Thank you Monty Python. As you have noticed, I have not posted in a few days. I just want to assure you that I’m not dead yet, and contrary to public opinion, I will not be soon. You see, I’ve just been busy lately and this has thwarted me from posting. I know, real sob story. Seriously, though, I love posting. I take enjoyment in having the ability to bring you quality posts about good music. Quality is the key word there. Can I post everyday? Yes, a quick video and a “this song is good” can get me five posts a day. But I believe that every post should have some value, even if it is a brief reminder that I am not dead, just busy.
Tomorrow night may be the death of me, actually. Okay, that is an over-exaggeration. After work, I am joining my sister and mother to view an American Idol concert. Yeah, the post-TV live concerts the group of singers put on for fans of the show. I plan on writing a review for the blog, so hold tight. Look, I enjoy American Idol. It has become understandably predictable and somewhat trite, but I still watch it religiously every season. Perhaps it is because the show has become a family activity. Or, maybe there is something inherently wrong with me. Either or. What I do know is that I am interested in seeing the concert tomorrow.
Also, I have another concert review to write. So, expect two concert reviews in the upcoming days. I hope to get them both out this week. Before I slip off to dreamworld, I do want to leave you with a song. I was going to post a clever song about being busy, but when I thought of potential songs all I could think of posting to the blog is:
Random, right? There is something about this Warren Zevon song that always has worked for me. Perhaps it is his subtle humor. Maybe it is simply the fact that it is a great song with great lyrics. Heck, it did spark a movie title. You know what I do know?
“LeRoy says there’s something you should know
Not everybody has a place to go
And home is just a place to hang your head
And dream of things to do in Denver when you’re dead”
Somehow that makes a whole lot of sense. Okay, a lot of Zevon sense!
I pity those that will never experience random acts. People just doing whatever feels right, without a second thought, usually acting upon that glorious drink, alcohol. So I actually pity those who have never tried alcohol. Thoughtless action is a good way to spend time, especially if you are naturally prone to quite the opposite. When the aftermath of a party is rallying around the DJ and 120BPM, you know it is time to act even without a whim. Dancing with beautiful women in the early hours of the morning is what makes it all worth the effortlessness.
And it’s usually the next day when you live it the most vividly. You feel not quite hung-over, just strange. You sleep late, reliving and dreaming. Before you know it that day is turning grey and rainy, yet you are still in the previous night. Somehow you cannot focus on the now. But I’ve discovered the cure:
jazz
A friend of mine recently gave me some music from The Cinematic Orchestra. The band is a British jazz and electronic group. This album from 2003 is called Man with a Movie Camera. Being jazz, I can only describe the sound as good, and to further my argument I’ll let the music show you.
This song is that kind of slow, uneven drive that forces you to enjoy. This directionless joy is contained within an air of sophistication. Like a gentlemen rising from the ashes of alcohol, forgotten is everything that is sub-par as you brush off your shoulders and kiss the hands of pretty girls bidding the night adieu.
This 10 minute jazz piece is the perfect example of relaxing jazz. The brass/violin refrain gives it that free-form feel as it ever so slowly builds. This is the song you put on while reading because it both helps you concentrate and relax. You forget the song is even on, but by about 7 minutes in you are forced to pause your reading and simply listen and enjoy this amazing sound as it captures your thoughts.
This next song, Work it! (Man with the Movie Camera) is hastier and more confident. It attempts to prove the bands worth as true jazz. Opening up with a bit of pizzicato, it quickly moves into an almost rock styled jazz characterized by powerful drums which hopefully anyone can enjoy. The song switches between this almost frantic part and a slower section, reminiscent of the first song. Definitely a god song to chew on at any time.
So the next time you are lying in bed with a hangover, remember that it’s the perfect to time to be listening to your favorite jazz. Just like alcohol, it is that feeling of doing whatever without regard for anything. A psychotic yet soulful mindlessness that is as beautiful as party waning into the morning light. And if you are drinking while listening to jazz… well then you might just be on to something.
Give this man some answers! Just to be clear, I did manipulate this cartoon, but all the credit obviously goes to the creator who is listed on the side of the cartoon. Still, this suited dude really does want answers, and how can I possibly say no to the desert businessman? Well, I can’t. How about some answers?
Wait! You have not tried your luck at the questions yet? No fear. Follow this link.
1.) In The Doors’ “Touch Me” Jim Morrison concludes the instrumental at the end with these three words. What are they? And, because this is the easy question, I will provide an audio clue.
“Stronger than dirt.” Yes, that is what Jim Morrison utters at the end of “Touch Me.” But why did Morrison mumble the AJAX advertisement slogan in the song. Were they paid to do it? The Doors, brought to you by AJAX, where you can just touch the dirt right off the shirt. Does Morrison sound like a guy who would have allowed his music to slip into the hands of advertisers? Absolutely, not. Morrison says “Stronger than Dirt” to express his disappointment with his other band members, who apparently were considering an offer from Buick for the use of “Light My Fire” in a commercial. Obviously, Morrison did not approve of this money-making scheme and it fell through. And, because of it all, we get this nice easter egg for trivia questions to be formed around! Every answer choice got a vote, which means that I am doing my job well, and that somebody thought he said “Robbie’s a Jerk” which is kind of funny.
2.) Woodstock, baby. That Jimi Hendrix finish was mind-boggling. But, man, who was the act that went on right before him. Uhh…?
This is one of those questions where you think you should know the answer, but then you realize you have absolutely no clue. The weird thing about this festival was the times when acts went on. Unlike regimented music festivals today, the concert didn’t stop at a reasonable hour. It just went on and on and on. Crosby Still & Nash played at 3:00 a.m., the morning of the last day. The band that opened for Hendrix went on at 7:30 a.m. Hendrix closed the show at 10 a.m., and gave his famous performance to a tired, muddy and dispersed crowd. Who was the band that opened for Hendrix?
Excuse me? The greasers with the corny dance moves? This must be a joke? No, as people woke up after their short power naps, they saw Sha Na Na on stage. I’m sure members of the audience thought that they took the “bad” acid. Sha Na Na performed, and, if it was a doo wop show, it would’ve been looked at as a solid and fun performance. And then it would have been forgotten. But it was WOODSTOCK. Their performance sparked a saying though. He/She was as out of place as Sha Na Na at Woodstock. That pretty much says it all.
3.) Now comes the HARD question. Let’s see if I can stump you guys. Simon and Garfunkel’s “The 59th Street Bridge Song,” otherwise known as “Feelin’ Groovy” was recorded in August of 1966 with what famous Jazz drummer behind the drum kit in the studio?
I’ll admit it, this question was tough. Like damn near impossible. Unless you are familiar with Jazz drummers or the studio recordings of Simon and Garfunkel songs, then this question was not going to yield an educated guess. The answer, though, is Joe Morello. And, here is a drum solo.
Was this really done, or did somebody photoshop that into the NOW That’s What I Call Music background? That picture really projects. It better be one hell of a music quiz. Well, do you know who does have one hell of a music quiz…because I’m actually looking for some questions, just kidding! While the first installments of Music Trivia went worse than expected, I thought that I would bring it back this Wednesday just for kicks. I get a lot of enjoyment in compiling and administering our little version of Trivial Pursuit, supposing we were only answering pink questions and those questions were only the music side of entertainment. Damn, if that was the case, I feel like I would do very well at Trivial Pursuit.
Now that Trivial Pursuit is in our minds, let’s use its new format for our questions today. I will ask three questions at different difficulties…easy, medium, and hard.
Remember – This hasn’t worked at all, but, after you answer the questions in the poll, POST your answers as a comment. I want to know if you got all three correct. If you did, you get the special prize of R-E-S-P-E-C-T and it means a lot. Let’s get to it.
1.) In The Doors’ “Touch Me” Jim Morrison concludes the instrumental at the end with these three words. What are they? And, because this is the easy question, I will provide an audio clue.
VIDEO:
2.) Woodstock, baby. That Jimi Hendrix finish was mind-boggling. But, man, who was the act that went on right before him. Uhh…?
3.) Now comes the HARD question. Let’s see if I can stump you guys. Simon and Garfunkel’s “The 59th Street Bridge Song,” otherwise known as “Feelin’ Groovy” was recorded in August of 1966 with what famous Jazz drummer behind the drum kit in the studio?
Good luck everyone and remember to write a comment with your answers!
Summer is almost up! It’s halfway through August and I feel like school ended last week. Asking myself what I did this summer is pretty much fruitless because the Hell if I remember. Time is slipping past me like sweet drinks disappearing at a summer party. It was like basking in a fountain of undisciplined youth, where my spirit ignores any form of calendar, finding balance in a sort of timeless hedonistic blur. But something now in the back of my mind is telling me that it is ending… probably all of those school related e-mails.
For those of you out there who may have also just realized that summer is indeed ending, I have today a band for you which will hopefully allow you to make peace with that fact.
Yeasayer is a Brooklyn based band which fuses psychedelic indie folk with something which could only be described as gospel soul. Put away your doubts until you hear this reverent amalgamation. Their debut 2007 album, All Hour Cymbals, is something unlike anything the world has heard prior. I’ll provide you with a few of my favorite songs from it.
The second song on the album is ironically named Wait for the Summer. With a brief spacey intro this song does not hold back from heading straight into the melody. “Life was easier when one of us was dead.” The lyrics of this song and the entire album are gorgeous, bursting on multiple cryptic layers with hidden messages that could be either taken as quasi-religious or blissfully hedonistic. The vocal sound itself is also extremely unique, with ample amounts of chorus and humming noises hidden giving it that gospel vibe.
The mixture of the sleigh bells and the sitar-sounding guitar create a bizarre mixture of musical styles from different regions of the world and the spacey synth acts as a multi-cultural glue. The entire first half of the song is in your face waving its brazen weirdness. However, right before 2 minutes, the song goes through an absolutely wonderful metamorphosis.
The latter half of this song contains the kind of vibe that if it had existed during the 60’s, would force hippies into rhythmic swaying and all around mystic magical merriment, and or deep introspection. Not that hipsters aren’t actually the odorless modern day incarnation of hippies and aren’t doing this in Brooklyn apartments. The vibe that the ending of the song puts out is that could be in some old foreign cartoon. “I’m rising, rising, falling down” is the sort of chant that could easily garner a following and start some sort of revolution.
Simply put, this next song 2080 is a masterpiece. And if the previous song already had you swaying and feeling enlightened then prepare to be blown away. The introduction seems to slow time as a swarm of insects is locked into battle with the glorious tone of the guitar. The bassline and the drums create one of those rythms that an enlightened individual would argue as being perfect. The lyrics in this song can only be described as prophetic. The multiple meanings are so broad that even the title of the song can be included. Every time I hear 2080 being said, I can’t help to think that it may also mean 20 A.D. as if they were analogous in some way.
Halfway through once more, the song becomes an epic chant. This one is the kind that melts away any anxiety and fear and replaces it with forlorn anticipation and respect. Words cannot describe the magic this song instills effectively multiplying any spells you have already cast upon yourself. The ending with the children chanting is simply cool, an appropriate ending to a song describing the glory of future generations. Time has nothing on it.
This last song I decided to include is a personal favorite and actually one of the more unique songs on the album. Wait for the Wintertime I would also assume is the direct opposite of Wait for the Summertime. The song starts you off as if lost somewhere in a frozen winter wasteland. A fiendish howl and a beat drops in which for some reason makes you question if the frozen plains are not actually some middle-eastern desert.
“Solid gold, and nothing is gonna stop us” solidifies that vibe as the song takes you on a roller coaster ride which has you questioning materialism and all of Brooklyn culture. While the first two songs made you feel holy, this one gives off an almost cultist vibe. The slow beat feels like it’s pulling you into hell, with demons laughing and bouts of guilt flooding you along the way. The way the song transitions between sections is eerie in the sense that it feels like it is delaying the inevitable. Brilliantly evil in my opinion. The rest of the album isn’t as evil by any means, but I like to play this song once in a while to confuse people.
As you now listen to this band, remember that time may actually not exist according to the discovery channel. That does not however say that summer doesn’t end, and if that fact upsets you, then just don’t forget to Wait for the Summer. Unless of course you are one of those people who prefers to Wait for the Wintertime.
-oko
P.S. I started writing this article on Sunday. I don’t what happened, but now it’s Tuesday. Time is weird man.
Thank you Monty Python. As you have noticed, I have not posted in a few days. I just want to assure you that I’m not dead yet, and contrary to public opinion, I will not be soon. You see, I’ve just been busy lately and this has thwarted me from posting. I know, real sob story. Seriously, though, I love posting. I take enjoyment in having the ability to bring you quality posts about good music. Quality is the key word there. Can I post everyday? Yes, a quick video and a “this song is good” can get me five posts a day. But I believe that every post should have some value, even if it is a brief reminder that I am not dead, just busy.
The Music Court 