Cowgirl's Prayer & Wrecking Ball

[Mike Rogers]

Mike, a word of warning about the Brennan. They are not for music lovers! Seriously, I've had mine a while now and I'm not impressed. I thought that I would be able to upload all my CDs (3000 plus) and then by using the remote, play at the push of a button but I was wrong. I got fed up trying to upload my CDs as it is such a laborious task and the Brennan doesn't always read each CD which means that you have to type in the details. The remote is absolutely terrible. One of those credit card size things which doesn't always do what you want it to do. There is supposed to be a delete facility but I can't seem to work it. It doesn't have an on/off button apart from the power switch so when you turn it off you get a sudden noise from your speakers. On the plus side, they do produce a good sound and the random play facility is great for those times when you just want a bit of music to relax or even party to.

That's really disappointing Harvey. I was also under the impression that uploading would be a piece of cake. I also felt it would save me having to keep a spreadsheet with albums and track data on. The product is still being heavily and, one supposes, expensively advertised in lots of magazines. Maybe some of the views have been - how can I put it - incomplete. Anyway, my wife is relieved.

[Harvey2]

I understand where you are coming from Daniel. I don't know whether your visit to England was actually, a visit to London but I can assure you that our capital city bears very little resemblence to the rest of the country apart from the multi-culturalism. Those Pakistani restuaurants you saw were more likely to have been Indian ones as they are by far the most popular eating places in the UK. The electric plugs? It's like our roads, the rest of The World drives on the wrong side. As for the King James Bible, I wouldn't recognise a passage from it either and I couldn't tell you who wrote.

[craig]

Daniel where are you from ?? what is your "native" culture ?? how old are you ?? ...Harv ... where aRE you from ?? how old are you ?? and it`s been so long i forgot .... i will admit i read for the first time in a long time all the different posts on this thread ... i didn`t even skip to the last post to see how it ended ....and i rather enjoy the banter,, reminds me of the good ol days of just , ....well sorry pre russ days .. so off topic , HEY KEN i have some pictures and stuff in ,on and around my "night stand , that is the little table next to my bed , and i found your family photo`s yopu sent me awhile back in there , also some pics from paula from wisconson , what happened to her i wonder?? nice . nice lady ...i forgot her handle ?? anyway ken , it was good to see your smiling face m and every time i see the toronto "jays" i`m thinking of you brother ...so Mike obviously is the smartest guy here .. i agree with him the most , that makes him smart !! so i will go on record as saying .,,, DITTO ..or ... "what he said "

[Daniel N.]

My whereabouts are displayed next to my posts :)

I think we have moved away from the album discussion. What do you think about (Robert Christgau):

Cowgirl's Prayer [Asylum, 1993]
"Jerusalem Tomorrow" Choice Cuts

Wrecking Ball [Elektra, 1995]
The reason Harris's instant comeback is an irritation, not a tragedy, is that the inspired collaborator and nonpareil backup singer has no vision of her own for Daniel Lanois to ruin. Her artistic personality has always been coextensive with her miraculously lucid voice, which now that it's fraying with age is ripe for Lanois's one seductive trick: to gauze over every aural detail and call your soft focus soul. I doubt she would have nailed the songs anyway--often she doesn't. But she would have come closer than this. B

http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=424&name=Emmylou+Harris

vs. (Alanna Nash):

. . .Many performers with longevity on their minds would cater to the radio gods, but on Cowgirl's Prayer (Asylum), Harris' 22nd album, she takes the opposite tack. She has simply recorded the best music she could find — commercialism be damned. The result is her finest album in years.

. . . These are songs about coming clean, about being real, not only with loved ones, but with oneself. In today's country music, with its emphasis on conscience-free fun, that's trailblazing of a higher order. A+

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,308288,00.html

. . .But in typical fashion, Harris has refused to retire quietly into the role of elder stateswoman. She has, instead, recorded an album that proves, yet again, she is the only woman in country music who continues to grow creatively and significantly as an artist, commercial appeal be damned. The result, the highly eclectic Wrecking Ball (Elektra/Asylum), is the biggest stretch of her career.
. . .For all its melancholia, Wrecking Ball is also oddly uplifting. Like the melodic title tune, the album is a metaphor both for celebration and for the sadness of breaking down the old to welcome the new. In this bold and not always exhilarating experiment, Harris has begun traveling the next road of her remarkable odyssey. A-

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,298871,00.html

It seems to me that some people just don't get Harris, and some do.

Oh, by the way, I'm almost 40 (OMG!!!!)

[KenB]

I’m posting some replies and a comment all together.

First of all, Mike thanks for the info on sequencing. I have re-listened to a couple of old vinyl records and I get the point you made. Good points all. It also makes perfect sense that the sequencing is sometimes a shared responsibility, or not. It seems logical that there are no hard and fast rules.

Harvey, I searched my memory banks and after much effort came up with Manfred Mann. I thought it was the one and only version of ’Blinded By the Light’, but next time I’ll do more research. Well done. I should have known that you would catch me :)

Craig great to hear from you! I would have sent you a PM before this but I haven’t been able to figure out the new procedure. It was easier on the old forum. Anyone else having this problem, or is it just the old guy? Hey Craig, Canucks in 5. Go Canucks!

jkn1946 You don’t have to lurk, jump in anytime you like :)

Mike and Craig both share the opinion that WB is a disappointment. No point going too far into it:)

Daniel, I'd love to be 40 again.

And finally just a passing thought. It was a lot easier to drift off topic in the last forum. Everything was in one place. Now we have all these separate categories. We’re pigeon-holed. Or to use a different metaphor, we can’t colour outside the lines without it being glaringly obvious. I guess we’ll just have to get used to using the ETC section.

[Harvey2]

My whereabouts are displayed next to my posts :)

I think we have moved away from the album discussion. What do you think about (Robert Christgau):

Cowgirl's Prayer [Asylum, 1993]
"Jerusalem Tomorrow" Choice Cuts

Wrecking Ball [Elektra, 1995]
The reason Harris's instant comeback is an irritation, not a tragedy, is that the inspired collaborator and nonpareil backup singer has no vision of her own for Daniel Lanois to ruin. Her artistic personality has always been coextensive with her miraculously lucid voice, which now that it's fraying with age is ripe for Lanois's one seductive trick: to gauze over every aural detail and call your soft focus soul. I doubt she would have nailed the songs anyway--often she doesn't. But she would have come closer than this. B

http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=424&name=Emmylou+Harris

vs. (Alanna Nash):

. . .Many performers with longevity on their minds would cater to the radio gods, but on Cowgirl's Prayer (Asylum), Harris' 22nd album, she takes the opposite tack. She has simply recorded the best music she could find — commercialism be damned. The result is her finest album in years.

. . . These are songs about coming clean, about being real, not only with loved ones, but with oneself. In today's country music, with its emphasis on conscience-free fun, that's trailblazing of a higher order. A+

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,308288,00.html

. . .But in typical fashion, Harris has refused to retire quietly into the role of elder stateswoman. She has, instead, recorded an album that proves, yet again, she is the only woman in country music who continues to grow creatively and significantly as an artist, commercial appeal be damned. The result, the highly eclectic Wrecking Ball (Elektra/Asylum), is the biggest stretch of her career.
. . .For all its melancholia, Wrecking Ball is also oddly uplifting. Like the melodic title tune, the album is a metaphor both for celebration and for the sadness of breaking down the old to welcome the new. In this bold and not always exhilarating experiment, Harris has begun traveling the next road of her remarkable odyssey. A-

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,298871,00.html

It seems to me that some people just don't get Harris, and some do.

Oh, by the way, I'm almost 40 (OMG!!!!)

I don't agree with Robert at all, I've never understand how he came to be regarded as a serious music critic. I agree with Alanna's views but you have to bear in mind that Emmylou can do no wrong in this woman's eyes. Personally, I don't want to get too deep into the wherewithall of anyone's music further than whether I like what I'm hearing or not. It's only rock afterall ;-)

[kate]

Daniel, you mention our cultural differences. What is your life in Croatia like?

I'm glad you've joined us - very interesting posts, by you and in response to you.

Kate

[Daniel N.]

Yes, I have noticed that emotions run high regarding Ms. Harris... she casts a long shadow :) But it's interesting how Mr Christgau tosses away the CP.

Yes, it's "just rock" for us, but for someone else it's their profession, something that brings money to table, and they are doing it best they can.

@kate, well I don't think my life is that different from anyone in a medium-sized/bigger (South) European city:

1 wake up
2 ride from the apartment I live in to work by public transportation, listening to Ms Harris' albums
3 work 9 to 12 in an office
4 lunch break
5 work 13 to 17 (1 pm to 5 pm that is)
6 same as #2 but it the opposite direction
7 have fun with my wife and pets (2 cats)
8 sleep

(repeat the process until 65...)

What I was referring to was, for instance, that I maybe cannot understand some references related to (American) football, baseball, general way of life. I don't measure distances in yards. My classes in school don't have numbers (like Math 101). I have never eaten soup from a can. I have never eaten a microwave dinner. I have never been at in a Protestant church (and in others only couple of times in my life). I didn't listen to a lot of music, didn't watch a lot of movies an average American did...

Also, I have a lot of (paid) vacations (5 weeks + national/religious holidays), government-provided medical services, etc. but fairly small monthly income...

[craig]

America sucks man i pay almost 700 bucks a month for health care and medicine , and if i want to see a doctor it cost 30 extra bucks , i work 6 days a week , been working for 39 years i am 57 in 8 more years i can retire , and go beg for money at freeway offramps because i won`t be able to survive on what my gov`t retirement (ss) pays .. i have paid well over 1/4 million dollars in taxes .. pay roll taxes not to mention everything i buy is taxed ... but hey we got freedom to be a fuck up , and i am living proof ..i could have saved money , invested , gone to college ,, joined the army ..but i chose fun instead .. i would not switch lives with anyone , well past life anyway , now i would change with anyone younger !!!! well almost ... could not hang being a woman ..okay never mind america must be the greatest country on earth ., 30 million mexicans can`t all be wrong !!

[Harvey2]

[quote][/quote]

Craig, your message implies that you have 700 bucks a month to spend on health care and medicine. I work with people who don't have that much to live on each month and before you think that the UK Health service props them up - think again. The NHS sucks. Life is tough for most of us these days and it isn't going to get any better. We need to be as tough as life can be.