music Archives - Page 252 of 258 - Ramblin' with Roger

With God On Our Side

I’ve been watching God in America on PBS recently. I will grant that the criticism that it does not touch on non-Christian faiths as much as it ought is valid, but I still think the series has validity, and I’ve already recommended it to my church’s adult education coordinator. Maybe the series SHOULD be called “Christanity in America.”

That caveat aside, it is an interesting take on the conflicting views of faith in the country, never moreso than in the period right before and during the Civil War, when slavery was attacked and defended using the very same Bible. On the show, one abolitionist minister cites Exodus 21:16, “Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death.” Meanwhile, a pro-slavery preacher quotes Leviticus 25:45, 46 – “You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. You can will them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life.” This fight split the Methodist, baptist and Presbyterian denominations for decades.

Meanwhile, the slaves themselves are attracted to the liberation theology of Moses leading his people to freedom, epitomized by Exodus 3: 7-8: “The LORD said, ‘I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Thing is that most of these people had a certainty that God supports their particular take on the word because they believe – at least the non-slaves – in the notion that the United States is uniquely blessed by God. Interesting, one person in this period was less certain about God’s will, and that was President Abraham Lincoln, a man with a good Old Testament name.

The parallels with modern-day America are clear. There are some who claim to have a direct line to the Almighty when it comes to what is required/desired/permitted/omitted. The rest of us, not so much, except that God couldn’t POSSIBLY have meant THAT, at least not any more.

Anyway, it reminded me of the Bob Dylan song With God On Our Side, performed here by Joan Baez.

Beatles island song list

The interesting thing about this exercise is that I became aware, sometimes for the first time, some biases.

Ever have what you think is a really good concept, then you start actually DOING it, and you decide, “Well, maybe it WASN’T such a hot idea, after all”? So it is with this blogging project about the Beatles, clearly my favorite group.

The idea was to create my Beatles island song list. If I only had 10 or 20 or 50 or 100 Beatles songs available, which ones would I choose? First off, I had to find a list of all the songs that the Beatles recorded that are in the canon: the singles, albums, and EPs released between 1963 and 1970. No Star Club in Hamburg, no Tony Sheridan, no BBC or Anthology recordings. This list shows 215 songs, but lists Love Me Do twice (but not the other possibilities?) and also has Real Love, but not Free As a Bird. So I’m assuming 213 individual songs. It would be easy to just pick four songs from Revolver, four from Rubber Soul, and a couple others for my Top 10, but I tried, when I could, to be more diversified.

And let’s face it: making a list like this always depends on the mood so that a song at 93 on this list might be 103 or 83 if I did it again. Which almost certainly WILL NOT HAPPEN. I started working on this before February. Of 2009, for the 45th anniversary of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, which I am old enough to have watched in real time. Someone coming to the group after the fact would surely hear the songs differently.

Know also that these are not entirely or strictly by most to least favorite, but more about both the (artificial) scarcity AND the diversity. One Lennon cover version rocker might push another one back; likewise, a McCartney saloon song, a Harrison tune with sitar, or a Ringo record.

The interesting thing about this exercise is that I became aware, sometimes for the first time, of some biases. Surely, I knew about my affection for Beatles VI, my first album. But I wasn’t as aware of my general antipathy for Let It Be, an album that always felt like the group’s musical funeral. Still, all things being equal, I wouldn’t give up ANY of the songs!

I also had to find videos for all of these; if you find a broken link, PLEASE let me know, as they all worked when I started this thing. Some of the sources are HERE at Beatles Box Set 2009 and HERE at BeatlesTube.net, the purpose of the latter site being “to organize all videos about The Beatles that you can find on Youtube.” But I DID find items elsewhere and used Beatles videos from the movies, were readily available.

To give you an idea of how my thinking went. On the list:
217. Across the Universe, the Wildlife version.
216. Love Me Do, the LP version which included Andy White, NOT Ringo on drums.
215. Let It Be, the single version, solely because the album version is longer
214. Get Back, the Let It Be album version, because the single actually ends, rather than “I hope we pass the audition,”, which IS a great line on a Simpsons’ episode, to be sure.
Because other versions of these songs appear elsewhere on the list.

So I’ll be doing these 10 at a time, at no particular set schedule. It’ll be at least once a week, but it might be twice or thrice, depending on what else I have in mind for the blog, and, of course, time.

My designation of the source album requires an explanation, I reckon. For the British albums, I limited myself to the original albums that the Beatles intended. Several of the early singles, EPs and the song Bad Boy appeared on A Collection of Beatles Oldies but Goldies, but it was their intent to put those songs out AS singles or EPs, so I’ve ignored it; all of those songs now appear on the Past Master CDs. Whereas for the US albums, I picked the Capitol albums, plus the Vee-Jay Introducing the Beatles and the United Artists’ A Hard Day’s Night, which had some overlap, because those releases, especially prior to Sgt. Pepper, were so convoluted. In fact, Introducing the Beatles was released at least TWICE, with 10 common songs, plus two on each album that don’t overlap; I’m not making the distinction.

Since I’m starting this on the 5th of November, I suppose I ought to provide a link to REMEMBER by John Lennon.

Please Support Rebecca Jade’s Album

I must say, beyond the avuncular pride, that Rebecca’s a really talented young woman.

An e-mail from my eldest niece:

It’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally in the works! I’m working on an album with friends Anthony Molinaro and Alfred Howard and we’re getting very close to completing it… We’re planning its release for this coming February! Woo-hoo!! We just need a little assistance, and that’s where you come in… Please check out the link and if you feel led to help, it would be much, much appreciated!

If not, or if you just can’t right now, that’s ok, you can help by sending this link to others or maybe buying a CD when it gets completed! Every little bit helps! We hope you all enjoy the vibe of the music… And thanks for your time!!

I must say, beyond the avuncular pride, that Rebecca’s a really talented young woman. I made my pledge.

Green Day meme

His point is that we should do more than tolerate our differences, but that we should embrace them.

There’s this meme called Rock ‘n Roll Fridays. “…our little ‘twist’ is that each week we will pick a singer, band, era, or category and pick thirteen of their lyrics. Each of our questions will be based on the lyrics.”

Back in August, they did one for Green Day.

1. 21 GUNS:
“Do you know what’s worth fighting for?
When it’s not worth dying for?
Does it take your breath away and you feel yourself suffocating?”

What was the last cause/reason that you signed a petition or joined in a protest?

Actually, I sign a fair number of petitions. In the past couple months, I’ve signed them for political candidates and for a variety of peace, justice and ecological causes. I’m not keeping track. Possibly the last protest was when the evil Fred Phelps came to Albany, but it could have more recently than that; probably was, actually. Oh, it was a gay marriage rally this spring.

2. AMERICAN IDIOT:
“Don’t want to be an American idiot
One nation controlled by the media.
Information age of hysteria
It’s going out to idiot America”

Where is the best place for trusted information about world events?

It’d be cliched to say Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, but I do tend to appreciate it when he puts politicians’ and FOX News’ feet to the fire. That said, I get lots of news from lots of sources, from differing points of view, and winnow it out.

3. GOOD RIDDANCE:
“Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test and don’t ask why.
It’s not a question but a lesson learned in time”…

What was the last lesson or message about life you learned?

I’m not sure I’m having “aha” big life lessons lately, as much as mini-lessons regularly, too numerous, or subtle, to mention or even notice until much later. OK, here’s one: if I eat after 7 p.m., it interferes with my sleep. Not the LAST lesson, but that is something.

4. WELCOME TO PARADISE:
“Dear Mother, Can you hear me whining?
It’s been 3 weeks since that I left your home.
This sudden fear has left me trembling
Cause now it seems that I am out here on my own
And I’m feeling so alone”…

Where was the place you went to live when you first moved out of your parents/guardians home?

My college town of New Paltz, NY. During my tenure there, my parents moved to Charlotte, NC.

5. MINORITY:
“I want to be the minority
I don’t need your authority
Down with the moral majority
Cause I want to be the minority”…

When have you ever felt like an outsider?

I feel like an outsider surprisingly often, actually, even in the midst of a party or other event.

6. WHEN I COME AROUND:
“Oh I heard it all before
So don’t knock down my door
I’m a loser the user
So I don’t need no accuser
To try and slag me down because I know you’re right”…

What was the last bad thing you discovered about yourself?

I don’t know that I’ve learned any NEW bad things, just the same old bad things, notably impatience.

7. MISERY:
“Mr. Whirly had a catastrophic incident
He fell into the city by the bay
He liquidated his estate
Now he sleeps upon the Haight
Panhandling misery”…

If you have ever been poor, what lesson, skill-set, or experience came from it?

Mostly it’s patience for those who are currently poor. To the point of the lyric, I don’t always give money to panhandlers, but I usually don’t act as though I didn’t hear them, as though they weren’t there.

8. 80:
“Sometimes I wonder if I should be left alone
And lock myself up in a padded room
I’d sit and spew my guts out in the open air
Cuz no one wants to hear a drunken fool”…

How do you relax after a stressful day?

Really depends. Sometimes, I go to bed early, or read, or blog, or watch TV, or have a glass of wine.

9. REDUNDANT:
“We’re livin in a repetition
Content in the same old stick again
Now the routine’s turnin to a contention
Like a production line goin over and over and over roller coaster”…

Do you do something over and over the same way, even though you know there is a better/simpler way to do it?

Well, no and yes. I’m sure there are better ways to use certain technologies – cellphone, digital camera for two – that would probably make my life easier in investing the time learning how. Don’t know if it’s simpler in the short term, getting past the learning curve, but it’d definitely be better.

10. ANDROID:
“It makes me wonder when I grow to be that age
Will I be walking down the street begging for your spare change
Or will I grow that old? Will I still be around?
The way I carry on, I’ll end up 6 feet underground and waste away”…

What age do you believe is OLD and why?

85, mostly because it’s 20 years past 65, the traditional retirement age.

11. WAITING:
“I’ve been waiting a lifetime for this moment to come
I’m destined for anything at all”…

What is your biggest dream in life (so far)?

I was reading some LOC, and the letter writer was complaining about the word “tolerance”, used in the context that we should be more tolerant of gays, Muslims, et al. His point is that we should do more than tolerate our differences, but that we should embrace them. While I don’t disagree, the cultural milieu seems to be sometimes SO intolerant and even vile, mere tolerance these days would be perfectly acceptable.

Wait a minute: was I supposed to say “end hunger” or “world peace”, and I’m reducing my dream to a Rodney King quote? Certainly, it cannot be something that’s already happened, for what would be the point of the pursuit of life otherwise? OK, that my daughter grows up to be smart and well and happy, not necessarily in that order.

12. POPROCKS AND COKE:
“I don’t care is you don’t mind
I’ll be there, not far behind
I will dare, keep in mind, I’ll be there for you”…

What is the biggest favor you ever did for family or for a friend?

Lent money that I really couldn’t afford to lend.

13. BASKET CASE:
“Yea, I went to a shrink to analyze my dreams,
She says it’s lack of sex that’s bringin’ me down…”

What would you like more of in your life?

Free time, by myself. And massage – a lot more massage.