Catching Up: C-Songs
And Just in time. Volume 6 arrived today.
'Cause Cheap is How I Feel - Cowboy Junkies
No one has a sound quite like Cowboy Junkies. Margo Timmins’ voice, the guitar, mandolin, accordion, harmonica and drums blend oh so well. This is a new song to me, and while it doesn’t offer any surprises, I like it a lot. Not every artist has to be groundbreaking, or pushing the envelope, some are welcome to do what they do, and I am glad to have music like this to fall back on when something soothing is needed. I own Miles From Our Home, and The Trinity Session, and would consider purchasing more. Indeed this song could have been at home on Minnesota Connections (were it not for the geographical problems), the Junkies remind me of The Ashtray Hearts, or is it the other way around.
FYI, The Trinity Session contains the wonderful cover of “Sweet Jane,” and many other great tracks, I highly recommend it, five stars all the way. It was recorded at The Holy Trinity Church in Toronto in a single night using a single stereo microphone, and the mix is amazing.
A bit of trivia, the Timmins family lifted their name from Townes Van Zandt’s “Cowboy Junkies Lament.”
Carnival - Natalie Merchant
Natalie, Natalie, Natalie. You are an enigma. I sympathize with Mighty Toms hot or not struggle, but for me it carries to her music as well. I do like this song, and Merchant’s voice, and like Dan I appreciate the production of the recording, but there is just something… For me, her appeal is not something that has faded over time, rather something that has remained a constant. I can enjoy the music to a point, while at the same time rolling my eyes. It may stem from something MT mentioned about her appeal to the REM crowd. These people from my college days, so excited about anything that was big in college radio, whether it was good or not, drove me nuts. Fawning over the Maniacs and Stipe; music that wasn’t bad, but by no means as amazing as they would have you believe. But I do like this song.
Cherry Cherry - Neil Diamond
It looks like Dan is turning out to be in the minority here (except, I’m sure, in noticing the "R-O-C-K in the USA" thing). I really dig this song. Diamond’s vocal phrasing is great, and I love the arraignment. While double entendra is about as deep as the lyrics get, it is hard for me slight the song on this basis. There are many, many songs that I love for which this is the case (including many Beatles songs). The song is just so well done, and Neil’s voice in my ears is like Jones Strawberry Lime Soda on my tongue. A guilty one, but a pleasure nonetheless. He is a great songwriter, and by all counts his latest album puts him ahead of Mr. Joel, who took a sharp downward turn about 20 years ago.
Cover Me - Bruce Springsteen
My mom had (has I’m sure) this on LP. A rock-solid rocking record. The E-Street band lays down a hard driving song here, but nothing outstanding. The guitar solo is a bit pedestrian, and the rest of the arrangement could have been a hundred other songs. If it came on the radio, I wouldn’t reach for the tuner, but I wouldn’t seek it out either.
Crash Into Me- Dave Matthews Band
Van Halen had For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, and Dave Matthews Band had Crash. Like Mixdorf points out there should be no mistaking what this song is about. As always the band is tight, tight, tight. Beauford may be one of the most amazing drummers ever to appear on a rock and roll record (as Mighty Tom and I had the chance to see, seated behind the stage at the acoustically challenged Target Center), and here he does some wonderfully subtle things on the drums. There is nothing else mind blowing, but the individual parts mesh to form a magical whole (Hole? Hike up your skirt a little more…).
On what Tom said about DMB making great music, boring music, and too much music, I would agree, but in a different way I think. I am a big fan of improvisation, and I think they are all very skilled. Where I think they have fallen is a lack of growth. They have stagnated with recent albums. I love the albums, and think they evolved musically, up to Before These Crowded Streets, and I like Everyday, but since there has been very little progression. There are a few good songs on Busted Stuff, but the closest thing to a stand out would be "Grace is Gone", or maybe "Grey Street."
Come Together - The Beatles
Well, Mighty Tom beat me to the punch with the comments on the lawsuit, and Dr. Leary connection. The BBC banned the song for the Coca-Cola line, witch the Beeb deemed to be advertising.
I love this song. The music is amazing, and each of the Fab Four are at the top of their creativity, just as it is about to come crashing down around them. I have never questioned that there is meaning in these words, even if Lennon claimed otherwise. I always knew there was something there, maybe not sure what all of it meant, but there was something there. I think there are some pretty clear digs at the other members of the group in there, along with some lines for which I cannot assign meaning, but I bet John did.
City - Natalie Imbruglia
Um… What Dan said. Sorry T-Clog
Cecilia - Simon & Garfunkel
What I said about S&G before stands. This is a great song from an even better album. Such a percussive song. I love the hand drums, the handclaps, the xylophone, and the guitars that are more instruments of percussion than of harmony. I also love the vocal scoop on “whoup in my bedroom.”
Call Me - Blondie
Here comes the TARDIS to carry us back to the halls of grade school. Even the synth solo is almost a rip off of the Dr. Who theme. This song doesn’t do too much for me, and I am not a huge fan of Blondie overall. “The Tide is High” is my favorite of theirs, and I like “Heart of Glass” (always think of “Green Pink and Blue”) and I do like this song better than some others. Not a fan of “One Way or Another,” and there is no forgiving “Rapture.” Hmmm, after the Dr. Who comparison I’m having trouble coming up with much more…
City of Blinding Lights - U2
I wasn’t familiar with this one. I like the chorus, and as always The Edge does some outstanding things. As a whole I like the song, but it doesn’t blow me away. I don’t have a lot more to say about this song.
OK, I’ve got to get this off my chest, and I am going to get ripped apart here, I know. U2 is overrated (ducks). It isn’t that I don’t like U2, I do, and they have some AMAZING music. But a lot of it isn’t that amazing. The Joshua Tree is five stars, and I love Rattle and Hum, Achtung Baby, is OK, there are some great things there, but I don’t see the greatness that everyone else seems to see. I think All That You Can’t Leave Behind is hit and miss. “Wild Honey” and “In a Little While” are wonderful, but “Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of,” and “New York” grate on me. The Edge is one of my favorite guitarists, but, like the Onion stated, Bono is in dire need of a cock punch. He has been accused of writing fortune cookie lyrics, and I have to confess that I feel that this is occasionally true. OK, that feels better, fire away.
Wrapping it up.
Great job Clogger. I love the packaging. I hope everyone else loved the picture of me on the inside cover. There was only one song that I didn’t like, and while some of the songs didn’t do much fore me (even though I do like them), there were some amazing ones in there.
BS: “Come Together.”
BS I didn’t already know: ”'Cause Cheap is How I Feel.”
SIWHI: You must not know it, because I can’t believe you would have passed it up otherwise. “C is for Conifer” by They Might be Giants. It is off their children’s album Here Come the ABCs.
posted by Aaron at 1:51 AM
15 Comments:
I don't think Miles is on the U2 bandwagon.
Ah! Music, The Great Subjective!
A.J. you were the only one who got a picture of yourself on the inside cover. It was taken at Dan's Planet of the Apes party. Sorry that N.I's City was a flop, but to each his own. I love it for some reason. I guess it reminds me of the Twin Cities and nothing else. That's enough for me. A song can have crappy lyrics or other bad aspects, but if it triggers a memory in me time and again, I tend to love it. This really only works if it triggers good memories. I have a ton from the Twin Cities. Miles and Mixdorf, how are you able to put a picture on your comments?
Aaron, thanks for getting the comments posted. Man I have some more Natalie Imbruglia that I wanted to throw out there, but I am second guessing that. Glad that you liked most of the album.
There's a relatively easy way, though it's not the one Blogger explains.
Create a new post.
Add a picture.
Publish the post.
Go back to edit the post - there's a little tab above the text body that says 'edit html'. Inside that is a piece of code that should look like this http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7743/361/400/PartyAnimal.jpg but with a different photo name.
Copyclip that bit of code.
Open the Blogger Dashboard or wherever it allows you to Edit Your Profile. Shortly down the profile editing page is a blank for a Picture. Paste that code into that spot.
Save changes.
You can delete the original post you started with, the one with the picture in it.
I will give it a shot in a couple of days. Thanks guy!
I would just like to echo what Aaron said about Come Together - a shared BS by the way. What a great song! And to acknowledge the DMB concert we saw together - a great time - and Tim Reynolds was playing too - wasn't he - always a nice enhancement to DMB.
I am sad - I could of really used a picture of Aaron as well on the inside cover. Cory - how could you keep such a treat from me?
Interesting the way we approach talking smack about U2 - in the end - we are actually not all that far off base - and some of the songs that grated Aaron on ATYCLB, are unfortunately repeated on HTDAAB - back to the 'sister album' idea. U2 is a powerful band - evoking powerful emotions. And as the ages slide by - so do the types of emotions. And yes, what about that bass playing!?!
I suggested, in a phone call w/Mighty last night, that we are definitely, like the four colorful Warlords in the Atari 2600 game of the same name, each carving out our various niches of hatred.
Aaron: for U2
Mixdorf: for The Beatles
Dan: for Neil Diamond.
What seminal rock artist will next absorb a crushing blow to their brick wall of self esteem from the electronic, power square of vitrol via either Mighty Tom himself, T-Clog, or Miles?
While Dan may be trying to incite me, as may be MT, I am far (FAR) from hating The Beatles. I listened to Sgt. Peppers as a child hundreds of times. It was a strong influence on me.
That said, I may not be a card carrying member of The Beatles cult. Great great music, but music that I rarely listen to. I enjoy it when I do, but that's not the same.
The real point of my Come Together post was that I like nearly every other Beatles song better. I could pick a similar song from nearly any band. If I were to do it for U2, just to bring the conversation back on itself, I would say.....perhaps Babyface from Zooropa.
We have yet to get to a band that I truly hate, but I suspect we may.
Marty Haugen?
Actually, I expected that post from you. And I'm not accusing Aaron of hating U2. And I don't hate Neil Diamond, though I've never been able to get excited about his music. But I think it's funny to pretend that we all hate these artists, and that it is part of our identity.
I mean, Mixdrof, you may claim that you don't hate the Beatles, but there may only be about 10 people in this WORLD (outside of religious zealots) that can claim to have purchased a Beatles album and subsequently sold it. Yet there you sit, amongst that pretty exclusive company.
It was a selfless act (excluding the $10) given to someone who I knew would enjoy it more.
Remembering the DMB concert... Waiting to cross 1st Ave. to Target Center a guy came up to us and asked if we had any extra tickets. We told him no. He then asked if we had any extra weed.
I figured that I was the only one with a picture of me, but did everyone else get a picture? Also, I think that picture was not from the Planet of the Apes party, but rather from one of the Halloween parties. I was a beatnik, and reading "Terror Tales."
That would be "Weird Tales of Edgar Allan Poe."
That was the Halloween Party where, as Mixdorf commented, you & Gibbs really "stretched yourselves," dressing up as a bee-bop and rock n' roll musicians, respectively.
That person you gave it to is still enjoying it. I'm sure that person would offer his or her thanks.
Now that's a name....
by the way my word verification looks a lot like 'Mixdorf' without the 'd' 'm' 'o' 'r' and 'f' but everything else - good to go
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