Let me be your d.j.

I wanted to give the blog some new life in 2019 and to add something curated…but what? Then I was working on a post and listening to Spotify as I often do. I start up one of my favorite playlists and play it light in the background while I write. So then the idea…how about some Just Under the Surface curated playlists? I always love finding new playlists on Spotify – one of my favorites as mentioned in one of my monthly faves is Dinner in a Mid Century Modern. So I’ve scribbled down some ideas in my bullet journal for different types of playlists and will be setting them all up in January. The first, Turn it Up! is obviously rock and I’ll probably add about three more. I made a page dedicated to Spotify at the top. I hope you’ll check them out (check back soon for more) if you have the Spotify app and that you’ll dig them!

 

My Inspiration

Harper’s Bazaar asked Chloe Sevigny some questions about her creative inspirations and I’ve decided to post my own answers to some of their questions, plus a few more…

First album bought: Must have been The Eagles. My brother and I were both listening to them a lot – their harmony is amazing.

Most re-read book: There are two: The Garden of Eden (Hemingway) & The Lover (Duras). (Pic: from film based on Dura’s “The Lover.”)

Fav. Film: Sofia Coppola’s, “Lost in Translation”. I just “get” this one completely – what it’s trying to say and the wit.

Fav. Film Quote: “We let it happen – that’s how we choose.” From: Violets are Blue, written by: Naomi Gyllenhaal.

Guilty Pleasure: Going to see a film on a weekday afternoon. It just feels decadent.

Fav. object: A sapphire ring from my mother.

Fav. time of day: Midnight. The world gets quiet, no ringing phones, music sounds better and I can think, write, and read with better clarity and inspiration.

Dream lunch date: Without question, Henry Miller. He was a great conversationalist and I would love to sit around the table all afternoon and into the night talking to him about, well everything really. (Pic: Henry Miller & Hoki-San Tokuta Miller)

Signature dish: Not sure why they asked this but it’s spaghetti. Whether homemade sauce or store bought and doctored – I rock it.

Fav. TV show: Mad Men was a real stand out – original and never boring. Matthew Weiner is a very talented writer – talk about creative.

Fav. Band: Aerosmith. They’ve always just done it for me and there is no one I’d rather hear play guitar than “Joe Fucking Perry”.

Fashion Inspiration: Think Bohemian. This is not something I give a lot of thought to – I make it my own, but I am inspired by: Jane Birkin – love the boho lace crop tops, jeans and sixties style dresses…

Alison Mosshart – she has great style.

…and Joe Perry – the hats, scarves, cool jackets, shades, ripped jeans…love it. All three have inspired me in some way. (photo: Zack Whitford)

Dogs or Cats: Again, not sure why they asked this but…dogs – cats are creepy.

Fav. room: Bedroom, where I keep my favorite books, music & photographs nearby.

Bedside table: A few photographs, an odd little ceramic entwined newts I bought when I was in high school, an old pink salt used as a ring holder, Berts Bees Baby Bee Solid perfume and books including Henry Miller’s My Life, Paul Auster books and currently Alexa Chung’s “It”. (Pic from HM’s My Life & Times.)

Favorite artist: Thomas Wilmer Dewing (pic: The Spinet)

Fav. Sculptor: Camille Claudel. (Pic: The Age of Maturity)

Fav. Photographer: Henri Cartier-Bresson but I’m most inspired by anyone’s old photographs of families or old buildings.

Well, there you have it, some of my enduring creative inspirations.

 

 

One in the Music

When Joe Perry & Steven Tyler were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 13th, 2013, all I could think of was…it’s about time. I’ve loved Aerosmith since I was a teenager and first heard Dream On, Sweet Emotion, Back in the Saddle, No More No More, Same Old Song & Dance, and of course, Walk this Way. Although it took Aerosmith a lot of traveling around the country to help that first album take hold, really they were writing great songs right out of the gate. They are easily my favorite songwriters and I’m very happy to see them finally honored.

They met in New Hampshire in 1969 and although it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for their partnership, their connection has proven unbreakable.

The wrote their first song together (Movin’ Out) in the apartment at 1325 Commonwealth Ave (Boston) that they shared with their Aerosmith bandmates – and have written together all over the country since then.

The love/hate dynamic that brothers share obtains here but even if right up to the moment they go onstage they’re ready to kill each other, once out there in front of thousands performing…they’re one in the music.

Joe & Steven – when they were working on “Nine Lives” in Miami.

Working on “Music from Another Dimension” at Aerosmith’s studio, “Pandora’s Box”. (via: AeroforceOne)

June 13, 2013 @ Songwriters Hall of Fame. Glad to see J.D. Souther, (left of Joe) who has long collaborated with the Eagles as well as his solo work, finally acknowledged as well that night.

There you have it…finally! (via: Joe Perry/Twitter)

James Montgomery: From Detroit to the Delta

“It was the first time I ever saw a band play live blues with harmonica. At the Chessmate, anyone could go because it was all ages – this was around ’66. Detroit had a great blues scene back then. At the Chessmate you could go in and catch a Muddy Waters set and then see the backstage shows. They’d have jams in the dressing rooms with John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters & James Cotton – it was just a really great time to grow up in Detroit.” ~James Montgomery {Metro Times/Brett Callwood}

Although James Montgomery was born in Detroit, by the end of the sixties he’d made his way to Boston, hoping to make a name in the more blues-heavy northeast. Apparently James made the right choice as he did well for himself, playing cities where blues and jazz artists are well appreciated and even today gigs are easy for him to book.

A life-long blues man, {singing & harp} James has played, collaborated and formed friendships with some of the best: B.B. King, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker to name a few. He has played alongside his longtime guitarist, Jimmy McCarty, as well as, Johnny Winter, the Allman Brothers, Aerosmith, J. Giels, and Wayne Kramer (MC5).

Montgomery will headline the ‘Antifreeze Blues Festival’ at The Magic Bag in Ferndale on January 6^th and has an upcoming record, collaborating with The Uptown Horns, James Cotton, Brad Whitford (Aerosmith), Johnny Winter, & DMC from Run DMC – called “From Detroit to the Delta”. For info on the blues fest & his new cd:

The Magic Bag

James Montgomery

Seasons of Wither

“The Spirit of Music” ©Carl Lundgren

It’s that time of year again…days are gettin’ colder and darker. Seemed fitting to pair up a painting from one of my favorite Detroit artists, Carl Lundgren and a terrific song written by Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. The two just seem to fit together perfectly. Carl’s painting is called, “The Spirit of Music” and here is a great version of Aerosmith’s “Seasons of Wither” from their unplugged concert. Enjoy!

My Guitar Hero

JOE PERRY OFFICIAL

My Top Ten

My friend recently posted her top ten favorite songs of all time and challenged me to post mine as well. My first thought was impossible…too many to narrow it down. There can be so many reasons why a song resonates with us, moving us in an almost otherworldly sense and suddenly your reaction to it seems personal. Of course all art is by nature subjective and the reasons why you love a song or any work of art can be as varied and inexplicable as the reasons why someone else dislikes it.

So I thought about the songs that had never fallen out of favor with me, ones that for one reason or another moved me, and then as it turned out, narrowing it down to ten wasn’t as difficult as I’d imagined. So here they are, the top ten favorite songs of my life – and some of the reasons why they made the cut.

The Sad Café – Eagles
Written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh & J.D. Souther
The Long Run ©1979

“I don’t know why fortune smiles on some and lets the rest go free”

Don Henley has a way with words and it’s certainly fair to give him the title of poet. I think he’s incapable of writing anything without depth. There are a lot of Eagles songs that I love but this one is so off the charts good and one that most people say they don’t know. If you don’t know this one, you really should. The lyrics are about hanging out at a LA café with friends (other artists) trying to break in to the music industry and about trying to reconcile his fame, with other’s obscurity.

South City Midnight Lady – The Doobie Brothers
Written by: Patrick Simmons
From: The Captain & Me ©1973

“South City Midnight Lady, I’m much obliged indeed, you sure have saved this man whose soul was in need”

The same thing holds for this song, often people tell me they’ve never heard it, but it’s in my top two of all time. This is a beautiful song. In our house growing up, the Eagles and Doobies were a big deal. My brother could listen to the songs and just start playing them on the guitar and my mom and I sang harmony. Everyone in our house liked them and their music helped make the Saturday family house cleaning go much faster.

Back in the Saddle – Aerosmith
Written by: Steven Tyler & Joe Perry ©1976
From: Rocks ©1976

“I’m calling all the shots tonight, I’m like a loaded gun”

Along with R & B, Detroit likes to rock – they don’t call it ‘Detroit Rock City’ for nothing. Detroit was one of the first cities to give Aerosmith love. Aero played their first big show, (80 thousand) at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. This was my favorite song at seventeen – I used to blast it in my car on an 8-Track of “Rocks”. Okay, so Steven Tyler isn’t very poetic when it comes to lyrics, deep they’re not, (unless we’re speaking of double entendres) but I do know this, Steven and Joe can write music that make you feel something. If this song can’t make you feel something, it’s quite possible you may have stopped breathing. Although I didn’t put “Walk this Way” on the list, that’s another song that I listened to a lot when I was a young girl, thinking I was cool with my arm bracelet and platform sandals. I remember very clearly that listening to it made me feel grown up, even if I was too young to know exactly why.

Lonely Stranger
Written by: Eric Clapton
From: Unplugged ©1992

“I was born with a raging thirst, a hunger to be free “

I love Eric Clapton for his bluesy ways. Every great guitarist has their own style and I think Eric’s guitar always sounds like an old friend, comfortable and just plain good. I listen to this over and over – never tiring of it. The song is about a man who knows he’s trouble and tries to warn off his new love.

Harvest for the World – The Isley Brothers
Written by: (R. Isley, O. Isley, R. Isley, E. Isley, M. Isley, C. Jasper) ©1976
From: Harvest for the World ©1976

“When will there be a harvest for the world?”

If you grew up anywhere near Detroit in the sixties, you loved Motown. R&B is still my first choice and I have fond memories of those years. You heard the Temps, Tops, Ojays, Stylistics, Barry White, Sly & the Family Stone, Spinners….and of course, those talented Isley Brothers. This song makes me feel good – plain and simple. The lyrics are a simple hope for everyone in the world to have their needs met and to be happy. Idealistic, yeah sure, but it’s still a nice thought. I can remember hearing “That Lady” in the early seventies, while my family and I were driving on a summer afternoon, in our station-wagon – R & B was what you heard on CKLW Detroit at that time, all the time.

You’re the first, the last, my everything – Barry White
Written by: B. White, T. Sepe, P.S. Radcliffe 1974
From: Can’t get enough  ©1974

“My first, my last, my everything and the answer to all my dreams, you’re my moon, my sun, my guiding star, my kind of wonderful, that’s what you are”

This is a great song and oh that deep, sexy voice of Barry White. My memory of this song is from hearing it on the radio and just loving it and then watching Soul Train and being somewhat surprised at the physical version of the guy attached to that voice. Even so, he was one smooth, sexy singer.

You bring me joy – Anita Baker
Written by: David Lasley ©1980
From: Rapture ©1986

“You bring me joy, when I’m down, so much joy, when I lose my way your love comes smiling on me”

This could be said about Anita’s voice – it brings me joy. I have seen Anita twice; once at the Fox Theatre in Detroit and as amazing as her voice sounds on a CD, trust me when I say it can’t be compared with hearing that magnificent voice in the same room. She is a tireless performer and at the end of the evening she lets you choose from 3 songs, which one you want her to sing last and both times it was overwhelmingly the audience choice. When she gets ready to sing it, you could hear a pin drop in anticipation. It is one of the best concert moments of my life, next to hearing James Galway, the great flutist, play “Danny Boy” at the Detroit Opera house.

For the love of you – The Isley Brothers
Written by: (R. Isley, O. Isley, R. Isley, E. Isley, M. Isley, C. Jasper) ©1975
From: The Heat is On  ©1975

“Drifting on a memory, ain’t no other place I’d rather be than with you, loving you “

Sexy, sultry and romantic all rolled into one – a great groove. A true classic. Jude Law romanced Nia Long in the remake of “Alfie” to this tune and they ended up on a pool table…need I say more?

Old Love – Eric Clapton
Written by: Eric Clapton & Robert Cray ©1989
From: Journeyman ©1989

“ I can feel your body, when I’m lying in my bed, there’s too much confusion, going round through my head“

This is one of those songs that you can listen to twenty times in succession and never get tired of. I like Robert Cray as well and I can hear his influence on it. This is another song about Patti Boyd (Harrison-Clapton) the muse to two very talented men. He drove Patti away and then regretted it – the song says it all.

Same Old Song & Dance – Aerosmith
Written by: Steven Tyler & Joe Perry ©1974
From: Get Your Wings ©1974

“Say love ain’t the same on the south side of town, you could look but you ain’t gonna find it around.”
“It’s the same old story, same old song & dance my friend”

This one has it all, a bluesy, sexy riff, with a pounding beat and throbbing bass from start to finish. Aerosmith has consistently written one great song after another – right out of the gate. This was another one that I listened to a lot in high school and still do. Some of the best combinations in life turn out to be the unruly, tension fueled, passionate ones and Steven & Joe have lived that theory out, writing amazing songs with unforgettable riffs & lyrics and managing to keep it together for over forty years. Even when I’m eighty, this one will remain on the list.