Anyone that had a heart

Amid the distractions of this week, I almost missed a news item on the BBC web site. Mick Ralphs has died. I suppose, on this side of the Atlantic, he's most famous for being part of the super-group Bad Company, which is scheduled to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. 

For me, though, he was the original lead guitar for Mott the Hoople. Mott had many splendid compositions of their own, but they also did amazing covers. Their cover of Lou Reed's Sweet Jane is a classic, ending with a meandering and wistful solo by Ralphs. 

The part I love starts at about the 3:15 mark.

Don't stand so close to me

I need a breather. I also need space. (Looks like we all do.)

Kicking at the darkness

Elder daughter has been flattened by the COVID-19 crisis.

No, she doesn't have it, but it has struck at a crucial time of transition for her, and has put all her dreams on hold. She posted this on social media yesterday, saying it gives her "casual full body chills". I think I know what she means, but am not sure why they are "casual" - it's an adjective she uses a lot.


She's too young to remember the original.

I'm not.



When elder daughter was about two months away from being born, the Barenaked Ladies, who were almost, but not quite, famous (and still had Steven Page), had this cover all over the airwaves. It's, arguably, an improvement on the original. The video is brimming with Canadian nostalgia and self-deprecation. Also early-nineties-style jeans and jackets.

And this copy is wildly low-definition.

As a Canadian, I can only say, "Sorry".

Gone for the day

I'm off on a day trip. Might tell you about it.  Here's a place-holder - a Peggy-Lee-style take on a very very popular song.

What does the sleep-deprived blogger say?

Woke up at 4:14 this morning; have been waking up at 4:40 since my family left, so this is not an improvement.  Will I wake up at 4:14 tomorrow? 

So, I'm operating on even fewer brain-cells than usual.  Time to cheat with yet another Postmodern Jukebox video.  This one is from three years ago, and I love the bit where Tambourine Guy comes charging in from the left - just wait for the iridescent mini-dress.


Very busy day tomorrow, so I'll probably cheat again.

Those days are over

I am working on a longer post -- which will probably be less interesting than this cover of one of my least favourite Police songs. (Oh, don't get cross; it's a fine song, but I don't happen to care for it.) I think what really makes this version work is the fabulous back-up:

Doo-bop

It's no secret that I love Postmodern Jukebox.  Here's their amazing doo-wap version….
…. of a song that looked and sounded like the seventies - at least in my opinion - when it first came out in the nineties.

Snake hips and jelly legs

Made it through my online family history research class and language practice - elder daughter has initiated me into the very addictive language web site Duolingo and I'm attempting to learn some German and Welsh. (Ja. Diolch.) There's the small matter of getting something posted today.

How about this? This is a really recent addition to Postmodern Jukebox, the organization of talented musicians that take songs from the 80's to the present and re-imagine in styles from 1912 to the 1970s. Here we have blond bombshell Addie Hamilton tackling, of all things, "Are You Going to Be My Girl" by Australian retro-blues/metal group Jet, hauling it back from 2003 to the swing era. Along with the fabulous musicians, she's accompanied by the boneless jive of Ksenia Parkhatskaya. (Have mercy!) Don't miss either of them!


And, in case you want to compare, here's Jet appealing to their 14-to-24 male demographic:

The thousand natural shocks the flesh is heir to

Is it just one of those years, or the beginning of the avalanche as the boomers reach the end of the conveyer belt?

This is my favourite cover of a song by the artist now permanently known as Prince. Tom Jones was 49 when he recorded "Kiss", eight years younger than the age Prince was when he died today on the 90th birthday of the Queen.
Isn't life (and death) strange?

Never wanna leave

One of my favourite cheats - Post Modern Jukebox resetting yet another pop song from the 80's to the present-day in a style from 1912 to the 1970s.

This is a jazzed-up version of Ex's and Oh's which was a hit last year for Elle King, who, incidentally, is one of the daughters of Saturday Night Live alumnus Rob Schneider.  It's a great song either way.

To all the ships at sea

Finally, a version of "My Heart Will Go On" that I can stand!  This is, once again, from the wildly talented folks at Postmodern Jukebox - I've waxed lyrically about them before and subscribed to them on YouTube.  I'd just like to draw your attention to the work of the rather magnificent backup singers Brandon Rogers and Matt Bloyd before you take a listen -- and you simply must.

Now how am I going to get any work done?

Some months back, a cousin who is also Facebook pal shared a charming 1940's style rendition of "All About That Bass" -- with an actual bass. 

However, seeing as I'm not that swift, I didn't realize that there was more where that came from.  The Postmodern Jukebox is a group of talented musicians who take songs from the 1980s to the present-day and set them in styles ranging from 1912 to 1970s - sometimes veering into bluegrass, or even mariachi.

Suppose you take a ditty like "Stacy's Mom", and drag it back to the 1930s?  Would it sound something  like this? 
(And doesn't that girl on the bar have an expressive back?)

Some of my favourites are the songs set in Motown-style -- partially because of the amazing vocals, and largely because of the antics of a maniac called "Tambourine Guy".  Listen to these guys "Roar": 

Duh, Persephone

I have been meditating on musical reinterpretations, which isn't as pompous as it sounds - I've been avoiding doing things I should be doing again, and this works as well as anything.

Anyway, last week this video went viral: 

Now, most people are focussing on the fact that it's older people in the video, but what struck me was this wasn't just a karaoke version of the original by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars - it's an honest-to-goodness re-recording of the audio and sounds, and it's edgier.  Nuthin' wrong with the slick original, y'understand.

While I was comparing the two (fabulous way to procrastinate and avoid - trust me), I had a feeling of déjà-vu, and tried googling Purple Rain, a film I've never seen.  I did see plenty of music videos from it, years ago, including this one:

That's when it occurred to me that the "Wait! What time is it?" break in "Uptown Funk" is a direct reference to "Jungle Love". This became even more obvious when I checked the comments for all the videos.

Duh, Persephone.

I also discovered discovered several mash-ups of "Uptown Funk" with "Jungle Love", and this recent performance of the latter song by Morris Day himself -- who is now probably roughly the same age as Alex Boye, if not the dancing grannies.

Rather a neat circle, isn't it? Day is backed by Haim:

Morris Day and the Haim. I just got that.

Duh, Persephone.

Covers and context

I'm not a frenetic Bruce Springsteen fanatic -- I own exactly two of his albums: Born to Run and Magic,  which almost bookend his long career.  I enjoy his music.

Last night, PBS screened a tribute concert to the Boss.  It was a fundraiser as well as a testimonial, so the audience was clearly rather wealthy, in a not quite comfortable contrast with the lyrical content of the songs which are almost always about the struggling, the dispossessed and the marginalized.  Still, someone has to come with money…

Since I don't follow Springsteen's career that closely, it was an interesting survey of his work with reinterpretations by skillful musicians.  I particularly liked Emmy-Lou Harris' version of "My Hometown", and Elton John's surprisingly powerful rendition of "Philadelphia".

However, there were two moments that stopped me in my tracks and they both featured songs with which I was not familiar.

The first features Mavis Staples, so I knew it was going to be good.  I gather this song became a bit of an anthem after the events of 9/11.


Springsteen wrote "American Skin (41 shots)" partly in response to the shooting of a immigrant named Amadou Diallo in 1999, and has been criticized, threatened, and even boycotted by police officers for performing it. Jackson Brown's performance of this song took place a year before the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri.  It was stunning hearing this last night in the wake of the outcry following the acquittals in Ferguson and New York, but then it's a stunning interpretation without the context.

You can read their address by the moon

One recent morning, I was tuning in CBC Radio Two because younger daughter likes to listen to music during breakfast before she heads to school.

This song came pouring out and it was one of those surreal moments when I found myself wondering "What is this? Who on earth is singing that?" It's Emmy Lou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, backed up (I believe) by Kate and Anna McGarringle, performing a 1999 cover of Leonard Cohen's "Sisters of Mercy".

I guess I missed it the first time around because 1999 was one of those years.


Oh the sisters of mercy,
they are not departed or gone.
They were waiting for me when I thought
that I just can't go on.
And they brought me their comfort
and later they brought me this song.
Oh I hope you run into them,
you who've been travelling so long.
Yes, you who must leave everything
that you cannot control,
it begins with your family,
but soon it comes around to your soul.
Well, I've been where you're hanging;
I think I can see how you're pinned.
When you're not feeling holy,
your loneliness says that you've sinned.

Well, they lay down beside me;
I made my confession to them.
They touched both my eyes
and I touched the dew on their hem.
If your life is a leaf that the seasons
tear off and condemn,
they will bind you with love
that is graceful and green as a stem.

When I left they were sleeping,
I hope you run into them soon.
Don't turn on the lights;
you can read their address by the moon.
And you won't make me jealous
if I hear that they sweetened your night.
We weren't lovers like that
and besides, it would still be all right.

Rocking pneumonia (with walking)

This has to be seven years old (older than this blog), but I didn't see it until today.  Alison Krause, Robert Plant, T Bone Burnett, embedded treadmills, and an Everly Brothers tune.  Lots of fun. 

Uncovered

This past week, CBC Radio Two has been doing a special week on its daily feature "Under the Covers".  Instead of the usual "here's an interesting cover of a older classic pop song", they've been focussing on songs that most people don't know are covers.  I knew most of them already, but was surprised twice:

I was unaware that Blondie was (were?) not the first to record this:  
Wow!  Really ancient reggae! (And the Blondie video is really wacky, isn't it?)

And I was astonished to learn that Soft Cell were not the original artists for this:  
Frankly, I prefer the original.