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Post by pippsheadache on Jan 21, 2023 19:51:59 GMT -5
Thanks inger for the article. Great insight into a troubled soul. "I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's. His hair was perfect", is one of my favorite lyrics of all-time. One thing about the werewolf, his hair was always perfect. I never heard "Desperados Under the Eaves" before. Wow, what a great song. I would have loved to hung around Zevon and Billy Bob. Interesting to say the least. That song actually made me go to Trader Vic's in Los Angeles, when I was there with friends for a three-game series against Anaheim. Very pricey, but it was good. Mai Tai's were stout. I thought of you Desousa and Pipps on Wednesday night. A few colleagues and I went to an old Tex-Mex place in downtown Dallas that is known for its craft cocktails. I saw an old sign over the bar that looked like it was from the 1940s, which had listed Margarita, Martini, Negroni, Ramos Gin Fizz, Agricole Daiquiri, and Americana. I threw a curveball to the bartender for a Ramos Gin Fizz, which none of my younger co-workers had ever heard of. In short, the young man made it perfectly, the egg-white foam head a full three inches above the glass. It spurred a lot of conversation about cocktails. It was with great delight that I though of you Matt and Pipps!  An honor to be associated with such a fine setting, Rizz. I feel right at home across the miles. That's a great bartender making your Ramos Gin Fizz. Glad you're edumacating the younguns. The Last Word is another classic cocktail that not every bartender knows. I was blessed to have my first one at the Detroit Athletic Club, the place where it was invented. Another reason to hope Detroit somehow bounces back. We went to Trader Vic's a few times when we lived in LA. Always fun. I always liked the places that were out of a story by Raymond Chandler or Nathaniel West -- Musso and Frank's in Hollywood was at the top of that list. In fact West lived right around the corner. The lounge at the Hollywood Roosevelt, where the first Academy Awards were held. The bar at the Biltmore in downtown LA. The Brown Derby, where Jack Webb had his own corner booth which we always angled for on account of he was dead by then and couldn't arrest us. You could go to a different cool bar in LA every night for a year and not exhaust your options. |
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Post by inger on Jan 24, 2023 17:38:33 GMT -5
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Post by inger on Jan 26, 2023 20:49:30 GMT -5
Freddie Mercury – 21/12/1974, Melody Maker:
Well, ‘Killer Queen’ I wrote in one night. I’m not being conceited or anything, but it just fell into place. Certain songs do. Now, ‘March Of The Black Queen’, that took ages. I had to give it everything, to be self indulgent or whatever. But with ‘Killer Queen’, I scribbled down the words in the dark one Saturday night and the next morning I got them all together and I worked all day Sunday and that was it. I’d got it. It gelled. It was great. Certain things just come together, but other things you have to work for. The whole band is very particular. We don’t go in for half measures and I’m very hard with myself. There’re no compromises. If I thought a song wasn’t quite right, I’d discard it. I’m very intricate and delicate. You can see that in my paintings. I love painters like Richard Dadd, Mucha and Dali, and I love Arthur Rackham...
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Post by kaybli on Feb 4, 2023 3:42:01 GMT -5
Just discovered this song, chill vibes:
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Post by inger on Feb 4, 2023 9:09:35 GMT -5
Just discovered this song, chill vibes:
“I gave it a 71, Dick. It had an unusual flair, but we were doing “The Swim” to it. I almost drowned.”… |
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Post by kaybli on Feb 4, 2023 10:03:32 GMT -5
Just discovered this song, chill vibes:
“I gave it a 71, Dick. It had an unusual flair, but we were doing “The Swim” to it. I almost drowned.”… Don’t call me Dick.  |
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Post by inger on Feb 4, 2023 12:30:21 GMT -5
“I gave it a 71, Dick. It had an unusual flair, but we were doing “The Swim” to it. I almost drowned.”… Don’t call me Dick. Shirley not! … |
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Post by pippsheadache on Feb 9, 2023 17:31:12 GMT -5
As I am sure anyone who is interested has seen, Burt Bacharach has died at age 94. Definitely one of the most important popular music songwriters of the twentieth century. An almost incomprehensible range of songs and artists who performed them. His first released song was by Nat Cole in 1952; he was Marlene Dietrich's arranger and ended up working with Elvis Costello and Dr. Dre. I won't attempt to go over what any of his obits or Wikipedia entry cover.
Just a few oddities -- his first number one song was recorded by country singer Marty Robbins, "The Story Of My Life." "Always Something There To Remind Me" charted for at least three artists I can think of -- Lou Johnson, Sandy Shaw and Naked Eyes. He wrote The Carpenters first hit, "Close To You." Movie-associated hits like "Liberty Valence" for Gene Pitney, "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" for BJ Thomas and the theme from "Arthur" for Christopher Cross. Hits for artists as different as Perry Como and Aretha Franklin "I Say A Little Prayer." And of course pretty much anything you ever heard from Dionne Warwick.
Maybe the wierdest (and trashiest) was the theme from 1958's "The Blob" which was Steve McQueen's first starring role. The lyrics, such as they were, were written by Mac David, brother of Bachrach's longtime collaborator Hal David.
The unusual and complex chord and cadence changes always made it easy to identify his songs. He was insanely prolific.
RIP Burt Bacharach.
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Post by inger on Feb 9, 2023 18:57:47 GMT -5
As I am sure anyone who is interested has seen, Burt Bacharach has died at age 94. Definitely one of the most important popular music songwriters of the twentieth century. An almost incomprehensible range of songs and artists who performed them. His first released song was by Nat Cole in 1952; he was Marlene Dietrich's arranger and ended up working with Elvis Costello and Dr. Dre. I won't attempt to go over what any of his obits or Wikipedia entry cover. Just a few oddities -- his first number one song was recorded by country singer Marty Robbins, "The Story Of My Life." "Always Something There To Remind Me" charted for at least three artists I can think of -- Lou Johnson, Sandy Shaw and Naked Eyes. He wrote The Carpenters first hit, "Close To You." Movie-associated hits like "Liberty Valence" for Gene Pitney, "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" for BJ Thomas and the theme from "Arthur" for Christopher Cross. Hits for artists as different as Perry Como and Aretha Franklin "I Say A Little Prayer." And of course pretty much anything you ever heard from Dionne Warwick. Maybe the wierdest (and trashiest) was the theme from 1958's "The Blob" which was Steve McQueen's first starring role. The lyrics, such as they were, were written by Mac David, brother of Bachrach's longtime collaborator Hal David. The unusual and complex chord and cadence changes always made it easy to identify his songs. He was insanely prolific. RIP Burt Bacharach. I’m picturing a macabre cartoon panel with a deceased Bacharach, circling vultures and “Why do birds suddenly appear?” Does that make me a bad person? … |
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Post by domeplease on Mar 2, 2023 16:23:20 GMT -5
50 Years Ago, One Flawless Rock Album Changed Everything
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Post by rizzuto on Mar 12, 2023 17:47:48 GMT -5
Greeting from 1970!
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Post by pippsheadache on Mar 13, 2023 16:17:03 GMT -5
Now that kind of music is right up my alley and I am embarrassed to say that I was unfamiliar with both the song and the artist Swamp Dogg. And in 1970 no less, which I should know inside and out. Naturally I looked him up and found that he was a NOLA guy with a cult following (which presumably includes M. Rizzuto.) Upon further review, I discovered that he had previously recorded as Little Jerry Williams, and the old 10-watt bulb went off -- he had a 1965 R&B hit that got regular play on the black stations in Philly that I listened to called "Baby You're My Everything." Very different from his later work. Then I learned he co-wrote with Charlie Foxx a great Gene Pitney hit from 1968 called "She's A Heartbreaker." That was Gene's last big song. Charlie Foxx by the way wrote and recorded, with his sister Inez, a 1963 hit called "Mockingbird" which was lamely revived in the 70s by James Taylor and Carly Simon. The original is far superior. But I digress. Little Jerry/Swamp Dogg later collaborated with fellow Tidewater VA recording artist Gary "US" Bonds to write a lot of songs, the biggest being "She's All I Got" which was an R&B hit for Freddie North and an even bigger country hit for Johnny Paycheck. He was also responsible for producing some of the early work of Dr. Dre. It appears he's still out there working at age 80 -- he released an album just last year called "I Need A Job So I Can Buy More Auto-Tune." You don't need to read much about him to realize this guy is a serious piece of work. Here's the one I know from 1965. Nobody on this forum except possibly Bearman would like it, but I do so here it is: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQS42h6F7DI |
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Post by rizzuto on Mar 13, 2023 17:05:08 GMT -5
Now that kind of music is right up my alley and I am embarrassed to say that I was unfamiliar with both the song and the artist Swamp Dogg. And in 1970 no less, which I should know inside and out. Naturally I looked him up and found that he was a NOLA guy with a cult following (which presumably includes M. Rizzuto.) Upon further review, I discovered that he had previously recorded as Little Jerry Williams, and the old 10-watt bulb went off -- he had a 1965 R&B hit that got regular play on the black stations in Philly that I listened to called "Baby You're My Everything." Very different from his later work. Then I learned he co-wrote with Charlie Foxx a great Gene Pitney hit from 1968 called "She's A Heartbreaker." That was Gene's last big song. Charlie Foxx by the way wrote and recorded, with his sister Inez, a 1963 hit called "Mockingbird" which was lamely revived in the 70s by James Taylor and Carly Simon. The original is far superior. But I digress. Little Jerry/Swamp Dogg later collaborated with fellow Tidewater VA recording artist Gary "US" Bonds to write a lot of songs, the biggest being "She's All I Got" which was an R&B hit for Freddie North and an even bigger country hit for Johnny Paycheck. He was also responsible for producing some of the early work of Dr. Dre. It appears he's still out there working at age 80 -- he released an album just last year called "I Need A Job So I Can Buy More Auto-Tune." You don't need to read much about him to realize this guy is a serious piece of work. Here's the one I know from 1965. Nobody on this forum except possibly Bearman would like it, but I do so here it is: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQS42h6F7DI Pipps - I am so glad you enjoyed the tune. Synthetic World seems more attributable to now than 52 years ago: A word imitation Lives across the nation What's real has become a freak Someone's tryin' to make me weak Strange initials to keep me blind Psychedelic music to blow my mind [Refrain] So you see, my patience is growin' thin With this synthetic world we're livin' in The rhythm and tone remind me of little bars in New Orleans and elsewhere in south Louisiana, where so many talented musicians and songwriters never have the correct tumblers fall into place at the right time to unlock the blessings of recognition and remuneration. By the way, the song you posted "Baby, You're My Everything" sounds like a classic to slow dance with your best girl to end the dance, then sneak off alone to continue the vibe. Full of texture and emotion. See if you like this one by Swamp Dogg: "I Kissed Your Face." One of these days we'll have to share some Old Fashioned's and listen to some tunes. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mzVkS-74dI |
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Post by pippsheadache on Mar 13, 2023 19:48:58 GMT -5
Now that kind of music is right up my alley and I am embarrassed to say that I was unfamiliar with both the song and the artist Swamp Dogg. And in 1970 no less, which I should know inside and out. Naturally I looked him up and found that he was a NOLA guy with a cult following (which presumably includes M. Rizzuto.) Upon further review, I discovered that he had previously recorded as Little Jerry Williams, and the old 10-watt bulb went off -- he had a 1965 R&B hit that got regular play on the black stations in Philly that I listened to called "Baby You're My Everything." Very different from his later work. Then I learned he co-wrote with Charlie Foxx a great Gene Pitney hit from 1968 called "She's A Heartbreaker." That was Gene's last big song. Charlie Foxx by the way wrote and recorded, with his sister Inez, a 1963 hit called "Mockingbird" which was lamely revived in the 70s by James Taylor and Carly Simon. The original is far superior. But I digress. Little Jerry/Swamp Dogg later collaborated with fellow Tidewater VA recording artist Gary "US" Bonds to write a lot of songs, the biggest being "She's All I Got" which was an R&B hit for Freddie North and an even bigger country hit for Johnny Paycheck. He was also responsible for producing some of the early work of Dr. Dre. It appears he's still out there working at age 80 -- he released an album just last year called "I Need A Job So I Can Buy More Auto-Tune." You don't need to read much about him to realize this guy is a serious piece of work. Here's the one I know from 1965. Nobody on this forum except possibly Bearman would like it, but I do so here it is: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQS42h6F7DI Pipps - I am so glad you enjoyed the tune. Synthetic World seems more attributable to now than 52 years ago: A word imitation Lives across the nation What's real has become a freak Someone's tryin' to make me weak Strange initials to keep me blind Psychedelic music to blow my mind [Refrain] So you see, my patience is growin' thin With this synthetic world we're livin' in The rhythm and tone remind me of little bars in New Orleans and elsewhere in south Louisiana, where so many talented musicians and songwriters never have the correct tumblers fall into place at the right time to unlock the blessings of recognition and remuneration. By the way, the song you posted "Baby, You're My Everything" sounds like a classic to slow dance with your best girl to end the dance, then sneak off alone to continue the vibe. Full of texture and emotion. See if you like this one by Swamp Dogg: "I Kissed Your Face." One of these days we'll have to share some Old Fashioned's and listen to some tunes. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mzVkS-74dIOh yes, for sure I like this guy Rizz, the whole approach. I am sure I would like most anything he made. It's hardly an insight to say that New Orleans punches far above its weight in churning out musicians. I think pound for pound only Memphis might compete. I like almost everything I have ever heard out of New Orleans, going back to Jelly Roll Morton and King Oliver and of course the great Armstrong on up through Trombone Shorty (I bought a lot of records made by his grandfather Jesse Hill) and even trying to get Lil Wayne. But 50s-70s is where I live musically -- first 45 I ever owned was Fats Domino "Blueberry Hill" when I was six years old -- but Lloyd Price, the Neville Brothers, Professor Longhair, Irma Thomas, Smiley Lewis, Louis Prima, Frankie Ford, Clarence "Frogman" Henry, Huey "Piano" Smith, Ernie K-Doe, Pete Fountain, Al Hirt, the various Marsalises, The Meters, Dr. John. Even The Wild Tchoupitoulas, if you are familiar with them. Just scratching the surface. Music is the one pursuit in the world where the supply of great talent exceeds the demand, and therefore you wind up with the kind of scenarios you described. I've seen the same thing in Philly with local legends who should have been national stars could never break through. New York is overrun with them, as is probably any large metro area. My brothers are frequent visitors to Nashville and the clubs there go all day long just to cram in as much talent as they can. Yeah, an Old Fashioned or two or three and just about any band off the street from NOLA works for me! |
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Post by kaybli on Mar 19, 2023 7:09:53 GMT -5
Newly discovered songs. First one is a trip hop classic that hits you in the feels:
Second is from a band called Kasabian (my band right?  ):
Pretty different songs but which one did you like better?
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