Salt of the Earth

It was the ‘children’s’ message at First Presbyterian Birmingham on Labor Day weekend.

This is where the children are given a kid-friendly explanation of the upcoming sermon.

It was a holiday weekend so not many children were in attendance, but one of the kids made up for it with a barrage of questions and stories.

The little girl had something to say about almost every sentence uttered by Director of  Christian Education  Patti Winter,  a veteran children’s educator, who has mad skills at handling children eruptions diplomatically.

Patti waited patiently through each anecdote coming from the child before she gently steered the conversation back to her message.

The message on this day was the ‘salt of the earth’ passage, Matthew 5-13:

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.’

Patti talked about how salt is helpful to make food taste better.  She said salt is also used in  dyes to make colors brighter and, if that wasn’t enough, she said salt goes into plastics to make the plastics better. She did a little more talking about the virtues of salt and the meaning behind the passage before getting ready to go. The children’s program had by now taken on a little extra length.

But wait, the girl’s hand was in the air again

OK, last question, Patti said.

In a sincere voice, the girl asked:

“What about pepper?”

Genesis — 457

ALBUM: And Then There were Three … (1978);  A Trick of the Tail (1976)

MVC Rating:  Three 3.5/$$$; Tail, 3.0/$$$

Genesis, I’m sorry, makes me want to exodus.

I’ve tried.  I have two of their later albums post-Peter Gabriel. So maybe I haven’t heard their good stuff.

The ‘Three’ album title plays off the fact that members were dropping from the band like water rats from a sinking barge. Ok, that’s a little harsh.

Yet that album produced probably their most accessible song “Follow Me, Follow You,” a Top-40 friendly song, but certainly no tour de force.  Maybe I  need more time with these to see what the fuss was about.

On Trick of the Tail I hear chunky synthesizer/keyboard chords aligned with semi-melodic verse and nothing that makes me say, ‘Wow, in the beginning there was this great band.’

I am not keen on most art-rock or so-called progressive bands. I like Yes better than this. I’ve learned through re-initiation during MyVinylCountdown of some interesting work by Emerson Lake and Palmer.  But Genesis just leaves me feeling  blase’ and that’s not what rock music is supposed to do.

The songs seem to meander down the river, which could be nice, except when the river raft stops, you are five miles from your car.

One of the best songs on ‘Tail’ is one about a mythological beast called a ‘Squonk.’ On ‘Three’ the hit is good, if not a little light.

So I give this 2 and one-half squonks.

Late summer reading: Tate Drawdy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s step away for a second from music to reading, books, that is.  I have a great friend, my former boss, Michael Ludden, who has a few books under his belt. His latest I have read and it is fantastic.

“Tate Drawdy” is the book’s title and the name of the main character.  The book  is a slow burn Deep South pulse quickener.

I have Lewy body dementia, as you who are familiar with this blog already know.  That means books are more difficult for me now because every advancement is followed by a retreat as I work to gather my memories. It seems to be a little different when I’m writing because, well, I don’t know why. It’s like my fingers have  muscle memory.

As I mentioned before, Ludden is my former boss. He was the editor who back in 1987 lured me from the Birmingham News to central Florida and the Orlando Sentinel. I worked with him there about a decade and I  consider him a great friend and a fine editor. He was a key editor on a Sentinel Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative project on  a sheriff’s department  abuse of asset seizure forfeiture.

Ludden was the kind of an editor who wanted to sit down and talk about a story in a big picture sort of way before it was written. Then when he got a copy of the story,  he wouldn’t say, ‘Move this comma over here, tighten up this section.’ No, Mike would say: ‘Explain to me what you are doing here?’

I remember getting defensive one time when he did that and he said, ‘No, I really like what you are doing here, I just want to hear you talk about what that is.’

Big picture. A journo lesson that stuck. Think about it macro before getting down to the nitty gritty.

Ludden sets this in Savannah, Ga., and even if you have never been there, you will end up smelling the life and decay of a humid coastal city that keeps its past close.

Ludden has an eye for detail, another practice he used to preach. The descriptions setting up a scene put you there. In the place and moment.

Here’s a passage describing the first meeting of the bad guy,  John Robert Griffin and the good guy cop, Tate Drawdy.

In an interrogation room in the police station.

Griffin turned to face him. Standing motionless, a small grin showing his teeth.  Nothing else changed. But in that moment Tate saw a piece of himself he’d never seen before, something he had thought might not happen to him,  not until he was old and put up.

It made him dizzy, as if the ceiling had lifted back and now he was staring into a burning sky, hoisted up, swaying in the breeze, shadows fading in, fading out, slowly revolving, a vein throbbing behind his eye. His scalp tingling, his face suddenly wet. 

He wanted to turn away.

 He reached for his coffee, took a sip, set it back down. He kept his hand on the cup, feeling the heat. Told himself Griffin can’t read his mind, couldn’t hear his heartbeat. He counted to 10.

“Where’d you grow up?”

Ludden is also the author of ‘Alfredo’s Luck,’ another Tate Drawdy thriller set in Miami and ‘Tales from the Morgue,’ a tightly written noir-esque rendition of actual newspaper stories culled from Ludden’s journalistic experiences, including his time at the Orlando Sentinel.

His books are on Amazon.

Learn more at www.michaelludden.com

 

David Gates — 458

ALBUM: First  (1973)

MVC Rating: 4.0/$$$

This is soft rock AKA as Adult Contemporary.  I bought this used recently for loose change after reviewing the Best of Bread for MyVinylCountdown.com.

I admired Bread’s songcraft and was impressed with Gate’s guitar and vocals. It was pretty but that’s about it. A little like the Carpenters, a little like America.

In fact some of us debated which one was best (or worst) Bread vs. America. Think that dispute is still ongoing. One colleague said  he would pick America but only if they never do ‘Muskrat Love’ again.

So I bought this Gates’ solo album and it is pretty much a Bread album, pretty, but that’s about it.

But maybe that’s  enough.

Song picks: ‘Ann’ shows off his voice. ‘SIght and Sound’ shows some guitar  skills. Suite Clouds and Rain shows his piano chops. ‘Do you Believe He’s Comin’ shows his aforementioned guitar skills as well as religious faith. In fact for a guy who seems so partial to soft rock, Gates can play a mean guitar as he does here in the “Do  You Believe He’s Comin’ and with Bread the song ‘Guitar Man.’

Marvin Gaye — 459

ALBUM: Every Great Motown Hit of Marvin Gaye

MVC RATING: 5.0/$$$

What’s going on? I mean What’s Going On?

War is the not the answer.

Got to find a way to bring some love in here today.

Marvin Gaye is smooth and soulfully cool. For good solid soul, Gaye knew no peer. He was the male counterpoint to Aretha Franklin.

I’m not counting out Otis Redding, Wilson Picket, Al Green or any of the other pioneers in this realm. Gaye was a little less of a soul belter than  Aretha. His sound was seductive, jazzy soul — sometimes with a social message (What’s Going On.’)

I’m not saying he couldn’t belt either, on ‘Grapevine’ he belts.

Marvin’s life ended too soon, in 1984, tragically at the hands of his father.

I’ve written this elsewhere on the blog: His version of the National Anthem at the NBA All-Star game in 1983 brought tears to my eyes as I was hearing it in real time on live  television. He did a soulful, and controversial take, on our National Anthem. I thought it was a touching rendition in the style Mr. Gaye sings. Jose Feliciano did a Spanish-tinged version, more than a decade earlier. He took some flak, as well.

Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers Band — 460

ALBUM:  Greatest Hits (1980)

The Gatlin Bros. are a little out of my realm. But I remember why I got this. Someone or someones were saying how much I looked like Larry Gatlin. I didn’t really follow the Gatlins but I knew they were wildly popular in the 70s and 9.  So with every one calling me Larry I better figure out who he was. Used records, don’t know where. but I picked up “Greatest Hits.” My hair has long ago left me  so I  don’t think  I look like Gatlin unless he  has a large  hair deficit.

This is the type of country I didn’t like a  bunch–county-politan — or something like that.  (It’s all right with Dolly).

But I did enjoy  some of the songs here: Broken Lady and ‘Statues Without Hearts stand out.

I am also a sucker for good falsetto singing and Larry’s pretty good.

Peter Gabriel — 462, 461

ALBUMS: Peter Gabriel (1977); Peter Gabriel (1980).

MVC Rating:  1st self-titled: 4.5/$$$

2nd self-titled: 4.0/$$$

Hope everybody has had enough time with ‘The Gaugin Years’ The History of Music and Dance in Tahiti.  (Scroll down if you haven’t). That was the start of my G-music section and up now is Peter Gabriel, a political, intelligent, supporter of world music. We’ll see more of him in this blog soon as his longtime band, Genesis, comes up on my alphabetical course.

I have the first and third Gabriel albums. Oddly, he didn’t name his first four albums. They are called Peter Gabriel. To ID them people add a descriptor like ‘melt’ for the third  one because it has a face appearing to melt on the cover.

I fell out of Gabriel’s thing about when “Shock the Monkey’ and then ‘Sledgehammer’  — MTV’s all time favorite video – propelled Gabriel from cult status to star. One thing I didn’t like, and others feel free to chime in, is that he seemed to employ an echo effect on his voice, especially in the “So’ era. Am I correctly hearing that? It is almost as if he didn’t have confidence in his natural sound. But the songwriting on Solsbury Hill,  about a spiritual experience the Gabriel had, is about as good as it gets.

Climbing up on Solsbury Hill
I could see the city light
Wind was blowing, time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night
He was something to observe
Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing, stretching every nerve
Had to listen, had no choice
I did not believe the information
Just had to trust imagination
My heart going boom, boom, boom
“Son”, he said, “grab your things, I’ve come to take you home”

Biko’ on the second album is also a favorite of mine. It’s a powerful song with African rhythms lamenting the death at the hands of police of Steve Biko, an anti-apartheid protester.

September ’77
Port Elizabeth weather fine
It was business as usual
In police room 619
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Yihla Moja, Yihla Moja
The man is dead
The man is dead

MVC now has 238 posts: Here are the favorites and least favorites

Some of My Vinyl Countdown’s top posts.
As of today, here are songs taken from the most-clicked on and the ones that received the most reaction, some judgement calls here by me.

So we’ll have Top 12 music reviews from my 678 records.  This is followed by the Top-12 blog essays.

And we’ll also throw in the bottom 5 in both categories.

(Click on the names to go to the full blog post).

Top 12 Album reviews

Dave Davies  Kink’s guitarist solo albums are surprise here at No. 1

Dolly Parton Country music legend, and that’s without hyperbole.

The Allman Brothers Band  No surprise that this iconic Southern band is high on the list.

The Alarm  The Welsh rockers with their big hair and their big anthemic songs are apparently well loved.

Dickey Betts  Allman’s great guitarist.

King Sunny Ade He was making world music before it was cool.

Aerosmith Steven Tyler seems like he’s on TV all the time. But that was decades after this hard rocking album, arguably one of their best.

Bo Diddley  Underappreciated in his time, his record stands – on records.

Joe Cocker This man felt the music. It was like he plugged himself  in.

Joan Baez  Distinctive strong voice that was one of many voices of the 1960s and civil rights protests.

T Bone Burnett Major producer for others. Lesser known for his own excellent discography.

Big Audio Dynamite BAD, Clash remainders forge new sound and funny crazy video.

When Particles Collide      A husband-wife  rock duo from Maine. (with some local connections).

Top 12 Blog Essays
Gordon Hayward, broken bones and Lewy body dementia

Life lessons of adaptation from a serious injury.

I Have to Laugh (To Keep from Crying)

Title says it all.

Holy Zeus, God and Lightning 

Strange coincidences crop up in my life.

Is there time?

The billion dollar question.

Rules of ‘street’ ball

Tips from 35 years of playing pick-up basketball.

Peter Himmelman’s ‘Song for Catherine’

A wonderful tribute to my wife Catherine

 Some People are Mean

Yes, there are mean people and I describe one.

Porter and Me

Writing about the death of a child from  over the course of years prepared me to face my own prognosis.

Lewy Lewy. Come on, call it by its name!

It’s mysterious, baffling and wrong but for some reason Lewy body dementia has become the disease no one will name.

How the heck am I doing?

The word FINE may not mean what you think it means.

Today is Silent Saturday 

It’s a tradition I  did not know about.

Another hugging, this has got to stop

Beloved pastor retiresl.

Bottom 5 Album reviews
The Drifters
Kurtis Blow
Fleshtones
Focus

The Flying Lizards   

Bottom 5 Blog essay/posts

D-Party

History of Journalism Part 2: from ‘socialist rag’ to ‘tool of the man’ (blog version)

Seeking Miss Mamie, or Mike, Catherine and Mary’s fantastic road trip

Jerry Sloan, legendary NBA coach, still battling dementia (blog version)

Sugar Sugar’: Archies vs. Josie and the Pussycats’ Riverdale version

The Gauguin Years (Tahiti) — 463

ALBUM: The Gauguin Years: Songs and Dances of Tahiti. (Recorded on location by  Francis Maziere 1972)

MVC RATING: 3.5/$$

So how did I pick up this? ‘Field recordings; of the songs and dances of Tahiti.’

I have no idea,  though I’ve been known to poke around at library book sales, which sometimes had records, like this one.

From the liner notes on this  Nonesuch record: The music on  this record  is not for the tourist trade; It’s  Old Timey Polynesian. Yes there are love songs and hulas here — but  also  war chants, histories, prayers and protest songs.”

It is exotic — but to my ears it sounds about what I would expect,  Drum beating, interlocking chants with harmony.. Maybe the movie depictions of Tahitian singing and dancing weren’t far removed from authentic.

All I need now is a coconut drink.

BTW, this is my first ‘G’ record (for Gaugin). We are now done with the F’s unless aI find another lurking somewhere,later.  Now it’s time for the G’s as in (Grateful Dead, Dexter Gordon, and Peter Gabriel., among many others. I’ll also catch up with the numbers today.

See the 10 questions used to diagnose Lewy body dementia

This is part of an occasional series of stories on Lewy body dementia, other dementias, and end of life issues, by a long-time writer who happens to  have LBD.

The chart is a 10-question check-up list to help doctors use symptoms and circumstances to more accurately diagnose the disease.. There is no known cause and no cure for this disease which shortens lifespans.

Here it is.

The Lewy Body Composite Risk Score

Rate the following symptoms as being present or absent for at least three times over the past six months. Does the patient: Yes No
1) Have slowness in initiating and maintaining movement or have frequent hesitations or pauses during movement?
2) Have rigidity (with or without cogwheeling) on passive range of motion in any of the four extremities?
3) Have a loss of postural stability with or without frequent falls?
4) Have a tremor at rest in any of the four extremities or head?
(5) Have excessive daytime sleepiness and/or seem drowsy and lethargic when awake?
6) Have episodes of illogical thinking or incoherent, random thoughts?
7) Have frequent staring spells or periods of blank looks?
8)Appear to act out his/her dreams (kick, punch, thrash, shout or scream) while still asleep?

9) Visual hallucinations (see things not really there)?

(10) Have orthostatic hypotension or other signs of autonomic insufficiency


 

© Copyright 2013 The Lewy Body Composite Risk Score James E. Galvin and New York University Langone Medical Center

NOTE from LBDA: Scores were significantly different in DLB patients compared to controls and those with Alzheimer’s. The Composite Risk Score discriminated between individuals likely to have underlying Lewy body disease from those who did not. Using a cut-off of 3, the Lewy Body Composite Risk Score had a sensitivity of 90%, meaning it identified 90% of those diagnosed with Lewy body dementia.

Follow Mike Oliver on AL.com and www.myvinylcountdown.com

See also: It’s not like we are forgetting Alzheimer Disease