Stick with the above clip. Beside reminding you of an SCTV skit that was never produced, does it remind you of one of our previous posts in our ongoing series of Rock’s Unfulfilled Fashion Ideas? Check it out: I think this idea had been fulfilled after all.
Here’s a question I’ve been meaning to ask Townspeople, a question that’s likely a bit outside many of our participants’ comfort zone, but I hope you have the stones to answer, even with limited knowledge of the subject matter: What are your three (3) favorite jazz recordings (individual songs, not entire albums)?
Because this topic is outside my comfort zone I’m not going to be a hard ass regarding your definition of the term “jazz.” If you want to suggest a vocal performance of a “standard,” Chuck Mangione’s “Feel So Good,” or some Lydia Lunch “No Wave” track, be my guest.
On the other hand, if you really know your shit and welcome the chance to dig into this topic, I encourage you to specify the recordings you favor, not just throw out any one of an artist’s dozen takes on the same track.
Before I forget, here are my three favorite jazz recordings, in no particular order:
Sylvia Robinson, founder of pioneering rap label Sugar Hill Records and a recording artist in her own right (“Love Is Strange,” as part of Mickey & Sylvia, and her solo hit “Pillow Talk”), died yesterday. You’ve probably heard this by now. My wife told me all about it late last night. I was really busy yesterday and spent what little free time I had recounting the wonders of Major League Baseball’s final night of the regular season and analyzing the coming playoffs. For placing my attention on baseball and missing this story yesterday I am sorry.
Sylvia Robinson was one cool cat.
OK, so I am the 108,483rd person to have watched this YouTube clip. Hopefully that puts me at least 1 up on some of you. Where was this clip’s creator when this series begged for exclusive debut rights? What would Cliff say?
We here in the Halls of Rock Town are sometimes taken to task for being overly negative, snarky, hyper-critical, and all too often, just downright rude. As part of our collective efforts to bring a bit of sunshine and light to the world wide web, we occasionally make an extra effort effort to find something good to say about, you know, stuff that is clearly godawful.
It is in that spirit that we embark on yet another effort to bring some positivity to our proceedings. Please spend some quality time with the video above, then — if you can — please find something nice to say about it. You’ll feel a whole lot better, I promise you.
I look forward to your comments. Just remember, if you can’t say anything nice about this video… please don’t say anything at all.
“Blackbird” came on Pandora “radio” the other night, as my wife and I drove home from a long road trip to Central Pennsylvania. I cringed. I’d just cringed for the previous song, an REM song, I believe. For my wife, this second cringe was one cringe too many. “What’s your problem with this song?” she made the mistake of asking, as I reached for the SKIP button. In an extraordinarily rare moment of compassion and maturity I left my answer at, “I don’t know, that’s one of my least-favorite Beatles songs.”
Of course I know exactly why this essentially solo, fingerpicking, tender love song by McCartney ranks among my 5 Least Favorite Beatles Songs (excluding throwaways like “Wild Honey Pie,” which aren’t worth ranking): It makes me feel inadequate.
Check out the following song, by Jethro Tull. Listen to the music. Does it remind you of anything?
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