The first thing I wanted to celebrate in my history with Star Maker is the folk-blogger sub-group. Not that we have ever given ourselves a formal title, and certainly not one so clunky. But there are three of us, and when we want to post folk music here, we often check with each other to see who will take the song. And we often find that it was a good thing we asked. In considering what song to post for this, I saw only one option: The Dutchman. Let me explain.
Michael P Smith: The Dutchman
[purchase]
It all began when Susan joined us. She and I quickly discovered that anything by Joni Mitchell was a duplication risk. Later, we added Dar Williams, and sometimes Tracey Grammar to the list. But during Silly Songs week, I posted a song by Steve Goodman. I had always assumed that Goodman had written The Dutchman, and blithely said so. Susan set me straight in the comments. The song is actually by Michael P Smith, and later that week, Susan introduced me to his work by posting The Princess and the Frog. That song has become a favorite in my family. So, even though The Dutchman was never posted before on Star Maker, it is my first choice for this theme.
Steve Goodman: The Dutchman
[purchase]
Alert readers will have noticed that I said there were three folk bloggers here. The third is Boyhowdy. If you have ever visited his own excellent blog, Cover Lay Down, you know that he specializes in folk cover songs. (If you haven’t visited there, you really must do so as soon as you finish with this post.) So, now that I know that Steve Goodman’s Dutchman is one of the greatest folk covers in history, it seemed all the more appropriate to start this week with the song. Boyhowdy and Susan, thank you so much for your friendship. I can’t wait to see where it takes us next.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Retrospective: The Dutchman
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Retrospective: Looking For The Heart Of Saturday Night
Tom Waits: Looking For The Heart Of Saturday Night
Purchase
My first post on SMM was as a guest on March 8th, 2008. I had no idea what I was getting into! As time has passed I have been surrounded by bloggers who are much better writers than I am and who have much deeper music libraries than I do. But, even though I feel outclassed most of the time, I cherish my opportunity to occasionally contribute here. I'm so happy to have been a part of something so positive, open-minded, and spirited. Thank you, Paul, for the initial invitation to join.
It may be so obvious that it doesn't even need to be said, but my favorite moments from my time here have been when I have been introduced to music and artists who I had previously either not known about or who I had ignored.
I knew a guy in high school who was really really into Tom Waits. I hated that guy! Because this particular Tom Waits fan was such a distasteful human being, I never gave Tom Waits himself a chance. That all changed on April 11th, 2008 when Paul wrote about Waits here on this blog. I found the song he posted to be so compelling and so beautiful that I immediately began the process of filling out my own Tom Waits collection.
I'm so glad to have been introduced to him as an artist. He is one of my favorite discoveries of the last several years.
Thanks for the introduction, Paul - and thanks to all of my blogging colleagues for Starmaker Machine.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Morning/Retrospective: Sunday Morning
Margo Guryan: Sunday Morning
[purchase]
Margo Guryan's Sunday Morning - a pleasant sixties pop-fluff track from 1968's Take A Picture, which easily predates barely postdates the Velvet Underground track of the same name - was the very first song posted at Star Maker Machine, two years ago to the Sunday. It was brought to us by our beloved founder, Paul, who described Guryan both aptly and tersely, calling her "a 1960's style Lilly Allen (but a bit more refined)."
This coming week, in honor of our second birthday, we'll be featuring similar looks back at our current contributors' favorite moments. I've got plenty of favorites to offer, myself - beloved themes, favorite posts, songs that changed my life, and more - but I just couldn't resist calling back to our very first post as the perfect kick-off, like sticking a birthing room picture on the first page of the baby book.
Happy Birthday, Star Maker Machine. May you continue to serve as a haven for all of us.
Morning: Chelsea Morning
Joni Mitchell: Chelsea Morning
[purchase]
"Chelsea Morning" is one of my favorite early Joni Mitchell songs - it appears on her 1969 album Clouds...
From Wikipedia:
The song was inspired by Mitchell's room in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The inspiration for the first verse comes partly from the distinct décor of her apartment. While in Philadelphia, Mitchell and friends had made a mobile from shards of colored glass they had found in the street and wire coat hangers, which filtered the light coming into her room through the window and created the "rainbow on the wall". During coffeehouse performances of this song in the late 1960s, Mitchell explained that the famous stained glass was rescued from the salvaged windows of a demolished home for unwed mothers.
Although she is speaking to a lover, I think ultimately this is Joni's love song to the experience of living in the city - as the verses unfold, her description of the sights, sounds and smells is rich and vibrant and delicious:
Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning, and the first thing that I knew There was milk and toast and honey and a bowl of oranges, too And the sun poured in like butterscotch and stuck to all my senses Oh, won't you stay, we'll put on the day, and we'll talk in present tenses
Morning: Through the Week Edition
Sometimes a week just gets away from you. Here it is Saturday, and I haven't had a chance to post anything yet. As I try to get out the door for a family gathering, I'll keep the yakking to a minimum and celebrate a week's worth of mornings.
The Move: Mist On a Monday Morning
[purchase]
We'll start on Monday, with a dark bit of British psychedelia from The Move.
Badfinger: Sweet Tuesday Morning
[purchase]
On to Tuesday, with a somber-sounding songs with surprisingly upbeat lyrics from Badfinger.
Simon and Garfunkel: Wednesday Morning, 3AM
[purchase]
A song that would have been appropriate for last week's theme, too.
The Roland Kirk Quartet: April Morning
[purchase]
OK, here's where my conceit falls apart. I could not find a Thursday morning song, so I'll substitute "April Morning", since we're now in April, and the first of the month was a Thursday. Plus, all that introspective folkie stuff earlier in the week was getting a little old.
Chris Hickey: Friday Morn'
[purchase]
Some sad-but-resilient singer-songwriter Americana to finish out the work week.
Eels: Saturday Morning
[purchase]
It's the weekend! Time to rock out with the Eels.
The Velvet Underground: Sunday Morning
[purchase]
There are several good Sunday morning songs, but this is one of my favorites.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Morning: Morning Dew
Morning: February Morning Drive
David Francey: February Morning Drive
[purchase]
I would like to thank Kat of Keep the Coffee Coming for introducing me to the wonderful music of David Francey. I’m not including a link to Kat, because, as I write this, her blog is off line. If anyone has more information about this, please leave it in the comments. Thank you.
David Francey grew up to age 12 in Scotland. At that point, he and his family relocated to Canada. The Francey family loved going for Sunday drives and exploring their new country, and Francey continued these explorations as an adult. February Morning Drive reflects this. Each verse is a little painting, setting a different scene encountered on one of these rides.
The purchase link above is for Amazon’s Canadian site. The album is also listed on the US site, but at collectible prices. Of course, the price at the link I have provided is in Canadian dollars.
