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River
Nov 26, 2019 9:43:57 GMT -5
Post by Richard W on Nov 26, 2019 9:43:57 GMT -5
Ben Platt did a lovely version on The Politician
It might be more effective in context. Not familiar with him or the scene but it looks like a memorial service. Still nice version.It was a memorial service, for his lover, who committed suicide.
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Post by Richard W on Nov 24, 2019 8:46:41 GMT -5
He sure did.
At first I was like, oh no, not that song again. (After Linda's Christmas album came out, it seemed everyone was covering that song and I got rather tired of it, like I did with everyone and their cousin singing Hallelujah.)
But Platt nailed that sucker to the wall.
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Post by Richard W on Nov 18, 2019 9:20:17 GMT -5
Maybe it's because of the singer/songwriter milieu she was surrounded by, it was expected that she write as well as sing. As I've said before, the two are different arts, like singing and dancing -- only a very few can do both well, while most should stick to their one natural gift.
I get tired of this line, too. As if not innately being a writer somehow invalidates her voice.
That being the case, all we would have of her transportive singing would be a 5-song EP.
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Post by Richard W on Nov 7, 2019 9:58:01 GMT -5
So glad you got to see it, Sean.
I agree about the lopping off of her late-career output. I understand time constraints, but even a 30-second montage of album covers spotlighting Winter Light, We Ran, Feels Like Home, Dedicated, Merry Little Christmas, FRENESI (!), Humming, Adieu False Heart would at least inform unaware viewers that her career did not end with Cry Like a Rainstorm.
Still, I loved it, and saw it twice in the theater.
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Post by Richard W on Nov 1, 2019 12:54:55 GMT -5
Still playing here in Chicago for the 7th week, moving from the Landmark Century to the Gene Siskel Film Center.
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Post by Richard W on Oct 28, 2019 11:09:20 GMT -5
Changing one's opinion -- especially a well-vocalized, public opinion -- is extremely difficult. There's a lot of thought processes involved for a person to not only realize, but publicly admit, that their previous opinion was wrong.
Opinions, once formed, have an insidious life of their own, and do not give up their positions without a fight.
I give Costello credit for doing the (rare) hard work, additional points for even bothering to see the documentary, and an admiring tip of the hat for making his change of heart known.
I do not need to hear the words "I'm sorry." His lovely essay, and the fact that he took the time to write it, says more to me than those two words.
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Post by Richard W on Oct 26, 2019 12:06:55 GMT -5
Thank you, Rob.
His arrangements and conducting on Frenesi are half of the immense pleasure of that album.
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Post by Richard W on Oct 25, 2019 8:00:09 GMT -5
I felt for you, buddy.
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Post by Richard W on Oct 25, 2019 7:58:33 GMT -5
I think Santos's arrangements on this album are superb, so much so that I tried -- in vain -- to find other records by him.
Anyone know of any of his other recordings?
I'm also curious to know how Linda found him. A match made in heaven.
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Post by Richard W on Oct 25, 2019 7:55:15 GMT -5
Good news for Fabtastique!
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Post by Richard W on Oct 16, 2019 9:35:22 GMT -5
My first Ronstadt concert was of this tour at the University of Iowa, where I was a student. She wore the Cub Scout uniform -- and just slew me.
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Post by Richard W on Oct 15, 2019 13:17:08 GMT -5
Quote by Richard W: Of course, you do have to wonder how many black people could have attended those concerts, including Linda's, who weren't there providing security. But yes, a lot of performers did perform there and got little to no flak for doing so. Linda, it seemed, because of her popularity, was singled out and, for all intents and purposes, basically painted by Rolling Stone as being at best naïve, and at worst little short of racist (IMHO). No doubt Blacks in Sun City were given about the same social latitude as those in Jim Crow Alabama, no matter what laws were on the books. But, while Linda, being who she is (and was), found some sort of justification in performing there, it makes me wonder how different her reasoning might have been from, say, Tina Turner's or Ray Charles's.
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Post by Richard W on Oct 15, 2019 8:29:52 GMT -5
Snow White in South Africa was actually not a hit job. Frank Sinatra Olivia Newton-John Tina Turner Liza Minelli Ray Charles Barry Manilow Helen Reddy Dolly Parton Cher George Benson Rita Coolidge The Beach Boys Glen Campbell Diana Ross All those artists and many many more performed in South Africa and were on the United Nations blacklist. How many of them did Rolling Stone print a negative article about focusing on their violation of that boycott? I still thing it was a hatchet job and part of a concerted effort of Rolling Stone Magazine to condemn all things Linda Ronstadt. Let's not forget Queen. What few people then or now understood was that Sun City, the resort in South Africa, was granted "independent" status from that country (shades of graft and wheeling-dealing, for sure) and its apartheid policies -- along with South Africa's ban on gambling, making Sun City a Vegas-like oasis in an otherwise repressive country. Which may be how the Black performers on this list could justify performing there. And Linda, although she's the only one to receive flak from doing so. As for KOOM, it would have fit beautifully on Lush Life, replacing You Took Advantage of Me, which is essentially such a clone of Can't We Be Friends that I can't help but feel it was a last minute replacement for Mischief. As to why, I can only shrug.
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Post by Richard W on Oct 10, 2019 9:01:07 GMT -5
If I could love her more than I do I would.
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Post by Richard W on Oct 6, 2019 21:45:23 GMT -5
BTW, the smoking shot was a still photo that had animated smoke coming from it.
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Post by Richard W on Oct 6, 2019 14:18:39 GMT -5
Just got back from seeing the movie for the second time and taking 3 other adults and 1 ten-year old with me. It was a hit with the adults and even the kid said:" it wasn't boring. And everyone had such long hair then."
I've done my part for the box office.
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Post by Richard W on Oct 2, 2019 9:34:56 GMT -5
Don't recall seeing this mag cover before. Found on Facebook.
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Post by Richard W on Oct 2, 2019 9:20:34 GMT -5
Linda Ronstadt (barely) feat. George Jones!
Thanks for that. I'd never heard it. Fabulous.
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Post by Richard W on Oct 2, 2019 9:10:49 GMT -5
I saw the CLAR tour here in Chicago (with the Neville Brothers) and it was indeed phenomenal. Like Florida Rob, I, too, would die if that concert was ever released--hopefully after watching it.
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Post by Richard W on Sept 24, 2019 19:55:57 GMT -5
Saw it yesterday. It really was good, very touching. Like we didn’t know it but the movie really reinforces what a great talent LR is It feels fabulous to be validated after decades of advocacy.
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Post by Richard W on Sept 19, 2019 9:44:37 GMT -5
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Post by Richard W on Sept 15, 2019 10:39:55 GMT -5
Seems the movie has pushed Linda up on the iTunes top album chart (as of 9/15):
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Post by Richard W on Sept 11, 2019 13:42:31 GMT -5
I recommend checking the website lindaronstadtmovie.com daily. In the last few days 5 more theaters closer to me have appeared. Also check independent theaters in your area. I live in Syracuse, NY. A theater here that is not listed on the website will be showing the movie starting this Friday. Also, MANLIUS ART CINEMA in Manilius (9.5 mi from Syracuse) will be showing it. But you probably know that.
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Post by Richard W on Sept 11, 2019 13:37:21 GMT -5
Got my advance ticket for the first showing on opening day.
My way of recreating when I used to buy her albums on the day of release.
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Post by Richard W on Sept 11, 2019 13:35:38 GMT -5
Nice, Robert!
But like ronstadtfanaz said, she was speaking of genres, like pop, rock, country, mariachi, opera, etc.
Rap or hip-hop, say, are out of her musical grasp.
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Post by Richard W on Sept 10, 2019 8:43:07 GMT -5
Just for archival purposes, the LA Times article/interview by Amy Kaufman with Linda was published in full in the Chicago Tribune today as the cover story for the Arts section.
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Post by Richard W on Sept 6, 2019 9:02:43 GMT -5
Landmark Century in Chicago confirmed via email that the movie will open here on September 13.
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Post by Richard W on Sept 5, 2019 8:08:39 GMT -5
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Post by Richard W on Sept 4, 2019 8:46:15 GMT -5
Landmark Cinemas (where the movie will open here in Chicago on Friday the 6th) has an "exclusive" letter from the producers on the theater's website. Here it is:
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
by director Rob Epstein
The first record I ever bought was a 45 single at a record store in Millburn, NJ where I grew up. It was 1968 and the record was Linda Ronstadt’s “Different Drum.” Here was a voice unlike anything I had ever heard before on the radio, strong and piercing, smooth and soothing. And she wasn’t singing about victimhood, she was singing about empowerment. I was only a kid then, but still it resonated. So, fifty years later, making this film has been a real joy for me.
About six or seven years ago I heard Linda being interviewed on NPR about her career and her new autobiography Simple Dreams. I immediately read the book, and thought, “well, somebody’s got to make this movie.” Around this time my computer repair guy, Phil Donian, was making a house call; he saw Linda’s book on my desk and said, “Linda’s a client of mine too.” That’s how we were first were introduced—through our mutual computer doctor.
Jeffrey and I wrote Linda a letter and she kindly agreed to meet with us. Over lunch we tried to convince her to give us the rights to her autobiography as the starting point for a feature documentary, but she was having none of it because, with her typical modesty, she felt there would be no real interest out there. Fortunately, eventually, we were able to convince her otherwise and she gave us the green light to make a film about her musical journey.
Then out of the blue we got a call from producer James Keach, and that’s when the project really took off. Getting Linda’s colleagues—fellow musicians, agents, and managers—to participate in the film turned out to be easy. James, who is very connected in the music world, made the first approach, and they each said yes—they all have great love and respect for her.
by director Jeffrey Friedman
Reading Linda's book, Simple Dreams, it was striking how focused she was on the music, and how indifferent she seemed to be about pop stardom.
Linda was possessed of an artistic restlessness that constantly drove her to tackle new musical forms. That captured my imagination because it’s so rare for a successful artist to take risks like that. The idea of a rock & roll superstar singing coloratura soprano, for example, is kind of mind-blowing. And then tapping into a whole other part of her voice—lusty and passionate—to interpret traditional Mexican canciones was likewise astonishing.
Linda's book has such a strong voice; we knew we wanted that voice to drive the movie. We were able to construct a first-person narrative from some brief interviews Linda did for the film, augmented with archival interviews she’d done over the last 50 years. But most important was the glorious singing voice. Our team found a treasure trove of performances filmed over the course of her career, and these form the emotional core of the movie. We hope audiences enjoy watching the movie as much as we enjoyed making it.
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Post by Richard W on Sept 2, 2019 8:30:08 GMT -5
What Linda was referring to was Sonora, Mexico, and the contiguous area of the US, not the two countries themselves. A border fence cuts through the Sonoran desert but it doesn't separate Sonoran culture.
Enjoyed that interview.
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