The Byrds - Set You Free This Time

There is always a danger with rock music from sixties that it can be covered with a patina of chauvinism (particularly anything with David Crosby). This concern looms over many of the songs by the Byrds. I find myself wondering how many woman were bedded using the sentiments in these songs.

This song could fall easily into the same trap and there is a chance it does. I've never spoken to Mr. Clark or any other Byrd about it. Even trying to find lyrics here that do not sound like the singer is playing victim to a heartless woman was pretty tricky (who really ends a relationship by setting a woman free).

But, lyrics are not the song.

Listening to the song as a whole I hear sincere regret in Mr. Clark's voice as he sings about a relationship that did not work. Listening to the performance it really sounds like the he really wanted this relationship to work and somewhere deep inside he still wants it to work. He is going to end the relationship, and she is going to leave, but he is going to be stuck with the confusion and pain that it did not work out.

Different than many breakup songs, I feel that the singer here knows that he is at least part of the reason why it did not work because it has happened before this way and it most likely will happen again. Maybe the root of the emotion I hear in this song is the singer's sadness that he may never find someone to love and be with.

Lyrics of Note (As I heard them):

With all the ones that went before and
memories that always seem to
Tear me from my mind

Roky Erickson - For You

I have a 13th floor elevators record which I enjoy from time to time. Roky has a great voice that teeters on the verge of break down. Watching the documentary about Roky Erickson I came across this song and immediately picked up the sound track. He takes a simple song and with his voice alone elevates it to a special level. It is intensified by the fact at the end of the song Roky asks if the recorder is on, as if there was almost a chance that this great performance was lost. It makes you wonder were there other times when the recorder was off.

Lyrics of Note (As I heard them):

For you
With tears in my eyes
For you
Happiness and Love meets my cry
For you

Bob Dylan - Santa Fe

Oh Bob. What can you do with this guy. The myth of Bob Dylan is so ingrained in the musical conscience it is hard to separate the music from the man. I am sure that if I was alive in the sixties my perception of Bob would have been completely different, but that was over forty years ago. The politics and atmosphere of the sixties have long since receded, so all that is left now is the music.

Hey, I think Bob has made some great music, but there is a lot of great music out there. Only Bob has people going through his trash, a library of books about him and several CD box sets of his leftovers. I think politically and socially Bob deserves all this attention. He had a dramatic impact on society sixties and the course of history in America. Hearing Bob's music in the sixties must have been an amazing experience that I will never have. He must have been the closest thing to an oracle you could have in modern times.

But listening to Bob now is a different experience. He writes some great songs and he writes songs I don't enjoy so much. It is interesting to see how much modern music is influenced by Bob, but sometimes I get more out of the music he influences than his music.

One thing I love about Bob's music is that he writes so many different types of songs. that it may as well be different singers. So I have picked a song by Bob that reminds me of driving across the country to live in northern New Mexico. My future wife and I would belt this song out as we drove through the wide expanse of middle America. We were not even sure what the heck the lyrics were but that did not stop us from singing along with gusto. From what I can gleam there is no deeper meaning in this song, take that AJ Weberman.

Lyrics of Note (As I heard them):

Santa Fe
Do Do Do Do Do Do Do
Santa Fe

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Future Bob Reading: (I have read way too much about Bob and most of it was not very rewarding, here are a few I liked)

1) Paul Williams three volume Performing Artist books are some of my favorite music criticism ever. Made me love Bob's music even more.

2) There is also an insightful essay by Ian MacDonald called "Wild Mercury: A Tale of Two Dylans". It is reprinted in _The People's Music_ essay collection.

3) Bob Dylan: The Early Years: A Restrospective edited by Craig McGregor. For what it is worth this is the first book I read about Bob, before the shelves seemed to be clogged with books about Bob. It is 35 years old but has a great collection of articles about Bob in his heyday. Not as comprehensive as some Bob books but a nice overview.

The Bats - Take It

The Bats are a wonderful band that fall into a horrible niche. Granted these folks aren't the Beatles or the Clash breaking down musical boundaries with astronomical record sales. What I am confused by is how it is possible for music as wonderful as Daddy's Highway to be out of print. This 17 song CD is chock full of soaring melodies soaked in melancholy. The internet is frustratingly sparse with information about this band. There are some discussions about The Bats beautiful lyrics, but strangely no lyrics listed. I am not someone ranting that Paul Westerberg should sell as many records as Justin Timberlake, but music as wonderful as The Bats should at least be in print for purchase. (note: You can download five Bats CDs via iTunes, but in my musical purist world that does not count as being in print.)

The Bats use the same formula for every song I have heard by them. The same performers playing the same instruments. The same two vocalists harmonizing. Also throw into that mix beautiful engaging melodies that haunt your mind long after you've turned the music off.

I picked this song, "Take It" because it is as good as any other in Bats song catalog. It is also the first song where I fell in love with The Bats. The first few times I played Daddy's Highway I didn't get it at all. Then one day I found myself humming this song so persistently I had to play the CD right away. And the rest is history.

Lyrics of Note (As I heard them):

And I've been here waiting in the wings
Like a little lost soul trying on your things

LCD Soundsystem - Losing My Edge

I enjoy "bands" that consist of one person. It ranks right up there with records where one artist plays every instrument (See: Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder). James Murphy is that rare artist who makes the listener feel stupid and the listener loves him for it. My sister claims she met him once in NYC and that he was a real jerk. That sounds about right. His music might have suffered in my eyes if he was gracious and signed autographs with comments like "To my biggest fan, Truly, James"

I love this record because you are so proud of yourself for recognizing the obscure music references even though there is a good chance that he is making fun of you for doing it. Music obsessives may argue that only of our own could make such a skewering satire but I'm not so sure.

I also enjoy Murphy employing the seldom successful verse-verse-verse-chorus song structure. It works for him but I'm not sure how. Be cool this year and put Sound of Silver on your top ten records of 2007. It's what James Murphy wants you to do.

Lyrics of Note (As I heard them):

But I'm losing my edge to better-looking people
With better ideas and more talent.
And they're actually really, really nice.

Guy Clark - Randall Knife

I'll be honest I have no clue exactly what Guy is singing about here and what the knife represents but my gut seems to know. Again my father was not a lawyer, did not serve in WWII or own hand-crafted knives, but I still "feel" the song.

It is a dark song that sends shivers down my spine. It grabs me by my collar and shoves me into a time when my father was a strong mysterious figure in my life. This song is not simple enough to be a eulogy there is a mystery here that I cannot decipher.

Lyric of Note (As I heard them):

My hand burned for the Randall knife 

There in the bottom drawer 

And I found a tear for my father's life

And all that it stood for

David Bowie - Five Years

Ziggy Stardust.

Wow. It almost sounds like the music was already written the moment David Bowie came up with the name. Mick Ronson might disagree...but that name.

Five years. This song demands you sing along with it with everything you can muster. I once sang this song so loud and with such gusto at an intersection that the van full of kids next to me ran a red light. Out of fear maybe....to get away from a guy butchering David Bowie, probably.

The last verse is my favorite, and when I heard it I fell in love with glam. Glam is not really about aliens or space travel, it's about a lonely guy filled with emotion watching a girl drinking a milk shake. He could walk in and talk to her but he knows he does not fit in. Instead he writes a song.

The emotions inside of this singer are so big and powerful that it takes made-up names, aliens and end of the world to express them. Wow.

Lyric of Note (As I heard it):

I think I saw you in an ice-cream parlor,
Drinking milk shakes cold and long
Smiling and waving and looking so fine,
Dont think you knew you were in this song