Art is the music we make from the bewildered cry of being alive. ~Maria Popova
09 Apr 2016 1 Comment
in General Posts Tags: rock and roll hall of fame, steve miller
(via USA Today)
Steve Miller was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Friday night, but apparently he didn’t enjoy the experience.
Speaking in the press room after his induction, Miller, 72, insisted, “The whole process needs to be changed…It doesn’t need to be this hard. There’s nothing fancy going on out there that requires all of this stuff.”
08 Apr 2016 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: maura o'connell, summerfly
Maura O’Connell: “Summerfly” (1989)
This haunting folk ballad certainly deserves recognition here, where one of our main objectives is to give wider appreciation to great but lesser-known music.
The only difficult decision involved which version of the song to recognize–there are at least three excellent ones.
Cheryl Wheeler originally wrote the song, although her version wasn’t released until 1991, two years after O’Connell’s.
Chanteuse Hayley Westenra also released an excellent recording of “Summerfly” in 2007:
In another younger day I could dream the time away
In the universe inside my room
And the world was really mine from June till September
And if it wasn’t really so I was lucky not to know
And I was lucky not to wonder why
‘Cause the summertime is all that I remember
A summer fly was buzzin’ every night when I was young
In the gentle world my childlike senses knew
And the world was just my cousin, and the wind was just the tongue
In the voice my lonely moments listened to
And I look at me today all the dreams have gone away
And I am where I never thought I’d be
Seein’ things I never thought I’d see happen to me
And I lay awake at night till the darkness turns to light
Hearin’ voices callin’ out my name
Callin’ over and again the same message to me
Cryin’ who’s your partner, who’s your darlin’, who’s your baby now?
Who wakes up at night to pull you in?
It don’t matter, you’ll just make him lonely anyhow
Don’t know why you even try to win
Cryin’ who’s your partner, who’s your darlin’, who’s your baby now?
Who wakes up at night to pull you in?
It don’t matter, you’ll just make her lonely anyhow
Don’t know why you even try to win
08 Apr 2016 Leave a comment
in General Posts Tags: bruce springsteen, lgbt
From Bruce Springsteen’s website:
As you, my fans, know I’m scheduled to play in Greensboro, North Carolina this Sunday. As we also know, North Carolina has just passed HB2, which the media are referring to as the “bathroom” law. HB2—known officially as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act—dictates which bathrooms transgender people are permitted to use. Just as important, the law also attacks the rights of LGBT citizens to sue when their human rights are violated in the workplace. No other group of North Carolinians faces such a burden. To my mind, it’s an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress. Right now, there are many groups, businesses, and individuals in North Carolina working to oppose and overcome these negative developments. Taking all of this into account, I feel that this is a time for me and the band to show solidarity for those freedom fighters. As a result, and with deepest apologies to our dedicated fans in Greensboro, we have canceled our show scheduled for Sunday, April 10th. Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry—which is happening as I write—is one of them. It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards.
07 Apr 2016 2 Comments
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: mama, steven page
Steven Page: “Mama” (2016)
Another Steven Page album, another song I can’t scrape off my brain. The former Barenaked Ladies co-front man delivers another slice of pure audio candy here.
As BNL classics such as “Jane”, “It’s All Been Done” and “Alternative Girlfriend” (and several other posts on this blog) attest, the guy knows how to assemble an irresistible pop track.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/02/20/songs-you-may-have-missed-17/
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/03/01/songs-you-may-have-missed-346/
03 Apr 2016 2 Comments
in General Posts Tags: traveling wilburys
(Reprinted from The College of Rock and Roll Knowledge)
By the late 80’s, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan had all played on each others albums. On April 3, 1988, they all got together along with Tom Petty at Dylan’s studio in Malibu, CA to record a single called “Handle With Care.” They had already worked on Harrison’s “This Is Love” and needed to record a ‘B’ side. The session went so well that the group, calling itself the Traveling Wilburys, goes on to record two whole albums together.
“Wilbury” was a sl…ang term first used by Harrison during the recording of “Cloud Nine” with Jeff Lynne. Referring to recording errors created by some faulty equipment, Harrison jokingly remarked to Lynne, “We’ll bury ’em in the mix”. Thereafter, they used the term for any small error in performance and the term was used again when the group were together. Harrison suggested “The Trembling Wilburys” as the group’s name; instead, Lynne suggested “Traveling”, with which the group agreed.
Tom Petty’s involvement came by chance. George Harrison had left one of his guitar’s at Petty’s house and before the session, went to get it. George decided to invite Petty to join the session.
Happy 28th Birthday to the Traveling Wilburys!
03 Apr 2016 1 Comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: fountains of wayne hotline, robbie fulks
Robbie Fulks: “Fountains of Wayne Hotline” (2005)
In a homage to power poppers Fountains of Wayne/elaborate inside musician joke, musical chameleon Robbie Fulks sends up FOW’s formulaic tendencies while creating a track that mimics their style perfectly.
Let’s go to iTunes customer reviewer “Denise” for a fuller explanation:
According to Yep Roc Records website, Robbie Fulks “Fountains of Wayne Hotline” began as a travel game Fulks and his bandmates would play while touring. FOW’s ‘Welcome Interstate Managers’ had just come out and according to Fulks “I guess it was the band’s super-competency and amazing consistency that made me imagine them as operators of a crisis hotline for songwriters. In our game one of us would place an emergency call for counseling, and a member of a large bureaucratic labyrinth, usually harried and gruff, would offer a solution based on time-honored Fountains of Wayne techniques.” So what started out as boredom relief, ended up being written into a song, which the band began playing at some shows. It proved popular, but fearing the novelty would end up haunting them, Fulks retired it. The Yep Roc site quotes Fulks saying “Soon all kinds of people were asking for copies, such as — in a particularly vehement request–a team of able-bodied lawyers representing the real-life Fountains of Wayne. But it has all ended well, with the band liking the song, us still never having to perform it live, and this MP3 that is now available for your listening pleasure.” According to Yep Roc, FOW’s Adam Schlesinger says, “If Robbie Fulks wants to ride someone’s coattails, he ought to pick someone more famous than us. We, for example, cover Britney Spears songs to get attention. But hey, we’re still flattered. In fact, we might hire him to write our next album for us.”
The full lyrics follow:
I hung a shingle
Country Music for Hire
No fans, no singles
10 years later I’m tired
Now I’ve racked my brain
And I’ve looked all around
But I can’t find a way
to freshen my sound
And now who do you call
when you’re down to one musical dime?
Fountains of Wayne Hotline
(phone ringback)
— Fountains of Wayne Hotline. Gerald speaking. How can I help you?
· Oh, yeah. Thanks. Uh, hello. Um, yeah, I’m a country singer in, uh, a small Midwestern town. And uh, I’m here in the studio today. Uh, let me explain. We’re working on a track. And uh we juhs, dih- dih- dih- just did a verse. It was kind of broken down. And at this point I’m not sure where to take it. Where to go from here…
— Sir, sir. Calm down. We can help you. We can help you. What you need to do now is employ the “radical dynamic shift”
· The, the radical… yes, uh, wha-, what do you mean by that?
— You know. Full band entry, fortissimo, while maintaining consistent apparent volume on the vocal track.
· Oh. Oh! Yeah, yeah! That’s a great idea! Hey, thanks a lot! Thanks for your time!
— My pleasure. We’re always here.
It’s such a drag
to face another filthy stage
Beating these 3 chords
into early middle age
I’d be better off with
7 at hand
An analog synth and an
angry young band
Then I could turn my muddy water
into sweet Mexican wine
Fountains of Wayne Hotline
— Slightly distorted melodic solo!
— Check!
(phone ringback)
—Hotline. Department of Bridges and Infrastructure. Grant speaking.
· Oh yeah, hi there. I called a little while ago. I talked to a gentleman. I believe his name was Gerald. And, um, he…
— Sir, we’ve got about seven Geralds here. You’re talking to me now.
· Yeah, of course, yeah. The point is I’m in the middle of the song, we’re about 3 minutes in, and I’m not sure where to take it from here. We’ve done a couple verses and its just kind of, um hit a, hit a wall.
— Yeah. Yeah, well, Tell me about your textural variations and harmonic palette that you have going so far.
· Oh of course. Well, um. Two 16-bar verses, the first one broken down, followed by a radical dynamic shift.
— Oh, THAT Gerald.
A slightly distorted melodic guitar solo. And chordally, let’s see, a 1, a 5, a 4, with and without a sub-dominant 7, a 2, 2 minor, and briefly a 9th compound over the tonic.
— Uh, well that 9th, is that telegraphed or is that just gratuitous coloration?
· Um, a bit of both, actually.
— Oh, OK. Well let’s hit the bridge, I’ll tell you what you do. No new chords introduced. Get a split bar of 4 in there, and push the one. And then we’ll slather the holy hell out of the thing with a semi-ironic Beach Boys vocal pad. And then an asymmetrical back end. There’s your bridge.
· Uh huh.
— Yep.
· Isn’t that kind of a lot of information to put in the…
— Sir, I’ve been on this hotline for 15 years you’re gonna have to trust me on this one.
· OK, OK. Thank you very much. I’ll give it a try. Thank you.
— You got it, chief.
Oh, yeah
Now we’re getting big and full
Oh, yeah
Try a wider interval
Just like this? Oh yeah!
More like: Oh yeah!!
Check me out: Oooooooo, yeah!!
I feel invincible and all dialed-in
kinda Long Island with some West Coast sin
So let’s cut to the coda
Any old gimmick is fine
Fountains of Wayne Hotline
See also: Songs You May Have Missed #28 | Every Moment Has A Song (edcyphers.com)
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/02/25/songs-you-may-have-missed-343/
See also: Video of the Week: Robbie Fulks–Cigarette State | Every Moment Has A Song (edcyphers.com)
Every Moment Has A Song 