What is it all about?
“If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever” – Thomas Aquinas
Today I present to you three songs that all contain references to astronomy in their titles. Coincidence? I think…yes. I see no other corelation, other than the fact that I know and like very well all three songs. Minimum commentary today, I will include a wikipedia link for each artist if you wish to learn more. Away we go!
First up is a song from the “New Wave” era of the early 80s’ by an Australian group called The Church
Next is a song by a British artist named Tasmin Archer. This song was quite popular and received a lot of radio airplay in 1992
The final song is by an artist you may actually have heard of – Bob Seger
I hope you enjoyed the little trip through the cosmos. If you have any favorite songs with an astonomical reference in them or in the title, leave them in the comments!
Word Crimes is “Weird Al” Yankovic’s latest single. Even if “Weird Al” is not your thing, you should watch this – it’s good. And I don’t just say that as a confessed language snob.
Hell, I probably commit many of those crimes here on a daily basis. Fortunately for me it seems more like a civil matter rather than criminal. So sue me! Or don’t. By the way the “scare quotes” around “Weird Al”? Those belong there, apparently that’s the correct spelling. So – no crime committed!
Well, not 100% Soul Train, but close. I saw The Spinners perform last night, and it was an excellent show I must say. Let me back up a little – The Spinners were an R&B group that started in the 1950’s, but had their greatest sucess in the 70’s. To be honest, the group I saw last night was more of a clone, since there is only one surviving member of the original group. However, they performed all the group’s hit songs faithfully, and they are all excellent showmen in their own right. I will try to post some video later if I can figure out how to do it, meanwhile you’ll have to be content with these YouTube videos of the original group. Most of these are from the 1970s TV show Soul Train, hence the title of this post. The Soul Train performances were really just lip synching, but I imagine a live performance over the TV using 1970s technology would sound terrible, so at least the songs sound OK. The show we saw last night was performed 100% LIVE, no lip synching, and it was terriffic. OK, on to the music.
The Spinners had little success in the 1960s, though they did have steady work under MoTown management. This song was written for them by Stevie Wonder, charted at #14 that year and got the ball rolling for them:
The group switched record labels in 1972 and released the next song on Atlantic Records and it was their first top 10 single. Ironically, it was a “B” side:
The next song was the folow up single in 1973 and cemented the band’s reputation:
This song charted for the group in 1980:
I think it’s fair to say that the 1970s were definitely the best of times for The Spinners. But the music lives on, and is being performed faithfully by a new generation, a well deserved legacy for five guys from Detroit.
In case you’re new here, welcome! And here are a few ins and outs of how my blog operates. First off, I’m Mike, the sole proprietor. Pleased to meet you. This blog is my peronal communication platform, and posts here reflect only my personal opinions. I claim no expertise in anything. In other words, if I write about Law, do not use that as legal advice. If I write about medicine, do not take that as medical advice. Get the picture? OK, good. Since there is no “official” theme to this blog, you will find posts about many different subjects here which may (or may not) fall loosely into one of several “categories” which you will find listed in the right hand sidebar just under the “recent posts”. If you want the unfiltered blog, that is to see all posts regardless of category, simply start at the top and keep scrolling down. Newest posts are at the top, and as you scroll down you go back in time. If you wish to view only posts in a certain category, then find the category you want in the sidebar and click on it. Voila! Only posts in that category will be displayed. Also in the sidebar are listed “popular posts” and “recent posts”. Popular posts are those most viewed – not neccessarily the best, but most viewed. For whatever reason. And recent posts are just that…the most recent posts. At any time you can click on the “home” button at the top right to bring you back to the top of the front page.
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Finally – comments. To the left of the post title, under the red date box you will see a grey box that says “comments” with a number in it (usually a zero, unfortunately). If you wish to leave a comment on a post, click on that box and a dialogue box will appear – type your comment and click “submit”. If you don’t want to enter your e-mail adress just use a fake one. I do not work for the NSA. Comments can be simple – “I like this” or “you are an idiot”. My favorite one so far is “ha ha ha this”. I guess he thought the post was funny. I think that’s about it. If you have any other questions, leave them in the comments. Enjoy.
My guests for this Mellow Prog Edition of Music Friday are The Moody Blues, a band that was one of the early adopters of an electronic instrument call the Mellotron – I kid you not. The Mellotron was a predecessor to the Moog Synthesizer popularized mainly by Emerson Lake and Palmer, but others too. The Moody Blues were…oh come on. You must know the Moody Blues? Knights in White Satin, Ride My See-Saw? I can understand if you’ve never heard of King Crimson, but everybody knows The Moody Blues. They were possibly the most commercially successful of the prog rockers I think because many of their songs were short enough for radio airplay. Just a guess -I mean the music was (is) good. They are also one of the prog rock bands with almost no churn in the lineup – it has remained nearly constant from their beginning, the only real turnover being at the keyboard postion. Probably because of the Mellotron. Just kidding!
I’ve chosen three songs for today. The first one you may recognize since it reached #24 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1972. Interestingly, it took four years to get there, since it was originally released in 1968! Go Figure. The song? Tuesday Afternoon. This a video of a live performance shot By the BBC in 1970. Enjoy:
Next up is a beautiful song called Eyes of a Child. It’s a lovely song – the lyrics are very touching. See if you don’t tear up. Guys too.
OK, last one. The Moodies were know for lyrics that were either about peace & love or environmental themes. A lot of guys couldn’t hang because it was considered too emotional. I didn’t bother me, because I am secretly a heart ruled person. Oops – guess the secret’s out. No matter. This song asks a question that we all ask ourselves at one time or another – How is it We Are Here?
How is it we are here indeed. OK, that’s all the music for today. I hope you enjoyed it! Use the comments!
For some of you this may be “Progressive Music 101”, but please stick around. I think you will be intrigued by what you hear.
I have talked about my music listening habits, starting with exposure to my older sibling’s music, and the AM radio Top 40 formats of my youth. As I grew into my teen years the FM radio “album” or “free form” formats” gained popularity. This was a quantum leap in terms of the kinds of music I had access to – artists and songs that were not Top 40 chart material, or limited to the two and a half minute limit for AM radio play. FM radio is where I first heard so-called “alternative” or “progressive” rock music, such as YES, Emerson Lake & Palmer and Pink Floyd to name a few. This music was far from the typical popular music formula of the day, the songs were less songs and more extended musical “suites”, with fantasy themed or philosphical lyrics and 10,20 minutes or more in length. Today’s song is one of the seminal progressive rock song by the band whose name is synonymous with the genre. Any guesses? If you’re not a progger then you have no idea.
The band is King Crimson and the song is “In The Court Of The Crimson King”. Oddly enough, it was released as a single and reached #80 on the US charts in 1969. Give a listen:
Very interesting and slightly unsettling, no? The music of this era fostered many a discussion over the songs’ meanings, and as you may imagine many a discussion was had about this song. Class Dismissed.
It’s only fitting to celebrate Independence Day with our National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. I present to you three versions, one traditionally performed and two…well, let’s say non-traditional but stirring nonetheless.
First up is – traditional; the US Army Field Band and Chorus:
The next rendition is a performance many find memorable – Whitney Houston’s 1991 performance at Super Bowl XXV. Whatever you want to say about Whitney Houston, God Bless her for giving us this:
Finally, I suppose the most non-traditional, a flashmob. Well, not exactly. During the Kentucky All-State Choir Conference, all the attendees come out to the (huge) hotel lobby each night to sign the anthem:
Let Freedom Ring!
What better way to celebrate Independence Day than do it with marches by John Phillip Sousa, the American March King. I’ll not wade into obscure waters today, but bring you three of Sousa’s best known marches performed by the United States Marine Band, apropos since Sousa was the director of the Marine Band for 12 years.
First up – the obvious choice, “Stars and Stripes Forever” :
Next up – “The Liberty Bell”:
Finally, with props to the US Marines, the official march of the Corps, “Semper Fidelis”:
Happy Independence Day, America!