Category: Music
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Saturday Night at the Oldies: Varia
I have only recently come to appreciate what a great song this Jackson Browne number from 1976 is. After the 'sixties faded, I gave myself an education in classical and jazz and lost touch with the rock scene. The video presents the thoughtful lyrics. The Gary U. S. Bonds cover from 1981 is also unbelievably…
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Saturday Night at the Oldies: Carmelita, Juanita, and the Wicked Felina
Warren Zevon, Carmelita. Stay clear of heroin and Pioneer chicken, both. Flying Burrito Brothers, Juanita. Lyrics: 'No affection' were the words that stuck on my mindWhen she walked out on me for the very last time.Oh mama sweet mama can you tell me what to say?I don't know what I've done to be treated this way.…
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Albert Camus: He’s a Rebel!
You'll enjoy it. If you don't, you are not MavPhil material. Albert Camus, The Rebel: An Essay on Man in Revolt, tr. A. Bower, Vintage 1991, p. 15, French original published by Gallimard in 1951: Better to die on one's feet than to live on one's knees. Good advice if one can take it without…
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Saturday Night at the Oldies: Celebrating Freedom and Independence
Not to mention resistance and defiance. Hats off to President Trump for last night's magnificent speech in the shadow of Mount Rushmore. And a happy Fourth to all patriots. Great minds on "All men are created equal." Johnny Cash, I Won't Back Down. Tom Petty wrote it, with Jeff Lynne. Byrds, Chimes of Freedom. One of Dylan's greatest…
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Saturday Night at the Oldies: Politically Incorrect Tunes
No day without political incorrectness! And no night either. But I suppose I should issue a TRIGGER WARNING to the 'safe space' girly-girls and pajama boys. Do not click on any of these links! I am not responsible for your psychic meltdown. Ray Stevens, Ahab the Arab. Here is the original from 1962. In the lyrics there are…
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Saturday Night at the Oldies: Marital Advice
First, make sure you have plenty of Money Then Shop Around. Consider who will become your Mother-in-Law. If you want to be happy, don't worry too much about physical beauty. If she has a cheatin' heart, hit the road, Jack.
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Saturday Night at the Oldies: The Wall of Sound
Here are some of my favorite Phil Spector productions. It wouldn't have been the 'sixties without him. I avert my eyes from his later misadventures and remember him for his contributions to the Boomer soundtrack. Crystals, Uptown, 1962. Crystals, He's a Rebel In the thinly-populated supermarket this afternoon, I was struck by all the sheep…
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Saturday Night at the Oldies: Help
Canned Heat, Help Me. "Help me consolate my weary mind." I love that 'consolate.' Alan 'Blind Owl' Wilson at his best. I saw him and the boys at the Kaleidoscope in Hollywood in 1968. Wilson was a tortured soul and ended up a member of the 27 Club. He quit the sublunary sphere on 3 September 1970. Aficionados of…
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Saturday Night at the Oldies: Songs of Freedom and Liberty
Metallica, Don't Tread on Me Rascals, People Got to Be Free Tom Petty, I Won't Back Down Johnny Cash, I Won't Back Down Merle Haggard, The Fightin' Side of Me The Who, Going Mobile Richie Havens, Freedom Cream, I Feel Free Joan Baez, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down Arlo Guthrie, City of New…
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Saturday Night at the Oldies: Lesser-Known Dylan Songs
Can one get tired of Dylan? That would be like getting tired of America. It would be like getting to the point where no passage in Kerouac brings a tingle to the spine or a tear to the eye, to the point where the earthly road ends and forever young must give way to knocking…
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Saturday Night at the Oldies: Marie/Maria/Mary
Beautiful names celebrated in song. Elvis Presley, Marie's the Name of His Latest Flame George Harrison and friends, Absolutely Sweet Marie. By the way, this self-certified Dylanologist can attest that in the first line it is 'railroad GAUGE,' not 'railroad gate.' 'Gauge' is a measure of the width of the track; that's what our boy…
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Saturday Night at the Oldies: Decoupling Rock and Roll from Sex and Drugs
Five examples: Norman Greenbaum, Spirit in the Sky Johnny Cash, Personal Jesus. This is one powerful song. Clapton and Winwood, Presence of the Lord. Why is Clapton such a great guitarist? Not because of his technical virtuosity, his 'chops,' but because he has something to say. George Harrison, My Sweet Lord George Harrison, All Things Must Pass. Harrison was the Beatle with depth.…
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Why Typos Don’t Matter Much and the Musical Watershed that was the ‘Fifties
This is a re-post from 21 September 2011. I dust it off in dedication to my friend Dr. Vito Caiati, historian and old-school scholar who is excessively worried about typographical errors in his missives to me. Don't get me wrong: love and respect for our alma mater, the English language, our dear mother, mistress and…
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Saturday Night at the Oldies: Sweetheart of the Rodeo
We may credit Bob Dylan with inventing both folk rock and country rock. A major contribution to latter genre was The Byrd's 1968 Sweetheart of the Rodeo, their sixth album. Where there's country, there's Christianity. The Christian Life I am a Pilgrim You're Still on My Mind HIckory Wind You Ain't Goin' Nowhere Pretty Boy…
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Saturday Night at the Oldies: The Gambler He Broke Even
As you know, Kenny Rogers has died at the age of 81. A few days ago, on my way back from a traipse in the local hills, I encountered a couple the female half of which suffers from Parkinson's. Being the over-clever fellow that I am, I asked her what condition her condition was in,…