American Songwriter » Behind the Song

The Cure, “Pictures Of You”

Jim Beviglia — Sun, 19 May 2013 19:05:24 +0000

Looking at old photographs is usually a happy occasion, reminding people of great memories and good times. Context is everything, however, and photos can sting if the person in the picture and the person viewing the picture are no longer part of each other’s big picture. That’s the set-up for The Cure’s “Pictures Of You,” an epic rendering of lost love and limitless regret. By 1989, Cure lead singer and songwriter Robert Smith was a bit weary of his band’s gradual movement toward the pop charts away from their moody early work. He felt he needed to create something lasting, a coherent album-length artistic statement. So he slowed down the tempos, turned up the torment, and wrote the songs that would make up Disintegration, the band’s melancholy masterwork which contained “Pictures Of You.” Smith explained his motivations for the album in a 1989 interview. “With Disintegration, I wanted to see if The Cure was still able to make a record which had a real substance and if we were able to express and share such deep feelings,” he said. “The kind of things you feel the first time somebody kisses you violently on the mouth. It's this kind of intensity, when you're young, that you must never forget with age. Never…” That kind of intensity is suggested by the music of “Pictures Of You,” as Smith and fellow guitarist Porl Thompson weave in and out of each other’s lines in mesmerizing fashion while keyboardist Roger O’Donnell props them both up with stirring chord changes. The music, combined with Smith’s impassioned vocal, gives the effect of him desperately dashing to stop his lover from getting on a plane and leaving for good, only, unlike the movies, the plane leaves before he gets there. Smith sets the tone immediately with a verse that suggests an obsession with the pictures of his former love: “I’ve been looking so long at these pictures of you/That I almost believe that they’re real/I’ve been living so long with my pictures of you/That I almost believe that the pictures are all I can feel.” Those pictures rocket the narrator into the past and a world full of falling skies, dying hearts, and screaming lovers. Extreme emotions sometimes call for extreme descriptions. There is clearly some admiration on his part toward the girl for conquering her demons (“And you finally found all your courage/To let it all go.”) Yet her freedom also came at his expense, and at song’s end, Smith’s vocal quivers with emotion no longer restrained as he sums up the narrator’s pain: “There was nothing in the world that I ever wanted more/Than to feel you deep in my heart/There was nothing in the world that I ever wanted more/Than to never feel the breaking apart/All my pictures of you.” You get the feeling that the narrator will be trying to piece those pictures back together for the rest of his weary existence. The Cure and Robert Smith at their peak captured immense, intense anguish better than anybody, and “Pictures Of You” is the ultimate manifestation of that ability. "Pictures Of You" I've been looking so long at these pictures of you That I almost believe that they're real I've been living so long with my pictures of you That I almost believe that the pictures are All I can feel Remembering You standing quiet in the rain As I ran to your heart to be near And we kissed as the sky fell in Holding you close How I always held close in your fear Remembering You running soft through the night You were bigger and brighter and whiter than snow And screamed at the make-believe Screamed at the sky And you finally found all your courage To let it all go Remembering You fallen into my arms Crying for the death of your heart You were stone white So delicate Lost in the cold You were always so lost in the dark Remembering You how you used to be Slow drowned You were angels So much more than everything Hold for the last time then slip away quietly Open my eyes But I never see anything If only I'd thought of the right words I could have held on to your heart If only I'd thought of the right words I wouldn't be breaking apart All my pictures of you Looking so long at these pictures of you But I never hold on to your heart Looking so long for the words to be true But always just breaking apart My pictures of you There was nothing in the world That I ever wanted more Than to feel you deep in my heart There was nothing in the world That I ever wanted more Than to never feel the breaking apart All my pictures of you

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Mary Gauthier, “I Drink”

Rick Moore — Sun, 12 May 2013 11:00:42 +0000

The most powerful songs are quite often the ones that are written from a writer's own experience, and such is the case with "I Drink" by Mary Gauthier. From Gauthier's 1999 album Drag Queens In Limousines, "I Drink" is the story of an alcoholic who seems resigned to, maybe even satisfied with, the life of an addict. Gauthier writes about scenes that happen in countless homes every day, singing from the point of view of the product of an alcoholic father. Much of this song isn't necessarily autobiographical, but it has become a career song for Gauthier because most of us experience an addiction to something, or have lived with the effects of alcoholism on some level. Having said that, many people don't buy the notion that to write an impactful song a writer must actually have lived the song. For instance, some people don't believe that it's necessary to have ever actually had the blues to really write or play the blues well. But Gauthier's example makes it clear that, even though she might not recommend learning things the hard way, her own experience helped her to write a song that moves listeners deeply. Gauthier doesn't shy away from explaining how she wrote the song and its significance in her life and career. On her website, she says, "I could not have written 'I Drink' if I was never addicted. Writing 'I Drink' required a perspective that an active alcoholic is not capable of, and a non-alcoholic cannot fully comprehend. I needed to go through what I went through to write it, and today I would not change a thing even if I could because for me, inside the curse — lives the blessing. The wisdom, vision and compassion that comes from taking a stroll to hell and back cannot be obtained any other way." In a somewhat unusual occurrence, country artist Blake Shelton covered “I Drink” on his 2004 album Blake Shelton’s Barn and Grill. Produced by Bobby Braddock, who should know a good song when he hears one, Shelton’s version is little less dark and more produced than Gauthier's. Shelton's covering the song was a rare Music Row tip of the hat to someone who is pretty left-of-center by 21st century Nashville standards. Crit Harmon, who produced Drag Queens In Limousines, is listed as the song's co-writer. "I Drink" He'd get home at 5:30, fix his drink And sit down in his chair Pick a fight with mama Complain about us kids getting in his hair At night he'd sit alone and smoke I'd see his frown behind his lighter's flame Now that same frown's in my mirror I got my daddy's blood inside my veins Fish swim Birds fly Daddies yell Mamas cry Old men Sit and think I drink Chicken TV dinner Six minutes on defrost, three on high A beer to wash it down with Then another, a little whiskey on the side It's not so bad alone here It don't bother me that every night's the same I don't need another lover Hanging 'round, trying to make me change Fish swim Birds fly Lovers leave By and by Old men Sit and think I drink I know What I am But I don't Give a damn Fish swim Birds fly Daddies yell Mamas cry Old men Sit and think I drink

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Pink Floyd, “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”

Jim Beviglia — Sun, 05 May 2013 15:25:38 +0000

Syd Barrett was really only an active participant on one Pink Floyd album, their enchanting 1967 debut The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, before drug abuse exacerbated pre-existing mental problems and forced the band to fire him. Yet his influence and inspiration on the four members of the group lasted well into the next decade as they became perhaps the most successful band of the 70’s. Their 1973 mega-seller, Dark Side Of The Moon, was largely a meditation on all the things in life that will drive you to the precipice of madness. On the 1979 double-album The Wall, lead songwriter Roger Waters created a burned-out rock star named Pink who bore more than a passing resemblance to his former bandmate. Nowhere was the connection to Barrett stronger than on 1975’s Wish You Were Here. It’s the album where Waters, feeling the weight of fame and expectations brought about by Floyd’s success, started to identify with Syd and composed the stunning tribute “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” to bookend the album. “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” is composed of nine parts, with each member of the band given a chance for their own spotlight along the way: David Glimour’s icy four-note guitar riff sets the tone for the whole song, Rick Wright’s bed of keyboards and synths bathe the proceedings in emotions ranging from comfort to fear, while Waters on bass and Nick Mason on drums keep the whole thing from floating off into the ether. Waters’ lyrics may be the best in his career. “Remember when you were young,” he starts. “You shined like the sun.” He alludes to Barrett’s removal from the band (“Well you wore out your welcome with random precision”) but also mentions the pressures that heightened the situation (“You were caught in the crossfire of childhood and stardom.”) What’s touching about the song is the way that Waters imagines his old friend somehow rising above his former problems, exhorting his friend to “shine” at the end of each refrain. Maybe that’s because Roger could see the sudden similarities between Syd and himself: “Pile on many more layers/And I’ll be joining you there.” That sense of kinship between Barrett and his former band exhibited itself in an almost mystical way when a practically unrecognizable Syd, who hadn’t seen the members of Floyd in years, randomly showed up in the studio as the band was recording “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” Waters was quoted in Nicholas Schaffner’s Floyd biography Saucerful Of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Story as being in tears at the appearance of “this great, fat, bald, mad person.” Syd Barrett died in 2006 at age 60. Yet he will live on forever in “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” the song where Pink Floyd came to terms with his absence by acknowledging that he had never really left. “Shine On You Crazy Diamond" Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun Shine on you crazy diamond Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky Shine on you crazy diamond You were caught in the crossfire of childhood and stardom Blown on the steel breeze Come on, you target for faraway laughter Come on, you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon Shine on you crazy diamond Threatened by shadows at night and exposed in the light Shine on you crazy diamond Well, you wore out your welcome with random precision Rode on the steel breeze Come on, you raver, you seer of visions Come on, you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine... ...Nobody knows where you are, how near or how far Shine on you crazy diamond Pile on many more layers and I'll be joining you there Shine on you crazy diamond And we'll bask in the shadow of yesterday's triumph Sail on the still breeze Come on you boy child, you winner and loser Come on you miner for truth and delusion and shine

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The Top 20 Townes Van Zandt Songs

Jim Beviglia — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:46:52 +0000

This List appears in our May/June 2013 issue. Subscribe here. Townes Van Zandt recorded just nine studio albums from his debut album in 1968 until his death in 1997, but those albums are so jam-packed with impeccable songs that it makes choosing just 20 of them a nearly impossible task. Nonetheless, it’s the perfect way to celebrate this strikingly unique and highly influential songwriter. 20. “The Catfish Song” There was a nine-year space between Van Zandt’s seventh and eighth studio albums, and by the time 1987’s At My Window rolled around, there was noticeable wear and tear on his vocals. Yet that change somehow only deepened his tales of love and loss, including this heartbreaker that serves as the album’s closing track. Accompanied by gospel piano, Townes sings sweetly and sadly about time past that cannot be recovered and dreams that float only so high before sinking down with the catfish forever more. 19. “Only Him Or Me” In Van Zandt’s blue musical world, the way his woeful narrator always seems to be leaving his love should be accepted as inevitable, like the rain falling or rivers flowing. It doesn’t make it any less painful, but, as this measured goodbye from Delta Momma Blues proves, people separating is just a part of the endless cycle of gratitude and regret, joy and sorrow. It helps ease the blow when Townes sweet-talks his way out with moving lines like “Tomorrow’s half of what you got/Treat him good cause when I’m gone he’ll stay.” 18. “Why She’s Acting This Way” Townes’ second LP, Our Mother The Mountain, was produced by Jack Clement, who added nice touches like the burbling organ that underpins this track which closed out the album. What didn’t change from the first album to the second was the world-weary tone and the unfussy yet affecting poetics of the lyrics. The bottom line in this track is that the narrator doesn’t know “Why She’s Acting This Way,” but he spends a lovely five minutes or so detailing all of her confounding ways. 17. “I’ll Be Here In The Morning” Van Zandt used his 1969 self-titled album as an opportunity to re-record several songs from his debut album which he felt weren’t well-served the first time around. One of them is this touching promise to a girl waiting at home for her wandering love. The folky rendering on the Townes Van Zandt album definitely captures the song’s emotions a bit better. Even as the narrator roves from town to town, he can never forget the girl with the “bluely dancing eyes.” 16. “Flyin’ Shoes” “Same old song,” Townes wearily intones in the title track to his 1978 album, and there is no doubt that the themes of departure and loneliness were nothing new in his catalog. What separates this track from its predecessors are the significant musical flourishes. Van Zandt’s melodies often sounded best unadorned, but the touches added here, like lonely harmonica, tinkling piano, whining pedal steel, and heart-rending mandolin, make this song a gorgeous depiction of those familiar desolate motifs. 15. “Mr. Mudd And Mr. Gold” 1972 featured Van Zandt at the peak of his songwriting powers, releasing two albums filled to their brims with classics. High, Low And In Between included this stunning display of lyrical cleverness, as Townes imagines a card game where the cards themselves have a stake in who wins. Imagine a cross between Dylan’s “The Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest” and “Lily, Rosemary And The Jack of Hearts,” and imagine it all pulled off in a little over two minutes.

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Paul McCartney, “My Valentine”

Rick Moore — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 11:00:40 +0000

Writing a good love song, one that will bring tears to a woman's eyes quicker than a dozen roses (or in the case of a man's eyes, maybe quicker than tickets to a NASCAR race), is one of the hardest things any writer can do. Paul McCartney's written a few that are part of pop music history. But maybe none of them have been as genuine, or sound as effortless, as "My Valentine." From McCartney's Kisses On The Bottom album, "My Valentine" is one of only two originals on this album of standards that McCartney wisely released just before Valentine's Day in 2012. The song couldn't be any more beautiful in its simplicity, a few lines about how his sweetheart predicted that the sun would shine again after a storm, and his acknowledgment of what her love has done for him. Straightforward as that. The lyrics to the song are what love should be: simple and honest. And as it is so often stated, lyrics like this normally don't come out of a session where someone is trying to write a certain type of song; they usually are spontaneous and heartfelt, reflecting the mood and feelings of the moment, something McCartney confirmed in a story published by the U.K. Daily Mail in 2012. "We were on holiday together, (third wife) Nancy and I, and it was raining, and it kind of led me towards a kind of minor-y type thing and the sentiment of you know, oh it’s raining," McCartney was quoted as saying. "So I was in the foyer of the hotel, knocking around on this old Joanna that the Irish pianist played in the evenings and because it was raining, because it was not sort of sunny and bright and everyone milling around, this minor-y melody came out and the words were pretty much what I was thinking really, they just spilled out." Easy for him to say. If only the rest of us could have things "just spill out" that way. The song was as effective and timeless as any of the other great songs written by the masters he covered on Kisses On The Bottom, putting him squarely in their ranks. Nobody but McCartney could combine those lines with a killer melody in a minor key, of all things. Trying to write a love song in a minor key is automatically asking for trouble, as minor keys typically don't lend themselves to positive, uplifting thoughts and feelings. But McCartney, being McCartney, got away with doing this song in C minor and including various minor chords in the changes as well. So the next time you want your sweetheart to do, well, whatever it is you want, write a great, optimistic song about the day's events and throw in a bridge that explains why you pledge your love for eternity. Simple as that. "My Valentine" may overall be McCartney's greatest love song, and one that, being 70, he might not have time to beat. "My Valentine" by Paul McCartney What if it rained We didn't care She said that someday soon the sun was gonna shine And she was right, this love of mine My valentine As days and night Would pass me by I’d tell myself that I was waiting for a sign Then she appeared, a love so fine My valentine And I will love her for life And I will never let a day go by Without remembering the reasons why She makes me certain that I can fly And so I do Without a care I know that someday soon the sun is gonna shine And she'll be there, this love of mine My valentine What if it rained We didn't care She said that someday soon the sun was gonna shine And she was right, this love of mine My valentine

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The Star Spangled Banner Is Not A Song, or Is It?

Randy Klein — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:34:09 +0000

All the hoopla about the wonderful vocalist, Beyonce, lip or not lip synching our national anthem, made me think about the song itself. Why is the Star Spangled Banner so difficult to sing? First and most obvious, the Star Spangled Banner is a song composed with a fairly extensive vocal range. When performed in the key of ‘B flat’, the melodic range of the song is from a ‘B flat’ below middle ‘C’ to a high ‘F’. The total range of the piece is an octave and a half. So, it’s always a bit dicey when a vocalist doesn’t have the high ‘F’ for the word free. We all wait in great suspense to hear if he or she is going to hit the note that makes us feel the sense of glory, freedom, respect and national pride we have for the United States. But sometimes the unexpected happens. We stand and cringe because of the torturous execution of the song. Okay, the Star Spangled Banner is difficult to sing partly because it has somewhat of an extended range. If you are aware of the late Whitney Houston’s recording of the work, you would have to say that her rendition does inspire hope, faith and patriotism. Whitney nailed it! So, I guess the song simply requires an excellent vocalist. But, there are many songs with larger vocal ranges that don’t give a singer half as many problems as does the Star Spangled Banner. So, why is the Star Spangled Banner so difficult to sing? Is it possible that it isn’t a very well written song…or not a song at all? In the key of ‘B flat’, the first melodic phrase starts on the ‘F’ above middle ‘C’, jumping down a major triad, then jumping up a major triad, then up to the octave and then up to a major third above that. It finally slides down two notes and then jumps again down a sixth to the third and then finally up two notes to the fifth. The melody flops around like a fish in a rowboat. The high note on the word ‘Free…’ into ‘And The Home Of The Brave?’ is sung when the vocalist is exhausted and completely out of breath, making it difficult to get the sounds out. The melody at the end of the song from ‘Free…’ through ‘Home Of The Brave?’ also feels as if it could be the end of a song sung in a beer hall. (more about this later) The Star Spangled Banner sounds wonderful when played by a good military band. There is a visceral feeling you get when you hear it played in this way. It makes me wonder if those involved in the nurturing of our national anthem paid much attention to the vocal range or the lyrics. It seems as if they were more concerned with placing the emphasis on the nobility and authoritative sound that was felt when played by a military band. But, melody isn’t the only reason that the Star Spangled Banner is a vocalist’s nightmare. Songs are comprised of not only melody, but also by the words that are attached to each note. When a song has words and melody that meld together in perfect harmony, we call it ‘the marriage of the music and the lyric’. When the marriage is flourishing, you feel the melody and lyric as one entity. The Star Spangled Banner is not a great example of such a marriage. There are a great many issues with the lyric and they are as much the reason the song is difficult to sing as is the melody. (Read the lyric.)

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thru the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

(Now go back and forth from each comment to the lyric to better understand the problems.)

It really doesn’t have a memorable ‘chorus’ or ‘hook’.
It isn’t written in what we would call colloquial speech, so it is a bit awkward to speak the lyric and to memorize it
The structure of the song causes an aural disconnect for the listener. The lyric appears as if it is an AABA structure. The first A section (lines 1 and 2) parallels the second A section (lines 3 and 4). The B section (lines 5 and 6) is a different section entirely. But, the last A section (lines 7 and 8), looks similar to the first and second A sections, is set to totally different music. This makes it sound as if it is an entirely different section, Section C. The structure of the Star Spangled Banner reads like an AABA, but it sounds like an AABC.
We don’t really hear the rhymes as much as we normally would if it was a pop song that has a repeated rhyme scheme from verse to verse. The Star Spangled Banner has an irregular rhyme scheme. It is AB AB CC DD. So the rhymes do not lead the ear in a natural way.
It has too many s’s (esses) in the first three lines causing some annoying problems with sibilance. As an example: The second line Twilight’s Last… followed by Stripes… Starts… and Perilous….
In line four, there is a pronunciation problem caused by the sequence of words that begin with ‘w’, We… Watched… Were… The mouth muscles do not like the repetition of the ‘w’ sound.
In line 5, Rockets’ Red Glare… is yet another small tongue twister.
For me, the worst annoyance in the lyric is: Yet Wave… with Wave… set as a melisma (one syllable stretching over two notes). And, these two notes are descending. The melodic setting of the word Wave never seems positive or inspirational as indicated by Francis Scott Key’s lyric intention. Because of this melodic setting, it seems to be giving off another less hopeful message.

These combined issues concerning the lyric and the melody are what make the Star Spangled Banner so difficult to sing. There are numerous examples of a vocalist forgetting a line and messing up big time on TV, this includes the pros who attempt to conquer the beast. But, the most significant reason that the Star Spangled Banner is so difficult to sing is that, strictly speaking, it is NOT A SONG. It’s a POEM disguised as a SONG. When looking at the shape of the lyrics on a page, it looks like poetry and not like a standard lyric form. Poetry writing and song lyric writing are two different art forms, as different as night and day. Yes, you may be able to find some similarities here and there, particularly if a poem has rhymes in it. Also, musical motifs may repeat in a poem set to music as it does in a song. But for the most part, they are two different animals. A poem that is set to music is usually called a tone poem and the Star Spangled Banner is a tone poem running around in a song’s clothing. In investigating this horrible deception, I found myself digging deeper into the history of the creation of this piece to find out where it all went wrong. The Star Spangled Banner was penned on a rainy night in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key. He was awestruck and inspired by witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Chesapeake Bay by the British Royal Navy during the War of 1812. After the battle, he observed that the American flag was still flying proudly over the fort. The music was written by the English composer, John Stafford Smith. Key and Smith, a ‘one-hit’ song collaboration! But, the melody for our national anthem is actually from another John Stafford Smith composition, The Anacreontic Song. Composer stealing from himself! Not an original melody? Plagiarism in songwriting? OMG!!! The story goes like this: Key gets back from this moment in history and gives the poem to his brother-in-law, Judge Joseph H. Nicholson, who observed that the words fit the popular melody of The Anacreontic Song. The Anacreontic Song was the official song of the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century London gentlemen’s club comprised of amateur musicians. Judge Nicholson took the poem to a printer in Baltimore, who anonymously printed the first known broadside on September 17, 1814. From pen to published in 10 days! Amazing! Ok, a judge/brother-in-law; a secret society; amateur musicians and an anonymous printer! Sounds like a mini-series! Oh, by the way…Anacreon was a Greek poet who spoke in meter. On September 20, 1814, both the Baltimore Patriot and The American printed the song, along with the notation:"Tune: Anacreon in Heaven". The song quickly became popular. Soon afterwards, Thomas Carr of the Carr Music Store in Baltimore published the words and music together under the title: The Star-Spangled Banner, although it was originally titled: Defense of Fort McHenry. The song's popularity increased, and its first public performance took place in October, when Baltimore actor, Ferdinand Durang, sang it at Captain McCauley's Tavern (Remember, I mentioned earlier that that the song felt as if it might appropriately be sung by beer drinkers!) Washington Irving, then editor of The Analectic Magazine in Philadelphia, reprinted the song in November 1814. Wait, there’s more!!! By the early 20th century, there were various versions of the song in popular use. Seeking a singular standard version, President Woodrow Wilson asked the U.S. Bureau of Education to provide an official version. In response, the Bureau enlisted the help of five musicians to agree upon an arrangement. Writing by committee, what a concept, so ahead of its time!!! Okay, imagine the conversation between the five musicians. Musician 1- So, what do you think? Musician 2- We should keep this section. What do you think? Musician 3- We should keep that section. So, what do you think? Musician 4- I like both parts. What do you think? Musician 5- I’m not sure. How many cooks did it take to write the Star Spangled Banner? Here is where the story gets really interesting. The musicians involved in this collaboration were Walter Damrosch, William Earhart, Arnold J. Gantvoort, Oscar George Sonneck and John Philip Sousa. The standardized version that was agreed upon by these five musicians premiered at Carnegie Hall on December 5, 1917. An official handwritten version of the Star Spangled Banner shows that each measure of the work was approved by all members of the committee. Before 1931 other songs like Hail, Columbia and My Country, ‘Tis of Thee (also with a plagiarized melody from God Save The Queen), and others, would compete to become the national anthem of the United States. In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson ordered that the Star Spangled Banner be played at all military and on other appropriate occasions. The rest is history. It’s now played at all major events from the Superbowl, to the World Series, to NASCAR races, and at high school and college graduations from sea to shining sea. On March 3, 1931, a law signed by President Herbert Hoover stated that the Star Spangled Banner was adopted as the national anthem of the United States of America. That’s one way of getting a hit song…Executive order! Now we have no choice, the anthem must be sung and it is still a beast to learn. Christine Aguilera, Jose Feliciano, Beyonce, Aretha Franklin, and the vocalist from the high school chorus who sings it at the weekend football game will tell you that it isn’t an easy song to perform. Sadly, a Harris poll found that two thirds of Americans do not know all the words to the anthem. I wouldn’t suggest this song as an American Idol audition piece. So, now you know, the Star Spangled Banner is a tone poem/song, the music was borrowed and it was made a hit by Executive order of the President of the United States. Does it really matter if someone is lip synching or not? What matters is that we simply stand with pride, honor and give respect to our country as this moving but poorly crafted tone poem/song is sung. Oh by the way, the Star Spangled Banner has three stanzas! Yikes! * * * * Randy Klein is an award winning composer, pianist and educator, president - NYC Jazz label ‘Jazzheads’. Awarded Simons Public Humanities Fellowship; BMI Harrington Award; 4 Emmys; Winner USA Songwriting Competition - Jazz; Gold Records: Millie Jackson, Recordings: "Watch The Closing Doors"; Candy Staton, Black Sheep, Sesame Street; Discography: Randy Klein’s Jazzheads, Love Notes From The Bass, Underground Romantic, Invitation In, Piano Christmas, The Flowing, Sunday Morning; What’s Next? Documentary Film Scores: Free To Dance, Richard Wright – Black Boy (PBS/BBC). Beyond Tara – The Extraordinary Life Of Hattie McDaniel (AMC); Musicals: Move!, Royal Theatre Carre', Amsterdam; Flambé Dreams – New York Musical Theatre Network Next Link Show; Choral works: For My People- new musical work based on the poetry of Margaret Walker. New CD release, What’s Next? featuring Alex Skolnick on guitar and Boris Kozlov on electric bass guitar. His solo piano improvisations can be viewed at: Randy Klein Piano Improvisations He is currently completing a new book on songwriting for In Tune Partners, titled, ‘You Can Write A Song’. Master classes and residencies on songwriting, piano and business of music at: San Diego State University, University of Kansas, Jackson State University, James Madison University, Berklee College of Music. Coaches songwriters at SongU.com and teaches all levels of songwriting to a growing list of private students. rk@randykleinmusic.com

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Drive-By Truckers, “Ronnie And Neil”

Jim Beviglia — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 21:53:55 +0000

It’s sort of an answer record to an answer record. Or maybe it’s the last act in a trilogy. Whatever you want to call it, “Ronnie And Neil” by Drive-By Truckers is part of a continuum of rock songs that deal with the rich, complicated history of the American South and the way that history is represented. To properly understand the song, it’s important to know the history of the songs that preceded it. The story begins in 1970, when Neil Young, a Canadian, wrote the song “Southern Man,” which castigated racist elements in the South. That didn’t sit all that well with Ronnie Van Zant and the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, who responded with 1974’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” Van Zant name-checks Young and his song in that Top 10 hit, hinting that a true “Southern Man” doesn’t really need Neil’s point of view anyway. All of that back-and-forth served as the impetus for Drive-By Truckers breakthrough 2001 concept album Southern Rock Opera. As Truckers’ frontman Patterson Hood told the Birmingham News at the time of the album’s release, "It's about growing up in the South and people's misconceptions of that. You know, thinking everyone here is like George Wallace, and the TV footage of police dogs and the schoolhouse steps. But there was the whole Muscle Shoals music scene going on at the same time, with white musicians backing up people like Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett." “Ronnie And Neil” is, in many ways, the linchpin of that album, a song which examines how outsiders’ perception of the South is often influenced by pop culture representations that are far removed from reality. And yet Hood clearly shows his admiration for Young and Van Zant and their willingness to have an opinion and take on difficult topics in song. Hood clearly learned from their examples, as he fearlessly makes his own points regardless of what the rock legends might have said. “’Southern Man’ and ‘Alabama’ certainly told some truth,” Hood sings amidst the Truckers’ crunching guitar attack. “But there were a lot of good folks down here and Neil Young wasn’t around.” As for Skynyrd, Hood details how they utilized the legendary Muscle Shoals rhythm section in much the same way that Franklin and Pickett once did. He also intimates that Young and Van Zant didn’t hold a grudge because their similarities were ultimately much greater than their differences, as the chorus makes plain: “Ronnie and Neil, Ronnie and Neil/Rock stars today ain’t half as real.” Fans of the Drive-By Truckers would beg to differ though, because the band’s impeccable authenticity makes them worthy torch-bearers of the Southern rock tradition. Maybe somewhere down the road somebody will write their own answer to “Ronnie And Neil,” because it’s only fitting that this proud tradition continue. "Ronnie And Neil" Church blew up in Birmingham four little black girls killed For no goddamn good reason All this hate and violence can't come to no good end A stain on the good name A whole lot of good people dragged through the blood and glass Blood stains on their good names and all of us take the blame Meanwhile in north Alabama, Wilson Pickett comes to town To record that sweet soul music, that's Muscle Shoals sound Meanwhile in north Alabama, Aretha Franklin comes to town To record that sweet soul music, that's Muscle Shoals sound And out in California, rock star from Canada writes A couple of great songs about the bad shit that went down "Southern man" and "Alabama" certainly told some truth But there were a lot of good folks down here And Neil Young wasn't around Meanwhile in north Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd came to town To record with Jimmy Johnson, that's Muscle Shoals sound And they met some real fine people, not racist pieces of shit And they wrote a song about it and that song became a hit Ronnie and Neil, Ronnie and Neil Rock stars today ain't half as real Speaking their minds on how they feel Let them guitars blast for Ronnie and Neil Now Ronnie and Neil became good friends their feud was just in song Skynyrd was a bunch of Neil Young fans and Neil he loved that song So he wrote 'Powder Finger' for Skynyrd to record But Ronnie ended up singing "Sweet home Alabama" to the Lord Neil helped carry Ronnie in his casket to the ground And to my way of thinking, us southern men need both of them around Ronnie and Neil, Ronnie and Neil Rock stars today ain't half as real Speaking their minds on how they feel Let them guitars blast for Ronnie and Neil Ronnie and Neil, Ronnie and Neil Rock stars today ain't half as real Speaking their minds on how they feel Let them guitars blast for Ronnie and Neil Let them guitars blast for Ronnie and Neil

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Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, “Southern Accents”

Jim Beviglia — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:00:32 +0000

Unless you’ve been living in a Twitter-proof bunker for the past week, you’re probably aware of a certain cringeworthy country-rap collaboration that has mortified the music world. The less said about that mess, the better, but rest assured that there is a way for a songwriter to describe a complex heritage with honesty, pride, and emotion. For a shining example of that, take a listen to “Southern Accents,” one of the most moving songs of Tom Petty’s illustrious career. The song is the title track from a 1985 album that contains several songs that explore the South; album-opener “Rebels” even picks at the wounds left by the Civil War. Petty was born and raised in Florida, and it was the first time he’d ever attempted an LP with thematic overtones. “Southern Accents” is the perfect centerpiece for the album, summing up in a few deft strokes everything the songwriter intended to say. In the book Conversations With Tom Petty by Paul Zollo, Petty talked about the song’s origin. “I think when I started working on it, I had the title,” he said. “Because that’s what got me off on that trip, that title. I thought, ‘Ah, this is a great idea, because the South is so rich. It’s just this mythic kind of place.’” Petty used the lovely music he composed for the song to do much of the heavy lifting, as the melody somehow conjures both deep sorrow and deliverance from that sorrow. In that effort, he got a big assist from Jack Nitzsche, who arranged the orchestration on a song in which the Heartbreakers by and large sat on the sideline. “Southern Accents” works so well in part because Petty creates such a memorable character, flaws and all. This is a guy who’s struggling to find work and can’t seem to stay out of trouble: “That drunk tank in Atlanta’s/Just a motel room to me.” Yet it’s his big, broken heart that makes the most profound impact, especially in the gorgeous bridge when he hints at a lost love haunting him. A different woman comes to him in his dreams in the final verse: His Mom, who says a prayer for her wayward boy. The love he has for his family becomes intertwined with the love he has for the South, so it’s understandable that his defiance and pride would shine through in the refrain: “There’s a Southern accent where I come from.” So it turns out that the American South can be quite a fertile topic, as “Southern Accents” proves. It helps when you’ve got a talent like Tom Petty at the helm, because there’s nothing accidental about his songwriting brilliance. "Southern Accents" There's a southern accent, where I come from The young'uns call it country The yankees call it dumb I got my own way of talkin' But everything is done, with a southern accent Where I come from Now that drunk tank in Atlanta's Just a motel room to me Think I might go work Orlando If them orange groves don't freeze I got my own way of workin' But everything is run, with a southern accent Where I come from For just a minute there I was dreaming For just a minute it was all so real For just a minute she was standing there, with me There's a dream I keep having Where my mama comes to me And kneels down over by the window And says a prayer for me I got my own way of prayin' But everyone's begun With a sou thern accent Where I come from I got my own way of livin' But everything gets done With a southern accent Where I come from For more on Tom Petty, check out this writer's e-book on Amazon: Breakdown: Tom Petty's 100 Best Songs

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How Did They Write That? Hunter Hayes, “Somebody’s Heartbreak”

Doug Waterman — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:57:06 +0000

Written by: Hunter Hayes, Luke Laird, Andrew Dorff Recorded by: Hunter Hayes Peak Chart Position: No. 1 Billboard Country What's a typical day like in the life of Andrew Dorff? I love the mornings. I'm usually at the gym by 7 am, have something to eat and get ready for the day. One of my biggest hobbies/vices is smoking cigars, and I love a good mild cigar while doing emails and such before I write. Then it's off to writing by 10:30 am. I write til we're done, sometimes by 1 or sometimes til 6 or 7. Whatever it takes. Things are pretty chill at night unless there's a hockey game. I go to all the Preds games. When and where did you, Hunter and Luke write "Somebody's Heartbreak"? We wrote the song at our publishing building, at Universal Music. I believe it was February 2010. It may have been Valentine's Day actually. How much or how little did you edit it, during or afterward? Were there any phrases or words you can remember that were especially tough to make a final decision on? Basically just the title. It was originally gonna be called "Heartbreak Be Mine." Did you guys demo it or simply worktape it? How did it wind up getting cut and becoming the single? It was pretty pop sounding when we first demoed it. Hunter then took it and did his own little version that really changed people's minds about the song, that it could work for his project. It quickly went from too different for the project to one of the favorites. Who was the biggest cheerleader of the song, besides the writers? Cyndi Forman, one of our publishers really believed in it from day one. What do you enjoy most about writing songs in general? I love the process. I love having nothing in the morning and something by the afternoon or evening. It's pretty magical. Collaborating with the most creative people in the world is pretty awesome! What has the overall experience been like collaborating with Hunter and Luke? Those guys are pros. We have fun which is so important. Their talents blow me away really... Do you have any advice for aspiring or newly professional songwriters? Just believe in yourself. You have to know how to pick yourself up and dust yourself off in this business. It's a roller coaster of a profession. . .but it's worth everything that comes with it.

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Electric Light Orchestra, “Telephone Line”

Jim Beviglia — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 12:00:58 +0000

They had a name that sounded like the house band for a Muzak company, and they released albums with drawings of ornate spaceships on the covers. It was a recipe for a debacle, but Electric Light Orchestra also had a genius at the helm in Jeff Lynne, who peppered the airwaves in the late 70’s and early 80’s with some of the most pristine pop singles to ever come down the pike. Lynne had a knack for melding Beatlesque melodies, classical instrumentation, and impeccable production techniques to create ear candy that was impossible to resist. His technique worked well on the band’s up-tempo, rockabilly-flavored numbers, but it was really golden on the slow stuff. From 1976’s New World Record, “Telephone Line” was ELO’s breakthrough ballad, busting into the Top 10 on both sides of the pond. One of the reasons that the song was such a smash is that it described a situation recognizable to all. As ELO keyboardist Richard Tandy said of Lynne and the song in the documentary Mr. Blue Sky: The Story of Jeff Lynne and ELO, “I think everybody’s had an experience where they’ve had a bad telephone call with somebody they care about and the way it gets to you. And I think he captured that.” With the dial tone (specifically made to sound like an American phone to better court U.S. audiences) ringing and spacey synthesizers enveloping him, Lynne’s narrator seems at first to be making small talk with a former love. The anguish in his voice betrays his desperation and the fact that the “lonely nights” he mentions were probably only lonely on his end, and that’s before he reveals the kicker that she hasn’t even answered the phone. The inimitable wall of backing vocals which Lynne pioneered with ELO pipe in at that point as a kind of Greek chorus detailing the guy’s sorrow, until there’s nothing left for this sad sack to do but to address the telephone line itself. It takes just a single line in the exhilarating chorus to expertly describe the nether region this guy inhabits: “I’m living in twilight.” By the second verse, with strings slyly commenting on the proceedings, the narrator is reduced to begging for a more time in the futile hopes that the girl will pick up. How much time does he need? “Let it ring forever more,” Lynne sings. There have been some classic telephone songs in the rock era, but few have captured the helplessness of being on the lonely end of the receiver as well as “Telephone Line,” a masterpiece of melancholy courtesy of Jeff Lynne and ELO. "Telephone Line" "Hello, how are you? Have you been alright through all those lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely nights?" That's what I'd say, I'd tell you ev'rything if you pick up that telephone. Hey, how you feelin'? Are you still the same, don't you realize the things we did, we did were all for real, not a dream. I just can't believe they've all faded out of view. I look into the sky, The love you need ain't gonna see you through, And I wonder why the little things you planned ain't comin' true. Oh, oh, telephone line, Give me some time, I'm living in twilight. Oh, oh, telephone line, Give me some time, I'm living in twilight. O. K. so no one's answering, Well, can't you just let it ring a little longer, longer, longer oh, I'll just sit tight, Through shadows of the night let it ring forever more.

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