In honor of cliffsofinsanity’s recent inclusion of “Indiana Wants Me” in this week’s Saturday Night Shut In, I thought that we couldn’t be regionalist, and that it would be important to consider all of our wonderful (some more wonderful than others) 50 states. Please include a song title that includes a state’s name. Once a state is mentioned, it’s out of the running.
This is a Last Man Standing with no more than 50 entries.
I’ll start out with Propellerheads’ “Take California.”
A friend posted this today on FB. It’s invites further discussion from the likes of us:
http://newsfeed.time.com/2014/02/25/here-is-a-map-of-every-states-favorite-band/#ixzz2uNGOSGVa
Bonobo? Really? It was making me verklempt. I had to look up the band.
Let’s talk amongst ourselves.
After reading very encouraging recent comments from funoka, cherguevarra, and MrHuman, I believe that, AT LAST, I can swoon a little about Aztec Camera. I’ve loved this band since my introduction to them, which occurred via a little black and white photo of a cute boy with floppy hair that my sister had glued to the dashboard of her car. Ah, my first gaze at Roddy Frame.
High Land, Hard Rain is a great album: lo-fi emotive pop with clever, besotted lyrics and alternating jangly and classical guitar. Later albums get slicker, cornier, and/or sadder. However, the excellent track or two on each record kept my faith in the band alive. The final Aztec Camera album, Frestonia, reverted back to a lo-fi sound, but this time with more of a jazz influence.
Please join me in watching this early performance of “We Could Send Letters.” It’s lyrics used to make me cry. Luckily, in this video, I was distracted from my reminiscences of an old boyfriend by the matching tracksuits, the ridiculous hair, and the weird now-apparent resemblance of Roddy Frame to Paul Dano.
The final charge, at the 3:40 mark, continues to make me love this band.
P.S. – Mr. Royale just shared his own NSFW memories about this album indicating that I’m not the only one who had romantic associations with Aztec Camera’s music. (Will High Land, Hard Rain beat out Avalon as the most nookie-worthy album of the ’80s?) AND that the album was just re-released!
Ok, I am outing myself as the frequent 2-space-after-a-period miscreant. [NOTE: The linked thread was previously private and able to be seen only by the eyes of RTH thread authors. Those who are weak of heart may want to avoid this thread altogether. – Mr Mod.] I am willing to go public about my history and difficulties with following the Mr. Moderator Rules of Spacing After Periods. I am willing to do this to
For the years I have been writing for this blog, Mod has been bugging me off line about seeing the error of my ways, and calmly correcting my posts. Little did I know that Mr. Royale, in a very well kept to himself breach of marital fidelity, has been siding with Mod all along.
But enough of the Grammar and Punctuation Police.
How would this tight-ass set of rules—I mean common—understanding of spacing and punctuation, relate to the World of Rock?
Are there some Rules of Rock that you learned back in the day and now find out are just so outdated? Is there a (tight-ass) set of Rules of Rock that are just meant to be broken? Is there some band/musician/style of music/song that has helped you see the error of your ways?
I look forward to your responses.
So the other week, in a fit of nostalgia, I bought a copy of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. This movie and it’s accompanying 2-record set made a big impact on me, my brother, and my sister. My younger sister was the coolest one: she convinced my parents to take her to see it (underage, she had to convince my parents to go; years later, she admitted to me that she didn’t understand the movie). But my younger brother and I made do by listening to the soundtrack. I loved that record, and even my parents put up with our playing it (Dad, son of a musicologist, even liked Walter Murphy’s “A Fifth of Beethoven”).
Listening to it again, years later and with a more jaded ear, I was pleased how well the Bee-Gees tunes have stood the test of time. I was never a huge Brothers Gibb fan, but the production and arrangements on their songs are pretty nice. Contrast that to the obvious filler in the album: several David Shire tracks that seem to be a white guy’s approximation of ethnic dance music. And then there’s the stuff in between: second rate but fun KC and the Sunshine Band, Tavares, The Trammps, and Kool and the Gang’s “Open Sesame,” which regardless of it’s B-level status gets a thumbs up in my book due to the repetition of the lyrics “Get down with the Genie!”
Which got me thinking about soundtracks.,,
I don’t know if you’ve stepped out to the sales. Maybe shopping is the best way to work off a Thanksgiving food coma, but I’d prefer sitting around and reveling in it. Besides, do those promises of a discount, free shipping, or a ginsu knife, make the crowds worth it? Who needs football when you can just go to your local Big Box store for some offensive and defensive action?
Sales? Gimmicks? Americans love to save money. In the spirit of this, let’s come up with songs that reflect, in the immortal words of Mike Brady, “Caveat emptor.”
I can think of two. What about you?
Is the air horn the most under appreciated instrument out there?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61UfGg6sf8I
Where does it rank in relation to it’s cousin, the vuvuzela? Will it make an appearance on the next Lumineers album? Does this mean that A-ha will do the half-time show at the Superbowl?
