I just wanted to say that this was truly an exceptional blog post. In fact, it knocked me on my a**. I enjoyed it immensely. Cassidy's momma didn't raise any dummies, that's for damn sure.
I reserve the right to comment more when I'm not tired.:)
sidoriley
· 2 years ago
Well said! I too went to catholic schools, and was brought up going to church. Since moving to NJ...(as an adult) I don't go to church on a regular basis. But I do understand being moved by old churches. Somehow faith fills you up again. I love the way you describe the city!
charmaine
· 2 years ago
I finally figured out how to leave a damn comment! whoo hoo, although I have never been to where you live Cassidy, I have felt myself being somewhat pulled back to wanting to go into a church oddly enough as I am a lesbian and the church I was raised in made me feel I was going to hell (now since have changed their minds) must be that God had a re thinking of the whole gay thing and informed the nice priests... any ways, it helps to read your blogs and realize I am not the only songwriter that seeks inspirtation and now I can know another place to look, thanx for the words. Charmaine
Kelly
· 2 years ago
Cassidy - you certainly have a way with words! I love NYC. The way you describe it takes me right back to the city as if I am standing right in the thick of it! Thank you for that.
I just have one question...why didn't you go ahead and sing? The accustics must have been BAD ASS!!!
Jenelle
· 2 years ago
That was beautiful. I love that feeling of communing with a city. Its great when you can feel it opening its heart up for you to see and really taking in the love that is there and can guide us around to more fun.
george washington
· 2 years ago
All this church talk makes me feel guilty. As George Washington said about that damn cherry tree: "I cannot tell a lie."
Your poll results may have been rigged...just a little. Oops. It's not like that hasn't happened before. LOL :)
Edi
· 2 years ago
"She's an ageless siren whose sweet song manages to draw out one's artistic force through the raging din".
"The carved wood, the stained glass, the giant cathedral ceiling that personally, makes me want to sing as I am seduced by the acoustics".
"Sirens on the rooftop's ceiling, but there's no ship sailing" (P. Gabriel, from "The Broadway Melody of 1974").
"It's where I found my voice, and my faith".
When I try to play the fading out of Zep's "Thank You" on a Hammond, I think of that. There's something magic, serene, and overwhelming about the sound of a pipe organ in a cathedral, and other musicians that started as church choir persons carried that inspiration in their subsequent work. Thanks God, that sound can sometimes be confined to a "mere" Hammond!
"Catholic church experiences"
"Catholic girls..." (Zappa). Similar raising here, now probably too open-minded for such a categorization that is yet part of a personal identity...
"I will to this day walk into an empty church, bless myself as I was taught, and drop to my knees".
...and similar experiences here too.
Now how do I vote? This blog entry made my late night.
linda
· 2 years ago
While I love NYC and absolutely understand folks’ attraction to the life pulsing through the City, I also know that I could never live there. I prefer to get a “fix” of NYC and then get the hell out!
I need peace and quiet and a certain degree of solitude to recharge my batteries. That’s definitely not something a person should look for in NYC – wondrous though the City may be.
Trinity Church is definitely lovely. I stopped in once when they had materials on display about the church’s role in the 9-11 rescue efforts. I’m also particularly fond of St. John the Divine up near Columbia U. It has a good vibe to it.
In general, I think churches are best when they’re quiet and peaceful and aren’t holding services and aren’t filled with people. Once rules and rituals and dogma and hierarchies comes into play, that pretty much kills any sense of “spirituality” for me.
My eyes glaze over when folks start referring to Jesus this and that –- regardless of how progressive and decent these folks and their churches may be. I can’t really wrap my mind around the concept of a personal god. I’ve tried and just can’t do it. As a colleague of a similar mindset once summed things up: “I’d really like to believe...but I just can’t.”
But...I did walk out the front door recently and looked at how beautiful a day it was and simply uttered the words “thank you.” I don’t know who I’m thanking, but it just seemed like the right thing to do. I’m often amazed at how beautiful the trees and the light and all that are.
I think that everybody wants to find a place that speaks to them. Once I lived near a park in the South that had some kind of Native American history behind it. There was a forever empty and overgrown house on the edge of the park. But I knew several people who felt drawn to that house (myself included) whenever they took a walk around the park. There was some kind of a good “vibe,” for lack of a better word, coming from that place. You're left to wonder what kind of sacred stuff the Indians many have had going on in that park.
While I live far away from that park now, I recently ran across a more rural area not far from where I live which was where a lot of early settlers to the area...ummm...settled. There’s such a quiet, peaceful feeling to that rural space that I’m always going up there and driving around exploring and taking photos. I can’t define it and don’t like to get into all that god terminology...but there’s something very “spiritual” about that place. However vague that may seem, it works for me right now. Anyway, thanks for the thought provoking blog, Ms. C. You're on the ball.
Kathy
· 2 years ago
You said it perfectly. I can so relate. I too grew up Catholic. As an artist myself, I have also found my own spin on things but still find my soul yearning for the serenity and calm that somehow overtakes me when I sit in a beautiful old church. Your words and music inspire me. My kids always know I'm in my studio when they come home and hear your cd. I loved your poem August, I might just have to turn it into a calligraphy piece. I hope to make it back to good old BU for homecoming to hear you again in person!
Mikey
· 2 years ago
I just wanted to let you know that I will be moving to NYC next fall... so your "unfaithful muse" will be hooking up with me. ;) haha
I just caught up on the blogs... loved them, thanks for posting. :) -Mikey
The Alaskan Assassin
· 2 years ago
First I want to say I love the way you put things into words. It's very poetic and I enjoy reading reading it..Second I want to say that it was great that you would discuss your relationship with God. There truly is nothing better than faith in the craziness of this world. I love to hear others talk about their faith and its meaning in their lives and its incredible how going into a church and humbling oneself can put everything back in perspective..after reading this and learning that you know God, my respect admiration for you has grown even more. reading through this, I realize I may sound a bit stalkerish..if so I apologize. I just get overly excited when I found stuff like that out. My faith is all that keeps me alive, when I turned my heart, I lost all my friends..they think I'm insane because I read the bible, pray, and go to church. Well oddly I'm rambling to a stranger now so I should probably stop. So yeah I got a little overly excited to learn that I have something in common with my favorite singer. But anyway take care. And I'm sorry for rambling.
Maybe the Cass should do quality control for Apple. If a product lasts a year under Cass's usage, it passes the test. ;)
BTW, the ladies of AR are too young to remember this classic commercial for American Tourister luggage. Check it out. It's still good. Click on one of the two links underneath the pic of the gorilla.
Hola Miss Cassidy, I am a NYC native transplanted in Boston. One of my past careers was a tour guide on a double decker bus and my two favorite stops were churches - Trinity and the Cathedral of ST John the Divine. they were the places i felt most spiritual and 'churchy' :) i loved you writing here and it makes me want to write in my bog more often. thank you for sharing the insides of your mind with us, Lady.
All Comments
I reserve the right to comment more when I'm not tired.:)
I just have one question...why didn't you go ahead and sing? The accustics must have been BAD ASS!!!
Your poll results may have been rigged...just a little. Oops. It's not like that hasn't happened before. LOL :)
"The carved wood, the stained glass, the giant cathedral ceiling that personally, makes me want to sing as I am seduced by the acoustics".
"Sirens on the rooftop's ceiling, but there's no ship sailing" (P. Gabriel, from "The Broadway Melody of 1974").
"It's where I found my voice, and my faith".
When I try to play the fading out of Zep's "Thank You" on a Hammond, I think of that. There's something magic, serene, and overwhelming about the sound of a pipe organ in a cathedral, and other musicians that started as church choir persons carried that inspiration in their subsequent work. Thanks God, that sound can sometimes be confined to a "mere" Hammond!
"Catholic church experiences"
"Catholic girls..." (Zappa). Similar raising here, now probably too open-minded for such a categorization that is yet part of a personal identity...
"I will to this day walk into an empty church, bless myself as I was taught, and drop to my knees".
...and similar experiences here too.
Now how do I vote? This blog entry made my late night.
I need peace and quiet and a certain degree of solitude to recharge my batteries. That’s definitely not something a person should look for in NYC – wondrous though the City may be.
Trinity Church is definitely lovely. I stopped in once when they had materials on display about the church’s role in the 9-11 rescue efforts. I’m also particularly fond of St. John the Divine up near Columbia U. It has a good vibe to it.
In general, I think churches are best when they’re quiet and peaceful and aren’t holding services and aren’t filled with people. Once rules and rituals and dogma and hierarchies comes into play, that pretty much kills any sense of “spirituality” for me.
My eyes glaze over when folks start referring to Jesus this and that –- regardless of how progressive and decent these folks and their churches may be. I can’t really wrap my mind around the concept of a personal god. I’ve tried and just can’t do it. As a colleague of a similar mindset once summed things up: “I’d really like to believe...but I just can’t.”
But...I did walk out the front door recently and looked at how beautiful a day it was and simply uttered the words “thank you.” I don’t know who I’m thanking, but it just seemed like the right thing to do. I’m often amazed at how beautiful the trees and the light and all that are.
I think that everybody wants to find a place that speaks to them. Once I lived near a park in the South that had some kind of Native American history behind it. There was a forever empty and overgrown house on the edge of the park. But I knew several people who felt drawn to that house (myself included) whenever they took a walk around the park. There was some kind of a good “vibe,” for lack of a better word, coming from that place. You're left to wonder what kind of sacred stuff the Indians many have had going on in that park.
While I live far away from that park now, I recently ran across a more rural area not far from where I live which was where a lot of early settlers to the area...ummm...settled. There’s such a quiet, peaceful feeling to that rural space that I’m always going up there and driving around exploring and taking photos. I can’t define it and don’t like to get into all that god terminology...but there’s something very “spiritual” about that place. However vague that may seem, it works for me right now. Anyway, thanks for the thought provoking blog, Ms. C. You're on the ball.
I loved your poem August, I might just have to turn it into a calligraphy piece. I hope to make it back to good old BU for homecoming to hear you again in person!
I just caught up on the blogs... loved them, thanks for posting. :)
-Mikey
More discussion of the service here:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/10/02/
recycle-your-used-gadgets-for-cash-at-secondrotation/
Maybe the Cass should do quality control for Apple. If a product lasts a year under Cass's usage, it passes the test. ;)
BTW, the ladies of AR are too young to remember this classic commercial for American Tourister luggage. Check it out. It's still good. Click on one of the two links underneath the pic of the gorilla.
http://www.advertisementave.com/
tv/ad.asp?adid=367
I am a NYC native transplanted in Boston. One of my past careers was a tour guide on a double decker bus and my two favorite stops were churches - Trinity and the Cathedral of ST John the Divine. they were the places i felt most spiritual and 'churchy' :) i loved you writing here and it makes me want to write in my bog more often. thank you for sharing the insides of your mind with us, Lady.