Since she first hit the public eye as one half of a singing duo, let’s agree that Cher is a singer. For me, despite liking a couple of Sonny & Cher songs well enough, I can’t think of a singer with a less-appealing voice than Cher’s. Are you one of those people who say, “Oh no, I can’t sing to save my life!” I bet you have a more appealing singing voice to my ears than Cher’s.
In a private discussion last week with my close personal friends E Pluribus Gergely and Lady Gergely, EPG wanted to know how I could say with a straight face that I liked The Grateful Dead‘s “Sugar Magnolia.” First, I reminded him, I like the song with an associated chuckle, which is how I like 10 of the 11 songs that make up my nearly heroic Dead Dozen playlist on Spotify. There’s nothing wrong with having an associated chuckle over a loved one, is there? Think of the friends and lovers in your life.
Somehow, he brought up “Just What I Needed” and my longstanding beefs with the perfect pop craft of The Cars. He wasn’t satisfied with my equally longstanding belief that the first Cars record is one of the most solid, justifiably hit-packed records of all time. He wanted to know why, if you’ll excuse my French, I’d rather fuck “Sugar Magnolia” than “Just What I Needed.”
My wife and I went out for a quick pickup the other day. We took her car. Bluetooth picked up a random Grateful Dead mix from her phone. One of my favorite 11 Dead songs, from a Dead Dozen mix that I curated and shared with friends on Facebook a couple of months ago, played. Then some others I didn’t know so well. I’ve come a long way through the years in appreciating the Grateful Dead. Even when we left off with Rock Town Hall in 2016, I would have been hard pressed to compile a mix of 11 Dead songs I actually liked – and not for strictly humorous purposes. A couple of weeks ago, I got some deeply upsetting, if expected, personal news, and I immediately turned to my Dead Dozen mix for comfort, letting myself shed some tears during “Ripple.”
Anyhow, while we made our quick run to the liquor store, something called “Dark Star (single version)” popped up on my wife’s random list. I had no idea there was such a thing. “Dark Star” is a song I can’t identify to save my life. The one time I saw the Dead they played it live, and the 19,997 Deadheads around me and my other 2 Dead-hater friends went wild. I furiously sucked on a bowl for the next half hour, but I didn’t get it then. I try to listen to recordings of that song every couple of years, to see if anything sticks. Nothing ever does. It’s like that kid back in your early school days: “I remember the name, but I can’t see his face!”
I thought this single version of “Dark Star” might help me see the heart of “Dark Star.” You know what I concluded?
Here’s a time when I truly wish that The Great 48 was back among us to go all “Jane, you ignorant slut” on my ass. We can only hope to get him back in the Halls of Rock. Meanwhile…
One thing I’ve been trying to do while working from home, isolated in a spare bedroom that now serves as my office, is to be more patient and open in my listening habits. I listen to albums I play in the background all the way through – no needle lifting! I have been listening to lots of artists I normally don’t listen to, including albums released past 1983. I’ve been listening to genres of music I normally don’t make much time for, especially classical music. My wife walked in on me listening to a Mahler symphony the other day and exclaimed, “I never thought I’d walk in on you listening to classical music,” as if I’d been watching bestiality videos…
Does anybody have a half-decent music podcast they can share?
My own diet, and it’s far from a rich one, includes the David Hepworth-hosted A Word in Your Ear podcast. It’s an irregular recording, usually with an author or musician, and is done in London. Chatty, informative and rarely outstays its welcome.
I’ve dropped in for a few sessions at Strong Songs, where the host pulls apart a well known tune to see what makes it tick. As I can’t read music, some of the more technical aspects of musical structure sail over my head.
What’s on your podcast download?
I’ve got time on my hands right now for a few good ones.
Our old friend mikeydread got in touch to pass along this piece on a disappointing album. I think this is a nicely balanced expression of disappointment, not the kind of thing we’d hear from smack-talking E. Pluribus Gergely.
You’ve all had enough time to reflect on Nashville Skyline, and I really don’t think Bob Dylan is a Townsperson, so you won’t need to worry about missing out on advance copies of his next Bootleg Series: On a scale of Bad to Meh to Great, how do you rate this album?
