the artist’s way challenge, day 22-23

By mirandaferrissjones

10.6.10-10.7.10

it’s about living with intention.

CREATE:  wrote out the lyrics to ‘claire’ one of my very first songs.  this song was inspired by a character in the book ‘observatory mansions’ which was assigned in one of my favorite college classes, but which we never actually had time to read in the class.  so i read it post graduation, just when i had started writing music.   this song, out of all the tunes from my first year of writing, is an example of where i was headed as a lyricist.  writing out the lyrics gave me a renewed appreciation for this song.  i plan to re-record it with bob this winter.

also wrote out lyrics for ‘allycia’.  this song is harder for me to write because it is very autobiographical.  often, like with claire, i take ideas from books, or npr pieces, or dreams and then let my imagination carry me into that world.  i find it easier to write in this way.  when a song is tied to an actual person or experience in my life i feel a responsibility to respect the reality of the characters and situation and this sometimes takes the magic out of telling the story.  that said, the character in this song is someone who appears in my dreams often and who i miss really unlike anyone else in my life and so i believe the song will write itself…it just may take longer than other more imaginative pieces.

SING:  dan, the owner of ‘cafe royale’ where i gigged a month ago and where i have a sort of residency over the next few months, connected me to violin player, emily palen:

she came over on thursday and played along with recordings of ‘darling, please’ ‘lonely little doll’ and then we played together on my new song ‘swimming in sin’.  oh, how it felt to finally hear my songs with violin; especially ‘darling please’ which was written as much for the violin as for my voice.  she is a sexy, smart, and passionately talented woman.  we connected not just musically, but as women, which is almost equally as important.  we’ll meet again next week.
it feels like the world is aligning to connect me with other creative, passionate, musical women and i am so thankful; emily is a harbinger of a future of feminine collaboration to come.

PLAY:  revisited ‘young hippolyta’ and ‘eva and i’ on piano and ended up totally revamping both of them.  this is exciting because it makes the songs fresh again and because it feels like they are not stale stagnant works, but rather, they are growing and changing beings, just like me. and they will continue to grow and change with me.  by altering the chords and melody, i will protect myself from falling into a rut with these songs.  the only downside is, i need to YET AGAIN rewrite the charts.  i swear, i need an intern to transpose and write out my charts.

IN THE CITY:  went to a birthday dinner for my friend linda at ‘cafe gratitude’

what an incredible place.  i have never thought much about a raw food diet, but i will say that there was something about the food there that felt so nourishing.  even the key lime pie, post 10pm felt right in my body.  the appetizer plate was exactly how i like to eat (spreads and little bites of different things) and filled me up without feeling heavy.  i also tried the ‘grateful bowl’ which is a mixture of beans and kale and rice and which is their ‘donation based dish’, ie: you give what you can for it and it helps support those who can’t afford it, eat  nutritiously.
if only there was a cafe gratitude in every low income neighborhood in every city in every country of the world.

as a testament to the virtues of this place, check out the trailer for the movie ‘may i be frank’ edited by linda’s friend who i met last night.  wow: http://mayibefrankmovie.com/

READ: an article in ‘psychology today’ (my magazine subscription gift to myself…magazines are the best gifts because they keep on giving and they’re usually totally affordable).

studies show that simply looking at a fast food logo or thinking about fast food causes people to become impatient, anxious, and wiling to accept smaller paychecks: http://bit.ly/aGkr4X
another reason we need more ‘cafe gratitudes’.

IN MY BODY:  took a disappointing yoga class at ‘the yoga garden’.  i’ve loved the other two classes i’ve taken there, but this teacher was lackluster.  sure i feel stretched out, but i found myself looking at the clock every five minutes at 10 minutes in.  se la vie…

EXCITING THINGS:  i’ve decided to make my concert on oct 20th a ‘salon’ benefit for ‘streetwise stories’: http://www.streetside.org/index.htm featuring molly mceachen, mana maddy, and me!  more to come…

LISTEN:  i got nellie mckay’s most recent cd (in actual cd form!), ‘home sweet mobile home’ in the mail.  while it doesn’t (yet) move me like ‘pretty little head’ and ‘get away from me’, i continue to be inspired by her abundant creative expression.  the album has a caribbean feel to it which doesn’t appeal to me, but it is obvious that she needed to write this music and she does it well. nellie mckay is a multi-faceted artistic genius.  she plays piano, organ, marimba, ukulele, saxophone, clarinet, cello, and a synthesizer on the album and she even painted the cover of the cd jacket.  it doesn’t matter that her painting may not be of the highest caliber, it works because it is hers and as a fan, i want to see all sides of her creative expression.

Posted in The artists way challenge on October 9, 2010 – 7:09 pm | Comments (0)

the artist’s way challenge, day 20-21

By mirandaferrissjones

10.4.2010 and 10.5.2010

“A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine the taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation.”

-wikipedia

i am utterly entranced by the idea of hosting a regular ‘ladies salon’ after my monday turned impromptu into a day of women and creativity.

SING/PLAY:  after getting my toenails painted, my dear friend molly came over. now molly and i have been singing together since she was 10 and i was 13.  we sang when i gave her and my best friend (her older sister) a ride to school.  we sang in our high school a capella group and in the school musicals.  and now we live in the same city and get to sing together here!

we started out with what i like to call ‘a vocal jam’.  i pick 2-4 chords on the piano and play them repetitively.  we trade off improvising on every 4 bars until we start to feel comfortable in the chords and then we begin harmonizing.

when i saw the indigo girls i thought, ‘you can sure tell that these two have been singing together for ages’.  well that’s what i felt singing with molly; there was a profound synergy based on shared musical experiences in our most formative years.

during our jam, the first stanza of these lyrics fell out of the sky into my mouth and molly immediately added melodic percussion to create perhaps the gosh darned cutest song i’ve ever written.  i finished the rest of the lyrics on tuesday while ON MY BIKE and then at home:

little birdie


little birdie on the ledge of my window

what you whistling for?

little birdie on the ledge of my window,

didn’t you see him walk out the door?


da da da da da da da da


sun why you shining so bright?

didn’t the moon tell you about last night?

i pulled him so close, i held him so tight.

but all he said was it doesn’t feel right

anymore


and oh oh oh he’s made a cuckold of me

oh oh oh all the signs that i didn’t see

oh oh oh guess once again i’m the fool,

cuz i forgot the golden rule…

blue sky and cumulus clouds all day,

like play-doh cotton balls they play.

don’t they know they outta be gray,

cuz last night he went away, he went away.


stars why you twinkle in the sky?

what are you trying to imply?

should i smile a sweet happy lie?

when all i wanna do is cry?


and oh oh oh he’s made a cuckold of me

oh oh oh all the signs that i didn’t see

oh oh oh guess once again i’m the fool,

cuz i forgot the golden rule…


yes, when you finally let your heart go

best make sure that he doesn’t know.

don’t whisper sweet nothings in his ear

if you must say love make sure he doesn’t hear


don’t let him see your fear

don’t hold him too tight, don’t draw him too near

for as soon as he thinks the games been played

well, then there’s just no reason to stay

he’ll go away

he’ll disappear…


mountains why you stand so strong?

come now, don’t you hear my song?

what’s that you say, that all along

he wasn’t worth it and it’s time to move on


cuz oh oh oh he didn’t have a clue

of all the lovely things together we could do.

oh oh oh, what silly silly fool.

to cast aside such a sparkling jewel…

CREATE:  after molly and my jam session, my friend alexa came over and we started doodling: i also hand wrote and decorated a letter to my producer, but it’s already in the mail, so no picture here laptop lcd screen.

LISTEN: then i led an aerobics, dance, pilates workout to 90’s jams like boyz II men, robyn, and the cardigans. nothing makes you want to dance like ‘i get knocked down’ by chumbawumba. then we made a feast of cauliflower mashed potatoes and tofu stirfry while we listened to florence and the machine, the dirty projectors, and two different versions of the ever exhilarating ‘halo’:

and this pretty fantastic cover.  i love that they aren’t poking fun at this song…they may be hipster, new york boys, but they know a good jam when they hear it.  and his voice pretty much gives beyonce a run for her money:

SING AGAIN:  after dinner, my friend linda came over and we had another vocal jam session.  it’s always fun how when you put two different voices, with two very different influences (linda- punk rock, me- jazz pop) you get a whole new sound…more to come from these jams i do believe…

WALK:  wish i could have taken this home and put it in the corner of my  non-existent san francisco mansion…mother nature really does have serious carving abilities.

WATCH:  mike nichols 1966 version of edward albee’s ‘who’s afraid of virginia wolf’.  i put it on after reading this article in vanity fair:

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2010/06/liz-and-dick-the-ultimate-celebrity-couple.html

once again, the depth of their relationship off screen is evident in their razor sharp, hilarious, and terrifying performances.  finally, this play, that i never could relate to in college, makes sense to me.

Posted in new songs and videos, The artists way challenge on October 7, 2010 – 5:55 am | Comments (0)

the artists way challenge, day 18-19

By mirandaferrissjones

10.2.10 – 10.3.10

IN THE CITY/TWO DAYS OF LIVE MUSIC: spent the weekend at the ‘hardly, strictly, blue grass’ festival.  i’m not a bluegrass aficionado like many san franciscans, but i did have a hell of a time.  i sat on a tree and watched gillian welch sing ‘elvis’.

i stood directly in front of the stage to harmonize with the ever fantastic indigo girls and their absolutely charming and adorable bass player: 

i stood from a far and heard the brilliant storytelling, soulful simple vocals, and piano mastery of randy newman.  he even performed my favorite of his tunes, ‘sail away’:
gotta love that opening line:
“in america, you get food to eat
don’t have to run through the jungle and scuff up your feet.”

then i danced danced danced with wonderful people to a whole lot of other wonderful music that i didn’t even know before the weekend.

WRITE:  post ‘hardly strictly bluegrass’ i came home and i wrote this sad country song.

too much rushing past the wind
you’d say now what would you rescind
if ever ever you could be pinned down.
but i didn’t give time to answer
thought i was some free flyin’ dancer,
now i see i was nothing but a silly circus clown.

you  go hours without talkin
dont run if you feel like walkin
you always would do just what a good man outta do.
yeah, you’re a solid, quiet man
with your great big callused hands
here i’m sinking faster than the sand
without you.

but you wont save me now
i don’t blame you anyhow
you stayed for longer than i ever thought you would.

and don’t know how i’ll live without you
and i don’t know what the hell that i’ll do,
but you go on ahead and go, we both know that you should.

and your hurting is the silent kind
you’ve thought it through, i know that you’re resigned.
you always would do what you decided to do.
but see there’s something heaving in my chest
like a bird that’s fallen from her nest
i can’t help but cry; you are still the best man
i ever knew.

but you wont save me now
i don’t blame you anyhow
you stayed for longer than i ever thought you would.

and don’t know how i’ll live without you
and i don’t know what the hell it is that i’ll do,
but you go on ahead and go, we both know that you should.

and oh you wanna know what i’d take back?
and oh you wanna know what i’d take back?
oh all those nights when you held me tight and i wouldn’t relax
why wouldn’t i relax in your arms?

oh you wanna know what i’m sorry for?
oh you wanna know what i’m sorry for?
for always wanting more, for never letting you adore me
how you wanted to.
now all i want is you.

but you wont save me now
i don’t blame you anyhow
you stayed for longer than i ever thought you would.

and don’t know how i’ll live without you
and i don’t know what the hell that i’ll do,
but you go on ahead and go, we both know that you should.

READ:  joni mitchell, ‘blue’.  she writes of big ideas and complex emotions, and yet remains grounded in the details of consistent metaphors.  and of course she is a master of that simple line that reaches into your heart and grabs hold:

“Everybody’s saying that hell’s the hippest way to go

Well I don’t think so

But I’m gonna take a look around it though

Blue, I love you”

here’s the full poem for your enjoyment.

Blue, songs are like tattoos

You know I’ve been to sea before

Crown and anchor me

Or let me sail away

Hey Blue, THERE is a song for you

Ink on a pin

Underneath the skin

An empty space to fill in

Well there’re so many sinking now

You’ve got to keep thinking

You can make it thru these waves

Acid, booze, and ass

Needles, guns, and grass

Lots of laughs, lots of laughs

Everybody’s saying that hell’s the hippest way to go

Well I don’t think so

But I’m gonna take a look around it though

Blue, I love you

Blue, here is a shell for you

Inside you’ll HEAR a sigh

A foggy lullaby

There is your song from me

SANG:  did an hour vocal workout recorded from a classical coach i had in new york city two years ago.  it was exciting to realize that my range and flexibility have increased since then; i was able to go higher, faster, and smoother through all of the exercises!

WALK:  walked through hardly strictly and saw creative bike locking/art;  also took a walk on saturday and saw this sign of san francisco summer/east coast fall:

IN THE CITY ADVENTURE:  few things make me happier than stumbling upon a yard sale with gorgeous bras, tiffany broaches, silk pillows, and ties for sale by a fur-clad wise old san franciscan.  we talked about taxes (she believes in them, but doesn’t like what they go towards these days), biracial marriages (she has been in one for 40 years), gentrification (she’s lived in the same house on baker and fulton for 30 years and remembers when she saw a man get shot 5 feet behind her), and the freedom of realizing your mortality (she’s done it).

IN MY BODY:  i did two workouts on ‘exercise tv’ which is the only part of our cable that i utilize (not that i don’t watch tv…’modern family’ and ‘weeds’ are regular addictions but i watch both at megavideo.com).  both were ‘crunch workouts’ from the san francisco gyms…funny because i was a crunch employee here in san francisco for a hot second upon moving to california.  it was helpful to get out of my traditional workout regime and, as new workouts always do, it gave me a few new exercises to put in my training tool belt.

LISTEN:  randy newman’s ‘harps and angels’.  maybe i just love piano based music, or clever lyrics, but randy newman was my favorite ‘hardly, strictly’ act.  so i went onto my handy dandy NPR music app and listened to this piece:

http://n.pr/2PPgz5

so inspired, i bought ‘harps and angels’; my favorites are most certainly ‘a few words in defense of our country’ and the simply romantic ‘feels like home’.

john stewart once said tea party activists love america like little kids, unequivocally, whereas democrats love america like adults, seeing her flaws and wanting to make her better.  with ‘a few words in defense of our country’ randy newman expresses his adult love for america.  gotta love the line:

“Now the leaders we have While they’re the worst that we’ve had Are hardly the worst This poor world has seen”

Posted in new songs and videos, The artists way challenge on October 5, 2010 – 6:41 am | Comments (0)

the artists way challenge, day 17

By mirandaferrissjones

10.1.10

SING: had a trio gig at the ‘landmark art and garden center’ in tiburon.  it was a perfect night, looking out across the water in tiburon, watching the sun set.  i have not performed a lot in this capacity; it’s very different to provide ‘background music’ rather than perform as the main attraction.   i have to say, i kind of enjoyed it.   there was no pressure and i felt free to experiment with different songs and arrangements.  we did a compilation of jazz standards, my originals, and covers of laura nyro and rickie lee jones.

WALK:  on the beach with seymour.  we encountered a little puppy, writhing with excitement.

PLAY:  practiced through three of my original tunes with a metronome.  i have to say, i really don’t love practicing with a metronome, but of course it’s necessary if i ever hope to perform with other instruments.

LISTEN:  in preparation for the weekends ‘hardly strictly bluegrass’ festival, i listened to some patty griffin.  ‘up to the mountain’ is a song i first heard through my dear friend, vanessa.  it has been covered by a number of more pop-popular artists (kelly clarkson, the dixie  chicks), but nobody sings it like patty.  she has a raw, honest, soulful delivery and you know that this is her song.  the lyrics are almost religious in their imagery and the build in this song make you feel like you are in a church with your head to heaven and your hands clutching at your heart.  i listened to this song 7 times:

Posted in The artists way challenge on October 3, 2010 – 8:30 pm | Comments (0)

the artist’s way challenge, day 16

By mirandaferrissjones

9.30.10

LISTEN: amy winehouse, ‘back to black’.  this girl was gifted with a sexy, strong voice and serious soul.  unfortunately she is a total mess and does not honor her god given talent.  i searched through a bunch of her live performances.  even when she’s not drunk or totally coked out on stage, she still gave a lackluster performance.   she is blessed with incredible back up singers, dancers, and a killer band.  and she does improvise, which i appreciate, but i would still rather listen to her album then see her live:

PLAY:  i have three songs going right now, and played through all of them on my new keyboard.  i like adding a new section everytime i return to a tune, but never feeling pressure to finish it in one sitting…it is a really organic creation that way.

SING:  rehearsed to sing at the children’s hospital tomorrow.  we used this fantastic book ‘rise up singing’ with tons of familiar and ‘family friendly’ tunes, from ‘black bird’ to ‘oh my darling clementine’ to ‘big yellow taxi’.

eve

CREATE: i revamped my ‘artist nook’.  at a garage sale a while back i  found this amazing book with beautiful prints by the artist Michael Parkes.  i chose one of his magic realist pieces and framed it with my new 99 cent ikea frames. when you share a one bedroom apartment and you both work from home, it definitely takes some creativity to carve out a little artistic space, but it is super important to do so and to make it warm, organized, and inspiring.  i feel very excited to spend time in my little nook now!

Posted in The artists way challenge on October 2, 2010 – 5:38 pm | Comments (0)

the artist’s way challenge, day 15

By mirandaferrissjones

9.29.2010

LISTEN: of steven reich’s  ‘music for 18 musicians’, music critic tim page wrote, “Imagine concentrating on a challenging modern painting that becomes just a little bit different every time you shift your attention from one detail to another, or try to impose a frame on a running river, making it a finite, enclosed work of art yet leaving its kinetic quality unsullied, leaving it flowing freely on all sides. And then I said: It has been done. Steve Reich has framed the river.” this inspired me so, i listened to the piece twice through:

CREATE:

SING:  nothing embarrasses me more than watching an actor perform a monologue and knowing that he has said those same words with the same intonation 50 times before. as audiences we want to watch the performer discover the words; we want livens and the same goes for music. at rehearsal with my band yesterday i had the realization that i sing jazz tunes with so much more freedom than i sing my originals. i need to bring the freedom i feel in jazz to my own material; i don’t ever want to ‘phone it in’ or get caught in a rut of musical interpretation.

PLAY:  went back refreshed to swimming in sin.  wrote some new possible lyrics:

ON THE RADIO:
lily allen on world cafe thanks to my new NPR music app:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9430176 i had always discounted her as being a silly pop sensation, but in fact she writes her own material and has incredible control of an absolutely lovely and pure tone.  and she’s only 21.  true, her lyrics are literal to a fault and she falls prey to the temptation to rhyme when it’s really not in the best interest of the song.  but, it somehow works for her and i could really listen to her voice for hours.

Posted in The artists way challenge on October 1, 2010 – 8:20 am | Comments (0)

the artists way challenge, day 14

By mirandaferrissjones

9/27

WRITE: morning pages and recap.

SING:  last week i was asked to provide vocals for a sample score for a new indie film.   i went over to the composer’s house and we recorded.  it was unlike any singing and recording that i have done before.   he taught me a difficult melody (a descending whole tone scale is harder to sing that you might think!) and i had to lay it down perfectly right then and there.  it was a balancing act: trying to remember this complex melody, sing perfectly on pitch, sing long phrases without losing my air (breathe control baby; this is why i run), alter my voice for a bare, breathy, wounded tone, and all while still being emotionally present in the work.  we’ll see if we get hired for the job!

READ:  1 chapter of a random book while waiting for the composer to lay down one of the piano tracks…don’t remember the title of the book.  clearly, it didn’t make an impression on me.

WALK:  around the hood, but really only for 10 minutes…whoops.

LISTEN:  joni mitchell and bob dylan.
most songwriters present one sentiment or concept per song:  ‘i love you, but you don’t love me’ or ‘war, what is it good for absolutely nothing’.  and there is nothing wrong with that at all; every song has a different purpose and every writer can only write what they write.

but joni mitchell and bob dylan, they are rare poetic geniuses.  in one song they can create complex characters with truthful and layered emotions.  both are also masters of brevity; they say so very much in deceivingly simple words.  they speak not just of emotion, but of the human experience and always, ALWAYS, there is something beautiful in whatever story they tell.

i listened to four different versions of ‘lay lady lay’.

‘whatever colors you have in your mind,
i’ll show them to you and you’ll see them shine.’

here’s a pretty fantastic version of ‘don’t think twice’ with two of the great guitarists of the 20th century:

PLAY:  dont’ know why, but i’m drawn to country lately.  i wrote some lyrics inspired by ‘lay lady lay’ and then put them to a melody.  this is an example of a song that just flowed out of me.  it’s not terribly complex, but it’s really quite beautiful and heart breaking.

CREATE:  the doodle on the rough lyrics above.

Posted in The artists way challenge on September 29, 2010 – 6:34 am | Comments (0)

the artist’s way challenge, day 13

By mirandaferrissjones

9.26.2010

LISTEN:  gillian welch.  i know everyone loves her and i’ve never explored her music.  molly performed some of her songs on friday and inspired me to give her a good listen.  ‘elvis’ is my favorite.  a certain bravery is required to begin a song with ‘i was thinking that night about elvis, the day that he died…’  the harmony on the chorus makes the song for me; ‘and he shook it like a midnight rambler, baby…’

WALK:  round the hood on a perfectly gorgeous day.

PLAY: 1.5 hours, continued work on ‘allycia’.

SING:  rehearsed with a guitar player/new friend in alamo square; we were preparing for some duo gigs i have coming up.  i have always played duo gigs with pianists; and i do love the piano more than any other instrument (i write on piano, after all).   BUT there is a bare soulfulness with a guitar/voice duo.  it’s unlike the maybe more polished sound i could get with a piano voice duo.

CREATE:  did lots of doodling.  then made this sign to put up  in my ‘artist nook’.


READ:  finished the ‘walking in the world’ chapter.

WRITE: recap and morning pages.

IN MY BODY: took a vinyasa class at ‘the yoga garden’ .  the teacher incorporated her spirituality into the practice, which i actually appreciated.  my entire body felt flexible and i had calmed my ‘monkey mind’ as she called that feeling of erratically bouncing thoughts.

Posted in The artists way challenge on September 28, 2010 – 5:35 am | Comments (0)

the artists way challenge, day 12

By mirandaferrissjones

WRITE:  morning pages and recap.

READ: a necessary 1/2 chapter of ‘Walking in the World’ (the followup to ‘The Artist’s Way’).  exercise:  write a love letter to yourself.  cheezy and oh so helpful.

LISTEN:  jeff buckley.  his cover of ‘lilac wine’ may be as good as nina simone’s; they have a similar vibrato and a thick anguish that makes this song work.

CREATE:  rewrote tons of sheet music and put it in an organized fashion into binders.  this was not terribly creative or fun, but it was necessary.

SING:  sang along with laura nyro’s ‘emmie’ and ‘stoned soul picnic’ in preparation for a gig.

PLAY:  returned to a song i started about a month ago, ‘allycia’.  added a new movement and i like it oh so much.  still struggling a bit with lyrics…

WALK:  a beautiful, hot day.  i walked a different way home from lafayette park.  as i passed this mural i have somehow never seen before, i heard the distant soul of gospel music:

after appreciating the likes of jimi hendrix, etta james, and fats waller, all sharing a vibrant wall, i continued towards the music.  i found myself at a church festival in the middle of a park on geary street.  the crowd was mostly black and mostly gathered about a stage with four girls, ages 6-10.  these girls were channeling something more than themselves.  their egos were simply not part of their performance; it was all soul and all passion and the audience could feel it.  this display of passion and ego-less expression by little girls inspired and transformed my day.  thank you:

Posted in The artists way challenge on September 27, 2010 – 5:48 am | Comments (0)

the artists way challenge, day 11

By mirandaferrissjones

9.24.2010

READ:  I have been slowly reading ‘Bodily Harm’ by Margaret Atwood in an effort to familiarize myself with her entire cannon.  Unfortunately, this is the first book of hers that I have read that doesn’t grab my attention.  All the same, I read 7 pages of it to fulfill my daily requirement and I’ll probably finish it.  Let’s just say it’s no ‘Blind Assassin’, ‘Oryx and Crake’, ‘Robber’s Bride’, or ‘Handmaids Tale.’

LISTEN:  Jill Scott, ‘Who is Jill Scott?’.  I love this woman.  Jill Scott is as sexy as they come and she owns it, always.   She understands situations and sets them out for us in poetry that is both beautiful, truthful and unique to her experience, and totally accessible.  Her voice is ‘honey molasses’ and as deep as her songs are, you know she is always singing them with a smile.

This album is an old favorite.  I don’t know if it qualifies as a concept album, but many of the songs  can be strung together to create a sort of story of a relationship.  It is absolutely an album that needs to be appreciated in order and as a whole.

I especially love ‘Love Rain’.  In this song Jill captures that experience that every woman has at some point, when you meet a man and you think, wow this is really it. And that man is treating you something special and you let yourself fall hard, only to find out that he was playing you.  My favorite line; this is why I love Jill:

The mistake was made
Love slipped from my lips
Dripped down my chin and landed in his lap
And us became new
Now me non-clairvoyant and in love
Made the coochie easy and the obvious invisible

Also, I can always get down to this romantic song ‘A Long Walk’.  This video appears to be one shot and I wonder if all the bystanders knew what was going on.  You really get the feeling that she is just walking through her hood.  And what an infectious smile she has:

SING:  I listened to Jill for 30 minutes and then I listened for another hour singing along.  Her poetry lets you sink right in and you feel what you’re singing; you get what she is saying.

WALK:  Gorgeous day!  I took a 30 minute walk with Seymour on the ocean and saw a real live crab just a crawling along!!  I also worked on some new lyrics in my head; walking is good for that.

PLAY:  Generally, I wake up in the morning and try to accomplish tangible tasks (emails, dishes, laundry, etc).  Yesterday, as soon as I finished my morning pages, I sat down and did 1 hr and 45 min of piano.  It was a fantastic way to start the day; I felt much more relaxed all day, knowing I had put in my practice.  And, I found my mind kept returning to the song I was working on throughout the day.

WRITE:  My morning pages, and my recap.

AT A SHOW:  I went to ‘Matching Half Cafe’ to hear my old friend, Molly, sing with a little band she had just put together in a week.  She sang Gillian Welch and other folky covers with a bongo and guitar player and a back up singer.  It was inspiring to see how she created a show with so little stress and preparation, and it was lovely!  Her voice has grown since we sang a cappella together in high school.  It is sweet and so easy and smooth.  A good night.

CREATE:  I made a birthday card:

Posted in The artists way challenge on September 26, 2010 – 4:29 am | Comments (0)