I’m
going to admit something to you… Christmas music isn’t my favorite music in the
world. In fact, I believe all the years of working in the retail world over the
holiday season may have permanently soured me on a large percentage of the holiday
tunes that tend to be piped into stores from November 1st through
the end of the year. Though, there are a couple dozen tunes that tend to be
staples in my music collection at Christmastime.
The
Carpenters Christmas albums (A Christmas
Portrait and An Old Fashioned Christmas)
never fail to bring happy memories of childhood Christmases. It’s probably my
favorite Christmas album. Karen's rich and warm voice over a dazzling selection
of beautifully arranged Christmas songs, is a perfect cup of hot chocolate for
the season. There a number of lovely classic Christmas tunes, saturated in gorgeous
harmonies and a few medleys (which, I’ll admit, I’m a sucker for). My favorites
of the Carpenters’ holiday songs are “Christmas Waltz”, “Sleigh Ride”, “It’s
Christmas Time”, “Little Alter Boy”, and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”. Of
course, I absolutely adore Richard’s impressive piano solo of “Carol of the
Bells” and my favorite Christmas carol for many years was the now classic, “Merry
Christmas Darling”.
Aside
from The Carpenters’ albums, there aren’t too many other full holiday albums
that I even listen to, let alone own. I do enjoy The Partridge Family song, “My
Christmas Card To You” and included it as the opening track on the Christmas CD
I sent out one year (instead of Christmas cards). Judy Garland’s “Have Yourself
A Merry Little Christmas” from Meet Me In
St. Louis is flawless. There are a handful of Frank Sinatra holiday carols
that tend to play on my iPod in December and of course, Nat King Cole’s
rendition of “The Christmas Song” may be the definitive version of the song in
my book. I couldn’t exclude Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” and I threw in his
collaboration with The Andrews Sisters, “Mele Kalikimaka” in last year’s
Christmas compilation. I ran across a duet that Bing did with Judy on his radio
show in 1950 and while I’m generally not a big fan of the song “Rudolph the
Red-Nosed Reindeer”, I found their rendition entirely amusing – especially the
bit about Rudolph “smoking Chesterfield’s all the day” (a shameless plug, I’m betting!)
When I was a child, I loved Barbra
Streisand’s speedy performance of “Jingle Bells”. I also remember when I was
about 8, I loved Amy Grant’s “Emmanuel”. And of course, I dug “You’re A Mean
One, Mr. Grinch”. These days, I prefer Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmastime Is Here.”
And, true to the die-hard Beatles fan I am, I will always find time to listen
to Paul’s “Wonderful Christmas Time” and John’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”. But
I think my favorite Christmas-y tune this year may be the 1967 Beatles Fan Club
message, “Christmas Time Is Here Again”, complete with John Lennon speaking
nonsense-speak. :)
Whatever Christmas tunes you prefer to
listen to, I do wish a happy holiday season to you all!
Alright, so
it here it is. My official commentary on the Paul McCartney Concert.
Like
previously stated, Paul was amazing. He may have even outdone himself in the
previous Paul concerts I’ve attended (I’ve been lucky enough to see him three
times now).
It was a
chilly and rainy evening and traffic getting to the stadium was very slow, but
once inside… even the air was exciting. Covers and remixes of Paul’s music was
playing when we found our seats and every time the music stopped, the audience
began to cheer in anticipation for the show. It was about 8:30 when the man himself
stepped out on the stage and launched into “Magical Mystery Tour”. It was 4 songs later before I remembered that I
would probably enjoy the show more if I continued to breathe regularly. But
seeing him play “Junior’s Farm”, “All My Loving”, “Jet”, and “Drive My Car”… Honestly,
who has time to breathe when you’re so busy screaming and singing along?
He played
quite a few songs that I’d never seen him play live, including “The Night
Before”, “Paperback Writer”, “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five”, “I’ve Just
Seen A Face”, “Get Back”, “Mrs. Vanderbilt”, “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”, and “My
Valentine”. Of course, he also included the standard songs like “Let It Be”, “Live
and Let Die”, and “Hey Jude”. He seemed to be in a great mood and his energy
was high. He did quite a bit of talking with the audience, taking the time to
read signs, finding out if the audience prefers “St. Louie” or “St. Louis”, and
taking a moment to soak in the audience adulation, since he’d not done a “proper”
big show like this since May. He also treated us to a slight wardrobe change
and even managed to get the audience to bark during a short call and answer bit
between numbers.
My view of the stage
After playing
“And I Love Her”, Paul gave Rusty a good natured hard time about flubbing the
solo – and made sure the audience knew he’d never messed up that solo before.
He even had Rusty redeem himself by having the band play that section of the
song again! Then during “Dance Tonight”, the drummer, Abe Labrioel, accompanied
the tune with a bit of amusing choreography. I, of course, shed a couple tears
during Paul’s tribute to John (with “Here Today”) and George (with “Something”).
And was pleasantly surprised to hear his rendition of “A Day In The Life”
blended with “Give Peace A Chance”. Then during “Live and Let Die”, the stage
was literally ablaze with a ton of pyrotechnic tricks – that even caused me,
someone who was expecting some sort of firework drama, to gasp in surprise. And
during the very last number, he took a bit of a tumble and despite the fact
that it surely had to hurt, he popped right back up, struck a pose and even
joked that it was a staged fall.
Paul’s energy
was unparalleled throughout the evening and his musical ability is still as
astounding as it was 40 years ago. To see someone at age 70, play music he
wrote decades ago with so much enjoyment is incredible. The love from the
audience was clear and it was just as clear at how much he loves the audience. It
was one of the most amazing nights of my life. So for that, I must say thank
you to the audience and the band for being so great. Thank you to my best music
friends for coming along and making it an unforgettable experience for me. And
of course, thank you to Paul for being such an amazing showman and musician.
Thank you for your music, that has given me so much enjoyment and helped me to
make some very good Beatle-friends. And thank you for all the memories. I love
you, Paul!
Okay, so this entry is a bit of a departure from my usual posts. I’m writing more about radio history than music – but I figure radio
and music go together, and since this is my blog, I can do as I like!
So, several months ago I stumbled across some old airchecks
from various radio stations in the 1960s. I think by now it’s quite obvious
that I am inclined towards that particular decade and I loved getting this
glimpse into the normal lives of people from that time. When it comes to
history, I’ve always been more fascinated with the lives of the Average Joe or
Jane than the famous political figures, so these old airchecks were quite a
find for me. I found myself looking into various artists I hadn’t previously
explored and I quickly became a fan of one DJ in particular. The St. Louis
radio station, KXOK’s Johnny Rabbitt (aka Don Pietromonaco).
I was immediately attracted to his style on the radio. He
doesn’t just tell you what song is going to play next, he really put on a show!
I was very amused by his banter with his self-created sidekick, Bruno J.
Grunion. And when I found out that Bruno didn’t actually exist, but was voiced
by Johnny Rabbitt himself, I was thoroughly impressed.After doing a bit more research I found, that he’d often get to the studio early
and record his Bruno drop-ins before the show, then converse with the pre-taped
voice on the air and then there were times when he did both voices live. That
takes the talent of a true actor to pull off something like that, I believe. While
I think these kinds of antics were more common back in the day, I still believe
that Don Pietromonaco was an extremely talented individual. He stepped into the
Johnny Rabbitt role in 1964 and became a local legend of sorts.
I know that a lot
of work had to go into each show – they were carefully crafted with
laugh-tracks, sound effects, gags, contests, games, prizes, requests and
dedications. I know he didn’t do it entirely
on his own – he had help from the production team of KXOK, but he did earn some
of the highest ratings ever recorded in the St. Louis area. He also ran a
couple teen nightclubs and helped raise millions of dollars for medical
research. And of course, he created
memories for thousands of St. Louis teens… After listening to as many
broadcasts featuring him as I’ve been able to find, I can say with absolute
certainty, had I been a St. Louis teen in the ‘60s, I’d have been a Johnny
Rabbitt Army Member.
I
may watch too much television. Though, I’ve been introduced to a number of songs
because of hearing them on a TV show or commercial. I believe I started this
trend of searching out songs heard on TV from watching The Partridge Family and
The Monkees. But I’ve also tracked down songs after hearing it on a commercial.
One song I very specifically remember searching out after hearing it on a Dewar’s
commercial in 2007. The song was “Up the Walls” by PT Walkley. It’s insanely
catchy – and the whole album …And The
Adventures of Track Rabbit is pretty good too.
Of
course, I’ve been searching out songs heard on television for years and
compiling my own TV Show soundtracks from the music I heard. Gilmore Girls introduced me to Wilco (“Heavy
Metal Drummer”), The White Stripes (“Fell In Love With A Girl”), and The Shins
(“So Says I”). I also first heard the great song, “Satellite of Love” by Lou
Reed on the Gilmore Girls season 4
finale. Though, I think my Gilmore Girls playlist
consists for more than 70 tunes that I dig that were used in the show (they used
a lot of XTC in the show too – which, as you know, I love).
Grey’s Anatomy’s first 2 seasons also helped
contribute dozens of songs to my ever expanding music collection. “Miss Halfway”
by Anya Marina, “Dead Streets” by Monotypes, “Infinity” by Merrick, “Someone To
Love” by Kate Earl, “Blood and Peanut Butter” by B.C. Camplight, and “Look At
Her Face” by The Coral Sea are a few of the songs that have gotten a lot of
airtime on my playlists in recent years. Grey’s
also has featured a number of Brandi Carlile songs that caused me to further
explore her song catalog. My favorite of hers from Grey’s Anatomy is probably “Throw It All Away”.
Bones introduced me to a
handful of songs – like the Placebo cover of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”,
the obscure but memorable “Better” by The Blue Shoes, and John Francis Daly’s
band, Dayplayer, extremely likable pop song “Neverending Summer” – (all of
these songs come highly recommended, by the way). Chuck is another show that gave me a number of songs and artists to
explore. “Challengers” by The New Pornographers, “Foux Du Fafa” by Flight of
the Conchords, “Creature Fear” by Bon Iver, “Into Your Dream” by Foreign Born, “My
Absent Will” by Meredith Bragg, “Fresh Feeling” by Eels, and “Fall Into Place”
by Apartment are a few of those songs. It also reminded me of a couple ‘80s
songs I hadn’t heard for years – like “Love on the Rocks” by Neil Diamond and Huey
Lewis & The News’ “Power of Love”.
Castle is another TV show
that has caused me to track down several dozen songs. The extremely upbeat and
poppy “Birds of a Feather” by The Rosenbergs was the first Castle featured song I tracked down. “Move You” by Anya Marina is a
well-crafted foot-tapper with a driving beat (I especially love the last 35
seconds of the song). MoZella’s tunes were featured a few times in the show and
my favorite is probably the soulful ballad, “Can’t Stop”. “Everybody Loves Me”
by OneRepublic is strangely addictive and has received a lot of plays in the
last year or so.Anna Waronker performed
a couple original songs for the show’s fictitious singer-songwriter, Haley Blue
– notably “Threshold”, though “Underground” is also very catchy. Sara
Jackson-Holman’s dreamlike ballad, “Into The Blue” is featured prominently in
the season 2 finale – and it’s a gorgeous song with a captivating piano part
and expressive lyrics. And possibly my favorite song that I heard on Castle is “The
Other Side” by Sloan. It immediately grabbed my attention with its pop hooks on
top of powerful electric guitars, multipart vocal harmonies, and stomping
rhythm.
Though,
the show that has probably the most extensive soundtrack in my music collection
is from Cold Case. Of course, it
featured at least half a dozen tunes in each episode from whatever era the episode
is dealing with. The show exposed me to a number of songs from years gone by –
some of which you don’t often hear on the oldies or classic rock stations. KC
& The Sunshine Band’s song “Please Don’t Go” and Anne Murray’s “Broken
Hearted Me”, for example, have received an embarrassingly high amount of plays
over the last couple years . I also first heard Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s version
of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” on an episode of Cold Case.The ‘40s tune, “Is
You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby” by Louis Jordan was recently added to my collection
after hearing it on an episode.
There
were also a few original pieces like the piano piece, “Best Friends” composed
by Michael Levine. My favorites from the show though are the 1920s inspired
jazz song, “300 Flowers” and the 1950s sounding ballad, “Scarlet Rose.” Both
are fantastic songs – “300 Flowers” has the bendy notes, jazzy chords, and
fantastic lyrics. “Scarlet Rose” starts out similar to The Flamingos’ version
of “I Only Have Eyes for You” with its 6/8 piano part – but I adore the melody
and Alexa Kahn does a great vocal performance. Both songs do a great job of
capturing the time of the episodes.
Of
course, there are tons of other songs I adore that I’ve heard on the telly, but
for now I’ll leave you with this.
I can't believe it's taken me so long to get around to writing about this band, but Queen
has long been one of my favorite bands. I got hooked on Queen about a decade
ago after I had listened to a mix CD that included “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Crazy
Little Thing Called Love”, “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions”. I’d
known those songs before, but never really listened to them… and as is typical
for me, after hearing a band I really like, I dive right into their music for
several months.
After
borrowing News of the World from a
friend, it seemed that each week I’d run out to buy another one of their
albums. So, what can I say about Queen? Queen was incredibly different. They
could have wild, loud rockers one minute, and then they would have a pretty
ballad the next. Or even better, they
would have some bizarre song that was filled with their British charm. John
Deacon is an amazing bassist. Deacon bass lines aren’t just that thumping you
tend to hear – His bass lines were melodic and beautiful – And he wrote some of
the biggest Queen hits. Roger Taylor can totally rock out on the drums and
watching him behind a ridiculously huge set, and know exactly where he’s going…
It’s pretty impressive. (And it’s because of him that I mastered the drumstick
twirl!) Not to mention he can sing higher than me! Brian May is my favorite
member… (I think I’ve already mentioned my “thing” for guitarists). Brian is an
extraordinary guitarist and the way he used guitars as other instruments –
Well, I’ve never heard another musician able to orchestrate a choir of guitars
the way Brian can. And Freddie? Jeez, he’s one of the most charismatic front mans
ever. He wasn’t much to look at, but that voice! So powerful which such a
fantastic range… And he had a distinctive style on the piano as well. And he’s
written some of rock and roll’s most complex songs.
My
favorite album may be The Game –
though, that’s not to say I don’t dig their other albums. Honestly, every album
of theirs (particularly the earlier albums) have tons of noteworthy songs. I
know that to some The Game marks the
beginning of the end for Queen. It’s Queen’s first pop album and is the first
of Queen’s albums that doesn’t boast the use of no synthesizers. In fact, the
first sound of the album is a synthesizer. So, the album may lack the depth of
Queen’s preceding albums and lack the edge of News of the World, but it doesn’t make it a bad album. “Play The
Game” is a fantastic showcase for Freddie’s amazing vocals. “Another One Bites
The Dust” is quite a departure for the band and for the writer of the song –
John Deacon – successfully crossing over into the funk genre. Brian’s heavy “Dragon
Attack” and John’s catchy “I Need Your Loving Tonight” are both great tunes.
And “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” is a lovely little rockabilly tribute to
Elvis with a great Brian May guitar solo played on a Fender Telecaster instead
of his usual “Red Special”.
Brian
wrote two absolutely gorgeous ballads on this album as well – “Sail Away Sweet
Sister” is by far my most played Queen song. I love Brian’s vocals and amazing
guitar solo – and Freddie’s vocals on the bridge tend to blow me away. (How
does he hit that note?!) “Save Me” is the other ballad – and it has another killer
guitar solo. And Freddie’s vocals are, of course, perfect. It builds up to a poignant
climax flawlessly with its catchy and heartfelt chorus. While it may not be
groundbreaking, it doesn’t detract from the beauty of the song. It’s a lovely
and strong closer to the album.
So…
I suppose that’s about all I’ve got to say about Queen for now, but be prepared
for me to revisit the subject somewhere down the line.
XTC
seems to epitomize quirky and intelligent pop music. The melodies are catchy
but very unusual in their sound and structure. This band has been a part of my
music collection for about 7 years now. I had heard a handful of their songs on
the TV show, Gilmore Girls, but didn’t
realize who they were. The first album I ever heard was their 1986 classic, Skylarking.
Skylarking is a fantastic album –
from start to finish. It’s full of interesting and complex arrangements with
lush instrumentation. The way the tracks merge into each other make it an album
you have to listen to in sequence. While each track is amazing in its own
right, it’s even more incredible to listen to it the way it was meant to be
heard. My favorite part is the way “Ballet for a Rainy Day” merges into “1000
Umbrellas”. And I adore the use of
strings. It’s not an entire philharmonic orchestra, so it doesn’t overpower the
track, but it sure gives it character. “Season Cycle” is an upbeat pop song
with some clever lyrics and unique rhymes (rhyming “cycle” with “umbilical” is
not something you run across every day!). “That’s Really Super, Supergirl” is a
really fun song with a very quirky melody. And “Earn Enough For Us” is the
first song of theirs I ever heard and I love the lyrics – they hold a certain
fear-tinged optimism that I find endearing. Besides the guitar riff intro is
pretty fantastic. Then there is perhaps their most well-known song, “Dear God”.
It’s really an interesting concept for a song – or even a piece of writing – to
write a letter to God explaining why he doesn’t believe in him. There’s a
really great use of strings in this song as well.
Of
course, after getting into this album, I had to check out their other music.
Luckily, I had a lot of music to check out because they have 14 albums… I found
that Andy Partridge writes some of the most bizarre melodies, but they are damn
catchy. And the lyrics are clever and cynical. The early XTC albums sound a
little different from their later stuff, having more punk and new wave elements
in them, but the songs are every bit as catchy. “This Is Pop?” from White Music may be my favorite of their early
recordings. You wouldn’t think that a song with so many dissonant chords would
be so catchy, but it’s completely addictive. “Ugly Underneath” from Nonsuch is another favorite of mine – I love
the contrast of the harsh rock-y verses with the beautiful melodic chorus. It’s
got a pretty awesome bass line too. And I love the lyrics. “Great Fire” off Mummer and “Snowman” from English Settlement are more examples of
the catchy, quirky melodies that seem to be Andy Partridge’s trademark… And I
really love the song, “Respectable Street” from Black Sea. It’s really an interesting way to begin an album –
starting off as an old phonograph record and a gentle delivery of the melody by
Andy Partridge then it quickly switches gears with the slam of jangly guitar
chords. And I kind of dig the lyrics, observations of modern-day suburbia. I
also must mention their last album, Wasp
Star (Apple Venus Volume 2). That album
is also fantastic – “The Man Who Murdered Love” is a great rocky pop song. It’s
got a tremendously catchy chorus and very unique take on a love song of sorts. “You
And The Clouds Will Still Be Beautiful” is currently my most played song by XTC
– I love the rhythm of the guitar.
There
is a perception that the band is essentially a studio creation of a group of
gifted reclusive musicians who refuse to tour because they can't cut it as a
live band. But if you catch any of their live recordings on youtube you’ll see
that Andy Partridge is a riveting performer. Though, he suffers from stage
fright, so catching a performance is pretty rare. While they may be an acquired
taste, I enjoy all of their music and I find that each album is unique,
surprising, and worthwhile.
Sondre
Lerche is a Norwegian singer-songwriter that I first discovered on Christmas
Day 2007. He had already been on the music scene for several years when I heard
that song, “Track You Down”. It wasn’t, however, until several months later
that I really started looking into his music and quickly became a big fan of
his.
He
has an acute talent for writing catchy pop hooks. While it’s quite evident that
he was influenced by artists like Elvis Costello and Brian Wilson, I think his work
is distinctive in his own write. He weaves his songs from catchy Beatlesque
melodies to sophisticated sounds like Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello and
intertwines them with his own notable and worthy voice. Considering his young
age when he started (he was only 19 or 20 when his first album was released),
you would think his music would be naïve and inexperienced, but it’s pleasantly
the opposite.
The
first album I got was his 2004 album, Two
Way Monologue. That is a great album to use as an introduction to such a
talented musician. At least, it completely hooked me. It kicks off with an
instrumental piece then launches into the enchanting and catchy “On The Tower”
and segues into the title track, “Two Way Monologue”. That song was an early
favorite of mine. I love the way the song builds – starting with just vocal and
guitar and swelling into a toe-tapping pop-rock song.“Wet Ground” is lovely for the poetic lyrics
and melancholy melody. “It’s Over” is another favorite of mine, seeming to be
reflecting on a breakup. “Stupid Memory” and “Counter Spark” are both extremely
catchy pop songs. And “It’s Too Late” has an unusual melody written in 6/8 time
– I really dig the drums in this song.Then the album ends on that first song I’d ever heard by him – “Track
You Down”. I think that song may still be my favorite of his. After listening
to that album, I felt compelled to check out the rest of his albums.
All
of his albums have a number of great songs: “To Be Surprised” from the Dan In Real Life soundtrack is an
instant feel-good song for me – and I love the guitar in that song.“No One’s Gonna Come” is another song written
in 6/8 with a catchy tune and prominent piano and drums. Phantom Punch is a really great album that has a bit of a different
feel than his previous albums – with a bit more of a rockier edge. Particularly
“The Tape” and “Face The Blood” – though there are plenty of straight pop songs
too, like “She’s Fantastic” and one of my all-time favorite songs, “Say It All”.
In that same vein is the song “Don’t Look Now” from Heartbeat Radio. He even does a really great cover of “Human Hands”
that gives the fabulous Elvis Costello song a fun, jazzy feel.
All
in all, if you dig dreamy and romantic pop music, you should definitely check
out Sondre Lerche. (And he's not half-bad to look at either!)
In honor of John Lennon's 72nd birthday, I decided to write another Beatle-y entry, this time about Abbey Road. Even though it is the last Beatles album ever recorded, it's much more optimistic than the earlier recorded Let It Be. I bought Abbey Road during the summer before my senior year in high school and loved the entire album immediately. There's a lot of different kinds of songs featured, jumping around a bit in genres, but still unified and strong.
"Come Together" I'm sure is a song I'd heard before I got the album, but I didn't really know the song. It kicks off the album forcefully with the bass riff and drum beat and John's whispered "shoot me." It's got a great, bluesy feel and typical vague, seemingly nonsensical, Lennon lyrics. It's a pretty great rock song and I love the ending with the repeated "Come together, yeah" and George's super-clean guitar. "Something" is, in my opinion, one of George's best songs. There's a fabulous bass line, sweet lyrics, a clean slide guitar solo and intro, lovely sweeping orchestral backing, and a very cool drum part during the middle eight (and love that descending part taken by the bass and piano). And I know I already mentioned it, but I love the guitar solo – and slide guitar does something to me I don't know how to explain! "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" was the song I most remember singing loudly in the car with my friends, driving home from school (the chorus is a bit anthemic, after all). It's kind of a silly song – and not one that John particularly liked – in fact, I don't believe John made any contributions to the recording, aside from making Paul laugh during "writing fifty times". The song tells the tale of a guy who bashes in the heads of anyone who he feels threatened by. I like the piano arpeggios leading up to the last verse. "Oh! Darling" is kind of 1950s R&B throw back. Paul does a pretty amazing scream-y vocal performance. John does a great job on the piano and the lead guitar is fantastic as is the drumming. Pretty cool bass line, too. "Octopus's Garden" is a Ringo composition that's a fun, happy jaunt. There's a pretty awesome lead guitar part, some groovy drumming, and I dig the piano part. "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is a very bluesy Lennon song about Yoko, with just the same lyric repeated throughout the 7 and a half minutes and has a little bit of a jam session feel. Paul contributes some great bass lines and Billy Preston is featured on organ (and he does an amazing job!). My favorite part is the "She's so heavy" bit. I also kinda dig how it ends, a repeated guitar riff, cool drumming, and then an abrupt cut, ending both the song and side A in sudden silence.
The B-side of this album is so fantastic – and I adore it! I think part of what gets me so excited is that I saw a Beatle cover band do the entire B-side, with "fake George" playing all three solos during "The End". It was an awesome performance – but The Beatles do a tremendous performance here. "Here Comes The Sun" is the great George track that opens the B-side of the album. It's got lovely, optimistic lyrics, an exquisite melody, and some very interesting time signatures over the bridge (Dhani mentioned that the bridge is very reminiscent of Indian music). George had really come so far as a composer by this point. There's a pretty orchestral accompaniment – I love the deep, mellow sound of violas and cellos. George Martin played the harpsichord on "Because." The choir of Beatle voices is pretty cool and I love the harmonies – particularly Paul's line. The song was influenced by Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" – worked around the chords reversed. "You Never Give Me Your Money" was instantly one of my favorite songs on the album – and one of my favorite songs to play on the piano. I initially thought it was sung by 2 different people, since I didn't recognize Paul's "Lady Madonna" voice as his. I love how the song shifts through so many styles and moods. My favorite part is when Paul segues into the swingy part – and the bass line… and then proceeding into that fantastic guitar riff – George does an amazing job here! There is so much in this song, it's hard to believe it's only 4 minutes. It's still one of my favorite Beatles tracks. "Sun King" features lush, multi-tracked harmonies and a made-up language reminiscent of Spanish. It fades into a drum fill by Ringo and is suddenly "Mean Mr. Mustard". There's some great John-Paul harmonizing and a pretty great fuzz-bass line. "Polythene Pam" is a fun song with John singing with a prominent Scouse accent. There's a nice guitar solo by George before John's "Oh, look out!" and Paul's "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window." George does some more fabulous lead guitar work and as always, Paul's bass line is exceptional. "Golden Slumbers" is a song that Paul called "Trad-Arranged McCartney" since the lyrics were based on an old lullaby. Paul plays piano, George is featured on bass, and Ringo on drums. There's a very lovely orchestral backing too. "Carry That Weight" is fantastic with its reprise of "You Never Give Me You're Money" and more great orchestra work. "The End" is noteworthy for the featured instrument solos by all 4 members of the band – and Ringo's only drum solo on a Beatles album. Of course, me being the guitar solo whore I am, I'm captivated by the guitar solos. I was so proud of myself when, in 2002 after realizing that the solos weren't played by one person, I could pick out which solo was performed by which Beatle – Paul is first, George is second, and John is last with the distorted guitar. The solos end with piano chords and the infamous line, "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." "Her Majesty" is the hidden and final track on the album. It was originally placed between "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam", but didn't work there. That's the reason for the rather abrupt beginning and ending. Paul is the only Beatle featured on this 23 second track.
All in all, it's a fantastic album that anyone who loves music should own.
In 1963, my boys had already had some tremendously impressive songwriting skills, chops, and contagious melodies under their belts. A Hard Day's Night is notably different though. Please Please Me was literally a run-through of all the songs they played live at the Cavern, all recorded in one day. With the Beatles was much of the same. Both albums definitely demonstrated The Beatles songwriting ability, but there were a number of covers included. (On a side note, I think "Twist and Shout" and "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" are 2 of the best covers The Beatles ever did.) A Hard Day's Night is the very first Beatles album comprised of only Lennon& McCartney material.
The instrumental landscape is graced with driving acoustic guitars, John and Paul's unmistakable voices and harmonies, Paul's characteristic bass lines, Ringo's steady backbeat and of course, George's ringing 12-string guitar. George's playing was so influential -- especially on the classic title song --that seemingly an entire generation of young guitarists made the 12-string a part of their arsenal.
The album (and film) opens with that explosive and instantly recognizable chord. And from there, we are taken on an exhilarating ride. Both Paul and John take lead vocals on "A Hard Day's Night."It is a primarily John written song and the title came from Ringo. John gave the middle bit to Paul since he couldn't reach the notes comfortably. "A Hard Day's Night" is an infectious rocker and a lot of good fun. Great beat, catchy melody, easy to dance to, love the guitar solo, and adore the screams. "I Should Have Known Better" is another super-catchy pop song with a bright melody and John demonstrating his talents on the jaunty harmonica line, as was customary in the early Beatles albums. The guitar solo is a bit lacking, but there's plenty of ear candy to keep me amused – Including double tracked Lennon vocals (and just a side note: Love the way he sounds when singing "When I tell you that I love you, oh. You're gonna say you love me too, oh". Those "oh's" totally get to me!) and appealing lyrics. "If I Fell" is a beautiful ballad with an unusual song structure. John and Paul were definitely growing by leaps and bounds in their songwriting abilities. There's no obvious chorus, just versus with a lovely melody, sweet lyrics, and fantastic harmonies by John and Paul. Considering how distinctive and different their voices were, they had an amazing ability for their voices to blend and wrap around each other, forming heavenly harmonies. "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You" is, while not a well-respected Beatles song, I love it and have always considered it one of my favorites from the album. I'm aware that it's a "basic formula" song and that John wrote it as a throw away song and never cared for it, but it's so catchy and George's performance is absolutely adorable. I can't help but picture him in A Hard Day's Night, doing his little jig during the song. I love the Bo Diddley guitar part during the verses and I think my favorite part is when the background vocals come in during the chorus (The "Ohhh ohhh's").
"And I Love Her" is a classic Paul ballad – infused with a bossa nova rhythm. It has the typical, sweet lyrics that are customary of McCartney love songs. The middle eight is fantastic (though, there's some debate over whether John or Paul wrote that) and while the guitar solo does nothing more than repeat the melody, it is done on acoustic guitar – which I love! Also, I love the key change – some key changes come across as a bit unnecessary, but this one, I love. "Tell Me Why" was quite obviously influenced by the R&B styles of girl groups during this time. I love the harmonies used continually (but I'm a sucker for harmonies). It has a swingy, walking bass line, a pretty great middle-eight (though, it was quite some time before I understood what they were saying in the falsetto bit), and a fantastic vocal performance from John. "Can't Buy Me Love" is a brilliant anti-materialistic rocker. I tend to prefer the live version featured in Anthology, but there's no denying that this is a fantastic early Beatles rock song. Amazing bass line, very cool guitar solo (love the twangy sound of the guitar), and an incredible scream from my Paulie.
"Any Time At All" is another one of my favorites from this album and kicks off the B-side of the album. It's lyrics are upbeat, there's a very cool middle eight with Paul pounding the melody out on the piano, and I love John's shout-y chorus (with Paul singing the echoing "Any time at all" because, again, John couldn't reach the notes). John had said that this song was an attempt to re-write "It Won't Be Long", which I can see – But since I love that song too, it doesn't detract at all. "I'll Cry Instead" features confessional lyrics set to a wistful, country-western musical backdrop. It's a captivating, snappy melody and flies by. This song clocks in under two minutes, and to me, there just isn't time to dislike it. My favorite part is "Don't wanna cry when there's people there" bit. "Things We Said Today" is one of my songs. I love the duga-dum acoustic guitar intro and Paul singing harmony with himself. I think the song is interesting lyrically, with the future tense of the song and how "the present" is somehow the past. I'm quite partial to the middle-8 bit too and the change from a minor key to a major key. "When I Get Home" is another Lennon rocker. I'm finding that I really do like the scream-y voice John uses on these early rock songs. "You Can't Do That" is another song I'm quite partial to. Wilson Pickett inspired, it's got great jangly guitar, nice background vocals, and I like the stop-start of the "I told you before, you can't do that." And there's a pretty nice scream before John launches into a very Lennon-esque guitar solo. "I'll Be Back" is a nice piece of songwriting with rather poignant lyrics. My favorite bit is "I thought you would realize…" It's kind of an unexpected choice as an album closer, but I like how it ends on the promise that "I'll be back again."
I
believe I’ve mentioned this band before, but allow me to say few more things
about the “punk-cabaret” band, The Dresden Dolls. I was introduced to their
music several years ago. The first album I heard was Yes, Virginia and was the music immediately caught my attention.
What is so cool to me is that the music is, more or less, rock, but is played
on the piano. Also, for a band that
doesn't consist of anything more than a piano and drums, the tracks are huge,
your brain won't even realize that there are only 2 instruments being played
here. I’m in love with the piano parts Amanda Palmer
always has – really crazy chords, kind of a bastardization on Jazz and
Classical… and the consistently dark and twisted lyrics… I dunno, there’s
something about all of that that really appeals to me. And let’s not forget
about Brian’s drumming – inventive and powerful.
The
song I first became infatuated with was “Backstabber". It’s kind of a
4-minute litany of insults aimed at some unknown critic, but it has an amazingly
catchy piano riff and a captivating melody – with fantastic drumming by Brian. For
all of her venom and sometimes-frightening intensity, Amanda has a sharp wit
and I think it’s quite apparent in this song. The other song that quickly
became a favorite of mine is “Dirty Business”. I love the feel of this song, the
powerful chords, and some of the sarcasm that Amanda delivers in the lyrics –
and the way the song builds throughout the last chorus. It’s really an amazing
song.
Fairly
recently, I dusted off the DVD of a concert The Dresden Dolls did quite a few
years ago and was immediately impressed again with their commanding stage
presence and energy during a performance – and they obviously love performing.
I’m so glad I’ve had the opportunity to see them live, because it was an
amazing experience. One
thing you can say about The Dresden Dolls, their brand of theatrics, cabaret,
and dark confessionals is a refreshing change of pace. So
yeah, if you can get past their somewhat unusual appearance and not be freaked
out by them, check ‘em out. You may enjoy them!
Basics
What kind of iPod do you have? 16 GB Nano
How many songs are in your iPod?: 3586 on my iPod, but 5432 in my iTunes.
What song are you listening to right now?: Unforgettable – Nat King ColeFirst Song Added: Isolation –
American English (from my old iPod – 8/6/2006)
First Full Album Added: Please Please Me - The Beatles (from my old iPod –
8/6/2006)
Last Song Added: Oh Well, Okay (Live) – Elliott Smith (8/16/2012)
Last Full Album Added: Music Box –
The Monkees (3/27/2012)
Put the songs in alphabetical order.
What is the first song?: Aba Daba Honeymoon (from Two Weeks With Love)–Debbie Reynolds & Carlton Carpenter
What is the last song? 99 Luftballoons - NenaPut the songs in album order.
What is the first song?: S. O. S. – ABBA (from ABBA)
What is the last song?: 99 Luftballoons – Nena (99 Luftballoons)Put the songs in artist order.
What is the first song?: Take On Me- a-ha
What is the last song?: Hide Another Mistake – The 88Put the songs in time order.
What is the first song?: KXOK Jingle – Bruno J. Grunion (0:04)
What is the last song?: On A Clear Day You Can See Forever Medley – Arthur
Fiedler & Boston Pops (15:26)
Put it in genre order.
What is the first song?: I’m Yours/Somewhere Over The Rainbow – Straight No
Chaser (A Cappella)
What is the last song?: Romance to Holocaust – Ravi Shankar (World)
Top 10 most played songs, with number of plays
1.: Landed – Ben Folds (113)
2.: See You Later – Elliott Smith (109)
3.: Wouldn’t Mama Be Proud – Elliott Smith // Paper Bag – Fiona Apple (93)
4.: Plainclothes Man – Heatmiser (92) 5.: LA – Elliott Smith (91)
6.: See You Later – Heatmiser (89) 7.: Cry Baby Cry – The Beatles (84)
8.: Rainy Days and Monday – Carpenters // After You’ve Gone – Judy Garland (78)
9.: Dirty Business – The Dresden Dolls (71)
10.: Truth Doesn’t Make a Noise – The White Stripes // Oliver’s Army – Elvis
Costello (70) Top 10 least played songs, with number of
plays
1.: too many with 1 to list
Random Questions
How long have you had your iPod?:November 2008
Does if have a crapload of scratches on it?: No
What is your most favorite song of all time?: I don’t have a favorite song of
all time
What is your favorite foreign language song?: Le Festin (from Ratatouille) - Camille
What's the most embarassing song that you have?: I have a number of embarassing
songs on my ipod, but possibly "Cool Rider“ from Grease 2. That’s just not dignified, but have been too lazy to take
it off Search for the following terms:
"love" – 325 songs
"hate" – 6 Songs
"sex" – 7 Songs
"abstinence" - 0 songs
"light" - 38 songs
"dark" - 12 songs
"life" - 52 songs
"death" - 3 songs
"earth" - 5 songs
"fire" - 18 songs
"wind" - 23 songs
"water" - 12 songs
"heart" - 62 songs
Put your iTunes on shuffle and answer the
following questions –
Describe yourself : Crossroads – Eric Clapton
What do people feel when they’re around
you? Stardust – Hoagy Carmichael
Describe your current relationship : Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now – The Smiths
Where would you like to be right now? Down in the Tube Station at Midnight – The Jam
How do you feel about love? Supersonic - Oasis
What is your life like? Picture Book – The Kinks
What would you wish for if you only had one
wish? It's Too Late - Sondre Lerche
Say something wise :
Friday On My Mind – The Easybeats
How would you describe yourself? Your Wonderful Parade - Carpenters
What do you look for in a girl/boy? Where or When – Frank Sinatra
How do you feel today? Doing All Right – Queen
What’s your life’s purpose? Time Bomb – Rancid
What is your motto? Are You Lonesome Tonight? – Elvis Presley
What do your friends think of you? The Kill – The Dresden Dolls
What do your parents think of you? Bend Me, Shape Me – The American Breed
What do you think about very often? My
Favorite Things – Julie Andrews (from The Sound of Music)
What do you think of your best friend? Suffragette City – David Bowie
What do you think of the person you like? Snow – Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny
Kaye and Vera Ellen (from White Christmas)
What is your life story? The End – The Beatles
What do you want to be when you grow up? Love Child – Diana Ross and the Supremes
What do you think of when you see the
person you like? Too Cool Queenie – Stone Temple Pilots
What will you dance to at your wedding? Jet (Live) – Paul McCartney
What will play at your funeral? Miss Misery – Elliott Smith
Biggest fear? Leave My Kitten Alone (Take 5) – The Beatles
Biggest secret? Sentimental Fool – Roxy Music
Okay, so yeah... That was kind of a waste of time, but some of those answers in the last section kind of make me laugh.
What
can I say about Paul McCartney that hasn’t already been written somewhere?
Probably not too much, but I’m gonna try.
Paul
McCartney is my favorite Beatle. I think it was the White Album picture that officially hooked me. I remember after I
had gotten The White Album while I
was in high school, I was laying on my bedroom floor looking at the photos
included with that album. I remember looking at that picture of Paul (you know
the one) and thinking, “Okay yeah, he’s pretty good looking.” Of course, there’s
much more to Paul McCartney than a pretty face. He is an amazingly talented
musician, songwriter, entertainer… I mean, how many people have written such a
vast amount of songs that basically everyone knows? I can tell you, there aren’t
that many songwriters you can say that about. His voice is so extraordinary –
it’s distinctive, but so versatile at the same time. It’s pretty amazing that
he could sing “Here, There and Everywhere” in such a sweet voice and
alternatively launch into a song like “Lady Madonna” or “Helter Skelter”. There
was a time when I didn’t realize the same person sang those songs! And as a
musician – his bass lines were always melodic and distinct, he played some
pretty awesome guitar solos, he can rock on the piano, and can even hold his
own on the drums.
Anyhow,
I’ve recently had the good fortune to get tickets to see Paul McCartney in
concert – again! I’ve been lucky enough to have seen him twice before. In fact,
my first real concert was to see Paul McCartney. Let me tell you, that was an
amazing experience. I was able to see him towards the height of my Beatlemania –
with my best Beatle friend – and it was the most incredible concert I’ve ever
been to. Even the second time I saw him couldn’t compare. Also, up until that
concert, I really couldn’t understand the girls during the ‘60s screaming and
carrying on the way they did when they saw the Fab Four. And while I still don’t
completely understand the logic of screaming during the performance of a song
(how can you hear it if you’re screaming?), I do understand the involuntary
emotional response that happens being so near such a magnetic and charismatic
presence. I’ve never been a very scream-y person, but at the beginning and
ending of each song, the excitement just is too much to keep bottled up.
Since
I found out I’m going to see Paul again, I’ve dug up all of my Paul-related CDs
and have been listening to him and The Beatles almost exclusively. This is
something I haven’t done for about 7 or 8 years. It’s been interesting and
amazingly, despite the fact that I know all of this music so well, it still
triggers that emotional response in me. Giddiness, exhilaration, and a bit of wonder
at the awesomeness of the songs.
I
think my favorite Paul album post-Beatles is Ram. “Too Many People” has been one of the songs I’ve been constantly
going back to this week. I really love the song. The guitar, the drums, the way it builds… To
me, it’s a pretty great way to open an album. “Dear Boy” is another track on the album that
I tend to keep going back to. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m such a
sucker for harmonies, and this song is saturated with them. Absolutely catchy
melody, simple lyrics, and so many layers of McCartney, that one could almost get lost in it. My
favorite bit is the last 30 seconds of the song when there are all those parts
going on at the same time. Oh my god! It’s almost as good as a guitar solo for
me!I also must mention the fantastic
guitar riff in “Smile Away”. But really, the entire album is incredible. It’s
strange for me to think that this album was actually met with a fairly poor
critical reception – especially since it’s so well revered now.
Oh
well, before I close for now, I do want to say one last thing. While I am
definitely a Maccaholic, I don’t want you to think I play that stupid game of “who
was better? John or Paul?” I just refuse to play that game, just as I reject
any suggestion that the Beatles could have done what they did, been what they
were (or are) to millions of us, without George or Ringo. They all had a very
important part in the band and are all amazingly talented individuals. And like
Paul said in Living In The Material
World, “I always likend us [The Beatles] to four corners of a square.
People say, ‘Ah, well, John and Paul were the important ones.’ But I say, ‘No,
no, it’s a square.’ Without any of the four corners, you collapse.”
So,
be prepared for more entries about “My Boys”, but until then, I’ll leave you
with this:
