I'm like a pencil;
sometimes sharp,
most days
well-rounded,
other times
dull or
occasionally
broken.
Still I write.
j.g. lewis
is a writer/photographer in Toronto.
Month: July 2019
Sometimes you’ve got to go right back to the basics to understand where you are now.
For the past couple of weeks I’ve been listening to Confessing The Blues, a compilation of American music handpicked and curated by The Rolling Stones. I was gifted the deluxe boxed set: 5 x 10” vinyl records gorgeously packaged, with an essay by Colin Larkin, artist biographies, photographs, and artwork.
There are songs about redemption, heartache, and celebration. The blues is emotion expressed in 12 bars, or less. This package is a history lesson in music that matters.
It is all about the music.
“The blues is the single most important musical genre that is fundamental to everything we hear. It is the foundation of folk, jazz, rock n’ roll, soul, heavy rock, country rock, heavy metal, hip-hop and urban R&B,” says Larkin in the liner notes.
This is the music The Rolling Stones (like many young British bands of the era) were inspired by. This is the music the band borrowed heavily from.
This is music to be celebrated, from Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson, to Chuck Berry and Elmore James. Every artist in this series left an indelible mark on American music.
What I’ve found is that I’m not only listening to the boxed set, but I’ve been inspired to flip through my records and discs and listen to music I haven’t played in a while.
Yes, I’ve got the summertime blues, and I am enjoying every note.
A portion of the profits from sales of Confessing The Blues are donated to Willie Dixon’s Blues Heaven Foundation, a Chicago-based organization that promotes, protects and preserves the blues.
07/07/2019 j.g.l.
Posted on July 6, 2019 by j.g.lewisLeave a comment
Sometime we wonder,
when did it stop? When
did you lose interest? Why,
or why not?
You know; the plans,
goals, manuscripts, or
projects that were never
completed; many of which
are still right there.
Some of them never really
got started.
They are the reminders of
what you wanted, but never
followed through, and they
still call out. Sometimes.
Many times you think you’ll
give it another try, you wake
and you wonder, and the
answer is always why.
Why not?
j.g.l.
Posted on July 5, 2019 by j.g.lewisLeave a comment
It’s when your eyes become
clouded by judgment, and
you look in the mirror to
discover you are solely
responsible for the perception,
and the deception, you deal
with every day.
07/05/2019 j.g.l.
