Mavis Staples "Far Celestial Shore"

I'm a little embarrassed to admit this.

As I write this, it's Saturday morning and I'm sitting in the waiting room while my car gets an oil change.

And I am crying.

I was gathering some videos for the mvy Bloggers Page.  Our Album Of The Week is the new Mavis Staples record, and I figured I'd post her cover of the Nick Lowe tune "Far Celestial Shore," when I came across this video.

Yeah, it's basically an advertisement put together by her label.  It's marketing and it's manipulative.

But I can't deny that it just filled me with emotion.  Not sad.  Just . . . emotion.

I dunno, maybe it won't have that effect on you.

But when I see hear, when I hear her, I just can't help but be overwhelmed by how lucky I feel to have these recent records, both the ones she's done with Jeff Tweedy, which has been a lovely, lovely surprise, and also the excellent records she put out in the 2000s ("Have A Little Faith," "We'll Never Turn Back").

I feel lucky to have seen her live.  To see her sing "The Weight" right in front of me.  To watch her pound her chest as she sang the line "Put the load right on me" and totally believe she could psychologically, spiritually and hell, even physically carry us.

I feel lucky that music still moves me this deeply, and that Mavis is out there making it.


See the Marketing video on Youtube.


Hear "Far Celestial Shore" on Youtube.