New York City singer-songwriter/author/lecturing Yale professor Mike Errico paints a picture of an “old and broken” man who takes aim at neighbor kids in his yard with a slingshot. But the song has a heart as well as a point–which is made with an effective combination of humor and pathos.
Errico deals in the kind of acoustic-based folk/soul blend that may bring Ben Harper or Mike Doughty to mind. Consensus among fans seems to be that his live shows are superior to his recordings, and his recordings sound best when they sound like his live shows–which is to say, stripped down and elemental like this tune.
If you like this I’d recommend checking out David Wilcox, who is featured elsewhere on this blog.
It’s one of those songs, isn’t it? A timeless classic which can still, to this day, send a shiver down the spine. The single won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 1971.
Paul Simon wrote the song while his partner Art Garfunkel was filming in Europe for the black comedy Catch-22 that starred Alan Arkin. The duo were coming to the end of their relatively short career, tensions were high, and by the time their fifth and final studio album was in the charts, Simon and Garfunkel were no longer.
Paul Simon told Rolling Stone in 1972 that he now regrets his insistence that Art Garfunkel sing this song as a solo, as it focused attention on Garfunkel and relegated Simon to a secondary position. Art initially did not want to sing the lead vocal, feeling it was not right for him, stating that Simon should have sung the song. But after all these years, as a listener, you can’t imagine anyone else but Art singing this beautiful song.
When Simon first presented the song to Garfunkel it had just two verses and the singer suggested Simon pen another verse, which he did. The final verse was written about Simon’s then-wife Peggy Harper, who had noticed her first gray hairs, inspiring the line, “Sail on, silver girl.” The first two verses had been recorded in New York and the final new verse was laid down in a studio in Los Angles…
Who says religion and politics don’t mix? Paul Simon’s somber ode to the immigrant experience and the decaying American dream is sung to a chorale from Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion,” first performed in 1727. Simon has always acknowledged the debt, but it turns out he was following Bach’s lead in more ways than one. The German composer apparently swiped the melody from a love song written at the turn of the 17th century by fellow countryman Hans Leo Hassler, “Mein G’müt ist mir verwirret.” Hymnist Paul Gerhardt later translated Latin words of praise to go with the theme; “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” has been a church favorite ever since…
Feel free to watch Macklemore’s new video for entertainment purposes only–it’s closing in on 60 million YouTube views, so you’ll hardly be the first.
But that’s not the reason it’s posted here. I thought it interesting to note its staggeringly long list of credits. This “promotional film” must have had a budget to rival some independent feature films.
I’m not diminishing the song by saying this–plenty of worse tunes will see the top forty this year–but it does remind me a bit of the heyday of MTV, when a music video could drive a mediocre song to the upper reaches of the chart. When a haircut, a “look”, or a cleverly directed, technically ground-breaking or suggestive/sexually explicit bit of video could artificially propel a song’s chart performance. (cough cough…Robert Palmer! cough cough)
The video is spectacular and fun. I’m not here to diss it. I’m just saying that in the world of popular music and its video component, sometimes it seems the cart is placed before the moped.
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DOWNTOWN FEAT MELLE MEL, KOOL MOE DEE, GRANDMASTER CAZ & ERIC NALLY
Directed By
Ryan Lewis
Jason Koenig
Ben Haggerty
Written By
Ben Haggerty
Jason Koenig
Ryan Lewis
Executive Producer M&RL Films
Lead Producer – Honna Kimmerer
Producer – Jason Koenig
Co-Produced By VISION
Producer – Geoff McLean
Line Producer – Michele Lawrence
Production Coordinator – Kristi Heicke
Co-Produced By NxNW
Line Producer – Randy Kron
Production Coordinator – Diane Eve
Cinematography
Christopher Probst
Jason Koenig
Art Director
John Lavin
Assistant Art Director
Kaleo Quenzer
1st Assistant Director
John Nasraway
2nd Assistant Director
Isaac Mejia
Edited By
Ryan Lewis / Jason Keonig / Ben Haggerty
Assistant Editor
Phil Harvey
Movi/Drone Operator
Ryan Haug
1st Assistant Camera
Ryan Brown
2nd Assistant Camera
Chris Duerkopp
Camera Operators
Mitchell Overton
John Peterson
Location Manager
Alan Lee Baker
Casting
Jackie Ganger
Jenny Koenig
Nike Imoru
Kenny Parks
Wardrobe
Lucky Vintage / Caryn Cook
Lisa Caryl-Vukas
Makeup
Shannon Bisconer
Trista Jordan
Amy Bruscoe
Jeanne Kobayashi
Prop Master/Buyer
Emily Wood
Head Carpenter/Set dresser
Teo Shantz
Key Scenic Artist/Set dresser
Tenold Sundberg
Set Dresser/Assistant props
Blake Nelson
Carpenter
Finch Izatt
Gaffer
James Winters
Key Grip
Eric Budlong
Best Boy Grip
Dan Kerpluk
Grip
Kaiyoti Pesante
Randy Vega
Grip Assistant
Keaton Kinnaman
Grip Driver
Mike Rodriguez
Crane / Jib Operator
Greg Richie
Vehicle Wrangler
Craig Binkley
Jay Neilson
Layne Schmerin
Stunt Coordinator/Process Trailer
Jerry Buxbuam
Stunt Riders
Nick Cooper
Matthew McCoy
Byron Petretti
Austin Gerimonte
Craig Payne
Playback
Tyler Dopps
Lead Production Assistants
Layne Schmerin
Andrea Jewett
Jay Neilson
Jennie Pegouskie
Kyle “KJ” Johnson
Production Assistants
Jesse Lonchar
Ron Ridenour
Darrien Mack
Lindsay Johnston
Jared Greene
Ben Berkimer
Mackenzie Pierce
Hunter Ramp
Eric Feichtinger
Brandon Balmelli
Nina Wizner
Matt Weigand
Matt Alley
Alize Marsh
Hans Liezen
Aspen Edwards
Kelly Van Lith
Mason Van Lith
Gretchen Van Lith
Ali Johnston
Jackie Santin
Alex Roland
Becca Zabawa
Colorist
Taylre Jones
Benoît Côté
Kevin Adams
Jason Koenig
Ryan Lewis
Digital Retouching
Nate Taylor
Titles & Graphic Design
Hans Woody
Craft Service Lead
Justina Renoud
Craft Service Asstistants
Chandler Dill
Jordan Dill
Medic
Heather Dixon
Transpo
Thomas Olson
Roy Parson
Behind the Scenes Photography
Zoe Rain
Starring
Macklemore
Eric Nally
Kool Moe Dee
Melle Mel
Grandmaster Caz
Ken Griffey Jr.
Brysen Angeles
Terrance Guillermo
Tyler Andrews (XP)
Seth Welch
Brandon Foy (PHNK)
Jerome Aparis
Hocine Jouini
Alan Lee Baker
Brianne Thompson
Wyatt Forrest
Extras (in no particular order)
Kenny Parks, Jr.
Zach Quillen
Josh Dick
Ben Secord
Jennie Pegouskie
Sharayah Lane
Frank Hendler
Donnell Manning
Margaret Chen
Sye Holland
Dharma Martin
Jackie Ganger
Zoe Rain
Therese Lefebvre
Evander Cobbs
Damon Mentzer
D.R. Anderson
Darin Hilderbrand
Cedric Massey
Patrick McHenry-Kroetch
Joe Flores
Chadwick Platt-Kuhn
Josh Blakey
Victoria James
Jeremy Lindholm
Nicholas Tellez
Shanner Escalanti
Shawntelle Moncy
Heidi Lockhart
Charles Fletcher
Scott & J Whituer
Beanie The Dog
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis managed by Zach Quillen & Josh Dick
Special Thanks To
City of Spokane
Lucky Vintage
Empire Cycle
Two Percent Scooters
The Minions Scooter Club
Scoot About
Koerner Camera
Scott Lewis
Spokane Schools
Pat & Debbie Stimpson
Zola
Juju
Glenn Frey of the Eagles is facing major surgery, the band announced on Wednesday (Nov. 4). The group was supposed to attend and be honored at the 38th annual Kennedy Center Honors in December, but due to Frey’s health, they will not able to attend, and their recognition will be postponed one year…
Every Moment Has A Song 