Merry Christmas, Brian Wilson!

Yesterday, I heard an NPR review of the latest Beach Boys box set, Made in California. The review was honest, fair, and somewhat somber.  Thoughts of the Beach Boys' music is usually anything but somber, but a critical view of their 51 years as a band leaves one thinking about those early bloomers that we all have known-- like the basketball player who (arriving at 6' tall in the 8th grade while everyone else is 5'6") dominates for a season or two and then spends the next four years in athletic decline.

Yes, it's somewhat sad that the kings of surf music for the most part ran out of creative steam in the late-60's and did their best to ride the wave of the early hits as long as possible.  Regardless, no one can argue against the fact that the band responsible for Surfin' Safari and Pet Sounds is one of the most influential groups of all Americana. The harmonious sound they crafted became their brand, and echos of that sound continue to show up in songs, in a subliminal attempt to capture that wide-eyed, youthful vibe.

As the review wrapped up, and I pondered what could have been if Brian Wilson had remained well and able to develop as a creative artist, I again felt a little mournful for the band whose sound projected fun, but whose story reflects tragedy.  I thought about their influence on Mike Roe who wrote a tribute  of sorts with his band-mates in The Lost Dogs.  I thought about the incredible blog post Ben Shive wrote two years ago about Smile for the Rabbit Room. I thought about the hundreds of times that I've sung along with those harmonies and smiled.  All that to say, Merry Christmas, Brian Wilson.  Thank you and the rest of the band for giving America 51
years of music to enjoy.

Why not songwriter-singer?

I was thinking today about the musical artist genre of singer-songwriter. Don't you think it should be called songwriter-singer?  There are musical artists who are known for their singing.  Elvis, in his prime, could have sung about lemonade and sold a million records.  Lionel Ritchie could (and did) sing some of the stupidest lyrics, but the majority of the world loved it because of his gifted voice.  We should all be thankful for great vocal ability.

But what would vocalists be without great songwriters?  Silly pop songs are fun for awhile, but a diet of candy all the time is sickening.  Powerful lyrics with strong imagery, clever wordplay, and poignant truths provide songs that not only last, but make a difference.  Sometimes these songs are written by an invisible person-- in the sense that they are seldom ever publicly recognized. We hear a singer sing a song, and we think only of the song belonging to the singer.

Some gifted songwriters have strong enough vocal ability and passion about their songs that they do both.  In some cases, it's a stellar success (like Bob Dylan or Willie Nelson), but most of the time, these artists have a small following of fans and never really achieve fame and commercial success.

Here's a short list of songwriter-singers who come to mind:
-- Rich Mullins
--Andrew Peterson
--Marc Cohn
--Bill Mallonee
--Neil Young
--Dan Fogleberg
--James Taylor


Who comes to mind for you?

A Gift from Garrels

Yesterday, I received a wonderful surprise in the mail.  Almost a year ago, I came across an album called "Love & War & The Sea In Between" by Josh Garrels.  I had never heard of this artist, but I decided to download the digital album.  Why?  Easy.  It was free.  What did I have to lose beyond some space on my hard drive.

After about three times through the 18-track work, I was hooked.  So, I made a meager donation on his noisetrade site. (By the way, you can also find it on a bandcamp site now.)  My donation (or tip) was a small way of saying "thank you" for the music.

So, yesterday when I opened a package from Portland, Oregon, I found a shrink-wrapped, beautifully packaged cd release of the album and this wonderful signed note from Josh:

Today, I will confidently tell you that the Josh Garrels' release was my favorite album in 2011, and it's still in the top three albums for my current, regular listening.

I am truly blown away by his generous spirit.  I am moved by his desire to bless people with his music in such a sacrificial way.  Josh, thank you for the gift of your music!