Nashville Confidential

look homeward, angel

So we turn our attentions for the coming year to right here, right now. The further adventures (?) of Mapgirl will be found at Midwest Confidential.

Point your browsers accordingly -- and I sincerely wish you a happy, healthy and rewarding 2006.

don't look back

There are some good things about having a nostalgic temperament. You have a sense of heritage, of place, of history. You can connect where you’ve been to where you are. You treasure things.

There are some things less desirable. You have a hard time letting go. You romanticize the past. You may not always embrace change. You may not treasure “the now.”

Often, looking back thwarts the ability to move forward. So that’s why today is the last day for new posts on Nashville Confidential.

Mapgirl Dark Secret #1 (at least this week): I don’t live there any more, and I have struggled mightily with that fact. I chose to move away, and there were benefits to that decision. There also were some hard realities.

I wasn’t sure what to do with this weblog. So I kept a kind of double life, at times looking back to the point of breaking my own neck (prime example of this behavior: Lot’s wife). It has taken me about a year to come to terms with what it has meant to move on from Nashville. I have a great life in another place, and it deserves my full attention.

This weblog started as something just for my family, but my circle of friends has grown because of it. I have met some amazing people because of the weblog, and that has been such a blessing. I read some amazing weblogs because of those people, and that’s not going to end.

I am not shutting down this URL, so you’re welcome to come back. And I do hope you’ll continue to point people here, esp. for my patent-pending Mapgirl Guide to Nashville (coming soon).

music year in review

To see just how much music one can experience in Music City, check out the newly posted Musicalogs on the right-hand portion of this page. It’s a record of my concertgoing exploits in Nashville. Wow, I went to a lot of concerts. Simply fabulous.

Not so many this year. But the ones I did see were amazing. Quality, not quantity. It’s hard to pick a highlight, but the Long Players’ performance of “Who’s Next” (May) ranks right up there. I still can’t believe I was there for it.

Other ones worth mentioning:
-- Mark Knopfler (July), especially “Telegraph Road.” That song is like a formal dress or the good china -- something rare and special, savored in its infrequency. I could write pages about what that song means to me. But I will spare you. Seeing MK in the Auditorium Theater with a great friend made the experience even more wonderful.
-- Graham Parker (June), playing the songs I most wanted to hear. Amazing and joyful.
-- Webb Wilder in Chicago (last night). My favorite guitarist wasn't with them, but other than that it was one of the best and most enjoyable Webb shows I can remember. He is welcomed as a star in Chicago -- as well he should be.

Now that I’ve seen the dBs (September), there is virtually no group left on my concert wish list. Well, except XTC ... and I sure would love to see Marshall Crenshaw again at some point in the very near future ...