Category Archives: Music

Computers/Electronics, Music

U2 and Apple, redux

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18, King James Bible)

So its been a few days since Apple’s “big” event and the unveiling of the Samsung sized iPhones and the iWatch…er… Apple Watch and the thing that had me most interested, the free U2 album Songs of Innocence.

It is that latter part of the event that has many people -for the most part very amusingly- up in arms.  Witness, for example, the fact that the “uproar” from the free album’s release and auto-download to iTunes now has Apple offering instructions on how to remove it from your iTunes que:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/15/tech/mobile/apple-u2-return/index.html

According to Heather Kelly, the author of the above article, the lesson Apple learned was that not everyone likes U2 or wants their album, even if it is given away to them free.

The second point she makes, though, is the more salient one: even those who do (like U2) really don’t like it when you put music in their libraries without asking.

The Biblical quote offered at the beginning of this entry is somewhat appropriate to this situation, though I’ll be the first to say Apple’s “sin” is far from biblical in its importance.

A week or two ago one of the biggest tech issues involved the hacking of many very famous actress/models’ phones (iPhones all, it would appear) and the subsequent releases of their private, nude pictures.  Apple’s security took a big hit with this invasion of privacy, yet only days later the company decides it’s a good idea to release a free U2 album (I agree with them there) and an equally great idea to have it automatically download onto everyone’s iTunes (here comes trouble!).

For in “automatically” downloading this particular album to your computer, it feels like Apple, this time on its own and without the aid of a hacker, decided to intrude into your computer and give you a piece of entertainment, whether you wanted it or not.  In effect, they went one extra step too far and have suffered considerable derision for it.

It is astonishing that Apple took what should have been a huge positive (look, kids, we’re giving away a free album from a very big and popular band!) and made it a negative by delivering that content without your consent.

Weird times we live in!

Music

U2 and Apple

One of the biggest surprises, at least to me, of this year’s “Let’s bedazzle everyone with our new stuff” Apple event was the announcement that U2’s latest album, Songs of Innocence, would be automatically downloaded to everyone’s iTunes for free (minus, btw, as many as four bonus songs, three of which will likely be on the actual paid download/Cd and one more to be included on the vinyl release).

While I feel that U2 hit their pinnacle with the dual releases of 1991’s Achtung Baby and 1993’s Zooropa, to me they crashed down hard with the release of 1997’s Pop (an album that totally did not work for me) and have never fully recovered from it.  Though they’ve had some good songs and even decent full albums since that time (they’ve released 4 albums since Pop, including Songs of Innocence), the proverbial “something” was missing from their work.

Though its hard to put my finger on what that “something” is, it seemed they were perhaps trying to hard to create “hits” while simultaneously playing it far too safe.  Instead of a rock band, they became a corporation and were no longer willing to make waves or issue political proclamations or create songs that cut deep.  In sum, they got rather…boring.

Still, I loved most of their stuff up to Zooropa so naturally I’m interested in hearing anything they choose to release.  When I learned Songs of Innocence was being given away, I immediately jumped onto my iTunes and, not finding it there, manually downloaded the album and, to this point, have listened to the first three songs.  I really enjoyed the second song, “Every Breaking Wave”, but until I hear the whole thing a few times, I’m going to withhold any other critical comments.

That didn’t stop others from doing the same, though.

I was particularly intrigued with Lindsay Zoladz’s review of the album for Slate magazine, which you can find here:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/09/10/u2-s-surprise-album-songs-of-innocence-reviewed.html

The review was fascinating in its ambivalence, noting the positives and the negatives of this, the 2014 edition of U2.

Over at Salon, I found an even more startling article by Prachi Gupta which, rather than review the album itself, goes into people’s reactions to suddenly finding a new U2 album in their iTunes que.  Most of the comments presented aren’t positive at all, and point to a fact that until I read the article didn’t realize but probably should have:  To young music listeners, U2 is very much a band from the past.  To them, having this album “forced” upon them when they didn’t ask for it is impolite at best and somewhat creepy at worse (which Lindsay Zoladz points to as well!).

Regardless, this makes for interesting reading, even if Ms. Gupta shows her ignorance of the band by referring in the very first sentence of the article that U2 is a “90s rock band”.  I suppose their initial rise to prominence in 1980-81 and subsequent great albums from the 1980’s doesn’t count!?

http://www.salon.com/2014/09/10/this-new-u2-album-has-got-everyone-feeling-lots-of-feelings/

Music

Rock is dead…

…so sayeth Gene Simmons of KISS:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/08/showbiz/music/rock-is-dead-gene-simmons-esquire/index.html

I’m not a huge fan of either Gene Simmons or KISS (though they made several songs I don’t mind at all!) and I believe his comments were spur of the moment and perhaps not as articulate as they could have been, but I tend to agree with him.

Yes, music styles change from year to year and generation to generation and what fans loved back in the 1970’s (arguably KISS’ heyday) may not fly today.

However, I don’t think his comments are simply about a style of music.  His comments are about the fact that because of the internet and MP3’s and piracy, it is incredibly difficult for an up and comer to make any money at all with their new music.

The Beatles, arguably the biggest rock n’ roll band ever, didn’t appear out of nowhere.  They spent years practicing their craft in small venues before finally landing a recording contract.  Even after they released their first album, they had to continue working hard and creating more material before finally “hitting it big.”

Would they have succeeded in this day and age?  What if their new songs were readily available through torrent sites and, instead of buying records, many people simply downloaded the music illegally?

Its not too much of a stretch to imagine that if this were the case, “bottom line” record companies might view the emerging band as not worthy of investing more time on.

Is it possible there are other bands that might become as legendary as The Beatles out there but because of the state of music releases, they may not have the chance to grow and shine?

Music

Can you identify these 70’s hits…

…by their first second?  I got 10 out of 16 of them and was shocked I couldn’t identify three more (the remaining three songs/artists I couldn’t come up with weren’t on my radar all that much):

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/07/24/-70s-music-quiz-name-these-1970s-hits-by-their-first-second-audio.html

I’ll reveal the ones I didn’t know below as I don’t want to spoil the list.  Take the quiz yourself, see if you beat me!

Next up, name that 80’s hit by their first second:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/07/17/-80s-music-quiz-name-these-1980s-hits-by-their-first-second-audio.html

Did better with this quiz, getting 13 out of the 16 songs.  Of the ones I missed, two surprised me as I was quite familiar with the songs…though obviously not that familiar while the third was one I heard here and there but never paid all that much attention to so not getting it was hardly a surprise.

Before I get into the songs I missed, one more link, this one to the “Top 30 Outrageous Album Covers.”  See if you agree:

http://msnlatino.telemundo.com/entretenimiento/Premios-Tu-Mundo/photo-gallery/2014-07/top-30-most-outrageous-album-covers-ever-shakira-and-calle-13-are-of-the-most-controversial-photos

Now, the songs I missed in the two quizzes above:

The 70’s songs:

First up, the ones I missed that I found shocking:

Neil Young’s Heart of Gold.  Really?!  That’s one of my all time favorite songs, period!  Yet the strum of the guitar in that opening second wasn’t memorable enough to remind me of the rest of the song.  Weird!

Simon and Garfunkle’s Bridge Over Troubled Waters.  Another one that I couldn’t put my finger on.  Love the song, have heard it countless times, yet that opening second didn’t register.

Three Dog Night Joy to the World.  Again, a very well known song, to me, yet whose opening second wasn’t familiar enough to make me realize what it was.

The next three songs I didn’t get but wasn’t all that surprised by that fact.  In this case, the artists/songs weren’t among the ones I tended to listen to way back when, though I was at least aware of them:

Stevie Wonder, Sir Duke;  Glen Campbell, Rhinestone Cowboy;  Marvin Gaye, Let’s Get It On.

Moving on to the 1980’s music, the three I didn’t get were:

Janet Jackson Miss You Much.  Not too surprising.  I recall seeing the video more than hearing the actual song (the video was a strong mainstay on MTV back in the day and I’ll admit it looks quite good).

Olivia Newton John Physical.  I’m quite familiar with this song so it was a bit of a surprise I didn’t recognize it after its first second.  Not a terribly big fan of it, so perhaps that’s why.

Dolly Parton 9 to 5.  Another song I’m pretty familiar with yet couldn’t recognize from its first second.  As with Physical, not really my cup of tea, though it played quite a bit when it was popular.

Music

New Pink Floyd album?!?!

Count me among those super excited to hear this news…until, that is, I read the article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/06/pink-floyd-new-album-the-endless-river_n_5561346.html

If you’re not interested in clicking the above link, a brief summary: The Endless River, the “new” album by Pink Floyd, will be released in October.  However, it isn’t exactly a “new” work.  The album was originally recorded back in 1994 in the wake of The Division Bell, the last “official” Pink Floyd album released, which itself was the second of the Roger Waters-less/David Gilmour-led version of the band.

I have mixed feelings about Pink Floyd post-Roger Waters.  I feel David Gilmour is an absolutely terrific musician and one of the all time best guitarists ever.  I also feel he can sing the hell out of a song.  Having said all that, it can be argued that Roger Waters was the dominant creative force behind Pink Floyd’s biggest successes, from The Dark Side of the Moon to The Wall.

In the end it was the collaboration between the two, friction and all, that helped make them create such brilliant works together.

The Final Cut, the “last” Pink Floyd album to feature Roger Waters, was a good but, in my opinion, not a great Pink Floyd album.  Why?  Because it was essentially a Roger Waters solo album masquerading as a Pink Floyd album.  David Gilmour was barely involved in the work and his input was missed.

The problem with the albums that followed The Final Cut were both similar and opposite: A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell were essentially David Gilmour solo-albums masquerading as Pink Floyd albums and, in the case of those albums, it was Roger Waters’ input that was missed.

So now we have the upcoming The Endless River.  It appears this album will also not feature any input from Roger Waters, which is a shame.

Nonetheless, as with all things Pink Floyd, I’ll give it a listen.

Not to sound like too much of a pessimist but I do have a suspicion regarding this album: Given the fact that this work has been sitting unreleased since 1994 suggests that it may not be all that great.  If the studios and musicians involved in its production believed they had a truly seminal work in their hands, wouldn’t they have released it already?

I suppose we’ll find out in October.

Music

In an ’80’s music kinda mood?

Check this link out, from Salon.com, featuring 80 great ’80’s “one-hit” wonders:

http://www.salon.com/2014/05/19/80-great-80s-one-hit-wonders-because-sometimes-only-safety-dance-and-tainted-love-will-do/

After seeing the list, I know what some of you may be thinking as it certainly entered my mind: Some of the mentioned bands/artists were hardly “one-hit” wonders.  While it is true some of them charted perhaps one “big” hit within the US, they may have had great success outside our country.  So, bear in mind this list is rather US-centric.

Having said that, its an interesting list and features some really good (and some I’d rather forget! 😉 )1980’s tunes.

Naturally, it makes me want to add a few of my own.

I won’t adhere to the “one-hit” wonder notion, rather mention bands/artists that to me were mostly about one really great song, even if they charted with others.

Let’s begin with Red Rider’s Lunatic Fringe.  The band had other songs that charted both in the US and outside and singer Tom Cochrane had a big solo hit with Life is a Highway, but this song, to me, was their best, most famous work:

Next up, Aldo Nova’s Fantasy.  Cheesy, cheesy, CHEESY video, but I always liked the song.  Once again, Aldo Nova had a few other songs that charted, but it is Fantasy that I remember him best for.

I lived in Canada briefly in the mid-1980’s and I really enjoyed Parachute Club’s Feet of the Moon.  Parachute Club’s success was almost entirely limited to their home country and they charted a little higher there with the song Rise Up, but to me, this was their most memorable song:

Golden Earring has been around forever (they first formed in 1961!!!!) and are best known in the US for the excellent 1973 mega-hit Radar Love, but nearly a decade later in 1982 they had a second memorably big US hit with the moody, thrilling Twilight Zone…

Man, I could go on, but the hour is getting late and I’ve got work to do.  Perhaps I’ll revisit this list and provide a few more (not quite) one-hit wonders of the 1980’s!

Music

Natalie Merchant

Growing up, the music of 10,000 Maniacs never appealed to me all that much.  I was aware of their songs, even liked several of them, but never enough to go out and buy their albums.   Nonetheless, in and around 1995 I somehow heard, and became intrigued, with Natalie Merchant, by then an ex-member of 10,000 Maniacs, and her solo debut album Tigerlily.  Specifically, I absolutely loved the song Carnival.

I’ve followed Ms. Merchant ever since, buying each solo album she’s released.  Incredibly, she just released a new album, the self-titled Natalie Mercant, which features her first new songs in 14 years (how time flies!), and I’m looking forward to buying it.  I then noted the following interview with her in Salon…

http://www.salon.com/2014/05/12/natalie-merchant-when-i-talk-to-friends-who-have-creative-lives-and-children-we-commiserate-about-all-the-time-we-wasted-in-our-youth/

…and after reading it, was surprised by some of the vitriol found in the comments section afterwards.

A couple of examples: “Get over yourself” and “What a self involved, pretentious mommie-whiner”

An admission:  More often than not I love reading comments to articles.  Whether news, gossip, opinion, the comments sections can often be as entertaining, if not more so, than the articles that inspired them.  And often the more vulgar the comments are, especially if the vulgarity is creative, the funnier I find them.

In this case, however, I found some of these negative posts rather…depressing.

I can completely understand someone not liking Natalie Merchant’s music.  I’ve often noted how big a fan of David Bowie’s music I am yet my kids barely tolerate his works (they’re especially bewildered of my love for The Smashing Pumpkins.  They feel Billy Corgan’s voice is the absolute worst voice in music ever!).

Still, my kids’ reaction is to the music, not the person behind it.

The interview with Ms. Merchant, I felt, was interesting and illuminating.  She is asked questions and offers her opinions, which –surprise!– is what interviews do.

Why the personally directed vitriol?

To be fair, this wasn’t everyone’s reaction.  Some people fell into fawning territory, which in some ways can be just as extreme.

Ah well, I suppose it is what it is.  If you enjoy Natalie Merchant’s music, give the interview a read.  It is, at least to me, interesting -and short!- enough to give it a whirl.

Music

Royals…

Teenage musician Lorde created a really good song in “Royals”.  I love the music and the message and in my opinion the song is quite an achievement for someone so young…

Apparently Bruce Springsteen likes the song as well.  Certainly enough to cover it in Lorde’s native New Zealand:

Music

Counting couplets…

Ben Blatt at Slate.com offers this fascinating article regarding the most common rhymes in the history of pop music:

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2014/02/justin-bieber-and-the-beatles-they-both-liked-to-rhyme-the-same-words.html

Without giving too much away, the most common words used in songs to make a rhyme are “do/you”, which the author notes is a favorite from the Beatles to Prince to, yes, Justin Beiber.

The article goes in depth on other popular rhymes and their popularity over time, culminating in a fascinating interactive chart that allows you to see many popular artists and their most used rhymes.  If you’re curious, give the link a look.

Music

10 Best Drummers of All Time…

…at least according to Green-Label.com:

http://green-label.com/sound/10-best-drummers-time/s/10-best-drummers-time/

As with most lists, I suspect readers/fans will find some they agree with (Kieth Moon of the Who, John Bonham of Led Zeppelin) with others they don’t agree with.

I was intrigued and delighted that Stewart Copeland of the Police was included in the list as I’ve always felt he was a large reason for that band’s success.  Yes, front man/lead singer Sting was a hell of a charismatic presence and was responsible for much of their output, but Copland’s drum work really keep the songs moving, something that later Sting solo efforts lacked, at least IMHO.

Which, of course, brings us to the “missing” drummers, people you personally feel should have been on the list but weren’t included.

To this list, I would add heavy metal band Anthrax’s drummer Charlie Benante.  This man could well be one of the loudest and fastest drummers out there…After hearing this album way back when, I couldn’t help but wonder how Mr. Benante didn’t lose his arms while making this album!

Another one: Ringo Starr from the Beatles.  He did some great work in songs like these:

and…