Dylan’s ballads and blues
Dylan has written moving love ballads that avoid all clichés. Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased, 1989-2006 is now available for free online listening. (Thanks, Eamonn.) Here are gorgeous Red River Shore and Mississippi, a perfect blues song, with the lyrics and a few translations (mouseover the blue words): Mississippi Every step of the way […]
Kenge Kenge: Obama for change
Alicia Keys/Jack White: Another Way To Die
Minimalist raconteur Jack White (White Stripes, Raconteurs) wrote this for the new James Bond, A Quantum of Solace and teamed up with Alicia Keys for a surprising duet. This Bond is all about emotional ambiguity, whom you can trust and whom you can’t. Bang, bang, bang, bang! Helmut, we’re going, OK? I’ve also reserved 3 […]
Six Songs
In The World in Six Songs. How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature, Daniel J. Levitin lists six songs that inspired him in 1975 to become a musician. These are his “comfort” songs: Autobahn by Kraftwerk Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony as performed by Herbert von Karajan & the Berlin Philharmonic Revolver by the Beatles (whole album) […]
Mike Scott: Bring ’em all in
I’ve been reading Daniel J. Levitin’s stimulating book, The World in Six Songs. How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature, in which he explores how we co-evolved with the music we make. He comes up with six categories of song: Friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion and love. These songs, he says, have been sung for […]
Neil Young/Cassandra Wilson: Harvest Moon
The “Harvest Moon” was believed by the Norsemen to be the most powerful of the full moons, granting Loki’s blessing for a bountiful harvest. The Harvest Moon is the one closest to the equinox that marks the beginning of fall. Our current beautiful full moon is actually not the “Harvest Moon”, which was last month; […]
Kate Nash: Foundations
Kate Nash sounds Cockney, though she certainly doesn’t have a working-class background. Cockney is merging into the popular Southeastern dialect now known as Estuary English. So the way she sounds is very hip. ( See audio-article on British English in German at Wikipedia.) This songwriter doesn’t mince words: “What are you being a dickhead for?” she spits out. […]
