DateFebruary 20, 2017
Miracler
Kelly Niland
Location
San Francisco
I know: Not heavy at all, right?
Hi guys. Thanks for your patience as we get 2017's miracles off the ground. Lots of stuff going on here, plus I kept waiting for the mix playing in my head to morph into something more upbeat. But now that our country has officially entered a zone that the major notes can't help with, it's time to surrender the mix at hand.
The Dark Night of the Soul has been explored by everyone from Saint John to Joseph Conrad to F. Scott Fitzgerald, but my inspiration here comes from screenwriter Blake Snyder's 'Save the Cat' how-to book (thanks for the reco, Alix Tyler!). We're at the bottom of Act 2 in the movie (any movie) and things have gone DOWNHILL: "The main character hits bottom, and wallows in hopelessness. The Why hast thou forsaken me, Lord? moment. Mourning the loss of what has “died” – the dream, the goal, the mentor character, the love of your life, etc. But, you must fall completely before you can pick yourself back up and try again."
The dark is DARK, and the protagonist must wallow in it for a good while. Four years? Well, at least the length of a 'Have a Little Faith in Me' flashback montage. (Don't worry, that song's not here.) There is a lot of rain and there is an extended lonely walk through the empty city, and at some point, the character's stiletto heel breaks off or the White Castle gets even farther away, or the Stanford researcher is refused reentry into the US because he's Iranian. Oh, wait!
And yada yada, things will quickly improve once this scene closes, and we'll learn that the dark really DOES seem darker just before the dawn, and everything's going to be totally fine. But that's another mix, which I greatly look forward to making. Right now, these are the songs that are talking to me. What's here: mostly go-to artists, found in a somber mood, sometimes playing against type. Who knew that Nick Cave could provide the most hopeful moment and Daryl Hall one of the darkest? So put on your raincoat and I'll meet you at the pier. XOXOK
1. In the Darkest Place: Elvis Costello with Burt Bacharach
From their flawless collaboration, 'Painted From Memory'
2. Every Time You Go Away: Daryl Hall & John Oates
The original!
3. This Tornado Loves You: Neko Case
That gal's always good for rainy solo walks
4. Tonight Will Be Fine: Teddy Thompson
Teddy covers Leonard!
5. A Case of You: Prince
Prince covers Joni!
6. Johnsburg, Illinois: Tom Waits
A beautifully spent 1:31
7. Short Man's Room: Joe Henry
'You're only as good as your knees'
8. Breathless: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
XO to Stephen Bramfitt for this gem
9. Plan To Marry: Lucinda Williams
How ya doing, guys?
10. Better Be Home Soon: Crowded House
You feeling that rain now?
11. Coney Island Baby: Lou Reed
Scotch?
12. I Think It's Going To Rain Today: Nina Simone
'Tin can at my feet, I think I'll kick it down the street'
Cover art by Nigel Van Wieck
CHRISTINA STORK, YOU'RE NEXT!
Mix is UP. Check your email for the current password. To comment on this mix, click on the 'Comment' button below the post and write something. If you don't have/want to use your Google etc. accounts, just type your name in the "Name" box and you are done. See you back here or on our members-only Facebook page soon. XOK
26 comments:
Enjoying this bigly as I try to depart a very windy SFO. Who's that fetching lass on BART?!?
Now that's a cover that tells a story...
Before I dive in I've got to know about that cover painting!!
Well that was tasteful trip down a highway of heaviness. And it ended beautifully with that Randy Newman cover. Another knockout upon first listen is that Joe Henry number. Think this playlist will be perfect for another week of rain.
Mark,
The painting is pretty kooky, huh?! I was actually online, looking for a good lonely Hopper painting for the cover art, and up came this piece by Nigel Van Wieck, and I was like, 'WHUH?"
Just then, Stephen came in and said, 'Wait, is that you?" That doesn't happen often (except with your Florence piece!) so it was pretty weird, especially since I really sit like that, and definitely feel like that on BART a lot these days (except with a few dozen more people).
I wasn't familiar with the artist at all, but here's a video of him creating it: https://vimeo.com/10120543
And here's his site: http://www.nigelvanwieck.net/ His work there is kinda mixed, but I think a few of his pieces are really nice.
See what you think!
XOK
Second note for Mark—Ha, I didn't know that was a Randy Newman cover! Not a huge surprise I guess, since she was a cover-friendly lady. That's quite a few, for a mix that wasn't trying for it.
And Mark and John G, I'm so glad to hear you dig the mix! XOK
What is the cover from? It's beautiful. Is that you? That Teddy Thompson song tugs at your heart with a full fist. And this is some kind of weird Nina Simone season. Thanks for this, good soundtrack for this dark season.
Okay, just read the comments and learned the backstory on the painting. Where is it hanging these days and can we steal it for you? I'm totally up for a heist.
I also love the Joe Henry.
That cover is something else! On Bart no less!
What a sad dark and lovely mix of Songs!
So full of heart laden beauty I just had to add the following by A.E. Houseman
With rue my heart is laden
For golden friends I had,
For many a rose-lipt maiden
And many a lightfoot lad.
By brooks too broad for leaping 5
The lightfoot boys are laid;
The rose-lipt girls are sleeping
In fields where roses fade.
COVERS! Last week, for Valentine's Day, Gal Pal Val and I went on a date to go see John Doe in Austin performing an "all love songs" set. As Doe switched guitars the audience called out requests: "White Girl!" "Burning House of Love!" Doe apologized, saying, "Sorry, this guitar's got different tuning, and it's a cover." Before Doe got into the lyrics, Val whispered, "Whose song?" I whispered back, "Joni Mitchell's." Of course it was I Could Drink A Case of You.
A funny aside by way of Nina Simone covering Randy Newman on the mix: When Eric Burdon first met his hero Nina Simone she spared him no rudeness in telling him how much she DIDN'T like his version of House of The Rising Sun. Oopsies? Yeah, but they ended up becoming friends. Proof that musical geniuses think alike? Eric covered Newman's I Think It's Going To Rain Today before Nina did.
Great mix, Kelly!
Here's Eric Burdon
Dang. Cut off my posting. Here's Eric Burdon' and The Animals version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtDy3FkZVYU
Thanks for so much to enjoy this AM — the video of Kelly's cover painting being created, that beautiful poem by A.E. Houseman and Tim's Eric Burdon anecdote and cover ala Nina. What a great group! Thanks hostess, yet again, for all of your fine work!
Wow, the cover! And your intro, so poetically written. And then comes the mix. You're a mix mistress after my own heart. Many new favorite singles here. Neko Case, Nick Cave, Lucinda, Crowded House. The Teddy Thompson song always slays me. Ahh, it's too early for a glass of wine. Love this mix. XO
Perfect cover art!
I was going to lead this off complimenting you on your brilliant Hopperesque cover painting but now now its your doppelganger. So, instead I will lead off with -- Gee, your depressed musical moments are my usual, every day ones! Lou's brilliant Coney Island Baby is even a song that lifts my spirits up. It gets the spirit of Brazilian "saudade" just right -- the sadness that comes from good memories of the past. Likewise, when Prince's gorgeous cover came out on a tribute album I finally listened to the words and realized it was a sumptuous love song. Joni's seems sadder.
The D&H dirge is tops and shows how inventive our Mr. Hall has always been. The artist here that I stupidly don't listen to is Joe Henry. No reason either -- fantastic tune. I think I confuse him with the older Joe Ely.
As for sharing your emotional state -- I don't think you are alone here or for the election that spurned it. What kind of person would you be to feel good about it all??? I even wrote about the first place I consciously heard "I Think It's Going To Rain Today" in middle school. The cover was by a very early UB40. The election had me returning to a great early tune of theirs that somehow connected the end of times with 10CC:
https://nicksvinylpicks.wordpress.com/2016/11/21/ub40-the-singles-album/
Better Be Home Soon is a sweet uplifting song! Until I heard Prince's cover of A Case Of You, I always thought his vocal intonations were inspired by gospel, bit NO, he's taking Joni's delicious vocal gymnastics and converting them into purple majesty!
If you know me you probably know that I love a sad song, a differently-performed cover and/or Lou Reed. Thanks for sharing, Kelly!
A great mix for a not-so-great time. Proof that art – both visual (*love* that cover painting!) and musical – can overcome.
Always a treat to hear "Johnsburg, Illinois" – probably my favorite short song in the whole wide world. And "Coney Island Baby". I'll be putting this mix on repeat for awhile...
Thanks for sharing, Kelly.
To paraphrase Nick Hornby: do I listen to pop music because I'm miserable, or am I miserable because I've been confronted with the inescapable fact that a not-inconsiderable portion of my fellow citizens are irredeemable racists, authoritarian thugs, or theocratic goons?
Anyway... I found this mix to be less an amplifier of my mood than a bit of much needed balm, like a snatch of favorite music from a hidden radio passing by in the night. It reminds me that sharing the light and darkness of art that moves us serves to comfort, to support, and to make us all feel less alone. So, let's keep doing that.
Specifics: I really loved the soulful revelation of the Hall and Oates, and the simple, honest and earnest delivery from both Teddy Thompson and Joe Henry, and of course the marvels that are the voices of Lucinda and Nina.
And while I don't usually associate Lou with Scotch, Coney Island Baby has been an oddball favorite of mine since I first heard it as an encore in '84 in Merrillville.
Thanks for sharing and reminding, KN.
PS: do I lose my Prodge card if I say that I might be slightly Prince-d out?
Forgot how much I loved that Burt/Elvis album. This one still sounds great. Coney Island Baby is among my favorites of all time and has one of my treasured lyrics: "I wanted to play football for the coach." Dig the Neko song. It's new to me. Her voice has always had a sinister edge - another sweet shade of darkness for this mix. And now I need to look for more Teddy Thompson. Who better to revel in the darkness than Richard and Linda's kid? Great theme, Kelly. Thanks for all that you do!
So for some reason, my mix was combined with the Danger Mouse album Dark Night of the Soul — and I kept thinking it was weird that you coopted a whole album, which is in itself a bit of a mix tape kinda record. So I re-listened with just your song choices. And I got even more down a second time. Thanks Obama.
But a great mix for a rainy, melancholy Saturday (when hasn't it been during this administration? coincidence?). I maintain that songs like this are the perfect malady for the blues. So, perfect. I loved the Joe Henry song, and the Teddy Thompson song, which family well together. Nick Cave never disappoints, nor does the underrated (IMO) Neil Finn and co. Thanks for the mix, which must have been somewhat cathartic, right?
Dark Night of the Soul is the perfect title for the time. And the songs are too. Elvis’ voice was wonderful to hear. Something about him singing melancholy songs is so touching. The same with Hall and Oates. Such a great song. I heard they are doing a tour this summer. That one might have to make my calendar. Then to have Neko come on… Another amazing voice. I think this is the first time I’ve heard Teddy Thompson, and doing an absolute classic. He does a great job. Tom Waits has long been a touchstone at times like these. He does sad like few others. Joe Henry is yet another solid track. Even more beautiful melancholy. It does seem strange that Mr. Cave would provide the hopeful song on the mix. This is one of my favorite of his songs. The cadence is mesmerizing. I’ve always liked Crowded House. This is a beautiful song. Coney Island Baby is such a great song. Lou at his finest. Nina Simone singing Randy Newman is the perfect way to end this mix. Thank you for a great collection, Kelly. The cover art is both beautiful and absolutely perfect for the mood of the time and the mix. Well done.
Bummer parade mix Niland! I forgot how much I liked Hall & Oats. Thanks!
Stunning mix. It hit me in the gut, like so much has lately. Music is such a perfect vehicle for expressing sadness and pain. I am a Joni-obsessive, so I loved the Prince track. The rest of the tunes were equally beautiful and well-placed. Thanks for capturing the current mood, as grim as it might be. Here's to better times ahead! xoxo
Teddy Thompson on repeat. Still.
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