Art is the music we make from the bewildered cry of being alive. ~Maria Popova
26 Feb 2012 1 Comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: broken singles, sarah borges, stop and think it over
Sarah Borges & Broken Singles: “Stop And Think It Over” (2007)
Sarah Borges and her band Broken Singles mix country, rockabilly, punk, retro girl-group sounds and, with “Stop and Think it Over”, the kind of power pop we don’t hear often enough from female singers.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/04/18/songs-you-may-have-missed-392/
24 Feb 2012 1 Comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: fuel up, here comes the blackout, stornoway
Stornoway: “Here Comes The Blackout…!” (2010)
I love three things about this song: the melody, the voice of Brian Briggs, and the sound of a saw as subtle added percussion in the final chorus (coming in at about 1:40 and ending with a piece of wood dropping to the floor).
It’s from Stornoway’s Beachcomber’s Windowsill album, a charmingly understated and ruminitave debut which, according to Amazon’s band bio “has taken more than five years to make; a labor of love that includes over a hundred different instruments, the chimes of a Dutch church bell, one Morse Code message and the sound of several carrots being chopped”.
They went back to Oxford, where the band was formed, to make this video for “Fuel Up”. Love the autoharp on this one:
Although they may not possess the one dimension that could push them toward Decemberists-like mainstream success (namely, the ability to rock out) they do share a lot with that band: unconventional lead vocals, some left-of-center instrumentaion, British folk influences, and songs strewn with literary refences. But this is a band I don’t need to rock out, or to change anything about the beautiful sound they make. Okay, maybe one thing: don’t take five years for the next record.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/04/08/recommended-albums-43/
24 Feb 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: e-types, put the clock back on the wall
The E-Types: “Put The Clock Back On The Wall” (1966)
The original, Beatles-led British Invasion was unkind to American bands trying to get a record deal or even book a gig. So to avoid extinction, they adapted in various ways. The New Colony Six (from Chicago) and Paul Revere & The Raiders (Idaho) dressed like this:
Bands like the San Antonio-based Sir Douglas Quintet or Chicago’s Buckinghams took a slightly more dignified approach, adopting band names they hoped would fool club owners into thinking they were booking an act from across the pond. And some, like the Beau Brummels and the E-Types, (both from California) focused on sounding like the Hollies, the Zombies, or Peter and Gordon.
“Put the Clock Back On the Wall” was penned by the hit writing team of Gary Bonner and Alan Gordon, who wrote “Happy Together” and “She’d Rather Be With Me” for the Turtles. It’s actually probably the band’s least-British Invasion-sounding song, leaning closer to a garage rock sound. This band sounded pretty consistently good even when they were covering the Beatles. Even so, none of the E-Types’ singles charted–no doubt due in part to competition from the Brits they idolized.
23 Feb 2012 4 Comments
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: frank turner, long live the queen
Frank Turner: “Long Live The Queen” (2009)
A song about celebrating life, even in the midst of death. A good reminder.
I was sipping on a whisky when I got the call
Yeah my friend Lex was lying in the hospital
She’d been pretty sick for about half the year
But it seemed like this time the end was drawing near
So I dropped my plans and jumped the next London train
I found her laid up and in a lot of pain
Her eyes met mine and then I understood
That her weather forecast wasn’t looking too good
So I sat and spun her stories for a little while
Tried to raise her mood and tried to raise a smile
But she silenced all my ramblings with a shake of her head
Drew me close and listen this is what she said now
You’ll live to dance another day
Just now you’ll have to dance for the two of us
So stop looking so damn depressed – sing with all your heart
The queen is dead
Yeah, she told me she was sick of all the hospital food
Of doctors, distant relatives draining her blood
She said I know I’m dying but I’m not finished just yet
I’m dying for a drink and for a cigarette
So we hatched ourselves a plan to book a cheap hotel
The centre of the city and to raise some hell
Lay waste to all the clubs and then when everyone else is long asleep
Then we’ll know we’re good and done
You’ll live to dance another day
Just now you’ll have to dance for the two of us
So stop looking so damn depressed – sing with all your heart
That the queen is dead
South London’s not the same anymore
The queen is dead, and the last of the greats has finally gone to bed
Well I was working on some words when Sarah called me up
She said that Lex had gone asleep and wasn’t waking up
And even though I knew that there was nothing to be done
I felt bad for not being there and now, well, she was gone
So I tried to think what Lex would want me to do
At times like this when I was feeling blue
So I gathered up some friends to spread the sad sad news
And we headed to the city for a drink or two
And we sang
We live to dance another day
It’s just now we have to dance for one more of us
So stop looking so damn depressed and sing with all our hearts
Long live the queen
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/03/11/songs-you-may-have-missed-359/
23 Feb 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: at the academic conference, dent may, dent may and his magnificent ukulele
Dent May And His Magnificent Ukulele: “At The Academic Conference” (2009)
This song won the Grammy for Best Catchy Sad-Sack Ballad With Ukulele. Or should have.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/07/18/recommended-albums-22/
22 Feb 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: blood and fire, van halen
Van Halen: “Blood and Fire” (2012)
“Told you I was coming back. Say you missed me. Say it like you mean it.”
There’s only one David Lee Roth. And I did miss him. Rock n Roll, if there is still such a thing, will always need someone with its elemental cock-sure swagger to step out and remind us what its pure strain looked like. And so few are left who can still deliver that. (Wouldn’t you love to go see a Thin Lizzy show today?)
Van Halen’s new album, A Different Kind of Truth, has somewhat confounded critics who were ready to pan it and fans who were prepared to hate it. It’s not one of their absolute best, but it’s much better than we probably had any right to expect.
If you like Van Halen, you like “Blood and Fire”. If you don’t, you don’t.
Every Moment Has A Song 