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allthemusic · 5 months

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Week ending: 25 February 1954

I'm spoilt for choice! Four whole new songs - time for change in the UK charts? One is David Whitfield, so it can't be too radical, but it's nice to see some unfamiliar titles.

Don't Laugh at Me ('cause I'm a Fool) - Norman Wisdom (peaked at No. 3)

The only thing I (vaguely) know about Norman Wisdom is that he was a comedian - and that felt like a guess until I looked it up. I think even for my parents' generation, he was a little old-fashioned, more my grandparents' scene. So I'm geared up for this to be a slightly campy, old-fashioned novelty song. That said, the title says sentimental ballad to me, so we'll see?

We start with some classic early-50s strings, and a slightly croony voice that's actually surprisingly good and not particularly cheesy or novelty at all. Is this... just a legit song?

It seems to be! In fact, it's really quite earnest. The message seems to be that Norman sees everyone else falling in love, and wants in on the act: "I'd give the world to share my life with someone who really loves me". Unfortunately, his time hasn't come, and so he's foolishly left hoping, and just wants people to stop mocking him for it.

Joint best stand-out line is the one where he sings that "I'm not good-looking, I'm not too smart / I may be foolish but I've got a heart". It feels like a lovely bit of humble self-deprecation, a short of wry shrug that makes Norman seem that little bit pathetic, in a likeable sort of way.

Unfortunately the other stand-out line is the next one, which I think is meant to add to the "poor little me" effect, but actually makes him sound like a bit of a weirdo: "I love the flowers, I love the sun / But when I try to love the girls / They laugh at me and run." Ominous much? I know you want me to come away from that feeling that you're the victim, but if the girls (plural!) are literally just running away when you "try" to love them, then you're possibly the issue. Definite alarm bells here, sorry Norman.

And I don't know, either way we've gone past "likeably pathetic" into plain old "lame and pathetic" territory. Suddenly lines like "No one seems to care" sound self-pitying, a sort of proto-nice guy anthem that I really don't care for, the more I listen.

I wish this was a novelty track.

The Cuff of My Shirt - Guy Mitchell (9)

And just when I wanted one, this is the novelty one!

Guy Mitchell always has two modes for me, and as we got a jaunty sort of nursery-rhyme-like waltz intro, complete with whistling, I was wondering which it would be. Thankfully, this is actually quite endearing!

The song tells a story, as a lot of the best songs do, and it starts with a banger of a line: "I stand in a quandry, in front of the laundy, / And deep in my heart there's a hurt". Intriguing! I love the word "quandry", rhyming it with laundry is a stroke of genius, and you're also immediately drawn in. What's the issue?

Guy seems to anticipate the answer, because there's a giggle in his voice as he continues: "Lost the phone and address of the girl I like best / Wrote it all on the cuff of my shirt". Dear, oh dear. But I actually do like this a lot as a set-up. Reminds me of a line from Mystery Jets' Young Love. There's an innocent silliness to it, not least because it's the stupidest way to write down anyone's details. Like, who does that?! It's the sort of mistake we've all made, but also one that's deeply, deeply dumb.

As he mopes, we get the story of how they "met just by chance at the Saturday dance", which is a lovely time capsule of early 1950s romancing! We hear how pretty this girl was, and when he sings about wanting to hold her tight, we get a lovely moment where the backing singers answer with a very chipper "please hold me tight". Love it when backing singers answer the main singer like that!

And then we get a delicious spot of bathos: "The moon's on the rise and there's tears in my eyes 'cause my arms will be empty tonight". That's how you do foolish and pathetic - Norman, take notes! He's so sad and it's entirely his own faulty, and it's contrasted wonderfully with the setting in what I can only assume is a launderette or a whole apartment block's laundry, because there are apparently other girls down there?

Amazingly, they all assume he's "down here to flirt", which leads to this amazing contrast between them trying to flirt and Guy just standing there, "a man without hope if the suds and the soap wash her name off the cuff of my shirt". I can't lie, this is peak comedy for me.

Actually, the more I think about it, the funnier it gets, because it's definitely implied that he's just standing there so he can immediately pull the shirt out at the end of the cycle and try and read the now-smudged numbers. It's not that the number's definitely gone - it's that he's desperately hoping that it's not washed out! I don't know why that's so funny to me, but it really is.

We don't get an answer, either, just a few repeats of the chorus, a xyophone and whistling interlude (a promising combination) and a vigorous "my shirt!" to round us off.

It's funny, light-hearted, sweet and doesn't outstay its welcome. Not a favourite, but a good fun listen, and also literally a scene I'd expect to see in a sit-com. Good job, Guy.

Skin Deep - Ted Heath & His Music (9)

Well it's Ted Heath (no, not that Ted Heath) so I kind of know what to expect. Some jazzy trumpet, with an inscrutable title. And that is indeed what I get here. So fair enough. Good on Ted for establishing his brand, I guess?

The main thing that sets this apart from other tracks I've heard by Ted is the prominence of the drums throughout, which was a welcome addition. It starts strong with a trumpet trill, a brass riff straight out of a film score, and a big old drum roll, before dropping into a jazzy drum groove as the saxophones play this slinky rhythm over a walking bass. It's frenetic, and overall good fun, very jazzy.

Then there's a long extended section in the middle, bookended with very technical, fast drum solos, between which you just get this heavy sort of tribal drumming and two trumpets playing solos and competing to play higher and more reedily than each other. It feels offputting and slightly abrasive in a way that music at this point in the charts rarely seems to be - I feel like this has the rock and roll attitude and intensity down. Compared to Norman's smooth crooning and Guy's "aren't I silly" goofing, it's pretty hardcore.

And then, almost as suddenly as it began, it's over. No idea why this track is called Skin Deep, unless it's from a film or TV show called Skin Deep? Sometimes with these jazzy ones, the rhythm souds like you could sing the title to it, but "Skin Deep" is just two syllables, which feels a bit too vague for that to work.

Overall, it's fine - I have to wonder if the drum solo felt daring for the era, or if people found it pretty standard? I guess it depends how much airplay jazz was really getting, and what kind of jazz. For me, listening to the top 10 in the way I am, it felt pretty groundbreaking, but I am curious if that was the perception in 1954.

The Book - David Whitfield

I'm sorry, I can't muster much enthusiasm here. David Whitfield just feels tremendously dated, every time I get to him. But hey, he might pull a dramatic U-turn and produce something fresh and modern-feeling. Is this the song that that happens?

Spoilers, no it's not. You can tell it from the very intro, which is slow, all trumpet and dramatic soaring strings, with a high-pitched backing chorus. It's your typical over-dramatic 1950s introduction, and I dislike it.

I'm intrigued, despite myself, by the opening lines: "There's a book that my mother gave me / That I read when the long day is through." What's the book? Something salacious? Why the focus on your mother? Is this going to have a slighty creepy, Oedipal, Norman Bates mother-fixation sort of vibe?

And then the tension is immediately lost as it becomes clear that this book, with its gilded pages, is a Bible. He doesn't up and say it, but it's definitely a Bible: "I know in its worn old pages / I shall find peace of mind when I look / And the wisdom of all the aaaaaaaaages / Is there in my mother's book."

Look - personal confession time - I'm not actually in disagreement, here. On a personal level, I think Bible's great! It can give peace of mind! It does have lots of wisdom in it! So I'm behind the sentiment, I'll give David that much.

Unfortunately, I don't like much else, here. David's performance is typically overblown, and the word "ages" is drawn out way too long, even when you know it's coming up and are braced for it. Plus, that's literally all of the lyrics. It's a short song, but it repeats its lyrics literally three times, and then we're done, no chorus, no bridge, no middle eight, no nothing.

And worse, it's just... a bit lame? I don't know, I think there's room for spiritual music, and I've enjoyed it where it's come up, especially as it doesn't seem like something there's much space for in the charts nowadays. There's "religious music" and "secular music", and they're bundled off into their own separate charts, and it doesn't leave much space for not-explicitly-worship-intended songs about experiencing or searching for faith. So in theory, I should like this. I liked Answer Me, which David also sang. But somehow... yeah, like I said. Lame.

Well, they were a distinct bunch, and you really wouldn't get any of them charting in 2023, for so many reasons. And for my favourite pick, that's acutally a shame - I wonder what a modern-day version would look like? Getting her number but dropping your phone in the loo?

Favourite song of the bunch: The Cuff of My Shirt

#uk charts #1954 #norman wisdom #guy mitchell #ted heath & his music #david whitfield

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cleverwordsandotherstuffilike · 8 months

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Recent Exonerations

Arthur Lee Whitfield, Time Served: 22 years

Armand Villisana, Time Serviced: 1 year

Raymond Towler, Time Served: 29 years

David Brian Sutherlin, Time Served: 17 years

Calvin Lee Scott, Time Served: 20 years

Ben Salazar, Time Served: 5 years

Calvin Ollins, Time Served: 13 years

Bruce Nelson, Time Served: 9 years

Perry Mitchell, Time Served: 14 years

Billy Wayne Miller, Time Served: 22 years

Robert McLendon, Time Served: 17 years

Ronnie Mahan, Time Served: 14 years

Dale Mahan, Time Served: 14 years

Arthur Johnson, Time Served: 15 years

David A. Gray, Time Served: 21 years

William Dillon, Time Served: 27 years

Willie Davidson, Time Served: 24 years

Ronnie Bullock, Time Served: 10 years

Danny Brown, Time Served: 19 years

Chester Bauer, Time Served: 14 years

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adamwatchesmovies · 7 months

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TMNT (2007)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established...

In some ways, TMNT is a better film than the previous live-action installments in the series. Unfortunately, it still suffers from major shortcomings. This makes it less fun than even the worst of the ‘90s adventures because there’s nothing nostalgic about it and no elements that are so bad they can be kind of fun despite themselves. This movie is doomed to obscurity - theatrical release or no theatrical release.

3,000 years ago, a warlord named Yaotl opened a portal whose energies granted him immortality but turned his four trusted generals to stone. The portal also unleashed 13 monsters into our world - previews of the army the portal would unleash the next time someone opened it. In present day, Leonardo (voiced by James Arnold Taylor), Raphael (voiced by Nolan North), Michelangelo (voiced by Mikey Kelley) and Donatello (voiced by Mitchell Whitfield) have grown apart. Leonardo has been sent away to South America to train and his brothers have either taken on mundane jobs or become masked vigilantes. When Yaotl resurrects his generals and begins gathering the monsters with the help of the Foot Clan, it can only mean trouble for New York and its shell-wearing protectors.

While there’s a certain charm to the old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies and their practical special effects, making the next chapter in the series an animated film was a good idea. It gives the characters freedoms they never had before and they're the most expressive they've ever been. Too bad they have nothing interesting to say and the plot is a complete mess. There’s just way too much going on here. Why 13 monsters to collect to open up the portal? Eight of them are captured during a montage and the turtles only interact with three of them, making that number way excessive. In fact, why are there monsters in the movie at all? Isn’t a villain that's trying to open up this portal to a dimension of demons with his four granite warriors - none of which get more than a handful of lines - enough?

Let's examine this story deeper. The portal only opens up once every 3,000 when the stars align, and only if the creatures are arranged in a circle. Yaotl sure was dragging his feet gathering them then, wasn’t he? They’ve been around for longer than Christianity and he’s gotten exactly NOTHING done before the plot kicks in. Thankfully, the monsters are - for reasons that are never made clear - hanging out in New York city, waiting to be scooped up like Pokémon. This entire plot is so muddy and so full of holes you just don’t care about any of it.

Not helping are the titular heroes. Splinter (voiced by Mako) has sent Leonardo away to train to be a better leader. Did he really need to go to a different continent to do this? Speaking of bad ideas, the “Nightwatcher” subplot makes NO SENSE. Raphael has been wearing a disguise and sneaking out at night to fight crime. Why? The turtles live in secrecy in the city's sewer tunnels. He has no civilian identity to protect. The disguise fools no one anyway - well, except his brothers, who take forever to put two and two together. As if the huge humanoid with three fingers and a big shell on his back jumping around doing martial arts wouldn’t be immediately recognized by them. And if he is going around fighting crime as a vigilante… so what? The turtles have always been vigilantes! So is their friend Casey Jones (voiced by Chris Evans)!

Once again, the plot centers solely on Leonardo and Raphael, with the other two turtles given nothing to do. You’d think with the years of comics and television series, someone would’ve figured out a way to give everyone involved some task crucial to defeating the villains. Donnie could hack into a security system, April (voiced by Sarah Michelle Gellar) could gather intelligence or put on a disguise, Mickey and Casey could distract the guards, that kind of thing. No. We get hammered by themes of family and brotherhood over and over but all the siblings do is argue until the final act when they finally put their differences aside. None of it is any fun, and certainly not with the quality of the jokes we're subjected to. The entire picture only contains one funny moment, which makes the brisk 87 minutes feel like an entire season of a TV show you’ve been forced to sit through.

Despite all my criticisms, I must admit that an 11-year-old who loves the ninja turtles would probably love this movie because the ridiculous story seriously (too seriously, I’d say) and feigns a grim and gritty theme throughout. Nothing about the story or visuals will date TMNT like its predecessors but it’s hard to imagine anyone fondly looking back at this 2007 film. (March 26, 2021)

#TMNT #Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #movies #films #movie reviews #film reviews #Kevin Munroe #Chris Evans #Sarah Michelle GEllar #Mako Iwamatsu #Kevin Smith #Patrick Stewart #Ziyi Zhang #Laurence Fishburne #2007 movies #2007 films

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beardedmrbean · 2 years

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All 31 masked Patriot Front members who were arrested inside a truck near an Idaho city’s Pride in the Park event have been identified by police.

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office released the names and pictures of the suspects on Sunday, one day after the group’s U-haul had been intercepted by authorities at a traffic stop. The police, according to the Spokesman, had been tipped off about the group after a concerned citizen had reportedly called in about what they described as a “small army”.

Inside, officers had found the dozens of men dressed in matching outfits of khakis, blue shirts, beige hats and white cloths covering their faces and equipped with shields, shin guards, riot gear and a smoke grenade.

The sheriff’s office confirmed that among the 31 men arrested was on Sunday was the founder of extremist hate group, Thomas R Rousseau. The Idaho-Statesman had reported earlier over the weekend that group’s founder was among the white nationalists who police in Coeur d’Alene found packed into the back of a U-Haul truck.

“They came to riot downtown,” the city’s police chief Lee White told a press conference on Saturday, adding that they came with documents “similar to an operations plan that a police or military group would put together for an event”.

The group’s members were charged with conspiracy to riot, a misdemeanor charge, and police said they had an “operations plan” with them.

The Anti-Defamation League describes the Patriot Front as a white nationalist group that specialises in vandalism, racist propaganda and “flash demonstrations” meant to intimidate marginalised communities.

The group’s founder, who is now in his early 20s, has been active in white supremacist ideology since he was a teenager, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Before creating the Patriot Front, he was a member of Vanguard America, another American white supremacist organisation that is also a member of the Nationalist Front.

In 2017, the same year he created the extremist group, he attended the Unite the Right march in Charlottesburg, Virginia, which saw violent clashes between far right groups and opposing protesters which resulted in the murder of Heather Heyer.

Mr Rousseau hails from Dallas, Texas originally, and the other men arrested over suspicions of inciting a riot had reportedly also travelled from across the country. All 31 were dressed in similar clothing, which was emblazoned with Patriot Front logos on their shirts and hats, police said.

Those arrested came from Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Illinois, Wyoming, Virginia and other states as well, police said.

The names of the men arrested on Sunday are as follows:

Jared Boyce

Nathan Brenner

Colton Brown

Josiah Buster

Mishael Buster

Devin Center

Dylan Corio

Winston Durham

Garret Garland

Branden Haney

Richard Jessop

James Johnson

Kieran Morris

Lawrence Norman

Justin Oleary

Cameron Pruitt

Forrest Rankin

Thomas Rousseau

Conor Ryan

Spencer Simpson

Alexander Sisenstein

Derek Smith

Dakota Tabler

Steven Tucker

Wesley Van Horn

Mitchell Wagner

Nathaniel Whitfield

Robert Whitted

Graham Whitsom

Connor Moran

#nunyas news #still skeptical but it's looking less and less #like a false flag

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nukenai · 11 months

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💬- Favorite Obscure TF fact, 💜- Fav Decepticon, 🥇- Favorite TF series (i mean i'm guessing it's gonna be RID2015 but), 📽- What was your first TF series, 🤖- What got you into TF

Favorite obscure fact - This is not really related to canon stuff but I find it hilarious. Will Friedle (Bumblebee) and Mitchell Whitfield (Fixit) became very good friends while recording RiD2015, and the two of them have in-character banter about who is really the leader of the team, and who is more important. I'm sure everyone knows where my vote goes. They became such good friends that Will Friedle was able to call Mitchell Whitfield with absolutely no warning while at a con and let me talk to him on the phone shut up Nuke EVERYONE KNOWS THIS FUCKING STORY

Not sure if I know any actual obscure facts other than Fixit Is The True Leader Of The Bee Team.

Fav Decepticon - TFP Breakdown always!! He has my heart and deserved so much better. Before him, it was G1 Shockwave. Those 2 are the only 2 (official) Decepticons I have plushies of. (I say official Decepticon because like. Pharma. lmao.)

Favorite TF Series - YOU'RE RIGHT, PROBABLY A LOT OF THESE QUESTIONS DON'T EVEN NEED TO BE ASKED BC I'M SO LOUD. IT'S DEFINITELY RID2015. I'LL DIE AS THE QUEEN OF THE SHOW 12 PEOPLE STILL LIKE.

First TF series - The first actual SHOW I watched was G1. But this was after...

What got you into TF - The first Bay movie! And I have no shame over it I refuse to hide my origins. That movie is very watchable, everyone is just mean!

#watchable... unlike the '86 movie #i say before getting FUCKING MURDERED #nuke asks

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raphianna · 2 years

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I just noticed something…

Raymond Burr (Perry Mason, “Perry Mason”; Robert T. Ironside, “Ironside”) Ray Collins (Arthur Tragg, “Perry Mason”)

William Hopper (Paul Drake, “Perry Mason”) William Talman (Hamilton Burger, “Perry Mason”)

Barbara Hale (Della Street, “Perry Mason”) Barbara Anderson (Eve Whitfield, “Ironside”)

Don Galloway (Ed Brown, “Ironside”) Don Mitchell (Mark Sanger, “Ironside”)

I wonder if there was confusion on either sets lol especially when Barbara Hale guest starred on Ironside :P

#perry mason #ironside #text post #actors #raymond burr #ray collins #william hopper #william talman #barbara hale #barbara anderson #don galloway #don mitchell

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cyarskj1899 · 2 years

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Mugshots have been released of those who are supposedly members of Patriot Front and were pulled out of the back of a U-Haul truck one block from the Pride in the Park events. All were arrested for Criminal Conspiracy and have since bailed out of jail. None of them are local to North Idaho except one being from Spokane, Washington. Where are they from? •• Dylan Carter Corio lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming •• Kieran Padraig Morris lives in Haslet, Texas. •• Thomas Ryan Rousseau lives in Grapevine, Texas. •• Derek Joseph Smith lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. •• Dakota Ray Tabler lives in West Valley, Utah. •• Steven Derrick Tucker lives in Lexington, Alabama. •• Robert Benhamijn Whitted lives in Conroe, Texas. •• Josiah Daniel Buster live in Watauga, Texas •• Brandon Mitchel Haney lives in Kaysville, Utah. •• James Michael Johnson lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. •• James Julius Johnson lives in Concrete, Washington. •• Justin Michael Oleary lives in Des Moines, Washington. •• Forrest Clark Rankin lives in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. •• Spencer Thomas Simpson lives in Ellensburg, Washington. •• Devin Wayne Center lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas •• Winston Worth Durham lives in Genesee, Idaho •• Garret Joseph Garland lives in Freeburg, Illionois •• Nathaniel Taylor Whitfield lives in Elk Ridge, Utah. •• Nathan David Brenner lives in Louisville, Colorado. •• Mishael Joshua Buster lives in Spokane, Washington. •• Richard Jacob Jessop lives in Idaho Falls, Idaho. •• Cameron Kathan Pruitt lives in Midway, Utah. •• Conor James Ryan Lives in Thornton, Colorado. •• Mitchell Frederick Wagner lives in Florissant, Missouri. •• Colton Michael Brown lives in Rovensdale, Washington. •• Connor Patrick Moran lives in Watauga, Texas. •• Alexander Nicholai Sisenstein lives in Midvale, Utah. •• Graham Jones Whitsom lives in Haslet, Texas. •• Lawrence Alexander Norman lives in Prospect, Oregon. •• Jared Michael Boyce, lives in Soringville, Utah •• Wesley Evan Van Horn lives in Lexington, Alabama *Information from the Kootenai County Sheriff Office

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awardswatcherik · 5 days

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28th American Black Film Festival (ABFF) Lineup Featuring New Films Starring Renée Elise Goldsberry, Lynn Whitfield and Jason Mitchell

View On WordPress

#american black film festival #lynn whitfield #renee elise goldsberry

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lboogie1906 · 1 month

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The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African-American and Caribbean-born military pilots who fought in WWII. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the Army Air Forces. The name applies to the navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, cooks, and other support personnel.

All African American military pilots who trained in the US trained at Moton Field, the Tuskegee Army Air Field, and were educated at Tuskegee University. The group included five Haitians from the Haitian Air Force and one pilot from Trinidad. It included a Hispanic or Latino airman born in the Dominican Republic.

March 22, 1942 - The first five cadets graduate from the Tuskegee Flying School: Captain Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. and Second Lieutenants Mac Ross,

Charles DeBow, L.R. Curtis, and George S. Roberts. They will become part of my the famous 99th Pursuit Squadron. List of Tuskegge Airmen.

Paul Adams (pilot)

Rutherford H. Adkins

Halbert Alexander

William Armstrong

Lee Archer

Robert Ashby

William Bartley

Howard Baugh

Henry Cabot Lodge Bohler

George L. Brown

Harold Brown

Roscoe Brown

Victor W. Butler

William Burden

William A. Campbell

Herbert Carter

Raymond Cassagnol

Eugene Calvin Cheatham Jr.

Herbert V. Clark

Granville C. Coggs

Thomas T.J. Collins

Milton Crenchaw

Woodrow Crockett

Lemuel R. Custis

Floyd J. Crawthon Jr

Doodie Head

Clarence Dart

Alfonza W. Davis

Benjamin O. Davis Jr. (C/O)

Charles DeBow

Wilfred DeFour

Gene Derricotte

Lawrence Dickson

Charles W. Dryden

John Ellis Edwards

Leslie Edwards Jr.

Thomas Ellis

Joseph Elsberry

Leavie Farro Jr

James Clayton Flowers

Julius Freeman

Robert Friend (pilot)

William J. Faulkner Jr.

Joseph Gomer

Alfred Gorham

Oliver Goodall

Garry Fuller

James H. Harvey

Donald A. Hawkins

Kenneth R. Hawkins

Raymond V. Haysbert

Percy Heath

Maycie Herrington

Mitchell Higginbotham

William Lee Hill

Esteban Hotesse

George Hudson Jr.

Lincoln Hudson

George J. Iles

Eugene B. Jackson

Daniel "Chappie" James Jr.

Alexander Jefferson

Buford A. Johnson

Herman A. Johnson

Theodore Johnson

Celestus King III

James Johnson Kelly

James B. Knighten

Erwin B. Lawrence Jr.

Clarence D. Lester

Theodore Lumpkin Jr

John Lyle

Hiram Mann

Walter Manning

Robert L. Martin

Armour G. McDaniel

Charles McGee

Faythe A. McGinnis

John "Mule" Miles

John Mosley

Fitzroy Newsum

Norman L Northcross

Noel F. Parrish

Alix Pasquet

Wendell O. Pruitt

Louis R. Purnell Sr.

Wallace P. Reed

William E. Rice

Eugene J. Richardson, Jr.

George S. Roberts

Lawrence E. Roberts

Isaiah Edward Robinson Jr.

Willie Rogers

Mac Ross

Robert Searcy

David Showell

Wilmeth Sidat-Singh

Eugene Smith

Calvin J. Spann

Vernon Sport

Lowell Steward

Harry Stewart, Jr.

Charles "Chuck" Stone Jr.

Percy Sutton

Alva Temple

Roger Terry

Lucius Theus

Edward L. Toppins

Robert B. Tresville

Andrew D. Turner

Herbert Thorpe

Richard Thorpe

Thomas Franklin Vaughns

Virgil Richardson

William Harold Walker

Spann Watson

Luke J. Weathers, Jr.

Sherman W. White

Malvin "Mal" Whitfield

James T. Wiley

Oscar Lawton Wilkerson

Henry Wise Jr.

Kenneth Wofford

Coleman Young

Perry H. Young Jr.

#africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

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lilyellowsongbird · 1 year

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Janis Joplin - The Blueprint

Back in middle school, in my search for my music, I found Janis Joplin. Once I listened to Piece of My Heart, I started on my path to being the weird hippie I am today. I heard the boisterous, raunchy guitar and Janis' signature voice and I was enraptured. That song was the first bread crumb that led me to the wonderful world of classic rock. As I've grown into the woman I am today, I see parts of myself that I unintentionally molded after Janis. She was quite literally the blueprint for me. Ratty hair, loud voice, social outcast, a woman who just wants to live her life and make her art. My mother always says she doesn't know where I came from, this Penny-Lane-esque wild child where her sweet spot in the middle used to be. I know where I came from: that moment when I heard Janis Joplin giving her heart and soul to her lover.

Joplin's second album with Big Brother and The Holding company has always been present in my life since. Of course, all of her discography has a special place in my heart, but Cheap Thrills has a particular place right at the front. Janis' rough, rowdy voice is electric, filling any room when her music is played. No one sings like her; trust me, I've looked. I've seen people compared to her, but none of them come close. None of them have that scratch, that pure honesty that she has in her voice. They're loud, but they're too perfect.

When Janis wrote, she wrote with an understanding of the world. As a blues based performer, her music mostly revolves around lost love and sorrow, but there is hope within her songs. Just as much as the world is dark and full of terrible woes, there is life and love and joy and hope. There is so much in this world and Janis captured that with her lyrics and her voice.

I once saw a comment on a youtube video bashing Janis. They said she just screeched and that she stole her music from blues artists. That is just entirely false. Janis openly spoke about her influences and inspirations. She credited Bessie Smith as her main inspiration. Everything she had she got from Bessie, and she expressed her gratitude frequently. Unlike some rockers we know (coughcoughjimmypagecoughcough) Janis acknowledged her roots. And as to the screeching allegation, all I can say is no matter how perfect your voice is, if you don't have passion, your voice is useless. I would rather listen to an imperfect voice sing with conviction than a flawless voice sing with nothing behind it but the pride of hitting notes. Janis could hit the notes, but she sang with her heart, and that is what mattered most.

My mother always wanted me to meet her cousin Whit. He was a hippie back in the 60s. All of the stories she told me, I wanted to meet him so badly. A few years ago, I walked into the kitchen one Saturday morning and my mom sat me down. "Cousin Whit died this morning. Your grandpa just called and told me." My heart cracked, but I felt guilty about grieving him. I had never met him, I had no real attachment to him, and yet it hurt so much. I decided to take my shower and move forward. I had no choice. While I was in the shower, I got a text from my mom. Turns out my grandpa misheard. It was his cousin Whitfield, a distant relative, not our cousin Whit. He was still alive and healthy, playing the guitar at a farmer's market.

My mom went to visit him this past summer with my grandpa. She talked all about me and my strange hippie habits. She mentioned my love of Janis Joplin and Joni Mitchell. "Joni Mitchell" he said, leaning back in his chair with a smile and a sigh of memory. He proceeded to tell my mom about the time he hitchhiked to Birmingham Alabama, my home town, to see Janis perform at one of our universities. After her recounting of their lunch, I knew I had to meet him as soon as I could. I hoped to go at Thanksgiving or New Years, to drive all the way to Chapel Hill just for a few hours with him.

In early October, I got a worrying text from my mom as I left my night class. I called her as soon as I got home, thinking my great grandma or my grandpa had died. No, it was Whit, the one person I didn't want to die. I hadn't met him yet. I was so close, and suddenly he was gone. All of those stories, all of those beautiful memories of my favorite artists at their peak, gone in a moment. I went over to my friend Emma's dorm and just sat on her floor, on the verge of tears, telling her all about Whit and my great grandma's house and how much it hurt that I couldn't meet him. In his obituary, they mentioned his love of Bob Dylan, another important artist in my life. Suddenly, it hurt even more that I couldn't talk to him, even for five minutes.

I hope to meet his sister one day soon, maybe during spring break. Maybe she'll have even a fraction of his stories. Still, it hurts that I'll never meet him.

When I think about it, this pain is all because of Janis. She stuck with me throughout my life, bringing me joy and validating my sorrows. She's the reason I found the music I love. She's the reason I wanted to meet Whit. She always knows exactly what to say when I need it. Kozmic Blues is my favorite of song of hers. In it she sings "You're gonna live your life/and you're gonna love your life/Oh, babe, someday you're gonna have to cry". Regardless of one missed opportunity, you have to live your life. We can't expect to go through life without pain; it's a side effect of being human. But we can make the most of what we've got. Janis understood that, and I think I've just started to understand it.

#janis joplin #classic rock #70's music #60s music #psychedelic rock #blues #nonfiction #memories

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