The Enigmatic Enya: “there’s no one else who is so successful about whom so little is known”

30 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags:

enya

(via msn entertainment)

By Megan Riedlinger

We never thought we’d say this, but we have a new life hero and her name is Enya.

The reclusive and notoriously private 54-year-old singer was named the richest female musician in British and Irish history this month with a $132 million fortune. In additional to this coveted claim, The Sun recently uncovered some rare details about her fascinating lifestyle.

Enya is currently living her best life, residing alone in a massive castle in Ireland. The only other occupants of her home? The security team, staff members, and her cats…

Read more: http://www.msn.com/en-us/music/celebrity/inside-enyas-fascinating-life-living-alone-in-a-castle-with-cats-and-her-dollar132-million-fortune/ar-BBsr6GG?ocid=spartandhp

Jayhawks Ride Rocky Path to Reformation

28 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags: , ,

jay

(via AP) by David Bauder

NEW YORK (AP) — To a certain extent, singer-songwriter Gary Louris is fighting against history by reforming the Jayhawks.

“The precedent isn’t very good as far as bands putting out their best work late in their careers — in rock, it’s very rare,” said Louris, 61. “That doesn’t mean it has to be that way.”

The Jayhawks try to prove that point with Friday’s release of “Paging Mr. Proust,” a concise collection of melodic pop-rock with a few twists. The lovely “Quiet Corners & Empty Spaces” stands with the best work ever by the Minneapolis-based group that made an initial impression with early-1990s songs “Blue” and “Waiting for the Sun.”

No one can accuse the Jayhawks of living off past glory. In fact, their failure to achieve the greatness many had predicted became a defining characteristic and internal motivator. The band and Louris lived through their share of tumult…

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/b5c81694e1e94f58b131f6b2b2e259ee/jayhawks-ride-rocky-path-reformation

Phil Collins Recreates Original Album Covers for 2016 Reissues

28 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags: ,

collins

(via twisted sifter)

Last November, legendary rock star Phil Collins began to reissue some of his most beloved albums as part of a collection called, “Take a Look at Me Now“. As part of the reissue, Collins teamed up with photographer Patrick Balls to reshoot all of his original album covers.

See more: http://twistedsifter.com/2016/04/phil-collins-recreates-original-album-covers-for-reissues/

collins 2

Songs You May Have Missed #586

27 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

joe

Joe Jackson: “Awkward Age” (2003)

Unlike say, Al Green or Lynyrd Skynyrd, there is no one Joe Jackson sound. He started out making critically successful, highly-caffeinated pop-punk with the Joe Jackson Band, but abandoned the style almost immediately to explore other genres. His Jumpin’ Jive in 1981 presaged the neo-swing revival and with Night and Day the very next year he seemed to be trying on Cole Porter’s songwriting shoes.

But in 2003 he finally reunited with the band that backed him for his seminal hit “Is She Really Going Out With Him” and his first three albums. While the results were mixed, “Awkward Age” seems to recapture a bit of the classic vibe and energy.

Jackson’s message here is meant to embolden someone (specifically a fifteen-year-old female) trapped in a less-than-cool life situation, reminding her that “we’ll all be fine” and the awkward age can be any age.

Bonus points for the phrase “Klingon beauty queen”.

Songs You May Have Missed #585

27 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

clannad

Clannad: “Down by the Sally Gardens” (Live) (1979)

William Butler Yeats wrote this as a poem, inspired by an older song, “You Rambling Boys of Pleasure”. It was set to music by Herbert Hughes.

Clannad is a family folk group comprised of three siblings and two uncles. They also spawned the solo career of another sibling whose fame eclipsed their own–Enya.

This song drips with the melancholy of unrequited love that is a hallmark of so many Irish traditional songs.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2020/05/15/songs-you-may-have-missed-664/

Video of the Week: Lenny Lipton Clears the Air About His Poem ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’

27 Apr 2016 1 Comment

by Ed Cyphers in Video of the Week Tags: , ,

Despite plenty of circumstantial evidence to the contrary (Jackie Paper = rolling papers, “puff” = to take a puff from a joint, “dragon” = “draggin'” i.e. to take a drag, etc.) Peter, Paul & Mary have always insisted “Puff the Magic Dragon” has nothing to do with marijuana, but rather is a lament for the lost innocence of childhood.

Peter Yarrow was inspired to write the song by a poem he found on a typewriter, a poem written by Lenny Lipton and in turn inspired by an earlier poem, Custard the Dragon by Ogden Nash.

In this video Lipton reveals the poem’s origins and puts to rest the persistent legend that the song was written as a veiled drug anthem (although of course people will still believe what they choose).

Incidentally, the poem originally had an additional verse in which Puff found another child to play with after returning. But neither Yarrow nor Lipton have clear recollection of the missing verse, and the original paper Lipton left in the typewriter is lost.

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