Mitchell's Musings

Ray Lamontagne. True gentleman of brilliant art. Understated, yet right through your bones.

I’m a fan of Damien Rice, and I plan to cover one of his tracks myself soon. But I had never heard of this track until my oldest covered it. When I heard the original? Honestly thought his choice of key was surprisingly low. I think she hit the right key and feel. If only … HE heard this version.

The Patty Griffin track always makes me drift back to my old friend and umpire buddy from St. Thomas. He carried a sickness for a lengthy spell, hardly telling anyone. I remember a phone call out of nowhere in the off-season from John, a rare event. It’s probably one of those moments of saying goodbye to a friend. For him, a final goodbye. For me, not knowing as such. My other pal, Peter, called less than a month later to share the news of his passing. Still miss the big fellow. Always in my heart.

Citizen Cope. ‘Lifeline’. I discovered him recently. Intriguing performer. Very powerful lyrics. Something about his sound that’s catchy to me. I chose to bring it up a little higher to match my octave. Like this message quite a bit.

I found Sufjan Stevens on Radio Paradise. And KCRW. They are my two primary sources of music listening; have been for a few years, now. The poignant lyrics are something else. It’s almost matter-of-factly, which doesn’t do the story enough justice. Apparently about a former friend (girlfriend?).

David Gray. Silver Lining. Fabulous track. Saw him on KCRW, heard him on Radio Paradise. Found a new favourite. The Bonnie Raitt version’s pretty nice, too. Tried to do it some justice. AND … no shades. So there.