A GOOD RECORDING BEATS A GREAT SONG ANY DAY
by Bryce Martin
I do not have favorite songs; I have favorite recordings.
A longtime favorite is “Broken Hearted Melody” by Sarah Vaughn. I have to specify “by Sarah Vaughn” because it is her recording of the song I enjoy and not a version by anyone else.
“In the Mood” is a standard performed by countless bands. I like it by the Ernie Fields Orchestra, and by no one else.
The same holds true with “Nola,” done by a multitude of singers and bands and instrumentalists. More often than not, the instrumental version of this song prevails. Billy Williams singing it and accompanying himself on the piano is my preference.
My favorite of all is “Poor People of Paris,” done by Les Baxter in 1956. I still try to whistle it the way it was recorded.
I know, literally, the lyrics and melodies to hundreds of songs. I have written several dozen more. Therefore, when someone asks me what is my favorite song or songs; I really cannot answer the question in that form. My favorite recording or recordings, yes. As mentioned, it is “Poor People of Paris” by Les Baxter. I mentioned some others and I could add several more.
I do not look for messages in songs. I am not caught up in profound lyrics or in “hot licks.” I recognize a well-written song, but how it sounds – the actual recording or performance – is paramount.
“Gentle on My Mind” is an incredibly brilliant song. John Hartford may have outdone himself on that one. Glen Campbell does a credible vocal with it, but it is only a minor favorite with me. Rodney Crowell has penned some extraordinary songs, yet no one has quite done them justice to my way of listening.
It is all about the recording. In the days of vinyl, it was that something “between the grooves.”
One thing will never change, no matter what technology is in place. When people ask me what kind of songs I like, or what kind of music I listen to, I tell them, “There are only two kinds: good and bad. I like good songs.”
Truth is, I like good recordings.
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Tell them how the weather was... -- Ernest Hemingway bryce_martin_1@Lycos.com
Saturday, January 31, 2004
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
HOW TO WRITE A LETTER
by Bryce Martin
After all these years, I now discover the colored center of indelible pencils is toxic and that you should never place the tip of one in your mouth. I have not seen such a pencil in years, but if my grandmother were still living, I would certainly pass along the information.
My grandmother always used an indelible pencil for correspondence. Since she predated the portable ink pen, I can see why. It looks and writes like a pencil but its mark is permanent.
I used it a few times myself. I did not like it because it made a light to faint impression on paper and you needed to lick the tip of the purple core to allow you to make a darker line. Either that or dip the tip in water. Grandmother moistened the tip with her tongue. After first trying the pencil I could understand why.
Grandmother wrote many letters because she received many. She considered it a near sin not to “answer” each letter.
When it came time to put pencil to paper, she would look for that indelible pencil the way someone else might look for car keys. Indelible was indispensable as far as she was concerned.
Grandmother’s letters were written on white linen stationery and mailed in matching envelopes. The letter-size linen writing paper came in a tablet. The first page of the tablet was a blue lined page. It was the only lined page in the tablet and it had a primary use. Handwritten letters tend to look better scribed on blank pages rather than on lined ones. The problem is that few people can keep the lines straight. That is where the lined page works wonders. The linen paper, though thick-looking to the eye, had some transparency. Place a sheet of it over the lined paper and, voila! That is how she kept her lines straight and wrote some beautiful letters.
by Bryce Martin
After all these years, I now discover the colored center of indelible pencils is toxic and that you should never place the tip of one in your mouth. I have not seen such a pencil in years, but if my grandmother were still living, I would certainly pass along the information.
My grandmother always used an indelible pencil for correspondence. Since she predated the portable ink pen, I can see why. It looks and writes like a pencil but its mark is permanent.
I used it a few times myself. I did not like it because it made a light to faint impression on paper and you needed to lick the tip of the purple core to allow you to make a darker line. Either that or dip the tip in water. Grandmother moistened the tip with her tongue. After first trying the pencil I could understand why.
Grandmother wrote many letters because she received many. She considered it a near sin not to “answer” each letter.
When it came time to put pencil to paper, she would look for that indelible pencil the way someone else might look for car keys. Indelible was indispensable as far as she was concerned.
Grandmother’s letters were written on white linen stationery and mailed in matching envelopes. The letter-size linen writing paper came in a tablet. The first page of the tablet was a blue lined page. It was the only lined page in the tablet and it had a primary use. Handwritten letters tend to look better scribed on blank pages rather than on lined ones. The problem is that few people can keep the lines straight. That is where the lined page works wonders. The linen paper, though thick-looking to the eye, had some transparency. Place a sheet of it over the lined paper and, voila! That is how she kept her lines straight and wrote some beautiful letters.
Sunday, January 25, 2004
DUI MIKE DRUNK ON SPEED AND HIMSELF
by Bryce Martin
DUI Mike is to drunk drivers what Johnnie Cochran is to celebrities who murder. He is there for you. If you’ve got the dough, he’s got the know.
Say you are pulled over and not only are you soused to the gills but you smell like a distillery as well. Well, it just so happens that the officer who ended up arresting you for DUI did not have probable cause to pull you over in the first place. Wouldn’t you like to see that rectified in a court of law? The injustice of such a thing. That, DUI Mike, will tell you, is what he is all about. There will be no tampering with justice, rigging balloon tests, or stomping on our rights as long as DUI Mike is around. In legal babble, he is the “is” in what is is.
I happened upon an infomercial Saturday evening on WGFX-FM (104.5) for DUI Mike called The Drunk Zone, excuse me… The Legal Zone. In case you are not aware, DUI Mike is the lawyer who has those framed ads riding at (bloodshot) eye level above Nashville’s urinals. Clever ad placement, huh?
In Tennessee, DUI is an abbreviation for a blanket term meaning driving under the influence, a common cause of death and accidents. Another term associated with it is driving while intoxicated, or DWI as it is specifically called in other states
By the tone of his voice, you knew the host of the show thought it so cool that his guest VIP was actually recently given a ticket by the police and – how cool is this – that the citation was for that macho of all road sports, speeding.
“You have to tell us about it,” the host said, giggling with anticipation.
DUI Mike was just as eager to oblige. “I was going down the highway in my jukebox on wheels and then comes these flashing blue lights. I was given a citation for doing 84 in a 70, and that was after I had decelerated.”
The pair could hardly contain themselves. You could just hear the glee in their voices.
“He was real professional,” DUI Mike said of the officer, while making no apology for his own bad behavior.
DUI Mike must do a lot of speeding. Why else would he have a radar detector in his “jukebox on wheels”? He told how he could not do without his radar detector. He must have had it turned off when he got the speeding ticket, that or the decibels distracted him. Of course, I could be wrong about the radar detector. He probably uses it for research. You know how inaccurate those things can be and how a person can get a ticket for speeding when they were not. Maybe he is just planning to branch out. DUI-VROOM Mike does not have the same ring to it though. It could be, too, that he is just a self-indulgent, me-first, screw-you type of guy who lacks the discipline to allow himself enough time to get where he is going by driving the speed limit. Think?
DUI Mike has made a name for himself over the years by specializing in defending drunk drivers. Those guilty of the offense figure enough money can find them a loophole, or a way out. Who could think otherwise with our judicial system being the joke that it is. Lawyers do not need to rationalize or justify what type of client they represent. They are, after all lawyers. When you make that kind of money, what people might think is of little or no importance. I imagine it is the latter.
…
ALL IN THE FAMILY: I watched some of Rob Reiner’s love affair with Howard Dean on C-Span. He really is Meathead.
by Bryce Martin
DUI Mike is to drunk drivers what Johnnie Cochran is to celebrities who murder. He is there for you. If you’ve got the dough, he’s got the know.
Say you are pulled over and not only are you soused to the gills but you smell like a distillery as well. Well, it just so happens that the officer who ended up arresting you for DUI did not have probable cause to pull you over in the first place. Wouldn’t you like to see that rectified in a court of law? The injustice of such a thing. That, DUI Mike, will tell you, is what he is all about. There will be no tampering with justice, rigging balloon tests, or stomping on our rights as long as DUI Mike is around. In legal babble, he is the “is” in what is is.
I happened upon an infomercial Saturday evening on WGFX-FM (104.5) for DUI Mike called The Drunk Zone, excuse me… The Legal Zone. In case you are not aware, DUI Mike is the lawyer who has those framed ads riding at (bloodshot) eye level above Nashville’s urinals. Clever ad placement, huh?
In Tennessee, DUI is an abbreviation for a blanket term meaning driving under the influence, a common cause of death and accidents. Another term associated with it is driving while intoxicated, or DWI as it is specifically called in other states
By the tone of his voice, you knew the host of the show thought it so cool that his guest VIP was actually recently given a ticket by the police and – how cool is this – that the citation was for that macho of all road sports, speeding.
“You have to tell us about it,” the host said, giggling with anticipation.
DUI Mike was just as eager to oblige. “I was going down the highway in my jukebox on wheels and then comes these flashing blue lights. I was given a citation for doing 84 in a 70, and that was after I had decelerated.”
The pair could hardly contain themselves. You could just hear the glee in their voices.
“He was real professional,” DUI Mike said of the officer, while making no apology for his own bad behavior.
DUI Mike must do a lot of speeding. Why else would he have a radar detector in his “jukebox on wheels”? He told how he could not do without his radar detector. He must have had it turned off when he got the speeding ticket, that or the decibels distracted him. Of course, I could be wrong about the radar detector. He probably uses it for research. You know how inaccurate those things can be and how a person can get a ticket for speeding when they were not. Maybe he is just planning to branch out. DUI-VROOM Mike does not have the same ring to it though. It could be, too, that he is just a self-indulgent, me-first, screw-you type of guy who lacks the discipline to allow himself enough time to get where he is going by driving the speed limit. Think?
DUI Mike has made a name for himself over the years by specializing in defending drunk drivers. Those guilty of the offense figure enough money can find them a loophole, or a way out. Who could think otherwise with our judicial system being the joke that it is. Lawyers do not need to rationalize or justify what type of client they represent. They are, after all lawyers. When you make that kind of money, what people might think is of little or no importance. I imagine it is the latter.
…
ALL IN THE FAMILY: I watched some of Rob Reiner’s love affair with Howard Dean on C-Span. He really is Meathead.