Easter Sunday

At some level, it's easier to be a Lenten person than an Easter person. But I'm (still) working at it.

But even if you're not a Christian, I have some wisdom for you. Specifically, it's from a very small (4" X 3.25") book I got for my last birthday called "Wisdom from It's Not Easy Being Green and Other Things to Consider" by Jim Henson, the Muppets and Friends.

"I think there are lots of ways of leading very good lives and growing spiritually. This process of growth goes on whether we believe in it or not."
-Jim

Now please rise.


ROG

Songs That Move Me, 20-11

20. Strawberry Letter #23 - Brothers Johnson
Starts off with circus music, then kicks a groove. That swirling sound at the bridge is extraordinary.
Feeling: loving.


19. Eleanore - the Turtles.
The story goes that their record company wanted another "Happy Together", so the group gave them one. It has the same minor to major transition, very similar - though lovely - harmonies, and the like. So why is this song, rather than "Happy Together" on the list? Two reasons, really. One: HT was really overplayed. Two: the line "you're my pride and joy, et cet'ra," a throwaway line if ever I heard one. (It rhymes with "better" or more correctly, "betta".) Love singing along.
Feeling: swell.




18. Drive My Car - Beatles.
I read once the intricacy of the chord structure. It's the minor key feel of the verse and major chord feel of the chorus that grabbed me from first hearing. First song that Paul McCartney played in some 23008 concerts.
Feeling: ironic.


17. Isaac Hayes - Shaft
Even before the great vocal comes up, an orchestral delight, as the melody shifts from section to section.
Feeling: damn right.


16. Can We Still Be Friends - Todd Rundgren
The changing meter in the bridge makes it.
feeling: You know the answer is no.


15. Sly & The Family Stone - Hot Fun In The Summertime
Harmonies, shared vocals and an "ooo-Lord" worth waiting for.
Feeling: sweaty.


14. Jerks on the Loose - the Roches.
The album Keep On Doing was produced by Robert Fripp, so there are odd sonic twists and turns throughout. this song has one of my favorite (and used) couplets:
"You work too ard to take this abuse
Be on your guard jerks on the loose.
This 30-second taste (Track 11) hardly gives the full sense of how great this song is.
Feeling: on my guard.

13. (Just Like) Starting Over - John Lennon.
In the fall of 1980, when the single was released, there was a lot of anticipation about it and the forthcoming Double Fantasy album. I didn't think it was a great song, but it was sort of fun, with that faux Elvis vocal in the beginning of the verse. Then John died, and the irony of the title - we waited five years and THAT had to happen? - made me tear up for months, if not years.
Feeling: still makes me very sad.


12. River - Joni Mitchell.
There's a lot of Joni I could have picked, but this one, based on Jingle Bells, is just so beautiful. The piano variations at the end seal the deal.
Feeling: longing.


11. In My Room - the Beach Boys.
I liked being in my room when I was a kid. I could entertain myself for hours, reading, looking at my baseball cards and listening to the radio. Yet I was somehow supposed to feel guilty for doing so. Anyway, lives on the vocals, in this case - single voice, then two-part harmony, then full harmony; very effective.
Feeling: cloistered.



ROG

Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 2

Here's the second part of that rambling roster of songs that I end up playing more than once at a time. This list is hardly exhaustive, as I probably played some singles to death in my youth. Or later (Ian Dury and the Blockheads' Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick comes to mind in the "later" category.) Also, I should note that there are some albums I almost never parsed, because they are of a piece: What's Going On by Marvin Gaye immediately comes to mind. Also, I've been picking one per artist, though this doesn't prevent me from picking a group and a solo artist from that group.

Drinkin' Wine Spodee-O-Dee-Stick McGhee. Atlantic Rhythm and Blues: 1947-1974 was a seven double-LP set. This song is from 1949. (Incidentally, the box set is now eight CDs.)

White Lines (Don't Do It)-Melle Mel and Grandmaster Flash. I still have that 12" from 1983. Love the vocal, love the horns.

Words-the Monkees. When I got a greatest hits album from someone, I had forgotten about this tune with an insistent rhythm.

Cars-Gary Numan. One of the last 45s I ever bought. It's that wowowowowowo synth before the drum.

For the Love of Money-the O'Jays. Long before Donald Trump co-opted it, I loved this tune. On greatest hits CD.

Love in Them There Hills-the Pointer Sisters. The last song on the eclectic That's A-Plenty LP, it's Philly soul. Used to listen to it in the dark.

Do What You Want To-Billy Preston. Starts off a bit slowly but builds up speed. From the That's the Way God Planned It LP, produced by George Harrison, first song on the album. This does exist digitally, but, unfortunately, not in my collection.

Let's Go Crazy-Prince. Sometimes, it's the first song on the Purple Rain LP, other times it's the seven-minute EP, but from the preaching in the beginning to the guitar solo near the end, one of my favorite songs ever.

A Salty Dog-Procol Harum. The vocal, the sparse instrumentation in the beginning, the drums. From a greatest hits LP.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love-Queen. Rockabilly Queen? From the greatest hits LP.

It's the End of the World As We Know It-R.E.M. And I feel fine. From the Document CD.

Kicks-Paul Revere & the Raiders. The first anti-drug song. From a greatest hits LP.

I Am Waiting-the Rolling Stones. From the Aftermath LP, near the end. Beautiful chorus, rocking bridge. I like how they change up the vocal near the end.

Anyone Who Had A Heart-Linda Ronstadt. Written by Bacharach and David, and originally done by Dionne Warwick, I think it's just quite beautiful. From the Winter Light CD.

Jerks on the Loose-the Roches. The last song on the Robert Fripp-produced Keep On Doing LP, it contains a message I repeat when a car tries to beat an ambulance through an intersection, or I witness some other foolishness: "Be on your guard; jerks on the loose."

At the Zoo-Simon & Garfunkel. The last song on Bookends, another song that I know all the lyrics to. I have a friend in Austin, TX named Carol, who I've know most of my life, as we met in kindergarten. I specifically recall that in high school, she HATED this song. Also, Strawberry Fields Forever. (The things the mind recalls.)

Boy In the Bubble-Paul Simon. The first song on the Graceland album. There is also a six-minute version of this that starts with nothing but percussion that I've heard, but have never seen in digitized form that I covet.

Rubberband Man-Spinners. OK, a silly song, and even sillier at seven minutes, which I have on some LP, but I like it anyway.

I've Got a Line On You-Spirit. Rockin', doubled guitar, first song on some LP.

East St. Louis Toodle-O-Steely Dan. From some LP, it's Duke Ellington. As some comics guy put it, 'nuff said.

The Ostrich-Steppenwolf. Talked about this here.

Hot Fun In the Summertime-Sly & the Family Stone. With all the uptempo songs Sly did, it's this stroll that I kept coming back to. From the Greatest Hits LP.

The Logical Song-Supertramp-Starts with a good bottom, then has great lyrics: "radical, liberal, fanatical, criminal". The sax puts it over the top. Second song on the LP. The song that actually inspired the posts.

Love Is Like An Itchin' in My Heart-the Supremes. Like many Motown tunes, lives on the bottom. A greatest hits CD I own has an extra 20 glorious seconds.

Take Me To the River-Talking Heads. I can't sing like my cousin, Al Green. But if I ever did karaoke, and I never plan to, it would likely be this version I'd try to emulate.

Shower the People-James Taylor. It was the bass vocal harmonization in the latter stages of the song I liked to sing along with. First on some Warner Brothers Loss Leaders LP.

I Can't Get Next to You-the Temptations. Producer Barrett Strong swiped this multi-lead vocal model from Sly Stone (so did Prince, on 1999, e.g.), and it's never better than on this.

It's For You-Three Dog Night. This cover of a song Lennon & McCartney gave away (to Cilla Black, I think). It starts a cappella, then has an instrumental bridge, then back to vocals only. When the instruments return, one can tell that the vocals are ever so slightly flat. I kept playing it, hoping somehow that I could will the pitch up. From their first, and best, LP.

Wilbury Twist-Traveling Wilburys. I've almost hurt myself following the detailed instructions. The shared vocals give it a particularly goofy flavor.

When Love Comes To Town-U2. I've hit the replay button so often, I can tell it's the 12th track on Rattle and Hum AND on the best of album, 1980-1990. Start with that insistent drum start, B.B. King's guitar playing. And while Bono's vocals are fine, it's B.B.'s that nail this song for me.

As-Stevie Wonder. The penultimate tune on Songs In the Key of Life, I was particularly taken by the totally different vocal on the "preach" section: "We all know sometimes life's hates and troubles..."

When You Dance, I Can Really Love-Neil Young. Unofficially, a theme song for a college romance. From the After the Gold Rush LP, second side somewhere.

ROG