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theonetheycallhannah · 4 years ago

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The Treatment of Capt. Syverson-Chapter Two: Therapeutic Procedure

Pairing: Captain “Sy” Syverson x OFC (Shane Benton)

Summary: Shane and Sy share some moments during their treatment sessions…and a phone call that could set the tone for the next few weeks.

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: None, yet… ;)

Author’s Note: Sorry, I was so eager and excited to post the first chapter of this last night, I totally put some inaccurate info in my description notes. I will correct that in the original post and try to do better henceforth! Hope you enjoy Sy and Shane totally flirting some more and getting more friendly in this chapter. Feedback is appreciated! Even constructive criticism! :D

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, any characters from his films, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3. Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism.

Tags: @onlyhenrys @cavillryarchive @summersong69 @titty-teetee

Let me know if you wish to be added to the list! I’m happy to do it!

Shane woke up that morning with knots in her stomach. She dropped every product she picked up in the shower, she was shaking so much. She accidentally ordered the wrong coffee on her way to work and was now drinking something much less caffeinated and far too sweet for her taste. The barista had informed her it was a grande caramel macchiato with an extra pump of vanilla and extra caramel drizzle…with only two shots of espresso…she couldn't begin to describe how wrong that drink was for her. But it was better than nothing, she told herself, not fully convincingly.

She had chosen her clothes with extra care, even though, with the dress code, her options were limited. And she had made sure to put on a bit of mascara and just a touch of perfume, even though they weren't strictly supposed to wear it…she didn't know why she was bothering.

Well, actually, she did know why. She had been checking her schedule extra diligently lately to make sure she didn't look like a hobo when Sy was coming in. He'd been coming for three weeks now, and after the initial bellyaching about Jordan not being as pretty as her…her heart!...and his feeling extra sore after his visits with him, they were on a roll and had a great chemistry together as far as their treatments went…she tried not to think about…beyond the world of therapy.

She thought back to their first session after she got back from her trip. And the conversation they had.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I think the next time you can't see me, I'm just going to cancel." he had sulked as he wiggled his mass of muscle onto the mat.

"Sy, no. you need therapy. Don't be like that to Jordan. He's an excellent therapist."

"He ain't you though." he smirked, sending her heart racing with that smile that somehow managed to look both boyish and rakish under his full, dark beard. Fucking hell. He needed to stop.

"Well, we can't fault him for that, can we? Lay back, Mister." She demanded. Done with the niceties of the evaluation and onto the treatments where she was in charge. The boss.

"Yes, sir!" she laughed at his clear avoidance of calling her ma'am.

"So where'd you go last week? Vacation or stay-cation?" he asked, the term "stay-cation" sounding downright comical coming out of his country-boy mouth.

"I went to the beach. Gulf Shores."

"I thought you looked like you got some sun."

"Yeah," she pretended his noticing the detail of her awesome tan did not send her reeling. "My folks rented a condo right on the water for my siblings and I to come and stay with them. They're still there. It was tough to leave all that beauty." the beach, pretty much any beach, was her favorite place to be.

"I bet…" he looked at her, something dreamy in his eyes, but he looked away before she could process it. "I thought I had my fill of sand and sun when I was over in Iraq. But you make it sound…like paradise." he smiled softly up at her as she worked on his knee, trying to break apart some of the scar tissue from the injuries and surgeries he'd had…and focus on that, and not the warmth rising in her.

"That's the perfect way to describe any place on the Gulf of Mexico. I doubt it's anything like Iraq, since there's so much water around. It's my favorite vacation destination. Well, apart from London."

"Them British folks always seem so stuck up. Don't know if I'd get along with any of 'em."

"It felt like a second home for me. Everyone was very kind and polite, for the most part. At least it was no worse than it is here."

"Maybe it's just because you're so nice."

"Wait 'til about week eight or ten of your protocol. You won't think I'm nice then. You'll be cussing me out and ready to ring my neck."

"Promise?" he asked, a dark grin on his lips and in his eyes…she faltered for a moment, gulping.

"Cut it out, Syverson." she rolled her eyes, covering…without great effect the way he made her feel.

"Yes...ma'am." he smirked with satisfaction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now, today, she'd be treating him again, fairly early in the day, and she had to prepare herself. She'd checked the policy, and although there wasn't anything strictly against dating a patient, it was clearly a conflict of interest, and would be frowned upon by her frigid tyrant of a boss. Best to let things remain platonic for now.

Her 9:30 was a no show, so she finished up some notes and was working on some continuing education credits when messenger popped up around 10:00.

Sergeant Sexypants is here. He's quite early and he knows it…*smirk emoji* he must like you, Shane!

Heather, come on, be respectful…he was discharged at the rank of Captain! *rofl emoji* and I think you might be right about him liking me…*nervous emoji*

Oooooooooh!!! You guys are gonna *couple kissing emoji* *eggplant emoji* *okay emoji* *explosion emoji* *baby emoji*

Omg…*three facepalm emojis* I am going to go ahead and start him early since my 9:30 was a NCNS.

Don't finish him too early. Make it last. *smirk emoji*

Jeez. She closed the chat and went to grab him from the waiting area.

"Hey Sy, you ready?"

"You bet, sunshine!" he flashed her a crooked smile. He was calling her sunshine now…ad that to the list of things she'd have to pretend didn't make her swoon.

"Great. Let's start on the bike. How's the knee feeling today?"

"Oh, it's…about the same. Stiff. Lil' sore."

"Well, it's a slow process, like I told you at your eval. You've got a lot going on in there."

"I know…just…it hasn't taken me four weeks to do anything in my life." he sulked. "So…thinking about this taking…twelve or more…" he grimaced as he sat down on the bike, and adjusted it for his longer than average legs, putting his feet in the pedal stirrups.

"You may not see it, Sy, because you're so close to it, but trust me, you're making progress. I can tell you're doing your exercises at home, and you're always willing to put in the work here. You have no idea how much that sets you apart from…some of these other people." she leaned in closer and spoke the last part more quietly to him. It was true. So many of her patients were either lazy or just in it to appease their MDs into writing them scripts for pain meds. That wasn't Sy.

"You really think so?" he gave her the side eye with his baby blues, crushing her with the color like the waves of the ocean she'd just returned from.

"In fact, I know so." she placed a reassuring hand on his broad and thick shoulder. She felt the tension between them hum, like electric current.

"Now, level one, and a steady pace. You're not trying to win any medals here. I'll take those crutches."

"When ya think I can 86 'em damn things?" he griped as he handed over the assistive devices.

"Well, you see Potter again tomorrow? I'll write an update today and send it to him. If he likes what he reads, or more likely pretends to read, regarding your progress, he may discharge them. Do you feel like you can be good to the knee and treat it nice without using crutches? I don't want you to regress and re-injure yourself. That's not gonna get you into your running shoes any sooner."

"I'll be nice. Real gentle." he winked at her…he wasn't just talking about the knee. And she knew it. But again, she pretended she didn't, ignoring once more those butterflies threatening to choke her they were multiplying so fast in her belly.

"Okay, I'll put that in my note. Patient compliant with instructions to be nice." she laughed.

They talked as they biked, Shane sat on the one next to him and pedaled along with him for something to do other than be idle. She thought it made him feel better as well. Like he wasn't doing it alone. They covered the subject of her siblings, an older brother in IT and a younger sister who was an MA, and his German Shepherd, Aika, which he was allowed to bring home from Iraq after they were both honorably discharged. Music, both of them completely in agreeance about the superiority of classic rock.

"I noticed you've worn a Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt a few times and meant to say something before now."

"Yeah, they're one of my favorites. But there are a few newer groups that I like a lot, too. Kings of Leon got me through some tough times, honestly."

"Oh, they're great! I love their sound. And their lyrics…poetry."

"No shit. Sorry." she shook her head and raised up her hands to indicate that he didn't need to apologize to her for swearing. She'd been known to make sailors blush when she was off the clock. "Only by the Night…that whole album is…it's just in my blood, ya know? Ya ever have an album do that?"

"I have. Whole artists catalogs, actually."

"Which artist?" he prodded.

"The Beatles. Pretty much every song. Like you said, it just, like, I dunno, it's almost deeper than the veins. It's in the marrow. My soul." she stared off out the windows ahead of them, thinking about her favorite band in the world and how magical it was to experience Sir Paul McCartney playing some of her favorites live��twice…and the timer on the bike went off, pulling her from her daydream.

She looked over at him, startled by both the noise, and the dreamy look in his eyes that was becoming all too familiar.

"Sorry." she stood, grabbing his crutches for him and handing them back to him from where she had leaned them as they rode.

"Hey, don't be sorry for…ahem…for loving what you love. We should all…hold on to the things that make us feel like that." she nodded.

"Thanks…I don't think a lot of people…understand the way I…my tendency to take things like music, movies, and shows…books…so deeply to my heart." they walked to the treatment room from the gym, taking their time, since they had it. A rare occurrence for Shane, always needing to capitalize on every spare minute. To make productivity a priority.

"I think…that…well, seeing a pretty grim side of the world like I have…seems like there's enough darkness and bullshit making everyone miserable. If we find something…or…someone…that brings us some happiness or even just makes that misery bearable…we oughta hang onto 'em real tight. Cherish it like gold." the silence in the small room was loud with that electrical hum of their tension again. He'd said all the right things, as he always seemed to, but under the absolute wrong circumstances. She just nodded.

"They teach you philosophy in Basic?" she giggled. He laughed back in response.

"Oh, no, Basic was way easier than…whatever goes on inside of us."

"Speaking of which," she segued deftly, "lay back, and let my try to get some range out of that knee before I take new measurements for this update I'm gonna write."

"Yes, ma'am!" he chuckled.

"You get some sick thrill out of calling me that, don't you?" she scowled playfully at him.

"Oh, you have no idea…ma'am." he winked at her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Shane was wondering how Sy's appointment went as she ate her soup at lunch and caught up on her morning notes. She got a ping on messenger.

You have a gentleman caller…*eggplant emoji* hehe, he's on line three.

Geez…thanks Heather.

No need to ask for a name. She knew Heather meant Sy.

She picked up the phone at her desk in the treatment room.

"Hey Sy! How'd the appointment go?"

"Hey, sunshine…eh…he said I'm doin' good, but he wants me to stay on crutches another two weeks." she could hear grave disappointment in his voice. She felt for him.

"Aww, I'm sorry Sy. I know you wanted off those. And I know they're a pain. Literally and figuratively."

"Why wouldn't he want me off 'em?" he was so frustrated. He must have just left the office.

"Did you ask him that question?"

"You know doctors, Shane. Not like I would have got an answer in plain English. Figured you'd know."

"Well, I haven't seen your post-visit report, but it's my presumption that he wants to play it safe. You know he spent most of his day in the operating room with you, right? An eight hour surgery, you had. He probably doesn't want to undo all that by d/c'ing the crutches too soon."

"I was gonna be careful though, Shane!" he was worked up properly, and she could hear it over the roar of his pickup in the background.

"I know you were, Sy. I'm sure you were going to take all kinds of precautions. But what if you're walking into your kitchen, during a storm, and there's a loud clap of thunder, and Aika gets startled and busts past you? What if you're feeling good one day, and forget about it, and jog to catch up to someone holding the door open for you and miss a stick or something under foot? You can't prepare yourself for every pebble or patch of mud in your path, Sy. Accidents will happen. Some circumstances are beyond our control…we just have to do the best we can. The crutches are going to help you until we get you stronger. That's what we'll focus on until those two weeks are up."

"Why is it you can calm me down like this?" he asked, sincere and truly calmer than he had been.

"I'm just a good therapist, is all."

"Ya don't think that's really all, do ya?" the sound of his deep drawl in her ear from the receiver made her shiver. He was implying something that she just couldn't entertain. It wasn't possible for them right now. Maybe…down the road…in a few weeks…

"I'll see ya tomorrow, Sy. Come ready to work that knee."

"You didn't say no…" he was too hopeful. Damn it, he was cute when he was hopeful. She was glad she couldn't see his face light up like she knew it was doing.

"You may have noted I didn't say yes, either."

"Yet. See ya in the mornin', sunshine."

"Bye, Sy."

She put the receiver in the cradle and her face in her hands.

"Shit."

She had a feeling this particular patient was about to become much more complicated.

Up Next: Chapter Three-Therapeutic Activity

#netflix sand castle #sand castle #henry cavill #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill x ofc #captain syverson #captain syverson fanfic #captain syverson x ofc

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alanlicht · 4 years ago

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Alan Licht’s Minimal Top Ten List #4

A few weeks ago, near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, my friend Mats Gustafsson sent out a mass email encouraging people to send him record lists to post on the “Discaholics” section of his website--top tens, favorite covers, anything. I immediately thought of the first 3 Minimal Top Ten lists I did (now found online here) back in 1995, 1997, and 2007 respectively, for the fanzine Halana (the first two) and Volcanic Tongue’s website (the third), and sent them to him. Those articles have sort of taken on a life of their own, and I still see them referenced as the albums get reissued and so on. Occasionally people ask me if I’d ever do another one, and looking at all three again made me think now is the hour. I started writing this in the midst of the lockdown, and the drastic reductions in people’s way of life—the restriction of any activity outside the home to the bare essentials, the relative stasis of life in quarantine, even the visual stasis of a Zoom meeting—make revisiting Minimal music, with its aesthetic of working within limitations and hallmarks of repetition and drones, somehow timely as well.

The original lists were never meant to represent “the best” Minimal albums: they were ones that were rare and in some cases surpass, in my opinion, more widely available releases by the same artist and/or better known examples of the genre. Some were records that hadn’t been classified as Minimalist but warranted consideration through that lens. Likewise, the lists aren’t meant to be ranked within themselves, or in comparison to each other; the first record on any of the lists isn’t necessarily vastly preferable to the last, and this fourth list is not the bottom of the barrel, by any stretch. In some cases the present list has records I’ve discovered since 2007; others are records I’ve known for quite a while but haven’t included before for one reason or another. I’ve also made an addendum to selected entries on the first three lists, which have become fairly dated in terms of what is currently available by many of the artists, and to account for some of the significant archival releases in the 25 years since I first compiled them.

Unlike the mid-90s, most if not all of these records can be heard and/or purchased online, whether they’re up on YouTube or available for sale on Discogs. So finding them will be easier than before (although I haven’t included links to any of the titles as a small tribute to the legwork involved in tracking records down in olden tymes), but hopefully the spirit of sharing knowledge and passions that drove my previous efforts, forged in the pre-internet fanzine world, hasn’t been rendered totally redundant by the 24/7 onslaught of virtual note-comparing in social media.

1. Simeon ten Holt Canto Ostinato (various recordings): This was the most significant discovery for me in the last decade, a piece with over one hundred modules to be played on any instrument but mostly realized over the years with two to four pianos. I first encountered a YouTube live video of four pianists tackling it over the course of 90 minutes or so, then bought a double CD on Brilliant Classics from 2005, also for four pianos, that runs about 2 and half hours. The original 3LP recording on Donemus, from 1984, lasts close to 3 hours. It’s addictively listenable, very hypnotic in that pulsed, Steve Reich “Piano Phase”/”Six Pianos” kind of way, with lots of recurring themes (which differentiates it from Terry Riley’s “In C,” its most obvious structural antecedent). Composed over the span of the 70s, as with Roberto Cacciapaglia’s Sei Note in Logica, it’s an example of someone contemporaneously taking the ball from Reich or Riley and running with it. Every recording I’ve heard has been enjoyable, I’ve yet to pick a favorite.

2. David Borden Music for Amplified Keyboard Instruments (Red Music, 1981) 3. Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Co. Like a Duck to Water (Earthquack, 1976): These were some of my most cherished Minimal recordings when I was a teenager in the mid-80s, and are still not particularly well-known; they’re probably the biggest omission in the previous lists (at least from my perspective). Borden formed Mother Mallard, supposedly the first all-synthesizer ensemble, as a trio in the late 60s, although there’s electric piano on the records too. He went on to do music under his own name that hinged on the multi-keyboard Minimalism-meets-Renaissance classical concept he first explored with Mother Mallard, as exemplified by his 12-part series “The Continuing Story of Counterpoint” (a title inspired by both Philip Glass’ “Music in Twelve Parts” and the Beatles’ “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill”). I first heard Parts 6 & 9 of “Continuing Story” (from Music for Amplified Keyboard Instruments) on Tim Page’s 1980s afternoon radio show on WNYC, and bought the Mother Mallard LPs (Like A Duck is the second, the first is self-titled) from New Music Distribution Service soon after. I mail-ordered the Borden album from Wayside Music, which had cut-out copies, maybe a year later (c. 1986). I wasn’t much of a synth guy, but I loved the propulsive, rapid-fire counterpoint and fast-changing, lyrical melodies found on these records. “C-A-G-E Part 2,” which occupies side 2 of the Mother Mallard album and utilizes only those pitches, has to be a pinnacle of the Minimal genre. Interestingly, Borden claims to not really be able to “hear” harmony and composes each part of these (generally) three-part inventions individually, all the way through. The two-piano “Continuing Story of Counterpoint Part Two” on the 1985 album Anatidae is also beloved by me, and there was an archival Mother Mallard CD called Music by David Borden (Arbiter, 2003) that’s worth hearing.

4. Charles Curtis/Charles Curtis Trio: Ultra White Violet Light/Sleep (Beau Rivage, 1997): Full disclosure: Charles is a long-time friend, but this record seems forgotten and deserves another look, especially in light of the long-overdue 3CD survey of his performances of other composers’ material that Saltern released last year. This was a double album of four side-long tracks, conceived with the intent that two sides could be played simultaneously, in several different configurations; two of them are Charles solo on cello and sine tones, the others are with a trio and have spoken vocals and rock instrumentation, with cello and the sine tones also thrown into the mix. (I’ve never heard any of the sides combined, although now it would probably be easily achieved with digital mixing software.) The instrumental stuff is the closest you can come to hearing Charles’ beautiful arrangement of Terry Jennings’ legendary “Piece for Cello and Saxophone,” at least until his own recording of it sees the light of day; the same deeply felt cello playing against a sine tone drone. And it would be interesting to see what Slint fans thought of the trio material. Originally packaged in a nifty all-white uni-pak sleeve with a photo print pasted into the gatefold, it was reissued with a different cover on the now-defunct Squealer label on LP and CD but has disappeared since then. Stellar.

5. Arthur Russell Instrumentals 1974 Vol. 2 (Another Side/Crepuscule, 1984) 6. Peter Zummo Zummo with an X (Loris, 1985): Arthur Russell has posthumously developed a somewhat surprising indie rock audience, mostly for his unique songs and singing as well as his outré disco tracks. But he was also a modern classical composer, with serious Minimal cred—he’s on Jon Gibson’s Songs & Melodies 1973-1977 (see addendum), and played with Henry Flynt and Christer Hennix at one point; his indelible album of vocal and cello sparseness, World of Echo, was partially recorded at Phill Niblock’s loft and of course his Tower of Meaning LP was released on Glass’s Chatham Square label. He’s the one guy in the 70s and 80s (or after, for that matter) who connected the dots between Ali Akbar Khan, the Modern Lovers, Minimalism, and disco as different forms of trance music (taken together, both sides of his disco 12” “In the Light of the Miracle,” which total nearly a half-hour, could arguably be considered one of his Minimalist compositions). Recorded in 1977 & 1978, Instrumentals is an important signpost of the incipient Pop Minimalism impulse, and the first track is a pre-punk precursor to Rhys Chatham and Glenn Branca’s appropriations of the rock band format to pursue Minimal pathways (Chatham is one of the performers in that first piece). The rest, culled from a concert at the Kitchen, features long held tones from horns and strings and is quite graceful, if slightly undercut by Arthur’s own slightly jarring, apparently random edits. [Audika’s 2006 reissue, as part of the double CD First Thought Best Thought, includes a 1975 concert that was slated to be Instrumentals Vol. 1, which shows an even more specific pop/rock/Minimal intersection]. Zummo was a long-term collaborator of Russell’s and his album, which Arthur plays on, is a must for Russell aficionados. The first side is made up of short, plain pieces that repeat various simple intervals and are fairly hard-core Minimalism, but “Song IV,” which occupies all of side two, is like an extended, jammy take on Russell’s disco 12” “Treehouse” and has Bill Ruyle on bongos, who also played on Instrumentals as well as with Steve Reich and Jon Gibson. A recently unearthed concert at Roulette from 1985 is a further, and especially intriguing, example of Russell’s blending of Minimalism and song form. (That same year Arthur played on Elodie Lauten’s The Death of Don Juan--another record I first encountered via Tim Page’s radio show--which I included on Top Ten #3; Lauten as well as Zummo played on the Russell Roulette concert, as their website alleges).

7. Horacio Vaggione La Maquina de Cantar (Cramps, 1978): Another one-off from the late 70s, and yet more evidence of how Minimalism had really caught on as a trend among European composers of the time. Vaggione had a previous duo album with Eduardo Polonio under the name It called Viaje that was noisier electronics, and he went on to do computer music that was likewise more traditionally abstract. But on this sole effort for the Italian label Cramps, as part of their legendary Nova Musicha series, he went for full-on tonality. The title track is like the synth part of “Who Are You” extended for more than fifteen minutes and made a bit squishier; but side 2, “Ending”--already mentioned in the entry on David Rosenboom’s Brainwave Music in Top Ten #3--is my favorite. Kind of a bridge between Minimalism and prog, and a little reminiscent of David Borden’s multiple-synth counterpoint pieces, for the first ten minutes he lingers on one vaguely foreboding arpeggiated chord, then introduces a fanfare melody that repeats and builds in harmonies and countermelodies for the remainder of the piece. Great stuff, as Johnny Carson used to say.

8. Costin Miereanu Derives (Poly-Art, 1984): Miereanu is French composer coming out of musique concrete. Unlike some of the albums on these lists, both sides/pieces on Derives are superb, comprised of long drones with flurries of skittering electronic activity popping up here and there. Also notable is the presence of engineers Philip Besomes and Jean-Louis Rizet, responsible for Pôle, the great mid-70s prog double album that formed the basis of Graham Lambkin’s meta-meisterwork Amateur Doubles. I discovered this record via the old Continuo blog; Miereanu has lots of albums out, most of which I haven’t heard, but his 1975 debut Luna Cinese, another Cramps Nova Musicha item, is also estimable, although less Minimal.

9. Mikel Rouse Broken Consort Jade Tiger (Les Disques du Crepuscule, 1984): Rouse was a major New Music name in the 80s, as was Microscopic Septet saxist Philip Johnston, who plays here. Dominated by Reichian repeated fills that accentuate the odd time signatures as opposed to an underlying pulse, this will sound very familiar to anyone acquainted with Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin albums on ECM, which use the same general idea but brand it “zen funk” and cater more to the progressive jazz crowd rather than New Music fans, if we can be that anachronistic in our terminology. Jade Tiger also contrasts nicely with Wim Mertens’ more neo-Romantic contemporaneous excursions on Crepuscule. Rouse later performed the admirable (and daunting) task of cataloging Arthur Russell’s extensive tape archive for the preparation of Another Thought (Point Music, 1994)

10. Michael Nyman Decay Music (Obscure, 1976): Known for his soundtracks to Peter Greenaway films, and his still-peerless 1974 book Experimental Music: Cage and Beyond (where I, Jim O’Rourke, and doubtless many other intrepid teenage library goers learned of the Minimalists, Fluxus, AMM, and lots of other eternal avant heroes), Nyman is sometimes credited with coining the term “Minimal music” as well, in an early 70s article in The Spectator. Decay Music was produced by Brian Eno for his short-lived but wonderful Obscure label. The first side, “1-100,” was also composed for a Greenaway film, and has one hundred chords played one after another on piano, each advancing to the next once the sound has decayed from the previous chord (hence the album title). For all its delicacy and silences, you’re actually hearing three renditions superimposed on one another, which occasionally makes for some charming chordal collisions (reminiscent of the cheerfully clumsy, subversive “variations” of Pachelbel’s “Canon in D major” on Eno’s own Discreet Music, the most celebrated Obscure release). This is process music at its most fragile and incandescent. In hindsight it may have also been an unconscious influence on the structure of my piece “A New York Minute,” which lines up a month’s worth of weather reports from news radio, edited so that one day’s forecast follows its prediction from the previous day. I’ve never found the album’s other piece, “Bell Set No. 1,” to be quite as compelling, and Nyman’s other soundtrack work doesn’t hold much interest for me, but I’ve often returned to this album.

11. J Dilla Donuts (Stones Throw, 2006): One more for the road. Rightfully acclaimed as a masterpiece of instrumental hip hop, I have to confess I only discovered Donuts while reading Questlove’s 2013 book Mo’ Meta Blues, where he compared it to Terry Riley. The brevity of the tracks (31of ‘em in 44 minutes) and the lack of single-mindedness make categorizing Donuts as a Minimal album a bit of a stretch, but Questlove’s namecheck makes a whole lot of sense if you play “Don’t Cry” back to back with Riley’s proto-Plunderphonic “You’re Nogood,” and “Glazed” is the only hip hop track to ever remind me of Philip Glass. Plus the infinite-loop sequencing of the opening “Outro” and concluding “Intro” make this a statement of Eternal Music that outstrips La Monte Young and leaves any locked groove release in the proverbial dust. There isn’t the space here to really explore how extended mixes, all night disco DJ sets, etc. could be encountered in alignment with Minimalism, although I would steer the curious towards Pete Rock’s Petestrumentals (BBE, 2001), Larry Levan’s Live at the Paradise Garage (Strut, 2000), and, at the risk of being immodest, my own “The Old Victrola” from Plays Well (Crank Automotive, 2001). On a (somewhat) related note I’d also point out Rupie Edwards’ Ire Feelings Chapter and Version (Trojan, 1990) which collects 16 of the producer/performer’s 70s dub reggae tracks, all built from the exact same same rhythm track--mesmerizing, even by dub’s trippy standards.

Addendum:

Tony Conrad: “Maybe someday Tony’s blistering late 80s piece ‘Early Minimalism’ will be released, or his fabulous harmonium soundtrack to Piero Heliczer’s early 60s film The New Jerusalem.” That was the last line of my entry on Tony’s Outside the Dream Syndicate in the first Top Ten list in 1995, and sure enough, Table of the Elements issued “Early Minimalism” as a monumental CD box set in 1997 and released that soundtrack as Joan of Arc in 2006 (it’s the same film; I saw it screened c. 1990 under the name The New Jerusalem but it’s more commonly known as Joan of Arc). Tony releases proliferated in the last twenty years of his life, which was heartening to see; I’d particularly single out Ten Years Alive on the Infinite Plain (Superior Viaduct, 2017), which rescues a 1972 live recording of what is essentially a prototype for Outside played by Tony, Rhys Chatham, and Laurie Spiegel (Rhys has mentioned his initial disgruntlement upon hearing Outside, as it was the same piece that he had played with Tony, i.e. “Ten Years Alive,” but he found himself and Laurie replaced by Faust!) and an obscure compilation track, “DAGADAG for La Monte” (on Avanto 2006, Avanto, 2006), where he plays the pitches d, a, and g on violin, loops them over and over , and continually re-harmonizes them electronically--really one of his best pieces.

Terry Riley: The archival Riley CDs that Cortical Foundation issued in the 90s and early 00s don’t seem to be in print, but I feel they eclipse Reed Streams (reissued by Cortical as part of that series) and are crucial for fans of his early work, especially the live Poppy Nogood’s Phantom Band All Night Flight Vol. 1, an important variant on the studio take, and You’re Nogood (see Dilla entry above). These days I would also recommend Descending Moonshine Dervishes (Kuckuck, 1982/recorded 1975) over Persian Surgery Dervishes (Shandar, 1975), which I mentioned in the original entry on Reed Streams in the first Top Ten; a lot of the harmonic material in Descending can also be heard in Terry’s dream-team 1975 meeting with Don Cherry in Köln, which has been bootlegged several times in the last few years. Finally, Steffen Schleiermacher recorded the elusive “Keyboard Study #1” (as well as “#2,” which had already seen release in a version by Germ on the BYG label and as “Untitled Organ” on Reed Streams), albeit on a programmed electronic keyboard, on the CD Keyboard Studies (MDG, 2002). As you might expect it’s a little synthetic-sounding, but it also has a weird kinetic edge (imagine the “Baba O’Riley” intro being played on a Conlon Nancarrow player piano) that’s lacking in later acoustic piano renditions recorded by Gregor Schwellenbach and Fabrizio Ottaviucci. But any of these versions is rewarding for those interested in Riley’s early output.

Henry Flynt, Charlemagne Palestine: A few of the artists on that first Top Ten list went from being sorely under-documented to having a plethora of material on the market, and Henry and Charlemagne are at the top of the heap. I stand by You Are My Everlovin, finally reissued on CD by Recorded in 2001, as Henry’s peak achievement, but I’m also partial to “Glissando,” a tense, feverish raga drone from 1979 that Recorded put out on the Glissando No. 1 CD in 2011. Charlemagne’s Four Manifestations On Six Elements double album still holds up well, as does an album of material initially recorded for it, Arpeggiated Bösendorfer and Falsetto Voice (Algha Marghen, 2017). The Strumming Music LP on Shandar is a definitive performance, and best heard as an unbroken piece on the New Tone CD reissue from 1995. Godbear (CD on Barooni, vinyl on Black Truffle), originally recorded for Glenn Branca’s Neutral label (which had also scheduled a Phill Niblock release before going belly-up), has 1987 takes of “Strumming Music” and two other massive pieces that date from the late 70s, “Timbral Assault” and “The Lower Depths”; Algha Marghen released a vintage full-length concert of the latter as a triple CD.

Steve Reich: Not a particularly rare record, but his “Variations on Winds, Strings and Keyboards,” a 1979 piece for orchestra on a 1984 LP issued by Phillips (paired with an orchestral arrangement of John Adams’ “Shaker Loops”), is often overlooked among the works from his “golden era” and I’d frankly rate it as his best orchestral piece.

Phill Niblock, Eliane Radigue: As with Henry and Charlemagne, after a slow start as “recording artists” loads of CDs by these two have appeared over the last twenty years. Phill and Eliane’s music was never best served by the vinyl format anyway—you won’t find a lackluster release by either composer, go to it.

Jon Gibson: I called “Cycles,” from Gibson’s Two Solo Pieces, “one of the ultimate organ drones on record” in the first Top Ten list, and it remains so, but Phill Niblock’s”Unmounted/Muted Noun” from 2019′s Music for Organ ought to sit right beside it. Meanwhile, Superior Viaduct’s recent Gibson double album Songs & Melodies 1973-1977 collects some great pieces from the same era as Two Solo Pieces, with players including Arthur Russell, Peter Zummo, Barbara Benary, and Julius Eastman.

John Stevens: In Top Ten #2 I mentioned John Stevens’ presence on the first side of John Lennon & Yoko Ono’s Life With the Lions; the Stevens-led Spontaneous Music Orchestra’s For You To Share (1973) documents his performance pieces “Sustained Piece” and “If You Want to See A Vision,” where musicians and vocalists sustain tones until they run out of breath and then begin again, which result in a highly meditative and organic drone/sound environment. In my early 00′s Digger Choir performances at Issue Project Room we did “Sustained Piece,” and Stevens�� work was a big influence on conceptualizing those concerts, where the only performers were the audience themselves. The CD reissue on Emanem from 1998 added “Peace Music,” an unreleased studio half-hour studio cut with a similar Gagaku--meets--free/modal jazz vibe. I also mentioned “Sustained Piece” in my liner notes to Natural Information Society’s Mandatory Reality too, if that helps as a point of reference.

Anthony Moore: Back in ’97 I wondered “How and why Polydor was convinced to release these albums [Pieces from the Cloudland Ballroom and Scenes from the Blue Bag] is beyond me (anyone know the story)?” That mystery was ultimately solved by Benjamin Piekut in his fascinating-even-if-you-never-listen-to-these-guys book Henry Cow: The World is A Problem (Duke University Press, 2019)—it turns out it was all Deutsche Gramophone’s idea!

Terry Jennings, Maryanne Amacher, Julius Eastman--“Three Great Minimalists With No Commercially Available Recordings” (sidebar from Minimal Top Ten list #2): Happily this no longer applies to these three, although Terry and Maryanne are still under-represented. One archival recording of Jennings and Charlotte Moorman playing a short version of “Piece for Cello and Saxophone” appeared on Moorman’s 2006 Cello Anthology CD box set on Alga Marghen, and he’s on “Terry’s Cha Cha” on that 2004 John Cale New York in the 60s Table of the Elements box too. John Tilbury recorded five of his piano pieces on Lost Daylight (Another Timbre, 2010) and Charles Curtis’ version of “Song” appears on the aforementioned Performances and Recordings 1998-2018 triple CD.

Whether or not Maryanne should really be considered a Minimalist (or a sound artist, for that matter) is, I guess, debatable, but I primarily see her as the unqualified genius of the generation of composers who emerged in the post-Cage era, and the classifications ultimately don’t matter—remember she was on those Swarm of Drones/ Throne of Drones/ Storm of Drones ambient techno comps in the 90s, and I’d call her music Gothic Industrial if it would get more people to check it out (and that might be fun to try, come to think of it). She made a belated debut with the release of the Sound Characters CD on Tzadik in 1998, an event I found significant enough to warrant pitching an interview with her to the WIRE, who agreed—it was my first piece for them. Her music was/is best experienced live (the Amacher concert I saw at the Performing Garage in 1993 is still, almost three decades later, the greatest concert I’ve ever witnessed) but that Tzadik CD is reasonably representative, and there was a sequel CD on Tzadik in 2008. More recently Blank Forms issued a live recording of her two-piano piece “Petra” (a concert I also attended, realizing when I got there that it was in the same Chelsea church where Connie Burg, Melissa Weaver and I recorded with Keiji Haino for the Gerry Miles with Keiji Haino CD). While it’s somewhat anomalous in Amacher’s canon, making a piece for acoustic instruments available for home consumption would doubtless have been more palatable to the composer herself, who rightly felt that CDs and LPs didn’t do justice to the extraordinary psychoacoustic phenomena intrinsic to her electronic music. “Petra” is more reminiscent of Morton Feldman than anything else, with a few passages that could be deemed “minimal.” Some joker posted a 26-minute, ancient lo-fi “bootleg” (their term) recording of her “Living Sound, Patent Pending” piece from her Music for Sound-Joined Rooms installation/performance series on SoundCloud, which is a little like looking at a Xerox of a Xerox of a photo of the Taj Mahal; but you can still visit the Taj Mahal more easily than hearing this or any of Maryanne’s work in concert or in situ, so sadly, it’s better than nothing (and longer than the 7 minute edit of the piece on the Ohm: Early Gurus of Electronic Music CD from 2000).

A few years after Top Ten #2 I was on the phone with an acquaintance at New World Records, who told me he was listening to a Julius Eastman tape that they were releasing as part of a 3CD set. Say what?!?!? Unjust Malaise appeared shortly thereafter and was a revelation. Arnold Dreyblatt had sent me a live tape some time before then of an Eastman piece labeled “Gangrila”—that turned out to be “Gay Guerrilla,” and is surely one of my five favorite pieces of music in existence (the tape Arnold sent was from the 1980 Kitchen European tour and I consider it to be a more moving performance than the Chicago concert that appears on the CD, although it’s an inferior recording). The other multiple piano pieces on Unjust Malaise more than lived up to the descriptions of Eastman performances that I’d read. The somewhat berserk piano concert I mentioned in that entry seems similar to another live tape issued as The Zurich Concert (New World, 2017), and “Femenine,” a piece performed by the S.E.M. Ensemble, came out on Frozen Reeds in 2016. Eastman’s rediscovery is among the most vital and gratifying developments of recent music history--kudos must be given to Mary Jane Leach, herself a Minimalist composer, for diligently and doggedly tracking down Eastman’s recordings and archival materials and bringing them to the light of day.

The Lost Jockey—I was unaware of any releases by this group besides their Crepuscule LP until I stumbled onto a self-titled cassette from 1983 on YouTube. Like the album, the highlight is a piece by Orlando Gaugh--an all-time great Philip Glass rip-off, “Buzz Buzz Buzz Went the Honeybee,” which has the amusing added bonus of having the singers intoning the rather bizarre title phrase as opposed to Glassian solfège. Also like the album, he rest of the cassette is so-so Pop Minimalism.

Earth: Dylan Carlson keeps on keepin’ on, and while I can’t say I’ve kept up with him every step of the way, usually when I check in I’m glad I did. However I’d like to take this opportunity to humbly disavow the snarky comments about Sunn 0))) I made in this entry in Top Ten list #3. Those were a reflection of my general aversion to hype, which was surrounding them at the time, and of seeing two shows that in retrospect were unrepresentative (I was thunderstruck by a later show I saw in Mexico City in 2009). Stephen O’Malley has proven to be as genuinely curious, dedicated and passionate about drone and other experimental music as they come, and the reissue of the mind-blowing Sacred Flute Music from New Guinea on his Ideologic Organ label is a good reminder of how rooted Minimalism is in ethnic music, and how almost interchangeable certain examples of both can be.

And while we’re in revisionist mode, let’s go full circle all the way back to the very first sentence of the introduction to the first Minimal Top Ten: “I know what you’re thinking: ECM Records, New Age, Eno ambients, NPR, Tangerine Dream. Well forget all that shit.” Hey, that stuff’s not so bad! I was probably directing that more at the experimental-phobic indie rock folks I encountered at the time, and expressing a lingering resentment towards the genre-confusion of the 80s (i.e. having dig through a bunch of Kitaro records in the New Age bins in hopes of finding Reich, Riley, or Glass; even Loren Mazzacane got tagged New Age once in a while back then, believe it or not), which probably hindered my own discovery of Minimalism. What can I say, I’m over it!

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ferryboatpeak · 5 years ago

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I need to know every single thought you have about this album please and thank you

ok ok ok ok ok i’ve finally somewhat organized my thoughts, thank you for your patience! remember when i rhapsodized about lights up and said that what i really wanted from this album was more of the expansiveness of that guitar intro? well, i feel like harry more than delivered. the whole album is so BIG. it just unfolds and unfolds in every direction. it has such a sense of possibility. i love it more than i can possibly say.

golden is my absolute fave. big and sun-drenched and joyous. jes and i did our first listen with our respective earbuds and as soon as the vocals kicked in my jaw dropped and i gaped at her in utter disbelief and delight. then at “i know that you’re scared because i’m so open” i started flailing all of my limbs to communicate that there was an emergency and the emergency was that i was dying of joy. jes missed all of this because she was serenely listening with her eyes closed at the other end of the couch. i admire her composure in the face of the transcendent perfection that is golden.

watermelon sugar and adore you have been such growers for me, i love them more and more every time i listen to them. i love that harry took some mushrooms in cali and wrote a bunch of sad/whimsical/trippy songs, and then he went to england to knock out a few crowd pleasers to finish the album. lights up still makes me so happy, and i’m only sorry that the live version makes the SHINE! bits kind of quiet and climbing instead of allowing me to ecstatically scream SHINE! at harry styles the way i want to. maybe we can fix this over the course of tour.

jes opened her eyes briefly after falling so we could exchange pleading looks that (on my end at least) communicated HELP how is this song SO GOOD and ANGUISHED and HEARTFELT and PAINFUL and OMG THAT FIRST HIGH NOTE and WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH ALL THIS LOVE IN MY HEART FOR HARRY STYLES????? it absolutely blew me away on first listen, and it continues to do so, but it’s also one of the most accessible songs on the album and so it’s not in the top tier for me. like, other people are going to sing falling. it’s a sad ballad that a broad spectrum of people are going to be interested in listening to. but i like harry better when he’s a little bit of a weirdo.

…so, that’s why to be so lonely is also one of my faves. i love the contrast between the acceptance of responsibility in falling (“no one to blame but the drink and my wandering hands”) and the petulance of to be so lonely (“you can’t blame me, darling”). this is the song i’m going to think of when I listen to the zane lowe interview for the one millionth time and harry says “you get petty.” it’s about indulging the worst of yourself during a breakup because you deserve it, goddammit. he’s not one bit sorry about being an arrogant son of a bitch and I LOVE IT. oh also why are we not talking about harry singing “i was just a little boy”?

oh did I skip cherry? i like cherry a lot (and i fucking loved it live) but i prefer the middle two installments of the side B wallowing. i do like the emotional specificity of “I can tell that you are at your best/I’m selfish so I’m hating it.” also real pleased with the taylor-esque burn in the reference to “his parent’s gallery”!

onward to side C! she is to hs2 what woman was to hs1, and i know i’m not the first to make that comparison, but the analogy works for me because both of them i was indifferent to on the album but boy i love them live. i’m so glad i got to see this album live right away so i didn’t waste four months being indifferent to the generically beatles sound of the first half of she when i could have been focusing on what’s really important: mitch earnestly and wholeheartedly confessing his love to harry via the medium of a sick guitar solo.

SUNFLOWER! god i love sunflower, my second favorite after golden. it’s quirky and sweet and just a little bit dark and of all the circus/celestial/alien sounds that pervade the album, this is my favorite permutation of them. (i love this recurring theme btw, that may be another post.) oh also there’s a whole other post about how hs1 had melodic echoes, e.g. the line that repeated from sott to only angel, but hs2 has lyrical echoes from song to song… brown skin, a gallery, picking up the kids from school, the import of calling someone “baby.” i don’t think it’s lazy or a failure of imagination; i think there’s a purpose behind each of the repeats. anyway the dueling gallery images from cherry and sunflower are one of my favorite occurrences of this trick.

i also really freaking love tpwk, first and foremost because it is EMPHATICALLY NOT A PREACHY SONG, instead it weirdly and wonderfully grounds itself in harry’s own body (“maybe we can find a place to feel good”) instead of purporting to give anyone advice about how to live. there’s whole other post in what this album has to say about harry’s body and its relationship to other bodies, starting with the lights up video and continuing with the imagery about “spreading you open” and so on through “feeling good in my skin.” i concede that all of the godspell comparisons about this song are 100 percent accurate but hey, i was a theater kid who will gladly belt out “preeeeeeeeeepare ye the way of the lord!” at the slightest provocation so i’m fucking into it.

oh I missed canyon moon! it is fine, i like it, it is a good song. like falling does, it suffers a bit in my ranking because it is a very accessible song.

ok ok ok ok now we’re at fine line and i’m not going to be able to put into words how the end makes me feel, starting when the horns come in. (oh did i mention how much i love the horns throughout the album? this and the lead-in to the watermelon sugar chorus especially.) it has all of the expansiveness i wanted, all of the hope, all of the triumph, all of the earned growth, all of the promise. this is the part where i cried (not during falling). sometimes i cut this song off partway because i can’t handle going through the emotions of the end.

in conclusion, there is not a clinker in the bunch and i am SO PROUD and SO HAPPY. also (1) golden (2) sunflower vol. 6 (3) watermelon sugar (4) adore you (5) lights up (6) to be so lonely (7) fine line (8) falling (9) tpwk (10) canyon moon (11) cherry (12) she.

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riffs-music-notebook-part-2 · 5 years ago

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It’s still the 70s, but with more guitar

Across from Punk, the way the guitar was being utilized was starting to formulate more intricate like and kick ass than ever before. Becoming the center piece, the shift into guitar chops would see prominence in such classics as Ram Jam’s Black Betty.

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At some point, guitar solos had started to become a rite of passage. It’s not the first time guitar mastership was introduced, but it certainly became a mainstay into rock and the newly developed Metal genre.

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Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne (1980)

Randall “Randy” Williams Rhoads (1956 - 1982)

Randy was an American heavy metal guitarist who played with Quiet Riot and Ozzy Osbourne. A devoted student of classical guitar, Rhoads combined his classical music influences with his own heavy metal style. He died in a plane accident while on tour with Osbourne in Florida in 1982. Despite his short career, Rhoads, who was a major influence on neoclassical metal, is cited as an influence by many guitarists. Rhoads is included in several "Greatest Guitarist" lists.

Source: Wikipedia

Randy with his collection of signature Jackson Flying V guitars and his Gibson Les Paul.

There was a major boom in the U.K. that took place as early as the 1960′s when many associated artists and acts would take inspiration from the U.S. and the Blues music. This would lead into the New Wave of British Heavy Metal or in acronym, N.W.O.B.H.M. Punk scenes were taking place in most the world in the emerging 1970s. Bands such as The Beatles and Led Zeppelin have gone on record to have stated taking great strides from Blues musicians such as Muddy Waters.

The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term in a May 1979 issue of the British music newspaper Sounds to describe the emergence of new heavy metal bands in the mid to late 1970s, during the period of punk rock's decline and the dominance of new wave music.

Source: Wikipedia

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Phantom of the Opera (2015 Remaster) - Iron Maiden (1980)

Of cultural importance the band would create their songs based around historical events. To think that I have learned a bit more about world history from Iron Maiden than some of my own school history textbooks is quite exemplary of the band. The stories told in these songs are taken from real world events. One such song would be Run to the hills. A song which explains the colonialism of the Americas and the brutal ways the Colonists established territory fighting the indigenous natives. I can only imagine textbooks these days gloss over such pivotal moments in world history.

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Run to the Hills (1998 Remaster) - Iron Maiden (1985)

Eddie, the iconic character from Iron Maiden. He is often depicted in the real world events that Iron Maiden bases their songs on. This one is The Trooper, reference to�� the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava 1854, which took place during the Crimean War.

Meanwhile back in the U.S. another band would help establish the guitar’s role to shape the Rock and Roll landscape.

The original Van Halen logo as seen on their debut self titled album.

Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen is known for its energetic live shows and for the work of its acclaimed lead guitarist, Eddie Van Halen. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

Source: Wikipedia

From left to right David Lee Roth, Alex Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen, and Michael Anthony.

From 1974 until 1985, Van Halen consisted of Eddie Van Halen; Eddie's brother, drummer Alex Van Halen; vocalist David Lee Roth; and bassist Michael Anthony. Upon its release, the band's self-titled debut album reached No. 19 on the Billboard pop music charts. By the early 1980s, Van Halen was one of the most successful rock acts of the time. The album 1984 was a hit; its lead single, "Jump", is the band's only U.S. number one single to date and was internationally known.

Source: Wikipedia

In 1985, Van Halen replaced Roth with former Montrose lead vocalist Sammy Hagar. With Hagar, the group released four U.S. number-one albums over the course of 11 years (5150 in 1986, OU812 in 1988, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge in 1991, and Balance in 1995). Hagar left the band in 1996 shortly before the release of the band's first greatest hits collection, Best Of – Volume I. Former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone replaced Hagar, remaining with the band until 1999; Van Halen then went on hiatus until reuniting with Hagar for a worldwide tour in 2003. The following year, the band released The Best of Both Worlds, its second greatest hits collection. Hagar again left Van Halen in 2005; in 2006, Roth returned as lead vocalist. Anthony was fired from the band in 2006 and was replaced on bass guitar by Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie's son. In 2012, the band released the commercially and critically successful A Different Kind of Truth.

As of March 2019, Van Halen is 20th on the RIAA list of best-selling artists in the United States; the band has sold 56 million albums in the States and more than 80 million worldwide, making them one of the best-selling groups of all time. As of 2007, Van Halen was one of only five rock bands with two studio albums that sold more than 10 million copies in the United States. Additionally, Van Halen has charted 13 number-one hits in the history of Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart. VH1 ranked the band seventh on a list of the top 100 hard rock artists of all time.

Source: Wikipedia

The change in lineup during the Hagar era was viewed as one of the most controversial and most discussed among music fans over the years. A lot of of original fans turned their backs and retaliated against the new singer. Sammy has still not felt any malice since joining and leaving the band. And personally, I grew up with the album 5150 first. I thought it was really great among some of the David Lee Roth era material as well. I really dig both singers for what they brought to the band. But no matter what, when you set the bar a certain height, filling in that role will always be a major undertaking. When I listened to their earlier songs such as I’m the one, Ice Cream Man, and Romeo Delight really capture the band in it’s purest form. And then along came the most sought after guitar solo ever captured in history.

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The outrageous barrage of notes as it’s come to be known is the mighty behemoth, the unmistakable, the renowned Eruption written by Eddie Van Halen. Once this solo was released, all Hell broke loose. Everybody wanted to get in on that guitar shred goodness. Funny thing is though, the word Shred wouldn’t even be a household name until mid to late 80′s.

It goes without saying that every guitarist at some point has heard of or knows of Eddie Van Halen. I think Eruption was the biggest monument attributed to that. And I just like every other kid would hear this for the first time and would just be blown away and ignited to dedicate my guitar chops. Which would be beneficial to up and coming musicians willing to go the distance.

Diver down will always be my favorite album, mostly because it features two guitar solos. And if you enjoyed Eruption, you absolutely will love Cathedral and Spanish Fly.

I kinda took Diver down as a format for my own first released album, Allegro. Opening with a guitar solo, and having some (poorly recorded) Heavy Rock tracks ending in a final guitar solo.

Since we’re discussing Van Halen’s legacy, I would be remiss if I left out the history post Van Halen and David Lee Roth’s solo project, A little ain’t enough.

So based off of what I personally know, David splits from VH, and starts his own side project in late 80s till 1990. He looks around for guitarists. By some miracle he finds Jason Becker. I’ll go deeper in a detailed entry about Jason, but know this; Jason left his own band Cacophony to release a solo album and sent Roth in a demo tape. Dave liked what he heard and immediately signed Jason on contract to record A little ain’t enough. The recording has been completed and Jason is set to tour to promote the album. Except, health complications prevented Jason from attending rehearsals and eventually from the tour at the advice of his doctor. He had been diagnosed with ALS (Ameotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease). The album’s tour tanked in live shows and marked Roth’s decline in commercial success.

The demo that Jason sent in was actually a cover of Yankee Rose, the guitarist on the original track was Steve Vai.

#history #guitarists #the music notebook pt.2 #RiffMusicPony

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bugband · 5 years ago

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beatles asks: 17, 23, 37, 39

(all just personal unsophisticated opinions ! and are likely to change and evolve over time so they’re more at the moment.)

17. rank the albums

power

~hell tier~

13. yellow submarine

(george martin’s compositions ain’t my jam but the original songs by the beatles themselves are great)

~hell tier over~

12. with the beatles

(i don’t think the beatles were at their strongest here. i think this was where they were thinking about the next step from their debut therefore it’s a strange period. they certainly are getting into the grooves of their sound (specific to post-hamburg) as well as bringing out more original works to the public more so than the previous album. i wouldn’t necessarily say this album is extraordinary - it’s a very simple album down to the beatles’ playing and songs. this album does contain several fillers that in my opinion don’t have much substance like little child,,,but this album contains great early beatles charm in a way that’s difficult for me to explain.

11. magical mystery tour

this certainly is not their strongest album and i’d consider it amongst the weaker bunch,,,but there are songs on this album which i love dearly (strawberry fields forever, i am the walrus for example,,,yes primarily john’s songwriting particularly shined bright this particular year). their talent wasn’t represented in it’s full potential.

10. beatles for sale

this does sound very harsh but imma say it, beatles for sale for the most part (disregarding the first 3 songs) is a very noticeable product of the beatles’ weariness of this time. i see this album as an effort to churn out another album to satisfy the masses and when an album is made with that intention in mind it never makes for a fantastic album. i wouldn’t say this album is a step backwards from their advances or a step beyond, i’d say it stays right in place if you understand what i mean. idk, the songs here are kinda weak.

9. let it be

to be honest...there’s not much i have to say about let it be. i don’t necessarily have an opinion on it nor is there much i could really say about it?? i can’t quite put my finger on it. but if we’re ranking,,,this just hasn’t always been my favorite of the bunch i suppose lol

it’s pretty okay !

8. please please me

good good, p solid man & an impressive debut !

7. a hard day’s night

a step beyond the formulaic-ly structured songs, especially for my boy john, but with the same sound of please please me and with the beatles. i generally see this album as a little step further into what would become their music in the next year.

6. help!

we’re getting there,,,one step at a time

one fantastic advance and one misstep at a time

5. rubber soul

a nice big step beyond,,,,

4. the white album/the beatles

this album imo has it’s flaws, at times it relies on filler pieces (but i’m not complaining, they aint really bad) but it was simultaneously at a creative high for my boy george, slowly bringing himself out of the shadows. overall, i love this experimental period for them and despite the troubles going on around this time, some of their best work was brought out here.

now for my top 3

3. abbey road

2. revolver

1. sgt. pepper

all just, fantastic. no words.

23. which beatle are you most like?

in terms of personality...i dunno ! i see elements of myself in all of them. i don’t necessarily have a personality twin but i can see individual bits of my personality in all of them equally lmao

37. if you have beatles playlists, what are they called?

i have 2 main beatles playlists (separated from solo beatles) ! forever (a general beatles playlist primarily of my favorites) + sweat & cigarettes (a 1958-1962 playlist). i didn’t notice that the latter rhymed until later so teehee

my solo beatles playlists are:

#9 dream (john) which also includes my favorite john songs from the beatles. it’s meant to be basically a john playlist.

cloud 9 (george)

ram on (paul)

and i don’t quite have a ringo playlist at the moment lmao

39. what are the 5 songs you could live without?

don’t pass me by, why don’t we do it in the road, wild honey pie, you like me too much, maxwell’s silver hammer goodBYE

send me beatles related asks !

#this was a little tough #but i made it #opinions #ask meme #answered #lewyn-martell

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 6 years ago

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Six Shots OCs

Set in an alternate timeline where superpowers are a thing and the United States government has a department of superpowered mercenaries who work to either recruit or terminate the most dangerous superpowered individuals around, the empathic gunman Eric Madden is tasked with taking down a superpowered serial killer known as “The Jersey Devil;” however, his dark and troubled past rears its head and complicates matters.

Keep in mind all of this is WIP and some stuff may change. Questions, comments, and feedback is appreciated. First up, though, here’s some trivia about the actual story itself:

The story actually has this working title due to originally being a story about assassins that was abandoned a couple years ago. It was changed due to too many fantastic elements creeping in, so it ended up being retooled to have superpowers and accommodate abandoned OCs.

That original idea actually spun off from original ideas for a different one of my stories.

HEROES

Eric Madden

Born and raised in the town of Bedlam, Maine, Eric had a rather uneventful childhood until the age of 16, when his hometown was razed and burned down in a horrible incident that left him an orphan. Taken in by the DOSI team that arrived to clean up the mess, it was soon understood he had the extremely useful powers of empathic reading and heightened senses; after training him for years, he became one of their most useful field agents.

He is 27 years old.

He has a dirty blonde hair, is 5’11”, and has blue eyes.

His power in more specific terms is that he is able to sense the emotions and intent behind them in people, thereby making him something of a living lie detector. He also has heightened senses that allow him to react incredibly quickly to anything his opponents may do, making him incredibly good at dodging hits.

He is a trained dancer, and did theater when he was in high school. He often utilizes the flexibility and movements learned from dancing in battle.

He wears special prescription glasses that allow him to focus his eyes better without straining himself.

He is a bit arrogant and cocky, and often goes on missions listening to music on an MP3 player, trusting his innate abilities to keep him safe.

He has trust issues which stem from a traumatic event from his youth.

He is ambidextrous.

He is bisexual with a preference for women.

He is engaged to Emmy.

He really thinks the Beatles should have disbanded in 1998, as he feels their post-80s work to be incredibly subpar.

His name is a holdover from the original concept for the story, in which he was part of a Seven Deadly Sins-themed hitman group in which he represented Wrath, thus the last name “Madden.”

His favorite song is “Pussy Control” by Prince.

Emmy O’Riley

Emmy O’Riley spent much of her childhood dreaming of excitement and adventure; at the age of 15 she got her wish, when she was swept up in a conflict where British agents were tracking down a superpowered refugee. Using her innate abilities she was able to drive them off, which attracted the attention of a local gang of rebels who fought back against British agents who came to Ireland. Befriending one of the members, one Primrose Cluain, she and Prim spent the next few years fighting off the British before they were swept up by DOSI after being framed for a terrorist attack in London to protect them. Emmy became a valued agent, and met and fell in love with Eric Madden.

Her hair is naturally black but she dyes a green streak into it.

Her power allows her to, for an hour at a time, cause any one small object to be able to infinitely replicate in her hand even if it somehow leaves it, essentially giving her infinite ammunition. For example, her preferred weapon of choice is throwing knives; with her ability, after she tosses the knife a new one will appear in her hand. There are limits, however; she can only give this ability to items she can hold in her hands, and only up to ten at a time (which allows her to use smaller throwing knives and shurikens in multiples). The original item and all copies also dissolve after some time. This ability also only works on inanimate objects and cannot work on living things, nor does it work on food.

She is 5’7”.

Her eyes are green.

Her favorite movie is The Green Mile.

She has a scar on the back of her left shoulder from a British agent stabbing her.

She is heterosexual.

She is 28 years old.

She is engaged to Eric Madden.

She’s totally into the punk style.

Her favorite band is the Ramones, followed closely by the Sex Pistols (the only British band she really likes).

Scarlet Love

Unlike many of her coworkers, Scarlet does not have a tragic backstory or a rough childhood. Raised by loving adoptive parents, after she was contacted by DOSI after her powers developed she jumped at the call.

She has the ability to control the flight path of projectiles she fires so long as they remain in her line of sight.

She favors the use of revolvers over any other type of gun.

Scarlet Love is not actually her real name, but a name she took during childhood.

Despite not even being from the West, she absolutely loves dressing like a cowboy.

She is extremely hyper, energetic, and cocky.

She is unabashedly gay.

She is engaged to Primrose.

She is almost always the Agent of the Month.

She is 5’7”, has greenish-gray eyes, and dyes her hair pink.

As a character she is primarily inspired by Hol Horse from Stardust Crusaders and to a lesser extent by Revolver Ocelot from the Metal Gear series.

Primrose Cluain

For much of her life, Prim just wanted to stay low and avoid confrontation. She didn’t want to be a hero, she didn’t want to fight the British. But then came the day her parents were nearly killed with a car bomb, and all bets were off. As mentioned in Emmy’s bio up there, she fought for years before joining up with DOSI to escape terrorist charges falsified by British agents.

She has the power to create illusions, though the bigger the illusion the more strain it puts on her. She usually teams up with Scarlet to cover her weaknesses, as she can create illusory Scarlet’s so that she can get into a position where she can redirect her bullets unimpeded.

She has a rather soft voice.

She prefers to go by “Prim.”

She is a lesbian and is engaged to Scarlet.

She favors wearing black dresses, no matter the weather.

Despite absolutely hating the British, she is a big fan of The Cure. She hates The Beatles though.

She’s also a big fan of My Bloody Valentine, with Loveless being her overall favorite album. She also likes Nirvana, especially their seventh album.

She absolutely is into the Goth style.

She’s 5’9” and has black hair and blue eyes.

Alexis McDowell

From a young age, Alexis was on the run from British authorities due to her powers manifesting early. At the age of eight her parents were struck down by British agents in front of her, and she only barely managed to escape. From there, she spent much of hear early life lying, cheating, and stealing to survive, eventually joining a street gang and rising through the ranks until she took over. Nowadays she harbors superpowered individuals and fights back against the authorities, all the while trying to make Britain a better place for her infant children to grow up in.

Her power is extreme durability. She has incredible stamina, speed, and very tough skin, making her very hard to bring down in a fight.

She does not do well in cold, and it seems to be her kryptonite, so to speak, though it doesn’t weaken her skin.

She is 32 years old.

She has dark red hair.

She is 5’5”.

She has a tic where she’ll throw the word “right” at the end of her sentences. This was something she picked up from her father, as opposed to most of the rest of the way she talks which she picked up from the thugs she hung around with on the street.

She has two children, Lyn and Caleb, ages 4 and 3.

Nadia Rosemont

Nadia was the older daughter of Dario and Poppy Rosemont. From birth they knew Nadia was different and special, and tried to help nurture her and make sure she stayed on the right path. She was especially helped by her younger sister, Dahlia, but when Nadia was disaster struck and, in a freak accident, Dahlia drowned in the lake outside their home. Nadia’s power, which was until now mostly kept in check, lashed out, and she accidentally killed her parents as they came to see what happened. Horrified, Nadia fled. While she never turned herself in, she lived with the guilt and became more tense and anxious as the years went on, desperately wanting to just live a quiet, peaceful life and not hurt anyone anymore.

Nadia’s power is an extremely powerful form of psychic energy attack. Typically activating when she is under great stress, it manifests as semi-visible pink tendrils of psychic energy emanating from her back that are razor sharp and can cut through flesh with ease. They have an effective range of 20 meters. However, while they can cut through flesh, they are not capable of any feats of strength and are rather unwieldy when it comes to grasping or picking up things. This is because her powers are not fully realized to the stress and trauma stemming from her childhood.

Nadia’s hair is white, not from her trauma but because she was born with it.

Nadia has brown skin, inherited from her mother’s side. Her sister Dahlia was white.

Nadia has some form of autism, though certainly a very high-functioning form. She does not like making eye contact, is not good at social interactions, and so on. This is explicitly based on myself, so if this does not seem to apply to you, that’s why.

Her favorite food is key lime pie.

Col. Richard Freeman

The guy that Eric, Scarlet, Prim, and Emmy answer to. He has been working at DOSI for thirty years, and has seen a lot in his time.

He has no powers himself. However, his mother did, which inspired him to join DOSI to help people like her find a place in the world where they can make a difference.

He is 65 years old.

ANTAGONISTS

Valentine Leeds

Born the thirteenth child to an alcoholic father and a long-suffering mother, Valentine was often subject to his father’s ire and his sibling’s torment growing up. His mother was his only support, and she taught him that no matter what, he should always smile through it and put on a happy face. His mother eventually killed herself, and with her gone, his last bit of self-restraint went with her. At the age of thirteen, Valentine used his power and killed his father and siblings before falling off the grid and blending into normal society. Over the years he would continue killing people, earning the moniker “The Jersey Devil” in reports but never being apprehended due to his power’s unique properties allowing him to avoid detection. His sweet and cheerful personality belies a completely insane murderer.

His power is an extremely strange and deadly one. When activated on himself, it gives him an incredible boost to his strength, speed, stamina, and durability, allowing him to do things like climb walls and effortlessly tear people in half. His power’s secondary ability lets him call forth a physical manifestation of his powers from his shadow, rendering him seemingly powerless. This has allowed him to avoid having to register and to avoid detection at all, as he merely needs to detach his power whenever he is in danger of being detected and hee will slip beneath notice. This physical manifestation is an embodiment of his hatred and rage that has been repressed all of his life.

He is 21 years old.

He is black.

He is not dishonest, and his happiness is always genuine.

He really doesn’t like to swear all that much, at most using mild language.

He dresses a lot like Michael Jackson in the “Thriller” music video; at the very least, his signature look is that stylish red jacket.

It is very rare to see Valentine without some sort of smile on his face.

He is in part inspired by the character CB from Starlight Express, at least in terms of being a seemingly innocent and cheerful young man who is actually a completely insane serial killer.

His first name is a reference to the villain of Kingsman: The Secret Service.

His last name is, of course, a reference to the legends of the Jersey Devil.

His power function similarly to Stands from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.

The monster he can summon as a manifestation of his power is named “Loveless.” This is a reference to the album of the same name by My Bloody Valentine.

His favorite song is “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson. Jackson is also his favorite artist.

Roxanne

Roxanne had a rather troubled childhood. Her mother died giving birth to her, which led to her father being emotionally distant to her, which ultimately led to Roxanne attempting suicide. The attempt failed, but the attempt left her permanently blind. During her stay in the hospital after this, no one visited her, which led to her completely cutting ties with her father and the rest of her family. She would go on to become a serial killer who targeted happy families, killing at least one person to make them miserable.

Roxanne’s power is electrical elemental abilities. In particular, she has perfected the use of her electric abilities to paralyze her opponents, something she uses to keep her victims from struggling too much.

Roxanne has specially made red-tinted sunglasses that allow her to see, as they are hooked into her optic nerves. However, she can only see everything in red-tinted colors or infrared.

She always wears a scarf at all times to cover the scars from her attempted suicide.

She is 6’ tall and rather slim.

She is a redhead.

She is named after “Roxanne” by The Police.

She is a bit irritable.

Yuriko Himura

Moving with her mother out of Japan to get away from her father at the age of 6, Yuriko would soon find a new home in the town of Bedlam, Maine. A shy and nervous young girl, she soon found a friend in a young Eric Madden and the two became inseparable for much of their childhood.

Then her father found her.

Her father was a member of a cult known as The Faces of Death, and when she was 6 he managed to catch up with her and attempted to initiate her into the cult. Whatever he did, it ended up awakening her repressed powers and drove her mad, leading to the destruction of the town of Bedlam and Yuriko’s descent into constantly seeking more powerful enemies to kill.

Yuriko’s inherent power is shadow manipulation. She can teleport using shadows, though the shadow has to be big enough to fit her (she can’t hide in the shadow cast by a toaster, for instance). However, she also has the ability to control and manipulate any shadow into attacking at her command.

Yuriko has a secondary power that is inherent in the katana she wields. The katana has the ability to absorb portions of the strength of any person she kills with it, and so as long as she holds the sword she has the raw strength of all these she has slain with it. It is unknown who forged it with this ability, but it is known the Faces of Death cult had it in their possession for a long time. Whenever the current wielder is killed, the power entirely resets.

Yuriko practices a sort of ritualistic necrophilia. If she views someone she kills as particularly honorable, she has sex with their corpse. This was likely instilled in her when her father initiated her into the Faces of Death, as the cult has a history of necrophilic practices.

Yuriko is 5’7” tall, has black hair, and dark brown eyes.

As a child, she was rather infatuated with Eric.

She has a tattoo of a serpentine dragon on her back, which she got during her initiation.

ANTAGONISTS: ENIGMA

Kristoph Hollenfeuer

Kristoph Hollenfeuer is the end result of a Nazi breeding experiment from WWII to produce the perfect superpowered soldier. Unfortunately, he was forced into cryostasis until the late 80s, when he was awakened and trained to use his powers. From there he took over as the head of the Secret Nazi organization known as Enigma, and has since been working on ways to subtly undermine democracy ever since as well as create the ultimate superhuman lifeform.

His power is the ability to generate flames, though due to the eugenics and Nazi science involved in his birth he’s a lot stronger than your average fire-wielder.

He is 44 years old, not counting the decades in cryostasis.

He is 6’2” and is naturally blonde-haired and blue eyed.

Hannah Schonheit

Enigma’s top scientist and the most trusted compatriot of Hollenfeuer. She has an absolutely brilliant mind and is responsible for many of their scientific breakthroughs in modern times.

Her power allows her to split off a copy of herself that has incredible strength but limited intelligence. She can only have one copy at a time.

She is 5′7″ with dark hair and light blue eyes.

She wears red-rimmed circular glasses.

She is secretly disdainful of Enigma’s ideology but she sees no escape without being killed for knowing too much.

She is 33 years old.

Fritz “The Mad Gasser” Bohnen

The only surviving child of a previous attempt at breeding a supersoldier. While he is incredibly powerful, he is also extremely dangerous.

His power allows him to emanate a variety of dangerous gasses or smoke from his hands; when he emits his gas, a hole in his palm opens and expels it. He favors paralyzing gas and tear gas but can do much more toxic gasses.

He wears a gas mask at all times

He is 6′.

He is 27 years old.

He is actually rather talkative and outgoing, with an easygoing and friendly personality.

MINOR CHARACTERS & FAMOUS FIGURES

Tara Holyfield

A younger member of DOSI. She spends most of her time in the garden.

She has the power to easily dig through dirt, rocks, and the like.

She likes to eat dirt. She has no idea if this is a side effect of her power, but she enjoys the taste.

She is always extremely happy and is perpetually upbeat.

She is 5′4″, with light brown hair and sparkly green eyes.

She is 20 years old.

Kevin Kilgore, Sr.

A legendary soldier from WWII. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest soldiers who ever lived, and he helped inspire the founding of DOSI.

His power caused all of his natural abilities to be amplified. He was faster, stronger, and more flexible than a lot of his fellow soldiers, and smarter as well.

Despite the above, Kilgore was extremely humble and never tried to lord over his fellow soldiers, believing them all to be in this Hell together.

He frequently fought against Enigma; they considered him their archenemy.

He is said to be the inspiration for Captain America.

He took the death of his son very hard; his son was killed in an ambush by German forces.

After the war, it’s said he adopted children who lost their parents in the war.

He lived to the age of 88.

He has a statue in DOSI headquarters.

Joshua Thorne

A US politician and a renowned philanthropist and enviromentalist. He generally acts as a correspondent between the White House and DOSI, though on some occasions people attempt to go behinds his back.

He has the power to control plants, a la Poison Ivy,

He is gay.

He is one of the very few openly superpowered politicians in America.

His hair is gren, which may be a side effect of his powers.

He was born into a wealthy family, but was taught to use his wealth to help others by his parents. He spent much of his youth doing chrity work and volunteering.

He is 35 years old.

He is very pleasant, happy, and genuine, which most people admire in a politician.

Joanne MacMahon

A popular masked wrestler who goes by “The Dominator.”

She has the ability to control the elasticity of her kin, and can make herself incredibly hard or incredibly rubbery, allowing her to tank hits or bounce about. Aside from this, she is just naturally very strong.

She is 5′8″.

She is almost never seen without her mask on.

She is very kind towards her fans and often shows up to kids birthday parties.

She has recently attempted to start an acting career.

Chef Rusty

A celebrity chef. Real name Kaipo Mahi’ai.

He has the power to enhance the flavor of anything he cooks so that it is palatable to even those who would not normally eat it.

He is rather plump and is well known for his big walrus mustache.

He is rather plump.

He is 55 years old.

He is one of the most popular chefs on TV, and is a beloved figure in his native Hawaii.

He earned his nickname during childhood when he tried to make soup in an old pot he bought at a thrift store. The soup he ended up making was filled with rust from the old pot.

Iris Ravencroft

See here.

THE THIEF AND THE SAMURAI CHARACTERS

See here.

SPOILER CHARACTERS

Lilith Crowley

Scarlet’s long-lost sister, the two were seperated at birth. Lilith has gone on to live a relatively pleasant life as a hitman.

She has the power to harness wind and create razor-sharp air blades.

She has white hair, which may be from some unknown trauma in her childhood.

She is almost identical to Scarlet. The only noticeable difference is their hair and eye color.

She is bisexual.

She is a big fan of the band Styx.

She really enjoys Pringles.

She is very particular in the cases she takes, and has a strong sense of justice, often doing jobs for lowered rates so she can enact karma on the wicked.

Sofia Kilgrave

Lilith’s partner and girlfriend.

She has the ability to envenom any object she wishes with a powerful neurotoxin; however, once out of her hands the item loses its poisonous capabilities and the poisoning is cured in her foes. She has control over how sever the poison is, and can do any sort of venom from a mild sickness to paralysis.

She is incredibly flexible.

She dyed her hair white to match Lilith.

She is 5′9″ with yellow eyes.

She is a bit clingy and overprotective.

She is based partially on Copperhead fom Arkham Origins and partially on an OC my fiancee created (I asked her permission before revamping her for here).

Bianca Murphy

A police officer who was mortally wounded during duty. She was reassembled as a cyborg by Ozymandias.

She was previously a police officer in the midwest. She was mortally wounded during a gang bust.

She is based on Robocop, though she’s not cyborgified to near the extent and her face is still visible.

Ozymandias Crowley

An interdimensional traveller, and Lilith’s son from another universe. He seeks out all iterations of his parents in the multiverse to kill. He is apparently from another version of this reality.

His power is an incredible variatian of technopathy, which allows him to control and manipulate machines to his whim. Combined with his brilliant intellect, he was able to figure out how to travel dimensions and fashion his own warship to do so.

He wears a cybernetic bodysuit of his own design, that regulates his body and increses his strength and reflexes by grafting itself to his spine.

He is generally rather even-toned and is most certainly a sociopath.

#my writing #my ocs #Six Shots

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harrisonstories · 6 years ago

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First off, the 2018 Mix, Take 5 Instrumental Backing Track, and Esher Demo of Back in the U.S.S.R. are now on Spotify.

Secondly, Rolling Stone just published an article noting the “15 most revelatory moments” by Rob Sheffield, who was lucky enough to be able to listen to the Super Deluxe Edition of The White Album. You can read the full article here.

[...] The outtakes defies the conventional wisdom that this is where the band split into four solo artists. “Do you think the perception of the Beatles history has been tainted by their own commentary in the early Seventies?” [Giles] Martin asks. “That’s what I get. I think post-Beatles, when the champagne cork has flown out of the bottle, and they’ve gone their separate ways, they reacted against it. ‘Oh, to be honest we didn’t work well as a group,’ and that sort of thing. Yet they never slowed down creatively. I quite like the idea of them throwing cups of tea at each other in the studio. I’m mildly disappointed not to find it. But what they’re doing is making a record.”

The Deluxe and Super Deluxe Editions finally unveil the Esher demos, which hardcore Beatle freaks have been clamoring to hear for years. In May 1968, just back from India, the group gathered at George’s bungalow in Esher (pronounced “Ee-sher”) to tape unplugged versions of the new songs they’d already stockpiled for the new album. Over the next days, working together or solo, they busked 27 songs. The tapes sat in a suitcase in George’s house for years. Seven tracks came out on Anthology 3; others have never been released in any Beatle version, including John’s “Child of Nature” and George’s “Sour Milk Sea.” The Esher tapes alone make this collection essential, with a fresh homemade intimacy that’s unique. Martin says, “They’re rough takes, but spiritually, the performances stand on their own.”

Here are 15 of the most revelatory moments:

1. “Revolution 1” The legendary Take 18, a nearly 11-minute jam from the first day of the White Album sessions. The other Beatles were surprised to see someone new at John’s side: Yoko Ono, who became a constant presence in the studio. It begins as the version you know from the record: John’s flubbed guitar intro, engineer Geoff Emerick’s “take two,” John’s “okaaay.” But where the original fades out, this one is just getting started. The groove builds as John keeps chanting “all right, all right,” from a low moan to a high scream. Yoko joins the band to add distorted synth feedback, while Paul clangs on piano. She recites prose poetry, fragments of which that ended up in “Revolution 9”: “It’s like being naked…if you become naked.”

The story of this jam has been told many times, usually presented as a grim scene where Yoko barges in, sowing the seeds of discord—the beginning of the end. So it’s a surprise to hear how much fun they’re all having. It ends in a fit of laughter—she nervously asks, “That’s too much?” John tells her it sounds great and Paul agrees: “Yeah, it’s wild!”

2. “Sexy Sadie” As the band warms up, George playfully sings a hook from Sgt. Pepper: “It’s getting better all the tiiiime!” John snorts. “Is it, right?” Take 3 is an acerbic version of “Sexy Sadie,” with Paul doodling on the organ. Yet despite the nasty wit, the band sounds totally in sync. When George asks, “How fast, John?,” he responds, “However you feel it.”

3. “Long, Long, Long” George’s hushed hymn has always been underrated—partly because it’s mastered way too quiet. In the fantastic Take 44, “Long, Long, Long” comes alive as a duet between George and Ringo, with the drums crashing in dialogue with the whispery vocals. Giles Martin explains, “I suppose, as is documented here, George was Ringo’s best friend, as he says. That song is kind of the two of them.” George starts freestyling at the end: “Gathering, gesturing, glimmering, glittering, happening, hovering, humoring, hammering, laquering, lecturing, laboring, lumbering, mirroring…” It closes with the spooky death-rattle chord, originally the sound of a wine bottle vibrating on Paul’s amp. “It still gives you the fear when it comes.”

4. “Good Night” Of all the alternate takes, “Good Night” is the one that will leave most listeners baffled why this wasn’t the version that made the album. Instead of lush strings, it has John’s finger-picking guitar and the whole group harmonizing on the “good night, sleep tight” chorus. It’s rare to hear all four singing together at this stage, and it’s breathtaking in its warmth. “I do prefer this version to the record,” Martin admits. (He won’t be the last to say this.)

John plays the same guitar pattern as “Dear Prudence” and “Julia.” That’s one of the distinctive sonic features of the White Album—the Beatles had their acoustic chops in peak condition, since there had been nothing else to do for kicks in Rishikesh. In India, their fellow pilgrim Donovan taught them the finger-picking style of London folkies like Davey Graham. “Donovan taught him this guitar part. John was like ‘great!,’ and then in classic Beatle style, went and wrote three songs using the same guitar part.”

The other “Good Night” takes are closer to the original’s cornball lullaby spirit. In one, Ringo croons over George Martin’s spare piano; in another, he does a spoken-word introduction. “Come on now, put all those toys away—it’s time to jump into bed. Go off into dreamland. Yes, Daddy will sing a song for you.” By the end, he quips, “Ringo’s gone a bit crazy.”

5. “Helter Skelter” This Paul song inspired endless studio jams, lurching into proto-headbang noise—they started it the day after the Yellow Submarine premiere, so maybe they just craved the opposite extreme. This take is 13 minutes of primal thud—remarkably close to Black Sabbath, around the time Sabbath were still in Birmingham inventing their sound.

6. “Blackbird” Paul plays around with the song—“Dark black, dark black, dark black night”—trying to nail the vibe. It isn’t there yet. He tells George Martin, “See, if we’re ever to reach it, I’ll be able to tell you when I’ve just done it. It just needs forgetting about it. It’s a decision which voice to use.” He thinks his way through the song, his then-girlfriend Francie audible in the background. “It’s all in his timing,” Martin says. “There’s two separate things, a great guitarist and a great singer—he’s managed to disconnect and put them back together. He’s trying to work out where they meet.”

7. “Dear Prudence” Of all the Esher demos, “Dear Prudence” might be the one that best shows off their rowdy humor. John ends his childlike reverie by cracking up his bandmates, narrating the tale of Prudence Farrow that inspired the song. “A meditation course in Rishikesh, India,” he declares. “She was to go completely berserk under the care of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Everybody around was very worried about the girl, because she was going insaaaane. So we sang to her.”

8. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” There’s an early acoustic demo, but Take 27, recorded over a month later, rocks harder than the album version—John on organ, Paul on piano, lead guitar from special guest Eric Clapton. (George invited his friend to come play, partly because he knew the others would behave themselves around Clapton.) The groove only falls part when George tries to hit a Smokey Robinson-style high note and totally flubs it. “It’s okay,” George says. “I tried to do a Smokey, and I just aren’t Smokey.”

9. “Hey Jude” Recorded in the midst of the sessions, but planned for a one-off single, Paul’s ballad is still in raw shape, but even in this first take, it’s already designed as a 7-minute epic, with Paul singing the na-na-na outro himself. Another gem on this box: an early attempt at “Let It Be,” with Paul’s original lyric showing his explicit link to American R&B: “When I find myself in times of trouble / Brother Malcolm comes to me.”

10. “Child of Nature” Another treasure from Esher. “Child of Nature” is a gentle ballad John wrote about the retreat to India: “On the road to Rishikesh / I was dreaming more or less.” He scrapped it for the album, but dug it back out a few years later, wrote new words, and turned it into one of his most famous solo tunes: “Jealous Guy.”

11. “JULIA” One of John’s most intimate confessions—the only Beatle track where he’s performing all by himself. You can hear his nerves as he sits with his guitar and asks George Martin, in a jokey Scouse accent, “Is it better standing up, do you think? It’s very hard to sing this, you know.” The producer reassures him. “It’s a very hard song, John.” “‘Julia’ was one of my dad’s favorites,” Giles says. “When I began playing guitar in my teens, he told me to learn that one.”

12. “Can You Take Me Back?” The snippet on Side Four that serves as an eerie transition into the abstract sound-collage chaos of “Revolution 9.” Paul toys with it for a couple of minutes, trying to flesh it out into a bit of country blues—“I ain’t happy here, my honey, are you happy here?”

13. “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” Paul spent a week driving the band through this ditty, until John finally stormed out of the studio. He returned a few hours later, stoned out of his mind, then banged on the piano in a rage, coming up with the jingle-jangle intro that gets the riff going. This early version is pleasant but overly smooth—it shows why the song really did need that nasty edge. A perfect example of the Beatle collaborative spirit: John might loathe the song, Paul might resent John’s sabotage, but both care too deeply about the music not to get it right.

14. “Sour Milk Sea” A great George highlight from the Esher tapes—“Sour Milk Sea” didn’t make the cut for the album, but he gave it to Liverpool pal Jackie Lomax who scored a one-shot hit with it. (It definitely deserved to rank ahead of “Piggies,” which remains the weakest track on any version of this album.) “Not Guilty” and “Circles” are other George demos that fell into limbo—“Not Guilty” sounds ready to go at Esher, yet in the studio, it was doomed to over a hundred fruitless takes.

15. “Happiness Is a Warm Gun” A tricky experiment they learned together in the studio, with John toying with the structure and his mock doo-wop falsetto. “Is anybody finding it easier?” he asks. “It seems a little easier—it’s just no fun, but it’s easier.” George pipes in. “Easier and fun.” John replies, “Oh, all right, if you insist.” It’s a moment that sums up all the surprising discoveries on this White Album edition: a moment where the Beatles find themselves at the edge of the unknown, with no one to count on except each other. But that’s when they inspire each other to charge ahead and greet the brand new day.

#john lennon #paul mccartney #george harrison #ringo starr #giles martin #yoko ono #george martin #eric clapton #the white album #esher demos #i disagree about piggies but anyway...#the beatles #1968 #rishikesh

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justlovehamm · 4 years ago

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Andrew Hammond’s Rolling Stone Top 25

Thought it would be fun to rerank the Rolling Stone top 25.

The first number is my ranking, then band, album, the Rolling Stone ranking, then my personal favorite song.

Without further ado...

25.Nirvana- Nevermind (6) Smells Like Teen Spirit?

24.The Velvet Underground- The Velvet Underground and Nico (23) Sunday Morning Ok this is another album that I’ve always thought got way too much hype. With a little more of an open mind, I think I do like The Velvet Underground and Nico more, having sat down and given it a couple more listens. Would it be in my personal top 25? Absolutely not. But here we are. I do hear how it influences a lot of the music I do like, but I just can’t get there with this one.

23.Carole King- Tapestry (25) Where You Lead

Through high school and college I worked at HEB. Off and on for eight years at HEB meant I developed a new genre of music: HEB Song. An HEB song has a little elevator music, a little yacht rock, a little boy band, and a lot of Carole King. This probably comes across as a backhanded compliment, but I really do appreciate someone mastering a specific sound even if it’s the sound most likely to get you to pull two bags of chips from the shelf and not just one. Where You Lead receives the favorite song nod because of its connection to Mellisa McCarthy’s breakout show, Gilmore GIrls. A favorite show of my mom and mine growing up.

22.The Notorious B.I.G.- Ready to Die (22) Juicy

A real up and down album that ends up being a little bloated once you listen to it straight through. Never a good sign when you start thinking to yourself “we are still listening to this B.I.G. album?” Juicy on its own would be pretty high up on a top songs list. “Birthdays was the worst days; now we sip Champagne when we thirsty,” my favorite line from that song.

21.Kendrick Lamar- To Pimp a Butterfly (19) Momma

Kind of a tricky one for me, since I think good kid, m A.A.d city runs laps around any other Lamar album. This choice feels a little like a reach by Rolling Stone to include something from the most recent decade in the top twenty five. My favorite parts of To Pimp a Butterfly are the Flying Lotus and Kamasi Washington influenced sounds. The avant garde lo-fi jazz sound that lurks beneath what Lamar spits out makes for a great combination. Great late night jam that took me back to my days in college when I’d play Flying Lotus late at night while studying.

20.Bob Dylan- Highway 61 Revisited (18) Like a Rolling Stone

Highway 61 Revisted was the first Dylan album I listened to thanks to my dad. So I guess I knew electric Bob before I even knew there was an acoustic Bob. Like a Rolling Stone can be debated about whether or not it is a GOAT song, but it’s easily the greatest f-you song. Verse three sticks out especially. Diplomats stealing hits home pretty quickly these days.

19.Public Enemy- It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (15) Don’t Believe the Hype

The funniest album on the list, no question. Flavor Flav really brings the comic relief to Chuck D’s social commentary. Speaking of laughable, the initial Rolling Stone top 500 had It Takes a Nation as the only rap album in the top one hundred. For sure. Released in 1988, It Takes a Nation unfortunately fights the same battles that To Pimp a Butterfly is fighting twenty seven years later. The production bites your ears so viciously, and then just keeps chewing. An unrelenting record that demands the listeners attention, and the attention of the powers at be.

18.Aretha Franklin- I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (13) Respect

I feel like this album should be higher, but here we are once again. Aretha not getting any respect. I recently watched the Sister Act movies, and couldn’t help but wonder how the movies would turn out if she replaced Whoopi Goldberg. Spoiler alert: they’d be even better. Aretha’s voice really is that good, by the way. Take some time to listen to this album on a cold day, and let that gospel voice warm you up from the heart. The album cover perfectly captures that sixties black female aesthetic as well.

17.Michael Jackson- Thriller (12) Beat It

Ok. I know this is a #hammondhottake, but I really do believe what I’m about to say, and not just trying to get clicks. Thriller has a lot of great songs, but as a whole ends up being less than the sum of its parts. Is it possible to have too much pop? If this were a top twenty five songs list I’m sure I’d have Thriller songs higher, but as a complete albumThriller lacks depth. With the recent death of Eddie Van Halen, Beat It gets the nod for my favorite track. Such an iconic guitar riff that Eddie uses to tell white America it’s ok to like this black man’s music.

16.The Beatles- Revolver (11) Tomorrow Never Knows Over time this album has become more critically acclaimed; maybe even surpassing Abbey Road or Sgt Pepper’s. I still have it behind those two, but Revolver is no slouch. Coming out firing with Taxman, this album lays a great framework for Sgt. Pepper’s to later fill in only nine (!!!) months later. Iit makes sense that I would have Sgt. Pepper’s ranked higher since my favorite song on Revolver is Tomorrow Never Knows. You can imagine how I felt when my favorite show went to credits playing this LSD inspired track.

15.Bob Dylan- Blood on the Tracks (9) Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts

Thanks to listening to this album and Highway 61 Revisited, Dorothy now knows how to imitate Bob Dylan. “It’s meeeeee Bobbbbb!” This album hits hard, especially during the Fall. While sitting on the porch watching the leaves fall I keep imagining each one of them as a different character in Dylan’s tales. Lily, Rosemary, and The Jack of Hearts fall through the air mingling and dancing, taking twists and turns as Dylan’s characters often do in his extended songs.

14.Prince & the Revolution- Purple Rain (8) Let’s Go Crazy

Full disclosure: I have not seen Purple Rain, I’ve only listened to the soundtrack. The one regret I have on our wedding day was not playing Let’s Go Crazy to start the reception danceathon. Dearly beloved… Maybe a post-COVID danceathon will have to start off with this iconic track. I hate when you hear this on the radio and the opening is cut out. You need to have the set up before you can go crazy. This is the album you give to an alien who asks you what the eighties sounded like. Price creates such a definitive sound with this album. True talent captures a specific time and place, and then makes it timeless.

13.The Beach Boys- Pet Sounds (2) God Only Knows

Go read the Wikipedia on all the technical stuff that this album did for the first time. It’s all over my head, but does factor into the ranking here. I have to trust the studio nerds on this one, because at the end of the day it’s about the destination, not the journey. The Beach Boys create such a warm, beautiful sound, and you don’t need to know how they got it to hear the richness within it. I think a good life goal is to find someone or some-ones to whom you can genuinely sing God Only Knows and mean every single word. One of the best love songs ever. This album inspired The Beatles to make Sgt. Pepper’s, so we also can give thanks for that as well.

12.The Clash- London Calling (16) Lost in the Supermarket

What an opening bass line!! London! Calling! Pure energy in an album that keeps you pumped the whole time. A lot of high tempos, and the slower songs get their energy from the howling bass lines or Joe Strummer’s gruff voice. Like Songs in the Key of LifeI, I appreciate this album more and more as I get older. The lyrics again hit me different than they did when I was younger. Coming out two years before Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister, London Calling accurately describes the inequalities in London that she only exacerbated during her ministry. London Calling: come for the energy, stay for the class critique.

11.Fleetwood Mac- Rumours (7) Dreams

Funny this list came out right before the Tik Tok of quarantine dropped. Ha! So funny if they bumped Rumours up just because of it. Rumours has a crazy background to it, so check out the Wikipedia page to get all the gossip. I really want to talk about the ultimate backhanded compliment, Rumours being a perfect example. Is it mean to say an album is the perfect background music? I love Rumours because I can listen to it while staring at the ceiling, and it has enough going on to keep me engaged. But it might actually be a better listen if you are doing something else. Cooking, dinner conversation, playing with the kids, etc. I mean this is the best way. I really do love this album.

10.The Beatles- Abbey Road (5) Golden Slumbers 9.The Beatles- Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (24) Within You and Without You

My high school self would've ranked these albums much higher than I did here. I onced listened to the entire Beatles discography straight through. Nbd. Within You and Without You is my favorite Beatles song (breaking the tie with Abbey Road). This song comes in right behind Born to Run for GOAT opening side two song. But, speaking of side twos, Abbey Road…what a doozie. From You Never Give Me Your Money till The End, each track raises the stakes. Golden Slumbers is my favorite. Both of these albums are hard to talk about really. What hasn’t been said? They also fall victim to being so in the zeitgeist that you end up taking them for granted. The Lebron James of classic rock albums maybe? Just incredibly high expectations going into the release. They deliver a masterpiece, yet people sleep on them despite actually delivering on the astronomical expectations.

8.Stevie Wonder- Songs in the Key of Life (4) As

Rolling Stone’s highest rated double album. I’ve always known of this album, but having sat down and really listened to it straight though I appreciate it even more. Now that I’m older, this album rewards mature ears more than others on this list. Wondering aloud, could Stevie make the same album without making the previous 17(!) prior to it? Taking time to figure out who you are as a musician, and then delivering a mature album like this has to feel so satisfying for an artist. Final thought: love the cymbal on As.

7.Joni Mitchell- Blue (3) River

Maybe it’s the changing weather? Maybe it’s the clarity of sound in a house with two little girls? Still trying to figure out how Joni Mitchell’s Blue went from “the one with Mitchell’s Christmas song” to “the one where I can’t sit on the porch without playing it.” The quieter songs work better for me. Mitchell’s voice pairs so well with her acoustic guitar or piano. Mitchell wrote River in Chapel Hill while caroling with James Taylor, and I’ll be singing this to the girls this Christmas.

6.Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (17) Runaway

Power: track three on this album, and also the best word to describe the sound Kanye creates with this tour de force. There are all time bangers going down the track listing: Power. All of the Lights. Monster. Runaway. Lost in the World. What do the last ten years of rap and R&B look like if My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy never comes out? Is this the most influential rap album this century? Kanye has a lot of baggage these days, but don’t throw this album out with the bathwater.

5.The Rolling Stones- Exile on Main St. (14) Torn and Frayed

Much mythologized, Exile on Main St. has none of the hits but all of the groove. I do think without the background and circumstances Exile might not be remembered as fondly. I still love it though. The rough bluesy tracks like Torn and Frayed especially stand out to me. To picture them trapped in a house in France banging out these tracks give them an even greater life. Given those circumstances, it makes sense that this is a great quarantine album to have playing in the background.

4.Marvin Gaye- What’s Going On (1) What’s Going On

The most political album on the list, and partly why Rolling Stone moved it up to number one after ranking it six in 2003. I am more than ok with it being one. I would say Gaye and Franklin would be one or two if you listed these albums on vocals alone. Gaye’s smooth voice almost works against him while singing such gritty lyrics. Clocking in at 35 minutes I do wonder if there is something about knowing when to stop and saying, “This is the album. We’ve said all we need to say.” Although number five on my list might say otherwise...

3.Radiohead- Kid A (20) Everything in Its Right Place

When will this album start to sound old? If this came out next week it would still seem ahead of its time. I have yet to see Radiohead live. Not holding my breath, but I do hear my favorite song as my alarm goes off every morning. . Waking up to Everything in Its Right Place gives me a sense that today everything will be as it should be. What will happen will happen, and I will resolutely go about the day. Or as Optimistic reminds us, “the best you can is good enough.” This is Radiohead’s best.

2.Lauryn Hill- The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (10) Can’t Take My Eyes Off You

What an interesting career. Her only solo studio album, but what a tour de force. It always catches me by surprise how long the album is (clocking in at 69:20), but it never really drags. Justine and I danced to Can’t Take My Eyes Off You for our first dance. I often wonder how Hill would respond to hearing that a rural white male resonates with her music. She’d probably hate it since it seems like that’s what sort of turned her off from the music industry in general. Still Processing does an excellent job of reflecting on her career on this podcast.

1.Bruce Springsteen- Born to Run (21) Born to Run

This was an easy choice for me once I saw it in the top twenty five. I am actually surprised Darkness on the Edge of Town didn’t beat out B2R (as Bruce puts it when writing set lists). Darkness seems more fitting for these times than Born to Run, not that songs like Backstreets or Meeting Across the River can’t capture the current malaise. Home, to me, sounds like the harmonica and piano duet at the beginning of Thunder Road. GOAT opening side-two track: Born to Run. One of my first COVID memories is watching this on the second Sunday of lockdown. So electric. It gives me comfort to know that I’ll be listening to these eight songs for the rest of my life.

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deadcactuswalking · 4 years ago

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 05/12/2020

Earlier this week, I finished and released by end-of-year list of the Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2020, which, for once, was on time, being released on the 1st – or 2nd – of December, depending on your time zone. That means I’ve already spent hours discussing music, and to be honest, I have a pretty bad headache in addition to this, so you know, I’m not really in that chart-reviewing spirit. Thankfully, we have very few songs to review here, and a lot of it should be pretty inoffensive. Now, before that, let’s talk about the actual state of the charts because it is looking ridiculous. Ariana Grande’s “positions” spend its sixth week at #1, and welcome to REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Rundown

Much like last week, it was an absolute bloodbath for any non-Christmas song this week, and this especially affects the hip hop and R&B on the chart. In the UK Top 75, which I cover every week, there’s a drastic difference to the US Billboard Hot 100, and that is the lack of radio. Radio impressions or plays have never been counted on the UK Singles Chart, and whilst in the States, I understand that a lot of Christmas songs rely on the radio, this is not true at all across the pond, because, for whatever reason, Christmas songs are streamed and bought a lot here even 60 years after the song’s original release. This is likely due to a smaller, arguably less diverse population and the immense amount of streaming service-curated playlists, which serve the same purpose as radio and often have the exact same label gimmickry and payola. Regardless, there is a stupid amount of drop-outs and fallers this week, for pretty big tracks as well. Now as I said I only cover the top 75 of the UK Singles Chart because it’s just easier and really, who cares about those last 25 songs? On the UK Singles Chart proper, Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved”, one of the biggest hits of 2019 and 2020, just spent its 100th week on the chart, which is insane, especially for a modern song. I think the song is dreadful but it is one of the biggest songs of all time here on the Isles, and since we’re going by my measures, it just dropped out (after spending seven weeks at #1, mind you). Of course, that’s not the only notable drop-out – and to be notable, you have to have spent five weeks on the chart or peaked in the top 40 – this week. Let’s list them, shall we? We have “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles, which spent 40 weeks on the chart, as well as #1 hit “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)” by Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo, “Giants” by Dermot Kennedy, “Mood Swings” by the late Pop Smoke featuring Lil Tjay, “Lighter” by Nathan Dawe and KSI, “Take You Dancing” by Jason Derulo, “Holiday” by Little Mix, “Tick Tock” by Clean Bandit featuring Mabel and 24kGoldn, “Come Over” by Rudimental featuring Anne-Marie and Tion Wayne, “Lasting Lover” by Sigala and James Arthur, “Holy” by Justin Bieber featuring Chance the Rapper, “One Too Many” by Keith Urban and P!nk, “Papi Chulo” by Octavian and Skepta, “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals, “Deluded” by Tion Wayne and MIST, “Confetti” by Little Mix, “pov” by Ariana Grande (to make way for another one of her songs we’ll get to – also probably the only actually good song that dropped out this week) and finally, “Life Goes On” by BTS off of the debut at #10. On the chart proper, this is one of the biggest free-fall drops of all time, and honestly, who wasn’t expecting this? Speaking of falls, we have a lot of those too. Whilst these are fallers, you should consider how impressive they are for even trying to survive the holiday season, which just can’t be done for a lot of these songs, even the biggest hits of the year, some of which we just mentioned. One of the funniest parts of this to me is that KSI of all people survived the overload of Christmas songs through his Craig David chorus on “Really Love” with Digital Farm Animals down to #17. For a former YouTuber, he has an immense amount of star-power and it’s kind of worrying. Otherwise, our notable fallers include “Paradise” by MEDUZA and Dermot Kennedy at #24, “Train Wreck” by James Arthur at #25 (not a good week for either of these guys – or anyone), “Monster” by Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber at #26 off of the top 10 debut, “Mood” by 24kGoldn featuring iann dior at #27, “Head & Heart” by Joel Corry and MNEK at #29, “Get Out My Head” by Shane Codd stripped of all of its gains at #31 (seriously, whilst most of these songs were fading naturally prior, this is worrying), “Lemonade” by Internet Money and Gunna featuring NAV and Don Toliver at #34, “Lonely” by Justin Bieber and benny blanco at #42 (giving him four songs as a lead artist on the chart – OCC, that’s not how your dumb rules work; be consistent), “See Nobody” by Wes Nelson and Hardy Caprio really having the most intense combination of streaming cuts and Christmas music at #44, “Wonder” by Shawn Mendes flailing at #45 (it will probably rebound next week), “Blinding Lights” by the Weeknd at #46 (same here), “Golden” by Harry Styles at #47, “Loading” by Central Cee at #48, “What You Know Bout Love” by the late Pop Smoke at #49, “i miss u” by Jax Jones and Au/Ra at #50, “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)” by Post Malone and Swae Lee at #52, “UFO” by D-Block Europe and Aitch at #55, “Plugged in Freestyle” by A92 and Fumez the Engineer at #56, “Princess Cuts” by Headie One featuring Young T & Bugsey at #60 (which happened to play as I was writing this), “Looking for Me” by Paul Woodford, Diplo and Kareen Lomax at #61, “WAP” by Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion at #62, “Diamonds” by Sam Smith having the biggest fall to #63, “Ain’t it Different” by Headie One featuring AJ Tracey and Stormzy at #65, “Chingy (It’s Whatever)” by Digga D at #69, “Come Over” by Jorja Smith and Popcaan at #70, “SO DONE” by The Kid LAROI at #71 and finally, “Flavour” by Loski and Stormzy at #74. A YouTube comment on the video version of this chart read, “RIP to hip hop and R&B in the UK, 2020-2020”, and, I mean, it’s a fair assessment. That’s not all though, folks, as we have the returning entries, most of which are very explicitly Christmas songs. Let’s start with “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Sam Smith at #75, and continue up the chart with “Cozy Little Christmas” by Katy Perry at #73, “Christmas Lights” by Coldplay at #72 (always the best song on the entire chart whenever it returns), “A Little Love” by Celeste from the John Lewis advert at #64, “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano at #54, “Santa Baby” by Kylie Minogue at #57, “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” by the late Dean Martin at #54, “Sleigh Ride” by the Ronettes at #52, “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber at #43, “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” by the late John Lennon, Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band featuring the Harlem Community Choir at #40 (always the worst song on the chart whenever it returns), “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney at #39 (this is an accurate ranking of the Beatles), “Jingle Bell Rock” by the late Bobby Helms at #38, “Holly Jolly Christmas” by Michael Bublé at #37 and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by the late Andy Williams at #36. Yes, that’s five consecutive Christmas songs returning to the top 40, made all the more ridiculous when you realise it’s topped off by “HOLIDAY” by Lil Nas X... at #41 – and it actually gained this week! Oh, and we don’t stop there either as not only do we have “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande returning to #16 as well, but we also have all of the gains this week. All of our notable gains are in the top 40 and all but one are Christmas songs, so let’s start with “One More Sleep” by Leona Lewis up to #33 (our greatest gain this week) and continue up the chart with “Merry Xmas Everybody” by Slade at #32, “This Christmas” by Jess Glynne at #28, “I Wish it Could be Christmas Everyday” by Wizzard at #23, “Driving Home for Christmas” by Chris Rea at #22, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Justin Bieber and Brenda Lee at #21 and #19 respectively, “Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson at #20, “Step into Christmas” by Elton John at #18, “Do They Know it’s Christmas?” by Band Aid at #15 (looking at this chart, I think we ALL know exactly what time it is), “Merry Christmas Everyone” by Shakin’ Stevens at #14, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” by Michael Bublé at #13, “Fairytale of New York” by the Pogues featuring the late Kirsty MacColl at #9, “Last Christmas” by Wham! at #3, and finally, “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey at #2. I don’t know if I’ll be happier if a 1994 classic hits #1 for the first time this Christmas, or an Ariana Grande song about sex positions takes the Christmas #1, given, of course, that LadBaby doesn’t pull something out of his ass last minute. Christmas also actually lands on a Friday this week, so there’s potentially two Christmas #1s: the #1 on Christmas Day and the #1 that includes Christmas Day. I mean, there’s this issue every year but since the chart week literally starts and ends on the day this year, I guess we’ll just have to see what the Official Charts Company decides. For now, after not-so-swiftly covering all of that garbage – and there’s three weeks more of it to come, folks – let’s discuss some of our new arrivals, none of which I imagine will be all that interesting but, hey, at least they’re not Christmas songs. In fact...

NEW ARRIVALS

#68 – “Body” – Megan Thee Stallion

Produced by LilJuMadeThatBeat

...It’s the antithesis of what it means to be wholesome, commercial and festive. You all know and love Megan Thee Stallion by now, and whilst I didn’t listen to that debut record yet – it is 17 songs after all – I have heard pretty positive reception so I will check out Good News at some point. Rico Nasty did release a record that’s only one less track and 13 full minutes shorter, so to be honest, I’m a lot more excited to check out that album, even if it won’t have any impact here. I did laugh at the track list when I saw “Intercourse (feat. Popcaan & Mustard)” though, which is one of the few times I have genuinely laughed at just a track list. “Shots Fired” is a pretty great Tory Lanez diss track though, so I’ll say that. “Body” is relatively deep into the track listing, yet seems to be the biggest hit, mostly because of that polarising earworm hook and the music video. Oh, yeah, and it straight-up samples a woman having an orgasm, so don’t expect this to stick around. In fact, that’s the only melody behind this dirty South bounce-adjacent track, and even with that, it only comes in on that chorus, which is less annoying to me as it is just catchy. It’s not like men haven’t done the same thing, though, I mean, Dr. Dre famously – or infamously – “paused 4 porno” on his album 2001, and just in 2018, Kanye released “XTCY”, a song that is hilariously lacking in any kind of moral compass, let alone born-again Christianity. It did the same thing that “Body” does with the moaning yet it also covers it in this really eerie sample, as well as spare 808s and a drum beat that doesn’t feel like it gets in the way of whatever the hell Kanye’s doing on this track. It also helps that the moaning doesn’t just come in on the chorus, instead we have a string swell to distinguish it, and that Kanye has more of a comical lyrical nature on “XTCY”. This comparison is only fair when looking at the production, though, as whilst Kanye has “sick thoughts”, Megan is just bragging about her own body-ody-ody-ody-ody, etc. over a pretty mainstream, accessible beat, even if it has really ugly, loud 808s that kind of do get in the way of the rapping here. Thankfully, Megan rides this beat forcefully – no pun intended – and with some really great wordplay, even if there are a few immediately dated references here and there. That third verse is also pretty funny, and whilst I don’t want to focus too much on this song – it’s a family show after all – this is pretty lively and whilst I’m not a fan of this beat, Megan makes it worth sitting through and honestly, the song sounds a lot shorter than it is. Check it out.

#67 – “Love is a Compass” – Griff

Produced by PARKWILD

I didn’t say the word “compass” on purpose knowing this song would be next, although perhaps I subconsciously snuck the word in. Maybe I should have made it seem like I foreshadowed this song, but honestly what about this warrants foreshadowing? I don’t mind Disney music at all. In fact, a lot of the films are full of really classic compositions that have aged incredibly, including the Renaissance era of their films, especially. In fact, “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” from Mulan – the original – is one of the few soundtrack songs that is directly related to and featured in the film yet I can still listen to outside of that context. I’ve not even watched either Mulan – or have Disney+ - so it’s not like I’m a big fan, but I can appreciate the music when I find it, even if I mostly despise everything Disney stands for as a company. The issue with this is that it cannot apply to “Love is a Compass”. I’m sure Griff and her producer PARKWILD are talented musicians, but this is purely a product. This wasn’t even made for an original animated feature, or a painfully weak adaptation of one of their original animated features starring Will Smith as the Genie. This is a generic piano ballad made for an advert, because just like literal shops and manufacturing companies like John Lewis, Disney has a Christmas advert. There’s nothing artistic about this. This “emotional” piano ballad is layered in reverb and egregious Auto-Tune that drains Griff of whatever emotion her delivery could have had. It doesn’t sound good in this context at all and it is so obvious, which is unfortunate because her voice, Auto-Tuned in a similar way, could easily work over more lo-fi and interesting production. As it is, this is repulsive, sonically and on every other level beyond that.

#66 – “Angels Like You” – Miley Cyrus

Produced by Louis Bell and watt

So, Miley Cyrus dropped her album, Plastic Hearts, last week and I expected more impact on the chart but the two singles are really THAT big that not any of the album cuts had much of a chance, even if “Prisoner” dropped a few spaces. Other than that, “Midnight Sky” is still in the top five and near the end of the chart, we have a debut: “Angels Like You”. It’s clear why this charted because this isn’t just a highlight from the album or a personal favourite of mine, but it’s a fan favourite honestly, a career highlight – which may not be hard to make, I mean, it’s Miley Cyrus we’re talking about – but it still impresses me with how much I really love this song. This is more of a mellow ballad than many of the tracks surrounding it on the record, with Cyrus’ raspy country twang finally met with a fitting blend of acoustic guitars and a genuine orchestral swell in the chorus, even if at times it decides to start clipping. The shift in guitar tone to a dirtier, aggressive one after the first chorus is a genius touch, and even the pretty stiff drum machine here feels like it adds a lot to the power of this song, especially when it starts kicking behind the screeching guitar solo, leading into an admittedly anti-climactic final chorus... that might even be fitting for the content, which is a break-up song but not one that decides to deflect blame or even focus entirely on the break-up, rather being an acknowledgement of what both parties here did wrong, and why they ended up in the relationship to begin with. Both Cyrus and her ex-girlfriend Kaitlynn Carter were in rough spots coming off of previous relationships in late 2019 and those dark spots are what Cyrus understands lead to the collapse of this relationship. She discusses the lack of connection between the two in the first verse, leading to a literally nameless relationship where it was full of romantic gestures but not any depth. The chorus is a complex look at how Cyrus knew she would look back on the relationship as little more than a fling, but how she regrets that this is her only view of the relationship. She didn’t want anything more and split after things started getting too serious, and feels genuine guilt for using Carter to heal her own depression, because “misery needs company”. She uses the biblical metaphor to demonstrate how she feels she tugged down her girlfriend, described here as an “angel”, to the hell Cyrus thinks she resides in, which may be melodramatic, sure, but I’d be lying if I said Cyrus doesn’t completely sell it here, with some of her best vocals to date, backed up by gorgeous production and really well-written lyrics. This is a genuinely brilliant ballad, give it a listen.

#58 – “Naughty List” – Liam Payne and Dixie D’Amelio

Produced by TMS

I’ve been writing these producers as “TM5” for so long without realising it’s an abbreviation for “The Music Shed”. Anyway, I hope we can all agree that Liam Payne is probably the worst off when comparing the One Direction boys and their solo careers so far. Harry Styles is one of the biggest stars in the world, making a twist on 70s classic rock that I don’t like at all but he IS making headlines and having massive chart success. Niall Horan is having mild success making rock and folk albums that are honestly alright, ZAYN has two albums under his belt that may not be listenable but at least the first one was a success and he did go into a more mature R&B direction, and Louis Tomlinson might not have been met with any success from his album earlier this year but at least there’s some quality there. Liam Payne, however, has been releasing straight garbage to no fanfare for the past three years, dating back to “Strip that Down” with Quavo, and continuing down the path of feigning maturity and development with music clearly not backing it up, demonstrated by the bisexual fetishism on his delayed debut album and how his collaborations went from relying on Zedd to relying on J Balvin to relying on TikTok stars on a sexually-charged Christmas single that couldn’t even crack the top 50. I have no idea who Dixie D’Amelio is other than seeing her sister’s controversies on Twitter in passing, but it is depressing that a major-label pop star needs D’Amelio to chart this high – and no, given his most recent singles with bigger features like A Boogie wit da Hoodie and Cheat Codes, as well as the shoddy performance of his last Christmas song, I’m not even considering that it’s the other way around. This immediately, in its first 15 seconds, makes sure you know this will be awful, with its tedious acoustic guitar strumming fused with cheap sounding sleigh bells and dated trap percussion, even with little “hey!” gang vocals straight out of 2014 that make this sound a lot less new and fresh than I think Payne thought it did. Also, something about these lyrics sounds really odd when you consider the age gap between the two vocalists. I mean, D’Amelio’s 19 years old, so it’s not like this is illegal in any way (and they didn’t have any chemistry to begin with), but the childlike imagery in the chorus just makes this gross. “Santa saw the things we did and put us on the naughty list”? This has less subtlety than 3OH!3’s Christmas song they released this year. Yes, that happened, and somehow the two washed-up early 2010s pop stars made a “dirty” Christmas song that is miles better than Liam Payne’s, probably because of the more interesting lyrical detail, and that, you know, it isn’t a duet. Check out “KISSELTOE” if you’re interested, it’s really good. I liked their comeback single with 100 gecs too so I’m pretty excited for whatever comes out of 3OH!3’s recent productivity. This song, on the other hand, as well as the upcoming joke, is just Payne-full.

#53 – “No Time for Tears” – Nathan Dawe and Little Mix

Produced by Tré Jean-Marie and Nathan Dawe

Okay, so, I understand the marketing of releasing a single after a long time of not releasing a single and after your singles have all dropped out of the chart, but Little Mix are just being managed horribly here. Why would you release a single in the Christmas season that you want to be big? This isn’t a holiday song in any way and doesn’t even sound like one, so releasing it this early into the Christmas season is just begging for it to be forgotten and eventually flop. Nathan Dawe is an EDM DJ so he doesn’t need this type of promotion as long as he can tour next year and he’s got big features, and Little Mix don’t need any extra singles because they’re still in the top 10 and they’ve branched out to reality television. Just let the girls breathe for a second and enjoy their success. Oh, and this song isn’t just logistically unnecessary, it’s sonically unnecessary, acting as a house-pop club banger with that standard piano sound reminiscent of 90s house that has been adopted recently by DJs, with any of the infectious melodies and genuine drive sucked out of it, especially if Dawe is going to add a Goddamn trap breakdown in the second verse with the most pathetic set of percussion I’ve heard in years on a house track. It’s not like Little Mix are saving this either because the lyrical content is re-tread and their performances are largely unrecognisable from each other and songs they’ve made before. Yeah, this isn’t offensive, but it isn’t interesting, outside of that bridge, but even then it builds up perfectly to a chorus that’s interrupted by a pointless, repetitious interlude. This song isn’t just uninteresting, it’s inherently unnecessary on all fronts, which if anything, is just kind of sad.

#35 – “All You’re Dreaming Of” – Liam Gallagher

Produced by Simon Aldred and Andrew Wyatt

Surely out of all of these songs, I’d have the most to say about our top 40 debut, with Liam Gallagher, former frontman of legendary rock band Oasis, and his new lead single, right? Well, no, because here are some unfortunate truths: Oasis made two good albums, and they’re not as good as you remember. Liam Gallagher is an awful person who continued to rip off his own band with his new one, without the songwriting ability his brother Noel had. Liam continues to be persistent in his making of enemies for no other reason than publicity. Noel’s reaching out to Liam for the sake of at least reconciliation goes completely unnoticed, ignored or criticised by Liam for no discernable reason other than an on-and-off again facade that’s been going on for more than a decade. Noel wasn’t even that great of a songwriter, relying mostly on musicianship and other people’s melodies he liked to co-opt for his own tracks. None of their solo work has been listenable yet still gathers attention that I imagine is to the dismay of those other band members in Oasis who, ultimately, made those classic albums as much as the Gallaghers. Where’s the praise for Bonehead, Guigsy or even Gem Archer, who stuck it out despite decreasing popularity, utter lack of musical quality and increasing tensions between the people who kept the band afloat until they decided to break up? Both Noel and Liam look at Oasis with regret or admiration depending on how they feel that day but when you look at who REALLY won that Britpop battle tabloids liked to hype up in the 1990s, you realise how far away Oasis was from Blur or even Pulp in terms of not only their songs but having their stuff together. This new song is complete garbage as well, with a pretty awful mixing job, Liam being as distinctively nasal and infuriating as he is with any of his songs let alone his uninteresting ballads, and the COVID-19 charity pandering that comes off as really false, especially since even after Noel released an Oasis track this year as a result of the lockdown – and Liam whining about how he wants to bring the band together to help the NHS – he criticised the honest release of the demo, which Noel wrote and sang himself. It’s also especially telling how the proceeds are only going to benefit charity for its first month of release. Afterwards, Liam and the label can scrape up whatever leftover streams they get from diehard fans. I don’t like Band Aid at all, in fact the song is pretty damn rancid, but at least they keep on recording updated versions to give to modern charities. Liam, you’ve got a bank account the average Manchurian would dream of. This charity single is a fraud, and a pretty hypocritical, immoral one at that.

Conclusion

I think on principle on how fake it is and how awful the song is, I have to give Worst of the Week to Gallagher... but I have a rule against crowning any kind of charity single with that title. At the end of the day, at least something at some point is going to the people who need it. Worst of the Week in that case goes to “Naughty List” by Liam Payne and Dixie D’Amelio, with a Dishonourable Mention to the product that is Griff’s “Love is a Compass”. Best of the Week should be obvious as it’s going to Miley Cyrus for “Angels Like You”, with an Honourable Mention to Megan Thee Stallion’s “Body”. Here’s this week’s top 10:

May I remind you this is the first week of December? Anyway, I doubt Shawn Mendes will make anything through the barrage of holiday tracks, but if he does, that’s next week. Thank you for reading and follow me at @cactusinthebank for more ramblings of this sort, I suppose. See you next week!

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idontwanttospoiltheparty · 2 years ago

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Top 5 silly Beatles moments. Silly is up to your interpretation lol

Also, top 5 songs from 1989. Bonus points if you give explanations why!

Hi Ashely <333

Top 5 really great silly Beatles moments: (could not Possibly rank)

The milk story I was today years old when I learned about.

Literally whatever the fuck the first three christmas records were PLUS the outtakes

All those music videos they shot on that one day in 1965 (ESPECIALLY the We Can Work It Out one)

That time they just ghosted George Martin cause they didn't want to have to record their song in German and then they like hid behind curtains when he showed up at their hotel room.

ironic but. everything with Magic Alex. incredibly silly of them.

Top 5 1989 songs is too hard but here's a top 6 :)

Out Of The Woods: arguably her best produced song; the way it sounds like anxiety and nostalgia at the same time???? Repetitive chorus of all time. She sings it so nicely, the lyrics are so great. Just. Love this song. It's quintessential Taylor.

Blank Space: Pop perfection, unironically. I think the minimalist production paired with the doowop progression makes it so insanely timeless. A cultural reset for real. Tumblr may act like they dislike her now but I remember when normies were posting lyrics from this. The "Gotta long list of ex-lovers" is one of her BEST melodies. I LOOOOOVE the ad-libs she does in the final choruses.

Clean: Also arguably her best produced song. Kinda wish she would work with Imogen again this song is so unique in her discography. I looooooove the mbira :( Also the imagery in this song is so good.

I Know Places: This was my first listen fave! The chorus is SUBLIME!!!!!! It's just such a bop and sooooooo underrated.

This Love / New Romantics: Completely different songs lol but here we are. This Love is just very very very beautiful and like reeeeeeeeaaaaaaally pulls off saying So Much in few, simple words. The harmonies on this song are soooooo lovely. New Romantics is also pop perfection. "Cause baby I could build a castle / Out of all the bricks they threw at me" is perhaps my fave lyric on the album!!!!!

#ask #emometalhead #taylor #bugs

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itsmorefuntohavebadtaste · 6 years ago

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I want to go through my ranking spreadsheet and refine it a little bit more before I post my final version. But before I do that, HERE is what i learned from this experiment:

1. It is a really good way to experience music. I went into this because I wanted to break down my preconceived notions of what constituted “good” music. If the list has one thing going for it, it’s genre diversity. It’s never been easier to access music - vast swaths of it, all kinds - but so much of our listening is packaged and curated and algorithm’d to hell. So to have this kind of experience, to be like, “okay, I’m going to try to deliberately step out of my comfort zone and appreciate this five-hour Merle Haggard anthology on its own merits,” I think that’s very valuable. A random cross-section of my list has Frank Sinatra, Smashing Pumpkins, The Who, Eric B. & Rakim, The Wailers, and Bjork ranked side by side. It’s good to try new things! And what place to try new things than this huge smorgasbord of stuff that is, at least on some objective level, regarded as The Greatest?

2. It is a really bad way to experience music. This project spanned a full 11 months. That’s with listening to every album in full a minimum of one time. Making a judgment based on one listen is generally a bad way to go. I mean, a few albums immediately connected with me and struck me as great on the first listen, but others… Not so much. And I’m sure that with a few more listens, and some more background reading on the album’s history and the artist’s intent, I would have made more of a connection. But, like, when you’re listening to 500 albums, who has the time? Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco is ranked pretty high up my rankings list and upon first listen, I dismissed it as generic whitebread indie bullshit. But then I was stranded at work waiting for a ride later that afternoon, and I had no internet, and I had the album downloaded, so I listened again and was like… Oops! This is amazing! My bad! Forging real connections to music takes time and this experiment didn’t always allow that.

3. It is a great way to learn about music industry racism. To its credit, the list includes a tremendous amount of work by black musicians. But the curation, the way this work is presented in the list, is like, “[black artist] proved to be a huge influence on [white artist]’s work” or “[white artist] was greatly inspired by [black artist].” and it becomes very clear, as you work through the list and kind of build a musical chronology in your head, that words like “influence” and “inspire” don’t begin to cover the sheer extent of white artists’ creative theft of black artists. One of the early Beatles albums on the list was nearly half comprised of songs originally written and recorded by black artists - artists who faded into obscurity while Paul McCartney and John Lennon were immediately lauded as creative visionaries and masterful composers. The Elvis albums on the list (and the anthologies of folk music/early blues) paint a picture of an artist who made his name as a white interpreter of black art. And God, Phil Spector gets fellated up and down this list when the wall of sound was built by black women, whose labor and talent he exploited, whose lives he made a living hell! The balm here is that the list actually acknowledges the impact of those black artists, gives you an opportunity to hear the best of their work, and allows you a huge, substantial framework to understand this history of appropriation.

4. It is also a great way to learn about music industry misogyny! Let’s start with Rolling Stone ranking “Live Through This” - the definitive rock album by a woman - at #460. Then the long, long history of men writing songs about killing women - from Eminem to Suicide to Willie Nelson to this one line, “Girl, I’d rather see you dead than with another man,” originally recorded by Arthur Gunter, later covered by Elvis, later interpolated by the Beatles. It’s pervasive. It’s inescapable. You can’t even say, “Well, why would I choose to listen to that?” because misogyny is the bedrock of western songwriting. I don’t think you can truly appreciate Riot Grrrl until you know exactly what it was responding to. It makes those moments where women musicians step up and use this historically misogynistic medium to make space for themselves all the more precious to me. Loretta Lynn’s song about the necessity of birth control was a real highlight, actually.

5. I put both Eminem albums and the godawful Devo sputum in the equally weighted “Irredeemable” category on my ranking list, but the true loser and worst part of this experience was Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band. Holy fucking shit. I feel like the elitist bros who call this a masterpiece and Beefheart a visionary and swear “it gets good after six or seven listens” are the same people who say Kurt Cobain secretly wrote every Hole song. A nightmare.

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miasswier · 8 years ago

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miasswier’s ultimate glee ranking: no 107

107. Goodbye

Written by: Brad Falchuk Directed by: Brad Falchuk

Overall Thoughts: There are very few episodes that I remember watching for the first time, but this is one I’ll never forget, and that’s because it devastated me. I remember turning the TV off when the episode ended, walking upstairs, and crying for a good ten minutes. It’s the closest I’ve ever come to quitting Glee. I remember lying in my bed, crying in disappointment, and thinking I was done. I couldn’t watch a show that rewarded bad behaviour and punished talent. I couldn’t watch a show where the only characters I related to were given a two-second goodbye. Of course, by the time season four rolled around I was feeling a little better about it all, and obviously continued watching, but seriously, it’s the closest I’ve ever come to quitting, and for that reason I’ll never forgive this episode.

What I Like:

Burt dancing to “Single Ladies”. Such an amazing scene.

Kurt telling Blaine about how they’re going to be together forever. Very idealistic, for a high school couple, but still really cute.

The performances of the juniors to the seniors, and then vice versa. They’re really sweet and cute.

“Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat”. So cute and nostalgic.

What I Don’t Like:

The way they portrayed Blaine in this episode has always rubbed me the wrong way. Instead of saying how awesome he thinks Burt’s present to Kurt is, he brings up his own gift (which is far less personal) as if Kurt praising someone else means he doesn’t like Blaine’s gift. Then, instead of hugging Kurt when he gets called on stage, he gives him a hanky and tells him to wipe off his tears because appearances. I don’t know. Neither of these things really felt Blaine to me.

Quinn’s section of the episode is all about Puck. We barely hear about her future and what she’s hoping for. All it’s about is her helping Puck graduate high school. It blows, especially since it’s the last time Quinn is in the show as a protagonist, and Puck shows up way more than she does post-season three.

Mercedes and Mike are given two seconds each about what their future holds. Mercedes in particular stings, since she was one of the original five members of Glee club. She deserved a better high school send off than that.

Rachel and Finn blathering on about their wedding oh my god shut the fuck up. Considering how tightly packed this episode was, that scene where they’re trying to decide on chairs feels so out of place and unnecessary. Could have used that scene to give Mercedes and Mike a proper send-off, but no.

Rachel getting into NYADA, and Kurt not. Honestly? I would have been angry even if Kurt had gotten into NYADA. Rachel fucked up her audition, and then acted like a spoiled child who wasn’t getting her way, literally annoying Carmen Thibodaux into giving her another shot. Rachel is one of the most unprofessional people I have ever seen on television, and it’s shit like this that doesn’t make me want to root for her. It actually makes me want to see her fail, because it’s so exhausting seeing her get everything she wants over and over again exclusively because she throws a temper tantrum every time things don’t go her way. Kurt had an amazing audition, and Rachel fucked up. Nothing else should have mattered. If Kurt didn’t get in, Rachel shouldn’t have gotten in. Glee didn’t give Rachel anything to work for because she was never allowed to lose for longer than three episodes. I was already incredibly annoyed with how Rachel had been acting since “Choke”, but this really took the cake. Not only was she being a total brat, but she was getting rewarded for it? Carmen actually thought someone like this would be an asset to her school? It’s just not realistic, and it made me hate Rachel.

Ridiculously drawn out Finchel break up scene – especially since they get two more just like it in season four. Just shove her on the train and get the fuck out, oh my god.

Songs:

Forever Young: I don’t mind this song, but I find it rather boring. Like they felt like they had to give Matt Morrison a song, but wanted to get it out of the way as soon as possible to give the kids time to shine.

I’ll Remember: Like with Mercedes, there isn’t a song Kurt could sing that I wouldn’t like. Still, like with “Forever Young”, I find this song kind of boring.

You Get What You Give: I like this one a lot! It’s really sweet and fun. Kind of wish this had been the closing number, honestly. Probably my fave performance of the episode.

In My Life: I’m one of the three people on earth who just doesn’t like The Beatles. Some of the songs they do on the show I can put up with because of who is covering them, but not this one. I just don’t like this song, or most of The Beatles music. Sorry.

Glory Days: Why were two of the graduating seniors singing this song while everyone else got their diplomas? It would have made more sense to me if it was, I don’t know, Artie and Blaine singing this song. Also, I just don’t like it. Not my style.

Roots Before Branches: When they released the graduation album, this was one of my favourite songs on it. I still really appreciate the recorded version because, as a song, I enjoy it. However, the context in the show makes me furious. It’s basically an homage to Rachel Berry getting whatever the fuck she wants, but oh no her boyfriend broke up with her so I’m supposed to feel bad for her. Meanwhile Kurt is forced to smile and wave, his story completely unresolved. Fuck this, honestly.

Final Thoughts: I was about to finish eleventh grade when I first watched this episode. I was sixteen. I was terrified of what came after high school, and this didn’t help me at all. The main message of this episode is: if you act like a spoiled brat, you’ll get what you want; if you work hard, you get fucked. Haha, sucks to suck. It hit too close to home, which is why I reacted so extremely to it. Now, I have a bit of distance from it, so I’m not as emotional about it as I once was, but I still don’t like this episode or what it stands for.

masterpost

#ultimate glee ranking

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totalrockfiend · 8 years ago

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Remembering When U2 Conquered America: Joshua Tree Turns 30...

I was knee deep in the second semester of 7th grade…

And while strolling down the back hall of Tappan Junior High (a foul institution designed by the same Architects responsible for Jackson Prison, Michigan’s largest correctional facility) between sixth and seven periods, I encountered a pair of young ladies...

The Big Hair Set

Tight, cable-knit sweaters, even tighter acid washed Levis, teased hair piled ever so high. One a brunet, the other, the leader, a blonde. In other words, much dreaded and even more envied “popular girls.” Am I conjuring an clear image here?

Courtney, I think was her name, the blonde leader was blathering to her minion about, of all things, U2′s recently released album, Joshua Tree... “Where the Streets Have No Name... So Awesome! You haven’t seen the video? What’s wrong with you, I mean FOR REAL!?”

That U2 had managed to crack this demographic -- teenyboppers firmly ensconced in the pop-junk domain -- was clear sign something big was on the horizon for four unlikely would-be Irish Rock Stars...

In short, if the Big Hair set is into a band, said band is poised to break BIG TIME!

In 1987, U2 = My Sister’s Music... (AKA no good!)

From my perspective at the time, U2 was then relegated to the much derided category of “my sisters music.” A year-and-a-half older, her musical landscape was populated the then popular new wave and new romantic genres -- the New Orders, and Depeche Modes, and Duran Durans et al.

Joshua Tree Changed The Game for U2...

But with the release of Joshua Tree on March 9, 1987, which turns 30 today, U2 transcended the new wavers and the rest of their post-punk ilk. Joshua Tree in effect staked the band’s claim to America, in musical manifest destiny of sorts.

From Red Rocks to Desert Trees to Super-stardom

American audiences were certainly familiar with U2 by 1987. Mostly due to their then ground-braking concert movie, Under a Blood Red Sky. Filmed at Colorado’s famed Red Rocks amphitheater, the flick yielded the hit video for band’s most overtly political tune, Sunday Bloody Sunday.

But Joshua Tree marked the band’s jump from surging cult faves, to international superstars, and conquerors of the American music scene.

A New Sound + A New Message...

Attaining this transcendent super stardom was mostly likely due to Bono and the boys shifting gears on Joshua Tree, both sonically and thematically...

Toning Down The Post-Punk Angularity

The band’s prior albums were dominated by a minimalist, post-punk sound, lead by the Edge’s repetitive, delay drenched guitar-lines. U2 by no means makes a hard left turn here, as Edge’s familiar guitar styling evident throughout Joshua Tree. But the hard, angular edges (no pun intended) of their earlier minimalist sound are dialed down. And the pivot gives their composition a far more expansive sound that helped encapsulate the “wide open spaces of America” the album was attempting to reflect. The purposeful “American connection” is also evident in the band’s efforts to incorporate blues and traditional folk music into their sonic palette, albeit with mixed results.

Less Self-Righteous Politics, More LOVE!

The subject matter transitioned from overtly political themes of their earlier albums, to more seemingly personal, and emotionally charged material. Bono turns in perhaps his greatest, and certainly most tortured, love song in With or Without you. But the band’s social consciousness is still apparent in songs like Bullet the Blue Sky, a statement about America’s continued international militarism, and Red Hill Mining Town, the sad tale of community dying as it’s natural resources are plundered into extinction.

Billboard Hit Makers

The overall net-effect of U2′s evolving approach was critical and commercial PAY DIRT! Among the four singles released in the US, two reached #1 on the Billboard charts (Where the Streets Have No Name and I still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For), another cracked the top 20 (With or Without you peaked at #13) and the forth narrowly missed the top 40 (In God’s Country peaked at #44). And the album was certified Diamond, with over 25 million units sold to date.

For All It’s Virtues, Joshua Tree’s an Uneven Album At Best...

The first half of the album plays like a greatest hits record, leading off with the two #1 chart-toppers, a top 20 hit, and Bullet the Blue Sky, sneakily the album's best track, all in a row. But Joshua Tree is definitely front-loaded, as its song quality falls after after Bullet. In God’s country, the forth single, is by far the best song in the album’s latter half.

But despite Joshua Tree’s uneven nature, the album’s top five tracks rank among the best in U2′s entire catalog. Here’s a brief overview of these five audio gems...

Bullet The Blue Sky

The rhythm section takes center stage on Bullet The Blue Sky, which I’ve already noted is sneakily Joshua Tree’s best track. Adam Clayton’s hypnotic bassline anchors the song, while Larry Mullen Jr’s pounding drums drive it relentlessly forward, courtesy of a CRUSHING back-beat. This raging rhythm track, combined with Edge’s textural guitar flourishes, and song’s potent anti-American militarization message is U2 at it’s best -- ALL DRAMA!

With Or Without You

Here again, the rhythm section both propels and defines the song. Mullin’s steadfast floor tom beat combined with Clayton’s phat, round bass-pulse provides the aural bed upon which the Edge layers subtle synths and ebow guitar tones. Meanwhile, Bono delivers one of the most poignant and heart-wrenching love poems of his songwriting career, in an uncharacteristically restrained vocal performance. And how ironic that holding back actually give the tune far more concentrated emotional weight?

Where The Streets Have No Name

If Joshua Tree has a signature track, Where The Streets Have No Name is IT. The Edge’s trademark delay soaked guitar leads, Adam + Larry’s POUNDING rhythm, and, of course, Bono’s wailing, completely over-the-top vocals. And what’s the tune all about? Dunno, nameless streets?

Anyway, Streets was also Tree’s lead-off single, the band’s first Billboard #1 hit (and the band’s only other #1 besides I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, the album’s follow up single).

And of course, there’s the video. You know the one, where Bono and the boys ape the Beatles rooftop “Get Back” performances (filmed atop Apple Record’s London offices)? Only this time, U2′s “impromptu” performance is staged on top of a Downtown LA building. Much, apparently, to the LAPD’s chagrin.

In Gods Country

Perhaps the most post-punkish of Tree’s compositions, In Gods Country features the Edge at his multi-layered, echoplexed-out guitar best. And Bono manages to emote vocally here, without wailing (pun intended) us over the head with his typically overly dramatic delivery.

The message here is all Irish Catholicism meets America’s Mojave desert. In my best reading, Virgin Mary rescues Bono from the deserts scorching flame... But who knows?

I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For

While Streets was also a #1 Billboard hit, Still Haven’t Found is likely U2′s most well-know tune. It’s also my least favorite among the band’s considerable catalog of “Greatest Hits.” The music is solid, and Bono’s vocal delivery is in that more restrained space I prefer. But the lyrics are self-consciously sentimental in a way that’s nowhere near as endearing as a tune like With or Without You.

And the Rest?

One Tree Hill and Exit are throwaways. Tripping Through The Wires is decent effort, but really it’s just more of U2′s dark hued post-punk minimalism. And Mothers of the Disappeared is Bono at his melodramatic WORST.

Another 30 Years?

Not gonna lie, it’s weird that Joshua Tree is turning 30. Well, maybe not weird, but definitely makes me feel O-L-D!

U2′s members, however, are even OLDER than I (a good 10 years plus?). But the y show no signs are slowing down. Does that mean we have another 30 of U2 to look forward to? U2 in their 80s?

#totalrockfiend u2 joshuatree joshuatreeturns30

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