Spitball Army

(photo: last.fm)

I could credit the sisters Kate and Anna McGarrigle with being partly responsible for opening my ears to the possibilities of music beyond Elton John, Fleetwood Mac and The Steve Miller Band, whose record albums got major spin on my turntable when I was in high school.  Near the time of my graduation from college, and at the urging of the all-knowing clerks of the Harvard Coop record department, I purchased their 1982 Love Over and Over.  I remember taking the album with me to the Widener Library stacks, where I was to spend the afternoon working, and being interrupted periodically by the desire to pull the LP from its brown paper bag to read and re-read the liner notes, and admire the cover artwork.  I did this several times before getting it home and listening to it.  Then, I was hopelessly hooked.

The McGarrigle sisters’ vocal blending is unique, their harmonies non-traditional.  While listening, I imagined this French-Canadian pair using music as an extension of a secret language learned in childhood, that no one else could possibly recreate, but that could communicate emotional power in that purely musical way that requires no words.

But then there was their songwriting.  “Heart Like a Wheel,” “Goin’ Back to Harlan,” “Heartbeats Accelerating,” “Talk to Me of Mendocino,” “I Cried for Us.”  These songs and many others have become part of the folk music canon, championed by Linda Ronstadt, Maria Muldaur, Emmylou Harris and others.

[audio:Kate_and_Anna_McGarrigle___Heart_Like_a_Wheel.mp3]
“Heart Like a Wheel” by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, from Kate & Anna McGarrigle (1975)

A large percentage of the sisters’ recorded output was sung in their native French: albums of folk songs, original songs, and translations of pop songs (their cover of Bob Seger’s “You’ll Accomp’ny Me” – “Tu Vas M’Accompagner” – is priceless).

Kate McGarrigle was also the matriarch of an amazing musical family that includes children Martha and Rufus Wainwright, and former husband Loudon Wainwright III – talented musicians all.

Thanks for everything, Madame.

Go, leave
She’s better than me
Or at least she is stronger
She will make it last longer
That’s nice for you

Go, leave
Don’t come back
No more am I for the taking
But I can’t say that my heart’s not aching
It’s breaking in two

I remember days when we laughed a lot
Those that weren’t so good I soon forgot
We could sit and talk till words
Were coming out our ears
Not just for days or weeks or months
But it’s been years
Now here they come
Here they come here come my tears

So go, leave
You said goodbye
But could it be that you are stalling
Hearts have a way of calling
When they’ve been true

[audio:Kate_and_Anna_McGarrigle___Go_Leave.mp3]
“Go Leave” by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, from Kate & Anna McGarrigle (1975)

More on Kate McGarrigle at The Music’s Over and northjersey.com.

I await my Unity Breakfast partners curbside, a scarce white face on MLK Day. I’m handed keys to an Escalade and asked to park it.

This morning’s Birmingham News editorial page features an endorsement for the mayoral election to be held on Tuesday, January 19th.  The piece, penned by Tom Scarritt, comes on the heels of a week when a series of television and radio debates aimed to compare and contrast the candidates’ visions for the future of a major American city on the brink of economic implosion.  The unclear conclusion of the debates is mirrored in the tepid enthusiasm level of the News’ endorsement, reprinted partially here.  The editorial column can be viewed in its entirety online at al.com.

…The choice is not an easy one. As I wrote a month ago, we have the advantage of two candidates who are smart, serious and responsible. Each has the potential to be a good mayor.

William Bell offers his three decades in public office and his deep understanding of the issues and the politics Birmingham’s mayor will confront. There would be no on-the-job training for Bell; he has been in the mayor’s office before, and he knows how to run city government. He is the safe choice.

Patrick Cooper offers a new approach to the old problems plaguing Birmingham. He promises to clean house, scrub the books and bring in bright young minds to energize city government. His resume includes both private-sector success and public service. He is the candidate of change.

Those are the good sides of the candidates, and the reason The News has supported each of them in some past elections.

We have also seen in this election a side of the candidates that is not so appealing. The campaign has gotten so negative that interim Mayor Roderick Royal asked the two to back off….

Both campaigns denied they were behind the most vicious attacks on their opponents. Whether it is the candidates themselves or their supporters who are generating the hateful attack ads, though, it is up to the candidates to control the campaign….

The person who seeks to lead all of us as one community should publicly and forcefully reject the tactics and attacks that divide us. As of the end of last week, both candidates were disappointing on that score.

Still, we must pick one of them as our mayor….Our editorial board met with both candidates, and the endorsement reflects the consensus of that group. As always, we are not trying to tell you how to vote; we are offering our opinion to help you make your own informed choice on Tuesday.

It is your opinion that matters most, but it matters only if you actually vote. Do not let someone else make the choice for you. Go out and vote.

Card is titled:  “Illuminated American Falls, Niagara Falls”

Printed on back of postcard:

We can really appreciate the Falls as we stand below and feel the sensation of the cool spray and mist blowing across our faces.  The American Falls are 167 feet in height and 1100 feet in width.

The divided post card was postmarked in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on 15 August 1951 at 8:00 p.m.  It is addressed to Miss Treva Dilmer at 760 N. Hanover St. in Carlisle, PA.  A one cent U.S. postage stamp is affixed.  This is the message:

Dear girls,

We got here safe last night, are having a nice time especially Dale and Marlin.  Willie has so many questions to ask.  Come out when we get home.

Will be back Sat. or Sun.

Mary & Harold

Card is titled:  “C:-Prospect Point by Illumination.  Niagara Falls.”

Printed on back of postcard:

EXCEEDS SUN’S BRILLIANCE

When the new floodlights are marching across the Falls, and resting on either or both of the American and Canadian faces of them or playing in the mist of spray above them they are described by beholders as more beautiful than ever the spray and the Sun combined could make them in the past, or than ever the Moon and the mist could make them.  The effect is described as one suggesting that both the Sun and the Aurora Borealis have combined to do their utmost in the creation of a new spectacle.

Card is not written on, nor does it have a printing date.  The back is divided.  Printed by Metrocraft, out of Everett, Massachusetts.  Stock number 42017.

Card is titled:  “A:-American Falls from Below by Illumination.  Niagara Falls.”

Printed on back of postcard:

NIAGARA FALLS BY ILLUMINATION

Visitors now find Niagara more beautiful than ever.  New radiance has been cast over it.  It is a radiance that can be turned on or off at the switch of a button.  As turned on each night it consists of a battery of a billion candle power which are so concealed in the foliage that they in no way nar the scenery, yet they work for hours each night flooding and lighting both the vision of the Falls and the mists above.  Think what has been done to accomplish this.  Power was taken from the Falls themselves and turned back upon these Falls in the form of light so that Niagara is forced to beautify itself.

Card is not written on, nor does it have a printing date.  The back is divided.  The postage space indicates that the mailing rate is one cent for domestic destinations, placing the card in the range between 1907 and 1952 (when the postal rate rose to two cents).