Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield wrote a great song. Gladys Knight and the Pips defined it, Marvin Gaye popularized it, and Creedence turned it into a jam.
Gladys Knight kills Fogarty, but I love the Creedence version. We’re better for having all of them.
Although the majority of writers and readers on the site are no longer angsty teens, you all once were, hence your love of rock and roll. As a young woman still experiencing/ suffering from this angst, I have found solace in the music of Modest Mouse. Though they would not necessarily be considered a rock and roll group, the members and music epitomize many of the same values and ideals that make up the very spirit of rock and roll.
There are so many things I love about this band. First of all, their sound. While it is easy for today’s bands to succumb to the typical monochromatic pop sounds to make money and be on the radio, MM sticks to their own unique sound. They are a band that continues to experiment with new sounds and be real while so many others are not. They know how to make a popular record, and yet they are true to their own style. Heartmelting guitar riffs combine with killer drumming, bass, and a multitude of other intruments such as horn, fiddle, banjo, and keyboards, and songs are often accompanied by an overarching violin melody. They have killer instrumentalists all around and even more amazing vocals by my main man, Isaac Brock.
What gets me the most about MM is the lyricism. Brock manages to capture the essence of angst felt by teens and adults alike and put it in words that make me and many others like me swoon. He provides a dark social commentary for cynics like myself to hold onto in this world of sin and materialism. Together, these elements make MM a perfect band for teens and adults alike to hold close as we watch the world go down from our suburban bubbles. Some of my favorite quotes include:
I like songs about drifters – books about the same, they both seem to make me feel a little less insane (The World at Large)
So all of the businessers in their unlimited hell where they buy and they sell, and they sell all their trash to each other, but they’re sick of it all and they’re bankrupt on selling (Bankrupt on Selling)
I had a drink the other day, opinions were like kittens I was givin them away (Out of Gas)
On my way to God don’t know, my brains the burger and my heart’s the charcoal (Heart Cook Brain)
I’m on a road shaped like a figure eight, I’m going nowhere but I’m guaranteed to be late (Interstate 8)
As life gets longer, awful feels softer and it feels pretty soft with you, and if it takes shit to make bliss then I feel pretty blissfully (The View)
I could easily write an essay about my love for Modest Mouse, but I will leave it at this for now. If you haven’t already, go check them out!
Robin Sloan Bechtel writes about how she and few others created the Internet’s first rock band site for Megadeth, 20 years ago this month. Gee, times have changed.
Plus a little something for lunch:
Happy Birthday, Steve! I was happy to listen to this again today in your honor. Quite a party.
My buddy Thornton sent me this link to a Vimeo clip. A friend of his says it was a song included in the mixtape Thornton made to celebrate the guy’s 50th birthday. 50 for Phil, it was called.
Maybe this was the one for good luck, because Thornton doesn’t recognize it.
I laughed with smug confidence that I could ID it, thanks to Apps, but neither Soundhound nor Shazam makes a match. And I’ve Googled most of the lyrics, but not the one’s from the Beatles Revolution, and come a cropper.
So, maybe we can crowdsource it. What I think I know:
The singer is in her 50s, since she went to the Concert of Bengla Desh in 1971.
This is a real song, not a demo. Too much mixing.
And it was probably recorded around the time Phil turned 50. Though I’m not sure when that was, I would guess that it was about 10 years ago, give or take a few.
The confounding issue is that the song doesn’t show up in the Soundhound and Shazam databases. I don’t have any idea how extensive their lists are, but I would assume any commercial release would show up. But maybe not.
And the fairly prosaic lyrics don’t punch up in Google, at least not for me.
Which leaves us with the song, in the style of Jill Sobule, or Beth Orton, or, well, I don’t know. It’s not a great song, but it is a mystery I don’t know the answer to. Do you?
I just stumbled onto this yesterday, and it killed me.
I do love old movies, for sure, but Cab totally rules (did Little Richard channel him some?). Check out his dancing steps.
Also love the old TV frame, but did the bass player. That really sets it off. Dude rules, huh Steve?
I was camping in Vermont this past weekend and we had the usual hootenany, which means singing a collection of classic rock songs in loud voices with banging guitars. Lots of Stones, which is fun, and a nice debate about Yer Blues were the highlights. Heard It Through The Grapevine was probably the nadir. Not singing well can sometimes be a curse.
But Tom Petty played well, too. He’s a classic rock star who has managed to make classic easy rock popular through a long career. One of the songs we demolished the other night was very attractive Free Falling.
Most notable to me, reviewing the official music video, is that when it came out in 1989 the gal boarding seemed rad. Now she’s just lame. They couldn’t find a gal who could do the tricks? Times change.
Since returning from camping I started reading Karl Ove Knaussgaard’s novel, My Struggle. Knaussgaard is Norwegian, but finds himself in Sweden, father to three children he has to get off to school while trying to write literature. It makes him cranky and think about death a lot. But he is a fine explicator of art, and has a way with narrative detail, plus kids are great even when they’re monsters, all of which perhaps explains why the book is one of this year’s surprise hits.
In any case, in one scene he’s in his office listening to a Swedish rock band called Dungen, while his family is in the rooms around him, getting ready for the day.
I’d never heard of Dungen, but it turns out they actually had a bit of a US breakthrough, even though they sing in Swedish. I know, weird. They’re categorized as progressive and psychedelic, and they have songs that are quirky, but they’re also pretty ingratiating. And this song features skateboards, which makes it a nice match with Tom Petty.
This is a clip from Jools Holland’s show, with a giant band and a ton of backup singers and fans wearing masks, but two things are notable.
Amy Winehouse is as great as you can possibly describe. Not only the sound of her voice, but her restraint! She uses one note where others might use four. It is lovely.
Paul Weller really does get the most he can from his limited instrument, and that ain’t bad.
I’m not sure this was necessary, but it is very nicely done.
To thwart Peter’s scheme of total domination.
I want to write a big article on some great rock oral histories, but I forget how to post pictures. Ah well. Maybe someday.
Got a new used car a little over a week ago and it has the best car stereo system I’ve ever owned, featuring a Rockford Fosgate sub. (Remember when we were young and up on high-end stereo equipment?)
Cranked the criminally underrated Masters of Reality debut album (in my Top 10 – I forget where) and this one really hit me. Just a crunching killer of a riff. The dated 80’s glam women in the video are amusing too.
Here is Austin and the Old 97’s:
and here is the City by the Bay and the Dead Kennedys:
