A couple of years ago while looking for interesting tunes by women singer songwriters, I came across this song called “Talkin’ Like You ” or sometimes called “Two Tall Mountains” by Connie Converse and I loved it. I mean really loved it. I played it over and over in the studio while working. It is sweet, at first, and then with a closer listen, a little sad and clever. Her writing is really complex and interesting–and sad and lovely. Everything about Converse is sad and lovely –and yes, I lifted her album title for this blog post because it is just so perfect.

I’d never heard of Connie Converse until I heard “that song”Talkin’ Like You” but after I looked her up, I fell in love with all of her music and fascinated by her story. I listened to everything I could find and then I came across an old episode of WNYC’s “Spinning on Air” radio show all about Converse and I became a little bit obsessed. I am not the only one. There are a lot of us.

Converse disappeared without a trace in 1974 and her music and journals have been tucked away safely ever since, just waiting for someone to take an interest. There is a book about her life called “To Anyone Who Ever Asks” by Howard Fishman and it is really wonderful. It came out in 2023, I think and that’s right around the time I tripped over “Talkin’ Like You”. I just got a copy of the book this week though. I have been playing the audiobook, read by Fishman, in the studio today too. It’s great because Fishman plays the songs along with his reading and talks about music history and culture. I’m not even half way through it but I can already tell you it’s a great book. I will probably be listening through the night.

Today, I also found a recording of “Birthday Variations”, a piano piece Converse wrote for her brother. It’s performed by Jaqueline Santillan and it is a beautiful 9 minute piece so very different from the folky songs I have fallen in love with. I also found a version of “One by One”, another of my favorite Converse songs, performed by Julia Bullock, a classical soprano. It’s a gorgeous cover. I blasted it in the car this afternoon with the windows down while running some errands. It’s mournful and magical. And if you are interested and looking any of these songs up, be sure to check out Anna and Elizabeth’s cover of Converse’s “Father Neptune”. It’s a Converse song I knew but didn’t know it was a Converse song. I am a big Anna and Elizabeth fan and have been playing that one in my studio for several years now.

I drew this wonky little Converse inspired image in Procreate while listening to the book today. It’s been a good rainy day for that sort of thing. Even though I’ve been alone most of the day, I feel like I have spent it with new friends. Converse and Fishman. I love it when I stumble across something or someone like Connie Converse that excites and inspires me and makes me feel like I’ve found a treasure meant just for me. Thank you Connie wherever you are. I am sorry I wasn’t around to cheer you on back when you wrote these songs and couldn’t find your audience. Today I imagined that you were a time traveler and when you drove away in your little VW Bug and disappeared, you just went back or forwards to a time better suited to your needs and desires–to a place where you were/are appreciated and celebrated. I love to imagine that you are sitting in a little house in the woods somewhere today, as Fishman described in his own fantasy in his book, listening to podcasts and audiobooks and watching YouTube videos about you and your mysterious life and music and smiling.