In my life, there have been some very good years. 1957, I was born in the time of Elvis. 1979, I was married in the time of Disco. 1982, my daughter was born and I saw The Who on the first farewell tour. 2008, my granddaughter was born and Hip-Hop ruled the airwaves. Now, it's 2010 and, I'm very happy to say, that music is getting interesting again. There seems to be a rebirth of alternative rock and a return to singer/songwriters. If we're lucky, 2011 will be the year that American Idol die. Can you name the last few winners? I can't. If we're lucky, 2011 will be the year that we wake up and realize that Glee is not even as entertaining as bad karaoke. Superficiality has no place in music. We need artists with depth and true talent, like Lady Gaga and Arcade Fire, to drag popular music out of banality. We need artists like Jamey Johnson and Hayes Carll to steer Country Music away from its Southern Rock quagmire. In short, 2011 needs to be a year like 1977 when Punk Rock made it all interesting again.
2011 could be a great year. Maybe so good that someone will write a song called "2011". They better do it fast because, as we know from the Mayan Calendar and the movie, the world ends in 2012. Too bad, I was looking forward to retirement. Oh well. Let's listen to some tunes while there is still time.
Here are some great tunes about specific years:
"1969" - Iggy & The Stooges http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0mRfECsHrc
"1970" - Iggy & The Stooges
Here are videos of "1970" from 1970 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRuN2ayttsY&feature=related
and from 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjUL5z-PQfk&feature=related
"1979" - The Smashing Pumpkins http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrivjzw0RlI
This is one of all-time favorite videos. A true portrayal of teenage freedom and stupidity.
"1984" - David Bowie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJGQLFenjKs&feature=related "Beware the savage jaw of 1984" from Diamond Dogs. Dig that funky disco post-apocalyptic beat.
"1985" - Bowling for Soup http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K38xNqZvBJI&feature=fvwk
When there was still music on MTV. An Epic Video.
"1999" - Prince
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv-2BBKicVU
Because we all thought that all computers were going to stop at midnight in the year 2000. "2000-zero-zero, party, outta-time". What a great excuse to party.
"In the Year 2525" - Zager and Evans http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tLTb4P1HD8
"...tear it down and start again." It's time.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Return of the Concept Album
Some of us old folks remember a time when artists would compose an album as “an entire piece” and, over 10 or 12 tracks, take you on a musical journey from beginning to end. The songs would be held together by a common theme and this oddity was called a “concept album”.
I am sure that the idea for concept albums began long ago because Woody Guthrie’s 1940 debut album Dust Bowl Ballads was a collection of folk tunes that all had a common theme of desperation and resilience. Later, after the United States was enjoying more prosperity, Frank Sinatra released what many consider the first true “concept album” in 1955 with In the Wee Small Hours. It is a collection of ballads which all express feelings of late-night loneliness and isolation. As the 1950’s ended, country and western artists produced some of the best concept albums. In 1959, Marty Robbins released Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs full of stories of gunslingers and cowboys.
Music started getting weird in the 1960’s and so did concept albums. The Mothers of Invention released Freak Out!, a scathing farce about American idealism. The Moody Blues traced an average day of the common man from waking up to going to sleep in Days of Future Passed. The Who gave us the first “rock opera” concept album Tommy in 1969. The concept was about a young boy named Tommy who is stricken deaf, dumb and blind after witnessing his father’s murder by his stepfather. Tommy attracts a cult of personality as a pinball wizard but is eventually rejected by his followers.
The 1970’s were my favorite decade for concept albums. Jethro Tull had several, like Thick As A Brick, a parable about modern society and how we are influenced by it, told through the eyes of a young boy. Pink Floyd gave us Dark Side of the Moon, which loosely chronicles the pressures of modern life stemming from the clash of morality and materialism and how it can drive us insane. But their most ambitious concept album was The Wall, which likens traumatic incidents occurring in your youth to adding bricks to a wall which obscures your ability to live a normal adult life. David Bowie morphed into his alter ego avatar Ziggy Stardust for 1972’s concept album Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, in which Ziggy is a Martian rock star who comes to earth with a simple message to “let the children lead the way” but his time on Earth corrupts him and he becomes a victim of his own excesses. The following year, the Who released Quadrophenia and it was personally very important to me and to Eddie Vedder, who said it comforted him to a tough time in his life. In my case, my grandfather had just died and I was feeling very alone and sad. The concept of Quadrophenia is about finding yourself when you feel like the whole world has let you down. That’s what happens to Jimmy, the disillusioned young man in Quadrophenia who tries but does not fit in with the style of the times. He begins to realize that everything he believes in and loves, including his family, his friends and his girlfriend, have let him down. Through introspection he realizes that he is the cause of all his problems and, after finding his true self, achieves salvation.
It was also during the 1970’s that progressive rock was rampant. There were a lot of thematic albums, like Rick Wakeman’s Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Six Wives of Henry the Eighth, but I don’t consider them concept albums in the truest sense because they were, like Alan Parson’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination (based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe) inspired by other great works of literature and historical figures. However, a genuinely creative and imaginative work entitled The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was released by Genesis in 1974 when Peter Gabriel was still at its helm. The concept was about a juvenile delinquent named Rael in New York City who journeys underground to encounter bizarre creatures and nightmarish perils in order to save his trapped brother. Recent Genesis live albums still feature “The Carpet Crawlers” from The Lamb…, but my personal favorite track is “Counting Out Time”.
Who can forget “domo arigato, Mr. Roboto”? It came from the Eighties and a concept album by Styx called Kilroy Was Here. In the story, Robert Orin Charles Kilroy (ROCK) was imprisoned by an anti-rock-and-roll group the Majority for Musical Morality. Kilroy escapes by overpowering the Roboto prison guard and hiding inside the emptied-out metal shell. I like to remember this as a metaphor for the empty shell that rock and roll was for the most of the Eighties. Sadly, the concept album became a favorite mechanism for Heavy Metal bands like Iron Maiden and Queensryche. Iron Maiden’s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was mythology about a seventh son of a seventh son with mystical powers. Queensryche’s Operation:Mindcrime told the tale of a young man who awakes from a coma to remember that he had worked as a political assassin. Rock had become mythology trapped in a comatose state. Fortunately, alternative rock bands like R.E.M. and U2 were coming to revive it.
After its rough patch in the Eighties, the concept album returned to its former glory in the Nineties. Marilyn Manson released a conceptual triptych with Antichrist Superstar in 1996, Mechanical Animals in 1998 and Holy Wood in 2000 which, like George Lucas’ Star Wars presented the sequel before the prequel. Dream Theatre, Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails, all very different in musical styles and approaches, gave us concept albums during the 1990’s. But my favorite pick for Concept Album of the Nineties is OK Computer by Radiohead. It is a brilliant indictment of the loss of individuality in the computer era.
Concept albums are still alive and well in the 2000’s, and their champion is Green Day. American Idiot in 2004 and 21st Century Breakdown in 2009 were each fantastic concept albums. American Idiot was made into a Broadway musical and, in 2010, it won two Tony Awards. Now more than ever, musicians should really consider making concept albums. Because so much of what we listen to these days are singles downloaded as individual tracks, thanks to iTunes and its many competitors, we seem to have lost the thread of the story that music can tell. One way that artists could start selling albums again, instead of just singles, would be to make a concept album. Otherwise, we’re only getting part of the story.
I am sure that the idea for concept albums began long ago because Woody Guthrie’s 1940 debut album Dust Bowl Ballads was a collection of folk tunes that all had a common theme of desperation and resilience. Later, after the United States was enjoying more prosperity, Frank Sinatra released what many consider the first true “concept album” in 1955 with In the Wee Small Hours. It is a collection of ballads which all express feelings of late-night loneliness and isolation. As the 1950’s ended, country and western artists produced some of the best concept albums. In 1959, Marty Robbins released Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs full of stories of gunslingers and cowboys.
Music started getting weird in the 1960’s and so did concept albums. The Mothers of Invention released Freak Out!, a scathing farce about American idealism. The Moody Blues traced an average day of the common man from waking up to going to sleep in Days of Future Passed. The Who gave us the first “rock opera” concept album Tommy in 1969. The concept was about a young boy named Tommy who is stricken deaf, dumb and blind after witnessing his father’s murder by his stepfather. Tommy attracts a cult of personality as a pinball wizard but is eventually rejected by his followers.
The 1970’s were my favorite decade for concept albums. Jethro Tull had several, like Thick As A Brick, a parable about modern society and how we are influenced by it, told through the eyes of a young boy. Pink Floyd gave us Dark Side of the Moon, which loosely chronicles the pressures of modern life stemming from the clash of morality and materialism and how it can drive us insane. But their most ambitious concept album was The Wall, which likens traumatic incidents occurring in your youth to adding bricks to a wall which obscures your ability to live a normal adult life. David Bowie morphed into his alter ego avatar Ziggy Stardust for 1972’s concept album Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, in which Ziggy is a Martian rock star who comes to earth with a simple message to “let the children lead the way” but his time on Earth corrupts him and he becomes a victim of his own excesses. The following year, the Who released Quadrophenia and it was personally very important to me and to Eddie Vedder, who said it comforted him to a tough time in his life. In my case, my grandfather had just died and I was feeling very alone and sad. The concept of Quadrophenia is about finding yourself when you feel like the whole world has let you down. That’s what happens to Jimmy, the disillusioned young man in Quadrophenia who tries but does not fit in with the style of the times. He begins to realize that everything he believes in and loves, including his family, his friends and his girlfriend, have let him down. Through introspection he realizes that he is the cause of all his problems and, after finding his true self, achieves salvation.
It was also during the 1970’s that progressive rock was rampant. There were a lot of thematic albums, like Rick Wakeman’s Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Six Wives of Henry the Eighth, but I don’t consider them concept albums in the truest sense because they were, like Alan Parson’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination (based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe) inspired by other great works of literature and historical figures. However, a genuinely creative and imaginative work entitled The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was released by Genesis in 1974 when Peter Gabriel was still at its helm. The concept was about a juvenile delinquent named Rael in New York City who journeys underground to encounter bizarre creatures and nightmarish perils in order to save his trapped brother. Recent Genesis live albums still feature “The Carpet Crawlers” from The Lamb…, but my personal favorite track is “Counting Out Time”.
Who can forget “domo arigato, Mr. Roboto”? It came from the Eighties and a concept album by Styx called Kilroy Was Here. In the story, Robert Orin Charles Kilroy (ROCK) was imprisoned by an anti-rock-and-roll group the Majority for Musical Morality. Kilroy escapes by overpowering the Roboto prison guard and hiding inside the emptied-out metal shell. I like to remember this as a metaphor for the empty shell that rock and roll was for the most of the Eighties. Sadly, the concept album became a favorite mechanism for Heavy Metal bands like Iron Maiden and Queensryche. Iron Maiden’s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was mythology about a seventh son of a seventh son with mystical powers. Queensryche’s Operation:Mindcrime told the tale of a young man who awakes from a coma to remember that he had worked as a political assassin. Rock had become mythology trapped in a comatose state. Fortunately, alternative rock bands like R.E.M. and U2 were coming to revive it.
After its rough patch in the Eighties, the concept album returned to its former glory in the Nineties. Marilyn Manson released a conceptual triptych with Antichrist Superstar in 1996, Mechanical Animals in 1998 and Holy Wood in 2000 which, like George Lucas’ Star Wars presented the sequel before the prequel. Dream Theatre, Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails, all very different in musical styles and approaches, gave us concept albums during the 1990’s. But my favorite pick for Concept Album of the Nineties is OK Computer by Radiohead. It is a brilliant indictment of the loss of individuality in the computer era.
Concept albums are still alive and well in the 2000’s, and their champion is Green Day. American Idiot in 2004 and 21st Century Breakdown in 2009 were each fantastic concept albums. American Idiot was made into a Broadway musical and, in 2010, it won two Tony Awards. Now more than ever, musicians should really consider making concept albums. Because so much of what we listen to these days are singles downloaded as individual tracks, thanks to iTunes and its many competitors, we seem to have lost the thread of the story that music can tell. One way that artists could start selling albums again, instead of just singles, would be to make a concept album. Otherwise, we’re only getting part of the story.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Famous Last Words
George Strait has a song called "Famous Last Words of a Fool". I'd be a fool not to blog on Halloween. I'd also be a fool not be blog about DEATH on Halloween. So many "horror" movies dwell on the subject of death; usually shocking grisly death of attractive young people by some demented psychopath or some remorseless other-worldly menace. Our fascination with death extends into the world of music, of course, and the trend goes way back. In 1964, the Shangri-La's gave us the sad love story "Leader of the Pack" about a guy who crashes his motorcycle and dies. That same year, Jan and Dean told us the story about a drag race gone awry in "Dead Man's Curve". Teenage tragedy records were so popular in the 1950's and 1960's that they were referred to as "splatter platters". Some of the most gruesome ones are "Last Kiss", "Teen Angel", and "Tell Laura I Love Her". "Ode to Billy Joe" was a particularly sad little ditty about a teenage couple who throw their baby off a bridge and then the baby's father also jumps to his death out of remorse.
The teenage tragedy genre has never really left us. In the 1970's, there was "Seasons in the Sun", "Billy Don't Be A Hero" and "D.O.A." The 1980's gave us "Girlfriend in a Coma", and the 1990's gave us "Adam's Song" by Blink-182, in which a depressed teen commits suicide. That song contains Adam's suicide note and his Last Words were "Remember the time that I spilled the cup of apple juice in the hall. Please tell mom this is not her fault." It also contains the line "I took my time, I hurried up" which is lifted from Nirvana's "Come As You Are". Four years later, Nirvana's lead singer Kurt Cobain would kill himself. He also left a suicide note and his Last Words were "it is better to burn out than to fade away" which was lifted from Neil Young's "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)". In the 2000's, death is rampant in rap music and suicide is once again the inspiration for Eminem's "Stan".
Rock stars always say the darndest things. Often they are clever and funny things. Often the rock star dies shortly after and someone remembers the last stupid thing they said. One of my personal heroes, Bono, has said some profound things, like "If I am close to the music, and you are close to the music, we are close to each other", and "Music can change the world because it can change people." But, he also reportedly said, "There's a lot of bullshit in rock and roll, but some of the bullshit is pretty cool." Fortunately for all of us, Bono is still with us, and he still has time to say something else crazy before the Grim Reaper comes knocking.
“I hope we've passed the audition.” quipped John Lennon after playing “Get Back” at the famous Rooftop Performance on the roof of Apple Studios on January 30, 1969. "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?” snarled Johnny Rotten at the end of the last show the Sex Pistols ever played. Those were not their last words, but they were pretty cool.
Don’t die in the bathroom. “Okay, I won't.” were Elvis Presley’s actual Last Words said to his fiancé Ginger Alden on August 16, 1977. She had advised him, when he was on the way to the bathroom, "Don't fall asleep in there." Sadly, it turned out to be ‘The Big Sleep’.
Yoko Ono told reporters that John Lennon’s last words were in response to her question “Shall we go and have dinner before we go home?” John reportedly said "No, let's go home because I want to see Sean before he goes to sleep”, just before he was shot and killed on December 8, 1980.
On March 19, 1982, Randy Rhoads, guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne said “Why do you drink that stuff, Ozzy? One of these days it's gonna kill you”, referring to Ozzy’s alcoholism. Randy died in a plane crash later that day.
“This is it... this really is it.” announced Michael Jackson as he entered his limo, leaving a rehearsal of his "This Is It" concert. He died the next afternoon on June 25, 2009.
Probably the creepiest last words were spoken late in the evening prior to The Day the Music Died. Waylon Jennings lost the coin toss with the Big Bopper for a place on the plane that crashed killing Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens on February 3, 1959. Buddy jokingly told Waylon "I hope your bus freezes" and Waylon replied "I hope your ol' plane crashes". Waylon often admitted that he regretted saying it, as I imagine most of us would.
Be careful what you say. Someone might be taking notes.
The teenage tragedy genre has never really left us. In the 1970's, there was "Seasons in the Sun", "Billy Don't Be A Hero" and "D.O.A." The 1980's gave us "Girlfriend in a Coma", and the 1990's gave us "Adam's Song" by Blink-182, in which a depressed teen commits suicide. That song contains Adam's suicide note and his Last Words were "Remember the time that I spilled the cup of apple juice in the hall. Please tell mom this is not her fault." It also contains the line "I took my time, I hurried up" which is lifted from Nirvana's "Come As You Are". Four years later, Nirvana's lead singer Kurt Cobain would kill himself. He also left a suicide note and his Last Words were "it is better to burn out than to fade away" which was lifted from Neil Young's "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)". In the 2000's, death is rampant in rap music and suicide is once again the inspiration for Eminem's "Stan".
Rock stars always say the darndest things. Often they are clever and funny things. Often the rock star dies shortly after and someone remembers the last stupid thing they said. One of my personal heroes, Bono, has said some profound things, like "If I am close to the music, and you are close to the music, we are close to each other", and "Music can change the world because it can change people." But, he also reportedly said, "There's a lot of bullshit in rock and roll, but some of the bullshit is pretty cool." Fortunately for all of us, Bono is still with us, and he still has time to say something else crazy before the Grim Reaper comes knocking.
“I hope we've passed the audition.” quipped John Lennon after playing “Get Back” at the famous Rooftop Performance on the roof of Apple Studios on January 30, 1969. "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?” snarled Johnny Rotten at the end of the last show the Sex Pistols ever played. Those were not their last words, but they were pretty cool.
Don’t die in the bathroom. “Okay, I won't.” were Elvis Presley’s actual Last Words said to his fiancé Ginger Alden on August 16, 1977. She had advised him, when he was on the way to the bathroom, "Don't fall asleep in there." Sadly, it turned out to be ‘The Big Sleep’.
Yoko Ono told reporters that John Lennon’s last words were in response to her question “Shall we go and have dinner before we go home?” John reportedly said "No, let's go home because I want to see Sean before he goes to sleep”, just before he was shot and killed on December 8, 1980.
On March 19, 1982, Randy Rhoads, guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne said “Why do you drink that stuff, Ozzy? One of these days it's gonna kill you”, referring to Ozzy’s alcoholism. Randy died in a plane crash later that day.
“This is it... this really is it.” announced Michael Jackson as he entered his limo, leaving a rehearsal of his "This Is It" concert. He died the next afternoon on June 25, 2009.
Probably the creepiest last words were spoken late in the evening prior to The Day the Music Died. Waylon Jennings lost the coin toss with the Big Bopper for a place on the plane that crashed killing Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens on February 3, 1959. Buddy jokingly told Waylon "I hope your bus freezes" and Waylon replied "I hope your ol' plane crashes". Waylon often admitted that he regretted saying it, as I imagine most of us would.
Be careful what you say. Someone might be taking notes.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
That's What The Doctor Ordered
Time for a check-up. How are you feeling today? I hope you are well.
If not, music is the best medicine unless you have a disease. What are your symptoms? Perhaps, like Springsteen, you have a "Fever". Let's examine what might be causing that fever. Do you have a "Chest Fever" like Three Dog Night, or do you have the Full Moon Fever like Tom Petty? If you're lucky, you only have a slight fever like a "Pac Man Fever" or a "Justin Bieber Fever". If you're from the Country, you might have Ferlin Husky's "Freightliner Fever" or David Allen Coe's "White Line Fever". If you have been dancing, you might have "Boogie Fever" or "Night Fever". Lord help you if you have "Cat Scratch Fever".
Here's my favorite kind of fever http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ0CCh2rg5s
It's "Jungle Fever" by the Chakachas.
Have you been "Too Sick To Pray" like Willie Nelson or "Sick As A Dog" like Aerosmith? Perhaps you were recently ill and now you are "Sick Again" like Led Zeppelin. I thought I might be coming down with something but I only have a "Bad Case of Loving You" like Robert Palmer. At least I'm not "Sick of You", like Lou Reed. Warren Zevon said "Don't Let Us Get Sick".
If we do get sick, we have lots of healthcare options. Like the Beatles, we could visit "Doctor Robert". Ben Folds goes to "Dr. Yang". They Might Be Giants go to "Dr. Worm". He's an actual worm. Gary Glitter is a patient of "Dr. Who". Lil' Wayne goes to "Dr. Carter". Motley Crue visit "Dr. Feelgood", quite often, I suspect. The Who needed frequent medical care because on A Quick One they called "Doctor, Doctor", on Tommy "There's A Doctor", and on Quadrophenia they visited "Dr. Jimmy". My best advise for you is to avoid the "Witch Doctor". As for me, like Kiss, I'm "Calling Dr. Love". Ted Nugent would agree it's "Just What The Doctor Ordered".
Stay well.
If not, music is the best medicine unless you have a disease. What are your symptoms? Perhaps, like Springsteen, you have a "Fever". Let's examine what might be causing that fever. Do you have a "Chest Fever" like Three Dog Night, or do you have the Full Moon Fever like Tom Petty? If you're lucky, you only have a slight fever like a "Pac Man Fever" or a "Justin Bieber Fever". If you're from the Country, you might have Ferlin Husky's "Freightliner Fever" or David Allen Coe's "White Line Fever". If you have been dancing, you might have "Boogie Fever" or "Night Fever". Lord help you if you have "Cat Scratch Fever".
Here's my favorite kind of fever http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ0CCh2rg5s
It's "Jungle Fever" by the Chakachas.
Have you been "Too Sick To Pray" like Willie Nelson or "Sick As A Dog" like Aerosmith? Perhaps you were recently ill and now you are "Sick Again" like Led Zeppelin. I thought I might be coming down with something but I only have a "Bad Case of Loving You" like Robert Palmer. At least I'm not "Sick of You", like Lou Reed. Warren Zevon said "Don't Let Us Get Sick".
If we do get sick, we have lots of healthcare options. Like the Beatles, we could visit "Doctor Robert". Ben Folds goes to "Dr. Yang". They Might Be Giants go to "Dr. Worm". He's an actual worm. Gary Glitter is a patient of "Dr. Who". Lil' Wayne goes to "Dr. Carter". Motley Crue visit "Dr. Feelgood", quite often, I suspect. The Who needed frequent medical care because on A Quick One they called "Doctor, Doctor", on Tommy "There's A Doctor", and on Quadrophenia they visited "Dr. Jimmy". My best advise for you is to avoid the "Witch Doctor". As for me, like Kiss, I'm "Calling Dr. Love". Ted Nugent would agree it's "Just What The Doctor Ordered".
Stay well.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Dream It All Up Again
I'm back. For the past couple of months, I've been in grant-writing mode and have had no time to blog. I was dreaming up new plans, new experiments, new opportunities. You might think that dreaming is a passive experience that happens when you in your most relaxed state. Actually, dreaming can be exhausting.
This weekend, I'm taking a break from the rigidity of focus that accompanies grant writing and am letting my mind meander into a dream landscape most welcome and wondrous. Let's go there together.
There's a movie in the theaters now about DREAMS called "Inception" starring Leo Decaprio and Ellen Page. Haven't seen it yet but have heard it's quite good, and it inspired me to compose a blog about dreams that have appeared in songs. Of course, there's the classic album Rumors by Fleetwood Mac with Stevie Nicks' magical tune "Dreams" that is still played every day on Classic Rock stations worldwide. Before those songs were penned, Roy Orbison was singing about dreams. In fact, dreams seem to have been one of his principal preoccupations because he gave us so many great songs about dreams. "Dream", "In Dreams", and "Sweet Dream Baby". Aerosmith said to "Dream On". The Everly Brothers implored us to "Dream". Whole lotta dreamin' goin' on.
Some artists had so many dreams that they had to enumerate them. John Lennon's "#9 Dream" and Bob Dylan's "115th Dream". Brain experts tell us that we dream at least 40 dreams every night. How many can you remember? Do you dream in color? I dream in sound.
After U2 played their last Joshua Tree tour concert, Bono told the audience that they had to go "dream it all up again". Then those dreams produced their masterpiece Achtung Baby. You never know what your dreams will bring. Keep dreaming.
This weekend, I'm taking a break from the rigidity of focus that accompanies grant writing and am letting my mind meander into a dream landscape most welcome and wondrous. Let's go there together.
There's a movie in the theaters now about DREAMS called "Inception" starring Leo Decaprio and Ellen Page. Haven't seen it yet but have heard it's quite good, and it inspired me to compose a blog about dreams that have appeared in songs. Of course, there's the classic album Rumors by Fleetwood Mac with Stevie Nicks' magical tune "Dreams" that is still played every day on Classic Rock stations worldwide. Before those songs were penned, Roy Orbison was singing about dreams. In fact, dreams seem to have been one of his principal preoccupations because he gave us so many great songs about dreams. "Dream", "In Dreams", and "Sweet Dream Baby". Aerosmith said to "Dream On". The Everly Brothers implored us to "Dream". Whole lotta dreamin' goin' on.
Some artists had so many dreams that they had to enumerate them. John Lennon's "#9 Dream" and Bob Dylan's "115th Dream". Brain experts tell us that we dream at least 40 dreams every night. How many can you remember? Do you dream in color? I dream in sound.
After U2 played their last Joshua Tree tour concert, Bono told the audience that they had to go "dream it all up again". Then those dreams produced their masterpiece Achtung Baby. You never know what your dreams will bring. Keep dreaming.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Happy Mother's Day
It's Mother's Day today. Happy Mother's Day to the angels who brought us into the world, raised us up from a single fertilized egg, and sculpted us into the people we are today. My mom passed away in 2002, so I can't call her and wish her a Happy Mother's Day anymore. If your mom is near, give her a BIG HUG. If she is far, send her some LOVE.
Sing your mom a song. "Take Your Mama Out", "Tie Your Mother Down", "Your Mama Don't Dance", but "Your Mother Should Know".
Just like it says in the great old country tune "You Never Even Called Me By My Name", it's not a true country song unless it mentions MAMA. "Mama Tried", for instance, by Merle Haggard, talks about how mothers try to raise their children right. Trouble is, children have minds of their own. We should always remember, however, what this world is like for "Motherless Children".
I had a great mom. Her name was Dolly. She loved movies, especially action films with swordfighting. If she were alive today, she would be looking forward to the new "Robin Hood" movie with Russell Crowe. She was crazy about Robin Hood, and loved every version ever filmed. She also loved gambling and would take the bus across Texas into Louisiana to the casino to play the slots and bingo all night. She loved Vegas. Her last request was for her ashes to be strewn on The Strip, so I deposited them near the corner of Las Vegas Blvd & Flamingo Road.
Country Music is replete with songs about mama and for mama. "In My Daughter's Eyes by Martina McBride, "Somebody's Hero" by Jamie O'Neal, "Mama's Song" by Carrie Underwood, "One's On The Way" by Loretta Lynn, and "Hot Mama" by Trace Adkins. Willie Nelson gave advice to mothers in "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys".
Pop and Rock has provided us with songs for mom. Fountains of Wayne tell us that "Stacy's Mom" has got it goin' on. John Lennon's "Mother" is therapeutic for anyone abandoned by their mom. The Beatles told of songs from long ago that "Your Mother Should Know". Paul Simon penned "Mother and Child Reunion", which purported was inspired by a chicken & egg dish he had at a Chinese restaurant.
You gotta sing about mama. No one will ever love you like your mama. Why not sing her a song today. Sing along with John Travolta and Billy Bob Thornton. Love your mama.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDjbPXvrCP0
Just like it says in the great old country tune "You Never Even Called Me By My Name", it's not a true country song unless it mentions MAMA. "Mama Tried", for instance, by Merle Haggard, talks about how mothers try to raise their children right. Trouble is, children have minds of their own. We should always remember, however, what this world is like for "Motherless Children".
I had a great mom. Her name was Dolly. She loved movies, especially action films with swordfighting. If she were alive today, she would be looking forward to the new "Robin Hood" movie with Russell Crowe. She was crazy about Robin Hood, and loved every version ever filmed. She also loved gambling and would take the bus across Texas into Louisiana to the casino to play the slots and bingo all night. She loved Vegas. Her last request was for her ashes to be strewn on The Strip, so I deposited them near the corner of Las Vegas Blvd & Flamingo Road.
Country Music is replete with songs about mama and for mama. "In My Daughter's Eyes by Martina McBride, "Somebody's Hero" by Jamie O'Neal, "Mama's Song" by Carrie Underwood, "One's On The Way" by Loretta Lynn, and "Hot Mama" by Trace Adkins. Willie Nelson gave advice to mothers in "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys".
Pop and Rock has provided us with songs for mom. Fountains of Wayne tell us that "Stacy's Mom" has got it goin' on. John Lennon's "Mother" is therapeutic for anyone abandoned by their mom. The Beatles told of songs from long ago that "Your Mother Should Know". Paul Simon penned "Mother and Child Reunion", which purported was inspired by a chicken & egg dish he had at a Chinese restaurant.
You gotta sing about mama. No one will ever love you like your mama. Why not sing her a song today. Sing along with John Travolta and Billy Bob Thornton. Love your mama.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDjbPXvrCP0
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Back from the Undead
If your wondering why I haven't blogged for awhile, there are three reasons for that.
1) I was working on a grant application.
2) I got a computer virus that was particularly nasty.
3) I have been spending an inordinate amount of time recently Tweeting, Blipping and Facebook-posting.
Let me address each of these 3 items in turn.
First, the grant application is submitted. It was a big hairy one. There are always small grant applications to submit, but occasionally a big hairy one comes along that consumes my every waking moment. But, that's "work" and I prefer to blog about "play". Let the music play.
Second, I got a nasty computer virus that kept evading all my anti-virus programs. I was always able to quarantine it, but not completely remove it. My brilliant wife figured it out. The culprit was hiding in four different locations on my computer. She finally cornered it and killed it. Here is what I have to say to whoever spends their time creating computer viruses: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeEYQOy4oQ4
Harry Nilsson phrased it perfectly in "You're Breakin' My Heart".
Third, my family and friends got me hooked on Facebook. For several weeks now, I have been posting stupid comments, uploading hilarious photos and generally being a goof. Feels like High School, maybe Elementary School somedays. On Twitter, I have to keep my comments brief. Here's a recent tweet, for example:
"Today I found a lobster on my piano. I suppose it could have been worse"
Finally, I discovered this other great time-waster called "Blipping" at http://blip.fm/
For me, this is why the Internet was invented. You get to be your own DJ, choose from a virtually unlimited treasure chest of songs from all genres, some complete with YouTube video, and post a blip with a personalized comment. Other people are blipping and listening to your blips. You get followers. My list of listeners is growing daily. You get badges. Kind of like being in the Boy Scouts, except without having to camp out or tie knots. You should check it out. It's very enjoyable. In fact, it's fun.
1) I was working on a grant application.
2) I got a computer virus that was particularly nasty.
3) I have been spending an inordinate amount of time recently Tweeting, Blipping and Facebook-posting.
Let me address each of these 3 items in turn.
First, the grant application is submitted. It was a big hairy one. There are always small grant applications to submit, but occasionally a big hairy one comes along that consumes my every waking moment. But, that's "work" and I prefer to blog about "play". Let the music play.
Second, I got a nasty computer virus that kept evading all my anti-virus programs. I was always able to quarantine it, but not completely remove it. My brilliant wife figured it out. The culprit was hiding in four different locations on my computer. She finally cornered it and killed it. Here is what I have to say to whoever spends their time creating computer viruses: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeEYQOy4oQ4
Harry Nilsson phrased it perfectly in "You're Breakin' My Heart".
Third, my family and friends got me hooked on Facebook. For several weeks now, I have been posting stupid comments, uploading hilarious photos and generally being a goof. Feels like High School, maybe Elementary School somedays. On Twitter, I have to keep my comments brief. Here's a recent tweet, for example:
"Today I found a lobster on my piano. I suppose it could have been worse"
Finally, I discovered this other great time-waster called "Blipping" at http://blip.fm/
For me, this is why the Internet was invented. You get to be your own DJ, choose from a virtually unlimited treasure chest of songs from all genres, some complete with YouTube video, and post a blip with a personalized comment. Other people are blipping and listening to your blips. You get followers. My list of listeners is growing daily. You get badges. Kind of like being in the Boy Scouts, except without having to camp out or tie knots. You should check it out. It's very enjoyable. In fact, it's fun.
Cheers!
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