Musings on the byways of popular culture
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I spent a hugely enjoyable week in the Catskills region of upstate New York this month, the focal point of which was my time at Bethel Woods for the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock Festival. You can read about it on my blogsite. Hopefully the link works. Let me know if it doesn’t.
https://bangnzdrum.blogspot.com/2019/08/my-woodstock-50th-anniversary-diary.html
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My new 27″ iMac.
First of all it’s brilliant having such a big screen, especially for music scores. Secondly it’s working perfectly. Loaded all my stuff from my backup disk, had to re-authorise a few plug-ins and things but otherwise it’s all working perfectly. And super fast.
The best thing is I actually ENJOY working, even on hard stuff I’d normally procrastinate on.
What are YOU in love with?
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Most pop songs about love are fixated with the fleeting early stages. Of course they are. It’s where the emotions are most heightened and intense. From ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ to ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ and beyond, songwriters are preoccupied with capturing the giddiness of those first flushes.
But what about those of us in long-term relationships? Domesticity and taking the bins out don’t have quite the same allure when it comes to penning a tune, which is what makes this track stand out all the more.
Since Arab Strap broke up around a decade ago, frontman Aidan Moffat has made a couple of albums with jazzer Bill Wells. I think this, in particular, might be the most poignant and beautiful song about a long-term relationship I’ve ever heard. How about you?
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I opened a drawer this morning and found this tiny badge which was part of the Press Kit for the Beatles Love album. The launch was at Abbey Rd in Studio 2, George and Giles Martin spoke about the project and you had to hand in your wrist band on exit to get a copy of the CD. Danny Baker presented his show from the control room later and Amy Lame looked at me like I was something unpleasant on the sole of her shoe.
I digress…… I was never one for loads of badges but there was a stall at Wembley Sunday market that sold a few T shirts and loads of badges which was always fascinating to look at. This seems to be the only one I have. Any lurking, forgotten, at your place?
http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/davebigpicture/FullSizeRenderBeatles%20Love.jpg
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The most common topic for a pop song is love. More specifically, the singer describes in the first person the feeling of being in love or the effect the object of their desire has upon them. For example, “Girl, I’m just a jeepster for your love”*is a perfect expression of the exuberant joy being in love can evoke.
Pop music has been around for fifty years. One would have thought that all of that outpouring of raw feeling could be turned to some use. How about asking Dr. Popstar their advice on relationships? Of course, Dr. Popstar is usually too wrapped up in themselves to lift their eyes from their personal beloved and ponder other people’s issues, but it does happen.
As usual, The Beatles were probably at the root of it. She Loves You is unselfishly third person, lending an observational eye on another’s relationship. In a song famously monosyllabic, the single most important word is ‘apologise’. It is carefully enunciated in the third and final verse. ‘Apologise to her’ is the best piece of advice Dr. Popstar has ever given me. I took it to heart 52 years ago and have deployed it often. It has helped » Continue Reading.
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I was going to write a diatribe against religious zealots that seem only content when they are killing those who don’t share their fairytales about invisible Dads etc. Yet after a day of horrific news I was moved to tears by this wonderful Nick Lowe lyric at Elvis C’s Basingstoke show last night. It replaced the angry ranting John Lydon screaming PIL’s ‘Religion’ in my head.
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I saw the wonderful Calexico last night and they covered Alone Again Or & Love Will Tear Us Apart. I don’t have time to do a Nights Out but in addition to a great set of their own songs, these two really stood out. https://youtu.be/SEhFUm5qy1w
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todayoutof10 on Fifty Shades – Christian Grey is ready for us. But are we ready for him…?
As I booked my ticket to see Fifty Shades of Grey, I was very much looking forward to my date with Christian Grey. I had been left disappointed by our first encounter and was eager to find out if our second meeting would be an improvement. I had reason to believe this would be the case.
I was late to the Fifty Shades party, having bought the book and its two sequels long enough after they had become a sensation to expect a cracker of a read. Finding the idea interesting, I was eager to immerse myself in a story that I expected to be emotionally charged, erotic and pretty gripping. In my head, I was already conjuring the developing relationship between the troubled man and the sexually naive young woman and looked forward to how it would play out in word form. Unfortunately, the books disappointed. So much so, that I gave up part way through the second novel. For me, a good book will put flesh on the bones of the characters I am imagining, helping me develop the story » Continue Reading.
