If Harry Jaffa* wrote country music

Okay, go here and click the "hifi" link for the top song--the one called "Pens and Paper". You'll hear a woman with a voice like Emmylou Harris singing a great patriotic tune she wrote that will make a west-coast Straussian cry.

There's several good ones there. For personal reasons (about which see the extended entry), I'm particularly fond of "Cherry Limeade" and "Down By The River", even though the guitar solo on that one needs a little finesse. (And if you want a good free-enterprise jingle for the kids, try "Lemonade Stand".) Her voice is warm and versatile. The sentiments are welcome and sincere. Why ain't she burning up the charts in Nashville? Come on, Music City, you're still trying to push Natalie Maines on us and Heidi here is still looking for work?

Now I found a political angle to this story, which I try to do in every post if I can just to keep this blog from devolving into Seedub's version of catblogging. But there's a personal one too.

Heidi was the sister of one of my childhood friends. She was pretty and accomplished and smart and a little bit intimidating--and always very nice to her brother's little nerd buddy. Our paths had crossed via e-mail once or twice in the past few years and I knew she was in Denver, working as a songwriter, and kept up with rightish politics.

Yesterday I tuned into Hugh Hewitt online to catch Ace's ten minutes of radio fame. The caller afterwards--the one who gave Dean Barnett his nickname of "Chowdah"--was a Heidi in Denver. Was it her? I think so. I googled and found this page and remembering the voice, I think it was.

So that's why the one about the Sonic Cherry Limeade gives me a nice rush of nostalgia--I've had a few of those in my time, and maybe even one with her. And the line in "Down by the River" about 36th and Lindsey sent me off to Google maps to see what's there now. There are houses all around, but it looks like they're off the river a ways. Zooming in a bit, I still see a patch of tire-chewed sand on the banks where some teenagers were probably doing dumb and entertaining things:

Anyway, I just thought I'd offer a little blogospheric encouragement to someone who made my day. If you go back to that song listing page you can add some encouragement of your own. Please do! Tell her See-Dub sent you.

And then go tell your record-producer friends about her.

P.S. In case you don't know who Harry Jaffa is, you ought to. Start here.