Billy Joel Keeps It Real

Filed Under current affairs, music, nostalgia, people | 4 Comments

I can offer no explanation of my fondness for John Mellencamp’s music … years ago when I was a 15 year old I didn’t even know any adults who listened to him, but for whatever reason, there was a connection to this prickly Midwesterner’s songs. Well, John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month, and he was introduced by another great American singer songwriter, Billy Joel.

Of course, being a native New Yorker, I couldn’t help but know about Joel, and oh … the days when you could actually hear him on the Top 40 radio station. Back when it was okay for a “pop star” to be in their 30s, or chubby, or balding, or singing things that would never play in a night club. But now I’m starting to sound like an old grump muttering about the “good ole days.”

Here’s an excerpt from Joel’s introduction; another reason why he and Mellencamp are all right in my book.

Don’t let this club membership change you, John. Stay ornery, stay mean. We need you to be pissed off, and restless, because no matter what they tell us - we know, this country is going to hell in a handcart. This country’s been hijacked. You know it and I know it. People are worried. People are scared, and people are angry. People need to hear a voice like yours that’s out there to echo the discontent that’s out there in the heartland. They need to hear stories about it. [Audience applauds] They need to hear stories about frustration, alienation and desperation. They need to know that somewhere out there somebody feels the way that they do, in the small towns and in the big cities. They need to hear it. And it doesn’t matter if they hear it on a jukebox, in the local gin mill, or in a goddamn truck commercial, because they ain’t gonna hear it on the radio anymore. They don’t care how they hear it, as long as they hear it good and loud and clear the way you’ve always been saying it all along. You’re right, John, this is still our country.

(transcription courtesy of Wikipedia.org; video available here - this excerpt is from the last 2 minutes of the clip)

Popularity: 42% [?]

Aug

27

Musical Blind Spots

Filed Under humor, lil things, music, nostalgia, pop culture | 2 Comments

After reading the comments at CK’s post on 8 Random Things, I felt a little isolated. College aged students who don’t know who Tori Amos or Nirvana are? A few days ago I asked the DH if he’d like to listen to Cyndi Lauper. His response: “Who’s that?” I repeated her name, thinking he must not have heard it right. He looked at me, waiting. “You know that song, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!” No, he did not. “Time After Time. True Colors?” I sang a few lines of I Drove All Night. Blank stare.

Scary.

However, Tori Amos happens to be one of his favorite singers; he’s seen her live two or three times. I guess we all have our blind spots. I’m sure I’ve some, too, but unfortunately can’t tell you what they are.

Popularity: 23% [?]

Oct

2

One Thing Leads to Another …

Filed Under music | 1 Comment

Last night the DH and I were talking about …

Fiona Apple …
Fiona with Quentin Tarantino in the upcoming Sundance Channel series Iconoclasts …
Google-ing Fiona photos …
The questionable, alleged “similarities” between Fiona, Regina (Spektor) and Tori Amos …
Appreciating Regina’s thick and distinctly Eastern European features …
What is Regina’s vocal range? Fiona’s? …
Loving on Joni Mitchell …
Who has the highest octave range? …
Impressive female sopranos …
Joanna Newsom comes up on a Regina vocal range google search …
Raging online controversy: is Joanna a bewitching Appalachian elf - or shrieking demon cat? …
Sampling Joanna on iTunes …
We are terrified and horror-stricken …
Online Joanna lovers insist she must be given a chance …
We torture ourselves into giggles by listening to her creepy-ass voice …
Increasing the bass on the speakers helps …
Her voice isn’t so bad, I say …
DH says the lyrics of Book of Right-On are “quirky” ….
I buy Joanna’s album, The Milk-Eyed Mender …
DH says he’ll listen to it …
Customers who purchased Joanna Newsom also liked …
CocoRosie …
One of the best iMixes ever: Harry Potter for Indie Rockers: A Tutorial.

What’s so wrong with Attention Deficit “Disorder?”

(Image: Regina Spektor)

Popularity: 8% [?]

Jun

9

Well, It’s New to Me

Filed Under music, nostalgia, quotes | 7 Comments

One of the upsides of having been pop-musically illiterate as an adolescent is that I get to “discover” all of this great music now. For example, I was born in 1976; I didn’t know Prince was a musical artist until 1990. When the girls in my elementary school class were talking about how they wanted to marry him when they grew up, I was wondering who this dude was, and how had another country’s royalty become so popular among young black girls in the United States?

This is the kind of oblivion you might experience when you are the oldest child and don’t have any cousins.

In any case, I downloaded the One video of Mary J Blige and U2 from iTunes today, and I was, as usual, completely fascinated with The Edge. I know Bono is supposed to be the hot stuff in that band, but my eyes always seek out The Edge. I think The Edge is stunning.

Anyway, dubious hearththrob status aside (he’s only a few years younger than my mother, eek) aside, I listened to Achtung Baby this evening. I never really listened to it the way I’m listening to it now. It’s a great album. I have to put this in my Nano.

This album was released about 15 years ago, and although I knew who U2 was, their music had absolutely no cultural signifance for me. All music - be it classical, standards, pop, R&B, whatever - was just pleasant sound played in the background while I daydreamed or did chores. It wasn’t till I heard Harry Chapin’s Cat’s in the Cradle that it began to dawn on me that songs/music could have meaning. Around this time, I borrowed a Joan Baez album from the library and sang about the lady who came from Baltimore, and the dove and lonely people till the cassette almost wore out. My family was like, “Whose child is this?” but left me to my own devices. At the time I was also trying to teach myself Irish Gaelic, so Joan Baez wasn’t so odd by comparison. At 18 I became hooked on Tracy Chapman - and folk music is still my favorite genre.

But this rock album is quite good. Last year I learned about INXS, but I think U2 is a lot better. U2 is socially conscious, too. I don’t know if it makes their music any better, but it makes their fame more tolerable. I share the sentiments of my favorite actress, Sarah Polley, who is quoted as once having said that the only point to being famous is the ability to redirect people’s attention to things that are actually important.

(photo from u2world.com; the Edge and wife Morleigh Steinberg at Pavarotti’s wedding.)

Popularity: 10% [?]

May

24

Beautiful Singers

Filed Under music, people, pop culture | Leave a Comment

A friend and I were talking about Madonna the other day, and I remarked that when Madonna first came on the scene, she wasn’t glamorous or considered ‘beautiful.’ She was kind of chubby in the cheeks and wore bright makeup and her clothes were all torn. But she did have charisma, and her own style, and sang fun (and in some cases, classic) songs. We started naming other famous female singers who couldn’t have doubled for models: Pat Benatar, Cindy Lauper, Debbie Gibson, Janet Jackson. Nowadays it seems the most popular female pop stars have to look like this sleek haired, leggy actress/singer/fashionista prototype. Is looking a particular way more important than it used to be? Is there less diversity in the music industry?

I don’t know. If so, I can’t locate when in time this shift really took place - or what caused it. Music videos? Still, we felt nostalgic for the time when the beauty spectrum ranged from Suzanne Vega to Pebbles to Vesta.

(photo of singer Vesta Williams, courtesy of The Vesta Williams Website. Vesta recently lost 100+ pounds and is now a size 6.)

Popularity: 7% [?]