Episode 188: Scuppernong
Tupper Saussy (1936-2007) was a composer and musician that helmed a group in the late 1960s who were called The Neon Philharmonic. Even if you have never heard of The Neon Philharmonic, you’ll recognize their famous hit entitled “Morning Girl”.
Tupper Saussy — it’s a Huguenot name — was also a wanted fugitive for ten years, a devout and thoughtful Christian, a painter, a playwright, and a famous libertarian.
What interests me, though, in addition to his music as The Neon Philharmonic, is his personal fate. Saussy came into the sights — by his “own deliberate fault” (BCP) — of the IRS, and paid a heavy cost for it. He became a public person and then suffered a mighty fall.
This week I have had a friend of mine who is suffering the effects of a fall. I don’t hear much in the way of “Love and Mercy” (Brian Wilson), either from the church or the world. It’s a long way from “Handle Me With Care”, the response that is never not the right one. I talk about this in the cast, with Topper Saussy’s beautiful music as the background.
Episode 189: Why Weepest Thou?
Music that touches your emotions is a rich clue to what’s going on inside the depth of you. You think you like a song because it’s, well, a good song. But you’re mistaken! You like a song because it connects with your emotions.
Have you noticed how the music you’re drawn to, especially the older you get, is the music that’s connected with your growing up? Music that you associate with someone you loved, or love — or maybe with someone whom you loved who didn’t love you.
Have you heard an odd perceptive anthem by Burton Cummings entitled, “You Saved My Soul”? He sings, “We went together for so long/Every second record on the radio seemed like our song.” (I think Burton ended up having his heart broken by the very person for whom he wrote the song.)
The music you love is “On the Street Where You Live” (Lerner and Loewe), it’s where you lived when your emotions were on high alert.
For example, as I say in the cast, I associate “Frankenstein” by The Edgar Winter Group (1973) with Mary. “Frankenstein”… by The Edgar Winter Group? I mean, Gosh, what a compliment! But wait, hear me out. It wasn’t the song itself. It’s the fact that the song was playing on the radio when we were driving in her car, in the first blush of… Something (G. Harrison).
So it may have been with you. It’s not the music itself, good as it may or may not have been. It’s you! The music is about you. Your interests are about you. The things you love are about you. She or He is about you.
This is the beginning of assimilation. It’s the beginning of integration. It’s the key, under God, to peace of mind.
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