Category Archives: Music Calendar

Today: Michael Stipe is 53

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And I don’t expect anyone can bring about a revolution in the way that Bob Dylan did – and really didn’t – in the 1960s.
~Michael Stipe

Super casual music listeners. That’s most of the people in the world. And you have to understand, that’s why Top 40 radio exists. It’s not there for people who seek out music and who love music.
~Michael Stipe

Eddie Vedder inducts REM Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions 2007:

R.E.M. – Find The River – Live 2003:

From Wikipedia:

Birth name John Michael Stipe
Born January 4, 1960 (age 53)
Decatur, Georgia, United States
Genres Alternative rock, college rock,jangle pop
Occupations Musician, lyricist, producer, visual artist
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Years active 1980–present
Associated acts R.E.M.
Automatic Baby

John Michael Stipe (born January 4, 1960) is an American singer, lyricist and visual artist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. from their formation in 1980 until their dissolution in 2011.

Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the “mumbling” style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.’s visual image; often selecting album artwork and directing many of the band’s music videos. Outside of the music industry, he runs his own film production companies: C-00 and Single Cell Pictures.

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R.E.M. – Man On The Moon (Live 2010):

Album of the day:

Reckoning (1984):

reckoning

 

…Reckoning is clear, which doesn’t necessarily mean that the songs themselves are straightforward. Michael Stipe continues to sing powerful melodies without enunciating, but the band has a propulsive kick that makes the music vital and alive. And, if anything, the songwriting is more direct and memorable than before…
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmuisc.com)

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Continue reading Today: Michael Stipe is 53

Today: Stephen Stills is 68

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An artist cannot be responsible for what people make of their art. An audience loathe giving up preconceived images of an artist.
~Stephen Stills

One thing the blues ain’t, is funny.
~Stephen Stills

He’s a musical genius
~Neil Young

Buffalo Springfield – For What It’s Worth 1967:

From Wikipedia:

Birth name Stephen Arthur Stills
Born January 3, 1945 (age 68)
Dallas, Texas, United States
Genres Rock, folk rock, blues rock, latin
Occupations Musician, songwriter, producer, political activist
Instruments Vocals, guitar, bass, piano,organ, percussion, drums, viola
Years active 1962–present
Labels Columbia, Atlantic, Reprise, Vision, Raven, Titan/Pyramid
Associated acts Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Stills-Young Band, Au Go Go Singers, The Continentals, Manassas
Website Official website

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Manassas – Stephen Stills – it does’nt matter (1972):

Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young). He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time. Stills was ranked #28 in Rolling Stone Magazine’s 2003 list of “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”. Stills became the first person to be inducted twice on the same night into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with CSN and Buffalo Springfield. He is often considered one of the greatest musician/songwriters of the 20th century.

Album of the day:

Manassas (1972):

stills - manassas

A sprawling masterpiece, akin to the Beatles’ White Album, the Stones’ Exile on Main St., or Wilco’s Being There in its makeup, if not its sound. Rock, folk, blues, country, Latin, and bluegrass have all been styles touched on in Stephen Stills’ career, and the skilled, energetic musicians he had gathered in Manassas played them all on this album. What could have been a disorganized mess in other hands, though, here all gelled together and formed a cohesive musical statement.
~Rob Caldwell (allmusic.com)

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Today: Elvis Presley released Elvis Country 2 Jan 1971

Elvis Country

“Elvis has come out with a record which gives us some of the very finest and most affecting music since he first recorded for Sun almost 17 years ago”
– Peter Guralnick (Rolling Stone Magazine 1971)

Elvis Country (I’m 10,000 Years Old) is the thirty-seventh studio album by Elvis Presley, released on RCA Records (LSP 44600 in January 1971. Recorded at RCA Studio B inNashville, it reached #12 on the Billboard 200. It was certified Gold on 12/1/1977 by the RIAA. It peaked at #6 in the United Kingdom, selling over one million copies worldwide.

The lead single for the album, “I Really Don’t Want to Know” b/w “There Goes My Everything” was released on December 8, 1970 and peaked at #21 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Tomorrow Never Comes:

Elvis Presley started a great run with his 1968 Comeback Special, then went on to  the brilliant From Elvis in Memphis , and then the “bonus” album, Back in Memphis), the very good  live abum On Stage, and the studio/live That’s the Way It Is in 1970.

And then…

In January 1971 Elvis Presley returned with Elvis Country: I’m 10,000 Years Old, and again the artist was addressing his roots, though with some more modern sounds. This is Elvis at the top of his game and it is one of his best albums.

It is available in several editions, theoriginal single Album version, The FTD version with many outtakes and the Legacy edition that includes the album, Love Letters from Elvis. Love Letters was drawn from the same four days of Nashville sessions as Elvis Country. It also has a few bonus tracks and good liner notes on both the albums, written by Stuart Coleman in 2011.

This is The Legacy edition on Spotify

Allmusic:
by Bruce Eder

“…Elvis was at his peak when he cut Elvis Country. Actually, Elvis Presley was positively on a roll at the time. A decade after the end of what were thought to be his prime years, he was singing an ever-widening repertory of songs with more passion and involvement than he’d shown since the end of the 1950s…”

 

Other 2 January:
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Today: Paul Westerberg is 53

Paul Westerberg 1

“Misdirection is my path. How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him lost? I’m there, baby.” – Paul Westerberg (2012)

Paul Westerberg (born December 31, 1959) is best known as the former lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter in The Replacements, one of the seminal alternative rock bands of the 1980s. He launched a solo career after the dissolution of that band. In recent years, he has cultivated a more independent-minded approach, primarily recording his music at home in his basement.

Achin’ To Be by The Replacements:

I’ve always loved his music, both in the Replacements and as a solo artist, I like that rough “I really don’t care” attitude. But I, of course, also love his melodic sense and his songwriting talent. He doesn’t do bad music,  he’s always interesting, always on the move.

My favourite Westerberg solo song, Time flies tomorrow:

Paul Westerberg recently told Rolling Stone magazine that he’d reformed the Replacements,  and in late September, recorded four cover songs for an EP:

What brought you back together with Tommy Stinson?
The downfall of the slender one. Slim [Dunlap] had a wicked-ass stroke, he’s in rough shape. It’s difficult to go there: He can’t talk very much, he’s sort of paralyzed, he can move his leg a little bit. He speaks in a whisper. When I mentioned this [benefit record], it seemed like something he really wanted to happen. “You guys get together,” he said in a whisper. “Go play a song.” So I figured, “What the hell?”

Chris [Mars] really didn’t want any part of this. I was not surprised, but I was a little disappointed. I’d talked to him, I thought maybe he might come down and play with us. That’s fine, he’s totally into painting, and doesn’t want to return to the skins. All I’ll say is, it felt pretty natural. It felt very much like it used to.

After two or three hours, my voice was shot, but we were rocking like murder for a while. (Read more)

We hope for a tour, but take what we can get 🙂

Happy birthday Paul!

This day’s album is my favourite solo release from Paul Westerberg, Eventually:

Other December 31:

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Today: Patti Smith is 66

Patti Smith BF-3

Patricia Lee “Patti” Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses.

Called the “Godmother of Punk”, her work was a fusion of rock and poetry. Smith’s most widely known song is “Because the Night”, which was co-written with Bruce Springsteen and reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978. In 2005, Patti Smith was named a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture, and in 2007, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On November 17, 2010, she won the National Book Award for her memoir Just Kids. She is also a recipient of the 2011 Polar Music Prize. (Wikipedia)

Patti Smith BF-1

Patti Smith has been a part of my musical life since 1979. I have followed her since, but i first got to see her in concert this year at Bergenfest, it was great. She was so warm and looked so calm and confident. She gave us a wonderful show with a very good band. She played highlights from her long career including this years album, Banga.

Happy birthday, Patti!

My top 5 Patti Smith albums:

Easter_cover Horses coverWave coverGone_AgainRadio_Ethiopia

1. Easter (1978)
2. Horses (1975)
3. Wave (1979)
4. Gone Again (1996)
5. Radio Ethiopia (1976)

This day’s chosen album must be Easter:

PATTISMITH-EASTER

 

More Patti Smith on JV 

 

Patti Smith BF-2

– Hallgeir (I also took the pictures)

Other 30 Dec. :
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