Blogger’s Block: On Writing Against The Noise
(plus coverfolk of and by musicians with tinnitus)
Apologies for the eleventh-hour entry, folks. I waited all weekend, hoping that my ear troubles would dissipate, but alas, it seems I am doomed to suffer the double distraction of deafness and tinnitus for a while longer.
Happily, my ability to hear and appreciate live music was not as compromised as I feared. I spent a practically ecstatic Saturday afternoon at this year’s Boston Celtic Music Festival, and I’m still glowing from both the music and the experience of folk-as-communion which was so prevalent at the festival. But though I am eager to share my thoughts about it, and report on some truly wonderful developments in the Boston-based neotraditional folk scene which we first wrote about here this summer, tonight I’m truly not up to the task.
Distraction is the right word; it’s not just the noise, or the lack of it, that bothers me. The ringing keeps me from being able to stay focused enough to write and think; the lack of sleep which loud ringing has caused has taken its toll on my mind as well. My ability to develop the coherent, cohesive piece which the young, talented musicians at the core of the scene truly deserve is corrupted. And, as you can see from the overutilization of the word “truly” in the last two paragraphs, I am already almost out of words.
Wednesdays will be a Birthday post, as I will be turning one year older this week; the excuse to write about myself will, conveniently, allow us to postpone the need to hear and listen to the self. From there, it is my hope to return to my usual competence, and to the subject of the New England post-traditional folk scene, by next weekend.
Until then, we apologize for technical difficulties. Here’s a simple set of folkcovers of and by musicians who also reportedly suffer from tinnitis, including four stunningly lovely Neil Young covers, Sara McLachlan’s famous folkpop cover of XTC radio classic Dear God (songwriter Andy Partridge suffers tinnitus in both ears), a hilariously tongue-in-cheek folk take on the Pete Townshend-penned Pinball Wizard paired with a surprisingly folky acoustic turn from Townshend himself, and two great recent tracks from genre-bending jazzman bassist and ear-ringer Charlie Haden, whose wonderful new tradfolk and bluegrass release Charlie Haden Family & Friends: Ramblin’ Boy has been making the blogrounds. At least I’m in good company, eh?
- Charlie Haden w/ The Haden Triplets: Single Girl, Married Girl (orig. A.P. Carter)
- Charlie Haden w/ Bruce Hornsby: 20/20 Vision (orig. Jimmy Martin)
(from Charlie Haden Family and Friends: Ramblin’ Boy)
- Sara McLachlan: Dear God (orig. XTC)
(from A Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC)
- Dala: A Man Needs A Maid (orig. Neil Young)
(from Cinnamon Girl: A Tribute to Neil Young) - The Be Good Tanyas: For The Turnstiles (ibid.)
(from Hello Love) - Rose Polenzani and Jason Hatfield: For The Turnstiles (ibid)
(web exclusive from Rose Polenzani’s website) - Trappers Cabin: You and Me (ibid.)
(web exclusive from the Trappers Cabin website)
- The Loose Acoustic Trio: Pinball Wizard (orig. The Who)
(from Sorrow Be Gone) - Pete Townshend: Girl from the North Country (pop. Bob Dylan)
(from Pete Townshend Live: A Benefit For Maryville Academy)
Category: Ears
January 12th, 2009 at 9:42 am
Folk-as-communion - amen, brother!
I bought the Neil Young tribute for my husband this past Father’s Day - I’ve enjoyed it as well (I think that Dala cut is my favorite)…
January 12th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
I’m so sorry for your hearing trouble.
If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know. I barely have time to write full reviews for my own blog right now, but I could probably manage a blurb for one song. You could do a guest post with various bloggers describing different covers or something.
January 12th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Wow, I didn’t know I was in such good company. Uncle Neil, Pete, van Gogh & Beethoven I knew about, but Steve Martin and Martin Luther? Bono, Clapton & Moby? Don’t know why I never bothered to look. As a little kid with tinnitus, too young to understand about JFK, I thought Paul Simon must have it, how else would he know about the Sound Of Silence? Hope you’re starting to clear a bit. I feel ya. Sending good karma your way….
January 13th, 2009 at 1:03 am
I became a huge fan of Charlie Haden a few years back after hearing an interview with him on NPR. I find it sad that NPR is feeling the crunch right now like everyone else. NPR podcasts are a great way to assuage the occasional homesickness.
Hope you get your ears back soon, my friend.
January 13th, 2009 at 10:31 am
About a year ago, after a Gogol Bordello concert I spent about 4 days deaf then another 6 weeks with bad tinnitus. If its very quiet I still hear a buzzing.
Your best bet, if you want to keep going to concerts is to get a pair of good ear plugs. You can still enjoy the concert but come away with your hearing.
I used them at a Foo Fighters concert … it was nice to have a conversation without yelling after the show.
January 13th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
Well, you added to my iTunes library tonight…. I bought the full Haden disk based on your two samples, found a used Townsend CD on Amazon and enjoyed the free Rose Polenzani tune (which is not still on their site, BTW)
January 14th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Josh,
Hope you are feeling better. I love the Townshend track. That guy’s a genius I think. (He could have been a great folkie if he wanted, and then his hearing would probably be just fine now.)
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:17 pm
[...] songs originally posted last January: one on the topic of silence and hearing, the other featuring songs of and from musicians with tinnitus. As always, I’ve included a bonus track or two to keep my regular readers happy. Feel free to [...]