52 responses to “News & Links: Sunday, August 27, 2023”

1. 

   johnthebasket

   08/27/2023

   If yer talkin' Steve Miller, ya gotta bring da pompatus . . .

   The Joker
   by The Steve Miller Band

   Some people call me the space cowboy, yeah
   Some call me the gangster of love
   Some people call me Maurice
   'Cause I speak of the pompatus of love

   People talk about me baby
   Say I'm doin' you wrong, doin' you wrong
   Well, don't you worry, baby, don't worry
   'Cause I'm right here, right here, right here, right here at home

   'Cause I'm a picker
   I'm a grinner
   I'm a lover
   And I'm a sinner
   I play my music in the sun
   I'm a joker
   I'm a smoker
   I'm a midnight toker
   I sure don't want to hurt no one
   I'm a picker
   I'm a grinner
   I'm a lover
   And I'm a sinner
   I play my music in the sun
   I'm a joker
   I'm a smoker
   I'm a midnight toker
   I get my lovin' on the run
   Ooh, whoo, ooh, whoo

   You're the cutest thing that I ever did see
   I really love your peaches
   Wanna shake your tree
   Lovey dovey, lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time
   Ooh wee baby, I'll sure show you a good time

   'Cause I'm a picker
   I'm a grinner
   I'm a lover
   And I'm a sinner
   I play my music in the sun
   I'm a joker
   I'm a smoker
   I'm a midnight toker
   I get my lovin' on the run
   I'm a picker
   I'm a grinner
   I'm a lover
   And I'm a sinner
   I play my music in the sun
   I'm a joker
   I'm a smoker
   I'm a midnight toker
   I sure don't want to hurt no one

   Ooh, whoo, ooh, whoo

   People keep talkin' about me baby
   Say I'm doin' you wrong
   Well don't you worry, don't worry, no don't worry mama
   'Cause I'm right here at home
   You're the cutest thing I ever did see
   I really love your peaches
   Wanna shake your tree
   Lovey dovey, lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time
   Come on baby now, I'll show you a good time

   Songwriters: Ahmet Ertegun / Eddie Curtis / Steve Miller
   The Joker lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc

   Reply
2. 

   johnthebasket

   08/27/2023

   Note on The Joker:

   Ahmet Ertegun was a founder and the president of Atlantic Records. Giving him writing credit was a form of kickback. He didn't write all the songs he wrote as the Yogi says. . . . jtb

   Reply
   1. 

      Doug Holland

      08/28/2023

      Your comments are always a surprise. Silly me, I wouldn't have guessed that "The Joker" was a song that you'd dig enough to write about. I used to think it was just catchy and goofy, but it grows more profound over the years.

      Was it a voluntary kickback for Uncle Ahmet, or an edict from upstairs, "You know, I co-wrote this song, right?"

      Mostly unrelated, but one of my favorite "what an asshole" true tales is that Alexander Courage wrote the marvelous theme song for the original TV show Star Trek, and he'd be getting royalties every time the song played — at least twice per episode — so the show's mastermind Gene Roddenberry wrote lyrics to the tune. Very hollow lyrics, that got him half of Mr Courage's royalties in perpetuity.

      Beyond
      The rim of the star-light
      My love
      Is wand'ring in star-flight
      I know
      He'll find in star-clustered reaches
      Love,
      Strange love a star woman teaches.

      I know
      His journey ends never
      His star trek
      Will go on forever.
      But tell him
      While he wanders his starry sea
      Remember, remember me.

      Reply
   2. 

      johnthebasket

      08/28/2023

      Doug, this was common practice among label execs at one time, and I've read a fair amount about Atlantic because they were the largest of the "mostly soul" labels. I've never run into Ahmet asking for a piece of the writing credit (or publishing credit which is a more common ask). Ahmet and his brother became quite wealthy by owning a big piece of Atlantic. They didn't need to nickel and dime their performers, so I guess Ahmet threw in a word or two.

      Side note: When Atlantic owned a piece of Otis Redding and had him recording at STAX in Memphis, Otis would dial the Atlantic main switchboard number and ask to speak to Omelet. The switchboard was advised to put calls to Omelet through on Ahmet's private line. He knew who was calling. Otis was brilliant but not educated. Ahmet was both.

      John

      Reply
   3. 

      Doug Holland

      08/28/2023

      "Get me Omelet, please. Not *an* omelet, *the* Omelet." I love that story, thx.

      Ate lunch with my wife at Otis Redding's deathspot, but never breakfast.

      Reply
   4. 

      johnthebasket

      08/28/2023

      Otis' airplane went into a lake right? So was this lunch on the shore or did you row out to the approximate point of impact? And as I recall there was one survivor. I don't suppose he hangs around there for autographs.

      Folks don't remember how big Otis was getting. He was solid in the soul community with "These Arms of Mine", and Aretha had recorded his song "Respect" and taken it to the top. He was A&Ring a couple new performers and had made a splash (sorry) at Monterey Pop. He'd played a two-week gig in San Francisco (staying on Bill Graham's houseboat in Sausalito (and writing most of "Dock of the Bay" there). He'd just bought a large ranch in rural Georgia, cattle and all.

      Commercial air traffic was grounded that day. Otis should have stayed in Memphis.

      jtb

      Reply
   5. 

      Doug Holland

      08/29/2023

      Trumpeteer Ben Cauley was the sole survivor. "In the event of a crash, your seat can be used as a flotation device," the stewardess still says on flights, and that how he survived.

      Never saw him hanging around the memorial, which is just a plaque at the rooftop gardens of the Monona Terrace convention center, overlooking the lake.

      Otis wrote R-E-S-P-E-C-T? How little I know even about the music I love, that I never knew that.

      Reply
3. 

   johnthebasket

   08/27/2023

   Ahmet's Hometown

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6alVaijX1lI

   jtb

   Reply
   1. 

      Doug Holland

      08/28/2023

      I love this song, since before They Might Be Giants. It ought to be in my playlist…

      Reply
4. 

   Cashews

   08/27/2023

   Bob Barker is grabbing angels by the ass now.

   Reply
5. 

   Doug Holland

   08/28/2023

   Barker would love that. Heaven for him, Hell for his employees, just like when he was on The Price is Right.

   Reply
6. 

   johnthebasket

   08/28/2023

   I'm a pretty big fan of the talented musical group They Might Be Giants, and I've found that in accidentally memorizing the lyrics to their song "James K. Polk" I've been a bigger hit at parties where 19th century American politics was a hot topic.

   It turns out that if you know a few things about Polk (even if you only know he was the 11th President) that you can extrapolate much of pre-war 19th century American history. Polk was a bit of a pivot point, and he really was the first "dark horse" candidate for President. This is a fine up-tempo song.

   jtb

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9SvJMZs5Rs

   Reply
   1. 

      Doug Holland

      08/28/2023

      Well, that definitely goes on the playlist, and 48 years later I might score better on US History in high school.

      Bunch of history geeks in this band? That's not normal pop music.

      Reply
   2. 

      johnthebasket

      08/28/2023

      They wrote the song in 1982 and it was published in 1983. At the time there were only two of them, John and John. They thought they were all written out after their first album, but their label agreed to a second album, so they had to write. They randomly opened the P book of the Encyclopedia Britannica, read the article on Polk, and put some sentences in the lyric word for word. Over the next 41 years they published about 25 more albums and scored a couple of TV shows and toured extensively, so I guess they came up with more ideas.

      They couldn't afford to hire more players until the late 80s, and didn't feature anybody but themselves on their albums until 1992. That was the album Flood, which went gold, then platinum. Things went pretty well from there, but the first ten years were a bit of a grind.

      jtb

      Reply
   3. 

      Doug Holland

      08/29/2023

      Anything else by TMBG that you'd recommend? I've always liked their sound. Especially if they wrote or sang any songs about power to the people or putting politicians in prison or such.

      Reply
   4. 

      johnthebasket

      08/29/2023

      TMBG usually is more esoterica and wry humor than politics, but there are a few tunes that you should hear. Most people of an age are familiar with Birdhouse in Your Soul from the Flood album. It might be their best song — at least for a rainy afternoon. You just heard Ana Ng. I prefer their earlier stuff to their later, but not everybody does. Their first radio play song, Don't Let's Start is a nice rocker. Although Flood outsold all their other adult albums combined, I prefer Factory Showroom. I'd recommend that from start to finish. As you know, I'm an album guy rather than a singles guy. The thing about TMBG is they put the analog of Easter eggs in movies into their songs, so you're always getting surprised. They often walk the tightrope of too cute to scoot and too cool for school, but I've never seen them fall off. I don't think I've even heard their last two albums. Unimportant shit like all my doc appointments steal my time.

      John

      Reply
   5. 

      Doug Holland

      08/29/2023

      Listening to the album now, and I like "walk the tightrope of too cute to scoot and too cool for school." Guess I'm not most people my age, never heard that song until now & thanks btw.

      Birdhouse and How Can I Sing Like A Girl go on my list, probably others as the mp3s spin…

      Reply
   6. 

      johnthebasket

      08/30/2023

      My brother, I have been turning people on to They Might Be Giants for 40 years and it has been my honor and pleasure to do so. For you, my friend, it is a special treat for me. I think John and John have always tried to tell the truth and they hold that proclivity in common with you. Next time I'm awake I'll recommend a couple more TMBG tunes and tell some stories about them.

      as always,

      John

      Reply
   7. 

      Doug Holland

      08/30/2023

      I knew of TMBG, of course, but hadn't heard much more than Istanbul and Not the Boss of Me. From this conversation I've snagged six more of their songs already. Keep 'em coming.

      Reply
7. 

   johnthebasket

   08/30/2023

   It's 2:22 in the morning and I woke up thinking about a song the Johns wrote and performed that says just about everything you need to know about their senses of humor. It's called "I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die". It's funny even if you don't get the joke but it's funnier if you do. I'm going back to bed.

   jtb

   Reply
   1. 

      johnthebasket

      08/30/2023

      It's 2:45 in the morning and I was snoring before I realized that I didn't provide a link to the song. I found one. There's probably a better one, but I need to get back to sleep, so this one will do. G'night.

      jtb

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9hgqlR7qJo

      Reply
   2. 

      Doug Holland

      08/30/2023

      I'm a bit of a whiz on the Google, so the song was already playing (and on my playlist) before the link. 🙂

      I've got the getting old part down real good. Trying to put off the dying part but it's outta my hands.

      Reply
8. 

   johnthebasket

   08/30/2023

   I dislike being pedantic, but it's an answer song. You likely know that, but I didn't hear you mention it, so . . .

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJecJ5SI5W0

   John

   Reply
   1. 

      johnthebasket

      08/30/2023

      If you're going to go around whizzing on Google, I find it impossible to be critical of that trickle. I was spending a fair amount of time in Seattle in the 90s, when Jeff Bezos was driving around town in that old beater waving to everybody, promising that he wouldn't buy a new car until Amazon was making money for its shareholders. By then, of course, Amazon had transformed from a decent company into an evil company, just by growing: being huge makes your company evil. But Jeff bought himself a couple of new cars and a couple of rocket ships for the longer trips. As it happens, I was a shareholder, overloaded in Amazon stock. When I cashed it in, 100% of the six figures went to pay for three back surgeries because I didn't have health insurance by then. My car is 24 years old.

      John

      Reply
   2. 

      Doug Holland

      08/31/2023

      Glad you had the ability to pay when health demanded it.

      I was in Frisco when I first heard of Amazon, from technogeeks who thought it was fabulous. Maybe it was; I wasn't yet internet connected, and I've heard Bezos was smart, innovative, and not a monster in his early years. Not sure I believe it, but that's what I heard.

      Who were those guys? They could play real nice music. I can almost hear my pop shouting from upstairs, "Turn it off, turn it off!" but I never did.

      Reply
   3. 

      johnthebasket

      08/31/2023

      Those guys are The Who, one of the BIG FOUR from the 60s (The Beatles, Dylan, The Rolling Stones, The Who). Their most famous line was "I hope I die before I get old".

      TMBG answered them twenty years later with "I hope that I get old before I die."

      John

      Reply
   4. 

      Doug Holland

      08/31/2023

      Is that the critical consensus, "the big four"? The Rolling Stones are a great band, and everyone says it's between them and the Beatles, but I never heard it.

      Give me the Beatles and Dylan and Creedence and CSNY and Hendrix and Simon & Garf and Sparks and the Moody Blues and Pink Floyd and the Monkees before the Rolling Stones come into the picture.

      Reply
   5. 

      johnthebasket

      08/31/2023

      I don't have much time on Thursdays, but your Tom Waits pun deserves a response because so few people write cleverly.

      Yeah, I'd say among the elite and second level rock era critics, those are the big four. Perhaps interestingly, some of the best rock era critics are in Scandinavia, eastern Europe and Russia, probably because those folks aren't USA-centric. In the USA we regularly confuse pop with rock and pay little attention to the music and too much attention to the hooks. We miss chord changes and even key changes and focus on clever lyrics that frequently very clever.

      Like you, from a rock era perspective, I would put Paul Simon (maybe with AND without Art) up there with the big four, but Simon rarely played straight rock (OK, when he did he could rock) but was much closer to folk rock. In terms of great songs and longevity, Simon is right up there with Dylan (and actually has him beaten in functional longevity).

      And there are the Beach Boys. God Only Knows and a half dozen other songs (maybe a dozen) are remarkably well written and well composed.

      The critics make their arguments coherently. My little music library of under a hundred books is a piss in the ocean to the libraries that have been produced by those critics. And there are the specialist critics: Rock 'n' Roll for example, which lasted about ten years until the late '50s, has it's own set of late critics who wrote wisely and rocked themselves.

      Nobody has to make a case for the Beatles. I don't think the Stones need a barrister, but if you do they can hire one. Dylan was divine and his effect on the music of the 60s is clear and unmistakable. Beyond that, we're moving away from rock anyway. The close call is The Who. I think they make it, but maybe you had to be there. The discussion is worth the entertainment value.

      John

      Reply
   6. 

      johnthebasket

      08/31/2023

      Dammit, I know the dif between its and it's (and tits). I type faster than I think. (I go between 30 and 50 WPM – I think MUCH slower).

      John

      Reply
   7. 

      Doug Holland

      09/01/2023

      We never press charges for typos.

      I think I confessed long ago, when I was a kid rock'n'pop was everywhere on the radio, and I knew which songs I liked from the Top 40 but paid little attention to which band or singer was performing them. I used to think the Beatles were ridiculously overrated until I slowly noticed that they'd sung about fifty of my favorite songs.

      So what do I know? Jack diddly, really.

      I do like Sparks, though.

      Reply
9. 

   johnthebasket

   08/30/2023

   I was asked to attend Sunday school until I was confirmed in the Methodist church. That's about age 13. My parents thought that was a reasonable thing to do. Every night at dinner we had quiz time: My Dad would ask us questions about the world and the universe. No prayer, no thanking god for food somebody else grew and my parents bought. I still know the first verse of Holy, Holy, Holy, but I don't sing it much. More likely to sing She's Leaving Home or Oxford Town.

   John

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   1. 

      Doug Holland

      08/31/2023

      We came through it OK I guess, and I'd be terrified to pick other parents than the ones I had, but I'd never do to a kid what our parents, yours and mine, did to us with all the churchgoing.

      I like the serious conversation about news and the universe, though. Nightly? My pop led such dinner dialogues, but only rarely, and I always had the impression he was trying to educate us with his perspectives, teach us to think the way he thunk.

      Some of it took/ Some didn't.

      Holy holy holy
      Lord God Almighty
      Early in the morning, we something something thee…

      Reply
   2. 

      johnthebasket

      08/31/2023

      Without looking . . .

      . . . our song shall rise to thee
      Only thou art holy
      Merciful and mighty
      Who were and art and evermore shall be.

      That's pretty close anyway

      johnthedoubter

      Reply
10. 

    johnthebasket

    08/30/2023

    I hate to admit it, but I also remember all the words to this ditty . . .

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFWQaLUNEdA

    John

    Reply
    1. 

       Doug Holland

       08/31/2023

       I am sorry to be a buzzkill, John, but I cannot tell a lie tonight, and that song is painful. It's a prime example of Dylan's weakness, singing.

       He's written a poem that even I, an anti-poet, can see is quite good, and I guess he's set it to music but then he's sung it so badly I can't even tell if it's set to music.

       Love you, man, sorry. And I even like Dylan, but ouch.

       Reply
    2. 

       johnthebasket

       08/31/2023

       You're not a buzzkill, we just have different tastes in some areas of singing and probably lots of other things as well. I can't listen to a whole song by the Lennon Sisters without encountering turbulence and nausea, but I still listen to early Dylan for hours at a time and enjoy almost all of it. If we liked the same stuff they wouldn't need both of us.

       I'm a particular fan of early Tom Waits. Songs like Jack and Neil and Tom Traubert's Blues are beautiful. Here's Tom Traubert's Blues now . . .

       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGpwgHqlfWo

       jtb

       Reply
    3. 

       Doug Holland

       08/31/2023

       Tom Waits for no man, and steel wool is very comfortable when it's tailored right. 🙂

       Reply
    4. 

       johnthebasket

       08/31/2023

       But when you read the lyrics, there's poetry afoot . . .

       Tom Traubert’s Blues

       Wasted and wounded, it ain't what the moon did
       I've got what I paid for now
       See ya tomorrow, hey Frank, can I borrow
       A couple of bucks from you?

       To go Waltzing Mathilda, Waltzing Mathilda
       You'll go Waltzing Mathilda with me

       I'm an innocent victim of a blinded alley
       And I'm tired of all these soldiers here
       No one speaks English, and every thing's broken
       And my Stacys are soaking wet

       To go Waltzing Mathilda, Waltzing Mathilda
       You'll go Waltzing Mathilda with me

       Now the dogs are barking and the taxi cab's parking
       A lot they can do for me
       I begged you to stab me, you tore my shirt open
       And I'm down on my knees tonight
       Old Bushmills I staggered, you buried the dagger in
       Your silhouette window light

       To go Waltzing Mathilda, Waltzing Mathilda
       You'll go Waltzing Mathilda with me

       Now I lost my Saint Christopher now that I've kissed her
       And the one-armed bandit knows
       And the Maverick Chinamen, and the cold-blooded signs
       And the girls down by the strip-tease shows go

       Waltzing Mathilda, Waltzing Mathilda
       You'll go Waltzing Mathilda with me

       No, I don't want your sympathy, the fugitives say
       That the streets aren't for dreaming now
       Manslaughter dragnets and the ghosts that sell memories
       They want a piece of the action anyhow go

       Waltzing Mathilda, Waltzing Mathilda
       You'll go Waltzing Mathilda with me

       And you can ask any sailor, and the keys from the jailer
       And the old men in wheelchairs know
       That Mathilda's the defendant, she killed about a hundred
       And she follows wherever you may go

       Waltzing Mathilda, Waltzing Mathilda
       You'll go Waltzing Mathilda with me

       And it's a battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace
       And a wound that will never heal
       No Prima Donna, the perfume is on
       An old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey
       And goodnight to the street sweepers
       The night watchman flame keepers and goodnight Mathilda too

       Words and music by Tom Waits and Banjo Paterson

       Reply
    5. 

       johnthebasket

       08/31/2023

       Except for the whisky it's a song about you and me: ragged old men.

       jtb

       Reply
    6. 

       Doug Holland

       09/01/2023

       He introduces the song as Waltzing Matilda, and that's all over the lyrics, so I thought it was the Aussie folk song, but with words and music by Tom Waits and Banjo Paterson it's a different song entirely?

       I get so easily confused, you know.

       Reply
    7. 

       johnthebasket

       09/01/2023

       Banjo Paterson, a historical hero in OZ wrote Waltzing Matilda in 1895. Tom Waits updated it 80 years later, so both get half credit.

       John

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    8. 

       Doug Holland

       09/01/2023

       Did they sit down tohether and work out their differences ?I like the new versiion, more gravitas

       Reply
    9. 

       Claude Reigns

       09/02/2023

       Jeez, dude, that's a bit harsh. I've not paid any attention to Kathleen Brennan other than to note her co-writing credits on Waits' songs. I've not heard nor read anything about her that would qualify her as a "horrible creature" – but I *have* heard several stories about Waits himself being arrogant, presumptuous and literally a thug. His fracas with the great Alice Bag is legendary. Waits comes off exceedingly poorly in that episode.

       As for Brennan's affect on Waits' work… he wrote both good and bad stuff before and after he married her. In my opinion, he best work is Blue Valentine through Bone Machine, right in the thick of his romance with her.

       Reply
    10. 

        johnthebasket

        09/02/2023

        I'm not asserting that Ms Brennan is a monster and Mr Waits is a saint. I'm asserting that after Mr Waits married Ms Brennan in 1980 his music went from compelling to mediocre and the asshole in him rose to the surface. These are the albums Waits published before he married Ms Brennan:

        Closing Time (1973)
        The Heart of Saturday Night (1974)
        Nighthawks at the Diner (1975)
        Small Change (1976)
        Foreign Affairs (1977)
        Blue Valentine (1978)

        They start out excellent and just keep getting better. Small Change and Foreign Affairs are both masterworks.

        After the marriage, Waits became a hermit, unavailable to the music press (which had treated him with affection and respect). He also changed little things in his touring regime, moving from hobo hotels to highly secure, rich people's suites in fancy hotels, complete with security.

        And the music, while occasionally listenable, didn't have the genius quality of his single-life albums.

        Maybe I put too much of the blame on Ms Brennan, but RS and other industry rags noted at the time that Mr Waits became preoccupied with privacy and security after getting married and seemed to spend less time working on his craft. Every artist is responsible for his/her own work, and I suppose blaming the wife for her husband's dramatic change as a person and an artist after getting married lets Waits off too easy. I've stopped listening to his post-1980 work, but continue to listen to those first six timeless, beautiful albums. Your points about blaming the wife are legit and I should be more careful to disperse responsibility without regard to what the music press is asserting.

        Thanks for caring enough to respond.

        John

        Reply
    11. 

        Doug Holland

        09/02/2023

        You guys squabbling about some singer's marriage is a'makin' me giggle.

        Speaking from serious ignorance but some experience growing old, it's *possible* the creative juices simply slow to a trickle as the wrinkles advance.

        Reply
    12. 

        johnthebasket

        09/02/2023

        Tom Waits got married at 30. I'm not ready to assert that 30 is some kind of borderline between productive youth and decrepit old age. I won't exclude the possibility if that's what you want to argue, and it DID happen to Mr Waits. And, come to think of it, The Beatles were just about 30 when they broke up. Hot damn, Douggles, I think you've solved the mystery of the lack of creativity in 21st century culture: Too many people over 30.

        John

        Reply
    13. 

        johnthebasket

        09/02/2023

        It beats Shakespeare's "Let's kill all the lawyers", but not by much.

        jtb

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    14. 

        Doug Holland

        09/02/2023

        I haven't known enough humans to know whether it's a rule, but younger Doug had fire at his fingertips — not saying I was a better writer then or ever any good at all, but when I sat down at the typewriter it usually clacked.

        Now the typewriters are at Goodwill or in museums, and the clacking comes a lot slower.

        Reply
    15. 

        Claude Reigns

        09/03/2023

        Let's talk about Waits' influence on a certain Mr. Bruce Springsteen, a curious thing

        Reply
    16. 

        johnthebasket

        09/03/2023

        OK, I'm happy to do that. I don't know much about it. I know that Bruce covered a few Waits songs in concert and at least one on an album. Do you have some sort of theory about the relationship between the two revealing something about Waits? What is it? My favorite Bruce cover is "Joe Hill" where EVERYONE stands for the last verse, but I'm sure Bruce covers of some of Tom's songs would also be interesting and might reveal something about Tom's relationship with his wife. Fire away.

        John

        Reply
11. 

    johnthebasket

    08/30/2023

    I don't speak gutbucket British, but I got most of this on the second pass. This guy is talking about opening for Hendrix. He had no idea who Hendrix was. He's very funny once you understand what he's saying.

    jtb

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo-lBnTc3So

    Reply
    1. 

       Doug Holland

       08/31/2023

       Now THAT was a hoot! 🙂

       Reply

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