Wet, then wetter. Cold, then colder. Dense grey skies for months on end. Welcome to winter in the Great Pacific Northwest. Located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, Eugene winters are described as "mild" by Easterners because of the absence of sub-zero temperatures and the scarcity of snow. That is, until they move here. Then they quickly become familiar with the ugly underbelly of "mild".
"When the rain comes,
They run and hide their heads,
They might as well be dead,
When the rain comes,
When the raaaaaaaain comes."
You know this as "Rain", the quintessential rain song by The Beatles. Thank you, John Lennon, for your pithy words about the topic of rain. Paul McCartney would never write such downer lyrics unless, maybe, the topic was love gone bad. John, on the other hand, sounds like a guy from the Pacific Northwest. I guess Liverpool and Eugene have something in common weatherwise.
Come to think of it, there are plenty of songs about rain. Other than love songs, it's hard to think of a topic that has inspired as many tunes as the weather, especially rain and its friendly counterpart, the sun. But this post is about rain. Songwriters demonstrate little interest in the less temperate forms of precipitation: hail, sleet and snow. I invite you to suggest a logical reason for this.
Ever wonder why there are so many rain songs? Because when it rains, songwriters stay inside and fiddle around, like everyone else, but they do their fiddling with actual musical instruments. And like everyone else, rain stimulates boredom, so they write about what's in front of them. For songwriters, the struggle for new material is ongoing and one's imagination only gets them so far. In other words, songwriters see rain, get depressed by rain, get bored by the rain which leads, in turn, to writing about rain. Sometimes they write about rain and love at the same time. For example,
"Listen to the rhythm of the pouring rain,
Tellin' me just what a fool I've been."
Bla bla bla
If you don't know this song, "Rhythm of the Rain", check it out. It's a lovely piece of early 60's pop built, like most songs of that era (and most eras) on very little substance, but it still made most folks feel good in a melancholy yet upbeat sort of way.
There are so many songs about rain that you can buy a compilation cd with over 20 songs by various artists on that topic. And this scarcely scratches the surface of songs about rain. Not surprisingly, the common denominator of these songs, other than rain itself, is that they all convey some degree of melancholy-ness, ranging from drearily, depressingly sad to somewhere slightly north of ambivalent, as in the aforementioned "Rhythm of the Rain".
The Willamette Valley is experiencing a bit of snow at the moment. Quite a bit, in fact. Folks around here are ill-prepared for snow. They drive at a crawl if they drive at all and school officials can be depended upon to close the schools at the sight of the first snowflake. When the snow retreats, the rain appears, followed by volleys of back-and-forth precipitation changes. Dueling precipitation, weather wars.
Other weather variants that sometimes receive the attention of songwriters are hurricanes, cyclones and lightning. Remember "Lightnin' Strikes"? A happy song about lightning and love, a divine combination. Songwriters just can't steer clear of the love/weather tandem. Then, of course, there are the songs about wind. There's even a hilarious mockumentary, "The Mighty Wind", which isn't really about wind but is all about music---the folk music scene of the 60's.
Then there are songs which trick you into thinking they are about rain but really aren't, like Bob Dylan's "Rainy Day Women #12 and 35". Why he decided to give this song (you remember, "....everybody must get stoned") that particular name remains a mystery, at least to me.
I was 16 years old the first time I entered a recording studio with my first band, "Spectrum", and we recorded two songs, one of which was "One More Rainy Day". Yup, it was melancholy. And not very good, but hey, we were kids.
Maybe it's time for someone to break the boring, predictable cycle of rain, which leads to sad feelings, which leads to rain songs. I volunteer to be the first to write a happy song about rain. Stay tuned. This might take a while.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
W's Answer To The Recession Blues
If you happen to be a real estate developer or own a bank, chances are you're in deep shit at the moment. The terminal drag of recession keeps pushing developers and subprime lenders closer to the cliff's edge. Even normal folks, millions of them, are feeling the pain, not that W noticed those anguished cries. But when the losses entered the trillions and financial markets worldwide began to plummet, even W couldn't continue missing the obvious. Or maybe it was just that fact that if you removed the banker/investment tycoon-types from W's inner circle, you'd discover an empty room.
While our president rode the coattails of a superheated economy, and the value of everybody's home seemed to double or triple, nobody in the upper reaches of government seemed very inclined to consider that something might be terribly wrong. Now we know that something actually was quite wrong since millions of ordinary folks are having their homes foreclosed. Why did this happen? You probably know. During this period, the geniuses in the lending world created a method of allowing nearly anyone to qualify for loans they couldn't really afford to pay back. Through the use of "teaser rates", folks with marginal incomes were able to pay their mortgage until the tease ended, usually within 1-3 years. Then the ARMs kicked in and mortgage payments jumped out of reach for most borrowers in the subprime market. This was a recipe for two things: phase one, a huge run up in prices. Phase two: epidemic foreclosures.
For most musicians, this is more an issue of passing interest than of personal experience. You see, the average musician is a renter. Financial rewards for the musical types distribute themselves quite unevenly, with those at the very top reaping a grossly disproportionate share of the revenues generated by the industry, to a larger extent than just about any other slice of the economy. But I digress.
Now that this issue has finally captured W's attention, it is heartening to see that he is proposing legislation which will finally come to the aid of, well, uh, Citigroup, Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co., Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns Co. Oh, also homebuilders. These entities will be allowed to recover billions of lost dollars through new legislation. Funny thing is that despite the housing slump, these same companies have made larger profits than ever these past few years. Not the homebuilders. They are pretty much screwed for the foreseeable future.
As for the ordinary folks who are losing their homes, W is proposing a stimulus package (do you suppose W himself has a stimulus package?) that will allow qualifying taxpayers to obtain "rebates of several hundred dollars". Golly, that's mighty big-hearted of him. But hey, at least the banks will come out ok.
My advice: consider becoming a musician.
While our president rode the coattails of a superheated economy, and the value of everybody's home seemed to double or triple, nobody in the upper reaches of government seemed very inclined to consider that something might be terribly wrong. Now we know that something actually was quite wrong since millions of ordinary folks are having their homes foreclosed. Why did this happen? You probably know. During this period, the geniuses in the lending world created a method of allowing nearly anyone to qualify for loans they couldn't really afford to pay back. Through the use of "teaser rates", folks with marginal incomes were able to pay their mortgage until the tease ended, usually within 1-3 years. Then the ARMs kicked in and mortgage payments jumped out of reach for most borrowers in the subprime market. This was a recipe for two things: phase one, a huge run up in prices. Phase two: epidemic foreclosures.
For most musicians, this is more an issue of passing interest than of personal experience. You see, the average musician is a renter. Financial rewards for the musical types distribute themselves quite unevenly, with those at the very top reaping a grossly disproportionate share of the revenues generated by the industry, to a larger extent than just about any other slice of the economy. But I digress.
Now that this issue has finally captured W's attention, it is heartening to see that he is proposing legislation which will finally come to the aid of, well, uh, Citigroup, Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co., Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns Co. Oh, also homebuilders. These entities will be allowed to recover billions of lost dollars through new legislation. Funny thing is that despite the housing slump, these same companies have made larger profits than ever these past few years. Not the homebuilders. They are pretty much screwed for the foreseeable future.
As for the ordinary folks who are losing their homes, W is proposing a stimulus package (do you suppose W himself has a stimulus package?) that will allow qualifying taxpayers to obtain "rebates of several hundred dollars". Golly, that's mighty big-hearted of him. But hey, at least the banks will come out ok.
My advice: consider becoming a musician.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Music and Cars: Evaluate Your Karma
Americans love their cars. And whenever America loves anything, music is sure to follow. This connection initially flourished in the sixties. The Beach Boys alone were responsible for a bundle of car classics such as "Little Deuce Coupe", "409", "Fun Fun Fun", "Shut Down" and many more. Oddly, their song Little Honda was about a crappy motorcycle. Who would have guessed that Honda would eventually becomes one of the world's largest automakers?
Whenever there is musical success in a new genre, copycats are close behind. There were songs about Chevys, Fords, GTO's, Cobras and, of course, Cadillacs. These days we rarely hear new songs about cars. Is it because folks are less passionate about the automobile? I doubt it. Seems to me that songwriters have just moved on to other subjects, mostly the same old relationship-type subjects as always, and that the genre of car songs was a passing fancy. Except, of course, in the world of country music in which it is considered normal to love your pickup as much as your wife, kids and dog.
Want proof that people are as passionate today about their car? Talk to a Prius owner (I'm married to one). They love the way their car symbolizes their commitment to a cleaner environment and reduced dependence on oil, foreign and otherwise.
At the world's largest trade show for the automobile, the Detroit Auto Show which ended two days ago, a new hybrid was unveiled: the Fisker Karma. What a beauty. The Karma looks like a Maserati, costs $80,000, goes from zero to 60 in under 6 seconds and can travel 50 miles on battery power alone. I can already hear the advertisement, "Karma Karma Karma Karma Karma chameleon......" Boy George and the Culture Club can hardly wait to collect their royalties.
Nothing like using a song in a car add to ruin it. Remember Bob Seger's "Like A Rock". How many hundreds of times did you have that while Chevy tried to sell you a pickup? That song alone was responsible for me learning how to punch the mute button with the speed of a gunslinger.
But "Like A Rock" was just the warm up act for Chevy's latest advertising atrocity: John "Cougar" Mellencamp's "This Is Our Country". This trite piece of Americana drivel is overplayed enough to induce mass vomiting attacks with its cloying use of patriotic imagery, all in the name of selling another Chevy pickup. How could he sell out so badly? It's not like he was a poor man. I hear he's on the campaign trail for John Edwards, along with Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt, two musicians I greatly admire. Jackson and Bonnie, and Mr. Edwards too, please jump ship. Send Mellencamp back to Indiana now. Or better yet, tell him he can stay only if he demands that Chevy pull that awful song.
Karma eventually has something in store for us all. Mellencamp's is definitely falling. I think Barack's is rising. John F. Kennedy liked to say: "A rising tide lifts all boats." So I'll close this post about music and cars by talking about boats. Let's hope all of our boats rise with the tide of 2008.
Whenever there is musical success in a new genre, copycats are close behind. There were songs about Chevys, Fords, GTO's, Cobras and, of course, Cadillacs. These days we rarely hear new songs about cars. Is it because folks are less passionate about the automobile? I doubt it. Seems to me that songwriters have just moved on to other subjects, mostly the same old relationship-type subjects as always, and that the genre of car songs was a passing fancy. Except, of course, in the world of country music in which it is considered normal to love your pickup as much as your wife, kids and dog.
Want proof that people are as passionate today about their car? Talk to a Prius owner (I'm married to one). They love the way their car symbolizes their commitment to a cleaner environment and reduced dependence on oil, foreign and otherwise.
At the world's largest trade show for the automobile, the Detroit Auto Show which ended two days ago, a new hybrid was unveiled: the Fisker Karma. What a beauty. The Karma looks like a Maserati, costs $80,000, goes from zero to 60 in under 6 seconds and can travel 50 miles on battery power alone. I can already hear the advertisement, "Karma Karma Karma Karma Karma chameleon......" Boy George and the Culture Club can hardly wait to collect their royalties.
Nothing like using a song in a car add to ruin it. Remember Bob Seger's "Like A Rock". How many hundreds of times did you have that while Chevy tried to sell you a pickup? That song alone was responsible for me learning how to punch the mute button with the speed of a gunslinger.
But "Like A Rock" was just the warm up act for Chevy's latest advertising atrocity: John "Cougar" Mellencamp's "This Is Our Country". This trite piece of Americana drivel is overplayed enough to induce mass vomiting attacks with its cloying use of patriotic imagery, all in the name of selling another Chevy pickup. How could he sell out so badly? It's not like he was a poor man. I hear he's on the campaign trail for John Edwards, along with Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt, two musicians I greatly admire. Jackson and Bonnie, and Mr. Edwards too, please jump ship. Send Mellencamp back to Indiana now. Or better yet, tell him he can stay only if he demands that Chevy pull that awful song.
Karma eventually has something in store for us all. Mellencamp's is definitely falling. I think Barack's is rising. John F. Kennedy liked to say: "A rising tide lifts all boats." So I'll close this post about music and cars by talking about boats. Let's hope all of our boats rise with the tide of 2008.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Music and Performance Enhancing Drugs
The link between musicians and drugs is the stuff of rock legend. Drug usage among musicians is as common as the cold. Did it start in the 30's with African American jazz musicians or sometime earlier? Who knows. Chances are the pharoah's favorite lute player was smokin' reef with the eunochs down by the Nile in 2500 BC.
These days, stories of drug usage by athletes dominate the headlines. From Barry Bonds to Roger Clemens, baseball's modern stars have shattered records and extended their careers through the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs. Nearly every sport is tainted by such drug usage, from the professional cycling to Olympic track to football and even golf! Whenever you see someone who has bulked up virtually overnight, you know drugs have played a part.
Musicians used to occupy a somewhat unique role as society's most conspicuous drug users. Who would've guessed that our professional athletes, of all things, would usurp this position?
Of course, the motivations are different. Musicians tend toward drugs as a form of escapism primarily, though it is undeniable that some of music's most sublime innovations would never have occurred without the influence of drugs. My favorite example is Jimi Hendrix who transformed himself from an ordinary musician into history's most creative, brilliant guitarist while under the influence of some divine yet ultimately destructive combination of drugs.
Athletes, on the other hand, use drugs to improve their performance and thereby generate more fame and fortune (ok, sometimes they party with them too). The recent use of performance enhancing drugs by athletes reminds me of the old Crossroads story in which Robert Johnson made a deal with the devil to become the greatest blues guitar player alive. He died young of an apparent poisoning thereby lending credence to the "deal with the devil" fable.
Modern athletes makes their own deal with the devil when they use steroids and human growth hormones. Their nuts shrink, their complexions go bad, their necks get thick and they become emotionally volatile. Quite a Faustian bargain.
Have you seen the new advertisement from Southwest Airlines where a corporate salesperson is being interviewed by the media and questioned about whether "productivity enhancers" contributed to his sudden success? Put on the spot, the agitated salesperson leaves the room in a huff, just like ballplayers do when questioned about their drug usage.
If I could take a pill that would let me play guitar as fast as Danny Gatton or bend strings like Stevie Ray Vaughan, would I? Let's see, I guess the answer for me is "It depends". If the downside is anything like the ugly stuff caused by the performance enhancers, count me out. There's a lesson for everyone in this, isn't there? We're all much better off if we genuinely accept what we have and if you strive to improve, do it the old fashioned way, with hard work and dedication.
In the meantime, I'll keep enjoying this modern drug-addled theatre for its high entertainment value. Nothing generates laughter as well as a reality-based farce.
These days, stories of drug usage by athletes dominate the headlines. From Barry Bonds to Roger Clemens, baseball's modern stars have shattered records and extended their careers through the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs. Nearly every sport is tainted by such drug usage, from the professional cycling to Olympic track to football and even golf! Whenever you see someone who has bulked up virtually overnight, you know drugs have played a part.
Musicians used to occupy a somewhat unique role as society's most conspicuous drug users. Who would've guessed that our professional athletes, of all things, would usurp this position?
Of course, the motivations are different. Musicians tend toward drugs as a form of escapism primarily, though it is undeniable that some of music's most sublime innovations would never have occurred without the influence of drugs. My favorite example is Jimi Hendrix who transformed himself from an ordinary musician into history's most creative, brilliant guitarist while under the influence of some divine yet ultimately destructive combination of drugs.
Athletes, on the other hand, use drugs to improve their performance and thereby generate more fame and fortune (ok, sometimes they party with them too). The recent use of performance enhancing drugs by athletes reminds me of the old Crossroads story in which Robert Johnson made a deal with the devil to become the greatest blues guitar player alive. He died young of an apparent poisoning thereby lending credence to the "deal with the devil" fable.
Modern athletes makes their own deal with the devil when they use steroids and human growth hormones. Their nuts shrink, their complexions go bad, their necks get thick and they become emotionally volatile. Quite a Faustian bargain.
Have you seen the new advertisement from Southwest Airlines where a corporate salesperson is being interviewed by the media and questioned about whether "productivity enhancers" contributed to his sudden success? Put on the spot, the agitated salesperson leaves the room in a huff, just like ballplayers do when questioned about their drug usage.
If I could take a pill that would let me play guitar as fast as Danny Gatton or bend strings like Stevie Ray Vaughan, would I? Let's see, I guess the answer for me is "It depends". If the downside is anything like the ugly stuff caused by the performance enhancers, count me out. There's a lesson for everyone in this, isn't there? We're all much better off if we genuinely accept what we have and if you strive to improve, do it the old fashioned way, with hard work and dedication.
In the meantime, I'll keep enjoying this modern drug-addled theatre for its high entertainment value. Nothing generates laughter as well as a reality-based farce.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Here Comes 2008
Of all the things that help us mark the passage of time, nothing competes with New Year for calling universal attention to the change. People get all nostalgic, looking at the past with a strange fondness and considering the future in a uniquely hopeful sort of way.
I love how the coming of each new year inspires us to try harder and to pursue loftier goals. How long will those commitments last? Probably not long enough but I know that I will enter next year (like this year and last year and every one before that) with the same positive outlook. And why not? Of all life's rhythms, none instills a sense of renewal like the coming of new year.
I find this especially true every fourth year---you know, the years when we have presidential elections? And this year will be very special because thank God, W. has to go back to Crawford. Well, technically I guess that won't occur until January 20, 2009, but at least we will elect a new president next November.
Every fourth year we are also treated to Leap Year as well as the Olympic Games. With all this going on, how can the advent of 2008 not be a time of great anticipation? Speaking of Leap Year, I've never understood why February 29 isn't an international holiday. We stick an extra day on our calendar once every four years and it gets such a ho-hum reception. We celebrate so much meaningless crap, why not celebrate that?
Musically, like everyone else who labors at a craft, I hope that this year I write my best song ever, that I get the breaks that have eluded me in the past and that my best gigs ever happen in 2008. No reason to hope for anything less, right?
Globally, I hope that the world smiles on America in November because we choose a president with a commitment to embrace and support our fellow nations. Maybe I'm a dreamer, but I believe that even as the world gets more complex, through compassion and understanding, and by embracing common values, we can improve our collective lives. No sense in not trying; no harm in believing. Happy New Year.
I love how the coming of each new year inspires us to try harder and to pursue loftier goals. How long will those commitments last? Probably not long enough but I know that I will enter next year (like this year and last year and every one before that) with the same positive outlook. And why not? Of all life's rhythms, none instills a sense of renewal like the coming of new year.
I find this especially true every fourth year---you know, the years when we have presidential elections? And this year will be very special because thank God, W. has to go back to Crawford. Well, technically I guess that won't occur until January 20, 2009, but at least we will elect a new president next November.
Every fourth year we are also treated to Leap Year as well as the Olympic Games. With all this going on, how can the advent of 2008 not be a time of great anticipation? Speaking of Leap Year, I've never understood why February 29 isn't an international holiday. We stick an extra day on our calendar once every four years and it gets such a ho-hum reception. We celebrate so much meaningless crap, why not celebrate that?
Musically, like everyone else who labors at a craft, I hope that this year I write my best song ever, that I get the breaks that have eluded me in the past and that my best gigs ever happen in 2008. No reason to hope for anything less, right?
Globally, I hope that the world smiles on America in November because we choose a president with a commitment to embrace and support our fellow nations. Maybe I'm a dreamer, but I believe that even as the world gets more complex, through compassion and understanding, and by embracing common values, we can improve our collective lives. No sense in not trying; no harm in believing. Happy New Year.
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