Rolling Stones - "Waiting on a Friend"

Last month, jazz saxophone great Sonny Rollins died.  I'm not going to attempt to convey the depth and magnitude of classic LPs like "Saxophone Colossus", other than to point out that it was inducted in Library of Congress's National Recording Registry in 2016.  He is of additional personal interest to me because he was the last living artist from the iconic 1958 photograph "A Great Day in Harlem", and the film based on this photograph is what Danette and I saw on our second date, in Portsmouth, 1998.  I can't remember the exact venue, it may have been a church or community center -- it was not a standard movie theater as I recall.  I've looked online for more details, but records from 1998 are sparse.  

What does this have to do with The Rolling Stones?  Fun fact: Sonny Rollins plays saxophone on "Waiting on a Friend", the second single from their 1981 smash comeback LP, "Tattoo You".  I was 12 at the time, only sort of knew how important The Rolling Stones were, and certainly knew nothing of Sonny Rollins.  I recall how much I loved the sax from the early MTV video of this song, even though I would not learn that it was Sonny Rollins until a few years ago.  Another fun fact: "Tattoo You" is almost entirely constructed from studio leftovers and demos, and although this song came out in 1981, it was recorded in 1973 during the classic "Goats Heads Soup" sessions.   

Sonny Rollins is, well, a saxophone colossus, but "Waiting on a Friend" is pleasant surprise to his canon, and will always have a special place in my heart for all the reasons listed above.  

The Rolling Stones (with Sonny Rollins) - "Waiting on a Friend"

 

David Byrne - Tiny Desk Concert (2025-12-01)

We've recently seen David Byrne twice on his "Who is the Sky?" tour.  The first time was on September 27, 2025 in Washington DC, and the second was May 13, 2026 in Virginia Beach.  We enjoyed it so much, we'd happily see him a third time.  Combining the best elements of performance art and a marching band, the highly choreographed show is engaging and visually unlike any concert we've seen before. It's simultaneously minimalist and overwhelming, simple and complex.  

I've seen some full audience recordings of shows from this tour, but they get taken down pretty quickly.  In the mean time, enjoy the Tiny Desk Concert version of this show -- complete with all 13 (!) members in the studio!

The above photos are from the Anthem in DC, and the photos below are from the Dome in Virginia Beach. 

Bruce Springsteen - "Streets of Minneapolis"

Bruce Springsteen released the single "Streets of Minneapolis" earlier this week.   

Through the winter's ice and cold
Down Nicollet Avenue
A city aflame fought fire and ice
'Neath an occupier's boots
King Trump's private army from the DHS
Guns belted to their coats
Came to Minneapolis to enforce the law
Or so their story goes 

Against smoke and rubber bullets
In the dawn's early light
Citizens stood for justice
Their voices ringing through the night
And there were bloody footprints
Where mercy should have stood
And two dead, left to die on snow-filled streets
Alex Pretti and Renee Good 

Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Singing through the bloody mist
We'll take our stand for this land
And the stranger in our midst
Here in our home, they killed and roamed
In the winter of '26
We'll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis 

Trump's federal thugs beat up on
His face and his chest
Then we heard the gunshots
And Alex Pretti lay in the snow dead
Their claim was self-defense, sir
Just don't believe your eyes
It's our blood and bones
And these whistles and phones
Against Miller and Noem's dirty lies 

Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Crying through the bloody mist
We'll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis 

Now they say they're here to uphold the law
But they trample on our rights
If your skin is black or brown, my friend
You can be questioned or deported on sight
In our chants of "ICE out now"
Our city's heart and soul persists
Through broken glass and bloody tears
On the streets of Minneapolis 

Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Singing through the bloody mist
Here in our home, they killed and roamed
In the winter of '26
We'll take our stand for this land
And the stranger in our midst
We'll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis
We'll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis

Bruce has always been a populist, but his stories were encoded with the themes of Americana (e.g., "Badlands", "My Hometown", "Born in the USA"), which often caused casual listeners to focus on the story at the expense of the message.  Even "The Ghost of Tom Joad", which had been his most overtly political song, borrowed its frame from "The Grapes of Wrath".  

"Streets of Minneapolis" abandons all such conceits, and the message is raw and direct.  

"Streets of Minneapolis" -- studio, live 2026-01-30*

* bonus link: The live link above is from a 3 song set with Tom Morello, in which they also did "The Ghost of Tom Joad" and John Lennon's "Power to the People".  At the beginning of the set, he says "nuance is wonderful, but sometimes you need to kick them in the teeth."

Rage Against the Machine - "Freedom"

The militant poet in once again, check it
It’s set up like a deck of cards
They’re sending us to early graves
For all the diamonds
They’ll use a pair of clubs to beat the spades
With poetry I paint the pictures that hit
More like the murals that fit
Don’t turn away
Get in front of it 

Brotha, did ya forget ya name?
Did ya lose it on the wall
Playin’ tic-tac-toe? 

Yo, check the diagonal
Three brothers gone
Come on
Doesn’t that make it three in a row?

Anger is a gift

The fourth and final single from RATM's 1992 self-titled debut LP, "Freedom" is about AIM, but is sadly also relevant today.

Rage Against the Machine - "Freedom"

Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images

Grateful Dead - "Reckoning"

Bob Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead, died earlier this month.  And since I'm far behind on my posting, I'll just this entry to cover bassist and founding member Phil Lesh, who died just over a year ago, and vocalist and former member Donna Jean Godchaux (1972-1079), who died just a few months ago.  The only original and long-time members still alive are their two drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart (an inverse Spinal Tap, if you will). 

I liked them well enough, even though I was never the biggest Grateful Dead fan, but many of my friends were, and given the time and place of my birth, they were an ever present force in my cultural peer group.  Everyone I knew liked them to some degree or another; it was just a question of "how much" and not "if".  To that end, I have three personal stories from back in the day involving the Grateful Dead.  

The first was in High School (maybe early college? looking at this list, it could be any of the 1986--1989 shows) and involved standing in line at a music store to get wrist bands for the opportunity to stand in line to buy tickets for a Grateful Dead tickets.  Or maybe even a spinoff band, like the Jerry Garcia Band, or a Grateful Dead pseudonym, like The Warlocks.   The whole experience was arranged by someone more in the know than me (Robert Dempster?), but Muriel and I went along with Terry, Drew, and others and got the first stage wristbands.  They were designed so that you could not take them off, but we got them off anyway and were able to sell them for $20 or so.  Again, not for a ticket, but for a wrist band that would allow you the chance to buy a ticket.  Not a bad haul for an evening's work in the mid- or late-80s.  

The second story involves my inability to sync with Drew to see the Grateful Dead for one of their two 1992 shows in Hampton. I was graduated and working at NASA at the time, and Drew, still at UVA, had picked up an extra ticket and called me to say he was coming down and if I was interested in seeing the show.  I was absolutely was, and we made plans by phone several days before the show to meet by the fountain in the Hampton Coliseum parking lot.  We both knew the place and this would be an easy rendezvous point.  Unfortunately, because it was the Grateful Dead, they had "grately" expanded the perimeter with fencing, and the fountain was far inside the and given the crush of people, not in line of sight view.  I arrived at the appointed time, but with no means of communicating with Drew (no cell phones in 1992!), I just walked around the perimeter and then went home -- there really was nothing else that could be done.  I often tell this story to "younger" people who don't remember a time before cell phones -- synchronizing with your friends used to be difficult.  Jerry Garcia died in 1995, and I never had a chance to see the Grateful Dead again.  

The third and final story explains why I chose this LP to mark Bob Weir's passing.  I was at Terry's place at JMU, either late 1991 or early 1992, and we came back after partying all night (it may have been the same evening as the described in the "Cactusland" post).  He put on a tape of "Reckoning" as we drifted to sleep, and it was the perfect late evening listening, and I was touched by the beauty of the songs, especially "It Must Have Been The Roses".  Right before I passed out, I told Terry "I'm going to steal this tape."  And the next morning, I did just that.  I eventually bought the CD and returned the tape a couple of years later (he had completely forgotten the event), but this LP was my go to sleep music nearly every night that I lived in Seaford.  

Released in 1981, "Reckoning" was the acoustic live LP, with "Dead Set" as the electric companion released in the same year.  Judging the quality of Grateful Dead shows and ranking the versions of individual songs is far beyond my Dead expertise, but I've gathered that the 1980 shows that these tracks are selected from are considered exemplars of that era.  The CD version that I own has "Oh Babe, It Ain't No Lie" omitted, which is unfortunate because it's one of the better songs.  

Of course, hardcore fans listen to soundboard recordings of individual shows, not live LPs.  But this is a "grate" starting point for casual fans, and it's perfect for late night listening.  

Standout songs: I have a special affinity for the first five (CD) or six (tape) songs, after which I was generally asleep: "Dire Wolf", "The Race Is On",  "Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie", "It Must Have Been the Roses", "Dark Hollow",  "China Doll"

Skip 'em songs: "Monkey and the Engineer" (for me, this song breaks up the flow of CD/tape)

Final score: 9/10.  You can make this a 10/10 by deleting a couple of songs and adding back "Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie" 

Bonus links:

Merging my professional and personal interests, the Internet Archive hosts the definitive Grateful Dead archive.  Via the Internet Archive, here are some of the shows that were used to make "Reckoning":

• 1980-09-26 Warfield Theatre
• 1980-09-30 Warfield Theatre
• 1980-10-07 Warfield Theatre
• 1980-10-07 Warfield Theatre
• 1980-10-11 Warfield Theatre
• 1980-10-13 Warfield Theatre
• 1980-10-14 Warfield Theatre
• 1980-10-25 Radio City Music Hall
• 1980-10-26 Radio City Music Hall
• 1980-10-27 Radio City Music Hall
• 1980-10-30 Radio City Music Hall

The I would have made if cell phones existed in 1992: Grateful Dead at the Hampton Coliseum: 1992-03-05 (IA), 1992-03-06 (IA)

Otis Redding - (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay

Stax house band member and session guitarist extraordinaire Steve Cropper died this week.  Most people haven't heard of him, but he was instrumental in defining the "Memphis Soul" sound of the 1960s, and co-wrote or played on countless recordings, including decade-defining songs like "Knock on Wood", "In the Midnight Hour", "Soul Man", "Green Onions", and of course, "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay".  

Cropper was a musician's musician, revered for his feel, timing, and soul. Our friend Gregg Brooks told us of his meeting Cropper in 2004. When Gregg told Steve of his love of Al Jackson Jr., Steve showed Gregg one of Al's old kits that was still in the studio. 

Rolling Stone's "12 Essential Steve Cropper Songs" is a great review of his contributions, and had a few surprises for me, including Rod Stewart's "Tonight's the Night" and Big Star's cover of the Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale".  "Femme Fatale" is one of my favorite songs and I was tempted to use it for Cropper's passing, but upon further reflection, how could I pass up the universally beloved "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay"?

Otis Redding (and Steve Cropper) - "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay"

Bonus link: Big Star - "Femme Fatale" 

Jimmy Cliff - "Trapped"

Reggae superstar Jimmy Cliff passed last week.  I originally knew of him via Bruce Springsteen's cover of "Trapped", which started to get radio airplay when it was released on 1985's "We Are the World" soundtrack.  I always liked it, and it was later when I heard the original (1972) and learned that Bruce turned an otherwise triumphant song into a dirge (surprise!).

Much later I learned about the movie "The Harder They Come" (and soundtrack), and their influence on bands like the Clash.  

Although I'm not sure he was ever "popular" in the US, he was extremely influential on artists that are popular in the US.  Everyone knows about Bob Marley, but Jimmy Cliff is probably the second most influential Jamaican musician. 

Jimmy Cliff - "Trapped" (studio), "Trapped" (live on David Letterman) 

Bruce Springsteen - "Trapped" (live 1984)*

* I consider myself lucky that when we saw Bruce in DC in 2023, he performed "Trapped".  Drew & fam saw the previous show in Greensboro, and they got "Darlington County" instead; "Trapped" is a far better song. 

Sonic Youth - "I Love Her All the Time"

 

Happy Birthday Danette!

This year, I'm back to doing a song that makes me think of her, and not necessarily a song that she necessarily likes. "I Love Her All the Time" is an excellent song from Sonic Youth's often overlooked 1985 sophomore LP, "Bad Moon Rising".  It's a tour-de-force of the loud-soft-loud formula, with long periods of discordant chaos, followed by slow progression into tender movements, and then back again.  And although "manic pixie dream girl" has slightly negative connotations, the song captures the essence of Danette's (partial & positive) MPDG role, as in "wonder" and "awe", relative to me. 

As much as Kim Gordon is the epitome of cool, I actually enjoy Thurston Moore on lead vocals slightly more.   His conventional, almost soothing but still detached, vocal approach is a pleasing contrast to the guitar cacophony that he accompanies. 

She comes into my mind

Twisting through my nerves

I don't understand

A word she says

She's on my side

I love her all the time

I love her all the time

I love her all the time

I love her all the time

"I Love Her All the Time": studio version, from "Live in Brooklyn 2011" 

2025-10-27 update: I just learned about 1985's "Gila Monster Jamboree"; direct link to "I Love Her All the Time" and the full concert.  

Previous birthday songs:

2024: Devo - "Uncontrollable Urge"

2023: Brandi Carlile - "The Story" 
2022: Plastic Bertrand - "Ça plane pour moi" 
2021: Adam and the Ants - "Christian D'or" 
2020: Walk Off The Earth - "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall"
2019: Nicki Minaj - "Monster"
2018: Bear Hands - "Giants" 
2017: Alvvays - "Archie, Marry Me" 
2016: Molly Hatchet - "Flirtin' With Disaster" 
2015: Avett Brothers - "Kick Drum Heart"
2014: Ani DiFranco - "32 Flavors" 
2013: The Green Pajamas - "Kim the Waitress"
2012: The Cure - "High"
2011: Blink 182 - "Josie"
2010:  Dead Milkmen - "Punk Rock Girl"  

Neil Young - "Too Far Gone"

Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts, Richmond VA, 2025-08-10

Just over a month ago, Terry, Drew, Bill, Bill's son, and I went to see Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts at the new Allianz Amphitheater in Richmond. As much as I'm a big fan of his, this was the first time I had seen Neil Young.  I would have preferred to have seen him with Crazy Horse, but with Frank Sampedro now retired and Nils Lofgren currently out, I'm not sure it would have really been the same.  The Chrome Hearts played well enough, so I can't really complain. 

With someone like Neil Young, whose discography spans almost 60 years, choosing which songs to play, and not play, is always an issue.  His setlist in Richmond was good, and contained many of my favorites ("Cowgirl in the Sand", "Fuckin' Up", "Southern Man", "Like a Hurricane") and none of my least favorite  songs (e.g., "When You Dance I Can Really Love").  When I returned home, Danette asked an interesting question: "What song do you wish he had played?"  I've thought about it, and there were several candidates: "Over and Over", "Words", "Barstool Blues", "Down by the River", etc.  All great songs, to be sure, but I've finally decided that I would have liked to have heard "Too Far Gone".  

Apparently performed frequently in concert starting in 1976, a studio version did not appear until 1989's excellent "Freedom".  It's a song that I played often in college, since bittersweet, poignant, and captures the essence of a situationship that I first hinted at in my review of "American Weekend".  

"Too Far Gone": studio version, MTV Unplugged 1989* 

We had to sit in the mulch & bushes since the lawn was completely filled.

Terry can fall asleep anywhere, anytime. 

* I remember seeing this on TV in either 1990 or 1991. I thought it was on SNL, but I've just been able to verify that it was on MTV Unplugged. 

Ozzy Osbourne - "Mama, I'm Coming Home"

Ozzy Osbourne died last month, less than three weeks after his farewell concert in Birmingham.  Watching the performance on July 5, it seemed likely that this really was his last performance: although he sounded great, he performed seated and he was similarly always seated in the backstage scenes. 

It is nearly impossible to overstate the importance of Ozzy in the metal community in my HS years. Randy Roads had only been dead about a year (1982), and the Black Sabbath cannon and the first two Ozzy solo LPs were in high rotation on everyone's personal playlist. Even as the metal community divided over glam/hair metal vs. thrash/black metal, everyone loved Ozzy. 

Last month, as I listened to Ozzy do four songs from "Blizzard of Ozz", I was surprised at the wave of nostalgia I felt listening to "I Don't Know", "Mr. Crowley". and "Suicide Solution".  You still hear "Crazy Train" on the radio regularly, and I've continued to listen to Black Sabbath to this day, but it's been maybe 30-40 years since I've heard the others? Why don't I listen to these LPs more often?

To mark Ozzy's passing, I thought about reviewing either "Blizzard of Ozz" (better singles?) or "Diary of a Madman" (start-to-finish, a more solid LP?), but I'm not quite ready to revisit them. Instead, I'm going to highlight the fifth song last month's solo set, 1991's "Mama, I'm Coming Home".  To be honest, it's not even a favorite song of mine.  Ozzy arguably invented the metal ballad genre with 1972's "Changes", but I just never cared for this this one compared to, say, "Goodbye to Romance" or "So Tired".  But thematically, it's an obvious choice in retrospect, in part because Ozzy was clearly emotionally moved while singing it last month.  

It's safe to say, there will never be another Ozzy. 

"Mama, I'm Coming Home" -- studio, live (Back to the Beginning, July 2025; watch this version instead)

Bonus link: Drew made me aware of this great roots/Americana cover by Larkin Poe, from their 2020 LP "Kindred Spirits".  This version made me think that what I really don't like about Ozzy's version is the modish over-the-top production. 

Bonus fact: This is one of a handful of songs that Ozzy co-wrote with Lemmy. 

Black Sabbath - Live Aid (1985-07-13)

 

Black Sabbath, Live Aid rehearsal 1985

Last weekend, I did the pay-per-view for "Back to the Beginning", the farewell concert for Ozzy and Black Sabbath.  Artists often manage to have several "farewell" tours, with some of them lasting years, but with Ozzy's Parkinson's diagnosis, this really did feel like the last time we'll see the original four play together.  Given their activity and apparent good health, I suspect Tony and maybe Geezer will continue to be active, even if not as "Black Sabbath".

Ozzy is unable to stand and performed while seated in a "throne". Danette and I both noticed that there were several times where it was clear he wanted to get up and move around, but alas he could not.  Regardless, he sounded great, as good as ever in fact. It was also great that Bill participated, since contract disputes had prevented his involvement with their final studio LP and farewell tour.  

But this post isn't really about the "Back to the Beginning", it's really about the deja vu and nostalgia that I felt, watching a festival and waiting for Black Sabbath to play.  It was 40 years ago nearly to the day that Black Sabbath played in Philadelphia for Live Aid.  That was also a reunion of the original four members, albeit only six years out from the Ozzy leaving the first time in 1979.  

Still, I remember the anticipation of their brief reunion in 1985. I had the TV on, but was frequently in the back yard, doing something that I have long since forgotten.  I'd come in periodically and see who was playing, and then head back outside to the heat of July in Virginia -- not totally unlike last weekend. 

I was happy that my schedule allowed me to watch this concert last weekend -- and in 1985 as well.  It's hard to overstate the role of Black Sabbath in creating the genre of heavy metal, and I enjoy their music non-nostalgically and non-ironically even to this day.  

The video of their Live Aid performance is included below, but although this is the from the official Black Sabbath YouTube channel, the opening minute or so of "Children of the Grave" is cut off.  I'm also linking a Japanese feed, which is complete but has subtitles.  

Jag Panzer - "Ample Destruction"

Last fall, I attended "Nosferatu with Radiohead" at the Naro Cinema (the local art house theater).  It was excellent, and it reminded me of how fun the word "N-o-s-f-e-r-a-t-u" is to say -- it just rolls off your tongue. Then I was reminded of a HS-era metal song that incorporated "Nosferatu" into the lyrics, and then I disappeared into a rabbit hole digging up an LP I probably haven't listened to in over 30 years.  After some digging through the haze and cobwebs of time, I was able to remember the song, LP, and band. 

Courtesy of Scott, I had a taped copy of Jag Panzer's 1984 debut LP "Ample Destruction".  Taping each other's LPs is how we could build a large music collection without having $$$ (a tremendous amount of our HS budget went to music, in a way that "the kids today could not understand", but that's a discussion for another time).  What I didn't realize some 40 years ago is how rare "Ample Destruction" was; this was only revealed after reading some of the reviews at Encylopaedia Metallum.  It wasn't a complete surprise, since Scott was (and still is) the most plugged in person to the metal scene that I personally know.  

Combining the best -- and worst! -- parts of Judas Priest, Mercyful Fate, and Manowar, "Ample Destruction" is a perfect blend of NWOBHM and the emerging Power Metal scene of 1984.  With the LP title itself,  the mispronounced/misspelled WWII "tank destroyer" (Jagdpanzer) reference, and song titles like "Symphony of Terror", "Harder Than Steel", "The Watching", and "Reign of The Tyrants", the LP is 3 parts teenage awesomeness and 1 part unintentional Spinal Tap.  

It's not really possible for me to listen to this LP in 2025 and be completely removed the nostalgia from 40 years ago, but I'm still pretty sure this is an objectively great LP.  Listening to it makes me feel like a teenager again. And to be fair, I think all of them were still teenagers when they made recorded this LP.  Conklin's vocals are distinctive and powerful (far better than King Diamond, as far as I'm concerned), the music is legitimately good, and they earnestly commit to the bit. You really can't ask for more. 

Stand out tracks: All are good, but my favorites include: "License to Kill", "Symphony of Terror", "Reign of the Tyrants", "The Crucifix".  

Skip 'em tracks: none.

Final score: 9/10.  I probably would have gone 10/10 back in the day, but I'm trying to account for my nostalgia lens.

Bonus links: the 1983 four song EP "Tyrants" (sometimes self-titled), which is included in some reissues of "Ample Destruction". 

Pat Benatar - "Promises in the Dark"

 

We saw Pat Benatar at the Beach about two weeks ago at a brand new venue called The Dome.  They had only had the first concert earlier that week.  The facility was nice, if a bit soulless because it was brand new. A lot of our concerts lately have been at places like The Birchmere in Alexandria, and the Warner Theater in DC.  The setlist on May 7, 2025 was pretty similar to the show at the Warner almost a year ago, but at the Beach they did the song "Precious Time", the title track from their 1981 LP.  

It's an excellent song, and not one that they often do, so I was pretty excited to hear that night. I was going to blog about that song, but then realized I blogged about it seven years ago.  Since "Precious Time" was never released as a single, but it was the B-side to the "Promises in the Dark" single, this post is then about the A-side. "Promises in the Dark" is an excellent song, still a concert staple, and the was in high rotation on MTV back in the day. And yes, Neil still counts off "1-2-3-4" coming out of the break.

Pat Benatar - "Promises in the Dark", "Precious Time": both songs feature Neil Giraldo's finest guitar work.

What a terrible pic ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

The marquee changed right as I snapped the pic; we were racing to beat the crowd out of the parking deck and did not pause to wait for "Benatar Giraldo" to cycle back around, 

Explosions in the Sky - Live at the 9:30 Club 2016-05-19

 

Another recommendation I make on a regular basis is this full concert, courtesy of NPR, of Explosions in the Sky.  I saw them at the Norva in Norfolk on May 17, 2016, and this professional, multi-camera shoot at the 9:30 Club open May 19, 2016 is basically the same show.  The only difference is that Norfolk got "Infinite Orbit" as the 5th song, and DC got "The Ecstatics".  

I've blogged about EITS before, and my 2010 review of "Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever" gives a more in-depth description of their aesthetic.  In addition to the influences I listed then, I'd now add shoegazing, as well as Sonic Youth and "Lesson No. 1" era Glenn Branca. 

The show should really be consumed as single, 84 minute experience. But if you don't have 84 minutes, I'd say "Greet Death" and "The Birth and Death of the Day" are highlights.  

That night at the Norva, I was moved, transformed even.  A YouTube video can't even begin to capture the live experience, but I hope this will give you insight into what I felt that night.  

Sleep - "Dopesmoker"

 

Danette is on a two week cruise with her mother and friends, so in her absence I have resumed what is now a tradition when she's gone: listening to Sleep's "Dopesmoker" on repeat while doing things around the house. This is an LP I've recommended to many friends and colleagues now, so I guess I should blog about it. 

Sleep is a stoner/doom band from California, and I'm not 100% certain how I first heard of them.  They're in the same circle as Earth and Sunn O))), so perhaps I learned of them from Butch.  Or maybe I just read about them online -- it's all appropriately fuzzy, given the cannabis connection.  

The story of this LP is a little bit complicated.  Recorded in 1996, their record label at the time did not want to release it because, among other things, the "album" is just an hour long single song.  In 1999, an unauthorized edited version of the LP was released as "Jerusalem", with six different tracks, all named "Jerusalem".  In 2003, a version was released as "Dopesmoker" with a single eponymous track, and in 2012 another version was released (the 2012 version on Southern Lord Records is the one I have).  

One of the best things about the doom metal genre is that they don't shy away from their Black Sabbath roots, and this LP is no exception. I mention this only because many bands seek to deny or obfuscate their influences, but doom metal is perhaps the only genre that can agree the canon is dominated by the first six Sabbath LPs. The production is cleaner and heavier at the same time (these production dimensions are often in conflict) than the early 70s Sabbath, but the through line from "Master of Reality" to "Dopesmoker" is obvious. 

So yeah, slow, plodding, detuned guitars are what you get. There are vocals, and they're borderline Cookie Monster, but not distractingly so.  They do obscure the lyrics, which is fortunate because apparently there's a story about the "Weedians" or some such; I've made it a point to not look up the lyrics because I'm sure they'd only disappoint.  Cisneros's voice works well as another instrument, and exactly what he's saying isn't important.

Regardless, it all comes together in a hazy, hypnotic, slowly evolving repetitive swirl that has to be considered a high point of the genre.  Despite, or perhaps because, being a single hour track, it holds up to listening to it on repeat all afternoon.*

Standout tracks: "Dopesmoker" 

Skip 'em tracks: The 2012 release comes with a bonus live version of "Holy Mountain", which is not necessarily bad, but clearly doesn't not fit the original artistic vision of the LP itself. 

Score: 10/10. Again, it's absolutely central to the genre, but before you listen, you've got to buy into the conceit of a single track that's 63 minutes long. 

* "Repeat all afternoon" works best when your spouse is not home.

The Spaniels - "Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite"

My mother died last month, after a lengthy battle with cancer.  That event is mostly beyond the scope of this blog, but in my eulogy I mentioned the 1954 hit "Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite" by The Spaniels. When I was young, she used to sing this song to me when it was time for me to go to bed.  It wasn't until much later in life, presumably I was an adult, that I realized this song was an actual song from her youth and not a song that she made up to shepherd me into bedtime. It's a perfectly fine doo-wop song, but for me it will always be associated with my mother and my childhood bedtime. 

The Spaniels - "Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite".  

The Four Seasons - "Beggin'"

 

I often think about the fact that most people stop listening to new music in their 30s.  I realize that partially applies to me too, but I do make an effort to listen to new music with an open mind.  So when I hear something new on the radio and like it, I have a moment of self-congratulation.  

This happened recently when I heard a song on 96X I didn't recognize but quite liked. Shazam told me it was "Beggin'" by Maneskin, and I was feeling pretty happy with myself for "discovering" a new song.  When I got home and did some digging, I realized:

• The song came out in 2017, on their debut EP "Chosen", and at seven years old, I'm not sure it still qualifies as "new". 
• Upon reflection, it occurred to me that the arrangement borrowed heavily from the Violent Femme's "Add It Up" (1983).  
• And finally, I realized it was a cover of the 1967 song by the Four Seasons.  

As a big fan of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, I was disappointed that I did not immediately recognize it.  Although it was not one of their major hits, Frankie Valli even performed "Beggin'" when we saw him at Chrysler Hall in 2022.  In my defense, Maneskin does a great cover with the arrangement sounding more like the Violent Femmes than the Four Seasons.  

So the self-satisfaction of being open minded enough to take in new music evaporated, but I was left with a new-ish cover, arranged in a classic, college-alternative 1980s idiom.  Still good stuff.

Maneskin - "Beggin'"

Violent Femmes - "Add It Up"

The Four Seasons - "Beggin'" 

PS -- At about the same time, I heard on 96X "Sad in Carolina" by Dexter and the Moonrocks -- an actual new song that's great.

Bonnie Raitt - "I Can't Make You Love Me"

 

Danette, Bonnie, and I saw Bonnie Raitt at Chrysler Hall on November 16 (for some reason, there's no entry at setlist.fm).  Just days after her 75th birthday, she still had a big, strong voice, played guitar with authority, and in general gave a great show.  Her first encore was her top-20 single, "I Can't Make You Love Me", from her 1991 LP "Luck of the Draw".  A surprise treat for us was that Williamsburg's own Bruce Hornsby came out and joined her for that song; I did not realize he played on the studio version of that song back in the day.  Listening to it now, it's very clear that it's him playing piano, but if I ever knew this, I had forgotten.  

Each of her shows is apparently a little bit different: for example, Roanoke was treated to her covering "Need You Tonight" and "Burning Down the House".  I would have loved to have seen those, but we'll be happy with Bruce Hornsby as a guest.

Bonnie Raitt - "I Can't Make You Love Me"

Bonnie Raitt & Band plus Bruce Hornsby, 2024-11-16

The B-52s - Live on SNL (1980-01-26)

 

We saw the B-52s on Halloween night at The Anthem in DC.  We had not seen them before, and given their ages (e.g., Kate is 76), there are surely not many chances left to catch them live.  They gave an objectively great show, even accounting for the fact that it's not 1980 anymore...

Speaking of 1980, Danette often talks about the time she first head the B-52s: their appearance on Saturday Night Live on January 26, 1980.  She would have been 13 at the time, the most impressionable and formative time for receiving new music.  She describes the scenario of digging their kitsch aesthetic and sound, and her father coming in and saying something to the effect of "what is this? this isn't music!" Her father, a musician himself and a very "serious" jazz aficionado, had just unwittingly given the indirect approval that every teenager desires.  She was a B-52s fan from that moment on, as were most of the freaks and geeks of our generation (even before their "comeback" LP "Cosmic Thing", recorded after the death of Ricky Wilson).

Danette enjoyed the show, but was a bit sad that they did not do "Quiche Lorraine" or "Strobe Light" (both from their second LP, 1980's "Wild Planet").  We had a discussion afterwards where I think we finally agreed that while those two songs were popular in her HS circle, they were not broadly popular. 

The SNL performance is regularly deleted from YouTube, so the two songs here are sourced from Facebook and TikTok (we'll see how long they stay up).  It's hard to imagine back to 1980 and understand how irreverent, fun, and fresh this sound was.

SNL, January 26, 1980: "Dance This Mess Around", "Rock Lobster" (both from their self-titled debut LP) (Trivia: the host for that episode was Teri Garr, who died two days before we saw them on Halloween.) 

Pics from October 31, 2024: