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Pop Rock Nation

Category: People

all-about-musicians-and-the-people-who-help-them-make-music

  • Monday Morning Inspiration: “If I Am”

    The Long Island-based band Nine Days was barely more than a blip on the pop culture radar screen. They scored a huge hit in 2000 with “Absolutely (Story of a Girl)”, which was one of the most annoying songs of the year, and I was unfortunately dating someone at the time who absolutely loved it. I think I heard it so many times I finally gave in and said “OK, OK, I like it”.

    I don’t remember when I came into possession of Nine Days’ debut album, “The Madding Crowd”, but one song on the album (which turned out to be the follow-up single and strangely nowhere near as big a hit) affected me a great deal.

    The good thing about lyrics is that they generally tend to be ambiguous enough that you can formulate the meaning of the song to whatever suits you. While “If I Am” may indeed be about a guy expressing his devotion to a girl, it could just as easily be about someone talking to a friend who’s going through a rough patch and trying to shake him or her out of their doldrums.

    The lyric “you should never let the sun set on tomorrow/before the sun rises today” is probably as profound (and truthful) as pop music gets.

    The video sucks, so maybe it’s best to just listen to the song, but at least I’ve given you the option, right? Whatta guy.

  • In Memoriam: Isaac Hayes (1942-2008)

    Isaac Hayes had a legendary career, no doubt. From songwriter extraordinaire (you know he wrote “Soul Man”, right?) to singer/producer/multi-instrumentalist, coming up with the theme to “Shaft” as well as excellent covers of songs like “Walk On By”, “The Look of Love” and “By The Time I Get to Phoenix”, the man was impossibly smooth as well as funky,not always the easiest combination in the world to manage. No one, with the exception of one-time duet partner Barry White, managed to combine the two so effortlessly.

    The cover of Isaac Hayes\' iconic classic \"Hot Buttered Soul\"

    That said, my first memory of Isaac Hayes is not a musical one, but a visual one. There was an album he released in the mid-late Seventies, which was a sharp close-up of his face. I was scared of it when I was little. Then again, I was also scared of Prince’s “Dirty Mind” cover. What do you think about that, Sigmund Freud? I also remember the first time I had my head shaved (long before it became popular even for black folks), someone remarking that I was trying to look like Isaac Hayes.

    Anyway, I’m not gonna bore you with an extended eulogy or a list of his accomplishments. I’m just gonna leave you with two clips that I think do Isaac justice. The first is a 1973 performance of the theme from “Shaft”, the one funk song that even the nerdiest white guy in the world knows the words to, and the second is a collection of Chef-related “South Park” clips, culminating in a performance of Chef’s signature song “Chocolate Salty Balls”. Come on, how come no one on YouTube has an actual version of this song? (for those who don’t know, Hayes portrayed the cafeteria chef for several years on the irreverent animated comedy). Something tells me that Isaac (like most people who pass on) would want to be remembered with a smile. Relax in paradise, Mr. Hayes.

  • Respect Due: Joni Mitchell

    Joni Mitchell is revered as quite possibly the greatest female singer/songwriter ever. She’s also a patron saint of sorts for the bohemian black: lauded by everyone from Prince to Janet Jackson to Q-Tip. There’s a reason for that. Much like kindred spirit Nina Simone, Mitchell’s voice radiates truth and conviction.

    Not sure exactly when I discovered Joni. It must have been at some point in the early or mid Nineties when my musical spectrum was widening rapidly. ‘Cause like most artists whose music sticks to the ribs, Joni’s not a one-listen and “get it” type artist. Actually, it might have been (believe it or not) VH-1 who got me started on the Joni path by playing the video for “How Do You Stop”, a remake of a song written by the late Dan Hartman and performed by the late James Brown (believe it or not). Wouldn’t you know it, YouTube has the video, which features Seal.

    From there, it was pretty easy to pick up the classics: “Blue”and “Court & Spark”. However, the performance that sealed my undying love for Joni (after being put off by some crochety comments she’d made towards reverent singer-songwriters of the present) was another unlikely source: the movie “Love Actually”.

    That’s a lie. It wasn’t the actual movie (which I don’t think I saw until last year). It was the soundtrack. There, nestled amid songs by Kelly Clarkson & Maroon 5, was an absolutely stunning orchestral version of “Both Sides Now”. Look, the original version of this song is brilliant as is, but listening to it as sung by a woman who has gone through life and has 35 more years of experience with which to view this song’s lyrics…it’s an amazing experience.

    This live version is similar enough to the version found on the soundtrack (actually, they’re more or less identical if you take out the crowd noise) for you to get a feel of the difference between a more idealistic, younger Joni, and the wizened, reflective Joni now. If there can be any argument made in favor of smoking cigarettes, it comes from the fact that Joni’s voice is even more beautiful now than it was then.

    So right now I’m still trying to grasp “The Hissing of Summer Lawns” and “Mingus”, but her 2007 album “Shine” was a gem, and I’m sure Joni has some more great music left in her. But these two performances leave no doubt as to why she’s so beloved.