This is about a guy running into an old flame after a significant amount of time has passed. After some brief pleasantries, he mentions the loving words she said to him and the sting he still feels knowing she has said them to another guy. And he reminds her that she will regret losing him.
It is a bit unusual and challenging, when the past invades the present. I guess it depends on the individual, how they will react to the encounter. Willie Nelson wrote it, and he sings it like he would, cordial and friendly, twinkly, matter-of-factly, no hard feelings. Al stretches and twists his words, like each one contains multiple meanings. Is he really doing fine? Or is he sarcastic, tired, disgusted, amused, lecturing? Willie sounds like he's standing in the doorway of a farmhouse, thinking it's a nice day outside, whereas Al is relaxing in a dark lounge at two in the afternoon, bourbon in his hand. He's like, don't worry, I've got this. When he sings "remember what I told you, that in time you're gonna pay", that's the one that he sticks her with, sends her off in tears.
At 3:43, there's noticeable reverb when Al sings "in time". What's up with that?
The trumpets! Las trompetas! die Trompeten! This one got to me right away, it's so immediate with those horns, then the piano and drums, the bass, the surreal vocals spinning in the eye of the hurricane, the reverse ffffwoop sounds that appear at some point.
Robert Wyatt is still alive, he's 81. His story is something else. Which you will just have to look up for yourself.
Mother moon she's calling me back to her silver womb
Father of creation takes me from my stolen tomb
Seven hundredth unicorn is waiting in the skies
A symptom of the universe, a love that never dies
I didn't always love Black Sabbath, most stumbling myopic blunder of my musical life. It's because I didn't know. The radio station never played much by them; meanwhile, it played pretty much every Led Zeppelin song. If I had grown up with a heavy dose of Sabbath? Well, who knows. Why didn't the older Garcia brothers have Black Sabbath records? They had tons of Yes and Uriah Heep albums. Were they hiding them?!
This is like the ultimate Beavis and Butthead riff, such a headbanger. Phenomenal drumming. Ozzy does his thing, interpreting Geezer Butler's fantastic voyage through space and time. Shortly after three minutes, Tony Iommi riffs out and goes into a solo at 3:36, then blasts off into the stratosphere at 3:49.
At 4:23, things change dramatically. We are suddenly on a pillow of acoustic guitars. Ozzy still belting out the groovy love poetry as the gentle music drifts on.
My friend Kate sent me this CD years ago. Great album, Dirty Pop Fantasy. Mountains kind of reminds me of The Reds, Pinks and Purples "Don't Come Home Too Soon", which I wrote about earlier this year. You know, the vocals have similar ranges and styles and reverb. This is a nice rocker with an 80s appreciation. Joy Division meets The Church maybe? It rolls along with a sweet guitar lick, nice pop structure, lyrics about a love that wasn't meant to be. Regurgitator are from Brisbane, Australia, and they are still out there making music and playing live shows. Awww yyyyeah.
A dose of sugar pop soul fluff today. Geez it probably took someone two minutes to write this song. Full of the usual cliches. Girl sees guy walking down the street, he somehow picks her to be his girl even though he could have any other girl, all of whom are way prettier than her, low self-esteem, etc.
The Vandelettes were from Texas. That's about all I can find. Searching their name on the interweb thingy, it thought I was thinking of either a group called the Velvelettes or a women's drill team at the University of Idaho, the Vandalettes. So many -ettes back in the day. Marvelettes, Ronettes, probably others.
This appears on a compilation called Real Life Permanent Dreams: A Cornucopia of British Psychedelia 1965-1970. If I ever intentionally listened to this song I have forgotten. It's a dark dream of a tune, two or three chords. It's a story about a guy who cheats on his Lady Caroline with another woman. Caroline sees the guy enter his "castle" with her, she finds the woman in his bed and she kills her. Then Caroline is thrown in jail and later executed. Meanwhile, this guy is feeling the massive guilt and saying he'll never love another woman. It's tragic but really dude? "No one's fault but mine?" This Lady Caroline was obviously nuts, she didn't have to kill the other woman, she could have tried to kill you too but she didn't. Just move on and quit pretending you're so devastated and haunted.
It's ok musically, trippy piano, nice guitar riff, eerie medieval themed vocals. But totally ridiculous, this faux woe is me I cheated and it's all my fault and I'll never love again "until the end of time" bs. like fuck off "sir" lord duke whatever, with your "castle" and your "maiden" and your guilty heart in 6/8 time. Acting like you'll just mope around in your castle forever haha. You'll easily find a few more servants down in the vale to satisfy your cravings.
Velvett Fogg...wtf. Yeah adding those extra letters is so typical. Let's see if I can find a photo of these guys:
Um...this is the album cover. In the liner notes, John Peel wrote "Remember Velvett Fogg - you will hear the name again." Wrong. Well, now you did because of this post. But after this one time you will not hear of them again. Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) was in the group but made a wise decision and left after 1968.
I'm having my music player, MediaMonkey, just pick tunes at random. I know nothing about Twilight Circus, so I have to look it up.
Twilight Circus is a project of a member of Legendary Pink Dots named Ryan Moore. He's been interested in dub since the early 80s, and has worked with reggae greats like Michael Rose, Sly & Robbie, & Big Youth.
Venom are a heavy metal band from England. Their second album, titled Black Metal, was so influential it became the name of a genre.
One Thousand Days in Sodom is from their first album, Welcome to Hell. It starts off all grungy thick slabbed and distorted, very lo-fi production. The part I like best is in the middle, when the bass gets all phased out and just a very cool wah guitar solo comes in. According to my calculator, 1000 days is about 2.74 years. Since the wicked city of Sodom was destroyed a long time ago, we probably don't need to worry about spending any time there. Phew.
Alongside the smart, snarling, sardonic Brit singers like Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson sits Graham Parker. He should be way more popular than he is; just a tremendous songwriter.
From the incredible album Squeezing Out Sparks, this is a blueprint for making a raw stripped down slow burn nightcrawl rocker. Its main point is the way a word like passion gets tossed around so cavalierly that people don't know what passion actually means or feels like. Parker said, "People are dull, aren't they? People aren't living to their max, or to anywhere near it. They're just drones or clones. Especially in England - they're just walking zombies. They believe what the TV tells them. They're just put in a direction and led there".
Mike "Prince Fatty" Pelanconi is a British record producer. He assembled a group of reggae greats to create the excellent album Survival of the Fattest. It is dub, rocksteady, roots all mixed together.
I still remember buying the album Hello, I Must Be Going! by Phil Collins. It was at Laury's Records in the Deerfield Commons, it was a Saturday morning, and I was out running errands with my Dad. By this time in 1983, I had heard a few other songs from it and decided I liked them as well. That same day, I also picked up Men At Work's Cargo (I liked Overkill and It's A Mistake), and Pink Floyd's The Final Cut (based solely on liking Now Now John).
I Don't Care Anymore is like the little brother of In The Air Tonight. It has that same keyboard backed shadowy atmosphere. Not as good but still a decent song. He was beginning to crank out the hits, well on his way to dominating the 80s. I never cared much for the stuff that came after, like Sussudio and One More Night and so on. But I remember being impressed when he started out playing Live Aid in London then flew the Concorde to Philly later in the day. The guy was everywhere.
These are words to live by and take comfort from. "Let perseverance be your guide!"
To the Rastafarians, their beliefs give them courage in the face of threats from Babylon. Let them come, for it's like they don't really exist. "Hear what I say when I say!"
Sweet harmonies, cool little trombone slides, percussion bouncing all around, brass punctuations, bible stories.
It's high time to get back into some good old 70s rock. This is kind of a lesser known track from Ten Years After. It appeared on the album Watt, but I have it on a compilation called Strange Pleasures: Further Sounds of the Decca Underground 1966-1975. It's got a great guitar solo, especially when the effects kick in around 2:03.
I chose to include it because of these other great classic rock songs I hear in it:
Dick Mills began working for the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in 1958. He worked with Delia Derbyshire on the Doctor Who theme. He created many sound effects for the BBC.
Adagio has a lonely existential outer space quality, various sounds floating around and bumping into each other.
As I walk through this wicked world, I have found that light orchestral easy listening instrumental music can be very comforting. No hard edges, nothing shocking or discordant, just mellow flowing gentleness. A soft warm blanket that helps take my mind off the planetary suffering for a little while.
The Hollyridge Strings was a studio orchestra that made easy listening covers of popular songs. The main conductor and arranger was Stu Phillips, but Mort Garson and Perry Botkin Jr. were also involved.
Their version of Strawberry Fields Forever enhances the beauty and dreaminess of the original John Lennon composition. The saxophone that opens the first verse at 0:13 is almost too sultry, but the strings soon appear, along with the cool quiet little "chik" guitar and drums. The section from 0:42 - 1:07 is easy listening heaven, it oozes sweet aching romantic softness. It's all draped with reverb to give it that drifting through an empty shopping mall feeling.
Want more easy listening music? There is a great internet station called Instrumental Hits Radio. And you can find lots more Hollyridge Strings Beatles covers on youtube.
In honor of St Patrick's Day, here's my favorite Irish musician, the late great Phil Lynott, lead vocalist and bassist with Thin Lizzy.
His mother, Philomena, was Irish, and his father was Guyanese. His parents didn't stay together, and his single mother couldn't raise him by herself. He grew up in Dublin with his grandparents and his uncles, Peter and Timmy. Despite the social stigma in Ireland at the time regarding his mixed-race background, his grandparents provided a stable, loving home, often affectionately calling him their "little black baby". Although he grew up apart from his mother, they shared a deep and loving bond.
Life with his grandparents provided a deep connection to Ireland that he retained throughout his life and career, even as he achieved international fame. He spoke fondly of his childhood in Dublin, which served as a source of inspiration for his songwriting and storytelling. His friend and Thin Lizzy bandmate Scott Gorham said in 2013, "Phil was so proud of being Irish. No matter where he went in the world if we were talking to a journalist and they got something wrong about Ireland, he'd give the guy a history lesson. It meant a lot to him."
Roisin Dubh (Black Rose) A Rock Legend is a tribute to Ireland. It interweaves traditional tunes like ‘Shenandoah’ and ‘Danny Boy’ into the distinctive Thin Lizzy twin guitar sound. It also pays tribute to Irish mythological hero Cú Chulainn and indulges in a playful string of puns and wordplay, acknowledging iconic figures of the Emerald Isle. From W.B. Yeats and Oscar Wilde to Van Morrison and Brendan Behan, the lyrics showcase a clever homage to a host of Ireland’s cultural luminaries.
Lyrics by Phil Lynott and Gary Moore:
Tell me the legends of long ago When the kings and queens would dance in the realm of the Black Rose Play me the melodies I want to know So I can teach my children, oh
Pray tell me the story of young Cuchulainn How his eyes were dark his expression sullen And how he'd fight and always won And how they cried when he was fallen
Oh tell me the story of the Queen of this land And how her sons died at her own hand And how fools obey commands
Oh tell me the legends of long ago
Where the mountains of Mourne come down to the sea Will she no come back to me Will she no come back to me
Oh Shenandoah I hear you calling Far away you rolling river Roll down the mountain side On down on down go lassie go
Oh Tell me the legends of long ago When the kings and queens would dance in the realms of the Black Rose Play me the melodies so I might know And I can tell my children, oh
My Roisin Dubh is my one and only true love It was a joy that Joyce brought to me While William Butler waits And Oscar, he's going Wilde
Ah sure, Brendan where have you Behan? Looking for a girl with green eyes My dark Rosaleen is my only colleen That Georgie knows Best
But Van is the man Starvation once again Drinking whiskey in the jar-o Synge's Playboy of the Western World
As Shaw, Sean I was born and reared there Where the Mountains of Mourne come down to the sea Is such a long, long way from Tipperary
Yeah, what is that thing? It's a Bladderhorn, a creature created by Wayne Barlow, a sci-fi/fantasy artist extraordinaire.
Iannis Xenakis was an amazing guy. Remembered as a prolific avant-garde composer, there was so much more to him. There needs to be a movie.
This is just a section of the entire piece called Hibiki Hana Ma, which is around eighteen minutes. It was one of his electroacoustic pieces which was repeatedly played every day in the Tekkhokan (steel pavilion) during Expo ‘70 in Osaka. It's all kinds of bleeps and skids, rumbles and twitches, wood tocks and crackling papers. It's a big bowl of electronic soup, perhaps the Bladderhorn's favorite dish?
Being such a huge fan of his previous album, Peggy Suicide, I was so eager to hear what Julian Cope would come up with next. Jehovahkill was a massive double album of pagan megalithic heathen mother earth concepts and a thrashing of mainstream monotheism. I loved it.
Fear Loves This Place was the obvious "hit" from this album of challenging electronic krautrock epics and lo-fi guitar strumming. It looks at the subject of domestic violence and its existence in a supposedly peaceful and loving Christian society. Today it's the right-wing evangelical Christian US government that has brought the Crusades back after 1500 years to proselytize through their beautiful loving fear and death all over the place. We're living one hell of a heaven.
As a teenager, if I was listening to this music, then I was listening to the live album Yessongs, by Yes (or possibly watching a VHS copy of the film). The dramatic music served as a countdown to Yes taking the stage and launching into the song Siberian Khatru. Kind of pretentious, but it certainly gave me a greater appreciation for classical music.
Igor Stravinsky achieved international fame with his orchestral composition for The Firebird ballet, which premiered in Paris in 1910. Set in the evil immortal Koschei's castle, the ballet follows Prince Ivan, who battles Koschei with the help of the Firebird, a magical and prophetic glowing or burning bird from a faraway land which is both a blessing and a harbinger of doom to its captor. The Finale here is from the 1919 Firebird Suite, a reduction of the ballet for a smaller orchestra.
Firebird. What a cool frickin word. My Dad owned a Pontiac Firebird for maybe a year or so back in the 70s.
Mr. Stravinsky, what can I do to put you behind the wheel of this baby?
Kourosh Yaghmaei is known as "the Godfather of Iranian psychedelic rock", as well as "the king of rock". He began his career in the 60s, playing covers of popular western pop music like the Beatles, the Kinks, and the Ventures.
Gole Yakh (Ice Flower) was his first solo single, and it sold five million copies in Iran alone. It brought him fame and was translated and adapted for other languages. The song tells a story of solitude, where "the ice flower has sprouted in my heart" (گل یخ توی دلم جوونه کرده) while enduring cold, lonely nights. It revolves around themes of heartbreak, loneliness, and the sorrowful remembrance of a past relationship.
Kourosh was heavily censored following the 1979 Iranian Revolution. His work was banned from the country's airways, markets and homes, and his name from the press. He decided to stay in Iran rather than migrate to another country. During this time he worked for children and published books and cassettes.
In 2016, he was quoted in Vice magazine: I believed that if I had changed my career it would be an unrespectful behaviour to my music and myself and also it would mean betrayal to my cultural roots. Now that I look back, I am glad I did not bribe anyone or bow to pressures, but lived all these 37 years with honour. I believe even in an unequal battle, resistance is preferred to giving up.
Based on this photo, I'm surprised he's not known as the Iranian Paul McCartney.
I'm feeling nostalgic today. This instrumental, instrumetal if you will, cover of the famous Wizard of Oz tune was really big in South Korea when I lived there in the late 90s, despite it being ten years old or so by then. I first heard it on the radio in Sangju one night, then went to my favorite local music store and bought the cassette. The metal band Helloween was also hugely popular there. It seems there were a couple waves of Korean metal in the 80s and 90s, but I never picked up on it, despite hearing something like this on the radio. It was too underground or Seoul-based for me to notice, probably.
This is a major shredding showcase for the guitarist, Chris Impellitteri (the photo on his wikipedia page is from a 2016 Korean rock festival...he's still big there!). In 2003, Guitar One magazine voted him the second-fastest guitar shredder of all time. Who was voted number one? This guy. I know very little about either one of these guitar speedsters...but they definitely have fans in South Korea.
Raï is a form of Algerian folk music that dates back to the 1920s. The tradition arose in the city of Oran, primarily among the poor. Traditionally sung by men, by the end of the 20th century, female singers became common. The lyrics have concerned social issues such as disease and the policing of European colonies that affected native populations.
During the 1970s, raï artists brought in influences from other countries such as Egypt, Europe, and the Americas. Trumpets, the electric guitar, synthesizers, and drum machines were specific instruments that were put into music. This marked the beginning of pop raï, which was performed by a later generation which adopted the title of Cheb (male) or Chaba (female), meaning "young," to distinguish themselves from the older musicians who continued to perform in the original style.
International success of the genre had begun as early as 1976 with the rise to prominence of producer Rachid Baba Ahmed. He helped many young and upcoming artists, and he had a modern 24-track studio.
He and his brother Fethi had been playing music since the 1960s. I stumbled upon the video for Utopia a few years ago. I was blown away by the otherworldly sounds Rachid created on the keyboard, a Yamaha YC-25D. Combined with the delicate 12-string guitars, it is like a psychedelic dream, vaguely reminiscent of Witthuser & Westrupp's Illusion I. In the video, Fethi is on the left. I'm not sure who the other guitarist is. Someone made a snowman that resembles Rachid. At 1:43, some guys emerge from the background, throwing snowballs around. They run towards the musicians and one guy leaps over the snowman. Fun fun fun.
Get ready, because here we have yet another example of a country that became embroiled in civil war, resulting in artists of all sorts being targeted for daring to be different. The Algerian war began slowly, as it initially appeared the government had successfully crushed the Islamist movement, but armed groups emerged to declare violent jihad, and by 1994, violence had reached such a level that it appeared the government might not be able to withstand it.
In 1995, Rachid Baba Ahmed was assassinated by Islamic fundamentalists outside his record store in Oran. He was targeted because of his involvement in the production of pop raï, which was seen as a transgressive genre that challenged the status quo. Following the assassination of his brother and musical partner, Fethi Baba Ahmed was completely devastated and stopped producing and performing music. Thanks a lot, extremist bastards.
The first time I heard this song, I didn't listen to the lyrics. I was distracted by the elementary school musical piano and fuzz guitar riff at 0:11. I thought it might have an optimistic message, you know, like an enjoy life or smell the roses attitude. Actually, it's a "guys are jerks, and girl, you need to save yourself" cautionary tale like so many mid-60s girl group songs. I transcribed the lyrics:
Take a look around you you’ll find the scene is grim and take a look around you you’ll see you just can’t win
When day is gone it all went wrong you’ll pray there’ll be a different dawn
Please here what I say
Try to change it for the rest of your life it ain’t no use you’ll be staring at the end of a knife taking abuse
So take a look around you and see what you can do Their lying and cheating found you you’ll do as others do
The grapes of wrath the aftermath the two-faced crowd they’re screaming loud
Please take heed of me
The grapes of wrath the aftermath the two-faced crowd they’re screaming loud
So take a look around you and see what you can do.
Love that "grapes of wrath/aftermath" rhyme, don't you? And "you'll be staring at the end of a knife"? Ouch! The song was co-written by Bill Jerome (record producer) and Mary Aiese, aka lead singer Reparata. She and group member Nanette Licari attended Catholic school (of course) in New York City (ditto). Reparata was Mary's confirmation name.
The story of Reparata and the Delrons lasted about 40 years, with various twists and turns. Mary kept the group going, but stopped singing live to concentrate on her family and career as a teacher. Another member of the group, Lorraine Mazzola, took over as lead singer during live shows and began to introduce herself as Reparata. The live shows stopped in 1973 when Mazzola joined Barry Manilow's back-up singers Lady Flash. In Lady Flash, Mazzola began to use the stage name "Reparata Mazzola", and has done so ever since. Exqueeze me? This led to many issues as to who controlled the Reparata "brand" if you will.
Things got sorted out at some point, and Mary kept the group and her own career going until 2000, when she disbanded the group for good.
Don't do it, Mary slash Reparata! And who's that slimy clod with his hand on your neck? You need to open up a can of whoop-ass, like you're in a girl gang Roger Corman movie. Maybe there's an opening for you in the Lizzies.
Shin Joong-Hyun is the godfather of Korean rock, the most important figure in the history of rock music in South Korea. In 2010, he became the first Asian musician and the sixth in the world to be the recipient of a Fender Custom Shop Tribute Series guitar, joining Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Eddie Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. You can have your k-pop if you must, children, but please know that this guy runs rings around BTS in my book.
Why is it spelled with a Kadda instead of a Gadda? The Korean translation contains the consonant and vowel combination 가, which is often pronounced "ka". This is my theory, at least. It's not important. I'm sure the Iron Butterfly guys didn't care.
It's recorded live. Out of the gate the song isn't mind-blowing; it's like two guys after a few rounds in a karaoke bar. Fortunately, they only stick around until 2:38, then the long middle instrumental section begins. It plods along slowly with an organ solo, then picks up in intensity around 3:55, with added cymbals and Shin's guitar. He kind of feels things out, but then gets the wah pedal going after 5:30, and by 6:00 or so he's coaxing some nice shrieks from his guitar. The all-important drum solo begins at 8:00, and the organ returns at 9:18. At 10:52, we hear the "you cannot petition the lord with prayer" quote from The Doors' "The Soft Parade". More soju for the gentlemen please! Back into the heart of it all at 11:32, and the guys return at 13:13 for the final vocals.
I first heard this in the Malcolm McDowell film If.... (1968). It's a pipe organ spectacular. Lots of modulating chords, a kaleidoscope of changes, a showpiece of technical brilliance.
Frederick Hohman is the organist. He has performed all over the world. I love his tan jacket and the way his left hand flies high off the keys early on, at 0:25. He completely rocks, I wonder if he knows Rick Wakeman? Or if he knew Jon Lord? I wonder what his thoughts are regarding Iron Butterfly. Has he ever just sat down and played In-a-gadda-da-vida?
Here is the composer himself, Charles-Marie Widor, perhaps rocking out in the long ago.
This is my second favorite track from the Numero Group release called Good God! Born Again Funk. It is a funky groove riding the one beat all the way. Guitar and drums start it off, then a supremely funky bass arrives at 018. At 0:29, the singer, with mighty righteousness in his voice, demands an answer to the question, "If Jesus came back today, what would you do?" He, along with the other guys in the group, asks it twice of the general listener, then he twice asks the other guys as well. They have a ready answer: "Go back with him!" He asks them again because their answer fills him with such intense joy. After that it's a series of pronouncements and declarations related to the answer. Man, if Jesus is as cool as these guys say, I'd go back too.
So many cool musical moments throughout, including the drums at 1:03 and the bass from 1:34 to 1:36 and again at 2:47. Just great little events all over the place. Pay particular attention to the music after 4:23, and the amazing drum fill at 4:39 to end it all.
The church I grew up going to was very nice, but the services were pretty dull. It did, however, have an awesome pipe organ and organist.
This song is like a dream you remember bits of when you wake up, but then it all evaporates and you're left grasping at hazy tendrils. At its foundation are distant Velvet Underground chords, topped with slow surf guitar tones and bathroom vocals. A floating cloud of dust motes in a room of nothing on a late autumn afternoon as the light starts to fade outside. A leaf all alone going down a slow stream. Something there and then gone.
Charlie Megira was an Israeli musician and he sang in Hebrew. He died (hanged himself) in 2016 at the age of 44. There is a documentary about him that I hope to watch at some point.
I've decided to post the full video of the opening credits. I can't just sit here and listen to the music without the visuals. The Warriors is a late 1970s cult film about street gangs in gritty grimy dark and unpretty New York City. It's one of my favorites. *Just a brief disclaimer: there is an offensive word or two. It's of its time.
Walter Hill, the film's director, narrates the opening reference to the Battle of Cunaxa, connecting its story of courage to the story we are about to see. The mighty Wonder Wheel stands eerie and pink in the night as a creepy series of notes plays. Then comes the train, moving smoothly through the darkness, arriving with its cold empty cars and unwelcoming lights. The Warriors get on board, leaving their turf in Coney Island and heading up to the Bronx to see what this Cyrus character is all about. Their dialogue gives us some clues about the evening's main event. Meanwhile, many other gangs are in motion, the pulsating music leading them to the trains.
Barry De Vorzon won the 1978 Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement, for "Nadia's Theme (The Young and the Restless)", one of my least favorite pieces of music. That he also composed the music from The Warriors is beyond me. He should have won an award for this, it's way better. Well, he also co-wrote "In The City" with Joe Walsh, so I'll cut him some slack.
Psychic TV was the name of the creative vehicle for Genesis P-Orridge, formerly of Throbbing Gristle. Godstar is a tribute to Brian Jones, one of the Rolling Stones. Genesis was keenly interested in his story, and made it a very special story in this song. They sing it with anger in their eyes, great anguish in their voice. SO many heavy words:
And you were so beautiful You were so very special I wish I was with you now I wish I could save you somehow
And where were all of your laughing friends? Where were they at the very end? They started to steal your glory They never even told your story
Genesis was an early Stones fan, and they particularly loved Brian's contributions to their bluesy sound. Brian drowned in his swimming pool at the age of 27 in 1969. The coroner ruled it as "death by misadventure", that he died due to his use of drugs and alcohol. Many fans like Genesis felt that the rest of the group neglected Brian and should have cared more about his condition.
Despite the biting lyrics, the song includes a riff right out of the Stones' classic Brown Sugar. So maybe Genesis forgave them?
I'm also including this video clip, which includes an interview with the very astute Genesis P-Orridge.
This is a "Choose Your Own Adventure" kind of music. You begin to listen to this music. If you don't enjoy it, turn to page 2. If you enjoy it, turn to page 37.
Page 2: You turn it off after ten seconds. You think, does the blog creator actually like this weird stuff? Hmm. You step away and put on something totally familiar and normal, like Def Leppard or Bon Jovi. Yeah...Bon Jovi rocks!! You can breathe easy.
Page 37: You continue to listen to this experimental electronic modified effects sonic recording. It's almost 10 minutes. You really have no idea what is going on. Various sounds appear and change and turn into other sounds. It hangs around, drifting in and out of your awareness. Very interesting. Then it ends. Turn to Page 49.
Page 49: You find yourself in the presence of David Rosenboom. Far out.
This past new year's eve I watched The Big Lebowski for the umpteenth time. The film opens with the 1946 recording of Tumbling Tumbleweeds by the Sons of the Pioneers. It sets the mood nicely with its ambling along the trail atmosphere. The Dude, Jeff Lebowski (played by Jeff Bridges), certainly drifts along to his own beat out there in the vast city of Los Angalese, in the parlance of Sam Elliott.
Leonard Slye co-founded the Sons of the Pioneers in California in 1933, and sang on their 1934 recording of Tumbling Tumbleweeds. In 1937 he was offered a contract to be a Hollywood actor. His contract required him to leave the group and he became Roy Rogers, one of the most famous and popular Western stars of his era. The Sons of the Pioneers continued on, occasionally singing with him and participating in his films.
Blue Shadows on the Trail appears in the Disney animated film Melody Time, during the Pecos Bill segment. Roy sings the beginning part and the Sons bring in their gorgeous harmonies at 0:23, creating layers of warmth around the fire. Owls and coyotes hoot and howl in the distance. The blue shadows arrive at night, passing quietly across the ground with the moon, velvety and soft. The whistling in the middle is sublime, a delicate accompaniment to night on the Texas terrain.
Move a-long, Blue Shadows, move a-long, soon the dawn will come and you'll be on your way.
Here's some groovy funk rock from Mogadishu, Somalia. Dur-Dur (meaning "spring" in Somali, as in a natural flowing water spring) Band were huge in their home country in the late 80s. I found this album, Volume 5, at my local library about two or three years ago. I was immediately hooked by the funky grooves, the chicky chick guitar picking, the reverb vocals.
Tajir Waa Ilaah translates to "God is perfect". The song explores themes of human vulnerability, the fleeting nature of wealth, the necessity of humility, and the importance of empathy towards women. It suggests that true, lasting perfection belongs only to the divine, reminding listeners not to look down on others.
In addition to Dur-Dur Band, there were also the Iftin Band, Waaberi Band, and Sharaf Band rocking out in Mogadishu on a regular basis. Unfortunately, as with Cambodia and Ethiopia, war had to raise its ugly head and bring the good times to an end. Somalia had been under military junta since 1978. Rebel groups formed, the government military was defeated, and the country descended into chaos with various groups fighting for power.
Volume 5 was reissued around a decade ago by the label Awesome Tapes from Africa. From their website:
By 1987 Dur-Dur Band’s line-up featured singers Sahra Abukar Dawo, Abdinur Adan Daljir, Mohamed Ahmed Qomal and Abdukadir Mayow Buunis, backed by Abukar Dahir Qasim (guitar), Yusuf Abdi Haji Aleevi (guitar), Ali Dhere (trumpet), Muse Mohamed Araci (saxophone), Abdul Dhegey (saxophone), Eise Dahir Qasim (keyboard), Mohamed Ali Mohamed (bass), Adan Mohamed Ali Handal (drums), Ooyaaye Eise and Ali Bisha (congas) and Mohamed Karma, Dahir Yaree and Murjaan Ramandan (backing vocals). Dur-Dur Band managed to release almost a dozen recordings before emigrating to Ethiopia, Djibouti and America.
Have you seen the bumper sticker? It reads: Keep Honking! I'm listening to Alice Coltrane's meteoric sensation 'Universal Consciousness'. I guess it's been around for a few years, but I feel like my first sighting of it was only a few weeks ago. I did a double take.
If you are in the driver's seat and listening to this album, I hope you're not moving because this album might send you to the astral plane; you could become detached from communal reality and drift off into a zone of all possible outcomes. The title track itself can make traffic lights flash into colors beyond green red and yellow. Or it's always yellow. You never know. Be careful.
Alice Coltrane was a devoted Hindu. She was very highly spiritual and became even more dedicated as the 70s progressed. Universal Consciousness should really be experienced as a whole, but if I had to choose one track to focus on it's Hare Krishna. This is an eight minute drone-based exploration of spiritual awareness. Very trippy blissful and (generally) relaxing. There are some moments of intense power, but they tend to resolve into a cosmic 'sunset melting into the horizon' feeling.
I'm not that into Carole King as a solo artist. Tapestry is great, I know, but it's got too much of that early 70s singer-songwriter feel. All that wimpy James Taylor stuff, man. No please.
I do, however, like a lot of the songs she wrote with her husband Gerry Goffin, especially Pleasant Valley Sunday. Everyone knows the Monkees version, it peaked at #3 in 1967, all jangly guitar, bass and harmonies. It's a great tune. I'm not sure that I necessarily prefer this demo version, it just feels more wholesome, like every kid in the town is drinking their milk and then flying kites or riding their bikes.
Gerry Goffin didn't like living in the suburbs, he thought they were boring and superficial and this tune is critical of that lifestyle. I myself grew up in a suburb of Chicago. I liked it. But it was very sheltered. It was a shock to slowly learn that not every other kid was growing up in a similar environment. Now, I have to say, I'm with Gerry. I wouldn't want to live in the suburbs at this point in my life. I think they're bland.
If you've ever watched the show Weeds, you'll probably recall the satirical tune Little Boxes by Malvina Reynolds:
Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes made of ticky-tacky
Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes all the same
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same
Carole King and Gerry Goffin in 1959: move to the suburbs, you guys! you'll love it!
