Category Archives: Pop/Rock

May21

Bruce Springsteen Performs “We Take Care Of Our Own”

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Bruce Springsteen Performs “We Take Care Of Our Own”

Here’s a clip of New Jersey resident, American icon, and universally acknowledged rock ‘n roll Boss, Bruce Springsteen. It’s the video for his recent single “We Take Care Of Our Own” as taken from this year’s Wrecking Ball  album, his seventeenth release.

It’s difficult to talk about Springsteen without mentioning his unique role in the history of rock music, post-1960s. He emerged during a time of great social and economic upheaval in the United States; the energy crisis due to political turmoil in the Middle-East, the Watergate scandal, and America’s defeated withdrawal from Vietnam happened concurrently with the releases of his first three albums, including his breakthrough 1975 album Born To Run, give or take a few months on either side.

This was a time when the illusions of a nation were being shattered one by one after a post-war economic honeymoon. It is upon this spirit of disillusion that Springsteen found his voice as an artist, and proved to be the voice that represented so many others at the time. In part, this is the reason he appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1975; he was a voice for his times.

So now in 2012, where has Springsteen’s voice taken him on “We Take Care Of Our Own”, Wrecking Ball, and for us as his audience along with him? Read the rest of this entry →

May14

David Ward Sings “The Arrival”

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David Ward Sings “The Arrival”

Listen to this track by Vancouverite musician, songwriter, singer, guitarist, blogger, indie-promoter, concert series organizer … whew, David Ward. It’s “The Arrival”, the opening track to his most recent EP Departures, a segment in a trilogy of EPs that make up The Arrival album.

Each segment of the trilogy traces the patterns of hellos, goodbyes, and quests for growth and meaning in between that we experience through out our lives, and “what can be considered both the beginning and end of a journey in the first installation of The Arrival”.

Besides the Jeff Buckley references, the thing that struck me about this song was the themes I hear in it of constantly being on the move, trying to slow down enough to make connections, and the difficult balance between these two forces that pull us in seemingly opposite directions. This is a rich field to harvest for the songwriter. And in this case, the razor-keen slide playing, and keening vocals don’t hurt either.

Ward is something of a moving target himself, intensely involved in band promotion; his own, as well as others either directly or indirectly. He’s done this through blogging to a musician’s audience on how to promote music and musical careers using Internet tools, as well as organizing shows through the Wachu Concert Series, which promotes local talent here in Vancouver.

He’s also been involved in a myriad of other artistic pursuits as a jobbing musician, including as a part of the R&B/funk band The Phonix, with whom he sings and plays guitar. This doesn’t cover the usual writing/touring/recording schedule that he also undertakes as a solo artist, of course. Ward is still following the traditional musician’s calling, even if the tools and channels of that calling have grown more new-fangled.

David Ward is launching the three-part EP collection  May 18 at Vancouver’s Rickshaw Theatre, to which I’ve been invited (looking forward to the show!). The show will also feature a DJ set from Bear Mountain, and a set from Gavin Youngash from Star Captains. David takes to the stage at 9pm, backed by a seven-piece band.

Learn more at the David Ward website, where you can also read his blog!

Enjoy!

May10

Lily Allen Sings “The Fear”

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Lily Allen Sings “The Fear”

Listen to this track by London denizen, anti-Katy Perry pop songstress, and mum Lily Allen. It’s her 2009 song “The Fear” as taken from her second record to follow up 2006′s Alright, Still, and cheekily titled it is too, It’s Not Me, It’s You.

Despite the fashionable retro-electro musical style, this song is about a culture that celebrates the ephemeral, the lavish, and the self-serving, the incredibly shallow, laced as it is with irony, and not just a little bit of disgust at the attitudes pervasive in pop star circles.

Source: google.com via Dave on Pinterest

Iconoclastic lyrics against a smooth electro-pop backdrop and all, Allen scored number ones in the UK, and here in Canada, too. The album went triple-platinum in the UK, with “The Fear” scoring best track at the 2009 Q Awards. The record was nominated for the Mercury Prize that year, too. The song was her second entry in the US Billboard Hot 100.

All of this is quite an irony in some ways, given that she was taking pot shots at the very characteristics that pop stardom appears to represent. But who specifically is this song aimed at?

Read the rest of this entry →

May8

James Struthers Sings “You, Me, and Optimus Prime”

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James Struthers Sings “You, Me, and Optimus Prime”

Here’s a clip of up-and-coming singer-songwriter from Winnipeg, James Struthers. It’s the single “You, Me, and Optimus Prime”, a song about childhood innocence, and about how to keep childhood wonder in your life.

Even if this tune is an effervescent pop song about the treasures of childhood, the shadow of getting older is lurking just by association.  Yet, the “heaviness of being” situation that we’re all in, being creatures in time as we are, doesn’t drag down the music. It certainly doesn’t affect how much fun the video is, featuring a very playful Optimus Prime as James’ co-star.

The video was created with the help of LA-based Funk Factory Films. The production team, Nathan, Trevor and Morgan Funk, all contemporaries of James’, understood the cultural and generational reference points that underscore the song. The result was this video, something of a childhood fantasy that is absurd, in a good way. James explains the approach himself here: Read the rest of this entry →

May7

Simple Minds Perform “Up On The Catwalk”

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Simple Minds Perform “Up On The Catwalk”

Simple Minds Up On The CatwalkListen to this track by Scottish post-punk and eventual stadia-ready music proponents Simple Minds. It’s “Up on the Catwalk”, the third single from their last-of-its-kind 1984 album Sparkle In The Rain, the band’s sixth record.

This would be one of the songs for which the band is most associated in the first chapter of their career. It was put out near the end of an era for the band, and before a new direction would carry them into the second half of the decade, which included a top 40 mainstream hit in “Don’t You Forget About Me”.

That tune’s smash success was helped along by its inclusion in the era-defining John Hughes movie The Breakfast Club. This was the song that placed them in a pure rock/pop top 40 sphere, and in the record collections of those who’d perhaps not been familiar with them in their earlier incarnation as dark and spiky post punk purveyors.

Yet  before that more mainstream success, “Up On The Catwalk”, would capture the band at the height of their post-punk roots, and perhaps at the tail end of that era for many bands contemporary to them. Read the rest of this entry →

May3

I Am Oak Performs “Gliss”

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I Am Oak Performs “Gliss”

Listen to this track by experimental baroque folk outfit based in Utrecht, The Netherlands; I Am Oak. It’s “Gliss” as taken from their EP Skulk, which was released just this past January.

 The band’s work is centered around singer-songwriter Thijs Kuijken, with the overall mood and feel of the music being decidedly noctural. Yet, the night here isn’t a raucous night out, or even noirish, so much as it is spacious and thoughtful, with a sort of dark serenity soaked right in.

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Apr30

Joe Jackson Sings “Home Town” (1999 live version)

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Joe Jackson Sings “Home Town” (1999 live version)

Listen to this track by spiky new wave piano man and skillful pop composer Joe Jackson. It’s “Home Town”, a track originally taken from his 1986 album Big World, with this version recorded live in New York City in 1999 and featured on the album Live in New York: Summer In the City.

The original is a bright, effervescent pop song full of buoyant guitar. Yet, the song holds a certain world-weariness that the original version masks. Ordinarily, this is a welcome contrast.

But, as good as the original is, something entirely new came out of it when he rearranged it for a new musical context. When it came time to get together in the summer of 1999 to perform some of his tunes in a casual series of club dates “just for the hell of it”, the songs were reinterpreted for a trio; himself on piano and singing, backed up by stalwart sidemen Graham Maby on bass, and Gary Burke on drums.

Yet on this song, it’s all Jackson, a middle part of a suite of songs (“Be My Number Two” and “It’s Different For Girls” bookend it) played solo. Instead of the irony that can be picked up in the original, here the solo version reveals an entire country of emotions waiting for the listener underneath.

You might think that Jackson had removed his signature element of surprise to be found in his music up until this point by interpreting this song as a straight up ballad, rather than a poppy guiter driven tune that hides some melancholic undercurrents. But, you’d be wrong. Here’s why.

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Apr26

The Shins Play “Simple Song”

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The Shins Play “Simple Song”

Listen to this track by New Mexico originated, now Portland OR-based indie pop stylists The Shins. It’s “Simple Song” as taken from their most recent full-length LP Port of Morrow, their fourth, and the first release from the band for five years.

The record and the single represent something of a triumphant return for James Mercer, the principal songwriting force around which the Shins as a musical unit is based. On this long-awaited return, Mercer collaborated with producer, and performer and songwriter in his own right, Greg Kurstin. He also worked with a number of new musicians to make up the ranks of the Shins, as well as a number of sessioners to aid in filling out and building upon the sound  for which the Shins is famously known.

The song itself is one that deals in transitions; a new relationship, a newborn daughter, and the evolution of a band as well, with former bandmates leaving the Shins to be replaced by new members. But, of course, there are other themes to be found here of a more universal nature.

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Apr23

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Play “Refugee”

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Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Play “Refugee”

Listen to this track by Floridian rock ‘n’ roll flame-keepers Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. It’s their top twenty Billboard hit “Refugee” as taken from their high watermark 1979 album Damn The Torpedos. The song was released as a single in January 1980, standing as one of their breakthrough songs into the top 40 from that time forward.

“Refugee” is an angry tune, sung angrily by Petty. And in 1979, the swagger put back in rock ‘n’ roll in this fashion was a very good thing. Yet, at the same time, there is a pretty timeless quality to this song too, reminding us that the pissed-off, frustrated lover in a relationship marked by baggage that won’t be put down is as much a part of pop music as it’s ever been.

It doesn’t matter whether its sung in 1979 or in 2012. Because when at its best, the power of pop music is that it runs neck and neck with shared human experience.

But, at the time, only just before this song scored such career-cementing success as a single for Petty, the artist really was in a relationship he wasn’t happy with and was having a hard time getting out of.  And it had very little to do with love. Read the rest of this entry →

Apr19

The Band Play “Don’t Do It” Featuring Levon Helm

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The Band Play “Don’t Do It” Featuring Levon Helm

Levon Helm,1976 (Photo: David Gans)

Listen to this track by Canadian-American modern roots music architects The Band, here featuring the impossibly funky drummer-singer Levon Helm. It’s “Don’t Do It” as taken from the landmark 1972 live album Rock of Ages, a Holland-Dozier-Holland composition originally recorded by Marvin Gaye in 1964,  but utterly redefined here by Helm and his bandmates.

This version of the song was released as a single, scoring #34 on the Billboard top 100. More importantly, it would become a live staple for the group into the 1970s, featuring most prominently in the milestone farewell concert The Last Waltz as a closing number, and an opening number to Martin Scorcese’s film of the same name.

But, what makes the Band’s take on the song so special is largely down to Helm, on one of his most distinct vocal spotlights, weaving in and out with Rick Danko’s burbling bassline,  Richard Manuel‘s ‘rhythm piano’, Garth Hudson’s organic sonic colours, Robbie Robertson’s tearaway guitar stabs, and of course the horns, arranged by Allen Toussaint.

Among other things of course is that this song is one of the key documents that proves not only how potent the Band were as a live unit, and about their uniqueness in general. It also demonstrates something about Levon Helm as a musician. Read the rest of this entry →