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i was lucky enough to get to attend a bbc taping of emmylou harris & carolina star (minus a sick john starling, on the anniversary of gram’s death no less) and emmylou mentioned how great lucinda was a good half dozen times. she asked who’d been at the shows, she really did go on about lu.
she even started and stopped songs (for the taping) and proclaimed, hey, i was at lucinda’s show and she started and stopped. then when she did it again later, she said that’s my 2nd lucinda…she said it quite lovingly. it’s fun to be a part of the process, and got to hear snowing on raton twice, so no complaints here. they both sounded good to me (just like lucinda’s false starts sometimes sound great, but then she changes key and it’s oh yeah, that’s right)
lucinda is a wordsmith extraordinaire which is evident by the overall intelligence of her audience. i’ve yet to meet an inarticulate lucinda fan.i watched the acl show, and while i defend your right to post your opinion (altho i question your motive) i heartily disagree with your assessment.
everyone has an off day, even brain surgeons, but they seemed right in time…I don’t think any one of us knows how hard it is to write songs like “Pineola”, or “Bus to Baton Rouge”- we have no idea what goes into them, other than when she’ll share something about her songwriting process. I’ve always seen “Come On” and “Honey Bee” as sort of ‘breather’ songs, if that makes sense. They’re silly and fun, and maybe got written in 2 days. No, they’re not her best work. She herself has said that there are some songs that she’s written that are sort of fluff, and I’d put “Come On” and “Honey Bee” in that category. Does anyone think the song “Country Pie” by Dylan is as great as “Like a Rolling Stone?” Obviously not. But if you take her work as a body, rather than as pieces, I don’t think a few fluffy songs detracts from her as an incredible writer.
I’d say a little fluff, now and then, ADDS rather than detracts. Shows a range. We all need fluff and fun, whatever our age, and wherever we are in life. Lucinda’s sharing that feeling. Why do so many people expect artists to remain in the same pool forever?
I kind of like Ripley throwing cold water in here every so often (it keeps us thinking, and the comments are not baseless), but I’d disagree with Ripley’s characterizations of these songs as “awful” or “abysmal.” I like them. (Maybe my musical taste is broader and more inclusive than Ripley’s. Or possibly it’s just not as sophisticated. Could be that.) But I still love Lucinda’s other stuff too, and I know I can feel as emotionally connected to the other songs as anyone. (They’re the songs that got me hooked.)
I’d like to think Ripley is completely wrong about Lu’s motive with these songs, too. I don’t think Lucinda is “trying to be hip.” Or, as Scone suggests, trying to “reach out to the kids a bit.” I don’t believe for a minute that there is a conscious effort to broaden her demographics. I mean, are you really saying that this kind of songwriting is … marketing?!! Come on!!! 🙄
The creative process is what it is. She does what she does, writes what she writes (beautifully, honestly, soulfully, almost always). And I’m going to go on believing that it IS a pure thing.
The happy, fun “fluff” is a pure expression of joy and happiness, just as every other Lucinda song is a pure, unfiltered expression of other human emotions and feelings.
And: Lucinda performing on a “bad” day (if ACL was one) I’m sure is way better than almost anyone else on a good day. Wish I had been fortunate enough to see the ACL show.
Glad this post didn’t turn into a red rocks-type troll-fest… (yet). 😉
Just want to add a little inside perspective to this discussion. Lucinda and the band were all very happy with the ACL set. And to say that they are meticulous in their self-critiquing would be an understatement.
While everyone is obviously entitled to their opinions, when it gets mean and near slanderous thats another thing. It does make one wonder what the motivations are to go and dump where others eat, so to speak.
In the case of Red Rocks, it was probably a Ryan Adams online street-teamer, and the ACL critic seemed almost too similar, and may have been the same. In any event, it becomes hard not to want to respond, when fans who couldn’t be there begin to wonder wha’s up with these kinds of reports. For the record, she was not drunk- she never ever drinks before a show. Although a little exhausted from a grueling run of shows, she was in tremendous spirits and energy. She has never been more comfortable on stage and is having as much fun as she’s ever had r with this current band, which she adores, and rightly so. She would also tell you that she’s singing better than she ever has, which the live cds will attest.
With a set that started out with Righteously, (which had never been a set opener before) and rocked all the way thru to Unsuffer Me. It was a ripping good set and 30,000 other people seemed to agree very loudly.Actually, some of the wording of the original post did bring to mind the person who started the Red Rocks thread. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was the same person, only under a different name. Seems like people love to hurl the whole “she was drunk” or “she was stoned” thing at her pretty often, and it always pisses me off. I’d like to see them get their asses onstage and try and do what she does night after night. All I can say is “Rock on, Lucinda!”
I thought this poster was the same person as the Red Rocks (if that was “underwhelmed”) poster, too. I also connected this type comment with the proximity to an RA performance. Something similar happened before when he opened for her during WWT tour.
I’ll second that, Rachel. Really, it is amazing that Lucinda and the band are doing this intense, grueling tour, and night after night the reviews are great (even the impartial media stories). I mean, she should have bad nights! She’s entitled to them. But the worst that happens is a so-called false start. So what. I really enjoy hearing the enthusiastic posts — so many people join
this site just to say they are amazed by the shows (check out Bossier City!). I can’t wait to see a live show again… soon! 😀
IJ, thanks for sharing the inside perspective. I think most of us probably figured as much.@Ray wrote:
I’d say a little fluff, now and then, ADDS rather than detracts. Shows a range. We all need fluff and fun, whatever our age, and wherever we are in life. Lucinda’s sharing that feeling. Why do so many people expect artists to remain in the same pool forever?
I kind of like Ripley throwing cold water in here every so often (it keeps us thinking, and the comments are not baseless), but I’d disagree with Ripley’s characterizations of these songs as “awful” or “abysmal.” I like them. (Maybe my musical taste is broader and more inclusive than Ripley’s. Or possibly it’s just not as sophisticated. Could be that.) But I still love Lucinda’s other stuff too, and I know I can feel as emotionally connected to the other songs as anyone. (They’re the songs that got me hooked.)
I’d like to think Ripley is completely wrong about Lu’s motive with these songs, too. I don’t think Lucinda is “trying to be hip.” Or, as Scone suggests, trying to “reach out to the kids a bit.” I don’t believe for a minute that there is a conscious effort to broaden her demographics. I mean, are you really saying that this kind of songwriting is … marketing?!! Come on!!! 🙄
The creative process is what it is. She does what she does, writes what she writes (beautifully, honestly, soulfully, almost always). And I’m going to go on believing that it IS a pure thing.
The happy, fun “fluff” is a pure expression of joy and happiness, just as every other Lucinda song is a pure, unfiltered expression of other human emotions and feelings.
And: Lucinda performing on a “bad” day (if ACL was one) I’m sure is way better than almost anyone else on a good day. Wish I had been fortunate enough to see the ACL show.
Glad this post didn’t turn into a red rocks-type troll-fest… (yet). 😉
I have incredibley varied tastes. That is the one thing I do have going for me. haha. I love lots of bands that do far more fluff than Lucinda (The Lemonheads for sure) but I do hold Lucinda to a higher standard because frankly, fluff is beneath her. Another thing, I have never been a fan of the, for lack of a better word, heavier Lucinda songs. Joy is one of my all time least favorites but that seems to be a crowd favorite. I’ve always felt her attempts at this style to sound very awkward and borderline unlistenable.
I do have to say though, if you haven’t noticed Lucinda’s downright obvious attempt at changing her musical marketability than you obviously haven’t been listening or watching. Go watch her ACL Car Wheels era show. That woman is no more. She’s been replaced by this “cutting edge” indie country queen.
Well, yes, Ripley, on that old ACL show Lucinda has a different appearance (mainly darker hair), but that was a decade ago. To demonstrate her integrity, should she hold onto the same look she had when she played on Bourbon Street in the 70s? (Can Inside job post an old snapshot, please? 🙂 ) If you’re performing in the music business, especially if you are female, appearances are part of the game, fair or not. And you can call that marketability — I’ll give you that. We could hold focus groups about which Lu look is preferred, but that’s all superficial, and my point was about the integrity of the music, the songs, and the creative process.
In her songwriting and recording, she is a wonderful example of how to confound any cohesive marketing effort. I admire that. It takes courage and strength to say I’m not going to play the game by the rules of the corporate culture — maybe I’ll change my hair, but not my songs! I still don’t think there is a genre for her — not even “cutting-edge country”, as you say. And if she is becoming an alternate-route role model — and maybe getting comfortable in that role — well, that’s great for everyone.
I don’t think it is, or should be, “beneath” any artist to try something different, to experiment. I think that’s brave. Because you could fail in the eyes of your public.
None of us know what’s going on inside Lucinda’s head, but I have to believe, based on her past, that the songwriting flows without any effort to appeal to any particular audience, demographic, or market. That’s what I mean by “pure.” The creative process is organic, not contrived. I’m not saying she doesn’t care what fans and reviewers think. But I’d like to think that when lyrics and music flow from her head to paper, she could care less.
Can’t a “crowd-pleaser” like Joy also be written from the heart, and be just plain fun to perform? Why is that, or Honey Bee, or Come On, beneath her?
I can tell you have very high standards for Lucinda, and she’s earned that expectation, but maybe you should also just let Lu be Lu.
And, ripley, I forgot the emoticons, but meant that last sentence in a nonjudgmental and friendly sort of way. 🙂
Well, have you ever noticed that as artist get older there become less and less people involved in their music making to point out the flaws. I think Lucinda has reached that period. There isn’t someone around pointing out that Honey Bee is a tad bit ridiculous and embarrassing to listen to. I would immediately turn that song off in the car if someone else was there because I would never want them to judge the rest of her music by it.
With songs like Honey Bee, What If, Come On, Wrap My blah blah, I begin to think she has lost a sense of self criticism because those are all childishly written and she should be embarrassed. West had very few redeeming qualities for my liking. I can deal with a few duds but that album is almost all duds and forgetables. West, Everything Has Changed, Where is My Love and Are You Alright are the only ones I like. I used to like Mama You Sweet and Fancy Funeral but those two become tiresome.
I dunno. I just worry with the direction she’s going in that her next album will be one without a single song I like and that’s kind of sad for me.
Just sayin is all. 😆
Keep the faith, Ripley.
I think Lu’s got it in her to deliver the goods for a while yet.
When you least expect it, she just might cold-cock you with her best ever.
(Float like a butterfly, sting like a Honey Bee 😉 )So much hullabaloo re: Honeybee! Good God, Y’all! It’s a fun happy song. She sang it at all 3 shows I went to in LA & I loved it each time. I thought I would have fun singing it with my nieces and dancing around the room. 😀
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