There's a reason I'm posting this today, and it has to do with Friday's post.
A cover of this song by the Breeders, produced by J Mascis, appeared on the Head to Toe EP. When I sat back and thought about this, I laughed heartily.
Why?
"The Freed Pig" , in its original form, is a song from Sebadoh's 1991 album "III" that was directed towards J Mascis, the frontman of Dinosaur Jr., a band that Lou Barlow, the founder of Sebadoh, was previously a part of. The song's lyrics were meant to be a biting commentary on the strained relationship between Barlow and Mascis, and their musical and personal differences.
The song's opening lines, "You were right, I was battling you, trying to prove myself," reflect Barlow's feelings of frustration and insecurity in his relationship with Mascis. The lyrics, "I tried to bury you with guilt; I wanted to prove you wrong," suggest a sense of resentment towards Mascis, who had a dominant presence in Dinosaur Jr.
Throughout the song, Barlow's lyrics continue to express a mix of anger and vulnerability. The lines, "I'm self-righteous, but never right, so laid back, but so uptight," highlight the contradictions in his personality, while the chorus, with its repeated line "Now you will be free," suggests a sense of liberation from the constraints of his relationship with Mascis.
The song itself is a lo-fi classic. Barlow delivers the vocals over fuzzy guitar with a bit of detachment (it had been a few years) and that's kind of the point.
I don't like doing special edition posts. I do them because someone has passed away.
In this case, it's Luscious Jackson songwriter, keyboardist and mostly backup vocalist Vivian Trimble, who passed on April 4th after a long battle with cancer.
First off, that's sad, and my thoughts go out to her family and loved ones. Cancer is terrible and she was only 59 - far too young.
The loss goes beyond her family, too - she was a fantastic musician. Trimble's ability to seamlessly blend different genres and experiment with different sounds made her a sought-after collaborator and producer, with her work being featured on projects by artists such as Kate Pierson, the Black Keys, and David Byrne.
Trimble's musical prowess aside, she was also a vocal advocate for women in the music industry. Trimble's commitment to empowering women in music and amplifying their voices was a testament to her character and her commitment to making a difference.
Second, this isn't a Luscious Jackson song, but rather, a song from her side projects with Luscious Jackson bandmate Jill Cuniff, Kostars. The other members of Luscious Jackson do also appear on the project, which was recorded at Kate Schellenbach's home studio along with the rest of the Klassics With a "K" album.
Cowritten by Trimble and Cuniff, "Red Umbrella" is a beautiful and heartbreaking song that will resonate with anyone who has ever loved and lost. It's a testament to the power of music to evoke emotions and memories, and a reminder that even in heartbreak, there is still beauty to be found. Strongly featuring Trimble's vocals, it serves as a reminder of what we as fans are going to miss.
You know, they had more songs than "Cannonball", right?
This was the single that came two singles later, the last issued off the Last Splash album. Weirdly, though, it's a different take of the song - not the album version. This version and its key shift are aligned with their live versions of the song.
You could say this was the first single released from the Head To Toe EP, which included this version.
In both versions of the song, the instrumental arrangement is minimal and fuzzy. This version, produced by J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr., is in a better register for Kim Deal's gravely delivery and the background vocals of Kelley Deal and Josephine Wiggs.
The song received fairly solid airplay on alternative radio.
Today, we talk about s a song that tells the story of the chaotic adventures of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. From getting marriedm to dealing with the media's unrelenting scrutiny, the song covers a lot of ground. It's a tale of two people deeply in love, doing whatever it takes to be together. And as a bonus, it's kind of a fun song.
The song starts with John lamenting the fact that he and his beloved Yoko can't seem to catch a break. They're constantly in the public eye, and everyone seems to have an opinion about their relationship. But despite the criticism, John and Yoko remain steadfast in their love for each other.
One of the standout lines in the song is "Christ, you know it ain't easy / You know how hard it can be / The way things are going / They're gonna crucify me." It's a tongue-in-cheek reference, comparing John and Yoko's relationship to that of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The media had a field day with that one.
But despite the scrutiny, John and Yoko remained devoted to each other. They even got married in Gibraltar, much to the surprise of their fans and the media. In the song, John sings about the couple's trip to Paris and their attempts to find a place to stay. "Finally made the plane into Paris / Honeymooning down by the Seine / Peter Brown called to say / 'You can make it okay, you can get married in Gibraltar near Spain.'" Of course, the line about Peter Brown is a reference to the Beatles' assistant of the same name. Peter helped John and Yoko navigate the logistics of getting married in Gibraltar, and it's clear that John was grateful for his help.
The Ballad of John and Yoko is a song that celebrates love in all its messy, complicated glory. It's a reminder that even when the world seems to be against you, love can conquer all. And it's also a reminder that even the Beatles had their fair share of drama.
It's worth noting that The Ballad of John and Yoko was recorded by only two Beatles: John Lennon and Paul McCartney. George Harrison and Ringo Starr were either on vacation or working on other projects. But John and Paul didn't let that stop them from creating a hit song. It was released as a single on May 30, 1969, and quickly climbed the charts. The song reached number one in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and several other countries. In the United States, it peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.
Although the song only featured John and Paul, Ringo and George DO appear with them in the video, playing instruments. It would be the last single on which all four Beatles would appear together.
This is probably the longest single music video we've ever posted here. But it's worth it.
Bad Bunny is arguably the biggest star to come out of Puerto Rico in a generation, and he's very proud and very defensive of his roots and his home. HIs reggaeton-infused music has made him an international superstar. He uses his huge platform for good - highlighting issues that are plaguing Puerto Rico.
One of the biggest issues that has plagued Puerto Rico over the last decade has been the weakness of their power grid. LUMA Energy, the company that primarily controls the grid that took over the grid in 2021 from the government for $115 million, has been under fire for mismanaging exactly that. A joint venture between Texas company Quanta Services and Alberta company ATCO for the express purpose of managing and improving the grid, it serves the further benefit for those two companies of being a tax shelter, as it was established as a result of Act 22 of 2012, which exempts external investors from taxation on passive income. LUMA is by far not the only beneficiary of Act 22, as a lot of real estate investors are also injecting their money into the territory and displacing residents.
So, you're thinking, "Well, that paragraph was quite the left turn. What the hell does that have to do with reggaeton?"
"El Apagón" literally translates to "The Blackout". 53 seconds into this video for his song, you are introduced to a 20-minute documentary on LUMA Energy and Act 22 - and it's really, really well done. The reporter, Bianca Graulau, is eloquent and well-researched, and passionate about the subject.- she does a LOT more videos on her YouTube channel, on both the power grid and Act 22, as well as other issues that impact Puerto Rico (and, also, interestingly, Hawaii, which has a similar history of United States colonization).
I encourage you to watch this video. If you don't know Spanish, turn captions on - it has English subtitiles. Also, please go check out Bianca Graulau's other videos, many of them in English, as they give a lot more detail than this video can.
I am going to talk about the music, but talking about that video first was important.
Lyrically, the song is typically boastful - he talks about how he is a particular fan of the Puerto Rican variety of a particular body part only found on a woman, but in a somewhat vulgar manner ("Me gusta la chocha de Puerto Rico") - but it's also a fun song, incorporating pop and trap sounds in with the reggaeton. It's a song that expresses pride about Puerto Rico - about being proud of his homeland. It's NOT the political song you think it is - but he DID use the title and song to suck people into a bigger message.
Gabriela Berlingeri, his former girlfriend, provides the outro song, which is a pure pop contrast. She's not a famous musician in her own right (although she has worked on several of Bad Bunny's song, including recording reference vocals for Jennifer Lopez on another song) - and the selection of her as a singer here is by design and not just because Bad Bunny and her had adopted a puppy together - but she, just a citizen, sings passionately about HER homeland.
If you think Prince sounds a little squeakier than usual, you're right - he's using a sped-up voice on the recording of this song. You see, Prince recorded an album in 1986 as an artist named Camille - with sped-up vocals feminizing his voice. It was never released (although it looks like it is getting a release, possibly as part of a Sign O' The Times rerelease), but he still had the technology and used it on this song, which he DID release.
The song went to #2 on the US pop charts and ended up being a worldwide hit, immortalizing the World Series of Love. By the way, the year this was released, 1987, the World Series came to Minneapolis, Prince's hometown.
City Girls went looking for the best twerker in the world, and at the end of this video, I think you see they found the best twerker in the world. There's a lot of ass shaking that happens before you see the best ass shaker.
It's also a fun and naughty - not safe for work - song that ended up being a top 30 hit for the duo.
