Archive for August, 2015

the best songs con’t: from the b sides

August 24, 2015

Back in the day – way back – my friends and I spent a few winters hanging around the Margate beach bars: dancing, drinking, singing, playing pool, and generally whooping it up. We had a one particularly favorite place and though I can’t quite remember the joint’s name I do remember the juke box.imgres-3

Five plays for a quarter. Maybe… something like that. We dropped a lot of quarters there and how many ever it was was a good deal since there wasn’t one bad track on that machine.

We all had our favorites. My beau played Mott the Hoople’s “All the Young Dudes” and “One of the Boys” to death; me, I couldn’t get enough of the “Child of the Moon,” It wouldn’t make my top ten Stones songs list today and I don’t think I’ve listened to since but back then it made me happy to hear it. And it made me happy when it popped into my head again after all these years. It’s not country, but it sure sounds like a fan.

ChIld of the Moon” is the B side to “Jumping Jack Flash.”

Are there B sides these days? I guess not. No b sides, no double A sides, no sides period. No sitting pouring over the cover art, no liner notes. So many reasons to appreciate coming up when I did. Would have been a real shame to miss out on getting to listen to records. Which is not the same as not getting to listen to music. Having the whole record thing was good, A sides, B sides, etc. etc. etc., but it’s really about the music besides which just because there’s no sides today’s listening scene offers new delights of its own.

Another B side single was The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” “Wouldn’t it Be Nice” was A.  Back in the day you could hold the 45 in your hands and flip it over and over and over, but you couldn’t get a digital download of the BBC Music CGI music-video cover for any of your devices.

the best songs

August 21, 2015

I was reading around in Nick Hornby’s “31 Songs” and it got me thinking about how some songs get into your head while some get into your soul. Then “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down”f rom Kristofferson shuffled up on my iPod reminding me that the best songs do both.

I first heard this recording in Marfa,Texas when I went down there with some good pals. We stayed at the Thunderbird where the rooms come equipped with turntables and the hotel makes its record collection available to guests. I took a few albums back to the room but l just couldn’t bring myself to listen to anything else.kriskristoffersonbeerforbreakfast1

Kristofferson’s voice: all reaching and gravely raspy, takes you straight down into the dark heart of “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down.” Listening to him you don’t doubt for a second that he’s been there done that more than one too many times. 

sunday-morning-coming-downMuch more so then the Ray Steven’s original 1969 release or even the John Cash recording which won him the Country Music Association Song of the Year Award in 1970. And that’s saying something.

I found a bittersweet and fitting Foo Fighters and Kris Kristofferson live performance from the 2005 Johnny Cash tribute on youtube noodling around on the internet.

There’s also some footage of a Sunday Mornin’ Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash duet from the Johnny Cash Christmas Show in 1978; this comes close but doesn’t quite get to the sobering bottom-hitting place of the “Kristofferson” track; it’s a visceral thing – through and through.

And yeah, it sounds country.

Cue it up. You’ll see.

the best songs to be continued….