I was a huge Everly Brothers fan from the first time I heard them as a little boy. My fandom reached a crescendo in the fall of '84 when I became the publicity intern at PolyGram Records, which had released the Everlys' comeback album, EB 84, back in the spring.
In the fall, Phil and Don accepted an invitation to perform on Saturday Night Live. Better yet, I would be attending the show. Oh, what a thrill for me! Unfortunately, the Everlys canceled the appearance during the week leading up to it, the unofficial explanation being that they viewed their comeback as a failure. That was due to the disappointing chart run of the album's lead single, "On the Wings of a Nightingale," which made it to only No. 50 on Billboard's Hot 100 before bowing out a month earlier. There was a music video but MTV passed on it.
For those who've never heard it, here's the glorious "On the Wings of a Nightingale." Written by Paul McCartney and produced by Dave Edmunds, I strongly believe it deserved a better fate. The entire first side of the album is particularly excellent. Its fifth and final song, Paul Kennerly's "The First In Line," received airplay on country radio. Ah, those wondrous sibling harmonies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACVBwruNBzg
RIP, Tom T. Hall. If you're sincerely into storytelling songwriters who did it their way, his death should be a huge deal to you. Sturgill Simpson would undoubtedly agree.
Here's the always radiant Nanci Griffith with ex-husband Eric Taylor, who himself died in March 2020. Talented folks, they were.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeTUcLaC-xE
This one hits me hard as I listened to 1984's 'Once in a Very Blue Moon" this week. I bought the album in 1987 after seeing Griffith on The Lonesome Pines Special TV show on PBS. Here she is performing the title track on that show. A spellbinding moment in the life of this music fan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXwwz_UESbQ&list=PLgqYw3C-_Jsz-gUtXaaK3wU25e1sQLPTl&index=9
Hot garbage. I'm no moralist, but the cussing for the sake of cussing on a lot of records has overstayed its welcome. It's not being real. It's not creative. It's not edgy. It just makes the artists look like nitwits with poor vocabularies. In my opinion, profanity has pretty much ruined hip-hop. Not all hip-hop, of course, but enough to keep me from diving too deep into the genre. There's so much other stuff to listen to.
Thanks. I don't use Spotify. I just make mixtapes and share them with a tiny circle of friends and my long-suffering wife. Liner notes, too. A sickness I've had since my college radio daze. I might have kicked the habit 20 years ago had someone not invented the CD burner.
Here's my annual summertime mix that I assembled at the start of June. The 25 tracks fit comfortably onto an 80-minute CDR.
The format:
Ten tracks from the current year, augmented by two tracks apiece from previous years ending in "1." As usual, the collection begins with a rendition of "Summertime." My wife and I will listen to this baby en route to the Japanese Breakfast show next week (whether my wife wants to or not).
Song of the summer? I'll go with "Chaise Longue," which reminds me of "We Got the Beat," Ca Plane Pour Moi," and other songs club DJs of my youth would spin to fire up the crowd before the band hit the stage.
BACK TO YEAR ONE: SUMMERTIME MIX 2021
1. Summertime – Paul Revere & the Raiders (1961)
2. Go Outside – Ratboys (2021)
3. Sixty Minute Man – The Dominoes (1951)
4. Give It to Me Baby – Rick James (1981)
5. Savage Good Boy – Japanese Breakfast (2021)
6. I Feel the Earth Move – Carole King (1971)
7. It’s Feelings – Del Amitri (2021)
8. In My Arms – Glen Campbell (2011)
9. Hot & Heavy – Lucy Dacus (2021)
10. Set Adrift on Memory Bliss – P.M. Dawn (1991)
11. Not Dead Yet – Lord Huron (2021)
12. I Like It Like That – Chris Kenner (1961)
13. Surfing and Spying – The Go-Go’s (1981)
14. Chaise Longue – Wet Leg (2021)
15. Get Ur Freak On – Missy Elliott (2001)
16. Treat Her Like a Lady – Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose (1971)
17. Family Farm – The Hold Steady (2021)
18. Rocket 88 – Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats (1951)
19. The Band Played On – Vanessa Peters (2021)
20. The Summer Place – Fountains of Wayne (2011)
21. She’s In Love with the Boy – Trisha Yearwood (1991)
22. Bobby Lewis – Tossin’ and Turnin’ (1961)
23. Teenage Eyes – St. Lenox (2021)
24. Working Girls (Sunlight Shines) – The Pernice Brothers (2001)
25. Like I Used To – Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen (2021)
Nirvana came from nothing? Nonsense. 'Nevermind' didn't break because the music was good; It succeeded because the label spent a fortune promoting it. The amount of in-store advertising in Tower Records was nauseating. A store with thousands upon thousands of titles, yet consumers were lining up to buy McGrunge music because Madison Avenue told them it was cool. Twenty years later, the same thing happened with Adele. Crappy music for people who buy one or two albums a year.
Looking forward to receiving my Goon Sax. I've been following those young whippersnappers since 2016 when they released album #1 as a trio of 17-year-olds. Album #2 was one of my ten favorites of 2018. What I've heard so far from #3 is a sonic departure. To me, these kids are more than just a band. They're the grandchildren I'll never have (which makes Robert Forster my son even though he's a year older than me).
Silly me. Living in the Philly area, I read the headline and thought it referred to a lesbian Allen Iverson. Practice, Earthlings. We talkin' 'bout practice.
Juan, That was my initial impression,, but I've come full circle and like her music quite a bit. For me, the appeal is storytelling. Dacus' songs never take the easy way out. Although I'm a 63-year-old man and not a 26-year-old woman, I relate to what she's saying.
The one that turned it around for me was her cover of "Dancing in the Dark," which caught me off guard as I am not a Bruuuuce superfan (the production of Born in the USA makes that album unlistenable to me). I then revisited "Night Shift," which suddenly hit me hard after not doing so at first. So I gave her another shot. I removed my expectations in favor of trying to understand her perspective. Sometimes, it's just a matter of altering the way you listen to a particular artist.
I like the Marfa Tapes, but I wish Jon Randall's wife, Jessi Alexander, was involved. An excellent but under-recorded singer who prefers writing songs to the limelight of being on stage. She's written a mess of hits, including "The Climb" for Miley Cyrus, "Drink on It" for Blake Shelton, and "I Drive Your Truck" for Lee Brice. I prefer her as a singer to all three Pistol Annies, each of whom I love.
With all due respect to Mr. Brice, the songwriter's version of this fine song is definitive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5rzYBPpUT0
Released at a time when the music industry was almost exclusively a boys club at every level (in some ways, it still is). You can book a festival of fantastic female artists influenced by Lucinda that would last 10 days. She has helped make the music world a better place.
That's been the case forever. It got even worse in the Internet age, which is disappointing. Easier to find new stuff, but also easier to settle for what's being spoonfed by big media. Then there are the people who stop being music fans after they graduate from high school. How many times can these nostalgia freaks listen to the same old stuff? They all think the music from their youth was the best music ever. Bottom line: There just aren't that many real music fans. Snobby, I know, but very few people stick with it.
I'm curious to know whether there are any non-TV watchers out there? With the exception of MLB.TV on my computer, I haven't watched any television since October 2007. We don't even own a set. For those who do watch, what do you pay?
Way off-topic, but I'm surprised this site didn't have anything about Brian Henneman of the Bottle Rockets retiring from music. His statement can be found at the link. It's sad in a way, but I admire him for doing it the way he's doing it. Why can't Van Morrison do this?
http://www.bottlerocketsmusic.com/
I'm that way, too. Melodies, hooks, choruses, vocals, and getting it all to sound right. When I see a band whose music I'm mainly unfamiliar with, I close my eyes at the end of the set and ask myself which, if any, of the songs stuck. I do it with recordings as well, whether it's listening to albums or some kind of playlist. Find the standouts that might be worthy of inclusion on a mixtape.
The two Bridgers songs that work for me are "Kyoto" and the "Dylan Thomas" one with Better Oblivion Community Center, mainly due to their poppiness. In my opinion, autobiographical lyrics can be tricky. While we all have moments in our lives that other people can relate to, it's better to keep the story simple and in the form of...a pop song. A snapshot with a chorus and words that don't require poring over a lyric sheet. There's nothing wrong with lyrics that require close listening. Just make sure the lyrics aren't the whole song. With some of the stuff being championed these days, I feel that is the case. Just lyrics and none of the other stuff that I value as a listener.
It's always been a dumb stunt, regardless of who (or Who) has done it. I was embarrassed for her. The wardrobe, too. Just play good music.
Which reminds me. What is Phoebe Bridgers' appeal? Anyone? I've given all three albums a shot and don't hear what's supposed to be special. Having her on SNL seems like more fodder for the modern music sucks crowd. What bit of hipness am I missing in her music?
Stereogum ignoring Low Cut Connie's inauguration performance is troubling. Is it personal or do you folks just hate indie (or rock 'n' roll) music? To be clear, I don't know anyone in the band. I'm just grateful to Adam Weiner for continually answering the bell throughout the pandemic. He kept my wife and my spirits up when COVID times were toughest for us. For those who want to see a true celebration of America, scroll to 29:50 on the video. That's how the day felt to us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=A1E51UPSmnY&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3V1DZ1Th2_9KLegoqB3O_j2NvyqwoGnUOJ8CgWYFUgTlVQzkb0rTgs_Y8
He should have pardoned Melania. Not for being a terrible First Lady, but for spending four years in the White House without ever saying "moose and squirrel."
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