Roads Go Ever On

This is a song with words written by J.R.R. Tolkein.  It appeared in the Hobbit and a couple of times in the Lord of the Rings.  The version sung by Glenn Yarbrough was in the 1977 Rankin Bass cartoon version of the Hobbit.  That cartoon was very dear to me, even though it is for kids and greatly truncated from the original story.  I have been learning the song but have not had time to do a recording yet. Parenting and work have been impinging on music this week.

Mulu The Rain Forest - Thomas Dolby

Beautiful song on one of my all time favorite albums, The Flat Earth. The main keyboard figure over the shifting bassline in the instrumental section (starting at 2:42) seals the deal for this song. Also the descent just before the rallying chorus (3:39).

Imagination - Belouis Some

From 1985. Not much productivity from this guy; but his few singles were of high quality.  Tightly produced pop, strongly rhythm-driven. Like a lot of stuff - derives from Bryan Ferry.  Phrasing of the chorus is very nice.  There was a bunch of British pop that sounded like this but I think this was toward the front end of that sound.

only a little

time to practice these days.  But I think most of the songs are staying fresh in my brain.  No gigs on the horizon.  But still having fun with it when I can at home...

Emotion in Motion - Naked Eyes

[link]
Less well known then their major hits and the chorus is a bit weak on ideas.  But the lofty melody line of the verse makes the whole thing scintillating.

Promises, Promises - Naked Eyes

[link] (gotta wait through an ad - sorry)
Brilliant pop.  The verse has an absolutely on mid tempo groove.  And the verse is pure genius - nothing like it in pop, from what I've heard.

Dixie Storms - Lone Justice

Beautiful song that I used to play on piano.  Not sure if I could develop it for the uke.  May give it a try.

Athena - the Who

This song was played incessantly in the summer of 1982. Never figured out what it was about and never really studied the lyrics, which are:
***
Athena, I had no idea how much I'd need her
In peaceful times I hold her close and I feed her
My heart starts palpitating when I think my guess was wrong
But I think I'll get along
She's just a girl - she's a bomb

Athena, all I ever want to do is please her
My life has been so settled and she's the reason
Just one word from her and my troubles are long gone
But I think I'll get along
She's just a girl - she's a bomb

Just a girl just a girl
Just a girl just a girl
Just a girl just a girl
She's just a girl

Athena, my heart felt like a shattered glass in an acid bath
I felt like one of those flattened ants you find on a crazy path
I'd of topped myself to give her time she didn't need to ask
Was I a suicidal psychopath?
She's just a girl - she's a bomb

Consumed, there was a beautiful white horse I saw on a dream stage
He had a snake the size of a sewer pipe living in his rib cage
I felt like a pickled priest who was being flambed
You were requisitioned blondie
She's just a girl - she's a bomb

I'm happy, I'm ecstatic
Just a girl just a girl
Just a girl just a girl
Just a girl just a girl
She's just a girl

Look into the face of a child
Measure how long you smiled
Before the memory claimed
How long would children remain
How long would children remain

Athena, you picked me up by my lapels and screamed "leave her"
It felt like waking up in heaven on an empty meter
And now you're stuck with a castrated leader
And I hate the creep, I didn't mean that
She's a bomb
I just said it
She's a bomb
I didn't mean it, please
She's a bomb

Athena, I had no idea how much I need her
My life has been so settled and she's the reason
Just one word from her and my troubles are long gone
But I get along
She's just a girl, she's a bomb
She's just a girl, she's a bomb
***
According to Wikipedia, Pete Townshend wrote this song about his frustration about being rejected by the actress Theresa Russell.  And they have only played this live about 10 times, and not since the 1982 tour.  I knew it would somehow be interesting.  You don't have lyrics like that without some kind of backstory...

Face Dances Pt. 2 - Pete Townshend

From 1983. [link is the studio version of the song as the soundtrack to a compendium of pics from Ru-Jun's first year, which always amazes us when we look back on it]
This was one of the first videos I ever saw on MTV and the song immediately infected me. Most of it is in 5/4 time, which is pretty rare but works amazingly.  This is a truly progressive song, and yet has all the pop and hard rock instincts that characterize Townshend's entire career.

You Belong to Me - Carly Simon

From 1978. A very formative year for my musical brain. This song is ahead if its time yet also right in one of the grooves that was hitting in the late 70s. The jazz/rock thread that Steely Dan was farming is here. Yet elements also anticipate post disco pop trends (e.g. Sade, house music).

Too Late For Love

My version.  Had to get rid of a lot of the middle. Simplification is good, though...

Charlotte Anne

my cover
Far from perfect.  Was using the Oscar Schmidt acoustic-electric in the office.  Still not 100% comfortable with the feel of the instrument.

Screen Kiss - Thomas Dolby

[link]
My favorite Thomas Dolby song.  I don't think I would ever be able to do a version  of this.
It's hugely layered and almost doesn't rely on rhythm.  How he fits the lyrics in without compromising him is a major part of his brilliance here.

Treason - The Teardrop Explodes

Never really studied Julian Cope's early band The Teardrop Explodes back in the day.  Can definitely see where some of his smooth, angular, pop instincts came from.  Here's Treason from 1980.

One Red Rose

Here's my version.  Couple of small mistakes.  The end of the chorus actually goes lower than I can sing, so I did my best with that.

Earworms aid song learning

If a song you are trying to learn can be an earworm for some significant part of the day, it really aids learning.  Going through the words and arrangement over and over in your head is almost as good as playing it over and over.

Against the Wind - Bob Seger

Got overplayed, but still a very listenable song.  A classic. In starting to learn the song, I have a new appreciation for the subtlety of its chord progressions, and for Bob Seger's songwriting.

Lovedust - Luna

[link]
Luna was known as an American Dream Pop band but the flavor here is different from the UK's Shoegaze version of the genre. You can hear some of the same hard-edged rock experimentation that the Pixies had, as well as influences going back to Lou Reed, among others.

Take It Easy - Jackson Browne/Eagles

[link]
One of my wife's favorites and mine too, despite heavy radio overplay that continues today. The newest learn, thanks to an online lyrics/chords site.

Terra Nova Cain - the Church

[link]
In grad school in the early 90s, the Church formed a significant portion of the soundtrack to my down and out existence. The studio track of this is much better of course. I like the hybrid title. The landscape of the sound is bleak and sort of post psychological apocalyptic, like a lot of their stuff. It definitely spoke to me.

Front Porch

Had a chance to play a little this week on the newly renovated front porch at the Palmyra house where I grew up.  Very enjoyable. Front porches are the best places for my uke music.
In other news: Southern Cross and Scarlet Begonias are good enough to move up to the main set.

Stages of getting a song down

1 listen to it closely and decide to try it
2 play along to it 5-10 times
3 grab the lyrics off the web
4 play and sing along with it 5-10 times
5 try playing while looking at lyrics only
6 if 5 is successful, play it that way 15-50 times
7 work on memorizing lyics in head during work days
8 start playing it without looking at lyrics
9 play regularly and polish

Save a Prayer - Duran Duran

Just one of many amazing pop songs from the early Duran Duran work.

Evangeline - Icicle Works

From 1987. One of the sweetest pop songs of its time.

Proposition - Duran Duran

In the early 80s, during the Duranie craze, Duran Duran did not get enough credit for being the superb crafters of pop songs that they were and are. When the Notorious album came out in 1986, the craze had faded and they had the space to continue honing the craft to its next level. The entire album is really good. Proposition is my favorite song on it. It's mid tempo, atmospheric, with strong narrative content even absent the lyrics.

Kiss Them For Me - Siouxsie and the Banshees

[link]
This band had come a long way by 1991 from its goth-punk roots of the late 70s. But they were still honing a pop sound that really effectively harnessed the hard sweetness of the gothic aura and texture. Very nice song.

Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty

This song was ubiquitous on American pop radio in 1978 and the ensuing years. I've always thought of it as an American song but Rafferty (who died last year) was Scottish and the song was written when he and former bandmates were dealing with the band's (Stealer's Wheel) breakup and it appears to be sonewhat about that angst. The feeling of the song nevertheless coincides with a general angst that was strongly present in 70s rock and which I've long been interested in. This was a time when my developing musical brain was forming strong impressions and preferences. This is one of the songs that transports me back to that time.

The Scholar's Life

There is a traditional meme in China about the solitary scholar, working far away from the center of events, perhaps in exile from the current political order. I find this image deeply attractive. Things are so messed up in the US right now and the people in charge are too stupid or evil to fix them. I just want to ignore the politics and the press and concentrate on my family life, my work, my music, and my ideas.

Layla

Here's my version of the classic Eric Clapton/Derek and the Dominos song.

Urgent - Foreigner

[link]
The studio version of this 1981 song is one of a few songs that I bought the vinyl 45 of upon hearing it for the first time in a record store. It made a huge instant impression on me. Much later I found out that Thomas Dolby played keyboards on this album.
The studio version is not on youtube. This recent live version lacks a lot, including Lou Gramm. But I highly recommend the original.