Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy (CD Review)

This album is absolutely beautiful throughout, and the thought behind it is even more beautiful. Mark Mulcahy's wife Melissa died unexpectedly about a year ago, leaving him to raise two 3-year-old twin daughters on his own. As a songwriter and member of New Haven-based Miracle Legion in the 1980s, then Polaris, the house band for the Nickelodeon show "The Adventures of Pete and Pete" and later as a solo artist, Mulcahy inspired many artists. After hearing about his loss, 21 of those artists recorded covers of Mark Mulcahy songs for this tribute album, with proceeds going to Mulcahy so he can support his daughters and keep making music.


Released Sept. 29, the album features a picture of Melissa on the cover, and the track list is as follows:

1. Thom Yorke - "All For The Best"
2. The National - "Ashamed Of The Story I Told"
3. Michael Stipe - "Everything's Coming Undone"
4. David Berkeley - "Loves The Only Thing That Shuts Me Up"
5. Dinosaur Jr. - "The Backyard"
6. Chris Harford & Mr Ray Neal - "Micon The Icon"
7. Frank Black - "Bill Jocko"
8. Vic Chesnutt - "Little Man"
9. Unbelievable Truth - "Ciao My Shining Star"
10. Butterflies Of Love - "I Have Patience"
11. Chris Collingwood (Fountains Of Wayne) - "Cookie Jar"
12. Frank Turner - "The Quiet One"
13. Rocket From The Tombs - "In Pursuit Of Your Happiness"
14. Ben Kweller - "Wake Up Whispering"
15. Josh Rouse - "I Woke Up In The Mayflower"
16. Autumn Defense - "Paradise"
17. Hayden - "Happy Birthday Yesterday"
18. Juliana Hatfield - "We're Not In Charleston Anymore"
19. Mercury Rev - "Sailors And Animals"
20. Elvis Perkins - "She Watches Over Me"
21. Sean Watkins - "A World Away From This One"

These songs just flow through the album, and while they're performed by different artists, they have a distinct Mark Mulcahy sound. There's raw emotion in Frank Black's "Bill Jocko" that starts with shouts of "Why do I have to stay? Why does she get to go?" and in Thom Yorke's "All For The Best" with the lyrics, "You're so beautiful it sings." These love songs alone feel like a tribute to Mulcahy and his wife. These artists, using Mulcahy's own songs, really did him justice and gave the album a spirit of hope.

I interviewed Mulcahy two years ago for an article for the Record-Journal before he performed at the Meriden Daffodil Festival. I was told by the event promoter that Mulcahy received a shout-out from Thom Yorke at a Radiohead concert, and I asked him about it. He said he was surprised, and he didn't know how Thom Yorke even knew he was there. Now this tribute album comes out with some big-name artists like Thom Yorke and Michael Stipe jumping on to help him. I read in other articles that he was also surprised, and really touched, by this tribute album. I think that's the best part about him. He's made great music, and he's inspired many people, and yet, he's still surprised by it.

Rest in peace, Jasper Howard

It's a tragedy when someone dies unexpectedly, but Jasper Howard had promise. He came out of a tough situation in Miami and worked his way to college, becoming a star cornerback on the UConn football team who would have been drafted to the NFL. He loved his mother, who worked hard to provide for him and his sisters. He was going to be a father. His murder on the UConn campus this weekend shocked and saddened the community, and I think his story is what makes this even tougher.

I graduated from UConn this past May, and I feel for Jasper, his family, his team, and the entire UConn community. I'm not alone. There have been several columns and blog posts in Jasper's memory, and I just wanted to link some of them here. I can't stop thinking about how senseless his murder was or how sad this situation is or how this could have happened outside the Student Union in rural Storrs, where we all felt safe. And, as of this posting, the murderer is still out there.

Former Daily Campus managing editor, associate managing editor, etc. Kevin Meacham has made three posts on the The Uconn Blog that summarize what a lot of people have been thinking. It also keeps a log of news on the case as it comes up.

One of his posts points to a great column about Jasper by the Courant's Jeff Jacobs.

Former Daily Campus sports editor Kevin Duffy also has a post on his blog, The Lost Generation.

Both of these alumni point out that their blogs are usually more light-hearted, and they'll go back to that, but right now, their thoughts are with Jasper. Add this one to the list.

Movie Review: "Where the Wild Things Are"

Saw "Where the Wild Things Are" this weekend after a day of doing everything we thought would be in the movie. That involved hiking and kind of climbing rocks, but at the end of the night, we were too tired to build a fort.

Anyway, this movie was beautiful. I've read reviews that called it "gorgeous" and talked about the characters being a work of art. They were. What I really liked about the movie, though, was that it was exciting, even for a 22-year-old. The "wild rumpus" was fun, but the wild things adventure turned out to be more serious than that. There were parts that were scary and parts that were really sad, and children should see these things in a movie. The dirt ball "war" went a little too far, and some of the wild things were hurt both physically. That's something children can see. The wild things talked about loneliness and looking for a king or someone to bring them happiness. You could feel the frustration that Max, the kid, felt at home where he was neglected and had no friends. Then when he journeyed into the land of the wild things, his same frustration was reflected in wild things. After a series of adventures and mishaps as king of the wild things, Max learns a lesson, and it's one that adults and children can appreciate.

While 20-somethings were going to see this to relive childhood memories or because they're fans of Spike Jonze or Karen O's indie soundtrack, it really was a great movie for children. I went to a 9 o'clock showing to avoid the kid crowd, but I saw a lot of them coming out from the 7 o'clock showing. A lot of children's books and movies are happy throughout, but children, like Max, get scared and angry, and at times, they feel sad too. That's why this movie is so great. The book was only like 10 pages long and mostly pictures, but it told a good story. And the movie, which was based on the book, shows that no one wants to feel lonely, and if you are a frustrated kid, you're not alone.

Arlo Guthrie - Oct. 9

This was my second time seeing Arlo Guthrie at Jorgensen, and I think he was much better the first time.


(Sorry for the crappy photo from my phone. Maybe we can just consider the washed-out faces artsy.)

When he came to UConn my sophomore year, he was on tour with family members, but not the whole family like he was this time - my first year out of undergrad. Without the whole family, he was able to tell more stories and play more of his songs, including the big one: "Alice's Restaurant."

He didn't play "Alice's Restaurant" or even "The Motorcycle Song" this time, despite requests from the audience. In fact, he let his grandson sing some kind of John Mayer-style love song to a girl he loved to watch sleep. It would have been OK, if his family members didn't have to be his back-up singers. At least that was the only song he did.

The idea of a family tour was kind of weird. Yes, last time, he did have his children play as his back-up band. This time, though, his young grandchilren were brought out to sing songs for an upcoming children's album, and you could tell some of them didn't want to be there. Also, you could tell which daughter was the favorite because she smiled the most and laughed the hardest at all Arlo's jokes, while the other two were just there. Three years ago, the young children were just brought on stage to sing Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land." They did that again this time, and then some.

The family aspect was a bit too much, and I think I'm good on seeing any Arlo Guthrie and family shows for a while.

Foreigner - Oct. 4

Garrett's mom won Foreigner tickets on the radio. Twice. That means that she got a pair for her and her husband and a pair for me and Garrett, and it was awesome.

We thought it was pretty hilarious that we were seeing Foreigner in the first place. I mean, they have some pretty big hits, but how is "Hot Blooded" not funny? How can you not giggle a little with "I Want to Know What Love Is" even if it is emotional? Also, it's kind of funny that lead guitar Mick Jones is the only original member left in the band. You can tell who he is, too, because he's the only one with gray hair. The replacements are all young musicians, and there's a long list of former members.

All silliness aside, it was a really good show there at the Warner Theater in Torrington. We couldn't believe how many Foreigner songs we knew. They played them all - "Cold As Ice," "Feels Like the First Time," "Juke Box Hero," "Double Vision" and "Head Games."

Garrett made a good point - we knew more songs at this Foreigner show than a lot of other concerts we go to.

The crowd was really into it. I'm sure for some people there, it was their favorite band. "I Want to Know What Love Is" was probably some couple's song. The audience's enthusiasm also made the show.

In the end, we had a lot of fun. And it was free.