Discography Year Two - Week 17

Well, we've come to the end of 2017, or maybe it's just better to say that we survived 2017.  It was a year of surprises, most of them horrible.  Here's a picture below of Nate and Miranda watching a video for one of the worst products of all time: Jiftip.  We don't need to talk about who introduced them to this video, because it could be anybody (I just remember Cyndi and Kathy talking about it on the deck of their rental guesthouse); suffice it to say that they were beyond horrified.  That said, some of the surprises were far more horrible, and far less productive, and that brings us to the presidency of Donald Trump.  Almost every week Dave Kelley and I find ourselves proposing that even though we knew the Trump presidency would be an unmitigated disaster, it's been far worse than we would have possibly thought.  And although we've survived the years, sadly, and tragically, this is a historically awful presidency (and person) and that one which is doing generational harm.  Still, we live to fight on, and I truly believe that within a year Trump will have been impeached or removed from office, and although President Pence or President Ryan or President Hatch will also be horrible, maybe, at least, they are more familiar evils.  Wow, and I guess it's come to that, it is finally the time of the lesser of several evils.  I remain oddly optimistic.  As the Drive-By Truckers reminded us, "there's a lot of bad wood underneath the veneer," and it's about time America dug out the rotten wood, and maybe this is the only way to do it: make it so painfully clear that American exceptionalism doesn't actually mean that we can't piss it all away and become an authoritarian state.

And this was the least "Miranda and Nate are horrified" picture I took.

Let's make 2018 better for everyone.

Gary Beatrice

Editor's note: As we know, the esteemed GB is taking a little break from the Discography, but it refuses to take a break from him.  Here's his New Year's Eve post from last year.  Enjoy!

"Beck, Debra

Sometimes I get inspired and send G a whole bunch of songs in a short period of time. I did that not too long ago and as a result you got Yeah Yeah Yeahs on Christmas Eve and they aren't the slightest bit related. I've intentionally sent Beck's Debra on the last day of 2016 as a nod to dearly departed Prince.

One of the many things that make Beck so brilliant is his ability to take so many different influences in so many genres and mash them into a unique sound. Debra is one of the few songs in which he doesn't do that. I hear Debra as a straight Prince tribute / send up, from the funky and sensual organ to the falsetto vocals, to the funny and naughty lyrics. Who but Prince would begin a song

            I met you at JC Penny. I think your name tag said "Jenny".

Or better yet

            Cause when our eyes did meet, girl you could tell I was packing heat. Ain't no use in wasting time getting to know each other.

But best of all is the chorus punch line, one that only Prince could pull off:

            I want to get with you
            And your sister
            I think her name's Debra.

I hope you all have a wonderful 2017."

Dave Wallace

J. Geils Band - (Ain't Nothin' But a)House Party

To help you get ready for whatever New Year's Eve party you may be attending tomorrow, here's this awesome nugget by the J. Geils Band.  IMHO, J. Geils is one of the most underrated rock bands ever.  I was lucky enough to see them on their last major tour (after Freeze Frame was released; also their high point commercially) before they imploded, and it was one of the best concerts I've ever seen.

Kathy Seiler

Sarah McLachlan – Song for a Winter’s Night (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV4F2yfEt9o)

As we enter into the deep cold of winter, I think of this song. I don’t think there is anything quite like a snowy day or long winter nights to cause one’s heart to ache for those they cannot be with, whether it is family, friends, or the love of one’s life. It makes me wonder if we miss people less in the summer because simply being able to spend time outside in warm sunshine and the longer days can serve as some sort of serotonin surge substitute for the company of another. Sarah’s voice seems to perfectly capture this feeling of winter loneliness. Her entire Wintersong album is great and a Christmas must at our house.

Phillip Seiler

Elliott Smith "Tomorrow, Tomorrow"

They took your life apart

And called your failures art

They were wrong though

They won't know

'Til tomorrow

This passage, more than any, sums up Elliott's work and soul for me. He laid it on the page, his pain obvious. He suffered from depression and substance abuse problems throughout his short life. His death at 34 left years of music unrecorded and unwritten. But he left so much beauty and yes, art behind. Based on the above lyrics, I wonder how much of it he hated. He must have despised praise of works he felt were not ready or not good, and that could only feed into his feelings of failure. Depression is a cruel beast but it must be a million times harder for creatives. 

This is a truly great song though with beautiful guitar work and harmonies. I hope he liked it too.

Dave Kelley

"Dream Baby Dream"   Bruce Springsteen

 This may be an odd post for New Year's Eve weekend, but I am an odd man.

This is Bruce's cover of a song by the 80's group Suicide.  His version is part lullaby, part prayer, and part I don't know what.  I have seen him play it live several times and always find it mesmerizing.  A crowd which was raucous only a few minutes before becomes quiet.

This has been a horrible year for our world and our nation, and 2018 could be worse.  Maybe "I just want to see you smile" is an appropriate wish for the new year.

Kevin Andrews

Here’s a song to celebrate the Winter Solstice. Looking ahead to a week of below zero temperatures, just knowing that each day is getting longer and closer to golfing weather almost provides enough motivation to pull the covers off each morning. This is Malone, NY’s favorite son Bob Mould with See a Little Light.

Gary Scudder

Neil Young, Don't Let It Bring You Down

OK, so it's been a pretty brutal year, both individually and collectively, so I thought I'd send the old year out with a hopeful song.  WTF?  While Don't Let It Bring You Down must have set some world record for most depressing metaphors in in one song, it actually ends with this suggestion: "Find someone who's turning, and you will come around."  One of the peculiarities of misery is that we tend to want to wallow in it alone, when often simply the presence of one friend would bring us out of it.  For the last two years (and for some of you, decades) you have helped me come around, and it is much appreciated.  The song is off of After the Gold Rush, an album which is oddly overlooked (including by me) when discussing great NY albums; it's wonderful from beginning to end.  Plus, as every right thinking individual knows, it has the greatest album cover of all time.  Annie Lennox provided a nice cover for the classic film American Beauty.