Tag Archives: Rufus Wainwright

Let’s Take A Moment Day 336

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Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

Feb 2021 Blog

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

In November 1974 Linda Ronstadt released her fifth solo album which finally proved to be her breakthrough record, It hit the #1 position on the album chart today in 1975, the same day the first single, “You’re No Good” (Day 122) hit the top spot as well. The LP also included future hits like “When Will I Be Loved”, “Willin'”, “You Can Close Your Eyes” & “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”. The title track was never released as a single but I think it is absolutely stunning.

It was written by Anna McGarrigle, a Canadian singer who was in a folk duo with her sister Kate McGarrigle until her death in 2010 (Kate’s son is singer Rufus Wainwright featured on Day 212). The lyrics are heartbreakingly beautiful as is the arrangement. Ronstadt’s vocal is strong, sorrowful & touching and is amplified by an incredible backing vocal by singer Maria Muldaur. (She had a top ten hit of her own in 1974 with “Midnight At The Oasis”). Ronstadt has given life to songs by songwriters ranging from J.D. Souther, James Taylor, Warren Zevon & Eric Kaz, to name a few. But what she did with today’s song is in a category all its own.

“Some say the heart is just like a wheel
When you bend it, you can’t mend it
But my love for you is like a sinking ship
And my heart is on that ship out in mid-ocean“.

Heart Like A Wheel

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Linda Ronstadt: “Heart Like A Wheel” (1974, written by Anna McGarrigle).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

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Let’s Take A Moment Day 212

Posted in Music by

Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

Thoreau quote 2

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are in a serious situation, but I need a break from the gloom, doom and bullying by way of hoarding. Music has always been my refuge and watching those beautiful Italians singing to each other from their balconies reaffirmed my belief that music is the answer. So until the old normal returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day.  And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Today’s artist comes from a musical family. Rufus Wainwright’s parents are American songwriter, folk singer, entertainer & humorist Loudon Wainwright III and Canadian folk singer & songwriter Kate McGarrigle. She & her sister, Anna, formed the duo, The McGarrigle Sisters, in Montreal in the 1960’s & continued together until Kate’s death in 2010. Their songs have been covered by many artists including Marianne Faithful, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, most notably her cover of “Heart Like A Wheel” which was written by Anna.

Wainwright was born in Rhinebeck, NY in 1973 and his sister, Martha Wainwright (also a singer) was born three years later, the same year his parents divorced. That sent his mother back to Montreal to raise her two children. Wainwright started playing piano at the age of six and by the age of 13 he & his sister were touring with their mother and aunt as “The McGarrigle Sisters and Family”. He developed a strong affinity for opera music around that time and went back to New York for high school. After that he moved back to Montreal where he began playing the club circuit. That is how he was discovered and by 1998 his self-titled debut album was released. However, he continues to perform with his family on various musical collaborations.

In a 2004 interview with the AP, Elton John called Wainwright “the greatest songwriter on the planet”. In addition to writing his own songs, he has also done outstanding covers of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” (Day 161) for the “Shrek” soundtrack & The Beatles “Across The Universe” featured in the “I Am Sam” movie. My favorite song of Wainwright’s is from his third studio album, “Want One” and features an orchestra & choir arrangement. As lovely as the original track is, today’s interpretation only has a piano accompaniment to his elegant vocal. You will notice at the 2:07 mark of the video that he is playing that instrument with just one hand. There is something so exquisitely beautiful about a simple acoustic number. And this version is one gorgeous example of how less is more.

“My phone’s on vibrate for you
But still I never ever feel from you
Pinocchio’s now a boy who wants to turn
Back into a toy“.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus Wainwright circa 2000. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Rufus Wainwright: “Vibrate” (2003, written by Rufus Wainwright).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

Happy New Decade!!!

Posted in Holidays, Music by

Hello, Friends.  Happy New Year’s Eve.  It is hard to believe we are on the verge of a brand new year and decade!!!  Doesn’t all that Y2K stuff seem so recent and not at all like it was 20 years ago???

Happy new year wishes0.jpg

I want to thank you all for your support again this year.  I truly appreciate your love, kindness, comments and input.  This ride would not be half as much fun without all of you and that interaction.

What do you want for the new year?  The new decade?  It is so hard to think in terms of a whole year, let alone 10 of them, at least it is for me.  I want what I always want-health, happiness, love and peace for me and the ones I love & a Springsteen tour.  I also want to worry less about what will be.  To just take the moments as they come instead of getting lost in my spiraling thoughts about what might happen and what I should do to prevent what might occur, as if I have that type of control over time and space.

Rather, I want to have more faith that I am where I am supposed to be like it or not.  And that my life is what it is whether I am happy about that or not.  And maybe, just maybe, if I spend more time doing what I enjoy and love that the rest will fall into place.  And if it doesn’t, I was still able to enjoy the time in between.  I completely get the whole free will thing and how my actions have the power to change things.  But the pragmatic side of me knows that life happens so you can only do what you can do and leave the rest in the hands of fate.  As the Doors said, “The future’s uncertain and the end is always near”.  And many times the end may just be the end of the chapter, but not the book.  One may hope, right?

I wish you all the best in 2020 and beyond.  May you all have health, happiness, love, luck and  great music always.  On that note (no pun intended), here are two songs perfect for today by two incredible artists that I absolutely adore.

The McGarrigle Christmas Hour Album & Rufus Wainwright (original dates & sources unknown).

Rufus Wainwright:  “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?”  (2005, written by Frank Loesser in 1947).

Rod

 

Rod Stewart:  “Auld Lang Syne” (2012, written by Robert Burns in 1788).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing some things that I love with you  🙂

Until next time & next year, happy listening!!!

 

 

 

25 Days Of Christmas Music: Day 18

Posted in Christmas, Music by

Hello, Vixens!!!  Welcome back to the countdown.

book-trees

Christmas trees made from stacks of books!!!  (Original source unknown)

Today’s Christmas song is a duet first introduced to the world in the 1949 movie, “Neptune’s Daughter”.  It starred Esther Williams, Ricardo Montalban (yes, Fantasy Island’s Mr. Rourke & Star Trek’s Khan), Betty Garrett (a/k/a Archie Bunker’s nemesis Irene Lorenzo, Laverne & Shirley’s landlady Edna Babish or Sarah a/k/a “Mrs. Caligula” on the Golden Girls Season 7 Episode 13 “Old Boyfriends”) and one of my favorite people in the world, Red Skelton.  The four leads sang the version from the movie as two duets and it was magic.

After that, it was re-recorded over a dozen of times, and these are my top four faves:

Another 1949 version by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan:  “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”  (Just perfect!).

Louis Armstrong and Velma Middleton – “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”  (This is from their nightclub act so the singing is peppered with jokes.  It was recorded in the early to mid 1950’s & it is fabulous!).

Elf

Leon & Buddy in “Elf” (courtesy of New Line Cinema)

From 2003 – Will Ferrell & Zoey Daschanel (from “Elf”):   “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”  (This is a really nice version from the movie, but for the film’s soundtrack she sings this with Leon Redbone.  In the movie he provides the voice of Leon The Snowman & as a bit of trivia, he sang the theme song to “Mr. Belverdere”).

From 2012 – Rufus Wainwright & Sharon Van Etten:  “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”  (This one has a nice easy piano bar kind of feel to it).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing some things that I love with you   🙂

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, fellow Vixens, happy listening!!!

25 Days Of Christmas Songs: Day 1

Posted in Christmas, Music by

Hello, Vixens!!!  Hope you all enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday.

Now that Turkey Day is behind us and since December begins today, it’s time for me to share some of my favorite Christmas tunes with you.

December

But before we dive in, there is some other music I am loving right now that you might like also.  Some of the songs are new, some are old and some are in between.  I have been discovering new to me music through shows like “Psych” (sooooo looking forward to the  movie on December 7), “Criminal Minds”, “Grey’s Anatomy” and, of course, “This Is Us” (In this week’s episode alone, it featured the naked version of George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” and Cat Stevens “Where Do The Children Play“.  Swoon x 2!!!).

I also really love the soundtrack to “Big Little Lies”.  Yes Reese, Nicole, Shailene & Laura were great, but the actress who played Reese’s youngest daughter-Darby Camp- was unbelievably impressive.  And her character’s intense love of great music -that was me at that age!!!  I was Chloe Mackenzie minus the ear buds.  My favorite song from that series?  Leon Bridges:  “River”

Here are some of my other top picks of late:

Kelly Clarkson’s version of “Love On The Brain” (The original is good, too, with Rihanna  sounding very old school R&B-soul-like).

Gillian Welch:  “I Made A Lover’s Prayer “.

Andrew Bird:  “Three White Horses“.

Foy Vance “Guiding Light” and “Gabriel & The Vagabond“.

Rufus Wainwright:  “Vibrate” (Just his voice as he plays the piano with one hand.  Beautiful.).

Rufus_Wainwright

Rufus Wainwright (original source unknown)

I think I have been even more consumed by my love of music these days because it has been such a sad year for the industry with the losses of Chuck Berry, Gregg Allman, Butch Trucks, Tom Petty,  Chris Cornell, Glen Campbell (he put Jimmy Webb’s songs on the map), David Cassidy (what girl did not l-o-v-e Keith Partridge) and the man with the first song on our countdown.

He was one of the early musical pioneers who helped create rock & roll by linking it to his jazz meets rhythm & blues background.  The only other Fifties-era rocker that sold more records than he was Elvis Presley.  But coming in second with 65 million records sold was no small feat.  According to his bio on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s website, he “scored more hit records than Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Buddy Holly put together”.  That is part of the reason why he was inducted into the HOF with the rest of the inaugural inductees in 1986.

Unfortunately, the change in the direction of music as a result of the one-two punch of the Beatles arrival in America in 1964 followed by the British Invasion brought this man’s incredible career to a screeching halt.  But even more depressing, we said a final goodbye to Antoine “Fats” Domino, Jr. on October 24 when he passed away at the age of 89.

VARIOUS

Fats Domino (Courtesy of Barry Peake/Rex/Shutterstock-original source unknown)

One of his musical heroes was Charles Brown who wrote and released the original version of this song in 1960.  But no one does it like the Fat Man.

Fats Domino:  “Please Come Home For Christmas“.

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing some things that I love with you   🙂

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, fellow Vixens, happy listening!!!