"There's a time in life for Hoagy Carmichael. There's a time in life for Claude Debussy. There's a time in life for Jerry Lee Lewis. There's a time in life for Destiny's Child. All these things have their moment." ~Elvis Costello
29 Mar 2014 Leave a comment
in General Posts Tags: breakfast in america, supertramp
(Reprinted from The College of Rock and Roll Knowledge)
22 Mar 2014 Leave a comment
in General Posts Tags: gilbert o'sullivan
Of all the British songwriters who have followed in the wake of the Beatles, Gilbert O’Sullivan may possess the greatest gift for McCartney-esque melody and chord structure. His 1972 hit ‘Alone Again (Naturally)’, which spent six weeks at number one on the American pop charts, holds the same melodic melancholy of an ‘Eleanor Rigby’ or ‘For No One’ (though lyrically it’s perhaps a bit more on the maudlin side).
But O’Sullivan’s extensive catalogue contains many other sublime but less familiar tunes which also deserve a listen:
Here in a 2001 interview Gilbert touches on his ongoing love for the craft of songwriting, his appreciation of contemporary pop, his 5-year legal dispute against Gordon Mills (father of ‘Clair’, the inspiration for another of his hit singles) and another court case against Biz Markie:
10 Jan 2014 Leave a comment
in General Posts Tags: jimmy page
(Reprinted from Pittsbugh Post-Gazette.com)
by Rich Kienzle
As Scott Mervis wisely pointed out on his Pop Noise blog (I’d forgotten), Jimmy Page turned 70 yesterday. No long biographies here. No attempt to be definitive here. You can get the obvious stuff anywhere. Here’s some Page material from the lesser-known earlier corners of his career.
1957:
The budding skiffler at 13. From the BBC’s “Hugh Weldon Show. 13 year old page was playing Skiffle, the British musical craze of 50’s just before rock and roll. The music is just a mix of folk, blues, country and jazz, the same stuff John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison played in Liverpool as the Quarrymen…
Note young Page wanted to become a “biological researcher” at the time. Right…
1965:
Page’s solo single: “She Just Satisfies.” Page was a successful London studio guitarist at the time he made this single, doing both guitar and vocal. The song and sound are a steal from the Kinks of the “You Really Got Me” era (which contrary to decades of rumors, Page did NOT play lead guitar on).
Mid-1966:
Playing bass with the Yardbirds. Jeff Beck on lead guitar, Keith Relf on vocals, Chris Dreja playing second guitar and drummer Jim McCarty, from French TV. “Train Kept A-Rollin'” Page replaced original bassist Paul Samwell-Smith.
November, 1966:
Page and Beck: Dual Guitars: When Chris Dreja moved to bass, Beck and Page both shared guitar duties. This live version of “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago” comes from an appearance on “The Milton Berle Show.”
March 9, 1968:
The Yardbirds’ Lead Guitarist. From French TV. With Jeff Beck gone, Page took the guitar spot. Here they play both “Train” and “Dazed and Confused.” When Relf and the others left, Page began forming the “New Yardbirds,” the original name of Led Zeppelin.
1969:
Early Zep: “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You.”
1972:
Zep In Australia. “Let’s Have A Party” Plant and Page loved throwing in Elvis Presley covers onstage. A bootleg live CD of them appeared at one point.
2001:
Back To Skiffle? Reunited with Robert Plant and others performing “My Bucket’s Got A Hole In It,” from a televised tribute to Sun Records tribute, honoring Sonny Burgess’s rockabilly version. Oh, the elderly guy who talks with encyclopedic musical knowledge is another legendary label founder and producer: Ahmet Ertegun, the man behind Atlantic Records.
03 Jan 2014 Leave a comment
in General Posts Tags: 2013 mashup
Postmodern Jukebox has folded some of 2013’s most popular tunes into a very retro-sounding mashup. What would “Blurred Lines” sound like if it had been recorded in the 1920’s? Here ya go.
Blurred Lines, Robin Thicke, featuring T.I., Pharell
Holy Grail, Jay-Z, featuring Justin Timberlake
We Can’t Stop, Miley Cyrus
Roar, Katy Perry
Royals, Lorde
What Does the Fox Say, Ylvis
03 Nov 2013 Leave a comment
in General Posts, On a Lighter Note Tags: roy orbison
The Fastest Guitar Alive (1967)
Roy Orbison hides a rifle inside his guitar and uses it to kill countless Native Americans as he makes his way across the old west. Adding insult to injury, he then proceeds to appropriate their culture as part of his stage show.
We realize this movie was made almost a half-century ago and it was a different time, but it’s still hard to even watch the trailer for this film without cringing constantly. Also, we’re surprised that having a rifle hidden inside his guitar didn’t throw the instrument out of tune.
(Source: CBC Music)
Every Moment Has A Song 