Everyone takes a breather in the summer, and the same is true for Rock Turtleneck. Our staff is currently on holiday, and we have many exciting posts forthcoming. To hold our dear readers over in the meantime, here are a few of the Greatest Summer Songs ever.
Sly and the Family Stone: "Hot Fun in the Summertime" This song is the sound of fire hydrants opening up on 125th Street in the dog days of summer. Sly, in his funky generosity, also treats us to snippets of the provocative "Don't Call Me N----r, Whitey" and the unstoppable "I Want to Take You Higher."
Mungo Jerry: "In the Summertime" One of the great One Hit Wonders of all time, Mungo Jerry reaches back to jug-band days to evoke sitting on the porch with a parasol, drinking spiked lemonade.
Lovin' Spoonful: "Summer in the City" Some of my favorite summer memories were in Manhattan when everyone had cleared out to the Hamptons, Long Beach and the Jersey Shore, hanging with my home slices in Sheeps Meadow by day and tearing it up at night. No song better captures that feeling.
Elvis Presley: "Clambake" Summer = Baked Mollusks, Bikinis and The King. 'Nuff said. TCB.
It would be a shame to let the 40th anniversary of man's landing on the moon pass without giving a shoutout to Major Tom, David Bowie's fictional astronaut made famous in his brilliant debut "Space Oddity."
In addition to eerily capturing the feeling of liftoff and the courage, lonliness, awe and alienation that accompany space travel (or so I would imagine), Bowie cannily gives a nod to the inevitable crass commercialism that follows suit:
This is Ground Control to Major Tom You've really made the grade And the papers want to know whose shirt you wear Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare
"Space Oddity," which also nods to Stanley Kubrick's mind-blowing masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey, was rush-released in 1969 to capitalize on its au courant nature, and this simple video captures the mood of the song perfectly. Bowie, with his otherworldly presence, strums his guitar surrounded by recording equipment which could easily pass for an Apollo 11 control panel.
Many of the astronauts who walked on the moon had trouble readjusting to life back on earth. Second-Man-on-the-Moon Buzz Aldrin, pictured above, struggled for years with alcoholism and once punched out a conspiracy theorist who told him his whole life was a lie.
Thus, it was a masterstroke for Bowie to pick up Major Tom's story 11 years later with "Ashes to Ashes" from the great (perhaps Bowie's last great) 1980 album Scary Monsters. Major Tom, faded from the front page, was now a junkie in a padded cell.
Let us also take a moment to pay tribute to Walter Cronkite, who passed away last week and so memorably captured the spirit of John Q. Public when he covered the moon landing on CBS.
And if you believe the whole space travel thing was just one giant conspiracy, keeping a fake moon landing under wraps for 40 years is almost as impressive as actually going there. RIP WC.
Describing his 2001 masterpiece “Love and Theft,” Bob Dylan said it sounded to him like a “greatest hits album without the hits.” By touching on many of the styles and approaches at which they have excelled over the years - from ballads to expereimental Kraut-rock freak-outs to Americana-flavored rock & roll - Wilco’s new record Wilco (the album)achieves a similar feat. It’s one of their most pleasant, most enjoyable albums start to finish.
Unlike 2004's A Ghost is Born, which was inspired by leader Jeff Tweedy's inner demons, and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot which evoked 9/11 (even though it was recorded before that), Wilco (the album)’s theme seems to be Good Songs Played Well, making it an excellent companion piece to 2007’s Sky Blue Sky. The relatively light mood is established right away with the cheekily titled “Wilco (the song)” probably the funniest song they've recorded since Mermaid Avenue's "Hoodoo Voodoo." I'm not sure whether they are poking fun at excessive fan worship of bands or pharmaceutical ads that claim to cure all ills ("do you dabble in depression?") but it's a snappy, catchy tune, and the first Wilco record in many years that hasn't kicked off with something that could be construed as an Important Statement.
“Deeper Down” is a baroque number full of tricky changes and some harpsicord that highlights Wilco’s virtuosity which is almost unparalleled in the rock world. You really have to know what you're doing to write and perform a song like this. Having a bandfull of master musicians, particularly ace guitarist Nels Cline, certainly helps.
“Bull Black Nova,” a road tune that’s one of the best tracks on the record, builds up an almost unbearable amount of tension with its minimalist piano figure, reminiscent of “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” from A Ghost is Born.
“You and I” is a beautiful duet with Jeff Tweedy and the lovely Leslie Feist. A sweet ode to keeping an air of mystery in a relationship, it would make an excellent starting point for Zooey Deshanel's next romantic comedy: I don’t need to know everything about you/And you don’t need to know that much about me
"You Never Know", with a hook that recalls Tom Petty’s “Jammin’ Me” is a great party tune. And “Sonny Feeling” is a classic summer drive-with-the-top-down rocker, reminiscent of early Wilco tracks like “Casino Queen” and “I Got You (At the End of the Century).”
Wilco, easily the best working band in America right now, has delievered another great record. Their unending streak of quality recalls similar runs by Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, I.R.S.-era R.E.M., Mick-Taylor era Rolling Stones and Wilco's only true contemporary peers Radiohead.
And the new songs are sure to sound as great as the older ones when I see them tonight in Wappingers Falls, NY. I believe tickets are still available. You would be well advised to attend.
Wilco: "You and I" with Feist, Late Show with David Letterman 7/14/09
Paul McCartney, never one to shy from his glorious past, is bringing it all back home to the Big Apple this week.
Beginning Friday, he is playing the first concerts at the Mets’ Citi Field, nicely echoing the shows The Beatles played at Shea Stadium in 1965 - the first stadium shows ever played by a recording artist.
Tomorrow night, Macca will make his first-ever appearance on Late Show with David Letterman. As you may know, Late Show is filmed on Broadway in the Ed Sullivan Theatre, where the Beatles made their U.S. debut 45½ (!) years ago.
McCartney is the sole guest on Dave's show and will be sitting down for an interview in addition to playing live (on the rooftop perhaps?). Dave is sure to ask Paul for his thoughts on Michael Jackson, his former chum who snagged the rights to the Beatles publishing empire when Macca wasn’t looking and brought an end to their personal and professional relationship.
McCartney is not the first Beatle to appear on Dave’s show. Ringo has been on several times, and more interestingly, so has their original drummer Pete Best, who sat for a fascinating interview on Dave’s NBC show on this day in 1982.
While it is easy to feel bad for Pete Best - who paid his dues with the lads in Liverpool and Hamburg, only to be fired mere weeks before they hit it big - he did receive a seven-figure financial windfall in the 1990s due to the release of early Beatles recordings featuring Best as part of the Beatles Anthology project. Part I:
Like many, I've been thinking about Michael Jackson's musical legacy lately, and have reached the conclusion that Jacko's peak was not Thriller or Off the Wall, but much earlier, in the Jackson 5.
As brilliant as those two Quincy Jones-produced records are, Jacko's singing in the Jackson 5 has none of the affectations or tics that came with the onset of mega-fame. In the J5 days, MJ was a pure, almost gospel-like singer of power and grace. Good dancer too.
One of the upsides of the passing of the Gloved One is that YouTube is crammed like the line for the Ferris Wheel at Neverland with amazing Jackson 5 performances.
Naysayers and so-called singers who rely on Auto-Tune and pre-recorded vocals should note that the J5's singing and playing is performed live. Check out the freakazoid robot moves he makes during "Dancing Machine" and "That's the Way I Like It" below. Anyone who can make Dom DeLuise seem like a lithe, spry performer is a very special talent indeed.
"Stand!" (Ed Sullivan Show, 1969 - who knew they covered Sly Stone?)
"Rockin' Robin" (Top of the Pops, 1972 - nice solo by Tito - who knew he could actually play?)
"Dancing Machine" (Merv Griffin Show, 1974 - check out the robot moves)
"That's the Way I Like It" with Dom DeLuise (no that's not a horrible series of typos), Jackson 5 TV Special
Robert McNamara, the chief architect of the Vietnam War, passed away in his sleep yesterday at the age of 93. Ironic, given the violent deaths and endless suffering of so many Americans and Vietnamese that came as a result of his decisions.
Reading McNamara’s obituary in the New York Times this morning I learned that, like the most recent Iraqi conflict, the Vietnam War, which killed 58,000 Americans (about 10 times the Iraqi war) was launched on assumptions that were based on faulty information:
“Congress authorized the war after Johnson contended that American warships had been attacked by North Vietnamese patrol boats in the Gulf of Tonkin on Aug. 4, 1964. The attack never happened, as a report declassified by the National Security Agency in 2005 made clear. The American ships had been firing at radar shadows on a dark night. At the time, however, the agency’s experts told Mr. McNamara that the evidence of an attack was iron-clad. “It was just what Johnson [LBJ] was looking for.”
Not surprisingly, McNamara was haunted by his decisions for the rest of his life, as can be seen in Errol Morris's 2003 film The Fog of War:
Though his name is never stated in Bob Dylan's song, McNamara is a true Master of War. One of the highlights of Dylan's second record Freewheelin’ (a record which also included "Blowin in the Wind," "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" and "Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright"), "Masters of War" is easily among the greatest war-related songs ever written. The bite of the lyrics (which you can read in their entirety below), and the incessant drone of his lone guitar still sting today:
You fasten the triggers For the others to fire Then you set back and watch When the death count gets higher You hide in your mansion As young people's blood Flows out of their bodies And is buried in the mud
Speaking to USA Today's Edna Gundersen, Dylan said “Masters of War” is not an anti-war protest song per se, but rather "is supposed to be a pacifistic song against war. It's not an anti-war song. It's speaking against what Eisenhower was calling a military-industrial complex as he was making his exit from the presidency. That spirit was in the air, and I picked it up."
I was fortunate to see Eddie Vedder sing a memorable version of "Masters of War" at the 1992 Dylan tribute show at Madison Square Garden. Vedder’s hound-dog howling at times verged on self-parody, but he captured the spirit of the song well and made it his own.
In 1991, only days after the launch of the first Gulf War, Bob and his band took a punk-like approach to the song at the Grammys, where he received Lifetime Achievement honors.
While Dylan's vocals are far from his best here (he was sick that night), his guitarist Cesar Diaz blows out a couple of the hottest solos you'll see anywhere.
In recent years, the hip-hop soul group The Roots have played an ingenious live cover of "Masters of War" sung to the melody of Francis Scott Key's "Star Spangled Banner."
A few years back I saw Dylan play a minor league ballpark in Fishkill, NY. Late into the show, Dylan busted out a spellbinding version "Masters of War." A twentysomething woman near me said “Is this a new song?” “No” I said. “It’s forty-three years old.”
R.I.P. Mr. McNamara. Take it away, Bob.
Masters Of War Come you masters of war You that build all the guns You that build the death planes You that build the big bombs You that hide behind walls You that hide behind desks I just want you to know I can see through your masks
You that never done nothin' But build to destroy You play with my world Like it's your little toy You put a gun in my hand And you hide from my eyes And you turn and run farther When the fast bullets fly
Like Judas of old You lie and deceive A world war can be won You want me to believe But I see through your eyes And I see through your brain Like I see through the water That runs down my drain
You fasten the triggers For the others to fire Then you set back and watch When the death count gets higher You hide in your mansion As young people's blood Flows out of their bodies And is buried in the mud
You've thrown the worst fear That can ever be hurled Fear to bring children Into the world For threatening my baby Unborn and unnamed You ain't worth the blood That runs in your veins
How much do I know To talk out of turn You might say that I'm young You might say I'm unlearned But there's one thing I know Though I'm younger than you Even Jesus would never Forgive what you do
Let me ask you one question Is your money that good Will it buy you forgiveness Do you think that it could I think you will find When your death takes its toll All the money you made Will never buy back your soul
And I hope that you die And your death'll come soon I will follow your casket In the pale afternoon And I'll watch while you're lowered Down to your deathbed And I'll stand o'er your grave 'Til I'm sure that you're dead
Canada Day, formerly Dominion Day, is Canada's take on the 4th of July. It celebrates the July 1, 1867 enactment of the British North America Act, which united Canada as a single country of four provinces.
It's pretty clear what Rock Turtleneck needs to do: countdown the four greatest Canadian rockers, one for each province.
#4: Rush In addition to being accomplished prog-musicians, Rush seem to be surprisingly cool. They were the first band to appear on the Colbert Report. And Geddy Lee is an avid wine collector and baseball fan; when Neil Peart goes into one of his long drum solos, Geddy says goes backstage to check his fantasy baseball scores.
#3: Leonard Cohen The legendary poet-turned-singer and ladies' man has written many classics besides "Hallelujah." Here he is doing "Suzanne" with one of his many conquests, Judy Collins.
#2: Joni Mitchell She's amazing by herself, and has flawless taste in musicians. Check out this band, featuring Jaco Pastorious on bass and Pat Metheny on guitar.
#1: Neil Young No surprise here. Neil is the man. If it was Galaxy Day, Neil would still be right up near the top. Here's his ultimate Canada Day performance, doing a song about Canada with a Band of Canadians (Levon Helm is the sole American) and a Canadian bird named Joni singing backup.
