Warren and Joe

Always fun to discover a new Warren Zevon clip; this one is from the Jools Holland BBC program, recorded circa 2000. Near the end, Warren pays tribute to Joe Strummer in the song; Strummer's last band The Mescaleros was also on the program that night (you can see him near the end of the song, enthusiastically clapping along). Still hard to believe they're both gone.

Vampire Weekend - Tastes Good, Less Filling

Back in the early 1980s, a band called Haircut One Hundred was quite the rage for a while. Their first album came out when I was a senior at Berkeley, and I remember my friend Colin referring to them as “perfect pop.” Having a preference for more “meaty” endeavors (Clash, Costello, Springsteen, Zevon), I gave him a hard time about it at the time, and have continued to do so over the years. We don’t see each other often, but we do correspond via e-mail on a regular basis, and every chance I get I try to work in a little dig about Haircut One Hundred.



Well, now I think I owe Colin an apology, because Haircut One Hundred has been reincarnated, as Vampire Weekend, and I can’t seem to get the tunes on their eponymously titled album out of my head.

Whether that’s entirely a good thing is a question I’m not yet able to answer. Although the album is relentlessly catchy – also evoking bands like The English Beat and Aztec Camera – and the lyrics are clever, sounding suspiciously like something a smart college kid might write, the album is also light as air. Like the meringue on a lemon pie, the music on Vampire Weekend tastes good, but you’re not sure if there’s any substance there. Right now “Oxford Comma,” “A-Punk,” “Bryn” and “Walcott” all sound like – dare I say it? – “perfect pop.” But will they stand the test of time? Will what sounds great today become merely annoying a year from now?



Only time will tell. For now, go on out and buy the album – if nothing else, you’ll have something fun to dance to for years to come.

The Revolution Will Be Televised

Nike is all about marketing.

Their products have never done much for me. Every single pair of Nike shoes I’ve owned have hurt my feet, so after a while I quit buying them. I’m not a famous athlete by any stretch of the imagination, but I run more than the average human on the planet, and all I know is that Nike running shoes hurt my feet. So be it.

Nike has a new advertising campaign out, for their Sparq Training concept. If you watch any sports on television, you’ve seen it. If you don’t, you may have seen it anyway. It “stars” LaDanian Tomlinson and Steve Nash, plus some other professional athletes whose identity I should probably know off the top of my head, as well as some “normal” people doing some extraordinary things.



It’s a brilliant ad, filmed and edited as well as just about anything you’ll see nominated for an Academy Award. But the best thing about it is the music. And thanks to the modern miracle known as the Internet, I now know that the song is “List of Demands,” by Saul Williams. And what a song it is – magnificently propulsive, immediately recognizable, and right away you know that it is going to leave an imprint on your brain that forces you to hear the song – in your sleep, in the shower, at work, running…in short, an absolute classic, from the first listen.



And for me, the confluence of Nike and Saul Williams is where things get really interesting. Though I’d heard of him, this is the first piece of his music I’ve heard. Based on this one song, it sure sounds like he is an heir to the great Gil Scott-Heron, producing art that entertains, but also leaves the listener edgy; uncomfortable.

Check out these lyrics from the song, and ask yourself what relevance they may have to the life of LaDanian Tomlinson and Steve Nash.

I got a list of demands written on the palm of my hands.
I ball my fist and you're gonna know where I stand.
We're living hand to mouth!
You wanna be somebody?
See somebody?
Try and free somebody?
I gotta list of demands written on the palm of my hands.
I ball my fist and you're gonna know where I stand.
We're living hand to mouth!
Hand to mouth!

And then there’s this:

Ecstacy, suffering, Echinacea, bufferin.
We aim to remember what we choose to forget.
God's just a baby and her diaper is wet.
Call the police!
I'm strapped to the teeth and liable to disregard your every belief.
Call on the law!
I'm fixin' to draw a line between what is and seems and call up a brawl.
Call'em up now!
'cause it's about to go pow!
I'm standing on the threshold of the ups and the downs.
Call up a truce!
'cause I'm about to bust loose.
Protect ya neck,'cause, son,
I'm breaking out of my noose.

And there you have it, the latest Nike advertising campaign. This is all very strange, but I love it.

And here’s the song which provided the inspiration for the title of this post, from the master himself.

Making Musical Magic

A wonderful post by Rosanne Cash on her recent songwriting collaboration with Joe Henry.

I've thought a lot about music in my 48 years, but not a lot about the songwriting process. It would be fascinating to read a book (maybe one has already been written; if so, I haven't read it) in which famous artists write about how they come up with their songs. In particular, some that I'd love to read about are:

Bruce Springsteen
Bob Dylan
Elvis Costello
Bacharach & David
John & Taupin
Becker & Fagen
Rosanne Cash
Jagger & Richards
Stevie Wonder

Where does the inspiration come from? What comes first - the lyrics, or the music? How do the famous teams work together?

In other words, all of the little mysterious things that lead to magic.

My Earth Day Tribute

...such as it is. This is a commercial that Discovery Channel began showing recently. Though simple and somewhat corny, it's also really cool, and for some reason it really grows on you. My favorite part is when Adam from "Mythbusters" calmly reaches over and lights his partner Jamie on fire.



Because the world really is a pretty awesome place, when you get right down and think about it.

Happy Earth Day.

laff riot #2

Right now my brain feels like one of those old "this is your brain on drugs" commercials, which explains why there has been little in the way of cogent and/or relevant posting lately.

But this is absolutely hysterical, and yet further evidence that the guys and gals at The Onion are geniuses.

laff riot

Public Commitments

I thought it might be helpful to set some public goals for myself in terms of pieces I’d like to write in the next few months. So, for the loyal readers of this here blog (I know there are a handful of you), some things to look forward to (or not) in the coming months:

• An essay commemorating the 30th anniversary of the release of Bruce Springsteen’s Darkness on the Edge of Town.

• Should Del Campo High School’s Class of 1978 put together a 30th reunion this year, a piece about that, comparing it to the 5th, 10th, and 20th reunions.

• To commemorate the fifth anniversary of the deaths of Johnny Cash and Warren Zevon, pieces on their albums The Man Comes Around and The Wind, and how those albums dealt with the subject of impending death. This may be one essay, or separate essays, depending on how the writing pans out in the end.

• Essays commemorating the 25th anniversary of the release of “The Big Chill,” “The Dead Zone,” and “The Right Stuff.”

• Somewhere between 5 and 10 posts about Tiger Woods.

• Something on the most recent books by Bill James, Daniel Pink, and Kate Atkinson.

• A piece making my long-awaited endorsements in the races for Elk Grove City Council.

Danny on "Kitty's Back"

I have to admit that "Kitty's Back" was never a favorite of mine. That changed with Bruce's release of the 1975 Hammersmith Odeon concert, first as a DVD in the 30th anniversary Born to Run package and later as a separate CD. That 17-minute epic version, and particularly the long instrumental break (with its Van Morrison homage), is probably one of the band's greatest moments. This clip isn't from that concert, but here we see Danny playing his "Kitty's Back" solo.

Another Great Danny Moment

You don't see him much in this video, but his organ was the driving force which took this song to previously unreached heights on the 1999-2000 reunion tour.

Danny Federici, 1950-2008

Danny Federici, the great organ player for the E Street Band, died today of melanoma at the age of 58. Sharing a stage with larger-than-life figures like The Big Man and Little Steven, Danny was never going to be the most famous member of the band, but he was an E Streeter for longer than anyone. His contributions were immense, and he will be greatly missed. You never anticipate something like this happening, but as they say, life goes on. It just won't be quite the same, especially on that stage for Bruce and the rest of the band.

"The first time I saw Bruce, I knew it right then and there. He was just a guy who came off the street, but in the musicians' circuit in those days, it was like, you gotta see this guy Bruce. Bruce from Freehold. He had a big mane of curly hair, a guinea tee and suspenders, real tight jeans. He was so fast. He's still fast, but he never plays guitar like he used to play."

- Danny Federici quoted in Born to Run: the Bruce Springsteen Story, by Dave Marsh

In my book, Danny's finest moment came on "Racing in the Street," the great song from Darkness on the Edge of Town.

"Now that it can be heard, the E Street Band is clearly one of the finest rock & roll groups ever assembled. Weinberg, bassist Garry Tallent and guitarist Steve Van Zandt are a perfect rhythm section, capable of both power and groove. Pianist Roy Bittan is as virtuosic as on Born to Run, and saxophonist Clarence Clemons, though he has fewer solos, evokes more than ever the spirit of King Curtis. But the revelation is organist Danny Federici, who barely appeared on the last L.P. Federici's style is utterly singular, focusing on wailing, trebly chords that sing (and in the marvelous solo at the end of "Racing in the Street," truly cry)."

- Review of Darkness on the Edge of Town, July 1978, by Dave Marsh



R.I.P.

Well, That Seals It...

Bruce Springsteen endorses Barack Obama.

Dear Friends and Fans:

Like most of you, I've been following the campaign and I have now seen and heard enough to know where I stand. Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest.

He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next President. He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where "...nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone."

At the moment, critics have tried to diminish Senator Obama through the exaggeration of certain of his comments and relationships. While these matters are worthy of some discussion, they have been ripped out of the context and fabric of the man's life and vision, so well described in his excellent book, Dreams From My Father, often in order to distract us from discussing the real issues: war and peace, the fight for economic and racial justice, reaffirming our Constitution, and the protection and enhancement of our environment.

After the terrible damage done over the past eight years, a great American reclamation project needs to be undertaken. I believe that Senator Obama is the best candidate to lead that project and to lead us into the 21st Century with a renewed sense of moral purpose and of ourselves as Americans.

Over here on E Street, we're proud to support Obama for President.

As Bruce sings every night, "I believe in a promised land."

When Idol Becomes Hazardous To Your Health

I have to say that last night’s show was the most excruciating episode of “American Idol” I’ve seen.

To be up front about it, I can’t stand Mariah Carey's music. In fact, I’ll take it a step further than that – I think Mariah Carey's body of work is the perfect representation of what has gone wrong with American music in the past twenty years. But having said that, there is one thing she does very well – what I would call “vocal acrobatics.” That is not to be confused with “singing,” but it has spawned an entire generation of stars, near-stars and outright duds who don’t do it as well as she does.

I will also note that she was very good working with the contestants, going to much greater effort than many previous “mentors.” She deserves much praise for that.

But what was going through the minds of the producers? How many times have the judges chastised contestants for trying to do Mariah and Whitney songs? And then they devote an entire night to Mariah songs? Whatever.

And please – “Without You” is not Mariah Carey song. As most people over the age of 40 will remember, “Without You” is a Harry Nilsson song. And he actually SANG it, and it actually went to #1 on the Billboard charts in 1972, something which Mariah has inexplicably done more times than Elvis Presley. Did Harry get mentioned once last night? Of course not. Because this show isn’t about art or craftsmanship.

And boy, Carly – I may have picked you to win the whole thing, but what a horrendous, awful performance. I hope to see you around next week, but if not, it's been nice knowin’ ya.

Is there really any reason to keep on watching? Is there any doubt that one of the two Davids is going to win this thing?

"It used to be a lot of fun to play"

From John Hawkins' 2008 Masters story in Golf World (Hat tip: Geoff Shackelford):

After years of dealing with disadvantages one could trace to his lack of supreme power, a top-tier control player such as Jim Furyk might figure to factor, but even he speaks in somewhat jaded tones. "It's a pretty good test of golf," Furyk said. "I mean, it used to be a lot of fun to play. It's not fun anymore, but it definitely got a lot more difficult." Addressing the notion that people don't hoot and holler over solid pars, Furyk added, "I don't think we have [heard roars] for the last few years. It's obviously a decision they [tournament officials] made. It's their event, a different golf course, and there's a different way to approach it now."

The question now becomes, can you really turn the clock back? Just how dull will the tournament have to become before the membership realizes how ill-advised the Hootie Johnson-driven changes of the Tiger era were?

Gonna Party Like It's 1989

Moby's new record, Last Night, is a concept album of sorts, attempting (in his words) to "take 25 years of going out in NYC and condensing it into a 65 minute record." It's also a throwback of sorts, to the days when you heard everything on a Moby record but the man's voice himself (although there may be a bit of him in the background vocals on a couple of tracks; I can't quite tell).

Of the record, Moby also says "very simply, to me this record sounds like a night out in New York, with all of the sex and the weirdness and the disorientation and the celebration and the compelling chaos." That sounds pretty high-falutin, but for the most part he's right. It would be easy to say that the album is nothing more than a collection of typical "Moby dance songs," but if you listen hard enough, you really can hear the rhythm of a single night, and one that didn't necessarily go well. There's desperation in a track like "everyday it's 1989," a song that is compulsively listenable but at the same time, sounds a little out of control - as if the protagonist is thinking to him/herself, "I'm out here to have a good time, and that's what I'm going to do, even if it kills me."

Up to about 2/3 of the way through, Last Night is relentlessly uptempo, and then comes a down-shift that's almost stunning - what was a dance album turns into something that sounds like a Brian Eno experiment in ambient music (I don't mean that as an insult, by the way). It's almost as if Moby is inviting the listener to create his/her own story out of the music. And given the material he's provided, the one I'd write might be a little scary, and a little sad.

Of course, I could making a lot more of this than is warranted. Even if that is the case, and it really is nothing more than a collection of "Moby dance songs," I'd argue that this is Moby's most interesting album since Play - but one that falls short of that great album's status. But still very worthwhile.

One Final Masters Note

"You have bad weeks and you have good weeks, and certainly this week was not one of my best," Woods said.

Think about that for a minute.

Tiger Woods came in second in the Masters, the most famous golf tournament on the planet, on one of the most difficult courses on the planet, on a week when he clearly didn't have his "A" game.

That may be more of a testament to his greatness than anything else.