Music Monday - Dolly Parton Covers Herself. Sort of.

While covers and re-interpretations of this song abound, leave it to Dolly herself (well with the help of some basic technology) to be capable of perhaps the best rendition. Jack White, Ellie Goulding, Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons, Fiona Apple and even Miley Cyrus, you can all take a seat. Turns out, all you gotta do is slow the original down by 25% (33 rpm) and you get a soulful, amazingly organic sounding piece of music. I can't stop listening. 

I do have a weak spot for A. this song. I was very nearly named Jolene. (I think we can agree it's probably best I wasn't.) B.) The country music and C. The Dolly. She is everything. If I could be a version of Dolly for the new millennium, I could die happy. She's blonde, has big boobs, gives herself permission to be sweet and even a little ditzy, but she's laughing all the way to bank as the most successful female songwriter of all time. No need to cover Dolly. Just let Dolly do it. 

Beauty, boobs, and heart, Ladies & Gentleman. And SKILLZ.

Music Monday - Natalie Maines Sings Jeff Buckley

On Natalie Maines' newest album, Mother, one of the highlights is her cover of "Lover, You Should Have Come Over." One of my favorite songs from youth, reinterpreted by another one of my favorite singers from youth. Natalie and Jeff's vocals share a similar flesh-searing quality. They've always cut through the meat, straight to the bone. 

This album is a prime example of that. Ben Harper has a lot to do with what works about this album too. It's no wonder she got hooked up with Harper, who, despite his successes as a vocalist, etc etc will first and forever be known as an amazing pedal-steel player. (Like my dad! And Natalie Maines's dad, Lloyd-- one of the best EVER.)

I'm not sure I realized initially how many covers would be on her new album. But I'm loving it all so far. You too can stream the whole album as part of NPR's First Listen. The album goes on sale May 7th.

Happy Monday!

My kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder...

Buckley was meant to be sung in a church in Texas by Natalie Maines.

Here's my other fave.

Some Musical Early Birthday Gifts

My birthday's not until Friday, but clearly, many of my favorites know me well and are joining me in celebrating my birthday all week. And I thank them for their musical gifts. 

New live tracks from Milo Greene, there's a a few new tracks from CHVRCHES, and even Lennon and Maisy Stella kicked The Lumineers to the curb with their cover of "Ho Hey." You guys. Buy this. 

Before I was a writer, or a New Yorker... Before I went to Scotland...Before I was anything at all, I was a country musician's kid. I think that's at the most fundamental bedrock of my DNA. In fact! Speaking of being a country musician's kid, even my dad sent along some new and old school tracks he's been working on lately. 

Which is why I like bands like Milo Greene at the end of the day. And why Nashville is the show I most look forward to every week. Lennon and Maisy Stella make me cry. If I'd had a real sister, we would have been like them. Because I would have bullied us into being so. Also... they're Canadian. I cannot. I overflow with love. 

Thanks for these bitchin' birthday gifts, guys. I share them now with my small but mighty readership. 

Melrose Place Flashback Friday Links

While visiting these past few days, my dad asked which part of Melrose Avenue the old 90s soap classic, 'Melrose Place' was supposed to be. I didn't know. I guessed somewhere more in West Hollywood than where I am. Once I we got home from our excursions, I did some digging. And while Melrose Place is obviously somewhere in Hollywood, the Greenwood, where they filmed the complex is in Los Feliz. The rest was filmed in studios. 

I loved this show so much when it first came out. Probably because I really felt like I was getting away with something by watching it. I mean, it was even more scandalous than Beverly Hills 90210, which I still have no idea how I convinced my mom to let me watch at age 9. I wanted to friends with all my cool neighbors. And wished I could ever pull off Josie Bissett as Jane's adorable pixie cut. Thinking about the show gave me a little urge to rewatch some old Melrose Place courtesy of Netflix. 

What a gas I actually laughed out loud several times during the pilot at how awful it is. I mean, just watch the original intro. To their credit, they changed it immediately after the pilot to the much catchier theme song and graphic look they'd keep for the rest of the show's run. But... man. 

Anyhow, there's your trip down memory lane to kick off your weekend. 
Here are the rest of your links. 

- I've been exploring Melrose from my house west lately. Blu Jam is my favorite breakfast place EVER. Crunchy french toast for every meal, please!

- 6 Places You'll Recognize from the background of every movie ever 
- My favorite eye candy blog these days
- Rejecting Oxbridge
- I came thiiiiiis close to adopting Hazelnut here. But she was gone. :(
- Advice to young writers from Jeffrey Eugenides
- I still like MY review of Les Miserables, but this is my second favorite. 

Stay tuned! The next three days are my Best of 2012 lists-- albums, books, movies. 

Christmas at The Churchill

When it came to Christmas dinner with Dad, I had two plans: 1. cook (rosemary roast chicken and braised Brussels sprouts) or 2. get out and explore of Los Angeles restaurants while I can. Turns out, I might always miss Britain at the holidays, so after some investigating as to what our options were, I chose The Churchill on West Third. The menu and feel just felt a bit British, even in a  very LA hood. 

And even though I had heard it was very 'scene-y' and crowded, we chose the right evening to try it out because it was just the right about of bustling. Reviews of the food range from mediocre and under seasoned to delicious. Being rather fond of food in the British vein though, I quite enjoyed the glazed Christmas ham, carrot, ginger and coriander soup, spiced squash, escarole and-- in a twist-- yuzu persimmon cake for dessert. 

I also broke away from wine to try one of their much-discussed cocktails. I was torn between several. But finally honed in on either the Amelia (Kettle One, lemon, St Germain, violet & blackberries) or The Statesman (Famous Grouse, apricot, lemon, baked apple bitters, sparkling). Being a whisky girl, and missing Scotland, I ordered The Statesman and was quite glad I did. 

One of the true luxuries and true joys of my life is the dinners I have with my dad. I think of all the cities and all the funny Christmases we've had together-- including the one where we were stranded in Yosemite with only cinnamon raisin English muffins, tuna, and packaged apple cider. Though that one goes in the books as the funnest in its own way, this one had decidedly better food. 

Some Thoughts on Fathers and Daughters Today

Time again for my annual Father's Day Shout out. This year, it's a tale of three fathers. 


Twenty years ago my life changed forever when I worked up the courage to tell my own dad about how bad the situation had gotten with my mom. My dad was the first person to make me think that what I had to say was important-- even when it wasn't life or death. He never rushed me. He's never been bored or ever encouraged me to get to the point. He's talked me down from every ledge, through every problem of logic or of the heart. He's been so steadfastly on my team for whatever ridiculous goal I've ever had, even to this day, it scares me that in my life, I have at least one person I cannot lose. Because of this, he's the person I care most about making proud of me. 


Which is not say he's just a prop for my life. He's one of most talented, weird, cool people to ever live. In truth, I basically just hope he's as proud of me as I am of him. I  never used to think our personalities were the same, but the older I get, the more I'm seeing how similar at least our artistic temperaments are. 


Ten years ago, my life changed again when I lost another temperamental soul mate of mine, and a great glue of our family: my grandfather. I can't believe it's been ten years without him. The thought of it knocks the wind out me. I still recall so so vividly how far away, how lost at sea I felt when he died and I was in Japan. It still feels vert present, the memory of scribbling furiously my multi-multi page letter to him, when I knew the end was near. How the letter arrived just in time for Father's Day. How he was gone the next week. The traces of him are harder to find since I've moved to the UK, though I still run into him in thoughts that are not my own, but clearly the opinion of James A. Ferguson, just using me as a conduit. 


Seven years ago, I met another father who continues to blow me away. I know I focus a lot of my love on Aly, but I think it's important that I recognize the other half of one of my all-time favorite couples: Dion. In my own generation, he's the father I'm most inspired by. His daughter Hayley was born just in time for his 18th birthday. At at 18, this guy just went to it, putting his kid first in every way possible. I'm in awe of the way he talks to Hayley-- the way he strikes a balance between support and discipline-- (he allows no bargaining. It blew my mind) and what a wonderful young lady Hayley is turning out to be. It warms my heart that he was able to turn his devotion to supporting his daughter into amazing business skills, and then to get the eff out of Lehman Bros just in time, to start an amazing business with Aly, and (just like seeing my dad be able to realize his musical dreams makes me happy) finally make himself into the music artist he always wanted to be. You are truly, unequivocally, without a doubt one of the good guys, Dion. I feel blessed to know you. And comforted knowing you're gonna look after my friend Aly for the rest of your lives. I can't wait to celebrate with you both this August. And I'm celebrating with you and your song today. 


Keep being awesome out there fathers. And I will line up every year to gush. Shower. The. People. 

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Scotland might be celebrating the birth of Robert Burns today, and even though a huge proportion of all my favorite people were born today, January 25 is always the day to celebrate my amazing dad. Perhaps I beat this drum too loudly and too often, but I'd rather over-make the point than under-make that nothing I do or have ever done would be possible without my dad's unfailing support. He gives wisdom and humor to everyone around him. He will make you smile whether you want to or not. 


One of him is like five parents. I'll even share him with you, dear readers. If you have a tough question, let me know and we'll get him involved. I mean, here is his response from when I wished him a happy birthday late last night when it was already his birthday in Scotland, but not Las Vegas:

The wisdom of a Buddha can only be understood by another Buddha! It takes one to know one! I love you, too! What are you doing up this late?

Many happy returns, Dad. You are the best!

Coral Beach, Dunvegan

We went for a long walk on Coral Beach in Dunvegan today. Which is about as articulate as I feel I can be at the moment. Though, it's definitely wonderful to be able to show my dad Skye and beautiful Viewfield. I do wish it weren't quite such winter weather. We caught huge, fluffy snowflakes on the drive in, and our walk today was taunting us. The sun would come out for great visibility of MacLeod's Tables and Loch Dunvegan while we were driving. We'd rejoice only to get smacked in the face with rain and gusts while we were walking. But the waves were lapping and the crushed coral sand was great for staring down at and examining, which was good since it was necessary to keep the rain out of your eyes and the wind from blowing away your hat. 


Hugh wasn't around, so alas, no out of season Dunvegan tour for us. We did get some good views from the beach though. Too bad my iphone wouldn't zoom enough to make the picture worth it. Curled up by the fire now. Stingy eyes. Warm feet. 

Today Feels Like This - The Middle East - Blood

Today I am cooking. A lot. A full Thanksgiving meal, in fact, to be served on Sunday. For my real blood & adopted blood. And listening to the small, but lovely canon of the short-lived Australian band, The Middle East. I love all their songs, but I still love the much-hyped "Blood" the most. It sounds twinkly, which is how I feel when I get to make something nice for all the people I care about. 


Hope you're having a great Saturday with continued left-overs and loved-ones!

Black Friday Links

Even though Black Friday isn't the shopping insanity here like it is in the States, let's just pretend we're going to do all of our Christmas Shopping now! Me & Pops are hitting the town and here's what we're  buying for you. 


- The badass bespoke gifts & luxury Christmas cards of Zaza Shelley. Love. 
- Pretty much everything from Old Town Context
- The special Christmas chocolate (and many more!) from the drool-worthy Coco on Broughton


Bonus Links:
- Real Estate daydreaming. What if I lived here? 
- Or worked here?
- Fun Lit website
- Katie Roiphe does it again. What David Foster Wallace's Lesson plans teach us about how to live. 

Hanging onto Autumn - Happy Thanksgiving

Maybe it's the onset of winter that has caused my life shake-up kind of frenzy. Or maybe it's the total lack of love I feel from a University I once cherished, but who now, has been the cause of my starvation for the last 26 days (What do I pay 12,200 pounds for again?) So maybe I'm just starving and not thinking rationally. But I've been in the kind of mood I get in when my friends say, "Uh oh, Ryann is about to move to another country." 


I don't know that I'm going to take it that far. But I'm feeling under-stimulated lately so that might be why I just applied to about 7 theatre jobs in London last night. I mean, I was awesome when I was slammed, right? I can do a phd long-distance from London and work full time and write musicals, right?


I think deep down, I always knew I'd want a faster-paced lifestyle back at some point. But I suppose I'd like to think the hope of balance is actually available to me in other places in a way that it simply wasn't in NYC. 


Who knows. I'm sure something interesting will happen. It always does. In the meantime, I'll be spending this Thanksgiving preparing for the Thanksgiving I'll be cooking (when my DAD! arrives) with 10 of my closest friendsfamily this Sunday. So far, St A still hasn't actually given me my loan money so that I can purchase the food, but whattheheck. I never died from starvation in NYC, so I don't plan to start now. 


I'm going to go clean, write (real writing & perhaps some more angry emails to the St Andrews proctor) and get the most out this last unseasonably warm Autumn weather. I'm hanging on to it. Just like this tree. 

photo by David Filipiak

My Favorite Holiday

Even though there are a lot of holidays I don't care for so much, there is one that is my absolute favorite-- it's today! Father's Day! I'm all about celebrating them.


Father's Day always reminds me of those last days with my grandfather, when I sensed the end was near, and frantically wrote the longest letter I've ever written (which is saying something, since I tend to specialize in long letters) and mailed it from Japan. I still write him a letter every year around this time. I had a lot to say to him this year.

I don't normally get to spend Father's Day with my dad, but I am sending love from a far. And one of the coolest things about my dad is that he understands exactly why I can't stay, could never stay close to home. This Father's Day (and probably a few more) sponsored by Skype. 

My dad wrote me the above message in high school and it goes with me pretty much everywhere. 

Here, also, as requested by several people is the Steamboat Springs Band version of "Statesboro Blues." Featuring my dad on a smokin' steel guitar (I made him that lightning bolt) and on lead vocals. For a little white dude, Pops can sing the blues. Happy Father's Day-- to him and all the other dads out there who know what's up. 

Steel Guitar Friday

Today, I am cooking my grandmother's famous recipes to serve to my friends tomorrow. And I'm getting ready to celebrate the birth of the fantastic Zaza Shelley! 


And today, I am listening to the album I finally got around to buying: Amos Lee's Mission Bell. I don't know how it took me so long... there's a duet with Willie Nelson! I mean.... how did I miss that? But even more than just Willie, this album is slathered in steel guitar. And there's basically no easier recipe to get me to love something than to just coat the whole thing in some pedal steel.


Speaking of pedal steel: this weekend is the one year anniversary of the greatest weekend of my life/the greatest reunion of all time for the Steamboat Springs Band. I miss that family of mine. I'm glad they're still plugging along and making as much music as they can. I am still proud to be a child of this bunch. 


Enjoy some of this steel guitar goodness for Friday!

Rewatching this video just made me cry!

and the best country song of the year is...

Adele. "Don't You Remember." No joke. This is a Nashville song all the way, but I feel like maybe it's so on another level precisely because it is not a Nashville singer. Don't get me wrong-- I'm the proud daughter of a steel guitar player. But this is everything you love about a country song, minus the nasal (and sadly, the steel guitar. THOUGH! You can't tell from these clips with pared down orchestrations, but on the album-- which I've been listening to non-stop-- the arrangements are pretty lushly country.)


She wrote this song with Dan Wilson, who wrote "Not Ready to Make Nice" with the Dixie Chicks. Also, lead singer of Semisonic. ('member them? Responsible for such hits as "Closing Time" and "Chemistry"?) I'd say, girl, keep working with EVERYONE you're working with because it is working. Across the board, the album is like all the best musical genres had an orgy resulting in a baby that no one is sure who the dad is.


It's practically impossible to choose a favorite off here. But this one, I have soft spot for. I suppose I'll always love country. And, of course, a well-placed, heart-wrenching key change. Basically, Adele (especially this album) is everything I like about music. Get it. Americans, sorry you'll have to wait until Feb 22.)

Better quality. 
Also.

unpacked

I managed to fit everything in this room and now all I'm really missing is a phone. That's my project for tomorrow. It's been a pretty quite Saturday. Deans Court is kind of a ghost town... I haven't really seen anybody today... probably since they don't serve us food on the weekends. 


But I went and had brunch with Dad before he took off for Edinburgh. We were constantly commenting that no one here seems stressed out. In New York, the minute you step onto the street, you can feel the stress in the air. The hurry to get to the destination faster. It doesn't feel like that here. But there are so many things about it that remind me of what I always liked about New York. A lot of it feels a bit like the cutest parts of the West Village. With little shops and great little buildings, sidewalk cafes (if it's warm enough). There's always people out on the street walking, like NYC, but you never have to fight a crowd. It is beyond clean. 


The rest of the afternoon, I'm reading and heading to another postgrad "BBQ." They tend to call everything a BBQ, but there has been no actual BBQing... no cooking at parties of any kind. And doesn't BBQ tend to connote outdoors? Anyhow, "BBQ" and pub crawl... I'm sensing a trend here. But it's hard to say no to these guys. 

here

So I'm here. It's been a really long couple of days and for the first time this morning, I am feeling a little more present. Driving up to St. Andrews was amazing. Despite Dad's continued insistence on multi-tasking while driving (Eating, fidgeting with buttons) and occasionally swerving onto the shoulder, the route in our upgraded Mercedes station wagon was seriously unbelievable-- and we didn't even take the scenic beach route. It was sunny and bright and brisk. Just perfect. 


Though once we got into town, other than how much I loved it, it just really sank in how young everyone is. I think I'd been somehow tricking myself into thinking I'd be living in some post-graduate paradise. But yeah, as I did actually KNOW, it's a whole lot of undergraduates. (I feel like I have a much greater respect for what it must have been like for the grad students at Rice now... oh.)


I suppose I just feel like I missed the welcome wagon a bit. Everyone already seems settled even though I'm only 2 days late and the information is not really free flowing. You know how much I hate to ask for help on things, but even the things I've asked about, people don't quite seem to know. Such as, why I'm assigned to an all male bathroom? Or in general just what's the deal with those? That's where I was directed, but I was never actually assigned. Maybe I'm more modest than I had originally believed myself to be, but I'm extremely uncomfortable. I've only seen men in that washroom and they've looked at me like I was crazy to be in there. So I haven't yet been able to take a shower. And I try to sneak in there late at night when no one is in there so I can even use the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and washed my face in the kitchen. 


So when I had hoped to feel excited and ready to take off, instead I felt a little bit lost and...just exposed...even to the point where I didn't want to post anything here for a while because... well I guess it's hard to say why... I guess exposure. Or protection. That when all the other elements of my privacy seem to be stripped away, I needed to hold on to some others. 


I suppose that's part of going back into this kind of living environment. I remember having a difficult transition with it at Rice as well. Being alone amidst people and alone alone. 


On the upside, I feel better after getting some sleep and I woke up to this:

everything, all at once, all day long

Yep. So, off this morning on my 18 hour plane adventure from Vegas to Atlanta, Atlanta to Paris, Paris to Edinburgh. Then Edinburgh to St. Andrews! Let's see if my dad still has the chops to drive stick on the other side of the road! (He was pretty deft last time...who knew).


Since I'm not sure how soon my internet sitch will be sorted out once I get there (and I'll be busy lugging suitcases and collecting boxes from sketchy docks in Glasgow) I have a special mystery guest poster! (ooh!) Can you guess who my special mystery guest poster might be? Keep checking back to find out-- and depending on what happens, I may even be able to post some stuff myself until I'm completely up and running in my little room tucked in the eaves of Deans Court (at least, that's how I imagine it.)


I'm off!

Fave Photographers- David Eustace

"A road trip and being stuck in a car for hours at a time is the perfect place to understand that it is often the quiet moments when nothing is said that somehow speak the loudest."  --David Eustace

Since I am going to to one of the most breathtaking and photographed places on Earth, I thought I'd spend the rest of the week talking about some of my favorite photographers and why I think they're awesome. I thought I'd go ahead and start with a guy who, as luck or mysticism would have it, is from Scotland: David Eustace. 


His work is pretty uniformally magical, but the stuff that speaks to me the most was the project he did with his sixteen year old daughter, Rachael, called In Search of Eustace. She'd never been to the wide open America before (only huge cities on the East Coast), and so, retracing some steps of his youth as a wild photographer, they began a road trip at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles and ended in Eustace, Texas. They passed through Vegas, Boulder City and New Mexico. Along the way, they documented pretty much everything for www.theanthropologist.net. (In Search of Eustace)


It's easy to see why the project speaks to me in particular. There seems to be something parallel, but reverse about the Eustace father/daughter journey and our Ferguson father/daughter journey here on the other side. Where we start in Los Angeles, Vegas and Texas and end in a road trip to our past in Scotland, they obviously came the opposite direction, but everything they discuss along the three week road trip I've experienced on so many occasions with my dad. 


About a million people have talked about this project much more extensively than I,  but it just feels appropriate to talk about now, with all that's going on-- not just in my life, but all around. So many people just cut ties. Or think you have to move on from people in order to grow. But I'm still thinking about how important it is to persist and forge new bonds within our most important relationships. That there's never too many ways to bond yourself to those most dear. 


Just look...

you'll ride next year the way you rode before

"The fame that has escaped you doesn't matter/because you'll ride next year the way you rode before." - Dave Zauner

 Hey everyone! I know I'm like, "hey, buy this, hey buy that" (but you love my furniture and stuff, right?) This, for the time being, is more of a donation, but I really just can't stress enough that I want this more for my dad than I want pretty much anything for myself. 


Do you know what your parents' dreams were/are? If you even had a slight ability to help make it come true for them, wouldn't you try to do everything you could? That's how I feel! 


So please watch this that I made, sort of telling the story of the Steamboat Springs Band and check out what we're trying to do to make this the greatest come back story ever!


We're only 10% to our goal so the guys can record the album. If they don't make the goal, they don't get any of  the money. So if you remember those times in High School when my dad let you use his recording studio, or he totally played that amazing practical joke on you, or gave you the most amazing Buddhist advice when you really needed it, or sent you an inspirational text message every morning, then log in to your amazon account (it's easy) and kick over $5. It's not for me, it's for Pops. And he genuinely is the greatest. If you don't believe me, here's just one (of many many) examples. 

week's roundup of little wows

(go here)

Sometimes, even when I'm manic-ly over-committing myself to things and super stressed, the world will back me up with an abundance of marvelous things-- too many to blog about! So here's a round up of all the those dreamy little things I enjoyed and you might too!


If I were rich and had a spare $2000, I'd buy this for my lovely artist friend, Rachel. All artist/illustrator types, check it.


I'm going to talk about Autostraddle in a more complete manner at some point, but in the mean time, I quite enjoyed their thoughts on "The Social Network" trailer. I don't think I've ever disagreed with a single thing Carly Usdin has ever said.


I love cover songs. I mean LOVE cover songs. NPR picks the top five so far of 2010.


My children's book writing co-conspirator, Corinne, is an amazing photographer herself and always has the best eye for photos.


More Faulkner in his own voice. "For Faulkner, there is no such thing as 'was:' the past is always with us." I feel that.


Other than the whole "I'm not sure how I feel about drinking from my own shoe" thing, Dram Sandals sound like my kind of shoe, I think. I also like that they use the very Scottish term, "dram," which ya don't hear too often in the states. Booze in your shoe. I'll take it.


And just one more Allie Brosh (see above). Hyberbole and a Half, you rocked my world this week. I can't get enough.


Finally, I cannot implore you enough. If you have 5 dollars and ever held a fond thought in your mind about my dad, please check this out. He has given me my dreams on a plate. (Some of those dreams filtered down to you!) Please help me give him a bit of his back.