The Civil Wars "The Violet Hour"

The day before I returned from vacation---one that had kept me out of State and out of touch during the Boston Marathon bombings and the ensuing manhunt---Barbara Dacey sent me a message to let me know that many of the local TV and radio stations would be observing a moment of silence on Monday afternoon  The moment would happen at 2:50pm, the exact time of the first explosion, one week earlier.

This meant it would happen during my airshift.

It wouldn't be the first time I was on the air for a moment of silence.  I was working mornings in the early 2000s, when September 11th anniversaries would be marked in the mornings, at the time the first plane crashed.

Every time it comes around, you realize that it's not such an easy task, to program around a moment of silence.

If we were in TV, or Talk Radio, you'd talk up to the moment, let the silence happen, let the pictures tell the story.  Then you could pick up with more conversation, or an interview or something that tonally fit.

But because we're a music station, you'd expect us to play a song.  And you'd think it would be easy.

Surprisingly, picking the right tune is a bit of a challenge.  Mostly because you're trying to complete the impossible task of picking something that is not cliche or overused, but strikes an emotionally correct chord with the listener.  All listeners, in fact.  And everyone has a different feeling/threshold for what works for them.

In the studio, Barbara asked me what songs I was thinking about.  I tossed out a few old standby ideas, including "Imagine" and "Hallelujah" and Willie Nelson's "America The Beautiful."  It had all been done before, though.

My next thought was to pick something Boston-y, for the moment.  I think we have all been struck, surprised even, about how much this event and the City's reaction to it elevated our collective identity.  And while "Sweet Caroline," "Dirty Water" and "Roadrunner," all crossed my mind for a moment, ultimately, none of them seemed appropriate.

Great songs, all of them.  But they didn't speak to what the moment was about.  And on the scene, in the City, the silence was actually going to be followed by the sound of church bells tolling.  A rock song on the radio wasn't going to be analogous.

But the mention of church bells gave Barbara an idea.  She pulled out The Civil Wars debut, and cued up track number 8.

"The Violet Hour" is an instrumental.  Beautiful and thoughtful.  And it both starts and ends with the sound of church bells.  While it was a wholly unfamiliar song, because it was wordless, it left the interpretation of its meaning up to the listener.

So I went with it.

And I followed it up with a suggestion from Jess.

Last week she wrote about her feelings toward the week on her own blog, and posted the song "You Are Not Alone," a song written by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco for Mavis Staples' most recent record.

Boston's strange duality was in full display last week.  It is both a tough, unfriendly place, while simultaneously being a clannish, fiercely loyal City where your neighbors know when to flip the switch from nearly beating your ass over a parking space, to literally giving you the clothes off their back.

Last week, the switch was flipped, and it was a reminder that we are not alone in this world.

With just a few minutes before 2:50, I had one more thought:  What comes before kinda matters too.

I might not sound right heading into a moment of silence with "Good Day Sunshine" or "Whipping Post" or something else upbeat.

Fortunately, I had been planning on playing Tuck & Patti's Jimi Hendrix medley that afternoon, and it jazzy laid back nature, and Hendrix' ruminations on mortality . . . and just the beauty of the singing and the playing, turned out to be just right.

The final piece of the puzzle:  Don't suck.

I carefully thought out a very brief, contemplative introduction to the segment, asking folks to reflect on what was lost, and what we discovered about ourselves, and did my best to deliver it.

You can play the songs below, and recreate the moment for yourself . . .


Hear "The Violet Hour" on Youtube.


Hear "You Are Not Alone" on Youtube.


Hear Tuck & Patti on Youtube.

Mavis Staples "You Are Not Alone"

I got to indulge myself a bit, during my vacation a few weeks back.

One of the biggest adjustments in my shift from long-time single guy, to father (of two) and husband (of one), has been the recalibration of my entertainment options.

When you blast the stereo at home these days, it really needs to be a consensus artist.

And, between the 4 of us, there are many. We all enjoy listening to The Beatles and the Glee Soundtracks and Michael Franti and Dan Zanes and many others.

Unfortunately, there are many, many artists and albums that I like that aren’t consensus. So many of my punk rock albums and hip hop records and LOUD ROCKING discs don’t get much play on the home stereo.

But for the first few days of vacation, I didn’t have to worry too much about consensus.

My wife had left for Chicago, for the wedding of a friend. And we sent my 3 year old daughter to Gramma’s house, for a few days in that wonderland.

That left me home alone with the boy. And let’s face it, at 6 months old, he wasn’t really going to argue with any of my entertainment choices.

Sunday morning, I put him in his Elmo car---a roll-y walker vehicle---and as I cleaned up the house a bit, I put on “The Last Waltz” DVD and cranked up the sound.

I was in and out of the room, singing along throughout, but when it came to the scene with The Staples Singers, I just stopped, unable to tear myself away.

How many times have I heard “The Weight” in my lifetime? Hundreds?

How surprised was I, to find myself getting goosebumps, as soon as Mavis Staples started her verse?

After all these years, she still has amazing powers.

Vacation week turned out to be a mini-Mavis fest.

Because I didn’t have to get up early, I was able to stay up and watch the late night talk shows. So I caught Mavis and Jeff Tweedy doing “Wrote A Song For Everyone” on David Letterman. And the very next night she was on The Colbert Report, once again moving me, this time with a Tweedy-penned track called “You Are Not Alone."

Good things come in 3s. And it was enough critical mass to make me run to the stacks when I got back to work, and make sure I had a copy of Mavis’ new record, also called “You Are Not Alone.”

Today on mvyradio, we’re giving away copies of her disc, as The Monday Free CD. Tune in to win.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Mavis Staples & Jeff Tweedy - You Are Not Alone
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election March to Keep Fear Alive

Check out the interview with Colbert that preceded the performance. I love her answer to Colbert's question, "Do you sing The Devil's Music?"

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Mavis Staples & Jeff Tweedy
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election March to Keep Fear Alive