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Thursday, November 19, 2009

GMVW # 98: "Rat-a-tat-tat"

Gem Music Video of the Week # 98:  Rat-a-tat-tat
Song:  Relay by The Who
(Songwriter: Pete Townshend)
November 19, 2009

At its core, a standard rock band is made up of four critical components.  Three of these have been covered for previous Gems.  First there was the bass guitar Gem (# 15, featuring Graham Maby).  Next was the Gem for lead vocals (# 39, featuring Linda Thompson **and Amy**).  Third was lead guitar (# 67, featuring Neil Young).  This leaves one final key component, which I’m covering this week: Drums.  All four (and only these core four) are prominently displayed in this week’s Gem, but the main focus here is on the instrument that likely predates all others and the assorted characters who just might bang on them all day if given the choice.

Somehow, I was able to avoid my admitted Who bias in the first three (although in each discussion, numerous Entwistle, Daltrey, and Townshend examples were given), but there is no denying it here. There are 2 reasons for this.  The first is that I’m not much of a drummer guy: Most of the time I cannot distinguish average from very good (sorry, Stuart Copeland, Neil Peart, Jim Keltner, Pete and Jeff).  The second is that Keith Moon was so unusually unique; he broke through that personal barrier of mine.  I suppose his drumming equates to reading Shakespeare, or watching Bobby Orr or Charlie Chaplin:  Some individuals just stand out, no matter how ambivalent you may be in regards to their profession. Moon was one of them.

Keith Moon was so uniquely good, that the camera would inevitably be drawn to him, despite the fact that each of his band mates matched his amazing showmanship.  Cameras rarely get drawn to the drummer and for it to happen in a band like The Who made his drawing power even more implausible. As I have mentioned before, The Who were like a 4-ring circus, often competing with one another for center stage.  I’ve never seen this in any other band:  Nobody comes close, as with most bands it’s one, maybe two individuals that demand all the attention.  What Moon did more than anything though, was he took a very good band and made it a very great band. 

Keith Moon had another reputation, however: That of lunatic.  Moon epitomized and likely created the image of the out-of-control Rock Star.  Most rock lore regarding hotel destruction can be traced back to ‘Moon the Loon’ (which prompted the famous Holiday Inn cartoon: “In case of Keith Moon, break glass”, behind which was a fire extinguisher), as can stories of cars in swimming pools, public disrobing, and general all-night carousing and mischief.  In a late 80’s interview Pete Townshend told the story of a tour experience when Moon frantically insisted that the band’s bus turn back to the hotel they had just checked out of, despite their having already driven a fair distance.  Believing he had forgotten his passport or something else of importance, they turned around.  Back at the hotel, Moon ran inside, and after a few moments came out, stating “thank goodness!”  The entourage asked what it was he forgot.  Moon answered, a bit out of breath: “I forgot to toss the tellie (t.v.) out the window”. 

Some may come to their conclusions on the man at this stage, and yet there was an endearing side to Keith Moon. Another Townshend reflection (paraphrased here) bares this out: “During a tour, Keith told us of a gentleman whose company he had enjoyed on the plane: ‘traveling salesman, bit of a good old boy’ from the South.  Upon disembarking the man stated ‘Keith, if you are ever in Little Rock give me a call.  Here’s my card. ‘Chuck Jones’.’  Several years later a few of us hardened souls were in a hotel room fighting Keith’s relentless energy.  It was about 7:30 in the morning. Our flight to the next town left at 12:30 pm that day.  If we got to bed we might get five hours fitful sleep with the chambermaids banging at the door to clean up; showers running in the adjacent rooms, and daylight cutting through the curtains to remind us we were misfits”.
                
Townshend continued, “We announced we were going to bed. Keith objected, ‘It’s only half-past seven!’, but realizing we were serious, he suddenly stated ‘where are we?’.  Little Rock’ someone replied.  Keith went to his suitcase, pulled out a business card, and started to dial. ‘Chuck will be awake.  He’s reliable’.  After a brief conversation reconnecting with Chuck Jones for the first time since the plane ride several years earlier, Keith hung up the phone, while suddenly looking tired. ‘Nice bloke, that Chuck. I’m going over to have breakfast with him.  Meet his wife.  Kids.  Look at his golf trophies.’ ”

“When we all trooped on to the plane, Keith looked more tired than usual.  He had been dropped at the airport by Chuck and Chuck’s entire family.  Keith slumped next to me on the plane and before he sank into sleep I asked him what it had been like – proving to us that he could go on and on, that he would always be able to find someone somewhere who would give him his time and attention. ‘They were fabulous, Pete,’ was all he would say.  ‘Simply fabulous.  Kind, loving, generous people’.”

I tell this story, not only because it makes obvious the fact that Keith Moon had a lasting effect on Pete Townshend which continues well beyond his lifetime, but also because the surface reputation of a person can often too easily be summed up in one-dimensional sound bites.  Despite his “diabolical certain death style of rock’n’roll nihilism” (Townshend terminology), Keith Moon was kind and he was real, which is more than can be said for many who appear to tow the line day in and day out.  I’m not sure about everyone on this list, but I can speak for a few, including myself, who have friends with Moon-like personality traits: The type that are willing to push things a bit farther than you; the type that get your adrenaline going; the type who stimulate fireside stories of their escapades whether they are there with you or not.  These stories often fill the air with joy and laughter.  The fact is, once someone ‘gets under your skin’, there’s no turning back.  Like Keith Moon, that person can be nihilistic to the end, or perhaps have collected themselves somewhat over the years, but they stay in your heart because at some time in your life they breached it with a real, genuine moment.

Was it his personality that made Keith Moon such an amazingly gifted drummer?  Certainly!  : Just as much as Orr’s personality contributed to his grace on ice skates and Chaplin’s personality helped make him one of a kind on the silent screen.  Moon’s traits appear to have been ideally suited for his lot in life: That of drummer for The ‘orrible ‘oo. 

I grappled hard with the choice for a Moon Gem: Most of his best moments are only in audio format, whether in the studio or live.  I came down to a threesome of songs that together showcases his varied talents.  The first is this week’s Gem, ‘Relay’:  Not really a Moon-centric Who song (its actually a bass-driven song, fantastically performed by the Ox), but this video gives some insight into Keith Moon’s manic energy.  The video is also a rare treat: Townshend smiling and happy on stage. Finally, taking into account the sum of its parts, ‘Relay’ is the only song of the three that qualifies as a true Gem for me.  The second video is a live version of ‘Happy Jack’ (oh so close to being chosen as Gem).  Half way through, Moon’s unique drum style is on full display: Great footage. The third video is one of the few Moon-penned Who songs, ‘Cobwebs and Strange’, which includes hilarious footage of Moon on the loose, particularly the fictional account of how the rest of The Who came to meet their drummer (he was the last permanent member to join the band): Rolling into their lives inside a great big ‘bleeding box’.

I do have a few other songs that come to mind as being great in the drumming department.  Below is that list.  Below the list is the Gem video, and the other two complimentary videos. Sorry, none end in spontaneous combustion, though they do come awfully close.

- Pete

> Keith Moon on ‘Bargain’ (particularly the post vocals, closing segment)
> Keith Moon on all of Quadrophenia (particularly ‘Love Reign O’er Me’)
> Charlie Watts on ‘Hang Fire’ (particularly the opening salvo)
> Ringo Starr on ‘Helter Skelter’ (with blisters on his fingers)
> John Bonham on ‘Kashmir’ (I had the opportunity to be the proverbial fly onthe wall on a recent summer evening, as I listened to Jeff and Dave discuss their passion for Bonzo and the rest of Led Zeppelin).
> Micky Hart and Bill Kreutzmann live on many-a Dead tune (One thing I do pick up on is when a band has two good drummers who compliment one another)
> Jaimoe Johanson and Butch Trucks on ‘Ramblin Man’ (see previous comment)
> Keith Moon on many of the early Who singles (‘My Generation’, ‘The Kid’s are Alright, ‘Happy Jack’, ‘Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere’)

Gem Video: Relay

Happy Jack

Cobwebs and Strange


About the Video: Classic footage of the Who circa 1973.  From “Thirty Years of Maximum R & B”

Video Rating: 1

Thursday, November 12, 2009

GMVW # 97: "Dearly Departed"

Gem Music Video of the Week # 97:  Dearly Departed
Song:  Nightshift by The Commodores
(Songwriters: Clyde Orange, Dennis Lambert and Franne Golde)
November 12, 2009

I’m on the home stretch now with these Gem Videos.  Two months ago, I had a pretty good idea of what Gems to release for each of the 10 weeks leading up to # 100.  I say ‘pretty good’, because this current week was the one week that remained up for grabs.  I did, over a spell, come up with several potential songs for this week, particularly the one I ultimately settled on: ‘Nightshift’ by the Commodores.  However, as time progressed to the present, I realized a theme for this song was going to be difficult to discuss, and so I (temporarily) scrapped it. 

For a while I was actually enjoying the fact that I had no idea what I would do for Gem # 97.  It was a mystery, but I was confident I would think of something.  Then one morning on the way to work, I heard the song ‘Change’ by Tracy Chapman on the radio and realized again how great it was.  I settled on it as the Gem for a short duration, with the thought that the title of the song would give me a perfect theme to write about: The importance of change; those times we have confronted and accepted it; those times we have struggled with it. 

Events over the past two weeks had me reevaluate and switch back to the original idea for the Gem, that again being ‘Nightshift’.  ‘Nightshift’ is one of the best songs I know to have been written about the loss of someone close.  In the case of this song’s specific focus, the loss was two-fold, as The Commodores sang about their then (1984) recently deceased musician friends, Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson. 

The events over the past few weeks for me were also two-fold, with one of my closest of friends losing his Dad, and another of my closest friends losing his brother.  A few weeks earlier, Nancy had a longtime friend lose a sister.  It’s times like these when friendships matter the most.  I know we all realize this as all of us on this email list have experienced the loss of a close friend or family member in our lifetimes. These past few days, I’ve witnessed everyone pull together for our common friend in his time of need and I am quite blown away by it all.  

I’m not going to write much about this week’s theme except to say that the Gem touches on a very nice image of the afterlife: That of a ‘sweet sound going down’.  I believe we all have music inside of us whether we play an instrument or not, and I would like to think it’s one of those things we bring with us when we leave this existence.  I’m sure this would be the case for those family members of close friends who have recently passed on.

I’m not completely abandoning the other option for Gem Video this week though, since I believe it to be a fitting backup to my final choice:  Not for those who have passed on, but for those of us left behind.  I’ll call it Gem # 97B. The link and lyrics are below.

This one is for all those close to us who have moved on to greener pastures.

-  Pete

Gem Music Video of the Week: ‘Nightshift’

Gem # 97B: ‘Change’

‘Change’ lyrics
If you knew that you would die today,
Saw the face of god and love,
Would you change?
Would you change?
If you knew that love can break your heart
When you're down so low you cannot fall
Would you change?
Would you change?
How bad, how good does it need to get?
How many losses? How much regret?
What chain reaction would cause an effect?
Makes you turn around,
Makes you try to explain,
Makes you forgive and forget,
Makes you change?
Makes you change?
If you knew that you would be alone,
Knowing right, being wrong,
Would you change?
Would you change?
If you knew that you would find a truth
That brings up pain that can't be soothed
Would you change?
Would you change?
How bad, how good does it need to get?
How many losses? How much regret?
What chain reaction would cause an effect?
Makes you turn around,
Makes you try to explain,
Makes you forgive and forget,
Makes you change?
Makes you change?
Are you so upright you can't be bent?
If it comes to blows are you so sure you won't be crawling?
If not for the good, why risk falling?
Why risk falling?
If everything you think you know,
Makes your life unbearable,
Would you change?
Would you change?
If you'd broken every rule and vow,
And hard times come to bring you down,
Would you change?
Would you change?
If you knew that you would die today,
If you saw the face of God and love,
Would you change?
Would you change?
Would you change?
Would you change?
If you saw the face of God and love
If you saw the face of God and love
Would you change?
Would you change?

About the Video: Made for MTV-like video

Video Rating: 1

Best Feedback: Fred

Good one Pete, thanks.  Am proud to be your brother...the way you worked things
with Mac this week was vintage-Pete

See you soon

And: Amy

To be a friend of yours is a gift from God.  To be your sister, fills my heart with gratitude.  I love you so much.

And: Andrea

Beautiful!  Thank you Tina (who forwarded) and Peter.  I love you tremendously.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

GMVW # 96: "Musical Mojo (the 00's)"

Gem Music Video of the Week # 96:  Musical Mojo (the 00’s)
Song:  Fix You by Coldplay
(Songwriter: Chris Martin)
November 5, 2009

I’m sitting in a hotel in Grand Forks, North Dakota at the moment, where I will be giving a presentation at a regional GIS conference down in the lobby later in the week.  Not long after arriving, I took a short 1-hour drive up to Manitoba (home of the original Royal Canadian Mounted Police) along the north-flowing Red River (part of a watershed system that ultimately drains into Hudson Bay). It was cold out. The vast stretches of grass in the grasslands have a permanent tilt, as if the winter swales never end.  The colors were all reminders of the frigid months ahead: The soil was dark black, the fields yellow and the leaves brown.  The only thing with any color was the immense blue sky, but the birds in it tended to fly close to the ground, perhaps in fear of getting slammed by the wind if they soared too high.  The trees were huddled together in clumps.

North Dakota:  How did I get here?  I’m not talking about the flight out earlier….I’m talking about in general.  Of the roughly five decades I’ve been around (sorry, Mom), this 00’ one has gone by the fastest.  Time tends to fly when there is a lot happening, and there was plenty of it for me this decade. It’s been hard to stop and smell the roses at times, as there have been long stretches of just going day to day.  Work and fatherhood will do that to you. What’s on the calendar tomorrow?  Oh, this that and the other thing.  And everything else will just have to wait. And wait. And wait again.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t necessarily mind the hectic schedule.  But I’ve learned the past few years that you do have to watch it. Busy schedules can add up:  Days turn to weeks, weeks to months, and months to years.  Before you know it, you are quite a ways past the reevaluation stage.  Priorities can get skewed.  Connections with friends, family, and the great outdoors can slip.

And so can connections with music.

Back about 3 or 4 years ago, I came to the realization that I was forgetting my bond with music.  This may be hard to believe after reading all these posts the past few years.  But one of the big reasons for my doing this has been an attempt at a self restoration of sorts.  I was losing it: Mojo, groove, moxie, whatever you want to call it.  It was slipping away:  Too much work and other activities; too many hours listening to sports and NPR; too much time sitting in the house on weekend evenings watching the boob tube.  Not enough time enjoying the music. I came to the conclusion that by losing connection with the music, I was losing ‘it’.  Certainly there are other factors.  But for me music was a big one.

And so, to wrap up this five-week decade-by-decade account, I fittingly thought I would focus on the musicians who take the music passionately. Rock and roll has had its share of innovators, but it’s a short list of musicians that is both very good and truly passionate about celebrating the music for music’s sake: Those musicians who look at music as a guiding light.  Those who, in concert, don’t so much say ‘here we are, listen to what we have to say’ as much as ‘celebrate this moment with us’.  Each of the five decades I have covered have an award winner in this regard.  There is plenty of overlap, as all of them continue to maintain this ardent belief system. Following is each decades champ, concluding with the 00’ winner and Gem video.

The first rock band to have a music-first focus was the Who, with the Grateful Dead coming in at a close second (though I believe Buddy Holly would have beaten both of them to the punch if given longevity).  Some time in the late 60’s, during the making of the album ‘Tommy’, Pete Townshend convinced the rest of the band that there was something bigger than them at stake.  Their live shows took on an added resonance and urgency about them, which continues to this day.  Townshend took the music so seriously, that he had a nervous breakdown trying to get ‘Lifehouse’, a follow up concept to ‘Tommy’, across to the band and their audience.  He never succeeded (at least with the Who, although songs from Lifehouse have come out in albums like ‘Who’s Next’ and ‘Odds and Sods’).  The concept, which I will not even attempt to explain, had a core theme of music and ‘a note in us all’.  He would follow this aborted album with other albums over the years, with many songs centered on a music theme.

The 70’s award goes to Neil Young (with the Grateful Dead again as a runner up).  It was during this period that Young and his band Crazy Horse began to master their trade.  Of the award winners listed here, this one flies most under the radar.  I personally was not aware of how passionate and able Neil and his hand picked jam band were until I saw them live.  During their ‘Garage’ tour in the early 80’s, a video montage would be playing behind the band of many-a rock musician that had already passed on by then.  An attempt was being made to connect the dots.  In the process, Neil Young and Crazy Horse played their hearts out.  By the end of their shows, they had nothing more to give.

The 80’s and 90’s winners are Bruce Springsteen and U2 respectively (with the Grateful Dead coming in second in both cases), I have never seen either of them live, however, I’ve seen enough footage of both to know where their emphasis lies.  Springsteen plays marathon shows and runs around the stage as if his life depends on it.  His band, E-Street, feeds off his emotions.  Same goes for Bono and U2.  The way they are able to include the audience in their celebration of music is astounding.  In other words, the audience is not off the hook by any means.  Talking to fans of both over the years, they have often stated that by the end of the shows, they are as drained as the musicians. 

Finally there is this decade’s winner, Coldplay, a Nancy favorite.  This fact comes through loud and clear in the attached Gem video ‘Fix You’.  It’s pretty creative, and watching it, I’ve been wondering if what plays out in video form is real.  Chris Martin, lead singer, walks the streets of what appears to be a major European city, while singing the beginning of ‘Fix You’, before running into the concert hall to carry on the remainder of the song with the band.  Was he appearing on the big screens in the concert hall while outside (ala Dave Letterman)?  Regardless, it’s very well done.

For me, Nancy and the kids, the core of this decade witnessed our move to a new home in Pepperell, Massachusetts.  We left a lot of memories behind in our old digs, but have been busy shaping new ones the past 5 years.  I’m thankful for what we have been able to build together anew.

I’ve told several friends that one day at the end of this hectic period in our lives, we will all be sitting around a campfire.  Suddenly, someone will snap us all out of our coma and someone else will say “Whoa, what was that all about?!?” (‘that’ referring to the prior 30 years).  Was it a dream?  Sitting here in a hotel room in Grand Forks, North Dakota, I’m already trying to figure that out.  If it is a dream it’s been a good one so far.  I’m trying to enjoy it while it lasts.

As for that mojo, I’m still working on it.  The music is back inside my head though, crowding out other thoughts when the time permits.  So much so, that at times I don’t even need to turn on the radio. I do realize that I’ll have to continue probing to keep it that way.  Next step: Roger Daltrey at the House of Blues this Sunday, with Mac (and a few extra tickets currently burning a hole in Mac’s wallet if any one is interested). 

After all, The Who, Neil Young, and the others seem to be convinced that music is a source of strength.  I tend to believe them.

Immediately below is a list of ‘Great Lyric One Liners’.  Below that is the Gem video and several other videos from the 00’s.  Below these are the lyrics to ‘Fix You’.

Nuff Said (on the march of the decades)

- Pete

Great Lyric One Liners
1. “There once was a note, pure and easy, playing so free like a breath rippling
by” (I could have extracted any line from this song, but this one tops the others)
2. “They never did like Mommas homemade dress, Papas banquet wasn’t big enough” (Same with this one)
3.  “And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make” (The future McCartney epitaph?)
4. “You can checkout any time you like, but you can never leave” (Scarier thought than the head popping out of the boat in ‘Jaws’)
5.  “I want to be Bob Dylan, Mr. Jones wishes he was someone a little more funky” (One man and his alter ego)
6. “The sea refuses no river, remember that when the beggar buys a round” (Oh, to be a fly on the wall when Townshend thought up that one)
7. “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls” (Contrary to the popular belief that they are written in bathroom stalls)
8. “Meet me at the wrecking ball, wrecking ball, where something pretty and white and we’ll go dancing tonight” (An entire screenplay could be written around that line)
9. “One hasn’t got time for the waiting game” (A Dad contribution, and a great one at that)
10. “Four Dead in Ohio” (A Jeff Strause contribution. Also great)
11 “Freedoms just another word for nothing left to lose” (Amy sang this song for me on Cape Cod this summer.  The line stuck.
12.  “How many roads must a man walk down, before you can call him a man” (When it comes to Dylan, you can just pick them out of a hat)
13. “Coming Tuesday, I feel better. Even my old man looks good” (Not you Dad, you’re always dapper)
14. “I staggered through your shitty dining room” (I had to throw in some classic Davies cynicism)

Gem Music Video of the Week: ‘Fix You’

The Kaiser Chiefs ‘Never Miss a Beat’ (Wow!  Thanks again, Tom)

Snow Patrol ‘Run’ (Since the Grateful Dead didn’t quite make it to the 00’s, these guys are runner up to Coldplay)

Green Day ‘Holiday’ (The most powerful song since ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’)

Cheryl Crow ‘If It Makes You Happy’ (There’s that Canadian Mountie again)

Monsters of Folk ‘Say Please’ (Only a still shot video, but worth the listen)

Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams ‘Moondog House’ (Jeff Strause highly recommends these guys)

Lyrics to ‘Fix You’

When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse.

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above earth or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream, down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face and I...

Tears stream, down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face and I...

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you.


About the Video: Made for MTV-like video

Video Rating: 1

Best Feedback: Fred

Pete

Thanks again for the Friday trip.

And: Sue

Pete - very cool - you are spot on - mostly time just seems to fly by with day to day motions - it is important to slow down and remember/take time for our priorities! Take care, sd

And: Mac

Does losing your MOJO coincide with your CIDER phase?