Pazdziernik Archive

The Seeger Sessions

[Archive April 30, 2006]

The “Boss”, Bruce Springsteen , has a new music album of traditional gospel, folk ballads and hootin’ annie folk music: The Seeger Sessions (released April 25,2006). His last music release was a solely acoustic one: Devils and Dust (2005). This one is somewhat in the same genre but has a much fuller sound because of the 17 member band including banjo and washboard support!

When I first heard about The Seeger Sessions I thought “wow, Springsteen is paying tribute to Bob Seger”. Well, although I would like to have heard Bruce’s versions of Bob Seger’s work, it was not to be. Instead the title refers to Pete Seeger (b. 1919) who wrote the lyrics to “We Shall Overcome” a traditional melody that became popular in the 1960s Civil Rights' Movement in the United States. This is the only song from Seeger on The Seeger Sessions, so it seems that Springsteen is simply “paying tribute” to Seeger with this title.

Many of the songs on this album are pre-Twentieth Century. The tunes are definitely upbeat and energetic although the some of the lyrics can perhaps be categorized as “harsh-themed” if examined critically.

Bruce Springsteen along with other music “artists” seems to be conscious of image and “brand management.” For comparison, the Beatles were sensitive to this as well from what I read. The Boss projects a gritty, blue collar, working man, “local hero” image both in his music and in his person. It is ironic that the commercial effort to maintain this image does not detract from the music itself. These live recordings on The Seeger Sessions could be well-worth the effort in themselves without the voice of Bruce but perhaps not without Bruce altogether. His value-added arrangements and improvisations bring these “classics” up to date for newcomers (like myself) to enjoy.

It is safe to say that, The Seeger Sessions, along with most Springsteen records, can be divided into “screaming” and “non-screaming” categories. “My Oklahoma Home” (1961) is my favorite song from this album. Bruce does not “scream” on this one. It’s interesting to hear this performed so well by a New Jersey native! I’m not sure if this is on iTunes yet, but it would be well-worth a download if one is not interested in purchasing the full album.

Supposedly, Bruce Springsteen is going to kick off his "Seeger Sessions" tour in Boston on May 27th.

Update May 12,2006: The Boss will be at the Tweeter Center (f.k.a. "Great Woods") in Mansfield, MA on May 27th, not in Boston. Tickets went on sale today.

Update February 13, 2007: We Shall Overcome —The Seeger Sessions won the 2007 Grammy™ for "Traditional Folk Album"

Image: Columbia Music Video/ Bruce Springsteen ©2006
Tags: Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger, Seeger Sessions

Prince Top Ten

[Archive March 30, 2006]

Surprise. Surprise. Prince (f.k.a “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince”) is back atop the music charts. His latest album 3121 is at No.1 on The Billboard 200 album chart (April 8,2006). 3121 is his fourth number one album. Purple Rain (1984), Around the World in a Day (1985), and Batman (1989) also hit the top.

Prince has “cleaned up” his act considerably in recent years. I do remember in the late ‘80s or early ‘90s that (the late) Bishop Austin Vaughan, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York, specifically warned Prince, Madonna , and if I recall correctly, Ozzy Osbourne, that they were headed for damnation unless they “cleaned up their act” or something to that effect. Prince’s last original album Musicology (2004) and the current 3121 are free from “explicitness” and other overtly problematic material. Maybe he finally got the message? In any event, being at the top of the charts again is a nice reward for making “cleaner material.”

I'm not sure how 3121 will fit into the Prince's career discology. However, this work in my estimation is more enjoyable that Musicology. The title track, "3121", "Lolita" and "Black Sweat" stand out. "Beautiful, Loved And Blessed" with Tamar is my surprise favorite. His "comeback" is indeed in full swing.

Following my Top Ten Stones post, I present my top ten Prince list here:

1. Let’s Go Crazy (1984)
2. Mountains (1986)
3. America (1985)
4. Controversy (1981)
5. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (1987)
6. Baby I’m A Star (1984)
7. Elephants and Flowers (1990)
8. The Arms of Orion (1989)
9. Cinnamon Girl (2004)
10. Thunder (1991)

Photo: 3121 ©2006 NPG Records (Universal Records)
Tags:Prince,3121

Morimur

[Archive March 26, 2006]

Morimur is a recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s (1685-1750) six violin sonatas and partitas by violinist Christoph Poppen. It was recorded in September 2000 at the Monastery of St. Gerold in Austria. J.S. Bach liked to write things in groups of six, for example his six beautiful Brandenburg Concertos are well-known.

Although there have been many recordings of these violin sonatas and partitas, this recording is unique in that a choral part is added by the Hilliard Ensemble. This choral part is based on musical research in which a hidden “text” was found in the music itself. This text was “decoded” and brought to life in Morimur. I’m not sure to what degree this scholarship has merit. It may be entirely specious since J.S. Bach did not write a human voice part for these pieces. I suppose we’ll have to let the experts decide on this.

The the Baroque era, particularly in the music of the period, it was popular to use the medium of numbers for riddles and hidden messages. It therefore comes as no surprise that research on the works of Johann Sebastian Bach has unearthed numerous coded references, for instance to his name, even deducing a whole theology in numbers and notes from his spiritual works. The unexpected insight that purely instrumental works, such as the Six Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin can be read this way must be credited to Professor Helga Thoene, of the university of Düsseldorf. Moreover, her interpretation of the Ciaccona from Partita in D Minor BWV 1004 as an “epitaph” for Maria Barbara [Bach] is based, not only on the symbolism of numerical patterns but also on the chorale quotations concealed in the piece.

From The most arcane secrets of harmony by Herbert Glossner:

Thoene delved into the idiosyncrasies of Bach’s rhythmic notation of these pieces and discovered that depending on whether he wrote, say, quarter-notes or dotted eights, the rhythmic durations yielded certain patterns of numbers. As the stand the “Six Solos” already appear in a logical sequence: Sonata no. 1 G Minor, Partita no.1 B Minor, Sonata no. 2 A Minor, Partita no. 2 D Minor, Sonata no. 3 C Major, and Partita no. 3 e Major. But Thoene sees more in this sequence than just a key scheme; she sees in the three sonatas a theological progression leading from the Incarnation (Christmas) to the Passion/Easter and finally to Pentecost. She bolsters her argument with a large number of chorale quotations that can be assigned to the corresponding feasts in the liturgical calendar. Many more correspondences can be discovered by applying the principles of gematria, i.e. by assigning numbers to letters of the alphabet. (In this case the equation is extremely simple: A=1, B=2, etc., with I/J =9, U/V = 20, Z = 24.) By adding up the duration of the notes, the number of the bars, and the “tonal letters” (pitches in German letter notation) in the sonatas, movements, bars, or groups of bars, Thoene arrives at, among other things, numerical values for the complete Latin Credo, the Magnificat, and, over and over again, the name “Johann Sebastian Bach” and other names. These are only some of the techniques applied.

…She recalled an old Latin Trinity saying found on tombstones and correlated its numeric values to the architecture of the sonatas in a great many ways:

Ex Deo nascimur
In Christo morimur
Per Spiritum Sanctum reviviscimus

“We are born from God/ We die in Christ / We are reborn through the Holy Spirit” — this Trinitarian formula is fascinating for its concise summary of central articles of Christian faith. Thoene has retraced its occurrences in the D-Minor Partita, particularly in the concluding Ciaccona. Using an original bar-by-bar summation, she construes the nine note bass figure of the Ciaccona as the same gematric figure 756 that applies to the entire saying. She also advances the thesis that Bach wrote the Ciaccona as a tombeau or epitaph for his wife Maria Barbara after her unexpected death in 1720.

From A Secret language — Hidden chorals quotations in J.S. Bach’s “Sei Solo a Violino” by Helga Thoene:

It is easy to discern “Christ lag in Todesbanden” (Christ lay in death’s bondage) in the first four bars of the Ciaccona: thirty-seven pitches contain the hidden cantus firmus and, at the same time, a reference to Christ’s monogram XP, the sum of whose letters is 37 (X =22 and P = 15, using the order of the Latin alphabet).

Well, XP are Greek letters so I’m not sure how valid it would be to use the Latin alphabet. Regardless, of these and other “numbers” found in the music which correspond to human language, I know that music, especially Baroque and Classical, convey emotions like sorrow and joy and so forth as well as other themes. Beyond that I suppose that we’ll have to let the experts like Helga Thoene teach us about “the abstract figures in this wordless music speak a specific but clandestine language that can be made intelligible through decryption.” Karl Haas where have you gone?

Photo: Morimur ©2001 ECM Records
Tags: Morimur, Bach, Baroque

Dream Police

[Archive March 7, 2006]

Cheap Trick’s re-mastered Dream Police (1979) hit music stores today. In addition to re-mastering, it includes four bonus tracks (3 live, 1 studio) as a marketing appeal. The first store I visited was already sold out. “I underestimated the popularity of Cheap Trick”, the store manager told me.

The title track Dream Police is frequently sampled and used by AM talk radio shows. Cheap Trick’s impressions rather than their specifics have had an influence in my life. Their One On One (1982) album, which I think is their best, still ranks among my favorites.

Dream Police is a work that has a unifying theme, unlike so many other music albums of late which seem to be no more than a “collection of songs”. “Big brother”, schizophrenia, paranoia, and “voices” in one’s head as unifying themes in Dream Police are hardly more edifying than recreational drug use, gratuitous violence and disrespect of women that are all too common in some recent genres of musical “artistry”. Of course, it seems that themes of paranoia and “big brother” will certainly continue to find a resonance among many.

However, from another perspective, the life of the mind is a great topic. Conscience (Dream Police, Voices), temptations (I’ll Be With You Tonight, I Know What I Want), frustrations (Writing on The Wall), real worldly struggles (Way of The World) and dealing with the “wild man of the house” (Gonna Raise Hell, The House is Rockin’)—as St. Theresa of Avila wrote of it — are always timely topics.

DP is rock ‘n roll, not “simply rock" or anything else. It is full of energy. From the first chords of the title track (which grab your attention and pull you in for more) to the final whimpers of Need Your Love this album takes a rollercoaster ride through the mind. The tracks are a mix of screams and sweet voices as a further type of the interior life. Even rock ‘n roll works like DP can be fertile and fruitful if they are approached the “right way.”

The Dream Police, er…Cheap Trick are Robin Zander (vocals, guitar); Rick Nielsen (guitar, background vocals); Tom Petersson (bass, background vocals); Bun E. Carlos (drums). They have been together since 1974 from what I can gather and are supposed to tour with Aerosmith soon. They may have some new material soon as well.

Image: Album cover photo by Reid Miles ©1979, 2006 Sony BMG Music Entertainment

Top Ten Stones

[Archive February 5, 2006]

Sir Michael Philip Jagger and the boys (a.k.a. The Rolling Stones) will be playing 3 songs at the halftime of Superbowl 40 (“XL” in Roman numerals) in Detroit. I’m sure they will be paid well for their 20 minute effort. However, I'm not quite sure whether or not the Stones are “relevant” any longer in musical or cultural terms. I suppose that it's debatable. They have had a long and successful history. So, this is a good opportunity to present my top ten Stones songs:

1. Highwire (1991)
2. Happy (1972)
3. She’s A Rainbow (1967)
4. You Can’t Always Get What You Want (1969)
5. Waiting On A Friend (1981)
6. She’s So Cold (1980)
7. Get Off Of My Cloud (1965)
8. Mixed Emotions (1989)
9. Honky Tonk Woman (1969)
10. Shattered (1978)

Photo: Redferns/Cyrus Andrews; Forty Licks 2002
Tags: The Rolling Stones

Kanye West’s image

[Archive January 26, 2006]

The image of Kanye West,28, on the cover of the current Rolling Stone (Issue 993, February 9,2006) is certainly generating some buzz and reactions. This image has disrupted my pause from posting. I feel like Al Pacino in Godfather III (1990) where he says, "Just when I get through, they drag me back in."

I maybe have purchased three Rolling Stone magazines in the past five years and have not yet read the full article on Kanye West but I have read some excerpts. The image itself is stunning. Kanye West appears handsome and masculine. (I can’t help thinking more of Willem Dafoe as Christ (The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)) than either of Jim Caviezel as Christ (The Passion of the Christ (2004)) or traditional art depicting Jesus of Nazareth after the painful scourging with a crown of painful thorns.)

Nevertheless, out of context , it is an image that all conscious Christians and those who truly seek the Good can relate to as an inevitable in this life.

In context, it is “controversial”, “raw”, “edgy” and marketed very well by those who care little or nothing at all about offending Christian sensibilities to sell Rolling Stone magazines and Kanye West records. It could be that it is also a campaign to promote Kanye West’s Grammy Award® bids. He has 8 nominations his second album Late Registration for the February 8th show.

Americans always seem to like the underdog. We always seem to have a special place in our heart for those who are victims or overcome actual obstacles to achieve goals. Kanye West positions himself as one. Although, in stark contrast to his being a victim or “being kept down by the mythical ‘man’”, his success, wealth and fame surely indicate otherwise.

Image is simply image. Like Malcom X and the Nation of Islam in the 1960’s the image was one of clean-cut, well-dressed and well-mannered black youths with a just cause, but on the inside the reality was one of confusion, anger, rebellion and so forth. Kanye West doesn’t present the same wholesome image. However, if he wants to compare himself (images are as powerful as words) to the Greatest Man Who Walked The Face of The Earth then the analogy with the Nation of Islam holds since the moral content of Kanye West’s music is less than edifying and is quite distant from the Beatitudes of Our Lord to say the least. In fact, it is highly corrosive.

At root, along with so many other negative things, it is a cry for love. Along these lines, West and the rest of us can really learn from Pope Benedict’s recent Encyclical Letter of December 25,2005, made public this week, "Deus Caritas Est" (God Is Love) that "eros" (desiring love) must mature into "agape" (self-giving love).

Update January 28,2006: I read the full RS article on Kanye West, "West World" by Lola Ogunnaike, and as I suspected before I wasted $3.95, it had nothing to do with Kanye West's suffering or faith. The image was used to get attention.

Photo: David LaChapelle Rolling Stone 2006
Tags: Rolling Stone, Kanye West

Cold Case: 8 Years

[Archive January 8, 2006]

CBS' Cold Case on Sunday January 8, 2006 (today) will feature songs exclusively from Bruce Springsteen. Cold Case is currently in its 3rd season. I don't recommend Cold Case (8 or 8:30 pm ET) as a television show but I would like to see how they integrate the Boss' music into the show. Supposedly the featured songs will be the following from The River (1980), Nebraska (1982), Born in the U.S.A. (1984), and my favorite Springsteen album Tunnel of Love (1987):

No Surrender
Bobby Jean
Brilliant Disguise
Glory Days
I'm on Fire
Drive All Night
Stolen Car
Atlantic City
One Step Up

The episode (no. 57) is titled "8 Years".

Tags: Bruce Springsteen, Cold Case

Nothing is Sound

[Archive December 13,2005]

The Alternative/Punk/Christian/Gospel band Switchfoot from San Diego, California released their 5th album of music this past September: Nothing is Sound. Their other albums include: The Legend Of Chin (1997) New Way To Be Human (1999), Learning To Breathe (2000), and The Beautiful Letdown (2003).

With the hit songs “Meant to Live” and “Dare You to Move” from The Beautiful Letdown, they gained national attention. They also gained a new fan here.

“What is true happiness?” asks Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman. “Is it a comfortable four-door sedan with tinted windows? Does it mean I have 2.3 children and a beautiful wife and live in a great neighborhood? Everyone has their own version of what happiness means, but many of the things we’re going for, and I include myself in this, are absurd. There’s this moment in Jewish scripture, in Ecclesiastes, where it says, ‘Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless.’ That’s the place where our new record starts.”

-From Switchfoot’s Web Site

Nothing is Sound does not have the lyrical depth of The Beautiful Letdown, but recall that none of U2’s albums ever reached the depth of their Joshua Tree (1987) work.

Fumbling his confidence And wondering why the world has passed him by Hoping that he's bid for more than arguments And failed attempts to fly, fly

We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
Somewhere we live inside
Somewhere we live inside
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
Somewhere we live inside

Dreaming about Providence
And whether mice or men have second tries
Maybe we've been livin with our eyes half open
Maybe we're bent and broken, broken

We want more than this world's got to offer
We want more than this world's got to offer
We want more than the wars of our fathers
And everything inside screams for second life, yeah
-“Meant to Live”

Nonetheless, their lyrics are not shallow and without merit.

Singing without tounges, screaming without lungs I want more than my lonely nation I want more than my lonely nation Desperate we are young Separate we are one I want more than my desperation I want more than my lonely nation We are the target market We set the corporate target We are slaves of what we want We’re just numb and amused and we’re just used to bad news and We are slaves of what we want -“Lonely Nation”

Switchfoot has some catchy tunes on Nothing is Sound. Supposedly they recorded it while touring on the road. As such, it does not have an over-polished and produced sound. “Stars” is the current hit. “Lonely Nation” is really nice. “The Shadow Proves the Sunshine”, a South African inspired song, is perhaps my favorite on this album. This CD is definitely worth a few spins if you are not too familiar with them.

Switchfoot’s website can be found here.

Photo: “Nothing is Sound” Artwork ©Sony BMG Music Entertainment (2005) Tags: Switchfoot

Sing Carly, sing.

[Archive December 6,2005]

I hear that our 2004 Olympic Champion Carly Patterson,17, (Women's gymnastic all-round) is going to cut her first music record soon. Before you roll your eyes consider that, if Shaquille O'Neal can make some rap records, Carly can certainly give it a go as well. We can only hope that she won't try rapping. Can't wait to check my stocking on Christmas morning... I'm not sure if she'll be training for Beijing in 2008. I know that she has had some back and elbow problems in the past. Nevertheless, if her music career takes off, it will be a sad time in Beijing.

“Her life has changed tremendously since winning the Olympics,” coach Evgency Marchenko says. “She’s been blessed with a lot of different opportunities. She’s been traveling the country, traveling the world, and that journey continues. I’m very pleased to see that she’s held up so well. She’s a down-to-earth person. She always has been. But, at the same time, I see her becoming a role model for a lot of young people. Bringing smiles to a lot of people's faces. She’s an awesome young woman and I’m proud of her.”

Yes, Carly we are all still proud of you. I wonder if Mary Lou Retton, 37, (1984 Olympic Gold medalist in Los Angeles) ever put out a record.

Photo: Carly and her coach Evgeny Marchenko
Quote: carlypatterson.com

Gabrielle

[Archvie September 27,2005]

“Dreams” is a song that has been playing on my internal soundtrack for about 12 years now. It just won’t go away. I finally tracked it down and discovered the artist: 90’s British electronic dance R&B queen Gabrielle. (Not to be confused with New York Folk/Celtic/pop indie artist who also goes by the single name “Gabrielle.”)

At a future time I may investigate to see whether or not the eye patch is merely stylish. Regardless, I’m pro-eye patch all the way. “You go girl!”

Just as “Ghostbusters” was Huey Lewis and the News’ “I want a new drug” sped-up, so “Dreams” is basically Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” sped up but with different lyrics. It has been a positive song for me (on my internal soundtrack) on many occasions when I needed a pick-me-up. Music, like sports and recreation are part of every culture and every time. It seems to be part of human nature to enjoy music.

For the latest on Gabrielle please visit her web site which can be found here . The single "Dreams" is not on this site but it is available through iTunes.

Image: “Find Your Way” (1993 Go! Discs)
Tags: Gabrielle