Plan B Forum

John Prine

Econoline wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 08, 2020 4:16 am

BoSoxGal wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 08, 2020 2:53 am

RIP John Prine

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK (FUCK)⁹⁹⁹⁹

This deserves its own thread over in The Arts, so I'm going to start one.

Life ain’t fair.

The first John Prine song I ever heard, in a high school music class, that our teacher used to teach us elementary guitar.

Thank you for starting this thread.

Today is gloomy and drizzly where I live, and I plan to spend the day going through all the Prine albums on Apple Music - a memorial of sorts for a fantastic spirit who won’t get the memorial he deserves for a long time.

I think I was aware of John Prine way back then as one of many good singer-songwriters, but I don't recall him standing out from the crowd in my mind.

About five years ago I was on a treadmill or lifting some weights at my local gym - probably Terre Haute, IN - and a song came on the screen - I don't know what it was tuned to (do they still have MTV??) or if it was some sort of private playlist. It was 'That's How Every Empire Falls" with Prine singing. As it happens that's one of his rare songs which he did not create himself but it made me go to You Tube to look him up and find more. RB Morris was the writer.

Maybe because I'm old too he got to me. Unlike -say - MIck Jagger or Bob Dylan who seem to be trying to run out the clock while remaining perpetually 27, Prine seemed to have embraced getting older or decided that, if there is nothing you can do about it, enjoy it.

This is a good piece with some great links - reading it I realized that probably some folks had already been working on their tributes before the news broke last night.

Anyway it’s definitely worth a read if you’re a Prine fan.

Please Don’t Bury John Prine

Standing by peaceful waters

Spent most of yesterday evening listening to his music...

I saw some pundit this morning say that Rolling Stone once referred to him as "The Mark Twain of American music", and I think that sounds about right...

I saw him in concert four times; got to meet him once. Very down to earth guy...(probably not a surprise to any other hardcore Prine fans)

I could spend all day posting all the music of his that I treasure, but for now I'll just post this one...

I used to sing it as a lullaby to the kids when they were babies and toddlers...

The lyrics aren't really "lullabyish" but the tune is so soothing and melodious it worked really well to stop the fussing and bring on a peaceful sleep...

Christmas In Prison:



Goodbye John...

You will be very much missed...

You are SO lucky you got to see him 4x!!

The Slate article has a link to this, and I thought it was interesting—not only for what it said, but also for who wrote it: the very first ever review of John Prine and his music. (Spoiler alert: it's a rave review.) Also interesting is the fact that some of the songs mentioned were later given new titles, at some point, but you (or at least I) immediately know what song it is from the description. It still blows my mind that he wrote "Hello, In There" and "Angel From Montgomery" at the age of 23!

Lord Jim wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 08, 2020 9:44 pm

I saw some pundit this morning say that Rolling Stone once referred to him as "The Mark Twain of American music", and I think that sounds about right...

Here's a link to a reposting of that article ..... Inside the Life of John Prine, the Mark Twain of American Songwriting

-"BB"-

Someone mentioned John Prine right here a few years ago. I'm not sure how I escaped hearing of him before. I listened to the link then, and later I got two CDs of his music. He was obviously a very talented guy. Scott Simon did a nice tribute to him on Weakened Edition this morning too. A former mail carrier who shunned sports as a kid and carried his guitar over his shoulder instead of a ball bat. Obviously the corona virus doesn't care who it kills.

MGMcAnick wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 11, 2020 6:06 pm

Someone mentioned John Prine right here a few years ago. I'm not sure how I escaped hearing of him before. I listened to the link then, and later I got two CDs of his music. He was obviously a very talented guy. Scott Simon did a nice tribute to him on Weakened Edition this morning too. A former mail carrier who shunned sports as a kid and carried his guitar over his shoulder instead of a ball bat. Obviously the corona virus doesn't care who it kills.

That may have been me. I've been a gushing fan of Prine since he first hit the airways on Philly's eclectic radio station, WXPN. "Hello in there" and "Sam Stone" still resonate with me to this day.

It is often the simplest of lyrics that touch us the most profoundly.

Prine was an uncomplicated wordsmith, with a PhD in the human condition, and a master of those lyrics.

I will miss him.

Not many can say they spent 24 years on stages alongside John Prine. Beautiful words from his longtime guitarist.

The Zen of John Prine (In Three Lines)

In his songs, John beautifully illustrates the dualities of life. Humor and sadness; joy and sorrow; innocence and experience. Gently he points out the absurdity that fills much of our days. Somehow he does it without judgement or rancor. He laughs, cries, and shakes his head right along with the rest of us. You can tell: he’s puzzled by it all, too.

The Zen Studies Society describes Zen as “the direct experience of what we might call ultimate reality, or the absolute, yet it is not separate from the ordinary, the relative.” That’s also a pretty good description of John Prine’s songwriting. Within the ordinary, he found something much deeper.

I couldn’t begin to pick a favorite Prine song, but here are three passages that to me beautifully illustrate the Zen of John Prine.

Read the whole article.

Hi, just a reminder that today is the John Prine tribute concert - it live-streams on his Facebook page and YouTube page (and Twitch, whatever that is), at 7:30pm EST.

Listening and crying, crying and listening.

A tribute for all ages.

Thank you, John



And that's the way that the world goes round.