Archive | March, 2011

Musical Lexicon – “One Week”

31 Mar

So, the Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Coleman, has vetoed my two-at-a-time idea, so I’ll leave you guys with just this one for now. Here’s the rules again…

1) You can’t use the same song more than once, for any topic.

2) Within topics, you can’t use the same artist more than once.

3) The selected word has to be in the lyrics, but not necessarily in the title. If it’s in the title but not the lyrics, it doesn’t count.

4) You can look through your own music collection for help, but NO GOOGLE.

5) Variations or specific examples are acceptable (unless otherwise stated), but not preferred. (e.g. “Pistol” or “Guns” work if the word on the list is “Gun”)

…and here’s the topic. DAYS OF THE WEEK. You know how they go…

Topic – Days of the Week

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

 

FYI: I refuse to acknowledge Rebecca Black as a legitimate artist. Find someone else for Friday.

Opening Day – Put Me in Coach

31 Mar

Something about Opening Day brings out the kid in everyone. The sweet scent of freshly cut grass, the feel of the creaky metal seats, the sound of the crack of the bat and the whip of a pitcher; the senses evoke feelings of times spent at the ballpark. Opening Day means unparalleled optimism. Everyone is at .500. It is beautiful. For one day, every fan and team is on equal footing. For one day, we can all sit back and just watch some of America’s pastime with no reservations. Baseball means Spring, even when the grip of winter is still powerful. While it may be cold, Summer’s sport always seems to warm the stadium up with cheering fans – unless we are at Citi field which is basically a wind tunnel.

As many know, I am a die-hard Mets fan and while I understand my team’s position, I am optimistic on this day. If you are not hopeful on Opening Day then you should not be a baseball fan. So, lets go Mets and PLAY BALL!

Here is “Centerfield” with an opening clip from my favorite movie “Field of Dreams.”

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Best Guitar Riffs and Exercise Song- Motorhead “Ace of Spades”

30 Mar

Sometimes you just need a song that kicks you in the ass. A song that makes you want to run around or lift heavy objects. A work-out song. So what fulfills the qualifications of an exercise song? The song must be upbeat and loud. Those are two musts. The song needs to move constantly. If there is a stop, it must be very short and it must lead directly into what has made you want to put the treadmill at 8.0.

Now, imagine a world where your favorite exercise song also finds its way onto the list of best guitar riffs of all time. Motorhead, the English heavy metal band, accomplished both tasks. They not only lead my extensive list of workout music, but also they perfect metal guitar with “Ace of Spades.” Eddie Clarke‘s hard guitar sound is masterful. It is quick and efficient. The repetitive riff is proof of why the band gave Eddie the nickname of “Fast.”

I must say that Lemmy’s voice is the raspiest kind of 20 packs a day good. He strains himself to crush songs. He sings in a controlled grunt. Clearly, though, the infectious riff carries the song and provides its strength, and for that it holds a spot on our best guitar riffs list.

There is actually an acoustic version of this song. I know, really? Well, Lemmy’s voice is defined more through this version.

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Musical Lexicon – “Tutti Frutti” – My Answers

30 Mar

So yea, spring break. I went home, my computer didn’t. Sorry for the long delay, so I’ll post up TWO AT A TIME next time to make up for it.

Topic – Fruit

Lemon

France – Kimya Dawson

“I finally got mine – the lemon-meringue kind”

Cherry

15 – Rilo Kiley

“She was bruised like a cherry, ripe as a peach”

Orange

Orange Crush – R.E.M.

“Got my Orange Crush”

Apple

Big Bang – Cursive

“Some talking snake giving apples away, what would that snake say if he could only see us today? HAHAHA!”

Banana

Bananaphone – Raffi

“Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring… Banana Phone!”

Melon

Tutti Frutti Summer Love – Günther

“Do the naked dance. Bananas, melons, yeah”

Grape

Hey There Fancypants – Ween

“Hey there, sour grapes“

Lime

Lime Tree – Bright Eyes

“Under the leaves of that old lime tree I stood examining the fruit”

Coconut

Bang Bang – Dispatch

“Coconut hit me on the head, jonesing for a fig”

Strawberry

Glycerine – Bush

“When we rise, it’s like strawberry fields”

 

BONUS – A Pointed Stick

–Yeah, I couldn’t find one, but Google could—

Chill Factor – Theatre of Ice

–I’ve never heard of it either–

 

BONUS 2 – Peaches

–I’ll see your peaches, Matt and Rebecca–

Space Cowboy – Steve Miller Band

“Really love your peaches, want to shake your tree”

The 60s Psychedelic Experiment – Pop Psych – Strawberry Alarm Clock

29 Mar

Something about Tuesdays has started smelling a lot more psychedelic, and in the nasal orifice of a certain psychedelic band from Los Angeles, psychedelia smells like strawberries. We continue our psychedelic exploration of the 1960s with the genre of psychedelic pop music and one of the bands that mastered this potential corny genre was Strawberry Alarm Clock, who rode the line of bubblegum and psychedelic music like a professional.

So, I guess the first question we have to ask is what exactly is psychedelic pop music and why is music that can be considered “watered down” relevant on our psychedelic trip? The answer to this question is simple. Psychedelic pop, at its finest, is not hackneyed, but rather creative and infectious. Yes, I understand that because the music had to fit under the description of “pop” it usually needed close-knit harmonies and catchy rhythms, but, while it was “mainstream” at the time, these necessities did not take a way from the music’s worth. While the music succumbed to rigid specifications, it was still allowed to venture forth into the world of guitar distortion and zany instruments. Take a listen to this.

In the first 20 seconds the genre is practically described. “Incense and Peppermints” by Strawberry Alarm Clock was released in 1967 and it hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The keyboard mixes beautifully with the reverbed, distorted guitar. The background vocals provide a haunting beginning to the tune. The song’s high-pitched keyboard provides an unmistakable psychedelic presence to the song that is a shining example of why the song is psychedelic.

Can you get the song out of your head? No. I didn’t think so. It fits the pop convention perfectly and this is why it was so popular. I consider this an instrumental work of psychedelic music and I disagree with those who believe that pop’s conforming to the psychedelic phenomenon was a bad thing. It allowed pop bands to create psychedelic pieces (a la Beach Boys) and psychedelic bands to market themselves with pop classics like “Incense and Peppermints.”

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