Eat more cookies

It’s an odd thing that your college years should be a time that you’re not tuned in to world events, but that’s exactly what happened to us in the ’80s. In the pre-Internet world of the late ’80s, you got your news from TV (which we didn’t have), radio (which we set to one classic rock station), or the college newspaper. In our case, the latter was the Cornell Daily Sun, which we read occasionally but unlike the coffee-gulping Artsies in Collegetown, we were far too busy with labs to take the time to make a daily habit. Given that we were so strangely cut off from the outside world, perhaps it isn’t such a surprise that we have little recollection for some amazing events that happened at the time, in particular, the fall of the Berlin Wall.

In 1988, my world was consumed with trying desperately not to fail Genetics, convincing professors in far off locales to take a chance on me as their graduate student, and in the rapture of a young man’s love for his college sweetheart. My roommate and I also spent a lot of time back then discussing really important stuff like the myriad ways Springsteen was awesome, when he’d next tour with the E Street Band, and how sad it was that our hero at 40 had become too old and stodgy to ever perform Rosalita live again. A mere blip on our radar, we thought it cool when we heard that he was giving a concert in East Berlin, but mostly we thought he needed to give a concert in Ithaca - provided, of course, that he brought the whole band and included Rosalita in the set.

There’s a fascinating Erik Kirschbaum story here, however, that suggests the 1988 Springsteen concert in East Berlin was about a lot more than an aging rock star going all acoustic and political in front of a crowd of 160,000. The author describes the scene, and its afterglow, as a turning point in a sequence of events that led to the destruction of the Berlin Wall a year later.

. . . All of which simply adds additional layers to any discussion of the awesomeness that is Bruce Springsteen. Keep on rockin’!

Have you heard the Harlem Gospel Choir? Katie and I did on Saturday night, and it was an experience we’ll never forget. There were soaring melodies, stirring harmonies, two of the best jazz accompanists you’ll ever hear (drums and keyboard), and almost every song involved some kind of audience participation. The Seretean Center rocked like I’ve never seen it rock before! Katie wound up on stage with about 100 other kids dancing the “Harlem Shuffle”, and we both made it to the stage for a grand finale with introductions and we danced and belted out Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration”, Gospel-style. At one point Choir founder Allen Bailey announced “I don’t know what you were when you came in here, but you’re all Baptists now!”

When they come to your town, don’t miss the chance to let yourself be moved by the Harlem Gospel Choir.

Last Wednesday, “The Shrikes” played their debut concert at the 2007 Chili-Cook-off annual fundraiser for the Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society. It rocked. Here was our 10-song set:

“Can’t You See?” Marshall Tucker Band
“The One I Love” R.E.M.
“Never Been to Spain” Three Dog Night
“Bad Moon Rising” Creedence Clearwater Revival
“You Wreck Me” Tom Petty
“Atlantic City” and “This Hard Land” Bruce Springsteen
“Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World” and “Cortez the Killer” Neil Young
“Whipping Post” Allman Brothers Band

The Shrikes: Emily George (bass), Tim O’Connell (rhythm guitar and vocals), Andy George (drums), and Jason Heinen (lead guitar).

Oklahoma celebrates its statehood centennial this Friday. That’s right, the state is younger than OSU or even the Oklahoma City Zoo.

It’s been a fun celebration this whole year, but it’s time to put the “official centennial song” to rest. It’s corny and lame.

Here’s a way cooler song about Oklahoma that I wrote one summer day in 2005. I was driving along, some lyrics came into my head, and I pulled over and wrote this song on the side of a dirt road overlooking a ranch out near Webb.

My Oklahoma

DCG
DCG
DCG
DCG

G
We’ve got oversized loads on undersized roads,
C G
And miles of slick, red clay.
And people ask you “Where’s your church?”
C D
Before they ask you “What’s your name?”
Em
We got a sky so blue I’m swearing to you
Am C
It could be hanging in a hall of fame.

G C
That’s my Oklahoma,
D C G
It takes you two days on a train.

That’s my Oklahoma. D C G

We got big city blues and small town news,
six states right next door.
We got fields of wheat that smell so sweet
When it’s just about to pour.
And flying scissors slice the air
Catching flies over country stores!
That’s my Oklahoma,
Hey what are you waiting for?
Yeah my Oklahoma.

Now I don’t wanna paint a picture we’re something that we’re not.
You see there ain’t no bliss in ignorance
Too many minds here sit and rot.
And casino glitz just gives me fits
And sometimes it’s a little hot.
But that’s my Oklahoma,
Don’t be afraid of what we got.
My Oklahoma.

Well it’s a hundred and five on this average July
I got a thirst I just can’t tame.
And there’s a thousand guys out working pipelines
And they’re feelin’ ‘bout just the same.
Well come on inside it’s cool it’s mild
Let’s have nice tall cherry limeade.
In my Oklahoma.
I feel at home on the range.
Yeah, my Oklahoma.
I feel at home on the range.
DCG
DCG
DCG
D
C
G

On Monday we celebrated a special night in the O’Connell family, as Tim and Katie got to perform onstage together as part of a 170-person chorus for the gala concert “Oklahoma at 100“. The program was a feast of great music by Oklahoma composers, plus a couple of songs from the musical “Oklahoma!” One highlight was singing with guest soloist, 18-year soprano with the Metropolitan Opera, and Enid native, Leona Mitchell.

The concert was great, but the best part was getting to share the pre-performance backstage chaos with Katie. Katie’s favorite part was hamming it up on stage in front of hundreds of people. We’re looking forward to many more performances in the future.

Some of the singers on Monday night - we’re both about one person out of this shot:

“When I hear my favorite song,
I know that we belong.
You are the music in me.

It’s livin inside of us,
kind of like a virus.
You are the music in me. . . “

Infectious.

It was a little more than a year ago that my 5-year old told me I had to “get my head in the game.” Weeks later, I got to hear the soundtrack from this “high school musical” the kids were on about, and I teased them by feigning confusion with the characters they seemed to know so well. (I still refer to Zac Efron [Troy Bolton] as “Zac-Troy”.) But something did happen during my very first listen. I remembered.

Those wizards at Disney have figured out something in the neural wiring that pumps these songs directly into the brain. You find yourself singing them hours later and after a single listen. Pop magic. I can’t imagine how ingrained these songs become in the far less cluttered minds of little kids, especially after the 100th listen . . .

Now it’s High School Musical 2, and the talented ensemble cast is back with their perfect skin, straight teeth, shiny hair and a soundtrack maybe even more catchy than the first one. Our kids are pretty savvy now. They know how silly it is that everyone knows how to dance, or that drums and guitars can be heard even though all they see is cute little Kelsy at the piano. But it’s still good, clean fun.

For us, we’re now somewhat vested in these characters because they mean so much to the kids. We’re impressed with the talents of the cast, most of whom are much closer to actual high school age than the “kids” we enjoyed in Grease. It’s also fascinating to see the Disney marketing machine in action, for example, the three different showings of the movies this weekend, each with a different “theme” like last night’s sing-along version. But mostly, there is fun to be had in good pop music - it’s light, it’s shallow, and it makes you feel like a kid again.

And now, some advice for all the kids who want to be like Troy and Gabriella:

Boys: At 5′9″, Troy doesn’t have much hope of landing a basketball scholarship. If your dad is pushing you into sports like Troy’s dad, then don’t listen to him. Coach Bolton is a self-centered jerk.

Girls: If you want to be like Gabriella (intelligent and adorable), then study hard and choose your wardrobe carefully. Cute sundresses and ballet flats will flatter you so much more than trashy revealing outfits and those God-forsaken flip-flops.

ps: this is related, and funny!

Finally, on Saturday the 11th, we left early from Laramie (after a quick stop at the bakery) and drove out to Hutton Lake NWR for some pre-meeting birding. On the way, we passed rangeland in which pronghorns outnumbered cattle about 10:1. There were abundant, barking prairie dogs (white-tailed), and numerous jackrabbits (also white-tailed).

We found Calliope (lifer!) and Rufous hummingbirds lined up along the barbed wire fences on the way in, taking advantage of flowers in the roadside ditch. Once in the refuge proper, we encountered high plains rangeland with a complex of large ponds and abundant rushes. I picked up McCown’s Longspur (lifer #2!) and enjoyed great looks at Prairie Falcon, which I had only encountered once before, many years ago. One of these falcons, however, zipped past just overhead, and the wind-over-feather sound was clearly audible. Great fun!

(more…)

Raise your glass and bless his memory: Tommy Makem has passed on.

We are acoustic and electric guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums; four men and one woman. Our sound (based on our one and only jam session thusfar) mixes blues, rock, folk, and country. We call it “blulcktry” for you Spinal Tap fans out there . . .

We need a name, and you can help. Please let me know which, if any, of these have the kind of cache’ to get us invited to the next Concert for Diana. All of our potential names so far have an ornithological ring to them, because the core of the group is comprised of my grad students and me. Here’s what we’ve got at the moment:

*The Painted Buntings

*The Shrikes

*Bellsvireo

*Eskimo Curlew

*The Ruddy Turnstones

So back in the mid-1990s, I did a bunch of bird surveys through the Appalachians and spent a lot of time exploring West Virginia. It was beautiful, except where it wasn’t, and that was where the coal companies were doing “mountaintop removal” mining. Basically, they slice off the top of a mountain, pulverize it, extract any coal that’s exposed, and dump everything left over into the nearest headwater stream “hollow”. Then they plant the mined area to exotic grasses and scrubby locust trees, because little else will grow on the meager soil left behind. So the process destroys the forest on the mountain, the mountain itself, and the headwater stream.

I always told myself that one day I would write something about my experiences in West Virginia - both the lovely people I met and the sad grip that mining culture has over this state. Years later, I wrote a song - most of it in the shower one day - and then after I had learned enough guitar chords to put together a melody, I put the song to music.

The song ended up being too fast for me to play! So I donated it to a fella I knew who was an aspiring musician and very much “into” mining culture and environmental commentary. He took a bunch of the lyrics, added some of his own, and put it to a much prettier melody. That guy is Jay Clark, and you can find him (and hear a snippet of his version of the song) here: http://www.jayclarkmusic.com/. He’s on iTunes as well.

But for the first time anywhere, I thought I’d post the original version here. For you guitar enthusuiasts, the chord progression goes like this:

A-D-A
A-D-E7
A-D-A
A-D-E-A

And the lyrics:

West Virginia smiles
warm and wild on an autumn day.
West Virginia smiles
like she wishes you would stay.
West Virginia smiles
and I’m smilin’ too:
broad and wide I cannot hide so glad to be with you.

West Virginia smiles
she’s so proud of her past.
West Virginia smiles
fueled a nation’s furnace blast.
West Virginia smiles
and we smile right back:
forged in bonds unbreakable we’re family to the last.

West Virginia smiles
through the tears of grieving wives.
West Virginia smiles
honors men who gave their lives.
West Virginia smiles
and she opens her arms wide:
so grateful for the chance to meet each new one that arrives.

West Virginia smiles
for how much longer I don’t know.
West Virginia smiles
while they’re raping her for coal.
West Virginia smiles
how can they be so bold?
‘Cause shaven hills and hollow fills must be troubling to her soul.

Fill all the valleys, make the moutains fall.
Isn’t that what ol’ Isaiah said?
But this one sure don’t look to me like no prophet’s call:
with increasing speed they feed their greed
it’s the call of profit instead.

But West Virginia smile
we won’t abandon you to die.
West Virginia smile
let your spruces scratch the sky.
West Virginia smile
wipe that teardrop from your eye.
We don’t know if we’ll win this one but we sure are gonna try

to see West Virginia smile
for ages all to come.
And the mountaineers stand high
while woodpeckers beat the drum.
West Virginia smiles
and it almost strikes me dumb:
so blest to see in her this day a little piece of where she’s from. [end]

If you like it, play it, and spead the word that mountaintop mining is a heinous disturbance on an otherwise beautiful landscape. In 2006, can’t we come up with better ways to make lightbulbs shine?

Someday, I’ll figure out how to post an audio file here.
~tjo