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glamandrock · 5 years

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The Dark Side of the Moon: Explained

An in-depth blog post on my favorite album of all time was long overdue. Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon is still to this day arguably the best album ever made. I’d highly recommend listening to this album if you haven’t already, but if musical masterpieces aren’t really your thing, this is not the album for you. I constantly come across articles that explain how the album was made, but hardly any on analyzing the album’s meanings song by song. That is what I have challenged myself to do today.

“Speak to Me”

Speak to Me is not a song you’ll hear at a music festival. There aren’t really any lyrics, as it mainly consists of random clips of conversations and various sound effects. When I took the time to really listen to the song, I started to understand its deeper meaning. In the 65 second song you hear the heartbeat sound effect used in “Eclipse”, the clock ticking heard in “Time”, the manic laughter of Peter Watts used in “Brain Damage”, the cash register in “Money”, the helicopter noise in “On the Run”, and vocalist Clare Tony’s scream in “The Great Gig in the Sky” towards the end of the song. Once the screaming stops, the song leads into “Breathe”. So what do all these noises communicate? I feel it gives a very dramatic summary of what themes and sounds the album contains. In this song particular, the theme of insanity is very prominent, as it’s quite the stressful song to listen to.

“Breathe (In the Air)”

Breathe is one of the prettier songs in this album. After the psychotic screams in the intro, it eases into a slow-paced rich guitar medley with David Gilmour’s blues-based chords and solos. Aside from the beautiful instrumentals, the lyrics are what really makes the song worth knowing. The song is full of mixed themes. The beginning tells you to relax and live life, as it’s the only life you get. Then it tells you to get a job and focus on that instead of the beauties of life. It warns you that work is a never-ending cycle. Later some of the lines expose our materialistic society convincing us we are happy when really we’re chained to a vicious cycle of consumerism. One of my favorite lyrics in the song is "All you touch and all you see Is all your life will ever be" as it really enforces one of the harsher realities of life.

“On the Run”

This is the second song in the album that uses sound effects and voice clips as it’s structure. The song gives the setting of a man running late for his flight and trying desperately to make it. There isn’t a lot I really have to say about this song, but it definitely adds to the albums exposure of how messed up adulthood is by showing how stressful it is.

“Time”

Time opens with extremely loud clips of different types of clocks ringing. Once all the clocks stop, there is a slow and deep guitar solo along with a fast-paced drum solo in the background. The song describes what time has to do with the tough transition from youth to adulthood. When we’re young we think we have all the time in the world. We don’t realize how quickly time passes by until we’re out of time and full of regret. You wasted your life trying to be comfortable, rather than living the crazy fun life you dreamed of when you were young. And now that you want to live that life, it's too late. You're out of time and luck. The song seems to be a great depiction of a rock 'n' roll midlife crisis.

“The Great Gig in the Sky”

This song is a lyrical Interpretation of death, sorrow, happiness, joy, and pain, all at the same time. It opens with a man saying “ And I am not frightened of dying -Any time will do, I don't mind -Why should I be frightened of dying? There's no reason for it, you've gotta go sometime-If you can hear this whispering you are dying“. Deep, I know. The rest of the song is Clare Tony’s emotional and powerful vocals growing more and more with the music, till the piano slows and her voice calms. I feel this represents the angry and fearful feeling felt toward death escalation until finally, it’s accepted.

“Money”

Money is one of my all-time favorite Pink Floyd songs. This is a fun rock/jazz song with a catchy bass riff and iconic guitar solo but, like every other song on this album, it’s got a much deeper meaning. When you first take a look at the lyrics, you may think “Wow, Pink Floyd sure did love being millionaires”. That’s exactly what Waters wanted you to think when he wrote the song. When Gilmour sang “Money, it’s a hit. Don’t give me that do goody good bullshit”, it exposed the arrogance of the upper class. You don’t have to be filthy rich to associate yourself with some of the songs lyrics, as everyone has had some connection to greed. The overall theme of this song is how we evolve in our relationship with money.

“Us and Them”

The conversation closing Money then leads into the calming musical introduction of Us and Them. Most people think the songs only theme is war. I’d argue that it's not about war so much as it is about the tendency of humans to fight with each other. Not just on the battlefield, but in everyday situations. In an interview Waters discusses a bit of the meaning behind Us and Them: that we are constantly fighting each other and separating ourselves into an "us vs. them" mentality. The point is that we unnecessarily divide ourselves based on every little thing, concentrate on our differences, and forget to think about all the ways we're all in this thing together. So, yes, on a small scale, it's about war, but it's more about human nature in general. Not just the political idea of one country against another, but the very simple idea of one human against another. The powerful background vocals and sax solos communicate the importance of the theme of the song.

“Any Colour You Like”

This song is beautiful, but I haven’t quite discovered it’s meaning yet. There are no lyrics for me to analyze in this song. The only thing I can really comment on in the song is the fact that I feel like I’m on an insane psychedelic acid trip.

“Brain Damage”

This song describes a man's final descent into insanity. The whole album itself poses the question "Can everyday life make you go insane?". The themes expressed in Time, Money, Us and Them, and so on all lead up to this when this normal person finally goes insane from his normal life. Finally, at the end of the song, you hear that manic laugh again. The lunatic really is in this guys head. I’d also like to add that some would argue this album was based on what Syd Barrett was going through with drug addiction. Wish You Were Here was without a doubt an ode to Syd, but I think the deep meanings this album presents are beyond Pink Floyd’s co-founder.

“Eclipse”

The final song in The Dark Side of the Moon is Eclipse. There are infinite themes and metaphors you can obtain from this song. Here’s how I see it. It's saying that everything in the universe is in perfect harmony and balance. It is only us humans that are messed up. The moon represents the chaos and madness of our minds that eclipses the god-giving light of the sun. That's why Dark Side of the Moon is really the dark side of human nature, as it blinds us, but it's also what makes us unique. As the last lines show, there is no dark side of the moon, it's all dark. It's only the sun that makes it bright. So in fact, everyone is crazy, and that is our purpose.

I hope this post cleared up some of the confusion on what this album was communicating. In the end, only the writers of this album will know the true meaning.

#pink floyd #70s #phsychedelic #rock #jazz #70s music #70s rock #music #rocknroll #phsychology #philosophy #song meaning #david gilmour #roger waters #nick mason #bob klose #money #behind the album

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bnrobertson1 · 4 years

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Best Tunes of ‘19

Albums:

10. Squid- Town Centre - 4 songs, the first of which is a mood-setting throwaway. But the rest- especially the one-two punch of “Match Bet” and the funk by way of Parquet Courts of “The Cleaner”- make it easily one of the most exciting debuts in recent memory. I look forward to their LP- and obsessing over this band for years to come. (Song: “Match Bet”)

9. Weyes Blood- Everyday- Alternating between lush and orchestral Sufjan-isms and quiet and direct, well, Sufjan-isms, this album makes a definitive statement of the boundlessness of Blood’s talents. (Song: “Everyday”)

8. Malibu Ken- S/T- The matching of Aesop Rock’s hyper-verbose lyrics and TOBACCO’s warped soundscapes proves alchemic, especially for two artists known for their eccentricities. (Song: “Acid King”)

7. Thee Oh Sees- Face Stabber- If you don’t like them, 22-minute jam “Henchlock” won’t convince you. But for us knuckleheads, there are few things as life-affirming. (Song: “Fu Xi”)

6. Crumb- Jinx- A surprisingly underloved debut, I (think I) hear in this neo-psych-soul group what others do the XX. (Song: “Nina”)

5. Fountaines DC- Dogrel- Seeing these intense Irishmen live I had no idea their album would have the nuance it does (both verbal and sonic), all-the-while never losing an ounce of that hypnotic feral focus (Song: “Boys in the Better Land”)

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4. Nolan Potter’s Nightmare Band- Nightmare Forever- I’ve gushed about this band to anybody who’ll hear it but the record itself is far more convincing. (Song: “Seahorse Retreat”)

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3. Purple Mountains- S/T- While it’s impossible now to listen to it without thinking “suicide note,” it’s still about as beautiful a send-off from this mortal coil as could be written. (Song: “She’s Making Friends, I’m Turning Stranger”)

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2. DIIV- Decider- In many ways the yin to Purple Mountains yang, Smith & co. dealt with similar demons by changing styles (yet again) and reaching for Guitar God glory (they achieve it: see “Skin Game”)

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1. Mike Krol- Power Chords- Every decade needs its own Blue Album and the ‘10s finally got theirs with these eleven tunes of rowdy, joyous heartbreak. (Song: “Left For Dead”)

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Shows:

12. Rolling Stones- Reliant Stadium (Houston)- It wasn’t without disappointment (“Heartbreaker,” indeed), but they hit the highs when they needed to, and their scorching “Midnight Rambler” made you debate buying tickets for their 2039 tour now.

11. Iron Maiden- AT & T Center (San Antonio)- What can you say about a concert that featured Bruce Dickinson sword fighting a 15-foot tall skeleton? (Besides “awesome” about 100 times, as a I did) The show that made me debate burning all of my clothes and exclusively buying tight black jeans and white high top 80s Nikes.

10. Bob Seger- Frank Erwin Center- Not the coolest concert by a long shot, but easily one of the year’s best. MAGA Hats were present (not a problem per se, just noticeable to someone who mostly attends shows that could be subtitled “Fuck Donald Trump”), but so was the fire inside the 73 year old Seger’s soul. A small aside: my personal favorite part of the show was the kind of uninteresting anecdotes he’d tell during songs. Example: “Against the Wind” is about how he would literally run against the wind in high school track. That’s it.

9. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard- Stubb’s- These Australian rockers have been permanent fixtures in my headphones since I first saw their name 6/7 years ago. This was the live show where it all really came together to me (even if many of the attractive people there were confused/ intimidated by the thrash of their newest album).

8. Peter Hook and the Light- Emo’s- A concert I almost skipped after a weekend full of Levitation, this set full of New Order songs (including a front-to-back of their classic Technique) was the best Monday show I’ve ever attended.

7. Nolan Potter’s Nightmare Band- Hotel Vegas- a nine-piece psych band fronted by a polymath flutist, this band is for lovers of 70s Rock (any/ all of it). Their live show, faithfully captured on their debut album, feels like the past and future simultaneously in the best way possible.

6. Thee Oh Sees- 2nd Night- Hotel Vegas- No song touches “I Come from the Mountain” as an opener in its effectiveness to make your blood vessels turn into the autobahn.

5. DIIV- Mohawk- It felt like a triumphant exclamation point to their newest album. Also, “Under the Sun” remains one of the prettiest songs ever written.

4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Moody Theater- Entered drenched with rain, left drenched with sweat.

3. Chemical Brothers- Bill Graham Arena (SF)- I’ll spare you the specifics but had a spiritual epiphany with “The Private Psychedelic Reel.” The best combo visuals/ music I may have ever seen?

2. Stereolab- Paper Tiger (San Antonio)- The first of three shows, I’ve been working on a larger piece to discuss the entire experience, but I’ll say that crowd members were profusely thanking the band in between songs- I’ve seen thousands of concerts and never seen that happen before.

1. Beak>/ TOBACCO - Empire Control Room (Levitation Fest)- I’ve long dug their music videos, but I had no clue Beak> was that fantastic live. A minimal mix of krautrock and trip hop, I vividly remember looking around for about 25 seconds when they started “The Meader,” (featuring the best baseline of the young century) making sure I wasn’t hallucinating this moody masterpiece. (I wasn’t). “RSI” is as good a song as anything Neu! wrote. On a personal note, I saw this show the day after getting some rough news and it reminded me of music’s curative powers, full stop (”RSI,” man, “RSI”). That said, I hope there is little footage of the concert because to say I was dancing a fool would be an insult to fools everywhere. Plus, I got to meet the incredibly friendly, funny Geoff Barrow, an experience I’ll forget about as soon as I forget the concert (read: never).

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jakejamesjournalism · 5 years

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the enduring legacy of dj rashad

There’s no way around it, Hip Hop had an unhealthy share of premature death this decade. Guns and Drugs. Kendrick brings the Compton gun crisis straight through your stereo over trunk rattling production. Future brings you the euphoria of deadly drugs over trunk rattling production. The same topics that often times fuel the best art and impassioned hip hop serve as a double-edged sword, especially when the message is so often misunderstood. Clapton swears Cocaine is “cleverly anti-drug” while Kendrick’s lyrics on Swimming Pools paint an obviously bleak picture of alcoholism, it doesn’t make either of those songs anything less than incredible party anthems. Rappers often do the same with gun violence, often times they’re pro-gun violence as a means of conflict resolution. Nipsey and X were murdered in their own streets. Mac overdosed at 27. Lil Peep was 21.

DJ Rashad was 34. He didn’t reach massive audiences like the artists above but their vices contributed to his tragic death as well. As a Chicago native, he also had an immeasurable influence on the rich sub culture of footwork that remains one of the most defining underground legacies of the last ten years. Infatuated by music at a young age, Rashad Harden and his high school friend and later co-producer Morris Harper (DJ Spinn) instantly bonded over their shared interest in the thriving Chicago acid house scene and the fast-footed juke style dance crazes that came along with the music. Harden got his foot in the door as a disc jockey at WKKC- a nonprofit urban contemporary still operating today. Programming didn’t seem to be enough of a creative challenge for him at the station so Harden and Harper started to produce their own music to juke to and tried to perform at local parties as frequently as possible. His knack for increasing the sonic potential of the footwork genre was instantaneously evident.

The Teklife crew, founded by DJ Rashad and now notorious in the local area had enough traction to gain the attention of some of the independent labels responsible for bringing footwork to the masses. His track ‘Iz Not Rite’ was Rashad’s first taste of global attention, the song was released on Planet Mu, the same label that repped Burial. The tracks uncanny ability to blend vocal harmonies with the high BPMs necessary for the genre to function was still away from my ears personally, but Hyperdub heard it first and the UK indie label gave him a platform to release his breakthrough single ‘Let it Go.’ After the success of two Eps, the road was paved for his game changing debut album ‘Double Cup.’

Double Cup most definitely caught my attention and it did so without me having any idea about Chi-Town dance craze it was associated with. I wasn’t listening as a fan of footwork-to me the album is just an incredible piece of instrumental hip-hop. His ability to use the human voice as a production tool-the hypnotizing rhythmic repetition on ‘She a Go’ breaks down beautifully into something that can almost be constituted as the albums only official rap verse-the elegant horns on the intro track- the masterful use chipmunk soul on ‘Show You How.’ All these are trademarks of my favorite hip hop. An album with such high BPMs shouldn’t come off this airy and spacious. DJ Rashad gives both the listener and the dancer a second to breathe and improvise. These tracks would kill on a dancefloor, but the diverse sonic palette makes for a killer headphone experience as well.

Aside from his savant like production skills, the record bears the soul and the psyche of a man like no other instrumental record before it. The outro to ‘I Don’t Give a Fuck’ is abrasive and intentionally noisy enough to be confused with Death Grips-it’s the sound of a man truly paranoid and numb. On the very next track, the title track, he indulges as a means to escape. His mind goes to happier pastures as well, ‘Only One’ is a twisted footwork love song of sorts-and I’m Too Hi gives the footwork crowd something to really juke to with an exhilarating piece of avant-jazz techno fusion. Acid Bit is another gem-a thrilling blend of clashing drums and pulsating synths that is definitely more fitting for a red bull and vodka than an acid trip, but maybe that’s just DJ Rashad fucking with you.

DJ Rashad’s final opus is a benchmark in modern day instrumental hip-hop. Wildly ahead of its time now that I’m looking back on it knowing the directions the genre went in. With Double Cup the mood was so authentic and so all-encompassing that it had to be tragically proven to us only a year later. This wasn’t just an ambiance created by heavy drums and drug references, this was the heart and soul of Rashad Harden. Knowing that, Double Cup remains the closet you can get to absorbing a drug life without consumption-the elation, the euphoria, the escape, the comedown…the tragedy.

Rashad Harper’s swan song remains a classic to the city of Chicago, to the global footwork movement, to me. I’ve tried to get into other footwork artists since his tragic overdose in 2014, and it just doesn’t feel right. To me, it was never about the athletically challenging dance, but the music. His posthumous single with Danny Brown was a gratifying affirmation of the man I always knew to be a catalyst in forward thinking hip hop. It’s almost cruel we got to hear one incredible example of what his music would sound like with the help of an accomplished lyricist. Teklife also released a beautiful compilation comprised of several DJ Rashad collaborations under an album appropriately named ‘Afterlife.’ While the intentions of this release come from the best place and while this album features some trademark DJ Rashad idiosyncrasies, the cohesive nature of Double Cup was sorely missed. 20 years plus in the making, DJ Rashad took footwork to exciting new heights. Double Cup is the defining statement.

Rest in Peace Rashad Harden (October 9, 1979 – April 26, 2014)

#dj rashad #double cup

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concerthopperblog · 4 years

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Hayes Carll Uses Isolation to Rework His Hits on 'Alone Together Sessions'

2020 wasn't supposed to be an “album year” in Hayes Carll's cycle. Having released the well-received What It Is in 2019, this year was supposed to be mostly about touring in support of it. But, well, you know how that went. Carll found himself with 5 months off the road unexpectedly due to COVID-19 (he played his first live show just last week in Nashville and I was lucky enough to be in attendance). While doing some streaming shows kept him going for a while, he eventually started switching things up with his catalog of songs; changing tuning, shifting perspective of a lyric, or putting an acoustic spin on his more electric songs. The result is Alone Together Sessions, which releases Sept. 4.

Without access to a studio, Carll had to rely on home recording technology. It's a barrier that turned into a plus for the album, which has a DIY “back porch guitar pull” feel without the polish of a standard studio recording. Joining Carll via remote recording were producer and virtual one-man band Darrell Scott, who can play anything with strings and contributes all of the instrumentals on the album except Carll's acoustic guitar and harmonica and Luke Moeller's violin, as well as backing vocals.

Another guest is Texas legend Ray Wylie Hubbard, who “joined” Carll via his own studio to duet the song they co-wrote which served as Carll's breakthrough hit, “Drunken Poet's Dream.” If any artist was perfect for the loose and rough-hewn feel of Alone Together Sessions, it's Hubbard, who has never been “put together” in his life and has, in fact, made a career of playing the part of the “drunken poet” of their song. The pair's banter to end the song, trading gentle insults with each other, might have been separated by thousands of miles, but gave the song an intimate in-house feel.

Carll's one live recording partner on the project is the one who happens to already live in his home, which is certainly not a bad thing when that person happens to be an Americana artist as, if not more, known than Carll himself, his wife Allison Moorer. Moorer's vocals can be heard throughout the album, but is out front in the one song from the album that isn't a Hayes Carll original. Moorer and Carll duet on the Lefty Frizzell classic made most famous by Merle Haggard (and again a decade later as a duet his between Haggard and Jewel), “That's the Way Love Goes.” It's the undeniable highlight of the album, a touching counterpoint to Carll's usual stable of wry, sometimes funny, and typically cynical songs.

Of Carll's originals, the song that is most transformed by the acoustic shift is the title track from his 2011 album KMAG YOYO. One of Carll's hardest rocking songs in its original form, I had some serious doubts about how well it would work as an acoustic song considering how well the electric guitar slid under his rapid-fire lyrics. But, with a slowed down lyric and some twists in the delivery, the acoustic version (with an understated electric strum courtesy of Scott) lets the listener spend more time with the often absurdist lyrics, shifting the song away from the brain blast acid trip of the original to a more disbelieving confusion as the narrator finds himself moving from a war zone in Afghanistan to a rocket ship headed for some unknown destination.

There's not a lot that can be said positively about 2020 and, having seen his almost overwhelmed reaction to the applause after that first song back on stage, I feel comfortable saying he'd rather be on the road. But as he points out in the album's bio “When you make your living playing out there for people, you’re constantly in motion. That momentum doesn’t leave much time for thinking about what happened, let alone what it all means.” With Alone Together Sessions, Carll has made the most of that time to think about his songs and his fans are the beneficiaries. It's an album that exists somewhere in the middle ground between studio and live album, between hits collection and new compositions. Like 2020, it's uncharted territory and, unlike 2020, it's really damned good.

#hayes carll #americana music #nashville #new music #allison moorer #ray wylie hubbard #concerthopper #concert hopper #music #album review #review #2020

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thesinglesjukebox · 5 years

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FRANK OCEAN - DHL

[4.22]

Not quite the complete package...

Thomas Inskeep: Four-and-a-half minutes of cough syrup, with about as much to say. The woozy groove is nice enough. [4]

Oliver Maier: "DHL" seems to disintegrate in real-time. This would be a riskier choice coming from anyone other than Ocean, who happens to know how to wield negative space to compelling effect. If the first minute and a half is a little ineffective -- too close to the vibey anemia of A$AP Rocky's Testing, perhaps -- then the remainder is more successful, with Ocean's gloomy triplet flow becoming more engrossing the longer he commits to it. Not that he uses it to say much. [6]

Alfred Soto: Another year, another Frank Ocean track that we take seriously because in a career marked by adept self-presentation substituting for often maladroit songwriting he has written a handful of good to great songs. "DHL" emerges as another gesture, a series of discrete verses assembled atop a languid beat. The stream of consciousness names German delivery services, boy toys who give head like Hoovers, and career overviews. Compelling as description, not a listening experience, even if I grant him points for fading the track as it gets interesting. [6]

Katherine St Asaph: This probably makes me a hopeless old millennial, but back in my day Frank Ocean was a songwriter. [2]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: I was OK with the prospect of this being a mood piece; during the first half, Frank's warbling is easy to stomach in this sea of hazy instrumentation. But then, for some inexplicable reason, everything recedes to make his rapping the main focus. And man, this dude cannot rap. [2]

Kylo Nocom: You all posted Frank's "Oldie" verse so often that he thinks he should start rapping again. A disgrace. If the opening seconds of retching don't make you gag, you are a stronger person than I ever will be. His ability to make a song as numb, effortless, and formlessly horny as this and still receive relative adoration is a testament to how far name brand recognition can go. [0]

Jackie Powell: Is this song simply Frank Ocean feeling himself? While Ocean's delivery throughout the four-and-a-half minutes is indolent, he's probably as confident as I've heard him, especially when he ends rapping: "Got my partner in the front, been my BF for a month/But we been fuckin' from the jump." I'm really tempted to read more into these lyrics, but I think this is Ocean sharing something rather intimate instead of substantive with listeners. And that's a shift for one of the architects of modern Sadboi music. But on this track, intimacy and substance aren't mutually exclusive. But how seriously do I take Ocean and his love for a German courier company? Apparently, there's nothing sardonic about this obsession. The thrill to receive something new is an extended metaphor for a drug trip or maybe more? There's no real melody here, but what comes closest is when Ocean leads with a sound that is reminiscent of a Peter Frampton voice box song over the lyrics: "Love that I, love that I give/That is not love that I get from you." Those distorted vocalizations in the intro were probably the product of co-producer Boyz Noise, who gave this track a little more punch and a sizzle. Ocean is an album artist and so far this single, coupled with his new confusing queer nightclub, shows little synergy. But his track record leads me to believe that this era's beginning isn't meant to be the be all end all. [5]

Nortey Dowuona: Wafting, apple-pie synths hide like ghosts being Frank's ghostly wails as a thudding, limp drum progression rides on a flat pancake bass loop with acidic synth washers rain from the sky. It circles Frank as he turns, then walks into an open-mic night with a bass guitar and a loping drum loop playing from his MacBook Pro in Logic, while a small mouse pulls out a modular synth and starts fiddling with it. For some reason, they sound great together, and they start playing in turn, with the gerbils who own the club crowding around the stage and singing along... "I've got a pack!!" [6]

Tobi Tella: Strange, disjointed, and more optimistic and carefree than we normally hear from Frank. It's more Endless than Blonde, and while that might throw some people off, I'm intrigued to see where he goes from here. [7]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

#Frank Ocean #pop #R&B #music #music review #writing

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omcik-blog · 7 years

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New Post has been published on OmCik

New Post has been published on http://omcik.com/long-strange-trip-the-ultimate-grateful-dead-movie-hits-the-big-screen/

'Long Strange Trip': The ultimate Grateful Dead movie hits the big screen

A couple months ago I journeyed to the Bryant Park Hotel in midtown Manhattan with a small group of aging reporters to watch the new Grateful Dead documentary, “Long Strange Trip.” It opened in a weeklong limited release (New York and Los Angeles) this weekend.

The verdict: It’s a very good four-hour movie that would have been a terrific slightly shorter movie, with a different ending.

Here’s the good news: the first two hours are wonderful. If you’re a fan of the Grateful Dead, you’re going to be very happy. Ably directed by Amir Bar-Lev, with an executive director credit to Martin Scorsese, the word obviously went out to the band and its extended family to raid the attics and bring out the photos and lost footage, much of it now 50 years old and more.

The result: hundreds of stills and even movies, some of which has never been seen before. There’s beautiful photos of the band’s early beginnings in San Francisco, lovingly explaining how bandleader Jerry Garcia’s initial obsession with bluegrass and country got funneled through the rabbit hole of the nascent San Francisco scene to create their unique sound. There’s even footage of the Summer of Love — 50 years ago this summer! — and a few clips of Merry Prankster Ken Kesey, who launched the Acid Tests that came to define the San Francisco hippie ethos.

Each of the band members — bassist Phil Lesh, guitarist Bob Weir, drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan (the first of many doomed keyboardists) — are introduced and their contributions to the band (and relationship with Garcia) are explained.

Those of you who are not Deadheads, who were always baffled by the cult-like status the band achieved and who always loudly ask, “Why are these guys so damned famous?,” this movie is unlikely to convert you, but you will understand why the band attracted such a following.

To put it simply: the Dead was arguably the first band to break free of the shackles of the studio album. The songs on the albums were mere templates for the band to explore their musical styles in a live setting. The Dead were not the only ones exploring extended improvisation — the Allman Brothers were exploring similar territory in the late 1960s, and Cream had also pioneered concerts that featured long jams — but the Dead perfected the rhythmic groove, the crossing of musical styles and the extended soloing that came to epitomize what was later called the “jam band.”

And you see it: beautiful clips of the band playing extended jams, much of it shot very tight.

The extended soloing and exploration of the deep groove allowed the development of a special class of fan. I’ve written about this before: the Cult of the Dead had all the hallmarks of a mystery religion, with sacred rites, sacred drugs, ecstatic dancing and a mystical union with some vague Other, all representing a release, a liberation from civilization’s stifling rules.

The film also makes clear that much of this happened without the Dead, that even on nights when they were clearly not in sync (and there were many) the fans showed up and continued the party.

Another important contribution the band made to music history — technical innovations that greatly improved sound quality at live concerts — is also shown during what was then said to be the final Dead concerts, a series of four shows at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom in October 1974, a period when the group was visibly exhausted from years of touring.

But they had a surprise: A 600-speaker sound system that went straight to the roof of the ballroom, an assemblage later known as “The Wall of Sound.”

I attended one of those shows as a gangly 18-year-old, newly moved to the Bay Area. The sound was so intense I remember my pants vibrating in sync with Phil Lesh’s bass. It changed my life, and made me a Deadhead.

It was not, of course, the end of the Dead. After taking a break, the Dead began touring again in 1976. The film traces the Dead’s rising status in the late 1970s — despite very little in the way of album success — and Garcia’s long, slow descent into heroin addiction, diabetes and other complications which resulted in a heart attack and his death on Aug. 9, 1995, at age 53.

And here, unfortunately, the film changes direction, and becomes a meditation on a very familiar trope: The Doomed Rock Star. All Deadheads know Jerry’s story: how he became trapped in his own persona, how the band got bigger even as he deteriorated, how he was the leader of the band but refused to lead the band, how he turned down entreaties from band members and even former girlfriends to help him. There is a value to explaining this to nonfans, but so much of the second half is taken up with this obsession that a casual viewer might think some kind of death cult exists around Jerry Garcia.

There’s a bigger issue: not enough effort is made to place the band in a proper historic setting. The Grateful Dead was the band that launched a thousand bands, but there’s not much about their continuing importance. I wanted more tribute — or at least perspective — from people and bands indebted to the Dead and the style of music they created, who would not exist without them: Phish, Blues Traveler, Black Crowes, Dave Matthews, or, hell, even the Disco Biscuits, there’s dozens of them. But there was very little of that. The Dead float out there as a cult band that revolved around the sun that was Jerry Garcia, and when he went away, the band went away.

But they didn’t. One wonders what the existing members think of the final hour of the movie — when it seem to imply the music — and the band — died when Garcia died.

But it didn’t. Bassist Phil Lesh recently told Rolling Stone that the movie was “great as far as it goes, but it’s not the whole story.”

Indeed, the band went on. There was 1998’s the Other Ones, consisting of Phil Lesh, Bob Weir and drummer Mickey Hart. There were two attempts at a reunion, one in 2003-2004, and then another in 2009, both of which ended acrimoniously, though the crowds showed up to party.

More successful was the late 2009 incarnation, known as Further, which added John Kadlecik from the Dead cover band Dark Star Orchestra but left out drummer Bill Kreutzmann. John had one great virtue: he really did sound like Jerry, and when I saw them in December 2009 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and again in November 2011 at Madison Square Garden, I closed my eyes and heard the band that supposedly had ceased to exist 14 years before.

And when I saw them in Chicago two years ago, for what was then billed as the Dead’s final shows, Phish’s Trey Anastasio ably stepped in and played many classic Dead songs. Deadheads debate whether Anastasio was really the best fit for the band, but no one disputes the very fine job John Mayer has done playing with them. When I saw them last June in Camden, New Jersey, (with ex-Allman Brothers Band bassist Oteil Burbridge replacing Phil Less) they opened the second set with “Playing in the Band,” and I doubt there was a soul in the audience who would dispute that Garcia’s spirit was very much there at that time.

Don’t let these criticisms deter you from seeing the movie — Deadheads are going to be passionately debating this film for a long time. Bar-Lev and his team should be given some kind of special award for just sifting through the archival mountain that exists around the Dead and assembling such visually arresting photo montages. And kudos to Amazon Studios for co-producing the movie.

While you’re at it, pick up the three-CD set of the music, also from Amazon. Put on “China Cat Sunflower,” a song the band often opened their second sets with (followed by “I Know You Rider,” also here). This early, previously unreleased version was recorded in France in 1971, but even early on it shows all the lyricism, interplay between band members and just plain fine groove the Dead was able to establish on their best nights.

More on my 45-year relationship with the Dead here.

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topinforma · 7 years

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'Long Strange Trip': The ultimate Grateful Dead movie hits the big screen

The verdict: It’s a very good four-hour movie that would have been a terrific slightly shorter movie, with a different ending.

Here’s the good news: the first two hours are wonderful. If you’re a fan of the Grateful Dead, you’re going to be very happy. Ably directed by Amir Bar-Lev, with an executive producer credit to Martin Scorsese, the word obviously went out to the band and its extended family to raid the attics and bring out the photos and lost footage, much of it now 50 years old and more.

And you see it: beautiful clips of the band playing extended jams, much of it shot very tight.

The film also makes clear that much of this happened without the Dead, that even on nights when they were clearly not in sync (and there were many) the fans showed up and continued the party.

But they had a surprise: A 600-speaker sound system that went straight to the roof of the ballroom, an assemblage later known as “The Wall of Sound.”

But they didn’t. One wonders what the existing members think of the final hour of the movie — when it seem to imply the music — and the band — died when Garcia died.

But it didn’t. Bassist Phil Lesh recently told Rolling Stone that the movie was “great as far as it goes, but it’s not the whole story.”

More on my 45-year relationship with the Dead here.

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tune-collective · 7 years

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The Top 10 EGOT Contenders: Who Will Be Next to Win All Four Major Awards?

Whether or not Lin-Manuel Miranda achieves EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award) status at the Oscars Sunday night, it’s safe to say his odds of ultimately completing the trophy set are high. He’s established his ability to write catchy but poignant and thematic original songs and will likely be tapped over and over by the Hollywood powers that be. But his win or non-win does beg the question of… who’s next in the EGOT queue? There’s currently more than 40 living people one award away from EGOT. But the likelihood of eventually achieving all four is slim for most. (There’s a reason this is an exclusive club!). Looking ahead, here’s a roundup of the top 10 next contenders.

KATE WINSLET (EGO-)

Awards refresher: Winslet’s work has made it rain Oscar nominations (seven total), with two of those nods by age 22 and six by 33. Her role as Mildred Pierce in the eponymous miniseries earned the 2011 best actress Emmy, and her narrative contribution to Listen to the Storyteller: A Trio of Musical Tales from Around the World won the 2000 best spoken word album for child Grammy.

Likeliest “T” scenario: She acted onstage in her youth, but in a 2014 interview she said the reason she doesn’t do theater is because she isn’t prepared to miss her children’s bedtimes every night (totally fair). But children grow, and she’s young. Plus, Winslet’s the daughter of two stage actors, and her grandparents founded and managed a local theater — so it’s also hard to imagine she won’t circle back at some point. If she does, the New York theater community would go nuts for her, and Tony voters are historically anglophiles.

Bonus factoid: She keeps her Oscar in the bathroom. Why? So visitors can go ahead and hold it and do an acceptance speech in the mirror without feeling self-conscious. New friend goals.

MAGGE SMITH (E-OT)

Awards refresher: Dame Maggie’s aversion to the Emmy Awards became a recurring joke for last year’s host Jimmy Kimmel throughout the ceremony. She had the last laugh that night, though, with her fourth in-absentia Emmy win. She’s also got two Oscars and a Tony in her awards cache and/or lost and found.

Likeliest “G” scenario: Now that Downton Abbey is off-air, we could see her going on-air to lend her voice to record literally anything. Grammy voters would eat is up, and it’s a best spoken word album waiting to happen. However, it’s doubtful she cares enough about EGOTing for that to be a motivating factor…

Bonus factoid: At the Emmys, Kimmel pointed out that Dame Maggie showed up to accept her awards at the Oscars and the Tonys. She actually didn’t show up for her first Oscar win in 1970 for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Her friend Alice Ghostley accepted on her behalf, sans an explanation. The woman’s busy.

HELEN MIRREN (E-OT)

Awards refresher: Playing Queen Elizabeth I got Dame Helen her first Emmy, and playing Queen Elizabeth II got her the royal Oscar and Tony treatment. If it ain’t broke…

Likeliest “G” scenario: Same as Dame Maggie: best spoken word album. Done.

Bonus factoid: On screen she’s played a queen six times: Caligula (1979), The Madness of King George (1994), The Snow Queen (1995), The Prince of Egypt (1998), Elizabeth I (2005) and The Queen (2006).

STEPHEN SONDHEIM (-GOT)

Awards refresher: The music man has seemingly collected 4,000 Grammys and Tonys between Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, Company and more. He added a 1991 best original song Oscar for “Sooner or Later” in Dick Tracy. (Vocals courtesy of Madonna.)

Likeliest “E” scenario: Sondheim is 86 but still at it. He has nothing in the cooker along these lines yet, but any of these Emmy awards seem attainable for him pre-retirement (if he ever does retire): outstanding music composition for a series; outstanding original music and lyrics; or outstanding music direction.

Bonus factoid: His mentor was Oscar Hammerstein II (of that Rogers and Hammerstein).

AUDRA McDONALD (EG-T)

Awards refresher: McDonald is a certified Broadway Living Legend. She’s won six Tonys — the most by a performer, ever. She also scooped up two Grammys in 2009 for her operatic recording work on Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. (She’s a classically trained Juilliard alumna.) Add a 2015 outstanding special class program Emmy with a Live from Lincoln Center episode, and she’s 3 for 4.

Likeliest “O” scenario: McDonald earned Emmy and Screen Actors Guild nominations for her captivating performance as Billie Holiday in last year’s TV movie Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill — a role she originated, and won a Tony for, on Broadway. She’s got loads of past TV appearances, but she’s ramping up her film presence (she’s part of the Beauty and the Beast squad), and the right future role, musical or not, could push her across the EGOT finishing line. Hollywood also loves top tier stage transplants when it comes to awards season…

Bonus factoid: She has won a Tony in all possible performance categories.

MARTIN SCORSESE (EGO-)

Awards refresher: Everybody breathed a collective sigh of relief when Scorsese finally picked up an Oscar in 2007 for The Departed. He’s scored Emmys with Boardwalk Empire and a TV special on George Harrison, plus a Grammy for his work on a long-form Bob Dylan music video.

Likeliest “T” scenario: Scorsese’s one and only go at theater was directing Liza Minnelli, whom he allegedly had an affair with, in a vexed musical production called The Act in 1977. It was a box office bomb, and Scorsese went back to film. However, the director is also a prolific film, documentary, and TV producer. If he doesn’t want to direct another stage production, but still felt like dipping his toe back into the theater world, he could pull a Scott Rudin and produce. (The EGOT’ed film and theater producer has probably made four separate trips to Ikea to make shelf space for all his Tonys.) Scorsese is also a noted music lover, so there could still be some Broadway allure for him. He’s 74, but one look at his IMDB profile shows he’s only getting busier with age.

Bonus factoid: He’s worked with Robert De Niro on eight films.

CHER (EGO-)

Awards refresher: She’s Cher. But the award highlight reel includes a best dance recording 1999 Grammy for “Believe,” a 2003 outstanding variety special (music or comedy) Emmy for Cher: The Farewell Tour and, of course, a 1988 best actress Oscar for Moonstruck.

Likeliest “T” scenario: Cross all your fingers and toes, then knock on wood and throw salt over your shoulder because, yes, Cher: The Musical is gaining momentum… and the tentative behind-the-scenes team includes some Broadway heavyweights from shows like Hamilton, Avenue Q, Newsies and Jersey Boys. The level of her involvement right now is speculative, but should she participate it’s likely she would at the very least get a producer credit, opening her up to Tony potential. Beautiful: The Carole King Musical got Tony love, so there is precedence.

Bonus factoid: Cher initially turned down her role in Moonstruck and didn’t think she could accurately play a bookkeeper because in reality she’s such an over-the-top spender.

TREY PARKER AND MATT STONE (EG-T)

Awards refresher: The University of Colorado buds turned satirical comedy dream duo have won four Emmys, a Grammy, and two Tonys. Already famous (or infamous) as the unapologetic co-creators of the NSFW animated sitcom South Park, they were catapulted to next-level acclaim as part of the Book of Mormon dream team (along with current EGOTs Scott Rudin and Robert Lopez). Parker has actually already been nominated for an Oscar for his work on the song “Blame Canada” in the film South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut. Robin Williams’ performance of the song at the 2000 Oscars was one for the books.

Likeliest “O” scenario: If the Book of Mormon movie ever gets liftoff, or if they do another original song. it seems like a real possibility. There’s actually a lot of possibilities here.

Bonus factoid: The pair dropped acid before attending the Oscar ceremony. They attended wearing versions of famous (or infamous) Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Lopez gowns.

ALAN MENKEN (It’s Complicated)

Awards refresher: Disney music God (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas…) has won eleven — ELEVEN! — Grammy Awards, eight — EIGHT! — Oscars and one — STILL COOL! — Tony. Technically speaking, he is an EGOT with an honorary 1990 Emmy for outstanding contribution to the success of the Academy’s anti-drug special for children. But the traditional rules are strict, and to be considered a true EGOT, all awards have to have been won in a competitive category.

Likeliest “E” scenario: Menken has showed a relatively new interest in TV work, earning his second Emmy nomination just last year for outstanding original music and lyrics (he was also a producer) on the musical comedy series Galavant. Menken alas lost, and Galavant was canceled, but if Menken keeps up that interest in TV work, rounding out a competitive EGOT membership status is completely attainable.

Bonus factoid: In the original 1991 Beauty and the Beast film there are 25 minutes of song, and only five minutes with no musical underscore at all.

ANNE HATHAWAY (E-O-)

Awards refresher: Hathaway famously took home the 2013 best supporting Oscar statue for her performance in Les Miserables. Less famously, she took home the Emmy for outstanding voice-over performance in 2010 for voicing “Princess Penelope” in an episode of The Simpsons.

Likeliest “G” and “T” scenario: Yes, she is two away from EGOT, but she has a very real chance to shore this up sooner rather than later. Hathaway is an undeniably versatile actress, and she’s only 34. Since 2012, the best spoken word album for children and best musical album for children merged into one award that covers both genres. A best children’s album (the current moniker) is right up Hathaway’s alley, for either musical or spoken word. Her singing chops are well established, but her non-singing voiceover abilities already got her that Emmy. She’s also the voice of Jewel the macaw in the popular animated Rio movie franchise. Plus, pre-Devil Wears Prada, it was roles in Ella Enchanted (in which she became a princess) and The Princess Diaries (in which she found out she was a princess) that made her famous. Those movies continue to be popular with young people, so combined with her Rio kid klout, she has a built in fan-base with Generations Z and Alpha, and the potential nostalgia factor for older generation voters. Regarding the Tonys, it’s not a question of if but when.

Bonus factoid: She has a thing for playing princesses. In 1998 she played one at the Paper Mill Playhouse (a very prestigious New Jersey theater) in Once Upon a Mattress.

Source: Billboard

http://tunecollective.com/2017/02/26/the-top-10-egot-contenders-who-will-be-next-to-win-all-four-major-awards/

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