I Got You Covered #8 – America

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on September 14, 2012
Posted in: I Got You Covered, New Music. Tagged: , . 1 Comment

America is easily my favorite Simon and Garfunkel song.  Let’s listen…

This may be as close to perfect as you can get.  I still get goosebumps listening to the lyrics:

“Kathy, I’m lost” I said, though I knew she was sleeping
“I’m empty and aching and I don’t know why…”
Counting the cars on the New Jersey turnpike
They’ve all gone to look for America

So….it should come as no surprise to anyone that Paul Simon was one of the recipients of the Polar Music Prize last month in Stockholm, Sweden.  Here is what the award committee had to say about Paul:

“The Polar Music Prize 2012 is awarded to Paul Simon. Nobody else is more deserving of the epithet of “world-class songwriter.” For five decades, Paul Simon has built bridges not only over troubled waters but over entire oceans by (re)joining the world’s continents with his music. With consummate skill, innovative arrangements and provocative lyrics that never fail to capture the currents of his age, Paul Simon has compiled a library of songs which will remain open to future generations.”

As part of the ceremony, First Aid Kit performed America in honor of Paul.  Let’s listen to their cover version of the song.

For those of you who don’t know, First Aid Kit is two Swedish sisters (I did another post about them back in January).  I thought they did an excellent job with America and Paul seemed to really enjoy the performance.

As always, let me know what you think!

My Final Playlist Candidate #4 – The Last Nail

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on September 13, 2012
Posted in: My Final Playlist. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

The Last Nail, the last song on Dan Fogelberg’s Captured Angel album, has always been one of my favorite songs.  Here is what Dan had to say about it in the liner notes for the Portrait box set.

A very cathartic song about finally letting go of my first great love. Never thought I’d use the word Pennsylvania in a song, but there you are.

Let’s listen……

I recently found an interview where Dan talks about The Last Nail and Tucson, Az (Gazette) (which I posted about a couple of  days ago).  I though you might enjoy hearing it so let’s listen….

Ok, that was not a good idea….it is way too sad that both Dan, and the woman Dan obsessed about all through high school/college, died way before their time!  Sorry to bring everyone down.

By now you are probably saying I thought this was a “My Final Playlist” post,  why would anyone want to use this song at their funeral?  The answer to that question is that I don’t want to use the whole song, just this part….

I was always very taken by this part of the song and think it would be a great way to say goodbye to friends.  What do you think?

Let me leave you with this live performance of The Last Nail from 1982.

Have you signed the petition to get Dan in the Rock and Roll Hall of Face?  No?  You know he deserves it…..so do it now!

I Got You Covered #7 – It Doesn’t Matter

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on September 12, 2012
Posted in: I Got You Covered. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

In 1987 Dan Fogelberg released, Exiles, his tenth album.  He was in the process of going through a divorce (not one that he initiated) and coping with a seriously broken heart.  The album is all about grief with songs that touch on all of its stages: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.  Today we are focused on Anger.

Dan wrote all of the songs on Exiles with the exception of It Doesn’t Matter which was written by Stephen Stills and Chris HIllman and originally released by Manassas.  We featured the Manassas version our Southern California Sound #13 post but let’s listen again to refresh our memory of what the original sounded  like…..

I love this song and, while the lyrics are sad, I never considered it to be angry.  If I had to categorize the tone of the Manassas performance it was resigned…..definitely not angry.

Back to Dan and his cover version of the song.  Believe it or not, his version is not on YouTube so I put it on my private channel just for you guys.  Let’s listen and then we will talk.

Angry, Angry, Angry….the last 90 seconds of this song are amazing.  Although I have huge respect for Dan’s guitar skills,  I never imagined that he had that solo in him.  I don’t know if Dan had screaming matches as part of his divorce but if he didn’t that guitar solo definitely got it out of his system.  It was a musical, one sided, all out screaming match and I am willing to bet that he was emotionally spent after recording it.  I am seldom surprised by musical performances but this one was an exception.

All I can say is well done Dan……..we miss you very much!

If you haven’t done it already, go back to yesterday’s post and sign the petition to get Dan into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

This Is What We Are Up Against

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on September 11, 2012
Posted in: Completely Wrong, Politics. Tagged: . 4 Comments

Here is Mitt Romney campaigning with right wing televangelist Pat Robertson.  In this clip Mitt claims that President Obama plans to take God off of our coins.  Oh my god, surely the end is near…..

Many of you outside of the US may not be familiar with Pat Robertson…..so let me introduce you to him, or better yet let’s let him introduce himself via this clip from his TV show today.

So, the Republican party continues to claim that they are not waging a war on women……….

What do you think?

Long Song Tuesday #32 – To The Morning/Tucson, Az (Gazette)

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on September 11, 2012
Posted in: Long Song Tuesday. Tagged: . Leave a comment

So…..my series of Todd Rundgren posts last week got me thinking about other favorites of mine that are still not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  That train of thought led me straight to Dan Fogelberg and this special edition twofer (two for one) long song Tuesday post.

I have been a Dan Fogelberg fan since the release of his first album, Home Free, in 1972.  I had the good fortune to see him in concert multiple times during the 70s and 80s including acoustic solo shows and full band rock and roll shows.  He never disappointed me!  Dan is one of my favorite artists of all time and I think it is a sin that he is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Let’s listen to some music and see if you agree with me.

Today’s post spans a good portion of  Dan’s career.  We start with To The Morning, the first song on his first album.  Here is what Dan had to say about the song in the liner notes for his career spanning box set named Portrait.

I wrote this (in the summer of 1970) when I was 18 years old. This was the first song that made me think I might actually make a living as a songwriter. I still find it a special piece to perform.

This is a live version of the song from a 1973 concert in Denver.  As you listen to Dan in the introduction to the song you can tell that this is a young artist but one that is on his way up.  He is particularly excited about a pending purchase of a home in Colorado.  This house would serve as the inspiration for much of his future songwriting. Let’s listen…..

Good stuff….it reminds of seeing Dan in a solo performance immediately following the release of Nether Lands in 1977.  Dan had nearly lost his voice  but was determined to put on a great show and that he did.  Seeing him at the piano singing singing Nether Lands may be my favorite concert memory of all time.

Next up is a song called Tucson, Az (Gazette) from his Windows and Walls album.  Much to my surprise, Dan indicated that this was his favorite song in the liner notes for Portrait.

My all-time favorite track. The critics dismissed it because of its length but I am still fiercely proud of it. It was an immense undertaking and took months to complete. I consider this probably my best journalistic lyric writing. A movie for the ears, all it lacks is the popcorn.

Although it is not one of my favorite songs from Dan, I can appreciate the songwriting and the musicianship that it represents.  Let’s listen……

So….do you agree with me that Dan belongs in the Hall of Fame.  If so, sign the petition at the following link.

Petition To Get Dan Into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

If you still haven’t made up your mind, stay tuned.  You will have a couple of more opportunities this week to change your mind.

Major Blog Improvements Implemented!

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on September 8, 2012
Posted in: Blog Enhancements. Leave a comment

I spent all of today tagging and categorizing each of the posts on this blog.

If you look on the right hand side of the site you will now see a list of categories that have been assigned to posts.  You can click on any of these categories to display the applicable posts.

If you look below the list of categories you will see a “Tag Cloud” that displays the most frequently used tags on the blog.  The size of the text used for a tag indicates its relative frequency of use.  You can click on any tag to display all of the posts that use it.

The categories and tags should help you to quickly find old posts that are of interest.  I hope you enjoy these enhanced features.  As always, let me know what you think.

My Final Playlist Candidate #3 – I Don’t Even Know Myself

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on September 8, 2012
Posted in: My Final Playlist. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

So the bottom line is this….. no one, I repeat no one, really knows me.  People know what I let them know and there is a lot that I don’t let anyone know.   Sometimes I discover things about myself that even I didn’t know. (Maybe everyone is like that but it is not something that I have ever discussed with anyone else.)  Based on this, the last thing that I want people doing at my funeral is telling stories and acting like they know the real me.

I am pretty sure that Pete Townshend shares my feelings on this topic based on today’s candidate song for “My Final Playlist”.  I Don’t Even Know Myself was originally written by Pete for the the abandoned Lifehouse project.  Unlike many of the other Lifehouse songs, I Don’t Even Know Myself did not make it onto the Who’s Next album.  It was; however, released as the B-Side of the Won’t Get Fooled Again single and has been included on many of the deluxe reissues of Who’s Next.

My favorite version of the song, and the one that is a candidate for “My Final Playlist”, is Pete’s demo version that he recorded in advance of the Who Lifehouse sessions.   Let’s listen…..

The key message of the song, for my purposes, is captured by Pete in this line:

Please don’t pretend that you know me, cause I don’t even know myself

Pete posed a question on the Quadrophenia album…..”Can you see the real me, can you, can you?”   I think this was merely rhetorical, Pete already had the answer based I Don’t Even Know Myself .

As always, let me know what you think.

To close this post I want to share an incredible live performance of I Don’t Even Know Myself by the original Who in all of their splendor.  Looney Mooney, in particular, was in fine form for this performance.

The best rock group of all time?  After watching this performance I dare you to say NO……….

Friday Word of the Week #8 – September

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on September 7, 2012
Posted in: Word Of The Week. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

I don’t know what September is like in the rest of the world but here in Alabama it represents the beginnings of the transition from Summer to Fall.  The temperatures start to moderate a little, the humidity level goes down, and if we are lucky there will be a few cool mornings when there is a nip in the air.  All in all it is normally a great month so let’s celebrate it today.

Here are my favorite “September” songs…..as always, let me know what you think and what your favorites are.

Once again there is something here for everyone.  Enjoy your weekend!

Personal Note:  Billie Joe Armstrong get well soon!

This Much I Do Know

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on September 7, 2012
Posted in: Politics. Leave a comment

Last night I witnessed something amazing when former President Bill Clinton gave a 50 minutes speech nominating President Obama for a second term as President.  This wasn’t just any old run of the mill speech…. this speech was:

  • An amazing point by point refutation of each of the lies that the Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the Republicans have been telling
  • A well constructed case for why President Obama deserves a second term
  • An amazing performance by a great, but admittedly flawed, American legend

Let’s listen….

So….I don’t know if President Obama will win a second term as president (even though I firmly believe that he deserves one).

This much I do know….Bill Clinton laid out a clear, irrefutable, and factual case, in non-technical terms, for all Americans to hear.  If the American people were not listening, or were too stupid to understand, they are going to get exactly what they deserve and it won’t be pretty!

America…what is it going to be?

RIP Joe South

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on September 7, 2012
Posted in: RIP. Tagged: . Leave a comment

I was sad to hear that Joe South unexpectedly passed away today.  He was a great singer and songwriter.  Let’s listen to him singing his biggest hit from 1969…..

Here is my favorite Joe South song….which Billy Joe Royal had a big hit with in 1965.  Let’s listen to Billy Joe.

As a songwriter, Joe South was very socially conscious and I really respect that about him.   We will miss you Joe!