He was originally advertised for his first tour as “You’ll never see anyone play the guitar in more positions!” For once, the hype turned out to be true. That was how he was introduced in the U.S. and the commercials had their effect. Here’s an early clip introduced by Lulu (Lulu!!??) Ah the good old days of “To Sir With Love………………..”
I always liked the playful side of Jimi. Here’s Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding making fun of lip synching:
And, of course, the classic “Wild Thing” at the Monterey Pop Festival where Hendrix lights his guitar on fire, smashes it, and then throws the parts into the crowd!
One of my favorite acts growing up was Carpenters. (Yes, that is what they wanted to be known as. Not “The” Carpenters.” Check their logo.) I was into much wilder stuff. But then I saw Karen Carpenter sitting at her drum kit and singing this beautiful song. She wasn’t doing anything except keeping time with her hi hat. That was incredible to me! I’d never seen a woman play the drums before. I never knew she played drums. I never knew she had such a beautiful voice. I never knew how pretty she was! That was it. I was hooked…And still am!
Now, drumming to me is everything. Not necessarily solos. I usually leave that to the guitars. But good drumming is essential to any song and by “good drumming” I mean playing what’s needed and being in the moment. The same is true of all instruments, but it’s the drums that keep it running smoothly.
A couple of months ago, I ran across Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster in Rolling Stone magazine making fun of “Ticket to Ride” by The Carpenters (Logo or not, it just sounds more natural with “The” in front of it.). He compared the experience to being in a nightmare where you can’t run fast enough when you’re being chased. Well, the drumming on that song is rather reserved but that’s the arrangement. In other words, he hadn’t done his homework. Well, someone put together a GREAT clip of Karen Carpenter doing what she loved to do most. There’s some incredible playing in this montage!
If you were paying attention in the drumming clips, there were some sequences where you also saw Richard Carpenter at his best, too. The two were both immensely talented. Richard did most of the arranging for the group and co-wrote many of their hits, but here is a little video that gave him a chance to show off his classical influence.
And I just couldn’t resist putting this early clip of both Richard & Karen rocking out on “Dancing in the Streets”:
This will be a personal weekly Top Ten list of what I consider to be the best songs that I listened to the previous week. Most songs will be current, but there are no boundaries. I’ve already stated on this web site that I am obsessed with music. I am constantly hunting it down whether it’s online, on CD, from my personal collection, from a library (Yes, I think the library is a great source of music–especially for music that you aren’t sure about.), TV, or radio. Since most of these sources mostly emphasize new music, the odds are pretty good that most of the songs on this list will be new. But in my search, I don’t use any boundaries for the other sources. I am just looking for good music that I haven’t heard, or happened to forget about. Everyone, including myself, has forgotten way more great music than they can ever remember-even if they are also music fanatics.
Also, there will be no rules concerning songs on this list. A song can show up or drop off a number of times. This will be the most volatile of my lists. It all depends on how much music I am exposed to during the week and what I find interesting. On really obscure stuff, I will try to include the source, if I know it.
This will be a personal weekly Top Ten list of what I consider to be the best videos currently available on TV. I don’t, as a rule, go searching for old music videos, so that’s why it will focus mostly on current or recent videos. For this category, I am also going to include any live performances on talk or variety shows that I see during the week.
Top 10 Videos and Performances for the Week of September 22, 2013
1. Still Into You—Paramore
2. All Over the Road—Easton Corbin
3. I Need Your Love—Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding
4. Safe and Sound—Capital Cities
5. Red—Taylor Swift
6. Point at You—Justin Moore
7. When I See This Bar—Kenny Chesney
8. True Love—P!nk and Lily Allen
9. See You Again—Carrie Underwood
10. Roar—Katy Perry
A “Q” Bomb, like an “H” bomb, will be my term for a music video that I consider to be subpar in music, video, or both. This will be a recurring weekly list that will focus on the worst videos that are currently on TV. I don’t, as a rule, go searching for old music videos, so that’s why it will focus on solely on current or recent videos.
I hate to be so negative about music, but when an artist takes a “bad” song and then brings more attention to it by creating a “bad” video to support it, it will appear on this list. I honestly hope, and it could happen, that this list will be less than 10 items, but I have serious doubts that that possibility will happen. We are, after all, talking about an industry that uses art for huge profits. The companies can’t help themselves.
However, at this point, I will not do a 10 worst music list. I see absolutely no reason to waste time reemphasizing bad music. Once is enough.
1. We Can’t Stop—Miley Cyrus
2. Summer Sadness (Remix)—Lana Del Rey vs Cedric Gervais
3. Hey Girl—Billy Currington
4. Clarity—Zedd with Foxes
5. Let Her Go–Passenger
6. Royals—Lorde
7. That’s My Kind of Night—Luke Bryan
8. Treasure—Bruno Mars
9. Southern Girl—Tim McGraw
10. Best I Ever Had—Gavin DeGraw
Two of my favorite songs about peace are by artists who either wrote or performed them first before they became well known by other artists.
First up is Nanci Griffith.Bette Midler had a monster hit with Julie Gold’s “From a Distance.” But if you’ve ever seen Nanci sing this song live, you know that it’s her song. She was singing this song years before Bette ever had a clue it existed. (GSER)* (Hall of Fame Artist)
Even intense music fans are sometimes surprised that Elvis Costello’s “What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace Love and Understanding?” (GSER)* was actually written by Nick Lowe when he was in the Brinsley Schwarz band. Here is a clip that I was very happy to find with Nick tearing it up with Nile Rodgers of Chic fame.
I’m always impressed that he can sing this song as well as play that moving bass line! (Hall of Fame Artist)
Now for two “Pirate” videos:
I never was on the Norah Jones bandwagon. I thought her first two albums, although they had a couple of good songs, were pretty uninteresting. The catchy “Chasing Pirates” changed my mind:
If pirates had to choose a favorite band, Skinny Lister would be on that list. Forge & Flagon, their latest album, is one of the year’s best albums! Here’s one of the best songs from an album filled with best songs:
This will be a personal weekly Top Ten list of what I consider to be the best songs that I listened to the previous week. Most songs will be current, but there are no boundaries. I’ve already stated on this web site that I am obsessed with music. I am constantly hunting it down whether it’s online, on CD, from my personal collection, from a library (Yes, I think the library is a great source of music–especially for music that you aren’t sure about.), TV, or radio. Since most of these sources mostly emphasize new music, the odds are pretty good that most of the songs on this list will be new. But in my search, I don’t use any boundaries for the other sources. I am just looking for good music that I haven’t heard, or happened to forget about. Everyone, including myself, has forgotten way more great music than they can ever remember-even if they are also music fanatics.
Also, there will be no rules concerning songs on this list. A song can show up or drop off a number of times. This will be the most volatile of my lists. It all depends on how much music I am exposed to during the week and what I find interesting. On really obscure stuff, I will try to include the source, if I know it.
1. Tu Mochila Esta Abierta—Dan Sheehan Conspiracy
2. Safe and Sound—Capital Cities
3. Back to School—Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights
4. Baked Potatoes—Mick Clarke
5. Unbreak My Heart—Stella!
6. Homework—Well Informed Citizens
7. Surfin’ in Detroit—Howling Diablos
8. Ramdango—Mick Clarke
9. Wake Up (It’s Time to Go to Bed)—Baze and His Silly Friends
10. The Resurrection of Gonzo, Pt.1—Holly and Jon QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ
This will be a personal weekly Top Ten list of what I consider to be the best videos currently available on TV. I don’t, as a rule, go searching for old music videos, so that’s why it will focus mostly on current or recent videos. For this category, I am also going to include any live performances on talk or variety shows that I see during the week.
Top 10 Videos and Performances for the Week of September 15, 2013
1. Safe and Sound—Capital Cities
2. All Over the Road—Easton Corbin
3. Still Into You—Paramore
4. True Love—P!nk and Lily Allen
5. Red—Taylor Swift
6. I Need Your Love—Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding
7. When I See This Bar—Kenny Chesney
8. Point at You—Justin Moore
9. See You Again—Carrie Underwood
10. Sunny and 75—Joe Nichols
A “Q” Bomb, like an “H” bomb, will be my term for a music video that I consider to be subpar in music, video, or both. This will be a recurring weekly list that will focus on the worst videos that are currently on TV. I don’t, as a rule, go searching for old music videos, so that’s why it will focus on solely on current or recent videos.
I hate to be so negative about music, but when an artist takes a “bad” song and then brings more attention to it by creating a “bad” video to support it, it will appear on this list. I honestly hope, and it could happen, that this list will be less than 10 items, but I have serious doubts that that possibility will happen. We are, after all, talking about an industry that uses art for huge profits. The companies can’t help themselves.
However, at this point, I will not do a 10 worst music list. I see absolutely no reason to waste time reemphasizing bad music. Once is enough.
1. We Can’t Stop—Miley Cyrus
2. Summer Sadness (Remix)—Lana Del Rey vs Cedric Gervais
3. Hey Girl—Billy Currington
4. Clarity—Zedd with Foxes
5. Let Her Go–Passenger
6. Crash My Party—Luke Bryan
7. Blurred Lines—Robin Thicke and Pharrell
8. Treasure—Bruno Mars
9. Royals–Lorde
10. Southern Girl—Tim McGraw
A couple of days ago, Jason Didner of Jason Didner & The Jungle Gym Jam sent me a photo of a fox ready to jump over a little puppy. That triggered my memory of this oddball video by Ylvis (The song artist is listed under “Alwiz” on Amazon) that asks a surreal but silly query, “What Does the Fox Say?”
I don’t know what kind of noise a fox makes, but I know it’s not what these guys say. This video makes me laugh and ask myself, “What the Fox?” Yeah. What does a fox say??!!
