FEATURE: A Romantic Kiss of Domestic Bliss: Aerial at Fifteen: Kate Bush’s Mrs. Bartolozzi

FEATURE:

A Romantic Kiss of Domestic Bliss

Aerial at Fifteen: Kate Bush’s Mrs. Bartolozzi

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ON 7th November….

Kate Bush’s eighth studio album, Aerial, is fifteen - and it is an album that, I hope, will get a lot more airplay around the anniversary. For one, you do not really hear too many of its tracks on the radio. I remember when King of the Mountain was released in October 2005 and it was this much-heralded big return from Bush – her first single in eleven years. I can understand why people were so shocked and moved by King of the Mountain. It was not only Bush’s first musical offering in the twenty-first century, but it was a big song with lots of interesting lines and a great lead vocal – plus, the video was pretty awesome! I have covered that song before and, in the run-up to Aerial’s fifteenth birthday next month, I will feature a couple of other tracks from the album that I am especially interested in. Today, I will talk about, what I think is my favourite songs from Aerial: the enticing, beautiful and ultra-Kate Bush-esque Mrs. Bartolozzi. I say that because it has all the hallmarks of why we love her. On a double album, there are plenty of treasures to be found, but there is so much to love about Mrs. Bartolozzi. It is nicely positioned on the album, and it falls between Bertie, and How to Be Invisible. I think the first disc/side of Aerial starts with quite a propulsive song, and the energy level builds up nicely as we head towards the closer, A Coral Room.

Mrs. Bartolozzi has plenty of drama, wonderful images, and it boasts one of Kate Bush’s best vocals. When I saw it is very Bush-esque, I mean there is that wonderful way she seamlessly integrates the mundane with the fantastical. I guess it sort of mirrors her: the fact that she is very normal and nice, but there is this aura and sense of magic around her that one cannot help but be blown away by. It is a precious song to me, as I remember buying Aerial when it came out, and I think we had a snowy winter in 2005. I recall listening to Mrs. Bartolozzi through headphones and looking out to the family garden and seeing the family build snowmen. It was an odd contrast between the cold and wintery wonder of the outdoors, with the warm and indoors nature of Mrs Bartolozzi. One can listen to the song and see it purely about a woman (Mrs. Bartolozzi) grappling with a dirty floor, some intertwined clothing in the washing machine and some stubborn stains. Most other songwriters would not even approach housework and domestic chores as a lubricant for inspiration, but who else but Kate Bush could not only write about such things without batting an eyelid but do so with such relish and brilliance?! Some interviews conducted with Bush in 2005 (I shall drop a couple in the feature) speculate that Aerial is so-called because of washing detergent of the same name – albeit with the spelling ‘Ariel’. Is Mrs. Bartolozzi’s washing machine symphony the heart and core of Aerial?!

It is to my trusted and ultra-reliable source, the Kate Bush Encyclopaedia, for some guidance, as Bush talked about Mrs. Bartolozzi in a couple of interviews:

“Is it about a washing machine? I think it's a song about Mrs. Bartolozzi. She's this lady in the song who...does a lot of washing (laughs). It's not me, but I wouldn't have written the song if I didn't spend a lot of time doing washing. But, um, it's fictitious. I suppose, as soon as you have a child, the washing suddenly increases. And uh, what I like too is that a lot of people think it's funny. I think that's great, because I think that actually, it's one of the heaviest songs I've ever written! (laughs)

Clothes are...very interesting things, aren't they? Because they say such an enormous amount about the person that wears them. They have a little bit of that person all over them, little bits of skin cells and...what you wear says a lot about who you are, and who you think you are...

So I think clothes, in themselves are very interesting. And then it was the idea of this woman, who's kind of sitting there looking at all the washing going around, and she's got this new washing machine, and the idea of these clothes, sort of tumbling around in the water, and then the water becomes the sea and the clothes...and the sea...and the washing machine and the kitchen... I just thought it was an interesting idea to play with.

What I wanted to get was the sense of this journey, where you're sitting in front of this washing machine, and then almost as if in a daydream, you're suddenly standing in the sea. (Ken Bruce show, BBC Radio 2, 1 November 2005).

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 2005/PHOTO CREDIT: Trevor Leighton/National Portrait Gallery

Well, I do do a lot of washing [chuckles]. I'm sure I would never have written the song if I didn't... You know, just this woman, in her house, with her washing. And then the idea of taking the water in the washing machine with all the clothes, and the water then becoming the sea... and I also think there's something very interesting about clothes. They're kind of people without the people in them, if you know what I mean? [Kate laughs] They all have our scent, and pieces of us on them, somehow. (Front Row, BBC4, 4 November 2005)”.

It is only to be expected that the routine and rigour of housework should feed into Bush’s work and compel her imagination. She gave birth to her son, Beritie, in 1998, so he was still very small when the song was written. I can only imagine her watching him – perhaps whilst writing or just watching the day while away – or frowning when he accidentally spills something on the floor or covers himself in food, knowing that it was an extra trip to the washing machine and a long clean-up job! Sub-textually or directly, a lot of Aerial revolves around Bertie and Bush enjoying a new phase of her life. On paper, Mrs. Bartolozzi might sound like a song one might skip, but there is beauty, eroticism, and some of Bush’s most compelling images in the song.

The first verse is Bush, as the narrator or heroine, going about her business and attending to the washing and cleaning. Even though there is exposition and Bush setting up the song’s centrepiece of the swirling and intoxicating washing machine, there is something hypnotic and important in her voice. Few could sing “All over the hall carpet/I took my mop and my bucket/And I cleaned and I cleaned/The kitchen floor/Until it sparkled” and make it shine (no pun intended!) and imbed, but one immerses themselves in the song and stands beside Bush/the protagonist as she labours with a mixture of ardour and pride. For those who wondered what Bush had been up to after 1993’s The Red Shoes, I guess we get a sort of glimpse into her world, in the sense that the demands and importance of home was more important than recording or the promotional duties associated with releasing an album. There is no real chorus as such to the song, but the mantra, “Washing machine/Washing machine” is spellbinding. I love how the first verse changes and moves as the lyrics are delivered. The piano drives the song, and Bush’s voice flows, rises and elongates. The mood changes when we get to the chorus/washing machine lines, as she delivers the line…then there is a pause…then there is a longer pause…then her voice rises gorgeously as ‘washing machine’s is sung in this angelic tone.

PHOTO CREDIT: @anniespratt/Unsplash

It is a beautiful passage of the song, and it is made all the more unusual because of what she is singing about and whether the emotion being displayed is one of admiration, curiosity, or something else. Since Kate Bush’s career began, I think the media have sexualised her and they always pick apart her songs and sort of fixate on that side of things. I remember when 50 Words for Snow came out in 2011, and there is a song on the album, Misty, where there is a sexual encounter between a woman and a snowman. A lot of interviewers highlighted that song and probably misinterpreted it in a way – it is not quite as unusual and lurid as many might out, and it is not Bush in the song but a protagonist. I love that track, and it is a really imaginative and original one where there is this unorthodox bond. The same could be said, to a degree, of Mrs. Bartolozzi. Consider the lines in the second verse: “I watched them going round and round/My blouse wrapping itself around your trousers/Oh the waves are going out/My skirt floating up around my waist/As I wade out into the surf”. There is an element of charge and purr to Bush’s vocal, and it is evident that she is letting her mind wander as she washes the clothes dance. As the piano charges forward and Bush’s voice grows ever-dreamier and engrossing, the images that come forth provoke the imagination. “Little fish swim between my legs”, again, could be seen as quite sexual, but I think it is someone finding strange wonder and fascination in the ordinary.

One could see the song as Mrs. Bartolozzi transfixed by the motion of the washing machine as she allows her some escape from the day’s labour, but there does seem to be this sense of loss and pining. The lines “I think I see you standing outside/But it’s just your shirt/Hanging on the washing line/Waving it’s arm as the wind blows by/And it looks so alive/Nice and white”, to me, suggests that there is someone in her life who is either departed or a lost love. With no other musicians on the track, we just have the sublime vocal (and backing vocals) of Kate Bush and her piano. Recorded at her home studio, there is a different sound to previous albums. I feel greater intimacy and nuance through Aerial than a lot of her earlier albums, and Bush sounds relaxed and really in her element. I think that she needed the time after The Red Shoes to step away and decompress, as there was a lot of stress in her life. That album did not get overly-great reviews, and there was a lot of loss in her life around 1992/1993. Her life and work changed significantly in the years after The Red Shoes, and Aerial was the first album (apart from maybe Hounds of Love) where Bush is both in control and seems free of demands and stress – even though there would have been bad days and EMI at her door asking when an album is coming out!

PHOTO CREDIT: @sanasaidi/Unsplash

Maybe some would consider the final lines, “Slooshy sloshy slooshy sloshy/Get that dirty shirty clean/Slooshy sloshy slooshy sloshy/Make those cuffs and collars gleam/Everything clean and shiny” as a little on the nose and self-parodying, but there is a child-like wonder and playfulness to the lines that is hard to resist! Then, we get the final ‘washing machine’ calls, and the song comes to an end. I almost think that Mrs. Bartolozzi should have closed the first disc of Aerial – not to question Bush’s sequencing and decision-making -, as it packs so much in and it ends with quite a quiver of emotion. That said, A Coral Room, is the longest song on that disc/side, and it is quite an emotional number, so I think it was actually the right call to end the first disc, A Sea of Honey, with that song. I am interested by the titles of both discs: A Sea of Honey for the first, and A Sky of Honey for the second disc. The second disc is a conceptual suite documenting the lifespan and activities of an English day, and each of the nine tracks are best enjoyed as a single experience. I wonder where Bush got the idea of a sky and sea of honey and what meaning that has to her. That is a detour, but it is interesting comparing the sounds of the first and second discs/albums and the themes of the songs.

PHOTO CREDIT: @jsnbrsc/Unsplash

Mrs. Bartolozzi will mean something slightly different to everyone, but I love it because it builds and builds, and Bush elevates the seeming banality of cleaning and the laundry and turns it into this mini-symphony. I sort of wonder what it would be like if she had released Mrs. Bartolizzi as a single. King of the Mountain was the only single, but I feel Mrs. Bartolozzi, and A Coral Room would have made great singles! Perhaps she wasn’t keen to promote singles and wanted people to enjoy the album as a whole, but one can only wonder about the visuals of Mrs. Bartolozzi and how the song would have been treated through a video. If, at the start of Mrs. Bartolozzi, the heroine laments the state of the house – “I remember it was that Wednesday/Oh when it rained and it rained/They traipsed mud all over the house/It took hours and hours to scrub it out/All over the hall carpet” -, soon the emotional dynamic and direction of the song changes. Before Aerial turns fifteen, I am looking back on particular songs and going deep. I don’t think many reviewers at the time spent a lot of time with individual songs – as Aerial is a double album, I guess one can only skim the surface -, so it is good to listen to them now and hear them expand and unfurl. Although Aerial is busy with wonderfully-written and amazing songs, I do think that Mrs. Bartolozzi is…

AMONG the absolute best.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Lauran Hibberd

FEATURE:

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Sarah Butler

Lauran Hibberd

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IN this week’s Spotlight….

is an artist I have been following for a while now. I really love Lauran Hibberd’s sound as it combines bands like Weezer and some of the great stuff of the late-1990s and early-2000s, but there is some modern-day Phoebe Bridgers. Hibberd’s music, however, is very much her own, and these influences come through now and then; a beautiful mix of the personal and classic. The excellent track, Boy Bye, has just come out, and it seems that Hibberd grows stronger and more assured with each release. She has an expanding and loyal fanbase behind her, and I cannot wait to see where she heads in the future. I shall talk more about that soon, but I want to bring in a few interviews from this year. Earlier in the year, Hibberd spoke with EUPHORIA about a busy 2019 and what it was like putting together a headline tour:

“You spent a good chunk of 2019 on the road, touring with Hippo Campus and The Regrettes, as well as playing Glasto! How do you stay grounded when you’re travelling so much?

Yes! It was a mad crazy year. I think I was too tired to not be grounded, and my band are like my best mates really so we’ve always just rode the wave and had fun but also kept our heads down really. I have a super supportive family, so their encouragement has always been at the centre for me. I just feel lucky to have a great team of good people around me. It makes this process so much easier.

You’ve just finished your second headline tour – what were some of the highlights from that?

WOW! It was amazing. I’m so used to being the support band, so to headline my own tour and sell out shows, and have people queuing outside for me… is just mental to be honest! My highlight has to be Manchester, the crowd knew every word to every song and had stacks of energy. I experienced my very first mosh pit to ‘Call Shotgun’. It was awesome.

There are a lot of great solo artists breaking through, and more interesting sounds than we have ever heard! I like how there is a bit of Pop, Alternative Rock, Slacker Rock and Folk in Hibberd’s music; it works really well, and every song from her is individual and phenomenal! There is a lot of talk as to when a debut album will come out, and I am sure she has plans very soon. I am interested in the songwriter’s start and her influences. Hibberd spoke with The Line of Best Fit this year , and we find our what her (unusual) first job was, in addition to some comparisons that have been levied at her:

“Ask anyone what their first job was, and you’ll probably get a very predictable answer; a clothes shop, a cinema, a cafe... Lauran Hibberd’s first job just so happened to be on a dinosaur farm. “I had to look after and clean the dinosaur eggs!” she laughs. “I thought that was my first proper job, but looking back it wasn’t. They probably just made it up. I enjoyed it though!”

Reflecting on her time growing up next to a dinosaur-themed attraction on the Isle of Wight – the place she still calls home – Hibberd says, “I loved living there as a kid, being so close to the beach. As a kid that’s like the best thing ever! Then, when you’re like 17, you sort of kick back against it a bit. I’m sure I’ll come around to it again when I’m older. Maybe when I’m like 77...” Good thing then that Hibberd’s able to get away a lot now.

Hibberd’s music is perhaps most easily described as a mix between the two bands that her producers introduced her to. “They gave me a couple of Weezer and The Smashing Pumpkins records, and I wasn’t really familiar with either of them, but I just absolutely loved them. Weezer are now my absolute favourite band,” explains Hibberd.

Another comparison that Hibberd has had is Phoebe Bridgers, who she says she’s a huge fan of. “I love Phoebe’s way of telling stories in her lyrics, and her sense of humour.” The kind of music she listened to growing up was vastly different to what she now makes, though — “My friends and I were like the biggest Justin Bieber fangirls! We were into all the boybands and that sort of thing, and had posters on our walls.”

For all the comparisons and similarities, Hibberd’s sound is very much on her own terms. There’s a definite ‘90s and early ‘00s feel to a lot of her songs, which is familiar yet fresh — a far cry from the heavily autotuned pop a lot of other young artists are putting out. Hibberd writes all her own music, with the songs often coming to her through “both feelings and experiences.” She says she can spend “a very long while on one song”, with the need to make sure it’s exactly as she wants it”.

There is a lot to learn and admire about Lauran Hibberd. She hails from the Isle of Wight, and there are not that many standout musicians from that part of the country. That is not a slight on the music scene there, but it is quite a small population and, despite the fact there is a major festival held there each year, I don’t think many of us would associate the Isle of Wight with a wave of great music – maybe I am wrong! Lauran Hibberd is definitely putting the Isle of Wight back on the map. She was asked about growing up there when she spoke with PRS for Music in April:

“How did growing up on the Isle of Wight affect your music?

I’m still here now, representing! You know what, it’s a really lovely place to grow up. It’s beautiful, but I think when you’re my age and you’re trying to make being a musician happen it has its hold ups.

I started off playing gigs on the Isle of Wight. I was lucky enough for one of my first gigs to be Isle of Wight Festival, so that was really cool. People do support local musicians, but there isn’t really that many places to play, so I was quite quick to get off the island and start playing in closer towns and cities like Southampton, Portsmouth and then London and what not.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sarah Butler

But it’s more the travel aspect that’s a bit of a hold up, the ferry is a pain. If you’re playing in London and then you want to get home and you miss the midnight ferry, you’ve got to wait there until 3am. We’ve done that a lot of times now where it’s become old news to us. We’re like ‘oh god another sausage roll at 4am, brilliant.’

How are you coping in the current circumstances re COVID-19?

I’m fine. I was pretty bummed at the start because I was supposed to play SXSW and that was the first big musical thing to get cancelled. And at the time it didn’t seem like it was that bad, the whole virus situation, so I was like ‘oh my god’ and it was the end of the world and little did I know that three weeks later we’d be on lockdown. It’s a scary time but I’m just staying in, getting my head down, trying to use it to do loads of writing and recording. Just trying to make it as good as I can. But yeah, I’m pretty much fine, apart from the occasional cry but that’s pretty standard anyway”.

Do you have any plans for a full-length album?

I do, yeah. We’re writing, really trying to get the thing together at the moment. It’s definitely something I’m silently working on in the background”.

I love all of Hibberd’s songs, but this year’s Old Nudes got a great reception. Not to compare her to Phoebe Bridgers but, in terms of the humour, character and wit we get in the songs – and a bit of cheekiness that comes through – there are links between Hibberd and the twenty-six-year-old Californian. There is a very bright future ahead for Hibberd, I think. I want to bring in an article from The Line of Best Fit where we learn more about the background to Old Nudes:

“Hibberd revealed, “‘Old Nudes’ is unfortunately based upon a true story. We’ve all been there right!? The track looks back on the ‘mistake’, and almost mocks it using over confidence. It belittles the receiver, and oozes sarcasm and naivety. I keep writing songs about being young because I’m scared of getting too old to joke about these things.”

Armed with the wit and candour of a diary entry, slacker pop star Lauran Hibberd’s satirical single “Old Nudes” is bound to ‘pop-up’ everywhere.

Following on from her January-blues-killer “Bang Bang Bang” and subsequent sold-out UK tour comes Isle of Wight wonder Lauran Hibberd’s latest tell-all anthem, “Old Nudes”.

The 22-year-old turns an all-too-real scenario into gold with the unapologetic artistry of “Old Nudes”, a cleverly spun track that’s steeped in playful charm. Vivacious vocals and fizzing production help to set off the narrative behind this uptempo tongue-in-cheek tune.

 Hibberd revealed, “‘Old Nudes’ is unfortunately based upon a true story. We’ve all been there right!? The track looks back on the ‘mistake’, and almost mocks it using over confidence. It belittles the receiver, and oozes sarcasm and naivety. I keep writing songs about being young because I’m scared of getting too old to joke about these things.

“I jumped into a pool of Weezer and found myself confessing my old nude anxieties," she says. "The song resents itself in a laughable way, and hints at how it really feels to hate someone you once loved.”

“The video felt appropriate to self record, not only because of isolation but because it encapsulates the setting in how we all get into this mess in the first place,” says Hibberd. “The webcam on my old laptop has seen some sites in its life, but never quite to this extent”.

Make sure you follow Hibberd on social media, as I think there will be quite a bit more music and news from her before the year is done. Maybe she will bring out a Christmas single, or we might get an E.P. or something else. Every one of her songs is imbued with so much personality and excellence, so I think she is going to be someone we will hear a lot more of as time goes by. If you are looking for a great young songwriter who differs from everyone out there, then go and investigate…

THE wonderful Lauran Hibberd!

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Follow Lauran Hibberd

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/lauran.hibberd/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/lauranhibberd

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/lauranhibberd/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK4H3Oy-dWeZysv2elqXGaw

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/33ReZaGVb63WaJE68WgWuU

FEATURE: Vinyl Corner: DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper

FEATURE:

Vinyl Corner

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper

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ONE almost has to put out a disclaimer….

when recommending an album like He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper. I really like the album, and it is one that I would urge people to get on vinyl. It was the second release from Will Smith and Jeffrey Townes (DJ Jazzy Jeff). I think the partnership between the two is excellent but, in a time when there was so much great Hip-Hop and Rap, one could not find the cutting edge, wit and intrigue on He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper as there was on many albums from that period. It is the humour, goofiness and fun of the album that resonates; fast forward to 1989, and De La Soul were criticised by many for their Daisy Age debut, 3 Feet High and Rising – now considered to be one of the finest and most influential Hip Hop albums ever. In its original vinyl incarnation, it was a double album; the first double album in Hip Hop! Now, Will Smith is a megastar, and he and Jazzy Jeff were together through the iconic comedy, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air – where Will Smith played the titular character, and Jazzy Jeff was his loveable-but-loser friend who would often by tossed out of the Bel-Air mansion by Uncle Phil (Smith was staying with the family after moving from West Philadelphia). I am distressing, but two years before that show started, we had this brilliant duo were taking Rap and Hip-Hop to new places.

If some critics then (and since) feel He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper lacks the heft and political relevance of the best of the late-1980s, then one cannot argue with the sales figures! The album was certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on 1st February, 1995, and it is the duo's most successful album. In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source 100 Best Rap Albums. At eighteen tracks-long, He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper is an ambitious and sprawling album but I think it works more often than not! The album's second single, Parents Just Don't Understand, won the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance and it is one of the standouts from the album. The song was inspired by Smith’s experiences with his own parents; feeling that they did not understand him and there was this sense of conflict. What I love about He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper – as I do with so many of the great Hip Hop albums – is the sampling. On Brand New Funk, we hear snatches of Bouncy Lady by Pleasure, Funky President (People It's Bad) by James Brown, I Can't Live Without My Radio by LL Cool J, and (Fallin' Like) Dominoes by Donald Byrd. Sampling is one of my favourite aspects of music, and we hear it far less now than in the 1980s and 1990s – it is harder and more expensive to get clearance and permission from relevant labels and estates.

In terms of reviews, He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper has received a lot of praise. Regarding weaknesses and negatives, some highlight various lyrics from Will Smith as lacking spark and imagination and, as a rapper, he is not as accomplished and slick as many of his peers! I actually think his charm and storytelling is one of the major strengths of the albums and, combines that with Jazzy Jeff’s exceptional D.J. and production talents, and you’re onto a winner. In their review, this is what AllMusic had to say:

“This is the album on which DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince hit commercial pay dirt, the album that introduced the duo's jokey, benign, and somewhat goofball demeanor to a wide audience. Without He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper, in fact, it could be argued that you never would have had Will Smith: Movie Star, as the album afforded him a level and type of exposure he would never thereafter relinquish. Oddly enough, it is DJ Jazzy Jeff who generally was cited as the musical star of the duo, at least in the rap community, on account of his groundbreaking and always wizardly work on the turntables. That skill is evident ("D.J. on the Wheels"), but often takes a back seat here in deference to the Fresh Prince's whimsical story-songs. To be frank, Smith's rhymes and antics can become rather, well, hokey, like Slick Rick with an antiseptic tongue, but they are always good-natured and good fun, admirable qualities in themselves considering rap's growing inclination at the time to drift toward the hardcore and polemical sides of the street.

He's the DJ is almost cartoon-like by comparison. Painfully corny music videos for the hit singles "Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Nightmare on My Street" underscored the impression to an even greater extent. The reality, though, is slightly more interesting than the caricature. There are songs here ("Brand New Funk," "Pump Up the Bass," the title track) that go straight to the heart of hip-hop's traditional role as sweaty house-party soundtrack and which highlight a more "street" facet of the duo. Still, this is not a consequential album. It is an extremely likable one, however, with a youthful vigor, animateness, and a spirited sense of humor undiminished by the ensuing decades. Compared with some of the strains of rap that were to follow, which often mistook sarcasm or irony for drollery, He's the DJ seems a quaint, practically naïve artifact of an era before bling-bling and Benzes became the norm”.

Despite some criticisms, He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper still stands up, and I actually like the music videos! I think today, where things are very serious and humour has slipped out of music, it is great looking back at the videos from He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper – even if, at the time, some would have written off DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince as being Hip Hop-lite. There is plenty to love and recommend on He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper: from the sheer range of songs through to the sampling and connection between the duo, one cannot knock such a successful album.

I will finish by bringing in one more review – this time from Sputnik Music. They concur with my observation regarding the bond between DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince:

“'Here We Go' is pretty typical rap fare, in that it is standard ego-inflated boasting about how good DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince are and that you should buy their previous album. But unlike boasting from later artists, the song is approached playfully and lightly ('Loyal fans and newfound followers ' what's up y'all, hello, how are you doing out there? You're chilling, I'm winning ' Oh, by the way' the album's out, go get it').

Yet even with this frivolity, there is an accomplished layer beneath the Fresh Prince's amusing tales; DJ Jazzy Jeff was a pioneer of disc jockeying, and it shows on this album. While his contributions to every song are crucial, he particularly shines on songs where his turntable skills are emphasised, like the fascinating 'He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper', 'DJ on Wheels' and 'Hip Hop Dancer's Theme'. Jazzy Jeff was a very talented artist and on the songs where his work on the turntable is showcased are highlights of the album. The album also features the talented beatboxing of Ready Rock C (like on 'My Buddy') whose vocals skills still amaze me to this day.

But perhaps the most engaging aspect of the album is the relationship between Will and Jeff. Even without knowing the backstory on their long-term friendship, it is obvious listening to this record that these two heavily admire each other and the respect they show each other only makes the album more enjoyable. Especially on the highlight (and title track) 'He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper', the interplay between DJ and Rapper is fascinating to hear. They clearly feed off each other and it is evident throughout the record”.

If you want an album that will lift the mood, introduce you to an important album from the golden era of Hip Hop, and leave an impression on your brain, then go and investigate He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper. It is an underrated and fascinating album that, despite some weaker moments, provides plenty of joy and memorable moments. If you’re looking for an album that will help to put a smile on your face, then DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince…

HAVE got you covered.

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: Songs from Brilliant Live Albums

FEATURE:

  

The Lockdown Playlist

Songs from Brilliant Live Albums

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THIS Lockdown Playlist….

is all about live music. Because venues around the world are fighting to stay afloat and we all missing the thrill and connection of live music, I wanted to bring together some epic and moving live performances from across the years. Especially in the U.K., the future of many of our beloved venues is under threat and it is going to be a very tense next few months! I hope most of them survive and live music can return in some form next year. Before then, I have been listening to a lot of live albums, in the same way people download apps with office noises on them – as they cannot get into the office, they can simulate the environment! It is not the same as being at a gig, but we get to hear the electricity and that vague feeling we are there. In any case, these performances are amazing, and there are some stunning performances on the playlist. Settle back and enjoy some…

FABULOUS live cuts.

FEATURE: Reelin’ in the Years: Back to the Vinyl Crates: The Joys of Sampling

FEATURE:

Reelin’ in the Years

PHOTO CREDIT: @jamakassi/Unsplash

Back to the Vinyl Crates: The Joys of Sampling

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THINKING about the title of this feature….

PHOTO CREDIT: @akshayspaceship/Unsplash

and I reckon Steely Dan’s Reelin’ in the Years’ guitar solo (with a lead by Elliott Randall) would make for a great sample! I am not sure whether it has been used much, but here is a group whose rich music begs for crate-diving which can lead to some great samples making their way into music. This feature is not related to anything particular but, as Hip Hop’s golden era was still in full swing thirty years ago, it has got me looking back at the years between 1986 and 1991 and some of the great sample-heavy albums. Of course, sampling continues to this day. Through the 1990s and into the 2000s, albums from the likes of Beck (Odelay!) and The Avalanches (Since I Left You) were released. In fact, The Avalanches’ debut album was released twenty years ago next month (27th) - and that album is packed with samples from a variety of records! I think it has become harder to get clearance to use samples, and that is a real shame! Everyone who loves a bit of sampling will have their favourite album filled with great snatches of popular songs, but I really love it when an album catches you by surprise in terms of its samples. Some artists have used a lot of samples on an album to create this unique sound, whereas other artists put in one or two samples and it can really add to a song. Some argue that the more samples the better, whereas others feel that a slight peppering is more effective.

I started to listen to Hip Hop as a child and I was really interested, not only by the breadth of the genre, but how groups used samples and how effective they were. Whether it was Public Enemy sampling everyone from James Brown to Lyn Collins on It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, or De La Soul sampling Steely Dan on 3 Feet High and Rising, I was getting this musical education. I was learning so much about politics and the state of the world – particularly black rights in the U.S. -, but I was being introduced to artists I may not have otherwise heard. The beginnings and development of sampling is an interesting one. Udiscovermusic provided a brief history of sampling in 2018 – and I want to bring in a few extracts:

“Hip-hop’s unlikely heroes are The Shadows: a British instro combo led by bespectacled guitarist Hank Marvin, and best known for backing Cliff Richard. Their 1960 chart-topper ‘Apache’ was covered by The Incredible Bongo Band on their 1973 album, Bongo Rock, and it’s this latter version that soon found its way into the arsenal of every block-party DJ of the 70s, the mix-masters keeping its distinctive drumbeat going ad infinitum for breakdancers (or B-boys and B-girls) to bust a move to. So important is the song in hip-hop’s history that it’s been claimed as the genre’s “national anthem” and, in 1981, Sugar Hill Gang, the group who first took hip-hop into the charts with ‘Rapper’s Delight’, recorded a tribute, ‘Apache’, capturing the spirit of those early block parties.

Arguably the only challenger to James Brown’s status as hip-hop’s go-to source was George Clinton, whose P-Funk empire has long been part of hip-hop’s DNA, appearing in everything from goofy classics such as Digital Underground’s ‘Humpty Dance’ (built around Parliament’s ‘Let’s Play House’) to gangsta rap landmarks. Indeed, the Parliafunkadelicment Thang even lent its P-Funk epithet to the G-Funk music that Dr Dre helped spearhead, a stand-out example of which is Snoop Dogg’s Dre-produced ‘Who Am I? (What’s My Name?)’, which refashioned Clinton’s solo outing ‘Atomic Dog’ into Snoop’s theme tune.

Beastie Boys released a high-water mark of the Golden Age, Paul’s Boutique. Though their soul and funk samples were de rigueur, the Beasties, along with production duo The Dust Brothers, cast as wide a net as anyone had up to that point, looking to everyone from country icon Johnny Cash to The Beatles for source material, and coming up with masterpieces such as ‘The Sounds Of Science’, a dazzling patchwork that included various snippets from ‘Back In The USSR’, ‘The End’, ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ (both the main track and its reprise) and ‘When I’m 64’ – and that’s just the Beatles samples.

It took someone with bags of confidence to revisit well-worn tracks in the 21st Century… someone like Kanye West, who made a name for himself doing just that. In his early days, in particular, West super-charged classic soul cuts, making them more bombastic than ever before while bringing these important recordings to a new audience. By the time he turned to Ray Charles’ ‘I Got A Woman’, he had the trick down to a fine art, making that song a central component to his all-conquering ‘Gold Digger’ single of 2005. When he sampled Nina Simone’s cover of Billie Holiday’s iconic civil-rights anthem ‘Strange Fruit’ on 2013’s ‘Blood On The Leaves’ he almost made it sound more chilling than the original.

For Kanye – as for the best hip-hop artists – there are no boundaries. As West grew in statue, so did his ambitions, and, for his 2010 masterpiece, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, he starting looking to prog rock for music that could match his outsized ideas, lighting upon Mike Oldfield’s ‘In High Places’ for ‘Dark Fantasy’. And though prog is not often the go-to source for hip-hop’s guiding lights, OutKast’s subtle use of Camel’s 1976 recording ‘Spirit Of The Water’ on their 1998 track ‘Da Art Of Storytellin’ (Part 2)’ remains a testament to the creativity of both”.

One of the biggest problems for artists now is that they cannot afford to sample. There are guides as to how to clear samples, but if you are taking from big-catalogue artists, then the price of samples is insane! It is a shame that so many potentially brilliant albums are lacking because artists are fearful of legal difficulties if they do not clear samples. It is fair to artists and estates that people get permission, but there is often such a high fee or long process to get that approval that many artists are not bothering at all. There are some who say sampling is lazy and it devalues the songs that are being sampled; others feel that artists who do not get clearance for samples are stealing from artists, but there is a big argument as to why sampling in the past and now is a good thing. In terms of modern-day sampling, with a technology boom, it is easier to mix samples into artists’ songs, and many do so without prior permission.

PHOTO CREDIT: @sankhadeep_5300/Unsplash

There is that debate to whether it is theft, but if artists follow the law and get clearance, I think it can lead to wonderful things. It can make an album so much richer. I love the classic Hip Hop records, and I think many of the songs on them (that use samples) would be weaker and less effective if they stripped away those layers. In terms of musical discovery, sampling can lead people to records that they are new to. As I said, I have listened to some great albums with sampled songs, and I have gone away and investigated the artists involved. I also think that samples can boost sales for the artists who are sampled. A Forbes article from 2013 backs this up:

"Fair Use, Girl Talk, and Digital Sampling: An Empirical Study of Music Sampling's Effect on the Market for Copyrighted Works," by W. Michael Schuster, a Texas Judicial law clerk, shows that the potential economic benefits of fair use should be factored into future court decisions. Schuster argues that Girl Talk's 2010 album All Day (available free here), is the perfect test case for this effect. The album contains 350 samples of well known pop and hip hop songs. WIth the exception of some electronic drum beats, the album is wholly composed of other people's music. And yet, anyone who has seen a Girl Talk show and experienced the intense performance style of DJ Gregg Gillis (whom I have interviewed in these pages) understands that he has made this music his own through his great love and respect for the music of others.

Schuster found that "to a 92.5% degree of statistical significance — the copyrighted songs sold better in the year after being sampled relative to the year before." Further, the length of the samples did not seem to have any correlation on the sales of the songs. Schuster concludes that, "this study sets the ground work for an objective financial review of fair use and market effect, which would yield needed predictability and stability to the fair use doctrine (at least, with regard to digital sampling)".

One reason why we do not have a Hip Hop scene as varied and strong as in the 1980s and 1990s is because of the difficultly in getting samples. There are other reasons, but I think so many of the classic albums are defined by the use of samples, and we hear fewer of them today. Artists are turning to electronic samples and sound effects rather than original recordings, but it is always nice to see a modern album or song come out that utilises other tracks. Reading exerts from Creative License: The Law and Culture of Digital Sampling, by Kembrew McLeod and Peter DiCola with Jenny Toomey and Kristin Thomson (2011), and it seems though groups like Public Enemy felt liberated when sampling; the main intention was to create something new by combining so many disparate sounds. Chuck D (Public Enemy) conflates Public Enemy mixing sounds to the way visual artists mix colours to come up with new colours.

I want to finish by quoting from an interview The Atlantic conducted with Kembrew McLeod, co-author of Creative License: The Law and Culture of Digital Sampling, in 2011. He talked about how sampling can bring back memories and has a cultural importance – specifically during the period of 1987-1992:

“In the recording industry, and in some consumers' minds, sampling is "stealing." But what are some of the aesthetic or conceptual reasons why sampling is important?

Sounds can bring back memories. Some samples remind the listener of a particular era, or connect a song with a particular moment in time. Artists want to transport themselves, and the listener, for nostalgic reasons—or to provide historical resonance. Sampling can function like an audio time machine.

But there are also certain sounds that can only be accessed through appropriation or quotation. The sonic qualities of vintage, analog equipment or a crackly vinyl record can't truly be recreated through digital plugins and audio filters. You can invoke these textures, but you don't get the same sound from a rerecording of a sample as you do from accessing that particular sound source.

In Creative License, you write that sampling's golden age took place roughly between 1987 and 1992. What was it about that era that made sonic appropriation so creative and dynamic?

Record companies still thought hip-hop was a fad, so they didn't pay attention to what these artists were doing. This gave hip-hop artists the creative elbow room to run wild with this new technology and make music in whatever way they wanted without worrying about a lawyer looking over their shoulder”.

I mentioned how many artists cannot afford to sample heavily today, and there is an argument that informed consent and permission holds back creativity – as artists are priced out and have to reign in their ambitions. I can appreciate how those who create songs do not want their music used illegally and making other artists money – if they get nothing, then that doesn’t sound fair. There needs to be a middle-ground between what we had in the 1980s and 1990s – where artists often used samples without permission – and the rigidity of today. McLeod alluded to this:

“You suggest two influential hip hop releases—the Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique and Public Enemy's Fear of a Black Planet—would be financially and bureaucratically impossible to release today, due to their heavy sampling.

Right. This is something people have been saying for a long time. My co-author Peter DiCola and I were able to do some economic modeling to test the hypothesis.

We figured out—song by song, sample by sample—how much it would cost to release each record. Sticking with the example of Paul's Boutique: there are about 2.5 million units sold of that record. Incidentally, a lot of the samples on Paul's Boutique actually were cleared—but they were cleared at a time, 1989, when the industry didn't really see the value of sampling yet, so the rates for copyright clearances were much lower. Today, the rates they'd have to pay would make it impossible. Based on the number and type of samples in that record, Peter figured out that Capitol Records would lose 20 million dollars on a record that sold 2.5 million units. Fear of a Black Planet is similar.

PHOTO CREDIT: @danidums/Unsplash

It is important for musician and estates to allow others a bit of freedom when it comes to sampling, in order to progress music as a whole and so we can encourage the hugely important and inspiring Hip Hop (and other genres) albums we saw in years past. McLeod was asked about how things need to change this century:

“How do you think copyright law should change in the 21st century?

I think that if songwriter writes a song, they should have the right to continue to make money when it gets played on the radio, say, or used in an advertisement. But when it comes to transformative sampling, we need to acknowledge that musicians have always copied each other, and have always transformed previously existing compositions and recordings. There needs to be a balance”.

The laws and moral arguments are going to continue, and I hope there are new laws and breakthroughs in the coming years that would allow for more sampling at a reasonable cost without there being too much intellectual theft. I have been listening back to a lot of my favourite albums that rely on samples and they have opened my musical perspective and helped me discovered so many different artists from all corners of the musical landscape. There are few things finer than digging through crates for records and, although it can be arduous when artists sample and try to find the perfect sounds, they would be the first to admit that joining together a world of sounds to create something new is…

PHOTO CREDIT: @5tep5/Unsplash

AN absolute joy!

FEATURE: A Cast of Thousands: Kate Bush and the Variety of Vocals and Vocal Characters in Her Music

FEATURE:

A Cast of Thousands

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush at the 1980 British Rock and Pop Awards/PHOTO CREDIT: Mirrorpix/Getty Images

Kate Bush and the Variety of Vocals and Vocal Characters in Her Music

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WHILST searching to see whether I have covered this…  

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1978 in a Lionheart album outtake (different expression) by Gered Mankowitz at his photo studio on Great Windmill Street, London

in detail before, I have been listening back to Kate Bush’s best songs and am flabbergasted by the vocals throughout! Many people talk about Bush’s voice in the singular; in the sense that she has a voice that is unique and so different to anything we will ever hear. That is true but, through her career, we got a great mixture of a single Bush vocal taking centre stage and tracks where she layered her voice. In a previous feature, I have discussed Bush and how she brought more and unusual instruments into her albums after a while, but one can also see a certain confidence with her vocals; she was layering more and putting others into the mix. I will take this chronologically, but there are going to people out there who do not realise the fact that Bush has used so many different people through the years – everyone from Lenny Henry to her son, Bertie! I am going to focus purely on Bush’s music as opposed collaborations, but listen to her on Peter Gabriel’s No Self Control, and Games Without Frontiers (from his third eponymous album of 1980), and Don’t Give Up on 1986’s So. Even though there were six years between these recordings, Bush sounds so different on Don’t Give Up compared to Games Without Frontiers – even if she does only sing three words on Games Without Frontiers! I guess one can notice that shift and sea change in terms of her albums; the vocals we hear on Hounds of Love in 1985 and The Sensual World in 1989 are poles apart from the younger woman of The Kick Inside of 1978.

I will start with that debut album, as it is, to me, the most feminine/female album she ever recorded – even if some argue that honour should go to The Sensual World. In terms of backing vocals from others, there were fewer contributors than we’d hear on later albums. Bush’s brother, Paddy, lends some brilliant deep vocals to Them Heavy People (when he sings the song’s title in the chorus), and I think that alone adds so much to one of my favourite-ever Bush songs. On The Kick Inside, Bush’s voice is quite high for many numbers, and I think the blend of her higher register combined with lower tones from the likes of Paddy Bush adds a lot of weight and diversity. It is interesting seeing how Bush expanded both vocals and instruments on future albums. On The Kick Inside, backing vocals are provided by Paddy Bush, Ian Bairnson, and David Patton – the latter two provide lovely accompaniment on Oh to Be in Love. I will not rhapsodise too much about The Kick Inside, but I love how some carefully-deployed vocals from others give a couple of songs on the album a real kick and change! Maybe it is the fact that a lot of the vocals from Bush are so high-pitched than a bit of deeper incorporation takes you by surprise. Ian Bairnson would provide backing vocals on other songs from Kate Bush, but he and Patton give Oh to Be in Love’s title a real sense of movement and stutter (“Oh, a-oh, to be-be in love…”).

That song is one of my favourite from the album, and it is Bush at her peak in terms of passion and mystery (“Why did you have to choose our moment?/Why did you have to make me feel that?/Why did you make it so unreal?”). There is criticism from many people that Bush’s voice is quite unappealing and banshee-like through the album. That was an attitude held in the press by many in 1978, but I think retrospective examination is more sophisticated and deeper; people identifying the fact that Bush adopts myriad voices through the album. Listen to the quality of her lead on the album opener, Moving, but then how she adds in wordless layered vocals. Moving is one of her most powerful early tracks, because one is beguiled and sent a-shiver by the beauty of Bush’s voice and how she utilises it to maximum effect! I might do a separate feature regarding the way Bush delivers lines and how unconventional her style was, but we hear Bush’s voice dance, tip-toe and stretch through Moving – her backing vocals are balletic and almost child-like in their purity and sense of delight. I will come on to the two songs from The Kick Inside Bush recorded in 1975 – The Saxophone Song, and The Man with the Child in His Eyes – later, as the vocal there is very different to the other eleven tracks on the album. I sort of facetiously said how there is a cast of thousands in Bush’s music in this feature’s title, but that is not too far from the truth! She does not literally provide thousands of vocal parts, but one gets the impression of crowds and so many different characters through her tracks!

At a time (1978) when most solo singers were writing very personal songs and singing in a very straight and conventional way, Bush’s songs mixed in different themes and angles that allowed her to adopt different personas and approaches. Consider a song like Strange Phenomena. The track talks of clusters of coincidence, menstruation and strange events. Although Bush’s voice is layered through the chorus, she doesn’t so much use different accents and tones, but the way she deploys the words and the physicality she adopts is staggering! Apologies if I have trodden on this ground before, but Bush is almost dancing her way through the songs. Emotionally, she embodies something spooky and ethereal right at the end; in terms of pace, the song gets faster as we get to the chorus, and one feels like we are listening to a chorus and choir rather than one woman! One cannot compare the sound of Bush’s voice on Strange Phenomena to the next track, Kite, where she, once more, interjects with these unexpected vocals sounds that gives the song so much personality. I am going to highlight a couple of songs from the second side before I mention three other tracks – then I shall move on to Lionheart. James and the Cold Gun is one of the rawest and rockiest tracks. Bush and her KT Bush Band performed this number in pubs before she headed into the studio to record most of The Kick Inside, and Bush would use a toy gun and ‘shoot’ people in the audience. She performed the song on her 1979 Tour of Life and, whilst it sounds bigger and more impactful live, on the record, there is still ample punch and quality.

I love how Bush adds in wordless interjection – like she does on many tracks -, almost portraying another character or a narrator chiming in. Her central vocal is less acrobatic, ironically, than on other songs on The Kick Inside, but Bush completely adopts a new role: here, we hear her embody ‘James’, and you can almost feel her toting a gun and racing through the streets! I am keen to move on, but I wanted to talk about those 1975 recordings, The Man with the Child in His Eyes, and The Saxophone Song. The former was written when Bush was thirteen, and hearing a then-sixteen-year-old sing a song of such maturity is astonishing! Even though the song’s hero is imagined, Bush once more changes her skin and inhabits a very different role compared to other songs. Her vocal is more controlled and deeper than on other songs, and it is testament to her talent that she could go from what we hear on The Man with the Child in His Eyes, and a track like Strange Phenomena. The same can be said of The Saxophone Song. If The Man with the Child in His Eyes is a young Bush pining for a man “lost on some horizon”, The Saxophone Song is Bush in a Berlin bar, slightly brooding as she watched a saxophone player from afar. On songs like this where Bush was not throwing in too many backing vocals and performing acrobatics, she delivers a simpler vocal, yet she manages to bring the listener into the songs in a very physical way because her vocal is so pure and demanding of our attention. Wuthering Heights is a literal case of Bush inhabiting a character – in this incident, Catherine Earnshaw from Wuthering Heights. Maybe it was the lure of literature and film that meant that, when it came to music, Bush approached her recordings more like performances and films – where she was keen to inspire listeners to envisage scenes and various images in addition to feeling the emotion behind the songs! I have written extensively about Wuthering Heights before but, when it comes to vocals where Bush pushes beyond the conventions of music and delivers something so much bigger and more bewitching, then this is the finest example!

Even though Lionheart is a rushed album – as she released it the same year as The Kick Inside -, I feel like Bush’s voice and sense of characterisation is broader here. Most of the songs on Lionheart were written long before The Kick Inside came out, but there are various songs where Bush really shines. I think there is less vocal layering through Lionheart compared to The Kick Inside – even though The Kick Inside has three more songs -, but the opener, Symphony in Blue, is similar to Moving in the way that Bush produces this singularly arresting lead vocal and then we get different tones and sounds when she provides backing vocals. Whilst Symphony in Blue is so beautiful and interesting (the song is, supposedly, about Bush’s own belief system. The descriptions of God, sex and the colour blue seem to be inspired by reading about Wilhelm Reich's theory in A Book of Dreams), I just love the subtle vocal shifts and layers that build up the wonder and intensity of the song. Full House - alongside Symphony in Blue, and Coffee Homeground - was one of only three new songs written for Lionheart. The lyrics for Full House seems to be autobiographical: an insight into psychological struggles she was encountering, with paranoia and self-doubt at the fore. Bush, on this song, gives one of her most frightening and physical vocals to that point! It seems to me to be very autobiographical, but one hears a very different woman on Full House to a song like Oh to Be in Love.

Maybe, because of the sudden rise and pressure of fame, her new songs in 1978 did have that slight edge and sense of fear – even though Symphony in Blue enraptures one in its gentleness and sense of calm. Hammer Horror (the first single from Lionheart) references Hammer Films, a company specializing in horror movies. Bush was inspired to write after viewing the film, Man of a Thousand Faces - a biographical film about Lon Chaney starring James Cagney. Again, this is Bush and films connecting through song! You do get this sense of unrest and creeps from the composition and lyrics, but Bush really commits to the vocal and, once more, she showcases her astonishing range and prowess! The lead vocal is quite raw and deep, but she does throw in some higher-pitched little bits of vocals that give one the sense of paranoia and like we are walking through a scene in a Hammer Films production. By the time of The Sensual World in 1989, Bush was bringing more supporting artists into the fold to provide vocals, but I guess she felt her voice needed to be more in focus than it was on her first few albums. Paddy Bush delivers some nice harmony vocals on Don't Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake, Oh England My Lionheart, and Kashka from Baghdad. Similar to The Kick Inside, Paddy Bush adds a sprinkle of deeper vocals and another layer that elevates the songs and gives them an extra spark.

After The Tour of Life in 1979, I think Bush was keen not only to exert more control in the studio, but to perhaps bring more characterisation into the music. She wrote from her own perspective on some songs, but Bush herself has said how most of her songs are not really from the first-person; that she is writing from different perspectives all of the time. Co-producing with Jon Kelly on 1980’s Never for Ever, the discovery and usage of the Fairlight C.M.I. not only widened her musical imagination but you can hear that matched in her vocals. Her first two albums boasted beautiful and enticing opening tracks, whereas Babooshka – and the second single from the album - is much more character-driven and has a sense of intensity (especially in the chorus!). Paddy Bush provides some excellent backing vocals on the song – almost like he is the ‘husband’ character -, but it is wonderful hearing Bush adopt two different guises on Babooshka. This article from the Kate Bush Encyclopaedia provides some background to the song:

“It was really a theme that has fascinated me for some time. It's based on a theme that is often used in folk songs, which is where the wife of the husband begins to feel that perhaps he's not faithful. And there's no real strength in her feelings, it's just more or less paranoia suspicions, and so she starts thinking that she's going to test him, just to see if he's faithful. So what she does is she gets herself a pseudonym, which happens to be Babooshka, and she sends him a letter. And he responds very well to the letter, because as he reads it, he recognises the wife that he had a couple of years ago, who was happy, in the letter.

And so he likes it, and she decides to take it even further and get a meeting together to see how he reacts to this Babooshka lady instead of her. When he meets her, again because she is so similar to his wife, the one that he loves, he's very attracted to her. Of course she is very annoyed and the break in the song is just throwing the restaurant at him...  (...) The whole idea of the song is really the futility and the stupidness of humans and how by our own thinking, spinning around in our own ideas we come up with completely paranoid facts. So in her situation she was in fact suspicious of a man who was doing nothing wrong, he loved her very much indeed. Through her own suspicions and evil thoughts she's really ruining the relationship. (Countdown Australia, 1980)”.

Another trusted backing vocalist, Ian Bairnson, is on bass vocals through Delius (Song of Summer) alongside Paddy Bush – who is the ‘voice of Delius’. It is a surprise to see Bairnson so underused on Never for Ever but, with musicians like Alan Murphy, Brian Bath, and Preston Heyman among a roster of many, I guess there was only so much he could do! Andrew Bryant and Gary Hurst provide backing vocals on All We Ever Look For (Hurst can also be heard on Babooshka), and percussionist Preston Heyman, wonderfully, lends his vocals to All We Ever Lok For, and The Wedding List.

Not to go off on a tangent, but I like how various musicians doubled and provided vocals rather than Bush bringing in singers especially. Bush, on Never for Ever, once more brings in different characters through the album, but she also widens her range in terms of pitch and emotion. Listen to her heavenly vocal on Delius (Song of Summer) and the gorgeous, swaying backing vocals on Egypt. In many cases, she is less providing character voices but adding atmosphere and emotion, but I feel like we are listening to other people in songs such as Egypt, and Night Scented Stock (a sort of segue track where Bush wordless coos, oohs and ahhs in beautifully). Never for Ever is crammed with Bush’s vocal genius and flexibility but, when it comes to her shifting character and mood, apart from Babooshka, we get perfect examples in The Wedding List, Army Dreamers, and Breathing. In all three songs, Bush does not layer her voice much, but there are backing vocals from Brian Bath, Paddy Bush (on The Wedding List, and Army Dreamers) and Roy Harper (a memorable turn on Breathing). In another film nod, The Wedding List sees Bush take the role of a vengeful bridge who wreaks vengeance on those who murdered her groom - the song was inspired by a François Truffaut film, The Bride Wore Black (it tells of a groom who is accidentally murdered on the day of his wedding by a group of five people who shoot at him from a window. The bride succeeds in tracking down each one of the five and kills them in a row, including the last one who happens to be in jail).

Army Dreamers is about young men sent to war and having their potential futures wasted. I sense Bush is playing the role of their mothers and she compassionately mourns their loss, and there is an anger that such promising men are being destroyed for no real reason or cause. On Breathing – a song told from the perspective of a foetus as nuclear war hangs in the air -, Bush inhabits a foetus, but her vocal is so ravaged and yearning. It is an amazing example (yet again) of her almost actor-like approach to music. I am not going to spend so long on each of her subsequent albums but, when looking at The Dreaming (1982), we get Bush’s most eclectic performances to date. Although the recording for the album was not ideal – Bush recorded at four different London studios and used various engineers -, the fact that she produced for the first time and opened up the Fairlight C.M.I. was matched in her vocal displays. I think different accents define The Dreaming. If her first three albums were more about the vocal changing pitch and being layered, Bush more noticeably adopts different accents now. The Dreaming’s title track is about the destruction of Aboriginal Australians' traditional lands by white Australians in their quest for weapons-grade uranium; Bush delivers an Australian accent and, perhaps, casts herself as an Aboriginal or an Australian citizen watching the destruction happen.

Taking the songs from the top and on the opener, Sat in Your Lap, we find Bush incorporate a bit of Lodger-David Bowie – the line “I must admit…” is very Bowie-esque. There Goes a Tenner is a crime caper where Bush is one of the robbers who is trying to steal the loot and make a getaway. It is a song I really like, but it was released as the third single from The Dreaming and was a disaster. Not explicitly influenced by a particular film, but I get the sense Bush was channelling a film like The League of Gentlemen (1960). Pull Out the Pin is a great example of Bush experimenting with her vocal. She double-tracks her voice electronically; starting quite calm and composed, it turns more aggressive and stranger before long. Bush inhabits the voice and body of a soldier, and it is one of finest vocal terms. Again, film and T.V. helped inspire the song. The Kate Bush Encyclopaedia provides an interview extract where Bush discussed Pull Out the Pin’s inception:

“I saw this incredible documentary by this Australian cameraman who went on the front line in Vietnam, filming from the Vietnamese point of view, so it was very biased against the Americans. He said it really changed him, because until you live on their level like that, when it's complete survival, you don't know what it's about. He's never been the same since, because it's so devastating, people dying all the time.

The way he portrayed the Vietnamese was as this really crafted, beautiful race. The Americans were these big, fat, pink, smelly things who the Vietnamese could smell coming for miles because of the tobacco and cologne. It was devastating, because you got the impression that the Americans were so heavy and awkward, and the Vietnamese were so beautiful and all getting wiped out. They wore a little silver Buddha on a chain around their neck and when they went into action they'd pop it into their mouth, so if they died they'd have Buddha on their lips. I wanted to write a song that could somehow convey the whole thing, so we set it in the jungle and had helicopters, crickets and little Balinese frogs. (Kris Needs, 'Dream Time In The Bush'. Zigzag (UK), November 1982)”.

I recently wrote about Leave It Open, where Bush throws in some yelps, spooky layered vocals and builds this real intensity - and you get Bush stepping into yet another unique and different vocal personae. All the Love, literally, provides voices from an answerphone. The Kate Bush Encyclopaedia helps out once more:

“This particular night, I started to play back the tape, and the machine had neatly edited half a dozen messages together to leave "Goodbye", "See you!", "Cheers", "See you soon" .. It was a strange thing to sit and listen to your friends ringing up apparently just to say goodbye. I had several cassettes of peoples' messages all ending with authentic farewells, and by copying them onto 1/4'' tape and re-arranging the order, we managed to synchronize the 'callers' with the last verse of the song.

There are still quite a few of my friends who have not heard the album or who have not recognised themselves and are still wondering how they managed to appear in the album credits when they didn’t even set foot into the studio. (Kate Bush Club newsletter, October 1982)”.

Inspired by The Shining, Bush inhabits the house which has been inhabited by a family and bolted up on Get Out of My House. Bush was really affected by the book, and it was the first that made her feel frightened. She does an exceptional job of giving this creepy house a voice. Her voice is guttural in some parts and there are so many different vocal changes and twists that makes the song so thrilling! On Houdini, Bush plays the part of Harry Houdini’s wife, Bess. In the song, the keys to his chains were passed on to him by his wife during a kiss. Once more, Bush takes on a new personae, but her vocal is very different to what we hear on tracks like Pull Out the Pin and, say, Suspended in Gaffa. The biggest cast of backing vocalists to date is employed for The Dreaming. Paddy Bush, Ian Bairnson, Stewart Arnold and Gary Hurst are heard on Sat in Your Lap; Paddy Bush appears on The Dreaming, and Get Out of My House, whilst David Gilmour (her old protegee) is on Suspended in Gaffa. Percy Edwards makes animal noises on The Dreaming; Richard Thornton is the voice of a choirboy on All the Love; Del Palmer and Gordon Farrell are on Houdini, whilst Paul Hardiman and Esmail Sheikh are on Get Out of My House – the former, alongside Kate Bush, provide Eeyore noises!

On Hounds of Love, I think the various instruments provide greater and deeper characterisation than various voices, but there is a tonal and vocal shift from Bush. The Dreaming is quite an edgy and layered album, and I think Hounds of Love is roomier and her voice is less processed. I am going to skip past Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), and Hounds of Love as I have written about those tracks – the latter taking its influence from film once more. Both are remarkable tracks, and I love the various interjections and different vocals that we hear on Hounds of Love’s title track. The Big Sky is inspired by Bush’s fascination sitting and watching clouds – as many of us can relate to – and how they form different shapes. I think her backing vocals and performance throughout the song is incredible! Perhaps the most remarkable display of Bush’s voice embodying different moods and people is on The Ninth Wave. On Jig of Life, like All the Love, we hear a variety of other people’s voice come into the mix, but Under Ice sees a nice see-saw between Bush’s deeper and higher-pitched vocals to give this sense of two different characters in the song. Waking the Witch has this weird vocal effect where Bush’s voice is put through the machine and it stridulates and is in fragments. At this point of The Ninth Wave’s concept, the heroine is at sea and there are a variety of voices – either a dream or hallucination – urging her to stay awake.

As the title suggests, Waking the Witch deals with witch-hunting:

“I think it's very interesting the whole concept of witch-hunting and the fear of women's power. In a way it's very sexist behavior, and I feel that female intuition and instincts are very strong, and are still put down, really. And in this song, this women is being persecuted by the witch-hunter and the whole jury, although she's committed no crime, and they're trying to push her under the water to see if she'll sink or float. (Richard Skinner, 'Classic Albums interview: Hounds Of Love. Radio 1 (UK), aired 26 January 1992)”.

The Richard Hickox Singers appear on Hello Earth; Paddy Bush provides harmony vocals on Under Ice; Brian Bath and John Carder Bush can be heard on Cloudbusting. On her fifth studio album, Bush was as vocally-ambitious as on albums like The Dreaming, but she managed to sound completely different and almost like a different artist!

The Sensual World introduced The Trio Bulgarka to the fray! Whereas Bush herself was providing accents and different vocal tones to albums pre-The Sensual World, the Bulgarian vocal ensemble of Stoyanka Boneva, Yanka Rupkina and Eva Georgieva added a completely new vocal dynamic to Bush’s work. I think The Sensual World is less wild, experimental and varied as Hounds of Love, or The Dreaming, but its incredible beauty and brilliance is obvious! I am not going to cover Director’s Cut (2011) – where Bush re-recorded many songs from The Sensual World, and The Red Shoes -, but The Sensual World’s title track was reworked for that album, using only words taken from Molly Bloom's soliloquy from James Joyce's Ulysses, as Bush had originally intended whilst recording The Sensual World album. This version, re-titled Flower of the Mountain, finds Bush inhabit Molly Bloom, and she provide one of her most sensuous and stirring vocals. There are an array of interesting and unusual instruments on The Sensual World, but I really love The Trio Bulgarka on Deeper Understanding, Never Be Mine, and Rocket’s Tail. Bush’s backing vocals are evocative and striking on Love and Anger; so many different emotions and another great backing vocal comes on Reaching Out and, on Deeper Understanding, Bush plays both the role of someone glued to their computer and the computerised voice. Even though there are not as many vocal characters and shifts as on some previous albums, Bush is still remarkably broad and original throughout.

One of the most interesting songs from The Sensual World comes in the form of Heads We’re Dancing. The song’s background is really interesting, and the character that Bush plays in the song is really interesting:

“It's a very dark idea, but it's the idea of this girl who goes to a big ball; very expensive, romantic, exciting, and it's 1939, before the war starts. And this guy, very charming, very sweet-spoken, comes up and asks her to dance but he does it by throwing a coin and he says, ``If the coin lands with heads facing up, then we dance!'' Even that's a very attractive 'come on', isn't it? And the idea is that she enjoys his company and dances with him and, days later, she sees in the paper who it is, and she is hit with this absolute horror - absolute horror. What could be worse? To have been so close to the man... she could have tried to kill him... she could have tried to change history, had she known at that point what was actually happening. And I think Hitler is a person who fooled so many people. He fooled nations of people. And I don't think you can blame those people for being fooled, and maybe it's these very charming people... maybe evil is not always in the guise you expect it to be. (Roger Scott, BBC Radio 1, 14 October 1989)”.

I am going to move onto The Red Shoes. There is a split between the different other voices on the album and what Bush does with her own voice. In terms of contributors, the Trio Bulgarka are back on The Song of Solomon, Why Should I Love You?, and You’re the One – they add their stunning beauty and sublime voices; they match perfectly with Bush. On Why Should I Love You?, we hear from both Prince and Lenny Henry! Both are unexpected guests, but Henry turns in a particularly impressive vocal! Lily Cornford plays the narrator on Lily (Bush and Cornford became friends in the 1990s: “I met her years ago and she is one of the nicest people I've ever met. She is very giving and I love spending time with her. She believes in the powers of Angels and taught me to see them in a different light, that they exist to help human beings and are very powerful as well as benevolent forces. She taught me some prayers that I found very useful (particularly in my line of work), she helped me a lot and I guess I wanted to pass on her message about our Angels - we all have them, we only have to ask for help. (Kate Bush Club magazine, 1993”). Justin Vali provides some vocals on Eat the Music, and Paddy Bush pops up on Eat the Music, The Red Shoes, and Constellation of the Heart. One of Bush’s more underrated albums, I think her voice is especially impressive throughout – some of her lyrics strayed into cliché/conventional territory (something you could not accuse her of before) and one or two songs fail to ignite. On the opener, Rubberband Girl, her backing vocals are deep and elastic. I like how she layers in her vocals so that we get a very different sound in the lead and backing vocals. On Lily, Bush is especially stunning and she lingers long in the mind.  

I want to move ahead to Aerial, and I am not going to mention Rolf Harris’ vocal contributions on the album, meagre as they are - his parts were performed by Bertie (Bush’s son) on future releases. Instead, from the very start of the album, Bush embodies different characters and scenes. I have investigated the album’s only single, King of the Mountain, where she inhabits the spirit of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley. It is nice to hear Bush let our her Elvis drawl, and there is a little bit of vocal backing from Paddy Bush too. In terms of other voices on the album, Lol Creme contributes backing vocals to π, and Nocturn; Gary Brooker is amazing on Sunset, and Somewhere in Between. If Bush lets the instruments and birdsong provide character and flesh the album out beautifully, there are these songs where she inhabits new characters. Mrs. Bartolozzi deals with Bush/a protagonist doing household chores, but the song is performed in such a sensual way that one cannot help but dive into the song themselves and see what is being described! Bush racks her voice less on Aerial, but I think that allows her voice to breathe more and we get to hear the icon really connect with the songs. How to Be Invisible, and A Coral Room are incredibly memorable, and I shall unpick these songs more ahead of Aerial’s fifteenth anniversary next month. What I love about Bush’s voice through Aerial is how nimble and flexible it is – so long after her debut album.

Aerial is a double album, and the second side/album, A Sky of Honey, grows in intensity. I think Bush’s voice is deeper when she sings on the first side but, through A Sky of Honey, there is some of the lightness and playfulness of old. She is tremulous and gorgeous through An Architect’s Dream; lighter on Sunset (where we get some great backing vocals from her); stunningly pure and swooning on Somewhere in Between and, on the closing track, Aerial, the intensity builds and we get the rawest vocal from Bush – not the same intensity as Breathing, or Get Out of My House but, as with those closing tracks, Bush ensures that she leaves the listener with a heady and really physical performance! I am going to finish off with Bush’s most-recent album, 50 Words for Snow. I love the album, because it is a chillier and more Jazz-orientated album (as I have said in a number of features), but it brings in some great collaborators. More than on any other album, Bush shares the spotlight heavily with both Stephen Fry and Elton John! The 2011 album spawned one single, Wild Man, where Bush delivers this hushed and whispered vocal that shows her in a different light. With seven tracks on the album that run in at over seven minutes each for the most part, there is less intensity in the performances, but I think there is more nuance and gravitas.

Bush fully inhabits the songs, and Wild Man is a terrifically interesting song. It is to the Kate Bush Encyclopaedia once more for exposition:

“Well, the first verse of the song is just quickly going through some of the terms that the Yeti is known by and one of those names is the Kangchenjunga Demon. He’s also known as Wild Man and Abominable Snowman. (...) I don’t refer to the Yeti as a man in the song. But it is meant to be an empathetic view of a creature of great mystery really. And I suppose it’s the idea really that mankind wants to grab hold of something [like the Yeti] and stick it in a cage or a box and make money out of it. And to go back to your question, I think we’re very arrogant in our separation from the animal kingdom and generally as a species we are enormously arrogant and aggressive. Look at the way we treat the planet and animals and it’s pretty terrible isn’t it? (John Doran, 'A Demon In The Drift: Kate Bush Interviewed'. The Quietus, 2011)”.

Many reviewers noted how Bush developed a warm and husky voice for 50 Words for Snow, which is perfectly appropriate given the wintery themes of the album. There are fewer backing vocalists on 50 Words for Snow compared with albums like The Red Shoes, but I think there is greater economy.

Kate Bush’s son, Bertie, provides a gorgeous choirboy vocal for the album’s opening track, Snowflake – Bertie must have been about twelve or thirteen when the song was recorded. Andy Fairweather-Low is exquisite on Wild Man, and he blends beautifully with Bush’s backing vocals on that song. Throughout 50 Words for Snow, Bush vividly takes us into the songs and makes them feel so alive because her voice is always moving forward and surprising you. Perhaps less showy and bold as earlier albums, she still shows enormous command, confidence and range throughout. If we are talking about Kate Bush in terms of vocal characters and how that adds to the music, then one has to acknowledge her duetting with one of her music idols, Sir Elton John, on Snowed in at Wheeler Street. John sounds deeper and huskier than he ever has, and the two put together an impassioned song that is about two divided lovers who keep meeting at various moments in history but never quite make it together. The sense of distance and frustration of being apart is especially emotional and apropos at times like this. Not since Don’t Give Up has Bush shared so much vocal spotlight with someone else and, to be fair, that is a Peter Gabriel song. John was keen to perform with Bush, but he did not want to see the song’s lyrics before arriving at her home/studio.

I am going to end by talking about the penultimate track from 50 Words for Snow: it is the epic and fascinating title track. This is a rare occasion of there being a character in a song and someone other than Bush vocalises them. Few would have predicted, if you had suggested there is a special guest on 50 Words for Snow, that it would be Stephen Fry! Fry plays Prof. Joseph Yupik on the song, and it is literally him reciting fifty made-up word for snow – the title track and album title derives from the fact that it is a myth that Eskimos have fifty different words for snow. Bush was literally writing different snow words until Fry turned up as she was not happy with some of her earlier attempts! Fry delivers these increasingly-mad words with dignity as Bush counts down the numbers. Bush does not leave it until the closing track to give the traditional impassioned and raw vocal. She breaks up Fry’s different words to deliver a terrifically powerful vocal interjection – “Come on man, you've got 44 to go” is the first round. For the last time, it is thanks to the Kate Bush Encyclopaedia for a snippet of Bush discussing the title track and why she chose Stephen Fry for a crucial part:

“Years ago I think I must have heard this idea that there were 50 words for snow in this, ah, Eskimo Land! And I just thought it was such a great idea to have so many words about one thing. It is a myth - although, as you say it may hold true in a different language - but it was just a play on the idea, that if they had that many words for snow, did we? If you start actually thinking about snow in all of its forms you can imagine that there are an awful lot of words about it.

Just in our immediate language we have words like hail, slush, sleet, settling… So this was a way to try and take it into a more imaginative world. And I really wanted Stephen to read this because I wanted to have someone who had an incredibly beautiful voice but also someone with a real sense of authority when he said things. So the idea was that the words would get progressively more silly really but even when they were silly there was this idea that they would have been important, to still carry weight. And I really, really wanted him to do it and it was fantastic that he could do it. (...) I just briefly explained to him the idea of the song, more or less what I said to you really. I just said it’s our idea of 50 Words For Snow. Stephen is a lovely man but he is also an extraordinary person and an incredible actor amongst his many other talents. So really it was just trying to get the right tone which was the only thing we had to work on. He just came into the studio and we just worked through the words. And he works very quickly because he’s such an able performer. (...) I think faloop'njoompoola is one of my favourites. [laughs] (John Doran, 'A Demon In The Drift: Kate Bush Interviewed'. The Quietus, 2011)”.

I would urge people to listen to Kate Bush’s albums in full, as you hear how her voice has developed and changed through the years. From The Kick Inside, through to 50 Words for Snow, Bush has not only brought in other vocalists to add characters and different shades to her music, but she has inhabited characters herself, layered her voice and marked herself as one of the most talented and inventive vocalists ever! From Moving’s first notes to the final embers of 50 Words for Snow’s final track, Among Angels, Bush has beguiled, intrigued and blown our minds with…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush performs Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) at The Secret Policeman’s Third Ball in 1987

HER remarkable voice.

FEATURE: Too Good to Be Forgotten: Songs That Are Much More Than a Guilty Pleasure: Starship – We Built This City

FEATURE:

 

Too Good to Be Forgotten: Songs That Are Much More Than a Guilty Pleasure

Starship – We Built This City

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THIS is probably going to be….

IN THIS PHOTO: (From left): Mickey Thomas, former Starship drummer Donny Baldwin, Grace Slick, and Pete Sears/PHOTO CREDIT: Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis/Getty

the most maligned and ‘guilty pleasure’ song I will put in this feature! I was not even aware that Bernie Taupin co-wrote Starship’s We Built This City, but he is one of the cooks that, according to a few polls of the worst songs ever, seriously burnt the kitchen down! Taken from Starship’s weirdly-named debut album, Knee Deep in the Hoopla, We Built This City has earned a reputation as one of those songs that one does not really sing loud or be proud to admit that they like! If one is compiling a list of the worst songs ever, I would not even consider Starship’s debut single! Sure, I am not going to argue that it is an all-time classic, but the Bernie Taupin, Martin Page, Dennis Lambert and Peter Wolf-written song is one that definitely gets in the head for the right reasons. Maybe critics feel that the lyrics are a bit dumb and do not make much sense – how can one build a city on Rock ‘n’ Roll?! Despite reservations and criticisms from some, We Built This City did get to the top of the Billboard chart and, as it was released in 1985, I guess it did not sound too bad when placed against other popular songs from that year like Dire Straits’ Money for Nothing, Huey Lewis’ The Power of Love, and a-Ha’s Take on Me. 1985 was a weird year for music, and I don’t necessarily think that Pop and Rock was at its strongest!

There was a lot of gated reverb and drum beats; plenty of cheesiness around, but I really like Starship’s hit and I think it is far stronger than a mere guilty pleasure! Although Rolling Stone’s 2011 poll of the worst songs ever saw We Built This City stand at the top with no close challengers, it is a really fun track and one that will get you singing along without feeling embarrassed! Starship are a classic one-hit wonders kind of band: after We Built This City, they really didn’t set alight the charts, and  Starship were initially a continuation of Jefferson Starship; the band underwent a change in musical direction, they suffered a subsequent loss of personnel and a lawsuit settlement that led to a name change. I feel sorry for Starship, as they definitely formed from a rather troubled past and there is nothing inherently bad or offensive about We Built This City! I could name far weaker songs if we are putting together a list of the worst songs ever, and We Built This City definitely gets the voice raised and the feet moving. I will quote from Wikipedia, who discuss the origins of the song:

“What exists of a narrative in the song consists of an argument between the singers (Mickey Thomas and Grace Slick) and an unidentified "you", presumably a music industry executive, who is marginalizing the band and ripping them off by "playing corporation games" ("who counts the money underneath the bar?"). In response to this injustice, the singers remind the villain of their importance and fame: "Listen to the radio! Don't you remember? We built this city on rock and roll!"

PHOTO CREDIT: George Rose/Getty Images

A spoken-word interlude explicitly mentions the Golden Gate Bridge and refers to "the city by the bay", a common moniker for Starship's hometown of San Francisco. Starship's predecessors, Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship, were prominent members of San Francisco's psychedelic rock scene in the late 1960s and into the 1970s. However, the interlude then rapidly refers to the same city as "the city that rocks", a reference to Cleveland, Ohio (home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum), and then "the city that never sleeps", one of the nicknames for New York City”.

I think one of the problems is that a lot of the music from the mid-‘80s has not dated that well. Compare that to music ten years previous or later, and it is an odd thing about that period. There are definite flaws with We Built This City – some of the lyrics aren’t too great; the production isn’t the best -, but it is a song that you can put on and just enjoy because of the energy and catchiness. I think a lot of people feel guilty listening to songs that others dislike, but there are plenty of people who love We Built This City. I want to source from a GQ article from 2016, where we get an oral history of the song from some of those who helped bring it together:

“Dennis Lambert (executive producer): The Starship was one more act in a long line of artists I worked with who, if they weren't given up for dead, were thought of as being in a deep career hole. Bringing them back wasn't gonna be easy.

Peter Wolf (producer): There was a lot of hate inside the band. What was his name, the gentleman who just died? Paul Kantner. Paul [Jefferson Airplane's co-founder] was an old hippie who was not relevant anymore. Everyone wanted to go more modern, and he didn't want to. I was happy Paul left. He argued with everybody, and I hated that.

Mickey Thomas (Starship vocalist): I joined Jefferson Starship in 1979, which was one of the pivotal points of re-inventing the band. I wasn't exactly a Starship fan—I came out of soul music. There were always different members coming and going, so the band was constantly evolving. I shaved my mustache. We were re-inventing ourselves, so I wanted to re-invent my personal look as well. The music itself was a huge gamble.

Martha Davis (vocalist, the Motels): As best I remember—and we're talking about the '80s, so I don't remember much—[Elton John lyricist] Bernie Taupin sent me the lyrics to “We Built This City” so I could write music to it. I called Bernie and said, “My artistic muse won't let me finish the song.” Regrets? Oh, hell no.

Martin Page (co-writer): Bernie was moving away from working with Elton John. Everybody wanted him to work with a Tom Dolby kind of writer—someone using new technology. I wanted to impress Bernie: I did a demo of the song on a Fostex deck in my living room. It sounded like Peter Gabriel's “Shock the Monkey.” I sent it to Bernie, who said, “Bernie Taupin comes into the future.”

Bernie Taupin (lyricist, in 2013): The original song was… a very dark song about how club life in L.A. was being killed off and live acts had no place to go. A producer named Peter Wolf—not the J. Geils Peter Wolf, but a big-time pop guy and Austrian record producer—got ahold of the demo and totally changed it.… If you heard the original demo, you wouldn't even recognize the song.

IN THIS PHOTO: Grace Slick

Grace Slick (Starship vocalist; ‘Vanity Fair,’ June 2012): I was such an asshole for a while, I was trying to make up for it by being sober, which I was all during the '80s, which is a bizarre decade to be sober in. So I was trying to make it up to the band by being a good girl. Here, we're going to sing this song, “We Built This City on Rock & Roll.” Oh, you're shitting me, that's the worst song ever.

Stephen Holden (critic; ‘The New York Times,’ 1985): A compendium of strutting pop-rock clichés, Knee Deep in the Hoopla represents the '80s equivalent of almost everything the original Jefferson Airplane stood against—conformity, conservatism, and a slavish adherence to formula”.

I do love that Slick has a dig at the song but, whilst it is not everyone’s cup of tea, Starship’s We Built This City is far greater than its reputation would have you believe! People have very specific reasons for disliking the song, but strip away arguments as to whether the song is dumb and has much meaning and focus on the positives. We Built This City is a lot of fun and, thirty-five years since its release, it still gets a lot of airplay and people (unironically) sing along. At such a weird and stressful time for everyone, I don’t think people can be too snobby about music. I am looking for music that makes me feel more positive and lifts the energy levels. I know that 1985 was fraught with music that seems dated now, and We Built This City is certainly not immune. It is definitely not the worst song of all-time and I don’t think people should consider it a guilty pleasure or a song that you listen to when nobody else is around. It is a song that can, for several reasons, raise a smile and, when the world is going through a huge test of patience and resilience, there is certainly…

NO shame in that.

FEATURE: A Buyer’s Guide: Part Twenty-Five: The Supremes

FEATURE:

 

A Buyer’s Guide

IN THIS PHOTO: The Supremes (from left to right): Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, and Diana Ross/PHOTO CREDIT: Fremantle Media Ltd/REX/Shutterstock

Part Twenty-Five: The Supremes

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I was going to cover…  

IN THIS PHOTO: Mary Wilson (right) with Cindy Birdsong and Diana Ross in 1968/PHOTO CREDIT: Mary Wilson (from the book, Supreme Glamour, by Mary Wilson and Mark Bego)

Carole King in this edition, but I have been looking back at The Supremes’ music and felt compelled to go into more depth. The Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and are, to date, America's most successful vocal group. Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown were the original group and, during the mid-1960s, The Supremes achieved mainstream success with Ross as lead singer and Holland-Dozier-Holland as its songwriting and production team. In 1967, Motown President Berry Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & The Supremes and replaced Ballard with Cindy Birdsong. In 1970, Ross left to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Jean Terrell - and the group reverted to being The Supremes again. The number of hits the group achieved is staggering, and they are one of the most revered and recognisable groups in history. To honour them, I have selected the four essential albums from The Supremes, the underrated gem and their final album – in addition to a useful book. If you need some guidance as to where to start with The Supremes, then have a look…

IN THIS PHOTO: The Supremes in 1965/PHOTO CREDIT: Mary Wilson (from the book, Supreme Glamour, by Mary Wilson and Mark Bego)

AT the recommendations below.

____________

The Four Essential Albums

Where Did Our Love Go

Release Date: 31st August, 1964

Label: Motown

Producers: Brian Holland/Lamont Dozier/Smokey Robinson/Norman Whitfield/Robert Gordy

Standout Tracks: Where Did Our Love Go/When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes/Come See About Me

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/The-Supremes-Where-Did-Our-Love-Go/master/212735

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/05pI1Rx1HQ4KA0a0e3PJlV

Review:

“Equally as impressive is that the Supremes were among the handful of domestic acts countering the initial onslaught of the mid-'60s British Invasion with a rapid succession of four Top 40 sides. Better still, "Where Did Our Love Go," "Baby Love" and "Come See About Me" made it all the way to the top, while "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes" (number 23), "Run, Run, Run" (number 93) and "A Breath Taking Guy" (number 75) were able to garner enough airplay and sales to make it into the Top 100 Pop Singles survey. HDH weren't the only contributors to the effort, as William "Smokey" Robinson supplied the catchy doo wop influenced "Long Gone Lover," as well as the aforementioned "Breath Taking Guy." Norman Whitfield penned the mid-tempo ballad "He Means The World to Me," and former Moonglow Harvey Fuqua co-wrote "Your Kiss of Fire." With such a considerable track list, it is no wonder Where Did Our Love Go landed in the penultimate spot on the Pop Album chart for four consecutive weeks in September of '64 -- making it the best received LP from Motown to date. In 2004, the internet-based Hip-O Select issued the double-disc Where Did Our Love Go [Expanded 40th Anniversary Edition] in a limited pressing of 10,000 copies. The package included the monaural and stereo mixes, plus a never before available seven-song vintage live set from the Twenty Grand Club in Detroit and another 17 unreleased studio cuts documented around the same time” – AllMusic

Choice Cut: Baby Love

More Hits by The Supremes

Release Date: 23rd July, 1965

Label: Motown

Producers: Brian Holland/Lamont Dozier

Standout Tracks: Nothing But Heartaches/Mother Dear/Back in My Arms Again

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/The-Supremes-More-Hits-By-The-Supremes/release/6028969

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/2maj3yWtoFnr0g7TlNao7A?si=e-QrcCKHRUWwZ4RWqSMSAQ

Review:

“"Stop! In the Name of Love" and "Back in My Arms Again" helped drive the sales, but those singles had been out six and three months earlier at the time this album surfaced -- listeners were delighted to find those singles surrounded by their ethereal rendition of the ballad "Whisper You Love Me Boy" with its exquisitely harmonized middle chorus; the gently soulful, sing-song-y "The Only Time I'm Happy"; and the sweetly dramatic "He Holds His Own" (with a gorgeous and very prominent piano accompaniment). The material dated across six months of work, from late 1964 through the spring of 1965 (apart from "Ask Any Girl," the B-side of "Baby Love," which was cut in the spring of 1964), and showed that Motown could put a Supremes album together piecemeal around the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team and place the trio right up at the top reaches of the charts, in the company of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, et al. Its release also opened a floodgate of killer albums by the trio -- overlooking their 1965 LP of Christmas songs, they were destined to issue three more long-players that delighted audiences a dozen songs at a time over the next two years, which was a lot of good work” – AllMusic

Choice Cut: Stop! In the Name of Love

I Hear a Symphony

Release Date: 18th February, 1966

Label: Motown

Producers: Brian Holland/Lamont Dozier/Norman Whitfield

Standout Tracks: Yesterday/Without a Song/My World Is Empty Without You

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/The-Supremes-I-Hear-A-Symphony/master/100590

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/7vNmiLEdMqJYUlPxSx2zgg?si=JAB0ym8QTHaCivqyQa1Vww

Review:

“I Hear a Symphony has some great soul numbers on it, mostly by the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team, including not only the title track but also "Any Girl in Love (Knows What I'm Going Through)," "My World Is Empty Without You," and "He's All I Got" -- the latter is one of the greatest album tracks the group ever recorded, with stunning vocals by Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard behind Diana Ross, showing the trio in just about its peak form. Other parts of I Hear a Symphony seem to take its title track almost literally, with the inclusion of the majestic "Unchained Melody" and the Bach-based "A Lover's Concerto"; the latter, in particular, is a Diana Ross tour de force, with very sweetly understated accompaniment by Wilson and Ballard. And elsewhere, Berry Gordy was pushing his vision of the Supremes as a mainstream pop trio, covering "A Stranger in Paradise," "With a Song in My Heart," "Without a Song," and "Wonderful, Wonderful." None of these are bad, but neither are they terribly distinguished -- the group even adds a certain fresh sparkle to "Wonderful, Wonderful," but realistically, people were paying their money for the Holland-Dozier-Holland and Eddie Holland-authored songs, any of which would have made about as fine singles as anything the trio ever put out, and all of which are still a chunk of the best part of the group's legacy” – AllMusic

Choice Cut: I Hear a Symphony

Love Child (as Diana Ross & The Supremes)

Release Date: 13th November, 1968

Label: Motown

Producers: Berry Gordy/Frank Wilson/R. Dean Taylor/Deke Richards/Henry Cosby/Smokey Robinson/Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson/Marv Johnson/George Gordy/Harvey Fuqua/Johnny Bristol

Standout Tracks: Does Your Mama Know About Me/Some Things You Never Get Used To/He’s My Sunny Boy

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Diana-Ross-And-The-Supremes-Love-Child/master/200414

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/4NPWsDBl993nz9ia6k8qAK?si=I7tcJsvOQeWWCcOVwf07Kg

Review:

“Through 1964 to 1967 the Supremes were Motown's biggest act. Singles like "Where Did Our Love Go," "Back in My Arms Again," and "You Keep Me Hanging On" defined the label's pop prowess and the quirky appeal of talented lead singer Diana Ross. By 1968, the group not only lost member Florence Ballard, but also Holland-Dozier-Holland who had written and produced all of their big singles. Cindy Birdsong joins Mary Wilson and Ross for this 1968 effort and the group name was officially changed. Although it's always fun to hear Ross and the Supremes, the most interesting thing about this effort is its production. With a lack of consistently great songs, Love Child had to rely on hooks, choruses, and production values rather than magical songs. The well-produced and controversial title track proved how good Ross is with melodrama. "How Long Has That Evening Train Been Gone" has a great bassline from James Jamerson and Ross oddly having a lot of fun with her supposedly dire romantic prospects. The warm cover of Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers' classic "Does Your Mamma Know About Me" sticks close to the original with good results. Ashford and Simpson offer two of their early tracks, the album's first single "Some Things You Never Get Used To," and the graceful "You Ain't Livin' Until You're Lovin'." For the most part, Love Child's tracks seem to run together but this offers the late-'60s Motown sound without gimmicks and is more than recommended” – AllMusic

Choice Cut: Love Child

The Underrated Gem

The Supremes A' Go-Go

Release Date: 25th August, 1966

Label: Motown

Producers: Brian Holland/Lamont Dozier/Hal Davis/Frank Wilson

Standout Tracks: Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart/Baby I Need Your Loving/Put Yourself in My Place

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/The-Supremes-A-Go-Go/master/100585

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/5fpOmAuZaVyEXPlQ4oOqJ6?si=cWKhDk6YQGOZS5WPCAQahg

Review:

“In the sixties, the hits that Hitsville USA churned out were intended to be spun at 45 RPMs. Motown brass was a lot less interested in making high-quality long players, though that didn’t stop quite a few from slipping out anyway. The label’s biggest stars, The Supremes, had some of the best with rock-solid LPs such as Where Did Our Love Go, More Hits by The Supremes, The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland, and Reflections. 1966’s The Supremes A’ Go-Go was not one of these, as it leaned way too hard on remakes of past hits. Not only are The Supremes’ versions of “This Old Heart of Mine”, “Shake Me, Wake Me”, “Baby, I Need Your Loving”, and “Get Ready” redundant by their very nature, but Diana Ross’s reserved vocals also pale in comparison to The Isley Brothers, Four Tops, and Temptations’ blood-letting performances. Mary Wilson does a more convincing job of holding her own against performances past with her lead on “Come and Get These Memories”, but it still doesn’t quite measure up to Martha Reeves.

Nevertheless, The Supremes A’ Go-Go was a milestone album because it has the distinction of being the first album by an all-female group to top the Billboard chart, and it did so on the strength of two of The Supremes’ very best hits: the joyful “You Can’t Hurry Love” and the grinding “Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart”. There are also a couple of interesting covers that don’t invite unflattering comparisons with past Motown hits. Ross still sounds like she’s checking her watch on a version of “These Boots Are Made for Walking”, but the arrangement is very cool with a sort of Twilight Zone guitar riff running underneath the whole thing, and she rouses herself sufficiently for a set-closing take on “Hang on Sloopy”. A chunky version of Barrett Strong’s “Money”is the one Motown remake that gets sufficiently imaginative with the arrangement and on which Ross gets herself sufficiently worked up” – Psychobable

Choice Cut: You Can’t Hurry Love

The Final Album 

Mary, Scherrie & Susaye

Release Date: October 1976

Label: Motown

Producers: Brian Holland/Edward Holland, Jr.

Standout Tracks: You're My Driving Wheel/Let Yourself Go/You Are the Heart of Me

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/The-Supremes-Mary-Scherrie-Susaye/master/100662

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/2HoLIM5wpZH7AVz5rUTBPH

Review:

“Side One closes with song number four, "Come Into My Life," or as I'd like to call it "I just can't believe it's the Supremes." Possibly one of the most out-of-left-field, adventurous things ever recorded by the Supremes. Led by that hypnotizing bassline, seductive congas, those horns in hypnotic unison with the bass, right along side those crazy, out-of-this-world synth effects, "Come.." is simply a masterpiece of pure, propulsive, dark disco-funk. To me, one of the best passages on this track is when Susaye Greene's soaring Minnie Riperton-esque vocals get phased and blended seamlessly with that pseudo-psychedelic synth coloured backing. The result is nothing less than mesmerizing. Listening to the album for the first time, just when you the trip would end with "Let Yourself Go," this track kicks in and takes it even further. While "Let Yourself Go" is a climb to new heights, "Come Into My Life," is, to paraphrase the lyrics, like a "magic ride..off to lands of mystery.." Beckoning and seductive right from the first few bars, it's pretty clear right from the beginning, that this thing definitely ain't gonna be no "Baby Love." Personally, I'd like to describe this song as "psychedelic disco-funk," so take that however you may.. In my opinion though, the fact that this track was so overlooked is possibly one of the great injustices in The Supremes' history..

Side Two, on the other hand is slightly more low-key, opening with a sensual Mary Wilson-led ballad "We Should Be Closer Together" and ending with another disco stormer "Love I Never Knew You Could Feel So Good" led, once again, by Scherrie Payne, closing things on a high note. One interesting thing about the album is that by this time all three ladies were taking a turn at lead vocals, where most of the previous albums going back to the Miss Ross days were dominated by a single lead vocalist. By now their primary lead was Scherrie Payne, a vocal dynamo if there ever was one. Along with Scherrie the group now included the equally dynamic, multi-octave voice of Susaye Greene, formerly of Stevie Wonder's Wonderlove and Ray Charles' Raelettes and last but not least, original Supreme Mary Wilson herself. By this time Wilson was stepping out a little more as a vocalist and rightfully so; by this time Wilson was the undisputed heart and soul of the Supremes by virtue of being the only remaining original member.. Perhaps not as dynamic a voice as the other two ladies, but certainly an underrated one, in my opinion. Vocally I'd describe her voice as something of a cross between Gwen McCrae and Roberta Flack; the natural, unpretentious quality of Gwen with the warmth of Roberta and a sensuality and sexiness all her own.. Although she wasn't the lead on many of the disco tracks, her turns on this album (and the other late '70s Supremes albums) displayed a strong, warm, blossoming sensual voice that was unique in it's own right..

Sadly, the Supremes would break up the following year with Mary Wilson announcing her departure at their 1977 farewell show at London's Drury Lane Theatre. Who knows what could have been had they soldiered on, but evidently things just didn't seem to be working in their favour by this point. Wilson herself has spoken at length about the frustration during this period: records and concerts not selling, personal relationships breaking down, lack of record company support. Amidst all of that, the ladies with the help of the Holland brothers managed to deliver an amazing swan song which, though underrated, overlooked and overshadowed, remains an undiminished classic” – Disco Delivery

Choice Cut: Love I Never Knew You Could Feel So Good

The Supremes Book

The Supremes: A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success, and Betrayal

Author: Mark Ribowsky

Publication Date: 27th April, 2010

Publisher: INGRAM PUBLISHER SERVICES US

Synopsis:

“The Supremes is a sprawling tale of unforgettable music, cutthroat ambition, and heartbreaking betrayal. Mark Ribowsky explodes Dreamgirl fantasies by taking the reader behind the closed doors of Motown to witness the rise of group leader Diana Ross, the creation of timeless classics like Where Did Our Love Go?," and the dramatic power struggles within Detroit's fabled music factory. Drawing on firsthand, intimate recollections from knowledgeable sources such as the Temptations's Otis Williams and other Motown contemporaries,many never before interviewed, The Supremes is a comprehensive look at the tumultuous relationships within the Supremes as well as among others at the Motown label" (Library Journal)” – Waterstones

Order: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Supremes-Motown-Dreams-Success-Betrayal/dp/0306818736

FEATURE: Second Spin: No Doubt – Tragic Kingdom

FEATURE:

 

Second Spin

No Doubt – Tragic Kingdom

___________

I have been a huge admirer….

of No Doubt for years now, and I think the first album of theirs I really connected to was their third, Tragic Kingdom, in 1995. That album turned twenty-five last week and the band - Gwen Stefani – vocals, Tom Dumont – guitar, Tony Kanal – bass, Adrian Young – drums, percussion, and Eric Stefani – piano, keyboards – are incredible throughout. It was, sadly, the final album to feature keyboardist Eric Stefani, who left the band in 1994. There are a couple of reasons why I am putting Tragic Kingdom in this feature. For one, it is still underrated. I am going to bring in a couple of positive reviews later, but many were a bit unsure of the album and only really liked it for the huge single, Don’t Speak. Maybe there was that pressure for every song to hit that high peak but, that said, seven singles were released from the album between 1993 and 1995 – including another major hit, Just a Girl. By combining some Ska, Punk, Pop and Rock together, Tragic Kingdom is a very broad album and one that explores various territories. There are horns on a few songs, some incredible twists and turns and more than enough gold to keep even a casual listener hooked. I also want to feature Tragic Kingdom, because it is a really solid, satisfying and rewarding listen! This was the first album where Gwen Stefani led with the lyric writing, and I think many were not sure regarding the shift on tone and sound.

I opinion this is No Doubt’s most personal, affecting and best album, and I really like Stefani’s lyrical voice and how much of herself she puts into the music. Her vocals are incredible throughout, and the rest of the band are committed and at the top of their game – no sense of disharmony or like the band were moving apart. It is a shame that Eric Stefani was soon to depart, but one looks back on Tragic Kingdom twenty-five years after its release and marvels! I am disappointed there were mixed reviews because, alongside the big singles I just named, we have the brilliant opener, Spiderwebs, alongside Happy Now?, and Sunday Morning. I think there is something interesting in each of the fourteen songs, and there are only a couple of numbers on the album where Gwen Stefani does not write – including the album’s title track at the end. Tragic Kingdom is a wonderful album, and I think it is one of the best of the 1990s. In their review, this is what AllMusic had to say:

“Led by the infectious, pseudo-new wave single "Just a Girl," No Doubt's major-label debut, Tragic Kingdom, straddles the line between '90s punk, third-wave ska, and pop sensibility. The record was produced by Matthew Wilder, the auteur behind "Break My Stride" -- a clever mainstream co-opting of new wave quirkiness, and, as such, an ideal pairing. Wilder kept his production lean and accessible, accentuating No Doubt's appealing mix of new wave melodicism, post-grunge rock, and West Coast sunshine.

Even though the band isn't always able to fuse its edgy energy with pop melodies, the combination worked far better than anyone could have hoped. When everything does click, the record is pure fun, even if some of the album makes you wish they could sustain that energy throughout the record. Tragic Kingdom might not have made much of an impact upon its initial release in late 1995, but throughout 1996 "Just a Girl" and "Spiderwebs" positively ruled the airwaves, both alternative and mainstream, and in 1997 No Doubt cemented their cross-generational appeal with the ballad hit "Don't Speak".

One cannot fault the success of Tragic Kingdom. The album eventually peaked at number-one in December 1996 with 229,000 copies sold, spending nine non-consecutive weeks atop the chart. It was listed second on the 1997 Billboard 200 year-end chart (behind the Spice Girls' Spice). The fact Tragic Kingdom enjoyed such success and was still making waves so long after its release shows what a great album it is! The band celebrated twenty-five years of Tragic Kingdom last weekend. As Billboard report, Gwen Stefani reminisced fondly:

“On her own Instagram account, Stefani shared another old No Doubt snapshot and simply wrote, "thanks for 25 years."

"We had no idea what was going to happen when we were writing these songs," Kanal wrote on his post about the group's classic album. "Through all of the fun and challenging times, we were just a group of friends on a mission to express ourselves musically. Sometimes It felt like it was us against the world but our love for our band got us through it all."

"Every part of this album was real as f---," he said. "The writing, the recording, the touring, the shows, doing press. All filled with joy, rawness, discovery, excitement, heartache, exhaustion, gratification and beauty. No amount of time that passes will diminish the things we accomplished and experienced together.

"To everyone that embraced Tragic Kingdom and made it a part of their lives, you have my never ending appreciation and gratitude. You guys are incredible. You gave us the fuel to continue creating, keep playing, write more songs and release more albums. Happy 25th Tragic Kingdom to us all," he said to their fans”.

As I said, there were some negative or mixed reviews. I think this one from Entertainment Weekly is one of the more galling and dismissive:

“All of which is business as usual, except that female rock stars like Gwen Stefani aren’t supposed to exist anymore. In our newly progressive times, women play electric guitars and openly spew their feelings. Girls with guitars are so prevalent, in fact, that hearing one on the radio or seeing a woman-led band in a video is no longer startling — which, in itself, is progress. The ”angry woman” variation on this trend has been validated by the petulant whinings of Alanis Morissette and has led to the marketing of any number of disparate singer-songwriters — Tracy Bonham, Patti Rothberg, the Beth Hart Band — as her successor.

The rub is a major one — namely, few are buying any of those albums (except, of course, Morissette’s), and they are buying No Doubt’s. Is it because most of the Alanis-ettes haven’t made memorable music, or could it be that, as anti-progressive as it sounds, the general public still wants its female rockers to look and act like stars? With her pouty voice and glamour-girl looks, Stefani is more than happy to play the starlet. Her voice verging on a girlish hiccup, she can write mewling lines like ”I’m waiting for him to rescue me” (from ”Excuse Me Mr.”) that are worthy of the rescue-me blankness of Mariah Carey’s entire repertoire”.

Luckily, fans and many critics love the album, but I don’t think it is played as much as it should be! I really admire the album and, before finishing with a great recent article that marked twenty-five years of a classic, I want to source from Pitchfork’s review of Tragic Kingdom from March:

“Gwen’s Tragic Kingdom-era pain was incandescent because it felt off the cuff, uninhibited, and barely removed from its cause. You saw that up close in “Don’t Speak,” the breakup ballad that pushed No Doubt’s success over the edge, topping the Billboard airplay chart for 16 weeks. Starting in late 1996 and continuing for much of 1997, flutters of Spanish guitar and angelic whispers of “hush hush, darling” were inescapable; for those listening across radio formats or watching MTV at the time, the song’s ubiquity reached “if I hear this one more time…” levels. But people also could not look away from the saga of Gwen and Tony, SoCal ska’s Stevie and Lindsey. Every night they’d hit the stage and seemingly be forced to relive their split through “Don’t Speak,” a song musically at odds with nearly everything in their upbeat catalog.

Not every song on Tragic Kingdom is overtly about the breakup or the frustrations of girlhood—this is ’90s California ska, after all, a few mostly positive chillers are required. But the album tracks skew cheesy, especially now. Ska bands of the era would sometimes show off their funk chops with a disco cut on their LPs, but No Doubt’s take, “You Can Do It,” is plagued by fake disco strings and a guitar jangle that borders on musical clip art. “Different People,” a brass-and-keyboard-led ska track about how the world is big and diverse, has the tension of a child’s picture book, and the depth of one too. Eric’s musical-theater-strikes-back closer “Tragic Kingdom” is cringeworthy in highly specific ways: the sampling of theme-park announcements, the egregiously drawn-out tempo changes, the fact that it seems to be about how evil Walt Disney is. (Besides, on an album like this, the most tragic of kingdoms is actually Gwen and Tony’s love story, not the suburbia surrounding Mickey’s castle.)”.

No Doubt followed Tragic Kingdom with Return of Saturn of 2000 – and album that differed from Tragic Kingdom but won some great reviews -, but I think their peek was in 1995. It would not be long until Gwen Stefani stood out alone and became one of the leading female Rock stars of the 1990s (she released her debut solo album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby., in 2004).

I just want to finish off by bringing in some words from a udiscovermusic feature that discussed Tragic Kingdom’s themes and how, though some defined it by its singles, it is such a rich album that cannot be ignored:

“Despite its sunny veneer, Tragic Kingdom is widely acknowledged as a breakup album – not just of romantic relationships. During the making of Tragic Kingdom, Gwen’s brother and bandmate Eric Stefani left the group to become an animator on The Simpsons, while her boyfriend and bandmate Tony Kanal also ended their eight-year relationship, leading to the jilted-lover’s pop anthem, “Don’t Speak.” On a scale of One to Fleetwood Mac, the band’s internal dynamics lay somewhere in the middle, but heartbreak is a powerful motivator, and is responsible for the most affecting tracks on the album, from “Happy Now” to “Sunday Morning” and “End It On This.”

Tragic Kingdom is not merely just the sum of a few singles, it also contains some unexpected surprises. While everyone with a pulse knows “Don’t Speak,” not everyone remembers the underrated ballad “The Climb.” With its bluesy opening and theme of self-reliance, it’s one of Eric Stefani’s lasting contributions to the album. There’s even some disco-funk courtesy of the slapping bassline of “You Can Do It.” Another surprising sonic moment comes at the end, the title track being an operatic ska song with more drama than an 80s musical soundtrack and an unexpected shredding guitar solo courtesy of former heavy metal guitarist Tom Dumont. Even as Tragic Kingdom progresses, No Doubt never lose their pep, finding a wonderful crescendo on the foot-stomping “Sunday Morning,” complete with Motown-esque “whoa whoas”.

Twenty-five years after its release, I think Tragic Kingdom warrants new praise and attention. I do not hear many of the songs on the radio; perhaps you’ll get Don’t Speak on there, but a lot of the songs never really get an outing. It is a phenomenal album from the Californian band and one that still sounds fresh and surprising today. The 1990s produced more than its fair share of immense albums, but I think No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom stands out…

IN a competitive and incredibly strong decade.

FEATURE: That Would Be Something: What Can We Expect from McCartney III?

FEATURE:

 

That Would Be Something

PHOTO CREDIT: Mary McCartney

What Can We Expect from McCartney III?

___________

IF things outside of music….

IN THIS PHOTO: Paul McCartney in 1975/PHOTO CREDIT: Linda McCartney

have not given us much to cheer about, it seems that the music world itself is stepping up. There have been some terrific albums released, and every month brings us so many treasures! That looks set to continue, as there are some brilliant forthcoming albums. One that has caused excitement over the last few days is McCartney III. I am not sure whether Paul McCartney himself has said anything regarding its content, but there are images and news stories online that say McCartney’s third eponymous album is coming in December. His first McCartney album arrived in 1970, when The Beatles were breaking up and, hit by the turmoil and in need of an outlet, he released this terrific album that contained classics like Maybe I’m Amazed, Every Night, and terrific songs like That Would Be Something, Junk, and The Lovely Linda. I still think that album remains underrated but, given that The Beatles were splitting, maybe critics were reacting to that and blaming McCartney. The album is a fantastic thing, and I can appreciate why McCartney needed to record and release it. It was a decade before he released McCartney II, and that album was more stripped-back and experimental. Again, many have overlooked it and written it off, and whilst it does contain some weaker tracks – and is less consistent than McCartney -, it is a great album that was written when Wings split (the band Paul McCartney formed after The Beatles).

Now, four decades after that album, we are going to get the third in the trilogy. This is what the Beatles Bible say about the December-rumoured album:

“McCartney III is believed to be the third completely solo homespun Paul McCartney album, following 1970’s McCartney and 1980’s McCartney II.

The domain name mccartneyiii.com was registered on 28 August 2020 by CSC Corporate Domains, the company which also registered paulmccartney.com and flaming-pie.com.

At the beginning of the year we were on holiday and then the lockdown started just after we got back and so I flew to England and spent the time with my daughter, Mary, and her kids on the farm. So, suddenly, we were all locked down there. So it’s not been bad at all. In fact, I feel a bit guilty admitting that it’s not been bad, and a lot of people do. They don’t want to admit that, actually, you know, [they’re] enjoying it. I’m very lucky. The weather’s been brilliant and Mary and her kids are great, so I’m seeing a lot of my grandkids and Nancy, so it’s been all right. I feel dreadfully sorry for all those who are less fortunate and obviously all those who have lost loved ones, but I’ve been lucky. I’ve been able to write and get into music, starting songs, finishing songs. I’ve had a few little things to write and it’s given me the time to finish some songs that I hadn’t found the time to get around to, you know? I’ve been recording using lots of hand wipes and disinfectant and social distancing, which was good because I don’t like not working.

I suppose I learned that you can’t take anything for granted and that it’s very difficult to predict the future now. In all honesty, I don’t think I learned much. I knew the value of my family and it’s been great being able to spend more time with them, but it doesn’t mean I want to do that all the time. I like working as well. But relationships are important. Family is important. Music is important. Like I say, I’m lucky, because what I do, it all starts with writing, and I can pretty much do that anywhere, so long as I’ve got a guitar. I like having stuff to do, as it keeps the brain busy. And on top of all my projects, I’ve had the luxury of just being able to sit down and write songs for no reason, which is great. It keeps me off the streets. Paul McCartney, GQ, 4 August 2020”.

Paul McCartney was due to headline Glastonbury this year, and during lockdown, I can imagine that he has been frustrated and keen to get on the road. He released McCartney after the stress of The Beatles’ end and the studio offered him retreat and some comfort; the same can be said for McCartney II after Wings’ demise. During such a strange time, it is appropriate that McCartney III should be announced! McCartney’s last studio album, Egypt Station, was released in 2018, and it gained some positive reviews.

I wonder whether we will get a continuation of that regarding sound. It is quite a polished record, whereas an album like McCartney II was more experimental and barer. It would be wonderful to hear an album like that where McCartney records on simple equipment and takes everything back to basics. I would imagine that McCartney III is going to be sonically similar to his recent albums, rather than him tearing away layers but, thematically, I think we will get quite a wide-ranging album that has the same sort of imagination and breath of his other two McCartney albums. In any case, it is something to look forward to, and I do think that there will be a lot of songs about hope and togetherness. When the world is going through such a tough trial, I think McCartney will reflect that, and there will be quite a bit of emotion at play. Maybe we will get a tracklist and more news as the days go by, and I guess a single might be released between now and December. Whatever is coming, the possibility of more Paul McCartney music is very exciting indeed! There are rumours flying as to what McCartney III might offer, but you can never easily guess what he will do regarding his albums – whether we’ll get something Egypt Station-like or he might go completely nuts! The greatest songwriter who has ever lived is still captivating us and keeping us guessing…    

AFTER all these years.

FEATURE: Loving Voices from an Answerphone: Kate Bush’s All the Love

FEATURE:

Loving Voices from an Answerphone

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush captured in 1982/PHOTO CREDIT: Pierre Terrasson

Kate Bush’s All the Love

___________

IN the coming weeks…  

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush performs The Dreaming on the German T.V. show, Na Sowas, in 1982

I am being less general with my Kate Bush features and I am focusing=g on specific songs and albums. For my next feature or two, I am going to look at specific songs and elements of Aerial – as the album turns fifteen next month. I am back with The Dreaming now because, last time out, I went deep with the song, Leave It Open, and why it is so remarkable. I am planning a Kate Bush podcast called All the Love, but I have not mentioned the song of the same name! Last time around, I talked about how brilliant The Dreaming is, and how it remains so underrated and intriguing. In 1982, some pushed the album away and felt it was too strange and overloaded. Bush truly incorporated so much into the album, and it was her most varied and fascinating set of songs to that date. Leave It Open ends the first side of The Dreaming, and All the Love is the antepenultimate track. It is strange that the title track opens the second side, but I guess it offered a similar bounce and energy to the opening track, Sat in Your Lap, and Bush wanted to have these two immediate and physical songs open each side. We finish with the rawest and most electric track, Get Out of My House, and the penultimate song, Houdini, mixes a gravel-throated chorus with tenderer elements and sweeping strings.

Providing the filling between The Dreaming, Houdini, and Get Out of My House are Night of the Swallow – which was released as a single in Ireland only -, and All the Love. The last three tracks on The Dreaming are remarkable: from the beauty of All the Love, to the wonderful Houdini, to that epic swansong, Get Out of My House! I wanted to spend a bit of time with All the Love, as it is a song that one does not hear played a lot. That is the curse Bush has faced as an artist, whereby her big hits are well represented on the radio, but one rarely hears many of her album tracks. All the Love is one of many diverse pearls from The Dreaming, and it is one of the more musically-sparse numbers. If songs like Suspended in Gaffa, and Night of the Swallow are a bit busier and boast quite a few different sounds in the composition, I think All the Love is more about the sense of space and raw emotion of the lead vocal. In a way, I think there are similarities between All the Love, and This Woman’s Work from The Sensual World. I think there is a sense of loneliness in both songs and a feeling of things that should have been said have been held back. I know Bush has said This Woman’s Work did not necessarily reflect her own regrets and feelings; All the Love seems very personal and revealing as to how she was feeling by the early-1980s. From a purely universal stance, I guess we all hold love back or are not as open as we should be but, as a major artist, it would have been hard to find much privacy or any sense of normality!

I want to bring in a section from the always-reliable Kate Bush Encyclopaedia, where we get an interview snippet where Bush discusses All the Love’s background.

“Although we are often surrounded by people and friends, we are all ultimately alone, and I feel sure everyone feels lonely at some time in their life. I wanted to write about feeling alone, and how having to hide emotions away or being too scared to show love can lead to being lonely as well. There are just some times when you can't cope and you just don't feel you can talk to anyone. I go and find a bathroom, a toilet or an empty room just to sit and let it out and try to put it all together in my mind. Then I go back and face it all again.

I think it's sad how we forget to tell people we love that we do love them. Often we think about these things when it's too late or when an extreme situation forces us to show those little things we're normally too shy or too lazy to reveal. One of the ideas for the song sparked when I came home from the studio late one night. I was using an answering machine to take the day's messages and it had been going wrong a lot, gradually growing worse with time. It would speed people's voices up beyond recognition, and I just used to hope they would ring back again one day at normal speed.

This particular night, I started to play back the tape, and the machine had neatly edited half a dozen messages together to leave "Goodbye", "See you!", "Cheers", "See you soon" .. It was a strange thing to sit and listen to your friends ringing up apparently just to say goodbye. I had several cassettes of peoples' messages all ending with authentic farewells, and by copying them onto 1/4'' tape and re-arranging the order, we managed to synchronize the 'callers' with the last verse of the song.

There are still quite a few of my friends who have not heard the album or who have not recognised themselves and are still wondering how they managed to appear in the album credits when they didn't even set foot into the studio. (Kate Bush Club newsletter, October 1982)”.

I think one of the things people overlook when they talk about The Dreaming is the different voices throughout. Pre-The Dreaming, Bush was creating a cast of characters and layering her own voice a lot but, from Never for Ever (1980) onwards, we were hearing more voices on subsequent albums – The Trio Bulgarka on The Sensual World, and The Red Shoes; a few contributors on 2011’s 50 Words for Snow, and a few different characters and new voices on Aerial. On The Dreaming, not only does Bush massively use technology like the Fairlight C.M.I., but there are a lot of interesting natural instruments like the fiddle and bullroaer: a perfect mix of the ultra-modern and something much historic and classic.

In vocal terms, we get some great backing vocals from Paddy Bush, Ian Bairnson, Stewart Arnold and Gary Hurst on Sat in Your Lap; Paddy Bush also does backing vocals on The Dreaming, and Get Out of My House; David Gilmour can be heard on Pull Out the Pin; Percy Edwards provides a cast of animal noises on The Dreaming; Gordon Farrell and Del Palmer are on Houdini, whilst Esmail Sheikh and Paul Hardiman are memorable on Get Out of My House. Tomorrow, I am publishing a feature exploring those who contributed to various Kate Bush albums and how Bush added so much to each album in terms of her vocals, but I especially love the contrasts on All the Love. There is a heart-wrenching and pure choir voice from Richard Thornton, who provides one of the most beautiful moments on the whole album. Oddly, something so ethereal and pure sits very well in same song as machine messages. This is a big reason why I wanted to cover this song. I guess there are songs through history where the songwriter brings in answerphone messages to give the song a sense of reality and emotion, but Bush does it like nobody else. I am reminded of Hounds of Love’s Waking the Witch in terms of people in Bush’s lives coming to life and providing this emotion hit. When discussing Waking the Witch with Richard Skinner in 1992, she talked about the voices in that song:

“These sort of visitors come to wake them up, to bring them out of this dream so that they don't drown. My mother's in there, my father, my brothers Paddy and John, Brian Tench - the guy that mixed the album with us - is in there, Del is in there, Robbie Coltrane does one of the voices”.

That series of goodbyes/cheerios/cheers/farewells we hear is haunting and strangely familiar. I really love All the Love and how the vocals are deployed. As I said, there is not a lot of the instrumental layers we hear in other songs on The Dreaming – greater reliance on creating a more harrowing and naked mood. In terms of lyrics, the song affects and moves you from the first verse: “The first time I died/Was in the arms of good friends of mine/They kiss me with tears/They hadn't been near me for years/Say, why do it now/When I won't be around, I'm going out?”. That is countered by Thornton’s choirboy vocal: "We needed you/To love us too/We wait for your move". As Graeme Thomson notes in his biography of Kate Bush, Under the Ivy: The Life & Music of Kate Bush, and the chapter on The Dreaming: “The Dreaming did not sound like the work of a happy person; indeed, it seemed to be the consequence of a woman intent on making herself suffer unnecessarily for her art, who mistrusted her natural optimism and her outwardly straightforward life”. Maybe All the Love is not the most overtly-unhappy song from Kate Bush on The Dreaming, but it is clear that, in her early-twenties, there was this fatigue and sense of longing for peace and younger days perhaps. I just love the song, as it is a gorgeous piece and it is not Bush hiding behind emotions and regrets like so many songwriters do and did – she is bearing her tears and regrets in a very authentic and moving way. There are no other songs like All the Love on The Dreaming, and I do like the fact that it is one of the less frenetic and layered tracks – offering a sense of her earlier work and a glimpse of what we would hear on Hounds of Love (many might disagree, but that is my thought). On an album stuffed with so many sides, stories, sounds and gems, I think All the Love is one of…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush and Felice Fumagalli in Italy in 1982 preparing to promote The Dreaming

THE real highlights from The Dreaming.

FEATURE: Money Changes Everything: Ensuring All Parts of England’s Live Music Scene Is Fairly Represented and Compensated by the Culture Recovery Fund

FEATURE:

Money Changes Everything

IN THIS PHOTO: London’s The Clapham Grand was one of the many venues to receive a portion of the first Culture Recovery Fund round

Ensuring All Parts of England’s Live Music Scene Is Fairly Represented and Compensated by the Culture Recovery Fund

___________

OVER this weekend….

PHOTO CREDIT: @matthewwaring/Unsplash

I am putting out a couple of features which are a bit more serious and tackle some hefty issues. It is good news that, earlier this week, many venues were given a lifeline in the form of Cultural Recovery Fund assistance. A while back, the Government allocated £1.57 billion to help protect the arts and venues. At the moment, there are cinemas, theatres, music venues and other locations that have either closed or face a very bleak and fraught winter. There is no real way of saying when live music will come back in a form that we are familiar with; so that venues can get enough people in to make it profitable. The fact that so many venues have been given much-needed funds is cause for celebration. NME reported the news:

“Hundreds of music venues, festivals, arts spaces and culture organisations in England are celebrating after being awarded part of a £257million grant in the first wave of funding from the government’s Cultural Recovery Fund.

Over 1,385 theatres, museums and cultural organisations across England have benefitted from the £257million grant – the largest chunk of the government’s £1.57billion bailout fund to date, helping venue and cultural spaces to weather the storm of being forced to close due to coronavirus restrictions. At the time of publishing, 90 per cent of results were in with 89 per cent of applications from England’s grassroots venue sector have been successful so far – and less than 20 still in danger. Meanwhile, 71 per cent of the Association of Independent Festival’s applications have been successful so far.

Relieved, grateful, exhausted to announce that GDS have been awarded funding from the Cultural Recovery Fund. We will remain closed for now but are safe til March21 🥳 @DCMS @hmtreasury @ace_national#Hereforculture

Our endless thanks to @musicvenuetrust ♥️ pic.twitter.com/YquXgPGZdL

— Green Door Store (@greendoorstore) October 12, 2020

With full-capacity gigs currently expected to return safely in April, the cash injection will help to mothball live spaces until COVID restrictions subside. This comes after many venues feared that they may “never see funding or reopen“. News on funding for venues in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will follow in the coming weeks.

Successful applicants to receive grants include the Ministry Of Sound (£975,468), Brudenell Social Club in Leeds (£220,429), promoter and venue operator DHP Family (£908,004), Liverpool’s Cavern Club (£525,000), Islington Assembly Hall (£235,564), Clapham Grand (£300,000), The 100 Club (£491,486), Crosstown Concerts (£212,950), Manchester’s Gorilla (£255,500) and Deaf Institute (£148,000), Eat Your Own Ears (£99,066), Portsmouth Guildhall (£215,000) and Sound City (£75,000).

Other beneficiaries include Camden’s Electric Ballroom (£206,974), Hebden Bridge Trades Club (£61,723), End Of The Road Festival (£250,000), Exeter Cavern (£50,000), Leeds-based Futuresound Events (£219,368), Hackney Empire (£585,064), Hootananny Brixton (£250,000), Independent Label Market (£50,784), Inner City Music (£211,200), Lost Village Festival (£250,000), Love Supreme Festival (£118,524), SSD Music (£700,000), The George Tavern (£222,030), Brighton Dome (£493,000) and Slam Dunk (£175,981).

Check out the full list here“.

I have seen on social media so many venues post responses to them getting the money they need to stay open until next year and, even though there is no guarantee that live music is going to return until later next year, it is a relief that many venues do not have to close their doors! I know a lot of money is still in the pot and has yet to be allocated, but I wonder how venues across the North and Midlands will fare. The first round of financial allocation has favoured a lot of venues in the South, but many elsewhere have not done so well.

PHOTO CREDIT: @thatjoebloke/Unsplash

Moreover, there does seem to be a disparity in some regions in regards the way music venues are funded compared to theatres and other areas of the arts. This article reports how many of Birmingham’s music venues have not received the same support as classical organisations:

“In analysis of today’s CRF announcement data, the Birmingham Live Music Project team suggest that the balance of funding is in favour of non-musical organisations with a track record of securing public funding, pre-Covid.

Additionally, researchers from the collaborative academic and industry initiative between Aston University, Birmingham City University and University of Newcastle suggest the live music sector is vital to the UK’s collective ‘morale’, and protecting cultural activity requires much more work by the UK Government.

Dr Patrycja Rozbicka, project lead with the Birmingham Live Music Project, identified an apparent disparity between the amounts received by organisations with a music and non-music focus. Following the release of the first tranche of awards today, Dr Rozbicka said, “As anticipated, across all 28 music organisations to receive a CRF award in Birmingham, only a few are venues or organisations which have a dedicated and primary focus on live music.

“Within this number, the three largest grants (combined total of £2,523,668) have been awarded to three regularly funded organisations (RFOs): Birmingham Royal Ballet, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Midlands Arts Centre (mac). Out of the 28, only three grants (combined total of £349,000) really go to local live music venues. The rest land with classical organisations, theatres and dance studios”.

PHOTO CREDIT: @vishnurnair/Unsplash

It is great that a few venues in Sunderland have received some hefty funding, and it is wonderful that many venues are being saved for closure. I think there has always been a disparity between venues in the South and London especially compared with areas further north. I want to return to the Midlands, as it seem that they have been especially overlooked:

“London organisations were given £87m – £9.71 per capita, while in the South West £26.6m was handed out, at £4.72 per head.

In the East Midlands it was still higher, with grants equating to £3.55 per person handed out.

Venues across the West Midlands, including theatres, concert halls and galleries, were forced to close once again due to Covid-19.

Many have been left asking if our great venues are playing second fiddle to London.

Of that near-£17m handed out, £6.2m has been given to 39 groups in the Black Country and Birmingham.

A total of £1.24m has been handed to eight businesses in Shropshire, while across Staffordshire, five groups in Lichfield, Cannock, Stafford and South Staffordshire received around £1.2m.

It is hardly surprising that recipients, including Cannock’s Prince of Wales Theatre, Newhampton Arts Centre in Wolverhampton, and Albert’s Shed in Telford – have welcomed the funding with open arms.

After all, there is a strong argument for the cultural sector being the hardest hit by the pandemic, with venues forced to close when the first major lockdown was announced back in March.

PHOTO CREDIT: @joshappel/Unsplash

Many are not planning to reopen until next year, and the grants received will help them to keep their heads above water until punters can finally return through their doors.

Yet across the whole region, the Arts Council funding equates to just £2.86 per head, the lowest figure in the country and way behind the nation’s capital, where £9.71 per person has been handed out.

In fact, of the 1,385 organisations to be awarded cash so far, a third of them are in London, where 34 per cent of the CRF funding total of £257m has been allocated.

They included Belgrade Theatre, which received just under the maximum amount allowed of £1m, and the Soho Theatre company, which got around £900,000.

Arts Council England points out that more funding announcements are to come – including some of the bigger cash awards – and that we have not yet got a complete picture of how the money has been distributed nationally”.

I have nothing against London being afforded such financing, but there is this ongoing disparity between how the arts and culture is valued in the North and Midlands compared to the capital. I hope that there is a lot more consideration towards our valuable music venues and spaces north of London, as it would be a tragedy is many were overlooked. Sadly, many venues who were looking for more funding have not hit their target and have been forced to close, and although venues in London like The Lexington need more funding to survive, we all want a fair distribution so that large areas of the country are not ignored.

IN THIS PHOTO: The Deaf Institute, Manchester/PHOTO CREDIT: The Deaf Institute

Earlier in the year, Gorilla and The Deaf Industry in Manchester almost closed their doors for good, but they have been saved. The latest funding round has seen some valuable spaces in the North given a boost:

“Manchester-based Mission Mars, which operates the Albert Hall (2,200), Gorilla (600), and The Deaf Institute (260) venues is to be awarded £1m from the Arts Council England administered fund.

The Cavern Club will receive £525,000, the 100 Club £491,000 and the Brudenell Social Club (400) in Leeds £220,429”.

I know that not all venues and music spaces can survive, and I do hope that the Government value and respect music venues as highly as theatres, concert halls and other sectors of the arts which will receive funding. So many people in the music industry are suffering right now and self-employed workers and crews are especially vulnerable. Live music is essential, so the package the Government have announced means that many venues are going to be able to operate for another eight months or so. It does seem that there is a favouritism towards London, and whilst some venues in the North have been mentioned, there are many others that are in desperate need of money – and the Midlands received quite a small chunk of the funding. Let’s keep fingers crossed that there is better news when the second round is allocated, as it would be a shame if London was the major recipient of the money. It is difficult getting the balance right and deciding who needs financing the most, but I think there is a North/South divide that has existed for decades and, at such a critical and scary time, every area of England needs equal consideration! I can appreciate the money London’s venues contribute and how many artists play here, but there are terrific musicians and people in the industry right around the country that, if they are not adequately supported, then that will have a devastating effect on the whole of the music industry in the U.K. Even though it is a tough balance, it is only right that terrific venues around the country…

IN THIS PHOTO: The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham/PHOTO CREDIT: Sal Maxuda

GET their fair cut.

FEATURE: The October Playlist: Vol. 3: Together We CRY

FEATURE:

 

The October Playlist

IN THIS PHOTO: Jane Weaver

Vol. 3: Together We CRY

__________

THIS week’s Playlist…

IN THIS PHOTO: Lana Del Rey/PHOTO CREDIT: Darren Gerrish/BFC/Getty Images

returns to the form that this year has been synonymous with. Last week was a bit of a quiet one but, this week, there are new cuts from Lana Del Rey, beabadoobee, Julia Jacklin, Jane Weaver, Stevie Wonder (ft. Rapsody, Cordae, Chika, and Busta Rhymes), Elvis Costello, Kelly Rowland, King Princess, Sharon Van Etten, Demi Lovato, Lanterns on the Lake, and James Blake! It is properly overflowing with gold, and it is one of the strongest weeks this year for new music! Throw into the mix songs from Pearl Jam, John Frusciante, LAUREL, and Matt Berninger (ft. Gail Ann Dorsey). If you need something to get your weekend cooking and going, then I think this week’s Playlist has enough great music to…

IN THIS PHOTO: beabadoobee/PHOTO CREDIT: Jordan Curtis Hughes

SATISFY your needs.

ALL PHOTOS/IMAGES (unless credited otherwise): Artists

___________

Lana Del Rey - Let Me Love You Like A Woman

PHOTO CREDIT: Gem Harris

Julia Jacklin – CRY

beabadoobee – Together

Jane Weaver - The Revolution of Super Visions

Demi Lovato – Commander in Chief

PHOTO CREDIT: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

Stevie Wonder (ft. Rapsody, Cordae, Chika, and Busta Rhymes) - Can't Put It in the Hands of Fate

Elvis Costello – Newspaper Pane

PHOTO CREDIT: Arielle Bobb-Willis for The New York Times

King Princess – Only Time Makes It Human

Sharon Van Etten - Let Go

James Blake - I Keep Calling

Kelly Rowland – Crazy

Lanterns on the Lake - The Realist

PHOTO CREDIT: Daphne Nguyen

Middle Kids - R U 4 Me?

John Frusciante - Brand E

Future Utopia (ft. Arlo Parks) - Stranger in the Night

PHOTO CREDIT: Danny Clinch

Pearl Jam – Get It Back

Cloud Nothings - Am I Something

IN THIS PHOTO: Kamila Stanley

LAUREL - Best I Ever Had

Calva Louise – TRIAL

Daya – First Time

Lucy Spraggan - Sober

PHOTO CREDIT: Janne Rugland

Astrid S – Airpods

PHOTO CREDIT: @shawna_shoots

Pearl Charles - Take Your Time

Matt Berninger (ft. Gail Ann Dorsey) – Silver Springs

PHOTO CREDIT: Mariam Sitchinava

Katie Melua – Joy

Emotional Oranges (ft. Channel Tres) – All That

Lauren Aquilina – Swap Places

Abbie Ozard – true romance

Jacob Banks - Devil That I Know

Ólafur Arnalds (ft. Bonobo) - Loom

Stefflon Don – Can’t Let You Go

PHOTO CREDIT: @sara_cath

Mamalarky – You Make Me Smile

Josie Man – Grow

PHOEBE ΔΧΔ – Things

Lizzie Reid – Seamless

PHOTO CREDIT: Jeff Bierk

The Weather Station – Robber

Martha Hill – Summer Up North

Kelly Moran – Helix III

Rosie Carney – Bones

Circe - Ruined Your Sons

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: Mighty Fine Samples in Song

FEATURE:

 

The Lockdown Playlist

IN THIS PHOTO: Teyana Taylor (whose 2018 song, Gonna Love Me, contains a sample of I Gave to You, written and performed by The Delfonics; it samples Michael Jackson’s 1972 rendition of Bill Withers’ Ain’t No Sunshine)/PHOTO CREDIT: AP Images

Mighty Fine Samples in Song

___________

I have a couple of reasons…  

why today’s Lockdown Playlist is all about samples. Fifteen years ago today, Madonna released her first single from the album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, Hung Up. It uses ABBA’s Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight), for which Madonna personally sought permission from its songwriters, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. It got me thinking about sampling, and I will be exploring sampling (as I have done a few times in the past) later this weekend. This Lockdown Playlist features songs that have been sampled by others, or tracks that contains some great samples – see if you can guess which songs are being sampled in many of these tracks! To get the weekend off to a kicking start, this is a smattering of some busy and layered songs that contain some wonderful samples, and some incredible songs that have been…

IN THIS PHOTO: Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav, Professor Griff, Terminator X and Chuck D, alongside a member of the S1W troupe, in 1988/PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

SAMPLED by others.

FEATURE: Stream of Consciousness: Ensuring Artists, Musicians and Songwriters Get a Bigger Slice of the Streaming Pie

FEATURE:

Stream of Consciousness

PHOTO CREDIT: @neonbrand/Unsplash

Ensuring Artists, Musicians and Songwriters Get a Bigger Slice of the Streaming Pie

___________

I am going to grab from a…  

IN THIS PHOTO: Tom Gray, founder of the Broken Records campaign/PHOTO CREDIT: Tom Gray

Music Week article regarding some interesting news and development concerning streaming and royalties. The issue of artists being underpaid by sites like Spotify is nothing new but, at a time when artists cannot rely on touring revenue and as much merchandise money as previous years, streaming is a vital outlet! Unfortunately, there is still a disparity between the big artists and what they make – because of algorithms and streaming sites prioritising their music – and the smaller act. There is also a question as to how much money a label makes and how much is left for the musician whose music is being streamed. A new study has been revealed with some fascinating findings:

“Consumers believe artists should receive a greater share of streaming revenues, according to a new survey.

The study by YouGov, on behalf of the #BrokenRecord campaign, found that 77% thought artists are not being paid enough, while 76% felt songwriters were also underpaid.

“These statistics show, inarguably, that consumers want a fairer share of streaming income to go to artists, songwriters and musicians," said Gomez's Tom Gray (pictured), founder of the Broken Record campaign.

"The system is unethical and unsustainable and needs to be sorted out by the industry or, if necessary, via Government intervention.”

The poll also found that 83% believe most record labels are paid too much, though only 68% thought the streaming platforms are overpaid.

“It is fantastic that a strong paid-for streaming market has grown over the past 15 years and further growth is predicted for the future, in spite of Covid-19. But with increasing numbers of consumers paying a monthly subscription we must ensure that the increasing streaming profits are matched with fair payment to the creators of the music," suggested Graham Davies, CEO of The Ivors Academy, of the results.

IMAGE CREDIT: Tom Gray/#BrokenRecord

"These survey results are an important contribution to dialogue taking place in the music industry on what an equitable and progressive distribution of streaming wealth should be.”

The YouGov survey, which was conducted in August this year, also concluded that 81% of those polled would like session musicians to receive some share of streaming revenue.

“Backing musicians are usually paid a small upfront fee for playing on a track, but it is often royalty payments that keep them going and in the music business," explained Naomi Pohl, deputy general secretary of the Musicians' Union.

"Streaming doesn’t pay any royalties to these musicians, but we argue that it should; if services seek to cannibalise other listening media such as radio, then they should pay an equivalent royalty."

Welcoming the survey's findings chair of The Ivors Academy, Crispin Hunt, said he believed consumer opinion should now drive change within the biz.

“What music now needs is a dramatic reinvention of the outdated manufacturing business models that still prevail," he declared.

"Everyone in the music industry knows that streaming does not currently sustain the careers of most creators. Put simply, not enough of the streaming money paid by the consumer is trickling down to the creators who drive the value. As this YouGov poll makes clear, consumers thankfully agree”.

It is good to hear that consumers feel that artists are being short-changed and want to see a shift in the way streaming services operate. Let’s hope that this campaign develops and we get some action and evolution.

PHOTO CREDIT: @fixelgraphy/Unsplash

It is difficult to know what the solution is regarding ensuring artists get a fairer slice of pie and they get the money they deserve. Every day, I see posts online from artists who are seeing how much they get paid by streaming sites and it is shockingly low! I know labels are the ones who help get the music out and they are important, but the intrinsic value of the artist is being undermined. They are the most valuable part of the equation and, without dehumanising what they do, they are the product that is being sold. A recent report from Forbes suggests that Spotify might be in trouble regarding their value and market share and, whilst I know Spotify are not the only offender when it comes to disproportionate revenues and paying artists too little, they are the biggest player at the moment. I pay less than £10 a month for a premium service on Spotify, and I would be willing to pay double if it meant that artists were paid more! There have been suggestions how to make Spotify and other streaming services fairer. One can say that a huge kitty can be generated from all subscription payments, and all artists get the same money. Rather than labels getting most of the revenue, everything could be divided equally between all artists and labels. Would that realistically work?!

PHOTO CREDIT: @sctgrhm/Unsplash

The problem is, as this article outlines, a very small number of artists generate a vast majority of streams:

“A new report suggests 1% of artists generate 90% of all music streams, and the remaining 99% produce only 10% of plays.

The insights from US analytics firm Alpha Data have re-opened criticisms about the low royalty rates paid by streaming services.

Alpha Data, which powers Rolling Stone’s charts, noted that of the 1.6 million artists who placed their music on streaming platforms in the last 12 months, only about 16,000 got 90% of airplay.

What’s more, the top 10% of artists (that is, 160,000) accounted for 99.4% of those streams, which left 1.4 million artists desperately battling for 0.6% of streams.

Spotify doesn’t pay per stream, but rather from a royalties pool based on 65% to 70% of revenue. But it’s generally estimated that its pay-out is between $.003 and $.005 per stream.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek estimated last year that close to 40,000 tracks were being added to the service every day, which makes the competition for noise even harder.

Last month (August), Music Business Worldwide looked at Spotify’s Q2 results of €1.89 billion in the three months to the end of June.

“We can therefore broadly assume that 52% of this money, or $1.07b, is being paid in recorded music royalties to labels and distributors, who will carry a portion of that over to their artists.

“Now, if 43,000 artists are pulling in 90% of the royalties, that means those people are getting $963 million of the $1.07 billion”.

PHOTO CREDIT: @mpumelelomacu/Unsplash

Going back to the YouGov survey, and not only does it seem like artists are being underpaid and ignored, but important contributors like session musicians and backing singers are being cut out. I guess, when we listen to songs, we never look beyond the singers or the bands; what about the session players, those providing backing vocals? Also, how much do producers in addition to those who write the songs?! There are a lot of layers to consider, so I do think that there needs to be this massive overhaul where a new model is presented. It is a shame that so many huge artists rule the roost and, because they are the commercial pull, it is their labels that win out! Even though major artists do not get as much money as they should, they are in a much better position than smaller artists and musicians/singers who do not necessarily get a credit. The public know that artists are generating streaming sites massive profits, but they are not reaping the rewards. In the most difficult year for artists in generations, I sympathise with them and it is heartaching that so many are getting buried in streaming sites and their music is either not being discovered or their popularity does not equate to adequate remuneration. If 2020 has been a year we will all want to forget, we can look ahead to next year with optimism. Live music will come back and some sense of normality will creep back in. I think one of the big topics on the agenda is streaming services and how much artists get paid and including session musicians and songwriters in the discussion.

PHOTO CREDIT: @plhnk/Unsplash

There was some positive news announced on Thursday (15th), as the Government are looking into the economics of streaming. Here is some more detail:

“Inquiry

MPs will examine what economic impact music streaming is having on artists, record labels and the sustainability of the wider music industry.

With streaming currently accounting for more than half of the global music industry’s revenue, this inquiry will look at the business models operated by platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and Google Play. Music streaming in the UK brings in more than £1 billion in revenue with 114 billion music streams in the last year, however artists can be paid as little as 13% of the income generated.

The Committee will also consider whether the government should be taking action to protect the industry from piracy in the wake of steps taken by the EU on copyright and intellectual property rights.

The inquiry is seeking the perspectives of industry experts, artists and record labels as well as streaming platforms themselves.

Terms of Reference:

The DCMS Committee is inviting written submissions to be submitted by 6pm on Monday 16 November 2020.

• What are the dominant business models of platforms that offer music streaming as a service?

• Have new features associated with streaming platforms, such as algorithmic curation of music or company playlists, influenced consumer habits, tastes, etc?

• What has been the economic impact and long-term implications of streaming on the music industry, including for artists, record labels, record shops, etc?

• How can the Government protect the industry from knock-on effects, such as increased piracy of music? Does the UK need an equivalent of the Copyright Directive?

• Do alternative business models exist? How can policy favour more equitable business models?

That is a step in the right direction, but there is still a way to go - let’s hope that something good comes of the announcement by the U.K. Government! It is only right that those who make the music and bring us all such great songs should…

PHOTO CREDIT: @raduflorin/Unsplash

BE rewarded for that!

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: Dire Straits’ Making Movies at Forty: Film-Related Cuts

FEATURE:

 

The Lockdown Playlist

PHOTO CREDIT: @myke_simon/Unsplash

Dire Straits’ Making Movies at Forty: Film-Related Cuts

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AMONG the big album anniversaries…

PHOTO CREDIT: @jeremyyappy/Unsplash

happening this year, I wonder whether many people will be writing about Dire Straits’ Making Movies’ fortieth on Saturday (17th). The third studio album from the band, I think people associate Dire Straits with Brothers in Arms, or their impressive eponymous album of 1978. I think Making Movies is perhaps their best album, and it contains only seven tracks. We get three longer tracks on the first side – including the classics, Tunnel of Love, and Romeo and Juliet -, and there are four shorter songs on the second side – among them, the excellent Expresso Love. Rather than write a separate feature about the album, I am doing an extra Lockdown Playlist this week to honour the album. Although it is a tough time for cinemas and the film industry right now, I wanted to put out a film-related playlist, of course with Dire Straits’ classic album in the mind. Here is an assortment of film-related cuts (and great film soundtrack inclusions) that makes for…

PHOTO CREDIT: @ewitsoe/Unsplash

GREAT listening.

FEATURE: The Book I Read: The Best Music and Music-Related Books of 2020

FEATURE:

 

The Book I Read

PHOTO CREDIT: @sincerelymedia/Unsplash

The Best Music and Music-Related Books of 2020

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EVERY year…  

PHOTO CREDIT: @simon_noh/Unsplash

we see a lot of lists relating to the best albums and singles. I can understand why there is such fascination and debate, but the same attention and focus is not given to music books! I think a great music book can be really interesting, and this year has seen so many great and varied releases arrive. From biographies of artists to autobiographies that are hugely influenced by music, through to surveys of musical scenes, I have collected together the books that you will want to own. If you need ideas for early Christmas presents then there are some leads here that might be perfect…

PHOTO CREDIT: @lalainemacababbad/Unsplash

FOR the music lover in your life.

____________

Broken Greek

Author: Pete Paphides

Release Date: 5th March

Publisher: Quercus Publishing

Synopsis:

“Do you sometimes feel like the music you're hearing is explaining your life to you?'

When Pete's parents moved from Cyprus to Birmingham in the 1960s in the hope of a better life, they had no money and only a little bit of English. They opened a fish-and-chip shop in Acocks Green. The Great Western Fish Bar is where Pete learned about coin-operated machines, male banter and Britishness.

Shy and introverted, Pete stopped speaking from age 4 to 7, and found refuge instead in the bittersweet embrace of pop songs, thanks to Top of the Pops and Dial-A-Disc. From Brotherhood of Man to UB40, from ABBA to The Police, music provided the safety net he needed to protect him from the tensions of his home life. It also helped him navigate his way around the challenges surrounding school, friendships and phobias such as visits to the barber, standing near tall buildings and Rod Hull and Emu.

With every passing year, his guilty secret became more horrifying to him: his parents were Greek, but all the things that excited him were British. And the engine of that realisation? 'Sugar Baby Love', 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart', 'Tragedy', 'Silly Games', 'Going Underground', 'Come On Eileen', and every other irresistibly thrilling chart hit blaring out of the chip shop radio.

Never have the trials and tribulations of growing up and the human need for a sense of belonging been so heart-breakingly and humorously depicted” – Waterstones

Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/broken-greek/pete-paphides/9781529404432

Review:

“The grown-up Paphides’s career is also invaluable when it comes to the inside track: as a youngster, he is convinced that the soul-baring The Winner Takes It All must have been written while Björn Ulvæus was drunk, because, as Paphides wonderfully puts it, “spillage on this scale almost never happens without the aid of a corkscrew”. Decades later, while interviewing Ulvæus, his hunch is confirmed.

If there’s a weak area of the book, it is in the rare moments when Paphides introduces non-music asides that involve a leap forward in time. There’s mention of Brexit and Boris Johnson, tangents that jar. But – to repurpose a joke from Paphides – it’s small fry. Because, as well as producing writing that conjures some visually stunning images (a mass of school pupils is a “murmuration of green blazers”), Paphides is funny: “I didn’t know who Lulu was, but I knew she was important, because like Sting, Odysseus and Kojak, she only had one name.”

Broken Greek isn’t all about the transcendent joy of discovering new bands. There are flashes of racism; and Paphides’s parents spend much of the time miserable, largely from working themselves too hard – in the case of Victoria, to the point of a hospital stay. But they clearly love their children (even if Dad isn’t always good at showing it) and incidents of kindness and friendship abound, despite economic and marital struggles.

Paphides points out, rightly, that great pop should require no effort from the listener. I don’t believe this is entirely true of literature, but this is a memoir that carries you along with all the breeziness and addictive properties of, appropriately, a Dexys Midnight Runners track. A smash hit” – The Guardian

It Takes Blood and Guts

Authors: Skin/Lucy O’Brien

Release Date: 24th September

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd

Synopsis:

“Charting the Skunk Anansie singer’s fascinating musical journey as well as her role as a trail-blazing social and cultural activist and a champion of LGBTQ+ rights, It Takes Blood and Guts is an extraordinary read from a unique talent.

'It's been a very difficult thing being a lead singer of a rock band looking like me and it still is. I have to say it's been a fight and it will always be a fight. That fight drives you and makes you want to work harder . . . It's not supposed to be easy, particularly if you're a woman, you're black or you are gay like me. You've got to keep moving forward, keep striving for everything you want to be. It's been a fight, and there has been a personal cost, but I wouldn't have done it any other way.'

Skin, the trail-blazing lead singer of multi-million-selling rock band Skunk Anansie, is a global female icon. As an incendiary live performer, she shatters preconceptions about race and gender. As an activist and inspirational role model she has been smashing through stereotypes for over twenty-five years. With her striking visual image and savagely poetic songs, Skin has been a groundbreaking influence both with Skunk Anansie and as a solo artist.

From her difficult childhood growing up in Brixton to forming Skunk Anansie in the sweat-drenched backrooms of London's pubs in the '90s, from the highs of headlining Glastonbury to the toll her solo career took on her personal life, Skin's life has been extraordinary. She also talks powerfully about her work as social and cultural activist, championing LGBTQ+ rights at a time when few artists were out and gay. Told with honesty and passion, this is the story of how a black, working-class girl with a vision fought poverty and prejudice to write songs, produce and front her own band, and become one of the most influential women in British rock” – Waterstones

Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/it-takes-blood-and-guts/skin/lucy-obrien/9781471194917

Review:

“In this frequently jaw-dropping memoir, Skin also recalls finding her voice. A blood-curdling scream let out by Judi Dench, a guest at her school, made for a fabulous early example of female catharsis. Later, when Skin turned on the stalker who had sexually assaulted her, shaming him at volume in a busy Brixton street, she overcame more than shyness.

Skunk Anansie’s songs were often visceral responses – to inequity, racism or abuse. Weak, from their first album, came out of the assault she sustained from a male partner, an experience she processed during her time in Middlesbrough, where she fell in with the local LGBTQ+ scene and the rape crisis centre.

“Yes it’s political,” went another song, “everything’s fucking political.” A funk-rock track, Intellectualise My Blackness, articulated Skin’s frustration at having had expectations of her ethnicity mansplained to her by some presumptuous berk.

Just as interesting as the glamorous highs is the detail of what a jobbing part-time icon does when her solo career doesn’t quite go supernova. She is particularly good on the importance of learning how all the gear works and how to talk to sound engineers in language they can understand. As with many musical autobiographies – Keith Richards’s is another – the landscape of Skin’s childhood and family has some of the most evocative writing.

That’s not to say this is a perfect read. It might have been smoother to have one voice throughout or a more regular interplay between Skin and co-author O’Brien.

But among the pleasures of this peek into an extraordinary life are the intriguing facts it pumps out. Rod Stewart ends up doing a cover of Weak. Skin’s anti-apartheid-era Brixton buddies end up running the Namibian stock exchange. An outraged Robbie Williams takes on racist Russian nightclub bouncers when they refuse Skin entry to the club.

We now have a lot of language – intersectionality, microaggressions – to describe many of the events in this memoir. However, nothing can really equal candid, first-hand experience, recounted matter of factly here. It would be instructive for anyone who thought they knew the story of the 90s to spend 300 pages in Skin’s skin” – The World News

Small Hours: The Long Night of John Martyn

Author: Graeme Thomson

Release Date: 9th July

Publisher: Omnibus Press

Synopsis:

“Did any musician in the Seventies fly so free as John Martyn did on Bless The Weather, Solid Air, Inside Out and One World? Did any fall so far?

Small Hours is an intimate, unflinching biography of one of the great maverick artists. Though Martyn never had a hit single, his extraordinary voice, innovative guitar playing and profoundly soulful songs secured his status as a much admired pioneer.

Covered by Eric Clapton, revered by Lee Scratch Perry, produced by Phil Collins, Martyn influenced several generations of musicians, but beneath the songs lay a complicated and volatile personality. He lived his life the same way he made music: improvising as he went; scattering brilliance, beauty, rage and destruction in his wake.

Drawing on almost 100 new interviews, Small Hours is a raw and utterly gripping account of sixty years of daredevil creativity, soaring highs and sometimes unconscionable lows” – Omnibus Press

Buy: https://omnibuspress.com/products/small-hours-the-long-night-of-john-martyn

Review:

“His ill-fated marriage to, and uneasy musical alliance with, Beverley Kutner preceded what was arguably Martyn’s most fruitful and creative period. Between the end of 1971 and the beginning of 1975 he released four spectacularly good albums – Bless The Weather, Solid Air, Inside Out, and Sunday’s Child — records that were innovative, exploratory, warm, containing the most beautifully tender, soulful songs and as far removed from ‘folk music’ as it’s possible for one man and a guitar to be. When I sat down with him that afternoon in 1974 Inside Out had not long been released, and Martyn was searching for a drummer to complement the instinctive musical empathy that he’d developed with bassist Danny Thompson so that he could perform his groundbreaking music live. I’m not sure he ever managed to assemble his perfect ensemble, but he and Thompson developed a profound musical and personal bond that resulted in many memorable performances — and perhaps an equal number of offstage incidents that set new standards in wild, destructive behaviour and alcoholic belligerence. Frustratingly, as the years rolled by, the albums became more and more patchy as it seems his behaviour and temperament became increasingly aggressive and, for friends and family, almost totally alienating. His treatment of Beverley and his children was especially cruel and vindictive, although despite subsequent up-and-down relationships and a seemingly more contented last few years of his life, he claims to have “never written a great song since Beverley finally left him”. I would agree. By the time he passed away in January 2009 of pneumonia and acute renal failure, he’d managed a certain degree of reconciliation with his children — though apparently having no regrets about the way he’d behaved or the emotional havoc he’d caused through the years.

There were many other colourful and significant people in Martyn’s turbulent life – Hamish Imlach, Nick Drake, Phil Collins, Ron Geesin, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry to name but a few; Thomson deftly weaves them into the narrative and by doing so places Martyn and his music in context. His peers were undoubtedly in awe of him and his talent. That he never really achieved the degree of universal recognition that his music deserved remains a mystery to me and I have to say that, thankfully, despite the plethora of awful, wince-inducing anecdotes, my love of his very best music has never waned. So I was greatly looking forward to this book and am grateful to Graeme Thomson for telling Martyn’s story with incisiveness, compassion and even-handedness. Small Hours is the perfectly balanced book that John Martyn, his music, and the people who knew him, deserve” – Caught by the River

Hey Hi Hello: Five Decades of Pop Culture from Britain's First Female DJ

Author: Annie Nightingale

Release Date: 3rd September

Publisher: Orion Publishing Co

Synopsis:

“Hey Hi Hello is a greeting we have all become familiar with, as Annie Nightingale cues up another show on Radio One. Always in tune with the nation's taste, yet effortlessly one step ahead for more than five decades, in this book Annie digs deep into her crate of memories, experiences and encounters to deliver an account of a life lived on the frontiers of pop cultural innovation.

As a dj and broadcaster on radio, tv and the live music scene, Annie has been an invigorating and necessarily disruptive force, working within the establishment but never playing by the rules. She walked in the door at Radio One as a rebel, its first female broadcaster, in 1970. Fifty years later she became the station's first CBE in the New Year's Honours List; still a vital force in British music, a dj and tastemaker who commands the respect of artists, listeners and peers across the world.

Hey Hi Hello tells the story of those early, intimidating days at Radio One, the Ground Zero moment of punk and the epiphanies that arrived in the late 80s with the arrival of acid house and the Second Summer of Love. It includes faithfully reproduced and never before seen encounters with Bob Marley, Marc Bolan, The Beatles and bang-up-to-date interviews with Little Simz and Billie Eilish.

Funny, warm and candid to a fault, Annie Nightingale's memoir is driven by the righteous energy of discovery and passion for music. It is a portrait of an artist without whom the past fifty years of British culture would have looked very different indeed” – Waterstones

Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/hey-hi-hello/annie-nightingale/9781474620154

Review:

“Do you want life advice from Annie Nightingale? Who wouldn’t? The book is also filled with maxims from the world-class DJ. Here’s a small sampling to help get you through the day:

“If there’s somewhere you want to be, circle your target.”

“You cannot live your life the way others decide you should.”

“Don’t be late. Don’t ever, ever be late. Don’t even think it’s all right to be on time. On time can slip into being not on time so easily. There could be too many people queuing for the lift. There could be a delay in checking through security. Unforeseeable hazards can transform you from being Cinderella arriving via glass coach, in a shimmering ball gown, back into the shrivelling pumpkin.”

“[W]hile it’s great to have a role model, best not to copy. Or pick up too many similar mannerisms of your favourite star. That’s a lesson even The Beatles had to learn . . . . You being you, believe it or not, is . . . enough.”

“The music must never stop.”

Absolutely, take Nightingale’s words of wisdom to heart. But perhaps even more, view her career and her life’s work as a potent example to live by. In a delightfully pithy manner, Nightingale serves up a middle finger to sexism in music and broadcasting. Nightingale asks rhetorically, in the voice of all those naysayers, “Why would a woman want to be a DJ?” Well, she answers, “I want to be a DJ, because I figure it’s the best job in the world!” When someone suggests, “you can’t do this job because you’re a woman,” Nightingale responds with a simple yet powerful twenty-first century text message: “WTF?” And to the idea that women should strive for “symbols of some kind of domestic utopian paradise,” Nightingale replies, “no fucking way.”

If 2020 has you down, take pleasure and power in Annie Nightingale’s memoir. And when you finish the book, just turn on the radio” – Louder Than War

Resistance: A Songwriter's Story of Hope, Change and Courage

Author: Tori Amos

Release Date: 5th May

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Synopsis:

“Since the release of her first, career-defining solo album Little Earthquakes, Tori Amos has been one of the music industry's most enduring and ingenious artists. From her unnerving depiction of sexual assault in 'Me and a Gun' to her post-9/11 album Scarlet's Walk, to her latest album Native Invader, her work has never shied away from combining the personal with the political.

Amos was a teenager when she began playing piano for the politically powerful at hotel bars in Washington, D.C., and her story continues from her time as a hungry artist in Los Angeles to the subsequent three decades of her formidable music career. Amos explains how she managed to create meaningful, politically resonant work against patriarchal power structures - and how her proud declarations of feminism and her fight for the marginalised always proved to be her guiding light. She teaches readers to engage with intention in this tumultuous global climate and speaks directly to supporters of #MeToo and Time's Up, as well as to young people fighting for their rights and visibility in the world.

Filled with compassionate guidance and actionable advice - and using some of the most powerful, political songs in Amos's canon - Resistance is for readers determined to steer the world back in the right direction” – Waterstones

Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/resistance/tori-amos/9781529325607

Review:

“Like extensive sleeve notes in a lavish box set, Tori Amos’s second book uses songs from her back catalogue – the lyrics are transcribed at the start of each chapter – as starting points for stories of “hope, change and courage”. So Resistance is less an explanation of what her songs were about than a reflection on what they mean to her now, resulting in a tale of politics, feminism and equality. There are a few too many discussions with her muses, but Resistance reinforces Amos’s position as one of pop’s more thoughtful songwriters” – The Guardian

Overpaid, Oversexed and Over There: How a Few Skinny Brits with Bad Teeth Rocked America

Author: David Hepworth

Release Date: 17th September 

Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd

Synopsis:

“The Beatles landing in New York in February 1964 was the opening shot in a cultural revolution nobody predicted. Suddenly the youth of the richest, most powerful nation on earth was trying to emulate the music, manners and the modes of a rainy island that had recently fallen on hard times.

The resulting fusion of American can-do and British fuck-you didn't just lead to rock and roll's most resonant music. It ushered in a golden era when a generation of kids born in ration card Britain, who had grown up with their nose pressed against the window of America's plenty, were invited to wallow in their big neighbour's largesse.

It deals with a time when everything that was being done - from the Beatles playing Shea Stadium to the Rolling Stones at Altamont, from the Who performing their rock opera at the Metropolitan Opera House to David Bowie touching down in the USA for the first time with a couple of gowns in his luggage - was being done for the very first time.

Rock and roll would never be quite so exciting again” – Waterstones

Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/overpaid-oversexed-and-over-there/david-hepworth/9781787632769

Review:

“Frequently the hottest British acts got nowhere in America. Roxy Music were too arch, Marc Bolan too unprofessional, the Sex Pistols too confrontational, Oasis too belligerent. Then there were the American bands all but ignored in the States and lauded in Britain, like the Stooges and the Ramones. All of this illustrates the fundamental difference between the countries, which is at the heart of Hepworth’s entertaining account. While Britain appreciates irony, rebellion and underdog spirit, America rewards hard work, sincerity and, more than anything, idealism. Perhaps that is why the two countries will never fully understand each other, musically speaking.

“It’s my ambition to travel to America and give it what it considers it wants and needs,” said the lead singer of an up-and-coming band in 1981, realising something few British bands did: that to become massive in the USA, you have to forget about “conquering” it and instead get in line with the American way of doing things. That was Bono of U2. And he’s Irish” – The Times

Stranger Than Kindness

Authors: Nick Cave/Darcey Steinke

Release Date: 23rd March 

Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd

Synopsis:

“Stranger Than Kindness the book is available in standard and signed deluxe editions now here.

Stranger Than Kindness is a journey in images and words into the creative world of musician and storyteller Nick Cave.

This highly collectible book invites the reader into the innermost core of the creative process and paves the way for an entirely new and intimate meeting with the artist, presenting Cave’s life, work and inspiration and exploring his many real and imagined universes.

It features full colour reproductions of original artwork, handwritten lyrics, photographs and collected personal artefacts along with commentary and meditations from Nick Cave, Janine Barrand and Darcey Steinke.

Stranger Than Kindness asks what shapes our lives and makes us who we are, and celebrates the curiosity and power of the creative spirit.

The book has been developed and curated by Nick Cave in collaboration with Christina Back. The images were selected from ‘Stranger Than Kindness: The Nick Cave Exhibition’, opening at the Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen later this year” – Nick Cave.com

Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/stranger-than-kindness/nick-cave/9781838852245

Review:

“Magnificent . . . A visual history of Cave's life, it's annotated by him with the same warmth and wit that have made his Red Hand Files series of letters to his fans so special. As for the images, they give more insight into the workings of his mind than any interview could . . . Darcey Steinke [has] written a fascinating and scholarly essay on Cave's work that sets him alongside some of literature's greatest figures . . . Exhaustive, gorgeous and thoughtful, this book of treasures will delight and inspire any admirer of Cave's work – Classic Rock

Larger Than Life: A History of Boy Bands from NKOTB to BTS

Author: Maria Sherman

Release Date: 21st July 

Publisher: Running Press Book Publishers

Synopsis:

“This nostalgic, fully-illustrated history of boy bands — written by culture critic and boy band stan Maria Sherman — is a must-have for diehard fans of the genre and beyond.

The music, the fans, the choreography, the clothes, the merch, the hair. Long after Beatlemania came and went, a new unstoppable boy band era emerged. Fueled by good looks and even greater hooks, the pop phenomenon that dominated the '80s, '90s, and 2000s has left a long-lasting mark on culture, and it's time we celebrate it. Written by super fan Maria Sherman for stans and curious parties alike, Larger Than Life is the definitive guide to boy bands, delivered with a mix of serious obsession and tongue-in-cheek humor.

Larger Than Life begins with a brief history of male vocal groups, spotlighting The Beatles, the Jackson 5, and Menudo before diving into the building blocks of these beloved acts in "Boy Bands 101." She also focuses on artists like New Edition, New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, One Direction, and BTS before ending with an interrogation into the future of boy bands. Included throughout are Tiger Beat-inspired illustrations, capsule histories of the swoon-iest groups, in-depth investigations into one-hit wonders, and sidebars dedicated to conspiracy theories, dating, in-fighting, haters, fan fiction, fashion (Justin and Britney in denim, of course), and so much more.

Informative, affectionate, funny, and never, ever fan-shaming, Larger Than Life is the first and only text of its kind: the ultimate celebration of boy bands and proof that this once maligned music can never go unappreciated” – Barnes & Noble  

Buy: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/maria-sherman/larger-than-life/9780762468911/

Review:

“Larger Than Life’s real strength is its recognition that boy bands, like many cultural entities, exist at the intersection of multiple overlapping and conflicting forces. Sherman moves through a myriad of lenses: gender, race, labor, globalization. “Boy bands should unionize,” she jokes while discussing exploitative label/manager-artist agreements, a recurring theme. She credits Motown Records’ Berry Gordy for pioneering the streamlined, factory-style system upon which the boy-band industry was built, and explains how Boston’s Racial Imbalance Act—which mandated desegregation through busing—exposed the rapping, breakdancing white boys in New Kids on the Block to Black music. She also details how the squeaky-clean images of Disney Channel stars, like the purity ring-wearing Jonas Brothers, were shaped by a conservative, abstinence-only agenda. But sometimes the intensity of Sherman’s assertions—which match fans’ playfully hyperbolic diction—can obscure more the subtle dynamics that she’s teasing out” – Pitchfork

Glitter Up the Dark: How Pop Music Broke the Binary

Author: Sasha Geffen

Release Date: 7th April 

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Synopsis:

“Why has music so often served as an accomplice to transcendent expressions of gender? Why did the query "is he musical?" become code, in the twentieth century, for "is he gay?" Why is music so inherently queer? For Sasha Geffen, the answers lie, in part, in music's intrinsic quality of subliminal expression, which, through paradox and contradiction, allows rigid gender roles to fall away in a sensual and ambiguous exchange between performer and listener. Glitter Up the Dark traces the history of this gender fluidity in pop music from the early twentieth century to the present day.

Starting with early blues and the Beatles and continuing with performers such as David Bowie, Prince, Missy Elliot, and Frank Ocean, Geffen explores how artists have used music, fashion, language, and technology to break out of the confines mandated by gender essentialism and establish the voice as the primary expression of gender transgression. From glam rock and punk to disco, techno, and hip-hop, music helped set the stage for today's conversations about trans rights and recognition of nonbinary and third-gender identities. Glitter Up the Dark takes a long look back at the path that led here” – goodreads  

Buy: https://www.foyles.co.uk/witem/lgbt-gender-studies/glitter-up-the-dark-how-pop-music,sasha-geffen-9781477318782

Review:

“The literal voice is one of Geffen's recurring zones of fascination. From Little Richard to Donna Summer to Grimes, the author notes, artists have broken the binary by taking their voices to places where they can't be easily gendered — sometimes becoming more vulnerable, sometimes becoming less so and thus exercising a sort of personal boundary. That's the case with Grimes, notes Geffen, who was initially dismissed by male critics frustrated at how remote her floating voice seemed, how it "did not allow easy entry into her inner emotional state."

Another aspect of pop music that fascinates Geffen is the ways in which it's mediated by technology. Just as one can feel more authentically oneself when dressed in drag than one might when completely nude, artists can use technology to create dreamscapes that may sound "artificial" on the surface but that are, in a sense, more pure than an acoustic guitar could ever be.

Consider a pioneer of electronic music, Wendy Carlos. A trans woman, she wasn't completely out at the time of her game-changing release Switched-On Bach in 1968: released under the telling moniker Trans-Electronic Music Productions. Geffen points out that Carlos used a vocoder to create an entirely new sound for the human voice in the Beethoven movement she reworked for A Clockwork Orange: "The vocoder voice is not a union of two discrete elements. It's a third entity, the likes of which had never been heard before” – The Current

Confess

Author: Rob Halford

Release Date: 29th September 

Publisher: Headline Publishing Group

Synopsis:

“Most priests take confessions. This one is giving his.

Rob Halford, front man of global iconic metal band Judas Priest, is a true 'Metal God'. Raised in Britain's hard-working heavy industrial heartland he and his music were forged in the Black Country. CONFESS, his full autobiography, is an unforgettable rock 'n' roll story - a journey from a Walsall council estate to musical fame via alcoholism, addiction, police cells, ill-starred sexual trysts and bleak personal tragedy, through to rehab, coming out, redemption... and finding love.

Now, he is telling his gospel truth.

Told with Halford's trademark self-deprecating, deadpan Black Country humour, CONFESS is the story of an extraordinary five decades in the music industry. It is also the tale of unlikely encounters with everybody from Superman to Andy Warhol, Madonna, Jack Nicholson and the Queen. More than anything else, it's a celebration of the fire and power of heavy metal” – Waterstones

Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/confess/rob-halford/9781472279507

Review:

“It’s not confined to Halford’s early life either. Detailing his struggles with being a gay man while fronting one of the world’s biggest bands is equally frustrating and heartbreaking. More than once I was screaming in my head “just tell them you’re gay, fuck the haters!” But hindsight is a wonderful way to make complex situations simplistic. Rob didn’t do that, and was never going too. As we find out he hates confrontation – sometimes to the detriment of his own career. This is a fascinating insight into a seemingly larger than life heavy metal icon. Watching Halford on stage it’s easy to get caught up in the theatre and see this omnipotent indestructible metal god, as it turns out he’s just like the rest of us. When I interviewed Rob, (revisit that here) I asked him about his mental health and what he did to stay healthy. He gave a very small insight into his daily regime, saying he has a set of tools he uses to get through. Little did I know what those tools were and what it’s like to survive each and every day as a former drug addict and alcoholic.

Rob also details the very public fight the band had against censorship lobby group the P.M.R.C (Parents Music Resource Center). Spoiler Alert: the P.M.R.C no longer exist, Judas Priest are still going strong! Halford wears the number three spot on the “Filthy Fifteen” for ‘Eat Me Alive’ as a badge of honour, and so he should.  We also get a further insight into the equally ridiculous and tragic lawsuit over a teenager’s suicide – Judas Priest wearing suits to court, or as Rob put it “…a stupid circus” fighting the fight for music, metal and common-fucking-sense.

But the book is not all doom, gloom and Scarface amounts of cocaine, there are plenty of funny stories of life on the road, mishaps and mischief. Highlights and hilarity include a metal queen meeting The Queen, going gaga over Lady GaGa and learning to drive. This may be a cliché but this book will make you laugh out loud and cry the odd tear.

It’s Rob Halford, honest, raw and with sometimes a little bit too much glory hole detail. Confess might not win the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction but it will win the hearts of Judas Priest and music fans the world over” – Wall of Sound

Sweet Dreams: From Club Culture to Style Culture, the Story of the New Romantics

Author: Dylan Jones

Release Date: 1st October  

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Synopsis:

“David Bowie. Culture Club. Wham!. Soft Cell. Duran Duran. Sade. Spandau Ballet. The Eurythmics... 'Who better to tell the story of the super-stylish New Romantic movement than GQ editor Jones, who lived through it?'i News, 75 Best New Books for Autumn 'Jones has finally produced the tribute that one of Britain's most culturally rich periods truly deserves.' Classic Pop ***** One of the most creative entrepreneurial periods since the Sixties, the era of the New Romantics grew out of the remnants of post-punk and developed quickly alongside club culture, ska, electronica, and goth. The scene had a huge influence on the growth of print and broadcast media, and was arguably one of the most bohemian environments of the late twentieth century. Not only did it visually define the decade, it was the catalyst for the Second British Invasion, when the US charts would be colonised by British pop music - making it one of the most powerful cultural exports since the Beatles. In Sweet Dreams, Dylan Jones charts the rise of the New Romantics through testimony from the people who lived it. For a while, Sweet Dreams were made of this” – Waterstones

Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/sweet-dreams/dylan-jones/9780571353439

Review:

“Sweet Dreams loses focus when the New Romantic bands become huge in the US. As Jones notes, their biggest successes came because they pursued the mainstream, rather than vice-versa. The shock of the new that accompanied the first wave of synthesiser-driven hits dissipates: none of the music sounds as groundbreaking or extraordinary as Boy George looks. Meanwhile, rather than engender flamboyant individualism, the style magazines start doing the opposite: reflecting a new conformity, a codified notion of sophistication involving mass consumption of “designer” goods. Jones seems to lose interest, pursuing other pop-cultural threads that don’t quite tie together, from Madonna and Prince to the launch of the Groucho Club, and Sweet Dreams starts feeling not unlike falling down an internet rabbit hole. You find yourself reading about Hall And Oates, a US pop-soul duo who have about as much to do with the New Romantics as the cast of Dad’s Army, thinking: how did I get here?

It pulls itself together at the end, with a final chapter that both recounts some bracing stories of the era’s movers and shakers in decline and reiterates Jones’s central argument about continued relevance. Some of the former are scarcely believable – one of the book’s protagonists goes from running an effortlessly hip nightclub to selling disposable lighters outside Queensway tube; another takes so many drugs he pulls all his own teeth out in an addled frenzy – but the latter feels pretty credible. It’s a little over-long and digressive, but you finish the book convinced its author has a point. Besides, even its flaws are in keeping with its subject. If Sweet Dreams is a bit much, well, so were the New Romantics” – The Guardian

FEATURE: A Great Escape: The Simpsons’ Lisa the Vegetarian at Twenty-Five

FEATURE:

A Great Escape

IMAGE CREDIT: FOX

The Simpsons’ Lisa the Vegetarian at Twenty-Five

___________

ON the odd occasion….

IMAGE CREDIT: FOX

I will pop out a feature that doesn’t necessarily relate to music. Rather than this being a look at what is happening in the music world, I wanted to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of my favourite episode of The Simpsons, Lisa the Vegetarian, which was originally broadcast in the U.S. on 15th October, 1995. It is the fifth episode in the seventh season of The Simpsons. In the episode, Lisa decides to stop eating meat after bonding with a lamb at a petting zoo. Her schoolmates and family members ridicule her for her beliefs, but with the help of Apu as well as Paul and Linda McCartney, she commits to vegetarianism. Directed by Mark Kirkland, Lisa the Vegetarian is the first full-length episode David S./X. Cohen wrote for The Simpsons. David Mirkin, the showrunner at the time, supported the episode in part because he had just become a vegetarian himself. Former Beatle Paul McCartney and his wife Linda guest star in the episode; their condition for appearing was that Lisa would remain a vegetarian for the rest of the series. I have grabbed a little bit from Wikipedia and, actually, the fact that Paul and Linda McCartney is in the episode makes it musical in my book! In its original broadcast, Lisa the Vegetarian was watched by 14.6 million viewers. Many can debate which is the best episode of The Simpsons and, if you look at features like this, and this, and this, then there is a bit of a different-looking top-twenty.

I love the first episode, Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire, of 1989 where the down-on-their luck family adopt a dog, Santa’s Little Helper, after he was tossed out of the racing track for being too slow. By Season Seven, there was no show sharper and stronger than The Simpsons. Look at the episode before Lisa the Vegetation, Bart Sells His Soul, and the one after, Treehouse of Horror VI, and it is not only incredibly funny writing, but there is emotion and heft! Bart Sells His Soul, obviously, looks at the soul, religion and the self, and Lisa the Vegetarian puts vegetarianism and animal rights under the microscope. If you have not got Disney+ then you can subscribe and get access to all the classic episodes of The Simpsons. Maybe I am getting a bit nostalgic but, as some of its very best episodes are celebrating big anniversaries, I wanted to mark a quarter-century of my favourite episodes – one that, happily, also includes my favourite-ever songwriter! I have written a Simpsons feature to celebrate their thirtieth anniversary last year, and I have also discussed the importance of music in the show. I think the cultural importance of The Simpsons is undeniable, and its golden runs of episodes between the first and tenth seasons ranks alongside the finest comedy ever. Lisa the Vegetarian holds a special place in my heart, as it has that perfect balance of comedy and heart. There are hilarious scenes where Lisa is wrestling with her new-found vegetarianism, and Homer and the family do not understand. Rather than cave in, she is given some great guidance by Apu, Linda and Paul McCartney and, whilst Homer searches for Lisa after the two clash heads, there is a sweet moment where they bond at the end.

Although Lisa the Vegetarian does not boast of the classic musical numbers – apart from the little bit of You Don’t Win Friends with Salad -, the humour is exquisite! It is no surprise that others rank the episode so high. Digital Spy ranked Lisa the Vegetarian at number-fourteen in 2017:

 “After bonding with a lamb at a petting zoo, Lisa decides to become a vegetarian, much to the horror of her meat-loving dad. What follows is a battle of words between the two Simpsons, which peaks when she ruins his BBQ by sending his prize pig airborne. But thanks to Paul and Linda McCartney (who only agreed to appear if Lisa would remain a vegetarian forever), she learns to accept other people's beliefs and reconciles with Homer via a "veggie back" ride home.

Best moment:

The Simpson family: "You don't win friends with salad! You don't win friends with salad! You don't win friends with salad!"

In 2016, Den of Geek put Lisa the Vegetarian at number-twenty-eight in their feature - and they had some very positive and passionate words to say:

 “An incredibly funny episode here, but also one with a well-delivered message. Lisa’s burgeoning vegetarianism is played for laughs throughout, but at the episode’s climax the message of tolerance and understanding rings clear. There are so many choice bits in this episode it’s hard to know where to begin. To this day, I can’t hear the word salad without humming “you don’t win friends with salad” in my head. Then there’s Troy McClure’s unforgettable Meat Council video, perhaps the very finest of all his segments, remember, “If a cow ever got the chance, he’d eat you and everyone you care about.”

Then there’s also Homer’s confusion over what animal his various meats all come from “the same ‘magical’ animal”, as well as his determined chase to rescue his suckling pig after Lisa shoves it away. The jokes come thick and fast and the conflict between Homer and Lisa works perfectly.  The closing sequence in which father and daughter reconcile is sweet and also cuttingly funny as Lisa says to her dad, “I still stand by my beliefs. But I can’t defend what I did. I’m sorry I messed up your barbeque.” To which Homer memorably replies, “I understand honey. I used to believe in things when I was a kid”.

I think, at an increasingly hard and frustrating time, a lot of people are revisiting classic comedy and some of the shows they grew up around. I first saw The Simpsons in the early-1990s, and it was a huge part of my life for many years. I have a long list of episodes that I hold in high esteem, but none climb quite as high as Lisa the Vegetarian. As it is twenty-five today (in the U.S.), I wanted to salute one of the funniest episodes of television, and, to me, a huge highlight of the long-running animation show! The Simpsons has played an important role in my life and, right now, I am watching back at many of the classic episodes, in addition to the new ones coming out. It is hard to imagine that episodes like Lisa the Vegetarian are twenty-five but it is! I am going to lift a glass of wine and cook a special Linda McCartney dinner to celebrate my favourite episode…

OF The Simpsons.

FEATURE: !!!!!!! A Shot Against Those Who Body-Shame Billie Eilish and Women in the Music Industry

FEATURE:

!!!!!!!

IN THIS PHOTO: Billie Eilish/PHOTO CREDIT: Arielle Bobb-Willis for The New York Times

A Shot Against Those Who Body-Shame Billie Eilish and Women in the Music Industry

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EARLIER this week…  

PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation

a photo surfaced in the news of Billie Eilish walking near her home, dressed in casual clothes. She was just walking around and was dressed how a normal teen would dress (she is eighteen). Metro report further:

“Billie Eilish traded in her trademark baggy clothes for a more casual vibe, and we’re loving the versatility. The Bad Guy singer – who is usually seen draped in large layers of designer clothes as part of her signature look – was spotted wearing a figure-hugging vest and shorts as she ran errands in LA. The 18-year-old tied her neon green hair, which is usually loose around her face, into a sleek bun. She might have gone for a new look, but the five-time Grammy award winner kept to her usual theme of making sure her vest, baggy shorts, and Yeezy Adidas slides matched”.

Most people either didn’t comment on the tabloid shot, but there were many people online celebrating a natural-looking Eilish and the fact that she was being herself. A lot of well-known figures do not dress out on the street and home how they would at award shows, but Eilish has always dressed in a more refreshing and low-key manner – not the usual parade of very skinny and elegantly dressed celebrities who one feels are told how to dress and there is a lot of pressure to get their photos in the paper. Unfortunately, because newspapers like The Daily Mail published the photo, there were a lot of people commenting and body-shaming Billie Eilish. This continued on social media, and many (mostly men) were criticising Eilish – either calling her overweight or slobbish.

It is, sadly, no surprise that women like Eilish find themselves on the receiving end of body-shaming. I think that there is this expectation that women are supposed to be desirable and made up in a certain way and, if they are being themselves and not wearing make-up and dresses, then that is weird. Eilish has spoken out against body-shaming and how she has been affected. It is brave for a popular young star to stand up like this – many Pop artists remain silent or are directed to use their body to sell music. As Laura Snapes wrote in The Guardian earlier this year, Eilish spoke out against body-shaming in a video, and that was a pretty bold and encouraging move:

“Billie Eilish has given the music industry everything it could possibly want. An authentic new voice that appeals to teenagers and their parents. A debut album that has sold more than 2m copies in the US alone. A decisive stylistic evolution from the preceding decade’s dominant pop mode. A clean sweep of the four key categories at the Grammys. A copper-bottomed streaming success model. A James Bond theme that rejuvenates a tired franchise and extends her commercial and creative clout.

Until she offers up her prime commodity as a young female pop star, it will never be enough.

While 18-year-old Eilish is a beguilingly physical performer, she has never shown her body in service of her art. She prefers loose clothing because she feels comfortable in it, and has denounced the use of her image to shame female pop stars who dress differently. Not that it’s stopped anyone. Denying spectators the traditional metric by which female stars are judged – sexiness, slimness; the body as weathervane that reveals how tormented or contented they must be when they lurch between the extremes of those states – has created an obsession with her body and what it must stand for”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Dan Regan

It’s hard to think of any previous generation of young female pop star getting away with making such a public admonishment at the height of their stardom. Motown’s girls were taught comportment by an in-house employee. The anorexia that killed Karen Carpenter was framed as an effective diet. To have her art taken seriously, Kate Bush had to endure the objectification of male journalists who typed with one hand. The Spice Girls had to wait until after the band’s demise to discuss their respective eating disorders, lest they disrupt the image of supportive female friendship. Britney, Christina and Beyoncé’s millennium-era abs were testament to their drilled work ethic; Katy Perry and Ariana Grande’s burgeoning images were dependent on marketing their sexuality, while Taylor Swift’s taut middle stoked her image as an American ideal. To acknowledge Amy Winehouse’s bulimia would have complicated a convenient media narrative of debauchery”.

Eilish is an idol to thousands of fans, and it is a shame that she faced the paparazzi and is snapped all the time and, when she is seen in her street clothes and just going about her life, she is often slagged off, the recipient of jibes and digs about her looks and body. I will not include some of the tweets here, but I read people being cruel because Eilish was not wearing make-up; others looked at her exposed stomach and there were comments about her weight, whereas others felt Eilish was badly dressed. There was a great reaction of love and support for Eilish; many feeling that the ongoing issue of body-shaming needs to stop.

Eilish is not the only female musician that has spoken out against body-shaming. Lizzo addressed body-shaming in an interview Brazilian T.V. earlier in the year:

“In an interview with Brazil's TV Fohla, the 'Truth Hurts' singer candidly discussed how she copes with the incessant remarks about her physical appearance.

In reference to the men who body shame her, Lizzo said, "What does that tell you about the oppressor? What does that tell you about men? Get it together, we don't talk about your d--- sizes, do we?."

The 32-year-old also called out the fact that women are continually held to unrealistic body standards.

"I think that women are always going to be criticised for existing in their bodies," Lizzo said. "I don't think I'm any different than any of the other great women who've come before me that had to literally be politicised just to be sexual… you know what I mean? Just to exist."

"Things that were beautiful on them were called flaws, and they persisted against that, fought against that, and now I'm able to do what I do because of those great women. And they all look completely different, they don't all look the same, and they all had to deal with the same kind of marginalisation and misogyny"

Many songs have been released by women in music that celebrate a fuller figure and looking natural and, as this 2014 feature outlines, some huge hits of the year put body confidence at the forefront.

I do think that, even in 2020, there is this ideal for women and what they should look like in public, photos, and video shoots. I know other women have spoken about body-shaming – including Kate Nash in 2017 - and it really does need to stop! The psychological effect that it will have on artists is immense, and it sends a terrible message to women and girls who want to enter the music industry. Looking natural and real should not be splashed in the papers and used as gossip. Eilish has distanced herself from social media because of the comments she had to face on a daily basis. This Cosmopolitan article from earlier this year reports what Eilish said to BBC Breakfast when she was asked about social media and her relationship with it:

"The internet is a bunch of trolls. A problem is that a lot of it is really funny. I think that's the issue, I think that's why nobody really stops.

"I've experienced that. Growing up, I'd say things that people would laugh at and then later I'd realise that wasn't cool to say."

Billie added, "It's way worse than it's ever been. It's insane that I've been reading comments up until this point. I should have stopped long ago.

"The problem is that I've wanted to stay in touch with the fans and keep talking to them, but people have ruined that for me. The internet is ruining my life so I stay off".

Seeing any artist body-shamed is unpleasant, but Eilish is someone who has faced it ever since she broke through and, though she can avoid a lot of the social media negativity and trolls, there are newspapers plastering her image on the page – her just minding her own business but being judged for dressing and looking different to other artists/celebrities. I think there should be repercussions for media outlets who body-shame and turn things like Billie Eilish walking around town into a grotesque and needless shot. The same goes for trolling on social media. Anyone found trolling or body-shaming should definitely be punished and…

BROUGHT to account.

FEATURE: With Her Ego in Her Gut: The Dreaming’s Leave It Open: An Eccentric and Beautiful Kate Bush Epic

FEATURE:

 

With Her Ego in Her Gut

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1982/PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Rapport Photography 

The Dreaming’s Leave It Open: An Eccentric and Beautiful Kate Bush Epic

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IN the runup to Aerial turning fifteen next month…

I am going to write about the album and approach it from different aspects. It is such an important album and, when Kate Bush released The Red Shoes in 1993, there was this twelve-year pause where many wondered whether she would return and if her career was over. I shall explore Aerial more through the next few weeks but, in the latest feature that investigates a song very closely, I wanted to get inside of The Dreaming’s Leave It Open. There are a couple of reasons why I wanted to highlight this song. In the coming weeks, I am going to study one of my favourite songs from The Dreaming, All the Love, but I am fascinated by Leave It Open, as it is one of the more experimental and strange songs from the album that people do not really talk about. In the U.K., Kate Bush released three singles from The Dreaming. The first, Sat in Your Lap, is a marvellous track that was released fifteen months prior to The Dreaming coming out in June 1981. With the album completion nowhere in sight, I guess there might have been some pressure from EMI for Bush to put something out – it has been less than a year since Never for Ever was released but, as is the way with the music industry, there is always pressure to keep momentum up and put something out – lest people, as they always did through her career, think that Bush had disappeared! That single peaked at number-eleven, and it was a successful release.

The other two singles, The Dreaming, and There Goes a Tenner, were not as popular – the former reached number-forty-eight and the latter failed to chart. Suspended in Gaffa was released in Europe and Australia instead of There Goes a Tenner – the single did alright in terms of chart positions, and it would have made a better U.K. release. Night of the Swallow, a clear highlight from The Dreaming, was released in Ireland in 1983, over a year after The Dreaming arrived. The Dreaming was strange in terms of its single releases because, as I have written before, I think there are songs that would have made successful and fine singles – including Houdini, Get Out of My House, All the Love, and Leave It Open. Never for Ever’s (1980) singles – Breathing, Babooshka, and Army Dreamers – were all very strong and mixed deception, nuclear war, and young men dying in war. Hounds of Love’s singles – including Running Up That Hill (a Deal with God), and The Big Sky – were all successful, but The Dreaming was a bit of an odd time. Bush has said herself that she felt herself going a bit mad whilst making the album, and I think a lot of critics at the time dismissed the album as being too odd and experimental and not commercial enough. Bush was never going to put out the sort of more accessible songs she did for Hounds of Love, and I love The Dreaming as it was Bush producing alone for the first time and stretching her creative wings.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional shot for The Dreaming (single) in 1982/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari

In a recent magazine special from MOJO (their Collectors’ Series), they placed Leave It Open at number-thirty in the top-fifty Kate Bush songs, and I think it would have made a good single! Rather than put out There Goes a Tenner – which a song that I like - and I can see why Bush wanted to release it - but it lacks a special something -, Leave It Open would have been great. Maybe it would not have bothered the top-twenty, but I feel it would have fared better than even The Dreaming’s title track, as it is a wonderfully rich, imaginative, and striking. I love all the vocals on offer and one is hooked by the lyrics right from the first verse: “With my ego in my gut/My babbling mouth would wash it up/(But now I've started learning how)/I keep it shut”. In terms of the song’s inspiration, I have grabbed some information from the Kate Bush Encyclopaedia, where Bush herself explains and shed some light:

“Like cups, we are filled up and emptied with feelings, emotions - vessels breathing in, breathing out. This song is about being open and shut to stimuli at the right times. Often we have closed minds and open mouths when perhaps we should have open minds and shut mouths.

This was the first demo to be recorded, and we used a Revox and the few effects such as a guitar chorus pedal and an analogue delay system. We tried to give the track an Eastern flavour and the finished demo certainly had a distinctive mood.

IN THIS PHOTO: Bush attends a record signing at Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street in London for her album, The Dreaming, on 14th September, 1982

There are lots of different vocal parts, each portraying a separate character and therefore each demanding an individual sound. When a lot of vocals are being used in contrast rather than "as one", more emphasis has to go on distinguishing between the different voices, especially if the vocals are coming from one person.

To help the separation we used the effects we had. When we mastered the track, a lot more electronic effects and different kinds of echoes were used, helping to place the vocals and give a greater sense of perspective. Every person who came into the studio was given the "end backing vocals test" to guess what is being sung at the end of the song.

"How many words is it?"

"Five."

"Does it begin with a 'W'?"

It is very difficult to guess, but it can be done, especially when you know what the song is about.

I would love to know your answers. (Kate Bush Club newsletter, October 1982)”.

That idea of Bush writing about humans opening themselves and not allowing their egos to drag them down; being receptive and open-minded instead of ignorant – it is an attitude and mentality that resonates with everyone, and the way she delivers these thoughts is incredible. Those who highlight The Dreaming as being weird and mad could do well to look at an album they embrace and love: Hounds of Love. Listen to tracks on the album’s second side, The Ninth Wave, such as Waking the Witch, and Jig of Life, and there are similarities with Leave It Open.

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1982/PHOTO CREDIT: Pierre Terrasson

I really love one of The Dreaming’s hidden gems, and it is a song that perfectly closed the first side of the album – it follows the wonderful and skipping Suspended in Gaffa, before we get to the first track on the second side. Just to go off on a semi-tangent before carrying on, and I think The Dreaming is the only Kate Bush album where the track sequencing is a bit off. I think the last four tracks are perfectly arranged - Night of the Swallow, All the Love, Houdini, and Get Out of My House -, but I think Leave It Open should have opened the second side (thinking about it, the song would be more powerful and moving there than the end of the second side), whereas The Dreaming (track-six) should have been moved to the second track, after Sat in Your Lap, and I would have moved tracks two, three and four - There Goes a Tenner, Pull Out the Pin, and Suspended in Gaffa – so that the final three tracks on the first side are arranged like this: Pull out the Pin, There Goes a Tenner, and Suspended in Gaffa. I guess it is only minor rearrangement, but I think it would make for a more satisfying listen! In years since its release, The Dreaming has been seen as head-spinning, brave, wonderfully inventive, incredibly modern, and underrated – John Lydon (the Sex Pistols, PiL) has called it his favourite Kate Bush album.

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush captured in 1982 during the There Goes a Tenner shoot/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush (from his book, KATE: Inside the Rainbow)

Maybe singles like The Dreaming, and There Goes a Tenner defined people’s views of The Dreaming as a whole, whereas I feel songs like Leave It Open got overlooked a bit. The feverish and hugely evocative song is a mini-masterpiece on an album full of them and, when we consider Kate Bush’s best-ever songs, I feel it warrants a place in everyone’s top-twenty-five – fair crack for MOJO putting it in the top-thirty, but I think it is even stronger than that! The track is full of thought-provoking lyrics – “Harm is in us/Harm is in us, but power to arm/Harm is in us” -, and a line that practically defines The Dreaming: “We let the weirdness in”. Now, The Dreaming is seen as one of Bush’s best albums, but I think there was still a perception of what a female artist should be in 1982. When Kate Bush spoke with NME in that year, she addressed this:

"There're so many females that don't fit in any category at all. There're a lot of people that would love to pin them in those categories. When an image is created around a person--especially a female--there're so many presumptions thrown in. There are a lot of of female artists who are stereotypes, and who nearly fall into those niches people talk about, but there're a lot who don't. When you mention traditional females, it sounds as though they have nothing within them--epitomes of a situation. Any singer is a human being working inside and letting all kinds of different energies come out.

PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush (from his book, KATE: Inside the Rainbow)

"The labelling that comes with the creation of an image is always a disadvantage. When someone has done something very artistic, it won't be let out when they've been packaged. When a female is attractive--whether she emphasises it or not--she's automatically projected with sexual connotations. I don't think that happens so readily with me.

"When I started, it seemed that a lot of singers were singing as if they weren't even related to the lyrics. They'd sing about heartbreak, and keep a big smile on their faces. For me, the singer is the expression of the song. An image should be created for each song, or at least each record; the personality that goes with that particular music. But I don't think that will ever be seen by the majority of people who look at the pictures and see the so-called images come out.

"When I was first happening, the only other female on the level I was being promoted at was Blondie. We were both being promoted on the basis of being female bodies as well as singers. I wasn't looked at as being a female singer-songwriter. People weren't even generally aware that I wrote my own songs or played the piano until maybe a year or so after that. The media just promoted me as a female body. It's like I've had to prove that I'm an artist inside a female body. The idea of the body as a vehicle is...just one of those things. But I'm someone who talks about music and songs”.

I wanted to throw the spotlight to Leave It Open, not just because it is a part of an album that, to this day, people overlook or try to define too narrowly, but I think it is a perfect combination of Bush’s growing confidence and ambition, together with the blissful dose of madness and beauty – a song that has plenty of vital lyrics and some incredible vocals! From its pounding beats and trippy voices, to the wonderful production (from Bush herself), the sublime Leave It Open is one of Kate Bush’s…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1982/PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Rapport Photography 

GREATEST offerings.