Three Minute Pop Songs: There's Always Something There To Remind Me

Dionne Warwick: (There's) Always Something There To Remind Me

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Three-minute pop songs were a hallmark of the 60's – the length suited AM radio demands, for one thing. Here's a tune from a pair of songwriters who met working in the NYC Brill Building, a music producing center since the 30's. Burt Bacharach, composer and pianist, teamed up with Hal David, who wrote the lyrics, and together they penned dozens of hits for Dusty Springfield, Gene Pitney, The Carpenters, Jackie DeShannon, The Fifth Dimension, Tom Jones, B.J. Thomas, and others. Their premier vocalist, though, was Dionne Warwick, who had 38 charting singles with Bacharach in the 60's and early 70's. Bacharach-David were so prolific at cranking out the 3-minute pop song that no fewer than 12 unique songs of theirs on my hard drive fall within 5 seconds of the holy 3:00 mark. This hit song from 1967 hits it exactly.

Three Minute Pop Songs: Three Minute Hero

The Selecter: Three Minute Hero

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When I found out what our theme was this week, this is the song I had to post. That it clocks at exactly three minutes is probably not a coincidence, given the subject.

How do we define a pop song? In the 1980s, British ska came out. It was never even remotely popular here in the United States. Sure, Madness had a hit with Our House, but that wasn’t ska any more. But this music came from England, and there it was quite another story. The two-tone ska rode up the British pop charts from the beginning. Still, the members of The Selecter didn’t know that was going to happen when they went into the studio to record Three Minute Hero. So the singer’s hope of singing that one song that could a get a working man through the drudgery of his day was an attempt at irony. The great irony is that it actually happened.

Three Minute Pop Songs: Reach Out (I'll Be There)

The Four Tops: Reach Out (I'll Be There)

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I feel as though I have to hurry up and post a musical apology for that last entry of mine, guys. So let me take you from the ridiculous to the sublime.

In my mind, there are three songwriting teams who were major contributors to pop songs of the 60's. I hope to post about all three in coming days, but let me start off with three hugely talented men who mean a lot to this Detroit-bred gal: Lamont Dozier and Brian and Edward Holland. They were known collectively as Holland-Dozier-Holland, and together they wrote an enormous number of Motown-label hits for Berry Gordy's artists between 1962-1967, names that include Martha and the Vandellas, the Marvelettes, the Supremes, the Miracles, Jr. Walker and the All-Stars, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Isley Brothers, and the group I'm featuring here: the Four Tops. Rolling Stone magazine ranks this #206 of the top 500 rock/pop songs, so there! Hopefully I'm now forgiven for that last tune.

Three Minute Pop Songs: They Don't Know

Tracey Ullman: They Don't Know

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Audiophiles know that 7-time Emmy Award winning actress and comedienne Tracey Ullman - whose late eighties sketch comedy show spawned The Simpsons - was also an international pop star for a short time in the early eighties; her 1983 debut album You Broke My Heart In 17 Places and its 1984 follow-up You Caught Me Out spawned 6 top 100 UK hits, making it all the odder that she would move on from music almost completely, except as a stage-and-screen actress, for the remainder of her long and fruitful career.

Ullman's music tended towards retro Spector-esque 60s and 70s pop with a humorous, over-the-top 80s flair, but this Kirsty MacColl cover, her highest-charting hit, plays it relatively straight. Catchy as hell, and perfectly pop, from swirling intro to short, ringing fade-out.

Three Minute Pop Songs: Gimme Some Lovin'

The Spencer Davis Group: Gimme Some Lovin'

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Steve Winwood was only 17 years old when Spencer Davis recruited him as a vocalist in 1965. Now all of these years later most people don't remember much about Spencer Davis but Winwood went on to have a legendary career that has spanned multiple bands and decades.

The Spencer Davis Group only had a couple of hit songs before Winwood left the band to form Traffic. Without their dynamic frontman SDG foundered and Davis spent much of the rest of his career as a producer for other acts.

Interestingly, the only other major hit that The Spencer Davis Group produced was I'm A Man, clocking in at 3:01. So these guys were true forerunners of the perfect pop song!

Three Minute Pop Songs: Philosophy of the World

The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World

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Some pop songs capture us with a compelling hook. Others may tap into a personal reminiscence of our lost youth. Some are slow and moving. Some are fast and spirited. We'd happily play them until we wore out the grooves.

And some are none of these things. Listening to them can be considered more of a rite of passage than a musical treat. Sadly for you, I have one such song that clocks in at exactly 3:00.

The Shaggs are unique in American music, both in their backstory and in their approach to music. Three sisters formed the group at the insistence of their father, whose own mother had predicted during a palmreading that "he would marry a strawberry blonde woman, that he would have two sons after she had died, and that his daughters would form a popular music group." After the first two predictions came true, he set about to realize the third by yanking his daughters out of their New Hampshire school and setting them to work learning to sing and play.

The results weren't pretty. For one thing, these girls can't find the rhythm with both hands and a flashlight. Their lyrics might pass for profound if English were your fourth or fifth language. Harmony – that's a town in Maine. So when Papa Wiggin died in 1975, the sisters hung up their guitars, dismantled the drum kit, and moved on with their lives.

Still, as is sometimes the way of these things (see also, for example, Florence Foster Jenkins or Mrs. Miller), their single 1969 album took flight, first catching the attention of the band NRBQ, and later Frank Zappa and Kurt Cobain. "Philosophy of the World" stands as a quintessential example of the style known as Outsider Music.

Give it a listen, if only for the bragging rights.

Public Domain/ Three Minute Pop Songs: The Lion Sleeps Tonight

The Tokens: The Lion Sleeps Tonight

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Here is the perfect transition tune to welcome our new theme. Of course, The Lion Sleeps Tonight is a traditional song, known in its home of Africa as Wimoweh. And it was a huge hit for The Tokens here in the United States. So Public Domain and Pop Song are covered. Three Minutes? Ahh, there’s the rub. The Tokens’ hit version in the sixties came in at 2:45. What to do? Well, I had a bit of luck. It turns out that The Tokens recorded the song again for one of those wonderful doo-wop specials on PBS. And their voices still sound great. And there are the extra 15 seconds, without having to resort to just applause at the end. To top it all off, you get to hear The Tokens recorded with modern equipment. It’s a win-win-win situation.

Public Domain: The Water Is Wide

Karla Bonoff (with James Taylor): The Water Is Wide

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Tim O'Brien, Darol Anger, David Grisman, Michael Manring, Bela Fleck, John Jennings: The Water Is Wide

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Indigo Girls, Jewel, Sarah McLachlan: The Water Is Wide

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From the Wikipedia entry:

"The Water Is Wide" (also called "O Waly, Waly") is thought to be an English or Scottish folk song that has been sung since the 1600s and has seen considerable popularity through to the 21st century... Cecil Sharp collected this song during his journey to America in World War I.

The inherent challenges of love are made apparent in the narrator's imagery: "Love is handsome, love is kind" during the novel honeymoon phase of any relationship. However, as time progresses, "love grows old, and waxes cold". Even true love, the narrator admits, can "fade away like morning dew"...

This post came in a roundabout way, in that my first song choice for this theme was Shenandoah, and I remembered the Heritage CD I had, which contained a version by the lovely Jane Siberry - however, when I listened, it was over 7 minutes long and a child's voice chimed in and... it just didn't resonate... so I used only Laura Love's interpretation...

However, also on the Heritage CD (an amazing project produced by fiddler Darol Anger, with a terrific array of guest stars) was a gorgeous rendition sung by Tim O'Brien, joined by other brilliant musicians... which in turn made me remember the Lilith Fair collaboration (with Indigo Girls, Jewel and then Sarah McLachlan taking turns on the verses)... which brought to mind an old favorite a few years post-college by Karla Bonoff, joined by James Taylor who lends his distinctive guitar and voice....

All are different and all are goosebump-inducing - as Darol says in his liner notes:

"In my life between the cracks as an art/folk musician, I've always dealt with the metaphor of traditional music as a river connecting the present with our parents, grandparents and on back It's a good metaphor because you can just about tease it to death. In that spirit, I've been moved to try to bring some old songs a ways downriver... They've been alternately worn smooth and built up again and again, polished to mirrors, so we see ourselves in them. They are truly emissaries from upriver, reminding us of who we are and where we come from. Point us in a direction. Are you going upriver or down?"

Public domain: Sakura, Sakura

Koto: Sakura, Sakura
(from a Japanese website that I cannot read)

Miyavi: JPN Pride

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With age comes wisdom. I've learned never to volunteer to play horse with anyone from NYC, never to cook for anyone from the south, and never to pawn off my knowledge of American or British folk music around all the other much more savvy posters here on Star Maker Machine.

Darius, though, suggested I try to find some J-rock in the public domain. Easier said than done; their copyright law doesn't give us the break on songs from before 1923. So I'm being creative here – work with me, 'k?

Sakura, Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) is a traditional Japanese folk song, written for children to learn to play on the stringed koto. If you have a Japanese music box, odds are good that it plays this melody. Mine does. Words were added that translate to something like:

Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
On meadow-hills and mountains
As far as you can see.
Is it a mist or clouds?
Fragrant in the morning sun.
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
Flowers in full bloom.

Miyavi, my favorite Neovisual Kei artist, took this classic melody and wrote a song heavily based on it. 'JPN Pride' is an ode to the Japanese spirit. His lyrics translate to something like:

JPN PRIDE...
Let the high mountain grasses we call pride bloom in our hearts,
Like beautiful flowers that sing and dance, scattering on the flag of the rising sun,
Sakura, sakura, my heart is stolen by the flowers raining down, bewitched by dreams,
Sakura, sakura, not even noticing the flowers on the ground, I just walk over them...
(translated by taijiproject)

m(_ _)m (this is an emoticon – a bow, can you see it?)

Public Domain: Star Maker Tradition Edition

It is the custom, here on Star Maker, to end the week with a multi-song post. In a week that has emphasized traditional music, I could hardly do otherwise. So here are songs from three albums I wanted to get to this week, and somehow never did.

Bill Morrissey and Greg Brown: He Was a Friend of Mine

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It would have been enough to have a track from either Bill Morrissey or Greg Brown. These two are among the finest artists in acoustic music today. But here they are together.

I first heard He Was a Friend of Mine in the version by the Byrds. The lyrics don’t quite fit, but the song always felt like a tribute to John F Kennedy, and I think the Byrds may have had that in mind. So I was surprised to find that this is a traditional song.

John Wesley Harding: Little Musgrave

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As far as I know, John Wesley Harding was only a folk singer for one album, but it is a fine one. Little Musgrave tells the story of a man of low rank who beds a lord’s wife. These stories always end badly. It is not surprising that a lord’s wife would stray, given that she was in an arranged marriage where love was not part of the deal. But the songs where the lord is the one who strays have very different endings. Completely unfair!

The New St George: The Mermaid

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I seem to be stuck on songs of the sea this week. But fear not, if we ever do a week of sea songs, I have plenty of material left. I wanted to make sure I included a tale of a sailor’s encounter with the supernatural this week, and this is one of the most beautiful examples I know. For the story of the New St George, go here.

Public Domain: Shenandoah

Laura Love: Shenandoah

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I have a childhood memory of going to my local movie theater to see Shenandoah, starring Jimmy Stewart - it was released in June 1965, so I was almost 11. I of course had learned about the Civil War in school, but I didn't pick up the nuances of how the North vs. South battle affected families personally until a repeat viewing years later. I do, however, recall loving the song that began the film, and which wove throughout during crucial scenes - to this day, it invokes a feeling of poignancy and pain...

From the Wikipedia entry:

"Oh Shenandoah" (also called simply "Shenandoah", or "Across the Wide Missouri") is a traditional American folk song of uncertain origin, dating at least to the early 19th century...

The lyrics may tell the story of a roving trader in love with the daughter of an Indian chief; in this interpretation, the rover tells the chief of his intent to take the girl with him far to the west, across the Missouri River. Other interpretations tell of a pioneer's nostalgia for the Shenandoah River Valley in Virginia, and a young woman who is its daughter; or of a Union soldier in the American Civil War, dreaming of his country home to the west of the Missouri river, in Shenandoah, Iowa (though the town lies some 50 miles east of the river)...

The song is also associated with escaped slaves. They were said to sing the song in gratitude because the river allowed their scent to be lost."

I adore this version by Laura Love - her cracked, distinctive, gentle yet strong voice more than does it justice... and she lends her own interpretation of loss and longing to the tune...

Public Domain: Jack-a-Roe

Grateful Dead: Jack-a-Roe (acoustic)

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Grateful Dead: Jack-a-Roe (electric)

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Jack-a-Roe tells the story of a woman who dresses as a man, and goes to sea to find her man. It is the best known of many such songs. There are so many because this really did happen. What would drive women to do this, and why did they become separated in the first place? It was the fault of the press gangs. Let me explain.

From 1664 to 1812, whenever the British found themselves at war and short of sailors, they would send the press gangs into seaside taverns and other places where seamen were known to gather, and take all the eligible men essentially prisoner. These unfortunates were then forced to serve in the King or Queen’s navy. Many of these men, once they found themselves in this situation, would “volunteer” to qualify for extra pay. In official statistics, this allowed the government to report that the press gang problem was not as bad as it actually was. But the girlfriends of these disappeared men knew better.

In 1981, the Grateful Dead released two albums, both the products of their recent tour. The tour was unusual, because there was one electric set and one acoustic set at each show. Songs from the acoustic set were collected into the album Reckoning, while the electric sets yielded the album Dead Set. Reckoning was the first time the Dead put Jack-a-Roe on an official release. However, I combed through an online archive of Grateful Dead shows to prepare for this post, and I found that the Dead had been playing the song live for some time. Every performance that I found from both before and after the Reckoning tour was electric. So, I have included an electric version as well. To my ear, Jack-a-Roe never sounded better than in late April and May of 1977. The version I have chosen is from May.

Public Domain: The Moonshiner

The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem: The Moonshiner

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Bob Dylan: Moonshiner

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"The Moonshiner" plays into one of the biggest Irish stereotypes by celebrating alcohol. The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem sing it like most Irish folk groups do, as a rousing drinking song in waltz time (though they do give it a little extra ham, as they often did).

On he other hand, the Dylan version (simply called "Moonshiner"), is a mournful ballad, hewing close to the traditional Appalachian version. The narrator is no longer celebrating. The party is over. He's looking back on a life wasted.

Despite their differences, the songs share some of the same lyrics and an obvious common lineage. So which came first? Did the song sober up on its way to the New World? Or is it an American original spruced up for Old World pub audiences? Nobody's really sure.

Either way, it is interesting to note how different these two performances of obtainably the same song are, given that they were recorded only a year apart (Dylan in '62, the Clancys in '63) by two acts who were pals on the Greenwich Village folk scene.

Public Domain: Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody

Al Jolson: Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody

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Judy Garland: Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody

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Rufus Wainwright: Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody

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This song is from a 1918 Broadway musical, Sinbad, which showcased music's biggest star at the time, Al Jolson. For a show ostensibly set in Bagdad, it featured more than a few songs extolling the Old South: "Swanee", "My Mammy", "Darktown Dancin’ School ", and this one. By US law, any song copyrighted or recorded before 1923 is now in the public domain and so it nicely fits our weekly theme.

Travel six blocks north to Carnegie Hall and skip forward 43 years to the night of April 23, 1961, where we find the same song being performed by another of American music's biggest stars: Judy Garland. The concert was a huge milestone for the sometimes erratic performer and won her four Grammys, including Best Album and Best Female Vocalist.

Forty-five years later, same venue, same tune – in fact, all of the same tunes that were sung during Judy's original Carnegie Hall concert were recreated by Canadian-American singer Rufus Wainwright in one man's tribute to a quintessential gay icon. About his homage, he said, "I don't think it would have been possible for anyone other than a gay male to do this concert. In a weird way, a gay man has some sort of perspective on it, I believe."

Quite a legacy for a simple Tin Pan Alley tune written by a Hungarian immigrant.

Public Domain: Bouree

Jethro Tull: Bouree

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One approach to this week’s theme is to find traditional songs. I’ve done that already, and I will again later this week. But most classical music is also in the public domain. And that brings me to Bach. I would say that Bach perfected the art of the fugue. If you’ve ever sung a round, you have an idea what this is. In a fugue, one instrument starts the melody, and the next starts it later, and then the next, and so on. The overlapping parts produce the harmonies and also the overlapping rhythms do their part. Bach would do this with a theme and then variations, and it always worked.

This transformation of something simple into something richer is a hallmark of Bach’s music, even when the fugue is not involved. For this reason, his music appeals to a wide range of musicians today outside of the classical genre. Case in point: Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. Anderson actually has some classical background, and he has recorded a version of Bouree with an orchestra. But this was the first recording he did of it. In Jethro Tull’s hands, Bouree becomes a folk-rock piece with jazzy overtones. Bouree became one of Jethro Tull’s signature tunes; fans expected to hear it at their shows, and often did. There are several live versions of it available, and the group improvises and plays with the arrangement, so no two versions sound the same. But Anderson and Co never lose track of the beauty of Bach’s original melody.

Public Domain: The Conscripts Edition

Bruce Springsteen: Mrs McGrath

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Boys signed up for war against their wills make the common link here. Ted McGrath probably wouldn't have gone to war if not for his mother and now he has returned with two stumps for legs to show for his troubles. The Wikipedia entry for this song says it can be traced back to the Napoleonic wars but became a popular anti-war song among the Irish in 1916. Bruce Springsteen makes one small change, replacing King of Spain with King of America, a pointed reference to Iraq.

Fairport Convention: The Deserter

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Fairport Convention recorded the Deserter for Liege and Lief and though Matty Groves is the crowd pleaser listen to this track and you might agree it was the standout. A boy refuses to fight and deserts again and again. Prince Albert - presumably Queen Victoria's husband - recognizes that by his determination he has shown the very qualities the English army needs. Which begs the question; what happened next? He could well be Teddy McGrath, unknownst to his mother running off at every opportunity till rescued by the Prince himself and sent off to the front. The horror, the horror

Guest post by John

Public Domain: East Virginia

The Innocence Mission: East Virginia

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This song has already gotten a post about it back during our States of the Union week, representing Virginia. Boyhowdy, in all his cover-lovin' glory posted three fantastic versions of this old song. But my favorite version is this one, one that hasn't been posted here before, and it is by one of my favorite bands, The Innocence Mission.

If you've heard the fairly well known Joan Baez version, you can tell that this is basically a cover of her version of the song, as it has the same tempo and is sung the same way. I have a love/hate relationship with Baez's voice depending on the song she's singing, and I just don't care for it on this one. Karen Peris' voice is smoother, she hits higher notes and the affect literally gives me chills. It's as if a ghost is singing the song, which I think is perfect considering the lyrics are about a woman you met once and have been haunted by since.

This version of the song was never released though, which is a shame because I think it's amazing, and right up there with some of the band's best work. Back around 2000, 2001, the internet was just taking off and the band was uploading a new rare or unreleased track to their site once a month for their fans. This was one of them, and that's how I came to have it and I am glad I get an excuse to share it with others now as well.

Public Domain: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Beyoncé Knowles: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

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Swing Low, Sweet Chariot is a 19th-century spiritual written before 1862 by a Choctaw freedman named Wallis Willis. It was popularized by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, an a capella group from historic black Fisk University, which is still going strong today. This song recounts the disappearance of the Old Testament prophet Elijah, who was reported to have been carried up to heaven in a fiery chariot after crossing the Jordan River. It's such a vivid scene that if you happen to have an illustrated Bible lying around, you'll probably find some version of it. It makes for fascinating and scary viewing if you're a little kid and can't read yet.

In 2003, Beyoncé starred in 'The Fighting Temptations', which showcased gospel music and numerous musicians as well. The soundtrack notes are very coy about who's providing the choir backing Beyoncé here. Still, if you like your gospel with a heavy dose of melisma, she's got just the song for you!

Public Domain: Frankie and Johnny

Stevie Wonder: Frankie and Johnny

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Many public domain songs are thick in the broad waters of popular culture; others tend to one genre or another, depending on their ancestry. But Frankie and Johnny, which seems to have been inspired by any number of real 19th century murders, has murky origins, and its modern usage bears the stamp of the tabloids: pick an American genre - from country to folk, from jazz to swing, from stylized rock & roll to bar band blues - and you'll find a version or two. Mae West did it on broadway; Louis Armstrong and Dave Brubeck took their turn on the tune as a Jazz standard; Sam Cooke, Elvis, Lena Horne, Bob Dylan, and a hundred other names have all lent their credence to the sordid tale.

But though it's a straightforward ballad with fluid lyrics, open to interpretations from loving and wistful to gritty and raw, given its grisly and nuanced tale of love and death, it's much less usual to find it in the hands of babes. Here, on his no-hit 1962 tribute to the songs of Ray Charles, a startlingly young Stevie Wonder turns our expectations on their head, bringing upbeat innocence and funky Motown soul to a tune too often played out as weary and graveled. It almost works.

Public Domain: Hanging Johnny

Stan Ridgeway: Hanging Johnny

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Part of the fun this week for me is going to be finding performances of traditional songs by artists you wouldn’t expect. There is no need to sacrifice quality to do this. Consider this song. I wouldn’t look to the work of Stan Ridgeway for a sea shanty, but based on this, maybe he should do more. The band he’s working with here includes another surprise. The English horn part is by Kate St John, of the Dream Academy.

The word “hanging” in the title is sort of a pun. On sailing ships, a sailor would hang from the halyard rope to give it a final tightening before a voyage. So this song is not about the gallows, but it has fun with the double meaning.

Street Names: Bright Side of the Road Edition

Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer: Highway 80 (She's a Mighty Good Road)

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Dar Williams: Spring Street

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Buddy Mondlock: Magnolia Street

[purchase] - Poetic Justice CD


"From the dark end of the street to the bright side of the road" - those dirt, gravel and paved roads can be literal, but they are bound to be metaphor... of leading somewhere, running away from something or the journey itself...

All the songs above work through their darkness to a happy ending... of reunion, renewal and redemption, in that order:

The structure of Dave Carter's Highway 80 is unusual, as it has a repeating chorus, rare if you are familiar with his work - he also joked about it being a sing-along, hysterical when you read/listen to the lyrics fraught with names of towns that do not roll trippingly off your tongue. The song tells the story of a guy who allowed himself to be lured to California, looking for adventure, and found it lacking ("the water was cold and the beer was hot") - he talks to his woman on the phone, and she reassures (twice, in Tracy's twangiest voice) that she's waiting patiently on the other coast for his return...

Dar Williams' Spring Street finds our female protagonist experiencing an epiphany, realizing that she has to "walk the talk" to free herself from her stuck place ("but I'll push myself up through the dirt and shake my petals free, I'm resolved to being born and so resigned to bravery") - Spring Street is a state of mind, and she's already there...

Buddy Mondlock's Magnolia Street opens with the narrator in deep dilemma... he loves her, he loves her not... attempting to quantify the most complicated of all emotions - he soon understands, with the help of the wind and the mockingbird (adorably whistled in this live version by Jonathan Edwards; on the recorded version, it's a pennywhistle) that "we carry all this stuff around,we're not so deep we're just weighted down" (i.e., who needs to think when you can dance?)...

To hear/see the Van Morrison song I reference in my title, check out this video -"let's enjoy it while we can"...

Street Names: The Streets of Joni Mitchell Edition

Joni Mitchell: Sisotowbell Lane

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Here we find Joni Mitchell at the beginning of her career, contemplating a street scene from a comfortable rocker on the front porch. The sight of various friends and neighbors trigger quick fond associations. Mitchell’s gift for these quick character sketches make Sisotowbell Lane feel like a real place, but was it? Here is a footnote from Jonimitchell.com:

Sisotowbell: A word Joni invented in 1966/67. As she would explain on Philadelphia radio station WMMR in March 1967, she was writing a mythology, the names of its various members derived from acronyms based on descriptive phrases. There were, for instance, a race of miniature women, the Posall ("Perhaps Our Souls Are Little Ladies"), and men, the Mosalm ("Maybe Our Souls Are Little Men"). Siquomb was the queen of the mythology, her name meaning, "She Is Queen Undisputedly Of Mind Beauty." Sisotowbell stood for "Somehow, in spite of troubles, ours will be ever lasting love."

This explanation is very sixties, and Mitchell changed quickly. But she never lost her love of humanity.

Joni Mitchell: In France They Kiss on Main Street

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A scant eight years later, Mitchell’s old fans were deserting her in droves as she entered her jazz period, and stopped singing in the first person. But her love of humanity still shines through. Here, she participates in the joy and exhilaration of youth as an observer, and as always, a keen one. Had she recorded this as a new artist, this song would have been received differently, I’m sure. Like Sisotowbell Lane, this Main Street is an idea, not an actual place.

Street Names: Bourbon Street

Bob Dylan & The Band: Bourbon Street

A bit more of the old Bob Dylan/The Band collaboration previously discussed here.

This was recorded during the sessions in Woodstock in 1967, and has only been released on bootleg compilations such as The Genuine Basement Tapes and From the Reels - Complete Basements.

If you want to know what sound you'd get if you pressed a trombone against the lips of a snoring, drunken hobo, this is the song for you.

Street Names: Telephone Road

Rodney Crowell: Telephone Road

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Steve Earle: Telephone Road

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Just to be clear before we start... These are two different songs, by two different artists, but they both tell of the same stretch of Houston highway. Telephone Road is a highway in south Houston that developed a less than stellar reputation over the years as a place you could go to easily find "fun or a felony."

Of course, Rodney Crowell and Steve Earle aren't really strangers to either of those things. It's no surprise then that both have penned tributes to this street of ill repute.

Both artists, though, seem to have fond memories of the time they spent on Telephone Road in their younger days. Wether it's Crowell boasting of watching "Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and The Killer puttin' on a show" as a mere child, or Earle sampling each of the one "hundred honky tonks" that lined the roadside... both look back on their experiences with a sense of wistfulness. It's as though they wish they could go back.

If nothing else, they can take us there with their songs.

Street Names: Tobacco Road

The Nashville Teens: Tobacco Road

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Tobacco Road is not the song you think it is. Everything you think you know is wrong.

For one thing, this hit version is not original but a cover. It was written in 1960 by John Loudermilk, who was not known by that name but as Johnny Dee or as a cousin of the Louvin Brothers, two men whose last name was not Louvin. His version was not the hard-driving pop tune heard here, either, but a folk song about his home town, Durham, North Carolina.

This version became a hit in 1964 for the Nashville Teens. They weren't from Nashville, or from North Carolina, or even from the United States. They were, in fact, a British Invasion band. I suspect they weren't teens, either. This hit didn't lead the group to further success – they were a one-hit wonder band who started and ended as a backup band for other artists. Reportedly, the studio version of this song had a non-Teen playing guitar – Jimmy Page.

Tobacco Road is not a real road. These days it refers to the tobacco-growing areas of North Carolina and particularly the sport-minded universities found there: Duke, NC State, UNC, and Wake Forest (whose student athletes generally hail from the other 49 states, not NC). Tobacco Road isn't originally a North Carolina term: it was first used as the title of a novel set in Georgia.

And my name isn't really Geoviki.

Street Names: Route 66

In my house, the movie Cars is a great favorite with six year old son, and therefore the rest of the family knows the movie well. Fortunately, it’s a good one. There are two versions of the song Route 66 on the soundtrack. The one by Chuck Berry is not his best work; he even gets two of the town names wrong. And John Mayer is an artist I enjoy, but his version doesn’t do it for me either. But the connection between the movie and Route 66 does not end there. The town of Radiator Springs is an amalgam of landmarks on the real Route 66. Notably, the Cozy Cone Motel (shown above) is based on the Wigwam Motel, (below). The Wigwam was a chain, and there was even one still in operation in New Jersey when I was growing up. But many Wigwams could be seen along the length of Route 66. The song has been around a while, so there many great versions to choose from.

The Rolling Stones: Route 66

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You never forget your first one. This is how I first heard Route 66, and I thought for a while that the Rolling Stones wrote it. It still sounds great after all these years.

Asleep at the Wheel: Get Your Kicks on Route 66

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Much of the soundtrack of Cars had a country feel to it, so I think they should have used this great western swing version by Asleep at the Wheel. The musical style hails from Oklahoma and Texas, so its right on the way.

Nat King Cole: Route 66

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But where did the song come from? Bobbie Troup wrote it in 1946, and Nat King Cole was the first to record it. My introduction to the music of Nat King Cole was an 8-track tape of his crooning hits that my school bus driver played to death. I hate that stuff. But Cole started out as a jazz player, and his Route 66 reflects this. The crooning would come later.

Buckwheat Zydeco: Route 66

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A quick check of the map will confirm that Route 66 does not wind through Louisiana. But I came across this version while gathering the other tracks for this post, and I couldn’t resist. Enjoy! Or should I say, “Bon temps roullez!”

Street Names: Down The Old Plank Road

Holy Modal Ramblers: Down The Old Plank Road

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The Chieftains w/ John Hiatt: Down The Old Plank Road*
*Link removed due to hotlinking. Please don't steal our bandwidth!

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The Highwoods String Band: Way Down The Old Plank Road

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The Mammals: Way Down The Old Plank Road

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The Old Plank Road was exactly what it sounds like: a 6.5 mile road built of wooden planks, without which it would never have been possible to traverse the sandy Algodones dunes between San Diego and Yuma, nor indeed the gap between Southern California and Arizona. Difficult to maintain, hard to drive, and too narrow for cars to pass in opposite directions, the splintery roadway only lasted from 1915 to 1926, when it was replaced by a mix of asphalt and concrete built on sand pilings.

California's Old Plank Road would eventually become part of US Route 80, and then Interstate 8. But the idea of the plank road, which had taken hold in culture long before as rural travelers and highway companies sought ways to cross soft or boggy ground, would live on in this old traditional tune, first recorded by Uncle Dave Macon on 5-string banjo, with guitar by Sam McGee, in 1926, and subsequently covered by a whole mess of my favorite tradfolk performers, including all of the above. Technically, I suppose, the tune could refer to any number of "plank roads" - but its title contains the name of one in particular, so we'll let it stand.

Street Names: 61 Highway

Mississippi Fred McDowell: 61 Highway

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As noted earlier this week, the legendary Highway 61, also known as the blues highway, runs from New Orleans to Duluth in Minnesota. It´s said that if you´re in possession of forty red, white and blue shoestrings and a thousand telephones that don’t ring, this route is where you can get rid of ´em. Easily.

According to the great bluesman Fred McDowell though, Highway 61 runs from New York City down the Gulf of Mexico. Don´t matter none, as his 61 Highway is a pretty intense blues to say the least. "I started school one Monday morning, Lord, I throwed my books away... I wrote a note to my teacher, Lord, I´m gonna try 61 today..."

Street Names: Gulf Coast Highway

Nanci Griffith: Gulf Coast Highway

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Now this is how you write a love song. Gulf Coast Highway isn’t about a road. It’s about two people who live in a house on that road. In the space of a single song, Nanci Griffith takes us from the time this couple moves into the house to them growing old together. Griffith lets us know that there are hardships along the way. But through it all, they know they will have their love for each other, as surely as the bluebonnets will bloom in their garden each spring.

Street Names: Virginia Avenue

Tom Waits: Virginia Avenue

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There are plenty of Virginia Avenues in the U.S. and for the longest time I, for some reason, thought this song referred to the Virginia Avenue in Washington D.C.

But with Columbus Avenue being name-dropped as well, you'd think I would've realised Tom Waits was actually serenading Los Angeles, his hometown at the time. Or is he singing about San Francisco, which also has a Virginia Avenue and a Columbus Avenue?

'Cause he's not referring to the Virginia Avenue in Hagerstown, Maryland, is he? Or the one in Atlanta? Perhaps the one in Portland, Oregon or the one in Atlantic City? Fort Pierce, Florida? Lexington, Kentucky?

Oh hell, let's just say it's the one in Chicago and never discuss the matter again.

Street Names: Highways 49 & 61

Howlin' Wolf: Highway 49

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Johnny Winter: Highway 61 Revisited

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Both of these US highways are odd numbered, which means that they run north-south. Don't say Star Maker Machine never taught you lot anything. If you've ever found yourself scratching your head at the junction of a odd-numbered US highway that you're damned sure you want to take west through town, but the choices offered are north or south, now you know why. We can't help you decide which ramp to pick, though. Crank up your music and maybe you won't care.

US Route 49 runs through Mississippi and eases on into northeastern Arkansas. Robert Johnson allegedly sold his soul to the devil at the crossroad of Hwys 49 and 61, and I've been told by Mr. Geoviki that this spot is destined to be a future vacation destination. Will there be a Stuckeys there, I wonder? I could Google Earth it, but why spoil the adventure? More importantly, will I have to fall down on my knees? I'd better pack kneepads.

Highway 49, the song, was written by Delta blues artist Big Joe Williams. It's recorded here by electric blues artist Chester Burnett, better known as Howlin' Wolf, which ranks right up there as Best. Musical. Name. Ever. Maybe we'd never have heard of either of them if not for the enthusiastic acolytes made up of British Invasion musicians like The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Cream, Fleetwood Mac, The Animals, and Ten Years After, who introduced American audiences in the 60's to their own heritage. This song is from the 1971 London session of Howlin' Wolf plus a few other guys: Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Charlie Watts, and Bill Wyman. Wonder what happened to them? They showed such promise.

US Route 61, aka The Great River Road because it generally follows the Mississippi River, runs from New Orleans to Duluth, Minnesota, which happens to be the home of the next song's composer, Bob Dylan. I haven't heard whether or not I'll be dragged escorted to this highway in my future.

Probably the most well-known cover of this Dylan tune is by electric blues guitarist Johnny Winter. He released it twice: once on this 1970 studio recording and again on a 1976 live album. Johnny's still touring, and he was still featuring this song when I and Mr. Taking-You-To-The-Crossroads saw him last summer.

Street Names: 72 (This Highway´s Mean)

Drive-By Truckers: 72 (This Highway´s Mean)

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U.S. Highway 72 is approximately 337 miles long and runs from Chattanooga in southeast Tennessee through northern Alabama and northern Mississippi to Memphis in southwest Tennessee. According to the Drive-By Truckers, my pick when it comes to choosing the finest rock band of the past decade, it´s a mean ole dusty highway. But it´s also the only one that´ll get you there.

"Don't know why they even bother putting this highway on the map,
Anybody that's ever been on it knows exactly where they're at,
Hell´s on both ends of it, and nowhere´s in between,
This highway´s mean..."

Street Names: Conversation Off Floral Street

The Zombies: Conversation Off Floral Street

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I considered posting this one during Instrumentals Week but I never got around to it, so here it is now instead. Accompanied by a bit of text copied and pasted from Wikipedia:

Floral Street is a street located in the Covent Garden area of London. It runs east from Garrick Street to Bow Street and contains a number of fashion stores, including Paul Smith.

Originally called Hart Street, it changed to the current name in 1895 to reflect the market trade. However the street itself was mainly used by tradesmen associated with the fruit market. Originally the street was a cul-de-sac and at its peak during the 18th century there were no fewer than eleven pubs on the road and many illegal brothels.

Floral Street was also the Old Compton Street of its time with a lage gay community, a pillory stood in the street which was mainly occupied by carousing homosexuals. Due to its narrowness, the street has never been a sought after residential address in comparison to its surroundings, though Joseph Haines lived and died here in 1701.

Street Names: 'A' Bomb on Wardour Street

The Jam: 'A' Bomb on Wardour Street

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Wardour Street runs through Soho, central London. When this song was released in 1978, Number 90 Wardour Street was home to The Marquee Club and hosted upcoming British groups like The Stranglers, Joy Division, The Buzzcocks, Generation X, The Cure, and our featured band, The Jam.

The Jam were heavily influenced by earlier mod power pop groups like The Who, The Small Faces, and the Kinks, and they led a mod revival in the late 70s. One of the unfortunate side effects of the musical revival was a resurrection of violence among British subcultures who bolstered their identities from the music. The 60s saw mods against rockers (remember Quadrophenia?); in the 70s, that animosity reignited, with skinheads and Teddy boys joining in for kicks.

'A' Bomb in Wardour Street is a diatribe against the skinheads and punks who brought violence into the clubs, and describes an attack by Doc Martin-shod thugs: I'm stranded on the vortex floor/My head's been kicked in and blood's started to pour/Through the haze I can see my girl/15 geezers got her pinned to the door. It's a two-chord rant that borrows more from The Clash than from The Who, harsh and vitriolic—and effective.

A P O C A L Y P S E !

Street Names: Basin Street Ain’t Basin Street No More

Snookum Russell: Basin Street Ain‘t Basin Street No More

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Basin Street was in the heart of Storyville, the legendary “vice district” in New Orleans. Here, before 1917, prostitution and gambling flourished. There were also plentiful gigs for musicians. House of the Rising Sun probably took place here, and of course, Basin St Blues. It’s only natural that there would be lots of songs about places where musicians found work. In 1917, as America entered World War I and patriotism ran high, Basin St was “cleaned up” in a fit of national morality.

I remember visiting another famous “vice district” when I was a child: Times Square and 42nd St in New York City. It was sleazy, dirty, and dangerous, but it was certainly real. Nowadays, that area is a huge animated billboard for Disney and their corporate pals. It looks like something out of Blade Runner. It’s completely artificial, and ought to cause cancer. So something has been gained, but something has also been lost. And that’s how I relate to this song.

Street Names / Off-Genre: Manhattan Avenue

Nellie McKay: Manhattan Avenue

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Is is possible to go off-genre just minutes into your first album, in the transition from the first track to the second? Nellie McKay certainly gave it her best shot, opening 2004 debut Get Away From Me - the title a play on Norah Jones' Come Away With Me - with bouncy, radioready Contemporary Pop hit David, then suddenly transitioning from layered vocals and reggae-tinged beat to this torchy and smooth jazz vocal piano-bar tribute to the busy, seedy Brooklyn thoroughfare.

The rest of the album is more like the former than the latter, of course. To put the exception so far forward is shocking, and oh, so perfectly Nellie.

Off-Genre: Calypso Blues

Marvin Gaye: Calypso Blues

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Despite a strong performance by everyone this week, this really is a challenging theme. I had to leave the comfort of my own collection, and go shopping on Amazon to find a song for this post. And how do you do that search? I tried searching for tribute albums, and stopped when I found this one.

Many of the songs this week have been cases of artists trying to broaden their appeal once they were established, or to escape the straightjacket of their fan’s expectations. But sometimes, it takes an artist a while to find their sound, and their off-genre work occurs early in their career. Such was the case with Marvin Gaye. By the early 70s, What’s Going On was out, and Gaye’s success was assured. But, in 1965, he was still finding out who he was. That was when he took time out to pay tribute to one of his inspirations, Nat King Cole. I never knew this until I researched this post. Why would an artist do a tribute album when he hasn’t even established his own career yet? Remember that this was 1965, and artists released three albums a year, not the album every three years that is the norm nowadays. Soon enough, Gaye would be able to return to his own music.

My selection of Calypso Blues is intentionally ironic. This one would have been off genre for Nat King Cole as well. There was a calypso craze in the United states in the 1950s. That was when Harry Belafonte rose to fame. As far as I know, Calypso Blues was the only calypso song Cole ever recorded. And if you really want to go far off genre, try this. Years later, Damien Marley took Cole’s original vocal track and created a brand new instrumental track for it. So Nat King Cole became a reggae singer.

Off-Genre: Neil Young Edition

Neil Young: Transformer Man

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After a disappointing Crazy Horse album, re*ac*tor, Neil switched labels and signed with Geffen Records for most of the '80s. It didn't take long for the two to butt heads. With it's synths, robotic beats and vocoder-heavy vocals, one can only wonder what Geffen thought when he first heard Trans. Many of the songs stem from Neil's attempts to communicate with his son Ben, who has cerebral palsy. There are some beautiful melodies hidden in the album, like this track, which he would recast in an acoustic setting for his turn at MTV Unplugged eleven years later.


Neil & The Shocking Pinks: Kinda Fonda Wanda

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While touring is support of Trans, Neil came up with the Shocking Pinks concept. Talk about a 180-degree turn! After a turn at futuristic electro-rock, Neil set the time machine for the 1950s and gave us a 25-minute album of rockabilly. It could have been interesting, but the '80s production values and the dopey backing vocals really sabotaged the album. But live, the band started to stretch out, and set the seeds for the Bluenotes five years later. But first...


Neil Young: Get Back to the Country

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Where to go from there? How about a pure country album? Neil had played country-rock on and off for years, most notably on Harvest, his biggest album. The promise of a return to that sound must have made David Geffen smile, but the more Geffen pushed Neil to make it sound like "Neil", the more country Neil went. Here he pretty much took it to the extreme, with the dopey "boing" of the Jew's harp pushing it over the edge. Live, the band once again started to stretch out and really rock. So naturally...


Neil Young: Weight of the World

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...he went all synth-rock on us. Recorded with studio pros Danny Kortchmar on guitar and synths and Steve Jordan on drums and synths. The music can be brutal, with the drums in particular seemingly in your face. It's not an easy listen.


Neil Young & The Bluenotes: Married Man

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After that, Neil toured and released an album with his old friends Crazy Horse. But during that tour, he started adding a blues mini-set, and that lead to the Bluenotes. I've written about this before, so I'll just say that this is a very underrated period in Neil's career, and the beginning of Neil getting back on track. (His next album included "Rockin' in the Free World", one of his best songs.)

Off-Genre: Under The Water

Jewel: Under the Water

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Sometimes off-genre goes terribly wrong, and you want to beg the artist to keep their day job, or in musicians case I suppose I mean stick to what they're good at. Unfortunately, Jewel, the folky Alaskan girl known for her hits "Who Will Save Your Soul?" and "You Were Meant for Me" from her crazily popular debut album "Pieces of You", sometimes doesn't listen to the wisdom of sticking with what you know and likes to stray.

Jewel released a whole album of pseudo-dance music in 2003, complete with her in neon clothing on the cover. In interviews she said it was to step out of the box people had put her in and to also be a bit ironic. Unfortunately for her, and for us, putting out ironic music looks more like a sell-out than anything else. What she is good at is stripped-down, acoustic, heartfelt and simple. Things that let her voice and words shine through.

But she's always had a penchant for such behavior. This little gem (yeah, that's sarcasm) is from the soundtrack to the '90s teen flick The Craft, and was released shortly after her debut album came out. The song features retro synth beats that remind me of late 70's soul, and a lovely interlude where Jewel attempts to rap. Any white girl who grew up on a ranch, can yodel, and is married to a rodeo star really doesn't have any business rapping. Alas, she was young when she did this, at least she hasn't tried it again since. Jewel, we love your simple acoustic stuff, please stick with what you do best.

Off-Genre: Easy

Faith No More: Easy

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Faith No More is one of those hard-to-pigeonhole bands that peaked in the early 90s and had disbanded by 1998 (although they're back together in concert, at least in Europe). I always scratch my head when I try to fill in the "genre" field on one of their songs. Are they experimental rock? Or are they alt metal? Neither? Both? Maybe it depends on who's in the band at the time: Wikipedia claims they've had 7 vocalists (including Courtney Love at one point) and 10 guitarists, making it a band that needs math done in powers of 2 to wrap your mind around it.

Their sound, however, was never smooth R&B. Except this once. Keyboard, strings, horn, background singers? Check.

Their cover of The Commodores' "Easy" was only released in later versions of their 1992 album "Angel Dust." It's become a favorite and best-seller, though. Instead of changing the genre to fit their normal style, they pretty much record it straight like Lionel (well, except for that quirky exclamation just before the guitar solo). Mike Patton, the vocalist du jour, has a nice, rich voice and he carries the song well. Have a listen.

Off-Genre: The Lady Is a Tramp

Fairport Convention: The Lady Is a Tramp

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In the late '60s, Fairport Convention were a pretty eclectic bunch. Still, it's a bit of a shock to hear the originators of British folk-rock tackling one of Frank Sinatra's signature songs. This track was recorded in 1969 for a BCC Top Gear session (though didn't see official release until 2002), with guitarist Richard Thompson on lead vocals, drummer Dave Mattacks on piano, and rhythm guitarist Simon Nicol on drums.

No, Richard doesn't give Frank a run for his money. But considering how long it took Thompson to "find" his singing voice, he acquits himself rather nicely. And it's just a hint of the musical eclecticism that would lead him to the "1000 Years of Popular Music" project more than thirty years later.

Off-Genre: I’m Satisfied

John Hiatt: I‘m Satisfied

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Many artists do their thing on their albums, and never go off course. And this is true even for an artist like John Hiatt, whose style is not easy to pin down. Hiatt is known for the amazing wordplay in his lyrics and the clever twists in his storytelling. He’s worth listening to because, for all the cleverness, he never loses sight of the humanity of his characters. And it doesn’t hurt that he is also a fine instrumentalist. But, if you want to hear John Hiatt go off genre, you must leave behind the albums he records in his own name.

Tribute albums are a fine source for material this week. At their best, these albums allow artists to reveal an influence that the listener never suspected. If there is a weakness in the album Avalon Blues, it is that many of the choices of artists are too obvious, The album pays tribute to the music of blues legend Mississippi John Hurt, and the roster contains a mix of artists working in the acoustic blues scene, as well as some artists whose love of the blues is obvious in their work. But there are some ringers, and John Hiatt is one of these. Here he is, with only his own acoustic guitar for accompaniment. I’m Satisfied is a straightforward tale, with no irony involved, and Hiatt’s vocal is low key and radiates warmth. It’s a wonderful performance, and a wonderful surprise from one of my favorite artists. And let me emphasize that the rest of the album is just as good, just not always so surprising.

Off-Genre: Wiggley Fingers

Patty Griffin: Wiggley Fingers

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Last time I mentioned Patty Griffin's sophomore album Flaming Red here in these pages, it led to an interesting debate between contributors about the value of the album as a touchstone for the singer-songwriter's evolution. And like Nelson's spouse, I agree that there's much to love about the first half of that album, though I find the songs from it more palatable in their live and stripped-down form.

But love it or hate it, there's no denying that late-album track Wiggley Fingers is a full-blown departure for Griffin, even more than the rest of the heavily-produced album in question. If it weren't for that distinctive voice straining to come clear through the sonic haze, and the oddly, dischordantly Catholic-schoolgirl-esque lyrical impressions under all that bombast, it would be easier to imagine this driving, heavily electronic, beat-heavy track in the hands and voice of a blazing country rocker in full-blown light-show prance-around encore mode. Or even in the sexualized, radio-ready hands of a modern poprock diva, like Pink, Madonna, or Ke$ha - wherein it would sound just right, come to think of it. Check it out, yo.

Off-Genre: Jesus

Velvet Underground: Jesus

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On the first album they gave us Heroin and Venus in Furs, on the second Sister Ray and White Light White Heat and on the third we got ... Jesus.

Years ago, whenever I queried this track people would tell me Lou Reed was being ironic. I wasn't sure about that then, less so now. It's too affecting to be ironic, nor does it have the desperation necessary for what some think is a junkie's lament. Lyrically it's a straightforward hymn, musically it's not too far removed from the basic keyboard arrangements the early protestants favoured. All in all it stands up today as a straightforward declaration of Christian love, something Pat Boone (see below) would feel perfectly comfortable crooning. Maybe Lou Reed was daring us to ask what was going on here. No journalist I'm aware of ever put the question to him. Maybe they were scared of the answer they'd get.


Guest post by John

Off-Genre: Crazy Train

Pat Boone: Crazy Train

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Pat Boone is best known for turning '50s black R&B into pop music, safe for the white masses. But in 1997, he gave us In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy, where he took twelve heavy metal and hard rock classics and gave them a jazzy big-band treatment. The album is an abomination, pure kitsch, but there there is value in finally hearing all the words to "Crazy Train".

Off-Genre: Not Quite Visual Kei Edition

Pata~~Miyavi~~You

X Japan: White Wind from Mr. Martin (Pata's Nap)

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Miyavi: Jikoai, jigajisan, jiishiki kajou

Miyavi: Selfish love - Aishitekure, Aishiterukara

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Janne Da Arc: Zero

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Here are four short tunes from Japanese rock artists who are best known for playing lead guitar in well-known Visual Kei (VK) bands. VK as a genre, which began in the '80s in Japan, is a blend of glam rock, metal, and punk. In its early days, a VK band's appearance was part and parcel of the genre – think the New York Dolls cranked up to 11. These days, most VK bands have toned down the "visual shock." Maybe these aging stars realized that leather hot pants, Audrey Hepburn pearls, and fishnet stockings are no longer quite so flattering.

I mentioned X Japan in my first guest post. This supergroup defined Visual Kei back in the day and remains the stuff of legends. X Japan's sound can be classified as symphonic metal. What it wasn't was anything like this short piece by one of their two lead guitarists, Pata (we're all on a first-name basis with these guys). To me, this song's a little footnote that says, "Hey, when I'm not churning out power chords, did you know I can sound just like Willie Nelson?"

Next up are two tunes by VK artist Miyavi. I dragged my dear husband to see him on our vacation in London last fall, where I judge we were the oldest fans there by a good two decades. He's kind of the new kid on the VK block, and yes, he used to model fashion as well, can you tell from the pose? Such a cutie. Anyway, when he's not flirting with the camera and cranking out rock, he loves American blues. His two songs are meant to be heard as a set. He's a Muddy Waters fan, who these two songs honor by way of Tokyo. Miyavi's on his first US tour this June, mostly along the coasts, so if you have a chance, I heartily encourage you to check him out. Otherwise, look for these songs on YouTube, where he mimics the Mississippi River by flooding the studio.

Janne Da Arc (pronounced Jannu Daruku) is not named after the heroic Joan of Arc but rather after a manga character. To me, it seems like half the VK bands have chosen French names that are basically unpronounceable in Japanese. You, the lead guitarist (his mom knows him as Yutaka Tsuda), clearly released this tune to confuse Jimmy Page, who's probably still wondering when he recorded this.

Guest post by Geoviki

Off-Genre: The Real Thing

Russell Morris: The Real Thing

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In 1969 Russell Morris was a pop singer, best known in Australia for some listenable if asinine pop songs, aspiring crooner Johnny Young had been the host of teen pop shows 'Club Seventeen' and 'Go', and Ian Meldrum was a journalist with pop magazine 'Go Set'. Pop was their world, and a pretty little world it was too. When Johnny Young wrote 'The Real Thing' he envisioned a pop ballad; an acoustic guitar, some strings and perhaps a girl chorus wrapped up in a sincerely syrupy declaration of pop love. That's what he was thinking when he gave it to Meldrum, who was also Morris's manager/producer. Maybe Meldrum secretly detested the song, or he had a paticularly inspiring weekend. Whatever, he turned loose on it, blasting away its prissiness with phasing, echo, feedback, demented overdubs, manic choirs and laughter and finishing it off the only way he could, with a massive explosion.

Russell gets the credit for this psychedelic masterpiece but it was always Meldrum's moment. In a few years he'd be the host of 'Countdown' the show that ruled Australian music in the 1970s. Johnny Young would host 'Young Talent Time', a breeding ground for kids who aspired to one day mount Countdown's centre stage. Russell Morris wouldn't go away either, though he'd never quite reach the heights of The Real Thing, but who could?

Guest post by John

Off-Genre: Cha Cha Loco

Joe Jackson: Cha Cha Loco

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This week’s theme presents a unique challenge. Often, when an artist steps outside their comfort zone, they fall on their face. So the task is to find the good stuff. That means finding an artist who can stretch out successfully. Joe Jackson is usually one of these. He is known for new wave rock. But Jackson has incorporated reggae into his sound, (Fools in Love), and he recorded an entire album of old jazz songs. Only his sort of new age instrumental album fell flat. Still, Latin jazz?

That’s right. On Cha Cha Loco, Joe Jackson asked his band, normally a great rock group, to go Latin. It didn’t hurt that he was assisted by a great horn section. But any way you look at it, this really worked.

Mothers/Off-Genre: I Want To Be Your Mother's Son-In-Law

Macy Gray: I Want To Be Your Mother's Son-In-Law

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Soulful R&B-slash-funk singer Macy Gray - often compared to Billie Holiday due to her airy voice and intonation - jazzes up one of Holiday's classic tunes, going full-blown New Orleans big-band for T-Bone Burnett's deliciously retro Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood soundtrack, and as befits its anachronistic setting, man, does this song swing. Great sentiment, too.

As this week's segue song, the track takes us from our Mothers theme to a dip in the pool of one-off genre switches. Careful not to judge the coming musicians by what you hear here in the next seven days, folks. It may be a blast, thanks to Burnett's prescient production, but this sure as heck isn't Macy's usual setting.