record-of-the-day

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not great

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Let's talk about Tecumseh Valley, the second track off of For the Sake of the Song (also one of the songs off the record that would be re-recorded later) and the song that got Van Zandt his record deal.

The For the Sake of the Song version of the track includes a speedy fingerpicking guitar pattern by Van Zandt that is backed by bustling percussion and pretty background "oohs" and "aahs."

The song describes the life of a woman named Caroline, an impoverished woman who turns to prostitution and ultimately succumbs to her depressive thoughts and ends her life.

The song is a beautifully sad ballad and is a perfect example of Van Zandt's masterful lyrics, though there is an important distinction between the lyrics of this version and the re-recorded one. The 1968 version does not openly say that Caroline was a prostitute, "she turned to walking down the road, with all the hate inside her." The re-recorded version has the lyric "she turned to whorin' down the road, with all that lust inside her." What does this mean? I don't know, maybe Townes felt more nihilistic when recording the second version, because the verse prior is about Caroline's father dying.

"They found her down beneath the stairs That led to Gypsy Sally's And in her hand when she died was a note that cried 'Fare thee well, Tecumseh Valley'"

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Let's talk about Townes Van Zandt, the revolutionary underground folk singer-songwriter.

A self proclaimed "hick from Texas," Van Zandt lived an incredibly tumultuous and confusing life. Born in Fort Worth to a wealthy Texan family (I supposed he was a "hick" in spirit), Townes was somewhat of a boy genius. He was a smart, creative child who possessed a high IQ but he wasn't without his troubles. In college, he would drink recklessly. This coupled with bouts of depression caused his family to admit him to insulin shock therapy. This treatment erased a large part of Van Zandt's long-term memory and did nothing to his substance abuse and depression.

After getting admitted to a pre-law program at Houston, he attempted to enlist into the air force but was turned away because of his he was "an acute manic-depressive who has made minimal adjustments to life." Me and you both.

After the death of his father, Townes dropped out and became a full-time troubadour. After a few years of performing consistently in clubs and bars, he was convinces to move to Nashville where he would meet his long-time producer "Cowboy" Jack Clement.

Throughout Van Zandt's career, he was a recluse and rarely performed big shows. He also dealt with substance abuse issues, facing addictions to heroin, cocaine, and alcohol throughout his life. His relationships were also incredibly turbulent. His third wife had coaxed him into signing off the royalties to his back catalog to her and the children they shared after they divorced. He would often visit the house of his ex-wife and empty his pockets to her.

In his final years, he was impoverished and ill, and in love with a woman who lived in Germany. He spent his final months in the care of his friends, who attempted to help him live as much as they could, as he often denied any medical attention. He passed away on New Years Day 1997 from cardiac arrhythmia. He was 52.

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TODAYS RECORD: FOR THE SAKE OF THE SONG BY TOWNES VAN ZANDT (1968)

For the Sake of the Song is the debut album of underground country singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. It showcases Van Zandt's poetic lyrics, impeccable storytelling, somber voice, and masterful guitar work.

Many of the songs on this record would pop up on future Van Zandt records, with some becoming his most well known.

For the Sake of the Song was a bit polarizing for the fans of Van Zandt at the time, as his simplistic one-man shows seemed to be covered in Phil Spector-like wall of sound production. Regardless of the sound, Van Zandt's knack for songwriting was able to break through the wall of sound and put the entire folk scene on notice. A genius was in the midst.

Van Zandt is quoted, "I was awe stricken when I first went to Nashville. A young Texas folk singer suddenly surrounded by the best players, producers and engineers in the world. I sat in a chair and sang when they told me to. I love the record because it was my first." In the spring of 1994, Van Zandt elaborated to Aretha Sills: "Got a publishing company, made a record, For the Sake of the Song, and it’s now been re-released under the title The First Album. I like it, but I had to re-record about four of the songs, because I was just totally taken — not on purpose — but totally taken off guard. I was surrounded by ten of the best musicians in the world. Boy, and I’m a hick from Texas, you know? I’m a cowboy hippie from Texas and all of a sudden I’m playing these songs and I was just showing ‘em how they went and just playing. And then I realized toward the end of the record that that’s not how the song goes. That’s not how it was written, so on the next record I had veto power and listened and took equal charge."

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Let's talk about Common People.

AHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHH YOULL NEVER WATCH YOUR LIIIIFE SLIDE OUT OF VIEW AND DANCE AND DRINK AND SCREW BECAUSE THERES NOTHING ELSE TO DOOOOO.

I am biased with this song, I think a lot of people are. It is hard not to listen to this song and not like it. I bet Margaret Thatcher would not be able to help herself from tapping her big red heels on an Irishman to this song. It's just...perfect.

It feels silly trying to talk about the song, so here is a quick rundown before I hit you with a bunch of quotes. The song is a ballad, duh, and tells the story of Cocker teaching a foreign rich girl how to be poor.

The song isn't just a story, its a critique. The song is a blatant expose on the marketers of Britpop culture. Many bands who were labeled Britpop hated the term, and many believed it was a just a marketing tactic and not a movement. Britpop glamorized growing up poor, having casual sex in nightclub bathrooms, getting beaten up by blokes who called you a queer, and everything in between. There is nothing glamorous about it. If you haven't lived it, you just don't understand.

"Rent a flat above a shop Cut your hair and get a job And smoke some fags and play some pool Pretend you never went to school But still you'll never get it right 'Cause when you're laid in bed at night Watching roaches climb the wall If you called your dad he could stop it all, yeah"

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Let's talk about Something Changed, the seventh track off of Different Class. A beautiful love song with a wonderful string arrangement played during the choruses.

The song is personal to me, one of the "our songs" that I've had to try and erase from memory. It's a healing exercise to come back to it and realize I'm not sad anymore. Something did change, for the better or for the worse, I don't know, but something changed. It's just how life is sometimes, and it can fucking suck or it could be amazing.

"Give us a kiss to celebrate here today."

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Let's talk about Disco 2000, the fifth song off of Different Class. Without a doubt, Disco 2000 is the most commercial rock song on the album. The song still has Cocker's blowy (haha) whisper and hints of sex ("You were the first girl to get breasts." Eugh), but it really is just a love song.

Cocker croons about a young love he remembers fondly (haha, fondle). It's a bit of a sad tune, with Cocker mulling over the fact he's seen his childhood best friend get basically ran through. The music video tells a different story, one with a happy ending (wink). Two young adults meet at a club and get at it, is there anything in life more simple?

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Let's talk about Mis-Shapes and Sorted For E's & Wizz, the second and third singles for the album Different Class, released as a double A-side after the summer success that was Common People (We'll get to it).

Firstly, Mis-Shapes is the song that starts off the record, and it immediately throws us into an argument that anyone who wasn't a working class Englishman in the 90s wouldn't know anything about. Cocker speaks of broken biscuits and slaps in the mouth while openly speaking of his disgust for those who think they're better than him.

The song is your average Pulp track, filled with loud guitars and synths with a structure that of a classical tune. Cocker's lyrics are inspired by his youth in Sheffield, being seen as an outcast. Although he would later become uncomfortable with the songs lyrical theme, the song is about uniting with your misfits in arms and fighting back. The music video is exactly what the song represents: a class war.

Speaking of the music video, the first song that plays while the people in the club are dancing is the other A-side, Sorted For E's & Wizz, a funky disco rock song about taking drugs and going to festivals. The song is much less class-oriented and mostly just a song of the times. It's fun man, just sort out.

"Oh, is this the way they say the future's meant to feel? Or just 20,000 people standing in a field And I don't quite understand just what this feeling is But that's okay cause we're all sorted out for E's and wizz"

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TODAYS RECORD: DIFFERENT CLASS BY PULP (1995)

Different Class is the fifth studio album by seminal Britpop band Pulp. The album is a 90s English masterclass, showcasing aspects of the club scene, romance, sex, and of course, the art of being British.

Fronted by the flamboyant prophetic poetic Jarvis Cocker, Pulp had spent years in the underground producing every type of popular music that was on the charts in Britain at the time. Finally, with their release of the singles "Babies" and "Razzmatazz", and the record His N Hers, they gained commercial success and shot from indie band to superstars over the course of a year.

With Different Class, Pulp created the Britpop record. The album has sex, it has synths, it has flamboyant vocals, it has class struggle, it has the beating heart of every young British person pulsing their blood through the grooves of its vinyl.

Different Class is in a different class.

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not feeling it

kinda dont wanna do this anymore. i dont think anyone would care if i stopped posting these. I have two more records queud up. i wanna start doing videos instead

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Let's talk about Bird Gerhl, in which Anohni finally catches flight.

Throughout the album, there is a theme of being stuck, or trapped. This could be due in large part by Anohni's struggles with gender identity throughout her life, as the album was released before she publicly came out.

Regardless of those struggles, the sense of entrapment, the hopelessness, Anohni soars above her piano, above the stage, and spreads her wings. She's caught wind now, and she is soaring higher than everyone and everything.

Anohni becomes the bird gerhl.

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Let's talk about Fistful of Love, the seventh song off of I Am a Bird Now. It's the longest song off of the record, and features guitar and spoken word by Lou Reed, a childhood hero of Anohni.

The song is your average, beautiful ballad by Anohni. It's got its simplistic origin, and it lifts off into a barage of fists. Fistfuls of love. The lyrics depict a person pleading with their distant, abusive lover to hit them, to show them small signs of devotion and touch them, just touch them, anything.

It's the perfect depiction of abusive relationships, and the feeling of hopelessness you have when you learn to enjoy the pain your lover gives you. You love them after all, so why fight back?

As previously stated, the song features Lou Reed on the beginning of the track and during the "funky" section of the song playing guitar. The title of the song could be an homage to Reed's "Satellite of Love," as Anohni is a huge fan, and was friend, of Reed's.

Anohni had previously worked with Reed on his album The Raven, singing a rendition of Perfect Day. During a tour in 2003, Anohni would open for Lou and play the rendition live as a closer.

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Let's talk about You Are My Sister, the fifth track off of I Am a Bird Now. The song is a duet between Anohni and one of her childhood heroes, Boy George. The song is a beautiful ballad, a dialogue between two sisters.

The song is almost biographical between Anohni and Boy George. When Boy George sings the lyrics "all your dreams will come true," it feels like he's directing it at Anohni. "You're going to go far kid, I love you." In general terms, it is really about the bonds between people. The way we all have ups and downs with those we love, but we truly love them regardless of what happens.

The song is driven by Anohni's masterful piano playing backed by beautiful acoustic guitars. The song ends with George and Anohni singing:

"You are my sister And I love you May all of your dreams come true I want this for you They're gonna come true (gonna come true)"

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Let's talk about Hope There is Someone, the first track off of I Am a Bird Now. The album starts with Anohni at her barest. Piano and vocals filling up the songs first half until the song explodes into a cacophony of melodic bliss in its final moments.

While researching the record, I found this quote from Brian Howe about the song.

Anohni starts her record off by supposedly catching flight, but we are not there yet. We will get there later, but we are not ready to soar. We may spread our wings.

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TODAYS RECORD: I AM A BIRD NOW BY ANOHNI AND THE JOHNSONS (2005)

I Am a Bird Now is the second studio album by the NYC-based musical ensemble Anohni and the Johnsons, fronted by English-born singer-songwriter Anohni Hegarty. The album was a critical and commercial success, earning her the Mercury Music Prize.

The album is a somber, poetic exploration on gender identity, sexuality, grief, melancholy, and joy. The songs are based on piano, played by Anohni, who is backed by her backing band of Johnsons, Rufus Wainwright, Devendra Banhardt, and her musical heroes Lou Reed and Boy George.

The album is full of beauty and grace, topped with Anohni's beautiful singing voice that sweeps over every single song with one of the strongest vibrato's ever heard in modern music.

The cover depicts Warhol superstar Candy Darling in her deathbed, surrounded by flowers in monochrome. This picture was chosen specifically to celebrate the queer culture of New York City, and to honor those who paved the way for Anohni to earn her Mercury Music Prize, and become the first openly transgender person to win an Academy Award.

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Let's talk about the Number One Song in Heaven, the final track on the album No. 1 in Heaven. The song is split into two parts, the marching first half that is filled with choir-like synths and slow synth tom fills, and the second half which was released as the single version of the song which is much more pop-based and fast.

The song is sang in the perspective of the singer of the number one song in heaven, telling a man he is dead by singing him...the song...that is number one in heaven...I think...it makes sense when you listen to the song I promise.

This was the lead single off the record and was definitely the most well received as it became a top 20 hit in the UK and reaching 5 in Ireland, but unfortunately Heaven does not keep track of their charting records, so we may never know if the song was really the number one in Heaven...

"This is the number one song in heaven Why are you hearing it now, you ask Maybe you're closer to here than you imagine Maybe you're closer to here than you care to be"

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Let's talk about La Dolce Vita, the third song on No. 1 in Heaven. With sweeping, constantly rising choral backing vocals (which are either synths or just interestingly mixed chorus-backing vocals). The songs melody gives off a very Bond vibe, or a French crime film.

The lyrics are from the perspective of a gold digger talking to her man.

Also, I love how Ron lip syncs the song in the video, and Russell's sweater is nice.

"Life isn't much, but there's nothing else to do La Dolce Vita"