“I Gotta Feeling” by The Black Eyed Peas was one the most popular songs of the last couple years. Oprah featured this song on her show, it has become a staple at wedding receptions and WAY too many school groups have performed this song in concert.
. . . ugh. . . This song is awful. Maybe it’s the fact that Fergie isn’t the lead vocalist, or the fact that it’s extremely repetitive and lacks musical creativity. Listing off the days of the week in a song is about as creative as reciting the alphabet. I’ve had difficulty justifying my feeling about this song until recently. What I realized is that this song fails at a fundamental level to expressive in a meaningful the emotions described in this song and I came to this conclusion after rediscovering a song that does, “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen.
Queen is so much more than “Bohemian Rhapsody.” This British rock group created music that ranged from the tongue-in-cheek (“Killer Queen”) to the breathtakingly beautiful (“Who Wants To Live Forever”). In 1978, they released the ultimate, “I’m revved up and ready to have an amazing out night on the town song.”
Starting with a slow piano accompanied reflection, Freddie Mercury glides up to his shining falsetto as he describes how he is ready to have a great time and pleads to us not get in his way. Mercury gently asks for us to not stop him with soft gentle hits. When he tells us the reason why, the music speed up and whisks us away.
Like racing down the street in a convertible on a warm summer night there is adventure and excitement in the groove of the drums, piano and bass. Mercury goes on to describe himself as a tiger, a racing car ready to “go, go, go!” With hilarious lyrics like “that’s why they call me Mr. Fahrenheit,” we can’t help but get pumped up. I mean, looks, he’s a rocket ship AND a satellite and a “machine” ready to reload. . . that’s um . . .yeah . . .anyways, these lyrics are pure fun.
Brian May, Queen’s amazing guitarist plays his first notes after the vocal break perfectly describing the sheer joy and glee that Mercury is singing about going on to accompany Mercury’s voice.
Queen bookends the song with Mercury crooning over the piano part that was featured in the intro. With freedom and grace, his voice soars like a dream up into the night sky. It’s my favorite moment of the song as he sings with pure unbridled freedom and joy.
“Don’t’ Stop Me Now,” is injected with so much personality and craft. This isn't some manufactured attempt to get people dancing, this is an expression of emotion, this is art. With a variety of sections and musical variation, Queen outdoes the Black Eyed Peas creating not only a song, but an everlasting moment.
Queen's conviction and determination to keep having a good time trumps any feelings the Black Eyed Peas get Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Always Be My Baby by Mariah Carey
I was watching television with my father-in-law the other day when news of Mariah Carey’s pregnancy came on he commented that he understood the appeal and vocal prowess of Beyonce but he wasn’t sure about Mariah. At first, I was surprised to hear this, I mean this is the girl with that ridiculous garage door-opening, making dogs run away super-high whistle tone (remember “Emotions”?).
After I thought about it a second I understood. Mariah isn’t the pop dynamo that she used to be. Once upon a time she was at the pinnacle of pop superstardom but now artists like Lady Gaga have taken her place. She has tried to reinvent herself to more modern sensibilities but she has failed to recapture her past glory.
None of this changes the impact she had and how she influenced mainstream popular culture. In the 1990s, Carey crossed R & B music into popular culture with soulful music. Along with immediate and accessible lyrics, Carey creating music that was had universal appeal without being cheesy. Yes, it may not have effected social change but it was music you weren’t uncomfortable to listen to with your parents and sometimes that’s not such a bad thing. No song captures this quite as well as her eleventh number 1 hit, “Always Be My Baby.”
This song feels like a Coca Cola commercial in the best way possible. The opening “dududu, hum” rises softly and settles in a relaxed and smooth way as this mid-tempo song unfolds. There is a level of Beach Boys-like innocence in the music that reflected in the lyrics about a girl telling a boy who’s leaving her that he will always be hers.
Now, I agree that this song also works if you take it from a “crazy-girlfriend who refuses to let go” perspective. I mean it’s kind of a like the letter you keep getting from an ex right before you get a restraining order: “don’t you know you can’t escape me.”
Then there’s the use of the 5-syllable word, “indefinitely.” I’ve never found another instance of a 5-syllable word in a song ever. I’m not sure if this is a over-the-top or the greatest thing ever but somehow it works within the context of this song.
What really sticks with you in the optimism and hope in the face of a break up. This song is an expression of strength and self-confidence, “If you’re determined to leave boy, I will not stand in you way, but inevitable you’ll be back again.”
What makes all of this work is Mariah’s vocals. She effortless dips low into her range gliding up to higher vocals blending the tone of her voice like a master painter. Like a great soul singer she embellishes her long notes but never overdoes it like many amateur singers.
Pop music is a lot of thing but at its core, it's an expression of joy and this is exactly what "Always Be My Baby" is all about. Mariah Carey may not be the biggest pop star out right now but for a period of time she was and what she left us is some of the best pop music you will ever hear.
After I thought about it a second I understood. Mariah isn’t the pop dynamo that she used to be. Once upon a time she was at the pinnacle of pop superstardom but now artists like Lady Gaga have taken her place. She has tried to reinvent herself to more modern sensibilities but she has failed to recapture her past glory.
None of this changes the impact she had and how she influenced mainstream popular culture. In the 1990s, Carey crossed R & B music into popular culture with soulful music. Along with immediate and accessible lyrics, Carey creating music that was had universal appeal without being cheesy. Yes, it may not have effected social change but it was music you weren’t uncomfortable to listen to with your parents and sometimes that’s not such a bad thing. No song captures this quite as well as her eleventh number 1 hit, “Always Be My Baby.”
This song feels like a Coca Cola commercial in the best way possible. The opening “dududu, hum” rises softly and settles in a relaxed and smooth way as this mid-tempo song unfolds. There is a level of Beach Boys-like innocence in the music that reflected in the lyrics about a girl telling a boy who’s leaving her that he will always be hers.
Now, I agree that this song also works if you take it from a “crazy-girlfriend who refuses to let go” perspective. I mean it’s kind of a like the letter you keep getting from an ex right before you get a restraining order: “don’t you know you can’t escape me.”
Then there’s the use of the 5-syllable word, “indefinitely.” I’ve never found another instance of a 5-syllable word in a song ever. I’m not sure if this is a over-the-top or the greatest thing ever but somehow it works within the context of this song.
What really sticks with you in the optimism and hope in the face of a break up. This song is an expression of strength and self-confidence, “If you’re determined to leave boy, I will not stand in you way, but inevitable you’ll be back again.”
What makes all of this work is Mariah’s vocals. She effortless dips low into her range gliding up to higher vocals blending the tone of her voice like a master painter. Like a great soul singer she embellishes her long notes but never overdoes it like many amateur singers.
Pop music is a lot of thing but at its core, it's an expression of joy and this is exactly what "Always Be My Baby" is all about. Mariah Carey may not be the biggest pop star out right now but for a period of time she was and what she left us is some of the best pop music you will ever hear.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Round 1: John Mellencamp Vs. Jessica Simpson
Welcome to the first “Versus” post on this blog. On my Wednesday posts I’m going to compare two versions of a song and then conclude which version I find more meaningful.
Round 1: “Jack And Diane” by John Cougar Mellencamp Vs. “I Think I’m In Love With You” by Jessica Simpson
Mellencamp’s 1982 number one hit tells the story of two people growing up in America’s heartland. The famous chorus reminds us that life goes on even when the “thrill of living is gone.”
Versus
From Jessica Simpson’s debut album in 1999, “I Think I’m In Love With You” features a direct sample from “Jack And Diane.” This song tells of a girl who realizes that her actions and thoughts are a result of falling in love.
The Winner:
I gotta give this one to Jessica Simpson. “Jack And Diane” fails to make any significant reflections on childhood. The statement of the chorus really isn’t that poignant. Yes, life goes on even when we’re bored. . . okay so what? Mellencamp has reveled that “Jack And Diane” was originally about an interracial couple and maybe that would have made this song mean something more but as is, it really doesn’t.
“I Think I’m In Love” takes the music from Mellencamp and injects the pure glee and teenage joy of being in love that lacks in “Jack And Diane.” Yes, it’s bubblegum pop but it’s exuberance is exactly how young people feel when they are first in love (which is why this style of music continues to appeal to young teens).
Next week: Bob Dylan Vs. Jimi Hendrix
Round 1: “Jack And Diane” by John Cougar Mellencamp Vs. “I Think I’m In Love With You” by Jessica Simpson
Mellencamp’s 1982 number one hit tells the story of two people growing up in America’s heartland. The famous chorus reminds us that life goes on even when the “thrill of living is gone.”
Versus
From Jessica Simpson’s debut album in 1999, “I Think I’m In Love With You” features a direct sample from “Jack And Diane.” This song tells of a girl who realizes that her actions and thoughts are a result of falling in love.
The Winner:
I gotta give this one to Jessica Simpson. “Jack And Diane” fails to make any significant reflections on childhood. The statement of the chorus really isn’t that poignant. Yes, life goes on even when we’re bored. . . okay so what? Mellencamp has reveled that “Jack And Diane” was originally about an interracial couple and maybe that would have made this song mean something more but as is, it really doesn’t.
“I Think I’m In Love” takes the music from Mellencamp and injects the pure glee and teenage joy of being in love that lacks in “Jack And Diane.” Yes, it’s bubblegum pop but it’s exuberance is exactly how young people feel when they are first in love (which is why this style of music continues to appeal to young teens).
Next week: Bob Dylan Vs. Jimi Hendrix
Monday, January 10, 2011
Week 15: What Do We Say About Tucson?
Everyday at school, I explain things to my students in a way that they can understand. I love this challenge because it forces me to distill concepts and events to their core and help my students find meaning in the world around them. While I usually revel in this challenge, right now I feel completely lost.
I have no idea how to explain the shooting in Tucson, Arizona resulting in wounding of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords along with thirteen others and the death of six others including a 9-year-old girl who was born on September 11, 2001.
I know that we want to find out who’s to blame. The thing is though, that knowing isn’t going to change what happened. And the most important thing I learned from my first boss was that in a time of crisis the single most important thing is to figure out how to move forward and only when there is a clear path forward through a tragedy should be look back and begin to examine who should be held responsible.
Right now, pointing fingers and placing blame is not going to help us move forward. All we can do is make sure that we are doing the best we can to be the best people that we can be in our jobs, in our communities and in our personal lives.
Is this a turning point that will steer us away from the negative political rhetoric that I’ve complained about that is coming from all political sides? I don’t know, but I hope so. What I do is that if we get hung up on pointing fingers nothing will change. We cannot let that happen.
So what do I say when one of my students ask me about what happened? Well, I guess all I can be honest about how I feel and hopefully that's enough:
I have no idea how to explain the shooting in Tucson, Arizona resulting in wounding of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords along with thirteen others and the death of six others including a 9-year-old girl who was born on September 11, 2001.
I know that we want to find out who’s to blame. The thing is though, that knowing isn’t going to change what happened. And the most important thing I learned from my first boss was that in a time of crisis the single most important thing is to figure out how to move forward and only when there is a clear path forward through a tragedy should be look back and begin to examine who should be held responsible.
Right now, pointing fingers and placing blame is not going to help us move forward. All we can do is make sure that we are doing the best we can to be the best people that we can be in our jobs, in our communities and in our personal lives.
Is this a turning point that will steer us away from the negative political rhetoric that I’ve complained about that is coming from all political sides? I don’t know, but I hope so. What I do is that if we get hung up on pointing fingers nothing will change. We cannot let that happen.
So what do I say when one of my students ask me about what happened? Well, I guess all I can be honest about how I feel and hopefully that's enough:
There's a feeling I've experienced only a couple times in my life. I first felt it when my maternal grandfather died, I felt it again after the attacks on September 11, 2001 and I felt two more times when my paternal grandparents died. Last Saturday I felt it again reading about the shooting in Tucson, Arizona. It's a feeling of hollowness and confusion. It's like someone took away part of yourself that you didn't even know was there. At these times we're reminding that we are connected as human race and that the pain of even one person in a world filled with billions effects every single one of us.
I know you want to know why this happened and who's to blame but like most tragedies, we never will. That's frustrating but like Elton John sang “The hows and whys aren't important now, all that matters is they came around and brightened up our lives.”
At these times in our lives we need to move forward and live our lives to their fullest, going out and doing what we planned to do, what we are born to do as if this tragedy never happened. Because that is what the people effected by this tragedy would want. I don’t know the reason why those people aren’t here anymore to share life with us but what I do know is that you are here, alive. So live, really live.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Week 14: The Art Of Plate Spinning
One of my mentor teachers described being a teacher as doing one of those Plate Spinning acts.
What does teaching have to do with running around like a maniac trying to keep plates spinning? For example, I was helping with the middle school and high school choral concert last month while at the same time planning the elementary school Holiday concert. I kept having to check in on both events and do work for both of them to make sure that the “plates kept spinning.”
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about this subject to get sympathy. Many other jobs require you to keep multiple projects in development at the same time. What I’m considering is how you maintain your sanity while keeping plates spinning, because you do not want to look like the guy running around like a maniac in your office while you try to keep things going. Because at my first teaching job I was that maniac and I wasn’t very successful in that case keeping the plates up in the air.
One answer is to multi-task. Well, the most recent psychological research shows that multi-tasking is an illusion and is really just switching between tasks quickly doing a mediocre job at each task. Let’s give that one up. What I keep going back to is something my mom told me growing up, “do one thing at a time.” She’s right because that’s all you can do.
Maybe spinning plates isn’t the best analogy because here’s the thing: the worst thing that can go wrong in my day isn't that bad. No one will get hurt if a student doesn’t learn as much as he or she should because I’m not effectively teaching them. It’s not a doctor who on a bad day loses a patient. Even when things do badly for me plates don’t really crash on the ground.
Yes, I have to keep a lot of things going as a teacher and sometimes it seems overwhelming but with a healthy does of perspective, camaraderie from fellow teachers and the energy we get from students sanity can prevail even in the craziest of times.
What does teaching have to do with running around like a maniac trying to keep plates spinning? For example, I was helping with the middle school and high school choral concert last month while at the same time planning the elementary school Holiday concert. I kept having to check in on both events and do work for both of them to make sure that the “plates kept spinning.”
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about this subject to get sympathy. Many other jobs require you to keep multiple projects in development at the same time. What I’m considering is how you maintain your sanity while keeping plates spinning, because you do not want to look like the guy running around like a maniac in your office while you try to keep things going. Because at my first teaching job I was that maniac and I wasn’t very successful in that case keeping the plates up in the air.
One answer is to multi-task. Well, the most recent psychological research shows that multi-tasking is an illusion and is really just switching between tasks quickly doing a mediocre job at each task. Let’s give that one up. What I keep going back to is something my mom told me growing up, “do one thing at a time.” She’s right because that’s all you can do.
Maybe spinning plates isn’t the best analogy because here’s the thing: the worst thing that can go wrong in my day isn't that bad. No one will get hurt if a student doesn’t learn as much as he or she should because I’m not effectively teaching them. It’s not a doctor who on a bad day loses a patient. Even when things do badly for me plates don’t really crash on the ground.
Yes, I have to keep a lot of things going as a teacher and sometimes it seems overwhelming but with a healthy does of perspective, camaraderie from fellow teachers and the energy we get from students sanity can prevail even in the craziest of times.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Just Like A Pill by Pink
When Pink released her second album in 2002 she got personal. Instead of producing contrived dance like her previous album she composed music that expressed a deeper level of emotion.
"Just Like A Pill" is a victorious break-up song. A statement of strength in the realization of one's worth and beauty. I never thought I would say this but this girl named Pink really can inspire.
"Just Like A Pill" is a victorious break-up song. A statement of strength in the realization of one's worth and beauty. I never thought I would say this but this girl named Pink really can inspire.
Monday, January 3, 2011
It’s My Party by Leslie Gore/Quincy Jones & Amy Whinehouse
As Diana danced around the room with Buffy in her arms singing “It’s My Party,” changing the lyrics to “It’s My Buffy,” I smiled at this cute display of affection not really thinking much about the song.
“It’s My Party” by Leslie Gore is one of those 1960s pop songs that everyone knows. It’s so deeply embedded into our pop culture that we don’t really think about it. Like a single tree in a forest, what makes this song unique and special gets lost in the larger view.
Then I read in Rolling Stone that Amy Whinehouse teamed up with Mark Ronson to record this song on a tribute album to Quincy Jones. Now I absolutely love Ronson’s work with Whinehouse. Ronson’s signature as a producer is to record 1960s style background instrumentals with live instruments mixed with an dark modern sensibility. With songs like “Rehab” he created grooves that were so undeniably infectious that you can’t help but take notice.
I immediately downloaded this song from iTunes and listened to it in awe.
I personally love Amy Whinehouse’s voice. It’s a beautiful soulful disaster and I understand why her voice sounds to some as incomprehensible warbling, but it works for me. Regardless of how you feel about the vocals you got to give credit to Ronson’s brilliant production. It’s groovy, dark and mysterious.
Now you may be wondering as I was, what “It’s My Party” has to do with Quincy Jones. Well, Jones who has produced some of the most important music in popular culture (everything from Count Basie to Michael Jackson’s Thriller) started his career with “It’s My Party” as the first single he produced.
If you take a listen to Leslie Gore’s version carefully with fresh ear you realize how astounding this song is.
Quincy Jones' instrumental arrangements are impossibly intricate and tight (check out the brass hits right before Gore starts singing). The bass and drums lock in like a drum machine but groove like only live musicians can.
In front of all of this is Leslie Gore’s vocals. Somehow Jones pushes her voice into the foreground in the recording so her voice is right in your face. It’s impossible to ignore her voice in a texture of instruments that she could have easily gotten drowned out if not for Jones production.
Then there’s the odd but brilliantly powerfully lyrics about a girl who’s heart is being broken at her own party but exclaims that since it’s her party she can do whatever she wants, even cry. This is a powerful embrace of emotion and through this statement, there is independence and a whole lot of soul. When she sings “you would cry to, if it happen to you” you realize she’s right.
Sometimes we take for granted for things that are always around and when you take a look a closer look at something with a fresh perspective you never know what you can find.
“It’s My Party” by Leslie Gore is one of those 1960s pop songs that everyone knows. It’s so deeply embedded into our pop culture that we don’t really think about it. Like a single tree in a forest, what makes this song unique and special gets lost in the larger view.
Then I read in Rolling Stone that Amy Whinehouse teamed up with Mark Ronson to record this song on a tribute album to Quincy Jones. Now I absolutely love Ronson’s work with Whinehouse. Ronson’s signature as a producer is to record 1960s style background instrumentals with live instruments mixed with an dark modern sensibility. With songs like “Rehab” he created grooves that were so undeniably infectious that you can’t help but take notice.
I immediately downloaded this song from iTunes and listened to it in awe.
I personally love Amy Whinehouse’s voice. It’s a beautiful soulful disaster and I understand why her voice sounds to some as incomprehensible warbling, but it works for me. Regardless of how you feel about the vocals you got to give credit to Ronson’s brilliant production. It’s groovy, dark and mysterious.
Now you may be wondering as I was, what “It’s My Party” has to do with Quincy Jones. Well, Jones who has produced some of the most important music in popular culture (everything from Count Basie to Michael Jackson’s Thriller) started his career with “It’s My Party” as the first single he produced.
If you take a listen to Leslie Gore’s version carefully with fresh ear you realize how astounding this song is.
Quincy Jones' instrumental arrangements are impossibly intricate and tight (check out the brass hits right before Gore starts singing). The bass and drums lock in like a drum machine but groove like only live musicians can.
In front of all of this is Leslie Gore’s vocals. Somehow Jones pushes her voice into the foreground in the recording so her voice is right in your face. It’s impossible to ignore her voice in a texture of instruments that she could have easily gotten drowned out if not for Jones production.
Then there’s the odd but brilliantly powerfully lyrics about a girl who’s heart is being broken at her own party but exclaims that since it’s her party she can do whatever she wants, even cry. This is a powerful embrace of emotion and through this statement, there is independence and a whole lot of soul. When she sings “you would cry to, if it happen to you” you realize she’s right.
Sometimes we take for granted for things that are always around and when you take a look a closer look at something with a fresh perspective you never know what you can find.
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