Art is the music we make from the bewildered cry of being alive. ~Maria Popova
24 Dec 2024 Leave a comment
in Video of the Week Tags: bridge over troubled water, paul simon
24 Dec 2024 Leave a comment
in General Posts Tags: john lennon
by Carl Schultz
Abandoned by his parents at an early age, John Lennon was raised by his strict, austere, sharpminded aunt, Margaret Smith, whom he referred to as his Aunt Mimi.
Despite Aunt Mimi’s well-known, well-intentioned early advice to her strong-spirited, artistically-inclined nephew (“The guitar’s okay, John, but you’ll never earn a living with it”), John loved his aunt dearly, and throughout his life remained steadfast in his loyalty, respect, and devotion.
As John became successful—and very, very rich—he bought Mimi a well-appointed home overlooking the Atlantic Ocean (“If you don’t take it, I will,” he told her), and supported her for the rest of his life.
Lennon took Aunt Mimi along on at least one of The Beatles’ overseas tours—to Australia and New Zealand, where Mimi visited with some distant, long-lost family. And even at the end of his life, when John was living in New York City, he’d phone his Aunt Mimi at least weekly to check up on her, seek her advice on everyday matters—and just to talk.
John Lennon was looking forward to a trip back home to England, London, Liverpool, and a visit with his Aunt Mimi when he was murdered in front of his apartment on December 8, 1980.
23 Dec 2024 Leave a comment
in Video of the Week Tags: alice cooper
18 Dec 2024 Leave a comment
in Video of the Week Tags: david bowie, love you till tuesday, space oddity
Recorded in February of 1969 for a long-form promotional film called “Love You Till Tuesday”, this early version of David Bowie’s first chart single reveals how much the song evolved into the trippy tale of Major Tom’s ill-fated moonshot we all know and love.
Bowie claims to have gone “stoned out of my mind” to see Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, which in part inspired the song.
The song’s style, lyric and minor key arrangement are said to have been influenced by the early work of the Bee Gees, specifically “New York Mining Disaster”, a similarly bleak bit of fiction.
In fact, “have you seen my wife, Mr. Jones” and “tell my wife I love her very much” link the two lyrically, as does the common theme of facing the worst-case scenario in a potentially deadly occupation.
One might say “Space Oddity” is “New York Mining Disaster” set in space.
The song was re-recorded in June of ’69 and rush-released to coincide with the Apollo 11 moon landing (the single came out just 9 days before Armstrong walked on the moon).
Bowie’s definitive version of the song ditched the ocarina solo for a spacier guitar-and-mellotron break, replaced “blast off” with “lift off”, and generally sounds much more polished.
But the early take on the song–and its accompanying video, worts and all (um, Bowie’s teeth at 2:50?) certainly remain a curiosity for fans.
Every Moment Has A Song 