Okay, I'm not a Boomer, but you might mistake me for one when it comes to my music tastes. You know - "Today's music is crap!" I freely admit that I am firmly stuck in the 1980s, the last decade of great music, but I think I have a pretty varied musical palate. I love funk; Prince is my all-time favorite musician, and I love George Clinton, The Time, and others. I like classic country like Dolly Parton, George Jones, Patsy Cline, and Loretta Lynn. I love the British New Wave synth-pop of the 1980s. I like a little rap and a little punk. However, for the most part, "Today's music is crap." I can't stand today's Top 40 and most popular music. In the car, I listen to talk radio, audiobooks, of Amazon Music playlists.
There are few artists today that I enjoy, mainly Adele, Emeli Sande, and Janelle Monae, but I have discovered three albums this year that made me very happy, and I can't stop playing them..
Two of the albums are from the lead singers of two of my favorite 1980s bands. Remember Scandal, fronted by Patty Smyth? They had a couple of hits like "The Warrior" and "Goodbye to You".
Then Patty Smyth married tennis superstar John McEnroe and had a family. She recorded her last solo album in 1992. In 2020, almost thirty years later, she's back. She's more mature and seasoned as a vocalist, and the songs on the album are great. It's so great to have her back. Here's one of the new songs.
Fee Waybill is the the lead singer of the Tubes. You might know them from their biggest hit, one of my favorite 80s songs, "She's a Beauty", with the very suggestive video (Of course, I was a sheltered kid, so the suggestions went entirely over my head.) They really didn't have a lot of radio or MTV play because they were known for being quite sexual on stage, and they kind of had an underground reputation.
Fee Waybill has released a couple of solo albums in the past couple of decades, but this year, I discovered his newest, Fee Waybill Rides Again. Just take a look at that face on the cover. This man's has led a long, hard rock and roll life, and it shows, His voice and the songs on this album also show it. It's one of the best rock albums I've heard in a long, long time. The Tubes were about to embark on a big anniversary tour just as COVID hit. I'm really hoping they get it going again. I would love to see them live. Here's a song from Waybill's new album.
And then there's Yola. WOW! She's a black British COUNTRY singer/songwriter, and I've totally gone head over heels for her music. If you know the history of music, you know that country music has black roots. The banjo is an African instrument. Early country music was heavily influenced by black spiritual and gospel music and pioneering black musicians, but the fact is that there have been few black faces in mainstream country music. We recently lost the acknowledged first black country star, Charley Pride , who opened doors, but not many followed him through. It's slowly changing. Darius Rucker is at the top of the country charts now, and Rhiannon Giddens is a superstar in the Americana music world and has made it her mission to make people aware of country music's black roots. But then there's Yola. What a voice! She reminds me of Tina Turner in some ways, but she can sing it all, and her songs are brilliant. Her music is rock, soul, country, pop - everything. She is definitely deserving of superstardom, and I look forward to seeing her on tour. Here's a taste.
The Salvador Dali Museum is located in St. Petersburg, Florida. Opening in1982, the Dali was built as the home of the Dali collection owned by A. Reynolds and Eleanor Morse. The Morses started collecting in the 1940s, and they became close personal friends of the artist and his wife. It is one of my favorite museums. The museum's collection is first-rate, and it has mounted many outstanding exhibits over the years, but the Van Gogh Alive exhibit, running through April 11, 2021, is definitely one of the most spectacular and creative exhibits I've ever seen in a museum. ( https://thedali.org/ )
Van Gogh Alive ( https://grande-experiences.com/van-gogh-alive/ ) is a traveling, multisensory experience that allows the visitor to explore the work and life experiences of Vincent Van Gogh during the period 1880 to 1890 in Arles, Saint Rémy and Auvers-sur-Oise France, the locations where he created many of his timeless masterpieces. Synchronized to a powerful classical score, more than 3,000 Van Gogh works, details of works, and supplemental videos at an enormous scale that fills giant screens, walls, columns, ceilings and even the floor. The visitor is immersed in the works.
At the Dali, the exhibit is presented in three galleries, two smaller and more intimate space and one large space. Images are projected all around you. While there are no actual physical works on display, the projections are such high quality that you "see" the texture that Van Gogh is famous for. It seems that the paint strokes have depth and thickness. Meanwhile, there is a fabulous musical score that is so perfect that it adds so much to the experience. It is not frivolous background. Other than the music, there is dead silence because the visitors are awestruck. Everywhere you look, there is something new to see. The paintings are brought to life in a way that Vincent Van Gogh could never have imagined, and it evoked more emotions in me than any other art experience.
The Dali is the exhibit's first American stop, and the exhibit will run through April 11, 2021. Advanced tickets are required, and they sell out fast. We are already planning future visit(s). If it comes close to your city, go see it.
