As I've written before, I've got some ambivalent feelings about John Mayer.
At times, I've been a John Mayer apologist, saying that even if you don't like his Middle-Of-The-Road-Singer-Songwriter Stuff, don't write him off. If he can stand on the Crossroads stage with Clapton, et al, then he's For Real, and someday he may make a record you'll like.
And at other times, I just haven't been able to embrace Mayer at all.
The problem with the former of the two arguments, is that there hasn't been a ton of evidence to support it, at least as far as radio songs go.
But with "Queen Of California" I feel like I have something to talk about.
Now, how much you like this song is entirely dependent on your appreciation for a certain Classic Jam Band, but for me, the playing, the music, the groove on this track brings out something I haven't felt before, about Mayer's music. There's a level of substance there that was heretofore lacking for me.
Maybe in a few albums, the idea of being an apologist will fade, and I can just be a fan.
Hear the song on Youtube.
Postscript: While I wanted to write something positive, because I really, sincerely love this track, I can't let it go without saying that there's an amazing lyric, that drives me just a little bit nuts. "Joni wrote 'Blue' in a house by the sea/I gotta believe there's another color waiting on me." While, at first, I was struck by the cleverness of the line, I then was kinda put off because it sounds like John is equating himself with one of the most acclaimed songwriters of all time, suggesting that he probably has an album on the level of "Blue" within him. Change the line to "I wanna believe . . ." and it takes out the certainty of his statement.
Showing posts with label Joni Mitchell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joni Mitchell. Show all posts
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Joni Mitchell "Cherokee Louise"
I felt awful. Awful. Like the worst person in the world.
How could I have done it? Because, in his mind, it couldn't have been accidental . . .
It was the Monday after Father's Day, and I was perusing my email Inbox.
Mostly junk mail, of course, but usually over the weekend, we might get an email from a station listener wondering "What was that song?" or "Can you tell me more about the event the DJ was talking about?" That kind of stuff.
But then there was this email that made me feel awful.
It asked, How could you have played "Cherokee Louise" on Father's Day?
Huh?
He was a step-father, who had worked tirelessly to earn the trust and love, of his wife's children. He was a Dad to them, as much as any biological Dad could be. And to hear that song on Father's Day . . . it was like a slap in the face.
Huh?
I have to admit, I have never delved too deeply into Joni Mitchell. She's part of the sound of mvyradio, and, as the station programmer I made sure we had several of her tracks in rotation, but beyond the big hits I didn't know to much about her songs.
So I looked up the lyrics of "Cherokee Louise."
Ughhhhh.
It's a song about a young, teenage girl, who is being sexually abused by her Step-Father. Not really great Father's Day fare.
We have a couple thousand songs in regular rotation, and play thousands more on an occasional basis. So on the one hand, I could be forgiven for not knowing the lyrics and meaning of every single song we play.
But it really drove home a point that I think about all the time, when programming the station:
People's level of engagement is vastly different.
For most people, "Cherokee Louise" could play on Father's Day, and it wouldn't have any effect whatsoever on them. Maybe the never knew what it was about. Maybe they did know the meaning of the song, but didn't tie it together with the Holiday. Maybe mvy was just on in the background, and the song floated by, with them unwitting.
But for one guy, the song and the context hit him. And it hit him hard.
I wrote him an apologetic email, copping to the fact that I had no idea of the song's content, and promising him that we would never play it on Father's Day again.
Hear the song on Youtube.
How could I have done it? Because, in his mind, it couldn't have been accidental . . .
It was the Monday after Father's Day, and I was perusing my email Inbox.
Mostly junk mail, of course, but usually over the weekend, we might get an email from a station listener wondering "What was that song?" or "Can you tell me more about the event the DJ was talking about?" That kind of stuff.
But then there was this email that made me feel awful.
It asked, How could you have played "Cherokee Louise" on Father's Day?
Huh?
He was a step-father, who had worked tirelessly to earn the trust and love, of his wife's children. He was a Dad to them, as much as any biological Dad could be. And to hear that song on Father's Day . . . it was like a slap in the face.
Huh?
I have to admit, I have never delved too deeply into Joni Mitchell. She's part of the sound of mvyradio, and, as the station programmer I made sure we had several of her tracks in rotation, but beyond the big hits I didn't know to much about her songs.
So I looked up the lyrics of "Cherokee Louise."
Ughhhhh.
It's a song about a young, teenage girl, who is being sexually abused by her Step-Father. Not really great Father's Day fare.
We have a couple thousand songs in regular rotation, and play thousands more on an occasional basis. So on the one hand, I could be forgiven for not knowing the lyrics and meaning of every single song we play.
But it really drove home a point that I think about all the time, when programming the station:
People's level of engagement is vastly different.
For most people, "Cherokee Louise" could play on Father's Day, and it wouldn't have any effect whatsoever on them. Maybe the never knew what it was about. Maybe they did know the meaning of the song, but didn't tie it together with the Holiday. Maybe mvy was just on in the background, and the song floated by, with them unwitting.
But for one guy, the song and the context hit him. And it hit him hard.
I wrote him an apologetic email, copping to the fact that I had no idea of the song's content, and promising him that we would never play it on Father's Day again.
Hear the song on Youtube.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Joni Mitchell “If”
All Time Top Five Songs that shouldn’t make me cry, but do . . .
Though she’s one of the greatest songwriters alive, Joni Mitchell used someone else’s words for this song---the 1896 poem by Rudyard Kipling.
In light of yesterday’s post about crying while thinking of my daughter growing to womanhood, you might think that this song makes me cry because it makes me think of my son (who’ll be born in 6 weeks) growing up to be a man.
But no, the fatherhood angle isn’t what makes me shed a tear.
No, it's the Simpson's use of "If" that does it to me, believe it or not.
In the early episode called “Old Money,” Grandpa Simpson meets woman named Bea in his nursing home. They have just begun a romance, when Bea suddenly passes away, leaving her fortune to Grandpa. Grandpa spends the episode trying to figure out how he should spend the money. A good chunk of the episode is about the indignity of growing old, as Grampa is treated like burden by his son, his grandkids and the nursing home staff.
Wanting to do something that will honor Bea’s memory, Grandpa takes the money to a casino, to try to increase his pot so he can help as many people as possible. And when Homer tries to stop him, Grandpa recites an abbreviated version of the Kipling poem:
The episode ends with Grandpa using his money to improve his nursing home, inviting his senior friends inside with the line, “C’mon in Friends, Dignity is on me.”
Gets me every time.
The speech starts at 20:25
From time to time on Every Day I Write The Blog, I do a week’s worth of my five favorite songs on theme. For the All Time Top Five rules, see this previous post.
Though she’s one of the greatest songwriters alive, Joni Mitchell used someone else’s words for this song---the 1896 poem by Rudyard Kipling.
In light of yesterday’s post about crying while thinking of my daughter growing to womanhood, you might think that this song makes me cry because it makes me think of my son (who’ll be born in 6 weeks) growing up to be a man.
But no, the fatherhood angle isn’t what makes me shed a tear.
No, it's the Simpson's use of "If" that does it to me, believe it or not.
In the early episode called “Old Money,” Grandpa Simpson meets woman named Bea in his nursing home. They have just begun a romance, when Bea suddenly passes away, leaving her fortune to Grandpa. Grandpa spends the episode trying to figure out how he should spend the money. A good chunk of the episode is about the indignity of growing old, as Grampa is treated like burden by his son, his grandkids and the nursing home staff.
Wanting to do something that will honor Bea’s memory, Grandpa takes the money to a casino, to try to increase his pot so he can help as many people as possible. And when Homer tries to stop him, Grandpa recites an abbreviated version of the Kipling poem:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch - and toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!
The episode ends with Grandpa using his money to improve his nursing home, inviting his senior friends inside with the line, “C’mon in Friends, Dignity is on me.”
Gets me every time.
The speech starts at 20:25
From time to time on Every Day I Write The Blog, I do a week’s worth of my five favorite songs on theme. For the All Time Top Five rules, see this previous post.
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