Blog — "music"

We kicked off our lineup of concerts with Steely Dan at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia on Tuesday night. Steely Dan has long been one of my favorite bands. My dad used to put their album Pretzel Logic on the record player for me to listen to. I have good memories with Steely Dan as well.

In high school, my parents and I took a three week long road trip out west to Seattle and down the Pacific coast to California. The album Gaucho brings back that trip every time. When we stopped at my aunt and uncle's house on Seattle's Bainbridge Island, my aunt had only recently bought a fun little blue Civic. Knowing that I had just acquired my driver's license, she let me have a little test drive. Before we left, my uncle rushed out of the house and said, "Wait! You need some driving music!" He passed a cd through the open sun roof and I asked, "What is it?" "Just put it in the stereo," he said. So I did and was greeted by Babylon Sisters, the opening song on Gaucho. That song was one of my childhood favorites, and I had not heard it for years as my parents had somehow lost their copy of the album. My uncle burned the cd for me and it was my soundtrack the whole way down the Pacific coast. While staying in Mendocino, California, we found a super cool coffeehouse. We popped in for some coffee and appropriately we were greeted by Babylon Sisters yet again.



So Tuesday night, we headed to Merriweather for a show I had long been awaiting. We met up with the same aunt and uncle that have since moved to the area. Merriweather is an amazing outdoor amphitheater famously known for its spot in the woods and its fantastic natural acoustics. Designed by architect Frank Gehry, it has hosted some of the most famous bands and musicians of our time. Some have even used it as a recording space due to it's fantastic acoustics. We packed a picnic to enjoy on the lawn before the show-- one of the bonuses of the venue-- and soon the show was underway.

Sky at Merriweather as the sun sets.

Merriweather

Yup, blurry, but one of the only photos I took during the show.

The Miles High Big Band who played with Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were first class musicians. They opened with a big band style jazz intro before Becker and Fagen took to the stage. In addition, The Embassy Brats, their backup singers, had some amazing talent. I used to want to be a backup singer for Steely Dan-- I thought it would have been a fantastic gig. Both Becker and Fagen were just as amazing as I had hoped-- Becker with his smooth, seamless, and odd-timed guitar riffs and solos, and Fagen with his distinctive vocals and incredible piano playing ability. While I was shocked that the two most popular crowd favorites were My Old School and Reelin' In the Years, I got my fill of what I wanted with tunes like Aja, Hey Nineteen, and Time out of Mind. And they even played Babylon Sisters. :)

Set List:

Intro
Your Gold Teeth
Aja
Hey Nineteen
Everything Must Go
Black Friday
Time out of Mind
I Got the News
Show Biz Kids
Bodhisattva
Babylon Sisters
Godwhacker
Dirty Work
Papa Don't Take No Mess (James Brown cover)
Josie
Peg
My Old School
Reelin' in the Years

Encore

Kid Charlemagne

This one goes out to all of my 7th and 8th grade students-- the ones that think the way they dress and the music they listen to today is what they'll be wearing and listening to when they're my age. And that's pretty much most of them. It was bound to happen. I had to write a post on my middle school days music obsessions especially after my throwback to my elementary school days. And after hearing David Bowie's song Heroes on the radio in the car today I was finally motivated to write this.

When I think middle school I think 90s grunge scene. Sound familiar to any of you? My sister and I were all about the flannel, combat boots, and baggy corduroy pants or jeans with holes in the knees. We were both into the scene and my sister was pretty much obsessed with Eddie Vedder. So embarrassing in fact, that I won't post a photo of myself this time around. People like to see cute pictures of you from when you're in second grade, and they sure like to see photos of you in the awkward grunge middle school phase too-- for different reasons of course.

I also had a need to listen to classic rock bands such as Aerosmith, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Queen, David Bowie, and The Who. And if you didn't like the classic rockers I told you that your music sucked. I think I may have had a bit of a Queen obsession (ok, I had a TOTAL Queen obsession and my vintage burgandy Doc Martins were my favorite shoes because they were the color of Brian May's guitar).  David Bowie was a pretty awesome dude too. He was super androgynous-- hmmm sounds kinda familiar just like some of my own students that are obsessed with the super androgynous stars of today.




Yes. The hair and make-up look oddly familiar. How unoriginal Adam.

I also loved making mix tapes and I'd often make them for my friends with little liner notes that I wrote for each song. This is what one of those mix tapes probably would have sounded like.

I listen to music while I'm doing just about everything-- while I work, while I cook, while I teach, while I travel. The other day I was doing just such while working on some designs I had in mind. I decided to change things up a bit and thought I'd put the good ol' iPod on shuffle. Mind you, I have thousands upon thousands upon thousands of songs on that thing. Some stuff that's on there I forget about. I've actually come to a point where I have to make the horrible decision of what to take off of the iPod when I want to add something new! Ugh!

Anyway, as I sat there working, some very interesting things that I am slightly ashamed of happened to come on. And to make it even more embarrassing for myself (I tend to make fun of myself a lot, so it's ok, you can laugh) I began singing along to these songs word for word at top notch volume. The scary part-- I honestly hadn't heard some of these songs in such a long time that I don't even know how my mind was able to remember the words from that far back! When I'm talking a long time ago, I'm talking like first and second grade. This was 1990-1992 for me, so you know, 20 years ago.

2nd grade. (Sorry about the crappy scanned photo.)

Funny thing, first grade was an important year in music for me. It's when I was first introduced to my forever favorite band Midnight Oil. I'd run around the house singing King of the Mountain (check it out below) at the top of my lungs. I also started that lifelong relationship with the Red Hot Chili Peppers that I wrote about earlier this week. And then of course there were all of those other artists that should remain nameless or semi-nameless due to the embarrassment factor. But I'll be nice and share with you anyway.




Any of that sound familiar to you? What did you listen to when you were in elementary school?

I generally don't delve into mainstream music a whole lot. There's a reason for it-- a lot of it is pretty crappy. I think about what comes on the Top 40 radio stations these days and it makes me wonder what happened to good music. The good news is that there are still radio stations out there that care about playing stuff that's quality music. I fight this battle on a nearly day to day basis with my students. I try to tell them that actually the music they listen to is bad quality and just because it's popular doesn't mean it's good. Some get it, but the majority never will.

Yet here I am, talking about mainstream music. Not to say that all mainstream music is bad. It's not. You have to be a good enough critic to pick and choose-- you have to be a music nerd. Yes. I am a music nerd. I can't listen to a song without noticing all of that music theory mumbo jumbo-- you know like chord progressions, key changes, changes in time? No? You don't know what I'm talking about? Ok. That's cool. I'm used to that.

So let's talk about something that we all know a little about-- the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Now I'm talkin' 'bout my generation! (Can't you tell I'm a Who fan too). I'm sorry, but if you want to ask any late twenty-something, this band defines our generation. Maybe Foo Fighters too, but I was born and bred with this band. Me-- born in 1983. RHCP-- born in 1984. Me-- 27 years old. RHCP-- 26 years old. See? We could practically be best friends, or dating (not that I'd want to get into that scene with a bunch of guys that like to play naked on stage except for a sock, you know, in the right area). But let's just say, we've been through a lot, RHCP and me.

Here's a little trip down memory lane.

1984 - True Men Don't Kill Coyotes
1985 - Yertle the Turtle
1987 - Me & My Friends
1989 - Good Time Boys
1991 - My Lovely Man
1995 - One Big Mob
1999 - Around the World
2002 - Minor Thing
2006 - Charlie
2006 - Storm In a Teacup
I get to choose 2 from Stadium Arcadium since it's basically 2 albums. :)
And now why, friends, do I get to go all RHCP crazy today? Because their new single, The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie is out today. I've been patiently waiting for the RHCP saga to continue, but it continues without John Frusciante. Hmmm... he brought the funk. But there was something to say for Dave Navarro during One Hot Minute. Plus, dig a little deeper, pre Mother's Milk and you can't complain about Hillel Slovak either. We shall see on August 30th when the rest of the album comes out. Until then, there will be a Chili Peppers loop going on my iTunes.

I've got the rainy day blues. And by day, I actually mean days. Spring is usually beautiful in Baltimore. It's the time of year when we can look forward to weather in the low 70s, cherry blossom lined streets, tennis in the park, outdoor meals along the water, pints and music on the rooftop deck with friends. But March never warmed up (except for one beautiful Friday afternoon) and we're now a week into April still with no beautiful weather in sight. Instead, all we've seen are cold days with rain-- lots of rain.

Last night turned into a lazy night with homemade vegetable soup and bread. While cooking, music is a must so I turned to perhaps the most perfectly named album of all time-- The Jayhawks' Rainy Day Music. Rainy Day Music does in fact embody exactly how I feel on a rainy day. Slightly lazy with just enough energy to mimic the endless drumming of the rain on the sidewalks and streets. Minor keys made for melancholy days like these. Acoustic and electric tones mixed with a little organ weaved into melodies here and there. Vocals that are soothing yet leave you with that same slightly gritty feeling you have after being caught in a downpour. And melody lines that tease you with a pop of sun, only to see it disappear again behind the clouds once more. This album, no doubt, is most definitely rainy day music.

This morning I woke up with that lazy feeling again. Maybe it was the long school week, but more than likely it was the rain. So onto the stereo goes Rainy Day Music while I sit and enjoy my cup of coffee. And so far it is riding out the rain-- we have clouds now and maybe we'll be teased with that sun later.