I've always been a fan of songs that slowly, slowly build. Not the ones - like Freebird or Stairway to Heaven - that build toward a purpose. But the ones that find that rhythm and stay there.
Here are my top pics.
Kashmir by Led Zeppelin -
So Cruel by U2 -
And the one that inspired my post, my all-time favorite Cars song, Double Life -
Carlos is not a fan of the harmonica or any song containing it. And I love the harmonica.
Back in the day, my friend Matt and I each bought $60 harmonicas for the sole purpose of learning how to play - and then woo women.
It was the early 1990's.
I was still dating women then.
I still love the sound of the instrument and any song containing it. Here are my Top 10 Songs Featuring Harmonica. Enjoy. You too, Carlos!
Black Country Woman - Led Zeppelin
From Me to You - The Beatles
I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues - Elton John Featuring Stevie
Wonder
Isn't She Lovely - Stevie Wonder
Long May You Run - Neil Young
Piano Man - Billy Joel
Roadhouse Blues - The Doors
Running To Stand Still - U2
What I Like About You - The Romantics
What Would You Say - Dave Matthews Band
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I've never been a fan of Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen so I couldn't list their songs. I could have listed many more U2, Neil Young or Stevie Wonder songs. What songs are your favorites?
In 8th grade (1980), Rush's album Moving Pictures came out. My friend Steve brought it to school and insisted I borrow it. I did. And I was hooked for life.
The cover's double meaning (right) was lost on a 12 year old.
For years later, I wanted to be a drummer because of Neil Peart. Ironically, I never tried to play (the drum solo song) YYZ from the album. I used my drum sticks - known to my dad as his screw drivers - on my drum kit (AKA the floor and pillows of my bedroom) to perfect Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, Vital Signs and especially Limelight.
Here is what I wanted to be able to do as a 12 year old - done by a (then) 9 year old: Teddy Z covering, drums only, Tom Sawyer.
Hell, I'd like to play like that now.
Here is Vital Signs live in 1984.
My friend Lloyd and I would endlessly discuss the meaning of the songs Red Barchetta, Witch Hunt, Camera Eye, and all the other songs on the album.
A small footnote at the end of Red Barchetta says, "Inspired by 'A Nice Morning Drive' by Richard S. Foster." In the pre-internet world, it took me years to figure out that was a short story in the November 1973 issue of Road and Track magazine. I am still trying to hunt down a reasonably priced copy of the magazine on eBay. Those damn Rush fanatics.
Here's an article by Richard Foster describing when he finally met Neil Peart, Rush's drummer and main lyricist, in 2006.
After listening to Moving Pictures, I had to find out everything about this band.
Then I discovered their fourth album (right) - 2112.
The first side is all one song, divided into seven parts. I remember thinking, "It's something about a world without music, but I don't get it." Then I listened to it again and again and again.
Here are parts 1 and 2, live in 2007:
Side two has some decent songs, but nothing like the fantastic side one.
Moving up the band's history, I then discovered A Farewell To Kings, Hemispheres and Permanent Waves. Without exception, every song on those three albums are fantastic and as still some of my favorites.
A Farewell to Kings has the (sort of) hit Cinderella Man, but I'm more partial to their longer songs such as Xanadu and Cygnus X-1.
I don't play an instrument, but I have been told that mastering their 10 minute instrumental La Villa Strangiato from Hemispheres is prized among musicians. Something about all the odd timing changes. My friend Kyle used to be in a bar band that covered that song - and well too.
Here is a live version of La Villa Strangiato from around 2004:
The Trees, another of the songs from Hemispheres is an allegory about, well, here are the lyrics:
There is unrest in the forest There is trouble with the trees For the maples want more sunlight And the oaks ignore their pleas
The trouble with the maples (And they're quite convinced they're right) They say the oaks are just too lofty And they grab up all the light But the oaks can't help their feelings If they like the way they're made And they wonder why the maples Can't be happy in their shade
There is trouble in the forest And the creatures all have fled As the maples scream 'Oppression!' And the oaks just shake their heads
So the maples formed a union And demanded equal rights 'The oaks are just too greedy We will make them give us light' Now there's no more oak oppression For they passed a noble law And the trees are all kept equal By hatchet, axe and saw
Here is a live version of The Trees from the late 1970's.
Permanent Waves has some of their most popular songs, including The Spirit of Radio - which they opened their concerts with for many years. (Even their 2005 live 30th Anniversary CD opens with the song.)
Here is The Spirit of Radio live from 1984:
By the time Signals - their next studio album after Moving Pictures - came out, I knew every song of theirs, and ate up the new CD. I was a Sophomore in high school and my Theology class (Catholic boys school requirement) was informally called "Sex, Drugs, and Rock N Roll". All we discussed were those three subjects. In detail. For nine months. Our professor, Fr. Ed, was quite cool. (I still keep in contact with him via Facebook.)
We were encouraged to bring in our favorite albums. He would play the songs and we would discuss the lyrics. We did one Rush song, Losing It, from Signals. Here are the lyrics:
The dancer slows her frantic pace In pain and desperation Her aching limbs and downcast face Aglow with perspiration
Stiff as wire, her lungs on fire With just the briefest pause The flooding through her memory The echoes of old applause
And she limps across the floor And closes her bedroom door...
The writer stares with glassy eyes Defies the empty page His beard is white, his face is lined
And streaked with tears of rage
Thirty years ago, how the words would flow With passion and precision But now his mind is dark and dulled By sickness and indecision
And he stares out the kitchen door Where the sun will rise no more...
Some are born to move the world To live their fantasies But most of us just dream about The things we'd like to be Sadder still to watch it die Than never to have known it For you, the blind who once could see The bell tolls for thee...
I don't remember the exact discussion. All I remember is how proud I was that we were talking about MY band with the entire class for an entire hour. How very cool.
There is no video or live performance of the song by the band, but here is the studio version of the song.
Geddy Lee, the band's singer/bass player/keyboard player, introduced keyboards more and more into the bands songs - starting with Signals. I kept buying their albums for awhile - after Signals came Grace Under Pressure, then Power Windows, then Hold Your Fire. By their latest live set A Show of Hands, I had moved on to other bands (though I diligently bought every new release, and still do). But every so often, I pick up a Rush CD from my pile and listen to it.
Recommendations -
If you have never ever heard a song by Rush, start with Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures or their second live album Exit...Stage Left, which contains songs from that time period. Those are the easiest to jump into.
If you're a fan of prog rock, start with 2112 or Hemispheres.
If you're already a fan of Rush, you must see the documentary Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage. My favorite part is watching the actual home movie of Alex Lifeson (guitars) telling his parents that he is dropping out of high school to go on the road with his band. Priceless.
The Arcade Fire - Wake Up...(dammit. I'm 8 months late with this one.)
Joe Bonamassa - Just Got Paid / Dazed and Confused (With a ZZ Top opening and a Zeppelin finish - and a subtle Frampton interlude - I'm hoping I beat you to this one.)
What are your contenders today for Greatest Band of All Time?
I guess I could have ensconced myself in porn and candy all weekend. Instead, I thought I would go through my ever growing To Do List.
Over time, as I think of ideas, I write them down on little sheets of paper, totaling around 40 right now. As I organize them, I thought I'd take you through the journey. (I'm skipping listing ones like "Call Steve back." and "Weed cucumber garden." I don't think those points are of any interest to you.)
Add to DVR: - America's Test Kitchen (PBS) - If you Really Knew Me (MTV) I have to keep at least one teen oriented show on my DVR list. I recently finally dropped Degrassi: The Next Generation. - Locked Up Abroad (Nat Geo) The episode describing the true life story that inspired the movie Midnight Express is coming next week. Visit Jeep dealerships I think I want my next car to be a Jeep
Create menu for August Family Dinner My younger sister Claudia and her family are coming back in town for a week near the end of July. Our immediate family rotates hosting dinner the first Monday of each month. August is my turn (with a bit of help from Carlos). To coincide with Claudia's visit, we're moving the dinner back a bit. I am thinking simple: French bread, cheese, wine, salad, potato salad, hot dogs, chili, pudding. I am still working out the details.
Add to Netflix queue: - When You're Strange (a Doors documentary) - Better Off Dead (for a planned John Cusack 80's teen trilogy weekend) - One Crazy Summer (ditto) Savage Steve Holland directed both Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer - and one of my other favorite 80's teen movies, How I Got Into College, starring a young Laura Flynn Boyle and a cute Corey Parker. I wonder whatever happened to him? - The Sure Thing (ditto) - It Might Get Loud (to see Jimmy Page) - Prodigal Sons (documentary - "star of the high school football team comes home to his 20 year high school reunion as a woman.")
To Buy: - iPhone holder - This Arch vase (pictured below top) that I saw in a recent issue of Cooking Light magazine - The Pivotrim - that I saw on late night TV, to help with my yard work, but I want to do tons of research first - Thumb Wine Decanter (pictured below bottom), that I saw at a party Carlos and I attended recently
Listen to the Paul Pena CD that Karen at work lent me. We were listening to WWOZ at work recently and the song Jet Airliner came on. I had always assumed that The Steve Miller Band did the original version. I was wrong. Here is the original, Paul Pena version:
Find Pictures of Jay Hayden He's the guy in this popular commercial:
It took me almost 2 months to research his name!
Download Songs (legally, of course): - Dierks Bentley - Pride (In the Name of Love), a U2 cover - Thinkin' 'Bout Something - Hansen (to sample their new CD) - And I Waited - Hansen (ditto) - Anything by the band Tinted Windows (From Wikipedia: "Tinted Windows is an American rock supergroup formed by guitarist James Iha, previously of The Smashing Pumpkins, singer Taylor Hanson of Hanson, bassist Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Ivy, and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick.") I'm curious to hear what they sound like. - Anything by the band The Decemberists (I heard them on WTUL yesterday and really liked them.)
As Pandora does for you automatically, tonight I started with one song that I love – and let the song guide me through the rest of my night.
At least in my mind, the prior song prompted me toward the next one. It may have been a memory from my past or a trigger within the song, but the playlist flowed naturally for me.
Here are the songs I wandered through this evening. Find the songs on LimeWire or YouTube. And make your own journey.
(The first song) Beds Are Burning – Midnight Oil Wire – U2 Tempted – Squeeze Tom Sawyer (DJ Z Trip Remix) – Rush Romeo’s Tune – Steve Forbert Shelter – Lone Justice I’ll Be Your Shelter – Taylor Dayne You’re Still The One – Shania Twain Shelter - Ray LaMontagne Shelter from the Storm - Bob Dylan Blue On Black – Kenny Wayne Shepherd Hope It Gives You Hell – The All-American Rejects Ledbetter Heights – Kenny Wayne Shepherd Riot Van - Arctic Monkeys Supernova – Liz Phair Cotton Fields – Creedence Clearwater Revival Send The Pain Below – Chevelle Woman - Wolfmother Son’s Gonna Rise – Citizen Cope John Lennon – Citizen Cope Bullet and a Target – Citizen Cope
And then I stopped. I thought that song was a good spot.
Here are the videos of a few of the above tunes…
Beds Are Burning – Midnight Oil
Romeo’s Tune by Steve Forbert
You’re Still The One – Shania Twain
Blue On Black by Kenny Wayne Shepherd (an acoustic version)
I make at least one mixed CD per month – and this is how I pick the songs: I throw enough stream-of-consciousness darts at the wall and see which ones I like best.
Of all the songs I went through above, only three made it onto my May 2010 Super Mix. Which ones do you think? (Hint: I have NEVER put U2 – my all-time favorite artist - on any mixed CD ever. They just seem too personal to me to share.)
Another season, another mixed tape. I gave away four copies of this (sister, sister, parents, Carlos). After they played the CD for friends, I have requests for more.
(When I get some time, after Mardi Gras Day, I'll post everything that has been going on.)
Saints: Halftime (Stand Up and Get Crunk) – Ying Yang Twins A Who Dat Christmas – Who Dat Children’s Choir When The Saints Come Marching In - Louis Armstrong I Believe (Saints Go All The Way) - Harrison Avenue (See video below.) Super Bowl Mambo - One Black & Gold (Who Dat) – K. Gates When the Saints Go Marching In - Rebirth Brass Band The Saints Are Coming - U2 and Green Day Who Dat? - Aaron Neville & The Singing Saints
Mardi Gras: Second Line - Stop Inc. Do Whatcha Wanna - Rebirth Brass Band Mardi Gras Mambo – The Hawketts (See video below.) Mardi Gras in New Orleans – Professor Longhair Go To The Mardi Gras – Professor Longhair Hey Pocky Way – The Neville Brothers Carnival Time – Al Johnson Big Chief (Part 1) – Professor Longhair (See video below.) Jambalaya (On The Bayou) – Fats Domino Jambalaya – Professor Longhair Take Me Back to New Orleans – Gary “U.S.” Bonds Tipitina – Professor Longhair
Back in college, I was a DJ on my college radio station - for all five years. (One day, I'll go into the details of all my different shows and on-air partners, and other adventures we had there.)
I was always looking for songs with long intros. We had to make announcements - "Right now it is 85 degrees, partly cloudy with a 60 percent chance of rain here in Natchitoches. This afternoon's intramural softball game has been moved to...". We tried to make the announcements with music in the background.
U2's Where The Streets Have No Name was a favorite of mine to use. It had almost two minutes of build up before it kicked in. I could relay the weather, college football scores and weekend club schedule in that time.
Another of my favorites to use was Lone Justice's song Shelter. I was thinking of it recently because Carlos put it on a mixed CD for me. (He and I each brought 5 mixed CD's to our recent trip to Florida.)
I did find the video for Shelter...
Twenty plus years later, it's still a cool song.
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I'm sure most of you realize U2's video is an homage to the Beatles famous rooftop concert, but I thought I'd point it out anyway.
Here is a clip from their final film Let It Be, documenting the event - the Beatles final concert EVER...
The Beatles are still so universally known that I merely input "Beatles rooftop" into YouTube's search engine to find the clip.
John Lennon: "And I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and myself, and I hope we passed the audition."
I still can't believe he died at 40 years old. I'm 42 now. I was 12 when he died.
It’s such a cliché that back in college while joining my manic-guitar-playing friend Jeff into a musical instrument store, I have personally seen “No Stairway” posted.
Led Zeppelin is, after U2, my All Time Favorite Band. Yet, I haven’t listened to Stairway all the way through in about 10 years.
Dave Grohl, the leader of the Foo Fighters and Nirvana’s former drummer, has always been a Zeppelin fan.
I really admire him:
1) He is established enough in his career that he can play live with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. In June, the Foo Fighters played a show at Wembley Stadium, joined by Page and Jones for the Zeppelin tunes Rock and Roll and Ramble On. According to this and other articles, Grohl says, “"Welcome to the greatest day of my whole entire life."
2) He is respected enough that he can play Stairway to Heaven live on Craig Kilborn, making fun of his presentation just enough that the audience knows that it’s cheezy, but playing it seriously enough to agree with the audience that the song should be granted reverence, no matter how overplayed it is.
Here are Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins covering Stairway To Heaven. Enjoy.
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Update: I did an further mention of ideas from this post here.
Improv Everywhere has come out with another brilliant mission - Best Game Ever.
"What we are going to do today is that we picked a random little league game that is taking place here in Hermosa Beach, California and we are going to turn this little league game played by 10 year olds into a major league baseball game."
My favorite part is when the Goodyear blimp arrives!
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In case you missed them, here is a list of my favorite past missions by Improv Everywhere:
Frozen Grand Central - 207 Improv Everywhere Agents suddenly come to a halt in Grand Central Station for 5 minutes - and then resume as if nothing happened.
Best Buy - Almost 100 people identically dressed as Best Buy employees (royal blue shirt, khaki pants, black shoes) enter a Best Buy at the exact same time, pretending to be surprised that anyone else is dressed as they are.
The Moebius - The description from the Improv Everywhere site: "Seven undercover agents meticulously repeated a five-minute slice of time for twelve consecutive repetitions. Starbucks employees and patrons were frightened, confused, and ultimately entertained as they found themselves stuck, without escape, in the middle of a time loop." The YouTube video.
I love making mixed CD’s, usually with some kind of theme. The planning stage sometimes takes days or weeks.
Here is the track listing for the mixed CD that I am working on tonight. I came up with the idea when Carlos and I were discussing movie titles with names of the months in them.
* - I own this song. (All the other ones I’m still looking for.)
Song Title - Group *January – Pilot February – Jesus Jones *March – Jackopierce April – Deep Purple May – Colin Newman June – The Church July – The Innocence Mission August – Love *September – Earth, Wind & Fire *September – Jackopierce *October – U2 November – Duncan Sheik *December – Collective Soul *Bonus Track: December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night) – Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
The Saints (our football team) have definitely helped bring New Orleans back. Having the Saints playing in New Orleans again really brings a sense of normalcy back to us - and for the first season EVER, the Superdome is sold out with season ticket holders.
U2 and Green Day played at the first Saints game held in the Superdome since The Storm. We've hosted nine Super Bowls - more than any other city. Around the city that day, and the weekend right before that Monday night, New Orleans had the feel of hosting another Super Bowl. Plus, since I work two blocks from the Superdome, I was let out of work at 2 pm so I could avoid all the traffic. Go Saints!
Personally, things are relatively back to normal.
My house had sustained minor damage: the large tree in my front yard came down - taking my gutter with it, most of the wooden fence around my house was blown down, my roof lost about 15 shingles, the entire roof of my carport was torn away, my garage had around 3 inches of water in it for about a week, and my hot tub's motor flooded. My area of town thankfully didn't have any serious flooding. (Compared to friends of mine who had 17 feet of water sitting in their house for two weeks, mine was definitely minor damage.) I have fixed everything around my house that I want to for now, but it's an on-going project to finish.
Carlos and I both have our jobs. He's a school teacher and was back to work by October 2005. I work at a local university and went back around the same time. Our department had 179 pre-Storm employees. As of today, we're up to around 40. (My immediate department went from 20 to 3 employees.) We had to lay off the most of the rest because of lack of business, but some just couldn't get back to the city after evacuating because they had no place to live. I'm very lucky!
There are, of course, many areas of the city that will take years to be fixed. Imagine if your house and EVERY house within 10 miles of you had 5 to 17 feet of water sitting in it for two weeks. How long would it take you to recover?
Plus, these people are faced with questions like: If I return, will I be the only one on my block or in my neighborhood? What if the levees break again for the next hurricane? In my area, will there be any schools or playgrounds for my kids? Any grocery stores for me?
We do have some humor about all this. A local organization has an on-going campaign consisting mainly of ubiquitous bumper stickers around the city that say "New Orleans: Proud To Call It Home". Pre-Storm, some clever residents parodied the statement with the bumper sticker "New Orleans: Proud To Crawl Home". Post-Storm, the new one "New Orleans: Proud To Swim Home" immediately started appearing on the bumpers of cars.
I took 100 pictures around the city in October/November 2005. I am narrowing them down to the best 50. Carlos and I are going to go to those same locations in the next couple of weeks to take pictures of the exact same locations one year later. I'm working on a slide show which I'll post to YouTube soon. I'll send a link once I'm finished.
