Gray Sky Music

By Monica Cravotta  |  Published: Wednesday, February 3, 2010

I gathered a list of Favorite Gray Day music recommendations from friends today after posing the question on Facebook. Some of these I haven’t heard yet and look forward to exploring when I have time tomorrow. As you’ll see, Patty Griffin got the most votes.  Here’s her song, “Rain” for you. Pretty yummy.  I welcome additions to the list!

• Calexico/Iron & Wine, “In the Reins”. Entire album.  My personal favorite.
• John Lee Hooker “Mr. Lucky” and The Psychedelic Furs “All This and Nothing”
• SIlver Jews or M. Ward. Any of their albums. And the Lightningseeds’ “Cloudcuckooland.”
• The Smiths
• Bill Calahan’s “Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle”
• Madonna’s “Ray of Light” album, and anything by the Ramones
• Van Morrison “Astral Weeks”, Richard Buckner “Bloomed”, anything by Patty Griffin, Otis Redding, or Etta James
• Patty Griffin, “Rain”
• Anything by Patty Griffin and Kind of Blue
• The Mystic Harp

I’m needing some zzzzzz’s in a pretty major way so I need to call this done for tonight.  But I will come back and add more links for easy listening.  Promise.

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A Few of My Favorite Things

By Monica Cravotta  |  Published: Tuesday, December 22, 2009

One of my favorite things in nature to witness on a gloriously gray winter day.

Celebrating a lovely Winter Solstice in Austin with dear friends this evening who showered us with good food and drink and treasures for the children and handmade gifts for the Mamas…all within the backdrop of their magically decorated home, I was instantly pulled out of my secret holiday season blues (officially not a secret anymore).  Thank you Sweet B!

Reflecting on all the wonderful things we experienced tonight, I can’t seem to get The Sound of Music’s life-is-good classic out of my mind.

For a little pre-sleep escape, I found two “Favorite Things” links that remind me of a few things I put in the favorite category.

1)  The Sound of Music and Julie Andrews singing “My Favorite Things”.  The nerdy side of my taste in music includes a heart-aching love of musicals and marching bands. One of my recent favorite happy cries outside of holding each of my babies for the first time was witnessing the senior citizens rock out on their horns in the First Night parade downtown last year. I can’t wait to experience it again!

2) Björk. And the bold, risk-taking, creativity in the musical film Dancer in the Dark. She sings “My Favorite Things” while separated from her son in prison and the song’s melancholy minor-key nature trumps the sweet lyrics — and then some — thanks to the tormenting scene.  This is one of those movies that you either love or hate. Its reviews are all over the map. I happen to be one of those people that thinks Björk is a musical genius and I loved this film despite its grim, heart-breaking storyline of a mother unjustly sentenced to death. But I’m a Scorpio with Irish blood that has full appreciation for doomy gloomy art.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad

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A Taste of Austin’s Sweet Songs Album

By Monica Cravotta  |  Published: Tuesday, December 8, 2009

I have been writing a lot about this groovy children’s album in the works at our Hideout Studios, humbly asking the Austin community and beyond to help support the completion of the project, and the thought occurred to me tonight that if I were asked to consider sponsoring an album, I’d like hear a bit of it to know what I was supporting.

Below is a link to one of my favorite songs on the album called Buzz on Black Fly sung by Elizabeth Suggs and written by her husband, emmet.

Buzz on Black Fly

This is one of 14 songs on our Sweet Songs for Families album that will be available in its entirety by May 2010.

If after hearing this particularly sweet little song you feel inspired to get involved with our project as a sponsor, please click here for our fundraising page.  $25 donors receive a mailed copy of the completed CD.  Higher level contribution perks include advertising on the album web site, recognition on liner notes and opportunity to advertise and sell merchandise at our Mother’s Day CD Release concert in Austin.

Enjoy!!

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Making a Children’s Album to Benefit The Mother’s Milk Bank

By Monica Cravotta  |  Published: Tuesday, November 17, 2009

String's Attached White Album show Nutty Brown Cafe 06

When I was pregnant with my first daughter in 2006 my husband and I were building our house, along with our recording studio in the backyard. During my pregnancy, I sang backup for the String’s Attached White Album show and befriended two other singers also singing in the show who happened to be due with their first babies the same week as me — Libby Kirkpatrick and Sarah Sharp.  We were quite a sight to behold on stage together!

A few months after all of our babies were born, I began cooking up an idea for the three of us to record a children’s music album together in our studio.  They both agreed that it sounded like fun and the seed was planted.

Over the next nearly three years with many stops and starts, more babies born, six more amazing women invited to participate, and Sara Hickman agreeing to produce the album — my little idea to record an album with a few friends has grown into something much bigger and is coming to life. I’m proud and scared and occasionally overwhelmed and find myself repeating my favorite mantra daily, “I can, I will, I am.” It’s one thing to dream up something and sell others on the idea, and another thing altogether to actually do it, to generate and regenerate momentum, and ensure everyone involved feels good about their choice to be a part of it. (more…)

Posted in Breastfeeding, Music | 2 Comments

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