Author: Joe Parker

365 Day Song Challenge: Day 50 – “Rooms On Fire”

Posted on by Joe Parker

Day 50. A song that you’ve listened to for years & have just recently begun to appreciate.

“Rooms On Fire” – Stevie Nicks

RoomsOnFire I have never been a huge Stevie Nicks fan. Frankly, I never really understood what all the fuss was about with her. Everyone seems to taken by her personality and “beauty.” I mean, she seems to have bedded every guy that was ever in Fleetwood Mac (with the exception of Peter Green who went crazy long before anyone even knew who Stevie Nicks was).

But then, I always seemed to look at her a little differently than most people anyway. When Fleetwood Mac had their late-80s resurgence with Tango In The Night and they were all over the place, my friends laughed at me when I said I thought Christine McVie was better-looking than Stevie Nicks.

There was always something about Stevie Nicks’ voice that just didn’t sit well with me, either. I won’t say I hated it, but I didn’t really like it either, especially as it seemed to deteriorate over time and just get more gravelly. (However, I stop short of likening her to a goat like the “South Park” guys.)  And then there was all that pretentious pseudo-mysterious “white witch” crap she was always talking about. I just found her a little too much.

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So, short of some of her early hits like “Stand Back” and “Edge Of Seventeen” that I did (and do) like, I didn’t pay too much attention to her solo work.

Not long ago, I found a copy of her Box Set Enchanted floating around here. (See? More of that “magic” BS she loves.) I’m not even sure where it came from, to be honest. But figuring, “What the heck? It’s here so I may as well give it a chance,” I ripped it to iTunes. (I do that from time to time: grab something I’m not really familiar with or music by someone who I might not love and give it a shot. Sometimes it leads to interesting discoveries. More often than not it leads to multiple “delete”s.) Imagine my surprise when, as I went through the tracks, I found that there were some that I really liked. (Much to my chagrin, as I really had preconceived notions on this one.)

One of those was “Rooms On Fire” which was originally on her 1989 release The Other Side Of The Mirror, an album I barely knew existed at the time, if I did at all. I’ve actually had the song for a while and found it okay, but when I heard it again while going through the songs on Enchanted something clicked and I discovered that it was something that stood out. I really liked it.

I think the thing that grabbed me first was the bass line in the chorus. (Bass lines can get me like that. Like “Hand In My Pocket” by Alanis Morrisette and “Everyday Is A Winding Road” by Sheryl Crow.) And then the melody sort of snuck into my head and I realized I liked that too. (Damn it!) And for some the reason the part of the chorus with the lines “There was magic all around you/If I do say so myself” (which is at the very end of the sample, so you may not get the full effect) became a little earworm-y. (And yes, I am aware of the irony of me getting stuck on a line about magic given my earlier statements.)

I had to concede defeat. She’d won me over on this one. And one or two others. Perhaps a few. Alright there were more than a few! Are you happy?

Whew. Deep breaths…

Still, I’m not really fond of Stevie Nicks’ persona and all that magical spiritual crap, but I am gaining a bit more respect for  her songwriting and performance over time. I’m still not a huge fan of her voice, but it’ll do. Who knows, maybe I’ll find that the whole freakin’ box set becomes my favorite thing ever and I’ll be out getting her entire catalog. (But I seriously doubt it.)

And call me crazy, but I still think Christine McVie was the better-looking one.

 

365 Day Song Challenge: Day 49 – “The Rockford Files”

Posted on by Joe Parker

Day 49. Your favorite TV show theme song.

“The Rockford Files” – Mike Post

The Rockford Files Opening Back before “Magnum P.I.,” “Monk” and the current batch of Sherlock Holmes shows (“Elementary” in the U.S. and “Sherlock” in the UK—both good), there was Jim Rockford (and his files). And back before digital synthesizers, sampling and the ultimate demise of the long-form TV show theme in favor of an additional commercial, there was “The Rockford Files” theme song.

Mike Post was a prolific TV theme song writer. Trust me when I tell you that you know way more of his songs than you think you do. And he (along with Pete Carpenter) was responsible for this one. The thing that always grabbed me about it was the main synth line with its portamento note slides (although at the time I had no idea what a synth line or portamento were.) It was this that put “The Rockford Files” ahead of its chief competitor, “Welcome Back.” (No, that theme is not called “Welcome Back Kotter.”) The original version of “The Rockford Files” sounds like nothing else out there.

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There have been a million re-recordings of the Rockford theme. (I’m not exaggerating. Much.) If you don’t believe me go here.There are a lot of listings for “The Rockford Files” and for every one there are at least three “This is not the original!” reviews. (Because apparently one person pointing out the obvious is not enough.) And it’s true. None of those are the original version released on LP and 45 (which, incidentally, was not an exact match for the version used in the show, either).

It is that MGM single with the blue and tan label that I remember (another one courtesy of my brother, as was “Welcome Back”). And, apparently, you simply can’t get it any more. Lucky for me, I was able to find an MP3 of that actual release somewhere along the line. (I think it was on Have A Nice Decade, now seemingly out of print.) I actually remember the theme song much better than the show, even though it was one my parents watched regularly.

There have been a lot of good TV theme songs over the years. “Barney Miller,” “Night Court” and “Cheers” to name just a few. And I actually have a lot of them. Rockford wins hands down, and again, I think it all goes back to the sound of the synth. Funny how something so simple can put such a stamp on something. (It’s also how I can tell that the versions available are not the original. It has a certain identifiable sound and timbre.)

Yeah, “Barney Miller” had that great bass line, (so did “Night Court,” albeit in a different way) and “Welcome Back” had that kid riding away on his unicycle (hmm… maybe I’m mixing my mediums now), but I still say Rockford wins.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

The show intro…

365 Day Song Challenge: Day 48 – “Solsbury Hill”

Posted on by Joe Parker

Day 48. A song that you wish you could’ve written.

“Solsbury Hill” – Peter Gabriel

Solsbury HillFor those that don’t know, long before “Sledgehammer” and “Steam,” there was “I Know What I Like,” “The Knife” and “The Battle Of Epping Forest.” No, you won’t find those last three on any Peter Gabriel solo album. You see, before his solo career, Gabriel was the original lead singer of Genesis.

He left the band in 1975. (Many thought that the departure could spell the end of Genesis. Thankfully, it didn’t.) In 1977 he released his first solo album, called, surprisingly enough, Peter Gabriel.  (This album was followed by a new one in 1978 called Peter Gabriel, another in 1980 called Peter Gabriel, and one in 1982 called… you guessed it… Peter Gabriel. He’s quite a creative songwriter, but he sucks at album titles.) The first single from Peter Gabriel—uh, the first Peter Gabriel—was “Solsbury Hill.”

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“Solsbury Hill” wasn’t a patently obvious choice. I knew I wanted to pick something that was a bit unconventional, and often for me that means long and at least somewhat complex. Since I’m still holding Genesis off-limits for a little longer, I had to look beyond things like “Firth Of Fifth” and “Duke’s Travels.” I then thought of “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant” by Billy Joel, but since I’d already done one of his songs, I didn’t want to do that either.

Then I thought of “Solsbury Hill” and that pretty much decided that. There were a number of reasons:

  1. It’s a great song. A pretty song with pretty lyrics. But they’re also lyrics of empowerment, of taking a chance and doing what it is you really want (or need) to do, regardless of the risk involved. Too often people go through life afraid to make a change. And then there are always the people who are going to tell you, “no, you can’t do that” or “that’s not the way it’s supposed to work.” Gabriel decided he wasn’t going to listen to them. (And you shouldn’t either.)
  2. It’s reported to be about Gabriel deciding to leave Genesis. (A decision made while having a “spiritual experience” at the song’s namesake location. He likes those “spiritual experiences,” but more on that later.) So, in order to have written the song, you’d have had to have been in Genesis, which would have been pretty cool in the first place (says the die-hard fan).
  3. Third, there’s more going on in this song than meets the… uh… ear. That is, not only is the song structure and melody well done, but it uses a 7/4 time signature for most of the song (except the last two measures of each chorus, which are in 4/4). This is an unconventional time signature, but Gabriel makes it sound effortless and natural, which is rarely the case for songs in “7”. (So it fits my previously stated “unconventional” and “somewhat complex” criteria.)

Even after I subsequently realized that I’d already penciled in a Gabriel song for Day 58 (which totally negated my logic for not picking a Billy Joel song), I decided I didn’t want to reconsider or go back to “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant.” (So I’ll have to find another topic to use that one for.)

“Solsbury Hill” is an achievement and something I would have liked to have written. I have written a number of songs; not a huge number, but a number. It’s not easy to write even a bad song much less one you can be proud of. My songs have never strayed out of the 4/4 and 3/4 time signatures, and my lyrics are not really strong. (I’m a good prose writer (if I say so myself), but not a great poet.) 

Now album titles? Yeah, I got it all over Pete on that front…

365 Day Song Challenge: Day 47 – “Let The Good Times Roll”

Posted on by Joe Parker

Day 47. The oldest song you own.

“Let The Good Times Roll” – Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five

LouisJordanHow many of you thought, based on the title, it was going to be The Cars? Be honest… But that’s actually called “Good Times Roll.”

As I’ve stated before, The Blues Brothers is among my favorite movies, if not the favorite.

What I may not have explicitly stated is that I have a tendency to make up stupid (but fun!) projects for myself. And some of those projects can end up being a little time-consuming. (Like writing a blog post a day based on a song challenge. Who would do that?)

Now, I’ve owned a copy of The Blues Brothers soundtrack for a long time. And while the music that’s there ranges from good to great, many of the renditions presented are not the versions that are actually in the movie. Take, for example, “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love.” On the album, the song starts with a cheering crowd and has female backing singers, while in the movie the crowd was dead silent at the start and the stage was a sausage-fest.

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Beyond that, there are a lot of things that get played in the movie that aren’t on the soundtrack at all. (John Lee Hooker’s street performance of “Boom Boom”; Sam & Dave’s “Soothe Me” & “Hold On, I’m Comin’,” which were playing on the 8-Track deck just before the mall chase; and “I Can’t Turn You Lose” during the mall chase just to name a few.

“So what does this have to do with your crazy projects?” I hear you say.

Well, I decided to make my own soundtrack. A better soundtrack. A complete soundtrack. A soundtrack we can all be proud of. Or something.

Modern technology makes this much easier than it used to be. You can find obscure songs on Amazon or iTunes without much trouble. For one-of-a-kind in-movie performances, there are audio extraction tools. So yes, I’m insane, but as a result I have really cool things like Jake & Elwood singing “Stand By Your Man” and “Quando Quando Quando” by Murph & The Magictones. (Wait? What? Those aren’t cool? Who says?)

One of the songs I had the most trouble identifying was the song on the 78(!) that Elwood plays just after they return to his apartment and just before Jake chastises him for running from the cops, saying they now had his address. After some research, I learned that the song was “Let The Good Times Roll” by Louis Jordan. So, in order to complete my soundtrack, I had to buy it. At that point, this song from 1946 became the oldest song I own.

See how that all came together?

(All right, I’m lying. I have a version of Judy Garland singing “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” from 1944 that is actually the oldest song I own. But I tend to segregate Christmas songs and I’m trying to keep them out of the song challenge mix, at least until the season rolls around, at which time I might relax the rule. Maybe.)

So there you have it. The insanity… er… project that resulted in my oldest song. And the ability to hear Jake & Elwood singing “Stand By Your Man at any time on my iPod. Which is cool. No matter what you say.

Elwood: “No they don’t got my address! I falsified my renewal. I put down 1060 West Addison.”
Jake: “1060 West Addision? That’s Wrigley Field.”

365 Day Song Challenge: Day 46 – “Imagination Infatuation”

Posted on by Joe Parker

Day 46. Your favorite song of this year.

“Imagination Infatuation” – MisterWives

MisterWivesIf yesterday was easy, today was ridiculously easy.

Because, you see, it’s only February. So picking a favorite song of the year is much simpler when there really hasn’t been that much music released so far.

To make it even easier, of the things that have been released, I’ve only bought one album (actually only an EP—six songs).

As chance would have it I went to the iTunes store a couple of weeks ago and somehow stumbled upon this. It must have been a featured-something-or-other on the main page.

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I clicked. I liked. I bought.

(My friend Mike once said he admired my ability to listen to a song and almost immediately decide if I liked it or not. And while that doesn’t always hold true (see “All Mixed Up“) it is fairly accurate. Whether it’s a trait (talent?) worthy of admiration is another thing entirely. Personally, I’m doubtful.)

The songs are catchy, even if they are all cut from a similar cloth. I wouldn’t call them masterpieces, or great art, but they’re fun. Just for grins, I’ve provided samples for all the songs on the EP. (While there are certain things I miss as a result of modern technology, like going to the record store and flipping through the rows of records/CDs, there is definitely something to be said for being able to immediately hear samples of something before you buy.)

So…

Um… yeah. That’s all I’ve got for you today.

Tune in next time when we find out how to clear a nasty clog, an organic cure for athlete’s foot, and what’s Joe’s oldest song is. (The clog and cure things might get pre-empted, just so you know.)