I was expecting T.S. Eliot and instead this. Some of it is interesting but "you hang from my lips like the Garden of Babylon"? Really. "Linger like a tattoo kiss"? "The road not taken looks real good now"? What's remarkable to me is that she can sing her lyrics from memory and her fans know the words too? They seem so unmemorable to me, compared to "In the Gardens of Babylon" or Frost's "The Road Not Taken". Just my opinion. You're good to sit and entertain your dad. That's real entertainment.
It's fascinating how we hear things differently. I read the mission statements of arts organizations about diversity/equity/inclusivity/I engagement/creating community/making safe spaces for healing, and I think "bullshit" and some people I know take it very seriously as a step forward. To me it's Artificial Intelligence. I wonder what a chatbot might do with Taylor. I'm sure people have tried.
As to DEI language, I think it is tone-deaf and that if it means to speak to actual people, it needs to sound like the way people would talk, otherwise it may as well be in Swedish.
I know nothing about Taylor Swift other than her pictures and the fact that she is apparently everywhere all the time in our current environment, i.e. Earth. However, your mentioning the lyrics seeming "unmemorable" (and I agree) causes me to remember to say this to your readers who might have otherwise missed out on an amazing performance, yours.
In February 2016 Garrison Keillor appeared at the 92nd Street Y (92Y) and that performance is on YouTube. It is called, I think, "Ode to New York" and you can find it, in full, on YouTube. It is an amazing performance and all of the GK fans here would be well-rewarded by viewing it. Stories, poems and by extension, lyrics (some of them anyway) are memorable and form some of the glue that holds us together as one people.
My family and watched that YouTube performance just last night and were astonished at the memory of the performer, and, as usual, loved the singing. Mr. Keillor, I think YOU would be much appreciated if you and/or your singing partners started a YouTube channel devoted strictly to group acapella singing.
Some audiences want to sing and others definitely don't and it's hazardous to guess who is which. Generally it works better down South and in smaller towns in the Midwest and with older audiences. So we grope our way through dim light, like everyone else these days.
There seems more peace and quiet here on the frozen tundra today here in the River City of MSP. We got our first small snow fall with the usual fenderbenders. It takes a while to wake up the drivers to speed and brakes....one works and the other doesn't, so we have to work at it too....short pumps on the brakes and slower movements. Whilst walking beware the ice below and where one's center of gravity is. We can end up on our kiesters so fast we wonder what happened and for some of us octogenarians we must be careful of our hip bones which could rend us immobile and in a wheel chair. So let's beware here and wherever ice is formed. Let Uber bring what you need to your door. We have Lent here now, so let's all slowdown and be thoughtful. Ask for help among the young.....that will keep us mobile octogenarians!
Just as an FYI, the water flowing under dams out west make their electricity. In addition, many dams control water level by releasing water from underneath.
After listening to the Times interview with Justice O'Connor that Garrison mentioned in his column last week, I also found that PBS had recently rebroadcast the episode of American Experience that profiled her. It was a more thorough piece than the Times and offered an explanation of O'Connor's position on Bush v. Gore (which Garrison mentions this week). I don't know that the explanation was clearly from Justice O'Connor herself, but it did point to the inevitability of Bush getting into the White House even had the Court refused to hear the case.
The episode is worth watching, especially for Republicans (conservatives or otherwise) wondering how that party transformed over the years.
Does anyone read Time magazine anymore? And who is Taylor Smith? The words to this song or poem or whatever it is sound like they were written by AI - some of the worst cliche's. H.L. Mencken said words to the effect that "99.5% of the American people go through their entire lives mouthing cliche's with never an original thought". This appears to be relevant to the literary talents in question.
Bess: I apologize for missing the point of your dad mis-speaking. I did catch it but not before hitting the "post" button. Also apologize for the criticism of the song lyrics under the circumstances. While I have no credentials which make me a literacy expert, there should be standards, and are, by which some literary efforts outshine others regardless of one's preferences. However, these are not always evidenced by the measures of popularity. In fact, often quite the opposite. I agree with GK's comments in this particular case but admire the effort you made to post this entire set of lyrics.
"Who put the ram in the ram a lama dingdong?" Literary effort enough for you,Dave? Lighten up, my friend, She's making ahelluva lot more money thanyou and I ever dreamed of....!
Hi Gene: Your point is right on and exactly what I was trying to say above in my reply to Bess. Give it a re-read. Our mutual friend, GK, would no doubt agree.
Time Magazine naming Taylor Swift for PERSON is a total cop-out. She is certainly talented, but Time obviously doesn't want to touch anything POLITICAL
I was expecting T.S. Eliot and instead this. Some of it is interesting but "you hang from my lips like the Garden of Babylon"? Really. "Linger like a tattoo kiss"? "The road not taken looks real good now"? What's remarkable to me is that she can sing her lyrics from memory and her fans know the words too? They seem so unmemorable to me, compared to "In the Gardens of Babylon" or Frost's "The Road Not Taken". Just my opinion. You're good to sit and entertain your dad. That's real entertainment.
It's fascinating how we hear things differently. I read the mission statements of arts organizations about diversity/equity/inclusivity/I engagement/creating community/making safe spaces for healing, and I think "bullshit" and some people I know take it very seriously as a step forward. To me it's Artificial Intelligence. I wonder what a chatbot might do with Taylor. I'm sure people have tried.
As to DEI language, I think it is tone-deaf and that if it means to speak to actual people, it needs to sound like the way people would talk, otherwise it may as well be in Swedish.
I know nothing about Taylor Swift other than her pictures and the fact that she is apparently everywhere all the time in our current environment, i.e. Earth. However, your mentioning the lyrics seeming "unmemorable" (and I agree) causes me to remember to say this to your readers who might have otherwise missed out on an amazing performance, yours.
In February 2016 Garrison Keillor appeared at the 92nd Street Y (92Y) and that performance is on YouTube. It is called, I think, "Ode to New York" and you can find it, in full, on YouTube. It is an amazing performance and all of the GK fans here would be well-rewarded by viewing it. Stories, poems and by extension, lyrics (some of them anyway) are memorable and form some of the glue that holds us together as one people.
My family and watched that YouTube performance just last night and were astonished at the memory of the performer, and, as usual, loved the singing. Mr. Keillor, I think YOU would be much appreciated if you and/or your singing partners started a YouTube channel devoted strictly to group acapella singing.
Hello Annie Cross ,Thank you for 92Y!
Some audiences want to sing and others definitely don't and it's hazardous to guess who is which. Generally it works better down South and in smaller towns in the Midwest and with older audiences. So we grope our way through dim light, like everyone else these days.
My o my! It's 4:25 AM here in the Phoenix area and I had my first good laughs of the day!
Thank you❤️🎄🙏🎄❤️
I heard Sandra Day O’Connor speak at Chautauqua a few years ago. She said her vote on the Bush election was her biggest mistake as a justice.
I imagine what a different world it would be had Gore won that election. Sigh
Very different. Double sigh.
There seems more peace and quiet here on the frozen tundra today here in the River City of MSP. We got our first small snow fall with the usual fenderbenders. It takes a while to wake up the drivers to speed and brakes....one works and the other doesn't, so we have to work at it too....short pumps on the brakes and slower movements. Whilst walking beware the ice below and where one's center of gravity is. We can end up on our kiesters so fast we wonder what happened and for some of us octogenarians we must be careful of our hip bones which could rend us immobile and in a wheel chair. So let's beware here and wherever ice is formed. Let Uber bring what you need to your door. We have Lent here now, so let's all slowdown and be thoughtful. Ask for help among the young.....that will keep us mobile octogenarians!
I’m your age. You say “Piss on it.” I say WGAS. “Who Gives a Sxxt.” I guess it all depends on which bodily function makes one feel better.
Just as an FYI, the water flowing under dams out west make their electricity. In addition, many dams control water level by releasing water from underneath.
Thanks for the clarificattion.
After listening to the Times interview with Justice O'Connor that Garrison mentioned in his column last week, I also found that PBS had recently rebroadcast the episode of American Experience that profiled her. It was a more thorough piece than the Times and offered an explanation of O'Connor's position on Bush v. Gore (which Garrison mentions this week). I don't know that the explanation was clearly from Justice O'Connor herself, but it did point to the inevitability of Bush getting into the White House even had the Court refused to hear the case.
The episode is worth watching, especially for Republicans (conservatives or otherwise) wondering how that party transformed over the years.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/sandra-day-oconnor-first/
Does anyone read Time magazine anymore? And who is Taylor Smith? The words to this song or poem or whatever it is sound like they were written by AI - some of the worst cliche's. H.L. Mencken said words to the effect that "99.5% of the American people go through their entire lives mouthing cliche's with never an original thought". This appears to be relevant to the literary talents in question.
Bess: I apologize for missing the point of your dad mis-speaking. I did catch it but not before hitting the "post" button. Also apologize for the criticism of the song lyrics under the circumstances. While I have no credentials which make me a literacy expert, there should be standards, and are, by which some literary efforts outshine others regardless of one's preferences. However, these are not always evidenced by the measures of popularity. In fact, often quite the opposite. I agree with GK's comments in this particular case but admire the effort you made to post this entire set of lyrics.
"Who put the ram in the ram a lama dingdong?" Literary effort enough for you,Dave? Lighten up, my friend, She's making ahelluva lot more money thanyou and I ever dreamed of....!
Hi Gene: Your point is right on and exactly what I was trying to say above in my reply to Bess. Give it a re-read. Our mutual friend, GK, would no doubt agree.
May I hop in here? To get straight to the distillation, let me assert, 'My art is better than yours!'
Time Magazine naming Taylor Swift for PERSON is a total cop-out. She is certainly talented, but Time obviously doesn't want to touch anything POLITICAL