November 30, 2016 - Julian Cope - Safesurfer (1991)

Safesurfer is my favorite song by one of the most important musical figures in my life, Julian Cope. It is a sprawling eight minute guitarfest, a song about AIDS and the chilling consequences of not practicing safe sex just because a partner says they're clean:

You don't have to be afraid love
Cause I'm a safesurfer darlin

The music begins and ends with guitars. It starts off with a low strummed acoustic being overrun by a heavy electric threatening feedback. Another guitar enters the fray at 0:14. and the two guitars snake around each other as cymbals crash about. At 0:51 the drums lock into a groove that propels us forward through the haze of guitar pyrotechnics. Organ and piano join up at some point as well.

At 2:52, Julian finally decides to speak up:

And I saw my old man
Exploding out of the tunnel...

At 3:19, the guitars disappear and we are at the bottom of a slow climb back to them through piano and organ. Julian repeats the lover/murderer safesurfer mantra over the next few minutes, adding voices to show how so many people have this kind of twisted belief in personal invulnerability. As Julian himself writes in the liner notes in Peggy Suicide, 'Safesurfer is that guy we all know; you overhear him with some girl saying "I'm not like the others, darling. Don't you trust me?" like HIV ain't never coming down.'

The guitars shoot back into the song at 5:19, exactly two minutes after they disappeared. They attempt to drown out the vocals. Piano chords rise and fall, everything is a big ball of sound.

When I first heard Safesurfer, there was a particular moment that just blew my socks off, and still does. It happens at 6:10 - everything is bubbling away when this amazing distorted guitar riff completely splits the atmosphere. From here to the end we are subjected to phasing, heavy synth chops, some sort of stringed cello or something, everything dissolving and reanimating, spiraling out into space.

November 29, 2016 - Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven (1971)

Sometimes I can't get over how beautiful Stairway to Heaven is. There's a reason it is often number one on lists of the greatest rock songs of all-time. The way it gracefully builds from quiet reflection to transcendent glory, journeying through mystic landscapes, adding layers of sonic majesty; it is a dazzling experience.

It opens with a medieval caravan traveling among moss-covered stones in a misty ancient forest: the smell of earth and leaves, fungi, ferns, faires, friars, fairies, fires, elves and wizards, dungeons and dragons. Troubadours accompany the group, playing delicate notes on guitar and recorders. Sunlight breaks through the trees here and there, a scene of peace and serenity.

At 0:53, Robert Plant sings the first words:

There's a lady who's sure
All that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to heaven.

Who is this lady? She is part of a royal court, perhaps a queen, and she is in one of the wagons, accompanied by her servants, traveling in great comfort, but she is also dying and she feels alone. She drifts in and out of a dream state, her reality merging with visions of the afterlife. She imagines that with all her wealth she should simply be able to buy her way into heaven, but she's not sure. The timbre of Plant's voice is like a quiet stream of cool water.

At 1:47 the lady's subconscious creates realms of existential trials and visions: 

In a tree by the brook 
There's a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven.

She hallucinates smoke rings and ghostly voices, pipers and bustles in hedgerows, laughter ('does anybody remember laughter?' I wonder if anyone in the audience felt obligated to laugh when Robert said this. 'I do, Robert! Hahaha!') and May-queens, as natural reality blends with her soul's departure into the afterlife.

The music changes with her. At 2:15, acoustic and electric guitars strum together, joined by electric piano, weaving a tapestry of wonder and mystery at 2:40 as Robert sings, There's a feeling I get When I look to the west.....

The song achieves magical proportions at 4:19 when John Bonham's mighty drums suddenly burst into the mix. The timing is perfect, and it shifts the song into a higher gear, propelling the lady's journey further away from the mortal coil. Bonham's drums sound so full and crisp, the reverb is exactly spot on, and he hits the skins with a power that just bursts through the speakers.

From here on out the music soars. At 5:08 Robert sings Your head is humming and it won't go. The lady is dying, her soul is about to leave her body and fly to heaven on the whispering wind.

At 5:33 there is a crashing of time and space followed by walls of electric guitars; the lady has died and her soul is entering heaven with great pomp and circumstance. Jimmy begins his otherworldly solo at 5:57, coloring the scene with golden notes that ring out across the world like bells.

Robert brings out his metal god voice for the final passage. The shining spirit of the lady appears to her people, desiring to show that everything turns to gold in the end, entering heaven has nothing to do with money, it's all about being faithful, staying true to your beliefs. I think this is what the line to be a rock and not to roll means. The rock of faith, don't roll from it, and you will turn to gold in the end. I may be stretching it a bit, but Robert has said 'this is a song of hope'. I hope so.









 

November 28, 2016 - Black Sabbath - War Pigs (1970)

Consider the opening 0:51 of War Pigs. It explodes like a bomb hitting the ground in one of those WWII aerial films - simultaneous heavy guitar, bass and cymbal crash. While the chord sustains, a few more bombs are seen falling beneath us, through a grey sky towards a black and white city below. Listen to the guitar at 0:07, this kind of hammered-on note an octave above the root. It is like the sudden moment of impact, with the waves of destruction rippling outward. Away to the west, tanks crawl slowly across farm fields, prepared to blow away anything in their way. At 0:31 a warning siren in a nearby town calls for everyone to evacuate.

At 0:52 the pace quickens with sharp stabbing chords and pulse-quickening hi-hat. Ozzy Osbourne begins to sing at 1:03:

Generals gathered in their masses
Just like witches at black masses (or my preference, 'smell each other's stinky asses')

I like the double meaning of 'mass'. Similar to 'please please me' by The Beatles. The rest of Geezer Butler's lyrics are good, and it's a great anti-war song but (hey, but butt me whoa yeah, like I butt you, haha), you know what? I've never liked Ozzy's voice all that much. That's all I'm going to say about it.

Tony Iommi plays fantastic guitar throughout: those triplets at 1:29, the trill at 1:34, the descending chords at 1:48, the little bend at 1:50, the chug and slash part from 2:08-2:17 and the riffs that accompany Politicians hide themselves away. Beginning at 3:30 he plays several solos that overlap until around 4:20. I love those pitch bends from 4:13-4:18. A very clever guitarist.

Bill Ward plays excellent drum fills everywhere, particularly at 1:38, 1:52, 1:57, 2:02 and on and on, through Iommi's solo, and 5:28-5:30. Geezer Butler holds it all down with his mighty bass playing.

The final 2:12 is a section called 'Luke's Wall'. It's a pretty cool way to end the song. Some great drums in this part, too. And bonus: no Ozzy.

November 27, 2016 - The Doors - L.A. Woman (1971)

LA Woman is the quintessential Doors song, and one of Jim Morrison's most inspired vocal performances. It is an ode to Los Angeles, their home, a place of beauty and decadence, a lyrical postcard of an endless night in the sprawling urban wilderness. It begins with the sound of an engine revving off down the highway, then cymbals and a quickly picked bass line. John Densmore's snare beats into Ray Manzarek's descending Rhodes keyboard on the left, complemented by Robby Krieger's guitar on the right. They do their own little licks, then at 0:45 a rhythm guitar arrives on the scene. We're in a big rumbling vehicle and we're heading into the city. Jim Morrison is at the wheel:

Well, I just got into town about an hour ago...I always heard 'Well I dig a little diner bout an hour ago.' Morrison doesn't really enunciate, his voice flows like warm beer on a hazy west coast morning. Robby Krieger mimics his voice with guitar licks, like a dialogue between driver and vehicle. Jerry Scheff, a familiar name to Elvis fans, plays bass on the tune and he has some cool moments during the city of night part (1:23). Morrison whoops at 1:30, he's got energy to burn, and Robby picks a cool rising lick off of it.

At 2:40, following the Sunday afternoon drive through your suburbs section, Manzarek, who by now has switched to tack piano, plays a lively barroom solo. At 3:02, things momentarily calm down into I see your hair is burnin', hills are filled with fire. The instruments dance a little samba, then Morrison steps on the gas at 3:36 - Drivin down your freeways.

At 4:18, let's change the mood from glad to sadness. Whatever you say, Jim. Manzarek is back on the Rhodes, Krieger plays some blues guitar. Yup, sadness. Finally, at 4:55, Jim starts in with Mr. Mojo Risin', an anagram of Jim Morrison. He gets into it, and the band picks up the pace. In high school biology class, my friend Fred used to sing 'Mr Mojo Rhizopus' (we were studying plants).

Around the 6:00 mark or so, the mood has changed back to gladness. Jim is whoopin it up, the band is cruising along. Jim makes a weird little noise at 6:09, some sort of grunt. We are back to the first verse, continuing down the highway, perhaps to San Diego or Tijuana.

November 26, 2016 - Rikki Ililonga & Musi-O-Tunya - Walk and Fight (1975)

Walk and Fight was recorded by:

Riketzo Makuyu "Rikki" Ililonga - Lead Guitar, Vocals
Ndara "Derreck" Mbao: Bass Guitar, Lead Vocal
Aliki Kunda: Western Drums, Vocals
Siliya Lungu: African Drums, Vocals
Kenny Chernoff: Soprano Saxophone
John Bobby Otieno: Rhythm Guitar
Brother Njenga: Trumpet

Zambia...what a cool name. And Lusaka, its capital. Musi-O-Tunya is a variation on Mosi-O-Tunya, which means "thundering smoke" and is the Zambian name for Victoria Falls. The Brits occupied the area from around 1888 until 1964, when Zambia gained independence.

So, as young musicians in the 60s and 70s, these Zambian rockers experienced the joy of rock n roll and the pride of independence. You can hear it in the music, the fun and the excitement of rocking out in their own country. Western music without Western rule.

Walk and Fight starts off with some cymbals, double pounding drums and congas. At 0:21, the horns and guitars arrive, making a proclamation of sorts. It reminds me somewhat of Sonny Sharrock's Ask the Ages album, that unison of sax and distorted guitar. The lyrics come in at 0:56:

Man, man, who lived in the jungle, for so many years... 

At 2:06 it switches into a new section of falling and rising horn riffs and electro-sputtering wah wah guitar. I love the dual rising rhythm and wah guitar moments, like around 2:10, 2:18, etc. It's a sweet little riff. We dip back into a repeat of the first section at 2:36.

Into the second section again at 4:10, and this time around Rikki Ililonga plays some wicked licks on the guitar from 4:24-4:48. Ndara Mbao's bass also stands out more during this section, dropping in some cool licks around Rikki's guitar. The horns keep kicking out the jams all through it.

At 5:08 we enter a final section, one of victory and liberation. The man has risen up and freed his people, walking and fighting with his guns and arrows. One more trip through the first two sections as the freedom children dance off into the sunset.

  

November 25, 2016 - Curtis Mayfield - (Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go (1970)

(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go, is from Curtis Mayfield's first solo album, Curtis. It is a social and political statement about the situation in race relations and the ills of the inner cities.

It begins with some distorted bass, then some voices, the most audible being a woman who talks about how she was depressed and so she started reading Revelations from the Bible. At 0:30, Curtis comes on like a preacher: Sisters! Niggers! Whiteys! Jews! Crackers!...then he screams, and his voice fades into madness.

The music swirls into a groove at 1:08, with drums, strings, horns, and wah guitar. It is classic socially aware early 70s soul, along the lines of Isaac Hayes and the Temptations. The music rolls along as Curtis raps about how society is really messed up and no one is doing anything about it because it's all just politics, no one in power really has an interest in improving things. Nixon talking about don't worry...like the problems will somehow just go away.

But they don't know
There can be no show
And if there's a hell below
We're all gonna go, go, go, go, go

I love Curtis Mayfield, what a unique and powerful voice. He sounds so calm and soothing while singing warning messages. Kind of like the Lorax...ok, people, you can sit there and let the bad stuff happen, but it's not going to get any better unless you get on your feet and use your collective power to help change things. Forty-six years later...incredibly, this kind of song is more relevant than ever.

November 24, 2016 - Bob Dylan - Idiot Wind (1975)

Dang, can't get the Blood on the Tracks version on youtube...here is a decent clip from vimeo.

Idiot Wind is one of my favorite Bob Dylan songs, definitely my favorite Bob Dylan song of the 70s, probably followed by all the other songs from Blood On the Tracks, and Hurricane. I still can't believe Gotta Serve Somebody was on the K-Tel Wings of Sound album I bought, I always skipped over it. Religious Bob, nah thanks.

This is a song of anger and bitterness directed at the world while Dylan was going through a rough patch in his relationship with his wife. It starts off with a slight moment of anticipation before bursting into Someone's got it in for me They're planting stories in the press. There are so many classic lines, these are a few of my favorites:


There's a lone soldier on the cross Smoke pourin' out of a boxcar door

The priest wore black on the seventh day And sat stone-faced while the building burned

I can't feel you anymore I can't even touch the books you've read

I kissed goodbye the howling beast On the borderline which separated you from me

Idiot wind Blowing like a circle around my skull, From the Grand Coulee Dam to the Capitol

I always heard socket, not circle, in that last line. But now that I listen closely, he is saying circle. Oh well, I guess that makes more sense. I love how his voice rises through the verses, gathering caustic steam and blowing up, like I woke up on the roadside Daydreamin' 'bout the way things sometimes are....it's like he's having a seizure at the end of each line. He really spits these words out like daggers, like he's dressing someone down in an office who royally screwed up. I would not want to be on the receiving end of such a sharp tongue.

The music is earthy, Dylan himself on the organ. Great drumming from Bill Berg.

November 23, 2016 - The Beatles - I Want You (She's So Heavy) (1969)

There are only a few words: I want you so bad it's driving me mad she's so heavy. The music is fantastic, some cool bass lines and guitar solos and Billy Preston on the organ, and John gets in some nice wails, but let's be honest here -  I Want You (She's So Heavy) is primarily about the final movement. If you want to skip straight to that, it begins at 4:39. It is a massive wall of sound, heavy and intense. Layers of guitar build up like an iron snowball, massive and powerful, crushing everything in its way. The winds howl all around, and it feels like the world is about to end. In case you're curious, the finale is almost through its fifteenth cycle when the song abruptly hits the wall. I'm still never quite ready for it.

November 22, 2016 - Led Zeppelin - The Rain Song (1973)

Robert Plant is rock's ultimate mystic nature boy. I mean, his last name is Plant, right? It's like he came up through the earth to blossom in the sun and soak up life among forests and streams, stones and gardens.

The Rain Song is this concept in full bloom; it's a lovely ballad. Jimmy Page plays the guitar like a gentle spring rain, moist green leaves quivering with raindrops. Robert strolls among the trees, communing with nature, experiencing the joy and mystery of the world...It is the springtime of my loving, the second season I am to know. He is on the verge of Donovan territory, epistle to dippy and all that. But Robert's sensitivity is more profound than that fey lad's. More like Nick Drake, attuned to his surroundings and daily life. Robert also sees himself as a strong heroic figure, as evidenced by his fantasy sequence in the film The Song Remains the Same, where he searches for the Holy Grail and rescues a damsel being held in a castle.

The lyrics compare the emotional journey of love to the changes of the seasons, rising and falling, summer to winter, a cycle. There are occasional rough patches, but as long as the torch burns those can be overcome. This is the wonder of devotion. Life and love are filled with joyful moments, but true to nature, upon us all a little rain must fall. Hopefully it helps strengthen the bond, not becoming a deluge that wipes it all out. I never understood the line this is the mystery of the quotient. Something involving division, right? At one point Robert studied to be an accountant, so maybe this line is a flashback to a math problem he was trying to solve? haha.

The music is delicate and romantic. Mellotron and piano, light guitar, no Zeppelin bombast until late in the song, around 5:00, and even then it's not extreme. It reminds me sometimes of Black Sabbath's song, Changes. Makes me wonder how much the groups influenced each other.

November 21, 2016 - Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove (1978)

After yesterday's bummer tune about war, we are in dire need of some happy feet. One Nation Under A Groove is all about dancing, freedom, joy, and funk. It's from the album of the same name, one of the greatest funk albums ever.

It begins as though it has always been, just spinning around the Earth in a perpetual orbit since the Big Bang. The opening lyrics are

So wide you can't get around it
So low you can't get under it

That's the Universe for you, infinity has no dimensions. It never ends. Listen to that guy at 0:17, this is a chance, this is a chance...like, 'I'm from Joisey!' This song is all about the groove, it keeps on the whole way. So many great lines along the trip:

1:07 - Can I get it on the good foot, good God

1:22 - Feet don't fail me now

1:35 - Do you promise to funk, the whole funk, nothin but the funk

etc etc

The music is a fantastic organic concoction of bass, guitars, keyboards, and drums/percussion. Each instrument finds it place in the groove, and you can enjoy them together or focus on one in particular while you listen. After the 4:00 mark we mostly just ride that brilliant title all the way to the end. Far out there in the groovy space and time of infinity.

November 20, 2016 - Metallica - One (1988)

I didn't pay much attention to thrash metal until the video for Metallica's One was released in January, 1989. MTV seemed to play it all the time, for weeks on end. I thought it was the coolest video and coolest song ever made, and I became a fan right then. Better late than never. I love how pissed off Lars Ulrich looks as he bangs the drums. He's like, yeah, I could probably beat Stefan Edberg at tennis with one arm behind my back. James Hetfield has a cool pissed off look too.

One is based on the anti-war book Johnny Got His Gun, and clips of the film are included in the video. I have not read the book or seen the movie. Why not? No idea. The main character in the story goes to war and is gravely injured. He ends up paralyzed and helpless, just like a wartime novelty. It makes a powerful statement about war, and what a messed up thing it is. What's it good for? Nothing. It's disgusting and sad and it makes me sick to know that my country invests so much in perpetuating it.

The song begins with the sounds of gunfire and someone yelling. At 0:19 a clean guitar starts us off. A second lead comes in at 0:37, then drums at 0:54. At 1:14 the drums settle into the groove. I love the delicately cascading guitars at 1:32, like renaissance fair lutes. Hetfield's vocals come in at 1:45:

I can’t remember anything...the first and second verses play nicely with our ears, but then the chorus hits at 2:12 with classic metal riffery:

Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh please, God, wake me...the delicate riffs come back in for the next verses, and then back into the chorus.

At 3:14, Kirk Hammett plays a clean solo to complement the airy music. Then things pick up at 3:36, as though we have been climbing a tall roller coaster and are just about to head around the bend and into the first drop. At 3:53 the guitar layer processing begins. The harmonics build up, each one supporting the next like a concrete block tower. The structure starts to become unstable at 4:19, as Lars starts to tear it all down with his double kick drumming.

At 4:36 the machine gun riffing kicks in, and at 4:54 Hetfield begins to rage with the Darkness imprisoning me section. We are now in full thrash metal territory, and the lyrics are horrifying.

This is a major brainf*ck. No wonder the poor guy wants to die. The tempo picks up at 5:20 and we cruise into a tremendous Kirk Hammett guitar solo at 5:46. Totally kicks. My favorite moment in the solo is at 6:14, that stop and start riff is great. The great thing about Metallica is that, even though they could have ended the song by fading out there at 6:27 or so, at 6:35 they tack on another section as if they were adding an addition to a house. Brilliant artists. Really convinced me that metal is as important a musical genre as any other.

November 19, 2016 - The Moody Blues - Nights in White Satin (1967)

When I was young, Nights in White Satin gave me more late night heebie-jeebies than any other song, with the possible exception of Gary Wright's 'Dream Weaver'. My Zenith clock radio with its glowing numbers would be the only light in my bedroom, and I would imagine all sorts of ghosts lurking in the corners or hanging around outside among the trees. A truly haunting, lonely piece of music.

It starts off quietly, with a flute and some strings and light glockenspiel or something. Then the gently strummed acoustic guitar and drums come in, followed by Justin Hayward's mournful vocals. An eerie mellotron enters the mix at 0:42. I love the mellotron, but wow, what a creepy sound. At 1:06 we get our first dose of the crying angel voices, time to grab my pillow and stick my head under the covers. Imagine Scrooge hearing those at the stroke of midnight. Yikes!

Another pass through verse and chorus and crying angels, then at 2:18 a big smack of the drum and we head into a gloomy flute solo, accompanied by acoustic guitar and more sad mellotron.

The night passes on, the moon drifts in the sky, the stars twinkle, clouds pass by, but the narrator does not sleep. He is suffering through the night, having many 'what does it all mean' thoughts: just what the truth is, I can't say anymore. The orchestra cranks it up at 3:50, the crying angels continue to torment us. At 4:35 the orchestra surrounds us with a wall of strings and horns as the narrator rolls around in bed, unable to shake free of doom and madness. At 4:57 we are allowed a brief moment of peace before it all shatters at 5:20 in piercing strings and alarmed horns. It is all too much, and the narrator soon loses consciousness.

At 5:38 he enters a dream state. There is a brief instant of silence, then the voice of Mike Pinder startles us at 5:54 with the spoken 'Late Lament': Breathe deep, the gathering gloom, watch lights fade from every room...this part would freak me out to no end. I love to imitate the extremely British accent: cold hearted orb that rules the night. After this section, the strings and horns ascend to rage against the impending dawn, making one final stab at 7:00. The final gong at 7:07 signifies the appearance of the sun, and the long scary night is thankfully over.



 

November 18, 2016 - Fela Kuti - Fight to Finish (1971)

The musical output of Fela is staggering in quantity and quality. Ask twenty fans to pick a favorite tune and you will probably get twenty different answers. Fight to Finish will always be my choice. I can't really explain it, it knocked me out the first time I heard it and it still does. It is one of his shorter works, clocking in at a mere 7:23. Most of his recordings are at least fifteen minutes long, so this is like a short story compared to one of his novels.

From the 1971 album Fela's London Scene, Fight to Finish is a jam that features many of Fela's trademark afrobeat ingredients: horns, drums and other percussion, keyboards, guitars, solos, and a leg-shaking groove. And, of course, Fela's stunning warrior vocals; even though I don't understand what he's singing about (I think it's in Yoruba?), I usually assume he's going forth to kick ass and/or inspiring others to join him in kicking ass.

It starts off with a 'four!' from Fela. Over the first 0:45 the horns alternate with bass and guitar as percussion shakes and rattles and Fela shouts in your face. At 0:50 or there is a rhythmic shift with the horns sounding even more blaringly intense. A truck stalled up ahead. Hey, buddy, you're blocking the road! Move it or lose it!

This all basically repeats itself as they stop to deal with the truck. Then a sax solo starts up at 2:43. The guitar, bass, and drums bop along behind it, settling into a sweet little groove. I think Fela instructs the guys in his band, Africa '70, to push the truck out of the way while he stays and grumbles about being hindered in his travels. At 3:53, we get a taste of some distorted keyboards. Fela continues to rap all the while, and the group continue down the straight and narrow road. A brief keyboard break at 5:55, but Fela can no longer contain himself and he unleashes a torrent of words at 6:23, finally throwing the whole bloody mess over the cliff at 6:32. Get the hell out of my way! I'm Fela!! A final flourish of drums from Tony Allen and they zoom off into the Nigerian sunset.

November 17, 2016 - The Allman Brothers Band - Dreams (1969)

Gregg Allman wrote in My Cross to Bear that the first time he sat down at a Hammond B-3 organ he wrote Dreams. He probably messed around a bit at first, picking out A Whiter Shade of Pale and Louie Louie. Then he settled on the first three notes from Also Sprach Zarathustra and went from there.

After the 0:24 intro, Gregg sings Just one more morning, I had to wake up with the blues. He's pretty bummed out because he hasn't been able to fulfill his dreams of making it as a musician. Don't worry, Gregg, this will all change soon. Then you will be able to hook up with Cher and together you will be Allman and Woman.

Duane Allman takes control of the song at 1:42 and plays a typically excellent slide guitar solo that lasts until 4:30. Let's see if Gregg is still moping around. Ah, I think he's shaken off the blues. That's it Gregg, pull yourself together, put on a new face, climb down off the hilltop and get back in the race. Don't give up on your dreams, work hard, play that B-3 some more. Pretty soon your dreams will come true and you will be packing them in at the Fillmore East.

The Allman Brothers must have loved playing the music after the second chorus because they went through it twice, at 5:24 and 6:45. Gregg is playing a four note scale on the organ while Duane and Dickey Betts play descending runs on the guitars. It's a pretty sweet groove, although I sometimes wish they had just started it once and built it up over a few minutes instead of cycling back through the chorus. But no big deal, Dreams is still a classic and one of my favorites of theirs.

November 16, 2016 - The Doors - Riders On the Storm (1971)

Riders On the Storm reminds me of many things:

1) an episode from The Wonder Years when Kevin and Paul are hanging out in the woods with a 'bad' kid.

2) riding in the church van to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago on a stormy night in 1979 and hearing this song on the radio, along with Bad Co's Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy and Robert Palmer's Bad Case of Loving You...why do I remember these details? beats me.

3) Old Mother Hubbard...like a dog without a bone.

4) The song Ghost Riders in the Sky...Jim Morrison's whispered vocals are the ghosts.

5) The Bugs Bunny cartoon called Hare Way to the Stars, the part from 4:00-4:15 when Bugs makes the green bird martian mimic him is like the end of Riders On the Storm from about 4:35-4:45, the keyboard and guitar having a similar exchange.

Best line: His brain is squirmin' like a toad...creepy and gross.

It is a great night song, very dark and lonely, lots of stormy special effects - rain and thunder. Have an umbrella ready. After 2:44 it's pretty much just music, keyboards and guitar stepping in puddles and splashing about.

November 15, 2016 - Tame Impala - Runway, Houses, City, Clouds (2010)

I first heard Perth, Australia's Tame Impala late on a Saturday night in early September 2010, while laying in a tent at Fort Stevens, on the Pacific coast near Astoria, Oregon. It was a song called Expectation, and it was playing on a KMUN radio show called The Other Side. I recall the DJ started it off at a slower speed, so he had to start it over. I thought the song was psychedelically fantastic, and I went out and bought the Innerspeaker album asap.

Runway, Houses, City, Clouds is the longest song on the album. It fades in for the first 0:33, accelerating down the runway, then expands outward in shimmering light as the aircraft leaves the ground. Kevin Parker sings But don't remind me of home, there's everywhere I'd rather go. It's a song of uncertainty and loss of innocence, crossing a threshold into the great unknown. It's true that some things have to change, and it's natural to reflect on what may be left behind.

The music is drenched with reverb and phasing, raindrop guitar notes falling on my ears. The heavy drums are a herd of kangaroos bounding after the plane, saying 'we'll still be here, don't you forget about me, tell me your troubles and doubts.' Oops, that's another song.

At 2:42, we float through a cloud of layered vocals, all dreamy and soothing. A synthesizer comes in at 3:22, the contrails of the plane making long white streaks in the sky. Finally, at 4:20, the singer has drifted off to sleep and the pilot has the plane on cruise control for the final 2:53. At 5:23 a smooth Jimi Hendrix 'Drifting' guitar riff arrives to accompany us away across the ocean.

November 14, 2016 - Judas Priest - Victim of Changes (1979)

This version of Victim of Changes is from Judas Priest's Unleashed in the East 'live' album. The two lead guitarists are K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, which reminds me of the Sun Kil Moon song 'Glenn Tipton', a nod to the debate among Priest fans over which guitarist is their favorite.

The opening dueling guitar duet up and down the fret gonna make you sweat yet. At 0:23 the drums kick it and the guitars head into a sweet rockin riff. At 0:47 the awesome powerhouse vocals of Rob Halford enter:

Whiskey woman don't you know that you are drivin' me insane...

I love Halford's little 'oh yeah' at 1:15. A nice interlude from 1:40 - 2:00, including a cool drum fill from Les Binks at 1:52.

Take another look around, you're not goin' anywhere...

The song is about a woman's relationship failing because of her alcoholism. Pretty depressing.

Takes another drink or two, things look better when she's through...

At 2:52, we enter a stop and start vocal section where Halford has had enough...a blistering guitar solo rises over the madness. At 4:40 the intensity is brought down as Halford reflects that

Once she was beautiful, Once she was mine, but now change has come over her body and she is a completely different person. Halford wails away at 6:07, mourning the circumstances. A tragic tale comes to an end.



 

November 13, 2016 - Faust - Jennifer (1973)

Jennifer is dreaming a slow pulsing bass and wispy ethereal guitar. Around 0:25, the drums ready themselves and at 0:36 they settle into a basic 4/4 pattern. She is starting to wake up. At 0:49 Jean-Hervé Péron's surreal vocals comes out of a telephone that is laying on the bed next to her:

Jennifer, your red hair's burning
Yellow jokes come out of your mind

These are generally the only lyrics, although at 3:04 Jean-Hervé Péron seems to sing something about bag chips and climactic waves. Oh it's hard to tell it's hard to tell. Around 3:37, some honking noises come in, and by 4:00 there are other rough saw-like guitar noises pushing their way into the mix, accompanied by choking kazoos. The drums are gone by 4:35, as everything dissolves into an atmospheric cloud of humming and howling electric dust. 


At 5:43 there is a lone cymbal crash and the power is suddenly cut. That's OK, there's still a piano available. Keep practicing, Jennifer, you've got a recital coming up. Concentrate, no more yellow jokes.

November 12, 2016 - Rush - Working Man (1974)

I think I first heard this song on the radio late one night, many years after I had first become aware of Rush through their Moving Pictures album. I had even heard 2112, so I still wonder why it took me so long to hear Working Man. Perhaps because the internet wasn't around yet?

Working Man is a brick fortress of 70s power trio rock. The opening guitar riff is like poured concrete, reinforced by industrial strength bass and drums. Similar to Light My Fire in that it follows the vocals-long instrumental-vocals pattern. Geddy Lee sings about the day to day pattern of a guy doing the typical 9-5 job. At 2:05, Geddy plays a descending bass line and the tempo kicks up into Alex Lifeson's guitar solo that lasts just long enough to enjoy a nice cold beer.

When a Cleveland radio station began playing it, many listeners thought it was a new Led Zeppelin song. Rush's first album is definitely in that vein, since Neil Peart hadn't yet joined to apply his PhD in Science Fiction lyrics. John Rutsey was their drummer. Man, I feel like Homer Simpson talking about Grand Funk Railroad and Mountain in the Homerpalooza episode. Stupid Millhouse asking to change the station. Those smug little brats are the ones with no taste. Par-tay? Lame. Classic rock rules.

November 11, 2016 - The Doors - Light My Fire (1967)

I was thinking about the scene in the Oliver Stone film where Robby Krieger plays Light My Fire on  guitar for the rest of the group. Sorry, all I could find on youtube was this Italian dub. Krieger wrote most of the song, including the first verse and chorus. Jim Morrison wrote the verse that contained wallow in the mire and love become a funeral pyre. This is according to The Doors FAQ book.

The song opens with the crack of a drum followed by some baroque-esque keyboard from Ray Manzarek. The lyrics are bookends for the vast instrumental middle section that begins at 1:07 and lasts until 5:42 (about 65% of the song).

I like the little chord twist that happens after the second Come on baby light my fire, at 0:32. A relative of the piano chord change in Imagine. As far as the instrumental section goes, I enjoy the keyboard stuff but I am really into Robby's guitar. It comes in at 3:18 and has all kinds of cascading lines up and down the neck and interesting modal sequences. John Densmore's drums have some great moments of their own, little fills here and there, keeping it all grooving along.

It's a classic song, covered by many artists including Jose Feliciano, Shirley Bassey and Stevie Wonder.

November 10, 2016 - Can - Little Star of Bethlehem (1968)

If you think you already know this song, you were thinking of O Little Town of Bethlehem. This one is called Little Star of Bethlehem. Can's song is a great ramshackle clanking funky creation that bears no resemblance whatsoever to the Xmas classic. We could go all Laura Ingalls on this and talk about Little Woods of Bethlehem and Farmer Boy of Bethlehem. If we wanted to.

Here are a few things Malcolm Mooney really wants you to remember (number of times mentioned):
1) Silent (invisible) conversation (11)
2) Correction: the coathanger should be upside down (5)

3) Froggie and Toadie carried off the tangerine seeds one by one (7)

Here are a couple extra tidbits to consider:
4) Up on the moon you really don't need to hang your coat up (3:50)

5) Gravity man has turned himself around (4:03)

6) Soda pop is best in the morning (4:55)

My favorite part of the music is the drum work of Jaki Liebezeit, particularly his fill at 3:49.








 

November 9, 2016 - Pink Floyd - Time (1973)

David Gilmour plays possibly my favorite guitar solo of all-time, the part from 3:31 - 4:27. It goes straight to my bloodstream. If only those dang alarm clocks would have been left out...huh, I suppose I could edit them out, hmm...anyhow, yeah how many times have those alarm clocks freaked me out? I doubt I can count that high, I really do. I tend to forgive them because I know it gets better in a couple minutes. Never crazy about the clip clop drummies either, never a fan of Nick Mason period, just get to the frickin solo already!!!

The lyrics of Time warn about regretting things you didn't do in life. (Or did do, like anyone who voted for that a-hole last night). Shut up about that, you mopey dirdir, let's just bliss out on the solo already.

November 8, 2016 - Van Morrison - Astral Weeks (1968)

Astral Weeks is a song (and album) that Van Morrison created while vacationing in the astral plane of existence in the early fall of  1968. I mean, he got out there:

If I ventured in the slipstream
Between the viaducts of your dream

Go on, Van, lead on...but I think I will ride along with the musicians, you seem to be in a trance, Talkin' to Huddie Ledbetter.

The music starts up all floppy hat dusty road minstrels, improvising their way through time and space, kinda bluesy guitar, folk, jazzy bass, light percussion. Then magic strings shimmer to the side, bring in some vibes, and a flute lifts us gently off the ground into the air around us. A perfect blend of mystic and organic. The whole universe is here. Ebbing and flowing within you and without you. Even the last few seconds of the song are trippy.


 

November 7, 2016 - Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Blinded By the Light (1976)

Blinded By the Light is another magical childhood memory of nighttime car rides through suburban Chicago in 1976, the street light passing over the back seat window of the family truckster as I lay there listening to the radio and feeling hypnotized by the sounds coming from it.

Manfred Mann's Earth Band (frickin long type-twisting name) took one of those early Bruce Springsteen 'zillion rhymes per second' speedfreak tales of the streets and tricked it out as a groovy shag carpeted spaceship bound for the cosmos and beyond.

It starts up with one great blast, the way a spaceship should, right? Spontaneous guitar bass keys drum beat right into solo keyboard as the ship is wrapped revved up like a douche deuce ...twin rocket engine (? I'm reaching) and shoots off through the stratosphere at about 140 beats per minute. When can we start drinking the tang or, if it's on the menu, tranya? How about now? OK. At 0:26 everyone drinks the tranya with little Richie Cunningham's brother, Ron? no Clint Howard? I think that's right. Some guy starts rambling on about a teenage diplomat and drummer bummers and a calliope. Hey, hey he stopped, someone play a jammin electric guitar solo here at 1:06 before he starts up again...nice. Argghhh!!! He turned on the ship's atomic siren! My ears! Ok Ok, we understand...the calliope crashed to the ground already. Geez, did someone over-caffeinate this guy's tranya or what?  Let's try some herbal tranya. (everyone partakes)

Dang, he's running through another verse...well, maybe this new stuff will kick in...now

2:36 and he's finishing up what he has to say, I don't know something about a girl, and at 2:52 ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space....on one giant comfy pillow. The guitar solo is by Dave Flett, and it is the sweetest kind of sonic candy. The bass and drums have that rock bottom 70s tone. Wow, OK, listen to Flett absolutely mangle that wah wah at 3:45, and it's like we are flying. into. the center. of. the sun? Didn't mom say something about this being something we shouldn't do? Who cares, that's where the fun is.

Wow, that WAS fun, thanks Dave Flett!...we passed all the way through the sun, and now we understand what that guy was saying and we join him in his musings about being in the dumps with the mumps, hey we get it now, about the girl...I guess we all got messed up a bit from the tranya. Maybe you will see her again, we think she's gonna make it through the night. ... and the ship continues on its adventure to the great beyond the sun.


 




  

November 6, 2016 - The Rolling Stones - Midnight Rambler (1969)

Midnight Rambler is the Rolling Stones, particularly Mick and Keith, showing exactly how much they loved and were influenced by American blues. Both lyrically and musically, this song reflects the evolution of the blues from Mississippi to Chicago to across the pond...even if they did write this song in Positano, Italy. Bastards.

It starts off like a train from the South, classic blues riff and lonesome harmonica, ready to embrace the city and the late night Chicago blues scene. Mick sings about a killer, the one you never seen before. You won't see him until it's too late. He prowls the streets at night, hunting for blood. At around 1:30 the tempo increases into a short verse that stresses the reality of the danger...Well, honey, it's no rock 'n' roll show. The is seriously bad, you do not want to meet this guy. You need to be home, not out in the urban jungle.

The tempo really builds after 2:25, when the killer sees a potential victim and his heart beats faster with excitement. The slide guitar and harmonica ride along side by side, as Mick implores 'don't you do that' over and over, either his feeble conscience trying helplessly to get him to stop, or willing his victim not to go a certain way. At 3:57 he is getting ready to strike, waiting for the right moment. Time stands still. I love Keith's guitar from 4:07 - 4:26, this hold your breath section, walking the razor's edge. Mick at 4:27 - Well you heard about the Boston...(whomp!), It's not one of those...(whomp!). I'm called the hit-and-run raper in anger The knife-sharpened tippie-toe...Or just the shoot 'em dead, brainbell jangler You know, the one you never seen before.

The deed is done and the killer must temporarily confront his own horror and self-loathing before the music starts to pick up again at 6:10. His twisted braggadocio has won out and sends him striding off to ponder the next cycle. Don't try to catch him, for if you do...I'll stick my knife right down your throat, baby and it hurts!

 

November 5, 2016 - The Temptations - Papa Was A Rolling Stone (1972)

The version of Papa Was A Rolling Stone I'm posting today is the 6:54 single edit, as opposed to the 12:02 album version.

Recorded entirely in Bb minor, we are treated to a myriad of voices and instruments as the mystery of who exactly 'Papa' was is asked of 'Momma' by her children. The opening 1:55 is the musical introduction - three bass notes, cymbals, glistening strings, wah guitar, horns, harp, handclaps...the whole orchestral shebang, a la Isaac Hayes's Shaft and Walk On By. 

It's a sad story...It was the 5th of November 3rd of September, that day I'll always remember, yes I will...that was the day Papa died. Who was Papa? The first singer says he never knew him and never heard nothing but bad things about him. He decides to ask Momma. Throughout the song it's obvious that she has no idea what to say - she hangs her head and say he was a guy who wandered around, wherever he laid his hat was his home. This answer is insufficient for the kids, who keep pestering her in verse after verse:
- was he a deadbeat? a polygamist? a false preacher? a common thief? a boozer? Come on, Momma, didn't you know this guy at all?  Nope. My favorite verse is the one sung by Melvin Franklin at 3:38: And, mama, some bad talk goin' round town sayin' that papa had three outside children and another wife, And that ain't right.
Well, he obviously took advantage of people, knocking up women then leaving them with hungry mouths to feed. He was a big zero, not a hero. All he left us was alone. (Or a loan, for a used 1970 Chevy Impala?) He would have probably blamed it all on 'the man', or his circumstances. But who knows what sort of trouble Papa went through in his life, he probably didn't have many opportunities to succeed.

I like to sing 'papa was a rolling stone, (Mick Jagger), wherever he played a gig was his home.'



 

November 4, 2016 - This Heat - Horizontal Hold (1979)

A few days ago I watched a film called Wake In Fright (Australia, 1971). It is a psychological thriller about a guy who descends into madness after losing himself among a group of Outback townsfolk living on the extreme edge of civilized society. It's a place where the beer flows like water and people are permeated with an edgy, lost desperation. A brutal, hard existence. And it features Donald Pleasence, who is nothing short of amazing.

As I listen to the agitated industrial music of Horizontal Hold by This Heat, I am reminded of the anxiety and distress I experienced during parts of Wake In Fright. The music starts off like some kind of messed up washing machine grinding and thrashing against a basement wall. At 0:41 there are these little picked guitar noises accompanied by a low hum, then at 1:00 the whole noisy washer thing starts and stops over the next 30 seconds. At 1:37 a clanging aluminum shard rattles away and the dryer tries to start up. There are skeletal guitar notes, and brief periods of respite, like after the 4:30 mark. From around 4:54 until the end, we are dealing with a big ball of screechy mousetraps and teeth-gritting scrapes. Fuzzy static humming...I think someone needs to call an electrician.

I don't quite know what it all means, but it also reminds me of trying to watch channel 44 on the old tv and having to hold the vertical knob in order to try to keep the screen from flipping. Maybe these guys had a problem controlling the horizontal hold on their tv and this music expresses their frustration.

November 3, 2016 - The Velvet Underground - Foggy Notion (1969)

Like Venus in Furs, Foggy Notion is another twisted excursion into the freaky world of S&M, compliments of the dark imagination of Lou Reed. The pain/pleasure idea. In spite of the subject matter, there are some great sing-a-long lines, like I got my calamine lotion, baby.

The lyrics are pretty sparse for a six and a half minute song. It's mostly about the music, the groove. Hyperkinetic rhythm, pounding beat, guitars flying all over the place. There are five guitar solos:

1)1:00 - 1:39.
2) 2:19 - 2:58.
3) 3:24 - 4:04.
4) 4:45 - 5:03.
5) 5:32 - the end.

Mel Torme was known as the Velvet Fog...I wonder if he was an inspiration? Not sure if he was into S&M but unfortunately he's not with us anymore.

November 2, 2016 - Delroy Wilson - Run Run (1969)

I had to choose between two youtube videos for Run Run - I ended up choosing the synchronous dancing quasi-Sims couple posted by TheAchlessWarrior over the static image of one D.J Rabbit. This is the fourth song I've posted from the Respect to Studio One compilation celebrating Jamaican record producer Coxsone Dodd.

Over a classic rocksteady groove, Delroy Wilson sings:
a) a stalker song, like Every Breath You Take, One Way or Another, I Will Follow Him. 
b) a hide and seek song. Just a playful game.
c) both b and c
d) all of the above except for a and d

Is this guy a stalker? Nah, he's more like the hide and seek farmer in the Schoolhouse Rock video about five, but whereas that guy is propelled along by a snappy tune, the music in Run Run is like a clankety old jalopy, rattling out pieces of metal as it bounces along the streets of Kingston. It finally breaks down on the side of the road, so Delroy gets out and lays down by the hide and seek tree. From 3:06-5:15 we hear a dub section of the song, while Delroy naps. At 4:03 and 4:27 he wakes up just long enough to let us know that we had still better run, but by now the jig is up. We stand over him smirking. At 5:16 he starts up with his games again, but by now we are no longer around. With 20 seconds left in the song, he is mumbling in his sleep, his arms wrapped around the tree trunk.

The double-tracked vocals align perfectly, kind of like rocksteady Everly Brothers. It's fun to kind of go 'crosseared' if you will and let one vocal line take the lead over the other, you know? Listen to the vocals together or focus on one over the other, since neither one really dominates. (what's up with the phrase 'if you will' anyhow? does it matter if you will or won't? Not to me)

November 1, 2016 - Neu! - Weissensee (1972)

Weissensee translates as White Lake, and it is also a locality in the borough of Pankow in Berlin. It is track three on the self-titled debut album from Neu!, formed in 1971 by two guys from Düsseldorf.

This is an instrumental. Picture yourself in a boat on a river lake, enjoying a nice leisurely outing. The bass and drums guide you along gently as little waves lap against the side of the boat. Little breezes dance around the lake. At 1:34, 4:15, and 5:30, a gust of wind passes through and rocks the boat, causing everyone to grab onto something. 

The beauty of this sort of music is in the restraint shown by the musicians. Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother rarely veer from the minimalist center, so once we are lulled into daydreams they are able to surprise us with the gust of wind guitar breaks.