Earth, Wind, and Fire

While I DO think Pharrell does absolutely GENIUS work with harmonies,

(I’m just sayin’) I DO NOT LIKE music where the vocalists refer to women as "bitches" or "ho's," specifically Robin Thicke and his "Blurred Lines."

Bill Cosby created a character named “Russell” in his Fat Albert series (yes, back in the 70’s),

and when I listen to Mr. Thicke singing in “Blurred Lines,”

I find myself wanting to quote Russell:  “N.C. –  NO CLASS!”

One of the reasons I chose to write reviews in Aspen for Indie, Acoustic, Roots, Folk, and Bluegrass, and Funk musicians was because their messages were about LOVE, SOCIAL JUSTICE, FAMILY, COMMUNITY, etc.

You want to hear men sing about LOVE?

Listen to Earth, Wind and Fire, “Elements of Love: The Ballads!”  Nothing makes my spirit soar sublime (and my bootie want to boogie!) like this album - full of MAJESTY:  soul, funk, jazz, rock, and those HARMONIES – WOW!

(And not once does Phil Bailey, with his rapturous falsetto,

 EVER refer to women as bitches. Old School, Baby. R-E-S-P-E-C-T.)

Or, for those who dig “the epitome of chill,” listen to Jack Johnson

as he sings about his lady love in “Better Together:”

“There’s no combination of words I could put on the back of a postcard
No song I could sing, but I can try for your heart …”

And there’s my point: he’s trying for her heart.

Call me an Old School Sister, a hopeless Romantic and all that,

but I’d rather hang out with someone that was “trying for my heart.”

Kathryn Preston July 16, 2013
Special Thanks to Ashley Neuman for the inspiration!

Life on the Lake: Part 2

                                                              (the author, tenting)


It's kind of a metaphor for my life - this wishing to be a bird. I'm always observing birds, fascinated by what makes them tick, what compels them live life the way they do, attempting to understand them from the inside out, but maintaining the subtle distance of the observer. I can experience them with my heart, but I will never really be one of the flock. Sometimes I feel this way about being human, too.

Lately, my journalistic tendencies are focused on experiencing Nature: pure, raw, wild, free. During times of hardship when I could not find a friend, Mother Nature sustained me, and now I feel as though I owe her more than just a superficial relationship. I owe it to Her to move more deeply into her embrace, to listen to her soul-songs, and to discover her intimate secrets and truths.

Listen to Woodpecker by Stephen Chapman:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQNFWqc-T9Q

Life on the Lake: Part 1

October 2012:

It's 1 a.m. and I lie alone in my tent in the woods by the lake. I've never tented alone before. In the past there was always someone camping with me or nearby. I thought I might be too scared to tent alone, deep in the woods, but I find I'm not. I have moments of  'heightened alertness,' listening to night sounds, but for the most part, I hear a constant chorus of loons, swans, ducks, and geese. My "fowl" friends are always there in the background making noise, like brothers and sisters chattering away in another room as I drift off to sleep. If they are quiet, I know it's about 2 am. Their chatter is quite comforting. I have the sense that:  I'm not really alone, life is all around me. The realization is akin to a pregnant woman knowing without a doubt that she is not  alone - not by a long-shot.

I will miss their sound when I am forced to move inside for the winter. I wish I could learn their language and communicate with them. But as hard as I try to imitate their sounds, I can only really observe. I will always be an "honorary" member of the tribe, a distant cousin -- but still kin.
                                             Birds: natural, FREE, able to just BE.
                    No politics, no ambitions, no agenda, no pretensions, just free spirits.
        How I wish I were one of them - (maybe a Hawk or an Eagle or a great horned Owl.)

Mountains by Stephen Chatman:
(music actually starts around 1:59)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53Rm3HnrEYQ

The Voice of the Rain by Stephen Chatman:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNrngdvXroI

A PRAYER FOR FREEDOM By Kathryn Preston

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A PRAYER FOR FREEDOM By Kathryn Preston

Dear Beloved Archangel, hear my fervent prayer:

Please embolden my heart as I embark on the process of becoming as FREE as:

a Monarch touching-down lightly on the essence of Lavender;
an artic Chinook caressing the cool Alaskan tundra;
a lioness scenting her way out of captivity, returning to the sanctity of the Wild;
a lyrical Coltrane line;
the immortal voice of kd lang singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallejlujah;”
a frisky forest-fairy whispering moss-magic-love to libidinous leprechauns;
an ecstatic artist brushing her way toward aesthetic rapture;
a serpentine seductress seeking the Mystic Rose;
Pendragon’s heirs sweeping the Scottish highlands;
a Gaelic maiden’s hearth, laden with soul-love for her Crusader;
a majestic raptor gliding on the breath of the Gods;
as FREE as I CAN POSSIBLY BE!