, with a few Townshend-esque windmilling flourishes (I believe it was referred to as “bowling”) and no small amount of verve.
All in all: highly recommended. The lyrics are clever, thoughtful and clear; the music is varied and highly textured but ever backseat to the singing, and Jeff…well, Jeff’s odd. He doesn’t do the typical rock and roll frontman thing very well, but that in itself came off endearing and highly forgivable. The show was also set off oddly and intriguingly by some video backdrop, which was so captivating at some points that I found myself paying more attention to it than to the music.
Three encores. Last two numbers: covers of Randy Newman’s Political Science and Blue Oyster Cult’s Don’t Fear The Reaper; widely different numbers but both done dead bang on, except it was clearly Wilco playing. Not imitations, but tributes. Through the whole two and a half hours, I was surrounded by a sea of people who were a generation younger than me, all rocking. And then there was me, dressed like an engineer in white short-sleeve buttondown oxford and wool pleated trousers, just staring raptly at the band with what must have been an enormous grin on my face. I think Wilco was perhaps exceeded by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones (in my experience of live shows) for overall talent and sheer enjoyability, but they’re a relatively close second.
One last thing: I’ve seen some comments such as (for example) this:
I’d just like to say a few things about that. I’d like to say them carefully and precisely, because I’m not ungrateful or unappreciative of the sentiment; I’m deeply touched. But I’d just like to fill you in on what’s so, especially those of you (probably all) who haven’t read what I wrote on my blog about this.
Emily has cerebral palsy. CP is not a degenerative disease, although it does manifest itself in slightly different ways as those who have CP grow up. CP is something that’s with you from birth, and is usually considered a birth defect. CP is brain damage, and has varying severity. Emily’s CP is comparitively mild; she can walk and run (although awkwardly). She can write and spell and do math, although her handwriting is still nearly unreadable. She can type on the computer (which is where we try to have her compose as much of her written work as is possible). Sufferers of CP can experience minor dysfunction of one or more limbs. More severe cases can have muscle problems severe enough to distort the limb itself, which is sort of a typical legs-scissoring-in walking motion that frequently also has the arms cocked in an odd-looking aspect. Even more severe cases can be confined to wheelchairs or need crutches, and at some point mental retardation or severely restricted intellectual maturity can manifest itself. Right now, there’s little if anything that can be done about any of it, outside of therapy (which, for the most part, is to keep things from getting worse). Emily is eight years old now; she’s quite intelligent, brave, willing to try practically anything new (particularly if it’s food), deceptively strong, and mostly optimistic about her life. She’s mainstreamed in with conventional third-graders, and she’s doing…well, it alternates. She’s either on, and getting A’s and B’s, or she’s somewhere else and getting low D’s to F’s. She may move on to fourth grade, but she’s the youngest kid in her class, so having her repeat third wouldn’t be the end of the world.
If there was any way I could take her disability away from her and keep it for myself, though, I’d not hesitate for a second.
So, please, don’t feel sad for us. Emily is the best thing (or at least, the first best thing) that’s happened to us, and we wouldn’t be anywhere near the same people without her. And we’re pretty clear that without us (or someone a lot like us), she’d be languishing in an orphanage in Wuhan to this day. So it’s a win for all of us.
Thanks again for all the kind thoughts and wishes.
Slart.
As far as the Beatles, I think the magic was in the mix. McCartney by himself was a pop music success, and he certainly had his share of interesting tunes, but Lennon and Harrison put quite some depth under the music. One can’t even come close to comparing the best of Wings (or the pre-Wings days) with the best the Beatles had to offer.
And I’m another Yoko anti-fan. You could use her voice to keep the neighbor’s dog out of your yard, if you could stand to listen to it that long.
Wonderful comments regarding Emily. Of course you never tell a daddy not to be defensive, and a strong young girl can take on the world regardless of the medical fortunes she’s been dealt. My wife has Huntington’s Disease, and although the situations are greatly different, when we’re out in public we take on people’s reactions head on. People toss all types of emotions your way, many that are unnecessary and some could be unwanted, but we absorb them all. Not for us, but for them. As usual, I’ve probably missed you by a mile, but try not to be too concerned about other peoples thoughts. They can’t help it and mostly mean well. If your own (and Emily’s) are strong and genuine, it won’t matter much otherwise. Great post.
My older daughter has cerebral palsy, and we’re engaged in this program to attempt to retrain her to whatever extent we can.
I know nothing about NeuroNet, sorry – though I have a couple of sources of whom I will inquire – but thank you for writing at length about your daughter. She sounds like a great kid – the sort of person for whom “handicapped” always seems a completely inappropriate term.
Slart.,
Thanks for the review. Ah, Political Science, one of my favorites.
(they had an actual upright piano onstage; this is fairly uncommon in these days when you can get a nearly identical sound out of an electric piano)
I speak as one who is learning piano as an adult. There is a big difference playing an electronic keyboard, even a good one.
My best wishes to your family.
She is a great kid. And I agree with the statement about “handicapped”; we try to use “disabled” when we use anything at all. I don’t actually think any convenient labels fit, but pretending there’s nothing out of the ordinary doesn’t work either. It’s gotten to the point that with Emily, we write a note to her class every year telling them what she’s got, and what it means, and that as nice as she is and as cute as she is, she doesn’t want help when she falls down. She doesn’t want to be led or carried or helped. She’s extremely independent, and we try not to discourage that.
At one point we applied to adopt another girl with the same condition, this one from Korea and about Emily’s age at that time. The idea there was that we already knew what we’d be dealing with, approximately, so two would be less than twice as hard as one. And also that they’d both have a sister that was much like them. It was between us and another couple, and it was looking like it would go our way. It didn’t.
I still have her picture. I shouldn’t, but I still look at it sometimes and wonder what became of her, and hope she’s as loved and supported as our little girl is. Still, if that’d worked out, we wouldn’t have gotten Abby, who’s…well, a devious, cheerful, sulky, gabby, sullen, helpful, stubborn, brilliant, beautiful little girl, all in one package. One day soon I’m going to record them when they’re both nearly helpless with laughter; it’s the best sound in the world and it’s nearly impossible to not laugh along. For those days when work is not going so well.
oubliette (leedle Heinlein reference for ya there)
Not to mention Labyrinth.
What made me leap to defend McCartney was a snarky review of Let It Be-Naked on NPR in which the reviewer likened McCartney’s influence on the album to a Three Stooges festival featuring Schemp. If I could have reached through the radio and smacked the guy, I would have.
As for the Fab Four, if I had to rank them in order of talent, it’d be McCartney, Harrison,* and Lennon and Starr tied for third. Fortunately, I don’t have to.
Slarti, it’s good to see you posting again. I’d wish you luck with your daughter, but I suspect that with her pluck and your example, she doesn’t realy need it.
Eh…. good luck anyway. And welcome back.
* “If I Needed Someone” and “Here Comes The Sun” being, arguably, two of the bands finest songs.
They’re four sides of the circle, of course.
Er…. Thought that was going to work.
oh well.
Slarti: One day soon I’m going to record them when they’re both nearly helpless with laughter; it’s the best sound in the world
Yeah. I can’t think of a better sound that people you love helpless with laughter. Weigh all the music in the world against it, and it comes down short.
Bob argued: “…and musically Sgt Pepper is at best the 5th best Beatles album.”
Ah, but is that considered as the original British albums, or the America versions?
Nice to know what you’ve been up to, Slart, and good luck with all that, and congrats on the recognition!
James says: “The drums are scary. I was about 9 maybe the first time, then really tried it again when about 17. Even more of an effect; none of the other albums can do that.”
Hey, try them on acid. 🙂
(Everyone knows who the actual Best of the Beatles was, of course.)
“Feel free to discuss who was the best American in Monty Python, however.”
In a recent tv retrospective on the first five years of Saturday Night Live (not the title of the original program, as those with good memories know), I was interested to see Eric Idle, who made many appearances on both the original show, and in this retro, say that he always thought Dan Ackroyd was the only other American who could have been a Python, if my memory isn’t garbling, which is possible. (Tv problem for Wednesday: I’m currently following the practice of taping Alias and watching West Wing, since they’re now opposite each other, but this week there’s also a PBS Kennedy Center Honors Lorne Michaels, with all sorts of fabulous appearances, and I really don’t want to miss any of the three, oh, dear….)
“And I agree with the statement about ‘handicapped’; we try to use ‘disabled’ when we use anything at all.”
Perhaps the best label is “Emily.”
And I’ve never ever been able to do, or believe in, the ranking game, though I’m happy that most people can enjoy the game and are more decisive than I am. Best I can do is completely vague and ever-changing “Top Ten Or So At The Moment” in a given category, and generally I don’t find it fun to try. Incomplete lists of favorites is more my speed.
Wilco. . nice, but in the Tupelo days I always skipped forward to the Farrar tunes and skipped over Tweedy’s, which I found way too bouncy. And now I naturally own all of Son Volt and Farrar’s solo work, and have avoided Wilco. I highly recommend Son Volt. I prefer the melancholia.
Say hi to Emily for me!
y’know, I wrestled with the whole Tweedy/Farrar thing for a while, too. I always preferred Farrar’s plaintive and staggeringly powerful Tupelo songs (Looking For A Way Out, Whiskey Bottle. etc.) to Tweedy’s lighter fare. After the demise of UT, the suspicion was confirmed – “Trace” beat “AM” like a rented mule, and Trace holds a place in my top 5 albums of the 90’s, maybe of all time. But I kept listening to both bands, and I was just forced to confront the fact that Farrar was trending away from his peak, while Tweedy was just getting more and more interesting. “Trace” is Farrar’s high-water mark; try as I might, I just can’t find the same spark in Sebastopol or the more recent tour material. Wilco is a strong and innovative band, and is pushing limits, where Farrar seems happy to keep mining the same seams.
I know this is a purely subjective assessment, and certainly anybody that hasn’t heard/doesn’t own Son Volt’s “Trace” is missing a true American classic. But. The simple truth is that right now I’d trade four Farrar tickets for two Wilco tickets, and that just about says it all, from my seat, anyway.
“Loved _YHF_. Loved loved it.”
Y’know, I loved the Woody Guthrie albums they did with Billy Bragg so much, that Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was a big letdown for me.
“And I’m another Yoko anti-fan. You could use her voice to keep the neighbor’s dog out of your yard, if you could stand to listen to it that long.”
She was no musician, but her art is bloody incredible. She was one of the most groundbreaking conceptual artists in the 1960s & 1970s.
“”Trace” is Farrar’s high-water mark”
I’m sad to say I have to agree, but what a mark. Straightaways wasn’t a significant dropoff (Way Down Watson is vintage Farrar). Wide Swing Tremolo is disappointing, which might explain why Jay jumped ship afterwards. Stone Steel & Bright Lights is fantastic and approaches Trace.
Plus I’ll never forgive Jeff for messing up Anodyne. Seriously, how did ‘Give Me Back the Key to My Heart’ make it onto the same album as ‘High Water’ and ‘Slate’?
I think Richie Ashburn was a Kink.
They were all British Invasion: Frank Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Jackie Jensen …
“I think Richie Ashburn was a Kink.”
I can live with that. Very different type of player than the rest. Has his mark on immortality and his own place in the relevant Hall of Fame.
My mother in law did training therapy to make up for loss of vestibular function due to Meniere’s disease, which helped quite a bit. They trained her to use visual cues to avoid falling down when the Menieres gave her vertigo attacks. In many cases, your instinctive visual responses work against you. (I can’t rememember exactly – this is called Nystagmus or something). It looks like NeuroNet got started with its program by dealing with balance problems like these (See the list of auditory tests they recommend). They probably have a lot of experience w/ ear problems and are building on that experience.
Just wanna say re: McCartney
In his concerts today, he sings all the early stuff in the original key. He and Lennon are the best rock and roll singers ever, period.
Also, if you watch and read about the train wreck “Let It Be” (agreed; some fine songs), notice the patience Macca has with Lennon. He wants some music out of John and he will put up with anything to get it. He knows John is a genius, but love intervened, which is as it should be in the Beatle universe.
Macca loved the Beatles like a fan. He loved the Beatles more than we do.
SlarT: does your daughter like music?
Sorry, I know nothing of neuronet.
The Beatles? WTF?
There’s good music from those dark ages – the Stooges, the Velvets, Coltrane, Captain Beefheart, John Lee Hooker, a few others. The Beatles? Not so much. Joey Ramone is dead and Paul McCartney is still alive. I told you there was no god.
“And I agree with the statement about ‘handicapped’; we try to use ‘disabled’ when we use anything at all.”
It’s a pity that ‘handicapped’ is seen as insulting. I think I’d actually prefer it. When something is ‘disabled’ in a technical sense, it doesn’t work at all. Outside the context of e.g. people in wheelchairs, ‘handicapped’ is used of athletes – while ‘disabled’ is used of machines – and implies not that they can’t run the race or whatever at all, but that they are running it at a disadvantage to the other competitors, which I think is a much more positive and accurate way of looking at things.
Haven’t waded in, but thanks Slarti, for this post and for the subsequent turn to a Beatles thread. Lovely stuff.
Some may be interested in checking out Berube’s post asking for best cover of a Beatles song, best cover of a Dylan song, and cover that is better than the original, but the Beatles one got the most interest.
Not by me. I think it’s just nondescriptive, and therefore slightly less useful, when describing Emily, than “female”.