Is it a sound idea to move to England simply because of the country's love, respect and quality of pop music? I think so. At a time (October 2002) when Kelly Clarkson's treacly "forced by a TV show" American idol ballad was number one on the American charts, Damon Gaugh was entering the British top 10 with a song about turning down advances from Madonna and regretting his inability to do anything when Buckley, Sinatra, Lennon and Cobain passed away. That's quite a difference. It would be Badly Drawn Boy's highest chart appearance, but his qualityofworkcontinuestostand at the heights he achieved back in '02. America, take note. If music of this level can be pop hits in the Mother Country, isn't it time we placed our ears outside the box. Badly Drawn Boy on the Hot 100? What a day that would be!
Four men have owned this song from Andrew Lloyd Webber's lastperfectmusical. Here they are in order of release, not quality. I simply cannot pick which is best.
When you record an album featuring members of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span with Joe Boyd helming the production chair in 1970, you know before hearing it that you are dealing with a classic. Oddly enough, it took until the turn of the millennium and a cd re-release before the world- at- large knew anything about this marvelous work. Vashti Bunyan was less than a footnote in music history, having popped up on Andrew Loog Oldham's radar as well as Mr. Boyd's for the briefest of seconds. The album was forgotten, but it had staying power. It became a sought after collector's item, regarded as one of the archetypes of the psych folk movement that began to flourish with Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom and Vetiver. It is clear to see why. Every song on this disc sweeps you away to the countryside of the UK, with rivers, grub worms and various sundry characters that calm, inspire and confound. This is thought provoking music of the airiest variety. Vashti has since come out of hiding in the wake of the reissue's success, releasing her first new album in over 30 years, as well as an acclaimed EPwithAnimal Collective. Let us hope she never disappears again. Sometimes soothing music is all you need, and you will find none more worthy of that description than Ms. Bunyan's.
We all knew he was thegreatestMCofourgeneration, but going back to his best album sixteen years after its release, it becomes clear that Biggie would have been a fine actor as well. One of the most cinematic hip-hop albums ever released, Ready To Die tells a clear story of disenchantment brought on by a life of crime. Today's song, along with "Me and My Bitch", have always been my personal favorites on the platter. I've often wondered if the two robbers on "Gimme The Loot" were actually two people, or Biggie battling with voices in his head. They are both voiced by him, giving Biggie a Method Acting performance only three tracks into the record. The rest continues in this vein, until Biggie kills himself on the last track. Like John Lennon, there is no clear idea what Biggie would be doing today if he hadn't been murdered, but it would be something extraordinary, no doubt in my mind. One needs only listen to the two albums he released in his lifetime to know that.
This should not be this good. Mick sounds better going all turn of the century pop than we had any right to expect. Like most of Mick's solooutings, it turns out to be an underrated classic that will be remembered long after Rob Thomas' other high profile collaboration is reserved for late 90's oldies stations. Hell, it might even become a hit one day. You cannot deny these hooks for much longer!!!
We are going back today, aren't we friends and neighbors? Not only is this song one of my perennial favorites, but it is also probably the most important piece on the 365. Without "Maple Leaf Rag", there is no dixieland, no jazz, no popular music as we know it. It still digs a hole in your ear after all these years, making you go around humming it for the rest of the day. It is the joy of melody, the joy of abandonment, and the joy of its composer, who thankfully "recorded" piano rolls so that we can hear it as he played it. He makes it sound easy, which any piano player will tell you it is not. Neither was his life. Scott Joplin died of dementia brought on by syphilis in a mental institution in 1917, and was buried in an unmarked grave that didn't receive a marker until 1974. In his 49 short years, he became the king of ragtime, wrote a magnificent opera and left us with multiplepiecesofmusic that puts him on par with any modern composer of the 20th century. Let us never forget that without Mr. Joplin, the world would be a very square place.
This is the hardest entry for me to put to screen so far in the 365. How do you choose one song that defines Randy Newman? It was easier with The Beatles. I know good and well that Rocky Raccoon isn't their best song, but it is my favorite, and its novelty has never gotten old for me. With Mr. Newman, I am at a loss. Is it " I Think It's Going To Rain Today"? What about " My Old Kentucky Home"? How about a modern day classic like " The Great Nations Of Europe", or the understated beauty of "Feels Like Home"? I finally decided it had to be off of Sail Away or Goold Old Boys, just because they are two of the best albums ever made, one a conglomeration of thoughts on humanity, the other a searing treatise on the American South (It could just as easily come from the long under-appreciated Little Criminals, but I had to make a cut somewhere!) When push came to shove it came down to two songs, one from each album. "Rednecks", while a brilliant dissection of the aforementioned specimen, is reliant on the shock of the N-word to get its point across. "Old Man" shocks with a beautiful melody and the starkest lyrics ever written on a familial passing. It works even more because he has prepared us for this moment by a positive song on the slave trade, and ends the record with God decreeing that man means nothing to him. Sail Away should be a depressing record, but it's not. Its strength lies, as it does in "Old Man", with its ability to make us see the worst in us, which in turn brings out an appreciation of the best. Randy doesn't have to touch on the good side. He will get us there through exposure of the bad.
Whew, that was hard!
I better stop before I change my mind.
Here's a delightful cover by your favorite and mine...Art Garfunkel!!!!!
It has been said that Kate begat Tori. Tori in her turn has begat Fiona, Vanessa, Amy, Amanda and a school of other like-minded literate females with 88 keys at their disposal and a voice somewhere between an angel and a banshee. Ms. Amos' firstthreealbums are master classes in adult alternative music. LittleEarthquakes announced her power and made all memories of Y Kant Tori Read go away. UnderThePink is probably the greatest sophomore release by a major recording artist since Astral Weeks. BoysForPele, however, is a landmark recording that to this day has not received the credit it deserves. Seeing her live on the accompanying tour back in 1996, I became convinced that no album before it had captured her opposite sides better than this marvelous disc. "Hey Jupiter" is a stunner which speaks to the fragility of our human minds and hearts. It is Emily Dickinson set to piano. I consistently come back to this album. It happens more often than others from the class of 1996 because it brings to mind perfectly the psyche of a sixteen year old, lost between childhood and college. That age is a tough time for kids, especially now. I don't know for a fact if her music has saved lives, but it certainly made mine easier in high school. It is reassuring to note that Tori continues to challenge, to teach and to make beautiful music. It also seems that teens continue to discover her, which is a good thing. If ever someone deserved a vaulted place on the rock shelves from that immediate post-Nirvana haze, it would be her.
Her unplugged version follows the album track. Absolutely gorgeous!
The video features the remix but works just as well on a different level.
Patti Boyd must have been something special. Not only did she inspire "Something" by George Harrison, but two of Eric Clapton's finest works were spurned from his love for her, the wife of his best friend. Clapton would never make another Derek And The Donminos' album, but he also was never more of a self-contained songwriter than on this epic track."Bell Bottom Blues" is substantial also because every note of guitar you hear is all Clapton. The song was cut before Duane Allman joined up, so Eric overdubbed all of the axe parts himself. Rarely has unrequited love sounded so all-encompassing, so damning, so futile. The honesty is deafening! It's the best break up song you've ever heard, and Clapton hadn't even started his affair with her yet!
I don't know what's more entertaining, Cher's version or this girl's lip synching!?!
Oh, the days of buying indie rock through mail-order catalogs!!! Not only was the postage paid if you ordered records directly through Sub-Pop, but in those pre-music blog days, you could discover bands like Elevator To Hell, Sunny Day Real Estate and Sebadoh. I don't know what it was that made me buy Bakesale, but something told me it was going to be worth my time. From the opening fuzzed-out guitar of "License to Confuse" to the urgency of "Careful" via the melodic indie-pop of "Skull", I had discovered a lo-fi cult classic. it felt so good back then to love a band that no one else in my small town of Virginia knew about. It was only later that I learned Lou Barlow was a founding member of Dinosaur Jr, and by that time he already had a pop hit with The Folk Implosion's "Natural One".It didn't matter; they were all mine for at least six months. This is the song I would play over and over late at night, hearing Lou's pain and knowing that whatever my awkward teenage years could through at me, there was someone out there who understood. I haven't listened to that album in quite some time. I think today might just need a little Sebadoh!
Brilliance doesn't always breed longevity. This has been painfully obvious with Neutral Milk Hotel, who have not released and album in 12 years. Still, one has to wonder, how would they follow this up? In The Aeroplane... is the greatest indie album of all time, a fully realized concept of art, lyrics, music and Jeff Magnum's haunting voice. Granted, it has been great seeing his sightings reported on and swooned over in the last few years. Pitchfork, Stereogum and the rest of the blog big-wiggers keep hoping for that miraculous reunion with new material. I don't believe it will ever come. Like Chinese Democracy has proven, even if an album is pretty damn good, it simply cannot live up to the hype of an over-a-decade long wait. It's in their best interest not to release anything at this point. It's all right though. We will never have to say Neutral Milk Hotel lost its power over time. They released their perfect album and faded into the ether. Listening to the title track, you don't even feel the need to hope for more. Why would you when what you have in front of you will never get old? It will always be fresh, stunning and perfect.
This story begins 11 years before I first heard the musicians we will discuss today. Being eight years old in 1988 meant that Michael Jackson's Bad was a lot more accessible then REM's Document or Nirvana's Bleach. Hence, I didn't get into Athens, Georgia's finest and Seattle's saviors until "Losing My Religion" and "Come As You Are" in '91, the year that Out Of Time and Nevermind opened my ears to underground music. Reading any article I could about the two bands in the next three years, I began to notice that they both made references to The Pixies, a band I had never heard. In the golden age of majorlabelalternativereleases ('93-'96), I soaked up albums by The Breeders and Frank Black. Rolling Stone informed me that both were former members of The Pixies. I made a mental note that I needed to check this band out. Then classic rock kind of took over my listening tastes for about 4 years and I forgot to research further. Then, while sitting in a movie theater, I heard the band's signature song play while the buildings toppled at the end of Fight Club. Let's just say, after scanning the ending credits to see who that could be playing this incredible treatise on insanity and fish, I was happily surprised to find I had finally been exposed to The Pixies. Their music continues to be some of my favorite 11 years later, and I fully understand now why Kurt said "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was a Pixies knock-off. Frank and Kim should get co-writing credits.
I've never really considered post-punk a genre (Wouldn't it be everything released since The Sex Pistols broke up?). However, let's play devil's advocate. If the movement existed, this would be its anthem. New Order would last much longer than this short-lived treasure, but New Order didn't have Ian Curtis. Part Jim Morrison, part vampire, his voice was a vessel of pain that has not been equaled since his suicide the same year this legendary cut was released. Pain never made you want to dance so bad. LCD Soundsystem would never have existed without this classic.
This song begs to be covered. Many have given in to its wishes.
This is why lighters are flicked at concerts (I refuse to accept cell phones being used for this purpose!). This is why Steven, Joe and the rest of the boys still hold our imagination after making a mockery of the power ballad format they helped create (Eventhoughmanyofthem are EXTREME guilty pleasures of mine!). It has been loved for almost forty years by people from everywalkoflife. It is penultimate, to use a really big word. It is "Dream On" and it is Aerosmith at their finest.
Solo acoustic guitar pieces have the power to stop me in my tracks as I quickly become completely enchanted with their beauty. Two of my favorite bands, Genesis and Yes, have included spectacularadditions to the form on two of their seminalalbums, so that probably helped with the whole love thing. Yet we must traverse the murky waters of New Age to truly hear where the affection began. One needs look no farther than this recording. It is quite simply the most beautiful piece of instrumental music I have ever heard, regardless of genre, style or artist. All from the guy who started Windham Hill. Don't even watch the video. Just put on you friendly neighborhood headphones, start the video, close your eyes, and be at peace with everything in the world. She must have been quite a beautiful daughter, Mr. Ackerman.
It wasn't until my Beatles-obsessed mind inclined me to purchase the Best of Badfinger (They were signed to AppleRecords and recorded Paul's "Come & Get It".) that I learned a shocking truth: They wrote "Without You". I came to this song through Mariah Carey, found the definitive version with Harry Nilsson and was then rocked by this British Band's original. It is one of those songs that never loses its power to move you.. Badfinger's version is more urgent, more driving then the covers that followed. It is made all the more heartbraking because of the outcome of Badfinger's troubled history. Band members Tom Evans and Pete Ham killed themselves almost a decade apart from each other. With the knowledge of their suicides, it becomes hard to fight back tears and chills while listening to this haunting classic.
In the year that I discovered The Decemberists, a goth punk band made one of the bestconceptalbums I had ever heard. Ithadstory, it had killer production (by RobCavallo, no less!)..... hell, it had Liza Minelli! The first single is a fine tribute to the symphonic rock of Queen, with tempo changes, orchestral swells and lyrics not often heard over the speakers in a Hot Topic store. They are releasing the followup in November, and I am eagerly anticipating something equally brilliant. Don't disappoint me guys, I've talked you up a lot, and I would hate to lose face!
The late seventies and early eighties were a banner time for songs that started as ballads before becoming up-tempo jams before the end of the track. Some of my favorites include "Hard To Say I'm Sorry/ Get Away" by Chicago, "The Load Out/ Stay" by Jackson Browne, and this, the finest thing the venerable Lionel Richie ever put to vinyl. I have been an apologist of the artist for years, but now I see no point to continue. Hismusichasstoodthetestoftime. If you can't find something in this song to like, from the heartfelt lyrics to the inevitable funk break that sails the single on to its end, then you must prefer music of a harder variety. For you, I say listen to Lionel and Rob Zombie re-record Brickhouse. If that doesn't work, well, I suppose you just were never meant to love Mr. Richie or his equallytalentedbandmates. In which case, I feel sorry for you.
In a way, they are America's ABBA. Loved by millions, they are the 26th best - selling recording act of all time. They have ties to classic bay area behemoths like Santana and Jefferson Starship. Their hits have echoedthroughtheyears, and thanks to Glee, a new generation has discovered their music and embraced it as their own. I am willing to bet that besides The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Bob Marley, they are the most successful act to cross generation gaps. (And they had twovideo games before RockBand was even a thought!) Even today, with their dead ringer for Steve Perry - Filipino lead singer, they are a force to be reckoned with on the touring circuit. Why do the press hate them so much? To quote the "classic" film Big Daddy, music critics can be "hypocritical assholes". "Faithfully" is the true definition of a power ballad, so get out you lighters, cast aside your snarky comments, and revel in the fact that almost everyone you know (whether publicly or not) loves this song.
See, even modern Prog-Metal groups like Coheed & Cambria love this song!
The Sutherland Brothers are one of those anomalies in the music industry. Almost any fan of classic rock is quite familiar with their biggest song, but few have ever heard their version. You see, they share a spot at the table with lesser known artists like Tim Hardin and Danny Whitten whose signature tunes were made famous as covers by Rod Stewart. Rod certainly nails his version, but the Sutherland Brothers' original captures the sound of the Island "pink label" years perfectly. At a time when Richard Thompson, Cat Stevens, Nick Drake and John Martyn were all releasing stellar recordings for the same company, The Sutherlands' work stood out as well for their breadth and fusion of old and new. It's a good thing Rod the Mod sang this ditty. We here on the other side of the Atlantic might never have known their names at all.
In the aftermath of Michael Jackson's death, I sought solace in the music that made us all love him, at one point in our lives. That meant bringing out Thriller. If there ever was an album that can be called the most important in my life, it would have to be this. I was two years old when it was released. I received a copy of it on my 3rd birthday (on cassette). It was my first album, and I played that thing until the tape started to squeak in the player from wear and tear. I have since owned it on vinyl and cd. If another physical format is ever dreamed up, I'm sure it will be re-purchased again. Thriller isn't just a stroll down memory lane for me. It seems like every reason I love music is captured in it's 9 tracks. There's metal, there's funk, there's pop, there's a Beatle and there is this beautiful ballad. It is this song that I played over and over again last summer. It was this song that brought tears to my eyes while watching This Is It on the big screen. I always came back to Thriller no matter what happened in Michael Jackson's tumultuous life. Now, in the wake of his passing, I come back even more, to be reminded of what he was, what this world caused him to be and the loss we will never fully recover from.
Miles turns pop perfection into electro-jazz manna.
Seventies pop rock perfection from the former Supreme, who seemed to be enjoying the hell out of beingadiva. Oddly enough, the movie isn't half-bad either, being one of the threemustseeDiana Ross vehicles.
Mariah sure loved covering Diana songs. Hey, at least it's better than the J.Lo version!
Anyway, Ray brings just as much power to his own work. The first song on the 365 with a previous entries' title, "Trouble" sums up what made us stop in our tracks and take notice of the record of the same name back in 2004. He has continued to releasegreatalbums, up to this year's God Willing & If The Creek Don't Rise, his first without producer Ethan Johns. There's not much else to say on the subject. The guy's just really good, and all four of his albums are welcome additions to anyone's collection.
