Jack White: Love Interruption
Instant classic. The first single off of Blunderbuss, Jack White’s solo debut, with great Nashville musicians, features an all woman band, very stylish in this video, in long dresses and high hair, harking back to Bo Diddley’s band in the 60s. The album is now out on iTunes, and expectations are confirmed: “I’m Shakin’” quotes […]
Jarle Bernhoft: Fly Away & C’mon talk to me
My old classmate Eimert had told me about this guy, a one-man band from Norway with a warm soul voice and beautiful looped instrumentals and vocals, for real feel good music. Jarle Bernhoft will be in Berlin at Postbahnhof on 20 April. Helmut, we have the album, and tickets. C’mon talk to me and we’ll […]
Chuck Berry: Sweet Little Sixteen/ The Beach Boys: Surfing USA
My third and final double take is a blatant rip-off by the Beach Boys of Chuck Berry’s 1958 hit, which was in fact the first Top 10 hit by a black performer. Not acknowledging copyright was both an artistic and a political issue: “The Beach Boys stole Berry’s entire tune. Surfin’ USA went on to […]
Led Zepplin: Going to California / Pearl Jam: Given to Fly
Sometimes you hear a song and do a double take and say “wait, I know that riff”. Led Zepplin wrote “Going to California” in 1971 about Joni Mitchell; Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder said “Given to Fly” of 1998, which sounds pretty similar, was about “rising above anybody’s comments about what you do and still giving […]
Bon Iver: Woods / Kayne West: Lost in the World
Oh, to howl with the wolves! Here is Bon Iver’s magical 4-line song “Woods” to howl together in harmony, friends, as November deepens. I’m up in the woods I’m down on my mind I’m building a still to slow down the time It was sampled on “Lost in the World”, a collaboration with Kayne West […]
Ryan Adams: Ashes & Fire
At the end of this “song week” on my blog, I’m considering our strong opinions about music. We’re a discriminating lot, we like this and dislike that. I wonder: Are there any objective quality criteria we could agree on for pop music? With classical music it seems easier. Who would dare say that Beethoven wrote […]
Bill Withers: Lean On Me
Universally popular songlines: We say a phrase, eyes flicker recognition and – boom! – we’re sharing the whole soundtrack. Like “Don’t worry, be happy,” by Bobby McFerrin, from 1988. Or “Lean on me,” by Bill Withers, from 1972. Songfacts.com asked Withers about his signature song, and this is what he said: “A lot of time […]
