tiger c. roholt

london music and philosophy conference

(I'll be giving a 20 minute presentation on Merleau-Ponty and musical subtlety)

 

The Ripening of Nick Lowe

I've always been a Nick Lowe (and Rockpile) enthusiast, but I'm a bit blown away by the patient minimalism of his recent arrangements and solo performances.  Lowe's songs are so well-written that it is no surprise that they sound good with only guitar accompaniment, but what is a shock (to me) is that this manner of presentation seems to fit many of his songs even better than his old pop and roots, guitar-bass-drums arrangements.  Call it a ripening, because he is more open now (than in his earlier acoustic performances) to leave space, to go very slowly, to rest without vocal flourishes, and to embrace his sparse guitar style.  More than ever, he seems to be as plainly as possible presenting his songs—which is fresh air in this American Idol era of over-singing. 

"All Men Are Liars"  (2008) (written by lowe)

(Click "watch the video")

"I Read a Lot"  (2008) (written by lowe)

"The Beast in Me"  (2008) (written by lowe)

"Heart"  (2007) (written by lowe)

OLDER:

"So It Goes"  (1978: Nick Lowe and Rockpile) (written by lowe)

 

"Three Time Loser"  (1979: Dave Edmunds and Rockpile)

"Cruel to Be Kind"  (2007, originally released in 1980?)

Finally, here is a bad radio interview of Lowe and Elvis Costello in 1978.

The Beatles' Jesus Incident

In the mid-sixties, John Lennon said to a friend (who also happened to be a reporter):  "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first-rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."  Subsequently, all hell broke loose in the U.S.A, where the Beatles were about to embark on their second tour.  There were death threats, radio stations banned Beatle records, and there were Beatle-record burning events.  Below are links to a 25 minute, British, 1966, news report about the controversy and the Beatles' concerts in Memphis. The documentary includes an interview with the Klu Klux Klan Imperial Wizard [!], who calls the Beatles "mop heads," and says that he can't tell whether they're white or black. The documentary ends with an interview backstage with the Beatles in Memphis after their performances—they are c.r.a.n.k.y.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four

Here is the portion of the Beatles' Anthology—Director's Cut—that deals with this time period (featuring interviews with the three Beatles and George Martin, filmed around the turn of this century).

Anthology, Episode 6, Part 2

1966 Chicago Press Conference (raw footage)

To end this post on a positive note, here are two live performance clips from 1964. When people say that Ringo Starr invented Rock drumming, they have these sorts of performances in mind. Don't miss his playing on the guitar solo of the first track, and notice that his heel is not resting on the kick drum pedal. 

"I Saw Her Standing There"

"Long Tall Sally" 

Windows Music

Here is music created entirely with the sounds of Windows XP and 98. (The sounds we hate most made into something interesting.)