Humph. The poll for best male voice is on the sidebar.
Before anyone pitches a fit that there favorite person isn’t on here, my criteria was not for singer songwriter or song choice, but whether they would sound awesome singing The Star Spangled Banner or Christmas carols some other random song. (If it was for Christmas songs only, I would have had Robert Goulet on the list–I love how he sings Christmas songs.)
I wanted voices that made me feel all warm inside regardless of what they were singing. A lot of the recommendations were for people who don’t have amazing voices but were good song-writers–not what I wanted. (Which is why neither Tom Waites not Tom Petty made the list.)
I wanted to make a post here so y’all could berate me for ignoring your favorite singer, and so you can argue vociferously for or against someone.
Me? I’m annoyed I couldn’t come up with more non-English singers.
Assuming Michael can get away from work at lunch, loot will be going out today: requested loot, thank you loot, birthday loot, and our old cell phones to cell phones for soldiers.
This week more loot should be arriving, so I can wrap it up and have Michael to send that out as well.
Then I desperately need to start my Christmas cards. I picked my cards up last year after Christmas, when they were cheap, so I’ve got three boxes of new cards, and one box of the remainders from last year (which were actually the previous years cards.)
If only I could get motivated…
ADDENDUM the First:
The loot is in the mail.
As a fan of folk fore and folk tales, I’ve always been fond of golems. Even if they do tend to come to depressing ends.
golem \GOH-lum\ noun
1 : an artificial being in Hebrew folklore endowed with life
*2 : someone or something resembling a golem
Did you know?
The Hebrew ancestor of the word “golem” meant “shapeless mass,” and the original golems started as lumps of clay that were formed into figures and brought to life by means of a charm or a combination of letters forming a sacred word. In the Middle Ages, golems were thought to be the perfect servants; their only fault was that they were sometimes too literal or mechanical in fulfilling their masters’ orders. In the 16th century, the golem was thought of as a protector of the Jews in times of persecution. But by the late 1800s, “golem” had acquired a less friendly second sense, referring to a man-made monster that inspired many of the back-from-the-dead creations of classic horror fiction.
So my problem in creating my list for best male singer, is that for some singers it’s hard to separate the singer from the songs, which is why on the second half of my list I have singer-songwriters.
What I want are voices that are inspiring no matter what they sing–which is how Paul Robeson ended up at the top of that list.
There are a couple other singers I forgot to look up last night–singers who don’t sing in English, but it doesn’t matter because just listening to the voice is pleasurable.
So please keep making recommendations.
I’m going to create a poll for best male voice, but I’d like some ideas of who to put on the list. (Beat female voice will come later)
Here’s who I am considering:
Paul Robeson
Leonard Cohen
Frank Sinatra
Bono
Johnny Cash
Singers on my personal list, (often because their songs are in my vocal range):
Billy Joel
Neil Finn
Tom Petty
David Lowery (Cracker)
I’ll add more as I think of them.
What is it about Wednesdays?
So let’s play word association! Maybe that will get my brain moving.
Today’s starter word:
Sweater
Ten years ago Michael and I were married.
Saying yes to him was the best decision I ever made in my life.
Today’s word is obviously for John Scalzi.
chawbacon \CHAW-bay-kun\ noun
: bumpkin, hick
Did you know?
“Chaw” is an alteration of “chew” that is still used in some English dialects, especially in rural areas. Cured pork, or bacon, was a staple of some rural folks’ diets in the past. Since the 16th century, “chaw” has been combined with “bacon” to create a ludicrous name for an uncultured yokel. Over the centuries, the word has lent its delicious dialect flavor to a wide range of publications, but it has become less common in recent decades. Today, city dwellers are as likely as country folk to chow down on bacon, and the word “chawbacon” isn’t often on the lips of either group.
This year I am thankful for:
Michael
My grandmother’s continue longevity
Orange juice
Gainful employment that I often enjoy
My family
Paying off our car loan
Chocolate
Our house
Michael enjoying his job
Snow
My cats–most of the time
Down comforters
My new camera and printer
Michael
NOTE: Any updates today will appear in the Twitter widget on the sidebar.
If you wanna know why it’s for the UCF, click through and read the alt/title text on the image.
I discovered that when you take your (actual) teeth out of your mouth in sections, they’re much easier to brush.
It’s just one of those blue days I suppose.
My brain is muddled and my body is trying to convince me to curl up with a book and take a nap. Maybe after the next load of laundry.
So, as I’ve got nothing, I put forth the following: what’s your personal cure for the blues?
It would not be an exaggeration to say that I listen to the radio constantly.
I wake up to Morning Edition on WV public radio. I go to bed listening to the Real Jazz station on XM. At work I listen to jazz on WDUQ over my computer. When there is a WVU football game, I listen to it on the radio even if it’s on TV. There are radios throughout the house, all tuned to WV public radio, and the first to stations in the car are WV Public Radio and WDUQ (I can’t get WDUQ in the house.)
There’s even a radio in the bathroom. Which brings me to this evening’s incident.
On Friday nights WVPR plays a mixture of bluegrass and folk programs. I was in the shower (I’m still pretty tired, and admit I’m going to bed after I finish this) one quarter listening to what I could hear of the radio over the shower, and three quarters letting my mind wander, when I suddenly realize that the radio is playing Rage Against the Machine. I actually turned the water off so I could hear better, because that just seemed… wrong.
Yes, it was Rage Against the Machine, but it was the local pop/rock station overpowering the public radio station. (It’s been down a lot recently, so who the hell knows what happens.) My first thought was to wonder what Rage Against the Machine song qualified as folk or bluegress.
My second thought–after realizing that WV public radio had gone out. again–was to wonder how many other people listening when the other station cut in, actually knew they were listening to Rage Against the Machine.
