All that jazz
In Wednesday’s open thread this week I alluded to the fact that I don’t like jazz. I’ve tried; I’ve really tried, but it just doesn’t work for me. To my ear and brain it sounds like formless chaos, music dissolving … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Music
Can you walk and chew gum at the same time?
I can. Hey – I can even walk and listen to music at the same time, and I often do. So what? But Roger Taylor. Ah, Taylor could sing up a storm and drum up a storm at the same … Continue reading →
Revolution and lyrics: personal change versus structural change
Commenter John Tyler writes: Speaking of the meaning of songs, consider John Lennon’s “Imagine,” which came out in 1971. If one did not know any better, you would think the lyrics were written by Karl Marx or Lenin. This song … Continue reading →
“When I was a lad I served a term…”
[Hat tip: Ed Driscoll at Instapundit.] A new US Maritime Administrator has been appointed: …[D]uring the worst shipping crisis of the century, the US Department of Transportation, has appointed someone to the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) who is not a … Continue reading →
The Bee Gees’ musical evolution
Here’s an overview of four-plus decades of the Bee Gees’ careers. I wouldn’t have made exactly the same choices. There are two Beatles covers and a Carol King cover that I’d eliminate, as well as some obscure and some not … Continue reading →
The Bee Gees talk about taxes
And a few other things. The segment I’ve cued up is only six minutes long, but if you want to hear just the tax part it’s from 7:02 to 9:14. This interview took place in 1978, when Barry was 31 … Continue reading →
“Out of Time” – compare and contrast
“Out of Time” was a Rolling Stones song from 1966, and not an especially big hit for them. I had the record it appeared on, “Aftermath,” and I don’t even remember the song. But I came across this cover version … Continue reading →
Emotion in popular songs: Part II
[NOTE: There isn’t a previous post called “Emotion in popular songs: Part I.” But I realize that this one was actually Part I on the subject, and now I’m posting a Part II.] Commenter “Brio” wrote the following on a … Continue reading →
Two versions of Robin Gibb’s “I Am the World” separated by over 40 years – plus Glenn Gould
The Bee Gees began singing and writing songs when they were little children, and they turned pro before they were even teenagers, supporting their entire family of seven. They became sensations while still in their late teens, but they had … Continue reading →
California on their minds
Last night I was thinking how the Mamas and Papas song “California Dreamin’,” with its very 60s idealization of California as a magical place for which a person might yearn, could not possibly be written now. That segued into thoughts … Continue reading →
Today is Yom Kippur
It is the most solemn holiday for Jews. For the observant and particularly for the Orthodox, it involves fasting and atonement and is usually spent entirely in a synagogue. This is a Leonard Cohen song that’s based on one of … Continue reading →
The Bee Gees and others: “Too Much Heaven” minus the falsetto
I’ve discussed the Bee Gees’ 1978 song “Too Much Heaven” before. Released at the height of their disco era, it’s not disco but rather an R&B ballad with all three brothers singing in falsetto. Barry is the featured soloist and … Continue reading →