Time to ‘fess up. I clearly have no qualms about laying it all out for ya so I’ll start.
I discovered The Sonics via the Nissan SUV (I think) commercial. I also discovered Chris Knox (Tall Dwarfs) via the Heineken commercial that uses It’s Love. The Knox album on eMusic (Beat) has a definite Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy vibe.
I confessed. I am at one with god.
What say you?
At one point last night, while standing behind home plate at Citizens Bank Park and watching the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Florida Marlins, I was suddenly overcome by a spell of Philly Pride. Cranky, old Ed King actually got misty as he looked out over the field, took in the sounds from the crowd, and remembered the franchise’s rare past glories and frequent letdowns. This is my team, I thought. My team’s lovely little ballpark. For better and for worse, my people.
An hour after having gotten in tune with my city, I arrived home to read that one of Philly’s Great White Hopes of the early ’80s, Robert Hazard, had died. Damn, I had no idea the guy was even sick!
Continue reading »
…Your Dog.
Go!
Townsman Mac has suggested the following thread, which I think you’ll agree is worthy of our consideration:
Creepiest lyric ever. This came to me while listening to Blood and Chocolate, an album by a man who has written many a creepy lyric. The persona (or self portrait) Costello creates is one of the creepiest ever. I would save my favorite creepy lyric from that album for the thread, but as an example: E from Eels sings on the song “Going Fetal” (which is done in the tradition of ’50s dance crazes):
“Everyone is going fetal.
It’s the dance the kids all feel.
Just get done under your desk.
Feels like your momma’s nest, alright.”Which is hi-larious, but downright creepy.
I wonder in a head to head who the creepiest lyricist would be: Costello or Waits?
The long interview clip I’ve set at the top of this thread provides another example, one that Townsman Chickenfrank and I have had many a laugh over. Now let’s creep Mac out!
I know some of our Townspeople dig Randy Newman and will find the release of Harps and Angels, his first album of new, non-soundtrack material since 1999, to be an occasion for joy. The New York Times opens its Critics’ Choice review with these words:
Randy Newman can do saccharine and he can do sour. At his best, though, his songs deliver complex flavors, with a pungent but searching ambivalence. “Harps and Angels,” his first album of new songs since “Bad Love” in 1999, presents a mess of conflicting feelings and motives. Intermittently brilliant, occasionally belligerent, it presents a vision of American identity as sprawling and ultimately as confused as the country itself.
Wow, it’s like the guy assembled that paragraph out of a box of Rock Critic Refridgerator Magnets! Ignore my sarcasm; I have been working on appreciating the guy the last few years, even going as far as to buy an album and burn a copy of another. Mitchell Froom co-produces this new one! Fans of Randy Newman and fans of Rock Town Hall, I urge you to consider supporting both Newman and the Halls of Rock by buying this album through the portal that follows. Thanks!
Continue reading »
I88Q_dYxHSg]
The last All-Star Jam actually got used. So, for your pleasure, here’s a fresh Jam for you to comment on anything you like. Keep it clean.
Some time ago, in a thread far, far beyond my memory, I complimented some song’s chorus for wrapping up with an exquisitely designed “bow,” or some such phrase. I highly appreciated the craft that went into the final section of said chorus.
As songwriters of any degree on Rock Town Hall can attest, choruses can be a bitch to write effectively. The pressure’s on: the chorus is expected to provide the song’s “take-home message.” Even when the message is garbled, as may be the case on, say, David Bowie’s “Changes”, a well-crafted arrangement and delivery can provide the necessary “money shot.”
The Animals, “We’ve Got to Get Out of This Place”
Granted, this is a matter of personal taste, but occasionally there’s a mostly great chorus that wraps up in a way that makes me think the songwriter ran out of steam or interest. One that’s recently struck me as such an example is The Animals‘ “We’ve Got to Get Out of This Place”. The life-or-death build up as the chorus gets underway – all those sweat-and-grime moans that accompany Eric Burdon‘s “He’s been working so hard…” prechorus lead into a strong singalong to the song’s title. Then, when I’m all worked up and feeling part of something special, I’m left with what I find to be a disappointing and somewhat cheap “Girl there’s a better place for me and you.” The little chord riff and pounding drum part that follows does its best to restore authority, but I can’t help but hear that last line to be anything more than a device worthy of a dinner theater rock band like Blood, Sweat & Tears.
Continue reading »
