Rock of Ages: Nick Drake - "Things Behind the Sun" (1970)

Nick Drake is the melancholy Bob Dylan. He has a very distinct voice that makes him stick out among many other singer/songwriters. His haunting yet beautiful moan sweeps over his utterly transcendent guitar playing on every track. On his final album Pink Moon, this is all we get. Guitar, vocals, the occasional embellishment from some piano and Drake's signature elegiac lyrics. Drake's most melancholy and beautiful poem comes in the form of his track "Things Behind the Sun." Drake's lyrics in this beautifully somber song have a very poetic structure. Each line has an intricate rhyme scheme. The lyrics sweep in and out on the vessel of Drake's sleepy and deep voice. It adds an element of dark beauty to an already haunting song. Equally intricate is Drake's wonderful guitar work. His guitars are always tuned in strange ways and they elicit these emotional unique chords that compliment his song writing style.

Nick Drake's whole final album is set up this way, but "Things Behind the Sun" is definitely a masterwork. To finish up this write up, which is short but sweet, I leave you with the words of this wonderful tune.

Please beware of them that stare
They'll only smile to see you while
Your time away
And once you've seen what they have been
To win the earth just won't seem worth
Your night or your day
Who'll hear what I say.
Look around you find the ground
Is not so far from where you are
Don´t too wise
For down below they never grow
They're always tired and charms are hired
From out of their eyes
Never surprise.

Take your time and you'll be fine
And say a prayer for people there
Who live on the floor
And if you see what's meant to be
Don't name the day or try to say
It happened before.

Don't be shy you learn to fly
And see the sun when day is done
If only you see
Just what you are beneath a star
That came to stay one rainy day
In autumn for free
Yes, be what you'll be.
Please beware of them that stare
They'll only smile to see you while
Your time away
And once you've seen what they have been
To win the earth just won't seem worth
Your night or your day
Who'll hear what I say.

Open up the broken cup
Let goodly sin and sunshine in
Yes that's today.
And open wide the hymns you hide
You find reknown while people frown
At things that you say
But say what you'll say
About the farmers and the fun
And the things behind the sun
And the people round your head
Who say everything's been said
And the movement in your brain
Sends you out into the rain.



Up Next: Led Zeppelin's Epic Electric Blues Track

Rock of Ages: Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Ramble Tamble" (1970)

Creedence to me is one of the single greatest rock entities to come from the USA in the late 60's. Most acts that I truly love are Brit Invasion bands, but CCR stood high as creators of truly perfect pop music that was not compromised by it's signature sound. In 1970, the released two stellar albums and hit their peak with Cosmo's Factory. The album housed such hits as "Run Through the Jungle," "Up Around the Bend" and "Lookin' Out My Back Door." This was all on one record as well as other smash hits. It also houses the most raucously jamtastic, yet utterly fantastic epic "Ramble Tamble." The track kicks the album off in a high gear stomp. The verse parts are some of John Fogerty's finest guitar slinging with a fast guitar riff that changes and swoops around the boogie beat of the ryhthm section and the fairly simple, but infectious guitar. Fogerty screams and howls about the hardships in life, the bills on cars and houses and his entire life, but he gives the simple advice in "Move/Down the Road/I go." He just goes with the flow.

Tough times never sounded so good. The mid section of the song is a fairly simple arpeggio guitar riff that slowly builds into a simple yet affective guitar howl reminiscent of Clapton's "slow hand" or even David Gilmour's calculated guitar mastery. It's grittier than both, but CCR's sound asks for a country grit that works perfectly. The long midsection breakdown is a jam that has very strict definition. In fact, I don't think it's a jam at all, but just a long winded build. "Ramble Tamble" is a perfect first track to an album. It engages and gets you ready for more rock and will amaze you. It is truly an amazing song for a band known for short pop hits. A sweeping jam epic that never gets old in it's long run-time, "Ramble Tamble" is one of those overlooked albm cuts from a band that had so many huge hits in just a short existence on the rock scene.



Up Next: Nick Drake's haunting elegy

Rock of Ages: Grand Funk Railroad - "Sin's a Good Man's Brother" (1970)

I found an unlikely rock and roll hero in Grand Funk Railroad. I never liked "We're An American Band" and their endless string of awful covers of great soul songs showed no possible depth of field. It wasn't until my Father, TGO, unleashed the epic "I'm Your Captain" on me and it seemed like a totally different band. I always enjoyed that track, but never delved deeper until I saw the album Closer to Home in a vinyl bin for a dollar. Figured "what the hell" and gave it a whirl. Plopped the needle down and to my surprise, I heard one of the best riffs rock music of the 70's had to offer. "Sin's a Good Man's Brother" is an angry rocker filled with conflicting emotions, very loud drums, an incredible bass line and a searing lead guitar track that rivals anything Jimmy Page was writing at the time. It's unabashed hard rock at it's best.

Most classic rock stations get these terrible blanket licenses, hence only hearing the abominations that Grand Funk has churned out. This epic rocker never gets the light of day. It's not a long song, but it's a track as furious as any other from the era. Local Philly stations like WMMR or WYSP should be playing this song a lot. It would fit in well with songs from Pearl Jam, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath very easily. It may not be the most recognizable song, but "Sin's A Good Man's Brother" is a song so rocking that even a former naysayer of the band has been swayed. I went on to check out other early Grand Funk records and they are much better than originally perceived. Grand Funk have this great bluesy feel on the record this song appears on that is drenched in awesome guitar work outs that are never pretentious. And talk about power trios! This band has a kick to them for being just three dudes with wicked hairdos. This song is probably the first on this list that will come out of left field for the common reader, but I implore you to check it out. It's fantastic.



Up Next: CCR jam away

Rock of Ages: Sly & The Family Stone "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" (1969)

When I found out that Sly & The Family Stone got there start in the late 60's and not the early 70's (which I know is only a matter of years) I was kind of stunned. For me, funk has always been associated with the 70's. Yes, James Brown had been around for a while at this point (altho he will come in 1970 on this list.) For some reason, funk always coincided with disco for me. James Brown may have started funk in a sense, but to me, Sly & The Family Stone really got it started. After a string of amazing singles like "Dance to the Music", "M'Lady", "Stand!" and "Everyday People", Sly stepped it up big time. 1969's single "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" changed the way funk approached things. The bass stepped up and said "I am the centerpiece." You would see the bass takeover funk rock more so than ever before after this and it's all thanks to Sly's bass player, pioneer Larry Graham. He basically invented the slap style of bass playing that is signature to this song. His bass has an amazing wah effect to it and has the slap and plucky bass style that would eb the M.O. of funk records to come. It all comes from this track.

The song is a sort of litany of song titles from the past. On the surface, it seems to be pretty straightforward, but it has a lot more going on. Beyond the self reference that goes on (many of the lyrics are past song titles,) but it's more a song of distaste for the world around them at the time. The flower power age was dying. Paranoia was at an all time high and the Civil Rights movement was at a fever pitch. The most powerful lyrics in the song come late in the last verse of the song:

Flamin' eyes of people fear
Burnin' into you
Many men are missin' much
Hatin' what they do
Youth and truth are makin' love
Dig it for a starter, now
Dyin' young is hard to take
Sellin' out is harder

The song is on so many levels amazing. Musically it's perfect. A funky bass groove, a fantastic guitar riff, a group vocal effort and a horn section that accentuates the entire groove. You wouldn't notice how intense the words are (hence the strange title) as they are lathered in a groove so amazing you can't help but dance. Sly knew what was going on and this is a protest song of sorts that makes you forget the protest and dance, but on closer listen makes you more aware of the troubles of the time.

This video makes up for all the crappy ones in the past few entries. Thank God!



UP NEXT!: 1970 finally begins. The best year in Rock music. It get's kicked off with an unlikely band in Grand Funk Railroad. Trust me. This next song is incredible.

Rock of Ages: Cream - "Badge" (1969)

Cream has written some of the most memorable guitar riffs and guitar solos of any band from the 60's. From "Sunshine of Your Love" to "White Room" to "Crossroads", there was no better blues rock trio in the 60's than Cream. Thanks mostly to Eric Clapton's prodigious talent and his amazing rhythm cohorts in Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. For some reason, when George Harrison returned Clapton's favor on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", we get a less memorable riff but a more bittersweet and beautiful rock song in the form of "Badge." The production of this song is some of the best of the era. The echoey piano accenting Clapton's quiet riffage during the verse parts is subdued beauty while Baker's pounding drums and Bruce's funky bass take the lead during these parts. When we get to the bridge, George Harrison's signature arpeggio guitar playing brings in a mystical change to the second half of the song and Clapton takes lead during these parts with a howling solo over the fantastic last half of the song. Although this tracks on Cream's final lackluster solo album Goodbye, it's definitely one of the most fantastic songs in their catalogue.

Clapton was only 23 when his best band broke up in '69. He would then go on to Blind Faith with Ginger Baker and Steve Winwood and have an interesting later career with Derek & The Dominos and his own solo effort. For my dime, "Badge" was the pinnacle of his songwriting. There is something so straight forward and honest about this song. Every element from the latter half mellotron organs to the funky bass work to Harrison's nice embelishment that make it a stellar track. Of all power trios that have come and gone, Cream was the best. No doubt in my mind. The raw power and amount of sound these three guys churn out track for track is impressive. "Badge" may be a simpler track for them, but it's still has the power of a heavy rocker like "White Room" or the tripped out "Tales of Brave Ulysses." Cream kills it everytime.



Editors Note: Sorry about the last clip for Badge. No idea it was a shitty cover. There are actually not a lot of Youtube videos for this amazing song so here is a live one from MSG. The sound isn't great but it's better than nothing.

Up Next: Sly & The Famliy Stone bring the funk

Rock of Ages: King Crimson - "21st Century Schizoid Man" (1969)

King Crimson came onto the music world like a swift roundhouse kick to the face. Their first album, In The Court of the Crimson King, is an ambitious album to say the least. It has jazzy jams, mellotron epics and a kick off track that will leave listeners floored. I first decided to dive into the world of King Crimson through an old WXPN article of most influential albums. It was in the top 5 and I only had vaguely heard of King Crimson. I immediately got the record and when "21st Century Schizoid Man" starts, I was floored. It's one of the most intense songs I've ever heard and it's one of the most fitfully brilliant songs at the same time. The verse riff is so intoxicatingly hard, listening to band slike Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin seem soft. It's heavy, feedback laden and excentuated by saxaphones. When the chorus kicks in, the prociscion of Robert Fripp and Co. is even more apparent. The mid section, titled "Mirrors" is exactly that. Each instrument mirrors the other in a cat-and-mouse chase of fast rock passages. It's truly fantastic.

What is most notable about King Crimson is how they were at least 10 years ahead of their time. Prog rock was yet to really get recognized. The only other prog band around was the hippie prog of The Moody Blues, and although the Moodys are great, they are nowhere near the transcendental rocking of King Crimson. Allmusic.com has stated that Crimson is the thinking man's Pink Floyd and in a way it is. It's less hazy pop psychedelia and more post-psych brutality mixed with some baroque touches (not really present on this track.) "21st Century Schizoid Man" is such an epic track of mammoth proportions that it demands your attention. It needs you to not be doing anything else but listen to it. The various live recordings of the track sprawl upwards of 15 minutes, but the song never feels long. In fact, the recording, which is almost 8 minutes, has a hard time finding a coherent end and when the barrage of guitars and drums lulls, it quickly fades back in for another surge and then finally ends abruptly. It's a rock song that defies convention and for 1969, it was ages ahead of its time. It also happens to rock so hard that there is no way you can't enjoy it, unless you prefer The Carpenters to King Crimson. It's unlike anything you've heard on this list so far and you will notice that the sound of this song will soon be found in many of other songs on the list.



Up Next: Cream teams up with George Harrison for their great send off

Rock of Ages: Donovan - "Hurdy Gurdy Man" (1968)

My mother loves Donovan. She imposed a lot of these early songs into my mind. My father would get me into Talking Heads. More on them when we get to the 80's. Back to the hippie troubadour. Donovan is another one of the hippie generation who gets forgotten. He started off as a take on Dylan in the early 60's and then moved into the psychedelic sounds of the late 60's with relative ease. His stand out album, The Hurdy Gurdy Man spans genres from Eastern sitar laden tracks to groovy sax and bass jazz tracks. The titular track, a smokey blues rock song, stands as Donovan's most recognizable song and as his sonically most interesting. "Hurdy Gurdy Man" is most notable for it's warbley vocal delivery that Donovan gives. The words are almost inaudible the first time you listen. It's mystical and trippy. The echoey vibrations of the lead guitar and the sitar parts add to the ethereal nature of the tune while the pounding drums and bass come in to juxtapose the trippier elements of the track. Very cool, indeed.

There is speculation as to the personell on the track. In most liner notes, the backing band for Donovan on this song is comprised of John Paul Jones on bass and production, John Bohnahm on drums and Jimmy Page on guitar. Other sources say that JPJ is the only one from legends Led Zeppelin on the track, but alas, the fact that 3/4ths of a future legendary rock band got their start with Donovan is cool so I will stick with that as the personell. It also sounds a lot like a Zeppelin track. Donovan's voice is nothing like that of Robert Plant's but this song demands his eerie accent to carry it into the ether. Most recently, "Hurdy Gurdy Man" was used in David Fincher's film Zodiac for both the opening and ending credits. Luckily the song has yet to become aged yet is still a fine capsule of hippie culture before hippies became annoying. Well, except Donovan who is still a huge hippie and yet probably the coolest one alive.



Up Next: King Crimson changes everything on the first track of their first album

Rock of Ages: The Beatles - "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (1968)

Deciding what Beatles song to choose is like asking a mother to pick her favorite child. However, it's much less awkward to say "this is the Beatles song that I like best." It changes all the time as to what Beatles song I truly love, but the one constant near the top of my list has been and always will be "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." George Harrison has always been my favorite Beatle. His songs are more spiritual, but in a spirit that isn't too preachy (although that changed sometimes when he went solo.) Anyway, the song was inspired by I Ching, which Harrison was reading at the time, which is about how everything is relative to everything as apposed to coincidence. Anyway, lyrically it's pretty ambigous. The notable factor of the greatness of this song is at it's core, the guitar that's gently weeping is not George Harrison's, but his friend and future wife stealer Eric Clapton's guitar.

Musically, the song is very slow and methodical. It's chord progression is one that has been emulated in dozens of songs. Harrison weaves his poem through this structure while Clapton's guitar emulates the titular activity with beautiful percission. One of the best early era rock guitar solos, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" simple but eerie and beautiful. It reminds me a lot of what David Gilmour would do later with Pink Floyd (which we will get to circa 1973) as well as some oher guitarists who would coem down the pike and emulate Clapton's "slow hand." I wouldn't call this song the blues, even the Clapton brings his bluesey woozy guitar to it. It's an interesting track among the hodge podge on the double lp The Beatles known as The White Album. Each song is very different then the one before this and this song is sandwiched between "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" and "Happiness is a Warm Gun." Three songs that flow well into each other, yet have no real musical connection. Fantastic.

The Beatles are obviously known as the greatest rock and roll band of all time. And rightfully so. I could have picked easily another 30 songs that are just as brilliant as this one. But so it goes. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" slowly mezmerizes everytime I hear it.



Up Next: Donovan warbles his way to become a hippie troubador

Rock of Ages: The Zombies - "Hung Up on a Dream" (1968)

As someone who as strange dreams, The Zombies track "Hung Up on a Dream" comes as a beautiful ode to those dreams that don't freak you out, but bring you some sort of solace. Rod Argent's dream in question is of a better place. His dream took him to a nameless place with sweet vibrations and men with flowers in there hair. He awakes soothed by the image of peace but is decidedly confounded that the images and the feelings were only a dream. I have had dreams where waking and realizing life is still going on and not the way the dream world has realistically showed you that I have indeed been hung up on a dream.

Luckily, The Zombies not only craft a great emotional image through the lyrics, but the music is equally dreamy and spacey. When the instrumental break comes before the bridge, you get the turmoil of tossing and turning and waking up via musical expression. It's a sumptuous treat musically. The Zombies as well as rock visionary Al Kooper helmed the production. With beautiful mellotron waves, jangly guitars and echoey vocals and amazing harmonies, "Hung Up on a Dream" is an overlooked classic in The Zombies all too short career. The band would break up before their masterpeice Odessey and Oracle would be released and before the song "Time of the Season" would become a huge hit.



Up Next: Do I really only get to pick one Beatles song?

Rock of Ages: Love - "The Red Telephone" (1967)

The paranoia of the 60's is beautifully realized in a lot of songs of the day and Love's "The Red Telephone" is no exception. Less specific than Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth," "The Red Telephone" shows the sense of confusion, the possibility of the end of days and the apathy of the youth culture at the time are perfectly found on this song. The song can be found on the transcendent album Forever Changes. Just like Astral Weeks, Love's Forever Changes is something that will change you... forever. The album has a mystical psych-folk vibe with lots of strings and flamenco guitars. Arthur Lee's words are very poetic and lush with interesting images and even interesting structures. Words overlap to give more meaning and add another element of confusion to "The Red Telephone." It's a fairly simple song, but it is a summation of the minds of the counter culture of the 60's in a different way than other "protest" songs. I wouldn't say it's protest as much as observation.

Where the song truly hits me is the lyrics of the first verse. "Sitting on a hillside/Watching all the people die/I feel much better on the other side/I'll thumb a ride." Apathetic, dark yet optimistic. Violence and aggression and tumult were the signs of the times and while some people got into the thick of it, some losing their lives in the conflict, Lee's lyrics show how maybe it's better on the other side of the conflict as an observer. The rest of the song doesn't really stand by the opening statement and I feel it's intentional. Sure, it's good to watch from afar and say "things are better here." This is summed up in the bridge:

"Life goes on here
Day after day
I don't know if I am living or if I'm
Supposed to be
Sometimes my life is so eerie
And if you think I'm happy
Paint me (white)(yellow)"

It's contradictory to being happy away from the violence, but at the same time, he's unsure if he's supposed to even be alive. Maybe he should take a stand. It's a very interesting statement in a time where everyone had an opinion. Arthur Lee wasn't sure. It's an awesome song of confusion and uncertainty in a time of that same feeling and it doesn't decide what side of the coin it should be on.



Up Next: The Zombies can't get over the wanderings and musings of their subconscious

Rock of Ages: Van Morrison - "Astral Weeks" (1968)

Sometimes music has the ability to change you. It was 2004 - 2005. Junior year of college. A friend of mine asked me to listen to a song to see what I though of it. She couldn't quite wrap her head around it and knowing that I loved music, thought that I may have known the song or may have been able to give her some sort of analysis. This song was Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks" from the album of the same name. I stood in her dorm room and literally had my mind blown. I demanded hearing the song over again as I myself was wrapping my head around it's greatness. I knew the great Irishman Van Morrison from his bigger hits and his unique croon. I never really delved deep into his works as songs like "Brown Eyed Girl" annoyed me and songs like "Moondance" got raped by the radio stations in the area ("Moondance" is an incredible song, but I have to want to listen to it to enjoy it anymore.) This song literally floored me. I needed to know everything about it and everything about the album it appeared on, which is equally transcendent.

The song is stream of conscious jazzy goodness. The lyrics are about seeing life from the other side of the spectrum of the living. The music is filled with strings, jazzy upright bass, beautifully interspersed flute and acoustic guitar parts that just flurry with emotion. Van's vocal performance is revelatory and stands above the rest of his career as a crowning achievement. The emotion he drips into his beautiful poetry is nothing short of breathtaking. I am forever indebted to my friend who imparted such lush beauty upon my ears. This song would have sounded awesome if performed by Nick Drake and sounds amazing done by present day psych rockers Secret Machines, but Van Morrison gives it a voice and an expression that is at once untouchable, yet seems easy to elaborate on. Something is unique about his version that any cover or alternate version is the same song yet completely changed. It's in this attribute that the song takes on a mystique of its own and makes it truly an experience to be heard.

I apologize that I do not have a youtube video of Van doing the song. He recently played the entire Astral Weeks album at the Hollywood Bowl and youtube is only giving me other versions of the song. Kinda sucks that I can't get a version for you, humble reader. But again, I advise you to get this album without hearing it, plop it on your turntable/stereo/iPod and close your eyes and venture the slipstream with Van the Man.

Up Next: Quick stop back to 1967 with Love

Rock of Ages: Jimi Hendrix Experience - "The Wind Cries Mary" (1967)

Jimi Hendrix is the man responsible for making the Electric guitar cool. No one else can stake this claim. In 1967 when the Jimi Hendrix Experience's stellar debut Are You Experienced? was released, rock and roll guitar playing changed forever. You could say that the wailings of "Purple Haze" or the fast pacing of "Fire" or "Manic Depression" are the most notable Hendrix tunes, but I think it's in the simply sublime structure of "The Wind Cries Mary" that Jimi's true prowess on record is shown. The other tracks are much more intense live and his bravado for stage antics makes songs like "Foxey Lady" enhanced by his live recordings and films. "The Wind Cries Mary" stands on it's own. It's also the most poetic of Jimi Hendrix's songs lyrically. Dylan inspirado aside, Jimi still weaves a poem of lost love and how both sides of this relationship are missing the other half.

One of my all time favorite lines in a song comes from this fine track. "A broom is drearily sweeping up the broken pieces of yesterdays life" is one of those lines that just stays with you. The imagery is fantastic and the emotion of the lyric definitely hits you hard. The image of "happiness shuffling on down the street" is pretty depressing. When the thing that makes you happy shuffles away, it makes it even more emotional. Hendrix guitar playing, although elaborate and fantastic, is very subdued. Not any distortion or too many effects on this track give it an honest tone. The bluesy tone mirrors the bluesy, yet psychedelic lyrics. It's definitely Hendrix's finest achievment all around. The band also backs him up with mild but structured ryhthm which swells and sways as the song progresses. Obviously we all know the fate of Jimi Hendrix, but he left us with one of rock musics most subtle and sublime tracks.



Up Next: Van Morrison ventures in the slipstream

Rock of Ages: Buffalo Springfield - "For What It's Worth" (1967)

"There's something happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear." The paranoia of the 60's is best summed up in Buffalo Springfield's opening line in their transcendent protest song "For What It's Worth." As much as the song is used over and over again in anything dealing with the Vietnam War and the 60's, it just shows the power of it's message. Buffalo Springfield, which was a short lived group, left a huge mark on the world of rock and roll with this folky, psychedelic anthem. The band, which consisted of some of rocks best including Stephen Stills, Neil Young and Jim Messina, creates a perfect piece of psych folk. Neil Young's wailing guitar, Messina and Stills backing rhythm section and the all to famous chorus are memorable enough, but the song spoke to a generation and is still to this day something that speaks volumes.

The song is apparently about a specific account of a run in with police and youths in a club on the Sunset Strip. Somehow these clashes with youth rebellion and "the man" spoke beyond just a single incident and showed the general air of paranoia and the lack of trust among the youth culture and the powers at be. It became an anthem for the 60's just as much as Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" or The Beatles "Revolution. It's also a damn good song musically. The careers of Young, Stills and Messina would go beyond this super group and would output some of the generations best music. It all started with Buffalo Springfield and their first, transcendental single. It's truly timeless and is just as important today as it was in 1966.





Up Next: Jimi Hendrix hears name's in the wind... and it's not Gale.

Rock of Ages: The Beach Boys - "God Only Know" (1966)

I was always a skeptic of The Beach Boys. Growing up named after Paul McCartney, you can tell that my family was a Beatles family. It was a while before I ever gave them a chance. I always assumed they were just annoying songs about surfing and driving cars. Pet Sounds is obviously a classic, but I always assumed it would be pure crap, but sonically interesting or something. Well, the more you listen to it, the more Pet Sounds becomes something more than just a great pop record and it becomes a pop music masterpiece. If anything, the song "God Only Knows" stands so high above the rest of this album that Pet Sounds is worth owning for just one song. It's easily one of the greatest pop music recordings of all time. This song is a love song to the ears.

Brian Wilson masterfully crafted a brilliant pop love song and one for the ages. The song is almost untouchable, atlhough Petra Haden using only her voice and an eight track was able to recreate the melody and magic of the tune. The song is rather untraditional for a pop song. The percussion is lush but sparse all at once, the harmonies carry the song out into the ether and above it all. Brian's brother Carl sings lead here and although Brian initially intended to sing it, I think this was the better move. Carl's sweeter voice really adds an endearing element to the beautiful music that surrounds it.

The Beach Boys were never able to top Pet Sounds and Brian Wilson lost his mind. Regardless, this song has gone on to inspire some of todays best acts. The melodies created here are some of the best.



Up Next: Buffalo Springfield's protest song

Rock of Ages: Otis Redding - "I've Been Loving You Too Long" (1965)

The first time I was familiar with the beautiful love song "I've Been Loving You Too Long" was when I watched Heaven Help Us religiously on Comedy Central. Otis Redding crooned as the young lovers, who were soon to be torn apart, grasped each other underneath a boardwalk on Long Island as a spring rain comes down. They embrace and kiss passionately for the first time. It's a movie moment forever melted into the romance lobe of my brain, wherever that may be. The next time I associated the song with anything, and when I finally fell in love with the song itself, was during the Monterey Pop festival movie and the separate DVD of just his performance. His performance at that first rock festival was electric. It was watching life. You can't take your eyes off of him and when he sings this song, you are filled with the same love and emotion that he exudes on stage.

The track is fairly standard as soul songs go. His backing band is filled with some of musics greatest session workers of the time including Steve Cropper on guitar, Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass and soon to be legend in his own right, Isaac Hayes. Sonically the song goes through waves and swells of horns accentuating the vocal performance that Redding delivers. The passion in Otis' voice is outstanding and is what makes the track so electrifying and identifiable. You feel his passion toward whomever he is singing about and in turn, if you are loving someone, you can relate to this passion. Like many of rocks early visionaries, Otis Redding passed on way too young. He died in a plane crash along with his band he was touring with, The Bar-Kays. Such promise lost early.

"I've Been Loving You Too Long" is easily one of my favorite love songs. It's about not wanting to give in, unlike Bob Dylan who was ready for it to end. Sometimes love is that important that you just don't want it to stop. When Otis Redding sings about it, you can understand why.



Up Next: Higher powers know what The Beach Boys would be without this song

Rock of Ages: Bob Dylan - "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" (1965)

Bob Dylan is a poet first and foremost. His words are where you see the genius. Many people harsh on his rough vocals that are very nasally and sometimes grating. However, on the greatest kiss-off song ever written, Dylan proves that his singing can take on a beautiful tone and one that really compliments the lyrics. "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" is a song that, unlike other songs about losing love, is about wanting love to go and needing it to realize that it's over. Instead of "crying" over lost love, Dylan is ready for it to go and wants to to go faster. Love isn't always something that ends in melancholy, but many times ends with the need for it to be over. In this case, "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" perfectly and poetically shows this emotion.

Dylan on the cusp of turning his back on traditional folk gives us his last greatest folk love song. I still consider this a love song even if he's telling you to walk out the door. Sometimes when you love someone, it ends and you need them to go. Cliche, yes. But true. All of the sagely advice that Dylan gives his lover as he's telling her to go shows that he still loves her and wants well for her, but it's all over. The track is pretty simple and straight forward. Dylan's classic guitar strumming with a quiet electric guitar picking out a melancholy tune and some classic Dylan harmonica. It's a sad song but it's also hopeful. You have to let go of someone sometimes so you might as well give them a tad of advice as they are getting thrown out.

To end this post, it would do justice to post these lyrics. Definitely my favorite Dylan outing.

You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last.
But whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast.
Yonder stands your orphan with his gun,
Crying like a fire in the sun.
Look out the saints are comin' through
And it's all over now, Baby Blue.

The highway is for gamblers, better use your sense.
Take what you have gathered from coincidence.
The empty-handed painter from your streets
Is drawing crazy patterns on your sheets.
This sky, too, is folding under you
And it's all over now, Baby Blue.

All your seasick sailors, they are rowing home.
All your reindeer armies, are all going home.
The lover who just walked out your door
Has taken all his blankets from the floor.
The carpet, too, is moving under you
And it's all over now, Baby Blue.

Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you.
Forget the dead you've left, they will not follow you.
The vagabond who's rapping at your door
Is standing in the clothes that you once wore.
Strike another match, go start anew
And it's all over now, Baby Blue.

Up Next: The next song makes me want to make out in the rain under the boardwalk

Rock of Ages: The Ronettes - "Be My Baby" (1963)

When the drum beat of "Be My Baby" kicks in, you know that you are in for an amazing classic rock and roll standard. The Morse Code like snap of the kick drum into the snap of the snare is an unforgettable staple and when The Ronettes start to sing over the lush swirl of guitars, piano, strings and the famous drums that continue to sound amazing throughout the song. Phil Spector wrote the song and his signature "Wall fo Sound" production is perfectly realized here. There is no denying the power of this song. It may be one of the best sounding singles from the 60's as it was emulated for years. Spector went on to produce and work with some of the best musicians including The Crystals, The Beatles, The Ramones & Leonard Cohen to name a few. Still, with all this power under his belt, it was with The Ronettes that he nailed it out of the park.

"Be My Baby" isn't only thanks to Phil Spector, but his then wife Ronnie Spector is what makes this track. Her unforgettable vocal delivery shows confidence. An era where women were still not as respected as would come later, Ronnie Spector was that confident female voice who knew what she wanted. As much as the music sounds lush and full and swirls in the eardrums, it's the voice of Ronnie and the Ronettes that make this track unforgettable. As much as Motown had some of the great girl groups, I feel that The Ronettes still gave us one of the most confident female vocal performances of the 60's.

The song is a definite trail blazer. The list of tracks that have emulated the opening drum beat goes on for pages. Ronnie Spector was employed to sing with Eddie Money on his hit "Take Me Home Tonight" to reprise the chorus and the track has been used in countless movies, most notably in the opening credits of Martin Scorsese's gritty neo-noir Mean Streets. The Wall fo Sound went on to influence tons of acts and be incorporated in creating some of the most atmospheric records. Without the technique, modern day musical recordings would be totally different.



Up Next: Bob Dylan's kiss off song

Rock of Ages: Roy Orbison - "Crying" (1961)

Roy Orbison seems to be a forgotten name among my generation. The man passed away just around the time I could remember him being apart of The Traveling Wilburys and after his equally awesome song "You Got It" was a big hit. His career goes beyond inspiring a Richard Gere film and the song "Crying" is probably his crowning achievement in lush beauty. It's a heartbreakingly sad song, but Roy fills in the cracks of the heart with his beautiful voice. He trembles his way through the song and behind those signature shades, a tear is probably collecting. The instrumentation is equally beautiful with strings that swirl behind his voice, xylaphones tinkling and great back-up cooing.

The song itself is structured interestingly as well. The song builds slowly as the singers lyrics swell and build with melancholy. Each verse gains more elements of sound and comes to a very gorgeous peak right at the end. Roy Orbison's songs all have elements of this track somewhere in them. Whether it's the equally sad "Love Hurts" or the woozy "In Dreams," Roy Orbison always delivered a stellar vocal performance among some of the best early rock and roll guitar and instrumentation. "Crying" is the gold standard of his catalog.

The song has been covered many times, but the most memorable one was when Rebekah del Rio sang the song for the David Lynch film Mullholland Drive. It takes on another level of eerie loss when sung in Spanish and a capella. Roy Orbison's songs are some of the best that pop music has to offer and his voice is a timeless addition to the lexicon of rock and roll history. "Crying" is where this all started.



Up Next: The Wall of Sound

(Side Note: Mr. Ealer is right that I have three movies left to blog about. Those are coming, I promise.)

Rock of Ages: Buddy Holly & The Crickets - That'll Be The Day

Rock and Roll, of the early variety, is great for being down the shore or singing along to in the car, but for my dollar it wasn't until the 60's when songs had more meaning behind them with the cultural watersheds around the world to come in the mid 60's. That said, there is only one artist that sticks out to me from the early era of rock and roll. That is Buddy Holly & the Crickets. The music that Buddy Holly inspired is more my speed then that of what Elvis Presley has inspired. Even Chuck Berry and some other great acts of that time just don't stick with me the way Buddy does. Picking one Buddy Holly song was actually more tough than some of the other prolific artists on this list but "That'll Be The Day" is probably the one song that will last forever in his catalog. More so than "Everyday" and Peggy Sue", this track has the rebel spirit that marked the rock and roll movement, has all the vocal stylings that make Buddy a unique voice in rock and roll and the rockabilly guitars that would mark a great impression on the early Beatles.

People make fun of emo bands (including myself), but the earliest of rock and roll artists sang primarily about heartbreak and love. It's what young listeners want to hear. A teenager can relate to the lyrics of lost love or the idea of letting go, or in this case saying the day that I die is the day you lose me. Very dramatic and naive. The songs music definitely shadows this feeling and it's catchy as hell. You will still hear Buddy Holly on jukeboxes around the world. It's transcendent pop music perfection.

The death of Buddy Holly makes this song even more poignant and the line "This will be the day that I die" from Don McLean's fantastic ode "American Pie" is a direct rewrite of "That'll be the day that I die." American rock and roll would later influence British bands like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who and many more. This legacy alone makes Buddy worthy of praice, but it helps that the song is infectious and timeless.



Up Next: Roy Orbison sheds some tears.

Rock of Ages: 100 Great Songs

I mentioned that I was putting a list of perfect pop songs before and I kinda threw that idea to the wind. Instead, I have decided that instead of making my 100 favorite songs, why not I do 100 artsits and 100 great songs? This made the list more diverse and more exploratory of what kind of music I truly loved. I now call this list "Rock of Ages" and it spans 50 years of pop music. Starting with the rockabilly of Buddy Holly and transcending through to the sonic barrage of Portishead, popular music as entertainment and art has changed drastically, but has remained awesome and relevant to this day. The list will be in chronological order and has a large chunk of music from the 1970's and the 2000's. 1970 is apparently my favorite music year and although a lot of my favorite bands were born in the 60's, their best songs didn't come until later. Anyway, I'm doing this track by track so expect a lot of updates starting with the first entry, seperate from this post, for Buddy Holly's "That'll Be the Day."

Current Obsessions

Stagnant again, but hey, I don't get paid to write in this thing so whatever! Here's a new post of things that I am currently jonesin' on.

This is a three way dance of random but my current musical obsessions are Melvin's Houdini from 1993, anything involving the voice of Antony Hegarty (his latest record The Crying Light and his turn on the disco infused dance-floor goodness of Hercules & Love Affair) and Animal Collective's track "My Girls" from Merriweather Post Pavilion. From sludge to dance floor to melancholy to avante garde. That's where my head is at. Here is a selection of each.

Melvins - "Lizzy"


Antony & The Johnsons - "Epilepsy is Dancing"


Hercules & Love Affair - "You Belong"


Animal Collective - "My Girls"

The Oscars

This year, I plan on Twittering it up for the Oscars, making comments that 4 people will read. Regardless, I don't have as much invested this year as I did last year (what, with Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men all being nominated for best film not to mention a bajillion other awesome movies that got nods for acting and such.) 2008 was a relatively weak year but there were some gems here and there. Here is the list of nominees. In bold are the picks that I believe should win. In italics are what I predict the Academy will go with. In bold and italics are if they are one in the same. I am only doing the most important categories as I don't really care who wins something like, say, costume design.

I think this years show should be good and I am very intrigued by Hugh Jackman hosting. That should be interesting to say the least. The major beef I have is with the best song being raped to a medley of songs that are all cut short. Regardless, a newly un-pregnant M.I.A. is set to perform. That should be pretty kickass.
ACTOR, LEADING
Richard Jenkins "The Visitor
Frank Langella "Frost/Nixon"
Sean Penn "Milk"
Brad Pitt "Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rourke "The Wrestler"

The Academy is most likely going to give it to Sean Penn, but for my dollar, Rourke's return to showing that he's got what it takes to really deliver his heart on his sleeve is just breathtaking. It may be better than even Daniel Day Lewis' performance from last year.

ACTOR, SUPPORTING
Josh Brolin "Milk"
Robert Downey Jr. "Tropic Thunder"
Philip Seymour Hoffman "Doubt"
Heath Ledger "The Dark Knight"
Michael Shannon "Revolutionary Road"

This is a no brainer. In fact, if anyone else were to win, riots would ensue. It's not because of Ledger's passing. It's because his portrayal of The Joker is just plain outstanding. It demands your attention even when he is not on the screen. The fates have written this one, but luckily it's also definitely the most deserving of all of these contestants.

ACTRESS, LEADING
Anne Hathaway "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie "Changeling"
Melissa Leo "Frozen River"
Meryl Streep "Doubt"
Kate Winslet "The Reader"

Winslet has been snubbed left and right and for once, I think she deserves to be overlookded. Not because she isn't great, but because Anne Hathaway really hit a home run here. I would love a dark horse victory here, but as Winslet said on the show Extras, you can't win an Oscar until you do a Holocaust movie.

ACTRESS, SUPPORTING
Amy Adams "Doubt"
Penelope Cruz "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Viola Davis "Doubt"
Taraji P. Henson "Benjamin Button"
Marisa Tomei "The Wrestler"

I have not seen enough in this category, I admit. In fact, a lot of these catagories I missed essential films, but alas. I only am picking Cruz because she deserved it for Volver. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure Viola Davis will win this.
ANIMATED FEATURE
Bolt
Kung-Fu Panda
WALL-E

Pixar always reigns supreme.

DIRECTING
David Fincher "Benjamin Button"
Ron Howard "Frost/Nixon"
Gus Van Sant "Milk"
Stephen Daldry "The Reader"
Danny Boyle "Slumdog Millionaire"

This is definitely going to be a Slumdog kinda year. It's def legit too. Danny Boyle's kinetic style deserves praise.

BEST PICTURE
Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

It's probably the happiest movie up here and in a year of financial demise, it's something that speaks to the audiences. That alone makes this a lock. I swear to Jesus I will punch a donkey if Button wins.

SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED
Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

To be honest, these movies aren't the best script wise. Nothing really that intense. But Slumdog is bound for glory.

SCREENPLAY, ORIGINAL
Frozen River
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Milk
WALL-E

After last years atrocity of Juno winning this over a brilliantly scripted movie like Michael Clayton, I am shattered physically and mentally. That being said, I haven't seen most of this but thought that In Bruges was decent. The script isn't really good per se, but hell if Juno can win, this should be a lock! If anything, best original screenplay of the year should really go to The Wrestler but that got snubbed in a lot of places. Regardless, Milk will most likely win and probably deserves to.

Every year my favorite movies never line up with the Oscar Friendly category. Out of my top ten films of the year, only Slumdog is up for the top honors. Regardless, it's the one Hollywood glitz and glamor show I truly enjoy watching. Here's hoping for something mildly enjoyable.

Looking Ahead at 2009: The Year Ahead in Film

Now that my lovefest for the year 2008 is over (no more best of lists left to do) I look forward. Here is a sampling of some things in the near future that I am highly anticipating in the world of film and music. This segment .

Obviously most of the best dramas won't be realized until the third quarter of the year, we will have to take a look at 2009's blockbuster landscape and some of the early dramatic releases. The year seems to be lacking more so than last year, especially in the Blockbuster category. Nevertheless, I am excited to see a movie like X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Three huge reasons why: Danny Huston taking over the role of William Stryker (no offense, Brian Cox), Liev Schrieber stepping in to play Victor Creed and Sabbertooth and Gavin Hood directing (he directed the fantastic Tsotsi a few years back and I am intrigued to see him do a big budget action flick.) Needless to say, this will be a popcorn flick, but with some great support, can be better than any of the previous films in the franchise. It will definitely be better than the Brett Ratner Abortion known as X-3. Although McG sounds like a shitty urban meal at McDonalds, it's actually a rather shitty director taking over the Terminator series. HOWEVER, something tells me that this might just be the project that will be McG's only achievment. Terminator: Salvation might just be decent. Obviously the Christian Bale factor is enough to persuade me to see it, but the post apocalyptic vision that McG has created from the trailer seems very awesome. To be honest, the Terminator series is nothing but glorified popcorn so if this is even mildly enjoyable, and should be at least somewhat better than T3: Rise of the Machines. Maybe not, but I will be there. The crappy blockbuster of the summer, no not Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, but G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra will be worth seeing if not only for the Quaid hilarity factor, but with support from awesome character actor Christopher Eccleston and rising star Joseph Gordon Levitt (as COBRA COMMANDER?!?!) If anything, this will be the drunken movie going experience of the year. The most anticipated blockbuster of the year, you ask? That obviously goes to J.J. Abrams revamp and overhaul of Star Trek. James Bond got it's Oughts update and lord knows that Casino Royale was fantastic. Trek may be even more necessary of a revamp. I am not trekker or trekkie, nor do I know much about the story, but if there was ever a time to get excited for it, it's now. Abrams helming this project is perfect and him bringing his eye for great young actors to portray a young Enterprise crew is noble. The trailer looks awesome. And as much as I probably should look forward to it, I'm not creaming over Watchmen as much as everyone else is. It looks good and all and I am definitely going to see it, but we'll see. I was not impressed with 300 so I'm not really going into a Zakk Snyder movie with much anticipation.

Beyond straight up big budget flicks, the likes of other movie titans are on the horizon. Quentin Tarantino's long awaited Inglorious Basterds finally has a trailer. A strange cast for QT, but I like seeing him do something different. Guarunteed to be ultra violent in the least. He hasn't failed me yet. QT is one director who has yet to make a complete stinker so it should be good. After a few years of basking in the glory of Lord of the Rings and hiding from the suckfest that was King Kong, Peter Jackson will try something different with his adaptation of The Lovely Bones. Peter Jackson doing anything outside of an action flick should be interesting. Daniel Day-Lewis follows up his There Will Be Blood role with the movie Nine, a musical adaptation of Federico Fellini's 8 1/2. This should be interesting. The supporting cast alone is breathtaking with Marion Cotillard, Dame Judi Dench and Sophia Loren among others. A crime drama starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale entitled Public Enemies also stands a chance of being an amazing movie going event. The story of Dillinger gets proper due by Michael Mann. Obviously the #1 anticipated movie of the year is John Hillcoat's delayed adaptation of The Road. I've been fawning over the same production stills for the past six months. Not even a teaser trailer?! Not even 30 seconds of footage? Come on, Weinsteins! You are really breaking my balls. Hillcoat will bring the same grit he did to The Proposition. Lord knows that this gritty style will do justice to the harrowing depiction in the book. It's long-awaited, but should pose to be one of the best films of the year.

Coming soon: 2009 in Music

DAMN THE MAN!

In horrible news for fans of live music, the two evil corporate giants of Ticketmaster and Live Nation have merged into one demon force. Here's the full article.

http://tinyurl.com/bk7rh2

Although this technically might not pass, just the idea of these two companies combining is stomach turning.

Time to stick to R5, Heydey and the like for my concerts. This sucks, but if any band is playing a Live Nation supported venue, I am going to have to pass on that shit.

DAMN THE IRON HEEL!

Music is my Saviour: Five Rotating Tracks

In another attempt to up the ante of how often I post here, which again has slowed, I will start this weekly ten constantly playing tracks in the house of Poseidon. New and Old together. This will be the precursor to the highly anticipated In the Wake of Poseidon Podcast.

1. Andrew Bird - "Oh No" - Noble Beast - In this stunningly simple yet beautiful ditty, Andrew Bird weaves a perfect pop song. This is the kind of song I love to listen to on a sunny day with the windows down just contemplating the simple nature of life and the goodness of the simpler things. The whistling in the track is what brings this to mind especially. Lyrically the track reminds me of a Brian Eno track with intense wordplay that seems meaningless at first but probably has more going on underneath the interesting rhyme scheme and word choice. Regardless it's folk indie rock that is simple and intricate all at once.



2. Antony & The Johnson - "Her Eyes Are Underneath the Ground" - The Crying Light - Not in a very long time has a song been all at once haunting and sumptuous as the lead off track to Antony & the Johnsons newest record, The Crying Light. Something about Antony Hegarty's voice, which eerily floats above a quiet arrangement like a feather. It's a tear jearking performance unlike any other.



3. The Knife - "Silent Shout" Silent Shout - A pulsating, throbbing jam that is half Kraftwerk, half New Order is a refreshing electronic soundscape. It's not quite a dance floor anthem like the works of Justice or Daft Punk. It's more of a mood piece that climbs up and down the listeners sound pallette and delivers an interesting enviroment. It's a visual song of sorts. I could see watching a meteor shower in the middle of nowhere with this song blasting as the sky lights up with shooting stars. Sadly, I would have to move to a remote location in order to see if this would work, but witnessing the August meteor shower in Greece was breathtaking and this song gives me that feeling in a way.



4. Franz Ferdinand - "Ulysses" - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand - No matter how much their last album couldn't live up the the greatness of the first, I knew one thing that Franz Ferdinand could do--and that is write a kick ass single. Many moons ago, artists were single writers only. Franz embraces that and the new track "Ulysses" is a fantastic record. I finally agree with Pitchfork for once in saying that at first it seems kinda bland with all the "la la la's", but it becomes infectiously addictive and fun by the third listen. The way Franz Ferdinand structures their songs is completely fantastic. I love the chord change during what would be the last chorus making it sound different and dynamic. Oh, and the video looks like Martin Scorsese directed it in 1972.



5. M83 - "Skin of the Night" - Saturdays = Youth - I've had this album for a few months now and I can safely say it deserves the reviews and credits its given (including that of my own in the year end albums and songs.) The more I listen to it, the more this track stands out to me. The vocals of Morgan Kibby soar to new heights the way that Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocetau Twins would be proud of. The dreamy pop anthem is a wave of sound that flickers with life.



Enjoy! This might just become a podcast in the near future!