Jack White drops his "Blunderbuss"

I will confess to being a Jack White fan, in all of his various incarnations, White Stripes, Raconteurs, even the Dead Weather where he is a vocalist and drummer (?!?). Loved his appearance in "It Might Get Loud." I dug his occasional production duties like his work on the comeback Loretta Lynn album "Van Lear Rose." I got over and forgave Jack his move to a tony suburb of Nashville. Like a lot of fans, I still consider him "ours." A born and raised Michigan boy. So he didn't stay, like Eminem and Kid Rock, so what! You can take the rock star out of Michigan but you can't take Michigan out of the rock star.

Therefore I was excited by the news of a new Jack White solo record. Jack has recorded some "one-off" singles and soundtracks recording. Even contributed vocals to Danger Mouse and  Danielle Luppi's "Rome" album from last year. But this is Jack's first official "solo" release.  I have only had a chance to listen a couple of times through and I like what I hear so far. The track that is getting the most early buzz, and the most commercial to my ears is "Love Interruption" which I have sampled below. It's also the first single from the album.

It was also performed on SNL a few weeks back where he appeared with an all female band on this tune and an all-male band on "Sixteen Saltines."

Like I said I have only had a chance to listen to "Blunderbuss" all the way through a couple of times, but it already is a candidate for my top release of the year.

Jack announced that he is playing the Masonic Theater on May 24, reserving half the seats for in-person sales at UHF and Street Corner Music, two great local indie stores. He put in safeguards making it difficult for scalpers and the so-called "secondary" market to mark these up and sell them at inflated prices. He also made it impossible for me to get a ticket as most middle aged attorneys don't have the opportunity to stand in line starting 4 hours before tickets go on sale. But that's alright. I have had my chance to see the White Stripes. Let the kids get them at a price they can afford! Better that the true fans who stand in line to see the artists they love get the ticket then some guy (like me) paying "whatever it takes" to see the show.

Here are a couple of obscure Jack White tracks. One is one of his vocal turns from the afore-mentioned "Rome" album, on the track "Two Against One" possibly my favorite tune from 2011.

Here Jack takes the producer's chair for 60's and 70's country songbird Loretta Lynn. If you recall Jack's version of Dolly Parton's country chestnut "Jolene" then you know that Jack has a love and a feel for this type of music. He spends much of his time running the Third Man Record label and Third Man Record store in Tennessee, which features Loretta as one of it's artists. The tune is "Portland Oregon" from the "Van Lear Rose" album.

Here's a live take of the same track from the David Letterman show!

Jack White has acted, dated actresses, married models and even become a father. He seems to dedicate a good portion of his time to keeping alive the vinyl record industry. He has become a very rich man. But, as he put on display in the must-see "It Might Get Loud" (which you gotts seek out if you are a fan of Jack's, U2's The Edge or Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page) it always comes down to the music. His love and respect for it shines through everything he does. The man is always worth a listen and I highly recommend this release!

That's Why God Made The Radio

The Beach Boys this week released their first single in their "reunion" mode with Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and David Marks back on board joining Mike Love, the one constant member since 1961 and Bruce Johnston who, but for an absence from 1972 to 1979 has been a member since 1965. The first Beach Boy's record to feature Brian since the early 90's starts off with Brian's strong lead over a very 50's sounding piano/organ combo. Nicely layered vocals build to a climax sung with gusto by the whole group. Mike Love's nasally lead is nary to be heard on this track but we do hear his fine bass vocals in the mix. This video contains the lyrics to this comeback tune. Avert your eyes from the photo of the group sitting around a piano looking scarily ancient.

I'm assuming it's a Wilson-Love co-write though I have not found a songwriting credit for the tune.  Rolling Stone called it "cosmic, korny but undeniably beautiful." Will it get radio airplay? Probably not. Who cares? Who listens to the radio anymore? Watch it on you tube, listen on spotify, download to your phone. It sounds like summer!


The album is out June 5, and this is the title track. Other titles on the record include: ‘Think About The Days’, Isn’t It Time,’ ‘Spring Vacation,’ ‘Private Life Of Bill And Sue,’ ‘Shelter’ ‘Daybreak Over The Ocean,’ ‘Beaches In Mind’, ‘Strange World,’ ‘My Life Suite’, and ‘Summer’s Gone.’

The Beach Boys tour kicked off a couple of nights ago in Tucson, AZ. The reunited BB's played 42 tunes, nearly all hits. They will play DTE Energy Theater on June 30th!. I'm going and, on the strength of this tune, looking forward to the album.

By the way, erstwhile BB Al Jardine's "Postcards From California" hit the racks a couple of weeks ago with 3 bonus tracks after being released digitally last year. A fine, if somewhat low-key effort, that was recorded over a period of years, "Postcards" is much, much better than anyone would assume that a solo Al Jardine album in 2011 would have any right to be. Here is "Don't Fight The Sea" a tune that features the classic the vocal talents of Brian, Mike,  and late, great Carl Wilson. This was an unfinished Beach Boy's track from 1978. Give it a listen!

Record Store Day!!!! April 21, 2012

Christmas and Halloween rolled into one! Support your local record stores! Here are some links!

Record Store Day

The Record Collector

Solo Records

UHF Records

Street Corner Music

Melodies and Memories

Slick Disc

Dearborn Music

Encore Records

People's Records

The Record Graveyard


I have dropped some serious coin at all of these shops! You can not go wrong shopping at any of them! Please patronize these fine stores this Saturday. Hell, any Saturday, or any day (forgive the vulgarity! Keep them from joining the list of those that have moved on!

Harmony House, Desirable Discs, Repeat The Beat, Car City Records......

More Bad News-Levon Helm begins his Final Journey

According to Levon's website:


"Dear Friends,

Levon is in the final stages of his battle with cancer. Please send your prayers and love to him as he makes his way through this part of his journey.

Thank you fans and music lovers who have made his life so filled with joy and celebration... he has loved nothing more than to play, to fill the room up with music, lay down the back beat, and make the people dance! He did it every time he took the stage...

We appreciate all the love and support and concern.
From his daughter Amy, and wife Sandy"

This is obviously very sad news, especially arriving after the news of Robin Gibb's struggle with cancer.

Levon was just in town one month ago at the Michigan Theater. He had been dealing with throat cancer for several years now.

Let me throw up a couple of classics, one from Levon's Grammy winning "Dirt Farmer" and one with the Band!

Above is the official video from the song  "Dirt Farmer."

This is the Last Waltz version of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" an indisputable classic, performed here live with Levon's wonderful vocal up front!


Here's a link to Levon's website!

Levon Helm's website

Heads Up-Fab Faux coming to Ann Arbor 4/21/2012

If you have seen any sort of "Beatlemania" show or, I guess the popular group now is "Rain" then you have to check out the Fab Faux this Saturday at Ann Arbor's Michigan Theater. I have seen many Beatle Tribute groups including the aforementioned as well as "1964" who does the early Beatles. I've seen locals the Poppermost at Chelis' before last years McCartney show and at the Dream Cruise. I have enjoyed them all. What the Fab Faux do is different. First of all, they are not a so-called "wig" band. They don't impersonate the Beatles. They don't wear Beatle boots and wigs, or take an intermission and come out as "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band." What they attempt to do is reproduce the Beatles records as faithfully as possible. The most visible two members of the Faux are smokin' guitarist Jimmy Vivino from the Conan O'Brien  band and bassist extraordinaire Will Lee from David Letterman's band. I caught the show last year in which they reproduced the entire Abbey Road album. At that time, they were just the basic 5 piece unit with pretty much everybody playing more than one instrument to reproduce this complex music. This year they are back, doing "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" backed by the Hogshead Horns and the Creme Tangerine strings.

 

Highly recommended.

I have tossed up a clip of the Faux doing the so-called "Long Medley" from Abbey Road. Pretty incredible. It's quite long, but worthwhile. Obviously the one thing that can't be reproduced are the vocals which depend on the unique larynxs of Messers. Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr. But they do a nice job. 

Tickets still available and it is a nice, family show. Links to the Fab Faux website below!

One more clip though there are literally dozens. Here is "I "Am The Walrus" from the Letterman show!

The Fab Faux Official Website

International Pop Overthrow at Paycheck's Lounge

According to Wikipedia: Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are usually kept to a minimum, and blues elements are largely downplayed. Recordings tend to display production values that lean toward compression and a forceful drum beat. Instruments usually include one or more electric guitars, an electric bass guitar, a drum kit, and sometimes electric keyboards or synthesizers. While its cultural impact has waxed and waned over the decades, power pop is among rock's most enduring subgenres.

There, I have just gone and SUCKED the life right out of this blog with a textbook definition which sounds like the professorial music journalists who wrote about "Aeloian Cadences" in the music of the Beatles! (To which John Lennon famously responded: "They sound like exotic birds.").

The music on display at the three day festival last night was by no means dry and academic. It was high energy and rockin' with lots of melody, harmony and "jangle" thrown in for good measure. If you love this music, which has it's roots in the Beatle's sound circa 1965, but encompasses bands like the Raspberries, Badfinger, Cheap Trick, Material Issue (a band whose classic "International Pop Overthrow" album lent it's name to the festival) and many too numerous to mention than you gotta catch one of these festivals. This was the fourth Detroit "IPO" as it is known, and the second I had attended. 19 bands in 3 days rocked the stage at Hamtramck's Paycheck's Lounge, supporters of great local music since.....well, they were booking great bands when I was in law school and that was 20 mumble mumble years ago!

The IPO festival has played in cities around the world with the previous IPO being held in Phoenix and the next to be held in Chicago. Here again, courtesy of Wikipedia, is a partial list of acts that have played previous IPO's: Walter Egan, Harmony Grass, Shoes, Off Broadway, John Wicks & The Records, The Rubinoos, The Cowsills, and Enuff Z'Nuff, as well as recent and current stars, such as Kara's Flowers (now known as Maroon 5), Phantom Planet, The Click Five, Jason Falkner, Seth Swirsky and The 88.Great stuff! IPO's focuses  mainly on bringing exposure to unsigned bands by providing a forum where fans of this great music can gather and hear this sometimes unappreciated genre, meet other fans, purchase cds, and probably do a little musical networking. I am sure many bands have formed over chance meetings at prior IPOs.

The man behind IPO is David Bash and if you love to read about music like I do, then I am sure that you have come across his writings in numerous music publications. David tirelessly works to promote this music. It is obviously a labor of love for David. His heart is so clearly in the right place when it comes to this music and these musicians that I can even forgive his love of the New York Yankees or as we refer to them in Detroit "The Evil Empire." At least he comes by his Yankee love honestly having spent his formative years in Yankee Land. It's not good for the spirit to champion too many underdogs!

Due to other musical obligations I was able to attend only one night of IPO, last night's show. But I did catch the most excellent Chris Richards and the Subtractions, led, of course, by my old Repeat The Beat buddy Chris Richards. They rocked the crowd with fiery melodies. A shout out to drummer Larry Grodsky and bassist Todd Holmes who provide muscular backup to Chris's guitar and vocal chores.  Here's a sample from last year's IPO! And a track from Chris' great Mystery Spot release of a few years back.

Firekings was up next, a Boston band with it's roots in Detroit as two of it's members where in "Figures On A Beach" a local band that put out, I think, one album. And charted a couple of tracks in the 80's. They also rocked the joint. The various acts are given about an hour and Fireking's set left the crowd wanting more. Here's a track they played at the Cavern Club at the IPO in Liverpool.

Finally a special shout out to The Starfire Band which features the talents of my boyhood friend Gary Niemenski as well as Phil Corsi, Matt Klein and Bob Manzitti. The Starfire Band has it's roots in the Warrendale neighborhood of Detroit. Would have loved to have caught their set on Friday but I was busy with the Cowboy Junkies. Here is a track from their second cd "Livin' In The City" called "Love Is Real."
By the way, lots of The Starfire Band and Chris Richards music is available on the Spotify. I have thrown some tracks up on the Chadwick Listening Room playlist.

Listen,  you owe it to yourself to catch this fine collection of talented artists and bands. Like they used to say on the ABC Afterschool Specials or after a very special "Blosssom" if you'd like to learn more......well, check out these websites!

International Pop Overthrow
David Bash
Chris Richards and the Subtractions
Fireking
The Starfire Band
Paycheck's Lounge

Rifftrax to take on Manos-Hands of Fate!

Mark your calenders for August 16th if you are a fan of Rifftrax, Mystery Science Theater 3000 or Cinematic Titanic as that is the date of another Rifftrax "live" event. This time Manos The Hands of Fate (translated into English-"Hands-The Hands of Fate"). You should prepare for this by watching the classic MST3K version available through Netflix. Then see what fresh take Mike and the Boys bring to it. Scoot on over Rifftrax.com for more info!


And be sure to "friend" Michael J. Nelson on Facebook if you want to get a guaranteed laugh just about every day!

Thoughts and Prayers for Robin Gibb

Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees is said to have slipped into a coma and is "gravely ill" according to reports from Tennessee where the star is hospitalized. He may only have days to live. Robin has been fighting cancer for quite some time.

I hope that everyday keeps Robin in their thoughts and prayers. I will put up the first Bee Gees song I ever heard, "I Started A Joke" probably broadcast on CKLW in the mid-60's featuring Robin's unforgettable lead vocal.

Cowboy Junkies at the Ark in Ann Arbor

Saw the Cowboy Junkies at Ann Arbor's jewel of a community music theater, the Ark, last night. If you haven't been to the Ark, it is a wonderful place, run by volunteers as a non-profit. This allows the booking of top-notch national acts while keeping prices very low. I think my Cowboy Junkies tickets were something like $30.00 apiece. The Ark has good sight lines, nice acoustics and the cozy atmosphere of a concert in your living room. You can view their upcoming shows at www.a2ark.org/. Now that I have the commercial out of the way, let me tell you about the show. 

Cowboy Junkies are a 5 piece band with the Timmon's siblings, Margot, Pete and Mike at it's core on vocals, drums and guitar. Bassist is Alan Anton. Multi-instrumentalist Jeff Bird fills in the sound with everything but, I guess french horn, and if he pulled one of those out I would not have been shocked. The band has been around since the late 80's when they broke in with their  "Whites Off Earth Now" release.Their next release was the "Trinity Sessions" recorded live to tape in a decommissioned chapel in Toronto.  I don't know how you pigeonhole the Junkies sound but I guess they specialize in an ethereal, psychedelic folk. In the the voice of Margo Timmons I hear echoes of Hank Williams, Elvis and Patsy Cline. The heart of the band is the interplay between Margo and her brother and co-songwriter for the band Mike Timmins who can play clean is a knife when he wants to but loves to experiment with feedback and distortion in a way that would make Neil Young or Thurston Moore proud. Margo sits on a wooden, high backed stool, with a lyric book just below her eye line. Mike sits stage left, hunched over his guitar like a younger, more Caucasian Mississippi Fred McDowell. Seemingly, Mike is adrift in a world of his own as he backs Margo's vocal stylings, sometimes with delicate electro-acoustic filagrees, sometimes with squalls of feedback. I came to the show already a fan of Margot's, as is my wife who loves her voice. I came away with a newfound appreciation for Mike's talents which, I think to some degree, have been hidden in the grooves and ones and zeroes of their studio albums. 

The Cowboy Junkies are touring behind what they call the "Nomad" series. Four discs of new material, available separately and as a box set with a bonus set of outtakes. Very ambitious. They divided the show into two sets. The first, all new material from Nomads, got a nice response from the audience, many of whom were avid fans. The second set was nearly all "classic" Cowboy Junkies material starting which opened, after an intermission with their classic version of Lou Reeds' "Sweet Jane." 

As much as I loved this tune, my highlights were "Thirty Summers" recorded originally on their "Caution Horses" album, performed during the second set, with Margot's breathy vocal setting a mode of "edge-of-the-seat" intimacy. That one might have been a request, accoring to her pre-song patter. 

The other highlight, for me, was the first set's "The Wrong Piano" which was a song written by the late Vic Chesnutt. Faithful readers of this blog (Cousin Ken and Dave Guest) will recall that I blogged about Vic and his passing some time ago. Disc two of the Nomad series, titled "Demons" consisted solely of covers of Vic Chesnutt tunes. The performances of this material were outstanding. Cowboy Junkies may be my favorite interpreters of this outstanding body of work, aside from Chesnutt himself. As great as the their originals are, the Junkies have become known for their outstanding covers, as the two I have posted here demonstrate. 

If you are interested in finding out more about this great band, please check out their link at:

http://latentrecordings.com/cowboyjunkies/

I am posting the setlist from the show for those who are into that sort of thing. Cowboy Junkies don't stick to a standard setlist by any means so I don't think I am spoiling anything for those who might catch the next show. 

Sing in my Meadow

Wrong Piano

Square Room

Third Crusade

Late Night Radio

Damaged from the Start

Confession of Georgie E

Stranger Here

Renmin Park

Sweet Jane

Notes Falling Slow

Common Disaster

Lay it Down

Witches

Horse in the Country

Thirty Summers

Hunted

Good Friday

Follower 2

Misguided Angel

Fuck I Hate the Cold

Two shows in two nights could not have been more different, yet I enjoyed both immensly. One show, hard rocking, expansive, big as all America, drawing you in with all the subtlety of a carny barker, the other intimate, insular, the players standing in a space about the size of an area rug, very Canadian in their manner. Music produced by people who had spent cold winters indoors. 

But both were great. 

Springsteen at the Palace

Breathtaking show at the Palace of Auburn Hills last night. The Boss put on nothing less then a Rock N Roll Clinic and this patient came out cured (at least for a little while) of whatever was ailing him. This was my fourth time seeing Springsteen. If there is any decrease in the energy and effort Bruce puts into his show, well, I was unable to detect it. Jon Landau famously said, the first time he saw a Springsteen show "I have seen Rock n Roll future and it's name is Bruce Springsteen" or words to that effect. I don't know that Rock N Roll even has a future, but I do know that the celebration of the power of music, rock'n'roll, soul, community, caring for one's neighbor.....that has never been more in evidence than last night.

I laughed, danced, sang along, fist-pumped and had a lump in my throat during the expected Clarence Clemons tribute which came in the show's final song "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" and revolved around the lyric about the Big Man joining the band. I won't spoil it if you are catching the show in Cleveland or later in the tour, but if I were capable of real human emotion and empathy (I am, after all,  a lawyer) well, I would have displayed it there! By the way, if you are wondering how they "replaced" the Big Man (if that were possible), the E Street Band was augmented by a 5 piece horn section which included Clarence's nephew Jake. A coterie of backup singers provided the perfect backing touch, especially on his version of the Temptations "The Way You Do The Things You Do!"

Spoiler Alert if you don't want to know what songs he played and you are going to an upcoming show as I will be posting them later in this blog. The highlight for me, perhaps surprisingly, was Bruce's "American Skin(41 Shots)" which had a chilling resonance, considering the events which continue to unfold in Florida. Here is Bruce's video for this tune, if you haven't heard it. Bruce, like he did on much of his current "Wrecking Ball" makes you feel that he is the spiritual heir to Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger!

Shout out to my man Dave Guest who provided good company, literate conversation and even bought me a beer! Also took my 14 year old Luke who wriggled up to the front and got inches from Bruce. I think Luke had the Rock N Roll equivalent of a "Saul on the Road to Tarsus" moment. Bruce has gained a fanatical fan for life, I'm thinking.

Cowboy Junkies at the Ark in Ann Arbor are up next and International Pop Overthrow tomorrow at Hamtramck's Paycheck's Lounge as the RnR (not "rest and recreation") weekend continues.

Here is the setlist:


We Take Care Of Our Own
Wrecking Ball
Badlands
Death to My Hometown
My City of Ruins
The E Street Shuffle
Candy's Room
Jack of All Trades
Trapped (Jimmy Cliff cover)
Youngstown (Tour Premiere)
She's the One
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
The Promised Land
Apollo Medley: The Way You Do The Things You Do/634-5789 (Soulsville USA)
Incident on 57th Street (Tour Premiere)
American Skin (41 Shots)
Because the Night
The Rising
We Are Alive
Land of Hope and Dreams
Encore:
Thunder Road
Rocky Ground
Out In the Street
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

Song of the Day-Star

The Scottish band, Stealers Wheel had 3 US hits. The first was the massively ubiquitous "Stuck In The Middle With You" with it's "Dylanesque" lead vocal, hooky cowbell and cool slide guitar, it "only" made it to number 6 in 1973. They followed up with "Everything Will Turn Out Fine." Featuring a fine Beatlish melody backed by a radio-friendly production unfortunately this one only got to number 49 later in that same year. Their final visit to the US charts was in 1974 with our song of the day, "Star" which got quite a bit of airplay on AM radio just scraping into the top thirty at number 29. It is a song forgotten by oldies radio. In contrast, a fine song like the Temptations "Get Ready" which also achieved that rung on the Billboard charts and was considered a "failure" by Motown owner Berry Gordy is a near-constant spin on oldies stations. Go figure.

For all the Dylan comparisons of their biggest hit, Stealers Wheel more properly evoked comparisons with John Lennon and Paul McCartney for their melodious compositions and Beatlish harmonies. The two masterminds of Stealers Wheel were Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty who we would hear from later with his massive mid-70's "Baker Street." Stealers Wheel soldiers on today for some reason with neither principal as Joe Egan left for an unsuccessful solo career and is now a publisher. Rafferty had much more success but passed away about 5 years ago from liver failure. Be warned. If you go onto Spotify or Rhapsody or Itunes there are some pretty dire, horrid versions of these tunes, presumable by the later day band without Egan or Rafferty. They will send you into spittle-flecked rages. Stay away! Listen before buying. Fortunately for us, the originals are all on the Youtubes!

If you go onto Spotify the only "authentic" Stealers Wheel you will find is "Stuck" from the Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs soundtrack where it was memorably (spoiler alert if you haven't seen the film) used as the backdrop to the scene where Michael Madsen confronts a suspected police informant. Madsen's choreographed dance number in unforgettable.You can view the actual scene on YouTube. It is not for the faint of heart. By the way, The DJ that introduces the song on the radio in that scene is Comedian Steven Wright.



This, of course, is "Everything Will Turn Out Fine" in the original single mix.

And here is our Song of the Day, the melodious "Star." The video is Egan and Rafferty lip synching to the studio track!

Finally, will close today's editon of Song of the Day with the massive "Baker Street" (number 2 in 1978 though a number one in much  of the world). The famous saxophone line is played by Raphael Ravenscroft who first came to the public's attention with his playing on Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon."

Song of the Day-Gimme Some Lovin'

Turn this one up! Stevie Winwood joined the Spencer Davis Group at the age of 14 where he led the band through a series of hits culminating in this rocking classic "Gimme Some Lovin'" which went to #7 US and #2 UK in 1967. It is Number 244 on the list of Rolling Stone Magazines Greatest Songs of All Time. There are actually two versions. The version that was a hit in the UK is slower, looser and lacks the prominent Hammond B-3 sound that tops the US mix (played by Winwood). This is one that hasn't aged a day! Presumably Stevie Winwood will be closing his show, as he often does, with this tune when he plays Detroit in May.

It was co-written with Steve's brother Muff and Spencer Davis himself.

The Blues Brothers did a version in 1980 on the soundtrack to their hit movie of the same name. It reached number 18 on the Billboard Charts. The band, led by Steve Cropper, is hot. The track is tight and sizzles with energy but, alas, John Belushi's vocal doesn't hold a candle to Winwood's.

Wanted to throw in this tune from Alex Chilton, who I wrote about a couple of days ago. He was the lead singer of Memphis, the Boxtops.  Listen to his mature vocals on "The Letter" which topped the charts in 1967. Alex, like Stevie, was another teenage sensation being all of 16 years old when it was recorded.

One of the shortest songs to top the charts, "The Letter" is two minutes and one second of sonic bliss!

The Boss is Coming To Town

Taking my soon-to-be 14 year old to see Bruce Springsteen at the Palace this Thursday. The first of my two shows this week. The other is Cowboy Junkies at the Ark on Friday. Here's a little taste of Bruce!

That young girl Bruce pulls up on stage is Courtney Cox, of course. I remember thinking when I first saw the video that it really was some girl Bruce pulled out of the crowd.

I have included the remixed long Arthur Baker version which I always thought was very cool and seemed somehow fitting with the theme of the "Dancing in the Dark" lyric. I think people WAY into the Boss thought it anathema. Oh well.

Here is the lyric. I think it fits. What do you think?


DANCING IN THE DARK

Album's version

I get up in the evening and I ain't got nothing to say
I come home in the morning, I go to bed feelin' the same way
I ain't nothing but tired, man I'm just tired and bored with myself
Hey there baby, I could use just a little help

You can't start a fire, you can't start a fire without a spark
This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark

Message just keep getting clearer, radio's on and I'm moving 'round my place*
I check my look in the mirror, I wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face
Man, I ain't getting nowhere, I'm just living in a dump like this
There's something happening somewhere, baby I just know that there is

You can't start a fire, you can't start a fire without a spark
This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark

You sit around getting older, there's a joke here somewhere and it's on me
I'll shake this world off my shoulders, come on baby this laugh's on me

Stay on the streets of this town and they'll be carving you up alright
They say you gotta stay hungry, hey baby, I'm just about starving tonight
I'm dying for some action, I'm sick of sitting 'round here tryin' to write this book
I need a love reaction, come on now baby gimme just one look

You can't start a fire sitting 'round cryin' over a broken heart
This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark
You can't start a fire worryin' about your little world fallin' apart
This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
Hey baby!

Song of the Day-I Forgot

The Moldy Peaches are considered "anti-folk" whatever that is. "I Forgot" by the Mount Kisco, New York band, led by Adam Green and Kimya Dawson, was released in 2001 on their eponymous debut album. The group became best known for the song, "Anyone Else But You" which was on the Juno soundtrack and was sung by the lead characters in the film. The song has a child-like theme and the vocal is reminscent of Zooey Deschanel, a performer who I am charmed by.

Their debut album, which contained this track, also contained the track "NYC Is A Graveyard." That album was, coincidentally, released on September 11, 2001. The band is defunct but has played some reunion shows.

Song of the Day-Thank You Friends (Alex Chilton and Big Star)

Been too busy to blog lately. Lawyerin' and stuff! Tigers home opener and Fantasy Baseball draft. Being the driver for a couple of kids into scouting, soccer, jazz band etc! Not to mention planning a surprise birthday party for my wife, and, if I may say so myself, it was pretty kick ass.

So I have a lot to be thankful for. A wonderful family. The ability to attend a couple of great concerts this week (Springsteen and Cowboy Junkies! Spoiler alert-Cowboy Junkies are neither "cowboys" nor "junkies!"). With that in mind, our song of the day is "Thank You Friends."

This little tune is by the late, great Alex Chilton, who was the lead singer of the Box Tops, singing "The Letter" when he was only 16 years old. He later formed, with Chris Bell, Jody Stephens and Andy Hummel a little combo called "Big Star." Big Star was another of those bands that didn't sell many copies of any of their three albums ("#1 Record, Radio City and Third/Sister Lovers"), like the Velvet Underground. But many who did buy it, or heard it on a friend's homemade tape, passed around like "Soviet-era Samizdat" went on to form bands.

Now for me, the music of Big Star is like a Better Made Potato Chip (no Lays for this Detroiter). I can't eat just one and I can't play just one Big Star tune so indulge me for a moment.


Based in Memphis, the band's catalog was released on Stax, which was barely a functioning label by that time. The original vinyl went out-of-print and became hard to find. A sad fate for a band that Rolling Stone called the "quintessential American Power Pop band."

The band broke up. Chris Bell was killed in a car accident after a great solo album. (I Am The Cosmos). Alex had personal problems. Disinterestedly pursued a solo career. Reformed the Box Tops and broke them up again. Reformed a version or two of Big Star. Alex was a square musical peg that the music business could not quite fit into a round hole.

His song "September Gurls" got covered by The Bangles. "Out In The Street" was used as the theme to "That 70s Show" with the show's first season using the Big Star version. You can click on the above links to hear Big Star doing those tunes.

In the 90's Big Star finally got it's due, as a briefly blooming "Power Pop revival" led to the band receiving overdue acclaim and as well as finding them doing some live shows including an appearance on the Tonight Show. The lineup was Chilton, Stephens backed by Posies mainmen and Big Star acolytes Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. In interviews, and in recounted conversations with folks who got to meet Chilton, it was pretty clear that he was always puzzled by the adulation given what he considered to be, after all, only a 3 year stretch in a recording career that stretched back to the mid-60's. He was apparently bemused by the attention given this particular set of recordings. He would often appear live, and almost entirely ignore his Big Star discography.

The good news is that, in the cd and mp3 era, all these tunes are available, along with live recordings of the 90s lineup. And, of course, like all significant artists, Big Star was "boxed" in the fine "Keep An Eye on the Sky" four cd set released in 2009 which contains 52 alternate takes, unreleased tracks, demos and live cuts. The bad news is that there will be no more Alex Chilton music, in any of his incarnations as he dropped dead on St. Patrick's Day 2010, reportedly after mowing his lawn. Alex was 59. He had been scheduled to play with Big Star in Memphis 3 days later. The concert went on without him, becoming a memorial to his memory with all of his friends and followers taking the stage in his honor.

Full disclosure. I was slipped a cassette of the first two Big Star albums by one of my great musical mentors, Warren Westfall, owner of the great Record Collector store in Ferndale, back when he was my boss at Full Moon Records in Pontiac. I didn't get it at first. Now I consider it some of the catchiest music I have ever heard and wonder what kinda mush my college-age ears were full of. This would have been back in about 1977. Guess it got overlooked at first among all the punk rock I was listening to. But it stayed with me. Highly recommended stuff. I shall close with "Thirteen" from "#1 Record."