Dear Foxy,

There are those among us who are serial contrarians and others who are soulless trolls who respond to beauty and life with sneers and denigration. Thankfully on this forum we have the freedom not to respond, except perhaps to feel some compassion for what some lose in their journey through life.

Thank you for the links. I thought the quote; “it actually moved this jaded, emotionally stunted critic to tears” spoke well to the power of the song.

I'm not sure if you managed to see the clip of Pharrell in a music class being floored by the work of one of the students.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAM1N1APk80

There is no doubting Maggie Rogers' talent it is just in my opinion Norwegi's ode to the Irish lads went so much further than just great music. Her empathy for others and her vision for change it what lifts it to another level for me at least.

Issy, you might enjoy Tchaikovsky "1812 Overture" I do, believing it is the best use of cannons ever. Is this a fitting movie scene for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPXVGQnJm0w

And I love the movie 'Apocalypse Now'.

Better than smelling the roses ah!

I am fortunate in that I love all kinds of music.

Among all the ugliness of the streets, there is beauty, beautiful people whose music and art and sometimes just through their own spontaneous being create a special kind of beauty, which some people will never understand.

This lady, real name now Fairy Sparkle, she has changed it by deed poll, just turned up one day, years ago, at Sydney Children's Hospital to do charitable work, with no medical training, no formal qualifications, nothing but a big heart. For some she was seen as an oddity, a real curiosity, even strange, having no place in the hospital system. But you be the judge of people who are different.

http://www.smh.com.au/video/video-news/video-national-news/fairy-sparkle-oam-20140606-39nm4.html

Dear Is Mise,

I understand that you don't like the Norwegian
musician's song and music. As I wrote earlier,
music is subjective - so fair enough. However,
I don't agree with your take that she's only
interested in self-promotion.

Had it not been for her song and film I would
not have learned so much about Ireland, the Liberties,
Irish lads, the city of Dublin, Irish horses, and so
on. So self-promotion? No. It's Ireland and so much
more that's being promoted - and good for her sharing
her journey with us.

Steele,

I thought that this thread was a joke on your part, seems that I credited you with more sense than you have.

Paul,

What has that good lady Fairy Sparkle got to do with the Wailing Norwegian?

Said Norwegian is talentless, can't sing, can't play the guitar and is so obviously self-promoting that I really thought that this was a prank.

I do quite like the 1812 Overture.

The guitar, bye the way, has been so debased by "wanna be"s that people are genuinely amazed when someone plays a melody on one.

Dear SteeleRedux,

Each of us goes through transitions and transformations.
The important thing is that we acknowledge them and learn
from them.

What I enjoyed about the Norwegian busker was that she
spoke openly and from the heart about episodes in her life
in the hope of explaining how they changed her perception and
how they helped her to look at the world more clearly.

It struck a chord with me. I am no pundit. I have only
my own life experiences to go on - like she does.

Thank You for the links that you've provided on this
discussion. You always manage to broaden our horizons.

Hi Foxy and Issy,

The reality is to get the message out there, you need professional production. I see 147,000 hits on 'Youtube', an amateur job might be lucky to hit 147. I say well done, 10 out 10 for the effort.

Thanks again Steele for starting the thread, a refreshing change for the usual stuff on the forum, and I'll give Issy the thumbs up for being the only one from the dark side, willing to pop in with an opinion. Good onya Issy!

Here is a clip of Archie Roach on 'Rage' with about 180,000 hits. Not just a good song, but a powerful message as well, something that with professionalism, reaches a much broader mainstream audience. Some might want to accuse Archie and the likes of Norwigi of crass commercialism the benefits outweigh any negatives. The fact is the controlling powers of our society have access to billion dollar media empires to push their message 24/7. This is just a little bit of the alternative, something given the chance the powers would shut down completely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aywDT6yHMmo