“Octopus’s Garden” from The Beatles’ 1969 album Abbey Road was the second song Ringo has ever written. George Harrison says “It’s lovely. The song gets very deep into your consciousness…because it’s so peaceful. I suppose Ringo is writing cosmic songs these days without even realising it.”
Paul McCartney’s Wings “Band On The Run” Isolated Bass and Drums
Wings’ “Band On The Run” album was recorded at the EMI studios in Lagos, Nigeria after Paul McCartney decided he wanted to try recording in a more exotic place and get away from some of the media blitz happening in the UK and also securing himself complete artistic freedom. There was a bump in the road, though, when lead guitarist Henry McCollough and drummer Denny Seiwell left the band. Paul and band members Linda McCartney and Denny Laine decided to carry on just the same, with Paul taking on drum and lead guitar as well as bass.
http://youtu.be/3x_r06YfkB8
Johnny Cash’s Isolated Vocal for “Ring Of Fire”
Written by June Carter Cash and Merle Kilgore and popularized by Johnny Cash, “Ring of Fire” appears on Cash’s 1963 album, Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash. The song was originally recorded by June’s sister, Anita Carter, on her Mercury Records album Folk Songs Old and New (1963) as “(Love’s) Ring of Fire”. “Ring of Fire” ranked No. 4 on CMT’s 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music in 2003 and #87 on Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The song was recorded on March 25, 1963, and became the biggest hit of Johnny Cash’s career, staying at number one on the charts for seven weeks. It was certified Gold on January 21, 2010 by the R.I.A.A. and has also sold over 1.2 million digital downloads.
Although “Ring of Fire” sounds somewhat ominous, the term refers to falling in love – which is what June Carter was experiencing with Johnny Cash at the time. Some sources claim that Carter had seen the phrase “Love is like a burning ring of fire,” underlined in one of her uncle A. P. Carter’s Elizabethan books of poetry. She worked with Kilgore on writing a song inspired by this phrase as she had seen her uncle do in the past. She had written: “There is no way to be in that kind of hell, no way to extinguish a flame that burns, burns, burns”.
These isolated vocals of Karen Carpenter Will Sooth You
Fun Fact: After the Carpenters became successful in the early 1970s, she and her brother bought two apartment buildings in Downey as a financial investment. Formerly named the “Geneva”, the two complexes were renamed “Only Just Begun” and “Close to You” in honor of the duo’s first smash hits. The apartment buildings are located at 8353 and 8356 (respectively) 5th Street, Downey, California. In 1976 Carpenter bought two Century City apartments, gutted them, and turned them into one condominium. Located at 2222 Avenue of the Stars, the doorbell chimed the first six notes of “We’ve Only Just Begun”.
Below, “Ticket to Ride” vocals and drums:
“Yesterday Once More” vocals and bass:
“Goodbye To Love” vocals, bass and drums:
“Rainy Days And Mondays” vocals, bass and drums:
“For All We Know” vocals, bass and drums:
The Music Industry’s Most-Loved Albums Of All Time, Part 32
This is part 32 of an ongoing series where the kind folk of the music business reveal their favourite album of all time.
Ask people in the music industry the seemingly simple and straightforward question, “What is your favourite album of all time?” and you’ll find that it’s not always easy. After all, my industry peers listen to hundreds of albums a month – thousands of songs during that time. Because the question isn’t the best album of all time – the one that’s made them the most money in sales – but the one release they personally can’t live without, that one title they have two copies of in several formats, in case one breaks. It’s also about that album that for them has the best back stories and the one that has the most meaning in their lives.
Jessi Sanfilippo, Earworm Wizard at SHUGGILIPPO
Monsters of Folk, Monsters of Folk
There’s something about the round-robin vocals of each track that makes it one of those front to back listens. You’d be hard-pressed and pretty nuts to skip a track on the thing. Then I went and sealed the certainty on it being one of my favorites when I saw them perform live a good number of years ago now. It was a very soul-moving experience and I’ve not yet spoken to anyone who saw them on that tour that experienced themselves anything otherwise. Infinite favorite points for when you listen to the thing on vinyl. Hot damn.
Stephen Carlick, Senior Editor, Exclaim!
Transatlanticism, Death Cab for Cutie
Teenagers are limited by distance in a lot of ways — physical distance keeps you from the places and people you dream about, a lack of experience keeps you from the jobs and callings you feel are yours and independence, though finally in view, is still just outside your grasp. Distance was the thematic through-line that cohered Death Cab for Cutie’s epic Transatlanticism, and being a 16-year-old — and a bit of a hopeless romantic, to boot — it was a lifesaver. Ben Gibbard’s plaintive lyrics, which yearned to traverse distances of all types and lengths, felt at once meditative and urgent, hopeless yet seemingly within arm’s reach. I still can’t “travel just by folding a map,” but when I hear “The New Year,” “Tiny Vessels” and “We Looked Like Giants,” it’s a journey nonetheless.
Cal Koat, worldbeatcanada Radio
Revolver, The Beatles
I discovered the songs on Revolver by The Beatles while camping with my family at Okanagan Lake. Good Day Sunshine played out on a portable 45 turntable as I lounged on an air mattress in a canvas pup tent, reading Green Lantern comic books. The album continues to take me back to an exact space and time and started me on a lifelong professional and personal relationship with music. Revolver, like Rubber Soul before it, captures the most influential band in modern history at the point where they have shed their skiffle innocence, but not yet made the giant leap toward concept albums and lush productions. George Martin’s studio wizardry; making magic with dated recording technology, razor blades and edit tape is most evident on these tracks. The cover art stands as one of the all time great rock portraits. I wear my Revolver t-shirt to this day, which always elicits smiles, appreciative nods and many compliments. Got To Get You Into My Life peaks with a 5 second guitar solo by George Harrison with the classic Ricky/Vox chime that laid the foundation for the Byrds, Big Star, REM, Petty and a world of great artists to follow. Sgt. Pepper may be the overwhelming number 1 for many, but Revolver has defined who I have become. I can’t live without it.
Breanne L. Heldman, New York Bureau Chief | Yahoo Entertainment
Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Red Hot Chili Peppers
I was in 7th grade when this came out, and I’ll never forget dancing to “Give It Away” at an end-of-the-school-year party. I bought the cassette shortly thereafter. I played it to the point of kissing, squeaky noises and then repurchased it on CD, appreciating that I often found a different track that jumped out at me as my “favorite,” depending on my mood. It remains an undeniable favorite and desert island must-have.
Nadia Elkharadly, Senior Editor, Addicted Magazine
Badmotorfinger, Soundgarden
It was the 2nd soundgarden album I discovered. I listened to it over and over and over, feeling every note, taking in every word, and realizing that this was MUSIC, and i was in love with it. It’s an album I know inside and out, I’ve seen pieces of it played live and the experience is unparalleled, and topped each and every time. It’s my desert island album, and I can’t live without it.
Tom Robbins Gets Animated Answering “Where Do His Ideas Come From?”
“If I knew how it was going to end, I probably wouldn’t write it.”
– Tom Robbins in 1994, as told to Tod Mesirow
Tom Robbins, author of classics like Still Life of Woodpecker, Jitterbug Perfume, and Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, takes us inside the mind of a writer who’d prefer writing with a raven quill dipped in lizard blood. For many, including tons of college students, Robbins transported readers to another world where it seemed possible that enormously oversized thumbs could bring you happiness, and romance could take place inside a pack of cigarettes. Where do these fantastic stories begin?
We present outtakes from a previously unheard interview Robbins did with Tod Mesirow back in 1994 for a film about authors that was never made. In this episode of Blank on Blank, Robbins dreams about a nurse serving him tequila sunrises when he’s 85, why he took a two-by-four to typewriter and works in pen and paper, how his first attempts at writing began when he was five and a story about a pilot stuck on a deserted island, and how he pours over every word in his books 30 or 40 times.
Canadian Arts/Media Job Posts For December 8, 2014
The Music Industry’s Most-Loved Albums Of All Time, Part 31
This is part 31 of an ongoing series where the kind folk of the music business reveal their favourite album of all time.
Ask people in the music industry the seemingly simple and straightforward question, “What is your favourite album of all time?” and you’ll find that it’s not always easy. After all, my industry peers listen to hundreds of albums a month – thousands of songs during that time. Because the question isn’t the best album of all time – the one that’s made them the most money in sales – but the one release they personally can’t live without, that one title they have two copies of in several formats, in case one breaks. It’s also about that album that for them has the best back stories and the one that has the most meaning in their lives.
Terrance Pryor, Music writer at Fake Walls, AXS, Prefix Magazine and Examiner.com
Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy/Mindless Self Indulgence
Some may raise their eyebrow at this. As a kid, I was always into electronic and industrial music. Acts like The Prodigy, Daft Punk, Pitchshifter, and Nine Inch Nails were a part of my musical regimen. One day, I turned on WSOU (Seton Hall’s Pirate Radio) and heard Mindless Self Indulgence vocalist Jimmy Urine croon the line “I’ll show you how official midgets jack me off” over thumping beats. The song in question is “I Hate Jimmy Page”, which Jimmy has stated is aimed towards the somewhat laughable seriousness of rock music. Intrigued with a few more songs that I heard from the group, I picked up Frankenstein Girls at FYE and couldn’t put it down for weeks. Lyrically, Jimmy Urine isn’t exactly Thom Yorke or Morrissey; songs about masturbation (“Masturbates”), failing to see eye to eye with the youth (“Keeping Up With The Kids”), and an ode to 90s Nickelodeon TV show Clarissa Explains It All (“Clarissa”) were embedded in a 30 track album that was alphabetized. In the CD booklet, the band clearly states “You must listen to this album with your tongue planted firmly in your cheek”, and they obviously made sure to emphasize that statement throughout their career, starting from their equally as viscous proper debut album Tight. You can certainly sense Jimmy’s “screw you” attitude towards what was considered mainstream music and its image. The thin frontman’s vocals can be somewhat bewildering to some; his falsettos and pseudo rap parts are just as bemusing as the electro punk beats laid down on the album. The songs on Frankenstein Girls averaged about two minutes long; a few of them barely make it through one minute. Musically, it was hard to decipher if Jimmy wanted the listener to dance, mosh, or start a revolution. Maybe, he wanted a wild combination of the three. At the time, the album was something completely different; it was like having GG Allin as the new vocalist for Atari Teenage Riot. The band have matured their sound over the years, but if I had to show a good starting point to get into the band, Frankenstein Girls would be the perfect choice. Another quote from the CD booklet states “P.S. If you think we’re rightwing, leftwing, feminists, sexists, tops, bottoms, gay or straight, I want to tell you right now that we are.” If there’s a band that truly embraces the full nature of their name, it’s definitely Mindless Self Indulgence.
DJ MisterVee, Beats From The East, CJLO 1690AM
Rhythm Nation 1814, Janet Jackson
It was a very diverse album that featured rock, pop, RnB, new jack swing, slow jams, and even METAL. Very few artists could get away with creating such an album, complete with conscious activist-lyrics and more mainstream lovey-dovey content. Janet pulled it off. I have yet to hear one other pop star who pull off such an album as successfully as Janet (with the help of Jam & Lewis, of course). Sadly, nobody dares to anymore.
Robert Gottesman, I Can’t Believe My Earz
Rubber Soul, The Beatles
Sort of a breakout album for their songwriting, showing a maturity, and social consciousness. Incredibly harmonies, and wonderfully crafted melodies. Nowhere Man & In My Life are 2 of Lennon’s best songs. All in all a wonderfully simple exercise in pop perfection. And only 4 weeks to record.
Insanul Ahmed, Complex Magazine
The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem
Maybe its because it came out when I was about 13 or 14, and music during people’s formative years always have the most impact on them, but it was what was happening at the time and it meant to so much to me. I remembering listening to it and being more in the zone in a way that I really can’t imagine being in anymore. It was the first album I completely devoured, I knew every song, every lyric, every image in the booklet, and I wanted to know everything I could about Eminem and the album itself. It certainly helped set me on the path that I’m on today.
Stacy Harris, Publisher/Executive Editor/Media Critic, Stacy’s Music Row Report
Kristofferson, Kris Kristofferson
Released at a time when an album might include up to a dozen songs, most of which were filler, just about every song on Kristofferson should have became a hit. Indeed, several became standards- and deservedly so! Shortly before its release (It was Kris Kristofferson’s debut album) I saw Kris in concert in Washington D.C. He was Ian & Sylvia’s opening act and not many in the audience knew who he was (becoming). I knew because I had seen him on ABC-TV’s The Johnny Cash Show. The day of the album’s release I hit the record store. (Remember record stores?) I asked a clerk if the store had Kris Kristofferson’s new album. “Who?” Well, after some digging, he found it for me, but before making my purchase and heading merrily along my way I couldn’t resist telling the salesman: “Six months from now you won’t be asking ‘Who?'”
