Tags: Bob Dylan, Christ, Image, Toast, Virgin Mary

PPW got in touch with Paul Simon fan RAYNA FORD, who was recently pulled up on stage to play her favorite song “DUNCAN” with the legend himself. Here is her PPW interview in full:

WATCH THE AMAZING VIDEO HERE!

PPW: What were your expectations for this concert compared to what actually happened by the end of the night?

RAYNA: To be honest, I really didn’t have any specific expectations for the show. Of course, I really hoped I would hear him sing “Duncan” but I knew I would be happy with whatever he performed. I have been a fan since I was a small child so I was simply in awe of the fact that I was actually going to see Paul Simon!!!! In my mind, there was just no way he could not be anything but amazing. Little did I know how truly amazing it would turn out to be.

Prior to the show, I had a dream that my husband and I got up on stage and sang “Duncan” with Paul Simon. We laughed and fantasized about it but i didn’t really think it would become a reality. I’ve always been a big dreamer….but seriously?! That concert was the most memorable night of my life. I feel truly privileged and honored to have had such a magical experience and to have been able to share it with so many others. I am most grateful!!

PPW: What does the song “Duncan” mean to you and why do you think you chose this song to learn guitar?

RAYNA: Well that is a true love story. I have always loved Paul Simon’s music and “Duncan” was one of my favorite songs! But one night many years ago, I was out at a bar and the wonderful man who would one day become my husband was playing “Duncan” on stage with his band. That night, I fell in love with that song and the man on stage who was singing it (although we didn’t actually get together until a decade later) I was so inspired that I bought my first guitar soon after and gradually learned to play “Duncan”. I truly wanted to sing that song so I could make others feel as wonderful as I felt when I heard it that night.

PPW: Do you believe in fate?

RAYNA: I believe in Karma. Although it is not always easy, I feel that you must always try to send out positive energy into the world. I feel that a good attitude can help you and others around you and thus, changes the world in some small way. I wouldn’t like to think that anything is preordained. It is my hope that we have some say in our own destiny, even if our influence is only a miniscule one.

PPW: You were noticeably shaking in the video. I probably would have passed out. Can you try to articulate the feelings you had making your way on to stage and playing Duncan?

RAYNA: Getting up to play on stage is a blur. When Paul Simon waved me onstage, I remember looking at my husband Rod and bursting into tears. Rod just looked at me and said “Go Go!!!” Once I finally got onstage (and I must thank the security guard who helped me up because I was such a dead weight), I felt like I was in a trance. I just couldn’t believe I was face to face with Paul Simon.

To be honest, I had to look at the Youtube video to remember what I was thinking in the moment. I remember putting on the guitar and looking at the crowd and thinking “WOW”. I simply couldn’t believe I was standing on stage with my musical idol, playing his guitar with his incredible band backing me up. Also, to have all these wonderful people in the audience cheering me on was a moment that words cannot describe.

PPW: How has this experience changed your life?

Well, on a superficial level, I have been regularly recognized on the street… which is pretty darn cool. But, I think mostly it has filled my heart with joy. I am so moved by the way people have responded to all this. We live in a world that has so much sadness in the media. So, to know that something I was involved in has made so many people smile, it warms my heart and fills me with a great deal of pride.

I am so grateful for this experience.

PPW: Anything else you’d like to add?

I would like to say thank you again to you and everyone involved in making this such a memorable moment in my life. I wish I could express the pure joy I feel inside to you all, but then again I think the Youtube video is quite self-explanatory.

Peace and Love,
Rayna

Tags: 2011, beat, concert, Dream Come True, Duncan, Exclusive, folk, Interview, invites, legend, May 7th, on stage, Ontario, Paul Simon, plays with, PopPowWow, Rayna Ford, The Sound Academy, Video

Dreams DO come true. On May 7th, 2011 Rayna Ford went to see Paul Simon in Toronto at The Sound Academy. Before she knew it, she was invited on stage by the legend himself to play and sing the song she learned to play guitar on. The video gives the PPW staff chills. In her husband’s words as pulled from the video description:
___________________________________________________________________

“This is one of the most magical moments of our lives.

My wife Rayna told me prior to the show that she had a dream that she would get up on stage and play “Duncan” with Paul. Naturally, we giggled about this prospect. Nonetheless, when we were in the second row, Rayna continued to request this song. He heard her in the audience and told her he would play it. She told him that “Duncan” was the first song she had learned on guitar. As a result, Mr. Simon asked her to join him on stage and play the song. It was truly a wonderful moment that we will never forget in our lives.

Mr. Simon and his band and staff were absolute sweethearts to us throughout the show and in meeting them backstage. Also, we would like to thank all of our friends and well wishers for their kind words and congratulations.

It has truly been a whirlwind as we have since had interviews with the CBC (Local and National) and NTV (Local Newfoundland News Station).

It was a moment of a lifetime.”

In this alternate video, shot by her husband, you can hear his reaction, and him calling out chord changes. I don’t even know you guys and I love you. Unbelievable. PPW congratulates you both on this epic dream come true.



READ THE PPW INTERVIEW WITH RAYNA FORD HERE!!

SEE ALSO: CARTMAN IS BOB DYLAN SPED UP

Tags: 2011, Dream Come True, Duncan, Epic, Invites Fan On Stage, May 7th, Ontario, Paul Simon, Rayna Ford, The Sound Academy, Toronto, Video

If you ever wanted to know what Michael Bolton looked like in drag, the answer is Sarah Jessica Parker. Bolton is back in The Lonely Island’s new song/music video “Jack Sparrow.” MB shows an amazing sense of humor, lampooning his signature vocal style and dressing up as a whole handful of iconic film characters. Yet another example of media referencing media that references media. Dude, that’s SO meta.

If that wasn’t enough of a dose for you, take a trip back to the days when horses galloping through fire and grown men dressed in denim standing on cliffs under breathtaking skies was sincerely acceptable and downright fantastic. And don’t forget the mullet…

Tags: Andy Samberg, Drag, Forrest Gump, Jack Sparrow, Michael Bolton, Mullet, Parody, Sarah Jessica Parker, Scarface, SNL, The Lonely Island

“SAVED” (1980), Bob Dylan’s second album after converting to Christianity, is often misunderstood and discarded by the casual fan. Described as “an open declaration of Dylan’s deepening faith,” the album is infused with vibrant gospel sound and unapologetic sincerity that even an agnostic could appreciate, well at least a really open minded one. If played at 45rpms instead of 33, the album takes new shape – morphing into a manic praise fest conjuring up images of Eric Cartman running through the streets of South Park Colorado saving souls left and right.

Bob Dylan Discography

SEE ALSO: RAYNA FORD SINGS WITH PAUL SIMON

Tags: Animation, Bob Dylan, Cartman, Eric, Re-edit, Saved, Shot of Love, Slow Train Coming, South Park, sped up

As the sun rises on a new decade of pop fashion, the hipster’s shadow slowly creeps over more and more of the urban landscape.  Who knew? – Goodwill and Salvation Army gave birth to inspiration for teenage retail outfitters.  As the hipster identity is continually co-oped by mainstream consumer culture, will real hipsters be forced deeper and deeper into the closet of ironic self expression?  I’ll let you know the next time I see a couple in skinny jeans cranking a gramophone together in prospect park.

The thrift experience used to be an amazon of glorious mothball stenched, armpit stained, stretched out collars – where the shirt actually fitting you was less important than the sweet graphic or reference pressed on its poly/cotton surface so many years ago.  Indiana Jones’s got nothin on this shit.  Gratifying was the day you came across a perfect fit and graphic/color for 3 bucks on the purple tag sale rack.  Sometimes it fit, but you had to force yourself to wear a shade of red that to some people just looked pink.  Or there was the day you scavenged the new arrivals box and found that classic 70′s logo heather grey and red Mickey Mouse ringer you always wanted.  Those days are gone Dr. Jones.

For authentic vintage, today you can buy 5 different versions of the holy grail Mickey shirt for $250 dollars a pop on Melrose – or on Ebay.  Don’t look for that treasure at Goodwill.  The thrift’s fashion desert is littered with discarded Tommy Hilfiger, J. Crew and contextually ironic “pre-worn” Abercrombie & Fitch.  Don’t get excited – that REO Speedwagon vintage baseball style 3/4 sleeve in the distance is only a mirage.  What was life like before American Apparel invented the perfect 50/50?  Someone once told me that the perfect tee can only come from an older sibling.  Or someone else’s older sibling.  Someone had the idea to make multi-sized brand new tees that look and feel like they belonged to your older bro.  Or your stoner dad.  Or your mom.  Moms got stoned too.

So, if you love Zeppelin, but you never saw them live, and you weren’t even born yet in 77, but you wish you were and that you saw them live back when they were, well.  …there’s a perfect shirt for you.  Pre-washed, pre-worn, and post-modern, in a modern sort-a way.  So soft, you’ll think it’s Kashmir.  Sorry.  Couldn’t resist.

- Pops

(Vintage / New Stock)

Tags: 50/50, American Apparel, Fake-Vintage Tee, Goodwill, Led Zeppelin, Melrose, Mickey Mouse, Salvation Army, Thrift Store, Thrifting, Urban Outfitters, Vintage Tee

Did John Lennon take the Delorean to the future to play backup for David Lee Roth?  No.  If John Lennon had a time machine, I’m sure he’d use it to make sure that Mark David Chapman never EVER gets parole.  Ever.

What do you get when you remove the deep-anthemic lyrics of John Lennon’s “Imagine” and add the legendary vocal stylings of Diamond Dave’s “Jump?”  A legendary mashup by Mixologyzt Mighty Mike.  Take a listen and see why Mike has a mighty boner for Instant Karma and tight pants…

- Pops

Click to Download Song

Tags: David Lee Roth, Delorean, Eddie Van Halen, Imagine a Jump, Instant Karma, Mark David Chapman, Mashup, Mighty Mike, Mixologyzt, tight pants, Van Halen

Tags: Album, Bob Dylan, Carl Perkins, David Letterman, Elvis Presley, Folsom Prison, Hurt, Jerry Lee Lewis, Joaquin Phoenix, Johnny Cash, June Carter, Lyrics, Middle Finger, Million Dollar Quartet, Ms. Piggy, Mugshot, Old Photos, Reese Witherspoon, Richard M. Nixon, Rosanne Cash, Songs, Sun Records, Wedding, Young Photos

Tags: Army Jacket, Artifacts, ID Card, John Lennon, Live in New York, New York City Shirt, NYC, Passport

Tags: Back to the Future, Co-Optation, Doc Brown, Major Paradox, Rap Music