Archive | July, 2010

David Gilmour and Roger Waters will Reunite…at least once more for one song

16 Jul

BREAKING NEWS:

Finally, some hope for die-hard Pink Floyd fans. The Gilmour, Waters feud – which basically came to an end early last decade – may finally be put aside for a real reunion tour. But, for now that is just speculation. What some lucky fans at a choice venue will get is Gilmour joining Waters on stage to perform “Comfortably Numb” during one date of Waters’ 94-date “The Wall” anniversary tour. This all because of an agreement struck by the two musicians resulting in Waters’ performance of “To Know Him Is To Love Him,” at the Hoping Foundation benefit last week (reported here: https://musiccourt.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/monday-blues-and-pink-floyd-ruse/). It really may not be much of a ruse any longer.

Waters originally declined Gilmour’s invitation to perform “To Know Him Is To Love Him,” at the charity show because of the vocal difficulty of the song. Gilmour was persistent and fed into Waters’ longing for a true reunion tour (which now is impossible because of the 2008 death of keyboardist Richard Wright)), promising (e-mail conversation follows), “If you do ‘To Know Him Is To Love Him’ for The Hoping Foundation gig, I’ll come and do ‘C. Numb’ on one of your Wall shows.” What!?! Waters’ reaction similarly went, “”How f**king cool! I was blown away.” Gilmour, who according to Rolling Stone was uninterested in performing with Waters during the tour, set aside any reservations in order to get Waters to perform with him at last week’s Hoping Foundation show.

This discussion was posted on Waters’ Facebook wall (http://www.facebook.com/notes/roger-waters-the-wall/the-gig-with-david/144577855556673) and he concluded it by writing, “PS. Just heard from David, he will decide in due course which gig he wants to do, it will be a surprise!

Okay, so Waters and Gilmour are playing us well. They have – to quote a Rolling Stones song – all fans under their thumbs. Tell me the date and the show so I can get an overpriced ticket and watch this collaboration. I don’t care if it is only on “Comfortably Numb.” In my opinion, they will play more than one song together. It is just too tempting. Yes, they had a large conflict but Gilmour and Waters just enjoy playing music with each other too much to pass up a convenient opportunity. Does this bode well for the future? In one word, yes. I am not saying they are going on tour…but, I am not saying it will not happen. Let’s just say there is a much better chance now than there was 10 years ago.

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Top 100 Lyricists #68: Jimi Hendrix

14 Jul

I don’t know if the crowd who came to see an obscure band in the basement of Temple De Hirsch in Seattle in the late 50’s really respected what they saw. Well, considering that this particular band was fired because of too wild playing, I am sure just one or two true rock n’ rollers in the crowd really enjoyed the concert. Around 10 years later, the band’s young guitarist played in front of a slightly larger crowd at White Lake, NY and propelled himself into the prestigious slot of the top 5 guitarists of all time. I am talking about the sultan of amplified guitar skill himself, Mr. Jimi Hendrix. And, after he received a $5 acoustic guitar from one of his father’s acquaintances, he simply did not turn back. Well, he did eventually switch to electric. Hendrix single handedly re-shaped the electric guitar and how it is even heard today. That is how influential he was…and that was only with the guitar.

Okay, now listen…I can go into an entire Hendrix biography and trust me I wouldn’t mind doing it. But, I will contain myself and show all readers that I can resist sharing tidbits of music minutia. Okay, maybe just one.

Did you know that Hendrix formed a band called the Blue Flame in 1966? The Blue Flame featured a 15-year-old guitarist named Randy Wolfe. It also featured a bassist who shared Wolfe’s first name. Hendrix, anticipated confusion and began calling Wolfe Randy California because he had just moved from there to NYC. Randy California would go on to form the band Spirit with his stepfather, drummer Ed Cassidy. Spirit, perhaps, is best known for being a huge inspiration to Led Zeppelin. Ed Cassidy often played extended drum solos with his bare hands which influenced John Bonham, Zeppelin’s drummer, to do the same. Also, Spirit’s “Taurus” is often cited as being “Stairway to Heaven” without the huge success. The famous Zeppelin riff is eerily similar to Spirit’s classic. Personally, I think “Taurus” is a better song. Shoot me. Now, back to Hendrix

The reason this post is being written is not to celebrate Hendrix’s guitar ingenuity. That post can be read here: https://musiccourt.wordpress.com/2009/10/17/court-polls-defense-for-jimi-hendrix/. This, instead, celebrates an art that Hendrix fans do not usually comment enough on. Hendrix was a pretty skilled wordsmith.

Let’s look at one of my favorite Hendrix compositions, “The Wind Cries Mary.” Supposedly, Hendrix wrote this song after he and his then girlfriend Kathy Etchingham had an argument over her cooking. Kathy, I am so very happy your cooking did not please Jimi. Kathy, whose middle name is Mary, stormed out of the house and Jimi was left with a decision, eat the unpleasant food or write the song. Just kidding of course. Maybe Jimi was just not very hungry. Here are some lyrics:

“After all the jacks are in their boxes
And the clowns have all gone to bed
You can hear happiness staggering on down the street
Footprints dressed in red
And the wind whispers Mary

A broom is drearily sweeping
Up the broken pieces of yesterday’s life
Somewhere a queen is weeping
Somewhere a king has no wife
And the wind, it cries Mary”

Hendrix demonstrates a great adroitness for metaphor and sensitive repetition. I, obviously am partial to the court references, but, they work quite well in the song. “Somewhere a queen is weeping, Somewhere a king has no wife.” These two lines in the second verse are by far the best in the song. The words elevate the song to an ethereal level and help represent Hendrix’s situation mystically. And they said Hendrix was only good at the guitar. Well, the guitar definitely helps.

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Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie…Bijou bikini?

13 Jul

That she actually wore for the first time today

Today’s Word:

Bijou (adj) – Something small or delicate

Musical Example

Everyone knows the tune and the famous bijou bikini. It is itsy bitsy and teenie weenie and yellow and polka dot and did I mention a bikini. The song, which tells the tale of a shy girl who is afraid to let people see her in her small bikini, is an infectious and cheery tune that can seriously embarrass you if you know all of the lyrics and tend to often tell people, “what she wore.” But, I don’t care. I am not ashamed and neither should bikini girl.

The song was written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss and was first released in June of 1960 by Brian Hyland. It skyrocketed to #1 on the U.S. charts in August of the same year.

The song also was more than just a superficial diddy. It also incited a large increase in bikini sales, which were still looked at as risqué in the early 60s. It is cited as being one of the earliest contributors to the acceptance of the suit in society.

Monday Blues and Pink Floyd Ruse

12 Jul

I came across a funny article about blues music this morning over at Porky’s Place (link: http://counterfeminism.info/2010/06/old-black-men-and-their-woes/).

Porky notes that blues music is an old man’s heavy metal. He says that, “When one is young, one is angry about the woeful state of the world, so one listens to the high pitched screechings of angry young men like Axl Rose and Marilyn Manson, but as one makes his way towards forty, one is more inclined to think “Stuff it all, I’ll listen to some dying old men instead.”

Great stuff there Porky. Blues music finds its roots in personal struggle in a harsh world, focusing a lot on failing relationships, cruelty, oppression and longing. I am a big fan of blues music, especially early blues, and I mean early. The blues that perfectly combines a singer’s gravelly voice with the raw, scratchy recording.

Porky includes some blues lyrics and explanations in his article and I am going to add another lyric to the list, one of my person favorite blues verses. “I’m Ready,” written by Willie Dixon in 1954 and first recorded by Muddy Waters in the same year, is both funny and bluesy. Yes, this is possible. Just look at hokum blues.

Joining Muddy Waters on the “I’m Ready” recording was Little Walter on harmonica, Jimmie Rogers on guitar, Willie Dixon, on bass, Otis Spann on drums, and Fred Below on drums. The collective pride of Chess records. Here is my favorite verse:

“I got an axe handle pistol on a graveyard frame
That shoot tombstone bullets, wearin’ balls and chain
I’m drinkin’ TNT, I’m smokin’ dynamite
I hope some screwball start a fight
‘Cause I’m ready, ready as anybody can be
I’m ready for you, I hope you’re ready for me”

On Saturday night, David Gilmour and Roger Waters performed together for the Hoping Foundation Benefit Evening, an organization that stands for hope and optimism for Palestinians in the Next Generation, and they would have secretly gotten away with it if it wasn’t for twitter, cameras and the media.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 10: David Gilmour (L) and Roger Waters perform at a benefit evening for The Hoping Foundation on July 10, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/CI Getty Images Entertainment)

Yeah, I know, right. What the hell? Why was I not there? The seemingly impromptu performance took place in Kiddington Hall in Oxfordshire.

News of the Waters and Gilmour mini-show, was broken by Fearne Cotton, one of the hosts of the evening, who tweeted about the event in the early hours of Sunday morning.

I found more information from the show on David Gilmour’s blog: http://www.davidgilmourblog.com/

Gilmour and Waters were joined by Guy Pratt on bass and acoustic guitar, Harry Waters on keyboard, Andy Newmark on drums, Chester Kamen on guitar, and Jonjo Grisdale (on keyboards).

They played ‘To Know Him Is To Love Him’, a song that was often featured in Pink Floyd sound checks when they were together, followed by ‘Wish You Were Here’, ‘Comfortably Numb’, and Another Brick in the Wall (Part Two). The crowd was around 200.

I only hope that Gilmour and Waters had a wonderful time. They did help raise 350,000 pounds for the charity, which definitely helps with the fun. Maybe, we can attract them to Madison Square Garden for a large charity show. It can benefit all of the Floyd fans that would pay thousands of dollars to see Gilmour and Waters to join forces!

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The Lebron James Saga…Through Song

9 Jul

The Lebron James free agent saga will be put to rest over the upcoming days…at least until the NBA season nears a beginning and ESPN basketball analysts begin to obsess over the big three in Miami and how they can become an unstoppable ball bandying force. I’m looking at you Adande. It was a long, at times arduous process, ending in an unpleasant result for James’ home city and other Lebron contender’s fan bases. But, Miami took home the ultimate prize after a media spectacle that probably garnered more ratings than any NBA finals will ever succeed in drawing. I would now go into a sports fans useless analysis of the Lebron situation, but, this is a music blog and, by god, I shall keep my objectivity with all sports (except for the Mets and the Jets who I have proved to already be biased towards).

But, I could not avoid the Lebron hoopla and I had to surround a post around it somehow. So, I thought I would display the entire Lebron free agent process through song. That’s right, song.

Preparing his vocal chords

Once upon a time…

Lebron James walked off the court after his Cleveland Cavaliers fell to the Boston Celtics in the NBA’s Eastern Conference semifinals. The video of him walking into the player’s tunnel depicted a dejected athlete, anything but a King at that moment of time. But, after much waiting on July 1, 2010, Lebron James officially declared for free agency and the process began. For James, he may have felt some consternation, but overall I’m sure he was…

James was immediately courted (haha Basketball puns) by several NBA teams looking to improve their roster by adding a superstar talent. He set up, or rather his large business entourage set up numerous meetings with these prospective homes for the King. They all presented ways that he could succeed to the true throne by winning championships or making absurd amounts of money. They all showed Lebron a world of…

I feel like Gene Shalit. Lebron heard all of the possibilities and even listened to some fellow ballers, including Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh who urged him to join forces with them in Miami, sparking many pundits to claim that this weird, bad teenage movie-like pact set by Wade, Bosh, and Lebron to play on the same team, had been decided for a while. It seemed perfectly hokey:

Wade and Bosh, who both decided to play together on Miami on Wednesday, lured Lebron with promises of another Queen song. One to the tune of…

Lebron James was hooked. New York would bring bright lights, Chicago, the shadow of Michael Jordan, and Cleveland the comfort of home, but Miami brought together the three musketeers in a red Heat uniform. Lebron decided that instead of announcing his decision quietly, he would instead make a spectacle out of it that would both stroke his ego and keep fans on their toes hoping for a positive decision. Did it make this process a joke? Yes. Was it entertaining? Of course it was. And, last time I checked sports are an overpaid form of grand entertainment.

Russell Crowe aside, Lebron James finally made his decision on an ESPN special and chose to be:

Cleveland Cavaliers fans erupted in loud chants of expletives directed at the former home-grown all-star. It was pure disappointment for Cavs’ fans including Cavs’ owner, Dan Gilbert, who most likely first felt melancholy and cried out:

and then erupted in a fiery diatribe (through words) much to the likes of:

And, Cleveland did not sleep well as the party began in Miami. What can anyone say on the morning after besides:

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