Yesterday was Josh Lampert’s birthday. Josh, as some of you may remember, has written for the blog before and is still technically writing his Top Guitarists Section. The man above is certainly included on his list. For Josh’s birthday, I bought him a slide for his guitar. We jammed for a while, Josh playing the slide and soloing over songs like “My Sweet Lord.” I made him play the opening riff. I was reminded of one of the masters of slide guitar during our birthday session. Robert Johnson.
Robert Johnson, who started the famous die at 27 music curse, was definitely a progenitor of popular slide guitar work. He played slide Delta Blues, music that originated from the Mississippi Delta, and he played the music with such rawness and precision that he left a lasting imprint in blues music style. Listen to this exceptional example of Johnson’s blues slide.
Something about Opening Day brings out the kid in everyone. The sweet scent of freshly cut grass, the feel of the creaky metal seats, the sound of the crack of the bat and the whip of a pitcher; the senses evoke feelings of times spent at the ballpark. Opening Day means unparalleled optimism. Everyone is at .500. It is beautiful. For one day, every fan and team is on equal footing. For one day, we can all sit back and just watch some of America’s pastime with no reservations. Baseball means Spring, even when the grip of winter is still powerful. While it may be cold, Summer’s sport always seems to warm the stadium up with cheering fans – unless we are at Citi field which is basically a wind tunnel.
As many know, I am a die-hard Mets fan and while I understand my team’s position, I am optimistic on this day. If you are not hopeful on Opening Day then you should not be a baseball fan. So, lets go Mets and PLAY BALL!
Here is “Centerfield” with an opening clip from my favorite movie “Field of Dreams.”
People who view the Music Court frequently know that I am a big fan of the roots of rock n’ roll. No, not the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. I’m talking about musicians who inspired famous artists to perform. Rarely do you get to label someone as the sole progenitor of a certain genre, but for the maniacal genre of Shock Rock, one particular forefather sticks out. When Alice Cooper, The New York Dolls and Kiss talk about inspiration they often site Arthur Brown and Screaming Lord Sutch. But when Arthur Brown and Lord Sutch talk about their inspiration, one man sticks out as the man behind Shock Rock. That is the man above. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.
Everyone knows shock rock. It is the wild, hyperbolic genre that sees musicians dress in costume and put on a theatrical act for the crowd. The songs are over-the-top, sometimes marked by yells and guttural noises. No one did this better than Screamin’ Jay. Not only did he create the genre, but also because he was so absolutely fantastic at performing it, no one could ever reproduce his sound.
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins was crazy; a solid background for shock rock. He served in the Air Force during World War II and claimed that he was tortured. One story states that upon being liberated, he taped a hand-grenade to his torturer’s mouth and pulled the pin thereby blowing his head off. He also was a boxing champion in Alaska. He was born in Cleveland.
On stage, he began to be known for his gaudy stage outfits, adorning himself in leopard skin and leather. His main influence to shock rockers lies in his performance of “I Put a Spell on You” which is one of the most influential rock songs ever. And, no, that is not an exaggeration.
The song, which was originally supposed to be a blues ballad, turned into an inebriated donnybrook of painful groans, wide-eyed stares and an evil repetitive riff that is both scary and infectious. In layman terms, the entire band was drunk when they recorded the song, and what was once a love song turned into a lascivious, demonic ritual. He doesn’t even remember recording it because he blacked out after. But it is sweet, sweet music to my ears.
It is absolute genius. This is what inspired the shock rockers. This extravagant display of sexually charged music was preposterous in 1956, when the song was released. Carl Perkins had just released “Blue Suede Shoes” and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins was releasing this transmogrification of the blues. He was 12 years ahead of his time. Blues would once again feature songs like “I Put a Spell on You,” but not at Hawkins’ level. Hawkins continued to take his act to new levels and that can be seen in his performance below. This is music!
Four letters entrusted with a mighty, untamed and unpredictable concept. Love works in mysterious ways. Love is crazy. Love is every cliche in the book. It is original and fresh, but old and stalwart. It is sometimes evanescent, but idealistically it lasts forever. It makes you act funny. It makes you upset when everything is going well and makes you happy when everything is falling around you. It keeps you stable, but it’s as fickle as the weather.
Let’s get this straight. Love is odd and it is impossible to understand its herculean-like power. But, when you fall in love, the once inextricable vines do weaken and cripple. You are allowed to see what this crazy little thing called love is all about. People toss around the word too often. I love this. I love that. I love you. I loved that spaghetti. I loved how you prepared that spaghetti. God, I am hungry for spaghetti. I have to stop posting at 1 a.m.
It is inevitable that this word will be thrown around. Generally, words like love, that are broad semantically, are used improperly and too often. I am a violator of this. But I save my one real “love you” for my girlfriend and since we will be celebrating our fourth Valentine’s Day together, I want to feature my favorite love song, “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton.
My guess is she liked it
I “love” (damn, I did it) “Wonderful Tonight” because of its simplicity and genuine dedication. Clapton takes the most banal, uninteresting dinner party lyric and turns it into this symbol of adoration and love. There is no need for any crazy lyric. Love, in Clapton’s eyes, is as simple as thinking that she looks “Wonderful Tonight” and having them take care of you, and he is right. That is what is so beautiful about Clapton’s song. It is also paired with an equally simple, but amazing guitar riff that allows the guitar to guide the song. My favorite lyric:
“I feel wonderful
Because I see the love light in your eyes
And the wonder of it all
Is that you just don’t realize
How much I love you”
The lyric spills it all out there for everyone to hear. She made him feel wonderful. Her simple being makes him feel wonderful. It is a quiet display of absolute love and that is why it is a masterpiece. I hope everyone has a Happy Valentine’s Day.
On The Spine - I am not in this picture. But I should be
Today marks the last time I will make the trek up to Binghamton University in anticipation for either Fall/Spring semester. I have reached the Spring semester of my senior year of college. In May I will adorn green and white and graduate with a BA in English – Rhetoric – Creative Writing – whatever other English specification you want to pack into my degree. I am excited to enter the “real world.” I may be continuing my education at a Graduate level in hopes of achieving a masters in journalism. Or I may immediately enter the work force and become a member of the working population. For now, I will enjoy my last semester of college.
Since today is the last time I will be heading up to Binghamton after winter (or summer) break, it also is the last time that I will feature “Going Up The Country” by Canned Heat paired with my farewell Long Island post. This classic, that was made iconic by the Woodstock movie, is not only a Woodstock anthem, but also an ode to my departure to the north country. Upstate New York…where the water tastes like wine?
The Canned Heat recording from Woodstock also makes the perfect driving song. In it you can hear Bob Hite say that he really needs to pee but there is nowhere to go. A problem when you are driving up deserted 17 as well. So, for good luck on my final trip, here is Canned Heat with “Going Up The Country.”
The Music Court 
