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Post by leeknight on Jan 11, 2013 9:42:06 GMT -5
Are we doing this here? Hey! Let’s post some stuff that is influencing what we do as songwriters. Embed a video and tell us why that particular (or 2 or 3) piece of music has sway over you. Go ‘head… do it.
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Before you run off thinking, “Not for me, Way too twee!” just give me a minute. Neil Sedaka was a musician first, not a pop star; a songwriter at the Brill Building. He was the real deal, as they say. A Julliard trained pianist who none other than Arthur Rubinstein called “one of New York's best young players”.
He formed The Tokens at 15 but was gone writing hits by the time The Tokens released The Lion Sleeps Tonight without him.
And frankly, pardon me if too frank, I always felt for the guy being born in an era where he couldn’t be “himself”. He raised a family, true, but it always seemed clear to me and everyone else I’m sure that he was gay. His writing partner died of AIDS. He always seemed awkward in his own skin. Tough times to be a gay man in America, I’m sure. But I digress…
His clever use of basic pop theory, his harmonic vocabulary, absolutely rocked and is totally responsible for my love of a keen chord progression and a melody that tickles up against those changes… what I call pop ecstasy. I love my power pop.
He was an early adopter of overdubbing his own voice to get that cool pop sound, daddy. This was 4 track still. Before the Beatles in ‘62. Think Les Paul and Mary Ford as his inspiration. Elvis Costello surely was a fan. Angels Want to Wear My Red Shoes has Sedaka all over it. Great arranging, superb players, a total sense of short pop attention spans… he was known to be fanatical about getting those overdubs working with the arranged girl singers and the band. They had to bounce as they went, and he knew what he was doing. Sedaka absolutely ruled. A little goofy as a performer, but I dig him.
And one penned by him for the Monkees along with Carole Bayer Sager. I can hear him singing this for sure. Dig the 2nd verse's call and resonse and imagine Sedaka overdubbing himself. Great pop tune. Produced and piano by Sedaka himself.
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Post by rsadasiv on Jan 11, 2013 9:54:08 GMT -5
How about some Nevilles?
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Post by rsadasiv on Jan 11, 2013 9:57:44 GMT -5
And while we're there...
Dr. John
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Post by stickboy on Jan 11, 2013 9:59:33 GMT -5
Really enjoying this new Bill Fay stuff (I wish Lenny would do stuff like this - he has the voice to carry it)
Annnnnd the new Bowie song - oh yes!!
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Post by rsadasiv on Jan 11, 2013 9:59:46 GMT -5
The drum beat to a thousand hip-hop songs...
Lee Dorsey
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Post by bee3 on Jan 11, 2013 10:00:12 GMT -5
The year was 1990... I was 15, a sophmore in high school. My friends and I had all just started playing in bands... we were eager. We were going to a venue right outside of the Philadelphia area called the Keswick Theater... a really cool place to see a show. Not too big, not too small... we were heading there to see the opening act at a show (The Wonderstuff). When we arrived, we were dismayed to find out that The Wonderstuff had cancelled... so we stood outside the venue pondering if we should turn in our tickets for the $15 refund. In the end, we decided to go in and see the headliner... The Mission UK.
Never heard of them... but they completely blew me away. It was rock star heaven to my young 15 year old eyes. Looking back now, they're a bit over the top with their melodramatic ways... but hell, it's rock and roll! I was smitten. Mesmerized.
This video is from that same tour.
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Post by rsadasiv on Jan 11, 2013 10:01:10 GMT -5
Annnnnd the new Bowie song - oh yes!! Yeah, I heard that the other day and really enjoyed it. Happy Birthday David! |
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Post by leeknight on Jan 11, 2013 10:13:41 GMT -5
And what's missing from Sedaka's stuff is irony, sarcasm, spit and bite. This has got some...
This time you hurt me
You really did it this time you did
Did you count your fingers after shaking my hand
God forbid
Riff raff crawling from the slums
Right there in front of all your chums
I swear by the pricking of my thumbs
I'll make your day and melt away
I'll crawl back under my stone
I'll crawl back under my stone
I'll crawl back under my stone
But you won't have to stand next to me
You won't have to introduce me
You won't have to think about, talk about, care about, me
I'll crawl back
I've got a nerve just showing my face don't you think
Scruffy little likes ought to know their place don't you think
Old boy, sorry to intrude
Damn shame pretty bloody rude
I should be horsewhipped and sued
Then I'll go quietly my tail between my knees
I'll crawl back under my stone
I'll crawl back under my stone
I'll crawl back under my stone
But you won't have to stand next to me
You won't have to introduce me
You won't have to think about, talk about, care about, me
I'll crawl back
I want to be middle class
Floors and ceilings made of glass
I just want to be, I just want to be free
You had me in a second you had it all reckoned, you did
You guessed my game and my name, rank and number, you did
Somehow I gave myself away
Some code, some word I didn't say
I missed one line in the play
And the trap shut tight and you did me all right
I'll crawl back under my stone
I'll crawl back under my stone
I'll crawl back under my stone
But you won't have to stand next to me
You won't have to introduce me
You won't have to think about, talk about, care about
You won't have to ask about, fuss about, discuss about
You won't have to mind about, swear about, forget about, me
Crawl back
I'll crawl back
I'll crawl back
Crawl back
I'll crawl back
Crawl back
Crawl back
I'll crawl back
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Post by leeknight on Jan 11, 2013 10:25:33 GMT -5
wow, that Bowie is... pretty moving. I just love the chorus after the almost Gershwin-like changes of the verses, then the old Bowie from the 70's stands up and sings it. What a cool blend of the moody chanteuse and the Zigg all at once.
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Post by rsadasiv on Jan 11, 2013 10:27:39 GMT -5
Still stuck in Nawlins...
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Post by rsadasiv on Jan 11, 2013 10:34:01 GMT -5
The same people you misused on your way up
You might meet them on the way down
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Post by rsadasiv on Jan 11, 2013 10:40:02 GMT -5
What they doin?
They smilin in your face
All the time they want to take your place
The backstabbers
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Post by bee3 on Jan 11, 2013 10:43:19 GMT -5
More N'Awlins
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Post by leeknight on Jan 11, 2013 10:47:17 GMT -5
What they doin? They smilin in your face All the time they want to take your place The backstabbers Greatgreatgreatgreat... |
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Post by bee3 on Jan 11, 2013 11:01:21 GMT -5
Speaking of backstabbing, I present to you Novelty by Warsaw (Joy Division)
Novelty
When the people listen to you don't you
know it means a lot 'cos you've got to
work so hard for everything you've got
Can't rest on your laurels now
Not when you've got none
You'll find yourself in a gutter
Right back where you came from
Someone told me being in the know
is the main thing
We all need the security
that belonging brings
Can't stand on your own in these times
against all the odds
I don't want to act uncool
at all the other sods
You slap your back
and pretend you knew about all the things
that we were gonna do
What ya gonna do,
what ya gonna do when it's over?
You're all on your own now,
Don't you think that's a shame
But you're the only one
responsible that's to blame
When ya gonna grow up and act,
and be yourself 'cos pretty soon
you'll find yourself nailed to the shelf
Grab it while you can, but don't
ever relax, 'cos there's always
someone gonna stab your back
What ya gonna do, what ya gonna do
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Post by rsadasiv on Jan 11, 2013 11:16:37 GMT -5
A little boogie with Marcia Ball
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Post by bee3 on Jan 11, 2013 11:17:39 GMT -5
^I did a bunch of festivals with Marica Ball.  |
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Post by rsadasiv on Jan 11, 2013 11:21:03 GMT -5
Diggin it. You got your Jazz Fest tickets yet? |
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Post by bee3 on Jan 11, 2013 11:32:45 GMT -5
I didn't get the tickets yet, but I've booked the accomodations.
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Post by rsadasiv on Jan 11, 2013 11:36:26 GMT -5
I had never realized that this was Roy Bittan from the E Street Band doing his best Professor Longhair impersonation.
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Post by bee3 on Jan 11, 2013 11:40:45 GMT -5
Want chills?
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Post by bee3 on Jan 11, 2013 11:50:01 GMT -5
Breathtaking performance.
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Post by mrkelley on Jan 11, 2013 12:54:39 GMT -5
His clever use of basic pop theory, his harmonic vocabulary, absolutely rocked and is totally responsible for my love of a keen chord progression and a melody that tickles up against those changes… what I call pop ecstasy. I love my power pop. As a top-40 DJ from 1968 to 1983, I had a love/hate relationship with Neil Sedaka. The love part goes all the way back to '62, and "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do." One of my all-time favorite tunes of the pre-Beatles, post-Elvis era. The hate part is songs like "Love Will Keep Us Together." Trust me, you don't want to be stuck in a studio for a 4-hour shift knowing that at some point you're going to have to play that song. But there was also this song, ostensibly about Sedaka's friend John Lennon, but also about the journey his own ancestors took. |
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Post by mrkelley on Jan 11, 2013 12:58:53 GMT -5
His clever use of basic pop theory, his harmonic vocabulary, absolutely rocked and is totally responsible for my love of a keen chord progression and a melody that tickles up against those changes… what I call pop ecstasy. I love my power pop. And I love this version of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (for obvious reasons). |
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Post by rsadasiv on Jan 11, 2013 13:04:24 GMT -5
The hate part is songs like "Love Will Keep Us Together." Trust me, you don't want to be stuck in a studio for a 4-hour shift knowing that at some point you're going to have to play that song. Just reading the title got the riff stuck in my head  |
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Post by rsadasiv on Jan 11, 2013 13:07:57 GMT -5
And since we're here (and following up on the Elton John love-fest from last week) ;D
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Post by mrkelley on Jan 11, 2013 13:11:59 GMT -5
Still stuck in Nawlins... Allen Toussaint wrote some great songs. |
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Post by rsadasiv on Jan 11, 2013 13:16:19 GMT -5
I didn't get the tickets yet, but I've booked the accomodations. I was saving up my money for Festival au Desert in Mali, and then the whole freaking country turns into a war zone.  (My trip to Kashmir doesn't seem to be happening any time soon either) |
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Post by mrkelley on Jan 11, 2013 13:23:22 GMT -5
My favorite O'Jays song. Just the perfect pop song. |
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Post by leeknight on Jan 11, 2013 13:52:48 GMT -5
His clever use of basic pop theory, his harmonic vocabulary, absolutely rocked and is totally responsible for my love of a keen chord progression and a melody that tickles up against those changes… what I call pop ecstasy. I love my power pop. And I love this version of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (for obvious reasons). Quite a singer and pianist for a "songwriter". That ^ take ^ is astoundingly good. When I was 15 and Sedaka was all over the TV variety shows, I saw a little lounge trio in the bar of a restaurant I went to with my parents. The bassist sang Laughter in the Rain. I remember it clearly, it was a current hit and I was completely aware of its square pedigree. A spoke with that bassist on a break, "Wow, you sang that just like the record!!!!". He deadpanned, "Gee, thanks, I guess." The guy was clearly way too cool for Sedaka. Note: That same night my mom informed me that that all three of the players in that lounge trio worked construction in the day. "See... they have to break their backs by day in order to do this music thing." I didn't listen. |
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