Discography - Week 23

We're getting dangerously close to half-way through our year of discussing music, which is both exciting and also, oddly, a little sad.  More immediately, we're only two weeks away from our third thematic week, which, per age old tradition, I'll be revealing this week.  In Week 25, per high level negotiations with the excellent Jack Schultz, we'll be discussing the best use of a song in movies or television.  I think Jack's initial suggestion was that was discuss songs that were better than the movie that made use of them, but I decided to broaden it a bit.  As a shameless film whore, I'm definitely looking forward to this discussion.

Gary Beatrice

Iggy Pop, Lust for Life

I was and I remain a tremendous David Bowie fan. But I was surprised and puzzled by the outpouring of grief at his death. Dave Wallace and I had a conversation about it, my point being that I didn't think he was tremendously popular, and I certainly didn't think he was as influential as, say, Lou Reed. Dave made the points, ones that I believe were accurate, that Bowie hit so many styles that his influence was broader than his sales reflect, and perhaps more importantly, he was a good, friendly, giving man, and so his musician friends truly grieved his surprising passing.

To Dave's point, very early in his career, before he had a ton of success and money of his own, Bowie made tremendous contributions to the careers of Ian Hunter, Iggy Pop, and, yes, Lou Reed.

But I am posting about Iggy Pop.

As much as I love the music of Iggy and the Stooges (and I believe it was Dave Marsh who said that the Stooges made punk rock for fans who found The Sex Pistols and The Clash to be a bit too mellow), my favorite Iggy Pop music came from his Bowie albums, and nothing more so than the dynamic Lust For Life.

Lust For Life has the driving drum driven sound that glam era Bowie frequently featured, but it is very true to Pop ("hypnotizing chickens"?  "of course I've had it in my ear before"?).

 Has there ever been a song whose title better describes the song itself? How many hours will it take you to get this riff out of your head? Why would you ever want to?

Dave Wallace

Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here

When Pink Floyd's leader and frontman, Syd Barrett, essentially lost his mind, the band re-grouped and pressed on without him.  In this situation, the natural reaction would be to put some distance between a band and its past charismatic leader.  Instead, the Floyd doubled down and made an entire album about Barrett.  Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall were more popular and are arguably better, but this may be my favorite Floyd album.  The title track is the highlight.  With its beautiful, subtle guitar line, the band's sense of loss pours forth.  "How I wish, how I wish you were here/ We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year/ Running over the same old ground/ What have we found?/ The same old fears/ Wish you were here."

Miranda Tavares

As foretold, this was inspired by the recent discussion about your most awesome venue 

Against Me!, Sink Florida Sink

Nate and I first went to see Against Me! (the exclamation point is both telegraphed and gratuitous) because I was obsessed with exactly one of their songs: the most recent single release that I heard on the radio. Yup, I was that girl. The song was Thrash Unreal, and it was about the life of an addict. Don't worry, I won't subject everyone to that kind of post again. Its a decent song, though, and you guys should check it out. Anyway, we almost didn't go, because the show started at10 p.m. on a school night, and although this was years ago and we were younger and stupider than we are now, we still had jobs, and responsibilities, and a propensity toward hangovers. But this was way early on in our relationship, and neither wanted to admit to the other that we couldn't hang, so we went. Freaking amazing show. It was quickly apparent to us that (and this is, of course, not unusual) the song getting all the radio play was far from their best. Our favorite was my pick for this week, Sink Florida Sink. We rushed home to download the album version and it left us wanting. We found a live version and felt fulfilled. The lyrics are open to interpretation, obviously about a relationship ending, but I wont pretend to understand the specifics. The chorus contains...not quite a Millennial whoop (thank you Cyndi, for that amazing phrase!), but more of a...Gen Xer lament? We Gen Xers are not as into the drama as the Millennials, much more "...woe is me..." than "OMG!!!!!" Also, I love the lines:

you will see what is wrong with everything
what is wrong with you and me
they make all the right reasons to fuck it up
you're gonna fuck it up

I am such a sucker for well-placed profanity. Beyond that, my insight is lacking, but it's catchy and fun and has a bit of an edge.

Nate Bell

The White Stripes "Lord, Send me an angel down"

The White Stripes - Lord, Send Me An Angel

Everyone on this blog knows that Rock and Roll is originally just amped up blues at its very base--white people who drank too much coffee playing great music originated by black folks.

One person that I really think deeply understands both folk and blues music from a rock and roll perspective is Jack White.  He has covered many an old tune, and does not very much to change the arrangement or the timing on many of the songs, he just lends a little more energy (and electrification) to the guitar, and belts out the time-honored tunes in his plaintive voice.

I find this to work especially well for the blues.

Lord, Send me an angel down is an old blues tune originally by Blind Willie McTell.  Jack takes this tune and does what is really a heart felt and earnest homage.  

It's a very simple, classic and naughty blues song where the singer is a philanderin' man and the women are fickle cheatin' beauties.  The first link in the title is the album version, and I especially like the lyrics about married women:

"Used to say  married women 

sweetest thing ever born

you better change that theory leave married women alone

Take my advice, married women

Boy, let em be

'Cause their husband'll corral ya

beat ya ragged as a cedar tree"

Which just has some funny, apt, and gritty phrasing that lets you know the singer knows this from experience.

True to the original, there is also an alternate version of the lyrics, where the singer is an unrepentant philanderer.  this is version II (Gary please include this second link as well?):

The White Stripes - Lord Send Me An Angel Live (Epic)

In this version it's a different reason he avoids married women:

"Married women, they'll tell you 

that they'll love you, love you all their life

then find a man on a corner and tell that same lie twice"

I also like in the second version where the singer is an unrepentant dog, and he says

"I cannot be trusted

I cannot be satisified

when the mens sees me coming they pin their womens to their side"

I guess it appeals to an almost surreal fantasy version of self where one is someone Good With the Ladies (something which I have never been ever, nor even good with people for that matter, or complex objects)  

This is pure Blues, and at the same time pure Rock and Roll, wicked, a little dirty, with a fantastic, unforgettable guitar riff that is just a simple few chords. Yet, it invades the ear and possess the foot to tap.  Once I hear this song it stays in my head until a have heard it at least half a dozen times.

Dave Kelley

Little Steven, Sun City

Key member of the E Street Band and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, consigliari to Tony Soprano and Bruce Springsteen, several fantastic solo records under his belt, founder and driving force behind  Underground Garage radio , producer of records by many fantastic artists, responsible for many new rock artists getting their break, heavily involved with giving students access to musical instruments and training, and outspoken social critic consistently on the side of the angels.  I am sorry, but Steve Van Zandt gets my vote as the coolest mother fucker on the third rock from the sun.  When introducing the band at the end of his shows, Bruce often describes Little Steven as "the keeper of all that is righteous on E Street."  Amen.

Let's be candid, "We Are The World" and "Do They Know It's Christmas" blow musically.  They raised money for good causes, but who wants to listen to that shit.  Not so my choice this week.  "Ain't Gonna Play Sun City" justs kicks ass fom the Miles Davis intro through all of the great rock and hip hop musicians who contribute.  Miles Davis, Jackson Browne, Lou Reed, Bono, Dylan, Bruce, Herbie Hancock, Run DMC, Peter Gabriel, Darlene Love, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Joey Ramone, Grandmaster Flash, and many others contribute.

Sun City was a casino and resort in apartheid era South Africa that brought in high priced entertainers (Fingers pointed at you Paul Simon) partially to give legitimacy to the whole sordid system.  Little Steven called bullshit on that.

"You can't buy me 

I don't care what you pay

don't ask me Sun City

because I ain't going to play."

The song raised money and drew attention to a good cause.  It is also just a fantastic song IMHO.  And unlike other such songs from the eighties, it will not cause diabetes of the ear.

P.S.  Fuck Donald Trump!!!!!

Mike Kelly

Buffalo Tom, Torch Singer 

This is the happiest song about unrequited love in the last 30 years.  In addition to being one of the most underrated bands ever (fun fact: the brown haired guy sells real estate in Boston these days) the Toms wrote the lyrics as poems first and then started to fuck around with their instruments later.   This matters because what better to write a poem about than that hot girl who doesn't like you back or "has a boyfriend" or some other harrowing, poetry-worthy thing?  

Here's how the creation of this song played out in my head.   Bill Janovitch gets all banged up one night and sits down to write down some ideas that he had for a song after being ignored by the girl.  He dusts some Old Grandad by himself and doesn't finish the song before falling asleep.  Then, he wakes up and walks down the street to go get a coffee. It's early fall and the leaves are starting to turn and the crispness of the fall erases last night's bad thoughts and stale cigarette smoke.  He goes back home and finishes the song after the coffee kicks in and figures out that in the middle of writing this depressing song that things are pretty damn good on the whole.  

Of course, that's probably not how it happened at all and I could probably write the guy an email and he'd tell me the actual story that I don't even want to know because I've loved this song and this made-up narrative for the better part of 20 years.  Because here's the thing:  There is something that's life affirming about the "salvations in false starts" that make up the next thing to be hopeful for.  We all make up these cheesy narratives about being Mr or Mrs November and that hope is the daily sustainability that keeps us going.  The idea that her words, which "sing softly just like slik," might actually be said to you at some point is a more powerful hangover cure than even the best bloody mary.  

Happy autumn 

Gary Scudder

Bruce Springsteen, Candy's Room

Dave and Jack could have seen this one coming, since I was yammering on about this song on Twitter a couple weeks ago.  I was going to promote it earlier, but I couldn't compete with Dave's Springsteen post.  This has always been my favorite Springsteen song from my favorite Springsteen album.  I recently downloaded Darkness on the Edge of Town on my iPod, as my album and CD copies had not survived college or divorce, respectively.  I was not surprised, but instead pleasantly reassured, by how much I found I still loved the album, and how it still completely held together.  Like Tonight's the Night, it has a central logic, an organic integrity, while not giving into the temptation of being a concept album.  When I think of Darkness on the Edge of Town as a musical film noir this is the song that best seems to express that vision.  It is a song, I would argue one of the best ever, about desire, not simply in a purely physical, carnal sense, but also in a more existential dimension.  To get to "Candy's room you gotta walk the darkness of Candy's hall."  I remember it as one of the first songs that made me think about girls and sex and desire, but to also realize that in real art there was always a more profound meaning. "Cause in the darkness, there'll be hidden worlds that shine/ When I hold Candy close she makes the hidden worlds mine."