Bluegrass as Art: "They Called it Music"

This morning on WAMU radio over in Washington a sneak preview of an upcoming CD from my favorite Bluegrass band, the Gibson Brothers, was presented by Katy Daley. I heard six songs, half of the album I think, but that was enough to get me thinking about what a great project this CD has become. Specifically, though I’m sure I’ll ramble off in other directions, these songs caused me to consider Bluegrass music as art.

Hold on now! I know you folks don’t want to read a bunch of high brow crap about artsy-fartsy theories and scholarly opinions. And if you know me you’ll know I’m incapable of that stuff anyway. No, I’m simpler than that and I’m of the “I know art when I see it or hear it” school. To me art - whether it’s a photograph or a painting or a film or a piece of music – will have three qualities. First, good art must make me pause and consider what’s going on in the picture or music. Secondly, there must be some emotional reaction to the art under consideration. And finally, when I walk away from the particular artistic offering I must continue to think about it for some time afterwards, often at unexpected moments. Well this new album from the Gibson Brothers scored very high marks in all three of those categories.

I’m only going to focus on three songs of the six I heard to illustrate what I’m talking about in regards to art. The first song is the title cut, “They Called It Music”. This is a lively, old-time sounding tune about defining how “labeling” enters into the business of music. To me this song is a bridge of sorts between old style Bluegrass and the more contemporary versions we hear today. The band uses a contemporary lyrical structure with several of the conventions of traditional styling and blends them into a perfect definition that supports their title premise. I paused to think after hearing this song, and even while the song was playing. I was emotionally uplifted by the sheer musicality of the piece. And as time moves along, I’ll find myself thinking about this song when I hear other Bluegrass songs or even other genres of music. It’s art.

The second song I’ll mention is “I Will Always Cross Your Mind” which was written by Adirondack singer-songwriter Roy Hurd. Roy is an old friend of the Gibson Brothers and co-wrote with Eric Gibson one of their most popular performance tunes “Callie’s Reel”. This new tune is different in that it is a sweetly lyrical ballad of love and loss. The instrumental work is so fine, particularly Clayton Campbell’s soulful fiddle playing. Again this song blends traditions as it combines an Americana/Folk sound with the unmistakable Bluegrass voice so unique to the Gibsons. After hearing this song I was sent to memories and reveries of the mountains and woods. Though the song is written about the love of a man for a woman it can apply in so many emotional ways to all the kinds of loss we experience as time moves along. And again, this is a song that will stay with you even after a single listening. Art.

Finally, I want to mention “Songbird Song”. This one was written by Eric when the band was touring in Europe last year. His remarks, played by Katy, about the insomnia that led to the inspiration which created the piece were quite touching. And this song is absolutely beautiful. It’s a song about loneliness and it conveys that feeling so deeply. The great Hank Williams tune “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” is a classic, of course. But listen to this song and you’ll hear something that could rival that classic in years to come. The high harmonies in a wordless keening are amazing and emphasize the simple elegance of the lyrics. The underlying instrumental work is, again, understated and supportive yet “stand alone” beautiful. Mike Barber’s bass is perfect on this song. And one more time, it is art.

Other songs previewed this morning on Katy’s show were: “Home on the River” “Dying for Someone to Love” and “Buy a Ring, Find a Preacher”. All of these are superb and add great work to the Gibson’s collection of artistic achievement.

In poetry we often talk about attaining an individual “voice”. A poet will work for years learning how to reach the level where his or her “voice” is recognizable and original. I think the same process happens in music. Even in popular music, entertainers strive for a difference in their sound to set them apart from all the derivative stuff that has gone before. In Bluegrass we can almost instantly recognize the sounds of Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, Doctor Stanley, Mac Wiseman, Del McCoury and on and on. And in the past few years the Gibson Brothers have reached that level of recognizable quality. A Gibson Brothers song can be recognized in just a few notes. This album, this representation of a true artistic evolution, will reinforce an already stellar reputation. “They Called It Music” is coming soon. Music can enrich your life and this album will add to that enrichment.

Now go listen to some good music and have a fine day.

Animals and Us

The last time I wrote one of these little articles I blathered on about giving every single kid in the country two free years of college. It was serious stuff and it caused a few folks to question my reasoning (impeccable as always) and disagree with me in very civil tones. We have some high toned discussions, my readers and me. Since that essay was posted I’ve been casting about for another subject to address. One of my good friends suggested that I write about the move towards legalized, medically sanctioned and assisted murders. But I’m avoiding that one for now because we really shouldn’t even need a discussion on so heinous a subject. So instead of that I’ve decided to really kick up the dust by talking about pets.

First of all let me say that I like animals. Dogs are great. Cats are okay. Little fish swimming around a nice tank are just fine. Caged birds are questionable, as are snakes and other critters that lay around in glass boxes waiting for a handful of crickets or a juicy living mouse. Rodents in cages can be amusing but ever since I had to do some demolition work on a building that had drop ceilings completely infested with mice and rats, I’ve been unable to see those kinds of animals as friends of mankind. (Or womankind either) But, friends and neighbors, the American passion for having pets and treating them like people is, I’m sorry to say, not a healthy trend. But what is even worse is the tendency of folks to acquire animals that they treat worse than animals.

A good dog is a joy to own. They deserve to be treated kindly, fed properly, exercised regularly and appreciated for what they are. But a dog is an animal. The smartest dogs are still incapable of a higher level of thought. But some folks have anthropomorphized dogs to a degree that is actually insulting to the dignity of the canine species. I’m talking about all those silly and sad pictures that get posted on social networking sites by the thousands every single day. The attempts at humor or emotional manipulation done with those photos would be embarrassing to all of those dogs, if they had the ability to get their own page and look at that crap all day long. Of course some folks use human children in the same way. Those kids are destined to need psychological counseling by the time they reach their teens. There are people who take their dogs to doggy psychologists but I’ve never seen any improvement after those treatments. Usually it’s the owners of those poor pups that need the shrinkage.

And cats are used in the same manipulative way. Some poor kitty does something cute, the owner takes a picture adds a clever caption and sends the photo out on FaceBook or some other site. All the cat lovers say “Awwww!” All the folks who are indifferent to feline behavior say “What the hell, another damn cat picture!” Not me of course, I love cats. But I still feel that those cats are abused and maligned by what their owners do with all those unauthorized photos. Actually I guess the authorization is implicit in the fact that the cats are chattel property held by the humans. But I’ve never seen a cat who would accept slavery without a fight. They just ignore those conventions anyway. Cats operate on a different plane of existence from humans. We all know that.

So let’s quit trying to turn cats and dogs into four legged humans. Give them the dignity they deserve. I was talking to some people the other day about reincarnation and we got around to the subject of what we’d like to “come back” as. Not one person wanted to come back as a human. The number one preference was cat, followed closely by dog. A couple of the odder folks in the discussion group selected rocks or trees and such. One fellow wanted to come back as crabgrass because that stuff lives forever no matter what you do to kill it.

Okay. Be nice to animals but remember they are still only animals.

Now have a fine day.