The Islander – Part 10: In The Band – Part 1

I was cold, I was wet, and I was exhausted, and I was having the time of my life.

In the amphitheater outside of the lunch room, the marching band was having their moment. At the end of every game, we’d march back from the football field and stand in rows on the large circular steps. After playing music and marching for the community, the students, and the football team, we would play music for ourselves. This specific evening, the band was playing for us, the seniors in the band after our last game. In the pouring rain, we danced in the center, surrounded by the band, joyously dancing.

Most people started band in 6th grade, I didn’t start until sophomore year. When it came time to do band, choir, or orchestra in middle school, my choice was easy. I had been playing violin since I was 6 years-old, I was really good at it, so I went with orchestra. Throughout middle school I was satisfied with my choice. I was the best violinist in orchestra. This was a really nice feeling since I wasn’t popular, I was bad at sports, and while I did fine academically, I never feel like one of the smartest people in the room.

I’d hear the band play during our music concerts, and their renditions of “Hot Cross Buns,” other typical middle school band music didn’t impress me.

My brother, Ed is three years older than me and had gotten into playing piano for the high school jazz band. So, when I was a freshmen, and he was a senior, with his help I got into jazz band as a pianist. It was a whole new world, a style of music that I hadn’t played before, and it was fun. I knew about brass and woodwind instruments, but I had never seen people play them like these upperclassmen did (Jazz band was an auditioned group that usually only included upperclassmen).

One day in jazz band, our teacher announced that the drill team needed a recording of the fight song to work on their routine for the football game. Since all of the jazz band kids except for me and my brother were in marching band and they were some of the best players, it was a simple enough thing to do. I’ll never forget one of the drummers strapping on a set of quads marching drums and being absolutely in awe as he warmed-up.

I watched memorized as they band played through the fight song. The percussion parts were fast and kinetic. The moving bass line was driving and powerful and the flute parts sparkled. Counter lines weaved in and out of the melody and the break strain with its chants was like nothing I had ever heard before. I had no idea that music could be this. It was one of most unforgettable musical performance I had ever heard in my life.

I didn’t know how to play any band instruments, I had never seen a marching band, I had no idea how hard it would be to stand on a football field for hours learning to march, and how uncomfortable it would be to wear a uniform for an entire football game. But in that moment, I decided that I was going to join the band.

Glycerine by Bush

As grunge's most beautiful love song, "Glycerine" captures what is significant and meaningful about the music in this genre. It's dark, longing and sincere. It's a statement of defiance to the world and also a promise of commitment to the love of his life.

As you watch Gavin Rossdale defiantly performing against the forces of nature in the pouring rain "Glycerine" makes sense. There is something beautiful with his primal scream at the end of the song that reminds us not so much of who we want to be but who we are.

American Heart by Jonathan Kahn aka Jon David

The Wall Street Journal is good at a lot of things, reporting about music is not one of them. Neil King of the WSJ transformed the fascinating story of Jonathan Kahn, the artist who composed and perform "American Heart" the anthem of the Tea Party movement into a one-sided criticism of liberal intolerance.  Could I do better job?  Yes, read on. 



What is story "American Heart" really about music, politics, or something different altogether?

A couple days ago a friend of mine e-mailed me about the song "American Heart"  He also sent me this link to a Wall Street Journal article about this song.

Here’s a quick summary of the article: Jonathan Kahn, a Hollywood screenwriter, director and songwriter has been performing his song “America Heart” at Tea-Party conventions. Until recently he has been hiding his identify with a hat and sunglasses and performed under the pseudo-name “Jon David.”

Because Kahn was afraid of being “ostracized in a the town where he peddles his songs and scripts,” Kahn created identity because as he states “In Hollywood, being a conservative is the kiss of death.”

Music producer Afanasieff (responsible for hits like "A Whole New World") is quoted in this article stating, "I mean, he's a member of a huge, Democratic, liberal organization called the Los Angeles entertainment business."  Of course, this is a gross over-generalization. 



Is this any different than when the country music community reacted to the Dixie Chicks by blacklisting them off radio stations when Natalie Maines criticized George Bush?

Should the Dixie Chicks have gotten as much heat as they did for expressing what they thought? No, and should Kahn be criticized by his peers for having a political belief that doesn’t line up with people in his industry, of course not.

What’s fascinating about all of this is there is nothing inherently conservative, Republican or “Tea Party” about “American Made.” (Follow this link to the lyrics). Except for the second verse, this song rings pretty true to my own personal liberal-tilted political viewpoint.

Musically this song has a nice “Bob Seeger” sheen. It works well as an anthem balancing out the more introspective verses with a more declarative chorus. However, there’s nothing “Tea Party” the melody or the harmonies.

This isn’t a knock against the quality of this song but rather an observation that the political nature of this anthem has less to do with the song itself and more to do with the phenomenon of musical meaning coming from outside the music.

This situation is less a political issues but rather a symptom of a general lack of acceptance of political pluralism in certain people's minds. It's sad that both liberals and conservatives have displayed this insidious lack of acceptance, which I do not believe characterizes the majority of people in both of these groups.

What's going to be the most telling part of this story is whether or not Kahn revealing his identity will actually have similar ramifications as it did for the Dixie Chicks. If it does and Kahn is ostracized in a business sense then there is shame on the film industry.  If not then this is a story more about the feeling of political victimization rather than the reality of political intolerance.

Northwestern University Hymn (Alma Mater)

As Homecoming weekend at Northwestern University approaches, memories of my time on campus have been rushing back. There was that time we decided that we should move a couch into our fraternity bathroom, the lecture in my music history class that made me fall in love with opera and the time in the cafeteria when we decided to use a chocolate doughnut to make a breakfast sandwich resulting in the "Bacon McDoughnut."

Then there's the music. The fight song, “Go U, Northwestern” which I analyzed in this earlier post and of course the “Northwestern University Hymn” more commonly reffered to as the "Alma Mater." I love "Go U, Northwestern." I've performed that song more than any other song in my life, but there's something different about the "Northwestern University Hymn," something more profound.

As a member of the Northwestern University Marching Band (NUMB), I had the honor of performing this song for the university community however it was the times after games when NUMB would sing this song a cappella in a circle, arms around that this song represented what it meant to be at Northwestern.


It was a feeling of being at home, having a family, and being connected to something bigger than me. Often when we would sing the “Alma Mater” people in NUMB would be crying. I can’t explain why it meant so much, but it did. Every time I hear this melody it brings me back to this feeling and every time I think of Northwestern, the "Alma Mater" is echoing in the background.

The first version of Northwestern’s hymn was arranged by the first dean of the school of music Peter Christian Lutkin in 1907. J. Scott Clark, an English professor, arranged the lyrics in Latin which were based on the University’s motto from Philippians 4:8.

Whatsoever things are true,
Whatsoever things are honest,
Whatsoever things are just,
Whatsoever things are pure,
Whatsoever things are lovely,
Whatsoever things are of good report,
If there be any virtue and if there be any praise,
Think on these things

This motto is used to this day in university ceremonies and the first line in Latin "Quacumque Sunt Vera,” adorns the university seal. The music that Lutkin chose for these lyrics was “St. Anthony’s Chorale” which is attributed to Frank Joseph Haydn. This tune was relatively obscures until Brahms arranged a set of variation on this melody.



There is debate whether Haydn actually wrote this melody, however it is indisputable that Brahms arrangement cemented this melody as one of the most recognizable melodies in classical music.

The “University Chant,” as Lutkin titled it, was performed by university choirs and the students body. The combination of the Latin, which was part of every student’s academic studies at the time and this beautiful classical tune embodied the academic standards and values of the university.

Peter Christian Lutkin & his original arrangement of the "University Chant."

As Northwestern University changed, so did the student body and by the 1950s the respect and enthusiasm for the “University Chant” diminished and it fell into obscurity. In 1954, in an effort to revive the song, Thomas Tyra, a School of Music Alumni wrote English lyrics. He moved away from the university motto and instead wrote English lyrics expressing devotion to Northwestern.

Hail to Alma Mater
We will sing thy praise forever
All thy sons and daughters
Pledge thee victory and honor
Alma Mater Praise be thine
May thy name forever shine
Hail to purple
Hail to white
Hail to thee Northwestern

While many argued that the English lyrics would take away from the song's original meaning, these new less esoteric lyrics connected with the student body. Four years later, John Paynter, Northwestern's legendary band director, arranged the “University Chant” for band. Along with the English lyrics, the "chant" was retitled “University Hymn.”

Paynter’s arrangement starts off like most hymns with the last four measures of the melody used as an introduction. The band plays through the first two phrase in a straight-forward but artfully arranged four-part harmony. Like many devotion hymns, the arrangement is simple to focus not on performers but the university.

In a stunning musical development, the whole band instead of accompanying the audience sings the last half of the melody. Starting in unison, as one voice, the harmony slowly unfolds into four parts representing the singularity of values at Northwestern that expands into countless possibilities.

Paynter provides a moment of reflection for the audience as the band repeats the last half of the melody, starting with a single trumpet, which is joined by a euphonium. The rest of the band enters softly, rising to a climax, glorious but reverent and majestic while humble.

One of my greatest honors was to be the conductor of the “Alma Mater” as the music director of Phi Mu Alpha. Our fraternity hosted parties and at midnight we would gather in the living room of our house to sing fraternity songs. We would end every performance with the “Alma Mater.” Everyone in the audience would join in a circle and we would sing about how much we loved our university.



Standing in the center surrounded by friends, molding the music with my hands is one of the most magical feelings in my life. Singing this song in NUMB was different, we were in uniform, part of the ritual of the football game. However, in my fraternity house we were in the middle of a party. People would stop whatever games they were playing, put down whatever they were drinking and join us to share a moment together.

For my friends, pride in Northwestern wasn’t just about winning football games, it was something different and real. It wasn’t dorky, or forced, it was simply how we felt.

Hail to thee Northwestern
May thy name forever shine

Welcome home.

Mad World by Tears for Fears/Michael Andrews & Gary Jules/Adam Lambert

1982-Tears for Fears, a British New Wave band releases “Mad World” as their third single becoming their first hit on the United Kingdom singles chart.

"Mad World" by Tears for Fears music video

2003-Michael Andrews and Gary Jules covers “Mad World” for the Donnie Darko soundtrack reaching number one on the British charts.

2009-Adam Lambert sings “Mad World” as one of one of the finalists on American Idol.

It’s amazing to think that after twenty-one years after its original release “Mad World” would become a hit and even more mind-boggling that “Mad World” would help propel an American Idol contestants to become the runner-up and one of most popular American Idols contestants.

“Mad World” by Tears for Fears on initial listening is an unremarkable song. Its synthesized New Wave instrumentation instantly make the song sound dated. The driving tempo and pulsing drums sounds like s a dance club song, however if you listen past the “blips and bloops” and focus on the lyrics an emotional rawness is revealed.

The lyrics of “Mad World” express a bleak world view. The song opens observing “familiar faces” that are “going nowhere.” In reaction to this the singers is crying wanting to “drown my sorrow.” The chorus bring us deeper into the thoughts of the protagonist contemplating how he feels about his own depression.

And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I ever had
I find it hard to tell you ‘cause I find it hard to take
When people run in circles, it’s a very, very . . . mad world.

The idea that people are running in circles without meaning feels like insanity to the singer. The contemplating of dying engenders a feeling of humor and sadness, which evokes a sense of madness in the main character. The singer rather die than live life aimlessly. It is kind of funny and kind of sad to conclude that death is the only way to make sense out of the insanity of life.

Some lyrics are ambiguous enough in their meaning that imagining different interpretations is no problem. Even though the words in “Mad World” don’t seem to leave a lot open for interpretation different performer have found different meaning in this song.

Tears for Fears with their faster tempo and synthesized sounds has paranoid feel. The jagged instrumental lines have a feeling of insanity. Here there is a man sitting in an apartment in a futuristic distopia frustrated, angry and scared not so much of the world but what his emotions are doing to himself.

Michael Andrews and Gary Jules interpretation of “Mad World” is similar to Johnny Cash’s cover of Nine Inch Nails’“Hurt.” The slower tempo and simpler background instruments expresses a feeling of solitude and quiet contemplation. Instead of anger, there is a feeling of letting go and giving up. It just doesn’t make sense. Shivering, tired and close to tears, he no longer has anything left.

Adam Lambert takes the arrangement of Andrews and Jules and adds the anger and bitterness from the Tears for Fears version. The purity of Lambert’s voice against the lyrics expresses a feeling of disappointment, an innocence lost. Here is a man in conflict struggling with the world around him near the point of giving up.

There is one more interpretation to consider that bring forth the soul of "Mad World." In 2006, in front of a choir and full orchestra, Curt Smith from Tears for Fears performed “Mad World.”



What instantly hits the ear is the sonic world that it revels to us that this song is not so much about the individual but the “mad world.”

Every interpretation is a different reaction to the same world. Within the constructs of the song there is universality in the meaning of this song, the idea that we all at some time see the world as being insane. These different performances remind us that we all react to the world in our own unique way. They challenges us to examine ourselves and questions whether what we find inside is kind of funny or kind of sad.

Summer of ‘69 by Bryan Adams

“Summer of ‘69” Music Video

“Summer of ‘69” live performance

Once upon a time there was no such thing as summer vacation.

Before the Civil War there were two school calendars, one for students in rural communities that gave time off in the spring to help plant crops and in the fall to harvest and one for urban students who had as many as 48 weeks of school a year (compared to the average of 36 weeks students currently have).

In the 1840s education reformers wanted make sure that rural children got more schooling. People also thought that the urban school schedule was too long as medical theories of the times warned that over-stimulation of young minds would lead to nervous disorders and insanity. The compromise extended the rural calendar, while the urban calendar was cut down. The break that was settled on was during the summer. Having time off in the summer allowed children to help with crops and got students out of the classroom during the hottest time of the year.

Summer vacation has come into question with many schools trying out year-round schedules. Since most children do not help out on farms and because of the glory of air conditioning the original reasons to keep children out of the classroom for summer vacation are no longer valid. With the worth of summer vacation coming into the question, I can’t help but wonder if there is something intangible about the days of summer that are worth preserving?

When I think about summer the first song that I think of is Bryan Adam’s 1984 hit, “Summer of ’69.” Throughout his career Adams produced non-offensive pop rock music and one of his biggest hits was his ode to one special summer. What is powerful about this song is that it captures how it felt during that summer while providing perspective that doesn’t over-romanticize the events in the song.

The song starts talking about starting a band. They try hard with dreams of becoming a great rock band but it falls apart. Even though it doesn’t go anywhere, Adams reflects in the chorus that those were the best days in his life. Sometimes things fall apart, but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t great when they lasted.

One of the major themes in “Summer of ‘69” the feeling that things last forever. In the chorus Adams, states that the “summer seemed to last forever.” In later choruses, his love interest says that she would wait forever and that “it’d [there love] last forever.” One of the things about being younger is that you think that things truly do last forever and one of the hard things about adulthood is realizing how finite everything is in life.

When Adams thinks back on all of these events, he knows that they have sad endings but he maintains a sense of nostalgia, which is perfectly captured in the chord progression in the song. The verses stay feature primarily major chords but then the first chords of the chorus is a minor chord which adds a darker color to the song before resolving back to a major chord in the end of the chorus.

I worry sometimes that children these days are too busy to have the kinds of memories that Adams sings about to look back on. Maybe it’s not about summer vacation but about our attitude about childhood. Is it important that children have time in their lives where they believe against reality that dreams can happen and that things can last forever? There’s growing pains in which we learn the truth about life but maybe we should spare children that pain and give them reality earlier on.

That's not right.

We have it backwards, we think that learning the realities of life means that things that we believed as children need to be shattered. Instead, these beliefs need to evolve. Our dreams can become reality if we realize the emotional center of our dreams and not material trappings that we so often wish for. Sometimes things do last forever, people die, memories are forgotten but humanity that we all share truly does last forever.

Summer vacation is worth preserving. It's as American as baseball, it's an integral part of growing up and it's reminds us all of the spirit of childhood that lies deep within our hearts.

Sunshine Of Your Love by Cream

"Sunshine Of Your Love" live performance
"Sunshine Of Your Love" Clapton solo acoustic performance

If you’re going to form a band and name it Cream, you had better be good and the rock supergroup Cream was better than good, they were unbelievable. Before becoming Mr. “Tears In Heaven,” Eric Clapton had earned a reputation in the 1960s as one of the best blues guitarists alive. His virtuosic playing inspired the graffiti “Clapton is God” on the wall of an underground train station. Formed with Jack Bruce on bass and Ginger Backer on drum critics and musicians alike truly considered these three musicians the cream of the crop.

Cream’s best-selling song in their brief three-years as a band was “Sunshine Of Your Love” a showcase of the skills of all three musicians that set them apart from music at the time and from anything that has produced since.

What was amazing and unique about Cream’s style of rock music was the how grounded the songs were in the blues and jazz tradition. This fusion of these styles influenced bands like Led Zeppelin all the way to Aerosmith adding a dirty primal soul to the rock voice.

Though there are only three musicians playing on “Sunshine Of Your Love,” there are many more musical voices that make up musical landscape of the song. There is Bruce’s voice, Bruce’s bass, Clapton’s guitar, Clapton’s voice and Ginger’s drum set. With many rock groups there are guys playing guitar and singing and really if you just listened to the guitar playing it wouldn’t be that interesting. What is awesome about Cream is that each individual musical voice is a masterpiece in of itself.

The song opens with Bruce’s aggressive blues voice fueled by desperation is answered by Clapton’s more subdued voice filled with regret and heartbreak. When these voices combine in the chorus there is a powerful energy that builds through “I’ve been waiting so long” that reaches a euphoric release on when they moan the words, “sunshine of your love.”

Most of the time in jazz and rock the bass line is the foundation of the groove outlining the strong beats of each measure. Bruce’s descending bass line spends more time on the off-beats than on the beat. Though it may seem simple to play notes on the beat, it takes a years or practice for a bass player to master playing on the beat. Now to have the audacity to create a groove with a bass line that is centered off the beat is insanity. What is unbelievable is not only that he can keep the time playing mostly off the beat but that he plays with the time relaxing the time against the driving drums. This tension creates the truly magical groove in this song.

What is Ginger Backer doing in this song? Nowhere in this song do we hear a regular rock beat, jazz pattern or blues beat on the drum-set. Instead of accenting the off-beats which is typical of rock and jazz drum beats Backer pounds on the on-beats with an almost cave-man like intensity.

In Backer’s hands the drum set becomes much more then a way to keep time but to express emotion. The primal beat pattern he uses may go against convention but as an expressive device is pure genius adding to the dirty torn-down desperate feeling of the song. His fills between phrases which are just plain sick, perfectly in time adding to the line of the melody while keeping the momentum of the song moving forward.

Then there’s Clapton’s guitar solo. It starts with a quote from “Blue Moon” contrasting the idea of the sun and the moon. Like a human voice singing, Clapton creates phrases within his guitar solos. The phrases have breaks like a person taking a breath. The genius of Clapton, it’s not about how fast he can play but how he uses his technique to tell a story through his solos.

What’s inspiring about watching masters artists at work is that everything they do seems effortless. It’s making the difficult seem easy so that we forget how hard something is for a moment and simply enjoy the beauty of what is created. Sometime I listen to “Sunshine Of Your Love” and I’m in awe of the musical virtuosity but more often I’d let it wash over me and feel the primal groove and perfect expression of blues that really is the cream of the crop.

Handle Me With Care by The Traveling Wilburys

"Handle With Care" by The Traveling Wilburys

In a magical ten day period, rock legends George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan came together to form the rock supergroup, The Traveling Wilburys. All five of these legends were friends and had worked together previously but this was the first time they came together as a band.

George Harrison known to the world as the “quiet” Beatle by 1988 had established himself as a solo artist. Jeff Lynne, famous for his work with Electric Light Orchestra, had solidified his importance in pop musicians a composer, singer, guitarist and record producer. Musicians and critics alike respected Roy Orbison a true rock legend for his inventive song writing and his angelic voice. Tom Petty, the youngest of the group was continuing to come into his own when the Wilburys formed as a rock artist while Bob Dylan continued to add to his legend as one of the most important artist not only in music but in American culture.

“Supergroup” is a term used popular music to refer to a band that is made up of previously established musician. This dream team of sorts is often short-lived and doesn’t always come up with fantastic results. However every so often, these groups create great music like “Handle Me With Care.”

No, the Traveling Wilburys did not reach the heights that Harrison did with the Beatles or the legendary songs of Dylan but what the Traveling Wilburys did was capture a group of musicians enjoying the music that made them famous.

“Handle With Care” started as a an additional track for a George Harrison album that he was recording with Orbison, and Lynne at Bob Dylan’s home studio. Tom Petty happened to leave his guitar there and came by when they were working on the song to pick it up. After working on “Handle With Care” together, they decided the song was too good to just be filler track.

“Handle With Care” takes the warning on mail packages and applies it to a well-lived and a heart well-loved. George Harrison starts the song singing out the tribulations in his life with small descending arcs but reflects on how “you’re the best things that I’ve ever found” with a gentle rise in the melody that warms the words like a smile. Harrison continues to contemplate his reputation and life situations but concludes that “baby you’re adorable” focusing on what is truly important before beckoning “handle me with care.”

To many people “Roy Orbison” is a one hit wonder, with his 1964 hit “Oh, Pretty Woman.” Because his voice is so often emulated, it’s easy to forget how importance of Roy Orbison. However when you hear his voice rising through the words “I’m so tired of feeling lonely,” in “Handle With Care” the transcendent nature of his voice is instantly felt. In his light tenor, there is aching and loneliness that for some magicalreasons feels so good to listen to.

In an almost a humorous contrast, Dylan and Petty enter in the next sections reassuring Orbison that “everybody needs somebody to lean on.” Both Dylan and Petty has a similar folk inspired gravel in their voice and without hearing them sing together it’s hard to imagine that you would even be able to understand the words at all if these two singers sang together, but it works. Dylan’s and Petty’s duet reassure like an old man at a bar stool philosophizing to his beer.

Harrison continues to reflect on his long career being “sent to meetings hypnotized” and “overexposed, commercialized.” Orbison continues to long for love while Dylan and Petty reassure. There is a sense of nostalgia and warmth comes through as these elder statesmen of rock ponder their lives.

Sometimes in a song, you can feel things beyond the music. In “Handle With Care” you can hear warmth of these five men not as legends but friends enjoying the simplicity of a song.

Don't Look Back In Anger by Oasis

"Don't Look Back in Anger" music video
"Don't Look Back in Anger" live performance

Reasons that people give for hating Oasis’ music:

- Liam and Noel Gallagher have abrasive personalities
- They rip-off the Beatles
- Gallagher brothers act like spoiled brats
- The band members have massive egos
- The music is lame
- They haven’t done anything interesting since their first album
- They want people to die of AIDs

These are all direct quotes I found online. Now people do have a way of saying things in the seemingly anonymous world of the internet that are exaggerated, however these comments do reflect a general disdain for the Oasis' that many people express.

People really don't like Noel and Liam Gallagher, the brothers who are at the core of the band. These brothers have made controversial comments and consistently act in ways that many people find distasteful and irritating. I doubt that the Gallagher brothers actually want people to die of AIDs but I wouldn't be surprised if they made a comment that could be interpreted with that meaning.

Most of the criticism I have read of Oasis is inconsequential to the music that they produce. I’m fine supporting an artist who may be a jerk. I’m interested in the music. There are times when it’s difficult to separate the art from the artists but unless the artist is a serial rapist I don’t really care all that much about artist's personality.

It is a great feeling to support and artist who you believe is doing good things with their lives and works hard to use their celebrity to make the world a better place. I see this more as the exception than the norm. When a musician does great things the music endears itself to me because I know there is something positive behind it. When there is something negative behind a song, it does change the context of the song but at the same time it doesn’t change the song itself.

At the same time I was discovering the Beatles in high school Oasis released their break out album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? and their first single “Wonderwall” catapulted Oasis up the charts. I bought the CD single for “Wonderwall” but wasn’t too interesting in buying the album until I heard an MTV news report (MTV used to have news reports ten minutes before every hour) discussing the controversy around Oasis' new single. The song they cited was “Don’t Look Back In Anger” and the controversy had to do with its similarity to John Lennon’s “Imagine.” After hearing "Don't Look Back in Anger," I was hooked and bought Oasis' album immediately.

The MTV news report compared the piano introduction of “Don’t Look Back in Anger” to the piano line in “Imagine.” They are similar in the fact that they are both eighth note patterns punctuated every two measures by an upward line. Noel Gallagher commented on this similarity saying, "In the case of Don't Look Back in Anger - I mean, the opening piano riff's Imagine. 50% of it's put in there to wind people up, and the other 50% is saying 'look, this is how songs like Don't Look Back In Anger come about - because they're inspired by songs like Imagine'. And no matter what people might think, there will be some 13 year old kid out there who'll read an interview and think 'Imagine? I've never heard that song' and he might go and buy the album, you know what I mean?"

Oasis came out in a time when rap music was freely sampling from all types of music so it seems strange that anyone would be annoyed by this similarity, but people looked down on Oasis' nods to the Beatles. It was because Noel would say stuff like, “50% of it’s put in there to wind people up.” He’s saying he put it there just to annoy and aggravate people which is a horrible reason to make a musical choice. Even though Noel makes a good point that his song might bring attention to “Imagine," his comment is self-defeated because of the way he responds to the criticism.

Is this enough reason to bring on the Oasis hate? Not really, so they’re a little cocky. That doesn't change the fact that “Don’t Look Back in Anger” is still a great pop song. The beginning of the verses starts with a energized high note that draws in the listener and the reflective chorus expresses a sense of sentimentality, regret and hope. Gallagher admits he has doing drugs when writing the song and has no idea what it means, but the song itself brings a powerful sense of expression despite it’s author’s intentions.

The piano line is taken from John Lennon’s “Imagine.” The structure of the song is a basic rock form that the Beatles helped define and the guitar solo is reminiscent of solos by George Harrison featured in Beatles' songs. However, Oasis is not copying the Beatles. The melody has dynamic contours and the even though the lyrics quote John Lennon (“I’m going to start a revolution form my bed”), they have different lilt than Beatles' songs do.

Is Oasis' voice similar to the Beatles’ voice? Yes, but is it their voice? No.

Having listened to almost all of their recorded work, I can say that the more that you listen to Oasis less they sound like Beatles.

I can’t really say if Oasis “deserves” the scorn that they get, but I really love “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and if you don’t, that’s fine. The “hate” is silly. It’s a waste life to focus on how much we dislike things. If you spend time focusing on things that annoy you then you will spend most of your life being annoyed, however if you spend your time with things that you will love then you will have a positive and joyful life.

If you think fondly of Oasis, revel in it, if not move on with your life focus on things that bring you happiness and don’t look back in anger.

I Want to Hold Your Hand by T.V. Carpio (from Across The Universe

"I Want To Hold Your Hand" film clip (from Across The Universe)
"I Want to Hold Your Hand" Beatles recording

One of the worst films I’ve ever seen is Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. This disaster of a film starred the Bee Gees, Peter Frampton and a host of other music and film stars including Steve Martin, Aerosmith and George Burns. The filmmakers attempted to link together Beatles' songs to create a musical and the results were both musically and dramatically disastrous (well except maybe for the Earth, Wind & Fire and Aerosmith performances).

I’m not trying to be sarcastic or funny, this film is just painful.

So when I heard that there was a film being made that was going to link Beatles songs into a musical, I was dreading the result. Even though the director was Julie Taymor one of my favorite artist who directing The Lion King on Broadway and Titus, one of my favorite Shakespeare films I was still nervous about the venture.

The Beatles catalogue is amazing. They recorded music that represents every single genre of music of the 1960s and beyond including Motown, Rock, Folk, and Punk. Many songs the Beatles recorded told great stories from the lonely life of "Eleanor Rigby" to the silly romp of "Maxwell’s Silver Hammer." However there are no linear stories across songs even in the concept album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which is one reason that the previous attempt to make the Beatles’ songs a musical failed so completely.

Then I saw the trailer for Across The Universe and I was floored. I saw the film a couple months and it didn’t disappoint. The visuals are original, sometimes shocking but always sublime. The music sounded fresh and the film as a whole worked.

For most of the songs Julie Taymor brought out what musically characteristic about the songs. Taymor with “Let It Be” brought out it’s spiritual overtones and set it as a gospel song. This approach was effective because it brought out the meaning of the songs and put them in a musical context that came within the song itself. However one song was shockingly different.

Roger Ebert in his review of Across the Universe observed: “When Prudence sings "I Want To Hold Your Hand," for example, I realized how wrong I was to ever think that was a happy song. It's not happy if it's a hand you are never, never, never going to hold. The love that dare not express its name turns in sadness to song.”

“I Want to Hold Your Hand” introduced America to the Beatles. It was the Beatles first number one hit in America and started what is known as the British Invasion, a period of time when British rock groups dominated the American pop charts. ”

The songs mix of emotions from the exuberant opening to the reflective bridge combined with innovative chord changes revolutionized and defined the pop song for generations to come. The songs message of wanting to hold a girl’s hand because of the happiness it brings is both innocent and genuine. The energy of the instruments and the infectious melody add to the song resulting in one of the most loved songs in popular music.

In Across The Universe, the character of Prudence played by T.V. Carpio sings “I Want to Hold Your Hand” as a love to song to a fellow female cheerleader. This lesbian fantasy (“the love that dare not express its name") because of the slower tempo and mournful performance by Carpio comes across as a longing that will never be fulfilled.

The slower tempo brings attention to the lyrics. In the original Beatles version, they go by so quickly in the verse that many people who have listened to this song for years still don’t know them. It becomes clear in Carpio’s performance that she first thinks that the other girl will understand but then proceeds to plead “oh please, you’ll let me hold your hand.”

When the Beatles sing “I can’t hide,” we think of a teenager who is so in love with someone that they can’t help but tell everyone about their excitement. When Carpio sings this line she is expressing how much she yearns for this connection. The sad truth is that because of the time and place she has to hide what she feels she cannot.

At the end of both songs, the feeling of joy and bliss from the idea of holding someone’s hands shines through. The context of this feeling coming from a teenage simplicity with the Beatles and a tortured yearning of Carpio’s performance are both part of the magic of “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”

It’s pretty amazing that without changing the lyrics, melody or chords Julie Taymor could bring a new light to “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” It’s as much a credit to her artistry as well as the song itself that this was possible.

What the Beatles understood about popular music is that it needs to be specific emotionally but open enough to apply to different people’s lives. That is the beauty of “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” We all know how magical it is to hold someone’s hand and want this feeling in our own individual and equally valid way: from my excitement when my wife comes home to work to a teenage girl dreaming of a day when she no longer has to hide the love she feels in her heart.

Go U, Northwestern! by the Northwestern University "Wildcat" Marching Band

"Go U, Northwestern!" audio clip

9 wins and 3 loses.

Not since the year 2000 when the Wildcats went 8-3 in the regular season has Northwestern University had such a phenomenal football season. To end this season, the Wildcats will travel to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonia just as they did eight years go and just like eight years ago the finest band in the land, the Northwestern University “Wildcat” Marching Band (NUMB) will accompany the team on this historical trip.

In 2000, I was a freshmen alto saxophone player in NUMB. That season I rejoiced as the ‘cats beat Michigan (which after this year may become a trend), I survived the bitter cold marching during an away game in Iowa and I went to the Alamo Bowl. It was a phenomenal season but it wasn’t until the following years when the team did not do so well, that I developed my love and respect for Northwestern.

The song that was the soundtrack and the soul of that experience is a song that I’ve play more then any other piece of music in my life, “Go U, Northwestern!” I’m not going to make the argument that Northwestern has the best fight song ever. There are imperfections in the song, for example in the lyrics. Well-placed lyrics in songs have the melody accent the same syllables one would emphasize when speaking and no one would normally say “Break right through THAT line.” However, I do believe that “Go U, Northwestern!” is a quintessential and amazing American college fight song that uniquely expresses the spirit of Northwestern.

The song follows the standard form of most college fights. There are two main sections, the first part (first strain) and the instrumental interlude (break strain). The first strain is broken up into four 8-measure phrases:

1st phrase-Go U Northwestern! Break right through that line.
2nd phrase-With our colors flying, We will cheer you all the time, U Rah! Rah!
3rd phrase-Go! U Northwestern! Fight for victory,
4th phrase-Spread far the fame of our fair name, Go! Northwestern win that game.

The 1st and 2nd phrase present different material while the 3rd phrase is a repeat of the 1st phrase with an altered ending. The 4th phrase features material derived from earlier parts of the song and completes the first strain.

“Go U, Northwestern!” inspires people with a feeling of momentum and spirit. If you are trying to solve the problem of how to give music a feeling of direction, the easy solution is to have a piece start slow and speed up but that would not work with a marching band. So it is creating that same rush of energy when the tempo is staying constant that require a high level of musical invention.

One way composers create momentum is with rhythm. Simply following a longer note by shorter notes creates the illusion that the song speeding up. The 1st phrase starts with a long note that is followed by two shorter notes that drive into “-wes-“ of “Northwestern.” This occurs again with two shorter notes on “break right” which follow the longer note values of “-wes-“ and “-tern.” This pattern continues with the shortest note of the phrase on “through” which is followed by an off-beat accent on “that” which holds the listener in suspense before landing on the next downbeat.

The short-long rhythm on “through that” is called a Lombard rhythm or a Scotch snap. This is when a composers arrange a dotted rhythm so that the shorter note is firsts and on the beat. This rhythm manipulates the momentum of a phrase jolting it forward unexpectedly with the short note and creating anticipation with the longer note. In “Go U, Northwestern!” the Scotch snap moves around within the phrases creating unique twists in the first strain that play with our sense of direction. In the 1st phrase the Scotch snap is in the end of the phrase and in the 2nd phrase the Scotch snap is featured in the middle of the phrase.

The 3rd phrase mimics the 1st phrase placing the Scotch snap back in end of the phrase and then the 4th phrase starts immediately with the Scotch snap and features it twice before ending the first strain. This is unusual compared to other fight songs like Michigan’s “Hail To The Victors” which have a much more square and repetitive rhythms. This creates more militaristic feeling and opposed to the rhythmic invention in “Go U, Northwestern!” which express a mood of dance and celebration.

Within the anatomy of a fight song there are five roles that instrument groups play:
- The melody and the harmony of the melody (which in general have the same rhythm as
the melody) include the trumpets, mellophones, alto saxophones and trombones.
- The obbligato line, which is the higher and fast countermelody, features the flutes and
clarinets.
- The tenor saxophones, euphoniums, and baritones play the tenor countermelody.
- The sousaphones cover the bass line.
- The drum-line provide the percussion.

These roles change in certain places for example when the trombones double the bass line at the end of the 1st phrase and when the flutes and clarinets double the melody in the 3rd phrase of the first strain.

The obbligato line fills in motion whenever there is a long note in the melody so that the momentum never stops. For example, there’s a fast ascending scale “-wes-“ in the 1st phrase when the melody has a long note. Another example one is right before “U Rah, Rah” when the flutes and clarinets trill, (an un-metered flurry of the fasts note) which provide an explosive drive into the next measure.

The tenor countermelody, which I believe is the most overlooked parts of the song is the long smooth notes in the first strain which contrast the melody’s separated notes. This line outlines the contour of the melody, which is important in reinforcing the direction of the melody not only for the listener but also for melodic instruments in the band. It is easy when playing short notes to lose sight of the overall direction of the phrase and tenor line is essential in reinforcing the contour that gives this song a sense of direction.

The bass line in “Go U, Northwestern!” provides not only the foundation of the harmony but also acts as an expressive voice that supports the melody. The bass line plays the Scotch snap whenever it appears in the melody and provides interesting and dynamic transition material at the ends of phrases like in-between the 3rd and 4th phrases in the first strain.

I used to think of a drum-line like bunch of toy monkeys hitting every single beat. The drum line does keep a constant beat and drives the pulse of the band but like the bass line it does so much more. The clearest example of this is the cymbals. Listen carefully to when they play. They don’t play on every beat but instead highlight parts of the phrase. The bass drums, which are not as clearly audible, do the same thing and within snare drum and tenor line, this musical approach to playing provides and important layer of texture to an already rich musical landscape.

The break strains contrasts the first strain with three 4-measures phrases as opposed to the four 8-measures phrases. This sections creates momentum not with the rhythm but with the way the band is arranged into two different groups. They work together trading off measures like two groups of people within a crowd participating in a call and response cheer. The first two measures are the higher instruments on an ascending line, which the lower instruments respond to with a descending two-measure motif. The band repeats this pattern in the next four measures and then compressed the call and response into two beats groups instead of two measures groups. The lower instruments begin with a two beat pattern on beat 4 and beat 1 that is followed by the higher instruments on beat 2 and beat 3. The band is pulled apart first by 2 measures, then band comes closer together separated by only 2 beats and finally they play the same rhythm together as one in a glorious feeling of arrival and unity.

“Go U, Northwestern!” perfectly the spirit of Northwestern and what NUMB taught me in those years after the Alamo bowl is that it’s not about winning football games. It’s not about making fun other schools and it’s not about blindly following traditions.

It’s about the fact everyone can contribute. It’s about pride not only in ourselves but in each other it’s about finding the meaning in traditions and reinventing them for future generations.

Mr. Rogers, one of my personal heroes once said:

As you play together in a symphony orchestra, you can appreciate that each musician has something fine to offer. Each one is different, though, and you each have a different ‘song to sing.’ When you sing together, you make one voice. That’s true of all endeavors, not just musical ones. Finding ways to harmonize our uniqueness with the uniqueness of others can be the most fun—and the most rewarding—of all.

I found this true of my journey in NUMB, which was one of the greatest experiences in my life.

Go ‘Cats, Beat the Tigers! And if you don’t, no worries, we’ll still be here.

Oh, and Matt, my dear brother-in-law, congratulations man on being accepted to Northwestern. You already have the Northwestern spirit in your blood so I have no doubt that you will not only have a fantastic experience but that you will contribute great things to the people, the community and the tradition that is Northwestern.