Archive | January, 2010

Song of the Day #71: “Lost in the Supermarket”

6 Jan

It has been 30 years since The Clash released one of the most influential and diverse punk/rock albums of all time. “London Calling,” their third studio album, is famous for its big hit with the same title. While London Calling is indeed one of The Clash’s biggest hits and is, in my opinion, in the top 3 of greatest punk songs, I thought we could focus on a heavily underrated song which features Joe Strummer’s lyrics but the soft voice of Mick Jones (not Foreigner’s guitarist).

“Lost in the Supermarket” is an unconventional punk song. Yet, do not be misguided, it still is associated with the punk era. It appears deep in London Calling as the eight song on the track listing. The song’s repetitive croon of the line “guaranteed personality” over lyrics describing disillusionment caused by the increased commercialism of the world (which has just increased more) displays Strummer’s lyrical prowess. Strummer is correct in his assumption that the youth (which included him at one point) is certainly swayed by the consumer world toward an addling labyrinth of products and styles. Hence, “Lost in the Supermarket” which just explains it best.

Check out the song:

Lyric of the Day #70: Top 100 Lyricists #77

5 Jan

A good Tuesday morning to everyone in the blogosphere. I am lying on a couch currently watching the Jason Bay news conference announcing his signing. As a Mets fan these are usually the most optimistic times of the season; pre-season mornings where established players don the blue, white and orange for the first time (well for Bay he came up in their farm system for a little while so that is not entirely true). On September 20th, 1976, Stephen Stills reunited for one album with Neil Young in the post-Crosby Stills & Nash era. Both proved to be prophetic in their song “Midnight on the Bay” (even though Young wrote the song). The song has the line “Midnight on the bay, sure feels good to be.” Two years later Jason Bay was born on September 20, 1978 and his signing with the Mets sure feels good to me.

The album that was prompted by Stephen Stills, the consensus 28th Greatest Guitarist of All Time voted on by Rolling Stone Magazine. Stills is a fantastic musician. The man has succeeded with Buffalo Springfield as a versatile guitarist who combined his acoustic/folk background with his blues and latin music foundation (the blues was inspired by his friend Jimi Hendrix who is just an okay guitarist). After Buffalo Springfield started falling off Stephen Stills moved on to form one of the first Supergroups with David Crosby of The Byrds fame and Graham Nash of the Hollies. Crosby Stills & Nash (& sometimes Young) just released back to back #1 albums so that is not a big deal or anything. Stephen Stills, while being a tremendous guitarist also wrote lyrics. The men of Crosby Stills & Nash shared the lyric responsibility and Stills, who flourished under Buffalo Springfield, wrote several hits including the first song which we will profile, “Love the One You’re With”

“Well there’s a rose in the fisted glove
And eagle flies with the dove
And if you can’t be with the one you love honey
Love the one you’re with”

This chorus is universal (well at least the last part which is often yelled out at concerts during the song…that and the doo doo doo doo part after it). It is just a very simple message by Stills which works perfectly. The song was quite successful and is still a noticeable song in the classic rock community today. It is a catchy lyric and Stills was able to capitalize on it. Yet, Stills’ best song is most definitely the renowned “For What It’s Worth” which is simply one of the best and most famous anti-war songs of all time.

“Paranoia strikes deep,
Into your life it will creep.
It starts when you’re always afraid,
Step out of line,the men come and take you away.

We better stop,hey what’s that sound,
Everybody look what’s going down”

This is my favorite portion of the song because of its truthfulness. There is no cryptic message or subtle hits at politicians or war. Stills is not afraid to state his opinion. War will come and take you away, cut and dry. Stills is just confidently and his lyric proves it strongly.

Court Links: Soundgarden and the Red Hot Chili Peppers

4 Jan

Soundgarden, the Seattle based grunge band featuring singer Chris Cornell, is set to return in 2010 after a 13 year hiatus. The band has sold eight million records in the United States and this is most likely due to the fact that they are from Seattle, the breeding ground of musicians. Now, seriously, this is big news for fans of the rock band which will return for several concerts that they are currently planning. The confirmed line-up back is Chris Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd, and drummer Matt Cameron. To remember this band here is a useful video and the article link: http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2010/01/03/soundgarden_to_return_in_2011

Also, a small piece of news out of the world of the Chili Peppers. Josh Klinghoffer, the 30-year-old L.A. based guitarist who has worked with PJ Harvey and Gnarls Barkley, has confirmed that he has been chosen to replace John Frusciante as a permanent pepper.

http://www.spinner.com/2010/01/04/josh-klinghoffer-says-hes-a-red-hot-chili-pepper/

Top Ten Female Artists of the Decade, Part Deux

1 Jan

Hope you all had a great New Years, and if you’re reading this, you’re probably not still hung-over from the night’s festivities. Good job! Anyways, here’s the final chunk of the top ten female artists of the decade. We left off at number 5 last time, with performer M.I.A….

4. Beyonce Knowles: Now I don’t know if she had the best music video of all time (Kanye) but there’s no doubt that Beyonce is one of the hardest working artists of the last ten years. She’s built her career from the ground up, starting with Destiny’s Child in her pre-teen years. She’s come into her own, slowly shedding the signature, manufactured pop image typical of artists in early the 2000’s. With a blow-out album and worldwide tour in 09’, Beyonce’s prolific career is steadfast.

3. Kelly Clarkson– The first American Idol darling, Clarkson has long surpassed expectations of reality TV. She’s a paragon of talent, with a voice that easily sends chills down anyone’s spine.

2. Alicia Keys– A piano child prodigy, Key’s abilities were evident by the time she enrolled in Colombia University at 16. Her first major hit Fallen gained the attention of the music scene in the early 00’s, snagging buzz and Grammys alike. And since then, Key’s success is unrelenting. Whether she’s collaborating with the likes of Jack White or Jay-Z or partaking in solo projects, she has won the praise of fans and critics alike. In 2009, Keys was one of the best selling artists, selling 700,000 albums within two weeks of release.

1. Fiona Apple– The decade’s best female artists is Fiona Apple, producing the critically claimed album Extraordinary Machine in 2005. Apple emerged as an edgy young performer in the 1990’s, shocking the world with her sultry voice and provocative music video for the single Criminal. Apple’s voice is unlike any other; an alto potent with raw emotion. Her piano composition is remarkable, infused with disonance that is more  reminiscent of art than noise. Her lyrics too are catchy and gripping. Her language pulls the listener in, as she conjures images of love, loss, happiness, and rage. Extraordinary Machine is one of the top albums of this past decade, for it is in itself a narrative of the artist’s experience. Here’s an incredible video, a testament to Apple’s alarming talent.

Court Links: New Decade Links 2010

1 Jan

A healthy and happy New Year to everyone out there in the blogosphere this January 1, 2010 morning. For your delight here are two New Year’s links to get the new decade started off well.

Some stars that charted in 2009 told Rolling Stones their plans for the new year and what affected them most in the past year. Celeb’s such as Adam Lambert and Wyclef Jean were interviewed. Check it out: http://www.billboard.com/#/news/video-2009-chart-stars-talk-2010-plans-1004055761.story

Prefer video evidence that the new year is upon us. Some of you are just waking up to a quiet new year’s breakfast. “All is quiet on new year’s day.”

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