Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. I--Crosby, Stills, and Nash: "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"

Because I haven't wasted enough of my life on pop music....

For those wondering, it's a song a week, some hits and some not, in no particular order, because touting a great song a week seems somehow worthwhile, goddamnit.  CSN's "Suite:  Judy Blue Eyes" starts it off because last year on some night I couldn't sleep I came across Woodstock on VH1 and this was the first song I heard and I distinctly remember asking myself at two or three in the morning, "Holy shit, has this song always been this good?"  And I thought the whole world (or at least the two or three people who regularly read this blog) should know just how good it was....

Word of warning:  on the Pop Music Coolness Quotient, Nick Hornby I aint.

For those not familiar, "Suite:  Judy Blue Eyes" is as the name suggests--a suite of  four songs, dedicated to Stephen Stills love of the time, folk goddess Judy Collins, amid their imminent breakup.  There's also a play on words with "suite" and "sweet" for those who enjoy the English language....  If nothing else, it's worth listening to just for the harmonies of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and some great acoustic guitar from Stephen Stills.

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee

Aha!

I'm fifty-three years old, and for the most part, The Grammy Awards are lost on me--anymore I don't know most of the nominees or their songs, and I'm constantly amazed at the mediocrity that passes for "talent" (Justin Timberlake, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, et al).  This from a man who spent 18 years in the music industry making peanuts because, for God's sake, I loved the music.

But on tonight's show, when they paid tribute to those in the music industry who had passed away over the past year by having an all star band of sorts perform The Band's "The Weight" (Levon Helm, their drummer and singer passed this year), I actually got out of my chair, stood right in front of the T.V., and smiled like I don't nearly often enough.

It was a joy to behold, and one of those musical moments that make you think, "Yup, this is exactly why I devoted so much of my life to pop music."

Peace,
emaycee