36 Comments
Comment deleted
March 25, 2023
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
author

Bowing down to your choice, because, honestly, Elizabeth Fraser might be one of my all-time favorite singers. Exactly as you said, she sends me somewhere into the ether. Her voice is otherworldly and transcendental. I never ever grow tired of listening to her. She's like a security blanket for me, she both tethers me to this world and takes me far far away. Thank you!

Expand full comment
author

YES! Elizabeth Fraser is an actual goddess who has descended into this realm to grace us with her divine voice. I daresay I love every single track she has ever recorded. Even the songs she never officially released, like this rarely heard, unreleased duet with Jeff Buckley:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnPvnIKCJYA

And kudos to you for being a fellow thrift store shopper! Fashion Reimagined is one of those paradigm shifting documentaries. I hope everyone (especially everyone in the entire fashion industry) can watch this film.

Hope all is well with you too!

Expand full comment
Comment deleted
March 25, 2023
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
author

You are very welcome! So glad you loved it! That one is a real deep cut . . . never officially released, but such an achingly beautiful song.

Expand full comment
author

Ok, I'll get the ball rolling and keep this dinner party happening! One of my favorite female singers, whom I think is very often overlooked, is the incredible Judy Henske. She just passed away last year at the age of 85!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_Henske

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKjkUPzui7A

Expand full comment
author

The Queen of the Beatniks! Great choice! "High Flying Bird" (both the song and album) is one of my favorites as well. And her self-titled live album from 1963 is everything.

https://open.spotify.com/album/0ZYBnF9ifTI4xxiqnQsFB2

https://open.spotify.com/album/1PKo6UvTCdxihIRNH5qLyA

Expand full comment

Just listening to this one now. SMOKEY!

Expand full comment

She totally reminds me of Cher! Is it just me, or do you think she was an influence on Cher? Her style, even her look.

Expand full comment
author

Totally! And before that she was a huge influence on Grace Slick, who actually did a pretty similar cover version (vocally especially) with Jefferson Airplane of her version of High Flying Bird.

Expand full comment

Holy Horus! Grace Slick, of course! I'm listening to Tabacca Chaw, but she's hilarious!

Expand full comment
author

She is seriously part comedian, part singer, part everything. And she also happened to be a dear friend of Ace Farren Ford's!

Expand full comment

That's right! You know Ace.

Expand full comment
author

He's my big poppa bear, my brother. He was in EXP also. Ryan has a tattoo of a Greek/Egyptian caduceus that Ace did many years ago. We love that man dearly.

Expand full comment
author

So many favorites . . . today I'm going to choose . . . Shea Diamond! An amazing singer/songwriter whose work should be more widely known. Her lyrics/voice/sound are all great. My favorite tracks are "I Am Her," "I Am America," "Don't Shoot" and "American Pie." Check her out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_zOOnvB7K8

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5blcro89qJueGv0DGQ2rsH

Expand full comment
author

Shea Diamond! YES, she is so good! Her sound is everything and I cannot wait to see what she does next!

Expand full comment

I MUST say that this has been one podcast of obscurities that I haven't yet discovered in relation to the studies of occult, perhaps it is that the occult led me to discover the gallery of the internal.

The Wormwood Star, was intense. The art direction is superb for it makes clever, intuitive use of it's budget and simplicity. The opening approaches the scene in an almost Cubist style of capturing the scene, element by element, color by color, surface to surface. The overhead shot is in itself a painting, balanced and composed. She embodies all the elements of her Holy Guardian Angel in expression, makeup, posture, wardrobe and color. Thanks for digging this one up, men!

As it is said in her gallery exposition, she's been an underground influence circulating among painters and artists of other mediums and it's really nice to see, albeit posthumously, the art she created. Her attention to line, is probably allegory for something that goes through, follows and constructs, separates cohesively her internal chaos from order.

As far as women musicians go, I'd also like to applaud Carol Kaye, for her legendary bass, recognizable signature style she brought to sooooo MANY songs, many of which are my catch favorites from pop music to television series reruns. "The Wild, Wild West!" My favorite Glen Campbell song, "Wichita Lineman," So, so many- Sonny & Cher's, "The Beat Goes On." The Wrecking Crew documentary put together by Tommy Tedesco's son Danny Tedesco, spelled out her role among the male-dominated session player music industry. I really like her down to earthiness cool and lack of pretense.

As women singers go, for me it MUST be Joni Mitchell. Why? It's personal, but I'll share that she's a bean-spiller storyteller. I mean, she doesn't just tell on everyone else, she tells on herself! And I LOVE that about her. Lyrically, she comes from a long road of experiences in relationships, romantic and with herself, he observations and honesty make the interesting stories she weaves together in musical emotion. Has anyone here ever started crying while hearing one or a few of her songs? She's my goto when I need to get the waterworks started. Not ONE of her albums is my least favorite, but for crying it's Ladies of the Canyon and Blue, For the Roses. But, on an bright up-tempo I love Court & Spark and her sardonic Hissing of Summer Lawns. Her vocal goes right through me, touches places; she gives ME insights, and I think she's serving her role as a bona fide artist in this respect.

I'm not going to that dessert, you men made me so hungry and I'm really trying to watch my sugar, sugars! But, ooh-la-la, that hummus and squid, yum! We eat "pulpo" here, in Barcelona- putting that together with hummus would not have occurred to me.

Expand full comment
author

Joni Mitchell...Goddess! Couldn't agree more. And those are some of my favorite albums as well. Definitely gets the waterworks started. She's simply iconic. So glad you liked the Marjorie Cameron film and Carol Kaye as well!

Expand full comment

I can't imagine, save for not searching for it precisely why Cameron never came up on my feed. Oh, it's in there now.

Expand full comment
author

Perfect choice. Joni Mitchell is one of the greatest singer/songwriters of all time. Blue is one of my desert island albums. Also happy to hear you enjoyed Marjorie Cameron! Your analysis of her style, especially your note that her line work could be interpreted as an esoteric allegory, makes total sense to me.

Expand full comment

Thank you!

Expand full comment

The expression on that cherub's face in the Baldung Grien pointing as the tongue goes up her ass is priceless!

Expand full comment
founding

I have such a hard time with “FAVORITE.” I have so so so many. 😆 So instead I’ll share that this week I listened to Alanis Morissette’s unplugged and I unexpectedly BAWLED. I time-traveled. I knew every lyric and I sang out loud with 29-year-old angsty attitude. I hadn’t listened to that album in at least a decade and it vibrated my entire spirit. She’s one of my favorites.

Expand full comment
author

Oooh . . . Alanis definitely takes me back too! That was one of those albums my college friends and I would *blast* at full volume during one of our "girls night in" parties, while we were smoking clove cigarettes, commiserating about our romantic woes, and shooting pool in our dormitory rec room. Speaking of Alanis, have you ever seen Judith Light's performance of "Hand In My Pocket" from Transparent? So hilarious and heart-wrenching and amazing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n34j19fpSiM

Expand full comment
founding

Yes, exactly. I hadn’t seen that performance, but I just did. 💗 I need to go back and finish that series.

Expand full comment

My choice for one of my very favorite singer/songwriters will probably surprise you. Dolly Parton has written over 5,000 songs--many of which are well known hits recorded by Dolly as well as many famous singers from Tina Turner to Whitney Houston to Kenny Rogers among others.

Expand full comment
author

Dolly is one of our favorite singers, EVER! Not surprised by that at all. She's a musical icon that I think is respected by almost everyone who loves music. Also, Dolly has to be one of the most inspiring human beings alive. She's a humanitarian, a trailblazing feminist, a champion for equal rights. Goddess! Jolene...Jolene...Jolene!

Expand full comment
author

Great choice! Gods, we love Dolly. And don't forget the Dolly Parton Imagination Library! Her organization has (as of August 2022) given away over 186 million free books to kids! (Plus at least two million more every month thereafter!)

https://www.openculture.com/2022/08/dolly-partons-imagination-library-has-given-away-186-million-free-books-to-kids.html

Expand full comment
founding

I have this framed poster art of Dolly on my bedroom wall. https://images.app.goo.gl/QBnNZAmAcf9pqeKT8

Expand full comment
author

OMG! So rad, and beautiful! If we had walls that belonged to us, we would have that on our wall too. Maybe we just need a poster tube we can take from apartment to apartment and then we can unfurl our Dolly wherever we go!

Expand full comment
founding

Wow I had no idea about Carol Kaye! What an incredible woman and I am answered to have the same maiden last name. Sad so many of the session musicians didn’t get more recognition. Bravo for letting people know about her. Happy birthday Carol Kaye.

Expand full comment
author

I know, right? She's really a legend. She really had such a huge impact on music...so many incredible songs she played on in so many genres. Tell us one of your favorite female musicians!

Expand full comment
founding

meant honored to have the same last maiden name. Haha

Expand full comment
founding

One of my favorite singers is Roberta Flack😊

Expand full comment
author

She is definitely one of our favorite singers too! There's just no voice like hers. Legend. Thank you for sharing!

Expand full comment

Truth be told, I don’t listen to all of your podcasts, because I am so burned out at the end of the day after listening to people’s stories.

But every time I do, I am a lifted by your energy, humor, intelligence and fascinating stories about everything and everyone in history.

I loved learning about Carol Kaye and Chaka Khan who I’ve always loved -that was such a fascinating insight to their work. Thank you!

Expand full comment
author

You're so very welcome! Thanks for listening. Glad we could uplift you!

Expand full comment