GMVW # 8: "Top of the Pops"

Gem Music Video of the Week #8: Top of the Pops

Song:  Senses Working Overtime by XTC

(Songwriter: Andy Partridge)

February 28, 2008

My good buddy Kurt and I have shared a laugh for many years at the expense of the clientele at the Plough and Stars in Cambridge MA (where, by the way, you have to walk across the stage to go to the bathroom, which gets tricky during a set).  Our thought is that if you are having one of those 'boy am I ugly' days, head to the Plough and Stars, where you will instantly feel like a million bucks.  There are times when a glance around this club makes you feel like you are in the bar scene of the first Star Wars movie. 

Ahhh, but most folks who frequent live music haunts like the Plough and Stars (i.e. the Tam, the old Channel, the old E.M. Lowes in Lowell, CBGB's, Nightstage, the Middle East, The Rat, etc.) know where their priorities are.  Whenever I go to one of these joints, I enjoy the occasion when I can break from the crew for a while and connect with the regulars, particularly the loners. 

Often, you find wisdom in these circles, and more often than not, conversations sway to music. 

Which leads to the Gem Music Video of the Week.  Rock Music is pretty near impossible to rank, but when you break it down to one of its sub-categories, say Pop, it gets a bit easier.  Many big-time magazines have tried to rank Pop songs, but it's from these night club ramblings and listening to late-night DJs (who are slotted in these 3rd shifts usually because their substance far outweighs their style) and their call-in listeners that I've gotten the inside scoop.  Granted their opinions are far from unanimous, or even of a majority.  However Gem Music Video of the Week, "Senses Working Overtime" has clearly percolated it's way to the top.

Who am I to argue? Somehow XTC, a middle-of-the-road band, was able to capture lightning in a bottle when they wrote this song.  It's a darn fun song to listen to. 

So, the question then becomes, can it be beat?  Well, as Dave hilariously pointed out to me in an earlier Gem Music Video of the Week, the song could clearly use "More Cowbell!!" (type these 2 words in you tube to find the multi-hit reference if you don't know).

Enjoy the song (below) and the weekend.... Pete

"And I can see, hear, smell, touch, taste

 And I've got 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...."

Gem Music Video: Senses Working Overtime

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyX75NpibdU

- Pete

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About the Video: 1982, appears to be the original video.  A couple of insets lead it off.  A live clip, although it appears to be in studio

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Best Feedback: Fred

Outstanding.  You never were a "POP" guy, which makes this Gem choice all the more interesting.  I have become very POPPY with the music kel and Lil listen to, but will never forget my roots.

GMVW # 7: "A Declaration"

Gem Music Video of the Week # 7: A Declaration

Song: All You Need is Love by The Beatles

(Songwriters: John Lennon and Paul McCartney)

February 21, 2008

In 1967 a program was broadcast worldwide called 'Our World'.  It was the first satellite broadcast ever and the first viewed by millions.  The premise was to showcase a diversity of world cultures.  While other countries focused on more traditional activities (knitting in Canada, clog dancing in Venezuela, etc), Britain had the amazing insight to turn to the Beatles. 

'All You Need is Love', Gem Music Video of the Week, never appeared on an original Beatles studio album.  However, the song/video has a studio feel to it.  The Beatles aren't posing on a stage like you would expect in a live broadcast.  They are mixed in with the crowd (which included Clapton, Jagger, Keith Moon) and orchestra....a statement that reflects the times.  John Lennon, who wrote the song, looks unusually uplifted (as opposed to his more typical sarcastic veneer).

Britain, of all countries, was telling the rest of the world to lighten up!

In 1987, Rolling Stone Magazine hosted a prime time show which focused on the then 20 year history of the magazine (I've got the video if anyone wants to borrow it).  The show included great interviews with many musicians including George Harrison.  Beatle George discussed the 'All You Need is Love' event 20 years earlier, and brought up another interview he had not long before with a reporter who asked him cynically, 'Do you still believe that all you need is love'. George's response.... 'Absolutely!'.

So, here's a video to  honor the days when kids were streaking across Dean Junior College campus and thru the Franklin High School cafeteria, and others who were sticking flower stems into the gun barrels pointed in their direction.

Gem Music Video: All You Need is Love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTF_wJW7N4g&NR=1

- Pete

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About the video: Explained in the text above

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Best Feedback:  Jack

Hi Pete:

Amazing they could sing this while chewing gum.  Also note I think there are a total of 4 songs reference in that piece.  The opening is long live the Queen or some such, then there's All You Need, then you hear a british musical piece played by the orchestra when they repeat "Love is all you need", of course followed by "She Loves You Yeah Yeah Yeah"!  Great piece!!

-Jack

 

GMVW # 6: "Biting the Hand That Feeds You"

Gem Music Video of the Week # 6: Biting the Hand That Feeds You

Song:  Radio, Radio by Elvis Costello

(Songwriter: Elvis Costello)

February 14, 2008

When I first saw Elvis Costello in a video, I wasn't sure what to make of him.  The anger fit, but it was pouty.  Then there was that revenge of the nerds look.  I was only a few years out of junior high school.  This was a bit hard to swallow.  Lucky for me I was young and able to get over this first impression.  It was not long before I was:

>  Wearing out the grooves to the "My Aim is True" album

>  Plowing my way to the stage at a scorching hot, open festival seating, Cape Cod Coliseum show (likely shedding 10 pounds in the process)

> Dubbing 'Less than Zero' the theme song during a great road trip with the Canadian crew (Ottawa to Vermont to Franklin to Cape Cod to NY City to Pennsylvania back to Ottawa) ** this was at the same time Dad, Fred & Joe went to Texas to see Flutie and BC in the Cotton Bowl

"Radio, Radio", Gem Music Video of the Week, is likely about the restrictive nature of state-owned BBC Radio in Elvis' home country, England.  It certainly could not have been about stations like 104.1 WBCN in Boston, which at the time was very independent, creative and spontaneous.  The song does relate to what eventually became of WBCN and many other stations around the country, which were bought out by mega-radio conglomerate corporation, Clear Channel.  I never thought Rock and Roll could be neutered.... but it was!  At least on the radio it was.  It may never fully recover, even with the advent of digital radio, which thus far fractures it's audience into format-centric factions.  As far as I'm concerned, the best radio stations out there, though few and far between, remain the small independently owned ones.

Enjoy the great vitriol!

"I want to bite the hand that feeds me

 I want to bite that hand so badly

 I want to make them wish they'd never seen me"

Gem Music Video: Radio, Radio

http://www.spike.com/video-clips/0fp6im/elvis-costello-radio-radio

- Pete

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About the Video: This is the actual made-for MTV style music video of this song (starts out with a miniature Elvis in front of a juke box)

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Best Feedback: Fred

Pete....truly another gem.  I think Elvis was one of the first albums that made me feel as though I was graduating from Beatles and Stones

Have a good one

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Also: Becca

Hey Pete,

Elvis was one of my first two albums ever owned...Jimmy gave them to me for Christmas (My Aim is True and you'll gag to this next one...."Player"). He knew I liked the song Red Shoes but I don't think either one of us had heard any other cuts at that point. I used to sing it at soccer practice in high school and as I recall, nobody on the team had ever heard of Elvis. It's amazing how quickly a musician can take off.

- Bec

GMVW # 5: "A Gale Blowing in My Face"

Gem Music Video of the Week # 5: A Gale Blowing in My Face

Song: A Little is Enough by Pete Townshend

(Songwriter: Pete Townshend)

February 7, 2008

The one regret I have of my 1986 summer tour of Europe with Bob was not catching Pete Townshend in Niece France on his first ever solo tour.  It was a mini tour consisting of only 3 shows (one in Niece and 2 in Bristol England) and we happened to wander into Niece 4 days after the show.   At the time, it was rare to hear Townshend do any solo (non Who) stuff so it would have been quite a treat.  I remember hearing about the show when we got there and feeling pretty lousy about the missed opportunity.  Later that year I bought the live album and not too soon after the video. 

This is one of the best songs from that concert and one of my favorite songs (I believe Bec agrees).  The song, "A Little is Enough" is off of Townshend's first true solo album, "Empty Glass", which is one of my favorite albums.  Townshend is one of the few tortured artists (rarely satisfied with his work) I can appreciate which is one of the many reasons why his music has always resonated with me.  Below the Gem Music Video of the Week, I've included some bonus tracks from the Empty Glass album that were released as promo videos and never saw the light of day when the album came out in 1980.

"Just like a sailor heading into the seas,

  there's a gale blowing in my face

  the high winds scare me but I need the breeze

  and I can't head for any other place"

Gem Music Video: A Little Is Enough

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBRG-KI_UWk

Rough Boys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkT8W6u81Ks

I am an Animal.  I was originally considering this for Gem of the Week.  Such a great song.  Wish I knew what it was about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqEhi5fJUTg&feature=related

The title track. Pete's younger brother Simon is bouncing around looking eerily like a young Pete.  Considering the serious lyric contents of the song, it appears Pete is not so happy near the end of the song to see his brother bouncing so joyfully.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K04LkXsDaTU&feature=related

Keep on Working

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkLCsXM66-4

- Pete

About the video: This is the official live video footage of Townshend’s 1986 Deep End tour.  The other videos are from the release period of Empty Glass.  Two are on stage (‘I am an Animal’ and ‘Empty Glass’) and the other 2 are not (‘Keep on Working’, ‘Rough Boys’)

Best Feedback: Becca

I most certainly do agree Pete....Pete's Deep End Live CD (with "A Little is Enough") was literally the first CD that I ever bought (a gift for Dave that turned out to be one of my favorite CDs ever).

Also: Fred

Can’t believe it took 5 weeks to get to one of my clips!  You are out of the fan club

              - Pete T

GMVW # 4: "A Touch of Americana"

Gem Music Video of the Week # 4:  A Touch of Americana

Song: Our Town by Iris Dement

(Songwriter: Iris Dement)

January 31, 2008

Here's a touch of Americana.  The song "Our Town" was written and sung by Iris

Dement.  She's a staple on the folk circuit.  I am sure Jeff Strause (cc'd here) has seen her on a number of occasions.  It's a great song about a town which has (in the singers eyes) changed beyond recognition. 

One of the few weekly series TV shows I have ever enjoyed was Northern Exposure.  The best part of the show was the last five minutes, which always did a nice job of capturing that night’s show in a nut shell.  The show lost a bit of its edge in the last 2 years of its run, but the very last show closed with this song.

The first link is a live performance on Austin City Limits by Iris Dement.  The second is the closing moments of the final episode of Northern Exposure (with the studio version playing in the back ground).

"Over there is where I bought my first car, it turned over once and then it never went far"

Gem Music Video: Our Town

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9-pDSYPrio&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRlaZ5zBDjA

- Pete

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About the video: Iris Dement at Austin City Limits some time in the late 90’s

Best Feedback: Jeff Strause

Hey there Pete, Iris is playing the Iron Horse on 3/6, I may get up to it depending where I'm at by then with stuff at home.  Although by the time I decide, it may be sold out.  Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion are opening too, which makes it quite a bill.

I never got to mention back to you about the Richard Thompson links a few back.  I suppose I am about the same place with him now as I was back in the early 90s.  Seen too much, burned out for now.  I have seen about 10 times in the last 15 yrs, but past up several others.  He is always a very consistent performer but unlike some people (Iris included) who I could happily go see every week, I feel differently about him and I am not sure why.  I even enjoy a lot hearing most covers of his songs.  Del McCoury doing 52 Vincent is phenomenal.  If you haven't heard it  I will get you one of his live shows.  What you may not have been aware as far as my experience with RT, I listened pretty heavily for a few short years in college and afterwards to the early Fairport albums, especially Full House and Liege and Leaf to a lesser extent, and then didn't listen a lot until moving to MA, and then listened a lot to the solo stuff for a few years.  And in the past several years after collecting a good number of live shows, I listened quite a bit for a while again, but then kind of put him aside.  Below is a list of the live shows I have, also a list of the Jonathan shows.  Most of these have come with some kind of set list and venue info, one of these days I will pull them all together into one data CD you can have for reference, along with the Rick D stuff.  I have most of the shows that I traded or downloaded compiled as compressed files (FLACs or SHNs, which is the way they come) onto data DVDs, so it is a little easier to find and get at things, but there are over 1000 of them now, each with about 6 to 8 shows, and then several thousand earlier ones of just audio disks.  Oh well, it keeps me with something to do ( as if I needed ...).

GMVW # 3: "Seminal Strings"

Gem Music Video of the Week # 3: Seminal Strings

Song: St. Peter by Flash and the Pan

(Songwriters: Harry Vanda and George Young)

January 24, 2008

Flash and the Pan lived up to their name, but not before releasing a few unique, hits in the late 70's and early 80's. This band was actually a studio-only band made up of 2 permanent members... Harry Vanda (tall guy in video) and George Young (short guy).  The song of theirs that I remember enjoying first was "Walking in the Rain", but it was this song, "Hey, St Peter", which catapulted to my list of great songs.  It's mostly the bridge of piano and strings which does it for me, but the whole song in general is top notch.

The video is another matter.  "Video Killed the Radio Star" certainly applied to many bands in the 80's and this video is a perfect example.  These guys are totally goofing in the video and in the process, throwing a semi-serious song down the toilet.  But, it is funny.  I particularly like St. Peter finally listening to the singer’s plea near the end.  His reaction is classic early MTV.

Aside to Dale: Thanks again for lending me the album back when I lived in

Waltham.  When you said I could have it for 17 days, I thought you said 17 years!

Dad will remember this song, I'm sure.  Perhaps the video will give the song some context.

Must be heard with the volume dial cranked to 11.

Gem Music Video: St. Peter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz48dyXTFpQ

 - Pete

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About the Video: This is the actual made-for MTV style music video of this song

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Best Feedback: Fred

wow.  Bring back low-budget videos

Another real gem.  Thanks Pete

Also: Mom & Dad

Pete...we loved this one...and I knew almost every word!!  XO

GMVW # 2: "The Lost Art of Letter Writing"

Gem Music Video of the Week # 2: The Lost Art of Letter Writing

Song: Tear Stained Letter by Richard Thompson

(song written by Richard Thompson)

January 17, 2008

Back in the mid-90s (Lake Street, Waltham era) I was just starting to get a taste for the music of Richard Thompson, when Mac handed me a tape and suggested I listen to this song.  I ran the treadmill in those days and this song is a reminder of frequently butting into the front console, a bit too energized for the pace I had the treadmill at as I replayed this song over and over again. 

Fred and I were lucky enough to catch a Richard Thompson tour later in the decade at the Somerville Theater.  Great show!  I believe the video clip here is of the same tour.

One thing about Thompson.... his early music sounds as experienced as his most recent stuff.  Usually musicians go thru an early sound (Beatles, Dylan, most everyone), but this musician sounds old and wise in his young years as well.

Volume recommended.

"Just when I thought things were getting better, right thru the door comes a Tear Stained Letter".....

Gem Music Video: Tear Stained Letter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWP5GZ7XKac

- Pete

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About the video: Live show on Scottish TV in 1999.  Good quality.  Full band. Up-tempo.

Best Feedback: Becca

Great tune Pete (it rang a vague bell with me but I never would have known who it was)....and a great visual of you butting heads with a tread mill! Funny thing about you Steeves and treadmills...as I recall, Amy had the opposite problem, as her story involved mimicking the "L" on her forehead as she went flying off in the opposite direction!

Keep 'em coming,

Bec