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December 11, 2006
* "i wake up from strange dreams...i understand the cost"
Sometimes it takes a second time around before I notice something I shouldn't have missed in the first place. I recall having copies of Hem's debut disc *Rabbit Songs* on my shelves for a year or so before their striking cover of "The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes" on an Elvis Costello tribute album motivated me to check out their own record. After which Hem promptly became my favorite band of the '00s.
Not sure exactly if that's what's going on again right now, but I can tell you one thing, I can't get Amelia White's song "Black Doves" outta my head. It was the title track to her record that came out in February, so this is nothing new for a lotta folks. I probably played it when I got it, but was perhaps distracted by any number of things, and I don't recall it leaving an impression. Fortunately, longtime ND contributing editor Roy Kasten hipped our readers to it in our March-April 2006 issue, with a record review that observed, in part: "The title track, however, is the stunner, a fine, subtle and personal anti-war statement a la 'Who'll Stop The Rain', with peace doves turned funereal black but free to haunt a lover left behind by the military call-up."
"Black Doves" also appears on *Music From East Nashville*, a two-disc sampler recently issued by Red Beet Records. I'd put it on the stereo in the interest of checking out the tracks by the likes of Todd Snider, Paul Burch, Elizabeth Cook, Thad Cockrell, Matthew Ryan and others (it features a rather notable cast of contributors), but I was flat-out blindsided by "Black Doves" when it came on.
I hit repeat immediately, and the first two or three times, was mesmerized by what I thought was a beautifully bittersweet love song. It is, sort of; but, as Kasten's review pointed out, it also nests within a much larger context. Without knowing for certain what White meant when she wrote it, I can only speak for what I get out of it. "Black Doves" isn't an "anti-war" song necessarily, in that it doesn't take sides or espouse a policy. Rather, it communicates through the eyes of one left behind, as a loved one leaves for war. And, as with any great song, it actually hits the heart more deeply with its melody than with its words.
It's available for a quick listen on White's myspace.com page, if you're interested. Meantime, I've got an appointment to revisit the rest of her album....
adios,
peter
Posted by Peter at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
December 8, 2006
* A note of thanks to the Iraq Study Group
An open letter to:
James A. Baker III
Lee H. Hamilton
Lawrence S. Eagleburger
Vernon E. Jordan Jr.
Edwin Meese III
Sandra Day O'Connor
Leon E. Panetta
William J. Perry
Charles S. Robb
Alan K. Simpson
I wish to personally express my gratitude to each of you for the work you have done with the Iraq Study Group on behalf of the citizens of the United States.
It is my hope that our President and our Congress will follow the example that the ten of you have so admirably set in striving to address the serious challenges that face us in Iraq and the Middle East.
Recent years in American politics have been fraught with episodes of counterproductive battling and often meaningless bickering between the two major parties, frequently at the expense of actually getting anything done to improve the lot of our country. Your work with the ISG stands out as a rare and shining example of the way we CAN and SHOULD govern ourselves. As such, I believe we are deeply indebted to each of you individually, and, most importantly, to all of you collectively.
I realize you have no authoritative or executive power and that the fruits of your labor must now be determined by those who are in the position to act upon it. But regardless of what happens from here on out, your work has been noticed and appreciated -- and its value ultimately reaches beyond whatever concrete manifestations may result from it.
Sincerely,
Peter Blackstock
Posted by Peter at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)