For my own records more than anything. But certainly a vintage year - as indeed most years are now for me, I follow so many wonderful musicians. I cannot separate my top 2 so am mot attempting to! I have also cheated a bit with Margo Price but the albums are conceived as a sequence. …
A tangent I can’t resist: Women Detective Stories
The author’s real name is Carolyn Heilbrun, the detective Kate Fansler
Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) of Prime Suspect fame
Friends and readers,
An interim blog: this is me thinking out a few semi-conclusions I’ve come to after a couple of months of reading books about women detectives (history, literary criticism, culture, feminist) and reading and rereading a few such books by men and women. As I’ve written on my Sylvia I blog, I seem to be going through something of a transition after living in this world without Jim for some 9 plus years. Part of this is I am liking books I used to not be able to read, and able to accept optimism and at least sympathize with (understand in a new way from an outward transactional POV) some conventional transactional pro-social-ambition perspectives. More than that, I can’t resist reading and watching new kinds of material in the…
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Under Her Influence – Songs Inspired by Loretta Lynn
Country music legend Loretta Lynn has today died peacefully in her sleep, aged 90. Some of the many artists paying tribute to Loretta online included Dolly Parton, Carole King, Wynnona Judd, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Drive By Truckers, Waxahatchee and Valerie June. Her influence runs deeper than the well in Butcher Hollow from where she once drew water.
Loretta’s straight-talking spirit, absolute authenticity and often confrontational style has few parallels in country music, or any genre. She was an icon of individuality, and an irreplaceable loss.
Read on to find some of the best examples of songs which pay tribute to Loretta or which echo her work. Feel free to add any further suggestions to the comments or on social media and I will add them to a playlist.
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Nanci Griffith has died
Nanci Griffith: 2012/many years ago (probably 1990s) (1953-2021)
I grew up listening to Nanci Griffith in my mother’s car. I still remember seeing her live. I’ve loved her music to this day. #RIP — Izzy on Twitter
I have to remember the next time I do a video and then watch once (I never watch more than once) and find myself wincing at the sounds of my voice and accent: “Your own voice is the voice that carries you through life best” — Nanci Griffith — yes that’s me …
Friends and readers,
Yesterday when I read on Twitter (to which news comes the fastest) that Nanci Griffith had died that day, I felt — somewhat to my surprise — so grief-stricken. I began to cry. I thought of all the hours I had spent over the years listening to her singing first on audiocasettes and then CDs in my…
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Ten Years Of The Blues Continued – 22/3/21
I realised when I published these blogs that I would occasionally have to write an update taking account of a development that would strengthen (or rebut) my argument. What I did not expect was that there would be such a development the very next day! But on 22/3/21 the following story breaks... https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56459754 Picking a …
Ten Years of The Blues – Part One
Ten Years of the Blues - Part One On 14th April 2011 I went to my first Women's Football game to see Birmingham City Women (or Ladies as they were then - the name-change at least is a great improvement!) play Bristol City at Stratford Town FC; I was instantly hooked and in the succeeding …
Ten Years of the Blues – Part 2
Introduction These blog articles are not based on any in-depth research (although I think it would make a great subject for a thesis!) but on my observations on the way that the Women’s Super League (WSL) has changed in its first decade. Before commencing there is an explanation to be made and an objection to …
Ten Years of the Blues – Part 3
Circling the Wagons Before proceeding to the thorniest of topics - comparison of Women’s and Men’s football - I want to take a moment to consider the tendency to ‘circle the wagons’. This is not by any means restricted to Women’s Football! I have been and still am associated with many causes and struggles which …
Ten Years of the Blues – Notes and Afterthought
Notes The case of Liverpool is fascinating and instructive. As mentioned they finished bottom of the WSL in 2011 and 2012 but a large investment by the Men’s Club led to them becoming Champions in 2013, a position they maintained in 2014. Thereafter there was a steady reduction in investment, and consequently results, which culminated …
Continue reading Ten Years of the Blues – Notes and Afterthought
Bits and Pieces
(originally written June 2012) Shostakovich 10 A wonderful performance of Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony by the CBSO under the mesmerising Andris Nelsons. Shostakovich is a site of ideological battle, his music fiercely contested and debated, with every sort of hidden meaning detected which might make it acceptable to anti-communist listeners. At the root of this is …
Moving Toyshop 