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The Antics of Anton Newcombe Continue, We Missed Ye
As the Brian Jonestown Massacre released their 11th album, Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?, this past week, frontman and mastermind of the neo-psychedelic band took time out to be interviewed by Impose magazine. And, yes, things got strange and preachy, just like we like our Anton Newcombe.
On the cultural suffocation of the Beatles Sgt. Peppers:
“I’m having a go at The Beatles and pop culture in general because basically it’s suffocating. That mythology machine, fools get it. It’s a situation of someone is paying them 500 million to play that record, so they make 650 million—that is 120 million. That is how that works. It’s not because Sgt. Pepper is the greatest rock record of all time. When you get down to brass tacks, if you’re smart, it’s not a rock record. There’s jazz in “When I’m 64.” There’s “With or Without You” that’s tour orchestra. This isn’t rock music, it’s some b.s. professional vernacular. It’s the experimental showcase. It’s not John, Paul, George or Ringo on any track. It’s an army of people.”
On Thinking Like Mozart:
I think like Mozart. I’ll go, “What’s that song? Oh, it’s mine. I haven’t made it yet and it’s already done. All the parts.” That is very difficult for a person who writes music, even if you are The Strokes.
On Tom of MySpace:
“Consistently, I was the first to put music and social networking together when there was no Myspace. Tom [from Myspace] was in a band with Dean Taylor, my old guitar player. He had less than 200 profiles on Myspace and the rest were fake.” read more
Update: Apparently Abbey Road Studios Is Not Up for Sale
[via CNN] Last week, Billboard reported that the famous Abbey Road Studios in London were up for sale. And then Andrew Lloyd Webber said he’d maybe be interested in buying the studio, because its legacy needed to be preserved. And now it’s being reported that the owner, Terra Firma, is saying it’s not up for sale. Rather, it is seeking partners to help pay for upgrades.
“EMI confirms that it is holding preliminary discussions for the revitalization of Abbey Road with interested and appropriate third parties,” Terra Firma said.
They also added that that doesn’t mean the studio is up for sale. So, I guess that’s that. But uh, took a minute for the truth to come out, did it not? Hmm…
Andrew Lloyd Webber May Buy Abbey Road Studios
[via Guardian] Following up on Howard’s last post about the Abbey Road Studios being up for sale, news comes today that the famed composer and impressario is throwing his hat in the ring as a potential buyer. He said it is “vital for the future of the music industry in the UK” to save this venue where both he and the Beatles recorded many works.
This is not the first time Webber’s name has come up in music news this week. Earlier in the week, it was reported that raunchy electro queen, Peaches, was preparing to perform Jesus Christ Superstar in its entirety in Berlin, but was refused the licensing rights to the songs. In my ideal world, Webber would also speak up on behalf of her as well.
Abbey Road Studios Up for Sale
Next they’ll tell us Graceland is under foreclosure.
In a striking testament to the bottomlessness of today’s Big Financial chaos, Billboard reports that cash-strapped industry titan EMI is trying to chisel away at its massive debt by selling the historic Abbey Road studios in London.
Originally called the EMI Recording Studios, the establishment formally changed its name to Abbey Road after the Beatles released their landmark Abbey Road album in 1969. While of course it was the Fab Four that made it a musical household name, the history of the place extends well beyond the Beatles including the recording of various jazz greats (Fats Waller, Glenn Miller), orchestral film scores (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Return of the Jedi, Lord of the Rings) and even government propaganda materials during World War II. The Beatles did record about 90% of their material there, though the rock legacy, too, doesn’t stop there. Pink Floyd, The Pretty Things, The Zombies, Elliott Smith, and Radiohead are all among the other artists to have aid down tracks in the hallowed hall of sound.
The price? A mere £30 million. But before you go digging for your checkbook, keep in mind that are reportedly at east six interested bidders already involved.
Riot Gear!: Beatles Edition PowerPoint
The Beatles charts for info-junkies seem to be satisfying a need Beatles video games, anthologies, and remasters simply cannot. If you treat Beatles trivia as anthropology, and believe that knowing which Mop Top really did get blisters on his fingers isn’t just a great icebreaker but a responsibility (those who forget their music history are doomed to loop it), then chartingthebeatles.com is for you.
Well, technically it’s not a site just yet, just a couple redirects to the kind of charts, graphs, and statistics you’d expect to find in a PowerPoint presentation.
Interested in a Venn diagram of “I Am the Walrus”? (The Eggman overlap is both I and They—Goo Goo Goo Joob!) Or, for the musos out there, how about a pictograph of scale types (major, minor, diatonic) by album (lots of minors in the White Album).
Currently, the collection is user-driven, and based heavily on the catalog of Beatle books that have broken down to quantum levels all the musical harmonies and arguments between the lads. Most of the content exists in a Flicker group where users have posted images of their lovingly detailed graphs. (What, not a single web programmer who is also a die-hard Beatles fan?) Many of the charts delve past science into works of art, using geeky statistical reporting methodologies as the style, and granular Beatles factoids as the palette. And each tell a story if you look at them long enough. The chart that quantifies authorship and collaboration is perhaps the most revealing at first glance. In a single snapshot, you can track the band’s demise via a timeline that shows collaboration withering after 1967’s Baby, You’re a Rich Man (Magical Mystery Tour). read more
What are the Worst Management Decisions in Rock History?
[Mojo via Daily Swarm]
Mojo’s got a nice little piece on the seven Worst Rock ‘n’ Roll Management Decisions in History, featuring Brian Epstein (Beatles business “supremo”), Rob Gretton (manager of New Order), Don McGhee (manger of Bon Jovi and Skid Row, among others), Bernie Rhodes (the Clash), Dads, and also Do It Yourselfers. Each one is explores the backstory, and highlights the consequences and the moral of the story. Take heed.
Mash-Up Monday: Beatles vs. Wu-Tang Enter the Magical Mystery Chambers
The Walrus is actually ODB (R.I.P.)
British pro’doosa Tom Caruana has struck gold with his brilliant mash-ups of Wu-Tang Clan acappella tracks and samples of Beatles songs. Posted by Caruana to his label website in January, Enter the Magical Mystery Chambers, has already been downloaded over 40,000 times (source: Tea Sea Records).
While I’m not totally convinced that this project will win as many new fans for the Fab Four or the 36 Chambers as it will for Caruana’s Tea Sea Records, I’m dead certain that it’s worth a free download.
Naturally, people have compared this to Danger Mouse’s Grey Album, which paired vocals from the Black Album by Jay-Z with beat-deconstructions of the Beatles‘ White Album. I think that Enter the Magical Mystery Chambers is better for two simple reasons:
1.) The Wu-Tang are by and large better rappers than Jay-Z (sorry, U-God), and 2.) Caruana has done a better job of selecting and splicing his samples than Danger Mouse did. read more
79 Proof: AllMusic Celebrates the Music of 1965
[via AllMusic Blog]
Now, this is a list we can get with. Namely, because it actually has useful tidbits of information. So novel! The staff of All Music Guide has put together an article detailing out why they love 1965, the middle child of a very heady decade, along with 10 writers who each individually detail out both their favorite albums and singles. So why 1965?
“… 1965 isn’t about one style or sound: Every genre produced timeless music, whether it was Miles Davis settling into his second classic quintet, Motown’s hit machine not slowing down, Bakersfield electrifying country music, B.B. King captivating at the Regal, or American rock ‘n’ roll bands pounding out responses to the British Invasion from their own garages while the Who made their debut. And, of course, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds all released multiple classic albums, including Rubber Soul, Highway 61 Revisited, Out of Our Heads, Today!, and Mr. Tambourine Man; records that defined just what rock ‘n’ roll could do. If that doesn’t make a contender for the greatest year of the ’60s, then what does?”
They certainly make an interesting case, don’t they? This lists from all 10 staffers get a little redundant, so after the jump, check out our favorite of the bunch. read more
Final Johnny Cash Album to be Released, and Other News
On what would have been Johnny Cash’s 78th birthday (February 26), the sixth and final installment of the American Recording series will be released. Like the previous releases in the series, American VI was also produced by Rick Rubin, and features special covers of songs from Kris Kristofferson, Ed McCurdy, Tom Paxton, and Sheryl Crow, among others, as well as a never before heard original called “I Corinthians: 15:55″, which was written over the last few years of Cash’s life. You can bet Crawdaddy! will give this release some love when it comes out, so be sure to check back. (Lime Wire)
I can’t mention today’s news without mentioning the tragic passing of Jay Reatard. We are beside ourselves over here upon learning the news, and our thoughts go out to his friends, family, and fellow fans. (Crawdaddy!)
Wyclef Jean takes an early lead with rallying support for victims of the earthquake in Haiti. (Spinner)
Okay, now it’s time to laugh, if you can. These are really funny snippets from Ozzy Osbourne’s forthcoming autobiography. (Daily Swarm)
Billy Corgan and Jessica Simpson are a (so random) romantic item, and they are also making music together. (Stereogum)
Simon and Garfunkel are headlining at this year’s New Orleans Jazz Fest. (Spinner
Austin’s own Spoon will be kickstarting this year’s SXSW fest on St. Patty’s Day. (SXSW)
The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine is in the midst of a remake, with some notable actors signing on as the Fab Four. (Clash Music)
Read more news after the jump.
Origin of Song: Money (That’s What I Want)
by: Denise Sullivan
Born February 5, 1941 in Hard Times, Mississippi, you know him as the songwriting partner of Norman Whitfield and all those right-on Motown hits: “War” (“Good God! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing”); “Smiling Faces Sometimes” (“They don’t tell the truth”); “Psychedelic Shack” (“That’s where it’s at”), “Cloud Nine,” (“I’m doing fine up here”); “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World Is today)” and “Heard it Through the Grapevine.” The guys were geniuses, Songwriting Hall of Famers and all rest, but, before all the writing, Strong was a singer. The Beatles knew him as the dude who sang “Money (That’s What I Want).” He was the one to score the first hit record for a then-brand new little label called Tamla, and chances are you’ve heard the rest. If not, check this:
Tired of earning pennies on the dollar for writing songs for Detroit’s R&B pride, Jackie Wilson, songwriter Berry Gordy switched over to music’s business side. In competition with his sister Anna and the record label that was her namesake, he formed his own label, Tamla, his roster consisting almost entirely of kids from around the way, with a few notes from his own songbook. Distributed by Anna, by June of 1960, “Money (That’s What I Want”—written by Gordy and Janie Bradford and performed by Barrett Strong—was his company’s first national hit, reaching number two on the R&B charts and crossing over to the Top 40. It turned out to be as prophetic as it was strong: “Well now give me money (that’s what I want)… I wanna be free.” Not long after that, Gordy’s friend and label VP, Smokey Robinson, sold a million copies of “Shop Around” with his group the Miracles. The self-contained, family-like, black-owned business from the Motor City delivered “The Sound of Young America” to the world with its especially designed blend of pop and R&B, intended to steer the singers away from the sounds of the stratified R&B chart ghetto and into the spotlight, where American Dreams were made.
read more
by: Denise Sullivan
published: March 3, 2010
in column: Origin of Song
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