In the historic district of Philadelphia stands one of the world’s largest accordion stores. This squeezebox epicenter is owned and operated by Michael Bulboff, who spends his days selling and repairing instruments with a crew of young experts who are passionate about sharing this oft-forgotten musical instrument with a new generation. But Bulboff’s most important student is his 3-year-old son. In teaching him the ins and outs of the accordion, Bulboff hopes to instill in him a lifelong passion for music.
The Moody Blues’ cosmic 1969 concept album To Our Children’s Children’s Children dealt with the topic of man’s reaching out into space, both in broad, philosophical terms and specifically in the form of the Apollo missions.
Here the album’s first three songs are synched nicely with NASA footage to convey through one fan’s interpretation the message of the record.
If this sparks an interest in this wonderful band’s music, we recommend you explore not only the rest of this fine album but the rest of their early catalog from their classic years of 1967-72.
The discography from those years is listed below. Adventure awaits!
There are 17 repetitions of “a little bit softer now” in the song. Let’s say you want to be at your full height on the first and at your lowest on the last. You’ll need to drop 15 times. How much should you drop each time?
Think you’re special because your fave band signed your forearm at a post-gig meet-and-greet? Think again. Not all fans are created equal. Here are 10 of the luckiest.
1. The 12-year-old who performed onstage with Jay Z
When I was 12 I spent most evenings a) on MSN Messenger b) watching Neighbours and c) working on my Craig David fan site (true story). I was not hanging out with my idols on stage at massive arenas like this special kid from Maryland. Imagine turning up to school one morning and being like: “Oh yeah, last night I went to a Jay Z gig with a sign saying ‘Can I Rap For You?’ so he invited me up on stage and I performed ‘Clique’ in front of thousands of people. Then I asked if I could come backstage and he was like’ yeah, alright then’.” Mind. Blown.
Have you ever been taken aback to discover a beloved or familiar song has roots in another decade, style, or incarnation? Did something you heard on the oldies station ever cause you to lose just a little of the awe and reverence you had for a particular artist’s creative proclivities?
In this our third installment revealing the relatively obscure original versions of familiar songs, we hope to open your eyes and ears once more with revelations about songs you didn’t know quite as well as you thought you did.
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“Bette Davis Eyes”-Kim Carnes
Carnes’ career-making “Bette Davis Eyes” topped the charts for nine weeks and won Grammy awards for Record- and Song of the Year in 1981. While its arrangement is heavy on the atmospheric 80’s synths, Jackie DeShannon’s 1975 original by contrast comes on like Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show band.
While both versions have merit, the contrast between the two is jarring.
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“Got My Mind Set On You”-George Harrison
What have we here? The legendary former Beatle (redundant I suppose, since you can’t be a former Beatle and un-legendary) teams with producer Jeff Lynne for a 1987 #1 hit that sounds like…a 1987 ELO song.
Again the contrast with the original (James Ray in 1962) is striking. Honestly in this case I can’t imagine a large number of people being fans of both incarnations of this song–making the case for studio production’s major role in a song’s appeal.
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“Cum On Feel the Noize”-Quiet Riot
Although Slade’s 1973 original has a certain glam rock charm, it also demonstrates in unmistakable terms the relative appeal of glam here (where it peaked at #98) and across the pond where British fans made it a chart-topping single. Conversely, Quiet Riot’s version didn’t chart in Britain, while American fans made it a #5 hit.
To my (American) ears Quiet Riot’s cover is a lesson in how to make a rock song feel more like a punch in your face. Like other 80’s metal anthems (Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name”, Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, for example) it begins with the fist-pumping, anthemic chorus–not a verse–and is fueled by a much more pronounced backbeat.
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“Good Lovin'”-The Rascals
Felix Cavaliere and the Rascals (who still called themselves the Young Rascals at the time) broke through with the first of their three #1 hits in 1966, a cover of the Olympics’ #81 chart dud of the previous year. Honestly, though Cavaliere and Co. upped the energy level a bit, I’m a little surprised the earlier version didn’t break the top 40 itself.
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“China Girl”-David Bowie
Talk about your upgrades. Bowie’s slick, clean cover of Iggy Pop’s “China Girl” adds the “Oh-oh-oh-oh” vocal hook and generally doesn’t sound like it was recorded in a garbage can. So it’s not a shock that it went top ten in 1983 while Iggy’s original has been heard by about seventeen people, including you if you played the above sample.
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“No More I Love You’s”-Annie Lennox
The Eurythmics lead singer’s 1995 #23 hit was a cover of a non-charting original from a well-regarded self-titled album by new wave duo The Lover Speaks.
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“Get Together”-The Youngbloods
“Get Together” peaked at #5 1968 for Jesse Colin Young and the Youngbloods and has considerable boomer cred as its plea for peace, love and brotherhood to triumph over fear is just the kinda shit hippies were into.
But it takes a true hippie to appreciate the song in its original incarnation. The Kingston Trio’s recording is perfectly emblematic of the genre of overly earnest 60’s folk so brilliantly pilloried in the film A Mighty Wind.
Guster performed a hastily-written new song about Pittsburgh, dogs, snowstorms, alleys and dumpsters (Called, oddly enough, “Pittsburgh, Dogs, Snowstorms, Alleys and Dumpsters”) with Pittsburgh mayor Bill Peduto guesting at the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh last night.
We realize this band’s fun-loving dork/cool factor–not to mention great music–have earned them a lot of space on this blog (see links below). And we think it’s more than justified. No band we know combines great tunes with a spirit of fun like Guster. It’s a little like the Monkees, if they wrote their own material and their lead singer dressed in thrift store shirts.
See some of the original ‘Dumpster Set’ below.
Guster is as fun as it gets–but their musical and songwriting chops are no joke.
Every Moment Has A Song 