The Poignant Santa - CMC V. 4

A great vat lay at the edge of the backyard. I have paid it many visits, introducing to it countless formulae and ingredients. Suspense grew as a weed.

So many possibilities. So many combinations. Fully capable of being, but not yet in existence. Then, on one visit, I thought I saw a solidifying ripple run from one end of the vat to the other. I strained my eyes in the moonlight to be sure, but the gentle movement of a deer broke my concentration. I would have to wait until daylight.

As the last of the leaves fluttered down for the season, the coalescence finally occurred.

Ten deeply affecting songs delivered to you.


The Poignant Santa

1. Some Are: David Bowie. This was a bonus track from the album: Low, 1977. The CD is from a 1991 release that I purchased around 1994. Mark Anderson turned me on to ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’ (starring David Bowie) and other somewhat obscure David Bowie albums and projects during our stay on Johnson Street. As far as I know there is no connection to the songs on ‘Low’ and the movie, ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’ aside from the fact that the cover of the album comes from a modified photo from the movie, a side shot of Bowie against an orange, stormy background. When I was starved for some new Bowie – the cover must have caught my eye. As much Bowie as I have heard and as much as I love David Bowie – I only own two CDs, the other being Changesbowie.

‘Low’ popped up early on as a potential good source for a song for this still evolving compilation. There is some debate as to what exactly he is saying, but there is no mistaking the first line, “Sleigh bells and snow…” and so I thought it would be a wonderful start to this compilation – the most Decemberish line on the CD.

‘Low’ is part of Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy, along with Heroes and Lodger, a trilogy that saw Bowie really developing his synthesizer pop instincts. In the early mid-70s Bowie’s first marriage ended and he had developed a fairly serious drug addiction so he packed up and moved to Berlin to live with Iggy Pop to “clean up.” So, for all you parents out there, if your child starts to stray down the wrong path - Don’t Worry! Send them to Iggy Pop’s Clean Up program in Berlin!

According to the liner notes, Some Are, was recorded between 1976 and 1979 and mixed in 1991. The only credits given are to Eno and Bowie. The other songs feature a whole lot of Eno, Iggy Pop vocal on one song, and some Bowie session musician staples. This must have been one fun album to record. I love the picture of Bowie and Eno sitting in the studio just CRACKING up! RCA was horrified when they first heard ‘Low’ but let it slide – mostly because of Sound and Vision, which I’m sure most of you have heard or have heard about – it’s from ‘Low.’ The only other song that I have heard on the radio was ‘Be My Wife.’ Excellent album! Great instrumentals. Unique. Evidently the Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, and Talk Talk all have cited ‘Low’ as a major influence and source of inspiration.

A playful scene with kids playing in the snow, but lurking by the merry-go-round, a synthesizer-armed David Bowie foretelling their possible dooms:

“Some are bound to fail”…

Fail in life? Or will one of the blades beneath the sled fail? – causing an accident, an especially poignant wondering for me.

This song serves as a bit of orientation for Volume Four. Very few lyrics and spare, synthesizer rich instrumentation with David’s ethereal voice singing the stanza once at the beginning and again at the end, after the instrumental section. Listen for the voices that can be heard throughout the song and the subtle increase in intensity when the second singing of the stanza occurs, complete with an eerie choir, swooshes of sound, and a percussive bouncing sound.


2. That’s The Way: Led Zeppelin. From the album: Led Zeppelin III, 1970. This song is a wrench. The moment the acoustic guitars start up I am transported to a poignant state of mind. I love the arrangement, the altered tuning, and the use of the electric guitar. An English Country Folk song of sorts that barely contains itself at times. So much emotion riding underneath that is let out only slowly through the thorough work out of all the guitars and guitar parts.

My favorite line:
“and yesterday I saw you standing by the river, and weren’t those tears that filled your eyes, and all the fish that lay in dirty water dying, had they got you hypnotized”

Robert Plant’s voice is spellbinding. This recording is masterful and another example of the high level of art that Led Zeppelin achieved as song writers and recording artists.

On No Quarter: Page & Plant Unledded, 1994 – another version of That’s The Way is available that is worth checking out. Not nearly as good as the original recording, but for fans of the song – it may be worth a listen or two. It lets go a little more.

During many of their shows, at least 1970-1973 or so, That’s The Way was often featured as one of the songs they would perform sitting down on chairs. Likely to give their amazing drummer a bit of rest – though it seemed he never really needed one.

Dan and I were hanging out at Camden Coffee enjoying some hanging out time and good coffee when the acoustic duo we were listening to struck up with ‘That’s the Way.” Do you remember?


3. A Most Peculiar Man: Simon & Garfunkel. From the album: Sounds of Silence, 1966. A gentle folk rock song that dealt with heavy subject matter. Through the pretty and perfect harmonies of S&G and Simon’s caressive acoustic guitar you find words talking about a man sick with loneliness. “He died last Saturday…” by shutting his windows and turning the gas on – sung with such a soft treatment. This really struck me in the basement on Easton Avenue. It profoundly affected my consciousness and I have been in love with the song ever since. Perhaps the most poignant moment in the song is when the neighbor mentions the brother “who should be notified soon.”

Dan discussed Kathy’s Song in Volume Two and covered the English Stay of S&G and the adding of drums, bass, and other instruments to their arrangements. I’ll just add that S&G was criticized for sounding like something they were not. Some crazy cross between Folk Rock and English Folk Music, but alas – it almost became who they actually were! I love The Sounds of Silence and I think the arrangements pushed them to where they needed to go before their second, excellent release.





4. Caroline Says II: Lou Reed. From the album: Berlin, 1973. Doomed lovers. Drug addiction. Mental and physical abuse and neglect. The bludgeoning goes on and on.

Lyrically going underground and literally staying there.

Thinking about the suicide rates around Christmas time and people who are hit, I decided that an album of poignant songs should be built around Caroline Says II. You hardly have to go any further than, “Caroline Says, as she gets up off the floor, why is it that you beat me, it isn’t any fun, Caroline Says, as she makes up her eye…” make up on her eye – a sort of self-care, but still hiding on two levels, but still going on – living, if barely.

Golly. For a middle-class kid from the Midwest, Berlin was mind-blowing. Mark Anderson turned me on to Berlin in 1993. He had it on LP and I bought it on CD at a joint in downtown Minneapolis. It remains my favorite Lou Reed album and one of my favorite albums of all time. The first time I remember hearing Lou Reed was as a freshman in college, Great American Whale, off a Green Peace compilation album and I can distinctly remember hearing Mixdorf trying to explain to me who this Lou Reed was. “He kind of talks…” I borrowed Magic and Loss from Mixdorf and possibly New York as well while in college. I definitely owned Transformer before Berlin because I remember getting off track with a girl at ISU because I was speaking about Lou Reed and she was talking about Lou from Foreigner – yikes.

Velvet Underground fans may recognize Caroline Says II as a re-worked Stephanie Says. Journey fans may recognize Aynsley Dunbar working the drums.

Yes – there is a Caroline Says I on Berlin and it too is an excellent song.

A powerful song. Great words. Excellent arrangement. I especially like the piano and percussion when she puts her fist through the windowpane. A fantastic album! The pictures in the liner notes are haunting.

Berlin. This must be some city. Drawing the likes of Bowie, U2, Reed, and of course - Iggy Pop. Probably countless others. Maybe they were just trying to unravel musical secrets from the band ‘Berlin?’

Getting Down with dance music? No, just Getting Down with Lou Reed.

Wrong!

It isn’t about getting down with music at all. In fact – I do not think that this is possible. It is more likely that you would get depressed listening to the new J-Lo song that might be about happy children petting puppies than a song that you love that deals with heavy or depressing subject matter. Why would you LOVE a song because it brought you down or made you depressed? You wouldn’t. When I hear Caroline Says II I do not get down in the dumps. It is interesting – when I want a pick-me-up I will often reach for Velvet Underground albums or Reed’s Berlin! I would love to see some discussion on this.

5. Photograph: Ringo Starr. From the album: Ringo, 1973. Ringo Starr kicks Nickelback’s ass when it comes to songs called Photograph. Ringo’s Photograph is the very definition of poignant.

A spectacular song. Written by Ringo and George Harrison. Sweeping and rousing. It actually reached number one in the charts. Originally from the album ‘Ringo’ – this copy comes via the compilation CD Blast From Your Past released in 1976. I love Blast From Your Past.

Photograph is like one four-minute excellent chorus that never gets old or tired. Complete with Beatle-like stereo blinking, horns, piano, strings, harmony, sax solo – this song has got it all. Ringo’s voice was born for songs like this and the planets were in perfect alignment for the writing and recording of this masterstroke.



6. Thorn In My Side: Eurythmics. From the album: Revenge, 1986. This version comes to you via their Greatest Hits release in 1991. I love this song. One of my favorites from the Eurythmics. Catchy yet poignant, of course. A more 60ish approach to songs than found on previous albums. What really makes the song is her voice. She has one of my favorite voices of all time. She is doing some outstanding harmonies. I really enjoy the vocal arrangement and the build-up to the chorus. She’s doing quite a bit vocally in this song and every ounce of it is delicious. A baby-boomer once said, “she has such a nice figure, why ruin it with the hair.” Ahhhhh figures and hair!

7. Thinking About You: Radiohead. From the album: Pablo Honey,1993. A simple little song with a nice little instrumental break and Thom’s voice front and center. His voice is poignant by nature. I like the touch of accordion. Radiohead’s subject matter can be tricky to sort out – the exception may be the songs from this first album. I love Radiohead as a band. They have a passion, which is out of this world.

8. The End of the Spoon: Dave Matthews Band. From the album: Before These Crowded Streets, 1998. I have always adored this little bit of music. This very same theme can be heard at the end of The Last Stop, from the same album. This bit was lopped off from the song Spoon. The music is poignant in and of itself, but the words are possibly beyond poignant. You are beckoned, come in from the cold, come in from the noise, everything will be all right for now…then Goodbye Friend……wow. Come in now – it’s OK to die now, it’ll be all right.


9. We Live Again: Beck. From the album: Mutations, 1998. Mutations, the unofficial follow-up to Odelay that became official because it is such a GREAT ALBUM! VERY different from Odelay and I think that, along with label issues, caused the confusion.

Beck’s “new fangled wasteland” would be something to behold. And for the Foresters, “When will children learn to let their wildernesses burn?”

The poignancy of We Live Again is the weariness. The driving harpsichord, the constant rebirth. Oh, here comes another ‘end.’ The early worries about the ecological impact of reincarnation.

10. Babe I’m Gonna Leave You: Led Zeppelin. From the album: Led Zeppelin, 1969. This song was originally the second song on Led Zeppelin’s debut album. Here, the song closes out the album. I’m not sure why it was originally chosen as the number two song. It has such a perfect ending.

This song begins folksy and then evaporates, but just before it disappears it launches into some intense rocking. Pummeling.

A superb, extraordinary vocal performance. Titillating. Hear it calling him at 1:41-1:42. Plant powerfully conveys the extreme poignancy and conflict of the lyric.

Great guitars, as usual. And just imagine them sitting around. Page wonders, “what about a Spanish Bit here.”

I’ve received some heavy-duty sprinkles listening to this song. I love the chord descent and hope to play it live one day.

Mixdorf is a big fan of this song and it was from his famous Led Zeppelin Boxed Set that I first recall hearing this song. Again the craftsmanship of the band is on full display.