Portland Oregon (2004) – Loretta Lynn (Ft. Jack White)

Posted on February 22, 2024 by observationblogger — 8 Comments

After Loretta Lynn passed away, I spent the night listening to her Van Lear Rose album and finding again how great that album is. I would recommend taking a listen to this song. It works for country, rock, and pop. I love the opening line… Well, Portland, Oregon and sloe gin fizz, If that ain’t love then tell me what is, uh huh, uh huh.

She did a lot for women in the business and paved the way for later stars. Songs like The Pill and X Rated were largely ignored by country radio at the time but that didn’t stop them from hitting No 1. She was one of the best songwriters in country history.

– Loretta Lynn and Jack White – Portland Oregon – PowerPop.blog

Fellow music blogger Max (above) spoke about his time meeting Loretta Lynn:

When I was eight years old, my mom took me to Loretta Lynn’s ranch. I actually had breakfast with Loretta Lynn. My mom knew someone who knew her… we were at her Ranch that was just opened to the public. She saw us and pointed and said “come in here” and we sat at the table and ate with her. She was very nice. She kept asking if I needed anything and if I was having a good time.

She was one of the nicest human beings I’ve ever met. Even though I was young, she didn’t talk down to me…she talked to me. It was a wonderful experience and even I knew at that age it was special…that this didn’t happen all of the time.

She wrote about real-life situations with women during her career. Her songwriting was honest and pure.

[Verse 1-Loretta Lynn]
Well, Portland, Oregon and sloe gin fizz
If that ain’t love, then tell me what is, uh-huh uh-huh
Well I lost my heart, it didn’t take no time
But that ain’t all, I lost my mind in Oregon

[Verse 2-Jack White & Loretta Lynn]
In a booth in the corner with the lights down low
I was moving in fast she was taking it slow, uh-huh uh-huh
Well, I looked at him and caught him looking at me
I knew right then, we were playing free in Oregon

[Verse 3-Jack White & Loretta Lynn]
Next day, we knew last night got drunk
But we loved enough for the both of us, uh-huh uh-huh
In the morning when the night had sobered up
It was much too late for the both of us in Oregon

[Verse 4-Loretta Lynn & Jack White]
Well, sloe gin fizz works mighty fast
When you drink it by the pitcher and not by the glass, uh-huh uh-huh
Hey bartender, before you close
Pour us one more drink and a pitcher to go

References:
1. Portland Oregon (song) – Wikipedia

Tagged with: 1, Jack White, Loretta Lynn, Portland Oregon
Posted in Music

The AnkiDroid Collection (Part 54) – Huckster, Mestizo & Scoliosis

Posted on February 21, 2024 by observationblogger — 7 Comments

Ankidroid additions related to Science, History and Philosophy. More information about Anki can be found in this article.

Huckster

A Huckster is one who uses aggressive, showy or devious methods to promote or sell a product. The original meaning of huckster is a person who sells small articles, either door-to-door or from a stall or small store, like a peddler or hawker. The term probably derives from the Middle English hucc, meaning “to haggle”. During the medieval period, the word assumed the feminine word ending “ster” as in huckster, reflecting the fact that most hucksters were women.

Mestizo (adj.)

Mestizo refers to “Offspring of a person of mixed blood,” especially a person of mixed Spanish and Amerindian parentage,” 1580s, from Spanish mestizo, Portuguese mestiço, “of mixed European and Amerindian parentage,” from Late Latin mixticius “mixed, mongrel,” from Latin mixtus “mixed,”

Scoliosis

Scoliosis is a condition in which a person’s spine has an abnormal sideways curvature. The curve is usually S- or C-shaped over three dimensions. In some, the degree of curve is stable, while in others, it increases over time. Mild scoliosis does not typically cause problems, but more severe cases can affect breathing and movement. It is from Latinized form of Greek skoliosis “crookedness” from skolios “bent, curved“. As per the diagram above it is distinguished from lordosis and kyphosis.

Tagged with: huckster, mestizo, scoliosis
Posted in Reading

Hold Me Up (1994) – Live

Posted on February 20, 2024 by observationblogger — 4 Comments

Hearing Live’s music from their classic Throwing Copper record transports me back to Mornington in Southeast Melbourne and the golden age alt-rock scene. It seems to me ‘The Nineties‘ was a good decade in many respects and the music it contains reflect it. Extraordinarily, a previously unreleased track Hold Me Up is the third song to be presented here from Live‘s third studio record Throwing Copper after their previous entry All Over You. The album sold 8 million copies and hence certified 8× platinum. The cover art (see inset) is a painting by Scottish artist Peter Howson titled Sisters of Mercy. In 2005, it was sold for $186,000 by Christie’s in New York.

I think Hold Me Up is about the ebb and flow of a relationship, perhaps even some marriage vows, as the narrator says “All that to you in a church by the sea, Were late, but not in the same way, Were older today.” To me this sounds just like something that would be said at a marriage ceremony. Reading the lyrics from that perspective, they all make sense. He’s expressing his seemingly undying love for his partner. No matter the situation, he will always love her. In any case, it’s a very romantic song, set to rock.
Oh, and this song was played in the movie (during the sex scene) – Zach and Miri Make a Porno.

Hold me up in the palm of your hand
Lying to you is a river of sin
Your metaphors, your silent calls
Your feelings are too real
Let them spew, a fall from grace
Would do us good today

I’ll lift you up, we can love or cry
Hey, I’m in love, I’ll take you up again
Oh, oh…

All that to you in a church by the sea
We’re late, but not in the same way
We’re older today

According to songtell (written by A.I Help): Hold Me Up explores the complexities of a relationship, highlighting the desire for support, honesty, and growth, as well as the shared commitment to overcoming obstacles together. The song captures the vulnerability, love, and potential for redemption within the context of this connection….The repetition of “Images we cannot leave behind” and “Like two riversides we roll back” refers to the lingering memories and shared experiences between the two individuals.

References:
1. Throwing Copper – Wikipedia
2. Hold Me Up – Song Meanings
3. Hold Me Up – Songtell

Tagged with: hold me up, live, throwing copper
Posted in Music

Hey Joe (1966) – Jimi Hendrix

Posted on February 19, 2024 by observationblogger — 9 Comments

Hey Joe is my favourite song by Jimi Hendrix. It was The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s first single, released in 1966 and a UK top 10 hit. Most of content in this article has been cherry-picked from the Wikipedia reference below:

This song has become a rock-standard and been performed in many musical styles by hundreds of different artists. The authorship of the song has been contested, and different recordings have credited its writing to either Billy Roberts or Dino Valenti, or have listed it as a traditional song. Some other performers including Pete Seeger recognised that it had been developed from Billy Robert’s girlfriend and later wife Niela Miller’s song Baby Don’t Go to Town.

When Jimi Hendrix was exploring a more rock-oriented sound in New York City in 1966 with his group Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, Hey Joe was one of the first songs he performed regularly. His arrangement used a slower tempo reminiscent of Tim Rose’s recent single version, which he had heard on a juke box. Looking for musical acts to produce, Chas Chandler, the ex-bassist for the Animals, checked out Hendrix. By chance, the first song Hendrix performed during Chandler’s visit was Hey Joe, a song Chandler was interested in promoting. As a result, Chandler decided to take Hendrix with him to England in September 1966, where he would subsequently turn the guitarist into a star.

[Verse 1]
Hey Joe, where you going with that gun in your hand?
Hey Joe, I said, where you going with that gun in your hand?

[Verse 2]
I’m going down to shoot my old lady
You know, I caught her messing around with another man
I’m going down to shoot my old lady
You know, I caught her messing around with another man
And that ain’t too cool

[Verse 3]
Hey Joe, I heard you shot your woman down
You shot her down, now
Hey Joe, I heard you shot your old lady down
You shot her down to the ground

Released in the United Kingdom, December 1966, Hendrix’s version peaked at No. 6. The single was released in the United States on May 1, 1967, with the B-side “51st Anniversary”, but failed to chart.

Hey Joe was the last song Hendrix performed at the Woodstock festival in 1969 and as such, it was also the final song of the whole festival. The song was performed after the crowd, comprising the 80,000 who had not yet left the festival, cheered for an encore.

References:
1. Hey Joe — a song with murky origins gave rise to one of the great cover versions – Financial Times
2. Hey Joe – Wikipedia

Tagged with: hey Joe, jimi hendrix
Posted in Music

The AnkiDroid Collection (Part 53) – Macabre, Cacophony & Epidermis

Posted on February 15, 2024 by observationblogger — 3 Comments

Ankidroid additions related to Science, History and Philosophy. More information about Anki can be found in this article.

Macabre

Macabre contains one of two pronunciations:

mə-käb′

mə-kä′brə

Macabre is having death as a subject : comprising or including a personalized representation of death. The origins of macabre can be traced back to the name of the Book of Maccabees, which is included in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox canons of the Old Testament and in the Protestant Apocrypha. Sections of this biblical text address both the deaths of faithful people asked to renounce their religion and the manner in which the dead should be properly commemorated. In medieval France, representations of these passages were performed as what became known as the “dance of death” or “dance Maccabee,” which was spelled in several different ways, including danse macabre. In English, macabre was originally used in reference to this “dance of death” and then gradually came to refer to anything grim or gruesome.
See Etymology special (Ankidroid edition) for more information is the history of linguistic form (such as a word) and tracing its earliest recorded meaning and its use over time.

Cacophony

kə-kŏf′ə-nē

Cacophony refers to the harshness in sound of words or phrases. Bad sound. (antonym of Symphony). It can also describe an incongruous or chaotic mixture.

Cacophony comes from a joining of the Greek prefix kak- (from kakos,meaning “bad”) with phōnē, so it essentially means “bad sound.”

Epidermis

ep.əˈdɝː.mɪs

The Epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin; the inner layers being the dermis and hypodermis. The epidermis layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens and regulates the amount of water released from the body into the atmosphere.

Epidermis can also refer to the protective covering ie the hide, the shell, fur and the leather.

Tagged with: cacophony, epidermis, Macabre
Posted in Reading

Con te Partirò (1995) – Andrea Bocelli

Posted on February 13, 2024 by observationblogger — 5 Comments

A song that needs no introduction. This post will be short and sweet as there are no apt words to describe the magnificence and renascence of this piece.

Con te Partirò (I will leave with you) was first performed by Andrea Bocelli at the 1995 Sanremo Music Festival and recorded on his album of the same year, Bocelli. The song’s original single release by Polydor Records was not commercially successful in Italy, and received little radio airplay there. Elsewhere it was a massive hit.

Readers may be more familiar with the Spanish (Por Te Volaré) and English version (Time to Say Goodbye). I have other performances I like to rewatch on occasion with my kids (apart from the original below):
1. Sesame Street: Andrea Bocelli’s Lullabye To Elmo
2. Will Ferrell Sings Por Ti Volare- Step Brothers

A second version of the song, sung partly in English, was released in 1996 as Time to Say Goodbye, paired Bocelli with British soprano Sarah Brightman, and achieved even greater success, topping charts all across Europe, including Germany, where it became the biggest-selling single in history.

References:
1. Con te partirò – Wikipedia

Tagged with: Andre Bocelli, Con te Partirò, Sarah Brightman
Posted in Music

Poor Poor Pitiful Me (1976) – Warren Zevon

Posted on February 12, 2024 by observationblogger — 13 Comments

Poor Poor Pitiful Me by Warren Zevon is an exuberant upbeat country – rock track. In terms of intensity, liveliness, and even in its impropriety this song reminds me of the penultimate song to feature here from Zevon called Excitable Boy. I believe both of these songs which have a macabre sense of humour were recommendations from my friend Max at PowerPop who is a big Zevon fan. Thanks in large part to Max, my estimation of Zevon’s output has risen markedly since I started this music library project in July, 2019.

I love this song. Not many songs deal with a failed suicide, domestic abuse, and a brush with sadomasochism. I’m a huge Warren Zevon fan. His songs tend to be on the dark side…and anyone who has listened to Excitable Boy will testify to that.

When I heard Zevon’s version of this song for the first time I was sold. I first heard the Linda Ronstadt version and I loved it. I’m a Linda Ronstadt fan but something about Zevon’s version draws me in. It’s raw and crude and I love the way he sings it.
– Max at PowerPop (Warren Zevon – Poor Poor Pitiful Me)

I have presented a live version of Poor Poor Pitiful Me by Zevon at the Capitol Theatre, NJ in 1982 below. His music talents not only as a songwriter, but as an effervescent entertainer seem to be marvellously showcased by this gold-standard version. Also the band are so solid. The version also transfigures unexpectedly into Bruce Springsteen’s Cadillac Ranch. It is said, Zevon never got the level of popular recognition he deserved, but ‘real’ musicians know how great he was.

[Verse 1]
I lay my head on the railroad tracks
And wait for the Double E
The railroad don’t run no more
Poor, poor pitiful me

[Chorus]
Poor, poor pitiful me
Poor, poor pitiful me
These young girls won’t let me be
Lord, have mercy on me
Woe is me

[Verse 2]
Well, I met a girl in West Hollywood
But I ain’t naming names
But she really worked me over good
She was just like Jesse James
She really worked me over good
She was a credit to her gender
She put me through some changes, Lord
Sort of like a Waring blender

[Verse 3]
I met a girl at the Rainbow Bar
She asked me if I’d beat her
She took me back to the Hyatt House
I don’t want to talk about it, hey

Zevon had early music industry successes as a session musician, jingle composer, songwriter, touring musician, musical coordinator, and bandleader. In 1975, Zevon toured regularly with the Everly Brothers as keyboard player, band leader, and musical coordinator. Also, in this same year he returned to Los Angeles, where he roomed with Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac). Despite all of that, Zevon struggled to break through in his solo career until his music was performed by Linda Ronstadt in 1976. There he collaborated with Jackson Browne, who produced and promoted Zevon’s self-titled major-label debut in 1976 in which today’s featured track appears.

Reference:
1. Poor Poor Pitiful Me – Wikipedia
2. Warren Zevon (album) – Wikipedia

Tagged with: poor poor pitiful me, warren Zevon
Posted in Music

Bittersweet (1993) – Big Head Todd and the Monsters

Posted on February 11, 2024 by observationblogger — 8 Comments

Time to head to the ’90s with a neat track by Big Head Todd and The Monsters, which is right up my alley and hopefully yours as well. This Colorado rock band was formed in 1986. After two albums in 1989 and 1990, they hit it big in February 1993 with Sister Sweetly, which went Platinum in the U.S. and remained on the Billboard 200 for more than a year, though curiously, it only peaked at no. 117. Off that album, here’s the lead single Bittersweet. Like all other songs on Sister Sweetly, it was solely penned by the band’s vocalist, guitarist and keyboarder Todd Park Mohr. Big Head Todd and The Monsters are active to this day and are currently touring, with Mohr remaining part of the current line-up. They also have a great new single out with a cool John Hiatt vibe.
– The Sunday Six – Christian’s Music Musings

I was introduced to today’s song Bittersweet from Christian’s Music Musings web site. The passion Christian exudes for music is palpable and I feel grateful to be able to converse with him about music. His blog contains a great cross section of music and I am learning to appreciate genres such as Jazz which I hadn’t heard much of in the past. I told Christian recently: ‘I just realised my music project will be elongated substantially listening to your recommendations over the next few years‘.

..Since I started listening in the mid-seventies, music has become my big passion. First came the radio, followed by my older sister’s vinyl records. Then I started buying my own records and spending endless hours taping stuff on music cassettes from other records and my favorite radio shows. From there it didn’t take long to get to the next level, which was learning the guitar and the electric bass, and playing the latter in two bands in my late teens and early twenties.

Fast-forward some 40 years until today. While I haven’t been an active hobby musician in close to 30 years, I’m still as crazy about music as back then. Nowadays, it’s primarily listening to music and for the past few years increasingly going to concerts – and, of course, writing this blog! Every now and then, when I grab my guitar or see some band perform live, I still feel the itch to resume playing music actively until reality sets in: my family, my job and mortgage, etc…
– Continue reading Christian’s ‘About‘ Page

A little light looks through her bedroom window
She dances and I dream, she’s not so far as she seems
Of brighter meadows, melting sunsets
Her hair blowing in the breeze
And she can’t see me watching
And I’m thinking love…
Love…
Love…
Love…

It’s bittersweet
More sweet than bitter
Bitter than sweet
It’s a bittersweet surrender

References:
1. Bittersweet (Big Head Todd and the Monsters song) – Wikipedia

Tagged with: Big Head and Todd and the Monsters, Bittersweet, Christian's Music Musings, Sister Sweetly
Posted in Music

Golden Brown (1982) – The Stranglers

Posted on February 10, 2024 by observationblogger — 23 Comments

I was reminded of how much I like this song when I was watching the 2000 film Snatch in which this song appeared. I always found the unconventional harpsichord sound in Golden Brown alluring, but at the same time slightly unsettling. Golden Brown was intentionally written ambiguously to get past the censors. Singer and lyricist Hugh Cornwell said in 2001: “It’s about heroin and also about a girl… both provided me with pleasurable times.” It is said Hugh Cornwell was loath to admit it to the public but acquiesced to the pressure after bassist J.J. Burnel revealed the meaning to the public at large.

Thanks to being chosen as BBC Radio 2’s record of the week, Golden Brown peaked at No 2 on the UK singles chart, a chart high for The Stranglers, and, it is probably the band’s most famous song.

[Verse 1]
Golden brown, texture like sun
Lays me down, with my mind she runs
Throughout the night, no need to fight
Never a frown with golden brown

[Verse 2]
Every time, just like the last
On her ship, tied to the mast
To distant lands, takes both my hands
Never a frown with golden brown

[Verse 3]
Golden brown, finer temptress
Through the ages, she’s heading west
From far away, stays for a day
Never a frown with golden brown

The basis for the tune came from an unused part of Second Coming, a track which featured on their previous album The Gospel According to the Meninblack. According to bassist JJ Burnel, the song’s atypical style was intended to defy expectations. He explained, “The whole thing about that song is it really represented us sticking our fingers up to our detractors‘. “We were written off by then,” Burnell admitted.”There was a new record company at the time that had taken us over because they have swallowed up our previous record company. They said punk was over and we were finished, and then we forced them to release that record‘.

..It wasn’t the lyrical content that inspired so many to purchase the record, but it was the seductiveness of the melody: Wet with atmosphere and rich in sonic experience, the song signalled a more mature outlet that showed that punk was as malleable as the author intended it to be.
– Far Out Magazine

References:
1. Golden Brown – Wikipedia
2. The literal meaning behind The Stranglers’ opus ‘Golden Brown’ – Far Out Magazine

Tagged with: golden brown, the stranglers
Posted in Music

Concrete Utopia (2023) – Um Tae-hwa (Friday’s Finest)

Posted on February 9, 2024 by observationblogger — 5 Comments

Concrete Utopia (Korean: 콘크리트 유토피아) is a 2023 South Korean disaster-thriller film which I had the good fortune to see at the cinema here in Bogota, Colombia. The premise was one of the best I had heard as far as disaster movies go, so my expectations were high going into it. Check this out:

Synopsis (wikipedia below):

Seoul is devastated overnight by a major earthquake. Everything has collapsed, and only one place remains intact: Imperial Palace Apartments. Residents begin to feel threatened as external survivors who have heard of this haven flock to the apartments. They unite for survival, and with a new resident leader, Yeong-tak, they create new rules for residents and prevent entry to outsiders. Thanks to this, unlike the hellish world outside, the utopian apartments remain safe and peaceful. In an endless crisis for survival, however, an unexpected conflict begins among them.

Concrete Utopia lived up to and exceeded my expectations. I normally don’t touch ‘Disaster’ movies with a ten foot pole, but I was lured by the following:

The above story line intrigued me,
Concrete Utopia is a foreign film, which means it doesn’t have the Rock in it and that can only be a good thing,
Concrete Utopia has excellent reviews.. so exceptional in fact it currently sits at 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and
Concrete Utopia was the official submission of South Korea for the ‘Best International Feature Film‘ category of the 96th Academy Awards in 2024.

It Is an emotional force of a film. Not concerned with the disaster itself or the spectacle it could employ to focus on the moment of tragedy, the film offers epic landscapes but always keeps an intimate eye on the people in the high rise. It presents a disturbing picture of humanity that dribbles into the absolute worst when the social structure is dismembered and survival becomes the only need of the hour.

I agree with one critic’s appraisal that the film was “more creepy than most horror movies“. Concrete Utopia is a unique and intriguing disaster movie that skilfully blends black comedy, horror and psychological thriller. It’s confidently paced and craftily directed. Anna Miller, with Next Best Picture, graded the film 8/10 and wrote:

“Concrete Utopia is a gripping, disturbing, and powerful representation of the worst of society, yet equally showcasing the best qualities in humans and how hope, community, and decency will always exist through the dust and devastation.”

Concrete Utopia was pre-sold in 152 countries in Europe, Asia, and South America. It is said the film was be released in North America through Viki in the first quarter of 2024.

References:
1. Concrete Utopia – Wikipedia
2. Concrete Utopia – IMDB

Tagged with: concrete utopia, south korea, Tae-hwa Eom
Posted in Movies and TV