I’m trying to figure out why I hate Bob Seger. For some reason, I woke up this morning with “Against the Wind” stuck in my head, which has prompted this re-evaluation. Ever since I’ve been alive, Seger’s been a part of my life and all over the radio. I’ve been inundated with his so-called Silver Bullet Band from the time I was a small child because my parents like him. And while he projects a really cool imagine, I think his most beloved songs–like “Rock And Roll Never Forgets” (his lame spelling of rock ‘n roll, not mine) is about as cool as “You’re Momma Don’t Dance” by Loggins and Messina. That’s not very cool.
Seger’s particular brand of blue-collar “heartland” rock has never really been my bag, but he has always struck me as sincere. More sincere than many other musicians in this category—I’m looking at you John Cougar Mellencamp. Seger’s a Detroit man and his affection for Motown is evident in his music, which is pretty damn cool for a white guy so he has that going for him. Now that I think about it, other than “Rock And Roll Never Forgets” the only other song of his that I absolutely can’t stand is “Old Time Rock and Roll.” And that’s probably due to a mix of it being overplayed and the fact that songs about rock ‘n roll tend to be lame.
I really like “Night Moves,” “Fire Down Below,” “Mainstreet,” and “Beautiful Loser.” There’s a live cut of his song “Katmandu” that I hear on the classic rock radio way too much that I alternate between loving and hating. Really when I step back and think about it, my problem isn’t with Seger, it’s with the people who have been programming classic rock radio for the past 25 years. As I’ve been writing this, I’ve been listening to NIGHT MOVES via YouTube (why Bobby, won’t you add your music to Spotify?) and I actually really dig the deeper cuts of the album. Turns out I probably don’t hate Bob Seger. He still reminds me of my Dad a little too much and his backing band has a name that makes me think of crappy beer…but overall I guess I really am a Bob Seger fan.
The moral of this story is: take time every now and then to ponder why you don’t (or do) like something. Take it apart and if your dislike makes sense, then fine. But if not…you’re just being an asshole.
One of my most popular posts is an article I wrote about singer Robin Zander’s mysterious country-ish solo album. That record, COUNTRYSIDE BLVD, is a solid effort from one of rock’s more interesting frontmen (Zander is the lead singer of Cheap Trick). I wouldn’t call it great, but it’s pleasant enough, and yet people will not stop contacting me about this record. So what’s so special about COUNTRYSIDE BLVD? Well, due to murky record label shenanigans, the album has never been properly released.
Dear DREAM POLICE: What is under that hat?
Well, that’s not true…the album has been released on a variety of digital music platforms (like Amazon’s music store) only to be yanked down time and again after being available for only a few hours. Thus, 99.99% of Zander’s fans have only heard the album in pieces or through bootleg copies. It was recently announced on Zander’s (amazingly cartoonish) website that a live album of this material is going to be released…soon. How strange is that? A live album coming out when the proper album is not? Clearly this is case is a textbook, quintessential, case of the darkside of the record industry/music biz if there was one.
I am literally speechless. SOURCE: RobinZanderband.com
I acquired a copy of the album (digitally, natch) through a hardcore Cheap Trick fan/podcaster who shall remain nameless. I don’t approve to illegal downloading, after all I’m the rube who buys CD’s and pays for Spotify (well, I used to at least, till my finances took a tumble when I relocated). That said, when something is not made available for the public to buy, I don’t have problem with file sharing. That said, if you download this album from me and it somehow sees the light of day, please buy it. Robin Zander needs all the money he can get to hide that receding hairline.
One the of great properties of music is its ability to serve as a sort of emotional shorthand. Songs about love or loss allow us to experience these feelings vicariously while also drawing upon our own pool of half-buried emotion. Songs can have personal connections to us, but what I’m talking about are the broader, surface-level connections that we all feel to some degree. Every time you hear Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer” you don’t get a knot in your stomach thinking about a dark-haired girl I knew in 8th grade. But when we all hear The Beatles “Something” or Billy Joel’s “Just The Way You Are” we all feel an approximation of the same thing.
This ability to instantly invoke feeling makes music the perfect complement to film and television shows that want to underscore and heighten their down dramatic moments. When used effectively, the results are memorable and wonderful. That said, there are some songs that are used a little too frequently in films/shows, turning a wonderful thing into a cheat, a lazy-shorthand for actual emotion. Worse, there are other uses of songs in various pop culture where, even when not overused, become so iconic that the song ceases to have a life outside this one specific use. For me, these songs are ruined. Perhaps ruined is too strong a word, but whenever a song becomes unlistenable without conjuring up residual cultural baggage that’s what it feels like to me. Ruined.
Don’t drop that thing on your head…
Here are some notable songs “ruined” by pop culture:
1. “Stuck in the Middle With You” by Stealers Wheel. Most casual music fans are probably under the impression that this is a Bob Dylan song. “Stuck in the Middle With You” feels like a Dylan song because the song was conceived as a spoof of Dylan. The song was released in 1972 and by 1973 reached all the way to #6 on the Billboard Music Charts. Songwriters Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan put out two more albums and then disbanded, with Rafferty going onto have moderate solo success including a hit with his 1978 song “Baker Street.” The song probably would have remained a curiosity/answer to a trivia question had director Quentin Tarantino not resurrected the song for his feature film debut Reservoir Dogs. The song took on a fresh, demonic connotation when Mr. Blonde, played by Michael Madsen, gleefully tortures a policeman while dancing to the track. Now 99.99% of people are unable to hear “Stuck in the Middle With You” without thinking about ears being lopped off.
2. “Gimmie Shelter” by The Rolling Stones. The first cut off the Stones 1969 classic LET IT BLEED, “Gimmie Shelter” is an epic tour de force. The song is notable for prominently featuring vocals from a non-Rolling Stone (singer Merry Clayton) and for tackling the Vietnam War, which was raging at the time. The song’s dark, seductive groove and “rape and murder” references make the song ideal for use in films with violent content. So not surprisingly, the the song has been used in countless cops ‘n robbers shows and films. I also think it’s impossible to make a film about the Vietnam War without using this and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son.” But the person who really ruined this song was director Martin Scorsese who has used it in not one, but three films: Goodfellas, Casino, and The Departed. It’s a great song, but it has been done to death. For a song about the horrors of the Vietnam War, I sure do think of garlic-breathed mobsters when I hear it…
3. “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel. Originally released in 1986, “In You Eyes” was the first song on the second side of Gabriel’s fifth solo album SO. Essentially a perfect time capsule of 1980’s pop, SO also famously featured the hits “Big Time” and “Sledgehammer.” At the time of the album’s release, “Sledgehammer” was the bigger hit due in part to a really cool stop-motion animated music video. But all that changed three years later when Cameron Crowe used the song in his teenage love story Say Anything… The song gained renewed attention and immortality when, near the film’s climax, John Cusack blasts the song from a boombox hoisted high over his head. I was but a babe when Say Anything… came out, so the nostalgia is a bit lost on me, but even I can’t hear Gabriel’s song without thinking of Cusack. The song’s been used over the years in similar context, but everybody is really just copying Crowe.
4. “All Along The Watchtower” by Bob Dylan but covered famously by Jimi Hendrix. Everybody agrees that Hendrix was a guitar god, and his cover of Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower” is an amazing interpretation (seriously, have you heard Dylan’s version?) but much like “Gimmie Shelter” the song has been co-opted by filmmakers who use the song as a kind of shorthand for “doing drugs in ‘Nam.” The song’s use in Forest Gump is the gold standard of such use (that film is probably one of the worst offenders when it comes to using music as lazy shorthand). The track’s overuse has reached the point of cliché, I actually laughed when I saw Zack Synder’s Watchmen film where the song’s use bordered on parody.
5. “Bad to the Bone” by George Thorogood & The Destroyers. The title track off the George Thorogood’s 1982 album, “Bad to the Bone” was not a hit. But within a few short years “Bad to the Bone” became the band’s most recognizable hit. How you ask? Because the song has been used countless time to telegraph to the audience that a certain character is a badass. Most famously the song was used in conjunction with Arnold Schwarzenegger in T2: Judgment Day when the muscular robot first dons his iconic black motorcycle jacket. “Bad to the Bone” was a kinda cool tough-guy song that has now been watered-down into a novelty song, thanks in part to it’s uber-level of machismo. Today the song is now mostly used in comedies in contrast with a particularly un-tough character (i.e. a loveable loser).
6. “What I Am” by Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians. The impetus for this list was the recent use of Edie Brickell’s 1988 one-hit wonder “What I Am” on HBO’s Girls. This season on the show, an ill-advised cover of the song that makes its way onto YouTube and haunts a particular character. I hadn’t thought about/heard this song in ages, but the day after I saw the first episode of Girls third season, I started noticing the song was on the radio more than in previous years. A catchy chorus and twisty, semi-thought provoking lyrics are now rendered meaningless thanks to the series. This is now a song about defeat and the soul-crushing reality that none of our dreams are going to come true. Thanks Girls.
There are countless other examples of song ruined by pop culture, Queen’s epic “Bohemian Rhapsody” was forever stamped by Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey in Wayne’s World as was “Sweet Home Alabama” in every movie to every take place in the South (or feature Southern characters). I’m sure just how ruined these songs are depends on your film/TV watching habits. I’m curious to hear what songs you the reader feel have been used to death or ruined by pop culture. Speak up in the comments section.
As I sit here, writing this post, I’m trapped indoors. Outside it’s cold and snowy, the murk of winter looms large. And yet, I’m in a sunny mood thanks to Ivy. Over the weekend I was out grocery shopping when I heard a familiar melody cascading from the store’s P.A. system. I removed my hat (it was covering my ears) and stood still for a moment so I could better hear the faint music. The lyrics were familiar, but the voice was unknown to me. Steely Dan’s “Only A Fool Would Say That” was being sung by a French woman with a beautifully delicate voice.
Regular readers of Defending Axl Rose know that I’m something of a Steely Dan nut, so I went home and did a quick search to see who did this ethereal cover. And that’s how I discovered Ivy. A trio consisting of Dominique Durand, Andy Chase, and Andy Schlesinger, the band’s been around since 1997. Schlesinger is best known as the pop-mastermind behind the That Thing You Do! soundtrack and the singer-songwriter of Fountains of Wayne. Ivy’s impressive pedigree doesn’t stop there, however, it turns out Smashing Pumpkins bassist James Iha has a habit of appearing on at least one track per Ivy album.
Ivy’s music is gentle, heartfelt, and shimmers with a breezy summer quality that has warmed this cold boy’s heart. I highly, highly recommend their album APARTMENT LIFE and their impressive, very eclectic covers album GUESTROOM (which contains the Steely Dan track).
Last month The Beatles American albums were re-issued in a large, expensive boxset. Back in 2009, when the remastered CD’s were issued, I gladly handed over my hard-earned currency for better packaging and most importantly, higher sound quality. While no doubt an opportunity to get my money again, the remastered Beatles albums gave me something I didn’t already have: better sound. The sound quality, especially on the first few albums was vastly superior. Rather than shitty fake stereo mixes, fans were given pure mono as God, and George Martin, had intended.
“All you need is ca$h”-The Rutles
These American re-issues are another story altogether. As far as I’m concerned, this is a disgusting money-grab with no redemptive quality for fans. The Beatles so-called American catalog exists because of corporate greed, which is the same motivating factor behind that bastardization’s re-issue. For those of you unfamiliar with what happened to the Fab Four’s albums in America, buckle-up because it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.
In 1963, after failing to break into the US, The Beatles were poised to finally conquer the Yankees. Capitol Records, the American counterpart to the band’s UK label EMI, was sitting on small pile of Beatle records. Rather than do the logical thing (i.e. issue the albums as they had been issued in England), Capitol decided to issue all new albums. Instead of releasing albums with 14 songs, as they’d done in England, The Beatles American albums were comprised of 12 songs. And instead of simply cutting the number of songs down, the songs were swapped around in a confusing jumble.
Another major issue was The Beatles singles. In England it was considered bad form to sell people one song twice, so any song issued as a single was never included on major albums. Thus, songs like “She Loves You” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand” were never included on any British Beatles album. Since this was not the practice in the US, Capitol Records reconfigured the American Beatle albums to include the band’s popular hit singles.
Further clouding the waters, a small independent label called Vee-Jay had the American rights to the band’s first album from 1963 to 1964. Vee-Jay got the rights to this material after Capitol Records initially passed on the Beatles in America. Thus, the band’s album PLEASE PLEASE ME was being circulated prior to Capitol’s involvement as INTRODUCING…THE BEATLES.
That’s how the American Beatles catalog got so messed up. This is how we got records like THE BEATLES IV which contains songs from BEATLES FOR SALE, HELP!, and music from the “Ticket To Ride” single. All of the Beatles records up to 1967’s SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEART’S CLUB BAND are a confusing mosaic of the band’s British output. The madness (mostly) ended with SGT. PEPPER due to the band’s insistence that their albums appear the same everywhere due to the artistic vision they had for that album’s concept.
The American albums became something of a footnote when they were abandoned completely in the 1980’s when the band’s albums were first put onto CD. Were American fans puzzled when the British albums were released digitally? I’m sure they were, but that was decades ago. In the meantime, people like myself grew up only knowing the proper British albums. Which brings me back to the American reissued albums: who is this supposed to appeal to? Who is supposed to be forking over their money for these? Older fans who might actually remember these albums have by now long adapted to the British releases. Younger fans have never known anything but the British albums. And at this juncture in history, I think it’s safe to say that the vast majority of Beatle fans who wish to own the band’s music already do…and anyone buying the band’s records for the first time would surely buy the recognizable, iconic, British albums.
It felt strange rebuying the albums in 2009, but at least I was getting something new with the improved fidelity. But let’s be honest, the 2009 remasters were a double-dip, plain and simple. So if the 2009 digital remasters, which I’d argue are worth the money, were a double-dip then these American reissued albums are a triple-dip. This is a product aimed squarely at the hardcore Beatle fan, the one that has to own everything with the band’s name on it. This is a product meant to be purchased and placed on a shelf still in it’s plastic wrap.
Perhaps if I had the money, and the inclination to continue hoarding physical media, I would fall into that camp/trap. But alas, an 800 mile-cross-country move has changed the way I look at money and the owning of material goods. With this American albums reissue, The Beatles have crossed over into the horrible George Lucas/Star Wars money-grab territory.
I’m a Beatles super-fan, I’ve owned multiple copies of each of these records. Hell, I’ve owned LET IT BE in four different formats (cassette tape, vinyl LP, original CD, remastered CD). But even as a superfan, I can see no reason to own these reissued American releases. I don’t need different, less-iconic artwork and a swapped around track listing. In short, I don’t need these albums. I never knew them and I don’t feel it necessary to start now.
This reissue ruffles my feathers because it smacks of desperation—the last act of a band with nothing left to sell me. But that’s not true, there is one thing I’d love to buy from The Beatles. One thing that I’ve never experienced that the band continues to deny me. I speak of the lost documentary Let It Be, the legendary film the band made while writing and recording LET IT BE the album. I’ve never seen this footage, largely because it captures the breakup of the band and paints the musicians in a less-than-favorable light.
I understand that I have capitalism to thank for my Beatles albums, and that their corporate masters have every right to keep selling the same material from now until doomsday. But I wish they’d exhaust the vaults completely before they just pump out the same material over and over.
There’s this “game” I like to play with my wife while we’re in the car involving the radio. She hates it so much. Basically, I grew up listening to so much “Classic Rock” that I can pretty much instantly identify the artist and song title of 99.999% of songs played on radio stations with a classic rock format. My wife, a casual music lover, hates it when I switch on the radio and ask: “Do you know who this is?” Sometimes I give her little clues, sometimes I don’t. Occasionally she’ll offer a few guesses before giving up, but most of the time she complains and says things like “I don’t like this game” or “Turn the radio off.”
I can’t help it. My mind is a catalogue overflowing with classic rock song/artist data. It’s actually pretty embarrassing considering all the other things I have trouble remembering (like my wedding anniversary). The only time that this information is useful is when we play bar trivia. And as I get old, I don’t do that nearly enough to justify all this useless knowledge.
Now that I’ve relocated to Colorado, I’ve had to cancel my paid Spotify subscription and navigate my new city’s radio stations. After trying a few out, I landed on a pretty good classic rock station that does a good job of playing hits while also spinning deeper album cuts. And while I’m shocked to learn that Red Hot Chili Peppers are now considered classic rock…I’ve been happy overall with my new radio station (99.5FM The Mountain in case you were wondering). There’s a DJ that does a mid-day segment called the classic rockresurrection where a song not typically played in rotation is spotlighted. I’ve heard a few of these, and while I might not have always known the exact song title, I always knew the artist.
Such nice lads, can you believe I’d never heard of them?
That is until last week. Last week I was totally 100% stumped by one of these resurrections—I couldn’t place the artist or the song title. It was vaguely familiar and from the production I could tell it was definitely recorded in the 1980’s. But I was shockingly stumped. Luckily for me, the Shazam app was able to quickly inform me that I was hearing “Beds Are Burning” by Midnight Oil. Unlike my wife, I actually get really excited whenever I hear an old song I don’t recognize. And I get twice as excited when I end up liking a song I’ve never heard before. So this week I’ve been listening to Midnight Oil’s 1987 album DIESEL AND DUST, which I’ve discovered is really, really good.
Moral of the story: I don’t know as much as I think I do and there’s nothing wrong with not knowing what’s always on the radio.
This week one of the biggest bands in rock history was added to Spotify. Yes, friends Led Zeppelin is available to stream! I worry that I talk about Spotify a bit too much, but it’s been a godsend for me. The ability to stream a wide swath of popular music has allowed me to dig deeper than I would if I had to go out and buy CD’s. I never was a fan of illegally downloading music, though I did dabble with that in the past.
Led Zeppelin being on Spotify makes me happy for two reasons. Firstly, I just moved and all my CD’s are packed away in boxes. Meaning I’ve been living a horrible Zep-free life. Now I can hop on my computer, or smartphone, and instantly be in Led Zeppelin nirvana. Secondly, having the band’s entire catalogue available at my fingertips will finally allow me to explore the band’s last two albums. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’ve never heard 1976’s PRESENCE or 1979’s swan song (pun intended) IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR. Sure, I’ve heard a few cuts of each album on the radio, but I’ve never heard them all the way through. It’s basically like I’ve got new Led Zeppelin to listen to!
A few years back, my local Best Buy had a mega-sale on Led Zeppelin albums and I snapped up everything up to PHYSICAL GRAFFITI. Why did I stop there? Well, even though the CD’s were dirt cheap, Mrs. Defending Axl Rose isn’t the biggest fan of my expansive CD collection…so I stopped where everyone said the band stopped being good. But as I sit here, typing this listening to IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR, I can assuredly tell you that Led Zeppelin were good all the way to the bitter end. Would I have had this epiphany without a streaming music service in my life? Probably, though it would have taken me years to work my way back to Zeppelin. If you’ve never fully explored the Led Zeppelin catalogue or if you’re an old-fan like me who haven’t listened to them in years, take some time and explore the band on Spotify.
My Top 10 Led Zeppelin Tracks (1969-1975)
1. “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” off LED ZEPPELIN III. This is my all-time favorite Zeppelin song. I love the homespun feel of this song, it’s like a campfire song…Led Zeppelin-style.
2. “Living Loving Maid [She’s Just A Woman]” off LED ZEPPELIN II. Repeat after me: love the riff. Killer, killer riff.
3. “The Ocean” off HOUSES OF THE HOLY. Have Robert Plant’s super-high vocals ever been higher? Every time I go to a concert and look back on the swell of faces I think of Plant singing to his “ocean.”
4. “Going To California” off LED ZEPPELIN IV. The entire fourth LED ZEPPELIN album is amazing (everyone knows that) but if I had to pick one song that I love the most from that record it would be “Going to California.” While the rest of the album rages, this song is the quite eye of the hurricane. The song gets bonus points for being about Joni Mitchell.
5. “Kashmir” off PHYSICAL GRAFFITI. A wonderfully weird, and powerfully heavy track. It’s a shame that most kids know it as “that Puff Daddy song.” *Shudder*
6. “Communication Breakdown” off LED ZEPPELIN. The first Led Zeppelin album is more blues-oriented than most people discovering the band after that fact might expect. But while Zeppelin might have pioneered hard rock/heavy metal, they really were just bluesmen. “Communication Breakdown” is a wonderful fusion of blues and hard rock the band would later use to dominate the world.
7. “Immigrant Song” off LED ZEPPELIN III. Elves and hobbits are nice, but it’s when Zeppelin sing about Vikings that my heart soars. Truly this song is the hammer of the gods.
8. “Hey Hey What Can I Do” B-Side to “Immigrant Song.” This is probably the least-known song on this list (and not currently available on Spotify) but man, do I love it.
9. “D’yer Mak’er” off HOUSES OF THE HOLY. Funky. This song is funky. It also features a great vocal performance from Page. Took me many years to learn that this song pokes fun of the way British people say “Jamaica.” Which of course explains the reggae-ish vibe the song has.
10. “Moby Dick” off LED ZEPPELIN II. Come to Led Zeppelin for the killer Jimmy Page riffs and the stellar Robert Plant vocals…stay for John Bonham’s drumming. Why on Earth don’t more drummers try to sound like Bonham? He’s the greatest rock drummer of all time. Period. The song starts with some fun guitar licks and then devolves into an extended drum solo. The genesis of the tune is that it began as something used during the live shows to give the rest of the band a break. “Moby Dick” on record is over 4 minutes long, but Bonham would sometimes play a ten minute version live.
One of the true joys of being obsessed with music is the endless hunt for one’s next favorite song. This chase for new bands and songs is what keeps me going. People think I actively seek out obscure bands and songs because I’m a snob—but really I just ran out of mainstream stuff. It’s rare that I’ll hear something on the radio and not know what I’m hearing. When it happens, I get really excited and I feel like a desert wanderer who has just spotted an oasis.
I was driving to work when I heard a song on the radio that I’d never heard before. It sounded like a live Bob Marley & The Wailers track. This was at 7:09am on the morning of September 27, 2013. I know this because I did what I always do when I hear something unknown: I took out my phone and used the Shazam app. Shazam is probably my all-time favorite app, it’s great because it saves nerds like me from falling in love with a song and then never getting to hear it again.
I used the app and Shazam tells me that the song is called “Hooligan” and is taken from an album titled ONE LOVE AT STUDIO ONE. This album contains some of the earliest Bob Marley material available, which explains why I vaguely recognized Marley’s vocals but not the song. I liked “Hooligan” so I went on Spotify to see if the track was available. The ONE LOVE AT STUDIO ONE album was not on Spotify, but “Hooligan” was available on a reggae compilation titled ORIGINAL SKA. By the time I’d done this, I was sitting in the parking lot of my office building, so I bookmarked the album and went inside.
Later that day on the way home I fired up Spotify and gave “Hooligan” a listen. The track didn’t really move me the way it did earlier in the day. It was probably a different version than what I heard on the radio. Regardless, I let the compilation play and discovered it contained a pretty good cover of “Son of a Preacher Man” by a band called The Gaylettes. The sound quality was terrible, but the vibe on the track blew me away. I got home and eyed the list of songs on ORIGINAL SKA. One track stood out among all the others: “Banana.” A reggae song called “Banana,” how cool was that? My mind reeled with the possibilities. Life is full of letdowns, and I’ve learned that very little ever lives up to our expectations. Still, I had to hear this song because it had such an interesting title. I figured the song would give me a chuckle and I’d move on with my life. Instead, I stumbled onto an incredibly awesome song with a murky, mysterious past.
Rather than being the depressing banana-picking song I had expected, “Banana” is a joyous ode to everyone’s favorite elongated, yellow fruit. It’s lighthearted, fun, and has a tremendous amount of charm. I played the song over and over for a few minutes, grinning from ear to ear like a moron. “Banana” is an awesome song that I truly love. I know I love it because I can’t rationally explain my affection for it.
I played the song for my wife and the members of my family, everyone who heard it liked it. “Banana” and it’s goofy lyrics even became a kind of shorthand between my and one of my sisters. I began texting them pictures of myself eating a banana with the caption “Everybody like it!” a lyric from the song. For most people, the story would end there: I found a really cool, obscure reggae song that cheers everybody up…The End. But being the songhound that I am, I couldn’t just stop there. I had to know was there more where this came from? Did the genius that cooked up “Banana” have a really great song about blintzes? I started by looking at ORIGINAL SKA which attributes “Banana” to an artist named E.K. Bunch. I did the logical thing, I clicked over to see what other songs E.K. Bunch had available on Spotify. But this proved to be a dead-end; there was only “Banana.”
I was confident that Google would provide more clues, so I searched E.K. Bunch “Banana” song. I was directed to a couple of videos where the people had recorded the song off their old 45 copies, but there was little else. Interestingly, I noticed that the song was often attributed to E.K. Bunch/The Pyramids. This was my first clue to the origin of “Banana.” But information proved to be scare on The Pyramids, so I kept listening to “Banana” and put the search for its source on hold. I didn’t give up per say, life just got in the way: I moved 800 miles away from my home in St. Louis and Thanksgiving happened. This week, however, I found myself in a strange city with no job but with lots of time on my hands. So I decided to get to the bottom of the E.K. Bunch mystery.
A visit to the Trojan Records website explained why tracking down “Banana” was so difficult: it turns out the band behind the song went by a bunch of names (pun intended). They were The Bees, Seven Letters, The Pyramids, E.K. Bunch, Zubaba, and Symarip. That last name, Symarip, was the key to blowing the lid off the entire “Banana” mystery. Having gained a majority of their fame as Symarip, this band name is the catch-all for the others. The band started out as The Bees and was formed in the 1960s by Michael Thomas and Frank Pitter who were of West Indian descent and lived in the United Kingdom. Eventually, The Bees added members and moved to Germany.
The band became Zubaba then The Pyramids and then ended up switching labels due to a dispute and wound up unable to use their name. Someone in the band decided to change their name to Pyramid spelled backwards…minus the letter ‘d.’ Somehow this name, probably with the help of a mystical herb, morphed into Symarip. This became the name they released and re-issued their songs under. Once I had all this figured out, I went back on Spotify and found a really cool live version of “Banana” on an album titled MOONSTOMPIN’ AT CLUB SKA.
While browsing the band’s Spotify page, I noticed that Symarip had a ton of songs about skinheads. I even realized, upon re-listening to “Banana,” that skinheads are mentioned in the song! How had I missed this earlier? I was shocked and worried. I was shocked because in the United States, and unfortunately most of the world today, the term skinhead has a very negative connotation. I was worried because it appeared on the surface that my new favorite song was racists!
Apparently the term skinhead has changed meaning over the years thanks in large part to a few bad apples. The skinhead movement began in the 1950s in the UK. At that time, a skinhead was basically a kid that wore work boots and jeans and liked American R&B music. These kids got together in dance halls and listened to ska and reggae music—which is why Symarip has a ton of songs devoted to skinheads. Eventually some of the skinheads became violent in the late 1960s and the term became associated with the White Power Movement in Europe.
It’s amazing to me that a chance encounter with a really old Bob Marley song led me down a path ending with the White Power Movement. This is the amazing part of being a music geek, the discovery not only of old music…but of the past itself. Maybe I get a bigger kick out of this sort of thing because I was briefly a history major in college, I don’t know. What I do know is that I love falling down the rabbit hole into obscure music and learning all these strange tidbits of trivia.
CASE CLOSED: “Banana” is an awesome song, dashed off by an obscure reggae band that changed its name multiple times. The first thing that you should do is go and listen to the song. Then listen to it again and again, dance if necessary. Then visit Trojan records website and read the entire history of The Pyramids.
I switched radio stations recently. Radio stations, some of you might remember, are like picture-less TV stations broadcast over the air. I have a ridiculously short daily commute, but for those 10 minutes I like to rock out. For most of the 7 years that I’ve lived in St. Louis, I’ve listened to K-HITS 96 (96.3FM). I listened to them mostly because they were the first classic rock station I found on the dial. Really, that’s all it was. Turns out fate was against me: K-HITS was not the “cool” classic rock station nor is K-HITS the longest running.
That would be K-SHE 95 (94.7FM).
But, being the stubborn, tirelessly predictable sod that I am, I remained a loyal K-HITS listener until this summer. I was outside painting my house when I heard the Oasis song “Wonderwall” on K-HITS. Now, I’m a huge Oasis fan, but I was gobsmacked when I heard the 1990’s Brit-Pop legends on my local classic rock radio station. Overnight my classic rock station had been transformed into a hideous Frankenstein’s moster of vanilla formatting. No longer would their be awesome deep-cuts (or The Deep End with Nick Michaels a fantastic syndicated radio show I urge you to seek out online). Instead there would only be music from the 70’s and 80’s with a generous sprinkling of 90’s hits. The “HITS” in K-HITS was emphasized on the stations Facebook page: they were no longer to be considered a “classic” rock station.
I gave up on radio, until last week when I gave in and started listening to K-SHE. I feel like such an idiot for not switching sooner, K-SHE is the best rock radio station I’ve ever heard. Like deep cuts? K-SHE’s got ya covered, they play stuff by bands I’ve never heard of before. Like to hear albums in their entirety? K-SHE’s got ya covered, this weekend they played an entire Foo Fighters album along with a few other albums (including a new-ish live AC/DC record). Hate hearing the same song over and over? K-SHE’s library is huge and they never repeat a song.
And then there is Sweetmeat, the stations lovable badass mascot. You can see him at local St. Louis concerts, on T-Shirts, and now you can even find him on your beer. Tonight I drank a special beer made by local St. Louis brewery Six Row Brewery called “Sweetmeat’s Real Rock Ale.” Sure, it’s really just the company’s Whale Ale (wheat ale) but it’s got that badass little piggie on the label.
Such a handsome pig…oh, and Sweetmeat ain’t half bad either.
I’m notorious for always picking the losing horse (or whatever) so K-SHE should be very, very worried that I’m their latest fan. Until they go under, get bought out, get sold, or change format you should check ’em out. They stream online…
Last night a pretty incredible benefit concert was held at Madison Square Garden to help victims of Hurricane Sandy. This so-called “12/12/12” concert was jam-packed with tons of talent: The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, and The Who were there just to name a few. Of course today all anyone can talk about is Sir Paul McCartney and the surviving members of Nirvana. Apparently Nirvana and McCartney got together and recorded a song for a documentary Dave Grohl put together called SOUND CITY.
The song’s called “Cut Me Some Slack” and it’s surprisingly not the horrible train-wreck you’d expect from a Paul McCartney-fronted Nirvana. Not that there’s anything wrong with either Paul or Nirvana, it’s just not two things I’d expect to go together very well. Sure, Cobain worshipped The Beatles and infused his own music with their unique pop-sensibilities (although he made them heavier) but when I think of Nirvana I don’t think of The Beatles. Whereas The Beatles were very much a peace and love band, Nirvana was angry and moody. Plus, McCartney is really getting up their in years and I’ve always associated Nirvana with youth. Destructive, unbridled, youth.
I guess maybe that’s why “Cut Me Some Slack” works so well: this isn’t a young version of Nirvana. Hell, this isn’t even really Nirvana. Yes, I went there. I realize that there are bands that can exist without their lead singer, but Nirvana sure ain’t one. Don’t get me wrong, it was really cool to see all those guys playing together again. It was especially nice seeing bassist Krist Novoselic on stage again, as he’s mostly dropped out of the music world, opting to direct films and study law.
Had the song sucked we could have blamed McCartney for being too old and for mucking about where he didn’t belong. Thankfully the song is good enough, and their performance was energetic. I was reluctant to write anything about this because I’m starting to feel weird writing so much about all these old dinosaurs of rock. I was looking over my Top 10 Albums of 2012 and I feel kinda strange about having so many classic rock artists on it. Rock has always been about the here and now AND young people. I’m not saying that old people can’t contribute to rock music or that rock artists should shut up (or be killed LOGANS RUN-style when they get to old) but the previous generation’s shadow is stifling this generations artists.
As if to drive this fact home, I got an email from Live Nation that really turned my stomach. Take a glance at the upcoming concerts in my area:
Memories of Elvis? An Allman Brothers Tribute?Dark Star Orchestra (which is a Grateful Dead tribute)? Not only are these older acts not going away, when they do (usually only when death intercedes) we are then given tribute bands to fill their places. Why in the hell aren’t we just going to see new bands? I’m just as guilty as anyone. In fact, the next concert I’m attending is a Pink Floyd tribute. Just like the film industry won’t let old franchies go, the music industry won’t let old brands die. And make no mistake, The Grateful Dead or Pink Floyd are nothing but brands at this point. Three tribute bands/acts in a long list of upcoming concerts isn’t so bad, I guess. And this is a Live Nation email, which is designed to goad aging hipsters into hiring a babysitter and having a night out. I get that. I also get that every night in this city there are awesome, young bands playing their hearts out. I just wish the Nirvanas and the McCartney’s of the world would bow out gracefully and let them into the limelight.
Ah, don’t listen to me…I’m just an aging rock fan.
Defending Axl Rose 