Mysterium Tremendum no 2
There is more to say about the concert.
The Pretenders fronted by vocalist, and guitar slinger Chrissie Hynde opened the evening at the United Center. Both Hynde and Nicks are strong women. Any artist with a catalog of acclaimed work is a strong individual. I have always been attracted by the personalities of strong people, particularly women. I have no doubt that is due to the relationship with my mother, who I miss greatly. Hynde stood front and center of the stage in jeans, her guitar slung over her shoulder, “a weapon of mass instruction” as Patti Smith might have described it. She confessed that she was something of a slob, but with that smoky alto voice, could she rock.
One of Hynde’s widely popular songs, Hymn to Her, always reminds me of my mother. Mom was a serious, a proactively-happy person. Her response to tragedy made her the person that she became. At 18, newly married, and pregnant with my half brother, her husband and childhood sweetheart was killed in an automobile accident. Her only brother was in the vehicle and died as well. The loss to her and her family was enormous, beyond description. However she was able to put her life back together, found the strength to fall in love with my dad, married him and then I came along. I remember her as a practical, resilient, and positive human being.
Hymn to Her is about my mother, about my wife, and about our two daughters. Women who cultivate their sense of self, and strength of personality — enable men to be men, it seems to me. I will not belabor you with my interpretation of the lyrics. Listen and think for your self. Consider the strong females who have made a difference in your life.
