August Newsletter: A Review of the Month’s Culture, Arts + Trends

AUGUST’S SORROW

Aretha Franklin
(March 25, 1942-August 16, 2018)

WITH RESPECT

It started out as a soul song and ended up a national anthem of empowerment. Aretha Franklin turned Otis Redding’s soulful Respect into a statement, a mountain of meaning, a powerful mandate for all of humanity. Some say that it is the best cover of any song of all time. It was Aretha’s first No. 1 hit. The time was 1967. In that song, she was singing about the civil rights movement, women’s liberation, and any and every abuse put upon the downtrodden. She brought dignity into the equation. Otis Redding’s song, from the man’s point of view, was about domestic discord. Aretha made it a hymn of sexual liberation and political engagement. She made it a powerful enduring statement for freedom and equality, a statement that underscored the need for respect and dignity for all.

 

TAKE A SEAT

Eating pizza on the patio? What could be nicer? You know those little plastic pizza tables that keep your fresh steaming hot pie from sticking to the lid of the delivery box? It does look like a patio table, doesn’t it? So a Canadian pizza company, Boston Pizza, and their ad agency, John St., made tiny patio seats to go with them as a funny summertime surprise! And a very cool marketing campaign was born.

 

A POTENT PARTNERSHIP

Dave Lory is a good friend and colleague, an artist manager, and all-around music industry maven. His book, Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah to the Last Goodbye, is about Dave, Jeff, the music business, and life. It belongs right alongside the other essential music books on your shelf. Told in first person, we learn about the “day-to-day reality of managing a genius.” Here’s all you need to know, starting with the Introduction … Dave’s own introduction to this new artist (it is 1993) was getting off to a bad start. It was a Sunday, Jeff was late, and the lawyer acting as his manager wasn’t exactly obliging. This first meeting was going south until Dave speaks directly to Jeff: “I have a pet peeve.” Jeff says, “Oh yeah?” Dave’s answer, “Lateness.” Then he adds, “If you want to work with me, I’ll put together a plan for you … and then we’ll follow that plan together. Piss-poor planning equals piss-poor results … Anyway, I’ve got somewhere else I’d rather be right now. The football ain’t gonna watch itself.” Dave starts to walk out when Jeff catches up with him, “You’re the first person that hasn’t kissed my ass.” … Dave Lory was Buckley’s manager from the beginning of his career until his tragic death in 1996. Dave’s no-nonsense management approach serves him well in his writing. You’ll be hooked. I sure was. Get it on Amazon.

 

OOEY GOOEY PERFECTION

What is most everybody’s favorite summertime campfire treat? Did you just say, S’Mores? Of course! Who could resist that mound of warm gooey deliciousness? … The oldest ingredient is the marshmallow, from the plant marsh mallow, used for thousands of years to cure sore throats and also a treat. Today’s marshmallows contain no marsh mallow sap at all. The Industrial Revolution made possible the production of chocolate less costly, making it available to the masses. And graham crackers were invented by a Presbyterian minister, Sylvester Graham, who felt that a vegetarian diet would curb carnal desires and was a healthier diet … S’Mores may have started as a homemade version of Mallomars or moon pies, two snacks introduced in the 1910s. Some more S’Mores, anyone?

The first documented S’Mores Recipe is from the 1927 publication, Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts. “Toast two marshmallows over the coals to a crisp gooey state and then put them inside a graham cracker and chocolate bar sandwich. The heat of the marshmallow between the halves of chocolate bar will melt the chocolate a bit.” So get yourself 1 graham cracker broken in half, 3 rectangles of milk chocolate, and 2 large marshmallows. You know what to do. And since practice makes perfect, you may need to try and try again!

 

DOG NEWS

E.B. White wrote many of the books and poems we have enjoyed reading as children and as adults, including Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little. But did you know he loved, really, really, really loved, dogs? He’s written about them and he also wrote about his black Scottie dog, Daisy. On December 22, 1931, she was hit by a New York City taxi while smelling the flowers at the florist shop on University Place. E.B. White wrote Daisy’s obituary that was published in The New Yorker (March 12, 1932). He described her life, from her birth to her untimely death at 3 years old: “Her life was full of incident but not of accomplishment … Once she slipped her leash and chased a horse for three blocks through heavy traffic, in the carking belief that she was an effective agent against horses … She died sniffing life, and enjoying it.” The entire obituary is in the book, E.B. White On Dogs … In the pic above, that is E.B. White with Susy, a West Highland White Terrier, in his study in North Brooklin, Maine. Yes! Oh yes! He had a Westie!

 

ENDNOTE: ARETHA FRANKLIN

In 1973, The New York Times wrote, “she knows more than we do about so many, many sectors of human experience.”

“Being the Queen is not all about singing, and being a diva is not all about singing. It has much to do with your service to people, and your social contributions to your community and your civic contributions as well.” (Aretha Franklin)

 

WE CAN HELP

The Queen of Soul supported the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, which specializes in diabetes research. She lived with diabetes throughout her life and wanted to make sure other people would have the health care access that they needed. The Center provides care to children and adults with Type 1 diabetes and teaches patients how to prevent or delay complications. The Center is part of the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, CO. Donations can be made to the Children’s Diabetes Foundation in memory of Aretha Franklin by filling out the form or by calling 303.863.1200.

 

Soundtrack to this Issue

Aretha’s A Song for You

Hearing of Aretha’s passing, this is the song that came immediately to mind, my favorite Aretha song. I have always loved it. I have listened to Leon Russell’s deeply heartfelt rendition so, so, so many times. Those words and the way the music informs those feelings. And then along comes Aretha who makes it her own, without diminishing or taking away from the writer’s own intent. What she does with it is tell us who she is, her story, and what’s in her heart. Herself a songwriter, she bestows appreciation, honor, and respect on every one of her covers.

C’mon, sing along, you know the words:

I’ve been so many places in my life and time
I’ve sung a lot of songs
I’ve made some bad rhymes
I’ve acted out my life in stages

With ten thousand people watching
But we’re alone now
And I’m singing this song to you 

I know your image of me is what I hoped to be
I treated you unkindly
But darling can’t you see
There’s no one more important to me
Baby can’t you see through me?
‘Cause we’re alone now and I’m singing this song to you 

… And if my words don’t come together
Listen to the melody
‘Cause my love is in there hiding 

I love you in a place
Where there’s no space or time
I love you for my life
You’re a friend of mine
And when my life is over
Remember when we were together
We were alone
And I was singing this song to you

Who rescued whom?So grateful for Barkley coming into my life.
Thanks to Westie Rescue of New England.

Buddha, stay. Good dog. z”l“…live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.”
(Buddha)

 

Sources:
Respect pic: Pic of the marquee on the Fox Theater in Detroit, Aretha’s hometown
Pizza pic: John St.
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah to the Last Goodbye quotes: Post Hill Press (May 29, 2018)
E.B. White and Westie pic: photo by Jill Krementz, from New York Social Diary (February 9, 2009), Jill Krementz Photo Journal-Top Dogs (more awesome photos of writers with their dogs!)
We Can Help pic of Aretha: International Women’s Day March 18, 2018/One Drop.Today highlighting Women With Diabetes
Soundtrack A Song for You lyrics: Leon Russell ©Universal Music Publishing Group

August 27, 2018
All Rights Reserved

 

January Newsletter: A Review of the Month’s Culture, Arts + Trends

UNFORGETTABLE JANUARY

A new year rushes in bringing us change and more change. Let us strive to join together in kindness and to seek peaceful resolution. We have many possibilities. Choose hope.

AMEN, MLK

Martin Luther King, Jr, in his opening address to the Berlin Jazz Festival in 1964:

“Jazz speaks for life. The blues tell the story of life’s difficulties, and if you think for a moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph. This is triumphant music.” Amen, Dr. King.

SAVE THE ARTS

Access to the arts – how can one ever measure the importance of that? The National Endowment for the Arts brings the arts to areas that don’t have big museums, symphonies, ballets, and theater. Cutting the federal budget for this agency is a shocking thought – putting in peril funding that supports literature, visual arts, dance, theater, museums, and arts education programs around the country. Their support is vital, giving all of us the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise our imaginations, and develop our creativity. Here’s what we can do. Tell the NEA why the arts and the NEA’s work are important to you. Write to chairman@arts.gov or National Endowment for the Arts, Attn: Jane Chu, Chairman, 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20506. By the way, that is Ms. Chu’s artwork you see here.

MR. PRESIDENT’S R.E.S.P.E.C.T. FOR THE QUEEN

During Carole King’s tribute at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, brought the house down with the King classic “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” As her voice soared, President Obama was so moved that he wiped tears from his eyes … New Yorker Editor David Remnick asked the President to provide a quote for the profile he was writing on Ms. Franklin. President Obama, who brought all corners of the American music landscape to the White House during two terms, bound together his love of music and profound faith in our country thusly:

“Nobody embodies more fully the connection between the African-American spiritual, the blues, R&B, rock and roll, the way that hardship and sorrow were transformed into something full of beauty and vitality and hope. American history wells up when Aretha sings. That’s why, when she sits down at a piano and sings A Natural Woman, she can move me to tears — the same way that Ray Charles’s version of America the Beautiful will always be in my view the most patriotic piece of music ever performed because it captures the fullness of the American experience, the view from the bottom as well as the top, the good and the bad, and the possibility of synthesis, reconciliation, transcendence.”

GREENERY OFFERS COMFORT

This year’s color, as forecasted by the color institute Pantone, is a pretty yellow-green shade that evokes spring: Greenery. A symbolic choice, this life-affirming color speaks directly to the mood and attitude of our nation. “Greenery provides us with the reassurance we yearn for amid a tumultuous social and political environment [and] symbolizes the reconnection we seek with nature, one another, and a larger purpose,” says Pantone’s Executive Director. It is the color of hopefulness!

INSCRUTABLE ART?

Scary looking? Weird? Or mouth-watering? Hmm … You are looking at a swirl of vanilla ice cream, topped by a cherry that has attracted a fly and a drone. The End is by UK artist Heather Phillipson. She is one of the four finalists for England’s most visible public art commission, the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. The organizers describe The End as exploring “the extremes of shared experience, from commemorations and celebrations to mass protests.” Well then, it certainly speaks to our times.

WE CAN HELP

That’s Timmy, aka “Mr. January” and one of New York’s Finest K-9s, helping the New York City Police Foundation raise money. He’s featured in the Foundation’s 2017 NYPD K9 Calendar. By making a $20 donation, you will help support new and ongoing NYPD programs and initiatives. It’s even got an extra month so you’ll have a head start setting up all your January 2018 appointments!

Soundtrack to this Issue

Sam Cooke’s A Change Is Gonna Come

Released in 1964, A Change Is Gonna Come became an anthem for the Civil Rights movement. Ever timely and relevant, it moves from bigotry and violence to a message of hope. After winning the 2008 election, President Obama referred to the song in his victory speech, “It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, change has come to America.”

C’mon, sing along, you know the words:

I was born by the river in a little tent
Oh and just like the river I’ve been running ev’r since
It’s been a long time, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come,
oh yes it will

 

Who rescued whom?
So grateful for Barkley coming into my life.
Thanks to Westie Rescue of New England.

Buddha, stay. Good dog. z”l“…live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.”
(Buddha)

 

Sources:
NEA pic: Art Works Blog, #WisdomWednesday, NEA Chairman Jane Chu, January 18, 2017
Aretha Franklin and President Obama pics: CBS-TV
Greenery quote: Pantone’s Executive Director, Leatrice Eiseman
A Change Is Gonna Come lyrics: Sam Cooke ©Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Abkco Music, Inc.

October Newsletter: A Review of the Month’s Culture, Arts + Trends

OCTOBER IS FALL’S CROWNING GLORY

Part spoken word, part concert, Lennon: Through a Glass Onion celebrates his words and music. Happy birthday, John … On the eve of her new album release, Aretha Franklin talked with Clive Davis at the 92Y. “It really is an honor if I can be inspirational to a younger singer or person, it means I’ve done my job.” … Big-hearted Betty Buckley performed six concerts at Joe’s Pub, from her new T Bone Burnett-produced album, Ghostlight … Simon Rattle led the Berlin Philharmonic in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at the Park Avenue Armory, part of Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival … Everly Brothers honored with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Music Masters award … Bravo, Maestro James Levine on your 2,500th performance with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra … Matisse’s colorful cut-paper collages at MOMA … Yeah, they went their own way, but now Fleetwood Mac is back and on tour … The Who: 50 Years Greatest Hits album, whoa, fifty years? No! … Also out with new albums: Yusuf, Neil Diamond, and Annie Lennox sings American standards … The 3rd annual CBGB Music and Film Festival featured Devo … Speaking of, Mark Mothersbaugh has a solo art exhibition, Myopia, traveling the US … The surprising, enterprising, never disappointing artist known as Prince released two albums at once, Art Official Age and PlectrumElectrum … Esa-Pekka Salonen and the NY Philharmonic play Stravinsky’s The Firebird, let’s see, do the prince and princess live happily ever after? …

The glorious voices of Ladysmith Black Mambazo played Carnegie Hall’s South African music fest … Happy 30th birthday to Def Jam Records, influential and genre-defining … Masters of Hawaiian Music played SubCulture. Can you say ki ho’alu? That’s slack-key guitar to you … A Harlem block is officially renamed, George Carlin Way … Recovered, the Allman Brothers resumed their residency at The Beacon … They gave it away on iTunes then U2 released Songs of Innocence, their 13th album, featuring the single The Miracle (of Joey Ramone). You had me at Joey Ramone … The Beach Boys’ gorgeous classic, God Only Knows,  celebrates the launch of BBC Music with the likes of Pharrell Williams, Elton John, Chris Martin, Stevie Wonder, Chrissie Hynde, Sam Smith, and more, and oh yeah, the great Brian Wilson … Two new breeds in Westminster, Coton de Tulear and Wirehaired Viszla … New postage stamps celebrate Batman turning 75 … The Blood Moon, a total lunar eclipse, rose up bright red … And R.I.P. Jack Bruce, Cream’s singer and bassist, and co-writer of the best song there ever was and ever will be, Sunshine of Your Love.

COMPASSION IS THE SOLUTION

So says my favorite singer/songwriter, Matt Turk. Big congratulations on his latest album, Cold Revival, and his sold-out release party at The Bitter End …

“Opening with a lilting mandolin strum, Cracked Egg turns sharply into a powerhouse of explosive drums and heartfelt singing … When A Boy’s gentle, acoustic picking becomes a more upbeat track with the right amount of organ punched in … The album’s title track Cold Revival has a perfect country feel with restrained slide guitars, understated organ and strings … Say You’ll Live’s minor chords, mandolin and spoken word opening bursts into a dramatic, organ-driven piece.” …

“Matt Turk strikes a fine balance between rockers and introspective acoustic excursions.” … Oh, and Matt is Featured Artist in Guitar Player magazine … Don’t wait, buy Cold Revival at turktunes!

GOTTA READ IT, GOTTA SEE IT

Books on music: Bernstein Meets Broadway: Collaborative Art in a Time of War by Carol Oja, Griel Marcus’s The History of Rock ‘n’ Roll in Ten Songs, Mick Fleetwood’s Play On (timed with his band’s tour), Sheila E’s The Beat of My Own Drum, Neil Young’s Special Deluxe, Joe Perry’s Rocks, David Ritz’s Aretha Franklin bio (timed with her album release) Respect, and Tradition! The Highly Improbable, Ultimately Triumphant Broadway-to-Hollywood Story of Fiddler on the Roof, the World’s Most Beloved Music by Barbara Isenberg …

And new films about music: Andre Benjamin as Jimi Hendrix in Jimi: All Is by My Side, JK Simmons as a music teacher in Whiplash, and Ethan Hawk’s inspiring bio on the equally inspiring 87-year old piano teacher, Seymour Bernstein, Seymour: An Introduction.

FALL’S WELCOME AND FAREWELL

“Even if something is left undone,
everyone must take time
to sit still and watch the leaves turn.”
(Elizabeth Lawrence)

 

WE CAN HELP

Soundtrack to this Issue
Aretha’s Version of Adele’s Rolling in the Deep
(with a dash of Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, oh yeah!)
From the album, Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics
©2014 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment

C’mon, sing along:

The scars of your love remind me of us
It keeps me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love keep me breathless
I can’t help thinking

We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside of your hand
But you played it to the beat

Buddha, stay. Good dog. z”l
“…live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.”
(Buddha)

 

Sources:
Lennon: Through a Glass Onion pic: Illustration by Aaron Smith
Matt Turk pic: Christina Torpie, October 2014
Matt Turk’s Cold Revival review quotes: Rob Ross/PopDose
Matt Turk’s Magnet Magazine review quote: Magnet October Issue #114
Fall Colors pic: Chris Meloni
Rolling in the Deep lyrics: Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, Paul Epworth © EMI Music Publishing Ltd., Melted Stone Publishing Ltd.