What is there to be afraid of? The worst thing that can happen is you fail. So what? I failed at a lot of things. My first record was horrible.
~John MellencampI’m your average Joe guy. I don’t really care for politicians.
~John Mellencamp
Induction of John Mellencamp @ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:
Continue reading October 7: John Mellencamp is 64 – Happy Birthday
The Who by Numbers pretends to be a series of ten unconnected songs, it’s really only a pose; there’s not a story line here, but there are more important unities — lyrical themes, musical and production style, a sense of time and place.
…
Townshend has now pulled the fastest one of all, disguising his best concept album as a mere ten-track throwaway.– Dave March (Rolling Stone Magazine, 1975)
The Who by Numbers is the seventh studio album by The Who, released on 3 October 1975 in the United Kingdom through Polydor Records, and on 25 October 1975 in the United States by MCA Records.
“There’s no easy way to be free.”
– Pete Townshend (Slip Kid)
This is Pete Townshend’s journal, his confessions about drinking, women and his other ordeals in life (+ one great song from John Entwistle, Success Story). I like this record a lot, it stands out as a bit different in The Who’s discography, but it has great tunes and an intimate quality. No anthems this time, but great anyway. Some critics saw it as Townshend’s “suicide note” at the time.
“It’s a song I made the night I stopped drinking” (Pete Townshend):
Continue reading October 3: The Who released The Who By Numbers in 1975
For me, I was somebody who was a smart young guy who didn’t do very well in school. The basic system of education, I didn’t fit in; my intelligence was elsewhere.
~Bruce SpringsteenThe best music is essentially there to provide you something to face the world with.
~Bruce SpringsteenThey call him the Boss. Well that’s a bunch of crap. He’s not the boss. He works FOR us. More than a boss, he’s the owner, because more than anyone else, Bruce Springsteen owns America’s heart.
~Bono (induction speech for at the 1999 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Thunder Road – live @ Hammersmith 1975:
Continue reading September 23: Happy 66th Birthday Bruce Springsteen
Like a Bird on a Wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free
~Leonard Cohen, Bird On A Wire“The older I get, the surer I am that I’m not running the show.”
― Leonard Cohen“I don’t remember
lighting this cigarette
and I don’t remember
if I’m here alone
or waiting for someone.”
~Leonard Cohen, Book of Longing
From Wikipedia:
| Birth name | Leonard Norman Cohen |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 September 1934 (age 80) Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Genres | Folk, folk rock, rock, pop rock,spoken word, synthpop |
| Occupations | Musician, singer-songwriter,poet, novelist |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano,keyboards, synthesizer |
| Years active | 1956-present |
| Labels | Columbia |
| Associated acts | Sharon Robinson, Jennifer Warnes |
Leonard Norman Cohen (born 21 September 1934)
His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality, and interpersonal relationships. Cohen has been inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and both the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation’s highest civilian honour.
Continue reading September 21: Leonard Cohen was born in 1934 – Happy Birthday
Funeral is the debut full-length album by Arcade Fire, released on September 14, 2004 in North America. It was given its title because several band members had recently lost members of their families: Régine Chassagne’s grandmother died in June 2003, Win and William Butler’s grandfather (swing musician Alvino Rey) in February 2004, and Richard Reed Parry’s aunt in April 2004.
“These are songs that pump blood back into the heart as fast and furiously as it’s draining from the sleeve on which it beats, and by the time Chassagne dissects her love of riding “In the Backseat” with the radio on, despite her desperate fear of driving, Funeral’s singular thread is finally revealed; love does conquer all, especially love for the cathartic power of music.”
– James Christopher Monger (Allmusic)
Arcade Fire – Rebellion (Lies)(Rock en Sine, 2007):
The album produced five singles. The most successful, “Rebellion (Lies)”, peaked at #19 on the UK Singles Chart. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005 for Best Alternative Music Album. It received wide critical acclaim and topped many year-end and decade-end lists. According to the website Metacritic, the album had the second most appearances on end-of-decade Top 10 lists. In the updated version of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, it was ranked at #151.
Arcade Fire – No Cars Go (Glastonbury,2007):
“Even in its darkest moments, Funeral exudes an empowering positivity. Slow-burning ballad “Crown of Love” is an expression of lovesick guilt that perpetually crescendos until the track unexpectedly explodes into a dance section, still soaked in the melodrama of weeping strings; the song’s psychological despair gives way to a purely physical catharsis.”
– David More (Pitchfork)
Continue reading September 14: Arcade Fire released Funeral in 2004