Dirt Pile
I try to keep from wearing everyone out with confessional singer/songwriter dribble. (It’s not interesting just because it’s in a song) Having written that, there are times when real life breaks into my songs like a wrecking ball and I do some confessing. The break up of my marriage made it’s way into my last record and is not completely absent on this new one. It was a big painful thing. I hope you never have to go through it. During the worst of it, I came across a little passage in the I Ching that talked about trying to be (pardon my very lame reduction here) king of the dirt pile. Fighting for something that isn’t worth it, something you don’t really need or want, just to be the king. I am thinking about this because my record comes out in June. I would love for people to hear my music and like it, but then there’s that big dirt pile of selling, being popular. I have always wanted to make popular music without being popular. Writing good songs, making good records, doing good shows. Let someone else be king of the dirt…..
hoping this will make sense and come in handy sometime,
Sam
April 27th, 2008 at 10:24 am
It’s funny, but I’ve listened to your music since Cruel Inventions, and in recent years I would swear your songwriting has improved.
It’s ‘pop’, but only like Joe Henry’s music is ‘pop’: Short, melodic, hooky, but also dense and angular. Come to think of it, all of the classic Bird era Bebop would count as pop under this definition, but as far as I’m concerned, that early era bebop gets awfully abstract at times, but without losing the enjoyment.
So don’t feel to bad wanting to make pop without being particularly popular (or is it more correct to say you don’t want to DO anything to become popular). You’re in good company. ‘Pop’ for me means it hasn’t left pleasure behind, and yet has accumulated some substance, by accident as it were.
‘Love and kisses’…
-Em
April 28th, 2008 at 1:09 am
Hi Leslie…Sam,
I was watching Gilmore Girls on DVD with my daughter Shannon, and couldn’t get over the unique vocals that reminded me of someone from GPC days. I had to pinch myself when the credits listed you. Your music is fresh yet it takes me back somehow too - you’re style is recognizable in a good way. I hope this finds you thriving. Bob too, wherever he may be. BTW, I married Charlie Little.
I have fond memories of you and Nancy C singing and fervently playing guitar…I’m going to tell Phil and Amy to check out your web site.
Warm Regards ~Laura
April 29th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Hey Sam… I’m not a big blog commenter guy, but those last three sentences really describe how I feel about my own music and the pursuit of a broadening audience for it exactly. Nice one! Singer-songwriters are a needy bunch… we either admit it or we don’t, but the need is there to connect.
In an “industry” where a large majority of people are ego-motivated to be king of the dirt pile (while calling the dirt pile a golden mound of glory), it’s hard to navigate that fine line between the desire to create music earnestly with the desire to be appreciated. That was a run-on sentence:-)
“A Boot and a Shoe” is a classic album… thanks for making it! Excited to hear the next one.
Adam
April 30th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
dear sam -
I just had a lengthly conversation with a good friend about music ( and other stuff ) .from junior brown and hank williams to led zeppelin , phil keaggy , eddie van halen , the beatles to ….well , you . This would not be the first time your name would come up…whether in the context of good music , or the funky state of a world view formerly known as christianity .
I met you once in detroit…i was drunk, slipped backstage and cozied up to your drummer , then i met you . When you referred to your Recollection cd as ” damage control ” I thought , ” i love this woman ! ”
As far as i see it , all music is confessional . And while lyrical content may speak otherwise….something’s always being said. I just wanted to say after listening a quarter century or so ….i’m still listening . And sometimes i’m pretty sure i even hear what you’re saying . Either way , your art has always inspired me. And like the late great John Bonham’s drumming , it has served as an anchor and a whip.
Hope to catch you in detroit again soon .( sans my alcohol sodden shenanigans ! )
p.s. I did go trough that ” big painful thing ” . When i heard you did as well , my heart went out to you . I wouldn’t wish the pain of divorce on my worst enemy .
” in the absence of healing our pain becomes our teacher . in the absence of our pain , our healing teaches us mercy ”
peace , matt
April 30th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
next time i’m gonna proofread before i see if something posts…..
i just wanted to clarify that i actually did not go trough anything . that would be even more painful !
however , i did go through a helluva lot though ! tough many t’s and h’s . ( and oug’s )
btw , my daughter once made a sign that said ” don’t do anything…ever ! ”
it has become our favorite saying .
May 1st, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Dear Sam
I love how new media you’ve become! What with your new look website, flickr, myspace, youtube. But how maintain an old media aesthetic with the collages and super8 like videos. I have followed your music with fervor since the 80s and just can’t wait to hear the new album! Please come and do a gig in Sydney! I won’t rest until you do.
Daniel x
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:25 am
Leslie I’m writing from Buenos Aires, Argentina (is there any chance Don’t Do Anything will be released here?)
I’ve had the pleasure to listen to your songs ever since Martinis and Bikinis and your songwriting just keeps amazing me with every album release. Well, this one doesn’t seem to be the exception.
You are probably tired of listening to this but your style is absolutely unique. Your melodies and lyrics have helped me get through the bad times and joined me in the good ones. Thank you enormously for keep filling this world with your talent and please never stop making music.
Best wishes and big success for DDA!
Estefania
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Many moons ago I was a struggling would-be rock journalist working for Tampa’s Creative Loafing when my editor sent me a copy of Cruel Inventions. I looked at the guy on the cover and thought ‘who the hell is Sam Phillips?’ Then I listened to the cassette (remember those?), and listened again and again. I gave CI a positive review that was one of my first published pieces. A few months later I ordered The Indescribable Wow and wondered how this incredibly creative chick escaped being played on top 40 radio, not just Modern Tracks.
I’ve been a fan of yours for 18 years, Sam. Have most of your albums d/l to my mp3 player (along with a lot of REM, late-period Patti Smith, 2 Tracy Chapmans, and several Natalie Merchant /10KM favs — you all go really well together imo) which currently gets me through the day at my real (boring) job. The only public writing I do nowadays is on my blog and other peoples’ blogs. I wish you much luck and success with the new album.
Take care
PS: talk to Rosanne Cash and Syd Straw about their own break-ups and how they delivered cathartic classic albums afterwards.
May 3rd, 2008 at 2:31 am
Fan since BSW. Don’t cringe. I followed, and have learned so much with each album. Met you at Mark H’s memorial service when I worked with Phil Keaggy–he and Bernadette LOVED cruel inventions when I lent it to them.
Your Churchill quote about going through hell helped me through my own divorce, as did the last coupla records. Helped so much more than I can say. It’s a pain that doesn’t go away, but there’s some comfort to letting more life surround that particular sadness, and making it smaller just by trudging on.
Screw the dirt. You don’t need to be king of anything. But you’re queen of what you do, and believe me when I say you absolutely wring my heard with every note. I lean on your songs with my life.
So thanks for making more of them. Song writers, like Bono, David Wilcox, Over the Rhine, teach me how to live. And you. Thank God and the stars above and the dirt beneath our feet. Don’t you dare stop, please? My prayers, Andrew
May 3rd, 2008 at 2:42 am
I meant “you wring my hearT.” Argh.
And your music is THAT reliable–can trust it, always.
Hey–the SUBMIT button on the mailing list doesn’t work.
Oh, and once when Phil K and I were in town we had lunch with Myrhh at some marina, and I sat next to Dan P. I wanted to slug him for what he did with your records, but I’m grateful you’ve found another voice.
I found the mercy to keep my hands to myself and eat my salad.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:04 am
For a long time, I envied (perhaps resented) artists for having an outlet through which to process ‘painful things’ … as opposed to the silent void in which I found myself as the ‘big painful thing’ unraveled my world. Blinded by pain, I guess - forgetting that artists who risked revealing the wound, were in fact, traveling companions on the new uncertain road.
I’m writing to one now, to express my gratitude for the many gifts you’ve shared, measured in countless hours of beautiful companionship. It’s humbling to realize that your “outlet” which I envied, has been a one-way street. I’m not that selfish, but the best I can do from here is to say “thank you”.
Twenty-two years after the divorce, I can honestly say that the scar remains, but the pain has been transformed into memories of experiences that I’d never surrender. I guess it’s the result of the only “outlet” we really have - living it. With the help of some friends. Like the cassette I bought on a hunch, called “The Indescribable Wow”. We’ve been together ever since. I’m looking forward to the next chapter … and wish you well on the road, which I hope takes you through Milwaukee and/or Chicago.
Take good care of you, always. Peace.
May 11th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Sam, come back to Tulsa and play the Cain’s! Missed you when you were here with the Counting Crows and I haven’t been able to catch up with you anywhere since. I have been a fan of yours since “The Turning” and of course, have purchased everything you have put out since! Can’t wait for the new one. Keep on it…
May 12th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Sam, I just wanted to echo what KJ said. I’ve been listening to you since Dancing with Danger, but fell in love with The Turning. I’ve been buying everything since and experienced life change with Boot & a Shoe. I started watching Gilmore Girls just to hear your snippets.
PLEASE consider coming to Tulsa and playing Cain’s. It’s a great room and I and anyone I can tell will be there with bells on. You have fans who love you in the midwest!
May 19th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Just pre-ordered the new CD on Amazon. Very much looking forward to it. Your music has seen me through many crises of faith. Though my faith in the biblical god is long gone, I enjoy your questioning. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
May 29th, 2008 at 9:54 am
It is strange to think it, but you, or more precisely, your work, has been in my consciousness since the summer I turned 17. A friend of mine who was a pastor’s sun gave me a cassette of The Turning. But for that album’s last song, which seemed like a strange appendage to me, I fell in love.
Then you disappeared. In 1991, I was in college, reading Rolling Stone in the library and there was a review of a Sam Phillips who had released an album called Cruel Inventions and an album called The Indescribable Wow before that. So, I rediscovered you, and have been turning people on to your stuff ever since. I have always been perplexed by the fact that artists such as yourself, Michael Penn, Aimee Mann, Lyle Lovett, The Honeydogs, etc. don’t gain wider notice when you are consistently putting out great songs, and by great I mean tuneful, well-crafted, and full of thought. I chalk it up to the ol’ 85-15 rule. 85 percent of people are going to let you down, not do their jobs, not have an informed opinion, relish their ignorance, etc. 15 percent have the knowledge, the work ethic, the introspection, etc. And those are the ones that treasure the good stuff once they find it.
Since you mention the I Ching, consider this poem by Tu Fu, a Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty, here translated by Kenneth Rexroth:
We have talent. People call us
The leading poets of our day.
Too bad, our homes are humble,
Our recognition trivial.
Hungry, ill-clothed servants treat
Us with contempt. In the prime
Of life, our faces are wrinkled.
Who cares about either of us,
Or our troubles? We are our own
Audience. We appreciate
Each other’s literary
Merits. Our poems will be handed
Down along with great dead poets’.
We can console each other.
At least we shall have descedants.
You have the work, and it will go on past the border of your life, and, better than Tu Fu, you do have an audience — one that loves you. It must be a strange thing to so cared about by so many strangers. Anyway, I guess I got on a tear here, but that is the beauty of these easy forms of connection. I look forward to your new album, and know that your work holds a place of meaning in my life. I hope one day to meet you and leave that meeting calling you “friend.” I wish you happiness, or at the very least, contentment.
June 9th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Hi Sam…just listened to your new CD and it is really fantastic. I am going straight to the store tomorrow to buy it. I hope you have great success with it…without necessaryily being “king of the dirt pile”, I see you’re already out working the woodshed. Do you have any tv spots lined up to promote your new work? I sure hope you get close to ol’ “Cowtown” on your tour this summer…I’ll even run to Angelo’s for you and the band again…Harriett sends her love….Sam
June 13th, 2008 at 1:57 am
Sam,
So touching to hear you talk about the pain of your divorce. The stereotype of famous people is they breeze through these things. It is a terribly painful thing and it seems you are through the worst of it. I think you must be a sweet and sensitive woman.
June 14th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Hello, Sam!
Congratuations on the new record. I picked it up (physically—the cd—I’m old-fashioned—ha ha) today and am enjoying it now. I’ve been a fan for at least 17 years. I can’t begin to thank you for all the great songs you’ve written—not just pleasing to the ear but speaking to the soul. If you tour, I hope you come my way to Kansas City!
Thanks for the music,
Chris
June 15th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Sam,
I have been star struck, ever since I was a teenager. My youth minister brought back your very first “Leslie” cassette, from a music conference in Estes Park, CO. It was love at first listen for me. I have purchased every recording I could get my hands on since. In my opinion, your talents are severely under-exposed. I love all kinds of music, but your version of “pop” music was effervescent and gritty… reflecting a real life. The more folk transition in the later years, has been a more soulful perspective, but with the same powerful introspection. Thank you for the intimate portrait you have painted with your songs.
I do want to share with you, that your music has been an oracle to me, over these years. It was inspiring to me, that you stood so boldly for what you believed. I came out as a gay man, several years ago. It was a difficult thing to do, having been closeted for many years and being deeply rooted in the church. I struggled with a deep desire to express myself fully, through my faith and through my sexuality. I am on the journey, but have felt the rushing wind of spirit at my back many times, as I listened to your lyrics. I know that we do not share the same story, per se, but I resonated with yours and the bold stand for your own personal truth. It was a powerful example for me…listen to your heart, reflect that back in a prayer, and truth is the key to unlocking freedom.
Faith. Hope. Love. Libera me.
Cory
P.S. Please come to Chicago for a concert! It has been my life’s dream to see one of your live performances.
June 16th, 2008 at 11:42 am
I got the wonderful chance to see the performance at Borders Books in Tigard, OR. I was the awkward, tall, red-headed man who spoke to you first, after the performance. I mentioned my thoughts about the Buddhist philosophy of “the raft” and what it means to me about how the structure of organized religion is that raft but what you do once you’ve reached the shore is up to you. Does that ring a bell?
Anyway, I was simply awestruck. I’ve been listening to your music for so very long. I have probably purchased twenty copies of The Indescribable Wow over the years, for myself and as gifts. It’s on my “deserted island disc” list. That’s a game my friends and I used to play with each other. “If you were stuck on a deserted island and could only have five with you, what would they be?” My list of CDs has changed over the years, of course, but one album has been on every iteration. Yours.
Thank you, for three things, that mean the world to me. 1) Your performance last Thursday was heartfelt and so personal. I would have loved to see you fill a stadium but was glad that I got to enjoy watching you work in such an intimate venue. Thanks for giving it all you could and for the things you shared, even though you didn’t have to. 2) Thank you for so many years of making fantastic music that didn’t compromise, apologize or fit any stereotypes. That almost makes this geek cool because I enjoy it so much. Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. 3) Thank you for being so kind while a very awkward, star-struck fan gushed at you and fought for the right words to say. You talked to me for longer than I’d ever have expected and made me feel really special. That’s a rare thing and a wonderful gift.
What really made the day for me? I got to share your performance with my wife and youngest daughter (we have three). You have two new fans.
I wish you love, light, peace and abundant joy.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Hey Sam,
Just discovered you wrote “Sister Rosetta…” the day after I saw Krause and Plant performed it in Detroit. Great, Great song. Though I’ve appreciated your music since “What you don’t want to hear” and “lying.” Also, I wanted to say that the oddest thing after losing my marriage of 30 years was being tossed outside of the story of your life. It is–in the truest sense–an agony of loss and being lost. Who are you if you are not a part of that story anymore? Hang in there. Life intervenes:)
Patrick O
June 20th, 2008 at 11:26 am
……I miss you………. Come back to Louisville.
July 6th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Please come to Chicago or Indianapolis for a show… I have wanted to see you live for years. “Now I Can’t Find the Door” was the first song to hook me, when I was 13, and I have admired your work ever since.
July 8th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Hi Sam! I am a fan of your music who loves God and you! I know this is a very risky question. I am so passionately connected to your music I just have to ask. What was it exactly that put you off Christianity? Did some one hurt you? Was the church judgmental? I ask because I went through a lot in and out of the church. I was abused as a kid and came to the church after years of doing my own thing having found God and somehow found your music and listened to it incessently! I love it! I still love it. I have had abortions and slept with men prior to finding the Lord (which was in Jan 1992). When I started opening up in church it wasn’t met with the grace and mercy the Lord had given me. I eventually made my way through the unsafe people in church to the safe ones, but it was a very painful struggle. I know this is a dangerous thing to write/ask, but I really care about you and I’d hate to see you lose that precious relationship with the Lord over judgemental/hypocritical people. For what it’s worth. One christian out here isn’t judging, but loving you and praying God’s best in your life! Especially for healing from your divorce. Your music has brought so much joy to my life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
July 9th, 2008 at 10:52 am
I know exactly what you mean about being the king of the dirtpile. I too recently went through a divorce and decided NOT to be king and squabble over a pile of useless trinkets and baubles. Sometimes it’s better to be a prince of a fellow rather that the king of dirt. Anyway, I’m so happy you have a new CD out - I still love Cruel Inventions best but am digging what I’ve heard of the new one. WELCOME BACK SAM!