Patti Smith in London, 1978, by Denis O’Regan

Last Saturday, Kristen and I were talking about the music history workshops we taught with some bad-ass GRCA alums for the Girls Now! conference. As you can imagine, it’s hard to pare down nearly a century’s worth of female contributions to popular music into a 75-minute PowerPoint presentation and have it be fun and interactive as well. Thus, we made sure to include many music videos and performance clips that hopefully engaged our girl attendees. One such clip was Christina Aguilera’s Grammy performance of James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” apparently beloved by Patti Smith. Afterwards, Kristen mentioned that it was possible to do an entire section on cover songs and wished we had more time to highlight and discuss more interesting examples.

Too right, Kristen. In fact, I think I started this section of the blog to cull together noteworthy cover songs, as I think covers are fascinating. What does song selection and interpretation say about the artist? How do their personae, generic alignments, and identity markers give the source material new meaning? What does it mean for Solange Knowles — aka Ms. “Fuck the Industry (Signed Sincerely)” — to cover an indie rock song like Dirty Projectors’ “Stillness Is The Move,” which was originally inspired by Wim Wenders’s Wings of Desire and includes a sample of “Bumpy’s Lament” in her version? What does it mean for Cat Power to adopt the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” as a signature song and create several arrangements of it ranging from stripped-down folk to soulful rave-up? How does Tori Amos blow apart Eminem’s misogynistic murder fantasy in ”‘97 Bonnie and Clyde” by orienting herself as the dead wife in the trunk? 

Tori Amos as Bonnie; image courtesy of hereinmyhead.com

(Note: For further insight into the last song mentioned, I recommend reading Lori Burns and Alyssa Woods’s “Authenticity, Appropriation, Signification: Tori Amos on Gender, Race, and Violence in Covers of Billie Holiday and Eminem.” Also, I might need to get around to unpacking the cover art for Amos’s Strange Little Girls at some point.)

Continuing why I hope to be an on-going discussion, tonight I selected two songs originally recorded by James Brown and Sam Cooke. ”It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” has always seemed to me to be an ode to chauvinism. ”A Change Is Gonna Come,” however, is an anthem for social change that came to define the Civil Rights Movement. But think about what additional meanings these songs may have when performed by Christina Aguilera and Sharon Jones.  

Secret Treaties

Blue Öyster Cult

1974

CBS Records

 Classic rock band Blue Öyster Cult’s third album, Secret Treaties, is one that I would love to say is an album, lost in obscurity.  However, that’s not entirely true.  Released in 1974, it spent weeks in the US charts, peaking at #53, and, in the early ’90’s, went Gold.  So, no, it’s not really an obscure album.  However, whenever people think B.Ö.C., they normally think: “Don’t Fear the Reaper”, “Godzilla”, “Burnin’ for You” – never “Career of Evil”, “Dominance and Submission”, or even “Flaming Telepaths.” 

With only eight songs, Secret Treaties is a quick album, although for the standards of the early ’70’s, probably not.  Even though none of the songs were huge hits, the album contains three well-known songs: “ME 262″, the aforementioned “Flaming Telepaths”, and “Astronomy”.  And with such a short play time (the album lasts about 38 minutes, and some current bands could use a lesson in such brevity.  Hint: Flaming Lips, maybe?), the band keeps any ramblings to a minimum resulting in a solid, though not amazing, album.

“Career of Evil” starts off the album.  Co-written by keyboardist and guitarist Allen Lanier’s then-girlfriend Patti Smith (the Patti Smith), the lyrics can be a little meandering, and the topic seems a little cliché, but it’s a fun song, and it’s not claiming to be anything else.  The verses are based around a cool guitar riff, with keyboards accentuating it.  The bridge shows a nice arrangement as the band drops out (besides drums) and Eric Bloom cries out “I will not, apologi-hize!”  The chorus, which is nothing more than “I’m making a career of evil” repeated, will get stuck in your head, making you question yourself throughout the day (and maybe others to question you, if you’re prone to singing out loud).  One problem, as on most of the album, is that the lead guitar is mixed too softly in the background.  However, I have the original and not the remastered version, so for all I know, this problem could’ve been solved already.  Oh, and one of the coolest lyrics by B.Ö.C. ever: “I’d like to do it to your daughter on a dirt road.”

Next is “Subhuman” a mid-tempo rocker.  The guitars and vocals follow simple lines, but the main focus is the pounding, steady bass line by Joe Bouchard.  The song doesn’t really have any distinguishable chorus, and the extended guitar solo is alright, but it’s, again, buried in the mix.  While the song isn’t really boring, it just won’t hold the audience’s interest for numerous listens.

This is not so for the next song, the unhonored “Dominance and Submission.”  This song is one of the coolest songs by the band, and one of the most unknown as well.  The guitar may just be six or so power chords during the entire song (I learned it on guitar a while ago, but don’t remember the exact number), but it’s an interesting riff, and the chord changes are valuable to the song’s mood (which is to say half dark, half jocular).  Albert Bouchard sounds like he’s having fun with the vocals, going from screeching “Oh yeah!” at certain parts, to going as deep as possible.  The song doesn’t follow the norm for what’s acceptable by a classic rock band (one reason I like it so much), with deep voices interspersed: “Too much revolution”.  Again, the solo is buried, but it’s still cool, for a pentatonic scale that doesn’t do much.  The entire last half of the song afterwards grows even more strange (and probably is a precursor to the end of “Godzilla”) as the lyrics repeat, and grow more aggressive, “Dominance, Submission, Radios Appear.”  It’s an awesome song, that deserves more recognition that it has gotten.

“ME 262″ is one of the more well-known songs, and for good reason.  It shows Blue Öyster Cult doing what they do best, turning a blues-based rock into their own type of song.  While it’s not as strange as others, the background vocals and the interrupting guitar riff at least create the B.Ö.C. sound that we know so well.  And hell, if those don’t throw you off, the sound effects that come in out of nowhere halfway through will.

“Cagey Cretins” is probably the weakest song on the album.  It’s riff is again a blues-based guitar, but it just doesn’t work this time, being too repetitive.  The background falsetto vocals are horrendous, and the lyrics should never have been written (“Got an awful tummy, Oh no, It’s inflamed” could be up there with the worst I’ve ever heard.  Right next to everything on Kiss’ Dressed to Kill album).  The singing sounds enthused, at least, and almost makes up for the horrible lyrics because you can barely understand them.

The sixth song is “Harvester of Eyes”, and it follows the pattern set by “Me 262.”  Another blues-based romp, the band sounds much tighter than on the last song.  For it’s creepy title, the song refrains ironically from heading down that path, instead being an almost straight-forward rocker devoid of too many intricate complexities and strangeness.  This surprisingly is the song that has the best guitar sound, which shows off an awesomely raw solo.

Next is the best two songs, “Flaming Telepaths” and “Astronomy.”  The first comes in with a segue from the last song with a toy piano.  This accentuates the hard rocking, sharp drum fill that starts off the song.  This is the heaviest song on the album, with a great guitar riff, and great piano.  The lyrics are relatively dark as well (“Poison’s in my blood stream, Poison’s in my pride”).  Also, the next lyrics come in close for coolest lyrics, too: “I’m after rebellion, I’ll settle for lies.”  The chorus is really catchy, with the “The joke’s on you” line coming back throughout the song.  The background vocals are great also, set apart only from the lead guitar lines.  However, this song shows Albert Bouchard going wild on the drums, finally.  After a synth solo, a piano solo, a guitar solo, and one more verse, the end of the song comes in.  The repetition of “And the joke’s on you” is done amazingly, and the cutting out randomly (“And the joke’s on-”) throws the listener off, really making this line performed so perfectly.

As soon as “Flaming Telepaths” ends, “Astronomy” starts, a strange pairing.  Whereas the former was a hard-rocking song, the latter starts slowly, focusing mainly on piano and refined drums.  The vocals during the verse sound alluringly rapturous, before the song jumps.  The listener becomes so accustomed to the soothing piano sounds, that the heavier guitar line that comes in, again throws one off, making you really pay attention to the music.  With the abrupt changes, the song is meticulously constructed (really, the last two songs are), and it is one of the best in Blue Öyster Cult’s entire songbook.  With these two songs last, the band has chosen the perfect ending for an already decent album.

In effect, Blue Öyster Cult have always been a band turning rock and roll into a strange fantasy.  They’ve sung songs about Godzilla, have had the band name “Soft White Underbelly”, and have had the lyrics “Joan Crawford is risen from the grave.”  Secret Treaties brings them even further into their strangeness, while still creating a really good classic rock (well at the time it wasn’t classic now was it?  Should I keep calling it that?  Does it really matter now that the review is over?) album.  It’s a solid piece of their history, that, succinctly, is a great listen.

Buy This Album

Official Site

Last.fm Page

C’est vrai, je passe pas mal de temps sur Twitter. Endroit idéal pour la procrastination du no-life quadragénaire en reconversion misanthropique avec syndrome d’angoisse sociale Allégations à vérifier chez un de ces psy dont la parole vaut de l’or vu ce qu’ils tarifient la demi-heure pour lâcher quelques mots

Donc, en tweetant, parmi ce qui me sert de plus en plus de fil d’infos – autant si ce n’est plus que les abos RSS et agrégateurs habituels -, on suit pas mal de liens vers des articles ou du contenu produit par les blogueurs. Mais il y a aussi un temps pour partager ses goûts et au hasard de clics on peut s’offrir de belles découvertes ou l’occasion de se plonger un peu plus dans ce qu’on avait négligé. Les applis de partage sont nombreuses, comme ce Blip.fm par exemple, mais il suffit aussi de linker vers Deezer, Spotify, Dailymotion, Youtube…

Justement là, je vais rester sur les chemins qui m’ont été tracés vers des écoutes via ce site de partage.Tranquille ce dimanche après-midi, avant d’aller gagner à la sueur de mon front ma maigre pitance sous le joug inhumain du capitalisme financier (je galéje un peu là : je bosse assis derrière un ordi et la paye est assez correcte; mais l’idée y est quand même – je vous donne pas de détails ?), voilà que b-mode (retrouvez-le avec “ses” co-auteurs sur Ruminances et sur Tes reins et terroirs) et loloster (par ici pour son blog) s’échangent quelques “scuds” amicaux mais musicaux. Ni une, ni deux, je profite de ces “tirs” croisés…

Et me voilà débarquant en vol aussi libre que plané chez des cadors du jazz. Faisons simple, je ne peux prétendre à aucune connaissance dans ce domaine. Tout au plus quelques notions éparses via notamment un super pote,  zikos expat’ et fervent du genre, mais une culture bien insuffisante pour tenter quelque analyse de ce que j’entends. Je serais plutôt du genre auprès de qui on peut faire passer du free pour du bebop et du cool pour du west coast (et je ne cite là que des courants dont j’ai retenus le nom )  Ce qui n’empêche de se laisser aller à l’écoute et à être emporté par (dans) le son. Issu de leur échange, et mis en favoris de suite, je me fis donc “bêtement” plaisir en écoutant plus avant Charlie Mingus et John Coltrane.

Ce qui me valut de me faire Impressions dans la foulée

Autre chemin sympa via les méandres du web, celui qui m’a conduit vers un Bashung crépusculaire revisitant L’Homme à tête de chou. C’est depuis chez Thephase3 que j’ai rapatrié dans mes esgourdes ces Variations sur Marilou de Gainsbourg, dont la version originale était déjà écoutable jusqu’à l’infini pour y découvrir sans cesse des détails aussi infimes qu’indispensables qui s’y étaient dissimulés. Ce titre fait partie d’une relecture de cet album concept définitif que Bashung envoie post-mortem pour une mise en scène et une chorégraphie de Jean-Claude Gallotta présentée à Grenoble et qui s’apprête à voyager (dates à la fin de ce billet de Menilmuche).

Quatre autres titres sont dispos en écoute sur le site de L’Express (clic clic clic).

Finissant ce billet, je ne sais pour toi lecteur quelle heure il sera au moment où tu le croisera. Pour moi, celle du sommeil approche. Le moment de trouver sérénité et quiétude, de se laisser aller vers un état un peu contemplatif. Cette ouverture des Glassworks, je ne me souviens plus, malheureusement, par le tweet de qui j’y atterris (s’il se reconnaît sait-on jamais qu’il le dise pour être linké plutôt que de se taire à jamais).

Il va sans dire que la musique classique contemporaine en général et Philip Glass en particulier, ce n’est pas mon univers d’origine ni même de prédilection. Quand on grandit le regard entre Best et Rock&Folk, avec sur sa platine les Ramones, les Clash ou le Boss et que ses nuits de concerts furent longtemps faites de Cramps, de Gun Club ou de Lords of the new church, il y a quand même des séquelles Cela n’empêche pas d’écouter. L’occasion de prolonger une soirée où je le vis rendre hommage à Allen Ginsberg avec Patti Smith. Cette vidéo minimaliste sur  Opening Glassworks,  filmée en plan fixe un jour de pluie depuis une fenêtre à Los Angeles par twentyflights a, sans non plus ici prétendre à toute lecture “autorisée” de cette musique, des vertus que je trouve bien apaisantes.

Music Go Music, Thousand Crazy Nights
Patti Smith, About a Boy
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, The Golden Age
The Slits, Kill Them With Love
Parlour Steps, Soft Lies
Sleater-Kinney, Get Up
Karen O and the Kids, Heads Up
Sleeper, Sale of the Century
Speakeasy Tiger, Limbs
Nancy Sinatra, Momma’s Boy
Typsy Panthre, Hitch-Hiker
Silversun Pickups, Three Seed
The Lower 48, Bedroom
Sing-Sing, When I Was Made
Pariah Piranha, Hate Beast
Sick of Sarah, Bittersweet
Carolyn Mark & NQ Arbuckle, Officer Down
Shoe, It’s Going to Be O.K.
Boat, We Want It! We Want It!
The Shortcuts, Nothing New
Big Bang TV, Diamond
Shonen Knife, Fruits & Vegetables
Brilliant Colors, Motherland
Shellshag, Gary’s Note
Drink Up Buttercup, Even Think
She Mob, I Took the $
Joe Gideon and the Shark, Hide and Seek
Shelleyan Orphan, Dolphins
The Cribs, Cheat on Me
Tracy Shedd, Won Past Ten
She & Him, I Should Have Known Better
Sex Presleys, Heartbreak Hotel

a dream of life
an imitation
was the best
he could hope for

brought together through
generations by a
love of dylan
of blake
of the beats

looking up poetry
was all they could see
to blind them speak
the unspeakable
put-it-down in
black and
white is what
they strive for
the thought of
poetry is divine
perhaps in the end
too much so
too high out
of grasp-making-sense
out of non-sense

hope was all they had
but in the end
isn’t that all
any poet ever has?

Grant Hart – You’re the Reflection of the Moon on the Water

Grant Hart is best known for his drumming and writing with Hüsker Dü and for co-founding Nova Mob. This track comes from his fourth solo album, Hot Wax, which came out October 6th. It’s awesome.

“Blonde” by abless on flickr.

Witchy and melodic and also super-strong, with this really wicked organ-and-rides vibe that makes it driving and Doors-y, the song is basically the same four verses repeated and I didn’t even notice until I typed out the lyrics. The music is so insistent that it just seemed natural. Hart has said that the lyrics are inspired by the Dalai Lama and the composition by Patti Smith; both influences are totally there. You’re going to love it! Listen!

You’re the reflection of the moon on the water
You’re the reflection of the moon on the water
You’re the reflection of the moon on the water
but you’re not the moon

You are the scent of the sea on the night wind
You are the scent of the sea on the night wind
You are the scent of the sea on the night wind
but you’re not the sea

You are the shadows from the light of a fire
You are the shadows from the light of a fire
You are the shadows from the light of a fire
but you’re not the light

You are the sound of the rain on the dry earth
You are the sound of the rain on the dry earth
You are the sound of the rain on the dry earth
but you’re not the rain

You’re the reflection of the moon on the water
You’re the reflection of the moon on the water
You’re the reflection of the moon on the water
but you’re not the moon

You are the scent of the sea on the night wind
You are the scent of the sea on the night wind
You are the scent of the sea on the night wind
but you’re not the sea

You are the shadows from the light of a fire
You are the shadows from the light of a fire
You are the shadows from the light of a fire
but you’re not the light

You are the sound of the rain on the dry earth
You are the sound of the rain on the dry earth
You are the sound of the rain on the dry earth
but you’re not the rain

Verses repeat a final time.

Also by abless on flickr.

En esta ocasión, la recopilación no empezó por una canción, sino por la portada. Estaba repasando las fotos que hice los últimos meses y me topé con la que he utilizado para este disco. La retoqué un poco, elegí un nombre y, de ahí, surgió Prince y su Sign ‘O’ The Times.

Después, todo fue ir encadenando canciones, hasta que con el Mr. Suit de Wire se cerró la enésima recopilación que os dejo en el blog: una selección de temas más indie de lo habitual (con toques pop, punk, new wave, etc.) y muy entretenida desde mi punto de vista.

Haz clic en la portada para descargar Modern Times

Prince, Young Marble Giants, The XX, Giant Sand, Pavement, Stephen Malkmus, Iggy Pop, The Wave Pictures, Papas Fritas, Violent Femmes, Patti Smith, The Pastels, Nick Lowe, The Stranglers, Kashmir, Sebadoh, Wolf Parade, The Undertones, The Polyphonic Spree, The Raveonettes, Tegan & Sara, The Breeders, Veruca Salt, The Manhattan Love Suicides, Frank Black y Wire son los cantantes y grupos que he incluido en Modern Times, que, como siempre, os la podéis descargar pinchando en la imagen de la portada.

AQUÍ tenéis el listado de canciones. Espero que os guste.

P.D.: La foto es de una tienda de juguetes y objetos antiguos que está en el barrio de Chueca.

Och liveversionen.

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Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om Patti Smith, Smells like teen spirit, musik, cover

1978 när Patti Smith slog igenom med Because the night tog Annie Leibowitz denna fantastiska bild:


Och 1996 tog hon nya. Hoppas det går att läsa här under.


Jag kan inte kalla Annie Leibowitzs bok På uppdrag för välskriven rent språkligt, men det är roligt ändå att läsa om hur det gick till med flera av hennes mest berömda bilder. John Lennon och Yoko Ono, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Arnold Swarzenegger och en rad andra. Rolling Stones. Men mest tittar jag på bilderna, förstås.
Sök på Leibowitz namn och bilder så hittar ni fantastiska saker. Mer Patti Smith på bloggen här och här. Och här.
————————-
Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om Annie Leibowitz, Patti Smith, Because the night, På uppdrag, foto, musik

Så rörigt det blev när Patti Smith skulle sjunga sitt paradnummer Because the Night på Rock’n'Roll Hall of Fame härom veckan. Hon kommer inte in rätt i låten, hur hon än försöker. Det hjälper inte att hon sjungit den hundratals gånger eller att mannen som skrev sångfan, Springsteen, står bredvid. Publiken garvar åt henne. Nej, det krävs en vaken trummis och en världsförbättrare, Bono, för att hon ska lyckas.

Too cool. For the past two years the Missouri Department of Transportation has been rebuilding one of the local highways. Interstate 64, locally referred as 40, the main east-west route, has been shut down and totally rehabbed. The closure was done in two segments. When it was first shut down, it was closed from Brentwood west to almost I-255 for a year. The second year it was shut down from Brentwood to Kingshighway, which is the leg that opens up in December. That will be a month ahead of schedule.

When the first leg was completed, MoDOT opened the new five mile section up for a day for pedestrians and bicycles. Since it’s not often you can ride a bike on an interstate, I signed me and the grand daughter up for the ride. It wasn’t too chilly– high 30s to low 40s– for her first winter ride.

The second section is opening up the weekend before my surgery, which means insh Allah I might be able get in the second leg. Don’t know if the grandling will come down for it. That’s the biggest thrill, riding with her. If I do go on the ride, it will be in normal clothes instead of cycling togs.

I’m still carrying a Jones about “having” to wear cycle-specific clothing. Yeah, I have enough, but that’s for recreational riding. Since I (theoretically) do more commuter riding, unless the temperature is ungodly hot or cold, why not wear normal clothes? I don’t have to hit a 120 cadence to get to work and back. It’s only five miles one-way. And I hate changing out in the bathroom stalls twice a day. What little commuter riding I’ve gotten in this year has been in “normal” duds for the most part.

If it was good enough for Charley the Wino, it’s good enough for me.

I can see cycle-specific clothing for recreational riding, or if it’s so hot you’ll sweat through regular clothing in five minutes even at an easy pace. I can see cycle-specific clothing for commutes longer and harder than mine. My landlord humps about seven or eight miles to work every day (almost every day– during the first year he missed two days, one when it snowed and another where we had about a quarter-inch of ice), and hits the gym when he gets there. Since he’s going to work out and shower anyway, he makes the most of it and hits a pretty good cadence. In his case, it makes sense to wear cycle-specific togs.

But a lot of people seem to be into the fashion statement of bicycle riding, from the full-kit road warriors to the fixie poseurs. Maybe I’m getting cranky in my old age, but it seems ridiculous in a lot of cases. I read a recent article where the retro cycling togs are a fashionista statement on the east coast, where people dress out and wind up pushing a bike on the sidewalk as a fashion accessory.

Ten miles on new, reasonably level pavement isn’t that hard of a hump, so if I can make the party on the new section of I-64, and the weather’s decent, I’ll do it in normal clothes since I’m not entering the time trials and let the fashionistas fall where they may.

***   *****   ***   *****   ***   *****   ***   *****   ***   *****   ***

Tick… tick… tick… tick.. tick. tick…

I start my blood donations tomorrow. I have to up three pints for the surgery. I’ll be getting that taken care of over the next three weeks once I change my last appointment due to a conflict.

This coming Tuesday I go to the urologist for a meeting with the rep for a company that sells penis pumps. Nope, it’s not to increase size since I’m fine with what I have, thank you (although I am amazed at how something so small can cause so much havoc, but that’s a totally different series of posts). It’s to enhance circulation to maintain potency. The constriction device therapy involves using the pump twice a day along with a regular dosage of Viagra, Cialis or whatever and a cock ring. All-in-all, it has the makings for a pretty good party, even better if the insurance company picks up most of the tab.

As usual, therapy volunteers would be greatly appreciated. Hey, it’s medical treatment, for Christ’s sake…

The next appointment after that is the 30th, when I go in for my pre-surgery examination. The medicos have to make sure that I’m healthy enough for surgery because I’m sick. Or something like that. After that, the only thing that’s left is– to quote that great American, Barry Goldwater– “one of them roto-rooter operations.”

Logistics are progressing.I picked up a hooded bath robe and pair of sheep skin slippers from LL Bean. Deb in Czechago also sent me a pair of slippers. We need to get another pad for the bed and some disposable ones. Still haven’t found any Hannah Montana pull-ups, but I’d settle for Rocky & Bullwinkle. You think that some bright boy out there would pick up on the current state of my generation’s medical problems and market fun stuff. We didn’t have disposable diapers with our favorite cartoon characters on them when we were kids, but we could sure as hell use them now. Plus we can afford them.

One of my neighbors is an industrial designer and has access to all sorts of weird shit. He indicated that he might be able to program some graphics into a printer at work and see what he can come up with on his lunch break. If it works, I’m trademarking the idea.

Anna brought in copies of every episode of Battlestar Gallactica we don’t have, and since it’s cold and the windows are closed I can also watch Boondocks. That is not anything that would be prudent to do in our neighborhood during window weather. That would be on the same order of stupid that Anna displayed when we were having a barbecue at our apartment in Soulard, when Patti Smith’s Rock & Roll Nigger came up on the CD player and she turned it up real loud.

We were living next door to a second-generation crack house, and it really didn’t improve relations with the chicken heads to hear nigger nigger nigger nigger nigger nigger nigger being loudly sung in our court yard.

Other news on the cancer front: no news from Greg or his wife; Deb had the operation to cut the melanoma out of her back yesterday, last I heard last night she was enjoying the pain meds, no word from her today so I reckon things caught up to her. X-rays showed some scarring or something on her lungs, so she had to have a CT scan. Suspicious stuff there and in a lymph gland and adrenal gland, but her medicos are not worried about it for the time being; and I was remiss in not adding my neighbor’s mom to the recent spate of cancer casualties. She was diagnosed with breast cancer about a month ago. At first the medicos thought it wasn’t that advanced, but after her lumpectomy it turned out to be Stage 2. She started her chemo, has already shaved her head and gotten a couple of wigs. Mark says she’s holding up pretty well, but is ill for a couple days after chemo and has started to lose weight. Might be time to show her where he hid his bongs when he was at home.

Mark’s such a good son.

i turned 43 today. so, i’ve been trying to figure out what i wanted to do today for me. no ideas. so, i’ve been playing with youtube and came across this. it gave me a smile. Oddly cool and funny. Patti Smith will always rock.

43. oh my god.

sanger som får meg gjennom hverdagene. kan det blir bedre?

The title of the post today is from a track brought to you by Generation X in the late 70’s on their self-titled album. I decided to play some old punk early in the show and peppered later on due to an exhibit I just saw at the MoMA called “Looking at Music: Side 2″. Here’s an article about it if you want to check it out: Bob Gruen’s Journey to MoMA.

Listen in tonight on KRUI 89.7 fm from 8 to 10 pm. You can listen in online here.

Here’s some of the set:

1. Generation X, Generation X (1978), Ready Steady Go
2. Frumpies, Frumpie One-Piece (God I love this title), Duvet Ta
This is a CD collection which assembled all of the band’s previous singles, created around 1996.

3. Half Japanese, Half Japanese Greatest Hits (1995), Put Some Sugar On It
4. The Clash, The Clash (1977), Garageland
5. Dead Boys, We Have Come for Your Children (1978), I Don’t Wanna Be No Catholic Boy
6. Radio Birdman, The Essential Radio Birdman (1974-1978), Do the Pop
7. Patti Smith, Horses (2005, album originally came out in 1975), Redondo Beach
8. Thurston Moore, Psychic Hearts (1995), Patti Smith Math Scratch
9. Belly, Star (1993), Angel
10. Slant 6, Soda Pop * Rip Off (1994 on Dischord Records), Blue Angel
11. Film School, Film School (2006), Eleven-Eleven
12. The Dandy Warhols, Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia (2000), The Gospel
(I’m sorry but this album is POP brilliance, I don’t care what you say.)
13. The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Tepid Peppermint Wonderland: A Retrospective, If Love Is The Drug
This was a compilation put out by these guys in 2004 spanning their entire career except for the album Strung Out in Heaven.
14. Built To Spill, Time Trap Sampler (1994-2006), The Plan
15. Aveo, Battery (2004), Haley
16. Chapterhouse, Sunburst-EP (1990), Rain
17. Slowdive, Morningrise-EP (1991), Losing Today
18. Stella Luna, Stargazer-EP (2002), Stargazer
19. New Order, Power Corruption & Lies (1983), Age of Consent
20. My Bloody Valentine, Tremolo-EP (1991), Honey Power

21. Fleeting Joys, Despondent Transponder (2006), Go and Come Back
22. Pinback, Some Voices-EP (2002), June
23. PJ Harvey & John Parish, A Woman A Man Walked By (2009), Black Hearted Love
24. Unwound, New Plastic Ideas (1993), Hexenzsense
25. Guided By Voices, Isolation Drills (2001), The Enemy
26. Morrissey, Bona Drag (compilation album released in 1990), The Last of the Famous International Playboys
Morrissey recently walked off a stage in Liverpool Echo Arena after being hit in the head with a drink. So this track goes out to you Morrissey, I want to know what dumb ass would throw a drink at you? You can read more about it here.

The Velvet Underground

Lou Reed is often seen as the creative force behind The Velvet Underground, the 60’s experimental rock band from New York. However, most aficionados will tell you that the bands creative flame dimmed after the departure of John Cale, the groups classically trained multi instrumentalist.

Born in 1942 to humble surroundings, the son a of coal miner in Wales, he quickly showed a talent for music in particular Piano and Viola, the latter being used to devastating effect in The Velvets “Venus in Furs”. In the early 60’s Cale enrolled at the prestigious Goldsmiths College in London, using the money from a Leonard Bernstein scholarship he relocated to New York. Cale once said of the city “I like it here in New York. I like the idea of having to keep eyes in the back of your head.” He joined La Monte Young’s Avant garde group The Theatre of Eternal Music and explored the world of microtonal music and at the invitation of his mentor John Cage, once participated in an all day marathon of works by Erik Satie.

Cale, Reed and Warhol

A meeting with the afore mentioned Reed leads to the formation of The Velvet Underground, named after a novel by Michael Leigh, which the bands guitarist Sterling Morrison describes as “a really boring novel about wife swapping in the suburbs.” They came to the attention of artist Andy Warhol, who invited them to perform as part of The Exploding Plastic Inevitable, Warhol’s multimedia extravaganza. The Velvets became his pet project insisting they add German chanteuse Nico to their ranks and insisting on a production credit on their debut album “The Velvet Underground and Nico” because he’d paid for it. However the album was delayed for a year and when it was finally released in 1967 Warhol had lost interest and sales were poor. Now regarded as a classic and an album that influenced a host of bands from the past 3 decades, Brian Eno once remarked that everyone who had bought record went on to form a band.
Cale stayed with the band for one more record, “White Light/White Heat”, he contributed vocals to 2 tracks “Lady Godiva’s Operation” and his dry narration of Reed’s macabre tale “The Gift” The albums centerpiece however was the 17 minute “Sister Ray” which climaxes with Cale’s organ becoming louder than the rest of the band, he later claimed “I kept everything low until a certain point then unleashed the volume I’d been saving.” In late ’68 Cale quit after an ultimatum from Reed who had been encouraged by the bands new manager Steve Sesnick. Cale later said “Lou was starting to act funny. He brought in this guy Sesnick – who I thought to be a real snake – to be our manager, and all this intrigue started to take place. Lou was calling us ‘his band’ while Sesnick was trying to get him to go solo. Maybe it was the drugs he was doing at the time. They certainly didn’t help.”

The Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol

After working on 2 solo record by VU’s former Femme Fatale Nico, Cale turned his hand to production. In 1969 he produced The Stooges eponymous debut; the band fronted by a young Iggy Pop would later achieve legendary status almost equaling the Velvets themselves. He would later produce Patti Smith’s debut album Horses and continue working with a diverse range of artists, both as producer and musician, from the ambient soundscapes of Brian Eno to the council estate dance grooves of the Happy Mondays, there’s no boundaries in his musical world.

Cale performing with Nico

“Vintage Violence” was released in 1970 to rave reviews and launched Cale’s career as a solo artist, after signing to Island records he released several highly acclaimed albums, Cale acolytes refer to this period as The Island Years which include 2 of his best albums “Fear” and “Paris 1919” However by the late 70’s Cale had moved into harder rock and began to appear onstage in a series of outlandish costumes, his increased drug use fueled this erratic behavior. One notorious incident saw Cale decapitating a chicken onstage, an act which forced his vegetarian band to quit. When asked why he would hurt an animal in such a fashion he dryly responded “I didn’t hurt it, it didn’t feel a thing”

Cale onstage in surgical scrubs

The 80’s saw a calmer Cale; he took a break from performing for several years and concentrated on getting clean but still continuing to work as a producer and musician. The death of Andy Warhol in 1987 reunited him with Lou Reed the culmination of this was the 1990 album “Songs for Drella” The “Drella” in question being a nickname giving to Warhol by his entourage. The was very well received and despite Cale vowing never to work with Reed again 3 years later the unthinkable happened, the four original members of The Velvet Underground reformed for a European Tour and live album both received mixed reviews. The decision to play many of Europe’s outdoor rock festivals did the band no favours, playing to large crowds on a sunlit stage did not create the atmosphere of edgy menace that dominated their early performances, the situation was not helped by Reed who insisted on re interpreting his vocals by adding staccato phrasing which was almost comical at times and did nothing to repair his relationship with Cale by introducing Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker and then launching into a song without mentioning Cale. Predictably a proposed US tour never happened with Cale once more refusing to work with Reed again, so far he has kept his word and with the death of Morrison in 1995 the hopes of a reunion are unlikely.

The 1990’s saw Cale become a cult figure, with many young bands seeking his services. Even in the 21st century he continues to experiment, his inquisitive mind re ignited by digital production techniques. To sum him up though it seems fitting that last word should go to Reed:
“I only hope that one day John will be recognized as … the Beethoven or something of his day. He knows so much about music, he’s such a great musician. He’s completely mad – but that’s because he’s Welsh.”

John Cale today

The Velvet Underground “Venus In Furs”

Cale and Reed performing Small Town, taken from the “Songs For Drella” album

Kul att se att man tagit efter mitt tema med “Världens bästa låt” i Idol 2009!
Man använder dessutom begreppet på samma sätt som jag; det finns många “världens bästa låt”, men just i stunden är de så bra att de helt enkelt sopar banan med alla andra låtar!
(Se kategorierna i högerkant)

Jag skulle inte säga att någon av låtarna i fredagens Idol är världens bästa, men däremot hade de plockat artister som gjort sådana låtar. Patti Smith är en av mina stora favoriter och hon har gjort flera stycken! Because the night som blev hennes stora hit, och som Mariette sjöng, tycker jag faktiskt är en av hennes sämre… Inte dålig, men i konkurrens med många andra står den sig slätt.
Just i kväll är låten Pissing In A River från plattan Radio Ethiopia (1974) hennes bästa låt. Här kan vi snacka om att sjunga med känsla. Smärtan är så påtaglig att det gör ont i bröstet när jag lyssnar på henne.

Just det, Idol 2009 rakt på sak:

Rabih har aldrig gjort någonting jag gillar, så det var bra att han åkte. (Expr)
Mariette är sval och berör mig inte. (SvD)
Reza är helt OK, men lite för mycket hotell-lobby.
Calle går från bra till bättre.
Tove är fantastiskt charmig som vanligt. Årets tvåa och framtidens stjärna.
Eddie har gjort sitt, hur sympatisk han än verkar, men fan vad skönt att han inte hängde löst igen!
Erik är årets vinnare. (AB)

Länkar till andra bloggar om: Idol 2009, Patti Smith, musik, underhållning, rock,

Patti Smith wears a one-inch button on her vest in Rock Scene magazine

The two things Busy Beaver has in common with Patti Smith is being from Logan Square in Chicago, and wearing buttons.  More here.  Click for BusyBeaver.net

En la Piss factory en que trabajaba la canearon por leer a Rimbaud escondida en el baño. Se prometió a sí misma que saldría de New Jersey.

‘Cause I have something here to hide called desire, cantaba. Y se fue de allí. Era el último mono de la escena neoyorquina. Era la chica que se sentaba en la acera frente al CBGB’s. No la dejaban entrar en el garito más sucio de Nueva York. Años más tarde, fue ella quien cantó allí en la fiesta de clausura del local.

Amiga de Jim Carroll y musa de Mapplehorpe. Fue él quien le dijo que se afeitara el bigote para la foto de la portada de Horses. Que se peinara. Que sonriera al menos. Ella hizo caso omiso. “Soy así, lo tomas o lo dejas”.  Se convirtió en una de las portadas más celebradas de la historia del rock.

Un disco que se abría con una demoledora frase: Cristo murió por los pecados de alguien, pero no por los míos. Ahí queda eso.

Lo dejó todo por un hombre. Algunas “feministas” le saltaron a la yugular. Olvidaban que el feminismo no va de éso, no va de sacrificarlo todo por la carrera profesional, va de poder elegir. Ella eligió. “Lo tomas o lo dejas”.

Escribió Babel, uno de los mejores libros de poesía que ha parido el rock. Hay que redefinir el arte, el amor, el rock, la vida; escribía. Glosó a Marianne Faithfull y a Edie Sedgwick.

Volvió a los escenarios. La recuerdo en el concierto del Primavera Sound, sacando cerezas de los bolsillos de la chaqueta y escupiendo los huesos al público, insolente y divertida. Unos meses más tarde iría a Madrid a dar un recital. “La Espe” se quiso hacer la foto con ella. Patti se negó. Como se negó a tocar para los VIPs y la clase política: al final del recital se bajó del escenario, cruzó los asientos de los VIPs y cantó entre el público, sonriendo y dando la mano a todo el mundo. Espe, jódete.

Dibuja, fotografía y ahora escribe un libro sobre su querido Mapplethorpe.

Llora a sus muertos, que cada vez son más.

Pero sigue ahí. “I refuse to lose, I refuse to fall down“, cantaba.

Patti Smith. Bailando descalza y ganando batallas a la vida desde 1946.

I have no words right now, no ability to make decisions and not much joy.  It’s my birthday next week, I haaaaaaaaaaaaate my birthday.

♥

Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith in 1969, by Norman Seeff

Robert first met Patti when she wandered into his Brooklyn apartment for no apparent reason, intriguing him enough to declare her a “creature from another planet”. An intellectual and emotional connection was quickly set and over the next few years, Robert and Patti would become lovers, muses to each other and eventually, life-long friends. Robert would go on to shoot tons of photographs of Patti (some adorn her record sleeves, like Horses) that captured not just her androgynous angles, but also her unearthly strength, beauty and persona. In their early days as a twosome though, Robert and Patti were quite a vision (and apparently once the toast of Max’s Kansas City) and a lethal thinking combo, as photographer Judy Lynn attests: “It was difficult to tell where Robert began and Patti left off.”

Danny Fields: “Patti tells this story wonderfully. She and Robert used to come to Max’s every night, stand in the doorway, and stare at all the chic people and wish they would be invited to sit down or hang out with them. Those of us who were sitting down used to look at this adorable, sexy young couple in the doorway, wondering who they were, wishing that they would come over and sit down with us. And this tension, this stasis, went on for a while. Finally I said, ‘Well, come and sit down you two, who are you?’ And Patti remembers that I was the first person at Max’s to ask her to sit down. It was funny: ‘Come on already, stop hovering in the doorway, you’re cute, who are you?’”

Patti and Robert on Coney Island in 1969, by Michel Esteban

“For me, a legend is someone I look up to and I respect and admire, and I guess I’m not there yet for myself,” said designer Marc Jacobs humbly on Thursday, Oct. 29, at the Pratt Institute Legends award benefit, where he was one of the evening’s honorees.

“Just because they give me this prize doesn’t mean I am one,” added Mr. Jacobs, who wore black leather boots with white socks, a red tartan kilt, a white dress shirt open at the collar and a black sport jacket with roped shoulders. More>