In keeping with the modern old time vibe from yesterday I’m moving forward with this today. Hmmm, Teetering on the edge is something I bet a lot of people are doing right now financially. The news has been rife with stories about foreclosures and lenders going bankrupt. At least it has been here in California. Erin, actually used to work for one such company a few years back. She mentioned they were great people doing good things for people. That’s a good thing. Unfortunately things can go wrong and things go south. Less than 6 months ago was a boom for the housing market and now it’s sluggin along trying to push through a rough patch. And for that company in particular? It’s filled for bankruptcy.
Speaking of crazy things and money… Last night I watched an interesting history to money. A perspective I had never heard, at least not as researched as it came across. Those without wealth always speculate about those who do and have theories about it. Well, if this movie is correct, it’s downright frightening. You can watch it right here at Google. It’s in two parts and is roughly 3 1/2 hours long. It’s a completely different view of history and well it feels quite real to me.
I doubt that you would thing Buck is singing about money. Any sane person would know instantly that he’s singing about falling in love with a woman and isn’t sure he wants to. Funny thing is it can be applied to so many things when you’re faltering in making a decision. Like my post a few days ago about my skiing accident. Had I decided to have a speed check I would have had an entirely different outcome.
Let me shift gears yet again, I also watched Shut Up & Sing last night too. Long night of movie entertainment and education. Shut Up & Sing if you missed it is a documentary about the Dixie Chicks and the ramifications of an off-hand remark made at a show that then got blown WAY out of proportion. I never disliked the Chicks, but I certainly have a new found respect for them for coming through that ordeal the way they did.
As a performer on a stage, you’re balancing between being extremely scripted and boring or going off the cuff. Personally, I have always had a problem with scripting things I was going to say in between songs. So it seems does Natalie Maines. I’ve tried to script something to say several times and everytime I’ve tried it has failed miserably. So I dropped it and went back to going by the seat of my pants. It’s more natural that way and always seems easier to connect with an audience when you do. Been under a rock and don’t know the mess the Dixie Chicks were in? Well it had to do with a remark made in England right when the U.S. decided to invade Iraq. Talk about being put on an edge to teeter on…
Moving into yet another gear. Buck Stevens has clearly stuck to a very simple formula here. The great thing is it works. Again it’s a modern recording that has gone after a vibe from an era long gone. But I really enjoy. There’s something to be said for a simple song and a questioning lyric. I imagine the era that the song is emulating would have been an interesting time to live in, depending of course where in the country you lived. I suppose if I go with the history I know of my own grandparents it was an era of small country farms and horses.
Actually the town my grandma is from is probably not much different today than it was when she was born so many years ago. My mom was born there too. Not far from there is another little town where she bought some property that is eventually going to be handed down to my sister and I. It’s a fantastic plot of land with a cliff on one side, and a farm valley on the other with lots of red rock and majestic mountainsides to look at. It’s amazing. There’s no running water or electricity on the property. When you’re there it’s like being unplugged from technology and then being plugged into life. In a word: Awesome.
These are all things that come to my mind as I’m going over Buck’s song. Expand your horizons. Follow the links, learn, and show Buck some ownership love by adding his music to your collection.