Yikes, it's the 48th week of the second year of our Discography music discussion, which means that there's only a month left. Somehow I have to fit twelve songs into the next four weeks, which, even with my limited Hoosier understanding of math, seems like a challenge.
I found Jack's song choice very moving (and not simply for the obvious reason) and I've declared it the official song of the 2018 Summer Four Sport Triathlon.
Miles Davis, Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
As much as I love jazz I have to admit to having pretty conventional tastes (as I do with most things): Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans. etc. Not that these folks didn't push the boundary consistently,but they're certainly artists whose names would be familiar to people who know nothing at all about jazz. Miles Davis produced so many extraordinary albums and consistently changed the rules of jazz and music and the world (AARTIKMDWTGGOTTC). Nevertheless, I find the later albums a far greater challenge (as I do with Coltrane's later work) which is a testament to my criminally limited education and cruelly stunted brain. I've often made the point that the true geniuses in music (and all art forms, really) are consistently pushing and changing the rules, not because they want to but because they can't avoid it. It means that the audience has to do more to keep up, which makes the revolutions often unappreciated if not actively hated. I'm that way with Davis's Bitches Brew. It's taken me a long time to begin to truly appreciate it, and even now I have to be in the right mood to tackle it (whereas there's never a day when I'm not interested in listening to Kind of Blue or Porgy and Bess). Miles Runs the Voodoo Down is the first song on the album which hooked me and it's remained my favorite. I'm also going to need some serious voodoo on my side to win the Summer Four Sport Triathlon today (especially since I don't like poker and will go all in on the third hand no matter what is happening).
I found Jack's song choice very moving (and not simply for the obvious reason) and I've declared it the official song of the 2018 Summer Four Sport Triathlon.
Jack Schultz
In these dystopian times I found this very
uplifting. Sarah Harmer singing a Neil Young song with an auditorium full of
happy people. I hope you enjoy. A good week to all!
Dave Wallace
R.E.M.
– Drive
As
this song blog prepares to wrap up with Year Two, I've been reviewing my
previous songs, and I was shocked to see that I had never featured a song from
one of my favorite bands, R.E.M. Starting with their first album, Murmur,
which essentially created indie rock, through at least Monster,
everything that they released was fantastic, one of the great runs in rock
music history. And, while there's undeniably an R.E.M. sound, there's an
incredible amount of diversity to their music, especially toward the end of
that run. Trying to pick one album, or one song, from this stretch is a
ridiculous task but, even by their standards, Automatic for the People was
extraordinary. Full of amazing songs, it also was a stark contrast from
its predecessor, Out of Time (another classic), and showed a
band firing on all cylinders. Drive, its opener, let you know
what was to follow.
Dave Kelley
"Dani California" Red Hot Chili Peppers
I really like a lot
of the music released by Red Hot Chili Peppers, but this is easily my
favorite. Lyrically I neither know nor care what the song is about.
It is just a fantastic song that they play the hell out of IMHO.
Phil Seiler
The
Grays
As
can probably be discerned by now, I am a big fan of Power Pop and music that
never quite reached the public's wider eye. Firmly in the center of that Venn
diagram exists the very short lived band The Grays. Compromised of four
members (Jason Falkner, Jon Brion, Buddy Judge, and Dan McCarroll) that seemed
dedicated to never actually joining a band, their short career together
makes sense. But they were the right combination of ingredients to burn hot and
bright for this one album, Ro Sham Bo.
On
this track, Falkner is front and center and he is really the hook that got me
into this band. HIs ear for catchy melodies and unusual lyrical phrasing draw
me right in. I love how Friend of Mine starts with this great guitar line and
then enters the conversational verse supported by an equally interesting guitar
hook. And do you get some lovely harmonies in the chorus? Why yes we do!
I
recommend checking out the whole album, as I often do, but "Very Best
Years" was the single from the album and it too is brilliant. Jason's solo
work is also exceptional.
Gary Scudder
Miles Davis, Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
As much as I love jazz I have to admit to having pretty conventional tastes (as I do with most things): Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans. etc. Not that these folks didn't push the boundary consistently,but they're certainly artists whose names would be familiar to people who know nothing at all about jazz. Miles Davis produced so many extraordinary albums and consistently changed the rules of jazz and music and the world (AARTIKMDWTGGOTTC). Nevertheless, I find the later albums a far greater challenge (as I do with Coltrane's later work) which is a testament to my criminally limited education and cruelly stunted brain. I've often made the point that the true geniuses in music (and all art forms, really) are consistently pushing and changing the rules, not because they want to but because they can't avoid it. It means that the audience has to do more to keep up, which makes the revolutions often unappreciated if not actively hated. I'm that way with Davis's Bitches Brew. It's taken me a long time to begin to truly appreciate it, and even now I have to be in the right mood to tackle it (whereas there's never a day when I'm not interested in listening to Kind of Blue or Porgy and Bess). Miles Runs the Voodoo Down is the first song on the album which hooked me and it's remained my favorite. I'm also going to need some serious voodoo on my side to win the Summer Four Sport Triathlon today (especially since I don't like poker and will go all in on the third hand no matter what is happening).
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