Just Like Don Johnson's Follow Up Album
"I'm Searching for Hearrrrt Beeeeeet" Don screechingly announced to us all. Since he didn't really record much (at all?--too lazy to research it right now) after that album, I'm guessing he either found a really good one beneath a pair of 36DDs or relinquished his own.
Same thing with this blog. Where is everyone? Are we done waxing rhapsodic about Dylan, posting the requisite tributes to the Beatles and then giving up? Does no one have anything to add? This is Music City, where every cab driver, data coder and physician eats breaths and sleeps the trebel scale. Where Every Good-ol' Boy Dreams Fruitlessly. Yet we are done discussing music here, I guess. Perhaps we are all observing a moment of silence for The Better Beatle. (Sorry, all but even batcrap crazy, Yoko speaks the truth some times. John WAS a better musician than Paul. However, Paul wins 'showman', 'playboy' and 'would never sleep with May Pang' hands down.)
Music. I haven't listened much lately because I've been in my Fortress of Solitude, where tunes, gossip and other details of the real world drift away. But today I'm back, and sucking greedily at the iTunes teat to make up for lost time. iTunes. Has it been the rebirth of music or the death knell? Now that we can have our songs in 99cent Happy Meal bites are we killing the symphonic soul? Would you listen to Sgt. Pepper in dollar Big Gulps? The Wall? Then again, is long-format album release just an excuse to nestle mediocre songs as "support" for the really good ones? I mean, honestly. Who here doesn't think--deep down--that Young Lust ruins the album, cutting in with its cheap "Are all these your guitars" and screamy ranting for a dirty girl? If you don't know that I'm speaking of The Wall, run out and listen to it all the way through at least once and understand why Mother is an integral part of the soundtrack of my life. Except my mother won't even let me sing, because I'm crappy at it.
What were we talking about again? Oh yeah. Nothing. Come on, folks...if I can blog about music half asleep, so can you!
Same thing with this blog. Where is everyone? Are we done waxing rhapsodic about Dylan, posting the requisite tributes to the Beatles and then giving up? Does no one have anything to add? This is Music City, where every cab driver, data coder and physician eats breaths and sleeps the trebel scale. Where Every Good-ol' Boy Dreams Fruitlessly. Yet we are done discussing music here, I guess. Perhaps we are all observing a moment of silence for The Better Beatle. (Sorry, all but even batcrap crazy, Yoko speaks the truth some times. John WAS a better musician than Paul. However, Paul wins 'showman', 'playboy' and 'would never sleep with May Pang' hands down.)
Music. I haven't listened much lately because I've been in my Fortress of Solitude, where tunes, gossip and other details of the real world drift away. But today I'm back, and sucking greedily at the iTunes teat to make up for lost time. iTunes. Has it been the rebirth of music or the death knell? Now that we can have our songs in 99cent Happy Meal bites are we killing the symphonic soul? Would you listen to Sgt. Pepper in dollar Big Gulps? The Wall? Then again, is long-format album release just an excuse to nestle mediocre songs as "support" for the really good ones? I mean, honestly. Who here doesn't think--deep down--that Young Lust ruins the album, cutting in with its cheap "Are all these your guitars" and screamy ranting for a dirty girl? If you don't know that I'm speaking of The Wall, run out and listen to it all the way through at least once and understand why Mother is an integral part of the soundtrack of my life. Except my mother won't even let me sing, because I'm crappy at it.
What were we talking about again? Oh yeah. Nothing. Come on, folks...if I can blog about music half asleep, so can you!
posted by Kat Coble at 10:10 PM
6 Comments:
The older I get, the less I care for Sgt. Pepper. That record is starting to grate on me. George and Ringo hated Sgt. Pepper, too. I'm not a big fan of his successful brother Dr. Pepper, either.
Can someone do a compare/contrast academic paper on "Tommy" vs. "The Wall?" If you watch the respective movies while listening to the other one's soundtrack, can you still follow the story? It makes more sense than the whole "Dark Side of the Moon"/"Wizard of Oz" deal.
Pretend you are an EMI executive in 1968. The Beatles have just turned in the White Album. You have been tasked to trim the excess fat off, and make a good single album rather than a bloated double album. It has to be no more than fifteen songs or forty five minute running time. Plus, the label chief doesn't like the eponymous title. So you have to come up with that, as well. What stays and what goes in the outtakes bin?
You are a record producer hired by Frank Sinatra's frozen head to create a comeback album. What songs would you have Ol' Ice Blue Eyes cut? Dean Martin's frozen head would also like to make another record, would you draw from the same well for both?
Discuss, I'm going back to finish watching the game.
Yeah Katherine, I have been a little worried about the site also. This last week I was too busy to post anything myself though. Now I am back and ready for some good conversation.
Now let me address some of the issues raised by you and Sarcastro.
I also think that the digital age may have hurt the idea of a concept album. Now all people want to hear are songs, rather than an album. That is pretty sad, because the best music on the best albums are usually the stuff that never gets heard on radio. Also, albums like the Wall or Red Headed Stranger, or Tommy are really artistic masterpieces. I hate to see stuff like that fade away. I disagree wholeheatedly though on your opinion of "Young Lust". Maybe it is just a male thing. I don't know, but I love the song and I think it really fits with the entire story of the album. After all, sex and drugs are a part of rock and roll.
Sarcastro, your discussion about "Tommy" and "Sargent Pepper" reminded me of the movies about those two albums. Even though they were both complete weirdness, I actually liked them. Nothing like Elton John as the Pinball Wizard or Tina Turner's hot legs. I know Sargent Pepper was a bomb by most peoples standards, but that early Aerosmith doing Come Together was awesome and I love Frampton.
If I were producing something for Ole Blue Eyes, I might not have him rapping, but I would probably have him delve into something contemporary. Also, I would make it a duets album. That would be the best way to get a new audience. But hey, those suggestions are coming from me, a capitalist pig. Frank and Dean and John and Paul should tell business men like myself to go to hell and they should make what they consider to be art.
Whoa, that sounded too harsh. Maybe they should just say, "thank you for your input, but I would really rather do this, and at this stage of my career, I am not really too worried about album sales."
Yeah thats it. :)
There's much going on in Nashville. Tomorrow is Neil Diamond. While he may seem a bit corny, I assure you he's a hell of a songwriter and performer and well worth the price. Next Sunday is Moody Bluegrass, with many Nashville bluegrass artists, as well as Justin Hayward. Unfortunately my healing is taking a bit longer than I thought, and I won't be ready for the latter concert either, but I highly suggest you make one or both of the above mentioned concerts!
RE Sarcastro Pretend you are an EMI executive in 1968. The Beatles have just turned in the White Album. You have been tasked to trim the excess fat off, and make a good single album rather than a bloated double album. It has to be no more than fifteen songs or forty five minute running time.
I'd love to do this with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road instead of the White Album. For the White Ablum, I'd pick:
Back in the USSR
Dear Prudence
Piggies
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Blackbird
Martha My Dear
Rocky Raccoon
I Will
Julia
Birthday
Helter Skelter
Revolution (or Revolution 1, and whichever one was left off could be the non-album B side)
The title? Back to the Top of the Slide.
Good choices.
I like the title Revolution.
Do ...Yellow Brick Road while you are at it.
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