Tag Archives: Pop

What we’re listening to today — Harry Nilsson

Image from LorberFilms.com

Just saw a really good documentary last night via Netflix streaming on singer/songwriter and soft rock superstar Harry Nilsson called Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him)?. As implied by the title, Nilsson is somewhat forgotten today but was fairly omnipresent in the late 1960s throughout the 70s, with several big hits recorded by him or written by him and recorded by other artists. You’ll probably recognize his tunes if not his name, which fall into what I lovingly call the “Crap Rock” genre (America, Player, Ambrosia, Bread, Bob Welch, etc). His own breakthrough was the theme song from 1969’s Oscar-winning downbeat classic Midnight Cowboy, “Everybody’s Talkin'”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz6GzKWiIAs

Although “Everybody’s Talkin'” was ironically not actually written by Nilsson, it was clear a major vocalist had arrived on the scene after many years of cult status earlier in the 60s. Of his own material, “One” is arguably his best known and also most successful single.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nB5VxPOoio

Even so, it wasn’t a huge blockbuster for Nilsson but rather for AOR staple Three Dog Night (as well as a ton of artists subsequently). Their signature blues-rock version reached #5 on the Billboard charts.

Having established himself in a short period as a hot commodity, Nilsson went on to have a huge commercial and critical success of his own with 1971’s Nilsson Schmilsson. Continue reading →

What we’re listening to today — Jackie Wilson

Often overlooked today because of his somewhat lightweight repertoire, Jackie Wilson should still be considered one of the all-time R&B greats. With his soaring range, boundless energy and legendary live performance chops, there’s a reason they called him Mr. Excitement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1nZ-u41H9s

An important transitional figure in the evolution of R&B, Wilson can boast not only a dynamic weepy like “Lonely Teardrops” but other stone classics such as “You Got Me Walking”, “Reet Petite”, “Baby Workout”, “Whispers (Getting Louder)” and his last big smash, 1966’s “(You’re Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher”.

After some relatively lean years in the 1970s Wilson’s remarkable 20-year run as a force in pop music was ended by a massive heart attack while performing at a Dick Clark oldies show in 1975. He would never awake from the resulting coma and passed away in 1984. But while Jackie Wilson never quite had the impact of a Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, James Brown or Curtis Mayfield due to his inability to evolve into a true Soul singer and adherence to the 3-minute radio single, a good anthology of his recordings belongs in any serious R&B and Pop music collection. It can safely be said that no one has ever sung quite like him. He had such a unique sound, almost operatic, that no one even tried. There was only one Jackie Wilson and when you hear him you can’t mistake him for any other singer in the Pop canon.

Earworm of the day — That’s Because You Drive Me by Acid House Kings

Because my New Year’s resolution is to inflict upon you all the nonsense catchy pop rattling around in my head one song at time…

What is it with Swedish bands and maddeningly sweet, highly contagious tunes? From 2005’s Sing Along with Acid House Kings, “That’s Because You Drive Me” anchors an album of persistently cheerful, decidedly un-moody Scandinavian pop, as if ABBA cross-pollinated with Belle & Sebastian. The original packaging even included a DVD of karaoke-ready videos (which can all be seen on YouTube), hence the “Sing Along” part. Go ahead and join in–you know you want to. Plus, resistance to such determined sunniness is futile, futile I tell you.

What we’re listening to on Thanksgiving — Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) by Sly & the Family Stone

Blogging could be sporadic with the upcoming Turkey Day blowout but wanted to throw this great Sly & the Family Stone tune out there for y’all because it seems just right for the occasion…

One of the last gasps from that great interracial collective before drugs destroyed the band, 1969’s “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” could be cited as truly revolutionary for its bass line alone. Seeming to infuse nearly every funk track to follow in the 70s, Larry Graham’s “slapping” style of percussive bass is literally the sound that launched a thousand R&B bands. And of course the pure stoned compositional genius that is Sylvester “Sly Stone” Stewart is on full display here, with enough sonic and lyrical mischief happening to bring a smile to the most jaded hipster. It may be a cliche but it happens to be true: If Prince has a musical daddy, it’s Sly Stone.

Even after a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings, when you hear “Thank You” you’ll wanna shake it to the groove. So let’s take a moment to give thanks for great music and great food. And especially to the great friends & family who so importantly let us be ourselves–Thank You!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ptrc2cWRxU

What we’re listening to today — Baby Blue by Badfinger

The song that’s still ringing in everyone’s ears after the Breaking Bad finale by the first and best band ever signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03oVJ1WAO2U

The story of Badfinger is just about as sad and depressing as that of Walter White, albeit without the cathartic drug kingpin ego trip. Suffice to say that after an extremely promising start the group were run into the ground by the dishonesty of their manager who paid himself gobs of money from their massive escrow account and gave the artists a pittance in “allowance”; the band never really saw any profits from their amazing run of successful hit singles and lucrative record label contracts. The perception that they were merely Beatles doppelgangers also hurt them artistically as the 70s wore on and there were multiple legal imbroglios. All this bad luck and financial pressure led to the suicides of two of their key members, singer Pete Ham and guitarist Tom Evans, both of whom had also written the lion’s share of the classic hits. If ever there was a cautionary tale of how the seemingly glamorous world of Rock ‘n Roll can be a cesspool of exploitation and broken dreams, Badfinger are it. But Baby Blue and the other great hits survive the sadness and still soar–really great pop music that stands on its own merits, Beatles connections or no.

What we’re listening to today–Mambo Sun by T. Rex

Let’s kick Friday off with this slinky ditty from T. Rex:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koFM5paYEmM

Now, one can carp that T. Rex really only made one song throughout their long career. “(Bang a Gong) Get It On”, “Children of the Revolution”, “Jeepster”, etc are all variations on a theme with a little instrumental variety here, a little tempo change there. But there is something surely sweet sounding about the Marc Bolan groove and his childishly simple lyrics. Nobody else sounds like T. Rex, glam or otherwise (although this Grant Lee Phillips song, “Johnny Guitar“, is a pretty good homage). But when you hear them, they always tickle the ear and the tunes never sound stale 40+ years on.

Mambo Sun is primo Rex, all attitude, fuzzy guitars, low key reverbed vocals and female worship, not to mention a great first track for 1971’s seminal Electric Warrior. Plus, Bolan helped make it cool for rock guys to look a little like chicks–he arguably inspired Bowie to go glam–so there’s another lasting contribution. On second thought, that kind of led to Poison so maybe that wasn’t such a great thing. Whatever we think about that, put on your top hat and feather boa and get ready to rock out this weekend!

I personally think Electric Warrior belongs in every rock fan’s collection and you can get it at Amazon and iTunes, of course.

What we’re listening to today–Walking in the Rain by the Ronettes

If Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound is a sledgehammer of beautiful bombast, then “Walking in the Rain” is its velvet hammer:

Yeah, there are a lot of shitty covers of this tune (including one by the Partridge Family –don’t click if you have a weak stomach). And sure the June-moon-swoon lyrics are not exactly John Lennon. Yet, as has been well documented, the Beatles learned a lot of their songcraft from the great girl groups of the early 60s… they had to write “I Want to Hold your Hand” before they got to “Revolution”, my friends, and the driving beat and optimistic love talk of the Crystals, Marvelettes and Ronettes helped get them on their merry way.

More to the point, the Ronettes original version of “Walking in the Rain”, with Ronnie Spector (née Veronica Bennett) and her little girl-cum-Broadway belter delivery powering through the storm effects, sleigh bells and endlessly layered background vocals, is just about as pure a pop song experience as you can find. Check your hard earned cynicism and anti-romanticism at the door. Hell, she hasn’t even met the guy she’s singing about yet! But damn if she doesn’t make you wish you could live up to that dream lover.

RonnieSpector

Hearing this great song again is also a good reminder that Phil Spector was not always a homicidal hermit freak but, in fact, one of the geniuses who kept Rock alive when Elvis was in the Army and the Beatles had not yet come along. I definitely recommend picking up Back to Mono to get some perspective on his prodigious pre-murder achievements.

Download this classic tune at Amazon.

What we’re listening to today– Kathy’s Song by Simon & Garfunkel

Not the happiest song, I know, but it’s pouring down rain here, summer is winding down and there is melancholy in the air.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q60YKfPKdjQ

A lyric like this sums it up, I reckon:

And as I watch the drops of rain
Weave their weary paths and die
I know that I am like the rain
There but for the grace of you go I.

A lotta laughs it’s not but sometimes you gotta go with the day and not fight the vibe. We all need somebody sometimes to pick up our slack. We all need a “Kathy” in our lives to get through some days. This one’s for my “Kathy.”

Download it at iTunes or Amazon, natch.