Moe Tucker -- "Heroin"
When Lou Reed sings this song, you hear a cynical, streetwise swagger who has already made good time plumbing the depths. When Moe Tucker sings this song, you hear something different: vulnerability, hesitation, then regret. She's not sure if she wants to be here, but here she is. There's a pathos at work here that Lou Reed could not convey, for that matter, did not seem interested in conveying, and yet the song has that capacity built into it.
The second track on Tucker's imminently endearing new anthology.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
4/29/2012
Husker Du -- "Eight Miles High"
Bob Mould trades in Roger McGuinn's electric 12-string Rickenbacher for a heavily distorted Gibson Flying V.
The result is a great cover of a song that does not lend itself easily to interpretation. The only way to do this song right is to turn it into something else, the downside of the psychedelic vision, a frenzied moaning. One of Bob Mould's finest moments.
Bob Mould trades in Roger McGuinn's electric 12-string Rickenbacher for a heavily distorted Gibson Flying V.
The result is a great cover of a song that does not lend itself easily to interpretation. The only way to do this song right is to turn it into something else, the downside of the psychedelic vision, a frenzied moaning. One of Bob Mould's finest moments.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
4/28/2012
Moe Tucker -- "Bo Diddley"
Just got the Moe Tucker anthology today and listened to this, the first track, several times in a row. It's lo-fi, scratchy, primitive, derivative, and quite wonderful.
Just got the Moe Tucker anthology today and listened to this, the first track, several times in a row. It's lo-fi, scratchy, primitive, derivative, and quite wonderful.
Friday, April 27, 2012
4/27/2012
Nick Lowe -- "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass"
This track captures that moment when British pub rock turned into new wave. The bassline is pumping out disco, for the most part, but at this point disco had yet to be defined as the enemy to rock music, and there was a lot of musical freedom to be enjoyed. The piano solo seems to me like the work of a virtuoso who is slumming it, trying to see what he can do with one finger, and I've always loved that quality. Of course, I know very little about the piano, and I might be completely wrong.
But let's not forget Lowe's part. It's his song, after all. Here is Nick Lowe, about as young as he can be, and he still seems pretty old, a cynical bastard if ever there was one. Where would he be without the sound of breaking glass? Without a career, that's where he'd be.
This track captures that moment when British pub rock turned into new wave. The bassline is pumping out disco, for the most part, but at this point disco had yet to be defined as the enemy to rock music, and there was a lot of musical freedom to be enjoyed. The piano solo seems to me like the work of a virtuoso who is slumming it, trying to see what he can do with one finger, and I've always loved that quality. Of course, I know very little about the piano, and I might be completely wrong.
But let's not forget Lowe's part. It's his song, after all. Here is Nick Lowe, about as young as he can be, and he still seems pretty old, a cynical bastard if ever there was one. Where would he be without the sound of breaking glass? Without a career, that's where he'd be.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
4/26/2012
The Clash -- "The Street Parade"
Joe Strummer's instinct was to get out there and see what was going on out in the streets. That's what led the band members into London's famous Notting Hill riot back in the band's earliest days, and that ethos continued to inform their music until the end, even if the sound did undergo a broad transformation.
Mick Jones had also learned how to use the echo pedal (or is it a delay?), and he employs it to great effect here.
Joe Strummer's instinct was to get out there and see what was going on out in the streets. That's what led the band members into London's famous Notting Hill riot back in the band's earliest days, and that ethos continued to inform their music until the end, even if the sound did undergo a broad transformation.
Mick Jones had also learned how to use the echo pedal (or is it a delay?), and he employs it to great effect here.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
4/25/2012
Gary Numan -- "Cars"
Perhaps it's because I was listening to Kraftwerk the other day. Whatever the reason, I've got "Cars" stuck in my head.
Waxing nostalgic for the clunky robots of days gone by.
Perhaps it's because I was listening to Kraftwerk the other day. Whatever the reason, I've got "Cars" stuck in my head.
Waxing nostalgic for the clunky robots of days gone by.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
4/24/2012
Devo -- "Whip It"
Back in the mid-90s, I found a copy of Freedom of Choice in a record bin at a thrift store, and I knew immediately that I had to take it home.
I'd never before listened to anything from the album besides "Whip It," which was a staple of my youth -- not because I heard it on the FM rock radio I grew up listening to but because I remember the music video, which, like many other videos of that day, just seemed weird to my corn-fed midwestern sensibility. The album boasts several good tracks and an inventive musical ethos, but "Whip It" is still the one track that stands out the most.
Devo was weird, and I am somewhat amazed when I think back to the era in which this was a popular song. At the time, we must have had a culture (I was oblivious to it, too young) that embraced odd, creative beats like the ones Devo put on display here. It was a good moment in pop culture history.
Back in the mid-90s, I found a copy of Freedom of Choice in a record bin at a thrift store, and I knew immediately that I had to take it home.
I'd never before listened to anything from the album besides "Whip It," which was a staple of my youth -- not because I heard it on the FM rock radio I grew up listening to but because I remember the music video, which, like many other videos of that day, just seemed weird to my corn-fed midwestern sensibility. The album boasts several good tracks and an inventive musical ethos, but "Whip It" is still the one track that stands out the most.
Devo was weird, and I am somewhat amazed when I think back to the era in which this was a popular song. At the time, we must have had a culture (I was oblivious to it, too young) that embraced odd, creative beats like the ones Devo put on display here. It was a good moment in pop culture history.
Monday, April 23, 2012
4/23/2012
Kraftwerk -- "Pocket Calculator"
I haven't delved very deeply into the Kraftwerk catalog, and I probably never will. Electronic music has never had much appeal to me. But I am always willing to give a song it's fair chance, and I have to say that this track is pretty likeable at a casual listen, though the novelty wears off pretty quickly.
"Pocket Caclulator" is one of Kraftwerk's most accessible songs, the closest thing, besides "Autobahn," that they had to a hit. I listen to this and try to imagine what the response was like in 1981. Today, it seems quaint, even analog, compared to the autotuned, utterly digitized soundscape of today's music. When it comes to electronic pop music, though, I think I prefer Kraftwerk's version to the more contemporary variety.
I haven't delved very deeply into the Kraftwerk catalog, and I probably never will. Electronic music has never had much appeal to me. But I am always willing to give a song it's fair chance, and I have to say that this track is pretty likeable at a casual listen, though the novelty wears off pretty quickly.
"Pocket Caclulator" is one of Kraftwerk's most accessible songs, the closest thing, besides "Autobahn," that they had to a hit. I listen to this and try to imagine what the response was like in 1981. Today, it seems quaint, even analog, compared to the autotuned, utterly digitized soundscape of today's music. When it comes to electronic pop music, though, I think I prefer Kraftwerk's version to the more contemporary variety.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
4/22/2012
Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum, and Durr -- "You're All I Need to Make It"
Part of the Numero Group's Eccentric Soul series, this song is classic material from the Capsoul label out of Columbus, Ohio. Nobody outside of the Columbus region is likely to have heard this before, and without Numero's efforts this song and many like it would have vanished into the utmost obscurity -- would have ceased to exist, in essence.
A stirring falsetto lead, great harmonies, classic soul styling. When I think about the minor miracle that has taken place here -- that I, a full-fledged citizen of the 21th century -- get to enjoy this song despite the historical improbability of such a thing, I am utterly awed and amazed.
Part of the Numero Group's Eccentric Soul series, this song is classic material from the Capsoul label out of Columbus, Ohio. Nobody outside of the Columbus region is likely to have heard this before, and without Numero's efforts this song and many like it would have vanished into the utmost obscurity -- would have ceased to exist, in essence.
A stirring falsetto lead, great harmonies, classic soul styling. When I think about the minor miracle that has taken place here -- that I, a full-fledged citizen of the 21th century -- get to enjoy this song despite the historical improbability of such a thing, I am utterly awed and amazed.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
4/21/2012
Fela Kuti -- "Suffering and Smiling, Part 2"
I'm still listening mostly to Best of the Black President -- it might take a year or two to digest what's on here before I can move past it to the albums, to the full-length tracks. Since I can't understand most of Fela Kuti's pidgin English, I have to rely on the title mostly to get a sense of what this song is about. It seems like a good summary of Fela Kuti's music. Granted, the music doesn't really make you smile -- it's got too much attitude, too much fiercenes -- but the experience of music in general is a kind of pleasure, so a kind of figurative smile is not too far off.
The lives of so many modern Africans, however, are filled with suffering. To be able to produce music in the kind of shattered post-colonial landscape that Fela Kuti inhabited is a kind of miracle, or maybe just a testament to the triumph of the human spirit. Regardless, this music is sophisticated and complex but also primal and instinctive. It's everything music could possible be.
I'm still listening mostly to Best of the Black President -- it might take a year or two to digest what's on here before I can move past it to the albums, to the full-length tracks. Since I can't understand most of Fela Kuti's pidgin English, I have to rely on the title mostly to get a sense of what this song is about. It seems like a good summary of Fela Kuti's music. Granted, the music doesn't really make you smile -- it's got too much attitude, too much fiercenes -- but the experience of music in general is a kind of pleasure, so a kind of figurative smile is not too far off.
The lives of so many modern Africans, however, are filled with suffering. To be able to produce music in the kind of shattered post-colonial landscape that Fela Kuti inhabited is a kind of miracle, or maybe just a testament to the triumph of the human spirit. Regardless, this music is sophisticated and complex but also primal and instinctive. It's everything music could possible be.
Friday, April 20, 2012
4/20/2012
Husker Du -- "Makes No Sense at All"
From the first second of the song -- a drum fill that's over almost before you can register it -- this song charges forward in fine form, and it doesn't let up until the last second. Even the stops are full of energy. It's not the tempo -- Husker Du had much faster songs -- it's the sense of movement. Husker Du seems to have developed here the approach that would inform their music during the latter stages of their career: pop-song appeal riveted onto the punk rock framework. It was an approach that the Pixies and Nirvana would follow to great success, but Husker Du was there first.
Thanks to MTV's 120 Minutes for introducing me to this song -- and to Husker Du -- many years ago, when I was but a lad.
From the first second of the song -- a drum fill that's over almost before you can register it -- this song charges forward in fine form, and it doesn't let up until the last second. Even the stops are full of energy. It's not the tempo -- Husker Du had much faster songs -- it's the sense of movement. Husker Du seems to have developed here the approach that would inform their music during the latter stages of their career: pop-song appeal riveted onto the punk rock framework. It was an approach that the Pixies and Nirvana would follow to great success, but Husker Du was there first.
Thanks to MTV's 120 Minutes for introducing me to this song -- and to Husker Du -- many years ago, when I was but a lad.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
4/19/2012
The Byrds -- "Eight Miles High"
3:38 of the most adventurous sonic experimentation ever recorded. Roger McGuinn trying to do John Coltrane on the electric guitar.
The Byrds kept constantly changing -- the style of their music, the band lineup -- but the constant theme of the band was musical adventurousness, sometimes looking backward to repurpose old traditions, sometimes lookng forwards to invent new ones, but often both at the same time. Whether it was drug-fueled or not is beside the point. What matters is that they were willing to take music to places where it had never been.
3:38 of the most adventurous sonic experimentation ever recorded. Roger McGuinn trying to do John Coltrane on the electric guitar.
The Byrds kept constantly changing -- the style of their music, the band lineup -- but the constant theme of the band was musical adventurousness, sometimes looking backward to repurpose old traditions, sometimes lookng forwards to invent new ones, but often both at the same time. Whether it was drug-fueled or not is beside the point. What matters is that they were willing to take music to places where it had never been.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
4/18/2012
Gillian Welch -- "Elvis Presley Blues"
Time (The Revelator) is a sometimes baffling album, but for all that it's nearly perfect, Gillian Welch's best, I think. The songs are so different, yet they all fit together. There's a deliberate hollowness to almost every track, the sound of space not being filled with sound. The album is, in a strange sort of way, a rock and roll album, even though it is on the surface an old-time revival, folk, or maybe even bluegrass album (without all of the instrumental clatter of bluegrass). If rocking describes a kind of movement, that movement is here in these songs, this one most of all, a bewondered tribute to the king of such movement.
Lyrically, this song is, like the later stanzas of Gram Parsons' "Return of the Grievous Angel," a perfect evocation of Elvis. Most homages to the man take the form of covers of his recordings, but this song takes a more contemplative approach, a slower speed, but it relies on the same kind of seventh note that helped propel Elvis along. The patented harmony sound of "Gillian Welch" is on display here, as well, a pair of voices that sometimes merge so well that they become indistinct.
What brought this song to my mind is a performance I heard on Garrison Keillor -- someone or another covering this song, imbuing it with such a sickly sweetness that I had to turn the radio off. Some songs can be covered, apparently, and some songs cannot. Let's leave this one uncovered and let the original speak for itself.
Time (The Revelator) is a sometimes baffling album, but for all that it's nearly perfect, Gillian Welch's best, I think. The songs are so different, yet they all fit together. There's a deliberate hollowness to almost every track, the sound of space not being filled with sound. The album is, in a strange sort of way, a rock and roll album, even though it is on the surface an old-time revival, folk, or maybe even bluegrass album (without all of the instrumental clatter of bluegrass). If rocking describes a kind of movement, that movement is here in these songs, this one most of all, a bewondered tribute to the king of such movement.
Lyrically, this song is, like the later stanzas of Gram Parsons' "Return of the Grievous Angel," a perfect evocation of Elvis. Most homages to the man take the form of covers of his recordings, but this song takes a more contemplative approach, a slower speed, but it relies on the same kind of seventh note that helped propel Elvis along. The patented harmony sound of "Gillian Welch" is on display here, as well, a pair of voices that sometimes merge so well that they become indistinct.
What brought this song to my mind is a performance I heard on Garrison Keillor -- someone or another covering this song, imbuing it with such a sickly sweetness that I had to turn the radio off. Some songs can be covered, apparently, and some songs cannot. Let's leave this one uncovered and let the original speak for itself.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
4/17/2012
The Smiths -- "This Night Has Opened My Eyes"
One of my favorite Smiths songs. Where Johnny Marr got these chords, I don't know; he clearly knows a lot more than he is willing to admit. He has always described himself as a rhythm guitarist, but it's a kind of rhythm that's more complicated than most guitar players' leads. One of the great things about this song, a quality shared by several other Smiths songs, is the sinuous quality of it, how the details keep changing slightly throughout the song, the phrasing varied just a bit from one verse to the next: a few notes slip away here, a few more tossed in there, some variable muting with the palm of the right hand. There's nothing sterile or canned about it. The music provides a fittingly moody backdrop for Morrissey's cloudy vocals.
One of my favorite Smiths songs. Where Johnny Marr got these chords, I don't know; he clearly knows a lot more than he is willing to admit. He has always described himself as a rhythm guitarist, but it's a kind of rhythm that's more complicated than most guitar players' leads. One of the great things about this song, a quality shared by several other Smiths songs, is the sinuous quality of it, how the details keep changing slightly throughout the song, the phrasing varied just a bit from one verse to the next: a few notes slip away here, a few more tossed in there, some variable muting with the palm of the right hand. There's nothing sterile or canned about it. The music provides a fittingly moody backdrop for Morrissey's cloudy vocals.
Monday, April 16, 2012
4/16/2012
Neko Case -- "That Teenage Feeling"
There's clearly something about a romance gone awry here, but nevertheless the title of this song always makes me think about rock and roll in general, what it's trying to accomplish, its purpose -- which is, I think, to capture a certain feeling, a certain energy, that you had when you were young: that teenage feeling. The music you listen to and the object of your affection become indistinguishable. The songs are a soundtrack to the story of your life.
Maybe it's a mythical thing, this feeling, but when you hear Dexter Romweber play guitar in that kind of stuttering way, it makes sense. Neko herself is a genius for understanding exactly what it takes to get the right sound out of a song like this. Her impeccable vocals don't hurt, either.
There's clearly something about a romance gone awry here, but nevertheless the title of this song always makes me think about rock and roll in general, what it's trying to accomplish, its purpose -- which is, I think, to capture a certain feeling, a certain energy, that you had when you were young: that teenage feeling. The music you listen to and the object of your affection become indistinguishable. The songs are a soundtrack to the story of your life.
Maybe it's a mythical thing, this feeling, but when you hear Dexter Romweber play guitar in that kind of stuttering way, it makes sense. Neko herself is a genius for understanding exactly what it takes to get the right sound out of a song like this. Her impeccable vocals don't hurt, either.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
4/15/2012
The Beatles -- "Taxman"
Tea Partiers don't have much to complain about compared to what these guys had to pay in taxes back in the day. At least the lads from Liverpool had the courtesy not to let their rant get ugly.
Great bass line. I've always liked the guitar solo. Not my favorite track from Revolver (my favorite Beatles album), but a good one for April 15.
Tea Partiers don't have much to complain about compared to what these guys had to pay in taxes back in the day. At least the lads from Liverpool had the courtesy not to let their rant get ugly.
Great bass line. I've always liked the guitar solo. Not my favorite track from Revolver (my favorite Beatles album), but a good one for April 15.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
4/14/2012
The Dirtbombs -- "Chains of Love"
Classic Motor City soul with a fuzzy punk undercurrent. Mick Collins, with his doubled-up rhythm section, updates the J. J. Barnes classic and fully does justice to it. It would be a cop-out to say that music like this defies analysis, but it's certainly advisable to let this track just speak for itself.
Classic Motor City soul with a fuzzy punk undercurrent. Mick Collins, with his doubled-up rhythm section, updates the J. J. Barnes classic and fully does justice to it. It would be a cop-out to say that music like this defies analysis, but it's certainly advisable to let this track just speak for itself.
Friday, April 13, 2012
4/13/2012
Bad Brains -- "I Against I"
I'm not generally a fan of hardcore, but then again Bad Brains was a lot more than hardcore. This song exists at an intersection of so many genres that it defies easy categorization. The historical moment in question here -- 1986 -- was one at which several creative strains of popular music were about to ossify into oppressively heavy and increasingly sterile genres -- hair metal, arena rock -- and many strains of "alternative" music were on the verge of taking themselves entirely too seriously. Bad Brains, with an already storied career by this point, was still making vital music here at the edge of oblivion. It's a challenge to catalog all of the things that Bad Brains vocalist H.R. is against, but the song is a battering rant staring down the void that pop music is always on the verge of slipping into.
I'm not generally a fan of hardcore, but then again Bad Brains was a lot more than hardcore. This song exists at an intersection of so many genres that it defies easy categorization. The historical moment in question here -- 1986 -- was one at which several creative strains of popular music were about to ossify into oppressively heavy and increasingly sterile genres -- hair metal, arena rock -- and many strains of "alternative" music were on the verge of taking themselves entirely too seriously. Bad Brains, with an already storied career by this point, was still making vital music here at the edge of oblivion. It's a challenge to catalog all of the things that Bad Brains vocalist H.R. is against, but the song is a battering rant staring down the void that pop music is always on the verge of slipping into.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
4/12/2012
The Rolling Stones -- "Jigsaw Puzzle"
This seems to be the Stones's attempt at impersonating a Bob Dylan song. There's a Dylanesque cavalcade of characters: a tramp, a bishop's daughter, a gangster, twenty thousand grandmas, and a queen, not to mention the various musicians (whom we might be able to identiy by name). There's a detached narrative voice, that of the witness to the spectacle of modernity -- one who is just trying to go about his business.
As a general rule, Dylan impersonations ought not to work, especially one by a band like the Stones, who were hardly following in Dylan's footsteps. And yet it does work.
One more reason why Beggar's Banquet is, at present, my favorite Rolling Stones album.
This seems to be the Stones's attempt at impersonating a Bob Dylan song. There's a Dylanesque cavalcade of characters: a tramp, a bishop's daughter, a gangster, twenty thousand grandmas, and a queen, not to mention the various musicians (whom we might be able to identiy by name). There's a detached narrative voice, that of the witness to the spectacle of modernity -- one who is just trying to go about his business.
As a general rule, Dylan impersonations ought not to work, especially one by a band like the Stones, who were hardly following in Dylan's footsteps. And yet it does work.
One more reason why Beggar's Banquet is, at present, my favorite Rolling Stones album.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
4/11/2012
King Tubby -- "Zion Gate (Version)" a.k.a. "Zion Gate Dub"
The song catalogs of many reggae artists are frustratingly confusing. Not even allmusic could help me to figure this one out, but I'm pretty sure that it's from the 1970s. It's only available on compilations.
Regardless, the sound on this track is amazing. It really does sound like it could have been made yesterday (except for the fact that King Tubby was shot dead in a drive-by outside his house in 1989). Bass and drum carry the song, but echo and reverb give it it's distinctive note of genius. Great snares along with some nice echoey fills.
I dare anyone to listen to this track and not like it. Just go ahead and try.
The song catalogs of many reggae artists are frustratingly confusing. Not even allmusic could help me to figure this one out, but I'm pretty sure that it's from the 1970s. It's only available on compilations.
Regardless, the sound on this track is amazing. It really does sound like it could have been made yesterday (except for the fact that King Tubby was shot dead in a drive-by outside his house in 1989). Bass and drum carry the song, but echo and reverb give it it's distinctive note of genius. Great snares along with some nice echoey fills.
I dare anyone to listen to this track and not like it. Just go ahead and try.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
4/10/2012
Gram Parsons -- "In My Hour of Darkness"
One of Gram's finest songs, and one of the most eerie tracks ever recorded. I don't know for sure that it was the last track that Gram ever recorded, but the placement as the last track on his final (posthumously released) album is fitting. Who knows what would have become of Parsons had he not overdosed. Maybe he'd be playing Vegas himself by this point. By going early, he lived out the dominant country music ethic of the time: living fast, loving hard, dying young, and leaving a beautiful memory. He also bucked the Nashville trends not by forsaking the sound but by bypassing the usual routes to getting his music made and doing it his own way.
To claim that his buddy Keith Richards, he of the cavernous face and legendary metabolism, killed Gram by pernicious influence is to overstate the case. Gram did have a sweet and good-natured soul, even if it was a little wounded, and all of this comes across in this song. Whether he had that vision in his own hour of darkness, we'll never know, but he certainly had a vision during his short but unforgettable career.
One of Gram's finest songs, and one of the most eerie tracks ever recorded. I don't know for sure that it was the last track that Gram ever recorded, but the placement as the last track on his final (posthumously released) album is fitting. Who knows what would have become of Parsons had he not overdosed. Maybe he'd be playing Vegas himself by this point. By going early, he lived out the dominant country music ethic of the time: living fast, loving hard, dying young, and leaving a beautiful memory. He also bucked the Nashville trends not by forsaking the sound but by bypassing the usual routes to getting his music made and doing it his own way.
To claim that his buddy Keith Richards, he of the cavernous face and legendary metabolism, killed Gram by pernicious influence is to overstate the case. Gram did have a sweet and good-natured soul, even if it was a little wounded, and all of this comes across in this song. Whether he had that vision in his own hour of darkness, we'll never know, but he certainly had a vision during his short but unforgettable career.
Monday, April 9, 2012
4/9/2012
J. E. Mainer and Band -- "Columbus Stockade Blues"
Hillbilly music sometimes drives me crazy -- especially the fake corn-syrup sweetness that typifies much bluegrass. But when it's good, it's really good. This track is like that -- just good. The duet vocals are the strongest point of the track, but the song has a great hook and good banjo playing to boot. And the lyrics fall into the tradition of bad man ballads, which helps out a lot when it comes to steering clear of the corn syrup.
Another one from the Alan Lomax collection.
Hillbilly music sometimes drives me crazy -- especially the fake corn-syrup sweetness that typifies much bluegrass. But when it's good, it's really good. This track is like that -- just good. The duet vocals are the strongest point of the track, but the song has a great hook and good banjo playing to boot. And the lyrics fall into the tradition of bad man ballads, which helps out a lot when it comes to steering clear of the corn syrup.
Another one from the Alan Lomax collection.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
4/8/2012
Hobart Smith -- "Railroad Bill"
One of the great gems of American folk music, this track comes from the Alan Lomax collection.
I can't tell if Smith is using finger picks, a flat pick, or just his fingers (I've tried playing the song all three ways myself). Any which way, though, the rolls are fantastic -- this is one of the best acoustic guitar tracks I can think of. Smith accompanies himself with some foot-stomping to keep the beat.
One of the great gems of American folk music, this track comes from the Alan Lomax collection.
I can't tell if Smith is using finger picks, a flat pick, or just his fingers (I've tried playing the song all three ways myself). Any which way, though, the rolls are fantastic -- this is one of the best acoustic guitar tracks I can think of. Smith accompanies himself with some foot-stomping to keep the beat.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
4/7/2012
Hank Williams -- "Lost Highway"
Though Hank Williams didn't write this song, it seems like he did. That's a compliment paid to the author of the song, Leon Payne, but it's also a point in Williams' favor: he found a song that seemed to have been made for him, and he made it his own. If the rhythm seems to bounce a little bit too much, belying the dark themes of the song, maybe that's just Hank -- he took dark things and tried to give them some bounce. It was only at the end, with the demos he recorded shortly before his death, that the springy rhythms went away for good.
The main guitar solo is a six-string electric, not a steel guitar, which is not by any means unique to Williams' catalog, but it is right for the feel of the song and gives it a more bluesy feel. This is also one of the few Hank Williams singles to feature mandolin, played in the background during the third verse. The highlight, though, of couse, is Hank's voice, which is always the case with him.
Though Hank Williams didn't write this song, it seems like he did. That's a compliment paid to the author of the song, Leon Payne, but it's also a point in Williams' favor: he found a song that seemed to have been made for him, and he made it his own. If the rhythm seems to bounce a little bit too much, belying the dark themes of the song, maybe that's just Hank -- he took dark things and tried to give them some bounce. It was only at the end, with the demos he recorded shortly before his death, that the springy rhythms went away for good.
The main guitar solo is a six-string electric, not a steel guitar, which is not by any means unique to Williams' catalog, but it is right for the feel of the song and gives it a more bluesy feel. This is also one of the few Hank Williams singles to feature mandolin, played in the background during the third verse. The highlight, though, of couse, is Hank's voice, which is always the case with him.
Friday, April 6, 2012
4/6/2012
Sarah Ogan Gunning -- "Come All Ye Coal Miners"
One suspects that Alan Lomax knew what he was doing when he recorded Sarah Ogan Gunning singing her song, which is punctuated throughout by the chronic cough of a miner in the audience. This is an angry song, a shocking song to a contemporary audience accustomed to thinking of old-time music as tame, traditional, and conservative. Though the politics of the song are a little crude ("Let's sink this capitalist system to the darkest pits of hell"), they are impassioned, and they are fully justified by the sorrowful details of Gunning's life. Here's one woman who didn't just sit idly by while the ones she loved died from the craven exploitation of their one and only resource, which was their willingness to work. I wish that I could play this song for all of the conservative politicians and pundits who casually toss the term "socialist" around. Then they'd know what a real socialist is like, and -- even if they'd never admit it out loud -- in their hearts they'd know her for what she was -- an American hero.
One suspects that Alan Lomax knew what he was doing when he recorded Sarah Ogan Gunning singing her song, which is punctuated throughout by the chronic cough of a miner in the audience. This is an angry song, a shocking song to a contemporary audience accustomed to thinking of old-time music as tame, traditional, and conservative. Though the politics of the song are a little crude ("Let's sink this capitalist system to the darkest pits of hell"), they are impassioned, and they are fully justified by the sorrowful details of Gunning's life. Here's one woman who didn't just sit idly by while the ones she loved died from the craven exploitation of their one and only resource, which was their willingness to work. I wish that I could play this song for all of the conservative politicians and pundits who casually toss the term "socialist" around. Then they'd know what a real socialist is like, and -- even if they'd never admit it out loud -- in their hearts they'd know her for what she was -- an American hero.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
4/5/2012
Robert Wilkins -- "Prodigal Son"
The live Newport version from 1963 -- clocking in at an astounding 9:40 -- is simply spectacular. The lyrics present a down-home contemporary retelling of a classic story of paternal love and forgiveness, a story that is moving regardless of your religious persuasion (or lack thereof). Even the Rolling Stones can't deny that, though one does rather suspect they were into this song more for the great blues riffs, the appeal of which is partly the way that they resemble rolls on the banjo rather than traditional Delta blues or even Bentonia blues.
The live Newport version from 1963 -- clocking in at an astounding 9:40 -- is simply spectacular. The lyrics present a down-home contemporary retelling of a classic story of paternal love and forgiveness, a story that is moving regardless of your religious persuasion (or lack thereof). Even the Rolling Stones can't deny that, though one does rather suspect they were into this song more for the great blues riffs, the appeal of which is partly the way that they resemble rolls on the banjo rather than traditional Delta blues or even Bentonia blues.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
4/4/2012
The Velvet Underground - "Stephanie Says"
Hard to believe that this song lingered in the vaults for nearly two decades, unplayed and unheard.
Hard to believe that this song lingered in the vaults for nearly two decades, unplayed and unheard.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
4/3/2012
Johnny Cash -- "The Wreck of the Old 97"
Luther Perkins worked out a nice little lead for this one. The live version from San Quentin is an essential part of a memorable performance, but the 1950s studio version has a little more twang to it.
I always numbered this song among my favorite Cash songs, but for my train-obsessed three-year-old, it's simply the best song ever. We sit on the bench by the front door of our house, and he sings along with me while I play guitar.
Luther Perkins worked out a nice little lead for this one. The live version from San Quentin is an essential part of a memorable performance, but the 1950s studio version has a little more twang to it.
I always numbered this song among my favorite Cash songs, but for my train-obsessed three-year-old, it's simply the best song ever. We sit on the bench by the front door of our house, and he sings along with me while I play guitar.
Monday, April 2, 2012
4/2/2012
Dandy Livingstone -- "Rudy, a Message to You"
Most people who know the song probably know it from The Specials' version of it, but the original is unimpeachable. An undeniable classic.
Most people who know the song probably know it from The Specials' version of it, but the original is unimpeachable. An undeniable classic.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
4/1/2012
Traffic -- "The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys"
I won't bother trying to describe the improbable chain of circumstances that led me back to this song after having gone a couple of decades without it. Let's just say it was fate.
What we have here is more than eleven minutes' worth of material that doesn't wear out its welcome. The song rounds up along the border of jazz but doesn't give in to the pretensions that could have easily wrecked it. There's a jazzy sensibility to the drums that makes the song work. The piano, organ, and guitar (all, I think, played by Steve Winwood) divide up the lead duties very effectively. The lyrics have just a dash of wit, enough to keep the song from grasping too ineffectively at profundity, and, after all, there is a considerable truism here: that the mechanism that keeps the rock and roll machinery in order is, in the end, nothing more than the desire to turn a profit on some poor kid's dreams. For whatever reason, I can hear in my mind a cover of this song -- all Neil Young-style guitars, loud and crackly. Think about it. It just might work.
I won't bother trying to describe the improbable chain of circumstances that led me back to this song after having gone a couple of decades without it. Let's just say it was fate.
What we have here is more than eleven minutes' worth of material that doesn't wear out its welcome. The song rounds up along the border of jazz but doesn't give in to the pretensions that could have easily wrecked it. There's a jazzy sensibility to the drums that makes the song work. The piano, organ, and guitar (all, I think, played by Steve Winwood) divide up the lead duties very effectively. The lyrics have just a dash of wit, enough to keep the song from grasping too ineffectively at profundity, and, after all, there is a considerable truism here: that the mechanism that keeps the rock and roll machinery in order is, in the end, nothing more than the desire to turn a profit on some poor kid's dreams. For whatever reason, I can hear in my mind a cover of this song -- all Neil Young-style guitars, loud and crackly. Think about it. It just might work.
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