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Rachel — wow — pretty incisive read of those lyrics! With that thought, the song has an even more powerful ghostly feel to it…
….Like after I read the Buford story, and then I heard “Pineola” again — the context of that song sent a wave of emotion over me.
(Not a ramble at all!) 8)
I thought that this New Yorker profile was a great piece of journalism — deserving of all the accolades it received from everyone except, unfortunately, Lucinda. 🙁 I shared it with a lot of friends because I felt it was sympathetic and it placed her in the rarefied category of great, tortured artists. I also thought it was respectful of her, even admiring of her, at the same time capturing Lucinda’s lovable neuroses; it made her more endearing, as we all like to say around here.
But then, of course, as a reader I have no idea of what Buford led her to believe or what she told him.
After the profile came out i remember reading that Lucinda was offended that Buford had quoted close friends and family — and she thought he was talking to them off the record. She trusted him, and felt deceived. Rachel may be right about the mention of her mother.
It was written 10 years ago — at a different time in her life. Perhaps at the time she was still trying to find her way personally and as an artist — as the success of Car Wheels was quickly taking her out of obscurity. Maybe she felt Buford took advantage of her vulnerabilities at the time. Lucinda seems quite happy today. Who knows — maybe she has mellowed on this profile by now. She is pretty open today about everything from her mother and mental illness, to the pain and loss that inspired some of her greatest songs, to her own perfectionism and neuroses. (Witness last year’s tour and the free-flowing chat with her audiences.)
Only she and maybe Buford know why she was sour on it. She’s certainly entitled to be hurt and pissed — it’s her life, after all. But as a simple fan, and a reader, I can only say it made me admire her more.
Is it much to demand
I want a full house and a rock and roll band….yes, thank you aunt duff — that is truly a great story! and a great memory. 8)
I have the impression that, although there are more fans these days, Lucinda hasn’t changed too much. Your post reminds me of one from last year in the “who has met lucinda” thread that affirms this. It’s from drummerman1067 and worth repeating here:Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 3:31 pm
I had a wonderful opportunity meeting Lucinda this summer in the Poconos. I planned on camping for the Mountain Laurel show, but it was pouring rain the day before. My girlfriend Darlene and I decided to get a room to beat the rain. We went to the bar for a cocktail before dinner and Lucinda was there with her band and her boyfriend Tom. They graciously befriended us. Before the night was over we had a chance to sing songs from the jukebox together( Doors, Fleetwood Mac, Springsteen) that Lucinda had chosen, chat about politics, and even do some dancing on the dance floor. As you can imagine it was quite a night. Lucinda put us on the guest list and gave us incredible seats. I was/am very grateful for this evening. She and her boys were all incredibly warm, real people. We talked about real things i.e. our familes, the state of the world etc. We also went out with Doug after the show. He is a great guy. Great pool player too! Hopefully I will get to hang with them again.Nice to know that even 20 years later, with well-deserved recognition and success, she still keeps it real.
Well, I got to see Roky perform live at the annual Ponderosa Stomp at the House of Blues last week in New Orleans. He launched into “Cold Night for Alligators”, sang “Starry Eyes”, and rocked hard and long into the night. Even the cool Dr. Ike, who puts together the Stomp (a tribute to “the unsung heros of rockabilly, blues, swamp pop, and rock and roll”), was on the side of the stage dancing through most of the set, and he called him back for an encore. Roky seemed really happy. It was all too much fun. 😀
Almost memorable! Ships passing in the night… 8)
Record stores near me have long since bitten the dust. But I’ll do my part next week by spending time and money in one of the coolest record stores I know of — Louisianna Music Factory on Decatur St in New Orleans. Going down there for jazzfest, and when things aren’t happening out at the fairgrounds, this is just a wonderful, funky old place to hang out. Dusty, beery, cramped, hot and sweaty, with weathered old concert posters covering every square inch of the walls (from Professor Longhair to Miles Davis, Coltrane….), what could be better? Incredible selection of blues and roots music, cajun and zydeco, lots of cds from tiny, independent labels (unexpected surprises!), in-store performances — the store is a beautiful example of how independent passionate retailers can support lesser known musicians and introduce folks like me to a broader, deeper world of music.
It’s kind of an oasis. But honestly, outside of unique places in the universe like N.O., I don’t know how any of these stores can hang on. I almost feel like i am paying homage to the last of a dying breed…. Just like the indie bookseller who would hand-pick books based on a love of books, and know their customers, and recommend like a friend not a salesperson… I’m sorry about the loss of this part of our culture.
Johnnymellencougercamp, er mellencamp, is OK, but I can’t get rid of the visual of him hawking Chevy trucks; sadly, that’s what comes to mind these days. “Ain’t that America” indeed. 🙄
Finger Lakes Festival? 😀 Trumansburg, NY? Sweet! This has got to be even better than the off-the-beaten-path Utica Club brewery show last summer. And I recall that the hamlet of T-burg is home to the Rongovian Embassy, the best dive bar in my hazy memory. I’ll skip the Mellencamp show close to home in Jersey, and book my travel plans now!
nice performance of this song — one of my all time favorites:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXaeqifAxKI
also: this one from the NYC album set 10/4/07:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZjp28NoCgs&feature=related
8)
See— you are talking about what you’d like to hear from those shows! 🙂 Maybe you’d pay money for a compilation disc….
What I was kind of hoping for was a “best of” the second sets from those 2 five night stands. Plenty of material to pick from (edit out the “sloppy”) — and variety to make it interesting and different from the album sets. I’ve always liked Lu’s duets with others, so I was hoping for that.
Actually, I don’t think the formal, packaged CD they ended up creating for album portions is even necessary. It’s very nice, but that makes it complicated and costly — just keep it simple and accessible!
It would be great if the folks running things started offering affordable downloads of more shows, in general. You could pick and chose what you want, everybody would be happy, and LW would probably enjoy even more “fruits of her labor” this way. 8)
i suppose if the label is involved it is even more unlikely. 🙁 I know you’ve got your hands full, and I’ll look forward to whatever comes along. (especially the new record and this year’s tour!) It’s all good. Thanks for the reply.
@Inside Job wrote:
While it is very much a Lucinda record -it is different than any of her others and I think there will be some real surprises.
I’m not surprised that we’ll be surprised. 😀 Keep the evolution happening! Thanks!
oh i don’t think it’s bait — i think ripley is always genuine and sincere (definitely holding Lucinda to a very high standard)… just a different perspective! or maybe just misunderstood.
having come close to this topic with Ripley before — i don’t mind hearing why Ripley finds this song (which i enjoy) embarrassing….
(keeps the forum interesting!)
Anyway: definitely looking forward to the new release, whatever makes the final cut!! 🙂
yeah – thanks — it can bring you right back into the moment. I saw that jazzfest show and now looking at that setlist brings vividly back that emotional performance…. God, I remember hearing her sing “everything has changed” in that setting that had been under many feet of Katrina water and it still gives me a chill. Amazing what a few words on paper can do.
great story, tony. it’s wonderful to know that Lu has that effect across languages and cultures. there really are no borders. 8)
(wish Ling a very happy lunar Chinese new year from all of us!)
At some point down the road, maybe the Lu Crew could share with us a post-mortem on the whole Live CD experience.
(I, for one, have been very happy, but it’s been entertaining to follow this topic since last summer.)
I also do hope that the plusses have outweighed the negatives, for all concerned, and we’ll be seeing more live cds offered in the future! 🙂
