The Moon: Silver Apples of the Moon

Morton Subotnik: Silver Apples of the Moon, part 1

[purchase]

This piece defines the beginning of an evolution that I'm coming out the other end of now. I can see where it has led; I can see sort of an ending point. I can also see what made it fairly popular at the time it came out in relation to the pop world and the world in general. It sort of defined an approach to electronics that found its way into all sorts of media at the time, in terms of music and sound. I feel comfortable with it—I think it's really held up over all these years.

—Morton Subotnik

Time to go a little left of center for Star Maker Machine. This is an excerpt from composer Morton Subotnik's seminal 1968 work. While this was hardly the first piece of electronic music—the box set I took this from has tracks dating back to the 1930s!—it is noteworthy for being the first time a record label (Nonesuch) actually commissioned such a work.

A lot of the early electronic music was made by manipulating tapes and instruments like the theremin; for Silver Apples, Subotnik got together with Don Buchla to create one of the first synthesizers (Buchla was developing instruments concurrently with Robert Moog, sorta like Edison and Tesla). The resulting "Electric Music Box" (also referred to simply as a "Buchla") was the basis for Subotnik's composition. Beyond instrumentation, Silver Apples also distinguished itself from other electronic-based music of the era by paying more attention to rhythm and pattern—a lot of the early electronic music eschewed pattern altogether, more interested in the chance sounds resulting from the physical manipulation of the sounds' sources. I don't know that this excerpt is the ideal illustration of that fact—you can still hear a lot of that randomness here, though there are moments that indicate something more rhythmic going on.

As an addendum, I can only assume that this composition must have had a huge effect on the band The Silver Apples, who came together right around the same time and applied synthesizers to pop structures. Brendan did a great post on that band over at the Rising Storm.

The Moon: Calling The Moon

Dar Williams: Calling The Moon

[purchase]

I saw singer-songwriter Dar Williams on the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival mainstage just a few nights ago, and to be honest, the stage lights kind of swallowed her up, there in the darkened cowfield. Maybe it's just my preference for smaller venues and closer seating, and I will admit that the majestic annual tradition of bringing her friends and family on stage to see the thousands of lit, waving audience lightsources during her encore was as powerful as always. I just think the intimacy which Dar brings to her live one-voice-one-guitar performance doesn't translate to such a huge crowd.

This is nothing against Dar, mind you. As I discussed in a more substantive post on Dar Williams over at Cover Lay Down way back in December, though it took me a while to warm to her feathery voice with its unique break, I've fallen in love with her work over time, and consider her one of my favorite singer-songwriters. Though she got her start in the coffeehouse scene, these days, Dar Williams' feet are firmly planted in the same worldchanging folkpop soil as Shawn Colvin, Ani DiFranco and Jonatha Brooke, and she shines in her element. She writes a mean hook, and deserves more radioplay than she gets for it.

Still, in my quietest moments I prefer her earlier, more introspective ballads, and this is one of the best of 'em, thick with empathy and attuned to the natural world as a reflection of the internal self, a perfect introduction to that which makes Dar's fanbase so strong and cool and committed, all at once. Here's hoping this timely track makes you a believer in Dar, and in the power of the moon, as well.

Want more? Today's bonus coversong comes from Dar's fellow musician and Cover Lay Down fave artist Richard Shindell, a great performer who is never afraid to tackle a song with strong feminine and pagan overtones.

Richard Shindell: Calling the Moon (orig. Dar Williams)

[purchase]

The Moon: Moonshake

Can: Moonshake

[purchase]

My favorite krautrock combo with their most poppy effort. Ambient/chill out music from 1973, so way avant la lettre. "Let me free no more..."

The Moon: Half Mad Moon

Damnations: Half Mad Moon [purchase]

I first talked about The Damnations during Fifty States Week, so for a brief overview of the band, check out that post.

This has always been one of my favorite Damnations numbers, a lovely, staggering, Waits-ian drink of a song. Great lyrics, with a pre-WWII, almost ragtime kinda feel to it. Throw it on scratchy vinyl and you'd think you'd have a lost Harry Smith track. Really, the only thing that might be missing is a saw solo to give it more haunting Old World flavor.

"Love is one of those unstable chemicals,
Beyond all reason it's just divine invention,
It's a gift of contradiction,
A hellish kind of heaven.

That man's the only one who knows his own formula,
There's no equation for random disorder,
He's got the gift of the gab,
And the curse of the bottle.

Take all the chairs and throw 'em out,
Go buy a saddle and tie yourself,
On back of that old yellow round,
No, you can't shoot down that half mad moon upstairs.

It's been a long time let's have ourselves a quarrel,
Let's go and sit upon our drunk and lazy laurels,
It's a gift to find a laugh,
To cure and clear our old debts.

So, take all the chairs and throw 'em out,
Go buy a saddle and tie yourself,
On back of that old yellow round,
No, you can't shoot down that half mad moon upstairs."

The Moon: Shine On, Harvest Moon

Ada Jones & Billy Murray: Shine On, Harvest Moon

[public domain]

There's been a Harvest Moon song posted already, but Shine On, Harvest Moon is worthy of an entry of its own. It was composed in the early 1900s by the husband and wife team of Jack Norworth and Nora Bayes. Billy Murray and Ada Jones, the Acoustic Era's John Legend & Lauryn Hill, scored a #1 hit with it in June of 1909.


Leon Redbone: Shine On, Harvest Moon

[purchase]


Leon Redbone, who's somewhere between fifty-eight and seventy years old, is such a mystery man that at different times it was rumored he was actually people disparate as Andy Kaufman, Frank Zappa and Father Guido Sarducci. All you hipsters out there most likely know him from his duet with Zooey Deschanel of Baby, It's Cold Outside, from that Elf flick.

Since Leon is a singer and guitarist that specializes in Tin Pan Alley classics, it's only natural he covered Shine On, Harvest Moon - one of a series of moon related songs of the era.

The Moon: Moondance

Van Morrison: Moondance

[purchase]


I've already asserted that Van Morrison is Rock's High Priest. Unfortunately, the Shaman also has produced lots of dreck. But when he hits it out of the park, it's one for the record books (don't you just hate sports analogies?). Moondance is a monster composition and an exquisite recorded performance - it even has a flute solo non-Jethro Tull fans can appreciate.

Oddly, though the Moondance album was released in 1970, the single didn't come out until 1977. Morrison has referred to it as a sophisticated song - if for some reason you've never heard Moondance before, you owe yourself a listen.

The Moon: Child Of The Moon

The Rolling Stones: Child Of The Moon

[purchase]


It's 1968, acid is all over Swingin' London and Brian Jones is still alive and well, his influence strongly felt on the Rolling Stones music. Child Of The Moon was the B side of "Jumpin' Jack Flash, a song that well defined the Stones and overshadowed anything found on the flip. "Give me a misty day, pearly gray, silver, silky faced, wide-awake crescent-shaped smile" - try writing lines like that sober!

The Moon: Anemic Moon

Krista Detor: Anemic Moon

[purchase]


Here is a wonderful song by Krista Detor. "Who?", you may ask. That is a question that is surprisingly difficult to answer. Her publicity people have put no useful biographical information on her web site. The All Music Guide has heard of her, Amazon and Itunes have her music, but none provide additional information. Fortunately, I'm stubborn, so I can tell you at least some of her story.

Krista Detor arrived in Bloomington, Indiana at the beginning of this decade. Almost as soon as she got there, she created and performed a one-woman cabaret-style show called Slightly Deranged. By 2003, she had met Dan Weber, who would become the coproducer and frequent musical partner on her solo projects. The first of these, A Dream in a Cornfield came out that year.

By 2005, Detor had met Carrie Newcomer, who also deserves to be better known. Newcomer appears to have taken Detor under her wing. The two have a duet on Newcomer's 2005 album, Regulars and Refugees.
And Detor opened for Newcomer's 2005 Tour.

But their most recent project together may also be the most interesting. Wilderness Plots tells the story of the early settlers in the Ohio valley. With the stories of Scott Russell Sanders as a starting point, it has become a musical and spoken word stage show, featuring the music of Detor, Newcomer, and three other singer-songwriters from the area. The show was filmed for broadcast on WTU Public Television this past March.

"Anemic Moon" comes from Krista Detor's album Cover Their Eyes.


Submitted by Darius

The Moon: Sting's Reading List Edition

Sting has occasionally flaunted his pretentious reading habits. After all, this is a guy who named an album Synchronicity so that we would all know that he reads philosophy for fun. So, when he first became a solo act, it was natural to scour his lyrics for literary references.



Sting: Moon Over Bourbon Street

[purchase]

Sure enough, The Dream of the Blue Turtles contains a song called "Moon Over Bourbon Street", whose lyrics, heard nowadays, suggest that Sting may be referencing some tortured protagonist from a book that only he read. But that's not quite what happened.

The album was greeted warmly by the music press at the time. Much was made of how working with jazz musicians was musically liberating for Sting, (shades of Joni Mitchell ten years earlier!). And, lo and behold, when the source of "Moon Over Bourbon Street" was revealed, it was a surprise. Sting had read a bestseller! The book is "Interview With a Vampire" by Anne Rice.



Three years later, Sting's second album, Nothing Like the Sun, came out. The press reception for this one was different. At the time, the major labels were actively trying to make vinyl obsolete so that they could profit from people having to replace their collections on CD. Even though CDs cost about half as much to manufacture, they cost about twice as much to buy, and the artists royalty rates were the same for either format. As part of this strategy, Nothing Like the Sun was released as a two record set on vinyl with pricing to match, even though, with a total running time of about forty-five minutes, the music would easily have fit on a single disc. The controversy over this unfortunately overshadowed the coverage of the music and its creation.

Sting: Sister Moon

[purchase]

Sister Moon is the closest thing to a title track, since it contains the phrase "Nothing Like the Sun" in its lyrics. It also has lines like "I go out of my mind the full moon." So, is the song based on a best selling werewolf novel? Actually, no. Sting explains in the liner notes:

I was accosted late one night on Highgate Hill by a staggering drunk who... pointed to the moon which was swollen in its fullness and demanded of me threateningly, 'How beautiful is the moon?... How beautiful is the Moon?' he repeated. Thinking quickly and not wishing for an early toxic death, I fixed him with my eye and declaimed, 'My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun.' Shakespeare is always useful I've found for calming down violent drunks if only because it gives them the impression that you're crazier than they are. 'A good answer...' he said. 'A good answer' as he set off...

Now, I'm glad it worked, but that certainly is not the first thing that would come to my mind. So the pretentious reading habits had returned. That said, great story and two great songs.

Submitted by Darius

The Moon: Pink Moon

Nick Drake: Pink Moon

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Never mind the Volkswagen ad, this is simply one of the most gorgeous songs in musical history. Be sure to buy this excellent book if you want to know more about this song and the album of the same name. 

The Moon: Whitey On The Moon

Gil Scott-Heron: Whitey On The Moon

[purchase]

This humorous bit of political protest from Gil Scott-Heron pretty much speaks for itself.

The Moon: Goodnight Moon

Will Kimbrough: Goodnight Moon

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Though he fronted a few great but underappreciated rock bands in his time, Nashville veteran Will Kimbrough had long been known as one of the best musician's musician in Nashville. But until the release of his contemplative solo debut in 2000, he'd primarily made his reputation as a hired gun, touring and recording with the likes of Amy Rigby, Josh Rouse, and Todd Snider.

This changed everything. It was short, with no top 40 hits, but it had plenty of hooks, and plenty of room for Will's talents -- as a vocalist, a guitarist, and a songcrafter -- to shine. The rest of the world started to take notice of Will as more than just a sideman. And a few years later, this simple, beautiful lullaby found its way from the tail end of This to the always-excellent Oxford American's annual Southern Sampler CD, which is where I found it, and fell in love with both the music of Will Kimbrough, and this song in particular.

It's no accident that my daughter has spent a lifetime falling asleep to this song. Listen for the atmospheric swirl of electric guitar, the break in Will's otherwise honeyed tones, and the piece de resistance, the languid, spotlit horn solo.

The Moon: Dead Moon Night

Dead Moon: Dead Moon Night

[purchase]

D for disaster

E for my eyes
A for my anger
D before I die
M for Mona
O oh good
O oh good
N for the night

Dead Moon Night...

The Moon: Marquee Moon

Television: Marquee Moon

[purchase]

Here we are at the beginning of the week, everyone's feeling fresh and revived from the weekend, so we better get the mad genius of "Marquee Moon" in before we all get too tired to appreciate it by the end of the week.

This is the pinnacle of Television's first and greatest album. An anti-punk epic—despite punk still being in its infantile stages! In the same year, in the same club, the Ramones embodied an ethic and aesthetic that shunned technical proficiency, insisting on getting in and out of a song before you could say Hey Ho. On the same stage, here was Television: everything punk rejected—long, complex, full of skill and chops. Yet the band had a raw, gritty gusto like no stadium rocker of its day possessed. It still came from the East Village, the quintessential New York that belonged to the VU before Verlaine and to Sonic Youth after. Tom Verlaine's solo in the second half of this song is so dense you can get lost in it; but just when it feels like it might overstay its welcome, verging on overwhelming, the entire band coalesces into a sharp-edged octave charge for sixteen bars before dispersing—the guitars almost sound like raindrops, before that sim-ple, rhy-thm, re-turns, for one, more verse.

Classic.

I remember how the darkness doubled
I recall lightning struck itself,
I was listenin, listenin' to the rain
I was hearin', hearin', something else.

The Moon: Blue Moon

Big Star: Blue Moon [purchase]

Gleeson: Blue Moon [purchase]

No, not that "Blue Moon." This is the "Blue Moon" written by Alex Chilton for Big Star's underground masterpiece, Third/Sister Lovers. Like most of the songs on the record, this one is arranged with minimal adornment, featuring a pair of acoustic guitars, a standup bass, what sounds like a mellotron, and maybe light synthesizer. Beautiful, simple, in-and-out in 2:06.

Austin's Gleeson covered this one for Thank You Friends: An Almost There Records Salute To Big Star, and it's like they took the arrangement for "Holocaust" and sang the words to "Blue Moon." Haunting stuff. Where Chilton's take has a sweet, tender quality, Gleeson's is almost funereal. True, it helps to have Jim Fredley singing, the guy has an awesome voice. But, a big voice could overwhelm the song and that doesn't happen here. The simple arrangement stays true to the original vision, with Ty Chandler's mournful piano part essentially replacing the acoustic guitars and bass. Meanwhile, Michael Crow of Grand Champeen ... doubling as producer/engineer of this track ... provides a faux string quartet part that echoes the mellotron. In both cases, it's pop music at its most direct, beautiful, and simple.

"Let me be your one light,
And if you'd like a true heart,
Take the time to show you're mine,
And I'll be a blue moon in the dark.

While you sleep, you'll see me there,
Clouds race across the sky,
Close your eyes and don't ask why,
And I'll be a blue moon in your eyes.

Morning comes and sleeping's done,
Birds sing outside,
If demons come while you're under,
I'll be a blue moon in the sky."

The Moon: Song About The Moon

Paul Simon: Song About The Moon

[purchase]

When the theme is "songs about the moon", what better song can there be than "Song About The Moon"? And, when one of the greatest songwriters of modern times gives you advice about how to write a song, you'd best listen.

I have always thought that Hearts and Bones was an under-rated album. Of course, it was originally recorded as a reunion Simon & Garfunkel album, but when the two could not agree about certain creative aspects of the recording (e.g., whether or not to allow Garfunkel to sing on any tracks... at all) Simon pulled the plug on the reunion, scrubbed Garfunkel's vocals from the existing tracks, and rerecorded the album as a solo effort. I agree with most critics that it is not his best, or even close to his best, but still it's really not bad. There are a few songs on this album that are absolutely terrific (The Late Great Johnny Ace, Renee And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War, and Hearts & Bones itself). Of course there are a few others that are quite skippable.

Overall, it's worth owning. Song About The Moon is not necessarily a highlight of the album, but it's decent musically and wonderful lyrically. Check it out.

The Moon: Moon Is Almost Full

Mike McClure Band - Moon Is Almost Full [purchase]


One of the few Great Divide songs to be re-cut later in his solo career, 'Moon Is Almost Full' is possibly Mike McClure's strongest writing effort to date. Here, he uses the fact that the moon is near-full to help explain his wild desires....


"The night drifts by in awesome wonder,
cast beneath a rolling thunder, as i cut a path across these golden fields.
Thoughts of her go floating backwards,
hoping happy ever afters, and raindrops from heaven's rafters are on my windshield.

Well it's turned into a new day, darlin',
try to hear your own heart callin', the time is now, there is no time to wait.
Follow on that path you've chosen,
slowly melting, come un-frozen, relieve your guard of his duty at your gate."

Mike is not well-known outside of his home base of Oklahoma/Texas, but he should be. One of the pioneers of the Red Dirt Scene, Mike McClure is a poetic, prolific songwriter that can also rip up an electric guitar.

Everything Upside Down was the first album billed as the Mike McClure Band. 19 tracks evenly distributed between steel guitar country, well-written ballads, and pure ROCK N' ROLL. Songs about leaving his former band, introspective self-therapy numbers, mythic tales of lands long gone, and even a tune about Elvis.
Check out my Mike McClure Artist Spotlight
(yes.... shameless self-promotion)

The Moon: Blue Moon Of Kentucky

From Wikipedia.


"Blue Moon of Kentucky" is a waltz written in 1947 by bluegrass musician Bill Monroe and recorded by his band, The Blue Grass Boys. The song has since been recorded by Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Ronnie Hawkins, Wanda Jackson, LeAnn Rimes, The Beatles, Boxcar Willie, Ray Charles and others.

Bill Monroe: Blue Moon Of Kentucky     [purchase]

Bill Monroe wrote the song in 1947, but didn't record it until three years later. Carl Perkins played an uptempo version of this song in his early live performances. When the just starting out Elvis Presley, along with Bill Black and Scotty Moore, completed a take of the song in July 1954, Sun Records owner Sam Phillips exclaimed, "Boy, that's fine, that's fine. That's a POP song now!" Presley responded, "That sounds like Carl Perkins!"

Elvis Presley's version went to number one on the country charts across the American South in 1954. This song was the second recorded by Presley, and released by Sun Records. According to guitarist Scotty Moore, it was bassist Bill Black who began playing an irreverent version of the song during an up until then unproductive recording session to produce a second side for the previously recorded "That's Alright Mama". Presley and Moore then joined in.


Elvis Presley: Blue Moon Of Kentucky     [purchase]

In 1995, the remaining Beatles, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr performed an impromptu 4/4 version of the song that was eventually released on the Bonus DVD of The Beatles Anthology video release.


The Beatles: Blue Moon Of Kentucky     [purchase]

On her 2006 Elvis tribute album, I Remember Elvis, Rockabilly Queen Wanda Jackson shows she can still bring it. Providing the big beat behind her is Blondie drummer Clem Burke.


Wanda Jackson: Blue Moon Of Kentucky     [purchase]

"Blue Moon of Kentucky" is the official bluegrass song of Kentucky. In 2002, Monroe's version was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. In 2003, CMT ranked "Blue Moon of Kentucky" #11 on its 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music.

The Moon: Paper Moon

Maude Maggart and Fiona Apple: Paper Moon

[purchase]


Okay, this gets a little confusing - before Amber Maggart decided to become a cabaret singer, she changed her first name to Maude, after her paternal great-great grandmother. Her older sister, Fiona Apple McAfee Maggart, joins her on this wonderful acapella version of the old Arlen & Harburg classic, Paper Moon.

Want to know more about Maude? Here's an interview from NPR's Morning Edition: Maude Maggart: A New Generation of Cabaret

The Moon: Harvest Moon

Neil Young: Harvest Moon

[purchase]


Holding onto love is a lot more difficult than finding it, one of Neil Young's most wistful songs.

When we were strangers
I watched you from afar
When we were lovers
I loved you with all my heart

But now it's gettin' late
And the moon is climbin' high
I want to celebrate
See it shinin' in your eye

Because I'm still in love with you
I want to see you dance again
Because I'm still in love with you
On this harvest moon
Come a little bit closer
Hear what I have to say
Just like children sleepin'
We could dream this night away