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Inside Job, with the working title of the new album being a line from this song (which I’ve never heard, unfortunately), is it safe to assume it is on the new album?
i’d say that Buick is one sweet ride. Not your father’s Buick, it’s got a lot of miles, but never runs out of gas….
that’s my guess — “oh my little honeybee, i’m so glad…”
definitely a fun song at a live show… was wondering if it would make it on the album! 8)
i’m fairly sure that this lyric and the song were also discussed in that infamous bill buford article.
i like mike and tnt’s interpretation (it’s easy to extend that thought to much of america, too). It’s been one of my favorite, poetic lyrics… And isn’t it a wonderful metaphor for all of us? Aren’t we all just june bugs in the hurricane?
Whew! … i happened to meet Fred Matt before that show — said he went way over his local band budget to bring Lu in. I promised to buy a lot of Saranac in NJ as a thank you. Will keep it up.
🙁
a friend who saw that show with me, from Clinton, NY, next door, emailed me about this fire last night. Very sad — that old brick brewery and town found a place in my heart. More so because of that intimate show with Lu! Have a “U.C.” for me, please, Lefty.Good point about making a dime. No disrespect to mr. mellencamp, Gavinsdad, and I agree with you that the music biz today is tough. Great talent should be well compensated. We all have to pay rent or a mortgage or truck loans. Even singer-songwriters should be able to afford creature comforts! My rather mild comment about the Chevy truck commercial was not meant to “crucify” him, but simply to note that some choose to take the “dime” and others (very few) choose not to, for some reason. It’s a choice, if you’re lucky enough. Is earning dimes from record companies (or from selling ringtones) morally superior to earning dimes from marketing trucks? I don’t know.
What i am saying is there’s a subtle price you pay as an artist. The association between John Mellencamp’s song and a truck commercial is firmly planted in my subconscious. (Just what Chevrolet’s advertising people wanted! — proof of a truly great commercial!) And maybe that’s only a tiny little price for a big payday. I still like his music allright. Might even go see his show! I also like VWs, and Wilco. Those are cool commercials. (And we can talk on and on about great commercials as an art form, too.) But in the end, if you are an artist, do you want to be remembered for your music — or for that music to be associated with something else?
Since the Car Wheels release, I’ll bet Lucinda has had a few financially attractive offers. Would it affect my love of her music if she licensed a song for a commercial? Yes, I think it would. A lot? I don’t know. It wouldn’t change the quality of her work, but I believe it would color my perception of it, diminish the music in some way. (Hmmm… how about an ad for Zoloft? or Cialis? I can pick out the songs now!)
I know that in the past she has sacrificed and fought tooth and nail with the industry for the integrity of her songs. For me, knowing this adds an indefinable element of beauty to her work. I have additional respect for her as an artist. I think she is courageous for what she has not done, when all the powerful forces of our so-called culture are pushing her to do things just like everyone else.
Also, illbeyou, what is the definition of “success” anyway? Is it money and fame — or can it be about more than that? Lucinda could have probably had “success” much earlier — and supported herself in a much more comfortable life — before Car Wheels, if she had made compromises with the music industry. But she didn’t want to “sell out.”
Probably most people couldn’t care less about any of this. Maybe i shouldn’t either. You gotta do what you gotta do, and I’m not trying to make value judgments for anyone else — I’m just putting Lucinda in a rarefied place above our commercial-pop culture. Maybe some day she will disappoint me.
None of this reflects on her opening for JCM. And I’m not saying that JCM is unworthy of our respect, either. I know he’s paid his dues, deserves all his awards, and has long ago proven he is talented, but I couldn’t keep myself from jumping back up on the “Admire Lucinda for Her Integrity Soapbox”. OK, see you at the shows. R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.! 🙂
her version of “jambalya” has stayed with me as a sentimental favorite. So that’s my pick for this early album. This record is kind of atypical though, and i know it’s gonna be impossible for me to pick one with the other albums — favorites are always changing, and I always have multiple favorites so how can I say a single one is best! I had the same difficulty trying to answer ripley’s “rank and rate them” post last year — just couldn’t do it. Lucinda’s songs cover so much territory (musical and emotional) I don’t know if there can be a “definitive” song — but this is a testament to Lucinda’s talent, really. This thread will be fun to watch. 🙂
@Inside Job wrote:
The Knowing was an earlier working title for what became West. …the tile of the album was changed. … the Knowing was left for the next record, where it fits great …
thought it might be worth bringing this back to the top… All credit to tonyg and Pitbull in the JCM/Shows thread for perceptive reading of TomOverby’s comments. 🙂 He wrote: “the new record- to answer a question from another thread–it doesn’t have a name yet but it has been the hot topic of discussion for the last few days because it has to be decided soon. Is one of the titles in contention one that has been considered before? Maybe. “
Tom — if you wore a suit would it be “Mr. Overby”? — it’s great that you give us these insider insights here, as IJ or otherwise. Thank you. And thanks for recognizing that our comments are totally about “the love and support of Lucinda”.
I doubt any of us are qualified to second guess management decisions in the rapidly changing music business (but we can talk about it like sports). I don’t have a problem with Lu opening for JCM (even though in my mind SHE should be the headliner). I don’t know if I want to pay for a JCM show to see 50 minutes of Lucinda. But I have no doubt that her opening set would be worth it. However (and here are my suggestions), I hope Lucinda will be giving us more solo shows and intimate venues this year. Last year’s tour, much of it on small stages and in old theatres, was great, and reading all the posts I wish I had been able to see her more. Pairing Lucinda with somebody like Charlie Louvin last year was inspired — I enjoyed that. Maybe in the future part of a tour could be with a rising soul/blues artist like Ruthie Foster or Bettye LaVette, who have also covered her songs?
Gravel Roads, I wouldn’t say the comments posted here are preposterous. I think what comes across is that everyone holds Lucinda in such high regard that we are surprised/pained that she should open for anyone. As I said i think JCM is OK — i even enjoy his tunes — but I can’t put him in the “great” category, where Lucinda certainly belongs. But we all have our own criteria (including the RRHOF) and that does make it interesting.
You know, part of our respect and admiration for Lucinda is because, for her entire career, she has had amazing integrity in her work. As far as I know, she hasn’t sold songs for commercials, she hasn’t changed words in her songs for radio or video play, she hasn’t bent to the marketing demands of Nashville or the industry. She has written and sung what is true to her soul, and honest. Today that is more admirable than ever. Her great songwriting and music, her career, stands on its own. That’s the high regard I’m talking about. It’s almost like an unspoken matter of trust between Lucinda and her true fans. I’m sure that won’t ever change.
As for comments re: the website, Tom — just keep the Forum going! Sometimes the discussion gets spirited, sometimes it even goes over the edge, but it’s good. No one is censored (even crazy people!) and it’s enlightening and entertaining. Maybe a search feature would be useful addition. I’d also suggest that the site store offer fans a few more items like concert posters, etc.
And let us know when we can place those advance orders for the new album, whatever it’s called! 8)
was hoping to get back in on this conversation earlier, but high tides, high winds knocked out the power all day… jeez you really miss the modern world sometimes….
anyway, i don’t have a copy of that new yorker (note: i stand corrected– it appeared in june 2000, not quite 10 years ago), but I read it in an anthology (DeCapo best music writing) loaned it to others, and it was never returned. But, if i had it I don”t know if i’d want to post the offending story on her official website…?!! 🙄 (However if anyone wants to post a link to the early version of Pineola, I’d be much obliged.)
if you google variations of “bill buford + lucinda williams + new yorker” there is interesting commentary to be found….
Lefty’s quote (“The best stories are never completely told.”) says everything about great writing. It is all about what you decide to leave out.
Maybe that’s part of what bothered Lucinda about the story — she couldn’t edit out any of it. I think many of us want to leave part of ourselves unknown, secret, mysterious, guessed at….
Lucinda has followed the less is more approach with each album with a purity that kills. eg: “Mama you sweet.”
i’ll say one more thing about that article — and also about Lucinda’s songs from that time: For me –a yankee — it coincided with and kind of fueled a growing interest in all things Southern — music, literature, culture, geography. Lucinda has left those subjects behind in her recent songs, as we know. But I think those Car Wheels songs certainly belong in the pantheon of great Southern writing (though they’re not limited to that genre). The article and the music also helped to change some of my mistaken stereotypes and to embrace the deep south. I’ve had Lucinda’s music and that article pop into my head many times south of the mason-dixon line. Now i consider myself a Yankee with a Southern Soul.
