Posts Tagged ‘Don Henley’

  
Monday, May 11th, 2009

Popdose Flashback, or When Good Albums Happen to Bad People: Don Henley, “The End of the Innocence”

by Matthew Bolin

On the morning of November 21, 1980, the Los Angeles fire department responded to Don Henley’s call to help someone at his house who apparently was having a seizure. The person turned out to be a naked 16-year-old prostitute who had been taking large amounts of cocaine and Quaaludes. While Henley pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and admitted the girl arrived after he called a madam to find girls to party with, he still claims that he didn’t have sex with her, didn’t know how old the prostitute was, and didn’t know how many drugs she was doing–he seems to place the blame for her mass ingestion on roadies who were at his house. In the end, Henley got a fine and two year’s probation, and avoided any harsher drug or sex-related charges. [1]

If this was merely an isolated speed bump along the road of life…well, I wouldn’t be writing this article. Fact is, Henley has had a long history of debauchery in his past. The book You’ll Never Make Love in This Town Again — a tell-all from four high-priced call girls with celebrity clientele — goes into Henley’s love of coke orgies. I once saw a comic in Los Angeles that “acted out” a supposed event from the book, where multiple prostitutes visited Henley in his hotel room. I won’t go into detail, except one of the call girls mentioned that she had never in her life been around anyone who reeked more of alcohol than Henley. (more…)

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Posted in Featured, Featured - Frontpage, Music, Popdose Flashback '89, When Good Albums Happen to Bad People | Comments

Monday, March 9th, 2009

Song-Off Jr.: Laundry

by Matchup Monkey

Say Hi (fronted by Eric Ellbogen) is certainly punching above their/his weight here, but they/he just released their/his sixth album Ooh’s and Aah’s last week and is currently on tour to support it.  Don Henley hasn’t released much of anything lately.

Say Hi (to Your Mom) – “Laundry”

Don Henley – “Dirty Laundry”

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Whose whites are the whitest?

View Results

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Last week, Morrissey got the better of Morrissey, as “How Soon is Now?” eked out just three more votes than “What Difference Does it Make?”  Next week, we’ll celebrate the approach of springtime with a pair of songs about gardening.

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Posted in Song-Off | Comments

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

Bottom Feeders: The Ass End of the ’80s, Part 39

by Dave Steed

Last week in my intro I talked about De La Soul dropping their biggest hit song all the way down at track 20 on their debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising (1989), and that got the wheels rolling on another topic — album length. I don’t know if there’s ever been some defined rule as to how many songs it takes or how long an album needs to run to be considered an LP as opposed to an EP, but even if unspoken rules have existed, they’ve certainly changed over the years. I don’t know what the ’60s and ’70s were like, but for at least the first few years of the ’80s eight songs seemed to be the minimum amount needed for a legitimate LP. I’m assuming that’s because eight normal-length songs fit the best onto a record without it losing too much quality. Then maybe by the mid-’80s, as CDs were gaining in popularity, it climbed to ten average-length songs, though even in ‘86 Peter Gabriel’s So had nine tracks on the CD but only eight on the record. Then at some point it jumped again, but that’s where I lose track.

To me, a legit full-length record these days feels like 12 songs or more, and it’s felt that way for ages. But even that’s a struggle sometimes — all I remember hearing about Linkin Park records earlier in the decade is that people felt gipped because each album lasted only 35 minutes despite having 12 or 13 tracks. If a disc can hold 79-plus minutes and you can’t even fill half that amount with music, are you giving anyone their money’s worth? That’s not to say you have to fill all 79 minutes by including shit, but even though I’ve never listened to a Linkin Park record, I’m sure at least one or two tracks on each of their albums are filler (I’d like to say all 12, but to each his own — unless you like Nickelback), cutting down the amount of quality music to about half an hour.

Then of course track length comes into play. Something like 1981’s Circle of Love by Steve Miller has the ridiculous 16-minute “Macho City” taking up the entire second side of the disc. But even with only five tracks totaling 34 minutes, that’s a full-length album. If the total number of tracks was all that counted toward distinguishing what’s an LP or not, no doom/drone/sludge band would have released an LP. Take Sunn O)))’s White 1, for example — it only has three tracks but comes in at a whopping 59 minutes. No question that’s a full-length album. So who knows — maybe it just comes down to a general feeling these days. But if there were ever some set rules or even if someone can just give a legit time frame as to when the guidelines for album length started to increase, I’d love to hear it.

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Posted in Bottom Feeders, Music | Comments

Friday, January 16th, 2009

CHART ATTACK!: 1/15/83

by Jason Hare


Welcome back to CHART ATTACK!, all new for 2009! This year we’ll be doing much like we’ve done in the past: ripping apart Billboard Top 10 charts for years ranging from the early ’70s to the early ’90s. You know the drill: some of ‘em are going to be great; some will be abysmal; some will feature way too many appearances by stupid Andy Gibb. (Not this week — just his brothers.)

This week, we’re looking at early 1983, a fairly diverse week featuring punk, pop, R&B, adult contemporary and whatever category you want to stick “Dirty Laundry” into. Also, here are a few of the odd words you’ll find in this week’s chart: Sharif, Serengeti, she-cat, and Vegemite. We’re also featuring three songs that, in some way or another, essentially were given a second chance on the charts this week.  Which ones?  Stay tuned as we attack January 15, 1983!

10.  Heartbreaker — Dionne Warwick Amazon iTunes
9. Rock the Casbah — The Clash Amazon iTunes
8. Baby, Come to Me — Patti Austin (with James Ingram) Amazon iTunes
7. Africa — Toto Amazon iTunes
6. Mickey — Toni Basil Amazon iTunes
5. Sexual Healing — Marvin Gaye Amazon iTunes
4. Maneater — Daryl Hall & John Oates Amazon iTunes
3. Dirty Laundry — Don Henley Amazon
2. The Girl is Mine — Michael Jackson/Paul McCartney Amazon iTunes
1. Down Under — Men at Work Amazon iTunes

10. Heartbreaker — Dionne Warwick (download)

“Africa” holds my spot for the best song on this relatively solid Top 10, but “Heartbreaker” is in second place.  It has very little to do with Dionne Warwick; while her vocal is fine, I think I’d also be okay with a number of other female vocalists singing. It’s more about the chorus, which is not only unmistakably catchy but contains just the right amount of Bee Gees — the fantastic backing vocals with none of the ridiculous falsetto wailing that Barry prefers to use at every turn.  And once again we have to give credit to Mr. Gibb for wisely handing out his songs to other vocalists at a time when the Bee Gees were certainly less welcome on the charts.  This one wasn’t initially his idea, though: in ‘82, Barry had planned on collaborating with a few different female vocalists for an album he was working on, but Clive Davis asked him if he’d write an album of material for Warwick.  He did so, and though Warwick didn’t really care for “Heartbreaker,” she recorded it anyway — and it wound up being her biggest solo hit of the decade.  I can’t believe I love “Heartbreaker” more than Dionne Warwick.  Anyway, the Bee Gees eventually recorded their own version in 2002:

The original demo can also be found on YouTube (or on iTunes).  Beware, though: Barry sings the whole thing utilizing the aforementioned falsetto wailing.

9. Rock the Casbah — The Clash

One can only imagine what Joe Strummer thought about spending time in the Top 10 next to Dionne Warwick. Even worse, only a few weeks later he’d wind up stuck next to Eddie Rabbitt and Crystal Gayle. The Clash’s Top 40 singles were far and few between — we’re talking this one and “Train in Vain (Stand By Me).” (”Should I Stay or Should I Go” reached #45.)

“Rock the Casbah” was born out of a piano part composed by drummer Topper Headon, and it’s Headon who plays bass, drums and piano on the track. The origins of the lyrics have been disputed, but the story I’ve heard the most is that Strummer was inspired by a news report of Iranians being flogged for owning disco music. I don’t see why that’s so wrong.

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Posted in Chart Attack!, Music | Comments

Thursday, January 8th, 2009

Basement Songs: Don Henley, “The Boys of Summer”

by Scott Malchus

Throughout the winter of 1984 and 1985, I was stuck on crutches and wearing a leg brace as I recovered from reconstructive surgery on my right knee that repaired my ACL (I had shredded the ligament during my brief time on the football team). Man, I was a sight — wobbling through the halls of the high school in ugly sweat pants my mom had picked up at Zaire’s or Gold Circle or one of the other box stores that North Olmsted had back then. What’s more, my parents were pretty stern about the clothes we wore to school. In general, I complimented my bright green and sometimes turquoise sweats with button-down shirts and wool sweaters.

Luckily, I had a good group of friends who didn’t give a shit what I wore. I even had a girlfriend for a month. When she broke up with me, I was devastated. You know that scene in Swingers when Jon Favreau makes all of those  phone calls pleading with his ex-girlfriend? Yeah, that was me, with big, poofy hair parted on the side, and huge glasses.

Part of my rehab was lifting weights at home, which I generally did in the upstairs hallway with the radio on. As the winter progressed, I heard Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer” countless times as it climbed up the rock charts and became one of his biggest solo hits. I read that Henley stated that this song, from his album Building the Perfect Beast, was a reflection on life gone by, innocence lost, and questioning the things you did as a young man. He was 37 then, I’m 39 now, and when I hear “The Boys of Summer,” I take the lyrics to heart more than I did as a 15-year-old.

It’s a weird juxtaposition of feelings, recalling the emotions you had as a teenager, but being able to relate to the artist on his level as an adult. Hearing this song also reminds me of my mother, Eleanor. She was the one who stayed on me to do my physical therapy; she was the one who drove me to my doctor appointments. An extraordinary amount of patience was shown by both of my parents as I experienced the typical growing pains of a teenager (trying to fit in, etc.) while dealing with a leg that wouldn’t do what it was supposed to do. In fact, when my leg was not healing properly, I was required to have a second, less invasive procedure to tear up scar tissue around my knee so I could finally straighten my leg again. One night, just before that second procedure, I reached a breaking point. It is an incident that I recall as clear as if it happened yesterday. (more…)

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Posted in Basement Songs, Music | Comments

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

Listening Booth: “Warren Zevon” (Collector’s Edition)

by Ken Shane

October 30, 2002 – It was close to the end when Warren Zevon made what everyone knew would be his final appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. The cancer had already taken a tremendous toll on him, and every small movement was an effort. Letterman loved Warren’s music, and had supported his career for years. I like to think that it was because Dave recognized that Warren was willing to cross a line that Dave could only approach before retreating. During the Q & A that night, Dave asked Warren what the one thing was that he wanted people to know. The dying songwriter famously replied, “enjoy every sandwich.” Less than a year later, he was gone.

Warren left us with a beautiful farewell album that he called The Wind, and he laid out his final wishes on the emotional closing track:

Shadows are falling and I’m running out of breath
Keep me in your heart for awhile
If I leave you that doesn’t mean I love you any less
Keep me in your heart for awhile

And so we have kept him in our hearts over these last five years. For many of us, hardly a day goes by that Warren doesn’t remain a presence. When his sandwich metaphor is applied to his music, Warren made sure that we would enjoy every sandwich. It’s not just about his music though, any more than our memories of Hunter S. Thompson, surely a kindred spirit to Warren, are just about his writing. In their too-short lives, both men managed to find a freedom that few of us will ever know. (more…)

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Wednesday, May 21st, 2008

White Label Wednesday: Don Henley, “All She Wants to Do Is Dance”

by David Medsker

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The Eagles dogpiling continues.

First off, if you haven’t had a chance, read Scott Malchus’ great review of Don Felder’s “Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974-2001).” Good stuff. But this writer is fond of anything that makes Glen Frey look like a hack and a douchebag, so there you go.

It’s a safe bet that Don Henley had no idea how dated his work would become. Even his best songs are sealed off from the rest of the world in an aerosol can hair spray-coated bubble. This owes less to his music’s production value – though that was certainly a factor with “Dirty Laundry” – than the fiery anti-Reagan rhetoric that punctuated every song that wasn’t aimed at some fork in the road or other. (Fans of the Eagles’ “Good Day in Hell” just chuckled, hopefully.) In the case of “All She Wants to Do Is Dance,” though, both its production and subject matter tie the song to the ground “General’s Daughter”-style, and leave it to die. Yahtzee!

Written by longtime collaborator and ‘70s session guitarist extraordinaire Danny “Kooch” Kortchmar, “All She Wants to Do Is Dance,” the second single from Henley’s triple-platinum Building the Perfect Beast, certainly has the spirit of a Henley song, wagging a finger at Americans for having little regard for the atrocities that go on outside its borders. And with a title like that, you may as well go whole hog and make the track as danceable as possible, right? Who knows, maybe Henley and Kooch deliberately went overboard with the keytars and fake horns in order to make a point – a soulless, plastic dance track about soulless, plastic people – and then laughed all the way to the bank when the song went Top Ten. Today, however, it’s the turd in Henley’s punch bowl. (more…)

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Posted in Music, Popdose, White Label | Comments