Judas Priest "Breaking The Law"

First, let me say that I trust my wife completely.

But every once and I while, I do imagine her secret life.

I was out doing errands, with my then-one-year-old in tow, and our last stop was the package store down the street. When I got to the counter, the several clerks working the registers all stopped to smile and wave at my baby.

They were strangely familiar with her.

“Oh yeah, she’s in here all the time with her Mom,” they told me.

All the time? With her Mom?

I mean, we buy an occasional bottle of wine. But we’re not in there so often that a package store clerk should recognize my baby.

Or are we? I mean, her. My wife.

I imagine this secret life, where my wife is buying bottles of wine while I’m working long hours at the radio station. Enjoying a big glass of vino to while away the long hours with the kids.

Do I really think this happens? No, but it’s funny to imagine.

My daughter is now 3 ½ and last week I let her watch the beginning of the “American Idol” finale show. She developed a little crush on James Durbin this Season, the Heavy Metal contestant. (Yes, it’s every father’s dream, to have your daughter in love with an older Metal dude)

Idol finales always feature the contestants paired up in a duet with one of their heroes. And James looked thrilled to be singing with Judas Priest.

When the Priest medley, which included “Living After Midnight” segued to the propulsive “Breaking The Law,” my little girl perked up with recognition.

“That’s where it comes from!” she said.

What? I asked.

“The song that Mommy sings.”

While my wife is known to listen to Jeff Buckley and The Replacements, truth be told, the first time we went out in her car, the 3 CDs she had were Outkast, Justin Timberlake and Pharell Williams.

She is NOT a Heavy Metal momma.

Or is she?

Now I have to imagine my wife, with the kids in the car seats, cruising around town in our little SUV, windows rolled down, stereo cranked, heads-banging Wayne’s World style, running red lights and shrieking:

“Breakinthelaw! Breakinthelaaaaawww!!!”

It makes me laugh.


See the video on Youtube.


See the video on Youtube.

Scott Miller "Dear Sarah"

I spent a lot of the weekend rolling thoughts around in my head about what I might write for Memorial Day.

Back on Veteran's Day last year, I was scrolling through Facebook, and lots of friends had posted a status about their thoughts on Veteran's Day. Some, as you might expect, expressed straightforward thanks. Others used their line to make a pro-America statement. And some wrote of their discomfort with the glorification of war and of their distaste for jingoism.

None of the statements fully reflected how I felt. But you can't expect a lot of complexity from the limited number of characters in a Facebook status line.

For me, my thoughts and feelings about Memorial Day, War and Veterans are complex at best, incommunicable at worst.

How to you wrap up the idea that War is bad, but maybe necessary; that I am against killing, but that defense (and sometime offense) is not indefensible; that sacrifice is noble, but blind sacrifice may not be.

Is there a song that I could post that could tackle these big issues?

No. There isn't.

So I went in the other direction. Small.

When thinking about songs and Veterans and how to memorialize them, I kept coming back to a couple of songs by Scott Miller. They seemed appropriate because they were songs set during The Civil War---and Memorial Day was originally a day to specifically remember Civil War losses (it wasn't until after World War I that the holiday was in honor of all war losses).

"Dear Sarah" was a song that Scott wrote after reading some of the letters that an ancestor of his, had written to his wife, while on the front lines of the Civil War.

And on the album "And Thus Always To Tyrants," "Dear Sarah" is followed immediately by "Highland County Boy," sung from the perspective of a youngest son who is left to tend the farm while his brothers go off to fight and die in that War.

Today there will be big speeches and ceremonies and parades and salutes and thanks (and many, many people who pay no attention of any of this while they barbeque). But Memorial Day is strangely devoid of bitterness.

I posted these song today, because, in a very non-political, under-the-surface way, these two songs (especially the latter), talk about the human cost of War---the loss of loved ones, the separation of families, the hard, hard physical toll---and the bitterness it leaves behind.

So today others will ask you to think Big, maybe about Patriotism, or Pacifism, or Service. I'm asking you to listen to these songs, and to think about Memorial Day in terms of just a single person, and see where that leads you.

The songs in the videos are recorded live, but you can go to Scott's site to stream the full album versions. Check out the lyrics here and here.


See the video on Youtube.


See the video on Youtube.

Bob Dylan "Love Sick"

In writing all these Dylan related posts this week, I've come across all kinds of weird Dylan ephemera (see the last two posts). But certainly, among the weirdest juxtapositions of Dylan's career, is this Victoria Secret commercial he appears in, with "Love Sick" playing in the background.

I think I explored "Dylan as sex symbol" on Friday, so this just continues my confoundation.

Okay, after a week-plus, I think that's enough Dylan for now from me . . . but for more Dylan weirdness, see The AV Club.


See the video on Youtube.

William Shatner "Mr Tambourine Man"

Just a couple more Dylan posts, to mark his 70th birthday, and to promote the station's Dylan coverage . . .

I was asked What's the weirdest Dylan cover you came across while putting together the Bob Dylan Channels?

Well the most surprising coverage, was a 1 minute bootleg of Elvis Presley singing "I Shall Be Released."

But the weirdest is this William Shatner version of "Mr Tambourine Man."

You know I love the Shat. But he really tops himself here, with a completely unhinged delivery . . . Enjoy!


See the video on Youtube.

Bob Dylan "Tight Connection To My Heart"

The advent and explosion of the music video in the 80s really made certain artists. Dire Straits, Duran Duran, Peter Gabriel and Michael Jackson are just a few of the artists who saw their fame grow exponentially, due in large part to their excellent videos (and good songs).

But music videos were far less kind to artists who had already (long prior to the video age) cemented their iconic status.

There were really only 2 paths you could take.

You could be like Bruce Springsteen or Bob Seger, and refuse to star in videos (except for actual concert footage), and live with the fact that you weren't a star of the video screen.

Or you could decide to roll with it, and find yourself helplessly trapped in a horrible flaming bag of dog doody.

I’m not really sure what could have possessed Bob Dylan to choose the latter.

But Good Lord & Taylor! This video is HORRIBLE.

And yet, you can’t take your eyes off it, for all the wonders it offers:

The site of Dylan, exerting just enough mouth effort to suggest he’s lip-mumbling the lyrics.

Shoulder pads!

That great moment at the 2:55 mark, where Dylan musters all his acting skills to “naturally” “turn” and “look at a building.”

Knife fights!

Repeated images of a purple wig being blown by the wind, tumbling down some stadium bleacher seats. I think we all know what this symbolizes . . . the death of the modern wig industry.

Dylan in a chest baring V-neck!

What I think we can all agree, is the sexiest image ever committed to film---a storyline denouement that promises a Dylan-orchestrated ménage e trois.

International Intrigue!

Finally, the sentence that no human being has ever dared type before . . . Bob Dylan shows of his "Jazz Hands"! (at the 5:10 mark)

The first time I watched this, I kept saying, “Poor Bob Dylan.”

You just feel so much empathy for him, being stuck in this joyless cheesefest.

I’m mean, the man has been largely insouciant toward fame throughout his career. I can’t imagine how he was convinced that this was a good idea.

Thankfully, for the most part he avoided making videos in later years, and the ones he did do, suggested that he was enjoying the cheesefest, not trapped in it.


See the video on Youtube.

Old 97s "Champaign Illinois"

When Bruce Springsteen’s song “The Rising” came out, someone at the station (I can’t remember who, otherwise I’d give proper credit), suggested that this would be a perfect song for Verizon to license and appropriate for a commercial.

Sing it with me, “Come on up for Verizon! Come on up for Verizon tonight!”

(Of course, Springsteen would never agree to such a thing)

There is some small level of talent required to take an existing song, and make a sturdy parody or sideways version.

It’s a fun game to play, to try to change the lyrics of an existing song, to something fun and funny.

But you’d have to have real talent to take it a step further, and actually make it a good song.

And that’s the difference between us, and Rhett Miller.

The story goes that Miller, lead singer of the Old 97s, was the one driving the tour van for hours at a time. And to keep himself occupied, he’d take an actual song, try to retain the melody and the cadence, but write completely new original lyrics.

When we got the album “Grand Theatre Volume One” I instantly gravitated toward the song “Champaign Illinois.” But it was only after months of playing it, that I learned of the song’s origins.

In putting together the station’s Bob Dylan Covers Channel, this song appeared on a list as a song written by Bob Dylan.

Huh?

After some research, I learned that Miller had been driving, fooling around with Dylan’s “Desolation Row.” He kept the melody and the cadence, and the spirit of the song, but wrote completely new lyrics and a completely new story.

Thinking that there was no way he could release the song without getting the pants sued off him, he had shelved it for several years. But he was finally convinced to ask Dylan’s people for permission, and to Miller’s surprise and delight, Dylan’s folks said Yes.

So the songwriting credit is to “Dylan/Miller.”

Check out both songs, and be struck by the similarity that you may not have ever noticed.


See the video on Youtube.


See the video on Youtube.

Bob Dylan "Ring Them Bells"

The problem with an artist as prolific as Bob Dylan, is that it is easy to be dismissive of his lesser work, and in the process, miss out.

If you were going to go out and buy one Bob Dylan album, no doubt you'd be counseled by friends in the know, to buy a classic album from the 60s and 70s.

In fact, if you were going to go out and buy TEN Bob Dylan albums, you'd still likely be counseled by friends in the know, to buy at least 9 albums from his 60s and 70s output, and maaaayyybe one of his albums from the late 90s or the 2000s, for some perspective.

Yeah, there were some marginal albums over the course of Dylan's 40-something releases. And yes, much of the late 70s through 90s work was nowhere near as strong as his classic output, or his recent renaissance.

But Good Gravy, the man didn't completely forget how to write a song, either.

So if you're counseled by someone who's really in the know about Dylan, they should at least point you to some individual tracks from that period.

And if you were asking me, I'd tell you to go listen to "Ring Them Bells."

I missed this track the first time around, but Barbara Dacey introduced me to in a few years back.

For me, it has all these amazing, mysterious elements that I like in a song in general, and a Dylan song in specific.

I have no idea what the lyrics mean exactly, and yet they evoke a very specific feeling within me. Touching, spiritual, Grace-ful. It's religious without feeling preachy. It's simply a beautiful tune.

And the covers . . . well that can often tell you about the quality of a song. A different vocalist can lift a song, and in the case of "Ring Them Bells" Joe Cocker, Sarah Jarosz, Sufjan Stevens and others do.

If someone tells you an album or a period of an artist sucks, well, don't believe them. You might be missing out.

Check out mvyradio's Dylan Channels.


See the video on Youtube.


See the video on Youtube.


See the video on Youtube.

Bob Dylan "Visions Of Johanna"

I was always jealous of the kid in “Almost Famous.”

At the beginning of the movie William's older sister is leaving home. But before she goes, she bequeaths him her stash of records. Discovering the music, his world opens up. (And let’s face it, having Zooey Deschanel give you her record collection is the stuff teenage dreams are made of)

I was the oldest child in my family. I didn’t have an older sibling to hip me to any amazing music.

The closest I would come to an older sibling, was the older siblings of my friends.

6th Grade overnights at a schoolmate’s house were the rare opportunity to hear what cool older kids were listening to.

My friend Brian had a brother Peter, 3 years older, who was in a discovery phase. Not only did he have records from new, “out there” bands like Devo (who Brian and I could not comprehend), he was also discovering the classic albums of the 60s.

On nights that I’d sleep over, Peter would move to the spare room (or go sleep over one of his friends’ houses), and I’d take over the other twin bed in Brian’s room.

And after a night of . . . (good God, what did we do in 6th grade? Pinball? Watch “Dukes Of Hazard”?) whatever it is we did at that age, we’d go to bed and put one of Peter’s big vinyl albums on the boxy turntable perched atop one of the dressers, and listen as we fell asleep.

That’s where I first hear “Blonde On Blonde.”

Now I’m think it’s pretty likely that Peter, and in turn, Brian and I, were mostly excited by the opening track “Rainy Day Women No. 12 & 35” and its shocking (to a 12 year old) refrain, “Everybody Must Get Stoned.”

But the thing is, we listened to that record, over and over. In our sleep even.

And though it would be many years before I would really discover Dylan, or scratch the surface of understanding him, “Blonde On Blonde” was etched onto my subconscious.

Had you asked me, at age 25, if I knew “Visions Of Johanna,” I would have said no.

But had you played me “Visions of Johanna” at age 25, I would have recognized it as surely as I would have recognized a lullaby my mother sang or a tune my Dad hummed while driving. On an elemental level.

So here's to the older siblings, with gratitude, from the William's of the world.


See the video on Youtube.

(Make sure you watch the last few frames)

See the video on Youtube.

Kami Lyle "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"

Imagine saying to a chef who just came over your house and cooked a meal:

"I mean, I've eaten lots of food, but I've never actually seen it cooked!"

I'm sure he'd look at you strangely. After all, preparing food is completely second nature to him, and he can't imagine a world where the end result is divorce from the creation of the product.

Joey Spampinato was looking at me strangely.

I had just finished what was, and still is, one of my most favorite interviews for mvy ever.

We were in Louisville, Kentucky, for a radio convention, and Joey's wife Kami Lyle was making the interview rounds, talking to radio stations about her record.

Kami was a bit nervous, but her discomfort with the interview process just motivated her to be exceptionally funny. So I was already delighted.

At the end of the proper interview, we asked her if she'd do a cover tune for us. It's mvy Standard Operation Procedure. We collect covers for our Live, Acoustic and Covers segment.

Kami's manager perked up. Kami didn't generally do covers, but her manager had recently asked her to learn a Bob Dylan song.

Kami was a little unsure. She was with her husband Joey, who had played the song before, and with Tim Krekel, a local Louisville star and old friend, who'd come to provide musical support. But they'd never played the song together, and she didn't remember the lyrics.

But we coaxed her, and a few minutes later I was holding my laptop in front of her, with the lyrics I'd pulled from Dylan's website. And they did a run-through.

As I was listening to them, I realized that despite being a lifelong music fan, despite having gone to tons of live shows, I'd never really seen music being made.

By "made" I don't just mean created, but actually built.

Joey figured out his chords, and Kami called out changes, and they talked back and forth as they played about where certain parts should come in, and how Tim should do a harmonica solo and how they'd wrap the whole thing up.

I saw all the ingredients being tossed together.

And then, immediately after, they recorded the song for us.

Afterwords, I was explaining to Joey that it was really a privileged as a music fan, to watch artists work something out of nothing. I'm sure to him, a lifelong musician, my perspective was unimaginable to him.

Anyway, check out the interview, and the song, and see if you can spot the magic.


See the video on Youtube.

Hear Kami, Joey and Tim doing "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight."

Hear the full Kami Lyle interview.

For more Dylan covers, visit mvyradio's Bob Dylan Cover Tunes Channel.

Emmylou Harris "Every Grain Of Sand"

What with The Rapture on everyone's mind, I thought I'd post some Dylan Gospel, rendered in spiritual beauty by Miss Emmylou Harris. I'm not particularly religious, but I do find this tune gorgeous.

For more takes on Dylan songs, visit the station's Dylan Cover Tunes Channel.


See the video on Youtube.