Rolling Stones "Bitch"

I remember standing outside the dorm building, looking up at McNamara Hall, trying to find out where the music was coming from.

It was cold, but I was happier to be standing alone in the cold, than headed upstairs toward confrontation.

I was an R.A. at UMass Amherst, 1989, and it was my night on duty.

R.A.s were there to answer questions, help folks out, intervene when necessary and keep the peace.  Mostly, I just told my residents "Don't smoke dope in the hallway, and I won't hassle you."

But some students just had to be confrontational.

What other reason could there be for the level of noise that was coming from somewhere in the 8 story building?  There was no possible way that someone was actually IN the room where the music was.  It was insufferably loud.

The other R.A. on duty and I were in the 1st floor office, when we got complaints.  She was a take-charge type, and was ready to march up the stairs and find the source.

I headed out into the courtyard, to see if I could pinpoint it from that vantage.

It was early evening, and most all the rooms on that side of the building had lights on.  Except one.  And notably, that room's window was open.

Yes, very sneaky, Idiots.  No one will be able to figure out it's you playing the stereo at 11, if the lights are off.

Pretty much on schedule, the music stopped.  The light came on.

This happened in just about the amount of time it would have taken my partner to walk up to the 5th floor, knock on the door, and tell these geniuses to turn the music the fuck down.

I stood there for a second, waiting to see if I could hear anything, or see any shadows or action.

Pretty much on schedule, the music came back on.

This happened in just about the amount of time it would have taken my partner to yell at the residents for a few minutes, tell them they were going to get written up, and leave.  Likely, she was about halfway down the hall away from the room, when I saw a stereo speaker hoisted into the window.

The volume went straight up to FULL, and across the courtyard and echoing against the surrounding buildings was "Bitch" by the Rolling Stones.

As offensive as it was, I had to give them some kind of credit for not being afraid of inevitable confrontation and penalty.

The song lasted for a good 30 seconds.  No doubt my partner had wheeled right around and double-timed it back to the room.

I had to give her credit too, for not being afraid to going charging into the face of the most truculent opposition.

The music stopped.  I waited out the in cold.  Nothing else happened.

Both parties had satisfied their level of confrontation.

And I, ever one to avoid a tangle, waited outside a few minutes more, just in case . . .



Hear the song on Youtube.

Charlie Watts "The A, B, C & D Of Boogie Woogie"

I was watching the Hurricane Sandy Benefit show and when the Rolling Stones came on, it make me think of my Grandfather.

I know that sounds like a cheap "The Rolling Stones are OLD!" joke.  But I'm actually sincere here.

I was looking at Charlie Watts and something about him, a few things about him, reminded me of my Grandfather.

Let me say that Charlie Watts and my late Grampa would never have been mistaken for one another.  Charlie Watts is fair and English and pencil-thin mustachioed. My Grandpa was olive and Sicilian and clean-shaven.

But seeing Charlie Watts on stage during the televised concert, somehow made me think of Grampa.

Part of it simply had to do with age.  Watts is now 71, near the same age that Grampa was when he died.

My clearest image of my Grandfather is a picture of him (which I couldn't find, but enjoy this photo of him in a tie, hold me as a baby), in a plain white t-shirt, looking like he had worked up a sweat that day (he had; he'd built a cabinet for my Mom on a hot July day). 

And Watts, in his plain t-shirt (see above), cuts much the same figure---wiry and strong.

My grampa was, shall we say, economical with his words.  So is Charlie Watts.  Enjoy the video below that begins with interviewer Jules Holland dragging answers out of Watts, a single word at a time.

And they both had/have these knowing smiles.  The kind that let you know they may only say a few words, but they have a lot entertaining thoughts going through their head.

As a drew these comparisons, I remembered a story about Watts, and a half-remembered story about my Grampa.

Perhaps the most famous story about Charlie Watts, is this one:

"A famous anecdote relates that during the mid-1980s, an intoxicated Jagger phoned Watts' hotel room in the middle of the night asking "Where's my drummer?" Watts reportedly got up, shaved, dressed in a suit, put on a tie and freshly shined shoes, descended the stairs, and punched Jagger in the face, saying: "Don't ever call me your drummer again. You're my fucking singer!" 

(I've read that story a number of places, but this quote comes from Wikipedia)

There was a fuzzy recollection of a story about my Grampa, and I asked around to my Mom and my cousins.  It was Uncle Joe who remembered.

My Grampa was a quiet man and a gentle man.  But he was also a hard-working man, who, though he didn't look like he weighed 100 pounds, was wiry and powerful from years of construction and mechanic work.

Uncle Joe related an occasion when he was working in the same garage as my Grampa.  There was a loud-mouth co-worker---older than Uncle Joe, but much younger than my Grandfather---who was cussing, cussing, cussing at Grampa.  Grampa chose to walk away, but the co-worker did not relent and in fact followed him.  Pushed to his limit, Grampa turned and hit the guy with a single uppercut, lifting him the younger man up off his feet and laying him out flat.  No words.  No bullshit.

So yeah, it IS a cheap shot to say "The Rolling Stones remind me of my Grampa!" but when your Grampa was kind of a quiet badass, I guess it's not really a cheap shot.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Keith Richards "Run Rudolph Run"

A weekend/Holiday post: 

It occurred to me this week, that of all the artists we play on mvyradio, there are very, very few, who don't have at least ONE Christmas tune in their stable.

But surprisingly, The Rolling Stones don't seem to.

Of course, it makes perfect sense that Keith Richards  covers this Chuck Berry tune . . .


Hear the song on Youtube.

Rolling Stones "Doom And Gloom"

Picking new songs to put into rotation, is a little like picking fruit. 

Yeah, you want to select the best of what's at market.  But what's out there is seasonal.

October is a funny month.

If you've got an established artist with an anticipated record (Avett Brothers, Mumford & Sons), you want the album out in August, at the latest, September.  This gives the album enough time to build through the fall and be lodged in folks' brains for the holiday season.

Its hard to break a record once November hits and the Christmas music starts and people have less time to pay attention or invest in something new. 

So October is filled with releases that trade in on highly recognizable names with easily identifiable projects.

Paul Simon?  Live album?  You don't need a road map to figure out what this is going to sound like.

Olivia Newton John and John Travolta?  Together for a Christmas record?  You know what that is and can buy it (if you're a fan) without ever hearing a note.

The downside of this, if you are someone in the business of promoting records, is that each week it is a foregone conclusion that the radio stations you are calling on are devoting at least one of their coveted openings to these major releases, at the expense of the young bands you are promoting.

Most of the record promoters who call mvyradio know that we only add 2 or 3 songs every week.  So I had this conversation a number of times last Friday:

Promoter:  Do you know what you are going to add on Monday?  Do you have room for (the record I'm promoting that you just said you like)?

PJ:  I'll probably only add two songs on Monday.  And one of them is going to be the new Stones track.

Promoter:  Yeah, that's what everybody is saying.  Stones this week.  Adele last week.

And actually both "Skyfall" and "Doom And Gloom" are pretty good songs.  So I don't might them hogging the real estate.

But it must be frustrating to be a promoter in October.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Alabama Shakes "I Ain't The Same"

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Alabama Shakes at this weekend's Newport Folk Festival.

That's based largely on the rave reviews of anyone I know who has seen them.

And it's partially based on the record.

Barbara asked me my thoughts on the record, and I had a surprisingly thorough answer.  I hadn't even realized I had formulated a coherent thought.

"Wait for their 3rd record," was my answer.  "The 3rd record is where they'll really hit it."

I like "Boys And Girls."  I think there are plenty of strong songs on there.  I seems to be a really great first record.  But I don't think they've hit their full potential yet.  Based on what I know of their live show, they are soooo much more than what is on that record.

They're not going to get it on record #2, most likely.

One year ago, they were playing little clubs.  But the buzz has been so fast and so fierce, that they're playing on National TV and at major festivals and have jumped to a level of success that must be mind-boggling to them.

So the second record is likely to be either a) a product of frenzy, or b) a product of too many meddlesome outsiders.

I think of Robert Randolph And The Family Band.

Their first record (I'm not counting the live EP), "Unclassified" only scratched the surface of the amazing dynamic of their live show.  But it catapulted them onto some very large stages.

The 2nd record . . . "Colorblind" was very popular (and, in doing research for this entry, seems to have received mostly positive-to-glowing reviews), but something about it rang false for me.  It was full of co-writers and guest stars and smacked of producer-intervention.

It was the third record where I felt like I was really hearing the band that I had seen in concert.

Some of the credit, no doubt, comes from the band learning how to make records.  And some of the credit, for sure, goes to T Bone Burnett, who seems to make records by removing all the extraneous BS, to leave only the most organic, natural beauty of the talent.

So hopefully, Alabama Shakes can take some of what they have (like the Stonesy-"Emotional Rescue" feel of I Ain't The Same), and pair it with the Road Dog/Veteran status they will acquire, and bring it to a producer who can get their record closer to the electricity of the live performances.

It's likely that T Bone Burnett's Bat-phone is already ringing.

Rolling Stones "Mother's Little Helper"

My wife doesn't like taking her vitamins.

It's not that she dislikes its effects.  Or disputes its health benefits.

She just doesn't like to take it every day.

Moreover, she doesn't like to have to take it every day.

My wife is an artist.  Her brain doesn't work the same way as mine.

While I crave and thrive with routine, she bucks against it.  She actually finds it annoying that if she sees me brushing my teeth at night, then that means I am going to bed.  She brushes her teeth when they feel dirty, not based on a schedule or clock unrelated to how her teeth feel.

So she didn't like taking her vitamin in the morning, because she didn't like that she had to do it.

How does she feel when she doesn't take it?  Lousy.  She is completely aware of this.  But will she take it on her own?  No.

I tried to intervene.  Or do what I thought was "helping out."  In the morning as I poured myself a glass of water, I put her vitamin box out on the counter.  That way, she had to, at a minimum, move it out of her way to do anything on our small kitchen counter.  And maybe, because she had to pick it up anyway, she'd just take it.

That is not what happened.

Instead, she came to resent the fact that I was trying to force her to take her vitamins.  So she rebelled, and stopped taking them completely.

Such is the weird, silly, daily, endless negotiation of marriage.  You have two people who live together and love each other, but are completely different people with worldviews that invariably conflict.  And something as simple as taking a vitamin becomes a Battleground State.

It's a miracle that anyone can manage to stay married, when we are hard-wired to fight against the things we consider to be "against our nature" no matter how stupid those things are.

My Mom and Dad have been married for over 40 years.  They each have many entrenched habits and worldviews that drives one nuts that the other will never change.

"But I noticed something went we went to visit them last month," my wife said to me one day.

"Every morning, your Mom would come into the kitchen, pour a glass of orange juice and give it to your Dad.  At first, I thought it was just your Mom trying to force your Dad to do something healthy.  Then I thought to myself, 'Why doesn't he get his own damn juice?'  But then I realized, she was doing something for him, that he wouldn't do for himself.  And instead of resenting it, he accepted it."

She said, "In the morning, put my vitamins out for me.  And you can even tell me to take it.  I promise not to get mad at you."

So every morning, I pour myself a glass of water, and I get her vitamins off the shelf and I put one on the counter.  And she takes it, without feeling like I am trying to force something upon her.

But most mornings, as she takes it, perhaps as a nod to her rebellious nature, she hums this tune with just a hint of sarcasm.



Hear the song on Youtube.

Willie Nelson, Keith Richards, Ryan Adams and Hank Williams III "Dead Flowers"

What a great quartet, for Kentucky Derby Day!

Well when you're sitting back in your rose pink cadillac
Making bets on Kentucky Derby Day
Ah, I'll be in my basement room with a needle and a spoon
And another girl to take my pain away

Hear the song on Youtube.

Pat Benatar "Heartbreaker"

How about this trio?

Pat Benatar does Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker."

Mick Jagger does Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker."

Robert Plant does The Rolling Stones' "Heartbreaker."

Hear the originals and see if you can imagine the switcheroo.

(Thanks for the idea, Craig Sherman!)


Hear Pat Benetar on Youtube.


Hear Led Zeppelin on Youtube.


Hear The Rolling Stones on Youtube.


For other Incredible Imaginary Freaky Friday Cover Tune Switcheroos see all the posts from this week.

Rolling Stones "Sympathy For The Devil"

This Week: Excerpts From That Novel I'm Never Going To Write.

20 pages after looking at buttons, I delve into the history of The Zipper.

I wrote 2 possible endings for this chapter. I think the first one is a little truer to the whole premise, but relies on a "The Rolling Stones Are Old" joke. The second ending is a little snappier. Your pick.


The Amish think that zippers are the tool of the Devil.

What makes anyone think that the Devil uses tools?

Hell is pretty well known for its natural phenomena—the molten lakes, the brimstone-singed air, the occasional snowball-—but in no depiction of Hell is there ever any mention of a fine, handcrafted wooden cabinet or lawnmower go-cart.

The Devil never built a birdhouse.

No, tool of the Devil seems wildly inappropriate.

Really, if the Devil has any handicraft, it’s in the culinary arts.

He’s responsible for deviled eggs, deviled ham and devil’s food cake, among other sinful delights.

Yes, “appliance of the Devil” would be far more appropriate than “tool.”

Or “utensil of the Devil.”

The Charlie Daniels Band came close to popularizing the phrase ‘Instrument of the Devil’ with their 1982 hit “Devil Went Down To Georgia.” But the plan backfired when the Devil blew the fiddle contest and violin playing subsequently became associated with weakness, i.e. non-mastery of the forces of darkness.

Leaving us stuck with the nonsensical “Tool of the Devil.”

Really, even if you believed that zippers were evil, aren’t they more of a “Gadget of the Devil”?

So let’s examine this contraption of the damned. Go ahead, look at your zipper.

For love of God, please tell me you aren’t reading this book naked.

Can you believe that the first place you looked is the last place anyone thought to put a zipper?

Well, they say that inventions rarely end up being used for what they were originally intended. Thomas Edison invented the phonograph so people would be able to recall the voices of the dead. An intended use that seems lost on today’s music fans. Unless you listen to The Dead.

In 1851, Elias Howe patented the "automatic, continuous clothing closure,” a precursor to the zipper, but got distracted when another of his inventions caught fire. After dousing the flames and clearing the smoke from his workspace, Howe completed and patented the sewing machine, which then figuratively caught fire among consumers.

It wasn’t until 44 years later that Whitcomb Judson created the “clasp locker” to replace those anachronistic “laces” in shoes. This complex eye-and-hook system-—only marginally like the zippers of today--was marketed by Judson’s own Universal Fastener Company, the place where in 1911 a young Gideon Sundback was making a name for himself as an electrical engineer. A recent widower, Gideon—-who knew the idle mind is the Devil’s playground--filled his lonely hours at the workbench. Two years later, he emerged from his grief with the familiar design that so frightens the Pennsylvania Dutch.

Yet to be called the “zipper” Sundback’s “Separable Fastener” set a zipping standard still adhered to today, consisting of about ten fastening elements per inch, with two facing rows of teeth that are pulled into a single piece by the slider.

It was the B.F. Goodrich Company that developed the name “Zipper,” using the Devil’s gadget on their rubber footwear. For reasons beyond modern comprehension, for the next twenty years zippers were used only on galoshes and tobacco pouches. It wasn’t until the 1930s that fashion designers put zippers on the crotch of children’s clothing. Soon zippers were replacing buttons on men’s “trousers.” Trousers, of course, would later be replaced by “slacks” during the Nixon administration, which would in turn be replaced by our modern day “pants.”

Through Howe, Judson and Sundback, from shoes to pouches to pants, the zippers’ journey from inception to acceptance took over eighty years.

The years following the trouser triumph have not been particularly eventful for the zipper. Oh sure, zippers can now be made of plastic and yes, they’re not just for the crotch anymore, but only one truly significant zipper innovation has occurred since the 1930s. That was The Rolling Stones 1971 release “Sticky Fingers,” which featured on the album cover an actual working zipper sewn into a photograph of leather pants.

(ending a)

Leaving it to the zipper to fulfill Edison’s promise of an invention that would help recall the voices of the dead.

(Note: as of this writing, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are still alive, but I’m hoping that this book will be in print for a long, long time)

(ending b)

Perhaps that was just Sympathy For The Devil.

Rolling Stones "Honky Tonk Woman"

In retrospect, she was almost like a premonition of my own life.

I was young. Not long out of college. And I’d met and started dating this woman, who was a DJ. Which made her instantly cool. She was older than me by about 10 years. Which, to the young man I was, was pretty cool too.

And funny enough, during the time we were dating, she was promoted to the position of Program Director. She was pretty ambivalent about the promotion.

“I’m worried that being the boss means I’m going to get to spend less of my time doing the part of the job I love,” she confided. She spent a lot of time talking to me, puzzling over it.

As that young man, I had no idea what would become of me . . . that a few years later, I’d become a DJ. And a decade later, I’d be faced with the same decision---should I accept a PD job, at the risk of having the administrative work overtake the time I could spend being creative?

Ultimately, in our own time, we each decided to accept the job. And though I have no idea what happened to her and if she came to embrace her choice, I know I’m glad I did. Being the Program Director is an amazing challenge and a rich, rewarding experience.

But, no matter how gratifying it is to steer the mvyradio Programming ship, I think my heart, and I’m sure her heart, will always be in the studio.

When I think about those conversations we had, we’re in the On-Air studio at her station. They had these very State Of The Art (for 1992) CD players, that could cue a song up, to the fraction of a second.

And I remember her discussing, with one of the other music-focused DJs, where to start “Honky Tonk Woman.” Should it start where the kickdrum and cowbell really kick in? Or before that, with the couple of clicks of cowbell, which, they were arguing about, were barely audible. The crux of the conversation was, Which starting point was going to sound better, as it mixed with the song on the air just about to end?

All these years later, I have realized that professionally and personally, that’s really what it’s all about isn’t it.

Segues.

Rolling Stones "Salt Of The Earth"

If you check out the main page of mvyradio, every day you see a different "Lyric Of The Day."

Usually, I'm the one who put it there. It's been my semi-official job for years now. Other folks do it, when inspired, but most days, I'm searching for a great line to post on our page.

Often, the lyric relates to something else we have going on---a line from the Monday Free CD or Album Of The Week or from an artist who's coming into the studio that day.

And sometimes I try to find a line that's appropriate for the particular day.

In the past, on Memorial Day, I've posted lyrics from "memory" songs like "Memories Can't Wait" and "I Will Remember You."

But it was nice to be reminded this week of "Salt Of The Earth" (via a Bettye Lavette cover, that I'll save for another post), and to be reminded of how appropriate this song can be, for this holiday.

I love it when Keith Richards sings. Or tries to sing. He may be straining, but I've always found his efforts charming. I love that Keith, despite being one of the biggest rock stars of all-time, comes off as salt of the Earth, himself, and how that plays off Mick Jagger's more removed perspective.

Say a prayer for the common foot soldier
Spare a thought for his back breaking work
Say a prayer for his wife and his children
Who burn the fires and who still till the earth

When Mick sings this line, he smartly puts himself not as another "Salt," but as someone of a different class, who wants to make sure that the "lowly of birth" are recognized, honored, remembered.

So if you ARE a "common footsoldier" you can feel celebrated. And if you are, like so many of the rest of us, safe and warm and content, thanks to the folks who toil in the trenches, you are invited to sing along and celebrate.

This weekend, I hope think about who you are, and celebrate accordingly.

Rolling Stones “Plundered My Soul”

It must be kinda like finding your almost-finished-but-not-quite-done book report from high school on “Catcher In The Rye,” and deciding to complete it. And then handing it in for the teacher to review.

“Exile On Main Street” is nearly 40 years old at this point. And I can understand the impulse to remaster and release it. The album has a famously murky sound, so, while you don’t want to change the sound of mix, at least you can get it up to speed with today’s technology.

But beyond that, The Stones had some leftover songs from the “Exile” sessions, that they thought would make good bonus material for the reissue. But they decided to add polish to the unreleased track “Plundered My Soul” by having Mick Jagger re-record his vocals, and bringing back Mick Taylor, who played on the original sessions, but has not been in the band for 35-plus years, to re-record his vocal and guitar parts.

Also on the track, from the original 1970s sessions, Bill Wyman, who hasn’t been in the band since the 1980s, and piano player Nicky Hopkins, who died 15 years ago.

Imagine being Mick, who wrote this “done wrong” song when he was in his late twenties, now singing the song from the perspective of someone who’s pushing 70! There’s got to be a world of difference, in his voice, in his intent, in his experience, with 40 years between version.

Still, it sounds like classic Stones.

The album is out today.




Jimmy Fallon had bands his show last week, covering "Exile" tracks.

Green Day “Rip This Joint”


Keith Urban “Tumbling Dice”


Phish “Lovin’ Cup”