Monday, May 9, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 365: The Luckiest

The Luckiest - Ben Folds (2001)

Here we are.

When I started this project a year ago, I knew that this song would end the list. I think that's what made me keep going, more so than stubborn determination or wanting to follow through with something of this scope for the first time in my life. I knew that "The Luckiest" was waiting for me.

And it deserved to be praised.

On September 11, 2001, Ben Folds released his first proper solo album, Rockin' The Suburbs. After a few weeks, when our nation had a chance to breathe again, people began to take notice of this brilliant little set of tunes. It's now become regarded by fans as his greatest work. The wiley prankster of "Song for The Dumped" and "Army" seems to grow up here into a songwriter of extraordinary depth, only hinted at before on his biggest hit single, "Brick".

We are shown a elderly man being forced into retirement against his wishes.

We are given the Savior-like delusions of an acid casualty.

We meet a bored suburban girl who spelled her name without an H.

And we were given the most beautiful love song of the 21st Century.

"The Luckiest" captures everything holy about two people's love for each other better than any Sonnet of Shakespeare, any Song of Solomon or any Soliloquy of Sondheim. Questions are asked, alternate realities are proposed and comparisons are made, yet the one constant truth that this song shows us is that soulmates exist. There's no sense in trying to explain it away with science, psychology or cynicism. The love of your life is out there, and they will feel the same way about you.

The idea of one person being made for you can sometimes feel like the most naive , antiquated myth to ever grace the hopeful minds of human existence.

Then you meet them.

In just a few months, the woman that has made every word of this song true for me, Candice Marie Brechbiel, will change her name to Candice Marie Jewell. After she does, we will follow in the time-honored tradition of our forefathers and dance our first dance as man and wife.

And it will be to this song.

And I'll cry.

And she will too.

And that's ok, because both of our lives have been leading up to this moment.

Thank you fate, from the bottom of my heart.



Thanks to everyone who's stuck with the 365. It's been an honor.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 364: From The Darkness

From the Darkness - Spock's Beard (2010)

One of the main reasons I started this blog was to express my love for a much maligned genre of music. Besides New Age or Disco, no group of musicians were more loathed at one time the 20th century than the proggers. Amazingly, times have changed. New Age has an outstanding nationally syndicated radio prgram called Echoes to sing its praises. Disco is considered the epitome of 70's pop culture, and is roundly celebrated for its brilliant producers and artists. However, prog rock's rebirth has to be the most surprising. Not only has it been reconsidered by most music critics, but the wealth of new material is staggering ( So much so that you can walk into Barnes & Noble and puchase a magazine entitled Classic Rock Presents Prog.) Much of this has to do with three bands, and their offshoots: Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree and Spock's Beard. The band that makes the cut for the 365 is the latter. Spock's Beard truly embraces Prog's history while hurling it further into the present. Once lead by Neal Morse (who now rules Transatlantic with former Dream Theater drummer/mastermind Mike Portnoy), Spock's Beard has continued to release masterful works that challenge, entertain and stupefy all at the same time. Their current disc, X, is a doozy: track after mindnumbing track of dexterity, passion and craftmanship. If I had to pick a favorite in their 19 year career, it would be this. And the penultimate track from the disc is 17 minutes long, with not an ounce of filler. Set aside some time for "From the Darkness", pull up the lyrics on the web and listen. You will see why this album was almost completely financed by fans of the group. Who wouldn't want this music to be recorded for the ages?

Prog will continue to mutate, grow, digress and change just like any other art that we love. What's reassuring about this journey is that thanks to bands like Spock's Beard, rock's intelligent, redheaded stepchild has quite a future ahead of him!


From the Darkness by manticorelover98

Saturday, May 7, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 363: The Ballad Of Booth

The Ballad Of Booth - The cast of Assassins (1990)

Broadway musicals don't get any more powerful, disturbing or brilliant then Stephen Sondheim's Assassins. This long black journey into the minds of people who have successfully or unsuccessfully tried to kill a United States President is certainly not "Oklahoma"-esque in its story or scope.First of all, the assassins themselves are set up like they are playing a shooting game at a carnival. You will feel revolted, amused, sympathetic, and moved to tears at different points of the production, which can be jarring given the historical monsters presented on stage. An original cast album by design is often just a souvenir of a show, but the Off-Broadway (and Broadway revival of 2004) Assassins albums are some of the best of their kind. Sondheim's style of jamming every word possible into the singer's libretto while still maintaining resonant melody and structure is on superb display here. Both casts handle the material in breathtaking style. If I had to pick one track to best describe the experience, it would have to be the story of the man who started it all, John Wilkes Booth. Sung by the Balladeer character and Booth himself, the audience is given the questions of a nation and the answers of a murderer. For my non-musical theatre nerd readers, I truly believe this will blow your mind. Having never seen the show myself, I know that this song did for me as well.



Friday, May 6, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 362: Home To You/O Caroline

Tie:
Home To You - Mark/Almond (1973)
O Caroline - Matching Mole (1972)

It was bound to happen, right? Well, at least its here, in the twilight of the list! A tie is completely respectable anyway, especially since today's songs are one in the same: sad ballads about love from prog rock cult acts!

Mark/Almond 73 was an album of my fathers that I literally wore out the grooves on. Its mellow jazz/folk/prog spirit is the finest in the group's catalog. "Home To You" tells the story of being on the road with the band, away from the woman you love. Sure, the guy makes mistakes galore (he seems to be a serial cheater!) but the sentiment that he plays his tunes every night for his muse back home is really quite beautiful. The same can be said for "O Caroline" which, regardless of all the influential acts he's been apart of, is my favorite thing Robert Wyatt has ever done. His voice is a fragile wraith, talking about how hard it is to write a love song that expresses how you feel about the person you wrote it for without it being crap. He even describes the band playing their parts in the lyrics! It's ridiculously charming, naive and heartbreaking all at once.

Peaceful easy prog rock love songs!

Now, pour yourself a fine port, light a candle, sit back and enjoy these tunes!





Children singing obscure Prog!?!?! God bless youtube!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 361: Former Lee Warmer

Former Lee Warmer - Alice Cooper (1983)

I love "School's Out". I crank up "I'm Eighteen" every time it comes on the radio. If we're talking about hard rock songs, you have to mention the monster that is "No More Mr. Nice Guy".

Still, it's recent Hall Of Fame inductee Alice Cooper's more esoteric recordings that keep me coming back to his body of work. From heartfelt ballads to brilliant parody, the man's catalog is rich with songs that show how much depth the man has. Even so, his 1983 album DaDa is a strange one in his catalog. At the pinnacle of his substance abuse, Cooper doesn't even remember recording it. Somehow in that haze master producer Bob Ezrin was able to draw an incredible concept album about mental illness out of him. Not only is today's track a standout from the disc, it's also the creepiest song Alice ever recorded. It feels like a Victorian horror film in a 4 minute package. While Cooper has continued to produce strong material, he's never matched DaDa's artful insanity. Oddly enough, he's never performed any of the songs from it live.

Mr Cooper, if you're listening, this record has Rock Opera written all over it! Get on that!!!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 360: Maggot Brain

Maggot Brain - Funkadelic (1971)

"Mother Earth is pregnant for the third time
For y'all have knocked her up.
I have tasted the maggots in the mind of the universe
I was not offended
For I knew I had to rise above it all
Or drown in my own shit."
-George Clinton

Greatest guitar solo ever? Eddie Hazel will make you believe it is true. The man is simply weeping like no one has since.



J Mascis will now show you why he is as underrated a guitarist as Brian May.





Tuesday, May 3, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 359: Newborn

Newborn - Elbow (2001)

"I'll be the corpse in your bathtub/Useless"

There ain't a better opening line in the entire 365!

Elbow were always different from their Britpop peers even in the waning years of the movement, which is when the group released their debut disc Asleep In The Back. For one, they wrote more intricate music than anyone in the game besides Kula Shaker.

For two..........It's freakin' prog!!!

Today's track was inspired by the musical arrangement of Genesis' 1976 classic "Entangled", which the band openly admitted in interviews. As college was the time that my prog flag really started flying, I jumped on these guys as soon as I saw their album in Uncut Magazine's best of 2001 album poll. I haven't stopped listening to their ethereal symphonic rock since.

And "Newborn" still gets me every time I hear it. It's just gorgeous pop music.

They've been awarded multiple accolades, gained hit singles and even won their country's equivalent of a Grammy (The Mercury Prize) in the last decade.

They're basically still unknown in The States.

Let's change that, true believers.

Whadaya say??!!?!?



It works all acoustic too.

Monday, May 2, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 358: The Sky Children

The Sky Children - Kaleidoscope (1967)

Ok, if this song doesn't blow your mind then I seriously need my head examined. Out of all the more obscure tracks I have presented in the 365, this may be the best. Kaleidoscope was a UK band that came about right at the birth of Psychedelic pop, and they are always confused with a US band that had the same name and a little more success. Their debut disc, Tangerine Dream (hmm, wonder if they got this in Germany?), should be regarded in the same breath as Piper At the Gates Of Dawn and Sgt Pepper as cornerstones of a movement. It's been recently reissued with expanded tracks and is quite reasonably priced on Amazon.

Now, if for some reason this was the only song on the aformentioned disc, it would still be hanging out with Floyd and The Beatles. "The Sky Children" is epic, telling the tale of..............

I have no idea......

Its got kids, porcupines, Neptune and magic seashells, though.

And it definitely has a narrative, I just have a hard time following it.

BUT IT IS BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!

Psychedelic music doesn't need to make sense anyway. It just needs to take you on a strange journey.

Kaleidoscope does that in spades.

Please love this as much as I do. It might help prove my sanity!

JDIZZY's 365 # 357: Doolin-Dalton

Doolin-Dalton - The Eagles (1973)

The Eagles have become such an institution of American music that it is easy to overlook what made them so in the first place: Incredible Songcraft.

Taken from their second album Desperado, today's tracks is a fairytale love letter to the old west. In more ways than any other piece in their catalog, it shows how easy the transition from "Peaceful, Easy Feeling" to "Hotel California" was. The Eagles rode into the country's ears on the Laurel Canyon/California Singer Songwriter vibe, but even from this track's birth, their was an underpinning of darkness that permeated their sound. This album respects the outlaws much more than the lawmen, as Hotel's tracks revel in the underside of late 70's LA. The Eagles were a pessimistic bunch. All one has to do is listen to this stunning song, then do yourself a favor and pick up this landmark disc. I promise you'll never look at "Desperado" as the same love song after hearing it combined with "Dalton"'s melody in the album's closing reprise.

Tombstone and "Doolin-Dalton"? Can't beat it!



JD Souther helped co-write this song with the boys. His acoustic version gives me chills.