I Don't Want Your Millions Mister

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0lNi8Bkao4

One of the highlights of the Clearwater festival was Tao Rodriguez Seeger performing "I Don't Want Your Millions Mister." I don't have a video of that performance, but here's another performance of the same song.

All a Man Can Do by Tom Rush

"All a Man Can Do" by Tom Rush starts off with a young man saying goodbye to his parents, young and fresh, embarking on his life. In the end,

It doesn’t seem so long ago, I hitched down to New Mexico
I kissed my mama, I saw my father’s stone
Friends are gone or out or touch, but nothing seems to change that
much
The desert’s hot the sky’s still blue, I’m getting by still making
due
Take your chances take your shot, cause 50/50’s all you got
Make each day the best you can, that’s a line I understand
Live each moment like your last, cause life goes by you so damn fast
Make a promise and keep it true, cause that is all a man can do

What this makes me think of is that we grow older, we all experience hardships and loss. The unwise feel sorry for themselves and feel injustices have been done to them. The wise recognize that it's part of the cycles of life, and are able to maintain their sense of wholeness and keep on going through life, keep on seeing the beauty in life.

How I spent my weekend: Clearwater festival 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY5lzFgi8j0

Singing tomorrows

Tonight, just before going to bed, I sat on the living room floor listening to Tao Rodriguez Seeger singing

Through all this world of joy and sorrow
We still can have singing tomorrows

and I felt content. I thought of my life, and I thought, "What more could I ask for?"

Favorite male musicians who sing

On February 16, 2008, I wrote a blog entry about my favorite female vocalists. Since then, I added a few names to what I originally posted, but it has basically stayed the same. But who are my favorite male vocalists? I certainly have favorite male performers, but is it their vocal style that I like, or what they do with instruments, or the songs they choose? So in some cases I'm not sure to what extent it's because of their vocal style, but my favorite male musicians who sing include:

Folk:
Tao Rodriguez Seeger
Dan Berggren
Joe Crookston
Eric Andersen
Tom Rhoads
Tom Paxton
Bill Staines

Mainstream:
Elvis Presley
Robin Gibb and Barry Gibb, when not falsetto
Adam Lambert

Another thing I found was that when I made the list of female vocalists, it was easier to decide who to include and who not to include. With the male musicians who sing, there are many that I like somewhat, rather than a few who stand out especially.

And while in general I can't rank them, and the order in which I listed them is random, Tao Rodriguez Seeger is definitely number one.

Rock Me to Sleep

The song that resonated with me the most on Sonny's show last weekend was "Rock Me to Sleep." It was performed by Faith Petric, and written by Tom Hunter. It says:

'Cause tonight I'd like you to rock me to sleep
I'd like you to sing me a song
I'm tired of trying to figure things out
And I'm tired of being so strong
I've never been good at asking
I'm more apt to go it alone
And it's strange how a lot of us think something's wrong
If we can't do it all on our own

It was perfect for me on that particular day, because I was exhausted and lonely. Luckily now I am feeling more refreshed and appreciated.

Designing playlists

Listening to Sonny's show last weekend, I felt it was very good, much better than my show the previous week. The thing is, I played a range of music. The last part of my show was music that I love, and that my family members love, but the first part included music that was more in keeping with the tastes of certain friends and colleagues. Sonny on the other hand played entirely music that I love. That got me thinking about what should I do as a DJ. On one hand, it could be about expressing my own artistic vision. My taste may not be the same as that of all my listeners, but I can create something that has a certain integrity, because it all fits the same vision. And we do have 5 different DJs who take turns on our show, plus countless other DJs doing other shows, so it's not like it's my sole responsibility to cater to the tastes of every possible listener. But on the other hand, I do feel a responsibility to represent the range of folk music, and to serve the range of folk music listeners. So there's a tension there between representing my own tastes and representing folk music. I don't think it's a question of choosing to do one or the other, I think it's a question of seeking a balance between the two.

Give Light

On my show a week and a half ago, I played "Give Light" by Magpie. That's such a great song. It's an uplifting song that makes you feel joyously inspired to go out and make the world a better place. The idea of "Give light and the people will find the way," strikes me as Pete Seeger philosophy -- he is all about shining the light on people, and change through grassroots efforts.