Art is the music we make from the bewildered cry of being alive. ~Maria Popova
27 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: thank you, the redwalls
The Redwalls: “Thank You” (2005)
Another song which possesses a degree of that power ballad magic, the Redwalls’ soulful “Thank You”. You can hear the muscles they aren’t flexing here.
I really like this band’s look, and was surprised to see they were from Chicago. Their Stones-inflected licks and snarled, Lennonesque vocals had me assuming they were British.
26 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
(Source: Spinner)
Everyone’s favorite socialite screw-up, Paris Hilton, has conquered reality television, acting and homemade porn — now she’s trying her hand at DJing. And boy, is it going so well! (I kid! I kid!)
In the words of Mixmag, the auditory “car crash” took place at the Pop Music Festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil where Hilton blasted an unsuspecting audience with juiced-up top ten’ers.
Let’s be honest here: Several mistakes were made. To start, during Gotye’s “Somebody I Used to Know,” the DJ-in-training accidentally shifts the pitch of the song, giving the mix a warble like a warped vinyl record.
Secondly, you’ll notice that the show’s smoke machine and pyrotechnics seem louder than the, erm, performer’s set. Despite her onstage “help,” it looks like Hilton could’ve turned up the volume.
But the best part of the evening is Paris’ failed attempt at playing her new single “Last Night.” Instead of blasting Brazil with her Afrojack cut, the “DJ” mistakenly cues Rihanna’s “We Found Love.” To make matters worse, she tries to sing her track over the top.
26 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: aerosmith, alice cooper, only women bleed, toys in the attic, you see me crying
Aerosmith: “You See Me Crying” (1975)
The phrase “power ballad” means something different to everyone who hears or uses it. For me the term is inescapably accurate for describing a type of music that holds an undeniable fascinating and appeal for me. The next several songs I’ll share have the traits I consider this type of song to possess.
They would include something I can only describe as a latent-sounding power, a feeling of something held in reserve. Perhaps a lead vocal sung in a voice that’s clearly built for screaming rather than cooing to an audience. Or a mix that’s a little heavier on the drums or bass than the producer of a ballad-singing artist would have thought appropriate. And an overall rough-edged sound that gives you the feeling you’re hearing a band in a tender moment, but that it’s clearly a band who doesn’t often have tender moments–giving the song, of course, more “power”. “You See Me Crying”, from Aerosmith’s 1975 Toys in the Attic LP fits my definition at least of the term “power ballad” perfectly.
I must digress for a moment to say that Toys… is far and away Aerosmith’s greatest moment as a band. Not only does the album contain classics “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion” but it’s loaded with great album cuts like “Adam’s Apple”, “No More No More”, title track “Toys in the Attic” and their cover of boogie-woogie blues chestnut “Big Ten Inch Record”, which surely would have been covered by David Lee Roth, with or without Van Halen, had Aerosmith not beat him to it.
“You See Me Crying” is the perfect closer to this classic album, and a nice contrast to everything that precedes it. Joining the melancholy piano figure opening the track are a pair of woodwinds–an oboe, of all things!–and Steven Tyler’s ragged voice is nicely offset by a gradually swelling orchestral arrangement.
Alice Cooper’s “Only Women Bleed”, which was released as a single in the same month of April ’75 and was the shock rocker’s first foray into power ballad territory, uses an almost identical formula. If you haven’t heard it recently, listen again to its breathtaking arrangement, which beautifully incorporates horns and strings alongside traditional rock guitar/bass/drums for maximum emotional impact. It’s a true rock masterpiece–perhaps the greatest “power ballad” of them all.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/06/01/songs-you-may-have-missed-422/
25 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: frank zappa, sexual harassment in the workplace
Frank Zappa: “Sexual Harrassment in the Workplace” (1988)
Zappa’s freaky side is well known even to the non-fan. But his versatility as a guitarist is an often overlooked facet of his artistry. Here he plays it straight on an instrumental blues solo. If you didn’t know who it was and had to guess, how many rockers would you have named before Zappa?
25 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: beach boys, bruce johnston, curt boettcher, gary usher, glen campbell, my world fell down, sagittarius
Sagittarius: “My World Fell Down” (1967)
This song, whose harmonies and complex arrangement split the difference between the Mamas & the Papas, the Beach Boys and perhaps the Cowsills, certainly sounds like a top ten hit from 1967. And probably only the trippy sound collage and organ/vocal break (from 1:50 and 2:50) held it back. Strangely, only the single version of the song (see below video) contains this 60-second bit of psychedelia, while the more straightforward, sub-3:00 LP version included here probably would have been a top ten hit as the single.
Still, you can’t fault ambition, even at the cost of a gold record, right? As it was, the song still charted, but only rose to #70 nationally. I’m guessing it did somewhat better in San Francisco than Peoria.
Sagittarius was a trio comprised of Beach Boy Bruce Johnston, Beach Boy collaborator (and co-writer of “In My Room”) Gary Usher, and, believe it or not, Glen Campbell (that’s him on lead vocals). The influence of producer and studio genius Curt Boettcher, whose work with the Association helped define the sixties’ sunshine pop sound, is also evident in the vocal mix.
Johnston, incidentally, was Glen Campbell’s replacement in the Beach Boys. He also wrote what became Barry Manilow’s signature tune, “I Write the Songs”, which he is said to have written about Brian Wilson.
24 Jun 2012 1 Comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: band of horses, cee lo green, no one's gonna love you
Band of Horses: “No One’s Gonna Love You” (2007)
A beautifully melodic track from the band’s 2007 breakthrough Cease to Begin album. This song was covered by Cee Lo Green on his 2010 Lady Killer LP, and Band of Horses returned the favor by covering Cee Lo’s “Georgia”.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/02/07/songs-you-may-have-missed-322/
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2025/03/25/songs-you-may-have-missed-771/
Every Moment Has A Song 