Congratulations, Lynne Welch, for winning this Paul Simon Giveaway. A copy of the 40th edition Bridge Over Troubled Water is on its way to you!
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
November 14, 2011
October 29, 2011
Paul Simon: Graceland or Bridge Over Troubled Water Giveaway
Last night we went to a Paul Simon concert. It was amazing. This teeny little 70-year-old man whose songbook is nearly as old as I am, with horrendous arthritis, entertained a happy audience along with his eight-member band for more than two hours.
The concert began with an opening act: The Secret Sisters, two sisters from Alabama who performed old school country music. I am no fan of country music, but they captivated me with their harmonies, the songs they sang, and how they connected with the audience. T Bone Burnett produced their first album, and they are currently at work on their second. If you want to be transported musically to Mayberry, and I mean that as a compliment, consider The Secret Sisters.
After this astonishingly good opening act, Paul Simon strolled onto the stage, to a standing ovation, and proved throughout the concert just why he deserved it. Though I would have liked a few more of his Simon & Garfunkel songs, his solo acoustic version of Sounds of Silence answered a question I've had for years: How good would a S&G song be without Garfunkel? Very good indeed, because his guitar playing was so lyrical.
Each of his band members played multiple instruments; one of his two guitarists played a saxaphone, the keyboardist played either the marimba or the vibes, and one of the two percussionists played the washboard in a Zydeco piece. And let me say this: Audiences love Jewish boys who sing gospel (cue Marc Cohn's Walking in Memphis).
Simon's lyrics are unique; many of his songs are not the typical love song. Obviously he was politically active in the 60s and what worked then is equally prescient today in the current climate. Carwash and My Little Town, in particular; the latter of which reminded me of Sarah Palin and her talk about small town virtues in a way I'd never considered before when hearing that song.
Some of my favorite moments came when Simon played songs off his landmark Graceland album. I ask you: Who among us does not adore Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes? The only song missing as far as I was concerned was You Can Call Me Al. He came out for two encores, and each time I hoped I'd hear it start, but after his final song in the second encore, Still Crazy After All These Years, the house lights turned up and it was, sadly, over.
In honor of Paul Simon and Graceland, I'm giving away one of two favorite Paul Simon goodies:
(1) A remastered version of Graceland on iTunes.
(2) The 40th anniversary edition of Bridge over Troubled Water, which includes not only the CD, but two DVDs. One reissues S&G's Songs of America documentary and the other is an amazing look into the history of recording BOTW. Earlier this year I watched that history documentary on cable, and loved it so much I bought this CD/DVD set...even though I saved the doc on my DVR and already own BOTW.
If you would like to be eligible to win one of these...the winner can choose between the two...click here and send me an email. Type Paul Simon into the subject line and include in your email whether you want (1) Graceland or (2) Bridge Over Troubled Water, as well as your snail mail address so I can mail your prize if you choose the second option. If you go for the iTunes download, provide the email address associated with your iTunes account. You must live in the U.S. to qualify and I must receive your entry by midnight, Eastern Time, November 11th (I like the symmetry of 11/11/11).
September 19, 2011
The Mashboard
It's 11:30, the DH is sleeping as he has an early morning, so it's just me listening to Rachael's radio show on KHDX 93.1 at Hendrix. I'm very proud of my very musical daughter and the unique angle she's found to entertain people. Her show is called The Mashboard, and her Monday night playlist features various mash-ups like this one—Norwegian Recycling's No Taylor, No Scar, which includes music from Missy Higgins, Men at Work, Jack Johnson, and Wyclef Jean.
I've enjoyed all of the mashups she's played tonight, even the one that features the altogether annoying Fireflies by Night Owl. If you get a chance next Monday night, you can listen on your computer like I'm doing tonight. I think you'll like it.
It's time to sign off now, and I'll do so as soon as Hulk Mash's mashup of Ke$ha, Taylor Swift, and Maroon 5 comes to a close.
July 9, 2011
Loud
Nose spray. Check.
Antihistimine. Check.
Sudafed. Check.
Nasal irrigation. Check
Extra strength Tylenol. Check
My observations:
1) Cee Lo Green is the diva my friend Jane declared him to be. We'd bought the tickets because Rachael loves Rihanna and we both love Cee Lo. Until last night, that is, when we learned he'd cancelled his participation in what I think was a fit of pique.
2) I'd like to know more about the art of the modern D.J.; it's more than just spinning and scratching these days. Luckily Rachael's into it, as are college friends, and she says she'll show me a video on YouTube to explain the history from its roots in Chicago in the 1980s. I can't wait.
3) J. Cole, the very likable opening act, has a very interesting background (St. John's on an academic scholarship, where he graded magna cum laude).
4) Rihanna is even more of a dirty girl than I thought she was. At a couple of moments during her performance, she seemed to be giving Dallas a lap dance. And the simulated sex with a female audience member literally dropped my jaw.
5) To call her performance a "concert" is really a misnomer. It was more of a performance, with multiple costume changes and every second choreographed. The only personalized aspect was her referring to "Dallas" several times. I must say, I miss the old days when a concert, even in an arena setting, seemed more intimate and less like a Vegas show.
6) Along those lines, most of the young women in attendance dressed as though they were going clubbing. I cannot imagine wearing stilettos while climbing up and down narrow, high, arena stairs. And given we had to forgo the escalators entirely when a small fire broke out as a result of the pyrotechnics and we were forced to evaculate an hour into her performance, ouch! Back in the day we wore blue jeans, not cocktail dresses! My husband and I are going to a Boz Scaggs concert in September; I'm fairly sure there won't be much bling and many, if any, stilettos in the house.
It was an adventure, to say the least. Rihanna attracts fervent fans with her sultry voice and lipstick feminism. Does she do it for me? I say more singing, less faux fucking.
June 30, 2011
The Voice: The Morning After
We were happy in our house last night; Javier Colon won The Voice. Rachael and I got the chills listening to his duet with Stevie Nicks (Rachael has loved that song since she was a child) and I actually plan to buy the iTunes download.
Which brings me to my next point: Why are we such conspiracy freaks in the U.S.? And why do people get so carried away over trifles while the important stuff doesn't hold our attention?
1) "Dia outsold Javier on iTunes, so the results must have been rigged."
2) "Vicci or Beverly were robbed because America can't handle a lesbian winning The Voice."
3) "Justin Bieber's fangirls robbed the rightful winner."
I can just imagine if the vote had gone a different way...would people be complaining that America won't vote for a half Dominican/Half Puerto Rican?
Okay, so how about this as a scenario instead: More of those who voted by text, phone, or online, whose vote counts were never revealed, voted for Javier. Gee...that's what I did, and I'm not a Justin Bieber fangirl. Neither is Rachael, who also voted for Javier. My husband didn't vote, but his choice? Javier. I don't think anyone would accuse him of being a Justin Bieber fangirl.
I, for one, rarely like a cover better than an original rendition. One reason I stopped watching Glee is because it started to remind me of that PBS show Rachael used to watch of teenyboppers "running" a TV station and putting out "music videos" of popular music. While I wouldn't buy his cover of "Angel" or Dia's covers of "Losing My Religion" or "Heartless," I will likely buy whatever CD he produces with his new record company. Then again, I'll probably buy Dia's too, because I've no doubt she'll sign with a label as well.
But back to the haters...after reading some great pieces on EW today, I couldn't believe the vitriol being spewed in the comments. It's a fucking TV show, people! GET. A. FUCKING. LIFE.
@ew reports all four coaches have signed on for season two of The Voice. Here's hoping the network and/or producers don't get greedy and ruin the show. I guess one more season with these coaches would be nice, but after that, pick some new ones. At lunch Rachael suggested Usher and Jennifer Hudson...I came up with Gwen Stefani, Pat Monohan, Bruno Mars, and Carrie Underwood.
June 29, 2011
The Voice: Awesome in More Ways than One
Last night was the final competition round for The Voice, a show I started to watch after NBC promo'd it to hell and back using the gimmicky chair swivels. What can I say? Worked for me. Add to that Adam Levine, whom I've crushed on for years—and doesn't he just keep getting more and more gorgeous with age?—and Ceelo Green ("Crazy" and "Fuck You" are two of my favorite songs), and, obviously I'm there. Rachael came home from college after the first couple of episodes, and quickly became hooked. We now watch it together, faithfully, every week...usually joined by my husband, who sometimes watches it from his study as he's Working on Stuff. And this is why it's awesome...
Awesome #1: For those of you with decent relationships with your kids throughout the tough years, well, this won't make much sense to you, but for those who struggled...and I've recounted our struggles on both blogs...sitting down week after week and watching a TV show that we all enjoy is a relatively novel experience for us. I inherited negativity from my mom, and passed it along to my daughter, although she swears I'm the only one who calls other shows "stupid." We have a running gag in our house that whenever she deems a show or somebody on a show stupid, I say, "You are not allowed to say anything negative." That never happens on The Voice. All there is, in fact, is discussion during commercials, and though I'm not a Beverly fan, I feel the need to stick up for her because Rachael and her dad really don't like her. So the world doesn't need another Melissa Etheridge, okay, but I don't think the world needs a new Pat Benatar or Joan Jett either, nor does it need, in Dia and Xenia mashed up, another Nora Jones. What it does need, however, is the angelic voice of Javier, who shares certain qualities with Aaron Neville, but adds the sex of Seal and so much more. (That's not to say I didn't love Dia's renditions of "Heartless" and "Losing my Religion," or won't look forward to a slightly older Xenia when she learns to become comfortable in her own skin.)
Awesome #2: The best singers actually made it to the finals...and presumably, the best will win. With the exception of the early years on American Idol, which I stopped watching years and years ago, many of the most talented finalists don't actually win. Between that problem and the interminable audition shows, of which more and more were tacked on as the show became a juggernaut, I found that by the time I stopped watching AI, it had become a parody of itself. I understand this season's episodes were an improvement, but that again, the most talented singer did not win. Contrast that with The Voice, which weeded out the ridiculous and through the coaching versus judging experts, we saw not only Xtina's boobage each and every week on display, but more importantly, the development of true talent...and that Adam Levine is a very smart Jewish boy who knows how to play a game.Awesome #3: Most of the original song performances of last night showcased how shitty "A Moment Like This" really was. How many of you remember that as Kelly Clarkson's first single? It sucked big time; had she not had Clive Davis behind her (who tried and nearly derailed her career a few years later when she had the temerity to state the obvious), she might never have gone on to "Miss Independent," "Break Away," and "Since U Been Gone." None of the original songs last night are going to end up on my iPod, but they weren't treacle either.
Awesome #4: All the coaches with the exception of Christina Aguilera entertained me, and all have real knowledge of music, the history of music, and how, for the most part, to help their contestants shine. Whether it was Ceelo Green channeling Mad Max and King Kamahamaha in his duet last night with Vicci, Adam's one-liners, or Blake's wearing his fondness for Xenia and Dia on his sleeve, I loved to watch them. Yes, they didn't offer a lot of criticism on performance nights, but they weren't acting as judges on television. They were acting as coaches, and coaches do a lot of praising. When they showed the actual coaching sessions, you saw the coaching, the suggestions and changes, and the song choices, although I don't know, truly, how much input they had into those. The three male coaches charmed me; Christina Aguilera was a camera hog and it seemed to me, insecure about herself among her male counterparts. She also failed to initially choose a wide variety of finalists, which hurt her in the end. As for last night, how smart was Adam Levine that he chose a song sure to highlight Javier's abilities, even at the expense of his own? I love Levine, but he knows his limitations, and unlike Shelton, whose powerhouse of a voice drowned out Dia in their duet, he put his ego aside so that his finalist might win, even if voters were not supposed to consider the duets.
I'm sure there are more reasons why The Voice Is Awesome, but I need to read a book about a goblin now.
October 29, 2010
Steve Tyrell in Concert
Music has always been a big part of our lives; both my husband and daughter live and breathe it, and while I don't have the knowledge or the talent they possess, I find magic in listening to music and watching it performed live.
One of our very first dates was a Ramsey Lewis concert at SMU's acoustically perfect McFarlin Auditorium. I may not have heard of him before that evening (you can forgive me...I was seventeen years old at the time), but I loved Earth, Wind & Fire, with whom he'd collaborated. Because I'd inherited my dad's love of jazz - he loved Pete Fountain and the entire New Orleans style of jazz - and because the piano is just about my favorite instrument (and I miss it in much of today's rock), I fell for Lewis's meld of R&B and jazz.
I mention the Ramsey Lewis concert because it occurred during fall of my freshman year. I may no longer be a freshman (does having a freshman count?), but we're smack dab in the middle of fall, and a Steve Tyrell concert more some 30 years later during the same time of year offers a certain symmetry that I find cozy.
I'd never heard of Steve Tyrell until we saw the remake of Father of the Bride. It, btw, is one of the few instances in which the re-make is as good as the original...the jury's still out on whether Father of the Bride II equals Father's Little Dividend, but as much as I liked The Way You Look Tonight from the first movie, his rendition of Give Me the Simple Life from the second captured my imagination, and when iTunes came to be several years later, Steve Tyrell was among the first few artists I downloaded.
Cut ahead many years on a long, long drive in Utah from Salt Lake City to a wilderness program in the middle of nowhere. We're listening to XM or Sirius radio on the rental car's radio of Steve Tyrell hosting a show about Burt Bacharach and playing cuts off his new CD, Back to Bacharach. By the time the show ended, we'd already stopped at a music store and bought it.
So when several weeks ago I heard about a Steve Tyrell concert on the radio, I called my husband, and as I'd hoped, he suggested I buy tickets. The concert was last night, at the historic Lakewood Theater, and it was oh-so lovely. 
I hadn't realized until then that Tyrell began his career on the other side of the microphone way back when, working for Burt Bacharach, and that he only got into singing when producing the soundtrack for Father of the Bride. Apparently he recorded himself as filler and test audiences loved it so much that, in his 40s, he embarked on a new career as primarily an interpreter of the American Songbook.
I'm not sure I totally agree with his definition of a standard - using his logic both Highway to Hell and Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah are standards - but he sure can sing 'em. And the musicianship of his band - the arranger/piano player, keyboardist, drummer, bassist, and guitarist - really, really tight. One of the reasons I'm blown away at jazz concerts is the level of musicianship and how seamless it sounds, even if they're riffing. My favorite rock bands also feature fabulous musicians, but their skill can sometimes get lost in the sound and the theatrics of a live show.
What I love about Tyrell, Mel Torme, Michael Feinstein, and even Michael Bublé - and what is sometimes missing in modern music - is the interpretation. I don't actually listen to standards for the lyrics; for me it's the song in its entirety, or in how a certain phrase is sung, a piano bridge played, or a mood evoked. Come to think of it, that's how I judge music of any era.
I feel kind of unique in that regard. I can listen to a song over and over and over simply to hear a sigh, a wail of a saxaphone (I also miss horns) at a certain moment, or when a singer's voice goes thready and it fits the lyrics perfectly. I've talked to my husband and daughter about this, and they don't quite understand, but in a way these small sounds do for me what music on a far larger scale does for them, and for that I'm grateful.
But back to this specific concert...Steve Tyrell created an intimate atmosphere just perfect for his song list. The stories he wove around the songs were filled with love, about his two careers in music, the people he's met and collaborated with, and the woman he giddily introduced as his wife-to-be. IIRC, his first wife, also in the biz, died several years ago after a lengthy bout with cancer. His long experience as a producer - his attention to sound levels, timing, and the overall production of each number - only added to the musicality of the evening. The only off note for me was a special encore he sang to a woman celebrating her 95th birthday; it was corny, cheesy, and a teensy bit creepy, but his heart was in the right place.
I've a lifetime of concerts to store in my aural memory, from Elton John in 1976 (I know the year because Kiki Dee was his opening act), the Electric Light Orchestra in or around 1978, Mel Torme at the 1981 Playboy Jazz Festival (and if anyone knows where I can put my hands on his version of Come On-a My House, please let me know), Billy Joel multiple times, Les Paul at Fat Tuesdays during almost annual pilgrimages to NYC in the mid-late 1980s, David Benoit and Earl Klugh in the early 90s, Maroon 5 a few years ago, to Steve Tyrell last night, with many others in-between. How very lovely.
September 14, 2010
The Chairman of the Board
Earlier this month I participated in the Fifteen Albums Meme, which asked that users name 15 memorable albums without giving it a whole lot of thought. Like you, I had a very tough time naming only fifteen, and as soon as I'd posted my list and asked friends for theirs, wanted to make some changes. I plan to return in awhile and put together a better list, but first...
In consideration of things musical, I recently watched VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. During the five hours of programming, I often agreed with which artists made the list, although I also often wondered at the rankings. But as the hours wound down, and this artist or that didn't make the list - the omission of Paul Simon, left me dumbfounded, and I found it hard to imagine such a list without CCR, No Doubt, and James Taylor - I started to squirm.
By the time there were only five slots left and I did the math in my head, I realized one man would be snubbed, and wondered how in the world that man, who defined "cool" for two decades, the man for whom every artist who has since donned a fedora owes his existence and very likely his credibility - from Run DMC, Jay Z, Steven Tyler, Justin Timberlake, and Michael Jackson (all of whom made the list, btw), to Dave Navarro, Kid Rock, and Neyo (who didn't) - was overlooked. I'm speaking, of course, about Frank Sinatra.
Yes, he criticized rock 'n' roll (maybe that's why VH1 left him out), and his later covers of some pop music was most definitely not among his best, but by then he was, comparably, like "fat Elvis." Frank in his prime was a like a modern rock god. Girls fainted when they saw him the way they did when the Beatles came to town. John Legend, Sara Bareilles, and Alicia Keys all consider Sinatra iconic, but U2's Bono, once quoted as saying Sinatra "invented pop music," makes the credible link, surprisingly, not just from pop, but to rock: "Frank Sinatra didn't care much for rock music. The feeling is not mutual. Rock 'n' roll people love Frank because Frank has got what we want: swagger and attitude."
If Bono is correct, then we also have Sinatra to thank for Mick Jagger and Billie Joe Armstrong, another two of my favorite artists who made the VH1 list.
Personally I like Frank's up-tempo songs more than his ballads because he was a wonderful jazz singer, but if you've overlooked the Chairman of the Board in the past, go check him out. His songbook is immense, and as iTunes has only fifty of his songs, you may need to look elsewhere. As a fan of musical comedy, I would be remiss not to mention how terrific his performances are in many a movie, yet mentioning my favorites in this particular blogging doesn't advance my argument today...but it was a different time.
August 9, 2010
Forgot...
Over the weekend I posted my download wish list, and forgot altogether the original CD that spurred the list's creation while on vacation: the Talking Heads' True Stories album. It wasn't until we re-watched Byrne's movie of the same name earlier this summer that I realized my iTunes Talking Heads collection was woefully inadequate and should also have included Hey Now and Love for Sale, as well as this classic, among others:
Every time I hear Wild, Wild Life I hear John Goodman (near the start of his career) telling David Byrne as narrator that "I'm 6' 3" and maintain a consistent panda bear shape."
Coming later today, at least one review, and possibly two.
August 7, 2010
July 7, 2010
Salsa Celtica & Maroon 5
Ever since Rachael discovered KXT, 91.7 f.m. on the radio, I've not listened to any other station, which is the musical arm of NPR. Their playlists vary from hour to hour, day to day, week to week, and include local programming as well as national shows. One of the bands I've fallen in love with is Salsa Celtica...here's one of their videos.
The only downfall to listening to KXT as opposed to a station that plays current, mainstream music, is that I didn't even know Maroon 5 had a new single/video. If you've not seen the video, you can watch it here (sorry about the ad which precedes it). Enjoy it for the music, and for the eye candy that is Adam Levine, who seemed to come totally into his hotness when he hit 30 last year.
June 6, 2010
Dr. Hook
When I walked in the door last night near midnight after work and proudly relayed this terrific tidbit of trivia - that Shel Silverstein had written Dr. Hook's Cover of the Rolling Stone - to my husband, he knocked the stuffing out of me by responding, "I know."
In this life two things are true: 1) I am a fount of useless knowledge; and 2) My husband is an encyclopedia of music. But encyclopedia of music be damned, this one was a shocker...how in the hell had my husband known this? Heretofore unbeknownst to me until midnight last night, my husband is a long-time Dr. Hook fan.
This morning over breakfast we discussed it again...why was my husband enamored of a band whose one-hit wonder was a goofy novelty-esque song? He replied, "Because their claim to fame is a parody of their failure." To which he added, "And they had more than one hit, like Sylvia's Mother. To which I responded, "Play it for me."
Him: "I don't feel like it."
Me: "Fine...let me find it on Youtube with my phone." And I did.
Me: "They look like..."
Him: "They look like pirates. They look like fucking pirates.
April 1, 2010
A Gift
I had this on my old blog, but thought I'd share it again. I am short on time because of this special review project. And as I've been sick all week, I need a bit of a pick me up and thought you could use one too. Enjoy!
March 31, 2010
Sea of Love
Saw this for the first time last night and loved its sense of humor. As always, I like a song more after having seen the video.
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