The Beatles are without question the most important band to ever create rock music. Elvis, The Rolling Stones, and Dylan did a lot to contribute but it is The Beatles who created the sounds, songs, and personae that are still shaping music as we know it today. You can surely read all the praises of The Beatles that you want by simply searching on Google, you do not need me for that. I am here to tell you about one of my favorite Beatles songs "Here Comes the Sun":
The music and soft lyrics of this song make it seem almost like a lullabya. I am not sure that is possible to listen, truly listen and absorb, this song without coming away with a good bubbly feeling. "Here Comes the Sun" was written by George Harrisonb and recorded by himself, Paul and Ringo. John did not participate as he was recovering from a car accidentc.
My earliest memory of this song is probably from when I was about 7 or 8 years old and my sister was 2 or 3. My dad would put this song on and the two of us would dance around the living room often singing into a toy spatulad. These are the times that I also began to perfect my air guitar techniquese. To this day, I still look forward to waking up early on Sundays to catch Breakfast with the Beatles on WCMF. It seems every song they ever made was perfect in its own wonderful wayf.
Perhaps I should have saved this song for the spring as it is clearly about the end of winter but I was inspired by the beautiful sunny fall day yesterdayg. Even when I think of this song though, I am reminded of the beauty of springtime. During my sophomore year at Geneseo I had experienced a "long, cold lonely winter"h until one day we were blessed with one of those warm days in Marchi. After class I was so pleased with the warmth on my skin that I went back to my dorm room, flung open the window, and blared "Here Comes the Sun" on repeat. After several listens I went with my roommate to grab some lunch at the Union, but decided that I should share this song with campus first. I put the speakers up in the window and took the song off repeat and walked away. Well, apparently iTunes and I were not on the same pagej and the song was somehow still on repeat and the central quad on campus got to listen to "Here Comes the Sun" for half an hour. The unfortunate part of the whole thing is that by the time we got back dark clouds had worked their way in and the temperature had droppedk.
Play count while writing blog: 7
Favorite lyrics: It seems like years since it's been clear/ Here comes the sun
a. An absurdly catchy lullaby. b. Apparently at Eric Clapton's house in England - holy rock gods moly. c. And being dumb and annoying. John is my least favorite Beatle, but I will likely feature him in a post closer to Christmas nonetheless. d. Similar situations would occur for "I Want You to Want Me" by Cheap Trick, and when mom was home, "Song of the South" by Alabama. e. Don't hate. f. Okay, so maybe you don't need to Google "The Beatles" to read someone gushing about them. Whatever. g. And we all know my feelings on the autumnal season. h. Which had nothing on the following November - February. i. That was inevitably a tease after which we will still definitely see snow. j. I blame Steve Jobs. k. I wonder if anyone else from Geneseo remembers that early spring day where some idiot blared that Beatles song for half an hour.
Much to my father's chagrin there has yet to be a Rush song thus far in my blog. Well, I could no longer resist the temptation. So I present "Resist":
Growing up I was exposed to copiousa amounts of the Canadian rock gods, Rush. This is probably my favorite Rush song as it is both different from many other Rush songs, and at the same time, a classic example of the enduring qualities of the trio. Many Rush songs are full of sci-fi references, allegory and metaphorsb, "Resist" is much more straightforward though.
The lyrics are simple and elegant. It is easy to resist things, except those that you really want. To resist these things you must fight your temptations and desires. It makes so much sensec and yet reminds you how difficult it is to have self control. The members of Rush can attest to this as they have avoided the pitfalls of rock stardom and stayed out of drugs and alcohol. There are stories of the trio, in their heyday, finishing shows and then reading novels.
Beyond the lyrics Geddy'sd voice is beautiful in this song as he does not reach for notes and is just himself. I do love how he conveys his emotion in Rush songs - you get the feeling that he really believes in what he is singing aboute. The music is also catchy with an unmistakable opening and it just makes me want to:
I cannot talk about Rush without referencing the bromantic comedyf "I Love You Man". When I went to the movie I did not know that Rush was so prominently featured and once I did realize I do not think I stopped laughing. I was taught from a young age that the dashboardh of the car is actually a keyboard and that Neil Peart was god on drums.
"Resist" is featured on the 1996 album "Test for Echo". When I learned that this song was only from 1996 I was actually shocked. I figured it had to be from before I was born. I do not remember not hearing this song on WCMF, but apparently I was 9 when it came out. Regardless, I consider it to be a classic Rush song and if I ever get roped into going to Rush show I would be upset if they did not have this in their setg.
Favorite lyrics: You can fight/Without ever winning/But never ever win/Without a fight
Play count while writing blog: 7
Air instrument played while writing: Guitar
a. This is actually a severe understatement.
b. See "The Trees", a song about Quebec hating maple syrup or something else weird and Canadian.
c. That you might forget they are Canadian.
d. Pronounced "Getty" in Rochesterian.
e. Usually it is probably about hockey and Tim Horton's that he is singing aboot.
f. Yes. Wikipedia called it a "Bromantic Comedy". Yes. I busted out laughing.
g. Like my father was going to be upset if Dave did not play "Tripping Billies" when we saw them at Darien Lake this summer.
h. This video could easily feature my father. I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw this.
Today's song that Mary likes is not for those who cry easily. Johnny Cash's rendition of "Hurt", a cover of the Nine Inch Nails song:
In 2002 Johnny Cash recorded an album(a) made up mostly of covers of more current rock songs. "Hurt" was released as the single in March of 2003 along with the haunting music video. Per Trent Reznor, the front man of NIN, he was originally skeptical the cover might be "gimmicky" but after seeing this video and hearing Johnny sing the song he was welling up with tears.
I remember once watching a documentary on Johnny Cash and when they came to the end their was a significant amount of time dedicated to this song. Many saw this as Cash singing his own benediction. His daughter told a story of the first time she watched the video, Cash was excited to know her reaction. The truth was that it had brought her to tears as she thought of it has her dad saying "goodbye".
In many ways, Cash was saying "goodbye" with this song. His wife, June Carter Cash, who appears in the video, passed away 3 months after the filming(b). Cash, who was clearly frail at the time the video was shot, died months after June on the night he was supposed to appear as nominee at the MTV Video Music awards for this song(c).
Before this song came out I thought of Johnny Cash as someone my Papa (grandfather) listened to on the oldies station. Hurt came out and I was immediately hooked. Every time I got in Papa's truck from that day on I put in the Cash CD that had this song(d). He was so impressed by the fact that we could share this album and I truly believe he valued the moments more than I did. He would tell me all about listening to Johnny through the years and about how I should "type it into the computer" and learn more about how he went and played for the prisoners(e).
Johnny Cash reminds me a lot of my grandpa. They grew up in the south around the same time period and they both experienced dark events in their lives that shaped the people that they became. I like to think about the conversation my grandfather and Johnny would have if they met in a diner over a cup of coffee. I bet they would talk about how great "it used to be" and how the doctor tells them to use Sweet-N-Low as they pour the sugar in.
My grandfather passed away in 2008 and every time I hear this song I think about him. Sometimes I even cry(f), I can admit that. Today would have been his 72nd birthday. Happy Birthday Papa.
Play count while writing blog: 7 Favorite lyrics: "and you could have it all, my empire of dirt"
(a) His 87th actually. (b) Filming took place in February 2003, June passed in May. (c) The song received numerous other accolades including a posthumous Grammy for "Best Music Video". (d) It was a "greatest hits" CD and contained other classic Johnny Cash songs including Folsom Prison, A Boy Name Sue, and Ring of Fire. I still listen to it about once a month. (e) If only that man had Wikipedia his whole life, he probably would have saved himself a lot of grief from having to argue with people. (f) Like right now.
Well here goes nothing. The song I like today is Lil Wayne's "6 Foot 7 Foot".
EXPLICIT
EDITED(a)
In the first song that Lil Wayne released post Riker's Island, Weezy greets us with this playful gem that samples the classic "Day-O"(b). I am not entirely sure what the point of the song is and frankly I don't care. It has a great beat and an even better flow. When it comes on while I am out running I seem to get a boost(c).
Although I may look like a nut job when this song comes on my iPod. there are still actual nutjobs out there in the world. And, apparently, they all live in East Rochester. While out running since I moved here in June I have seen not one, but two people being arrested. Both times it happened 6 Foot 7 Foot was playing. Despite my half-hearted internet(d) searching I have no idea why these folks were arrested. The one kid was pulled over in a BMW and looked like real trouble(e). The other arrest was just last week(f), a man was pulled over in his pickup truck with his family standing on the curb. There were two East Rochester police cars and two Rochester police cars involved and they were interested in whatever was in the truck bed. I have been actively running for almost three years now. For the most part from March-October I run outside because I hate treadmills. During this time I lived in downtown Binghamton(g) and in Spencerport and I NEVER saw anyone get arrested(h). In fact, I don't ever recall seeing anyone being pulled over. Maybe I should have researched East Rochester a little bit more before investing in property here.
The lyrics of 6 Foot 7 Foot are offensive, crude, and borderline nonsensical. Whatever, I still like this song. The one thing that bothers me is when "Tammy" is rhymed with "Tammy". I think it is poor song writing when a word is rhymed with itself(i).
Thoughts on video: The video is not necessarily the most creative but I still actually really like because it seems like something I would produce. The scenes act out the references in the song very literally. While that is fun, the problem is there is a lack of any cohesive story other then Wayne falling into the tub(j). Play count while writing blog: 3 iTunes play count: 69(k)
a. I am not a fan of censorship however I want to give my the readers the choice to not hear so called "offensive" language, you're welcome. b. This is song I am known to sample frequently, especially when performing even the most basic manual labor tasks. c. I also mouth the lyrics and make hand motions so people probably (accurately) think I am a nut job. d. According to spell check "internet" should be capitalized. Antiquated dictionary Google? e. Also, it was a Sunday afternoon in July, I feel like you have to do something pretty bad to make a cop arrest you on a Sunday afternoon in July when it is 85 and humid. f. To be fair, I saw something going down while driving home and then conveniently made my planned run take a route right by the arrest. g. Not exactly known as a classy place. h. Okay, I wouldn't expect to see anyone being arrested in Spencerport, you got me. i. Meet Virginia (1:15 mark), Irreplaceable (2:00 mark) j. I really like this effect though. k. I have not synced my iPod in sometime so I imagine this number is a bit low.
For today's post I was determined to acknowledge 9/11 and the new album from the Dave Matthews Band. The connections are weak, but nonetheless, I present The Stone.
As you may know I am an avid fan of the Dave Matthews Band so the first song I want to share from them is one that I consider to be a favorite 1. The version in the Youtube video above is quite old and short 2. Most live versions are closer to 11 minutes and the flow of the song has changed since 1999 when this video was shot. Regardless, this is a fantastic version.
The Stone is a song that exemplifies great music paired with deep haunting lyrics. According to Wikipedia, the meaning of the song is unknown but it is thought to be Dave Matthews proposing marriage to his long time girlfriend (now wife), Jennifer, or about the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. At first, it seems preposterous that a song is ambiguous as to being a proposal of marriage or about the person Dante's bottom level of hell is named for. When the lyrics are investigated though, it almost makes sense:
If I leave now I might get away
God knows it weighs on me
As heavy as stone and as blue as I go
I was just wondering if you'd come along
Hold up my head when my head won't hold on
I'll do the same if the same's what you want
But if not I'll go
I will go a long way
Far from that fool's mistake
And now forever pay
In part this seems like Dave arguing with himself that he could leave Jennifer and not confront his feelings for her or he could stay and they could forever support each other. A complicated profession of his love, but it's profession nonetheless. On the other hand it is easy to see these words as if spoken by Judas, apologizing to Jesus for his betrayal. Dave Matthews has long had religious themes in his songs so it would not be stretch to believe either of these scenarios 3.
My favorite part of the song is at the beginning when Dave almost whispers "I've this creeping
suspicion that things here are not as they seem." It gives me the chills, he says it with so much on his mind and with such angst. Following this, the words seem to almost be a stream of consciousness 4.
On the studio version of the song 5 the outro plays right into "Crush" 6, a Dave song many of you are likely more familiar with. The Stone almost fades out and next thing you know the familiar plucks at the beginning of Crush have begun and you're taken to a new world.
On live versions of the song, such as the one above, the song goes out into a jam towards the end and just when you think that it is over, BAM, they hit you with a surreal crescendo 7.
Last season on the cultural phenomenon American Idol 8 the winner was Philip Phillips. Aside from kind of looking and singing like Dave, Phillip is a big of the band 9,10. Anyway, the judges hated him, because, well, they're dumb. He won though because he was by far the most talented of the contestants 11,12. Phillip chose to sing The Stone during one of the weeks (I told you he was cute): 13
Apparently AI has taken down the actual performance from the show from Youtube, whatever.
Like I said, Dave Matthews Band released a new album today. YAY! It is called Away From The World and is a departure from the more upbeat Big Whiskey. I have listened to the whole album a few times already, but I cannot even begin to review it or place it into the context of other DMB albums so I decided to present you with The Stone instead!
Okay, my connection to 9/11 is slight, but regardless I wanted to point this out. I think it shows the frame of mind we as nation were in the days and weeks that followed. Clear Channel, the company responsible for so many mediocre radio stations, made a list of songs that were "lyrically questionable" and were not to be played until such time that it was considered appropriate. This list included songs like "Ob-la-di Ob-la-da" by The Beatles and "Crash Into Me" by Dave Matthews Band. I have no idea why Ob-la-di is on this list. I can understand Crash, I suppose, except the song is borderline pornographic - "Crash into me and I will come into you" - I do not think Dave Matthews had airplanes on mind when he was writing this song. Regardless, Clear Channel was appropriately crucified in the media for this memo 14. I didn't want to write a whole article about Crash, because I am sure you have all heard it a million times anyway. Play count while writing blog: 8 Number of versions on iTunes: 8 iTunes play count: 99 15
1. So do other Daveheads, AntsMarching.org, the unofficial Dave Matthews
Fan Site, last year named the 50 best Dave songs and The Stone, was number one. 2. Unfortunately Dave does not have quite so much hair these days. 3. I think I like the marriage proposal better, because well, I'd marry Dave, no questions asked. 4. Too bad when I blurt out random stuff there isn't kickass music in the background. 5. from Before These Crowded Streets, a name that always makes me think of U2... 6. Actually the album goes Halloween -> The Stone -> Crush and is an absolutely beautiful 15 minutes. The progression of the songs make sense too. Halloween is an angry beast of a song, The Stone is like making up, and Crush is talking about the complications of love. 7. This was not adequately captured in this video, but if you feel so inclined, you can find newer versions online. 8. I hate American Idol. 9. He is even a member of AntsMarching 10. AntsMarching.org played an April Fools joke and switched all the forums over to titles referring to PP. 11. Not that I would know, I didn't watch. 12. Also he is cute and American Idol's audience pretty much consists of 13
year old girls who think they one day might marry him... 13. Jennifer Lopez (AI judge) had never heard the song
before... was she too busy making bad movies in the 90s to listen to
Dave?? 14. Although I guarantee every other media outlet had similar guidelines in place. 15. All of my iTunes play counts were zeroed out into 2010 as a result of a computer crash.
Thanks Facebook for providing this entry. Toto's 1982 hit "Africa" is one of those songs that I was always aware of 1 but that I never appreciated until I experienced the song.
Until I went to write about this song, it never occurred to me the the subject matter of Africa is strange. I just excepted that it was likely talking about bad shit that happens in African countries. I lumped it together with songs that seem to have similar themes and "worldbeats" 2. Apparently these songs were all released a few years later in 1984 and 1985 and Africa actually was not as philanthropic or politically charged. According to Wikipedia, Toto keyboardist, David Paich, had long been interested in Africa but struggled to write a song about it, as he had never been there. David writes that the song is about a little boy writing a song about Africa but all he knows about Africa is what he has seen on TV 3.
Although "Africa" was released in 1982, five years before yours truly graced this planet, it could have been written in 2009 as far as Michelle Schrank, Chelsea Anderson, Andrew Diehl, the City of Boston and I are concerned. For New Years Eve 2010 the four of us trekked to Boston for a party that was sure to be unlike any other. After avoiding getting dressed until the last minute and getting lost on the mean streets near the Commons we made it to the bar and got our dance on.
We even stopped at four gas stations trying to find a disposable camera 4, 5
The music seemed to be a mix of the hits of the day and throwbacks. AND THEN, just after the clock struck 12, and everyone pretended to know the words to Auld Lang Syne, IT HAPPENED. The DJ put Africa on the deck 6 and the experience began. It was like a light bulb clicked and suddenly we forgot about ordering another Long Island and danced as if we were in Africa 7. Ever since that night all of us and, I would hope, everyone at the bar that night 8 think of those glorious four minutes they experienced during the infancy of 2010.
Judging by the grins on our faces I am assuming this was taken right after Africa finished 9.
Two years later it was decided that a new city would be conquered for New Year's Eve. This time we were taking New York City on head first. Feeling like classy employed people, the Boston crew and additional company signed up for an all inclusive night of debauchery in Brooklyn. The conversation leading up to the night revolved around how awesome it was going to be when we convinced the DJ to spin Africa. Turns out the DJ was not buying our story about how great this song would be to play. Apparently, it was not classy enough for this bar in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn. Our begging was of no avail and we were forced to jam out to the song on a cell phone while heading home for the night. Maybe next time we will celebrate NYE in a city that appreciates good music.
Enjoying our Gimlets, like I said, classy.
Thoughts on video: As I was not watching MTV in 1982, today was the first time that I watched this video. It seems like it is low budget and poorly produced even for being 30 years old. The part where they just zoom in on the globe that looks like it was taken from a fifth grade teacher's room is particularly lame. That being said, there does seem to be story told 10 and I always like when the band actually plays their instruments in music videos rather then walking around "acting"11.
Favorite lyrics: "Gonna take some time to do the things we never have"
Play count while writing blog: 6
Comments question: Is there a song that you have "experienced"?
1. Maybe it was programmed into all babies born in the 1980s? 2. See: Feed The World, Free Nelson Mandela, and We Are The World 3. I wonder how this song would be written today, I can probably learn
more about Africa by spending 10 minutes on Wikipedia than I could by
spending a week actually there AND I would avoid dealing with airlines! 4. Besides capturing the evening's moments we were also trying to keep my
father employed. 5. Thank you Michelle for the pictures I hijacked from
your Facebook. 6. Or clicked it on iTunes. 7. In reality we probably looked ridiculous and drunk, but it was NYE so it is okay. 8. Besides the ones that were passed out near the bathroom, this was not necessarily the classiest establishment in Boston. 9. Actually, I think we ran out of film after being at the bar for about 10 minutes. 10. Besides middle aged white dudes singing about Africa. 11. Yes, I went out of my way to find a U2 video that matched this
description. Yes, I actually forced myself to watch and listen to
multiple U2 videos as research.
Here goes nothing - the first entry in the shiny new blog. In order to not set expectations too high I, appropriately, present Less Than Jake's "The Science of Selling Yourself Short". As this is the first entry, I will likely say/include/exclude things that I will regret later - deal with it.
Whether you're familiar with the song or not, I encourage you to listen to the song right now all the way through (preferably loudly and while dancing). This song has come in and out of my life for the nine years since its release in December 20031. As I recall, the early millennial years saw an onslaught of pop based rock/punk. It was like the grunge of the early '90s cleansed for American youth that had been brain washed by the likes of N'SYNC and B-Spears. As an angsty (I use that word liberally) high schooler I found solace in the the rage and bubble gum anger of suburban kids with guitars complaining about everything. I jammed out to Good Charlotte, A New Found Glory, AFI, and The All-American Rejects (their first album was outstanding before they sold their souls to the Man). I would watch the dark (not moody dark per se, more they need to turn on some lights dark) videos on MTV2 while milling about the house during the summer or blare the album on my headphones while locked up in my bedroom "doing homework". Anyway, I digress, The Science of Selling Yourself Short has stuck with me since its release. The music is fun and light with outrageously melancholy lyrics. I knew (and still do know) every line 2. As high school passed and the state of New York allowed me to drive (more poor decisions made in Albany) I listened less to the angst ridden post-turn-of-the-millennium "punk" and diverted toward whatever was on 100.5 The Mix (throwback) and 98.9 The Buzz 3. However, years later (okay, three years later) during my spring semester freshman year, The Science of Selling Yourself Short belly-flopped back into my life. Geneseo, in a move that was clearly short-sighted, paid for a service (no idea of what it was called) that allowed students to download and stream music, instead of stealing via illegal downloading sites. I used it sparingly, but one of the songs I did download was this one and boy did I listen to it. Later in the semester I convinced my friends4of the awesomeness of this song . We would spend Friday afternoon5 making a playlist for the night. My one request was this song because I was convinced that it would be epic when it came on. I don't recall it ever being epic, but I am still holding out. In the years since, I have gone through phases of listening to this song. Every time it is like I am discovering some ancient treasure and I play it repeatedly until I can't even stand it any longer. Surprisingly, I do not actually have the song on iTunes - the only way I ever hear it is on Youtube. It's probably better that way - my play count would easily be 500+. Toughts on video: Despite listening to this song on Youtube a whole lot of times I actually do not have any strong feelings on the video. It is mediocre in most respects. The video might have been cool if it were the 1980s and the wholelive video mixed with cartoons was still groundbreaking technology. Favorite lyrics: "I'm my own worst enemy."
Play count while writing blog: 7 1. Please note, all [most] facts in this blog will use Wikipedia as the source, no I will not cite them - I am not wasting my time proving I can annotate correctly. I have two degrees, been there, done that. 2. As much as Mary Charles ever knows every line. 3.If I recall correctly they still played "Hey Mickey" back then. 4. These friends are the ones who listened to Dave Matthews Band ad nauseum - which is where that love affair began. No worries, DMB will be thoroughly explored in this blog. 5. This is when my obsession with Friday afternoons began, can you think of a better time of the week than Friday afternoon?
