Listen to the Lion

Let Me Be Blunt

A couple of weeks ago in a bluegrass music discussion forum that I’m a member of, someone said the stupidest thing I’ve heard in a while. Someone else had asked the group why legendary bluegrass singer Bobby Osborne, in his new album, had included on his new CD a version of Kris Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down” with a lyric change; namely Osborne singing “wishin’ Lord that I was home” instead of “wishin’ Lord that I was stoned.”

One responder said, basically, that the change wasn’t a big deal and that Osborne maybe just misremembered the lyric and that it was unreasonable to assume that the change was made because some bluegrass fans wouldn’t like the drug reference. 

Osborne isn’t the only one to have bowdlerized this line of the song, but to think that someone would accidentally change the most important word in the song strains credibility. The only reason possible is the worst reason possible, to remove the drug reference. (Johnny Cash famously did not, even in the face of pressure from ABC television.) To do so eviscerates the song, removing the theme of generational conflict that influenced so many great – and far more not-so-great – songs of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Imagine Merle Haggard singing “we don’t smoke cigarettes in Muskogee.”

Why do the song at all if you object to its content? 

Suggesting this song is OK without the word “stoned” is as stupid as someone saying that The Sopranos would be better without all the cursing, something Ron Rollins, the colossally jejune “arts editor” of the Dayton Daily News, actually wrote a few years ago.

On a similar note, someone questioned my enthusiasm for James Blunt’s Back to Bedlam CD. Time will tell if Blunt avoids the temptation to become the next Phil Collins, but what he’s done so far is pretty satisfying sad-guy-with-guitar pop. 

But the best song on the album “You’re Beautiful” that most people have heard on the radio is also blue-penciled, replacing the all-purpose adjective that begins with F with the verb “flyin’,” which, I think substantially alters the mood of the song.

So check these out:

Buck Owens, R.I.P.

Buck was pretty influential, especially for the Beatles and Dwight Yoakam, but the music he made stands on its own. Here's some classic Bakersfield sound from Buck and the late great Don Rich.

Van at the Ryman

I was fortunate enough to see Van Morrison at the Ryman Auditorium on March 7. It's the sixth time I've seen him, and probably the best show of the bunch, which isn't surprising from a gig at the Mother Church.  Even though I was in the last row of the balcony (actually the Confederate Gallery), I was really close and the sound was great.

The fact that I got in at all is a testament to the kindness of a couple of fellow Van fans who got me an extra ticket at face value ($130) even as tickets were going for more than $500.

Van did a lot of stuff from his nice new country album Pay the Devil (link to my review will be posted here when it's published), but he also did one of my favorite concert set pieces, "It's All in the Game/You Know What They're Writing About/Make it Real," and a new favorite "Celtic New Year/The Healing Game."

During these two numbers especially, I just sat there grinning, laughing with pure joy (something that doesn't happen too often).

Looks like Van is coming back to the States next month to play New York, Hollywood and Minneapolis, so get your tickets...if you can. Van has sold out every gig for several years now.

Here's a link to a WMV of a great performance of the "It's All in the Game" workshop.

And here's a nice version of "Celtic New Year":

The Vinnies and the Greggies

OK, am I the only one who thought Crash was as entertaining and subtle as a speech from Ted Kennedy? It had lots of good acting - Terrence Howard, also Matt Dillon and Ryan Phillippe playing the slimy cops - but the predictability and preachiness was too thick to take.

I think Hollywood places so much self-important emphasis on serious dramas, usually ignoring comedy - which is so hard to get right - and fantasy/adventure. No wonder no one watches the Oscars.

So, here are my picks for the best in film (the Vinnies, so named for a brave warrior with a foolproof way to rate movies) and the worst (the Greggies, so named for the world's foremost walking hemorrhoid).

The Vinnies:

Best Films (winner in bold):

Batman Begins

The Chronicles of Narnia

Cinderella Man

King Kong

Walk the Line

Sin City

Best Actor (tie):

Joaquin Phoenix – Walk the Line

Russell Crowe – Cinderella Man

Best Actress:

Reese Witherspoon – Walk the Line

Best Supporting Actor:

Paul Giamatti – Cinderella Man

Best Supporting Actress: 

Georgie Henley – The Chronicles of Narnia

Best Director:

Peter Jackson – King Kong

The Greggies:

Worst Film (loser in bold):

Crash

Syriana

Kingdom of Heaven

The Dukes of Hazzard

Worst Actor:

Orlando Bloom – Kingdom of Heaven

Worst Actress:

Natalie Portman – Star Wars, Episode III

Worst Supporting Actor:

Burt Reynolds – The Dukes of Hazzard

Worst Supporting Actress:

Rachel Weisz – The Constant Gardner

Worst Director:

Steven Speilberg - Munich (using great talent to equate terrorism with a targeted response to terrorism just ain't cool.)