The Strange Story Of The Man Behind 'Strange Fruit' : NPR

One of Billie Holiday's most iconic songs is "Strange Fruit," a haunting protest against the inhumanity of racism. Many people know that the man who wrote the song was inspired by a photograph of a lynching. But they might not realize that he's also tied to another watershed moment in America's history.

[,,,]
In the late 1930s, Pellison says, Meeropol "was very disturbed at the continuation of racism in America, and seeing a photograph of a lynching sort of put him over the edge."

Meeropol once said the photograph "haunted" him "for days." So he wrote a poem about it, which was then printed in a teachers union publication. An amateur composer, Meeropol also set his words to music. He played it for a New York club owner — who ultimately gave it to Billie Holiday.

When Holiday decided to sing "Strange Fruit," the song reached millions of people. While the lyrics never mention lynching, the metaphor is painfully clear,,,

[,,,]
And that's where the second part of Meeropol's story begins. The link is the pseudonym he used when writing poetry and music: Lewis Allan.

"Abel Meeropol's pen name 'Lewis Allan' were the names of their children who were stillborn, who never lived," says his son, Robert Meeropol. He and his older brother, Michael, were raised by Abel and his wife, Anne Meeropol, after the boys' parents — Ethel and Julius Rosenberg — were executed for espionage in 1953.


The Strange Story Of The Man Behind 'Strange Fruit' : NPR

The Art of Making a Flamenco Guitar: 299 Hours of Blood, Sweat & Tears Experienced in 3 Minutes | Open Culture

There is a simple complexity to Flamenco music especially in regards to the guitar work of masters like Pavlo. The simplicity is the ease that one plays,,,the complexity, after watching this video, comes from the instrument itself,,,

The Flamenco guitar grew up in Andalusia, the major province in southern Spain, where it became integral to the culture during the 19th century. The modern flamenco guitar (a first cousin of the modern classical guitar) is typically made with two of three woods — spruce on the top, and cypress or sycamore on the back and sides. When put in the hands of the right luthier, the guitar can become a thing of beauty.

The Art of Making a Flamenco Guitar: 299 Hours of Blood, Sweat & Tears Experienced in 3 Minutes | Open Culture

Simon Cowell Humiliates a 12 Year Old Boy - But Watch This!

Not bad at all,,,

Simon Cowell Humiliates a 12 Year Old Boy - But Watch This!

The Shredder Behind '100 Guitar Licks' Speaks : All Songs Considered Blog : NPR

This is freakin saweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet,,,what can I say,,,

The Shredder Behind '100 Guitar Licks' Speaks : All Songs Considered Blog : NPR

A flop??

They called this "experiment" a flop, but was it? I am a strong believer that music soothes the savaged soul. It would be interesting to know if the exposure to the music had any effects on the remainder of the commuters day as a whole. At least subconsciously.

"It was the most astonishing thing I've ever seen in Washington," Furukawa says. "Joshua Bell was standing there playing at rush hour, and people were not stopping, and not even looking, and some were flipping quarters at him! Quarters! I wouldn't do that to anybody. I was thinking, Omigosh, what kind of a city do I live in that this could happen?"

Pearls Before Breakfast - washingtonpost.com

New song I'm hooked on

"Best I Am"

Long.
I`ve Been Running away for far too long
Afraid of what
Afraid of what I know is soon to come
I may not be much of an example right now
But I can give you all of my knowledge on how
to get along in this place
right now all I can say

[Chorus]
Is that I will do the best that I can
to be a good example of man
I know one day that You`ll understand
you deserve the best that I am
you deserve the best that I am

It`s So hard
so hard to think about when I was child
so angry at life
I blamed the world for such a long long time
But Things happened so quickly
some people just go
I needed answers to heal me
I wanted to know how to get by
and now its my turn to say

[chorus]

This is all for you
everything in this world
everything in my world
everything in your world
things wont always go right in this life
theres always changes
we`ll make it

[Chorus]

Susan Werner: The Gospel Truth

Another must listen to podcast #10 – Susan Werner, especially for music lovers. The interview is very informative and will hook you; many samples of her music. This will be a CD I will be purchasing and soon. As described by the interviewers:

,,, We interview the talented singer/songwriter whose latest album - The Gospel Truth – she describes as “agnostic gospel”, combining the music of faith with the lyrics of doubt,,,

Found this on YouTube a nice medley of her stuff:



Also from American Freethought:

• The Agnostic Gospel of Susan Werner (Pt. 1 of 3)


• The Agnostic Gospel of Susan Werner (Pt. 2 of 3)


• The Agnostic Gospel of Susan Werner (Pt. 1 of 3)

Susan Werner's homepage: Susan Werner

Sorry,,, more Adele

Honestly I'm not that sorry,,,lol,,,but this was suggested to me by a friend and what I thought was interesting was to hear Adele's insight in to her music. That and it's a good song to boot,,,thanks KAREN for the link!!

R. I. P. Amy Winehouse

Did I say something stupid?? Hmm what ya think??

Scars

Did I say something stupid?
There goes one more mistake
Do I bore you with my problems?
Is that why you turn away?
Do you know how hard I tried
To become what you want me to be?

Take me
This is all that I've got
This is all that I'm not
All that I'll ever be
I've got flaws, I've got faults
Keep searching for your perfect heart
It doesn't matter who you are
We all have our scars
We all have our scars

You say don't act like a child
But what if its a father I need?
Its not like you don't know what you got yourself into
Don't tell me I'm the one who's naive
Do you know how hard I've tried
To become who you want me to be?

Take me
This is all that I've got
This is all that I'm not
All that I'll ever be
I've got flaws, I've got faults
Keep searching for your perfect heart
It doesn't matter who you are
We all have our scars
We all have our scars

Come on, just let it go
These are things you can't control
Your expectations, your explainations
Don't make sense to me
You and your alternatives
Don't send me to your therapists
Deep down, I know what you mean
And I'm not sure that's what I wanna be
No

Take me
This is all that I've got
This is all that I'm not
All that I'll ever be
I've got flaws, I've got faults
Keep searching for your perfect heart
It doesn't matter who you are
We all have our scars
We all have our scars
Oh no no no

Did I say something stupid
There goes one more mistake..

I'm still alone, still alive, I'm still unbroken,,,a bit battered an bruised too

Still Unbroken

Broken bones, broken hearts
Stripped down and torn apart
A little bit of rust - I'm still runnin'

Countin' miles, countin' tears
Twisted roads, shiftin' gears
Year after year - it's all or nothin'

But I'm not home, I'm not lost
Still holdin' on to what I got
Ain't much left
No there's so much that's been stolen
I guess I've lost everything I've had
But I'm not dead, at least not yet
Still alone, still alive, Still UNBROKEN
I'm still alone, still alive,
I'M STILL UNBROKEN

Never captured, never tamed
Wild horses on the plains
You can call me lost - I call it FREEDOM

I feel the spirit in my soul
It's something Lord I can't control
I'M NEVER GIVIN UP WHILE I'M STILL BREATHIN!

I'm not home, I'm not lost
Still holdin' on to what I got
Ain't much left
Lord there's so much that's been stolen
I guess I've lost everything I've had
I'm not dead, at least not yet
Still alone, still alive, Still UNBROKEN
I'm still alone, still alive,
STILL UNBROKEN
I'm still unbroken
Still Unbroken

Like the wind, like the rain
It's all runnin through my veins
Like a river pouring down into the ocean

I'm out here on the streets
But I'm standing on my feet
Still alive, still alone, still unbroken

I'm not home, I'm not lost
Still holdin' on to what I got
Ain't much left
Lord there's so much that's been STOLEN
Guess I've lost everything I've had
But I'm not dead, at least not yet
Still alive, still alone, Still Unbroken
I'm still alone, still alive,
I'M STILL UNBROKEN

I'M STILL ALONE!
STILL ALIVE!
STILL UNBROKEN!
I'M STILL UNBROKEN!

I ain't never going down!
I'M STILL UNBROKEN!
Oooooooh-Ooooooh!

I won't let you in again,,,kinda like that

"Bulletproof"

Been there, done that, messed around
I'm having fun, don't put me down
I'll never let you sweep me off my feet
I won't let you in again
The messages I tried to send
My information's just not going in

I'm burning bridges shore to shore
I break away from something more
I'm not turned off to love until it's cheap
Been there, done that, messed around
I'm having fun, don't put me down
I'll never let you sweep me off my feet

This time baby,
I'll be, bulletproof
This time baby,
I'll be, bulletproof

I won't let you turn around
And tell me now I'm much too proud
To walk away from something when it's dead
Do, do, do, your dirty words
Come out to play when you are hurt
There are certain things that should be left unsaid

Tick, tick, tick, tick on the watch
And life's too short for me to stop
Oh, baby, your time is running out
I won't let you turn around
And tell me now I'm much too proud
All you do is fill me up with doubt

This time baby,
I'll be, bulletproof
This time baby,
I'll be, bulletproof [repeat 2x]

This time...I'll be...bulletproof [repeat 2x]

This time baby,
I'll be, bulletproof
This time baby,
I'll be, bulletproof [repeat 2x]

And some more Adele,,,gotta luv her

"Turning Tables"

Close enough to start a war
All that I have is on the floor
God only knows what we're fighting for
All that I say, you always say more

I can't keep up with your turning tables
Under your thumb I can't breathe

So, I won't let you close enough to hurt me
No, I won't rescue you, you to just desert me
I can't give you the heart you think you gave me
It's time to say goodbye to turning tables
To turning tables

Under haunted skies I see you
Where love is lost your ghost is found
I braved a hundred storms to leave you
As hard as you try, no, I will never be knocked down

I can't keep up with your turning tables
Under your thumb I can't breathe

So, I won't let you close enough to hurt me,
No, I won't rescue you, you to just desert me
I can't give you the heart you think you gave me
It's time to say goodbye to turning tables
To turning tables

Next time I'll be braver
I'll be my own savior
When the thunder calls for me
Next time I'll be braver
I'll be my own savior
Standing on my own two feet

I won't let you close enough to hurt me,
No, I won't rescue you, you to just desert me
I can't give you the heart you think you gave me
It's time to say goodbye to turning tables
To turning tables
Turning tables, yeah
Turning, oh

Mmm hmm,,,luv me some Adele

"Rolling In The Deep"

There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch, and it's bringing me out the dark
Finally I can see you crystal clear
Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your ship bare
See how I'll leave with every piece of you
Don't underestimate the things that I will do

There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch
And it's bringing me out the dark

The scars of your love remind me of us
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love, they leave me breathless
I can't help feeling
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it to the beat
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

Baby, I have no story to be told
But I've heard one of you
And I'm gonna make your head burn
Think of me in the depths of your despair
Making a home down there
As mine sure won't be shared

The scars of your love remind me of us
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love, they leave me breathless
I can't help feeling
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it to the beat
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside of your hand
But you played it with a beating

Throw your soul through every open door
Count your blessings to find what you look for
Turn my sorrow into treasured gold
You pay me back in kind and reap just what you sow

(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
We could have had it all
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
We could have had it all
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
It all, it all, it all
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

We could have had it all
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
Rolling in the deep
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it to the beat
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

You could have had it all
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
Rolling in the deep
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)

But you played it
You played it
You played it
You played it to the beat.

Pretty sweet,,,

I'm not a huge Idol fan tho do find the music enjoyable. Think this was a neat thing that Josh Turner did,,,a win-win in my book!!

Scotty McCreery Surprised By Josh Turner At Homecoming Concert - Reality Rocks

Soothing to the savage beast

"Have you ever accidentally pulled your headphone socket out while listening to music? What happens when the music stops? Psychologists believe that our brains continuously predict what is going to happen next in a piece of music. So, when the music stops, your brain may still have expectations about what should happen next."

-----

"Music has a grammar, which, like language, consists of rules that specify which notes can follow which other notes in a piece of music."


I love my music from classical to rap. My friends know my moods based on what I'm listening to. If I am chilling usually soul music, if I'm at work and need to keep on movin,,,heavy metal works wonders. And yes, I do finish a piece in my head if I become disconnected.

How music 'moves' us: Listeners' brains second-guess the composer

Found this song in July of 2009,,,love new music

Pride by Syntax

It's made up of lonely moments
There was always a moment there when I knew.
You always gave installments,
Always knew you concentrated and grew.

And I believe in reinvention,
Do you believe that life is holding the clue?
Take away all the lonely moments,
Give me full communication with you.

Your smile, shine a little light, alright?
Don't hide, shine a little light,
Give up on your pride.

Do you believe in reinvention,
Do you believe that life is holding the clue?
Any way to face the silence,
Any way to face the pain that kills you.

Your smile, shine a little light, alright?
Don't hide, shine a little light,
Give up on your pride.

Give up on your pride, the moment's gone;
Give up on your smile, life is long.
So, I seen a bad dream, that you were gone:
I got bitten on the soul, my blood will run.

Give up on your pride, the moment's gone;
Give up on your smile, life is long.
So I seen a bad dream, you were gone:
You're bitter and cold, my blood will run.