The Music Court

Currently, I am still recuperating from my 10-day Israeli journey. It is 9 a.m. on Memorial Day. What the heck am I doing up? The fact that my body thinks it is mid-afternoon may be a reason. Well, since I am up, it’s time to post.

My trip to Israel was filled with song. Songs constantly streaming from my Ipod to keep me occupied during bus trips and my two long flights. The interesting mix of Israeli and American music in Israeli markets that amalgamated into an almost incoherent combination of beats and sounds. The exciting sounds of commerce in loud Hebrew and broken Englsh. The repetitive and increasingly pestering singing on our tour bus. And, even the times of complete silence where only the sough of the light breeze picking up desert sand could be heard. Yes, music was a pervasive part of my Israeli vacation, and I knew I had to bring a particular music souvenir back for you faithful readers.

After a day of walking and sight seeing (we did a lot of these things on the trip) our group of 40 college students from Binghamton University were given 45 minutes to eat dinner at a mall. After spotting one of the most odd store neighbours in the world (a Mcdonalds next to a synagogue) and eating the Israeli version of fast food Chinese food, I spotted a Tower Records and jumped at the opportunity to check out some Israeli music. When I walked inside I saw Israel’s Top 25 albums. I promptly took a picture and unfortunately I am having major issues uploading it to the blog. So, just trust me. Most of the list was Israeli artists (including number one). But, a few American artists made it on. Justin Bieber was #20 (well, that’s a shame). #6 was Barbara Streisand (which is just too perfect). The title of #1 went to an artist named Yehuda Poliker (who I understandably did not know much about).

Yehuda Poliker (Credit ORENG -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/orenrosenfeld/)

Yehuda Poliker was born in Kiryat Haim, a suburb of Haifa, Israel, to Holocaust survivors. He is both a talented musician and known painter. His music combines pop/rock, Israeli folk, Greek and other Mediterranean influences. He can play numerous instruments and has a powerful and soothing voice. Take a listen to “Things I Wanted to Say”:

In 1973, Paul Pena, a diverse American blues singer from Massachusetts, recorded “Jet Airliner” for his New Train album. Yet, after conflicts with his label, the album went unreleased (until 2000) and “Jet Airliner” was left as bootleg recording. For four years one of modern classic rock radio’s most overplayed hits laid on the shelf collecting dust. This until Steve Miller heard a recording of “Jet Airliner,” and decided to record it for his album Book of Dreams. Miller placed a Clapton-like “Crossroads” guitar riff in front of the airplane epic. The song hit #8 on the Billboard chart after being released as a single, and, like I said earlier, now is severely overplayed on almost all classic rock radio stations. If I ever get the opportunity to be one of the preservers of classic rock music on the radio, I will make a point not play “Jet Airliner.” How about “Swingtown or “Going to the Country?” I am not saying these are better songs, but, at least they are different.

The reason I am profiling “Jet Airliner” today is because on Monday I will be taking a big ol’ jet airliner to Israel on Birthright. Birthright is a Jewish charity that sponsors free 10-day trips to Israel for Jewish youths. I fit the profile of a Jewish youth and therefore am fortunate enough to be going on this trip with fellow Music Court writers Josh Lampert and Amanda Grannis, my girlfriend, and our suitemate Marc. I am incredibly psyched. I will be away from May 17-27. So, I wish all of you faithful readers a fantastic 10 days and I am looking forward to posting when I return. During the 10-day span, a familiar face will be returning to the blog to write a couple of posts and “water the flowers” when I am gone. I trust he will do a great job.

Steve Miller:

Paul Pena:

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.  ~Tenneva Jordan

I cannot tell you how many times I received the last piece of some sweet concoction this way, and, it goes far past pie. My mother is currently spending mother’s day doing around 14 loads of laundry that I have brought home from college (I came home for summer yesterday). I don’t thank her enough. My mother is an extraordinary woman. She is a selfless hard-worker and, like most mothers, is not appreciated enough. So, today I will do two things. First, let me send a big I Love You to my mother and a round of applause to all of the other mothers out there. Second, to celebrate mother’s day, I am including song lyrics from…Good Charlotte. *GASP* This is “Thank You Mom.”

Picture yourself driving down a dark road without another car or street lamp in sight. Don’t worry this is not the cliché plot of a horror flick. You are driving, headlights a faded bright yellow illuminating a small stretch of plain road in front of you. Your radio is on and the beginning, haunting arpeggio of Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain” starts playing. It repeats without fail as your structured reminder of reality, because, just as you are starting to get lulled into a false sense of security by its comfortable sound, Eddie Hazel begins making his guitar cry. A sharp screech knocks you out of your hypnagogic state and tosses you straight into a dream. A dream of insane sound. A wacky, at times chimerical, dream that involves such a smorgasbord of sound that your car begins to slowly veer off of its straight path, but the soft background keeps you temporarily on line. Hazel’s guitar played through a Fuzzbox and Wah pedal hits you on so many levels that the guitar solo becomes an odd amalgamation of sound; a declarative answer to an unanswerable question. It bemuses you but intrigues you. And, as the guitar fades and the arpeggio dies in sound, you find yourself on the side of the road with your car mangled in a tree, with absolutely no clue how you ended up there.

Yeah, that is what “Maggot Brain” can do to you. I stand by my opinion that “Comfortably Numb” is the greatest guitar solo of all time, but, it is simply a crime that “Maggot Brain” does not get more credit. Hazel’s playing, that legend has it was inspired by funk legend George Clinton telling Hazel to imagine he had been told his mother was dead but it wasn’t true, is a pure masterpiece. It is at times chaotic but always seems to come back together to form this wonderful piece that truly is, as one reviewer called it, “An emotional apocalypse of sound.” It is an amazing song and if you have not listened to it before, please check it out below. It would be a shame if this song continued to go unheard. Sit through the entire song and listen to Hazel’s playing penetrate you. It is certainly worth the adventure. Just don’t listen to it in the car at night.

“Maggot Brain”:

Such is the mysterious case of Bobby Fuller and the famous 2-minute song “I Fought the Law.” The Sunny Curtis song,which most famously opens with the verse, “Breakin’ rocks in the hot sun, I fought the law and the law won, I fought the law and the law won,” took the Bobby Fuller Four to popularity. Bobby Fuller died on my birthday, July 18, in the year 1966, just a few months after the song was released.

The case of Bobby Fuller always interested me, and no, this is not just because he was born on my brother’s birthday, Oct. 22, and died on mine. While that is certainly odd, what intrigues me is the perplexing crime scene and police conclusion.

“I Fought the Law” had just become a top ten hit when Bobby Fuller was found dead in his mother’s automobile, which was parked outside of his Hollywood apartment. The doors of the car were unlocked, the windows closed, and there was no key inside the car. When the police reported to the gruesome scene Fuller was found, according to a witness, with traces of blood on his face, chest bruised, covered with gasoline. A slew of crime scene miscues eventually led to a suicide listing by the coroner. This was changed a few months later to accidental because of inhalation of gasoline. An interesting circumstance. The case was “solved” and stashed away. I think we need the people from “Cold Case” Many believe this was a murder. I do not know.

Check out this interesting press release by Bryan Thomas: http://www.kellyhogan.com/bands/rock/fuller.html

“I Fought the Law”: