================================================ Thu, 10 Nov 2005 03:36:48 -0500 From: "Lisa Lapp" Subject: Urgent (to me anyway): Can I get "War Paint" album on MP3 - fast? To: xenussister@yahoo.com Dear Vickie, Bless you for the gift of your excellent and generous site. And bless Happy for giving it her blessing. I’m so glad I stumbled upon it. It’s late and I’m tired, but I am determined to do this, so I will try to be concise…although I will probably not be… My dear, lifelong friend, Barbara, is being thrown (on her own request) a surprise 50th birthday party this Friday, November 11 (i.e., tomorrow), night. The reason Barbara specifically requested a surprise birthday party is that she is in the process of reclaiming her right to be happy after finally waking up and seeing that her husband of 23 years has been cheating on her throughout their ENTIRE marriage. If you knew Barb, I could just jump immediately to the request, but now I need to tell you about her, so you really get the whole picture. Barb is smart, intuitive, wise, witty and EXTREMELY kind, with gigantically sincere eyes and a (no exaggeration) Anne Frank level of faith that despite everything people are basically good. She is hilariously and sometimes bitingly funny, and at the same time is so vulnerable on the inside that anybody would be nuts to want to hurt her. She has a BFA from Cornell and MFA from Bard (both in painting), has taught painting at a women’s college, and has had well-received shows. To be home with her young son, though, and also to escape the competitive/bullshit faculty/gallery scene, she gave up teaching and gallery-courting, and she now instead works part-time at Starbucks during her son’s morning school hours to pay the rent on her painting studio, where she spends her afternoons. (She has been doing this for several years now, even though her husband has been raking in money as a corporate lawyer, buying himself boats, etc.) For as long as I’ve known her as a painter (since our teens), she has gone through long phases of single-subject obsessions in her work. For about 2 years in the 1990s, for example, she was going through a cartoon-chicken phase. I once took a picture of her standing in front of a gigantic canvas, on which she had painted a large, pink, cartoon chicken dancing in a bikini across an exquisite still-life portrait of the windowsill in her studio, and in the photograph she is looking at me from in front of the canvas, with big questioning eyes, because she had just said to me, “I really need to know, please tell me…Is this art?” A few years later she was drawing paintings of all sizes (tiny to murals), depicting quantum mechanics theory as expressed in baseball. Further back, in 1990, when she and her husband went to Italy, she sent me a postcard from Portofino, with a drawing of a cow mooing in Italian, and her note to me was written entirely in phonetics – “Iva binateenkin a yoo for dee hole treep.” Does this get across what a fine person she is? Yes? Because on top of all that, she is ALSO drop-dead gorgeous, middle age or no middle age, and she has this Lonnie Anderson body that would make even a stranger at the next table scratch his head and say, “Wait, so you’re saying HE’S cheating on YOU?” Oh, and I forgot to mention, she is a wonderful mother. Her son is independent-minded, creative and happy. SO MY POINT IS: My dear friend, who deserves nothing but the wonders of the world, has been wronged by a total creep for over 2 decades and has finally woken up and is determined to be strong and happy. And I and others of her friends want her to be happy. So naturally, what I would LOVE to give her is a major delivery of music by Happy Rhodes to give her courage on her journey. I am sure you can relate. I want to give her “Warpaint” more than anything – because it is SO perfect for where she is right now, and also because she is a painter, and the idea of her past being her warpaint…I mean, seriously, how can I show up at her party tomorrow night without this music in hand? I also want to give her “Rhode Songs,” mainly because that was the album that I went to again and again early in my own separation, over 10 years ago, when I was raising 2 young children alone. The song “I Say” gave me so much strength – when I look back and wonder how I got through that time of my life, I know that that song in particular just filled me with hope and a core of real strength. It still does, whenever I hear it. SO: Can I get the whole “War Paint” album from you in MP3 format ….in the next 24 hours, like, by Friday morning? I would gladly send Happy money in appreciation, whatever amount you suggest. I would ask for both albums, but I see that “Rhode Songs” is still available at Happy’s site – so, if I could get “War Paint” from you, then it would be fine for me to just have “Rhodes Songs” sent to Barb’s house via the normal mail-order route; I just want to bring “War Paint” on Friday if at all possible. I sure hope you get this email on Thursday, and that what I’m asking for is doable. Bless you 10 more times, Lisa Lapp lisalapp@verizon.net home: 610-725-0482 cell: 610-996-1516 ================================================ Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 04:03:40 -0500 From: "Lisa Lapp" Subject: Urgent "War Paint" request -- P.S. To: xenussister@yahoo.com Two things I forgot to say: The reason for the rush is that Barb’s friends up in north Jersey, where she lives, decided that the only way they could surprise her – since Barb had specifically asked for a surprise party – was to throw the party 2 whole weeks before her birthday. So this whole thing has been a last-minute production. I just wanted you to know that I didn’t knowingly wait until the last minute to contact you. That would’ve been obnoxious. QUESTION: Is the quality of the MP3s you kindly offer the same as, or close to, the quality I would get on a CD? I’m asking since I’d be burning them onto a CD for her to play on a stereo system….and, well, my son the computer expert encouraged me to ask if you have MP3s at higher than 128 Kbps. So there, I asked. Either way, I still want the music, because the samples on your site sounded completely fine in my earphones. But if you offer files with a higher bit rate and they’re easy to send, I’ll take them. (Is that greed?) - Lisa ================================================ From: Xenu's Sister [mailto:xenussister@yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2005 8:23 AM To: Lisa Lapp Subject: Re: Urgent "War Paint" request -- P.S. Lisa, Oh to have a friend like you! What a wonderful person you are. To want to give Barb, such a lovely person from your description, the gift of Happy's music! I have tears in my eyes. Of course I'll help you. I've made wav files of Warpaint and I'm uploading them right now. My ftp program says it's going to take 3 hours to upload! I hope you have high speed download capabilities. Later this afternoon I'll start uploading RhodeSongs wav files. These won't work until they're all uploaded, but when the time comes, here are the URLs. I won't have a chance to test them becuase I'll be gone for several hours. I'll keep my fingers crossed. My luck my computer will hiccup or the net connection will go down shortly after I leave. Even a few seconds will break the connection and I'd have to manually start it again, which of course I couldn't do until I get back. I will keep my fingers crossed. http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_Warpaint01_WakingUp.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_Warpaint02_FeedTheFire.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_Warpaint03_Murder.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_Warpaint04_ToLiveInYourWorld.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_Warpaint05_Phobos.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_Warpaint06_WrongCentury.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_Warpaint07_LayMeDown.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_Warpaint08_TerraIncognita.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_Warpaint09_AllThings(MiaIaIo).wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_Warpaint10_WordsWerentMadeForCowards.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_Warpaint11_Warpaint.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_Warpaint12_InHiding.wav Here's an emergency backup plan, just in case something goes wrong with the wav files, or my ISP. These are already online at wretchawry, and can be downloaded immediately/anytime. They're mp3s of the entire Warpaint album. I think they're all 128k, unfortunately. You're not greedy to want the best possible quality. As I said, these are strictly for backup in case something is wrong with the wav files. http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_Warpaint01_WakingUp.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_Warpaint02_FeedTheFire.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_Warpaint03_Murder.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_Warpaint04_ToLiveInYourWorld.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_Warpaint05_Phobos.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_Warpaint06_WrongCentury.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_Warpaint07_LayMeDown.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_Warpaint08_TerraIncognita.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_Warpaint09_AllThings(Miaiaio).mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_Warpaint10_WordsWerentMadeForCowards.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_Warpaint11_Warpaint.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_Warpaint12_InHiding.mp3 Here are mp3s of the entire RhodeSongs album. Again, they're 128k, but they're already online at wretchawry.com and can be downloaded immediately. I can make wav files but won't be able to upload them until later on, and they'd take a few hours to upload too. In the meantime, you'll have these. http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs01_FeedTheFire.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs02_TheWretchesGoneAwry.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs03_Ode.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs04_ISay.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs05_SaveOurSouls(Acoustic).mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs06_TheRevelation.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs07_BecauseILearn.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs08_IfSo.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs09_GivenIn(Acoustic).mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs10_InHiding(Acoustic).mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs11_IHaveAHeart.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs12_AshesToAshes(AcousticCover).mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs13_LetMeKnowLove.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs14_TemporaryAndEternal.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs15_Summer.mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs16_FeedTheFire(AcousticTribute).mp3 http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs17_justwantedtobugya.mp3 You can make a CDR for her, then replace it with a real CD once you receive it. I think it would be nice to give her both CDRs at the same time, Friday night. Do you have the artwork? I can scan in large versions of the artwork later on, which you can then manipulate with a graphics program to fit a CD case. What had you planned? I think it's fantastic you want to do this, and I know you'll compensate Happy. It's the thought, of you wanting to share her music with such an amazing person, would touch her deeply. I think you should write the story up, using what you told me as a base, and send it to Happy (cc me please), because she would love that! If Barb happened to love the music, so much the better. You can add that too, plus what Happy's music meant to you personally. That would all mean so much to Happy. Much love and deep envy (because, silly as it sounds, I have no friends), Vickie ================================================ Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 15:40:42 -0500 From: "Lisa Lapp" Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert Subject: RE: Urgent "War Paint" request -- P.S. To: "'Xenu's Sister'" Vickie, I am sitting here listening to the BEAUTIFUL wav files you sent me. I was up till dawn and then there was a power outage, so I woke up less than an hour ago....what a GREAT surprise to turn on the computer and find your incredible response waiting. (Note: I've just finished 4 months at a second-shift job, and plus I am a night person anyway, so the hours are not too bizarre for me.) Oh my God, these files sound gorgeous - and this is just from the laptop speaker, without even the benefit of my earphones. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU -- for the trouble you went to, and for so clearly getting my message. And thanks to whatever luck governed this last-minute timing actually working out. I just skipped to the last file on the wav list (“In Hiding”), and that was fine, so I assume that means they are all good. Your crossed fingers worked – either that, or you already got back to the computer hours ago and restarted the process. When I got to your offer to send the artwork, I shouted, right here in my kitchen – YOU’RE AMAZING! If you really want to do that, that would be fantastic. Please know, though, that if it is just too much to do or anything comes up and you don’t have time, it’s not a big deal. You are right – it would be wonderful to give Barb the whole package, as Happy put it together; and yes, the RhodeSongs CD, along with War Paint, should go with it on Friday – but it would also be wonderful if it’s not the whole package. Wait, I didn’t say that right…I mean, it would be ultra-magical to give her the whole package, but given that the music itself is so miraculous, this is one case where the magic will still be there, even without the packaging. Whatever….if you have time to scan in the artwork, well, I will be so grateful….um….that I won’t even know what to say. I will absolutely tell Happy all about this, and copy you, and of course I will send her payment and also buy the other CD. My friend Amy, who is coming with me to Barb’s party, has her own story of taking strength from Happy’s music – in Amy’s case, it was “War Paint” (Amy is the one who told me about that album). Amy told me she used to listen to it every day when she was suing the Philadelphia Electric Company to keep them from plowing through her nearby wetland, in the early 1990s. I will tell Happy about that too. What was amazing to me was that Amy’s connection with Happy’s music came at the same time that I was listening to “I Say” every night while I washed the dishes, and each of us never even knew, at the time, that the other one even knew about this music; it wasn’t until several years later that I saw “War Paint” in Amy’s car and I said, “Oh, you know Happy Rhodes”? I have to get going – errands, etc. I will be downloading tonight. Yes, I have a high-speed connection, and I have my son to advise me on how to do this right. (He has downloaded whole movies onto CDs, not DVDs – “It’s easy, Mom. You just download them as data files.” This is why he can get a job and I can’t.) Thank you over and over. I will be back in touch, I’m sure. With gratitude and wonder, Lisa ================================================ Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 17:08:03 -0800 (PST) From: "Xenu's Sister" Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert Subject: RE: Urgent "War Paint" request -- P.S. To: "Lisa Lapp" Hi! I wanted to tell you what's going on. I just sat down at the computer and I scanned in the front and back cover of Warpaint. It needs touch ups badly (very scuffed) so I'm doing that now. When I'm done I'll upload it and write you. Then you can download it. I'll then start working on the inside pages. Do you still want wavs of RhodeSongs or will mp3s suffice? I can give you wavs. Of course, it'll take hours to upload. I think what I'll do is upload them one song at a time. Each song will take about 15-20 minutes so I can upload booklet pages in between. I'll scan in the booklet of RhodeSongs too. Since you plan to get that album, I think working on the booklets so you can get them tonight is best. You're welcome!!!! Glad to help. Back to Paint Shop Pro with me. Vickie ================================================ From: Xenu's Sister [mailto:xenussister@yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2005 9:18 PM To: Lisa Lapp Subject: RE: Urgent "War Paint" request -- P.S. Hi Lisa, I'm uploading the Warpaint cover/backcover right now. I saved it as a bmp file, but I can save it as anything. Let me know if you prefer something else. http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/Warpaint1.bmp I'll start work on the other pages. Vickie ================================================ Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 21:50:27 -0500 From: "Lisa Lapp" Subject: RE: Urgent "War Paint" request -- P.S. To: "'Xenu's Sister'" Vickie, I just got back from running around. The back cover looks great. I sure hope you're enjoying this. It is too generous to do without getting something out of it for yourself. I am going to start downloading the wav files for War Paint now, and then I'll burn the CD. But about wav files for RhodeSongs -- I think it is too much of a project to make a wav CD for that one, since I will be buying it. That makes even more sense when I realize that Barb's REAL birthday is November 23 -- this way she can get to know War Paint, and after a few days she will be looking forward to receiving the second CD, which should arrive at her house closer to her birthday....which should have something special too, after the party is just memory. I will make a second "preview" CD out of the mpg files, though. If you have already uploaded any of the wav files for RhodeSongs, I'll definitely take them, but no need to make more. Do I want the cover for RhodeSongs? Only if it's very little trouble AND is fun for you AND doesn't keep you up late. Seriously, War Paint is the main gift. But don't make the RhodeSongs cover for me out of an urge to "make it complete" -- believe me, this gift is so full of magic already, it may start to glow. The Internet is quite an amazing phase of history. I need to find new words for "thank you." Lisa ================================================ From: Xenu's Sister [mailto:xenussister@yahoo.com] Sent: Friday, November 11, 2005 12:51 AM To: Lisa Lapp Subject: RE: Urgent "War Paint" request -- P.S. Lisa, I hope you're still up. You said you were a night person. I am too! I got involved in other things and couldn't get back to the booklet right away. Here are the inside pages: http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/Warpaint2.bmp http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/Warpaint3.bmp http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/Warpaint4.bmp I'll have the back tray pic and RhodeShows for you soon. I have 12 of the 16 RhodeShows wav files uploaded. I'll have them all uploaded before I go to bed (which won't be for a few hours). Are you kidding? I'm having a ball! Vickie ================================================ Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 02:28:31 -0500 From: "Lisa Lapp" Subject: RE: Urgent "War Paint" request -- P.S. To: "'Xenu's Sister'" Yes, I'm up! You're awesome. I finished making the Warpaint CD. It's beautiful -- the music, I mean. I have the back and front cover printed out, but we are struggling with the printer on the inside pages. I may have to print them elsewhere, or wait until my son clears out of his room, where I set up the second-hand laser printer somebody gave us recently. He gets really impatient with temperamental machines, and a temperamental laser printer is the worst. So I may finish printing in the morning. OK....time to pick out some clothes. I'm so glad you said you're having a ball -- I was worried. - Lisa P.S. If Barbara doesn't like this music, I may have to sue her. ================================================ Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 02:38:05 -0500 From: "Lisa Lapp" Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert Subject: correction To: "'Xenu's Sister'" It wasn’t “I Say” that gave me strength back when I was raising my kids alone. It was “Ode.” I heard it again tonight and I wished I could just turn my walls into speakers. ================================================ From: Xenu's Sister [mailto:xenussister@yahoo.com] Sent: Friday, November 11, 2005 3:00 AM To: Lisa Lapp Subject: Re: correction Hi Lisa! Everything's done and uploaded for you! Here are the last Warpaint pics, the RhodeSongs pics and the RhodeSongs wav files. http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/Warpaint4.bmp (can't remember if I sent this) http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/Warpaint5.bmp http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/RhodeSongs1.bmp http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/RhodeSongs2.bmp http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/RhodeSongs3.bmp I've checked all of these links and they all worked for me. (I realized that some of the mp3 links didn't work because they had spaces in the filenames.) http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs01_FeedTheFire.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs02_TheWretchesGoneAwry.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs03_Ode.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs04_ISay.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs05_SaveOurSouls(AcousticVersion).wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs06_TheRevelation.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs07_BecauseILearn.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs08_IfSo.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs09_GivenIn(Acoustic).wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs10_InHiding(AcousticVersion).wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs11_IHaveAHeart.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs12_AshesToAshes(AcousticCover).wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs13_LetMeKnowLove.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs14_TemporaryAndEternal.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs15_Summer.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs16_FeedTheFire(AcousticTributeVersion).wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs17_justwantedtobugya.wav --- Lisa Lapp wrote: > > It wasn't "I Say" that gave me strength back when > I was raising my kids alone. It was "Ode." I heard it > again tonight and I wished I could just turn my walls > into speakers. Ah Ode, what an incrediby gorgeous song. It's one of my favorites. I love knowing that it was inspirational to you. I wish everyone going through a hard time could hear that song. But then, if there were any justice in the world, Happy would be rich and famous as a great artist. It's frustrating being a fan sometimes, because she's been so ignored. I've been a fan since 1988, that's a long time to see someone so talented and special go unrecognized. That's why your letter thrilled me. If she can't get the widespread recognition she deserves, it's wonderful to know that she's being appreciated on an individual basis, by people who are special themselves, such as you and Amy. Let's hope Barbara joins your ranks after tomorrow. That reminds me, I have a suggestion if you don't mind. Even if you can print out the lyrics for the CD booklet, I think it would be nice to print out the lyrics to "Warpaint" and "Waking Up" specifically, and give them to her at the same time as the CD. Those two songs in particular, escpecially "Warpaint," should be emphasized, and a full-size printout, presenting it/them as poems, might make a great impression. Please let me know how this all goes! **HUG** Vickie ================================================ From: Xenu's Sister [mailto:xenussister@yahoo.com] Sent: Friday, November 11, 2005 3:07 AM To: Lisa Lapp Subject: Ooops I guess it wasn't the spaces, it was the parens that were causing the problems. I've re-named those files. Since Yahoo has no Preview function (booo) I won't know until I send this if the links are all working. http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs01_FeedTheFire.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs02_TheWretchesGoneAwry.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs03_Ode.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs04_ISay.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs05_SaveOurSouls_AcousticVersion.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs06_TheRevelation.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs07_BecauseILearn.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs08_IfSo.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs09_GivenIn_Acoustic.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs10_InHiding_AcousticVersion.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs11_IHaveAHeart.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs12_AshesToAshes_AcousticCover.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs13_LetMeKnowLove.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs14_TemporaryAndEternal.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs15_Summer.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs16_FeedTheFire_AcousticTributeVersion.wav http://rhodeshows.com/happymusic/HappyRhodes_RhodeSongs17_justwantedtobugya.wav Vickie ================================================ Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 03:18:16 -0500 From: "Lisa Lapp" Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert Subject: RE: correction To: "'Xenu's Sister'" Vickie, can you resend Warpaint5? It comes up as "Page can't be found." ================================================ From: Xenu's Sister [mailto:xenussister@yahoo.com] Sent: Friday, November 11, 2005 3:33 AM To: Lisa Lapp Subject: Warpaint5 Ok, I uploaded Warpaint5. It didn't upload the first time for some reason. Sorry about that.I'm so glad the booklet was a flat black. I just did a straight fill, and then colored out all the specks and scuffs. The fill didn't get the enclosed letters so I zoomed in and did a specific fill on letters like P/p and D/d and O/o (though not on the inside booklet pages, that would have taken me a lot longer). My husband said "Isn't that getting a bit fiddly?" and I said "Yes! It's for something special!" :) V ================================================ Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 03:23:07 -0500 From: "Lisa Lapp" Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert Subject: RE: Ooops To: "'Xenu's Sister'" I'm listening to the wav version of "Ode." I haven't heard this in so long... ================================================ Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 03:41:13 -0500 From: "Lisa Lapp" Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert Subject: RE: Warpaint5 To: "'Xenu's Sister'" Vickie, I am floored at how much you've put into this. I know that I have done such things in the past and have gotten people worried about me, but since I've done it myself I know where you are coming from -- there is a strong urge to make magic happen, isn't there? It's the feeling of seeing how special something could be and you can practically touch it and you can't let it not happen...which is exactly why I wrote to you. What floors me is that you can see it as urgently as I do and you don't even know me or Barbara. I wish I had a scanner. I'd send you the photo of her standing in front of her painting, "The Chicken Dreams of Dancing." She is going to cry when she hears this story. I will definitely tell you how it goes on Friday night. Wait a minute -- how can you not have friends? Doesn't a husband count? I like the word "fiddly." I have to get to bed...I still have to get clothes together, and we're driving 3 or 4 hours on Friday... Lisa ================================================ Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 04:10:11 -0500 From: "Lisa Lapp" Subject: one last thing... To: "'Xenu's Sister'" THANK YOU. I want to send you flowers. I don’t know how to thank you. I just realized, as I was about to turn off the computer and choose party clothes and go to bed, that my wish came true – I got to do exactly what I was hoping to do only 24 hours ago. I am sitting here with a CD put together that I couldn’t find anywhere yesterday and that I was determined to give to my friend anyway. And here it is, right here on the table next to me. This is truly magical. And we both know that this is not just a CD with nice music with a catchy beat. It has healing powers, and I know that Barbara will hear them the very first time she listens. Does Happy know that she is, essentially, a healer? Thank you Vickie! I will let you – and Happy – know how it all turns out. - Lisa ================================================ Date: Sun, 13 Nov 2005 03:45:53 -0500 From: "Lisa Lapp" Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert Subject: Preliminary report To: "'Xenu's Sister'" Hi Vickie – I won’t have any report on Barbara’s response to the music itself until late Sunday at the earliest, but I don’t want to leave you wondering out there with no report at all. As she was opening the package with Warpaint inside, I told her, “This music is out of print, as far as I know, but there is a woman in Chicago, who doesn’t know me OR you, who was so moved by what I told her about you and how much this music means to me, that she actually was up half of last night uploading this music AND graphics files for me to give you.” Well, before I even got to “up half of last night,” her eyes completely teared up and spilled over. She was deeply moved, maybe even momentarily helplessly moved. Late night Friday/Saturday, after the party and back at the hotel room, I made the CD of some of the RhodeSongs tracks (some of the files were broken and got cut off after starting – and believe me, this is no big deal, because it was only supposed to be a preview anyway), and then I filled in the rest of the CD with some random selections from my hard drive. Then on Saturday, Amy and I checked out of the hotel and drove over to the Starbucks where Barbara works, and she gave us free coffee and I gave her the second CD, which I titled “Saturday Bootleg.” On the second CD, I kept in the broken file of “Ode” despite the silence at the end, because it is THE song that kept me strong 10 years ago, and I felt that even 80% of that song could do a lot of healing. She and I will both be receiving the real CD in the mail soon anyway.…and now that I’ve been listening to it again, I think I am going to start listening to this music daily again. I could use it. I think you might be amused and/or horrified by what I tacked on at the end. Here is the whole play list, as presented to her along with the second CD (remember, I was limited to music that I already had on my hard drive): From RhodeSongs, by Happy Rhodes: Feed the Fire (acoustic version) Ode (about 80% of song; the rest is silence) Save Our Souls (acoustic version) I Say If So Various less somber selections from my hard drive: Burning Down the House (Talking Heads / Stop Making Sense) Oh Yeah (Johnny A / Sometime Tuesday Morning) Embraceable You (101 Strings) New Horizons in Music Appreciation: Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (Peter Schickele) One interesting point – I noticed that the 2-note, octave-drop theme (riff? motif?) that repeats in the title lyric of “If So” is EXACTLY the same melodic theme used in the next song, “Burning Down the House.” That wasn’t even on purpose, but it did feel like the right song to put next – for the sound as well as the title lyrics. The 101 Strings number, well, it’s such perfect restaurant music, I dunno, it just felt right. And then the PDQ Bach thing at the end was truly out of nowhere, just to make her laugh. Barbara was seriously surprised by the surprise party, by the way. She said she wasn’t even expecting a party at all – “Yeah, I asked for one, but I just assumed that since I asked for it, it wouldn’t happen! Isn’t that the rule?” As for listening to the music, she told me from behind the counter at Starbucks, “I’m going to listen to it tonight, when I can cry.” Oh – and then when Amy and I were having our coffee, I repeated the lyric in “Ode” that really fed me – “Never cry because you feel unloved / That’s what your arms are for / Wrap them around yourself” --- and then AMY started to cry. Then she collected herself and focused on the lyric from “Feed the Fire” – “…back to the trees where my art was born, and I was duly sworn to be alive.” She claimed that one for herself. I suggested that we go home by way of Delaware Water Gap and that we have dinner at the Deer Head Inn there (a WONDERFUL, laid-back jazz club in the mountains, 1.5 hours west of NYC, that I have been trying to get her to for over 5 years now), and she actually said YES, adding that we first had to spend the afternoon hiking in the woods around Delaware Water Gap, “because I want to go back to the trees where my art was born,” she said. She repeated this several times throughout the day, but not among the trees themselves. In the evening, at dinner at the Deer Head Inn, we got the corner table, and Johnny Coates played piano – he was Keith Jarrett’s main teacher way back when, and you can certainly hear the source of Jarrett’s approach in the playing of this old man – who ALSO hums his improvised joyously loose melodies to himself as he’s playing them. Coates told me after his set that when Jarrett used to play there with him in the past, Jarrett would play only drums and not piano – which the club’s owner said was out of respect for his teacher. Coates said that Jarrett was a really good drummer, and that he actually was his regular drummer there for two years. If you like jazz, you should check this place out if you are ever in the area of Delaware Water Gap – which is located along Route 80 at the Delaware River eastern border of Pennsylvania. I hope this long email will do in place of telling you Barb’s reaction to Happy’s music. I will certainly pass along her response as soon as she shares it with me. And that is when I’ll write to Happy, too. Take care, Lisa ================================================ Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 13:16:55 -0800 (PST) From: "Barbara Neibart-Smith" Yahoo! DomainKeys has confirmed that this message was sent by yahoo.com. Learn more Subject: Happy Rhodes from you and Lisa To: xenussister@yahoo.com Dear Vickie, I'm writing to thank you for staying up all night to give Lisa music for me on my 50th birthday. I am so moved by all your work for someone you don't know! Lisa probably told you that I'm an artist; I have a painting in mind (and sketched out) that's about - well, I'm not sure what it's really about, but it will be on a number (I'm not sure what number) of wood panels, each with a painting of an autumn leaf. When I played the CD for the first time a few minutes ago and heard Feed the Fire, I felt like she was singing straight into my soul. I'm literally going back to the trees where my art was born (landscapes), back to the core of myself, the flame that I've always felt inside. I have felt so tired after trying to protect that flame for so many years, but that is where I have always found my strength. Now (or as soon as all the divorce details are worked out - bleh) I have the chance to free the fire inside. I will be playing that music in my studio while I'm working...(celebrating). What you and Lisa (and Happy Rhodes) have given to me is a reminder of what makes me strong, what gives me life, what inspires me and what love is. I will never forget it. love, barbara ================================================ Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 17:24:53 -0500 From: "Lisa Lapp" Subject: YAY To: "'Xenu's Sister'" Vickie, Barb just sent me a copy of the email she sent to you. She must have taken your email address from the email I forwarded to her that had some of the album art on it (I forwarded it because the copies that my printer made were not legible enough on the lyrics, and I REALLY wanted her to have the lyrics). I’m so glad she wrote to you directly – you deserved to hear the effect of your kind work, directly from the source – and I’m SO happy that Happy’s music has reached so profoundly. It’s all exactly as I’d hoped. As I keep saying, I don’t know how to thank you. I’m going to Happy’s website to get an address for sending her a check for the downloaded music (and if you have any other suggestion, please tell me), but for you – well, you say you go to the trouble of sharing her music because you truly want to, and that’s obviously true. Please know that, like Barbara, I’ll never forget this. Your ability to see “something special” from far away, and your willingness to jump right into it – what a wonderful quality that is. Never let anyone talk sense into you when it comes to your instinct for magic! OH – geez, I need to write to Happy!!! I’ll copy Barb’s message into that note. And I’ll copy you on the email. Thank you and bless you. Love, Lisa ================================================ ================================================ Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 18:18:24 -0800 (PST) From: "Xenu's Sister" Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert Subject: Re: YAY To: "Lisa Lapp" CC: "Barbara Neibart-Smith" Hello to both of you, Lisa and Barbara. Tears are running down my face. My main hobby, for want of a better word, for the last 17 years, is to spread the music of Happy Rhodes to people who might enjoy it and get something out of it. Barbara, you said in your letter that Happy was singing into your soul. Lisa, you expressed similar sentiments. That's exactly what she does to me, and has done since I first discovered her in 1988. She sings into my soul. To hear others say that...that's all the thanks I need. Lisa, I put together all our emails from the other night. I was going to send them to Happy to show her the activity that went on, but then I thought it would be rude to send her personal emails without your permission, and I thought you might want to be the first to tell her about what went on, about how wonderful Barbara is and your wonderful gift to her, so I didn't send it. I could still, with your permission, or I could wait until after you've contacted her, or just keep them to myself. It's all up to you Lisa, and I'm fine with whatever you do. In any case, I'm going to keep these emails and look at them every now and then when I'm feeling down. They will lift my spirits and put a warm smile on my face. The pleasure was all mine, believe me. Barbara, make special note of the song "Warpaint." Lisa mentioned it when she first described your situation to me. I understand a bit about that situation because my first husband was a cad like that and I too was devastated when I found out about his betrayal, but we were only together a few years. Something like that destroys your faith in people. My current husband and I have been together for 23 years and we're absolute soul mates, no couple could ever be as perfect for each other, but, and I can't help it because my trust was so destroyed, I sometimes have that little niggling "what if" paranoia in the back of my brain. I've had problems with depression all my life, which doesn't help at all. Songs like "Ode" and "Warpaint" helped me too. She does indeed sing to my soul. I love, and she'll love, knowing that her songs have spoken so deeply to others. We're connected, even if we don't know each other, by her music. There's such joy in that to me, I can't tell you. *HUGS* to you both. I wish I had real-life friends like you two. You are both very lucky. Vickie ================================================ Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2005 01:01:22 -0500 From: "Lisa Lapp" Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert Subject: RE: YAY To: "'Xenu's Sister'" Vickie, I asked Barb first before responding -- since she's the one whose personal life is on the table here --and she says go ahead, so I say YES go for it. Besides the fact that it's totally right for you to bring that gift home to Happy, it's also practical for me -- because I still want to send Happy a direct note, and it will be easier for me to say what I really want to say if I know she already knows what I'm talking about. You SHOULD be the one to send her all that stuff -- hell, I got to be at the party and see Barb's eyes tear over, and I didn't even think to take a picture. Tell me -- I received an email back from her web site today (in response to my question about where I should send my check) and the email address it came from was shown like this: "happy rhodes [cptbryant@aol.com]" Is that in fact her email address -- or at least an address I can use and know she'll get the note? Is that where I should write to her? Also...the person writing that response email told me to make the check out to Auntie Social Music (rather than to Happy herself) and mail it to an address in Edmeston, NY (rather than to the address in Rosendale, NY, which is the contact address listed at the site). I just want Happy to get the check -- do those check and mailing instructions sound valid to you? Nobody signed the response email and I am so suspicious of anyone in the music business who is not the actual artist. Sorry to follow your lovely note with this all-business one. Lisa ================================================ From: Xenu's Sister [mailto:xenussister@yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2005 4:24 PM To: Lisa Lapp Subject: RE: YAY Hi Lisa, --- Lisa Lapp wrote: > Vickie, > > I asked Barb first before responding -- since she's > the one whose personal life is on the table here > --and she says go ahead, so I say YES go for it. Wonderful, thanks! > Tell me -- I received an email back from her web site > today (in response to my question about where I should > send my check) and the email address it came from was > shown like this: "happy rhodes [cptbryant@aol.com]" > Is that in fact her email address -- or at least an > address I can use and know she'll get the note? Is > that where I should write to her? Yep, that's her, directly to her. > Also...the person writing that response email told > me to make the check out to Auntie Social Music (rather > than to Happy herself) and mail it to an address in > Edmeston, NY (rather than to the address in Rosendale, > NY, which is the contact address listed at the site). Yep, that's right. Her web site is woefully out of date because the person who had been doing it stopped. I should be taking over the reigns here at some point, as soon as Happy gets me the login and password and all that jazz. > I just want Happy to get the check -- do those check and > mailing instructions sound valid to you? Nobody signed > the response email and I am so suspicious of anyone in > the music business who is not the actual artist. Yes, it's all good. I fear I came off a little...weird...in my response to you and Barbara. I'm not weird, I'm just....um...ok, I am weird, but not *weird*. :) Vickie ================================================ Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2005 16:55:13 -0500 From: "Lisa Lapp" Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert Subject: RE: YAY To: "'Xenu's Sister'" Vickie, Thank you for the info. Listen...don't worry about "weird" -- I know what you mean. It's all good here too. Seriously. I hope Happy is heartened by what she reads. Also, I wanted to tell you -- I live near Philadelphia (western suburbs), and it's clear from Happy's site that she likes to play at the Tin Angel. I've been there a total of one time, very long ago, but now I'm going to be watching the schedule to see if she's planning an appearance. Listening again to her acoustic version of "Feed the Fire," I'm so impressed by what she's able to do even without the benefit of production wizardry...and of course I also would like to get an in-person experience of how the Healer comes through in the everyday person. Please do stay in touch now and then. I'm not always a dependable email correspondent, but don't hesitate to drop a note -- news, whatever -- if you want. It's been a joy. - Lisa ================================================ ================================================