Round up of links and news

Did you ever learn a new word and suddenly found that it was ubiquitous? Was the word “ubiquitous”?

Well, a few things have popped up that reminded me of the Newton Family Singers so I thought I’d point them out for people who want to look them over.

ITEM: Zadie Smith wrote about her epiphany with Joni Mitchell in a December issue of the New Yorker (subscription required). The reflections were less about Mitchell per se, and more abou how art can sneak up on you and overwhelm you for reasons that are beyond, well, reason. Smith describes being turned off by the Joni’s angular melodies and odd singing style and demanding her husband turn off the music on a road trip. On that trip, they stopped at Tintern Abbey and Smith found that Mitchell’s music had wormed its way into her brain and suddenly she was obsessed with it, and crying over it.

ITEM: Showtime is airing a documentary, “History of the Eagles,” in two parts this Friday and Saturday (Feb 15 & 16, 2013). The two main Eagles, Glenn Frey and Don Henley discuss their history in the New York Times. Will the film include a version of Seven Bridges Road? We can only hope. The trailer for the doc:

ITEM: The Grammys happened. I was busy watching Downton Abby. But I was happy that one of my favorite records of this past year was a nominee in the Folk Album category: Leaving Eden by the Carolina Chocolate Drops (cd/mp3). If you like beautiful voices singing in harmony, accompanied by banjo, guitar and mandolin, I recommend this highly. The album consists of originals and covers of traditional songs and the production is great. I’ve listened to previous Carolina Chocolate Drops albums, but this is the one that got me hooked and stayed in the cd player for a long time.

ITEM: Okay, there’s no real news here, but I’ve been totally obsessed with Gillian Welch’s song Hard Times and just need to share it with other people.

Watch Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings Play ‘Hard Times’ on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

(The sound is not so good on this amateur recording, but I had to include it for her introduction at 1:47 which reveals that Andy is a Gillian Welch-type banjo player.)

Okay, that’s it for a quick look backwards. Stay tuned for more news on the songs for the Spring Concert!