Video with 2 notes
Bruce Springsteen- Growing Up (live at Max’s Kansas City, 1972)
It’s always fascinating to see footage of big stars from back when they were playing tiny clubs or the third band from the top of the bill, since it lets you see their talent (or lack thereof) in a rawer, less refined form and with fewer of the idiosyncrasies that develop over time. Here we get to see a more laid-back (and possibly stoned) Springsteen who even comes off a bit nervous in the beginning of the song. There’s none of the overdramatic enunciation and overblown instrumentation (be aware, those are things I love about Bruce though!) that defined him, but the songwriting quality was always there. The little Dylan-esque vocal moments also made me smile, because you can see Springsteen developing his own voice here but he’s still lifting from others a bit and it’s interesting to more clearly see that influence.
Photo with 4 notes
So yesterday I went to Ocean City with my cousins, and was pleasantly surprised to find that there’s a legit record store on the boardwalk now. Since I have pretty much no willpower when it comes to not buying things I want, I got a bunch of records.
- Kate Bush- The Sensual World
- Stevie Nicks- The Wild Heart (So underrated. It’s not quite as good as Bella Donna, but how can you not love an album with Wild Heart, Stand Back, and Beauty and the Beast?)
- Bob Dylan- Blood On The Tracks
- Joni Mitchell- Blue (I was really happy to find an original copy of this and not have to pay $30 for the remastered version which is all 6 different stores I went to recently had. I might still buy the remaster once I have a job though. Side 2 of this is maybe the best side 2 of any album ever.)
- Joni Mitchell- Hejira
You’ve probably noticed that most of these records are 30+ years old, and are records I really should have already. That’s what happens when you try to start a record collection and your parents/family “aren’t really into” music and don’t have any records you can steal.
Audio post with 30 notes - Played 452 times
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]Hole- For Once In Your Life
This song has slowly but surely become my favorite off of Hole’s “Nobody’s Daughter”. When the album first came out, I was a little unsure of this track because of how the added or changed lyrics altered the song’s meaning from the demo version (originally, the line was “so what can I do?”, an expression of hopelessness and defeat, not “look what I can do”, which expresses self-confidence and two of the verses were totally different). After listening with open ears though, I realized the new lyrics fit the overall meaning of the song better and the moving and elegant instrumental helped push this song past the rest of the tracks to make this my favorite. Michael Beinhorn really outdid himself with the production on this track, with all of the instruments sounding clear and discernible even as different elements become more or less prominent, and he gives the song an epic sweep that few producers can get without becoming cheesy. The excellent drumming, with its military-esque tones, was what kept me coming back to this version initially instead of just listening to the original demo and it keeps this ballad moving at a nice tempo. The cello (by Erik Friedlander) is a beautiful accent that, along with the drums, helps gives the song some instrumental grandeur to back up the lyrics. In terms of the album’s sequencing, it’s nice to have a track that is led by other instruments (piano, drums, cello) after the preceding 6 tracks which were dominated by guitar. It makes for a good change of pace that keeps the album from sounding too similar as it heads into its last half.
I’m coming to Courtney after the other musicians, since she always gets the hype and I wanted to give some attention to the other elements of the song, but her vocal performance is stellar (I’d say 2nd best on the album behind Letter To God), with impeccable phrasing and the perfect mix of vulnerability and confidence that this song needed. At times, there’s a Dylan-esque quality to her voice (“you’ll always quit, you always did”, “but I’m still breathing” “oh, I’m forever”), which makes sense since Blood On The Tracks was one of the original inspirations/reference points for the demos this song originated from.
Lyrically, this song is also quite impressive. The opening couplet “you just don’t love me and I just don’t care, Oh I never said I would play fair” starts things off with a nice edge and immediately grabs your attention, pulling you into the relationship the song’s dealing with. The next verse is a highlight, with
I am the only perfect choice
You’ve met your match, I’ve lost my voice
And when you’re gone it gets so cold
I swear I’m too young to be this old, this old
Look what I can do
illustrating the dichotomy at the heart of the song. Courtney (she’s talked about how all her songs are about her/her life, so I’m comfortable not doing the whole “narrator” thing) knows she’s great, or can at least pretend she is, but this person makes her feel needy and insecure and she needs them to get back her confidence. The next two verses illustrate all her struggles, with “And I pierced the last hole in my arm, to gouge out the pieces of you” being a particularly evocative and memorable line, before spending a verse going into all of the flaws of the other person. Here Courtney’s trying to talk herself out of loving whoever she’s addressing (I can see a case being made for it being about Billy Corgan, but I really have no idea who the song’s about and it doesn’t really matter), before acknowledging that she’s being bitter and saying “you know what’s true and you know what’s right, oh I’m forever, just do the right thing for once in your life”, letting the person know she still believes in them and will always be there despite everything, but still admonishing and cajoling them to pick her, dammit! She acknowledges her flaws one last time (“I know that I’m a hungry lost girl”) before the final line (“but please stick around, and I’ll build you a world”), with the repetitions of “I’ll build you a world” ending the song on a confident, rather than pleading, note. In the arc of the album, this song leads into “Letter To God”, Courtney at her lowest, so its obvious the person didn’t stick around, and this song represents the beginning of the downward spiral that she has to pull herself out of by album’s end with “Dirty Girls” and “Never Go Hungry Again”.
Gaslight Anthem- Miles Davis and the Cool
Don’t wait too long to come home.
My how the years and our youth pass on.
Don’t wait too long to come home.
I will leave the front light on.
The night is our own.
You don’t wait too long.
So why don’t you sing to me on this long drive home?
Let the sound of your voice sway sweet and slow.
As we go down, down, down.
From our youth to the ground.
We might always be blue.
I was going to post something from the new Gaslight Anthem album (and I still might!), but despite being a very good record, none of the songs on it are as good as this track or The ‘59 Sound. “Miles Davis and the Cool” is the type of Bruce Springsteen song Bruce wishes he could still write, complete with band call-out and a rousing chorus.
The lyrical callbacks to both Miles Davis and other musicians can make for an odd game where you look to see what Gaslight Anthem is nodding to (or lifting from, depending on how you want to see it). There’s Springsteen’s “Rosalita”, Bob Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone”, Elvis Costello, Paul Simon, and probably others I’m missing. How obvious their references were was a somewhat endearing trait Gaslight Anthem had, but they seem to have grown out of that a bit on their new album which is probably for the best if they want to have a real career and not be viewed as a tribute band with original songs.
I would cut a bitch to get a Tori Amos cover of this song next tour. It could fit really well in a solo set with Mother (which has the line “maybe you’ll leave the light on” at the heart of it) and Tori can pull off Springsteen covers (one of which will be posted soon), so she could certainly manage Gaslight Anthem.
Quote with 25 notes
If we were out of money we just didn’t eat. Robert might be able to function, even if he got a little shaky, but I would feel like I was going to pass out. One drizzly afternoon I had a hankering for one of those cheese-and-lettuce sandwiches. I went through our belongings and found exactly fifty-five cents, slipped on my gray trench coat and Mayakovsky cap, and headed to the Automat.
I got my tray and slipped in my coins but the window wouldn’t open. I tried again without luck and then I noticed the price had gone up to sixty-five cents. I was disappointed, to say the least, when I heard a voice say, “Can I help?”
I turned around and it was Allen Ginsberg. We had never met but there was no mistaking the face of one of our great poets and activists. I looked into those intense dark eyes punctuated by his dark curly beard and just nodded. Allen added the extra dime and also stood me to a cup of coffee. I wordlessly followed him to his table, and then plowed into the sandwich.
Allen introduced himself. He was talking about Walt Whitman and I mentioned I was raised near Camden, where Whitman was buried, when he leaned forward and looked at me intently. “Are you a girl?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Is that a problem?”
He just laughed. “I’m sorry, I took you for a very pretty boy.”
I got the picture immediately.
“Well, does this mean I return the sandwich?”
“No, enjoy it. It was my mistake.”
He told me he was writing a long elegy for Jack Kerouac, who had recently passed away. “Three days after Rimbaud’s birthday,” I said. I shook his hand and we parted company.
Sometime later Allen became my good friend and teacher. We often reminisced about our first encounter and he once asked how I would describe how we met. “I would say you fed me when I was hungry,” I told him. And he did.
Post with 1 note
I need to figure out a way to get to this year’s Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle September 4th-6th. The line-up is pretty insane, just on the main stage there’s:
SATURDAY Bob Dylan • Neko Case • The Decemberists
SUNDAY Weezer • Hole • Rise Against
MONDAY Mary J. Blige • Special Guest • J. Cole
Plus about 100 other acts. Anybody willing to come with me or have an idea on cheap/free places to stay? VIP passes for all 3 days are only $250 (and include free drinks and snacks in air-conditioned lounge) or regular passes are $40 a day, so the main hurdle is airfare and hotel costs.
