“And you,
You can be mean
And I,
I’ll drink all the time
‘Cause we’re lovers,
And that is a fact
Yes we’re lovers,
And that is that”
― David Bowie (“Heroes”)
Continue reading October 14: David Bowie released “Heroes” in 1977
Tag Archives: Iggy pop
April 21: Iggy Pop was born in 1947
 |
|
| Live 2001 (30min) |
|
April 21: Iggy Pop was born in 1947
Today: Iggy Pop released The Idiot in 1977
The Idiot is the debut solo album by Iggy Pop. It was the first of two LPs released in 1977 which Pop wrote and recorded in collaboration with David Bowie. Although issued after Low, the opening installment of Bowie’s so-called Berlin Trilogy, the pair began writing and recording songs for The Idiot in mid-1976, before Bowie started work on his own album. As such, The Idiot has been claimed as heralding the unofficial beginning of Bowie’s ‘Berlin’ period, being compared particularly to Low and “Heroes” in its electronic effects, treated instrument sounds, and introspective atmosphere. A departure from the hard rock of his former band the Stooges, the album is regarded by critics as one of Pop’s best works. Its title was inspired by Dostoyevsky’s novel The Idiot, three of the participants in the recording—Bowie, Pop and Tony Visconti—being familiar with the book. I will argue that there’s really a “Berlin-quintet” consisting of: The Idiot, Low, “Heroes”, Lust for life and Lodger.
Iggy Pop’s The Idiot, is equally a David Bowie album as a guest singer/composer; Davis Bowie co-wrote all the songs (except Sister Midnight that was co-written with Carlos Alomar and David Bowie) , played many of the instruments and produced it (kind of…). Tony Visconti tried to salvage the over-modulated tapes at the mixing stage.
| Released | March 18, 1977 |
|---|---|
| Recorded | July 1976 – February 1977,Château d’Hérouville, Hérouville, France, Musicland Studios, Munich, Hansa by the Wall, Berlin |
| Genre | Post-punk, art rock |
| Length | 38:49 |
| Label | RCA |
| Producer | David Bowie (and Tony Visconti) |
Iggy Pop (w/ David Bowie) – Funtime and Sister Midnight (live 1977):
“Poor Jim, in a way, became a guinea pig for what I wanted to do with sound. I didn’t have the material at the time, and I didn’t feel like writing at all. I felt much more like laying back and getting behind someone else’s work, so that album was opportune, creatively”
– David Bowie
So, Iggy Pop acted as a guinea pig. David Bowie seemed tired of his ever-changing narrative or masks, so he used the opportunity making an Iggy solo record as a way to start re-inventing himself as well as Iggy. Iggy Pop and David Bowie worked extremely well as a team.
Personell:
Iggy Pop – vocals
David Bowie – keyboards, synthesizer, guitar, piano, saxophone, xylophone, backing vocals
Carlos Alomar – guitar
Dennis Davis – drums
George Murray – bass
Phil Palmer – guitar
Michel Santangeli – drums
Laurent Thibault – bass
Continue reading Today: Iggy Pop released The Idiot in 1977
Today: Nina Simone passed away in 2003 – 10 years ago
Jazz is a white term to define black people. My music is black classical music.
~Nina SimoneOnce I understood Bach’s music, I wanted to be a concert pianist. Bach made me dedicate my life to music, and it was that teacher who introduced me to his world.
~Nina SimoneNina Simone was one of the most gifted vocalists of her generation, and also one of the most eclectic.
~Mark Deming (allmusic.com)
Ain’t Got No…I’ve Got Life:
Wikipedia:
| Birth name | Eunice Kathleen Waymon |
|---|---|
| Born | February 21, 1933 Tryon, North Carolina, United States |
| Died | April 21, 2003 (aged 70) Carry-le-Rouet, Bouches-du-Rhône, France |
| Genres | Jazz, blues, R&B, folk, gospel |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter, pianist,arranger, activist |
| Years active | 1954–2003 |
| Labels | Bethlehem, Colpix, Philips, RCA Victor, CTI, Legacy Recordings |
| Website | http://www.ninasimone.com/ |
Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), better known by her stage name Nina Simone /ˈniːnə sɨˈmoʊn/, was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music. Simone aspired to become a classical pianist while working in a broad range of styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop.
Born the sixth child of a preacher’s family in North Carolina, Simone aspired to be a concert pianist. Her musical path changed direction after she was denied a scholarship to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, despite a well-received audition. Simone was later told by someone working at Curtis that she was rejected because she was black. When she began playing in a small club in Philadelphia to fund her continuing musical education and become a classical pianist she was required to sing as well. She was approached for a recording by Bethlehem Records, and her rendering of “I Loves You, Porgy” was a hit in the United States in 1958. Over the length of her career Simone recorded more than 40 albums, mostly between 1958—when she made her debut with Little Girl Blue—and 1974.
“Feelings” (Montreux Jazz Festival):
Her musical style arose from a fusion of gospel and pop songs with classical music, in particular with influences from her first inspiration, Johann Sebastian Bach, and accompanied with her expressive jazz-like singing in her characteristic contralto. She injected as much of her classical background into her music as possible to give it more depth and quality, as she felt that pop music was inferior to classical. Her intuitive grasp on the audience–performer relationship was gained from a unique background of playing piano accompaniment for church revivals and sermons regularly from the early age of six years old.
In the early 1960s, she became involved in the civil rights movement and the direction of her life shifted once again. Simone’s music was highly influential in the fight for equal rights in the United States. In later years, she lived abroad, finally settling in France in 1992.
Love Me Or Leave Me:
15 min clips from 1984 Interview:
Playlist of the day:
Other APR-21:
Continue reading Today: Nina Simone passed away in 2003 – 10 years ago