cccxciv. CAPTAIN BEEFHEART: I Love You, You Big Dummy

cccxciv. CAPTAIN BEEFHEART (1941-2010)

I Love You, You Big Dummy (1970)
CB, vocals, harmonica, bass clarinet, saxophones
Drumbo (aka John French), percussion, broom
Rockette Morton (aka Mark Boston), bass
Art Tripp (aka Ed Marimba), marimba, percussion, broom
(3:00)

from: Lick My Decals Off, Baby

Love has no body
I love you, you big dummy
No body has love
No body has love
Breathe deep
Breathe high
Breathe life
Don't breathe ah lie
I love you, you big dummy

cccxciii. KENEALLY, Mike: Joe

cccxciii. KENEALLY, Mike (1961-       )

Joe (2000)
MK, vocals, guitars, keyboards
Bryan Beller, bass
Marc Ziegenhagen, keyboards
Jason Harrison Smith, drums
Tricia Williams, percussion
(4:45)

from: Dancing

Joe -- hey brother, won't you sit yourself down,
Cause you got that crazy magic in our eye.
Joe, hey there my brother won't you sit yourself down
Cause you got that monkey voodoo on your mind.
Set awhile and shine. The night'll work out fine.

So, I got an itchin' for to warm in that light.
Let the music wave the window world goodbye.
Oh, I know that you know that know it's all right
We will come to know our meaning over time
Inner peace sublime? Strength and truth through time?

*** maybe someday ***

Someday you and I (with wings the music gave to us
On that one day, one day, we) will fly and with the truth
Flowing through us show all (and show ourselves) the all
We may give of ourselves (and to ourselves)
Until we find the one way.

Joe, hey motherfucker, won't you sit yourself down
And prepare your head for sweetness and delight.
And oh, though the road may narrow as we travel
Through town we will not admit our car is far too wide.
Trust me. Everything is going to be okay.

Maybe someday, someday you and I,
With wings the music gave to us.
On that one day, one day, we will fly
And with the truth flowing through us
Show all and show ourselves the all we may give of ourselves
And to ourselves until we find the one way.

Joe -- hey brother, won't you sit yourself down.
'Cause you got that crazy magic in your eye.
Joe, hey there my brother won't you sit yourself down.
'Cause you got that monkey voodoo on your mind.

Ah.

cccxcii. GOTAN PROJECT: Santa Maria (Tom Middleton's Cosmos Mix)

cccxcii. GOTAN PROJECT

Santa Maria (Tom Middleton's Cosmos Mix) (2003)
Eduardo Makaroff, guitar
Philippe Cohen Solal, keyboards, bass, sounds & dub fx
Christoph H. Müller, beat programming, bass, keyboards
Nini Flores, bandoneon
Cristina Vilallonga, vocals
Gustavo Beytelmann, piano
Line Kruse, violin
Fabrizio Ferioglietto, bass
Willy Crook, mc
Edi Tomassi, percussion
(8:20)

from: La Revancha del Tango

cccxci. KING CRIMSON: Epitaph (including March for No Reason and Tomorrow and Tomorrow)

cccxci. KING CRIMSON

Epitaph (including March for No Reason and Tomorrow and Tomorrow) (1969)
Robert Fripp, guitar
Ian McDonald, woodwinds, vibes, keyboards, mellotron, vocals
Greg Lake, bass, vocals
Michael Giles, drums, percussion, vocals
Peter Sinfield, words and illumination
(8:46)

from: In the Court of the Crimson King

The wall on which the prophets wrote
Is cracking at the seams.
Upon the instruments of death
The sunlight brightly gleams.
When every man is torn apart
With nightmares and with dreams,
Will no one lay the laurel wreath
When silence drowns the screams.

Confusion will be my epitaph.
As I crawl a cracked and broken path
If we make it we can all sit back
And laugh.
But I fear tomorrow I'll be crying,
Yes I fear tomorrow I'll be crying.

Between the iron gates of fate,
The seeds of time were sown,
And watered by the deeds of those
Who know and who are known;
Knowledge is a deadly friend
If no one sets the rules.
The fate of all mankind I see
Is in the hands of fools.

cccxc. TAKE 6: Can't Stop Thinking 'Bout You

cccxc. TAKE 6

Can't Stop Thinking 'Bout You (1996)
Alvin Chea, vocals
Cedric Dent, vocals
Joel Kibble, vocals
Mark Kibble, vocals
Claude V. McKnight III, vocals
David Thomas, vocals
Les Pierce, horns
Cleto Escobedo, horns
Ann King, horns
(4:14)

from: Brothers

Everday you see sunny skies around you
But you never stop to hear My song
Late at night I send the stars to shine above you
But morning comes and then you're gone

If you can be sure of the air you breathe
Then you can depend on Me because

I can't stop thinking 'bout you
You mean the world to Me
A friend to the end I'll always be true
You can depend on Me
'Cause I just can't stop thinking 'bout you

Now I send the rain in spring to start the flowers blooming
There's nothing that I wouldn't do for you
Open your eyes you'll see that heaven is awaiting
I'd give it all to see you through

If you can be sure of the air you breathe
Then you can depend on Me because

(CHORUS REPEAT AND FADE)

ccclxxxix. SIMON, Paul: Crazy Love, Vol. II

ccclxxxix. SIMON, Paul (1941-       )

Crazy Love, Vol. II (1986)
PS, vocals
Chikapa "Ray" Phiri, guitar
Lloyd Lelose, bass
Isaac Mtshali, drums
Morris Goldberg, soprano saxophone
Adrian Belew, guitar synth
(4:20)

from: Graceland

ccclxxxviii. ZAPPA, Frank: Anyway the Wind Blows

ccclxxxviii. ZAPPA, Frank (1940-1993)

Anyway the Wind Blows (1966)
FZ, guitar, vocals
Jimmy Carl Black, drums, percussion, vocals
Ray Collins, vocals, harmonica, percussion
Roy Estrada, bass, guitarrón, boy soprano
Elliot Ingber, guitars
(2:55)

from: Freak Out!

NOTES ON THE COMPOSITIONS INCLUDED HEREIN: "ANYWAY THE WIND BLOWS" is a song I wrote about three years ago when I was considering divorce. If I had never gotten divorced, this piece of trivial nonsense would never have been recorded. It is included in this collection because, in a nutshell, kids, it is ... how shall I say it? ... it is intellectually and emotionally ACCESSIBLE for you. Hah! Maybeit is even right down your alley.

'Cuz I'm through with a-fightin' and a-fussin' with you ...

Very lovely changes here: IV / I⁶ / ii / vi (C-G/B-Am-Em) ...

ccclxxxvii. ZAPPA, Frank: Theme from "Run Home Slow"

ccclxxxvii. ZAPPA, Frank (1940-1993)

Theme from "Run Home Slow" (1998)
Pomona Valley Symphony Orchestra
Fred E. Graff, cond.
(1:23)

from: Mystery Disc

"'RUN HOME SLOW' was a low budget Western produced by Tim Sullivan, starring Mercedes McCambridge, written by my friend and high school English teacher, Don Cerveris. I wrote the music for it. The money from this job was used to buy an electric guitar and the Pal Recording Studio in Cucamonga. Pal was re-named 'Studio Z.'"

The film (1965)

ccclxxxvi. ZAPPA, Frank: A Typical Sound Check

ccclxxxvi. ZAPPA, Frank (1940-1993)

A Typical Sound Check (1992)
FZ & band
(1:18)

from: Playground Psychotics

from: A Typical Day on the Road, Part 1.

"Our wretched equipment was always falling apart, our monitor system was almost non-existent, and the P.A. was always distorted."

ccclxxxv. ZAPPA, Frank: What Kind of Girl Do You Think We Are?

ccclxxxv. ZAPPA, Frank (1940-1993)

What Kind of Girl Do You Think We Are? (2020)
FZ, guitar, vocals
Mark Volman, vocals, percussion
Howard Kaylan, vocals
George Duke, keyboards, trombone
Ian Underwood, keyboards, guitar
Jeff Simmons, bass, vocals
Aynsley Dunbar, drums
(4:26)

from: The Mothers 1970

from Pepperland, San Rafael, California, September 26, 1970.

ccclxxxiv. HOLIDAY, Billie: I Hear Music

ccclxxxiv. HOLIDAY, Billie (1915-1959)

I Hear Music (1940)
BH, vocal
John Collins, guitar
Kenny Clarke, drums
Teddy Wilson, piano
Georgie Auld, alto saxophone
Don Redman, alto saxophone
Don Byas, tenor saxophone
Jimmy Hamilton, tenor saxophone
Roy Eldridge, trumpet
(2:39)

from: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia (1933-1944)

ccclxxxiii. ZAPPA, Frank: The Purple Lagoon (Outro 2)

ccclxxxiii. ZAPPA, Frank (1940-1993)

The Purple Lagoon (Outro 2) (2022)
FZ, guitar, vocals
Patrick O'Hearn, bass
Terry Bozzio, drums
Ray White, guitar
Eddie Jobson, keyboards
(0:53)

from: Zappa/Erie

November 12, 1976, Erie, Pennsylvania

ccclxxxii. STICK MEN: Firebird Suite

ccclxxxii. STICK MEN

Firebird Suite (2010)
Part 1 (2:55)
Part 2 (4:11)
Part 3 (3:12)
Part 4 (3:03)
Michael Bernier, Chapman Stick
Tony Levin, Chapman Stick
Pat Mastelotto, drums, buttons

from: Soup

Chapman Stick

ccclxxxi. PASTORIUS, Jaco: Bass and Drum Improvisation

ccclxxxi. PASTORIUS, Jaco (1951-1987)

Bass and Drum Improvisation (2017)
JP, bass
Peter Erskine, drums
Word of Mouth Big Band (final minute)
(14:07)

from: Truth, Liberty & Soul

Jaco quotes Hendrix, and America the Beautiful. Peter quotes himself -- a cookin' solo, ending on timpani ...

Recordered at Avery Fisher Hall on June 27, 1982.

ccclxxx. SIMON, Paul: The Boxer

ccclxxx. SIMON, Paul (1941-       )

The Boxer (1991)
PS, vocals, guitar
Mingo Araujo, percussion
Cyro Baptista, percussion
Chris Botti, trumpet
Michael Brecker, saxophones
Tony Cedras, keyboards, accordion
Dom Chacal, percussion
Steve Gadd, drums
Sidinho Moreira, percussion
Vincent Nguini, guitar
Roy Phiri, guitar
Barney Rachabane, saxophone
Armand Sabal-Lecco, bass
John Selolwane, guitar
Richard Tee, piano
The Waters, vocals
(4:19)

from: Paul Simon's Concert in the Park

Well, I am just a poor boy
Though my story's seldom told
I've squandered my resistance
For a pocketful of mumbles such are promises
All lies and jest
Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest, mhmm

When I left my home and my family
I was no more than a boy
In the company of strangers
In the quiet of a railway station running scared
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters
Where the ragged people go
Looking for the places only they would know

Asking only workman's wages
I come looking for a job
But I get no offers
Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue
I do declare there were times when I was so lonesome
I took some comfort there

Then I laid out my winter clothes
Wishing I was gone, going home
Where the New York City winters aren't bleeding me
Leading me, going home

In the clearing stands a boxer
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of every glove that laid him down
And cut him 'til he cried out
In his anger and his shame
"I am leaving, I am leaving"
But the fighter still remains, still remains

ccclxxix. ZAPPA, Frank: Filthy Habits

ccclxxix. ZAPPA, Frank (1940-1993)

Filthy Habits (1979)
FZ, guitar, percussion, keyboards
Terry Bozzio, drums
Dave Parlato, bass
(7:33)

from: Sleep Dirt

Recorded in 1976.

F Phrygian. FZ overdubs at least five guitar parts.

One of Frank's most exciting guitar solos:

ccclxxviii. KAMIYAMA, Hoppy + LASWELL, Bill: Sad Emission

ccclxxviii. KAMIYAMA, Hoppy (1960-       ) + LASWELL, Bill (1955-       )

Sad Emission (2004)
HK, Digital President, Slide Geisha, Ass Hole Box & Gram Pot
BL, bass, effects
Kiyohiko Semba, drums, percussion
(16:19)

from: A Navel City / No One Is There

The music slithers out of nothingness over a 5/4 beat under Laswell's ostinato bass pattern.

2:39: the tempo picks up, 4/4. The music floats as the three players coalesce in a manner vaguely reminiscent of Cecil Taylor or Ornette Coleman's music.

The beautiful cover art describes this stuff better than any words could. It radiates ...

ccclxxvii. WONDER, Stevie: Pastime Paradise

ccclxxvii. WONDER, Stevie (1950-       )

Pastime Paradise (1976)
SW, vocals, most other instruments
Raymond Maldonado, percussion
Bobbye Hall, percussion
West Angeles Church of God Choir, backing vocals
Hare Krishna, backing vocals
(3:31)

from: Songs in the Key of Life

A heavy song about those who waste their lives in a pastime (drugs, violence, etc.) , which might seem like paradise (drugs'll do that ...)

A future paradise could mean Heaven -- it might also mean turning your life around and spending your remaining days on Earth wisely ...

**

They've been spending most their lives
Living in a pastime paradise
They've been spending most their lives
Living in a pastime paradise
They've been wasting most their time
Glorifying days long gone behind
They've been wasting most most their days
In remembrance of ignorance oldest praise
Tell me who of them will come to be
How many of them are you and me
Dissipation
Race Relations
Consolation
Segregation
Dispensation
Isolation
Exploitation
Mutilation
Mutation
Miscreation
Confirmation ... to the evils of the world

They've been spending most their lives
Living in a future paradise
They've been spending most their lives
Living in a future paradise
They've been looking in their minds
For the day that sorrows lost from time
They keep telling of the day
When the Saviour of love will come to stay
Tell me who of them will come to be
How many of them are you and me
Proclamation
Of Race Relations
Consolation
Integration
Verification
Of Revelations
Acclamation
World Salvation
Vibration
Stimulation
Confirmation ... to the peace of the world

They've been spending most their lives
Living in a pastime paradise
They've been spending most their lives
Living in a pastime paradise
They've been spending most their lives
Living in a future paradise
They've been spending most their lives
Living in a future paradise
We've been spending too much of our lives
Living in a pastime paradise

Let's start living our lives
Living for the future paradise
Praise to our lives
Living for the future paradise
Shame to anyone's lives
Living in a pastime paradise

ccclxxvi. GANGER, Ted: Golf

ccclxxvi. GANGER, Ted

Golf (2022)
TD, piano, vocals

from: Blind Swimmer

A song based on a real experience (Ted tells me).

I don't play golf, but now I constantly picture a finely manicured green with a bunch of guys in ridiculous attire trying to sink five-footers, while Ted lies there prone, breathing heavily.

A great great song!

ccclxxv. ZAPPA, Frank: Baked Bean Boogie

ccclxxv. ZAPPA, Frank (1940-1993)

Baked Bean Boogie (1992)
FZ, guitar
Roy Estrada, bass
Don Preston, keyboards
Buzz Gardner, trumpet
Ian Underwood, alto saxophone
Bunk Gardner, tenor saxophone
Motorhead Sherwood, baritone saxophone
Jimmy Carl Black, drums
Arthur Dyer Tripp III, drums
(3:26)

from: You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 5

from The Ark, Boston, July 8, 1969 ...

Baked Beans from Boston.

FZ plays a ripping guitar solo over one chord; he hits the wah-wah pedal halfway through ...

This might have inspired the (one-chord) composition of The Gumbo Variations from Hot Rats (1969).

ccclxxiv. MISSING PERSONS: Surrender Your Heart

ccclxxiv. MISSING PERSONS

80s Week

Surrender Your Heart (1984)
(4:23)

from: Rhyme & Reason

After working with Frank Zappa from 1975-79, Terry Bozzio and wife Dale formed a band -- Missing Persons.

This video -- featuring visual art by Peter Max -- is a psychedelic wonder! And the underlying riff is one of the coolest things ever:

ccclxxiii. SIMON, Paul: The Boy in the Bubble

ccclxxiii. SIMON, Paul (1941-       )

80s Week

The Boy in the Bubble (1986)
(4:00)

from: Graceland

The A5 chord means to leave out the third (C-sharp). Even without it, all the C-naturals in the melody imply a sharp-nine chord ...

ccclxxii. DIRE STRAITS: Money for Nothing

ccclxxii. DIRE STRAITS

80s Week

Money for Nothing (1985)
(4:38)

from: Brother in Arms

Written by Mark Knopfler & Sting.

And he's up there! What's that? Hawaiian noises! Bangin' on the bongos like a chimpanzee!

ccclxxi. JACKSON, Michael: Thriller

ccclxxi. JACKSON, Michael (1958-2009)

80s Week

Thriller (1984)
(13:42)

from: Thriller

"Due to my strong personal convictions
I wish to stress that this film in no
way endorses a belief in the occult"

Sure, Michael -- whatever you say ...

Delaying the chorus (bar 27) for that long was a brave choice ...

*

Darkness falls across the land.
The midnight hour is close at hand.
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y'all's neighborhood.
And whosoever shall be found
Without the soul for getting down
Must stand and face the hounds of hell
And rot inside a corpse's shell.

The foulest stench is in the air,
The funk of forty thousand years,
And grizzly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom.
And though you fight to stay alive,
Your body starts to shiver,
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of the thriller.

ccclxx. A-ha: Take On Me

ccclxx. A-ha

80s Week

Take on Me (1985)
(4:03)

from: Hunting High and Low

An example of a song that become a gargantuan hit after the music video was re-tooled several times.

When Steve Barron got on board, he and his team set about combining live action with rotoscoping pencil drawings in frame-by-frame animation. MTV ate it up.

**

In A Major, the composers keep away from the tonic by staying on the supertonic (B Minor) for the introduction, finally landing a ii-V-I progression in Bars 13-15.

Also impressive is the Major Seventh leap in the vocal in Bars 37-38:

**

ccclxix. POLICE, THE: Every Breath You Take

ccclxix. POLICE, THE

80s Week

Every Breath You Take (1983)
Sting, bass, vocals
Andy Summers, guitar
Stewart Copeland, drums
(3:48)

from Synchronicity

An extraordinary song by one of the best trios in rock history.

Sting inserts a deceptive cadence in Bar 15 -- that vi chord (C Minor) serves as pivot to an unprepared modulation to B Major (Bar 41).

He easily moves back to E-Flat with an enharmonic D#/Eb (Bar 51).

The video (in black & white) is just as amazing as the song. An ashtray turns into a drumhead ... and then back to an ashtray.

ccclxviii. COLLINS, Phil: In the Air Tonight

ccclxviii. COLLINS, Phil (1951-       )

80's Week

In the Air Tonight (1981)
PC, vocals, drums, vocoder, synth, keyboards
Daryl Stuermer, guitars
John Giblin, bass
L. Shankar, violin
(4:53)

from: Face Value

A great song filled with tension. The listener squirms and Collins explodes with one of the coolest drum fills of all time (bar 64) ...

ccclxvii. ZAPPA, Frank: Flakes

ccclxvii. ZAPPA, Frank (1940-1993)

Flakes (1979)

FZ, guitar, vocals
Davey Moire, backing vocals
Napoleon Murphy Brock, backing vocals
Andre Lewis, backing vocals
Randy Thornton, backing vocals
Adrian Belew, guitar, backing vocals, Bob Dylan impersonation
Tommy Mars, keyboards, backing vocals
Peter Wolf, keyboards
Patrick O'Hearn, bass, backing vocals
Terry Bozzio, drums, backing vocals
Ed Mann, percussion, backing vocals
(6:40)

from: Sheik Yerbouti

Live from January 25, 1978 at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, England.

One of FZ's cleverest songs, about lazy union workers in California. The other 49 have their fair share, as well ...

**

Flakes, flakes
Flakes, flakes
They don't do no good
They never be workin' when they oughta should
They waste your time
They're wastin' mine
California's got the most of them
Boy, they got a host of them

Swear to God they got the most
At every business on the coast, yeah
Swear to God they got the most
At every business on the coast
They got the flakes

Flakes, flakes

They can't fix your brakes
You ask 'em, "where's my motor?"
"Well, it was eaten by snakes"
You can stab and shoot and spit
But they won't be fixin' it
They're lyin' and lazy
They can be drivin' you crazy

Swear to God they got the most
At every business on the coast, yeah
Swear to God they got the most
At every business on the coast
Take it away, Bob

(Adrian Belew as Bob Dylan):

I asked as nice as I could
If my job would
Somehow be finished by Friday
Well, the whole damn weekend came and went, Frankie
(Wanna buy some mandies, Bob?)
You know what, they didn't do nothin'
But they charged me double for Sunday

Now, you know, no matter what you do
They gonna cheat and rob you
And then they'll give you a bill
That'll get your senses reelin'
And if you do not pay
They got computer collectors
That'll get you so crazy
'Til your head'll go through the ceilin'
Yes it will

**

I am a moron and this is my wife
She's frosting a cake with a paper knife
All what we got here's American made
It's a little bit cheesy, but it's nicely displayed

Well, we don't get excited when it crumbles and breaks
We just get on the phone and call up some Flakes
They rush on over and wreck it some more
And we are so dumb, they're linin' up at our door

Well, my toilet went crazy yesterday afternoon
The plumber he says, "never flush a tampoon"
This great information cost me half a week's pay
And the toilet blew up later on the next day, ay, ay

Yay, yay, yay
Yay, yay, yay
Yay, yay, yay
Blew up the next day
Woo

One, two, three, four

Ooh, ooh, ooh

Flakes, flakes
Ooh, ooh, ooh
Flakes, flakes
Ooh, ooh, ooh
Flakes, flakes
Ooh, ooh, ooh
One, two, three, four (flakes)

Ah, ah, ah, ah (bow, dow, dow, dow)
Ah, ah, ah, ah (bow, dow, dow, dow)
Ah, ah, ah, ah (bow, dow, dow, dow)
Ah, ah, ah, ah

We are millions and millions
We're coming to get you
We're protected by unions
So don't let it upset ya
Can't escape the conclusion
It's probably God's will
That civilization
Will grind to a standstill
And we are the people
Who will make it all happen
While your children is sleepin'
Your puppy is crappin'
You might call us flakes
Or something else you might coin us
We know you're so greedy
That you'll probably join us

We're coming to get you, we're coming to get you
We're coming to get you, we're coming to get you
We're coming to get you, we're coming to get you
We're coming to get you, we're coming to get you

ccclxvi. ZAPPA, Frank: Dupree's Paradise

ccclxvi. ZAPPA, Frank (1940-1993)

Dupree's Paradise
Two Versions:

Rock-band version (1991)
stitched-together from 3 performances:
May 24, 1988: Beethovenhalle, Bonn, Germany
May 25, 1988: Mannheimer Rosengarten, Mannheim, Germany
June 5, 1988: Palasport Giuseppe Taliercio, Venice, Italy

FZ, guitar, synth
Ike Willis, guitar, synth
Mike Keneally, guitar, synth
Bobby Martin, keyboards
Ed Mann, percussion
Walt Fowler, trumpet, flugelhorn, synth
Bruce Fowler, trombone
Paul Carman, alto, soprano, and baritone saxophones
Albert Wing, tenor saxophone
Kurt McGettrick, baritone saxophone and contrabass clarinet
Scott Thunes, bass, minimoog
Chad Wackerman, drums
(8:34)

from: Make A Jazz Noise Here

Classical version (1984)

Ensemble InterContemporain
Pierre Boulez, cond.
(7:54)

from: Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger

a