Joan Jett: Fake Friends
[purchase]
In the interest of gender equality (not to mention it's a Catalan version of the name [female]), here is Joan Jett... One of the coolest rockers that ever picked up a guitar.
I, like all'a y'all, I love Rock And Roll, so... Since Rock and Roll is a rule-breaking genre already, lemme be the theme-buster! From here on out, bring on your Ivan, Juan, Jan, and Ian... or what have y'alls...
Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers: Born To Lose [purchase]
Johnny Thunders: You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory [purchase]
Johnny Thunders may have had a junkie's appetite for self-destruction and few figures in rock history have certainly done less with more. Hell, in terms of pure work ethic, Gram Parsons looks good by comparison. But, make no mistake, Thunders was a monster talent and is absolutely essential in the "godfather of punk rock" discussion. As lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter with the New York Dolls and then co-founder, lead guitarist, and songwriter with The Heartbreakers, he married street-smart lyrical content to a fearless, Chuck Berry-via-Keith Richards guitar sound that profoundly influenced every NYC punk band that played CBGB in the mid-'70s and every British punk band that wished it did. You can also hear the Thunders influence throughout the first wave of LA punks, in bands like X, Gun Club, The Blasters, Lone Justice, and then later, Guns 'N Roses.
In my opinion, you should start with L.A.M.F. and then move on to So Alone, but you could do a lot worse than vice versa. And if you don't already have the Dolls' S/T and Too Much Too Soon, what the hell are you waiting for???
As a bonus, here's the Kinks song from which the kid born Johnny Genzale copped his stage name:
Kinks: Johnny Thunder [purchase]
As another bonus, here's The Replacements' tribute to Thunders from their debut album, Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash:
Replacements: Johnny's Gonna Die [purchase]
Johnny always needs more than he takes,
Forgets a couple chords, forgets a couple breaks,
And everybody tells me that Johnny is hot,
Johnny needs something what he ain't got,
And Johnny's gonna die.
Johnny Cash - Hurt
[purchase]
I guess it was deemed that since I had a hand in coming up with this weeks theme I should get first crack at posting a Johnny Cash track.
It's a blessing and a curse. It's so easy and yet...so hard. Which song do you choose? No matter which one you choose someone's gonna leave a, "you should have posted" comment. In the end I decided to go with a cover song.
Why?
Because Johnny straight stole this song from Trent. He took the song and made it his own and I am of the belief that history will remember Hurt as a Johnny Cash song while Trent Reznors version will be forgotten.
John Coltrane My Favorite Things
[purchase]
John Coltrane's music runs the spectrum from relatively straight-up jazz to the wildest free-jazz that you're likely to ever hear. The wilder stuff came toward the end of his career (and life) and it has been both praised and vilified. His earlier, more traditional, recordings are universally praised. My Favorite Things falls somewhere in the middle, probably leaning toward the more traditional side. Not being an expert on Jazz, I find this whole record to be eminently listen-to-able, musical, and lyrical. It's a beautiful piece of work.
John Sebastian and the J Band: Got No Automobile
[purchase]
Boyhowdy’s mention of the hit to cheese ratio brought to mind the fact that I wanted to post John Sebastian this week. Sebastian first came to light as the leader of The Lovin’ Spoonful. Some people consider their music to be bubblegum music, lumping them in with The Archies, The Monkees, and so forth. But there was always more going on with The Lovin’ Spoonful. John Sebastian would talk in the liner notes to their albums about his influences, from folk and bluegrass to classic blues. In fact, it was a similar musical stew to the one that influenced The Grateful Dead, but with very different results. In particular, Sebastian paid tribute to classic country and bluegrass in the song Nashville Cats.
In due course, The Lovin’ Spoonful broke up, and Sebastian went solo. You may recall his one big hit, the theme from Welcome Back Kotter. And commercially speaking, that was it. No one ever heard from him again.
So what has John Sebastian been up to? He formed a band called the J Band to perform and record the music he always loved best. And that is jug band music. If you don’t know what jug band music is, the jug is played by blowing air over the top, just as you might play a bottle. The band that goes with it usually uses a washboard for percussion. Aw heck, the best way to explain is: give a listen. And enjoy.
John Renbourn: The Pelican
[purchase]
Digging up those covers of John Henry last week for Darius reminded me of my long-standing admiration for acoustic guitar wizard John Renbourn, who made his name in the seminal britfolk scene of the sixties as a founding member of Pentangle, and remains one of the most respected fathers of the contemporary british folk movement.
As a seventies child, I grew up with John Renbourn's instrumental folk record The Black Balloon as a household deep cut, something which seemed well-worn but which I never heard my father actually spin; I had to dig it out on my own, and when I did, I was hooked, and permanently haunted. The record was one of the first I purchased for my own collection when I left his albums behind with my childhood. Even today, in my quietest, stillest hours, Renbourn's utterly peaceful The Pelican plays in my mind.
John Cougar Jack & Diane
[purchase]
John Prine: Quit Hollerin' At Me
[purchase]
John Prine: Sam Stone
[purchase]
We've posted several John Prine classics here at Star Maker Machine in the few months since this wonderful collaborative took root, and with good reason: this John knows how to rock the weariness, saving his strength for just the right moment, the perfect sighing phrase, the delicate guitar solo.
As a cover collector, I hear Prine's songbook plenty; no matter who sings it, something of the outsider's awe that characterizes his narrative explorations of topics from love lost to heroin addiction always shines through. But John Prine's power is in his performance, not solely his songcraft; his own take on his work deserves respect and careful listening. Here's one of my favorite live cuts from a decade back, and a much quieter but no less powerful piece from September 2001; though Prine on record makes for some incredible, precious folkpop, his blueswork has been stuck in my brain recently.
As a bonus, head back to this old post about Angel From Montgomery to hear the original songwriter with one of his most famous songs, though most people know it through the work of blueswoman Bonnie Raitt. Something about that emotion Prine brings to the first line -- the way we are immediately confronted with the rough, masculine voice claiming that he is an old woman; the way we accept it anyway -- says everything about Prine: who he is, what he can do, and why we should care.
John Denver: Sunshine On My Shoulders
[purchase]
Some consider him one of of the greatest folk singers we've ever had and others find him incredibly hokey (there were a whole series of jokes about him, not even to mention the Monty Python stuff). But as someone whose family spent many a holiday with his "John Denver & The Muppets: A Christmas Together" album, he will always be okay in my book. And what's wrong with that wanting to buy the world a Coke feeling, anyway?
Submitted by Anne of Curiously Tasty Music
Johnny Paycheck: Georgia In A Jug
[purchase]
There two kinds of people in this world: Those who like Johnny Paycheck and those who don't. I'm solidly in the "like" camp. And I really really like this one.
Last year at my other blog I tried to figure out the "perfect" country song. I wasn't looking for the best country song, just the one that best defined the genre (as I understand it). Off the top of my head I came up with a few characteristics that would fit the bill:
(1) Clever lyrics (a pun, a joke, or a play on words, preferably in the title of the song);
(2) A storyline based, at least in part, on regret (good for fostering tears in beers);
(3) A stalwart, but flawed, protagonist;
(4) A peddle steel guitar;
(5) Alcohol (thanks to David Allan Coe and a host of others); and
(6) Reverence for the land, especially the South.
John Fred & His Playboy Band: Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)
[purchase]
For as long as I can remember I've loved this trippy sixties pop hit from John Fred.
Of course, for the first few years I thought he was saying "Judy In The Sky." The lyrics make about as much sense either way:
Judy in disguise, well that's what you areLove the sixties.
Lemonade pies with a brand new car
Cantalope eyes come to me tonight
Judy in disguise, with glasses
John Hiatt: Real Fine Love
[purchase]
There isn't a whole lot I can say about John Hiatt that I haven't already said over at my own site. I wrote a concert review after seeing Hiatt play this summer, and another post after it was announced he will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting this year from the Americana Music Association. You can find both posts here.
John Lee Hooker: Goin To Louisiana
[purchase]
Greatest Bluesman ever? Hard to say, but you sure can make a case for Star Maker Machine favorite, John Lee Hooker. I have a gut feeling that somewhere in that great Blues gig in the sky, John Lee's foot is still tappin' out time steadier than a Swiss watch.
Dr. John: I Walk On Gilded Splinters
[purchase]
Join Dr. John while he walks on guilded splinters with the King of the Zulu - if you dare!
Roll outta my coffin
Drink poison in my chalice
Pride begins to fade
And y'all feel my malice
John Lennon: Watching The Wheels
[purchase]
Wouldn't it be great if everybody got some second chance? Wouldn't it have been amazing if John Lennon had gotten some second chance?
If he hadn't been murdered by that schmuck?
If Our Man John had been allowed to live out his life, making things we all might have enjoyed? Ug...
I wends my brain thinking about that possibility. That optimitic eventuality...
Unfortunately, we don't get to live in a world where that is a reality...
Bow Wow Wow: W.O.R.K. (N.O. Nah No No My Daddy Don't) Extended Version
[purchase]
Besides the Sex Pistols, if Malcolm McLaren ever stole brought anything to Pop music, it was the Burundi Beat. One of his bands, Bow Wow Wow, used it to excellent result in W.O.R.K. (N.O. Nah No No My Daddy Don't). The group was fronted by 14-year-old Annabella Lwin, who was discovered working in a launderette by a friend of McLaren's. In W.O.R.K., Annabella sings about demolition of the work ethic, how technology leads to autonomy - back in 1981, that seemed a bit silly. For those that work from their laptops on flex-time, not so much now.
Here's a rare video of W.O.R.K. uploaded by old school music blogger Lil Mike:
Bob Frank and John Murry - Bubba Rose, 1961
[purchase]
Well. What better way for me to end my participation in the work week that with the finality of death? In this song Bubba does the thing we've all wanted to do at one time or another...he shoots his boss.
What makes this song different than most (and the album for that matter) is that Bubba Rose was (is?) a real person and in 1961 he really did shoot his boss. Neither Bob nor John knew Bubba or his family. They just wrote the song based on a newspaper clipping. That's the case for all the tracks on their 2007 effort, World Without End. Yup, instead of the traditional murder ballad thing that's been done, redone, remixed, and undone many times before them, they took a different route. They decided to start researching stories about real murders and write about them as they happened, sans the morality and rationalization commonly present in such songs.
Here. You get Bubba Rose. In 1961, he killed his boss.
One could conceivably create a musical about coal miners and the towns they lived in, using existing music.
In Act One, the coal company finds coal, and creates a new town where none existed before. Two songs eloquently describe the conditions in which the miners live and work. Autopsy IV has already done an amazing job of presenting these here and here
.
In Act Two, the miners form a union to try to improve their lot. There is a strike and this song is used during a strike montage sequence.
Sting: We Work the Black Seam
[purchase]
(Sting wrote We Work the Black Seam as an expression of solidarity with striking coal miners in England.)
During the strike, a few of the miners become desperate, and return to work before the strike is over, becoming strike breakers, or “scabs”. This song is used to convey the conflict between them and the miners who remain on strike.
Steeleye Span: Blackleg Miner
[purchase]
(After Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span is the best known of the British folk-rock bands. Over the years, many musicians have been official or unofficial members of both bands..)
In Act Three, the mine becomes played out. The coal company closes the mine, leaving behind a town with no further reason for being, and leaving the former miners and their families to fend for themselves. Sadly this actually happened far too often. This song closes the show.
Michelle Shocked: The L&N Don‘t Stop Here Anymore
[purchase]
(Michelle Shocked created the concept of “folk-punk” to describe her music. I believe that this is her first appearance on Star Maker Machine. I hope it won’t be her last. For another excellent version of this tune, seek out the one by Norman Blake.)
Tom T. Hall: More About John Henry
[purchase]
You've already heard about John Henry this week, thanks to Darius' great post.
Well, here's some more information about Mr. Henry from one of my all-time favorite songwriters.
And now you know the rest of the story.
Pete Townshend: Keep On Working
[purchase]
Unfortunately this song about the constant demands of work is too often the story of my life. Fortunately it's a nice little tune from an underrated album.
This Rhino Podcast has a great feature about Pete's Empty Glass, as well as a few other interesting items. Check it out!
