Pink Floyd Keyboardist Dies

I just received a text message from a fellow Floyd fan with the sad news that Richard Wright died from cancer today. He created some of the most haunting and inspiring atmospheres to classic albums like Dark Side of the Moon, Meddle, The Division Bell and Wish You Were Here. -K

WTF?

You know, I have had to endure a steroid shot in the right butt cheek to combat an asthma attack today, a steroidal breathing treatment, and a syringe jammed into my left arm to draw blood. All this to be diagnosed with a virus that no one has had yet and therefore it can't be classified as the flu or even pleurisy which is what the doctor thought I had at first (go ahead and laugh M! I did!). So, hopefully in the next five days the prednisone I have to take will kill whatever it is making me feel like I'm 90 and calm my asthma down. I gotta say, no matter what my body went through today nothing pissed me off more than finding out about the Hip Hop Tribute to Pink Floyd. Oh, you read that right.

Let's face it, Hip Hop artists tend to self promote A LOT. None of the artists are listed on the cd case, which makes me a little suspicious that we may be talking about some less than successful contributors: DiAnne Elaine (vocals); Ernie Laviolette (drums); Ryan Arthur (background vocals); Rhashidi (vocals); Cee (vocals); Brian Bart (bass instrument); GVL (vocals). Who?

Maybe they're studio Hip Hop musicians and are known in the industry, but are you really going to take C listers and cover holy ground? Was this really an idea that Tribute Sounds execs discussed during a planning meeting and thought "let's hit the Hip Hop button on the keyboard and rerecord some Pink Floyd Classics. This is gonna be HUGE" Um no! It's not. If you don't believe me, go over to iTunes and sample it.

I could barely take Scissor Sisters, a band I love, doing Comfortably Numb back in 2004 though eventually I came around. And yeah, I was totally into Taylor Hawkins covering Have a Cigar at the Double Door in Chicago. With both artists, you know the decision to cover Floyd is coming from a place of admiration and artistic inspiration. Tribute Sounds has released several tribute albums recorded by cover bands and whatnot, which is much easier to take because the soul of the music remains. They're not changing the sound of the song, really. Though if you want to listen to a cover band don't you just usually go to a local bar, get loaded and see a cover band perform? Do you buy cds to listen to cover bands? Maybe you do if you know the people in the band or something, but not usually. Regardless, Tribute Sounds released an unnecessary cd. Maybe their whole shtick is unnecessary. Well, except that the Club Mix Tribute to Fergie could have its uses (J, you know it's true after some wine, hahaha). The longer I do this the more I realize that there really is an audience for EVERYTHING. This PF tribute cd has sold, you know? Unbelievable, but true.

If you don't know Pink Floyd, go and seek out the original Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, and Wish You Were Here, all represented on this travesty. The originals might just change your life. If you like those, seek out Animals and Meddle as well.

While you're doing that I'm going to go lift my car and do some squats. -K

The Vanishing

A friend of mine once quoted a song lyric to me. It had something to do with knowing how one's night went by the state of the ashtray the morning after. This lyric is haunting me tonight because my night is already starting to show. August is turning out to be a helluva month. Having moved from proper Kleenexes to toilet paper, I felt it best to focus on the one thing that never leaves me- the ever-present morphing melody in my head. So here is my latest playlist aptly titled The Vanishing. -K

Silver Springs - Fleetwood Mac
I was just reading Jancee Dunn's But Enough About Me, wherein she talks about interviewing Stevie Nicks and the lyrical perfection in describing a lover's waning affections.
Don’t Walk Away - ELO (Xanadu soundtrack)
J gave me her copy of Xanadu before she left. Mock us if you will, but it has a stellar soundtrack.
Suspended In Time - Olivia Newton-John
Watch me add another Xanadu song to this playlist! Doing it!
I Won't Forget You - Poison
CC's guitar solo is what kills me in this song. I was never a huge Poison fan back in my hair band days, but this song has always been a favorite.
Think About You - Guns N Roses
Appetite for Destruction is 20 years old this month. That seems insane.
I Just Don't Think That I'll Get Over You - Colin Hay
I drink good coffee every morning / Comes from a place that's far away / And when I'm done I feel like talking / Without you here there is less to say
A beautiful song on the still impressive Garden State soundtrack. Who knew the lead singer of Men At Work had such depth!
Angie - The Rolling Stones
ain't it time we said goodbye A song that Mick wrote for David Bowie's soon to be ex-wife. Funny, that such a beautiful song was written for a woman who would later claim to have caught the two men in bed together.
Crazy - Patsy Cline
This song is such a classic that I don't really need to write anything. It's pretty self-explanatory why it ended up on my list.
One Last Time - HIM
Ah, my old romantic, broken-hearted standby, HIM. There were about 20 of their songs that could have made this playlist. But, this one is simple and to the point. Nothing really gothic here. Just a man, standing before his woman, asking for one last chance at making it work. Alternately, it could be a man, standing before his woman, asking for one last romp before the inevitable end comes. You can choose your own interpretation. I found a live performance of this on Myspace once and it may be better than the recorded version.
Like We Never Loved Before - Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
I have always loved Faith Hill. Anyone who listens to these lyrics and feels the ache will understand.
Baby Hold On - Dixie Chicks
J and I listened to this song once on the way to a Foo Fighters show in Chicago. I noticed that we both had glistening eyes during it, though I'm sure it was for different reasons. Though the context doesn't apply to our friendship, it always reminds me of her.
(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away - Andy Gibb
I remember my sister and her best friend P, who had a tiny little birth mark around her mouth, watching Andy on Solid Gold. We had one of those gigantic supercomputer-sized tvs that had no remote whatsoever. Back then, Saturday mornings meant American Bandstand and Saturday nights meant Solid Gold. Oh, how I dreamed of becoming a solid gold dancer: shimmying to my favorite hits, backing up my favorite artists as they awkwardly lip-synched through a song, and stretching out over those big cylindrical objects onstage.
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me - Dusty Springfield
Dusty's romantic bargain plea. Sometimes you'll take less than you deserve in the hopes of not losing someone you love entirely.
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
Sigh. I just don't know what to say here. How often did we send the title of this song to each other due to the number of miles between us? Only my cell phone carrier knows.
Bell Bottom Blues - Derek and the Dominos
The harmonies in this song are killer. There is such desperation in the questions Do you want to see me crawl across the floor to you / do you want to hear me beg you to take me back? This leads to a beautiful harmonized chorus: I don’t want to fade away. / In your heart I long to stay.

I think this one will take some time getting used to.

...msu

She Won't Let You Fly, But She Might Let You Sing

Until tonight I have avoided watching The Wall in a sober state. I now know why. The idea of escaping into a fantasy world to cope with reality and creating an emotional wall around you hits a little too close to home. Seeing it with a clear head tonight during an emotional time (I'm moving, J is moving) may not have been the best idea. It ruined me as a 13-year old hopped up on vodka and pain killers at her friend's house. I never wanted to see Bob Geldof take a razor to his body ever again. I also didn't want to see an angry sphincter judge getting ready to shit something abstract and grotesque on the protagonist. But anyway, tonight I found myself curled up with my cat experiencing the whole thing from beginning to end.
I have heard Roger Waters explain that concept behind The Wall was inspired by the excessive success the band saw after touring in support of Dark Side of the Moon. It was also autobiographical of his life. David Gilmour has criticized it as being a catalog of the people that Waters considers to have screwed up his life. Well, not everyone has a therapist or anti-depressants; some just write one of the most successful concept albums ever and subsequently a cult movie favorite. It may not be my favorite Floyd album as a whole, but Hey You and Comfortably Numb are never far from being stuck in my head. Frankly, Mother speaks to me like no song ever has, will or can.
I can see why the movie The Wall has enjoyed such cult success: you see a creative rock star grow increasingly isolated through success, eventually envisioning himself as a fascist dictator, and finally judging himself. It's out there, but it's a vision of a haunted rock star's hubris and ultimate self-destruction, fantasy and reality coming together via live action and creative animation. I can't believe it took me this long to understand. As a Floyd fan, it's about time I do. -K

Red Clay Singalong

Last Friday night a bunch of us ended up at my friend S's house where C bobbled and giggled, L smoked her cloves, and G and I passed the acoustic guitar back and forth and sang Wish You Were Here (which to date is the only complete song I can actually "play" on guitar). At some point S disappeared into the back of the house then reappeared carrying a good condition maroon Fender Stratocaster his friend had given him because he felt like dropping out of music for a while. Can you believe that? Who in the world gets a guitar like that for free? Eventually, we all sang along to G's guitar strums as he moved through a selection of Pink Floyd, The Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Heart. Sheetchyeah. -K