August 12, 2018 – I try not to start my articles with the word “I”, but it’s all that’s on my mind right now. I am in change mode. I am doing the impossible. Long, long story on this, and I’ll tell you all when it’s done. But suffice it to say, it’s quite time-consuming and daunting to be me right now. While I don’t have a full plan on what will be, things are going to change. When I’m in change mode, or get-a-lot-done mode, I go really into myself, perhaps in an unhealthy way, perhaps not unhealthy, but definitely anti-social. And that’s where I am now.
In the meantime, I’m going to go see one of my favorite girlies – Nita Strauss. That’s tonight. I hope to take video. We’ll see if my vantage point will allow a decent video, and if so, I’ll post it tomorrow. I know; the concert is “A Paranormal Night with Alice Cooper and Guest Ace Frehley”. I also know Nita missed some dates not-so-long ago, but her Twitter messages seems to say she will be there. If she’s not, I’m going to cry, because, for me, this concert is 100% about Nita. Yes, Alice is someone I should see, and I never have, so I’m looking forward to him, on paper, but I don’t care if I say this: it’s still 100% about Nita. When I come out of my change mode, I’m going to get as good as that. For me. All for me. That I have promised myself. I’m going to write too, write poetry, write other things, actually write. And hopefully, someday, that will be for me, and for everyone; I hope, for everyone.
Then there’s my other girlies. They are in change mode too.
Lana Del Rey – she’s doing what she does, writing, planning new music, perhaps even making some. She seems to get right to it; no down time with Lana. But the news on Lana sort of gives me pause. Lana works with a producer who helps to forge her sound. Specifically, she worked with one particular producer for all but one of her records. She gave that guy tons of credit for her work on the last album, but all of a sudden, now she’s with another producer, Jack Antonoff. That brings me to the point of my trepidation. Jack Antonoff is Taylor Swift’s producer on T-Swift’s 1989, the pop record that catapulted T-Swift from country darling to pop mega-star, as well as T-Swift’s current Reputation, now the basis of her gargantuan tour, a show I really liked, but still, something that’s decidedly main-stream. So I’m scared. I’m scared of losing my Lana to the world of pop diva-dome, to electronica undertones. I can’t even think about that prospect. Please no. Although the one thing that gives me hope is that my favorite Lana record, Ultraviolence, had a different producer too, but I like Ultraviolence because it has more guitar, and I don’t see Jack Antonoff doing guitar. I’m not sure what will happen to me if Lana becomes an electro-pop diva. I have appreciated Taylor Swift in this genre, but perhaps that’s because I know what’s inside Taylor Swift, because I was a fan of hers when she actually played guitar and sang. I guess I’ll have to wait and see what Jack will do with Lana.
Then there’s Ellie Goulding. She has been remarkably silent for a couple of years, at least music-wise. She’s been doing work on global warming, learning to box, makes me wonder if she’s obsessed with the WWE girls too, and getting too much filler in her lips. She reportedly dated a royal – Harry, before he met Meghan. She’s friends with Princess Beatrice. She even went with Princess Beatrice and Bea’s crew to Jordon for a vacay this summer. She looks like a prepster now, and while I dismissed this as a phase, apparently this is a full-blown change, as this week “Elena” (the non-nickname version of Ellie’s name) announced the engagement to her boyfriend of one year, “Casper Jopling” a man who is full-on English prep, a graduate of Eaton (the university where Prince William and Prince Harry went), the son of a famous art dealer who himself is a head-honcho at Sotheby’s New York. She’s certainly not the Ellie of Anything Could Happen, her song from 2012 that is my staple to play and sing. Ellie, I barely recognize her now. Gone are the days of punk hair, replaced by a circle of rich and royal friends,
and an announcement in the London paper of her wedding – full-on society and very old-school.
As someone who understands things like old-school newspaper wedding announcements, and well, you all don’t need to know that I actually care about how one holds their fork and knife, perhaps before- Ellie – the Ellie with electronica dance backing – was Ellie on a tangent, and now she is just coming back to who she is. Perhaps this is a change in the form of a circle for her such that she will go back to her more simple and musical music she once wrote.
Ellie’s Instagram is full of shots of her behind a studio mic. There is an Instagram post of a kind of Ellie-type scat, and by that I mean lots of eeee’s, ooooh’s in a really whispery-soft and high voice. There’s one video snipped of her playing on a guitar, captioned, her guitar solos always get cut. Oh and I love her solo because I play just like that – silly one notes on the high e string. No, I can’t solo either, Ellie, not really. She has claimed that writing for her now is more difficult because she’s not sad. She even poked fun at herself in her replies about her engagement telling herself to get back to getting new music out. And from everything I see – pictures with guitars, pictures with pianos – I think Ellie’s new work will be more organic, less pop-normal electronica.
All these changes. From what I can make of it, Lana is going to be Taylor Swift. Ellie is going to be … Lana?
Oh and Nita? Nita is going to rock! Sooo looking forward to seeing her tonight! At least there’s one thing in this time of my own change I can count on. Nita! Oh, and by the way… congratulations to Ellie on her engagement. And hey, I’m really hopeful they, whoever they are for Ellie, might let her do a guitar solo, because Ellie with a guitar solo would be a wonderful change. Heck, I know someone who can help her with that. I hear Nita has guitar clinics. I really will have to check out one of those clinics… when my own change mode is done.
Cover photo: courtesy of Meanie Beanie and Sweetwater website.