Merle Haggard died today, on his 79th birthday. Even though I’m Massachusetts born and raised, country music has always been a part of my life. My dad was from Anderson, South Carolina, and I learned to appreciate the twangy, “high, lonesome sound” at an early age. Later in life, I spent five years living in Louisiana’s bayou country, and you couldn’t find a jukebox in any honky-tonk joint around that didn’t have at least one Merle Haggard tune.
Many country musicians claim to be “outlaws”, but Merle was the real deal. His father died young (like mine), and as a teen Merle was always in trouble with the law (yep, me too!). He was arrested for burglary and bad checks, fighting and shoplifting, and wound up more than once in juvenile jail. At age 20, he did time in San Quentin for attempted robbery. When he was released, Merle channeled his energy…
Anime has been called many things by fans and detractors. It’s been called imaginative and disturbing. Some have called them hilariously inventive while others have called them horribly perverted. One thing it has never been described and accused of is being boring and bland. One could hate every type of anime ever created and most such people would still describe it as anything but boring.
One such anime that fits the bill of being wildly imaginative is the series Space Dandy. If one was to describe it in non-anime terms then I could say it’s a space opera series that’s somewhat like the redheaded stepchild of Guardians of the Galaxy and Johnny Bravo who is then high on mushrooms and LSD.
The latest “AMV of the Day” was created by Shin and he makes perfect use of the Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars song “Uptown Funk”. The song doesn’t just fit the over-the-top lunacy of the chosen anime, but Shin also manages to use some complex video-editing magic to make it like the video was a comic book.
The song itself has been a staple for kitten videos where the little furballs will seemingly dance to the beat of the song. Now there’s another reason to listen to it and this AMV is one such reason.
Anime:Space Dandy
Song:“Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson (feat. Bruno Mars)
When I was growing up, I used to watch my Dad and his band rehearse in our den. Hanging on the wall, directly behind the dummer, was a poster of a strange armadillo that was also a tank. I later found out that the armadillo was named Tarkus and he was the star of his very own album by a group called Emerson, Lake, and Palmer.
I just heard the very sad news that the Emerson in Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, the legendary Keith Emerson, died yesterday. He was 71 years old.
Whether it was as a member of the Nice, ELP, the Best, or the Keith Emerson Band or as a solo soundtrack artist, Keith Emerson is one of the men who made synthesizers cool. After starting out playing a Hammond organ, Emerson soon discovered and popularized the Moog synthesizer. In doing so, he changed music forever.
Rest in peace, Maestro Emerson and thank you for the music.
No list of great guitar riffs would be taken seriously if it didn’t include one of the greatest rock and roll songs (for some, THE greatest) with one of the most recognizable opening guitar riffs. It is this song which makes the next on the latest “Song of the Day” series focusing on great guitar riffs.
Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” was released in 1958 by Chess Records and it quickly rose up the charts. This was the early days of rock and roll. As musicians and bands began to combine the rhythm of blues to the tempo of gospel music, more and more people began to discover what will become rock and roll. It helped that starts such as Elvis Presley would push this so-called “rebellious music” right up the mainstream public whether the moral authority accepted it or not.
One artist who would pave the way for this growing musical trend was Chuck Berry and he would never get a hit as influential and as popular as “Johnny B. Goode”. This song and it’s riff would become his signature song right up to his death and would influence countless others artists right up to this day.
The song itself would become part of another iconic pop culture event when it became a major plot device for Robert Zemeckis’ first Back to the Future. So many different musicians and bands from all corners of the musical landscape that one would be hard-pressed to find someone who didn’t know the song “Johnny B. Goode” in one for or another.
Johnny B. Goode
Deep down Louisiana close to New Orleans, Way back up in the woods among the evergreens There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood, Where lived a country boy named of Johnny B. Goode Who never ever learned to read or write so well, But he could play the guitar like ringing a bell.
[Chorus:] Go Go Go Johnny Go Go Go Johnny B. Goode
He use to carry his guitar in a gunny sack Or sit beneath the trees by the railroad track. Oh, the engineers used to see him sitting in the shade, Strumming with the rhythm that the drivers made. The People passing by, they would stop and say Oh my that little country boy could play
[Chorus]
His mother told him someday you will be a man, And you would be the leader of a big old band. Many people coming from miles around To hear you play your music when the sun go down Maybe someday your name will be in lights Saying Johnny B. Goode tonight.
Last year, I did a mini-series of “Song of the Day” that featured some of my favorite rock and metal guitar solos. This time around I plan to showcase some of my favorite guitar riffs from the world of rock and metal. I’ll be limiting my choice on the metal side to the basic metal. I’m not as well-versed on the more unique and esoteric offshoots of metal. For that one must go to our resident metal intellectual necromoonyeti.
To start things off is a classic hard rock tune the began the post-Bon Scott Era (the band’s previous frontman who had tragically passed away before recording this follow-up album). The band would tap ex-Geordie frontman Brian Johnson to front the band. The rest as they say is rock history.
The Back In Black album would become one of the biggest-selling rock albums in history and it’s title track would become just one of many platinum-certified hits from that album. The song would become not just one of rock’s greatest songs, but become a pop icon as films, tv shows and event sporting events would use it’s iconic opening riff and follow-up melody to celebrate one’s rebellious nature.
Back In Black
Back in black I hit the sack It’s been too long I’m glad to be back Yes, I’m let loose From the noose That’s kept me hanging around I’ve been looking at the sky and it’s gettin’ me high Forget the hearse ’cause I never die I got nine lives Cats eyes Cruisin’ every woman, never wonderin’ why
CHORUS: ‘Cause I’m back Yes, I’m back Well, I’m back Yes, I’m back Well, I’m back, back Well I’m back in black Yes, I’m back in black
Back in the back Of a Cadillac Number one with a bullet, I’m a power pack Yes, I’m in a bang With a gang They’ve got to catch me if they want me to hang Cause I’m back on the track And I’m beatin’ the flack Nobody’s gonna get me on another rap So look at me now I’m just makin’ my play Don’t try to push your luck, just get out of my way
CHORUS
Well, I’m back, Yes I’m back Well, I’m back, Yes I’m back Well, I’m back, back Well I’m back in black Yes I’m back in black
hooo yeah Ohh yeah Yes I am Oooh yeah, yeah Oh yeah Back in now Well I’m back, I’m back Back, I’m back Back, I’m back Back, I’m back Back, I’m back Back Back in black Yes I’m back in black
Today would have been George Harrison’s 73rd birthday. In honor of his memory and in tribute to an artist who was taken from us far too young, here he is performing While My Guitar Gently Weeps with Eric Clapton.
Believe it or not, I have a song of the day blog. It’s imaginatively entitled Lisa Marie’s Song of The Day and, ever since last summer, I have used to share, on a daily basis, my appreciation of EDM and Britney Spears. Yesterday, I shared something from The Chemical Brothers and, later today, I’ll be sharing a song from Fitz and The Tantrums.
But you know what? I’m in a musical mood today. Perhaps it’s because it’s Ash Wednesday and I’ve promised to give up excessive negativity for Lent. For that reason, I’ve decided to share two songs of the day, one on Lisa Marie’s Song of the Day and one here at the Shattered Lens.
And the song that I’m sharing here is the Sarabande from Handel’s Keyboard suite in D minor (HWV 437). Why am I sharing it? Well, I caught the end credits of Barry Lyndon last night on TCM and I was reminded of how much I love this piece of music. Thank you, TCM!
In 1964, American International Pictures released the first concert film, The T.A.M.I. Show. After the success of T.A.M.I, AIP followed up with a second concert film. This one would be shot in front of a live audience at Los Angeles’s Moulin Rouge club on the night of November 29th, 1965. The line-up included Ray Charles, Petula Clark, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Bo Diddley, Joan Baez, The Ronettes, Roger Miller, The Byrds, Donavon, and Ike and Tina Turner. Phil Spector was recruited to produce the show and he brought with him a live orchestra. Conducting the orchestra and serving as the night’s emcee was The Man From UNCLE‘s David McCallum.
Originally announced as The T.A.M.I. Show Part II, the title was briefly changed to This Could Be The Night (after a song written by Spector and Harry Nilsson and performed by The Modern Folk Quartet) until AIP finally went with The Big TNT Show, an appropriate title considering the explosive performances that were recorded that night. The Big TNT Show also recorded the growing division between the rock and roll of the 50s and early 60s and the music of the emerging counter culture, with Ray Charles, Bo Diddley, and Ike Turner sharing the same stage as The Byrds and Donavon.
In one of the show’s best moments, Joan Baez sings You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling while Phil Spector accompanies her on piano.
Other highlights include the Byrds performing Turn, Turn, Turn,
Roger Miller performing his novelty hit King of the Road,
Petula Clark singing Downtown,
The Ronettes performing Be My Baby,
Donavon’s Universal Soldier,
and Ike and Tina Turner’s entire set.
At the end of the film, the viewers are told to “be sure to tune in for next year’s show!” but, one year later, both the world and music would be very different. The Big TNT Show captures that one final moment before things changed forever.
In 1965, while the British were invading the rest of the world, the Ventures were invading Japan. Hailing from the pacific Northwest, the Ventures were one of the most popular and influential of the instrumental rock bands of the 50s and 60s. With their debut album, 1960’s Walk, Don’t Run, they helped to define the sound of the emerging surf scene while 1964’s The Ventures in Space inspired a generation of aspiring guitar gods, including Jeff Beck. The Ventures were phenomenally popular in Japan and they continue to regularly tour there.
Beloved Invaders is a documentary about the Ventures in Japan. Clips of the Ventures performing in Hiroshima are mixed with footage of the group meeting with their young fans and exploring Japanese culture. The Ventures all come across as being regular and unassuming guys but the main reason to see the film is for the amazing music. The Ventures play almost all of their best known songs and watching them perform, you understand why they inspired so many others to pick up a guitar and make music of their own. Sadly, very few of the great rock and roll instrumental combos of the early 60s were ever preserved on film, which makes Beloved Invaders all the more important.
Beloved Invaders was made for a Japanese audience (when the members of the Ventures speak, they are even dubbed into Japanese) and it can be difficult to track down in the United States. For a long time, it was a popular bootleg though it was finally released on DVD in 2004 and it can be ordered from the Ventures web site.
Five years before Woodstock, there was T.A.M.I. Show.
In 1964, a concert was held over two days at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Free tickets were distributed to local high school students and the best footage from the two shows was edited into one movie. Distributed by American International Pictures, T.A.M.I. Show was one of the first concert films.
T.A.M.I. stood for Teenage Awards Music International but no awards were given out during those two days. Instead, 12 of the most popular music acts of 1964 performed on one stage. The Beatles may not have been there but almost every other hitmaker of the year showed up.
Among the highlights of T.A.M.I. Show was the performance of James Brown and The Famous Flames, which many consider to be one of the best musical performances ever captured on film.
James Brown’s performance was followed by The Rolling Stones. Though Keith Richards once claimed that trying to follow James Brown was the biggest mistake of their careers, T.A.M.I. Show was the first time that many American teenagers actually saw the Stones perform.
Also performing: The Supremes, at the height of their popularity.
The Beach Boys’ performance has become semi-legendary because, as a result of copyright issues, it was edited out of prints of T.A.M.I. Show following the initial theatrical run.
For years, T.A.M.I. Show was unavailable for home viewing but finally, in 2010, Shout Factory released this landmark of movie and music history on DVD and they even included the long censored footage of the Beach Boys. For music lovers, T.A.M.I. Show is a must-see record of the rock scene in between the start of the British invasion and the rise of the counterculture.
Through the Shattered Lens