Grateful For A New Year (2016)

My flatmates all went out to see some fireworks and meet with family members, leaving me to sit all alone in my room. I started feeling depressed, so I put on the album Closing Time by Tom Waits. That's probably the Tom Waits album I listened to the most. Tried calling a couple of friends, but no answer. Got Mexican food delivered and I'm still waiting for my drinks to come. Luckily, I have a big bottle of Newcastle to keep me company for the time being. Initially I was going to sulk in my lonely sadness and watch the film About Time on Netflix, but somehow I got sidetracked and started watching videos of the Grateful Dead on youtube, specifically videos from Jerry Garcia's 70th Birthday Celebration featuring Bob Weir, Donna Godchaux, Mike Gordon of Phish, Jim Lauderdale, Jeff Chimenti, and others. Now I remember....

A couple of weeks ago I put a downpayment on an SX Vintage Strat electric guitar, and I was playing some Dead tunes in the shop, specifically Franklin's Tower, Shakedown Street, Friend of The Devil, Standing On The Moon, and their version of Dancing In The Street. The guy working in sheet music asked if I knew Box of Rain. I said I didn't. Flash-foward to the present. I looked up the chords to Box of Rain and started playing along with a youtube recording. Then I played Friend of the Devil, and then I played Touch of Grey, arguably their most popular song (definitely their biggest hit). As I was singing the lyrics and playing the chords on my acoustic guitar, I started to feel happier and happier. It was like the cloud of darkness that was hanging over me was clearing up. My spirit lifted and I started to feel more optimistic, especially when I would sing these words:

'Sorry that you feel that way.
The only thing there is to say
Every silver lining's got a touch of grey
I will get by, I will get by, I will get by, I will survive.'

After I played the song about 3 or 4 times I watched a mini-documentary about Jerry Garcia's 70th Birthday Celebration. I have to be honest that I did not realize Jerry was missing his middle finger in his right hand. Man that's wild. I then proceeded to pull out my Tom Anderson electric guitar from it's case and started jamming along to Shakedown Street and Franklin's Tower.

There's something about the music of the Grateful Dead that just takes to a place of positivity and optimism. You can't help but feel cheerful as all your troubles float away.

As I write this, I am currently listening to The Grateful Dead Closing of Winterland Ballroom New Years Eve 1978. For the moment I am feeling hopeful, blissful and content, positive vibes all around, as I listen to the grooves of Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, the licks coming from Jerry Garcia's Warlock guitar, and those sweet effortless harmonies.

Here's to a wonderful and positive 2016 full of good people and real good times.

"We will get by. We will get by. We will get by. We will survive"

A Testament To Lemmy

As I sit here at my computer checking Facebook and messaging a friend rescheduling our Skype chat, I am thinking about Lemmy. I am thinking about Motörhead. I am thinking about all the musicians, both famous and non-famous, who were influenced by the music. I’ve got all these thoughts and feelings as a result of his untimely death at age of 70 due to terminal cancer. I want to say something, but the truth is, I was never biggest Motörhead fan most of my life. Hell, I only own one of their albums, and I only bought it and listened to it for the first time in the past year. However, I have a lot of friends that are massive Motörhead fans, and from my perception, I have never seen such a massive reaction from the punk and metalhead community, not even for the death of Jeff Hanneman of Slayer nor Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots. I am writing this for them: for the my friends, all the musicians and music fans I know who were influenced by Lemmy and the music of Motörhead.

While I was attending community college in my hometown, I was constantly surrounded by people who listened to punk and heavy metal: the good kind. With that said, the band Motörhead was always a presence. I only really knew their most popular song Ace of Spades at the time, and I knew of the lead singer/bassist Lemmy. And to tell you the truth, I was actually more of a Hawkwind fan rather than a Motörhead fan. With that being said, I didn’t own any Hawkwind CDs until this past year. I own the Hawkwind albums Space Ritual, Warrior At The Edge of Time, and Doremi Fasol Latido (and Levitation, because Ginger Baker plays on it).

When the news came of Lemmy’s death, I was in completely and utter shock, which for me was both saddening and surprising, for two reason. The first is the obvious one, and the second was because oddly enough, I reacted with more shock to Lemmy’s death than B.B. King, who died earlier this year. I asked myself, why is this affecting me more emotionally than B.B. King’s death. I mean, I was influenced way more by B.B. King, his guitar playing, his songs, etc. I guess, in all honesty, B.B. King’s end of the road was expected to come sooner, considering his recent health issues that forced him off the road completely. Perhaps that’s why it wasn’t as big a shock. But with Lemmy, it was different.

Lemmy was 70. Despite all the drugs and alcohol he’s consumed and his overall lifestyle, he seemed immortal, to everyone. Even though health problems setback Lemmy and Motörhead while on tour the past couple of years, nobody thought the worst. I know I didn’t. In the past year, I’ve gotten to see Lemmy for the first and last times I’d ever see him: with his rockabilly side project Headcat at the Roxy in Hollywood and with Motörhead at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium. I also got to catch him after the Headcat show outside the Rainbow Bar & Grill. I brought my Hawkwind’s Space Ritual vinyl. I brought a silver maker for him to use, although it wasn’t coming out right, so someone handed him a black marker and graciously signed it and I also got a picture with him. He was tall and slim, more slim than usual actually. Right after that, he made his way out back home right down the street.

The Headcat show was awesome, seeing Lemmy sing the songs he grew up listening to and making me dance, with Danny Harvey on guitar and Stray Cat Slim Jim Phantom on drum kit. Seeing Motörhead live was one of the best concert experience I’ve ever. Besides being in the wall of death with a few douchebags, the best part was standing in the middle of the mosh pit, head banging and playing air guitar and air drums to every single song Motörhead played that night. The band was in fine form and they played great music in full glory.

Only in the past year did I finally listen to Motörhead’s albums. Before Lemmy’s passing, I had listened to only two albums: Ace of Spades and their newest album Bad Magic, which is fantastic by the way. I’ve also seen the Lemmy documentary in the past but don’t remember it that well. I am currently re-watching it. The night Lemmy died, I decided to do what everybody else in the world did. I listened to Motörhead, specifically the album Iron Fist. I was immediately floored after hearing. That was when the lightbulb went, but it wasn’t until the next day that I truly understood. I woke up the next morning to go work out, and normally I listen to Van Halen and Boston while I work out, but that morning I decided to listen to Motörhead while running on the treadmill. I put on Overkill. It immediately became my favorite Motörhead album, and as far as I’m concerned, will remain my favorite album even after I will listen to the rest of them. I also listened to Bomber. As I listened to this gut-wrenching take-no-prisoners rock and roll heavy metal music, I took off like a rocket as I ran nearly 3 miles in completely bliss and determination. Let it be known that I intend to acquire their greatest albums, specifically the 2-Disc Deluxe Editions.

Bottom line: Lemmy will forever be immortal, even after death. He was a true rock and roll icon and one of the most authentic musicians that ever lived. There was no bullshit about anything. Lemmy is Lemmy. His music is his music. Take it or leave; he doesn’t give a flying fuck. He was a true road warrior, an innovative rock bassist, and a confident yet humble human being. I have yet to hear one bad Lemmy story from anyone.

In wake of Lemmy’s passing, let us be reminded to truly live life to the fullest and do what feels good. For me, what makes me feel the best is eating good food, listening to, playing and writing the music I love, and spending time with dear friends, loved ones, and family. 

Seize the day, turn it up loud, born to lose, live to win. 

R.I.P. Lemmy Kilmister 

God has a new home!

1989 by Taylor Swift

Album Review

In our modern age of pop music, blandness is inevitable. The made-for-radio production can at times oversaturate the music, leaving listeners with something repetitive to remember, but nothing musically interesting, which is fine for some. Some people enjoy that kind of commercial music. With Taylor Swift’s 1989 it’s more interesting than that.

Working with pop production and songwriting masterminds Max Martin and Jason Shellback, this could have easily become a bland product. You have this country pop singer/songwriter mega star making her transition into more commercial territory without crossing over genres. Max Martin has co-written and produced countless pop hits; however, these days, his output can tend to do one of two things: remove the true authenticity of the artist, or suck the life out of what is otherwise a good or great song.

Max Martin has sucked the life out of Adele’s “Send My Lover (To Your New Lover)”, and has nearly destroyed any artist authenticity that resided in Tori Kelly. Now, maybe you’re thinking, I’m reading into this too much. My answer is, perhaps, but this is simply one of the ways I listen to and analyze pop music.

Anyways, the real question is, has Taylor Swift succumbed to ‘Sell Out’ Martin? And my answer is: well no. Not really. Granted, yes the songs sound very radio poppy, but it seems that Taylor Swift approached this in a way where it is intentionally ironic but serious at the same time. The album as a whole is, dare I say it, a great pop album. But what is it that makes this a true Taylor Swift album and not a Max Martin/Jason Shellback product? And the answer is simply one word:

PERSONALITY

Amidst all the synth pads and effects, you still hear Taylor Swift. She may not be Adele or Beyonce, but she makes you smile, laugh, and cry with the voice she has. You can hear that she is having the time of her life. She sings with joy, sass and energy. ENERGY! That’s another key word: Energy. Blandness can sometimes derive from a voice that shows very little or no commitment to the performance. Here, Swift is committed 120%.

In comparison, the problem with Tori Kelly’s Unbreakable Smile was the Max Martin production had watered down the music to a soggy newspaper, and the lyrics for the most part were so self-important it distracted me from getting any real three-dimensional personality from the performer. To be fair though, in my opinion, there are two or 3 very good songs, but those are the tracks where it’s Tori Kelly just playing acoustic guitar and singing, a near bare bones performance, with very little production, like on her previous EPs. And for the record, my favorite song on that record is “I Was Made For Loving You” with Ed Sheeran. Maybe I’ll do a full review on that record in another blog post. Anyways, back to 1989

I would like to list my favorite stand-out tracks:

Style
All You Had To Do Was Stay
Shake It Off
Bad Blood
How You Get The Girl
This Love
Clean (with Imogen Heap)

The lyrics are also good, very well-thought out, for the most part. Again, I reiterate, the performances are strong, enthusiastic, and the production is not too terribly distracting. I would definitely vouch for this album as a contender for Album of the Year at the Grammys; but, Kendrick Lamar still comes out on top. But that’s an aside. Bottom line-up, I like this album, I was surprised I liked it. Check it out. Maybe you’ll get something out of it too.

Cheers!

Photos

Photo Gallery by QuickGallery.com

The First Entry

Test post. Repeat, this is a test post; an experiment, a chance for my web designer and I to experience the look and feel of the page before the blog officially launches. Let us know what you think this of it so far too. 

I’ve been crazy busy lately, working on a bibliography and working on a tutorial with a professor, etc. I’ve been feeling very weird lately with having deadlines, stress, anxiety, and other emotional things (hope that’s vague enough). Its December now, so I’m working on a list of my favorite albums of 2015. Brace yourselves. It’s going to be a long list. I’ve been trying to ease my mind and just relax and feel fresh. Then it hit me. I decided to return to the one album that was always there for me in the darkest and emotional moments in my life: 

Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys (1966) 

Let it be known, The Beach Boys are my favorite band of all-time. And Pet Sounds planted the seed of my lifelong love, pursuit, and obsession with their music. 

I did grow up listening to the Beach Boys, but I was mostly limited to the songs “California Girls”, “Surfin’ Safari”, “Surfin’ USA”, “Good Vibrations”, “I Get Around”, “Little Deuce Coupe”, and “Help Me Rhonda”. 

A friend of mine turned me onto Pet Sounds in junior high. I had never heard the full album before, had no idea it existed. Naturally, I was curious. I bought the 40th Anniversary Edition of the album on CD in both mono and stereo. I put it on, and relaxed on my bed to listen. Afterwards, I felt a strange. I asked myself, Okay, what was I supposed to get from this? I didn’t know if it was disappointment or uncertainty. I told myself, “That can’t be all there is to it.” 

The next day I listened to it again. I went to bed and put it on and listened until I fell asleep. I found myself doing this night after night, and soon enough, week after week, I couldn’t stop listening. 

I became infatuated, obsessed. After a while I began really listening, to the lyrics. They resonated with me, deeply. The lyrics echoed the very emotions I was experiencing at the time. For example, “That’s Not Me” and “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times” perfectly summed up my feelings towards the last final two years of high school. 

I could try to be big in the eyes of the world. What matters to me is what I could be to just one girl. -“That’s Not Me” (Wilson/Asher) 

I searched for a place to fit, a place where I can speak my mind.                                                

I’ve been trying hard to find the people that I won’t leave behind. 

They say I’ve got brains but they ain’t doin’ me no good. I wish they could. 

Each time things start to happen again, I think I got something good goin’ for myself, but what goes wrong. 

Sometimes I feel very sad
Sometimes I feel very sad
Sometimes I feel very sad
I guess I just wasn’t made for these times.
- “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times (Wilson/Asher) 

These were songs about adolescence, isolation, love, loneliness, longing, trying to fit in, and innocence. All of these were exactly what I was facing as a teenager. But at the end of the day, in my room, Pet Sounds was always there to pour out my feelings for me. 

Epilogue: 

As I searched deeper into the music of the Beach Boys, I began to admire the genius of Brian Wilson. His production, his songwriting, and his vocal and instrumental arranging. His use of orchestral instruments and unconventional chord progressions in rock and roll music was truly revolutionary. There’s a fascinating conversation happening between The Beach Boys and The Beatles. Pet Sounds was influenced by the album Rubber Soul. Pet Sounds influenced Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. 

I then began to explore the backstory of the Beach Boys, and discovered the mental illness Brian had suffered throughout the years. 

Another fantastic album I discovered was Smile, which was intended to be the Beach Boys/Brian Wilson’s magnum opus. Unfortunately, Brian Wilson aborted due to the pressure being and constant resistance from his bandmates. Drugs may have factored in, but that’s another story. 

As time went on I began to dig deeper into the Beach Boys’ back catalog. I was introduced to albums like Today!, 20/20, Friends, Carl & The Passions ‘So Tough’, Holland, Love You, Sunflower, and Surf’s Up, among others. Even on their worst albums, The Beach Boys have recorded fantastic songs. Below a list of my all-time favorite Beach Boys deep cuts. I urge to you check out some of these tracks, and if you haven’t listened to Pet Sounds, do it. Like NOW!! Stop reading, listen, and get back to me when you’re finished. I’ll wait. When you’re done, take a gander at these absolute gems. You’ll thank me later. Or not. 

Fantastic Beach Boys Deep Cuts: 

“Little Bird” from Friends
“Be Here In The Morning” from Friends
“Time To Get Alone” from 20/20
“This Whole World” from Sunflower
“Add Some Music To Your Day” from Sunflower
“All I Wanna Do” from Sunflower
“Barbara” from Endless Harmony Soundtrack (Unreleased Studio Outtake)                           

“Feel Flows” from Surf’s Up (also featured in the film Almost Famous)
“’Til I Die” from Surf’s Up
“Surf’s Up” from Smile and Surf’s Up
“Marcella” from Carl & The Passions ‘So Tough’
“Hold On Dear Brother” from Carl & The Passions ‘So Tough’
“All This Is That” from Carl & The Passions ‘So Tough’                                                  

“Cuddle Up” from Carl & The Passions ‘So Tough’
“California Saga: Big Sur/The Beaks of Eagles/Californ-I-A” from Holland                     

“Leaving This Town” from Holland
“Only With You” from Holland
“Funky Pretty” from Holland
“Johnny Carson” from Love You
“Honkin’ Down The Highway” from Love You
“Winds of Change” from M.I.U.
“Full Sail” from L.A. (Light Album)
“Love Surrounds Me” from L.A. (Light Album)
“Endless Harmony” from Keepin’ The Summer Alive
“Slow Summer Dancin’ (One Summer Night)” from Summer In Paradise
“Strange Things Happen” from Summer In Paradise
“Lahaina Aloha” from Summer In Paradise
“Daybreak Over The Ocean” from That’s Why God Made The Radio                                 

“Strange World” from That’s Why God Made The Radio