Sic Semper Tyrannis

Whatcha' Listenin' To?

Lots and lots of new things entering my ears, being digested by my noggin and defecated with pen as of late.

Rolling Stones Beggars Banquet
This is one of those “Best of All Time” albums. It’s got two hits on it: “Sympathy for the Devil” and “Street Fighting Man” and an awful lot of sloppy acoustic-ness. I’ve talked about the “Beatles vs. Rolling Stones” thing to death so I’m not going there.

I can understand why this album has such a high reputation. Some albums seem to just capture a “vibe.” You hear a group of songs and they all just seem to “fit.” This would be that kind of collection. Now I’m not saying I’m crazy about this music. But I think I at least “get it.”

***Something is happening to me, dear readers. I’m feeling a need to use quotation marks a lot these days to hide vague language. This is a most unwelcome trend. Or “is it?”***

Michael Jackson Thriller
This one also shows up on “Best of All Time” lists, and for good reason. It is as if these songs were the audio equivalent to Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, but instead of being a fighting machine they are genetically-engineered to either make you want to dance, make love to that special someone or at least have songs stuck in your head. This is music for the masses but I am totally in awe of the sheen of the production values. It’s obvious that these songs didn’t start out as much, maybe a melody and an idea of a drumbeat, but it’s what Michael, and probably more importantly, what Quincy Jones did with those fundamental elements that make for intriguing listening.

I will admit it right now. “The Girl is Mine,” with Paul McCartney makes me feel warm all over. I’m the one. I’m the one guy who will dare to say that. It’s all right for the SUV-driving, radio-listening soccer-moms who don’t really obsess over music to say that, but surely not me--Mr. Music Head analyst? But oh, well. It’s out there.

And for the record, listen to the details of “Human Nature,” the delay on the guitar, that cascading vocal line on the choruses and tell me that is not the example of 80’s production gone right.

I have gone all these almost thirty-one years without realizing what the song “Billie Jean” is about. Turns out it’s the story of a guy accused of being a father. Duh! I always thought it was just overplayed commercial tripe. But then I listened to it. Once you do that it’s all over. It’s infectious. Now I hear what the big deal is. Sexy, sexy song.

Funny that I didn’t get as excited about my hero Eddie Van Halen playing the solo to “Beat It” when I was a kid. Of course, it wasn’t until several years later that I found out that the most awesome guitar player in the world took time out from playing in the most awesome rock band in the world to play on some weird rap guys’ song. Awesome!

Randy Newman Best Of
He’s known most recently for expressing the theme of animated films, (listen to “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”), but this guy has been pretty caustic in the past. Listen to “Rednecks,” “Political Science” or “It’s Money That I Love.” I’ve also got a theory that the intro to “I Love L.A.” is a response to Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind.”

I’ve heard a few other songs of his and I gotta say--something about the way this guy strings words together makes my ears perk up.

Sugarloaf Best Of
There is one really outstanding reason to listen to this record. It is the album version of “Green-Eyed Lady,” which is about twice the length of the radio single and has all manner of weird instrumental sounds that complement an already psychedelic song. The rest of the songs pale in comparison, being largely unremarkable but I will say there is some fine Hammond organ work scattered throughout this collection.

I think that should suffice for now. I’m reading a challenging book that I’ll write about in a little bit…

posted by Mike @ 9:46 PM