Just a quick and dirty blast of punk rock today as life intrudes but it is often posited that without the Pixies, there would be no Nirvana. Discuss.
And remember, kids: If man is 5, then the Devil is 6 and if the Devil is 6 then GOD IS 7!!! Bless Black Francis for that bit of theology and I promise we’ll get into the Pixie ouvre in greater length — or at least crank out some more of their tunes — at a later date. In the meantime, enjoy it again live and watch out for that NY/NJ sludge!
Roxy Music need no introduction, but here’s one anyway… Founded in 1971 and led by the inimitable Bryan Ferry, the band have been hugely influential on multiple genres of music spanning several generations. I mean really, how many groups or individual performers can you think of that were simultaneously influencing punk bands like the Sex Pistols and pop acts like Duran Duran? Their musical range and originality still influence artists 40 year later.
They put out several great records between 1972 and 1982, all but one of which featured album art made up of super-hot supermodels in various costumes, becoming a trademark feature of the band’s image. Individually they’re all pretty solid albums, but for my tastes the best overall Roxy Music album is actually “The Best of Roxy Music”, released in 2001. A lot of “best of” records seem to fall short, suffering from bad decision making or publishing copyright issues that seem to always leave one or two great songs off of the list. However, “The Best of Roxy Music” shines from start to finish. It is a great introduction to the band as well as a great go-to record for devoted fans. Check out the weird but genius, “Mother of Pearl” or the hard driving pop masterpiece, “Virginia Plain”. Or tune out the world and listen to the sugary sweet ballad, “Oh Yeah.” It’s all good stuff so you can’t go wrong. Get the album on iTunes, or on Amazon right here. Unfortunately this record isn’t available on vinyl, but write your Congressman and cross your fingers…you never know. And of course, if you really can’t bring yourself to buy a compilation record there’s also a great box set, including every studio album the band made. Happy listening!
I admit that I blow hot and cold on Steely Dan. There is something just so… L.A. about them, so very arch. Their lyrics are so damn in-the-know that they come across like the guys in the private room in the back doing blow. And you’re not invited behind the velvet rope. They legendarily named their band after a sex toy from Burroughs’ Naked Lunch, for chrissakes. That said, you can’t argue with their sterling musicianship. Before Steely Dan became a huge success, the core members Walter Becker (bass) and Donald Fagen (guitar) worked as a backup band for Jay and the Americans. And those two, who were really the only constant through the years, always had a special knack for picking ace talent to make up the rest of the band with a particular affinity for Jazz influences. A song like “Do It Again” from their 1972 debutCan’t Buy a Thrill shows their chops off to subtle perfection.
With its loping beat and intricate raga-like guitar and percussion, I associate “Do it Again” with palm trees, warm sea breezes and a cold rum drink. Or maybe a drug deal gone bad. Famously averse to live performance, here’s an early live version of the band with David Palmer singing lead for the unwilling Fagen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC7n4G5f1A4
The singing isn’t much to write home about — Palmer soon left the group and Fagen found his courage shortly thereafter, although he and Becker would always prefer the studio. But that magical groove is something else again.
Seeing as we here in the Northeast and much of the rest of the US are locked into a seemingly endless cycle of winter, the only thing one can do is dream of warmer days and hope they’re not too far away. And what more summery music is there in the Rock canon than that of The Beach Boys?
One of Brian Wilson’s archetypal pocket symphonies, “Good Vibrations” is perhaps The Beach Boys best song and arguably one the greatest tunes ever recorded in any genre. It was certainly one of the most expensive songs in its day, costing an estimated $50,000 in 1966 dollars in studio and musician fees and took roughly 6 months to be completed to Brian’s satisfaction. It captures the group at their artistic peak and before Brian became completely lost in endless tape loops and overdubbing and psychotropic drugs. Released directly after and somewhat mysteriously left off of the Beach Boys’ masterpiece, Pet Sounds, it seemed to point the way to limitless possibilities as the band and their artistic leader vied to out-duel the Beatles for pure sonic invention. But the rivalry and visionary music in Wilson’s mind could not be reproduced to his satisfaction with the studio technology of that time and the legendarily messy and drug infested recording process of Pet Sounds’ planned follow-up, SMILE, led to confusion and musical cul de sacs. The sessions and tracks became so expensive and chaotic that eventually they had to be pared down and released as the bastardized Smiley Smile, on which the single “Good Vibrations” was finally included but clearly is not really a part of. Smiley Smile was, therefore, an ambitious yet truncated album of beautifully produced but oddball compositions with limited commercial appeal. The old Surf Rock fans didn’t like the new impressionistic vibe and the Rock intelligentsia, while appreciating the technical ambition and mastery of such tracks as “Heroes & Villains” and “Wonderful”, were decidely unimpressed by an overall sound that Jimi Hendrix derided as “psychedelic barbershop quartet.” The coup de grace for Brian Wilson came with the release and massive critical and popular success of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band just after the original SMILE was being shelved. Wilson conceded the concept album competition to the Liverpudlian champs and began his rather rapid decent into drug-fueled madness and artistic decline.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmLel0G4QQU
But what music he and the Boys made before the crackup! And it’s just what us polar vortex-blasted souls need to carry us through until the crocuses sprout, the days grow really long and warm, the barbecue is fired up again and the baseball season starts. Wouldn’t it be nice to strip down to our shorts, crack a beer and get some sun? You’re damn right it would.
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 →
There is something about the bittersweet yet unapologetic quality of “Revelry” from Kings of Leon‘s 2008 breakthrough album Only by the Night that always resonates for me.
A lyric like “Just know it was you all along that had a hold of my heart/
But the demon in me was a best friend from the start” sums up that kind of youthful pattern where you can’t help but hurt the other person for the simple reason that you are too busy chasing your own kicks. Call it the selfishness of our immaturity, a feeling that the world and the people in it exist to please us and us alone.
Most of us have got memories of a misspent youth indulging in far too much partying, often at the expense of joys that could have been more lasting and less transitory. One of the keys to maturity as a man is leaving that reckless selfishness behind. But of course the memories of such uncontrolled hedonism linger with us, a constant caution and temptation from our past selves to the men we have (hopefully) become. And sometimes a rock song can bring it all back to crystal clarity once again, those times dreaming of revelry while letting something precious fall away.
Sad news to start 2014: Phil Everly has passed away at the age of 74 from complications due to COPD. As one half of the seminal early rock duo The Everly Brothers, Phil and his brother Don, who survives him, infused country sweetness and peerless harmonies into the fabric of Rock ‘n Roll and arguably helped keep the flame burning for, as well as inspiring, the Beatles and that other great harmonizing duo, Simon and Garfunkel, in that tenuous period between the death of Buddy Holly, Elvis’s induction into the armed forces and the fall of Jerry Lee Lewis. The full NY Times obit is here.
Here are the Everly Brothers singing their first breakout hit for Cadence records, “Bye Bye Love”, at a 1983 reunion concert, showing they had lost nothing in the over 25 years since its original release. As was their custom, as we watch them Phil is on the left and Don on the right:
Here is my personal favorite from their Warner Brothers period, 1960’s “Cathy’s Clown”, from the outstanding Walk Right Back compilation:
And another great smash hit from their Warner’s period, “Crying in the Rain” , performed here when the boys were fulfilling their military service in the Marine Corps Reserve:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdaX7LG67to
Many have tried but none have succeeded in reproducing the Everlys’ supernatural harmonies. Despite their personal ups and downs through the years, the closeness that Phil and Don displayed on their many hit tracks, that unique quality of two voices remaining distinct and yet becoming one, will never fade away.
This song has been going through my head for days if not weeks. And now I’m inflicting it upon you. So Merry Christmas, I guess.
From Keane’s 2006 emo epic, Under the Iron Sea, “Nothing in My Way” showcases the glam-tinged, piano-driven grandiosity of this English band perfectly, not to mention lead vocalist Tom Chaplin’s stunning tenor range. Is it a little soft overall? Yes, a little. Is it a little “pretty”? Yes. But listen to it once and I have a feeling you’re going to play it again, and probably the whole album too, which is pretty much impeccable in an Elton John-meets-Queen-with-a-dash-of-U2 kind of way. Just one word of warning: unless you are a near-pro singer with a massive head voice range, it might be best not to choose “Nothing in My Way” for your next karaoke excursion lest you crash & burn. It’s a sweetly melodic song that sounds easy enough to sing along with… until you realize you can’t hit half the notes Chaplin can. Love or hate the music, the guy’s voice is certifiably amazing.
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!
Of the Big Four megabands to emerge from the Seattle grunge explosion of the early 90s, the one that stayed below the radar the most is Screaming Trees. Everyone knows Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. But for many, the more psychedelically inclined ‘Trees have been somewhat forgotten as the years have passed. And that’s a shame. Because not only were the Screaming Trees very often the best of those four bands in purely musical and creative terms but their lead vocalist, Mark Lanegan, was arguably the second best behind the superhuman lungs of Chris Cornell. And really “best” is a massively subjective term to apply in this instance because it assumes we are judging all vocalists by the same measure. If Rock ‘n Roll has taught us anything it’s that the guy with the rough hewn, damaged and soulful sound can trump the fellow with the operatic range. The epically beautiful “Ode to Sad Disco” from the most recent Mark Lanegan Band album, Blues Funeral, is another strong performance in favor of that argument.
So, equally mystifying to me, is why Lanegan remains a fairly subdued commerical force in his many years as a solo act. Continue reading →
