Song of the day: The Whims - "Over My Shoulder"

Today's request is from a band called The Whims who have just released their self-titled debut album. It was released on 8 January (or if you live in America, January 8.)

I think for this post I'll zip through the album and give you my first impressions...

The Whims - The Whims (2013)

1. "Over My Shoulder"

0:00-0:26 – "Doo-oo-oo-oo-oo, doo-oo-oo-oo-oo". I like it. There's something about that melody in this intro that makes me think this is a power pop version of "Here Comes The Sun". Yep. I like it.

0:26-0:53 – The verse has started, and I'm not enjoying the lead singer's voice all that much. I don't think it's horrible in any way, just not great. I am enjoying everything else about the verse, though. I think it's reassuringly traditional, in a "traditional power pop" kind of way.

0:53-1:19 – The "Doo-oo-oo-oo-oo, doo-oo-oo-oo-oo" came back. Yay! However, I wasn't all that keen on the guitar playing the G note in the background from 1:17-1:19. The song's in E major, which means that any G you play has to be a G sharp. Sharp! Otherwise it'll annoy a person living in South Australia called Peter.

1:19-2:12 – Unfortunately, I'm enjoying the lead singer's voice less in this verse. He's a bit flat in places – but at least there are some harmony vocals to help take my mind off the flatitude. There's a little stop-start kind of thing at the end of this verse (2:09-2:12), and I like it. ("I know that. It's over. It's over. My shoulder.")

2:12-2:39 – "Here comes the sun..." I liked the drum fill from 2:14-2:16. And the one from 2:37-2:39. He sure is a frisky drummer.

2:39-3:02 – A rudimentary guitar solo. But it's melodic. Except for the note I didn't like at 2:51.

3:02-3:13 – The guitarist finished his solo, and the band finishes the song by playing an E major chord and letting it fade. Unfortunately for me, the last note of the guitarist's solo (at 3:02) was ever-so-slightly flat, and I really wanted him to tune it up just enough to be in tune.
Overall, I liked "Over My Shoulder".



2. "Hard To Believe"

I like this. It's nice 'n' glam.

Yep. This gets Peter's Stamp Of Approval. (If there was one.)



3. "Pick Me Up"

Although I'm not enjoying this one as much as the first two songs, I'm not minding it at all.
It may just be me, but I'm bothered by the singer's intonation. (It's frequently a little flat.) I'm not bothered by the songs so far, 'cos I like 'em, but I really wish the singer had recorded a few more takes, especially in this song.
It won't stop me liking the songs, though.



4. "Losing The Plot"

"You can't hurry love..."
I like this. The singer sounds more nasal in this song than he did earlier, but I don't care. I like the song. It's boppy.

0:49-0:53 – Nice vocal harmonies.

1:22-1:27 – When the guitarist was playing his solo, did he forget what key the song was in? Or was he imagining he was playing a solo in a heavy rock song?

1:57-2:01 – They really are nice, those vocal harmonies.

2:33-2:35 – Frisky Drummer Strikes Again.



5. "Fall Behind"

It seems that all albums that could be described (by me) as "traditional power pop" must include at least one song that contains the "Be My Baby" drum beat.

2:22-2:55 – I like the guitar solo. I think the playing is a bit sloppy in places, but I like the notes that were chosen.

A question for the producer: Was there an edit at 2:55.380? From what I hear, it sounds like a suspiciously clean transition from the solo to the chorus.

3:31-3:33 – Dig that stereo drum fill. Crazy, man, crazy!

I was going to say that I wasn't terribly keen on the guitar sounds in this song (especially the one in the right channel), but the guitarist likes the sounds he likes, and it's all a matter of personal taste, so I won't mention it.



6. "Your Letter"

Either the action on the bass player's bass is very low, or he's hitting those strings pretty hard. Either way, I'm distracted by the sound of the pickups being hit frequently. (Click, click, click, click...)

I can't talk, though, because when I was in a band I used to hit my bass strings really hard.
As for the song, I'm finding it enjoyable-ish. (It's possibly my least favourite track on the album.) The lead vocals are still annoying me slightly. Unfortunately, in this song the lead singer has a touch of the Kevin Cronins, in that he's over-emphasising the letter "r" in "letter". Hearing someone sing "letterrrrrrr" tends to give me the heebies jeebies.



7. "Leave Your Name"

Who decided to ask a young Michael Stipe to sing guest vocals on this song?



8. "Rest Stop"

This sounds to me like Big Star playing Britpop. I can live with that.



9. "Fault Lines"

I'm not entirely sure why, but when this one started I thought of The Cure. (It was probably the guitar chords in the introduction.) As this song progressed, I ended up liking it more than the previous two songs. No, make that the previous three songs.



10. "See Jane Run"

Hmm. I wouldn't have mind the singing to be more secure. And I tired of that crash cymbal being hit constantly. Unfortunately, it was replaced by a hit-hat I thought was too loud. But I liked the song. Just not some elements of it. I would like to compliment the drummer on having a break from all that cymbal smashing, from 2:22-2:50. It was very welcome break. But at 2:50 he started bashing his cymbals again. Grrr. But it was only for another minute-and-a-quarter. Then my ears had a rest until the next song.



11. "These Days"

0:03-0:33 – Oh no. Those cymbals again. At least they're a quieter in this song.

0:33-0:48 – I've never understood why I loathe that particular drum beat, but I loathe that particular drum beat.

Despite evidence to the contrary (see immediately above), I like this song.

1:33-2:02 – Mmm: jangly guitar. Unfortunately, someone decided to insert a swear word in amongst all that lovely jangliness (at 1:42, and again at 2:57). I've mentioned it in other posts on this blog, but I'm not a fan of swearing in songs. It's a bugbear of mine. And a pet hate. Which would make it a pet bugbear.

4:03-4:30 – Given the way the song was played and recorded, this had a slight "early-U2" vibe about it. At this point in the song it goes into full-on U2 mode. Now I'm waiting for the next song.



12. "All Wound Up"

Back to some glam. I'm glad. (There's only so much U2 I can tolerate.) Actually, the more I'm listening to this, the less I'm thinking "glam". It's more reminiscent of 70s rock. And I think it's a fine way to end the album.

And I like the way the band finished the song. It was a nice surprise (that I won't spoil for anyone who hasn't heard it yet.)

***

OK. That's what I thought of the album.

To the band: Thanks, guys, for letting me know about it.

And I think I might have another listen...

Song of the day: Missing Sibling - "Pick A Family"

The band requests continue.

This request comes to you courtesy of Missing Sibling, a "noise pop trio from Texas". (That's what they call themselves.)

The Missibs asked me to listen to their music way back in the middle of December last year.

I finally got around to listening to their EP, Pick A Family, and...

Alas, now that I've heard it a few times I must confess that the music of the Singlings reminded me a bit too much of Guided By Voices, a band I'm not especially enamoured of. The Issi-blings' music has the same slightly low-key, slightly distant sound that Guided By Voices specialise in.

However, I don't want to make this post one big moan about music I'm not terribly fond of.

Instead, I'll mention one of the things I did enjoy.

I enjoyed the sound of the bass guitar in "Pick A Family" from 0:54-1:25, especially the last two notes (1:22-1:25). The sound is fat and fuzzy, and as a bass player I love a fat 'n' fuzzy bass sound. (It's one reason why The Stranglers' Jean-Jacques Burnel is one of my favourite bass players. Example here.)

By the way, and this is a minor moan, but I have a logic problem with "Pick A Family" in relation (ho ho) to the band name. If the sibling is missing, how can they pick a family?

But I should get back to talking about things I liked about the musique à la Missing Sibling.

I liked the fuzz bass at the start of "Passion In Your Paint". Oops. I've already mentioned fuzz bass. Sorry.

Also in "Passion In Your Paint", I liked the tom-tom work (e.g., 1:46-1:54 and 2:02-2:10). It was nice not to hear the hi-hat or ride cymbals for the entire length of the song. (I like variety.)

There were a few other enjoyable things, but they're miniscule and not interesting enough to mention. (Do you really want to hear about drum sticks clicking together four times in the space of two seconds?)

I'll just leave it at that, and present you with the music. You might like it more than I did.

As hinted at earlier (in the fourth paragraph), if you're the kind of person who likes Guided By Voices then you'll feel right at home with the music of Missing Sibling. Musically, they're kissin' cousins relatively similar:

Missing Sibling - Pick A Family (2012)


I must apologise for all the family references in this post. Believe it or not, they were entirely unintentional – but they just kept coming out. I guess the name Missing Siblings prompted my brain to go into Freudian overdrive.

(Going into self-analysis mode, I'd say it's me subconsciously wishing there are no actual missing siblings anywhere.)

Hey chaps, for the sake of my mental health have you considered changing the name of the band to Found Siblings? Or how about Safe And Sound Siblings?

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Song of the day: Queued Up - "Wringin' Wet"

I'm going to try and catch up with a few band requests that I've inexplicable, inexcusably, and intolerably neglected over the last month or two.

I'll try to make these posts as short and to the point as possible, and not do my usual thing by waffling on, employing prolixity and verbosity for no apparent reason, and...

Sorry, I'm waffling again. (Short and to the point, Peter.)

I started the request-a-rama yesterday with Hot Nun, so they're out of the way (i.e., I mentioned them). I'll see who's next.

Hang on...

OK. I've checked my emails, and there are five more bands to mention. Eek!

I'll sort through them in reverse order – i.e., the oldest request first.

Today's band is Queued Up, and they're from Portland, Oregon. (As opposed to Portland, New Zealand, population 993.)

Queued Up asked me to listen to their music on December 12 last year. That's almost two months ago. And it was last year. Last year.

Now that I've heard their self-titled EP, I can ask myself: "Why did you take so long to listen to it, Peter? It was only four songs."

And now that I've heard the EP a number of times (that number being five), I can tell you four things I noticed:

1. I liked the songs.

2. The singer's voice reminds me of A.C. Newman from The New Pornographers.

3. The music consists of energetic skinny-tie songs. To my ears, it's new wave power pop circa 1980. Although I'm not a huge fan of skinny-tie power pop, I enjoyed the songs on the EP (see point 1) and wouldn't mind hearing more. Actually, I reckon quite a few readers of this blog – the ones who are much more partial to skinny-tie power pop than I am – would love the music of Queued Up.

4. It's a free download.



Oh, and speaking of things I noticed...

I don't usually talk about the appearance of individual band members, but I want to point something I noticed about the chap on the far left of the EP cover:

To me, that chap's face is a combination of Australian television personality James Mathison and American actor George Clooney:

James Mathison	+	George Clooney	=	guy from Queued Up

Right. One band down, four to go.

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Song of the day: Hot Nun - "Brave New World"

Noise merchant Jeff Shelton is an American chap who has been in a few bands, and the unifying factor of all the bands he's been in is that they're noisy.

(As far as I know, Jeff has never been in a James Taylor tribute band.)

Jeff's latest – and possibly noisiest – venture is a band called Hot Nun.

Jeff and his fellow Hotties (or is that Nunnies?) have released a self-titled mini-album*, and after listening to it I thought "Hmm, that's not too bad. I think it's worth mentioning on the blog".

So here I am mentioning Hot Nun on the blog.

I won't verbally attack each song. I'll just present you with the mini-album* and list a few positives and negatives.

For me, highlights include:

• The first track. It's my favourite.
• The first drum fill in "Spirit Of 76", from 0:22-0:24. That's a great drum fill.
• Also in "Spirit Of 76", from 1:41-1:45 the sound of guitar strings being hit so hard that with each note you can hear the guitar pick hitting the pickup. That lets me know that someone was playing very enthusiastically.
• The glam-boogie of "Who Do You Love". That's my second-favourite track.

Lowlights include:

• The drum sound. (It sounds to me as if the drums are in a different room to the other instruments.)
• The guitar solos generally doing nothing more than playing the vocal melodies. They're nice tunes, but I prefer to hear a guitar soloing, not echoing.
• The cover of David Bowie's "Queen Bitch". Speaking as someone who is a fan of David Bowie, and someone whose favourite David Bowie album is Hunky Dory (the one with "Queen Bitch" on it), all I can say is "No, no, no, no, no, no, no".

How about I stop typing and let you start listening?

Hot Nun - Hot Nun (2013)


(*Quite a few people call Hot Nun an album, but I disagree. As far as I'm concerned, eight tracks makes a mini-album.)

Educating Peter # 32

The Cavalcade of Calamity List of 1980s Songs Peter's Never Heard Of continues to grow with this latest suggestion by Michael in his efforts to edumacate me.

This time it's Karla DeVito's 1981 song, "I Can't Stand To Reminisce".

(In response to the song titled, I was going to say "When it comes to 1980s songs, me too" – but that's a very cheap joke.)

Instead of boring you with information about Ms. DeVito you probably already know, I'll dive right in:

Karla DeVito - "I Can't Stand To Reminisce" (1981)

Link


0:00-0:12 – Oh dear.

Straight away I'm thinking "This is definitely not the song for me". Within three seconds I was thinking two incongruous things:

1. Elvis Costello; and
2. music for exercising

As far as I'm concerned, those two thoughts are mutually exclusive. They should never appear in a person's brain at the same time, otherwise they could lead to visions of Elvis Costello exercising. [Shudder]

0:12-0:13 – "Twistin', turnin'..."

Ewww. Yuck. Yuck. Yu-hu-hu-hu-uck.

0:13-0:15 – "Watch a-me burghghghghgh-nin'..."

This. Is. Horrible.

0:15-0:17 – "I'm fireproofin' it".

I'm fireproofin' it? Fireproofin'??? That's a verb?

(Note to self: Persevere, Peter. You only have two and a half minutes to go. You can do it. Just think: at least it's not opera.)

0:18-0:22 – With Karla singing about sweating, I'm convinced this song was written expressly for the purpose of being used in gyms – the ones with lots of mirrors so the exercisers can see themselves becoming resplendent.

Now I'm thinking of Flashdance and the lady with the leotards and those leg warmers. (What was her name again? Was it Jennifer? Jessica? Ah, the Internet tells me it was Jennifer.)

0:23-0:26 – I'm having trouble understanding Ms. Devito's diction here. It sounds like she's singing "Well, do you ape for me like he do?", but I'm fairly certain that's not it. (Although considering this is a song that contains the line "I'm fireproofin' it", maybe it is.) It's probably "ache for me", but what about "like he do"? I may have to consult a lyric sheet.

It's at this point in the proceedings that I'd like to mention something other than the lyrics and the singing:

I think the music is perfectly adequate for what it is (i.e., perky, early-'80s new wave/power pop). It played well enough, produced decently enough, and elicits absolutely no strong feelings from me at all.

OK. back to the song. [Ugh]

0:26-0:38 – I think this is the chorus. Karla's vocals are now double-tracked, and she's singing the name of the song, and following it with that pesky line, "Well, can you ache for me like he do", or "we do", or something. (Now I'm thinking of "The Stonecutters Song" from The Simpsons, when they all sing "we do, we do".)

I like the harmony vocals at the end of the chorus, when multiple Karlas sing "I still remember it" (0:36-0:38).

0:38-0:43 – Oh no. This bit immediately after the chorus reminds me of "Oliver's Army". I'm now thinking of Elvis Costello at the gym.

0:44-0:47 – "Wheelin', dealin', tradin' on feelin'...". Okay.

0:50-0:52 – "Love virus eats at your mind..."

I don't know about you, but I don't want anyone to tell me about mind-eating viruses.

0:55-0:58 – And we're back to "Do you ape for me like he do?".

0:58-1:10 – The second chorus. It's not all that different from the first one. This also has that cute Karla-singing-with-herself double-tracking at the end of it (1:08-1:09). I like it because it the sound of the harmony vocal reminds me of ABBA's Agnetha Fältskog (the blonde one) at her most strident.

Speaking of things in this song reminding me of other things...

The first four notes of the chorus melody ("I can't stand to") remind me of two other pieces of music.

Bear with me here, because this is going to be exceptionally trivial:

1. The four-note melody of "I can't stand to" is the same as the first four notes of the solo violin part in the "Sanctus" movement of Fauré's Requiem*:

Gabriel Fauré - Requiem in D minor, Op. 48 (1893 version) - III. Sanctus (excerpt)
(La Chapelle Royale; Les Petites Chanteurs de Saint-Louis; Ensemble Musique Oblique, conducted by Philippe Herreweghe)

Link

2. When I'm hearing Karla's four-note melody I have the urge to sing "Mammy's little baby loves shortnin' shortnin'..."

But back to the song.

The law of averages regarding pop songs like "I Can't Stand To Reminisce" tells me there's going to be a middle eight next, followed by a guitar solo.

1:10-1:12 – Q: Is this a guitar solo?

A: Nope. It's a little instrumental break.

Q: Are we not men?

A: We are Devo!

1:12-1:24 – It's a middle eight. I wonder if there's a guitar solo after it.

1:12-1:33 – Nope. It's the back end of the chorus, starting from "Do you ape for me like he do?" (or whatever that is).

1:31 – A dramatic stop by the band, and then...

1:33-1:33 – Ah, it's not a guitar solo. It's a piano solo.

For me, this piano solo can be broken down into separate parts:

1:33-1:36 – some frisky tickling of the ivories;
1:36-1:38 – a bit of Elvis Costello;
1:38-1:41 – the pianist doing an impression of someone falling down stairs; and
1:41-1:43 – more Elvis Costello.

Wow. That was a 10-second solo.

1:43-1:46 – "Can you ape for me like he do". What is she singing?

1:46-2:01 – It sure is an energetic chorus.

2:01-2:06 – More "Oliver's Army".

2:07-2:09 – And the band's just added an extra guitar in the mix. With only 23 seconds to go until the song finishes, isn't that a bit late to add an extra guitar?

2:07-2:09 – Here Karla's repeating the title of the song in order to ram it into your head so that you won't forget it in a hurry.

Minor Observation: In between Karl's double-tracked recitations of "I can't stand to reminisce", Karla adds three "No!"s, one at 2:12, then at 2:15, and the last one at 2:18. The first one is enthusiastic, but the second one sounds half-hearted.

2:20-2:22 – Bizarreness Alert: The way Karla and the band end the song here is weird – with a capital "W". Karla sings her line ("I can't stand to reminisce") the way she's done so throughout the song, but the band plays haltingly. It sounds like they're skidding to the end of the song. After listening to it a couple more times I realised they decided to add an extra note, maybe for dramatic effect. But for me, all it succeeded in doing was make the ending sound sloppy. To me, it just sounds wrong.

2:23-2:26 – As the guitars and bass fade out their last chord the drummer sneaks in some drum fills before...

2:26 – The real ending of the song. Bam!

Now the song's finished.

***

OK. Summing up "I Can't Stand To Reminisce":

Er, it was alright.

***

*If you're interested, here's the full Requiem. I adore it.

Gabriel Fauré - Requiem in D minor, Op. 48 (1893 version)
(La Chapelle Royale; Les Petites Chanteurs de Saint-Louis; Ensemble Musique Oblique, conducted by Philippe Herreweghe)

Song of the day: Hungry Kids of Hungary - "Twin Cities"

I watched this new video on a TV music program yesterday, and enjoyed the song:

Hungry Kids Of Hungary - "Twin Cities" (2013)


I like the guitar riff in the middle eight (from 1:47-2:00).

When I went over to the band's YouTube channel I had a listen to some of the band's other songs.

I liked this one, too:

Hungry Kids Of Hungary - "Sharp Shooter" (2013)


Both those songs are from the band's forthcoming album, You're A Shadow.

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Musical coincidences # 360

Among the thousands hundreds dozens few emails I receive from musicians and/or record companies asking me to tell you about the music they've made and would like you to hear, one was from a record company called Radiant Future Records promoting the music of Martin Gordon.

The email I received had a message about Martin's Pledge Music request (see video below), along with samples of songs from his forthcoming album, Include Me Out.

(Trivia: It was the first email I've received where the songs were actually in the message, not attached to it. I don't know how they did it, I but I think it's neat.)

Anyway, one of the songs I heard in the email reminded me of a track by Fountains of Wayne.

This...

Martin Gordon - "Gotta Go Green" (2013) (excerpt)

Link

...reminded me of this:

Fountains Of Wayne - "Someone To Love" (2007) (excerpt)

Link

They may not be all that similar, but Martin's thingy reminded me of Fountains Of Wayne's thingy.

Here's a bit more of "Gotta Go Green". It's not the whole thing, but it's all that's available at the moment:

Martin Gordon - "Gotta Go Green" (2013)


And here's the full version of "Someone To Love":

Fountains Of Wayne - "Someone To Love" (2000)

Link

Song of the day: Peelgreems - "Tsuruuchi"

I received a message from Alexis Hadefi (a.k.a. Mr. Peelgreems) that he'll be releasing one of his Peelgreems songs on a 7" vinyl record.

(In Peter Power Pop's dictionary, the phrase "vinyl record" comes with the following description: "Vinyl record [vy-nill wreck-ord], n.: An antiquated and obsolete curiosity that hipsters seem to adore for reasons unfathomable to Peter because Peter is not a hipster".)

Alexis provided this information:

Peelgreems VINYL Single 7" collector's item

Side A : "Tsuruuchi"
Side B : "Simple And Sweet"

This is an expensive "unit" fabrication only available until Jan 27 !!!

Cost : $50 (shipping included) via PayPal.
1. Log in to PayPal
2. Click on the Send Money tab
3. The address is peelprod@hotmail.com

There are only 10 copies of the Peelgreems vinyl singles (individually numbered) available. If you want one of them you'll have to grab the offer and buy now.

Update: There are now only four copies left.

This is what you'll be getting for your money (on vinyl):

A-side:
Peelgreems - "Tsuruuchi" (2012)


B-side:
Peelgreems - "Simple And Sweet" (2012)

Song of the day: Supertramp - "Gone Hollywood"

I'm currently on a Supertramp binge, and that means you're going to get some Supertramp coming your way.

Here's my favourite song from Breakfast In America, "Gone Hollywood".

My favourite part of "Gone Hollywood" is the bit that starts at 3:11, when Roger Hodgson sings "If we only had time...". I think that section, coming after a two-minute build-up (which starts at 1:04), is magic.

I also adore the riff that kicks off each verse (e.g., 0:22-0:24). And the chugging guitars from 3:49-3:58. And the lyrics. And Bob Seibenberg's drumming. And John Helliwell's sax playing. And...

...and I just love this song.

Supertramp - "Gone Hollywood" (1979)

Link

Song of the day: Joe Walsh - "Funk #49"

My friend Stephen (Hi, Stephenita!) sent me a link to what he called a great version of the James Gang's "Funk #49".

I'd agree with that:

Joe Walsh - "Funk #49" (live at Guitar Centre Sessions) (2012)


Here's the original:

James Gang - "Funk #49" (1970)

Link

Song of the day: Fountains Of Wayne - "Denise"

Speaking of horrendously catchy Fountains Of Wayne songs from Utopia Parkway...

Fountains Of Wayne - "Denise" (1999)

Link

Song of the day: Fountains Of Wayne - "Red Dragon Tattoo"

Ever had a song that got stuck in your head and refused to leave? A few years ago Fountains Of Wayne's "Red Dragon Tattoo" decided to plant itself in my noggin and stay there for about a week. It wouldn't budge.

Well, the other day it reappeared. I hope it doesn't stay in my head too long this time...

Fountains Of Wayne - "Red Dragon Tattoo" (1999)

Link

Song of the day: Benjamin Towers - "11:17"

A lovely young man nice chap from America an agreeable fellow by the name of Benjamin Towers (Hi, Ben!) emailed me asking if I'd have a listen to three of his songs. (As opposed to three of someone else's songs.)

I did, and found myself with the unenviable and onerous task of having to let The Benster know that I liked approximately 33.333% of them.

(At least I didn't dislike all three.)

The one song that I did like was "11:17". I liked how it utilised elements of songs from late-Fifties/early-Sixties songs but remained ultra-modern.

This is it:

Benjamin Towers - "11:17" (2012)

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As for the other two songs, they were, ah, um, er – how can I put it? – they were... not for me.

The two songs, "Shouldn't Have Told Me" and "Frankenstein" are heavily synthesized, rhythm-based, dance-oriented ditties that remind me very much of all those New Romantic acts from the 1980s that contributed to my current view of a lot of the music of the 1980s (i.e., I loathe it).

But I do like "11:17".

Anyway, I let Benjamin know what I thought of the songs, and he was gracious about my response to tracks 1 and 3. (His response to my response was along the lines of "Ah well – you can't please everybody...")

But one good thing I can say about "Frankenstein" is that the title reminded me of...



In the interests of fairness to Benjamin, I'll present you with the other two songs and leave it up to you to decide if you want to play them.

Please note: If you do play them, I take no responsibility for your reaction.

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By the way, one of Benjamin's publicity photos has me intrigued. When I look at this photo...

...I wonder:

"What is in his right pocket?"

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Educating Peter # 31

This week Michael has sent me yet another song I've never heard before (as far as I'm aware).

The song is "I Need To Know" by British band Bleeding Hearts, and it's apparently the B-side of their 1980 single, "This Is The Way...O.K.". (The Internet knows all.)

The page I found that information on calls it "cool powerpop". We shall see.

Another page called it a "Great stomping sing-along". Maybe.

OK. Enough of this idle chit-chat. Let's get down to it.

Bleeding Hearts - "I Need To Know" (1980)

Link

0:00-0:06 – A ringing guitar in the left channel as an introduction. Okey dokey.

0:06-0:14 – Either my headphones don't have much bass in them (they do), or this recording is very light-on in the bass department. I like the trebly bass guitar sound, though.

0:06-0:26 – This is the verse, and I don't mind it at all. The vocal melody is a simple one, as is befitting a punk/power-pop/skinny-tie song from 1980, but I like it. I don't mind the singer's voice (although he does sound a little weak in the second half of the verse, going flat from 0:21-0:23), but because the bass guitar is pretty loud in the mix (as a bass player, I say "More bass!") I'm having trouble focusing on anything but the doyng doyng doyng doyng of the bass in the song.

But I'm not minding the song at all so far.

0:26-0:37 – This is the bit before the chorus (a.k.a. the bridge/refrain/bit before the chorus), and it's pretty basic. It sounds like it was written specifically to be played live, and for people in the audience to stamp their feet and shout out "No! No! No! No!" (even though the word is "know").

Doyng doyng doyng doyng goes the bass guitar.

0:37-0:49 – Now we have the chorus. It sounds singularly uninspiring to me.

Doyng doyng doyng doyng.

Minor diversion: The way the singer voices the word "to" in "I need to, I need to know" at 0:41.224 sounds to me like he's pursing his lips – or to be more accurate, pouting in the recording studio. The sound of pouting reminds me of Corey Hart's "Sunglasses At Night". Now, there's a man who could pout on record. (And I might suggest that phrase as an album title for a band: The Sound Of Pouting. I'd buy a record called The Sound Of Pouting.)

Also: I may be imagining it, but that guitar part from 0:43-0:49 sounds very familiar. Something way back in my brain is telling me that it's in an Australian television advertisement. No, I'm probably imagining it.

0:49-1:02 – This is the second verse, and it's just like the first one except the singing's a bit worse.

Doyng doyng doyng doyng.

1:02-1:12 – Another bridge. "No! No! No! No!"

1:12-1:25 – Another chorus. (See above.)

Doyng doyng doyng doyng.

1:25-1:38 – The guitar solo. As with the rest of the song, it's pretty basic. And as soon as it had finished I'd forgotten it.

1:38-1:51 – Another verse. I can't really think of much else to say about it, other than "it's another verse".

Doyng doyng doyng doyng.

1:51-2:01 – The only thing different about this bridge from the other ones is that the singer's first "know" drops out after the "n" sound (at 1:51.880). So it's sort of a quick "n...oh". Maybe the singer is dropping a very subtle hint that he's a fan of Noh theatre.

"No! No! No! No!"

What's that clicking sound on the offbeat at 1:55, 1:57, and 1:58? Is that the drummer getting fancy with his drumsticks?

2:01-2:14 – This is the last chorus before the song (mercifully) finishes.

I'm sure I've heard that guitar part somewhere else.

2:14-2:26 – A little instrumental flourish before the end of the song, and it instantly reminded me of "I Fought The Law". Actually, last week's Educating Peter song had a part of it that was reminiscent of "I Fought The Law" as well. And Michael suggested last week's song too. I have a feeling Michael likes "I Fought The Law".

2:26-2:30 – I find this very odd. This is the last big chord to end the song, but for the band it ends in a non-unified way. After hitting his chord, the guitarist in the left channel lets his guitar ring as it slowly fades away. The bass guitarist lets his note ring. Even the drummer lets his cymbal ring. But... the guitarist in the right channel hits his chord staccato. In other words, he hits the chord and stops it immediately.

For me, this poses some questions. Was there a disagreement in the studio about how to end the song? Or did the guitarist in the right channel forget his last chord was supposed to keep ringing?

Either way, it's a bit of mystery to end the song with.

***

Now that I've heard "I Need To Know", I can say that for me the most memorable part of it was the bridge, with its shoutalong tune. That was catchy. ("No! No! No! No!") But the rest of it I barely remember.

Although overall I'm not enjoying the songs Michael is flinging at me for this series, I'm having fun writing about them.

Keep 'em comin', Michael!

***

As stated at the beginning of this post, "I Need To Know" was the B-side of a 1980 Bleeding Hearts single.

If you're interested, here's the A-side:

Bleeding Hearts - "This Is The Way...O.K." (1980)

Link

Song of the day: Parks - "Sweater Weather"

I was contacted by a friendly chap called Bryan (Hi, Bryan!) from something called "BreakThru Radio in NYC". (I'm guessing the "NYC" doesn't stand for "Not Your Cat".)

BreakThru Radio is an Internet radio station, and one of its shows is BTR Live Studio which showcases new bands. (Or, putting it another way, bands I've never heard of.)

Bryan sent me a link to a very recent (January 18) performance by Parks, a band that Bryan called "Boston-based indie pop".

Here it is:

Parks - "Sweater Weather" (live on BTR Live Studio) (2013)


Parks - "Sweater Weather" (2012)


Musically, it's not really my scene. When I watched it I kept thinking of this phrase:

"I See Hipsters".

As for what I heard, the vocals were a bit dodgy in places (ah, the perils of live performance), but the band played well, and the song was chirpy, albeit in a "We're an indie band" kind of way.

Unfortunately for me, the name of the song only reinforced the "Hey Hey We're The Hipsters..." nature of Parks. I'd guess for the kind of band it is (hipster indie), the article of clothing in the title couldn't be anything else. Only an indie band would sing about "Sweater Weather". It's not "Bomber Jacket Weather", "Kaftan Weather", or even "Tutu Weather". It's "Sweater Weather".

But I'm not here to rain on anyone's parade – even if it's a Hipster Parade. "Each to their own" and all that.

I just wanted to let you know that Bryan wanted me to let you know about Parks. (Sorry if that sentence was circular.)

After all, Bryan did ask, and I can't refuse a request, so...

Just before I stop ragging on all things hipster, I have a couple of questions for the band about the artwork accompanying the song (see top of post):

1. Why is the photo sideways? Is that a hipster thing to do?

2. Why did you use a font (this one) for the song title instead of a scanned piece of handwriting that would have made it much more unique and individual? (The text looks like handwriting, but the "e", "a", "t", and the "r" in both words are identical.)

Oh, and speaking of sweaters: the only other "sweater" song I know of is this one.

Song of the day: Alex Chilton with Teenage Fanclub - "I've Never Found A Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)"

I know there are people who would go into paroxysms of ecstasy with the pairing of Alex Chilton and Teenage Fanclub, but I'm not a huge fan of the music of either. (Please send your strongly worded letters of complaint to pmrcott@tpg.com.au.)

Despite my lack of strong feelings about Teenage Fanclub, Alex Chilton, and Big Star (that email address again is pmrcott@tpg.com.au), I liked the two songs they played in the video.

The main reason I'm playing them here is because of what Alex plays during his guitar solo in the first song. If you want to be surprised, I won't tell you what Alex plays. But if you hate surprises, he plays this. Or if you want to bypass all that pesky "song" stuff and go straight to what Alex plays, he plays it at the 2:43 mark.

Alex Chilton with Teenage Fanclub - "I've Never Found A Girl (To Love Me Like You Do) / My Heart Stood Still" (date unknown)


The original versions:

Eddie Floyd - "I've Never Found A Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)" (1968)

Link


As for "My Heart Stood Still", it was written by Rodgers and Hart for their 1927 musical A Connecticut Yankee, and was recorded three times in 1928. Here they are:

Ben Selvin & His Orchestra - "My Heart Stood Still" (1928)

Link

George Olsen & His Orchestra - "My Heart Stood Still" (1928)

Link

Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra - "My Heart Stood Still" (1928)

Link

I have no idea which one was the first. Are there any music historians out there?

Song of the day: The Shadows - "Man Of Mystery"

A few days ago I played you a song by The Shadows that had been stuck in my head. ("F.B.I.")

Soon after that, my friend Maurice, who runs the very reputable I'm In Love With That Song blog, told me that he adores the guitar playing of The Shadows' Hank Marvin. (The phrase "guitar hero" was used.)

Maurice also said that his favourite Shadows song was "Man Of Mystery", which not-so-coincidentally is the very piece of music that Mr. Maurice Man uses in the background of his podcast promos.

Young Maurice suggested that I post "Man Of Mystery" and analyse it the way I do for my Educating Peter posts.

I must admit that I'm awfully pleased someone actually asked me to get all nitpicky with a song. Usually, somebody says something along the lines of: "I'd like you to play a song on your blog – but don't tear it to shreds. I don't want you sullying my cherished thoughts about that wonderful song with your nitpickiness" etc.

But Maurice did ask, and I consider it an honour and a privilege, not to mention my solemn duty, to pester the song. (Note to self: Why say "not to mention..." when you just went ahead and mentioned it anyway, Peter? Hmm?)

Before I got stuck into dissecting "Man Of Mystery" I listened to it all the way through to remind myself of how it all went. (I haven't heard it in a while.) And then I listened to it again. (It's horrendously catchy.) Now that I'd refreshed my non-existent memory, I thought "This is great". I also thought the song galloped along.

(Lexicographical trivia: I wanted to use the word "lollop" instead of "gallop" in the previous paragraph, because I haven't used "lollop" in a long, long time and I think it's a great-sounding word. Unfortunately for me, "lollop" means "Move in an ungainly way in a series of clumsy paces or bounds", and that certainly does not apply to "Man Of Mystery", which moves in a very gainly way.)

And now for an in-depth – and decidedly unhelpful – look at Maurice's favourite Shadows song:

The Shadows - "Man Of Mystery" (1960)

Link

Or, if you're a '60s purist:

The Shadows - "Man Of Mystery" (mono) (1960)

Link

All my comments are based on the stereo version of the song. (That's the one I listened to.)

0:00-0:02 – A discordant two-note chord and we're off. Twang!

0:02-0:04 – That bizarro chord is followed by four low E notes.

0:04-0:07 – That two-note chord again, but instead of a lone guitar playing those four low notes we have the band playing it as a build-up to the main tune.

0:07-0:34 – The main tune, and after just one listen I had it firmly implanted in my brain. That's not going to leave in a hurry.

The thing I love about the main tune is that is built on a music technique that's one of my favourites in all of music – the drone.

I've banged on about drones before, but if you're not familiar with the term, a drone is when a melody is repeated but the notes underneath it (i.e., the low notes) change. In other (and simpler) words, a melody stays the same while the bass notes change. If that didn't make much sense, I have a decent example of a drone that I posted on my birthday in 2011.

Anyway, I think the "Man Of Mystery" melody is a magnificent one. It's spooky, great, and spooky. Love it. And I love the cha-cha drumming (which is reminiscent of Ringo's drumming for "I Feel Fine").

By the way, I adore the little whammy bar bend at 0:33 just before the band stops at the end of the first run-through of the main tune.

0:34-0:48 – The main tune, part 2. There's not much I don't love about this song.

Now here's where some nitpicking comes in...

As I was listening intently to Hank Marvin's playing, I noticed what may be a few mistakes in this part of the song.

At 0:37 Hank plays what I think is an incomplete note. If you want to be exact (I know I do), it's at 0:37.878. To me it's a mistake because he doesn't quite finish the note he's playing in the melody line there.

Another dud note is at 0:43.862. Hank definitely plays a mistake here. He hits the string, but misses the note he's meant to play, and it ends up sounding like "bllllrrrrr". (I was going to be crude and describe it as "a goose fart", but that's terribly uncouth, and I would never be uncouth when talking about a guitarist as magnificent as Hank Marvin.)

Hank plays another goose fart weird note at 0:44.928. It's the same sound, so I'm guessing he did the same thing he did before, whatever it was.

Another bit of weirdness occurs from 0:45.819-0:46.590, when it sounds as if the guitar note he was playing simply stops. I found it odd considering how Hank is usually in complete control of his guitar playing.

But I loved the (deliberate) sound Hank makes immediately after the silence. From 0:46-0:48 his guitar lets out a noise that sounds exactly like an extremely unhappy cat.

0:48-1:13 – After a fabulous little drum fill (0:47-0:48) we're back to the first main tune.

There's not much to report in the "What's Hank Doing Now" caper, so I'd like to point out the sterling acoustic guitar support in the right channel that has been playing throughout the song marvellously. The rhythm guitarist playing it (Bruce Welch) is playing the chords very smoothly, and not getting in the way of Hank's Twang-o-matic playing. He's playing so discreetly that he's not calling attention to himself at all. He's just letting Hank get on with defining The Shadows' signature sound. But the more I listen to that acoustic guitar in the right channel, the more I love it.

Mistake Alert: There's a quick guitar lick from 1:06.759-1:07.617, but Hank garbles it the middle, at 1:07.167.

1:13-1:16 – I love – no, I LOVE – that riff. It's so... slinky.

1:16-1:23 – Hank goes wild here. (Well, as wild as any bespectacled and besuited British guitarist in 1960 could.)

1:23-1:30 – Hank goes even more wild here, playing defiantly wrong chords. And throughout all of this, Bruce is playing his acoustic rhythm guitar superbly.

1:30-2:03 – And then everybody goes back to playing the main tune as if nothing unusual happened. (It did – Hank went wild.)

I'd like to mention one more mistake: at 1:46.823 Hank mis-hits a string. (It goes "plink" instead of "twang").

It's just occurred to me that I've mentioned all of the musicians in the song except for the bass player, Jet Harris. He provides solid support throughout the song, except for a wrong note at 1:52.660. (But he was good everywhere else.)

At 1:56 the song ends with the unhappy cat. Excellent. (Not because a cat might be unhappy, but because the sound is a wonderfully bizarre one to end a song on.)

***

OK. That's my response to the song out of the way. Now it's time for...

Fun Facts:

"Man Of Mystery" was written by Michael Carr (pseudonym of British composer Maurice Alfred Cohen), and was used as the theme tune for the British TV crime thriller series, the Edgar Wallace Mysteries. There were two versions of the theme:

Jaunty


Non-jaunty


Oh, and according to AllMusic.com, The Shadows recorded "Man Of Mystery" in the Abbey Road studios at midnight. So sayeth AllMusic:

The band heightened the air of mystery by recording the song at midnight at a time when the Abbey Road studios were normally, conscientiously locked up at ten pm (the age of all-night Beatles sessions was still years off in the future). The studio's owners, EMI, were horrified by the group's unconventional request, but were amply repaid when the single soared to number five in Britain in November 1960.

Well, there was something I never knew. (Along with all the other things about this song that I didn't know.)

Thanks for suggesting "Man Of Mystery", Maurice. I had a great time giving the song a proper listen.

Song of the day: Rail - "Speed Limit"

Today's song wasn't going to make an appearance here, because musically it's far removed from what I like to put on this blog. But then it occurred to me that I can put whatever I like on the blog. (Well, maybe not the classical music I enjoy listening to.)

Ah, the beauty of having a blog.

Anyway, I found today's song quite by accident. Somebody on Facebook posted a song from the '90s by Australian band Rail ("Immune Deficiency"). I had a listen, didn't enjoy it much, and wondered if there were any other Rail songs I would enjoy, so I toodled off to YouTube for some more Rail. I listened to another Rail song, and didn't enjoy that either.

(Please bear with me. I will get to the point before this post is finished.)

As you know, on the right of the main YouTube video is a list of related videos. When I was watching a Rail video, one of the videos in the list on the right was called "RAIL (US) - Speed Limit (1984)". The thumbnail picture in the video was this:

I thought: "I'm game".

So I clicked the play button, had a listen – and enjoyed it enormously. As I was listening, I spent most of the time laughing. When the song finished, I knew what I had to do...

Put it here.

Rail - "Speed Limit" (1984)


Official website

I like having a music blog.