14 April 2023 - The East Pointers & Vishtèn - Miraculous Meals

You're probably wondering why I'm sharing March content in April.  

There's two reasons for that.  First, I didn't know what to do with this song, which isn't officially released, and I have no songwriting or recording information about this song.  I just know this recording, which is amazing, which brings me to the second reason, and that is that the music and the story behind the genesis of this song was far too cool to make you wait 11 months to hear it.

The East Pointers & Vishtèn are bands with a lot of things in common.  

They are both folk groups that were originally trios.

They're both from Prince Edward Island and have known each other for decades, since childhood - in fact, The East Pointers recorded their first EP in the living room of two members of Vishtèn - the very same room that the video below was recorded.

And, each has a member that's passed away tragically in the last year or so - each a sibling of another member of the group, and in the case of Vishtèn, also a partner - Pastelle LeBlanc.  We spoke about Koady Chiasson last month. Pastelle passed away at age 42 of breast cancer.  

Cancer sucks, people.  

In the memories of Koady Chaisson and Pastelle LeBlanc, the four surviving members of these two groups got together in Pastelle and Pascal Miousse's living room and made some uplifting, beautiful music.  

Will the four of them get together and make a superband?  Was this a one-off?  No one knows that today except the four people making these beatiful sounds, but I hope the music helped to heal them, at least part-way.

Yes, I have a Vishtèn post queued up for next March.  Don't fret.

13 April 2023 - Dua Lipa - Break My Heart

I don't like lying to my readers, so I'm going to be upfront.

I use Wikipedia for a lot of my research.

And this song, by Wikipedia, is described as "a retro-futuristic dance-pop and disco-funk song with elements of house and 1980s music that is set to a Europop beat."  Which, really, is a pretty accurate description.  

Here's something else WIkipedia taught me.  The song was written by Dua Lipa, Melissa Webb, Andrew Wotman, Ali Tamposi, Stefan Johnson, Jordan K. Johnson..... Andrew Farriss? Michael Hutchence?  How did Dua Lipa collaborate with someone who died when she was 2?

It turns out that the songwriting team - minus Farris and Hutchence -wrote this song feverishly, and immediately recorded and produced it.  Then, they all played it back, and once they heard the bassline from "Need You Tonight" clearly, they knew what they had to do - credit the songwriters and give INXS a publishing credit.  

Which Andrew Farriss very much appreciated.  

But, despite the obvious influence, this song isn't "Need You Tonight".  It IS a bold song about a woman questioning her choices in men, and it is a poppy gem.  Surprisingly, despite being one of her best known songs worldwide - topping charts worldwide - it didn't quite crack the Top 10 in the states.  

11 April 2023 - Laura Cantrell - Just Like A Rose

It's been a while since we featured Laura Cantrell.  

Nine years, in fact - which is the last time she released music.

This is her new single.  It is the best single released this year by a former vice president of equity research for Bank of America (a job she left in 2000 - this is true). Toiling for more than 20 years in the music industry, she has achieved a lot of critical acclaim and deserves a lot more than that.  

Her new album, Just Like A Rose: The Anniversary Sessions, celebrating her more than 20 years of work, comes out in June.  It is almost guaranteed to be great.  The first single, the title song from that album, is here.  

10 April 2023 - Sebadoh - The Freed Pig

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.  

7 April 2022 (Special Edition) - Kostars - Red Umbrella

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.

7 April 2023 - The Breeders - Saints

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.  

 

In contrast, here is the album version.

6 April 2023 - The Beatles - The Ballad Of John And Yoko

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.