And it’s good for you, too!
Have you ever had this experience before? You have listened to a song fifty or a hundred times in your life. Then one day, after not hearing it for years, you come to it again and it takes on fresh meaning.
I’m listening to “Stairway to Heaven” on my iPod, a song I haven’t heard all the way to the end probably since 1997. I downloaded it last night using a filesharing client (Miserere mei Deus!). I used to own a four or five LP set of Led Zeppelin hits which I listened to all the time in college; that may have been the last time I heard the song.
The song fits my mood this week: melancholic, but somewhat hopeful of change.
And it’s whispered that soon, if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forest will echo with laughter.
There is also what I can only take to be a Tolkien reference in the song as well.
“There’s a feeling I get when I look to the west /
And my spirit is crying for leaving.”
Even if it’s not a reference to the Grey Havens, it certainly would describe the feeling of compulsion that moves the Elves to leave Middle Earth. Anyway, a Tolkien reference or not, the latter two lines struck me as the most beautiful two lines in the song.
One comes across the idea of Heaven lying in the West in Celtic myth. Other cultures may share the idea, but I first encountered it in Irish literature, and obviously Tolkien utilized it as well.
I’ve been pretty stressed the past three days, which has led to writer’s block. I have three drafts of blog entries which will probably never see the light of day because I just can’t see my way to finishing them. It’s been a debilitating week so far.
So I am listening to my iPod this morning as I work, and that is what I will write about and hope for a break in the drought of my creativity.
The filesharing application I use, the perhaps humorously named Acquistion X, creates a playlist on my iPod containing only the music I download via Acquisition. I actually find myself listening to that playlist a lot because it typically contains only songs that I really, really like. Obviously I am not going to use a P2P client to download music I don’t like!
Most often, I use P2P to download music I can’t find on iTunes. Sometimes I download music that I intend to buy via iTunes but can’t afford until closer to payday. The Rolling Stones are a good example of the former. iTunes has none of their early music, so I’ve had to go to P2P for that. I could buy a Greatest Hits CD at Wal-Mart, but I don’t like all their greatest hits. I don’t care if I ever hear “Satisfaction” again in my entire life.
Now I’m listening to an odd song I downloaded by accident, “As Tears Go By,” the Marianne Faithfull version. There’s an urban legend about Jagger and Faithfull in which the two of them … ahem … “shared” a Mars bar. Never let it be said I have forgotten my pedagogical roots just because I no longer teach the impressionable youth of America. I still like to teach my readers new, important things.
I put my iPod on shuffle and let what plays, play. Right now I am listening to “Hey You” by Pink Floyd (from “The Wall”), which is about to switch to…William Shatner, “What Have You Done” from his new album “Has Been,” which is actually better than you might expect. The song “Has Been” is damned funny. Look it up via iTunes. I bought three songs off the album after downloading several via P2P to make sure I liked them enough. So filesharing does have legitimate uses, I think. People ought to intend to eventually buy the music they download, however.
Now I’m listening to Roy Acuff: “Blue Moon of Kentucky.”
Speculation is that the new iPod flash player won’t be popular because its only two play options are either to play the master song list from beginning to end, or else shuffle the songs. And since Apple is calling it the iPod Shuffle, obviously they think people will use the shuffle feature more often than not. I have to agree with them (mostly). I use the shuffle feature frequently. The only time I don’t use shuffle is when I want to listen to one of my “decade” playlists that I have organized chronologically. I have a pretty cool sixties playlist organized this way.
“Hotel California” by the Eagles. When I hear this song, I always think of the Odysseus and Circe episode from Homer’s Odyssey.
“Fat Bottomed Girls” by Queen. This is one of the funniest songs ever written, I think, right up there with “Squeezebox” by the Who. Is it insulting to women? I guess it depends on the author’s intention, and it seems to me that Brian May meant no insult. He really likes fat bottomed girls.
Hey I was just a skinny lad
Never knew no good from bad
But I knew life before I left my nursery
Left alone with big fat Fanny
She was such a naughty nanny
Heap big woman you made a bad boy out of me
“Woo Hoo” from the “Kill Bill Vol. 1″ soundtrack. The song is actually from an album by an obscure mid-nineties one hit wonder called the 5, 6, 7, 8’s. This is another song I first downloaded via P2P, then bought via iTunes. Since the movie came out, the song has also been used in a commercial for (I think) insurance. The group is cashing in, and they have every right to do so. The only kind of cashing in I find particularly offensive is when I hear John Lennon’s “Instant Karma” being used to sell Nikes. “Woo Hoo” is still a great, upbeat song, though. One thing about Tarantino, he has great taste in music. I have a playlist of music from Tarantino films which I listen to pretty frequently; I’ve compiled it from the original recordings rather than from the soundtracks, however. Not that it makes any difference, really.
Tarantino integrates music so well into his movies that the soundtrack becomes as much a part of the movie as the dialogue and action. For example, “Woo Hoo” is inextricable from the scene in the nightclub where the Bride goes to confront Oren Ishi. It sets the frenetic pace of the violence to come. Tarantino also uses the theme from the old show “The Green Hornet” to great effect in the scene in which the Bride on a motorcycle follows Sofie Fatale to the club. The song itself is a kind of variation of “Flight of the Bumblebees,” and it fits perfectly into a scene that has elements of a high speed chase, while retaining the suggestion of Tarantino’s Asian influences.
Incidentally, I’ll bet you may not have realized that the song which becomes a kind of theme throughout “Kill Bill” is by the master of the Pan flute, Zamfir. The song is “The Lonely Shepherd.” I always used to laugh when a commercial would come on TV advertising a collection of Zamfir’s music. I’d always ask, “Who buys that crap?” I guess now I know, Quentin Tarantino.
I should have been listening to music earlier in the week when I was really down. Funny how sometimes we don’t want to take the medicine which will make us feel better.
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Well I work from home and have been completely unmotivated to make myself go out and climb the mountains of snow outside my front door so that I can at least say I’ve breathed fresh oxygen at least once in the past five days. So I’m a bit down myself.
We have quite different tastes in music, but I feel your pain about the offensive use of John Lennon’s music and Nikes. My personal favorite uses of music for commercials are Carnival Cruise Lines using Iggy Pop’s Lust for Life, and The Apprentice using the O’Jays, For the Love of Money. Did anyone listen to the lyrics before picking the song? That’s a dumb question I suppose.
I might get an iPod shuffle, can’t afford a regular one, plus I figure that would be better for the gym.
Back to my proofreading as I stare longingly out the window wishing for freedom.
Comment by Kaysea — Wednesday, 26 January 2005 @ 11:30 am
Matt,
that early quote sounds like a reference to the wind in the willows, the Piper at the Gates of Dawn chapter (Van Morrison has a great song by that title, btw–there’s a guy you need to listen to, buddy).
As for songs used in commercials, I’m certain they read the lyrics. Business and our cultural climate finds such contradictions cute or hiply ironic. Classic business appropriation.
I’ve just put in Ella Fitzgerald singing Cole Porter. Generally, musically I’m most excited by alt-country, Son Volt, Richard Buckner, Billy Bragg.
I’ve also been listening to a fellow names Nick Cave who reminds me of a Christian Tom Waits.
Comment by Todd — Wednesday, 26 January 2005 @ 11:43 am
You might look on eBay for an iPod. I bought my first iPod on eBay because I couldn’t afford a new one. There are some dangers to buying a used iPod. If it is very old, the battery may be ready to crap out. Cosmetically, eBay sellers may misrepresent how badly it is scratched. That was the case with my first iPod. I bought one of the original 5 GB iPods that came out in 2001. It was quite scratched all over, maybe from being carried in a pocket with keys or something. It worked fine, though, and I have not had to replace the battery which is pretty remarkable. It’s been sitting in a drawer since I bought my new iPod, though, so the battery may now be on its last legs. Only time I plug it in is to copy files to it–I use it as a backup Firewire drive.
Comment by Matthew — Wednesday, 26 January 2005 @ 11:43 am
I think I might have that Ella Fitzgerald album. Is it “Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook?” Another one you might like is “Oh Lady Be Good.” It’s an album of Ella singing Gershwin.
Comment by Matthew — Wednesday, 26 January 2005 @ 11:47 am
Thanks for the ebay tip, but I plan on saving up for a nice shiney new one. I’m greedy :0)
I saw Billy Bragg way back in 1989 or 90 at a Martin Luther King Day celebration in Atlanta…His opening words in his best cockney accent were, “Some people call me a Communist, but I’m not a Communist, I’m a Socialist…” It was a great show. Do you have his album with Wilco?…you probably do. I sometimes listen to alt country, depending on my mood. kexp.org is a great listener supported radio station with all kinds of online streaming capabilities. They have a really good alt-country show called Shake the Shack. And Neko Case is a alt-country chick singer I really like. You should check them out if you haven’t already.
Comment by Kaysea — Wednesday, 26 January 2005 @ 12:05 pm
I actually didn’t buy my second iPod new, either. It was good as new. I bought it from the Apple Store Special Deals site where Apple often sells refurbished hardware. Even though I got lucky and there is nothing wrong with my iPod, supposedly people have bought refurbished iPods with blemishes. But you can get a really great deal if you buy refurbished.
If I were buying an iPod today, I’d definitely consider the Shuffle. It would be a complement to my existing stable of ‘Pods, though
I need lots of space, so I have to keep my 30 GB! But for driving in the car or whatever, the Shuffle would be perfect.
Comment by Matthew — Wednesday, 26 January 2005 @ 12:20 pm
The mermaid avenue CDs? Yes, I own them and love them, though I’ve become a bit burnt out on them by now. Matt, you have some of these songs, too, don’t you?
A lot of musical coincidencences this morning. I just pulled down a few neko case songs a few days ago, mainly because I noticed the name on the anti.com site, a label that Nick Cave also happens to be on (and Tom Waits). Oh, and she is mentioned in a recent blog by a friend I link to (the banquo link on my site). Kaysea, check out Buckner is have a chance (the since or bloomed cds). He’s a great singer and very sparse instrumentally like Bragg.
Yes, that’s the Ella cd, Matt. I don’t have that second cd. I’ll try limewire maybe. And: we finally got that gift out to Lynn and Brendan btw–media mail.
Comment by Todd — Wednesday, 26 January 2005 @ 12:43 pm
Since I’m home more than not, I think I’d first rather get a nice little stereo for the kitchen or bedroom with the airport extreme so I can transmit my itunes to other places in the house besides my office. I have a ton of MP3s but even more CDs and records….yes records. Not that I don’t like gadgets, but I’m still addicted to actual objects. I have a hard time buying a whole cd off of itunes, I want the cover art, the packaging, I want it on a shelf for everyone to see, etc. If any of you like old soul music, you can check out my husband’s MP3 blog, he’s got some great stuff on there.
http://www.londonlee.com/blog.html
Todd, thanks for the suggestions, I will check it out.
Comment by Kaysea — Wednesday, 26 January 2005 @ 2:34 pm
Your hubby has a great blog. Thanks for that.
Comment by Matthew — Wednesday, 26 January 2005 @ 2:39 pm
He’s very proud of it..even gotten some really good press. He was mentioned in the Guardian once! But he’s got bandwidth woes right now, so you will have more mp3s to download next month….It’s all stuff that’s not easy to find. I figure if you’re gonna have an addiction, music and is a good one to have. I’m very chatty today. It must be the lack of actual human interaction.
Comment by Kaysea — Wednesday, 26 January 2005 @ 2:45 pm
Kaysea, thanks. I plan on linking and downloading quite often.
Comment by Todd — Wednesday, 26 January 2005 @ 3:38 pm
Matt,
Been meaning to write about what I thought about Shatner’s album. I will, shortly, I suppose. Remarkable, and completely unexpected from Shatner. Revises all the things I’ve thought about him for the last 10 years, actually. More later.
Comment by Mel B. — Wednesday, 26 January 2005 @ 7:44 pm
I agree about Shatner. Very unexpected. I think what makes the album good is that he doesn’t try to sing (seriously!); instead, he reads what I guess one would call prose poems. They are funny and self-effacing and surprisingly pretty deep. “Ideal Woman” for example, which (in my opinion) is all about puncturing the male, Liberal self-satisfaction with how “enlightened” we are towards “our” women. We tell them to be exactly who they want to be, dress how they want to dress, “you want yogurt, you got yogurt”…oh, but there are just a few small restrictions on all that.
Comment by Matthew — Wednesday, 26 January 2005 @ 9:09 pm