The Music Festival in Your Mind
Posted at 5:05 AM on May 8, 2009
by Dale Connelly
(33 Comments)
Yesterday Gail made the comment that husky voiced Marlene Dietrich and raspy throated Leonard Cohen would have made an interesting duo. Ann Reed, who was visiting, encouraged more such nonsense, offering up the idea that Radio Heartland listeners could, like fantasy baseball addicts, compose ideal duos with singers who otherwise might never have met.
Cohen and Dietrich. If only.
Here they are in a performance given just last night inside my computer. It occurred to me while looking at them that Marlene's death in 1992 has done nothing to diminish her allure, and they would both look great wearing Leonard's hat.
The weekend is upon us, and along with all the important chores we have to do there are many, many extravagant time-wasters available, including Photoshop, so feel free to come up with your own Cohen - Dietrich photo, or any of the others that were suggested, like Amy Winehouse & Frank Sinatra, Annie Lennox & Aretha Franklin, Chet Baker & Alison Krauss, or Johnny Depp and Peter Cottontail.
Or any other wacky thing you can think up. Send me the results by e-mail and we'll see.
Today, Neal Hagberg of the famous actual duo Neal & Leandra will be visiting.
Who knows what kind of mayhem he'll ignite.
And speaking of duos, our Power of Two concert, broadcast last Sunday and Wednesday, is now available for anytime listening through our website.
Thanks to everyone who has made a contribution in support of Radio Heartland so far. This is the second day of our drive. Keep up the good work!
Comments (33)
A duo which worked very well and was a suprise to me is Nora Jones singing with Ray Charles. There is another unusual duo where Nate King Cole sang electronicly with his daughter after he had died.
How about Bob dylan and Tom Waits. I'm afraid this would be awful. Johnny Cash was barely able to sing with Bob.
Oh, Dale, what a laugh I'm having today at your Photoshop of Leonard & Marlene! She WOULD look good in a fedora! One thing that I can really imagine is Leonard kneeling in front of her, singing to her. On Sunday night, he did a lot of singing on his knees, reverential sometimes, penitential at others (such as for Bird on a Wire). I'd be Photoshopping myself this weekend, but am leaving town to visit Mom. Then mowing the lawn when I get back. Real stuff.
Thanks for a wonderful pick-me-up for a Friday!
I think the Roches and Riders in the Sky would make a super little choir. The harmonies would be fabulous. And maybe one of the Roche sisters could learn to yodel.
I just heard "I Just Forget" by Autobody Experience....I've found "my song" - that's me! So anyway, I grabbed the laptop and got ready to download it from iTunes, but they don't have the album on iTunes. So the problem is, I know I'm going to forget what the song was, who sang it on what album, and finally I'll forget to go to Electric Fetus and buy it.
I thought everyone was meant to be gardening, not photoshopping, this weekend. ;-)
Wishing all a great weekend!
good morning, All - Dale, you have a career in the magazines i see at the grocery store checkout counter - really great PhotoShopping! but please don't leave us for the glitzy world of celebrity....
like Gail, i'm not PhotoShopping, or even naming duos because i'm pretty busy with real stuff. Alba is doing great, and, at the recommendations (nay, orders!) of the vet and my "goat lady" mentor, i gotta start milking Alba. Alba is sweet and beautiful, but even more stubborn than her mom, Dream. Alba doesn't believe she should have to submit to such stuff as milking. i tried to explain to her what it means to be a "dairy" goat. she's having none of it. wish me luck. (i remember last year when i started milking Dream i came in the house with a bloody mouth - had gotten to close to the "action" and got a hock in the kisser!) i'm outta here.
hope the membership drive goes great today!
Good Morning Heartlanders! Hey Barb, I didn't realize having dairy goats was such a dangerous occupation! I pictured you having a simple, bucolic lifestyle, lollygagging around in your retirement. =:~)
I can't think of any interesting duos -- but I remember seeing the TV show with Bing Crosby and David Bowie singing a beautiful, memorable version of "Peace on Earth" a looonnngg time ago. Now that was an unlikely, but very nice duo.
Good Morning RH,
Ha ha, Dale - Depp and Cottontail. That's great!
Gail - thanks for cluing me in about Johnny Depp's singing ability. I tried your youtube suggestion, but just saw stills of him in Chocolat with guitar music in the background. Still gratifying!
Mike P. and Anna - Thank YOU yesterday, for the additional rabbit help. Mike, the milorganite sounds like a winner. The company’s site says it’s perfectly safe for vegetables, as well as flowers, but not to let pets or children eat it as it may cause an upset stomach. Another site said that dogs are excellent rabbit deterrents and so is human urine. It didn't go into the application technique, but personally, I think I'd find it too tedious. It would be a whole lot easier for men of course!
One more duo idea - Leon Redbone and Carol Channing.
You have some Leon in your library, don't you?
Welcome Neal! Do you agree with Ann Reed's approval of Dale's decorating?
How about Victoria Williams and Bob Dylan singing "TC" as an unlikely duo that you'd only want to hear once (just for the experience).
Good morning! The world will be o.k. We are hearing The Duo of Dale and Neal right now playing Cohen!! Off to work...I need HD in my car!!
Barb in Blackhoof, Good Morning. I'm trying to imagine how you got hit by a hock while milking...are you milking from behind?
Dale, do you still have the photo of the Norwegian woman milking a goat I sent earlier? It's just what I imagine Barb is doing...
Love that Leonard Cohen...still wondering if you will ever play the Norwegian versions.
Donna,
The decoration is simple, but tasteful, elegant, yet not ostentatious. And welcoming, especially with the five course breakfast Dale has cooked by himself set up in the adjacent guest suite....
This odd duo actually performed this song.
Edelweiss-Julie Andrews and John Denver.
Julie Andrews can make anything work.
Thanks Neal - sounds like heaven on earth! Off to look up "ostentatious", then to work!
mornin, all--
off topic---
thanks for the steer yesterday, dale, to nikki and the ruemates at minnehaha falls---what a great evening! perfect weather for a bike ride to the falls, with a 20 tucked in my pocket to pay for yummy fried fish basket while listening to the trio playing outdoors....fabulous--they sang a great song about "never never never going to get drunk again"--do you have that one???
on topic---there were some great duets on the old muppet show with celebrities and kermit etc....
off topic--
i'm listening to bob dylan's Chronicles in the car these days---makes me want to hear some of his older stuff that i don't know well
gotta run, got work to do :-)
happy gardening, all
oh, yeah, my gardening conundrum is that when the snow melted, i discovered two holes in my yard that my friend says are rabbit holes---and she says since they are clearly being used, there might be baby bunnies down there--so what is the right thing to do? don't want to kill baby bunnies, but don't want rabbit infestation in backyard either--
help, gang--
To Donna and other Johnny Depp fans -- do see "Chocolat" -- it is a lovely, interesting movie. He's also in the movie version of the musical "Sweeney Todd," looking murderous and singing about slitting throats, etc. I haven't seen it yet, but I've heard it's good. The man can do anything, it seems.
Oh, I am weak kneed from that gorgeous, silky, smooth rendition of "Blue Moon" by Ella Fitzgerald. Oh my. I have lots of Ella's recordings, but I don't think I have one with her singing "Blue Moon." I must find one.
Have a great weekend, All; and a great membership drive, RH!
Darcy
On the topic of wish duos - how about Bessie Smith and Janis Joplin? Kristen Chenoweth and Miss Piggy (Ms. C. would have been a great guest for the old Muppet Show)?
P.S. Man - I wish Leandra would have recorded a CD of lullabies 5 years ago when my daughter was a baby...would have snapped one up (and probably still will).
Donna,
When you find out what ostentatious means, let me know. I just used it because it was a big, important sounding word...
Neal
do i milk from behind, Cynthia? no. not since that kick!
and Joanne - it mostly IS bucolic. after the girls get used to being milked, i can lean my head against their bellies, listen to the gurgling (because there's NO HD RADIO UP HERE!!!), and milk away.
got an email for sustainers yesterday, checked out the offers, donated some extra cash, made a glorious statement about RH, and got some really cool BD gifts for a friend, including a RH mug. it's a good way for sustainers to add a bit toward the cause, it seems!
Nice little goat song by Diane Jarvi. There is another lullaby with a goat mentioned...um, mama's going to buy you a billy goat, if that ...can't think of the title.
How far off is my memory (back to the beginning of the show and "I just forget")
Happy weekend all!
Good Morning,
Dale, your PhotoShop skills are a marvel. Another one of the many things at which you shine is having a guest musician being your sidekick on the show. Great to listen to you and Ann Reed yesterday, & Neal Hagberg today. Delightful repartee. And when you hosted musicians who sounded to me to be young, or newly promoting their talents (Carrie Rodriguez comes to mind), your astute, unexpected questions put them at ease. I could almost hear them relax as I listened. I hope you make space & time for more chat with musicians and performers.
As for deterring rabbits from a garden, a border of Milorganite, or blood or bone meal—something made from a living creature—around the edge (rather than near the plants), perhaps a foot wide, may deter rabbits from leaping into the garden. And dog-hair sachets, made by stuffing a wad of dog hair (the smellier the better) into a small, net produce bag tied with twine, then anchored with plastic picnic knives in and around the garden have even deflected deer (according to a pal who’s tried this at her cabin).
As a fellow goat milker, I LOVE the positive attention to the goat world, and the song about the goat! I am training 5 first fresheners (new milkers) and it is a challenge without Radio Heartland in the barn to help everyone relax. I just had an inspiration--we use a baby monitor to listen for goats going into labor. When Kidding season is over, I could reverse the baby monitor and listen to the computer stream IN THE BARN! Joy!
i'm sorry; after this i'll shut up. thank you for the "Raisins and Almonds" - but, honestly - the idea of a goat going to the market and coming back carrying, especially, those two items anywhere but in its tummy is pretty unrealistic! it's not that a goat is greedy or selfish - goats are realists. raisins and almonds in the tummy are way better than the future admiration of the owner. they don't do fetch.
good day to everyone
thanks, Neal, for visiting this morning!
Ranna - what a great idea! who knew i'd get some of the best goat info on this blog! thanks so much - now to lobby for a baby monitor....
Good Friday Morning!
Great to hear Neal this morning and I hope he's not at the end of his life but congrats on avoiding having a real job.
I'm not so sure about the dog as a deterrent for rabbits as we have a dog that has caught rabbits as well as a blind cat that can catch rabbits (I have seen it with my own eyes!) and as you have guessed, there are still rabbits in the yard. I have heard that planting Marigolds around the perimeter keeps them away.
In any event, the Sweetie picked up our garden yesterday at the high school sale so a-gardening I go!
Yes, very nice hat on Leonard. Personally, I prefer a little wider brim but to each their own. And, yes, some women can definitely work the fedoras.
I think a lot of this hinges on how one interprets the word "interesting" in the premise of this topic. Are we talking about two disparate vocalists that blend surprisingly well? Or are we looking for an audio train wreck? If you prefer the latter (as a friend of mine does) I encourage you to check out the "Golden Throats" series. You will be rather surprised at some of the television/movie stars that have made (at times a desperate) attempts at song. To focus on just some of the duets, how about Buddy Ebsen and Pleasant Williams singing "Your Cheatin' Heart?" Sid Bass and Merv Griffin sing "Tumblin' Tumbleweeds." Carol Channing and Webb Pierce do "Back Street Affair." If this is your 'thing,' you may also want to check into an album called "When Pigs Fly." Same sort of thing but it includes what (in my opinion) is probably the most unlikely duo...a truly stunning version of "Unforgettable" by Ani Difranco and Jackie Chan. ...yikes...
Thanks TGiTH for another fascinating train of thought -- it's amazing what you folks come up with! I am an unimaginative sloth in comparison.
Some celebrities shouldn't be allowed to sing. I remember Leonard Nimoy's album that came out when the original "Star Trek" series was popular. My sister bought the album -- it was awful, but we loved it as fans.
My husband even went to the midnight opening of the new "Star Trek" movie last night. I would have loved to go, but I get up early. How dorky is that?
Joanne - I've come to the conclusion that we're all geeky or dorky...just about different things. Embrace your inner geek. Lots of those hobbies that were historically categorized as geeky are now recognized as hip and cool. Look at comic books. Now they're called 'graphic novels' and are shelved next to fiction sections in bookstores. When I was a kid, anyone over the age of 12 got 'looks' if they bought a comic. My wife and I will be taking her Mom to see Trek on Mother's Day. And she thinks it's very cool.
Happy Weekend all-
Regarding duos that people would like and talk of Muppets reminded me of the Kermit Unpigged cd from '94 that has Miss Piggy and Ozzy Osbourne doing a version of Born To Be Wild. Definitely the oddest pairing on the cd, but perhaps my favorite.
Yesterday the blueberry, tomato and green pepper plants were planted. The asparagus is coming up, the cherry tree is in full blossom and the old canes removed from the raspberry plants. Now we need to get the sunflower, marigolds and other veggie seeds planted and get some other blooming flowers!
Hey Heartlanders,
The Eric Bibb interview we did earlier this week will be featured in hour 2 of Saturday night's broadcast on MPR News. There's also a link to it on the MPR homepage. Enjoy!
Hey Dale & Mike,
I enjoyed "Taken" by Ingrid Michaelson this evening, but I can't find it on any of her CD's or soundtracks or anywhere in cyberspace for that matter. Where can I get a hold of that song?
Many Thanks,
Betsy
Hi Betsy,
We played "Far Away" from Ingrid Michaelson Friday evening. Could that be what you were referring to? If so, it's an unmarked track on her earlier album, "Girls and Boys".
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