Monthly Archives: December 2023

Song of the Week – Trouble Man, Marvin Gaye & Trouble Child, Joni Mitchell

by

Ignored             Obscured              Restored

Today’s post is the next installment in my newest concept – the Contrast Series.  Today I’ll cover Mavin Gaye’s “Trouble Man” and “Trouble Child” by Joni Mitchell.

Aside from the obvious fact that both songs have the word “trouble” in their titles, you might be surprised to find out they are connected far more intimately.

Marvin Gaye’s song was the title track for the soundtrack album to the Blaxploitation film directed by Ivan Dixon that was released in 1972.  Dixon was best known for his acting roles in a couple of Twilight Zone episodes and as “Kinch” Kinchloe in the sitcom Hogan’s Heroes on CBS running 1965-1971.

“Trouble Man” describes the sticky situations the film’s lead, Mister T, encounters.

I come up hard baby, but now I’m cool
I didn’t make it sugar, playin’ by the rules
I come up hard baby, but now I’m fine
I’m checkin’ trouble sugar, movin’ down the line
I come up hard baby, but that’s okay
‘Cause Trouble Man, don’t get in my way
I come up hard baby, I’ve been for real, baby
Gonna keep movin’, gonna go to town
I come up hard, I come up gettin’ down
There’s only three things that’s for sure
Taxes, death and trouble, oh
This I know, baby, this I know, sugar
Girl, ain’t gon’ let it sweat me, babe

That part about “taxes, death and trouble” might relate more to Gaye’s personal life.

Joni Mitchell was fond of this song.  By 1998, she had added it to the set list for some of her concert performances.  She once explained “In the process of learning [the song] for performance, I discovered how truly original and eccentric the form of it is.”

In the early 2000s, Starbucks released a series of exclusive CD albums called Artist’s Choice.  For each, a famous musician was asked to curate an album’s worth of their favorite songs.  The Joni Mitchell version that came out in 2005, had 18 selections, the 15th being “Trouble Man.”  In the CD’s liner notes, Mitchell explained why she chose each of the songs on the disc.  For “Trouble Man, she said “I had this song on an album and I kept the needle on this track—playing it over and over.  It was so influential to my music and my singing. It excites me from the downbeat—the way the drums roll in – the suspense – the approaching storm of it.”

Mitchell’s 1974 classic, Court and Spark, included a song called “Trouble Child.” 

There is speculation that Gaye’s “Trouble Man” influenced this song.  While the lyrical theme isn’t the identical, there are similarities.  Gaye’s subject is in trouble with the law and gangsters.  Mitchell’s subject’s trouble is with inner conflicts and self-doubt.

Up in a sterilized room
Where they let you be lazy
Knowing your attitude’s all wrong
And you got to change
And that’s not easy
Dragon shining with all values known
Dazzling you, keeping you from your own
Where is the lion in you to defy him
When you’re this weak
And this spacey

So what are you going to do about it
You can’t live life and you can’t leave it
Advice and religion, you can’t take it
You can’t seem to believe it
The peacock is afraid to parade
You’re under the thumb of the maid
You really can’t give love in this condition
Still you know how you need it

Lyrics aside, the jazzy sophistication of the music is undeniably similar to the direction Gaye pursued.

These are both songs that are under the radar but deserve closer listening.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Now That Everything’s Been Said, Spring

by

Ignored             Obscured              Restored

In 1972 an eponymous album by Spring (later called American Spring) was released.  The group consisted of the duo Marilyn Wilson (Beach Boy Brian’s wife) and Diane Rovell, who along with Ginger Blake were The Honeys in the ‘60s.

Spring’s album received critical praise but sank like a stone in the charts.  The album consisted of mostly covers – “Tennessee Waltz,” “Mama Said,” “Superstar” – and a hand full of originals provided by Brian Wilson, including “Good Time.”  “Good Time” began as a candidate for the Beach Boys’ Sunflower album (1970) but didn’t make the cut.  The backing track was tossed over to Spring to add vocals for their record.  The song was eventually released by the Beach Boys on their 1977 disc, The Beach Boys Love You.

But the best song on the album is their cover of Carole King’s “Now That Everything’s Been Said.”

“Now That Everything’s Been Said” was the title of the album released by King’s band, The City, in 1968.  (The City was a subject of my post on November 13, 2021.)  Like Spring, Now That Everything’s Been Said also failed to connect with the public despite critical acclaim.

The song “Now That Everything’s Been Said” would have fit nicely on either of King’s Tapestry or Music LPs.  It is a piano based song that bounces along like a kid on a pogo stick.  It has a pleasant melody and lyrics about a lover that picks up and leaves unexpectedly.

Spring isn’t available on Spotify, but you can hear the whole album on YouTube.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Cool About It, boygenius

by

Ignored             Obscured              Restored

Every December for the past many years, a group of younger people in my family, mainly millenniums, send me their five favorite songs for the year.  I build an anonymous Spotify playlist and share it with the group.  Part of the fun is guessing who selected which songs.  It is a great way for an old geezer like me to keep a finger on the pulse of what younger people are listening to.  But it also prompts me to think about my favorite songs, albums, and artists from the year.

That leads me to boygenius – the “supergroup” that’s made up of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus – all talented and successful artists in their own right.

They released their first full length album this year called the record.  It is a worthy follow up to their 2018 EP that gave us the first taste of what they could accomplish together.

All three of the group members take their turn with the pen, so it’s hard to choose just one SotW from this fine album, but I’m going with “Cool About It”.

“Cool About It” is a gentle folk song centering on acoustic guitar and banjo.  It would fit nicely on a Simon & Garfunkel album.  The harmonies are stunning.

The lyrics tell the story of the singer meeting up either with an ex or someone she has a crush on, and trying to act like she doesn’t have feelings for him/her.

Met you at the dive bar to go shoot some pool
And make fun of the cowboys with the neck tattoos
Ask you easy questions about work and school

I’m trying to be cool about it
Feelin’ like an absolute fool about it
Wishin’ you were kind enough to be cruel about it
Tellin’ myself I can always do without it
Knowin’ that it probably isn’t true

This song is just a small sample of what boygenius is all about.  And don’t let this one song fool you.  The rest of the album is powerful indie Rock.  Its place on the record takes the role that “Landslide” fills on Fleetwood Mac.  Check out the complete record and this video from their recent appearance on Saturday Night Live.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – What a Way to Die, Pleasure Seekers

by

Ignored             Obscured              Restored

Back on January 18, 2014, I wrote a post called “Pioneering 70s All Women Bands.”  In it, I credited the band Fanny with being the first “self-contained, all women rock band to get a major label deal.”  Well, that may have been true of ‘70s bands, but not 100% accurate.

You see, in the 60s, a Detroit based, all women band called the Pleasure Seekers was formed.  They comprised future rock star Suzi Quatro and her sister Patti, along with Nancy Ball (drums), Mary Lou Ball (guitar), and Diane Baker (piano).  The group looked and acted tough, like the Shangri-Las, but with instruments.  By 1968 the group had landed a deal with Mercury Records and released a couple of singles.

But my favorite is the B-side of the single they released in 1966 on the indie Hideout Records label.  The Hideout was a teen club in Harper Woods, Michigan that also had a record label.  Hideout released records by The Omens, a band that included a young Bob Seger, and the Mushrooms, with Glenn Frey.

“What a Way to Die” is wild, guitar-based garage rock.  The vocals by 15-year-old Suzi are uninhibited, shrieking, and strained – perfectly suited to the song.  Each verse is followed by a cool, little guitar motif.  And it has a familiar, 60s, British Invasion styled ending.

Suzi Quatro would go on to release a slew of albums in the 70s that were much more popular abroad (Europe and Australia) than in the US.  But she gained fame here as an actress, playing the role of Leather Tuscadero in the ABC television series Happy Days.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Female Lead, Honeyglaze

by

Ignored             Obscured              Restored

One of my favorite songs of 2023 is “Female Lead” by Honeyglaze.

Honeyglaze is trio form South London.  Their calling card is quirky, eclectic indie rock.  Take, for instance, today’s SotW – “Female Lead”.  In this hilarious 2 minute pop song, the protagonist (singer Anouska Sokolow) bleaches her hair blonde because she thinks it will make her look like Madonna (or other famous blonde actresses).  But the treatment goes horribly wrong.  The funniest line is that she’s concerned she let her mother down.

I watched my favourite movie
And thought that maybe I could be
Just like the female lead
So I went out to buy some bleach

I put it in my black hair
And waited for an hour
But when I washed it out
Oh, God, I’ve let my mother down

I look nothin’ like Madonna
More like an ’80s horror film
I’ll have to wear a hat
Until my golden hair turns black

Sokolow’s breathy vocals convey how women are under pressure to conform to a certain standard of beauty.  She has said of the song:

“I was overwhelmed by the state of the world during the first lockdown and constantly being surrounded by bad news. It was a time when people were playing with changing their appearance and I felt incapable of writing anything of any actual importance so I decided to write about something as completely arbitrary as dyeing my hair.  I was inspired by the song ‘Leader of the Pack’ by the Shangri-las and the narrative heavy pop songs that were coming out of the Brill building during the 60s.”

“Female Lead” will be on my “best of” song list for 2023.

Enjoy… until next week.