Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. LXXXIII--Joni Mitchell: Coyote

What better way to celebrate the nomination of the first woman in American history to be President of the United States than a Friday Night Jukebox dedicated to a song by (arguably) the first lady of rock and roll?

My introduction to Joni Mitchell came in (arguably) the greatest rockumentary ever, Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz.  There's nothing particularly special about Mitchell's performance--she was one superstar among many on the stage that night.  But what was particularly special was the song itself"  "Coyote."  And what really made it stand out was how little hoopla it received--Mitchell is announced, The Band performs behind her, and everyone let the song stand on strictly its merit.  And believe me, it stood taller than tall.

Joni Mitchell began performing in 1962 in her native Canada and has been recording and touring ever since.  While her heyday was in the 70's, she has remained a seminal influence on women and songwriters.  She has won 9 Grammy Awards, is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and her album Blue was #30 on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest five hundred albums of all-time.  Oddly enough, though, she's never really become a household name in the way that say, Aretha Franklin is.  This may be due (my opinion), in part, to her foray into jazz in the late seventies--jazz is a wonderful musical style but has never really caught on with the masses in America.  I'd also venture that part of it is the inherent sexism in America--Mitchell is as good of a songwriter and her career output is easily the match of say, Bob Dylan, but I'd bet a whole hell of a lot more people have heard of Bob Dylan than Joni Mitchell (and yes, she's that good,,,)--men are front and center even in rock and roll.

Released on her Hejira (loosely translated as "journey" in Arabic--Mitchell wrote all of the album's songs while traveling by car from Maine to California) LP, "Coyote" is kind of a different song to feature for a pop music lover like me.  While there is a chorus ("You just picked up a hitcher/A prisoner of the white lines of the freeway"), it's not featured prominently and the song is more of a story than your typical pop song.  It's basically a song about a one night stand--it's been conjectured that the song is autobiographical and that the male protagonist is playwright/actor Sam Shepherd, but Mitchell has never confirmed it.  It's also to a degree about the difficulty of having a normal life within the musical world, what with late night recording sessions and constant touring.
"Coyote" was the first single released from Hejira, but it never charted (no bullets this week!).

There are three things to note about the song (in no particular order):  1) Mitchell's songwriting is incredible always, but especially so on this song--it is almost like a short story and she uses subtle imagery that isn't used often in pop songs ("And with this flame/You put here in this Eskimo") 2) Mitchell's vocals--as is often the case on Jukebox songs--are just as incredible, moving from questioning to playful to soul searching with an ease not often seen in pop songs 3) The instrumentation is the final piece and it's a joy to behold--between Mitchell's incredibly catchy acoustic guitar and the fretless bass (many people noted this, and while you can't miss the bass in the song, I have no idea there was such a thing as a fretless bass or what it even looks like) played by jazz virtuoso Jaco Pastorius.  It all comes together to form one of the most perfect songs ever written--at least to an old literary fart like me.

Fascinating fact:  Mitchell had polio as a child and as a result her left hand would not let her play notes and chords like most guitar players--as a result she came up with numerous different tunings that would match both her ability and her vocals.

Lyric sheet: "No regrets coyote..."

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee

Nothing to see here

The first headline I saw on AOL this morning was how Elizabeth Warren had been heckled by the "audience" during her speech last night.  As someone who actually watched her speech (delightful, by the way), I can tell you that the "audience" was a single person, one guy, yelling "Black Lives Matter" again and again.  Good for him--he's allowed and should voice his opinion.  However, to insinuate that somehow Warren was a target of sinister Democratic forces is utter bullshit.

If I had to guess, the piece on AOL was probably written by some corporate toadie.

I had the privilege, thanks to our cable service, of watching the DNC completely devoid of pundits--it's just the stage and shots of the audience.  Let me tell you, all the talk of a divided Democratic Party and disarray on the convention floor is just so much crapola.  The Democrats were energetic, excited, and about as united as I've ever seen us.  Michelle Obama, Cory Booker, and Bernie Sanders made outstanding speeches in support of Hillary Clinton.  It was a terrific first night.

Ignore the hype.  The corporate media is more than happy to put profits over people's lives--the Democratic Party is not.

Peace,
emaycee

Adam raised a Kaine

My reaction to Hillary Clinton's choice of Tim Kaine as her running mate:

First:  Anger
Second:  Disappointment
Third:  Resignation
Fourth:  (After thinking about the Special Circle of Dante's Hell that was last week's RNC) Who gives a fuck?

Tim Kaine wouldn't have been my first choice.  He's not an economic populist and he's not an exciting choice--but he's with us on every other issue and he's a sharp contrast to Mike Pence (especially considering that Kaine was actually a very competent governor).

With each passing day it becomes more and more obvious that Donald Trump is unhinged--and the only thing that matters is that Hillary Clinton wins this November.

Tim Kaine's experience and background are strong enough to help her do just that.

Peace,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. LXXXII--Freedy Johnston: Bad Reputation

We have another Jukebox first this week--the first time a week's featured artist has done a (killer) cover version of the preceding week's tune.  That's right--Freedy Johnston did an "It's The Shit" rendition of "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)."

Anyhoo, the best praise I can give to this week's tune is that as I was listening to "Bad Reputation" earlier this week in preparation for this post about halfway through I literally said aloud, "Jesus Christ this is a great fucking song."

Not quite the gravitas of "Ode on a Grecian Urn" but here in 2016 U.S.A., about as good of an exaltation as you'll get.

Freedy (a nickname of his mother for him) Johnston was born Frederic John Fatzer in the swarming metropolis of Kinsley, Kansas (pop. 1658 as of 2009).  At the age of 16 he bought his first guitar via mail order; at the age of 24 he moved to New York City to become a star.  While he never quite became the next Bob Dylan, he began recording albums in 1989 and has been at it ever since.  Johnston is known as a "songwriter's songwriter" (maybe someday when I get big somebody will refer to me as a "blogger's blogger") and was voted songwriter of the year in 1994 by Rolling Stone.  Not a bad resume for a guy who probably truly knows the meaning of "...we're not in Kansas, anymore...."

Released in 1994 on his This Perfect World LP, "Bad Reputation" is Johnston's best known song, reaching #54 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  It's the love song of a troubled man, warning a woman that though he's trying he probably won't be the man she deserves--though she already knows this.  Still he sees her face everywhere and can't get her out of his mind.

"Bad Reputation" is a song of wonderful moments, the first of which is the opening (which for whatever reason, reminds me of The Temptations "Ain't Too Proud to Beg") which starts like a million other ballads only to break, out of nowhere, into one of the catchiest choruses you'll ever hear.  Another is Johnston's use of repetitive words ("and it isn't just talk, talk, talk" or "just wasting your time, time, time").   And still another is when toward the end of the song the instrumentation cuts and leaves a stanza just to Johnston, his guitar and his vocals.  In the end, though, it's (as is often the case) Johnston's vocals which seal the deal.  He strikes just the right balance between sorrow and regret without ever becoming maudlin.  And "Bad Reputation" is another in a long line of fine additions to Friday Night Jukebox.

Liner notes:  "Suddenly I'm on the street/Seven years disappear below my feet..."

Enjoy:

Bonus Video (because you can't--well I can't anyway--get enough of "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes")):

Peace,
emaycee

Hellistan

After four days of the republican National Convention, we've seen an arena half full of people call for the imprisonment of Hillary Clinton, ten billionaires praise another billionaire in a time of rampant income inequality in America, and been informed that, should he win the Presidency, Donald Trump intends to purge the government of officials appointed by President Obama.

Seems to me rather than "Make America Great Again" the republican slogan for this fall's campaign should be "Make America Into a Third World Tyranny."

Despots, tycoons, and Big Brother oh my...

Peace,

emayce

The persistence of selective memory

The republican national convention--a veritable smorgasbord of blog posts...

Funny, don't you think, what with republicans screaming incessantly at their convention this week to lock up Hillary Clinton in jail on trumped up (so to speak) charges, how they forget their very own President, one George W. Bush, lied America into a war with Iraq that has thus far killed over 4000 Americans, bankrupted the country with its outlandish expense, and bankrupted us morally with its ill-advised torture campaign which in turn led to the inception of ISIS.  Bush the Lesser is most certainly guilty of war crimes--where's the party of law and order when it comes to very real crimes?

The hypocrisy is staggering.

Frankly, if it's good for the goose, it's most certainly good for the gander.

Peace,
emaycee

U-N-I-T-Y

I saw about thirty seconds of the Republican National Convention tonight (because that's about all I can stomach), and in that thirty seconds, Ron Johnson, republican Senator from Wisconsin who's going to get his clock cleaned this November by Russ Feingold, said that after Donald Trump was elected President the republican party would unify Americans once again.

Because, you know, nothing says unity more than building a wall to keep Latinos out, banning Muslims from entering the country, selecting a VP candidate known for his anti-women and anti-LGBT viewpoints, and having an arena full of dimwits screaming to have the opposition party's candidate locked up for imaginary crimes.

You cannot make this shit up.

Peace,
emaycee

Watching the detectives

After the recent murders of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Steve Loomis, the President of the Cleveland Police Patrolman's Association proclaimed that President Obama was to blame (why--because he's black?) and wondered how police officers had become the bad guys.

I think I can answer that.

It's because prosecutors across America have decided that police officers can murder American citizens with impunity.

See how easy that was?

Peace,
emaycee

Haters 'r' us

Considering that a) Chris Christie would have given republicans two assholes from the Northeast on their ticket, b) Jeff Sessions would have given them a Southern boob, c) Newt Gingrich is unhinged, and d) most republicans wanted no part of watching their political careers crater after being Trump's VP pick, Mike Pence was probably about the best choice Trump had.

But, man, between Trump's loathing of Latinos and Muslims, and Pence's acrimony toward women and the LGBT community, has the United States ever known a more hate-filled Presidential ticket?

Not sure there's enough xenophobes, homophobes, and misogynists in the country to carry Trump and Pence into the White House.

And the smell of victory for the Democrats keeps getting stronger...

Peace,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. LXXXI--Edison Lighthouse: Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)

This one's on the regular loop in Pop Song Heaven...

Fun fact #1:  Tony Burrows, lead singer for Edison Lighthouse, had a second top five hit with the band The First Class, with "Beach Baby" in 1974.

Fun fact #2:  "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" hit the top of the UK charts the second week after its release--the fastest jump to the number one slot in the history of the UK charts.

And that's about it--Edison Lighthouse (named for the famed Eddyson Lighthouse off the coast of Devon--yeah, you've got me, too) was basically a studio band formed in London, England to release a great single.  They stayed together for about two years and then called it quits.  While they began touring again in 2001 (where there's a buck there's a way), there are separate UK and US versions of the band (WTF, am I right?).  No Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, no drug addictions, no Grammy Awards--just one golden moment.  A true one hit wonder.

But if they're just going to have one, Edison Lighthouse could not have picked a better tune to do it with.  Released in 1970--and I shit you not, there wasn't even an album along with it--"Love Grows" would go on to reach #5 (most assuredly with a bullet!) on The Billboard Hot 100, and give the band a slot on almost every one hit wonder compilation ever released.  It's basically guitars, drums, background strings, some righteous lead vocals, and perhaps one of the catchiest choruses ever released.  It's a love song devoted to one Rosemary, who's wild and free and obviously a child of the sixties. There's a nice bass line that runs through the song and keeps tempo with the vocals--but this is just one of those songs they used to release back in the day just because it was a great song and not because it was some corporate idiot's idea of what would sell commercials on the radio or help build a band's brand.  There's a joy that runs throughout the song that I don't hear too often anymore...

...and don't I sound like one of those old farts who used to have to walk ten miles to school in the snow, uphill, backward, and barefoot?

What the hell--they just don't release one hit wonders like this one anymore...

Lyric sheet:  "She's really got a magical spell/And it's working so well that I can't get away..."

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee

A BFD from RBG

Although she has (regretfully) walked back her comments on  Donald Trump (she called him a faker, said he was inconsistent, and was quite the egotist), Ruth Bader Ginsburg did the nation another in a long line of favors she has already done for us by showing Americans just how woefully inadequate our national media truly is.

For all their bluster about the Supreme Court being above such matters as Presidential elections, you'd think after all the speaking fees and free trips Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, and Alito have received over the years from republican affiliated groups they'd know by now that the Supreme Court is about as non-partisan as every other fucking branch of our government.

Besides, if they'd been doing their jobs instead of trying to suck up ratings from a freak show, Ginsburg's comments would have been just a few more in the Captain Obvious sweepstakes:  Donald Trump has as much business being near the Presidency of the United States as does my son's cat.

And the real embarrassment for America is that forty-five percent of Americans are going to vote for the fucking idiot.

Peace,
emaycee

You heard it here first

After republicans get their clocks cleaned this fall, there is going to be all kinds of noise in the media and in republican circles about soul searching and what changes they need to make to win back the American people.  And here is what they're going to do:

Nothing.

As long as they have billionaires and enough simpletons throwing obscene amounts of money their way, can get 45% of the vote regardless of what buffoon candidate they have chosen, and win enough seats to continue to obstruct, obstruct, and obstruct some more they have no reason whatsoever to change their ways.

Unfortunately for those of us who'd like to see America embrace its better angels, the republican gravy train for the wealthy elite will keep rolling along regardless.

Peace,
emaycee

A CEO and a republican politician walk into a bar...

After reading that despite accomplishing astonishingly little (nothing on the Zika virus, gun violence, and spending bills, et al) that republicans have set themselves up for a seven week recess beginning later this week (hey, wouldn't you like seven weeks off with pay during the summer?), it dawned on me that republican politicians are a lot like CEOs--they get paid an awful lot to accomplish very little, are convinced their ideas are working despite all evidence to the contrary, are self-centered assholes, and don't give a rat's ass about the people they serve.

No wonder republicans pander to CEOSs--it's like helping your brother.

Peace,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. LXXX--Neil Young: Like a Hurricane

In August of 1983 I saw Neil Young in concert for the first time (in Bloomington, Indiana, with my kid brother who I had to talk into going and was only eventually able to sway because our Dad paid for the tickets) and about halfway through the show he played a ditty called "Like a Hurricane" (which I was somewhat familiar with from his greatest hits package, Decade) and after hearing it I went from being a Neil Young fan to being a Neil Young disciple.  That's a bit of hyperbole--the whole show was fantastic--but I kid you not when I tell you that both my brother and I listened to shitloads of Neil Young over the next couple of years after that show.

Neil Young has had quite the storied career and quite the tragic personal life, a lot of both which have ended up on his records.  Starting out in 1960 in his native Canada, Young has been performing for more than 55 years now, being a member of Buffalo Springfield (classic hit, "For What It's Worth"), Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young,  (where he wrote the seminal protest song, "Ohio"), and releasing 35 studio albums as a solo artist.  He's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice (solo and as a member of Buffalo Springfield), has won Grammy Awards, Juno Awards, still tours regularly (and he's in his seventies now), was Village Voice's artist of the decade for the 70's, is considered the Godfather of Grunge, and for some odd ass reason is probably one of the most overlooked rock and roll icons still going today.  Part of it is Young himself--his musical output has been nothing if not eclectic (releasing albums that were electronica, rockabilly, country, folk, grunge, and rock, among others) and it's often hard for folks to keep up with so many changes (or keep up with a prolific output--I haven't bought a Neil Young album in 15 years). 

Young has also been surrounded by quite a bit of sorrow throughout his life--he had polio as a child, his two sons both were born with cerebral palsy, his daughter is epileptic (as is Young himself), and he suffered a brain aneurysm which almost cost him his life in the early 2000s.  Through it all Young has kept releasing music which both thrilled and mystified fans and disciples alike.  He probably won't get quite the deified send off that Prince got when he passed earlier this year (much deserved, and, in fairness, sudden and untimely celebrity deaths sell a lot more commercial time than old rock and roll geezers going to the great rock and roll concert in the sky), but he is certainly as worthy.

Released on his American Stars 'n Bars album in 1977, "Like a Hurricane" is a different breed of song for me--I grew up on top forty radio (WLS out of Chicago to be exact) and any song longer than three and a half minutes is far too long and extended guitar solos are for geeks who are positive that some morning  they'll wake up and have become Jimi Hendrix/Eric Clapton/Eddie Van Halen.  Well, "Like a Hurricane" lasts eight minutes and features not one, but two lengthy guitar solos.  Sigh--when a song grabs you it grabs you.  "Hurricane" is basically an ode to falling just a little too far in love and features some wondrous vocals from Young in his one of a kind alto singing voice.  While I generally hesitate to use the word "epic" when it comes to songs (The Iliad is epic--rock and roll songs are...uh...cool?), I would definitely call "Like a Hurricane" an epic--from the beginning guitar intro, through Young's two guitar solos, to its fade out, the music is grandiose, overarching, and spellbinding (if hurricanes had a soundtrack it'd probably sound just like this song).  It's another in a long line of songs in the classic rock pantheon--and like much of Young's work says multitudes with its sheer simplicity.

Lyric sheet:  "I am just a dreamer but you are just a dream..."

Enjoy:

Peace,

emaycee

Silly side note from a 4th of July parade

Kid Rock should get down on his hands and knees every night and thank the Supreme Being for Lee Greenwood's song "God Bless the USA"; otherwise, he'd be the hands down winner of worst patriotic pop song ever fucking written with the utterly shitty "Born Free."

Just sayin'.

Peace,
emaycee

Notes from a 4th of July parade

Man, I don't want to read too much into a half-assed local parade on the 4th of July, but Democrats need to do a much better job at the local level (auditor, assessor, state rep, circuit judge) of getting candidates out into the field.  Of the twenty or so floats/cars/moving vehicles touting candidates this fall in our local parade today, maybe three or four were for Democratic candidates, the rest were solidly republican.  I appreciate the fact that this area is a republican stronghold, but still we ought to give the good guys a little something to cheer about.

On the bright side, it was hard not to notice the Hillary Clinton car cruising by and nary a vehicle devoted to Donald Trump.

You really have to wonder about his chances when a town as republican as I live in won't even acknowledge the fucker.

Peace,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. LXXIX--Bruce Springsteen: 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)

Monday is Independence Day, and what says the Fourth of July more than a song about the boardwalk on the Jersey shore?

Plenty of things, actually--hamburgers, hot dogs, fireworks, parades, American flags, watermelon, picnics, apple pie...

Anyhoo, Friday Night Jukebox in keeping with this weekend's American theme is featuring All-American artist Bruce Springsteen for the second time in the last month or so and his song "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" from his second album, The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle.  As we are wont to do sometimes here on Jukebox, we'll dispense with the Springsteen bio--if you don't know plenty about the man already, chances are you're not bothering to read this post anyway.  And since it's a holiday weekend (for everyone but those of us who regally fucked up and chose retail as a career), no one wants to read a long ass piece, either.

While not as memorable as the album's other fan favorite, "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" "Sandy" does have its charms, mostly because, as Springsteen himself has said, the song is very autobiographical, and very much a paean to his home state.  Our hero is basically a teenage loser trying to convince the boss' daughter that he's ready to move on from all the disappointments he's had in love and get the hell out of that place--and he wants her to come along.   Sadly--and this is just my interpretation--the odds of that happening are about as good as my chances of waking up next to Salma Hayek tomorrow morning.  Which is to say:  none.  Springsteen performs the song in an almost whisper from beginning to end, which can be interpreted as either weariness or fear.  It features some nice accordion work from Danny Federici and the instrumentation captures well the spirit of the boardwalk.  All in all, unless you're from New Jersey it's probably not in your Springsteen top ten, but's it's definitely in the top five of songs containing the words "4th of July."  And if nothing else, it's a reminder that the sorrows of youth do not wound us forever.

Fun fact:  The song mentions a fortuneteller named Madame Marie--turns out there really was such a woman on the boardwalk of Springsteen's youth.  Oh the places you'll go with Friday Night Jukebox!

Punch line:  "...she was always the girl you saw boppin' down the beach with the radio..."

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee