[Daryl Jones]

I have to admit, my knowledge of “art” is pretty much limited to the board game Masterpiece”.😟
I would have a hard time recognizing a Rembrandt from a Da Vinci. I think I’d know a Picasso because of his style, but that’s about it really. And that’s all on me, it’s just something I never experienced or acquired a taste or desire for. Probably a huge character flaw on my part..

[Daryl Jones]

Can’t help but agree on this. I know how hard it is to be successful in the music world from friends that have been there (some still are managing to eke out a living) and suffered the pressures of the big labels. Very disheartening and what you hear too often is so bland and lacking any real soul or feel. I will never discount anyone’s talent as such, but I don’t have to like the product that the commercial music world lays on us. I could list genres and names but I doubt it’s necessary.
I love the artists that manage key changes in their songs even if it drives me crazy for a while to find it on the fretboard when I want to add it to my cover list. Changes are almost a lost art in itself anymore. I think the last “recent” song I really like with one in it is Elton John’s “New Fever Waltz” and it’s stunning. As most of his really great stuff is (but I’m a lifelong fan too so).
But as long as there are up and coming acts (if you can still call them up and coming, they’re actually already there) like Mona and Lisa, there is hope.

[Daryl Jones]

Bud, I’m late again. But yes, my bad on the “tin whistle”, and I actually played a recorder many, many years ago in elementary school so I should have been more precise on the wind instruments. Especially with my Irish ancestry.

[Daryl Jones]

The Wellerman takes on the characteristics not only of the performers/vocalists, but also the accompaniments with it. The flute, the guitar, the various added nuances all add to the total. I cannot, dare not try and choose a favorite. Such a wonderful varied flavor depending on where the players are from. And yeah, Emo is just plain cute.😉

Of course, in these parts where there is a proliferation of Newfoundland transplants, and they have their own shanty that gets sung many times over depending on the situation/celebration and how much of the em, “liquid courage” is consumed. I’m afraid I don’t even know the name or the whole song but the main line goes “I’s a bai that builds the boats, I’s the bai that sails ’em..I’s a bai that catches the fish and takes ’em home to Lisa.”
I too can get a bit long winded when the mood and topic makes me run my gob. While I sort of apologize for my verbal diarrhea it’s just some things get me going.
Here’s to a fabulous 2024!

[Daryl Jones]

Bud, Jacki, Jung:
Music is like people in so many ways. We are all unique and diverse and our tastes reflect and perpetuate that. Old saying, “one’s man’s refuse is another man’s treasure” holds very true. Sorry, but I refuse to be politically correct and use a non-gender substitute in wording, that is just my way. Like them or not, I’ll leave that to the politicians that I cannot afford to buy.😅
When I was younger, I abhorred country music with a passion that bordered on hatred. But it was the kind that was always aired that gave me that opinion. That and the ingrained notion that all country music was the twangy, nasal, uncultured slop that mostly went to the pig paddock that many of the songs portrayed and were about. Then the 80’s came in and I found out that many many spectacular musicians spent a lot of time in Nashville walking into studios and sitting in on sessions just for the love of playing. Mark Knopffler, Timothy B Schmidt, just to name a couple. so many of the tracks that were laid down were played by some of the best musicians in the world, and many of the artists themselves were incredibly gifted players. Glen Campbell, Roy Clark, Travis Tritt…exceptional guitarists! Maybe I actually did mature a bit.
Neil Young is a talented and gifted song writer, but in reality he can’t carry a tune in a 5 gallon pail. Neither can Bob Dylan for that matter, and (God bless her talent) Joni Mitchell doesn’t have the most melodic vocal chords in the world either. Tim Rice has been called a heretic for Jesus Christ Superstar, but he’s a brilliant lyricist. Holst can be a tad abstract, but is revered as a visionary. Brahms can put myself along with a fussy infant to sleep in no time, not just by the intent of his lullabies. And I find Sousa’s (to some) stirring marches dry and boring. But that is more my fault than the work of the masters.
I have found many previously unknown to me wonders inside music that I thought I detested. Even as a schoolboy learning to play concert arrangements, I learned that the weird sentences carried more meaning that notes on paper. Inside the passages I often struggled to understand or dissect and then put back together as some part of the “musical me” I continue to find hidden miracles and subtle intricacies that I never dreamed existed. That happens almost every day when I pick up a guitar and try and learn or make mine a solo or riff now. My late Father and his sisters drilled into me at a very young age that if it wasn’t “their” definition of music, that it was totally “worthless” and should be banned or at least ignored. An opinion that none of us should harbor. Well, maybe gangster rap should go away… 😉
I leave you this quote to ponder, as I often do:
“There is no such thing as bad music, so long as it entertains one person other than the one who created it.” Lee Liberace.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by  Daryl Jones.

[Daryl Jones]

Not all technology is bad, just as not all people are bad. There will always be a dark side and a bright side. The universe requires balance always.
Some say these programs are a waste of valuable resources/funds, but I disagree. As long as we are learning and moving forward in a promising manner, that is a benefit to all of us.

[Daryl Jones]

I have to agree with Jung, that would be worth the hassle of a cough!

What I usually get from computer proximity is more of a mental thing though. Too often we get bombarded by negativity from that electronic gizmo!

Fortunately, that isn’t the case around here.

[Daryl Jones]

Chris, Lake Effect weather is nothing to sneeze at, I know that from personal experience when travelling and being marooned at O’Hare more than once. Plus what it does to locations on the lee side of the storms. And let us not forget the musical tribute tale our folk hero Gordon Lightfoot told about Lake Superior’s wrath.
I have said often that I hold no grudge to anyone that can “make it big” in the music business, and that includes Taylor Swift. I don’t have to like the content of their success though. And there are several I could name that I detest actually, but that would be just silly. I’m sure that there are many that would require me to string up chicken wire in front of any stage I graced!
But yesterday I happened on a documentary on someone that I practically idolize for her steadfast dedication to her craft. Many do NOT like her, her music or her fame, but I absolutely love everything about her. She’s incredibly strong, determined, and in my personal opinion a great musician and writer/arranger and producer. Coming from seemingly nowhere doing backup vocals and small time stage gigs, she’s made a mark that is difficult to ignore. This is only a trailer, I cannot find a link to the actual film yet, but it’s out there somewhere and if you have any likes for her story and music (and even if you don’t) it’s a worthy watch. Covers just about her entire life in a scant 95 minutes but sure lets you see the drive she has, as well as the heartaches and trials she has endured. I missed seeing her live at the Sturgis motorcycle rally 22 years ago, and I’ve been sorry for it ever since. Sheryl Crow is one amazing lady…
Sheryl (2022) Official Trailer | SHOWTIME Documentary Film (youtube.com)

[Daryl Jones]

Bud, from my concussive injury courses I’ve taken (I’m a full contact martial artist and instructor) Equestrian has the highest rate of head injuries in all sporting venues. Obviously falling from a perch than can be close to two meters off the ground has a significant influence on cranial injuries and concussions. But a wicked roundhouse kick to the melon will certainly mess your squash! I sustained a concussion in my racetrack crash 6 years ago (no lasting effects thankfully) and have had my bell rung in the ring several times, as well in the net as a hockey goaltender. And I started between the iron pipes before the advent of masks! Perhaps that explains more than I ever can…🤣
I long to return to the UK, the Twins being a very strong reason to do so. But the motorhead in me longs to see the Isle Of Mann TT, as well as the other half of my heritage in Wales. Scotland is right up there too so it would be an all encompassing tour.

[Daryl Jones]

How can I not just adore a gal that rocks out on a PRS guitar?! That’s a pretty hard driving trio, but they obviously have a really solid following. Totally new to me, but I will have to watch further.

[Daryl Jones]

I’m of Irish descent, Mom’s family was from a small village southeast of Belfast. I’ve only been there once but would love to go back. I still have some very good friends over there that were gracious enough to take us to a few out of the way “local” haunts that were not on the map so to speak. And they did educate this “across the ponder” in a few ways about riding motorcycles. My missus was hanging on for dear life more than once. I never soiled myself, but it wasn’t far from it either. After 40 years of riding I thought I was a pretty well seasoned rider up until then too. But when in Rome as they say…
The music scene was a truly remarkable experience. Pub life after the evening meal was done was open, warmly inviting and the musicians that played were simply wonderful. We over here could still learn something from how families interact in what is over here considered an “adults only” venue. While many of the patrons did imbibe in copious amounts of spirits, it was indeed a family oriented gathering where music and laughter was the most intoxicating libation. Don’t even get me started on the wonderful food! And yes, more than one tin whistle was put to good use, along with violins/fiddles, guitars, horns, keys and too many percussive instruments to even name. Irish folk dance is truly another art form that can often defy description. Just recalling the lively atmosphere makes me long to go back. I haven’t consumed alcohol in many years now, but the local offerings were certainly welcomed to the gastric buffet too. I daresay I do sometimes miss the frothy top of a Guinness and the smooth fire of a good Irish whiskey!😉🍻

[Daryl Jones]

Hey no worries, I’m the one that was a bit out of step haha.
Something about some street performers that just makes you stop and listen (and throw in something in an open case or hat). I was hoping to see more of that in Ireland years ago, but was pretty uncommon actually. Even Temple Bar was missing some of that I thought….but there was always something going on in the pubs. And well, ya just gotta go inside.🎼🍻😉

[Daryl Jones]

Can’t help but agree on that Bud. ABBA was certainly about visual appeal in many ways, but if you took the time to get deeper into the music itself there was far more going on than just two incredibly beautiful women. The girls took their vocals very seriously and were perfectionists in it. Benny was not much different in the way he approached the arrangements, he and Bjorn were very particular about the resulting numbers and how they were to be done. But the same can be said for just about all successful groups. You have to get beneath the surface and really see and hear the depth of what’s making it work. There are many super groups that had to take a whole army of support with them on tours to try and reproduce live what they accomplished so perfectly in the studio. ABBA was one of them, the Eagles, Def Leppard, ZZ Top… countless numbers of them had a hoard of live musicians to play the necessary fills, or tons of backing tracks played recorded parts or the stage version songs were too radically light/empty in comparison to the albums. And that doesn’t often make the crowds completely happy.
In 1980 I wouldn’t have walked across the street for free to see AC/DC play. I always considered Angus Young as a bit of a stage freak with his school boy getup and lame (to my thinking) imitation of Chuck Berry’s guitar hop. But I also had zero love for Kiss at the same time, for much the same reason. Now however, having played several AC/DC songs (although admittedly not well) Angus was and is a whole lot more than just a loud power chord hammer and nails player. He’s articulate with them to a fault, and he never used a ton of effects to get his uniquely measured level of distortion/overdrive. Just a simple VHF box that pushed his amps to the breaking point (and often beyond) that few if any can ever duplicate. And I always considered his late brother Malcom to be a much better player than he. But Angus’ key was not only the simplicity in his riffs and playing, but his incredible accuracy and flat out drive in the way he played. Totally fearless and in your face raw power. While many will cover their songs, there are certainly not very many that will accomplish the feat of reproducing what they did.

[Daryl Jones]

Boy, he really nailed it! What he said is just so true, sort of like those canned audience responses from the old television shows with the laughter and the sighs when everything was actually recorded on a sound stage in a studio.
There was an episode of the old “Brady Bunch” where Greg (?) was going to become a teen pop star. The record company loved him. Not because he was possibly a great upcoming talent, but because he fit “Johnny Bravo’s” “SUIT”!
Sadly, that’s what much of the recording industry has actually become.

[Daryl Jones]

Totally. But there is enough “red neck” in me to snort loudly and proclaim that our own government fails miserably when it comes to all matters financial and scientific. I have been a successful private business entrepreneur all my working life and that success meant being intelligent enough with finance to know that funds do not grow on trees. Unlike those in ivory towers that spend with reckless abandon and then expect us to foot the bill for their extravagance. And that knows no ties to any affiliation. Sooner or later the spend thrifts all run out of other people’s (ours) money.
I firmly believe that there is a need to continuously explore newer and better ways of doing things, but I refuse to be a pawn and allow it to be crammed down my throat by anyone. Especially by someone with an agenda that hurts the general populous and cripples the people they are supposed to be serving.
I wish I had the Girl’s clout and could “buy” my own politician…😂