Electronic - "Getting Away with It" (1989)
Apparently the lyrics are meant to be a parody of Morrissey and how he had been getting away with portraying the miserable persona for years.
Electronic was Johnny Marr of the Smiths and Bernard Sumner of New Order. For this debut track they collaborated with Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys. This is the definition of an English dance band super group. The song has a fairly straight forward dance beat, provided by David Palmer of English New Wave band ABC. Added onto that is a bright cheery piano and a surprisingly subdued string section. About two and a half minutes into the song there is an acoustic Spanish sounding guitar solo. All in all it's a very Euro dance track and somehow I find that to be less annoying than most of the other dance songs I've reviewed so far. The prettiest part of the song is definitely the chorus, the blend of Sumner and Tennant's voices multi-tracked as their own choir is a beautiful sound.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Saturday, April 7, 2012
"Wondrous Place"
Billy Fury - "Wondrous Place" (1960)
Does more with less.
Holding a special place in the hearts of Britons but never making it in America is normally a sign I'm going to be disappointed in a song choice by the book. This is an exception, it's got a spooky sexy feel to it that seems amazingly risky and risque for 1960. Performer Billy Fury was the second act to record the tune, but the first to get it to chart. He actually recorded a couple of versions, this later one sounds like his 'Vegas Period' with horns and a bigger richer vocal. Years later, two English front men: Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys) and Miles Kane (The Rascals[no, not the 60s group]) formed The Last Shadow Puppets and covered the song as the B side to their debut single. It's a faithful cover with a spooky organ instead of the bass and guitars of the original, also the vocals are clearer and theirs has a great guitar solo.
Fury is purposefully over exaggerating a lot of his words here; Baby's comes across as having almost three syllables; two of which are at the beginning, and whenever he uses a 'wh' sound it sounds like he's trying to stage whisper sweet nothings into my ear. All of this was part of his very sexualized very Elvis reminiscent stage persona. Renowned early British Rock and Roll TV producer Jack Good produced the track, and together with Fury created and helped promote his British Elvis act. Britain got their own sexy rebel that was almost too hot for TV. Ironically, Fury died at age 42, just like Elvis had.
Does more with less.
Holding a special place in the hearts of Britons but never making it in America is normally a sign I'm going to be disappointed in a song choice by the book. This is an exception, it's got a spooky sexy feel to it that seems amazingly risky and risque for 1960. Performer Billy Fury was the second act to record the tune, but the first to get it to chart. He actually recorded a couple of versions, this later one sounds like his 'Vegas Period' with horns and a bigger richer vocal. Years later, two English front men: Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys) and Miles Kane (The Rascals[no, not the 60s group]) formed The Last Shadow Puppets and covered the song as the B side to their debut single. It's a faithful cover with a spooky organ instead of the bass and guitars of the original, also the vocals are clearer and theirs has a great guitar solo.
Fury is purposefully over exaggerating a lot of his words here; Baby's comes across as having almost three syllables; two of which are at the beginning, and whenever he uses a 'wh' sound it sounds like he's trying to stage whisper sweet nothings into my ear. All of this was part of his very sexualized very Elvis reminiscent stage persona. Renowned early British Rock and Roll TV producer Jack Good produced the track, and together with Fury created and helped promote his British Elvis act. Britain got their own sexy rebel that was almost too hot for TV. Ironically, Fury died at age 42, just like Elvis had.
Friday, April 6, 2012
"Paper Planes"
M.I.A. - "Paper Planes" (2007)
Yes, that song from the Pineapple Express trailer.
The song is easy to pigeonhole as the one with the shotgun and cash register sound during the chorus. It's also easy to say it's about weed, or it's about violence. What it is, is gangsta rap filtered through M.I.A.'s Sri Lankan dance influenced worldbeat and heavily bolstered by The Clash's "Straight to Hell". That driving guitar and drum beat with high pitched squeal that sounds like it's provided by an electric violin are all The Clash. Whether M.I.A. and her producers re-recorded it or just remixed it isn't important, that's the baseline. Much like a section of that song was looped to produce the base of this song, "Paper Planes" was sampled and looped to create the base for "Swagga Like Us" by T.I. and Jay-Z featuring Kanye West and Lil Wayne. The oddest feature of the song is that each and every verse gets repeated. It's almost like old church style, where you don't have the missal so the cantor has to sing a line and then sings it again with you.
M.I.A. has said that the song is supposed to reference the immigrant experience. Aside from the line about getting caught on the border I don't really hear it. Even that line can be interpreted as being a criminal; having multiple false visas is a sign of drug dealers as well as illegal immigrants. Almost every other line: "/bona fide huslter making my name/" "/Pirate skulls and bones/Sticks and stones and weed and bombs/" "/We pack and deliver like UPS trucks/" "/Yeah, I got more records than the K.G.B./" "Some some some I some I murder/ Some I some I let go/" (Arulpragasam) represents crime and pride in doing it well. I'm not against songs that glorify violence and criminal behavior per se, but at least cop to it. Don't try to tell me your song about how right your crew is, is actually about the worldwide immigrant and how they are perceived.
Yes, that song from the Pineapple Express trailer.
The song is easy to pigeonhole as the one with the shotgun and cash register sound during the chorus. It's also easy to say it's about weed, or it's about violence. What it is, is gangsta rap filtered through M.I.A.'s Sri Lankan dance influenced worldbeat and heavily bolstered by The Clash's "Straight to Hell". That driving guitar and drum beat with high pitched squeal that sounds like it's provided by an electric violin are all The Clash. Whether M.I.A. and her producers re-recorded it or just remixed it isn't important, that's the baseline. Much like a section of that song was looped to produce the base of this song, "Paper Planes" was sampled and looped to create the base for "Swagga Like Us" by T.I. and Jay-Z featuring Kanye West and Lil Wayne. The oddest feature of the song is that each and every verse gets repeated. It's almost like old church style, where you don't have the missal so the cantor has to sing a line and then sings it again with you.
M.I.A. has said that the song is supposed to reference the immigrant experience. Aside from the line about getting caught on the border I don't really hear it. Even that line can be interpreted as being a criminal; having multiple false visas is a sign of drug dealers as well as illegal immigrants. Almost every other line: "/bona fide huslter making my name/" "/Pirate skulls and bones/Sticks and stones and weed and bombs/" "/We pack and deliver like UPS trucks/" "/Yeah, I got more records than the K.G.B./" "Some some some I some I murder/ Some I some I let go/" (Arulpragasam) represents crime and pride in doing it well. I'm not against songs that glorify violence and criminal behavior per se, but at least cop to it. Don't try to tell me your song about how right your crew is, is actually about the worldwide immigrant and how they are perceived.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
"New Rose"
The Damned - "New Rose" (1976)
The first British punk band to release a single.
Released a month after Australia's own The Saints started selling records, The Damned were Britain's earliest recorded punk act, and then morphed into becoming the forerunners of the goth-rock subculture. Lead singer Dave Vanian has, since the inception of the band, worn his hair slicked back, dark makeup around his eyes and white makeup on the rest of his face. That's not the only thing that sets The Damned apart from other punk bands.
While the music is straight ahead punk, the lyrics are upbeat and actually about a boy who has a great girl, so great in fact that he thinks he may not deserve her. The opening line "/Is she really going out with him/" (James) ties the song back to "Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las, but this song is almost sung from the point of view of the rebel who is dating the cheerleader. Musically the song is basic chords and the bass doubling the guitar for the most part making it really simple and really punk. The drum opening is also perfectly punk, it's loud, aggressive, and simplistic. This song is 'important' because it's the first single from a British punk band, the proverbial first shot, but it's worth remembering because it's different. Punk doesn't have to be all disaffected youth and dead end streets; sometimes punk gets a girlfriend, and that's not a bad thing.
The first British punk band to release a single.
Released a month after Australia's own The Saints started selling records, The Damned were Britain's earliest recorded punk act, and then morphed into becoming the forerunners of the goth-rock subculture. Lead singer Dave Vanian has, since the inception of the band, worn his hair slicked back, dark makeup around his eyes and white makeup on the rest of his face. That's not the only thing that sets The Damned apart from other punk bands.
While the music is straight ahead punk, the lyrics are upbeat and actually about a boy who has a great girl, so great in fact that he thinks he may not deserve her. The opening line "/Is she really going out with him/" (James) ties the song back to "Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las, but this song is almost sung from the point of view of the rebel who is dating the cheerleader. Musically the song is basic chords and the bass doubling the guitar for the most part making it really simple and really punk. The drum opening is also perfectly punk, it's loud, aggressive, and simplistic. This song is 'important' because it's the first single from a British punk band, the proverbial first shot, but it's worth remembering because it's different. Punk doesn't have to be all disaffected youth and dead end streets; sometimes punk gets a girlfriend, and that's not a bad thing.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
"Yakety Yak"
The Coasters - "Yakety Yak" (1958)
"/...and when you're finished doing that./Bring in the dog and put out the cat./"
I sort of made reference to this song back in January when I talked about "Is That All There Is?". I did link to it, as well as to several other recordings of tunes written by Leiber and Stoller. It was one of many hits they had in the 50s that were termed 'playlets' by the writers. It refered to the fact that it was a short story or play, set to music. In this case the plot is simple: parents want child to do chores, child responds with sass and the parents respond. It is a story so timeless that the song continues to be well known more than 50 years after its release. Children and parents, some of whom used to be those same children, have identified with the song and its simple lyrics. This song may be the bands only #1 pop hit, but they had several top ten hits, and this has lasted longer than most other early Rock and Roll tunes from the 50s. The sax solo is by King Curtis, an all around saxophone virtuoso who performed on countless hits from the 50s to the early 70s. He has already appeared once in this blog, as the saxophone soloist on Aretha Franklin's "Respect" and he is sure to show up again.
"/...and when you're finished doing that./Bring in the dog and put out the cat./"
I sort of made reference to this song back in January when I talked about "Is That All There Is?". I did link to it, as well as to several other recordings of tunes written by Leiber and Stoller. It was one of many hits they had in the 50s that were termed 'playlets' by the writers. It refered to the fact that it was a short story or play, set to music. In this case the plot is simple: parents want child to do chores, child responds with sass and the parents respond. It is a story so timeless that the song continues to be well known more than 50 years after its release. Children and parents, some of whom used to be those same children, have identified with the song and its simple lyrics. This song may be the bands only #1 pop hit, but they had several top ten hits, and this has lasted longer than most other early Rock and Roll tunes from the 50s. The sax solo is by King Curtis, an all around saxophone virtuoso who performed on countless hits from the 50s to the early 70s. He has already appeared once in this blog, as the saxophone soloist on Aretha Franklin's "Respect" and he is sure to show up again.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
"No Rain"
Blind Melon - "No Rain" (1992)
Where have you gone Bee Girl? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Taking just the song, we get an acoustic electric feeling alt folk retro number that grooves. The bass is really ringing and bottom heavy, but not at all dominant in the mix. There's enough of it to bounce the song along, but not to make the song feel heavy. The drums are kind of shuffling with cabasa and brushes on snare drum not cymbals and bass drum. The guitars are layered and sit on top of that bouncing bass line sometimes loud sometimes background, but always friendly and happy and leading you further into the song. Vocalist and primary songwriter Shannon Hoon has an unpolished sound and the echo sound effects that show up a few times in the song really give it that trippy edge of almost retro psychedelia.
The video is one of the most memorable of the nineties, and while I usually don't talk about the videos, I feel this one is due. No matter how out of place you felt, no matter how much you thought that no one understood you, and no one wanted to be with you, this video made you feel OK. The Bee Girl was all of us on the day we gave it our all and they laughed at us anyway. The audition you thought you nailed, the interview that went great, the girl you finally talked to; but it all went wrong somehow? That's the first part of this video. But by the end, she has found family and friends, and for my money that's more important that talent, desire, hope or faith in the face of adversity. Not to mention she's got stick-to-itiveness; that goes a long way.
Where have you gone Bee Girl? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Taking just the song, we get an acoustic electric feeling alt folk retro number that grooves. The bass is really ringing and bottom heavy, but not at all dominant in the mix. There's enough of it to bounce the song along, but not to make the song feel heavy. The drums are kind of shuffling with cabasa and brushes on snare drum not cymbals and bass drum. The guitars are layered and sit on top of that bouncing bass line sometimes loud sometimes background, but always friendly and happy and leading you further into the song. Vocalist and primary songwriter Shannon Hoon has an unpolished sound and the echo sound effects that show up a few times in the song really give it that trippy edge of almost retro psychedelia.
The video is one of the most memorable of the nineties, and while I usually don't talk about the videos, I feel this one is due. No matter how out of place you felt, no matter how much you thought that no one understood you, and no one wanted to be with you, this video made you feel OK. The Bee Girl was all of us on the day we gave it our all and they laughed at us anyway. The audition you thought you nailed, the interview that went great, the girl you finally talked to; but it all went wrong somehow? That's the first part of this video. But by the end, she has found family and friends, and for my money that's more important that talent, desire, hope or faith in the face of adversity. Not to mention she's got stick-to-itiveness; that goes a long way.
Monday, April 2, 2012
"It's a Sin"
Pet Shop Boys - "It's a Sin" (1987)
I now know where almost every Anime I've ever watched has gotten the inspiration for their closing credits song.
This is a really epic dance pop number. Church-like in tone, and disrespectful of the Church in its lyrics the song immediatly grabbed notice. Almost 25 years later, the fake storm sounds are a little humorous, but the horrible fake horns are the only thing that really need an update. The dance beat is pervasive but not overwhelming. You can actually hear the lyrics, the organ, the other synthesizer keyboards, and yes, the electronic horn section. The song sounds deep and rich, full of keyboard parts and orchestra hits and bass keyboard. Primary Pet Shop Boys keyboardist Chris Lowe had help on this song from Andy Richards, who did keyboard and programing work on many hit albums, working with acts like Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Donna Summer, Air Supply, Tina Turner and Def Leppard.
The coolest part of this song is right in the middle of it. A lot of the swirling music drops out and leaves singer Neil Tennant to sing in a minor key with a thudding bass drum behind him. Two years later Depeche Mode would release "Enjoy the Silence" and I think that song owes a lot to the bridge of this one.
I now know where almost every Anime I've ever watched has gotten the inspiration for their closing credits song.
This is a really epic dance pop number. Church-like in tone, and disrespectful of the Church in its lyrics the song immediatly grabbed notice. Almost 25 years later, the fake storm sounds are a little humorous, but the horrible fake horns are the only thing that really need an update. The dance beat is pervasive but not overwhelming. You can actually hear the lyrics, the organ, the other synthesizer keyboards, and yes, the electronic horn section. The song sounds deep and rich, full of keyboard parts and orchestra hits and bass keyboard. Primary Pet Shop Boys keyboardist Chris Lowe had help on this song from Andy Richards, who did keyboard and programing work on many hit albums, working with acts like Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Donna Summer, Air Supply, Tina Turner and Def Leppard.
The coolest part of this song is right in the middle of it. A lot of the swirling music drops out and leaves singer Neil Tennant to sing in a minor key with a thudding bass drum behind him. Two years later Depeche Mode would release "Enjoy the Silence" and I think that song owes a lot to the bridge of this one.
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