Stan

I saw these guys in concert once and they were amazing. I even have a couple of their LP’s from long ago.

In the show I saw, they had to carry the Commander out and sit him on his piano bench, as if he was too drunk to walk on his own.

Don’t know if this was part of their act, or not? Haha!

They rocked!

Maybe Inside Job is keeping the girl up too late?

Let Lucinda get her rest, Inside Job! LOL

I agree lyrics are important, and I’m a great admirer of Mr.Ray Davies, a great lyricist in his own right, but I still maintain lyrics are more of a “chick thing.”

I agree, “American Dream” is a great song, but it would not make my personal “best of” list simply because the music is not as inspiring.

Good lyrics, by themself, do not make a great song. Good lyrics need good music to make the song memorable.

On the opposite extreme, good music can always make a good song, even if the lyrics are cheesy, or even if lyrics are non-existant…ala instrumentals.

Ask the average person to name a few of their favorite songs, and you’ll get wide and disparate answers.

Ask a person to name their favorite poem, and you’ll get blank stares most of the time.

That’s just the way it is.

I’ve seen Lu 3 times…and she probably had that notebook with her each time. Big fricking deal…and for the record, I too, play out professionally…and I’m a guitarist of over 40 years.

It’s a waste of time to argue the point with you, but again, how do you know she didn’t have chord charts on stage, or reminders to place the capo at the 2nd fret and play a G chord, making the song in the key of A?

Lucinda has an awful lot of songs that revolve around simple chords like G-C-Am-D-Em…etc…etc. maybe she gets confused with her schedule and wants to be sure the turnaround goes to C and not D?

Is that any different than a classical musician with sheet music?

Would a classical musician be able to put more soul and life into their performance if they had their part memorized?

Lyrics are actually more of a “chick” thing to me. They’re secondary to the music most of the time..IMHO.

If you can forgive classical musicians for having sheet music, I fail to see the difference between having lyric sheets?

If you’re so upset about this, I suggest you stop going to her concerts. Maybe Lu wasn’t able to relax enough the night you saw her, because she sensed people like you were in the audience who didn’t fully support her?

Or close your eyes the next time you see her perform, if it’s that upsetting to you?

The lyric book is a non issue to me.

Besides…how can you be sure who has lyrics up on stage?

Are they taped to the floor? Taped somewhere on the guitar? Taped to the monitor cabinet that faces away from the audience? Taped back where they go to get a drink between songs?

Who knows, who cares?

This lyric book may not be simply lyrics..it could be a set list, or an amusing anecdote she wants to remember to relate. maybe it’s a slight variation in the chord changes that Doug Pettibone suggested during his solo? ( You know..like play half the verse, then go into the chords of the chorus for his solo?)

I’m a great admirer of Ray Davies…a prolific and talented song writer. If you’ve ever seen his “StoryTeller” show…he uses a big over stuffed notebook on stage to relate early stories of the formation of the Kinks.

If anything, it adds to the show…and Ray was the basis for the creation of the VH1 Storyteller series, so obviously it became popular.

Would any of you criticize classical musicians because they have sheet music in front of them? “How dare they not have the music memorized!! They’re losing the inspiration, and ruining my enjoyment of the symphony!!”

BS

Big fat notebook on stage? Non-issue. Get a life, people.

@Tim wrote:

It’s amazing how differently people reacted to this record. Some loved it & some really disliked it. Here’s another posting about it:
Turin, Los Angeles
More money, more money, Lu. She’s obviously got it down pat: The more people I get to know and use for songs, the more money I make and the more stars i get attached to my reviews. And I get pity points and everyone thinks I’m so analytical and brilliant while the people I write about are forced to deal with being used for personal and professional profit. She used her mom’s own demise for profit. That’s the lowest thing I can think of doing. Have you no shame, old woman?I could write a Lucinda Williams song at this point. They’re all the same. She hates men. Hates them. (but she hides under a feminist label so she’ll be safe with mother jones and salon and all those meaningless rags)But she needs material so she can afford her wine and her airbrushed photoshoots to hide her aarp status. So she finds a poor bloke, buys him some drinks or twenty and sleeps with him then picks every single detail of his existence apart and turns it in as a song. I can’t imagine ever being one of these people. I mean no wonder she’s always miserable. Ever heard of karma Lucinda? It called, along with all your ex-lovers (who are awakening from their drunken stupor right about now and showering in bleach and valtrex They said I told you so! Keep wallowing. Keep cashing in. Your shameless. Your mother would be hurt and appauled. And so am I. Will Never support someone whose m.o. is all about profit and self pity again.

You sound very bitter, Tim….or a republican? Haha!

Lucinda deserves all the recognition and acclaim she gets. She’s paid her dues. She could’ve ‘sold out” a long time ago, but chose to stay true to her music.

Here’s hoping you have a better new year in 2008, Tim. One has to learn to like themself, before they can learn to like anyone else, and you sound as though you don’t like yourself very much?