Media Things: Music

The Ultimate O'Jays

2004-12-16T22:27:06-08:00

This is an album chock full of gems such as Backstabbers and Love Train, but what's got me posting it here is the use of For the Love of Money as theme for Donald Trump's television show, The Apprentice. America is not a country noted for its subtle sense of irony. Check out the lyrics... For the Love of Money Money money money money, money Some people got to have it Some people really need it Listen to me y'all, do things, do things, do bad things with it You wanna do things, do things, do things, good things with it Talk about cash money, money Talk about cash money- dollar bills, yall For the love of money People will steal from their mother For the love of money People will rob their own brother For the love of money People can't even walk the street Because they never know who in the world they're gonna beat For that lean, mean, mean green Almighty dollar, money For the love of money People will lie, Lord, they will cheat For the love of money People don't care who they hurt or beat For the love of money A woman will sell her precious body For a small piece of paper it carries a lot of weight Call it lean, mean, mean green Almighty dollar I know money is the root of all evil Do funny things to some people Give me a nickel, brother can you spare a dime Money can drive some people out of their minds Got to have it, I really need it How many things have I heard you say Some people really need it How many things have I heard you say Got to have it, I really need it How many things have I heard you say Lay down, lay down, a woman will lay down For the love of money All for the love of money Don't let, don't let, don't let money rule you For the love of money Money can change people sometimes Don't let, don't let, don't let money fool you Money can fool people sometimes People! Don't let money, dont let money change you, it will keep on changing, changing up your mind. Music and Lyrics by: The O'Jays

The O'Jays

Peter Gabriel 2: Scratch

2004-10-31T15:48:02-08:00

Peter Gabriel has always been among my favourite song-writers and performers. There may be no one in the music industry who has been as consistently progressive, subversive and creative in his politics, art and delivery. This album, his second solo effort, is notable for several well-crafted songs, among them On the Air, A Wonderful Day in a One-Way World, White Shadow, Indigo and, for me, the most touching: Mother Of Violence Walking the street with her naked feet, So full of rhythm but I can't find the beat. Snapping her heels, clicking her toes, Everybody knows just where she goes. Fear, Fear, she's the mother of Violence, Making me tense to watch the way she breed. Fear, she's the mother of Violence, You know self-defense is all you need. It's getting hard to breathe, It's getting so hard to believe, To believe in anything at all. Mouth all dry, eyes bloodshot, Data stored on a microdot. Kicking the cloud with my moccasin shoes, TV dinner, TV news. Fear, Fear, she's the mother of Violence, Don't make any sense to watch the way she breed. Fear, she's the mother of Violence, Making me tense to watch the way she feed. The only way you know she's there Is the subtle flavor in the air. Getting hard to breathe, Getting hard to believe in anything at all But Fear.

Peter Gabriel

The Greatest Natives from the North

2004-10-30T12:58:10-08:00

I haven't cared much for rap, however, the strongest political statements in music today seem to be coming from this genre. This disc originated in the Great White North, ironically enough, and represents an Aboriginal point of view.

War Party

Crafty Hands

2004-05-30T00:17:22-08:00

Perhaps my favourite album, particularly when the intention is to listen, and to get emotional in the process. Exquisite musicianship all around in a band consisting of guitar, bass, standard drum kit and a pair of keyboardists. Among these principle instruments are smattered some horns and flute as well. The musicians weave intricate interplays of melody and rhythm in an aural tapestry.For me what is most astounding about the timbre of the music is how well the synthesizer programming stands the test of time. This album was originally released in 1978 and over 25 years later the keys remain fresh, richly toned and organic. Listen to other progressive and jazz groups of the era, Chick Corea, for example, and you'll hear thin, listless, inorganic synthesizer patches which even a contemporary child's Casio can out perform. A few other bands from the era mastered their synths, notably Pink Floyd and ELP, however, nowhere else will you find a pair of keyboards producing such astonishingly wonderful sounds.Compositionally, this is unique, unusual stuff with a hint of the medieval madrigal to it. Dense, penetrating, shifting from sublime to seething in a drumbeat, sophisticated rhythms and melodies sustain the largely instrumental set of songs. In a sense this band is an electric Oregon in the quality of both musicianship and songcraft. Highly recommended.

Happy the Man

Roots in the Sky

2004-05-28T19:52:22-08:00

Perhaps my favourite jazz LP (Yes, my tape is recorded from the original vinyl!) See the entry New Chautauqua for a story about the longevity of this tape in my library. Oregon is an ensemble of crack acoustic instrumentalists featuring strings, horns, winds and keys with a distinctly Indian percussion component. Rich, lustrous, complex, ranging from moody melodies to driving rhythmic flurries. Like a classical ensemble hell-bent for cool.

Oregon

New Chautauqua

2004-05-28T19:41:21-08:00

The most melodious and mellifluous of Metheny's work, all guitar. A jazz riff on folkish themes. The cover image is appropriate; I have a tape featuring this album on side A and Oregon's Roots in the Sky on B and it generally just sits in my car, plugged into the deck. Three times it's been broken into and each time the bastards stole all my tapes. Except this one: Without power, they couldn't eject the tape.

Pat Metheny

Songs of the Free

2004-05-28T19:35:46-08:00

This is raucous good stuff, with smashing beats and unruly guitars to match the smashingly unruly politics of a band out to challenge the status quo on all fronts.

Gang of Four

Anima Mundi

2004-02-14T16:48:40-08:00

This is sweet, sweet music, driven by superb musicianship. Karklins is one of those composers who defies categorisation, even in this age of hyper-synthesis. The central element in much of her music is Karklins' Latvian heritage and her deft hand on the kokle, a traditional Latvian string instrument somewhat like a dulcimer. The kokle is tonally rich and folksy, producing clear ringing tones which can be bright and whimsical one moment and achingly melancholic the next. Combine this with a singing voice of no small presence and expressiveness and you have a potent combination. As on her other albums, A Darker Passion and Red Hand, Anima Mundi mixes lyrical and non-lyrical songs. There are traditional Latvian folk tunes, some re-interpreted quite freely as a bridge to often hauntingly ethereal works of the sort one might associate with early progressive and avante garde composers such as Brian Eno. Lyrically, Karklins focusses on her fondness for Carl Jung and Daoism for developing her themes. The music complements the mystical themes, and overall the album moves gently and harmoniously through the tracks. This is one of my favourite albums for just kicking back on the couch and losing myself in the sound and mood of the music. It is unfortunate for us that Karklins is on a hiatus from composition, exploring instead the written word unaccompanied by music. Still, we have A Darker Passion and Red Hand and Anima Mundi, A Darker Passion is, well, darker and more passionate, while Red Hand is more exploratory in form and content. Neither of these albums attain Anima Mundi's melodic fluidity, but that was not their intention. Within a distinct sound, Karklins has created three different albums, distinct from each other thematically and musically, all of which grow on the listener with every listen. Highly recommended.

Ingrid Karklins

Dark Side of the Moon

2004-01-23T12:07:08-08:00

How long was the album Dark Side of the Moon on the charts? As of December 1, 2001, issue of Billboard, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon has been on the charts for an astounding 1,285 weeks This is one of the most durable and enduring musical compositions ever made. None of the Beatles' albums, not even Sgt. Peppers, have remained on the charts so long. Quite amazing. Still, I must admit to preferences for other Pink Floyd Albums, notably Wish You Were Here, Meddle and Animals. On the other hand, I haven't listened to The Wall in, perhaps, a decade or so. A song here and there, for sure, but not the album straight through. I've always been something of a contrarian.

Pink Floyd