Nick Drake and Jim Morrison share a similar face and long hair. They also share two other unfortunate attributes. Depression and untimely death. Morrison died in 1971 and Nick Drake in 1974. Two great talents eradicated. But Jim Morrison is a well-known superstar. His brief work with the Doors made him more of a mysterious idol in his death. Nick Drake, on the other hand, remains practically anonymous, his tranquil compositions often falling into obfuscation.
Luckily, his work has been posthumously praised and while not many listen to Drake’s harmonious tunes, many critics rightfully consider his work to be that of a depressed genius whose sheer confidence in his talents was often overshadowed by his misanthropic attitude. After releasing his third album he fell back home with his parents and took his own life two years later by way of an overdose on a prescribed antidepressant. He was 26 years old.
I would like to travel back to 1969 and feature the last track on his first album Five Leaves Left. The album demonstrated an unheralded mastery of folk/rock from the 21-year-old Drake. It did not receive much admiration at the time, but years later it garners tremendous praise. The last song “Saturday Sun” is a melancholic track, slow, sensual and constant, like delicate waves lightly touching a sun-drenched shoreline. The piano’s bluesy sentiment provides a strong opening. Drake’s mellow and gentle voice is indescribable. There is a sad beauty to it. You can almost hear his inner torture. The song leaves any listener stung by its calmness and full beauty.
I haven’t posted in a bit. I’ve been busy finishing my semester as well as my album. I am happy to announce it is done! There is link to my website at the bottom. Unfortunately however, as you might know, once you finish something you instantly start three new things. So I currently have a lot of things floating around my mind, but today I set aside some time to bring you some good tunes! : D
I will be presenting to you a band and an album which is very dear to me. The album just happened to be there for me when I was going through a rough time in my life and for that I will always cherish it. ❤
That album, as you may have deduced by now, is Mandala by the RX Bandits. Now be warned, this music is highly experimental. It is nothing crazy, but it’s considered alternative rock/ska which I don’t believe is something that has been done yet. It also contains elements of math-rock which adds a layer of musical craziness. This is most likely the reason why it meshes with me so much. Not to mention, it’s also trippy as hell/heaven.
Off the bat take this song as an example:
That would be Mientras lo Veo Sonar, a lovingly nicknamed Spanish song. If you are reading this that means you peeled your eyes away from that beautiful album art. However, it barely encompasses the complexity of this song. A heavy electronic opening gives way to Spanish diction and an intense drum beat. Matt Embree, the singer, guitarist, producer, and general driving force behind the band, begins singing in Spanish. I have no clue what he is saying other than ‘requesta’… request?
The verse then flows into the chorus, the singing switches to English and an easy ska-ish beat takes over, allowing you to catch up and get into the rhythm. But before you get a chance to get comfortable the song drops into a trippy verse, the singing this time half-Spanish, half-English. The electronic effects are on just about every single instrument, phasing in and out like as if you’re flying through space.
One more short chorus occurs and then we get one of the trippiest, drawn-out, awesome trip-out endings ever. I love the emphasis on “Good-bye” as it begins to envelope you. Because once the piano begins to play you realize you are not where you were. The drumming, physically impossible for one drummer to perform, is the only reminder of what you are listening to as you drift somewhere away. As it ends you realize that a new day is starting both epic and mysterious.
Refreshment for the soul.
Now consider this song:
Probably my favorite song off the album, Breakfast Cat delivers anything a person could ask from a band like this. The beginning is a wild flurry of who knows what. It quickly catches an odd beat and is justified when a guitar plays it in and a riff is formed out of it. But you do not even get a chance to think, because this song changes just as a fast as it possibly can. Once again Matt on vocals, quickly ushers the music into a series of transition after transition.
It eventually leads nowhere and after a brief synth interlude it jumps back into the main instrumental chorus. The singing returns, now for a shorter period of time. As that ends, transitions again make the bulk of one of these make-shift verses. Robot noises and echoed vocals are a definite recipe for a great time.
The final sung chorus, the shortest of the three, warrants higher expectations. And deliver it does as a trip-down ensues that will make you higher than anything. It is the final culmination of endless tangents – beauty and nothingness. Be warned, because the ending of this song will force deep amounts of introspection upon you. But this is psychedelic music. What did you expect?
Just try to picture a fat cat angry that it has not been fed yet, purring and rubbing your feet one second, hissing the next. Perfect imagery in my opinion for this monster of a song. :p
This band, hailing from California, traditionally had its roots in ska, albeit a very alternative style of ska. As a result they have garnished a certain image, specifically from ska-haters. But their musical journey has taken them extremely far and this latest album is definitely one which breaks down genre-walls and speaks to a new type of crowd. And maybe it will get the haters to quit hating. Who knows?
I will most definitely be returning to this band to cover past albums. I will also link one more video of theirs from one of the more slower songs off the album at the bottom, but even these three songs cannot fully represent this masterpiece of an album.
Welcome to the first installment of Music Trivia! Music Trivia, the game where you all get the chance to prove that you are the ultimate Musicaire (a made up term that means absolutely nothing). Seriously, Music Trivia gives you the opportunity to answer music trivia questions, both tough and easy. This is a game for everyone. There are no categories and no genre/time period discrimination. Questions can range from the guitar proficiency of Robert Johnson to Eve 6‘s drummers name. But I’m probably not going to ask about Tony Fagenson. I find that there is a lack of challenging music trivia on the web and I want to change that with this bi-weekly post. Here is how it is going to work. Today I will post five random questions (themed posts are possible in the future). The questions will be multiple choice. After answering all five questions, post your answers in a comment. On Tuesday, I will post up the answers and who did that best. Remember, it is easy to cheat at this game, but why would you do that? No Google and no listening to songs for answers. Answer the questions like you are taking a test in a classroom. Cheating makes this stupid. If Music Trivia garners a good amount of participants (10 or more), I will make the posting more frequent and will start giving out prizes to winners. Yes, that’s right, prizes. But it is your responsibility to play the game, have fun, and tell your friends. How tough is that, right? So good luck and I hope you enjoy the first ever Music Trivia game on The Music Court.
1.) “Hey Jude” is arguably the Beatles‘ best and most emotional song. When Paul McCartney first played the track for bandmate John Lennon, Paul stopped after a line and told John he was meaning to change the particular lyric. Lennon said that he wouldn’t and it was the best line in the song. What is that line?
2.) The Mamas & The Papas is still considered one of the best folk/vocal groups ever. Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty were truly the vocal superstars of the band. Before they joined The Mamas & The Papas they were both members of an unsuccesful New York band called The Mugwumps in the mid-60’s. The other two members of that band went on to form a famous American band after the break-up. What band did they form?
3.) Soul Asylum released “Runaway Train,” a song about runaways, with a corresponding video that featured pictures and names of missing children. Because of the song’s popularity many children featured in the video were actually returned to their homes. The song was pretty good too. It took home the Grammy for Best Rock Song in what year?
4.) In Canned Heat‘s “On The Road Again” what instrument helps create the buzzing sound that follows the song like a swarm of bees. (Video Clue)
5.) The Dirty Mac was a one-time supergroup formed exclusively for the TV Special “The Rolling Stones Rock n’ Roll Circus” in 1968. The band featured John Lennon on rhythm guitar and vocals, Keith Richards on bass guitar, Mitch Mitchell (drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience) on drums and what famous lead guitarist?
NBC’s new singing show has been quietly successful in its inchoate format. It is not an American Idol spin-off and has put an interesting twist on the singing competition genre of television shows. The Voice features Maroon 5 lead vocalist Adam Levine, vocal superstar Christina Aguilera, eccentric pop musician Cee Lo Green and country singer Blake Shelton. In past episodes, each artist picked eight emerging musicians for their teams and then pinned team members against each other in a vocal battle format, narrowing the teams down to four artists each. The 16 artists will now perform for the privilege to stay on the show with voting now up to viewers. They will fight for the grand prize of a recording contract and their team leaders will look to become the artist who found “The Voice.”
The Voice is an appealing singing competition that brings a fresh look to singing competitions. The talent, though, has been somewhat sub-par, besides a few artists. Listening to the performers on each team, I believe that Adam Levine’s four are the most talented. I also think that the winner of the competition is on his team. Javier Colon’s haunting performance of “Time After Time” during the blind auditions propelled him into the early favorite spot. Check it out:
Rolling Stone ‘s David Fricke has been providing excellent music reviews for the better part of 20 years and his review of Buffalo Springfield’s reunion tour is no different. The Springfield tour is exciting and the combination of original members Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay provides a true nostalgic folk/rock punch.
That speck of snot is worth more than your comments
Liam Gallagher what are we going to do with you? You just cannot keep yourself from making insipid comments, can you? Plus, it gets even more embarrassing when your doltish comments are completely contradictory. Let’s take a peek at your recent statements.
When asked about performers from the 1960s and 70s still making comebacks today he said, “All those f*ckers playing their greatest hits are sh*tbags.” First off, why are you so angry? Why do old-school rockers performing better music than you can ever play piss you off? Well, I may have just answered my own question, but do such feelings really warrant a contentious response. No, especially since they are utterly contradictory. Paul McCartney has been playing his greatest hits for over the past 20 years. McCartney, the former Beatle, was (and still is) Gallagher’s muse. Gallagher’s band Oasis were practically the Beatles of the 90s. Seriously, Gallagher flat-out copied McCartney’s material. So him saying that musicians who play their greatest hits are sh*tbags is basically saying that McCartney is a sh*tbag which would then (if you follow my logic) would be saying that Gallagher himself is a sh*tbag, which he is.
Also, he called Bob Dylan a miserable c*nt. I’m not kidding.
The 60’s Band of the Week is back…and we are still on A. When you have compiled a list of over 1000 60’s bands and artists it may take around a lifetime to do each profile. Actually, at our new rate of one band a week I know exactly how long this list is going to take us at the Music Court. 19.2 years. If I stay at this current rate the list will be finished when I’m 40 years old. 60’s music will have moved into the realm of true “classics” and popular music will probably sound like a strange concoction of synthesized vocals and electronica. Okay, that list part was a little imagination on my part. How about we get to today’s 60’s band of note, The Ad Libs.
Name: Originally a street-corner quintet named the Arabians and then the Creators, the band broke up in 1963 and re-formed a year later with new members and became the Ad Libs.
History:
Some of this was touched on in the brief name section above. The Ad Libs were Doo-Wop musicians that started on the streets in the mid 1950s. The story of The Ad Libs can be traced back to songwriter John Taylor, a saxophonist who had been playing with big band groups for several decades. He came across The Creators, the band’s second name (at the time), when they were in their nascent stage as a street-corner quintet. After The Creators hit no success with their releases, the band broke up and re-formed a year later as The Ad Libs with two former Creators, Hugh Harris and Danny Austin. Harris and Austin added Norman Donegan, Dave Watt and perhaps most importantly Mary Ann Thomas.
John Taylor’s jazz and big-band music influence was an essential element of The Ad Lib’s brief success. He, with George Davis, wrote “The Boy From New York City,” which will forever be known as a true Doo-Wop one-hit wonder. The song’s mixture of Doo-Wop and big-band flavor makes it catchy and bubbly.
Group manager Bill Downs took a tape of the Ad Libs performing the song to song-writing duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Leiber and Stoller (along with George Goldner) owned Red Bird Records. After hearing the piece, they signed the Ad Libs to Blue Cat records (a subsidiary of Red Bird) and released the song in December of 1964. The song hit #8 on the Pop chart and #6 on the R&B chart at the height of its success. The Ad Libs would have to wait years before another chart appearance.
A few unsuccessful releases led to The Ad Libs being dropped from Blue Cat and bouncing around before signing with Share Records and recording “Giving it Up,” a Gladys Knight and Pips song written by Van McCoy. The 1968 release charted at #34 on the R&B list.
Unfortunately, the band saw little more success as the years progressed. In 1988, The Ad Libs recorded four albums for John Taylor’s Johnny Boy Label. The band only consisted of two original members during the recording, Dave Watt and Mary Ann Thomas. Since then, Thomas, Harris and Watt have passed on.
Most Popular Release:
“The Boy From New York City” comes in with a rare zero dislikes on YouTube. Impressive feat for The Ad Libs’ best song.
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