About 10 months ago, they sang this catchy tune. I'll forgive myself for having missed it, given what was going on in my life then. I love this as a theme song for December 2020: it's time to make a change. I'm personally ready to see what 2021 has in store.
I'm including the official song, but I don't like the video yet (it distracted me):
Given the lyrics Cohen sang himself, the original song was a downbeat anti-gospel that had nothing to do with God, and more to do with sex and relationships. Jeff Beckley cleaned it up a bit, but it's been the modern singers and players, especially Pentatonix and Lindsey Sterling, who've given it some pro-God depth (despite Cohen).
I think this is because Cohen wanted to use the depths of dispare to show that calling "let it be so, God" or "Glory to God" at the bottom is cynical. Instead, it is human, and what God wants. When we've failed or we're at the bottom, God wants us calling to Him. If we're getting punished rightly in our sins, or if we're in a terrible position through no fault of our own but because God is with us, the only appropriate thing to say is "Your will, God". Saying "let it be so, God", one meaning of the original Hebrew word for Hallelujah, is what we have to do.
While we can interpret it as pseudo-Gospel song, it's not a Christmas song.
The Pentatonix version:
Lindsey Sterling's version:
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I've looked for songs that matched that simplicity. I like Enya's version, but Enya can't do simple; her songs get big without her even trying. Kelly Clarkson has a decent version, but Paula would never forgive me for picking a version with Reba on it.
Back we go to this year's shortstop of Christmas songs: Pentatonix. The five don't over-produce this song. It's clear that they don't do multiple tracks for anyone, and they give a very basic performance that I love.
(Again, no idea why the channel name is "Blind Boys of Mississippi"....
First, the "Mary, did you know" is basically a version of the Socratic method in rhythmic melody. It functions as the repeat frame in the AB, AC, AD, etc. form of repeating used in lots of different musical forms and genres. (Think "Papa Don't Preach", or "Go Tell It On The Mountain" in both songs.)
Also, did Mary know? She might have been able to answer "yes" or "some" to some of the questions, but not all. Remember, Mary and Jesus' brothers came to one of the houses one day, to take him home and stop the ministry. That's not a woman who could answer yes to all the questions. Not even the 12 disciples could answer yes to all the questions until Jesus rose from the dead and then the Holy Spirit became active in their lives. Now, after Pentacost, she could answer yes, but all the church could by then (that's how the brother of Jesus went from being sarcastic about Him to being head elder of the church of Jerusalem).
While searching for alternatives to my first pick, I found a really beautiful version by a couple performing as The Hound + The Fox that bumped the alternatives. So technically, this is also a Breaking Find.
Bonus version: the Cimorelli sisters (performing as Cimorelli) also have a pretty decent acapella version of the song:
It's a cheerful song showing off Kirstin's singing range (and the rest's abilties in melody) and her and Scott's writing chops.
If I never hear it again, it'll be too soon.
In fact, I went looking for the most gonzo version of this song so I wouldn't have to hear George Michael again. I was tempted by Miley Cyrus (hard to get more gonzo than her), but I did find a top: Last Christmas being sung by the Band of the National Guard of the Russian Federation:
I am fond of Loreena McKennitt's version of the song because it seems more traditional and "older" than a lot of modern versions.
(I don't know why YouTube has the author as "The Blind Boys of Mississippi". I think it's because the record company created a user to "take over" user videos, and they couldn't be bothered to get it right.)
The hero (or should I say anti-hero) of the song admits to any number of tricks and bad acts that would earn him coal in his stockings, even (spoiler alert) helping the robber case the house at the end of the song.
Nothing is exactly what the "hero" of this song deserves.
While I think the song is cute, and any "talk me into it" song is quaint in this era of "let me talk all about it", this has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas.
This of course is a romance song, and should be on anyone's list to sing to a romantic interest. I can't say enough about loving this song.
I really wish they'd left Ian McKellan off of this video though.... I like Sir Ian, but not in this video.
While searching for a video for the song, I found the Third Hour TV version. I've never heard of these kids before, but the video they made for this song is hilarious. It compliments the song well and even throws a few jabs of its own, but doesn't try to go too far out on a limb itself. I laughed through the whole thing, and even played it a couple more times.
The Pentatonix version is pretty though.
This is an excellent modern Christmas carol that respects tradition without blindly following or stealthfully mocking them. I love it.
The most bittersweet part of this for me was Jeff Cook. I was unaware that Mr. Cook was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2013, and has been public about it (and semi-retired) since 2017. As is clear from the video, he is impared by his illness. However, Randy and Teddy have been clear that Jeff Cook is in Alabama, and will be on stage with the band whenever he wants. Mr. Cook clearly wanted to be on stage for this song. I am impressed by the physical and mental strength shown just to be on that stage and able to sing as much as he can in year 7 of Parkinson's.
Dreams is a haunting song about love, and one's first love in specific. Even 25+ years later, I still love hearing it pop up on the playlist.
The strongest unintended tradition in the extended Rankin household was the Adult Table. My grandfather, his brothers and sisters, and their spouses ate in the dining room at the adult table. At first, the adult table was a mystery to the kids, and kids are always attracted to mystery. Then some of us got towards adulthood, and some of the older adults passed or were unable to come, and we got our chance. To get stuck getting quizzed and lectured by Uncle Russell. Voluntarily choosing the adult table was only done once. Recently, the last of my grandfather's generation has passed away or is unable to come to Christmas, and the adult table is now just my mother's dinner table or dad's cousin's dinner table, and there's nothing particularly bad about being at the adult table.
That said, it's a catchy, fun song with a lot of versions. I happen to be fond of the one by the Brian Setzer Orchestra myself:
This is a pretty song I've had on repeat all day. It's definitely going into my favorites lists, and the rest of their albums are getting added to my Library.
Shel Silverstein had an interesting drawing, writing, and songwriting career. He is most famous for "Where The Sidewalk Ends", but he also wrote "25 Minutes to Go" and "A Boy Named Sue" for Johnny Cash, and "The Cover of the Rolling Stone" (and most of Dr. Hook's early songs). This song he recorded for himself. He sounds a lot like Mark Hamell forgot his cough drops before jumping into the time machine for the early 1970s. It also sounds a lot like one of his children's books being read.
The song and the video is both beautiful, and it's an incredibly uplifting song. I've added it to my favorites playlist already, and added her album to the Apple Music collection.
It ends up that The Kingdom Heirs essentially acted as a "house band" for Silver Dollar City in Pigeon Forge, and stayed on when it became Dollywood. The group has had a numerous rotation in its membership, but still focuses on singing gospel songs at Dollywood and a limited touring schedule.
Back to the message: I love the simplistic message of this song. We can sometimes get wrapped up in getting complex. When in doubt, just preach Jesus; the rest of the gospel will follow.
I have to admit to one fault: the song is about de Burgh remembering what his wife was wearing the first time they met, unlike most people. Like me. I was and am usually clueless about people's clothing. (One time I had to call the police on someone harassing walkers, and was asked what he was wearing. "Um, clothes....").
Tom Lehrer became famous for his satirical songs with excellent melodies (that, unlike other satirists, he usually created himself), but this is one of his early works from the fifties. The Wikipedia story goes that the pianist came to the studio not knowing the song, and his sheet music was untitled. He read the music and thought "This is a neat, simple, cute waltz." Then the engineer goes "take 1 for Poisoning Pigeons in the Park", and he fell off his stool in shock.
However, this cover is part of a theme. Tom Jones went to musicians he liked, and said "I want to do a duet with you. Pick a producer you like, and let's do a song in your general style; I just want to sing."
This makes a song that's an interesting mix of Jones' hamming and the Cardigans' indie pop. (The video is even more gonzo, but it doesn't improve the song enough to make it a Better in the Video song.)
(Supposedly Taylor Swift wrote a song that sounds a lot like the beat of this one. Shame on her.)
I usually don't include multiple versions of the same song, much less multiple versions of the same song by the same artist, in my favorites playlist. However, the Acoustic version we're covering today is sufficiently different from the original "all instruments" that I like both separately on their own merits. We'll talk about the other version when it comes around on the guitar.
This song is an incredibly sweet song about love and caring for someone, and wishing that that person were with you. Like Long Monday, I can't help but think about that 15 months that Paula and I did long distance dating.
The best part for you: I downloaded this song from NoiseTrade, and it's STILL free over there. Go to https://www.pastemagazine.com/noisetrade/music/rachelplatten/noisetrade-sampler and listen to it. You'll then need to log in to download the song, but do it. Then go buy everything else she's ever made.
(The version in this video isn't identical, but it's pretty close. Again, go download the identical song.)
Pentatonix is most certainly a secular band, and most of the members are not orthodox Christian (although Kentucky-born and GSA alum Kevin Olusola and new member Matt Sallee are professing Christians). However, they've performed very orthodox Christian songs (Mary, Did You Know and How Great Thou Art) very well. This song fits that pattern.
This life is a gift, and we're supposed to consider it a gift from God, but it's not our home. When God calls us, we're supposed to be ready to go and look forward to leaving to be with him.
It reassures me greatly that those who have gone ahead of us consider this life like a "candlelight in Central Park", and that I have a place there when it's my time too.
Nothing But The Blood is an excellent sample from the album. The message is plain and accurate: there is nothing that can cleanse us from sin except the Blood of Jesus. The harmonies of the Blind Boys of Alabama (some of the best singers in the world) just add to a wonderful arrangement and excellent singing and instrumentation of Jars of Clay themselves.
I adore listening to this song, and to this album.
It's good that God calls up shortstops in our lives to help us, but our goal should be to be able to be one of the star players in our community that other people look up to.
This is an "extras"; we will come back and discuss My Deliverer and That Where I Am (at least) in future posts. However, the entire 2 albums are worth listening to if you've never heard them before.
(Note that this is a 19 song playlist. You might want to click through to YouTube...()
Rich Mullins wrote this song, and his version is very good, but Third Day rocks it. It's strange to call a singing version of the Apostle's Creed a rocker, but Third Day is good at doing stuff like this.
I am a believer in the Restoration Movement, also known as the Stone-Campbell movement. The Restoration Movement believes in the unification of the denominations, and that there are "no creeds but Christ". Creeds like the Apostle's Creed or the Nicene Creed.
Even so, I used this song as the start of one of my lessons to the high schoolers a couple of years ago, and I will do so again. Here's one English translation of the Apostle's Creed:
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.If you're reading this post, I want to ask you two questions:
If you're having trouble with answering yes for number 2, then go to a Christian small group and ask for prayer and mentoring. There are probably items in your life that you need their help identifying that are interfering with your walk with Christ.
Addicted to our pride, come save Consumed in self delight, come save Break us and free us from these chains We desperately need Your grace Your sons and Your daughters cry for You The waves of the waters reach for You And all of creation rises up and screams out Your name Oh Lord
I have no problem starting the week out by crying out to the Lord.
(Yes, we'll cover Shortstop Wednesday.)
I refuse to start talking about Christmas songs until December, so I decided to break out an album I was introduced to in college. A friend of mine played the second CD of Dr Demento's 20th Anniversary Collection, and I thought it was hilarious. Then I mostly forgot about it until I just happened to find a copy of the album (missing CD 1, interestingly enough) at Half Price Books. We'll talk about 4 of the funny songs off this album, and then come back to songs that tend to get played in December on 11/29.
The first I'll talk about is The Ballad of Irving. This is a satire song inspired directly by Lorne Greene's song "Ringo", although it makes fun of all of the Western character ballad songs. Irving is the 142nd fastest gun in the west, and not very good at that. He doesn't even get a heroic ending....
You can't. You may think it's silly. You may think it's stupid. You WILL sing along.
Both Paula and I always adored this song. While it's a secular song, I also think it's a very Christ-like song. God is aware of our needs, and wants to be able to meet them. It is sinful for us to fret about what we'll wear, or what we'll eat, or whether we will get this disease or that disease, because we are in God's hand.
I love the pseudo-Celtic, medieval sound of the song. You can listen to the song, and imagine going across the moors with the actors, essentially begging for extra food and money to suppliment the year's crops and wages.
(I had to skip the official video because the audio track on it is a terrible version. You're stuck with an audio-only version.)
I'm not sure why people dislike Another Way to Die. It's guitar-heavy for a Bond song (I'd rather have heard trumpets), but Alicia can keep up with many of the Bond singers, and Jack White can hold his own here. It's not great, but it's catchy and I like to sing along with it, and that's enough.
I like how this song describes the two people. I always considered this a "Paula" song as well, and I would never consider dating anyone else if I couldn't feel the same way about her as the singer feels about his love.
The song: This song is about Doom. The main character has a voice implant that's a weapon. Walk without rhythm, and you won't attract the sandworms. Etc. The song is neat and rhythmic, but I wouldn't have fallen in love with it like I have.
The video: Thriller by Michael Jackson was important to the music industry and to music videos, but it's more like a movie novella than a music video. Weapon of Choice is an incredible video that has little to do with the song, but makes the song an incredible statement about travel and trying to break free from the monotony.
Christopher Walken plays "the business traveler". There is little more mind-numbing than business travel. You're flying to the same airport, driving the same rental car to the same hotel in the same business district, with the same fast food restaurants around you. It is practically impossible to keep it from feeling soul-crushing. Then the traveler starts dancing to the song.
Apparently, Spike Jonez and the film crew shut down an LA Marriott at 3AM to film this video, and it shows. Walken himself created much of the dance moves (he got a coreography credit), and he did practically every move in the video despite being about 57 (you can catch a stand-in on some of the roughest stunts).
And then he jumps off the balcony around 2:54. Jonez and Walken had to go to a wire harness company that specialized in green screen flying, and then they digitized the lobby of the hotel to stick Walken back into it. However, Walken really is bouncing from wall to wall in the green screen room at 2-3 stories up, and that sheer look of amazement and joy wasn't made up.
In the end, the traveller has to end the trip into the fantasy world, and return to his chair.
Walken loved doing this video so much that he considers it a highlight of his career, and tried to turn down his paycheck (his agent finally said "I need to get paid"...). Walken even went on the MTV Music Awards that year to accept the coreography award the video won.
Sting re-recorded this song without Claption et. al., but I don't like that version nearly as well....
In 1972, Bonnie Raitt, Lowell George, John Hammond, etc. were all together at Ultra-Sonic Studios, recorded for a live broadcast on WLIR. I'm still looking for the actual recording for sale (it does exist), but the Internet Archive has a hissy version of it up here. (Given the transmission path on the 2nd CD of one commercial version, the Internet Archive version may be the best version there is.)
This isn't the only version of Can't Find My Way Home she's done, but it's awfully good, and it's good company.
No, not really, she actually hates it. This is one of my "creepy songs" that came about because I received the video free on iTunes. I thought the video is very artistic, and the song is neat too. Even if Wesley makes me turn it off if she's there to listen to it.
My problem is that I love the song, and I love this recording, but Amy Grant is still unqualified to be in a public leadership roll as a Christian. I don't object to her "going pop"; she's free to sing what she wants and is lead to do. However, she is still unrepentant about divorcing Gary Chapman and marrying a divorced Vince Gill. Her divorce may have been unavoidable; I will not claim to know the details enough to make an opinion. I do know that doesn't excuse a marriage to Gill, who probably wasn't eligible to remarry himself either.
This all can be repented from, and I wouldn't dare judge Ms. Grant's salvation. However, IMHO it does disqualify her from any form of leadership in Christian ministry, and that includes gospel music. I won't listen to her new albums or buy anything she participates in otherwise.
However, there are no alternatives IMHO. Michael Card is an incredible songwriter, but he's not in Amy Grant's league as a singer. The cover by Eden's Bridge is just not the same, and I can't bare to even try to find the Pat Boone version. Most non-commercial covers on YouTube have mediocre recording qualities (one exception is below). Therefore, I present the original version of El Shaddai by Amy Grant:
As a bonus, the one non-commercial version I've found that I liked, by a musician named Hannah Milchak. I can't put this in the favorites playlist because she doesn't sell her music or give it away for downloads. Here it is on YouTube though:
In 2007, Danny Flowers decided to record a Christian-themed album that Paula discovered, and then of course sent me to download. The lead song for that album is Tools For the Soul. Paula loved this album. The entire album is worth listening to (especially the "hidden" end track after "I Was A Burden"), but Tools For The Soul has entered and stayed in my favorites playlist.
(I was going to link to a live version, but Emmylou was having issues that day, and it wasn't very good.) You're "stuck" with the album version.
Bonus second song: the hidden end track from YouTube. Listen to it, then skip back to I Was a Burden:
I'm just happy to listen to it again while typing this up for you.
Prelude and First verse:The song starts with The Hero singing at the bar, flashing back to The Hero selling 3 of 4 gold coins to Mr Big (Mr. Big wants all 4). The Lady is walking around the bar, until she comes up to the Hero and whispers in his ear. Orbison's second verse: The camera is pointed out the window to the party in the street, then pulls back to a romantic moment in the bedroom, and steam dripping onto the dresser mirror.
a Petty's third verse: set up next verse
a Orbison's fourth verse: the Lady pulls a knife on The Hero and wants the fourth coin.
a Fifth verse: the Hero is back at the bar, drinking a whiskey. He tosses the fourth coin to the bartender ("to pay for the mess"), and drives his motorcycle off into the sunset.
Song Ending: The bartender goes up to The Hero's room. The door is shut, and the bloody knife is sticking out of the door.
Fade out to the Hero driving into the sunset.
s I am not a fan of the city of Atlanta, and I hate having to make a connection in ATL. This is the first time I've actually driven into ATL, and I don't want to do that again.
The song Jet Airplane went with the day though.
Finally, there's a gas station, and I can pull in. Gas first, bathroom second. Yes, it was a mistake, but it sounded good at the time. I'm hurrying to pull up the mask and turning the corner to the bathrooms, barely noticing that there's no one in my way. After a few minutes in the restroom, I stop by the water cooler for another bottle, and the candy bin for cherry slices or orange slices. Then I look up.
I think I owe the idiot Blunt an apology. I looked up into the kindest, most gentle pair of eyes I have ever seen, and she smiled kindly to me. I couldn't tell you her name, what color her eyes were, or what she was wearing. I don't even know what city we were in. At that moment, all I could think is "Boy, she is beautiful.".
Then I paid my bill, told her "Thank you", and drove off into the night.
Then I look to my left, and just stop.
I've seen a lot of strange sights involving alcohol. I've watched an old man wash a bucket of KFC down with Jack straight out of the bottle. I've seen thousand dollar wine and Mad Dog 20/20, and never seen either help their owners. This young man took them all.
He was walking down the beach at the slow, rolling gait of someone one drink away from holding the ground with both hands to keep from falling off. One sandal had survived the exercise, but the other was gone to the wind. He was carrying the dregs of a $10 plastic gallon of cheap scotch in one hand, but his precious treasure was in the other hand.
He was dragging a white plastic card table like it was a pirate's chest. Three of the legs were gone, and every usable surface of the top and bottom were covered with Sharpie signatures. He must have spent all week partying and collecting names. Now he was almost out of time, almost out of whiskey, and almost out of places to sign, but he wasn't quite done yet.
I watched him heading down the island towards Mobile, dragging his prized possessions off to his next destination.
Then George's chance came. The Chinese took a page from the Russian book: if you can't come up with the technology yourself, steal it from the Americans. If there was a man from whom one could steal a super-virus, it was George. His work on engineering viruses for cancer treatment was the best in the world, and the easiest to weaponize. When the CIA found out that the Chinese wanted it, they asked George to help them give the Chinese broken information. The Chinese were barely able to make something infectious before they accidentally released the virus in Wuhan.
Of course George got the call when the US started making a vaccine, and that's when his plan could go into motion. His vaccine introduced a small gene into the population that made you vulnerable to the next virus. Three months later, George made a few plane trips...
George looked out across the white, empty sand. The manditory evacuation orders had sent the tourists running, and most residents had left or died at home as well. This pesky raspy cough and shortness of breath was an annoyance, but he had plenty of time to deal with that. The coast was clear, after all.
It wouldn't take much to open that box hidden in my underwear pile and simply lubricate this problem away. I'm not an alcoholic, after all, haven't had much of anything to drink since college. It was always more fun to watch the other idiots get drunk than spend the next morning hugging the toilet myself.
Nah. Alan does have a point; I think I need a vacation, and now's just as good as a time as any. Click on Skype here, and send the boss "Feeling sick; need to take the rest of the day off". I close the laptop before he can respond.
"Kids, grab a basketball and your mother, and let's go up to the park"
Be aware that they are all fiction, and I'm not going to even claim I like them all...
The Video: One YouTube commenter hits the nail on the head: it's a 90s video that looks like an 80s video, pretending to be a 70s video. It is an incredible fusion of funk and techno to go along with the song. It also doesn't hurt any that Lady Miss Kerr has the Diana Rigg style catsuit thing going on....
Listening to the song again, it's an interesting package that wraps Billy Joel up in a bow. It's definitely a 80s/90s borderland pop hit, and it's prretentious like a lot of songs were. Joel says he wrote it to apologize to Christie Brinkley about how he was all over the place; a lot of critics point out it identifies undiagmosed bipoloar disorder.
If you like Billy Joel, you'll like this one. If not, you won't.
(I will come back later with a purchase link; I am away from the computer.)
So wake me up when it's all over When I'm wiser and I'm older All this time I was finding myself, and I Didn't know I was lostThere's times even today when I wish I could wait until I'm wiser and older. Like I tell the High School class at church sometimes, "Somehow I turned around and people started thinking I was a responsible adult."
The video: Someone tripped on acid while looking at an inkblot test. It's the only explanation.
The video takes images of Ceelo and Danger Mouse (the two people in Gnarls Barkley), as well as the anamorphic mouse character representing Danger Mouse, and mix them in with ink blot madness. It's the perfect mix of imagery to go with the song's message that living the way that his heros were is crazy.
I am not a fan of the original version of Radioactive, but this version is incredible. Pentatonix yields their "no instruments" general rule to allow Kevin (a Kentucky native and GSA alum) to play his cello along with Lindsey's violin. It makes an incredible combination.
I have to agree with the YouTube commentators who complain that Cheb Mami (the Arabic singer) didn't get even a Featuring credit on this song. His singing ability makes this song, and he easily keeps up with Sting. He should have received official credit, and I'm giving it here.
The mix of Arabic and Sting's lyrics make a very beautiful song that stands the test of time.
Amazon Associates Links for The Very Best Of Eddy Grant - Road To Reparation: MP3
It's a pretty song that I'm happy to hear again and again.
The Video: The video for Red Solo Cup takes everything silly and stupid about the song, and puts it in video form. It's a cliche presentation of that one party in college that everyone says rocked, but no one quite remembers the details about. At least those of us over 30 don't have to worry about cell phone videos of our indiscressions....
Amazon Associates Links for Clancy's Tavern: MP3
Amazon Associates Links for Chase the Sun: MP3
I can't tell you much about "Aldo Vanucci", the singer's incredibly resistent to Google, apparently.
Amazon Associates Links for Straight Lift: MP3
The Video: An incredible video rescues a middle-shelf song. The video features Jason Priestley and Jennifer Connelly as the two lovers in the song. They picked two incredibly attractive, skilled actors who had an outstanding chemistry with each other. They sell a sensuous, romantic, sexy relationship while staying PG to PG-13.
I hadn't watched the video for this song until now, and John Hiatt looks old. (Then I look in the mirror, and I'm not surprised why...)
There's no video unfortunately, so you'll have to make do with the album version of the song.
The song almost qualifies for a "Better as a Video", because the video is interesting to watch.
The sampler I got for free for them is still $0.99, it's a bargain: MP3
The song: It's a 90s Rod Stewart pop song. I love singing along with The Temptations, and it's really nice. I like it enough for it to be in my list of favorites. Sometimes you stick with the music you grow up with....
The video: Now this is where it gets gonzo. The trend of mixing animation and live action was in full swing (Paula Abdul and MC Stray Cat, anyone?), and Rod both turned the knob to 11 and made fun of nearly everyone in the industry. He manages to make fun of Sinead O'Connor, Madonna, Vanilla Ice, and even makes a jab at Elton John's Eisenhower hat phase, all while keeping a catchy beat going.
It's not great, and I'm not even certain it's good, but it's certainly fun and an experience.
I always could relate to it because Paula and I almost didn't meet. She didn't want to come to that New Year's Eve party, and had to get talked into it. I actually left it before meeting her, because I was working with some people on a project (that I later got thrown out of...), but a guy who rode with me wanted to go back to see someone else there. God meant for us to meet, so we would have, but it could have gone so differently...
I need to go back and start looking for Andrew Belle music...
Anyway, I technically get to be a hipster here, because I became a fan of AJR before they hit it at least somewhat big.
Moreover, this was a big David and Paula song. This fit our life, since we never had a bunch of money and were happy doing free (or low priced) stuff instead of spending a lot of money.
I was going to show you a live version of the song, since they never made a video, but most had poor sound quality. Instead, you get the song-only version:
Amazon Associates Links for The Lotto: MP3
A bonus: Cherine Anderson is a good singer in her own right, and has a neat gospel song named Victory deserving of a listen. I'm buying it right now, and we'll cover it in more detail when it comes around on the guitar.
Amazon Associates Links for All Rebel Rockers: MP3
Interestingly, it isn't the only version of the song to chart at the same time. Atlantic worked with Robin Lee to release a country version of the song at the same time, and it charted as well. I'm not sure how I managed to miss this the first time around.
Any day hearing Mark Knoffler singing and playing the guitar is a good day. Seeing Randy Quaid pre-breakdown is fun too (not enough to qualify for our "Better in Video" Saturdays, but close...).
The Song: Rollin' and Tumblin' is a stable of Eric Clapton's blues songlist. It's a classic, and every time he comes to it, he makes it special. The MTV Unplugged version here is a great and fun rocker. Clapton and the band had run through the songs to record the first time, and several takes weren't that good (the audience was too loud, the band was too tight, etc.). The band and crew went on break, but Clapton stayed out. Supposedly the audience talked Clapton into starting another song, and he got the band back out to run through Rollin and Tumblin again, jam style. The recording crew (audio and visual) had to run to get back into position to record, and they actually missed the first little bit of the song (the record catches Clapton's "Did you get that?" at the end of the song).
Why the video is better: Mr. Tamborine Man.
Ray Cooper is a percussionist most famous for playing and touring with Elton John, but he has played with Eric Clapton quite often, and Clapton tapped him for the Unplugged sessions as well. As you watch the Rollin and Tumblin video progress, you can see Mr. Cooper get more and more energetic and flamboyant with his tamborine, until the audience catches him and starts cheering around 3:15. Clapton at first doesn't really notice, but around 3:40 Clapton sees it (you can hear the little "Cought you" when he stops playing the guitar).
It's not quite a tamborine solo, but it's the best tamborine feature I've ever seen.
BTW, I'm using DailyMotion here instead of YouTube because the video quality is a LOT better...
Like "Hey There Delilah", this is a "lover" song with a creepy twist. Delilah wasn't in a relationship with Tom Higgenson and barely knew him (although she was flattered enough to go to the Grammys with the band when the song was up for an award). Settle Down starts off a bit sweet, but then you start feeling a bit sorry for Mr. Jones.... And the video turns that knob up past 11.
All my selfish thoughts All my pride The things I hide You have forgot about
There is something incredible about knowing that all we have to do is ask, and all of our sins are as far from God as the east is from the west....
One on regular rotation is Lori McKenna's People Get Old. I never understood the "old people" complaining about getting old, feeling bad, etc. Then I hit middle age, and have probably sailed a bit past it, and I get it.
It's hard enough with the people who you are watching grow up or grow older. It's even harder for the people who no longer are.
Normally, I'd use the music video here, but I had forgotten how provokative and R rated it was. You get the official album version instead:
Sorry, having trouble finding a non-explicit version of the album. I'd recommend considering just buying the one song on MP3 or the Apple Store if you really like it.
Amazon Associates Links for Who We Are (Deluxe Edition): MP3
The MTV Unplugged version of Layla isn't the same song that came out of Derek and the Dominos, because Clapton's not the same man in 1992 that he was in 1970. In the original rock version, I can hear and feel the young man "knowing" that life will end without his impossible woman in his life, but that if she comes to him, life will be perfection. The older, wiser man of 1992 is more world-weary, wondering how in the heck he has managed to get himself in this bad situation, knowing that there probably isn't a happy ending to the story after all.
Clapton needed this album financially, artistically, and personally to get himself in a place to influence the 90s, and he leveraged it for all it was worth.
The remastered, deluxe version of Clapton's MTV Unplugged album on MP3
Amazon Associates Links for Flesh Tone: MP3
