Posts Tagged ‘Paul McCartney’

  
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Friday, July 3rd, 2009

The Friday Mixtape: 7/3/09

by Dw. Dunphy

A-B-C! It’s easy as do-re-mi!

Art Brut – Summer Job from Art Brut vs. Satan (2009)
Bat for Lashes – Moon and Moon from Two Suns (2009)
Battles – Atlas from Mirrored (2007)
Chris Eaton – Don’t Play Games from Vision (1986)
Depeche Mode – Halo from Violator (1990)
Glenn Kaiser Band – Carolina Moon from Carolina Moon (2001)
Michael Been – Worried from On the Verge of a Nervous Breakthough (1994)
Michael Jackson – Human Nature from Thriller (1982)
Pale Forest – Tristesse from Of Machines and Men (2000)
Paul McCartney – My Brave Face from Flowers in the Dirt (1989)
Pete Droge – If You Don’t Love Me (I’ll Kill Myself) from Necktie Second (1994)
Robert Wyatt – Shipbuilding from Songs of Elvis Costello: Bespoke Songs, Lost Dogs, Detours & Rendezvous (1998)
Television – (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction from Live at the Old Waldorf 1978 (2003)
The Dismemberment Plan – Gyroscope from Emergency & I (1999)
The Flaming Lips – Revenge from Dark Night of the Soul (2009)

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Friday, June 26th, 2009

Remembering Michael

by Michael Fortes

I feel guilty for being so cynical.

When the reports started rolling in that Michael Jackson was rushed to the hospital in “critical condition,” I remembered back when he was missing court dates due to “illness” and getting sued for backing out of commitments (most recently for allegedly reneging on a promise to play a Jackson family reunion concert in the States this Summer). And the first thought that came to mind was, “I bet he’s pulling a stunt to get out of his commitment to play those 50 shows in London. He’s afraid that he can’t pull it off.”

I wish I was right, because if I was, then Michael would still be alive, and would still have a chance to fix the messes that remained in his life, do right by all those who suffered for his unwise decisions, and ride out on a high note.

In spite of his circus — like his personal life, and the fact that he had produced very little music since 1995 that could even attempt to compare with the songs of Off the Wall or Thriller, part of me still hoped he would pull a rabbit out of his hat and make the comeback to beat all comebacks. So what if the prospect of working with will.i.am was a major yawn? Who cared that he was lip syncing much of the time during his appearance at his own 30th anniversary tribute concert in 2001? Did it really matter that his album of that year, Invincible, was the most disappointing album he had ever released?

There was still hope. “One More Chance,” the R. Kelly-penned and produced track that was bundled with Michael’s 2003 hits collection Number Ones, hearkened back to the MJ of old, the one who shined so brightly on smooth R&B classics like “Rock with You” and “Human Nature.” And it actually sounded pretty refreshing blaring out of the car speakers as I was driving around Jacksonville, Florida, during a major transitional period in my life -– the period where the groundwork was being laid for me to finally be able to live and love the way I wanted to.

The love part didn’t go quite as planned, but the living part did. At least I have that much. Whether Michael Jackson truly had either of those things, at any point ever in his life, I can’t say. But I can say this: the man could sell a song. Even if Quincy Jones wasn’t convinced that Michael was truly feeling the lyrics to “The Lady in My Life” as he sang them, somehow he (with Q’s coaching) was able to sell them to us.

And no matter what you thought about Michael’s interactions with children, he never came across as somebody with sinister intentions. It’s my opinion that he was a man-child, somebody whose sense of boundaries between adults and children was blurred by the fact that he never really grew up. I won’t try to change anyone’s mind -– it’s a sensitive subject for many, and only those who were there know what really happened. But in time, more pieces of Michael’s convoluted, fantastical, nearly-unreal story are bound to come to light. Even if all the facts are already out there, whatever the truth is behind Michael’s less-than-flattering life events, it has yet to be expressed in a way that a majority of us can agree with. And maybe that expression isn’t even possible. But it certainly won’t stop folks from trying.

No matter what happened in his private life, one thing is for sure: Michael’s music touched many, many lives, and mine was no exception: It marked the aforementioned critical period of my gradually unfolding and developing adulthood.

Hearing “Rock with You” on the radio for the first time when I was 3 marked one of the earliest, most colorful preschool memories I have, in the aftermath of my mother’s friend’s unhinged husband leaving their house in a hurry, as my proactive pint-sized self cleaned up the mess of albums he left on the living room floor.

It was and is a common musical denominator with just about everybody I know regardless of taste, something I can talk about with anyone.

And for crying out loud, some of the best responses I’ve ever received from a karaoke crowd have been when I’ve sung Michael Jackson songs like the aforementioned “Rock with You” and “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” (only Prince and Rick James songs have ever had a similar effect for me).

But more than that, the troubled person that was Michael Jackson touched my psyche. Martin Bashir had a golden opportunity to get to the root of the real Michael Jackson, and reveal to us the fragile human beneath the celebrity in his infamous 2003 interview. In some ways, Bashir succeeded, and confirmed my suspicions that MJ was simply a man-child who was out of touch with the more commonly accepted ways of behaving like an adult in modern Western society, and thus prone to doing things that would inevitably get him into trouble, no matter how benign his intentions. But if Michael wasn’t satisfied with the final product, and if the rest of the world was still left in doubt, it couldn’t be called a true success.

For this reason, I secretly wished I could someday talk to Michael, one on one, off the record, just like regular human beings away from cameras and microphones, just to see for myself whether this guy really was who I thought he was. But he was rich beyond imagination, in debt beyond imagination, surrounded by yes-men in an unhealthy environment, loved by far too many people who would never know him, and wasn’t particularly eager to grant interviews to just anybody. So obviously this was little more than fantasy. What’s more, he wasn’t even one of my all-time favorite artists, and the Paul McCartney fan in me should loathe Michael for sneaking the Beatles’ publishing catalog away from its authors.

And yet, I wanted to be able to look him in the eye, shake his hand, and express to him that same sort of universal love that was conveyed in his music, to give a little of it back, without expectations. Just as I have done for others in my life. Just as others have done for me.

Instead, I will remember Michael’s positive qualities: his generosity, his positive spirit, his unparalleled musical abilities. And I will honor them just as I would honor anyone else who touched my life — by continuing to do good in the world in my own unique way, and by taking a look at the man in the mirror everyday to see where I need to make that change. After all, he was “just another part of me,” and I always want every part of me to be in the best condition, for my own good and for everyone else’s.

Rest in peace, Michael. Thanks for the memories, the inspiration, and – most importantly – thanks for the music.

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Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

Bottom Feeders: The Ass End of the ’80s, Part 57

by Dave Steed

feeders52

Thanks for joining me for Bottom Feeders, where we take a look at approximately 20 songs each week that charted no higher than #41 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the ‘80s. We continue with artists whose names begin with the letter M, in our trek through the ass end of the decade.

Marillion
“Kayleigh” — 1985, #74 (download)

marillionAlthough I believe the album in which “Kayleigh” originates, Misplaced Childhood, is quite good, I never really got into Marillion. So let me instead direct you to their official website which not only is extremely well put together but gives you a wonderful look at the album from the makers themselves.

In a weird one, in May alone, my iPod shuffled to this song six times. So what, you say? Here’s the thing, I probably listen to my iPod on shuffle two hours every weekday — one hour at work and the 30 minute ride to and from work and I listened to the new Marilyn Manson record on that drive for a week straight. So I’m going to estimate that I’ve shuffled for 34 hours that month. I have 9,230 songs on my iPod. Given a generous 12 songs per hour that’s 408 songs played or just a little below 4.5 percent if every song was unique. And “Kayleigh” has come up a whopping six times! Meanwhile I have over 2,000 songs that haven’t ever been shuffled to once even though I’ve owned it for two years. Why this fascinates me, I don’t know, but it does.

Marshall Tucker Band
“It Takes Time” — 1980, #79 (download)

It may sound silly, but I like the Marshall Tucker Band if for no other reason than the fact that there is no one named Marshall Tucker in the band (and yes, as I edit this, this really does sound quite silly). According to their website, Marshall Tucker was actually the man that rented their home right before the band moved in. I’m about to move in the next year or so. I think I’ll leave my name around the house with hopes that the next person will be some aspiring doom metal guitarist with no name for his band. If you see a band from Pennsylvania popping up in the next few years called Electric Steed — I’m that guy!

(more…)

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Monday, June 1st, 2009

Jesus of Cool: We Wuz Robbed! Great #2 Hits of the ’70s

by Jon Cummings

Welcome to the third installment of a continuing series exploring some of the best – and some of the most egregiously wronged – hits of the rock era. A whole lot of hits that only reached pop’s runner-up slot have been largely forgotten; for example, oldies radio seems to have little use for the Poppy Family’s “Which Way You Goin’ Billy?” or BT Express’ “Do It Til You’re Satisfied.” But at least, as I looked back at the 1950s and ’60s, it seemed a healthy proportion of the #2 hits were terrific, or truly important songs that were justifiably blocked by other great singles … or at least got the shaft from idiotic trifles whose momentary appeal was understandable.

But then there was the ’70s – when, as it turned out, most of the hits that broke down during the 199th lap were just as silly and insubstantial as the ones that took the checkered flag. (See how the euphemisms keep on comin’? It remains to be seen whether I can maintain this level of cleverness straight through the Oughts, or whether I’ll pull up lame in the final stretch. See – another one!) Anyway, here we go with 10 good ones from the Me Decade. As always, I’ll list some more #2s at the end, and we can debate their merits in the comments.

10. “YMCA,” the Village People. Be honest: Who would you rather have coming after your children – the innocuous, mustachioed and very gay Village People, or “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy”-era Rod Stewart? Well, if you answered Rod, you got your wish in the winter of ’79, as he pulled a Kris Allen on everyone’s favorite bunch of costumed Adam Lamberts and bogarted #1 for four weeks. As for the other 99.9 percent of us, we can take delight in the fact that the last time we heard “Do Ya Think,” we were able to fast-forward through it on the TiVo during the American Idol finale – while you get to dance along to “YMCA” (though not this remix) during every single professional baseball game ever. So there.

9. “Live and Let Die,” Wings. Why did Paul McCartney’s Bond theme fail to reach the pinnacle? Maybe because it’s mostly an instrumental? Nah… (Edgar Winter’s “Frankenstein” had topped the chart just a couple months earlier.) Perhaps because nobody cared much about its host film? As if! (Live and Let Die topped the box office through much of June and July 1973, and was the 10th-biggest film of the year.) Perchance were there simply better songs out at the time? Well, the three (three!) songs that leaped over Roger Moore’s speedboat were Maureen McGovern’s “The Morning After,” fresh off its Poseidon Adventure Oscar victory; Diana Ross’ diva anthem “Touch Me in the Morning”; and Stories’ cover of Hot Chocolate’s “Brother Louie.” So I’d argue, no, that wasn’t it either. (Here’s the original version of the last song, which far less obviously references the Kingsmen.) Personally, I’d like to think that radio still had Macca in the penalty box for turning out so much crap over the past two years, up to and including his previous single “My Love” – one of the Worst #1 Songs of the ’70s. (more…)

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Friday, May 22nd, 2009

CHART ATTACK!: 5/20/78

by Jason Hare

Jeff sucks!
Howdy folks! Welcome back to another edition of CHART ATTACK! I can’t go any further without letting you know that today is the birthday of our grand poobah, Jeff Giles! Happy birthday, buddy! If you’d like to get Jeff a little something, I have it on good authority that he likes bags of poo; e-mail me privately. In the meantime, though, sit back and enjoy as we attack a pretty strong Top 10, filled with all sorts of delicious Gibbness and a couple of nice duets. It’s all part of May 20, 1978!

10. Night Fever — Bee Gees Amazon iTunes
9. Imaginary Lover — Atlanta Rhythm Section Amazon iTunes
8. Count on Me — Jefferson Starship Amazon iTunes
7. Feels So Good — Chuck Mangione Amazon iTunes
6. Shadow Dancing — Andy Gibb Amazon
5. If I Can’t Have You — Yvonne Elliman Amazon iTunes
4. You’re the One That I Want — John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John Amazon iTunes
3. Too Much, Too Little, Too Late — Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams Amazon iTunes
2. The Closer I Get to You — Roberta Flack with Donny Hathaway Amazon iTunes
1. With a Little Luck — Wings Amazon iTunes

10. Night Fever — Bee Gees

It’s kind of difficult to cover any chart from 1977 or 1978 without running into a Gibb. Here a Gibb, there a Gibb, everywhere a whiny unintelligible falsetto Gibb Gibb. But it’s hard for me to complain about it, because the majority of their songs from this period are awesome — the three Gibb-related (Gibbish?) tracks on this chart being no exception.

Take “Night Fever.” I can’t listen to “Night Fever” while I’m walking, because if I do, I start strutting down the street. I even wind up thinking I look like Tony Manero, which I don’t. I look like Tony Manero’s dwarf-albino hybrid cousin. Although all of the instrumentation is pretty much perfect (I’m betting they busted at least one wah-wah pedal in the studio), I think it’s the drums that get me struttin’ — simple, yet perfect. The drum track is similar to the one in “Stayin’ Alive,” which makes sense: drummer Dennis Byron was unavailable during the “Stayin’ Alive” sessions, so engineer Karl Richardson took a snippet of drums from “Night Fever” and looped them together to create the iconic song.

Here’s another fun little trivia fact: the Gibb influence reached #1 on the Billboard chart in one way or another from December 24, 1977 to May 13, 1978, with one exception — Player took over the charts for three weeks in February with “Baby Come Back.” Which is also awesome.

The video for “Night Fever” remained unreleased until 2004, oddly enough. Not sure why, but I have a feeling it had to do with Barry not wanting to be seen without his beard.

Here’s a version of “Night Fever” by a group called Blackfoot Brothers, taken from a bluegrass tribute album called Saturday Night Hay Fever. (sigh) I first heard it on Coverville, which features an entire Saturday Night Fever tribute show, well worth the listen.

Blackfoot Brothers — Night Fever (download)

9. Imaginary Lover — Atlanta Rhythm Section

I had so much to say about “Night Fever,” didn’t I? And now I have very little to say about “Imaginary Lover.” It’s been suggested as a track for Adventures Through the Mines of Mellow Gold, but I’m just so incredibly bored by it. I’m even bored by the extensive, extensive, extensive history of Atlanta Rhythm Section on Wikipedia. I can’t get through it, and you can’t make me. I will, however, be happy to lead you to this page, where you can read the lyrics to “Imaginary Lover” and hear a MIDI version of the song. Remember when there were so many webpages that included MIDI versions of songs, because mp3s hadn’t yet made their way to the Internet? I’m so happy that this page is still up. I love you, Angelfire.com.

Now, don’t get me wrong — these lyrics totally fall into Mellow Gold category. The guy’s rhapsodizing about how wonderful it is to have an imaginary lover, because they “never turn you down,” “never disagree,” and “they’re always there when you need satisfaction guaranteed.” I have just taken a Sharpie and written “Imaginary Lover” on my left hand. (Note: this joke was kind of obvious, so just to switch things up, I made the joke about my left hand instead of my right.)

Here’s the video for “Imaginary Lover.” It’s kind of awesome for a few reasons.

First, it opens with a shot of a bunch of tushies (:15 for you people with imaginary lovers out there). Then the lead singer is wearing a shirt with the number “69″ on it, and don’t you dare tell me that was unintentional. Check out the long hair/facial hair/sunglasses on these guys. Perfect. Then there are all these shots of half-naked pinup girls, as if we couldn’t figure out that the dude was talking about masturbating. Jesus Christ. And after that, well…okay, I stopped the video at 2:40. I just can’t get through this goddamn song! BORING.

(Although now that I look back, I guess I could have written a Mellow Gold piece on this song. Oh well.)

8. Count on Me — Jefferson Starship

Okay, but seriously: now I really don’t have anything to say. I don’t know how this happened, but I kind of missed the whole Jefferson Starship thing. I know Jefferson Airplane. You can sure as hell bet I know Starship. But Jefferson Starship? It just kind of flew past my radar. I was reminded of them recently when our good buddy Matt at Addicted to Vinyl set up a Cage Match between them and Joe Walsh. (Did I mention that Matt totally digs “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”?) He posted their song “Jane,” which is actually a pretty awesome song, but it represents the group after Mickey Thomas joined and the band went in a heavier rock direction. “Count on Me” is really kind of wussy. Don’t get me wrong, it’s somewhat pretty, but the choruses are kind of awash in muddy vocals. I never would have guessed that it made the Top 10.

Wanna hear a truly awful version of this song? Check out this live performance from 2007. Marty Balin sounds terrible. And check out Paul Kantner at 2:03 – the look on his face says it all. “What am I doing here? Why can’t I kill Marty? I can’t wait until this new boat is paid off.”

7. Feels So Good — Chuck Mangione

I have a lot I want to say about “Feels So Good,” but I’m going to be a dick and hold off, because I want to save it for a Mellow Gold entry. In return, I promise I’ll get it done within the next month, and if I don’t, you can send me all the hate mail you like.

6. Shadow Dancing — Andy Gibb

One day, when I really get back into the swing of writing, I will create a new webpage entitled Oh, How I Hate You, Andy Gibb. I’ve talked about this so many times (I even covered “Shadow Dancing” in a July post), so apologies if you’ve read it before, but if you’re new to this series, here’s my beef: I generally dislike him because I can’t differentiate anything successful he did from a Bee Gees song, which makes sense because most of them were produced and/or written by Barry, and I get angry every time I think about how he took the gifts that Barry gave him and essentially chucked ‘em out the window.

Which makes today’s entry a problem for me. Because I love “Shadow Dancing,” and — I’m sure you’re not surprised here — I love it without a trace of irony. I think it’s a fantastic song. And Andy actually had a hand in writing it as well. It’s the first song to feature a true collaboration between the four Gibb brothers. As I mentioned before, when the song reached #1, Andy became the first solo artist to have his first three singles hit the top spot — the other two being “I Just Want to Be Your Everything” (which I like) and “(Love Is) Thicker Than Water” (which can go straight to hell).

I watched a lot of clips of “Shadow Dancing” to prepare for this post, and didn’t want to repeat the clip I posted in July. I’m still conflicted on which ones you should watch, but I like this one, taken from a “Celebrity Fun Cruise” in 1983. In 1983, Andy Gibb could have damn well been stoned to death for performing a disco song like “Shadow Dancing.” Check out the :25 mark. This guy’s trying to sell this song, and though the crowd initially applauds, at this point, not a single person is into it. They’re just dead. You gotta feel for Andy. I think I understand the drug thing now.

5. If I Can’t Have You — Yvonne Elliman

…and so we continue our week of GIBB DOMINATION! When the Bee Gees began writing the songs for their next album — the album that would become the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack — they began with four dance songs, “If I Can’t Have You” being the first. The group originally intended to give “How Deep is Your Love” to Elliman, who had reached #16 in ‘74 (#14 in ‘76, thanks JB for the correction!) with her cover of the group’s song “Love Me.” Robert Stigwood (SNF svengali) insisted that the Bee Gees record the ballad themselves (good choice, although I bet Elliman would’ve sung the hell out of it too), so the group gave her “If I Can’t Have You” instead. When it topped the charts, it became the fourth #1 from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, the fourth consecutive #1 written by Barry Gibb, and the sixth consecutive #1 for RSO Records. That’s four records shattered, three if you know how to do math correctly. BAM! What did I tell you? Gibb domination, baby! The Bee Gees’ version of this song was initially released as the B-side to “Stayin’ Alive,” and was eventually included on one of their hits compliations. Here ’tis:

Bee Gees — If I Can’t Have You (download)

Although clearly her biggest hit, Elliman was a successful artist in her own right before “If I Can’t Have You.” She was the original Mary Magdalene on the Jesus Christ Superstar record, and went on to perform the role in the film as well as on Broadway. Her version of “I Don’t Know How To Love Him” reached #28 on the charts in 1971. Additionally, she covered “Hello Stranger” by Barbara Lewis, which reached #15 and topped the AC charts, and performed as backing vocalist for Eric Clapton on “I Shot the Sheriff” and “Lay Down Sally.” I think she slept with him too.

I love this clip from Top of the Pops. Try not to smile when she does. She’s beautiful and it’s infectious.

4. You’re the One That I Want — John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John

I’ve been wondering what I could possibly say about this song. I can’t really rip on it, because I saw Grease when I was a kid and loved the whole thing, and thought this song was absolutely perfect for the movie. (I despise the fact that they inserted it into the musical when it was revived in 2007.) And John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John had great chemistry (evidenced in this live clip from a few years ago). So really no complaints about this song. And I just noticed that the lead instrument on this song is the bass; that’s one of the most active bass lines I’ve ever heard, actually. Man, there has to be something I can share with you guys about this song that you haven’t heard before.

Oh man! I found it! You’re not going to be able to sleep tonight after watching this! Ha ha ha!

3. Too Much, Too Little, Too Late — Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams

So this is pretty much the way it went down: Johnny Mathis had experienced huge success in the music business. His greatest hits compilation, brilliantly titled Johnny’s Greatest Hits, was  supposedly the first greatest hits compilation to be released, like, ever, and stayed on the Billboard charts for 490 weeks (a record he held until Dark Side of the Moon), but he hadn’t had a Top 10 single since 1963. So Mathis decided he’d try to go the R&B route, and to do so, he enlisted Deniece Williams (who is loved by many but hated by my spell-checker) to record a duet with him. Williams had only had one prior hit, but Mathis’ producer knew of her excellent session work as a backing vocalist, as well as her work in Stevie Wonder’s Wonderland band. After the song hit #1, the duo raced to the studio to record an entire album of duets — which didn’t really do that well. The duo did re-team in the ’80s, however, to cover “Love Won’t Let Me Wait” and to record “Without Us,” aka the theme song from Family Ties.

As for the song itself, it’s well-done and nice enough, and Williams has impressive chops, hitting some ridiculous notes that we’d hear again later on “Let’s Hear It For the Boy,” but when placed next to the duet we’re about to cover at #2, it’s a bit less impressive. Sorry, guys.

2. The Closer I Get to You — Roberta Flack with Donny Hathaway (download)

I mean, really. How can you beat the pure, soulful, beautiful voices of these two? We covered Flack’s brilliant “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” a couple of weeks ago, and just like that song, I could listen to this one over and over again for hours. I’m sort of appalled this song didn’t make it to #1, actually.

Hathaway and Flack had a special relationship: they were classmates at Howard University and labelmates as well. They recorded an album of duets in 1972, which most notably featured the song “Where Is the Love,” a #5 hit. Hathaway’s problem with depression separated the duo for the majority of the ’70s, and they didn’t record together again until this single. After this song’s success, the duo headed into the studio for a second album, but never completed it, due to Hathaway’s suicide in January 1979. Flack finished the album on her own, and included the two songs that she had completed with Hathaway.

If you don’t have this song, download it — it’s wonderful. And although he’s not Hathaway, Peabo Bryson does a great job on this version from the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary celebration in 1988. Also, his name is Peabo, so you really can’t go wrong.

1. With a Little Luck — Wings

Given all the awesome Gibb-ness on this chart, I have to admit I’m somewhat shocked that “With a Little Luck” made it to #1. I don’t think it’s a bad song, I just don’t consider it to be the best of the Wings material, and it has some pretty stiff competition on this Top 10. Still, the song topped the charts for two weeks, and ended RSO Records’ streak of #1 hits, which they had held since Christmas. (”Baby Come Back” was on RSO Records as well.) It probably also caused John Lennon to wonder, yet again, how Macca was so successful with this cheesy stuff — especially since those backing vocals at the end sound kind of Beatle-y. (I know it’s impossible, but I swear I hear Lennon on there.)

“With a Little Luck” was recorded in a 24-track studio that was installed on a yacht in the Virgin Islands, where McCartney had taken the band to record their next album. The band spent a month there, but completed the album back at Abbey Road in London. By the time of the release of London Town, guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Joe English had left the band. Which leads me to wonder: isn’t it a totally douchebag move to quit your job right after your boss gives you a full month of work on a yacht in the Virgin Islands?

If you have the Wingspan greatest hits album, you’ll notice that the version of “With a Little Luck” is the “DJ Edit.” Be thankful. The full version, clocking at 6 minutes, is almost twice as long as the edit, and really doesn’t bring anything to the table, other than an extended instrumental break featuring lots of synthesizer. It’s relatively unnecessary since the majority of the song is dominated by the synth anyway. Still, I think the song is pretty enough and it does include the phrase “inclement weather,” and I’m generally impressed if someone can fit the word “inclement” into their song without it sounding awkward. Nice job, Paul!

The video’s not that exciting, but hey, I’ve been including YouTube links all over the place, so I might as well throw in one more.

And that brings us to the end of another edition of CHART ATTACK! I had a lot of fun listening to this Top 10 (except for stupid “Imaginary Lover” and maybe “Count on Me”) and hope you enjoyed reading. Don’t forget to wish Jeff a happy birthday, and we’ll see you in a couple of weeks!

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Friday, April 24th, 2009

Bootleg City: Material Issue in Cleveland, May ‘91

by Robert Cass

Back in 1992, my girlfriend received a 16th-birthday mix tape from a friend of ours named Tai. There were no artists or song titles listed on the cassette label, making the tape something of a mystery gift. My girlfriend and I listened to it while driving (because when you’re 16 you just drive, regardless of whether or not there’s a Point B), and later I borrowed the tape so I could dub the songs I liked onto a cassette of my own.

Since I didn’t know the titles of the songs I was adding to my collection, I made up my own: the Stone Roses’ “Elephant Stone” was listed as “In My Dreams”; the Hummingbirds’ “Everything You Said” became “Your Picture”; the Blue Hearts’ “Train-Train” turned into a single “Train”; Blake Babies’ “Out There” was rechristened “I Know It’s Stupid”; and Morrissey’s “Mute Witness” morphed into “That She Saw” (yes, I know I was reaching with that one). One track I did manage to name correctly was “Valerie Loves Me,” by Chicago power-pop trio Material Issue. I could’ve sworn they were British all those years ago, probably because of lead singer Jim Ellison’s English-accent affectations, as all power pop seems to lead back to the words and music of Lennon and McCartney, even though you couldn’t hear their accents when they sang.

This week’s bootleg is a radio broadcast of Material Issue playing at the Empire Concert Club in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 9, 1991. Back then they were promoting their debut album, International Pop Overthrow, whose title has since been borrowed for an annual traveling power-pop festival: the 2009 edition arrived in Chicago on April 16 and leaves town on Sunday, then starts back up in Milwaukee next Thursday. The bootleg is brought to you by Addicted to Vinyl’s Matt Wardlaw, a friend of Popdose and a heck of a nice guy. Here’s what he has to say about the venue and the concerts it hosted that aired on local radio:

“The Empire Concert Club was a great though short-lived club here in Cleveland that was only open for a couple of years at the beginning of the ’90s. In that time they did close to 100 live concert broadcasts with legendary rock station WMMS. Some of the more memorable broadcasts included shows from Cracker, King’s X, Sarah McLachlan (her first show in Cleveland), Rik Emmett, Matthew Sweet, and this show from Material Issue. Personally, I enjoyed the broadcasts because they featured a lot of artists like Material Issue who had new and fresh sounds for music fans to latch onto at a time when you could still hear that kind of thing on the radio; these live broadcasts captured many of the artists as they were about to explode on a national level. Great club, great bands — so how did it end? The Empire got nailed for filling the venue beyond capacity during a Buddy Guy concert — not their first offense — and they were penalized by having their capacity reduced by half, which led to an eventual shuttering of the club. Empire co-owner Tony Ciulla resurfaced a short time later as part of the management team for Trent Reznor’s Nothing Records.”

(more…)

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Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

New Music: The Beatles, “The Beatles Remastered”

by Dw. Dunphy

remasterAs a consumer, viewer, and overall commentator of pop culture, I find myself looking for those dreaded paradigm shifts, those touchstone moments where I can say, “This is the moment everything changed.” After all, that gives me something to write about. In September, one of those possibly pivotal moments could occur: The entire Beatles catalog gets a remastering and deluxe re-release.

Where Elvis Presley could be considered the start of youth culture as an economic force, the Beatles are arguably the lynchpin of youth culture gaining political and cultural power. Their voice became louder than the establishment and their actions could create real change, versus the symbolism of previous movements. They were the frontline for the Flower Children as well as pop music in general, and as such, positioned themselves as the Baby Boomer generation’s social icons.

No surprise, then, that in 2009, those Boomers probably already own all the Beatles albums on CD. While some are genuinely excited that these remasters are coming, it’s easy to make a case that the same Boomers are post-double-dip, having already “upgraded” from vinyl and (ha-ha!) 8-track, and to steal a quote from Pete Townshend, they “won’t get fooled again.”

That leaves the new generation, some of which are just as ardent admirers of the Fab Four, that have learned of new ways to get their music, shiny aluminum discs be damned. For some, their copy of The Beatles Rock Band video game will be enough, while for others, those remasters need to hit iTunes or else risk complete irrelevance. For still others, the interwebs and bittorrents will give them whatever they want for the unreasonable price of $0.00. So, if a fraction of the first wave of fans bothers to buy into the upgrade, and the most recent converts have forsaken the CD format and the concept of paying for music, what does that mean?

Likely, it means that for the first time in almost a half century, the Beatles will not be the reliable cash cows they’ve always been, and the incredible force that had been Baby Boomer buying power will need to cede control to Generation Net. It’s a big statement to make, even in the face of the success of The Love Album, the Cirque Du Soleil soundtrack that mashed up the best of Bug Music, sold way above expectation and helped set the stage for this massive refurbishment.  Remember that album was, in part, based upon the mash-up novelty and was, in a way, a new entity. These remasters aren’t. To hazard a guess, I’d expect the diehards are going to cherrypick what they choose to replace, further reducing the impact of the Beatles Armada.

But again, none of us win the horse races 100% of the time. I could be dead wrong and we could be ushering in yet one more massive win for Team John, Paul, George and Ringo. It’s a long, long, long time to September, but one thing’s for sure. Either way, we’ll have a lot to write about.

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Monday, March 23rd, 2009

Popdose Flashback: Elvis Costello, “Spike”

by Dw. Dunphy

1989 found Elvis Costello in the throes of a full-on identity crisis. He had always been more than what the general perception gave him credit for; some of his earliest recordings were actually of a country-western variety, he had recorded an album of neo-soul (Get Happy!!,) cut a pop tune with Daryl Hall (”The Only Flame in Town”) and also a jazz track that could have put those who made their bones in the genre to shame (”Shipbuilding”) but still, the fans shouted for “Pump It Up” and “Radio Radio.” Perhaps his most obvious pitch for freedom from his alter ego’s tyranny came on the King of America album, credited to The Costello Show, with writing credits going to his birth name, Declan MacManus. The album featured almost all his signature styles in some form or fashion, but in 1986, the audience wasn’t having this de-invention. It would be his last album for Columbia.

Three years later, in what could only be considered a case of having your cake and eating it too, MacManus returned on a new label, Warner Bros., with a look vaguely similar to his feral Buddy Holly, only this time he was painted like a ghastly harlequin, beheaded, and mounted on a royal blue WB logo frame, a placard beneath the bizarre tableau reading “The Beloved Entertainer.” Here lies the genius of Elvis Costello, giving the public what they wanted AND the middle finger at the same time, for the album Spike is as much a departure as it is a symbol of everything the fans loved about him.

Reteaming with King Of America producer T-Bone Burnett, Costello and Kevin Killen brought a tight and focused sound to the proceedings, starting with the acerbic “…This Town…” where the musical machinations are paired with veddy-British misfit characters, all doomed beneath the chorus’ motto: “You’re nobody t’il everybody in this town thinks you’re a bastard.” EC was back — but ah-ah-ah, not so fast. The second song, a shuffling crime drama based on an infamous incident when Derek Bentley told Chris Craig, in reference to Sidney Miles, to ‘let him have it,’ was a sudden shock to the ear. “Let Him Dangle” recounts the event, the public reaction, and the underlying question: did Bentley mean “shoot him” or “hand over the gun” when he said, ‘let him have it’? This was as far from “Watching the Detectives” as one could get. (more…)

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Thursday, March 19th, 2009

Popdose Flashback: Paul McCartney, “Flowers in the Dirt”

by Jon Cummings

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For much of his solo career, it was Paul McCartney’s peculiar fate to seem perpetually in need of a creative comeback. Chafing against the impossibly high standard he set for himself with his Beatles work, Macca required three years of wilderness-wandering and band-building to make his first Important Album, 1973’s Band on the Run. After that, he forced fans to suffer through nine years of steadily diminishing qualitative returns before finally (if only briefly) winning a Tug of War with mediocrity in 1982.

And so on, and so on …

By 1989 McCartney faced a new and unexpected challenge: restoring his commercial viability. Even such moribund albums as Wild Life and London Town had Top-Tenned during the 1970s despite critical drubbings, but the disastrous film and soundtrack Give My Regards to Broad Street in 1984 seemed to mark a tipping point in the public’s willingness to consume products of patchy quality just because they had the Macca seal of approval. In 1986 McCartney released the Hugh Padgham-produced, thoroughly modern (and not-half-bad) album Press to Play, only to watch it stall at Number 30 on the Billboard album chart and become his first long-player to fall short of gold-record status.

To his credit, McCartney responded with a retrenchment, getting back to his roots and recording the Choba B CCCP album of rock ‘n’ roll standards for release only in the Soviet Union in 1988. Even as that record (initially released only on vinyl) became a sought-after item in the West as an import, word began circulating that McCartney was in the studio with Elvis Costello, and the prospect of their collaboration goosed interest in both men’s forthcoming albums.

The first fruits of their combined labor appeared on Costello’s Spike album in early 1989, which featured the most delightful Top-20 single ever written about Alzheimer’s, “Veronica,” as well as the rockabilly throwaway “Pads, Paws and Claws.” Meanwhile, McCartney announced that he would embark in the fall on the biggest tour of his solo career – and his first since his 1979 arrest at the Tokyo airport, on marijuana-possession charges, led to the final breakup of Wings. (more…)

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Monday, March 16th, 2009

Hooks ‘N’ You: Phil Keaggy, “Phil Keaggy and Sunday’s Child”

by Will Harris

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If you’re a guitar guy, then all I have to do is write the name “Phil Keaggy” and you’re probably already prepared to offer up praise for his abilities. The man’s prowess with the guitar is legendary, so much so that he can’t turn around without someone bringing up the longstanding urban legend that no less an authority than Jimi Hendrix once declared him to be the best guitarist of all time. It’s been pretty well decided that such words never came forth from Hendrix’s lips…or, at least, Keaggy’s pretty sure of it, anyway…but God knows that plenty of other axe men have offered compliments along those lines.

The reference to the almighty is an intentional one. Although Keaggy started in the more traditional rock world as a member of the band Glass Harp, he’s been a staple of the Contemporary Christian music industry since the early 1970s. But, c’mon, don’t freak out, okay? I’ve always been mystified about how music fans can be totally psyched to hear about an album, only to dismiss it because there were lyrical references to religious beliefs. It’s music, people. No-one’s saying you have to embrace the lyrical content as the truth…but you can certainly enjoy the tunes.

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My buddy Chris Commander is the person who was responsible for introducing me to the music of Phil Keaggy. This was in the early ’90s, when the members of my circle of friends were…you’ll forgive the expression…worshiping at the altar of Jellyfish and Crowded House. Chris said, “Dude, you’ve got to check out the album,” and he handed me a copy of Phil Keaggy and Sunday’s Child. I’m sure he mentioned that Keaggy was a Christian recording artist, but that’s not the sort of thing that would’ve turned me off, anyway, and, besides, I knew Chris’s tastes and he knew mine, so if he thought I’d like it, he didn’t have to tell me twice. And, of course, he was absolutely on the money. From the Beatles homage on the cover art to the plethora of pop hooks, this was very much my kind of album.

(more…)

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