Stairway to Heaven ~ Led Zeppelin

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led-zeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page (guitar), Robert Plant (vocals), John Paul Jones (bass guitar, keyboards) and John Bonham (drums). With their heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin are regarded as one of the first heavy metal bands. However, the band’s individualistic style draws from many sources and transcends any one genre. Their rock-infused interpretation of the blues and folk genres also incorporated rockabilly, reggae, soul, funk, classical, Celtic, Indian, Arabic, pop, Latin and country. The band did not release the popular songs from their albums as singles in the UK, as they preferred to develop the concept of album-oriented rock.

Close to 30 years after disbanding following Bonham’s death in 1980, the band continue to be held in high regard for their artistic achievements, commercial success and broad influence. The band have sold more than 300 million albums worldwide, including 111.5 million sales in the United States and they have had all of their original studio albums reach the U.S. Billboard Top 10, with six reaching the number one spot. Led Zeppelin are ranked No. 1 on VH1′s 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. Rolling Stone magazine has described Led Zeppelin as “the heaviest band of all time” and “the biggest band of the 70s”.

The photo is of the first performance ever by Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham in a small club outside of Copenhagen, the Gladsaxe Teen Club, had booked The Yardbirds a few months before but the Yardbirds broke up and Peter Grant and Jimmy Page came with other musicians to fulfil those commitments. They signed a contract for a small tour in Scandinavia. Jimmy recruited 3 other guys and they played all the clubs where The Yardbirds were supposed to play. The first of these clubs was the Gladsaxe Teen Club.

Gladsaxe Teen Club was really a gymnasium of a progressive school built in the 1960s and located in the area of Gladsaxe and they held concerts there almost every Saturday between September and March.

They Yardbirds didn’t become Led Zeppelin until after their return from Scandinavia. They took the name Led Zeppelin after Keith Moon, the drummer of The Who suggested that they would “go down like a lead balloon”.

Stairway to Heaven

The recording of “Stairway to Heaven” started in December 1970 at Island Records’ new Basing Street Studios in London.  The song was completed by the addition of lyrics by Plant during the sessions for Led Zeppelin IV at Headley Grange, Hampshire, in 1971.  Page then returned to Island Studios to record his guitar solo.

The song originated in 1970 when Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were spending time at Bron-Yr-Aur, a remote cottage in Wales, following Led Zeppelin’s fifth American concert tour. According to Page, the instrumentals were written by him “over a long period, the first part coming at Bron-Yr-Aur one night”.Page always kept a cassette recorder around, and the idea for “Stairway” came together from bits of taped music.

Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones explained that, following the song’s genesis at Bron-Yr-Aur, it was presented to him:

“Page and Plant would come back from the Welsh mountains with the guitar intro and verse. I literally heard it in front of a roaring fire in a country manor house! I picked up a bass recorder and played a run-down riff which gave us an intro, then I moved into a piano for the next section, dubbing on the guitars.”

In an interview he gave in 1977, Page elaborated:

“I do have the original tape that was running at the time we ran down “Stairway To Heaven” completely with the band. I’d worked it all out already the night before with John Paul Jones, written down the changes and things. All this time we were all living in a house and keeping pretty regular hours together, so the next day we started running it down. There was only one place where there was a slight rerun. For some unknown reason Bonzo couldn’t get the timing right on the twelve-string part before the solo. Other than that it flowed very quickly.”

The first attempts at lyrics, written by Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant next to an evening log fire at Headley Grange, were partly spontaneously improvised and Page claimed, “a huge percentage of the lyrics were written there and then”. Jimmy Page was strumming the chords and Robert Plant had a pencil and paper. Plant later said that suddenly,

“My hand was writing out the words, ‘There’s a lady is sure [sic], all that glitters is gold, and she’s buying a stairway to heaven’. I just sat there and looked at them and almost leapt out of my seat.” Plant’s own explanation of the lyrics was that it “was some cynical aside about a woman getting everything she wanted all the time without giving back any thought or consideration. The first line begins with that cynical sweep of the hand … and it softened up after that.”

The lyrics of the song reflected Plant’s current reading. The singer had been poring through the works of the British antiquarian Lewis Spence, and later cited Spence’s Magic Arts in Celtic Britain as one of the sources for the lyrics to the song.

In November 1970, Page dropped a hint of the new song’s existence to a music journalist in London:

“It’s an idea for a really long track…. You know how “Dazed and Confused” and songs like that were broken into sections? Well, we want to try something new with the organ and acoustic guitar building up and building up, and then the electric part starts…. It might be a fifteen-minute track.”

The complete studio recording was released on Led Zeppelin IV in November 1971. The band’s recording label, Atlantic Records was keen to issue this track as a single, but the band’s manager Peter Grant refused requests to do so in both 1972 and 1973. The upshot of that decision was that record buyers began to invest in the fourth album as if it were a single. A handful of rare original seven inch promos were pressed at the time, accompanied by a humorous in-house memo (Atlantic LZ3), which are now extremely sought-after collectors items.

http://djallyn.org/media/Led-Zeppelin-StairwayToHeaven.flv

There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for
Ooh, ooh, and she’s buying a stairway to heaven

There’s a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure
‘Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook, there’s a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, it makes me wonder

There’s a feeling I get when I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand looking
and it makes me wonder
really makes me wonder

And it’s whispered that soon if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forest will echo with laughter

If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed now,
It’s just a spring clean for the May Queen
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There’s still time to change the road you’re on
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, Ooh, it makes me wonder

Your head is humming and it won’t go, in case you don’t know
The piper’s calling you to join him
Dear lady, can’t you hear the wind blow, and did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all is one and one is all, yeah
To be a rock and not to roll.

And she’s buying the stairway to heaven

  • Audio from the 1971 album, Led Zeppelin IV:

album-led-zeppelin-IV

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Pinball Wizard ~ The Who

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the-whoThe Who are an English rock band that formed in 1964. The primary lineup consisted of guitarist Pete Townshend, vocalist Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. The band reached international success, became known for their energetic live performances, are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and ’70s, and recognized as one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time.

The Who rose to fame in the United Kingdom with a pioneering instrument destruction stage show, as well as a series of top ten hit singles (including the celebrated “My Generation”) and top five albums, beginning in 1965 with “I Can’t Explain”. They first hit the top ten in the USA in 1967 with “I Can See for Miles”. The 1969 release of Tommy was the first in a series of top five albums for the group in the USA, followed by Live at Leeds (1970), Who’s Next (1971), Quadrophenia (1973), and Who Are You (1978) among others.

Keith Moon died in 1978, after which the band released two more studio albums, the top five Face Dances (1981) and the top ten It’s Hard (1982), with drummer Kenney Jones, before officially disbanding in 1983. They reformed on several occasions to perform at special events such as Live Aid and for reunion tours such as their 25th anniversary tour (1989) and the Quadrophenia revival tours of 1996 and 1997. In 2000, the three surviving original members began to discuss the possibility of recording an album of new material. These plans were delayed following the death of John Entwistle in 2002. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey continue to perform as The Who. In 2006 they released the studio album Endless Wire, which reached the top ten in the USA and UK.

Pinball Wizard

“Pinball Wizard” is a song written by Pete Townshend.  The lyrics are written from the perspective of a pinball champion, called “Local Lad” in the Tommy libretto book, astounded by the skills of the opera’s eponymous main character, Tommy Walker: “That deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball”, and “I thought I was the Bally table king, but I just handed my pinball crown to him”.

Townshend once called it “the most clumsy piece of writing [he'd] ever done”; nevertheless, the song was a gigantic commercial success and one of the most recognized tunes from the opera. It was a perpetual concert favourite for Who fans due to its pop sound and familiarity.

Ever since I was a young boy,
I’ve played the silver ball.
From Soho down to Brighton
I must have played them all.
but I ain’t seen nothing like him
In any amusement hall.
That deaf, dumb and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball!

He stands like a statue,
Becomes part of the machine.
Feeling all the bumpers
Always playing clean.
plays by intuition,
The digit counters fall
That deaf, dumb and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball!

He’s a pinball wizard
There has to be a twist.
A pin ball wizard,
S’got such a supple wrist.

How do you think he does it?
I don’t know!
What makes him so good?

ain’t got no distractions
Can’t hear no buzzers and bells,
Don’t see no lights a flashin’
Plays by sense of smell.
Always gets the replay,
Never seen him fall,
That deaf, dumb and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball.

I thought I was
The Bally table king.
But I just handed
My pinball crown to him.

Even on my favorite table
He can beat my best.
His disciples lead him in
And he just does the rest.
He’s got crazy flipper fingers
Never seen him fall.
That deaf, dumb and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball!

  • Audio from the 1969 album, Tommy:

album-tommy

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Ripple ~ Grateful Dead

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The Grateful Dead were an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, jazz, psychedelia, space rock and gospel—and for live performances of long musical improvisation. “Their music,” writes Lenny Kaye, “touches on ground that most other groups don’t even know exists.”

The Grateful Dead’s fans, some of whom followed the band from concert to concert for years, are known as Deadheads and have been renowned for their dedication to the band’s music. Many fans referred to the band simply as “the Dead”. As of 2003, the remaining band members who had been touring under the name “The Other Ones” changed their official group name to “The Dead”. Deadheads continue to use the nickname to refer to all versions of the band.

Their musical influences varied widely; in concert recordings or on record albums one can hear psychedelic rock (in the late sixties), the blues, rock nuggets, country-western, bluegrass, country-rock, and although they rarely played jazz music, the band certainly borrowed for their music the kind of long improvisatory sequences that jazz artists such as Charles Mingus and John Coltrane perfected in the 1950s and 1960s. These various influences were distilled into a diverse and psychedelic whole that made the Grateful Dead “the pioneering Godfathers of the jam band world.”

Ripple

Ripple is the sixth song on the Grateful Dead album American Beauty. It was released as the B-side to the single “Truckin’”.

Robert Hunter, wrote this song in 1970 in London in the same afternoon he wrote “Brokedown Palace” and “To Lay Me Down” (reputedly also drinking an entire bottle of retsina in the process). The song debuted August 18, 1970 at Fillmore West in San Francisco. Jerry Garcia wrote the music to this song.

Several lines throughout the song echo the 23rd Psalm of the Bible.

http://djallyn.org/media/grateful_dead-ripple.flv

If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine
And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung,
Would you hear my voice come thru the music,
Would you hold it near as it were your own?

It’s a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken,
Perhaps they’re better left unsung.
I don’t know, don’t really care
Let there be songs to fill the air.

Ripple in still water,
When there is no pebble tossed,
Nor wind to blow.

Reach out your hand if your cup be empty,
If your cup is full may it be again,
Let it be known there is a fountain,
That was not made by the hands of men.

There is a road, no simple highway,
Between the dawn and the dark of night,
And if you go no one may follow,
That path is for your steps alone.

Ripple in still water,
When there is no pebble tossed,
Nor wind to blow.

But if you fall you fall alone,
If you should stand then who’s to guide you?
If I knew the way I would take you home.

La dee da da da, la da da da da, da da da, da da, da da da da da
La da da da, la da da, da da, la da da da, la da, da da.

  • Audio from the 1970 album, American Beauty:

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Time ~ Pink Floyd

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Pink Floyd are an English rock band that initially earned recognition for their psychedelic or space rock music, and, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. They are known for philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative cover art, and elaborate live shows. One of rock music’s most successful acts, the group have sold over 200 million albums worldwide including 74.5 million albums in the United States alone.

Pink Floyd had moderate mainstream success and were one of the most popular bands in the London underground music scene in the late 1960s as a psychedelic band led by Syd Barrett; however, Barrett’s erratic behaviour eventually forced his colleagues to replace him with guitarist and singer David Gilmour. After Barrett’s departure, singer and bass player Roger Waters gradually became the dominant and driving force in the mid-1970s, until his eventual departure from the group in 1985. The band recorded several albums, achieving worldwide success with The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), and The Wall (1979). In 1985, Waters declared Pink Floyd “A spent force”, but the remaining members, led by Gilmour, continued recording and touring under the name Pink Floyd. Although they were unsuccessfully sued by Waters for rights to the name, they again enjoyed worldwide success with A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) and The Division Bell (1994). Eventually they reached a settlement out of court with Waters allowing them use of the name.

Waters performed with the band for the first time in 24 years on July 2, 2005 at the London Live 8 concert.

Richard Wright, keyboardist and pianist for the band and wrote significant parts of the music for classic albums such as Meddle, The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, as well as for Pink Floyd’s final studio album The Division Bell.  He frequently sang background and occasionally lead vocals onstage and in the studio with Pink Floyd (most notably on the songs “Time“, “Echoes“, and on the Syd Barrett composition “Astronomy Domine”).

Richard Wright passed away on September 15, 2008 at the age of 65 from an undisclosed form of cancer.

Time

“Time” is the fourth track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd’s 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon, and the only song on the album credited to all four members of the band. It is noted for its long introductory passage of clocks chiming and alarms ringing, recorded as a quadrophonic test by Alan Parsons, not specifically for the album.

The song is a memento mori describing the phenomenon in which time seems to pass more quickly as one ages, often leading to despair in old age over missed opportunities of the past.

http://djallyn.org/media/time.flv

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way

Tired of lying in the sunshine
Staying home to watch the rain
And you are young and life is long
And there is time to kill today
And then one day you find
Ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run
You missed the starting gun

And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun, but it’s sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way, but you’re older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

Every year is getting shorter
Never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught
Or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone
The song is over
Thought I’d something more to say

Home, home again
I like to be here when I can
When I come home cold and tired
It’s good to warm my bones beside the fire
Far away across the field
The tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spells

  • Audio from the 1973 album, Dark Side of the Moon:

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Kathys Song ~ Simon and Garfunkel

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THE “KATHY” SERIES

The duo of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel are American popular musicians known collectively as Simon & Garfunkel. They met in elementary school in 1953, when they both appeared in the school play Alice in Wonderland (Simon as the White Rabbit, Garfunkel as the Cheshire Cat). They formed the group Tom and Jerry in 1957, and had their first taste of success with the minor hit “Hey Schoolgirl”. As Simon and Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965 backed by the hit single “The Sounds of Silence”. Their music was featured on the landmark film The Graduate, propelling them further into the public consciousness. They are well known for their close harmonies and sometimes unstable relationship. Their last album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, was marked with several delays caused by artistic disagreements.

Kathy’s Song

Kathleen Mary “Kathy” Chitty worked part-time selling tickets at the Railway Inn Folk Club in Brentwood, Essex, UK in 1964. She became the girlfriend and muse of Paul Simon when he lived in England in 1964 and 1965. She is referred to directly or indirectly in at least three of his songs.

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel’s first album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. was recorded in early 1964 and included the original acoustic version of The Sound of Silence. After the recording, Simon moved to England without Garfunkel. At this time folk music was becoming popular in England and Simon started working around the English folk clubs and coffee houses.

He met Kathy Chitty on 12th April 1964 at the very first English folk club he played at, the Railway Inn Folk Club in Brentwood, Essex. She was 17, he was 22 and they fell in love. Later that year they visited the US together, touring around mainly by bus. Kathy returned to England on her own with Simon returning to her some weeks later. When he was back in London he recorded the album The Paul Simon Songbook that included Kathy’s Song, and had a photo of Simon and Kathy on the cover. Also included in the album was another version of The Sound of Silence.

Although Wednesday Morning 3 A.M. was initially a flop, the version of The Sound of Silence on that album began to receive limited airplay, so the producer, Tom Wilson, without consulting Simon or Garfunkel, overdubbed the recording with electric guitar and base, and drums. This new version entered the US charts in September 1965. By the end of 1965 and for the first few weeks of 1966 it was at No. 1 in the US pop charts.

In September 1965, when Simon learned of the growing success of The Sound of Silence he felt the need to immediately return to the US to continue his career. Kathy was quite shy and wanted no part of the success and fame that awaited Simon. They split up.

References to Kathy in Paul Simon’s Songs

During the separation after Kathy returned home from the American trip, Paul Simon wrote “America“, clearly a love song to Kathy, that lays bare the extent to which he was missing her:

“Kathy, I’m lost,” I said, though I knew she was sleeping
“I’m empty and aching and I don’t know why”

During their separation he also wrote “Kathy’s Song”:

I gaze beyond the rain-drenched streets
To England where my heart lies.
My mind’s distracted and diffused
My thoughts are many miles away
They lie with you when you’re asleep
And kiss you when you start your day.

Simon wrote “Homeward Bound“ sat at the  Ditton Railway Station, one of two stations located in the town of Widnes Ditton in Cheshire, England on Hale Road on the border between Ditton and Halebank. The station, on the London-Liverpool line, was closed to passengers on 27 May 1994. Now only the Widnes Railway Station remains. It is also widely interpreted that this song is also about Kathy:

I wish I was homeward bound
Home, where my thoughts escaping
Home, where my music’s playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me.

After Paul Simon returned to America in 1965 they were not in contact for over 20 years. In 1986, during his success with Graceland he received a letter from her. In 1991, while on tour in the UK, Kathy and her family attended Simon´s show in Sheffield. In July 2004 Simon confirmed her attendance at the Old Friends Reunion Tour stop in Hyde Park.

Kathy is a very private person, all attempts by the press to cajole information or her whereabouts out of Simon have failed. As far as anybody knows, she is now a grandmother with three grown-up children and living in the Welsh mountains (where she has lived most of her life) working part-time at a technical college. Widnes station has a plaque commemorating the history of Homeward Bound. When this went missing a few years ago, Kathy was invited to unveil the replacement but she declined.

http://djallyn.org/media/simon_garfunkel_kathys_song.flv

I hear the drizzle of the rain
Like a memory it falls
Soft and warm continuing
Tapping on my roof and walls.

And from the shelter of my mind
Through the window of my eyes
I gaze beyond the rain-drenched streets
To England where my heart lies.

My mind’s distracted and diffused
My thoughts are many miles away
They lie with you when you’re asleep
And kiss you when you start your day.

And a song I was writing is left undone
I don’t know why I spend my time
Writing songs I can’t believe
With words that tear and strain to rhyme.

And so you see I have come to doubt
All that I once held as true
I stand alone without beliefs
The only truth I know is you.

And as I watch the drops of rain
Weave their weary paths and die
I know that I am like the rain
There before for the grace of you go I.

 

  • Audio from the 1966 album, Sounds of Silence:

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Graceland – Paul Simon

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paul simonPaul Simon is an American singer-songwriter, known for his success beginning in 1965 as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair’s songs, including “The Sound of Silence”, “The Boxer”, “Mrs. Robinson”, and “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. In 1970, at the height of their popularity, the duo split and Simon began a successful solo career, highlighted by his 1986 experiment with African music on the album Graceland, which was decisive in the introduction of world music into the mainstream. Simon’s work has been generally praised by critics and the public, and has enjoyed notable commercial success for over four decades of production. In 2006, Time magazine called him one of the 100 “people who shape our world.”

Around 1985, while he was driving his car, Simon listened to a cassette of the Boyoyo Boys’ instrumental “Gumboots”. Inspired by the unusual sound, he wrote lyrics to sing over a re-recording of the song, which became the first song of his next musical project, Graceland, an eclectic mixture of musical styles including pop, a cappella, isicathamiya, rock, and mbaqanga. Much of the album was recorded in South Africa and featured many South African musicians and groups, particularly Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Warner Bros. Records had serious doubts about releasing an album of this category, but when it did, in August of 1986, Graceland was praised by critics and the public and became Simon’s most successful album. It reached No. 1 in many countries, including Australia and the UK, and peaked at No. 3 in the U.S. It was the second-best-selling album of 1987 there, and eventually reached a 5x Platinum certification, recognizing five million copies sold only in America. Another seven million copies were sold internationally, becoming his best-selling album. The singles “You Can Call Me Al” (a British Top 5 hit), “Graceland”, “The Boy in the Bubble” and “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” became standards and were highly praised. Simon, at age 45, back in the forefront of introducing popular music, received the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for Graceland, and embarked on the successful “Graceland Tour”.

Graceland

The lyrics deal with the singer’s thoughts during a road trip to Graceland after the failure of his marriage to actress and author Carrie Fisher.

http://djallyn.org/media/paul-simon-graceland.flv

The Mississippi Delta was shining
Like a National guitar,
I am following the river
Down the highway
Through the cradle of the civil war,

I’m going to Graceland
Graceland
In Memphis Tennessee
I’m going to Graceland,

Poorboys and Pilgrims with families
And we are going to Graceland,
My traveling companion is nine years old
He is the child of my first marriage,
But I’ve reason to believe
We both will be received
In Graceland,

She comes back to tell me she’s gone,
As if I didn’t know that
As if I didn’t know my own bed,
As if I’d never noticed,
The way she brushed her hair from her forehead,
And she said losing love
Is like a window in your heart,
Everybody sees you’re blown apart,
Everybody sees the wind blow,

I’m going to Graceland,
Memphis Tennessee
I’m going to Graceland,
Poorboys and Pilgrims with families
And we are going to Graceland,

And my traveling companions
Are ghosts and empty sockets
I’m looking at ghosts and empties,
But I’ve reason to believe
We all will be received
In Graceland,

There is a girl in New York City,
Who calls herself the human trampoline,
And sometimes when I’m falling flying
Or tumbling in turmoil I say
Whoa so this is what she means,
She means we’re bouncing into Graceland,
And I see losing love
Is like a window in your heart,
Everybody sees you’re blown apart,
Everybody feels the wind blow,

In Graceland Graceland,
I’m going to Graceland,
For reasons I cannot explain
There’s some part of me wants to see
Graceland,
And I may be obliged to defend
Every love every ending
Or maybe there’s no obligations now,
Maybe I’ve a reason to believe
We all will be received
In Graceland

Woah in graceland graceland graceland
i’m going to graceland

  • Audio from the 1986 album, Graceland:

album-graceland

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Revenge ~ Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse

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Brian Joseph Burton,  better known by his stage name Danger Mouse, is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He came to prominence in 2004 when he released The Grey Album, which combined vocal performances from Jay-Z’s The Black Album with instrumentals from the Beatles’ White Album.

He formed Gnarls Barkley with Cee Lo Green and produced its albums St. Elsewhere and The Odd Couple. He produced the second Gorillaz album, 2005′s Demon Days, as well as Beck’s 2008 record Modern Guilt and an album with Joker’s Daughter in 2007. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the Producer of the Year category five times (2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011), and won the award in 2011. In addition, Burton worked with rapper MF Doom as Danger Doom and released the album The Mouse and the Mask and the EP Occult Hymn.

Brian Burton was born in White Plains, New York. He spent much of his childhood in Spring Valley, New York. Burton also lived in Athens, Georgia for a while, where his trip-hop work was released under the name “Pelican City”. He also remixed work by several local artists, including Neutral Milk Hotel and DJ’d for University of Georgia radio station WUOG-FM. From 1998 to 2003, Burton also created a series of remix CDs and records under the stage name Danger Mouse. He performed in a mouse outfit because he was too shy to show his face, and took his name from the British cartoon series Danger Mouse.

Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band led by the singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous.

Sparklehorse’s first album, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot (1995) featuring Bob Rupe of the Silos and Cracker, was a modest college radio success. In 1996, while touring Europe with Radiohead shortly after the album’s release, Linkous consumed a combination of anti-depressants, valium, alcohol, and heroin in a London hotel room.Unconscious and with his legs pinned beneath him for almost fourteen hours, the resulting potassium build up caused his heart to stop for several minutes after his body was lifted up. The ensuing surgery almost caused him to lose the use of both legs and left him wheelchair-bound for six months.

Good Morning Spider (1998) was recorded following this incident. Critics have conjectured that Linkous’s brush with death inspired the sombre tone of the album, though Linkous stated that much of the material on GMS had already been written. One song which did result from it is “St. Mary”, which is dedicated to the nurses at the eponymous hospital in Paddington where Linkous recuperated.

2001 saw the release of It’s a Wonderful Life, featuring appearances by Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Bob Rupe, Vic Chesnutt, Nina Persson and Dave Fridmann. Whereas much of Vivadixie… and Spider were recorded solely by Linkous on his Virginia farm, the new album was a more collaborative work. Linkous expressed his satisfaction with the overall sound of It’s a Wonderful Life, while also claiming that he would have preferred to include more experimental and instrumental material.

On September 25, 2006, Sparklehorse released their fourth album, Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain, collaborating with DJ Danger Mouse, Christian Fennesz, and Steven Drozd. This album featured the radio release “Don’t Take My Sunshine Away” and a remastered version of “Shade And Honey”, which Linkous originally wrote for Alessandro Nivola to sing in the 2003 movie Laurel Canyon, as well as a virtually unchanged re-release of “Morning Hollow,” the bonus track from It’s a Wonderful Life.

In 2008, Sparklehorse recorded a cover of the song “Jack’s Obsession,” from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas for the official compilation album Nightmare Revisited. In 2009, Sparklehorse teamed up with Danger Mouse and David Lynch in the project Dark Night of the Soul.

In 2009, Linkous teamed up with electronic ambient-music artist Christian Fennesz to create In The Fishtank 15, a wafting album EP of dreamy atmospherics and glacially beautiful experimentation. The last four live shows, Linkous did together with Fennesz during a European tour that was held during October 2009.

Joe Tangari describes Linkous’s songs as “defiantly surrealist…with all manner of references to smiling babies, organ music, birds, and celestial bodies. In fact, some of the lyrics are so surreal that it’s hard to imagine they’re even metaphors for anything.”Many of these references are literary or from a variety of rock music sources.

Linkous committed suicide in Knoxville, Tennessee, on March 6, 2010, thus ending the band’s 15-year-long run.

Revenge

Revenge is the first track on a collaboration album of Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, and features Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips.  The album, Dark Night of the Soul was recorded in 2008 and was almost not released due to a legal dispute between Danger Mouse and EMI.  It is the last album that Mark Linkous recorded before his suicide.

http://djallyn.org/media/danger-mouse-and-sparklehorse-revenge.mp4

Pain
I guess it’s a matter of sensation
But somehow you have a way of avoiding it all
In my mind
I have shot you and stabbed you through your heart
I just didn’t understand
The ricochet is the second part

‘Cause you can’t hide what you intend
It glows in the dark
Once you’ve sought
The path of revenge
There’s no way to stop
And the more I try to hurt you
The more it hurts me

Strange
It seems like a character mutation
Though I have all the means of bringing you fuckers down
I can’t make myself
To destroy upon command
Somehow forgiveness lets the evil make the laws

No you can’t hide what you intend
It glows in the dark
Once we’ve become the thing we dread
There’s no way to stop
And the more I try to hurt you
The more it backfires

The more that it backfires
The more that it backfires

  • Audio from the 2010 album, Dark Night of the Soul:

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Scheduled Site Maintenance

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I know, things look a lot different right now.  I am working on some server issues and need to use the stock WordPress theme while I shake out the offending issues.  That means no jukebox.

I apologize for the inconvenience, and hope to have everything back up and running as soon as possible.

How Do You Do ~ Mouth & MacNeal

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Mouth & MacNeal was a pop duo from The Netherlands. They were formed in 1971 when record producer Hans van Hemert brought together the solo talents of Mouth (born Willem Duyn) and Maggie MacNeal (born Sjoukje van’t Spijker) together. ‘Big Mouth’ had previously sung in a number of 1960s bands, including Speedway. In contrast, MacNeal had had an unsuccessful career as a solo artist.

The duo released their first single almost immediately, “Hey You Love”, which reached #5 in the Dutch Top 40 while the next two singles “How Do You Do” and “Hello-A” both reached #1. In 1972, Mouth & MacNeal reached the top of the charts all over Europe, with their fame (especially in Germany) reaching almost hysterical proportions. “How Do You Do” was made popular in the United States by the radio personality Jim Connors. The song eventually reached #8 in the U.S. in July 1972. “How Do You Do” spent 19 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 and won the R.I.A.A. gold disc on 2 August 1972. Selling over a million copies in the U.S. alone, global sales exceeded two million.

This propelled their 1972 album How Do You Do into the Billboard 200 (US #77). More hit singles followed in 1973, and in 1974 Mouth & MacNeal represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest placing third, behind ABBA and Gigliola Cinquetti with their song “I See a Star”, which went on to be a #1 hit in Ireland.

In December 1974, shortly after their success with “I See a Star”, Mouth and MacNeal suddenly parted ways. Big Mouth and his wife Ingrid Kup continued and formed the act Big Mouth & Little Eve, whereas Maggie MacNeal went back to solo performing.

‘Big Mouth’ Willem Duyn died from a heart attack in his hometown of Roswinkel on December 4, 2004 at the age of 67.

How Do You Do?

http://djallyn.org/media/how_do_you_do.flv

Once I said I wanted you
I don’t remember why
I often wonder if it’s true
That you could make me cry

I only know it’s long ago
You said “I love you” too
But I got one solution left
We’re gonna start anew

How do you do, mm-hmm
I thought, why not, na-na, na-na
Just me and you
And then we can na-na, na-na

Just like before
And you will say na-na, na-na
Please give me more
And you will think na-na, na-na
Hey, that’s what I’m livin’ for

How do you do, ooh-hoo
I thought, why not, na-na, na-na
Just me and you
And then we can na-na, na-na

Just like before
And you will say na-na, na-na
Please give me more
And you will think na-na, na-na
Hey, that’s what I’m livin’ for

Once I said I wanted you
And I remember why
I often wonder why it’s true
You still can make me cry

And now it’s not so long ago
You said “I love you” too
‘Cause I had one solution left
And that’s to start anew

How do you do, mm-hmm
I thought, why not, na-na, na-na
Just me and you
And then we can na-na, na-na

Just like before
And you will say na-na, na-na
Please give me more
And you will think na-na, na-na
Hey, that’s what I’m livin’ for

How do you do, uh-huh
I thought, why not, na-na, na-na
Just me and you
And then we can na-na, na-na

Just like before
And you will say na-na, na-na
Please give me more
And you will think na-na, na-na
Hey, that’s what I’m livin’ for

How do you do, ooh-hoo
La-la, la-la, la-la-la-la
La-la, la-la
La-la, la-la, la-la-la-la

La-la, la-la, la-la-la-la
La-la, la-la
La-la, la-la, la-la-la-la
La-la, la-la
Hey, that’s what I’m livin’ for

How do you do, aha
La-la, la-la, la-la-la-la
La-la, la-la

  • Audio from the 1972 album, How Do You Do:

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Brass Monkey ~ Beastie Boys

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The Beastie Boys are an American hip hop group from Manhattan/Brooklyn, New York City. The group consisted of MCA (Adam Yauch) (vocals, bass), Mike D (Michael Diamond) (vocals, drums) and Ad-Rock (Adam Horovitz) (vocals, guitar), with Mix Master Mike (Michael Schwartz) (turntablist).

The Beastie Boys began as a hardcore punk band in 1979, first appearing on the compilation cassette New York Thrash before releasing their first EP, Polly Wog Stew, in 1982. After achieving moderate local success with the 1983 release of their experimental hip hop 12″ Cooky Puss, they made the transition to hip hop in 1984 and a string of successful 12″ singles followed by their debut album Licensed to Ill in 1986 which received international critical acclaim and commercial success. By 2010, they had sold 22 million albums in the United States and 40 million albums worldwide.

They are one of the longest lived hip hop acts worldwide and continue to enjoy commercial and critical success in 2011, more than 25 years after the release of their debut album. The group has been selected as part of the 2012 induction class into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, after being eligible since 2007.[2] In 2009, the group released digitally remastered deluxe editions of their albums Paul’s Boutique, Check Your Head, Ill Communication and Hello Nasty. Their eighth studio album, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, was released on May 3, 2011, and received positive reviews.

On May 4, 2012, founding member Adam Yauch died of cancer of the parotid salivary gland. It is not yet clear if the group will continue or not because of this.

Brass Monkey

“Brass Monkey” is a song by the New York hip hop group Beastie Boys. It was a single released from their first album Licensed to Ill. It is also on the Beastie Boys’ compilation album Solid Gold Hits. It samples “Bring It Here” by Wild Sugar. The song features the Roland TR-808 drum machine.

The song is named after an alcoholic drink of the same name, and is mentioned several times throughout the song.

http://djallyn.org/media/beastie-boys-brass-monkey.mp4

Brass Monkey – that funky Monkey
Brass Monkey – junkie
That funky Monkey

Got this dance that’s more than real
Drink Brass Monkey – here’s how you feel
Put your left leg down – your right leg up
Tilt your head back – let’s finish the cup
M.C.A. with the bottle – D. rocks the can
Adrock gets nice with Charlie Chan
We’re offered Moet – we don’t mind Chivas
Wherever we go with bring the Monkey with us
Adrock drinks three – Mike D. is D.
Double R. foots the bill most definitely
I drink Brass Monkey and I rock well
I got a Castle in Brooklyn – that’s where I dwell

Brass Monkey – that funky Monkey
Brass Monkey – junkie
That funky Monkey

Cause I drink it anytime – and anyplace
When it’s time to get ill – I pour it on my face
Monkey tastes Def when you pour it on ice
Come on y’all it’s time to get nice
Coolin’ by the lockers getting kind of funky
Me and the crew – we’re drinking Brass Monkey
This girl walked by – she gave me the eye
I reached in the locker – grabbed the Spanish Fly
I put it in the Monkey – mixed it in the cup
Went over to the girl, “Yo baby, what’s up?”
I offered her a sip – the girl she gave me lip
It did begin the stuff wore in and now she’s on my tip

Brass Monkey – that funky Monkey
Brass Monkey – junkie
That funky Monkey

Step up to the bar – put the girl down
She takes a big gulp and slaps it around
Take a sip – you can do it – you get right to it
We had a case in the place and we went right through it
You got a dry Martini – thinking you’re cool
I’ll take your place at the bar – I smack you off your stool
I’ll down a ’40 dog” in a single gulp
And if you got beef you’ll get beat to a pulp
Monkey and parties and reelin’ and rockin’
Def, def – girls, girls – all y’all jockin’
The song and dance keeping you in a trance
If you don’t buy my record I got my advance
I drink it – I think it – I see it – I be it
I love Brass Monkey but I won’t give D. it
We got the bottle – you got the cup
Come on everybody let’s get ffffff

Brass Monkey – that funky Monkey
Brass Monkey – junkie
That funky Monkey

  • Audio from the 1986 album, License to Ill:

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