If: If I... - The Wizard of Oz Edition

Jackson Browne/Jewel: If I Only Had a Brain

Roger Daltrey: If I Only Had a Heart

Nathan Lane/Jewel/Jackson Browne/Roger Daltrey: If I Only Had the Nerve

Nathan Lane and Full Company: If I Were King of the Forest

[purchase] - also available in VHS here...

Poor Darius - one of our dear fellow Star Makers has been out of commission for the last few weeks, suffering from computer problems, which it appears will take a while to resolve. He sent me an e-mail yesterday (in response to my previous note of concern for him), a bit of which I reprint here:

-----Original Message-----
From: Darius
To: ozwoman321
Sent: Wed, Feb 24, 2010 11:37 pm
Subject: If Darius could post...

Meanwhile, I noticed this week's theme. Do you remember that version I sent you a while back of If I Only Had a Brain?

Sadly, I looked everywhere, on *both* of my computers, and cannot seem to find the version he sent me - I am hoping my offerings above might be a charming substitute...

[This blog post was already written but not yet uploaded... and I went out for the evening, only to return to find Darius is back in the cyber-saddle... with the version he referenced - great news... and I'm still going ahead with my homage!]

It is no secret on SMM that I am an Oz fanatic - about a decade ago, I was flipping through the TV channels and virtually stumbled across a treasure on PBS: The Wizard of Oz in Concert... with quite the eclectic cast: in addition to the four main characters listed above, Natalie Cole was Glinda the Good Witch, Joel Grey the Wizard, Debra Winger the Wicked Witch of the West... Phoebe Snow, Lucie Arnaz, Ronnie Spector, Ry Cooder, Dr. John and David Sanborn were featured... and The Boys Choir of Harlem played various Munchkins...

I found out later that 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the CD benefited The Children's Defense Fund, which was the proverbial icing - it remains a joy to hear and see my literary traveling companions brought to life by some of my musical heroes...

And Toto too? - and Toto too!

If: Cowpunk/Alt-Country Edition

Jason & The Scorchers: If the Money Talks

[purchase]

Old 97's: If My Heart Was a Car

[purchase]

Whiskeytown: If He Can't Have You

[purchase]

My run in with The Bottle Rockets earlier this week has had me in a mood to relive the glory days of the alt-country movement with some of the giants of the genre. In perusing my iTunes playlists tonight, I discovered several "If" songs from those early years.

Not so much commentary here since the new week starts in about a half hour here in the East. I would just like to point out, though, the sheer energy and abandon that is present on these tracks. The Scorchers track comes from 1985, The '97's from '94, and Whiskeytown from '96. I truly wish I had been cognizant of the movement back in those days.

If: The Townes Van Zandt/Dar Williams Connection

Townes Van Zandt: If I Needed You

[purchase]

My husband and I saw Crazy Heart the other night - the storyline was fairly lame and forgettable... but Jeff Bridges does indeed deserve the Oscar for Best Picture... and the exquisite tapestry of songs woven throughout keeps the mood and the focus on the music... and the life of the musician. I know lots of people like that... driving from town to town in a not-so-dependable vehicle, not quite sure whether the next venue will be a bar or a listening room... and whether the audience will be a handful or a sell-out - it's easy to pendulum from lucky to lonely in the space of 50 miles...

As the hot air balloon scene begins, I heard the first few notes of the tune and elbowed my husband, "that's Townes Van Zandt's If I Needed You"... and felt the delight of validation as the lyrics kicked in to prove me right - later, Bad Blake, strumming his guitar, says, "That's the way it is with good songs: you think you've heard them before."

Dar Williams: If I Wrote You

[purchase]

I had never heard of Townes until I saw Dar Williams live for the first time in mid-January 1998 - he had died the previous January, she spoke briefly of him during the concert... and "If I Wrote You is dedicated to the memory of Townes Van Zandt", as she writes in her End of the Summer liner notes. I have been a fan ever since - he's the king of heartache and my words will never do him justice... but I highly recommend the documentary Be Here to Love Me for an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at this talented but tortured songwriter...

From a wonderful, but undated, online interview:

Splendid: To me, both "End of Summer" and "If I Wrote You" seemed to be pivotal points in your songwriting, and that your third album marked a point where you were branching out a lot.

Dar Williams: I think you're right about those two songs, absolutely. Especially on "If I Wrote You". I mean, Joan Baez picked that one up immediately.

Splendid: By the way, I'm a big Townes Van Zandt fan, so I was thrilled when I read it was dedicated to him in the liner notes. But where does he play into the song?

Dar Williams: It's not a song about Townes. My manager was a huge fan, and I did start writing it in Austin, and I was writing it in the South, and it had that kind of vibe. And I think I said to my manager, "The way you described Townes... both personally and professionally, it seems like his songs were like his letters to his us, his postcards to us." It seems like, when you were in his company, it was very hard to relate to him, and so it's almost like you needed him to send these missives, and in that way, it did remind me a lot of him in the song. To my mind, the song's about two people with a substance abuse thing going on. And one of them takes off into a different direction. And writes this song basically saying, "I didn't get straight to mock you or tell you what to do with your life. You know, I'm much happier now, but I'd love it for you to feel that you're special, and I need to be honest about the fact that I'm in a much better place than I was, but I don't want to put you down for being where you're at. I never did." And so that's the kind of song you'd want to sing to Townes, 'cause, you know, he did have a big drinking problem. So maybe the thing you'd want to say to Townes is, "I wish you could understand how great you are, and maybe put down the booze," but, then, I'm not on this planet to judge you. And that's why I would never bring it up.

If: If You're Feeling Sinister

Belle & Sebastian: If You're Feeling Sinister

[purchase]

Perhaps it's redundant to post this Belle & Sebastian song here, as every hipster reading this blog surely has this album in their collection already. But as I looked through the long list of "If" songs in my own archives, this one stuck out as one of my favorites.

"If You're Feeling Sinister" (and the album it gives its name too) was my introduction to their world back in 1996, and it was pretty much love at first song. Back then, they took their musical cues from the likes of Nick Drake, Simon & Garfunkel, the Smiths, and the acoustic side of the Kinks. It's a very comfortable spot. Listening to this song fourteen years later, the opening sounds of playing children instantly puts me in a nostalgic mood.

It's been quite a while since I've listened to the album, but while writing this, I'm compelled to go back and listen to the whole thing. As I peek out my window at the gently falling snow, something about the album still feels so right. For me, it's still a perfect album, with songwriting, singing, arrangements, performance, and album cover all coming together to produce something much greater than the sum of its parts.

I've collected nearly everything the band has done since then, and while I have a dozen favorite songs scattered through their discography, they've never again captured the sustained magic that produced this classic. But right now that hardly matters. The first strains of album closer "Judy and the Dream of Horses" are wafting out of my speakers, and I'm in musical bliss.

If: If You Have Ghosts

Roky Erickson: If You Have Ghosts

[purchase]

John Wesley Harding and The Good Liars: If You Have Ghosts

[purchase]

So many sweet songs come to mind for this week's theme; a search of "if" reveals that my library is filled with pensive love songs of what might still come to pass, and mournful ballads of what could have been, if only things had been different. But somehow, in the end, it's the angry, bitter ones that stick with me. Possibilities unrealized, promises unfulfilled: there's nothing better to rail against the uncompromising darkness of a world that breaks its vows than song.

Roky Erickson's If You Have Ghosts is a bit of a cryptic psych-rocker - the lyrics dabble in a twilight world, and there's not much narrative there. But the license that ghosts grant is clearly stated in the first lines: If you have ghosts, says Erickson, then you have everything; you can say anything you want, and you can do anything you want.

Erickson seems uneasy with this conclusion - he doesn't want his fangs to grow too long - and it's not hard to see why. It's a dark, dangerous justification for bad behavior, this theory of having loved and lost as a needful thing for full human consciousness. But the very existence of the song suggest that whether it is true that to be haunted is to be real, we've all got demons, and they deserve to rock. And for the duration, at least, it all makes a kind of dark, disturbing sense. Especially if we note here that Erickson, who was a member of the strange psychedelic garagerock band 13th Floor Elevators in the sixties, is well known for ending up in a psych ward for undiagnosed schizophrenia not long after leaving the band to begin his solo career. Ghosts, indeed.

Though I cannot find the original Erickson's original is as wild as you might expect; thanks to fellow Star Maker contributor Ramone666 for passing it along. But it's the song, not the performance, that truly matters here. And happily, John Wesley Harding and Co. pay tribute to these complexities with aplomb on the generally excellent 1990 Roky Erickson tribute compilation Where The Pyramid Meets The Eye.

If: If

Wild Colonials: If

[Purchase]

Wild Colonials are a Los Angeles-based group of musicians fronted by Scottish vocalist Angela McClusky, who now is a solo artist. Her vocals are incredible with her signature husky quality, and as powerful as her voice is, she can warble out a ballad and make it sound just as interesting. As if her vocals weren't great enough, the band also includes a fantastic violinist who whales so hard on that instrument that when I saw them play in concert he had lost so many strings by the time they were done I was wondering how the thing was still sounding as good as it was.

The song "If" was featured on their 1996 album "This Can't Be Life". The statement that she is saying beginning with that one little word is "If you don't love me, someone will", in other words, your loss, not hers, she's moving on.

If: If I Could Talk I'd Tell You

The Lemonheads: If I Could Talk I'd Tell You

[purchase]

With its jangly guitars, summery organs, a frickin' whistling solo, and lyrics which I refuse to believe have any meaning, If I Could Talk I'd Tell You is the second happiest song is the world. It has that kind of unashamed euphoria that inspires you to jump around like a moron and kiss everyone unfortunate enough to be within kissing range. Yet it never feels corny, it's just two minutes and fifty seconds of pure joy.

In case you're wondering: The happiest song in the world is of course Petula Clark's My Love.

If: If I Had A Good Dog

Eric Von Schmidt: If I Had A Good Dog

[purchase]

Folksinger and painter Eric Von Schmidt seems sadly forgotten these days. A figurehead of the early sixties coffeehouse folk revival, some of his excellent early albums haven´t even gotten the cd reissue treatment yet, while most of his later output isn´t exactly easy to come by either.

There was a time though when Von Schmidt (1931-2007) was held in high esteem. By none other than Bob Dylan for instance, who learned Baby Let Me Follow You Down from Von Schmidt, and played harp on one of his albums under the pseudonym of Blind Boy Grunt. He prominently displayed one of his records on the sleeve of Bringing It All Back Home, and recorded a version of his Joshua Gone Barbados with The Band in their pink Woodstock basement.

In homage, Dylan also wrote that "He can separate the men from the boys and the note from the noise. The bridle from the saddle and the cow from the cattle. He can play the tune of the moon. The why of the sky and the commotion from the ocean. Yes he can."

In the bluesy and funny If I Had A Good Dog, also known as the Male Chauvinist Possum Song, Von Schmidt wishes he had a canine friend, so he´d be able to kill said possum for dinner. And then it would be up to her to skin and bake it of course, preferably with sweet potatoes...

"Bring it to the table, set it down,

And give it all to...

Me."

O Canada / If: Transitional Songs

There's always more on the list of possibilities than we have time to post. And I generally avoid the end-of-theme omnibus approach if I can. But since there's a few songs on my playlist which fit both incoming and outgoing themes, it seemed generally beneficial to tout who I could while I had the chance.

Jann Arden: If It Be Your Will
[purchase]

First, one Canadian singer-songwriter covering another - convenient, as Susan posted the Webb Sisters' version of this just last month, and you've surely heard the Leonard Cohen original. "Pop vocalist" Jann Arden can get syrupy, but I think the slow ballad americana she adopts on otherwise mediocre popstar Cohen tribute Tower of Song makes for a surprisingly effective twist of sentiment in comparison to the other versions we've heard.

The Spinney Brothers: If I Were Your Brother
[purchase]

Second, a bluegrass band I saw just last weekend, whose titular core members are still going strong after being together since infancy. Yes, they have bluegrass in Canada. And the Spinney Brothers are among the best the north has to offer.

Bruce Cockburn: If I Had A Rocket Launcher
[unpurchaseable; original here]

Third, a solo acoustic version of Bruce Cockburn's pro-Contra anthem, recorded in 1990 for an in-studio radio thing. I wrote about the song way back in May 2008, as part of our 1984 theme, so I won't bother going over the lyrical anger again, but the song bears repeating, and not just because the links on the original post are long gone.

Barenaked Ladies: If I Had $1,000,000
[purchase]

And finally, the silliest Barenaked Ladies anthem around - the debut album original version, because I'm a purist, though the live version on Rock Spectacle is worth owning, too. Complete with Canadian references to something called Kraft Dinner, which us States-ians know as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

O Canada: Rheostatics Edition

Rheostatics: Legal Age Life at Variety Store

[purchase]

This song comes from the Whale Music album, which I've expressed my love for already. This is perhaps the most catchy number on the album. I dare you to listen to it and not sing along!


Rheostatics: Saskatchewan

[purchase]

A sailor paralyzed by battle can only think of his Saskatchewan home as his ship splits apart around him. Is this a post-mortem message or the reminiscings of a convelescing survivor? The song doesn't say.

Originally released on their 1991 album Melville, this version is from their cleverly titled double live album, Double Live from 1997.


Rheostatics/Bourbon Tabernacle Choir: Everybody Knows This is Nowhere

[purchase]

There have been several Neil Young tributes released over the years. In 1994, Sony Music Canada released a two-CD set of covers by Canadian artists called Borrowed Tunes. One of my favorite tracks on the set is this collaboration between Rheoststics and the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir. It's fresh, unique, and it rocks.


Rheostatics: O Canada

[commercially unavailable]

On October 26, 1992, Rheostatics sang the Canadian National Anthem before a hockey game at Maple Leaf Gardens. I can't think of a more Canadian way of ending my last post of the week.

This track comes from a mammoth 197-song labor of love called Static Journey, posted in nine parts at the blog Northern Wish a few years ago. Full of unreleased live tracks, radio broadcasts, demo, and more, it is a Rheostatics fan's dream come true.

O Canada: Raindrops in My Coffee

Sexsmith & Kerr: Raindrops in My Coffee

[purchase]

Canadian Ron Sexsmith is one of those singers I could listen to singing the proverbial phone book. Fortunately, I don't have to, because he also writes gorgeous songs. For Destination Unknown, he upped the ante with the harmony vocals of longtime drummer, cellist (and former Rheostatic) Don Kerr for an album of simply arranged, hearbreaking duets. Their voices are a natural fit, like a modern-day Everly Brothers, and there's no better example than "Raindrops in My Coffee." It sounds like the timeless classic it deserves to be.

O Canada: Coward

Holly McNarland: Coward

[Purchase]

One of my favorite songs of all time (or at least within the top 20 or so, which I think is darn good) is by a Canadian, Ms. Holly McNarland, a native of Manitoba. The song, "Coward", is from her full-length 1997 debut "Stuff" which earned her a Juno award for best new solo act the following year.

The song, an introspective look at insecurities, is powerful to me because it's about something that generally makes one feel vulnerable, and yet it is sung in such a powerful voice that you have a hard time feeling ashamed or bad about it. You're hanging your dirty laundry out there and you're saying "yeah so? Let's see yours if you're so tough", and I love it for that. Indeed, Holly herself is able to teeter along at times with a fragile haunting voice, and then come back with a voice that threatens to break windows, and that's why she's always intrigued me.

O Canada: Au Sud A Moi

Weeping Tile: Au Sud A Moi

[purchase in English]

It's the law: on paper, at least, Canada practices Official Bilingualism, giving two languages - in this case, French and English - special legal status, and relegating all other languages except a few local aboriginal tongues to "other". The statutory preference leads to some interesting road sign laws, ensures service and education availability in both tongues, and remains at the heart of my Montreal-born father-in-law's lingering ability to speak fluent French after four decades on American soil.

Weeping Tile, a short-lived nineties band named after the porous pipes that are buried alongside most homes to draw groundwater away from the foundation, was from Ontario, which is generally considered the most "British" of provinces. But despite the Ontarian legal preference for de facto French in all cases, in practice, Canadian music which is going to have much of a chance in an international market is performed and recorded in English first, and Weeping Tile's output was no exception: this 1997 B-side remake of South of Me, the lead-off track from their second and final full-length Valentino, seems to be the only French song they ever recorded.

It still rocks, though. For a good look at what the members of Weeping Tile have been doing for the last decade, I highly recommend checking out both popfolk fave singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer - who formed the songwriting core of the group - and Luther Wright, who with his new band The Wrongs is perhaps best known for his country/bluegrass remake of Pink Floyd's The Wall.

O Canada: Both Sides Now

Joni Mitchell: Both Sides Now

[purchase]

I had every intention of watching the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics... but somehow blipped and became immersed in other activities - imagine my disappointment when I read the next day on her discussion list that Joni's 2000 version of Both Sides Now was used as the aural backdrop for a stunning display of an acrobatic aerial ballet, "flying" over simulated Canadian prairies...

I continue to be amazed that Joni wrote this song when she was only 21 - the lyrics speak of acceptance and courage and wisdom (very Serenity Prayer-ish), as she comes to the conclusion that admitting the not-knowing is when true knowledge takes place...

On a side note, I love the scene in the movie Love Actually when Emma Thompson's character is wrapping presents with the strains of River in the background, and she and her husband (played by Alan Rickman) have the following exchange:

Alan: What is this we're listening to?

Emma: Joni Mitchell.

Alan: I can't believe you still listen to Joni Mitchell.

Emma: I love her and true love lasts a lifetime. Joni

Mitchell is the woman who taught your cold English

wife how to feel.

A follow-up Olympic FYI, posted on the Joni-list yesterday:

Circa 1966-67, Joni wrote a song called "Who Has Seen The Wind" that was inspired by Canadian writer W.O. Mitchell's book of the same name. The opening poetry that was recited before they started playing Both Sides Now at the Vancouver Olympics opening ceremonies were from that book which reminded me of Joni's song. Here are the lyrics:

Who has seen the wind scalloping the sea
Or gliding like a swallow over villages and trees?
"I have," said the willow, "And I begged him please to stay,
but he went away,
He went on his own one day." And I sing
"One love have I," and he sings, "Now it's goodbye,"
And I sing "Part of me dies until I see you again."

Who has seen the sun through a parasol of leaves,
Through scattered ruby cloud fires, through the silver
wings of bees?
"I have," said the waters, "and I held his face to mine,
But he left in time, he went in his own good time."
And I sing "One love have I," and he sings,
"Now it's goodbye," and I sing
"Part of me dies until I see you again."

Who has seen the stranger in a coat of simple brown,
With his face of many faces, with his eyes turned out of town?
I have and I kissed him and I begged him please to stay,
But he went away, with the sun and the wind away.
And I sing "One love have I," and he sings,
"Now it's goodbye," and I sing
"Part of me dies until i see you again"

O Canada: 5 Years

Kathleen Edwards: 5 Years

[purchase]

Most of us, myself included, came to Kathleen Edwards' music through her 2003 debut album, Failer. Few people, though, are aware of her true debut effort.

Building 55 was self released in 1999 and limited to a quantity of only 500 pressings. The EP is the work of an artist who is clearly still finding her way as a songwriter and performer and probably would not be considered essential for casual Kathleen Edwards fans. What it does show, however, are glimpses of the artist Kathleen would become.

I'm sharing here a track called "5 Years" that is easily the hardest rocking song on the disc and the one that dishes out a heavy dose of anger with its crunchy guitars. As far as I know, this EP is not currently commercially available. The "purchase" link above points to Kathleen's Amazon Artist page.

PS: I don't normally link to my own site on my posts here... but there's a good opportunity for some blog synergy here. This week is "Canadiana Week" at A Fifty Cent Lighter & A Whiskey Buzz, and I'm featuring several Canadian Americana acts. Check it out for a look at some newer Canadian acts that may not get mentioned here this week.

O Canada: Red Rubber Ball

The Diodes: Red Rubber Ball

[purchase]

When I interviewed Bob Mould in the early nineties, the former Hüsker Dü guitarist alerted me to almost forgotten Canadian punk band the Diodes. According to Mould, their untitled first album was even better than the Ramones´ debut, as, and I quote: "a guitar solo came by every now and then".

Which made me seek out that ´77 slab of vinyl pronto of course, and I soon found that Mould surely had been waxing nostalgic a bit. The Diodes didn´t come close to the genius of Da Brudders, although they certainly had their moments. Here´s their inspired Paul Simon cover Red Rubber Ball (indeed featuring a guitar solo, and a fine one at that) for proof. Legend has it they picked this song because Simon had been slagging off punk in the media.

And as a bonus I just couldn´t resist given this week´s theme, here´s another early Canadian punk band for you. The Subhumans sounded much rawer than the Diodes and weren´t to happy with their ´white wasteland´ apparently... "Oh Canaduh, what’s wrong with you, you better wake up, now what you gonna do..."

The Subhumans: Oh Canaduh

[purchase]

O Canada: Green Eggs and Ham

Moxy Fruvous: Green Eggs and Ham

[purchase other Fruvous classics]

I came late to the Fruhead table, but like many fans, once I fell for their irreverent, geeky lyrics, lightly instrumented four part harmonies, theatrical performance, and political savvy, I was in for the duration. We've posted crowd favorite King of Spain before, as part of our Aristocrats theme; head back in time if you want to hear my favorite Moxy Fruvous track, or to learn more about the band in its heyday.

Today, in an attempt to match the irreverence introduced by David's McKenzie Brothers post earlier in the week, we turn to what is perhaps the most requested cover ever to have been posted on Cover Lay Down: Moxy Fruvous' nerd rap remake of Dr. Seuss classic Green Eggs and Ham, which came from their eponymous 1992 six-song demo tape. I converted the track from cassette myself; to this day, the song, like the demo it came from, remains a complete rarity.

Sadly, Moxy Fruvous broke up in the early Naughties after a decade on the road. But all four band members remain quintessentially Canadian: Murray Foster performs and tours with Great Big Sea; Dave Matheson produces other Canadian singer-songwriters and is an active member of the Guild of Canadian Film & TV Composers; thanks to a grant from the Ontario Arts Council, Mike Ford tours schools with a repertoire of historical songs about Canadian history. And after a failed attempt at a solo musical career, Jian Ghomeshi hosts an arts and cultural program on CBC, where he made the blogs last year for an awkward moment with Billy Bob Thornton in which the popular actor-turned-rockabilly singer made several inappropriate comments about Canadian audiences, calling them "mashed potatoes without the gravy."

O Canada: Four Strong Winds

Neil Young: Four Strong Winds

[purchase]

Although "Four Strong Winds" has been covered by dozens of artists, I'm most familiar with this version, recorded by Candaian-born Neil Young for his 1978 Comes a Time album. The song was written by Canadian folkie Ian Tyson (of the folk due Ian & Sylvia), and the song prominantly mentions the province of Alberta. Could it get any more Canadian?

Ian & Sylvia's version was a Canadian hit in 1963/64, and one can imagine it resonated with the young Young as he travelled around Canada shedding band members and girlfriends in pursuit of his musical dreams.

But I've often wondered if, when Neil recorded it in the late '70s, he was also thinking about himself and his erstwhile musical partners, Crosby, Stills, & Nash as those Four Strong Winds. Neil's on-again/off-again relationship with CSN neatly matches the narrator's ambivelance towards reuniting with his long-distance lover.

O Canada: Take Off

Bob & Doug McKenzie feat. Geddy Lee - Take Off

[purchase]

On the sketch comedy show SCTV, in the motion picture Strange Brew and across two albums, Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas (as brothers Bob and Doug McKenzie respectively) lovingly exploited every single Canadian stereotype you can think of. With great success too - the McKenzies became a big hit, proving that Canadians have a great sense of humor about themselves.

Take Off (which is barely even a song, just the brothers bickering and Geddy Lee from Rush popping up every now and then to sing the chorus) became a hit in 1982 and made it to #16 on the Billboard chart.

Hosehead!

O Canada: Iggy & Angus

Sloan: Iggy & Angus

[Purchase]

I met one of my now best friends back in 2001, about six months after meeting he makes me the best/most favorite mix I've ever received. I'm a fan of making mixes, so I hold this as a pretty big honor. As I can remember, almost everything on it was new to me, and yet I was smiling and enjoying every minute of it. One of the songs included on that mix was this one, Sloan's "Iggy & Angus" (from their 1998 album Navy Blues), and it was my first time ever hearing the band. Since then I've found other songs I like better, but this one holds a place in my heart for being on that mix and being the first.

Sloan got it's start in the mid-90s after meeting in art school in Halifax, Nova Scotia and is now based in Toronto. Many Canadian publications have named some of the albums among the best out of the country, and indeed they do seem to put out consistently good work.