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Female folkies are beautiful!

27 Oct 00 - 10:50 AM (#328511)
Subject: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Allan C.

Lately I have been noticing yet another way in which folk music is "alternative". Take a look at virtually all of the female pop and country music stars. Nearly all of them got into the limelight not only because of their talents, but also because of their physical attributes. In my opinion some of them have far more of the latter than of the former.

One of the things I truly admire about folkies is that physical appearance seems to have little to do with their enjoyment of female artists. This is not to say that the male audience has no appreciation for physical beauty. It just seems to me that, for the most part, it is about the music.

Personally, a woman who can put her heart into a good folksong can get my attention every time.


27 Oct 00 - 10:55 AM (#328513)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Jed at Work

"a woman who can put her heart into a good folksong can get my attention every time"

agreed Allan! There are a few female voices I've heard for the first time and I thought to myself, 'I don't care what this woman looks like, I'd follow her to the ends of the earth!' Singing is all about opening a window to your heart, and there, afterall, is where beauty and grace live.


27 Oct 00 - 11:00 AM (#328516)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: NicP

With ref to Jed's comment about following women with beautiful voices to the ends of the earth, I heard a woman sing at Sidmouth in 1990 and decided to marry her before I'd seen her. Were still together.


27 Oct 00 - 11:01 AM (#328518)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: kendall

No arguement here!


27 Oct 00 - 11:08 AM (#328524)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler

Is this the fault of the pop video/MTV etc? In the "good old days" singers were judged on their sound over the airwaves and on shellac, as well as by a smaller live audience. Most of the great women jazz and blues singers wouldn't have been successful catwalk models (in the case of Mama Thornton she'd have terrified the horses) but who cared?
I'd rather have Ella, Billie (H),Sarah, Etta,Bessie, Ma,etc.than Britney, Kylie,Louise etc, but the youngsters are good to watch with the sound off!
RtS (sad old git)


27 Oct 00 - 11:19 AM (#328532)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Steve Latimer

Video Killed the Radio Star.


27 Oct 00 - 11:37 AM (#328547)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Naemanson

Ah, the sweet sound of the voice and the creative brush of fingers on an instrument makes up for any woman's inability to look like those pop stars. And their talent ensures that they will continue to be popular with us far longer than those pretty children that are such a flash in the pan.

And always remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Once you get past the stereotyped imagery imposed on the masses by the movies and TV you can look deeper into a person and see that he or she has experienced life as it is meant to be lived. They have laughed, cried, worked hard, played gently, loved and lost, loved and kept, felt the lift of the seasons changing and can put all of that into the music that flows from the soul.

Let's see those pretty children try that!


27 Oct 00 - 12:01 PM (#328562)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: GUEST,Matt_R

HEY, they're not all brainless twits. Take a listen to Fiona Apple.


27 Oct 00 - 12:05 PM (#328566)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Dave (the ancient mariner)

Absolutely right AllanC. But a pretty woman will have my undivided and immediate attention, regardless of talent. Aint nature a wonderful thing? LOL yours, Aye. Dave


27 Oct 00 - 12:07 PM (#328567)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Big Mick

Poor dears! In their world they get to see the wrappings, but in my world I see their souls. And I am madly in love with what I see. Just thinking back on the Getaway, I got to look inside of Lisa Null, Karen Kobela, Caroline Paton, and Lani Herrmann as they shared songs with us that could only come from that place where few get to go. And I am in love with those women and the absolute beauty they project. P.J., Jenny, Judy, Dani, Kath W, Tinker, Rita, Sondra, Vixen, Bonnie, Jennifer.................on and on. Only the lucky few get to share in this wealth. We folkies are lucky people.

Mick


27 Oct 00 - 12:08 PM (#328568)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: GUEST,Matt_R

Or think about Queen, when they first came out. Freddie Mercury had a BFA in Art, drummer Roger Taylor has a Master's degree in Biology, bass player John Deacon has a Master's with Honors in Electric engineering, and guitarist Brian May has a Ph.D in astrophysics. They suffered through everything from poverty to Brian's life-threating bout of hepatitus...Just because you look flashy on stage oand you're famous, doesn't mean there isn't something deeper just under the surface. Look for it next time you watch MTV...wait, why are you watching it in the first place?


27 Oct 00 - 12:12 PM (#328572)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: GutBucketeer

Yep Allan you certainly are right!

I think it has somehting to do with where the music is coming from. The popular country stars certainly are svelt. They are entertainers. When I see them though I don't get the feeling that their music or their appearance is coming from within. They may not wear rhinestones and wigs anymore, but they are sitll putting on a personae.

Contrast this with folkies! Often, an inner glow, conviction, connection with the muse, or something seems to surround them (men or women). This makes them beautiful beyond compare!

For evidence of this just look at the pictures from the getaway by Bill D: Lisa Null caught in bliss between two harps; A profile of Jeri in soft light; Judy Cook singing; Dani concentrating; PJ at one with the Bodrhan; The permanent smile on the Pattons faces; Vixen and Reynard singing; Jen with guitar; the list goes on and on.

What beauty! It encourages! It inspires!

(It makes me wonder what an ugly old f**t like me is doing there) :-)

JAB


27 Oct 00 - 12:28 PM (#328584)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Jeri

I've noticed that some women AND MEN positively glow when they sing. They may be physically attractive otherwise, or may just look like most people. (Most folks have some attractive features and others that aren't so attractive.) But get them into a song, and they can shine like diamonds!

...hmmm - sounds like a good subject for a song! :-)


27 Oct 00 - 12:43 PM (#328590)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Big Mick

Jeri, is the perfect example of her own point. She is a very good looking woman to begin with. But I am thinking to the workshop down by the pool. She stood up in her typical, somewhat timid, manner. But when she sank into that song with that wonderful voice of hers, the strength and beauty just started to flow. Keep singing woman. You are very good.

Mick


27 Oct 00 - 12:59 PM (#328599)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: bbelle

Mick and Jim ... Your words are the nicest and most heartfelt I've ever heard. I haven't felt pretty for a long time but maybe my soul shines through more than I imagined. Thank you.

jenny


27 Oct 00 - 01:18 PM (#328608)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: wysiwyg

Confession. I was sure that a good number of my male Mudcat correspondence would dry up once I posted my photo. How wrong I was. It's as pungent and silly and frisky as ever.

I posted it anyway feeling like the time had come to see what would actually happen. I counted on some of you seeing ME. I did not know most of you would. In fact, the only one that didn't-- I posted it knowing that would send him far from me, and thanked God I had a tool at hand that would. The rest of you have been there when I needed more than I could have anticipated, and helped in such a way that I knew you must have really seen me all along.

Now be dears, boys, and go click that pink ribbon in the Breasts, Again thread, again.

Another thing about folkies. The men in it do not limit what they think a woman is supposed to be, much. As your comments above reflect powerfully, it isn't just the packaging expectations that can be limits. In the other circles I move in, left and right, there are definite limits. I can barely move without going over the limit to the left, or the one to the right. (I move anyway.) But folkie men, and MudMen in particular, care first that we sing or make or feel music-- and not perfectly, no, or even real well, not even that limit-- just that we do it from the heart and soul.

In this world, that's a pretty amazing thing for a girl to run up against. I know I'm not the only one who feels that way. I love all my dear MudMen for it. And I begin to expect it elsewhere, too; I think that is even better for the world than it is for me.

~Susan


27 Oct 00 - 02:22 PM (#328645)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Doctor John

Isla StClair. Beautiful lady, beautiful singing voice, beautiful speaking voice, beautiful personality... just beautiful! Dr John


27 Oct 00 - 02:25 PM (#328650)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Jeri

Mick, thanks for the kind words. I've never thought of myself as attractive and it never really bothered me.

Praise - I don't think most of us got past your smile!

I think most of us, as we age, develop a better ability to see. We learn how to tune out distractions so we can see what's really there.

There are people who look for the negatives in anything - reasons to dislike things or people. Most of us (I would hope) look for positives. There's something beautiful about everyone, and all it takes to see it is to look for it.


27 Oct 00 - 02:37 PM (#328662)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: mousethief

Praise, where's this alleged photo? I don't see one among the Mudcat Photos under "Praise." Am I just stoopid? (Well okay, I'm stoopid, I know, but why can't I find it?)

Alex
O..O
=o=


27 Oct 00 - 03:22 PM (#328694)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Catrin

This thread warms me up!

So often we (or perhaps I mean 'I') listen to media hype which suggests that men only go for physical beauty. Sometimes I meet men (like at work) who confirm that stereotype. It does me good to be reminded that not all men are so shallow, in the same way that not all blondes are dumb etc.

Stereotypes are dangerous and confining.

Cheers,

Catrin (feeling beautiful)


27 Oct 00 - 03:27 PM (#328703)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Steve Latimer

Okay, I have to admit that Emmylou's voice isn't the only thing I find beautiful about her.


27 Oct 00 - 03:43 PM (#328710)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: mousethief

Whoever said beauty is only skin deep was a liar. Pretty is only skin deep, perhaps. Cute is only skin deep, perhaps. But real beauty shines out from within.

"Society" (which in this context probably means "teenagers with disposable income") may think more of women with mediocre voices but bodies and faces which conform to the current standard of "beauty," but "society" is a very fickle audience and will throw off one cutie when the next one comes along.

Meanwhile really beautiful women and men are the ones whose beauty shines from within. For example, look at photos of Mississippi John Hurt from the 1960's, with a guitar in his lap. Look at the expression on his face. THAT is beauty. To "society" he may look like an ugly old black man. But to someone who is able to see, really see, he is beautiful.

Every time I see my lady, I smile. Is she shaped like Christy Brinkley? No. Is her face like Vivian Leigh's? No. Is her body two grapefruit on a popsicle stick, like Britney Spears? No. But she's beautiful to me, and that's good enough for me. I'm a lucky man.

Not all men are shallow, Catrin. And don't give up on the men who are currently shallow. Some of us took a long time to learn how to look deep within, and see what really matters -- to see that real beauty which "society" cannot.

Alex
O..O
=o=


27 Oct 00 - 03:53 PM (#328719)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Catrin

Mousethief - The expression on MJH's face is true beauty as are the expressions on yours and your wife's (just visited your website - summer fruits!).

Makes me think of warm sunny days.

Cheers,

Catrin


27 Oct 00 - 03:58 PM (#328721)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: GUEST,Augie Doggie & Doggie Daddy

Hey Mousethief,

When we opened your webpage, we saw the picture of you and your lady. Very nice. You look like you have a nice complexion.

Then we went inside, clicked on your rap sheet and found another picture. In this picture you've got zits.

What gives? Did you enhance that first one, or what?

AD & DD


27 Oct 00 - 04:19 PM (#328740)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: mousethief

Zits are not permanent. They pop up, look nasty, then heal and go away. When the older picture was taken, I was a lot younger and greasier. At that time I had zits. At the time of the newer picture, my complexion was clear.

Do you always make such bizarre comments? Just wondering.

Alex
O..O
=o=


27 Oct 00 - 04:49 PM (#328762)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: GUEST,Augie Doggy & Doggie Daddy

Hey Mousetheif,

Do you have a secret? Clearasil? Giving up chocolate?

Have you maintained your nice complexion since that newer picture was taken? We're sure you must enjoy being zit-free.

AD & DD


27 Oct 00 - 04:56 PM (#328770)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: mousethief

Growing up. You should try it.

Alex
O..O
=o=


27 Oct 00 - 04:56 PM (#328771)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: SINSULL

mousethief,
My Mets lost. I had no hot water this morning. And my bronchitis is back. BUT I awoke to find this reassuring thread from Allan that Mudcat women are beautiful. My question to all the Mudact males is: Are we still beautiful unwashed (no hot water), glum ( I am a bad loser), and hacking up green and yellow stuff (bronchitis)? Actually, I am just trying to pull this thread back on track. Zits have been covered amply elsewhere.
And mouse... your lady is beautiful. Her soul shines through her eyes. Treat her well.


27 Oct 00 - 05:02 PM (#328778)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: mousethief

I try, Sins. I really do.

I'm sorry about your Mets. I was rooting for them. It obviously wasn't enough.

I've never met you, Sins, but from what I've observed here, I'd say the bronchitis and the glumminess don't harm your beauty a bit. Although if you continue unwashed for very long, I might have to say it from farther and father away.

Alex
O..O
=o=


27 Oct 00 - 05:04 PM (#328780)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: catspaw49

I'll take some issue with Mick here.............I don't need to hear them sing or even talk. I read the words they give us here and that's all I need. I don't know about folkies per se, but we have a very beautiful group of women here at the 'Cat. Just as I have heard voices I am immediately struck by (Steve Latimer's sister for example), I have come to know the words of the many here and I am completely taken with the beauty I "see."

Spaw


27 Oct 00 - 05:08 PM (#328783)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Big Mick

Alex, the beauty radiates from her. She is as obviously beautiful as AD & DD are obviously immature and uncomfortable with others receiving praise for their gifts. I feel badly that these poor folks feel so insecure about themselves that they must try to take the shine off others. AD & DD, why don't you try expressing honest emotion in song. We will then say things nice about you. See how it works?

Mick


27 Oct 00 - 05:13 PM (#328790)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: mousethief

Here's a pome I wrote for my wife. Just to lighten the mood here a little.

Happily Ever After

How strange we'd think a man's biography
Which, in a thousand pages, vainly tried
To tell how he was conceived, and born, and weaned,
Then said, "And then he did some stuff, and died."
No less strange to me are those romances
Which tell, in breathless chapter after chapter,
Of courtship's flame, dashed hopes, and furtive glances,
Then end, "And they lived happily ever after."
For that, of course, is where the real tale
takes place; is what the courtship's all about.
The life after the bride takes off her veil,
Which the two of them together must work out.
The time, though short, that we've already spent
Beats any tale the poets could invent.

© 1999 Alex E. Riggle - All Rights Reserved.


27 Oct 00 - 05:30 PM (#328807)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: catspaw49

Sins, we kinda' cross posted, but though I wouldn't recognize you if you came up and bit me in the ass (invitation), I KNOW so much of you that I am convinced of your beauty. You have indeed become one of my favorite people. So stay warm and snug, take a big hug from Ol' Spaw, and when your nephew starts gloating, kick him in the ass!

Spaw


27 Oct 00 - 06:55 PM (#328856)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: JenEllen

Love ya to bits, Sins...(clothespin pinched solidly on my nose!!) Same goes for all the MudCat Luverlies.

Showed this thread to the mister, and he agreed wholeheartedly. There is something about a woman who's not afraid to let life touch her. REAL life, not the plastic that's been shoved down our collective throats via television. Our gals seem to be content letting life's layers of happy and sad drape their souls.

He said he fell over 8 years ago, sight unseen, when he heard me laughing. We were at a mutual friend's house for a barbeque. No coy fluttering of eyelashes and tittering, just a woman who knew how to laugh.

You MudMen need to take a little bit of the credit for the beauty around you. There isn't a one of you here that hasn't at one time or another been a soft shoulder, a drinking buddy, a fellow prankster, or just a plain good friend. With that kind of love and support, it's easy to let your light shine through.

Heat seeking smooches sent 'round the globe,

~Elle


27 Oct 00 - 06:56 PM (#328857)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: wysiwyg

Alex, it's in the Event Pages, Praise Visits Amos and Barky, August 12, 2000. I'd go there to make a link for you but I am going to go see you and your Mrs. instead.

Jeri, that was awful nice. I never saw that I smile like that till I saw that picture. It gives me a lot to think about.

~Susan


27 Oct 00 - 07:07 PM (#328867)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: GUEST,Murray MacLeod

Spaw, I know that I am one of your favourite people too, so does that mean I have an invitation to bite your ass as well ?

Murrau


27 Oct 00 - 07:14 PM (#328873)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: catspaw49

Yes Murray and please make an appointment. Be sure to tell the scheduler that its for an ass biting as opposed to an ass kicking, although the schedules are pretty full for both.

Spaw


27 Oct 00 - 08:15 PM (#328897)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Matt_R

Well, I may be cynical in my young age...but I've learned to trust no one. And I've listened to girls...always have...over physical appearance. So far, I've heard nothing that piqued my interest. They are viciously sarcastic, have foul mouths, and complain 24/7...just put on the ol' Mbo sneer and keep on walking.


27 Oct 00 - 09:27 PM (#328930)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: SINSULL

Matt! You little bastard! I have never been viciously sarcastic. Foul mouthed - occasionally when the occasion warranted it. Whiny - well who isn't? But never sarcastic - that was irony. You can't make me dislike you! You can't make me dislike you! NA NA NA ! I love MAATT! I love MAATT!


27 Oct 00 - 09:50 PM (#328943)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: CarolC

I hope Spaw's right about the words, because I can't sing. I hope when I become a better accordion player, people will see my soul shining through my playing. Right now, they probably just see someone who looks like she's trying to wrestle with an octopus.

Carol


27 Oct 00 - 09:50 PM (#328944)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Bill D

There are SO many lovely, vibrant, happy women in those pictures and in threads with NO pictures yet. Making music seems to bring it out...and the soul that MAKES music (especially the kind of music we shared at the Getaway) is usually the kind I like...The guy who wrote the fiddle tune "Cherish the Ladies" had the right idea.


27 Oct 00 - 10:22 PM (#328959)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Max Tone

To
Natalie MacMaster, Jenny Gardener, Corrina Hewat, Alison Johnston, Kate Rusby, Clare Maclaughlin, Kathryn Tickell, Maggie frae Itchy Fing'rs, Clarsach players and all women, however they present themselves normally, but who suddenly shine when playing ------we love you
Rob


27 Oct 00 - 10:27 PM (#328960)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Sorcha

Oh dear--I think I'm gonna cry now..........and hope all the above includes the NotSingers as well. I have to admit I am not nearly as "cute" as the first loading photo says I am; I really look more like the 2nd. Square face, square jaw, but big smile. Aw, jeez, guys, this really is serious stuff for us Not Model Types, ya know?

Matt, you can't make me hate you either, nyah nyah. And I agree about Fiona. Seinad O'Connor aint bad either. Maybe I'll cut off some more of my hair..........


27 Oct 00 - 10:37 PM (#328964)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: bflat

Beautiful is not limited to women. Beautiful to me is a description of the person, period. I don't care if they are MTV regular or irrregulars. Look to the inner person and sometimes the exterior reflects the core. The core is constant.

Reminds me of a "Twilight Zone" show titled "Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder." If you are interested in a recap I will post but otherwise, you can probably surmise the story line.

bflat


27 Oct 00 - 11:00 PM (#328973)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Max Tone

Hey, bflat,
I take it you're a Horn (or pipe) player and therefore have inside knowledge of beautiful women!
Rob


27 Oct 00 - 11:20 PM (#328979)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Tinker

Wow! As the years and the pounds add... the sincerity here hits a very special place. Thanks
Tinker


27 Oct 00 - 11:29 PM (#328983)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Allan C.

I assure you, bflat, that none of the many 'Catters (or any other folkwomen I have met so far bear even the slightest resemblance to those pictured in that episode. Now the guys, well that's a whole 'nother thing... Not really. As has been expressed so beautifully by many above, all folkies tend to take on a beauty all their own when they are with the music of their hearts. I know I directed this thread at the women. But I think you all recognize that there is a beauty which eminates from all who find their souls in music.

Witnessing this is almost a religious experience.


27 Oct 00 - 11:37 PM (#328986)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: GUEST,Murray MacLeod

I thought I was the only one who felt like this. Allan's summing up says it all.

Murray


28 Oct 00 - 12:18 AM (#329003)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: SINSULL

Allan is definitely in line for "Snog of the Week". Hope Morty is reading this. Someone recently dragged out some pictures of my brother's wedding 25 years ago. There was an absolutely stunning woman dressed in red, no jewelry who simply glowed from the photos. I asked who it was - uh huh, it was me. Funny, 25 years later I finally feel as beautiful as I was. All I can remember about that day is feeling fat.


28 Oct 00 - 06:42 AM (#329100)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Naemanson

Catspaw is absolutely right. I ought to have my ass kicked for not thinking of it earlier. It isn't the music but the thoughts and the love that shines.

Any room on that ass kicking schedule, Spaw?

Somone above commented on not having met many MudWomen. Neither have I. Yet I feel as though I know some of them very well. It adds an interesting dimension to meeting someone for the first time and having already engaged in long heart conversations.

And yet I am going to meet a bunch of 'catters face to face in about 22 days in NH. I am really looking forward to that. Some old friends have never met.


28 Oct 00 - 07:02 AM (#329104)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: kendall

A word of encouragement Matt...someday, you will realize that you no longer bother to talk to GIRLS. Your peers will be WOMEN, and, you will see a hell of a difference. Girls are a pain in the ass, Boys, are a pain in the ass, but, give them time to grow up and they change. There are, of course, exceptions, me for instance, when I was young, I was a crusty igotistical prick. Now I'm over 60, and, I'm still a crusty, egotistical prick. There is a line from a song.."I'm a rambler. I'm a gambler, a long way from home, and the people dont like me, they can leave me alone.."


28 Oct 00 - 08:15 AM (#329125)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Little Neophyte

Mick, thanks for the compliment. It was very timely.
I had a bad experience recently with someone whose behavior made me feel as if any girl would do. It was kind of depressing.

You lifted my spirits, thanks.

Bonnie


28 Oct 00 - 12:34 PM (#329206)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Little Hawk

Yeah! Female folkies are the best. It was a female folkie, Joan Baez, who got me interested in the first place, way back around 1963. It's mainly female folkies whom I have been inspired by since ('cept for Dylan), and it was female folkies singing Dylan that got me interested in him.

They're generally the best songwriters too, IMO.

Way to go, gals!!!


28 Oct 00 - 12:54 PM (#329217)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Micca

Allan, I totally agree with you!!!
After having had the pleasure of meeting several Mudcat women I had previously only "met" on the threads or through Hearme, and they were all Beautiful.
If you had looked into the bar at the RED Lion during Llanstock you would have seen a very ordinary cross-section of people like you would see anywhere, but if you had stood outside and listened....Ah, then you would have felt differently...the Butterflies emerged from the chrysalis,.... so thanks to( in no particular order) Bron, Noreen, Catrin, Morty, Patrish, Morticia, KingBrilliant,Linda, sian,Liz the Squeak, and any one else I may have missed) 'cos your singing and playing transcended mere physical shape and shone out like a beacon. Thank you all....
Ps singing transforms many mere blokes too.


28 Oct 00 - 03:03 PM (#329277)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: GUEST,Anthea Yarborough

I've noticed that, no matter what the subject, there are some people at Mudcat who try to make it all about themselves.

Case in point, this thread that is mostly a tribute to the inner beauty of female folkies, and more particularly, the women of Mudcat.

Yet along comes Kendall whose contribution is to the effect that he's an egotistical prick and them that don't like him can leave him alone.

Yes, Kendall, you are an egotistical prick. If I ever have the opportunity to see you, you can be damn sure that I'll leave you alone.

Anthea


28 Oct 00 - 03:12 PM (#329283)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: SINSULL

Kendall,
Couldn't love you any other way. Stay as egotistical and self centered as you please. Never change. And share your selfish self with us anytime you please.
Mary

Anthea,
"He's a rambler, he's a gambler.
He's a long way from home
And if you don't like hime
Then leave him alone"


28 Oct 00 - 03:27 PM (#329289)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: GUEST,joe

is that in D?


28 Oct 00 - 03:55 PM (#329298)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: kendall

Interesting that Matts post didnt piss you off, but, mine did! You must be a girl, but, thats ok, some day you will be a woman and maybe your tunnel vision will go away.


28 Oct 00 - 03:58 PM (#329300)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: wysiwyg

Anthea, thanks for at least giving your name. We welcome people here pretty much as-is. You included. Right now this thread has become about... you. Funny how easy it is for that to happen, eh? *G*

~Susan


28 Oct 00 - 04:15 PM (#329306)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Rick Fielding

Wish I'd seen this before.

Ahhh women...an amazing gender. Peggy Seeger, Caroline Paton, Kathy Westra, Banjo Bonnie, PJ, Duckboots....oh so many more!

I've always chosen my men friends VERY carefully, but women.....they can do no wrong!

SuckyRick


28 Oct 00 - 04:18 PM (#329307)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: kendall

For what its worth, I have been in love with Joan Baez for almost 40 years. I like her nose. I've also met some lovely lady mudcatters, but if you think I'm going to name them and maybe leave out one or two, think again.


28 Oct 00 - 05:04 PM (#329320)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Art Thieme

Talk about looks. I've been in love with NPR's Terry Gross for a long time. WHAT A VOICE. I've no idea what she looks like, but in my mind's eye------GANGBUSTERS !!!

I can see her on stage with a single spot on her from above and slightly forward in an intimate (the more the better) coffeehouse like the original NO EXIT in Evanston, Illinois on Foster by the "L"---circa 1959. She'd be playing a steel-string Martin New Yorker guitar with finger picks. Yes, both radio and cyberspace are populated by amazing people of the female persuasion.

Art Thieme


28 Oct 00 - 05:13 PM (#329324)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Lepus Rex

Art, you can go here if ya wanna see Terry Gross. She's got a great show. Does she really play guitar?

----Lepus Rex


28 Oct 00 - 05:20 PM (#329328)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Art Thieme

Rex,

I don't know if she plays guitar or not but she sure did a fine and sensitive interview with Doc Watson a while back.

Art


28 Oct 00 - 05:29 PM (#329332)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Matt_R

Well I was talking about girls here at ECU, not on Mudcat! Oh Lord if they had girls here anything like Mudcat women, I'd be in Heaven! You know kendall, that's one of my favorite lines. I quote it at least once a day.

--M


28 Oct 00 - 05:36 PM (#329335)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Midchuck

Kendall, is there a specific age at which one can refer to onself as "crusty?" Having been an egotistical prick for as long as I can recall, adding "crusty" to it somehow gives it more class, and I'm anxious to be able to do so legitimately.

I'll be 59 tomorrow. Do I have to wait 'till I'm 60?

Peter.


28 Oct 00 - 05:39 PM (#329337)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: guinnesschik

Having a "weepy" week, reading this thread is much needed tonic. We had a good gig last night, and I never feel more beautiful than when singing and playing, although fiddling gives me a double chin.

Just thought I'd say "thanks" to all the beautiful folkies (male and female) here on Mudcat for a warm, thought-provoking thread.


28 Oct 00 - 05:42 PM (#329340)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: catspaw49

HEY MIDCHUCK...........I've been readin' your stuff for a good while, and as far as I'm concerned, you're pretty crusty now. No sense in waiting for a birthday....Go for it!!

Spaw


28 Oct 00 - 05:55 PM (#329346)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Naemanson

I know you meant well, Lepus, but why try to change Art's vision? We all have our illusions and I, for one, don't need any facts changing mine.


28 Oct 00 - 06:02 PM (#329348)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Matt_R

BTW I love you too, Sins! And Sorch...Matty Bumpo says you're a hottie.


28 Oct 00 - 06:15 PM (#329352)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Catrin

Happy Birthday Crusty Midchuck!!

<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Catrin


28 Oct 00 - 10:57 PM (#329492)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: kendall

Looks like you can go for it Midchuck. Enjoy, but, be prepared for the few who dont understand. Sinsull, thanks for standing up for me, I'm really quite sensitive and I wound easily. (If you believe that, you will also believe there is going to be a Richard Simmons Jr.) Matt, which line was that?


29 Oct 00 - 12:38 AM (#329563)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: SINSULL

Sigh of relief. Thought I was going to get the "I can take care of myself" line that I spit at Spaw a while back.
Matt, I can only speak for myself but at 20 I was an impossible, know-it-all bitch. Most of it was a defense mechanism. Life, time, experience, laughter, tears, and people all helped wash away the rough edges and leave a woman. Still a know-it-all bitch but I've learned to hide it better.
Damn! Now I've made this thread all about me. What will Kendall say?


29 Oct 00 - 12:38 AM (#329564)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: katlaughing

Nie thread guys and I agree about anyone who sings/plays from their heart being beautiful.


29 Oct 00 - 01:48 AM (#329614)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Lepus Rex

Naemanson, I wasn't trying to change anything, or to shatter any dreams. Just recommending the 'Fresh Air' website with her picture, if he happened to want to see it. It's an excellent site, too. You can listen to archived shows there, which is swell. (I'm going to look for the Doc Watson interview tomorrow)And it's not like she's some hideous toad who's going to scare Art away from 'Fresh Air,' anyways. I personally like to see what people on the radio look like in real life. Ray Suarez, for instance, looks nothing like I imagined him to look. Same with Terry Gross. If Art doesn't want to know, I'm sure he won't look. ;)

---Lepus Rex


29 Oct 00 - 02:13 AM (#329623)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: catspaw49

Hey Art!!!....While you're at it, check out the pix of ol' Lepus at Mudcat Resources. Get the 'Fresh Air' first though as you may need it. Hold your breath on the Lepus page.(:<))

luvya Lepus

Spaw


29 Oct 00 - 07:34 AM (#329671)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)

Alan, once again you've proven yourself the gentleman and scholar I know you to be- thanks for the much-needed lift.
I agree with those who say the beauty shines in male and female folkies alike. The way their eyes reflect the soul of the music, the way their fingers caress the instrument, the way their voice strokes my heart- oooh, I'm getting warm all over!


29 Oct 00 - 03:08 PM (#329830)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Lepus Rex

*Sob!* I guess I'll have to go work for NPR! :(

---Lepus Rex


29 Oct 00 - 03:54 PM (#329863)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Boxette

I have to agree, physical appearance only adds to beauty, it can't create it. Certain things for me make people beautiful: passion for life, a true love of music, the ability to see beauty in others, tolerance, happiness, and an inclination to laugh. These, especially the parts about music and laughter, are invariably what makes someone beautiful to me. And if they look good too, all the better.


29 Oct 00 - 06:36 PM (#329933)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Naemanson

Sorry, Lepus, I wasn't intending to be critical, only funny.


29 Oct 00 - 10:15 PM (#330104)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Art Thieme

There was a great old time radio program called, "Pat Novac For Hire"----a show written with such verbal and semantic inventiveness that I still marvel at it today. Pat Novac was a hardboiled guy who was always involved in all sorts of noir happenings.

Once he uttered a line that simply blew me away----and that is exactly what I feel about Terry Gross' vocal capabilities. (see below !)

"She had a voice like a bowl of warm stew."

Art Thieme


30 Oct 00 - 05:11 AM (#330226)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: kendall

Sounds more like Guy Noire to me..


30 Oct 00 - 11:04 AM (#330347)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: L R Mole

Muttering to my windshield on the way in this morning I was thinking about what an odd and touching thing it is to play and sing to each other, and to keep the circle open.Probably a very, very old impulse, and very honest.Love and beauty, rhythym and rhyme, no wonder we are where we are, and who we are.


30 Oct 00 - 11:48 AM (#330384)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Steve Latimer

'Spaw, you may get to hear more of my sister Susan's voice soon. She is in final contract negotitations for CD deal. We have been trying the patience of Mr. Fielding over some of the legal matters, Sue has met with Rick's lawyer and things seem to be coming together nicely.

She's pretty excited. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for the kind words.

And she ain't bad to look at either.

Steve


30 Oct 00 - 05:10 PM (#330610)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Kim C

I often feel like a geezer and I'm only 33.

I will admit to being somewhat high-maintenance, and it's nice when people say, don't you look pretty! But I gotta tell ya, when someone comes up and says, I was so blessed to hear you today... well, that's the best compliment I could ever get. :)


30 Oct 00 - 06:17 PM (#330691)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Lepus Rex

Oops, Naemanson. Sorry, hard to tell without obnoxious 'smileys,' eh? ;-) Some times, I'm glad I abuse them, heh.

---Lepus Rex


30 Oct 00 - 07:07 PM (#330739)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: RedCelt

How many ways can a guy say I agree with all of the above? Not only in music (though I will admit a profound weakness there...) I've been involved in several organizations where people of all stripes let beauty shine through when they were wrapped up in doing something from the heart, rather than checking their reflection in someone else's eyes.

And Matt_R... if your ECU is like the ECU that I went to, some *mumble* years ago (locked in what seemed to be the cultural wasteland of samll town Oklahoma)... it sounds like the girls there haven't changed much. They were locked into all being individuals together, as they rebelled upon being away from mommy and daddy for the first time. Oh, well.. it's not as if I can't understand the obnoxiousness often required in growing up. note that I only undersatnd this intiutively... (Insert sarcasm here)I'm sure that I was neeever like that!

P.S. I didn't marry my dear lady for her voice.. that came as a bonus. It was only after I had fallen for her that I found out that she was a former operatic soloist with a new and growing interest in celtic and Folk! Lucky me!

Jeff


30 Oct 00 - 07:11 PM (#330742)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Matt_R

You sho' nuff got it right, Jeff. BTW you actually went to East Carolina?! Weirder and weirder! Mario, can I come kiss some girls in your town?


30 Oct 00 - 07:27 PM (#330747)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: RedCelt

Matt..

Right letters.. wrong state. East Central U in Oklahoma.


31 Oct 00 - 01:57 AM (#330976)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: GUEST,Kat in Oregon

Hi MoonJen

Your music makes me shine... Kat in Oregon


31 Oct 00 - 08:12 AM (#331063)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: P05139

Thanks! I'm a female folkie and I'm definately NOT beautiful!!! (*BG*)


31 Oct 00 - 08:52 AM (#331086)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: GUEST,Matt_R

I bet, FC! You gotta let the guys be the judges o' that!


31 Oct 00 - 09:46 AM (#331116)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Calach

Sorry guys, I have to change the tone of this by saying....visit the photo gallery to see pic of thyme2dream; MY girlfriend, from the good ol' USA ....(hee hee, being a PROUD and glorious scot.... my pics there too, by the way, if you guys want to set up any competition...) calach


31 Oct 00 - 10:14 AM (#331128)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: GUEST,Matt_R

I saw her, Calach! You lucky dawg, you!


01 Nov 00 - 01:26 PM (#332039)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: WyoWoman

Looking at photos of myself over the years, I can see that I've always been pretty. I have hardly ever, ever, ever felt it. I was just about killing myself over feeling fat when I was 17 and weighed 117 lbs. (5'6") and I still periodically beat myself bloody about being 25 lbs. more than that now. I see my daughter and know without question that she is a beautiful woman. I see photos of myself at that age and know, intellectually, that you can barely tell the two apart. But there's an emotional disconnect with that information. I just don't get it.

Until recently, I have never, ever, ever felt confident about anything I've undertaken and always interact with myself as though I'm some kind of machine that just has to be turned up higher in order to produce results. I have always felt, for personal reasons, that I was damaged goods and had to take what I could get regarding the men in my life (this is over, thank you, but it was my history), and have always felt so self-conscious I wished a trap-door could open under me when I have to talk to strangers. I have always countered this by being out-going and funny, or the sexiest little vixen you could want to meet == but the subterfuge only covered up the fact that I mostly have wanted to throw up and/or hide when I have to talk to people, particularly men.

No ONE who knows me would believe this, but, hey. I'm an actress. I'm good. But the lack of self-belief has taken its toll.

I finally have turned a corner with all this, thanks to much, much work on the sources of it, and much healing of old wounds. The truth is, I'm in love with people, and with this beautiful little Earth we get to live on. I'm attracted to good hearts and want to contribute what I can, where I can -- and it's very difficult to do that when you're constantly undermining yourself.

The lone exception to this, all these years, has been when I've been singing. I tried to write a song once with the line, "There's a place in my heart that only stops hurting when I sing. So I sing..." but, I haven't been a songwriter. Still, the sentiment is absolutely true. The rub has been in actually allowing myself to get up and sing, to overcome whatever it is that barricades me from sharing myself in that way and to just stand in the song and deliver. I get by on bravado a lot, but it's only in the past few months, actually, that I've been able to do my music from a place of genuine sharing, not from forcing myself to overcome wanting to throw up or pass out at the thought, not of singing in front of other people because I'm much more at home in front of 200 people than one, but of getting from here inside me, to out there, in front of the crowd, inside the song where I'm comfortable. (This may be turning into a rant, but bear with me. It needs sayin'. )

Once I've launched into a song, there's noplace on earth that feels more like home. I get this experience sometimes with my writing, too, or when holding a child. But actually singing, actually sailing right down the center of a song is as close to heaven as I'm likely to get in this lifetime... I wish I could do it all the time, now that I'm learning how to actually transit from where I am to being IN the song... Transitions are rough.

this ties to the Steve Allen thread, actually. I read a newspaper article this a.m. about him and his wife said he was a semi-introvert -- completely bashful one on one but a complete extrovert in front of a crowd. Fits me to a T.

What I'm doing now that I never could do before is just admit that. Just "come from" being shy and feeling stupid instead of trying to bluff my way through situations and coming off stuck-up or overbearing or arrogant or whatever. I'm stupid, I'm shy, I sing. Deal with it.

(Did any of this make any sense at all?)

ww


01 Nov 00 - 02:49 PM (#332104)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: SINSULL

Perfect sense, WW. And your happiness when you sing comes through loud and clear.


01 Nov 00 - 03:47 PM (#332145)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: P05139

Matt, why do you think there isn't a photo of me in the gallery? It's cos the camera smashed to bits!!

Mind you, my boyfriend thinks I'm beautiful,but then again, he's gotta say that!


01 Nov 00 - 03:54 PM (#332157)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Matt_R

NEWSFLASH FC, ALL women are beautiful!! YOU as well! And believe me, yer boy is NOT saying that because he HAS to, it's because he WANTS to. That's how love works.


01 Nov 00 - 04:01 PM (#332163)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: P05139

Aaaaaah! Thanks Matt!


01 Nov 00 - 04:47 PM (#332193)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Naemanson

Firecat, no one gets to critique their own looks. Leave that to us, your friends, to do. You now HAVE to post a picture so we can judge you on your obvious physical merits. Then you have to go to Hearme so we can judge your other merits.

Wyo, are you sure we aren't related?


01 Nov 00 - 06:20 PM (#332250)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Hollowfox

Allan C, and all you others, Thank You so much for this thread! Reading it, bit by bit over these past few days has lifted my spirits more than you can imagine. I'd have posted sooner, but it was a long thread, and I didn't want to just skim. Thanks again! (Maybe somebody will have to start something like this for some of the guys..Has anybody got a site where I could buy a pinup of, say, Andres Segovia?)


01 Nov 00 - 08:17 PM (#332375)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Big Mick

Remember what I said about seeing their souls? For proof, read Wyo Woman. Surely some of God's best work in that woman. Glad you could share that with us, Pansy. I know how hard it is to share deeply held feelings, I did it a couple of times here. Congrats on a wonderful posting. Your beauty shines through. Most meaningful lines to me? The truth is, I'm in love with people, and with this beautiful little Earth we get to live on. I'm attracted to good hearts and want to contribute what I can, where I can and Once I've launched into a song, there's noplace on earth that feels more like home. I get this experience sometimes with my writing, too, or when holding a child. If anyone could read this and not recognize a pearl of great value..............

Mick


01 Nov 00 - 10:28 PM (#332456)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: WyoWoman

AW, ya big Mick...

mmmwaaaaaa!

ww


01 Nov 00 - 11:25 PM (#332489)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: CarolC

WyoWoman, I understand exactly what you're saying, but from the opposite side of the equation. I'm terribly lost in groups of people, and only know what to do with myself in one on one, or small group situations. I can't bear to sing, either to myself, or in front of other people. I feel the most at home when I play an instrument that blends in with the rest and doesn't stand out too much.

I get terribly overwhelmed if I'm around people for extended periods of time and yet, like you, I love people and want to be a part of their lives. And I want to contribute in whatever ways I can.

Thank goodness for the Mudcat.

Carol


02 Nov 00 - 01:04 PM (#332860)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: WyoWoman

Where introverts gather at night ...

or day.

WhatEVer ...


02 Nov 00 - 04:19 PM (#332987)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: P05139

Naemanson, two things:-

1) No digicam at the Firecat/Tig/Badger household

2) You wouldn't WANT to have me on Hearme and I don't know how to get on it anyway!

:-))


02 Nov 00 - 04:33 PM (#333008)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: GUEST,Matt_R

FC, if you were good enough for choir, you're good enough for HearMe! If you want to get to HearMe, click here and click where is says "Song circle". Of course, unless someone else is IN there, you won't hear any music, or see any other names. I'm going there right now, so if you want to try it, I'll be in.

--M


02 Nov 00 - 11:05 PM (#333264)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: CamiSu

When I was a teen, my mother tried to mold me into a 'fashionable' person, and I wouldn't go. She also had me on a perpetual diet ans she thought I was fat. (I was heavy for my size. I only floated with effort and could easily walk across the bottom of the pool). I didn't fit in with the 'girls' and have not yet figured out how to talk to the 'pretty' ones. But I always loved to sing, and love having kids around the house, and my husband tells me i'm beautiful. Someday I may believe it.

This said, I saw a photo of the MOST BEAUTIFUL woman at the Ansel Adams show last week. She was ancient, her face all creases. I could have looked at her forever...


02 Nov 00 - 11:08 PM (#333266)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Matt_R

And your face was a well-written page, Maggie
And time alone was the pen....


02 Nov 00 - 11:13 PM (#333270)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: GUEST,Big Mick

CamiSu, you prove my point again. Go back and read what you wrote!! Your beauty just shines through......I just can't believe what a marvelous thread this is. We are treated to such wonderful descriptions........I must find that Ansel Adams photo..............

Mick


02 Nov 00 - 11:53 PM (#333293)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Ferrara

Matt... After all this, reading the whole thread for the first time, and feeling very moved by so many things here, it was the lines from "Maggie" that brought tears to my eyes. Thanks all.

I wouldn't let Bill D or Don Nichols put up any of the photos they took of me at the Getaway.... So Mick's words did me good too... Many thanks to Nancy-Jean Siegel, who e-mailed me a beautiful photo from my concert. It made me look the way I feel when I'm singing and, in WW's words, "sailing right down the center of a song."

Guess I'll have to put it on Bill's web site.

About 6 years ago, a friend of mine was moaning about turning 43. Well, I'm 10 years older than her. I told her, "I don't see what the fuss is about growing older. The way I see it, I earned every one of those 53 years. The bad as well as the good, turned me into the person I am today and I value them all." Not directly about beauty, but in a way it is.

Rita Ferrara


03 Nov 00 - 07:31 AM (#333422)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: Catrin

Wyowomn - I have just read through your thread. That's my story too - or most of it. Lack of self belief turned me into a shy introverted mouse who 'believed' that everybody and anybody was judging me negatively. Then one day I 'woke up' and realised that the only person judging me, the only one who mattered, was myself. I started to be kinder to myself and it has transformed my life.

I really believe that lack of self believe prevented me from thinking, or experiencing, or believing other people who gave me compliments.

I'm forty this month and glad to be. I am happier than I have ever been before. It seems to me that life gets easier. If other people do want to judge me negatively, that's their problem, not mine.

All the hurt stopped when I sang too. Now I sing for Joy.

I'm not so unrealistic as to believe that my life will be painfree from now on. It's just that I have a different, healthier, way of dealing with painful stuff.

Cheers,

Catrin


03 Nov 00 - 11:51 AM (#333614)
Subject: RE: Female folkies are beautiful!
From: GUEST,bbc at work

Playing off Ferrara's thought a little--I have never worried too much about my age or appearance. I figure I've done enough to be the age I am &, generally speaking, I'm content w/ who I am. In terms of aging & showing age, though, Ferrara reminded me that one of my favorite things about my partner, Duane D., is his wrinkles. The only ones he has are smile wrinkles & lines that should concern --the life evidence of a sensitive, loving man. I want that to be the story of my life, too.

bbc